Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 18.djvu/288

SLOTH. 242 SLOW-MATCH. scending to the ground. They do not walk upon the branches, but cling beneath them, with the back downward, and they can progress, if they please, with the agilit.v of monkeys. They are chiefly nocturnal, resting sleepily during the day, from which circumstances, and from a misun- derstanding of their habits generally, the mis- nomer of 'sloth' arose. The fore legs are much longer than the hind ones, and the feet are furnished with very long sharp claws, curved into hooks by which sloths hang beneath the bi'anchcs even in sleep. A pe- culiarity of the group is the extraordinary num- ber of dorsal vertebra". The head is round, and the muzzle so short that the face is monkey-like. Although members of the order Edentata, sloths are by no means 'toothless.' There are no in- cisor teeth, but sharp canine teeth, and eight JAW8 AND TEETH OF SLOTHS. 1. Three-toed sloth {Braclypus tridactylus); 2, collared Bloth (Bradspus infascatas). molars in the upper, six in the lower jaw. The molars are cylindrical, and are adapted merely for crushing, not for grinding, the food. For this, however, there is compensation in the stomach, which is somewhat imperfectly divided, by trans- verse ligatures, into four aonipartments. for the longer retention and more thorough digestion of the food. The hair is coarse and shagjj'. aifords an excellent protection from insects, and gives sloths such a gray appearance that they are not readily observed except when in motion. This protective effect is enhanced by the growth upon it of a minute grayish-green alga, allying the hair almost precisely in color with the 'gray- beard moss' that drapes tropical trees, and amid which they are fond of hiding. The sloth produces only one young one at a birth, which clings to its mother till it becomes able to provide for itself. The voice of the ani- mal is a low plaintive cry. Less than a dozen species of slotli are known, grouped in two subfamilies, according to the number of toes on JAWS AND TEETH OF TWO-TOED BLOTH. the fore feet. All have three toes on the hind feeti. but the Cholcepodinie have only two toes on the front feet, the Bradypodinse three. The latter have nine cervical vertebrae and twenty abdominal, and of the latter 15-17 bear ribs ; while the former have only si.x or seven cervical vertebrie, and twen- ty-seven abdominal, of which 23-24 bear ribs. Of the Chola^podina', or 'unaus,' there are only two species, the two-toed (Cholwpus didactylus) , which is common in Brazil, and a Central Ameri- can species (Cholnpiis Hoffiiiaiini) , which is lighter colored. They are about two feet long. Of the BradypodiuiP conspicuous species are the three-toed sloth ( Bnidt/pus tridacii/lus) and the collared sloth (Bradi/i>iis iiifiiscatus) . The lat- ter is the largest of the family and has a collar of long black hair around the neck, behind which is a patch of pale orange. Consult: Beddard, Mammalia (London and Xew York, 1902), and the memoirs there cited relating to anatomy and classification; also Lydekker, lioyal Xatiiral His- torii, vol. iii. (London, 1895) ; Alston, "Mam- mals," in Biolof/ia Ccntrali-Americana (London. 1S79-S2) ; and Bates. yattiniUst on the Ama:ons (2d ed., London, 1892). For fossil forms of the sloth, see Ganodonta; MEGATHEBitTM ; Mylodon; Mammalia, Fossil. SLOUGH, slou. A market town and railway junction in Buckinghamshire, England, 18 miles west of London, and 2 miles north of ^Yindsor Castle. Here the elder Herschel erected his observatory and great telescope, and made many of his important astronomical discoveries. Popu- lation, in UlOl, 11.4(11. SLOUGH OF DESPOND. A bog encountered by Christian, in Pilgrim's Progress, at the outset of his journey. It typifies the discouragement and apprehension caused by a sense of sin. SLOVAKS, slo'vaks. A Slavic people of Xorthwestern Hungary and Southern iloravia. They are closely akin to the Czechs. They num- ber about 2,000,000. Most of them are Roman Catholics. SLOVE'NIANS. A South Slavic people of Austria-Hungary, inhabiting Camiola (where they constitute the great bulk of the popula- tion), Carinthia, Styria, and other districts. About the sixth century they migrated from their original home in the Carpathian Moun- tains to the region south of the Danube, where they now live. See Slavs. SLOWACKI, slo-viits'ke, Juliltsz (1809-40). A distinguished Polish poet. He was born at Kremenez, in Volhynia,, the son of a professor of literature in the L'niversity of Vilna, where he received his education. Because of the some- what morbid and misanthropic nature of his writings he received the name of the 'Satan of Literature.' Among his works are the poems ".Jan Bielecki," "Arab."' "Lamliro." "Beniowski," "Waclaw," and the dramas Maria Htuart. Ma- cep/)o, BnUadtjna, and Lilla Weneda. Some of them were translated into several languages. His col- lected works were published at Leipzig (4 vols., 18G0 and later ed. ) and at Lemberg (4 vols., 1880). Consult the biography by Maleeki (Lem- berg, ISfifi). SLOW LEMUR. A lemur of the genus Nycticebns or Loris. noted for its slow move- ments, especially the common Asiatic loris, also called 'sloth monkey' (Kjfcticebus tardigradus) . See LoRTS; and Plate of Lemurs. SLOW-MATCH. A rope or cord which has been saturated or steeped in a solution of salt- petre, so that it will burn slowly and regularly.