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NATURAL HISTORY.

FOB THE USE OF SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

WORTHINGTON HOOKER, M.D.,

>ROFESSOR OF THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF MEDICINE IN TALB COLLEGE,

VDXHOB o* "HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY," "CHILD'S BOOK OF NATOBK,"
BIO., sxa

neatlp 300 Bngrab(ng».

NEW YORK •:• CINCINNATI •:• CHICAGO
AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight hundred
»ad sixty, by HABPEB & BROTHERS, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of
the Southern District of New York.

tTbc Eclectic press
Cincinnati, TO. S. H.

PREFACE.

THERE are many good books on Zoology, or Nat-
ural History, as it is commonly termed ; but none are
properly adapted to instruction in schools. Some of
them are too popular in their character, and some, on
the other hand, are too scientific, or, rather, contain
too many of the details of science ; while in all there
is too much matter, so that the pupil is confused with
the multitude of things brought to view, and there-
fore obtains definite ideas of but few of them. I have
aimed in this book to avoid these defects. My object
has been to cull out from the immense mass of mate-
rial which Zoology presents that which every well-in-
formed person ought to know, excluding all which is
of interest and value only to those who intend to be
thorough zoologists.

It seems to have been forgotten by most writers
of text-books on the natural sciences that a book foi
common study should be very different from a book
for reference. Their books are therefore cumbered
with much that is not of any use to the great body of
pupils. The true plan for instruction in schools re
quires that, while the class-book should contain,
clearly stated, only that which all ought to know, the
teacher should have some works on the subject of a
more extended character, to which he can refer when,
ever occasion calls for it.

il PREFACE.

If a spirit of inquiry be awakened in the class (as
it surely will be if the text-book be of the right stamp
and the teacher use it aright), questions will occasion-
ally be asked which will call for information that
must be gathered from larger works, or perchance
from the teacher's own observation. This leads me to
say that no text-book is rightly constructed that does
not excite this spirit of inquiry and observation on
the part of both teacher and pupil. The more it does
so, the more fully is the true object of teaching attain-
ed ; for the communication of knowledge is by no
means of so much importance as the imparting to the
mind the power and the disposition to acquire it of
itself. Especially is this true of such a study as
Zoology, which presents to the pupil abundant mate-
rial for observation on every hand, in the garden and
in the field, on the land, in the water, and in the air.

I will mention here some of the books which the
teacher may use with profit for reference in teaching
Natural History. Carpenter's Zoology, Carpenter's
Animal Physiology, Agassiz and Gould's Principles
of Zoology, Cuvier's Animal Kingdom, Kedfield's
Zoological Science, Nuttal's Ornithology, Kirby and
Spence's Entomology, Harris on North American In-
sects, Jaeger's Life of North American Insects, Jones's
Aquarian Naturalist, Buckland's Curiosities of Natu-
ral History, Broderip's Note -book of a Naturalist,
Harvey's Sea-side Book, Eennie's Insect Architecture,
Brocklesby's Yiews of the Microscopic World. Any
of these will be of great advantage to the teacher, but
I would especially recommend Carpenter's Zoology,
which constitutes two volumes in Bohn's Scientific
Library. Kedfield's Chart answers a good purpose in

PREFACE. Ill

presenting to a class a bird's-eye view of the animal
kingdom.

In order that Natural History may be taught effi-
ciently, it is necessary that the pupil should have
some knowledge of Physiology. It will be well for
him, therefore, to go through my " First Book in
Physiology'' before entering on the study of this
book, and better still would it be if he has also gone
through my " Child's Book of Nature," in the Second
Part of which are presented such views of Physiology
and Natural History together as can be readily com-
prehended by children of nine or ten years of age.
Throughout the. present work I have been particular
to develop the intimate connection existing between
Physiology and 'Zoology, knowing that a neglect of
this point would abate essentially from both the in-
terest and the usefulness of the study.

The study of Zoology has as yet been but little
pursued, and I will present here some considerations
which will show that it ought to have quite a promi-
nence not only in academies, but also in our common
schools.

First, this study has a piactical bearing upon many
of the most valuable and extensive occupations of
man, agriculture, horticulture, etc. Many animals
share with man the fruits of the earth, and therefore
it is important for him to know how far and in what
ways to prevent their undue increase. Then, again,
some animals live on those which are destructive to
the fruits raised by man, and so are really serviceable
rather than injurious to him. How many mistakes
have been made for want of proper observation of the
habits of such animals! Many a bird, for example,

IV PREFACE.

has been killed because he picked up a few grains or
ate a small quantity of fruit, when he really was of
great service to the farmer or gardener, because he
devoured daily a large number of worms, the grain
or the fruit being a very small portion of his food.
A war was year after year waged by every cotton-
grower against an insect which was supposed to be
very destructive to the plant. But after a while it
was discovered that a great mistake had been made —
that another smaller insect did the mischief, and that
the one which had been destroyed in such great num-
bers was really the cotton-grower's friend, for it lived
by preying upon this smaller insect. One example
more shall suffice, although great numbers of a similar
character might be cited. It is stated by Buffon that
there was once great danger that the island of Bour-
bon would be entirely devastated by locusts, but it
was saved from this catastrophe by the knowledge
which the governor had of a fact in Natural History.
He happened to know that a bird in India, called the
Grakle, was of great service in destroying the eggs
and grubs of these insects, and he therefore had a
large number of pairs of this bird imported into the
island. They multiplied rapidly, and in a few years
the locusts were exterminated. But now the grakles.
their natural food having given out, fell to digging
up and eating the seeds sown in the ground. The
people thereupon were aroused against them, and
even obtained the enactment of a law for their exter-
mination. But in a few years they saw their error,
for the locusts largely increased again. A new sup-
ply of grakles was obtained, and their preservation
was secured by very rigid enactments. So high were

PEEFACE. V

the grakles in favor as locust-killers, that physicians
were directed to proclaim that their flesh was un-
wholesome, to prevent the people from eating grakle-
pie, of which they were very fond. "But this extra-
ordinary care," says Carpenter, " was injurious. The
/birds soon again cleared the island of locusts, and de-
stroyed the grubs which injure the coffee-plantations.
But when this supply failed them, they proceeded to
attack the corn-fields and orchards, and even killed
the young of pigeons and other domestic birds. In
order to restore the balance, a sort of Malthusian law
was enacted to prevent their numbers exceeding the
quantity of their legitimate food ; and when thus kept
in check, they continued to do good without any ad-
mixture of evil."

Such facts as these indicate the wide benefits which
the science of agriculture may derive from accurate
observation of the habits and relations of animals.
The more minds there are brought to engage in such
observations, the more facts will te gathered into the
common stock of information. And as the accuracy
and extent of the observations depend on proper ed-
ucation in the observer, it is important that the ob-
serving powers be trained early; and we may say,
therefore, that the whole subject of the relation of
animal to vegetable life, so important to the farmer
and the gardener, will never be thoroughly understood
till the study of Nature be made prominent from the
very beginning of education.

As animals furnish man, to a great extent, with food
and clothing, and a large variety of articles for use and
ornament, an increased observation would undoubt-
edly increase the amount of resources obtained from

Tl PREFACE.

the animal kingdom. We may go farther than this,
and say, that if we had been ready to take hints from
the structures which we find in animals, and those
which are built up by them, many improvements in
the arts might have advanced much more rapidly
than they have done. For example, in the construc-
tion of optical instruments, a difficulty which Sir Isaac
Kewton thought never could be remedied, chromatic
aberration, might have been remedied long before it
was if that perfect optical instrument made by the
Creator, the Eye, had been properly examined in re-
lation to this point. So, too, paper might long ago
have been made from wood, if the habits of that first
paper-maker, the wasp, had been observed.

Another reason for making this study prominent is,
that its connection with other studies is such that it
contributes greatly to their interest and resources.
This is true, for example, of Geography. It adds
vastly to the interest of this study to have the pupil
know familiarly how*the various tribes of animals are
distributed over the earth, and what relation this dis-
tribution has to climate, situation, etc. The connec-
tion between Zoology and Geology is of the most in-
timate character, as the pupil will see in the course of
his study of this book. Then, too, Chemistry and
Natural Philosophy, especially the latter, have many
of their best illustrations in the composition and struc'
ture of animals, so that Zoology, with its relations to
Physiology properly developed, will offer no incon-
siderable additions to the interest of the two depart-
ments of science above named.

But the grand practical benefit to be derived from
the study of Natural History, or, indeed, any of the

PREFACE. Vli

natural sciences, is the discipline which it gives the
mental powers. It cultivates the perceptive and rea-
soning powers together, thus forming that habit of
intelligent observation which makes its possessor, as a
matter of course, a person of extensive general infor-
mation, and is an essential element of success in almost
any pursuit in which he may engage.

In the present prevalent mode of conducting educa-
tion the observing powers of the mind are, we may
say, systematically neglected. A premium, even, is
paid for their neglect ; for the study of language, the
execution of the processes of mathematics, and the
memorizing of Geography, Grammar, etc., are allow-
ed to have such exclusive possession in most of our
school-rooms, that any disposition on the part of a
pupil to attend to Zoology, or any of the natural
sciences, must be repressed, if he wishes to maintain
his standing in school. And even if such studies are
admitted at all, they commonly have a very subor-
dinate place in the general arrangement, and an ex-
amination for the purpose of determining the standing
of the pupil is not extended to such studies, because
they are not deemed essential, but only extraordinary
and ornamental.

This strange neglect of these studies is seen even in
our colleges. When a young man, for instance, en-
ters Yale College, he is not supposed to know any
thing of the natural sciences, or at least no knowledge
of them is required as a qualification for admission.
And after his admission, he is drilled in mathematics
and the languages alone for two long years. The
natural sciences are wholly excluded till his junior
year, when he begins to attend to Natural Philosophy,

PREFACE.

and in his senior year he is taught, necessarily in a
very hurried manner, in Chemistry, Mineralogy, and
Geology. Yale College by no means stands alone in
this respect, for very nearly the same is true of most
of the colleges in this country, showing how little im-
portance is attached to the study of the natural sci-
ences as a part of the system of education.

All this is radically wrong. The natural sciences
ought to have a place on an equality with the other
studies, and from the outset. The child, when he be-
gins to attend school, is interested in any thing that
calls forth suitably that joint employment of his per-
ceptive and reasoning powers which we call observa-
tion; and, therefore, with his first learning to read,
natural objects should be made the subjects of instruc-
tion. All teachers who have used my " Child's Book
of Common Things," and who, in connection with its
use, have brought natural objects into the school-room
for " object lessons," as they are termed, know ~by ex-
perience that the plan recommended is a feasible one.
This is teaching science ; in a small way, it is true,
but yet teaching it, and laying a good foundation for
farther instruction, not merely in the facts learned,
but in the habits of observation which are formed.
There are numberless facts about air, water, light,
plants, animals, etc., which the youngest pupils can
understand, if they are presented in the right manner.
And the busy inquiries which they make after the
reasons of the phenomena, and their appreciation of
them, if stated simply and without technical terms,
show that such teaching is not profitless. Children
are better philosophers than is commonly supposed.

Beginning thus, the natural sciences should be made

PREFACE. IX

prominent throughout the whole course of education, not
on] y because they contain largely what is of practical
use in many of the avocations of life, and what needs
to be known to give any one the character of a well-
informed man, but also because they are quite as ef-
ficient in disciplining the powers of the mind as the
Study of the mathematics and the languages. It is
cleai that they are essential to a symmetrical mental
development, for when they are neglected the observ-
ing powers are not duly educated. And besides,
while it is the peculiar province of the study of mathe-
matics to promote exactness of thought and reasoning,
it fails to give that exaltation and wide range of mind
which the investigation of the grand general princi-
ples of nature, the traces of the power and wisdom of
the Creator, tends to produce. Then, again, the study
of the natural sciences aids the pupil in acquiring a
knowledge of language, for natural objects and proc-
esses furnish a large proportion of the words in daily
use, and the mathematics derive so much of their real
interest from their numerous applications to the facts
which natural science brings to view, that the one
class of studies is auxiliary to the pursuit of the other.
On the whole, then, we may say that the three classes
of studies indicated should, for the most part, go on
together, and that the only question should be in re-
gard to the proportion of time which ought to be de-
voted to each.

Many other considerations might be presented in
favor of making Zoology and the other natural sci-
ences prominent in education, but I will notice but
two of them. One is the fact that they open never-
ending resources for agreeable mental employment

f. PEEFACE.

The phenomena of nature are ever before us, and thei-
variety is without limit. One, therefore, who has
pursued the study of nature throughout his course of
education will never be at a loss for fresh material for
observation. Especially is this true of that science to
which the pupil is introduced in the present work.

The only other consideration which I shall present
is the moral effect of the early study of natural science.
Ever varying views of the traces of the wisdom, power,
and goodness of the Deity can not fail to lodge in the
young mind sentiments and opinions, which will be
apt to forestall successfully the arguments of skep-
ticism that may be presented in after years. No
mere general views can do this, though they are often
relied upon; but the actual and definite knowledge
which study and observation give is required to effect
it. This benefit can hardly be overestimated. The
preoccupation of the mind by clear and abundant evi-
dence is a preventive measure of vast importance.
Better is it thus to shut out error, than to permit its
admission and then attempt to cast it out.

The author has in the course of preparation books
on some of the other natural sciences — Natural Philos-
ophy, Chemistry, etc. — having the same general plan
which has been adopted in this work. His object is
to aid in the introduction of these studies into the
common school, as well as the academy and college.

The books which I have already prepared have
been used in some schools as reading-books at the
game time that they are used for study, and with
marked success. The plan adopted is this. The
class read the lesson, the teacher remarking upon it
so far as is thought proper ; and then the recitation is

PREFACE. XI

heard at such a time as will allow a sufficient interval
for the study of the lesson. The benefit of this plan
consists in making reading a more intelligent and in-
teresting exercise than it commonly is, for it is thus
necessarily the distinct object to have the pupils un-
derstand what they read. In regard to this I would
remark, that text-books on almost every branch should
be so constructed, both as to arrangement and style,
that they can be used in the way indicated. Let
me not be understood to mean that I would discard
"reading-books" altogether, but I would not have
reading taught solely oy them.

I have subjoined to this book a full index, and also
a glossary upon a new plan. Technical terms I have
made it a point to explain whenever they are first in-
troduced ; and therefore, in the Glossary, instead of
giving the explanation of any term, I refer simply tc
the paragraph where the explanation may be found.

W. HOOKER.

HAVEN, May, I860.

NATURAL HISTORY,

CHAPTER I.

CLASSIFICATION OF ANIMALS.

1. THE Animal Kingdom has four grand divisions, or
sub-kingdoms : the Vertebrates, the Articulates, the Mol-
lusks, and the Radiates.

2. The animals of the vertebrate sub-kingdom have a
frame-work, or skeleton of bones, inside, covered up by
some of the soft parts of the body. In Fig. 1 (p. 14)
you have the skeleton of man. You see that somewhat
round box of bones which contains the brain ; the col-
umn of bones, 24 in number, extending from this through
the trunk of the body ; the pelvis, consisting of a wedge-
shaped bone supporting this column and two broad,
flaring bones, m and I, on each side ; the breast-bone,
with the ribs extending from it to the column of bones
in the rear, and the collar-bone, g, stretching from it as
a prop to the top of the shoulder joint ; the arm-bone, i,
with the two bones of the forearm, n and o, and the nu-
merous small bones of the hand ; the thigh-bones ; the
bones of the leg, v and u, and those of the foot of about
the same number with those of the hand.

3. That part of the skeleton in which man is like a
« great variety of other animals is the central

column of bones, and this is therefore taken as
the characteristic of the division including man
and these animals. In Fig. 2 you have one of
the bones of this column, a being its front part,
Fig 2*— sin- an^ ^ ^ sharp rear part, termed the spinoua
gie Vertebra, process. It is the row of these rear sharp parts

14

NATURAL HISTORY.

Fig. 1.— skeleton of Man.

CLASSIFICATION OF ANIMALS.

15

of the bones that you feel as you pass your finger up and
down the middle of the back. Each of these bones is
called a vertebra (plural vertebrce). Therefore all ani-
mals that have this column or chain of bones are called
vertebrate animals. It is varied, as you will see, in dif-
ferent animals to suit different circumstances, and yet it
is in essential points the same thing in all.

4. This vertebral column is found in all quadrupeds,
as you see in this skeleton of a camel. The dark part

Fig. 3.— Skeleton of the Camel.

of the figure shows the full size of the animal. You ob-
serve that the spinous processes of the vertebra? of the
back make a high, strong ridge. This is because to them
are fastened the muscles that hold up the heavy neck and
head.

5. Birds have this column, as you see in Fig. 4 (p. 16),
the skeleton of an ostrich. Here there are very many
more vertebra in the neck than there are in the neck of
2

16

NATURAL HISTORY.

Fig. 4. -Skeleton of the Ostrich.

man, and near the head they are small, because the head
is so small and therefore light.

6. In fishes the chain of. vertebras extends through the
middle of the body, as you see in Fig. 5. Then there

Fig. 5 — Skeleton of the Perch.

CLASSIFICATION OF ANIMALS.

17

is another chain of bones of a slighter make along the
back, their spinous processes being the frame-work of the
fins of the back.

7. The turtle or tortoise tribe have the body covered
with an upper and an under bony plate. But they have
connected with the under side of the upper plate a true
vertebral column. You see this in Fig. 6. The lower

Fig. 6.— Skeleton of the Turtle.

plate is removed from this skeleton of a turtle to show
the vertebral column in its whole length.

8. This chain or column extends out to the end of the
turtle's tail. It is so with all the tails of four-footed an-
imals. In the necks of birds, and generally of quadru-
peds, and in the tails of the latter there is quite a free

18

NATURAL HISTORY.

motion among the vertebrae ; while in the body of the
animal the motion between them is slight.

9. In the snake tribe of Vertebrates the vertebras are
very numerous, and the motion between them is as free
as in the tails of quadrupeds. Some species have over
three hundred, while in man there are only twenty-four.

10. The skeletons of the different kinds of animals that
I have mentioned differ from each other in many respects.
For example, the fish has nothing in its skeleton that is
like the bones of the extremities in man, and that of the
serpent is composed merely of vertebrae, with very short

ribs. There are some fishes that have
no ribs. In the turtle, as you see in Fig.
6, the ribs spread out into broad plates,
which, joined together, make its upper
covering, termed the carapace.

11. While the differences are of ex-
treme variety, the skeletons of all these
animals agree in one thing — in having a
vertebral column. They are, therefore,
classed together as vertebrate animals.

12. Connected with this grand char-
acteristic of this division of the animal
kingdom there is another, viz., the ar-
rangement of the great central organs
of the nervous system. These are in-
closed in the skull and vertebral column.
The brain is in the skull, and the verte-
bras contain the spinal marrow, which
extends from the brain through the
length of the body. Each vertebra has
a round opening through it, as you see
in Fig. 2. When, therefore, all the ver-
tebras are joined together, there is a
tube-like passage through the column.
In this lies the spinal marrow, or cord,

rf MadnSpi" as it is often called. In Fig. 7 you have

CLASSIFICATION OF ANIMALS. 19

a representation of the brain and spinal marrow of man,
with the beginnings of the nerves that branch out from
them. Essentially the same arrangement exists in all
the vertebrate animals.

13. The second grand division or sub-kingdom of ani-
mals is that of the Articulates. They have a jointed or
articulated covering, as, for example, in the case of the
lobster. They have no skeleton inside, as the Verte-
brates have, but their coat of armor, as we may call it,
is their skeleton. The muscles are all fastened to this.
Thus, in the lobster, the muscles moving the claw have
one end attached to some portion of the shell of the body,
and the other to the shell of the claw.

14. The chief classes or tribes of the Articulates are
the crab tribe, the worms, the spider and scorpion tribe,
and the insects. In the crab tribe the jointed covering
is very hard, being composed chiefly of a mineral sub-
stance— the carbonate of lime. In most of the insects it
is very firm, and there is a marked resemblance in the
claws of such insects as beetles to those of crabs and
lobsters. Even in the worms the covering is firm com-
pared with the soft interior parts.

15. The arrangement of the central organs of the nerv-
ous system of the Articulates is very different from that

of the Vertebrates. There is no
skull with a brain in it, and there
is no spinal cord. There is a chain
of little brains, as we may say, con-
nected together by nerves, as rep-
resented in Fig. 8. Each of these
is called a ganglion (plural ganglia).
The first ganglion may be consid-
ered, for the most part, as corre-
sponding with the brain in the
Vertebrates, for the nerves from
this go to the eyes and the other

Fig. 8.— Nervous System of an „

insect. organs of sense.

20

NATUKAL HISTOKY.

16. The third division of the animal kingdom is that
of the Mollusks. This term comes from the Latin word
mollis, soft. Mollusks are soft animals, most of them
being inclosed in a hard shell, as the oyster, and all the
varieties of shell-fish; and others being naked, as the
slug. The central organs of the nervous system are
ganglia variously arranged in the different orders of
these animals.

17. The fourth sub-kingdom of animals is that of the
Radiates. In Fig. 9 you have a representation of one

Fig. 9.— Star-fish.

of tnese animals, the star-fish, which will show you why
they are called Radiates. You see parts extending like
rays from the central portion. Radius is the Latin
word for ray, and hence the name Radiate.

18. It is the upper side of the star-fish that you see in
this figure. On the under side it has a mouth in the
centre. The arrangement of its nervous system is sin-

CLASSIFICATION OF ANIMALS. 21

gular. It is seen in Fig. 10. The place of the mouth is
/ indicated at a. Around this is a

nervous cord connecting together
five ganglia, which are at the be-
ginnings of the five arms of the an-
imal. From each ganglion a nerve
goes along each arm ending at its
point in what is supposed by some
to be a kind of eye. Though the
Fig. lo.-NenJous'system of animals of this sub-kingdom have
star-fish. great variety of form, the arrange-

ment is essentially the same as that which you see in this
animal.

19. These four sub-kingdoms are arranged in the order
of their rank ; the highest, or rather the most compli-
cated, being placed first, and the simplest last. This is
true of them in the general, and yet there are some in any
one of the three lower divisions or groups that are high-
er in organization than some of the simplest in the one
just above it. In the lowest group, the radiate, there
are some animals which are nothing but a stomach with
an apparatus to put food into it. The animals of one
group are sometimes said to be more perfect than those
of another ; but this is not true, for the organization of
every animal is perfectly adapted to its wants and its
mode of existence.

20. There are many terms used Li classifying the ani-
mals of each sub-kingdom, which you should understand
at the outset. All animals that come from a common
origin or parentage are said to belong to the same species.
Thus all men descended from Adam, and therefore be-
long to one species, although they differ from each other
in different quarters of the earth. These differences
arise from accidental causes, as climate, food, habits, etc.,
and are not therefore specific differences. They make
mere varieties, and not different species. So dogs and
horses belong to two different species ; but there are

22 NATURAL HISTORY.

varieties or breeds of dogs and horses, owing to acci-
dental causes.

21. The distinction, then, between different species is
a definite and fixed one. There can be no dispute about
it in any case where the facts bearing on the question
are all known ; but it is not so with other distinctions,
for they are not based upon specific and definite pecul-
iarities, and may be varied by different classifiers. A
genus includes many species that are alike in some things.
Thus, the genus canis includes dogs, wolves, foxes, jack-
als, etc., which, though specifically different, are very
much alike in their teeth, claws, and feet. Then a fam-
ily includes genera (plural of genus) ; an order includes
families ; a class, orders ; and, finally, orders are included
in sub-kingdoms or departments. The terms division,
tribe, and group are variously used by way of conven-
ience. The term sub-class (under class) is sometimes
used. It means a grand division of a class, as sub-king-
iom means a grand division of a kingdom.

22. The Vertebrates have two grand divisions, the
warm-blooded and the cold-blooded. The warm-blood-
ed maintain a high temperature of the blood under vary-
ing states of the atmosphere. Thus, the blood of man
is maintained at 98 degrees, even when the temperature
of the surrounding air is 130 degrees below this. In the
cold-blooded, on the other hand, the temperature of the
blood is varied by that of the surrounding air or water.
The fish when taken out of the water is of the tempera-
ture of the water, and therefore feels cold to our hands.

23. There are two classes of the warm-blooded Verte-
brates : 1. Mammals, or Mammalia (from the Greek word
^iayu/Lta, mamma, a breast), animals that suckle their
young ; 2. Birds. The young of Mammals are born alive,
and therefore Mammals are said to be viviparous, from
the Latin words vivus, alive, and pario, to bear. Birds
are called oviparous (ovum, egg, and pario), because
their young are produced from eggs.

CLASSIFICATION OF ANIMALS. 23

24. I divide the class Mammals into five sub-classes :
1. Bimana (Latin bis twice, and mantes hand), two-hand-
ed animals. Man is the only representative of this sub-
class. 2. Pedimana ( Pes foot, and manus), foot-handed
animals. This is the ape and monkey tribe. The name
which I have given it is different from that which it
commonly has in the classifications of zoologists, and the
grounds of the change I will state when I come to speak
particularly of this tribe. 3. Cheiroptera, hand-winged
animals, or the bat tribe. This name is taken from two
Greek words, xF-lP> <^heir^ hand, and Trrtpov, pteron, wing.
4. Quadrupeds, or four-footed Mammals. Of these there
are two divisions, the Unguiculata (Latin unguis, a nail
or claw), and the Ungulata, from ungula, a hoof. 5.
Cetacea, marine Mammals, or the whale tribe. These
have neither hands nor feet. They were formerly class-
ed with fishes, but although they are shaped like fishes,
they have warm blood, and suckle their young, and have
lungs and not gills. They, therefore, belong among
Mammals, although they live in the water.

Questions. — What are the four grand divisions of the Animal King-
dom? Describe the skeleton of man. What is said of the central
column of bones? Describe its arrangement in man. What is said
of this column in quadrupeds? What of it in birds? What of it in
fishes ? What of it in the turtle tribe ? What of it in the body,
neck, and tails of various Vertebrates ? What of it in tde snakes ?
What is said of the variety in the skeletons of different vertebrates?
Why are they called Vertebrates ? What is said of the nervous sys-
tem of the Vertebrates ? Describe the arrangement of the spinal mar-
row. What gives the Articulates their name ? How are the muscles
of the Articulates arranged ? What are the chief classes of this sub-
kingdom ? What is said of the covering of these different tribes ?
Describe the arrangement of thft nervous system of the Articulates.
What is said of the Mollusks ? Why do the Eadiates have this name ?
What is the arrangement of their nervous system ? What is said of
the relative rank of the four sub-kingdoms ? What of the use of the
word perfect in regard to organization ? Give the distinction between
species and varieties. Give the various terms used in classification
and their meaning. What are the grand divisions of the Vertebrates ?

24 NATURAL HISTORY.

State the difference between them. Give the difference between the
two classes of warm-blooded Vertebrates. What is the derivation of
oviparous and viviparous ? Name the sub-classes of the Mammals.
What is said of the first class ? What of the second ? Of the third ?
Of the fourth ? Of the fifth ?

CHAPTER II.

MAN.

25. MAN is said to stand at the head of the animal
kingdom. It is well that you should understand pre-
cisely what this means. We may consider every animal
as a set of machinery, which is worked by means of the
nervous system. In some animals this machinery is very
simple, as in those which are nearly all stomach (§ 19).
In others it is complicated. In man it is more so than
in any other animal. For example, take that part of the
machinery that is used in motion. Compare man with
any animal in this respect. How many more motions he
can make with his feet than a horse, or an ox, or a dog.
The dog can walk, run, jump, and paw. To say nothing
of other motions, observe in contrast the extreme varie-
ties of motion of which the feet of man are capable in
dancing.

26. There is no part of the machinery of the body in
which man is so manifestly superior to other animals as
in that of the hand. The variety of things that this ma-
chinery can do is so great, that you can get an adequate
idea of it only by watching the motions of the hand in
all the different kinds of work and play in which it en-

2V. Look now at the instrument or machine itself.
How simple it appears ! You have merely a thumb and

* This and many other of the points in this chapter are quite fully
treated in my "Child's Book of Nature," and "First Book in Physi-
ology."

MAN. 25

four fingers joined to the body of the hand; but observe
how the thumb can be made to meet the tip of either
finger, or to touch the tips of all of them at once, and
how each finger can move independently of the others,
or all can move together. Then observe, farther, in how
many different ways the hand can take hold of different
things, such as a pen, a whip, a rope, a string, an axe,
etc.

28. What appears so simple when we look only at the
outside, is found to be exceedingly complicated when ex-
amined within by the anatomist. The frame-work of
this machine is made up of 32 bones, and there are nu-
merous muscles with their cords or tendons. Then there
are countless fibres branching from the nerves into these
muscles. It is by these nerves that the mind in the brain
works all this machinery.

29. Many animals have something like fingers, but
none but man have any thing like thumbs except the
monkey and ape tribe, and the opossum family ; and in
these the thumb is but a poor imitation of this organ in
man.

30. While man is superior to all other animals in the
variety of machinery in his body, there are some things
in which some animals are superior to him. The horse,
that is so inferior to man in the variety of his muscular
movement, has better running machinery than he has.
The monkey, the squirrel, the cat, etc., are better climb-
ers. Fishes are better swimmers. And some animals
have machinery which man does not possess at all, as
flying machinery. The body of man, then, is superior to
that of all other animals as a whole, but not in all re-
spects.

31. The body of man is superior to that of other ani-
mals in some things besides those already mentioned. It
is the only animal body that can maintain a perfectly
erect position. The monkey can, indeed, stand and walk
on its hind feet, or rather its foot-hands ; but its position

26 NATURAL HISTORY.

is by no means perfectly erect, and it goes on all-fours
except when compelled to do otherwise by its keeper.

32. There is superiority also in beauty of form and
grace of movement. To make the comparison correctly,
take the most beautiful and graceful of animals, and place
them side by side with the most beautiful and graceful
of the human race. Look now at form in detail. Take,
for example, the upper extremity of man. Is there any
thing in the limb of any animal to compare with it in its
varied beauty of outline as it is placed in different posi-
tions ? Observe, too, its graceful movements, and con
trast their endless variety with the very limited grace of
the corresponding limb of the inferior animal.

33. But in the face more than in any other part is seen
this superiority both in form and movement. And when
we look at the body as a whole, with its commanding
erectness, the varied grace of all its parts as it moves,
and its crowning head so full of the graces of expression,
we realize that the human body is the only one that is a
fit tenement of a soul made in the image of God.

34. This leads me to say that really the grand distinc-
tion between man and other animals is in the mind rath-
er than in the body. He not only thinks more than any
other animals do, but much of his thinking is wholly dif-
ferent from theirs. Even the most thinking of them
know nothing about the difference between right and
wrong, or about God ; and you can not in any way teach
them any thing in relation to such subjects.

35. As the mind of man is so superior to that of other
animals, it can use more machinery than theirs can, and
therefore more machinery is furnished it. For this rea-
son man has a much larger brain than any other animal
in proportion to the size of the body. The machinery of
the hand is furnished to him because his mind requires it
for the proper exercise of its powers on the world around.
It would do no good to furnish a horse or a dog with a
hand, for he would not know how to use it. Each ani-

MAN. 21

mal is supplied with just the bodily machinery that its
wants and capabilities require.

36. It is because the mind of man is not only superior
to that of other animals, but is different in kind in some
respects, that man has made and is continually making
language. This no other animal has ever done. The in-
ferior animals may have natural cries and signs, but they
never agree to use artificial ones, and language is naught
but a set of artificial signs. Some animals imitate spoken
language, but they never make it.

37. For the same reason man is the only animal that
makes tools, and some one proposed to designate man as
a tool-making animal. I think that we may go so far as
to say that other animals never use tools placed in their
way except from imitation of man. And even the most
knowing and imitative do but little at this. " An ape,"
says Wood, " will sit delighted by a flame which a chance
traveler has left, and spread its hands over the genial
blaze ; but when the glowing ashes fade, it has not suffi-
cient understanding to supply fresh fuel, but sits and
moans over the expiring embers."

38. If we look at the mind of man alone we do not
think of him as an animal. We think of him in this light
only when we observe his bodily organization, and see
its resemblance to that of the higher orders of animals,
and even in some respects to that of the lower also.
These two views of man are seen in the common expres-
sions which are used. When we use such expressions as
man and other animals, or man and the inferior animals,
we have in view bodily organization. When, on the oth-
er hand, we use the expression man and animals, we have
regard to those mental endowments which separate man
entirely from animals. It is not in this view, but in the
former, that the zoologist regards man in his classification,

39. Mankind are one species, as already stated in § 20.
But there are certain varieties or races of men quite dis-
tinct from each other. The Caucasian race inhabits, for

28 NATURAL HISTORY.

the most part, Europe, the western part of Asia, and the
United States. It is characterized by the oval shape of
the face, a considerable, variety of color both of the skin
and the hair, and mental "superiority. It is called Cauca-
sian, from the Caucasian Mountains, in the neighborhood
of which this race was at first settled. Even at the pres-
ent day it is said that the external characteristics of this
race are better developed in that locality than any where
else, the Georgians and Circassians being the handsomest
people in the world. The negro, or Ethiopian variety, I
need not describe. The Mongolian race, of which the
Chinese are the largest family, is characterized by prom-
inent broad cheek-bones, a flat square face, small oblique
eyes, straight black hair, a scanty beard, and olive skin.
The American variety has high cheek-bones, large and
bold features, except the eyes, which are sunken deeply
in the sockets, hair generally black and stiff, and a cop-
per complexion. In the Malay race, inhabiting the isl-
ands south of Asia, in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, the
complexion is brown, the hair is black and thick, the
forehead is low and round, the nose is full and broad
with wide nostrils, and the mouth is large.

40. So great is the difference between these varieties,
especially the Caucasian and the Ethiopian, that some
believe that they came originally from different pairs.
But the Bible declares that they were all descended from
one pair, and almost all physiologists consider this to be
also proved by a candid examination of facts. The dif-
ferent races of man are not more distinct from each other
than the varieties of dogs and other animals. It is a re-
markable fact that animals which remain wild are not
apt to have varieties, while in those which are domestic-
ated by man different breeds or varieties arise. Thus
lions and tigers remain always the same, but dogs, horses,
etc., have many varieties. So it is with man. Under the
various influences to which he is subjected in society, in
different ages and localities, varieties are produced.

FOOT-HANDED AND HAND- WINGED VERTEBRATES. 29

41. The races of men may also be subdivided into va-
rieties. Each nation has characteristics which are some-
times very marked. Thus the English and the Irish can
ordinarily be readily distinguished at a glance. The
Jews also have always been remarkably distinct from
other nations. Then, too, we occasionally see an indi-
vidual family with such striking peculiarities descending
from father to son that we may call it a variety.

Questions. — What is said of the machinery in different animals?
What of the variety of motion in the foot of man, and in his hand ?
What of the apparent simplicity of the hand as an instrument ? What
of its movements ? What of its internal structure ? What is said of
the thumb ? In what consists the chief superiority of the frame of
man to that of other animals ? In what respects are some animals
superior to him ? What is said of his erectness ': What of his form
and mode of movement ? What of his face ? What is the grand dis-
tinction between man and other animals ? What is said of the ma-
chinery which the mind uses ? What is said of language ? What of
making tools ? What two views are taken of man, and to what modes
of expression do these give rise ? How many varieties are there of
the human race, and what are they ? Describe the Caucasian, the
Ethiopian, the Mongolian, the American, the Malay. What is the
testimony of the Bible as to their origin ? Give the comparison be-
tween the varieties of the human race, and the varieties in animals.
What is said of national and family varieties ?

CHAPTER III.

FOOT-HANDED AND HAND-WINGED VERTEBRATES.

42. THE sub-class which I call Pedimana is termed,
in the common classifications of zoologists, the order
Quadrumana, four-handed animals. It is the ape and
monkey-tribe. I have already spoken in Chapter II. of
the capabilities of the hand of man as an instrument.
If we compare them with the very limited capabilities of
the hand of the ape or monkey, we must agree with Sir
Charles Bell, who says that " we ought to define the

30 NATURAL HISTORY.

hand as belonging exclusively to man." The chief ob-
ject in the construction of the so-called hands of this
tribe is to enable them to grasp the limbs of trees in
climbing, in which they are greatly skilled. They are
very imitative beings ; but, even when they are subject-
ed to long training, they can do but a few of the many
things that can be done by the hands of man. On the
whole, we may say that they have four members which
partake in part of the character of a hand, and in part
of that of a foot. It is for this reason that I have adopt-
ed the name of Pedimana, foot-handed. There is an-
other reason for this in the fact stated by Dr. Carpenter,
that one large division of this tribe have this resemblance
to hands in only one pair of the extremities, and that the
hinder pair. It is for this reason that he suggested the
name which I have adopted, giving it less breadth of
meaning, however, than I do. The suggestion is so good
a one, that I wonder that he did not adopt it in his clas-
sification.*

* I may be considered by some as presumptuous in thus changing
a name which has so long been retained in zoological classifications
that it has almost acquired a right to its place by possession. But
if the suggestion of Dr. Carpenter be a correct one, following it out
fully can not only do no harm, but will certainly do good by placing
the subject in its true light. If Sir Charles Bell is right in saying
that no animal but man has truly a hand, and if the estimate which,
in Chapter II., I have put upon this instrument, as fitly corresponding
with man's mental capabilities, be correct, it is surely going very wide of
the truth to call the hand-feet of the ape and monkey tribe real hands.

In this connection, I will remark on another change that I have
made in the commonly received classification. Ordinarily, man is con-
sidered as one of the orders of the sub-class Unguiculata. But I have
put him (§ 24) in a sub-class by himself, thus not only separating him
more distinctly from other animals, as I think truth requires, but se-
curing in other respects a more natural classification of the whole class
of Mammalia.

In some classifications man is placed in even nearer relations to
other animals than in the one ordinarily received. Thus, in that re-
tained up to the present time in the British Museum, the first order of
the class Mammalia is Primates, including man, apes, monkeys, bab-

FOOT-HANDED AND HAND- WINGED VERTEBRATES. 31

43. There are three divisions of this sub-class ordina-
rily recognized : the Simiadae, or monkey tribe of the
Old World ; the Cebidae, or monkey tribe of the New
World ; and the Lemuridae, which are found chiefly in
the island of Madagascar, and to some extent in Africa
and India. All these animals are inhabitants of tropical
climates, and live chiefly on fruits, in getting which from
trees most of them show greater agility than any other
animals. They are disposed to gather in troops, a tree
sometimes having nearly a hundred monkeys in its
branches.

44. The Simiadae are classed in three divisions : the
apes, which have no tails ; the baboons, that have very
short ones ; and the monkeys, that have long ones. I
will notice some of the prominent species of each.

45. The Chimpanzee, Fig. 1 1, which is in shape more like

Fig. 11. — Chimpanzee.

sons, and bats, as the different fnmilifs of the order, the second ordc-
being Ferae, or wild beasts, Such a classification is not merely incor.
rect, but ridiculous.

82

NATURAL HISTORY,

man than any other animal, is found in the west part of
Africa. Its height is from four to five feet. It common
ly goes on all-fours, but it walks occasionally on its hind-
er hand-feet, though not with the erectness of man. Its
ears are very large, and it lias long, black, coarse hair,
which hangs in heavy whiskers about its cheeks. It
climbs trees readily, sometimes for observation, and some-
times to gather food ; and it makes a nest for itself by
twining branches of trees together, in which it spends
much of its time. Its strength is astonishing ; it being
able to break off branches which two men together can
not bend.

46. The Orang-outang, Fig. 12, is an inhabitant of the

Fig. 12.— Orang-outang.

islands of Borneo and Sumatra. This is the largest oi
the apes, having been known to be in some cases over
seven feet high. Its arms are of great length, reaching
to the ground when it is erecte It can not stand as well

FOOT-HANDED AND HAND-WINGED VERTEBRATES. 38

as the Chimpanzee can, for it is so bow-legged that the
soles of the feet turn in toward each other. Like the
Chimpanzee, it is great at climbing, in doing which its
long arms are very serviceable. When young it is very
teachable, and has been taught to make its own bed, and
to manage a cup and saucer and spoon tolerably well.
Both the Chimpanzee and the Orang-outang have a gra\ i
ty and apparent thoughtfulness which are quite laughable

47. There are some smaller apes of an interesting char-
acter. The Agile Gibbon, so called from the agility with
which it leaps from branch to branch, is a native of Su-
matra. Its height is about three feet. A female of this
species was some time since exhibited in London. She
wrould leap over a distance of eighteen feet, and catch
apples or nuts throwrn up to her as she passed. As she
leaped back and forth, which she did with great rapidity,
she uttered a very loud but musical cry. She was a tame
and gentle animal, and liked to be caressed.

48. I will notice but two of the many species of mon-
keys of the Old World. The Entellus, Fig. 13, is found
in India. It preys upon serpents. In the attitude which
you see here it steals quietly upon the serpent while it is

Fig. 13.— Entellus.

NATURAL HISTORY.

asleep, and seizing it by the neck, takes it to a stone, and
knocks its head against it till it is dead. It then throws
the snake to the young monkeys, who play with it as a
kitten does with a mouse killed by the old cat. It is re-
garded with great reverence by the natives, and receives
even divine honors from them. Splendid temples are
dedicated to these monkeys ; there are hospitals for thei?.
treatment when sick; fortunes are bequeathed for theii
support ; and though the murder of a man is often pun-
ished only by a small fine, the killing of one of these mon-
keys is invariably punished with death. Thus cared for,
they abound in great numbers, and though they enter
houses to plunder eatables, their visits are regarded as a
great honor.

49. The Proboscis Mon-
key, Fig. 14, so called from
the extraordinary projec-
tion of its nose, is a native
of Borneo.

50. The baboons have
very short tails. Their
bodies are stout and thick-
set. The temper of most
of them is very ferocious,
and Cuvier says that he
has seen several of the Man-
drill species die of rage.
Those species of baboons
that live in Asia are of a

much milder character than those found in Africa, There
is ou\f one locality in Europe where any of the Pedimana
tribe are found, and that is the Rock of Gibraltar. One
species of the baboon, improperly called the Barbary Ape,
abounds there. It is probably not a native, but was orig-
nally introduced from the African side of the strait.

51. It is a remarkable fact that the baboons are the
only Mammnlia that exhibit bright colors upon their

FOOT-HANDED AND HAND- WINGED VERTEBRATES. 35

skins. The Mandrill, Fig. 15, the largest and fiercest ot
the olass, is prominent in this respect. Its colors av<-,

Fig. 15.— Mandrill.

very brilliant and various. Being as tall as a man when
erect, it presents a singular and formidable appearance.
Its head is large, with very prominent eyebrows, and
small, deeply-sunk eyes ; the cheek bones are enormous,
with large prominences on it of light blue, deep purple,
and scarlet ; its hair is an olive brown above and silvery
gray below, but of a deep orange under the chin ; the
ears are violet-black, and the hinder parts of its body are
a deep scarlet* This is Carpenter's description. The
colors must vary in different cases, as I find them some
what differently described by others.
^ 52. The American monkeys are different species from
tnose which we find in the Old World. Some of the
particulars in which they differ from them I will men-
tion, They are generally much smaller. The thumb is
a very diminutive affair, and can not be brought in op-
position to the fingers. In some cases it is wanting.
The nostrils are wide apart, and open sidewise, while in
the monkeys of Asia and Africa they are near together,

36 NATURAL HISTORY.

and open downward. This makes a great difference in
the aspect of the face The monkeys of the Old World
have cheek-pouches — that is, their cheeks are so loose
and bag-like that they can stow away -in them quite a
quantity of nuts and other fruits as they gather them,
These are not seen in American monkeys. The tails of
American monkeys are in most species very long, and ii]
many of them it is used as a sort of fifth hand in climb
ng. They are inhabitants of the northern half of South
America. They are especially abundant in the vast for-
est-plains between the Orinoco and the Amazon. They
live in trees, and pass from one tree to another with the
same facility that squirrels do with us.*

53. I will notice but three of the many species. The
Coaita Spider Monkey, Fig. 16, uses its tail, as you see,

Fig. 16.— Coaita Spider Monkey.

in climbing. It has been known to hang to a branch by
it for some time after being killed by a shot. It uses its
tail also to feel with, and to seize small things, such as
3ggs. For these purposes the end is destitute of hair,
and is very sensitive. This animal is easily chilled, and

* Animals that live thus are said to be arboreal in their habits, from
die Latin word arbor, tree

FOOT-HANDED AND HAND- WINGED VERTEBRATES. 37

in cold weather it winds its tail around its body for
warmth.

54. The Marmosets, of which you have one species in
Fig. 17, are distinguished from other monkeys by their

sharp and crooked
nails. They are very
skillful in capturing
insects, which form a
part of their food.
Mr. Wood speaks of
one in the Zoological
Gardens in London
which was very busy
in catching flies. He
caught some for it,
and the little crea-

Fig. 17. -Maniuwet. tlire's CVCS WOllld

sparkle with great eagerness as he saw Mr. Wood's hand
moving toward a fly which had alighted out of its reach.
In some of the species the tail is very elegant, from the
different colors arranged in regular rings.

55. The Howling Monkeys are larger than most Amer-
ican monkeys, and are morose in disposition. They have
a sort of hollow drum connected with the windpipe,
which gives great power to the voice in howling. They
howl in concert at sunrise and sunset, often in the night,
and also when a storm is threatened. The noise is de-
scribed by travelers as astounding.

56. The Lemuridse, or Lemurs (Latin, Lemures, ghosts),
get their name from the fact that their movements are
very noiseless, and are made mostly in the night. They
live in troops, like the monkeys, clinging to branches of
trees. Their food is various — fruits, eggs, insects, and
birds. The posterior extremities, in contrast with mon-
keys and apes, are much longer than the anterior. The
muzzle is pointed. The tail is commonly very long, but
in some species is nearly wanting. The fur is usually fine

38

NATURAL HISTORY.

and silky. In the island of Madagascar, where these an-
imals most abound, there are no monkeys. In Fig. 18

Fig. 18 — Rtiifled Lemur.

you have the Ruffled Lemur of this island. In the Grace-
ful Loris, Fig. 19, you have a Lemur that is found in In-
dia and Ceylon. It is
very skillful in cap-
turing birds, which it
does in the night,
when they are asleep.
Slowly and noiseless-
ly advancing toward
its victim, when it gets
within reach of it, the
Loris puts its hand to-
ward it with a motion
so slow as to be al-

Fig. 19.— Graceful Loris.

most imperceptible,

and then, with a motion quicker than sight can follow, it
seizes its prey.

> 57. I will notice but one more species of the Lemurs,
It is one whose skin is extended in a fold, like that of
the Flying Squirrel, between its anterior and posterior

FOOT-HANDED AND HAND-WINGED VERTEBRATES. 39

limbs. It is called the Flying Lemur. It has, however,
like the Flying Squirrel, no power to fly upward ; but
this extension of skin merely enables it to take long
sweeping leaps from one tree to another. It is a native
of the Moluccas, Philippines, and other islands of the In-
dian Archipelago.

58. In the sub-class of Cheiroptera, or hand-winged
Mammals (§ 24), we have the only animals of the class
Mammalia that can really fly, that is, which can go up-
ward in the air. The apparatus for flying is made up of
a very delicate skin, without hair, on a frame-work of long
slender bones. The bones are essentially the same that
we find in the arm and hand of man, except that most of
them are very much longer. This you can see by ob-
serving the skeleton of the bat in Fig. 20 in connection

Fig. 20.— Skeleton of the Bat.

with the skeleton of man in Fig. 1. Beginning at the
shoulder, you see first the bone of the arm, then the fore-
arm, and from the wrist extend the bones of the four fin-

40 . NATURAL HISTORY.

gers enormously lengthened. If the bones of the fingers
of man were lengthened as much in proportion to his
size, his fingers would be about four feet long. What
answers to a thumb in the bat is a short projection with
a hook upon it, as you see in the figure. Wood says of
this arrangement that, " if the fingers of a man were to
be drawn out like wire to about four feet in length, a
thin membrane to extend from finger to finger, and an-
other membrane to fall from the little finger to the an-
kles, he would make a very tolerable bat." He would
need, however, vastly larger muscles than those which
move his arm to work such extensive flying machinery.

59. The wing of a bat is a more extensive and perfect
flying apparatus than that of any bird. Hence the ex-
ceeding rapidity of its movements. In his flight he is
catching flies, musquitoes, and other insects. In his mode
of getting a livelihood he is like the birds of the swallow
tribe.

60. The eyes of the bat are small, and his vision is un-
doubtedly very poor. How, then, can he catch insects
on the wing ? It is because his other senses are very
acute. He hears quickly. Especially is this the case
with the Long-eared Bat, Fig. 21. The organ of smell,
too, is quite extensive, particularly in some species.
Then, too, the membrane of the wings is fully supplied

with nerves, and is
exquisitely sensitive.
To prove this, Spal-
lanzani put out the
eyes of some bats,
and then let them
loose in his room,
across which he had
stretched strings in
various directions. —
The bats in no case
Fig. 21. -Long-eared BatT flew against them,but

FOOT-HANDED AND HAND-WINGED VERTEBRATES. 41

readily avoided these and other obstacles. Of course,
they did this with the sense of touch alone, and that
chiefly in their wings. They instantly knew in this way
when they were coming near something besides air. The
senses of smell and hearing would help them to determ-
ine whether this something was an insect or such a thing
as a string.

61, The bats of temperate climates ave, like the frogs
and toads, in a torpid state through tne winter, this be-
ing necessary simply because the insects upon which they
live are gone. For this purpose they lodge themselves
instinctively in some secret place where they will not be
likely to be disturbed.

62. The species of bats are very numerous. Some of
the species in tropical climates are quite large animals.
The Vampire Bat of South America, Fig. 22, measures

Fig. 22.— Vampire Bat

two or three feet from tip to tip of the wings. It lives
by sucking blood from different animals, which it does
while they are asleep, and commonly without awaking
them. The wound which it makes is very small and yet
it sucks from it quite a large quantity of blood.

63. The most singular species of bat is found in the

42 NATURAL HISTORY.

island of Java, called the Kalong Bat. Its wings expand
to the extent of five feet. Its head is like that of a fox,
as you see in Fig. 23. This animal belongs to that divi-
sion of bats which
live principally on
fruits. They live,
like monkeys, in
troops on trees. —
The division is a
small one com-
pared with the in-
sect-eating bats. —
Their wings are by
no means as extens-
ive in proportion
to the size of the

Fig. 23.— Kalong Bat , , ., .

body, and they

therefore fly more slowly, not needing the swift flight of
the other division, as they catch no insects. As their eyes
are large, they have not, probably, the sensitiveness in their
wings which is so characteristic of the insect-eating bats.

Questions. — What tribe are the Pedimana? What is the name
usually given to them ? State the reasons for the change of name.
Give the substance of the note in regard to classification. What are
the three divisions of the Pedimana ? What are the three divisions
of the Simiadas ? What is said of the Chimpanzee ? Of the Orang-
outang ? Of the Agile Gibbon ? Of the Entellus ? Of the Probos-
cis Monkey? What is said of the baboons? Describe the Mandrill.
State the differences between the American monkeys and those of the
Old World. What is an arboreal animal ? What is said of the Co-
aita Spider Monkey? Of the Marmosets? Of the Howling Mon-
keys? Describe the Lemurs and their habits. Where are they chief-
ly found ? What is said of the Graceful Loris ? Of the Flying Le-
mur? Describe the flying apparatus of the Cheiroptera. How does
its frame-work compare with that of the hand and arm of man?
What is said of the power of this apparatus? What are the habits of
bats? What is said of their senses? Give the experiment of Spal-
lanzani. How do bats pass the winter in temperate climates ? What
is said of the Vampire Bat ? What of the Kalong Bat ?

CARNIVOROUS QUADRUPEDS. 43

CHAPTER IV.

CARNIVOROUS QUADRUPEDS.

64. WE now come to Quadrupeds (quatuor, four ; pes<
loot), four-footed Mammals. This sub-class includes most
of the animals of any size that walk on the ground. It
has two great divisions — the Unguiculata, or clawed
Quadrupeds ; and the Ungidata, or hoofed Quadrupeds.
In the Unguiculata there are five orders: 1. Carnivora
(caro, flesh, voro, to devour). 2. Insectivora — Insect-
eaters. 3. Rodentia (rodo, to gnaw). 4. Edentata (e,
without, dens, tooth). 5. Marsupialia, so called on ac-
count of a marsupium, or pouch in the skin, in which
the mother carries her young for some time after birth.
The division Ungulata has two orders : 1. Pachyder-
mata (Tra^e, pachus, thick ; ctepyua, derma, skin), thick-
skinned Quadrupeds, including elephants, horses, swine
etc. 2. Ruminantia (rumen, a stomach or paunch), cud-
chewing Quadrupeds, as oxen, deer, camels, sheep, etc.

65. The order Carnivora is divided into five families :
1. Felidaa (felis, cat), the cat tribe, including cats, tigers,
lions, etc. 2. CanidaB (canis, a dog), including dogs,
wolves, foxes, etc. 3. MustelidaB (mustela, a weasel),
weasels, otters, etc. 4. UrsidaB (ursus, a bear), the bear
family, bears, raccoons, etc. 5. Phocidae (^wn/, phoke, a
seal), seals, walruses, etc.

66. Many of the animals which we have already no-
ticed have the power of living in whole or in part upon
animal food, as, for example, man and some of the mon-
key tribe. But they can digest vegetable food also, and
ean even subsist wholly upon it. Even those which live
on animal food alone, as some of the bats, eat insects and
worms, and not the flesh of the larger animals, on which

44 NATURAL HISTORY.

the true Carnivora, with few exceptions, entirely sub-
sist.

67. The animals of this order are readily distinguished
from others by their teeth, which are formed for seizing,
tearing, and cutting flesh, while those animals that eat
grains and grass have their principal teeth formed for
grinding. In Fig. 24 you have a representation of one

side of the jaws of a carniv-
orous animal. The very long
pointed teeth are called ca-
nine teeth, because they are so
observable in the dog. The
teeth in rear of these are most-
ly cutting teeth, the upper
and lower going a little past
each other so as to cut like
scissors. Herbivorous (herb

or vegetable eating) animals have grinding teeth in this

rear part of the jaw.

68. The digestive organs of this order are conformed
to the nature of their food. As this is similar in quality
to the substance of the animal itself, it does not require
any complicated process to bring it into a fit state to
nourish it. The stomach is therefore very simple and
small, and the intestines are short ; while in the grain
and grass eating animals the digestive apparatus is com-
plicated and extensive, it requiring, of course, much ma
chinery to change into blood substances which are so un-
like it as these articles of food are. I shall speak of this
subject again when I come to the herbivorous Quadru-
peds.

69. Some of the families of this order are not wholly
carnivorous. And just so far as any admit vegetable
food into their diet we see a corresponding variation from
the true carnivorous character of the teeth and the di-
gestive organs. The teeth, for example, lose to a greatei
or less extent their tearing and cutting character.

CARNIVOROUS QUADRUPEDS. 45

70. The animals of the first family, the Felidae, or Cat
tribe, are wholly carnivorous. They never eat vegetable
food in their wild state, and eat but little of it when do-
mesticated, as we know in the case of the common cat.
The Felidae, then, may be considered the typical* family
of this order. The animals which it includes are the most
destructive of all the Mammalia, and the body is framed
in every respect to conform to the carnivorous propensi-
ty. It has no unnecessary bulkiness, but is made as small
as it can be, consistent with the required strength. Bone,
and muscle, and sinew are well packed together, with
but little fat. The limbs are short, for these animals
need not to run so much as to leap in taking their prey.
They have cushions or pads on their feet, so that they
may approach their victims noiselessly. As they walk,
their sharp claws lie back above these pads in their
sheaths; but when they wish to use them, they thrust
them forth from these sheaths by a very curious muscu-
lar apparatus. Their senses are acute, and they can see
by night as well as by day. Their whiskers are very
sensitive organs of touch, which are of service in passing
through thickets or narrow places. The tongue is cover-
ed with almost horny points, directed backward. These,
which every one has observed in the cat, are so large and
strong in the lion and tiger, that a smart stroke of the
tongue would strip off the skin from a man's hand. The
chief use of these points is to enable the animal to scrape
off all the flesh from a bone. The cat uses her tongue as

* This word, which is often used in works on Zoology, I will ex-
plain. In every natural group of animals there is always some one
kind which exhibits the characteristics common to the group with
more distinctness and perfection than any of the rest, ana this is saicl,
therefore, to be the type, of the group. Thus, each genus has its typ-
ical species, each family its typical genus, each order its typical fam-
ily, and each class its typical order. Then there is more or less vari-
ation from the type, and those which vary considerably from it ar«
styled aberrant forms, from erro, to wander, and a6, from. So we
speak ot aberrant species, genera, etc.

40 NATURAL HISTORY.

a sort of curry-comb to clean her coat, and undoubtedly
this member is put to the same use by other animals of
this class in proportion to their cleanliness.

71. I will now proceed to notice some of the animals
of this family. At the head of it, and of the wild beasts
generally, stands the Lion. He is commonly called the

Fig. 25.— Lion, Lioness, and Cubs.

king of beasts, both for his noble and commanding air,
and the power concentrated in his comparatively small
frame. No animal, however large, dare attack him. He
is found in Africa, and on the Continent of Asia, in In-
dia, Persia, and Arabia. He preys upon antelopes, heii'
ers, zebras, gnoos, etc. There is such prodigious strength
in the muscles of his neck and jaws that he can carry off
a heifer as easily as a cat can a rat. He generally waits
in ambush for his victim, or creeps like a cat insidiously
and noiselessly toward it, and, when sufficiently near, at
one bound secures it with his teeth and claws, uttering,
at the same time, his terrific roar. He is not properly

CARNIVOROUS QUADRUPEDS.

47

styled king of the forest, for he frequents burning desert
plains, or places covered with low brushwood. He com-
monly sleeps in the day, and at night rouses to search
for prey. A thunder-storm, so common in the night in
Southern Africa, seems to excite him to unwonted activ-
ity, and, mingling his roar with that of the thunder, he
rushes upon his terrified and confused prey without his
usual stealthiness. The Lioness is smaller than the Lion,
as you see in Fig. 25 (p. 46), and is destitute of the mane
which gives him so dignified an appearance. The cubs,
of which there are commonly from two to four, are as
playful as kittens. Mr. Wood says that he had two cubs,
larger than cats, placed in his arms, and found them " al-
most unpleasantly playful."

72. .The Tiger, Fig. 26, is found only in Asia, chiefly in

Fig. 26. — Tiger.

Hindostan: -It is a splendid animal, three feet high and
eight long, having black stripes on a ground of reddish
yellow. Tiger-hunts are among the favorite sports of In-

48

NATURAL HISTORY.

dia. The hunters go forth armed with rifles, in a sort of
carriage or frame on the backs of elephants trained for
the purpose. There is much danger in the sport, for the
Tiger often springs up upon the elephant, and reaches
the hunters.

73. The Leopard is a native of Africa, India, and some
of the Indian islands. It is a very active and graceful
animal. It is arboreal (§ 52) in its habits, and monkeys
form a part of its prey. It has black spots in rosette
shape, on a ground of pale yellow. The Ounce, a native
of India, has sometimes been confounded with the Leop-
ard; but it has less regular marks, a rougher coat, and
a tail almost bushy.

74. The Jaguar of America, Figure 27, is much like

the Leopard of the
Old World, but it is
larger. It is arbo-
real, and chases the
monkeys which are
so abundant in the
forests of S o u t li
America. The Pu-
ma, called usually in
this country the Pan-
ther, is another ani-
mal of the same sort,
found extensively
diffused in both parts
of the American con-
tinent. It is some-
times termed the
American lion, fron~
its uniformity of color, which is a silvery fawn.

75. Of the Lynxes there are several species, some in
Europe, some in Asia and Africa, and others in America.
The Canada Lynx, Fig. 28 (p. 49), is remarkable for its
gait, going by successive leaps with the back arched,

Fig. 27 — Jaguar.

CARNIVOROUS QUADRUPEDS.

49

There is a very large
trade in the skins of
this animal.

76. The Civet
Cats, which are found
in the northern part
of Africa, chiefly in
Abyssinia, are all re-
markable for a pouch
near the tail contain-
ing a perfume which
is quite an article of
commerce. A rep-
resentation of one spe-
cies you have in Fig.
29.

77. The Ichneu.
mons are singular an-
imals. Having long
bodies and short
limbs, they creep into
very narrow places, and run their slender snouts into
every crevice in search of their food, which consists of
snakes, lizards, crocodiles' eggs, etc. The Egyptian Ich-
neumon, or Pharaoh's Rat, Fig. 30, is often domesticated

Fig 28.— Canada Lynx.

Fig. -2!) —Civet Cat.

Fig. 30. — Egyptian Ichneumon.

in houses in Egypt, that it may destroy the snakes and
other reptiles that so often infest them in that country.

78. The domestic Cat is so well known that I need
to say little about it. The species has many varieties,
though not as many as there are among the dogs. The
Cat has a strong attachment to localities, but seldom man-

50 NATURAL HISTORY.

ifests that attachment to persons which is so strong a
characteristic of most dogs. The domestic Cat was for-
merly thought to be the same with the Wild Cat, but they
are proved to be distinct species,
The difference in their tails may
be seen in Fig. 31, that of the do^
mestic Cat, 1, being long and ta
pering, and that of the Wild Cat.
i._cats' Tan.. 2, short and bushy.

Questions. — What are Quadrupeds ? What are the two grand divi-
sions of this sub-class? Give the names of the orders of the Ungui-
culata, and their derivations. Give those of the orders of the TJngu-
lata, and their derivations. What are the families of the order Car-
nivora? What is said of the Carnivora in comparison with the ani-
mals already noticed ? What is said of the teeth of the Carnivora
and of the Herbivora ? What is said of the difference in their digest-
ive organs? What is said of some families of the Carnivora which
are not wholly carnivorous ? What is the typical family of this order ?
What is the meaning of typical, and of aberrant? What is said of
the structure of the Felida3 ? Of what use are the pads on their feet ?
What is said of their senses ? What of their tongues ? Where is the
Lion found ? Describe his appearance and habits. What is said of
the Lioness? What is said of the Leopard? Of the Jaguar? Of
the Puma? Of the Lynxes? Of the Civet Cats? Of the Ichneu-
mons? Of the Cat?

CHAPTER V.

CARNIVOROUS QUADRUPEDS — continued.

79. THE second family of carnivorous Quadrupeds is
the dog family, including dogs, wolves, foxes, etc. The
dog species in this family exhibits more striking varieties
than any other species of animal. There can hardly be
a wider difference between two .animals of the same fam-
ily than we see between Kino- Charles's Dog, Fig." 32, and
the fierce Bloodhound, Fig. 33 (p. 51). . Then .we have
the large and noble Newfoundland Dog, the stout Man-

CARNIVOROUS QUADRUPEDS.

51

tiff, the slender -and
swift Greyhound, the
pugnacious Bulldog,
the brisk little Ter-
rier, the Foxhound,
Beagle, and Pointer
used in hunting, etc.
The differences, you
observe, are as wide

in disposition and habits as in form, size, and color.

Now all these varieties, it is agreed by all zoologists,

Fig. 3-'.— King Charles' d Dog.

Fig. 33.— Bloodhound.

came from one source, though exactly what was the char-
acter of the original imdomesticated dog is not settled.

80. The cause of the wide range of varieties in this
species is the influence of domestication referred to in
§ 40. The degree of domestication is greater in the dog
than in any other case. No other animal is so thorough-
ly the companion of man. Cuvier says that the dog is
the only animal that has followed man through every re-
gion of the earth. His attachment to his master is pe-
culiar, and is seldom seen in other animals in the same
degree. The contrast between the cat and the dog in

52 NATURAL HISTORY.

this respect is very marked, the cat being much attached
to place, and little, if any, to persons.

81. The differences between some of the varieties of
dogs are greater than those existing between different
species of some animals. The Greyhound and the Bull-
dog, for example, are more unlike than the Lion and the
Tiger, two species of the cat tribe, and vastly more than
the Tiger and the Leopard. But the characteristics of
these species remain fixed age after age, because the in-
fluence of domestication is not brought to bear upon
them. Even the markings on the skins of such wild an-
imals remain unchanged from generation to generation.
Stripes and patches are therefore, in some of them, made
the basis of distinguishing different species, while in the
domesticated animals nothing is more common than
changes of color.

82. The differences between the varieties of man are
no greater than those between the varieties of the dog,
the companion of man. And if domestication can pro-
duce these varieties in the one case, they surely can in
the other, where it has a still greater influence. The
doubts, then, existing in the minds of some in regard to
the single origin of the human race are unfounded, and
the account given in the Bible is proved true by an ob-
servation of facts.

83. Although the Wolf, Fig. 34 (p. 53), belongs to the
dog family, dogs seem to be its natural enemies. While
the smaller flee from it in terror, the stronger pursue
and kill it. And yet it is thought by some that the orig-
inal dog was a Wolf; and it is asserted that, though this
animal is so fierce, it can be tamed when young, and is
then as susceptible of attachment to man as the dog is.
Wolves commonly hunt in packs or bands, and are very
crafty in their modes of taking their prey. Like other
wild beasts, they are exterminated as man cuts down the
forests and builds his habitations. In the early settle-
ment of this country they abounded even in the states on

CAKXIVOROUS QUADRUPEDS. 53

Fig. 34.— Wolf.

the Atlantic coast, and they were not wholly extermin
ated till recently. The story of Putnam and the Wolf
is familiar to every one. They were extirpated in En-
gland about 1350, in Scotland in 1600, and Ireland in
1700. They still abound in various parts of Europe and
Northern Asia, and destroy great numbers of domesti-
cated animals, as is shown by a report made in 1822 to
the Russian government in regard to the district of Li-
vonia, a tract of country about 250 miles long by 150
broad. The animals stated as having been destroyed by
wolves are as follows : horses, 1841 ; cattle, 1807 ; calves,
733 ; sheep, 15,182 ; lambs, 726 ; goats, 2545 ; kids, 183 ;
swine, 4190 ; young pigs, 312 ; dogs, 703 ; geese, 673 ;
fowls, 1243. The Wolf 4s a gaunt but strong animal,
with a skulking gait, and his aspect is marked by min-
gled ferocity, cunning, and cowardice. There are sev-
eral species of wolves, especially in America, but their
habits and character are very much the same.

84. The Fox, Fig. 35 (p. 54), is characterized chiefly
by its pointed muzzle and its bushy tail. Its cunning is
also proverbial. It is usually concealed in the daytime
either in a burrow that it has made, or in one that it has

NATURAL HISTORY,

Fig. 35.— Fox.

found, and comes forth stealthily at night in search of its
prey, which consists of fowls, rabbits, etc. It is a great
robber of the hen-roost. . Though a slender animal, the
Fox is very muscular,1 and has great speed. This, with
the cunning which it exercises in its various expedients
for escape, renders the fox-chase very exciting, and it is
one of the grand sports : of English noblemen. Besides
the common Fox,' there are' many other species. The
Arctic Fox, which is found only in the extreme north, is
remarkable for the changes -which its hair Exhibits. In
summer it is of a dusky ash color, :but in winter it turns
white, and becomes fuller and thicker, even covering the
soles of the feet.

85. The Jackal, Fig. 36 (p. 55), is found in North Af
rica, Persia, and India. It is somewhat like the Fox in
appearance, though it has not so bushy a tail. It is like
the wolf, however, in its habits. Jackals, like wolves,
hunt in packs. They are concealed during the day, and
come forth at night filling the air with their shrieks,
which all describe as being horrid. They are very use-
ful in the Eastern countries as scavengers, devouring the
offal which the uncleanly inhabitants cast out of their

CARNIVOROUS QUADRUPEDS.

55

Fig. 36.— Jackal.

houses, and thus often
save them from pesti-
lential diseases.

86. The Hyamas, of
which one species. is
represented in Figure
37, are found in Asia
and Africa, They are
generally classified in
the dog family, though
there is some ques-
tion as to the place in
which they belong. —
They are exceeding-
ly ferocious, and live
chiefly upon animals
which they find dead.
They will even devour
the human body, and
are seen in large num-
bers in the neighbor-
hood of armies, ready
to eat the bodies of
the slain. They are
among beasts what
the vultures are among- birds, and, like the jackals, are
very useful as scavengers. The rear parts of the Hyaena
are small, and hence its shambling gait ; but there is
great strength in the fore'part of its bddy and in its jaws.
It can readily crush with its teeth the thigh bone of

All OX.

87. The Weasel family (mustelidae) includes the Wea-
sels, Martens, Skunks, Otters, etc. These animals are, for
the most part, quite small, but they are very sanguinary
in their habits. They generally strike the neck of their
victims just behind the ear, piercing the large blood-ve»
sels, or drive their teeth into the skull. When they have

Fig. 37.— Striped Hyaena:

56 NATURAL HISTORY.

once seized their prey, which is a rabbit, or rat, or bird,
or some reptile, they never let go their hold. Few ani'
mals equal them in agility and address. As they have
such long, slender, flexible bodies, and creep stealthily
toward their prey on their short legs, they have been
sometimes called vermiform, worm-like, Carnivoi a. They
are nocturnal in their habits, spending the day conceaU d
in hollow trees, holes in walls, or in burrows, and glid-
ing forth at night after their prey. Some of the mo&t
beautiful furs are obtained from this family, as the Sable
and the Ermine. Most of these animals have a strong
odor. Some of them are exceedingly offensive.

88. The common Weasel, Fig. 38, exemplifies the gen

eral shape of the whole
tribe, of which it is the

,. m, . . ,

smallest. This animal
is so effective in exterm-
inating rats and mice,
that the farmer can well
afford to let him steal

.-Weasel.

fl«

I ll (. // '

a chicken, which it will never do so long as any rats or
mice are to be found on the premises.

89. The fur of the Sable is very valuable. Great num-
bers of this animal are taken by hunters in Siberia, and
are a considerable article of the Russian trade. The fur
of the Pine Marten comes next in value. Many other
furs are furnished by this family. The fur of the Ermine
was formerly used in England to line the robes of judges
and magistrates, and was, therefore, often referred to fig-
uratively as emblematical of the purity which should be-
long to such persons.

90. The Skunk genus, of which there are several spe
cies, found only in America, belongs to this family. The
common Skunk is about the size of a cat. The offensive
fluid which it can throw upon any that attack it is con.
Uined in two sacs near the tail. Like the Woodchuck,

CARNIVOROUS QUADRUPEDS. 5?

in the Northern States it retires to its burrow in the au-
tumn to sleep through the winter.

91. The Otters form a somewhat aberrant genus of
the Weasel family. They differ from the other genera
in being aquatic, their p»*ey being for the most part in
the water. Their paws are fitted for swimming, which
they do with great celerity. Their fur is close, short,
and fine, so that it may not interfere with their progress
in the water, and they are provided with a nictitating
(winking) membrane which can be drawn over the eye
for defense, it being transparent enough to allow the an-
imal to see through it. There is considerable resem-
blance in these animals to the seals soon to be noticed.
There is one species found on the northwest coast of
America, and on the opposite or northeast coast of Asia,
which has this resemblance strongly marked. Its tail is
short, and its hind feet form very broad paddles, and are
situated far back for convenience in swimming.

Questions. — What are included in the second family of the Carniv-
ora ? What is said of the varieties of the Dog ? What is said of the
influence of domestication ? How are the Dog and Cat contrasted ?
How does the difference between the varieties of dogs compare with
that between the species of some animals? What is said in this con-
nection of the varieties of the human race ? Describe the Wolf and
its habits. What is said of its relation to the Dog? What of its ex-
termination? Of its ravages? What are the characteristics and
habits of the Fox ? What is said of the fox-chase ? For what is the
Arctic Fox remarkable ? What is said of the Jackal ? What are
included in the Weasel family? What is said of their structure and
habits ? What is said of the common Weasel ? What is said of the
furs that come from this family ? What is said of the Skunk? What
of the Otters ?

58 NATURAL HISTORY.

CHAPTER VI.

CARNIVOROUS QUADRUPEDS — COncklded.

92. THE family of Ursidse, the Bear tribe, includes the
Bears, Raccoons, Badgers, etc. These are said to be
Plantigrade animals (planta, sole, and gradior, I walk),
because, like man, they apply the sole of the foot to the
ground in walking. The families of the Carnivora al-
ready noticed are, on the other hand, said to be Digiti-
grade (digitus, finger or toe, and gradior), because they
walk on their toes ; the bone which corresponds to the
heel-bone in man really extending quite up the leg. You
can see how this is if you compare the skeleton of the
camel, which is a Digitigrade animal, with that of man,
in Figs. 1 and 3. To make the comparison clear, begin
at the hip or shoulder joint of the camel, and go down to
the feet, observing the corresponding bones in man.

93. Although this family is placed among the Carniv-
ora, most of the species live partly on vegetable food, and
some live almost entirely upon it. They may be said to
be nearly, if not quite, omnivorou3 (omnis, all, and voro,
to eat). Most of them are expert in climbing. They
conceal themselves in caves, holes, and hollow trees ; and
it is in such places that they spend the winter in a state
of partial torpidity. The genus Ursus, or Bear, is the
type of the family. There are eight species : three in Eu-
rope— one of which, the Polar Bear, is common also in
America; one in the mountains of India; one in Java;
one in Thibet, and three in North America. The body
and limbs of the Bear are massive, and are covered with
shaggy hair. Its five toes have strong claws, suited to
digging. In very cold countries bearskins are of great
use in making coverlets and articles of clothing. Leath-

CARNIVOROUS QUADRUPEDS. 59

er, also^ is made from them for harnesses. The Brown
Bear of Northern Europe yields so many benefits to the
people of Lapland that they call it " the dog of God."
94. The Grizzly Bear of North America, Fig. 39, is

Fig. 39. —Grizzly Bear.

the most fierce and; .powerful of the Bears. Among the
Indians it is regarded a great feat to kill one of them,
and he who does this is permitted to wear a necklace
of its claws as a decoration. Although very clumsy, it
climbs trees readily, which it does to get at the honey in
the nests of wild bees. It lives on roots, berries, and
juicy plants, and, when it can do so, will devour a pig, a
sheep, or a calf.

95. The Polar Bear, Fig. 40 (p. 60), is entirely white,
except the claws and the tip of the nose, which are black.
It lives chiefly upon seals, which it hunts both in the wa-
ter and on the ice. With its stout claws, and its long
hair about its feet, it runs rapidly over the smoothest ice,
and even climbs up the sides of icebergs. Sometimes
these bears float off to sea on fields of ice, and in this

60

NATURAL HISTORY.

Fig. 40.— Polar Bear.

way they have been known to emigrate from Greenland
to Iceland, and there find luxurious living in the flocks
and herds of the inhabitants, a change from their custom-
ary seal diet which was very grateful to them.

96. The other animals of this family which I shall no-
tice are much smaller, and belong to genera more or less

aberrant. The Rac-
coon, Figure 41, is
about the size of a
Fox. Like the Bear,
it has sharp claws
and climbs trees. It
sleeps in its hole by
day, and prowls at
iiight for its food,
which consists of
small quadrupeds,
birds, eggs, insects.

Fig. 41.— Raccoon. 1'OOtS, etc. It is

CARNIVOROUS QUADRUPEDS.

61

dexterous in opening oysters. It bites off the hinge, and

scrapes out the oyster with its paw.

97. The Badger, Fig. 42, is found throughout Europe

and Asia, It has
often been made the

subject of a orut'

sport, teasing with
dogs, and hence the
common term "bad-
" Its food is

genng.

various. It is very
fond of honey, and
attacks the nests of
wild bees, which it
does with impuni-

Fig.42._Badger. ty . for fa ^[l} fc

so tough and its hair is so thick that the bees " might as
well sting a barber's block." Its hair is extensively used
in making brushes, and the skin is used for holsters and
the coverings of traveling trunks. There is an American
Badger somewhat like that of the Old World.

98. The Wolverine, or Glutton, Fig. 43, is a native of

the Arctic regions of
both continents. It
has been called the
Quadruped Vulture,
because it sometimes
preys on the dead
bodies of animals. It
Fig. 43.— Wolverine. does great damage

to the fur trade. When it finds the hunter's traps set
for the martens, it takes the bait, which is a bit of veni-
son or a partridge's head, or, if there be martens in the
traps, it tears them in pieces, and buries them here and
there in the snow. It is said that the Wolverines do not
eat the martens, but the cunning foxes on the watch read'
ily scent them out and devour them.

82

NATURAL HISTORY.

99. The Kinkajou, Fig. 44, is found in South America.

It has been called
the Honey Bear, be-
cause it is so fond of
attacking the nests
of the wild bee, lick-
ing out the honey
from the cells with

Fig. 44.-Kinkajuu. jt

is also very expert with its tongue in catching flies and
other insects. Its tail it uses, like the Spider Monkey of
the same country, in climbing. It is easily tamed, and is
as playful as a cat.

100. The family Phocidae (^x^i phoke, a seal) are
Quadrupeds, and yet they are fitted to live in water as
well as on the land. There was an approach to this in
the Otters, § 91. Seals and p|her- animals- having a sim-
ilar .mixture of terrestrial and' aquatic habits, are often
termed amphibious animals, from a^0i, amphi, both ;
l&oe, bios, life.

101. The limbs of the Seal are like paddles. The arm
and forearm of the anterior limbs are very short, so that
the paw extends but little from the body. The paw is
made of what corresponds to the finger-bones in man,
covered with a skin which stretches between the fingers,
so as to resemble the webbed feet of swimming birds.
In giving the backward stroke in swimming the fingers
are spread out, but in the forward stroke they are brought
together. The hinder limbs are directed backward, so

as to look very much
like a tail at the end
of the tapering body,
as seen in Fig. 45. In
s-wimming, it uses the
fore paws as paddles,
and the hinder ones,
Fig. 45.— seal. with an up and down

CARNIVOROUS QUADRUPEDS. 63

motion, both as a sculling and steering oar. On land or
ice the movements of the Seal are very awkward, it being
carried along by the fore paws, while the hinder feet are
dragged along. Its body is covered with a glossy fur,
closely set to the skin, so as not to interfere with its
swimming, which it performs with great celerity. The
nostrils and the ears have valves, which the animal can
close when it goes under water, where it can, like the
Whale, remain for some length of time.

102. The Seal is very useful to man. The many uses
to which it is appropriated by the Greenlanders are thus
spoken of by Crantz, a Danish traveler : " Its flesh sup-
plies them with their most palatable and substantial
food ; the fat furnishes them with oil for lamplight,
chamber and kitchen fire ; and whoever sees their hab-
itations presently finds that, even if they had a superflui-
ty of wood, it would be of no use — they can use noth-
ing but oil in them. They also mollify their dry food,
mostly fish, with oil ; and, finally, they barter it for all
kinds of necessaries with the factors. They can sew bet-
ter with fibres of the Seal's sinews than with thread or
silk ; of the skins of the entrails they make window-cur-
tains for their tents, and shirts ; part of the bladder they
use as a float to their harpoons ; and they make oil-flasks
of the stomach. Neither is the blood wasted, but is boil-
ed with other ingredients and eaten as soup. Of the
skin of the Seal they stand in the greatest need, because
they must cover with seal-skins both the large and small
boats in which they travel and seek their provisions.
They must also cut out of them their thongs and straps,
and cover their tents with them, without which they
could not subsist in summer. No man, therefore, can
pass for a right Greenlander who can not catch Seals.
This is the ultimate end they aspire at in all their device
and labor from their childhood up."

103. Seals exist in almost every quarter of the globe,

but they are mostly found in the temperate and frozen
5

(54 NATURAL HISTORY.

portions, especially the latter. There are many species,
The common Seal, Fig. 45 (p. 62), is from four to five feet
long, and its weight is sometimes over 200 pounds. Its
head is rounded, and it has long stiff whiskers. Dr.
Kane's description of its appearance and habits is very
graphic. In some positions it has the appearance of a
dog. It has " a countenance between the Dog and the
Ape — an expression so like humanity that it makes gun^
murderers hesitate." It often rolls and wriggles about
on the ice in the most grotesque manner, looking some-
times like an immense snail, then like a dog, and again
like a couching hunter.

104. The Elephant Seal, Fig. 46, is the largest known

species. It is from
twenty to thirty feet
long, a full grown
male yielding about
seventy gallons of oil.
This Seal is found
in the Atlantic, Pa-
cific, and Southern
Oceans. It lives in
troops, migrating to-
ward the tropics in
winter, and return-
Fig. 40. -Elephant Seal. ing toward the south
pole in summer. It has its name on account of the long
snout, which is a little like the proboscis of the Elephant,
and more like that of the Tapir. When enraged, it thrusts
this forward, at the same time snorting loudly. Though
a formidable-looking animal, it never attacks man, but
only makes a show of its large teeth to frighten him. It
is sought after for its oil, and for its skin, which is much
used in making stout and thick harness. The Fur Seal,
found in the same quarters of the globe, has been here-
tofore largely taken for its skin, but it has been much
thinned oif, as the number taken amounted sometimes to
over a million in a year.

CARNIVOROUS QUADRUPEDS,

65

105. The Walrus, Fig. 47, is an aberrant species. In
general form and habits it is like the larger Seals. Its

chief peculiarity is the
great length of the ca-
nine teeth of the upper
jaw, sometimes reach-
ing to two feet. These
tusks are of service m
defense,in progression,
and in gathering its
food. It resists with
them the attacks of
the Polar Bear ; it uses
them as hooks in clam-
bering up rocks and

icebergs, and it draws up with them the seaweed which
is a part of its food. It is found in the Arctic regions of
both hemispheres, and is sought after for its oil and its
tusks.

Questions. — What are included in the family of Ursidae ? Why are
they called Plantigrade animals? What are Digitigrade animals?
How far are the Ursida? carnivorous ? What is an omnivorous ani-
mal ? What are the habits of this family ? What is the type-genus
of the family ? How many species are there of this genus, and where
are they found ? What is said of their structure? What of their useful-
ness to man ? What is said of the Grizzly Bear ? What of the Polar
Bear? What are some of the aberrant species of the Ursidae? What
is said of the Raccoon? Of the Badger? Of the Wolverine? Of
the Kinkajou ? What are the Phocidae ? WThy are they called am-
phibious ? Describe the structure and habits of Seals. What is said
of their usefulness to man ? Where are they found ? Describe the
common Seal. What is said of the Elephant Seal? Of the Fur
Seal? Of tke Walrus?

66

NATURAL HISTORY

CHAPTER VII.

INSECT-EATING, RODENT, TOOTHLESS, AND MARSUPIAL
QUADRUPEDS.

106. WE now come to the second order of Quadru
peds, the Insectivora, or insect-eating Quadrupeds. AL
though, as we saw in Chapter III., many of the Bat and
Monkey tribes live chiefly on insects, it is in this order
that we find the most complete adaptation to this kind
of food. The teeth of the Insectivora are not cutting
and tearing, as are those of the Carnivora, but they have
rounded points for the purpose of crushing the hard cov-
erings of insects. Most of them live chiefly under ground,
as the Mole ; and those which inhabit cold countries are
in a state of torpor through the winter. Their vocation
seems to be to keep within bounds the worm and insect
tribes that are found in the soil, which would otherwise
be exceedingly destructive to the vegetables on which
man so much depends for food.

107. Of this order there are four families: 1. Moles,
which pass their whole lives in burrows. 2. Shrews, a
sort of carnivorous mice, which are very common through-
out Europe, but of which only a few species are found
in America. 3. The Hedgehogs, found in Europe, Asia,

4. The Banxrings, which inhabit the larger
islands of the Eastern
Archipelago.

108. The common
European Mole, Fig.
48, lives in the same
manner as the Mole
of this country, al-
4s.-:>iue though it is a differ

and Africa.

INSECT-EATING QUADRUPEDS. 67

ent species. The eyes of the Mole are very small, as it
"has but little use for vision ; but its hearing and smell
are very acute. Its fur is fine and soft, and it will not
retain a particle of dirt, although continually in contact
with it. Its fore paws, mounted with strong claws, are
powerful instruments for digging. In Fig. 49 you have
the bones of one of these paws,
which are very large, and are
worked by strong muscles. The
head is constructed for digging
also, the frame of the nose be-
ing wholly bone, instead of part

Fig.49.-ForepawoftheMole. grigtle? ag in mogt other ani-

mals. The hinder part of the body has not the great
strength of the fore part, for the hind feet are not em-
ployed in digging.

109. The plan of a mole-hill is very curious. It has, as
you see in the plan in Fig. 50, two circular galleries, one

above the other, con-
nected together by five
passages. In the very
centre of the mound,
and on a level with the
ground around it, is a

Fig. 50.— Mole-hill. . ,

circular apartment

where the Mole sleeps. This is connected by three pas-
sages with the upper gallery, and not at all with the lower
one. Then there are passages running out from the lower
gallery, and into one of these opens a passage from the
circular chamber. Just this plan has been instinctively
adopted ever since the first mole was created. The food
of the Mole is chiefly worms and insects, which it gath-
ers by burrowing. The good which the Mole does to
the farmer in this way is probably much greater than
any harm which his burrowing may sometimes occasion.

110. The Shrew Mouse, Fig. 51 (p. 68), is so called be-
cause it is so much like a Mouse, but it is readily distin-

68

NATUBAL HISTORY.

guished from it by
its long snout, which
it uses in grubbing
the earth in search
of worms and in-
sects. The Water
Shrew dives and
Fig. 5i.-shrew Mouse. swims with great ce-

lerity, and live& on the grubs of aquatic insects, which it
digs out of the mud with its snout.

111. The Hedgehog, Fig. 52, is the only animal in En-

gland that has its
skin armed with
spikes. These are
its means of defense.
When attacked, it
rolls itself up, and
such is the arrange-
ment of these spikes

that the tightening of the skin makes them all stand out.
A dog or a fox will not touch it then. Its food is in-
sects, snails, frogs, snakes, roots, etc. Dr. Buckland put
a hedgehog in a box with a snake. It gave the snake
several quick bites in succession, rolling itself up after
each bite. When the snake was sufficiently disabled,
the hedgehog ate it leisurely as one would eat a radish,
beginning at the tail. In winter this animal lies torpid
in a hole lined with grass and moss, and if discovered
looks like a ball of leaves, these having become fastened
to its spikes as it rolled itself among them.

112. The Banxrings differ from the other families of
this order in being arboreal in their habits, ascending
trees with the agility of Squirrels, which animals they re-
semble in general appearance, but are easily distinguish-
ed from them by their sharp muzzles.

113. The order Rodentia, or Gnawing Quadrupeds, has
eight families: 1. Squirrels. 2. Marmots. 3. Rats and

RODENT QUADRUPEDS. 69

Mice. 4. Beavers. 5. Porcupines. 6. Guinea Pigs. 7.
Chinchillas. 8. Hares. This order contains about three
hundred species, and is the most generally distributed of
all the orders of terrestrial Mammals. Its species are
found in all quarters of the world, a few of them even in
Australia. The furs of some of them are very valuable,
as the Beavers, the Chinchillas, and the Gray Squirrels.
114. The grand peculiarity of this order is in their
gnawing teeth. These are in front, two in each jaw, and
they are peculiarly constructed. The front covering of
the tooth is enamel, and its rear portion, that is, the body
of the tooth, is ivory, which is by no means as hard as
enamel. Observe the effect of this arrangement. As
the upper and lower teeth are brought together in gnaw-
ing, the enamel does not wear away as fast as the ivory,
because it is harder. The thin enamel, therefore, always
presents a sharp chiseling edge above the level of the
ivory. No other class of animals has this peculiarity.
These teeth are used for different purposes, as, for exam-
ple, by Squirrels in opening the shells of nuts, and by
Rats in making holes in wood. The teeth of other Mam-
malia have a limit to their growth, but not so with these
front teeth of the Rodents. These grow continually, but
are kept always of the same length by the wear of the
gnawing operation. If, therefore, one of them be lost,
the one opposite will attain a great length. In Fig. 53
you see the lower jaw of a rabbit in
which the two teeth are very long
because the upper teeth were lost.
A Rodent in such a plight is essen-
tially disabled, and may die of starv-

Fig. 53.— Overgrown Teeth ation.

of Rabbit. n5 rphe Qther teeth in the RQ_

dents are situated far back, as seen in Fig. 54 (p. 70).
These back teeth are of different kinds in the different
families, according to the nature of their food. Thus in
the Squirrels, which live on nuts, these teeth are rounded,

70

NATURAL HISTORY.

Fig. 54— Skull Dl
Animal.

Rodent

being needed only for crushing ; in
the Rat they are raised into points,
he being carnivorous ; while in the
herbivorous Rodents they are real
grinders, as represented in Fig. 54.
116. The bushiness of the tail is
the peculiar characteristic of the
Squirrel family. This, when spread
out, is of some assistance in the leap-
ing of these arboreal animals, both guiding and buoying
them up. In the Flying Squirrel, Fig. 55, there is an ar-
rangement similar to
that of the Flying
Lemur, § 57.

117. The Ameri-
c a n M a r m o t, o r
Woodchuck, as it is
commonly called, is
about the size of a
rabbit. It has an
underground habi-
tation, divided into
apartments, and

Fig. 55.-Flying Squirrel. livefl Qn cloyer ^

esculent vegetables. Like some of the Monkeys (§ 52),
it has cheek pouches, in which it carries stores of food to
its burrow.

118. The Mouse and Rat family is the most numerous
of all the families of the Mammalia, and contains the
smallest animals. Of the common Mouse, Cuvier says,
" it is known in all times and in all places." Of the Rats
there are two principal species, the Black Rat, and the
Brown or Brownish-gray. The Black Rat is called the
old English Rat, which was introduced into England from
France as late as the sixteenth century. This is now
nearly exterminated by the Brown Rat, which is a stron-
ger animal. This latter Rat was introduced into this

RODENT QUADRUPEDS.

71

Fig. 56. — Egyptian Jerboa.

country at the time of the Revolution in the foreign
ships.

119. The Jerboas are singular animals, making an aber-
rant genus of this family. They have long tails with

tufted ends, and long
hind legs, which en-
able them to make
enormous leaps. The
Egyptian Jerboa,
Fig. 56, is about the
size of a large rat.

120. Of the Bea-
ver family, the com-
mon Beaver, Fig. 57,
so well known in Can-
ada and the northern
part of the United
States, is the type
species. It is distin-
guished Ironi all the
other Rodents by its
flat and scaly tail.
Its hind feet are
webbed, and with
these and its tail it is
expert in swimming.
Its incisor teeth are
large and uncom-
monly hard, and with
them it can divide a
c tmmon walking-stick at a bite with as clean a cut as
that of a hatchet. Like the Seal (§ 101), it can close its
ears and nostrils when it dives into the water. Beavers
are very celebrated for the skill with which they build
their dams and habitations, which they always do in
companies.

121. The common Porcupine, Fig. 58 (p. 72), is found

Fig. 57— Beaver.

NATURAL HISTORY.

Fig. 58. — Porcupine.

in Africa, India, Persia, Tartary, and in some parts of Eu-
rope. It is nearly the largest of the Rodents. The spikes
or quills with which it is covered constitute, like those of
the Hedgehog, its means of defense. If it can not escape,
it stands still, with its quills all bristling, or even runs
back against its adversary. The fact that any quills that
are a little loose fall off, or remain sticking to an adver-
sary, has given rise to the mistake that the animal has the
power of shooting them from its body.

122. Of the Guinea-pig family, the Capybara, Fig. 59,

is the largest of all
the Rodents. It is
a native of South
America, where its
flesh is much prized.
It is a favorite prey
of the Jaguar. Its
shape, and its thin
and straight hair,
make it look quite like a pig.

123. The Hares differ from the other Rodents in hav-
ing more than four front sharp teeth. There are about
thirty species. The Hare, which in England furnishes

Fig. 59. — (Japybara.

TOOTHLESS QUADRUPEDS. 73

such rare sport to the hunters, is represented in Fig. 60.

Fig. 60 — Hare.

The Rabbit, which is every where domesticated, is small-
er than the Hare, but is like it in form. It lives in a bur-
row, while the Hare lives in a sort of nest which it con-
structs from grass.

124. We now pass to the Edentata or toothless Quad-
rupeds. This term applies only to a part of the order,
the Ant-eaters and the Pangolins. The Sloth and the
Armadilloes have back teeth, but they are imperfect.

125. That singular animal, the Crested Ant-eater, Fig.
61 (p. 74), is found in Guiana, Brazil, and Paraguay. It
is nearly four feet long. It lives both on common ants
and the termites or white ants. With its strong claws
it tears open their habitations, and then thrusts in its
long tongue. This, being covered with a gummy saliva,
has, when withdrawn, a multitude of ants adhering to it,
which the animal swallows.

126. The Pangolins, or Manidae (plural of Manis), are
'int-eaters, and take the ants in the same way that the
Crested Ant-eater does. They are remarkable for being
encased in an armor of horny scales. When attacked,
they roll themselves up, and raise their sharp-edged scales

74

NATURAL HISTORY.

Fig. 61.— Crested Ant-eater.

as the Hedgehog does his spines,
iris, Fig. 62, is a native of Africa.

The Long-tailed Ma

Fig. 62.— Long- tailed Manis.

127. The Armadilloes are found only in South Amen-
ca. The armor which covers them is different from that
of the Pangolins. It is a sort of plate-armor. One spe-
cies, the Six-banded, is represented in Fig. 63 (p. 75).
The natives consider these animals a great delicacy when

TOOTHLESS QUADRUPEDS.

Fig. 63.— Six-banded Armadillo.

roasted in their shells. The Armadilloes live on carrion,
insects, and fruit. They are all small, except one species,
which is called the Gigantic Armadillo, and weighs a
hundred pounds or more.

128. The Sloth, Fig. 64, differs from all other arboreal

Fig. 64.— Sloth.

Quadrupeds in its manner of climbing. It always has its
back downward, as seen in the figure. It has been com-
mon to consider this animal as imperfectly constructed,

76 NATURAL HISTORY.

and even Cuvier speaks of the " inconveniency of its or-
ganization," and says of it that " nature seems to have
amused herself in producing something grotesque and
imperfect." But there is perfect adaptation here, as in
every other animal, of the organization to the habits. It
is constructed to live just in the way that it does, and
moves about in the trees with great facility. It has been
known to go from the bottom to the top of a high tree
in a minute's time. With its strong curved claws it
sleeps hanging from the branches of a tree as easily as a
bird sleeps on its perch. The three species of Sloths are
found only in the forests of the tropical portion of South
America. They live on the leaves of trees.

129. The order of Marsupials is named from a pouch
or bag (Latin, marsupium) which the females have for
carrying their young for some time after birth. The
young are born in an immature helpless state, and a sort
of nest is thus provided for them in the body of the moth-
er. Even after they have become able to leave it, they
flee to it whenever they are alarmed. There are about
eighty species. All of these animals are found only in
Australia and the neighboring islands, except the Opos-
sums, which are found on the western continent, especial-
ly in South America.

130. The Great Kangaroo, Fig. 65 (p. 77), a native of
Australia, has very long and powerful hind legs, and can
make leaps of fifteen feet. Its fore feet are short and
small, and are used more as hands than as feet. Its
length is about five feet, and its tail is three feet long.
There are many different species of Kangaroos, all having
a general resemblance to this.

131. The Opossums are peculiar to America, There
are about twenty species. They are arboreal in their
habits, and they are assisted in their climbing, like some
of the Monkey tribe, by their tails, which are long and
scaly. In one other respect they are still more allied to
the Monkeys. The inner toe of the hinder foot is some-

MARSUPIAL QUADRUPEDS.

Fig. 65.— Great Kangaroo.

what like a thumb, as it can be brought in opposition to
the other toes for grasping. They can therefore be call-
ed, like the monkeys, Pedimana, or foot-handed animals.
The pouch in the abdomen for their young, however,

places them decided-
ly among the Marsu-
pials.

) 132. The Virginia
Opossum, Figure 66,
found in many of the
Southern States of
this country, is one
of the largest of the
genus, being about
the size of a cat. It
is nocturnal and ar-
Fig. 66.— Virginia Opossum. boreal. It remains in

78 NATURAL HISTOKY.

the daytime inert in branches and hollows of trees, but
prowls at night in search of its food, which consists of
insects, birds, eggs, fruits, etc. It makes great use of its
tail in climbing, being able to swing by it from one branch
to another. When attacked it feigns death, and so well
that even dogs are deceived. This is the origin of the
common phrase, " playing 'possum."

133. There are two very singular animals in Australia,
about the classification of which there has been some dif-
ference of opinion. By some they have been placed in
this order, on account of some resemblance in the skele-
ton, although they have not any marsupium. The first
is the Duck-billed Platypus, Fig. 67. This singular ani-

Fig. 67.— Duck-billed Platypus.

mal has a body like that of an Otter, and a bill like that
of a Duck. It was first made known to British natural-
ists by a stuffed specimen, and it was at once suspected
that the bill of some Australian bird had been ingeniously
fastened to the head of a quadruped. But it was found
to be no deception, and this animal presents the strongest
example that we have of an approach in the Mammal
tribe to that of birds. It uses its bill precisely as the
Duck does, searching for insects, small shell-fish, etc., by
plunging it here and there in the mud. There is a curi-
ous provision in the young to prevent the bill from inter-
fering with the operation of suckling. It is very soft,

MARSUPIAL QUADRUPEDS. 79

and does not become hard till it is time for the animal to
cease to suckle. The fore feet are formed for digging,
and the animal excavates a burrow, sometimes even fifty
feet in length, in the bank of the stream, where it lives.
Both the fore and the hind feet are fitted for swimming
by being webbed. The web on its fore feet extends over
its claws, but it has the power of folding it back when it
wishes to dig.

134. The other animal is the Echidna, or Porcupine
Ant-eater. It is about the size and form of a hedgehog,
but its spines are stouter. It burrows with great ra-
pidity. When attacked by dogs, it quickly, by digging,
sinks itself in earth or sand, so that they can see nothing
but its bristling back, and this they are not disposed to
touch.

Questions. — What is said of the structure and habits of the Insect-
ivora ? What are the families of this order ? What is said of the
structure and habits of the common Mole? Describe the arrange-
ment of a mole-hill. What is said of the Shrew Mouse ? What of
the Hedgehog ? Of the Banxrings ? What are the families of the
order Rodentia? Describe their front teeth. What is said of their
back teeth ? What is said of the Squirrel family ? What of the
American Marmot ? Of the Rats and Mice ? Of the Jerboas ? De-
scribe the structure and habits of the Beaver ? What is said of the
Porcupine? Of the Guinea-pig family? Of the Hares? What is
said of the Edentata ? What of the Crested Ant-eater ? Of the Pan-
golins ? Of the Armadilloes? Of the Sloth? From what do tne
Marsupials get their name ? Where are they found ? What is said
of the Great Kangaroo ? How many species are there of the Opos-
sums ? Where are they found ? What are their habits ? How are
they allied to the Monkey tribe ? What is said of the Virginia Opos-
sum ? What arc the structure and habits of the Duck-billed Platy-
pus ? What is said of the Echidna ? Where are these two animals
found ?

80

NATUKAL HISTORY.

CHAPTER VIII.

THICK-SKINNED QUADRUPEDS.

135. WE now come to the second division of Quadru-
peds, the Ungulata or hoofed quadrupeds. Of this there
are two orders : 1. The Pachydermata, or thick-skinned.
2. The Ruminantia, ruminating, or cud-chewing. The
Pachydermata are variously classified by different natu-
ralists. I make six families : 1. The Elephants. 2. The
Tapirs. 3. The Pig Family. 4. The Rhinoceros Family.
5. The Hippopotamus Family. 6. The Horse Family.

136. Of the Elephants there a're only two species, the
Asiatic and the African, the latter of which you see in
Fig. 68. The Elephant has several hoofs arranged in a

Fig. 68.— The Elephant.

circular manner around the bottom of the foot. His
trunk or proboscis (from which this family is sometimes

THICK-SKINNED QUADRUPEDS. 81

Called Proboscidea) is a wonderful organ. It has in it
40,000 muscles interlaced together. These give it great
flexibility, and make it the hand of the elephant. On
the end of this hand is a small finger-like projection,
which is a feeler, and is also used in picking up small
objects. The Elephant gathers his food with his trunk,
and puts it into his mouth. He gets his drink also with
his trunk in this way — he draws it up into the two nos-
trils of the trunk, it being prevented from going back
into the throat by a valve. When he drinks he turns
the end of the trunk into his mouth, and pours the water
in from it. He sometimes gives himself a shower-bath
by throwing water from his trunk over his body. It it
through the trunk that the Elephant sends forth his
trumpet-like voice. This organ is not only a hand, a
forcing and suction pump, and a trumpet, but it is also
the animal's nose.

137. The neck of the Elephant is so short that he could
not possibly reach his food or drink without his trunk.
His food is chiefly grass, the leaves of trees, and roots.
These last he loosens with his tusks, using them as we
use a crowbar, and then he pulls them up with his trunk.

138. Elephants congregate in large herds, sometimes
numbering hundreds, or even thousands ; and no sight
can be more grand than such a herd in the midst of the
magnificent scenery and rich verdure of an African land-
scape. The Elephant of India is more sagacious than that
of Africa, and is much used in traveling, and in hunting-
tigers, as described in § 72. The African Elephant is not
at present tamed by man, and is hunted merely for the
sake of his tusks, from which very fine ivory is obtained.
The trade in tusks, both in Asia and Africa, is immense.
It requires annually many thousands of elephants to fur-
nish a supply of ivory to England alone.

139. Although the Elephant is the largest of all the
terrestrial Mammalia, there are remains of extinct ani-
mals which reached a much larger size. This is the case

82 NATURAL HISTORY.

with the Mastodon Giganteus, whose bones have been
found alone in America.

140. The Tapir is in some respects like the Hog. It
has a prolonged snout, which allies it, on the other hand,
to the Elephant. With this it grasps fruit and herbage,
putting it into its mouth. The South American Tapir
is from five to six feet high. The Malay Tapir, Fig. 69,

Fig. 69.— The Tapir.

is larger. It has its loins and hind quarters of a grayish
white color, giving it a singular appearance.

141. Of the Pig Family I need say but little. The
two orifices of the snout are like those in the trunk of
the Elephant. The proverbial uncleanliness of the com-
mon Hog is owing in fact to the circumstances in which
man places it, and no animal seems to like clean straw
better. The Wild Hog or boar, the original of the do-
mestic hog, is still found in many parts of Europe, es-
pecially in the German forests, and its chase is one of
the sports of hunters. One of this family, the Baby-
roussa, or hog-deer, Fig. 70 (p. 83), has four tusks, two
of which do not pass out between the lips, but through
an opening in the skin. It is a native of Java and the
Moluccas.

THIOK-SKINNED QUADRUPEDS.

83

Fig. 70 The Babyroussa.

142. There are seven species of the Rhinoceros. These
are ungainly animals with short legs, approaching in size
the Elephants. They are distinguished chiefly by their
horns, which are in texture something like whalebone.
Some species have two horns. Those that have one, as
in Fig. 71, are called unicorns. These animals live an

Fig. 71.— The Rhinoceros.

Indolent life on the marshy borders of lakes and rivers,
and are very fond of wallowing in mud. They are found
in Asia and Africa.

84 NATURAL HISTORY.

143. There is but one known species of the Hippopot-
amus (tTrTroe, hippos, horse ; 7rora/*oe, potamos, river), or
river-horse, an inhabitant of Africa. It passes a large
portion of its time in the water, especially in the day-
time, leaving it at night in search of its food, which is
the herbage growing on the banks of rivers and lakes.
Its hide is of great thickness, even to two inches, on its
back and sides, and is made into shields, whips, and
walking-sticks. This animal is supposed by some to be
the Behemoth of the Bible.

144. There are certain birds, called Rhinoceros Birds,
which are always in attendance on the hippopotamus
and the rhinoceros. They live on the ticks and other
parasites which swarm upon these animals. It is said
that these birds are the best friends which those huge
creatures have, for they rouse them from their sleep
when they see an enemy approach.

145. The Horse Family includes the Horse, the Ass,
the Zebras, etc. The hoof in this family is one solid
piece, and so the family is sometimes called solidungula.

146. The first mention made of the Horse in the Bible
is in connection with the sale of corn in Egypt by Joseph,
Genesis, xlvii., 17. What is the original country of the
horse is not known. The herds running wild in Tartary,
Carpenter says, are undoubtedly descendants of horses
that have been domesticated, for their habits are the
same with those of the herds in the pampas of South
America, and these are known to have descended from
horses introduced by the Spaniards. The herd has al-
ways a leader which is a male, and when attacked they
put the colts and the females in the rear, and make re-
sistance by kicking with their hind feet. The natives
catch these wild horses with the lasso, a noose of leather,
which they throw with great skill, and they very readily
tame them. There are herds of wild oxen as well as
horses in the pampas of South America, and there is ac-
cordingly an immense trade in the hides of both.

THICK-SKINNED QUADRUPEDS. 85

147. The finest horses in the world are found in Ara-
bia, and nowhere is this animal more highly prized. The
Arab treats his horse as one of the family, permitting
liirn to live in the same tent with him, to feed from his
hand, and even to sleep among his children. The mutual
attachment between the horse and his master is there-
fore often of the strongest character, and the most ex-
travagant offers will sometimes fail to induce an Arab to
part with his horse, even when pinching poverty makes
these offers very tempting to him.

148. The Ass was domesticated probably before the
Horse. It was, and is now, in many parts of the East,
the beast usually ridden in civil life, the Horse being
especially devoted to war. The care bestowed upon it
there makes it really an elegant and spirited animal.
The custom of having persons of distinction ride on white
asses is of great antiquity, as appears from Judges v., 10,
" Speak, ye that ride on white asses." Some asses are
fleeter than the Horse, as the Dzigguetai, Fig. 72, which
inhabits the greater part of Central Asia.

Fig. 72.— The Dzigguetai.

149. The Zebras, Fig. 73 (p. 86), found in Southern
Africa, live, like the horse, in troops, and, with their dis-

86

NATURAL HISTORY.

Fig. 73. -The Zebra.

tinct and regular stripes, make a brilliant appearance as
they flee together before the hunter. The Quagga of
the same country is similar, but from the indistinctness
of its stripes it is a less beautiful animal. Neither of
these animals can be profitably used like the Horse and
Ass, because they are so wild and vicious.

Questions. — What are the orders of the Ungulata? What are the
families of the Pachydermata ? How many species are there of the
Elephant, and where are they found ? What is the arrangement of
the Elephant's foot ? What are the various offices of his proboscis ?
What is his food, and how does he obtain it ? What is said of the
herds of elephants ? How are Elephants valuable to man ? Which
species is most so ? What is said of large extinct animals ? What
is said of the Tapirs ? What of the Pig Family ? What of the
Babyroussa? Of the Rhinoceros? Of the Hippopotamus ? Of the
Rhinoceros Birds ? What does the Horse Family include ? What
is the first that we know of the Horse? What is said of the herds
of wild horses? What of the Arabian Horse? What of the Ass?
What species of the Ass is fleeter than the Horse ? What is said of
the Zebra?

BUHLNANT QUA1XKUPEDS. 87

CHAPTER IX.

RUMINANT QUADRUPEDS.

150. OF the Ruminantia, or cud-chewing quadrupeds,
there are eight families: 1. Bovidae, oxen, buffaloes, etc.
2. Ovidaa, sheep. 3. Capridae, goats. 4. Cervida3, the
deer tribe. 5. Moschida3, the musk-deer tribe. 6. An-
telopidae, antelopes. 7. CamelidaB, camels. 8. Came-
lopardae, giraffes, or camelopards.

151. No animals are so useful to man as those of this
order. Almost all the animal flesh which he consumes
comes from the Ruminants. Some of them are his beasts
of burden, and some supply him with various articles of
necessity and convenience, such as milk, tallow, hides,
horns, etc. Being thus necessary to man, they are dis-
tributed over nearly all parts of the globe. Some of
them, as the Reindeer of Lapland, and the Camel of
Arabia and Northern Africa, are confined mostly to cer-
tain regions ; while others, as the Ox, the Sheep, and the
Goat, go every where with man, except in regions which
are so cold as not to afford them the requisite food in
pasturage.

152. The Ruminants make a very well defined order,
all the families agreeing in their prominent common
characteristics, and none of them being to any extent
aberrant. Of all the herbivorous animals these are the
most entirely confined to vegetable food. Of the Ro-
dents, though mostly herbivorous, there are many that
eat some animal food ; most of the Edentata live on in-
sects, and some devour flesh ; and several species even
of the Pachydermata have in part an animal diet. But
there is not one of the Ruminants that is not exclusively
herbivorous. Some, as the Camel and the Giraffe, are
formed for browsing on the leaves and young shoots of

88 NATURAL HISTORY.

trees, but most of the order are fitted to gather and live
upon the herbage on the surface of the ground.

153. The feet in this order agree in terminating in two
toes with hoofs. These appear externally as if there was
a single hoof cleft. Hence these animals have been call-
ed cloven-footed. No animal in this order has front or
incisor teeth in the upper jaw. There is a firm pad there,
against which the incisor or cutting teeth of the lower
jaw press when the jaws are brought together. The
back teeth are specially formed for grinding, and the
jaws are adapted to the side wise grinding motion. The
difference between this and the motion of the jaws in a
carnivorous animal, you may see if you observe a cow
and a dog when eating.

154. The name of this order is given to it from the
singular process called rumination. The object of this
I will explain. The stomach of the Ruminant is not a
single organ. It has four cavities, as you may see in Fig.
74, in the case of the Sheep ; or, rather, there are four

(Esophagus.

3d stomach. -.

Intestine. .

«j y ou

*• • f « 2

Fig. 74.— Stomachs of the Sheep.

stomachs. The grass cropped by the Ruminant animal
is not chewed at once, but is passed directly into the

RUMINANT QUADRUPEDS. 89

large first stomach, or paunch. Here it is macerated or
soaked. Then it is passed into the second stomach, or
honeycomb stomach, as it is called, from the cellular ar-
rangement of its inner surface. Here in some way it is
all made into distinct balls. Each of these is passed up
into the mouth, and is chewed. It then goes down the
gullet into the third stomach, the manyplies, so called
because its inner lining membrane has a great many folds.
From thence it is passed into the fourth stomach. It is
this that corresponds to the stomach of man, and of all
animals that live partly or wholly on animal food ; for
here the gastric juice is secreted and is mingled with the
food. In the suckling Ruminant the milk passes directly
into the fourth stomach, the other stomachs remaining
unemployed until the animal begins to graze.

,155. The purpose of this arrangement for rumination
is thus stated by Carpenter : " The Ruminantia, taken as
a group, are timid, and are destitute of powerful means
of defense against their foes, seeking safety in flight when
alarmed, rather than stopping to defend themselves. A
large proportion of them are natives of tropical regions,
where they are liable to the attacks of the larger beasts
of prey. Now their food — consisting, as it does, of grass-
es and herbage, which contain a considerable amount of
woody fibre — requires to be thoroughly masticated be-
fore it can be properly digested. When feeding on the
pastures they frequent they are subject to many alarms ;
and if they were compelled to spend a considerable time
in masticating their food before swallowing it, they would
often be in danger of starvation, by being obliged to leave
their pasture before their wants were supplied. But by
their power of subsequently returning their food to the
mouth, and chewing it at their leisure, they are enabled
to dispense entirely with any mastication previously to
first swallowing it, and to feed with comparative quick-
ness. They thus convey a store of food into the first
stomach or paunch, as the Monkey does into his cheek-

90 NATURAL HISTORY.

pouches ; and then, retiring to a secluded place among
their mountain fastnesses, they masticate their aliment
in comparative security. Moreover, the maceration (or
soaking) in the fluids of the first and second stomachs, to
which the food has been subjected, causes it to be much
more readily ground down than if it were triturated im-
mediately on being first cropped from the pasture."

156. There is an obvious adaptation of the structure
of the Ruminants to the habits just stated. That they
may quickly perceive the approach of an enemy their
senses are extremely acute. Their eyes are placed at the
side of the head rather than in front, which affords them
a great range of vision. Besides this, the pupils of the
eyes have an oval shape, extending horizontally, instead
of up and down, as we see it in the Cat.* This increases
the range of sight in the rear direction. The ears are
placed far back, and can be readily turned to any quar-
ter. This is quite essential in fleeing from their pursuers.
In order that they may flee swiftly they have long legs,
and are for the most part slender in form. When there
is an accumulation of flesh and fat, making the animal
bulky and slow in motion, it is commonly owing to the
influence of domestication. Though the Ruminants are
generally timid animals, the means of defense which they
have in their horns and hoofs some of them are disposed
to use sometimes in offensive warfare, at least among
each other.

157. The family Bovida? (Bos, an Ox) is distinguished
from the other families of this order by the uniform pres-
ence of horns in both sexes, and by the bulkiness of their
forms. The common Ox is diffused widely in all quar-
ters of the globe, and has a great variety of breeds. I
will notice only one. The Bos Indicus, the Zebu, or

* The reason for this shape of the pupil in the cat and other ani-
mals of the feline tribe is obvious. In taking its prey the animal has
need of a good range of vision up and down, or vertically, rather than
laterally, especially if its prey be on any height, as a tree.

RUMINANT QUADRUPEDS. 91

Brahmin Bull, Fig. 75, is a native of India, and is remark-
able for a large fatty hump above the shoulders. In all

Fig. 75 —Zebu, or Brahmin Bull.

Southern Asia and Eastern Africa this animal supplies
the place of the common Ox, and is supposed to have
come from the same origin, instead of being another spe-
cies. The Hindoos treat it with great reverence and at-
tention. They allow it to go about the streets, which it
does with great familiarity, even walking into shops,
helping itself to sweetmeats and other articles, and re-
senting the slightest aifronts with a peevish thrust of the
horns. But while the bull is thus honored, the ox is
treated without mercy, being urgeu on in its labor by
the cruel goad. The Brahmin cow is treated more kind-
ly than the ox, but is not reverenced as the bull is.

158. The true Buffaloes belong to a genus of this fam-
ily. They are found in Asia and Africa, and to some lit-
tle extent in the south of Europe. The common species,
Fig. 76 (p. 92), was originally a native of India, where it
has long been domesticated, and used like the Ox. Its
hide is very strong, and harness is made from it.

159. The American Bison, Fig. 77 (p. 92), improperly
called a Buffalo, is found in immense herds in the prairies

92

NATURAL HISTORY.

Fig. 76.— Buffalo.

of North America. The Indians hunt them with the bow
and arrow, mounted upon swift horses to give them chase,

Fisr. 77. — American Bison.

They show great skill as well as daring, often firing their
arrows into the hearts of their victims. The flesh of

RUMINANT QUADRUPEDS. 93

these animals constitutes a large portion of the food of
the Indians. Much of the pemm ican, so called, used by
hunters and voyagers in the far north, is made from the
meat of the Bison. Then the skin, the buifalo-robe, is a
necessary article of clothing, and is used also in construct-
ing tents, and the horns furnish the powder-flasks of the
hunters. The Buffalo or Bison hunt is therefore a great
item in the life of an Indian in the West. The herds of
these animals sometimes number thousands. Lewis and
Clarke supposed that there were certainly 20,000 in one
herd which they saw. The range of the Bison in this
country is becoming every year less extensive from the
encroachments of civilized man.

160. The Yak, Fig. 78, is found in Tartary. It is not

Fig. 78 Yak.

a very large animal. The mass of hair, which, rising
above the shoulders, hangs like a mane almost to the
ground, is applied to various uses by the Tartars. They
weave it into cloth, which they use in making articles of
dress and their tents, and they also make ropes from it.
The hair of the tail, which is great in amount, is long and
fine. The tail, with an ivory or metal handle, is used in
India to keep off musquitoes, and is called a chowrie.

94 NATURAL HISTORY.

161. The Musk Ox, Fig. 79, is a native of the cold re
gions of North America. It somewhat resembles ths

Fig. 79.— Musk Ox.

Yak. It is covered with very long hair which almost
reaches the ground. It appears in small herds, number-
ing, perhaps, twenty or thirty. Both this animal and the
Yak are rather small, but the thick hair covering them
makes them look quite large.

Questions. — What are the families of the order Ruminantia ? What
is said of the usefulness of the Ruminants to man ? State how well
defined this order is compared with some others. What is the struc-
ture of the feet of the Ruminants ? What are the structure and ar-
rangement of their teeth ? What is rumination ? Describe the ar-
rangement of the stomachs of the Ruminants. Illustrate its purpose.
What is there in some Monkeys analogous to the paunch of the Ru-
minants? In what other respects is the organization of the Rumi-
nants adapted to their habits ? What is said of the arrangement of
the eye? What influence has domestication on the bulk of the Rumi-
nants? What partial exceptions are there to the general timid habits
of this order? What distinguishes the Bovidas from the other fami-
lies ? What is said of the distribution of the Ox, and of its varieties ?
What is said of the Bos Indicus ? Where are the true Buffaloes
found ? How are they useful to man ? What is said of the Ameri-
can Bison? What of its usefulness to man? What is said of the
Yak ? What of the Musk Ox ?

RUMINANT QUADRUPEDS. 95

CHAPTER X.

RUMINANT QUADRUPEDS — continued.

162. THE different species of the Ovidse, or Sheep
family, have many varieties, from the influence of domes-
tication. The Sheep is the first animal noticed in the
Bible as subjected to man, for " Abel was a keeper of
sheep." The tail of the Sheep seems to be much affected
by domestication, it being much larger in the domesti-
cated than in those that run wild. In the Egyptian and
Syrian Sheep it often becomes enormous, reaching a
weight of 50 or even 100 pounds, in which case a board
or a little wagon is attached to it, to prevent it from
dragging on the ground. This overgrown tail is mostly
a mass of fat, which is considered a great delicacy, and
is frequently used as butter.

163. The Capridae, or Goat family, are nearly allied to
the Sheep. They are, however, stronger, lighter, more
agile, and less timid. They appear in almost all parts
of the world. In some countries they are greatly valued
for their milk. The best Morocco leather is made from
their skins, and the skin of the kid is much used IL mak-
ing fine gloves. The silken wool of the Angora Goat of
Asia Minor hangs in long ringlets, furnishing the ma-
terial for the finest camlets. From the wool of the Cash-
mere Goat of Thibet and the region of the Himalaya
Mountains, are manufactured the famous Cashmere
shawls. The Caucasian Ibex, Fig. 80 (p. 96), which in-
habits the Alpine regions of Europe and Western Asia,
is remarkable for its large and beautiful horns. They
are surrounded with rings at regular intervals, and are
very strong. When chased, it will frequently turn on
Its pursuer, and with its horns, hurl him from some

7

96

NATURAL HISTORY.

Fig. 80.— Caucasian Ibex.

precipice, unless he
can shoot it before it
reaches him.

164. TheCervidse,
or Deer family, are
distinguished from
all the other fami-
lies of Ruminants, in
having horns which
are cast off at inter-
vals, new ones grow-
ing out in their place.
In the young animal
they are small, but in
the full-grown Deer
they are very large.
These horns are also
covered with a vel-
vety skin, and are called antlers. While they are grow-
ing there are blood-vessels in this skin, and from the
blood in them the antlers are made. You can see on
them, after this skin is stripped off, just the course of
the large arteries, by the channels for them in the horn.
These antlers grow very rapidly. After they have at-
tained their growth, there is no farther need of the blood
in the " velvet," and it must be got rid of, for if it re-
mained there would be bleeding every time that the
Deer should hit any thing hard with its antlers. There
is a singular process for doing this. In the rings of
bone at the foot of the antlers there are openings, through
which the arteries pass. These gradually close up, and
the supply of blood to the "velvet" is, therefore, grad
ually cut off. It would not answer to have this done
suddenly, for then all the blood going to the head would
be turned in upon the brain, and such a rush of blood to
that organ would be inj urious, perhaps fatal . After blood
ceases to be supplied to this skin it dries and readily peels

RUMINANT QUADRUPEDS. 9?

off, and the Deer gets rid of it by rubbing his antlers
against the trees.

165. The females of this family, except in the case of
the Reindeer, have no antlers. In those species that are
found in extremely cold climates, as the Elk, Fig. 81,

Fig. 81.— The Elk.

the antlers are apt to be flattened, " as if," says Carpen-
ter, " they were destined to be used by the animal, like
shovels, in clearing the snow from off its food." The
animals of this tribe are celebrated for both their beauty
and speed. They are distributed over all parts of the
globe, except Australia, and the southern and central
regions of Africa, these regions being supplied in place
of them with Giraffes and multitudes of Antelopes.

166. The Reindeer is seen throughout the Arctic re-
gions of America, Europe, and Asia. It lives in summer
on the buds and twigs of small shrubs, and in winter on
a lichen growing under the snow, which it digs up with

NATURAL HISTORY.

its feet. It is gregarious both in the wild and in the
domesticated state. So important is this animal to the
Laplander, that his wealth is estimated by the number
of Reindeer which he has, just as that of the patriarchs
of old, and the Arabs of the present time, is estimated
by the number of their herds, and flocks, and camels.
A Laplander in good circumstances has several hundred,
and some have not less than two thousand. The Gadfly
and the Mosquito are so annoying to the Reindeer, that
the Laplander is obliged to make periodical migrations
with his herd to the mountains to escape them.

167. The Axis Deer, Fig. 82, is a beautiful animal. It

Fig. 82.— The Axis Deer.

is a native of India. Its horns are slender, and are di
vided quite regularly into three branches. Its usual
color is a fawn yellow, with regular white spots, and a
black stripe running down the back.

168. The Moschidae take their name from that pecul-
iarly strong perfume called musk, which is obtained from
one of the species. They resemble the Deer family in

RUMINANT QUADRUPEDS. 99

general appearance, but they are much smaller, and they
have no horns. The true Musk-deer, Fig. 83, is found

Fig. 83.— The Musk-deer.

in the central part of Asia. The musk is contained in a
pouch. Its perfume is so strong when pure and fresh,
that the hunter, after killing the animal, is obliged to
cover his nostrils with cloth before he secures the pouch,
else he will have severe headache, and perhaps violent
bleeding from the nose.

169. This substance, the most powerful perfume in the
world, is formed from the blood of the animal, like any
other secretion. And yet his blood does not differ essen-
tially from that of other animals, neither is his food espe*
cially different from that of those in the same neighbor-
hood. The chemistry which can produce this, and vari-
ous other perfumes in other animals, is utterly beyond
our knowledge. The same thing can be said of the
poisons in both the animal and vegetable world, they
being made in the animal from the blood, and in the
vegetable from the sap.

170. The Antelopes are similar to the Deer in general
form and in activity. They differ from them chiefly in
having permanent horns. There are more than seventy
species distributed through the warm parts of the earth.
They are most abundant in Africa, a few species being
found in Asia, fewer still in America, and only two in

100 NATURAL HISTORY.

Europe. They may be divided into four sub-families:
1. The true Antelopes, remarkable for their graceful
forms, long and slender limbs, and great agility. 2. The
Bush Antelopes, having a more compact form and shorter
limbs, and living in jungles and thickets. 3. The Capri-
form Antelopes, shaped much like goats, and living on
hills and mountains ; the Chamois of Europe is of this
kind. 4. Bovine Antelopes, verging in their shape to
the Ox family ; this may be considered as a decidedly
aberrant group. I will notice but a few of the species
of the Antelope tribe.

171. The Springbok, Fig. 84, is one of the most beau-

Fig. 84.— The Springbok.

tiful and agile of the true Antelopes. It inhabits south-
ern Africa. It derives its name from the habit which it
has of springing up to the height of several feet when
alarmed. Large herds of Springboks spread themselves
over the wide plains. When a drought occurs, as is
often the case in the tropical regions, they migrate in
large bodies in search of food. Some persons have seen,
as they suppose, as many as twenty or thirty thousand
together.

172. Among the true Antelopes is also the Gazelle,

RUMINANT QUADRUPEDS.

101

Fig. 85.— The Gazelle.

Fig. 85, so celebrated in the poetry of the East. Tins
is probably the Roe of the Bible. Its eyes are large,
dark, and lustrous. Its speed is so great that not even

Fig. 80.— The Oryx.

102

NATURAL HISTORY.

the Greyhound can overtake it. It lives in herds, and
is found in Arabia, and Syria. It is easily domesticated,
and is often seen in the court-yards of houses in Syria.

173. The Oryx, Fig. 86 (p. 101), is a native of South
Africa. It is the swiftest of all animals in that region.
It has many of, the characteristic beauties of the Ante-
lopes, but its tail is like that of a horse, and its horns
are very peculiar, being perfectly straight and of a dark
color. With these formidable horns, two and a half feet
in length, it can defend itself even against the Lion.
When the Lion attacks it, it lowers its horns and receives
him on its sharp points ; and the two have been often
known to die together, the Oryx by the violence of the
shock and the Lion from the wounds of the horns.

174. The Kudu, Fig. 87, also a native of South Africa,

Fig. 87 — The Kudu.

18 one of the most beautiful of the Antelopes. Its horns
are nearly four feet long, and their spiral form adds

RUMINANT QUADRUPEDS. 103

much to their beauty. Although a large animal, it can
leap with wonderful activity. The largest of the Ante-
lopes is the Eland, found in the same region. It is as
large as an ox. It is hunted for its flesh, which is high-
ly esteemed.

175. The Gnu, or Horned Horse, Fig. 88, is a very

Fig. 83.— The Gnu.

singular animal belonging to this same region. It is
difficult, at first view, to say whether it has most of the
characteristics of the Horse, or the Buffalo, or the Ante-
lope. Its horns cover the top of the forehead, then,
sweeping down in front of the face, turn with a sharp
curve upward. This is like some of the Buffaloes. The
resemblance to the Horse is in the mane and the tail.
The legs are like those of the Antelopes. It is an animal
of great speed. When enraged it is very dangerous.

176. The family CamelidaB includes the Camels and
Dromedaries of the Old World, and the Llamas, which
may be said to be the Camels of the New. There are
two species of the true Camel : the Arabian Camel, Fig.
89 (p. 104), having one hump, and the Bactrian Camel,
having two humps, the latter being an inhabitant of
Central Asia, Thibet, and China.

104

NATURAL HISTORY.

Fig. 89 — The Arabian Camel.

177, The Arabian Camel has been called very appro
priately " the ship of the desert." It is especially fitted
in many respects for traveling across the wide deserts
in that quarter of the world. Its broad elastic cushions
on its feet afford it a firm footing on the sand. The
callous surfaces on its chest and limbs defend it from the
heat of the sand as it takes its rest. The eye is shielded
from the glaring light of the sun by a brow hanging over
like a roof, and by its long eyelashes. Its nostrils can
be closed at pleasure when the hot sand is driven alonsr

*- o

in clouds by the wind. Its teeth and lips are fitted to
the food on which it must depend in the desert. The
thorny shrubs and tough leaves which it eats require
powerful cutting and grinding teeth for their mastica-
tion. These the Camel has. And with its long stout
lip it readily draws the twigs and leaves into its mouth.
But the most essential provision of all is in the water-
cells in one of the stomachs of the Camel. Here he can
stow away a large quantity of water for use on his long
journey. This he uses only as he requires it. When

RUMINANT QUADRUPEDS. 105

he is thirsty, or needs water to moisten his food as he
eats it, he can force any amount that is required out of
this reservoir up into the throat. By this arrangement
the Camel can go without drinking for many days.
Sometimes travelers, who are suffering severely from
want of water, kill one of the Camels in their caravan
for the purpose of getting at the water in this reservoir.

178. The Camel is a strange - looking animal. The
Pictorial Museum contains the following good descrip-
tion of it : " There is something strange and imposing in
the aspect of the gaunt and angular Camel, destitute, as
it confessedly is, of grace and animation. We are
amazed at its height, its uncouth proportions, its long,
thin neck, its meagre limbs, and the huge hump on its
back, which conveys the idea of distortion. Quietly it
stands in one fixed attitude, its long-lashed eyelids droop-
ing over the large dark eyes; it moves, and onward
stalks with slow and measured steps, as if exercise were
painful. To complete the picture, it is covered with
shaggy hair irregularly disposed, here forming tangled
masses, there almost wanting. Its thick mobile upper
lip is deeply divided ; its feet are large and spreading,
the toes being merely tipped with little hoofs."

179. The docility of the Camel is such that one man
can lead thirty, or even fifty of them, fastened together
in a row. The traveler mounts the Camel as it is kneel-
ing ; and as it rises, unlike the well-known habit of the
horse, upon its hind feet first, he will be thrown suddenly
over its head unless he is especially careful. The im-
portance of the Camel in the regions where it is found
can hardly be realized by us. It is essential, as you have
seen, wherever wide deserts are to be traversed ; and St.
Hilaire, in his Letters on Egypt, says that " without it
nearly the whole of Africa and one quarter of Asia might
perhaps have remained uninhabited." This statement is
rather too strong, but it shows what is the estimate of
the Camel's value by one who had traveled extensively

106

NATURAL HISTORY.

in those regions. Besides its uses as a beast of burden,
this animal affords sustenance to man by its milk and its
flesh, and also hair for the manufacture of cloth.

1 80. The Dromedary is a mere variety of the Camel,
holding the same relation to it as a race-horse does to
the heavy draft-horse. It is used principally for jour-
neys where dispatch is requisite; and it can carry only
a single person, and but a light burden in addition* It
is by no means as fleet as a horse, but it can maintain a
moderate pace for a long time, going easily at the rate
of six or even eight miles an hour for twenty-four hours
consecutively.

181. The Llamas of South America, of which there are
several species, though they are much smaller animals
than the Camel, resemble it in many respects in form
and structure. They have, however, no hump, and their
feet, instead of being cushioned, have hoofs with claw-like
projections, to enable them to climb the rocky hills among
which they live. The Peruvian Llama, Fig. 90, inhabits

Fig. 90.— Peruvian Llama.

elevated regions, almost on the borders of 'perpetual snow.
When the Spaniards came first to South America, this
animal was the only beast of burden ; but now it is su-

RUMINANT QUADRUPEDS. 10"/

perseded mostly by the horses and mules which have
been introduced from Europe.

182. In the family of Camelopardidae there is only one
known species, the Giraffe, Fig. 91. This very peculiar

Fig. 91.— Giraffe.

animal has some points of resemblance to the Camel, and
some to the Deers and Antelopes. It is found 'only in
Africa; there being two varieties, one in the southern
part of the continent, and the other in Nubia, Abyssinia,
and the adjoining districts. It is seen in herds of twelve
to forty in number, making splendid objects in the land-
scape, as with their tall necks they browse from the trees.

Questions. — What is said of the Ovidae? What effect is produced
on their tails by domestication ? How do the Capridae differ from the
Ovidse ? What is said of their usefulness to man ? What is said of
the Angora Goat ? Of the Cashmere Goat ? Of the Caucasian Ibex ?
How are the Ccrvida; distinguished from the other families of the Ru-
minants? What is the office of the "velvet," and how is it disposed

108 NATURAL HISTORY.

of when no longer needed? What is said of the Elk? Of the Rein
deer? Of the Axis Deer? How do the Moschidse differ from the
Deer family ? What gives them their name ? How is the musk ob-
tained ? What is said of the chemistry of this secretion ? Compare
the Antelopes with the Deer. What countries do they inhabit ? Into
what sub-families are they divided ? What is said of the Springbok ?
Of the Gazelle ? Of the Oryx? Of the Kudu? Of the Gnu? What
are included in the family Camelidce ? Where are the two species of
Camels found, and how do they differ? Show in what respects the
organization of the Camel is adapted to its habits and circumstances.
Describe its appearance. What is said of its docility ? Of its mode
of rising from a kneeling posture ? Of its importance to man ? What
is said of the Dromedary ? What of the Llamas ? What of the Gi-
raffe?

CHAPTER XL

THE WHALE TRIBE.

183. THE water contains both the largest and smallest
of animals. In the sub-class now to be considered, the
Cetacea, or Whale tribe, we find the largest animals ex-
isting at the present time. Those monstrous terrestrial
quadrupeds, the Elephant and the Hippopotamus, are not
to be compared to the Whale ; and even the smaller spe-
cies of this class, the Dolphin and Porpoise, are above
the average size of land animals.

184. The animals of this tribe are, unlike all that we
have as yet considered, destitute of both hands and feet.
Though they are Mammals, they are fitted to live, like
the Fishes, in the water. They were classified among fish-
es by ancient zoologists, and are still spoken of as fish in
ordinary conversation. There is one group of Mammals
already noticed, the Seal family, which have some ap-
proach to the Whales both in form and habits (§ 101).

185. The general shape of the Whales is like that of
fishes. The tail is, however, different in one respect. In
the Whale it is flat horizontally, not vertically, as in the
Fish. In swimming, therefore, it moves up and down,

THE WHALE TRIBE. 109

while that of the fish moves laterally. Some of its mo.
tions, however, are oblique, and not wholly vertical. It
is with the tail, as in the case of fishes, that the Whale
mostly swims, the flippers answering the purpose chiefly
of balancers. When the Whale is killed he turns over on
his back, showing that it is by the action of the flippers
that he keeps in his ordinary position. Though the Whale

has neither hands nor feet,
yet the frame-work of the
flippers is much like that of
a hand, as may be seen in
Fig. 92, representing a flip-
per, and also its bones un-
covered. The immense pow-
er of the tail in swimming
can be judged of by its
breadth, which often is 20

Fig. 92. — Flipper of the Whale. feet.

186. The skin of the Cetacea is very peculiar. In other
animals which have much fat, it is accumulated beneath
the skin ; but in the Whale the skin is enormously thick,
and has the fat mingled with its fibres. It is this mix-
ture of skin and fat which is called blubber. This is
sometimes two feet thick, and weighs in some cases 30
tons ; and yet, it being lighter than water, it helps to buoy
up the monstrous body. When stripped of its blubber
the Whale sinks at once. The mingling of the fat with
the skin has two objects. One is to enable the Whale
to keep its blood warm in the cold water of the frigid
regions, fat being one of the best non-conductors of heat,
and therefore serving to keep the heat in the body. The
other is to enable the animal to bear the immense press-
ure of the water when it goes down to great depths.

187. Although the Whale has lungs, like terrestrial an-
imals, it can stay under the water for a long time. It has
a peculiar provision enabling it to do this. This I will
explain. In the " First Book in Physiology" I showed

110 NATURAL HISTORY.

you that the great object of breathing is to change dark
blood into red blood, and that the blood, as it returns to
the heart from all parts of the body of a dark color, is
sent to the lungs to be changed to red blood, before it is
again distributed over the system. Red blood is neces-
sary to every organ, to have life go on ; and if it could
be supplied to all the organs without breathing, then the
breathing could be suspended without destroying life.
Now the Whale has large reservoirs where the red blood
accumulates while it is up at the surface of the water
breathing. When, therefore, it goes down, every part
of its body is supplied with red blood from these reser-
voirs. When the supply is gone, the Whale feels un-
comfortable, and rises to the surface to renew the sup-
ply. The nostrils are near the highest part of the head,
so that it can breathe as soon as it reaches the surface.
These orifices, and also the openings of the ears, have
valves, which can close so tightly that, even when subject-
ed to the pressure of a great depth of water, not a drop
can enter.

188. The nostrils are the blow-holes. The Whale has
a curious apparatus for spouting. There are two large
pouches under the nostrils, which can be filled with wa-
ter taken in by the mouth. Here it can be retained by
an arrangement of valves till the Whale wishes to spout ;
and then, by a forcible compression of the pouches, the
water is thrown upward through the blow-holes, the
valves of which are pushed open.

189. The true Whales are of two kinds or families:
1. The Spermaceti Whale, which has teeth in the lower
jaw. 2. The Whalebone Whale, which has no teeth.
Of the Spermaceti Whales there are two species, the
most common of which, the Cachelot, or Sperm Whale,
Fig. 93 (p. Ill), I will notice. When full-grown it is
from seventy to eighty feet long. The capture of this
animal is attended with even greater danger than that
of the Greenland Whale, on account of its formidable

THE WHALE TRIBE.

Ill

Fig. 93 The Sperm Whale.

teeth. In the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford there is an
uncler-jaw-bone of this whale, sixteen and a half feet in
length, containing forty-eight huge teeth. It can knock
a boat in pieces with its tail, or bite it in two with its
jaws. In its immense head there is a very small brain,
but there is a large reservoir of mingled spermaceti and
oil in nearly a liquid state. A hole is cut in its head by
its captors, and this mixture is baled out with buc'kets.
By draining and boiling, the spp.rflia.f*fiti is obtained from
this separate from the oil. The blubber of this whale
is thin, but yields a fine and valuable oil. The sperma-
ceti obtained from a Sperm Whale of ordinary size
amounts to about ten or twelve barrels.

190. The perfume called Ambergris is found in the in-
testines of the Sperm Whale. It is of the consistence
of wax, is inflammable, and has a musky odor.

191. The Sperm Whales are gregarious, forming com-
panies of some hundreds, with two of the largest as
guards and leaders. Their food is fish, which they can

swallow of a large size, for their throats are capacious

8

112 NATURAL HISTORY.

enough to take in a body of the size of a man. But one
young is produced at a time, and this is about fourteen
feet long. The milk of the mother Whale is very much
like that of quadrupeds.

192. Whalebone Whales are as large as the Sperm
Whales. There are two species, the Greenland Whale,
and the Rorqual. The former is the best known, and
is altogether the most valuable, because it furnishes the
most blubber and the best whalebone. These whales
have no teeth, but instead have a remarkable apparatus
for taking their food, which consists of very small sea-
animals of various kinds. The whalebone is the frame-
work of the food-catching apparatus ; it is in the head,
in laminae or plates to the number of three or four hund-
red. All of these are fringed with fibres extending down
into the mouth. Now, when the Whale feeds, it rushes
through the water with its huge mouth wide open, throw-
ing out the water that enters the mouth by spouting
through the blow-holes. The consequence is, that as the
water passes through the fringes, the little animals in it
are caught by them, and then are swallowed. The
throat, in contrast with that of the Sperm Whale, is so
narrow, that what an ox could easily swallow would
choke this immense animal.

193. The Dolphin family of the Cetacea includes, be-
sides the Porpoise and the Dolphin, many animals ordi-
narily called Whales. They all have teeth in greater
number than any other Mammals, some of them even
over a hundred in each jaw. The Porpoise occurs in
large numbers in all the seas of Europe, and on the coasts
of America. It is abundant in our bays and large rivers.
Its length is from four to eight feet. It lives on her-
rings, mackerel, salmon, etc. It is the most common and
abundant of all the Cetacea. The blubber yields a very
fine oil. Its skin is tanned, and the leather is used par-
ticularly for the upper leather of boots and shoes. It is
amusing to see the Porpoises rise to the surface, and

THE WHALE TRIBE.

113

then dive down, as they chase each other in their gam-
bols. The Dolphin is quite as sportive as the Porpoise,
and much more agile. It often follows ships in numer-
ous herds, executing its playful movements. The stories
about the beautifully-changing hues of the dying Dolphin
are untrue; this voracious animal is altogether unpoet-
ical even to death. Its colors are black and white, and
the only change which occurs is that the black, after a
time, becomes brown, and the white gray.

194. There are some aberrant genera of the Dolphin
family. One of the most remarkable we have in the
Narwhal, or Sea Unicorn, as it is commonly called, Fig.
94. Its body is from thirty to forty feet long. It has

Fig. 94.— The Narwhal.

a long, straight, pointed tusk, from five to ten feet in
length. It really has two tusks, but only one of them
becomes long, the other not projecting sufficiently to be
seen. There is much question about the use to which
the animal puts this tusk. Some suppose that its chief
purpose is to dig up sea-weed for food. Others suppose

114 NATURAL HISTORY.

that the prey of the animal is transfixed by it. It is, at
any rate, a very powerful weapon, and the Narwhal has
been known to thrust it into the oak timbers of a ship.
This animal, formidable as it is, is often taken by the
Greenlander, who obtains from it oil, food, weapons, and
ropes. He uses the tusk in the manufacture of spears,
arrows, hooks, etc.

195. There is a family of Cetacea called the Dugong
tribe, which is so aberrant that zoologists differ as to
their proper place, some associating them, on account of
their thick, tough skins, with the Pachydermata, and
some placing them with the Cetacea. They are herbiv-
orous, and not carnivorous like the other families of the
Cetacea, living mostly on sea-weed. They have stiff mus-
taches, and, when their bodies are partly out of the water,
they have, viewed at a distance, a somewhat human ap-
pearance, which has given rise to the " mermaid" stories.
These animals are called Sea-cows, Sea-calves, etc. One
species, found in the Indian Seas, especially among the
islands of the Indian Archipelago, is eighteen or twenty
feet in length. In Fig. 95 you have the skeleton of this

Fig. 95. — Skeleton of Dugong.

singular animal. It has, you see, no hinder extremities.
The anterior extremities are paddles, like the flippers of
the Whale ; and the resemblance in the bones to those of
the hand of man is very decided, the four fingers being
present, and an attempt at a thumb. There is an animal
similar to this found on the coast of Mexico and of the
northern part of South America. It is, however, smaller,

CHARACTERISTICS OF BIRDS. 115

being but six or seven feet long, and on its paddles are
short nails, by which it can drag its unwieldy body on
the land to bask in the sun or to get food. All the ani-
mals of this tribe are like the Whales in their paddles,
their oily skin, their horizontally flattened tail, and their
fish-like shape.

Questions. — What is said of the size of animals living in water?
How do the Whale tribe compare in size with terrestrial animals ?
How do the Cetacea differ from all other Mammals ? What group
of Mammals are somewhat like them ? How does the tail of Whales
differ from that of Fishes ? What is the breadth of it ? What is
the chief office of the flippers ? What is said of their frame-work ?
What is the blubber ? What purposes does it serve ? Explain the
provision which enables the Whale to stay under water so long.
What is said of the nostrils ? Describe the spouting apparatus.
What are the two families of Whales ? Describe the Cachelot Whale.
What is said of its spermaceti? How much is obtained from one
Whale ? What is Ambergris ? What is said of the habits of Sperm
Whales? What is said of the Whalebone Whales? What are in-
cluded in the Dolphin family? What is said of the Porpoise?
What of the Dolphin ? What of the Narwhal ? What of the Du-
gong family ? What are the animals of this family commonly called ?
Where are they found ? What is said of the structure of the species
represented ?

CHAPTER XII.

CHARACTERISTICS OF BIRDS.

196. BIRDS form the second grand division of warm-
blooded Vertebrates. This division is separated from
the first division, the Mammals, by very marked charac-
teristics, which I will point out. 1 . They are oviparous
(§ 23). 2. They do not suckle their young. 3. They are
covered with feathers. 4. They are constructed for flight,
with some few exceptions. 5. They have no teeth, which
is true of only a few species of Mammals. 6. They have
bills, which is true of only one species of Mammals, the
Duck-billed Platypus of Australia (§ 133). 7. They have

116

NATURAL HISTORY.

some peculiarities in the digestive organs, most birds hav-
ing, in place of the process of mastication, a crop to soak
their food and a gizzard to grind it.

197. Feathers have some resemblance to hairs, but di£
fer from them in some important respects. A feather
has commonly three distinct parts : a horny tube, or quill
part; a stem proceeding from this tube; and laminae,
which are commonly joined together by barbs or teeth
on their edges. The laminae thus locked together enable
the feather to press upon the air in flight. In what is
called down the laminae are very narrow, and are entire-
ly separate.

198. The wing may be considered as a hand with a
feathery appendage, so that it may press upon consider-
able air at once, and thus raise up the bird. According-
ly, we find that the bones of the wing are essentially the

same as those in the arm
and hand of man. In Fig.
96 we have the bones of a
bird's wing. Comparing
this with the correspond-
ing part of the skeleton
of man in Fig. 1, we have,
I., the elbow-joint ; II., the
wrist ; III., the knuckle-
joint ; «, the arm-bone ; 5,
the bones of the fore-arm ;
c, the bones correspond-
ing to those in the body
of the hand ; o, the thumb-
bone ; 1, 2, 3, 4, attempts
at fingers. These rudi-
mentary fingers, you see,
are very different from the
fingers in the wing of a
Bat, Fig. 20. There they
Fig. 9c.-Bones of Gyrfoicon's Wing, needed to be long as frame-

CHARACTERISTICS OF BIRDS.

117

work for the thin, membranous wing. But here the fin-
ger-bones are needed only for the attachment of the
strong feathers, and such an extension of them as we
have in the Bat would not conduce to strength, and there-
fore would be out of place.

199. As flying requires more strength than any thing
else which the Bird does, the muscles of the wing are
larger than those in any other part of the body. It is
this which makes the breast so full. To accommodate
these large muscles, the breast-bone has a peculiar shape.
In man it is flat and small ; but in the Bird it is very
large, making a sort of convex buckler on the front part
of the skeleton, with a ridge or keel projecting from it.
In Fig. 97 you have a front view, and in Fig. 98 a side
view of the breast-bone of a bird. The chief muscles

Fig. 97. Fig. 98.

that move the wings are fastened to the keel, and spread
over the breast-bone. In the birds that are cooked for
the table any one can observe that this mass of muscle or
meat is thickest in those birds which fly most. It is much
thicker in the Pigeon, for example, than it is in the com-
mon Fowl. In those birds which do not fly at all there
is little muscle on the breast, and the keel on the breast-
bone is absent, as you may see in the skeleton of the Os-
trich, Fig. 4. In such birds the bones and the muscles of
the lower extremities are very large, while they are com-
paratively small in those which are much on the wTing.

118 NATURAL HISTORY.

200. The amount of muscular power required for flight
in the air is not commonly appreciated. If we look at
the breadth of wing in a bird, as compared with the size
of the animal when stripped of its feathers, we can have
some idea of the extent of wing which a man would need
to enable him to fly. And to work efficiently such enor-
mous wings as he would require, he must have enormous
muscles. Those which move the arms of the most broad-
chested and brawny man are far from being large enough
to enable him to fly, even if he had wings. To do this,
he must have the keel on the breast-bone, like the bird,
to afford an attachment for a thick mass of muscle. We
see, then, why it is that all the attempts which men have
made to fly have proved failures. It is not that the wings .
have not been properly made, but that there was not suf-
ficient muscle to work them.

201. As flying requires such strong exertion, it is im-
portant that the Bird should be as light as possible.
There is a singular contrivance for this purpose. The
air taken into the lungs does not all stop there, but some
of it passes thence into cells or sacs in different parts of
the body, and also into many of the bones, which are hol-
low for this purpose. This air apparatus is in extent pro-
portionate to the powers of flight. Thus, in the Eagle,
the air goes into all the bones, while in the Ostrich and
the Penguin it goes only into the thigh-bones.

202. The digestive organs of the Bird are very pecul-
iar. They are the only animals that have a gizzard. This
organ is a stomach, which has on its inside a lining as
tough and hard as leather. This is for the purpose of
bruising and rubbing the food, which is done by the ac-
tion of very stout muscles. These constitute the bulk of
the gizzard ; and they are so arranged that they squeeze
and rub two opposite surfaces of the inside lining against
each other. The food is therefore ground in the same
manner as grain is between the millstones of a flour-mill.
The power of this grinding apparatus is made still more

CHARACTERISTICS OF BIRDS.

119

effectual by sand and small stones, which the Bird swal-
lows with its food, In Fig. 99 you see the gizzard of a
Turkey cut open. You observe the two seini-globular

a

Fig. 99.— Gizzard of the Turkey.

masses of muscle, and the lining covering them on the
inside of the organ. While these grind the food, the
gastric juice which digests it is all the time trickling
down upon it from the gullet at a, where it oozes out
from a great many little openings.

203. This grinding operation of the gizzard takes the
place of the mastication which is done by those animals

120

NATURAL HISTORY.

a

that have teeth ; the Bird using its bill only for gather-
ing its food, and not for masticating it. The arrange-
ment described does not exist in full in all birds, but only
in those that live on grains, termed granivorous birds.
In other birds it varies according to the nature of the
food. In those that live altogether on flesh, or on fishes,
there is no real gizzard, but a thin and membranous stom-
ach, for there is no need in them of any grinding and
crushing process.

204. There is one part of the digestive apparatus of
birds yet to be noticed. Before the food is subjected to
the grinding of the gizzard, it is macerated or soaked for

some time in the crop, as it is called, a
sac or pouch which opens into the gul-
let. When the grains are first swallow-
ed, they are passed into the crop ; and
-. when they are sufficiently macerated,
" they are forced out of the crop, down
the gullet, into the gizzard to be ground.
The crop, you see, is to the Bird what
the paunch is to the Ruminant quadru-
ped (§ 154), a convenient receptacle for
the food, and a place for its maceration.
In Fig. 100 you have a representation
of the parts mentioned, a being the gul-
let, b the crop, c that part of the gullet
iig. 100. where the gastric juice is made, and d

the gizzard.

205. The incubation, or hatching of eggs, requires dif-
ferent periods in different species of birds. In the Hum-
ming-birds it is but twelve days, in the Canaries fifteen
to eighteen, Fowls twenty-one, Ducks twenty-five, and
Swans forty to forty-five. The object of sitting on the
eggs is simply to provide the requisite amount of heat.
The same degree provided in any other way will answer;
and eggs have often been hatched by steam. The heat
of the sun is sufficient to hatch the eggs of some birds

CHARACTERISTICS OP BIRDS. 121

living in the tropics, as the Ostrich. The popular story
about this bird is not true. There is no neglect on her
part when she leaves her eggs in the sand, for when she
is in a temperate climate, where the heat of the sun is
not sufficient to hatch them, she sits on them. The
Mound birds of Australia have a singular way of pro-
viding for heat in hatching their eggs. Instead of sit-
ting on them, they place them in mounds of decaying
vegetable matter, which they heap up for this purpose.
The process of decay produces all the heat that is requi-
site. Most birds make nests, not to live in, but to hatch
their eggs, lining them commonly with some soft mate-
rial. The Eider-duck lines her nest with down which
she strips from her own breast.

206. The formation of a feathered animal from the
simple contents of an egg by the stimulus of heat is one
of the most wonderful things in nature. When the bird
is fully formed, it cuts its way out of the shell with an
instrument furnished it for this purpose, a pointed scale
fastened to the end of its beak. Any one can readily
see this on the upper bill of the newly-born chicken.
Soon after its birth this scale drops off, as the chicken
has no farther use for it.

207. The senses which are most developed in birds
are the sight, smell, and hearing. The sense of touch
in most of them is very slight ; but some, as the Duck
tribe, have quite an acute sense of touch in their bills,
guiding them in their search for food. The sense of
taste is also, in most birds at least, very slight. The
sight is generally acute, especially in birds of prey.
Birds have a kind of third eyelid inside of the others,
called the nictitating or winking membrane. It is very
thin, and is commonly folded up in the corner of the eye
out of sight, but it can be drawn over the whole front
of the eye when it is needed. The bird can see through
it, and the object of it is to diminish the light that en-
ters the eye when it is very intense. It is this which

122

NATURAL HISTOKY.

enables the Eagle, and other birds also, to look directly
at the sun. The sense of smell is very acute in all birds
in which it can be of service in searching for food, as,
for example, in those that live on carrion. While all
birds have ears, there is only one kind, the Owl tribe,
that has any external ear. In all others there is merely
an opening to the passage leading to the internal appa-
ratus of hearing, and even this is concealed among the
feathers of the head.

208. Birds are digitigrade, § 92. You can see this to
be true in the case of the Ostrich, Fig. 4, if, comparing
the bones of the leg with the same bones in man, Fig. 17
you begin at the thigh-bone and go downward. In Fig.
101 you have the bones of a bird's leg, a being the thigh-

Fig. 101. Fig. 102. Fig. 103.

bone, b the bones of the leg proper, c the heel-bone, long
and extending upward, and d the bones of the foot. In
Fig. 102 is the outline of the leg of a man, with letters
to correspond with those of Fig. 101, that you may read-
ily make the comparison. In Fig. 103 you have the
perching apparatus of birds represented, and you can
see how it is that they can sleep on their perches with-
out falling oif. There is, you observe, a large muscle in
front of the thigh-bone ; from this a long tendon or cord,
A, extends down the leg, and in the foot it divides into
branches, which go to all the toes. When the muscle
pulls on this the toes will all be bent, as every body

CHARACTERISTICS OF BIRDS. 123

knows who has played with a fowl's drum-stick, pulling
upon this tendon. Now this tendon can be pulled upon
in Jjie living animal, and the toes of course be bent, with-
out any action of the muscle. For observe, that at first
the tendon is on the front of the limb, but it passes to
the rear before it comes to the heel-bone. The effect of
this arrangement is, that when the bird settles down in
perching, the bending of the limb pulls on the tendon,
and so the toes firmly grasp the perch. This arrange-
jnent is also of service to birds of prey in securing their
victims; for, when they have pounced upon them, by
merely settling down with all their weight, the bent
claws grasp them with great force.

209. There is very great variety in the plumage of
birds, the gayest colors appearing in those of tropical
climates ; while, on the other hand, the birds of Arctic
regions exhibit none but the duller hues. The latter,
however, have a much larger proportion of downy feath-
ers to keep them warm in the midst of the severe cold.
With the bright and splendid colors of the tropical birds
there is no power of song, the voice being either absent
or disagreeable ; but in the temperate zone, while the
plumage is ordinarily much less beautiful, there is great
variety of song, especially in the small birds.

210. The tail is of service in flight, being moved in
one way and another, so as to regulate the course of the
bird. But it is not its only use to serve as a rudder ; it
is a part of the ornament which the Creator has given
to this class of animals. Accordingly, it is varied much
in its shape, arrangement, and color; and in some cases
beauty seems to be aimed at rather than actual service,
as in the tails of Peacocks and Birds of Paradise.

211. The instinct which leads so many kinds of birds
to change their climate according to the season is a won-
der and a mystery. In a temperate climate there is a
multitude of birds in gardens, fields, and forests in the
summer, which for the most part disappear as the cold

124 NATURAL HISTORY.

months come on. They migrate to the south, where
the warm weather will give them the same worms or
other food which they can no longer obtain at the no^th.
Different kinds of birds have each their time for migra-
tion, which can be calculated upon with considerable ac-
curacy. It does not depend on the degree of tempera-
ture, although it is somewhat influenced by it, as birds go
north sooner when the season is early than when it is late.
212. The most mysterious part of this migration is,
that the same birds will often return in the following

o

season to the same spot which they left, although they
have traversed in their migration hundreds, and perhaps
even thousands of miles. This fact has been proved in
the case of swallows by tying silken threads to their feet,
so that there should be no mistake as to their identity.
Spallanzani, a celebrated Italian physiologist of the last
century, saw the same couples return to their old nests
for eighteen years in succession.

Qmstionft. — What are the two grand divisions of warm-blooded
Vertebrates? In what respects do Birds differ from Mammals?
What is said of feathers? What analogy does the office of a wing
bear to that of a hand ? Point out the resemblance between them in
their frame-work. What is said of the breast-bone in birds ? What
is said of the muscular power required for flying ? What of the in-
ability of man to fly ? What essentially contributes to the lightness
of birds ? Describe the digestive apparatus of birds. How is it
varied in different kinds of birds ? What is said of the crop ? What
is said of the different periods of incubation ? What is the real agent
of the process ? What is said of the Ostrich ? What of the Mound
Birds ? What is said of the nests of birds ? What of the formation
of the bird in the egg ? How does it get out ? What is said of the
development of the senses of birds ? What of the nictitating mem-
brane ? What of the ear ? What is said of the legs of birds ? De-
scribe the arrangement of the perching apparatus. How is it used in
taking prey ? What is said of the plumage of birds ? What of their
powers of song ? What are the two uses of the tail ? What is said
of the migration of birds ? Is it only, or even the chief object of this,
to find a suitable temperature ? How much influence has the weather
on migration ? What is the most wonderful fact in regard to it ?

BIRDS OF PREY.

CHAPTER XIII.

BIRDS OF PREY.

213. THERE are about five thousand known species ot
birds. They are classified mostly according to the form-
ation of their beaks and feet, these being parts which in-
dicate the diet and the habits. There are two grand di-
visions of Birds — Land Birds and Water Birds. Of the
Land Birds there are five orders : 1 . Raptores (rapio, to
seize), Birds of Prey. 2. Insessores (insido, to sit),
Perchers. 3. Scansores (scando, to climb), Climbers. 4.
Rasores (rado^to scratch), Scratchers. 5. Cursores (cur-
ro, to run), Runners. There are two orders of Water
Birds: 1. Grallatores (grallce, stilts), Waders. 2. Nata-
tores (natator, a swimmer), Swimmers.

214. The Raptores, or Raveners, have bills which are
stout, sharp-edged, and sharp-pointed. The upper bill,
or mandible (mando, to eat), is longer than the lower,
forming a pointed hook with which the bird tears its
prey. It also has a notch on each edge, which obviously
can render assistance in tearing. The legs are short and
stout, being very muscular, and the feet have four toes
with strong claws or talons. Three of these claws are in

front and one in the rear. In
Fig. 104 are represented the
beak and talons of a bird of
prey. The strength of wing
of the Raptores is adapted to
their habits and their modes
of taking their food. Thus
the Eagle, that pounces down
upon its prey, has great strength and breadth of wing ;
while the Owl, which approaches its prey slyly and noise-
lessly, has comparatively small and feeble wings.

Fig. 104.— Claw and Beak of a Bird
of Prey.

126

NATURAL HISTORY.

215. The Raptores always live in pairs, and they
choose their mates for life. It is remarkable, also, that
in a large proportion of this order the females are larger
than the males, probably because they have the care of
the young birds, which are at first weak and blind, like
the young of beasts of prey among Mammals. The col-
ors of the plumage of this order are generally dull, brown-
ish varied with white. They have no song, and utter
only hoarse sounds. They construct their nests in a rude
way in high situations, on the ledges of rocks, the tops of
lofty trees, etc.

216. There are three families in this order : 1. The FaL
con family, including the Falcons, Eagles, and Hawks.
2. The Vultures. 3. The Owls, which are nocturnal birds
of prey (nox, night), the two first families being diurnal
(dies, day).

217. The true Falcons are the most daring of all birds
of prey. They are very symmetrical in form and grace-
ful in flight. The Gyrfalcon, Fig. 105, is the most beau-
tiful of the tribe, and
the largest, it being
nearly two feet long.
It is found on the rocky
coasts of Norway and
Iceland. These birds
are very courageous in
defending their young.
A pair of them attack-
ed Dr. Richardson,
while climbing near
their nest, flying in cir-
cles around him, and
now and then dashing
at his face with loud
screams. The Falcons
were used in the once

Fig. io5._ Gyrfaicon. favorite sport of En-

BIRDS OP PREY. 127

gland, called hawking or falconry. Another bird of this
tribe, somewhat smaller than the Gyrfalcon, was common-
ly used for this purpose. It is the Peregrine Falcon,
found in most parts of Europe, Asia, and South America.
The boldness of this bird is such that it was employed
even in taking so formidable a bird as the Heron. The
Falcon was held hooded on its master's hand until the
Heron was aroused from its retreat ; then, on being set
free, it pursued the Heron aloft, each bird striving to as-
cend above the other. The Falcon was always victorious;
and at length, with a sweep, it pounced on its victim, and
both then came to the ground together. The part of the
sportsman was to reach the place of conflict as soon as
possible, and aid the Falcon in vanquishing its prey. So
fashionable was this sport at one time in England, that
persons of rank, when they appeared in public, generally
had a hawking-bird on the hand.

218. The true Falcons were formerly designated as no-
ble birds of prey, on account of their use in falconry, and
the rest of the family were termed ignoble birds of prey.
The Eagles are the largest birds of the latter class.
There are several species, all of which have the feathers
extend down on the legs even to the talons. That mag-
nificent bird, the Golden Eagle, is among the most wide-
ly diifused of all species of Birds, being found on the Con-
tinent of Europe, in the north of England, Scotland, and
Ireland, in Asia, and in North America, from the tem-
perate to the arctic regions. It has ever been regarded
as an emblem of might and courage, holding, as " king
of birds," the same rank among them as the Lion does
among beasts. With its powerful wings this immense
bird soars to a great height, and is a grand object amid
the rudeness and sublimity of the localities which it fre-
quents. Its acute vision enables it to see its prey at a
great distance, and it darts down upon it with a swoop
or rush like that of the Falcons, but more terrific and
overpowering from its greater size.

128

NATURAL HISTORY .

219. The nest of the Eagle is made of sticks, twigs,
etc., and is generally on the ledge of some precipice, as
seen in Fig. 106. In "The Land and the Book" of

Fig. 106.— Eagle and Nest.

Thomson, he describes very graphically the return of the
Eagle to its nest. After making several gyrations, it
poises for a moment, and then, " like a bolt, with wings
collapsed, down it comes head foremost, and, sinking far
below its eyrie, it rounds to in a grand parabola, and
then, with one or two backward flaps of its huge pinions,
like the wheels of a steam-boat reversed, it lands in safe-
ty among its clamorous children." The food of this bird
consists of sea-birds, the smaller quadrupeds, as hares,
rabbits, etc., and sometimes lambs, sheep, and even larger

BIRDS OF PREY.

129

animals. In one eyrie in Germany were found the skele-
tons of three hundred ducks and forty hares ; but the
owner of the nest had undoubtedly killed, besides these,
many sheep, fawns, etc., which it had stripped of their
flesh, they being too large to be carried away entire to
such a height.

220. The Osprey, or Fishing Hawk, Fig. 107, an aber-

rant species of Eagle, is
spread over the whole of
Europe, a part of Asia,
and also portions of North
America. As its name
indicates, it lives on fish,
which it obtains by dash-
ing down into the water.
Its nest is composed of
sticks, sea - weed, grass,
and turf, laid among the
branches of a tree. As it
is repaired and added to

every year, there is SOme-
. lOT.-Osprey. timeg enough to mate a

cart-load. This bird, besides living on fish, differs from
the true Eagles also in having the legs covered with
scales instead of feathers.

221. The White-headed or Bald Eagle inhabits most
parts of North America. It is the figure of this Eagle
which is on the national standard of this country. The
food of this bird is various. While it preys on such an-
imals as lambs, pigs, etc., it will eat fish whenever it can
take it from the Fishing Hawk. If it sees this bird rise
from the water with a fish in its talons, it starts off at
once in the pursuit. Wilson thus describes the struggle
that ensues : " Each exerts his utmost to mount above
the other, displaying, in these rencounters, the most ele-
gant and sublime aerial evolutions. The unencumbered
Eagle rapidly advances, and is just on the point of reach

130 NATURAL HISTORY.

ing his opponent, when with a sudden scream, probably
of despair and honest execration, the latter drops his fish.
The Eagle, poising himself for a moment, as if to take a
more certain aim, descends like a whirlwind, snatches it
in his grasp ere it reaches the water, and bears his ill-
gotten booty silently away to the woods." Dr. Franklin
thus speaks of this Eagle : " For my part, I wish the Bald
Eagle had not been chosen as the representative of our
country. He is a bird of bad moral character ; he does
not get his living honestly. You may have seen him
perched upon some dead tree, where, too lazy to fish for
himself, he watches for the labors of the Fishing Hawk ;
and when that diligent bird has taken a fish, and is bear-
ing it to its nest for the support of his mate and young
ones, the Bald Eagle pursues him, and takes it from him.
With all this injustice, he is never in good case, but, like
those among men who live by sharping and robbing, he
is generally poor, and very often lousy. Besides, he is a
rank coward ; the little king-bird, not bigger than a spar-
row, attacks him boldly and drives him out of the dis-
trict. He is therefore by no means a proper emblem for
the brave and honest Cincinnati of America, who have
driven out all the king-birds from our country, though
exactly fitted for that order of knights which the French
call chevaliers d' industries

222. The Secretary Bird, Fig. 108 (p. 131), derives its
name from the tufts of feathers at the back of its head,
having some resemblance to pens stuck behind the ear.
It is allied both to the Eagles and the Falcons, but its
exact place is a subject of dispute. It inhabits South
Africa, Senegambia, and the Philippine Islands. It lives
on snakes and reptiles, which it devours in great numbers.
When attacking a snake, it uses one wing as a shield,
striking the snake with the other till it is senseless,1
then, with a blow with its beak, it splits the snake's
head, and swallows the animal. In the crop of one of
those birds there were found eleven large lizards, three

BIRDS OF PREY. 131

Fig. 108 — The Secretary Bird.

serpents, each a yard in length, eleven small tortoises,
and a great quantity of locusts and other insects.

223. The Hawks constitute a section of the Falcon
family, allied to the true Falcons, but having short legs
and tails. The Goshawk, Fig. 109 (p. 132), is the finest
bird of this tribe, distinguished alike for its large size,
its beautiful plumage, and its elegant shape. It conies
nearer to the Falcons than any other of the Hawks.
When it takes its prey it strikes its victim to the ground
by the force with which it dashes through the air. ,.Its
food consists of hares, squirrels, pheasants, and even some
quite large birds. This bird abounds all over the wood-
ed portions of Europe, and a similar species is found in
this country.

>/ 224. The Kites, another section of the Falcon family,
lare particularly distinguished by their long wings and
forked tails. Their flight is remarkably easy and grace-
ful, and they have the power of remaining a long time

132 NATURAL HISTORY.

m ; /Mi

Fig. 109.— The Goshawk.

poised almost without motion. They sweep through the
air in wide circles with outspread wings, using the tail
as a rudder ; and they often mount up so high as to be-
come nearly invisible. Like the Eagles, therefore, they
have a wide range of vision in searching for prey ; but,
instead of directly rushing, like the eagles, upon their vic-
tim, they skim it, as it were, from the surface of the earth
or the water, bearing it away in their talons. Their prey
consists of moles, rats, mice, young poultry, and small
reptiles. They will not refuse carrion. Some species
perform the office of scavengers in Turkey, Egypt, India,
etc^ appearing for this purpose in large numbers in the
streets of some of the cities. Kites performed this use-
ful office in London as late as the times of Henry VIII.
One of the most remarkable of these kinds is the Amer-
ican Swallow-tailed Kite, Fig. 110 (p. 133). It is found
In South America, and goes as far north as 40 degrees
of latitude . Its food consists of insects, small snakes,
lizards, and frogs. It sweeps over the fields close to
the ground, and sometimes, seizing a snake by the necls,

BIRDS OF PREY

133

Fig. 110.— The Swallow-tailed Kite.

carries it off to devour it in the air, as represented in the

figure.

225. As the Hawks may
be regarded as an inferior
kind of Falcon, so the Buz-
zards may be considered as
having a similar relation to
the Eagles. In their flight
they have neither the soar
and swoop of the Falcons and
Eagles, the arrow-like dash
of the Hawks, nor the wind-
ing sweep of the Kites ; but
they sail along easily and rap-
idly in quest of their prey,
which is much like that of
the Kites and Hawks. The

Fig. 111.— The common Buzzard. COinniOIl BllZZJird, Fig- 1 1 1,

134 NATURAL HISTORY.

is found in the wooded countries of Europe, and the bor
dering countries of Asia, and also in the fur countries
of North America. There are several other species of
Buzzards in this country.

226. We now come to the second great family of the
Raptores — the Vultures. You have seen that the birds
of the Falcon family have for their office, in the general
economy of nature, to keep within bounds the number
of small birds and quadrupeds, and that their head-quar-
ters are chiefly in the cold and temperate regions. The
VuJture tribe, on the other hand, have for their office to
cleanse the earth from the dead bodies of animals that
have died from various causes, and their head-quarters
are chiefly between the tropics. Still, they are, for the
most part, inhabitants of mountainous regions, some of
them dwelling on the confines of perpetual snow. They
descend, however, to the warm regions below in search
of their food. Vultures devour bodies that Hyenas and
Jackals could not reach ; for none but birds can reach
carcasses that are in the midst of the dense and tangled
forests of the tropics, or on the steep sides of their Al-
pine ranges.

227. The distinguishing characteristic in the appear-
ance of the Vultures is the absence of feathers on the
head and neck, while round the bottom of the latter there
is a ruff of soft feathers in a loose fold of skin, within
which the bird withdraws its neck, and even the greater
part of its head, when, in a semi-torpid state, as motionless
as a statue, it digests the food with which it has gorged
itself. This absence of feathers on the head and neck is
an example of adaptation, for if they were upon this part
of the body they would become exceedingly foul by con-
tact with the carrion on which the Vulture feeds. The
whole plumage of this bird is deficient in the neat and
regular appearance of that of the Falcon family, and yet
it can not be called a filthy animal, for it washes itself
often, and spreads out its wings to the sun to be dried.

BIRDS OF PKEY.

228. The Condor of the Andes, Fig. 112, is the most
remarkable of the Vultures in regard to size and strength,

Fig. 112.— The Condor.

and the height to which it soars. It is about four feet
long, and the expanse of its wings measures nine or ten
feet ; it is said to have reached in some cases even thir-
teen feet. Its habitual residence is ten or fifteen thou-
sand feet above the level of the sea, and it is often seen
soaring much higher than this. Besides feeding on car-
rion, it will often attack lambs and young goats, and
when two are together, they will attack so formidable an
animal as the Llama, or even the Puma.

229. The bird commonly called the Turkey Buzzard
belongs to the Vulture family. It inhabits a great range
of country, being found in all the warmer parts of this
eontinent. It lives on all sorts of food. It sucks the
Bggs and devours the young of many species of birds,
and will even eat the dead bodies of its own species. It

136 NATURAL HISTORY.

is daily seen in the streets of the southern cities acting
the part of a scavenger. I once saw two of them, near
the market in Charleston, quarreling for the possession
of the entrails of an animal.

230. Some of the Vultures approach the Eagle in their
form and habits. This is the case with the Bearded Vul-
ture of the Alps, Fig. 113. It has this name from the

Fig. 113.— Bearded Vulture of the Alps.

long hair-like feathers with which each nostril is covered.
As in the Eagles, the head, neck, and legs are covered
with feathers, but in the characters of the eye, beak, and
talons it is like the Vultures. Besides carrion, it feeds
on the smaller quadrupeds which it takes as prey. It is
very bold, and when very hungry will attack larger ani-
mals, and even men. It is found not only about the
Alps, but also among the mountain ranges of Africa and
Western Asia.

231. The Owls constitute the third family of the Rap-
tores. They are the only birds of prey which are noc-
turnal in their habits, and all their peculiarities are adapt-
ations to these habits. These I will notice. The eyes
are very large, with widely opening pupils, so as to ad-

BIRDS OF PREY. 137

mit a great deal of light; they are also surrounded with
a disk of feathers of a light color, which serves to direct
the light, striking it in upon the eye. The nictitating
membrane is very conspicuous, it being needed to shut
out some of the light in broad day ; to open its eyes
widely then, and without the covering of this membrane,
would dazzle the Owl exceedingly. Its head is very
large and round, which is owing mostly to some cells
that are connected with the organ of hearing, rendering
that sense very acute ; this is of essential service to it in
taking its prey by night. Owls are the only birds that
have an external ear, § 206. It is covered by feathers,
and in some species by a sort of lid, which the bird can
open or shut at pleasure.

232. The plumage of the Owls is very peculiar. It is
downy, partly to keep them warm, but mostly to enable
them to approach their prey noiselessly. Their flight is
so noiseless that they seem borne along on the air like
a tuft of down. The food of the larger species consists
of hares, rabbits, fawns, birds, etc., and that of the smaller,
of mice, rats, moles, small reptiles, and the larger insects.
They take these either by night or in the twilight ; and
we find this family most abundant in those portions of
the globe where the twilight is most prolonged — the
cold and temperate regions. There are some aberrant
species in which the habits are diurnal more than noc-
turnal, and, consequently, the characteristics mentioned
are not fully developed in them. The typical species, in
which the development of these peculiarities is complete,
scarcely move during the day. They remain at rest upon
their perch, with eyes half closed, and an amusing air of
gravity ; and when aroused in any way they do not fly
off, but raise themselves up, and assume grotesque atti-
tudes, making ludicrous motions.

233. The Barn Owl, Fig. 114 (p. 138), is widely dif-
fused through the temperate regions of Europe and this
country. It is a very useful animal in destroying rats

138

NATURAL HISTORY.

and mice, and its presence
about barns and dove-cots
should be encouraged. It
conceals itself in the day-
time in old trees, in barn-
lofts, etc., and at night sal-
lies forth in search of its
prey.

234. Of the aberrant
species, the Snowy Owl,
Fig. 115^ is one of the
largest. You see that this
has not the disk around
the eye which the Barn
Owl has, and its shape is
much like that of the Eagle tribe. This bird is found in
the northern regions of both hemispheres. Its snowy

Fig. 114.— The Barn Owl.

Fig. 115 — The Snowy Owl.

PERCHING BIRDS. 139

white plumage, from which it gets its name, makes it a
very beautiful animal. But its loud voice is very terrific
in the cheerless solitudes which it inhabits. It seeks its
prey in the daytime, darting upon them from above, and
seizing them with its stout talons, its victims being
hares, various birds, and sometimes fish.

Questions. — How many known species of Birds are there ? In what
way are they classified ? What are the two divisions of Birds ? What
are the orders of Land-birds ? What of the Water-birds ? Describe
the characteristics of the Raptores. What is said of their habits?
What of their plumage ? Of their voice ? Into what families is this
order divided? What is said of the true Falcons? What of the
Gyrfalcon ? What of the sport of Falconry ? What is the distinc-
tion between noble and ignoble birds of prey ? What is said of the
Golden Eagle ? What of the Eagle's nest ? What of its return to
it ? What of its food ? What is said of the Osprey ? What of the
Bald Eagle ? What does Franklin say of it ? What is said of the
Secretary Bird ? How do the Hawks differ from the Falcons ? What
is said of the Goshawk ? What is said of the Kites ? What of the
American Swallow-tailed Kite ? What is said of the Buzzards ?
How does the office of the Vultures differ from that of the Falcon
family ? Where do they live ? What peculiarities of appearance do
they present ? What is said of the Condor ? What of the Turkey
Buzzard ? What of the Bearded Vulture ? What are the peculiari-
ties of the Owls ? What are their habits ? What is said of the Barn
Owl ? What of the Snowy Owl ?

CHAPTER XIV.

PERCHING BIRDS.

235. THE second order of land-birds, that of the In
sessores, or Perchers, is the most numerous and varied
of all the orders. It includes all the tribes living in
trees, with the exception of the rapacious birds and the
climbers. Other birds perch, but the birds of this or-
der have their feet formed especially for this. The toes
are three before and one behind, the latter being on
the same level with the others. They are slender and

140 NATURAL HISTORY.

flexible, with long and slightly-curved claws. The legs
of these birds are not stout, for they are most of the
time on the wing; and, on the other hand, the wings
and muscles are very large in proportion to the size of
the body. The plumage varies much, but, on the whole,
this order excels all the others in the beauty and variety
of its colors. The male is commonly larger than the fe-
male, and its colors are usually more gay. The perchers
live in pairs, and build their nests in trees and bushes
with some few exceptions, showing considerable skill in
their construction. The singing-birds belong chiefly to
this order, the only other singers being among the Scan-
sores. As the characteristics of birds are most fully de-
veloped in this order, it is the typical order of the class.
236. There is much variety in the food of the different
kinds of perching birds, and their beaks present differ-
ences corresponding to the nature of the food. Taking
the form of the beak as the basis of division, there are
four groups in this order: 1. Conirostres (conus, a cone,
and rostrum, a beak), cone-billed birds, or birds having a
cone-shaped beak. The greater portion of these are omniv-
orous, § 93, but some are exclusively granivorous. The
Crows and Finches are examples of this group. In Fig.

Fig. 116.— Bill of a Grosbeak.

116 is a representation of a cone-bill, the bill of a Gros
beak. 2. Dentirostres (dens, a tooth, and rostrum), tooth-

PERCHING BIRDS.

141

billed birds. These have, as you see in Fig. 117, the head
of a Shrike or Butcher-bird, a notch or tooth near the
extremity of the upper bill or mandible. This is like the

Fig. 117.— Head of Shrike.

noth seen in the upper mandible of birds of prey (§ 214);
and accordingly we find that those which have this notch
well developed are really birds of prey, living on small
birds and reptiles, as well as the insects and worms which
are the common food of all this group. The Shrikes,
Thrushes, and Warblers are examples of this division.
3. Tenuirostres (tenuis, thin, slender, and rostrum), slen-
der-billed birds. These slender bills are specially fitted
either for sucking up vegetable juices or for picking up
insects. The Humming-birds are the typical birds of
this group. 4. Fissirostres (fissura, a slit, and rostrum),
gaping - billed birds. The bills or mandibles are very
broad and flat toward their base, and the slit or fissure
between them is carried far back under the eye. This
arrangement gives them, when the mandibles are moved
apart, a very broad and widely-opened mouth, as seen in
the Goatsucker, Fig. 1 1 8 (p. 1 42) . This, you see, is strong
iy in contrast with Fig. 116. The purpose of this conform-
ation is to allow these birds to take insects on the wing,

142 XATURAL HISTORY.

Fig. 118.— Goatsucker.

which they do, passing rapidly through the air with open
mouth, as in the representation of the Goatsucker. The
Swallows and Kingfishers belong to this group.

I now go on to notice these groups, giving some few
specimens of each.

237. The principal food of most of the Cone -billed
Perchers consists of seeds and grains. Hence the need
of the stout cone-shaped beak to pick out the seeds and
to crush them. The chief families of this group are the
Finches, Crows, Starlings, Birds of Paradise, Cross-bills,
and Horn-bills. Most of these birds are more or less do-
mesticable, and some of them are capable of considerable
education.

238. The Finches are a very extensive family, includ-
ing the Larks, Sparrows, Grosbeaks, Buntings, Linnets,
etc. None of them are of large size, and some of them
are very small. They have a marked general resem-
blance to each other in appearance and habits. They
tenant fields, groves, hedgerows, and woodlands, feeding
chiefly on grains and seeds, and occasionally upon in-
sects. Many of them are great songsters. They are

PERCHING BIRDS. 148

commonly hardy birds, and their distribution is almost
universal, some' species of them being found in all parts
of the globe where animals can live. They are charac-
terized by short and thick beaks, and the two mandibles
fit each other so well that, when they are together, the
beak looks like a short cone, with a mere slit from the
point to the base, as seen in Fig. 116. The great strength
seen in the beaks of these birds is needed in opening the
woody capsules covering the seeds which constitute a
portion of their food.

239. I can notice but a few of this family. There are
many of the Grosbeaks in this country, but the most
beautiful and famous of them is the Cardinal Grosbeak,
or Redbird. It is not only splendid in its colors, but in
its song also. It is one of the prominent birds of the
Middle and Southern States, and some stragglers get as
far north as New England. The American Goldfinch, or
Yelloic-bird, one of the finest of the Finch family, lives on
the seeds of hemp, the sunflower, and the thistle. From
its fondness for the seeds of the latter it is often called
the Thistlefinch. This bird can be educated to do many
things, as drawing its drink from a glass. The Sparrows
are an interesting group in this family. There are many
species, but the two most common in this country are the
Song Sparrow, one of the earliest warblers of the spring,
and the Chipping-bird, so familiar to every one. There
is a brown- Sparrow very much like the Chipping Spar-
row, but a more shy bird, brighter in color, and having a
longer tail. Just before migrating in the autumn to the
south, these birds, losing their shyness, come nearer to
the habitations of men, and are seen flitting about in little
flocks. The common Snowbird is one of the Finches.
This hardy and numerous species, common to both con-
tinents, comes from the north in flocks into the United
States in October and November, on their way south.
The Bobolink, or Bicebird, as it is called as it goes
south, is also one of this family.

144 NATURAL HISTORY.

240. The birds of the Crow family are among the lar
gest of the Perchers. They are bold but crafty birds,
showing considerable intelligence, and, when domestica-
ted, have powers of imitation similar to those of the Par-
rot. They live in societies. The largest of the family is
the Raven, well known in a great range of climate in
both hemispheres. It has a solemn look, and has always
been deemed a bird of ill omen. The Rook, so common
in England, is nearly like the common Crow of this coun-
try. Of both it may be said that the good which they
do in destroying grubs, which are injurious to vegetation,
more than compensates for the harm which they do in
pulling up the young corn or potato cuttings. The Jays
are of the Crow family. The most beautiful of these is
the Blue Jay of this country. This bird has a great an-
tipathy to Owls, and when it discovers one, it rouses, by
its boisterous vociferations, a noisy troop of birds of va-
rious kinds. The Owl receives all this with a quiet grav-
ity, and, watching his opportunity, at length, on noiseless
wing, slips away from his annoying company.

241. The birds of the Starling family are in form and
habits quite like the Crow family, but are much smaller.
The Meadow Lark of this country is one of them. The
Baltimore Oriole, one of a numerous group in this family,
is a very interesting and beautiful bird. It is called by
various names : the Golden Oriole, Golden Robin, Fire-
bird, and Fire Hangbird. Of this last name the first part
was suggested by its bright orange color flashing in the
light, and the latter part comes from its hanging nest,
which is woven from hemp or flax. To this family be-
longs that singular bird of Australia, the Bower-bird, Fig.
119 (p. 145). This bird builds a bower of twigs, inter-
woven so as to meet above, forming a sort of tunnel.
The entrance to this is decorated with any brilliant arti-
cle that the bird can find, as shells and feathers. No
other use has been discovered for this bower but that of
** play-ground, the birds being seen to run through and

PERCHING BIRDS.

145

Fig 119._Bo\ver-bird.

around it in a sport
ive manner.

242. The bills of
the Birds of Paradise
are so long and slen-
der that some nat-
uralists have placed
this family among
the Tenuirostres.
They are confined to
New Guinea and the
neighboring islands.
They are distinguish
ed for their remarka-
ble plumes, which are
of different kinds in
the various species,
usually consisting of

Fig. 120.— Bird of Paradise.

146

NATURAL HISTORY.

feathers prolonged from the shoulder-tufts or from the
tail. In the species in Fig. 120 (p. 145) there is a most bril-
liant display of colors. The body, breast, and lower parts
are of a deep rich brown ; the front set close with black
feathers shot with green ; the throat is of a rich golden
green ; the head yellow ; the sides of the tail have a long,
full, splendid plume of downy feathers of a soft yellow
color. The poetical story that this bird lives on dew, is,
of course, false, and its food consists of grasshoppers and
other insects, together with seeds and figs.

243. The Cross-bill family are distinguished by the
crossing of the points of the beak, as seen in Fig. 121,

and a horny scoop at the
tip of the tongue. The bird
uses these tools in obtain-
ing the seeds of the fir and
pine cones, on which it lives.
The process is this : the
points of the closed beak
are insinuated beneath the
scales of the cone, and then,
by a sidewise motion of the
mandibles, separating the
points farther from each
other, the scale is raised, so
Fig. 121.— Cross-bin. as to allow the horny scoop

of the tongue to dislodge the seed and carry it into the
mouth. It can also, with its powerful beak, extract ker-
nels from hard shells. It will cut an apple in two to get
at the pips. When confined in a cage, it very dexterous-
ly draws the ends of the wires from the wood-work, and
soon sets itself free. There are three species of Cross-
bills in this country.

244. The Horn-bill family are remarkable for the very
large size of the beak, and for an extraordinary protuber-
ance with which it is surmounted, as seen iij the Rhinoc-
eros Horn -bill, Fig. 122 (p. 147). This enormous bill,

PERCHING BIKDS.

147

Fig. 122.— Rhinoceros Horn-bill.

with its appendage, is not as heavy as it appears, for its
structure is of a light, honeycomb character. The upper
protuberance is hollow, and it is supposed that it serves
as a sort of sounding-board, to give by its reverberations
force to the roaring cry of the bird. There are several
species found in India and Africa.

245. Of the division of the Perchers called Dentiros-
tres, or Tooth-billed, there are five families : the Shrikes,
or Butcher-birds, Warblers, Thrushes, Fly-catchers, and
Chatterers or Waxwings. The notch in the upper man-
dible which makes the tooth-like projection, § 234, is not
always deep, and is sometimes wanting. In such a case
the proper place of the bird in the classification is known
by its resemblance in other respects to the true tooth-
billed species. There are some, indeed, whose charac-
teristics are so intermediate between the Conirostres
and the Dentirostres, that zoologists differ as to the

148 NATURAL HISTORY.

group to which they properly belong. The Shrikes, or
Butcher-birds, are the typical family of the DentirostraJ
group, having the tooth-like projection very prominent,
as seen in Fig. 117. They may be styled the Haveners
of the order of Perchers. In their habits they resemble
the Raptorial birds. They sit motionless on their perch
watching for their prey, which consists of small birds,
quadrupeds, and reptiles, and the larger insects, such as
grasshoppers. It is by a sudden darting movement that
they take their prey. Many of them bave the curious
habit of impaling their victims upon thorns, showing how
appropriate is their name ; and they sometimes do this to
so many more than they need for themselves, that some
are left to dry and decay in this position. Mr. Nuttal
says of the American Shrike that it has great powers of
imitation, which it uses sometimes to decoy other birds
into a near approach, so that it may make them its vic-
tims. Its murderous propensity is very strong. One
of them, it is related by Mr. J. Brown, of Cambridge, at-
tacked a cage in a window containing two Canaries. In
its fright one of the little birds put its head through the
bars, which was snapped off by the Butcher-bird, leaving
the dead body in the bottom of the cage. The next day,
when the cage was in the room, this bold murderer en-
tered for another attack, but was driven off.

246. The family of Warblers consists of small birds
having rather long and slender bills, with the tip slight-
ly curved and notched. It contains a large proportion
of those species which are most remarkable for their
powers of song. Among them are the Bluebird and
Chickadee of this country, and the Nightingale of Eu-
rope. Of this last Izaak Walton thus quaintly speaks :
"But the Nightingale, another of my airy creatures,
breathes such sweet, loud music out of her instrumental
throat, that it might make mankind to think that mira-
cles are not ceased. He that at midnight, when the very
Jaborer sleeps securely, should hear, as I have very often,

PERCHING BIRDS. 149

the clear airs, the sweet descents, the natural rising and
falling, the doubling and redoubling of her voice, might
well be lifted above earth, and say, Lord, what music
hast thou provided for the saints in heaven, when thou
affordest bad men such music on earth !" Mf . Wood re-
marks of the song of this bird, " It must be borne in
mind that not only in this bird, but in other singing
birds, the male is the vocalist, so that Milton's address
to the ' sweet songstress1 is, unfortunately, not quite so
correct as poetical ; a misfortune of frequent occurrence."
247. The Warblers are spread over almost the entire
globe. Audubon reckons forty-four species on the Amer-
can continent. Their great office seems to be to prevent
the too great increase of the insects which are found on
twigs and leaves, in buds and flowers, and in the crevices
of trees, their bills being well adapted for their capture.
They are generally migratory birds, going south in the
autumn, when the insects disappear, and coming north
again in spring, when their natural prey, awakened to
activity, come forth from their winter-quarters.

Questions. — What does the order of Insessores include? What
are the characteristics and habits of birds of this order? Give the
three groups of Perchers, and their chief characteristics. What is
the food of the Cone-billed group? What families does it include?
What birds does the Finch family contain ? What are their charac-
teristics and habits? What is said of the Grosbeaks? Of the Yel-
low-bird ? Of the Sparrows ? What other birds are mentioned as
belonging to this family ? What are the characteristics of the Crow
family ? What is said of the Blue Jay ? What of the Starling fam-
ily? What of the Baltimore Oriole? Of the Bower-bird r Of the
Birds of Paradise ? What is said of the Cross-bill family ? What
of the Horn-bill family ? What are the families in the division of
Dentirostr°s ? What is said of the notched bill as a distinguishing
characteristic? What birds form the typical family of this group?
What are their habits ? What is said of the American Shrike ? How
are the Warblers characterized ? Mention some of them. What is
said of the Nightingale ? What is said of the distribution of the
Warblers ? What of their office ?

150 NATUEAL HISTORY.

CHAPTER XV.

PEECHING BIRDS — continued.

I NOW go on to consider the remaining families of the
Dentirostral group of the Perchers.

248. The Thrushes form a very numerous and diversi-
fied family. They are almost universally distributed, ap-
pearing in nearly every variety of climate. Besides the
insects on which they live in common with the Warblers,
they eat, also, snails, earthworms, and various berries.
They are generally larger than the Warblers. Many of
them are celebrated songsters. The American Mocking-
bird is one of the most prominent. This bird is very
abundant in the warmer portions of the United States,
and is found also in the northern portions of South
America; it is sometimes found as far north as Rhode
Island, but not far inland. Like the Nightingale of Eu-
rope, it has a dull plumage, but it is graceful in form,
and with its animated, active air while singing, has then
considerable beauty. Its natural notes are very fine,
and it has powers of imitation surpassing in variety every
other bird. It seems to take special delight in abrupt
transitions among sounds that are totally unlike, passing,
for example, from the creaking of a wheelbarrow, or the
sound of a saw, to the sweet song of a Canary.

249. To this family belongs the American Robin. This
bird is very widely diffused in this country, being found
in Oregon, and even at Nootka Sound. It is a very fa-
miliar bird, and a favorite one, partly because it comes
so early in the spring, and is so late in emigrating south,
and partly from its having the same name with the Eu-
ropean Redbreast, in whose praise there has always so
much been said, both in prose and poetry. The two

PERCHING BIRDS. 151

must not be confounded ; the European bird belongs to
a different family, the Warblers ; it is smaller, and has
greater compass and variety of song. The American
Robin, however, can be educated to imitate various
birds, and even to sing tunes, and it is amusing to hear
it pipe out so solemn a strain as that of Old Hundred.
The European bird is much more familiar than our Robin,
sometimes, in winter, tapping at the window, or even
entering the house in search of crumbs.

250. One of the most singular of the Thrushes is the
Dipper, or Water Ousel, Fig. 123. This is found in En-

ig. 123. -The Water Ousel.

gland, and also on the Continent of Europe, chiefly in
hilly places where there are clear and rapid streams. It
is a great diver, and has the habit of dipping and rising
many times in succession, which gives it its name. There
is an American Dipper, almost the counterpart of the
European one ; it is found in the western part of North
America. It is very fully described by Nuttal, who says
that it flits about our streams with gravelly beds, occa-
sionally diving for its prey, and that " in the very depths
of winter and in early spring it contributes to cheer its
wild and dreary haunts by its simple, clear, and sweetly-
warbled notes, somewhat resembling those of the young
Song-thrush."

251. There are many birds of this family that it would

152 NATURAL HISTORY.

be interesting to notice, but I will speak of only two o*
three more. The Catbird, so familiar to us, is a beauti«
ful singer, but when provoked or alarmed, utters a disa-
greeable mewing sound, from which it gets its name.
The Brown Thrush, or Thrasher, is a songster of great
sweetness and compass. So also is the European Black-
bird. This must not be confounded with our common
American Blackbird, which belongs to the Crow family.
252. The family of Fly-catchers is comparatively a
small one in regard to the number of its species, but it
is quite widely diffused. They derive their name from
their skill in catching insects as they fly. For this pur-
pose the bill is quite broad at the base, so that when the
mandibles are separated, the mouth presents a wide
opening. In this respect they approach the division of
Fissirostres, § 236. Like them, also, they have bristles
about the mouth at the sides ; and their legs are small
and weak, as they are mostly on the wing. The most
prominent of this family in this country is the Kingbird,
one of the most bold and brave of all birds. Its dispo-
sition to drive off all other birds from the neighborhood
of its nest, and keep sole possession of what it considers
its own domains, has given this bird its name. It will
attack even such large birds as Crows, Hawks, and
Eagles, mounting above them, and darting down upon
their backs, and by this continual annoyance will succeed
in driving them off. It will sometimes pursue one of
these birds a long distance, over a mile, and then return
to the neighborhood of its nest with the proud air of a
conqueror, uttering rapidly its shrill and triumphant
notes. I have sometimes been amused with the boldness
of this bird in flying in quick darts close to my head aa
I approached the tree where it had built its nest. Some
of the birds manage, by agility or some cunning expe-
dient, to escape the attacks of this tyrant. " I have
seen," says Wilson, " the Red-headed Woodpecker, while
slinging on the rail of a fence, amuse himself with the

PERCHING BIRDS. 153

fiolence of the Kingbird, and play bo-peep with him
around the rail, while the latter, highly irritated, made
every attempt, as he swept from side to side, to strike
him, but in vain." The Phebe-bird, which utters its
pe-wee so continuously, is one of this family. There are
eight species of Fly-catchers called Greenlets, which are
familiar to this country. Their principal colors are vari-
ous shades of green. One of them, from using bits of
newspaper in making its nest, is sometimes called Poli-
tician.

253. The species of the family of Chatterers, or Wax-
wings, are few. The Bohemian Waxwing, Fig. 124, is

diffused over Europe, and ap-
pears in England, so that its
local name, accidentally given
it, is not appropriate. With
its silken tuft of feathers on its
head, and the general silken
appearance of its plumage, it
is a beautiful bird, but its song
is weak, as is that of all the
Chatterers. There is a corre-
sponding species pervading
North and a part of South
America, commonly called the
Cedar-bird, or Cherry-bird. At
the approach of winter the Ce-

Fig.i24. Bohemian Waxwing. dar-birds leave the far north
in companies of from twenty

to a hundred, and go as far south as the confines of the
equator. They reappear in the Northern and Eastern
States in April, before the cherries and mulberries, their
favorite fruits, ripen. Although they eat these fruits, they
more than repay us by devouring quantities of canker-
worms and other destructive insects. The Waxwings
have their name from a peculiar ornament on their
wings. Some of the feathers have appendages resem*

154 NATURAL HISTORY.

bling red sealing-wax in color. The wing is represented
in Fig. 125.

Fig. 125.— Wing of Waxwing.

254. The third division of the Perchers is that of the
Fissirostres. The characteristics of this tribe were men-
tioned in § 236. These, as you have seen, appeared to
some extent in some of the Dentirostres, especially the
family of Fly-catchers. The adaptation of .the wide,
gaping mouth, with its bristles at the sides, to the cap-
ture of insects in flight, is obvious. Some of the larger
species of this tribe, however, live on fish. There are
six families — the Goatsuckers, the Swallows, the Todies,
the Trogons, the Kingfishers, and the Bee-eaters.

255. The Goatsuckers, of which you have an example
in Fig. 118, are for the most part nocturnal, and they
have the soft plumage and dull colors so characteristic
of those nocturnal birds of prey, the Owls. They sally
forth in the evening when the Fly-catchers and Swallows
have retired to rest, and, like the Bats, skim about in the
air, mostly near the ground. But while the Bats capture
such hard-cased insects as beetles, the Goatsuckers take
into their gaping mouths the soft-bodied moths. When
these are once in the mouth they can not escape, for the
bristles fence them in, and the thick saliva which is there
envelops them. The foot of this bird is curiously con-
structed. The hind toe, as in the Owls, can be brought

PERCHING BIRDS.

155

forward, and the claw of the longest anterior toe has a
long, comb-like projection, as seen in Fig. 126. The use

Fig. 126. -Foot of European Goatsucker.

of tnis is not ascertained. There is but one species of
this family known in Great Britain, and this appears in
all parts of Europe. There are several species in this
country, one of them being the Whippoorwill and anoth-
er the Night-hawk. They all have the mottled colors and
large dark eyes which are so characteristic of night birds.
256. The Swallows are characterized by great power
of wing, wide mouths, and short legs. The plumage of
their bodies is firm and close, their wing feathers are
long, stiff, and pointed, and their tails are long and fork-
ed, all which are adapted to great speed. The Swift,
Fig. 127, called "Jack Screamer," is the largest of Brit-
ish Swallows. It spends most of the day on the wing

Fig. li

The Swift.

156 NATURAL HISTORY.

wheeling with wonderful velocity, occasionally soaring
very high, and uttering its shrill screams. It captures
great quantities of insects to give to its young, retaining
them in a kind of pouch under the tongue. Our Chim-
ney Swallow is one of the Swifts. It is a social bird, ap-
pearing in flocks, and making its nest in tall hollow
trees or in unused chimneys. It is amusing to see them
go into a chimney. The flock wheels round and round,
and as they come down near the chimney those that are
lowest drop in at each turn till the whole have descend-
ed. The Bank Swallow, or Sand Martin, which we see
so often making holes in sand-banks with its awl-shaped
bill, has its counterpart in Europe. The Martins, which
so familiarly inhabit the boxes set up for them by man,
are Swallows. Appearing in the extreme south of the
United States the first part of February, they arrive in
New England the latter part of April, and in May they
are seen as far north as Hudson's Bay. They begin to
emigrate from thence southward in August.*

257. The Todies are birds of gaudy plumage and rapid
flight, restricted almost entirely to tropical regions.

* There is one species of Swallow which furnishes a singular arti-
cle of diet, highly prized by the Chinese. This article is the nest of
the bird. The chief material of which the nest is composed has been
a subject of much dispute, some supposing it to be a kind of sea- weed,
and others a substance derived from the spawn of fishes. " It is now
ascertained," says Carpenter, " that this substance is secreted by enor-
mously developed salivary glands ; a few fragments of grass, hair, and
other substances are generally mixed with it. The purest nests ccn-
sist almost entirely of gelatinous matter, which, dissolving readily in
water, is employed in making rich soups and gravies. The collecting
of these nests is a proceeding of great danger; but a large number of
persons are employed in it, as may be judged from the quantity sent
to China. About 27,000 Ibs. are annually transmitted from Java,
and these are of the best quality. A still greater quantity is obtained
from the Suluk Archipelago, and much, also, from Ceylon and New
Guinea. It is calculated that about 30,000 tons of Chinese shipping
are engaged in the traffic, and that the value of their freights is above
£280,000."

PERCHING BIRDS. 157

258. The Trogons have great brilliancy of plumage,
the usual tint being a golden green, contrasted boldly
with scarlet, black, and brown. They are found in the
tropical parts of Asia and America. The Resplendent
Trogon of Mexico, Fig. 128, is the most gorgeous of all

Fig. 128.— Resplendent Trogon.

of them, its whole upper surface being of the richest
metallic golden green, the breast and under parts of a
bright crimson, and the tail being covered by long, soft
plumes of various colors. These plumes were used by
the ancient Mexican nobles as ornaments for their head-
dresses.

259. The Kingfishers feed upon fish, which they take by
diving. There is but one species in this country. There
is a species in Europe of a similar character, but with
brighter hues. It is described as being exceedingly beau-
tiful, as, with the metallic glitter of its plumage, it glides
along the bank of a river, or darts into the water. Of

158

NATUE-A^ HISTORY.

the Bee-eaters there are none in this country. There is
a considerable number of species in Africa, Asia, and
Australia.

260. The Tenuirostres have long slender bills, intend-
ed either for collecting the honey in the nectaries of flow-
ers, or for the capture of small insects, of which, when-
ever we examine flowers, we see so many in and around
them. Their wings are commonly long, but the feet are
slender, showing that they are to be mostly on the wing.
They are, for the most part, small and of delicate form,
and have great variety and brilliancy of plumage. They
are almost entirely confined to the torrid zone. There
are five families : the Humming-birds, Sunbirds, Iloney-
Buckers, Hoopoes, and Creepers.

261. The Humming-birds, of which there are three
hundred species, are exclusively confined to America.
All but two or three are tropical birds. They are the
smallest and most brilliantly colored of the feathered race.
Their variety of shape may be judged of by the few spe-

Fig. 129. — Humming-birds.

PERCHING BIRDS.

159

cies represented in Fig. 129 (p. 158). The muscles of their
wings are larger, in proportion to the size of the body,
than those of any other bird. Hence their extraordinary
power of flight, enabling them to dart with the velocity
of an arrow, or to remain suspended in the air over a flow-
er while they extract the honey or take the insects which
are there. The humming sound, from which their name
comes, is produced by the exceedingly rapid movement
of the wings. The tongue is a curious instrument, being
split into two tubular filaments, which can be suddenly

darted out to a con-
siderable distance.
Our common North'
ern Humming-bird,
Fig. 130, comes north
as late as May. The
male bird has a
changeable ruby-col-
ored throat. There
is a very brilliant spe-
cies found as far north
on the western coast
of America as Noot-

he male

Fig. 130,-Northern Humming-bird. k

having a crimson and copper colored throat. Nuttal
speaks of it as seeming like " a breathing gem or magic
carbuncle of glowing fire" as it flies about in search of
its food.

262. While the Humming-birds are peculiar to the
New World, the Sunbirds are peculiar to the Old, al-
most rivaling the former in brilliancy of plumage, and re-
sembling them in their general habits. They have sim-
ilar tongues ; but in gathering their food they alight,
and never hover over a flower as the Humming-birds do.
They differ from the Humming-birds in one respect very
decidedly — they are generally agreeable songsters, while
the voice of the Humming-birds is nothing but a shrill
11

160

NATURAL HISTORY.

cry. These birds range over Africa, Asia, and the Pa-
cific Ocean. In the Hawaian Islands their feathers are
highly esteemed as ornaments of head-dresses, and com-
mand a high price.

263. The Honeysuckers are an aberrant family pecul-
iar to Australia and
the neighboring isl-
ands. The Hoopoes
are a still more aber-
rant family. The Eu-
ropean Hoopoe, Fig.
131, with its crest,
which it can raise or
depress at pleasure,
is a very beautiful
bird. It is quite
abundant in France.
The Creepers are still
another aberrant
family, some species
of which verge to-
ward the Perjchers,
especially the War-
bler family, and others toward the next order to be con-
fddered, the Scansores. The common Creeper of Europe,

Fig. 132.— Creeper.

CLIMBING BIRDS. 161

Fig. 132 (p. 160), is supposed to be of the same species
with the common Creeper of this country. This pretty
little bird may be seen running spirally up the trunks of
trees, probing the bark here and there with its bill in
search of insects that harbor in the crevices. To this
family belong the Nuthatches and the Wrens, of botb
which there are several species in this country.

Questions.— What is said of the Thrush family? What of the
Mocking-bird ? What of the American Robin ? What of the Water
Ousel ? What other birds of this family are noticed ? Wliat is said
of the family of Fly-catchers ? What of the Kingbird ? What other
birds of this family are mentioned ? What is said of the family of
Waxwings ? What is the third division of the Perchers ? What
are the chief characteristics of the birds of this division ? What is
said of the Goatsuckers ? What of their feet ? What species are
mentioned as belonging to this countiy ? What is said of the Swal-
lows ? What of the Swift ? Of the Chimney Swallow ? Of the Bank
Swallow? What is said of the Todies? What of the Trogons?
What are the characteristics of the Tenuirostres ? What families are
in this group ? What is said of the Humming-birds? What of theii
wings ? Of their tongues ? Of their humming ? What is said of a
species found on the western coast of America ? What is said of the
Sunbirds ? What of the Honeysuckers ? What of the Creepers ?

CHAPTER XVI.

CLIMBING, SCRATCHING, AND RUNNING BIRDS.

264. WE come now to the third order of Land Birds,
the Scansores, or Climbers. They have four toes, two
directed forward and two backward. Spending most of
their time in climbing, the muscles of their lower extrem-
ities are made strong for this purpose ; and, on the other
hand, as they have little need of flying, the muscles of
their wings are small. The order includes four families :
the Parrots, Toucans,Woodpeckers, and Cuckoos. There
are such marked differences between these families, that
\t would seem that some of them ought to be reckoned

162

NATURAL HISTORY.

as separate orders ; but they all agree in their adaptation
to climbing, and therefore they are classed together in
the order Scansores.

265. The Parrots are characterized by their short, hard,
arched beaks, and their thick fleshy tongues. They are
natives of the tropical and warmer temperate regions in
both hemispheres. They are remarkable for their edu-
cability and their power of imitation in the use of the
voice. They have greater prehensile power than any
other birds, using the beak as well as the feet in grasp-
ing. On account of this power, their intelligence, and
their arboreal habits, we may consider the Parrot tribe
as holding a situation among birds like that which the
Monkey tribe holds among the Mammalia.

266. The Toucans, of which one species is represented
in Fig. 133, are all natives of South America. Their enor-
mous bills are made light in the same way as those of the
Horn-bills (§ 244), by being of a honeycomb structure

Fig. 133 — Toucan.

CLIMBING BIRDS. 163

The Toucan seems to be omnivorous, but is very fond of
mice and small birds, which it kills by a powerful squeeze
of its bill. When sleeping, it takes special care of its
bill, packing it away among its feathers, so that the bird
presents the appearance of a great feathery ball.

267. The Woodpeckers, so appropriately named, are
vV7idely diffused, being found in all quarters of the globe
except Australia. There are eight species in this coun
try. They live on insects and grubs, which they bore for
in the bark and wood of trees. In Fig. 134 you have the
attitude of the Woodpecker as he bores. The bill is

Fig. 134.— Woodpecker.

long, sharp, and stout ; and with his powerful feet he
holds on firmly, while he drives in his bill with all the
force which his body can give to it. The sound produced
by this operation is very much like that of a watchman's
rattle. When an insect or grub is reached by this bor-
ing, it is drawn out by the tongue, which is specially
adapted to do this. It is very long, and its sharp point
is barbed with several filaments, and has upon it a gum-

164 NATURAL HISTORY.

my secretion. If the insect be of any size it is impaled,
and if very small, this glutinous substance makes it ad-
here to the tongue.*

268. The Cuckoo family is quite an extensive one, con-
sisting, for the most part, of inhabitants of the warmer
regions. The species which in spring migrates to Great
Britain, and is so common there, has the curious habit
of laying its eggs in the nests of other birds of various
kinds, making them perform for her the incubation* need-
ed to hatch them. The Cuckoo of this country, though
very similar in most respects, has no such habit. The
young European Cuckoos seem to catch the spirit of the
parent, for they contrive to cast out of the nest the young
of the bird by which they have been hatched. But, as
they do this slyly, the foster-mother, knowing nothing of
it, does not cease her tender care of the intruders.

269. The fourth order of birds is that of the Rasores,
or Scratchers. The food of these birds consists chiefly
of grains and seeds, and they accordingly pass most of
their time on the ground. They differ in this respect
from the birds that we have already noticed, which live
mostly on the wing or on trees. Accordingly, the Ra-
sores have little power of flight, and the muscles of the
wings are much smaller in proportion to the size of the
body than those of the Perchers and other birds of flight.
Their legs are sufficiently long to enable them to walk
well, and their feet are armed with short stout nails fitted
for scratching in search of food. As their food is hard,
and they have no teeth for masticating it, there is a crop
for macerating it, and a gizzard for reducing it to pulp.

* It is stated by Mr. Wood that these birds do not injure tre^s—
that the insects which they seek for are in decayed branches' and
stumps, and, guided by instinct, the Woodpecker bores only in' these
This, however, is not so, and I have this summer seen in my garden
a thrifty pear-tree most curiously marked by the borings of this bird.
The holes were up the trunk and out upon some of the branches in
horizontal rows, from five to eight in each row.

SCRATCHING BIKDS. 165

This digestive apparatus, described in Chapter XII., is
seen very completely developed in the birds of this order.

270. Most of the Scratchers do not associate in pairs.
The male birds have nothing to do with taking care of
the young, which are hatched with their eyes open, and
are generally able to run about at once in search of food,
instead of being dependent for some time on the parent
for their supply. They can, for the most part, be domes-
ticated, and they are the most useful to man of all the
birds, affording him quite a large portion of his food.
The plumage of the male birds is usually gay, and they
often have crests or some other ornaments on the head.
The females commonly differ from the males in a marked
manner in these respects.

271. There is a striking analogy between these birds
and the Ruminant Quadrupeds in several points. In
both the food is vegetable, and in both there is a special
provision for breaking it up and moistening it, so that
the gastric juice may readily act upon it. The crop in
the fowl answers to the paunch in the Ruminant, and the
crushing by the gizzard to the grinding in rumination,
each following the maceration. Then, too, these birds
and the Ruminants are both, for the most part, easily do-
mesticated, and domestication produces in both great va-
riety in breeds. There are seven families : 1. The Pigeon
family. 2. The Curassows. 3. The Pheasants. 4. The
Grouse. 5. The Sheath-bills. 6. The Tinamous family.
7. The Greatfoots.

272. The family of Pigeons includes both those birds
called by this name and those which are called Doves.
These birds differ from those of the other families of this
order in pairing; in living on trees, and, much of the time,
on the wing, for which they are adapted by the large
size of the wring-muscles ; and in having the hinder toe on

level with the others, as in the Perchers, instead of be-
ing above them, as we see it in the common fowl and in
ill the other families. On these accounts some have been

166

NATURAL HISTORY.

disposed to make the Pigeon tribe an order by them
selves. The Pigeons are very remarkable for their mode
of feeding their young. The crop is double, forming two

pouches, one on either side
of the gullet, as represent
ed at a and b in Fig. 135.
Now, while the bird is in-
cubating, a curious change
takes place in the crop, and
for a special purpose. Ordi-
narily it is thin and smooth,

Fig. 135. — Pigeon's Craw.

is seen at a ; but when the
bird is about to have young
to care for, the crop be-
comes thick and full of lit-
tle lumps, as represented at
b. These lumps are glands,
that have now become en-
larged, in order to perform
their duty of pouring a
milky fluid into the crop. The object of this is to soften
the food, so that, when this is done, the bird may throw
it up out of the crop and give it to its young. It is sin-
gular that the same change takes place in the male bird ;
and both parents, therefore, engage in feeding their off-
spring. The most conspicuous varieties of the domestic
Pigeons are seen in Fig. 136 (p. 167). That large Pig-
eon, the Pouter, is able to inflate its crop with air so ap
almost to hide its head behind it, and it seems to be quite
vain of this accomplishment.

273. This family are found in almost every part of the
globe, and in some they multiply to an enormous extent.
The most remarkable in this respect is the Passenger
Pigeon of this country. " The associated numbers of
<vild Pigeons," says Nuttal, " are without any other par
allel in the feathered race ; they can, indeed, alone be
compared to the shoals of herrings, which, descending

BIRDS.

167

Fig. 136.— Domestic Pigeons.

from the arctic regions, discolor and fill the ocean to the
extent of mighty kingdoms. To talk of hundreds of mil-
lions of individuals of the same species habitually associ-
ated in feeding, roosting, and breeding, without any re-
gard to climate or season as an operating cause in these
gregarious movements, would at first appear to be whol-
ly incredible, if not borne out by most abundant testi-
mony. The approach of the mighty feathered army with
a loud rushing roar, and a stirring breeze, attended by a
sudden darkness, might be mistaken for a fearful tornado.
For several hours together the vast host, extending some
miles in breadth, still continues to pass in flocks without
diminution. At the approach of the Hawk their sublime
and beautiful aerial evolutions are disturbed, like the ruf-
fling squall extending over the placid ocean." Audubon
calculated, estimating one of these flocks to be a mile in
width, and allowing two pigeons to each square yard,
that it numbered eleven hundred and fifteen millions, and
that the quantity of food necessary for its supply must

168 NATURAL HISTORY.

be ri, 7 12,000 bushels per day. Their breeding-places are
large forests, sometimes fifty miles long by four or five
wide, in which every tree has from fifty to a hundred
nests.

274. The flight of the Pigeon is very rapid. Pigeons
have been killed in New York State with Carolina rice
in their crops. Judging by the short time required in
them for the process of digestion, it is calculated that
these birds must have flown between three and four hund-
red miles in six hours, which is over a mile in a minute.
The Carrier Pigeon has been known to fly much faster
than this — nearly one hundred and fifty miles in an hour.
Before the invention of the Electric Telegraph this bird
was extensively employed in Europe for carrying mes-
sages. Some were trained to carry both from and to
their residence. The letter was fastened under the wing
or to its feet. The feet were bathed in vinegar to keep
them cool, lest the bird should stop on the way to bathe.
On starting, it rose high in the air, made two or three
circular sweeps, and then darted off like an arrow for its
place of destination.

275. The other six families are styled commonly the
true Gallinaceous birds, from gallus, cock, and gattina,
hen. The Curassows are peculiar to the tropical part of
South America. Some species are as large as Turkeys,
and are much prized as food. They can be easily domes-
ticated.

276. In the Pheasant family the hind toe is placed so
high that only the tip touches the ground, and there are
also commonly one or more spurs. This family includes
the common Fowls, Turkeys, Pheasants, Peacocks, Par-
tridges, etc. The common Fowl is more extensively dif-
fused than any others, and there are many varieties pro-
duced by domestication. Its native country is India, in
whose jungles it is found in great numbers living on
grain and seeds. The Turkeys are natives of North and
Central America. The wattles, which are larger in these

SCRATCHING BIKDS.

169

than in any other birds of this family, are loose folds of
skin well supplied with blood-vessels. These become
redder and fuller when the Turkey is excited, just as the
cheeks of man are reddened in blushing. The true Pheas-
ants are allied to the Fowls. They are found wild in va-
rious parts of Asia. The most splendid species is the
Pheasant, Fig. 137, a native of Sumatra, Malacca,

and the southeast
part of Asia. The
beautiful eye -spots
on its plumage sug-
gested the name of
A r g u s, the s h e p-
herd, who, with his
hundred eyes, was
set by Juno to
watch lo.

27V. The Grouse
family is diffused
over the northeru
;\ parts of America,
[\ Europe, and Asia.
They differ from the
Pheasants in having
no naked crests or
wattles, and in the
absence of brilliant
colors in the plu-
mage. They vary
much in size, the
Partridges and
Quails being birds
of moderate size, while the Cock of the Wood in Europe,
and the Cock of the Plains in this country, are nearly as
large as the Turkey. The California Quail is a beautiful
bird, having a delicate crest of a dark color, which it can
erect or depress at pleasure. The Ptarmigans are an in-

Fig. 137.— Argus Pheasant.

170 NATURAL HISTORY.

teresting portion of the Grouse family. They live in the
far north in America and P^urope. Their legs, and even
the feet, are covered with hair-like feathers. Their plu-
mage, like the fur of the Ermine and some other quadru-
peds, changes, as winter comes on, from a rich, almost
tortoise-shell color, to a pure white. The trade in Ptar-
migans in the north of Europe is very extensive. The
captured birds are kept in a frozen state for the dealers
who come for them.

278. The Sheath-bills are a comparatively small family,
found chiefly in South America. Their nostrils are sur-
rounded by a kind of sheath, and their plumage is snowy
white. The Tinamous family, also a small one, is found
in the same country, where they seem to occupy the
same place that the Partridges and Quails do in other
countries. The family of Greatfoots is peculiar to Aus-
tralia and the adjacent islands. One of them is called
the Brush Turkey, from its resemblance in general form
to the common Turkey. It lives in the thick brushwood
of Australia. This and another bird, the Mound-making
Megapode (Greatfoot), are famous for making the mounds
spoken of in § 205. This latter bird deposits its eggs
some five or six feet deep in its mound, and then covers
them up. Its mounds are very large. One of them was
found to be fifteen feet high and sixty feet in circumfer-
ence. They w^re at first supposed to be the tombs of
the aborigines.

279. We come now to the order Cursores, or Runners
— the Ostriches and their allies. We commonly think
of birds as being, of course, capable of flight, but here we
have a class of birds which are wholly terrestrial. Near-
ly all of them have wings, but all that their wings can do
is to assist them in running. Their wings being small,
the muscles which move them are small also. Accord-
ingly, the breast-bone is entirely destitute of the project-
ing keel (§ 199) which it has in other birds, this being
needed only for the attachment of large muscles. In the

RUNNING BIRDS. 171

Cursores this bone is a smooth round shield on its breast.
While the muscles of the wings are small, those of the
legs are very stout — their chief power is there. The plu-
mage differs from those of birds of flight, the laminae of
the feathers not being united together by barbs (§ 197).
Such a union is needed for the pressure on the air re-
quired in flying, and therefore is omitted when there is
no flying to be done.

280. This group of birds is, then, an aberrant one, and,
as is usually the case in groups of this character, there
are but few species. One of the most prominent is the
African Ostrich. This is the tallest of all birds, reach-
ing sometimes even to eight feet. It is found in the
sandy deserts of Africa and Arabia. It is probably the
swiftest of all running animals. It can be domesticated,
and will easily carry two men on its back. Its nest is
merely a hollow made in the sand, and the hatching of
the eggs is not left to the heat of the sun, but both the
male and female bird engage in the incubation. The
Bushmen make of these shells water-flasks, cups, and dish-
es. The food of the Ostrich consists of the tops of shrub-
by plants, seeds, and grain. It swallows, also, stones,
sticks, bits of metal, leather, etc., probably guided by in-
stinct, as these will help the grinding of the food, as the
gravel does which the common Fowl swallows. There
is an American Ostrich, a smaller bird, found in the south
ern part of South America.

281. The Emu, Fig. 138 (page 172), a native of Austra-
lia, is nearly as large as the Ostrich, but is lower on the
legs, has a shorter neck, and is more thickset in body.
The wings are mere rudiments, and are concealed be-
neath the feathers of the body. The feathers strongly
resemble branching hairs, the laminse being at a distance
from each other. The Cassowary, a native of Java and
the neighboring islands, is much smaller than the Os-
trich. Of all the Cursores, the Apteryx of New Zealand
is the one most completely destitute of wings. It has a

172

NATUKAL HISTOEY.

Fig. 138.— Emu.

very long bill, on which it sometimes rests as an old man
does upon his cane placed before him. Unlike the other
Cursores, it lives on insects and worms. Its habits are
nocturnal, and the natives hunt it by torchlight for the
sake of its skin, which is highly valued as a material for
the dresses of their chiefs. It is a curious fact that in
the volcanic sands of New Zealand there have been found
the bones of several large birds of this order now extinct.
One of them is supposed to have been fourteen feet in
height.

Questions. — What are the peculiarities of the Scansorcs? What
are their families? What is said of their differences? What is said
of the Parrots ? What of the Toucans ? What of the Woodpeckers ?
Of the Cuckoos ? What are the characteristics of the Rasores ?
What is said of the analogies between them and the Ruminant Quad-
rupeds ? What are the families of the Rasores ? What are the char-
acteristics of the Pigeon family ? What is said of their digestive ap-
paratus? What is said of the Pouter Pigeon? What of the flocks

THE WADING AND SWIMMING BIRDS. 173

of wild Pigeons ? What of the power of flight in Pigeons ? What
of the Carrier Pigeon ? What are the Gallinaceous birds ? What is
said of the Curassows ? What does the Pheasant family include ?
What is said of the common Fowl ? What of the Argus Pheasant ?
How do the Grouse family diifer from the Pheasants ? What is said
of their size ? What is said of the California Quail ? What of the
Ptarmigans ? What are the peculiarities of the Sheath-bills ? What
is said of the Tinamous family ? What of the Greatfoots ? What is
said of the Cursores ? What of the African Ostrich ? What of the
Emu ? What of the Apteryx ?

CHAPTER XVII.

THE WADING AND SWIMMING BIRDS.

282. WE have now arrived at the Water Birds, the
Grallatores and the Natatores. The Grallatores are com-
monly called Waders ; but, as Carpenter says, they would
be more appropriately named Stilt-walkers, the real mean
ing of the word Grallatores, for they are all remarkable
for the length of their legs, while many of them can
scarcely be said to be aquatic in their habits. Those
which are most decidedly aquatic have their feet partial-
ly webbed. This is probably to enable them to swim in
case that they should get beyond their depth. Most of
the birds of this order find their food in the water, which
consists of fish, mollusks, aquatic worms and insects.
Their legs are, accordingly, both long and naked, so that
they may wade with facility, and their necks and bills are
long, that they may reach their food. They are generally
slender birds, and their wings are fitted for rapid flight.
Their tails are short, and they therefore stretch out their
long legs behind to act as a rudder, in place of the tails
of other flying birds (§210). They are distributed wide-
ly over the earth, and many of them make periodical mi-
grations north and south. There .are six families : Bus-
tards, Plovers, Cranes, Herons, Snipes, and Rails.

283. The Bustards are natives of the Eastern Conti

174

NATURAL HISTORY.

nent and Australia. As these birds have the stout legs
of an Ostrich, and are fast runners, preferring running to
flying, some naturalists place them among the Cursores ;
but as they have wings of considerable size, and can fly
readily and far, they obviously do not belong in that or-
der. They have some alliance to the Pheasants (§ 276),
for they live in part on grain, deposit their eggs in the
ground without any proper nest, and do not live in pairs.
The Great Bustard, Fig. 139, is the largest of all the Eu

ropean birds. The
full - grown male is
four feet long, and
weighs from thirty
to forty pounds.
Though once com-
mon in England, it
is now rarely seen
there ; but it is still
i common in Spain,
i Greece, in some parts
of Russia, and in the
wrilds of Tartary.
|1 284. The Plover
family are also good
runners. They be-
long mostly to the
temperate climates

of the Old World. They are found chiefly in sandy, un-
sheltered shores and moors. Their wings are large, and
in their flight they wheel round in circles, much like the
Swifts and the Pigeons. The Oyster-catcher, extensively
distributed in the Old World, is also one of the Plovers
of this country. It lives on Oysters and other bivalves,
having a wedge-shaped bill peculiarly fitted to open them.
The Lapwing, Fig. 140 (p. 1 75), one of the European Plov-
ers, is a beautiful bird. It has a crest of long black
feathers extending backward, and this, with the black

THE WADING AND SWIMMING BIRDS.

175

and white colors of
the plumage of its
body, makes it a
very conspicuous
bird in its flight.

285. The general
shape of the Crane
family you see ex-
emplified in the
common Crane,

Fig. i4i).— Lapwing. Fig. 141, which is

found over a large part of Europe, Asia, and Africa. In
the summer it is found in the north of Europe and Asia,

Fig. 141.— Crane.

but in winter it migrates to India, to Egypt, and other
parts of Africa. It flies to a great height, and even when
almost out of sight its hoarse cry is audible. It feeds on
frogs, snails, worms, and grain. It is about three or four
feet in length. There is a singular species of Crane in
12

176

NATURAL HISTORY.

South America, called, from its loud harsh voice, the
Trumpeter. It is about the size of a Fowl, and is read-
ily domesticated. It runs rapidly, but seldom takes the
wing. There are two large membranous bags connect-
ed with the windpipe at its lower part, which are sup
posed to give force to the voice, being used as the full
bag of air is in the bagpipe.

286. The Heron family may be considered as the typ-
ical family of this order, the birds included in it being
pre-eminently formed for wading. They are found on
the margins of rivers, lakes, and marshes, and live on
fishes, reptiles, and sometimes small Mammalia. They
have, usually, long, stout, and sharp-pointed beaks, in or-
der to capture the fish
for which they watch
so patiently in the atti-
tude represented in Fig.
142. Contrary to the
habits of most of the
birds of this order, the
Heron builds its nest
in a high tree, feeding
its young with fish for
five or six weeks. The
common Heron, Figure
142, is spread over a
great part of the Old
World. The plumes of
this bird were former-
ly worn as ornaments
only by the noble.
There is an allied species in America. The Spoon-bills,
notwithstanding the form of the beak, are generally rank-
ed in the Heron family. They live by the edges of marsh-
es, or near the sea-shore, where there are thick bushes,
and their food consists of fishes, mollusks, and aquatic
insects. The White Spoon-bill of the Old World, Fig.

Fig. 142.— Heron.

THE WADING AND SWIMMING BIRDS.

177

Fig. 143.— White Spoon-bill.

143, is nearly three feet
long. There is an al-
lied species in South
America called the
Boat-bill.

287. The Storks are
among the largest birds
of this order, but they
are less aquatic than the
other families. They
are shaped much like
the Cranes, but have
not the pendent plumes
in the tail. They are
abundant in Europe,
Asia, and Africa. They
winter in the latter
country. They build
their nests in towers, chimneys, and steeples, or in the
broadly-spreading branches of a cedar or pine. In Hol-
land, a kind of false chimney is built by the inhabitants
for these birds to make their nests in. They live on rats,
mice, frogs, and sometimes carrion or offal, and for this
reason they are held in esteem, especially in the Eastern
countries. The Adjutant of India, which is so useful in
destroying vermin and offal, is one of the Stork family.
So is also the sacred Ibis of Egypt, which figures so often
in their hieroglyphics.

288. The distribution of the Snipe family is very gen
eral. Their food consists of insects, worms, slugs, aquat-
ic mollusks, etc., which they obtain by thrusting their
long and slender bills into mud or moist earth. Their
bills are accordingly provided with nerves, so that they
may know at once whenever they strike upon their prey.
The flesh of these birds is held in high esteem. The
Woodcock of this country has its counterpart in Europe.
The Curlews, of which you have an example in Fig. 144.

178

NATURAL HISTORY.

are characterized by
their curved beaks.
Birds of this genus
of the Snipe family
are found in the
northern parts of
both continents.
The largest of the
American Curlews,
appropriately called
the Sickle-bill,is over
two feet in length,
and has a bill from
seven to nine inches
long.

-289. In the Avo-
cet, Fig. 145, the bill
turns upward in its curve. This bird gathers its food by
scooping it up from the mud. In searching for it, it

Fig. 144 Curlew.

Fig. 145.— Avocet.

moves its bill from one side to the other like the motions
of a mower, and leaves its traces in the mud. The Amer-
ican Avocet, Wilson says, is called by the inhabitants of
Cape May, the Lawyer, from its flippant clamor. It is

THE WADIXG AND SWIMMING BIRDS.

179

sometimes called Blue-stocking, from the color of its legs.
The Stilt Plovers, remarkable for the great length of
their legs, are included among the Avocets.

290. The Rail family are characterized by their long
toes, enabling them to walk easily over soft mud or even
the leaves of water-plants. Some of the tribe have foi
this purpose membranous margins along the sides of the

toes, so that the foot
may have a consider-
able flat surface. The
Jacanas, of which a
specimen is given in
Fig. 146, can walk on
the broad leaves of
water-plants, and, as
these leaves sink a lit-
tle as the foot press-
es on them, the bird
has the appearance
of walking on the wa-
ter. These birds are
found in Asia, Africa,
and America. The
specimen represent-
ed in the figure is the
species found in Brazil and Guiana.

291. Birds of the order Natatores have a peculiar pro-
vision for swimming. They are web-footed ; that is, the
toes are connected together by a membrane or web, as
seen in Fig. 147 (p. 180), so that the feet can be used as
oars or paddles. In the act of swimming, the toes are
brought near together when the foot is carried forward,
and they are spread out when it is carried backward.
The body of the bird is boat - shaped, so as to move
through the water easily. In those which are the most
aquatic in their habits, the feet are placed far back, so
that they may propel the body effectively ; and this gives

Fig. 146. — Jacana.

180 NATURAL HISTORY.

the peculiar waddling gait which is so familiar to us in
the Duck. Their plumage is dense, and it is oiled by 3

Fig. 147.— Foot of Gannet.

secretion from glands, which keeps it from being pene-
trated by the water. Their necks are long, to enable
them to reach their food. They are the only birds, Cu-
vier remarks, in which the neck is longer than the legs.
There are five families : Ducks, Divers, Auks, Gulls, and
Pelicans.

292. The Duck family have broad bills with horny
vaminae at the edges, which act as a filter, allowing the
water to escape, but retaining substances which are in it.
While this is going on, the tongue, which is soft and well
endowed with nerves, is informing the animal what is
and what is not worthy of being retained, or, in other
words, selecting its food. There are nerves in the bill,
also, which assist in this selection. The food is various,
consisting of insects, worms, mollusks, grains, etc. These
birds are distributed widely over the globe, and are usu-
ally migratory. The flights of the Wild Geese in their
military order are familiar to us. From the Wild Geese
and Ducks come the domesticated ones. As the Goose
lives more on land than the Duck, its legs are not set so
far back, and it walks better. It seems to partake of the
characteristics of both the Swimmers and the Waders.
As it lives so much on land, its food is principally grains
and grass.

293. The true Ducks may be divided into two classes,
those which frequent inland shallow waters, and those

THE WADING AND SWIMMING BIRDS.

181

which are found in deeper waters and in the sea. The
latter are well provided for in their swimming apparatus,
and are good divers also. The Eider Duck, an inhabit-
ant of the northern regions of both hemispheres, furnish-
es the famous eider-down. The beautiful and graceful
Swans belong to the Duck family. They are inhabitants
of the east of Europe and Asia. Among the singular an-
imals of that country so fruitful in strange things, Aus-
tralia, there is a Swan, the whole of whose plumage is a

jetty black. The
Flamingo, Figure
148, although it has
the long legs of a
Grane, and so is a
good wader,is com-
monly reckoned in
the Duck family,
because its feet are
well webbed, and
its mandibles are
laminated as in the
case of the true
Ducks. It is found
in Africa, Asia, and
the warmer parts
of Europe. The
color of the plu-
mage is a deep
brilliant scarlet, ex-
cept the quill-feath-
ers, which are
black. When a
flock of these birds
stand in a line, as
<hey often do, they look like a file of small soldiers. The
nest of the Flamingo is a conical heap made of mud, with
i hollow place in the top. When it sits on the nest its
long legs hang over the sides.

Fig. 148.— Flamingo.

182

NATURAL HISTOKY.

294. The family of Divers have short wings, and theii
legs are so far back on the body that they always are
erect when they stand. They live on fish, which they
catch by diving. They are inhabitants of the northern
regions. The Grebes, a branch of this family, are not
web -footed, but have their toes separate and broadly
fringed along their edges. Each toe is therefore a pad-
die. It is supposed that this arrangement enables the
bird to swim easily where there is much vegetation in
the water. The quickness with which the Grebes dive
is wonderful. They have been seen to dive quickly enough
to avoid the shot of a gun on hearing the report, and
come up at the distance of two hundred yards. They

get along very poorly
on land, for they are
obliged to lie their
whole length and
then shuffle along like
seals. The Crested
Grebe, Figure 149, is
found in Scotland and
England.

295. The Auks
have, like the Divers,
very short wings, and
their feet are set far
back. They use their
wings in swimming
as the whales do their
flippers and as fishes
do their fins, so that
they may be said to fly in the water. They use their
webbed feet, also, at the same time. The Great Auk, a
bird three feet in length, is an inhabitant of the arctic
regions. So, also, is the Puffin, another of this family.
The Auks and Puffins of the northern regions are rep-
resented by the Penguins in the southern hemisphere,

Fi-. 140.— Crested Grebe.

THE WADING AND SWIMMING BIRDS.

183

The Cape Penguin, Fig. 150, is very abundant at the Cape
of Good Hope and the Falkland Islands. In the water

its wings are used as
fins, but on the land
as front legs. When
it crawls, as we may
say, on all -fours, it
moves so quickly that
it might readily be
taken for a quadru-
ped. The rookeries
of the Penguins, ar-
ranged with great
regularity, though oc-
cupied by vast num-
bers of them, have oft-
en been described by
Fig. iso.-cape Penguin, travelers. They make

a singular appearance standing on the shore in dense col-
umns in immense multitudes. The largest species of
Patagonian Penguin is four feet high, and weighs forty
pounds. These birds, looked at in front, appear, with
their fin-like wings hanging down like arms, as so many
children with white aprons on.

296. The Gulls, in strong contrast with the family just
noticed, are distinguished by great power of flight. They
are found at sea at all distances, and never at any dis-
tance inland, and they are therefore said to be oceanic in
their habits. They obtain their food at or near the sur-
face of the water, and so are not good divers. The
Stormy Petrel, Fig. 151 (p. 184), the smallest of all web-
footed birds, belongs to this family. It is distributed over
every part of the ocean. It is called by the sailor Moth-
er Carey's Chicken, and is associated in his mind with
the idea of a storm, because it is so much at ease even in
the most violent storms, coursing over the waves in the
most sportive manner. These birds are fond of accom-

184

NATURAL HISTORY.

Fig. 151.— Stormy Petrel.

panying ships in thei*
course, and in doing
so, fly with the great-
est rapidity in every
direction, now ahead
and now astern.
They have the faculty
of standing and swim-
ming on the surface
of the water. When
any greasy matter is
thrown overboard,
they collect about it,
and facing to the windward, they manage, with their out-
stretched wings and their feet patting the water, to keep
themselves stationary while they eat it. In calm weath-
er, by a gentle action of the wings, they walk along on
the surface of the water with the greatest ease. It was
the walking of the Apostle Peter on the water that sug-
gested the name of Petrel for these birds.
/ 297. To the same family belongs the Albatross, so much
in contrast with the Stormy Petrel in size. This gigan-
tic bird, weighing about twenty pounds, and having a
spread of wing sometimes of fourteen feet, is an inhabit-
ant of the southern seas. With its great power of flight,
it is a grand and beautiful object as it sweeps over the
surface of the water in chase of the Flying-fish. This and
other fish it swallows whole, being able to appropriate in
this way a fish of even four or five pounds.

298. The Terns, or Sea Swallows, another branch of
this family, are like the Swifts and the Swallows of the
land in their long pointed wings and forked tails. Like
them, also, they take their prey on the wing. Some of
them live on fish, and some on insects, like the land Swal-
lows. The common Tern, Fig. 152 (p. 185), is found in
abundance on the shores of both continents. It lives on
Ssh, which it snatches from the water as it skims over

THE WADING AND SWIMMING BIRDS. 185

Fig. 152.— Common Tern.

its surface with a velocity perhaps unsurpassed by any
bird.

299. The last family of the Natatores, the Pelicans, are
distinguished by the length of.the hind toe and its union
with the other toes in the web, as seen in Fig. 147. With
this extent of web they are great swimmers ; and yet
they often perch on trees, which the length of the hind
toe enables them to do. The edge of the bills is gener-
ally toothed, by which they can hold securely the fish
which they take. The true Pelicans, from which the
whole family is named, have a large pouch of skin hang-
ing from the lower mandible, which serves them as the
cheek-pouches do the Monkeys.

300. The Cormorant, Fig. 153 (p. 186), is one of this
family. The sac is so small in the case of this bird that
it can not be called a pouch. There is a powerful hook
on the end of its upper mandible. It is an excellent div-
er, and actually gives chase to fish under water, seldom
coming up without a victim. It is a very voracious an-
imal. Waterton gives the following account of this bird's
operations in the water : " First raising his body nearly
perpendicular, down he plunges into the deep, and, aft-
er staying there a considerable time, he is sure to bring
up a fish, which he invariably swallows head foremost.
Sometimes half an hour elapses before he can manage to
accommodate a large eel quietly in his stomach. You

186

NATURAL HISTORY.

Fig. 153 — Cormorant.

see him straining vio-
lently with repeated
efforts to gulp it, and
when you fancy that
the slippery mouthful
is successfully dis-
posed of, all of a sud-
den the eel retrogrades
upward from its dis-
mal sepulchre, strug-
gling violently to es-
cape. The Cormorant
swallows it again, and
up again it comes, and
shows its tail a foot or
more out of its de-
stroyer's mouth. At
length, worn out with

*'*»©«'»•) rr WJ Jj WUU VVltll

perpetual writhings and slidings, the eel is gulped down
into the Cormorant's stomach, there to meet its dreaded
and inevitable fate."

301. The Tropic Bird, Fig. 154, is reckoned among the

Fig. 154.— Tropic Bird.

REPTILES. 187

Pelicans. This bird is noted for rapidity and endurance
in flight. It has been known to be on the wing continu-
ously for several days and nights. It sometimes takes a
nap on the back of some turtle that it finds. The Frig-
ate Pelican, or Man-of-war Bird, is another tropical bird
of similar powers of flight. Its extent of wing is enor-
mous. " Although, when stripped of its feathers," says
Wood, "it is hardly longer than a Pigeon, yet no man
can touch at the same time the tips of its extended
wings." Under the throat is a large pouch of a deep red
color, which can be distended with air at pleasure. Both
this and the Tropic Bird are fond of capturing the Fly-
ing-fish.

Questions. — What is said of the Grallatores ? What are their fam-
ilies ? What are the characteristics of the Bustards ? What is said
of the Great Bustard? What of the Plovers? What of the Oyster-
catcher ? What of the Lapwing ? What is said of the Cranes ?
What of the Trumpeter ? What of the Herons ? Of the Spoon-bills ?
What are the peculiarities and habits of the Rooks ? What singular
birds are mentioned as belonging to this family? What is said of the
Snipes? What of the Curlews? What of the Avocet? What of
the Rail family ? What of the Jacanas ? What are the characteris-
tics of the Natatores ? What are their families ? What is said of the
Ducks and Geese ? What of the two kinds of Ducks ? What of the
Swans? What of the Flamingo? What of the family of Divers?
What of the Grebes? Of the Auks? Of the Penguins? Of the
Gulls ? Of the Stormy Petrel ? Of the Albatross ? Of the Terns ?
Of the Pelicans ? Of the Cormorant ? Of the Tropic Bird ? Of the
Frigate Pelican?

CHAPTER XVIII.

REPTILES.

302. THE cold-blooded division of the Vertebrates com-
prises the Reptiles and the Fishes. In the warm-blood-
ed division the blood of each animal has a certain natural
degree of heat, which is maintained quite uniform under

188 NATURAL HISTORY.

exposures to a wide range of temperature in the atmos
phere. Thus, in man, the natural degree is 98° by Fahr-
enheit's thermometer, many degrees above ordinary sum-
mer's heat. This degree is maintained even in the severe
cold of the arctic regions. There are various expedients
for keeping in the heat made in the blood of the warm-
blooded Vertebrates. Hair and fur do it in quadrupeds,
feathers in birds, and blubber in whales. Man does the
same by making for himself garments of materials which
are good non-conductors of heat. Now in the cold-blood-
ed division there is less heat made in the blood, and their
coverings are not calculated to retain it. These animals,
therefore, have a tendency to take the temperature of
the air or water with which they are surrounded.

303. I will first speak of Reptiles. These are so called
from the Latin word repto, to creep or crawl ; for, al-
though some of this class have four feet, their limbs are
generally so short that a portion of the body is dragged
along upon the earth.

304. The skeleton is much more varied in Reptiles
than in the warm-blooded Vertebrates. In some of the
Snake group all the parts of the skeleton are absent ex-
cept the head, the chain of vertebrae, and the ribs, which
are very numerous, amounting, in some cases, to several
hundred. While in the Snake tribe the breast-bone is
wanting, in the Turtle tribe it is expanded into a large
under shield, the ribs also expanding above into an upper
shield.

305. Reptiles can execute less rapid and less prolonged
motions than warm-blooded animals. This is because the
blood which circulates in the muscles and in all their or-
gans is less stimulating. This can be seen to be true by
observing how the mode of their circulation diifers from
that of Mammals and Birds. That this may be clear to
you, I will make use of two diagrams, showing the plan
of the circulation in each.

306. The first diagram, Fig. 155, giving the plan of the

REPTILES.

189

155-

circulation in Mammals
and Birds, is taken from
my First Book in Phys-
iology. In this figure, in
which the shaded part
shows where the blood
is dark, a is the right au-
ricle, which receives the
dark venous blood from
all parts of the body.
From this it passes into #, the right ventricle, and this
forces it out toward the lungs, c. Here it becomes red or
arterial by exposure to the air which we breathe. It is
now returned to the left side of the heart, and is re-
ceived by the left auricle, which passes it into the left
ventricle. From thence it is sent to the general system,
f. Here it becomes dark by being used, and then re-
turns to the right auricle, a, where we began to trace it.
307. The diagram, Fig. 156, is the plan of the circula-

tion in a Reptile. In
this, a is the right au-
ricle, which receives
the dark blood from
the general system,/,
and d the left auricle,
which receives the ar-
terial or red blood
from the lungs, c. But
the blood from the
two auricles mixes to-
gether in one ventri-
cle, #, and this mixture of red and dark blood goes alike
to the lungs and to all the organs, as you see represented
in the diagram. The dark shading shows where there is
venous or dark blood, the light shading where there is
the mixture of venous and arterial blood, and the blood
is arterial or red where there is no shading.

15C-

190 NATURAL HISTORY.

308. You see, then, that the brain, muscles, and other
organs in the Reptile are stimulated with the mixture,
which is not so stimulating or life-giving as pure arterial
blood. It is therefore a less lively animal than those
whose organs have arterial blood continually pumped
into them by the heart. It therefore moves but little and
slowly. Its circulation is slow, and so also is its breath
ing.

309. But, while life is dull in reptiles, it is not easily de-
stroyed. They will bear being maimed to a great ex-
tent. If you destroy the brain or spinal cord of a warm-
blooded animal, all signs of life soon cease ; but if this be
done to a reptile, motions can be excited for a long time
by pricking, or other modes of stimulation. The limbs
of a turtle which has been dead for several days may be
made to move by pricking them, showing that there is
some life in their muscles still. So, also, the two parts
of a snake cut in two will move independently for some
time, and the tail of a lizard will move for some hours
after it is cut off. The reptiles of temperate climates
crawl into some secret place as winter comes on, and go
into a state of perfect torpor which lasts till spring. They

(re therefore called hibernating animals.

310. The brain of reptiles is very small, for they have
but little thinking to do. They have no special organ of
touch, and their covering is such that they can have but
little sensibility in it. The sense of taste and that of
smell are dull. Vision is not very acute, and the appa-
ratus of hearing is much less complete than in the warm
blooded animals.

311. Almost all reptiles are carnivorous. The turtles
and crocodiles divide their food more or less with their
jaws; but the snakes or serpents swallow their food
whole. In their case the throat can be so much dilated
that they can swallow an animal larger than themselves.

312. Reptiles are like birds in two things : they do nofc
suckle their young, and they produce them from eggs

REPTILES. 191

They generally deposit their eggs in warm sandy places,
leaving them to be hatched by the warmth of the atmos-
phere.

313. There are five orders of Reptiles: 1. The Turtles
or Tortoises. 2. The Crocodiles. 3. The Lizards. 4. The
Serpents. 5. The Amphibia.

314. The Tortoises are unlike all other animals in their
covering. They are in a fortified house of bone and horn,
which they carry around with them. Into this they can
wholly retire when attacked. In some of the Land Tur-
tles this covering is so jointed that they can close the
openings before and behind after drawing in the head,
legs, and tail, thus shutting the doors of their portable
house against their enemies. The construction of this
covering is worthy of examination. It is composed of
two shields, an upper and a lower one. The upper one,
called the carapace, has a coating of plates of horn. As
the turtle grows, each plate grows by enlargement around
its edge. The tortoise-shell, so much used in making
combs, comes from this coating in one species. On re-
moving this, we see that the carapace is composed of a
large number of plates of bone, very nicely and firmly
joined together. There is a row of eight plates through
the middle, and these are appendages of the vertebrae of
the back of the animal. These vertebrae you see in Fig.
6, where the lower shield is removed, so that you have a
view of the under surface of the carapace. As the ribs
extend from the vertebras they expand, thus making some
of its side plates. The lower shield, called the plastron,
is the same thing as the breast-bone of other animals,
only it is enormously large.

315. Life in these animals goes on at a low rate, and
lasts a long time — in some cases even over two hundred
years. Their sensibilities are dull, and it is very difficult
to kill them, as they survive the severest injuries. They
vary considerably in the form of their feet and of their
shell, especially the former, according to their mode of

13

192 NATURAL HISTORY.

living. There are four families — Land Tortoises, Marsh
Tortoises, River Tortoises, and Marine Tortoises or Tur-
tles.

316. The Land Tortoises have short stumpy feet, some-
what like those of the Elephant, the toes not being sepa-
rate, and the claws alone being apparent. They are, for
the most part, inhabitants of the warmer regions, though
some species live in colder climates, passing the winter,
however, in a state of hibernation. Some very large spe-
cies are found in and near the tropics. Thus, at the Gal-
lipagos Islands, there are great numbers of Land Tor-
toises weighing over two hundred pounds. The food of
the Land Tortoises is wholly vegetable. They are quiet,
inoffensive animals, never making any attack, and when
attacked they draw their extremities and head wholly
within their portable house.

317. The Marsh Tortoises form an extensive family, dif-
fused through the warmer countries of both continents.
They are found in swamps, lakes, ponds, and small riv-
ers. They swim easily, as their feet are expanded, and
have a web between the toes. Their covering is not as
firm as that of the Land Tortoises. The River Tortoises
are another similar family, found in the large rivers. The
American Snapping Turtle, which devours such quanti-
ties of young Alligators, belongs to this family. There
is a similar species in the Nile equally destructive to the
young Crocodiles. Both of these families are carnivo-
rous, living on fish, reptiles, birds, and insects. The bony
plates of the carapace of the River Tortoises are thinner
than those of the Marsh Tortoises, and they are some-
what imperfect. Besides, the carapace has a coating of
a leathery character in place of the horny plates of the
previously noticed families. These animals are therefore
sometimes called Soft Tortoises.

318. The Marine Tortoises or Turtles have their feet
modified so as to be really fins or flippers. The anterior
pair are most developed, as seen in Fig. 157, the Green

REPTILES. 193

Turtle, and with these the animal moves rapidly through
the water, they being a pair of aquatic wings. On land*

Fig. 1ST.— Green Turtle.

their walk is an awkward shuffle with these flippers.
They are very convenient instruments, however, in scoop-
ing out holes in the sand for their eggs. Nearly two
hundred eggs are laid in one nest. When laid, they are
covered up with the sand. The white of these eggs,
which are highly prized, does not harden in boiling. The
Green Turtle, the flesh of which is considered so great a
luxury, is common on the shores of most of the islands
of the East and West Indies. It has been known to
reach a weight of five or six hundred pounds. The tor-
toise-shell of commerce comes from the Hawksbill Tur-
tle. In this animal the horny plates are large, and are
arranged like shingles on a roof. .

319. Of the second order of Reptiles, the Crocodiles,
there are two groups^-the true Crocodiles, common to
both hemispheres, but most abundant in the Nile and
other African rivers, and in the Ganges ; and the Alliga-
tors, which are confined to America. There is not any
very great difference between them ; but the Crocodiles
are more thoroughly aquatic than the Alligators, and

194

NATURAL HISTORY.

therefore have their hind feet more largely webbed. In
the covering of both there are huge bony plates on the
back and tail, rising into a prominent dentated ridge on
the latter. This ridge is very elevated in the Crocodile
of the Ganges, making the tail a very efficient instrument
in swimming. These animals swim, in part, by the pad-
dling operation of their hind feet, and in part by the scull-
ing of the long, vertically flattened tail.

Fig. 158.— Crocodile.

320. There is a singular arrangement of the circulation
in this order of reptiles. There are two ventricles in the
heart, as in the Mammals and the Birds ; but the red and
dark blood are mingled together a little distance from
the heart. This is not done, however, till those arteries
branch off which carry the blood to the anterior part of
the body. The result is, that the head and fore legs are
supplied with pure arterial blood, while all the posterior
parts are supplied with that mixture of red and dark
blood which is supplied to all the organs of the other

REPTILES. 195

reptiles. Why this exception is made in this order we
know not.

321. In Fig. 158 (page 194) is represented the common
Crocodile. Its muzzle is more elongated than that of the
Alligators. That of the Crocodile of the Ganges, called
the Gavial, is more prominent still, and it is terminated
by a cartilaginous or gristly protuberance, in which are
the openings of the nostrils. This animal is frequently
twenty-five feet long, and is very formidable from its
strength and ferocity. It is of great service in devour-
ing the dead bodies of men and animals which are com-
mitted to the sacred river, and which would otherwise
taint the air in their decay.

322. The Alligators or Caymans are less aquatic than
the Crocodiles. They frequent swamps and marshes
more than rivers. They are very dexterous in catching
fish. They sometimes drive a shoal of them into a creek,
and then with open mouth plunge among them. They
also catch pigs, dogs, and other animals that venture too
near the water.

Questions. — What are the two great classes of cold-blooded Verte-
brates ? How do they differ in regard to heat from the warm-blood-
ed ? What expedients are adopted in the latter to prevent the heat
from escaping ? What is said of the name, Reptile ? What is said
of the skeleton of reptiles ? What of their power of motion ? De-
scribe the circulation of the warm-blooded Vertebrates. Describe that
of Reptiles. What relation has the peculiarity of their circulation to
their motion ? What is said of their tenacity of life ? What be-
comes of them in winter in temperate climates? What is said of the
nervous system of the senses in reptiles? What is their food ? What
is said of the manner in which serpents eat ? In what are reptiles
like birds ? What are the orders of reptiles ? Describe the covering
of Tortoises ? What is said of life in them ? What are their fami-
lies ? What is said of the Land Tortoises ? Of the Marsh Tortoises ?
Of the River Tortoises ? Of the Marine Tortoises ? Of the Green
Turtle ? What is said of the two groups of Crocodiles ? What is the
peculiarity in the circulation in this order ? What is said of the com-
mon Crocodile ? What of the Alligator ?

196 NATUKAL HISTORY,

CHAPTER XIX.

REPTILES — continued.

823. THE order of Lizards comprises a great variety
of animals exhibiting some of the characteristics of the
Crocodile tribe mingled with some which are peculiar to
the Serpents. They resemble the former in their long
body, tapering off in a tail ; but, instead of the large bony
plates of the Crocodiles, they have the small scales of the
Serpent tribe ; and, though they usually have four feet,
in some of them there is but one pair, and in others the
feet are so short, and so covered up by the skin, that the
animal looks entirely like a snake. There is much vari-
ety in the habits of this order. Some are more or less
aquatic ; some are terrestrial, digging holes in the ground
as places of retreat ; and others are wholly arboreal.
Their colors have a relation to their habits ; the ground
Lizards being brown and speckled, while the tree Lizards
have bright colors, green predominating. When the sun
wakes up the latter to activity, their quick movements
make the play of their brilliant colors very beautiful.
The principal families in this order are the following: 1.
The Chameleons. 2. The Geckos. 3. The Iguanas. 4.
The Monitors. 5. The true Lizards. 6. The Snake Liz-
ards. 7. The Naked-eyed Lizards.

324. The Chameleons are distributed through the
warmer parts of the Old World, but are not found in the
New. They are distinguished from the other families
by very marked peculiarities. Their bodies are flattened
sideways, and there is a sharp ridge along the length of
the back. Of the five toes of each foot, two are directed
backward, so that the animal can grasp firmly the branch-
es of trees in climbing. Its tapering tail is also prehen-
sile, and is used in its arboreal mode of life as the Spider

REPTILES.

197

Monkeys use theirs (§ 53). Its movements are slow.
No part of it moves quickly but its tongue. This is a
singular instrument. It is a long hollow tube with a
swollen fleshy extremity, which is always covered with a
glutinous substance. In catching insects it is darted out
and returned into the mouth with a velocity which al-
most eludes the eye, the glutinous secretion making the
insect to adhere to the tongue. The eyes of the Chame-
leon can be moved independently of each other, which
gives the animal a strange aspect, one eye, perhaps, be-
ing directed forward, while the other is directed back-
ward. The skin is covered with horny granulations.
The changeableness of the color of the skin has been ex-
aggerated ; still, the change is perceptible through vari-
ous shades from light to dark, owing to changes in the
arrangement of the granules in the skin, and in the amount
of blood in them. The lungs are large, and there are air-
sacs connected with them in various parts of the body.
When these are full of air the animal looks bloated, but
the next minute it may appear lean and shrunken, having
emptied these sacs. The story that the Chameleon lives
on air gained currency partly from this circumstance,
and partly from the almost invisible quickness of motion
of the tongue, really invisible to the careless observer.
The common Chameleon, Fig. 159, abounds in Northern
Africa, the south of Spain, and Sicily.

Fig. 159.— Chameleon.

198 NATURAL HISTORY.

325. The Geckos, Fig. 160, are nocturnal Lizards, very
numerous in the southern portion of Asia. They are con

Fig. 160.— Gecko.

cealed in crevices in the day, but come forth at night in
search of their insect prey. They run about on the
smooth walls and ceilings with perfect ease, their feet
being furnished with an apparatus like a boy's sucker.

326. The Iguana family is a very extensive one. It
contains over one hundred and fifty species, many of

Fig. lol — Tuberculated Iguana.

REPTILES. 199

which are among the largest of the Lizard tribe. The
general aspect of the true Iguanas, which are found only
in America, can be seen in Fig. 161 (p. 198), theTubercu-
lated Iguana. They have a long flexible tail, a crested
ridge along the back and tail, and a dewlap under the
throat which the animal can distend with air. The Tu-
berculated Iguana, sometimes reaching even six feet in
length, is found in South America and the West Indies.
With this family is allied the fossil Iguanodon, whose re-
mains show that it could not have been less than forty
feet in length. A very harmless little Lizard, with the
terrible name of Flying Dragon, may be considered as
belonging to this family, because it has the characteristic
scales of the Iguanas and the dewlap. It has, like the
Flying Squirrel, a wing-like expansion of the skin on each
side of the body, and uses it for a similar purpose. Some
of the ribs of the animal extend out as a frame-work to
these wings. When running about on the branches of a
tree they are folded to the side, but when it wishes to go
from one tree to another, or to descend to the ground,
it raises the ribs, thus expanding the so-called wings.
This animal is found in the Asiatic Archipelago.

327. The remaining families of Lizards have slen-
der tongues, which are also more or less forked. The
family of Monitors includes some of the largest of the
Lizards. They are graceful and agile animals, living on
large insects, eggs, birds, small Mammalia, reptiles, and
fish. The Monitor of the Nile, which is about six feet
long, is very destructive to the eggs and the young of the
Crocodile. Its name of Monitor is derived from the hiss
ing noise which it makes when it sees a Crocodile ap-
proaching, thus giving a warning to any one that hap-
pens to be near. There are Monitors, also, in this coun-
try, which give a similar warning of the approach of the
Alligator.

328. The true Lizards are bright -eyed, slender, and
lively little animals, with brilliant colors, especially those

200

NATURAL HISTORY.

that live in verdant places. They are found in all warm
countries except Australia and the Polynesian Islands.
Some are natives, also, of temperate climates, passing tho
winter in a torpid state. The common Lizard, Fig. 162,

Fig. 162.— Common Lizard.

is only about six inches long. In all the anima\s of this
family the tail is exceedingly brittle, snapping off like
glass even with a slight touch. It grows out again, how-
ever, and if the tail be cracked without being broken off,
a new tail will spring from the crack, so that the animal
will have thus a forked tail.

329. In the family of Snake Lizards we find a series of
forms, in which we see a gradual transition from the or-
der of Lizards to that of Serpents. In some of these an-
imals there are four feet, as seen in Fig. 163, the Snake
Lizard of the South of Africa. Others have but two feet.

Fig. 163. — Snake Lizard.

Others still have nothing but the mere rudiments of feet
concealed in the skin. Of this latter kind is the Blind-
worm or Slow-worm. This animal, which is about a foot
in length, is as brittle as the tail of the true Lizards. The

REPTILES. 201

Glass Snake of this country is also one of the same kind
of Snake Lizards.

330. In the family of Naked-eyed Lizards the approach
to the Serpents is still greater. Not only is the body
snake-like, but the eyes are, as in the Snakes, destitute
of eyelids, and covered only with a transparent portion
of the skin. Most of the species of this family are na-
tives of Australia, and only one is found in America.

331. We now come to the order of Snakes or Serpents.
The grand peculiarities of this order are the total ab-
sence of limbs, the great flexibility of the chain of verte«
brae, which runs through the whole length of the animal,
and the covering of scales. Over the scales spreads very
closely a thin delicate skin, which is shed every year or
oitener, a new one forming in its place. The separation
is begun at the head, and the skin, in being cast off, is
turned inside out, as we sometimes turn the finger of a
glove. The Serpents of temperate climates hibernate,
and on waking up in the spring cast off their skins.

332. The skeleton of a serpent is very simple, consist-
ing only of the skull, the column of vertebra, and the
ribs. There is no breast-bone. Each vertebra is united
by a ball and socket joint with the one next to it. It is
this arrangement that enables the animal to execute its
free and graceful movements. The vertebra, in some
cases, number as high as three hundred.

333. The ordinary forward movement of the Serpent
is made by the ribs, the scale which is at the end of each
one of them acting as a foot on the ground. These scales
being successively pushed backward against the earth,
the animal is moved forward. But sometimes it gathers
itself up into a coil, and then, by the sudden straighten-
ing out of its whole body, it can at once reach more than
its whole length, leaping upon its prey.

334. The senses of the Serpents are not highly devel-
oped. Sight is the most perfect of all its senses. The
eyes, however, are small, without eyelids, being covered

202 NATURAL HISTORY.

with a transparent membrane which is shed with 'the
skin. The tongue is soft, and forked at its end, and it is
not very sensitive. The smell and the touch are both
rather dull. Serpents have teeth, but not for mastication.
They only serve to retain their food.

335. The species of this order may be grouped in two
classes — the Viperine and the Colubrine Snakes. The
Viperine Serpents have a peculiar venomous apparatus.
There are two teeth or fangs in the upper jaw, connect-
ed with the gland in which the poison is made. They
are movable, and when the animal does not wish to use
them, they lie backward, concealed along the roof of the
mouth. When the serpent bites, he throws these fangs
forward, and, at the same time, a muscle, pressing on the
gland, forces out the venom, wrhich passes along a canal
in the fang. Most of the Colubrine Snakes are not ven-
omous, and those which are have stationary instead of
movable fangs.

336. There are two families of the Viperine Snakes —
the Viperidae and the Crotalidae. The ViperidaB belong
exclusively to the eastern hemisphere. Those of the trop-
ical regions are the most venomous. To this family be-
longs the Horned Viper, so called from a small pointed
horn above each eye. This is supposed to be the Asp,
from whose bite Cleopatra died. The Puff Adders of
Africa also belong to this family.

337. Of the family Crotalidae, the true Rattlesnakes,
Fig. 164 (p. 203), are confined to this country, but there
are other species found in Asia. The rattle consists of
a number of thin, horny appendages, which are loosely
jointed together, and which make a rustling noise when
the snake moves. The number of joints is increased, up
to a certain amount at least, with each casting of the skin.

338. The Colubrine Snakes have two families — the Co-
Iubrida3 or Colubers, and the Boida3 or Boas. The fami-
ly of Colubers contains more than half the whole number
of species of Snakes. Of the comparatively few of these

REPTILES.

203

Fig. 164.— Rattlesnake.

which are venomous, the Cobra di Capello of India, Fig.
165, is the most noted. This belongs to the Hooded
Snakes, so called from a peculiar arrangement of the skin

Fig. 165.— Cobra di Capello.

204 NATURAL HISTORY.

of the neck, by which, when the animal is irritated, it is
made to take the form of a hood. While the Colubers
are very widely distributed in the earth, the Boas are
confined to hot climates. The latter are Serpents of enor-
mous size and great muscular strength ; and from their
power of coiling round their victims and compressing
them, they are able to overcome animals of very large
dimensions. After destroying the life of their victims
by compression, they proceed to swallow them whole ;
and such is the power of distention in their throats, that
Jhey can do this with men and even with cattle. The
usual length of Boas is from fifteen to thirty feet, but
there is a well-authenticated account of the killing of one
which measured sixty-two feet.

339. There remains to be considered another order of
reptiles — the Amphibia (dyu0t€to£, amphibios, having a
double life). They are sometimes, also, called Batrachia,
These reptiles, including Frogs, Toads, Salamanders, etc.,
are intermediate between the other orders of reptiles and
fishes. When first born, they are, like fishes, possessed
of gills, and live wholly in the water. Then a series of
changes takes place, the animal being at length endowed
with lungs in place of gills, and fitted to live on land.
This may be exemplified by reference to the Frog, which
is at first a Tadpole, living in the water, having fringed
gills and a long tail, with which it swims with considera-
ble agility. It goes through a succession of changes, in
which it loses its tail and its gills, and gains four legs
and a pair of lungs. You will find these changes repre-
sented in my " Human Physiology," page 113. Some of
the animals of this order do not lose their gills in the
transformation, but, in their perfect state, have both gills
and lungs. These, in the strict sense of the term, are
amphibious, or double lived.

340. In their perfect or mature state the Amphibia
are, in most respects, like the reptiles which we have al-
ready noticed, and therefore are properly classed with

REPTILES. N 205

them. They differ from them in some respects, a few of
which I will notice. Prominent among these is the se-
ries of changes in passing to their mature state, of which
I have just spoken. The reptiles of the other orders are
covered with plates, or shields, or scales ; but the Am-
phibia have a smooth skin, with the exception of a few
species, whose scales are much like those of a fish. This
skin is in many cases moist, and in some the secretion
which makes it so is irritating to one who handles the
animal. The Amphibia have no ribs, and therefore, not
having the means of dilating the chest, must swallow air
as they swallow food, directing the one to the lungs and
the other to the stomach. You can therefore suffocate a
Frog or any animal of this order by wedging its mouth
wide open ; that is, you prevent the air from going into
its lungs as effectually as it is done with most other an
imals by closing the passage to the lungs. There is one
other order of reptiles of which the same is true — the
Tortoises. This is partly because the ribs are joined to
the carapace (§ 314), and therefore are not movable, and
partly because the plastron below does not permit that
protrusion of the abdomen which we see always pro-
duced by the action of a diaphragm. No reptiles have
a diaphragm, but all except the Tortoises and the Am-
phibia can dilate the lungs by means of their ribs. The
feet of the Amphibia are without claws. Their eggs
have no hard covering or shell. They are usually de-
posited in the water, even in the case of those that live
mostly on the land. They are enveloped in a glutinous
matter, which unites them in masses, or in chains, the
latter looking like necklaces of black beads.

341. The tongues of the Batrachians are commonly
large and fleshy. In the Frogs and Toads there is a very
peculiar arrangement. The tongue is fastened to the
front of the jaw, and its tip extends backward toward
the throat. It is covered with a slimy substance, as the
end of the Chameleon's tongue is (§ 324), and for a sim-

206 NATURAL HISTOKY.

ilar purpose. Like the tongue of that animal, it is dart
ed out and returned with such velocity, in catching in
sects, that we must be very quick of sight to see the
thing done. Even the nimble Fly that comes near to the
lazy Toad is not quick enough to escape its tongue.

342. The chief families in this order are, 1. The Rani-
dae, or Frogs. 2. The Bufonidse, or Toads. 3. The Sala-
mandrida?, or Salamanders. 4. The Sirenidas, or Sirens ;
and, 5. The Apoda, or Footless Amphibia.

343. The Frogs, although good swimmers, and found
in the neighborhood of water, pass most of their time on
land, catching insects with their tongues. They have
teeth in the upper jaw. Their hind legs are long, and
they are therefore good at leaping. The noisy Bull-frog
is found only in North America. It lives on fish and
snakes as well as insects. The Edible or Green Frog
abounds in Europe, and is thought much of as an article
for the table. In some places it is fattened in " frogger-
ies" for this purpose. The Tree Frogs are arboreal, as
their name indicates. To enable them to retain their
position easily as they leap about among the branches,
their toes have little suction pads, similar to those of the
Geckos (§ 325), which, to make them the more efficient,
are always covered with a glutinous secretion. Like the
common Frogs, they breed in the water, and bury them
selves in the mud for their winter's sleep.

344. The Toads have no teeth in the upper jaw as the
Frogs do. They have also shorter legs, and therefore
have less power of leaping. The skin has wart-like pro-
jections, from which an acrid fluid is secreted. The Su-
rinam Toad, which is put by some into a separate family,
is a very singular animal. It has no tongue, and its hind
feet are webbed. It is found in dark corners about
houses in Guiana and Surinam. Its eggs are hatched in
a curious way. The male places them in little pits on
the back of the female, each pit having a lid ; and, when
hatched, the little Toads, lifting the lids, hop out. There

REPTILES.

207

is a small Frog in Venezuela that has a similar contriv-
ance, hatching its eggs in a pouch on its back.

345. The common Newt, Fig. 166, is a specimen of the

Fig. 166 — Common Newt.

Salamander family. It feeds chiefly on Tadpoles and
worms, which it eats with a peculiar quick snap. These
animals are, you see, much like the Lizards in shape;
but they are considered as belonging to this order, be-
cause they go through with the changes spoken of in
§ 339. The true Salamander is a land animal of the same
general character with the Water Newt, but having a
rounded tail. The stories about its being capable of liv-
ing in the midst of fire are wholly unfounded.

346. The Sirens have only the anterior legs developed,
and that only to a small extent. They are found princi-
pally in the marshy rice-fields of the Southern States of
this country. One species sometimes reaches a length
of three feet. The Footless family contains but a sin-
gle genus — the Blind Newt, or Naked Serpent. Cuvier
placed it among the Serpents on account of its snake-like
form. But it has no scales, and it is found to undergo
the metamorphosis, or change of form, common to all the
Amphibia.
14

208 NATURAL HISTORY.

Questions. — What is said of the Lizard tribe ? What are the chief
families ? Where are the Chameleons found ? What are their char-
acteristics ? What is said of their tongues ? Of their eyes ? Of their
changing color ? Of their air-sacs ? What is said of the Geckos ?
What of the Iguana family ? Of the Iguanodon ? Of the Flying
Dragon ? Of the Monitors ? What is said of the true Lizards ?
What of the Snake Lizards ? Of the Naked-eyed Lizards ? What
are the peculiarities of the Snakes or Serpents ? What is said of their
skeleton ? How does a serpent execute its movements? What is said
of the senses of Serpents ? What are the two classes of Serpents ?
What is the great peculiarity of the Viperine class ? What are its two
families ? What animals are mentioned as belonging to the Viperi-
daj ? What is said of the Crotalida ? What are the two families of
the Colubrine Snakes ? What is said of the Colubers ? What of the
Boas? What does the order of Amphibia include ? From what does
their name come? What is said of their metamorphosis? How do
they differ from other reptiles? What is said of their tongues?
What are their families ? What is said of the Frogs ? Of the Toads ?
Of the common Newt ? Of the Salamanders ? Of the Sirens ?

CHAPTER XX.

FISHES.

347. THE Fishes constitute the second division of cold
blooded Vertebrates. They are the only vertebrated an-
imals that are fitted to live entirely in the water. All
the peculiarities of their structure have reference to this
mode of life. These I will proceed to point out.

348. All animals must breathe in order to live ; that
is, they can not live unless they have the blood exposed
to the action of the air. This is as true of Fishes as it is
of other animals. They breathe the air mingled with
water, and can not live in water that has no air in it.
This can be proved by experiment. If a fish be put into
a close vessel, it soon uses up all the air in the water ;
and it dies if more air be not introduced into the water
by unclosing the vessel. A fish dying in this way may
be truly said to be drowned.

FISHES. 209

349. The Fish has not lungs, for these are organs which
are fitted to introduce air alone to the blood. But it has
gills, which are fitted to have the blood in them acted
upon by the air that is mingled with water. These gills
are fringes which are made up of very minute blood-ves-
sels. There are commonly four of them, fixed to some
arches of bone ; and they are covered on the outside by
a lid, called the operculum. In order to have the air in
the water act on the blood in them, the water is taken
into the mouth, and then passes out through these fringes.
If you watch fishes in an aquarium, you will see the mouth
constantly opened to take in the water, and the opercu-
lum as constantly raised to let it out.

350. When a fish is taken out of the water it really
dies for want of air, although it is in the midst of a plenty
of it. The explanation is this : the fringes of the gills
are kept apart by the water while the fish is in its native
element ; but, when taken out of it, the fringes fall to-
gether, and soon become dry. When they are in this
condition the blood will not circulate freely in them, and
what blood is there is not acted upon by the air. In
agreement with this explanation we find that those fishes
which live the shortest time out of the water have their
gills most exposed, while those that live a longer time
have their gill-openings narrow, thus tending to keep the
fringes moist. In some there is an especial arrangement
for moistening them, and in such a case the fish can live
in air quite a long time. Dr. Carpenter states that some
fishes having this arrangement are accustomed to leave
the water and crawl about in the grass or on the ground.

351. The plan of the circulation in the Fish is peculiar.
In the Mammals and Birds there is a double heart, as
illustrated in Fig. 155. In Reptiles the heart is double
only so far as the auricles are concerned, as illustrated in
Fig. 156. In Fishes the heart is single, having but one
auricle and one ventricle. The blood passes from the
ventricle to the gills. Here it becomes arterial blood, as

210 NATURAL HISTORY.

the blood of Mammals, Birds, and Reptiles does in the
lungs. But, while their blood returns to the heart from
the lungs before it is distributed over the system, the
blood of the Fish is distributed directly from the gills.

352. The circulation of Fishes is not as active as that
of Mammals and Birds, and their blood is cold like that
of Reptiles. We can readily see why it is best that it
should be cold. There are only two ways in which it
could be kept warm, like that of warm-blooded animals.
One is by having a covering of feathers or of fur, as in
the case of animals living in air. But such a covering
would interfere very much with swimming. Another
way to retain the heat would be to have, like the whales,
a thick layer of fat under tMe skin. This would be very
burdensome ; and, besides, man does not need such a sup-
ply of fat and oil as this arrangement in the Fishes woula
give him.

353. The shape of the Fish is such as to let it move eas-
ily through the water. It has, commonly, a long, spin-
dle-like shape, with an even surface. It has no neck,
chiefly because any irregularity in its surface would hin-
der its rapidity of motion. Its outer covering favors its
gliding through the water, for it is generally composed
of smooth scales, one overlapping another, like shingles
or tiles. Then there is a slimy, oily secretion over the
whole surface, helping it to move smoothly through the
water.

354. The Fish is nearly of the same specific gravity with
water. It is therefore obliged to make very little effoit
in going upward. It is in strong contrast with the Birds
in this respect. A bird, in mounting upward, exerts
great force with its broad wings and its large muscles,
because it is in an element which is so much lighter than
itself. But as the fish is in an element only a little light-
er than itself, it needs but a small apparatus to move in
it, and, accordingly, its tail and fins are much smaller in
proportion to its bulk than are the wings of birds in pro-

FISHES. 211

portion to theirs. For the same reason, while man can
swim with his hands and feet, he can not fly. The Fly-
ing Fish, Fig. 167, is enabled to fly by having fins which
approach in extent the wings of a bird.

Fig. 167.— Flying Fish.

355. Besides, most fishes have a peculiar contrivance
for enabling them to rise and fall in the water easily. It
is a bladder of air which the fish has the power of com-
pressing or enlarging at pleasure. If the fish wishes to
go down rapidly in the water, it compresses this air-blad-
der, and so increases its specific gravity. If, now, it wish-
es to rise, it takes off the pressure from the air-bladder,
which therefore enlarges to its former dimensions, and
lessens the specific gravity of the fish, or, in other words,
makes its bulk greater, while the weight remains the
same. Sometimes the fish loses its power of compress-
ing the air-bladder, and then it is so light all the time
that it has no power to go down in the water. A gen-
tleman had a Goldfish which swam with its belly upward,
probably from a wrong position of the air-bladder.

356. The chief agent in swimming in the Fish is the
tail, which acts like a sculling-oar, moving to the one side
and the other alternately. It is terminated, for this pur

212 NATURAL HISTORY.

pose, with a considerable finny expansion, consisting of a
skin, over a frame-work which is sometimes bony, and
sometimes cartilaginous or gristly. It is constructed,
therefore, very much like the wing of a bat. The fins
are similarly constructed. These generally act chiefly as
balancers and directors of the movement, while the scull-
ing tail propels. That the side or pectoral fins, however,
have considerable agency in propelling, can be seen very
readily, if you watch the movements of fishes in an aqua-
rium. They obviously narrow and widen as they are
moved, widening when they make a propelling stroke.

357. The skeletons of Fishes are not as firm as those
of other Vertebrates. In some, even, they are not real
bone, but are cartilaginous or gristly. The reason of this
difference is plain. As the Fish moves in an element of
nearly the same specific gravity with itself, it puts forth
but little strength in its movements. The points of sup-
port, therefore, for the muscles need not to be so firm as
they are in animals living in air and exerting motions
that require considerable force, such as springing from
the ground, grasping, flying, etc.

358. We see a marked adaptation in the Fish to its
mode of life in the organs of sense and the brain. Its
life is passed mostly in obtaining its food and in escaping
from its enemies. Its life is a lazy one compared with
that of animals that run, and dig, and scratch, and climb,
and fly. It shows, neither, any remarkable instincts. It
therefore does not need much of a brain, for its range of
thought is very limited ; neither does it require acute-
ness in the senses to meet its wants. Its brain is there-
fore small, and the organs of sense are not as fully devel-
oped as in some other animals. It has little sense of
touch, and it is mostly confined to the lips. The fila-
ments which some have about the mouth are probably
organs of touch, informing of the contact of bodies just
as the whiskers of a cat do. The eyes of a fish are large
and nearly immovable. As they are lubricated by the

FISHES. 213

water, they need no eyelids and no tear-apparatus, and
accordingly have none. For protection of the eye the
skin is continued over it, but it is so thin that the' light
is readily transmitted through it. The organs of the
sense of smell are better developed than those of any
other sense, and its smell is therefore acute, undoubtedly
to aid it in the search of its food. Its sense of taste, on
the other hand, is dull, probably because, for the most
part, the food is swallowed whole, and is not detained
long in the mouth.

359. Fishes are very voracious, and their food is most-
ly animal, few, comparatively, feeding upon vegetables.
Some live on the soft-bodied animals floating in great
numbers in the sea, of which I shall treat in another part
of this book. Others live on shell-fish, and animals that
are covered with a hard crust, such as lobsters, crabs,
etc. Many fishes in fresh water live on worms and the
grubs of insects. Then, too, fishes feed to a large extent
on fishes that are smaller than themselves. In this re-
spect such fishes have a resemblance to the carnivorous
Mammals, Birds, and Reptiles. It is stated that, " at a
lecture delivered before the Zoological Society of Dublin,
Dr. Houston exhibited, as 4 a fair sample of a fish's break-
fast,' a Frog-fish two and a half feet long, in the stomach
of which was a Codfish two feet in length. The Cod's
stomach contained the bodies of two Whitings of ordi'
nary size ; and the Whitings, in theL' turn, held the half-
digested remains of many smaller fishes too much broken
up to be identified."

360. The mouth of each fish is adapted to its mode of
gaining a livelihood. Some species have no teeth, but in
most fishes there are several rows of them. They are
commonly not confined to the jaws, but are also on the
tongue, the palate, etc. Most have teeth merely for hold-
ing the food and passing it into the throat, while in oth-
ers there are teeth for cutting or tearing ; and in such as
live on shell-fish there are teeth for crushing.

214 NATURAL HISTORY.

361. Fishes surpass any other class of Vertebrates
both in actual number and in the number of genera and
specfes. Seven tenths of the earth's surface is covered
with water, leaving out of view the lakes arid rivers.
Now in the seas and oceans occupying this immense
space Fishes are found, some in shallow waters, some out
at sea near the surface, and others at various depths,
some even to the depth of several hundred feet. There
are different ranges of depth to which different species
are fitted. It is among those whose range does not ex-
tend much below the surface that we have a display of
bright and various colors, equaling, often, that of the
Bird and Insect tribes ; while those that frequent the
depths are of a dull color. This difference is owing most-
ly to the influence of light. At what depth there is a
total absence of light, and therefore, probably, of life, has
not been ascertained.

Questions. — How do the Fishes differ from all other vertehrated an-
imals ? What is said of the necessity for breathing to a fish ? How
may a fish be drowned ? What is the difference between lungs and
gills ? How are gills constructed and arranged ? Why does a fish die
when out of water ? Why can some live a considerable time in air ?
What is the plan of the circulation of fishes ? Why is it best that they
should be cold-blooded ? What is said of the shape of a fish ? Why
has it no neck ? What is said of its covering ? How is the motion
of fishes contrasted with that of birds ? What is said of the Flying
Fish ? How do fishes use their air-bladder ? What is said of the use
of the tail and of the fins in swimming ? What is said of the skele-
tons of fishes ? How is the Fish adapted in its nervous system and its
senses to its mode of life ? What organs of touch do we see in some
fishes ? What is said of the organs of vision in fishes ? What of their
sense of smell? What is said of their food? Give the statement of
Dr. Houston. What is said of the mouths of fishes? How do fishes
compare with other vertebrates in number and variety? What is
said of the various depths in which they live ? What influence has
this on their color ?

FISHES. 215

CHAPTER XXI.

FISHES — continued.

362. SOME fishes are fitted to live in fresh -water, and
some in salt, while others can live in both equally well.
Some remain in one place, but others are wandering ; and
some make long periodical journeys or migrations. At
the time for spawning or laying their eggs, fishes in the
sea generally either approach the coasts or go up the
rivers. The Herrings are an example of the former, and
the Shad and Salmon of the latter. In these migrations
the Salmon observe regular order, as the wild geese do
in theirs. They form two long files, united together in
front, and led by the largest female in the troop. The
males form the rear guard. When any obstacle opposes,
they leap over it, sometimes to the height of ten or even
sixteen feet. In this way they ascend rivers nearly to
their sources, and deposit their eggs in the autumn in
holes which they dig in the sand. Remaining here
through the winter, in the early spring they return to
the sea. It seems that the Salmon have the same instinct
that some birds have in regard to place, § 212. This
was proved by a naturalist named Deslandes in this way.
He placed a ring of copper on twelve of these fish, and
set them at liberty in the River Auzou, in Brittany.
They, of course, emigrated, but the next year five of them
were caught in the same place, the second year three,
and the year after three more.

363. Most fishes are abundantly prolific. You can see
this to be so if you observe the roe or spawn of any fish,
this being the collection of the eggs of the animal. It is
estimated that at least 60,000 eggs are contained in the
roe of a Herring. The roe of a Codfish was ascertained

216 NATURAL HISTORY.

to contain nine million of eggs. Fishes being thus pro-
lific, societies of them, or shoals, as they are called, are
often immense in multitude. They would be too abund-
ant were their number not kept down by various causes.
Many of the eggs are destroyed, and then of the young
fish so many are eaten by other fish, and are killed in va-
rious waysr that few of them comparatively come to ma
turity.

364. Some fishes present a strong contrast to all this
in the number of their young. This is the case with that
rapacious fish, the Shark, thus illustrating the Divine wis-
dom and benevolence. It produces but two eggs. The
eggs of some species of the Sharks are great curiosities.
They are of firm texture, and of a purse-like shape, with a
long tendril extending from each corner of it, as seen in
Fig. 168. These tendrils, coiling around seaweed or any

Fig. 168.— Egg of Shark.

other substance, serve to anchor the egg securely. The
purse is thin at the end where the head of the young fish
is, and when it is in a fit state to come out, it breaks its
way through this end. Some other fishes lay similar
eggs. They are sometimes picked up by the sea-shore,
and are called Mermaids' Purses.

365. Fishes supply quite a large portion of the food of
the human family. An immense amount of capital is
employed in carrying on the fisheries, and in some quar-
ters a large part of the population are engaged in them

FISHES. 217

It was estimated at one time that one fifth of the popu
lation of Holland were devoted to this branch of indus-
try alone.

366. There have been various systems of classification
proposed for the Fishes. Cuvier first divides them into
those that have really bony skeletons, and those that
have cartilaginous ones. He then divides the Osseous or
bony fishes into two groups according to their fins, the
first being spine-rayed, the second soft-rayed. The Car-
tilaginous fishes he divides into two groups according to
the arrangement of their gills, the fringes being free in
the one, and being fixed in the other. Professor Agassiz
classifies fishes according to the character of their scales,
making four orders.

367. It would take us into too broad a field to go into
the minute classification of fishes. I shall, thereforet in
addition to what has already been presented, notice par-
ticularly only a few of the most interesting of these
animals.

368. The Swordfish, Fig. 169, is found in every part

Fig. 169.— The Swordfish.

of the Mediterranean Sea. Its " sword" is an elongation
of the upper jaw, of great strength. It uses it in trans-
fixing its prey, running into shoals of fishes for this pur-
pose. In the British Museum there is a piece of the
bottom of a ship with a " sword" thrust entirely through
it. The length of this fish is from twelve to fifteen feet.
Another fish of about the same size has a similar projeo

218

NATURAL HISTORY.

tion from the upper jaw, but notched on both sides, and
hence it is called the Sawfish. With this instrument it
sometimes attacks the Whale, inflicting severe wounds
on him, and sometimes imbedding the saw in his body
in its full length.

369. The John Dory, Fig. 170, is a singular fish in its

Fig. 170 The John Dory.

shape, its markings, and its appendages. In England
its fame is associated with the performances of Quin the
comedian. There are various traditions of a curious na-
ture in regard to the round spots on its sides. One is,
that this is the fish that St. Peter caught, and that in
taking the tribute-money out of its mouth he made these
marks with his finger and thumb. The name of this

fish is probably a cor-
ruption of the French
jaune dore — golden
yellow, the color of
jjjjj the lighter parts of
the fish when it is
alive.

370. The Seahorse,
Fig. in—The Seahorse. Fig. 171, has been

FISHES. 219

often found off the coasts of England. It is the only fish
that is as yet known to have a prehensile tail. It has
been found in the Hudson River of this country, about
five or six inches in length.

371. The Lophius, or Fishing Frog, Fig. 172, appears

Fig. 172.— The Lophius, or Fishing Frog.

on all the European coasts, and also on our own. With
its pectoral fins it can crawl on land. The voracity of
this fish is very great, and if caught in a net with other
fish it will devour some of its fellow-prisoners. Its usual
mode of capturing its prey is this. Crouching close to
the bottom, and stirring up the mud and sand, it moves
about the long filaments ; the small fishes, swimming
about, suppose these filaments to be worms, and as they
are about to seize them, the Angler, with a quick move'
ment, takes them into his capacious jaws.

372. The Sturgeon, Fig. 173 (p. 220), although one
of the cartilaginous fishes, has externally rows of bony
plates. It is very common in the northern parts of Eu-
rope, where there are regular fisheries for its capture.
Almost every part of it is used — isinglass being obtained
from its air-bladder, and caviar from the roe, while the
flesh is consumed both in a fresh and a salted state. It
is much esteemed as food, eaten fresh, in the Atlantic

220

NATURAL HISTORY.

Fig. 173. -The Sturgeon.

Southern States of this country. The female deposits
her eggs in the fresh water of rivers, and the young,
when hatched, migrate to the sea.

373. The family of Flat Fish differ in some important
respects not only from all other fishes, but from all other
vertebrated animals. The Turbot, Fig. 174, is an ex

Fig. 174.— The Turbot.

ample of it. These fishes are not ordinarily in the posi-
tion that you see here, but lie flat along near the bottom,
the upper surface in most species being of a dark color,
while the lower surface is white. They have no air
bladder, and have little power of rising in the water.
When they are disturbed they assume a vertical position,
showing their white sides, and dart along with great

FISHES. 221

rapidity. Some are occasionally met with in which the
sides are alike in color, most often dark, but sometimes
white, and these are said to be " doubles." The fishes
of this family differ from all other Vertebrates in a lack
of perfect symmetry in relation to the two halves of the
body. In all other Vertebrates the two halves are alike,
except in some of the internal organs. But in these
fishes there is a difference between the two sides in sev-
eral particulars. The two eyes are on one side, and are
irregularly placed ; in some species they are on the right
side, and in others on the left. With this there is an
irregularity in the bones of the head, while in all other
Vertebrates they are alike on the two sides. Then there
is the difference in color. There is also a difference in
the pectoral fins, one being longer than the other.

374. Most of the species of this family belong exclu-
sively to the sea, and yet the Flounder and some others
occasionally ascend rivers. The Halibut, so well-known
in this country, is a very large fish, sometimes six or
seven feet long, and weighing four or five hundred
pounds. The flesh of the Turbot is considered peculiar-
ly fine, and immense quantities are taken in the fisher-
ies. Carpenter states that the Dutch receive £80,000 per
annum for the supply of this fish to the London market.

375. The Herring family furnish a great amount of
food to man. They are mostly marine fishes ; only a few
species, among which is the Shad, ascending the rivers
at the spawning season. The common Shad of this coun-
try has a much better flavor than the Shad of Europe.
The Sardine and Anchovy are aberrant species of this
family. The true Herring inhabits the northern seas,
and arrives every year in vast legions on the coasts of
America, Europe, and Asia, never descending below the
45th degree of north latitude. They come to the coast
to spawn, and then retire to the depths of the sea, going
northward.

376. The Eels are called Apoda, or Footless Fish, be

222 NATURAL HISTORY.

cause they have no ventral or belly fins. They have
long, snake -like bodies, covered with a soft skin, the
scales being very minute, often almost invisible. They
can live for some time out of the water, chiefly from a
peculiar arrangement of the gills. The gills have very
narrow openings, and are, therefore, so much sheltered
from the air that they do not readily become unfit for res
piration in becoming dry (§350). There is a similar ar^
rangement in the Lampreys, a class of Fishes of eel-like
shape, in some respects the lowest in organization of all
the Vertebrate animals. In these fishes there are four-
teen gill-openings, seven on each side, as seen in Fig. 175.

Fig. 175.— Lamprey.

They are sometimes called Seven-eyes on this account,
The mouth is a singular apparatus. It is ring-shaped,
and is armed with numerous teeth, and there are also
two longitudinal rows of small teeth on the tongue. The
tongue moves backward and forward in the mouth, act-
ing as a piston, thus, by its suction power, enabling the
fish to hold on to any object that it pleases.

377. In the rivers and ponds of Surinam and other
parts of South America there is found an Eel which is
armed with a true electric battery. It uses it in destroy-
ing the life of its prey, which it does instantaneously. It
can sometimes give a shock powerful enough to prostrate
a man. Humboldt describes the method adopted by the
natives in taking these animals. Having found a pool in
which they are, they drive in a troop of wild horses. Aft-

PISHES. 223

er the electricity accumulated in their batteries is pretty
much expended on the horses — some of them, perhaps,
being killed by it — the Eels are captured with impunity.
378. There is an aberrant genus of the Ray family
which has a similar apparatus, the situation of which is
seen in Fig. 176, in the two elevations extending from the

Fig. 176.— Torpedo.

eyes about half way down the body. This fish is found
chiefly in the Mediterranean, where its powers are well
known and are much feared. The apparatus is represent-
ed in Fig. 177 (p. 224), the batteries on each side being
at e. On one side is seen the nerve, which, branching out
from the brain, c, to the battery, is the means by which
the animal can work it at pleasure. The batteries are
composed of multitudes of tubes pressed one against an-
other like the cells of a honeycomb, and filled with a
thick fluid. The true Rays have on the tail and other
parts barbs or prickles with which they can inflict wounds.
They are shaped much like the Flatfish (§ 373). But in
their case the upper side is really .the back and the under
side is the belly; and they are symmetrical, having the
eyes on the upper side, and the mouth, nostrils, and gill-
15

224

NATTJBAL HISTORY.

openings beneath.
Like the Flatfish, they
move along in search
of their prey near the
bottom. Some species
reach a large size, the
Eagle Rays having
been seen twenty-five
feet long and thirty
broad. It is stated
that one was taken at
Barbadoes which
weighed 3500 pounds,
and that it required
seven yoke of oxen to
draw it ashore.

Questions. — What is said
of the distinction between
salt-water and fresh-water
Fishes? What is said of
the migration of Fishes?
What of the migration of
the Salmon ? Give the ob.
serration of Deslandes.
What is said of their fe-
cundity? What is said of the Sharks in this respect? Describe the
eggs of some Sharks. What is said of Fishes as supplying man with
food ? What is said of the classification of Fishes ? What is said
of the Swordfish? Of the John Dory? Of the Seahorse? Of the
Lophius ? Of the Sturgeon ? What are the characteristics of the
Flatfishes? How do they differ from all other Vertebrates? In
what water are most species found? What is said of the Halibut?
What are some of the fishes of the Herring family? What is said
of the true Herrings ? Why are Eels called Apoda ? What is said
of their scales ? What of their gills ? What of the gills of the Lam-
preys ? What of their mouth ? What is said of the Electrical Eel ?
Describe the arrangement of the electrical apparatus of the Torpedo.
What is said of the true Rays ? Give the comparison with the Flat
fish. What is said of the size of the Raws ?

Fig. 177.— Electric Apparatus of Torpedo.

INSECTS. 225

CHAPTER XXII.

INSECTS.

379. THE sub-kingdom which we have already consid
ered is the Vertebrate. The other three sub-kingdoms
are said to be Invertebrate, the prefix in being here used
as meaning the same as the very common negative prefix
un. Of these sub-kingdoms I will notice the Articulata
first. The two chief characteristics of it were stated in
Chapter I. These, however, and other characteristics,
require a more particular notice here, before I enter on
the consideration of Insects, the special subject of this
chapter.

380. The kingdom of the Articulates includes a wide
range of animals of great variety — Insects, Worms, the
Spider and Scorpion tribe, and the Crab tribe. But they
all agree in one thing — in having a covering which an-
swers the purpose of the internal skeleton of the Verte-
brates. This covering, or jointed armor, gives firmness
to the body, and furnishes points of attachment to the
muscles.

381. This skeleton coat of mail is very commonly ar-
ranged on the bodies of these animals in segments in the
form of rings. This arrangement is seen most perfectly
carried out in the Centipede, Fig. 178 (p. 226). You can
also see it plainly in the bodies of most insects, as, for ex-
ample, in the common Fly. This arrangement mostly
disappears in the Crab tribe, where, for the sake of firm-
ness, the skeleton covering the body of the animal is in
one piece. So, also, on the other hand, it nearly disap-
pears in such soft Articulates as the Leech and Earth-
worm, because there the rings would not allow the requi-
site limberness.

226 NATURAL HISTORY.

382. I have spoken in § 15 of the ganglia
of the nervous system of the Articulates.
Commonly there is a chain of them, as seen in
Fig. 8. But sometimes, as in some of the
Crab tribe, there are only two, one in the head
and the other in the thorax. This is a de-
cided approach toward the arrangement of
the nervous system of the Vertebrates, the
upper ganglion being somewhat like a true
brain.

383. The muscles constitute the bulk of
the body in the Articulates ; and, being thus
muscular, they are very active. For this pur-
pose the armor-skeleton is made as light as
possible consistently with the requisite firm-
ness. The movements of some of them ex-
ceed in rapidity those of any other animals.
With the exception of one group, they roam
freely in search of their food, and have very
effective organs for capturing their prey.

lg pedT611 Their apparatus for mastication, also, is com-
monly complicated and powerful.

384. Almost all of the Articulata have a distinct head.
The jaws do not move up and down as in the Verte-
brates, but sidewise. There are often several pairs of
them, sometimes having cutting edges, sometimes edges
with saw-like teeth, and sometimes they are fitted to
crush rather than to cut or tear. The legs are gener-
ally six, eight, ten, or fourteen in number, but some-
times there are many hundreds. Sometimes there are
none ; but when they exist at all, they are never less than
six.

385. The circulation of the Articulates is peculiar.
There is no heart, but instead there is a tube stretching
along the back. This is not perfectly regular, but has
segments corresponding with the segments of the body
mentioned in § 381. Each segment is a sort of heart for

INSECTS. 227

its division of the body. The blood is for the most part
white.

386. The respiration differs in the different classes. In
the Crustacea, the class to which the Lobsters and Crabs
belong, the respiratory organs are, like those of the Fish-
es, fitted for the action of air mingled with water. They
are really gills in various forms. But in the Insects and
Spiders the respiration is aerial ; that is, the respiratory
organs are fitted for the action of air alone by itself.

387. The symmetry of the body is even more complete
in the Articulates than it is in the Vertebrates. In the
latter there are many of the internal organs in regard to
which the two halves of the body are not alike, as the
heart, stomach, lungs, etc. But in the Articulates this
symmetry is extended even to some of these internal
organs.

388. The Articulata are commonly divided into seven
classes. 1. Insects. These have the three divisions of
the body, the head, the thorax or chest, and the abdo-
men. They have antenna or feelers on the head, three
pairs of legs, and generally one or two pairs of wings.
2. Myriapoda, the Centipedes. They have no separation
of the body into thorax and abdomen. The head, how-
ever, is very distinct. There are seldom less than twen-
ty four pairs of legs. The segments of the body are nu-
merous and equal. 3. Arachnida, including the Spiders,
Scorpions, and Mites, are characterized by the union of
the head and thorax, by the very distinct separation of
this cephalo-thorax from the abdomen, by the possession
of four pairs of legs, and by their want of antenna. In
all these three classes the respiration is aerial. 4. Crus-
tacea, or Crabs, Lobsters, etc. The respiration is aquatic,
like that of Fishes. They have from five to seven pairs
of legs. The body is variously divided. In some the
three parts are distinct, as in Insects ; in others the ar-
rangement is like that of the Arachnida ; and in others
still it is like that of the Myriapoda. The classes already

228 NATURAL HISTORY.

mentioned have articulated members. The remaining
three have none. 5. The Annelida, the Leech and Worm
tribe, having the segments very indistinct. 6. Entozoa,
Intestinal Worms, in which the articulated arrangement
is still more indistinct than in the Annelida. 7. Rotifera,
or Wheel Animalcules, very minute animals, presenting
the articulated character quite indistinctly.

389. I now pass to the consideration of Insects. This
class of the Articulata has an immense number of dis-
tinct species, surpassing in this respect every other de-
partment of the animal kingdom. Dr. Carpenter esti-
mates the sub-kingdom of Vertebrates as containing
30,000 species, a number which is exceeded by one sin-
gle order of the Insect tribe, the Beetles. And numer-
ous as are the known species of Insects, it is supposed
that the number of those which remain to be discovered
is far greater.

390. The name Insect comes from the Latin word in-
seco, to cut into, and refers to the divisions or sections
of the animal's body. The intervals between them are
so abrupt that they appear as if made by a cutting opera-
tion. The sections or segments are usually thirteen or
fourteen in number. One is the head; the chest or
thorax has three ; and the abdomen nine.

391. The respiration of Insects is peculiar. They have
no lungs in one particular part of the body. Their lungs
may be said to be in all quarters of the body, for air is
admitted by various openings into tubes which traverse
here and there. It is thus that the blood of the insect is
acted upon by the air. These openings are generally
mere slits like button-holes; but often they have two
valves which open and shut like folding doors, and some-
times they have over them a sort of fine grating to keep
dust from entering. As Insects are exceedingly active,
they require comparatively a large amount of air. They
are strikingly in contrast with Reptiles in this respect.
These latter are so dull and slow that they need but lit-

INSECTS. 229

tie air ; and when they go to sleep for the winter they
require none, and their breathing stops.

392. Some insects live on the juices of plants and of
animals, and some devour the substance of either the
one or the other. The former suck their food ; the lat-
ter gnaw it. These two classes, therefore, have two dif
ferent kinds of mouths. The gnawers, such as Beetles,
Cockroaches, Locusts, etc., have a complicated apparatus,
which I will describe. First, there are two tooth or
claw-like appendages, called mandibles ? these are the
upper jaws, which divide the food. They come together
by a lateral or sidewise motion. Sometimes they have
sharp edges to cut like scissors, and sometimes they have
points for tearing. Below or behind these are two other
jaws, called maxillce, which are very complex in their
structure. Above, or, rather, in front of the mandibles,
is a lip, and so there is one behind the maxillae. Insects
furnished with an apparatus of this kind are called man*
dibulate.

393. In some insects we have an arrangement entirely
of a different character, as in the Butterfly tribe. Here
there is a tubular appendage, or trunk, often quite long.

This is ordinarily coiled up, as you see
in Fig. 179. When the animal wishes,
it can uncoil it and extend it down
into the bosom of flowers. Such in-
sects are called Haustellate, from
h&ustellum, a sucker. This tube, or
Fig. 1T9. proboscis, varies much in different in-

sects. In some, as the Bees, there is a mixture of the
rnandibulate and the haustellate arrangements. They
obtain their food by suction, and use their mandibles
and maxillae as trowels and spades, and knives and scis-
sors, in building their curious habitations. In insects
that suck the blood of ammals, such as the Musquito
and the Horsefly, there is a peculiar modification of the
apparatus. There is a proboscis with lancets to make

230

NATURAL HISTORY.

the necessary wound in the skin of the animal whose
blood is to be sucked.

394. The head of the insect is furnished with certain
appendages called antennae,, supposed to be organs of
feeling, and perhaps of hearing also. They are various
in form, and commonly very beautiful, especially when
examined with the microscope. In Fig. 180 you have

Fig. 180. — Variously-formed Antennae of Insects.

a variety of them represented. There are other feelers
called palpi, which 'are usually much smaller arid shorter.
The antennae probably act as feelers in regard to objects
a little distance off, while the palpi do the same for sub-
stances close by the mouth of the animal.

395. The senses of Insects are all acute ; and yet the
organ of "smell has never been discovered, and in most
no organ of hearing can be found. The organs of vision
are generally plain to be seen, and are often exceedingly
prominent objects as we look at the insect. Very com-
monly the eye is a multitude of small eyes. In the com-
mon house Fly there are 4000 of them, and some insects

Fig. 181.— Head and Eyes of the Bee, showing the Division into Facets.

INSECTS.

231

nave 25,000. If examined with a microscope, the sur-
face of these compound eyes appears as you see in Fig.
181 (p. 230), representing the head and eyes of a bee.
At a are the antennae, and the eyes occupy most of the
front and sides of the head. The surface is made up of
hexagonal (six-sided) facets. At A you see them much
magnified, and at B you see hairs standing out between
them. Each of these facets is a cornea, or window to a
little eye. (See "First Book in Physiology," p. 167.)
Most insects have these compound eyes, but some have
only single ones, and some have both, for what reason
we do not know.

396. The digestive apparatus is commonly quite com-
plicated, there being three
stomachs — one correspond-
ing to the crop of birds, an-
other to the gizzard, while a
third receives the food and
digests it after it has been
softened and ground in the
other two stomachs. The
second stomach, or gizzard,
is often armed with horny
projections, in order to grind
up the food effectually. In
Fig. 182 you have the whole
digestive apparatus of a
Beetle. First you see the
strong cutting mandibles,
the maxillaa and the anten-
nas ; then a the throat, b the
gullet, c the crop, d the giz-
zard, e the third stomach,
/the intestine. The liver, A,
instead of being such a solid

Fig. m-Digestive Apparatus of organ as H is in vertebrate
Beetle. and most other animals, is

232

NATURAL HISTORY.

made up of long and delicate tubes. As lightness is a
great object in the structure of the Insect, the digestive
apparatus is made of as little bulk as possible.

397. The feet of Insects are in conformity with their
modes of life. Some have claws or hooks ; some have
a kind of suction cushion by which they can adhere to
surfaces; some have fringed feet to enable them to
swim ; and some have their fore feet shaped for digging,
like the Mole's.

398. The wings are generally made very much like
those of the Bat, § 58. They consist of a double mem-
brane over an extended slender frame-work. There are
generally two pairs, but sometimes only one, as in the
case of the common Fly. Often the first pair of wings
are mere coverings for the other wings, and have no act-
ive agency in flight. In this case they are made thick

and firm, and are called the
elytra (singular elytrum). In
Fig. 183 you see the elytra
at a. When the Insect is at
rest, the elytra are brought
together over the back, the
true wings being folded, some
times very curiously, under
them. The true wings are
light and thin, and they are
transparent, except when they
are covered with what ap-
pears to the naked eye as a
kind of colored dust, as is the case with the Moths and
Butterflies. This dust, examined with the microscope, is
found to be made up of little regularly-formed scales,
often beautifully marked with lines. When they are
rubbed oif, their fastenings look, under the microscope,
like the nail-heads on a roof when old shingles have been
torn oif. In some of the Butterflies the scales are ar-
ranged like shingles on a roof, and with their various
colors present a very beautiful appearance.

Fig. 183.

INSECTS, 233

399. There is no part of the animal world that exhib-
its so great a variety of beauty in both color and struc-
ture as the Insect tribe. And it is especially true of
these animals,, that, great as is the beauty visible to the
naked eye, still greater is that which the microscope re-

400. With very few exceptions Insects are oviparouss
In many cases the eggs are laid in autumn, and are hatch-
ed in the spring. Insects that do this, instinctively make
special provision for the preservation of the eggs through
the winter. When the eggs are of a tender consistence,
the Insects deposit them deeply in the earth. But some
are deposited on trees. In this case leaves are not se-
lected as the place of deposit, as is very commonly done
when the eggs are to be soon hatched ; for if this were
done, the leaves being scattered by the wind, the Insects,
when they came to be hatched, might be far away from
their appropriate food. Accordingly, the parent de-
posits the eggs on the trunks or branches of the trees,
upon whose young leaves their progeny can live when
the warmth of spring hatches them. Moreover, eggs
thus exposed to the cold of winter have not the usual
delicate covering of those which are hatched the same
season in which they are laid, or of those which are de-
posited in the earth for the winter. They are covered
with a hard, thick shell ; and, besides, they are well pack-
ed together, and the interstices are filled up with a tena-
cious substance which becomes very hard. The arrange-
ment of these little eggs is often very beautiful. They
are of very great variety of shape, and some of them are
curiously and elaborately constructed. In Fig. 184 (p.
234) you have a few of these varieties represented.

401. Insects are commonly exceedingly prolific. The
queen of the Honey Bees lays fifty thousand eggs, and
the female White Ant produces forty or fifty millions in
a year. It is calculated that the progeny of a single
Aphis or Plant Louse number in one season a trillion,

234

NATURAL HISTORY.

Fig. 184.— Magnified Eggs of various Insects.

that is, 1,000,000,000,000,000,000. But they are so feebly
constructed that a large portion of them are destroyed
in one way and another before they come to maturity.
Insects are distributed largely over all parts of the globe,
appearing even in the arctic regions during their short
summers. They are the most abundant in the tropical
regions, and there the largest and most brilliant species
are found. Each region has Insects peculiar to itself.
Some, however, are very widely distributed, the com-
mon House Fly the most widely of all.

Questions. — What is the meaning of the term Invertebrate ? What
are included in the sub-kingdom of the Articulata ? In what are they
alike ? What is said of the arrangement of the skeleton-covering of
the Articulata ? What is said of their nervous system ? What of
their muscles? What of their jaws? What of their circulation?
What of their respiratory organs ? How do they differ from the Ver-
tebrates in symmetry ? Give the classes of the Articulata, with their
characteristics. What is said of the number of Insects ? Show the
appropriateness of the name Insect. Describe the respiratory appa-
ratus of Insects. What do Insects live on ? Describe the mandibu.
late apparatus. Describe the haustcllate apparatus. What are some
of its variations ? What is said of the antennas ? What of the palpi ?
What is said of the senses of Insects ? Describe the arrangement of
the eves of a Bee. What is said of the digestive organs of Insects

THE METAMORPHOSIS OF INSECTS. 235

Describe the digestive apparatus of a Beetle. How are the wings of
Insects constructed? What are elytra? What is there peculiar in
the wings of Moths and Butterflies ? What is said of the beauties of
Insects ? What various provisions are made for preserving and hatch-
ing the eggs of Insects ? What is said of their shapes ? What is said
of the fecundity of Insects ? What of their distribution ?

CHAPTER XXIII.

THE METAMORPHOSIS OF INSECTS.

402. THE grand peculiarity of Insects is their metamor-
phosis, or change of form. Almost every Insect under-
goes this change, there being commonly three distinct
changes of being. In the first stage the Insect is a crawl-
ing caterpillar or a worm. In its second stage it is wrap-
ped up in a covering prepared for the purpose, and is in
a state of sleep. During this sleep great changes are
going on. When these are completed it is a winged an-
imal, its wings being closely folded up. In due time it
comes out of its prison, and spreads its wings for flight.
It is now deemed to have arrived at its perfect condi-
tion.

403. In its first stage it is called a Larva, this being
the Latin word for mask, the idea being that the Insect
is now not in its true state or character, but is in a mask-
ed condition, from which it will after a while come out.
When it does so, it is called the Imago, or said to be in
the imago state. The Insect is now the image or repre-
sentative in full of its species. Its sleeping state, the
one intermediate between the larva state and the imago
state, is a transition one. In this the Insect is changing
from a crawling to a flying animal. It is now termed
a Pupa, the Latin for baby, because it commonly appears
somewhat like an infant trussed up with bandages, as has
sometimes been the fashion in some nations. The or«

236 NATURAL HISTOKY.

dinary forms and appearance of Pupae (plural of Pupa)
are represented in Fig. 185.

I

Fig. 185. — a, Pupa of a Water-beetle (ilydrophihis) ; 6, Pupa of Sphinx Ligustri.

404. The different larvae of Insects have the different
names of maggot, grub, and caterpillar, according to
their form and appearance. The pupae of Butterflies and
Moths were formerly called Chrysalids and Aurelias, be-
cause the coverings of some of them have spots of a
golden hue. The term Chrysalis is often used at the
present day as synonymous with pupa, and this state of
the Insect is called the Chrysalid state.

405. The changes which take place in the pupa state
are very great, even radical ones. There is commonly
no resemblance between the Larva and its Imago. There
may be great beauty in the Imago, and none in the Lar-
va, and sometimes the reverse is the case. Then, as to
form and general structure, the contrast is of the most
marked character. In the Larva state it was a slow,
crawling animal, but in the Imago state it is light, per-
haps delicate in structure, and is nimble on the wing.
And the change is as great internally as it is externally.
Its stomach even is changed, for its mode of getting a
livelihood is different now. There are corresponding
changes also about the mouth, a coiled tongue perhaps
appearing in place of the formidable gnawing apparatus
of the larva. In relation to this change it has been well

THE METAMORPHOSIS OF INSECTS. 237

said, " Were a naturalist to announce to the world the
discovery of an animal which for the first five years of
its life existed in the form of a serpent ; which then, pene-
trating into the earth, and wearing a shroud of pure silk
of the finest texture, contracted itself within this cover-
ing into a body without external mouth or limbs, and re-
sembling more than any thing else an Egyptian mummy ;
and which, lastly, after remaining in this state for three
years longer, should, at the end of that period, burst its
cerements, struggle through its earthy covering, and
start into day a winged bird, what would be the sensa-
tion excited by this piece of intelligence ?" And yet this
would be no more wonderful than the ordinary metamor-
phosis of Insects. Indeed, many of the most marvelous
circumstances in this change are not at all referred to in
the supposition above made.

406. The larva is produced from an egg, and the egg
is laid by the perfect Insect or Imago. When the larva
is first hatched it is very small, but it grows with a ra-
pidity always great, in some cases enormous. The mag-
gots of flesh Flies are said to increase in weight two
hundred times in twenty-four hours. To make such an
increase these animals must eat voraciously. With the
great multiplication of their number, the amount which
a collection of them will sometimes devour is wonderful.
Linnaeus calculated that three flesh Flies and their imme-
diate progeny would eat up the carcass of a horse sooner
than a lion would do it.

407. In the Imago state the Insect eats but little, as it
grows little or none ordinarily. The Butterfly or Moth
comes forth from its prison fully grown ; but the cater-
pillar from which it was formed was very small at the
outset, and became large by large eating. Our common
Flies are small and delicate eaters, but the Maggots, the
larvae from which they came, rioting in filth, devour
largely what the Flies will not touch,,

408. The great growth of larvae obliges them to cast

238 NATURAL HISTORY.

their skins repeatedly. The Silkworm and other cater
pillars cast their skins about four times during their
growth.

409. Insects pass the time of their pupa state under
various circumstances. Some, when about going into
this state, crawl into some by-place away from intruders.
Some work their way into the ground, and perhaps spin
a silken lining for the earth-cells in which they are to
sleep through their change. Some roll themselves up in
leaves. Some construct for themselves a silken house,
called a cocoon, attached to some leaf or twig.

410. Among those that do this last is the Silkworm.
The formation of the cocoon I will describe. When the
worm has its silk factory, which is near its mouth, prop-
erly stocked with the gummy pulp from which the silk
is to be spun, it seeks a good place where it can have a
sort of scaffolding for its cocoon. It first spins some
loose floss, attaching it to things around. Next it be-
gins to wind its silk round and round, making a cocoon
at length, shaped much like a pigeon's egg, being smallei
at one end than the other. It thus gradually shuts itself
up in a silken prison. The last of the silk which it spins
is the most delicate of all, and it is well glued together,
making a very smooth surface next to the Silkworm's
body. The silken house being constructed, it now pre-
pares itself for its sleep and its change. It sheds its skin
now for the fourth and last time, tucking its old clothes,
as we may say, very snugly at one end of the cocoon. It
then passes into its sleep, and a new and thin skin is
formed over it, in which it gradually changes into an an-
imal endowed with wings. At the proper time it works
its way out of its prison, unfolds its wings, and flies off,
not to eat mulberry leaves, as it did in its larva state, but
to sip the honey from the flowers.

411. Observe the manner of its exit and the arrange-
ments for it. The head is always at the small end of the
eocoon, and here the silk is less closely wound and less

THE METAMORPHOSIS OF INSECTS. 239

tightly cemented by the gluey substance. The old clothes
are always at the other end, so as not to be in the way.
The new coat which was formed as it entered the pupa
state is easily torn, and the Moth, moistening the cocoon
with a fluid from its mouth at the part where it is to es-
cape, easily forces its way through. The opening from
which it emerges is very small, and the shape of the an-
imal before it expands its wings is that of a long bundle.

412. The thread with which the worm makes its co-
coon is an unbroken one. It can, therefore, be unwound
or reeled off, which is done in obtaining it for manufac-
ture. For this purpose the cocoons are exposed to the
heat of an oven in order to kill the pupa3 in them, and
then, by a little soaking in warm water, the glutinous
matter which unites the silk is so softened that the thread
can be readily unwound. The length of it varies from six
hundred to a thousand feet ; and as it is double as spun
out by the insect, its real length is nearly two thousand
feet. So fine is this double thread, that the silk that
comes from one cocoon does not weigh above three
and a half grains, and it requires ten thousand cocoons
to supply five pounds of silk. The native countries of
the Silkworm are China and the East Indies ; and in an-
cient times the manufacture of silk was confined to them.
So scarce was the article in other countries, even as late
as James I. of England, that this monarch, before his
accession to the throne, wore on some public occasion a
borrowed pair of silk stockings. But at the present
time the culture of the Silkworm and the manufacture
of silk are so widely diffused, that silk is every where*
in civilized communities, one of the common articles of
dress.

413. When a pupa is to remain out of doors all the
winter, special pains are taken to guard it against the
cold. For this purpose great numbers of Ir sects in the
autumn dig their way down into the ground, and pass
their pupa state in an earthy cell below the reach of

16

240

NATURAL HISTORY.

THE METAMORPHOSIS OF INSECTS.

24]

frost. Some line this cell with silk, making thus a soft
covering for the body, and shutting out more effectually
the cold. Some of the caterpillars accomplish the same
object by constructing above ground a cocoon specially
adapted to guard against the cold. This is exemplified
in the case of one of the largest and most splendid of

our American Moths
— the Cecropia Moth,
Fig. 186 (p. 240). It
is found, as Professor
Jaeger states, all the
way from the Canadas
to the Mexican Gulf,
and also in all the West-
ern States. It has large
wings, measuring five
to six inches from tip
to tip. The scales on
them, § 397, are dusky
brown. The borders
of the wings are richly
variegated, the anterior
ones having near their
tops a dark spot re-
sembling an eye, and
both pairs having kid
ney-shaped red spots.

414. In this case the
caterpillar, or larva,
Fig. 187, is nearly as
beautiful in colors as
the perfect insect or
imago. It is of a light
green color, and has
coral-red warts, with
short black bristles,

1ST.— The Caterpillar, or fcarva. OVer its body. It feeds

242 NATURAL HISTORY.

on the leaves of trees till August or September, and then
descends to seek for some currant or barberry bush upon
which it may build its house for its winter sleep. " Any
one," says Professor Jaeger, " who meets with these
caterpillars in the above-mentioned months may have
the pleasure of witnessing their metamorphosis into co-
coons, and several months after into an elegant moth, by
taking them up very carefully upon leaves and carrying
them home, placing them in a spacious box, with a little
undisturbed earth at the bottom, and then putting into
it some dry brush-wood, about one foot high, and cover-
ing the whole with gauze in order to prevent their es-
cape."

415. I will now describe the peculiar construction of
the cocoon. That of the Silkworm is a simple cocoon,
no special provision being made against the cold, as the
pupa state, instead of lasting through the whiter months,
is finished in a few weeks. But in the case of the Ce-
cropia Moth there is a covering outside of the proper
cocoon. This covering is fastened to a branch of some
bush, as in Fig. 188. It is made very strong, as its fibres

Fig. 188.

are much more closely joined together than those of the
cocoon inside of it. Often there are leaves attached to
it, leaving the impression of their veins or nerves upon
it when you have detached them. The animal evidently
uses these leaves as a sort of scaffolding when it begins
to construct its winter home. In spinning this covering
it works all the while inside, as it does in spinning the
cocoon. After finishing it, it lines it with coarse loose

THE METAMORPHOSIS OF INSECTS. 243

silk, and then proceeds to spin its cocoon in the same
way that the Silkworm does, making it of the same shape.
The loose silk between the cocoon and the outer cover-
ing is blanketing for the purpose of warmth. By these
means the pupa or chrysalis is secured against dampness
and cold, and amid all the storms of winter is even more
safe from harm than an infant in its cradle under the
•vatch of an anxious mother.

416. As in the case of the Silkworm Moth, the Ce-
cropia always comes out at the smaller end, and here
both the cocoon and the outer covering are made less
close and strong than in the other portions. In New
England this Moth comes forth in June. Last year I
obtained from my garden two cocoons wrhich were near
each other on a currant bush. I gave one to a lad living
on Staten Island, and retained the other myself. His
Moth came out three weeks before mine, corresponding
with the advance of the season there before ours. When
mine emerged I caught the same evening in my house
two others, and on the following evening three more.
As we saw none before or after, this seems to show that
these Moths come forth almost simultaneously in the
same locality.

417. Dr. Harris, in his work on the Insects of New
England, recommends a trial of the manufacture of silk
from the cocoons of the Cecropia and some other of
our large indigenous Moths. "Their large cocoons,"
he says,. " consisting entirely of silk, the fibres of which
far surpass those of the Silkworm in strength, might be
employed in the formation of fabrics similar to those
manufactured in India from the cocoons of the Tusseh
and Arindi Silkworms, the durability of which is such
that a garment of Tusseh silk is scarcely worn out in the
lifetime of one person, but often descends from mother
to daughter ; and even the covers of palanquins made
of it, though exposed to the influence of the weather,
last many years. Experiments have been made with

244

NATTTKAL HISTORY.

Fig. 189.— Silk of the Cecropia.

the silk of the Cecro-
pia, which has been
carded and spun, and
woven into stockings
that wash like linen."
The silk can be very
readily reeled off
from the cocoons as
seen in Fig. 189.

418. Some Insects
go through an im-
perfect metamorpho-
sis, as the Grasshop-
pers and the Locusts.
They are produced
from the eggs without wings, but have them formed
gradually while they are in a state of activity.

Questions. — What are the three changes which most Insects pass
through in their metamorphosis? Explain the terms larva, pupa,
and imago. What are the different names applied to larvae ? What
is said of the terms chrysalis and aurelia ? What is said of the con-
trast between the larva and imago states? What is said of the
growth of the larva ? What of the growth of the imago ? What of
the casting of the skin of the larva? What is said of the various
modes of passing the pupa state ? Describe the manner in which the
Silkworm makes its cocoon. Describe the mode of its exit. What
is said of the thread of which the cocoon is made ? What are the na-
tive countries of the Silkworm ? What is said of the silk manufac-
ture? When pupae are to be out doors all winter, what provision?!
are adopted to guard against the cold ? Describe the Cecropia Moth
Describe its caterpillar.. Describe the construction of its cocoon
What is said of its exit? What is said of the manufacture of silt
from the cocoons of this and other large Moths ? What \» said of
Grasshoppers and Locusts ?

'OLEOPTERA, OE SHEATH-WINGED INSECTS.

CHAPTER XXIV.

COLEOPTERA, OR SHEATH-WINGED INSECTS.

419. I NOW pass to the consideration of the different
orders of Insects, noticing particularly some of each or.
der. They are arranged in orders according to the char-
acter of the wings. They are chiefly the following : 1.
Coleoptera (/coXeoe, koleos, a sheath, and Trrepov, pteron, a
wing), Sheath- winged. This is the order of Beetles. 2.
Orthoptera (opfloe, orthos, straight, and irTtpov), Straight-
winged. This includes the Grasshoppers, Locusts, etc,
3. Neuroptera (vevpov, neuron, nerve, and Trrtpov), Nerve-
winged. 4. Hymenoptera (v/uev, humen, a membrane,
and Trre pov) , Membrane- winged, including the Bees, Wasps,
etc. 5. Lepidoptera (XeTrtc, lepis, a scale, and irrtpov),
Scale- winged. The Butterflies and Moths. 6. Hemip-
tera (»/p<rve, hemisus, half, and Trrepo^), Half-winged, in-
cluding Bugs, Cicadse, etc. 7. Diptera (&c, dis, twice,
and Trrepov), Two-winged. Flies, Musquitoes, etc. 8.
Aphaniptera (afyavriQ, aphanes, not manifest, and Trrepoy).
The Fleas belong to this order. 9. Aptera, Wingless.
The prefix a in this case is privative or negative. The
common louse, sugar-lice, spring-tails, etc., belong to this
order. There are some other orders, which are small,
however, and of little importance.

420. The order of Coleoptera, or Sheath- winged In-
sects, is the most numerous of all the orders. " It is
probable," says Carpenter, " that from thirty to forty
thousand species of Beetles alone now exist in the cabi-
nets of collectors ; and we may safely affirm that at least
as many more remain to be discovered." They are of
various size, some being very small, and others among
the largest of Insects. There are some that are five

246 NATURAL HISTORY,

inches in length. The Beetles, when not flying, appear
to have no wings. The elytra, § 398, are horny, and fit
closely together on the back. These are sometimes very
beautiful, even splendid, having various colors, golden,
green, blue, etc. I have seen them in some cases with
depressions in them spotted with gold, exactly as if real
gold-leaf were inserted by powerful pressure. The wings,
which are commonly twice as large as the elytra in length
as well as in breadth, are folded up under these covers
very curiously when the insect is not on the wing. There
are only a few exceptions in the whole order to this
mode of arrangement.

421. The metamorphosis in this order is complete.
The larvae are worm-like, having soft bodies, but they
commonly have horny heads. Those which lead a re-
tired, still life, as those which are in nuts, have no legs,
for they need none. Those larvae which are carnivorous
have the strongest legs. In some of the herbivorous
species, besides the true legs, there are fleshy tubercles,
which are called pro-legs. Previously to entering the
pupa state the larva often forms a case for itself of bits
of earth, or of chips, which it unites together by silken
threads or with a gluey substance. The pupa? of some
Beetles are inactive for years.

422. Beetles, as suggested by Professor Jaeger, are
of three kinds : 1 . Carnivorous Beetles : they devour
living insects, and are the beasts of prey of the insect
world. 2. Scavenger Beetles, which live on putrid mat-
ter, carrion, and decaying vegetable substances. 3. Her
bivorous Beetles, which feed on living plants and fruits.
The first two kinds are of great use to man, but the last
are injurious. I will notice a few of each kind.

423. Of the Carnivorous Beetles, the Lady-birds, so
called, are known to almost every one. They look like
little colored and spotted turtles. The larva? of these
Beetles are of great service to man, for they prey upon
the plant-lice which are so destructive to many plants,

COLEOPTEKA, OK SHEATH-WINGED INSECTS. 247

feeing more effective in this respect than the Beetles
themselves. They are about half an inch long, of a
bluish color with four or six yellow spots, and are seen
creeping along branches and leaves in search of the
plant-lice. After living in the larva state for a fortnight,
they fasten themselves on some leaf,
cast off their skins, spin a cocoon, and,
after a fortnight's sleep, issue as Lady«
birds. One of the species, the North-
ern Lady-bird, is seen in Fig. 190. It
is found chiefly on the pumpkin vine,
Fig' il°d~bi?dthem wnere> in tne company of their larvae,
they feed on the Plant-lice and the lar-
vae of the Squash Bug.

424. The Tiger Beetles, of which two species are

represented in Figs. 191
and 192, are thus named
both on account of their
variegated colors and
their rapacity. They feed
on Caterpillars, Flies, and
other Beetles, and will

Figs. 131, 192.— Tiger Beetles -, , , ,

even devour each other

when shut up together. Their larvae or grubs are as
rapacious as they are themselves. They live in holes
which they dig in the ground. When they are hungry
they come to the mouth of their holes, and there keep
\vatch, seizing the first insect that passes over the hole.
Though these grubs are soft and white, they have pow-
erful and well-armed jaws, with which they gratify their
rapacity.

425. In Figs. 193 and 194 (p. 248) you have two spe-
cies of Caterpillar-hunters, so called from their habits.
They are very handsome Beetles. The green Caterpil-
lar-hunter, Fig. 193, is a great devourer of the Canker-
worm. These Beetles run about in the grass after the
worms, and go up the trunks of the trees to capture
them as they come down.

248 NATURAL HISTORY.

Figs. 193 and 194— Caterpillar-hunters.

426. The Scavenger Beetles, forming the second divi-
sion, have very fine coverings, and their feet are fitted for
digging. Though they are not only in the midst of
filth, but live on it, they are remarkably clean, and are
generally of a bright color, and some of them are very
beautiful. These Beetles, and their grubs, are of great
service as scavengers. Although each one does but lit-
tle, the multitude of them clear up a great deal of filth,
which would otherwise offend our senses and injure the
health. Those Beetles of this class which are of very
large size, sometimes five inches in length, are found in
the tropical regions of America, Asia, and Africa.

42 7. To this class belong the common Tumble-bugs,
or Pellet Beetles. These exhibit great industry in roll-
ing balls of manure and earth mingled together. In
every one of these is deposited an egg. These busy an-
imals dig holes two or three feet deep, and into these
they roll the balls. While they thus provide for their
progeny, they are at the same time useful in distributing
manure among the roots of plants where it is wanted.

428. To this group also belong the Carrion Beetles,
of which there are many species, some of them very
beautiful. They are exceedingly busy wherever there
is the dead body of any animal, devouring it and depos-

COLEOPTERA, OR SHEATH-WINGED INSECTS. 249

iting in it and upon it their eggs. The Crusader Carrion
Beetle, Fig. 195, is thus named by Jae-
ger from a black spot on the back of its
yellow thorax, which resembles some-
what the figure of a cross which the Cru-
saders wore on their coats. The wing-
Fi i95i Th cru covers> or elytra, are brown, and the head
•*ader Carrion Beetle, and legs are black. These Beetles are
seen in immense multitudes in some carrion. The habits
of the Big Gravedigger are very curious. It gathers in
great numbers round a dead frog, or mouse, or bird, etc.
The Beetles first examine the spot where the dead body
lies ; if it be stony, they select a proper place, and, by
their combined efforts, remove the body there. They
now proceed to dig the earth away from under it with
their fore feet, and do not leave it till they have sunken
it about a foot in the ground.

429. There is a very small Beetle of this class which
is a great destroyer of the collections of the naturalist,
eating the skins of stuffed animals, and the internal parts
of insects. It is hence called the Cabinet Beetle. It is
difficult often to keep a cabinet free from them, for their
Iarva3 will eat through the hardest boards.

430. Among the Scavenger Beetles are some wood-
eating insects. These are of great service in tropical
countries, where large trees are prostrated in great num-
bers by hurricanes and tempests. It would take a long
time for the natural process of decay to remove them ;
but these insects reduce them to dust in a short time,
and this dust, becoming incorporated with the earth, fer
tilizes it. The common Horn Bug or Stag Beetle belongs
to this group. The Stag Beetle of Europe is twice as
large as that of this country. It is the grubs that live
on wood, and not the Beetles themselves. The grubs
of some of the wood-eating Beetles are some years in ar-
riving at the mature state in which they are ready td
change into Beetles.

250 NATURAL HISTORY.

431. The Herbivorous Beetles live on vegetable food
both in their larva and imago state. Some eat fruits,
some grain, some leaves, and some even wood. Science
has been of great service in pointing out the Insects that
inflict these various injuries, and also in indicating the
means of prevention by discovering the habits of these
animals.

432. To this class belong the Spring Beetles, some
times called Skippers or Snapping Bugs. They are so
constructed that when they are laid on the back they
can throw themselves upward, and coming down alight
on their feet. This performance, which is a great amuse-
ment to children, is done by a spring which the animal
has in its body for this purpose. The largest and hand-
somest of these Beetles in the United States is the Vel-
vet-spotted Spring Beetle. Another species of the same
genus is the Lightning Spring Beetle, Fig. 196. This In-
sect, which is nearly an inch and
a half long, has two yellow cone-
like projections on the sides of
the thorax, which emit light, and
appear, while the animal is alive,
like two shining emeralds. It
also emits light from the under
surface of the segments of the
abdomen. In Cuba ladies fasten
these Beetles in their hair as or-

Fig. 196.— The Lightning spring naments at evening parties. The

Beetle?

light of our common Fireflies is

emitted from two or three segments of the abdomen, as
you may see by catching one, and holding it in your
hand turned over on its back.

433. The Capricorn Beetles are so named from the re-
semblance of their long antennae to the horns of the
Mountain Goat. These Beetles are very beautiful, al-
though their grubs are ugly. The Painted Capricorn
appears with us in the autumn, and may be seen in the

COLEOPTERA, OB SHEATH-WINGED INSECTS. 251

flowers of the golden-rod. Its body looks like black vel-
vet. Its head and chest are crossed with yellow lines,
and its elytra have lines of the same color variously ar-
ranged. The female deposits her eggs in the crevices
of the bark of locust-trees, and the grubs hatched from
them eat the wood and the pith, making winding pas-
sages in doing this, and, of course, proving destructive to
many of these trees. There is in the southern parts of
our country a Beetle of this family three and a half inches
long, called the Stag Beetle Capricorn, because its formi-
dable jaws, an inch in length, are like those of the Stag
Beetles. In South America is found a splendid Beetle,
called the Long-armed Capricorn, its fore legs being five
inches in length. It is of a dark olive-green color, with
markings of red, yellow, and white, resembling hiero-
glyphics.

434. The Spanish Fly, which is used in making the
common blistering plaster, is an herbivorous Beetle. It
has a brilliant green metallic hue. It is the powder of
the dried Beetles that makes the basis of the blistering
salve — another example of animal chemistry both won-
derful and mysterious, § 170.

435. The Curculios or Weevils are a family of herbiv-
orous Beetles that do great injury to fruits and grains.
The perfect insect deposits its eggs in them, and the
grubs or maggots live on the substance in which they
are hatched. Thus a little hairy gray Beetle deposits
its eggs in the young and tender peapod, and the larvae
hatched from them eat portions of the peas as they grow.
Multitudes of these larvae are boiled in the peas prepared
for the table. So also in almost every seed-pea there is
either a Beetle or an opening from which one has come
out. In the same way the maggot found in the chest-
nut comes from an egg deposited in it by a Beetle in an
early stage of the fruit. So also in the apple and other
fruits.

436. These Weevils, or Snout Beetles, have an appa

252 NATUEAL HISTORY,

rat us for boring holes in the grains and fruits, as you see
in the Palm Weevil, Fig. 197. " Its larvaa," says Jaeger,
" are known in the tropics of
America under the name of Palm-
worms, and they live in large
numbers iu the trunks of several
palm-trees, but principally in the
cabbage -palm, which grows in
abundance in the mountainous
parts of St. Domingo. When
fully grown they are about three
inches long and one inch in cir-
cumference, of a dirty yellow
color, with a black head, looking
like a piece of fat enveloped in a
transparent skin. These disgust-
ing-looking animals are roasted
Fig. i97.-Paim weev-n. UpOn a wooden spit, or broiled
and eaten with dry and pulverized bread, seasoned with
salt and pepper, and considered by many epicures as the
ne plus ultra of delicacies."

437. The Leaf-eaters, which live mostly on leaves and
flowers, are very small Beetles, very richly colored.
Among the most brilliant is the Gilded Dandy, Fig. 198.
found abundantly on the dog-bane in July
and August. The larvae or grubs of the
Leaf-eaters have six legs, as they must
crawl about in getting their food, instead
of remaining in one spot as the fruit-eating
g' Dandy. ' grubs of the Weevils do.

Questions. — Name the orders of Insects, and give the chief charac*
teristics of each. What is the extent of the order Coleoptera ? What
is said of the size of the insects belonging to it ? What is said of the
elytra ? What is said of the laroe of Beetles ? What are the three
kinds of Beetles ? What is said of the Lady-bird ? What of the Ti-
ger Beetles ? What of the Caterpillar-hunters ? What of the Scav-
enger Beetles ? Of the Pellet Beetles ? Of the Carrion Beetles ?

STRAIGHT-WINGED INSECTS. 253

Of the Crusader Carrion Beetle ? Of the Big Gravedigger ? Of the
Cabinet Beetle ? Of the Wood-eating Beetles ? What is said of the
herbivorous Beetles? Of the Spring Beetles? Of the Lightning
Spring Beetle? What gives the name to the Capricorn Beetles?
What is said of the Painted Capricorn ? Of the Stag Beetle Capri-
corn ? Of the Long-armed Capricorn ? Of the Spanish Fly ? What
is said of the Curculios ? What of the Palm Weevil ? What of tiw
^eaf -eaters ?

CHAPTER XXV.

STRAIGHT-WINGED INSECTS.

438. THE second order is that of the Orthoptera, or
Straight-winged Insects. Their wings, when not in use,
are folded lengthwise like a fan, and are extended straight
along the top or the sides of the back. These are cover-
ed by a pair of thicker wings, or, rather, wing-shaped
members, which in the Grasshoppers and the Locusts are
long and narrow, and are joined together on the back,
making two slopes like the roof of a house. These wing-
covers are intermediate between the stiff, horny elytra of
the Beetles and the membranous wings of some other
insects.

439. The insects of this order do not go through with
a complete metamorphosis. They do not pass at all into
the torpid pupa state, but are active during the whole
period of their existence. At first they are destitute of
wings; but they become winged as they grow, casting
off their skins about six times during the process. They
are divided into four families: 1. The Cursoria, or Run-
ners. 2. The Raptoria, or Graspers. 3. The Ambulato-
ria, or Walkers. 4. The Saltatoria, or Jumpers.

440. The family of Cursoria includes the Cockroaches
and the Earwigs. There are with us two kinds of Cock-
roaches— the native ones, found under stones in the field,
and those which have, like the Rats, been introduced
from other countries, and live in our houses. These vo

254 NATURAL HISTORY.

racious animals, troublesome as they are here, are vastly
more so in some other countries. ' It is said that some
houses in St. Petersburg became so infested with them
that no one could live in them, and they were burned
down to destroy these insects.

441. Earwigs are little insects having a pair of nippers,
shutting like scissors, at the hinder end of the body
They eat both fruit and flowers, disfiguring the latter -
with holes. They are very timid, running for some crev-
ice whenever disturbed, and thinking that they are safe
if they put their heads under cover, and thus get out
of sight of danger. They are apt, when frightened, to
plunge down into the bottom of a flower, if they happen
to be on one, leaving, however, their curious forked tails
standing up among the stamens. Their name is not an
appropriate one, for they have really never been known
to enter the human ear. These insects are very difler-
ent from the animal so often called by this name in this
country, which is really not an insect.

442. Among the Raptoria is that singular insect the
Mantis Religiosa, or Praying Mantis, Fig. 199. It is so

Fig. 199.— Mantis Religiosa.

called from the attitude which it assumes when it i*
watching for its prey. The front of its thorax is raised,
and the two fore legs are held up together, like a pair
of arms, ready to seize any insect that may come within
its reach. These insects are extremely voracious. If
two are kept together without food, they fight until one
is killed, and the victor devours .his adversary. Fights

STRAIGHT- WING ED INSECTS.

255

between these insects are among the sports of the Chi-
nese, the pleasure being the same as that which is de-
rived from cock-fights and bull-fights.

443. The family of the Ambulatoria is a very small
one, including those very singular animals, Walking-
sticks, Walking-leaves, etc. They lead a sluggish life
among the branches of shrubs, living on the young
shoots. Their color and shape being so much like those
of things around them, enable them commonly to escape
observation. Some of them, as the Walking-stick, Fig.
200, have no wings, and look like dead twigs, the legs

Fig. 200.— Walking-stick.

appearing like little branches. There are found of thie
insect twenty species in South America, three in North
America, three in Europe, forty in Asia, twenty-seven in
Australia, and two in Africa. The Leaf Insect, Fig. 201
is of the same family. It is found in South America

Fig. 201.— The Leaf Insect.

256

NATURAL HISTOKi.

It resembles a leaf both in shape and color, and the
vings have epen the veinings of a leaf.

444. The family of Saltatoria, or Jumpers, is a very
extensive one. It comprises the Crickets, the Grass-
hoppers, and the Locusts. The Crickets are so well
known to you that I need not describe them. They are
mostly inhabitants of the ground, in which many of them

burrow. One spe-
cies, the Mole Crick-
et, Figure 202, is so
named because its

anterior extremities,
and its general habits
also, are similar to
those of the Mole.
It is a great digger.
The female forms, in

connection with its burrow, a smooth, round cell, which,
with the passage leading to it, resembles a bottle with a
long bent neck. Here it deposits from two to four hund-
red eggs. The Tree Cricket, Fig.
203, is a very delicate insect. Its
color is pale ivory ; its antenna? and
legs are very long, and its wing-
covers are thin, and are prettily or-
namented with three oblique raised
lines. Its familiar shrill sound is pro-
duced only by the male Cricket, by
raising up the wing-covers and rub-
bing them together. These diffef
decidedly from the other members
of the Cricket tribe in living wholly
on trees. The female deposits hei

Fig. -03.— Tree Cricket. . .... .

eggs in the autumn, in incisions which
she makes in the branches, and they are hatched in the
following summer, the young Crickets obtaining their
perfect state with us in August.

STRAIGHT-WINGED INSECTS,

257

445. The Grasshoppers differ from the Crickets in
having the wing-covers, which in the latter lie horizon-
tally flat, so arranged as to make two slopes, like the
roof of a house. Of the many species I will notice but
one, the well-known Katydid of this country. It is about
one and a half inches long, and its expanded wings meas-
ure together three inches. The whole insect is green,
the wings being pale green, and the wing-covers a dark
green. The wings are gauze-like, and are exceedingly
delicate. The male, as seen in Fig. 204, has, at the base

Fig. 204.— Male Katydid.

OF root of each wing-cover, a stout horny ridge surround-
ing a stiff, thin membrane, making two drum-heads. It
is by the rubbing of these together that the peculiar
sound of this insect is produced. The female Katydid
has ho such apparatus, and therefore is perfectly still
It has at the end of its body, as seen in Fig. 205 (p. 258),

258

NATURAL BISTORT-

Fig. 205.— Female Katydid.

a sword-like instrument: this is called an ovipositor —
that is, an instrument for depositing the eggs in their
right place. With it the insect pierces holes in the
ground in the autumn, placing the eggs there, which are
hatched the following year. Some time elapses between
the birth of the Katydids and the attainment of their
growth, and the full production of their wings, which is
necessary to the production of the loud sound with which
they greet our ears at night in the latter part of summer.
446. The Locusts, one species of which you see repre
sented in Fig. 206, have, like the Grasshoppers, the roof-
like arrangement of the wing-covers, but they have not
that peculiar apparatus for the production of sound which
the Grasshoppers have. They have also shorter anten-
nse and stouter legs. They are insects of greater power.
In some parts of the world they are the most extensive*

STRAIGHT-WINGED INSECTS.

259

Fig. 206.— Locust

Jy destructive of all insects. Some species are occasion-
ally quite destructive in some parts of this country. But
it is in Asia and Africa that they appear in such immense
armies, leaving not a vestige of vegetation in their track,
eating the corn and the grass down to the roots, and
stripping the trees of their leaves. Mr. Gumming, in de-
scribing the flight of an army of these insects, says, " I
stood looking at them until the air was darkened with
their masses, while the plain on which we stood became
densely covered with them. Far as my eye could reach,
east, west, north, and south, they stretched in one un-
broken cloud, and more than an hour elapsed before their
devastating legions had swept by." These insects some-
times make incursions into Europe. One of these is de-
scribed by Professor Jaeger, who was an eyewitness of
it as he was traveling in Russia in 1825 across its desert
prairies. The carriage-wheels moved through Locusts
piled up to the height of two feet. This state of things
existed over a wide extent of country. The insects were
now wingless ; but the inhabitants of the fertile regions
north feared that, as soon as their wings were grown,
they would come north and devour every green thing.
Before this vast insect ^rray could do this, the Emperor

260 NATURAL HISTORY.

Alexander sent an army of thirty thousand men against
it. "The soldiers," says Jaeger, " forming a line of sev-
eral hundred miles., and advancing toward the south, at-
tacked them, not with sword and gun, but with more an-
cient implements — with shovels. They collected them,
as far as possible, in sacks, and burned them." Notwith-
standing this war upon them, the vegetation was destroy-
3d by them to a great extent.

447. The ravages of the Locust are often adverted to
in the Bible, and the descriptions there given correspond
with those of modern travelers. They are spoken of as
a " great army," and it is said that " the land before them
is as the Garden of Eden, and behind them a desolate
wilderness" — a result often witnessed at the present day.
The manner in which this insect army makes its invasion
is most graphically described in the second chapter of
Joel.

448. Some species of Locusts are eaten now in the
East as they were in the time of John the Baptist. Mr.
Cumming, a traveler in South Africa, thus speaks of
them as food. " Locusts afford fattening and wholesome
food to man, birds, and all sorts of beasts ; cows and
horses, lions, jackals, hyaenas, antelopes, elephants, etc.,
devour them. We met a party of Batlapis carrying
heavy burdens of them on their backs. Our dogs made
a fine feast on them. The cold, frosty night had render-
ed them unable to take wing until the sun should restore
their powers. As it was difficult to obtain sufficient food
for my dogs, I and Isaac took a large blanket, which we
spread under a bush whose branches were bent to the
ground with the mass of Locusts which covered it, and,
having shaken the branches, in an instant I had more
Locusts than I could carry on my back ; these we roast-
ed for ourselves and our dogs."

Questions. — What is the arrangement of the wings of the Orthop-
fera? What is said of the metamorphosis of this order? What are
its four families ? What does the family Cursoria include ? What

NET-WINGED INSECTS. 261

is said of the Cockroaches? What of the Earwigs? What of the
Praying Mantis ? What of the Walking-stick ? Of the Leaf In-
sect ? What does the family Saltatoria include ? What is said of
the Mole Cricket ? Of the Tree Cricket ? How do the Grasshoppers
differ from the Crickets ? What is said of the Katydid ? In what
way is its sound produced ? How do the Locusts differ from the
Grasshoppers ? In what countries are they at times exceedingly nu-
merous ? Describe their appearance in Russia in 1825, and the means
*,aken to destroy them. What is said of their ravages ? Give the de-
scription from the Prophet Joel of the invasion of an army of Locusts
What is said of these insects as food ?

CHAPTER XXVI.

NET -WINGED INSECTS.

449. THE insects of the order Neuroptera, or Net-wing-
jd Insects, have, like the Coleoptera and Orthoptera, a
mouth fitted for mastication, but differ from them in their
wings. They have no wing-covers, but there are com-
monly four thin and transparent wings, with the veins
forming a delicate net-work, as seen in Fig. 207 (p. 262).
The posterior wings are ordinarily as large as the ante-
rior, but in some species they are quite small, and in some
few entirely absent. The body is long, slender, and soft.
These insects are of intermediate size, none being either
very large or very small. There are about a thousand
species. The metamorphosis is not Llike in all. In some
it is complete, the larva having a form very different from
the imago or perfect insect, while in others there is little
difference except in the absence of wings in the larva
and their presence in the imago, as in the Grasshoppers
and Locusts. By these differences the order is naturally
divided into two groups, in the first of which the insect
is active during its pupa state, while in the other it is
torpid during this state, except just before its last meta-
morphosis. Of the first group there are five families, the
Dragon-flies, Day-flies, Stone-flies, White Ants, and Book-

262

NATURAL HISTORY.

lice. In the first three of these families, the insect in ks
larva and pupa states inhabits the water, respiring like a
fish, having peculiar organs for this purpose at the sides
of the abdomen or at its end, while in the form of its
body it is quite like the insect in its perfect state.

450. Of the Dragon-flies, the most conspicuous and
best-known family, there are about two hundred ascer-
tained species. These are the Swallows of the Insect

NET-WINGED INSECTS.

263

tribe ; for they catch their prey, which consists of Flies,
Musquitoes, Butterflies, etc., on the wing. They do this,
however, with their claws, and not, like the Swallows, with
their mouths. That they may readily see their prey as
they fiy about so swiftly in search of it, they have very
large, compound eyes, as you see in Fig. 207, one of our
common Dragon-Hies, or Darning-needles, as they are
often calied. These formidable-looking insects are en-
tirely harmless, never biting or stinging when we catch
them. They are of great service to us in destroying the
Musquitoes, of which they devour a great number. Some
species are beautifully variegated in color.

451. The eggs of these insects are deposited on the
leaves of aquatic plants. The larvae live wholly in the
water. They have some very singular peculiarities. They
have a kind of mask with which they can cover up their
mandibles and most of the head. But this mask can be
unfolded and extended, and, having on its end a pair of
claws, it is used as an instrument for seizing their prey,
as represented at A in Fig. 208. At B the insect is seen
with the mask folded up. You see here, also, water is-
suing from the end of the larva's body. It is in this way
that it propels itself through the water, just as a rocket

Fig. 5108.

264 NATURAL HISTORY.

rises by the stream of fire at its end. Another purpose
is accomplished, also, by this operation. The breathing
apparatus is in this quarter of the body, the air in the
water being there introduced to the blood of the insect,
just as it is introduced to the blood of the fish in its gills.
Jt spends nearly a year in the water, and then comes
its metamorphosis. This, Jaeger says, " may be ob-
served almost daily from the month of April until Octo-
her, but occurs principally in the months of May and
June. But this transformation does not take place in the
water, but out of it ; and when ready for their metamor-
phosis, the Iarva3 climb up the stem of some water-plant,
and in about two hours after are capable of raising them-
selves up by their wings and flying away in the air. This
whole operation may be witnessed by putting the grubs
into a pail of water, and placing in it some sticks or
branches upon which they may creep up and prepare
themselves for their aerial journeys."

452. The Ephemeridse, or Day-flies, are so called from
their short existence in the imago state, which, like that
of some flowers, is limited to a single day. In their larva
state, however, they have a long life of two or even three
years. During this -time they are inhabitants of the wa-
ter, having leaf-like appendages on their sides as their
gills or respiratory apparatus. When they are about to
change to the imago state, wings are formed, but are kept
folded up till they are ready to leave the water. While
these are forming the insect is said to be in the pupa or
chrysalis state, and yet it is as active now as when it wae
a larva. The escape of the insect into the air is so quick
ly done, that it seems as if it flew directly out of the wa-
ter. It casts off" its skin as readily as a man puts oft* a
coat, unfolds its wings, and, with its feet resting on its
cast-oif skin, it takes its flight.

453. These insects are sometimes produced in such
multitudes that the ground is covered with their dead
bodies, and they are carted away as manure. Professor

NET-WINGED INSECTS. 265

Jaeger saw great numbers of them once in the Raritan
River, near Trenton ; but the greatest display of them
that he ever witnessed was in the River Neva, in Russia.
" The light of the sun," he says, " was intercepted as in a
thick fog, so much so that nothing could be distinguished
at the distance of a few yards. The atmosphere had
something the appearance it presents in a violent snow*
storm, and thousands of Day-flies fell into our boat and
all over our persons ; while the fishes in the water, the
birds in the air, and the domestic fowls upon the shore,
were every where feasting upon them." He farther says,
" In the evening these flies are strongly attracted toward
a light, perhaps more so than any other nocturnal insect,
and it is very amusing to see the crowds of them that fly
through an open window and dance around the light,
making a variety of turns, and circles, and waltzes. They
fly so close together, and glisten with such splendor, that
the observer sees a ribbon of gold continually revolving
around the light, or imagines a celestial globe of living
circles revolving in every direction, while the light repre-
sents the central sun."

454. The Termites, or White Ants, are the only family
of the order Neuroptera that live in communities with a
regular social organization. They are, with some few ex-
ceptions, confined to tropical climates. Next to the Lo-
custs, they are the most destructive of insects, as not only
food, but clothing, trees, fences, and even houses, are de-
voured by them. One species has lately done great dam-
age in France. While they are thus destructive, they
are, considering their size, the greatest of all builders, go-
ing far beyond man in this respect. Their habitations
are some ten or twelve feet high, having much the shape
of a sugar-loaf. They are built of clay, which these in-
sects in some way render as hard as some kinds of stone.
There are various apartments and winding passages in
this dwelling, and there are passages dug in different di-
rections under ground, all lined with the hardened clay.

266 NATUBAL HISTORY.

These galleries are sometimes carried under houses, which
the Ants enter, and, eating out all of the inside of the
timbers, leave them only as mere shells. Sometimes there
are many of these curious structures in the same neigh-
borhood. Dr. Adamson says that, in some parts near
Senegal, there are so many of them near together that
they appear like native villages.

455. The community in one of these habitations is im
mense in number, consisting of laborers and soldiers un-
der a king and queen. These last are the only ones that
come to the imago or perfect state. The laborers seem
to be larvae stopped in their development, so that they
never acquire wings. The soldiers, on the other hand,
are pupa?. The queen lays all the eggs, to the number,
it is estimated, of forty or fifty millions in a year. This
she does in a royal chamber set apart for this purpose.
The laborers take the eggs as fast as she lays them, car-
ry them away to the nurseries, where they are hatched,
and take care of the young. They also do all the build-
ing and repairing, gather all the stores, and perform all
the labor of any kind that is needed. The soldiers, on
the contrary, do no work, but stand guard, and defend
the community, in which they show great bravery and
energy, appearing boldly upon the outposts when any en-
emy appears, while all the laborers retire wjthin. The
royal chamber is near the centre of the hillock, and is
surrounded by apartments which are occupied by what
may be called the body-guard of the queen, some of the
soldiers, and by her immediate attendants, some of the
laborers. She can never leave her chamber, for no open-
ing from it is large enough for the passage of her body,
which is enormously enlarged for the production of its
multitudes of eggs. The minutia3 of the arrangement
of the nurseries and the various apartments, and of the
economy of this wonderful community, are very interest-
ing, but can not be entered upon here.

456. The Book-lice form a small family nearly allied

NET-WINGED INSECTS. 267

to the Termites. They usually live in damp, dark places,
and under bark. One species, destitute of wings, is oft>
en found in old books, and in collections of dried plants,
insects, etc.

457. In the second division of the Neuroptera the
metamorphosis is more complete, the pupa being inact
ive, The most singular of these insects is the Ant-lion.
The wingless larva has a curious contrivance for secur-
ing its prey, which consists of ants and other insects. It
digs a funnel-shaped pit in sand, about thirty inches in
diameter and twenty inches deep. This is an immense
work for so small an insect. It accomplishes it in this
way. It first traces the circle which is to be the outer
edge of the pit. Then, placing itself within this line, it,
with one of its legs for a spade, places some sand in a heap
on its head, which with a quick jerk it throws beyond the
circle to the extent of some inches. It does this around
the whole circle ; then turning, goes round again, and so
on until the whole pit is dug. It now conceals itself at
the bottom, and watches for some insect to tumble down
into the pit. If the insect does not fall to the bottom, and
endeavors to escape, the Ant-lion, with its head and man-
dibles, throws over it a quantity of sand, and thus over-
whelms its victim. Of course, such a struggle disturbs
the evenness of the pit, and the breaches are immediate-
ly repaired, so as to be in readiness for other prey.

458. There is a family belonging to this section, called
Hemerobiida?, remarkable for the brilliancy of their eyes,
and the delicacy and varied color of their wings, but es-
pecially for the singular manner in which they dispose of
their eggs. They deposit them usually upon plants, at
the end of long and exceedingly delicate footstalks, the
base of which is firmly attached to the leaf. These foot-
stalks are composed of a white viscid matter, discharged
at the time of laying the egg, and speedily hardening in
the air. As these eggs are laid in clusters, the appear-
ance is that of small clusters of fungi. I saw some once

268

NATURAL HISTORY.

upon a pane of glass, and here the breadth and firmness
of the attachment of the base of each footstalk were very
manifest, seen through a small microscope.

459. There is an aberrant family of this section called
Caddice-flies, remarkable for the covering of hair with
which both their bodies and wings are beset. The hab-
its of their larvae are very interesting. They are aquatic,
and live in cylindrical cases open at each end. To these
cases they attach various substances, such as bits of
wood, weeds, pebbles, shells, etc. In Fig. 209 are repre-
sented several of
these tubular houses
with various things
attached to them.
The different spe-
cies, of which there
are many, seem to
have their individ-
ual preferences in
relation to the sub-
stances which they
employ ; but they
Fig. ao9.-caddice.fly. readily disregard

these preferences when there is a lack of those materials
which they usually prefer. They never willingly leave
their cases, but only thrust the head and a portion of the
body out in search of their food. When about to pass
into the torpid pupa state, they fasten their tubular houses
to something in the water, and then close the two ends
with a kind of silken grating which allows the water to
pass freely through it. When they are to assume the
imago form, they make a hole in the grating with a pair
of hooked jaws which they now have. They are now
good swimmers, using chiefly their hind legs for this pur-
pose. Coming to the surface of the water, and perhaps
climbing up some plant, the skin of the swimmer gapes
open, and out flies an insect about double the size of that

MEMBRANE-WINGED INSECTS. 269

which you see in the centre of Fig. 209. Fishes are very
fond of the larvae of the Caddice, and hence the necessity
of such a covering as they make for themselves. For this
reason, also, they are often used as a bait by the angler.

Questions. — In what are the Neuroptera like the Coleoptera and
the Orthoptera ? What is said of their wings ? How are they divided
into two groups ? What are the families of the first group ? What
is there peculiar in three of these families ? What is said of the D: ag-
on-flies ? What of their eggs ? What of their larvae ? What of
their metamorphosis ? What is said of the Day-flies ? Give the nar-
ration of Jaeger in regard to them. What is said of the ravages of
the Termites ? What of their habitations ? What are the different
classes in their communities? What is said of the laborers ? Of the
soldiers ? Of the queen and her cell ? What is said of the Book-
lice? What is the characteristic of the second group of the Neurop-
tera ? What is said of the Ant-lion ? What is said of a family of
insects that deposit their eggs on stalks ? Give the account of the lar-
vae of the Caddice-flies. Describe their pupa state and theii meta-
morphosis.

CHAPTER XXVII.

MEMBRANE-WINGED INSECTS.

460. THE wings of the insects of the order Hymenop-
tera are membranous, like those of the Neuroptera, but
differ from them in not having a fine net-work of veins
or nerves.* In some of the very small species there are
almost no nerves. The name membrane-winged is there-
fore more appropriate than vein-winged, which is some-
times given to them. The anterior wings of the Hyme-
noptera are usually much larger than the posterior, and
during flight the wings of each side are fastened togeth
er by minute hooks on the posterior wing, which take
hold of the rear margin of the anterior one. The females

* These two terms, meaning the same thing, must not be confound-
ed with the same terms used in their ordinary sense. In insects thev
are applied to the frame-work of the wings.

270 NATURAL HISTORY.

have a peculiar prolongation of the last segment, which
in one division of the order is an ovipositor, and in the
other is a sting. The Hymenoptera are farther distin-
guished by a remarkable development of the instinctive
faculties, especially those which have a complicated so-
cial organization of their communities, as the Bees.

46 1. The metamorphosis in this order is complete, the
pupae being quite inactive, and the larvae are more im-
perfect than in any other order. In most of the species
they have no feet, and resemble worms. The larvae of
some of them, however, are like caterpillars, and have
eighteen or even twenty feet. Jaeger says of them that
they live " in clean places, such as cells artificially built
of wax, pieces of wood, leaves, or mortar ; or they dwell
in wood, in holes under ground, in gall-apples, or oak-
balls, and many live in caterpillars ; but none inhabit car-
rion, dunghills, or other putrid and filthy places."

462. None of the Hymenoptera are very large, and
some are exceedingly small. In numbers this order is
inferior only to the Coleoptera, and it has been estimated
to contain one fourth of the whole insect world. Though
the Hymenoptera are the most numerous and largest in
tropical countries, they are widely distributed in almost
every part of the earth. They are mostly great workers,
and none are nocturnal, but all do their work in the day.
Some of them are very useful to man, the Bees supplying
him with honey and wax, and the Gall-insects with a
material valuable for making ink, and especially for
coloring.

463. We divide the order into two groups: 1. The
Terebrantia, or Borers, whose females have ovipositors ;
2. The Aculeata, or Stingers, in which the females have
a, sting, or piercer, connected with a reservoir of poison.
I will notice but a few families in each group.

464. The family of Gall-flies is one of the most prom-
inent among those of the first group. These insects,
with their ovipositors, make slits in various parts of

MEMBRANE- WINGED INSECTS. '27 1

plants and trees, depositing therein their eggs. They
moisten these cuts also with an irritating fluid, which
causes the growth of the tumors called galls. When
the eggs are hatched, the larvae live on the interior of
these tumors, just as the larvae of the Nut-weevil, § 435,
live on the nuts in which they are hatched. It is re-(
markable that the same tree should produce on its dift
ferent parts galls of various forms and degrees of hard-
ness, according to the species by which the eggs are
deposited. The hardest gall is the common gall-nut of
commerce, so much used in making ink, and in the proc-
ess of dying black. This is the product of an oak grow-
ing in the Levant. It has been found that the famous
" Apples of Sodom" are galls of a different consistence
on the same oak, occasioned by another species of Cy-
nips, or Gall-fly. While the oak apples, so familiar to
us, appear on the twigs of the oak, there are also differ-
ent kinds of galls pro-
duced on the leaves,
the catkins or pendent
flowers, and even on
the root. Those on
the root are large and
woody, and eleven
hundred larva? have
been found in a single
one of them. While
the oak seems to be a
great favorite of the
Gall-flies, they infest
also some other trees
and shrubs. The gall
of the wild rose, Fig.
210, is very beautiful,
being bright and va-

Fig. 210.— Gall of the Wild Rose.

negated in color, and

covered over with bristles. When cut open we find in
18

272 NATURAL HISTORY.

it little apartments occu-
pied by the larvae, as you
see in the figure. In Fig.
211 you have one of the

Fig. 211.— Magnified Bristle of the Gall, bristles magnified.

465. The insects of the Ichneumon family have long,
slender bodies, long ovipositors, and long antenna?, which
are in a continual trembling motion. The ovipositor of
gome species is exceedingly long, as in Fig. 212 (on the
opposite page). The two bristles accompanying the ovi-
positor can be brought together by the animal so as to
make a complete sheath for it. These insects deposit
their eggs in the bodies of the larvae of other insects, and
the larvae hatched from them live on these bodies just as
the gall insects live on the galls in which they are hatch-
ed. Those which have long ovipositors pierce with them
the bark of trees or decayed/wood, in order to find larvae
in which they can deposit their eggs. Those which have
shorter ovipositors deposit their eggs in the bodies of
caterpillars which they find crawling about. We some-
times see a caterpillar with a considerable number of
little barrel-shaped silken bodies standing out upon its
skin. These are the cocoons of the Ichneumon larvae,
which, after living for some time in the fat of the cater-
pillar, just under its skin, have come out and have spun
their cocoons, that they might go into the pupa state.
The Ichneumon family is very numerous. Carpenter
states that there are probably over three thousand spe-
cies in Europe alone.

466. The Chrysididae, or Ruby-tailed Flies, are a small
group, adorned with such brilliant metallic tints that they
have been said to be the Humming-birds of the insect
world. The females deposit their eggs in the nest of
wild Bees and other Hymenoptera, and thus the larvae
eat the food designed by these latter for their own off-
spring. Here is a striking analogy to the habit of the
English Cuckoo, alluded to in § 268.

MEMBRANE-WINGED INSECTS.

Fig. 212 — Long-tailed Ichneumon Fly.

274 NATURAL HISTORY.

467. The family of Sawflies is quite an extensive aber-
rant family. They are so called from a curious double
saw in the ovipositor, with which they make holes in the
branches and other parts of trees for the deposit of their
eggs. Carpenter mentions one species in England, whose
larvae are very destructive to turnips, devastating a whole
field in a few days by devouring the soft tissue of the
leaves ; and he states that the most effectual remedy has
been found to be the introduction of ducks into the fields,
as they very greedily devour the Iarva3.

468. Of the Aculeate division of the Hymenoptera we
make two subdivisions — the Predaceous, or those which
live on prey, and the Melliferous, or honey-collecting
stingers.

469. There is one group of the Predaceous division,
including several families, which may be called, from their
peculiar habits, diggers. They are known commonly as
Sand and Wood Wasps. They are solitary — that is, do
not live in communities. They therefore are all males
and females, and have no neuters or workers. The fe-
males commonly dig out cells in the ground, or in posts
and timbers. In these they deposit with their eggs in-
sects which they have killed, so that the larvae, when
hatched, may have something to live upon. Sometimes
the insects thus deposited are only stung sufficiently to
render them powerless. Decomposition is thus prevent-
ed, and the larvae, when they come forth from the eggs,
kill the insects and devour them. The perfect insects
are active in their habits, flying about and running over
sand-banks with their wings in constant motion. They
are fond of the nectar of flowers, a very different food
from that which they devour in the greedy larva state.
Those which are sand-burrowers have strong brushes on
their legs with which they excavate their nests, while
the wood-burro wers have powerful mandibles with tooth-
like projections, which convert the wood into sawdust
in making the burrow.

MEMBRANE-WINGED INSECTS. 275

470. The Mud- wasp, Fig. 213, is one of the sand-bur-

v rowers. The fol-

lowing is the ac-
count given of it
by Jaeger. "This
insect is more than
an inch long, and
of a dark blue-
purple color. It
makes its abode
in the loose, sandy
ground, and when
digging its hole re-
Fig. 2i3.-The Mud-wasp. sembles a dog dig-
ging after mice, throwing the earth under it toward its
hind body with its fore feet. If the pile of sand be-
comes too high or troublesome, it places itself upon it,
and throws the earth behind it with great force until it
is leveled. As soon as its subterranean abode is pre-
pared, it seizes a large Spider, or a caterpillar, or some
other insect, stings it in the neck, and then carries it into
its hole. It is curious to see one of these Wasps take
hold of a Cockroach, seizing it by one of its long anten-
na3, and continually walking backward, compelling the
Cockroach to follow, notwithstanding its great reluctance
and constant opposition, until both have arrived at the
hole, where the Wasp kills it by a sting in the neck, then
tears into pieces, and carries it into her subterranean
dwelling as food for her offspring."

471. The family of Vespida?, or true Wasps, is distin-
guished from the other Hymenoptera by the folding of
the wings when at rest throughout their entire length.
They are generally not solitary, but social, the communi-
ties, however, being small. The neuters are not, like the
neuters of the Ant tribe, destitute of wings. Those
Wasps which are solitary have no neuters, and their hab-
its are like the diggers just noticed. There are many

276

NATURAL HISTORY.

species of the Social Wasps, the best known of which, a*
the common Wasp, build their nests of a stout brown
paper, which they manufacture from bits of wood and
bark. Like the paper-maker among men, they reduce
their material to a pulp, and then spread it out thinly,
which, drying speedily, becomes firm paper. In Fig.
314 you see the arrangement of the nest of the Social

a

a

Fig. 214.

Wasps. Each floor of cells hangs from the floor above
it by rods. At a a is the outer wall, made of many lay-
ers of brown paper ; at b and c are five terraces of cells
for the neuter Wasps ; and at d and e are
three rows of larger cells for the males
and females. In Fig. 215 is a representa-
tion of a portion of one of these terraces,
with its rod.

472. The family Formicidae, or Ants,
Fig. 215. are placed in a different order from the

MEMBRANE- WINGED INSECTS. 277

White Ants, § 453, on account of the difference in the
wings, those of the latter having the characteristic net-
work of the Neuroptera. They are distinguished from
all the other families of the Hymen optera by their re-
siding under ground in large societies, some of them
raising the earth up in mounds in constructing theii
habitations. The males and females, which alone are
winged, constitute but a small portion of each commu-
nity, most of it consisting of wingless neuters or la-
borers. The different parts of the nest are very curi-
ously and regularly arranged. The males and females
leave the nest as soon as they have wings. The males
die, and of the females some return and deposit their
eggs in their original nest, while others go to a distance
and found other colonies. When they begin to lay
their eggs, as their destiny is now to stay in one place,
they have no farther need of wings, and therefore strip
off themselves the useless encumbrances, or allow them
to be stripped off by the neuters. These last not only
construct the nest, but take care of the eggs, and also of
the grubs that are hatched from them, feeding them, and
carrying them on clear warm days to the outer surface
of the nest, and taking them back again when night ap-
proaches, or before that if there be a threatening of bad
weather. Ants are very fond of saccharine matter, and
accordingly are apt to find out where it is. They are
also fond of some fruits. I have been amused to see
how any pear in my garden, that chances, in falling, to
have a breach made in the skin, is at once beset with
Ants, who quite rapidly eat out the inside.

473. In most cases a community of Ants consists only
of three kinds of individuals — males, females, and neut-
ers. But in some of the species some of the neuters are
larger than the rest, and differently shaped, and appear
to be the soldiers of the community, whose duties are
the same with those of the soldiers among the Termites
(§ 455). There are wars, sometimes, between different

278 NATURAL HISTORY.

communities among the Ants as well as among men, and
some interesting descriptions have been given of their
battles. But the most remarkable fact in the history of
Ants is the propensity of certain species to kidnap the
workers of other species and train them as their slaves.
The kidnappers are always red or pale colored, while
those which are made slaves are black. The slaves are
not captured after they have become Ants, but when
they are in the pupa state. The ant-heap is attacked by
the marauders when the cells are filled with pupa3, and
at no other time ; a sanguinary battle is the consequence ;
and the Red Ants, being uniformly victorious, carry off
the pupa? to their own nest. Here the red workers take
the same care of these pupaB as they do of those belong-
ing to their own community, and when the black work-
ers come out from the pupa-cocoons, they very readily
serve their captors.

474. The insects of the Melliferous or honey-collecting
division of the Aculeata are distinguished by a peculiar
conformation of the hind feet. The first joint has the
shape of a square plate, on the inside of which are hol-
lows surrounded by brush-like tufts. In these baskets,
as they may be called, the pollen of flowers is collected
and carried to the nest. The insects of this division are
all called Bees. Like the Wasps, they have two groups,
the Solitary and the Social. Of the Solitary Bees, some
form burrows in the ground ; others build several cells
together, covering them with sand or small gravel united
by their viscid saliva, and hence are called Mason Bees ;
others excavate cells in dead wood, and are called Car-
penter Bees ; and others still, the Upholsterer Bees, con-
struct their nests from leaves, which they cut into the
requisite shapes with great dexterity.

475. Of the Social Bees there are two principal groups
—the Bombi or Humble Bees, and the Hive Bees. The
Humble Bees, of which there are many species, build
their nests either under ground, or on the surface unde*

MEMBRANE-WINGED INSECTS.

2Y9

stones and other things. Their communities consist of
from fifty to three hundred Bees. They contain three
kinds of individuals — males, females, and neuters, of
which the females alone live through the winter. There
is a special provision for their preservation. They have
a chamber distinct from the rest of the nest, and this is
lined with grass and moss, so that they may sleep there
through the winter secure against the cold.

476. In the Hive Bees, we see the instincts in con-
struction and social organization exhibited in the most
remarkable manner. A community of Hive Bees con-
tains but a single perfect female, termed the Queen ; sev-
eral hundred males, called Drones ; and about twenty
thousand neuters, or Workers. In Fig. 216 you see the
three kinds of Bees, the upper one being the Queen, a
drone on the right, and a worker on the left. At the

Fig. 216.— Hive Bees.

end of every summer, the Drones, which have no stings
to defend themselves, are all stung to death by the Work-
The cells where the eggs are deposited are in the

ers.

central part of each comb, this being, of course, the warm-
est part of it. The Drones being larger than the Work-
ers, those cells in which the eggs are to produce Drones

280 NATURAL HISTORY.

are made larger than the rest. Those that contain egga
from which Queens are to come are made much larger
than any others, and of a different shape, as seen in Fig.
217. If left to themselves, the Bees
select the hollow of an old tree as
the place to build their comb, but
they readily go into the hives pro-
vided for them by man. The comb

Fig. 217.— Royal Cells. . -, D i_- i_ •

is made 01 wax, which is secreted
from the body of the Bee, and appears in scales between
the segments. This, with their mandibles, they mould,
and apply it in the construction of the comb. The first
swarm from a hive is led by the old Queen. Then there
are successive swarms led by the young Queens. When
the hive is sufficiently relieved of its surplus population,
the Queens that ) emain fight till all are killed but one,
and she takes possession of the throne. When the Bees
lose their Queen, they, by a curious process, fill the va-
cant throne. They select some one pf the larvae which
are to be Workers, and, enlarging its cell by the removal
of the walls of the neighboring cells, thus make for it a
suitably large royal apartment. They then feed it with
the royal jelly, which is the exclusive food of the Queen-
Iarva3, and, in due time, this larva, originally destined to
be a worker, comes forth a queen.

Questions. — What is said of the wings of the Hymenoptera ? What
peculiarity is there in the females ? What is said of the instinct of
the Hymenoptera ? What is said of their metamorphosis ? What
of their larvae ? What is said of the size of the Hymenoptera ? Of
their number ? Of their habits ? Of their usefulness to man ?
What are the two groups of this order ? What is said of the Gall-
flies ? What of the Oak-galls ? What of the gall of the wild rose ?
What are the peculiarities of the Ichneumon family ? What is stated
of those which have short ovipositors ? What is said of the Chrysi-
didae ? What of the Saw-flies ? What are the families of the acu-
leate group 'of the Hymenoptera ? What is said of the Sand and
Wood Wasps? What of the Mud-wasp? What of the Vespida?
What is the arrangement of the nest of the social Wasp ? Describe
the Ant communities. What is said of the neuters in some species ?

SCALE- WINGED INSECTS. 281

What of the kidnapping Ants ? What are the peculiarities of the
Melliferous division of the Aculeata ? What is said of the solitary
Bees ? What of the social Bees ? What of the hive Bees ? What
of their swarming ?

CHAPTER XXVIII.

SCALE-WINGED INSECTS.

477. THE insects of the order Lepidoptera, or Scale-
winged Insects, are characterized by the downy cover-
ing of the wings, which is made up of a multitude of
feather-scales. The number of these scales on the wings
of the Silkworm Moth has been estimated at 400,000.
The silvery dust that you have on your fingers when
you touch a common Miller is a multitude of these
scales. Each particle of that dust under the microscope
appears a scale, with regular lines extending from its
stem to its edge at the other end. When this scaly
covering is rubbed off from the wing of one of these in-
sects, the bare membrane which is left is seen to corre-
spond with that of the wings of other insects. In some
cases the scales are arranged with perfect regularity,
§ 398. The shapes of them vary much in the different
species, and there is often quite a variety in the same
species in different portions of the wing, the long ones
making the fringe at the edge. That you may have a
correct idea of their general shape, I give, in Fig. 218.

Fig. 218.— Feather Scales of the Goat-moth-

282 NATURAL HISTORY.

the feather-scales of the Goat-moth. The delicate lines
on them are not represented. It is these scales various-
ly colored that give such beauty to many of the insects
of this order. Some of the Butterflies are especially
brilliant.

478. The insects of the orders already noticed are
mandibulate, § 392. This order, and the others which
remain to be noticed, are haustellate, § 393. The Lepi-
doptera stand at the head of the haustellate group, as
the Coleoptera, or Beetles, stand at the head of the Man-
dibulata. The haustellum, or sucker, by which the in-
sect drinks up the nectar of the flowers, is composed of
two long filaments, so shaped that, by joining them to-
gether, they make a tube. You can see how accurately
they must be made in order to do this.

4Y9. The Iarva3 of the Lepidoptera are caterpillars.
They have three pairs of legs on the first three segments
of the body ; then they have some appendages called
pro-legs, which are thick, short, fleshy tubercles, with
minute hooks around the edge of the under surface of
them : there are usually five pairs of these, four of them
in rear of the true legs, and another pair on the last seg-
ment of the body. In Fig. 219 are represented a leg

Fig. 219. — Leg and Pro-leg of a Caterpillar, greatly magnified.

and a pro-leg, greatly magnified. The curved claws on
the six legs of the caterpillars enable them to climb up
readily on the threads from which they so often hang,
and the pro-legs are of great assistance to them in walk-

SCALE- WIWGED INSECTS. 283

ing and in adhering to branches of trees, or to any other
solid substance. Besides the little hooks on the pro-leg,
the bottom of its foot is so arranged as to act as a sucker.
The mode of walking or crawling is different in different
caterpillars. Those which have pro-legs on nearly all
the segments crawl on all the feet at once, moving the
body straight along. Those which, on the other hand,
have only a few pro-legs, manage in this way : making
firm hold with their six clawed legs, they bring the pro-
legs, which are at the other extremity of the body, close
up in rear of the true legs, thus arching the intermediate
segments upward ; and now, holding on with their pro-
legs, they thrust the anterior part of the body forward
its full length. By a repetition of these movements they
make a slow and measured progress. From this mode
of walking such caterpillars are called loopers, or geom-
eters, or measure-worms. Some caterpillars will stand
for hours on the pro-legs in the rear part of the body,
with the forward part of the body extending upward at
right angles to this rear part.

480. The food of caterpillars is, with few exceptions,
vegetable. Some feed exclusively on one kind of plant,
as the Silkworm on the mulberry ; some feed on a cer-
tain class of plants ; and others on almost any kind that
they happen to find. Their hours of eating differ, some
eating only in the morning and evening, some all day,
and others only at night. All eat a great deal — some
more than twice their weight in twenty-four hours. If
all animals should do this, the eatables in the world would
soon be devoured. The perfect insects eat but little, for
they do not grow any larger than they were when they
first emerged from the pupa state. The larvae, on the
other hand, as they eat much, grow much also.

481. Caterpillars are of great service in furnishing a
very large proportion of the food of birds. " It is ascer-
tained," says Jaeger, " that a single robin or woodpecker,
and many others of the warblers, carry every day about

"284 NATURAL HISTOKY.

fifty grubs or caterpillars to their nests as food for them-
selves and their young. Now, if there were only one
million of these birds, of which each one devours 6000
caterpillars in the months of April, May, June, and July
(by no means a large computation), the number of cat-
erpillars and grubs thus destroyed will amount to
8,000,000,000 annually."

482. Caterpillars are all spinners, the thread coming
from a fleshy point in the under lip. Besides the em-
ployment of this spinning machine in making the cocoon
for the pupa state, many of them also use it as a means
of escape from their enemies, letting themselves sudden-
ly down by the thread they spin to a place of safety. If
a bird espies one in a rolled-up leaf, he may not secure it,
for, as he puts in his bill at one end, the caterpillar may
escape at the other, dropping itself down quickly as far
as it pleases.

483. Most of the caterpillars are solitary in their hab-
its, but some live in societies. This is the case with the
Tent-caterpillars. These spin large tents of silk in the
branches of trees, which are water-proof, although they
are so slight in their appearance. They increase very
fast, and, if let alone, colonies from the original commu-
nity will spread their web-like tents in all parts of the
tree.

484. Of the caterpillars called Spanworms there are
many species. The most conspicuous is what is common-
ly called the Canker-worm, so destructive to many fruit
and shade trees from devouring their leaves. These cat-
erpillars finish their work of devastation in June, when
they are only four weeks old, and descend by their silk-
en cords to the ground, which they enter to the depth of
several inches. Here they pass into the pupa state. In
the autumn they issue from the ground in the imago
state. The female is wingless, and therefore must climb
up the trunk of the tree to lay her eggs on the branches,
which she does in clusters of a hundred or more. There

SCALE-WINGED INSECTS. 285

they remain till spring, when the caterpillars are hatched
from them. Various expedients have been devised for
destroying the females as they go up the trees to lay
their eggs. The most effectual one is that adopted so
extensively in New Haven to save its noble elms. It is
a leaden trough placed around the trunk of the tree in
which there is some kind of oil.

485. Professor Jaeger very playfully says of the habits
of the perfect insects of this order that, " in comparison
with the other orders of insects, they are well entitled to
the rank of nobility, for among them we find no impu-
dent beggars and spongers, as among the Flies ; no par-
asites, as among the wingless insects ; no working-class,
as among the Hymenopterous insects — Bees, Wasps, and
Ants ; no musicians, as among the families of Crickets,
Grasshoppers, Katydids, and Cicadas ; but all of them
are aristocratic idlers, who, clothed with silver, gold, and
purple, and ornamented with ever-varying splendor, have
naught to do but seek their own pleasure, and charm
away their brief existence, fluttering from bough to
bough, and satiating themselves with the sweet nectar
of flowers."

486. We divide the Lepidoptera into two sections —
the Butterflies and the Moths. The Butterflies may usu-
ally be distinguished by the vertical position of their
wings when they are at rest, and by their having the an-
tenna3 slender, and club-shaped at the end. They are
diurnal in their habits, and they are therefore brilliant,
generally, in their colors. The under side of the wings
is as beautiful as the upper. The pupae of many of this
group have golden spots, from which the term chrysalis
was suggested, and also aurelia, which is a Latin word
of the same meaning with the former, which is Greek.
These terms ought strictly to be applied only to the pupae
of Butterflies, but they have come to be applied to pupae
of all kinds.

487. The Butterflies are divided into five families, ac-

280

NATURAL HISTORY.

cording to the shape of the wing. One of these families,
styled by Linnaeus Knights or Chevaliers, generally have
a long, swallow-like tail at the extremity of the hind
wings, as seen in the Troilus, Fig. 220. This Butterfly

Fig. 220.— The Troilus.

has black wings spotted with yellow. Its caterpillar is
green, with a yellow stripe on each side, and a row of
blue dots, while the under side of its body and its feet
are reddish. In this country it is more frequently seen
in the Southern than in the Northern States. The But-
terfly called Berenice, Fig. 221, belongs to the family
v>f Round-winged Butterflies. It was named after the
wife of Antiochus, King of Syria, said to be the loveliest
woman of her age. It is quite common with us. It has
dark-red wings with black veins, and a black border with
two rows of white dots. The caterpillar is of a light ri-
olet color, with brown, red, and yellow lines.

488. The second section of the Lepidoptera, the Moths,

SCALE-WINGED INSECTS. 287

Fig. 221.— The Berenice.

we divide into two groups, the Crepuscularia ( Crepus-
cula, twilight), Twilight-fliers, or Hawk Moths, and the
Nocturna, or True Moths. Linnaeus called the Hawk
Moths Sphinxes, from the peculiar attitude, resembling
the sculptured Sphinx, so often assumed by the cater-
pillars of these Moths. Most of the species in this genus
are Twilight-fliers, but not all ; for some fly about in
bright sunlight, sucking the nectar of flowers with their
long trunks. These species are more brilliantly colored
than the common species, which have a dull brownish-
gray aspect, like the owls, whose habits are similar. The
larvae of the Hawk Moths, on going into the pupa state,
either inclose themselves in cocoons, or bury themselves
in the ground. The perfect insects make a loud hum-
ming sound in their flight. The Humming-bird Moth is
one of the most beautiful of the diurnal species, and is
remarkable for the loudness of the humming sound which
it makes while feeding poised on its wings.

489. The Nocturna, or True Moths, are by far the most
extensive group of the order. They are much like most
of the Sphinxes, but their antenna? are very different, be-
ing broad at the base, and tapering to a point at the end.
The Cecropia, Fig. 1 86, is one of the most splendid of
these Moths. The Silkworm Moth belongs to this group;
•^o do all that variety of Moths, or Millers, that fly about
19

288

NATURAL HISTORY.

our lights in a summer's evening. I have said so much of
these insects in Chapter XXIII., that of the many families
of them I will notice here but two. The Clothes Moths
deposit their eggs in woolen stuffs, furs, feathers, etc.
Their larvae live on these articles. They also construct
for themselves a tubular case from the same materials.
In these they live, as the larvaa of the Caddice-flies, § 459,
do in their cases. With the growth of their bodies they
enlarge these tubes by weaving an addition on to the
end, and also by slitting it open and inserting a piece
longitudinally. Sometimes these cases are of divers col-
ors, from the use of differently-colored materials. When
they are about to go into the pupa state, these insects
close up the two ends of the case.

490. There is a small
Moth, called the Rusty
Vapor Moth, Fig. 222,

*ifc'. 223.— Caterpillar of Rusty Vapor Moth.

Fig. 222.— The Rusty Vapor Moth.

of a light-brown color.
Though it is rather
homely, it comes from
a caterpillar which is
very beautiful, repre-
sented in Fig. 223. Its
body is covered with
long, fine yellow hairs,
and has at each end two
elegant brush-like tufts.
Its head is as red as
sealing-wax, and there
are prominences on its

HALF- WINGED INSECTS. 289

back of the same color. The motions of these caterpillars
are very slow, and they eat but little. Commonly the
perfect insect has more beauty than the larva from which
it comes, but here we have an example of a contrary
character.

Questions. — What characterizes the wings of the Lepidoptera?
What is said of the shapes and arrangements of the scales ? Which
are the Mandibulate orders of insects, and which are the Haustellate ?
What is the construction of the haustellum of the Lepidoptera?
What are the two kinds of legs of their larvae, and how are they used ?
Describe the two modes of walking. What is the food of caterpil-
lars ? What is said of the quantity which they eat ? How arc cater-
pillars of great service to us ? What is said of their spinning ? What
is said of the Tent-caterpillars ? What of the Canker-worm ? What
is said of the habits of the Lepidoptera ? How are the Butterflies
distinguished from the Moths ? What is said of the pupae of the But-
terflies? How many families are there of Butterflies ? What is said
of the Troilus ? What of the Berenice ? What are the two groups
of Moths ? What is said of the Crepuscular Moths ? What of the
Humming-bird Moth ? What of the Nocturnal Moths ? What of
the Clothes Moth? What of the Rusty Vapor Moth and its larva ?

CHAPTER XXIX.

HALF-WINGED AND TWO-WINGED INSECTS.

491. THE insects of the order Hemiptera present many
curious varieties. They agree, however, generally in the
arrangement of the mouth, it being adapted to suction
by a beak which is singularly constructed. It is a horny
sheath, containing in a channel or groove four stiff bris-
tles as sharp as needles. This instrument, which is thus
fitted for both piercing and sucking, when not in use is
bent under the body, and lies against the chest. This
order is termed by some Rhynchota, from a Greek word,
meaning beak. The food of these insects consists of the
juices of plants in most cases, but in some of those of
animals. They are called Hemiptera, half-winged, on

290 NATURAL HISTORY.

account of the peculiar construction of their wing-casest
the fore part of which is thick and opaque, while the
hinder half is thin and transparent. There are some
which have the wing-covers transparent throughout, and
some, also, that have no wings — as Bedbugs ; but, as
both have the peculiar beak of this order, they are ranked
here.

492. The insects of this order do not appear first as
caterpillars, like the Butterflies; or as grubs, like the
Beetles ; or as maggots, like the Bees and Flies. They
come forth from their eggs in an almost perfect condi-
tion, except that they are then wingless. The Cicadas,
however, are an exception. They live in the larva state
in the ground even for some years. I will notice a few
of the prominent families of the order.

493. Of the family of Cicadge, famous for their chirp-
ing sounds, the Red-eyed Cicada, or Seventeen-years
Locust, Fig. 224, is the one with which we are familiar.

Fig. 224.— Red-eyed Cicada.

The females deposit their eggs on the trees ; the larvae
hatched from them descend and enter the ground, where
they feed on roots. The change from larva to imago is
effected in this way. When this is about to take place,
the grub comes up out of the ground, and, with its strong
feet, fastens itself to a fence or the trunk of a tree. The
back now gapes open, as seen in Fig. 225 (p. 291), and
a winged insect comes forth, leaving the horny shell of
its grub state clinging to the spot where the change

HALF-WINGED INSECTS.

29\

takes place. Sometimes the animal
is not able to effect its exit, and dies
in the struggle. These shells may
often be found clinging to trees and
fences in considerable numbers. It
is supposed that the Seventeen-years
Locusts really remain in their grub
state under ground seventeen years,
but Jaeger holds to the contrary.

494. The Frog-hoppers are so call-
ed from their great power of leaping.

Fig. 225.-Grub of Cicada. Th()se of ^ famjly mogt familiar to

us are the Tree-hoppers, of which a specimen is given in
Fig. 226. The thorax or chest of these insects
is very large. They are commonly motionless
for hours together ; but if they are disturbed,
they make a sudden leap of two or three hund-
Fig. 226.-The red times their own length, and, spreading out
their wings, fly off to some other spot. The
insects of this family are sometimes called Froth-hoppers,
from a frothy fluid which exudes from them. In some
species, in tropical countries, this exudation is very abun-
dant.

495. The Aphidae, or Plant Lice, have small, round,
full bodies, presenting different colors on different plants.
Some have wings and some have not. They live in
great numbers on the stalks and leaves of plants, sucking
the sap with their beaks. The postures which they
sometimes assume is very amusing. I saw the past
summer in my garden some stalks of the wild Aster
lined with them from top to bottom, and every one had
its head downward. The hind legs did not touch the
stalk at all, but were raised up, and the insects rested
on the fore legs and the beak. Thus standing out, and
being of a reddish color, they gave the appearance of or-
namental appendages, until the eye was brought near
enough to see what they were.

292 NATURAL HISTORY.

496. On the back of these insects there project behind
two tubes, from which issues a sweet fluid. Ants are
very fond of this, and take it from the tubes as it exudes,
or from the surface of the plants, where it is known as
honey-dew. The Aphides are, therefore, appropriately
called the milch-cows of the Ants. Some species of Ants
even gather them into flocks, and keep them in a sort
of pasture, as we do cows.

497. The Scale-insects, though very small, are, like the
Aphides, greatly injurious to plants. Like them, they
are abundantly prolific, and when they once get posses-
sion of a plant or young tree, it is almost certain to die,
the minute size of the Iarva3 of the insect rendering it
almost impossible to find and exterminate them. The
name Shield-louse, so often given to these insects, is de-
rived from the appearance of the female, which, with its
shield-shape, clings tightly to the plant, looking more
like a wart than an animal. It lives on the sap, which it
sucks with its beak or snout. It deposits eggs on the
bark, covering them with a sort of cottony secretion.
It then dies, and its dried body forms another covering
for the eggs. The cochineal, so valuable to commerce,
is a scale-insect. It is found chiefly in Mexico and Cen-
tral America. It is estimated that the export of coch-
ineal from these countries is to the amount annually of
two and a half millions of dollars. This rich dyeing ma-
terial was used for a long time without its being known
what it was; and a French naturalist, in 1792, was uni-
versally ridiculed for asserting that cochineal was an in-
sect. It is gathered from cactus plants, which are large-
ly cultivated in plantations for the purpose of raising this
insect for the market. The lac of the East Indies, so ex-
tensively employed in the composition of varnishes, seal-
ing-wax, etc., is the product of another species of these
insects.

498. There are various bugs belonging to this order,
in some of which the wings are entirely absent. They

TWO-WINGED INSECTS. 293

are divided into two sections — Land-bugs and Water-
bugs. To the former section belong the Bedbugs be-
fore referred to. Of the Water-bugs there are only two
families — the Boat-flies and the Water Scorpions. The
former are good swimmers, always swimming on the
back. They can fly well, but rarely do it.

499. The Diptera, or two- winged insects, constitute
one of the most extensive orders, both in the number of
species and in the number of individuals. None of them
are large, and some are exceedingly small. For the most
part they are dull in color. On the head are two very
large compound eyes, and two short antenna? near to-
gether. In some there is a soft proboscis, as the com-
mon House-fly; in others, a hard, pointed, sucking tube,
as in the Musquito ; and in others still, simply a mouth.
They have three pairs of feet, and two thin wings, which,
in most cases, give out a humming sound in flying.
Their larva? are generally maggots, white, and having
no feet, but instead thereof fleshy tubercles or warts, on
which they crawl. Most of the larvae live in dirt, or
dung-hills, or spoiled meat, or cheese, etc. The meta-
morphosis is complete, but in some cases very peculiar.

500. The species of Flies are very numerous. There
are about seventeen hundred known in Europe. The
larva? of Flies, the maggots, generally live in some kind
of filth ; but the Flies themselves live, for the most part,
on dainty food. The wing of a common Fly, examined
under the microscope, is a beautiful object. Although to
the naked eye it has a very plain appearance, it is cover-
ed with little pointed projections of curious shape regu-
larly arranged.

501. The larvae found in cheese come from eggs depos-
ited by a small Fly. From their great power in leaping
they are called Cheese-hoppers. The manner in which
the leap is performed is very singular, and is thus de-
scribed by Carpenter : " When preparing to leap, it first
raises itself upon its tail, in which position it is enabled

1294

NATURAL HISTORY.

to balance itself by means of some prominent tubercles
on the last segment of the body. It then bends itself
into a circle, and having brought the head toward the
tail, it stretches out the two hooks of the mouth, fixing
them into two cavities at the other extremity of the body.
It then contracts the body from a circular to an oblong
figure — the contraction extending in a manner to every
part of the body. It now suddenly lets go its hold, and
straightens the body with such violence that the noise
produced by its hooks is very perceptible. The height
of the leap is often from twenty to thirty times the length
of the body, exhibiting an energy of motion which is par-
ticularly remarkable in the soft larva of an insect. A
Viper, if endowed with similar powers, would throw it-
self nearly a hundred feet from the ground."

Fit?. 227.— Wriggler.

TWO-WINGED INSECTS.

295

502. The Musquito family are remarkable in many re-
spects, but chiefly for the peculiar mode of their meta-
morphosis. The common Musquito, when first hatched,
is an inhabitant of the water, and is, from its antic and
rapid motions, called a Wriggler. In Fig. 227 you see
the animal of its natural size, and also as it looks when
magnified. Though it lives in the water, it is not like a
fish, for it has no gills. It is more like a whale, for it is
obliged to come occasionally to the surface to breathe.
Its breathing apparatus is near its tail. The air is taken
in through a tube made of hairs, represented at A. After
the insect arrives at its proper size it comes to the sur-
face with its back upward, which gapes open, as in the
case of the Cicada (§493), and the winged insect emerges,
as seen in an enlarged representation in Fig. 228. It

Fig. 228.

rests upon its cast-off skin as a boat, while it unfolds and
expands rts wings, and then flies off. Great care is re-
quired in this operation, as there is danger that the in-

296 NATURAL HISTORY.

sect will be plunged into the Avater before it expands its
wings.

503. The eggs of the Musquito are deposited on the
surface of stagnant water to the number of about three
hundred, fastened together as you see in Fig. 229. They
thus make a sort of raft which swims on the surfacec

Fig. 229.

The large ends of the eggs are downward, and it is out
of these that the larvae come, diving down into the wa-
ter. There is a lid at the blunt end of the egg which is
opened to let the larva out. Some species do not have
this mode of arranging their eggs.

504. The proboscis which is visible to us, and which
the insect so deliberately adjusts upon the skin when it
alights, is not the stinging apparatus, but the sheath or
scabbard of it. It incloses some bristles with lancet-
shaped points. When the skin is pierced by these, the
blood is sucked up through the sheath. It is supposed
that the irritation attending the bite is occasioned by the
saliva of the insect introduced into the wound to dilute
the blood that it may more readily be sucked up. In
Fig. 230 you have at A the sheath closed, both of the
natural size and magnified. In the lower figure you have
the whole instrument opened — at B the sheath, at C
three lancets, and at D protectors. At F you see these
parts of their natural size. This is the arrangement of
the proboscis of the common American Musquito. It is
different, however, in the different species of this insect.

505. The different species of Musquitoes, of which
there are many, are quite widely diffused in the earth.

TWO-WINGED INSECTS.

297

Fig. 230.

They are generally most troublesome in warm climates,
and in the tropics they are present throughout the year.
But there are some cold countries in which, during their
brief but hot summers, they are not only extremely an-
noying, but occasionally very destructive. This is the
case with parts of Russia, both in Europe and in Asia.
Even such animals as horses, oxen, sheep, goats, and
hogs, are so severely stung by them as to die, some meet-
ing their death by drowning, having run into water to
escape the swarms of their small but formidable enemies.
At some periods it seems in that country to be the grand
business of life to devise and put in execution expedients
for guarding man and beast against these insects

298

NATURAL HISTORY.

506. The insects of the order Aphaniptera, the Fleas
and their allies, have only the most indistinct rudiments
of wings ; but the metamorphosis is complete. The lar-
vae inclose themselves in small silk cocoons to pass into

the imago state. The
common Flea, a mag-
nified representation of
which is given in Fig, *
2 31, has a curious ap-
paratus for sucking
blood, which is very
beautiful as examined
with a microscope.
This insect, like other
great icapers, as Grasshoppers, Frog - hoppers, etc., has
very large hind legs.

507. In the order Apte.
ra, or wingless insects, are
found the different kinds of
Lice which infest different
animals. In Figure 232 is
represented the common
Louse; at a of the ordinary
size, at b magnified. At c
is one of its legs magnified ;
at d are its eggs, also mag-
nified.

Fig. 231.— Flea.

Fig. 232.— Louse.

Questions. — What is said of the haustellate apparatus of the Hemip-
tera ? What gives them their name ? What is said of their meta-
morphosis? How are the Cicadas an exception to this? What is
said of the Ked-eyed Cicada ? What of the Frog-hoppers ? De-
scribe the Aphid* and their habits. What is said of their honey-
dew? What is said of the scale-insects? What of Cochineal?
What is said of some aberrant bugs of this order ? What is said of
the extent of the order Diptera ? What of the size of these insects ?
What are their peculiarities? What is said of their larvae? What
is said of Flies? What are Cheese-hoppers? Describe their mode
«)f leaping. Describe the larvae of the common Musquito. Describe

THE ARACHNIDA. 299

Its metamorphosis. What is said of its eggs ? Describe the arrange-
ment of the proboscis. What is said of the Musquitoes in various
regiotts of the earth ? What is said of the order Aphaniptera ? What
of tU, order Aptera ?

CHAPTER XXX.

THE ARACHNIDA.

508. THE second class of the Articulata is that of the
Myriapoda, the Centipedes, § 388. This I will not dwell
upon, but will pass directly to the third class, the Arach-
nida. This class was for a long time included among the
insects, and Spiders are very generally spoken of now,
in common conversation, as belonging to that class ; but
the Arachnida differ from Insects in several important
particulars. The head of Insects is distinct from the
chest, but in the Arachnida the head and chest are united
in one ; and this is called the cephalo-thorax. Insects in
their perfect state have but six legs, but the Arachnida
have eight. The Arachnida have not the compound
eyes of Insects. Again, the antennaB of Insects are want-
ing in the Arachnida.

509. The Arachnida are carnivorous ; but generally,
instead of eating their prey, they suck the juices from
their bodies. Many of them have a poison apparatus,
by which they can destroy more readily those victims
whose strength would otherwise be too much for them.
They have mandibles and pincers very much like those
of insects. In those wThich are parasitical — that is, those
which dwell on other animals. — the mouth has the form
of a trunk or proboscis armed with a kind of lancet. The
Scorpions have a curved and pointed instrument at the
end of the tail, as seen in Fig. 233 (p. 300). They have
large claws, like those of the Lobster, with which they
seize their victims, and then pierce them with this curveol
sting, which is armed with poispn from a gland.

300

NATURAL HISTORY-

510. The class of
Arachnida is divided
into two groups. In
the first group the
respiratory organs
are different f r o m
those of Insects. In-
stead of passages ev«

Fig. 233. -The Scorpion. ery where for ajr?

there are some sac or bag like cavities in the abdomen,
and in these are thin membranous plates arranged like
the leaves of a book. The air goes in among these, and
acts on the blood in the vessels spread out on them.
This group includes the Spiders and Scorpions. In the
second group the respiratory apparatus is like that of
Insects. This includes Mites of various kinds, Father-
long-legs, the minute red Spiders of green-houses, etc.

511. Most of the true Spiders are great spinners. They
do not spin for themselves a cocoon as the caterpillars
do, for they undergo no metamorphosis. They spin chief-
ly for two purposes — to construct a dwelling for them-
selves, and to construct traps to catch their prey. Some
also, like some of the caterpillars, spin as they drop to
escape their enemies, and thus save themselves from a
fall. Some throw out a long thread into the air from
their spinning machine, and let it, when it is of sufficient
length, bear them aloft like a balloon. And some spin a
cocoon in which they deposit their eggs. I found one
of these cocoons the past summer fastened to the bark
of a tree. I opened it, and it was all a moving mass
within. On looking at it with a pocket microscope, I
found that it was full of little Spiders, which probably
had just been hatched from the eggs, but were not yet
ready to come out. The manner in which the cocoon is
formed and filled with eggs is curious. The Spider first
spins the lower half of it, and into this silken cup it drops
the eggs. It not only fills it, but piles up eggs on top

THE ARACHNID A, 301

with great care, so that there are as many above as in
the cup. It then finishes spinning the cocoon.

512. The Caterpillars spin from the head, but the Spi-
der spins from tjie other extremity of the body. Its spin-
ning apparatus is of peculiar construction. Inside is a
reservoir of gummy matter from which the silk is made.
The threads of a Spider's web are drawn out from it.
and dry as fast as they are drawn. But the thread, which
appears to the eye as single, is found by the microscope
to be composed of many thousands of threads united to-
gether. In Fig. 234 you see, as the Spider hangs by his

thread, that it comes
out from a circular
spot. In this are four
and sometimes six
knobs, which canv be
seen by the naked eye.
Each of these is full of
holes through which
the threads come, and
these holes are so mi-
nute that Reaumur cal-
culated that a thou-
sand occupied a space
no larger than the
point of a pin . In Fig.
235 (p. 302) is repre-
234- sented such a view of

these knobs as you would get by a powerful microscope.

A portion only of the minute threads are represented.

It was the calculation of Leuwenhoeck that it would

take four millions of them to make a thread as large as a

hair.

513. These threads are united together about one tenth
of an inch in distance from the spinnerets. By this sep-
arate exposure to the air of each threadlet, they all be-
come dry before their union. Another advantage of this

302

NATURAL HISTORY.

Fig. 235.— Spider's Threads coming from

arrangement is the securing
of greater strength to the
thread, for it is well known
in rope-makjpg that, in cords
of equal thickness, those
which are composed of many
smaller cords are stronger
than those which are spun
at once. Another advant-
age still is, that these minute
threadlets can be better at-
tached to an ob-
ject than a single
thread. When

the Spinnerets. the Spider makes

an attachment of his thread, he presses the spin-
nerets against the spot selected, and thus fast-
ens the ends of the threadlets projecting from
the holes over quite a space. This is seen in
Fig. 236, which represents an attachment of
this kind, as seen with the microscope. Fig- 236-

514. The foot of a Spider, a magnified view of which

is given in Fig. 237,
has three claws, one
of which acts as a
sort of thumb, and
the others are tooth-
ed as a comb. It is
supposed that these
combs are used in
preventing tangling of the threads in the web, and also
in removing any particles that may become attached to
it. When a Spider has let itself down from any place
by its thread, if it goes up again upon it, it gathers up
the thread into a ball with its claws and throws it away.
So, also, if any part of its web is rendered useless by any
thing which becomes attached to it, it is separated from

Fig. 237.— Triple-clawed Foot of a Spider, mag-
nified.

THE ARACHNIDA. 303

the rest, collected into a packet, and cast off. Mr. Ren-
me, the author of a very interesting book on insect arch-
itecture, describes a process of this kind which he ob-
served on board of a steam-boat. It was a geometric
Spider, that is, one that forms its web of regular circular
lines. The web or net was covered with flakes of soot.
" Some of the lines," he says, " she dexterously strippel
of the flakes of soot adhering to them ; but in the greater
number, finding that she could not get them sufficiently
clean, she broke them quite off, bundled them up, and
tossed them over. We counted five of these packets of
rubbish which she thus threw away, though there must
have been many more, as it was some time before we
discovered the manoeuvre, the packets being so small as
not to be readily perceived, except when placed between
the eye and the light. When she had cleared off all the
sooted lines, she began to replace them in the usual
way."

515. Many observations have been made, and experi-
ments tried, to determine how Spiders transport them-
selves from tree to tree, across brooks, or even sometimes
through the air, without any visible starting-point. The
subject is not entirely cleared up, but it is well ascer-
tained that they spin out the thread, letting the wind
take it, trying it occasionally with the feet to decide
whether the farther end has attached itself to any object.
So soon as the Spider finds by pulling on it that it is
fastened, it runs along upon it, strengthening its cable
by spinning another as it goes. Spiders have not, as
some have supposed, the power of projecting their lines
in opposition to the moving air, but they uniformly put
their bodies in such position that the line may go with
the air, that is with the head toward the direction from
which the breeze comes. They watch the wind as much
as the sailor does. The little gossamer Spiders let their
lines, like balloons, carry them off into the air, breaking
loose from the objects on which they stand when they
20

304 NATURAL HISTOKY.

feel themselves acted upon by a force sufficient for that
purpose. They may thus be seen mounting aloft from
the tops of twigs and blades of grass, from fences, etc.

516. The architecture of Spiders has considerable va-
riety. That of the house Spider and that of the com-
mon geometric Spider are familiar to every one. That
of the labyrinthic Spider is very curious. Its nest may
be seen spread out a broad sheet on hedges, furze, low
bushes, and sometimes on the ground. "The middle
of this sheet," says Rennie, " which is of a close texture,
is swung, like a sailor's hammock, by silken ropes extend-
ed all around to the higher branches ; but the whole
curves upward and backward, sloping downward to a
long funnel-shaped gallery which is nearly horizontal at
the entrance, but soon winds obliquely till it becomes
quite perpendicular. This curved gallery is about a
quarter of an inch in diameter, is much more closely
woven than the sheet part of the web, and sometimes
descends into a hole in the ground, though oftener into
a group of crowded twigs or a tuft of grass. Here
the Spider dwells secure, frequently resting with her
legs extended from the entrance of the gallery, ready
to spring out upon whatever insect may fall into her
sheet-net."

517. There are some species of spiders that build their
nests of clay, which they knead into due shape, and
hence are called Mason Spiders. There is one of these
found in the West Indies. This Spider digs a hole ob-
liquely in the earth about three inches deep and one inch
in diameter, the walls of it being made of clay. This
cavity it lines with a thick web, which, when taken out,
resembles a leathern purse. This tapestried chamber
has a very singular door. It is made of about a dozen
layers of this same lining, closely united together, and
has a hinge of the same material. In Fig. 238 (p. 305)
is represented the nest of another Mason Spider found
in France, A being the nest shut, and B the nest open ;

THE AEACHNIDA.

A,

305

Fig. 238— Nest of a Mason Spid«r.

C the Spider, D the eyes magnified, and E and F parts
of the foot and claw magnified.

518. There is a Spider common in the woods that
weaves together a great many leaves for a dwelling, and
in front of this spreads its snares to catch its prey. When
winter approaches it leaves its eggs in this nest to be
hatched the following spring, and itself retires to some
hollow tree to die.

519. An English clergyman, Mr. Shepherd, has often
seen in the fen ditches of Norfolk a very large Spider
that makes a raft by fastening weeds together with silk-
en threads, and sails forth on this in search of insects that
may chance to get into the water. But the most inter-
esting water-spider is one that makes for itself a silken
diving-bell, which looks in the water like a little silvei
globe. This is sometimes partly above the surface of the
water, but at others it is fastened by silken ropes to ob-
jects below. The Spider contrives in some way to carry

306

NATURAL HISTORY,

air down to its diving-bell, coming up every now and
then to the surface for this purpose.

520. I have already said enough of the Scorpions
(§ 509), and on the second group of the Arachnida I will
spend but a few words. Among the Mites is the animal
which occasions the disease called the itch, an enlarged
representation of which you have in Fig. 239. It has an
oval body, a mouth armed with
bristles, and eight feet, four of
which have suckers at the end.
There is a great variety of mites
which are found on plants and an-
imals, and some live in the water,
swimming about with great free-
dom. The scarlet Mite of our gar-
dens has a most brilliant scarlet
color. The Harvest-men, so ap-
propriately called Father-long-legs,
as they have, perhaps, longer legs
than any other animal of any kind,
are mostly very agile. The Book
Scorpions, so called, are little
Arachnida which inhabit herbariums, old books, etc.
They are good runners, often going sidewise like crabs,
and they hunt the minute insects which are found in such
situations.

Questions. — How do the Arachnida differ from insects? What is
said of their food ? What of their means of killing their prey ? What
is said of those which are parasitical ? What is said of the Scor-
pions ? What are the two groups of the Arachnida ? What are the
two chief purposes for which Spiders spin ? What other purposes are
sometimes accomplished by it ? What is said of the cocoons which
some Spiders spin ? Describe the spinning apparatus of Spiders.
What is said of the compound character of the Spider's thread ? Why
is it not spun whole ? What is said of the mode of its attachment ?
Describe the foot of a Spider. What is the use of the combs in it ?
Describe its mode of repairing its web. What is known of the man-
ner in which Spiders transport themselves from one spot to another

Fig. 239.— Sarcoptes Scabiei
or Acarus of the Itch.

CRUSTACEANS. 307

by their threads ? What is said of the Gossamer Spiders ? Describe
the architecture of the Labyrinthic Spider. What is said of the Mason
Spiders ? What of the Spider that weaves leaves together ? What
of the Spider that builds a raft ? What of the Diving-bell Spider ?
What are some of the Arachnida of the second group ? What is said
of the Mites ? What of the Harvest-men ? What of the Bock Scor-
uions ?

CHAPTER XXXI.

CRUSTACEANS, AND THE WORM AND LEECH TRIBE.

521. THE class of the Articulata called Crustacea has
its name from the Latin word crusta, a crust or shell.
It includes Lobsters, Crabs, Prawns, Shrimps, Sowbugs,
Sand-fleas, Barnacles, etc. Lobsters and Crabs are the
most perfect animals of the class.

522. There is considerable resemblance to insects, and
also to Spiders, in most of these animals. Like the In-
sects, they may be divided into two groups — the mandi-
bulate and the haustellate. The eyes of the Crustacea
are generally compound, like those of the Insects. They
have also antennae. But the Crustacea differ' from in-
sects in the character of their respiratory apparatus.
They are aquatic animals, and breathe by gills. There
are a few species that are formed to live in air. The
Land Crabs, found mostly in the Antilles, are an exam-
ple. In them there is, above the gills, a spongy appara-
tus, from which continually exudes a moisture that keeps
the gills from becoming dry.

523. The legs of the Crustacea often amount to seven
pairs, as in the Woodlouse and Sandhopper ; but in oth-
er cases there are five pairs, as in the Crab. The legs
are constructed very differently in the various Crustacea,
according to the manner in which they are to be used.
In some they are leaf-like membranes, being thus fitted
for swimming ; in others they are columns jointed to-
gether, to be used only in walking ; in others they are so

308

NATURAL HISTORY.

shaped as to be fitted for digging as well as walking ;
and in others still they are armed with pincers, so as to
be instruments of prehension as well as locomotion. In
those Crustacea that swim, as Lobsters, Prawns, etc.,
the abdomen generally ends in a large fin-like expansion,
which works up and down in swimming like the tail of
the Whale. But in those which are to walk rather than
swim, as the Crab, this part is small, and is bent up un-
derneath.

524. All Crustacea come from eggs. The eggs are
commonly carried about adhering to the under part of the
abdomen. This we often see in the Lobster. In a boil-
ed Lobster they are red, and the mass is called the cor-
al. More than twelve thousand eggs have been found
attached to the abdomen of a single Lobster.

525. There is not generally any true metamorphosis in
this class. But in some, the animal, when first born, is
entirely unlike the perfect animal. This is the case with

the common Crab. In Fig. 240 you
see a representation of the Crab when
it first issues from the egg. The
large figure is a magnified represent-
ation, the natural size being given on
the little scroll at the side of it. This
is almost as unlike the mature Crab
as the larva of the Musquito is unlike
the Musquito itself (§ 502).

526. In most of the Crustacea there
is manifest the ring - like arrange
ment of segments which is so char-
acteristic of the Articulata (§ 381).
But in some it is so much modified
as not to be apparent without partic-
Thus, in the Crab, as we look on its
broad carapace of shell, the ring-like arrangement seems
to be entirely forsaken ; but on examining closely, we
find that this carapace is only an excessive enlargement

Fig. 240.— Early form of
the Crab.

ular observation.

CRUSTACEANS. 305

of one ring encroaching on the others which are still
there, although of very small size. We see here the
same disposition to have a general plan that we see ev-
ery where in the structures of nature. A type is always
adopted, and we see traces of this in the widest varia-
tions from it.

527. The covering of the Crustacea, which is their
skeleton, is commonly quite hard, being made so by the
carbonate of lime, of which it is in part composed. As
this can not grow with the other parts, it must be shed
from time to time, and a new and larger covering be
formed. The manner in which the old shell is got rid of
is very singular. At the proper time there is effected a
separation between all parts of the animal and the shell.
Then the shell gapes open at some part, and the animal
works itself out. This opening, in the case of the Lob-
ster, is down through the middle line of the back. The
animal, on emerging, crawls into some by-place where it
may be secure, and remains quiet for a day or two till a
new shell is formed. The material is supplied from the
blood, just as the material for our internal skeleton is
supplied from our blood.

528. The Crustacea are divided into fourteen orders.
Of these I will notice only a few.

529. The Decapoda, or Ten-footed Crustacea, include
the Lobsters, Crabs, Crayfish, Prawns, Shrimps, etc.
Nearly all the Crustacea that are used as food are con-
tained in this order. One marked peculiarity of this
group is the situation of the eyes on the ends of foot-
stalks. The habits of most of these animals are aquatic ;
but the gills are inclosed in such a way that they do not
soon become dry when the animals are in the air, and
hence they live for some time after being taken out of
the water. They are carnivorous and very voracious ;
and the first pair of legs are made into powerful claws,
by which they seize their fodd and convey it to the
mouth. The mouth itself is quite a complicated appara-

310 NATUBAL HISTORY.

tus, there being three pairs of jaws. I have already said
enough of the Lobsters and Crabs. The Shrimps and
Prawns are quite small animals, regarded as great deli-
cacies. In Fig. 241 the Shrimp is above and the Prawn
below.

Fig. 241.— Shrimp and Prawn.

530. The Hermit Crabs, Fig. 242, are very peculiar
both in their conformation and their habits. The crus-

taceous covering in the
case of these animals is
confined to the upper part
of the body. The lower
part of the body, being
uncovered, needs protec-
tion, and the animal se-
cures this by inserting its
tail into some empty shell
which it finds. This it
drags about with it as it
wanders in search of its

Fig. 242.-Hennit Crab. f°°d' When H ls Banned,

it withdraws itself wholly

into its portable house, closing the mouth of the shell
with one of its claws. As it grows it is obliged to seek

CRUSTACEANS.

311

a larger shell, and it is amusing to see one trying one
shell after another to find one which will fit.

531. In the order of La3modipoda,
or jaw-footed Crustacea, is the Whale
Louse, Figure 243, which clings by its
strong claws to the body of the Whale.
So completely is the Whale sometimes
covered by these parasites, that a white
color is given to its skin, which can be
seen a£ some distance.
532. The order of Cirrhipoda, or tufted-footed Crusta-
cea, contains the Barnacles, Fig. 244, and their allies. The

Fig. 2-14— Barnacles.

Barnacle looks like a mussel-shell fixed to a long stem ;
but, on examination, it is found that the shell consists
of five pieces, and through the opening project seven
pairs of arms or cirrhi. Two of these are of considerable
size, and have suckers on the end, by which they can
hold on to any thing. The other six pairs are fringed
with cilia, or hair-like filaments, which, by their contin-
ual motion, produce currents in the water. This serves
both to bring minute animals, constituting the food of
the Barnacle, within the reach of the arms, and to move
the water over the gills. The animal has jaws which
take and masticate the food brought to it by the arms.
In Fig. 245 (p. 312) is a Barnacle with the shell partly
removed, to show all the parts of the animal. It is al-
ways found adhering by the stem to floating wood or

812

NATURAL HISTORY.

Fig. 245.— Body of
the Barnacle.

the hull of a ship. In being inclosed
in a shell it is like the Mollusca, and
was formerly supposed to belong to
that sub-kingdom ; but the construc-
tion of the animal itself manifestly
places it among the Crustaceans.

533. To this order belong also the
little Acorn-shells, so called, which are
found on the sea-shore in abundance
adhering to rocks, shells, etc.

534. The class of Annelida, the Worm
and Leech tribe, is one of the lower
classes of the Articulata. The animals

belonging to it have no articulated members, and there
is in them a general inferiority of structure. Still, the
lateral symmetry so characteristic of the Articulata,
§ 387, is retained in them. The two halves of the body
are alike. The body is commonly long, slender, and
more or less cylindrical. The division into segments,
manifest in most of the Articulata, is in this class more
manifest internally than externally, it being marked ex*
ternally only by a wrinkling of the skin.

535. The class is divided into four orders, which I will
briefly notice. The first is that of the Dorsi-branchiata
(dor sum, back, and branchia^ gill), having the gills ar-
ranged in tufts along the length of the body. The ani-
mals belonging to this order both crawl and swim with
facility. In tropical climates there are some large spe-
cies, measuring even four feet, and having the body di-
vided into four or five hundred segments. The Sea-cen-
tipede, the Sea-mouse, and the Lob- worm belong to this
order.

536. The second order is that of the Tubicola, so
called because the animals live in tubes. One of the
most common is the Serpula, one species of which is
represented in Fig. 246 (p. 313). Th<^se animals live in

tubes, attached in groups to stones, shells, and other

if HE WORM AND LEECH TRIBE. 313

bodies. The shell is exuded from
the body of the animal just as the
covering of a Crustacean is. In
the figure one of the animals is
stretched up out of its shell, spread-
ing forth its delicate gill -tufts
which are arranged around its
head. It can withdraw itsell en-
tirely within the tube, and when
it does so there is a provision for
shutting it up. You see that one
of the long filaments is expanded
at the end into a flat, circular disk.
This is the door which shuts down
on the mouth of the tube after the

Fig. 246. -Group of Serpula, ^^ filaments ^ ^ drawn m>

537. There are other animals of this group which, in-
stead of having a tubular shell exude from their bodies,
form one by connecting together, with a gummy sub-
stance from the mouth, particles of shell, sand, small peb-
bles, etc. They are in this respect like the larvae of the
Caddice-fly, § 459. The Terebella, Fig. 247, does this.

It is here represented
with its tentacula ex-
=^-~ tending out from the
tube. These are used

Fig.247._TerebellainitSTube. ^ gathermg its food.

If you take a Terebella, and, breaking up its tube care-
fully, get the animal in its naked state, you can, by
placing it in some moist sand, see the process by which
it forms a new tube. In doing this it takes each grain
into its mouth, and then, turning its head backward,
places it in its proper position.

538. The third order is that of the Terricola, so called
because they live in the earth. The Earthworm works
through the ground by insinuating its pointed head be-
tween the grains of dirt, pushing itself forward by some

314

NATURAL HISTORY.

little bristly points which all look backward. There are
four pairs of them on each segment. It is on account of
these that, while you can pass the finger readily on the
worm backward, you can feel resistance on attempting
to pass it forward. There are two sets of muscles en-
gaged in the movement of the worm — the one longi-
tudinal, which, on contracting, short-
en the worm; and the other circu-
lar, which make the body smaller
and longer when they contract. In
Fig. 248 is a representation of an
Earthworm at a, and at b a few seg-
ments magnified, so as to show the
bristles pointing backward. The
egg of the Worm is curiously con-
structed, having a valve at one end,
as seen at c. At d the young worm
has opened the valve, and is coming
out. These worms are of great serv-
ice to the farmer and gardener in
loosening the earth below the reach
of the spade and the plow. " It has
been lately shown," says Carpenter,
" that they will even add to the depth
of soil, covering barren tracts with
a layer of productive mould. Thus,
in fields which have been overspread
Fig. 2^"_Lumbricus Ter- with lime, burned marl, or cinders,
restris, or Earthworm. thege substances are in time covered

with finely-divided soil, well adapted to the support of
vegetation. That this result — which is commonly at-
tributed to the 'working down' of the materials in
question — is really due to the action of the Earthworms,
appears from the fact that in the soil thus formed large
numbers of ' worm-casts' may be distinguished. These
are produced by the digestive process of the worms,
which take into their intestinal canal a large quantity of

THE WORM AND LEECH TKIBE. 315

the soil through which they burrow, extract from it the
greater part of the decaying vegetable matter it may
contain, and reject the rest in a finely-divided state. In
this manner a field manured with marl has been covered,
in the course of eighty years, with a bed of earth aver-
aging thirteen inches in thickness."

539. The order Suctoria includes the Leech and its al-
lies. The Leech is shaped much like the Earthworm,
but has a very different mouth, and a different apparatus
of locomotion. It has a sucker at each end of its body,
and walks quite fast by fixing the anterior sucker, and
then moving the posterior one up to it, and throwing the
whole body forward from this. Its mode of walking is
much like that of the Measure- worms (§ 479), though
its instruments for attachment are different. It can also
swim very well by a waving motion of the whole body.
Its mouth is in the middle of the cavity of the anterior
sucker. In it are three semicircular saws, which make
the bite of the Leech. They are so arranged that they
work from a central point outward, and make a wound
of this X shape. The wound being made, the blood is
drawn out by the sucker.

540. The sixth class of the Articulata, that of the Ento-
zoa, includes worms that live in the bodies of various an-
imals, man among the rest. I will notice of this class
only those very singular animals which appear to us like
long horse's hairs, and are called Hairworms. "We see
them in stagnant water or in moist places ; but they are
really inhabitants of the bodies of various insects, and
only resort to the water to lay their eggs. If taken from
the water and left to dry, they become stiff, horny threads,
and appear to have no life ; but put them into water again,
and they are soon restored to activity.

541. The remaining class, that of the Rotifera, or
Wheel Animalcules, contains animals of very minute size,
some of them being less than the five hundredth part of
an inch in length. Their structure, which is very won*

316 NATURAL HISTORY.

derful, can only be seen by the microscope ; and this,
from their transparency, is easily done. They are most-
ly aquatic animals, and have one or two rows of cilia, or
hair-like filaments. It is the motion of these that gives
the apparent wheel-like rotation from whence their name
is derived.

Questions. — What does the class Crustacea include? What give?
them their name ? In what respects are they like insects ? In what
element do most of them live ? What peculiar provision is there in
one of the exceptions to this ? What is said of the legs of the Crus-
tacea ? What of their metamorphosis ? What of their ring-like ar-
rangement? What of the composition of their covering? What is
the necessity of its being shed from time to time ? Describe the man-
ner in which this is done in the Lobster. How many orders have the
Crustacea? What animals are included in the order Decapoda?
What are their peculiarities? What is said of the Shrimps and
Prawns ? What of the Hermit Crabs ? What of the Whale Louse ?
To what order belong the Barnacles and the Acorn-shells ? Describe
the construction and habits of the Barnacle. What are the charac-
teristics of the class Annelida ? How many orders has it ? What is
said of the order Dorsi-b ranch iata? What gives the name to the Tu-
bicola ? What is said of the Serpula ? What of the Terebella ?
What is said of the order Tcrricola ? What of the eggs of the Earth-
worm ? What of the usefulness of those animals ? What is said of
the order Suctoria ? What of the class Entozoa ? What of the das?
Kotifera?

CHAPTER XXXII.

MOLLUSKS.

542. THE animals of the sub-kingdom of the Molluscf,
or Mollusks are so named from the Latin word mollis,
soft. Their bodies are soft, and moist, and cold, as you
see exemplified in the Oyster and the Slug. All animals
that live in shells, with some few exceptions, already no-
ticed, belong to this sub-kingdom. But some belonging
to it have no shelly covering, as the Slug and the Cuttle-
fish, and these are said to be naked.

MOLLUSKS. 317

543. The Mollusks have no skeleton outside or inside.
The shells which some of them have are mere coverings,
or houses, as we may call them. They do not serve, like
the bones of the Vertebrates and the armor of the Ar-
ticulates, to furnish attachment to the muscles so that
they may act. Those Mollusks that lead the stillest life,
that is, which use their muscles least, generally have the
tirmest and thickest shells.

544. The shell is composed of carbonate of lime, with
some animal matter, while in the bones of the Vertebrates
the mineral portion is the phosphate of lime. In some
the mineral part predominates, and the shell is very hard,
like porcelain ; while in others, as the oyster, there are
distinct layers of the mineral matter, with a membrane
of animal substance between them. The shell is secreted
from the thick skin of the animal, which is called the
mantle. It is formed from the blood, and the materials
for it are taken in with the food.

545. Shells are of two kinds — those which are in one
piece, and those which are in two pieces, with a hinge to
keep them together. Mollusks that have the first kind
of shell are termed univalve, and those which have the
second are termed bivalve. Clams and Oysters are fa-
miliar examples of bivalves. Two varieties of univalves
are represented in Fig. 249.

Fig. 249.

546. Shells undergo some changes in form as they grow

318

NATURAL HISTORY.

with the growth of the animals in them. Sometimes ad-
ditions are made to them, entirely altering the figure, so
that two animals of different ages really of the same spe-
cies would hardly be recognized as such. In Fig. 250 we
have at a and b back and front views of the shell of a

Fig. 250.

young Mollusk, and at c and d similar views of the shell
of the full-grown animal. The addition of the spines
bears some analogy to the addition of horns in some of
the Mammalia.

547. Most of the Mollusca can move about but little,
and some none at all. They have but little muscle, and
are in this respect in striking contrast with the Articu-
lata, which are nearly all muscle (§ 383). It is only where
the body is naked (that is, without a shelly covering), or
where a portion of the body can be projected out from
the opening in the shell, that any active movements can
be effected. In many inhabiting bivalve shells there is a
fleshy, tongue-like projection called a/oo£, which in some
cases enables the animal to leap ; in some is used as a
boring apparatus ; in some acts as a sort of fin for swim-

MOLLUSKS. 319

ming ; and in some produces the byssus, a collection of
threads by which the animal attaches itself to rocks and
other objects. In most of those which inhabit univalve
shells there is no projecting- foot ; but the under side of
the mantle is thickened into a fleshy disk, which by its
contractions and expansions effects the progression of the
animal, as is seen in the common Snail. Among the Mol
lusks similar to these in structure, but having no shell, the
whole mantle is muscular, enabling them to move quite
freely, especially those that live in water. In the Cuttle-
fish tribe we have the most efficient means of locomotion
in the shape of arms, and in some of this group there are
fin-like appendages, the arms being quite short.

548. Leading such a sluggish life as most of the Mol-
lusks do, their destiny seems to be to grow, by their di-
gestive powers, into a well-fatted mass, so that they may
be good food for other animals that inhabit the deep, and
some of them for man.

549. Almost all of these animals breathe by gills ; but
some, like the Snails and Slugs, have something like lungs,
as they live in air. The blood is nearly colorless, and
circulates in a regular system of arteries and veins con-
nected with a heart.

550. This sub-kingdom has two grand divisions — the
Cephalous Mollusca (ra^aX?), kephale, head), those which
have heads ; and the Acephalous, those which are head-
less. I will first speak of the Cephalous. All belonging
to this division that have shells have those which are
univalve. The Cephalous Mollusks are divided into three
groups: 1. Cephalopoda, those which have feet arranged
in a circular manner around the head. 2. Pteropoda,
wing-footed. These have a pair of wing-like expansions
of the mantle, which serve as fins, and enable them to
swim quite rapidly. This is a small class, but a very in-
teresting one. 3. Gasteropoda, belly-footed. These have
a single broad foot on the under surface of the body.

The first two classes belong entirely to the sea ; but this
21

320

NATURAL HISTORY.

class has some species that live in fresh water, and some
even that live on land. I will notice each of these groups.

551. Of the Cephalopoda, the only few existing species
that have a shelly covering are the Argonauts and the
Pearly Nautilus. There are, however, many fossil shells

found which must have belonged
to animals of this group. The
Ammonites, commonly called
Snake Stones, of which a speci-
men is given in Fig. 251, are the
most abundant of these, there hav-
ing been described over five hund-
red species. These are found in
various kinds of rocks, and are of
various sizes, some reaching a di-
ameter of even four feet.

552. The arms of some of the Cephalopoda are very
long. This is the case with the Cuttle-fish, one of the
most singular of animals, seen in Fig. 252. Its body is

Fig. 252.— Cuttle-fish.

soft, and is covered only with a leathery skin. From
around its mouth extend eight long arms, which have on
them great numbers of little suckers, by which it can

MOLLUSKS.

321

cling to rocks or retain its hold upon its prey. It has a
powerful parrot-like beak, with which it can crush the
shell-fish and the Crustacea that it captures. It can man-
age even a large Crab in this way. Winding its long
arms around it, and holding it, both body and claws, with
its numerous suckers, it deliberately crushes its various
parts with its strong mandibles, and picks out the flesh
In the Indian seas this animal attains so large a size as to
be a dangerous enemy even to man. The color called
sepia conies from the Cuttle-fish. It is used by the ani-
mal for darkening the water with an inky cloud, that it
may more easily escape from a pursuing enemy. The
so-called cuttle-fish bone is a chalky substance secreted
from the mouth of the fish, and is composed of almost in-
numerable plates united by myriads of little pillars.

553. The Argonaut, Fig. 253, called the Paper Nau-
tilus, from its thin,
white, delicate shell,
has, like the Cuttle
fish, eight arms with
suckers. Two of
these are expanded
into broad membra
nous flaps. From ear
ly times it has been
said that this animali
uses its membranous
arms for sails, and itfe
other arms for oars
It has been found,
however, that the
membranes are not
used at all as sails,
but are usually spread
over the sides of the shell, meeting along its keel. It ia
from them, and not from the surface of the body, that
the calcareous secretion is poured forth for the enlarge-

Fig. 253.— Argonaut, or Paper Nautilus.

322 NATURAL HISTORY.

ment or reparation of the shell. It is by the action of
the arms as oars, and by the forcing out of water from,
the gill-chambers, that the animal can swim. Both the
Argonaut and the Cuttle-fish use their arms as feet to
walk along on the bottom of the sea.

554. The Pearly Nautilus is so called from the " nacre,"
or mother-of-pearl with which its shell is lined. It is
found on most shores between the tropics. It is pecul-
iar in having many separate chambers in its shell, in only
one of which, the largest and the outermost, the animal
lives. It has a connection, however, with the other cham-
bers by a membranous tube called the siphuncle. It is
supposed that the animal, when it wishes to sink in the
water, can force some water into this siphuncle, thus in-
creasing its specific gravity ; and that the reverse takes
place when it wishes to rise. Some doubt this, and con-
sider the design of the siphuncle and the chambered
structure as yet a mystery.

555. The Pteropoda, or wing-footed Mollusks, consti-
tute a small and aberrant group. The animals included
in it may be considered as having the same place in the
Molluscous kingdom that the Birds have in the Verte-
brate and the Insects in the Articulate. They fly in the
water, having for the purpose a pair of fin-like organs, or
wings, which are an expansion of the mantle on each side
of the neck. Though the number of species in this group
is small, the number of individuals in some of the species
is often enormous in some localities. Some have a shell
and some have not.

556. The Clio Borealis, Fig. 254, one of the best known
of this class of Mollusks, is very abundant in the arctic
seas, and is one of the principal articles of food of the
Whalebone Whales (§ 192). These little animals are
sometimes so numerous that the Whale can not open its
mouth without ingulfing thousands of them. The Clio
has eyes, which, though exceedingly small, are very per-
fect in their organization. It has powerful jaws armed

MOLLUSKS. 823

Fig. 254 —Clio Borealia.

with teeth, calculated to tear in pieces the minute ani-
mals on which it feeds. It has also a very effective ap
paratus for securing its prey, consisting of six tentacula
of a reddish color. On examining one of these with a
microscope, this color is found to be occasioned by red
points arranged with great regularity. On magnifying
these still farther, each point is seen to be a collection of
about twenty suckers on the ends of as many stalks.
Each collection is in a sort of sheath, and can be pro-
truded from it. There are on all the tentacula about
three hundred and sixty thousand of these suckers, con-
stituting an apparatus for prehension more extensive, in
proportion to the size of the animal, than any other to be
found in the whole animal kingdom.

Questions. — What is the significance of the name of the third sub-
kingdom of animals ? What are naked Mollusks ? What is said of
the use of the covering which most of them have ? Of what is it
composed ? What is said of the proportions of the constituents ? How
is the shell formed ? What are the two kinds of shells ? What is said
of the changes which shells undergo in growing? What is said of the
locomotion of Mollusks ? What is said of the foot, and its various
uses ? What is the byssus ? What provision for locomotion is there
in most of the Mollusks that inhabit bivalve shells ? What in those
that are similar in structure, but have no shell ? What is the special
destiny of Mollusks? What is said of their breathing apparatus?
What of their blood, and its circulation ? What are the two grand
divisions of Mollusks ? What are the groups in the first division, and
their characteristics ? Of the Cephalopods, what shelly species exist
at the present time ? What is said of the Ammonites ? Describe
the structure and habits of the Cuttle-fish. What is sepia ? What

324 NAT'JRAL HISTORY.

is Cuttle-fish bone ? What is said of the Argonaut ? What of the
Pearly Nautilus ? What is said of the Fteropod group ? What of
the Clio Borealis ?

CHAPTER XXXIII.

MOLLUSKS — continued.

557. THE class of Gasteropoda is mostly composed of
Mollusks that live in a univalve shell, which is usually of
a spiral shape. You have two different forms of the
spiral in Fig. 249, page 317. Some of the species, as the
Slug, are naked or destitute of shell. There is, however,
in these, sometimes a small shell, generally imbedded in
the mantle, just over the cavity which contains the lungs.
The body of the Gasteropods is terminated in front with
more or less of a head, having fleshy tentacula, varying
from two to six in number. The back is covered with a
mantle which secretes the shell. On the under side of
the animal is the fleshy mass called the foot. In those
which have a shell, all the body remains in it except the
head and the foot. These project beyond it when the
animal expands them for walking, but they can be with-
drawn into the first turns of the shell at pleasure. In
most of the aquatic Gasteropods there is on the foot a
plate of horny substance, which shuts over the opening

Fig. 255 — Limnsea Stagnalis.

MOLLUSKS. 325

in the shell after the head and the foot are drawn in. In
Fig. 255 you see one of these animals with the head and
the foot out of the shell.

558. Many of the Gasteropods are remarkable for an
abundant supply of flinty teeth. Sometimes these are on
the palate, and in some species even the stomach has
teeth scattered over its inner surface. The tongue, hi
some, is remarkable for its length, and for the teeth which
are all along on its upper surface. The tongue of the
common Limpet, Fig. 256, is an example. It is from two

to three inches long, and this
is longer than the whole an-
imal. When not in use, it is
turned backward down into
the stomach. It is spoon-
shaped at the end. In its
whole extent it is armed with
rows of teeth, four in each
row, and between each two
rows there are two three-
pointed teeth. These two
sets of teeth are represented
in a magnified portion of the
tongue in the figure. The
part of the tongue toward its

Fig. 256. — Limpet's Tongue. n i • i

root generally has its edges

turned over so as to meet, thus making a tube. The
whole instrument is. therefore an efficient rasper, and also
a proboscis.

559. Of the Gasteropoda, some are terrestrial and some
live in fresh water, but most of them are found in the
sea. The terrestrial Gasteropods are Snails and Slugs.
In the common Slug there is a prominent head with four
tentacula, which can be drawn inward by a process like
the inversion of the finger of a glove. At the ends of
the longer pair of the tentacula are the eyes. On the
back there is a kind of shield formed by the mantle,

326

NATURAL HISTORY.

Fig. 257.— Snail.

which usually incloses a small shell. This shield is over
the breathing apparatus (§ 557), and the head can be so
drawn in as to bo under it. The Snails have very much
the same shape and arrangement with the Slug, except
that they have a shell into which they can withdraw the
whole body. The common Snail, Fig. 257, lays eggs,

which are very large
in comparison with
the size of the ani-
mal. They are of
the size of a small
pea, and are depos-
ited in the ground
about two inches
below the surface.

560. A few of the
Gasteropods that, like the Snails and Slugs, breathe with
lungs, are yet aquatic in their habits. But, like other
aquatic animals that have lungs, as the Whales, they are
obliged every now and then to come to the surface to
get air. Among these are the Pond Snails, a species of
which is represented in Fig. 255, page 324. These Mol-
lusks, and those which are terrestrial, the Slugs and the
Snails, are included in an order by themselves, as having
lungs — the order Pulmonifera.

561. The second order of the Gasteropods includes all
those which have gills instead of lungs, and also have a
shell, usually of a spiral form. This order is much larger
than the others, and presents a great variety of beautiful
shell-coverings. Some of them have siphons to introduce
water into the cavities where the gills are, so that the
animal can breathe without putting its body out from
the shell. There is a little notch always to be observed
in the shell where this siphon passes out.

562. Of the many varieties of the shells of these Gas-
teropods I will notice but a few. In Fig. 249, page 317,
on the left, is an example of the Turbinida?, or Whorl fam-

MOLLTJSKS.

32?

ily, called the Royal Staircase Wentletrap. This is found
in the Chinese and Indian Seas. It is so costly — a fine
specimen commanding, even now, four or five pounds
sterling — that the specific name attached to it is pretiosa,
precious. In the same figure is a specimen from the very
extensive Cone family. In Fig. 258 the large shell is that

Fig. 258.

of a Whelk, belonging to a family which, from the shape
of the shells, is called Buccinida3, from buccinum, a trum-
pet. The famous Tyiian purple was obtained from one
of this family. In the same figure is the little Cowry,
which is a current coin among the natives of Bengal,
Siam, and many parts of Africa. In Bengal, 3200 of
these shells are reckoned equal to a rupee, or about two
shillings of English money. In 1849 about three hund-
red tons of them were imported into Liverpool, designed
to be used in the African trade. One of the most beautiful
of the shells which are armed with spines is the Thorny
Woodcock, Fig. 259, sometimes called Venus' Comb.

Fig. 259.— Thorny Woodcock.

328 NATURAL HISTORY.

563. There is a third order of the Gasteropods, in
which the gills are not in a covered cavity or chamber,
as they are in the second order, but they either stand out
on the back, or are more or less concealed at the sides in
folds of the mantle. Some of them have shells, but most
have not. I will give but a single example, the Glaucus,
Fig. 260, found in the Mediterranean and Indian Seas.

The hues of these beautiful
animals are azure blue and sil-
ver. The gills form two or
three large tufts on each side,
which, besides being the
breathing apparatus of the an-
imal, are also its instruments
for swimming.

564. We now come to the
Fig.260.-GiaucuoAtiai,iicu8. second grand division of the
Mollusks — the Acephalous or Headless Mollusks. These
may be divided into two groups : 1 . Those which have
shells, called the Conchiferous, or shell-bearing. 2. Those
which are covered with a leathery or membranous tunic,
called the Tunicated.

565. The shells of almost all the Conchifera are bivalve.
This group includes the Oysters, Clams, Mussels, Scal-
lops, etc. The shell is exuded or secreted from the man-
tle, and is in different layers, as may be seen in the shell
of the Oyster. The outermost layer is the smallest, and
as the animal grows, each layer is a little larger than the
one outside of it. The two parts or valves of the shell
are joined together by a hinge. Near this hinge is an
elastic ligament, which allows the valves to be a little
apart, which is their natural position, admitting the wa-
ter freely to the mouth of the gills. When the animal
wishes to shut the valves closely, it does so by means of
a muscle. Sometimes thevo, are two muscles for this
purpose.

566. That you may understand the plan of the organs

MOLLUSKS.

329

of these animals, I will give you the anatomy of one of
them in Fig. 261. One of the valves is removed. You

i . li
d i i

I!

Foot. .

Intestine.

Stomach.

f Anterior
(Ganglia.

/Posterior
{Muscle.

Mantle,

Respiratory Tubes.
Fig. 261. —Anatomy of an Acephalous Mollusk.

see the mantle, fringed all around its edge. This lines
the whole shell, and covers the animal. It is its skin.
You see the two muscles that, by their contraction, bring
the valves together, and the fleshy foot, which can be
made to protrude when the valves are left to go apart by
the action of the elastic ligament. This foot, which is

330 . NATURAL HISTORY.

the only locomotive organ that the animal has, serves, in
different species, a variety of purposes, sometimes ena-
bling the animal to leap, sometimes being used to bore
into sand or mud, and sometimes only serving to fix the
animal to some solid support. In some there proceed
from this foot a band of hair-like filaments, called the
byssus. While fastened to some object by these fila-
ments, the animal may have some considerable motion
within certain limits. The gills have two respiratory or
breathing tubes connected with them, by one of which
the water passes into the gills, and by the other passes
out. The water is made thus to go in and out by fine
cilia in the gills and on the surface of these tubes, which
keep up a constant waving or fanning motion. There
are certain nerves, you see, branching about, and they
are connected with two pairs of ganglia, or little brains.
The nervous system is very limited, for the animal has
little need of either thinking, feeling, or motion.

567. The lateral symmetry, so thoroughly observed in
the construction of the Vertebrates and the Articulates,
which was forsaken to some extent in the Cephalous Mol-
lusks, is in the Acephalous entirely given up. In them
there are no two corresponding halves of the body.

568. The Conchifera we divide into two sections — the
first including those that have not siphons, and the sec-
ond those that have them. To the first section belong
the Oysters, Scallops, Pearl Oysters, etc. The shell of
the Oyster has two unequal valves. One of these bulges
out more than the other, and it is by this that it is fast-
ened to rocks, or pieces of wood, or to other Oysters.
The structure of this animal is even more simple than
that sketched in Fig. 261. It has no foot; for, as it is
fixed by its shell in one spot, it needs none. Oysters are
very prolific animals, forming immense banks, and thus
providing quite largely for the sustenance of man. " But
man," says Carpenter, "is by no means the only enemy
to the Oyster. Its body serves as food to many marine

MOLLUSKS. 331

animals, which have various modes of getting at it, in
spite of its shelly defense. From some of these it can
secure itself by closing its valves as soon as it is alarmed ;
and against others it has a more active means of defense
in the violent expulsion of the water included between
them, which (as it is itself fixed) will frequently drive off
its opponent. Various animals attack it, also, by perfo-
rating its shell ; and to these, also, it can offer a passive
resistance, by depositing new shelly matter within. So
that even this lowly-organized being, commonly regard-
ed as one of the most vegetative of animals, is provided
by its Creator with such means as are necessary for its
preservation, and doubtless, also, for its enjoyment."

569. Pearl Oysters, from which pearls are obtained,
are found both in the Old and New World. Ceylon is
famous for its pearl fisheries. Pearls are globules of
" nacre," which chances to be deposited in this form, in-
stead of being spread out over the inner surface of the
shell ; it being in the latter case called mother-of-pearl.
The Pearl Oyster is not the only animal from which
pearls can be obtained. They are often found in other
shells.

570. The Pectens, or Scallops, of which a species is

given in Figure 262, are distin-
guished by the regular ribs of
the shell, and by the two angu
lar projections that widen the
sides of the hinge. They have
a small foot, and some species
have a byssus. In some the
shell is beautifully colored.

571. Among those Conchif-
erous Acephala that have si-
phons are the Clam-shells, the
Fig. 262,-scaiiop. Cockles, etc. Among the Clam-

shells is one which is the largest known Mollusk. It is
the Tridacna, or Giant Clam-shell, found only in the In-

332 NATURAL HISTOKY.

dian and Australian waters. There is a pair of these
shells in the Church of St. Sulpice, in Paris, used as re-
ceptacles of holy water, which weigh over five hundred
pounds. The common Clam belongs to a different group,
the Veneracese. The foot of these, of the Cockles, and
of the PholadaceaB, the group to which the Teredo be-
longs, is used mostly for burrowing. Most of them bur-
row in sand or mud, some in rocks, and some in wood.
Those that burrow or bore in hard substances can not
do this with the foot. It is done with a sort of rasping
operation of the edges of the shell, the foot answering in
this case only as a means of holding on while the animal
bores. The Teredo, by this boring operation, is largely
destructive to ship bottoms, piles, etc. Holland has been
sometimes threatened with an inundation by the destruc-
tion of dikes by this little Mollusk.

572. One of the most interesting of the Mollusks which
burrow in sand is the Razor-shell, so called from its length.
It can burrow very rapidly, and therefore it is quite dif-
ficult to catch it. It bores in the sand with its foot,
which it can elongate so as to make it quite pointed. Its
burrow is recognized by the little jet of water which it
throws out when it is alarmed. If a little salt be thrown
upon its hole it will make its appearance, but one must
be quick in his movements to catch it before it can get
out of sight again. Its mode of burrowing is very curi-
ous. It puts its foot into a dagger-shape, as represented

at a in Fig. 263, and thrusts it down-
ward in the sand. Now it gives it
the .shape of a bell-clapper, as at b,
and the end furnishing it a hold in
the sand, it moves its body forward
by shortening the foot. By repeated
Fig. 263. movements of this kind it gets along

quite rapidly in the loose sand.

573. What is stated in the previous paragraph exem-
plifies one of the many modes in which the foot of Mol-

MOLLUSKS. 333

lusks is used. Some, thrusting it out, attach it to some
support, and then, by contracting it, pull themselves
along. Some use it to push themselves forward, as a
man in a boat pushes himself from the shore with his oar.
And some, by bending the foot and then quickly straight-
ening it, leap forward. There is a little Mollusk, the
Tfinthina, or Oceanic Snail, Fig. 264, which has attached

Fig. 264.— lanthina with its raft.

to its foot a raft of singular construction. It is made of
numberless vesicles, «, filled with air. Its purpose is to
float the eggs, b. You see at c the gills of this little an-
imal, and at d its tentacles and eye-stalks. The lanthina
is often met with in great numbers in companies in the
open sea. In rough weather much damage is often done
to their beautiful floats, and sometimes they are wholly
destroyed.

574. The Tunicata form an aberrant group of the Mol-
lusca, verging, in their organization, toward the Radiata,
the only remaining sub-kingdom to be noticed. Although
it would be interesting to consider this group, I shall pass
it by. I shall also omit another class, the Polyzoa, for-
merly supposed to belong to the Radiates, but recently
ascertained to belong to the Mollusks.

Questions. — In what do the Gasteropods mostly live ? What is said
of the form of their shells ? What is said of the naked Gasteropods ?
Describe the structure of these animals. What is said of their teeth ?
Describe the structure of the Limpet's tongue. What are the terres-
trial Gasteropods ? Describe the common Slug. Describe the com-
mon Snail. What is said of the Pond Snails ? What are included
in the order of Gasteropods called Palmonifera ? What is said of the

334 NATURAL HISTORY.

order whose animals breathe by gills ? What is said of the Whorl
family ? What of the family called Buccinidas ? What is said of the
Cowry ?- What is said of the third order of Gasteropods ? What are
the two groups of Acephalous Mollusks ? What are the shells of the
Cotichiferous group ? What does it include ? In what way is the
shell formed ? How are the two valves united ? How moved ?
What is the anatomy of the Acephala? What is said of the symme-
try of these animals ? What are the two sections of the Conchifera ?
What is said of the Oyster ? What of the Pearl Oysters ? What of
the Pectens? What are among the Conchifera that have siphons!
What is said of the Tridacna? What is said of the Cockles, the
Veneracese, and the Pholadacese? What of the Teredo? What of
the Razor-shell ? What is said of the various ways in which the foot
is used by Mollusks ? What is said of the Ocean Snails ? What is
said of the Tunicata ?

CHAPTER XXXIV.

RADIATES.

575. WE now come to the last sub-kingdom — that of
the Radiates. The arrangement of structure here is, in
many respects, entirely different from that of the other
sub-kingdoms. There is a lateral symmetry of form in
the Vertebrates and the Articulates. While this is most-
ly abandoned in the Mollusks, in the Radiates it is ex-
changed for another symmetry of a wholly different char-
acter— a symmetry of rays arranged circularly. It is
therefore akin to that of plants. Indeed, many of the
animals of this sub-kingdom were formerly supposed to
be plants, and are now, from the resemblance referred to,
called plant-animals.

576. This resemblance may be very distinctly seen in
the Actiniae, or Sea Anemones, of which there are many
species. The structure of these is very singular. There
is a broad, flat, muscular base, of a circular shape, by
which the animal adheres firmly to a rock. From this
base rises a rounded body, on the top of which there is
an orifice, which is more or less open according to cir-

EADIATES.

335

oumstances. The animal can close this opening entirely.
Around this mouth of the animal are arranged rows of
tentacula, extending out like rays when the mouth is
open, and giving the creature the appearance of a flower
with its spread petals. Fig. 265 shows Sea Anemones m

Fig. 'J65 — Actinia?, or Sea Anemone.-*.

three different states. The upper one has the mouth
closed and the tentacles drawn in, and the animal pre-
sents almost a hemispherical form. The one just below
on the rock is partly opened ; and another, under the wa-
ter, is fully expanded, looking like a flower.

577. The mouth of the Actinia conducts to a stomach
which may be said to be very large in proportion to the
whole body. The oflice of the tentacles is to catch the
prey of the animal, and force it into this cavity. Fig.
266 represents one of these ani-
mals cut open, showing the stom-
ach at a. At b are certain cavi-
ties dr chambers, which are all

*> ^lBMBHHH----'« around the stomach. These
chambers all communicate with
each other, and also with the
Fig. see. tentaclesv which are tubular.

22

336 NATURAL HISTORY.

Water is taken into the chambers by these tubes, and
then is forced out, through these same tubes, in jets,
with such force, often, as to rise to the height of a foot
or more. The chief office of these chambers seems to be
to expose the blood of the animal to the air in the water.
In other words, they are the gills, or the breathing appa-
ratus. These animals are found on all coasts, commonly
on rocks, where they can be a part of the time under the
water and a part of the time out of it. Their habits I
shall refer to again hereafter.

578. The radiate arrangement so manifest in the Sea
Anemones and in the Starfish (§ 1 7) is not seen so plain-
ly in many of the other animals of this sub-kingdom ; and
some of the orders are quite aberrant. In some there is
a considerable approach to the Articulata. The Star-
fishes and the Sea Anemones are among the type families
of the Radiates.

579. Some of the animals of this sub-kingdom have the
power of moving about, but most of them, in conformity
with their plant-like character, are stationary during a
part or the whole of their existence. In muscular appa-
ratus, therefore, most of the Radiates, like the Mollusks,
are in strong contrast with the Articulates.

580. There is a resemblance to vegetables in still other
respects besides those already mentioned. When any
parts of these animals are lost by accident, they are gen-
erally replaced by a new growth. Besides, there is often
a new animal produced entire by a sort of budding from
some part. And even farther than this, in some portion?
of this kingdom the animals are arranged in companies,
like the parts of a plant, on a common stalk or trunk.

581. None of these animals have any thing like a head,
and they have only the senses of touch and taste. The
senses of sight, hearing, and smell, so far as we can see,
are wholly absent. For the arrangement of the nervous
system, I refer you to § 18.

582. As in most of the Radiates there is a small amount

RADIATES. 337

of muscle, there is a very remarkable structure which
seems in some respects to take its place. This structure,
though found to a considerable extent in other animals,
is present to an extraordinary degree in the Radiates.
It is the ciliary structure alluded to in § 566. Cilia are
fine hair-like filaments which cover the surface of many
membranes, and fringe their edges. They are quite reg=
ularly arranged, sometimes in straight rows, and some-
times spirally or in circles. They have a motion which,
in some cases, is obedient to the will of the animal, but
in others is independent of the will. When in motion
each filament bends from the root to its point, straight-
ening out again, like a stalk of grain acted upon by the
wind ; and we have, therefore, when many of them are in
motion, an appearance like the successive waves in a field
of grain as the wind blows over it. This motion can be
seen only by the aid of the microscope. It is beautifully
displayed in the gills of the Oyster. The object of this
movement is to produce currents in the fluid in contact
with the membrane. These currents serve various pur-
poses, as, for example, to bring food within the reach of
the tentacles, and to carry fresh portions of water through
the respiratory apparatus. For this latter purpose cilia
cover the membranes lining the chambers in the Actiniae
(§577). Cilia are needed in those animals which are most
stationary, and in them, therefore, they are most manifest.

583. We divide this sub-kingdom into three classes;
1. Echino-dermata (exivog, echinos, a sea-urchin; c^tyia,
derma, skin), prickle-skinned animals. 2. Acalephs (a/ca-
X.j/07/, akaleplie, a nettle), Sea-nettles, or Jelly-fishes. 3.
Phytozoa (0{/rov, phyton, a plant ; faov, zoon, an animal),
commonly called Polyps. These are fixed, like plants,
and have flexible arms about the mouth, as seen in the
Sea Anemone, Fig. 266.

584. One of the Echinoderms, the Starfish, I noticed
in the first chapter (§ 17). It merits here, however, a
more particular description. It is only the upper side of

338 NATURAL HISTORY.

the animal which is represented in Fig. 9. On its under
side are great numbers of little feet. With these it walks
along on the bottom of the sea, searching for food, which
it puts into its mouth, this being in the centre of the star
on the under side. These feet are fleshy, and are hollow
tubes, like the tentacles of the Actinia (§577). They are
so shaped that they can be used as suckers, and the animal
can shorten and lengthen them at pleasure. It is by
pumping water into and out of them that the suction is
effected. In walking, the suckers are some of them thrown
forward, and, taking hold of the surface on which the an-
imal is, and then shortening, they draw it forward. It
can walk up the side of a smooth rock in this way. The
operation can be seen by placing one of these animals in
a glass vessel filled with water. If you place a Starfish
in your hand on its back, that is, with its feet upward,
you will see these little suckers reaching forth in all di-
rections ; and if you look at them with a magnifying
glass, you will observe a ring-like arrangement in each
sucker as it lengthens out, quite as plainly as you see it
in a common worm.

585. These animals not only walk with these suckers,
but they seize their prey with them. They are carniv-
orous and rapacious ; and in taking their prey they fasten
their suckers to it, and work it up to the central mouth,
which is opened wide to receive it.

586. Besides the motion of the suckers, the five arms
on which these are can be moved also in various direc-
tions. In some species there are little red spots at the
ends of the rays, which are supposed by some to be
eyes ; but this is very doubtful.

587. The order Stellerida, to which the Starfish be-
longs, includes a large variety of animals having a gen-
oral resemblance, but varying in the relative proportion
of the body and the rays, and the arrangements of the
latter. In some species there is little else but arms, while
ill others the central part is large.

EADIATES. 339

588. The Sea Egg, as it is commonly called, is the crust
or shell of a spiny or prickle-skinned animal, stripped of
its spines. In Fig. 267 you see this animal, called an

Fig. 26T. — Shell of Echinus, or Sea Urchin ; on the right side covered with spines,
on the left the spines removed.

Echinus, with the spines removed from half of it. These
spines are curiously jointed with the shell. There is a
round projection of the shell at the root of each spine,
upon which the spine Avorks with its cup-like cavity, mak-
ing a regular ball and socket joint. These projections
every one must have noticed arranged with such beauti-
ful regularity on the Sea Egg. There are the same tubu-
lar feet as in the Starfish, but much larger, and therefore
more efficient in taking prey. In walking, while the
suckers are the moving power, the animal is carried for-
ward on the spines, these acting after the manner of a
crutch. The animal inside of this singular shell has a
stomach, a respiratory apparatus, intestines, etc. Its
mouth has quite formidable teeth. Small Crustacea and
Mollusca are its chief food.

589. The shell is made up of small plates, and, as the
animal grows, each one of these plates is made larger by
increase at its edge. The growth is like that of the cov-

340 NATURAL HISTORY.

ering of the Turtle. If it were not for this arrangement
the animal would be obliged to leave its shell occasion-
ally, and have, like the Lobster, a new covering formed.

590. The Echini (plural of Echinus) are generally found
on sandy shores. Here they make hollows with their
spines, and in them lie in wait for their prey. As they
do this they let their tubular feet play about, and when
any Mollusk or Crustacean happens to hit a sucker, it is
at once captured, many suckers taking hold of it, and
passing it to the mouth to be crushed, and thrust into
the stomach.

591. Many of these animals have a powerful and com-
plex masticating apparatus. It consists of five hard,
sharp teeth, worked by strong muscles. These teeth are
attached to bony jaws, and the whole apparatus has twen-
ty-five pieces, moved by thirty-five distinct muscles. It is
a powerful mill, reducing to fragments the Crustacea and
Mollusks which the tentacula capture and force into it.

592. The most singular of all the facts in regard to the
Echini is the mode of their development. There comes
out of the egg an animal covered with cilia, and by the
waving movement of these, it swims freely about in the
water. At first it is globular, but it soon acquires a py-
ramidal form, having a stomach opening below. At the
same time there are formed four slender, bony rods in
the four angles of the pyramid, meeting together at the
top. There are some cross-pieces, also, on the sides of
the pyramid, connecting the rods together. All this
time the animal is moving about by means of the cilia,
which are all over its outside. It is a sort of pyramidal
tent sailing about. Inside of this the real animal is at
length formed, and, at the same time, the tent-portion of
the original animal wastes away. The stomach of the
animal that comes out of the egg is the only part which
remains through all this metamorphosis.

593. There are two orders of the Echinoderms which
are quite aberrant. One is that of the Crinoidea, which

RADIATES. 341

derives its name from the lily-like form which some of its
species present. Most of the species are extinct, but they
are found in their fossil state abundantly in limestone
and some other rocks. The other aberrant order is that
in which are those animals that are called by sailors Sea
Cucumbers, from their resemblance in form and in sur
face to the cucumber of our gardens.

594. The second class of the Radiata is that of the
Acalephs. These animals are called Sea Nettles and
Stangfishes, from the stinging sensation which nearly all
of them can inflict on being touched. They are also call-
ed Jelly-fishes, from their great softness. Most of their
bulk is merely water. Though one may weigh even
many pounds when first taken from the water, when it
has lost all its fluid parts it will weigh only as many
grains. There are many species, some being no larger
than the head of a pin, and some being of very consider.
able size.

595. One of the most common of these animals is the
Medusa. This is often seen in great multitudes floating
along near the shore in a calm, bright day. You see the
shape and usual position of the animal in Fig. 268, B.

Fig. 268.

Its body is umbrella -shaped, with a fringe around its
edge. It is by a waving motion of this umbrella that it
moves along in the water. Its mouth is in the centre of
the under surface, and from around it hang down fouf
leaf-like tentacula, which are both feelers and graspers

342 NATURAL HISTORY.

of its prey. These tentacula carry the food to the mouth
The stinging power possessed by them is probably of
service in overcoming its prey, like the poison of the
Scorpions and other insects. At A you see the under
surface, showing the mouth in the middle. The resem-
blance in arrangement to the Actiniae is very obvious,
the chief diiference being that, in the one group, the
mouth is above, while in the other it is on the under sur-
face. The Medusae often reach a considerable size. It
is said that they have been seen of three or four feet in
diameter, and of even sixty pounds weight. Although
they are such watery animals, they eat solid food, for in
their stomachs have been found small Crustacea, Mol-
lusks, and even Fishes.

596. The Acalephs generally float near the surface of
the water, and sometimes are seen in great abundance
basking in the sun, and reflecting its rays in such a man-
ner as to make a play of the most brilliant colors. The
phosphorescence sometimes seen in the sea is owing
chiefly to small AcalephaB. Carpenter thus describes the
beauty of this phenomenon as witnessed in the warmer
latitudes : " The whole surface of the ocean displays a
diffused luminosity, like that of the Milky Way on a clear
night. The path of the ship is marked by a brilliant line
of glowing light. The waves, as they gently curl over
one another (this phenomenon is never seen with a rough
sea), break into brilliant spangles. The oars of a boat
rowing over them seem dripping w^ith pearls when raised
from the water, and every stroke is marked with a new
line of brightness. And amid this general splendor, va-
ried forms of more glowing lustre are seen to move —
some like ribbons of flame, some like globes of fire, some
gently gliding through the still ocean, others more rap-
idly moving just beneath its surface."

597. To the Ciliograde order of Acalephs belongs the
common Beroe, Fig. 269, which is thus described by Dr.
Harvey, an English naturalist : " This little creature is

RADIATES.

343

met with in sum me: on most
parts of the coast, swimming
near the surface, and may
readily be taken in a gauze
drag-net. It has a melon-
shaped body, from half an
inch to nearly an inch in
length, clear as crystal, and
divided, as it were, into
gores by eight longitudinal
equidistant bands or ribs.
These ribs, when minutely
examined, are found clothed
with innumerable flat plates
resembling the paddles of
a water-wheel placed one
above another, and acting
under the control of the will
of the animal. When the
Beroe wishes to move, these
paddles are set in motion,
and by their united action
on the water propel the liv-
ing globe of crystal, with a
swift and easy motion, for-
ward 01 backward, as it
wills ; and when it wishes
to turn, it merely stops the
movement of the paddles on
one side. The cilia, in sunlight, reflect brilliant prismatic
colors, and in darkness flash with a beautiful blue light.
Delicate as are its organs of motion, the fishing appara-
tus of the Beroe is not less elegant. This consists of two
long and exceedingly slender tentacula, five or six inches
in length when fully extended, but capable of being whol-
ly drawn within the body of the creature, where they are
lodged in tubular sheaths. To the long filament is at

\ •

Fig. 269.— Beroe.

344 NATURAL HISTORY.

tached, at regular distances, a multitude of shorter and
much more slender fibres, which are coiled up in spirals
when the main filament contracts, and gradually spread
out as it lengthens. These are very similar to the small
hooked threads attached at intervals along a fishing-line."

Questions. — What is said of the symmetry of the Radiates? What
3f the structure of the Actinias ? What is the office of the chambers
around the stomach ? What are the type-families among the Radi-
ates? What is said of the locomotion of the Radiates? What of
their resemblance to vegetables? What of their senses and nervous
system ? What are their cilia ? Describe their mode of action.
What purposes do they effect ? What are the three classes of Radi-
ates ? What is the structure of the Starfish ? In what way does it
walk ? How does it take its prey ? What is said of the motion of
its arms ? What is said of the order Stellerida? What is the struc-
ture of the Echinus? How does it walk? What is the plan of its
shell, and how does it grow? Where are the Echini found, and
what are their habits? What is said of their masticating apparatus?
What is the mode of their development? What is said of two aber-
rant orders of Echinndcrms ? What animals constitute the second
class of Radiates? What are their peculiarities? What is said of
the Medusae ? How are they like the Actinia?, and how unlike thorn ?
Where are the Acalephs generally seen ? What is said of the phos-
phorescence of the sea ? What is said of the Beroe ?

CHAPTER XXXV.

RADIATES — continued.

598. WE come now to a class of Radiates including
animals which are, with some few exceptions, entirely
different from those of the classes already considered in
relation to locomotion. Most of the Echinoderms crawl;
some of them, and all the Acalephs, swim ; but the Pol-
ypes are, for the most part, like plants, fixed to the spot
where they begin life. The older botanists described
these animals as plants, and arranged them with sea-
weeds and mosses. The Sea Anemone was considered a
flower, and the analogous beings found in coral and mad-

RADIATES,

345

repore were spoken of as blossoms of stony plants. It
is now about a century since their animal character was
really admitted by naturalists ; and it is only quite re-
cently that their structure and habits have been thor-
oughly investigated.

599. The Polypes, or Zoophytes, have the most simple
construction of all animals, but they differ from each oth-
er in the degree of their simplicity. The most simple of
all are the Hydras — little Polypes which you can find in
stagnant waters. In Fiir. 270 you have a representation

of one of these. The smaller
figure shows it of the natural
size. It is a simple sac or
purse-like animal, with a mouth,
and tentactila arranged around
the mouth. With these tenta-
cles or arms the animal catches
its prey, and puts it into its
stomach through the mouth, a.
In its general shape, and in the
working of the arms, it is much
like the Cuttle-fish (§ 550). Its
tentacles are, however, armed
in a very different manner.
They have neither suckers, like

Fig. 270. -Hydra. t}1Qse Qf tfie Cuttle-fish, nor cil-

ia, like those of many animals, but minute bristles, and
sharp, firm spines, curiously arranged. These spines are
concealed in wart-like processes when they are not in
use, but they can at any time be thrust out, just as the
claws of a carnivorous animal are protruded from their
concealment when their services are needed.

600. When the Hydra is searching for prey, it allows
its tentacles to float about in the water, its body being
fastened by a sucker to some solid substance. If a Crus-
tacean or an aquatic worm happens to hit one of them,
the arm is immediately thrown around it, as you see in

346 NATURAL HISTORY.

the figure, the spines being forced out to make sure the
hold. If the animal caught be of sufficient size to require
it, the other arms are thrown around it also, and the vic-
tim is conveyed to the stomach. It has been observed
that soft-bodied animals, if held for a little while in the
arms without being swallowed, always die, even when
released alive ; from which it is inferred that the spines
3onvey a poisonous secretion into the bodies of the prey,
as do the fang of a serpent and the sting of a bee. As
the Hydra can not do this to Crustaceans or any hard-
shelled animals, they do not die at once on being swal-
lowed ; and so thin is the texture of the Hydra, that the
outlines of these animals can be seen as they move about
inside.

601. The Hydra has some power of locomotion. When
it wishes to change its place, it does it with a movement
like that of the Geometrical Caterpillars (§ 479). Bend-
ing its body forward, and taking hold either by its mouth
or its tentacles, it raises its sucker, and advances it.
Then, fastening itself again by this, it carries forward
again the upper part of its body and the tentacles, and
thus slowly moves to the desired spot. It takes several
hours to march two inches in this way, and seven or
eight inches may be regarded as a good day's journey.
But sometimes the Hydra gets along faster by executing
a series of somersets, fastening himself by his tentacles,
and then throwing his body forward. It sometimes, also,
manages to sail along by a curious contrivance. It raises
its flat sucker above the surface of the water, and letting
it become dry, it acts as a sort of float, the animal hang-
ing down in the water. In this way it can sail over con-
siderable distances, either carried along by the wind blow-
ing on the float, or by the tentacles acting as paddles.
Though there is little of positive sensation in this animal,
and therefore but a low degree of enjoyment, it undoubt'
edly considers this ingenious way of sailing as one of its
best sports.

RADIATES. 347

602. The Hydra is nothing but a stomach with tenta-
cles attached to it. It can be turned inside out like a
glove, and fare as well as before, showing that there is
little, if any difference between what may be called its
skin and its inside lining. Trembley, the first discoverer
of the Hydra?, once witnessed a very singular circum-
stance : " Two Polypes had seized upon the same animal ;
both had partially succeeded in swallowing it ; when the
largest put an end to the dispute by swallowing its op-
ponent, as well as the subject of contention. Trembley
naturally regarded so tragical a termination of the affray
as the end of the swallowed Polype's existence ; but he
was mistaken ; for, after the devourer and his captive
had digested the prey between them, the latter was re-
gurgitated, safe and sound, and apparently no worse for
the imprisonment."

603. Hydras are produced in two ways. One is by
seeds or eggs. These are thrown out by the animal in
the autumn in the form of gelatinous globules, and in the
following spring Hydras come from them, and, fastening
themselves to some stick or other solid substance, begin
their quiet but predaceous life. Another mode of pro-
duction is by buds, thus allying these animals in a marked
manner to plants. Buds at first appear as slight projec-
tions from the outer surface of the body, and these grad-
ually become perfect animals, at length separating from
the parent to attach themselves to some solid body. The
stomach of the young Polype communicates with that of
the parent so long as they are connected together ; and
yet it is not uncommon to see both struggling for the
same worm, and gorging opposite ends of it. Sometimes
the young Hydra has buds start out from its body before
it has separated from the parent, so that we have three
generations in one group. This production of different
generations is so rapid in some cases, that it is calculated
that above a million descendants come from one animal
in a month.

348

NATURAL HISTORY.

604. But the most remarkable fact in regard to the
Hydra is, that if a small piece of its body, or even if a
tentacle be torn off, the separated part will itself become
a perfect animal. Thirty or forty Hydras may be pro-
duced by cutting a single one into pieces. The Hydra
of ancient fable seems thus to be realized in nature. The
Hydra does not seem to suffer at all from mutilation, but
young Polypes sprout abundantly from any wound that
may be made. Two Polypes may even be grafted to-
gether by their cut surfaces. This can be done not only
with those of the same species, but with different species,
as the green and brown Hydras.

605. There are some Polypes, belonging to the same
order with the Hydras, which have a much stronger re-
semblance to plants in their habits and arrangements.

They are situated on horny
stalks, and, in some cases,
these stalks have branch-
es, with cells on them, for
containing the little Pol-
ypes, as seen in the Sertti-
laria,Fig. 271. The stalk
and branches here are hol-
low, being lined with a
membrane which is the
essential part of the ani-
mal, or, rather, of the com-
munity of animals thus
united together. Each in-
dividual Polype may be
considered as having a
stomach of its own, but-
communicating with
a sort of stomach common
to them all, which lines
the branches and the stalk.
Fig. 271.— sertuiarian Polypes. There is in this respect an

RADIATES. 349

analogy to the Hydra during the temporary connection
of the young Hydras with it, their stomachs having a
communication with the stomach of the. parent. These
beautiful and delicate animals were formerly supposed to
be vegetable, and were called by naturalists sea mosses.

606. Of the order of Polypes called Helianthoida I
have already noticed quite particularly one group, the
^Actiniae (§ 576), as illustrating well the characteristics
•of the Radiata. There need to be added here to what
has been said some farther statements in regard to their
structure and habits. It is the beauty of the expanded
disks of these and other allied animals that gives the name
Helianthoida to this order, this word being derived from
two Greek words meaning sun and form. In the trop-
ics they are peculiarly brilliant, and many travelers speak
most enthusiastically of the gorgeous spectacles which
groups of them often present.

607. Some Actinia live on smooth sands, spreading
out their tentacles for prey, and retiring beneath the sand
when danger threatens. But most of them attach them-
selves to rocks, often adhering so firmly that they can
not be detached without lacerating them. And when
portions of the disk are left fixed to the rock, new ani-
mals will be formed from them, just as is the case with
sections of Hydras (§ 604). There is one species that
fastens itself to some shell ; and it is observed that the
Hermit Crabs are fond of taking up their abode in such
shells, making a singular sort of partnership.

608. The muscular structure in some of the larger spe-
cies is very distinct, and exhibits great power in action.
They can not only master small shellfish and Crustacea,
but even Crabs, Prawns, and other Crustacea of consid-
erable bulk. The mouth is capable of wide distention,
so that animals can be taken in which one should suppose
to be inadmissible. It is amusing to witness the strug-
gles of some animal that has, in walking about, come over
one of these gaping mouths, as it is caught by the tenta-

350 NATURAL HISTORY.

cula and thrust down into the capacious stomach. So
voracious are these animals that they will attempt to
swallow articles which their stomachs can not possibly
accommodate. In this case the animal will perhaps hold
the mass partly in and partly out of the stomach firmly
with its tentacles, pushing it farther in as fast as the low-
sr part of the mass is digested.

609. In § 599 I spoke of the arrangements of the ten-
tacles of different animals. The structure of the tenta-
cles of the ActiniaB is very peculiar. Their power of
holding on is owing to a multitude of cells, in which
there are coiled up in a spiral form fine wire-like fila-
ments. These can be shot forth from their cells to a con-
siderable length, and this being done with a multitude
of them enables the animal to hold on fast to its prey.

610. Some of the Polypes of this order have a skele-
ton. It is formed inside of the animal at its kryer part,
and it is fastened to the spot where the Polype lives.
We may consider it as a foundation frame-work for its
body. Resting on this, it puts forth its arms continually
to take its food.

611. But this skeleton differs from the skeletons of all
other animals in one respect. Other animals retain their
skeletons all their lifetime ; but the Polype does not. It
is constantly making new skeleton. It is a singular proc-
ess, and I will describe it to you with its results. The
very lowest part of the Polype is continually dying, and
with it the skeleton which it covers. But as this dies
the animal keeps its full size, for the body is continually
supplied with new living substance on the borders of the
dying portion. It grows just as fast as it dies. It there-
fore is all the time moving upward, making new skele-
ton, and leaving the old below. The result, you plainly
see, would be a column of dead skeleton with the Polype
at the top of it. In this column, after a while, the living
part is but small in comparison with the dead part below.

612. This result you see represented in Fig. 272, one

KADIATES. 351

of the Caryophyllia. Here are
two stony columns formed by two
Polypes. The animals are ever
at the summits, with only a small
portion of the columns in their
bodies and living. The rest is
like dead bone. It differs from
the bones of common animals in
its composition. Their bones are
made of phosphate of lime, while
the Polype's skeleton is made of
Kg. 27-2.-caryoPhyiiia. the car^onate of lime, Or chalk,

like the shells of the Mollusks. All of this stony sub-
stance forming these columns is supplied from the blood
of the Polype. It gets into the blood from the water,
and from the food which the Polype eats. The immense
masses of coral seen in some localities are formed there
in the same way essentially with the bones of the Verte-
brates and the shells of the Mollusks and Crustacea.
You observe in the figure that on the summit of one of
the columns there are two Polypes, one being larger than
the other. Here is the beginning of a branching process
which is very common. A second Polype has started
out of the side of the original one ; and, as the growth
and death go on, now there will be two columns instead
of one from that point. And as these grow upward,
there may be still other divisions in the same manner.

613. Some species of coral-forming Polypes, instead of
being on branches, are distributed over a continuous sur-
face of a stony or calcareous mass. This arrangement is
represented in the Astrea Viridis, Fig. 273 (page 352).
Here is a rounded mass of limestone, mafle up of the
united skeletons of Polypes. Over its upper portion is a
fleshy covering connecting the Polypes together, making
what is called a polypidom, or household of Polypes.
At a a are the Polypei , out of their cells and fully ex-
panded. At b b the animals are within the cells. At c is
23

352 NATURAL HISTORY.

the stone uncovered bv the
flesh. Among the expand-
ed Polypes are seen two
which are out of their cells,
but their tentacles are not
expanded.

614. It is chiefly by the
coral-forming animals of this
order that the coral reefs
and islands have been built.
So immense are the works
Fig. 273.— Mass of Astrea Vmdis. which large companies of
these animals perform here and there, that we may re-
gard the changes which they produce as among the most
important to which the earth has been subjected, at least
since it has been inhabited by man. A large number of
the Polynesian Islands, and many of those in the Indian
Ocean, have been constructed by these little animals.
They are continually building extensive reefs, also, in va-
rious forms and in different positions. Off the coast of
New Holland there is a coral reef over one thousand
miles in length. Great as are the changes now going on
from the agency of these little architects, it is supposed
that in what may be called the forming ages of our earth
they had a still greater agency, in the formation of the
limestone rocks which constitute so large a part of the
crust of the globe.

615. There is another order of Polypes called the As-
teroida, from the star-like appearance of the tentacles.
The Red Corals, the " Organ-pipe Corals," the Sea Fans,
etc., belong to this order. Some in this order verge to-
ward the sponges. Their habits are, for the most part,
so much like those of the other Polypes that I will not
dwell on them.

616. The proper place of the Sponges it is difficult to
determine. If they are really animals, they are of the
lowest grade, exhibiting not the least signs of sensation.

RADIATES.

353

They consist wholly of a substance which is considered,
from the smell produced by burning it, to be much like
the horny substance found in many animals. There are
two kinds of pores — a vast number of minute pores, and
here and there larger ones among them, termed vents.
Examined in their living state, it is manifest that from
the larger pores of the Sponges water is constantly pass-
ing out in currents, and it is supposed that it as constant-
ly passes in through the minute pores. This is analogous
to some movements that occur in certain animals. The
net-work of which sponge is composed is found, by ex-
amination with the microscope, to be made up of fine
tubes. One hundred and fifty different species have been
described by Lamarck.

617. In Fig. 274 is a representation of a section of a

Fig. 274.— Section of living Sponge.

piece of sponge, exhibiting the branches which conduct
the water from the minute interstices to the large vents.
The currents which come out from these vents are ren-
dered apparent by the minute particles of matter which
happen to be in them, as represented in the figure. The
Sponge lives on the water and what the water holds in
solution, and for its growth it is therefore necessary that
water should be constantly circulating through it in the
manner which I have described. There is one species in
which, the Sponge being of the shape of a bottle, the ab-

354 NATURAL HISTOEY.

sorbing pores are all on the outside, while the vents are
inside. The result is that there is a strong current of
water constantly pouring out of the mouth of the bottle.

Questions. — How do the Polypes differ from the other classes of Ra-
diates in regard to locomotion ? Why were they so long supposed to
be plants ? What is said of their construction ? What is said of the
.structure of the Hydra ? What of its mode of taking its prey ? What
of its locomotion ? What is stated by Trembley ? Describe the two
ways in which Hydras are multiplied. What is said of mutilating
them ? What of uniting two together ? What is said of the Helianthoi-
da? Where are the Actiniae commonly found ? What is said of their
multiplication from portions of their disk ? What is said of their mus-
cular structure ? What of their mouths ? What of their voracity ?
What is the structure of their tentacles? What is said of the skele-
tons which some Polypes have ? How does their composition differ
from that of the skeletons of common animals ? In what other re-
spect do they differ ? How is the formation of the skeleton column
exemplified in the Caryophyllia ? Whence comes the supply of the
material to make this skeleton ? What is said of the associated Pol-
ypes as exemplified in the Astrea Viridis ? What is said of the form-
ation of the coral reefs and islands? What of the agency of the coral
animals in the forming ages of the earth ? What is said of the Aster-
oida ? What is said of the structure of the Sponges ? How many
species are there ? Describe the arrangement of the Bottle Sponge.

CHAPTER XXXVI.

CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS.

IT is my intention in this chapter to retouch some
points which have been treated of, and also to bring out
some others which may add to the interest of the gen-
eral subject.

618. The pupil has observed, as he has proceeded, the
adaptation of each animal to its circumstances and to its
mode of life. This has been seen both in classes of ani-
mals and in individual cases. I will refer to a few ex-
amples of this adaptation in classes. Birds are fitted in
both their internal and external structure (as you saw in

CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 355

the first part of Chapter XII.) for flight in the air ; while
the fishes are so constructed (§ 353-357) as to swim eas-
ily in the water. And then, in those classes of birds that
are designed in part for life on the water, there are spe-
cial provisions for swimming in their webbed feet and
other arrangements (§ 291). Some animals are carnivo-
rous, while others are herbivorous, and others still eat a
variety of food, and may even be omnivorous, like man.
The adaptation of organization in these different cases
has reference, as you have seen, both to the kind of food
and to the mode of obtaining it. If it had reference
merely to the former, it would be seen only in the teeth,
the jaw, and the stomach. But in its reference to the
latter, it is observed in the structure and arrangement of
the organs of the senses, and even of the whole frame.
For example, in the carnivorous animal of prey, there
must be a full development of the senses of sight, hear-
ing, and smell ; a frame capable of quick movement ;
strong claws, worked by stout muscles, to hold the prey ;
teeth fitted to tear it in pieces, and a stomach altogether
different from that of the herbivorous animals.

619. The adaptations in relation to temperature are
very interesting. Animals that live in cold climates have
coverings which differ greatly from those of animals liv-
ing in warm countries. The elephant, with his scanty
hairs, is in strong contrast in this respect with the shag,
gy-coated bear. Our supply of furs comes from north-
ern regions, from animals that could not withstand the
cold without such coverings. As the horse is a native
of a warm climate, he requires the blanket in our winters,
and for the same reason the cow and ox need to be bet- .
ter sheltered than is ordinarily done among the farmers-
of temperate climates. In the arctic regions, even ani-
mals that are protected by a furry covering have also, as
a farther defense against the cold, a good layer of fat,
which not only keeps the heat in by its non-conducting
property, but also aids in the production of heat. We

356 NATURAL HISTORY.

may notice in this connection, in the insect world, the
special provisions against the cold in the cocoons which
are to remain through the winter to another season

(§ 413)-

620. The individual adaptations seen in the different
species are endless in variety. Those which I have
brought to your notice, in passing through the four sub-
kingdoms of the animal world, are exceedingly few in
comparison with all that might be gathered up, and new
ones are coming to view every day in the researches of
zoologists. Each species has its peculiar habits, and, of
course, its corresponding adaptations in its structure.
The study in this respect has no end, and the fertility of
the wisdom and skill of the Deity is seen to have no
bounds. The humblest observer who enters this field
may find many things that no one has yet recorded, and
thus may be a contributor to zoological science.

621. Of the individual adaptations I will notice a few
of those only which are of a marked exceptional charac-
ter. The whale is a Mammal having lungs, and yet it
lives in the water like the fishes. For this it must have
an especial adaptation in the arrangement of the circu-
lating system, as described in § 187. So also, as it is a
warm-blooded animal, its heat must be kept from escap-
ing too rapidly by a special provision, and this must be
in consonance with its fish-like habits (§ 186). — The bat
is a Mammal, and yet, as it is destined to get its liveli-
hood on the wing and in the dark, it has peculiarly con-
structed wings for this purpose (§ 58, 59, and 60). — Most
fishes are shaped with reference to ease and rapidity of
movement (§ 353). Hence they are like boats for rac-
ing, long, spindle-shaped ; and they have no projections
like a shoulder to prevent their gliding swiftly through
the water. But there are some exceptions, as in the
short, big-mouthed Lophius (Fig. 172). — Its habits ex-
plain the reason of the exception. The brain of man is
but the fortieth or fiftieth part of the weight of his whole

CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 357

body, and yet it receives about the fifth or sixth part of
all the blood in circulation, simply because the amount
of thinking done there requires this supply to keep the
instrument of thought in good condition. To prevent
this great amount of blood from flowing too rapidly and
forcibly into the brain, the arteries, as they enter the
skull, are so arranged that the flow shall be circuitous
rather than direct. Then, again, there is a farther spe-
cial provision against the too free admission of blood into
the brain in animals that hold their heads downward
much of the time, as grazing animals. When we hold
our heads downward, very uneasy sensations are soon
produced from the undue amount of blood in the head;
but in the grazing animal this effect is prevented by a di-
vision of the arteries into a net-work before they enter
the brain. In this connection I will also refer you to the
remarkable provision against a sudden rush of blood to
the head in the deer when the circulation in the " velvet"
is stopped (§ 164).

622. The adaptations which we witness in the differ-
ent conditions of animals that pass through a full meta-
morphosis are of exceeding interest. That the adapta-
tions of a crawling worm should all be exchanged, dur-
ing the sleep of the animal, for those of a beautiful flying
insect (§ 405), is one of the most wonderful things in na-
ture. Still more wonderful is the change of adaptation,
when an animal fitted to live like a fish experiences, in
the midst of a state of full activity, internal changes
which prepare it at length to emerge with lungs and
wings, leaving its skin behind it in the water, as exempli-
fied in the musquito (§ 502).

623. But adaptation is displayed in the most interest-
ing manner in the relations of organization to the capa-
bilities of animals. The more an animal knows, the more
complicated is its structure, or, in other words, the more
extensive is the machinery which is provided for the use
of its mind. We see this both in the apparatus of the

358 NATURAL H1STOKY.

senses and in that of voluntary motion, and also in the
nervous system, by which these two kinds of apparatus
are connected with the mind.* In the lower orders of
animals the senses are very imperfectly developed, and
in some most of the senses are absent. Thus, in the Hy-
dra (§ 599) and in the Actiniae (§ 576) there is no evi-
dence of the existence of but one sense, that of toucht
The Actinias are, indeed, sensibly aifected by light, but
this does not prove that they see. As we go upward in
the scale we find the apparatus of the senses generally
more and more developed. Taking all of them into view,
the senses are best developed in man, though some of
them, for special purposes, have a higher capacity in cer-
tain animals than in him. Some may have a more acute
smell, as the dog, or see farther, as the eagle ; but no an-
imal has all the senses in such perfection as man. The
same can be said of the muscular apparatus. The vari-
ety of muscular action is greatest of all in man, while in
some animals there are special muscular endowments for
special purposes above any thing of the kind to be found
in him. The gradation in the nervous system is still
more definitely marked. In man it has its fullest devel-
opment ; and, as we go down in the scale, we at length
come to animals that have no distinct brain, and finally
to those in which, as the hydra, no trace of any thing
like a nerve can be found. In these last nervous matter
is presumed to exist because actions are performed which,
in animals of a more defined organization, are known to
be dependent upon nervous agency.

624. Amid all the variations of structure to suit the
different wants and capabilities of animals, the Creator
has adopted certain general plans, so that order prevails?
throughout all the extreme variety of the animal king^
dom. We can see this whether we take into view large

* For the relations of the senses, the muscles, and the nervous sys-
tem, I refer you to the chapter on the Nervous System in my "First
Book in Physiology."

CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 359

groups, as classes or sub-kingdoms, or smaller ones, as
families or genera. It is in the typical forms that we
have these plans fully brought to view ; while there is in
the aberrant, in proportion to the degree in which they
are so, a departure from these plans, or, rather, a modi-
fication of them, to suit the particular wants and habits
in each case. Thus, in the Vertebrates, the plan of the
skeleton is very perfectly developed in the higher ani-
mals, and especially in man. But the general features of
the plan are the same in all this sub-kingdom. This may
be seen if we take the skeleton as a whole, as illustrated
in the first chapter, or if we look at some particular por-
tion of it, as the arm and hand, as illustrated in regard
to the nipper of a Whale (g 185), the anterior extremity
of the Dugong (§ 195), the wing of the Bat (§ 58), and
the wing of birds (§ 198). In the Articulata, the ring-
like arrangement, seen so decidedly in most of the ani-
mals of this sub-kingdom, as the Centipede (§ 381), is not
really given up in those where it seems to be, as in the
Crab tribe ; but a careful observation shows that it is
only modified by making some of the rings exceedingly
broad, while others are made exceedingly narrow (§ 526).
There is not here an abandonment of the general plan,
but a departure or aberration from it to some extent,
making an aberrant form, in distinction from the typical
forms where the ring-like arrangement is fully carried
out. What I have thus said of the Vertebrates and the
Articulates is essentially true of all parts of the animal
kingdom.

625. The great wonder is that so much uniformity of
plan can be made consistent with such extreme variety,
the minutiaB of exact adaptation being in all cases fully
carried out. There would have been a much smaller dis-
play of wisdom and skill, if the same variety had been at-
tained without the extended general plans which we see
were adopted. None but omnipotent power could so
connect endless variations in minutia3 with so few typical
forms and arrangements.

360 NATURAL HISTOKY.

626. With these general plans there is in every animal
a marked relation of each part to every other part. Ev-
ery bone, for example, not only has its exact relation to
every other bone, but also to every other part and organ.
It is from this harmony existing in every animal frame
that the zoologist is able to know the general structure
and habits of an animal on inspecting a single bone or
tooth belonging to it. For example, suppose that he
picks up a tooth with two stout roots and a sharp cutting
edge rising to a point, such as you see in Fig. 275. Let

>» us see what he can know in regard to the
|^|||rlL animal to which this tooth belonged. First
JLJ^^^P he would know that it was a Vertebrate,
f W |jrfe for no teeth at all like this are ever found
IV ^H m an ammal outside of the Vertebrate class-
• "IF ^ es* ^e knows, therefore, that this animal
y/ had a brain and spinal marrow, that its

Fig. 275. senses were well developed, and that its
blood was red. Then the two long roots show that the
tooth was deeply implanted in a double socket, and that
the animal was, therefore, a Mammal, for this arrange-
ment is seen only in that class. The cutting edge of the
crown indicates that the animal was a carnivorous quad-
ruped, and that its jaws moved upon each other with a
scissors-like motion (§ 67), and not a grinding one, as in
the herbivorous quadrupeds. It may be inferred, also,
that the feet were not hoofed, but armed with claws for
securing the prey, and that the muscles both of the limbs
and head were very strong. The general shape of the
animal (§ 70) can also be made out, and its size can be
estimated from the size of the tooth. The kind of stom-
ach which it had can also be known (§ 68). Baron Cu-
vier had great skill in such studies. From a single bone,
or even a piece of one, he could picture an entire skele-
ton, and describe the character and the habits of the an-
imal.

627. The general plans adopted by the Creator should,

CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 361

of course, be our guide in the classification of animals, so
that it may be a natural and not an artificial classifica-
tion. In studying nature we should always endeavor to
read correctly the traces of the mind of the Creator.

628. The distribution of animals in the various regions
of the earth is a very interesting subject, but my limits
will allow of but a brief notice of it. Man is the only
animal that is found in every part of the earth. He is
thus a cosmopolite, because he has a mind that can con-
trive clothing and habitations suitable to every variety
of climate. Next to him in general diffusion are some
of those animals which are domesticated by him, and also
some which follow him and dwell in his habitations, as
the mouse, the rat, the fly, etc. Most animals are limited
to certain regions, differing, however, in the extent of
their diffusion — some having a wide range, while others
are confined to comparatively narrow limits. Those an-
imals which are found in any particular region or coun-
try are said to constitute its Fauna, as the flowers found
there make up its Flora. We speak of the Faunas of
the arctic, the temperate, and the tropic regions. Then,
also, we subdivide these into Faunas of portions of these
regions of greater or less extent, according to circum-
stances. The dividing lines between the different zoo-
logical provinces thus marked out are by no means im-
passable boundaries, for there is generally a mingling of
animals near the borders of two adjacent Faunas. Thus,
although the Fauna of the United States and that of the
region west of the Rocky Mountains are very distinct,
yet these mountains do not effect an entire separation,
for some animals of either Fauna are found on both sides
of the range.

629. The Faunas of the arctic region have compara-
tively few species, but the number of individuals of each
is often immense. Especially is this true of the fishes and
the birds. The birds are mostly of the aquatic tribes —
gulls, cormorants, ducks, petrels, etc. All the animals

3ti2 NATURAL HISTORY.

are of a dull color. Not a bird of bright plumage is to
be found. Of terrestrial animals, the most noticeable are
the White Bear, the Reindeer, the White Fox, etc. ; and
of the aquatic Mammals, the Seals and the Whales. There
are no reptiles, few insects, and no coral animals.

630. .In the Faunas of the temperate regions there is
much greater variety than in those of the arctic. Ter-=
restrial animals abound here. The birds exhibit consid-
erable variety of color. One of the prominent features
of the Fauna of the temperate zone is the constant change
which is going on in it from the variety in the seasons.
Especially is this true of the northern portion. In the
colder months insect life has retired for hibernation, and
vegetable life is, for the most part, in a similar state.
The sources of livelihood for many animals are thus cut
off. The birds, therefore, migrate to warmer regions,
and many of the mammals hibernate ; and in the spring
the mammals wake up, and the birds return, making na-
ture, which was so still in winter, vocal again.

631. Abundance, variety in form, and brilliancy of col-
ors are the distinguishing characteristics of the tropical
Faunas. " All the principal types of animals," say Agas-
siz and Gould, " are represented, and all contain numer-
ous genera and species. We need only to refer to the
tribe of Humming-birds, which numbers not less than 300
species. It is very important to notice that here are con-
centrated the most perfect, as well as the oldest types of
all the classes of the animal kingdom. The tropical re-
gion is the only one occupied by the Quadrumana, the
herbivorous Bats, the great Pachydermata, such as the
Elephant, the Hippopotamus, and the Tapir, and the whole
family of Edentata. Here, also, are found the largest of
the Cat tribe, the Lion and Tiger. Among the Birds, we
may mention the Parrots and Toucans as essentially trop-
ical ; among the Reptiles, the largest Crocodiles and gi-
gantic Tortoises ; and, finally, among the articulated an-
imals, an immense variety of the most beautiful insects.

CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 363

The marine animals, as a whole, are equally superior to
those of other regions ; the seas teem with Crustaceans
and numerous Cephalopods, together Avith an infinite va-
riety of Gasteropods and Acephala. The Echinoderms
there attain a magnitude and variety elsewhere unknown ;
and, lastly, the Polypes there display an activity of which
the other zones present no example. Whole groups of
islands are surrounded with coral reefs formed by these
little animals."

632. This variety is made more striking by the fact
that each continent has many animals in its tropical re-
gion peculiar to itself. Thus the Giraife and Hippopota-
mus appear only in Africa ; and that strange animal, the
Sloth, is found only in America. The 300 species of Hum-
ming-birds are exclusively American, nearly all of them
being tropical. The Sunbirds, on the other hand, which
are somewhat like them, do not appear at all in America,
but are widely scattered over Asia, Africa, and the isl-
ands of the Pacific.

633. Some of the local Faunas have prominent pecul-
iarities. The Fauna of Brazil is exceedingly rich, with
its gigantic Reptiles, its Monkeys, its Edentata, its bril-
liant Humming-birds, and its wonderful variety of insects.
There is no part of the world that has so peculiar a Fauna
as Australia. Here are great numbers of Marsupial ani-
mals. Here, also, is that strange animal, the Duck-billed
Platypus (§ 133) ; and here, too, is the Black Swan, sup-
posed to be an impossibility till it was found in that sin-
gular country.

634. The pupil has by no means obtained an adequate
idea of the abundance and variety of the animal kingdom
from what he has seen in this book of its different depart-
ments. In so small a space only a few specimens of each
group could come under consideration. That you may
have some idea of the extent of the field which zoology
has opened, I will give you some statements of the num-
bers of animals from Agassiz and Gould. The number

364 NATURAL HISTORY.

of species of Vertebrates is probably 20,000, of whicli
the Mammals are 2000, the Birds 6000, the Reptiles 2000,
and the Fishes 8000 or 10,000. There are probably over
15,000 Mollusks. The Insects are the most numerous
class of animals, there being already collected from 60
to 80,000 species. Of all the Articulates there are about
100,000 now known, and it is safe to compute the whole
number at 200,000. If we add to the above 10,000 for
the Radiates, we shall have about 250,000 species. It is
also estimated by Agassiz that there is about the same
number of species of fossil animals ; that is, those which
are not now in existence, but which are known to have
existed by the remains that we find of them in the rocks
and in the earth. I have noticed a few of these in pass-
ing, as the Mastodon (§ 139), the Iguanodon (§ 326), and
the Ammonites (§ 551).

635. But farther than all this, we can get no adequate
idea of the abundance of animal life if we do not take
into view the minuter living forms, as well as those
which are ordinarily noticed. These I have not consid-
ered, because it would lead me into too wide a field.
Quite large portions of the earth — of its rocks, and mount-
ains, and sand, and mud, and dust — are made up in part
of the remains of minute animals, called, therefore, ani-
malcule, or, in English, animalcules. Some of these are
so small that their structure can not be made out except
by the aid of the microscope, and some can not even be
seen at all by the naked eye. For example, the stone
used for building in Paris, and in all the country round
it, is so full of the shells of an animalcule, that there are
58,000 in a cubic inch, or three thousand millions in a
cubic yard. This animal belongs to a group which are
called Foraminifera, because their shells are full of little
foramens or openings. The substance within the cham-
bers of the shell is mostly a translucent jelly, and through
the openings branch out root-like legs, on which it is cu-
rious to see the animal walk. Foraminifera, perhaps of

CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS.

365

the size of the head of a small pin, may sometimes be
seen thus walking on the glass walls of an aquarium; and
a great variety of species can be found in the sand of
most sea-coasts, as any one may see if he examine a hand-
ful of it with a pocket lens. In the chalk formations
there are remains of even smaller animals than these.
Ehrenberg, on examining chalk very minutely divided,
found in it some many-chambered shells, some of them
whole and some in fragments. He calculated that there
were a million in every cubic inch, or ten millions in ev-
ery pound. He was able to discern them even in the
glazing of a visiting card, although the chalk in this case
had been subjected to such minute division that one
would suppose all trace of organization to have been lost.
636. The earth in and about the city of Richmond^
Virginia, is filled with various shells of Animalculae. A
portion of one of these shells, as seen through a power-
ful microscope, is given in Fig. 276. There are various
species of this shell, called, very appropri-
ately, Coscinodiscus (sieve-like disk), va-
rying in size from the one hundredth to
the one thousandth of an inch in diame-
ter. The guano brought from the island
of Ichaboe is found to contain multitudes
of this and other shells, makiijg a beauti-
ful display as a little of the dust is placed
in the field of the microscope. These
shells are the remains of animalculae that
lived in the water and were eaten by fish-
es. Then these fishes were devoured by
sea-birds ; so that these shells must have
Fig. 276. passed through the process of digestion ,
twice, and after that were exposed in the guano-bed to*
the ordinary causes of decay perhaps for centuries ; and
yet, says Professor Brocklesby, " under all these influ-
ences they remain unchanged, and the eye of the natural
ist at last detects these minute structures, still possess-

366 NATURAL HISTORY.

ing their original beauty, with the delicate tracery of
their rich configuration, almost as sharp and clear as it
was, perhaps, a thousand years ago."

637. The Tripoli, or rotten-stone of Bohemia, which,
when ground, is used as a polishing powder, is full of
flinty shells, which are so minute that forty thousand mil-
lions are contained in a single cubic inch. Other in-
stances, in great number, could be cited, from various
quarters of the world, of large deposits of the remains of
animalcules, in rocks, in earth, in peat-bogs, and in mud.
Well does Lamarck say of these deposits, that " it is by
means of the smallest objects that Nature every where
produces her most remarkable and astonishing phenom-
ena. Whatever she may seem to lose in point of volume
in the production of living bodies, is amply made up by
the number of individuals, which she multiplies with ad-
mirable promptitude, to infinity. The remains of such
minute animals have added much more to the mass of
materials which compose the exterior of the crust of the
globe than the bodies of Elephants, Hippopotami, and
Whales." In § 614 I spoke of the agency of coral ani-
mals in building up portions of the earth by the forma-
tion of their skeletons; but the agency of these animal-
cules, by means of their remains, is vastly greater.

638. The name Infusoria was given to animalcules be-
cause they abound in infusions of decomposing vegetable
or animal substances. By some, however, this term is
confined to those animalcules which have cilia, by which
they swim through water. An abundance of these can
be obtained in warm weather from the surface of water
in ponds, especially where there is a reddish or green
tinge, or a slimy layer. In Fig. 277 you have a variety
of these Infusoria. They move about very freely in the
water by means of their cilia. " These movements," says
Carpenter, " are extremely various in their character in
different species ; and when a number of dissimilar forms
are assembled in one drop of water, the spectacle is en.

CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS.

367

Fig. 277.

tertaining. Some propel themselves directly forward
with a velocity which appears (when thus highly magni«
fied) like that of an arrow, so that the eye can scarcely
follow their movement ; while others drag their bodies
slowly along, like the Leech. Some make a fixed point
of some portion of the body, and revolve around it with
great rapidity ; while others scarcely present any appear-
ance of animal motion. Some move forward by a uni-
form series of gentle undulations or vibrations ; while
others seem to perform consecutive leaps, of no small ex-
tent compared with the length of their bodies. In some
instances the body is furnished with stiff bristles and
hooks, by the agency of which the animalcule is enabled
to run and leap upon the stems and leaves of aquatic
plants. In short, there is scarcely any kind of movement
which is not practiced by these animalcules. They have
evidently the power of steering clear of obstacles in their
course, and of avoiding each other when swimming in
close proximity. By what kind of sensibility the wonder-
ful precision and accuracy of their movements is guided
is yet very doubtful." One of the most singular of these
Infusoria is the Baccillaria Paradoxa, which is composed
of several parts arranged like a sliding ruler. It moves
along by sliding these parts upon each other, first thrust-
ing them forward, then closing those in the rear upon the
part farthest in front.
24

368

NATURAL HISTORY.

639. Though most of the Infusoria move freely about
in fluids, some are attached, like Polypes, to some solid
base. Many of them are not, however, always thus at-
tached, but have the power of loosing themselves from
their attachment to swim off" by their cilia to find some
other locality. This is the case with the Bell-shaped An-
imalcules, one species of which is represented in Fig
278. The body of the animal is shaped like a bell, and

Fig. 27S. -Bell-shaped Animalcules.

its margin, which is its mouth, is fringed with cilia. The
actual length of its body varies, in different individuals,
from the one two hundred and eightieth '(aw) of an inch
to the one five hundred and seventieth (-54-o)' The tiny
stem by which each animalcule is attached has a muscle

CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 369

in its whole length by which its direction and length can
be altered. When the little creature is alarmed, it sinks
down quickly to the place of its attachment by coiling its
stem, or cable, as it may be called. In some cases, as at
a a a, there are two animalcule on one stern, one hav-
ing grown out from the other, after the manner of some
of the coral Polypes (§612). You see in the figure some
stems without any animalcules. Here they have sepa-
rated themselves from their attachment and swum away.
It is an emigration to better their condition and begin a
new colony.*

640. The field to which I have in this book introduced
the pupil is a very broad and fruitful one, and on every
side invites, in the most attractive manner, your investi-
gation. Go, then, into the garden and the field, to the
sea-side and the river-side, to the pond and the bog, and
watch the movements of animals, and gather materials
for observation at home. The Aquaria, now so properly
becoming fashionable, furnish admirable means for carry-
ing: on some of these observations. Even with but a
small portion of your time devoted to the investigation
of nature, you will soon find that you do not need to go
to a museum to see the wonderful and the beautiful cre-
ations of Almighty power, but that these are all around
you, and even in the dust beneath your feet.

641. The animal kingdom is a great harmonious whole,
with all its forms, from the minute Infusoria to the mon-
strous Elephants and Whales, having fixed relations to
each other. These relations are not all known, but more
and more of them are every day discovered. And amid
all the apparent confusion and hazard attending the nat-
uraUncrease on the one hand, and the destruction effect-
ed on the other by the voracity of animals and other

* For more full information in regard to the Infusoria. I would rec*
ommend to both teacher and pupil a work by Professor Brocklesby,
entitled "Views of the Microscopic World," published by Pratt, Oak-
ley & Co.

370 NATURAL HISTORY.

causes, a superintending Providence maintains the gen-
eral harmony, preventing any dangerous permanent in-
crease or destruction of any species. Multitudes have,
indeed, been destroyed in ages long gone by; but this
was for definite purposes, which the geologist has been
able, for the most part, to decipher.

642. Not only have all animals relations to each other,
but they have relations, direct or indirect, near or re-
mote, to man. The earth is his residence, and all things
in it were made for him. Hence it is that in his organ-
ization the same general principles are in play which we
find exhibited in the animals to which he bears the rela-
tions referred to. But while he is thus linked to the an-
imal existences around him, he is the only animal on the
earth that is destined to live any where else. He is link-
ed to other higher existences by the possession of a soul,
which has been very properly said to be " that side of
our nature which is in relation with the Infinite ;" and,
by virtue of this, when his relation to the animals of this
world ceases, another and a more glorious body is pro-
vided for him with adaptations fitted to his new and
eternal condition.

Questions. — What is said of adaptation ? What of it in birds and
fishes ? What of it in relation to carnivorous animals ? How are
the coverings of animals adapted to climate ? What is said of the fat
of animals in the arctic regions? What example of adaptation to
temperature is given from the insect world ? What is said of the va-
riety of individual adaptations ? How is the organization of the Whale
adapted to its mode of life? What is said of the Bat? What of
fishes ? What is stated in regard to the brain of man and of grazing
animals? What in regard to the "velvet" of the Deer? What is
said of adaptation in relation to the metamorphosis of animals ? What
is said of adaptation in regard to the capabilities of animals? What
are the relations of the senses, the muscles, and the nervous system to
each other? What is said of the senses of animals? What of their
muscles ? What of the nervous system ? What is said of the general
plans of the Creator ? Illustrate by reference to the Vertebrates and
to the Articulates. What is there especially wonderful in the carry-
ing out of these plans ? What is said of the mutual relations of the

CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 371

parts of an animal ? Give in full the illustration in regard to a tooth.
What is said of Cuvier ? How should the classification of animals be
made out ? Why is man a cosmopolite ? What animals come next
to him in extent of diffusion ? What is said of the distribution of
most animals ? What is a Fauna ? What is said of the Faunas of
the arctic regions ? Of the temperate ? Of the tropic ? What cir-
cumstance increases the variety in the tropical Faunas ? What is
said of some of the local Faunas ? Give the statement of the num-
bers of species in different departments of the animal kingdom ?
What are fossil animals ? What is said of their number ? Mention
some that have been noticed in this book, and give some facts in re-
gard to them. What is said of minute animals? Give the statement
in regard to the shells of Foraminifera. Describe the structure and
habits of these animals. What is said of the chalk formations?
What is said of the shells of the Coscinodiscus ? Of the Tripoli ?
What of animalcular deposits ? Why are animalcules termed Infu-
soria ? To what animalcules do some confine this term ? Where
can these be obtained ? What is said of their forms and motions ?
What is said of the Baccillaria Paradoxa ? How are some Infusoria
like Polypes? Give the statement in regard to the Bell-shaped Ani-
malcules. What is said of the field opened to you in the observation
of nature ? What of the mutual relations of the animal world ? What
of the preservation of them by Providence ? What of the relations of
man to animals ? What of his higher relation* ?

GLOSSARY.

i.The numbers refer to the paragraphs where the terras may be found explained.,!

Aberrant , 70 Fauna 628

Acalephs SSS^elidae 64

Acephalous 564 Fissirostres 236

Amphibious 100 Foraminifera 635

634

275

15

550

21

Animalcules 635 Fossil.

Aphaniptera 4 19 Gallinaceous.

Aptera 419 Ganglion

Aquatic 100 Gasteropoda

Arboreal 52 Genus

Asteroida 615 Haustellate 393

Aurelia

486

Bimana 24

Branchia 535

Buccinidaj.... .. 562

Canidae 64

10

566 Imago 403

Carapace

Carnivora... , 64

Cephalopoda 550 Larva

Cephalo-thorax 299

Cephalous 550

Cheiroptera 24

Chrysalis 486

Cilia.

582

Cirrhipoda.. 532

Crustacea 521

Decapoda 532

Dentirostres 236 Orthopte

Digitigrade 92 Oviparous

Diptera....' 419

Diurnal 216

Dorsi-branchiata 535

Echino-dermata 583 Phocidaj

Edentata 64

Elytra.. 398 Plantigrade

Helianthoida 606

Hemiptera 419

Herbivorous 67

Hymenoptera 419

Incubation 205

Infusoria 628

Insectivora 64

403

Lepidoptera 419

Mammal 23

Mandible 214

Mantle 566

Marsupial 64

Mollusk 16

Class.". 21 Mustelidw 64

Coleoptera 419 Nacre 554

Conchifera 564 Neuroptera 419

Conirostres 236

Crinoidea 593

Nictitating 207

Nocturnal... 216

Omnivorous 93

Order 21

419

23

Pachydermata 64

Palpi 394

Pedimana... 24

Phytozoa 583

374

GLOSSARY.

Plastron 314

Pro-legs ... 479

Pteropoda 550

Pulmonifera 560 Terrestrial

Pupa 402 Tunicata..

Quadrumana 42 Typical

Radiate 17

Rhynchota 491

Rodentia 64

Ruminantia 64 Vertebra..

Siphuncle 554

Species 21

Sub-kingdom 21

Tenuirostres .. 236

100

564

70

Unguiculata 24

Ungulata 24

Ursidaj 64

3

INDEX.

(The numbers refer to the pages.)

Acttlephs

Acephalous Mollusks

Actinia 334,

Aculeata

Adaptation

Adjutant

Agile Gibbon

Air-bladder of Fishes

Air-cells of Birds

Albatross

Alligators

Ambergris

Ambulatoria

American Kace

Ammonites

Amphibia

Anchovy

Anemones, Sea

Angora Goat

Animalcules

Ant-eaters

Antelopes

Antennae

Ant-lion

Ants

Ants, White

Aphaniptera

Aphidae

Apoda t

Apples of Sodom

Aptera

Apteryx

Arachnida

Argonauts

Argus Pheasant

Armadilloes

Articulates 19,

Articulates, circulation in

Articulates, nervous system of
Ass

341 Astrea Viridis 351

328 Auks 182

349Avocets 178

274 Axis Deer 98

354

177iBaboons 34

33Babyroussa 82

211 Badgers 61

118 Bald Eagle 129

184Banxrings 68

195 Barnacles 311

111 Barn Owl 137

255 Batrachia 204

28 Bats 39

320 Baxillaria Paradoxa 367

204 Bearded Vulture 136

221 Bears 58

334 Beavers 71

95 Bedbugs 293

364 Bees 278

73|Beetles 246

99|Bell-shaped Animalcules 368

230 Berenice..., 286

267Beroe 342

276 Birds 115

265 Bison 91

298 Bivalves 317

291 Blackbirds 152

221 Blind Worm 200

271 Bloodhound 51

298 Blubber of the Whale 109

171 Bluebird 148

299 Blue Jay 143

321 Blue Stocking , 178

169 Boas 204

74 Bobolink 142

225BookLice 266

226 Book Scorpion 306

19 Bovidse 90

85 Bower-bird 144

376

INDEX.

Brahmin Bull 91

Circulation in Brain 356

Brown Thrasher 152 Circulation of Articulates 226

Brush Turkey 170 Circulation of Crocodiles 194

Buccinidai 327 Circulation of Fishes 209

Buffaloes 91 Circulation of Mammals 189

Bustards 173 Circulation of Mollusks 319

Butcher-birds 141,448 Circulation of Reptiles 189

Butterflies 285 Cirrhipoda 311

Buzzards 183 Civet Cats 49

Byssus 330|Clams 332

'Climbing Birds 161

Cabinet Beetle 249 j Clio Borealis 322

Cachelot 1 10 Clothes Moths 288

Caddice Flies 268 Coaita Spider Monkey 36

Camelopards 107 Cobra di Capello 203

Camels 103 Cochineal 292

Canidas 50 Cockles 331

Canker Worms 284 Cockroaches 253

Capabilities of Animals, adap- Cocoons 238

tation in relation to 357 Cold-blooded Vertebrates 187

Capricorn Beetles 250 Coleoptera 245

Caprida3 95 Colnbrine Snakes 202

Capybara 72 Condor 135

Carapace 18 Cone-billed Perchers 142

Carnivora 43 Cone family of Mollusks 327

Carrier Pigeons 168 Coral 350

Carrion Beetles 248 Cormorant 185

Caryophyllia 351 Coscinodiscus 365

Cashmere Goats 95 Cowries 327

Cassowary 171 Crabs 308

Caterpillar-hunters 247 Cranes 175

Caterpillars 282 Craw of Pigeon 166

Cats 49 Creepers 160

Caucasian Race 27 Crickets 256

CecropiaMoth 241 Crinoidea 340

Cedar-bird 153 Crocodiles 193

Centipede 225 Crop of Birds 120

Cervidae 96 Cross-bills 146

Cetacea 108 Crotalida3 202

Chalk formations 365 Crows 143

Chameleon 196 Crusader Carrion Beetle 249

Cheese-hoppers 293 Crustacea 367

Cheiroptera 23, 29 Cuckoos 164

Chevaliers 286 Curculios 251

Chickadee 148 Cursores 170

Chimpanzee 31 Cursoria 253

Chipping-bird 142 Cuttlefish 320

Chrysalids 236

Chrysididae 272 Day-flies 264

Cicadas . 290JDecapoda 309

Cilia 337iDeer 96

INDEX. 377

Dentirostres 147 Feet of Moles 67

Dipper ISljFeet of Monkeys 30

Diptera 293|Feet of Opossums 76

Divers 182 Feet of Otters 57

Dogs 50 Feet of Ruminants 88

Dolphins 112 Feet of Seals 62

Domestication 28, 51 iFeet of Spiders 302

Dorsi-branchiata 312 Feet of Starfishes 338

Doves 165 Feet of Swimming Birds 179

Felidae 45

Eagles 127 Finches.....?. 142

Earthworm 313!Fire-flies 250

Earwigs 254|Fire Hangbird 143

Echidna 79|Fishes 208

Echinus 339jFishes, abundance of. 214

Edentata 73lFishes, circulation in 209

Eels 221 1 Fishes, eggs of 215

Egg, formation of Bird in 121, ISllFishes, shape of. 210, 356

Eggs of Crustacea 308 Fishes, skeletons of 212

Eggs of Fishes 215;Fishing Hawk 129

Eggs of Insects 233'Fissirostres 154

Eggs of Shark 216'Flamingo 181

Eider Duck 12iiFlatfish 220

Electrical Eel 222 Fleas 298

Elephant 80 Flies 293

Elephant Seal 64 Flipper of Whale 109

Elks... 97! Flounders... ..221

Elytra 232

Emu . 171

Fly-catchers 152

Flying-fish 211

Entellus 33 Flying Dragon 199

Entozoa 315 Flying Lemur 39

Ephemeridae 264jFlying, mechanism of. 117

Ermine 56;Foot of Mollusks 318

Ethiopian Race 28|Foraminifera 364

Eyes of Camel 104|Formicida3 276

Eyes of Felidae and Ruminants 90 Fossils 364

Eyes of Fishes 212 Fowls 168

Eyes of Insects 230 Franklin on American Eagle 130

Eyes of Spiders 305 Frigate Pelican 187

Frog-hoppers 291

Falcons 126 Frogs 206

Father-long-legs 306

Fauna 361 Gall-flies 270

Feathers, structure of. 116 Gasteropods 324

Feet of Beavers 71

Gazelles 101

Feet of Camels 104 Gecko 198

Feet of Elephants 80 Geese 180

Feet of Felidse 45 1 Gibbon, Agile 33

Feet of Goatsucker 155 Gilded Dandy 252

Feet of Insects 232 Gills 209

Feet of Jacanas 179IGiraffe .'07

378

INDEX.

Gizzard of Birds

Gizzard of Insects

Glutton

Gnu

Goats

Goatsucker 142,

Golden Eagle ,

Goldfinch

Goshawk

Gossamer Spiders

Grallatores r.

Grasshoppers

Gravedigger Beetle

Greatfoots

Grebes

Grizzly Bear

Grosbeaks

Grouse

Gulls

Gyrfalcon

Hairworms

Half- winged Insects

Halibut

Hand, capabilities of. 24

Hares

Hawks

Hawksbill Turtle

Hedgehog

Helianthoida

Hemerobiidae

Hemiptera

Hermit Crabs

Herons

Herrings

Hippopotamus

Hive Bees

Honey-dew

Honey-suckers

Hoopoe

Horn-bills

Horn Bug

Horned Horse

Horse

Howling Monkeys

Humble Bees

Humming-birds

Hyasnas

Hydra

Hymenoptera

119Ianthina . ,.. 333

231 Ibex 95

61 Ibis 177

103 Ichneumon family of Insects.. 272

95 Ichneumons 49

154;Iguanas 198

127JIguanodon 199

I43jlmago 235

131|Infusoria 366

303 Insectivora 66

173 Insects 225

257 Insects, digestive organs of.... 231

249jlnsects, distribution of 234

170 i Insects, metamorphosis of 235

182 Insects, respiration of 228

59 Itch animal 306

143 Ivory 81

169

183 Jacanas 179

126 Jackals 54

Jaguar 48

315 Jays 143

289 Jelly-fishes 341

221 Jerboas 71

, 29 John Dory 218

72 Jumping Insects 256

131

193|Kalong Bat 42

68iKangaroo 76

349 Katydids 257

267 Kingbird 152

289 Kingfisher 157

SlOKinkajou 62

176 Kites 131

221 Kudu 102

84

279 Labyrinthic Spider 304

292 Lac 292

160 Lady-birds 246

1 60 Laamodipoda 311

146 Lampreys 222

249 Language of Man and Ani-

103 mals 27

84 Lapwing 174

37 Larva 235

278 Leaf-eaters 252

158 Leeches 315

55 Legs of Birds 122

345 Legs of Crustacea 307

269 Legs of Wading Birds 173

iLemuridse 37

INDEX.

379

Leopards ,

Lepidoptera

Lightning Spring Beetle

Limnaea Spiralis

Limpets

Lion?

Lizards

Llamas

Locusts

Long-eared Bat

Lophius

Loris

Louse

Lynxes

Malay Race

Mammals

Man, hand of

Man, relation of to Animal
Kingdom

Man, skeleton of

Man, superiority of, to Ani-
mals 2

Mandrill...

Manidae

Mantis Religiosa

Manyplies

Marmosets

Marsupials

Martins.....

Mason Spider

Mastodon

Medusa

Melliferous Aculeata

Membrane- winged Insects ....

Mermaids

Metamorphosis of Insects

Migration* of Birds

Migration of Fishes

Mocking-birds

Mole-hills

Moles

Mollusks

Mongolian Race

Monitors

Monkeys

Moschidse

Mother Carey's Chickens

Moths ".....'.

Mound Birds

Mouse

48!Mud-wasp 275

281 Musk Deer 99

250 Musk Ox 94

324 Musquitocs 295

325 Musquitoes, eggs of. 296

40 Musquitoes, proboscis of 296

196 Mustelidse ,.. 55

106

258 Nacre 322

40 Naked-eyed Lizards 201

219 Narwhal « 113

38 Natatores 179

298!Nautilus , , 321

48:Nest of Social Wasp 276

| Net-winged Insects 261

28 Neuroptera 261

22!Newts... 207

24

24
14

25-27

35 Oriole 143

73 Orthoptern 253

254

81
341

235
123
215

Night-hawk 155

Nightingale 148

Ocean Snail 333

Opossums, 25, 76

Orang-outang 32

Orvx.

102

89 Osprey 129

37 Ostriches 170

76 Otters 57

156 Ounce 48

304Ovida3 95

Owls.
Ox...

136
90

278 Oyster-catcher 174

269 Oysters 330

114

Pachydennata 80

Palm Weevils... 252

Palpi 230

150 Pangolins 73

Paradise, Birds of 145

Parrots 162

316 Pearl Oysters, 331

28Pectens...

199

183
287
121

331

Pedimana 29

Pelicans 185

Pellet Beetles 248

Penguins 183

Perchers.

Perching of Birds ,

139
122

70'Peregrinc Falcon 127

380 INDEX.

Petrels 1 83 Respiration of Whales 10S

Pheasants 168: Rhinoceros 83

Phocida 62 Rhinoceros Birds 84

Phosphorescence of Sea 342;Ricebirds 143

Phytozoa 337jRobins 150

Pigeons 165jRodentia , 68

Pine Marten 56 Roe of Fishes 215

Plans in the Animal Creation 358JRooks 144

Plant-lice 191 Rorqual 112

Plastron 19l|Rotifera 315

Platypus^ 78;Rotten Stone 366

Plovers 174: Ruby-tailed Flies 272

Plumage of Birds 123 Ruminantia 87

Polar Bear 59 j Ruminantia, eyes of 90

Polypes 344 Ruminantia, stomach of 88

Polyzoa...... 333|Running Birds 170

Porcupine , 71 Rusty Vapor Moth 288

Porpoise 112J

Prawns 310,Sable 56

Proboscis of Elephant 80 Salamanders 207

Proboscis of Insects 229; Sanatoria 257

Proboscis of Monkey 34 Sardines 221

Pteropoda,... 322jSawflies , 274

Puffins , 182 Scale Insects 292

Puma 48 Scale-winged Insects 281

Pupa.... 235 Scallops 331

Scansores 161

Quadrupeds 43jScavenger Beetles 248

Quails 169 Scorpions 299

[Scratching Birds 164

Raccoon 60jSea-cows 114

Radiates „ 334 Sea Cucumbers 341

Rails.... 179 Sea Eggs 339

Raptores 125

Raptoria.. 254

Sea Fans 352

Seahorse... .. 218

Rasores 164 Seals 62

Rats 70 Sea, phosphorescence of ., 342

Rattlesnakes 202lSea Unicorns * 113

Ravens 144!Secretary Bird 130

Rays 223 Senses of Birds 121

Razor-shell „... 332iSenses of Fishes 212

Eedbird 143 1 Senses of Insects 230

Reindeer 97 Senses of Radiates 336

Reptiles 1 87 Senses of Serpents 201

Reptiles, brain of. 190 Serpents.... 201

Reptiles, circulation in 189;Serpula 312

Respiration of Actinia3 336jSertularia 348

Respiration of Arachnida 300 Seventeen-year Locusts... 291

Respiration of Fishes 208 Shad ". 221

Respiration of Insects 228 Sheath-bills , 170

Respiration of Mollusks... 319, 330 Sheath-winged Insects 245

INDEX. 381

Sheep 95 Swallows 155

Shells 317 Swans 181

Shield-louse 292 Swift 155

Shrew Mouse 67 Swimming Birds 179

Shrikes 148 Swordfish 217

Shrimps 3101

Sickle-bill 178 Tadpoles 204

Silkworms 238 Tail of Birds 123

Simiadae ' 31 Tail of Crocodiles 194

Sirens 207 Tail of Fishes 211

Skeleton of Bat 39 Tapir 82

Skeleton of Camel 15 Teeth of Carnivora 44

Skeleton of Dugong 114 Teeth of Echini 340

Skeleton of Man 14 Teeth of Fishes 213

Skeleton of Ostrich 1 6 Teeth of Gasteropods 325

Skeleton of Perch 16 Teeth of Rodents 69

Skeleton of Turtle 17 Temperature, adaptation in

Skunks 56i relation to 350

Sloth 75 Tenuirostres 158

Slugs 325tTerebella 313

Snails 325 Teredo 332

Snake Lizards 200 Termites 265

Snapping Bugs 250, Terns 184

Snapping Turtles 192 Terricola 313

Snipes 1 77 Thorny Woodcock 327

Snow-bird 142 Thrushes 150

Snowy Owl 138 Tiger Beetles 247

Spanish Fly 251 Tigers 47

Span Worms 284 Tinamous Family 170

Sparrows 142 Toads ." 206

Spawn of Fishes 215 Todies 156

Species and varieties 52 Tongue of Chameleon 197

Species, defined 2l!Tongueof Felidae 45

Species, number of 363 Tongue of Frogs and Toads. . . 205

Spermaceti Whale 110 .Tongue of Humming-birds ... 159

Spiders 300 Tongue of Limpets 325

Spinal Marrow 18 Tooth-billed Birds 147

Sponge 352 Torpedo 223

Spoon-bills 176 Tortoises 191

Spring Beetles 250. Toucans 162

Springbok 100! Tree-hoppers 291

Squirrels 70,Tridacna 331

Stag Beetles 249 Tripoli 366

Stang Fishes 341 Trogons 157

Starfish 20, 337;Troilus 286

Starlings 143 Trumpeter 176

Storks 177Tubicola 312

Sturgeons 219 Tumble Bugs 248

Suctoria , 3 1 5 Tunicated Mollusks 328,333

Sunbirds 159 Turbinidae 326

Surinam Toad 206Turbot 220

382

INDEX.

Turkey Buzzards

Turkeys

Tusseh Silk „..,

Tyrian Purple 327

Unicorns

Univalves 317

Ursidse 58 Whelks

135 Wax-wings 153

168 Weasels ......... 55

243 Web-feet 179

Weevils 251

Whale Louse 311

83 Whales 108

Wheel Animalcules...

Vampire Bat 41

Velvet of Deer

Velvet-spotted Beetle

Venus' Comb

Vertebrae ,

Vertebrates ,

Vespidas

Viperine Snakes

Vultures ,

Wading Birds ,

Walking Leaves ,

Walking Sticks 255

Walrus

Warblers

Warm-blooded Vertebrates .... 22

Wasps

Water Ousel

Water Shrew 68

315
327
155

WhippoonVills

White Ants 2G5

96 Whorl family of Mollusks. .. . 32(j

250 Wing-footed Mollusks 322

327 Wing of Bat 40

13 Wing of Birds 116

ing of Insects 232

275 Wing of Wax-wing 154

52

61

Woodcocks 177

163

.. 294

202 Wolf

173 Woodpeckers.

255 Wrigglers

65Yak
148 Yellow-bird

275 Zebras.
15 1 Zebus..

93
142

85
91

THE END.