Hughes's illustrated anecdotal natural history

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lUGHES'SNECDOTAL . ATURAL ISTORY


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WM. C. G. LUDFORD,Hill,BUTTON COLDFIELD.


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X


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HUGHES'SILLUSTRATED

pitotorjj*

THE REV. J. G. WOOD, M.A., F.L.S.,Author of "Homes Without Hands" &c., &c.

ANDTHEODORE WOOD, M.E.S.,

Joint authorof " The Field Naturalist's Note-Book.

HouHon :JOSEPH HUGHES, PILGRIM STREET,LUDGATE HILL, E.G.

1882.


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CONTENTS.

I. THE SQUIRREL TRIBE jII. THE CAMEL 1 8

III. BATS 30IV. THE .MOLE 43V. THE CAT TRIBE 56VI. THE CAT TRIBE. PART II. ... 69

VII. THE CAT TRIBE. PART III 83VIII. THE DOG TRIBE 93IX. THE CETACEA, OR WHALES . . . .HOX. THE SEAL TRIBE*. 124XI. THE ELEPHANT 139XII. THE RHINOCEROS, HVRAX, AND HIPPOPOTA-

MUS 150XIII. ELEPHANTIANA 163


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ANECDOTAL NATURAL HISTORY.No. I. THE SQUIRREL TRIBE.

ALMOST everybody is familiar with the commonsquirrel (Sciitn/s Europeans), that reddish-brownanimal with the bushy tail which is so plentiful in nearlyall our woods and forests, where it sometimes worksconsiderable mischief. And even those people whohave never been fortunate enough to see it in itsnative haunts, springing from tree to tree, and gam-bolling merrily among the branches, must have noticedthe unfortunate specimens exhibited for sale by theitinerant hawkers who pervade the streets of themetropolis and other large towns.Besides the British species there are many othersquirrels found in different parts of the world, Aus-tralia being the only continent where none are knownto exist.

Particular attention is drawn to this point, because innearly all travellers' accounts of Australia we read ofthe flying squirrel among the quadrupeds inhabitingthat land. In fact, however, the so-called squirrelsare not squirrels, nor even rodents, but are Mar-supials, belonging to the great group of Phalangists.The mistake arises from the natural errors madeby travellers and colonists, who name every creaturethey see after the inhabitants of their own country.

o


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6 A necdotal Natural History.Our Australian colonists talk and write with mar-vellous composure of wolves, bears, monkeys, bats,

cats, squirrels, rats, and mice as inhabiting the country.Similarly, American writers sadly bewilder the tyro inzoology by mentioning American buffaloes, lions,tigers, and panthers, all these creatures being strictlyconfined to the old world. The ' Robin ' again, sooften mentioned in American literature, is not ourEnglish redbreast, as is usually assumed, but anerroneous name for the migratory thrush, a bird farlarger than the redbreast and belonging to a totallydifferent group.The squirrels belong to the great division of therodents, which comprise nearly a third of all the knownmammalia. The animals of this group are distin-guished by the possession of two powerful chisel-edgedincisor teeth in each jaw, formed for cutting orgnawing away hard substances, and which are replacedby fresh material as fast as they are worn away. Thepower of these incisor teeth is strikingly exemplifiedin the beaver, which has been known to gnaw itsway through logs no less than eighteen inches indiameter.Were there not some means of replacing theseteeth as quickly as they are worn down, the death ofthe animals would speedily follow, as they would

shortly starve from their inability to procure food.In order to avoid this, the teeth are continually forcedforward from the jaw by the formation of fresh sub-stance at the base, which is secreted by a pulpy sub-stance at the root of the tooth. Now, as this growthtakes place whether the teeth are used or not, itfollows that, unless they were in constant use, theywould soon increase to an inordinate length, andbefore very long would project from the mouth. Suchan event does occasionally occur, when by some


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The Squirrel Tribe. 7accident one of the incisor teeth has been brokenshort off. The corresponding tooth in the other jaw,finding no resistance to its growth, continues to in-crease until it sometimes forms a perfect circle outsidethe mouth, usually resulting in the death of its ownerby preventing it from feeding.Without some means, however, of preserving thechisel-like sharpness of these teeth, the mere replace-ment of wasted substance would be of little use. Inorder to obtain the desired result, the teeth are con-structed after a very singular fashion.The body of the tooth is composed of pure ivory,coated on the outer surface with a thin layer ofenamel, which being of a very much harder nature,is not worn away with the same rapidity. Besidesthis, the ivory nearest the enamel is harder than therest, and the softer parts being easiest worn down, theedge of the tooth always keeps the same proportions,the actual cuttiug being performed with the edge ofthe enamel.Our carpenter's chisels are constructed on exactlythe same principle, the chief portion of them being

composed of soft iron, while a very thin plate of steelis laid along the back and forms the cutting edge ofthe tool.

So much for the characteristics of the rodents as awhole. Now for those of that group which areknown as squirrels.The true squirrels are scientifically known as Sciu-ridce, or shadow-tails, a title derived from two Greekwords, the former signifying a shade and the latter atail. This refers to the habit in these animals ofcarrying the tail over the back, as though to protectthe body from the rays of the sun, a position alwaysadopted except when running or leaping. They areremarkable among the rodents as possessing particu-


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8 Anecdotal Natural History.larly perfect clavicles or collar-bones, which enablethem to use the fore-paws to a certain extent after themanner of hands. This is especially the case in carry-ing food to the mouth, when the paws are managedwith extraordinary dexterity. In eating a nut, for ex-ample, a squirrel, by the aid of its fore-paws and teethalone, will break the shell and peel the kernel to thefull as successfully as a skilful human being furnishedwith crackers and penknife. And it does so asfollows. Holding the nut close to the teeth, it gnawsaway at the point of the fruit until it fairly pierces theouter shell. It then dexterously inserts the edge ofthe upper teeth into the aperture, and splits away theshell just as an idle boy does with his knife whenopening nuts in school hours. By means of its hand-like paws,

it then holds the kernel against its upperteeth, and rapidly turning it round and round, stripsoff the whole of the peel before beginning to devourit.

With the exception of the jaws and the adjacentparts of the head, the skeleton is exceedingly lightand slender in order to suit it to the rapid movementsof the animal.To furnish the squirrels with the means of ascendingthe trees in which they spend the greater portion of

their existence, the long toes are provided with sharp,curved claws, which can be inserted into the smallestcrevices of the bark, and thus secure a firm foothold.The rapidity and ease of their aerial motions issomething astounding. A squirrel will gallop up aperpendicular tree trunk fully as fast as a cat can runon level ground, and will throw itself from branch tobranch with the most perfect recklessness. And evenif it misses its mark, it simply extends its limbs andallows itself to fall to the ground from most alarmingheights, never seeming to be in the least damaged by its


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Squirrel's Summer Nest.


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IO Anecdotal Natural History.rapid descent. One would imagine that the creaturemust infallibly be dashed to pieces, but, almost beforeone can look round, the squirrel is off to the nearesttree trunk, where it is quickly lost to sight amongstthe foliage.As a refuge both by day and night, and also as aplace wherein to rear their young, the squirrels alwaysconstruct a large and comfortable nest, generally inthe fork of some lofty branch, and always carefullyconcealed from sight. The materials are chieflyleaves, grass, and moss, woven together in a most beau-tiful manner, and forming a perfect protection againstthe rain. The old nests may sometimes be seen inwinter when they are no longer surrounded by foliage,and stand out boldly among the naked boughs.

In these nests the young, three or four at a litter,are brought up, and remain until they are old enoughto shift for themselves.At the approach of winter the squirrels, not being

able to find their food during the cold months, lay upstores for use during that period. Their provisionsconsist generally of nuts of various sorts, grain, beech-mast, and so on, and are hidden away as a rule inholes at the roots of trees in the neighbourhood oftheir winter habitation. It is a somewhat curious factthat the squirrel never includes a bad nut in thesehoards.

This winter retreat is also a nest of much thesame character as the former, but hidden away inholes in trees, the junctions of large brancheswith the trunk, and similar localities. As soonas the cold weather fairly arrives, the squirrels,having previously laid up their winter stores, repairto this hiding-place, and there pass the time untilspring, when they again return to their summerhaunts. For the greater portion of the interven-


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Squirrel's Winter Nest


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12 A necdotal Natural History.ing period they lie in a state of complete uncon-sciousness, something more than sleep and less thandeath, and which can be only partially described bythe word ' trance.' This state is not, as is generallyimagined, produced by intense cold ; lor should thetemperature fall below 32 Fahrenheit, or 'freezing-point,' a hibernating animal is first awakened andthen killed by the frost. Those animals, therefore,which pass the winter in a state of unconsciousness,always select a retreat where they are sheltered fromthe direct action of the elements, and where thetemperature is only slightly varied.While in the hibernating condition respiration en-tirely ceases, and the animal could be kept for hoursunder water, or in a vessel of carbonic acid gas,without the slightest effect. The circulation of theblood is greatly retarded, and digestion, at any ratein those animals which spend the whole winter inunconsciousness, is wholly at a standstill.The squirrel, however, is only a partial hibernator,and is obliged to leave its hiding-place three or fourtimes during the winter months in search ol food. Forthis purpose it always selects a milder day than usual,and on such occasions may be seen repairing to itsstores for a meal before again proceeding to its placeof refuge. These hoards seem always to be morethan sufficient for its wants, and the remainder of theprovender is left to its fate. Sometimes the nuts, etc.,take root, and the squirrel is often the cause of treesspringing up in unexpected places.

In the far north the cold of the winter has a verymarked effect upon the fur of these animals, whichfrom a rich brownish red becomes of a pale grey hue.And even in our own climate there is a perceptiblechange in the colour of the fur at different periods ofthe year.


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The Squirrel Tribe. 13It is not generally known that squirrels can use

their paws as paddles, and by their aid swim to con-siderable distances.

In some parts of the eastern coasts of Scotland,where innumerable armlets of the sea run many milesinland, the squirrels are in the habit of swimmingacross from shore to shore, and making rapid progressthrough the water. A friend was an eye-witness ofthis habit. Being in a boat, he came upon the littlecreature as it was swimming, and took it into the boat.As it was tired with its journey, it allowed itself tobe caught without any difficulty. But as soon as itfelt itself rested, it sprang back into the water andswam steadily to land

Leaving this country for America, we find there aremany kinds of squirrels found in that country, severalof which are very interesting. For example, there isthe Grey Squirrel (Sciurus dnereus) of North America,which is extremely abundant, and often works verygreat damage to the growing crops. In Pennsylvania,more than a century ago, these animals were found tobe so very destructive that a Government reward ofthreepence per head was offered for all that werekilled. In a single year, a sum ofno less than ^8000was expended in redeeming this promise, which givesa grand total of 640,000 squirrels destroyed.Now, although these animals wrought such terriblemischief to the agriculturist, and by their numbersand perseverance ruined the result of his labours, intheir native forests they were in their proper situation,doing the work for which they were sent into theworld. But as soon as man arrived upon the scene,cleared away the jungle, and laid out the ground forcultivation, he upset the balance of nature : thesquirrels were no longer required, and became aplague instead of a benefit, making it necessary to


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14 Anecdotal Natural History.thin their number. Even our own squirrel is oc-casionally the cause of much damage, especially inyoung plantations, where it has a habit of nibblingoff the topmost shoots, and so stopping the growth ofthe tree. Nor does it confine its depredations tovegetable life, for it is by no means uncommon tofind a bird's nest ransacked by the animal, and theeggs or young ones devoured, as the case may be. Itis probable that the squirrel is the real delinquent inmany a case of nest-robbing when the blame falls onthe shoulders of thoughtless schoolboys.

It occasionally happens with the grey squirrels, that,having pretty thoroughly devastated a neighbourhood,and finding winter approaching, they are unable tolay up a sufficient stock of food on which to subsistuntil the spring. Knowing instinctively that if theyremain in their present locality they must inevitablydie of starvation, they migrate in vast numbers, afterthe fashion of the lemming in Northern Europe,allowing nothing to check their course, climbing overinstead of avoiding any obstacle, such as a wall orhouse, and leaving nothing eatable behind them.Every blade of grass and every green thing dis-appears, and the transit of one of these hosts leavesthe country in much the same condition as if a swarmof locusts had passed over it.Then there is the Black Squirrel (Sciurus niger),which, though not nearly so numerous as the preced-ing species, is still far from uncommon. It is acurious circumstance that the black and the greysquirrels seem unable to live in company, and as soonas the latter animal shows itself, the former dis-appears. As its name implies, this animal is of auniform black hue, and from the fineness of the fur,is much sought after for the sake of the skin.There is a somewhat strange-looking squirrel in-


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The Squirrel Tribe. 15habiting Borneo, and which is popularly known asthe Long-eared Squirrel (Sdiin/s macrotis). It is thusnamed on account of the singularly long fringe of hairwith which the ears are decorated, which is of a darkbrown colour, and pretty well two inches in length.The tail also is remarkably bushy.Besides all these, there are some animals, none ofthem inhabiting this country, however, which aregenerally known as 'flying' squirrels on account ofa singular modification of structure. This is found inthe skin of the flanks, which is developed to a largeextent, almost hiding the paws in its folds when thecreature is at rest. When in motion, however, andparticularly during the tremendous leaps which theseanimals make from branch to branch, the legs arestretched out as far as possible, the loose skin actsas a parachute, and the squirrel is enabled to passthrough a much greater distance than would otherwisehave been possible.The petaurists of Australia possess a similar de-velopment of the skin, and use it for a similar purpose.One of the best known of the flying squirrels is theTaguan (Pteromys petaurista) of India, which is of abrownish colour, varying from deep chestnut alongthe back to a greyish white on the under surface ofthe body. The tail is long and bushy, and very muchdarker in colour. The whole length of the animal isnearly three feet.

Leaving the true squirrels, we come to a veryclosely allied group of rodents, the members of which,however, construct their habitations beneath the earthinstead of among the branches of trees, and but rarelyleave the ground. These are called ground squirrels,and are furnished with cheek-pouches, which the truesquirrels do not possess. The object of these weshall presently see.


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1 6 A necdotal Na tit,nil History.The Hackee, Chipping Squirrel, or Chipmuck, as

it is indifferently termed (Tamias Lysteii*), of NorthAmerica is one of the most widely known of thesequadrupeds. It is a very pretty little creature, ratherless than a foot in total length, of a brownish-grey hue,with five black and two yellow stripes running longi-tudinally along the back. The under surface is of afine white.The hackee is very abundant over a great portionof North America, and may be seen almost everywheredashing in and out of the underwood with a rapiditywhich has caused its movements to be compared tothose of the wren.By way of habitation, and also as a refuge from

its numerous foes, it constructs rather complicatedburrows below the surface of the earth. For thispurpose it generally selects some protected situation,such as the roots of a large tree, the side of a bank,or the foot of a hedge. A winding tunnel, usually ofconsiderable length, leads to the dwelling chamber,or nest, where the young are brought up, and fromthis run galleries leading to other chambers whichare used for storehouses. In these a most astonish-ing quantity of food is laid up. In a single nest, weare told, were found no less than a peck of acorns, twoquarts of buckwheat, a quart of beaked nuts, somegrass seeds, and a quantity of maize, with which theinterstices were filled up.

It seems almost incredible that so small an animalas the hackee can lay up so large a quantity of food,but such is the case, and it is in carrying the pro-visions to the burrow that the use of the cheek pouchesis found. It can, of course, carry only a smallquantity at a time. Four beaked nuts, for example,constitute the load for a single journey, three beingpacked into the pouches, and the fourth carried


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The Squirrel Tribe. I/between the teeth. In order to prevent the nut fromhurting its mouth, the hackee invariably bites off thesharp beik of the fruit before consigning it to thepouches.When thus loaded, the animal presents a verycurious appearance, bearing a ludicrous resemblanceto a human being suffering from a very bad attack ofmumps.The well-supplied condition of the hackee's lardeiis widely known, and in times of scarcity the nativesrepair to the burrows, and, digging out the contents,find the materials for a hearty meal.When pursued by one of its numerous enemies, thechipping squirrel always takes refuge in its burrow,trusting in the inability of its pursuer to follow itdown the complicated windings of its narrow tunnel.There is one foe, however, to whom this is noobstacle, and which follows the hackee to the veryend of the burrow, there making a meal of theunfortunate owner. This enemy is found in thestoat, which sometimes kills the whole of the occupantsof a burrow merely for the gratification of suckingtheir blood.All three of the popular names are applied to thisanimal on account of the curious cry, which somewhatresembles the clucking of newly-hatched chickens.The scientific title, Tamtas, is a Greek word, signify-ing a storekeeper, the application of which is at onceapparent.


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No. IT. THE CAMEL.^^HE ;:iace ot the horse is supplied, and morethan supplied, in the East by the Camel, the' Ship of ihe Desert,' as the Arabs poetically term it,whose structure is singularly adapted to the nature ofthe country which it has to traverse. A horse couldnot pass through the sandy deserts, beneath the fierceheat of a tropical sun, bearing the heavy load of thecamel, and dispensing almost entirely with food andwater, especially the latter, for days together ; andwould, in fact, find it by no means easy, even if en-tirely unencumbered, to make its way through thetreacherous soil, in which it would sink for severalinches at every step. But the camel has evidentlybeen constructed with an especial view to the exi-gencies of the desert traffic, and can therefore performwork which would be quite impossible to any otheranimal.

There are two species of camel, the chief of whichis the true camel of Arabia, bearing one hump onlyupon its back. This is the animal most in use as abeast of burden. The second species, the Bactriancamel, or Mecheri, which possesses a second hump,is almost entirely used for riding purposes.Now, when we consider the nature of the soil overwhich the Arabian camel has to pass, it is evidentthat there must be some provision in the foot of thecreature in order to enable it to find a firm foothold.So, instead of the single hard hoof which is found inthe horse, the foot of the camel is provided with two


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The Camel. 19broad toes, furnished with large, soft, and very elasticcushions beneath, so as to afford a large surface,and prevent the animal from sinking in the loosesand.

Then, as the animal must be loaded and un-loaded when in a kneeling position, the knees andbreast are furnished with thick callous pads, so thatthe skin is not injured by the contact with the roughground.A curious part of the structure of the camel is foundin the hump, which is not, as many think, a malforma-tion of the back, for the spine is as straight as thatof any other animal, but is merely a fleshy and fattyprotuberance, connected in some strange way withthe health of its owner. The Arab always judges thestate of his camel by the hump, and will not allowthe animal to start upon a long journey unless thehump is in perfect condition.The chief use of the hump seems to lie in its powerof nourishing the animal when other food is scarce.During a long desert journey, for example, the camelsare very sparingly fed, and appear to subsist upon thenourishment derived from the hump, which graduallydiminishes in size, until at the end of the journey itis scarcely visible, not regaining its former propor-tions until after two or three months of carefulfeeding.In a somewhat similar manner, the hibernatinganimals exist without food for several months. Theyaccumulate a quantity of fat largely in excess of thenormal amount, and by the absorbing of the super-abundant fat into the body, are enabled to supply thewaste of tissue.

Another noticeable point in the structure of thecamel is to be found in the formation of the eyes andnostrils, the former of which are provided with long


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20 Anecdotal Natural History.lashes, while the latter can be closed at will, thus pre-venting the admission of grains of sand during thestorms so common in the desert.

Perhaps the most extraordinary part of the forma-tion of the camel lies in its power of storing up


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The Camei. 2 :sufficient water within the stomach to last it for severaldays without again drinking. To understand thisproperly, we must enter somewhat more carefully intothe details of the internal anatomy.Like that of the sheep and other ruminatinganimals, the stomach of the camel is divided into noless than four portions, which, though each is a sepa-rate cavity, are connected with each other. Into thefirst and largest of these, usually known as the paunch,or rumen, the food passes as soon as swallowed, andbefore it is masticated. There it remains until aconvenient opportunity arises for chewing it, when itis returned to the mouth and thoroughly macerated.Before this process takes place, however, it passes intothe second stomach or reticulum, which consists of anumber of polygonal cells, in which the food is formedinto a number of smooth balls. This is the 'honey-comb tripe ' of butchers. Thence it is expelled intothe oesophagus, or gullet, which opens both into thefirst and second stomachs, and is carried by thecontraction of the spiral muscles composing that tubeinto the mouth, where it is masticated at leisure.As soon as it is thoroughly chewed, the food isonce more swallowed, and this time passes directly

through the first and second stomachs into the third,or psa/terium, the walls of which are composed ofvery numerous folds, not unlike the leaves of anuncut book. This is the ' manyplies ' or ' manyplus 'tripe of butchers, presenting a very large surface tothe food which is here prepared for admission to thefourth stomach.

This, which is scientifically known by the name ofabomasiis, and by butchers called the ' red/ is thetrue digestive stomach, the other three being onlyemployed in the prior preparation of the food. Inthis division of the stomach the gastric juice is


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22 Anecdotal Natural History.secreted. In the calf it is called ' rennet,' and is usedfor curdling milk in the preparation of cheese.While the animals of this class, the Ruminants, arestill young, and are fed by their mother's milk, the fourthstomach only is fully developed, the other three not

Arabian Camel.

being required until the animal is old enough to findits nourishment in vegetable substances.This structure is common to all the ruminatinganimals, but in the camel there is found to be a stillfurther development. The polygonal cells which are


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The Camel. 23found in the reticulum, and in part of the paunch, arevery large in proportion, and are surrounded bymuscular bands, enabling them to be closed at will,their contents not mingling with the food containedin the stomach. In these cells is reserved the waterdrunk by the animal, a small quantity of which canbe released and allowed to flow into the stomach asoccasion requires, the rest remaining in the reservoirsuntil needed. By this arrangement a camel is ableto store up sufficient liquid for five or six days, aprovision of the greatest service in crossing the hotarid desert where water is unprocurable.

It would seem that by practice the camel is enabledto store away a larger quantity of water than hadpreviously been the case, for an old and experiencedanimal will contrive to lay up half as large again astock as it could when young and unused to deserttravelling.

It has sometimes happened in a caravan that thewater has run short, and the only alternative has beento kill some of the camels in order to obtain thewater contained in their stomachs. It is then foundto be of a pale greenish colour, and very unpleasantto the taste. Yet it is preferable to dying of thirst, andis really hardly more disagreeable than the watercontained in the leathern bags carried on the camel'sbacks, which is heated by the sun, besides tastingvery strongly of the tar with which the seams aredressed.

This structure presents a singular analogy to theblood-reservoir of the whale, by which it is enabledto spend a considerable time beneath the surface ofthe water. A large supply of blood being purifiedand aerated in the lungs, is stored away in a mass ofblood-vessels set apart for that purpose, whence aportion is introduced into the circulatory apparatus


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24 Anecdotal Natural History.as it is from time to time required. But for thiaprovision the whale could never spend more than twoor three minutes together beneath the surface of thewater, the air or aerated blood being quite as necessaryto its existence as the water is to that of the camel.Of the two species of camel, the Arabian is by farthe more valuable, being both stronger and more en-during of privation and fatigue than its Bactrianrelative. The load of the Arabian camel is usuallyfrom five to six hundred pounds in weight, this beingthe average amount that the creature can carry withease. It is by no means a swift creature, its paceseldom exceeding two miles and a half in the hour,and often not coming up to even that standard. Thereis a swifter breed, usually known as the Dromedary,which is chiefly kept for the saddle, and which cankeep up a pace of eight or nine miles per hour fortwenty hours at a stretch, being to the camel what theracer is to the cart-horse. The motion of the camelis most unpleasant to any one riding it, for it movesboth legs of each side together, progressing at a longswinging trot, and jolting its unfortunate rider in themost unmerciful manner. Novices in camel-ridingalmost always suffer from sickness as badly as if theywere in a Channel steamer on a rough day. With someof the faster dromedaries it is even necessary for therider to swathe his body, from the hips to the arms,in bandages drawn as tightly as possible, before hecommences his journey.There is a mistaken idea that the camel is a verypatient, gentle, and docile animal, and that he is veryeasily managed. In reality, the case is just the reverse,for a more quarrelsome, unruly, and revengeful animalhardly ever existed. No sooner is he unloaded thanhe begins to fight any of his fellows who may be in theneighbourhood ; the loading and unloading are never


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T/ie Camel.

Water Cells in Camel's Stomach


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26 Anecdotal Natural History.performed without much trouble, and many savagegrunts on the part of the camel, and when fairly loaded,his first endeavour is always to get free of his burden,or, failing that, to ruin every article included in it.

Then, at night, when it is time to unload, the cross-grained animal has to be compelled to kneel by mainforce, and his head tied to his fore legs in such amanner that he cannot rise until the proper time. Anexperienced traveller says that he has never yet seen acamel in anything but a bad temper, at any rate, tonidge by appearances.Besides its use as a beast of burden, the camel isof service to its masters in various other ways. Itsmilk, for example, is a standard article of food, andis mostly kept until quite sour, the Arabs consideringit to be then a much greater dainty than when it issweet and fresh. A very inferior kind of butter ischurned from the cream by pouring it backwards andforwards in a goat skin for a certain time.The flesh of the camel is considered a great dainty,but is very seldom eaten, owing to the value of theanimal. Occasionally, however, a rich Arab will killone of his camels, and invite all his friends to a feast,at which the flesh of the slaughtered animal appearsas the crowning delicacy.At certain times of the year the camel sheds itshair, which is collected, and being spun into thread,is used in making garments. Certain portions of itare also utilized for the ' camel's hair pencils ' used byartists.

THE two-humped or Bactrian camel, which is foundthroughout Central Asia and China, though nowalmost entirely used for the saddle, was at one timeput to a very curious use. The East India Companyformed a regiment of these animals, each being pro-


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The Cavicl. 27vided with a couple of swivel guns, placed betweenthe humps, and managed by the rider. This companywas known as the camel artillery, and was sometimesof considerable service.The colour of the Bactrian camel is darker than

VBactrian Camel.

that of its Arabian relative, varying from dark brownto a sooty black in hue.THOUGH the true camels are exclusively confined

to the Old World, a closely allied genus, comprising


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28 Anecdotal Natural History.four species, is found in America. These animals arepopularly known by the name of Lamas, and differ inmany respects from the true camels.In the first place, the toes of the foot, instead ofbeing connected, as in the camel, are separated, andcan be extended at will. This is on account of therocky and mountainous nature of the localities whichthey inhabit, and in which the power of moving thetoes is necessary in order to give them a firm foothold.All the Llamas are of very much less size than thecamel, the Guanaco, the largest, not standing muchmore than three feet six inches at the shoulder. Thehair is long and woolly, and the general aspect of theanimals is remarkably like that of an overgrown sheep.The four species are the Vicugna, the Guanaco, theYamma, and the Alpaca. The first of these is foundin the most mountainous parts of Northern Chili andBatavia, and is valuable on account of its skin, whichcauses it to be much sought after. In other ways it isentirely useless, as from its wild and untameable natureit cannot be employed as a beast of burden. Incolour it is brown, approaching to grey beneath ; theheight is about two feet six inches at the shoulder.The Guanaco, which is found in the more northernregions of Patagonia, is of a reddish-brown colour, theears and hind legs being grey, and stands about threefeet and a half at the shoulder. It lives in herds,varying from ten to forty or more in number, and likethe sheep, under the guidance of a single leader, whoseorders are always implicitly obeyed. Should thisleader be killed or trapped, the flock seem perfectlybewildered, and wander vaguely from place to place,laying themselves open to easy capture by the hunters.The sense of curiosity is very strongly developed inthe Guanaco, which, though naturally a wary andtimid animal, can be brought within a short distance


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The Camel. 29of a hunter if he lies on his back on the ground andkicks his legs in the air. It is able to swim well, andhas often been known to take voluntarily to the waterand swim from one island to another.The Yamma, or Llama, which was formerly used as

a beast of burden by the Spaniards in America, is of avariegated brown colour, with long and slender legs.It is now little used in any way, the sheep havingreplaced it with regard to the wool supply, and its fleshbeing dark and coarse and seldom eaten.The fourth species, the Alpaca, or Paco, as it issometimes termed, is, together with the last-mentionedanimal, sometimes thought to be only a domesticatedvariety of the Guanaco. It is a valuable creature onaccount of its wool, which is long and silky. A herdof Llamas was even imported into Australia, where itflourished fnirly well, yielding a large supply of thevaluable wool.


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No. TIL BATS.

IN almost every temperate part of the world, butmore especially abounding in tropical climates,are found the curious creatures which are popularlyknown as bats, and scientifically as cheiroptera, anappropriate word signifying ' hand-winged ' animals.Australia, however, must be excepted, as the wholeof the Australian mammalia belong to the Marsupials.It is only of late years that their proper position inthe scale of creation has been discovered. Before thattime, some of the wildest conjectures were made onthe subject. As the creatures possessed the powerof flight, some authors placed them among the birds,entirely overlooking the differences in structure,which should at once have pointed out their placeamong the mammals. Some, considering them to bequadrupeds, because they were able to walk uponthe ground, though after a rather clumsy fashion,imagined that they must form a connecting linkbetween the mammals and the birds ; and it was notuntil later discoverers carefully investigated theiranatomy that the real position of the bats was arrivedat, namely, just after the monkey tribe, and beforethe cats.The appearance of the bat is familiar to almost all,the strange membranous wings, enabling their ownerto pursue their aerial evolutions with an ease andrapidity not exceeded by any bird, being the firstpoints which arrest the attention.


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Batv 3 1Though possessing an almost equal power of flightwith the birds, the wings of the bat are by no meansconstructed upon the same principle. Instead of

feathers, the wing is composed merely of a membranetightly stretched between the bones of the fingers,and extending along the sides as far as the tail. Inorder to fully understand this structure, we mustexamine the modifications of the skeleton whiclirender it possible.In the first place, the framework of the wing ofthe bat is formed merely by the bones of the arm andhand, which, more especially those farthest from thebody, are elongated to a wonderful extent, the middlefinger being actually of greater length than the wholehead and body of the animal. The only exceptionis the thumb, which is very short, and armed with astrong curved claw.Not only are the bones of the fingers elongated,but those of the palm of the hand, or ' metacarpals,'are drawn out to an astonishing length, that of thethumb being excepted, as above mentioned.

If we spread our own fingers widely, we shall seethat their bases are connected by a fold of skin whichis hardly perceptible when the hand is closed. Nowand then, it is extended as far as the first joint, andthere are many of the mammalia in which it is stillfurther developed. The seals which fly through thewater have the hand membrane greatly extended,and other water-living mammalia have it developedin a lesser degree.Then, the flattened skin-fold of the flanks is notpeculiar to the bat tribe. It can be traced in thecommon squirrel, and in the flying lemurs, flyingsquirrels, and flying opossums a similar structure isseen.

In the lower part of the arm, that from the elbow


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32 Anecdotal Natural History.to the wrist, there is practically one bone only, insteadof two, as is usually the case, the reason of which isvery apparent. It is owing to the two bones of thearm that we are enabled to turn the limb inwards andoutwards at the elbow. If the bat were possessed ofthe same power, it would be impossible for the wingto strike the air with the steady beat necessary toflight, for the resistance of the air, turning, the armsideways, would allow the wing to cleave through itsideways, and the power of the stroke would thus beof no avail. As it is, however, being one bone only,the bat is unable to turn the limb, which thereforealways presents its full surface to the air.The bones of the hand, too, cannot be clenched asin a fist, but possess a side motion only, enablingthe wing, when not in use, to be folded closely againstthe body.The membrane which forms the wing is merely aprolongation of the skin of the flanks and otherparts of the body, stretched tightly between thefinger-bones, and extending as far as or farther than thetail, which, in the insect-eating species, is included init, serving, like the tails of birds, as a natural rudderby which the animal can direct its course. In thefruit-eating bats, however, where so great agility inthe air is not necessary, the tail is left partly orentirely free, and is much used in climbing andwalking.The membrane is a double one, very thick in thoseparts contiguous to the body, but so delicate near theedges, that by the aid of a microscope the bloodcorpuscles can be seen passing along the vessels thatsupply the wing.Though the powers of flight of the British bat arefully equal to those of many birds, they have never beenknown to migrate from one country to another, and


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Bats. 33it is very doubtful whether they possess the ability.For bats have none of the large auxiliary air-cells foundin birds, acting as a sort of reservoir, and their bonesare not permeated with air - cells as are those of thefeathered migrant.There are, however, several bats belonging to thegenus Mycteris, found in Africa, which possess asomewhat similar apparatus, though not constructedupon quite the same principles.The skin is very loosely fastened to the body, afew membranous threads being the only bonds. Thespace between this loose skin and the body is utilizedas an air reservoir, and is filled as follows. At thebottom of the cheek-pouches on either side is founda small opening, which can be closed at the will ofthe animal, and the air preventedfrom escaping. When the batwishes to inflate its body, it closesthe mouth, and forces the air fromthe lungs through the cheek-pass-ages into the vacant space. Tosuch an extent does it inflate itself,that it loses all resemblance to abat, and looks merely like a roundball of fur provided with head andlimbs.The objects of this curious struc-iture are not known, besides theevident one of increasing thebuoyancy of the animal.The shoulder-blades of the batare enormously large, almost cover-ing the whole of the ribs. Thesealso are large and strong, and thebreast-bone, besides being of un-usual length, is furnished with a

Keeled Breast-bone ofBat.


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34 -A nccdotal Natural History.central ridge, or keel, like that of birds, for the betterattachment of the powerful muscles which work thewings. The rest of the skeleton is of the very slightestdescription, in order that no unnecessary weight shallhamper the movements.The feet are very small in proportion to the rest ofthe body, and are furnished with long curved claws,which are of assistance in walking, but are chieflyused in assuming the extraordinary position of rest,when the bat hangs head downwards, from some con-venient ledge or beam, merely hooking itself onby means of the claws. In this strange and, onewould think, extremely uncomfortable attitude thebat always rests, and passes the winter in a torpidcondition.It was remarked many years ago, that the bat pos-sessed a most wonderful power of avoiding any ob-stacles that presented themselves in its path, and thatitcould pass among the branches of trees, even wherethe twigs were thickest, without coming in contact withthem. In order to ascertain whether this was alwaysthe case, a number of strings were stretched in adarkened place, and several bats let loose amongthem ; yet it was found that the animals avoidedthem with the greatest ease. Thinking that this powermight be the result of an unusually keen eyesight, oneinvestigator, named Spallanzani, in a very cruel experi-ment, put out the eyes of a bat, and again let it fly,but was surprised to see that the creature avoidedthe objects exactly as before. It was then thoughtfor many years that the bat possessed a sixth senseunknown to man, and it was not until comparativelylately that the true secret was discovered.A careful examination of the membranes of thewings and ears showed that they were intersected byexceedingly delicate nerves, and it was found that


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36 A necdotal Natural History.the bat was thus made aware of the neighbourhoodof an obstacle, and enabled to avoid it accordingly.The fur of the bat is of a very soft and silkynature, and the hair is a most beautiful object underthe microscope. It is densely clothed with scalessomewhat resembling those of a butterfly's wing,which in some species are arranged in circles roundthe hair, a short distance from each other. The wholeobject bears a wonderfully strong resemblance to thewell-known mare's-tail plant.

Easy and graceful as are the movements of the batwhilst disporting itself in the air, it is a very differentcreature when attempting to walk upon a levelsurface. Its mode of progression can at best only bedescribed as an awkward waddle, the creature hitch-ing itself along by means of the claw at the extremityof one of the wings, giving a kind of tumble forwards,at the same time advancing the corresponding foot ;the same process is then repeated with the otherwing.In the illustration representing the bats in a cave,the extraordinary attitude assumed in walking is wellshown. The long finger-joints are pressed together,their tips projecting on either side of the back. Theweight of the body rests on the wrist, and the creaturepulls itself forwards by hitching the claw of the thumbupon any roughness of the surface on which it walks.Bats are remarkably averse to taking to the wingfrom a level surface, and always prefer to climb tosome little height from which they can throw them-selves into the air. This is evidently the reason forthe strange and apparently uncomfortable attitudeadopted when at rest, the animal being then in themost convenient position for launching itself into theair should there be any signs of danger.

It has been sometimes said that the bat is unable


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38 A necdotal Natnral History.to rise from the ground, but such is not the case ;and should the creature be hard pressed, it does nothesitate to do so.

It is able to climb with tolerable facility, andalways does so with the tail uppermost, making itsway up by the aid of the hind feet, the long claws ofwhich are inserted into any convenient crevice inorder to gain a foothold.The food of all the British bats consists of thevarious small insects which fly about dusk, and atthat time people the air in myriads. The appetiteof the animals is almost insatiable, as may be gatheredfrom the fact that a specimen of the short-eared bat,lately kept in captivity by ourselves, consumed dailyfrom forty to fifty blue-bottle flies of the very largestdimensions, rejecting only the wings, and in a fewcases the legs. Even upon this allowance, whichseldom occupied it for more than twenty minutes, itdid not thrive, but gradually wasted away, and finallydied.The bat was one which had been found in a hollowtree, and suffering from an injury to one of the wings,which entirely prevented it from flying. It was keptunder a glass shade, into which the blue-bottles wereintroduced. It never took the slightest notice of theinsects until nearly dusk, allowing them to crawlover all parts of its body without manifesting theleast signs of activity. As soon, however, as the daybegan to close in, it was on the alert, and imme-diately set to work devouring the flies which had beenprocured for it.This it did in the following manner :

Resting upon the floor of its cage, it remainedmotionless until a fly settled within a few inches.It then began, by an almost imperceptible move-ment, to approach the insect, and when within


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Bats. 39an inch or so of it, with a sudden spring, clutchedthe insect between the wings, and holding themtightly together, bent down its head, and swallowedits captive. If a fly happened to take flight before thebat was near enough to make its spring, it merelyremained motionless until another presented itself.

It wasfiercely

voracious when it once began tofeed, and scarcely had one fly been swallowed thanthe bat was eagerly looking out for another. Its atti-tude when thus engaged strongly reminded us of thatof the toad or the green crab when hunting after prey.Though as a rule a nocturnal creature, owing to

the habits of its prey, the bat may occasionally beseen flying in broad daylight, and sometimes, in theearly spring, even hawking for the insects which areenjoying the warmth of the sun. In these cases, it isprobable that the bat, having for the first time left theretreat where it had passed the winter in a torpid condi-tion, has felt the want of food, and knowing instinct-ively that no insects would be on the wing at sunsetso early in the year, has so far altered its usual habitsas to prosecute its search by day instead of by night.

Most bats, however, resort to dark and retiredhiding-places during the day, and in some parts ofthe world there are large caves which are celebratedas haunts of the bats. When travellers visit thesecaves, the guide will fire a gun into the cave for thepurpose of startling the bats, which come rushing outin such numbers that unwary visitors have been fairlyknocked down by them.In Great Britain alone, there are nineteen cata-logued species of bats, many of which, however, arerare, and very seldom seen. One of the commonestis the Long-eared Bat (Plecotus communis), whichabounds throughout the British Islands. It derivesits popular title from the great length of its ears,


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4O Anecdotal Natural History.which stand out for some distance from the head,and which are thrown at every moment into a varietyof graceful folds. In consequence of its gentletemper, this bat is easily tamed, and is often kept asa pet, coming when called by those with whom it isfamiliar.

Another of the British bats is the Noctule, orGreat Bat (Noctulinia altivolans), which is remarkablefor the great height at which it usually flies. Thespecific name, altivolam, refers to this habit. It isthe largest but one of the bats found in this country,being almost three inches in length from head to tail,while the spread of the wings is nearly fourteeninches. Its cry is remarkably keen, and, like thatof some other species, closely resembles the squeakwhich can be produced by rubbing two keys sharplytogether. So shrill is the cry of the bat, that tomany, among them even practised musicians, it isperfectly inaudible, the note produced being tooattenuated to make any impression upon the ear.A curious development of the nasal organ is foundin the Horse-shoe Bat (Rhinolophus Ferrum-equinuni),

which is also a nativeof this country. Itconsists of a mem-brane, commencing atthe lips, surroundingthe nose, and project-ing upwards for some"

j.distance. Im-

mediately behind it isa second membrane,placed on the fore-Head of Horse-shoe Bat. head, and sharply

pointed. It has been thought that the object of thestructure is to increase the delicacy of the sense of


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Bats. 4 1smell. The same apparatus is found in the VampireBats, and is there developed to even a greater extent.In other parts of the world, and especially intropical climates, are found many other species ofbat, some of them reaching the tremendous; dimen-sions of nearly five feet in stretch of wing. This isthe case in the well-known Kalong of Java (Pteropusrubricollis}, which is often known as the Flying Fox,or Roussette. This, instead of feeding upon animalfood, finds its subsistence in fruit, and is often thecause of terrible damage to the agriculturist. Insome districts, indeed, where the bat is more thanusually abundant, it is even necessary to envelope thewhole of the fruit in a bamboo network, in order tosecure it for human consumption. By way of acounterbalancing advantage, however, the flesh of theKalong is eaten in many places, and is even con-sidered a great delicacy.A curious point about the Kalongs is, that they donot trouble themselves to find a dark and retiredspot in which to pass the daytime, but hang in largeclusters from the boughs of various trees, especiallythose of the fig tribe, where they are hardly recog-nisable as bats, resembling clusters of fruit more thananything else.

Perhaps the most widely known and famous of thebat tribe is the Vampire Bat ( Vainpyrus spectrum} ofSouth America. It is by no means one of thelargest of the family, its total length being six orseven inches only, while the spread of wings is notmore than a couple of feet.The blood-sucking propensities of this animal arewell known, men and animals alike suffering fromits attacks.

Settling upon its victim when plunged in slumber,it perforates with its sharp teeth any exposed portion


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42 Anccdotul Natural History.of the uody, generally selecting a toe as the point 01operations, when it attacks a human being, and thensucking the blood from the wound until it is thoroughlysatiated, a condition which seldom ensues until aconsiderable quantity of blood has been abstracted.The bite causes no pain at the time, and very littleafterwards, the only ill effects arising from the loss ofso large a quantity of blood.The Vampire seems rather capricious in its tastes,for while one person may suffer from its attacks nightafter night, another individual, reposing perhaps onlytwo or three feet distant, may leave his feet uncoveredwith perfect impunity, the bats never attempting tointerfere with them. The late Mr. Waterton was oneof these fortunate individuals. When travelling inBritish Guiana, with the hope of ascertaining exactlythe mode of the vampire's attack, and the effects ofthe bite, he slept for several months in an open loft,purposely leaving his feet exposed. Yet, though thebats were frequently seen hovering over his hammock,and a young Indian, who also slept there, wasrepeatedly bitten, he was never attacked.

Cattle are great victims to the ravages of the vam-pires, which often reduce them to a mere mass ofskin and bone by the frequency of their attacks. Thewound is usually inflicted upon the flanks of theanimal, just where the teeth or feet of the victimcannot reach it ; and in cases where there is pressurefrom harness or other causes, often leads to consider-able damage.None of our British species are capable of harm,the teeth being too small to produce any impressionupon the skin. Among the lower classes, neverthe-less, bats are held in the greatest dread, and manya countryman would as soon handle an enraged viperas one of these harmless little creatures.


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No. IV. THE MOLE.ONE of the most useful, and, at the same time,one of the least appreciated of the wholeanimal creation, is found in the Mole (Talpa Europ&a],which, in spite of the inestimable benefit it confersupon agriculturists, is ranked by them as one oftheir worst enemies, and persecuted accordingly.We can hardly pass through a meadow in manyparts of the country without noticing a number ofupright sticks planted in various parts of the field,to many ot which is suspended a mole which hasbeen captured and slain by one of the professionaltrappers employed by the farmer. Now, if thefarmer had taken the trouble to look below thesurface, and traced the mole through its day's work,he would have found that, instead of damaging hisfields and ruining his crops, the animal was in realityrendering him services which could hardly be procuredfor money, and that instead of untiring persecutionand ruthless extermination, it ought to be protectedand encouraged to the utmost of his power.

But, as with many other almost equally usefulcreatures, so it is with the mole, which, placed inthe category of ' vermin,' falls under the ban of thefarmer, and pays with its life the penalty of humanignorance.To us who inhabit the upper world, it seems astrange and comiortless life, this of the mole, spentin its cold, dark tunnels beneath the earth. \Ve can


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44 Anecdotal Natural History.hardly conceive a more wretched existence than onepassed in an underground dungeon, damp and cold,and never cheered by a ray of sunlight. Yet ourpity would be wasted were we to bestow it upon themole, for no puima) is better suited to its own modeof life, or more carefully adapted to obtain enjoymentfrom its apparently unpleasant surroundings.

Common Mole, and White or Albino Variety.Indeed, the mole is quite as unhappy when takenfrom the darkness, damp, and cold where it lives, aswe should feel if placed in a subterranean dungeonand deprived of the light, dryness, and warmth whichare essential to our comfort.In every detail of its structure, we see how wellthe mole is suited to the life it has to lead.


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The Mole. 45Cylindrical in form, its pointed snout and powerfuldigging-claws enable it to burrow through the soilwith wonderful rapidity, while every sense is modifiedto suit the circumstances of its existence.

Like those of all the rest of the Insectivora, orinsect-devouring animals, to which group it belongs,the teeth of the mole are formed for biting andseizing prey alone, and not for masticating the food,a few sharp pecking bites being the only preparationfor swallowing it. It is by this structure of the teeth,also, that these animals are enabled to grasp andretain the struggling prey.In order to fit the mole for its burrowing life, thestrength of the fore-parts is developed to a wonderfuldegree.The bones of the fore-limbs are stout, ridged, andconsiderably bowed, always a sign of great strength.The shoulder-blade, in particular, is of extraordinarylength, in comparison with those of other animals,even that of the tiger or lion, either of which creaturescan strike an ox to the ground with a single blow ofits paw, fading into comparative insignificance besideit. In fact, if the mole were enlarged to the sizeof the tiger, it would be quite as active, by far thestronger and more terrible animal of the two.This extra length of shoulder-blade is necessaryfor the attachment of the large and powerful muscleswhich work the fore-limbs, and which, when the skinis stripped off, can be seen lying in thick masses,almost as hard and strong as so much steel wire.

With this wonderful development of muscularpower, it is no wonder that the burrowing powersot the mole should be so great, seeing, besides, whatefficient digging instruments it possesses in its fore-paws. These are set obliquely with the body, inorder to secure a larger scope for their movements.


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46 Anecdotal Natural History.They are large and powerful, not covered with furlike the rest of the body, and are furnished withlong, curved, and rather flattened claws, which canpenetrate the hardest earth.These paws occasionally fulfil other offices thanthose of digging, for the mole is by no means a badswimmer, and is often known to cross brooks andsmall streams, using the paws as paddles.

It is scarcely possible to select two creatures whichpresent stronger contrasts to each other in point ofstructure than the moles and the bats, both in-sectivorous, but the one formed for flying in the air,and the other for burrowing in the ground.In both animals the hind-limbs are but littlerequired, and therefore they are feeble and compara-tively insignificant, the chief distinction being in thedevelopment of the fore-limbs.

Beginning with the shoulder-blade, or ' scapula,'we find it large in both animals, but differentlydeveloped, in the bats being wide, thin, and coveringmany of the ribs, reaching as far as the pelvis.In the mole, the scapula is long, narrow, verystrong, and projecting upwards so as to affcrdattachment for the powerful muscles of the arm.The other bones are shortened and thickened inorder to carry the enormous digging claws, and aredeeply ridged for the attachment of the tendons whichwork the joints. In the bats they are attenuated tothe last degree, and only one of them is capable ofbearing a slight, hooked claw, solely employed lordragging itselt clumsily over a level surface.Yet the bones are the same in each case, andwhen the creature is dissected, the exquisitely perfectadaptation of each bone to its own office cannot butexcite our highest wonder and admiration.In the accompanying illustration the skeleton o{


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The Mole. 47the fore-limbs is given, so that the reader maycompare the bones with those of the bat, which havealready been described and figured.The structure of the long and flexible snout iswell calculated to aid the mole both in digging andalso in ascertaining the nature of the soil in theplaces which it selects for its burrows ; for, thoughsensitive and possessing a keen sense of touch, it isof great service in shovelling out the loosened eartha task for which it is further suited in some speciesby the possession of a small auxiliary bone in thetip. This auxiliary bone is also found in the snout

Common Mole. Bones of Fore-limbs.of the pig, which in its wild state procures a con-siderable portion of its food by means of the diggingpowers of that member.While the animal is living, the snout is of apinkish colour, and of a very elastic nature ; it is acurious fact that, after death, it becomes hard andwrinkled, and not even the most experienced taxi-dermist can restore it to its pristine appearance.Even the fur of the mole is arranged in such amanner as not to impede its progress while passingeither backwards or forwards along its burrow. In


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48 Anecdotal Natural History.order to attain this result, each hair is finest nearestthe body, gradually increasing in thickness towardsthe tip, and is set perfectly upright, in order that itsresistance may not impede the animal in itsmovements.When washed perfectly clean, and viewed in agood light, the fur is seen to be beautifully iridescent,all the colours of the rainbow playing over it insuccession. This is still more strongly the case inthe changeable mole of South Africa (Chrysochlorisholosericea), which will be presently mentioned.

Attempts have been made to put the skin of themole to various uses, only one of which, however,seems to have met with any particular success. Thissolitary instance is in the manufacture of purses, acustom much in vogue among the peasantry in someparts of the country. The operation is simplicityitself, the head and legs of the animal being takenoff, the skin of the rest of the body dried, and the bagthus formed being closed by a string round the neck.In Wiltshire these purses are in very common use.From the great warmth of the fur of the mole, it hasoften been thought that it might be utilized in themanufacture of garments ; and the late Mr. FrankBuckland, always fond of trying experiments inanything relating to natural history, procured anumber of the skins, and had a waistcoat made fromthem.

However, he was never able to wear it, for tworeasons the first being that it was even too warm,so much so as to be almost unendurable ; and thesecond, that it was impossible to get rid of theunpleasant odour which characterizes the mole, andwhich persistently clung to the skins for years after theyhad been separated from the bodies of their owners.So strong is this odour, and so long does it retain


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The Mole. 49its power after the death of the animal, that theprofessional mole- catchers are accustomed, beforesetting each trap, to rub their hands with the bodyof one of their victims, which they carry with themfor that purpose, in order that the wary animals maynot detect the human scent about the trap, and bewarned of their danger accordingly.With the single exception of sight, the senses ofthe mole are developed to a very considerable extent.

Its hearing is proverbially acute. For instance, inShakespeare's play of The Tempest, the deformedslave Caliban advises his friends, when they are aboutto rob Prospero : ' Pray you, tread softly, that theblind mole may not hear a footfall,' a phrase whichhas since become almost a household word.

It is not to be supposed that this sharpness ofhearing is entirely owing to the delicate structure ofthe mole's ear ; for if it were to live in the open air,it is doubtful whether it would be able to hear betterthan any other animal. The fact is, that the earthis a very good conductor of sound, as may be easilyproved by laying the ear upon the surface of a highroad, when the noise of an approaching carriage maybe distinctly heard while it is yet two or three milesdistant.

Here, again, we have an instance in Shakespeare.In Romeo and Juliet, Act v. Scene iii., occur thelines ;

' Under yon yew-tree lay thee all along,Holding thine ear close to the hollow ground ;So shall no foot upon the churchyard tread,Being loose, unfirm, with digging up of graves,But thou shalt hear it.'

The sense, too, of scent is particularly strong,enabling the mole to detect the presence of theinsects and \\orms upon which it preys.D


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50 Anecdotal Natural HistoryThe sense of touch, also, is highly developed,more especially in the snout, which the animal uses

to examine the nature of the soil into which it intendsto burrow. If a mole on the surface of the groundwishes to sink a fresh tunnel, it may often be seenrunning to and fro, and trying various places withthe snout, until it has settled upon one to its liking.Although the senses of scent, touch, and hearingare so extremely sensitive, that of sight is little morethan rudimentary. On casually examining a mole,the observer would be unable to detect the presenceof eyes, which are deeply buried in the fur, whence,however, they can be protruded at the will of theowner. The creature can be forced to expose themby suddenly dipping it into a pail of water, when themole, alarmed at the unexpected immersion, instinc-tively protrudes them from the mass of fur withwhich they are usually covered, looking like verysmall black beads. Even when thus exposed, thevision is very imperfect, and is, indeed, hardly neces-sary in the subterranean existence which the animalleads.The FOOD of the mole consists chiefly of worms,

grubs, and other small creatures which it findsbeneath the surface of the earth. By the meredestruction of the dreaded ' wireworm ' grubs, andthe larvae of the common cockchafer, which so oftendevastate the crops, it renders no small service tothe farmer, and this alone should protect it from thepersecution to which it is so constantly subjected.

Although it finds the greater part of its food inthese creatures, it by no means despises prey of alarger nature, and will eagerly devour any small birdor mouse which it may happen to meet with.

Its voracity is something extraordinary ; for if keptas a pet, it is one man's work to keep it supplied


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The Mole. 5 iwith worms. It is almost impossible to describe theferocity with which it devours its prey.As soon as a worm is put into the cage, it detectsthe presence of food as if by magic, springs upon itsvictim, and rapidly forces it into its mouth with thefore-paws, giving meanwhile a series of rapid crunch-ing bites, and causing the unfortunate worm to dis-appear with marvellous celerity.No sooner is the first worm swallowed than it ison the look-out for a second, which is speedily dis-posed of in a like manner. So voracious is its appetite,that it is said to be unable to endure a fast of morethan three hours. Among the peasantry it is commonlyreported that the animal alternately works for threehours and sleeps for three hours, and this seems verylikely to be the case.The mole seems to suffer greatly from thirst, andalways digs a series of wells in different parts of hisburrows, to which it can repair when in need ofmoisture.The passions of the mole are all of the fiercestnature, and when enraged, it seems utterly devoid offear, attacking an enemy far superior in size to itself,and fighting with the greatest ferocity until deathputs an end to the scene. One mole was evenknown to turn upon the individual who was holdingit, and inflict a severe wound, refusing to quit itshold until almost killed by the teeth of its victim, noother means proving of avail.

If, by any chance, two strange moles should happento meet in a burrow, there is but one invariable ter-mination to their encounter. They fight, and theconqueror devours its vanquished foe.The rather unsightly although useful ' molehills/which are so plentiful in many places, serve to showthe course which has been followed by the mole, the


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52 A necdotal Natural History.hillocks being merely the superabundant earth whichit is obliged to throw out at short intervals. Thesetunnels mostly terminate in the 'fortress,' as it istermed, which is a really fine specimen of excavation,almost attaining the rank of architecture.The situation selected is generally at the roots ofa tree or large bush, where the ground is unlikely togive way above it.The general plan of the structure is as follows :In the centre is a rather large circular chamber withexits at various places, which lead into a gallery sur-rounding it Above this is a second circular gallery,communicating with the lower one by no less thanfive passages.A large passage opening into the high road, isdriven down from the lower gallery, and a large seriesof tunnels, radiating on all sides, and all communicat-ing with the lower gallery, are finally constructed.

It will thus be seen that the mole, if chased by anenemy able to follow it along the tunnels, can takerefuge in the fortress, pass through the centre chamber,and escape by one of the passages on the oppositeside, leaving its foe bewildered in the complicatedmaze of tunnels. The reader must not, however,think that every fortress contains the whole of thesepassages and galleries; and, indeed, it is very doubtfulwhether any individual fortress contains both the cir-cular galleries and all the connecting passages.The central cavity is usually filled with a quantityof moss, dead leaves, grass, etc., and is used as abed-chamber by the mole during the colder seasonsof the year. In warmer weather, however, it generallytakes up its abode in one of the ordinary hillocks.

Generally at some little distance from the fortress,the female mole constructs her nest, which she buildsin seme large hillock, and lines with moss or dried


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The Mole. 53grass. In this she brings up her young, usually fromfour to six in number, and provides for them untilthey are able to take care of themselves. Some goodexamples of the mole's nest may be seen in themuseum at Liverpool.The colour of the mole is usually of a blackish grey,somewhat paler upon the under side, although it variesto a considerable extent. Some specimens have beenfound of a pure white, and pale varieties are by nomeans uncommonly taken.

Putting on one side the immense benefit conferredupon the farmer by the wholesale destruction of'wireworms,' the larvae of the cockchafer and daddy-long-legs, which, feeding upon the roots of the crops,cause wholesale devastation, the mole is of the greatestservice to the agriculturist in more ways than one.His complicated network of subterranean passages,daily and hourly extended, not only forms a nearlyperfect system of subsoil drainage, which could withdifficulty be equalled by human labour, but the freshearth brought continually to the surface from a con-siderable depth below the reach of the plough orspade, acts almost like manure in increasing the fer-tility of the land, and renders it capable of nourishingthe crops with which it is planted. All that is neces-sary in a mole-inhabited meadow is to apply a rake tothe heaps of earth, and spread them evenly over allparts of the field, in order that every yard shall receiveits due share.

In yet another way does the mole prove himselfthe friend of the farmer, for by means of the loosenedearth the air is enabled to reach the roots of theplants, where it is so much needed, and where itwould have little chance of reaching were it not forthe beneficent and untiring labours of the mole.With such claims upon the farmer, it seems strange


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54 si necdotal Natural History.that the habits of the animal should be so littleunderstood and appreciated, and we can only hopefor the time when the spread of zoological knowledgeshall have shown that both this, and many others ofthe so-called ' vermin,' instead of being persecuted,should be protected and encouraged to the utmostof our power.TURNING to foreign countries, we find several verynear relations of our common mole, some of which

present very great peculiarities both in habits andform. One of the most remarkable of these animalsis the Chrysochlore, Shining Mole, or ChangeableMole (Chrysochloris Jwlosericea), found chiefly in theCape of Good Hope. As before mentioned, the furof this creature possesses a brilliant metallic radiance,changing in various lights, and far superior to that ofour British example, beautiful though that is. Thescientific title is singularly appropriate, the nameChrysochloris being formed from two Greek words sig-nifying gold-green ; and Jiolosericea, i.e. wholly silken,referring to the texture of the hairs.

In other ways, also, the Chrysochlore is worthy ofnotice. The digging paws are formed after a verysingular fashion, being provided with four toes, thelast of which is but of small size. The remainingthree, however, are furnished with very long andpowerful claws, the middle one especially being ofsurprising dimensions.The jaws of this species are constructed after a per-fectly unique fashion, a gap equal to the width of atooth being left between each ; so that when thejaws are closed, the teeth of each jaw fit into the in-terstices of the opposite one like those of a steeltrap.In the skeleton, also, are found several peculiarities.


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The Mole. 55one being that there are no less than nineteen pairsof ribs. The tail is entirely wanting.Another of the foreign moles, and one of a veryextraordinary appearance, is the Radiated or Star-nosed Mole (As-iroinycescristatus\sometimes knownas the Condylure,which is found inCanada and theUnited States.

In this animalthe tipofthesnout Snout of Cond y |ure -is modified into a number of pink, fleshy rays, branch-ing off in every direction, and sometimes being as manyas twenty in number. These rays are retractile at will,and are supposed to aid the animal in its delicate senseof touch, and in procuring the worms, etc., on which itfeeds. Another curious point about the Condylure isthe size of its tail, which sometimes exceeds two anda half inches in length. The name Condylure is formedfrom two Greek words, the former signifying a knoband the other a tail. It was given to the animal by aperson who had only seen the dry skin and not theliving creature. Except for its great comparative length,the tail has little about it that is remarkable. But,when the animal is dead, the skin contracts so forciblyover the vertebrae of the tail, that the organ lookssomething like a row of roundish beads strung uponwire and covered with skin.


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No. V. THE CAT TRIBE.PART I.

INCLUDED among the members of the cat tribeor Felicia, as they are scientifically termed wefind many of the largest and most powerful of allthe Carnivora, or flesh-eating animals. The lordlylion, the fierce and savage tiger, the crafty leopard,and many others, all belong to this family, which,Australia excepted, is spread over the greater part ofthe world

Intended by nature for an active and predaciousexistence, the structure of the Cats is pre-eminentlyadapted to suit their mode of life, and the wholeform is a marvellous combination of strength, light-ness, and activity.Take the lion, for example. Who would think thatan animal of such ponderous size and weight, who canstrike an ox to the ground with a single blow of hismighty paw, could glide noiselessly through the thickestjungle and overtake an antelope in fair chase ?Let us now proceed to examine this wonderfulstructure in detail, and afterwards to devote a shortspace to each of the more prominent animals of thegroup.We will first examine the skeleton, beginning withthe skull.The first point which strikes the attention is the bonyridge which runs along the crest of the skull, andwhich chiefly serves as the attachment for the powerfulmuscles which act upon the jaws. Inside the skull a


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58 Anecdotal Natural History.second ridge of bone is found, partly separating thetwo great divisions of the brain from one another.The object of this ridge has never been satisfactorilyproved, but it is thought to be of service in guardingthe brain from the severe shocks to which it mightotherwise be subjected from the leaps and bounds ofthe animal.The teeth of the cats, like those of all other exclu-sively flesh-eating animals, are formed for biting andtearing the prey alone, and not for masticating it beforeit is swallowed. None of them are found with the flatsurface necessary for grinding the food, and, evenwere such teeth possessed, the construction of theiaws would render impossible the side motion neces-sary for mastication. Upon watching a cat devouringher food, it will be seen that she bolts it in large lumps,swallowing it by a succession of sharp, pecking bites.

Passing to other parts of the skeleton, it will benoticed that the two first vertebra are provided with asimilar enlargement to that of the skull, for the betterattachment of the muscles.The bones of the limbs are of great strength, as isnecessary for the rapid and powerful motions of theanimals. The muscles are particularly hard andtough, seeming almost like bands of iron, and turningthe edge of the sharpest knives.The claws, which are the chief weapons of theanimal, are long, sharp, and strongly curved.All the animals of the tribe being fUgitigraa'es, orthose which walk upon the tips of the toes alone, itmight be thought that the points of the claws wouldbe constantly worn down by the friction with theground, and thus rendered useless for purposes ofoffence.

In order to prevent this, there is a beautiful me-chanism which, when the paw rests upon the ground,


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The Cat Tribe. 59withdraws the claws into the sheaths provided forthem, and protects them from injury by the ground ;

Claw of Lion, sheathed.as soon, however, as the paw is thrust forward tostrike or grasp the prey, they are mechanically thrownout ready for use, the tendons being stretched, andtherefore pulling them forwards.

Claw of L'on, protruded.Most people have had their hand licked by a

favourite dog as a mark of affection, and know thathis tongue is wet and smooth. Not so that of thecat, which is comparatively dry, and provided with anumber of sharp, file-like points, pointing backwards,and serving to scrape every particle of flesh from thebones of a slaughtered animal.


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60 Anecdotal Natural History.So rough is the tongue of the domestic cat that it

will cause pain to a delicate skin, while the largeranimals of the tribe will draw blood almost im-mediately.There is a well-known story of a gentleman whoowned a pet lion, of which he was very fond, and withwhich he often indulged in a game of play. One day,whilst lying asleep upon a couch, the lion came up,and seeing one of his master's hands hanging outsidethe covering, began to lick it, just as a pet dog wouldunder the circumstances.

In a short time the rough tongue cut through theskin and drew blood, which was greedily licked up bythe animal, the pain at the same time awaking hismaster.No sooner did he attempt to withdraw his handthan the creature uttered an angry growl, whereuponthe gentleman, knowing the danger in which he wasplaced, and that a moment's hesitation might seal hisfate, drew with his other hand a loaded pistol frombeneath the pillow and shot his favourite through thehead, as his only chance of escape.

All the feet of the cats are provided with soft, fleshypads, which enable them to move noiselessly fromplace to place, and also serve to break the fall fromthe long leaps and bounds of the animals.Another point to be noticed, too, is to be foundin the whiskers.

These are provided at their roots with an extremelysensitive nerve, so that the slightest touch is at oncefelt by the animal. Those springing from the sidesof the mouth, too, are of exactly the same width as thebody, so that the animal is able to tell, even in thedark, whether it can pass through a narrow orifice ornot.

Having now noticed the chief points of the structure


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The Cal Tribe. 61of the cats, we will take each of the more importantmembers of the family in their order, and examinetheir habits and mode of life.To begin with, we will take the Lion (Leo barbarus],which stands at the head of the cat tribe the ac-knowledged King of Beasts. No animal, and scarcelyeven man, can hear without trembling his mighty roar,and from his strength and courage he is feared byevery denizen of the forest.

It is yet uncertain whether or not there is more thanone species of lion. Some authors suppose theAfrican lion, the Gambian lion, the Asiatic lion, etc.,to be different animals ; while others consider them tobe merely varieties of the same type, slightly modifiedaccording to the country in which they live.The most widely known of these species, or varie-ties, is the African lion, which is spread over thewhole of the southern part of that continent, exceptingthose parts where civilised man has gained a permanentfooting, and driven the wild beasts from his neigh-bourhood.The lion, when it has spent its life free and un-trammelled in its native haunts, attains to considerabledimensions, a full-grown animal averaging some fourfeet in height at the shoulder, and nearly eleven feet intotal length from the nose to the tip of the tail. Thelioness is rather less in size, and, owing to her wantof mane, appears even smaller in comparison than isreally the case.The colour of the lion is a dark tawny yellow, deeperon the back, and lighter on the under parts of the body.The ears are blackish, and there is a thick tuft of hairat the end of the tail, found in no other member ofthe cat tribe, which is also black. The male lion,when it has attained the age of three or four years, isfurnished with a shaggy mane of long hair, which falls


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62 Anecdotal Xatitml History.from the neck and shoulders, and part of the throat. Inthe female this mane is wanting. It is remarkable thatwhen young the lion bears dark stripes and spots onits fur, so that a well-marked specimen might easilybe mistaken for a tiger-cub. A similar arrangement ofcolour is found in several animals, such as one or twospecies of swine, and the Malayan tapir.There are various opinions as to the character of thelion.Some hold him up as a model of generosity andcourage, sparing the weak, but fighting the strong withthe utmost courage. Other writers represent him asa mean, sneaking animal, afraid to face an armed man,and preferring to obtain his prey by stealth rather thanby open warfare. Others, again, consider that histemper is uncertain, and that one day he will fightwith great courage and ferocity, while on another hewill fly in terror from a comparatively insignificantfoe.

It is certain that the courage of even the same lionseems to vary at different times, and that on oneoccasion he will openly attack a number of armed men,while on another he takes refuge in flight before a singlesavage.Like the rest of the cat tribe, the lion is of a veryindolent nature except when suffering from the pangsof hunger, and, unless he be in want of a meal, willseldom take the trouble to fight.Even when in pursuit of prey, he never takes moreexertion than is absolutely necessary for his purpose,but prefers to stalk the quarry until he can creep withinfive or six yards. One powerful bound and a singleblow of his paw then suffices to kill his prey, and heearns his meal with very little active exertion.Not that he cannot overtake most animals if he isforced to do so, but, just as the cat prefers to spring


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The Cat Tribe. 63unawares on a mouse rather than chase it, so does theJion act towards the larger animals on which he preys.Should the animal be of such size that the hlo\vfrom his paw would be insufficient to kill it, the lionsprings upon the flank or shoulder, and drags it to theground by sheer strength, when it is easily despatched.A lion and his mate have been seen to spring upon agiraffe, and by their combined efforts to tear it to theground.

Although the lion prefers living animals for his prey,he by no means disdains a repast from any carcasewhich he may find lying in his path. It is thought byseveral writers that many " man-eaters " acquire theirtaste for human flesh by preying upon the bodies ofslain natives which they find in the bush.If large game be scarce, he will satisfy his hunger bya meal on some of the smaller rodents, and has evenbeen known to devour locusts and other insects intimes of scarcity. If he should happen to suffer fromthirst, too, when water cannot be procured, his instinctteaches him to search for the juicy water-melons whichgrow in the desert, and which answrer the purpose ofliquid nourishment to many animals ; so that we havethe remarkable fact of a carnivorous animal voluntarilytaking to vegetable food.The lion is justly dreaded by the colonists of SouthernAfrica, for hardly a more determined foe to the farmscould be found. Night after night he visits theenclosures, carrying off a valuable animal at eachvisit, and making his raids with such cunning andingenuity, that it is generally a most difficult matterto trap or shoot him. Favoured by the darkness ofthe night, he creeps close to the folds, carefullywatching for every sign of danger ; as soon as he issatisfied that his presence is unnoticed, he leapsamong the cattle, strikes one of the animals to the


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64 Anecdotal Natural History.ground, and drags it off into the bush before the alarmis fairly given.

Travellers passing through the country with atrain of horses and oxen, often lose a considerablequantity of

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Hughes's illustrated anecdotal natural history