A HUMAN ARMADILLO.
" 1 have at present under my care a man who is nearly incrusted with a reone-like skin, very closely resembling the barnacles of the native oyster, or what is called ' rough casting,' so frequently seen on the outside of lath ,and- plaster houses. lie cannot sleep for any length of time, because the recumbent position causes in him the sensation of lying upon a board thickly studded with nails, or, as he expressed it, 'lying on a bag of sticks.' The first appearance of this covering occurred about six months ago ; since which time it has been rapidly increasing ; and little doubt exists but that in a short time the man will become as thoroughly encased in a hard coat as the armadillo or the rhinoceros." —Mr. Kitching, surgeon, of -4Wersgate Street, in The Lancet.
This curious phenomenon is, we suppose, but an extension of the principle by which chalk-stones are produced on the joints—an excess of lime in the composition. The poor fellow will soon be cased in a perpetual suit of stone armour. His flesh is literally walling him up. Ile will become a living petrifaction in time. What a luxury Dr. Aarsorr's hydrostatic bed would be to him ! Some ingenious chemist should try and discover a solvent for his stony cuticle, if the growth of his quarry of flesh cannot be stopped.
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