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NATURE'S TEACHINGS
HOMAN INVENTION
UNM CHA 1) BV GANGA T CO RL
BY THE
eevee) Gn WOOD, M.A HiS., ime:
AUTHOR OF ‘‘ HOMES WITHOUT HANDS;’’ ‘‘ MAN AND BEAST, HERE AND HEREAFTER ;”’
“(MY FEATHERED FRIENDS;” ‘‘NATURAL HISTORY,” ETC,
GAith upwards of Seven Hundred and Kitty Ellustrations
BOSTON
KO BE RS.) BR OARREE, RS
1885
PREFACE.
GLANCE at almost any page of this work will denote
its object. It is to show the close connection between
Nature and human inventions, and that there is scarcely an
invention of man that has not its prototype in Nature. And
it is worthy of notice that the greatest results have been
obtained from means apparently the most insignificant.
There are two inventions, for example, which have changed
the face of the earth, and which yet sprang from sources that
were despised by men, and thought only fit for the passing
sport of childhood. I allude, of course, to Steam and Elec-
tricity, both of which had been child’s toys for centuries before
the one gave us the fixed engine, the locomotive, and the
steamboat, and the other supplied us with the compass and
the electric telegraph.
In the course of this work I have placed side by side a
great number of parallels of Nature and Art, making the
descriptions as terse and simple as possible, and illustrating
them with more than seven hundred and fifty figures. The
corollary which I hope will be drawn from the work is evident
enough. It is, that as existing human inventions have been
anticipated by Nature, so it will surely be found that in
Nature le the prototypes of inventions not yet revealed to
man. The great discoverers of the future will, therefore, be those
Vili PREFACE.
who will look to Nature for Art, Science, or Mechanics,
instead of taking pride in some new invention, and then finding
that it has existed in Nature for countless centuries.
I ought to mention that the illustrations are not intended to
be finished drawings, but merely charts or maps, calling
attention to the salient points.
Lome
EEE.
EV:
CONTENTS.
ety See
NAUTICAL.
PAGE
. Tue Rart : : : é , : 1
. Tue Oar, THE Paper e.> AND THE Scan ; ; : ; eo Pale,
. Supsrprary APPLIANCES.—Part I. ‘ : : ? ; 5.123
. SussripIARY APPLIANCES.—Parrt II. ‘ : ‘ , . ao rod
. SussipraRy Appuiances.—Part III].—Tue JBoat-Hook anpD
Punt-PoLeE.—Tue Lire-BuoyY AND PONTOON-RAFT . ; ; ~ V4
WAR AND HUNTING.
. Tue Pitratt, THE CLuB, THE SworD, THE SPEAR AND DaccER . 650
. Poison, ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE.—PRINCIPLE OF THE BarB a 02
. PROJECTILE WEAPONS AND THE SHEATH : : s : ay ae
Tur Net : : : : : , : : . : P85
. REVERTED SPIKES . : : ? : = 802
THE Hoox.—DeErFeENsIVE Anioud. unre Fore . : ow lio
- ScaLinc INSTRUMENTS.—DEFENCE oF Fort. _—Inrration. —THE
Faut-Trapr . : ‘ : ae lio 2,
. CoNCEALMENT. eee ae rece potas oF GRAVITY.
—MIscELLANEA . E : . , ; : e é - 144
ARCHITECTURE.
. Tue Hout, Tropic anp Powar.—PInLaARS AND FLooRING.—
TunNEL ENTRANCE OF THE IcLoo.—Doors anp HiNncES.—
SELF-cLosinc Trap-Doors . s i a . 159
. Watts, DovuBLE AND SInGLE.—PorcuEs, mavee AND Wows: —
Tuatcu, SLATES, AND TILES 2 Ee Gri
THE Winpow.—Gt1rRpDErRs, TIES, AND Bornaneans: anes Tonnes _—
THE SusPENSION-BRIDGE a U i 3 ‘ : . 190
LicutHovusrs.— THE DovetaIu. an re Dam.— SuBTERRANEAN
Dwetiincs.—THE Pyramips.—Mortar, Paint, AND VARNISH . 207
b
x CONTENTS.
CHAP.
I. Tue Duicarna-Stick.—SpapE.—SHEARS AND Scrssors.—CuHiseu
AND ApzE.—THE PLANE AND SPOKESHAVE . : : : Z
II. Tue Saw AND 1Ts VARIETIES k : ’ :
III. Borine Toous.—Srrixine Toots. Ga tenn Toors
TV. PoutsHine Toors.—MeEasurine Toons .
OPTICS.
I. Tue Misstons or Huistory.—TuHe Camera Ozscurs.—Lone
AND SHortT SIGHT.—STEREOSCOPE AND PsEUDOSCOPE.—
MULTIPLYING-GLASSES . < : :
II. Tue Warer-TELEScOPE.—IRIS OF THE iva: = Mvare Laine —
Tue SrPEecTROSCOPE.—IHE THAUMATROPE . ‘ : iE
USEFUL ARTS.
I. PrimitivE Man anp His Netrps.—HARTHENWARE.—BALL-AND-
Socket Joint.—ToGeLE oR KNEE JOINT ;
II. Crusuina Instruments.—THE Nut-CRAcKERs, Ronin Minne
AND GRINDSTONE.—PRESSURE OF ATMOSPHERE.—SEED D1IBBLES
AND DRILLS i i .
III. Croru-Dressine. “RES, AND ecune! “pontine Hopi AND
Eyrs, aND CLASP
IV. Tue Storrer, or Cork. An Rae “
V. Tue PRINCIPLE OF THE SpriInGc.—THE Ether ‘Sonianes
ACCUMULATORS.—THE SPIRAL SPRING é :
VI. Sprran AND Ruincep TissuEs.—VARI0uUS Beams IN Narunz
AND ART
VII. Foop anp Comrort
VIII. Domestic ComrortT
TX. ArtiriciAL WARMTH. ee AND pene tne igs
X. WATER, AND MEaAns oF PROcURING IT . ; ‘ ‘
XI. AERostatics.—WEIGHT oF AIR.—EXPANSION BY Heat
XII. Dirro ContTINvVED . : ; 4 : : : : s
XIII. Texiescoric Tusres.—Drirectr Acton Diesnunes oF WEIGHT.
—TReEE-CLIMBING.—THE WHEEL 2 : : 3
XIV. Paper anp MovuLpine . ;
XV. ELEcTRICITY AND GALVANISM 3
XVI. TitLaAcE.—DRAINAGE.—SPIRAL Piioeeey 2 Cinrnen cele Puneet
XVII. Oscinuation.—UNITED STRENGTH.—THE DomE
ACOUSTICS.
I. Percussion.—TuHE String anp ReEep.—TuHre TRuMPET.—HAR-
TRUMPET.—STETHOSCOPE
PAGE
222
239
249
263
276
291
308
320
339
350
360
375
390
400
412
422
436
447
460
472
482
492
504
513
NAUTICAL.
CHAPTER I.
Poetry and Science.—The Paper Nautilus and the Sail_—Montgomery’s “ Pelican
Island.’””—The Nautilus replaced by the Velella.—The Sailing Raft of Nature
and Art.—Description of a Velella Fleet off Tenby.—The Natural Raft and
its Sail.—The Boats of Nature and Art.—Man’s first Idea of a Boat.—The
Kruman’s Canoe and the Great Hastern.—Gradual Development of the Boat.—
The Outrigger Canoe a Mixture of Raft and Boat.—Natural Boats.—The
Water-snails.— The Sea-anemones.— The Egg-boat of the Gnat.—The
Skin-boat of the same Insect.—Shape and Properties of the Life-boat anti-
cipated in Nature.—Natural Boat of the Stratiomys.
THe Rart.
T has been frequently said that the modern developments
of science are gradually destroying many of the poetical
elements of our daily lives, and in consequence are reducing
us to a dead level of prosaic commonplace, in which existence
is scarcely worth having. The first part of this rather
sweeping assertion is perfectly true, but, as we shall presently
see, the second portion is absolutely untrue.
Science has certainly destroyed, and is destroying, many of
the poetic fancies which made a part of daily life. It must
have been a considerable shock to the mind of an ancient
philosopher when he found himself deprived of the semi-
spiritual, semi-human beings with which the earth and water
were thought to be peopled. And even in our own time and
country there is in many places a still lingering belief in the
existence of good and bad fairies inhabiting lake, wood, and
glen, the successors of the Naiads and Dryads, the Fauns and
Satyrs, of the former time. Many persons will doubtless be
surprised, even in these days, to hear that the dreaded Mael-
strom is quite as fabulous as the Symplegades or Scylla and
B
dy NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
Charybdis, and that the well-known tale of Edgar Poe is
absolutely without foundation.
Perhaps one of the prettiest legends in natural history is
that of the Paper Nautilus, with which so much poetry is
associated. We have all been accustomed from childhood to
Pope’s well-known lines beginning—
‘€ Learn of the little Nautilus to sail,”
and some of us may be acquainted with those sree verses
of James Montgomery, in his “ Pelican Island :
“ Light as a flake of foam upon the wind,
Keel upward, from the deep emerged a shell,
Shaped like the moon ere half her horn is filled.
Fraught with young life it righted as it rose,
And moved at will along the yielding water.
The native pilot of this little bark
Put out a tier of oars on either side,
Spread to the wafting breeze a two-fold sail,
And mounted up and glided down the billow
In happy freedom, pleased to feel the air,
And wander in the luxury of light.
# % # # ¥ # *
It closed, sank, dwindled to a point, then nothing,
While the last bubble crowned the dimpling eddy
Through which mine eye still giddily pursued it.’’
So deeply ingrained is the poetical notion of the sailing
powers attributed to the nautilus, that many people are quite
incredulous when they are told that there is just as much
likelihood of seeing a mermaid curl her hair as of witnessing
a nautilus under sail. How the creature in question does
propel itself will be described in the course of the present
chapter; and the reader will see that although one parallel
between Nature and Art in the nautilus does not exist, there
are several others which until later days have not even been
suspected.
It is, therefore, partially true that science does destroy
romance. But, though she destroys, she creates, and she
gives infinitely more than she takes away, as is shown in the
many late discoveries which have transformed the whole
system of civilised life. Sometimes, as in the present instance,
she discovers one analogy while destroying another, and
though she shatters the legend of the sailing nautilus, she
produces a marine animal which really does sail, and does not
appear to be able to do anything else. This is the VELELLA, a
THE VELELLA AND SAILING RAFT. 3
figure of which, taken from a specimen in my collection, is
given in the illustration, and drawn of the natural size.
Jt is one of that vast army of marine creatures known
familiarly by the name of “jelly-fishes,”’ just as lobsters, crabs,
shrimps, oysters, whelks, periwinkles, and the like, are lumped
together under the title of ‘“shell-fish.” As a rule, these
creatures are soft, gelatinous, and, in fact, are very little
more than sea-water entangled in the finest imaginable mesh-
work of animal matter; so fine, indeed, that scarcely any
definite organs can be discovered. The Velella, however, is
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VELELLA (NATURAL SIZE). SAILING RAFT.
remarkable for having a sort of skeleton, if it may be so called,
consisting of two very thin and horny plates, disposed, as
shown in the illustration, so as to form an exact imitation (or
perhaps I should say a precursor) of a raft propelled by a sail.
Indeed, the Latin name Velella signifies a little sail.
How well deserved is the name may be seen by the follow-
ing graphic account of a Velella fleet sent to me by a lady who
takes great interest in practical zoology :—
“The specimens which I send came from Tenby, a very
rough sea having driven a large living fleet of them on that
coast.
“When in life, they are semi-transparent, and radiant in
many rainbow-tinted colours. They came floating towards
me in all their fragile beauty on the rough sea waves. I
succeeded in capturing some of them, and preserved the only
portion available for my collection.
“They are extremely tender, and by no means with which
I am acquainted can be preserved more than these skeleton-
like cartilaginous plates. They soon dissolve in either spirits
of wine or water, and lose every vestige of their shape and
B2
4 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
substance. The upright, thin, pellucid plate has the appear-
ance of a fairy-lke miniature sail, and apparently acted as
such when the creature was floating with its long and many-
tinted tentacles pendent from its lower surface.
“ Although widely distributed, they are seldom seen on our
own coast, although sometimes driven there from the warmer
regions by stress of wind and waves.
“These little creatures had never before been seen at
Tenby, but when I asked a native bathing-woman whether she
knew their name, she immediately replied, ‘Sea-butterflies.’
Although the name was evidently of her own invention, it was
most appropriate and poetical. I have always found the
Welsh people abound more than any other nation in pretty
and characteristic synonyms.” *
In answer toa letter in which I asked the writer for some
further information concerning the Velella, sending also an
outline sketch of the animal, which I asked the writer to fill
in with the proper colours, I received the following reply :—
“T will do my best to answer your questions, and to give
you what information I can concerning the creatures.
«When seen at Tenby, they were all floating on the surface
of the sea, the tentacles only being submerged. My specimens
floated for a very short time after capture, death following so
quickly that I was obliged to set to work at once with camel’s-
hair brush and penknife to take away the gelatinous part.
Indeed, decomposition took place so rapidly, that Velellas and
myself were simultaneously threatened with extermination.
“Both raft and sail were equally enveloped in a soft,
gelatinous covering, certainly not more than the sixteenth of
an inch in thickness, except under the centre of the raft, where
it became slightly thicker. The covering of the sail was
exceedingly thin, and like a transparent and almost invisible
soft skin. The sail is very firmly attached to the raft, as they
did not separate when decomposition began.
“‘The tentacles were entirely composed of the same soit,
jelly-like substance as that of the envelope, and every part was
iridescent in a sort of vapoury transparent cloud of many-
tinted colours, blue and pale crimson predominating. I have
* By sailors the Velella is popularly known by the name of “ Sally-man; ”
t.e. Sallee-man.
THE BOAT. 5
filled up to the best of my memory the little sketch, and only
wish you could have seen the Velellas as I did, in their full life
and beauty.” |
Two of the specimens here mentioned are in my collection,
and beautiful little things they are. The two plates are not
thicker than ordinary silver paper, but are wonderfully strong,
tough, and elastic. The oval horizontal plate, or raft, if it
may be so called, is strengthened by being corrugated in con-
centric lines, and having a multitude of very fine ribs radiating
from the centre to the circumference. It is slightly thickened
on the edges, evidently for the attachment of the tentacles.
The perpendicular plate, or sail, does not occupy the larger
diameter of the raft, but stretches across it diagonally from
edge to edge, rising highest in the centre and diminishing
towards the edges, so that it presents an outline singularly like
that of a lateen sail. It is rather curious that the magnifying
glass gives but little, if any, assistance to the observer, the
naked eye answering every purpose. Even the microscope is
useless, detecting no peculiarity of structure. I tried it with
the polariscope, scarcely expecting, but rather hoping, to find
that it was sensitive to polarised light. But no such result
took place, the Velella being quite unaffected by it.
The corresponding illustration is a sketch of a raft to
which a sail is attached. Such rafts as this are in use in many
parts of the world, the sail saving manual labour, and the
large steering oar answering the double purpose of keel and
rudder. In the Velella, the tentacles, though they may not
act in the latter capacity, certainly do act in that of the former,
and serve to prevent the little creature from being capsized in
a gale of wind.
Tue Boat.
THERE is no doubt that the first idea of locomotion in the —
water, independently of swimming, was the raft; nor is it
difficult to trace the gradual development of the raft into a
Boat. The development of the Kruman’s canoe into the Great
Eastern, or a modern ironclad vessel, is simply a matter of
time.
It is tolerably evident that the first raft was nothing more
than a tree-trunk. Finding that the single trunk was apt to
6 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
turn over with the weight of the occupant, the next move
was evidently to lash two trunks side by side.
Next would come the great advance of putting the trunks
at some distance apart, and connecting them with cross-bars.
This plan would obviate even the chance of the upsetting of
the raft, and it still survives in that curious mixture of the
raft and canoe, the outrigger boat of the Polynesians, which
no gale of wind can upset. It may be torn to pieces by the
storm, but nothing can capsize it as long as it holds together.
Laying a number of smaller logs or branches upon the bars
which connect the larger logs is an evident mode of forming a
continuous platform, and thus the raft is completed. It would
not be long before the superior buoyancy of a hollow over a
solid log would be discovered, and so, when the savage could
not find a log ready hollowed to his hand, he would hollow
one for himself, mostly using fire in lieu of tools. The pro-
gress from a hollowed log, or “dug-out,” as it is popularly
called, to the bark canoe, and then the built boat, naturally
followed, the boats increasing in size until they were developed
into ships.
Such, then, is a slight sketch of the gradual construction of
the Boat, based, though perhaps ignorantly, on the theory of
displacement. Now, let us ask ourselves whether, in creation,
there are any natural boats which existed before man came
upon the earth, and from which he might have taken the idea
if he had been able to reason on the subject. The Paper
Nautilus is, of course, the first example that comes before the
mind; but although, as we have seen, the delicate shell of the
nautilus is not used as a boat, and its sailing and rowing powers
are alike fabulous, there is, as is the case with most fables, a
substratum of truth, and there are aquatic molluscs which form
themselves into boats, although they do not propel themselves
with sails or oars.
Many species of molluscs possess this art, but we will select
one as an example of them all, because it is very plentiful in
our own country, and may be found in almost any number. It
is the common WateEr-sNalL (Limnea stagnalis), which abounds
in our streams where the current is not very strong. Hven in
tolerably swift streams the Limnza may he found plentifully in
any bay or sudden curve where a reverse current is generated,
NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL BOATS. a
and therefore the force of the stream is partially neutralised.
These molluscs absolutely swarm in the Cherwell, and in the
multitudinous ditches which drain the flat country abou
Oxford into that river as well as the Isis. |
Belonging to the Gasteropods, the Water-snail can crawl
over the stones or aquatic vegetation, just as the common
garden snail or slug does on land. But it has another mode
of progression, which it very often employs in warm weather.
It ascends to the surface of the water, reverses its position so
“>5UG-0UT”’? BOAT OF VARIOUS PARTS OF
THE WORLD.
q =
SEA-ANEMONE ACTING AS BOAT.
BIRCH-BARK CANOE.
PUPA SKIN OF GNAT ACTING AS BOAT.
that the shell is downward, spreads out the foot as widely as
possible, and then contracts it in the centre, so as to form it
into a shallow boat.
The carrying capacity of this boat is necessarily small, but
as the shell and nearly the whole of the animal are submerged,
and therefore mostly sustained by the water, a very small
amount of flotative power is sufficient for the purpose. Some-
8 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
times, on a fine day, whole fleets of these natural boats may
be seen floating down the stream, thus obtaining a change of
locality without any personal exertion.
In perfectly still water, where no current can waft the
Limnea on its easy voyage, it still is able to convey itself from
one place to another. By means of extending and contracting
the foot, it actually contrives to crawl along the surface of the
water almost as readily as if it were upon the under side of
some solid body, and, although its progress is slow, it is very
steady. Another very common British water-snail, the Pouch-
shell (Physa jfontinalis), has almost exactly the same habits.
Reference will be made to the Pouch-shell on another page.
The capacity for converting the body into a boat is not con-
fined to the molluscs, but is shared by many other animals. Take,
for example, the well-known marine animals, called popularly
SeaA-ANEMONES. As they appear when planted on the rocks,
they look as incapable of motion as the flowers whose names
they bear. Yet, by means of the flattened base, which they
use just as a snail uses its feet, they can manage to glide
along the rocks in any direction, though very slowly.
The base is capable of extension and contraction, and by
elongating one side of it, fixing the elongated portion, and
then raising the remainder of the base towards it, the animal
makes practically a series of very slow steps. This mode of
progression may often be seen in operation on the glass front
of an aquarium.
The same property of expansion and contraction enables
the Sea-anemones to convert their bodies into boats, and float
on the surface of the water. When one of these animals
wishes to swim, it ascends the object to which it is clnging—
say the glass of the aquarium—until it has reached the air.
It then very slowly, and bit by bit, detaches the upper part of
the base from the glass, allowing itself to hang with its
tentacles downward. These, by the way, are almost wholly
withdrawn when the animal is engaged in this business. By
degrees the whole of the base is detached from the glass except
avery tiny portion of the edge. The base is next contracted
in the middle into the form of a shallow cup, and, when this is
done, the last hold of the glass is released, and the animal
floats away, supported by its hollowed base.
EGG-BOAT OF THE GNAT. 9
Entomologists are familiar with the following facts, and
were this work addressed to them alone, a simple mention of
the insect would be sufficient. But as this work is intended
for the general public, it will be necessary to give a descrip-
tion, though a brief one, of the wonderful manner in which an
insect, which we are apt to think is only too common, plays the
part of a boat at its entrance to life and just before its
departure from this world, not to mention its intermediate
state, to which reference will be made under another heading.
The insect in question is the common Gwnat (Culex pipiens),
which makes such ravages upon those who are afilicted, like
myself, with delicate skins, and can have a limb rendered
useless for days by a single gnat-bite.
In this insect, the beginning and the end of life are so
closely interwoven, that it is not easy to determine which has
the prior claim to description, but we will begin with the egg.
With very few exceptions, such as the Earwig, which
watches over its eggs and young like a hen over her nest and
chickens, the insects merely deposit their eggs upon or close to
the food of the future young, and leave them to their fate.
The eggs of the Gnat, however, require different treatment.
The young larve, when hatched, immediately pass into the
waterin which they have to live, and yet the eggs are so consti-
tuted that they need the warmth of the sun in order to hatch
them. The machinery by which both these objects are attained
is singularly beautiful.
The shape of the egg very much resembles that of a common
ninepin, and the structure is such that it must be kept upright,
so that the top shall be exposed to the air and sun, and the
bottom be immersed in the water. It would be almost im-
possible that these conditions should be attained if the eggs
were either dropped separately into the water or fixed to
aquatic plants, as is the case with many creatures whose eggs
are hatched solely in or on the water.
As is the case with many insects, each egg when laid is
enveloped with a slight coating of a glutinous character, so
that they adhere together. And, in the case of the Guat, this
material is insoluble in water, and hardens almost immediately
after the egg is deposited. Taking advantage of these pecu-
liarities, the female Gnat places herself on the edge of a floating
10 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
leaf or similar object, so that her long and slender hind-legs
rest on the water. In some mysterious way, the eggs, as they
are successively produced, are passed along the hind-legs, and
are arranged side by side in such a manner that they are
formed into the figure of a boat, being fixed to each other by
the glutinous substance which has already been mentioned.
It isa very remarkable fact, which assists in strengthening the
theory on which this book is written, that the lines of the best
modern life-boats are almost identical with those of the Gnat-
boat, and that both possess the power of righting themselves if
capsized. In all trials of a new life-boat, one of the most
important is that which tests her capability of self-righting ; and
any one who has witnessed such experiments, and has tried to
upset a Gnat-boat, cannot but be struck with the singular
similitude between the boat made by the hand of man and that
constructed by the legs of an insect, without even the aid of
eyes.
Push the Gnat-boat under water, and it shoots to the surface
hke a cork, righting itself as it rises. Pour water on it, and
exactly the same result occurs, so that nothing can prevent it
from floating. Then, when the warm air has done its work in
hatching the enclosed young, a little trap-door opens at the
bottom of the egg, lets the young larve into the water, and
away they swim.
Now we come to another phase of existence in which the
Gnat forms a boat. Every one knows the little active Gnat
larvee, with their large heads and slender bodies, much like
tadpoles in miniature. When they have reached their full
growth, and assume the pupal form, their shape is much
changed. The tore part of the body is still more enlarged, as
it has to contain the wings and legs, which have so great a
proportion to the body of the perfect Gnat. And, instead of
floating with its head downwards, and breathing through its
tail as it did when a larva, it now floats with the head upper-
most, and breathes through two little tubes.
Even in its former state the creature had something almost
grotesque in its aspect, the head, when magnified, looking
almost as like a human face as does that of a skate. But in
its pupal state it looks as if it had put on a large comical mask
much too large for it, very much like those paper masks which
SKIN-BOAT OF THE GNAT. 11
are enclosed in crackers, and have to be worn by those who
draw them.
In process of time the pupa changes to a perfect Gnat within
this shelly case, able to move, but unable to eat. The body
shrinks in size, and the wings and legs are formed, both being
pressed closely to the body. When the Gnat is fully developed,
the pupal skin splits along the back, and opens out into a
curiously boat-like shape, the front, which contains the heavier
part of the insect, being much the largest, and consequently
being able to bear the greatest weight.
By degrees, the Gnat draws itself out of the split pupal skin,
resting its legs on it as fast as they are released. It then
shakes out its wings to dry, and finally takes to the air.
It is a really wonderful fact that the insect which, for three
stages in life—namely, an egg, larva, and pupa—lived in the
water, should in the fourth not only be incapable of aquatic
life, but should employ its old skin to protect it from that very
element in which it was living only a minute or two before.
Should the reader wish to examine for himself either the egg
or skin boat of the Gnat, he can easily procure them by search-
ing any quiet pond, or even an uncovered water-butt. They
are, of course, very small, averaging about the tenth of an
inch in length, and are nearly always to be found close to the
side either of pond or tub, being drawn there by the power of
attraction.
I may here mention that there are other dipterous insects
belonging to the genus Stratiomys, which undergo their meta-
morphosis in a very similar fashion. In these insects, the
larva breathes through the tail, and when it attains its pupal
condition, the actual insect is very much smaller than the
pupal skin, only occupying the anterior and enlarged part.
Indeed, the difference of size is so great, that several entomo-
logists believed the future Stratiomys to be but a parasite on the
original larva. The beautiful Chameleon-fly (Stratiomys cha-
moeleon) is a familiar example of these insects.
NAUTICAL,
CHAPTER II.
THE OAR, THE PADDLE, AND THE SCREW.
Propulsion by the Oar.—Parallels in the Insect World.—The “ Water-boatman.”
—lIts Boat-like Shape.-—The Oar-like Legs.—Exact mechanical Analogy
between the Legs of the Insect and the Oars of the human Rower.—
‘‘ Weathering’? Oars in Nature and Art.—The Water-boatman and the
Water-beetles.—The Feet of the Swan, Goose, and other aquatic Birds.—
The Cydippe, or Beroé.—The Self-feathering Paddle-wheel.—Indirect Force.
—The Wedge, Screw, and Inclined Plane.—“ Sculling” a Boat.—The
‘“Tanka”’ Girls of China.—Mechanical Principle of the Screw, and its
Adaptation to Vessels.—Gradual Development of the Nautical Screw.—
Mechanical Principle of the Tail of the Fish, the Otter, and the sinuous
Body of the Kel and Lampern.—The Coracle and the Whirlwig-beetle.
‘| eae Boat naturally reminds us of the Boatman. In the two
gnat-boats which have been described there is no propel-
ling power used or needed, the little vessel floating about at
random, and its only object being to keep afloat. But there
are many cases where the propelling power is absolutely
essential, and where its absence would mean death, as much
as it would to a ship which was becalmed in mid ocean without
any means of ptogress or escape. ‘There are, for example,
hundreds of creatures, belonging to every order of animals,
which are absolutely dependent for their very existence on
their power of propulsion, and I believe that there is not a
single mode of aquatic progression employed by man which has
not been previously carried out in the animal world. There
are so many examples of this fact that I am obliged to select a
very few typical instances in proof of the assertion.
Taking the Oar as the natural type of progression in the
water, we have in the insect world numerous examples of the
very same principle on which our modern boats are propelled.
THE WATER-BOATMAN. 13
And it is worthy of notice, that the greater the improvement in
rowing, the nearer do we approach the original insect model.
The first which we shall notice is the insect which, from its
singular resemblance to a boat propelled by a pair of oars, has
received the popular name of WATER-BOATMAN. Its scientific
name is Wotonecta glauca, the meaning of which we shall
presently see. It belongs to the order of Heteroptera, and is
one of a numerous group, all bearing some resemblance to each
other in form, and being almost identical in habits. Though
they can fly well, and walk tolerably, they pass the greater
part of their existence in the water, in which element they
find their food.
Predacious to a high degree, and armed with powerful weapons
of offence, it is one of the pirates of the fresh water, and may be
found in almost every pond and stream, plying its deadly vocation.
Its large and powerful wings seem only to be employed in
carrying it from one piece of water to another, while its first
and second pairs of legs are hardly ever used at all for progres-
sion. ‘The last pair of legs are of very great length, and
furnished at their tips with a curiously constructed fringe of
stiff hairs. The body is shaped in a manner that greatly
resembles a boat turned upside down, the edge of the elytra
forming a sort of ridge very much like the keel of the boat.
When the creature is engaged in swimming, it turns itself
on its back, so as to bring the keel downwards, and to be able
to cut the water with the sharp edge. From this habit it has
derived the name of Notonecta, which signifies an animal
which swims onits back. The first and second pairs of legs are
clasped to the body, and the last pair are stretched out as
shown in the illustration, not only looking like oars, but being
actually used as oars.
Now, I wish especially to call the reader’s attention to the
curiously exact parallel between the water-boatman and the
human oarsman. As the reader may probably know, the oar
is a lever of the second order, i.e. the power comes first, then
the weight, and then the fulcrum. The arm of the rower
furnishes the power, the boat is the weight to be moved, and
the water is the fulcrum against which the lever acts.
I have more than once heard objections to this definition,
the objectors saying that the water was a yielding substance,
14 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
and therefore couid not be the fulerum. This objection, how-
ever, was easily refuted by taking a boat up a narrow creek,
and rowing with the oar-blades resting on the shore, and not in
the water.
Now, the swimming legs of the water-boatman are exact
analogues of the oars of a human rower. The internal muscles
at the juncture of the leg with the body supply the place of the
rower’s arms, the leg itself takes the office of the oar, and the
OAB OF BOAT.
OAR=-LEG OF WATER-BOATMAN.
WATER-BOATMAN ROWING ITSELF.
OARSMAN ROWING.
body of the insect is the weight to be moved, and the water
supplies the fulcrum. Even the broad blade at the end of the
oar is anticipated by the fringe of bristles at the end of the leg,
and its sharpened edge by the shape of the insect’s limb.
Besides these resemblances, there is another which is worthy
of notice. All rowers know that one of their first lessons is to’
“feather” their oars, ¢.e. to turn the blade edgewise as soon
as it leaves the water. Nothing looks more awkward than
for a boatman to row without feathering. (We all must
remember the eulogy on the “Jolly Young Waterman,” who
‘feathered his oars with skill and dexterity.”) In the first
place, he must lift his oar very high out of the water, and, in
the second, he will be impeded by any wind that happens to
come against the blades.
The Water-boatman, however, does not lift its legs out of the
water after every stroke, as a human boatman does, and there-
fore it has no need to feather in the same way. But there is
even greater need for a feathering of some kind in the insect’s
leg, on account of the greater resistance offered by water than
by air, and this feathering is effected by the arrangement of the
blade-bristles, which spread themselves against the water as
the stroke is made, and collapse afterwards, so as to give as
little resistance as possible when the stroke is completed.
‘¢ PRATHERING”’ OARS. 15
In Art we have invented many similar contrivances, but I
believe that there is not one in which we have not been antici-
pated by Nature. Putting aside the insect which has just
been described, we have the whole tribe of water-beetles, in
which the same principle is carried out in an almost identical
manner. In the accompanying illustration, the oar, the rower,
and the boat are placed above one another, and next to them
are seen one of the oar-legs of the water-boatman and the
insect as it appears when swimming on its back.
Then, there is the foot of the duck, goose, swan, and various
other aquatic birds, in which the foot presents a broad blade
as it strikes against the water, and a narrow edge as it recovers
from the stroke. Some years ago, a steam yacht was built
and propelled by feet made on the model of those of the swan.
She was a very pretty vessel, but art could not equal nature,
and at present the swan-foot propeller, however perfect in
theory, has not succeeded in action. Perhaps, if some nautical
engineer were to take if in hand, he would procure the desired
result.
Almost exactly similar is the mode of propulsion employed
by the lobster, the prawns and shrimps, their tails expanding
widely into a fan-like shape as they strike against the water,
and then collapsing when the stroke is withdrawn, so as to
allow them to pass through the water with the least possible
resistance.
The same principle is to be seen in the lively little Acaleph,
for which there is untortunately no popular name, and which
we must therefore call by its scientific title of CypippE, or
Beroé, these names being almost indifferently used. When iull
grown, it is about as large as an acorn, and very much of the
same shape. It is as transparent as if made of glass, and, when
in the water, is only visible to practised eyes.
En passant, | may remark that the familiar term of “ water,”
when applied to diamonds, is owing to their appearance when
placed in distilled water. Those which can be at once
seen are called stones of the second water. Those which
cannot be seen, because their refractive powers are equal to
those of the water, are called “ diamonds of the first water,”
and are very much more valuable than the others.
As the Cydippe is, im fact, little more than sea-water,
16 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
entangled in the slightest imaginable and most transparent
tissue of animal fibre, it is evident that the water and the
Cydippe must be of almost equal refracting power, and that
therefore the acaleph must be as invisible as diamonds of the
“first water.” Indeed, I have often had specimens in a glass
jar which were absolutely invisible to persons to whom I wished
to show them.
But an experienced eye detects the creature at once. Along
its body, at equal distances, are eight narrow bands, over
which the colours of the rainbow are, though very faint, per-
petually rippling. This appearance is caused by the machinery
which impels the body, and which seems never to cease. Hach
of these bands is composed of a vast number of tiny flaps, which
move up and down in regular succession, so as to cause the
light to play on their surfaces. And, as they move as if set on
hinges, they of course offer no resistance to the water after
their stroke is made.
Now let us compare these works of nature with those of art.
We have already seen the parallels of the oar, and we now come
CYDIPPE AND PRAWN SWIMMING. SELF-FEATHERING PADDLE*-WHEEL.
PADDLES. FEET OF DUCK.
to those of the paddle-wheel. When paddle-steamers were
first invented, the blades were fixed and projected from the
wheel, as if they had been continuations of its spokes. It was
found, however, that a great waste of power, together with
much inconvenience, was caused by this arrangement, Not
SELF-FEATHERING PADDLE-WHEEL di
only was a considerable weight of water raised by each blade
after it passed the middle of its stroke, but the steam power
was given nearly as much to lifting and shaking the vessel as
to propulsion.
A new kind of paddle- sitet was then invented, in which
the blades were ingeniously jointed to the wheel, so that. they
presented their flat surfaces to the water while propelling, and
their edges when the stroke was over. This, whick is known by
the name of the “Self-feathering Paddle-wheel,” was thought
to be a very clever invention, and so it was; but not even the
inventors were likely to have known that if they had only
looked into the book of Nature, they might have found plenty
of self-feathering paddle-wheels, beside the few which my
limited space enables me to give.
If the reader will look at the illustration, he will see that on
one side is represented the self-feathering paddle-wheel of Art,
with its ingenious arrangement of rods and hinges. On the
other side there comes, first, the common Prawn, shown with its
tail expanded in the middle of its stroke.
Just below it is a Cydippe of its ordinary size, showing the
paddle-bands, one of which is drawn at the side much mag-
nified, so as to show the arrangement of the little paddles.
As to the tentacles which trail from the body, we shall treat of
them when we come to our next division of the subject of the
work.
Lastly, there is a representation of the self-feathering feet
of the Duck, the left foot expanded in striking the water, and
the right closed so as to offer no resistance when drawn forward
for another stroke. The swan’s foot shows this action even
more beautifully than does that of the duck.
WE now come to another mode of propulsion, namely, that
which is not due to direct pressure of a more or less flat body
against the water, but to the indirect principle of the screw,
wedge, or inclined plane.
Space being valuable, I will only take two instances, namely,
the well-known mode of propelling a boat by a single oar
working in a groove or rowlock in the middle of the stern, and
the ordinary screw of modern steamers.
Most of my readers must have seen a sailor in the act of
C
18 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
“sculling” a boat. A tolerably deep notch is sunk in the
centre of the stern, and the oar is laid in it, as shown in the ~
central illustration, on the right-hand side. ‘The,sailor then
takes the handle of the oar, and works it regularly backwards
and forwards, without taking the blade out of the water. The
boat at once begins to move forward, and, when the oar is
TAIL OF FISH.
“ SCULLING”’ A BOAT.
ACTION OF RUDDER.
TAIL OF SEAL.
urged by a strong and experienced man, can be propelled with
wonderful speed. The well-known “ Tanka”’ boat-girls of
China never think of using two oars, a single oar in the stern
being all-suffiicient for the rapid and intricate evolutions
required in their business.
The mechanical process which is here employed is nothing
more than that of the inclined plane, or rather, the wedge, the
oar-blade forming the wedge, and the force being directed
against the stern of the boat, and so driving it through the
water. -—
The Rudder affords another example of a similar force,
although it is used more for directing than propelling a vessel.
Still, just as the scull is used not only for propelling, but for
steering the boat, the rudder, when moved steadily backwards
and forwards, can be used for propulsion as well as steerage.
In the absence of oars, this property is most useful, as I can
practically testify.
PRINCIPLE OF THE SCREW. . 19
So different in appearance are the screw and the inclined
~ plane, that very few people would realise the fact that the screw
is nothing but an inclined plane wound round a cylinder, or
rather, is a circular inclined plane. ‘The ordinary corkscrew
is a good example of this principle, the cylinder being but an
imaginary one.
Now, if the screw be turned round, it is evident that force is
applied just on the principle of the wedge, and this principle is
well shown in the various screw-presses, of which the common
linen-press is a familiar example, as was the original printing-
press, which still survives as a toy for children.
We all know the enormovs force exerted by screws when
working in wood, and how, when the screw-driver is turned in
the reverse direction, the instrument is forced backwards,
though the operator is leaning against it with all his weight.
In fact, a comparatively small screw, if working in hard wood
or metal, so that the threads could not break, could lift a heavy
man.
Substitute water for wood or metal, and the result would be
the same in principle, though the resistance would be less. As
the loss of power by friction would prevent a large vessel from
being propelled by a stern oar moved like a scull, the idea was
invented of applying the same kind of power by a large screw,
which should project into the water from the stern of the
vessel. This modification, moreover, would have the advantage
of forcing the vessel forward when the screw was turned from
left to right, and drawing it back when turned in the opposite
direction, whereas the sculling oar would only drive it forward.
The principle was right enough, but there was at first a great
difficulty in carrying it out. Firstly, several turns of a large
screw were used, and were found to need power inadequate to
the effect. ‘Then the screw was reduced to four separate blades,
and now only two are used, as shown in the illustration,
‘these saving friction, being equally powerful for propulsion, and
running less risk of fouling by rigging blown overboard or
other floating substances.
So much for Art. Now for the same principle as shown in
Nature, of which I can take but a very few instances.
The first and most obvious example is that of the Fish-tail,
which any one may observe by watching ordinary gold fish in
fis
20 NATURE'S TEACHINGS.
a bowl. Their progression is entirely accomplished by the
movement of the tail from side to side, exactly like that of the
sculling oar, and moreover, like the oar, the tail acts as rudder
as well as propeller.
The force with which this instrument can be used may be
estimated by any one who isan angler, and knows the lightning-
like rush of a hooked trout, or who has seen the wonderful
spring with which a salmon shoots clear out of the water, and
leaps up a fall several feet in height. This is not done, as
many writers state, by bending the body into a bow-like form,
and then suddenly straightening it, but by the projectile
force which is gained by moving the tail backwards and
forwards as a sculler moves his oar.
Perhaps some of my readers have seen the wonderful speed,
ease, and grace with which an Otter propels itself through the
water. As the otter feeds on fish, and can capture even the
salmon itself, its powers of locomotion must be very great
indeed. And these are obtained entirely by means of the tail,
which is long, thick, and muscular, and can be swept from side
to side with enormous force, considering the size of the animal.
The legs have little or nothing to do with the act of swim-
ming. The fore-legs are pressed closely against the body,
and the hind-legs against each other. The latter act occa-
sionally as assistants in steering, but that 1s all.
Then there are the various Seals, whose hind-legs, flattened
and pressed together, act exactly like the tail of the fish, that
of the otter, the oar of the sculler, or the screw of the steamer.
Also, the eel, when swimming, uses exactly the same means,
its lithe body forming a succession of inclined planes; so does
the snake, and so does the pretty little lampern, which is so
common in several of our rivers, and so totally absent from
others.
I can only now give a short description of the woodcut
which illustrates these points.
On the right hand Art is shown by the screw-blades of the
modern steamer, In the middle is the ordinary mode of
sculling a boat by an oar in the stern, and below it is the
rudder, which, like the sculling oar, may be used either for
propulsion or direction.
On the left hand we have three examples of the same
THE WINDMILL AND AERIAL TOP. |
mechanical powers as shown in Nature. The uppermost figure
represents a fish as in the act of swimming, the dotted lnes
showing the movement of its tail, and the principle of the
wedge. In the middle is an otter, just preparing to enter the
water, and below is a seal, both of them showing the identity
of mechanism between themselves and the art of man. I need
not say that the mechanism of art is only a feeble copy of that
of nature, but nothing more could be expected.
Wuitez we are on this subject I may as well mention two
more applications of the screw principle. The first is the
windmill, the sails of which are constructed on exactly the
same principle as the blades of the nautical screw. Only, as
they are pressed by the wind, and the mill cannot move, they
are forced to revolve by the pressure of the wind, just as the
screw of a steamer revolves when the vessel is being towed,
and the screw left at liberty.
Moreover, just as the modern screws have only two blades,
so, many modern windmills have only two sails, the expense
and friction being lessened, and the power not injured.
Again: some years ago there was a very fashionable toy
called the aérial top. It was practically nothing but a windmill
in miniature, rapidly turned by a string, after the manner of a
humming-top. The edges of the sails being turned down-
wards, the instrument naturally screwed itself into the air to a
height equivalent to the velocity of the motion.
A similar idea has been mooted with regard to the guidance
of balloons, or even to aérial voyaging without the assistance of
gas, but at present the weight of the needful machinery has
proved to be in excess of the required lifting power.
In fine, the application of the inclined plane, wedge, or
screw aS a motive power, is so wide a subject that I must, with
much reluctance, close it with these few and obvious examples.
Ir is worth while, by the way, to remark how curiously
similar are such parallels. I have already mentioned the very
evident resemblance between the water-boatman, the water-
beetles, and the human rower, the body of the insect being
shaped very much like the form of the modern boat. I must
now draw the attention of the reader to the similitude between
29 NATURE'S TEACHINGS.
the very primitive boat known by the name of Coracle, and
the common Whirlwig-beetle (Gyrinus natator), which may be
found in nearly every puddle. ‘The shape of the insect is
almost identical witk that of the boat, and the paddle of the
WHIRLWIG BEETLE AND PADDLES. CORACLE AND PADDLE.
coracle is an almost exact imitation of the swimming legs of
the whirlwig. And, as if to make the resemblance closer,
many coraclers, instead of using a single paddle with two
broad ends, employ two short paddles, shaped very much like
battledores.
NAUTICAL.
CHAPTER III.
SUBSIDIARY APPLIANCES.—Parrt I.
General Sketch of the Subject.—The Mast of Wood and Iron.—Analogy between
the Iron Mast and the Percupine Quill.—The Iron Yard and its Shape pre-
figured by the same Quill.—Beams of the Steam-engine.—Principle of the
Hollow Tube in place of the Solid Bar.—Quills and Bones of Birds.— Wheat
Straws and Bamboos.—Structure of the Boat.—The Coracle, the Esquimaux
Boat, and the Bark Canoe.—Framework of the Ship and Skeleton of the Fish.
—Compartments of Iron Ship and Skull of Elephant.—The Rush, the Cane,
and the Sugar-cane.—“ Stellate’’ Tissue and its Varieties.
AVING now treated of the raft, the boat, the ship, and
their various modes of propulsion and guidance, we.
come to the subsidiary appliances to navigation, if they may.
be so called in lack of a better name.
First in importance is necessarily the mast; and the yards,
which support the sails, are naturally the next in order. Then
there come the various improvements in the building of vessels ;
namely, the substitution of planks fastened on a skeleton of
beams for a mere hollowed log, and the subsequent invention
of iron. vessels with their numerous compartments, giving
enormous strength and size, with very great comparative
lightness.
Then we come to the various developments of the ropes or
cables, by which a vessel is kept in its place when within reach
of ground, whether on shore or at the water-bed. Next come
the different forms of anchors which fasten a vessel to the bed
of the ocean, of grapnels by which she can be made fast to
the shore, or of “drags,” which at a pinch can perform either
office, and can besides be utilised in searching for and hauling
up objects that are lying at the bottom of the sea.
24 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
Next we come to the boat-hook, which is so useful either as
a temporary anchor, or asa pole by which a boat can be pro-
pelled by pushing it against the shore or the bed of the water ;
and then to the “ punt-pole,” which is only used for the latter
purpose.
Lastly, we come to the life-belt and life-raft, which are now
occupying, and rightly, so much of the public attention. These
subjects will be treated in their order in the present chapter,
and I hope to be able to show the reader that im all these
points nature has anticipated art.
I presume that most, if not all, of my readers are aware of
the rapidly extending use of iron in ship-building, not only in
the standing rigging, but in the material of the vessel. First
there came iron “knees,” 7.e. the angular pieces of wood
which strengthen the junctions of the timbers. Formerly
these were made of oak-branches, and, as it was not easy
to find a bough which was naturally bent at such an angle as
was required for a “knee,” such branches were exceedingly
valuable. Iron, however, was then employed, and with the best
results. It was lighter than the wooden knee, was stronger,
could be bent at any angle, and took up much less space. _
By degrees iron was used more and more, until vessels were
wholly made of that material. Then the masts, and even the
yards, were made of iron, and, strange as it may appear, were
found to be lighter as well as stronger than those made of
wood. Of course, the masts and yards were hollow, and it was
found by the engineers that in order to combine lightness with
great strength, the best plan was to run longitudinal ridges
along the inside of the tube. 3
A section of one of these masts is given at Fig. B, and
taken from the drawings of one of our largest engineering
firms. The reader will see that the mast is composed of rather
slight material, and that it is strengthened by four deep though
thin ribs, which run throughout its length.
When I first saw this mast I was at once struck with the
remarkable resemblance between it and the quill of the Porcu-
pine. These guills, as all anglers know, are very light, and
of extraordinary strength when compared with their weight.
Indeed, they are so light that they are invaluable as penholders
to those who are obliged to make much use of their pen. I
MASTS, YARDS, AND ENGINE-BEAMS. 20
have used nothing else for a very long time, and the drawing
of the Porcupine quill which is here given at Fig. A was
made from a small piece cut from the top of the penholder
which I have used for some fifteen years, and with which all
my largest and most important works were written, including
the large “ Natural History,” ‘‘ Homes without Hands,” “ Man
and Beast,” &c.,&c.
JANTHINA AND AIR-RAFT. CASK=PONTOON.
POTTERY-RAFT OF THE NILE.
This is the singular apparatus attached to the Violet Snail
(Janthina communis), which is common enough in the Atlantic,
and derives its name of Violet-shell from its beautiful colour.
The chief interest, however, centres in the apparatus which is
popularly called the “ raft,” and which sustains the shell and
eggs. It is made of a great number of air-vessels, affixed
closely to each other, and by the curious property of bearing its
cargo slung beneath it instead of being laid upon it.
Beneath the raft are the eggs, or rather, the capsules which
contain the eggs, and at one end is the beautiful violet shell
itself. The floating power of the raft is really astonishing,
and even in severe tempests, when it is broken away from the
animal, the raft continues to float on the surface of the waves,
bearing its cargo with it.
On the opposite side of the illustration are two examples of
rafts constructed so exactly on the same principle as that of the
Violet Snail, that they both might have been borrowed from it.
The upper is the kind of raft which has often been con-
structed by sailors when trying to escape from a sinking
ship, or by soldiers when wishing to convey troops across a
THE CASK-PONTOON. 49
river, and having no regular “pontoons” at hand. It is made
simply by lashing a number of empty casks to a flooring of
beams and planks.
The amount of weight which such a structure will support is
really astonishing, as long as the casks remain whole, and to
upset it is almost impossible. Even cannon can be taken
across wide expanses of water in perfect safety, and there is
hardly anything more awkward of conveyance than a cannon,
with its own enormous and concentrated weight, and all the
needful paraphernalia of limber, ammunition (which may not
be wetted, and of immense weight), horses, and men.
Yet even this heterogeneous mass of living and lifeless weight
can be carried on the cask-raft, which is an exact imitation of
the living raft of the Violet Snail.
BerneatH the cask-pontoon is to be seen a sketch of a very
curious vessel which is in use on the Nile, and I rather think
on the Ganges also, though I am not quite sure. It is formed
in the following manner :—
In both countries there are whole families who from genera-
tion to generation have lived in little villages up the river, and
gained their living by making pottery, mostly of a simple
though artistic form, the vessel having a rather long and
slender neck, and a more or less globular body.
When a man has made a sufficient number of these vessels,
he lashes them together with their mouths uppermost, and
then fixes upon them a simple platform of reeds. The papyrus
was once largely used for this purpose, but it seems to be
gradually abandoned.
He thus forms a pontoon exactly similar in principle with
the cask-pontoon which has just been described. Then, taking
his place on his buoyant raft, he floats down the river until he
comes to some populous town, takes his raft to pieces, sells the
pots and reeds, and makes his way home again by land.
WAR AND HUNTING.
CHAPTER I.
THE PITFALL, THE CLUB, THE SWORD, THE SPEAR AND
DAGGER.
Analogy between War and Hunting.—The Pitfall as used for both Purposes.—
African Pitfalls for large Game, and their Armature for preventing the Escape
of Prey.—Its Use in this Country on a miniature scale-—Mr. Waterton’s
Mouse-trap.— Pitfall of the Ant-lion, and its Armature for preventing the
Escape of Prey.—The Club and its Origin.—Gradual Development of the
Weapon.—The “ Pine-apyle” Club of Fijii—The Game of Pallone and the
‘¢ Bracciale.”’—The Irish Shillelagh.—Clubs and Maces of Wood, Metal,
or mixed.—The Morgenstern.—Ominous Jesting.—Natural Clubs.—The
Durian, the Diodon, and the Horse-chestnut.—The Sword, or flattened and
sharpened Club.—Natural and artificial Armature of the Edge.—The Sword-
grass, Leech, and Saw-fish.—Spears and Swords armed with Bones and
Stones.—The Spear and Dagger, and their Analogies.— Structure of the
Spear.—The Bamboo as a Weapon of War or Hunting.--—-Singular Combat,
and its Results.
HE two subjects which are here mentioned are practically
one, the warfare being in the one case carried on against
mankind, and in the other against the lower animals, the
means employed being often the same in both cases,
Tue PITFAtt.
One of the simplest examples of this double use 1s afforded
by the Pirrat, which is employed in almost every part of the
world, and, although mostly used for hunting, still keeps its
place in warfare.
On the right hand of the accompanying illustration is shown
a section of the Pitfall which is so commonly used in Africa for
the capture of large game. It is, as may be seen, a conical
hole, the bottom of which is armed with a pointed stake.
Should a large animal fall intc the pit, the shape of the sides
PITFALLS. 51
forces ‘it upon the stake, by which it is transfixed. Even
elephants of the largest size often fall victims to this simple
trap. It is only large enough to receive the fore-legs and
chest, but that is quite sufficient to cause the death of the
animal, the stake penetratang to the heart.
Many a hunter has fallen into these traps, and found great
difficulty in escaping, while some have not escaped at all.
Indeed, in many parts of Southern Africa, when part of one
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PITFALL OF ANT-LION FOR CATCHING INSECTS. AFRICAN PITFALL FOR CATCHING LARGE GAME.
tribe is about to visit another, the pitfalls are always unmasked,
lest the intended guests should fall into them.
Even without the spike, the elephant would scarcely be able
to save itself, owing to its enormous weight, unless helped out
by its comrades before the hunters came up. Indeed, many
pitfalls are intentionally made for this purpose, and are of a
different shape, ze. about eight feet in length and four in
breadth.
In those which are made for the capture of the giraffe, the pit
is very deep, and the place of the stake is occupied by a trans-
verse wall, which prevents the feet of the captive from touching
the ground, and keeps it suspended until the hunters can come
and kill it at leisure.
Kven in Belgium and our own country the pitfall is in use.
When the field-mice were devastating the districts about
Liege some years ago, their ravages were effectually checked
by pitfalls, in which they were caught by bushels, the pitfalls
being simple holes some two feet deep, and made wider below
than above.
The late Mr. Waterton contrived to rid his garden of field-
mice by pitfalls constructed on the same principle, though
more permanent. Finding that the little animals made great
E2 ;
52 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
havoc among his peas just as they were starting out of the
ground, he buried between the rows a number of earthen
pickle-jars, sinking them to the level of the ground. He then
rubbed the inside of the neck with bacon, and left them. The
mice stooped down to lick off the bacon, fell into the jars, and,
the neck being narrow and the sides slippery, they could not
get out again.
On the left hand of the illustration is the section of a pitfall
made by the well-known’ Ant-lion (Myrmeleo), of which
there are several species. The history of this wonderful insect
is so familiar to us that it need not be repeated at length.
Suffice it to say that it digs conical pitfalls in loose sandy soil,
and that it places itself at the bottom of the pit, securing the
insect victims with its jaws just as the larger animals are
secured by the stake of the human hunter.
It makes no false cover, as does the human hunter, but it
always chooses soil so loose that if an insect approach the edge,
the sand gives way, and it goes sliding down into the pit,
whence its chance of escape is very small, even were there no
deadly jaws at the bottom ready to receive it.
THe Cus.
THE simplest of all offensive weapons is necessarily the
Cius. At first, this was but a simple stick, such as any
savage might form from a branch of a tree by knocking off
the small boughs with a stone or another stick. Such clubs
are still used in Australia, and I have several in my collection.
Then the inventive genius of man improved their destructive
power by various means. The most obvious plan was to add
to the force of its blow by simply making one end much thicker
and heavier than the other. This is done in the “ Knob-
kerry” of Southern Africa, and it is worthy of remark that in
Fiji a weapon exists so exactly like the short knob-kerry of
Africa, that an inexperienced eye would scarcely be able to
distinguish between them.
The next plan was to arm the enlarged head with pro-
jecting pieces or spikes, sometimes cut out of the solid wood,
and sometimes artificially inserted. The “Shillelagh” of
Ireland is a simple example of this kind of club. One of the
CLUBS. 538
best and most elaborate examples of this sort of weapon is the
*Pine-apple ” Club of Fiji, a figure of which may be seen in
the illustration, drawn from a specimen in my collection.
It is made in the most ingenious manner from a tree which
is trained for the purpose. There are certain trees belonging
to the palm tribe which possess “aérial’’ roots, ¢.e. subsidiary
roots, which surround the trunk at some distance from the
ground, and assist in supporting it. Some trees have no central
root, and are entirely upborne by the aérial roots, while others
have both.
One of these latter is selected, and when it is-very young is
bent over and fastened to the ground almost at right angles, as
shown in the illustration. When it has grown to a sufficient
age it is cut to the requisite length, the central root is sharp-
ened to a point, and the aérial roots are also cut down in such
DURIAN. POLLEN OF HOLLYHOCK. WOODEN AND METAL CLUBS.
HORSE-CHESTNUT.
a way that they radiate very much like the projections on a
pine-apple. ‘This is really an ingenious weapon, for if the long
and sharpened end should miss its aim, the projections would
be tolerably sure to inflict painful if not immediately dangerous
injuries. |
As the pine-apple is so well known, I have given in the
opposite side of the illustration a figure of the Durian, a large
Bornean fruit, which is covered with projections almost identical
In appearance with those of the pine-apple club, and almost
equally hard and heavy.
Perhaps some of my readers may have heard of the grand
Italian game of Pallone, the “game of giants,” as it has been
54 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
called. The ball, which is a large and rather heavy one,
weighing more than twice as much as a cricket-ball, is struck
with a wooden gauntlet reaching nearly half-way up the fore-
arm. ‘The original gauntlet was cut entirely out of the solid
wood, and exactly resembled the exterior of the Durian. The
modern gauntlet, however, has the spikes fixed separately into
a wooden frame, so that they can be replaced if broken in the
course of the game. The principle, however, is identical in all
three cases. The technical name of this gauntlet is Bracciale.
The next improvement was to add still further to the destruc-
tive powers of the club by arming it with stones, so as to make
it harder and heavier. Sometimes a stone is perforated, and
the end of the club forced into it. Sometimes the stone is
lashed to the club, and sometimes a hole is bored in the club,
and the stone driven into it. This kind of club, made of a sort
of rosewood, may be found among some of the tribes inhabiting
the district of the Hssequibo.
The next improvement was to make the weapon entirely of
metal, and such clubs are plentiful in every good collection of
arms, There was, for example, the common mace, which was
used for the purpose of stunning an adversary clothed in
armour which the sword could not penetrate. As this, how-
ever, was nothing more than an ordinary wooden club executed
in iron, we need not produce examples.
Other and more complicated forms were soon made, and
were wonderfully valuable until the rapidly improving fire-
arms kept combatants at a distance, and rendered a hand-to-
hand fight almost impossible.
Three examples of such clubs are given in the illustration,
and are taken from Demmin’s valuable work called ‘“ Weapons
of War.”
The upper left-hand specimen is called Morgenstern, 7.e.
Morning Star. It is a large, heavy wooden ball studded with
steel spikes, and affixed to a handle usually some six or seven
feet, but sometimes exceeding eleven feet, in length. It was
chiefly used by infantry when attacking cavalry, the long shaft
enabling the foot-soldier to be tolerably sure of dealing the
cavalier or his horse a severe blow, while himself out of reach
of the latter’s sword.
Behind it is another Morgenstern in which there is an
THE MORGENSTERN. 55
improvement, the armed ball being furnished at the end with
a, spike, so that it could be used either as a mace or a spear.
The commonest form of the Morning Star is shown below,
and is thus described by Demmin :—
“This mace had generally a long handle, and its head bristled
with wooden or iron points. It was common among the ancients,
for many museums possess several fragments of these weapons
belonging to the age of bronze.
«The Morning Star was very well known and much used in
Germany and Switzerland. It received its name from the
- ominous jest of wishing the enemy ‘good morning’ with the
Morning Star when they had been surprised in camp or city.
“This weapon became very popular on account of the
facility and quickness with which it could be manufactured.
The peasants made it easily with the trunk of a small shrub
and a handful of large nails. It was also in great request
during the wars of the peasantry which have devastated
Germany at different times, and the Swiss arsenals possess
great numbers of them.”
One of these primitive weapons may be seen in the lower
figure of the illustration.
Sometimes the spiked ball was attached to a chain, and
fastened to the end of a handle varying greatly in length,
measuring from two to ten feet. One of these weapons may be
seen in the Guildhall of London, being held by one of the
celebrated giants.
Ir the reader will now turn to the illustration on page 53, he
will see that on the right of the Durian there are two spherical
objects covered with spikes. The upper is the pollen of the
Hollyhock, and the lower the common Horse-chestnut. The
reader will see that these are precisely similar in form to the
spiked balls of the Morgenstern, whether they be used at the ©
_ end of a staff or slung to a chain. There are many similar
examples in the vegetable kingdom which will doubtless
suggest themselves to the reader, but these are amply sufficient
for this purpose.
Then, in the animal world, the curious Diodons, sometimes
called Urchin-fishes, or Prickly Globe-fishes, are good ex-
amples. These fishes are covered with sharp spines, and, as
56 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
they have the power of swelling their bodies into a globular
form, the spikes project on all sides just like those of the
pollen or chestnut. There is a specimen in my collection,
which, if the tail and fins were removed, and a cast taken in
metal, would make a very good Morgenstern ball.
Tue Sworp.
Tue next improvement on the club was evidently to flatten.
it, and sharpen one or both edges, so as to make it a cutting as
well as a stunning implement—in fact, the club was changed
into a Sworp.
A coop example of this weapon in its simplest form is the
wooden sword of Australia, now an exceedingly rare weapon.
SWORD-GRASS MAGNIFIED. SHARK-TOOTH SWORD OF MANGAIA.
It looks like a very large boomerang, but is nearly straight, and
is made from the hard, tough wood of the gum-tree. Travellers
say that the natives can cut off a man’s head with this very
sumple weapon.
I just missed obtaining one of these swords from a man-ot-
war, but, unfortunately, a few hours before my arrival the
zealous first lieutenant had ordered a large collection of savage
weapons to be thrown overboard, among which were several
Australian swords.
Finding that the edges were not sufficiently sharp, and were
hable to break, the maker next turned his attention to arming
them with some substance harder than wood. Various materials
were used for this purpose, some of which will be mentioned.
PRIMITIVE SWORDS. | ay
One of these is given in the illustration, and is taken from a
specimen in my collection. It is made of wood, rather more
than two feet in length, and would in itself be an insignificant
weapon but for its armature.
This consists of a number of sharks’ teeth, which are fixed
along either side, and are a most formidable apparatus, each
tooth cutting like a lancet-blade, and not only being very sharp,
but having their edges finely notched like the teeth of a saw.
I have a series of these weapons in my collection, some being
curved, some straight, and one very remarkable weapon having
four blades, one straight and long blade in the centre, and three
curved and short blades springing from the handle towards the
point.
Opposite the shark-tooth sword is an object which might
almost be taken for a similar weapon, but is, in fact, nothing
but a common grass-blade, such as may be found in any of our
lanes. I suppose that most of my readers must at some time
have cut their fingers with grass, and the reason why is shown
in the illustration, which represents a much-magnified blade of
grass. The edges of the leaf are armed with sharp teeth of
flint, set exactly like those of the sword, with their points
directed towards the tip of the blade. The whole of the under
surface of the blade is thickly set with similar but smaller
teeth, arranged in the same manner. I have just brought a
blade of grass from a lane near my house, and when it was
placed under the half-inch power of the microscope, the resem-
blance to the sword was absolutely startling to some spectators
who came to look at it.
As if to make the resemblance closer, many savage weapons
are edged with flat stones, flint chips, or pieces of obsidian, so
that the flint teeth of the grass are exactly copied by the flint
edgines of the sword. The old Mexican swords were nearly all
edged with obsidian, as is seen in the lower right-hand figure
of the next illustration. I possess a number of obsidian flakes
which were intended for that purpose, but do not appear to have
been used.
The second figure from the top represents the head of a spear
similarly armed, and I possess a small Australian implement in
which the flakes of obsidian are set only on one side, so that
the instrument can be used as a rude saw.
58 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
Between these two weapons is a spear-head armed with
shark-teeth. I have a very remarkable weapon of this kind,
made in Mangaia. It is eleven feet in length, and, besides
being armed with a double row of sharks’ teeth nearly to the
handle, it has three curved blades similarly armed, set at dis-
SWORD-GRASS. SPEARS AND SWORD ARMED WITH
LEECH JAW. OBSIDIAN AND SHARKS’ TEETH.
SAW-FISH.
tances of about two feet, and projecting at right angles. Thus,
if the foe were missed with the point of the spear, he would
probably be wounded by one of the blades.
The upper figure represents a weapon where the natural bone
of the sting-ray has been used as the point.
On the opposite side are seen three natural objects similarly
armed. ‘The uppermost is another species of sword-grass, like
that which has already been described.
Next comes a magnified view of one of the three cutting
instruments of the leech, showing the serrated teeth set along
its edge, by means of which it produces the sharply-cut wounds
through which it sucks the blood.
The last figure represents the head of the common Saw-fish,
in which a vast number of flat and sharply-edged teeth are set
upon the blade-like head. The fish has been observed to use
this weapon just as the Mangaian uses his sword-spear. It
dashes among a shoal of fish, sweeps its head violently back-
wards and forwards, and then, after they have dispersed, picks
up at its leisure the dead and disabled.
THE SPEAR AND THE DAGGER.
Ir is tolerably evident that the invention of the spear and
dagger must have been nearly, if not quite, contemporaneous
with that of the club. I place these weapons together because
PRIMITIVE SPEARS. 59
there is great difficulty in assigning to either of them the pre-
cedence, the spear being but a more or less elongated dagger,
and the dagger a shortened spear.
As a good example of this fact, I have in my collection a
number of spears and daggers belonging to the Fan tribe of
Western Africa. In every case the weapons correspond so
closely with each other, that if the daggers were attached to
shafts they would exactly resemble the spears, and if the spears
were cut off within a few inches of the head, they would be
taken for daggers.
I may here mention that as this part of the subject merely
involves the employment of a pointed or thrusting weapon,
instead of the club or sword, both of which are used for
striking, the question of poison, barbs, and sheaths will be
treated on another page.
The primary origin of the Spear is probably the thorn, as a
savage who had been wounded by a thorn would easily pass to
the conclusion that a thorn of larger size would enable him to
kill an enemy in war, or an animal in hunting. Anything ot
sufficient dimensions, which either possessed a natural point or
could be sharpened into a point, would be available for the pur-
pose of the hunter or warrior.
Accordingly we find that such objects as the beak of the
heron or stork, the sharp hind-claw of the kangaroo, the bone
of the sting-ray, the beak of the sword-fish, and many similar
objects, are employed for the heads of spears, or used simply as
daggers.
As to artificial spears, nothing is easier than to scrape a stick
to a point, and then, if needful, to harden it in the fire. This
is, indeed, one of the commonest forms of primitive spears, and
I have in my collection many examples of such weapons.
Another simple form of this weapon is that which is made by
cutting a stick or similar object diagonally.
Hollow rods—such, for example, as the bamboo—are the
best for this purpose. I have now before me a cast of a most
interesting weapon discovered by Colonel Lane Fox. It is the
head of a spear, and is formed from part of the leg-bone of a
sheep. At one end there isa simple round hole, which acted
as a socket for the reception of the shaft, and the other end is
cut away diagonally, so as to leave a tolerably sharp point.
60 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
As to the bamboo, it has a great advantage in the thinness of
its walls, and the coating of flinty substance with which it is
surrounded, and which gives its edges a knife-like sharpness.
Indeed, so very sharp is the silex, that splinters of bamboo are
still used as knives, and with them a skilful operator can cut up
a large hog as expeditiously as one of our pork-butchers could
do with the best knife that Sheffield produces.
I possess several of these weapons, and formidable arms of
offence they are. If the reader can imagine to himself a tooth-
pick, a foot or more in length, made from bamboo instead of
quill, and having its edges nearly as sharp as a razor, he can
realise the force of even so simple a weapon. In the case of the
bamboo, too, celerity of manufacture has its value, for any one
can make a couple of spears in less than as many minutes. All
he has to do is to cut down a joint of bamboo transversely, and
then with a diagonal blow of his knife at the other end to form
the point. |
The force of such a weapon may be inferred from a remarkable
combat that took place some sixty years ago, when the roads
were not so safe as they are at present.
A gentleman, who happened to be a consummate master of
the sword, was going along the highway at night, and was
attacked by two footpads, he having no weapon but a bamboo
cane.
One of them he temporarily disabled by a severe kick, and
then turned to the other, whom he found to be pretty well as
good a swordsman as himself, and to possess a good stick
instead of a slight cane. The footpad soon discovered the dis-
crepancy of weapons, and with a sharp blow smashed the cane
to pieces, leaving only about eighteen inches in his antagonist’s
hand.
Almost instinctively Baron sprang under the man’s
guard, and dashed the broken cane in his face. The footpad
staggered with a groan, put his hands to his face, and ran
away, followed by his companion, who did not desire another
encounter with such an antagonist. When the victor reached
his destination, he found that the footpad’s face must have been
torn to pieces, for the clefts of the split bamboo were full of
scraps of skin, flesh, and whisker hair.
It is worthy of notice that the combination of the club and
THE PATOO. 61
the dagger is common to savage and civilised life, as may be
seen by reference to the illustration in page 53, where the
wooden club of savage warfare and the metal club and maces of
civilisation are alike armed with a piercing as well as a bruising
apparatus. Mostly the dagger is on the head of the mace or
battle-axe, but, in some cases, the end of the handle acts as the
dagger, and the head as the axe or mace.
A very good example of this formation is found in the wooden
battle-axe, or ‘ Patoo,” of New Zealand, a weapon which has
been long superseded by modern fire-arms. A specimen in my
possession is rather more than five feet in length. The head is
just like that of an ordinary axe, while the handle tapers gra-
dually to the end, where it terminates in a sharp spike. In
actual combat the point was used much more than the axe.
WAR AND HUNTING.
CHAPTER II.
POISON, ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE.— PRINCIPLE OF THE BARB.
Poison as applied to Weapons.—Its limited Use.—Animal and Vegetable Poisons.—
Animal Poisons.—The Malayan Dagger, or Kris, and two Modes of poisoning
it.—The Bosjesmans and their Arrows.—Snake Poison and its Preparation.—
The Pseudo-barb.—The Poison-grub, or N’gzwa.—Simple Mode of Prepara-
tion, and its terrible Effects.— Vegetable Poisons.—The Upas of Malacca.—
The Wourali Poison of Tropical America.—Mode of preparing the various
Arrows.—The Fan Tribe of West Africa, and their poisoned Arrows.—Sub-
cutaneous Injection.—Examples in Nature.—The Poison-fang of the Serpent.
—Sting of the Bee.—Tail of the Scorpion.—Fang of the Spider.— Sting of
the Nettle—Exotic Nettles and their Effects.—The Barb and its Develop-
ments.—The “ Bunday”’ of Java.—Reversed Barbs of Western Africa.—
Tongans and their Spears.—The Harpoon and Lernentoma, or Sprat-sucker.
—The Main Gauche, or Brise-épée.
NOTHER advance, if it may so be called, lay in increasing
the deadly effect of the weapons by arming them with
poison.
Without the poison, it was necessary to inflict wounds which
in themselves were mortal; but with it a comparatively slight
wound would suffice for death, providing only that the poison
mixes with the blood: It is worthy of notice that cutting
weapons, such as swords and axes, seldom, if ever, have been
envenomed, the poison being reserved for piercing weapons,
such as the dagger, the spear, and the arrow.
ANIMAL Potsons.
Peruaps the most diabolical invention of this kind was the
Venetian stiletto, made of glass. It came to a very sharp point,
and was hollow, the tube containing a liquid poison. When
the dagger was used, it was driven into the body of the victim,
and then snapped off in the wound, so that the poison was able
to have its full effect. 3
WEAPONS OF THE BOSJESMAN. 63
Such poisons are of different kinds, and invariably animal or
vegetable in their origin. Taking the animal poisons first, we
come to the curious mode of poisoning the Malayan dagger, or
“ Kris.” The blade of the weapon is not smooth, but is forged
from very fibrous steel, and then laid in strong.acid until it is
covered with multitudinous grooves, some of them being often
so deep that the acid has eaten its way completely through the
blade.
Among some tribes the kris is poisoned by being thrust into
a putrefying human body, and allowed to remain there until
the grooves are filled with the decaying matter. It is also said
that if the kris be similarly plunged into the thick stem that
grows just at the base of the pine-apple, the result is nearly the
same.
As a rule, however, the Arrow is generally the weapon which
is poisoned, and a few examples will be mentioned of each kind
of poisoning.
The two most formidable animal poisons are those which are
made by the Bosjesmans of Southern Africa. Their bows are
but toys, and their arrows only slender reeds. But they arm
these apparently insignificant weapons with poison so potent,
that even the brave and bellicose Kafir warrior does not like to
fight a Bosjesman, though he be protected by his enormous shield.
There are two kinds of animal poison used by the Bosjesmans.
The first is made from the secretion of the poison-glands of the
cobra, puff-adder, and cerastes. Knowing the sluggish nature
of snakes in general, the Bosjesman kills them in a very simple
manner. He steals cautiously towards the serpent, boldly sets
his foot upon its neck, and cuts off its head. The body makes
a dainty feast for him, and the head is soon opened, and the
poison-glands removed.
By itself, the poison would not adhere to the point of the
weapon, and so it is mixed with the gummy juice of certain
euphorbias, until it attains a pitch-like consistency. It is then
laid thickly upon the bone point of the arrow, and a little strip
of quill is stuck into it like a barb. The object of the quill is,
that if a man, or even an animal, be wounded, and the arrow
torn away, the quill remains in the wound, retaining sufficient
poison to insure death. I have a quiverful of such arrows in
my collection.
64 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
That arrows so armed should be very terrible weapons is
easily to be imagined, but there is another kind of poison which
is even more to be dreaded. This is procured from the innocent-
looking, but most venomous, Poison-grub. It is called N’gwa by
the Bosjesmans, and is the larval state of a small beetle. When
the arrow is to be poisoned, the grub is broken in half, and the
juices squeezed upon the arrow in small spots.
Both Livingstone and Baines give full and graphic accounts
of the horrible effect produced by this dread poison, which, as
soon as it mixes with the blood, drives the victim into raging
madness. A lion wounded by one of these arrows has been
known nearly to tear himself to pieces in his agonies. M.
Baines was good enough to present me with the N’gwa grub in
its different stages, together with an arrow which has been
poisoned with its juices.
The Bosjesmans are themselves so afraid of the weapon, that
they always carry the arrows with the points reversed, the
poisoned end being thrust into the hollow reed which forms
the shaft of the arrow. Not until the arrow is to be discharged
does its owner place the tip with its point uncovered.
VEGETABLE POISONS.
WE now come to the Vegetable Poisons, the two best known
of which are the Upas poison of Borneo, and the Wourali of
South America. It is rather remarkable that in both these
cases the arrows are very small, and are blown through a hollow
tube, after the manner of the well-known “ Puff-and-dart ” toy
of the present day. .
The Upas poison is simply the juice of the tree, and it does
not retain its strength for more than a few hours after it has
been placed on the arrow-points. A supply of the same liquid
is therefore kept in an air-tight vessel made of bamboo, the
opening being closed by a large lump of wax kneaded over it at
the mouth. One of these little flasks, taken from a specimen in
my collection, is seen on the extreme right of the illustration.
The Wourali poison owes all its power to its vegetable ele-
ment, though certain animal substances are generally mixed
with it. The principal ingredient is the juice of one of the
strychnine vines, which is extracted by boiling, and then care-
fully inspissated until it is about the consistency of treacle.
POISONED WEAPONS. 65
This poison differs from the Upas in the fact that it retains its
potency after very many years, if only kept dry. I have a
number of arrows poisoned with the Wourali. They were given
to me by the late Mr. Waterton, who procured them in 1812,
and even in the present year (1875) they are as deadly as when
they were first made.
A bundle of these tiny arrows, surmounted by the little
wheel which is used to guard the hand from being pricked, is
seen next to the Bornean poison-flask.
a
Sa se
>
bal
J
=
i]
te]
i
Y=
f=
SERPENT=FANG. BEE-STING. INJECTING POISONED ARROWS
SCORPION=STING. SYRINGE.
NETTLE-STING. SPIDER-FANG. POISON=FLASK.
Beside these little arrows, which are only about ten inches in
length, very much larger arrows are used both for war and
hunting, and are propelled by the bow, and not with the breath.
Many of these arrows are nearly six feet in length. In all, the
head is movable fitting quite loosely into a socket, so that
when an animal is struck and springs forward, the shaft is
shaken off, to be picked up by the hunter, and fitted with
another point, while the poisoned head remains in the wound.
Another kind of poison, also of a vegetable origin, is used
by the Fan tribe. The arrows are mere little slips of bamboo,
and are propelled by a slight crossbow. But the poison is so
potent, that even these tiny weapons produce a fatal effect.
Nearly in the centre of the illustration is seen a rather
curiously formed syringe, with an extremely long and slender
F
66 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
tip. This is a recently invented instrument, used for the pur-
pose of subcutaneous injection—.e. of injecting any liquid
under the skin. It is mostly employed for injecting opium
and other drugs of similar qualities, for the purpose of obtain-
ing relief from local pain. The slender spike-like point is
hollow, and ends in a sharp tip, formed like the head of a
lance. Just below the head there is a little hole, communi-
cating with the interior of the tube.
The mode of operating t# sanple enough. The syringe is
filled with the drug, and the point introduced under the skin
at any given spot. Pressure on the piston then forces out
the liquid, and causes it to mix with the blood.
NaturRaAL ANIMAL Porsons.
Now, both in the animal and vegetable worlds may be found
several examples of an apparatus which acts in exactly the
same manner. |
The first is the poison-fang of the Serpent, a specimen of
which is given on the left hand of the illustration. This
fang answers in every respect to the syringe above mentioned.
The long and slender fang is hollow, and answers to the pipe of
the syringe. It communicates at the base with a reservoir of
liquid poison, which answers to the body of the syringe, and
there is alittle hole, or rather slit, just above the point, which
allows the poison to escape.
When the serpent makes its stroke, the base of the fang is
driven against the reservoir, so that the liquid is urged
through the hollow tube, and forced into the wound. ven in
large serpents these fangs are very small. I have now before
me some fangs of the cobra, puff-adder, rattlesnake, and viper,
and it is astonishing how small and slender are these most deadly
weapons. The figure in the illustration is much magnified, in
order to show the aperture at the base, where communication
is made with the interior of the fang. As the exit hole is on
the upper curve of the fang, it is not visible in the figure.
Next to the serpent’s fang is a representation of the Bee-
sting, the poisonous reservoir being seen at the base, and
having attached to it the tiny thread-like gland by which the
poison is secreted.
In the centre is seen the tail of a Scorpion, with its hooked
VEGETABLE POISONS. 67
sting. The last joint is formed just like the serpent’s fang,
being hollow, having a sharp point with a slit near the end,
and a poison reservoir in the rounded base. When the
scorpion attacks an enemy, it strikes violently with the tail,
and the force of the blow drives out the poison just as is done
with the serpent’s fang.
At the bottom of the illustration is shown the poison-fang of
a Spider, which, as the reader may see, is formed just on the
principle of the scorpion-sting.
NATURAL VEGETABLE POISONS.
So much for animal poisons. We will now pass to the
vegetable world.
Of the vegetable sting-bearers none are more familiar to us
than the Nettle, three species of which inhabit this country.
The two commonest are the Great Nettle (Urtica diwcea) and the
Small Nettle (Urtica urens), and both of them are armed with
venomous stings, which cause the plants to be so much dreaded.
The structure of these stings is very simple, and can be
made out with an ordinary microscope, or even a good pocket
lens. Hach of these stings is, in fact, a rather elaborately con-
structed hair, hollow throughout its length, coming to a point
at the tip, and having the base swollen into a receptacle con-
taining the poisonous juice. When any object—such, for
example, as the human hand—touches a nettle, the points of
the stings slightly penetrate the skin, and the hair is pressed
downwards against the base, so that the poison is forced
through the hole.
One of these hairs is shown in the left-hand bottom corner
of the illustration.
Even the tiny stings of our English nettles are sufficiently
venomous to cause considerable pain, and, in some cases, even
to affect the whole nervous system. But some of the exotic
nettles are infinitely more formidable, and are, indeed, so
dangerous that, when they are grown in a botanical garden,
a fence is placed round them, so as to prevent visitors even
from touching a single leaf.
The two most dreaded species are called Urtica heterophylla
and Urtica crenulata. The former is thought to be the more
dangerous of the two, and a good idea of its venomous qualities
F 2
68 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
may be gathered from an account of an adventure with Urtica
crenulata. The narrator is M. L. de la Tour.
‘One of the leaves slightly touched the first three fingers of
my left hand; at the time I only perceived a slight pricking,
to which I paid no attention. This was at seven in the morn-
ing. ‘The pain continued to increase, and in an hour it became
intolerable; it seemed as if some one were rubbing my fingers
with a hot iron. Nevertheless, there was no remarkable
appearance, neither swelling, nor pustules, nor inflammation.
“The pain spread rapidly along the arm as far as the arm-
pit. I was then seized with frequent sneezing, and with a
copious running at the nose, as if I had caught a violent cold in
the head. About noon I experienced a painful attack of cramp
at the back of the jaws, which made me fear an attack of tetanus.
I then went to bed, hoping that repose would alleviate my
suffering, but it did not abate. On the contrary, it continued
nearly the whole of the following night; but I lost the con-
traction of the jaws about seven in the evening.
“The next morning the pain began to leave me, and I fell
asleep. I continued to suffer for two days, and the pain
returned in full force when I put my hand into water. I did
not finally lose it for nine days.”
' There is another of these formidable nettles, called in the
East by a name which signifies “ Devil’s Leaf,’ and which is
sufficiently venomous to cause death. There is but little doubt,
however, that in the present instance, if a larger portion of
the body—say the whole arm—instead of three fingers, had
been stung, death would have ensued from the injury.
THe Bars.
WE now come to another improvement, or rather addi-
tion, in the various piercing weapons. Sometimes, as in the
case of the dagger or the hand-spear, it was necessary that
when a blow had been struck the weapon should be easily
withdrawn from the wound, so as not to disarm the assailant,
and to enable him to repeat the stroke if needful. But in the
case of a missile weapon, such as a javelin or an arrow, it was
often useful, both in war and hunting, to form the head in
such a way that when it had once entered it could scarcely be
withdrawn. For this purpose the Barb was invented, taking
PRINCIPLE OF THE BARB. 69
_ different forms, according to the object of the weapon and the
nationality of the maker.
As in this work I prefer to show the gradual development of
human inventions, I shall take my examples of barbs entirely
from the weapons of uncivilised nations, six examples of which
are given in the accompanying illustration, and five of them
being drawn from specimens in my collection.
BARBED WEAPONS.
The upper left-hand figure is rather a curious one, the position
of the barbs being nearly reversed, so that they serve to tear
the flesh rather than adhere to it. The opposite figure repre-
sents an arrow with a doubly barbed point. It is chiefly used
for shooting fish as they lie dozing on or near the surface of the
water, but it is an effective weapon for ordinary hunting pur-
poses, and, as the shaft is fully five feet in length, is quite
formidable enough for war.
The left-hand bottom figure represents a very remarkable
instrument, for it can hardly be called a weapon, and is, in fact,
the head of a policeman’s staff. It 1s peculiar to Java, and is
called by the name of “ Bunday.” As may be seen by refer-
ence to the illustration, the head of the Bunday is formed of
two diverging slips of wood. To each of these is lashed a row
of long and sharp thorns, all pointing inwards, and the whole
is attached to a tolerably long shaft.
When a prisoner is brought before the chief, a policeman
stands behind him, armed with the Bunday, and, if the man
should try to escape, he is immediately arrested by thrusting
the weapon at him, so as to catch him by the waist, neck, or
arm, oraleg. scape is impossible, especially as in Java the
prisoner wears nothing but his waist-cloth.
A weapon formed on exactly the same principle was used in.
the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and was employed for
70 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
dragging knights off their horses. It was of steel instead of
wood, and the place of the thorns was taken by two movable
barbs, working on hinges, and kept open by springs. When
a thrust was made at the knight’s neck the barbs gave way, so
as to allow the prongs to envelop the throat, and they then
sprang back again, preventing the horseman from cisea cane
himself. This weapon is technically named a “ catchpoll.”
An illustration of one of these weapons will be einen on
another page.
The right-hand central figure is an arrow from Western
Africa. In a previous illustration (page 65) a head of one of
these arrows is given on rather a larger scale, so as to show
the very peculiar barbs. These are of such a nature that when
they have well sunk into the body they cannot be withdrawn,
but must be pushed through, and drawn out on the opposite
side. This is drawn from one of my own specimens.
In some cases, with an almost diabolical ingenuity, the
native arrow-maker has set on a couple of similar barbs, ~
directed towards the point, so that the weapon can neither be
pushed through nor drawn back. One of these arrows is shown
in the illustration, but, for want of space, the artist has placed
the opposing barbs too near each other.
In some parts of Southern Africa a similar weapon was
used for securing a prisoner, the barbed point being thrust
down his throat and left there. If it were pushed through the
neck it killed him on the spot, and if it remained in the
wound the man could not eat nor drink, and the best thing
for him was to die as soon as he could.
With similar ingenuity, the Tongans and Samoans made
their war-spears with eight or nine barbs, and, before going
into action, used to cut the wood almost through between
each barb, so that when the body was pierced, the head, with
several of the barbs, was sure to break off and leave a large
portion in the wound. In Mariner’s well-known book there is
an admirable account of the mode employed by a native
surgeon for extracting one of these spear-heads. So common
was this weapon that every Tongan gentleman carried a many-
barbed spear about five feet long, and used it either as a
walking-stick or a weapon. It is needless to say that this
spear is almost an exact copy of the tail-bone of the Sting-
—————— OS
THE HARPOON. fal
ray. A dagger made of this bone was used in the Pelew
Islands in 1780, but seemed to be rather scarce.
The left-hand central figure is a Fijian fish-spear of four
points, and the last figure on the right hand represents a large
four-pronged spear of Borneo. Both these weapons are in my
collection.
ANOTHER example of a weapon where a large and powerful
barb is needful is the Harpoon. As the harpoon is used in
capturing the whale, the largest and most powerful of living
mammalia, it is evident that a barb which will hold such a prey
must be rather peculiarly made. The head and part of the
shaft of the harpoon are shown in the right-hand figure of the
accompanying illustration.
The left-hand figure represents a curious parasitic crustacean,
popularly called the Sprat-sucker, because it is usually found on
sprats. It affixes itself mostly to the eye, the deeply barbed
head being introduced between the eye and the socket. In
LERNENTOMA. HARPOON.
some seasons this remarkable parasite is quite plentiful, while
in others scarcely a specimen can be found. Its total length is
slightly under an inch, and its scientific name is Lernentoma
Spratti.
The following graphic account of some prototypic weapons
belonging to a marine worm is given by Mr. Rymer Jones,
and is well worthy of perusal, not only for the vividness of the
description, but for its exact accuracy :—
“Here is a Polynoe, a curious genus, very common under
stones at low water on our rocky shores.
“It is remarkable on several accounts. All down the back we
discover a set of oval or kidney-shaped plates, which are called
the back-plates (dorsal elytra) ; these are flat, and are planted
upon the back by little footstalks, set on near the margin of
the under surface: they are arranged in two rows, overlapping
each other at the edge. These kidney-shaped shields, which
can be detached with slight violence, are studded over with
little transparent oval bodies, set on short footstalks, which are,
72 NATURE'S TEACHINGS.
perhaps, delicate organs of touch. The intermediate antenne,
the tentacles, and the cirrhi or filaments of the feet, are
similarly fringed with these little appendages, which resemble
the glands of certain plants, and have a most singular
appearance. }
“Tf we remove the shields, we discover, on each side of the
body, a row of wart-like feet, from each of which project two
bundles of spines of exquisite structure. The bundles, expand-
ing on all sides, resemble so many sheaves of wheat, or you may
more appropriately fancy you behold the armoury of some
belligerent sea-fairy, with stacks of arms enough to accoutre a
numerous host.
“But, if you look closely at the weapons themselves, they
rather resemble those which we are accustomed to wonder at in
missionary museums,—the arms of some ingenious but bar-
barous people from the South Sea Islands,—than such as are
used in civilised warfare. Here are long lances, made like
scythe-blades, set on a staff, with a hook on the tip, as if
to capture the fleeing foe, and bring him within reach of
the blade. Among them are others of similar shape, but
with the edge cut into delicate slanting notches, which run
along the sides of the blade like those on the edge of our
reaping-hooks.
‘“‘ These are chiefly the weapons of the lower bundle; those
of the upper are still more imposing. The outermost are short
curved clubs, armed with a row of shark’s teeth to make them
more fatal; these surround a cluster of spears, the long heads
of which are furnished with a double row of the same appendages,
and lengthened scimitars, the curved edges of which are cut
into teeth like a saw. |
“Though a stranger might think I had drawn copiously on
my fancy for this description, I am sure, with your eye upon
what is on the stage of the microscope at this moment, you will
acknowledge that the resemblances are not at all forced or
unnatural. Toadd to the effect, imagine that all these weapons
are forged out of the clearest glass instead of steel; that the
larger bundles may contain about fifty, and the smaller half as
many each; that there are four bundles upon every segment,
and that the body is co mposed of twenty-five such segments,
and you will have a tolerable idea of the garniture and
THE SWORD-BREAKER. Vi:
armature of this little worm, which grubs about in the mud at
low-water mark.”
Somewhere between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries a
sort of anomalous weapon was in use, namely, a dagger, with a
PART OF WASP-STING. MAIN GAUCHE.
number of very deep and bold barbs. It was not, however,
employed for offence, but for defence, and was used in the
“rapier and dagger’? mode of fighting, when the dagger,
which was held in the left hand, was employed to parry the
thrusts of the rapier, which was held in the right. From the
mode of holding it, the weapon was called ‘‘ Main Gauche.”
Sometimes the blade was quite plain, and, indeed, an ordinary
dagger answered the purpose. But in most cases the Main
Gauche was made for this special purpose, and was furnished
either with strong diverging projections, or with a series of deep
notches, so that the sword of the enemy might be caught in
them and broken. In consequence of this use these notched
or guarded weapons were also called by the name of Brise-épée,
or Sword-breaker.
The resemblance between this weapon and the blade of a
wasp’s sting can be seen at a glance. There is another form of
the Brise-épée which is so strangely like the cutting apparatus
of one of the saw-flies, that an outline sketch of the one would
answer very well for the other.
WAR AND HUNTING.
CHAPTER III.
PROJECTILE WEAPONS AND THE SHEATH.
Propulsive Power.—The Pea-shooter and its Powers.—An Attack repulsed.—Clay
Bullets.— Puff and Dart.—The Sumpitan of Borneo, and its Arrows.—The
Zarabatana or Pucunha of South America, and its Arrows.—The Air-gun.—
Modern Firearms.—The Chcetodon, or Archer-fish.—The Pneumatic Rail-
way.—The Throwing-stick and its Powers.—Australians. Esquimaux, and
New Caledonians.—Principle of the Sheath.—Waganda Spears.—Sheathed
Piercing Apparatus of the Gnat, Flea, and Bombylius.—Indian Tulwar and
Cat’s Claw.—The Surgeon’s Lancet, and Piercing Apparatus of the Gad-fly
and Mosquito.
W* will now take some of the analogies between Projectile
Weapons of Art and Nature, selecting those in which the
propulsive power is air or gases within a tube. Whether the
weapon be a blow-gun, an air-gun, or a firearm of any descrip-
tion, the principle is the same. We will take them in succes-
sion, choosing first those of the simplest and most primitive
character.
Taking ourselves as examples, and looking upon the toys of
children as precursors of more important inventions, we find
that the simplest and most primitive of projectiles is the
Pea-shooter, so familiar to all boys.
Insignificant as is the little tin tube, and small as are the
missiles which are propelled through it, the blow which can be
struck by a pea properly shot is no trifle. At college I have
seen a night attack upon an undergraduate’s rooms successfully
repelled by a pea-shooter made for the nonce of a glass tube,
the owner of the rooms having a taste for chemicals, and
possessing a fair stock of the usual apparatus. Though the
assaulted rooms were on the top set, and the assailants began
their storming approaches below, the peas were too much
THE SUMPITAN OF BORNEO. Vi
for the stones, taking stinging effect on the hands and
faces, and preventing any good aim being taken at the
windows. Only two panes of glass were broken through a
siege that lasted for several hours.
There is another toy which is a development of the pea-
shooter, and carries a small clay bullet instead of a pea. When
the tube is quite straight and the balls fit well, the force of this
missile is very great, as it can be used for killing small birds.
Indeed, such an instrument is largely employed by the native
hunters in procuring humming-birds for the European market.
These weapons are generally lined with metal in this country,
but a simple bamboo tube is sufficient for the native hunters.
A still further improvement occurs where the place of the
bullet is taken by a small dart or arrow, which is usually made
to fit the bore by having a tuft of wool, or some similar
substance, at the butt. The arrow is aimed at a target, and
the toy is popularly known as “ Puff and Dart.”
With us this apparatus is only a toy, but in several parts of
the world it becomes.a deadly weapon, namely, in Borneo and
over a large part of tropical America. In both cases the
arrows are poisoned, as has already been mentioned when
treating of poisoned weapons.
Tue first and best known of these weapons is the dreaded
Sumpitan, or Blow-gun, of Borneo, the arrows of which are
poisoned with the deadly juice of the upas-tree. Here I may
as well mention that the scientific name of the upas-tree is
Antiaris toxicaria. It belongs to a large group of plants, all of
which have an abundance of milk-like and sometimes poisonous
juice. We are most of us familiar with the old story of the
upas-tree and its deadly power, and how the tree stood in a
valley, in which nothing else could live, and that condemned
criminals might compound for their inevitable fate by ven-
turing into the valley of death and bringing back a flask of
the dread poison. liven birds were supposed to be unable to
fly over the valley, but to fall into it, beimg poisoned by the
exhalations of the tree.
Now, there is a saying that there is. no smoke without fire,
and though this account is evidently incredible, it is not
altogether without foundation. In Java, as in many other
76 - NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
parts of the world, there are low-lying places where carbonic
acid gas exudes from the earth, and no living creature can
exist in them. Even in this country scarcely a year passes
without several deaths occurring from inhalation of the same
fatal gas, which has collected in some disused excavation.
That there is, therefore, a deadly valley in Java may be true
enough, and it is also true that the juice of the upas-tree is
poisonous when it mixes with the blood. But the two have no
connection with each other, and, so far from the upas-tree
poisoning the valley by its exhalations, it could not exist in
such an atmosphere.
Now for the Sumpitan and the arrows. The former is a tube,
some seven feet in length, with a bore of about half an inch in
diameter, and often elaborately inlaid with metal. I have one
in which the whole of the mouthpiece is brass, and the other
end of the weapon has been fitted with a large spear-head,
exactly on the principle of the bayonet.
The arrows are very slight, and, in order to make them fit
the tube, are furnished at their bases with a conical piece of
soft wood. In themselves they would be almost useless as
weapons, but when the poison with which their points are
armed is fresh, these tiny arrows, of which sixty or seventy
are but an ordinary handful, carry death in their points.
Though they have no great range, they are projected with
much force, and with such rapidity that they cannot be
avoided, their slender shafts being almost invisible as they pass
through the air.
THE second weapon is the still more dangerous blow-gun of
tropical America, called Zarabatana, or Pucunha, according to
the locality. Some of these tubes measure more than eleven
feet in length, and through them the arrow can be propelled
with wonderful force. I have often sent an arrow to a distance
of a hundred yards, and with a good aim.
A native, however, can send it much farther, knack, and not
mere capacity of lung, supplying the propelling power, just
as it is with the pea-shooter. When the arrow is properly
blown througk the zarabatana a sharp “pop” ought to be
heard, like the sound produced by a finger forced into a
thimble and quickly withdrawn, or a cork drawn from a bottle.
THE AIR-GUN. ria
As to seeing the diminutive arrow in its flight, it is out of
the question, and no agility can be of the least use in avoiding
it. One of my friends, a peculiarly sharp-sighted officer of
artillery, has often tested this point, and although there was
but one arrow to watch, and it was blown in the open air, he
could not see it until it either struck or passed him (of course
the poisoned end was cut off). What, then, would be the
result of a number of these deadly missiles hurled out of a
dense bush may easily be imagined.
An account of the poison with which these arrows are armed
will be found on p. 64.
Tue reader will please to remember that in all these cases
the missile is propelled by air which is compressed by the aid of
the lungs, and forced into the tube behind the bullet or arrow.
Now, the Arr-cun, which really can be made a formidable
weapon, is constructed on exactly the same principle as the pea-
shooter and the blow-guns, except that the air is compressed by
the human arm instead of the human lungs. There are various
modifications of this weapon, but in all of them air is driven
into a strong chamber by means of a forcing syringe, and is
released by the pull of the trigger, so as to drive out the missile
which has been placed in the barrel.
It is worthy of notice that the term “noiselessly destructive”’
weapon, as applied to the air-gun, is entirely false. I have
already mentioned that with the blow-gun of tropical America
a definite explosion accompanies the flight of each arrow. The
same result occurs with the air-gun, the loudness of the report
being in exact proportion to the force of the air, each succes-
sive report becoming slighter and the propulsive power weaker
until a new supply of air is forced into the chamber.
However dissimilar in appearance may be the cannon, rifle,
pistol, or any other firearm, to the pea-shooter and its kin, the
principle is exactly the same in all. It has been already men-
tioned that in the blow-guns the air is compressed by the
exertion of human lungs, and in the air-gun the compression
is achieved by human hands.
But with the firearm a vast volume of expansible gas is
kept locked up in the form of gunpowder, gun-cotton, ful-
78 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
minating silver, or other explosive compound, and is let loose,
when wanted, by the aid of fire.
In the illustration are represented on the right hand the
blow-guns of America and Borneo, and below them is the
cannon as at present made. On the left hand of the same
CHGTODON, OR ARCHER-FISH. BLOW-GUNS— CANNON.
illustration is seen a representation of a natural gun which has
existed for thousands of years before gunpowder was invented,
and very long before the savage of Borneo or America dis-
covered the blow-gun. )
It is the ARcHER-FIsH (Chetodon), which possesses the curious
power of feeding itself by shooting drops of water at flies, and
very seldom failing to secure its prey.
There are several species of this very curious fish spread
over the warmer parts of the world, and their remarkable mode
of obtaining prey is very well known in all. ‘There is, indeed,
scarcely any phenomenon in Nature more remarkable than the
fact of a fish bemg able to shoot a fly with a drop of water
proj jected through its tubular beak, if we may use that expres-
sion for so curiously modified a mouth.
Indeed, so certain is the fish of its aim, that in Japan it is
kept as a pet in glass vases, just as we keep gold fish in
England, and is fed by holding flies or other insects to it
on the end of a rod a few inches above the surface of the
water. The fish is sure to see the insect, and equally sure
to bring it down with a drop of water propelled through its
beak.
It is worthy of remark that the same principle was once,
though unsuccessfully, employed in the propulsion of carriages,
under the name of the Pneumatic Railway. Some of my
readers may remember the railway itself, or at all events the
disused tubes which lay for so many years along the Croydon
———
THE THROWING-STICK. vA)
Railway. Speed was obtained, as I can testify from personal
experience, but the expense of air-pumps and air-tight tubing
was too great to be covered by the income, Palys as the rats
ate the oiled leather which covered the valves.’
I inp some little difficulty in arranging the subject which
comes next in order. It might very properly be ranked among
the Levers, which will be treated of in another chapter; or it
might be placed among the examples of centrifugal force,
together with the sling, the “ governor” of the steam-engine,
&e., all of which will be more fully described in their places.
However, as we are on the subject of Projectiles, we may as
well take it in the present place.
It is the THRow1ne-sticx, by which the power of the human
arm is enormously increased, when a spear is to be hurled.
Perhaps the most expert spear-throwers in the world are to be
found among the Kafir tribes of Southern Africa, and yet the
most experienced among them could not make sure of hitting
aman at any distance above thirty or forty yards. But the
throwing-stick gives nearly double the range, and I have seen
the comparatively slight and feeble Australian hurl a spear
to a distance of a hundred yards, and with an aim as perfect
as that of a Kafir at one-fourth of the distance.
The mode in which this feat is performed is shown in the
accompanying diagram. Instead of holding the spear itself,
the native furnishes himself with a “Throwing-stick.” This
weapon varies greatly in shape and size, but a very good idea of
its form, and the manner of using it, may be obtained from
the accompanying illustration, which was drawn from the
actual specimen as held by an Australian native.
The throwing-stick is armed at the tip with a short spike,
which fits into a little hole in the but of the spear. The stick
and spear being then held as shown in the illustration, it is
evident that a powerful leverage is obtained, varying according
to the length of the stick. I possess several of these instru-
ments, no two of which are alike.
It is rather remarkable that among the Esquimaux a throw-
ing-stick is also used, exactly similar in principle, but differing
slightly in structure, the but of the spear fitting into a hole
at the end of the throwing-stick. Wood being scarce among
80 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
the Esquimaux, these instruments are mostly made of bone.
I possess one, however, which is made of wood, beautifully
polished, and adorned with a large blue stone, something like
a turquoise, set almost in its middle. One of the most curious
points in the formation of the Esquimaux weapon is, that the
JAW OF SNAKE, THROWING=STICK.
but is grooved and channellea so as to admit the fingers and
thumb of the right hand. The average length of this instru-
ment is twenty inches. |
In New Caledonia the natives use a contrivance for increas-
ing the power of the spear, which is based on exactly identical
principles, though the mode of carrying them out is different.
A thong or cord of some eighteen inches in length is kept in
the right hand, one end being looped over the forefinger, and
the other, which is terminated by a button, being twisted round
the shaft of the spear. When the weapon is thrown, the
additional leverage gives it great power; and it is a note-
worthy fact that the sling-spear of New Caledonia has enabled
us to understand the otherwise unintelligible “amentum ” of
the ancient classic writers.
Passine from Art to Nature, we have in the jaw of the
serpent an exact type of the peculiar leverage by which the
spear is thrown. If the reader will refer to the illustration,
he will see that the lower jaw of the snake, instead of being
set directly on the upper jaw, is attached to an elongated bone,
which gives the additional leverage which is needful in the
act of swallowing prey, after the manner of serpents.
In War and in Peace we have been long accustomed to
shield the edges and points of our sharp weapons with sheaths,
and even the very savages have been driven to this device.
SHEATHED WEAPONS. 81
I have in my collection a number of sheathed weapons from
nearly all parts of the world, andit is a remarkable fact that the
Fan tribe, who are themselves absolutely naked, sheathe their
daggers and axes as carefully as we sheathe our swords and
bayonets. In some points, indeed, they go beyond us; for the
most ignorant Fan savage would never think of blunting the
edge of his weapon by sheathing it ina metal scabbard. Their
sheaths are beautifully made of two flat pieces of wood, just
sufficiently hollowed to allow the blade to le between them,
and bound together with various substances. For example,
the sheaths of one or two daggers in my possession are made
of wood covered with snake-skin, while others are simply
wood bound with a sort of rattan. Even the curious missile-
axe which the Fan warrior uses with such power is covered
with a sheath when not in actual use.
The figure on the right hand of the illustration represents
the heads of two spears of Waganda warriors. When they
PIERCING APPARATUS AND SHEATHS. SHEATHED SPEARS OF WAGANDA.
GNAT. FLEA. BOMBYLIUS.
present themselves before their king, the warriors must not
appear without their weapons, and it would be contrary to all
_ etiquette to show a bare blade except in action. The sheath
can be slipped off in a moment, but there it is, and any man
who dared to appear before his sovereign without his weapon,
or with an unsheathed spear, would lose his life on the spot,
so exact is the code of etiquette among these savages.
The sheathed spears of Nature are shown in the same illus-
tration. On the left is a side view of the piercing apparatus of
the common Gnat.
G
82 NATURE'S TEACHINGS.
In the middle is the compound piercing apparatus of the
common Flea, with which we are sometimes too well acquainted,
the upper figure showing the lancets and sheaths together, and
the lower exhibiting them when separated.
On the right is shown the group of mouth-lancets belonging
to one of the Humble-bee flies (Lombylius). ‘These flies do
not suck blood like the Mosquito, the Flea, and the Gad-fly,
but they use the long proboscis for sucking the sweet juices
out of flowers, and in consequence it is nearly of the same
form as if it were meant for sucking blood. Indeed, there are
some insects which do not seem to care very much whether
the juice which they suck is animal or vegetable.
On the right hand of the illustration is seen an Indian
sword, or “Tulwar,” drawn from one of my own specimens.
I have selected this example on account of the structure of the
sheath. It is evident, from the form of the blade, that the
sword cannot be sheathed point foremost, and that therefore
§ CLAW.—SHEATH OPENING ALONG
THE CURVED BACK.
INDIAN TULWAR.—SHEATH OPENING
ALONG THE CURVED BACK.
some other plan must be used. In this weapon the sheath is
left open on one side, the two portions being held together
by the straps which are shown in the figure. Of course there
is loss of time in sheathing and drawing such a sword, but the
peculiar shape of the blade entails a necessity for a special
scabbard.
On the other side is shown one of the fore-claws of a cat,
which, as we all know, can be drawn back into its simple
LANCETS AND THEIR SHEATHS. 83
sheath between the toes, when it is not in use. This sheath
is exactly the same in principle as that of the Indian tulwar,
and any one can examine it by looking at the foot of a good-
tempered cat. JI have done so even with a chetah, which is
not a subject that would generally be chosen for such a
purpose.
On the next illustration is shown an ordinary Lancet, in
which the blade is guarded between a double sheath, the two
halves and the blade itself working upon a common pivot.
As for the drdinary sword and dagger sheaths, it is not worth
while to figure them.
Turnine to the opposite side of the illustration, we shall see
a few of the innumerable examples in which the principle of
the sheath was carried out in Nature long before man came on
the earth.
The reader should compare this figure with the side view of
the Gnat’s lancets given on p. 81.
They represent the cutting and piercing instruments of
several insects, all of which are very complicated, and are
SURGEON’S LANGET
PARTLY OPEN.
LANCETS OF TABANUS LANCETS OF MOSQUITO
- CLOSED. PARTLY OPEN.
sheathed after the manner of the lancet. Indeed, they are
popularly known as “ mouth-lancets,” and with reason, as
the reader may see by reference to the illustration.
en
84 NATURE'S TEACHINGS.
On the extreme left are shown the head and closed lancets of
a foreign Gad-fly, the lancets being all in their sheaths, and
showing the character of the weapon which enables a small fly
to be master, or rather mistress, of the forest. I say mistress,
because in all these cases it is the female alone that possesses
these instruments of torture.
Next it is a magnified representation of the lancets of the
common Mosquito, as seen from above, both lancets being
removed from their sheaths and separated.
WAR AND HUNTING.
CHAPTER vl.
The Net, as used-in Hunting and War.—The Seine-net, as used for Fishing.—
Also as a means of Hunting.—Net for Elephant-catching.—Steel Net for
Mihtary Purposes.—Web of the Garden Spider.—-The Casting-net, as used
in Fishing.—Also as employed in the Combats of the ancient Circus.—
Various Kinds of Casting-nets.—The Argus Star-fish and the Barnacle.—
The Rod and Line.—Angling of various Kinds.—The Polynesian as an
Angler.—The Angler-fish.—* Playing ’’ a Fish.—The Nemertesand its Mode
ot Feeding.—Mr. Kingsley’s Account of it.—Power of Elongation and Con-
traction.—The Cydippe.—Spring-traps.—The Gin, Rat-trap, and Man-trap.
—Jaws of Dolphin, Porpoise, and Alligator.—Legs of Phasma.—Baited
Traps.—Carnivorous Plants and their Mode of Feeding.—Birdlime.—“ Peg-
ging” for Chaffinches.—Curious Mode of Tiger-killing.—Ant-eater and its
Mode of Feeding.—The Drosera.— Web of Spider and its Structure.
THE Net.
Abrnouen the Net is but seldom employed for the pur-
poses of general warfare, it was once largely used in
individual combats, of which we will presently treat. In
hunting, however, especially in fishing, the Net has been in
constant use, and is equally valued by savages and the most
civilised nations.
To begin with the fisheries. Even among ourselves there
are so many varieties of fishing-nets that even to enumerate
them would be a work of time. However, they are all based
on one of two principles, 7.c. the nets which are set and the
nets which are thrown.
We will begin with the first.
On the right hand of the illustration, and at the bottom,
may be seen a common Seine-net being “shot’’ in the sea.
This form of net is very long in proportion to its width, some
of these nets being several miles long. The upper edge
86 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
of the net is furnished with a series of cork bungs, which
maintain it on the surface, while the lower edge has a corre-
sponding set of weights, which keep the net extended like a
wall of meshes. Any fish which come against this wall are, of
course, arrested, and are generally caught by the gill-covers in
their vain attempts to force themselves through the meshes.
We may see representations of fishing with the seine-net in
the sculptures and paintings of Hgypt and Assyria; and in
the Berlin Museum there is a part of an Egyptian seine-net
with the leads still upon the lower edge, and the upper edge
bearing a number of large pieces of wood, which acted as
buoys, and served the same purpose as our corks.
In hunting, this plan has been adopted for many centuries,
the upper edge of the net bemg supported on poles, and the
lower fastened to the ground in such a manner as to leave the
net hanging in loose folds. While this part of the business
SPIDER-WEB. HUNTING-NEt. THE SEINE-NET.
is being completed by the servants, the hunters are forming
a large semicircle, in which they enclose a number of wild
beasts, which they drive into the nets or “ toils” by gradually
contracting the semicircle. The ancient sculptures give us
accounts of nets used in exactly this manner. There are
represented the nets rolled up ready for use, and being carried
on the shoulders of several attendants, who are bearing them
to the field. Then there are the nets set up on their poles,
and having enclosed within them a number of wild animals,
such as boars and deer.
In various parts of India, hunting with the net is one of the
HUNTING-NETS. 87
chief amusements of their principal men, and the variety of
game driven into the toils is really surprising, and affords a
magnificent sight to those who view it for the first time.
Even the tiger himself cannot leap over the nets because they
are so high, nor force his way through them, because their folds
hang so lightly that they offer no resistance to his efforts.
A very simple net on similar principles is used for catching
elephants. It is formed of the long creeping plants that
fling themselves in tangled masses from tree to tree. These
creepers are carefully twisted into a net-like form, without
being removed from the trees, and when a sufficient space has
been enclosed the elephants are driven into it. Not even their
gigantic strength and tons of weight are capable of breaking
through a barrier which, apparently slight, is as strong as if it
were built of the tree-trunks on which the creepers are hung.
This net is seldom used for military purposes, though I
have seen one, which I believe still exists, and would do good
service. In one of our largest fortresses there is a subterra-
- ean corridor, through which it is desirous that the enemy
should not penetrate. One mode of defence consists of a large
net made of steel hanging loosely across it. The meshes are
about ten inches square, so that the defenders can fire from
their loopholes through the meshes, while the assailants, even
if they knew of its position, would find that nothing smaller
than a field-gun would have any effect on this formidable net.
Tue natural analogy of the fixed net is evidently the web of
the common Garden Spider, or Cross Spider (Epeira diadema),
whose beautiful! nets we all must have admired, especially when
we are wise enough to get up sufficiently early in the morning
to see the webs with the dewdrops glittering on them.
Last year there was a wondertul sight. Within a mile of
my house there is a long iron fence, which in one night had
been covered with the webs of the garden spider. The fol-
lowing morning, though bright, was chilly, so that the dew-
drops were untouched. I happened to pass by the fence soon
after sunrise, and was greatly struck with the astonishing
effects which could be produced with such simple materials as
water and web. The dewdrops were set at regular intervals
upon the web, so as to produce a definite and beautiful pattern,
88 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
the whole line of. fence looking as if it had been woven in
fine lace.
Then, as the fence runs north and south, and the path is on
the westward of it, every passenger saw the rays of the rising
sun dart through these tiny globules, and convert every one of
them into a jewel of ever-changing colours. It seemed a pity
that such beauty could but last for an hour or so, or that these
exquisite webs should only be used for catching flies.
Next comes the Casting-net in its various forms. This net is
mostly circular, and is loaded round the edge with small leaden
plummets. It is evident that, if such a net could be laid quite
flat upon the water, it would assume a dome-like shape, in con-
sequence of the circumference being heavier than the centre,
and would sink to the bottom, enclosing anything which came
within its scope.
The difficulty is to Re the net in such a manner, and this
is accomplished by throwing it in a very peculiar way. The
net is gathered in folds upon the shoulder, which it partially
envelops. By a sudden jerk the thrower causes it to fly open
with a sort of spinning movement, and when well cast it will
fall on the water perfectly flat.
After allowing it to sink to the bottom, the fisherman draws
it very gently by a cord attached to its middle. As he raises
it the weights of the leaded circumference are drawn nearer _
and nearer together by their own weight, and finally form it
into a bag, within which are all the living creatures which it
has enclosed.
Though the Casting-net has never been used in warfare, it
was one of the favourite implements in gladiatorial combats
among the Romans. ‘Two men were opposed to each other ;
one, called the Retiarius or Netsman, being quite naked, except
sometimes a slight covering round the waist, and armed with
nothing but a Casting-net and a slight trident, which could not
inflict a deadly wound. The other, called the Secutor or
Follower, from his mode of fighting, was armed with a visored
helmet, a broad metal belt, and armour for the legs and arms.
He also carried a shield large enough to protect the upper
part of the body, and a sword. It will be seen, therefore,
how great was the power of the Casting-net, when it enabled
THE CASTING-NET. 89
its naked bearer to face such odds of offensive and defensive
armour.
When the two met in combat, the Retiarius tried to fling his
net over his adversary, and if he succeeded, the fate of the
latter was sealed. Entangled in the loose meshes, he could
scarcely move his limbs, while the sharp prongs of the long-
shafted trident came darting in at every exposed point, and
exhausting the man with pain and loss of blood. The trident
ARGUS STAR FISH. “PAN”? OF BARNACLE. RETIARIUS.
was in itself so feeble a weapon, that if the Secutor were
vanquished and condemned to death by the spectators, his
antagonist could not kill him, but had to call another Secutor
to act as executioner with his sword.
Should he fail in his cast, the Retiarius drew back his net
by the central cord, and took to flight, followed by the Secutor,
who tried to wound him before he could re-fold his net upon
his shoulder, ready for another cast. It is worthy of notice
that in these singular combats the netsman seems generally to
have been the victor. A Retiarius with his net is shown in the
illustration.
I may mention that our ordinary bird-catchers’ nets, and
even the entomologist’s insect-net, are only modifications of
the Casting-net.
Now for Nature’s Casting-nets, two examples of which are
figured, though there are many more. These two have been
selected because they are familiar to all naturalists.
The first is the Argus Star-fish, Basket-urchin, or Sea-basket.
90 NATURE'S TEACHINGS.
The innumerable rays and their subdivisions, amounting to
some eighty thousand in number, act as the meshes of the
net. All the rays are flexible and under control. When the
creature wishes to catch any animal for prey, it throws its
tentacles over it, just like the meshes ofa net. It then draws
the tips of the rays together, just as is done by the circum-
ference of the casting-net, and so encloses its prey effectually.
THE next specimen is the net-like apparatus of the common
Acorn Barnacles, with which our marine rocks are nearly
covered. These curious beings belong to the Crustacea, and the
apparatus which is figured on page 89, and popularly called the
“fan,” is, in fact, a combination of the legs and their appendages
of bristles, &c. When the creature is living and covered with
water, the fan is thrust out of the top of the shell, expanded
as far as possible, swept through the water, closed, and then
drawn back again. With these natural casting-nets the Bar-
nacles feed themselves, for, being fixed to the rock, they could
not in any other way supply themselves with food. There are
many similar examples in Nature, but these will suffice.
Tue Rop anp LINE.
Tuat both terrestrial and aquatic nets should have their
parallels in Nature is clear enough to all who have ever seen a
spider’s web, or watched the “fan” of the barnacle. But that
the rod and baited line, as well as the net, should have existed
in Nature long before man came on earth, is not so well known.
Yet, as we shall presently see, not only is the bait represented
in Nature, but even our inventions for “playing” a powerful
fish are actually surpassed.
We will begin with the Bait.
In nearly all traps a bait of some kind is required, in order to
attract the prey, and when we come from land to attract the
dwellers in water to our hooks, it is needful that bait of some
kind should be used, were it only to deceive the eye, though
not the nostrils or palate, of the fish.
A notable example of the deception is given in the common °
artificial baits of the present day, which are made to imitate
almost any British insect which a fish might be disposed to eat.
BAITED HOOKS. 91
Perhaps the best instance of this deception is that which is
practised by sundry Polynesian tribes. They have seen that the
Coryphene or Dorado, and other similar fish, are in the habit of
preying upon the flying-fish, and springing at them when they
are tolerably high in the air. So these ingenious semi-savages
dress up a hook made of bone, ormer-shell, and other materials,
making the body of it into a rudely designed form of a fish.
A hole is bored transversely through it at the shoulders, and a
bunch of stiff fibres is inserted to represent the wings. Another
bunch does duty for the tail.
The imitation bait being thus complete, it is hung to a long
and slender bamboo rod, which projects well beyond the stern
of a canoe, and isso arranged that the hook is about two feet or
so from the surface. The Coryphene, seeing this object skim-
ming along, takes it for a flying-fish, leaps at it, and is caught
by the hook. There are in several collections specimens of these
ingenious hooks, and I possess one which is made on similar
principles, but intended for use in the water, and not in the air.
Tt is, in fact, a “ spoon-bait.”
One point of ingenuity must be mentioned, asit really belongs
to the principle of the bait. These same savages, having
noticed that large sea-birds are in the habit of hovering over
the flying-fish, and would probably be seen by the Coryphenes,
rig up a very long bamboo rod, tie to its end a large bundle
of leaves and fibres, and then fix it in the stern of the boat, the
sham bird being hung some twenty feet above the sham fish.
There is a refinement of deception here, for which we should
scarcely give such savages their due credit.
In Art, then, we bait our hooks either with real or false food,
and so attract the fish.
In Nature we have a most accomplished master of the art of
baiting, who has the wonderful power of never needing a
renewal of his bait. A glance at the left-hand figure of the
next illustration will show that I allude to the Angler-fish,
sometimes called the Fishing-frog (Lophius piscatorius). This
remarkable creature has a most enormous mouth, and compara-
tively small body. On the top of its head are some curious
bones, set just like a ring and staple, so as to move freely in
every direction. A figure of this piece of mechanism will be
92 “NATURE'S TEACHINGS.
given ina future page. At the end of these bones are little
fleshy appendages, which must be very tempting to most fish,
which are always looking out for something toeat. As they are
being waved about, they look as if they were alive. The fish
darts at the supposed morsel, and is at once engulfed in the
huge jaws of the Angler-fish, which, but for this remarkable
apparatus, would be scarcely able to support existence, as it is
ANGLER-FISH. ANGLING.
but a sluggish swimmer, and yet needs a large supply of food.
The illustration, representing on the right hand a fish attracted
to a bait, and on the left, the Angler-fish, with its bait-like
appendage to the head, speaks for itself.
Passine to the art of Angling with a rod and line, we now
arrive at another development.
Supposing a fish to have taken the bait, and to have been
firmly hooked, how is it to be landed? ‘The simplest plan is,
of course, to have a very thick and strong line which will not
break with the weight of any ordinary fish.
This is very well in sea-fishing, where a line made of whip-
cord will answer the purpose in most cases. But, in river
fishing, we have the fact that the fish are so shy that a linen
thread would scare them, and so strong and active, that even
whip-cord would not prevent them from breaking the line, or
tearing the hook out of their mouths. So the modern angler
sets himself to the task of combating both these conditions.
In the first place, he makes the last yard or two of his line of
“silkworm-gut ”’—a curious substance made from the silk-
vessels of silkworms, and nearly invisible in the water. In the
next place, he has a very elastic rod; and, in the third, he has
forty or more yards of line, though perhaps only twenty feet are
in actual use until the fish is hooked. The remainder of the
line is wound upon a winch fixed to the handle of the rod.
‘PLAYING’ A FISH. 93
Thus, when a powerful fish is hooked and tries to escape, the
line is gradually let loose, so as to yield to its efforts. When it
becomes tired by the gradual strain, the line is again wound in,
and in this way a fish which would at the first effort smash
rod and line of a novice will, in the hands of an experienced
fisherman, be landed as surely as if it were no bigger than a
gudgeon.
Nature has in this case also anticipated Art, and surpassed
all her powers.
There is a wonderful worm, common on our southern coasts,
and bearing, as far as I know, no popularname. It is known to
NEMERTES. “PLAYING”? A FISH.
the scientific world as Nemertes Borlasii. It possesses the power
of extension and contraction more than any known creature,
and uses those powers for the purpose of capturing prey. The
fishermen say that this worm can extend itself to a length of
ninety feet, and as Mr. Davis found one to measure twenty-two
feet, after being immersed in spirits of wine, it is likely that
their account may be true, especially as the spirit greatly con-
tracted the animal in point of length.
A most vivid description of this worm is given by C. Kingsley,
in his “ Glaucus,” and was written before he knew its name.
“Whether we were intruding or not, in turning this stone,
we must pay a fine for having done so; for there lies an animal
as foul and monstrous to the eye as ‘hydra, gorgon, or chimera
94 NATURE'S TEACHINGS.
dire,’ and yet so wondrously fitted to its work that we must
needs endure for our own instruction to handle and to look at
it. Its name I know not (though it lurks here under every
stone), and should be glad to know. It seems some very ‘low’
Ascarid or Planarian worm.
“You see it? That black, shiny, knotted lump among the
gravel, small enough to be taken up in a dessert spoon. Look
now, as it is raised and its coils drawn out. Three feet, six,
nine at least; with a capability of seemingly endless expan-
sion; a slimy tape of living caoutchouc, some eighth of an inch
in diameter, a dark chocolate black, with paler longitudinal
lines.
“Ts it alive? It hangs helpless and motionless, a mere
velvet string, across the hand. Ask the neighbouring Annelids
and the fry of the rock-fishes, or put it into a vase at home,
and see. It lies motionless, trailing itself among the gravel;
you cannot tell where it begins or ends; it may be a dead strip
of seaweed, Himanthalia lorea, perhaps, or Chorda filum, or even
a tarred string.
“So thinks the little fish who plays over and over it, till he
touches at last what is too surely a head. In an instant a bell-
shaped sucker mouth has fastened to his side. In another
instant, from one lip, a concave double proboscis, just like a
tapir’s (another instance of the repetition of forms), has clasped
him like a finger; and now begins the struggle: but in vain.
He is being ‘ played’ with such a fishing-line as the skill of
a Wilson or a Stoddart never could invent; a living line, with
elasticity beyond that of the most delicate fly-rod, which
follows every lunge, shortening and lengthening, slipping and
twining round every piece of gravel and stem of seaweed, with
a tiring drag such as no Highland wrist or step could ever
bring to bear on salmon or on trout.
“The victim is tired now; and slowly, and yet dexterously,
his blind assailant is feeling and shifting along his side, till he
reaches one end of him; and then the black lips expand, and
slowly and surely the curved finger begins packing him end
foremost down into the gullet, where he sinks, inch by inch.
till the swelling which marks his place is lost among the coils,
and he is probably macerated to a pulp long before he has
reached the opposite extremity of his cave of doom.
THE SPRING-TRAP. 95
‘Once safe down, the black murderer slowly contracts again
into a knotted heap, and lies, like a boa with a stag inside him,
motionless and blest.”’
The accuracy as well as the pictorial effect of this description
cannot be surpassed. The “velvety” feel of the creature is
most wonderful, as it slips and slides over and among the
fingers, and makes the task of gathering it together appear quite
hopeless.
This astonishing worm is drawn on the left hand of the
illustration on page 93, so as to show the way in which the
body is contracted or relaxed at will. On the other side of the
illustration is an angler, armed with all the paraphernalia of
his craft, and doing imperfectly that which the Nemertes does
with absolute perfection.
A similar property belongs to the long, trailing tentacles of
the Cydippe, which is described and figured on page 16. When
they come in contact with suitable prey, all struggle is useless,
the tentacles contracting or elongating to suit the circum-
stances, and at last lodging the prey within the body of the
Cydippe.
“THE SPRING-TRAP.
WE are all familiar with the common Spring-trap, or Gin, as
it 1s sometimes called.
It varies much in form and size, sometimes being square and
sometimes round; sometimes small enough to be used as a rat-
trap, and sometimes large enough to catch and hold human
beings, in which case it was known by the name of man-trap.
This latter form is now as illegal as the spring-gun, and though
the advertisement “ Man-traps and Spring-guns are set in these
grounds ’’ is still to be seen, neither one nor the other can be
there.
They are all constructed on the same principle, namely, a
couple of toothed jaws which are driven together by a spring,
when the spring is not controlled by a catch. They are
evidently borrowed from actual jaws, the same words being used
to signify the movable portions and notches of the trap as are
employed to designate the corresponding parts in the real jaw.
In both figures of the accompanying illustration we shall
see how exact is the parallel On the right hand is a
96 NATURE'S TEACHINGS.
common rat-trap, or gin, such as is sold for eightpence, with
the jaws wide open, so as to show the teeth. On the left is a
JAWS OF DOLPHIN (OPEN). RAT-TRAP (OPEN).
sketch of the upper and lower jaws of the Dolphin, in which
an exactly analogous structure is to be seen.
The figure on the right hand of the lower illustration shows
a man-trap as it appears when closed, the teeth interlocking so
as exactly to fit between each other. The same principle is
exhibited in the jaws of the Porpoise, which are seen on the left
of the illustration. The jaws of an Alligator or Crocodile would
have answered the purpose quite as well, inasmuch as their
JAWS OF PORPOISE (CLOSED). MAN-TRAP (CLOSED).
teeth interlock in a similar fashion, but I thought that it would
be better to give as examples the jaws of allied animals. The
reason for this interlocking isevident. All these creatures feed
principally on fish, and this mode of constructing the jaws
enables them to secure their prey when once seized.
Another example of such teeth is to be found in the fore-legs
of various species of Phasma and Mantis, as may be seen by
FORE-LEGS OF PHASMA. MOUSE-TRAP.
reference to the illustration. The latter insects are wonderfully
fierce and pugnacious, fighting with each other on the least
provocation, and feeding mostly on other insects, which they
BAITED TRAPS. 97
secure in their deeply-toothed fore-legs. They use these legs
with wonderful force and rapidity, and it is said that a pair
of these insects fighting remind the observer of a duel with
sabres. )
Tue Bairep TRApP.
Our space being valuable, we are not able to give many
examples of Baited Traps, whether in Art or Nature.
The most familiar example of this trap is the common Mouse-
trap, the most ordinary form of which is shown at the right
hand of the illustration on page 96. In all the varieties of
these traps, whether for mice or rats, the prey is induced to
enter by means of some tempting food, and then is secured or
killed by the action of the trap. Sometimes these traps are
made of considerable size for catching large game, and in Africa
are employed in the capture of the leopard, in India for taking
both tigers and leopards, and in North America for killing
bears.
We have already noticed one instance of a bait in the Angler-
fish, described in page 92, but in this case the bait serves
only for attraction, and the trap, or mouth, is not. acted upon by
the prey.
There are, however, many examples in the botanical world,
where the plant is directly acted upon by the creature which is
to be entrapped, such being known by the now familiar term
“‘Carnivorous Plants.’’ Of these there is a great variety, but
under this head I only figure two of them.
CEPHALOTUS. DIONEA.
The plant on the right hand is the Venus Fly-trap (Dionea
muscipula), which is common in the Carolinas. The leaves of
this plant are singularly irritable, and when a fly or other insect
| H
98 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
alights on the open leaf, it seems to touch a sort of spring, and
the two sides of the leaf suddenly collapse and hold the insect
in their grasp. The strange point about it is, that not only is
the insect caught, but is held until it is quite digested, the
process being almost exactly the same as if it had been placed in
the stomach of some insect-eating animal.
So carnivorous, indeed, is the Dionea, that plants have been
fed with chopped meat laid on the leaves, and have thriven
wonderfully. Experiments have been tried with other sub-
stances, but the Dionea would have nothing to do with them.
The natural irritability of the leaves caused them to contract,
but they soon opened and rejected the spurious food.
On the left is the Cephalotus. This plant, instead of
catching the insect by the folding of the leaf, secures it by
means of a sort of trap-door at the upper end. The insect is
attracted by the moisture in the cup, and, as soon as it enters,
the trap-door shuts upon it, and confines it until it is digested,
when the door opens in readiness to admit more prey.
BIRDLIME.
By a natural transition we pass to those traps which secure
their prey by means of adhesive substances.
With us, the material called “birdlime” is usually em- |
ployed. This is obtained from the bark of the holly, and is of
the most singular tenacity. An inexperienced person who
touches birdlime is sure to repent it. The horrid stuff clings
to the fingers, and the more attempts are made to clear them, the
more points of attachment are formed. The novice ought to
have dipped his hands in water before he touched the birdlime,
and then he might have manipulated it with impunity.
The most familiar mode of using the birdlime is by “pegging ”’
for chaffinches.
In the spring, when the male birds are all in anxious rivalry
to find mates, or, having found them, to defend them, the
“peggers”’ go into the fields armed with a pot of birdlime
and. a stuffed chaffinch set on a peg of wood. At one end of this
peg is a sharp iron spike. They also have a “call-bird,”
te. a chaffinch which has been trained to sing at a given
signal.
BIRDLIME. 99
When the “ peggers” hear a chaffinch which is worth taking,
they feel as sure of him as if he were in their cage. They take
the peg, and stick it into the nearest tree-trunk. Round the
decoy they place half-a-dozen twigs which have been smeared
with birdlime, and arrange them so that no bird flying at the
decoy can avoid touching one of them.
The next point is, to order the call-bird to sing. His song
is taken as a personal insult by the chaffinch, which is always
madly jealous at this time of year. Seeing the stuffed bird,
he takes it for a rival, dashes at it, and touches one of the
RE ee ee
Sor
ANT-BEAR. DROSERA. SPIDER’S WEB. PEGGING CHAFFINCHES. TIGER AND LIMED LEAVES.
twigs. It is all over with him, for the more he struggles and
flutters, the tighter is he bound by the tenacious cords of the
birdlime, and is easily picked up by the “ pegger.”
EVEN the fierce and powerful tiger is taken with this simple,
but terrible means of destruction. It is always known by what
path a tiger will pass, and upon this path the native hunter
lays a number of leaves smeared with birdlime. ‘The tiger
treads on one of them, and, cat-like, shakes his paw to rid him-
self of it. Finding that it will not come off, he rubs his paw
on his head, transferring the leaf and lime to his face.
By this time he is in the middle of the leaves, and ‘vorks
himself into a paroxysm of rage and terror, finishing by
blinding himself with the leaves that he has rubbed upon his
H 2
100 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
head. The hunters allow him to exhaust his strength by his
struggles, and then kill him, or, if possible, capture him alive.
Both these scenes are represented on the right hand of the
illustration.
On the left hand are several examples of natural birdlime,
if we may use the term. The upper represents the Ant-bear,
or Great Ant-eater. This animal feeds in a very curious manner.
It goes to an ant-hill, and tears it cpen with its powerful
claws. The ants, ot course, rush about in wild confusion.
Now, the Ant-eater is provided with a long, cylindrical tongue,
which looks very like a huge earth-worm, and which is covered
with a tenacious slimy secretion. As the ants run to and fro,
they adhere to the tongue, and are swept into the mouth of
their destroyer. .
Below the Ant-eater is the common Drosera, or Sundew, one
of our British carnivorous plants. It captures insects, just as
has been narrated of the Dionea. But, instead of the leaf
closing upon the insect, it arrests its prey by means of little
globules of viscous fluid, which exude from the tips of the hairs
with which the surface of the leaf is covered. As soon as the
insect touches the hairs, they close over it, bind it down, and
keep it there until it is digested. Several species of Drosera
are known in England, and are found in wet and marshy
places. |
Another plant, the Green-winged Meadow Orchis (Orchis
morio), has been known to act the part of the Drosera. A fly
had contrived to push its head against the viscous fluid of the
stigmatic surface, and, not being able to extricate itself, was
found sticking there.
Next comes a portion of the web of the common Garden
Spider (Zpeira diadema). We have already treated of this
web as a net, and we will now see how it comes within the
present category.
In the web of the spider there are at least two distinct kinds
of threads. Those which radiate from the centre to the cir-
cumference are strong and smooth, while those which unite them
are much slighter, and are covered with tiny globules set at
regular intervals. When the web is newly spun, these globules
are found to be nearly as tenacious as birdlime, and it is by
these means that an insect which falls into the web is arrested,
SPIDER-WEBS. 101
and cannot extricate itself until the spider can seize it. After
awhile the globules become dry, refuse to perform their office,
and then the spider has to construct another web. So numerous
are these globules that, according to Mr. Blackwall’s calculations,
an ordinary net contains between eighty and ninety thousand.
Below the figure of the web itself are shown the two kinds of
thread, the upper bearing the globules, and the lower repre-
senting one of the plain radiating threads.
WAR AND HUNTING.
CHAPTER V.
Reverted Spikes and their Modifications.—The Wire Mouse-trap.—George III.
and the Trap.—F ate of a Royal Finger.—The Crab and Lobster Pot.—The
EKel-pot.—Cocoon of the Emperor-moth and its Structure.—“ Catchpoll”’ of
the Middle Ages.—Deer-trap of India.—Jaws of Pike and Serpent.—The
Grass-snake.—Jaws of Shark and their Power.—Spiked Defences.—The
Park Fence, the Garden Wall, and the Chevaux-de-frise.—The “‘ Square” of
Infantry Manceuvres.—The Abattis, and its Structure and Power.—Ran-
jows and Caltrops.—Ancient Ranjows in Ireland.—Hedgehog.—Porcupine
Echidna.—House-builder Caterpillar and its Home.—Repagula of Ascala-
phus.—Tearing Weapons.—The ‘‘ Wag-nuk”’ of India.—Armed Gauntlet of
the Middle Ages.—Shark-tooth Gauntlet of Samoa, and the Uses to which it
was put.—A terrible Warrior.—The Tiger’s Claw.—Sport and Earnest.
REVERTED SPIKES.
| AM not quite satisfied with this title, but it is the best that
I can find. By it I mean that mode of mechanism which,
by means of an array of sharp spikes, permits an animal to
enter a passage easily, and yet prevents it from emerging.
Whether or not this principle be now employed in warfare I
cannot say, but it is at all events used extensively in a small
Lf
COCOON OF EMPEROR=MOTH. CRAB-POT. EEL-POT. MOUSE-TRAP.
way of hunting, the best known of which is the wire Mouse-
trap, one of which is shown at Fig. C on the illustration. A
WIRE MOUSE-TRAP. 103
glance at the figure will explain the trap, even to those who
have never seen it. It is composed entirely of wire, and has
several round holes just above its lower edge. Hach of these
holes is the entrance to a conical tunnel made of wires with
sharpened ends.
The mouse, being attracted by a bait placed within the trap,
tries to get at it. ‘The doomed animal soon finds its way to one
of the entrances, and with little difficulty pushes itself through
the tunnel. Entering, however, is one thing, and returning is
another. ‘The wire yielded easily enough in one direction, but
for the mouse to force itself against the converging points is
an impossible task.
Readers of the last century literature may perhaps re-
member, in the pages of ‘Peter Pindar,” a very clever and
sarcastic account of the astonishment created in the mind of
George III. by a mouse-trap seen accidentally in the house of
a widow living at Salt Hill.
‘¢ Hager did Solomon, so curious, clap
His rare round optics on the widow’s trap,
That did the duty of a cat.
And, always fond of useful information,
Thus wisely spoke he with vociferation,—
€ What’s that? what? what? He, he? what’s that?’
To whom replied the mistress of the house,
‘A trap, an’t please you, sir, to catch a mouse.’
‘Mouse—catch a mouse!’ said Solomon with glee ;
£ Let’s see, let’s see—’tis comical—let’s see—
Mouse! mouse! ’—then pleased his eyes began to roll—
‘ Where, where doth he go in?’ he marvelling cried.
‘There,’ pointing to the hole, the dame replied.
‘What! here?’ cried Solomon, ‘ this hole ? this hole P?
Then in he pushed his finger ’midst the wire,
That with such pains that finger did inspire,
He wished it out again with all his soul.”
For my part I think that the King was quite right. If he
did not know the philosophy of a mouse-trap he ought to have
asked, and to have been rewarded, as in that case, by catching
with a trap of his own baiting, six mice on six successive days.
At Fig. B on the same illustration is shown the simple
apparatus by which crabs and lobsters are caught. The reader
will see that the principle is exactly the same in both cases, the
only difference being in material, the mouse-trap being made
of wire, and the crab-pot of wicker.
At Fig. D is shown the common Eel-pot, or EKel-basket. In
order to suit the peculiar shape of an eel, this basket is much
104 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
longer in proportion to its diameter than either of the preceding
traps, but it is formed on the same plan. An eel can easily
pass into the basket through the conical tunnel, but it is next
to impossible that it should find its way out again.
So much for Art, and now for Nature.
On the left hand of the illustration, at Fig. A, is the cocoon
of the common Emperor-moth (Saturnia pavonia minor), the
cocoon having been stripped of its outer envelope, so as to allow
its structure to be better seen.
The reader will at once perceive that the entrance of the
cocoon is guarded by an arrangement exactly like that of the
above-mentioned traps, except that the cone is reversed, so as
to allow of exit and to debar entrance. Guarded by this
conical arrangement of stout bristly appendages, the pupa can
remain in quiet during the time of its transformation, for nothing
can force its way through such a defence, and yet the moth,
when fully developed, can push its way out with perfect ease.
So admirably is this cocoon formed, that even after the moth
has escaped, it is impossible to tell by mere sight whether or
not it is within, the elastic wires closing on it after its passage.
ANOTHER modification of the same principle now comes before
us. In the above-mentioned examples the arrangement of the
reverted spikes is more or less conical, and they lead into a
chamber. In the present instances, however, the mere reversion
of the points is all that is needed.
The upper figure on the right hand represents the “ Catch-
poll” of the Middle Ages, an allusion to which has already
been made. The reverted spikes turn on hinges, and are kept
apart by springs. This beautifully formed head was attached
to a long shaft, and was used for the purpose of dragging horse-
men from the saddle. It was thrust at the neck of the rider,
generally from behind. If a successful thrust were made, the
spring-points gave way, sprang back again, and thus clasped
the neck with a hold that was fatal to the rider.
Be.Lowit is the Deer-trap which is used in many parts of India,
and to which allusion has already been made. ‘The reader will
see at once that if a deer should get its foot through the con-
JAWS OF PIKE. 105
verging spikes, its doom is sealed, especially as there is a heavy
log of wood attached to the trap by a rope.
On the left hand of the illustration are two examples of the
same principle taken from Nature, one belonging to fresh and
the other to salt water.
The upper figure represents the jaws of a Pike, with their
terrible array of reverted teeth. The Pike, as every one knows,
SSS
PIKE-JAWS. SHARK-JAWS. CATCHPOLL.- DEER-TRAP.
feeds upon other fish, and eats them in a curious manner. It
darts at them furiously, and generally catches them in the
middle of the body. After holding them for a time, for the
purpose, as I imagine, of disabling them, it loosens its hold,
makes another snap, seizes the fish by the head, and swallows it.
The Pike is so voracious that it will attack and eat fish not
very much smaller than itself, for its digestion is so rapid that
the head and shoulders of a swallowed fish have been found to
be half digested, while the tail was sticking out of the Pike’s
mouth. Unless, therefore, the teeth of the Pike were so formed
as to resist any retrograde movement on the part of the prey, the
fish would starve; for, lank and lean as it is, the Pike is one of
the most voracious creatures in existence, never seeming able
to get enough to eat, and yet, as is often found in such cases,
capable of sustaining a lengthened fast.
How well adapted is this arrangement of teeth for prevent-
ing the escape of prey, any one can tell who, in his early days
of angling, caught a Pike, and, after killing it, tried to extract
the hook without previously propping the jaws open. If once
106 - NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
the hand be inserted between the jaws, to get it out again
is almost impossible without assistance, and often has the
spectacle been exhibited of a youthful angler returning discon-
solately home, with his right hand in the mouth of a Pike, and
supporting the weight of the fish with his left.
Tue teeth of a serpent are set in a similar manner, as can be
seen by reference to the illustration on page 80. An admirable
example of the power of this arrangement may be seen in the
jaws of our common Grass or Ringed Snake (Coluber natriz).
The teeth are quite small, very short, and not thicker than fine
needle-points. Yet, when once the snake has seized one of the
hind-feet of a frog, all efforts to escape on the part of the latter
are useless. The lower jaw is pushed forward, and then re-
tracted, and at each movement the leg is drawn further into
the snake’s mouth, until it reaches the junction.
The snake then waits quietly until the frog tries to free
itself by pushing with its other foot against the snake’s mouth.
That foot is then seized, the leg gradually following its com-
panion, and in this way the whole frog is drawn into the
interior of the snake. I have seen many frogs thus eaten, but
never knew one to escape after it had been once seized by the
snake. As these reptiles are perfectly harmless, it is easy to
try the experiment by putting the finger into a snake’s
mouth, when it will be found that the assistance of the other
hand will be needful in order to extricate it.
Brow the head of the pike is a view of a Shark’s jaws, as
seen from the front.
Here, again, we have a similar arrangement of teeth, row
after row of which lie with their points directed towards the
throat of the fish. As, however, the pike and the snake
swallow their prey whole, their teeth need be nothing but
points. But, as the Shark is obliged to mangle its prey, and
seldom swallows it whole, its teeth are formed on a different
principle, each tooth being flat, wide, sharply pointed, and
having a double edge, each of which cuts like a razor. So knife-
like are they, indeed, that when a whale is killed, the sharks
which surround it bite off huge mouthfuls of blubber, and, as
they swarm by hundreds, cause no small loss to the whalers.
CHEVAUX-DE-FRISE. LOe
Many a man has lost a leg by a shark, the fish having bitten
it completely through, bone and all, and there have been cases
where a shark has actually severed a man’s body, going off with
one half, and leaving the other clinging ta the rope by which
he was trying to haul himself on board. |
SPIKED DEFENCES,
Tuts mode of defence is, perhaps, one of the most primitive in
existence, and takes 4 wonderful variety of forms. The spiked
railings of our parks and gardens, the broken glass on walls,
and even the spiked gollars for dogs, are all modifications of
this principle.
On the illustrations are several examples of spikes used for
military purposes. The first is known by the name of
“‘ Chevaux-de-frise,”’ and is extensively used in forming an ex-
temporised fence whereno great strength isneeded. Thestructure
is perfectly simple, consisting of a number of iron bars with
sharpened ends, and an iron tube some inches in diameter, which
is pierced with a double set of holes. When not in use, the bars
and tube can be packed in a small compass, but when they are
wanted, the bars are thrust through the holes as shown in the
illustration, and the fence is completed in a few minutes. The
horizontal bars are linked together by chains, so as to prevent
them from being shifted, and a defence such as this is generally
used for surrounding parks of artillery and the like.
Au who have the least acquaintance with military matters
must be familiar with the “ Square,” and its uses in the days of
old. I say in the days of old, because in the present day the
rapid development of guns and rifles has entirely destroyed the
old arrangement. So lately, for example, as the day of Water-
loo, troops might manceuvre in safety when they were more
than two hundred yards from the enemy. Now, a regiment
that attempted to manceuvre in open ground would be cut to
pieces by the rifles of the enemy at a thousand yards’ distance.
In those days, however, the square was a tower of safety
when rightly formed. It was formed in several rows. The
outer line knelt, with the butts of their muskets on the ground,
and the bayonet pointing upwards at an angle of forty-five.
108 NATURE'S TEACHINGS.
The others directed their muskets towards the enemy in such
a manner that nothing was presented to him but the points of
bayonets and the muzzles of loaded muskets. In all proba-
bility the battle of Waterloo would have been lost but for the
use of the “square,” against which the French cuirassiers
dashed themselves repeatedly, but in vain.
However admirable may be the organization of the square,
whether it be hollow, or whether it be solid, like the “rallying
square,” the principle is the same as that of the chevaux-de-
frise.
In the next illustration is shown the “ Abattis,” one of the
most important elements of extemporised fortifications, and as
simple as it is important.
In any wooded country an abattis can be made in a very
short time by practised hands. All that is required is to cut
down the requisite number of trees, strip off the leaves and
twigs, and then cut off the smaller branches with sloping
TREE-CADDIS. CHEVAUX=DE-FRISE.
blows of the axe, so as to leave a tolerably sharp point on each.
The trees are then laid side by side, with the ends of the
branches towards the enemy, and, the trunks being chained
together, a wonderfully effective defence is constructed.
Not only is it almost impossible for the bravest and strongest
man to force his way through the branches, even if the abattis
were undefended, but the tree-trunks afford shelter for swarms —
of riflemen, who can -pick off their assailants by aiming between
the branches, themselves being almost unseen, and entirely
covered.
ABATTIS AND RANJOWS. 109
In Southern Africa, during the late wars, the abattis was
found to afford the best defence against the Kafirs, and that
when the waggons and abattis were united so as to form a
fortress, not even the naked Kafir, with all his daring courage,
CALTROPS. RANJOWS.
could force his way through them. Even artillery has but
little power against the abattis, which allows the shot to pass
between the branches, and is very little the worse for it.
Accordingly, it is in great use for defending roads, especially
those which are bounded by high banks, and makes a formid-
able obstacle in front of gates.
Tue two figures on the left of the same illustration represent
two modes of carrying out the same principle, the one showing
it as used in European warfare, and the other as a weapon of
defence which has been employed from time immemorial, and
is now in full use in many parts of the world.
Both these weapons are intended either to obstruct the
approach of an enemy, or to cover the flight of a retreating
force. The most simple and most ancient is the Ranjow, which
is shown on the right hand of the illustration. The ranjow
is nothing but a wooden stick varying in length from eighteen
inches to nearly three feet, and sharply pointed at each end.
In Borneo, China, &c., the ranjows are almost invariably made
of bamboo, as that plant can be cut to a sharp point by a
single stroke of a knife. (See page 59.)
When they are to be used, each soldier carries about a dozen
or so of them, and sticks one end of them into the ground,
taking care to make the upper end lean towards the enemy.
Simple as are these weapons, they are extremely formidable, for
it is necessary to pull up every ranjow before the troops can
advance. Sometimes it has happened that a body of soldiers are
110 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
driven over their own ranjows, and then the slaughter is
terrible.
Some years ago a number of sketches were taken on the spot
from scenes in the Chinese war. Among them was one that
was absolutely terrible in its grotesqueness. It represented a
piece of ground thickly planted with ranjows, over which the
Chinese who had fixed them had been driven. They were
simply hung with human bodies in all imaginable and unima- ~
ginable attitudes, some transfixed on a single ranjow, and
others hanging on three or four, the body and limbs being
alike pierced by them.
That ranjows were once used in Great Britain is evident from
a discovery made by Col. Lane Fox. He had been excavating
the soil around an old Irish fort, and deep beneath the bog he
found a vast quantity of ranjows still set as the ancient
warriors had left them. They were evidently used to defend
a passage leading to the fort, and all of them were carefully set
with their points outwards. Col. L. Fox was good enough to
present me with several of these ancient weapons, which are
now in my collection.
On the left is seen a piece of ground strewed with Caltrops,
or Crow’s-feet, as they are sometimes called. These very
unpleasant implements are made of iron, and have four sharp
points, all radiating from one centre, so that no matter how
they may be thrown, one point must be uppermost. ‘They are
used chiefly for the purpose of impeding cavalry, but I should
think, judging from the specimens which I have seen, that
infantry would find them very awkward impediments.
As for natural ranjows, they are so numerous that only a
very few examples can be given.
The most perfect and most familiar example is, perhaps, the
' common Hedgehog, which, when rolled up, displays an array
of sharp points so judiciously disposed, that it fears but very
few foes. The same may be said of the Australian Kchidna,
or Porcupine Ant-eater, and the Porcupine itself. Whether the
radiating bristles of the larva of the Tiger-moth, commonly
called the Woolly Bear, come under the same category, I can-
not say, but think it very likely.
TREE-CADDIS. 111
Among vegetables the analogues are multitudinous. See, for
example, the spikes of the Spanish and Horse Chestnuts, and
especially the hair-like but formidable bristles which defend
the common Prickly Pear. Indeed, all that tribe of plants is
furnished so abundantly with naturai ranjows, that a hedge of
prickly pear forms the best defence which a house and garden
can have.
Another example of natural ranjows is seen in the Tree-caddis,
one of which is shown in the illustration on page 108, as it
appears when suspended from a twig. It is the work of one of
the House-builder Moths of the West Indies, and forms a sort
of house in which the caterpillar can rest securely. It is built of
bits of twigs and thorns, the latter being disposed so that their
points are outwards, much after the fashion of a hedgehog’s
spines.
I possess many specimens of Tree-caddis, evidently belonging
to several species, and in all of them the principle is the same,
i.e. a number of spikes set with their ends outwards in order
to defend a central position.
Sometimes these spikes are left exposed, as shown in the
illustration, and sometimes they are covered with a slight but
strong web. The principle, however, is the same in all.
Now I shall have to use two very long words, and much
against my will. I very much fear that, if most of my readers
were to hear any one speak of the “ repagula of Ascalaphus,”
they would not be much the wiser. And yet there are no
other words that can be used.
In the first place, Ascalaphus is a name belonging to a
genus of Ant-lions, remarkable for having straight, knobbed
antenne, very much like those of a butterfly. This insect
deposits its eggs in a double row on twigs, and then defends
them with a series of natural ranjows, set in circular rows,
and supposed to be without analogies in the animal creation.
They are transparent, reddish, and “are expelled by the —
female with as much care as though they were real eggs, and
are so placed that nothing can approach the brood; nor can
the young ramble abroad until they have acquired strength to
resist the ants and other insect enemies.” ,
The word “‘repagulum,”’ by the way, signifies a bar or barrier.
1G NATURE'S TEACHINGS.
A turnpike gate when closed would be a repagulum, and 80
would a chevaux-de-frise.
TEARING WEAPONS.
We have already had examples of weapons, like the Club,
which bruise ; of weapons, like the Spear and Dagger, which
pierce; and of weapons, like the Sword, which cut. We now
come to a totally distinct set of weapons, those which wound
by tearing, and not by any of the preceding modes.
In civilised warfare we have long abandoned such weapons,
as belonging to a barbarous age, but they are even yet em-
ployed in some parts of the world.
The accompanying illustration shows three examples of such
weapons. One is the celebrated Tiger-claw of India, known
by the native name of Wag-nuk. It is about two inches and a
half in length, and is made to fit on the hand. The first and
fourth fingers are passed through the rings, and the curved
claws are then within the hand, and hidden by the fingers.
The mode of employing this treacherous weapon was by
WAG-NUK OF INDIA.
CLAWED GAUNTLET.
HIND-CLAWS OF TIGER. SHARK-TOOTH GAUNTLET.
engaging a foe in conversation, pretending to be very friendly,
and then ripping up his stomach with an upward blow of the
right hand.
THE TOOTHED GAUNTLET. 113
It is comparatively a modern weapon, having been invented
about two hundred years ago. A Hindoo, named Sewaja, was
the inventor, and by means of the Wag-nuk he committed many
murders unsuspected, the wounds being exactly like those
which are made by the claw of the tiger. Sometimes there
were four claws instead of three, as is the case with a specimen
one in the Meyrick collection.
Perhaps the reader may be aware that the Transatlantic
‘“‘knuckle-duster ” is fitted on the hand in the same manner,
only its object is to strike a heavy blow, and not to tear. History
repeats itself, and the large and clumsy “cestus” of the ancient
athlete is reproduced in the small but scarcely less formidable
“ knuckle-duster” of the modern rowdy.
The figures are remarkable, one representing the remaining
epoch of chivalry, and the other that of barbarism. ‘The upper
figure shows a curious Gauntlet of the Middle Ages, in which
the hand is not only defended by steel plates, but is also
rendered an offensive weapon by the addition of four sharp
spikes set just at the junction of the fingers with the hand.
As long as the fingers are extended the spikes le parallel with
them, and are as harmless as a cat’s claws in their sheaths.
But when the fingers are closed, as shown in the illustration,
the spikes come into use, and can be made into a formidable
weapon of offence, just as are the cat’s claws when protruded.
Betow the gauntlet of civilised warfare is one of savage war,
which has for many years been discontinued, partly on account
of the introduction of firearms, and partly owing to the super-
ficial coating of civilisation which is so easily adopted by the
singular varieties of the human race which populate the isles
where this remarkable weapon was once worn. The figure is
taken from a specimen in the United Service Museum.
It is a Gauntlet, having at one end a band through which
the whole hand is passed, and at the other three loops for the
fingers, just like those of the Wag-nuk, which has already been
described. The body of the weapon is made of cocoa-nut fibre,
and upon it are strung six rows of sharks’ teeth, the tips all
pointing backwards. It is a Samoan weapon, some of the
most renowned warriors never using club nor spear, but
trusting entirely to their terrible gauntlets. With these they
I
114 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
struck right and left, dashing beneath the clubs and spears of
their enemies, and always trying to rip up their stomachs,
just as is done with the Wag-nuk. In order to guard against
this weapon, the Samoan warrior wears a belt of cocoa-nut fibre
some eight inches wide, and thick enough to defy the best
gauntlet that could be made.
One celebrated Samoan warrior, a man of gigantic stature
and strength, was addicted to the amusement of seizing his
enemies with the shark-tooth gauntlets, breaking their backs
across his knee, throwing them down, and going off after
another victim.
On the left hand of the illustration is seen the hind-foot of
the Tiger. I have chosen the hind-foot for two reasons: firstly,
because the fore-foot has already been figured; and secondly,
because the hind-foot is used for tearing open the abdomen of
the prey. Any one who has played with a kitten has noticed
how the animal throws itself on its back, clasps the wrist with
its fore-paws, and kicks vigorously with its hind-legs. It does
not mean to hurt its playfellow, but the hand does not easily
escape without sundry scratches.
Child’s play though it may be in the kitten, it is no play at
all with the tiger, or even the leopard, for either of these
animals, when hard pressed, will throw itself on its back,
clasp the foe in its fore-paws, and with the talons of the hind-
feet tear him to pieces.
WAR AND HUNTING.
CHAPTER VI.
THE HOOK.—DEFENSIVE ARMOUR.—THE FORT.
Anglers and their Hooks.—Single and double Hooks.—Hook of British Columbia.
—Seed of Galium, or Goose-grass, and its Armature of Hooks.—Seed of the
Burdock, and its Annoyance to Sheep.— Hooked Sponge-spicules.—“ Snatch-
ing” Fish.—The Fish-rake of British Columbia.—The “ Gaff” and its Uses.
—The Jaguar asa Fisher.—Detensive Armour and its Varieties.—Plate and
Chain Mail.—The Shield.—Australian and West African Shields.—Fibre
Armoeur.—Seal’s-tooth Cuirass.— Joints of Armour.— Tassets.’’—Scale
Armour in Art-and Nature.—The Manis and the Fish.—Feather Armour.—
“Madoc in Aztlan.’”’—Quilted Armour of Silk or Cotton.—Terrible Results
from the latter.—Mr. Justice Maulstatute.—Natural Quilt Armour.—The
Rhinoceros and the Whale.—The Testudo of the ancient Romans, and its
Uses.—The common Tortoise.—The Fort.—Curious Transitions in Fort-
building ; first Earth, then Stone, then Earth again.—Advantage of Earthen
Mounds.—Natural Snow-fort made by the Elk, and its Defensive Powers
against the Wolf.
Tuer Hook.
AVING now seen that the rod and line of anglers have
their prototypes in Nature, we will proceed to the hook,
by which the fish are secured.
The two figures on the right hand of the accompanying
illustration represent hooks which are familiar to every angler.
The lower is the ordinary fish-hook, which can be used in so
many ways. Generally it is employed singly, being fastened
to the end of a line, and armed with a bait, either real or
artificial. © Sometimes, however, these hooks are whipped
together, back to back, three or even four being so employed,
and thus forming a combination of the hook and grapnel, and
rendering the escape of a fish almost impossible.
Above it is a double hook, such as is used in “trolling” for
I 2
116 NATURE'S TEACHINGS.
pike, and with the use of which many of my readers are
probably acquainted.
The third is a singularly ingenious hook made by the
natives of British Columbia. It is almost entirely made of
wood, with the exception of the barb, which is of bone.
This, as the reader will see, is fixed, not to the point of the
hook, as with us, but to its base, the point being directed
towards the central portion of the curve.
At first sight this seems to be a singular arrangement, but it
is a very effective one, as any one may see by placing the
HYMEDESMIA. FRUIT OF GALIUM. VANCOUVER HOOK. DOUBLE AND
SINGLE HOOKS.
point between the fingers and pushing it through them. It
will be found impossible to force it back again, the sharp point
of the bone-barb coming against them and retaining them.
It has also another advantage. Very large fish, for which
this hook is intended, are apt in their struggles to reverse the
hook, and so to weaken its hold. In this hook, however, such
a proceeding is impossible; for, even should the hook be
reversed, it still retains its hold, the barb becoming the point,
and the point keeping the lip of the fish against the tip of the
barb. The figure is drawn from a specimen in my collection.
Ir the reader will look at the illustration, he will see a
globular object covered with little hooks. This is a magnified
representation of the seed-vessel of the common Goose-grass
(Galium), which is so luxuriant in our hedges, and often
intrudes itself into our gardens. Its long, trailing stems, with
their tightly-clinging leaves, are familiar to all, and there are |
few who have not, while children, pelted each other with the :
SPONGE-SPICULES. The
little round green seed-vessels during the time that the fruit is in
season. That they clung so tightly as not to be removed without
difficulty, we all knew, but we did not all know the cause. The
magnifying-glass, however, reveals the secret at once. The
whole of the surface is covered with little sharp prickles,
curved like hooks, and turned in all directions, so that, however
it may be thrown, some of them are sure to catch.
$0 readily do these hooks hold to anything which they
touch, that if a lady only sweeps her dress against a plant of
Goose-grass, she is sure to carry off a considerable number of
the seed-vessels, and to waste much time afterwards in picking
them off.
The seed-vessel of the common Burdock, known popularly
by the name of Bur, is armed in a similar manner, but, as it
is much larger, it is easily avoided. Sheep suffer greatly from
burs, which twist themselves among the wool so firmly that it
is hardly possible to remove them without cutting away bur
and wool together. As to a Skye terrier, when once he gets
among burs, his life is a misery to him (I was going to say, a
burden to him, but it would have looked like a pun).
Below, and on the left of the Galium-seed, are some spicules
of the Hymedesmia, a sponge which is found on the coast of
Madeira. The following account of it occurs in the Jntel-
lectual Observer, vol. 11. p. 312 :—
“FisH-Hook SpicuLa.—We have received from Mr. Baker,
of Holborn, a slide containing spicules of the Hymedesmia
Johnsonii, which are stated to be rare objects in this country.
They have the form of a double fish-hook, and on the inner
surface of each hook is an extremely sharp knife-edge pro-
jection, corresponding with a similar and equally sharp
projection from the inside of the shank.
“These minute knife-blades are so arranged that in addition
to their cutting properties, they would act as barbs, obstructing
the withdrawal of the hook. The two hooks attached to one
shank are not in the same place, but nearly at right angles
with one another, so that when one is horizontal the other is
vertical, or nearly so. A magnification of four or five hundred
linear does not in any way detract from the sharp appearance
of the knife-edges, and they may take their place with the
118 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
anchors of the Synapta as curious illustrations of the occurrence
in living organisms of forms which man was apt to fancy were
exclusively the products of his own contrivance and skill.
““We presume that these hooks of the Hymedesmia answer
the usual purpose of spicule in strengthening the soft tissue,
but they must likewise render the sponge an awkward article
for the Madeira sea-slugs to eat.”
For an account and figures of the Synapta anchor-spicules
see page 39.
WE now come to another modification of the hook. I pre-
sume that many of my readers have heard of the practice
called “snatching” fish, though I hope that they have never
been unsportsmanlike enough to follow it.
This plan, which is only worthy of poachers, consi in
taking several flights of treble or quadruple hooks, dropping
them gently by the side of the fish, and then, with a sudden
jerk, driving them into any part of its body which they may
happen to strike. Most anglers have snatched fish accidentally,
but to do so intentionally is ranked among the worst of an
angler’s crimes, and is equivalent to cheating at cards, or
playing with false dice.
In some parts of the world, however, there are certain
small fish which are never taken in any other way, and, indeed,
are raked out of the water just as a gardener rakes dead leaves
off the path or beds.
JAGUAR AND CLAW. TISH-RAKE. GAFF.
In British Columbia there are certain lakes tenanted largely
with small fish which form a considerable portion of the
-FISH-RAKE AND GAFF. 119
natives’ diet. They swim in vast shoals close to the surface of
the water, and are captured by veritable rakes, one of which is
shown in the illustration. The points of the rake are slightly
curved, and very sharp, and so numerous are the fish that
when the native has struck his rake among the shoal, and
drawn it into the boat, he generally finds a fish on every tooth,
while it often happens that two or three are transfixed by the
same tooth. A sharp knock against the side of the boat shakes
off the prey, and the fisherman again strikes his rake into the
shoal. By this simple mode of fishing a couple of men will,
in a few hours, load a canoe with small but valuable fish.
Below the rake is the “ Gaff,” an instrument, not to say a
weapon, which is indispensable when salmon or other large fish
are to be caught. For ordinary-sized fish a landing-net is suf-
ficient, but no landing-net could either receive or retain a
salmon of any size.
Recourse is then had to the Gaff, which is simply a huge
hook at the end of a handle. The fish being “played ” until it
can be drawn within reach, the gaff is slipped under it, struck
into the side of the salmon, and by its aid the fish is easily
lifted out of the water.
On the left hand of the illustration are two figures showing
how the principle of the fish-rake and gaff has been anticipated
in Nature.
Tt is a well-known fact that the Jaguar feeds largely on
fish, which it catches for itself. It goes down to the river-side
as close to the water as possible, and waits patiently for its
prey. As soon as a fish comes within reach, the Jaguar
stretches out its paw to the fullest extent, and, with a stroke of
the curved claws, hooks the fish on shore, just as the Vancouver
Islander does with his fish-rake, or the English angler with his
gaff.
Many persons have practically experienced the gaff-like
powers of the feline claw by the loss of their gold-fish. It is
seldom safe to leave a globe of gold-fish within reach of a cat.
Nearly all cats are madly fond of fish, and, in spite of their
instinctive hatred of water, will hook out the fish with their
claws, and eat them. Indeed, there are several instances on
record where a cat has regularly caught fish, and brought them
120 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
home to its owner. Mr. F. Buckland gives an account of a
fisherman’s cat, which used to go out with her master, jump
into the sea, secure a fish, and then be lifted on board with
her prey.
Above the Jaguar is drawn a single claw, so as to show the
form of the instrument by which the fish is captured.
ARMOUR.
We will now take the subject of Defensive Armour, by
which warriors are enabled to protect themselves against the
offensive weapons of the enemy.
As many readers will probably know, armour reached its
greatest development in the Middle Ages, when the knight was
so completely cased in steel that no weapon then in use could
penetrate his panoply.
The head, body, and limbs were covered with steel plates
curiously articulated at the joints, so as to give freedom of
motion, while guarding the wearer from any ordinary weapon.
A warrior might be beaten from his horse by a mace, or struck
down by a lance, or the horse itself might be killed under
him.
In either of these cases the fallen knight was not much the
worse, until a weapon called the “ Misericorde,” or dagger of
LOBSTER. ARMADILLO. PLATE AND SCALE ARMOUR
PICHICIAGO. CHITON. OF MIDDLE AGES.
mercy, was invented. This was a poniard with a very slender
and very sharp blade, so constructed that it could be driven
DEFENSIVE ARMOUR. 12k
between the joints of the armour, and thus inflict a mortal
wound. The Misericorde, however, was baffled by the use of
chain or scale armour under the plate-mail, and then the only
way of getting at the fallen knight was by breaking up the
armour with hammers which were made for this express
purpose.
Perhaps the reader may wonder that any one should lie
quietly and allow himself to be so badly treated. The very
strength of the armour, however, which rendered its wearer
unassailable by ordinary weapons, involved so much weight,
- that when a knight had fallen, it was impossible for him to
rise, much less to mount a horse, without help. Moreover, the
first blow of a weighty hammer on the helmet would, although
it could not kill the wearer, cause such a jar to his brain as
partially, if not wholly, to stun him.
The rapidly increasing power of firearms soon caused armour
to be laid aside, and now the only remains of it are to be found
in the helmets and cuirasses worn by our dragoons.
THERE are few parts of the world where armour of some
sort is not used. Putting aside civilised or semi-civilised
nations, we find that in most cases, wherever there is war, there
is armour of some kind. Sometimes it is movable, and in that
case is called a shield.
The most singular shields that I know are those made by the
Australians, which are so shaped that no one who did not
know their use would take them for shields. They are about
three feet long, four inches wide at the back, six inches or so
thick in the middle, tapering towards the ends, and coming
to an edge in front. They are held by the centre with one
hand, so that they can be rapidly twisted from side to side,
and so serve to parry the spear or stop the boomerang. The
weight of the shield enables it to withstand the shock of the
boomerang, which whirls through the air with terrific force.
Several warlike savage tribes have, however, no armour of
any kind, such as the New Zealanders, the Samoans, and the
Fijians.
Sometimes the armour is affixed to the body, and of such
protection many examples are to be found in various museums,
among which the Christy collection is pre-eminent.
122 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
Among the Polynesians cocoa-nut fibre was at one time
employed as the material for armour. It was twisted into
small cords, and with these a sort of armour was constructed,
quite strong enough to resist any weapon that an enemy of their
own kind could bring against them. Sometimes this armour was
merely a belt wide enough to protect the abdomen, but some-
times the whole body was defended, from the neck to the hips.
In the United Service Museum there is a very remarkable
cuirass, which is made of successive rows of seals’ teeth, each row
overlapping the other like the tiles of a house. It is very heavy,
weighing quite as much as a steel cuirass, and was probably
quite as effective against the primitive weapons which could be
brought to bear upon it.
Now for Natural Armour.
There are so many examples of armour, as furnished by
Nature, that I can only mention a few.
Any one who looks at a lobster, crayfish, prawn, or shrimp,
must at once see that in it lies: the prototype of plate
armour. ‘That portion of the lobster which is popularly called
the head, and-is scientifically known as the “carapace,” is not
jointed, and corresponds with the cuirass of ancient or modern
armour. Then comes the part called the “tail,” the joints of
which are exactly like those employed in the shoulders, elbows,
knees, and ankles of ancient armour. The lobster tail will again
be mentioned in connection with another branch of human art.
As for the heavy, ungraceful armour which was used in
tilting, we have an admirable example in the Trunk-fish of the
tropical seas (Ostracion), the whole of which is enciosed in a
bony case, the fins and tail protruding through openings in it.
In fact, the scales, instead of being separate, are fused together
so as to form a continuous covering. The Box-tortoise of
South America is another good example, the creature being
furnished with bony flaps with which it covers the apertures
through which the head, legs, and tail are protruded, and so is
as impervious as the knight of old.
In the later ages of armour, the thighs, instead of being
enclosed in steel coverings with cuisses, were defended by a
number of steel plates called ‘‘ tassets.” Now these tassets are
exactly like the defensive armour of the Armadillo’s back, and,
NATURAL ARMOUR. 123
though it is not likely that the inventor of tassets should have
seen an Armadillo, the fact still remains, that Art has been
anticipated by Nature.
Exactly the same principle is seen in that wonderful little
animal, the Pichiciago of South America, which is shown in the
lower left-hand figure of the illustration. This creature is not
only furnished with bony rings on the body like those of the
Armadillo, but has likewise a flap which comes over the hind-
quarters, and effectually defends it against the attacks of any
foe that might pursue it into its burrow.
In the lower right-hand corner of the illustration is seen a
figure of a Chiton, several species of which are common on most
of our coasts. This is one of the molluscs, which adheres to
the rock just as limpets do. But, whereas the shell of the
limpet is all in one piece and inflexible, that of the Chiton is
composed of several pieces, which are arranged exactly like the
tassets of armour, and enable the Chiton to accommodate itself
to the inequalities of the rocks to which it is adhering.
The common Pill Millipede, which rolls itself up in a ball
when alarmed, is a familiar instance of similar defensive armour,
and much the same may be said of the Julus Millipede.
WE now come to Scale Armour, which is one of the earliest
modes of protecting the body, and the idea of which was clearly
taken from animal life. In Scale Armour, flat plates of metal,
horn, or bone are sewn toa linen or leathern vest in such a
SCALES OF MANIS. SCALE=MAIL.
way that the scales overlap each other, and so tend to throw off
the blow of a weapon. One great advantage of this armour is
its lightness and flexibility, the former quality allowing of
more prolonged exertion than could be possible with the heavy
plate armour, and the latter rendering that exertion less
fatiguing to the limbs.
124 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
A glance at the preceding illustration will show how the
scale armour of the human warrior has been anticipated by
Nature.
On the right hand is an example of ordinary scale armour,
while on the opposite side is a portion of a scaly surface.
This figure represents some of the scales of a Manis. These
scales are wonderfully hard, and scarcely to be penetrated. I
have in my collection the skin of a Short-tailed Manis, which
had been kept for some time in an Indian compound, but which
made itself such a nuisance by its perpetual burrowing, that
its owner was forced to condemn it to death.
So he took a Colt’s revolver, and fired at it from a distance of
a yard or two. The only result was to knock over the Manis,
which rolled itself up, and appeared to be none the worse. A
second and a third shot were fired with similar results, and the
last bullet recoiled upon the firer. At last, the animal was
killed by introducing the point of a dagger under the scales,
and driving it in with a mallet. The Manis itself is given in
the illustration on page 189.
SKIN OF SINGLETHORN.
Again, the scales of most fishes afford excellent examples of
scale armour. I have selected one, the Japanese Singlethorn,
on account of the strength of the scales, each of which is deeply
ridged and furrowed. The reader will probably have noticed
that the skin of the animal, into which are inserted the bases
of the scales, is analogous to the linen or leathern foundation
upon which the artificial scales are sewn.
Even feathers give a better protection than might be
imagined from their individually fragile structure. This 1s
well shown in the case of aquatic birds, whose feathers are very
closely pressed together, each overlapping the next, and set in
oe
FEATHER ARMOUR. 125
recular order. Not only is the plumage rendered water-tight,
but it is able to resist a severe blow. This is well known by
sportsmen, who do not fire at ducks or geese while they are
approaching, knowing that their shot would only glide harm-
lessly from the feather-mail of the bird.
They wait until the birds have passed, and then find no
difficulty in killing them, the shot penetrating under the
feathers just as did the dagger under the scales of the manis.
Even the diminutive puffin, or sea-parrot, as it is sometimes
called, cares little for shot while it is sitting on the rocks with
closed wings and feathers pressed together. When, however,
it takes to flight, it can be killed without difficulty.
Perhaps some of my readers may be aware that the ancient
Mexican warriors wore armour made of feathers, which I pre-
sume must have been arranged ae after the fashion of those
of a duck’s breast.
This remarkable Feather-mail is mentioned by Southey in his
poem, ‘“ Madoc in Aztlan.’’ In canto xvii. is recounted the
single combat between Madoc and Coanocotsin, the King of
Aztlan. The contrasting armour and weapons of each are
graphically described, and especial mention is made of the
—culrass :—
‘¢ Over the breast,
And o’er the golden breastplate of the King,
A feathery cuirass, beautiful to eye,
Light as the robe of peace, yet strong to save ;
For the sharp faulchion’s baffled edge would glide
From its smooth softness.”’
Then, in the course of the combat, when the King has been
grappled in Madoc’s arms and forced to drop his buckler and
club, the narrative proceeds :—
‘¢ Which when the Prince beheld,
He thrust him off, and drawing back, resumed
The sword that from his wrist suspended hung,
And twice he smote the King. ‘Twice from the quilt
Of plumes the iron glides.”
If such armour could in truth resist the weapons which have
been discovered, it must have been a wonderfully strong gar-
ment, for the Mexican swords, though made of wood, are edged
with flakes of obsidian, which cuts like a razor. I have a
number of these flakes, which have evidently been intended for
the edges of a sword, but have not been used.
126 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
THERE is another kind of armour which is still used in some
parts of the world, and at one time was employed in this
country. Thisis the Quilt Armour, which is made by enclosing
a thick layer of some fibre, such as silk or cotton, between two
pieces of fabric, and then sewing them across and across, so
as to keep the lining or stuffing in its place.
The eider-down quilts are familiar examples of such fabrics,
and so are the quilted petticoats, which are so comfortable in
winter. Horsehair and flock mattresses are made in a similar
manner.
Insufficient as it may appear to be, the quilt armour, when
well made, is really proof against most weapons, even against
firearms, as we shall presently see. Being very much lighter
than steel, it was easier for the wearer, its chief drawback
being that its extreme thickness gave it a very clumsy and
awkward look. Those who wore it, however, cared more for their
safety than their appearance, as was exemplified by James L.,
who lived in perpetual fear of assassination, but who had a
nervous dislike to arms, whether offensive or defensive. He
therefore wore a cuirass quilted with silk, which answered
every purpose of defence, while it did not offend his nerves.
Perhaps the reader may remember that in “ Peveril of the
Peak ” Sir Walter Scott gives a ludicrous picture of the timid
justice, his fears of the Popish plot, his suit of quilted armour,
and his “Protestant Flail” with which he hits himself on the
head instead of striking his supposed enemy :—
“Some ingenious artist, belonging, we may presume, to the
worshipful Mercers’ Company, had contrived a species of armour
of which neither the horse armoury in the Tower, nor
Gwynnap’s Gothic Hall, no, nor Dr. Meyrick’s invaluable
collection of ancient arms, has preserved any specimen.
‘* It was called Silk-armour, being composed of a doublet and
breeches of quilted silk, so closely stitched, and of such thick-
ness, as to be proof against either bullet or steel, while a thick
bonnet of the same materials, with ear-flaps attached to it, and
on the whole much resembling a nightcap, completed the
equipment, and ascertained the security of the wearer from
the head to the knee. Master Maulstatute, among other worthy
citizens, had adopted this singular panoply, which had the
advantage of being soft, and warm and flexible, as well as safe.
QUILTED ARMOUR. 17
And he was sat in his judicial elbow-chair—a short, rotund
figure, hung round, as it were, with cushions, for such was the
appearance of the quilted garments—and with a nose pro-
truded from under the silken casque, the size of which, together
with the unwieldiness of the whole figure, gave his worship no
indifferent resemblance to the sign of the Hog in Armour, which
was considerably improved by the defensive garment being of
a dusky orange colour, not altogether unlike the hue of those
half-wild swine which are to be found in the forests of Hamp-
shire.”
Roger Nutt gives as a reason for the security of quilted
armour, that it made the wearer look so ridiculous that no
one could hit him for laughing. The reader will probably
remember that the sign of the Hog in Armour was really a
representation of the rhinoceros.
That such a cuirass is really impervious to ordinary weapons
is shown by the following anecdote :—During one of the late
Indian wars a trooper discharged his pistol close to the back
of a fleeing horseman. The shot produced no apparent effect,
and the man rode off. Presently, however, a thin cloud of
smoke was seen to rise from his shoulders. The smoke
thickened, then burst into flame, and after riding at desperate
speed in hopes of overtaking his comrades, the unfortunate
man fell from his horse, and was miserably burned to death.
The fact was that cotton being cheaper than silk, he had
wadded his cuirass with cotton fibre. Had he chosen silk, he
QUILTED ARMOUR.
would have got off in safety. Among the Chinese this cotton
mail is largely used. In consequence, many Chinese soldiers
were found who had been burned to death in exactly the same
way as the Indian warrior.
Towards the south-western parts of Africa there is a nation
called the Begharmis. Their soldiers are mounted, and are all
128 NATURE'S TEACHINGS.
furnished with suits of quilted mail, which fall below the knee
as the rider is seated on his horse. Not only is the rider thus
defended, but the horse also, which is covered with quilted
armour like that of its rider, the appearance of both being
exceedingly grotesque.
THERE are several examples of such armour in the animal
world, the principal of which is the Indian Rhinoceros. Any
one who has seen this animal, or even a good portrait of it, will
at once recognise the parallel between the heavy folds of its
thick skin and the padded flaps of the quilted mail. The
blubber with which the whale is so thickly coated affords
another example of the parallel between Nature and Art.
In the days of ancient Rome there was a curious mili-
tary manoeuvre, by which the defensive armour of individual
soldiers might be made collectively useful. This manceuvre
was called Forming a Tortoise (¢estudinem jfacere), and is
thus described in. Smith’s “ Dictionary of Greek and Roman
Antiquities :”—
“The name of Testudo was also applied to the covering
made by a close body of soldiers, who placed their shields
over their heads to screen themselves against the darts of the
enemy. The shields fitted so closely together as to present
one unbroken surface without any interstices between them,
and were so firm that men could walk upon them, and even
horses and chariots be driven over them.
“A Testudo was formed either in battle, to ward off the
arrows and other missiles of the enemy, or, which was more
TORTOISE. ROMAN TESTUDO.
frequently the case, to form a protection to the soldiers when
they advanced to the walls or gates of a town for the purpose
of attacking them.
THE FORT. 129
“Sometimes the shields were disposed in such a way as to
make the Testudo slope The soldiers in the first line stood
upright, those in the centre stooped a little, and each line
‘successively was a little lower than the preceding, down to the
last, where the soldiers rested on one knee. Such a disposition
of the shields was called Fustigata Testudo, on account of their
sloping like the roof of a building.
«The advantages of this plan were obvious. The stones and
missiles thrown upon the shields rolled off them like water
from a roof; besides which, other soldiers frequently advanced
upon them to attack the enemy upon the walls. The Romans
were accustomed to form this kind of Testudo as an exercise
in the games of the Circus.”
On the right hand of the illustration is shown a portion of
a Testudo of three ranks, taken from the Antonine column.
On the left is an ordinary Tortoise. Sometimes the Testudo
was a sovered machine on wheels, and guarded above with a
supplementary roof of wet hides arranged in scale fashion, so
as to prevent it from being set on fire by the besieged, and
to throw off the heavy missiles which were dropped upon it.
Under cover of this Testudo, the soldiers could either under-
mine the walls, or bring a battering-ram to bear upon them,
while the men who worked it were safely under cover. As to
the battering-ram itself, we shall presently treat of it.
Tue Fort.
As we have’ treated of one of the modes by which Forts were
assaulted, we will now come to the Fort itself.
The transitions in Fort-making are too curious to be omitted
from the present book. As soon as war became organized,
a Fort of some kind was necessary. The simplest mode of
making a Fort was evidently to dig a deep trench, and throw
up the earth on the inside, so as to forma wall. Let such a
trench be square or circular, and there is a simple but powerful
Fort, by means of which a comparatively small garrison could
defend themselves against a superior force.
The Romans were great masters of this art, fighting as much
with the spade as the sword. So strong and thorough was the
old Roman work that many of their camps still remain, and will
K
130 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
remain for centuries if man does not deface tnem. Such, for
example, are Czsar’s camp, near Aldershot, and the fine camp
at Lyddington, in Wiltshire, almost every detail of which is
preserved. Roman camps are all constructed on the same
model, the general’s place, or Praetorium, being in the centre,
whence he issued his orders, and the commanders under him
occupying the corners. Thus, no matter how he might be
shifted from one corps to another, every Roman soldier knew
his way about the camp without needing to see it, and could
tell at any moment where to find any officer.
ELK FORT. MOUND FORT.
‘Other nations made their Forts circular, an example of which
L lately saw a few miles from Bideford, while others consisted
of nearly parallel lines, enclosures, and demi-lunes, like those
wonderful dykes near Clovelly, which occupy more than thirty
acres of land. One of the circular Forts is shown on the right
hand of the illustration.
As time went on, stone took the place of earth, and the prin-
cipal object of the builder was to give considerable thickness
below, so as to resist the battering-ram, and great height both
to walls and towers, so as to be comparatively out of the reach
of the arrows and other missiles of the besiegers.
For awhile, such castles were impregnable, and the owners
thereof were the irresponsible despots of the neighbourhood,
recognising no law but their own will, robbing, torturing, and
murdering at pleasure, and setting the king at open defiance.
When, however, the tremendous powers of artillery became
developed, the age of stone castles passed away.. Height was
found to be equivalent to weakness, as the strongest tower in
existence could be knocked to pieces in an hour or two, and do
infinite harm within the fortress by its falling fragments.
Fortification then returned to its original principles. arth
took the place of stone or brick; and at the present day,
THE ELK-YARD. Ist
instead of erecting lofty walls and stately towers, the military
engineer sinks his buildings as far as he can into the ground,
and protects them with banks of simple earth, which is found
to be the best defence against heavy shot. There is no
masonry in existence that will endure the artillery fire of the
present day, and even the solid rock can be knocked to pieces by
it. But an earth-mound is a different business, and will absorb
as many shot and shell as can be poured into it, without being
much the worse for it. See, for example, the Proof-mound at
Woolwich, which receives the shot of guns as’they are being
proved. Now, this mound has undergone perpetual battering
for many years, and is as strong as ever. The same thing may
be said of the celebrated Mamelon before Sebastopol.
So much for the Fort made by the hand of man. We now
come to that which is formed by the feet of animals.
The Elk, or Moose, an inhabitant of Northern Europe, finds
itself in great danger during the winter, the wolves being its
chief enemies. At certain times of the year there comes a
partial thaw during the day, followed by a frost at night. The
result is, that a slight cake of ice forms on the surface of the
snow, too slight to bear the weight of so heavy an animal, and
strong enough to cut the legs of the elk as it ploughs its way
along. Now, the wolves are sufficiently light to pass over the
frozen surface without breaking it, and accordingly, they can
easily run down and secure the elk.
In order, therefore, to counteract the wolves, a number of
elks select a convenient spot where they can find food, and
unite in trampling the snow down so as to sink themselves
nearly to their own height below its surface. The wolves never
dare attack an Elk-yard, as this enclosure is termed. In the
first place, they are always haunted with suspicions of traps,
and do not like the look of the yard; and in the next place, if
some of the wolves did venture within the fort, the elks would
soon demolish them with hoofs and horns. One of these Elk-
yards is seen on the left hand of the illustration.
Ke
WAR AND HUNTING.
CHAPTER VII.
SCALING INSTRUMENTS.—DEFENCE OF FORT.—IMITATION.—
THE FALL-TRAP.
Scaling-forks.—The Climbing-spur and its Use.—Larva of the Tiger-beetle.—
Hooks of Serpula.—Mr. Gosse’s Description.—Falling Stones.—A Stone roll-
ing down a Precipice.—The Polar Bear and the Walrus.—Imitation.—The
Polar Bear and the Seal.—The Esquimaux Hunter ‘“ Seal-talking.’’—En-
ticing Mother by means of Young.—The Fall-trap and its Variations.—The
Schcolboy’s. “ Booby-trap.’”’—Curious Mode of killing Elephants.—'The Ele-
phant-spear.—The Hippopotamus-trap of Southern Africa.—The Mangrove
and its Seeds.—The Spring-gun and Spring-bow.
Be ORE dismissing the subject of the Fortress, we will
glance at the Attack and Defence, as seen in Nature
and Art.
ScALInGc INSTRUMENTS.
WE have already seen how the Battering-ram could be
worked against the walls of a fort, or how the assailants could
scale them by means of the Testudo. There must, however, be
occasions when it would be impossible to bring together a
sufficiently large body of men to form the Testudo, or even to
place ladders, and in such instances it would be necessary that
each soldier should be furnished with an instrument by which
he could haul himself up the wall.
There are many examples still extant of such weapons, which
were called “Scaling-forks,” and their general appearance
may be known by the two right-hand figures of the cut. The
_ handles of these weapons were very long, and by them the
a
SCALING-FORK AND CLIMBING-SPUR. 138
soldier hauled himself to the top of the wall. In some of these
instruments the shafts were armed with projecting pegs, set at
regular intervals, so that they acted as the steps of a ladder,
and rendered the ascent comparatively easy.
Many of the long-handled partisans, such as the well-known
Jedwood axe, were furnished with a hook upon the back of the
blade, so that the weapon served the purpose of a scaling-fork
as well as a battle-axe.
The Scaling-fork (German Sturmgabel), which is shown on
the right hand of the illustration, was in use somewhere about
A.D. 1500. That which is shown next to it is about a hundred
years later.
Demmin, from whose work these figures are taken, mentions
that at the siege of Mons, in 1691, the grenadiers of the elder
WALRUS TUSKS. LARVA OF TIGER-BEETLE. CLIMBING-SPUR. SCALING-FORKS.
HOOKS OF SERPULA.
Dauphin’s regiment stormed the walls under the command of
Vauban, and, by means of the Scaling-fork, carried the breast-
work, which they assaulted. As a mark of honour to these
gallant men, Louis XIV. ordered that the sergeants of the
regiment should carry scaling-forks instead of halberds, which
had been the peculiar weapon of the sergeant until compara-
tively late days, just as the spontoon, or half-pike, was the
weapon of the infantry officer from a.p. 1700 to a.p. 1800, or
thereabouts.
The English student will remember that in the writings of
Sterne, Fielding, and Smollett the half-pike is frequently
134 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
mentioned as the weapon of a subaltern officer. Demmin states
that the last spontoons used in France were carried by the
French Guards in 1789.
Prruars the Climbing-spur may be familiar to some of my
readers, and bring back a reminiscence of boyhood. There is
nothing more tantalising to a boy than to see a hawk or mag-
pie nest at the top of a tree which is too large to be climbed in
the ordinary way, and which has no branches within many feet
of the ground. However, boyish ingenuity has brought almost
any tree within the power of a bird’s-nester by the invention of
the Climbing-irons.
Thess are made so as to pass under the foot like a stirrup,
and can be secured to the leg by leathern straps, the hooks
being, of course, on the inside of the leg. The cut represents
the Climbing-iron of the right leg. By means of these instru-
ments, a very large tree can be mounted, the irons being struck
firmly into the bark, and the legs moved alternately, and not in
the usual manner of climbing. Sometimes the hook of the
Climbing-iron is terminated by a single instead of a double
point, but the principle is the same in all.
WE will now look for similar examples in Nature.
On the right of the left-hand group is shown the larva or
grub of the common Tiger-beetle, which is itself a curious
creature.
It lives in perpendicular burrows, feeding upon those insects
which come within its reach. Its usual position is at the upper
part of the burrow, with its jaws widely extended, so as to
snap up any insect that may venture too near.
When it has secured its prey, it seeks the bottom of its
burrow, makes its meal in quiet, and reascends. How it does
so we shall soon see. ‘Towards the end of the body, one of the
segments is much enlarged, and has a bold prominence upon
the back. On the summit of this prominence there are two
horn-lke hooks, shaped as seen in the illustration. These
hooks are used exactly like the boy’s climbing-spurs, the
alternate elongation and contraction of the body answering the
same purpose as the movements of the boy’s legs. When the
larva has seized its prey and wishes to retreat, all that it has to
HOOKS OF THE SERPULA. 135
do is to withdraw the hooks, straighten the body, and down it
falls by its own weight.
In the nautical branch of this subject I have already treated
of the curious pushing-poles by means of which the Serpula
protrudes itself from its tube. As all must have noticed who
have seen these creatures alive, the Serpula protrudes itself very
slowly, but flies back into its tube with such velocity that the
eye can scarcely follow its movements. Its difference of motion
shows that there must be a difference in the means by which
these movements are produced.
Referring to the illustration on page 45, the reader will see
that the instruments with which the Serpula propels itself are
used just after the fashion of punt-poles, and cannot act with
any great swiftness. When, however, the creature wishes to
withdraw itself, it employs a curious apparatus, consisting of
many rows of little hooks. The points of these hooks readily
catch against the lining of the tube, and by their aid the worm
jerks itself back with wonderful celerity.
Three rows of these hooks are shown next to the Tiger-beetle
larva.
The structure of these remarkable organs is elaborately de-
scribed by Mr. Gosse in his “ Evenings with the Microscope:”—
“Tf you look again at this Serpula recently extracted, you
will find with a lens a pale yellow line running along the upper
surface of each foot, transversely to the length of the body.
This is the border of an exceedingly delicate membrane, and,
on placing it under a high power (say six hundred diameters),
you will be astonished at the elaborate provision here made for
prehension.
«This yellow line, which cannot be appreciated by the un-
assisted eye, is a muscular ribbon, over which stand edgewise a
multitude of what I will call combs, or rather subtriangular
plates. These have a wide base, and the apex of the triangle
is curved over into an abrupt hook, and then this cut into a
number (from four to six) of sharp and long teeth.
‘The plates stand side by side, parallel to each other, along
the whole length of the ribbon, and there are muscular fibres
seen affixed to the basal side of each plate, which doubtless
give it independent motion.
136 WATURE’S TEACHINGS.
“‘T have counted one hundred and thirty-six plates on one
ribbon. There are two ribbons on each thoracic segment, and
there are seven such segments. Hence, we may compute the
total number of prehensile comb-like plates on this portion of
the body to be about one thousand nine hundred, each of which
is wielded by muscles at the will of the animal; while, as
each plate carries on an average five teeth, there are nearly ten
thousand teeth hooked. into the lining membrane of the cell,
when the animal chooses to descend.
‘‘ Kven this, however, is far short of the total number, be-
cause long ribbons of hooks of a similar structure, but of smaller
dimensions, run across the abdominal segments, which are
more numerous than the thoracic. No wonder, with so many
muscles wielding so many grappling-hooks, that ce descent is
so rapidly effected.”
Lastly, we come to the Walrus, whose strangely elongated
upper canine teeth can be used for just the same purposes as
the scaling-fork or climbing-spur. As, however, reference has
already been made to these tusks, in connection with another
department of this work, there is no necessity for occupying
space with a second description.
DEFENCE OF Fort.
So much for attack; now for defence.
The simplest mode of defending a fort, or even a mountain
pass, is by throwing or rolling rocks and heavy stones against
the enemy.
Simple as it may appear, it is a very effective one, as can be
well understood by those who have rolled a huge stone down a
long and steep slope. The stone goes gently enough at first,
but rapidly gains speed, until at last it makes great bounds
from the earth, tearing and crashing through everything as if
it had been shot from a cannon.
I have seen a stone which was too heavy to be lifted, and
had to be prised over the edge with levers, spring completely
through the topmost branches of a high tree, scattering the
boughs in all directions, and then, alighting on another stone,
split into many fragments, just like the pieces of a burst shell.
That one stone would have swept off a whole party of soldiers
had they encountered it while trying to ascend the slope.
ROLLING STONES. Poa
Tuts invention has also been anticipated in Nature.
Putting aside the obvious reflection that the most primitive
warriors must have noticed the effects of stones falling over
a precipice, we have, in Captain Hall’s “Life with the
Esquimaux,” a curious account of the Polar Bear and its mode
of capturing the Walrus. Gigantic as is this animal, and
terrible as are its tusks, the Polar Bear will sometimes attack
it, as is evident by the scars left on those Bears which have
been fortunate enough to escape from their assailant.
Still, the combat is sure to be a severe one, and so the Polar
Bear will, if he can, secure his prey by some other method.
“The natives tell many most interesting anecdotes of the
Bear, showing that they are accustomed to watch his move-
ments closely. He has a very ingenious method of killing the
Walrus.
“In August, every fine day, the Walrus makes its way to
the shore, draws its huge body upon the rocks, and basks in
the sun. If this happen near the base of a cliff, the ever-
watchful Bear takes advantage of the circumstance to attack
=>
—— JaS lant
SS Ss
\
BEAR KILLING WALRUS. WARRIORS DEFENDING A PASS.
his formidable game in this way. The Bear mounts the cliff,
and throws down upon the animal’s head a large rock, calcu-
lating the distance and the curve with astonishing accuracy,
and thus crushing the thick, bullet-proof skull.
“Tfthe Walrus is not instantly killed, or simply stunned,
138 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
the Bear rushes down to it, seizes the rock, and hammers away
at the head until the skull is broken. A fat feast follows.
Unless the Bear is very hungry, it eats only the blubber of the
walrus, seal, and whale.”
IMITATION.
As is the case with the Norwegians, the Esquimaux have
the greatest respect for the intellectual as well as the bodily
powers of the Bear, and avowedly imitate it in its modes of
hunting. One of these methods will now be mentioned.
It must first be premised that the Seal is a most wary
animal, and when it lies down on the shore to sleep, it takes
its repose by snatches, lifting up its head at very short inter-
vals, looking all round in search of foes, and then composing
itself to rest again. To approach so cautious an animal is
evidently a difficult task, but the Bear is equal to it. The
following is Captain Hall’s account :—
“From the Polar Bear the Innuits (¢.e. Hsquimaux) learn
much.
“The manner of approaching the Seal, which is on the ice
by its hole, basking in the sunshine, is from him. The Bear
=" _ ! <<—____
POLAR BEAR HUNTING SEAL. ESQUIMAUX HUNTING SEAL.
lies down and crawls by hitches towards the Seal, ‘talking’
to it, as the Innuits say, until he is within striking distance,
when he pounces upon it with a single jump. The natives say
that if they could ‘talk’ as well as the Bear, they could catch
many more Seals.
“The procedure of the Bear is as follows.
“He proceeds very cautiously towards the black speck, far
off on the ice, which he knows to be a Seal. When still a long
DECOYING THE MOTHER SEAL. 139
way from it, he throws himself down and hitches himself along
towards his game. The Seal, meanwhile, is taking its naps of
about ten seconds each, invariably raising its head and survey-
ing the entire horizon before composing itself again to brief
slumber.
*“« As soon as it raises its head, the Bear ‘ talks,’ keeping per-
fectly still. The Seal, if it sees anything, sees but the head,
which it takes for that of another Seal. It sleeps again. Again
the Bear hitches himself along, and once more the Seal looks
around, only to be ‘ talked’ to and again deceived. Thus the
pursuit goes on until the Seal is caught, or till it makes its
escape, which it seldom does.”
Jt is remarkable that while this “ talk” is going on, the Seal
appears to be charmed, raises and shakes its flippers about, rolls
over on its side and back, as if delighted, and then lies down to
sleep.
Now, the Esquimaux hunters imitate, as nearly as they can,
the proceedings of the Bear, but are not so successful. Captain
Hall mentions several instances where the native hunter failed
even to come within gunshot without alarming the Seal, which
instantly plunged into its hole and was lost.
THE same author mentions another instance where the
Esquimaux hunter has copied the Bear.
When an Esquimaux hunter catches a young Seal, he takes
POLAR BEAR CATCHING SEAL, ETC.
care not to kill it at once, as he wishes to use it as a decoy. He
ties a long line round one of the hind flippers, and then drops
the little Seal into the hole through the ice by which it enters
and leaves the water. The struggles of the young are nearly sure
140 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
to attract the mother, and when she has discovered its con-
dition the young Seal is cautiously drawn upon theice. The
mother follows, too intent on rescuing her young to think
about herself, and, as soon as she is within reach, she is struck
with the harpoon.
The Polar Bear, however, preceded the Esquimaux in this
mode of hunting. The young Seal lives in a hemispherical
dwelling scooped out of the snow, and communicating with the
water by means of a hole through the ice. This dwelling will
be described and figured when we come to the subject of
Architecture.
Finding out, by scent or some other means, the habitation
of the young Seal, the Polar Bear leaps upon the snow, bring-
ing his feet together, and with his enormous weight breaking
through the roof of the dwelling. He instantly captures the
young Seal before it can make its escape. Then, driving the
talons of one paw into its hind flipper, he lets it into the hole,
and allows it to flounder about in the water. When the mother
is attracted to her young, he draws his prey slowly up on the
ice. The anxious mother follows, and is at once secured by the
talons of the other foot, as is represented in the illustration.
Tor FALL-TRAP.
THis is a stratagem which is often employed in War and
Hunting, though its use is mostly confined to the latter.
Schoolboys often avail themselves of this principle when they
wish to play a practical joke, and to amuse themselves by
setting a ‘‘ Booby-trap.” This trap is easily manufactured, and
consists of a partially opened door, with a basin or jug of water
balanced upon it. ‘The natural result is, that any one who
opens the door without proper precautions receives the jug and
its contents upon his head, and is thoroughly drenched.
On the right hand of the illustration is seen a curious spear,
the butt of which, instead of being hghter than the head, is
very much heavier. The weight, however, is exactly where it
is wanted, and indeed, in actual use, is trebled by a mass of
tenacious clay, kneaded upon it. This figure is taken from a
very perfect specimen in my own collection.
It is an African weapon, not used for war, but for hunting,
THE FALL-TRAP. 141
and, as far as I know, exclusively employed against the ele-
phants. These animals have a way of forming roads or tracks
for themselves through the woods, very much like those almost
invisible paths which are made by the half-wild sheep of the
great Wiltshire Downs, except that they traverse thick forests
instead of broad downs.
The native hunters know all the elephant paths, and if a
herd of elephants be seen approaching, the path which they will
take is tolerably certain.
Armed with this knowledge, the native hunters climb the
trees, and seat themselves on the branches which overhang
the path, each hunter being supplied with one of these spears.
As the elephants pass beneath him, the experienced hunter
Ae
many
|
y
MANGROVE SEEDS. HIPPOPOTAMUS TRAP AND ELEPHANT
SPEAR.
selects a bull elephant with good tusks, and, taking a careful
aim, drops the spear on its back.
On receiving the stroke, the elephant rushes off in mixed
terror and rage. As the animal uses the legs of each side
alternately, it sways its huge body from side to side at every
step. With each movement, the spear also sways about, its
weighted end giving it such a leverage, that the sharp edges of
the head cut the poor animal to pieces.
Awotuer kind of Fall-trap, which is common in many parts
of Southern Africa, is not dependent upon the skill of the
hunter, but, like the “‘ booby-trap”’ above mentioned, is set in
motion by the victim.
142 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
A figure of this trap is given in the illustration.
If the native hunter can find a spot where the Hippopotamus
path passes under an overhanging branch, he makes a simple
but most effective trap. He takes a heavy log of wood, and
into one end of it he drives a spear-point. The log is then hung
with its point downwards to the branch, the rope which is con-
nected with its trigger or catch being stretched across the
path at a few inches from the surface of the ground, and
carried at right angles across the path.
The Hippopotamus takes no notice of the cord, which is
usually made of one of the creepers or “ bush-ropes” that are
so common in hot countries. No sooner, however, does its foot
strike the cord, than the trigger is released, and down falls the
heavy log, driving its iron point deeply into the back of the
victim. Even if the weapon were simple iron, such a wound
must be mortal, but, as it is almost invariably poisoned, the
wounded animal can scarcely travel forty or fifty yards before
it lies down and dies.
One of these traps is shown in the illustration. In the fore-
ground is shown the Fall-trap, pointed with iron, and weighted
with large stones at the lower end, so as to bring it down with
more force, and to prevent it from falling transversely.
The Spring-gun, once so formidable a protector of our
coverts, was managed in a similar manner, except that the
missile was discharged horizontally, and not vertically. The
gun, loaded with shot, was fixed some eighteen inches from the
eround, and a long and slight wire fastened to the trigger.
The opposite end of the wire was made fast to a tree or other
fixed object, and, as the gun was directed on the line of the
wire, it is evident that any one who stumbled against it would
discharge the gun, and receive the contents in his legs.
In France the gun was generally loaded with little pieces of
bay salt, and I very much pity the unfortunate poacher who
came across one of these guns. The pain would prevent him
from escaping, and I think that the hardest-hearted of game
preservers could not bring himself to prosecute a man who had
already suffered so much.
Of a similar character are the Spring-bows which were once
common in this country, and are still used in various parts of
Asia. A bow and arrow are substituted for firearms, and the
THE MANGROVE-TREE. 143
bow, after being drawn by the united efforts of several men, is
held in its position by a stick, one end of which presses against
the centre of the bow, and the other against the string.
A large arrow is then placed on the bow, and a cord is tied
to the middle of the stick, led forwards in a line with the
direction of the arrow, and fastened, as in the case of the spring-
gun. As soon as the line is struck, the stick is jerked from its
place, and the arrow is discharged, piercing the body of the
trespasser. Tigers, bears, and leopards are the usual victims of
this trap.
Ir is remarkable that in the same country there is a pro-
duction of Nature which may in all probability have given to
the native hunter the idea of the Fall-trap. This is the Man-
erove-tree, which is remarkable for the wonderful extent of
ground which it will cover, and the nearly impenetrable
thickets which it forms. In the present part of the work we
have nothing to do with the aérial roots, several of which are
shown in the illustration, and only restrict ourselves to the
Seeds, and the curious manner in which they are planted by
Nature.
In the illustration, on the left hand, the growth of the
Mangrove is seen. The drawing is taken from a sketch by
the late Mr. Baines, and generously placed at my disposal, as
were all his drawings and journals.
The Mangrove is a wet-loving tree, never flourishing unless
rooted in mud; and whether the moisture of the mud be
attributable to fresh or salt water seems to make little dif-
ference to the Mangrove, which, of the two, appears to prefer
the latter. Now, the seeds of the Mangrove look very much
like elongated skittles, except that one end comes to a sharp
point. As they hang on the tree, the point is downwards.
When they are ripe, they fall from the branch, and by their
own weight are driven deeply into the mud, where they
develop roots and leaves, and become the progenitors of the
future Mangrove race.
I cannot but think that the native hunter, having seen the
tremendous force with which the Mangrove seed buries itself
in the mud, has applied the same principle to a weapon which
shall bury itself in the body of an elephant.
WAR AND HUNTING.
CHAPTER VIII.
CONCEALMENT.—DISGUISE.—THE TRENCH.—POWER OF
GRAVITY.—MISCELLANEA.
Concealment needed in Modern Warfare.—Concealment by Covering.—Masking
Guns.—Birnam Wood.—The Reduvius.—The Cuckoo-spit and the Spider-
crab.—Concealment by Disguise.—Stratagem of the Barea.—Complete
Deception.—Larva of Geometra.—The Leaf-insect.—The Lappet-moth.—
The Ptarmigan and the Ermine.—Principle of the Trench.—Vhe Hunter’s
“Skarm.’’—The Wax-moth or Galleria-moth, and its Tunnel.—F ate of a
Collection.—The Termites and the Travelling Ants of South America.—The
Power of Gravity.—The Battering-ram and its Force.—Miscellanea.—War
by Suffocation.—The Stink-pot.—The Chili-plant.—The Sulphur-room.—
The Bombadier-beetle-—The Bullet-making Machine and the Silkworm.
CoNCEALMENT.
W* will first take Concealment by means of Covering.
If History repeats herself, so does Warfare. I have
already shown the repetition of History in the Fortress—I
shall now show it in the Field.
Tn former days, when arms of precision were not invented,
concealment was not needed. No soldier ever was visited with
a dream so wild as that of taking definite aim at the enemy,
and reserving the fire until the aim was certain. I have in my
collection several of the French and English muskets used
about the time of Waterloo, and, though a fair rifle-shot,
would not engage to hit a haystack with either of them at a
distance of a hundred yards. With the Snider or Martini-
Henry in the hands of a skilful adversary, he would be a bold
man who would offer himself for a target at a thousand yards.
Indeed, if the first shot happened to miss, the marksman
CONCEALMENT IN WARFARE. 145
would be tolerably sure to notice the failure, and to correct his
aim with fatal certainty.
In those days, therefore, concealment was rather ridiculed
than praised, the power of the new arm not being as yet appre-
ciated. I well recollect, in the earliest days of the Volunteer
movement, hearing a Volunteer captain declare, amid the
cheers of his company, that “ he had never sneaked behind a
tree in all his life, and was not going to begin now.”’
In the present day, the power of the missile has been
developed with such astounding rapidity, that to be exposed
to the fire of rifles or cannon is almost certain death. Indeed,
the only safety of the defence lay in the fact that the smoke
soon rendered very accurate shooting impossible at long ranges,
and that at short ranges, if a man got a bullet through his
body, it mattered little to him whether the missile were a
spherical musket-ball or a conical rifle-bullet.
Just, then, as forts have latterly sunk into the earth for the
purpose of strength, so have our modern soldiers found that
the true principle of modern warfare is never to lose sight of
“(NN
i aly —————— —
~ 2 x SS ——
4 — —
CADDIS. TEREBELLA. SERPULA. SUBMARINE MORTAR.
purpose of fastening the stones together are applied when wet,
and incorporate themselves with the stones as they dry. But
to make a mortar which ceuld be applied while the stones were
under water, and would “set” while beneath the surface, was
a task not easily to be overcome. Yet it has been done so
effectively that at the present day we can build beneath the
surface of the water as securely, though not as rapidly, as if the
stones had been laid on dry ground.
Several such mortars are now known, and, as is so often the
case with human inventions, have been anticipated in Nature.
We have already seen how the Caddis-worm of the fresh
218 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
waters can cement together, while under water, the various
materials of which its tubular house is formed. The different
Sticklebacks perform similar feats, no matter whether they
inhabit fresh or salt water.
All those who take an interest in the productions of the sea-
shore will have noticed upon our coasts the flexible tube of the
Terebella, with its curiously fringed ends. This tube, as any
one may see at a glance, is composed of grains of sand and
similar materials, fastened strongly together by a kind of
cement exuded from the worm, and possessing the property of
hardening under water. As on some of our coasts fragments
of shell are used for the tube, the worm goes by the popular
name of Shell-binder. |
If one of these worms be taken out of its tube, placed in
a vessel with sea-water and a quantity of sand, broken shells,
and little pebbles, the mode of building will soon be seen. At
the extremity of the head are a number of extremely mobile
tentacles, and these are stretched about in all directions, seizing
upon the particles of sand and shell, seeming to balance them
as if to decide whether they are suitable for the tube, and then
fixing them one by one with the cement which has already
been mentioned.
Generally speaking, the Terebella works only in the evening,
but, if it be hastily deprived of its tube, it cannot help itself,
and is perforce obliged to work while it can. It is worthy of
remark that the Terebella, although, as a rule, it lives in a tube
all its life, is capable of swimming with the usual serpentine
motion of marine worms, and, when taken out of its tube,
rushes about violently, and soon exhausts itself by its efforts.
Along most of our rocky seashores may be seen vast quan-
tities of a sort of hardened sand, penetrated with small tubes.
On a closer examination this sand-mass is resolved into a
congeries of tubes, matted and twisted together, and each being
the habitation of a marine worm called the Sabella. This name
is derived from a Latin word signifying sand, and is given to
the worm in allusion to the material of which it makes its
habitation.
Like the Terebella, the Sabella uses its tentacles for the
purpose of building the tubes, which are much stiffer than
those of the Terebella. They are strong enough, indeed, to
PAINT. 219
give the feet a firm hold while traversing the rocks, and this is
a matter of no small moment when the tide is coming in, and
the shore has to be regained without loss of time.
Then we have other marine worms, known as Triquetra
and Serpula, which make tubes in a somewhat similar
manner, but of very fine materials and very strong cement, so
that the tube is nearly as hard as stone.
Space would fail me if I were to enumerate these creatures
at greater length, but enough has been said to show that
man’s invention of subaquatic cement has been anticipated in
Nature by the inhabitants both of salt and fresh water.
WE now come to the subject of Paint and Varnish. Putting
aside their use as a means to increase the beauty of the object
to which they are applied, we will view them in the light of
preservatives, and acknowledge the truth of the old Dutch pro-
verb, that “‘ Paint costs nothing.’ Certainly, when the wood
to which it is applied is thoroughly dry from within, it not
only costs nothing, but repays itself over and over again as a
preservative of the wood, and a defence against moisture from
without. ;
The instances in which Paint is applied to wood are too
numerous to be mentioned. Perhaps some of my readers may
remember the case of the naval captain who, on taking com-
mand of his ship, was supplied, according to custom, with
exactly half the amount of paint required for her. The in-
variable etiquette had been that the captain supplied the
remaining half at his own cost. But the officer in question
was not at all disposed to be “ put upon,” and was a thorn in
the sides of the ‘“‘ Naval Lords.”
Finding, by actual measurement, that the paint supplied to
him was only half the amount which was really needed for the
ship, he sent his respectful compliments to the Admiralty,
asking whether they wished the port or the starboard side of
the ship to be painted, for that there was only enough paint
for one half of the ship, and he awaited instructions as to which
side of the vessel it was to be applied. He was impervious to
“minutes,” “directions,” &c., and, as far ag I remember, this
very impracticable man got his way, and was supplied with the
requisite amount of paint.
ao, NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
Lone before man ever invented paint or varnish the Hive
Bee had made use of it. |
Every one who has kept bees knows how they always fasten
the edge of the hive to the board, and stop up any crevices
that may be left open. The material which they use for this
purpose is not wax, but a substance called “ propolis.” This
BEE VARNISHING CELLS. PAINTER VARNISHING WOOD.
term is composed of two Greek words, signifying a suburb, or
the outskirts of a town, and is given to this stationary sub-
stance in consequence of the use which is made of it.
Not only do the bees use it for fastening the hives, but
also for strengthening their combs. Wax is a very precious
material, and the beautiful hexagonal structure of the bee-comb
is intended for the purpose of combining the greatest amount of
storing space with the least expenditure of material. The
plates of wax of which the cells are composed are so thin that
their edges would break down even under the feet of the bees
as they passed over it, and accordingly the bees strengthen
the edges of the cells with propolis, as any one may see by
examining a piece of bee-comb. ‘The propolis is of a darker
colour than the wax, and has a peculiar varnish-like appear-
ance.
The propolis, as distinguished from wax, is mentioned by
Virgil in his Georgics :—
*“‘ Collectumque hec ipsa ad munera gluten
Et visco et Phrygize servant pice lentius Ide.’”’—Georg. iv. 40.
It is evident that the propolis cannot be obtained from the
same source as the wax. The latter is secreted by the bees
VARNISH. 2K
under little plates or flaps upon the abdomen, while the
propolis is purely a vegetable exudation. It is obtained from
many trees, the principal being the horse chestnut. All who
have handled the buds of this tree are aware that they are
covered with a viscous and very adhesive matter, which serves
as a varnish or protection to the bud before the leaves are
strong enough to break out. This is the material which the
bees gather for their propolis, and at certain times of the year
the chestnuts may be seen swarming with bees, all busily
engaged in scraping off the varnish.
TOOLS.
CHAPTER I.
THE DIGGING-STICK._SPADE.—SHEARS AND SCISSORS.—CHISEL
AND ADZE.—THE PLANE AND SPOKESHAVE.
The Use of Tools a Distinction between Man and Beast.—All M en, however
savage, use Tools, but none of the lower Animals can do so until taught by
Man.—Tools needed to break up the Ground.—The Digging-stick of savage
Life: its Use and its Efficacy in practised Hands.—Digging-sticks in Nature.
—The Heart-urchin, and its Mode of digging in the Sand.—The Spade:
its Shapes and Uses.—Natural Spades.—Fore-foot of the Mole and Mole-
cricket.—The Aard-vark, the Ant-eater, and the Mattock.—Shears and
Scissors a Sign of Civilisation, never being employed by Savages.—Mecha-
nical Principle of Scissors, the Inclined Plane, the Lever, and the Cutting
Erlge.—Chinese Shears and the Pruning Scissors.—Use of the Inclined
Plane.—The Diagonal Knife of the Guillotine.—The Shears in Iron-works.
—Ihe “ Drawing Cut”’ of Swordsmen.—Jaws of the Turtle and Tortoise.—
The Snapping Turtle and the Chicken Tortoise.—The Locust, the Cock-
chafer Grub, the Gieat Green Grasshopper, and the Wart-biter.—The Leaf-
cutter Bees and their Nests.—The Chisel and Adze.—Structure of Rodent
Tooth and Chisel.—Use of she hard Plate of Enamel or Steel.—Combination
of hard and soft Materials.—Teeth of Hippopotamus and Hyrax.—Principle
of the Adze.—Selt-sharpening and Self-renewing Tools.—The Plane and
Spokeshave.—Principle on which they are made.—The Spokeshave and
its Uses.—The “ Guard ’’ Razor.—The Hoop-shaver Bee and its Nest.—Its
natural Plane, and the Use which is made of it.
eee the many points of distinction between man and the
lower animals, we may consider the use of tools as one of
the principal lines of demarcation. Man stands absolutely
alone in this respect. There is no race of savages, however
degraded they may be, that does not employ tools of some kind,
and there is no beast, however intelligent, that ever used a tool
except when instructed by man.
As to the stories that are told of the larger apes using
sticks and stones by way of weapons, they are absolutely with-
out foundation, no animal employing any tool or weapon save
those given tothem by Nature. It is true that a monkey may
DIGGING TOOLS. 223
sometimes be seen to take a stone for the purpose of cracking
nuts which are too strong for its teeth, and to perform that
task with great deftness; but such animals have always been
taught by man, and had they remained in their own country,
not one of them would have used a stone, were the nuts ever
so hard.
THE SPADE.
WE will begin our notice of tools by taking that which must
have been the first tool invented by man. One of the principal
duties assigned to man is the culture of the earth, and this he
cannot do without tools, increasing their number and improving
their structure in proportion to his own development in agri-
culture.
Before seed can be sown, it is necessary that the earth should
be broken up, and, owing to the structure of the human frame,
HEART-URCHIN. DIGGING-STICK.
this task cannot be fulfilled by man without a tool which will
enable him to rival many of the lower animals, 7.e. make use
of those digging appliances which have been furnished by
Nature.
It is evident that the first earth-breaking tool must have
been a pointed stick, and we find that in Southern Africa, in
parts of Asia, and in Australia the Digging-stick is still in
use for the purpose of breaking up the ground. The Austra-
lians are wonderful adepts in the use of the Digging-stick,
which is one of the simplest of instruments, being merely a
stick some two feet in length, pointed at one end, and the point
hardened in the fire.
The mode of using it is by holding it perpendicularly,
pecking it into the ground, and throwing out the loosened soil
with the hands. In this way they can excavate with such
224 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
rapidity, that a strong navvy, armed with the best spade, would
not be able to keep pace with a black man armed only with his
“katta,” or digging-stick.
In Africa the Digging-stick is used in exactly the same
manner, and is generally made more weighty and effective by
having a perforated stone fastened on the handle.
Here, again, man has been anticipated by Nature, and the
savage of Australia or Africa digs in exactly the same manner
as the common Heart-urchin of our shores, sometimes called the
Hairy Urchin, in consequence of the number and fineness of
the spines, which look just like hairs to the naked eye. ‘The
scientific name of this creature is Amp/hidotus cordatus.
Mr. Gosse, in his “Evenings at the Microscope,” gives so
admirable an account of the mode of digging employed by the
Hairy Urchin that I cannot do better than employ his own
words. After describing the variety of structure of the different
_ spines with which the shell is so thickly set, he proceeds as
follows :—
‘‘ But what is the need of so much care being bestowed upon
the separate motion of these thousands of hair-like spines, that
each should have a special structure, with special muscles for
its individual movement? ‘The hairs of our head we cannot
move individually: why should the Heart-urchin move his ?
“Truly, these hairs are the feet with which he moves. The
animal inhabits the sand at the bottom of the sea in our shallow
bays, and burrows init. By going carefully, with the lens at
your eye, over the shell, you perceive that the spines, though all
formed on a common model, differ considerably in the detail of
their form. I have shown you what may be considered the
average shape, but in some, especially the finer ones that clothe
the sides, the club is slender and pointed ; in others, as in those
behind the mouth, which are the largest and coarsest of all, the
club is dilated into a long, flat spoon; while in the long, much-
bowed spines, which densely crowd upon the back, the form is
almost uniformly taper throughout, and pointed.
“The animal sinks into the sand mouth downwards. The
hard spoons behind the mouth come first into requisition,
scooping away thesand, each acting individually, and throwing
it outwards. Observe how beautifully they are arranged for
THE SPADE. 225
this purpose, diverging from the median line, with the curve
backwards and outwards.
“Similar is the arrangement of the slender side spines;
their curve is still more backwards, the tips arching uniformly
outwards. They take, indeed, exactly the curve which the
fore-paws of a mole possess,—only in a retrograde direction,
since the Urchin sinks backwards,—which has been shown
to be so effective for the excavation of the soil, and the throw-
ing of it outwards.
“Finally, the long spines on the back are suited to reach the
sand on each side, when the creature has descended to its
depth, and by their motion work it in again, covering and con- |
cealing the industrious and effective miner.”
The reader will notice that this mode of digging is exactly
like that which is followed by the users of the Digging-stick,
the earth being first broken up, and the loosened portions
thrown aside. The whole of the description of the spines is
exceedingly interesting, but, as it does not bear directly on the
present subject, I cannot admit it into these pages.
Now comes another development in digging tools.
We have already seen how effective an instrument a mere
piece of stick can be in the hands of a skilful workman, and
the manner in which it can tear up a given depth of soil.
But, for agricultural purposes, something more is needed, and
the ground must not only be broken up, but a certain regu-
larity must be observed, in order to allow space to be accu-
rately measured, and the crop apportioned to the area.
Out of the Digging-stick, then, the Spade was developed, its
chief advantage being that it dispensed with the use of the
bare hands, and not only tore up the ground, but threw out
the loosened soil.
The reader will remember that in the preceding description
of the Heart-urchin it was mentioned that many of the
spines are shaped at their ends something like spoons, and
that their comparatively wide blades are used in scraping the
sand and shovelling it aside. In fact, these flattened spines
are natural spades, used on the same principle as the modern
spade of civilisation.
On the right hand of the illustration are shown two forms of
Q
226 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
spade, the one being the ordinary garden tool, and the other a
rather curious implement which is in great use among the
metal mines of Cornwall. The use of the ordinary spade is too
familiar to need explanation, and we come to the Miner’s spade.
This implement is used rather as a shovel than as a spade, the
peculiar bend near the blade preventing the foot from being
used as a means of forcing the instrument into the ground.
In fact, it is not meant for the same office as that which pertains
to the ordinary spade, neither can it be handled in the same
way.
In Devonshire there is a kind of spade in general use very
much resembling the mining spade, but having a very long
FOOT OF AARD-VARK. FOOT OF MOLE-CRICKET. SPADES.
FOOT OF MOLE.
handle without any crutch at the end. The natural conse-
quence of this shape is, that the spade cannot be used in the
ordinary way, neither can it penetrate the earth to any
depth. It can “peel” the ground, so to speak, and can cut
away successive layers of soil. But as for digging “two
spits deep,” or even one spit, the spade would be absolutely
incapable of such a task, no matter how strong might be the
hands that wield it. As for the foot, it may be put out of the
question. :
WE will now turn to a few examples of spades in the world
of Nature.
The lowest figure represents the fore-paw of the Mole,
MOLE, MOLE-CRICKET, AND ANT-BEAR. 220
with its powerful armature of strong and sharp claws, and its
broad blade of a palm. The reader will easily see that in
this animal the digging powers are wonderfully developed.
The peculiar form of the fore-foot closely resembles that of
the miner’s spade, while the curvature of the palm serves,
almost without exertion, to throw out the earth which has
been scooped away by the sharp claws.
To watch a Mole burrow is really a curious sight, the only
drawback being that the animal sinks itself so rapidly beneath
the earth that a long inspection is impossible. I have kept
several moles for the purpose of watching their habits, and
have always been interested in their mode of burrowing. I
can only define it by using the word ‘scrabbling.” The
animal scurries and hurries about, seeking for a tolerably soft
piece of ground. When it has found one, it travels no further,
but scratches away with its fore-paws with wonderful power
and rapidity, seeming to sink, as it were, into the earth, rather
than to excavate a tunnel.
THERE is ‘an insect well known to entomologists, called the
Mole-cricket, because its structure and many of its habits are
strangely similar to those of the animal from which it derives
itsname. At the upper part of the illustration is seen a portion
of the fore-foot of the Mole-cricket, and a better implement of
excavation can hardly be imagined.
The reader will probably have noticed that in both these
creatures the spade, if we may so call it, is not a mere flat
plate, but is cleft into several points. It thus answers the
purpose of a fork as well as a spade, the several points serving
to break up the soil, and the flat palm to throw the earth
aside.
This principle is carried out even more fully in the fore-
paw of the African Ant-bear, or Aard-vark (Orycteropus
Capensis), a figure of which is given in the illustration. This
animal is a great excavator, living in burrows of such dimen-
sions that the wild boar is in the habit of making its home
in them after they are deserted.
Something more, however, than a digging apparatus is
_ needed for the Ant-bear. This animal feeds almost wholly on
the Termites, which it obtains by tearing down the walls of
Q 2
228 NATURE'S TEACHINGS.
their dwellings. Now, as these wonderful buildings are nearly
as hard as brick, and, indeed, are composed of the same materials,
it is necessary that the claws of the Ant-bear should be modified
so as to be able to break through the walls. Accordingly,
they are much more curved than those of the Mole and the
Mole-cricket, and so serve for tearing as well as digging, being
struck into the wall, and thus pulling it down, just as a
labourer breaks down a bank with his mattock.
Indeed, had we wished to extend these analogies still further,
we might easily have given the claws of the Aard-vark as a
prototype of our English mattock. The same weapons as
possessed by the Ant-bear of tropical America are used in
exactly the same manner, but are even stronger, and extend to
such a length that when the animal walks, it cannot stretch its
claws out in front, but is obliged to double them under its feet.
SHEARS AND SCISSORS.
THESE instruments are sure signs of civilisation, no savage
nations having the least idea of them. Even the Kafir and Esqui-
maux tribes, which are such admirable workers in skin, never
use scissors in shaping their garments, but invariably employ
knives for that purpose. The Chinese, however, seem to have
known scissors from time immemorial, and to have shaped them
almost exactly like our own instruments. I possess one pair
of tailor’s shears from China in which there is only one ring,
namely, that for the thumb. The place of the other ring is
taken by an elongated, slightly curved and moderately pointed
rod. of steel, which is used for tracing the pattern on the material
preparatory to cutting it.
Simple as the scissors may seem, they combine several very
important principles, namely, the inclined plane, the lever, and
the cutting edge. Were they to be merely two edges moving
directly upon each other, their effect would be comparatively
slight; but, owing to the manner in which the blades are fixed
at one end, they are drawn as it were over the object between
them, and so divide it with comparative ease. In some instru-
ments, such as the pruning scissors, there is only one cutting
blade, the other being used merely as a support for the branch
which is being cut.
SHEARS AND SCISSORS. 229
A well-known example of a single cutting blade is found in
the guillotine. In the earliest times of this invention an
ordinary axe-head was suspended above the neck of the criminal.
It was found, however, that its operation was very uncertain,
simply because the blow was a direct one, and not oblique. The
blade was then set obliquely, as in the present machine, and
its effect was absolutely certain.
Perhaps some of my readers may be swordsmen, and there-
fore know the power of the “‘drawing cut,” by which a great effect
may be produced with very little apparent exertion. Even in
the simple operation of cutting bread we always use the knife
diagonally, though perhaps we may be ignorant of the principle
of the inclined plane.
Next comes the principle of the lever, as exemplified by the
handles of the scissors. By lengthening these handles, the
power of the blades is enormously increased, as may be seen in
the various shears in any great iron-works, which cut through
thick iron as if it were butter. Our own garden shears for
trimming borders show very well the power of the long arms
and short blade.
In the animal world we find many examples of natural shears,
one of the best of which is afforded by the jaws of the Tortoise
or Turtle. Owing to the manner in which they feed, whether
they be vegetarians or carnivorous, their jaws are made for
cutting, and not for lacerating or mastication. They have no
teeth, but each jaw is furnished with a horny edge, as sharp as
a knife-blade, and very strongly made. With these jaws the
animal can shred to pieces the objects which it attacks, just as
if it had been furnished with a pair of veritable shears. Any
one who has possessed an ordinary Tortoise must have noticed
the havoc which it will occasionally make in a garden. I had
one of these reptiles for some years, and was obliged to keep it
under restraint, in consequence of the power of its jaws.
Being a Tortoise of discrimination, it took a great fancy to
the strawberry beds, and invariably picked out the ripest and
best-flavoured fruit. Reversing the usual proverb of making
two bites at a cherry, the Tortoise always took two bites at a
strawberry, and sometimes three or four, according to its size.
At last, I was obliged to restrain it by boring a hole in the
230 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
edge of its shell, passing one end of a string through it, and
fastening the other to a peg driven into the ground. At first,
I tied the string to a brick, but the Tortoise was so strong that
it dragged the brick about the garden, leaving reminiscences of
its progress in the channels which it had cut through all kinds
of vegetation with its scissor-like jaws.
The reader, in comparing the illustration of the Turtle-jaws
with that of the Shears, will see at once how exact is the
analogy between the two. The sharp-edged jaws correspond
with the blades of the shears, the joint at the skull corresponds
with the pivot of the shears, and the muscles which move the
JAWS OF TURTLE. SHEARS.
jaws, but which could not be shown in the present illustration,
are the prototypes of the handles.
In some of these creatures, especially those which are car-
nivorous, the power of the jaw is tremendous. One of them,
a Snapping Turtle, has been ‘known to bite off several fingers
of a man’s hand as easily as if they had been carrots. Some
years ago I kept some Chicken ‘Tortoises alive, and was much
struck with the enormous proportionate power of their jaws.
They were quite little creatures, only a few inches in length,
but their appetites were astonishing, and their mode of
satisfying their hunger remarkable. They were always
ravenous after meat, and had a curious way of seizing their
food in their mouths, placing one paw on either side of their
jaws, and then pushing the meat forcibly away, so as to cut
out a slice as large as their jaws.
They were very good-tempered little things, but, small
though they were, I should have been very sorry to have one
of them take a bite at my finger by mistake.
LEAF-CUTTER BEES. 231
Knowing their general characteristics, I took care not to
have any living creature in the same vessel. But I have heard,
from those who have had practical experience, that Chicken
Tortoises ought to be banished from any place wherein fish
are kept, especially if they be gold fish, the Tortoise having a
way of coming quietly beneath them, biting out a mouthful of
their bodies, and then disappearing with its booty.
BzsiDE the Tortoise, there are many creatures which possess
natural shears, such as the Locust, whose ravages are only too
notorious. ‘Then, taking our own country, we have plenty of
examples of insect shears. Such is to be found in the jaws of
the Cockchafer larva, or “White Grub” as it is popularly called.
Tt lives underground, and feeds chiefly on the roots of herbage,
shredding them to pieces with its shear-like jaws. And, as it
spends on the average three years in the one task of perpetual
eating, the damage which it does can be easily imagined.
There is a very pretty English insect which admirably
exemplifies the power of the natural scissors. This is the
Great Green Grasshopper (Acrida viridissima), which is equally
voracious in all its stages of existence. It is always ready to
use these jaws, and I do not recommend the reader to allow his
finger to get between them, or their points will probably
meet.
One of these insects, indeed (Decticus griseus), has derived
the name of Wart-biter from its supposed use in curing warts.
All that was needful was to catch a Wart-biter, and hold one
of the warts to its jaws. It was sure to seize the wart,
and bite it smartly, and there was a firm belief that any one
thus bitten would be freed from the unsightly excrescence.
The bite of the shear-like jaws caused much pain at the time,
and this very pain had in all probability something to do with
the cure.
Aw admirable example of the insect jaws used as scissors is
to be found in the well-known Leaf-cutter Bees, insects belong-
ing to the genus Megachile.
They make their nests in burrows, sometimes in wood, and
sometimes in the ground, and form them in a very singular
manner. After fixing upon a suitable burrow, the Bee goes off
200 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
to a tree, generally a rose, and, using her jaws just as a tailor
uses his shears, cuts off a nearly semicircular piece of leaf, flies
away with it to her home, and, by dint of bending, pushing,
and pulling it, she forces it to the bottom of the cell. Suc-
cessive pieces of leaf follow, until she has made a thimble-
shaped cell, and she then places at its end an egg and a supply
of honey and pollen.
Cell after cell succeeds, each being introduced into its prede-
cessor just as thimbles are packed. Judging from a specimen
in my collection, there are about eight layers of leaves to form
the walls of the cell, and the average length of each piece of
leaf rather exceeds half an inch. ‘The entire length of the
cell-group is two inches and a half. The leaf-slices are always
cut from the edge, and, in my specimen of the nest, the serrated
outer edges of the leaves are all in one direction.
Should any of my readers find one of these nests, it will be
as well for them to dip a needle point into diamond cement,
and introduce it under the outermost coating of leaves. Other-
wise, when the leaves are dry, and the insects break their way
into the open air, the cells will probably fall to pieces.
These Bees are much more abundant than is usually thought.
In summer-time it is hardly possible to find a rose-bush on
which are not a number of leaves from which pieces of variable
size and shape, but always with a curved outline, have been
cut as with scissors. While cutting them, the Bee seems to
trace out her pattern, as it were, by using her feet like one leg
of a pair of compasses, and her head as the other leg. As
soon as she has nearly finished the operation, she poises herself
on the wing, to prevent her weight from tearing away the leaf
irregularly, and then, while still on the wing, makes the last
few bites, and severs the leaf entirely.
THE CHISEL AND THE ADZE.
ALREADY we have seen how exact is the analogy between
the scissors and the turtle-jaw. As we are upon the subject of
cutting instruments, we will continue it, trying to discover
some further analogies. |
On the right hand of the illustrations we see three cutting
tools made by human hands—.e. the Chisel, the Stone Adze of
THE CHISEL. 233
Polynesia, and the Steel Adze of this country. We begin with
the Chisel.
All those who have even a slight knowledge of anatomy
know how curiously exact is the resemblance of the Chisel of
civilised life to the front tooth of any Rodent animal. The
head of the Beaver is here given as an example, but the tooth
of a mouse, rat, or rabbit, which can easily be obtained, is
quite as good an example. These teeth are made after a very
beautiful fashion. Their outer surface is covered with a plate
of very hard enamel, while the rest of the tooth is of bony
matter, and comparatively soft. Consequently, when the tooth
is used, the enamel plate forms a sharp edge, while the rest of
it is worn away, thus keeping the chisel-like end in its proper
form.
The power of these teeth may be appreciated by any one
who has been bitten even by so small a rodent as a mouse, the
TOOTH AND JAWS OF BEAVER. CHISEL.
sharp edges meeting in the flesh, and causing a very painful
wound. When the teeth are large, as in the Beaver, and the
jaws powerful, their force is something wonderful, tree-trunks
of considerable size being cut down quite easily.
Perhaps some of my readers may not be aware that the
Chisel is constructed on exactly the same principle as the tooth
of the Rodent animal. It is not entirely made of steel, as is
generally thought. In the first place, a valuable material
would be needlessly wasted, and, in the next place, the tool
would not keep its edge except with infinite labour in grinding.
The principal part of the Chisel-blade is therefore made of
soft iron, a very thin plate of steel running along the back.
This plate answers the same purpose as the enamel in the tooth,
while the soft iron takes the place of the soft bone. Axe-
blades, which are, in fact, formed like two chisels placed back
to back, are made on a similar principle, except that the steel
234 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
plate occupies the centre of the blade, and the soft iron is on
either side. Thus the thin plate of steel is easily brought to an
edge, while the soft iron can be ground away without any diffi-
culty.
I do not mean to state that the inventor of this combination
of thin steel and soft iron had taken his idea from the Rodent
tooth, but only to show that the invention, beautiful, simple,
and ingenious as it is, has its prototype in Nature. I may
here mention that the Plane-iron, which is, in fact, a modified
Chisel, is made in exactly the same fashion.
NExtT we come to the Adze.
In some respects there is much resemblance between the
blade of the Adze and the teeth of the Rodent, especially in
their curve, which is almost identical in both. This form is
ADZE-TEETH OF HIPPOPOTAMUS. STONE ADZE OF POLYNESIA.
STEEL ADZE.
seen in the structure of other teeth than those of Rodents.
There is, for example, the tooth of the Hippopotamus, which is
not only curved, like that of the Rodent, but bevelled off in a
similar way at the tip. With these formidable teeth, one of
which is now before me, the Hippopotamus makes terrible
havoc among the herbage, mowing it down, so to speak, and
stowing it away wholesale inits enormous stomach. A Hippo-
potamus indeed, when angered, has been known to sever a
man’s body completely in two with a single bite, so trenchant
are the teeth, and so powerful the jaws.
Then there is a little animal called the Hyrax, or Rock-
rabbit, which is the coney of Scripture. This creature is really
one of the pachydermatous group, although its small size, hairy
coat, its activity among the rocks, and its apparently rodent
THE PLANE. 200
teeth, have induced many persons to place it among that group.
These teeth, however, like those of the Hippopotamus, are
bevelled off at their tips, and, as they perform a similar office,
they take a similar curve.
It is worthy of notice that in the Stone Adze the bevelled
edge much more resembles the rodent tooth than does the
Steel Adze, the reason being evidently that stone is more
fragile than steel, and requires greater thickness. Still, the
principle is the same in both, only the metal is more attenuated
than the stone.
The Rodent or Hippopotamus tooth has still a great
advantage over any chisel or adze made by man, whether of
stone or metal. As our tools are blunted, we are forced to
spend much time in sharpening them, and by degrees grind
the tool away until it becomes useless. Now, the teeth are so
arranged that their perpetual use, instead of blunting, only
sharpens them, and in proportion as they are worn away in
front they are supplied with fresh matter from behind, and per-
petually pushed forwards, so that they are self-renewing as
well as self-sharpening.
Tur PLANE AND SPOKESHAVE.
I HAVE already made mention of the Plane in connection
with the Chisel, and shown that, like that tool, it is formed on
the same principle as the Rodent tooth.
The use of this important instrument in carpentering can-
not be overrated, as is shown by the numberless varieties
which are used by carpenters, and the different uses to which
they are put, sometimes merely smoothing a level surface,
and sometimes forming a ‘‘moulding”’ where ornament is
required.
In principle, a Plane is a cutting edge or chisel, pushed along
the object to be worked, and, the edge being guarded, taking
off a very thin shaving from the surface.
On the right hand of the accompanying illustration is
shown the Plane in action, with the thin shavings falling from
it in curled masses. Perhaps some of my readers may have
visited some of the great iron-works, and been struck with the
use of the Plane as applied to metal instead of wood, long iron
236 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
shavings being taken off as easily as if they were deal, and
curling in just the same manner. ;
THERE is an instrument very familiar to carpenters, called
the Spokeshave, on account of its use in trimming the spokes
of wheels. Different as it may be in appearance, it is identical
in principle with the plane, having an edge guarded by a piece
of wood, so that the blade cannot cut too deeply into the object
on which itis employed. The chief distinction, indeed, is, that
the workman, instead of pushing the blade from him, draws it
to him.
When shaving was more in fashion than it is in these more
=
hy kage —\V
HOOP-SHAVER BEE. PLANE.
SPOKESHAVE.
sensible days, there were many inventions to lessen the trouble,
not to say the perils, of shaving. To use the razor in a hurry
was anything but an agreeable occupation, especially if the
weather were frosty, and the fingers so chilled that they hardly
knew whether or not they had the razor between them.
In order to render this very unpleasant task less disagreeable,
some ingenious individual invented the Guard Razor. ‘The
principal part of the invention consisted in a plate of metal
sufficiently thin not to add materially to the weight of the
razor, and sufficiently strong to resist a moderate amount of
pressure. This was fixed along the blade of the razor in such
a way that it just allowed the edge to show itself, and, in fact,
THE HOOP-SHAVER BEE. Zor
converted the razor into a plane or spokeshave. The exact
amount of edge which might be shown was regulated by screws,
and the guard itself could be removed at pleasure, so as to
allow of the razor being sharpened.
Now let us see if we can find any examples of the Plane or
Spokeshave in Nature.
I trace at least one example of the Plane in the insect
world. More than a hundred years ago, that very observant
naturalist, Gilbert White, noticed a bee performing a curious
task. She was running up the stem of the garden campion,
holding her jaws extended, and stripping off the down with
all the dexterity of a hoop-shaver. She collected a bundle
nearly as large as herself, and then flew away with it. What
she did with her burden he knew not, but the history of the
insect has been told fully, though briefly, by Mr. F. Smith, in
his ‘‘ Catalogue of British Hymenoptera :”—
*«« Although the species belonging to this genus are numerous,
and are found both in the Old and New World, there is only
one found in this country, Anthidium manicatum ; this is truly
a summer bee, not making its appearance before the latter part
of June or beginning of July.
“This insect, so far as my own observation has enabled me to
ascertain, does not construct its own burrow, but makes use of
any hole which is adapted to its purpose. I once detected a
bee entering the hole above the wheel of the sash-line in a
summer-house ; but its nests are most commonly formed in the
holes bored in old willow stumps by Cossus ligniperda (the Goat-
moth) : formerly they were easily obtained in Battersea Fields,
where the willows abounded.
“Tt is probable that when the parent insect has selected one
of these ready-formed tunnels, she enlarges the end used as the
depository of the nest, and this is easily effected, as the stumps
in question, at the depth of a couple of inches, consist of soft
decayed wood.
“The chamber being formed, the bee collects a quantity of
down from woolly-stemmed plants, with which she forms an
outer coating. She then constructs a number of cells for the
reception of the pollen, or food of the larva; they consist of a
woolly material, mixed with some glutinous matter which
238 NATURE'S TEACHINGS.
resists the moisture of the food they contain, and in which the
larva, being full fed, spins a brown silken cocoon. These bees
pass the winter in a larva state, and do not appear until mid-
summer.
“In one respect, the sexes of this genus differ from most
other bees, the males being much larger than the females.”
The reader will see from this account how exact is the’
analogy between the carpenter’s plane and the jaws of the bee.
In consequence of the simile employed by Mr. White, the
insect has been popularly known by the title of the Hoop-shaver
Bee. It is a tolerably common insect, and abounds in the
South of England.
PTOOLS:
a
CHAPTER II.
THE SAW AND ITS VARIETIES.
Cutting Tools and their working.—Structure of the Edge.—The Kris.—Edge of
a Razor.—The Sword and the Apple.—Australian Saw.—Fretwork Saw.—
Various Saw-flies—The Pioneer’s Saw.—Cutting Tools of Trichiosoma.—
Side Teeth of the Saws.—The Cordon Saw, or Band Saw.—Tooth-ribbon of
Whelks, Slugs, and other Moiluscs.—The Dog-whelk, or Purpura.—The
Circular Saw.—Sawyer-beetles and their Mode of Work.
Se keeping to the Cutting Tools and their varieties, we
come to the Saw, ze. the cutting tool set with teeth upon
its edge. Now, in plain fact, there is no cutting instrument
that does not more or less partake of the character of the Saw ;
for, in the first place, it is absolutely impossible for man to
grind an edge so fine that, when magnified, it will not appear
to be deeply notched, and, in the next place, its cutting powers
are greatly due to the notches and teeth, and the direction of
their points.
We will take both these subjects in turn.
First, as to the notches, or serrated edge. I have now before
me two instruments, each the best of their kind, and in both
of which the serrations are essential to efficacy. The first is a
Malayan dagger, or “kris,” and the second is a surgeon’s
lancet, made by Ferguson, of London.
In the kris the edge is intentionally serrated, having been
eaten away by means of acids until the required effect was
produced. The Malayans know by experience that such an
edge is most deadly in a weapon, and that it will cut certain
vital parts which a smoother edge might pass without doing
any damage.
Now we will take the lancet, and put it under the micro-
240 NATURE'S TEACHINGS
scope, when it assumes the most curious resemblance to the
kris. Its mirror-like surface looks as if it had been very roughly
treated with a coarse file, while its thin and delicate edge,
which is perfectly smooth to the eye, and which will pass
through a piece of stretched .wash-leather without any apparent
opposition, becomes as rough and jagged as that of the Malayan
weapon.
Take even, for example, the common butcher’s knife, which
is perpetually being sharpened on the “steel” that hangs at
his belt. The reader may observe that the butcher does not
rub the blade of his knife backwards and forwards on the steel,
as unskilful persons do. Rapid as is the movement gained by
constant practice, any one may see that the blade is always
moved in one direction, so as to force the microscopical teeth to
point one way, and so to act as a saw when the knife is drawn
across the meat.
The power of these teeth or notches may be inferred from
a well-known fact. Ifa razor, no matter how sharp, be pressed
upon the human skin without any “draw,” it will indent the
skin, but not cut it, while the slightest drawing movement will
cause a deep wound. It is the knowledge of this fact that
enables an expert swordsman to sever an apple placed on the
palm of the bare hand, without even scratching the skin. I
have witnessed this feat, and at once saw that it was due to the
absence of any ‘“‘draw” to the cut. The apple was laid on the
palm of the hand, which was opened as widely as possible, so
as to flatten it. The sword was then brought down on the apple
with a sort of chopping movement, so thas although it indented
the skin, it did not even inflict a scratch.
By the use of the “drawing” movement, the same sword
severed a gauze veil laid across it, the two halves floating in
opposite directions. By the same cut, I have seen some asto-
nishing feats performed with an Indian sword now in my collec-
tion, the objects of attack falling asunder as if by magic, without
any apparent force being used.
Havine now glanced at the principle cf the Saw, we will
proceed to some of its details.
The simplest form of Saw in existence is that which is in use
among the Australian natives, and consists of obsidian flakes
NATURAL SAWS. 241
set along one side of a stick. It looks a rude and inefficient
affair enough, but it can cut better than might have been
thought, as I can testify from experiments on such a saw in
my collection.
Many as are the varieties of the Saw, the principle is the
same in all, and the chief distinction les in the shape and
arrangement of the teeth, according to the work which they
have to do. Watch-spring Saws, for example, which have to
cut metal, have their teeth so slight as to be hardly per-
ceptible, and arranged nearly in a line with each other. The
Fretwork Saws, which have to cut delicate patterns in wood,
SAW OF COMMON SAW-FLY (MAGNIFIED). HAND-SAW-
GROOVES CUT BY SAW IN BARK. TENON SAW.
PIONEER’S SAW-SWORD,.
with the slightest possible waste of material, are of the same
character. Then we have the long curved teeth of the
Circular Saws, which tear their way savagely through great
tree-trunks, and fill the air with clouds of sawdust. There
are also the Tenon Saw, with its thin blade and broad back ;
the pioneer’s saw for cutting green wood, with its double
array of teeth, so as to make a wide “kerf” in which it shall
not be clogged; together with many others that we cannot
enumerate here.
WE will now examine some Saws as found in Nature.
I need scarcely say that some of the best examples of natural
saws are furnished by those insects which are known to ento-
mologists as Tenthredinide, and to the general world as Saw-
flies. These insects are supplied by Nature with a pair of
R
242 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
most remarkable saws, which aid them in depositing their
eggs. Indeed, without these instruments, the whole race of
Saw-flies would long ago have become extinct.
They haunt almost every kind of tree and many plants, and
one valuable plant, the Turnip, is so devastated by them, that
whole crops are sometimes swept away. As, therefore, the
knowledge of the life-history of any insect will tell us whether
to protect or destroy it, and the best method of adopting
either course, we will cast a hasty glance at some of our
commonest Saw-flies, the instruments which they employ,
the mode in which they use them, and the analogies between
them and the saws made by the hand of man.
In the first place, it must be observed that the use of these
saws is to cut grooves in young bark, these grooves being the ©
depositories of their eggs. It follows, therefore, that as a
tolerably wide groove is needed, the saw-blade is a tolerably
thick one, and the teeth set on the same principle as that which
is employed in the saw-sword of the pioneer. When the
microscope is applied to the cutting instrument of the Saw-fly,
it reveals the fact that there are two horny saws, which work
alternately in their grooves, and that they are strengthened by
a thick plate of horn on their backs.
The system of toothing is very complicated. Not only are the
sides as well as the edges of the saws toothed, but each tooth is
furnished with smaller teeth, after the fashion of the shark’s
wonderfully effective cutting apparatus. These subsidiary teeth
vary greatly in shape and size according to the species, and in
some cases each tooth is quite a complicated structure. In
Trichiosoma lucorum, for example, a bee-like insect, very common
upon hawthorn, the teeth are extremely beautiful. It is
difficult to describe them without diagrams, but I will try to
give the reader an idea of them.
Each tooth is somewhat of a lancet shape, but is not termi-
nated by a single point. At the tip comes the secondary tooth,
which is conical and stands on a footstalk. The cone, however,
is not simple, but is made of some seven or eight cutting plates,
each smaller than its predecessor, and the last being a sharp
conical point. The reader may imagine how effective such a
saw would be in cutting green wood, the toothed sides and the
subsidiary teeth alike preventing the blades from clogging, while
SAW-FLIES. 243
the alternate movement of the saws enables them to do double
work in the same time.
Mr. Westwood, who examined these insects very closely,
throws out, in his ‘‘ Modern Classification of Insects,” the idea
which forms the subject of this book. Writing of the cutting
weapon of the Saw-flies, he remarks that “from its admirable
construction it cannot be doubted that a careful examination of
its various modifications might furnish ideas for improved
mechanical instruments.”
Mr. Gosse, in his “ Evenings at the Microscope,” points out
that, beautiful and elaborate as these instruments are, they are
but the sheaths of a still finer and more delicate pair of saws.
These secondary saws have only a few teeth on the edge, and
these near the point, whereas the sides are furnished with a
number of sharp blades, set on their edges, slightly over-
lapping each other, and directed backwards. Thereis a similar
structure on the ovipositor of the Sirex, as we shall see when
we come to treat of Boring Instruments.
Although the saws are made expressly so that they shall not
stick in the wood, there are many instances known where
female Saw-flies have. been found dead on the branches, their
saws still in the last groove which they have cut. I am inclined.
to think that these must be females which have deposited all
their eggs, and which have died, as do nearly all insects under
similar circumstances. This opinion is strengthened by some
observations made by Mr. J. K. Lord on the Cicada, the female
of which is furnished with a similar ovipositor :—
“‘T was curious to watch the female depositing her eggs.
“She first clasps the branch on both sides with her legs, and
with the ends of the file very carefully slits up the bark.
Then, placing the instrument longitudinally, she files away
until she has obtained sufficient length and breadth. The
small teeth of the files are now.used crosswise of this fissure,
until a trench is made in the soft pith.
“ When large enough, slowly down the groove in the centre
of the instrument glides a small pearly egg, pointed at both
ends, and so transparent that the little grub within is clearly
discernible. Gently she lays it within its bed, and then drops
a thin gummy material on it, to secure it from moisture. This
finished, she proceeds to deposit another, and so on, until a
Bae
244 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
sufficient number are produced to fill the fissure; then over all
she drags the everted bark. It is easy to perceive where the
Cicada has been concealing her brood, by the elevation on the
branch.
“In this manner she deposits about seven hundred eggs,
going from branch to branch, her marvellous instinct teaching
her to select the most suitable wood for the purpose. The time
occupied in constructing each nest was from fifteen to twenty
minutes. Her earthly mission finished, she drops, fainting and
exhausted, from the branch, and dies.
‘“The male, who is always trilling his refraim, goes on,
indifferent, or unconscious, that the task of his faithful spouse
is finished, singing even, until his time comes—then he too
drops beside her. ‘Thus the songs one by one cease,—not only
the Cicada’s, but all the forest choir, and give place to blasts that
sigh in mournful music through the leafless trees.”
The Sirex and several of the larger Ichneumon-flies are often
found dead in like manner, and I have no doubt from the same
cause. An elaborate description of the beautiful double saws of
the Cicada is given by Mr. Westwood in the work already
quoted, together with illustrations.
THE Rippon Saw, Corpon or Banp Saw.
PERHAPS some of my readers may be acquainted with a saw
which has of late years come into extensive use—namely, the
Ribbon Saw, Cordon Saw, or Band Saw. ‘This is an endless
steel band toothed on one edge, and passing over two wheels.
It has the advantage of being of almost any breadth, some
being several inches wide, while others are mere narrow
ribbons, barely the sixth of an inch wide. The fretwork of
pianos and other articles of furniture is cut almost exclu-
sively by the Cordon Saw. A thick piece of wood is cut
of the requisite shape, and the upper and under surfaces planed
quite true to each other. The pattern is traced on the upper
surface, and a very narrow Cordon Saw is then applied to it,
cutting completely through the thick block, and adapting itself
to all the intricacies of the pattern. The block is then cut into
thin slices, so that a number of pieces of fretwork can be made
THE RIBBON SAW. 245
with comparative ease. ‘To those who have been accustomed to
cutting fretwork with the slow hand-saw, the Cordon Saw is
simply fascinating, the slender steel ribbon cutting through the
wood with wonderful rapidity and very little sound.
BEAUTIFUL as this invention is, it was long ago anticipated
in Nature; and the Cordon Saws, which we shall now see, are
armed with teeth many more in number, and far more compli-
cated in detail, than those of any saw made by the hand of
man. [ allude to the Tooth-ribbon possessed by many of our
common molluscs, such as the Limpet, the Whelk, the Peri-
winkle, the Slug, &c. The last mentioned of these creatures
possesses a natural Cordon Saw with nearly twenty-seven thou-
4
——= = AQ
—Ae Zz - a\ IN
SPZ>
PORTION OF TOOTH-RIBBON OF WHELK RIBBON OR CORDON SAW.
(HIGHLY MAGNIFIED).
sand teeth, and scarcely a tooth that is not elaborately cut into
secondary teeth.
As all these creatures have their teeth differently formed and
set, according to the species, it will be impossible to describe
them separately. I will therefore restrict myself to the Tooth-
ribbon of the common Whelk, a specimen of which is now
before me. When viewed through the microscope, it is found
to consist of a flat membranous ribbon, on which are set three
rows of teeth, those of the outer row being hooked, and those
of the inner one plain.
The outer teeth are formed somewhat like the Hebrew
letter >, both of the points being very sharp, and the central
part being furnished with two secondary teeth. All these
246 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
teeth overlap each other, so that some care in manipulation is
required before their form can be made out. :
Along the centre of the tooth-ribbon run successive rows of
small, lancet-shaped teeth, six in a row, so that altogether there —
are eight teeth in each row.
The power of this weapon is astonishing. Some of my
readers may be aware that Whelks are carnivorous beings, and
inat they swarm upon any dead animal which may be found in
the sea. Indeed, when we hear of the mutilations which take
place on dead corpses after a shipwreck, and which are generally
attributed to fishes, we may make up our minds that the real
delinquents are the Whelks, together with various crustacea,
and that the principal instrument in effecting such mutilation
is the tooth-ribbon which has just been described.
The Whelks feed largely upon other molluscs, in spite of
their shells. A periwinkle has a peculiarly hard shell, and yet
Mr. Rymer Jones saw a Dog-whelk (Purpura lapillus) eat a
periwinkle in a single afternoon, first boring a hole through its
shell with the tooth-ribbon, and then, by means of the same
weapon, licking it, so to speak, out of its shell.
The Periwinkle itself has a similar tooth-ribbon, and so have
the Limpet and the pretty Top-shell. These creatures are
vegetarians, but they are furnished with similarly armed
tongues, and use them in the same way. Nothing is easier
than to see these tooth-ribbons in use. When sea-water is
kept in glass vessels, a green flocculence is sure to collect upon
the glass and to render it opaque.
If, however, a few Periwinkles and Top-shells are placed in
the tank, they immediately set to work at this confervoid growth,
and by means of the tooth-ribbon sweep off the green sub-
stance, leaving the glass nearly clean. This movement can be
seen with the naked eye, but with the assistance of a pocket
lens the action of the tooth-ribbon is beautifully shown as it
issues from its socket, makes its sweeping curve, with the tiny
teeth glittering like specks of glass, and then is withdrawn
ready for another sweep.
Should sea-water and living Periwinkles not be easily
obtained, the same phenomenon may be observed in fresh
water, and with the common Pond-snail, which may be caught
by thousands in any stream and in most ponds.
THE CIRCULAR SAW. 247
THE CrircuLaR Saw.
In one sense the Cordon Saw is a Circular Saw, but we now
restrict the name to the tool which has a circular blade, more
or less deeply toothed on the edge. The largest and coarsest
of these saws are of enormous diameter, have teeth several
inches in length, and can cut a large tree-trunk asunder in a
wonderfully short time.
There is a huge saw of this kind in Chatham Dockyard.
It is kept in a sort of cellar covered with flap doors, where it
really has the air of some dread monster lying in wait for prey.
A tree-trunk is brought for it to feed upon. The doors slowly
open, the saw emerges, revolves so fast that the eye cannot
detect the teeth, seizes on the tree-trunk, tears its way through
SAWYER=BEETLE. CIRCULAR SAW-
with a scream and roar, and then sinks back into its cellar.
I have often watched this saw in action, and have never been
able to get over a kind of feeling that it was alive.
Now, if we suppose the saw to be pierced in the centre, and
to have teeth on the inside instead of the outside, it would be
equally efficacious ; and, indeed, we have several tools used for
cutting iron bars or pipes, that are constructed on a similar
principle, though the cutting tooth revolves slowly instead of
rapidly, and is urged by a lever handle.
THERE is in Nature a Circular Saw of just such a character,
the teeth having their points directed inwards, and not out-
wards.
- 248 NATURE'S TEACHINGS.
In tropical America there are several large beetles which,
like our Stag-beetle, feed upon the sap of trees, and obtain it
by wounding the young branches with their jaws.
One or two of them are pointed out as having the power of
cutting a branch completely off by seizing it in their deeply
toothed jaws, and flying round and round the branch so as to
convert themselves into a circular saw. The-late Mr. Waterton
showed me a branch which had fallen on his head, and which
was said to have been cut off by the Sawyer-beetle, as the
insect is called.. He did not actually see the insect at work,
but he had no doubt that the natives were right who told him
that it was the work of beetles’ jaws. Certainly the cut looked
exactly as if it had been made in the way described. The
branch was somewhat thicker than an ordinary walking-stick.
TOOLS.
CHAPTER II.
BORING TOOLS.—STRIKING TOOLS.—GRASPING TOOLS.
Tke Bradawl and the Gimlet defined.—Natural Bradawls.—The Ichneumon-fies.
—A Pimpla engaged in Boring Operations.—Principle of the Wedge.—
Resisting Power of Earth.—Pitching Tents in Sand.—Hidden Forces of
Nature.—The Aloe-leaf and its Growth.—A cruel Punishment.—Natural
Gimlets.—Ovipositor of the Sirex, and its Analogy to a Carpenter’s Gimlet.—
The Auger and the Gad-fly.—Striking Tools.—The Hammer.—Origin and
Development of the Tool.—The Axe.—The Woodpecker and the Nuthatch.—
The Ivory-billed Woodpecker.—Grasping Tools.—Pincers and their Modi-
fications.—Sugar-tongs and Coal-tongs.—Natural Pincers.—Bivalve Mol-
luscs.—The Clam’s Grip.—The Harwig.—Crab and Lobster Claws.
BortneG Too .s.
«haste in importance to the edged tools which cut, come the
pointed tools by which holes can be bored. We have
an abundance of such tools, but they can all be reduced to
two types, namely, those which, like the Bradawl, are forced
between the fibres, and. those which, like the Gimlet, cut away
the material as they pass through it.
They may, again, be shown to be different modifications of
a single principle—.e. that of the Wedge or Inclined Plane,
which, as has already been shown,,is identical with that of the
screw. The Bradawl is, in fact, a sharp wedge, which is forced
through the fibres, sometimes being merely forced between
them, and sometimes cutting them, and thus forcing aside the
severed fibres.
A natural example of the Bradawl is to be found in various
Ichneumon-flies, especially those with very long ovipositors,
which are intended for boring into wood.
All the Ichneumons are parasitic, laying their eggs in the
laryee of other insects, mostly those of moths and butterflies.
250 NATURE'S TEACHINGS.
Generally these larvee exist in the open air, and the _Ichneumon-
fly has little difficulty in piercing them. But there are some
which live either in wood or underground, and, in order to
reach their hidden bodies, the Ichneumon is furnished with an
extremely long and sharply pointed ovipositor.
This wonderful instrument is not so thick as an ordinary
horsehair, although it is composed of three portions, and
seems to be utterly inadequate to the task which it has to per-
form. Ascertaining by its instinct the exact locality of the
caterpillar which it desires to pierce, the Ichneumon-fly clings
firmly to the tree, bends the body so as to bring the point of
the ovipositor against the wood, and, by moving the abdomen
backwards and forwards, gradually works the instrument into
the wood, sometimes piercing it to a considerable depth.
Mr. Westwood once saw an Ichneumon-fly thus boring its
way into a dry post, the wood of which must have been very
hard. When she had bored far enough, she partially withdrew |
the ovipositor, and then re-plunged it into the hole that she had
made, as if she were depositing eggs. While engaged in this
operation, she stood very high on her long legs, resting only on
the extremities of the feet. She belonged to the genus Pimpla.
THE principle of the Wedge or Inclined Plane is admirably
shown by objects which we pass unheeded every day, and yet
afford wonderful examples of the power of the wedge.
Scarcely any vegetable growth is so plentiful as grass, which
has been used in that sense by the highest of all authorities,
‘which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven.” Grass
forces its way everywhere—not only in cultivated grounds, but
in the wildest of lands, where there is scarcely any nurture for it.
Even among the habitations of mankind the grass will have its
way, and clothes deserted housetops with verdure, and forces
itself between the stones that pave neglected streets.
Place side by side some of these stones, together with a very
young and tender Grass-blade, and it will seem to be impos-
sible that so fragile an object should be able to exert any influ-
ence on the solid stone. Let any one try to push a sharp
skewer between the stones, and he will find that he has to
exert power sufficient to crush a thousand grass-blades. Yet
these slight and delicate objects will force themselves between
THE WEDGE. 251
the stones, and sometimes to such an extent as to cover the
whole roadway with verdure.
The force which is employed is simply marvellous, and can
only be appreciated by those who know the resisting power of
earth, however dry and loose it may be. Even sand has so
strong a resistance that tents can be pitched in the desert with-
out difficulty. Of course the ordinary tent-peg would be use-
less, but the desert dwellers can pitch their tents with perfect
security. They fasten the tent-rope to a branch or piece of
bush, scrape a hole in the sand, put the bush into the hole,
GRASS=BLADES.- WEDGE.
cover it up again, and it will withstand almost any strain,
though it be only covered with a few inches of sand.
When miners blast rocks with gunpowder, they take advan-
tage of the resisting power of sand. They bore a suitable hole,
place a charge of gunpowder at the bottom, and then merely
pour loose sand into the hole until it is filled. When the
powder explodes, the rock or coal is shattered to pieces, but the
sand is not blown out of the hole. This operation is called
“ tamping.”
Every one, again, knows how firm are gate-posts, and how
they resist the weight, jarring, and leverage of a heavy gate,
all because they are sunk a little way into the earth.
Considering, therefore, that such fragile things as young
grass-blades can force their way through the superincumbent
weight, we can but be amazed at the aggregate of active force
which is in full operation in every pasture field and garden
lawn. :
As far as I know, not being much of a botanist, every seed
that springs up does soon the wedge principle, though the form
of the wedge may be varied.
252 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
A terrible example of the force which is exercised by this —
principle among the vegetables is shown in some parts of
the world where the Aloe flourishes in a wild state. In our
colder clime the Aloe, though it does live in the open air, is a
slow-growing plant. But, in its own land, it shoots up with
a surprising vigour, and its sharply pointed and saw-edged
leaves are said to grow to the extent of six inches in a single
night.
Taking advantage of this rapid, and, at the same time, powerful
erowth, the natives, when they want to punish a man with
more than ordinary severity, tie him hand and foot, and bind him
to the earth just over a sprouting aloe plant, and leave him
there. In twenty-four hours the man is nearly certain to be
dead, the aloe-leaf having forced itself completely through his
body. Or, if he be not actually dead, he lives in frightful
tortures, which are continually increased by the flinty point
and notches forcing themselves slowly, but surely, through the
body.
For an example of the Gimlet we may take the ovipositor of
the Sirex, an insect which I believe has no popular name. It
is coloured much after the same manner as the hornet, and is
often mistaken for that insect by those who are not versed in
entomology. And, as its long and straight ovipositor is gene-
rally taken for a hornet’s sting, the insect assumes a double
terror to the ignorant. ©
Now, the real fact is, that in its larval stage of existence the
Sirex feeds upon the wood of the fir-tree—a diet which, to
our ideas, is about as unsatisfactory as can well be imagined.
In order that the young Sirex may be within reach of food, the
egg must be introduced deeply into the body of the tree, and,
for the egg to be so received, a channel must be cut for it.
This is done by means of the marvellously formed ovipositor.
Many admirable descriptions have been given of the head of
this instrument and its boring powers, but I am not aware that
any one has noticed the secondary cutting blales that are set
along the shaft of the principal borer, and which answer exactly
the same purpose as the spiral cutting edge of the gimlet or
auger.
Not being desirous of repeating my own observations in dif-
BORING TOOL OF THE SIREX. 23
ferent words, I transfer to these pages a short account of the
ovipositor of the Sirex, as examined by me when writing my
work on British Insects, entitled “‘ Insects at Home,” and pub-
lished by Messrs. Longmans and Co. :—
“T very strongly recommend any of my readers who may
obtain .a female Sirex to disengage the actual borer from its
two-bladed sheath, and examine it with the aid of a microscope.
A half-inch object-glass will give quite a sufficient power.
CSTRUS. AUGERS. BRADAWLS.
BORING TOOL OF SIREX AND LARVA.
“Tt is straight, stiff, and elastic, as if made of steel, and, if
bent, will spring back to its proper form with the elasticity of
a Toledo rapier. |
“But the borer possesses an auxiliary cutting apparatus
which places it far above the rymer in point of efficacy. Even
with an ordinary magnifying lens, it is easy to see that the end
of the borer is developed into a sharp head, very much
resembling that of a boarding-pike, and that the outline of the
shaft is broken into a series of notches.
“The half-inch glass, however, discloses a marvellous
example of mechanical excellence. The head of the borer is
then seen to be armed with long, sharp teeth, slightly curved
a and acting just as does the carpenter’s ordinary centre-
1t.
“So much for the head of the borer: we will now turn to
the shaft.
204 NATURE'S TEACHINGS.
“Tt appears that, in order to make a clean-cut hole for the
reception of the egg, the shaft of the borer has to finish the
task which the head begins. Accordingly, it is armed on each
of its sides with a series of hard, sharp-edged ridges, running —
diagonally across it, and acting exactly as do the sharp ridges
of a coffee-mill.”’
In point of fact, the ovipositor of the Sirex is the natural
type of the improved gimlet of the present day. Instead, how-
ever, of having a single, spiral, sharp-edged groove running
along the whole length of the shaft, it has a series of small,
sharp blades, set exactly in the same line as is taken by the
spiral groove, and acting in exactly the same manner—.e. by
cutting out successive portions of wood, and, by the diagonal posi-
tion of the blades, throwing out the débris as fast as it is cut.
I cannot but think that, if any modern tool manufacturer
could take as his model the saw-like ovipositor of the Ten-
thredinide, and the auger-like ovipositor of the present insect,
he would produce a series of most valuable implements, possess-
ing powers far beyond those of ordinary tools.
These short blades are arranged just like the “studs” on
modern shells, and very much resemble them in shape, though
not in material.
Tue Auger finds also a natural representative in the
ovipositor of an insect.
That of the common Gad-fly (Gistrus bovis) is most beauti-
fully constructed. It is tubular in form, and is of a telescopic
nature, consisting of four tubes of different sizes, the smaller
fitting into the larger just as is done with the joints of a
common telescope, or those of a Japanese fishing-rod.
The end of the ovipositor is developed into little projections,
some of which are armed with hard, sharp points, which act
exactly like the cutting edge of the auger. This elaborate
appliance is necessary on account of the thick, tough skin of
the ox, which the Gad-fly has to penetrate before it can deposit
its eggs. Perhaps the reader may be aware of the fact that
the modern system of cutting channels in stone with the
diamond point, as was so well exemplified in the Mont Cenis
Tunnel, is but an imitation, and an imperfect one, of the method
adopted by the Gad-fly. We shall soon recur to this instrument.
Or
STRIKING TOOLS. 25
STRIKING TOOLS.
Ir we search the records of antiquity as left by races of men
that have for countless ages vanished from the face of the earth,
we shall find that in some shape or other the Hammer was a
tool in constant use, and that in principle, though not in mate-
rial, there was no difference between the Hammer of the Stone
Age and that of a blacksmith of the present day.
The development of the instrument can easily be traced,
especially as it ig a tool which: does not admit of much
elaboration.
The original hammer was evidently a simple stone, and
answered equally as a tool and a weapon. As, however, man
progressed towards civilisation, he found that the stone itself
was insufficient for his needs, and that he required much more
force. The most obvious mode of doing so was to take a larger
stone, but this expedient soon became valueless, inasmuch as a
large stone was a cumbrous instrument to handle, and could not
be directed with any certainty or delicacy.
The principle of the lever was then applied to the stone,
which was affixed to a handle, and thus became elevated into
the rank of a comparatively civilised tool. Sometimes the stone
had a hole bored through it, into which the handle of the
hammer was inserted, as is the case with most of our present
hammers and pickaxes. Sometimes the end of the handle was
enlarged, and the stone thrust through it, as is now done with
the axes of Southern Africa. Sometimes a long, flexible rod
was used by way of handle, the centre of it taking two turns
round the stone, and the ends being lashed together. Handles
thus made may be seen in any blacksmith’s forge of the present
day.
The tool thus made was soon developed into various forms
for different uses. By lengthening and pointing the head, it
became a pick for loosening the earth. By widening and flat-
tening the head, it became a hatchet; and, by performing the
same alteration in the pickaxe blade, it became an adze. I
possess a singularly ingenious tool from Borneo, in which the
head is movable, so as to be used as a hatchet or adze at
pleasure.
In Demmin’s “ Weapons of War” many such hammers and
256 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
axes are figured. One of them is very remarkable. It is an
ancient war-hammer made of black stone, and is shaped
exactly lke a pickaxe, except that one end of the head is
carved into a semblance of some animal’s head. The handle is
passed through an oval hole in the centre, just like our pick-
axes of the present day. This remarkable example of the art
of the Stone Age was found in Russia. The head was nearly
a foot in length.
NaTuRE possesses many examples of this principle, of which
I have chosen two, namely, the Wegner and the Nut-
hatch.
The wonderful power of beak possessed by both these birds
is familiar to every one, but it is not so generally known that
NUTHATCH. WOODPECKER. HAMMER.
they do not merely peck after the usual fashion among birds,
é.e. delivering the stroke with the force derived from the neck
alone. These birds have an additional leverage. Grasping the
tree firmly with their feet, they not only peck, but swing their
whole bodies with each stroke, bringing their weight to bear
upon the object. They thus convert themselves into living
hammers, the feet acting the part of the human hand, the
body of the bird being analogous to the handle of the hammer,
and the head playing the same part in both cases.
In England these birds are not known as well as they ought
to be, partly because they are both very shy creatures, and
partly because the gradual extinction of forests has deprived
them, and especially the Woodpecker, of their undisturbed
homes. Yet those who are early risers may see both birds in
THE NUTHATCH AND WOODPECKER. 257
places where their presence is quite unsuspected, except, per-
haps, by these who can recognise the signs which they have left
behind them.
There is a common saying to the effect that ‘‘a carpenter is
known by his chips,” and the proverb is equally true of the
Nuthatch and the Woodpecker. Nutshells scientifically split
asunder, and jammed into the rough bark of a tree-trunk, betray
at once the Nuthatch to the eye of a naturalist; while an accu-
mulation of shattered bark, splinters of wood, and similar débris
announces, in equally bold type, that a Woodpecker has been at
work.
The power of the Woodpecker’s beak may be gathered from
Wilson’s well-known account of an Ivory-billed Woodpecker,
which he had wounded and was trying to rear. While staying
at an hotel, he locked the bird in his room, and, on returning
within an hour, found an astonishing state of things.
“He had mounted along the side of the window, nearly as
high as the ceiling, a little below which he had begun to break
through. The bed was covered with large pieces of plaster,
the lath was exposed for at least fifteen inches square, and a hole
large enough to admit the fist opened to the weather boards,
so that in less than another hour he would certainly have suc-
ceeded in making his way through.
“T now tied a string round his leg, and, fastening it to the
table, again left him. I wished to preserve his life, and had
gone off in search of suitable food for him. As I re-ascended
the stairs, I heard him again at work, and on entering had the
mortification to perceive that he had almost ruined the mahogany
table to which he was fastened, and on which he had wreaked
his whole vengeance.”
The beak of the Woodpecker was employed upon its new
master quite as forcibly as upon walls and furniture, but
Wilson was of too generous a nature to resent his injuries, and
lamented sincerely when the bird died.
The reader will probably observe that the Hammer which
has been given as an illustration of this principle is the ordi-
nary geologist’s hammer, and that it has been selected because
its head is so formed that one end can be employed for the
usual tasks of a hammer, while the other end, with its slight
curve and sharp point, is, in fact, a sort of pickaxe, and used
8
258 NATURE'S TEACHINGS.
for the same purposes. Indeed, this instrument is an almost
exact reproduction of the stone hammer which has already
been mentioned, the blunt end being represented by the carved
head, and the sharp end by the pickaxe point.
GRASPING TOooLs.
ALREADY we have spoken of the Shears and Scissors, together
with their mode of action and dependence upon leverage.
We now come to a set of tools which, although equally
dependent on leverage, develop that power by grasping instead
of cutting. Without these tools, the arts and sciences could
have scarcely made themselves felt, as there are but few
manufactures in which the artificer does not require a grasping
power far superior to that of the human hand.
Perhaps the enormous power of the Pincers is never shown
,to better advantage than in the great iron-works, where enor-
mous masses of white-hot metal have to be brought under the
blows of the steam hammer. I do not know of anything which
affords a more imposing realisation of the Divine command that
man is to subdue the earth as well as to replenish it. There is
the vast hammer, striking blows which are felt throughout a
large area as if a succession of earthquakes had been let loose.
In the furnace there is an enormous mass of iron, heated to
such a degree that an unpractised eye could no more dare to
look at it than to stare a midsummer sun out of face. _
Where are the armies who are to cope with such forces ?
A few stalwart and grimy men come forward, each man with
a curious but unmistakable air of one who wages a war of
giants. The furnace door is opened, and out rushes a blinding
light which strikes on the eyeballs like a shock of electricity.
The men seize the handles of an enormous pair of Pincers,
suspended in the middle by a chain, and though no unpractised
eye can distinguish the glowing iron from the enveloping fire,
they run the Pincers into the furnace, seize the iron, swing it
to the anvil, and turn it this way and that way as easily as if
it were a feather, while the blows of the gigantic hammer
descend upon it, enveloping them in a torrent of sparks which
spurt as if they were mere splashes of water, and seem to do
them no more harm.
PINCERS. 259
Taking the minor exposition of the Pincers principle and
their use, we may mention the ordinary Pincers which are mostly
used for drawing nails. Then there are the smaller Pincers
called Pliers, all of which are constructed on the same principle,
and the chief of which are the Round-nosed Pliers, the Long-
nosed Pliers, and the Gas Pliers. Sometimes a mixture of the
Hammer and the Pincers is ingeniously contrived, as in the
tool which is represented on the right hand of the illustration.
Then we have the still smaller aia feebler Pincers of civilised
life, such as the Sugar-tongs and the ordinary Coal-tongs of
MUSSEL-SHELL.
EARWIG. LOBSTER-CLAW. SUGAR-TONGS. PINCERS.
our firesides. Anatomists could have had no practical existence
without the Pincers, of which their beautifully constructed and
much-elaborated forceps are but variations.
Take, again, the dentist, with his series of shining instru-
ments, which he so carefully keeps out of sight until he has
got his patient safely in that awful chair, and which glide, as
by a conjurer’s trick, empty into an open mouth, and return
in a few seconds with a tooth between their polished jaws.
Aut these instruments have their parallels in Nature, and
im many instances the natural pincers might supply useful hints
to modern tool-makers.
In the left-hand upper corner of the illustration is shown the
common fresh-water Mussel, which is so plentiful in almost all
our rivers and many of our ponds. Its scientific name is Unio
margaritiferus. The latter title, which signifies ‘“ pearl-
s 2
260 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
bearing,” is given to it because it furnishes the British pearls
which were at one time so highly valued.
Like other bivalve molluscs, this Unio has the two halves
of the shell fitting quite tightly upon each other, and, when
they are drawn together by the contraction of the internal
muscles, they can give a very severe pinch. In many un-
civilised parts of the world the natives take advantage of
this property, and use them as tweezers, chiefly for the pur-
pose of pulling out hairs which they are pleased to think are
not needed. ;
I need not state that with all bivalves the power is increased
in proportion to the size of the shell. Even an Oyster can
pinch most severely, while the Giant Clam, the shell of which
weighs some four hundred pounds, could nearly take off a man’s
leg if it seized him. |
Mr. J. Keast Lord, in his ‘“ Naturalist in British Colum-
bia,” relates an amusing story that was told to him by an old
settler respecting the power of the Clam’s grip :—
“You see, sir, as I was a-cruising down these flats about
sun-up, the tide jist at the nip, as it is now, I see a whole
pile of shoveller-ducks snabbling in the mud, and busy as dog-
fish in herring time. So I creeps down, and slap I let ’em
have it. Six on ’em turned over, and off went the pack,
gallows scared, and quacking like mad.
“Down I runs to pick up the dead uns, when I see an
old mallard a-playing up all kinds o’ antics, jumping, backing,
flapping, but fast by the head, asif he had his nose in a steel
trap; and when I comes up to him, blest if a large Clam
hadn’t hold of him, hard and fast, by the beak.
“The old mallard might ha’ tried his hardest, but may I never
bait a martin-trap again if that Clam wouldn’t ha’ held him agin
any odds till a tide run in, and then he’d ha’ been a gone
shoveller sure as shooting. So I cracked up the Clam with
the butt of my old gun, and bagged the mallard.”
Of course the reader will remember that this was only an
ordinary Clam, and not one of the giant race.
Brtow the shell are two very perfect instances of natural
Pincers, each acting in a different manner, but on the. same
principle.
PINCERS OF EARWIG. - 261
The Earwig is too familiar to need much description, but I
may as well state that its pincers are not primarily intended as
weapons, although they can be so used on occasion. (I was
about to say, at a pinch, but refrain.) They resemble our ordi-
nary pincers in that both blades move equally, and they are so
completely under the control of their owner, that the insect
uses them with a delicacy of touch that a lady’s fingers could
hardly surpass. They are really tools, and not weapons, and
are employed for the purpose of folding the wide and delicate
wings under the tiny elytra.
There is another insect called the Scorpion-fly (Panorpa),
the male of which is furnished with a pair of pincers at the
end of a long and flexible tail, articulated just like the tail of a
scorpion, and moved in exactly the same manner. It is but a
little insect, but its gestures are so menacing as it flourishes
its tail about, that non-entomologists may well be pardoned for
being afraid of it. Moreover, small as are the pincers, they
really can give a smart nip, and make themselves felt on the
human skin.
Ir we want examples of exceedingly powerful pincers, we
need only go to the Lobsters and Crabs, especially to the
latter, whose claws are often of enormous thickness in propor-
tion to the size of the animal. All those who have visited the
seaside know how severe is the pinch of the common Green
Crab, comparatively small though it be, and the same may be said
of the river crayfish, which is, in fact, a lobster in miniature.
As to the lobster itself, fishermen are so well acquainted with
the power of its claws, that they tie them together with string
as soon as the animal is caught. Formerly they used to
“peg” them, 7.e. drive a wooden peg into the joint so as to
prevent it from moving. This custom, however, is now pro-
hibited by law on account of its cruelty.
The power of the Crab’s claws is so great that a bite from a
large Crab will inflict a severe injury, and render a hand help-
less. It has more than once happened that men who have been
feeling for Crabs in the recesses of the rocks at low water have
been seized, and seriously imperilled, not being able to release
themselves from the gripe.
Indeed, it is said that there have been instances where the
262 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
Crab has held so tightly, that the man has been drowned by the
returning tide, no one having come to his assistance. I am,
however, inclined to doubt this statement, thinking that the
Crab would not be likely to remain in its hiding-place very
ong after the water came up. Still, that such an idea should
be currently believed in many parts of England shows the
estimation in which the gripe of the Crab’s claw is held.
TOOLS.
CHAPTER IV,
POLISHING TOOLS.—MEASURING TOOLS.
Files and Sand-papers.—The Sheffield File and its Structure—The Equisetum,
Mare’s Tail, or Dutch Rush.—Beauty of its Surface when seen through the
Microscope.—Sand-paper.—Skin of Dug-fish, Skate, and Shark.—Skate-skin
used for Sword-handles.—Distinction between the File and Sand-paper.—
Measuring Tools.—The Plumb-rule and the Level.—Their Use in Tunnelling.
—The Measure and its Uses.—The Two-foot Rule and the Tape Measure.—
Ovipositor of Gall-fly.—Tongues of the Woodpecker, Wryneck, and Creeper.
—The Spirit-level and its Uses.—Theodolite and Callipers in Nature and Art.
—The Contouring-glass.—Pincers of Earwig again.—Jaws of Insects.—
The great Sialis of Columbia.
FILES AND SAND-PAPERS.
= now examined the analogies between the cutting,
boring, striking and grasping tools of Nature and Art,
we come to those finishing tools which smooth and polish the
surface.
The first is the File, an instrument which needs but little
description. It consists of a surface of hardened steel, broken
up into rough-edged teeth of infinite variety, according to the
work which the file has todo. It is rather remarkable, by the
way, that at present the English files are infinitely superior to
those produced in any other part of the world; that their teeth
are all made by hand; and that a genuine Sheffield file will first
cut its way through a piece of iron in half the time that would
be occupied by a file of any other nation, and then would easily
cut its antagonist in two.
As long as the File is intended to work upon metal, there is
little difficulty in its manufacture, except that no machinery
has yet been invented which can give the peculiar edging of
264 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
the ridges, and to which is owing the unmistakable “bite” of
a real English file.
But there are occasions when the hand of the most cunning
file-maker is baffled, and when it is necessary to cut files so
delicate that the unaided human eye cannot trace their teeth.
Art, therefore, has recourse to Nature, and the cabinet-maker,
who cannot obtain any file made by human hands which will
answer his purpose in the higher branches of his trade, makes
great use of the “ Dutch Rush,’ as he calls it. It is nota rush
at all, but simply a species of Mare’s Tail, or Equisetum, a
plant which fills in profusion almost every marshy spot in
England.
The peculiar fitness of the Equisetum for this purpose
cannot be appreciated even by those who use it until it has
EQUISETUM. FILE.
been viewed under the microscope. I have now before me a
small piece of Equisetum, placed under a half-inch power, and
viewed by direct illumination, it being treated as an opaque
object.
The microscope reveals at a glance the source of the power
which the ingenuity of man has taken advantage of. The
surface of the Equisetum is seen to be composed of myriads of
tiny parallel ridges, each ridge bristling with rows of flinty
spicules, looking very much like the broken glass upon the top
of a wall. Minute as they are, these spicules can do their
work, and they enable the joiner to finish off work in a manner
that could not be accomplished by any tool made by human
hands.
I find, by recent inquiries, that modern joiners scarcely, if
ever, use the Equisetum, preferring emery-paper as cheaper
and more expeditious, and knowing that the popular eye is. not
able to appreciate the difference of the surface obtained by
SAND-PAPER. 265
the Equisetum from that which is given by the finest emery-
paper ever made. Wood-carvers, however, if they be of the
conscientious kind, and love their work for its own sake, adhere
to the Dutch Rush, and are all the happier for it.
Pass we now to the coarser kinds of polishers, the chief of
which is popularly known as Sand-paper, and is made by
coating some tissue with glue, and scattering upon it sand of
different qualities, according to the work to be done. Some-
times, when the work is rough, the sand is large, rough, and
coarse, and sometimes, when the work is fine, the sand is so
carefully sifted before it is scattered on the glued paper, that
there is little distinction between the sand-paper and emery-
Z Ax
WO
pees le,
DOG-FISH SKIN. SAND-PAPER.
paper. Linen, by the way, is generally used instead of paper,
as being more enduring, less lable to crack, and capable of
being folded so as to obtain access to crevices which paper could
not touch.
Acarin in Nature we find .a parallel, and the coarse Sand-
paper of modern Art has long been anticipated in the scale-
clad skins of many fishes.
The accompanying illustration is taken from the skin of a
Picked Dog-fish found by myself lying dead on the rocks in
Bideford Bay. I cut off a piece for transmission to the
draftsman, and found that not only did it feel exactly like
cutting through a piece of very common sand-paper, but that it
blunted the edge of a new knife in exactly the same manner as
would have been done by the roughest of sand-paper.
This kind of skin is common to all the shark tribe (including
the Dog-fishes, which are but sharks in miniature), and to the.
266 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
Skate, Saw-fish, &c. I have now before me a small, but perfect
example of the Saw-fish, the surface of which is covered
with flinty scales like those of the Dog-fish, but very much
smaller, requiring the aid of a magnifying lens to distinguish
them. Even to guess at the number of them is impossible,
for they cover the whole of the body, and extend to the very
end of the beak, in some places glittering in a strong light as if
pounded glass had been sprinkled all over the fish. One of the
most interesting points in their structure is the manner in
which they reach the rounded jaws, and there become con-
verted into teeth powerful enough to crush the animals on
which the fish live. The structure of these jaws will be
explained in a future chapter.
Some of the skates and sharks have these scales of great
size, so as to show their formation almost without the aid of a
magnifying-glass. This is the case with a species of skate, the
skin of which is used by the Japanese for wrapping round the
handles of their best swords, and which is greatly valued by that
nation, the sword being an almost sacred article in the eyes of
a Japanese.
There is a well-known museum in which these swords are
labelled as having handles of ‘‘granulated ivory.” Now, in
the first place, there is no such thing as granulated ivory ; and,
in the next, a mere glance ought to tell the observer that
the so-called ivory is a skin of some sort, worked upon the
handle while wet, and kept in its place by copper studs. Even
the junction of the edges is perceptible, and yet the authorities
of the museum in question, although they have been repeat- _
edly corrected, still persist in calling the skate-skin by the
absurd title of granulated ivory.
However, if ivory could be granulated, it would certaimly
look very much like the skate-skin. When examined closely,
the scales, whether of Dog-fish, Skate, Shark, or Saw-fish, are
seen to resemble hexagonal cones, not coming quite to a
point, but truncated, so as to have an hexagonal flattened tip.
They are almost of a flinty hardness, especially at their tips,
and on inspection of them the observer is not surprised at the
use of Dog-fish skin in place of sand-paper.
Perhaps the reader may ask why the Equisetum should be
taken as the prototype of the file, and the skin of the Dog-fish
TOOLS OF MEASUREMENT. | 267
as that of sand-paper. The reason is this. The flinty points
of the Equisetum are set upon parallel ridges something like
those of a file, while the scales of the Dog-fish are without any
apparent order, being crowded against each other like the cutting
particles upon the sand-paper. That there should not be an
order, and that a definite one, is out of the question. But it
has not yet been detected by human eyes, and therefore may be
practically treated as non-existent.
Toots oF MEASUREMENT.
In many of the arts, more especially those which belong to
engineering and carpentering as a part of architecture, it is
absolutely necessary to make sure of a perpendicular line,
ae. a line which, if continued, would reach from any point of
the earth’s surface to its exact centre below and its zenith
above. Were it not for the power of producing this line, none
of the great engineering works of modern or ancient days
could have been undertaken.
Take, for example, the wonderful tunnels which have been
driven through the earth, of which the Mont Cenis Tunnel is
one of the greatest triumphs of modern engineering. Begin-
ning, as the workmen did, at opposite ends of a tunnel many
miles in length, and labouring only by the lines laid down by
the engineers, the men worked steadily on until they met in
the centre.
A few blows, and the then narrow dividing wall was shattered,
the men shook hands through the aperture, and then, after
enlarging it, leaped wildly from one side to the other, having
successfully solved the great problem. With such marvellous
precision had the lines been laid, that only a few inches had to
be smoothed down on either side, and the sides or walls of the
tunnel showed no traces of the junction.
So rapid has been the progress of engineering that a
tunnel of a mile in length would, within the memory of man,
have been thought as daring a project as was the Mont Cenis
Tunnel, which has just been given as an example. Indeed, I
know of a railway tunnel, not quite a mile in length, where _
the engineers had committed some error, so that the two halves,
instead of meeting exactly, overlapped each other so much
268 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
that the mistake was only discovered by the workmen, who
heard the strokes of their companions’ picks on their sides, and
not in front. Consequently, a great waste of time took place,
and the centre of the tunnel had to be made with a double
curve, like the letter 8, and trains are obliged to slacken speed
until they have passed it.
Those who have lived long enough to remember the current
literature of the past generation will call to mind the
ridicule that was cast upon the idea of a tunnel that should
pass under the Thames. That it would be useful if it could be
completed, no one ventured to doubt, but that such an idea
could be conceived by any one out of a lunatic asylum was
rather too much for the journalists of the day: However, the
tunnel was made, and so proved the theorists wrong on the
one side. And, when made, it was of very little use, which
proved them wrong on the other side. Now the proposal to
carry a submarine tunnel from England to France excites not
half the opposition that was elicited by the pa child’s-
play of a tunnel under the Thames.
The only mode of laying down the lines on which the men
worked is by suspending very heavy balls to very fine wires,
and then, by means of delicate optical struments, ascertaining
whether the wires are in line with each other.
Familiar instances of the use of this principle may be seen
in the plumb-rule and level of the builder or carpenter. The
latter, with a base of ten feet in length, is often used by the
gardener when he wishes to lay the absolutely level lawns
that are required for our modern game of croquet, where the
hoops are scarcely wider than the balls, and the lawn has in
consequence to be nearly as level as a billiard table.
I may here remark that the name plumb-rule is derived from
the Latin word pluwmbum, or lead, in allusion to the leaden
weight at the end of the string. The word “plumber” is due
to the same source, and signifies a worker in lead.
THESE invaluable aids to the development of civilisation are
due to one principle, namely, that which we call Gravitation,
but which ought more properly to be termed Attraction, and
which attracts all parts of the earth towards its centre. We
are all familiar with the anecdote of Newton and the falling
GRAVITATION. 269
apple, which may be true or not, but which at all events bears
on the present subject. No matter on what portion of the
spnerical earth a tree may be, every fruit becoming disengaged
from it is attracted to the earth, the line which it takes, unless
disturbed by external forces (such as wind, &c.), being that
which passes from the zenith to the centre of the earth.
This imaginary line is a perfect perpendicular, and the
visible line which is formed by the delicate wire of the tunnel-
boring engineering instrument, or the comparatively coarse
string of the plumb-rule and level, are approximations sufh-
ciently close for practical purposes. So it is in a mathematical
FALLING FRUIT. PLUMB-RULE. LEVEL.
proposition. As mathematical lines have no breadth, they are
simply indicated or represented by the lines of the figure, the
bodily eye. being incapable of seeing what is perfectly visible
to the mental eye, namely, length without width. So the
wire and string perform in practical work exactly the same
office which is fulfilled by the lines of a mathematical proposi-
tion drawn on paper.
We have already, when treating of the Fall-trap, seen how
this principle is brought into operation by those who are
utterly incapable of discerning the physical principle, though
they can apply it materially with wonderful effect.
Ir is, perhaps, needless to mention the value of the Measure
to any handicraftsman.
I well remember that when, some twenty-four years ago, I
was taking lessons from a carpenter in the art of making
ladders, gates, fences, hurdles, and other rough-and-ready work,
my quaint old tutor related an anecdote of and against himself.
270 NATURE'S TEACHINGS.
He very ingeniously set me to work at boring the auger-holes in
the gate-posts which were to be united by the mortise chisel
and mallet, and to sweeten the rather severe, because unaccus-
tomed, labour, told me that, when he was a boy, he was doing
just the same thing.
Being rather tired of twisting the auger handle (and no
wonder either), he withdrew the instrument, and put his finger
into the hole by way of ascertaining its depth. Immediately
he found himself on his back, having received a tremendous
box on the ear from his father, whose parental wrath was
excited by the idea of his son condescending to use his finger
by way of measure, when he had a two-foot rule in its own
special pocket.
There are, however, many cases where even a two-foot rule
would be insufficient for the work, and where a measure of
thirty or forty feet is needed.
Now, there is no doubt that by means of a two-foot, or
even a six-inch, rule any number of feet might be measured
accurately ; but, considering the number of junctions that have
to be made, it is not likely that any pretence to accuracy could
be insured.
Then, a rod of forty, or even of twenty, feet in length would
be awkward and unmanageable, and the only plan left is to
take a string or cord of the requisite length.
Even here, however, is a difficulty. The string would not
allow of short measurements, such as inches, being written
upon it. Let, however, a broad tape of inelastic material be
substituted for the string, and all is easy enough.
The next plan is to provide for the portability of the tape in
question, to insure its reduction into the smallest possible com-
pass, and to be sure that it is not twisted so as to damage its
accuracy. ‘These objects are all attained by the ordinary Tape
Measure of the present day, which, whether it be a yard
measure in a lady’s workbox, or a surveyor’s measuring tape,
is a ribbon of comparatively inelastic material, coiled up when
not wanted, and eapable of being drawn out to its fullest
extreme when needed.
Putting aside the breadth of the line, and consequently dis-
regarding the liability to twist, we have in the Fishing-reel
of the modern angler an exact case in point. So we have in
Ld
THE SPIRIT-LEVEL. 271
the lady’s yard measure, and in the gardener’s or builder’s
tape, all these being modifications of the same idea.
OVIPOSITOR OF GALL-FLY. SPRING MEASURE.
Suppose now that we pass to Nature, so as to ascertain
whether any such provisions were in existence before it was
imitated, however unconsciously, by man. This certainly was
the case with one of the commonest and most insignificant of
our insects, the little Gall-fly, belonging to the genus Cynips.
It could not lay its eggs without the aid of a very long ovi-
positor, and, owing to structural details, it cannot carry that
ovipositor in a straight line, as is done by many insects, some
of which have already been mentioned. Accordingly, it is
coiled up exactly like our measuring tapes, and can be unrolled
when needed. The long, protrusible tongues of the Wryneck,
Creeper, and Woodpecker are examples of a similar structure,
the tendinous portions being coiled round the head when not
needed.
Tuer SPIRIT-LEVEL.
Havine now seen how the forces of Nature enable us to
produce a perfectly perpendicular line, we will see how the
same force, though applied in a different manner, enables us to
produce a perfectly horizontal line, the intersection of the two
lines producing a right angle.
The measuring tool in question is called the Spirit-level,
and is represented on the right hand of the accompanying
illustration. Its construction is very simple, consisting of a
FLOATING BUEBLE. SPIRIT-LEVEL.
tube, nearly filled with spirit, and having just one bubble of
air in it. Now, owing to the force of gravitation, the air-
bubble must always be uppermost. Consequently, if the tube
be a perfect cylinder, whenever it is held so that the bubble is
pape NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
in the centre, the tube must be horizontal, a hair’s breadth of
deviation altering the line. I may here mention that, as far as
the principle of the instrument goes, water would serve the
purpose as effectively as spirit. But as in cold weather the
water might freeze, and so burst the tube, as well as being
useless until it was thawed, spirit is always substituted.
This instrument is used for various purposes. Sometimes it
is employed for levelling billiard tables, or for ascertaining the
exact level of walls and other parts of buildings. Surveyors
could scarcely do their work without the Spirit-level, which
forms an important part. of their chief instrument, the
theodolite. Indeed, the new science of land drainage, by which
the tough, unproductive clay soil is converted into fertile earth,
is entirely dependent on the use of the Spirit-level, which
detects the slightest rise or fall in the ground.
A most Ingenious modification of the Spirit- level is used by
military engineers, and is known by the name of the “ Con-
touring-glass,”’ a term which requires some explanation.
It is of the utmost importance that a military engineer
should be able, whether on foot or on horseback, to ascertain
the approximate heights of the various points which he visits,
the efficiency or failure of a battery very much depending on
the comparative elevation of the spot on which the battery is
placed, and that of the place against which its fire is directed.
In an unknown country, of which no detailed maps exist, an
invading force must of necessity depend on the extemporised
surveys of their engineer officers, and one of the most valuable
of their devices is the system of Contouring, invented, as far as
I know, by the late Colonel Hutchinson, R.E.
The idea is simple enough. A hill is seen, and the engineer
makes a sketch of it before he ascends. At the foot he halts,
and marks the spot where his foot presses the earth. He then
looks in front at a spot exactly on the level of his eye, marks
it, and walks to it. He then draws a line across his sketch, at
the exact spot on which he is standing, and that is the first
“contouring line.” Others follow, until she has reached the top
of the hill.
Now, if he can trust himself to look exactly horizontally, he
has ascertained the elevation of every part of the hill. He
knows the height of kis eye from the sole of his foot, and
THE CONTOURING-GLASS. 273
calculates accordingly. Suppose, for example, that it be five
feet, and that ten contouring lines are marked, he knows that
the entire height is fifty feet, and that each line means an eleva-
tion of five feet. |
This is a very excellent theory, but one which is not reduce
to practice so easily as it looks. There is nothing more decep-
tive than a contour, especially upon an irregular hill, th:
invariable mistakes being either greatly to overrate or under
rate the height of the contour. When I took my first lesson
in this art I caused much amusement to the professor under
whom I was studying, by making Shooter’s Hill consist of
about seventeen contours. However, as many military students
made very much the same mistake, I was not so humiliated as
I supposed.
Of course, if a surveying officer be mounted, he takes the
contour line as measured from his eye to the ground through
the centre of the saddle.
After some practice the eye becomes so much accustomed to
the contouring lines that they are taken almost mechanically ;
but, until this result be gained, an absolute proof is needed,
which is furnished by the Contouring-glass—which, by the
way, 1s not a glass at all, after the common acceptation of the
word.
Jt is a simple brass tube about three inches long, not thicker
than a man’s little finger, and open throughout. A small
spirit-level is fixed on its lower surface, and on the very centre
of the upper surface is a tiny steel mirror, which projects
downwards like a knife-blade. In order to get a “contour,” the
observer looks through the tube, slightly depressing its end.
He then gradually raises it, still lookmg through it. As the
tube becomes exactly horizontal the bubble in the spirit-level is
reflected in the little mirror, and the object’ on which the tube
is directed is in consequence on a level with the observer’s eye.
At first the management of the contouring-glass is rather
tedious; but after a little practice it can be used without
pausing for a single step.
INVALUABLE as is the Spirit-level, with its various modifica-
tions, it is nothing but an adaptation of that natural law which
causes the bubbles to float on the surface of a stream instead of
A
274 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
being submerged below it. We have all seen the multitudinous
bubbles of soda-water, or of any effervescing liquid, and have
noticed how they are very small when generated, but enlarge
quickly, and rise to the surface with a rapidity equal to their
enlargement. ‘The same phenomena may be observed in any
water-fall, or even in the very familiar and unpoetical opera-
tion of pouring beer from a jug into a glass.
The reader will see that in the plumb-rule, the level, and
the spirit-level one single principle is employed, namely, the
attraction of matter towards the centre of the earth. In the two
former instruments this attraction gives a vertical line, and in
the latter it gives a horizontal line, but the principle is the
same in both.
CALLIPERS.
We conclude the history of'measuring tools with the Callipers.
For ordinary purposes, and upon a plane surface, the Com-
passes answer every purpose. But there are various arts, espe-
Sh » Ds
oe Poe NS ZZ ~—
wT SS
SS
JAWS OF SIALIS. CALLIPERS.
cially sculpture, in which the compasses, with their straight
legs, are absolutely valueless, and their place must be supplied
by a differently shaped instrument. For example, no ordinary
compasses could measure the exact distance from the nostril to
the back of the head, or even touch two points at opposite sides
of a limb, and it is therefore necessary to have compasses with
CALLIPERS. Dio
curved legs. These are termed Callipers, and can be used on
a plane as well as on a rounded surface.
Naturat Callipers are plentiful enough, and may be
found extensively among the insect tribes. There are, for
example, the pincers of the Harwig, which have already been
described on page 259, and which are, in the common species,
formed exactly like the Callipers of the sculptor.
Then we have various insect jaws, especially those of the
carnivorous species, one of the most curious being the large
insect which is shown in the illustration, upon a very reduced
scale. In the male the jaws are exceedingly long and curved,
as may be seen by reference to the illustration. I have now
before me a pair of sculptor’s callipers, and the resemblance
between them and the jaws of the Sialis is strangely close, the
curve being almost exactly the same in both cases.
The scientific name of this insect is Sialis armata, and it
is a native of Columbia.
72
OPTICS.
CHAPTER I.
THE MISSIONS OF HISTORY.—THE CAMERA OBSCURA.—LONG
AND SHORT SIGHT.—STEREOSCOPE AND PSEUDOSCOPE.—
MULTIPLYING-GLASSES.
The Camera Obscura.—Telescopes, Microscopes, and Spectroscopes, and their
separate Objects.—Structure of the Camera Obscura.—The Double Convex
Lens.—Its Use asa Burning-glass.—The Meridian Gun in Paris.—Significa-
tion of the Word “ Focus.’’—The Human Eye and its Analogies to the Camera
Obscura.—Forms of various Lenses.—Long and Short Sight.—Their Causes
and Means of Remedy.—Alteration of Sight in the Diver.—Long and Short
sighted Spectacles.—The Eye of Birds.—Its beautiful Structure.— Washing-
glasses and the “ Nictitating’’ Membrane.—Combination of Images.—
Natural Stereoscopes.—The Pseudoscope and its Effects on an Object.—The
Multiplying-glass.—The Hight Eyes of the Spider and their Arrangement.—
The Seventy Thousand Eyes of the Butterfly.— Form of the Facets.
ISTORY seems to fall into natural divisions, and to write the
records of time in successive epochs, recording the advance
of the human race. Some of them have apparently disappeared
except by the strange relics which they have left behind, but
though nothing is known of the men who worked in these
ancient times, they stamped their mark upon the earth, and
evidently left the world better than they found it.
A. very admirable treatise on this subject has been written by
the late Rev. J. Smith, called the “ Divine Drama of Creation.”
In this work he divides the progress of the human race into
five acts, like those of a drama. ‘The first act is the Hebrew
Mission, the second the Greek Mission, the third the Roman
Mission and the Middle Ages, the fourth the National Mission,
and the fifth the Universal Mission.
Certainly a scene of the last act is now in progress, and may
be entitled the Scientific Mission. The last hundred years
have been indeed the age of discovery, and, during that time,
THE CAMERA OBSCURA. Dee
the life of civilised man has been quite altered, so that practi-
cally his sojourn upon earth has been doubled. Steam, with
all its various applications, electricity, and other kindred arts
have become so intermingled with our lives, that it is difficult
to imagine what our state would be if we were suddenly and
utterly deprived of them. The loss to all would be incal-
culable, and not the least of the losses would be that of ready
communion with our fellow-creatures.
Of these arts we will now take that which is named at the
head of this division of the book, and see how far it is a
development of natural facts.
Tur CamERA OBscuURA AND THE EYE.
I HAVE already spoken of arts as being akin to each other.
They are more than this, and every day of the world’s pro-
gress teaches us that Art, Science, and Manufacture are sisters,
all born of one family, and all depending mutually on each
other.
Take, for example, our present theme—namely, Optics—
and see how dependent it is upon Manufacture and Art.
Without the former, man could not construct those beautiful
telescopes, microscopes, spectroscopes, of the present day, which
are evidently but the precursors of instruments which will work
still greater marvels.
The first enables us to see solar systems without number, to
which our own, vast as it seems to us, is but as a grain of sand
in the desert. The next instrument makes revelations as mar-
vellous of the infinitely minute as does the telescope of the
infinitely great, enabling us to see living organizations so small
that thirty-two millions could swim in a cubic inch of water.
The third, a comparatively modern instrument, reveals the
composition of objects, and can detect and register the
materials of which the sun and fixed stars are made, or
detect an adulteration in wine. It can adapt itself equally to
the telescope and microscope, and the very same instrument
which will reveal the character of an invisible gas in the Pole-
star, when attached to the telescope, can, when connected with
the microscope, point out the presence of half a corpuscle of
blood where no other instrument could discover any trace of it.
278 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
All these instruments, together with many others, will be
described in the present division of the work, and their
analogies with Nature shown.
We will now take the subject of the Camera Obscura, an
instrument with which the photographic apparatus of the
present day has made most of us familiar. As its action
depends chiefly upcu the glass, or lens, through which the
rays of light pass into the instrument, we will first explain
that.
A “lens” is a glass formed in such a manner that the rays
of light which pass through it either converge to a focus, or are
dispersed, by means of the law of refraction. Every one who
has been photographed—and who has not P—will remember
that when the sitter has taken his position, the photographer
brings to bear upon him a circular glass fixed into a short
tube, and then looks through the instrument as if he were
taking aim with some species of firearm. It is no matter of
wonder that when savages see the photographic camera for the
first time they are horribly frightened, for there is really
something weird-like in the appearance of the lens thus pre-
sented.
Now, this lens is of the shape called ‘double convex,” both
sides being equally rounded, so that a section of it would be
shaped very much like a parenthesis (). The effect of this
form of lens is to bring the rays of light to a point at a given
distance from the centre. This point is called the “ focus,”
and is well known by means of the common burning-glass,
which will set fire to objects placed in its focus, while itself
remains quite cool.
I have seen lead pour down like water when placed in the
focus of a large burning-glass, and even the harder metals will
yield to the power of the sun’s rays when thus concentrated.
There is nothing which gives a more vivid idea of the
amount of heat thrown on the earth by the rays of the sun
than the effects of a moderately large burning-glass—say one
of six inches in diameter. Taking a circle of this size as the
surface of the earth, it does not seem as if any very great
amount of heat can be received, but when we catch the rays of
that circle in our glass, and bring them together upon the
THE DOUBLE CONVEX LENS. 279
focus, the amount of heat can be appreciated. The well-known
meridian gun in the Palais Royal is fired by the sun. A burn-
ing-glass of no very great size is placed over the touch-hole of
the gun, with which its focus coincides. The lens is turned
in such a manner that, as the sun attains the meridian, its
rays are thrown upon the touch-hole, and consequently fire
the gun.
The word. focus is the Latin term for a domestic hearth, and
is used in allusion to the heat which is manifested at the
point on which the rays of the sun converge.
It is evident that, after reaching the focus, the rays, if they
be not intercepted by some object, will cross each other, and
form a large image, but reversed. This part of the subject
will presently be explained.
THE accompanying illustration shows two figures, one repre-
senting the section of a double convex lens made by the hands
of man, and the other-that of a double convex lens as seen in
Nature.
CRYSTALLINE LENS OF HUMAN EYE. DOUBLE CONVEX LENS.
The former has already been explained. The latter is the
double convex lens of the human eye, by means of which the
images of external objects are conveyed to the brain. When-
ever this lens becomes thickened by disease, the sight is
gradually dimmed, and at last total blindness is the result.
This disease is popularly called ‘ cataract,” and until late days
was incurable. Now, however, any good oculist will attack a
cataract, and either partially or entirely restore the sight. This
operation is performed by carefully removing the convex lens,
and supplying its place with a glass lens, which throws the
rays of light on the same focus.
280 NATURE'S TEACHINGS.
The figure shows the double convex lens of the human eye
in its place.
HAVING now seen something of the properties of the double
convex lens, we will examine its application to the Camera
Obscura.
The lens is placed on one side of the camera, and is so made
that it can be slid backwards and forwards, and the focus
altered at will. The camera itself is a box completely closed,
so that no light can enter it except that which passes
through the lens. The latter is so arranged that the rays
which pass through it are crossed, and throw their image on
EYE AND IMAGE. CAMERA OBSCURA AND IMAGE.
the opposite side of the camera. In the photographic camera
a piece of ground glass is placed at the end, so that the rays
fall wpon it, and the operator can see whether the image is a
good one. Of course the figures are reversed, so that the sitter
seems to be on his head, but that is a matter of no conse-
quence. Exactly the same effect is produced by the marine
telescope.
The general structure of the camera is shown in the illustra-
tion, all needless details being omitted.
I may here remark that the term “camera obscura,” or
dark chamber, alludes to the fact that the box is com-
pletely closed, and, but for the rays which pass through the
lens, would be absolutely dark.
THE opposite illustration shows the most perfect camera
obscura that can be imagined, namely, the human eye. Here
we have a dark chamber, a double convex lens, and an image
falling upon the back. Here the optic nerve comes into play,
takes cognisance of the image, and conveys the idea to the
STRUCTURE OF THE EYE. 281
brain. With a little trouble, a real eye, say that of an ox,
can be dissected out, and employed as a camera obscura, the
operator seeing in the back of the eye, or “ retina,’ the same
image which the ox would have seen if it had been alive.
In photography, the operator, when he has found that
a perfect image is thrown upon the ground glass, which
represents the retina of the eye, substitutes for it a sensi-
tive surface, on which the rays are projected, and which,
by chemical means, produce a permanent instead of a fleeting
object.
ExameP es of other lenses may be found in Nature. She,
moreover, can perform a task which man has never even
attempted, namely, the change of form in a lens according to
the duty which it has to do. How this wonderful object is
attained we shall presently see.
There is a form of lens extremely useful in Optics, namely,
the “ Plano-convex”’ lens. This is, in fact, one half of a double
S|
HUMAN EYE: SECTION OF CORNEA, &C. PLANO-CONVEX LENS.
convex lens, the section being made through its edges, and the
plane sides polished as well as the convex. As, however, this
is only a half of the double convex lens, it does not need
further explanation. Its natural counterpart may be seen in
the annexed illustration.
A somewhat more complicated form of lens is called the
“< Meniscus,”’ one side of which is convex and the other concave.
A good example of the meniscus may be found in the old-
fashioned watch-glass, before watchmakers took to flattening
them, and watch-wearers were not ashamed to carry a “turnip,”
in which there was room to spare for the works. If a section
of such a glass were taken, it would assume the form of a half-
983° NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
moon. ‘This, in fact, is the meaning of the term “ meniscus,”
which is a Greek word, signifying a little moon. If the same
glass were solid, or even filled with water, it would form a
‘nlano-convex”’ lens.
Of course the outer curve of the meniscus must be larger
than the inner curve, but in some cases the disproportion is
very strongly marked, the outer curve being very large, and
the inner curve very small. An example of such a meniscus
may be seen in the human eye. If the reader will refer to the
illustration on page 280, in which the structure of the eye is
shown, he will see the meniscus lens in combination with the
double convex. The former has already been explained, and
the latter is formed by the vitreous humour which fills nearly
the entire globe of the eye. Its larger curve is due to the form
of the eyeball, and the smaller to the convex lens.
Lone AND SHort SIGHT.
Iz has already been mentioned that the focus of a convex
lens is shorter in proportion to its convexity, and that in conse-
quence its magnifying power is increased. For example, the
large glasses through which pictures are viewed are compara-
tively thin in proportion to their diameter, while the lenses
FRAME OF OWL’S EYE: LENS SHORT AND LONG SIGHTED EYES
OF DITTO. (WITH SPECTACLES).
employed for the highest powers of the microscope are scarcely
larger than small shot, and nearly as globular. It naturally
follows that any instrument to which a lens is adapted, whether
it be microscope or telescope, must depend for its focus on the
greater or less convexity of the lens in question.
Again taking as our example the human eye, we find that
there are very few persons who from youth to age possess or
LONG AND SHORT SIGHT. 283
preserve eyes which can read small type at a moderate distance,
and can clearly define the outlines of distant objects. Nearly all
people, even if in their youth they possess good sight, lose it as
they grow older. They can discern distant objects well enough,
but, when they come to reading, they are obliged to hold the
book at arm’s length before they can distinguish the letters.
This defect is caused by the insufficient convexity of the lens,
so that the focus is thrown too far back, and it is corrected by
wearing spectacles sufficiently convex to supply the deficiency
in the lens of the eye.
An admirable example of temporary long-sightedness is
familiar to every diver, though he may be unconscious of its
cause. Suppose that into very clear water of some twelve feet
in depth, a white object, say a common jam-pot, is thrown, it
can be clearly discerned from the shore, unaltered in shape or
size. But, when the diver searches for it, he sees at first only
something white, large, undefined, and wavering, and only finds
it resume its proportions as he approaches it. This phenomenon
is due to the pressure of the water upon the eyeball, which
flattens it, and so throws the focus too far back for a clear
image. Nowadays this defect is remedied by the use of very
convex spectacles, so convex, indeed, that, if worn in the air,
they would render the wearer incapable of seeing anything at
_ more than an inch or so away from him. But, when worn in
the water, they only supply the deficiency of the compressed
eyeball, and so restore the focus to its proper position.
THosE who suffer from short-sightedness can see with great
distinctness objects which are close at hand, but those at a
little distance seem to have no particular outline, and appear as
if they were viewed through a fog, thus causing a constant and
almost painful strain on the eyes. The cause of this defect is
the too great convexity of the lens, which therefore throws its
focus short of the required spot. The means of remedy are
exactly opposite to those which are used for long-sighted
persons, a concave lens being placed in front of the eye, so as
to throw the focus farther back, and relieve the organ from
the strain.
Although we have not yet invented a machine that can alter
the focus at will, we may take a hint from Nature. We have
284 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
already seen how the pressure of water upon the front of the
eye lessens its convexity, and makes it long-sighted. Conse-
quently, if we could apply pressure round it, we could make it
more convex, and so neutralise the weight of the water.
There is a wonderful piece of machinery in Nature which
really does perform this office, the eye, at the will of its owner,
becoming either telescopic or microscopic. This quality is very
desirable in birds, especially those which are predacious and of
rapid flight, as they might either fail to see their prey at a
distance, or might dash themselves against some obstacle when
they were close upon it.
The eye of the Owl affords a beautiful example of machinery
which produces this effect, and the means which are used may
be understood by inspecting the accompanying illustration.
It will be seen that the eyeball is set in a framework composed
of thin bony plates, just like a glass in a telescope. When these
plates are relaxed, the whole eyeball is flattened, so as to enable
the bird to see an object at a very great distance. But, when they
are contracted, they render the whole eye globular in propor-
tion to their pressure, and enable the bird to see objects which
are very close to it. In fact, the eye becomes a telescope or
microscope as needed.
Many reptiles possess this arrangement of bones, but the
birds have even a more delicate mode of obtaining the focus of —
the eye. This is by means of a curious organ called, from its
shape, the “ pecten,”’ or comb, which is placed in the vitreous
humour at the back of the eye, and connected with the optic
nerve. It is a congeries of arteries and veins, so that it can be
rapidly enlarged by forcing blood into it, or diminished by
allowing the blood to withdraw.
As the liquid in which it rests is practically incompressible,
it follows that when the comb expands, it causes the chamber
of the vitreous fluid to expand, and so forces the lens forward.
When, however, the blood retires from the comb, the lens
returns to its original place. This, as the reader may have
noticed, is the same principle as that which is followed in alter-
ing the focus of a telescope in order to suit the sight of different
individuals. Perhaps a still better illustration may be found in
the coarse and fine adjustment of the microscope, the former of
which moves the whole tube, and may be compared to the bony
THE STEREOSCOPE. 285
ring; while the latter causes one part to slide over the other,
and is analogous to the comb.
The movements of this organ are believed to be as involuntary
as the dilatation and contraction of the iris; but, whatever
may be the case, it is one of the most beautiful examples of
natural mechanics, and far surpasses the most delicate machine
that can be made by man.
In the illustration of the microscope, which is to be found
on page 286, both these movements are given, the double
vertical wheel being the coarse movement, and the fine move-
ment being supplied by the single vertical wheel just above
them.
WHILE we are on this subject, we may see how Art uninten-
tionally copies Nature, even in trivial details. Every one who
is in the habit of using optical instruments, more especially
those who are forced to wear spectacles, are aware of the neces-
sity of keeping the glasses as clean as possible, and, where the
instruments are delicate, always have by them a piece of clean
wash-leather for the express purpose of wiping the glasses.
Here, again, Nature has anticipated Art. In our own case,
we have in the human eye a good example of such natural
mechanism, the eyelids being formed quite as much for the
purpose of washing the surface of the eyeball as of excluding
light.
Many animals are provided with a special apparatus for the
purpose, called the “‘nictitating membrane.” It is, in fact, a
sort of inner or supplementary eyelid, which can be drawn over
the eye while the external lids remain comparatively unmoved.
It is very conspicuous in the owls, and gives to those birds
that almost comical look of Le tg blinking with which we
are so familiar.
Tue STEREOSCOPE AND PSEUDOSCOPE.
Many persons have wondered how it happens that, as we
have two eyes, we do not see two images instead of one.
Practically, this is always the case, for the eyes, especially when
they look on solid bodies, see two different images, because they
contemplate the object from different points of sight.
286 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
This may be easily ascertained by looking at a given object
first with one eye, and then with the other, when it will be seen
that the image presented to the right eye is slightly different
from that of the left eye, but that the two can be combined into
one by a very slight inward movement of both eyes, and thus
the effect of a solid body be produced. Sometimes, when people
are weak, and cannot control the united movement of the eyes,
not only two, but five or six images are at once presented to
the mind, and produce a strange sense of bewilderment and
confusion. |
COMBINATION OF HUMAN EYES. STEREOSCOPE. BINOCULAR MICROSCOPE.
Painters are obliged to avail themselves of this peculiarity,
and to make allowances for the double vision. If they do not,
the effect of the painting is flat, and it appears as if the artist
had only used one eye.
A good proof of this fact may be seen in Stereoscopic photo-
graphs, especially of scenery. If each be viewed separately,
it often appears quite unintelligible, but, when they are com-
bined by the instrument, they seem to spring into life as it
were, and appear solid enough to be grasped.
Now, the Stereoscope is avowedly constructed on the same
principle as the double vision of the eye, so that when it applies
itself to two photographs of the same object which have been
taken from different points of view, it combines them, and
gives them as solid an appearance as if they were realities.
THE PSEUDOSCOPE. 287
So wonderfully close is the representation, that the idea of a
place obtained by means of the combination of the photograph
and Stereoscope is quite as vivid and correct as if it had been
gained by actual observation. :
The principle of the Stereoscope is now applied to the best
microscopes, and its value is incalculable, especially when low
powers are used, #.¢. those of not less than haif an inch focus.
The real beauty of many objects could never have been appre-
ciated but for this discovery, nor their true form defined.
On the left hand of the illustration is shown the combining
power of the eyes. Supposing the right eye only to be brought
to bear upon the little cylinder, only one side of it will be
seen, and it looks nearly flat. The same is the case with the
left eye. But, when both eyes are used together, both sides of
the cylinder are presented to the mind, and thus we get the
effect of solidity.
The Stereoscope is so formed, by means of lenses, that the
two figures become combined into one, the rays of light being
turned out of their course by the arrangement of the glasses.
The Stereoscope, however, although a useful assistant to the
vision, is not necessary. It is perfectly possible to combine the
two figures without any stereoscope, and to do so merely by
squinting, if we may so call it, at the figures. The power of
combination is gained with a very little practice, and in a
short time the observer will be capable of producing stereo-
scopic effects without needing a Stereoscope. This ability is -
very useful when inspecting photographs in a shop-window.
Of course the figures are not so much enlarged as they are
with the stereoscope, but they are nevertheless quite as clear
and well defined.
THERE is an instrument called the Pseudoscope, which, as its
name imports, gives a false idea as to the nature of the object
which is viewed through it, converting hollow objects into
solid, and vice versd. The following description of its effect is
given by Wheatstone :—
“When an observer looks with the pseudoscope at the interior
of a cup or basin, he not unfrequently sees it at first in its real
form; but by prolonging his gaze he will perceive the conver-
Sion within a few minutes; and it is curious that, while this
288 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
seems to take place quite suddenly with some individuals, as if
the basin were flexible, and were suddenly turned inside out, it
occurs more gradually with others, the concavity slowly giving
way to flatness, and the flatness progressively rising into con-
vexity.
“ Not unfrequently, after the conversion has taken place, the
natural aspect of the object continues to intrude itself, some-
times suddenly, sometimes gradually, and for a longer or shorter
interval, when the converse will again succeed it—asif the
new visual impression could not at once counteract the previous
results of recent experience. At last, however, the mind seems
to accept the conversion without further hesitation ; and after
this process has once been completely gone through, the observer,
on recurring to the same object, will not find it possible to see
it in any other than its converted form, unless the interval
should be long enough to have allowed him to forget its aspect.
‘“‘Vagaries, however, sometimes occur in these experiments of
which it is difficult to give any certain explanation, but which
would be probably found referable to the same general principle,
if we were acquainted with all the conditions of its operation.”
Tur MULTIPLYING-GLASS.
STILL more extraordinary examples of the combining power
of vision are to be found in the eyes of spiders and insects,
more especially when we compare them with the work of man.
EYES OF SPIDER. MULTIPLYING-GLASS.
If we take a common Multiplying-glass, such as is shown in
the figure, and look at a flower or other object through it, we
see the object repeated as many times as there are different
foci of vision in the instrument.
EYES OF THE SPIDER. I89
Now, taking for example the eyes of a Spider, it would be
natural to suppose that the same result would occur, especially
as the foci of the eyes point in different directions. The left-
hand figure in the illustration represents the eight eyes of one
of our common Spiders, belonging to the genus Clubiona, which
may be found in almost any outhouse, sitting in its curious web,
and ready in a moment to run for safety into its silken tunnel.
It will be seen that the foci of all the eyes are in different
directions, and so placed as to command a large radius. Ob-
servers have remarked that the eyes are placed in Spiders so as
to suit their habits. <‘‘ Those spiders,” writes Professor Owen,
in his “ Comparative Anatomy,” ‘‘ which hide in tubes, or lurk
in obscure retreats, either underground or in the holes or fissures
of wails or rocks, from which they emerge only to seize a passing
prey, have their eyes aggregated in a close group in the middle
of the forehead, as in the Bird-spider, the Clotho, &c.
“The spiders which inhabit short tubes, terminated by a
large web, exposed to the open air, have the eyes separated and
more spread upon the front of the cephalothorax.
“‘ Those spiders which rest in the centre of a free web, along
which they frequently traverse, have the eyes supported on
slight prominences, which permit a greater divergence of their
axis ; this structure is well remarked in the genus Thomisa, the
species of which live in ambuscade in flowers.
“Lastly, the spiders called Hrrantes, or Wanderers, have
their eyes still more scattered, the lateral ones being placed at
the margin of the cephalothorax.”’
Yet, although each eye produces a separate image, it is clear
that upon the mind of the Spider only a single idea can be
impressed, for that otherwise all would be confusion. There
must, therefore, be some mechanism in the structure of the eye,
the nature of which we are not as yet able to understand.
A sTILL more remarkable instance of a natural Multiplying-
glass may be found in the eyes of many insects.
Theform of multiplying-glassshown in the accompanying illus-
tration is probably familiar to most of my readers. It consists of
a convex piece of glass, cut into a number of facets, and showing
in each facet a distinct and separate image of the object to
which it is directed. Now, the compound eyes of insects are
U
290 NATURE'S TEACHINGS.
constructed on much the same principle, except that the number
of facets is infinitely more. Taking, for example, the eyes of
the Tortoise-shell Butterfly, we find that there are about seventy
thousand lenses or facets. Now, it is possible, with care, to
remove the eye from the insect, cleanse it, and arrange it in
a microscope in such a way that objects can be seen through
it. When this is done, a separate image is seen in each facet,
just as is the case with the Multipying-glass, only, as the
facets are very much more numerous, the effect is proportion-
ately more striking.
The reader may notice that the facets of the insect eye
appear to be hexagons as perfect as those of the honey-
INSECT EYE. TUMBLER. MULTIPLYING-GLASS.
comb. This appearance is probably due to the fact that each
eye is covered with a convex plate of glassy brightness and
transparency, and that, when such objects are viewed from the
front, they appear to have hexagonal instead of rounded out-
lines. A familiar example of this fact may be found in the
glass tumblers which are ornamented with rounded projections
on their surface. If a photograph of one of these tumblers
be taken, the resemblance to the hexagonal markings of the
insect eye is so close that the tumbler might easily be taken for
the eye.
OPTICS.
CHAPTER II.
THE WATER TELESCOPE.—IRIS OF THE EYE.—MAGIC LANTERN.
—THE SPECTROSCOPE.—THE THAUMATROPE.
Limits to Sight in the Water.—Effect of a Ripple-—The Eyes under Water.—The
Water Telescope, its Structure and Mode of Use.—Gyrinus, or Whirlwig-
beetle, and its Double Set of Eyes.—The Iris of the Eye, and its Double Set of
Contractile Fibres.—Cotterill’s Lock and its Structure.—The Magic Lantern
and its Principle-—Chinese Shadows.—Spectre of the Brocken.—An Adven-
ture in Wiltshire.—Effect of the Halo.—The Spectroscope.—Its Structure
explained.—A Star on fire.—Motes in the Sunbeams.—Bessemer Steel made
by aid of the Spectroscope.—Absorption Bands.—Detection of Blood.—A
Man’s Life saved by the Spectroscope.—The Pocket Spectroscope.—The
Rainbow, Dewdrop, Soap-bubble, Opal, and Pearl.—The haumatrope.—
Structure of the Retina.—Complementary Colours.—The Zoetrope and
Chromatrope.—Wheel Animalcules and their Structure.—An Optical Delu-
sion.
THE WatTeER TELESCOPE.
VERY one who has watched the movements of the various
creatures which live below the surface of the water is
aware how entirely dependent he is on the unruffled character
of that surface. No matter how clear the water may be, the
least ruffling of the surface will effectually shut out all sight :—
‘* But if a stone the gentle sea divide,
Swift rippling circles rush on every side,
And glimmering fragments of a broken sun,
Banks, trees, and skies in thick disorder run.”
And there is an end of the observations. If, however, the eyes
can penetrate below the surface, the ruffling is of little con-
sequence, so long as the water is clear. Consequently, when-
ever the top of the bank is sufficiently near the water, it is
possible to continue the observations by lying down, and
immersing the head above the eyes. This plan, however, is
u 2
292 NATURE'S TEACHINGS.
not a very comfortable one, although I have often followed it
on a windy day when the surface was too ruffled to permit of
vision in any other way.
Still, there is an instrument by which it is possible to counter-
act the ruffle of the surface, and to see objects with tolerable
plainness. This is called the Water Telescope, and it is of very
simple construction. Like the ordinary telescope, it consists of
a tube, but, instead of the convex and concave lenses of that
instrument, it has only a single glass at one end, and that
glass is perfectly plane.
When used, the eye is applied to the open end, and the glazed
end lowered into the water. The sight is then undisturbed by
WHIRLWIG-BEETLE. WATER TELESCOPE.
the ripple, and the effect is the same as if the eyes themselves
were lowered beneath the surface.
It is much used in looking for shells, sea-urchins, and other
creatures which live in the bed of the sea. |
In the insect world we have an-example of a natural Water
Telescope. I do not say that the inventor of the Water
Telescope took his idea from the insect, but the reader will see
that he might very well have done so.
There are sundry little beetles popularly called Whirlwigs or
Whirligigs, and scientifically known by the name of Gyrinus.
All these names allude to the insect’s habit of whirling about on
the surface of the water, with a movement which seems cease-
less and untiring. Allusion has already been made to the
Whirlwigs on page 22.
IRIS OF THE EYE. 293
Their object in their perpetual waltz is not so much amuse-
ment as food, which chiefly consists of the tiny insects which
fall into the water. Now, in order to enable it to see both
above and below the water, a peculiar structure is required.
Generally the insects possess one pair of compound eyes, each
group being set on the sides of the head. In the Gyrinus,
however, there are two sets of these eyes, one pair being on the
upper surface of the head, and the other on the lower surface.
Thus, while it can use the upper pair for seeing objects which
are out of the water, the lower pair of eyes, which are sub-
merged, act the part of the Water Telescope, and enable it to
see objects that are below the surface. Were it not for this
precaution, even the ripples which it makes by its own rapid
progress would prevent it from seeing.
Tue [ris oF THE EYE.
I HAVE often wondered, when contemplating the astonishing ~
mechanism by which the Iris of the Hye is able to contract or
enlarge the pupil according to the amount of light, whether any
IRIS OF HUMAN EYE. COTTERILL’S LOCK.
similar mechanism would be used in Art. As anatomists
know, the Iris is composed of two layers. One consists of
radiating fibres, which serve to enlarge the pupil, while
the other layer surrounds the latter, and by its elasticity
serves to contract it. As any one may see by looking in
a mirror and shifting the lght, the pupil is perpetually
changing its diameter, but always retaining its circular
shape. A glance at the illustration will show the two layers,
and aid the reader in understanding the mode in which they
work.
294 NATURE'S TEACHINGS.
Some years ago, while looking at the account given by
Mr. J. Price of a lock invented by Mr. Cotterill, I saw at once
that the inventor, whether consciously or not, had followed the
mechanism of the eye, as far as metal could be expected to
imitate animal fibre.
In the very centre of the lock there is a small circular
opening, resembling the pupil of the eye, and serving to admit
the key, just as the pupil admits light. Around this pupil, if
we may so call it, are ranged some twenty thin steel slides
which move in channels, up and down which they slide.
Round the circumference of the lock are a corresponding
number of spiral springs, each of which presses on the base of
a slide, and forces it towards the centre.
The reader will now see that the radiating slides of the lock
represent the radiating fibres of the iris, and that the spiral
springs represent the circular fibres. Both perform the same
office, the steel slides regulating the size of the aperture, and
the spiral springs pressing them all towards the centre. The
key of the lock answers the same purpose as does light in the
eye, which by its mysterious pressure enlarges or contracts the
pupil.
This is not the place to describe this very ingenious lock in
detail, but I may state that it has never been picked. Even
Mr. Hobbs, who tried it for twenty-four hours, gave it up, and,
when he saw the interior mechanism, said that if he had tried
for a month he should have made no progress. This is an
unconscious testimony to the wisdom of following Nature in Art.
Tur Macic LANTERN,
We are all familiar with the Magic Lantern, whether it may
take the form of the mere child’s toy, be developed into Dis-
solving Views, or throw black shadows on a curtain, in which
case it is called by the name of Chinese Shadows. In all these
cases the principle is the same. First we have a light behind
the object whose reflection is to be seen. Next we have the
object itself, and lastly the surface upon which it is reflected.
As to the variety of mirrors, lamps, and lenses which are used
to produce different effects, we may put them aside as foreign to
our present purpose.
THE BROCKEN SPECTRE. 295
Generally the object is reflected upon a white curtain or
sheet, but sometimes, when a specially weird-like effect is
needed, a cloud of thick smoke takes the place of the sheet, and
MAGIC LANTERN.
upon it the reflection is shown, as seen in the accompanying
illustration.
Nature has her Magic Lanterns as well as Art, and won-
derful things they are sometimes, the well-known Brocken
Spectre being an excellent example. It is not, however, neces-
sary to visit the Brocken in order to see this apparition, for I
have seen it in perfection in England.
Many years ago, when living in Wiltshire, I went before
daybreak to the top of a very high conical hill. The morning
mist was so thick that I could scarcely see my way up the hill.
When I reached the summit, I stood there for some time, try-
ing to see the landscape, but the mist was so thick that I could
barely tell the points of the horizon by the brighter look cast
by the coming Day in the east.
I was looking westward, when suddenly the sun rose behind
me, and I saw the Brocken Spectre as I have sketched it in
the accompanying illustration. It was a gigantic shadow of
myself, projected on the mist, just as a Magic Lantern projects
the image on a sheet or a smoke-cloud. Of course my gestures
were repeated, and it really looked almost awful to see this
gigantic spectral figure set in the mist.
296 NATURE'S TEACHINGS.
Perhaps the most extraordinary part of it was the enormous
halo of rainbow colours round the head. No matter where I
moved, the halo surrounded the head of the image, its colours
being comparatively bright near the centre, and becoming
eradually paler towards the circumference.
Another point about this natural Magic Lantern ought to be
mentioned.
Wishing to show a friend the extraordinary sight of a
Brocken Spectre, I took him up the hill on a misty day like
that which has been briefly described. According to surmise,
two spectres appeared instead of one, but the halo was not
doubled as well as the shadow. I could see my friend’s shadow,
BROCKEN SPECTRE.
and he could see mine. But, although the halo was as bright
as before, each of us could only see it encircling his own head.
We stood as close to each other as we could, we moved apart as
far as the nearly conical top of the hill would allow, and in
both cases each of us could only see his own halo.
Perhaps the reader may remember the wonderful spectre-
scene drawn by Mr. Whymper, and viewed from the Matter-
horn just after the accident which had killed several of his
companions in the ascent of the hitherto impreguable peak. In
the mist there suddenly appeared three vast dark crosses enclosed
in an oval. Considering the highly-strung nerves of the sur-
vivors, it was no wonder that they were all shaken by such an
THE SPECTROSCOPE. 297
appearance, and that the guides were for a time too frightened
to proceed,
THE SPECTROSCOPE.
Next we come to one of the most astonishing and beautiful
optical instruments ever made by the hand of man. It is called
the Spectroscope, because it deals with a certain arrangement
of rays which is called a “spectrum.” Many years ago
Newton discovered the cause of the lovely colours which
deck the rainbow, and the fact that, by passing a ray of
white light through a prism, it was decomposed into seven
colours, which invariably came in the following order—Red,
Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet. He also
discovered that, by looking at that coloured band through
another prism arranged in a different manner, the decomposed
rays were again brought together, and white light was the
result.
Newton had thrown the light on the prism through a round
hole, but some time afterwards Dr. Wollaston employed a
narrow slit for the purpose, and then found that the spectrum
was traversed by dark lines which never changed their places.
On these lines depend all the discoveries that have been made
by the aid of the Spectroscope. The chief of them are designated
by the letters of the alphabet. (See page 300.)
Jt was soon found out that if burning gases were viewed
with the Spectroscope, lines were still seen, but they were
bright instead of dark, and that they invariably occupied the
place of one or more of the dark lines shown by the spectrum
of sunlight. Then it was discovered that these burning gases
absorbed or stopped out the light in the solar spectrum, and
from that moment the science rapidly advanced.
At the present day the Spectroscope not only determines the
metals which exist in the sun, but also those of the fixed stars.
It even analyzes the constitution of double stars, and shows the
reason why one star should be red and the other green.
One of the most astonishing discoveries in astronomy was
due to the Spectroscope.
During the month of May, 1866, one of the stars in the
Northern Crown (Corona Borealis) was seen to undergo a rapid
change. It was originally one of the tenth magnitude, but in
298 NATURE'S TEACHINGS.
a short time increased in size and brillancy until it nearly
equalled Sirius, Capella, or Vega. It remained bright for some
time, and then rapidly faded until it resumed its former size.
How this change was effected we never should have known
but for the Spectroscope. No sooner, however, was this instru-
ment pointed at the star than there appeared in the spectrum
the three well-known lnes—red, green, and violet—which
denote burning hydrogen. There was no doubt on the matter,
and the Spectroscope showed us that we were witnessing a
conflagration the like of which was never seen or scarcely
imagined.
Supposing our sun, which is known to be one of the stars,
and about which there are vast volumes of hydrogen gas, were
RAINBOW.
to blaze out in a similar manner, the result would be that the
whole of the planets would be consumed in a few seconds, and
converted into gases. In an instant every living thing would
be swept off the surface of the earth by this fearful heat, and,
as Mr. Roscoe says, “our solid globe would be dissipated in
vapour almost as soon as drops of water in a furnace.”
So, as Mr. Huggins observes, the old nursery rhyme,—
“ Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are,’ —
BESSEMER STEEL. 299
is no longer tenable, for we really do know the composition of
the stars.
The Spectroscope not only tells us the substance of which the
sun and the most distant stars are made, but gives us the same
information about the ‘“‘ gay motes that people the sunbeam.”
It tells us that they are common salt in very minute particles.
They have been dashed into the air by the winds as spray, and
then dispersed over the whole globe. This is one reason why
we have se much salt in our bodies, and why the blood and
the tears are so salt.
Ir is also applied to the arts. The well-known Bessemer
process consists in pouring melted iron into a peculiarly shaped
vessel called a “converter,” and blowing air through it for
the purpose of burning out the carbon. From the mouth of
the converter issues a volume of magnificent flames, and at a
certain moment the skilled workman who directs the process
inverts the vessel and pours out the steel. A very few seconds
too soon or too late would spoil the whole of the metal, in the
former case it being simply brittle cast-iron ; and, in the second,
becoming so thick that it could not be poured out.
Only a few workmen could judge rightly the exact point
at which to shut off the air-blast. They watched the flame,
and by some change in it, too slight to be noticed by any
except experienced eyes, knew the moment when the iron was
converted into steel.
Such men could, of course, demand any wages they liked,
and, by striking, stop the whole works. The Spectroscope,
however, performed this delicate discrimination far better than
the best workman. When directed to the flame, the bright
lines indicating carbon are seen in the spectrum. When the
blast has continued for some twenty minutes, the carbon lines
suddenly disappear, showing that the carbon has been burned
out, and giving to the workman the signal to shut off the air-
blast.
ANOTHER discovery was, that liquids gave dark lines,
technically termed absorption bands, of different widths and in
different parts of the spectrum. Even liquids which had no
perceptible colour threw bands as bold as those which were
300 NATURE'S TEACHINGS.
coloured, while coloured liquids threw totally different bands,
irrespectively of their own colour.
For example, the green colouring matter of leaves, called
chlorophyll, throws a single broad band on the extreme left—
i.e. across the red part of the spectrum—so far back, indeed,
that it is not easily seen at first.
Then, suppose that we make some pale solutions of red sub-
stances, such as carmine, magenta dye, port wine, logwood,
permanganate of potash, and blood, it 1s possible to have them
so exactly resembling each other that not even the microscope
can discriminate between them ; yet the Spectroscope instantly
detects the colouring matter of each solution.
The instrument is, therefore, invaluabie in detecting adul-
terations of wine. For example, supposing that red wine is
a ih
SPECTRUM OF BLOOD.
suspected of owing its redness to logwood, and not to the
genuine grape, a drop is mixed with water and viewed through
the Spectroscope, which instantly tells whether the colouring
matter is grape or logwood. And as, by photography, the
spectrum can be exactly copied, an indelible record is procured
of the true nature of the object.
So marvellously delicate is the instrument with regard to
blood, that it detects the thousandth part of a grain of colouring
matter in a blood-stain.
If upon the spectrum were printed the word BLOOD in the
largest and blackest of capitals, it could not be more legible to
an ordinary reader than are the two blood-bands to the eye of a
spectroscopist. There is nothing lke them in nature, and
whether it be by association of ideas, or by absolute fact, these
two bars have a strangely menacing look about them. Not
only that, but if the blood should be that of a person suf-
focated with carbonic acid gas, the Spectroscope will say so.
Some years ago a man owed his life to the Spectroscope. A
THE POCKET SPECTROSCOPE. 301
mysterious murder had been committed, and the police had
arrested a man who was found near the spot. He could give
no intelligible account of himself, and the sleeves of his coat
and a part of his waistcoat were deeply stained with a red sub-
stance just like clotted blood. A piece of each garment was
cut off and given to a well-known spectroscopist, who tried the
red matter in the instrument, and at once declared it not to be
blood. What it was he had not time to ascertain, so he sent
it to a brother in science, who, after examination, pronounced
it to be red gum.
By degrees, the man, who had been intoxicated when arrested,
stated that he had been to see a friend who was a journeyman
hatter. It was then found that he had been leaning on the
workman’s board, and so had carried off some of the gum-
mastic with which hats are stiffened. Had it not been for the
infallible Spectroscope, the man might have lost his life.
Thus we see that the Spectroscope is the elephant’s trunk of
optics, equally fitted for the greatest and smallest, the farthest
and nearest, of objects. It is equally at home in earth and
sky. When attached to the telescope, it reveals the constituents
of the stars, and, when affixed to the microscope, it shows
us the colouring matter of a green leaf. It produces the best
steel, and detects adulteration in wine. And, lastly, as we
have seen, it turns lawyer, and settles the evidence by which
the life of a man is lost or saved. It can determine the purity
of the smallest coinage, and tell us why a star changes in
magnitude.
Yet all these wondrous revelations are made by a few prisms
and a magnifying-glass. I possess a Spectroscope, made and
presented to me by Mr. J. Browning, the celebrated optician.
This astonishing instrument is only three inches long, and
half an inch in diameter, so that it can be carried in the waist-
coat pocket. I always keep mine in a finger of a white kid
glove, which is amply sufficient for it. Yet it gives the spec-
trum of the sun with its principal lines, will detect the fraudu-
lent wine merchant, and could have decided whether the accused
man should be acquitted or hanged.
MarvELLous and mighty as is this engine, it lay concealed
in Nature ever since the sun’s rays shone upon earth and a drop
302 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
of water existed. The Rainbow is nothing but a vast spec-
trum, a transverse slice of which would be a good representa-
tion of the coloured band which is shown in the instrument.
It is prefigured in the ever-shifting rainbows of the water-fall
and fountain, which latter may even be seen in the fountains of
Trafalgar Square, while at the Crystal Palace their beauty has
long been noticed.
There is not a dewdrop which 1s not a miniature Spectro-
scope, as it glitters with its wondrous iridescence in the rays
of the rising sun; there is not an opal with its shifting hues,
nor the splendour of the soap-bubble, nor the nacre of the
common river mussel or the ormer shell, which does not owe its
beauty to the same principles which govern the Spectroscope.
Every green leaf, and blue or pink or yellow petal, every vary-
ing tint of the mackerel sky, every blaze of sunset and blue-
erey of sunrise, owes its beauty to those wondrous laws of
light which had been hidden for so many centuries, until they
were unveiled by the simple prism of the Spectroscope. As in
so many instances, the revelation lay concealed until the coming
of the revealer, whose inspired hand raised the dark veil of
centuries.
THE THAUMATROPE.
MIDDLE-AGED persons will recollect that since the days of
their childhood a great variety of optical apparatus has been
invented ending in the word “trope.” This is a Greek word,
signifying to turn, and is given to the instruments because
they revolve.
All these toys—and they may some day become more than
toys—depend on a curious property of the human eye. The
reader will remember that in the description of the human eye,
as compared with the camera obscura as applied to pho-
tography, it was mentioned that the image was thrown from
the front to the back, and in the one case was received on a
naturally sensitive membrane, and in the other on a film ren-
dered artificially sensitive by chemical means. This mem-
brane is called the “ retina,” because it not only receives the
impression, but retains it for some little time after the object
is removed. It has been calculated that the duration of the
image is about the eighth part of a second.
THE RETINA. 303
Thus the eyelids are perpetually and unconsciously closing
aud opening with a rapid movement, popularly called ‘“ wink-
ing.” This movement is for the purpose of cleansing the eye-
ball, and, were it not for the image-retaining power of the
retina, we should pass a considerable part of our time in abso-
lute darkness. As it is, the impression of external objects on
the retina lasts longer than the time occupied in winking, and,
in consequence, we are not conscious that any interval of dark-
ness has elapsed.
Again, when we have been looking steadfastly at an object,
and then move our eyes, the image of that object is seen in the
new focus; and it is worthy of notice that such object is
always seen in its “complementary” colour. For example, if
we have been looking at a scarlet spot, and suddenly move our
eyes, we shall see a spot exactly similar in size and shape, but
of green.
I well remember that when I was a boy I was reading with
almost feverish anxiety the green handbill of a travelling
circus, to which [ hoped that I might be allowed to attend.
Having finished it, I asked for some note-paper, for the pur-
pose of putting my request in writing, but, to my astonishment,
mixed, perhaps, with a little irritation, all the paper supplied
to me was of a bright pink. For atime no arguments could
convince me that the paper was really white, until by degrees
the pink hue became paler and paler, and the paper assumed its
normal whiteness.
The fact was, that the eye had become saturated with the
green—.e. the blue and yellow rays—and could see nothing
but their complementary colour, which was pink.
A good example of this property may be found in a lighted
stick, which, if rapidly whirled round, appears to form a con-
tinuous circle of fire. The reason of this is, that the impression
made on the retina by the fiery point does not cease until the
stick has again come round in its course.
Then there are those well-known chromatic tops, in which
are inserted pieces of bent wire. When the top is spun
these pieces of wire assume exactly the appearance of trans-
parent jugs, vases, glasses, and similar articles. A very pretty
illustration of this principle is given by a little machine, which
is made to revolve rapidly by means of a multiplying wheel.
304 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
Upon its surface are fixed little pins, with polished globular
steel heads, and, when the handle is turned, these heads form
the most beautiful and intricate figures with exact accuracy.
Another toy, called the Thaumatrope, or Wonder-turner, is
equally ingenious and beautiful, and is sufficiently simple to be
made by any one with a slight knowledge of drawing. A disc
of white cardboard is cut, and upon each side of it is portrayed
some object. If the dise be caused to revolve rapidly, these
two subjects will be seen at the same time, the image of each
being held on the retina long enough to allow the other to take
its place.
Some very beautiful combinations may be made by means of
this instrument. or example, a horse may be on one side, and
a man on the other, and, by spinning the disc, the man will be
seen mounted on the horse. Then we may have a boat on one
side, and a rower with his oars on the other. Similarly a mouse
can be put into a trap, or a bird into a cage.
The reader must remember that these subjects must be
drawn as if they were upside down with regard to each other,
so that the man who is to ride the horse is drawn as if he were
standing on his head, and the mouse which is to enter the trap
looks as if it were lying on its back.
The most simple manner of spinning the disc is by means of
two threads, each being inserted near the edge of the disc, and
exactly opposite each other.
A very ingenious modification of the Thaumatrope is made
by inserting at one side of the disc two strings, of which one is
elastic. It is evident, then, that by lengthening or shortening
the elastic string, the axis can be changed, and the objects on
the opposite sides placed in positions relatively different from each
other. Thus the jockey may be made to jump on and off his
horse, the bird to go in and out of its cage, the mouse to enter
the trap, and soon. This simple invention allows of infinite
combinations, so that a tree may be made to sprout, a man to
move his limbs, and a bird to flap its wings. It was invented,
I believe, by Dr. Paris, author of ‘“‘ Philosophy in Sport made
Science in Earnest.”
On the right hand of the illustration are seen three figures,
each representing a means of obtaining an ocular delusion
through the principle of which we are now treating.
THE ZOETROPE. 305
The lower figure is called the Zoetrope, or Wheel of Life.
As the reader may see, it consists of a hollow cylinder, revolving
on a centre, and having within it a series of figures. When the
wheel revolves, and the figures are viewed through the slits,
each figure seems to be in lifelike motion, whence the name
of Zoetrope. In the present case the figures are those of boys
jumping over posts.
The mode in which this effect is produced is as follows :—
Suppose that a boy were really to jump over a post, he would
go through a series of motions, and his body be placed in a
certain series of positions, before he cleared the post. Suppos-
ing, then, that several points were chosen in his course, and his ©
WHEEL ANIMALCULE. PHANTASMASCOPE. CHROMATROPE.
ZOETROPE.
body drawn as it would appear at these points, and the drawings
placed in their proper order in the Zoetrope, it is evident that
the figures must appear in movement. Before the retina loses
the image of the boy standing in front of the post, it takes in that
of the boy stooping, with his hands on the top of the post, and
so on until he has reached the ground on the opposite side.
Another mode of producing the same effect, called the
Phantasmascope, is seen above the zoetrope. In this case the
images are placed on the inside of the disc, which is held
opposite a mirror, and the figures viewed through the slits.
The last of these figures is the rather complicated one, like
D.¢
306 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
the back of an “ engine-turned”’ watch. This is called the
Chromatrope, or Wheel of Colour, and is always a favourite
object in a magic lantern. It consists of two circular plates of
glass, one upon the other, and painted in variously coloured
curved lines, as seen 1n the illustration. When the image is
thrown upon a screen, and the glass plates turned in opposite
directions, a most singular and beautiful effect is produced. The
lines, unless the eye follows them very closely, disappear, and
torrents of coloured spots seem to pour from the centre to the
circumference, or vice versd, according to the direction in
which the glass wheels are turned. So perfect is the illusion,
that it is almost impossible to believe that the movement is
only circular, and not spiral.
Now we will pass from Art to Nature. The figure on the
left hand of the same illustration represents part of one of the
Wheel Animalcules, so called because they look exactly as if
the fore-part of their bodies were furnished with two delicate
wheels, running rapidly round, and evidently moving or stop-
ping at the pleasure of the owner.
Soon after the powers of the microscope became known,
these Wheel-bearers were discovered, and for a long time they
were thought to have a pair of veritable revolving wheels upon
their heads. They were naturally held in high estimation, as,
although almost every kind of lever can be found in the animal —
world, a revolving wheel had never been seen. However, as
the defining powers of the microscope improved, the so-called
wheels were found not to be wheels at all, but stationary
organs, and that their apparent revolution was nothing but an,
optical delusion.
The wheels are, in fact, two discs, around the edges of which
are set certain hair-like appendages, called “ cilia,” from a
Latin word signifying the eyelashes. ach of the cilia has an
independent motion of its own, and, as they bend in rapid and
regular succession, they produce an effect on the eye similar to
that of a revolving body. As for the animal itself, they
produce a double effect, either acting as paddles, and forcing the
animal through the water, or, when it is affixed to some object,
pausing a current which drives into its mouth the minute beings
on which it feeds.
WHEEL ANIMALCULES. 307
The particular species of Wheel-bearer.whose mouth is here
shown is called scientifically Limnias ceratophyii. It derives
the latter name from the fact that it is mostly found on the
submerged stems and leaves of the Hornwort (Ceratophylium),
which is very common in ponds and slow streams. The
creature is, however, to be found on the water-growing plants,
and Mr. Gosse, in his “ Evenings with the Microscope,” gives a
very full and graphic account of itself and its habits.
He specially mentions the use of the wheels, and, by
dissolving a little carmine in the water, had the pleasure of
seeing the coloured granules swept into the mouth by the
current caused by the cilia. through the jaws, and so into the
stomach.
USEFUL ARTS.
CHAPTER I.
PRIMITIVE MAN AND HIS NEEDS. — EARTHENWARE. — BALL-
AND-SOCKET JOINT.—TOGGLE OR KNEE JOINT.
Contrast between Savagery and Civilisation.—Manufacture of Weapons.—
Earthenware of Art.—Sun-baked Vessels.—Earthenware of Nature.—Nest
of Pied Grallina.—Analogy with the Babylonish Brick.—Nest of the Oven-
bird.—A_ partitioned Vessel.—Necked earthenware Vessels.—Nests of
Eumenes, Trypoxylon, and Pelopceus.—Proof of Reason in Insects.—The
Ball-and-socket Joint.—“ Bull’s-eye” of Microscope.—The human Thigh-
bone.—Vertebre of the Serpents and their Structure.—The Sea-urchin and
its Spines.—Legs and Antennz of Insects.—The Toggle or Knee Joint, and
its Use in the Arts.—The hand Printing-press and the Toggle-joint.—The
human Leg and Arm.—Power of the natural Togele-joint.—Fencing and
Boxing.—Heads of Carriages.—“‘ Bowsing”’ of Ropes.—Leaf-rolling Cater-
pillars.
te the primitive ages of Man the aids to civilisation were
very few and very rude. Some of them, especially those
which relate to hunting and war, have already been mentioned,
and we now have to deal with some of those which bear upon
domestic life.
Here we are in some little difficulty, for it is not very easy
to draw the line where domestic life begins, or the mode in
which it shall be defined. We may at all events connect
domestic life with a residence of some sort, and may, in conse-
quence, neglect all such primitive savages as need no domestic
implements.
Such, for example, are the few surviving Bosjesmans of
Southern Africa, not one of whom ever made a tool or an
implement, or looked beyond the present day. The genuine
Bosjesman can make a bow and poison his arrows, and he can
light a fire; but there his civilisation ends. He cannot look
beyond the present hour, he has not the faintest notion of
EARTHENWARE. 309
making a provision for the future, nor did his wildest imagina-
tion ever compass the idea of a pot or a pan.
He kills his prey, and, if hunger be very pressing, he wil’
eat it at once without waiting for the tedious ceremony of
cooking ; or at the best will just throw the meat upon the fire,
tear it to pieces with his teeth, and swallow it when it is
nothing but a mass of bleeding flesh, charred on the outside,
and absolutely raw within. The Bosjesman has not even a tent
which he can call his own, any bush or hole in the ground
answering for a house as long as he wants it, and then being
exchanged for another.
As far as we know, the only trace of civilisation in the
Bosjesman is his manufacture of weapons, and even his bow
and arrows are of the rudest and clumsiest forms. Nor is it
likely that he will ever advance any further ; for, as is the wont
of all savage tribes, he is disappearing fast before the presence
of superior races, and will shortly be as extinct as the Tas-
manians, the last of whom died only a few years ago.
EARTHENWARE.
Tue advent of real civilisation seems to depend largely upon
the construction, not of weapons, but utensils, and the most
useful of these are intended either for the preparation or the
preservation of food. That such vessels should be made of
earth is evident enough, and it is worthy of remark that the
rude earthenware pot of the naked savage and the delicate
china of Sévres should both be products of the earth, and yet
be examples of the opposite ends of civilisation.
The most primitive earthenware vessels were simply baked
in the rays of the sun, the use of fire for hardening them being
of later date. Rude and simple as they are, some of these
vessels possess tolerable strength, and can answer every purpose
for which they are intended. I possess several pots made by
the aborigines of the Essequibo district. They are very thick
and heavy in proportion to their dimensions, and are still so
fragile that I have been obliged to bind them with string when-
ever they are moved.
Simple as they are, however, they are pleasing to the eye,
chiefly, I presume, because they are made for a definite office,
310 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
and fulfil it, and have no pretence about them. Then, as
they are moulded by hand alone, without any assistance from
machinery of any kind, even a wheel, the individuality of the
maker is stamped upon them, and no two are exactly alike either
in form, colour, or ornament. A couple of these rude vases are
to be seen on the right hand of the accompanying illustration.
On the left hand of the same illustration are shown two
examples of earthenware vessels made by birds, which are
nearly, if not quite, as good as those made by the hands of
civilised man.
The upper figure represents the nest of the Pied Grallina
(Grallina Australis), a bird which, as its specific name implies,
is a native of Australia.
This nest is formed chiefly of clay, but a quantity of dried
wey
OD O
NEST OF PIED GRALLINA. PRIMITIVE EARTHENWARE.
NEST OF OVEN-BIRD.
grass 1s always mixed with it, and serves to bind it together.
If one of these nests be broken up, and compared with the
bricks of which ancient Babylon was built, it will be found
that they are almost identical in material, and that both are
merely baked in the sun. In form it so closely resembles an
Hssequibo jar in my possession, that if it. were removed from
the branch, and similarly coloured, it would not be easy to
distinguish the one from the other.
BrEtow this is the nest of the Oven-bird of South America
(Furnarius fuliginosus), a bird allied to our common creeper.
The drawing was taken from a specimen in the British
Museum.
Like the nest of the Grallina, it is placed upon some hori-
EARTHEN NESTS. ol
zontal bough, and fixed so firmly that it cannot fall except by
being broken to pieces. Not being afraid of man, the Oven-
bird often chooses a beam in some outhouse for a resting-place,
and has been known to build even on the top of palings. As
may be seen by reference to the illustration, the nest is a very
conspicuous one, and concealment is almost impossible.
As in the Grallina nest, the material is remarkably hard
and firm, as indeed is necessary, to allow it to withstand
the effects of the rain-torrents which fall during the wet
seasons of the year.
There is a curious analogy in this nest with many articles
of earthenware. Not only among ourselves, but among un-
civilised races, earthenware vessels are constructed with
partitions, so as to divide one portion from another. If one
of these nests be cut open, it will be found to have a sort of
partition wall across the interior, rising nearly to the top of
the dome, and so dividing it into two parts. The wall also
answers another purpose—.e. that of strengthening the entire
structure. Within the inner chamber is the real nest, which
is lined with a thick layer of feathers, the outer chamber being
bare, and, as it is thought, being occupied by the male.
WE now come to pottery of a more elaborate shape. Both
in the Grallina nest and the earthen pot of the Essequibo
Indian we have a vessel with a mouth nearly as wide as its
greatest diameter, and with a lip which is very slightly turned
over. There are, however, many varieties of pottery in which
the neck is narrow and long, and the lip is boldly formed.
Some examples of this form are given on the right hand of the
accompanying illustration.
On the left hand are shown some nests of a solitary wasp
belonging to the genus Humenes. It is a British insect,
but seems to have been little noticed, except by professed ento-
mologists.
It especially haunts heather, and affixes to the stems of the
plant its little globular nests, which are made of mud, and
shaped as seen in the illustration. Perhaps some of my readers
may have seen the “‘ Napier Coffee Machine,” which draws the
coffee into a glass globe furnished with a short neck. The
312 NATURE'S TEACHINGS.
globe is shaped exactly like the nest of our Eumenes, and,
when I first saw one, I aoule not remember why its shape was
so familiar to me.
As is the case with the birds’ nests which nes been men-
tioned, the mud of which the walls are built is of a most tena-
cious character, and, when dried in the sun, can resist the
heaviest rain. The cells are intended as rearing-places for the
young, only a single egg being placed in each cell, which is
then stocked with small caterpillars by way of food.
THERE is a South American insect also belonging to the
solitary wasps, and remarkable for building a round nest exactly
similar in material, and nearly identical in shape, with that of
‘NESTS OF EUMENES. ANCIENT NECKED POTTERY.
the Eumenes. Its scientific title is Trypoxylon aurifrons. The
nest of this insect has a much wider mouth than that of the
Eumenes, and exactly resembles the upper left-hand jar in
the illustration.
AnoTHER South American solitary wasp, belonging to the
genus Pelopceus, makes nests of similar material, but nearly
cylindrical in shape instead of globular. The nest is built
up of successive rings of moistened and well-kneaded clay,
exactly as human houses are built by bricklayers. Indeed,
the process of making a Pelopceus’ nest has been happily com-
pared to that of building a circular chimney.
I may as well mention here that the name Pelopceus is
BALL-AND-SOCKET JOINTS. 313
formed from a Greek word signifying mud, and that the entire
word may be translated as “mud-worker.”
As a proof that these insects possess reason as well as instinct,
Mr. Gosse mentions that one of them, instead of making her
nest for herself, utilised an empty bottle, and, after storing it
with spiders, stopped up the mouth with clay. Finding, after
an absence of a few days, that the nest had been disturbed, she
removed the spiders, inserted a fresh supply, and then closed
the mouth as before.
BALL-AND-SOCKET JOINT.
We will now see how some of the most useful mechanical
inventions have had their prototypes in Nature.
There is, for example, the well-known “ Ball-and-socket
joint,” without which many of our instruments, especially
those devoted to optical purposes, would be impracticable.
HIP-JOINT. SPINES OF SEA-URCHIN. BALL-AND-SOCKET JOINT
VERTEBRZ OF SNAKE. OF MICROSCOPE.
The figure on the right hand of the illustration represents the
“bull’s-eye ” of my own microscope. It will be seen that there
is a ball half sunk in a cup, so that it can be turned in any
direction. In point of fact, the upper part of the ball is nearly
concealed by another cup, but, in order to show the structure,
the upper cup has been removed. Who was the inventor of
the ball-and-socket joint I do not know, but I have little doubt
that he must have had in his mind many natural examples of
this joint, three of which are represented in the illustration.
314 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
On the left hand are seen the upper part of the human thigh-
bone and that part of the hip-bone into which it fits.
The reader will see that at its upper end the bone takes
rather a sharp turn, and is then modified into a ball. This
ball fits into a corresponding socket, technically named the
“acetabulum,” and is thereby endowed with freedom of motion
in almost every direction. Generally we do not practise our
limbs sufficiently to develop that full freedom, but those who
have seen any good professional acrobats must have been
struck with the wonderful mobility of which the human body
is capable.
The socket is not a deep one, but dislocation of the hip is
exceedingly rare, the bone being held in its place by three
powers. ‘The first is due to a short ligament, which, however,
does not always exist, but, when it is present, is useful in
retaining the bone in its place. Then there is the contractile
power of the thigh muscles, which are always forcing the ball
into the socket. Lastly, there is the pressure of the atmosphere,
a force which is seldom taken into consideration, but which has
ereat influence on many parts of the human frame. This part
of the subject will be resumed when we come to treat of
Atmospheric Pressure.
The arms are jointed to the shoulder-blades in a very similar
manner, the upper arm-bone, or ‘“‘ humerus,” being furnished
with a rounded end, and fitting into a cup-like cavity in the
shoulder-blade, or “scapula.” This formation can easily be
seen by separating the different bones of a shoulder of
mutton.
At the bottom of the illustration are given two vertebre of
a snake, separated in order to show their structure. It will be
seen that each joint has a ballin front and a socket behind,
thus giving the creature that wonderful flexibility which is
quite proverbial, and without which it could not seize its
prey.
The following eloquent passage is taken from Professor
Owen’s work entitled “The Skeleton and the Teeth : ”—
‘‘Serpents have been regarded as animals degraded from a
higher type, but their whole organization, and especially their
bony structure, demonstrate that their parts are as exquisitely
VERTEBRA OF THE SERPENT. 315
adjusted to the form of their whole, and to their habits and
sphere of life, as is the organization of any animal which we
call superior to them.
“Tt is true that the serpent has no limbs, yet it can out-
climb the monkey, outswim the fish, outleap the Jerboa, and,
suddenly loosening the coils of its crouching spiral, it can spring
into the air and seize the bird upon the wing: all these
creatures have been observed to fall its prey.
“The serpent has neither hands nor talons, yet it can out-
wrestle the athlete, and crush the tiger in the embrace of its
ponderous overlapping folds. Instead of licking up its food as
it glides along, the serpent uplifts its crushed prey, and presents
it, grasped in the death-coil as in hand, to its slimy, gaping
mouth,
“It is truly wonderful to see the work of hands, feet, and
fins performed by a modification of the vertebral column—
by a multiplication of its segments with mobility of its ribs.
But the vertebre are especially modified, as we have seen, to
compensate, by the strength of their numerous articulations,
for the weakness of their manifold repetition, and the conse-
quent elongation of the slender column.
«« As serpents move chiefly on the surface of the earth, their
danger is greatest from pressure and blows from above; all the
joints are fashioned accordingly to resist yielding, and sustiin
pressure in a vertical direction; there is no natural undulation
of the body upwards and downwards—it is permitted only
from side to side. So closely and compactly do the ten pairs
of joints between each of the two hundred or three hundred
vertebree fit together, that even in the relaxed and dead state
the body cannot be twisted except in a series of side coils.”
THE upper right-hand figure represents a portion of the
shell of an Hchinus, or Sea-urchin, together with two of the
spikes.
The reader will remember that in the description of the
Heart-urchin, and the mode in which it dug its way into the
sand, the peculiar mobility of the spines was mentioned. How
that mobility is produced we shall now see.
If a living Sea-urchin can be procured, and placed in a
glass vessel filled with sea-water, it will at once be seen that
316 NATURE'S TEACHINGS.
its surface is thickly covered with spines. In some species
these spines are as thick as ordinary drawing pencils; but in
most of those which are found on our shores they are very slight,
and scarcely longer than darning-needles. They are in almost
perpetual motion, and generally have a sort of revolving move-
ment, the base being the pivot.
Now, if we take a dried shell of the Sea-urchin, we shall
find that the spines will come off with a touch, and, indeed, to
preserve one with all the spines complete is a most difficult
business. Let us, therefore, pull one from its attachment, and
examine its base. This will be found to be swollen into a cup-
like form, as seen in the ilustration ; and, if we look at the
spot whence it came, we shall see that there is a little, rounded,
polished prominence, exactly fitting into the cup, just as the
ball of the human thigh-bone fits into the acetabulum. It
has also its ligament to keep it in its place, and its same set of
muscles that move it, and is altogether a most wonderful piece
of mechanism. There are in some species of Echinus about
four thousand of these spines.
Tue legs of. an insect afford excellent examples of the ball-
and-socket principle, the socket being on the body, and the
ball on the base of the leg. Some of our largest insects—such,
for example, as the common Stag-beetle—exhibit this principle
very well. I have now before me a Stag-beetle which has been
dead for many years, and is quite dry and hard. Yet I can
rotate the legs almost as freely as if the beetle had been
just killed, so easily do the joints work. Even the antenne,
which are affixed to the head by a similar joint, move about
by their own weight on merely changing the position of the
insect.
These are only a few of the many natural examples of the
Ball-and-socket joint, but they are sufficient for our purpose.
THE ToGcLe ork KNEE JOINT.
ANOTHER most useful invention now comes before us, called
the Toggle-joint, or Knee-joint, the latter name being given
to if on account of its manifest resemblance to the action of
the human knee.
THE TOGGLE OR KNEE JOINT. 5 Uy
This joint is shown in the illustration. [t consists of two
levers, jointed together at one end, and having the other ends
jointed to the objects which are to be pressed asunder. It will
be seen that if the centre of the Toggle be pushed or pulled in |
the direction of the arrow, so as to straighten the levers, the ©
amount of pressure upon them is enormous. Such an appa-
ratus as this combines simplicity and power in a wonderful
manner, and is greatly used in machinery, especially in
presses, where the force is required to be great, but not of long
duration.
An ordinary two-foot rule, when bent, affords a good
example of the Toggle-joint, and will exert a wonderful
amount of force.
The illustration represents one of the common printing-
presses that are worked by hand. When the workman draws
Ay .
=< SS
FENCERS. PRINTING=-PRESS.
the handle horizontally, he causes the two portions of the
Toggle to approach a straight line. The upper half of the
Toggle being jointed to the fixed beam above, and the other
half to the movable plate or “ platen ” below, it is evident that
the latter will be pressed downwards with enormous force.
Indeed, so great is the power of this instrument, that a man
of moderate strength can exert a pressure of many tons.
WE now proceed from Art to Nature, and take first the
human knee, being the joint from which this piece of mecha-
nism has derived one of its names.
If the reader will look at the figure of the fencers, he will
see that the arm and leg are both Toggle-joints. In the one
318 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
who is standing on the defence they are bent, and in the
other, who has just made a longe, the Toggles of the right arm
and left leg are straightened. It is by the straightening of
these joints, and not by the action of stabbing, that the rapidity
and force of a thrust are achieved.
It is just the same in boxing. No one who has the least
knowledge of sparring strikes a round-handed blow, for,
putting aside the ease with which it is parried or avoided,
it has scarcely any force init. When a boxer hits “ straight
from the shoulder,” he not only straightens the Toggle-joint
of his left arm, but that of his right knee also, so that the
force of the blow comes quite as much from the leg as the
arm.
It is by the right use of this joint that a small man,
provided he be an expert boxer, will easily conquer an ignorant
opponent who far surpasses him in size and weight. I have
seen in a sparring-match a man not only knocked down, but
fairly lifted off his feet, by a blow from a smaller opponent.
The blow took effect under the chin, and, as the boxer hit
exactly the right moment in straightening both limbs, a very
great force was exerted with little apparent effort. I do not
know which of the two combatants was the more astonished,
the one to find himself on his back without exactly knowing
how he got there, and the other to see his antagonist pros-
trate without exactly knowing how the thing was done.
The jointed apparatus by which the heads of carriages
are raised or lowered is a good example of the Toggle, and
exemplifies the force which a comparatively slight piece of
machinery can exercise.
AwNoTHER form of the Togele-joint is the process called by
sailors ‘‘bowsing” of rope. If a rope be fastened at both
ends, and then pulled in the middle, the ends are drawn
forcibly towards each other. This plan is mostly adopted in
getting up sails) When a sail, say the mainsail of a cutter,
has to be hoisted as far as it will go, the last few inches are
always very obstinate. The word is then given to ‘“ bowse.”
The rope, or haulyard, is no longer pulled at the end, but a
turn is taken round the cleat, so that it does not give way.
The rope is then forcibly pulled away from the mast, when
LEAF-ROLLING CATERPILLARS. 319
up goes the gaff a little higher. In this way, by repeated
bowsings, the gaff is coaxed, so to speak, up the mast, and
forced into its place.
Some of the leaf-rolling caterpillars act in a similar manner,
by alternately bowsing and shortening their lines. As, how-
ever, their mode of working will be described under another
heading, we will say no more of them at present.
USEFUL ARTS.
CHAPTER II.
CRUSHING INSTRUMENTS. —THE NUT -CRACKERS, ROLLING-
MILL, AND GRINDSTONE. — PRESSURE OF ATMOSPHERE.—
SEED DIBBLES AND DRILLS.
Importance of Leverage in Crushing Power.—Nut-crackers a Lever of the Second
Order.—The Chaff-cutting and Tobacconists’ Machines.—Jaws of various
Animals.—The Wolf-fish or Sea-wolf.—The Rolling-mill and its Action.—
Gunpowder-mills and Granulating Machine.—The ‘‘Jacob’s Ladder.”—
The Mangle and its various Adaptations.—The Grindstone.—Primitive
Grindstones of the Savage Races.—The Kafirs and the Inhabitants of Pales-
tine.—Ceasing of the Milistone.— Facing” of Millstones.—Tusk of the
Elephant and its Structure.—Its Facings always preserved.—Power of
Self-renewal.—Pressure of Atmosphere.—The Napier Coffee Machine.—
The Cupping Instrument.—The Pneumatic Peg.—The Magdeburg Hemi-
spheres.—Plane Surfaces of Glass or Metal.—Suckers of the Cuttle-fish.—
Foot of the Water-beetle-—The Limpet.—The Star-fish and its Mode of
Progression.—The Sucking-fish and the Fables connected with it.—Its real
Structure.—Modification of the Dorsal Fin.—The Gobies and Lump-fish.—
The Gecko and Tree-frog.—The Lampern and the Medicinal Leech.—Seed.
Dibbles and Drills.—Labourers versus Machinery.—Natural Dibble of the
Grasshopper.—The Daddy Long-legs.—Drills and Dibbles of the Ichneumon-
flies:—A wonderful Specimen trom Bogoté.—The Pelecinus and its Mode
of laying Eggs.
CrusHING INSTRUMENTS.
ae we are on the subject of leverage, we will take some
examples of levers in Art and Nature, without, however,
even attempting to exhaust the topic.
On the right hand of the illustration is shown a very familiar
example of a lever, namely, nut-crackers, with a nut between
them. This useful implement is simply an adaptation of levers
of the second kind, the power being represented by the human
hand, the weight by the nut, and the fulcrum being the joint of
the instrument.
The common chaff-cutter, which is worked by hand, is
another familiar example of this kind of lever, and so is the knife
used by tobacconists in cutting cake Cavendish into threads,
ORUSHING INSTRUMENTS.: d21
and by druggists for similar purposes. In these instruments
the point of the knife is jointed to some fixed objeci, and
becomes the fulcrum ; the hand of the cutter supplies the power,
and the weight is the object which is being cut. It will be
seen that, by increasing the length of the handle, very great
power can be obtained.
Exchanging the power for weight, we have in the common
tongs, whether used for the coals or for sugar, a leverage of a
similar character, the weight moving over a greater space than
the power. A good example of this is to be found in the
deltoid muscle of the human arm. The muscle, which furnishes
the power, contracts about an inch, and, so doing, moves the
JAWS OF WOLF-FISH. NUT-CRACKERS.
hand over some forty inches of space. It has been well stated
that if a man is able to hold in his hand, and with extended
arm, a weight of twenty-five pounds, the muscle must be exert-
ing a power of forty times as great, 7.e. about a thousand
pounds.
THERE is little doubt that, in such Crushing Instruments as
have been mentioned, the idea has been taken from the jaws of
sundry animals. We know, for example, that with ourselves,
if we desire to crack a walnut or a filbert in our teeth, we
always put it as far back as possible, so as to make the leverage
as powerful as possible. Noone would ever dream of crack-
ing a nut with his front teeth, an act which would be very
.
So8 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
much like that of trying to break a piece of coal by pinching
it with the tongs.
The left-hand figure of the illustration represents part of the
jaws of the Wolf-fish, or Sea-wolf, as it is sometimes called,
and a very wonderful crushing machine it is. The Sea-wolf
(Anarrhicas lupus), sometimes called the Sea-cat, or Swine-
fish, is tolerably common on our coasts, and, as it sometimes
attains a length of seven feet, and is proportionately stout and
muscular, the power of its bite may be estimated. The fish in
question feeds chiefly on crustacea and hard-shelled molluscs,
and is therefore furnished with an apparatus which can crush
their shells. Extrernes meet. The Sea-anemones, which are
mere films of animal matter, and can be torn in pieces with
the finger and thumb, can seize, swallow, and digest a crab or
an oyster in spite of the thick and strong shells in which they
are enclosed. So can the Sea-wolf, and fishes of a similar
character. But nothing intermediate can touch them, and it
is curious to reflect that such opposite means should produce a
similar effect.
On reference to the illustration, the reader will see how
exact is the parallel between the Nut-crackers and the Sea-
wolf’s jaws, both being worked on the same principle, and
both being furnished with a series of projecting points, which
are used for the purpose of preventing the escape of the object
which is te be crushed. The terrible grasping power of the
crocodile, the dolphin, and other predacious creatures can be
explained on the same principle.
THe RoLuING-MILL.
WE now come to another variation of the Crushing Machine,
i.e. that in which the motion is constant, and not intermittent,
as is the case with those machines which have just been
mentioned.
Perhaps some of my readers may have visited those great
iron-works in which huge masses of iron are rolled into plates
of greater or less thickness, or are cut up into strips as easily
as if they were butter.
The mechanism is in its principle simple enough. The
cylindrical rollers are placed nearly in contact, and forcea
THE ROLLING-MILL. 323
towards each other by mechanical means, such as levers, screws,
or springs, or all three combined. These cylinders revolve in
opposite directions, and, if any object be placed between them,
they draw it through them, and present it on the other side in
a flattened condition.
Many years ago, one of my schoolfellows, who had been
brought up entirely under the care of some maiden ladies,
was visiting a workshop, and must needs put his finger between
two revolving rollers. Of course the hand was drawn between
them, and simply squeezed flat. The machine was instantly
stopped, and the hand extricated; and the strange thing was,
that the crushed and shapeless hand afterwards recovered its full
JAWS OF SKATE. CRUSHING-MILL AND ROLLER.
power, though not its shape, and was able to touch the keys of
the piano.
The whole process of the Rolling-mill is singularly inter-
esting, whether it be used for large or small objects.
Supposing that the grooved rollers of the illustration were
cut across so as to present a number of points, it is evident
that anything which got between them would be bitten to
pieces, each piece being of a tolerably uniform shape.
This plan is now adopted in the granulation of gunpowder.
After the future powder has emerged from the hydraulic
press in the form called “ press-cake,” it was formerly broken
to bits with wooden or copper mallets, and then placed in a
very peculiar kind of sieve. This was shaped like an ordinary
sieve, but the bottom was made of cowhide, pierced with
innumerable holes. A round pebble was placed in the sieve,
and, when the latter was violently shaken backwards and for-
Y 2
324 NATURE'S TEACHINGS.
wards, the powder was driven through the holes by the pressure
of the stone, and was afterwards separated into its various
degrees of fineness.
I have only twice seen this process, and confess to have been
in a very nervous state on both occasions. The sieve is
whirled about with enormous velocity, and the pebble flies
round as if it were a thing alive. Let but a broken needle or a
fragment of stone get into the sieve, or even let the stone itself
break asunder, and there will be an instantaneous explosion,
which will hurl the house, the machinery, and the workmen
into unknown regions.
Now, however, the mode of granulating powder is radically
altered. There is a series of double cylinders, such as shown in
the illustration, and each of them has the ridges cut into teeth
in regular order. Thus the first set of rollers or cylinders
merely bites the press-cake into convenient pieces, though
seldom of the same weight.
The press-cake, thus bitten to pieces, is passed through a
series of cylindrical sieves, each graduated with the utmost
accuracy, and being turned by means of machinery. Being
set on a slope, the powder runs by its own weight down them,
and all those particles which cannot pass through the meshes
are poured out untouched at the lower end.
The portions which are too large to pass the openings of the
first sieve are then handed onwards by means of a machine called
a “ Jacob’s Ladder,” which consists of a series of little vessels or
buckets strung on a tape, and revolving over a couple of wheels.
The first set of buckets takes the coarsely bitten press-cake to
the second set of rollers, the teeth of which are comparatively
small. Thence it is passed over to a third set, and so forth, until
it is delivered in any quality of grain which may be required.
The modern Mangle, again, affords a good example of this
principle. The old obtrusive, costly, and cumbrous Mangle,
which was nothing more than a heavy box of stones upon
rollers, has given place to the modern system of duplex action
in rollers, and one of the old Mangles is not easily to be seen,
unless it be worked as a curiosity. In fact, it is nearly as obso-
lete as the spinning-wheel, which yet may be seen in some of our
country villages, where scarcely one per cent. of the population
has ever been in a town, and many of them, the women espe-
THE GRINDSTONE. o2e
cially, make it their boast that they have never been beyond
the outskirts of their village.
This clumsy machine is now replaced by the very simple
invention which has been in vogue for some years, and which
can not only release, but regulate, the pressure at any moment,
by means of springs, levers, and weights. This machine is, in
fact, exactly the same as that which is represented in the illus-
tration, except that the rollers are quite smooth. They can be
adjusted to almost any amount of pressure by levers and weights
which are attached to the upper roller, and, when the linen has
passed through them, it has undergone the double operation, of
wringing and mangling. It does not occupy one-quarter of the
space of the old machine, and is light enough to be moved
easily from place to place.
THE GRINDSTONE.
Be1nG on the subject of jaws and teeth as a mode of breaking
to pieces objects which are placed between them, we will take
those implements which grind to powder, or ‘‘triturate,’’ instead
of breaking or flattening.
From the very earliest ages, and as soon as man had begun
to discover the ‘‘ staff of life,” the art of grinding naturally
assumed an ever-increasing importance.
The first and most primitive mode of grinding corn and
converting it into meal was that which was followed by Sarah,
when she welcomed her husband’s guests, which we know, from
internal evidence, was followed by the uncivilised races who
formerly inhabited this island, and by many semi-savages of
the present day.
Nothing could be simpler than the machinery used, and
nothing could cause a greater waste of muscular power. Two
stones were employed, a large one upon which the grain was
placed, and a smaller which was held in the hands, and used
for grinding the corn to powder, just as the painters of the
last century used to grind their colours. The Kafirs of
Southern Africa use this simple mill, and so exactly do they
keep unconsciously to the customs of long-perished natives,
that if one of their mills were buried for a few years and dug
up again, it might be mistaken for one of the ancient “querns.”
326 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
As the stone held in the hand was rounded, it naturally wore a
rounded hollow in the lower stone, and this made the process
of trituration easier. Perhaps some of my readers may have
noticed that when a chemist makes up a prescription, and is
obliged to reduce one of the ingredients to powder, he always
does so by rubbing, and not by pounding, as is generally believed.
He works the pestle round and round the mortar with a kind
of twisting motion, and thus obtains a powder much too fine to
_ have been produced by any amount of pounding.
The labour of this operation is necessarily very severe, and
therefore the Kafir of the present day, as did his predecessors
TOOTH OF ELEPHAN’. GRINDSTONE.
of the long-lost races, declines to do it himself, but hands it
over to the women. In Palestine, as in other parts of the
world, a simple mill has been invented, which takes away
much of the labour, and, above all, releases the grinder from
the obligation of leaning with her full weight upon the upper
stone. In this mill the stones are similar. The upper is
moved backwards and forwards round a pivot, and the grain is
passed between them by means of a conical aperture in the upper
stone, which answers the purpose of our ‘“ hopper.”
In order to work this mill, two women are required, sitting
opposite each other, with the mill between them, holding the
same handle, and assisting each other in turning the stone
backwards and forwards. No one who has not seen this
operation can fully appreciate the force of the saying that
‘two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be
taken, and the other left.”
GRINDING TEETH. S27
It is worthy of remark that, even at the present day, the
custom of grinding corn is carried out in Palestine as it was so
many centuries ago, and that it is repeated in Southern Africa
among the Kafir tribes. In both parts of the earth the first
sound of early morning is caused by the millstones of the
grinding women, and the amount and duration of the noise
afford a sure test of prosperity. Cessation of the millstones
signifies adversity and a thin population, as has been said by a
writer who lived not very far from three thousand years ago.
Speaking of tribulation, he mentions that ‘the grinders cease
because they be few, and that the doors shall be shut in the
streets when the sound of the grinding is low.”
After awhile improvements were gradually introduced into
the business of grinding, not the least of which was covering
its surface with ridges, instead of leaving it entirely smooth, as
it had been formerly. Millers of the present time know the
value of these ridges, and the additional grinding power which
this “facing” gives toa stone. One of these stones is repre-
sented in the illustration, so as to show the system on which
the ridges and grooves are constructed.
Now, passing from Art to Nature, we find that the whole
system of the millstone, its movement and its ridged sur-
face, existed in the times when man had not yet come upon
earth.
The reader is probably aware that among the tooth-bearing
animals there are three types of teeth. First come the incisors,
or cutting teeth, which occupy the front of the jaw, and find
their fullest development in the rodent animals, such as the
beaver, the squirrel, the rabbit, and the rat. Next them
come the canine or piercing teeth, which are so highly de-
veloped in all the cat tribe. Lastly, there are the molar or
masticating teeth, so called from a Latin word signifying a
millstone, because their office is to grind food.
As it is with these last that we have now to treat, we will
say nothing about the others.
The molar eeth find their greatest development in the
Elephant, the structure of whose molars is exactly like that of
our modern millstones. ‘There is certainly one very great
difference. When the surface of a millstone is rubbed away,
328 NATURE'S TEACHINGS.
the stone must be re-faced, and sooner or later is worn out
altogether, and must be replaced with a new one. This, how-
ever, is not the case with the Elephant’s molar teeth, which
not only keep their facing perfectly sharp, but have the faculty
of renewing themselves as fast as they are worn away.
How these important objects are attained we shall now see.
If the reader will refer to the upper left-hand figure of the
illustration, he will see that its surface is for the most part
round, with irregularly oval figures, close and thick at one
end, and almost disappearing at the other. These are the
“facings” of the Hlephant’s tooth, and they are formed as
follows :—
The tooth, which is of enormous size, is not solid, but is
composed of a number of plates laid side by side, like a pack of
cards when set on their edge. Hach of these plates is com-
posed of a hard external layer of enamel, and an internal
layer of comparatively soft bony matter. A slice of badly
made toast affords a familiar parallel, the half-charred outside
representing the enamel, and the soft, sodden interior being
analogous to the bony matter. In order to show the arrange-
ment of these plates, a side view of part of the tooth is given
on the same illustration. Sometimes, when the teeth of fossil
elephants are discovered, these plates all fall asunder, the
material which connected them having been dissolved away in
the earth.
When, however, we look upon the upper surface of a recent
tooth, we see it present the appearance which is shown in the
illustration. The elongated oval marks are the edges of the
hard enamel plates, while the spaces between them are filled
with the soft bony matter. It will be evident, then, that if two
teeth such as these be in opposite jaws, and perform the task
of grinding food, their surface will always be well “faced.”
Owing to the different hardness and density of the enamel and
bony substance, the latter will wear away with comparative
rapidity, leaving the former to project slightly, and thus to
preserve the facing of the natural mill.
This is, indeed, but a modification of the beautiful animal
mechanism which keeps the teeth of a rodent animal always
sharp, and always bevelled off at the proper angle. If we
could invent some plan whereby, in our millstones, we could
ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE. 329
make the facing of much harder material than the stone, we
should make an advance in the miller’s art that would render
the millstones of the future as far superior to those of the
present as are our present millstones to the hand “ quern”’ of
the Kafir women.
Yet another improvement has to be made. Would it be
possible to construct a millstone which should not only retain
its facing, but possess the power of renewing itself in propor-
tion as it is worn out? This property is found in the Elephant’s
tooth, and the illustration will give a tolerably good idea of
the simple and beautiful mechanism by which it is brought
into operation.
The tooth, instead of being one solid mass, consists, as I have
already stated, of a series of plates set side by side. These
plates are so constructed that they are more worn away in
front than behind. In proportion as they are worn, a new tooth
is built up behind the old one, and gradually pushes off the old
one. Now, if we could only construct millstones with such
properties, we should possess an absolutely perfect instrument.
PRESSURE OF ATMOSPHERE.
THERE are many useful inventions which depend on the
weight of the atmosphere and the creation of a more or less
perfect vacuum. There is, for example, the common Pump,
which raises water simply by the action of the atmosphere. A
pipe passes into the water, and in that pipe an air-tight piston
is Inserted. When the piston is drawn upwards a vacuum is
formed, and the water is at once forced into it by the pressure
of the atmosphere.
Then there is the graceful and useful Napier Coffee-making
Machine, consisting of a glass globe, and vase of the same
material.
Coffee and boiling water are put into the vase, and some hot
water into the globe. The two are then connected with the
tube, and under the globe is placed a spirit-lamp. Presently
the water in the globe boils, expelling the air and filling the
globe with steam. The lamp is then removed, and the steam
in the globe is condensed, leaving a vacuum. The pressure of
the atmosphere then comes to bear upon the coffee in the vase,
330 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
which is forced through the tube into the globe, producing
beautifully clear and well-flavoured coffee.
SurGERY employs the weight of the atmosphere in the
operation called ‘Cupping,’ now rarely employed, but for-
merly in such constant use that scarcely any man who had
attained middle age had not undergone it. The operation was
intended for the purpose of removing the blood from some
definite spot. Persons, for example, who appeared to have a
tendency to apoplexy were regularly cupped between the
shoulders twice a year, ¢.e. in the spring and autumn.
The mode of performing the operation is as follows :—A
vase-shaped glass vessel called a cupping-glass is placed close
to the skin. The flame of a spirit-lamp is then introduced for
a moment in the glass so as to expel the air, and the glass
is rapidly placed with its mouth downwards on the skin.
If this be done with sufficient rapidity, the partial vacuum
in the cupping-glass causes it to adhere to the skin, which is
forced into it by atmospheric pressure, as shown in the illustra-
tion. The blood is, of course, drawn towards the surface by the
same means.
The glass is then quickly removed, and a little brass instru-
ment applied, which, at the touching of a spring, sends out a
number of small lancet-blades so formed as to make very
slight cuts. The glass is again applied, and rapidly becomes
filled with blood from the cuts, the air having forced it in
exactly as it forces the coffee in Napier’s machine.
In the upper right-hand corner of the illustration is shown
the Pneumatic Peg, a comparatively recent invention, and
useful in cases where much strength is not required. The base
of the peg is fitted with a sort of cup made of india-rubber.
When this base is pressed against a smooth and flat surface,
such as a pane of glass, the air is forced out of the cup, and a
vacuum formed. The pressure of the atmosphere then causes
the cup to adhere to the glass with sufficient force to enable
objects to be suspended from it.
The boy’s well-known toy, the Sucker, is made on exactly the
same principle. A piece of leather, generally circular, though
the shape is not of much consequence, has a hole bored through
SUCKERS. ool
its centre, so as to allow a string to be attached. The leather
is then soaked in water until it is quite soft. If it be firmly
pressed on any smooth object, such as a stone, the air is
forced from under it, and it becomes capable of sustaining a
weight in proportion to its dimensions. As the air has a
pressure of about fifteen pounds on every square inch, it is easy
il
(ee :
CN ii = WATS =
eS aS \ RN
SUCKERS OF CUTTLE. CUPPING-GLASS.
LIMPET. PNEUMATIC PEG.
STAR-FISH. SUCKER.
SUCKING-FISH. MAGDEBURG HEMISPHERES.
FOOT OF GECKO.
LAMPERN.
to calculate the weight which it will uphold, a margin being
left for imperfection of vacuum.
The lower figure represents the instrument called the
Magdeburg Hemispheres, which are made for the purpose
of showing the enormous power of air-pressure. They are
two hollowed hemispheres, having their edges very accurately
ground together. When used, a little lard is rubbed on the
edges in order to insure their exact fit, and they are then
832 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
pressed tightly together. The air is removed by means of the
common exhausting syringe, and it is found that the two
adhere together with such force that two strong men cannot
pull them asunder. But, if the tap be turned, and air
admitted, they come apart without the least difficulty.
Similarly, if two plates of glass or metal be ground to
exactly plane surfaces, and pressed together, they adhere
nearly as strongly as if they were one solid piece.
We will now turn from Art to Nature, and examine some
natural producers of vacuum.
One of the most celebrated is that series of suckers which
may be found upon the arms of the various Cuttles. At the
upper part of the illustration a figure is given of part of an
arm, on which are four suckers. When the animal wishes to
attach itself to any object, it presses the disc of the sucker
against it, and simultaneously withdraws the centre, exactly as
the boy does with his toy sucker. And, as each arm contains
a great number of suckers, it is evident that the holding power
must be very great. Indeed, on one occasion when a com-
paratively small specimen had fastened on a man’s arm, he
could not remove it, but was obliged to have it cut away piece-
meal by an assistant.
The common Water-beetle has similar suckers upon its first
pair of feet, and can adhere to smooth surfaces with great
tenacity.
On the left of the cuttle-arm is the common Limpet, shown
as it appears when adhering to the rocks. Every visitor to
the seaside who has attempted to remove the Limpets may
remember how difficult it is to stir them when they have once
taken their hold. If they can be taken by surprise, they come
away with a touch; but if they become alarmed, they press the
edges of the foot firmly against the rock, withdraw the centre,
and thus create the necessary vacuum.
Next follows a Star-fish, shown as it appears when in the
act of walking, or rather, gliding along.
This movement is obtained by the use of a vast number of
long suckers, exactly resembling the pneumatic peg, except
THE SUCKING-FISH. 333
that they are flexible, and can be curved in any direction. It
is really beautiful to see the manner in which a Star-fish will
glide along by means of its suckers, its arms accommodating
themselves to the irregularities of the ground, and its multi-
tudinous suckers protruded and withdrawn with a never-
ceasing movement.
And, as the Star-fish is apparently blind, not having any
organs which can even be conjectured to serve the purpose of
vision, this mode of directing its course is not easily under-
stood. Yet, blind though it may be, it guides itself with as
much accuracy as if it possessed eyes, and evidently does so
with a definite purpose, using its suckers with as much decision
as a centipede uses its legs.
These suckers can be seen very well by placing a Star-fish in
a shallow vessel of sea-water, and laying it on its back. The
suckers immediately protrude themselves from their little
apertures, and the arms slowly curve themselves so as to find
something to which the suckers can adhere. Presently one or
two of the suckers will take hold of the bottom of the vessel.
Others soon follow, and in a very short time the Star-fish is on
its legs, if we may so call them, and is quietly gliding on its
way.
Brtow the Star-fish is seen the celebrated Sucking-fish
(Echeneis remora) about which so many strange tales have been
told, and which is possessed of a structure remarkable enough
to need no aid from invention. The dorsal fin of this fish is
modified in a most singular manner. The spines of which it is
so largely composed are metamorphosed into flattened plates
very much resembling the laths of a Venetian blind, and form
an instrument of suction identical in principle, though not in
form, with those which have already been described. When
the sucker is pressed against a smooth surface, a vacuum is
formed, and the fish in consequence adheres firmly to the
object.
The fact has been known for centuries, though it has only
been lately discovered, that the sucker was not a separate
apparatus, but merely one of the fins modified in a simple
though effective manner. Indeed, any one who has some
slight notion of the structure of a fin can easily see, by looking
334 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
at the Sucking-fish from above, that the apparatus is nothing |
more than the dorsal fin laid flat.
I may mention here that the name of Echeneis is taken from
two words signifying “ ship-holder.” It was given to the fish on
account of a curious notion which was fully believed until quite
modern times, that the Sucking-fish had the power of attaching
itself to ships, and holding them so firmly that they could not
proceed in spite of sails and oars. The word Echeneis is used
by Aristotle in his “ History of Animals.” The specific name
remora, or “delay,” is Latin, and is given to the fish for the
same reason.
The little Gobies, which are so plentiful along our coasts,
have the ventral fins formed intoa sucker, with which they can
cling firmly to any object, such as a leaf of seaweed or a
smooth rock or stone. A similar modification of the ventral
fins is also found in the beautifully coloured Lump-fish, or
Lump-sucker, sometimes called the Cock-paidle. One of these
fishes, when placed in a bucket of water, adhered so strongly to
the bottom, that, when lifted by the tail, it bore the whole
weight of the pail and water.
Just below the Sucking-fish is drawn a foot of the curious
little lizard, the Gecko, so called from its peculiar cry. It is
common in the West Indies, and haunts houses, traversing
their walls just as flies run up panes of glass. It is enabled to
perform this movement by means of the structure of the feet.
As the reader may see by reference to the illustration, the toes
are greatly widened and flattened. If the lower surface be
examined, it will be found to be furnished with a number of
plates very much resembling those of the sucking-fish, and
performing the same office.
So rapid is the operation of these plates, that the animal can
even leap upon a perpendicular flat surface, and stick there.
Pernaps the reader may remember that the beautiful Tree-
frogs, which cling so tightly to leaves, are furnished with
suckers on their toes, whereby they can hold on even to an
upright pane of glass. In fact, the smooth surface of the glass
seems to please them, and when they adhere to it they give an
excellent opportunity of examining the structure of the feet
with a magnifying-glass.
THE LAMPERN AND THE LEECH. 339
Another example of the pressure of the atmosphere has
been slightly mentioned, when treating of the ball-and-socket
joint. This is the joint by which the thigh-bone is attached to
the hip. As the rounded head of the thigh-bone fits exactly
into the cavity of the hip, and is, moreover, well lubricated
with the animal oil called synovia, no air can obtain admission
between the two. Consequently, they are held together so
firmly by the pressure of the atmosphere, that they retain
their places even after the whole of the muscular attachments
have been removed. Not without very great force can the
thigh-bone be dislodged from the shallow socket in which it
lies ; but, if a hole be bored so as to admit the air, it comes out
at once.
Similarly, however firmly a limpet may cling to the rock, if
the finest needle were introduced so as to admit air, the creature
could not retain its hold for a moment.
THe last figure on the illustration represents the common
Lampern (Lampetra fluviatilis).
The mouth of this little fish is formed on the principle of the
sucker, and very firmly it can adhere, as I can state from much
personal experience. Indeed, it is rather alarming, to those
who are unacquainted with the character of the fish, to have it
turn round and fasten upon the hand. However, it is quite
harmless, and those who are accustomed to them will have
half-a-dezen hanging on their hand at a time, and take no
notice of them.
ALREADY has it been mentioned that Surgery has pressed
into its service the weight of the atmosphere by means of cup-
ping. She also makes use of Nature in a similar manner by
employing the Leech for local and surface bleeding.
The mouth of the Medicinal Leech forms an exact parallel with
the cupping-glass and lancets, only that it is very far superior
in its powers. To make the analogy perfect, the lancets ought
to be within the cupping-glass, and the latter ought to be able
to exhaust the air from itself, and to be attached to a reservoir
into which the blood could be passed.
I need hardly mention that the action of sucking as prac-
tised by the young of all mammalian beings, from man down-
336 NATURE'S TEACHINGS.
wards, 1s due to the same principle. By the action of sucking
a partial vacuum is formed, and the pressure of the atmosphere
upon the breasts forces the milk into the mouth of the young.
We might multiply examples ad infinitum, and we will there-
fore pass to another subject.
SEED-DRILLS.
Amone the modern improvements in agriculture we may
reckon the invention of the Seed-drill as one of the most
important. By means of this invention, seed is greatly
ICHNEUMON- FLY. SEED-DRILL.
GRASSHOPPER.
economized, the supply can be regulated, and the sower knows
exactly where every grain of seed goes. There is no scatter-
ing, as in the wasteful broadcast plan, by which the seeds are
flung almost at random over the field, and may or may not fall
into the furrows. TheSeed-drill, on the contrary, either stamps
holes or ploughs narrow furrows, measures the seed into
them, and in some machines replaces the earth. The
former kind of machine rather deserves the name of a dibble,
and was invented for the purpose of superseding the use of the
hand-dibble.
NATURAL DIBBLES. 30%
It is really a pitiful thing to see human beings endowed with
reason and aspirations performing such a task as dibbling by
hand, one going backwards with a dibble in each hand, and the
other following and putting seed into the holes. Yet the field
labourers have the greatest objection to the machine dibble, as,
indeed, they have to any sort of labour-saving machine, thinking
that it will lessen the demand for labour, and prevent them
from earning a livelihood.
I well remember how a country clergyman, pitying the hard
toil of the hand-dibblers, took occasion when he visited town to
purchase a machine dibble wherewith one man could set eight
rows of beans at once. It was a very simple affair, compre-
hensible even by the dull brain of a Wiltshire labourer. His
trouble was all in vain, for no one would use it, and there was
such a disturbance about it in the village, that for the sake of
peace its owner laid it up in a loft and abandoned its use.
There might be some semblance of reason in thinking that it
would deprive them of their field labour, but no cottager would
even use it in his own garden, though it was freely offered to
any one who wished to borrow it.
THESE machines have their parallels in Nature, two of which
are represented in the illustration.
The lower left-hand figure represents the female Grasshopper
depositing her eggs. She is furnished with a sharply pointed
ovipositor, composed of two blades. When she is about to lay
her eggs, she searches for a suitable piece of ground, where the
earth is tolerably soft, and with the closed ovipositor bores a
hole. She then separates the blades slightly, and an egg glides
between them into the ground, precisely as is done by the
machine dibble with its beans. When I first saw and used the
instrument, some twenty-five years ago, the parallel struck me
at once.
Tue female of the familiar Daddy Long-legs (Tipula) acts
inasimilar manner. She is furnished with an ovipositor too
short to be used like that of the grasshopper, and so she attains
her object in a rather different manner. Making use of her
long stilt-like legs, she sets herself nearly upright, with the
point of the ovipositor in the ground. She then twists herself
Z
338 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
from side to side, just after the principle of the bradawl, and
so proceeds until she has made a hole large enough for her
purpose. The blades of the ovipositor are then separated, and
the egg placed in the hole, as has been described of the grass-
hopper.
THE upper figure represents one of the large Ichneumon-flies
depositing the egg in the grub of some wood-inhabiting larva.
How she bores the hole has already been described when treating —
of Boring Tools, and the process need not again be discussed.
The principal point at present is, that after the hole is bored, an
egg can pass between the blades of the ovipositor, though they
are but little thicker than human hairs.
One of the most extraordinary instances of this kind of ovi-
positor is found in an Ichneumon-fly brought from Bogota. The
body, from the head to the end of the tail, is not quite an inch
long, while the ovipositor is six inches and a half in length, and
scarcely thicker than that of the insect whose portrait is given
in the illustration. Nothing is as yet known of its habits, so
that the object of this wonderfully long ovipositor is a mystery.
But that it should be used like other ovipositors is evident
enough, and the chief wonder is, what are the mechanical means
whereby an egg can be propelled between blades so long and
slender.
There is a genus of Ichneumon-flies called Pelecinus. They
deposit their eggs in wood-boring larvee, and we might imagine
that the ovipositor would be a long one. It is, however, ex-
tremely short, and the requisite length is obtained by the form
of the abdomen, the joints of which are so long and narrow that
they almost look as if they had passed through a wire-drawing
machine, the length of the head and throat being three-eighths
of an inch, and that of the abdomen an inch and a half. This
long abdomen belongs only to the female, that of the male
being short and club-shaped.
USEFUL ARTS.
CHAPTER III.
CLOTH-DRESSING. — BRUSHES AND COMBS.— BUTTONS, HOOKS
AND EYES, AND CLASP. ;
The Teazle and its Structure.—Its Use in raising the ‘‘ Nap”’ on Cloth.—Its Value
in Commerce.—Artificial Teazles—The modern Cloth-dressing Machine.—
The Brush an Article of Luxury.—Definition of the Brush, and its various
Uses.—Brushes in Nature.—The Foot of the Fly and the Tail-brush of the
Glow-worm Larva.— Mode in which they are used.—The Comb.—Varieties
of the Comb as made in different Countries.—Combs in Nature.—F oot of the
Spider and its Uses.—Beak of the Toucan.—Comb of the Scorpion.—Euttons,
Hooks and Eyes.—Use of the Button.—The Egyptian Garment.—The
Buckle and the Shoe-tie.—The Clasp.—Wing-hooks of various Insects.—
The Saddle-back Oyster.
CLOTH-DRESSING MACHINE.
li former days, when so much was done by hand that is now
done by machinery, the thistle called the Teazle (Dipsacus
fullonum) was of great value in British commerce, being used
by countless thousands in the manufacture of broadcloth.
When the woollen threads are woven so as to form the fabric
of the cloth, there is no nap upon them, this having to be pro-
duced by a subsequent process. The plan of former days was,
to procure a quantity of the seed-vessels of the Teazle, and dry
them. They were then fastened to an instrument something
like a wooden battledore, and swept over the surface of the cloth.
By degrees the delicate hooklets which terminate the many
scales of the seed-vessel tore up the fibres of the cloth, and pro-
duced the desired nap without impairing the strength of the
thread. When this nap is worn off, the threads are again
visible, producing the effect called “ threadbare.”
As the art of weaving continued to progress, the demand for
Teazles increased in due proportion, and vast quantities were
ee,
340 _ -NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
imported from abroad. Instead of being used by hand, they
were then fastened to the circumference of wooden wheels as
broad as the width of the cloth, and made to revolve rapidly,
while the cloth was pressed against them.
For many years attempts had been made to construct artificial
Teazles which would not wear out so rapidly as did the dry seed-
vessels, but nothing could be constructed that was not too stiff
or too strong, and which did not injure the threads while pro-
ducing the nap. At last, however, this difficult problem has
been solved, and the Teazle is no longer an important article of
TEAZLE. CLOTH-DRESSING.
commerce, its place being supplied by delicately made cards of
the finest and most elastic wire.
In the illustration a head of Teazle is given on the left hand,
and on the right is seen the mode in which the wire cards are
placed in the machine, and the cloth drawn over them so as to
produce the required nap.
BRUSHES.
Ir is worthy of notice that there are many articles of com-
parative luxury which could not be used until man had
attained some degree of civilisation. Among these we may
class the Brush and the Comb, no true savage ever troubling
himself about either article. The Brush, indeed, belongs to a
much more advanced stage of civilisation than the Comb, for
whereas we find combs, however rude they may be, used in
semi-savage, or rather, barbarian countries, the Brush is, as far
as I know, an adjunct of a high state of civilisation.
BRUSHES. 341
Brushes may be defined to be instruments formed of fibres
set more or less parallel to each other. The vast variety of
brushes used in different parts of Europe is indicative of the
civilisation of the nations who use them. Take, for example,
the brushes used in household management, such as the hearth-
brush, the housemaid’s brush, the Turk’s-head brush, the
erumb-brush, the stair-brush, the carpet-brush, the ASE
brush, and many others.
Then we have those which are applied to our garments, such
as the ordinary clothes-brush, the velvet-backed hat-brush, and
the three kinds of boot-brushes.
In architecture, again, we should be very badly off without
the painting-brushes, the whitewasher’s brush, and the paper-
hanger’s brush; not to mention the exceeding variety of
brushes used by artists both in oil and water colours.
As to brushes applied to our persons, we have an infinite
number of them. ‘There is, of course, the hair-brush, without
a pair of which, one for each hand, no one with a respectable
head of hair could be expected to be happy.
We may add to this the revolving brush worked by
machinery, which is to be found in the rooms of any respect-
able hairdresser, and which is a sort of an apotheosis of the
Hair-brush, especially when it is worked, as in some places, by
the electrical engine.
Then there is the shaving-brush, once an absolutely necessary
article in a gentleman’s dressing-case, and above all requisite if
the owner should happen to be a clergyman. Nowadays,
shaving is rapidly decreasing, and of all the professions, those
who are most largely bearded, both in number of beard-wearers
and dimensions of the beard, are to be found among the clergy.
Then there are any number of tooth-brushes for the interior
of the mouth, and of flesh-brushes, with or without handles, for
_ the service of the bath. There are even gardeners’ brushes, for
the purpose of clearing the plants of the aphides, or green-
blight, as these insects are popularly called by gardeners. So
it will be seen that—absurd as the proposition may appear at
first sight—we may really accept the use of the brush as a safe
test of the progress of civilisation.
WE will now glance at the illustrations of this subject.
342 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
On the right hand is depicted the once honoured Shaving-
brush, the terror of all stiff-bearded men on frosty mornings,
and yet clung to with a strange inconsistency. Many years
ago a military member of the House of Commons was sensible
enough to wear his beard, and was, in consequence, the butt for
interminable jokes. At the present time, if the House were
counted, a great majority of the younger, and not a few of the
older, members will be found to wear either the beard or
moustache, or both. |
Perhaps some of my readers may object that many nations in
a state of very partial civilisation are accustomed to shaving.
So they are, but they do not use the shaving-brush. Most of
FOOT OF FLY. BRUSH OF GLOW- HAIR-BRUSHES. SHAVING=BRUSH-.
WORM LARVA. b
them content themselves with pulling out the hairs by the
roots, while others merely saturate the hair with hot water, and
so need no brush.
Next to the shaving-brush is drawn a pair of ordinary Hair-
brushes, such as have been mentioned.
Passine to the left, we find an object which bears a curious
resemblance to the shaving-brush. This is an apparatus
belonging to the larva or grub of the Glow-worm. This
creature feeds upon snails, and, in consequence, gets itself
covered with the tenacious slime. In order to enable it to rid
itself of this inconvenience, the larva is furnished near the end
of its tail with the curious apparatus which is here shown. It
consists of some seven or eight soft white radii, arranged so as
to produce a brush-like outline, and being capable of extension
or withdrawal at will.
COMBS. 043
It had long been known that this ‘‘ houppe nerveuse,”’ as it is
called, was employed as an assistant in locomotion; but until
comparatively late years—I believe about 1826—no one
seemed to be aware that it was used as a brush. Its func-
tions as a brush may be compared with the somewhat similar
offices fulfilled by the pincers of the Earwig, as mentioned
on page 259.
Next to the brush of the glow-worm larva is shown one of the
fore-feet of the ordinary house-fly, much magnified. Passing,
as irrelevant to the present subject, the use of the feet as organs
of locomotion, we may take them as being used for the purpose
of cleansing the body of the insect.
I suppose that none of my readers has been sufficiently
inobservant not to have noticed the way in which a fly cleanses
itself, behaving almost exactly like a cat under similar circum-
stances. The fore-feet are repeatedly passed over the head,
which is bowed down to meet them, while a similar office is
performed for the rest of the body by the hind-legs. The feet
are then rubbed against each other, so as to free them from all
accumulations, just as the housemaid cleanses the hair-brush
with the comb before washing it. So mechanical is this
process, that a fly has been known to go through it even after it
had been deprived of its head.
The reader will see, on reference to the illustration, that the
two sharp and curved claws are capable of answering the pur-
pose of combs, and, indeed, are so employed.
ComBs.
We will now proceed to the Coms, and see how Art has
been anticipated by Nature.
As long as human beings possess hair upon their heads,
whether it be the short, frizzed, woolly pile of the negro, the
thick, coarse crop of the Fijian, the coarse, straight hair of the
Mongolian, or the long and fine hair of the Georgian races,
they must, as soon as they attempt any kind of civilisation,
form some instruments by which the hair can be dressed. The
simplest machine for this purpose is the Comb, and I possess
many varieties of this article, suitable to the different races for
whom it was made.
344 NATURE'S TEACHINGS.
Putting aside the ordinary Combs of our European civilisa-
tion, such as are given in the illustration, there are many
others which are modified according to the use which they haye
to fulfil. :
The simplest is the Comb of the celebrated Amazon regi-
ment of Dahomey. This is nothing but a slight skewer of
ivory, some ten inches in length, and amply sufficient for
arranging the short woolly lumps which do duty for hair on
the head of a true negro. One of these very primitive combs
is in my collection, together with an undress costume of the
Amazon in question, and both being very much suited to each
FOOT OF SPIDEK. } COMBS.
BEAK OF TOUCAN.
other. The comb being a simple skewer, the dress is only a
few thongs of leather, but they are both equal to the require-
ments of their wearers.
As much time would be lost in combing the hair with a
single skewer, especially when that hair belonged to any but
the pure negro races, a simple but obvious improvement was
introduced. A number of skewers were lashed together side
by side, with their ends a little diverging, and thus was formed.
the germ of our present Combs.
As to the varieties of the Comb, they are simply endless ;
and whether they are intended, in the form of the Currycomb,
to smooth the harsh coat of a horse, or, as a small-tooth Comb,
to search the hair of the young, they are all based on one
principle. ;
It is really curious to see how often two men, who cannot
FOOT OF THE SPIDER. 345
possibly have seen each other, will hit upon the same idea, not
only simultaneously, but often in the very same words. So it
is with regard to the Comb. In no two parts of the world can
the natives be more opposed to each other than is the case with
Fiji and Western Africa; yet I possess specimens of combs
from both countries, made on the same principles, and so
exactly in the same manner, that, except for the coarseness
of the African Comb, it would be almost impossible to distin-
guish between them. There is but a slight difference in the
size and shape of the two combs, and yet nothing can be more
distinct than the characters of the two nations.
I have also a Japanese Comb of the most ingenious con-
struction. It is made of wood, and cut exactly like our double
ivory small-tooth comb; but it is furnished with a curious
kind of handle, consisting of a flat piece of wood with a deep
longitudinal ‘slit, into which either side of the comb fits; and
so beautifully is it made, that when it is fitted upon either
side of the comb it looks as if handle and comb had been cut
out of the same piece of wood.
The Fijian Combs are much after the same fashion as those
of Western Africa, except that, with the artistic nature of
their kind, the Fijians, instead of merely lashing together the
numerous spikes of which the comb is made, employ a variety
of patterns, and seem to luxuriate in the exuberance of artistic
spirit which can make hundreds of combs, and no two of them
alike.
On the left hand of the illustration are two examples of
Natural Combs which are well worthy of notice. The upper
one 1s a foot of the common Garden Spider (Epeira diadema),
which has been several times mentioned in ie work in con-
nection with different subjects.
Every one who has watched the life of one of these creatures
must have noticed how often its hairy body becomes clogged
with little bits of its own web, and how dexterously it releases
itself from such encumbrances. The figure in the illustration
shows how this can be done, the strangely formed foot acting
at the same time the part of comb and brush. It will be seen
that the curved spikes of the claws act as a comb, while the
bristle-like hairs discharge the duty of a brush.
346 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
Not only are these projections used as Combs, but as
appendages which insure the security of footing along the
lines of the web. ‘The reader will easily remember that when
a Spider rushes along its web to secure its prey, it always runs
along one of the radiating lines, which have no viscid drops,
and that it never misses its hold. The latter point is secured
by the structure of its claws, which are so made that if one
projection misses the line, another is sure to fasten upon it.
Some years ago, while watching ‘“‘ Blondin” go through his
wonderful performances, I was especially struck. with the
pattern on which he had constructed the stilts upon which he
traversed the rope. They were made in the most exact imi-
tation of the Spider’s foot, and though it is not probable that
he borrowed them from that object, the resemblance was so
close that he might readily have done so.
Brtow the spider’s foot is given the head of a Toucan, one
of those beautifully coloured and large-billed birds that inhabit
tropical America. These birds are very particular about their
plumage, and even when in captivity dress their feathers with
the utmost care. When they do so, the saw-like notches of the
beak act the part of a comb, and the fibrils of the feathers are
by their action dressed parallel to each other, and give to the
whole bird its proper appearance of health.
I may here mention that there is one comb in Nature, the
use of which has never been clearly ascertained. This is the
remarkable organ found in the Scorpion, and simply known as
the “comb.” There are two of them, one on each side of the
under surface. Their colour differs slightly according to the
species, but is generally a light yellow brown. The number of
teeth also differs extremely, for in the Rock Scorpion there
are only thirteen teeth, while in the Red Scorpion there are
twenty-eight.
Butrons, Hooxs anp Eves, anp CLasp. —
HavincG now treated of brushes and combs as articles belong-
ing to the toilet, we will proceed to those which belong to
the dress rather than the person. It is a curious fact that, as
BUTTONS AND CLASPS. 347
far as is known, buttons and hooks belong only to advanced
civilisation. The simplest garment is, of course, a cloth of
some material wrapped round the waist, and, as we see in the
wonderful Egyptian paintings which have survived their
painters some three thousand years, the simple fold can retain
its grasp round the loins, even through the exertions of a long
day’s work.
Iwas always at a loss, when looking at these drawings, to
understand how a single fold could retain so simple a garment
in its place, but when I made my first visit to the Hammam
Turkish Bath in Jermyn Street the mystery was at once solved.
The “check,” as itis there called, is long enough to pass about
once and a half round the waist of an ordinary man. One
end of it is placed on the left side, so as to bring the lower
edge on a level with the knee. It is held by the left hand
until the right hand passes it round the waist. It is then turned
- over in a broad single fold, and will remain in position for
hours, the left leg having free scope between the two ends, and
yet not being needlessly exposed.
Next to the simple fold comes the tie, which is in use all
over the world. The chief object of a good Tie is that it
should retain its hold as long as needed, be loosened with a
touch in necessity, and, as a matter of consequence, should
Hever “jam.”
Still, even the best of ties are liable to objection. I once
heard an argument on the subject of ties and buckles with
regard to shoes. The speakers were both Derbyshire men,
and their phraseology was somewhat obscure. However, both
stuck to his own principles, one saying that ‘when a shee-uew
is boo-oo-oockled, it’s boo-oo-ookled ;” and the other assert-
ing, in equally strong terms, that ‘‘when it’s tee-ee-eed, it’s
tee-ee-eea.
The buckle was here asserting its supremacy in civilisation
over the tie, and was palpably right. Any one, so rose the
argument, can tie two strings together, but the structure of the
buckle is too complicated to be understood, much less invented,
by any uncivilised being.
Next come, in natural order, the Button and the Clasp,
each being identical in principle. In the case of the former
348 NATURE'S TEACHINGS.
the ‘‘eye” is placed over the button, while in the latter the
clasp or hook is passed through the eye. Several examples
of the Button and the Clasp are given on the right hand of
the illustration, and are too familiar to need description.
As to the corresponding articles in Nature, they are very
numerous. We will take, for example, the Saddle-back or
Crow Oyster of our own shores. It is a most remarkable
being. It deposits upon the object to which it adheres a sort
of button of shelly matter, and the lower valve, which is nearly
flat, has in if an aperture which is placed over the knob, just
WING-HOOKS OF INSECT. CLASPS AND BUTTON.
SADDLE-BACK OYSTER.
as a button-hole goes over the button. As this arrangement
is confined to the lower valve, and cannot be seen unless the -
upper valve be removed, the lower valve only is shown in the
illustration, as it appears when fastened to the side of a large
limpet.
Or the Hooks and Eyes in Nature I have only taken two
examples, though there are many others.
We all know the Bees, Wasps, Hornets, and other similar
insects, and that they possess four wings. I may here mention
that no insect which does not possess four transparent wings
is capable of stinging.
When the insect is at rest the four wings may be easily
distinguished, but when it is in flight they coalesce, so that
practically the insect has two wings instead of four. This
object is attained in the following way :—
WING-HOOKS OF INSECTS. 349
The lower edge of the first pair of wings is turned over
in a rather stiff fold. The upper edge of the second pair of
wings has a row of small, but strong and elastic hooks. When
the insect is about to fly, the hooks are hitched into the fold,
and so the wings are fastened together. These hooks are
shown in the illustration, and the reader will easily see how
effective they must be in their operation. An almost exactly
similar structure is found in the feathers of birds, and it is by
means of these tiny hooks that wings are enabled to present a
continuous, light, and elastic surface in the air.
USEFUL ARTS.
CHAPTER IV.
THE STOPPER, OR CORK.—THE FILTER.
Vessels and their Covers.—Corks.—Mode of bottling Wine.—Conical Corks and
Stoppers.—Self- fitting Candles.—Candle-fixers.—The Vent-peg.—The
Blow-guns and their Missiles.—The Serpula and its Conical Stopper.—The
Filter.—The Bosjesman procuring Water.—How to make a simple Filter.—
The Earth as a Filter.—The Sea-mouse, or Aphrodite, and its filtering Appa-
ratus.—The Duck’s Beak, and its beautiful Structure——The Jaw of the
Greenland Whale.—Fork-grinder’s Respirator.—How Insects breathe.—
Spiracles, and their general Structure.—Spiracle of the Fly.—Experiment
upon a Cockroach, and its Result.
Tue STOPPER, oR Cork.
HIS object, as depicted in the illustration, is a product of
civilised life, though, as soon as a savage could make a
vessel, he seems to have made a Cover for it if it were of large
diameter, or a Stopper if the opening were small. Even the
very Bosjesman, who is quite unable to make a clay vessel, and
uses empty ostrich eggs by way of water-bottles, is yet
capable of making plugs with which he can stop up the
apertures. Then the Kafir, with his gourd vessels, whether
they be for water or snuff, makes a plug that fits tightly
enough to exclude the air, as well as to retain the contents.
The invention of glass bottles necessarily brought with it the
introduction of a new kind of plug, and a material for such a
plug was found in the bark of the cork-tree, a species of oak.
This bark possesses the capability of compression to a very
great extent, and, being highly elastic, it expands as soon as
the pressure is removed.
Thus, in bottling wine, the corks are always made much
too large to go into the mouths of the bottles. They are first
CORKS AND STOPPERS. 351
dipped in a cup containing the same wine, and are then com-
pressed violently by amichine worked bya handle, and which,
being practically a powerful pair of nut-crackers with a rounded
gripe, must suit the shape of the cork. It is then taken
out of the machine, and, before it has had time to expand, is
rapidly fitted to the neck of the bottle, and driven home with
a wooden mallet. Expansion then takes place, and the bottle
is rendered air-tight, so that no damage is done to the wine.
If the whole of the wine were to be drunk when the cork was
removed, this plan would be amply sufficient. But there are
many cases where the bottle is opened, and only part of the
‘wine consumed. ‘To re-cork the bottle would be too trouble-
some, and to leave it uncorked would spoil the wine. So the
Conical Stopper was invented, which fits the neck of any
ordinary wine-bottle, according to the depth to which it is intro-
duced, and, by a slight screwing movement, sufficient com-
pression is obtained to render the bottle air-tight. One of
these Conical Stoppers is shown in the illustration on page 352.
Sometimes they are made of cork, and sometimes of india-
rubber ; but the principle is the same in either case.
Perhaps some of my readers may have seen the Self-fitting
Candles, which require no paper to make them fit the candle-
stick. These are enlarged at the base, which is made in a
conical form, and slightly grooved. The “Candle-fixers ” that
are so much in use at the present day are made exactly on the
same principle, being hollow cones of paper, which take the
place of the solid cone.
The Vent-peg of casks is another instance of the cone used
as a stopper.
Another example is to be found in the Blow-guns and
Arrows of tropical America. In some districts the base of the
arrow is fitted with a conical appendage of light cotton, rather
larger than the tube, but capable of compression, so that it
exactly fits the tube when pressed into it. In other districts
the cone is hollow, and made of some thin and elastic bark.
Some years ago one of our most eminent gun-makers hit
upon the same idea while making improved missiles for the
game of “ Puff and Dart,’ and very much surprised he was
when I showed him the South American arrow, not only
with the same hollow cone at the base, but having also spiral
302 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
wings along the shaft, so as to give it a rotatory motion
as it passed through the air. The hollow cones of his darts
were made of india-rubber, but the shape of the two was
identica:.
Ir the reader will refer to the left-hand figure of the illus-
tration, he will see a beautiful example of the Conical Stopper
as existing in Nature.
This is ‘the “Stopper,” as it is popularly called, and, scien-
tifically, the “infundibuliform operculum.” I prefer the former
term myself, as being less liable to misapprehension.
The Serpula lives in a shelly tube of its own construction, and
has the power of protruding itself when it desires to obtain
food, and of withdrawing itself within the tube when alarmed.
ANTENNA OF SERPULA. CONICAL STOPPER.
This movement is performed so rapidly, that the eye can
scarcely follow it, and the mechanism by which it is done has
already been described when treating of War and Hunting.
When it withdraws itself, the Stopper closes the mouth of
the tube with perfect exactness, so as to leave the inhabitant
in safety. The reader will see, on referring to the illustration,
how exactly similar is the Conical Stopper of Art to that of
Nature, and how the inventor of that article, as well as of the
self-fitting candle, the candle-fixer, the blow-gun arrow, and
the vent-peg, might have found prototypes of their inventions
in Nature, if they had only known where to look for them.
Tur FILTER.
EvEN in a state of uncivilisation man has been driven to
invent a Filter of some kind.
The simplest kind of Filter is that which is used by the
THE BOSJESMAN FILTER. 353
Bosjesman women when procuring water for the use of their
families. When, as often happens, the only water to be obtained
is to be found in muddy pools which have been trampled and
perturbed by thirsty animals, the women have recourse to a
simple, though rather repulsive, expedient.
Each woman is furnished with empty ostrich egg-shells by
way of water-vessels, and she also takes a couple of hollow
reeds. Over the end of one of these reeds she ties a bundle of
grass, and then plunges it as deeply as she can into the mud.
After a little while she sucks up the water through the tube,
the grass acting as a filter, and she then discharges it by the
second tube into the egg-shells. In this way the women will
obtain water, where none but themselves could have procured it.
As to the repulsive mode of obtaining it, no one can be fastidious
when dying of thirst. Sir 8. Baker mentions that when he was
on his travels he managed in a halt to save up enough water
for a bath for himself and his wife. He was about to throw away
the soapy water, when the vessel was snatched from his hands
by two of his attendants, and the contents eagerly drunk.
The different varieties of the Filter which we use at the pre-
sent day are too familiar to need description. Whether they
be made principally of charcoal, which is a powerful disinfect-
ant, or of merely stones, gravel, and sand, they are all con-
structed on the same principle, namely, the straining out solid
substances, and allowing only the pure water to pass through
the interstices.
As to the Filters of Nature, they are almost innumerable.
In the first place, the Earth itself is the primary filter of all,
taking into itself all kinds of decomposing substances, separat-
ing them for the use of vegetation, and delivering the pure,
bright, and sparkling spring water which we so highly and
rightly value. The whole human body, again, is practically a
collection of the most elaborate and effective filters that the
mind of man can conceive. But we will pass to the more
obvious examples of filters as seen in animal life.
On the upper left-hand portion of the illustration may be
seen a long, fat, hairy creature, called popularly the Sea-
mouse, and known to zoologists as Aphrodite aculeata.
Although it inhabits the mud—and sea-mud is about as
AA
ood NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
noisome a substance as can be imagined—it is clothed with a
garment of such beauty that the rainbow itself can scarcely
rival, and not surpass it. The hairs with which it is so pro-
fusely covered glitter and sparkle with every imaginable hue,
among which red and green seem to be predominant.
These hairs occupy the sides of the body, but in the upper
surface there is a thick coating of felted hairs, interwoven with
each other so closely that they can with difficulty be separated.
These hairs form a natural filter, strain away the mud from the
water, and allow the latter to pour itself upon the organs of
respiration. If, therefore, a specimen be examined when it is
“ ANS 4,
SER
TINK fo NG N44 | F NH}:
‘ Care \ ny f
Ney Nya, x
yyl7
APHRODITE. FILTER.
DUCK’S BEAK.
first brought up by the dredge, the felted hair will always be
found to contain a considerable amount of mud, and much
washing is needed before the creature can be introduced into
an aquarium where the water is intended to be transparent.
I may here mention that the name of Aphrodite is a singu-
larly happy one. It signifies something that arises from the
foam of the sea, and was given to the goddess of beauty,
because in the ancient myths she was said to have sprung from
the foam of the sea. Unpoetical as it may appear, the German
word Meerschaum, which is so familiar to us in connection with
pipes, is the exact equivalent of Aphrodite.
Brtow the Aphrodite is a figure representing the filtering
apparatus which is found in the beak of the duck. This sin-
gularly beautiful apparatus is well worthy of examination, and
the more important details of its structure can easily be made
out by the unassisted eye.
In the first place, the upper half of the beak, or upper
THE DUCK’S BEAK. ooo
mandible, as it is scientifically called, is furnished along its
edges with a row of curved horny projections, very like the teeth
of a comb, and each of themcoming toa point. There are some
fifty or sixty of these teeth on each side, and they are regularly
graduated in size, being longest in the middle of the beak, and
becoming very short at either end. They are set diagonally,
with the tips pointing backwards. The edges of the lower
mandible are turned up in a sort of fold, on the outside of which
is a row of grooves corresponding with the teeth of the upper
mandible, and, like them, being set diagonally.
These teeth and grooves would of themselves make a very
efficient filter, but they are further aided by the tongue. This
is thick, fleshy, and very mobile ; so much so, indeed, that when
the mouth is opened the tongue is automatically thrust forward.
The edges of the tongue are, like those of the mandibles,
furnished with a filtering apparatus. Instead, however, of being
horny and stiff like those of the mandibles, they are mem-
branous and exceedingly delicate. Indeed, in order to see them
properly, it is necessary to place the tongue under water, so
that the membranous filaments shall be floated apart instead of
clinging together by their own weight.
The whole of this apparatus is abundantly supplied with
nerves, and is evidently a most exquisite instrument of touch.
The reader will now understand the peculiar movements of
a duck’s beak while feeding. Although the bird can and does
eat solid food, such as barley, and, by reason of its superior
width of beak, will very much defraud the poultry in a yard
where ducks and hens are kept together, it is chiefly fitted for
extracting nourishment from water, and will find abundant
subsistence where a hen would die of starvation.
When the beak is plunged into the water, the mandibles are
rapidly opened and shut, the tongue incessantly working back-
wards and forwards between them. Consequently, not only
are the solid parts of the water strained between the comb of
the upper beak and the grooves of the lower, but they undergo a
further sifting or filtering from the delicate fibrils which fringe
the edge of the tongue.
ANOTHER familiar example of the Filter is to be found in the
jaw of the Greenland Whale. In this animal, as well as in its
AA 2
306 NATURE'S TEACHINGS.
congeners, the ‘“‘ whalebone,” or “baleen,” as it is more pro-
perly called, is so formed that it allows liquids to pass through
it, while it retains solids. Feeding as it does upon small
marine matters, it would starve but for the filtering power of
the baleen, which enables the animal to take into its vast
mouth the sea-water with its inhabitants, and to expel the
water through the plates and fibres of the baleen, while retain-
ing the animals.
The process of filtering, as well as the structure of the
baleen, is so familiar that it does not need further description.
’ We will now proceed to another filter, which is used in the
air, and not in water, namely, the Mouth-guard or Respirator
of the fork-grinder.
There is, perhaps, no trade which is more destructive of |
human life than that of the fork-grinder was until the peculiar
respirator was made obligatory. The minute particles of steel
thrown off by the grindstone fills the air, and were necessarily
inhaled. Now, the human lungs are capable of enduring very
bad treatment, but the introduction of steel-dust into them is
more than they can bear. Consequently the duration of human
life was very short, consumption almost invariably setting in
at an early age, and carrying off the men before they had
achieved middle age.
Nor did the mischief end there. It was bad enough that life
should be shortened, but far worse that it should be wasted, as
was mostly the case. The men, knowing what their fate must
be, were simply reckless, and plunged into all kinds of
debauchery, under the plea of “a short life and a merry one.”
They knew no better, and could scarcely be blamed for their
mode of living. And, asa matter of course, each succeeding
generation was worse, smaller, and feebler than the preceding.
Then there came the invention of the Magnetic Respirator,
by which the fork-grinder’s trade was rendered as healthy as
any other. It was made of steel-wire gauze, and magnetised,
so that the floating particles of steel were not only stopped in
their progress to the lungs, but arrested by the magnetism, and,
so to speak, taken prisoners by it.
Even a well-made respirator of several layers, like those
which are used by persons suffering from weak lungs, would
FORK-GRINDER’S RESPIRATOR. Or
have been useful, but the addition of magnetism doubled the
efficacy while greatly diminishing the cost, a single layer of
wire being quite adequate to the office, and was, in fact, quite a
stroke of genius.
The value of this invention is at once shown by the many
complaints which the workmen made when the Respirator
was first introduced. They complained that the apertures of
the Respirator became so choked that they could not breathe.
This was perfectly true, but the complaint showed the real
value of the instrument.
It was necessary for the workmen, every now and then, to
clear off the innumerable particles of steel which adhered to the
Yi
IN
SPIRACLE OF FLY. RESPIRATOR OF FORK-GRINDER.
magnetised wires, and impeded respiration. But they never
seemed to realise the fact that, if it had not been for these
wires, all the particles would have been drawn into the lungs,
and gradually choked them up, brought on inflammation, and
extinguished their life altogether. And, with the usual
repugnance to new ideas which is inherent in undeveloped
minds, the men stoutly resisted the introduction of the
Respirator, and did their best to reject an invention which
doubled the length of their lives, and enabled them to find
long happiness in the world instead of brief pleasure ended by
sure and painful death.
Now, we will see how the principle of the Respirator is
carried out in Nature.
On the left hand of the illustration is drawn one of the most
perfect Respirators, or air-filters, if we may use the term, that
can be imagined. Perhaps some of my readers may know that
insects do not breathe as we do. They have no lungs, but their
entire system is permeated by air-vessels, just as is our system
308 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
with blood-vessels, and therefore the air, instead of being
restricted to the lungs, is conveyed to every part of the insect,
the air-vessels extending to the very tips of the wings and
antennee, and to the claws of the feet.
Neither does the insect receive the air through mouth or
nostrils as we do. Along the sides of the body are certain oval
apertures called “spiracles,” from the Latin word spiro, which
signifies breathing. These spiracles can easily be seen by
examining an ordinary silkworm. They are situated in the
soft and flexible skin which connects the rings or segments of
which all insects are composed, and pass directly into two
large air-tubes which run on either side of the body.
It is evident that since an insect is so thoroughly permeated
with air, it must be furnished with means to render that air as
pure as possible, and at all events to preserve the respiratory
system from being choked with dust or other adventitious sub-
stances.
How important the air is to an insect can easily be seen by
dipping it in oil, or even brushing an oiled feather on its sides
so as to fill up the spiracles. A man under the hands of the
hangman or garotter could not die more swiftly, so much does
an insect depend on air. In fact, an insect is almost wholly
composed of air-tubes, but for which the great thick-bodied
dor-beetles could never use their organs of flight.
Of course, although the spiracles can act as filters as far as
the air is concerned, they cannot be analysts, and consequently
insects are peculiarly obnoxious to a bad atmosphere. There is,
for example, the well-known “laurel-bottle” of entomologists.
A few young laurel-leaves are crushed and placed in a bottle.
As soon as an insect is introduced, it breathes the prussic acid
which is exhaled from the leaves, and at once dies.
So it is with the more delicate ‘‘ death-bottle,’’ into which a
little cyanide of potassium is introduced, and covered with
plaster of Paris. The plaster prevents the poison from touching
the insects and damaging their beautiful colours. It permits
the deadly vapour to roll through its interstices ; consequently,
even the large-bodied moths, which are tenacious of life almost
beyond credibility, can barely run round the bottle, when
they roll over, and expire almost without a struggle, the
venomous atmosphere having saturated the entire body.
SPIRACLES OF INSECTS. 309
All entomologists know that the spiracles act as sieves, pre-
venting any extraneous objects from gaining admission into
the breathing-tubes. But, unless they have had personal expe-
rience, they cannot appreciate the efficacy of the spiracle
when acting as a respirator. Even the microscope, though it
may magnify the object to any extent, does not show the
wonderful filtering power of the spiracle, The figure in the
illustration represents a spiracle of the common “ blue-bottle ”’
fly, and any one who wishes to examine such an object for
himself can have but little difficulty in doing so, especially in
the warm season of the year.
How effectual is the barrier thus interposed by Nature
between the external world and the interior of the insect may
be inferred from the following narrative :—
Many years ago, while absorbed in the comparative anatomy
of insect structure, I believed myself to have hit upon a plan
for injecting the minutest of tubes with mercury. So I took
a male cockroach, placed a vessel of mercury in the receiver
of an air-pump, and suspended the cockroach exactly over it.
As the reader will fully have surmised, my idea was, first to
exhaust the air from the inside of the insect, then to plunge it
into the mercury, and then to admit the air, which, at a pres-
sure of fifteen pounds to the square inch, was likely to drive
the mercury into the smallest of tubes. Such a plan was very
successful with ordinary tissues, and might succeed with insects.
Accordingly, I exhausted the air from the vessel in which
the cockroach was placed, and kept it in a state of exhaustion
for a whole day, so as to prove that every particle of air was
withdrawn from the insect. I then plunged the cockroach
deeply beneath the mercury, and admitted the air, hoping that
the severe pressure would drive the mercury into the respira-
tory vessels. But not one particle of the mercury could pass
through the wonderful filter with which the cockroach had
been provided, and, except that I had learned the power of
the spiracle, I might have saved both the time and trouble.
It is worthy of notice that, almost countless as are the species
of insects, no two of them possess exactly the same structure of
the spiracles, the individuality being marked as clearly in these
tiny organs as in the entire insect.
USEFUL ARTS.
CHAPTER V.
THE PRINCIPLE OF THE SPRING. — THE ELASTIC SPRING.—
ACCUMULATORS.—THE SPIRAL SPRING.
Springs and their various Structure.—The Elastic Spring.—The Boy’s Catapult
and its Powers.—The Pistolograph, its Principle, and Uses to which it can be
put.—Leaf-rolling Caterpillars, and their Way of Work.—The Carriage
Spring.—The Horse’s Hoof and its complex Structure.—Fungi and their
united Power.—The Chinese Cross-bow.—The ancient Balista.—Skull of
the Crocodile-—Bones of young Children.—The Spiral Spring and its many
Uses.—The Toy-gun.—The Needle-gun.—Valved Brass Instruments.—
Watch and Clock Springs.—The Bed Spring.—Parallels in Nature and Art.
—Buffers of Railway Carriages.—Spring Solitaires.—The Bell Spring.—
Spiral Springs in Vegetable Tissues.—Poison Cells of various Marine
Animals.—Effects of the Spiral Springs.
Ewvastic SPRINGS.
TERE we come upon a subject so large, that it is difficult
to define its exact requisite limits. The principle of the
elastic spring pervades all Nature, and the numerous adapta-
tions in Art are closely, though perhaps not directly, attri-
butable to the wide distribution of the spring in Nature.
There is, for example, the simple elasticity which enables a
tree, when bowed by the wind, to spring back so soon .as the
pressure is removed, and which, indeed, is the power which
enables a bow to propel an arrow. Then there are spiral
springs innumerable, many of them so minute that they can
only be seen by the aid of the microscope, and there are many
springs which exhibit their elasticity by their power of exten-
sion and shortening, just as is done with the elastic fabrics
which are so much in vogue at the present day, and which
seem so necessary to ordinary comfort that we feel disposed to
wonder how our forefathers managed without them.
ACCUMULATORS. “3861
We will now proceed to examine some of these springs in
detail.
THERE is one form of elastic spring which has of late years
become more familiar than agreeable, namely, the toy which is
learnedly called a “catapult,” though it has little in common
with the ancient weapon whose name it bears.
As may be seen by reference to the illustration, it consists
of one or more india-rubber straps attached to a fork-like
handle, and carrying a small pouch in which is contained the
missile. Although it is not remarkable for accuracy, it can
throw a stone or a bullet a considerable distance, and its power
can be very quickly increased by adding to the number of the
straps. Thus a catapult has been made which was capable of
sending a small pistol bullet through a wooden board, so that
the child’s toy might really become a dangerous weapon.
Indeed, cases are known where the catapult has hurled a
stone with fatal effect upon human beings. In my own neigh-
bourhood there are many examples of glass being pierced by
stones thrown from catapults just as if they had been subjected
to bullets shot from firearms, the holes being quite small and
round.
The power of accumulating force by increasing the number
of springs was utilised by Mr. Scaife, when he invented his
wonderful photographic machine which he termed the “ Pisto-
lograph,” on account of the sound which was produced when
the portrait was taken.
The idea was simple enough, though the practice of it was not
so easy. He wished to be able to take a photograph with an
exposure of the least possible time, and thus to attain freedom
and action, instead of the dull stiffness which generally charac-
terizes photograph portraits. The mode which he adopted was
by introducing a peculiarly sensitive film, which would take
an impression in a mere moment, and then arranging the
machine so that an exposure of more than a moment was
impossible.
This was done by covering the lens with an exactly fitting
door, revolving on a pivot. The axis on which the door
revolved was attached to a number of india-rubber bands,
exactly like those which are used for confining papers. As the
362 NATURE'S TEACHINGS.
power of the springs increased with their numper, it naturally
followed that the rapidity of the revolution was in exact ratio
with the number of the bands, so that the duration of exposure
to light could be measured with tolerable accuracy.
So wonderfully well did this plan succeed that photographs
of eclipses were taken with perfect accuracy, a matter of great
importance when time has to be considered. Horses were also
taken at full gallop, so as to display their action, and the
crowning achievement was the photographing of a cannon in
the act of firing, and the bursting of a charged shell. So rapid
is the action of the instrument, that in several cases where a
cannon or mortar had been photographed, even the track of the
ball or shell is visible.
It necessarily followed that when the springs caused the
circular cover to revolve with such rapidity, they made it close
eS
TS iN
LEAF-ROLLING NESTS. CATAPULT.
with a sharp report, and so gave rise to the name of the
machine, Moreover, as it had to be used for rapidly moving
objects, it was not fixed on a pedestal, but was held in the hands,
while aim was taken at the object, just as with a pistol. When
the observer thought that he had his aim correct, he touched a
trigger, round spun the cover, and the photograph was taken.
Ow the right hand of the illustration is seen the Catapult,
made with several springs, and on the left is shown an example
of the Accumulator as formed by Nature.
The reader may probably be acquainted with the Leaf-_
rolling Caterpillars, of which there are so many. I had often
inspected these curled leaves, and, on comparing them with the
LEAF-ROLLING CATERPILLARS. 363
size of the caterpillars, had noticed that the muscular strength
of the insect was quite inadequate to the work which was done.
That much of it was owing to the ‘“ bowsing ” system, which
has already been described when treating of the Toggle-joint,
was very probable, but that some other force must be employed
was evident.
On unrolling a leaf, the hidden force was at once explained,
and showed itself to be a system of accumulators exactly like
those of the pistolograph or the catapult. The caterpillar spins
successive belts of silken threads, and affixes them to the leaf,
as shown in the illustration. These threads are nearly as
elastic as the india-rubber bands of the catapult, and accord-
ingly draw the leaf together. Another set of belts is added
above the former, and, as they harden and contract in the
air, they roll the leaf still further. The first row is then
shortened and tightened, and a third and fourth row are
added in the same fashion. So elastic are these belts, that if
the leaf be carefully handled it can be almost wholly unrolled,
and will spring back again as soon as the force is removed.
ANOTHER form of accumulated force may be seen in the
ordinary Carriage Spring, one of which is shown in the illus-
tration. It is made of a number of strips of elastic steel lying
upon eack other, and suffered to play upon each other by
means of slots and rivets. The weight being placed in the
centre, it is evident that this very ingenious spring is really an
elastic girder, yielding to sudden pressure, and recovering
itself when that pressure is removed.
INGENIOUS as is this spring, it has many parallels in Nature,
one of which is here given.
It is popularly thought the hoof of the horse is a solid mass
of horn destined to protect the feet against hard and rough
ground. Such certainly seems to be the opinion of farriers,
who, in shoeing horses, act exactly as if the horn of the hoof
were structureless ; whereas it is a marvel of complicated
mechanism. On looking at the exterior of a horse’s hoof, it
will be seen to be marked with a vast number of very fine,
but easily visible longitudinal lines, looking as if they were
scratches from a very fine needle. If the hoof be removed
364 NATURE'S TEACHINGS.
from the foot, and examined upon the interior, it will be seen
that each of the apparent scratches signifies the edge of a very
thin plate of horn, not so thick as the paper on which this
book is printed. The hoof, in fact, is built up of multitudinous
plates of horn, set side by side, and each acting as a separate
spring. It is this beautiful structure which allows the horse
to tread without a jar being sent through its whole system by
every step which it takes.
A similar structure is to be found in all hoofed quadrupeds,
and is especially noticeable in the case of the Elephant. All
those who have watched the walk of an Elephant, no matter
what its size may be, must have been struck with the curious
noiselessness of its movements. Its weight may be measured
by tons, and yet the enormous animal steps as noiselessly as a
cat. On examining one of the hoofs, after it is removed from
=
———
—————
===
=
HORSE-HOOF. CARRIAGE SPRING.
the foot, the cause of this marvellously silent tread is perfectly
evident. The whole of the hoof is composed of nearly parallel
horny plates, and by their united action they produce the
required result.
Each plate in itself is very feeble, but, when united as they
are at the ends, they afford mutual support to each other.
Similarly the separate feathers in a couch would be crushed by
a comparatively slight weight, but when a number are con-
fined together they support each other, and form the soft,
yielding couch with which we are so familiar. Horsehair,
when used as thesstuffing for a couch or chair, acts in the
same way, and so do the fine filaments of wool when used
under the name of “ flock.”
CHINESE CROSS-BOW. 365
Another good exampie of the power of accumulated force,
although it has no direct relation to the spring, is the well-
known fact that fungi, which are separately so fragile, are
capable of lifting and retaining in the air stones so large that
two men could hardly carry them. Were the stones laid down
upon the fungi, the latter would be crushed, but, as they grow
beneath the stones, they accumulate their powers, and slowly,
but certainly, raise the weight from the ground.
Tuts very principle of accumulated force has long been used
in weapons of war, and I possess several examples of such
weapons. One of them is a Chinese repeating Cross-bow, which
was taken at the capture of the Peiho Fort, and was really a
formidable wall-instrument, carrying a reserve of arrows, and
JAWS OF CROCODILE. CHINESE CROSS-BOW.
delivering them with great rapidity. In poimt of fact, it
consists of three bows, placed upon each other, and playing
upon each other just as do the portions of a carriage spring.
Such strength is thus obtained, that the bow cannot be drawn
by hand, but is worked with a lever, as shown in the illustration.
The whole machinery of the weapon, including the self-notch-
ing and self-supplying system, is very interesting, but is outside
our present object. The very powerful bow of the ancient
Balista was made on the same principle, and was strong enough
to throw large stones and wooden beams.
I also have bows in my collection which are strengthened on
the same principle, though not exactly in the same manner.
There are several Indian, Chinese, and Japanese bows which
are curved almost like the letter C, and have to be reversed
when strung. These bows are of no very great size, but
possess wonderful elasticity. They owe the latter quality to
366 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
sundry layers of sinew which have been affixed to the back
when wet, and which add enormously to the power of the bow,
while they very little enlarge its dimensions.
Another bow, made by the natives of Vancouver’s Island, has
the back strengthened by a number of cords spun from sinew
fibres, and possessing the strength and elasticity to which we
are accustomed in the strings of the harp, guitar, or violin.
WE will now turn to a parallel in Nature. This is to be
found in the lower jaw of the Crocodile, as is pointed out by
Professor Owen, in his work on the “ Skeleton and the Teeth.”
All persons who have a smattering of anatomy are aware
that even in the human body the most solid bones of the adult
were originally composed of several pieces, and that they only
become fused together in course of time. The jaw-bones, for
example, were once so composed, and in the Crocodile the
junction is never completed, the pieces of bone remaining
separate, but being pressed firmly against each other during
life.
I have now before me the skull of a Gangetic Crocodile, in
which, although the animal was an adult when killed, the
bones of the long lower jaw are so loose that unless they were
tied together the jaw would fall to pieces.
This analogy between Art and Nature is thus described by
Professor Owen in the work which has just been mentioned :—
“The purpose of this subdivision of the lower jaw-bone has
been well explained by Conybeare and Buckland, by the
analogy of its structure to that adopted in binding together
several parallel plates of elastic wood or steel to make a cross-
bow, and also in setting together thin plates of steel in the
carriage spring.”
Dr. Buckland also adds: ‘Those who have witnessed the
shock given to the head of a Crocodile by the act of snapping
together its thin, long jaws, must have seen how liable to
fracture the lower jaw would be were it composed of one bone
OME oe scoinge The splicing and bracing together of thin flat
bones of unequal length and of varying thickness afford com-
pensation for the weakness and risk of fracture that would
otherwise have attended the elongation of the parts.”
A good example of the value of this structure of bone may
SPIRAL SPRINGS. 367
be tound in young children. Before they are old enough to
take care of themselves they are perpetually fallmg down, and
never hurting themselves. I have seen a little girl of five
years old roll from top to bottom of a lofty staircase. It looked
as if the child must be killed, but she was only giddy with her
many revolutions, and a little bruised about the elbows. The
reason of this curious immunity from injury is, that the bones,
especially those of the skull, are not completely united, and so
act on the principle of the compound spring.
THE SPIRAL SPRING.
THis subject is so large, and there are so many examples,
both in Art and Nature, that it is not very easy to make selec-
tions which will sufficiently answer the purpose.
|
——
S——
:
WATER-LILY. LILY. SPIRAL SPRING. BED SPRING.
POISON-CELL OF HELIANTHOID. WATCH SPRING
ANTHEROZOIDS.
The upper left-hand figure of the illustration represents the
ordinary Spiral Spring made of wire, and used for its power ot
resuming its shape when compressed. In early childhood most
boys have had practical experience of this spring in the toy
guns and cannons with which they are supplied. The spring
is compressed by the ramrod, and held in its place by a catch.
If a pellet be placed in the gun, and the catch released by
pulling the trigger, the spring flies back to its former shape,
and drives the pellet.
An exactly similar spring is used in the well-known “ Needle-
368 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
gun,” the spring driving a needle through the explosive mix-
ture, and so igniting the charge.
Our brass instruments would be very badly off without the
spiral spring, which is placed under the pistons. The elasticity
allows the pistons to be pressed down, and when the fingers
are raised the pistons spring up again.
Another form of this instrument is seen on the right of the
ordinary spring. ‘This is used in the manufacture of spring
mattresses and couches, and is made thinner in the centre, so
as to allow of greater elasticity.
Below them is the spring which is used for watches and
clocks, one end being fastened to the rim of the barrel, and the
other to the pivot. When the latter is turned the spring
becomes ‘“‘ wound up,” and, when released, keeps the works
going by pressing against them. Of the “ pall-and-ratchet ”
wheel, by which the movements are retarded, we shall treat in
another place.
Own the left hand of the illustration are a few figures of
the Spiral Spring as seen in Nature.
On the extreme left of the group is a spiral cell taken from
the flower-stem of the Water-lily. As the reader will see, it
is composed of a number of fibres laid parallel te each other,
and twisted into a hollow spiral. In order to exhibit its shape
the better, the spiral has been partially uncoiled.
On the extreme right is a corresponding spiral cell from the
common Lily, in which the spring power is given by two fibres
twisted in opposite directions. The reader will now under-
stand and admire the mechanism by which these plants attain
their great strength and elasticity, the stems being made of
myriads of these spiral fibres.
The oval body on the upper part of the illustration’ is a
poison-cell of a marine polyp, and is given here as an example
of an animal spiral spring, the others all belonging to the
vegetable world.
We shall see more of its structure a little further on, and
will not now examine it in detail.
The two remaining figures represent the remarkable objects
called Antherozoids, 7.c. the living creatures of anthers. They
exist in vast numbers in the non-flowering plants, and inhabit
‘““RUFFER’”’ SPRINGS. 369
those parts which correspond with the anthers of the flowering
plants. When placed in water they have a curious way of
coiling and twisting themselves spirally, so as to make their
way through the water in a tortuous, but tolerably rapid,
course. This movement is effected by the contraction and
expansion of the spirally twisted filament. The upper figure
represents a group of Antherozoids in their cells, and the
lower isa much more magnified figure of a single Anthero-
zoid as it appears when free, and in the act of moving through
the water.
On the accompanying illustration are many examples of
Spiral Springs, both natural and artificial. We will take these
in their order.
The upper left-hand figure represents the “ Buffer,’ by which
the carriages of railway trains are prevented from jarring
against each other.
Perhaps some of my readers may be old enough to remember
the days of the old railway carriages that were connected by
short chains, and furnished with buffers that were merely
padded. As the train started a separate jerk was given to
every carriage by the tightening of the chains, and, as it
stopped, all the carriages bumped against each other in a most
unpleasant manner. Now, however, the buffers are furnished
with powerful springs, and are pressed strongly against each
other by means of screw-bolts, so that they form one con-
tinuous line.
In fact—and here is another analogy between Art and
Nature—a train, when properly made up, bears a close resem-
blance to a human spine, the carriages being analogous to the
vertebre, and the spring buffers to the elastic cartilages
between the vertebre.
Nowadays, owing to this arrangement, the whole train
moves together, and can be started and stopped so gently
that the passengers are hardly aware of movement or stoppage.
For example, one of my friends was in a train which came into
collision with some obstacle. The carriages in front were
dashed to pieces, and several of the passengers killed. His
carriage, however, which was nearly at the end of the train,
and had the benefit of all the springs, was hardly shaken, and
BB
370 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
the inmates did not know for some little time that an accident
had occurred.
BUFFER OF RAILWAY ENGINE. MOSS DISCHARGING SPORES.
SUPPORTING SPRING OF RAILWAY CARRIAGE. TENTACLE, WITH SPRINGS.
SPRING SOLITAIRE. SPRING-CELL SPRING- SPRING-CELL
BELL SPRING. OF THREAD OF OF
MADREPORE. SEA- CORYNACTIS.
ANEMONE. C
Below the buffer is a Wheel Spring, made exactly on the
same principle, but set perpendicularly instead of horizon-
tally.
THE BELL SPRING. ay!
Tue two figures beneath the wheel spring represent an
object very familiar to us, namely, a Spring Solitaire, one
fizure showing it as open, and the other as closed. In this
article the clasp is held in its place by a spring, and is only
released by pressure.
Betow the solitaire is a very prosaic application of the
Spiral Spring, namely, that by which a house-bell is kept in
vibration after the force of the pull has ceased, and which
renders the bell, as Dickens happily remarks, so greedy to ring
after it has been pulled.
I made and employed a spring of a similar character in
closing the door of my parrot’s cage. Polly is a wonderfully
clever bird, and a capital talker. First, she had a cage with
upright bars, two of which could be slid upwards by way of
a door. She soon found out the trick of the bars, and used
to escape, carefully replacing the bars afterwards.
When she was transferred to a metal cage, she discovered
that the door slid upwards, and began at her old tricks. So I
took a piece of galvanised iron wire, coiled it into a spiral
spring, fastened one end to the upper part of the door, and
the other by a hook to a staple at the bottom of the cage.
Consequently, when Polly lifted the door, and loosened her
grip for a fresh hold, the door closed itself again. So, after
awhile, Polly gave up the door, and now never tries to
open it.
Passine to the upper right-hand corner of the illustration,
there is shown a portion of Moss as it appears when magnified,
and discharging its spores. When they are ripe a vast number
of little spiral springs are let loose, and shoot the sporules into
the air.
Brtow the moss are four figures, which are, in fact, the
same object differently magnified, and seen from different
points of view. These peculiar organs are technically termed
“enide,”’ from a Greek word which signifies a nettle. The
appropriateness of the name we shall presently see.
I have already mentioned that the tentacles of various
marine animals are furnished with poison-cells. The object of
BB 2
Sia NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
these cells is to capture and kill the prey, and the mode of
doing so is very remarkable.
On the right and left of the illustration are two such
bodies, in which is seen a sort of elastic wire coiled spirally,
apparently without regularity, but really possessing a most
beautiful order. That on the left is the poison-cell of a Madre-
pore, and the other is the same organ in a Corynactis. No
sooner is the tentacle touched than the poison-cells are mecha-
nically acted upon. They are turned inside out, and the
coiled spring darts forth with wonderful violence.
Slight as is the dart, so fine that it cannot be seen except
with the aid of a tolerably powerful microscope, it is a terrible
weapon. Although it is projected with sufficient force to bury
itself to its base even through so tough an object as the
human skin, it could inflict but little injury, and would, indeed,
scarcely be felt. But it carries with it a most irritant poison,
which is apparently contained in the little capsule. These
cnide are very plentiful in the tentacles of the Stinging Jelly-
fish, or Stanger, as it is often called, and are charged with a
terrible poison.
As is the case with all such poisons, its effects differ accord-
ing to the constitution of the being that is poisoned. There
are some persons, for example, who care no more for the sting
of a bee than for the prick of a needle, and there are those
whom a single bee-sting will bring almost to the gates of
death. So with the tentacles of the Stinging Jelly-fish and
those of the Portuguese Man-of-war, and there are persons who
are scarcely affected with the sting of the scorpion.
So it is with nettles. When I was a boy at school it was
thought necessary to wear an oak-leaf, or at least a portion of
an oak-leaf, on the 29th of May, and all who did not possess
this talisman might be flogged with nettles by those who did.
As the school was situated in the north of England, where the
oak puts forth its leaves late in the season, it was no easy
matter to obtain a veritable oak-leaf, and we used to take any .
leaf that we could procure, and cut it round the edges into
the similitude of a suitable oak-leaf.
The effect of the nettles upon the boys was most curiously
diversified. Some cared nothing whatever for them; others
suffered sharp but brief pangs; while others, of whom I was
THE “ STANGER’’ JELLY-FISH. 373
one, endured the most lancinating pain at the time, and for
hours afterwards a hot, burning, fevered skin, and a heavy,
dull ache, accompanied by throbbings of the brain so violent
that it appeared as if the head would burst asunder at every
heart-beat.
The fact of this inequality has been throughout life a valuable
lesson to me, é.e. that a punishment which will nearly, if not
quite, kill one man, will be no punishment at all to another.
Of course I cannot answer for the effects of these very minute
cnide upon others, but I can state that they nearly killed me,
and that if I had been forced to swim another hundred yards,
»I should have collapsed, sunk, and had a coroner’s jury return
a verdict of “ Found drowned in consequence of cramp.”
On me the effects were as follows :—First a slight, and then
a severe, tingling on the parts which had been struck. Then
sharp, darting pangs. Thena sudden shock as if a bullet had
passed through the breast from one side to the other. . Conse-
quent collapse, and suspension of the office of both heart and
lungs. I once had to walk nearly two miles after being stung
by one of these dread animals, and how often I fell before
reaching my lodgings I dare not say, but certainly once in
every two hundred yards.
Even after partial recovery I should not have known my
own face. It was that of an old and wearied man of seventy,
grey, wrinkled, and withered; and many months elapsed
before I felt myself sure that the weird-like bullet would not
drive through my breast, and leave me lying on the ground
gasping and speechless.
These dreaded tentacles can sting as fiercely when separated
from the animal as when they are conjoined to it, as I can also
testify from personal experience.
I have a natural alacrity in damaging myself, and there is
scarcely a representative bone in the body that I have not
fractured or dislocated, or both. Fortunately the cerebral
vertebree have hitherto escaped. I have broken the right leg,
right arm, two ribs, and right collar-bone; dislocated the right
ankle, and smashed nearly every bone of the right hand. At
present, the damage to the left side is restricted to two ribs ;
and I hope that the Genius of Ossifraction may now be content
with his work.
ol14 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
But I equally seem to have a natural affinity for the tentacles
of the Stangers, which deliver their envenomed darts just as
fiercely when they are separated from the Medusa as when
they are connected with it.
A curious example of this fact befell me in the present year
(1875). Seeing that there had been a steady southern gale,
which made Lundy Island and Hartland and Baggy Points
indiscernible, I dreaded my old foes, and, instead of bathing
from the ‘ Pebble Ridge,” took to the great ‘“‘ Nassau” Baths
at Westward Ho. I sadly missed the roll of the waves, and
the placid rapture of lying with outspread arms as the vast
Atlantic billows came rolling in, flinging up the great grey
boulders as if they were corks, and letting them roll down the
ridge again with a thundering, and yet soothing, sound. Three
miles or more inland may the thunder of the Pebble Ridge be
heard; and at night, even though a storm be raging, tearing
the leaves off the trees in whirling showers, flinging great
branches into the air like ostrich plumes, and howling so that
one person can hardly hear another speak, the dull, low, con-
tinuous thunder of the Pebble Ridge is heard over all. I have
often remained awake at Bideford, simply on account of the
deep roar of the Pebble Ridge, as the rising tide rolled its vast
waves along the coast from Baggy Point, through Westward
Ho and Clovelly, to Hartland.
When there is a heavy sea, the “ undertow” of these waves
is so great that even had no such things as Stangers existed, I
should not have ventured upon the Pebble Ridge. One of my
friends, a strong swimmer, was nearly drowned off that ridge
by the undertow ; and not long before I visited Westward Ho
a promising young man lost his life within a few yards of that
treacherous shore. |
Much against my will, I went to the new bath, which is
always supplied with a running current of sea-water; and I
had hardly swum the length of the bath before I felt the
familiar nettle-like sting in my foot. Fortunately it was only
caused by a small fragment of a Stanger’s tentacle, which had
been severed from the animal and pumped into the bath, and
no harm ensued.
USEFUL ARTS.
CHAPTER VI.
SPIRAL AND RINGED TISSUES.—VARIOUS SPRINGS IN NATURE
AND ART.
Spiral Tissues, and their Structure and Uses.—The movable Gas-lamp.—Elastic
Tubes.—Breathing-tubes of Insects, and their Spiral Wire.—Ringed Tissues
and their varied Structure.—Ringed Tissues applied to modern Dress.—
Chinese and Japanese Lanterns.—Proboscis of the House-fly.—Trachea of
various Animals.—Mutual Tendency of Rings and Spirals towards each
other.—Fibres of the Yew-tree.—Diving and Divers.—Principle of the
Diving-bell—How it is supplied with Air.—Structure of the Air-tubes.—
Nests of the Water-spider.—Diving by means of Tubes.—Larva of the
Drone-fly, and its Mode of breathing.—How to examine them.—Leaping
Springs.—TheSkip-jack in Nature and Art.—Skip-jack or Click Beetles.—The
Spring-tail, Grasshopper, Kangaroo, Gerboa, and other Jumping Creatures.
SPIRAL AND RiInNGED TISSUES.
W* have now to consider the Spiral Tissue under another
aspect, 7.e. that of acting as the internal support of an
exterior membrane. Ringed tissues are necessarily conjoined
with the Spiral, as they both discharge the same office, and in
some cases merge almost imperceptibly into each other in the
same specimens. This is most beautifully shown in the pro-
boscis of the common House-fly, to which reference will pre-
sently be made.
The subject is so large that only a comparatively small selec-
tion of examples can be made, the greater number belonging
to Nature, and not to Art.
We will first take the common movable Gas-lamp; with
its accompanying tube. It is at present the tube of which
we have to treat, the gas itself being reserved for a future
page.
It is necessary that, in order to enable the lamp to be moved
from one spot to another, the tube through which the gas
3/6 NATURE'S TEACHINGS.
passes must be so constructed that if it be bent, or even
coiled, it retains its form, and does not become flattened. In
order to obtain this object, a very long thin wire is coiled
spirally to a suitable length. Over this wire is sewn the casing
of the tube, which is afterwards made waterproof with elastic
varnish. A still simpler mode is by enclosing a spiral wire
within a tube of vulcanised india-rubber. It will be seen, then,
that by the elasticity of the spiral wire the tube must always
retain its shape, no matter how much it may be bent.
On the right hand of the illustration are shown the movable
Gas-lamp and tube, and a portion of the latter is given
il
TNT
H
TRACHEA OF INSECT, TUBE OF GAS-LAMP,
WITH ITS SPIRAL THREAD. WITH ITS SPIRAL WIRE.
with its spiral wire partially unwound, m order to show its
structure.
The large tubes which convey air to divers are made in the
same manner, as they would not only succumb to the pressure
of the water without the wire, but could not be dragged over
obstacles or round corners without collapsing. It often happens
that a diver is obliged, when surveying a sunken ship, to
traverse the whole of her interior, descending ladder after
ladder, and entering every cabin in the ship. This could
not be done but for the internal coil of wire within the tube.
Reference will presently be made to the subject of diving.
On the left hand is seen an object that looks something like
a branch hollowed very thin. It is a magnified view of part
of the Trachea or breathing-tube through which air is con-
TUBE OF THE HOOKAH. oT
veyed into the system of an insect. These breathing-tubes
ramify to every portion of the body of an insect, even pene-
trating to the extremities of the antenne, the wings, and the
legs. Itis obvious that as these organs are in tolerably con-
stant movement, and the legs are much bent at every joint
by the action of walking, the air-tubes which run through
them must possess the same qualities as those of the gas-lamp
and diver.
If one of these tracheze be removed and placed under the
microscope, it will be seen to be constructed in a manner
exactly similar to that which has been described. Within the
membrane which forms the tube proper there is a very fine,
but very strong thread, which is coiled exactly like the wire
spring. It is not attached to the membrane, and so strong is it
that, although it is all but invisible to the naked eye, it can be
drawn out as shown in the left-hand figure of the illustration.
' TRACHEA OF DRAGON-FLY LARVA. TUBE OF HOOKAH.
If laid on a piece of glass, it immediately tries to recoil itself,
and for some little time will twist and curl about as if it were
alive.
On the above illustration are two similar examples of
the spiral thread with a flexible tube. The right-hand
figure represents one of the many forms of the water-pipe,
whether known as Hookah, Narghile, or Hubble-bubble. In
the simpler forms of this pipe, such as the latter, the inhaling-
tube is quite straight, and the bowl is held in the hands of the
smoker. In the more refined pipe, however, the tube is very
long, flexible, and made elastic by an inner spiral wire.
Perhaps the reader may remember that the larva of the
Dragon-fly is a most remarkable creature in consequence of
378 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
its methods of propulsion and respiration. The water is taken
into the interior of the body through a peculiarly formed
aperture, and then ejected with such violence as to drive the
body forward on the same principle as that which causes a
rocket to ascend.
The figure on the left hand of the illustration is a repre-
sentation of the abdomen of this larva rather magnified, and
opened so as to show the interior. On either side run the two
principal breathing-tubes, through the delicate membranes of
which the spiral thread can plainly be seen.
These tubes are connected with a smaller set, and they with
a still smaller, so that at last they are of such tenuity that they
can scarcely be distinguished without the use of a glass. But,
however small they may be, they are always fitted with the
spiral thread.
WE now come to the cases where the membrane is supported
by a series of rings, and not by a single spiral wire.
In the right-hand division of the illustration are two speci-
mens of objects which shall be nameless, but which were drawn
per special favour at a milliner’s shop. Although the day has
now happily gone by when the larger object was in general
wear, and seemed to be irrepressively increasing in dimensions,
certain modifications of it, under various names, have made
their appearance in almost every book of fashions and every
large milliner’s shop.
Here we have the external membrane made of linen, calico,
merino, or similar material, distended by a number of elastic
rings set at tolerably even distances from each other.
The two small objects represent the handy little paper
lanterns so common in China and Japan. They are composed
of an external coat of tough tissue paper, so thin that it allows
the light to pass through it with tolerable freedom, and of an
internal series of elastic rings, which not only support it and
preserve its cylindrical shape, but allow it to be folded up flat
when not wanted.
I possess a singularly ingenious lantern of this kind, made in
Japan, and displaying the thoroughness of work which charac-
terizes that nation. It is five inches in diameter, and the
lantern itself 1s affixed at either end to a circular wooden cap,
RINGS AND SPIRALS. 379
the upper fitting over the lower. Consequently, when the
lantern is shut, it is entirely enclosed between these two
caps, which effectually preserve it from harm. It is deli-
.cately finished, and has no less than thirty rings, made of
very narrow strips of bamboo. The upper cap has a little
trap-door through which the candle can be admitted and
trimmed, and in its centre is a small round hole for the passage
of air.
In the left-hand division of the illustration are shown
several examples of ringed and spiral tissues belonging to the
SPIRAL AND RINGED FIBRE NAMELESS OBJECTS. PAPER LANTERNS.
(VEGETABLE).
vegetable world, in which the principle is exactly the same as
that of the Chinese lantern, &. That on the right hand is an
example of simple rings within a membrane. The central
figure shows a double spiral, which produces very much the
appearance of a series of rings; and on the extreme left is an
interesting example which shows the transition in the internal
supports from spirals to rings.
I have already mentioned that the proboscis of the House-fly
exhibits this modification. If one of these objects be placed
under a moderate power of the microscope—the half-inch is
380 NATURE'S TEACHINGS.
quite enough— and examined, it will be seen that there are
some large trachex, just like those of the Dragon-fly larva,
on each side of the proboscis, and that, where the end is
widened and flattened into a sort of disc, their place is taken
by a set of very much smaller trachee, coming nearly to a
point, and each being supported internally by a series of
incomplete rings, shaped very much like the letter C. A
slide containing this object well mounted can be purchased at
any optician’s for a shilling.
THE trachea, or windpipe, as we call it, of all vertebrate
animals, man included, is formed on exactly the same principle,
as any one may see by going toa butcher’s shop, and looking
at the trachea, or windpipe, by which the lungs, or “lights,” as
they are called, are suspended. Were it not for this structure,
we should not be able to bend our necks or turn our heads.
The accompanying illustration shows the tracheez of three
well-known creatures. The left-hand figure is the trachea of
an Ox, the central figure that of a Pig, and the right-hand
figure that of a Goose. Mr. Tuffen West, who made the
drawings, sent with them the following remarks :—
- “The tracheze of animals furnish some very interesting
examples of variation in the form and arrangement of the
rings. Their purpose, perhaps, one can but guess at in some
cases; but doubtless, as being works of the Master Builder,
careful study would be repaid.
TRACHE®. 3881
“Tn the Ox the rings are very strong and close, and in form
like a horse-shoe with the ends approximated.
“Tn the Pig the incomplete rings are broad at one part, and
narrow on the opposite side, with a tendency to spiral arrange-
ment. I imagine that this would make a very rigid tube, and,
indeed, it feels so in the hand.
“Then, in the Goose, the narrowed lower part is that which
is figured just before the trachea reaches the sternum. The
(complete) rings are twice as broad in one half as in the other,
and by the alternate disposition of these differing widths, a
tube is formed of great flexibility fore and aft, but almost
absolutely rigid in the lateral direction. This seems to be so
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RINGED TISSUES OF SUGAR-CANE VEGETABLE SPIRAL TISSUES TENDING TO RINGS,
marked an evidence of design as to be calculated to greatly
raise our admiration.”
WE have seen several examples of ringed tissues tending to
the spiral form, and it is but natural that we should expect to
find spiral tissues tending to the ring.
In the accompanying illustration the two left-hand figures
represent the curiously modified ringed tissue which is to be
found in the sugar-cane, the left-hand figure being much more
magnified than the other.
The other figures represent four examples of vegetable spiral
tissues, in which it will be seen that there is a tendency to form
rings, and that if a number of rings were substituted for the
382 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
spiral, and the object viewed in a slanting direction, it would
be almost impossible to distinguish between the ring and the
spiral. | |
Among the most remarkable of these examples are the two
right-hand figures. That on the extreme right represents a
spiral vessel taken from the so-called root, or “ rhizome,” of the
Water-lily, and the other is a similar vessel taken from a
branch of the Yew-tree. It has been suggested that to this
spiral structure is due the proverbial elasticity of the yew-tree,
which has from time immemorial rendered it the best wood for
the manufacture of bows.
Divinc AND DIVERS.
It has already been mentioned that the flexible tubes used by
modern divers are constructed on the model of several structures
belonging to the animal and vegetable kingdoms.
We will now see how they are utilised.
Tn the earlier stages of the diver’s art the Diving-bell
afforded the only means of gaining access to the bed of the sea,
even in comparatively shallow waters. The mode in which
this result was obtained was simple enough, and though it
carried with it the germs of still greater improvements, was
but limited and uncertain in its action.
The reader is probably aware that if a vessel be filled with
air, no liquid can obtain admittance until a corresponding
amount of air be set free. Suppose, for example, that an empty
tumbler be inserted over a basin of very clean water, and
pressed downwards, it will be found that scarcely any water
will enter it, the air having taken up all the available space,
and only allowing as much space as may be accounted for by its
faculty of compression.
It is evident, therefore, that if an enlarged tumbler could be
lowered to the bed of the sea, a man might be enclosed within
it, and for a time be able to support life by means of the air.
contained within the “bell,” as this enlarged tumbler was
popularly called.
It is equally evident that within a short time the air within
the bell must be exhausted, and that, unless a fresh supply
DIVING-BELLS. 383
could be introduced, the diver within the bell would be as
effectively drowned as if there were no bell at all.
The accompanying illustration is a kind of chart, so to speak,
of the mode in which air was formerly supplied to the bell.
On the right hand is seen a section of the Diving-bell itself,
together with the seat on which the divers can rest. There is
also an escape-valve at the top of the bell, by which the vitiated
air can pass away; but, as it is not essential to the subject in
hand, and is rather complicated in structure, it has been
omitted.
Immediately on the left of the bell is a cask, to which
several heavv weights are attached. This cask contained com-
NEST OF WATER-SPIDERS.- DIVING-BELL.
pressed air, and, after it was lowered by the side of the bell,
the end of the flexible tube was taken into the bell, the tap
turned, and the compressed air rushed into the bell, taking the
place of that which had been exhausted by respiration, and was’
allowed to pass through the escape-valve. I may mention
that the divers unexpectedly discovered that, when they were
breathing compressed air, they could dispense with respiration
for a wonderfully long time, the amount of oxygen taken in at
a single breath being enough to renovate the blood more than
could be done by several ordinary inspirations.
On the left hand of the illustration is seen a sketch of the
nest of the now familiar Water-spider (Argyronetra aquatica),
taken from some specimens in my possession.
b8t NATURE'S TEACHINGS,
The Water-spider is really a remarkable being. Itself a
denizen of air, breathing our earthly atmosphere just as we do,
and as capable of being drowned as ourselves, it nevertheless
passes nearly the whole of its existence under water, and in that
strange locality lays its eggs and rears its young. How this
wonderful feat is performed we shall now see.
When the female Water-spider wishes to deposit her eggs,
she looks out for a suitable locality, and, being a good diver,
tests the various aquatic herbage until she has found a favour-
able spot, and then sets to work on her remarkable nest, which
I believe is quite original in zoology.
After stretching a few stout threads by way of a scaffolding,
she attaches to the plant a small silken cell, shaped very much
like an acorn, but not so large. Ascending to the surface of the
water, she contrives to clasp a bubble of air between her last
pair of legs, and, laden with this airy treasure, dives below.
As soon as she has reached the entrance to the cell, which is
always below, she loosens her hold of the air-bubble. It at once
rises into the cell, and expels a proportionate amount of water.
Not many of these journeys are required before the nest is
filled with air, and then the diminutive architect spends the
greater part of its time in holding on to the mouth of the little
diving-bell, and supporting life by means of the air within it.
This nest, as the reader will see, is an exact representation
of the various diving schemes in which air-bells are the chief
portions of the machinery, although the air is conducted into
them after a different fashion.
WE now come to another mode of diving, in which the bell
is practically superseded by the flexible tube, which allows to
the diver far more range than can be obtained by the bell. In
this case the diver wears a peculiar dress, the chief part of
which is a helmet so constructed that air can be introduced to it
from above the surface of the water, and, after respiration, can
escape by means of a valve.
Air is pumped into the tube by assistants above water, and,
as the tube is long and elastic, the diver can move about with
considerable freedom. As is the case with the diving-bell, the
diver’s tube is strengthened by an internal spiral wire, so that
it is always open, however it may be bent or twisted.
THE RAT-TAILED MAGGOT. 3895
The right-hand figure of the illustration represen.s tne diver
examining part of a sunken vessel. The tube through which he
breathes is seen passing to the surface of the water, and so is
the line by which he gives his signals to his comrades above.
In his hand he holds a lamp which can burn for a limited time,
being connected by a smaller but similarly constructed tube to
a vessel of compressed air.
On the left hand of the same illustration are shown the
curious Rat-tail Maggots, as they are popularly called. They
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RAT-TAILED MAGGOTS. DIVER WITH AIR-TUBE.
are the larvee of the common Drone-fly (Eristalis tenax), which
is so common towards the end of summer, and looks so curiously
like a bee.
These creatures pass their larval life buried in the mud and
below the surface of the water, and yet are obliged to breathe
atmospheric air. This they do by means of the long appendages
which have gained for them the name of Rat-tails. These
“tails” are very elastic, and are capable of elongation and con-
traction to a wonderful extent.
When the creature is undisturbed, it lies buried in the mud
with its head downwards, and its tail extended so that it
reaches the surface of the water. Within this tail are two air-
tubes, which are connected with the principal trachee, which
ce
386 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
have already been mentioned. They are wonderfully elastic,
and, when the tail is extended to its utmost limit, are nearly
straight. When, however, the tail is contracted, the tubes
become self-coiled by their own elasticity, and shrink into the
base of the tail.
As the tail is very transparent, it is easy to see how these
movements are conducted. The larva, which may be found in
almost any stagnant water, should be placed in a tall and narrow
glass. Some mud should be placed at the bottom of the glass,
which should then be filled with water to the depth of three
inches or so.
When the mud has quite subsided, and the water become
elear, the long slender tails of the larvae will be seen so elon-
gated that their tips reach just above the surface of the water.
A magnifying-glass will easily show the two tubes within the
tail.
Let the glass be but slightly tapped, and all the tail is with-
drawn in a moment, so as to be out of reach of external danger.
The magnifying-glass will then show the two tubes lying con-
tracted in the base of the tail, and taking astonishingly little
space, considering the amount of elongation which they can
sustain. And, on examining the various bends and curves of
the tubes, the value and power of the spiral spring will at once
be seen. True, they are very small, but in Nature all things
go by comparison, and our whole earth itself is as a grain of
sand upon the seashore among the grandeurs of the visible
universe.
Tuer LEapPinc SPRING.
Tue last of the springs which can be mentioned in this work
are those which are used for leaping purposes.
The figure on the right hand represents the common Spring-
jack or Skip-jack with which children are always so much
amused. It consists of a flattened piece of wood called the
“tongue,” which is inserted into a twisted string, so that it
forms a tolerably powerful spring. When twisted round, and
then suddenly released, it strikes against the ground with such
force that the whole machine is thrown into the air.
Sometimes the Skip-jackis made of a fowl’s merrythought, as
SKIP-JACKS. 387
shown in the illustration; sometimes of the breast-bone of a
goose ; and sometimes of a piece of wood cut into the semblance
of a frog, and painted. In all cases, however, the machinery is
practically the same. I may mention en passant that these frog
Skip-jacks are most acceptable presents to savage chiefs in
many parts of the world, and that the most powerful and
venerable warriors are as delighted with these toys as any
European child of six years old.
Now we will turn to Nature, and see what she has in the
way of Skip-jacks.
All entomologists will at once have before their minds the
vast groups of Skip-jack Beetles, technically termed Elateride,
and also known as Click-beetles, from the sharp clicking
SKIP-JACK BEETLE, SKIP-JAOK-
GRASSHOPPER.
sound which they produce when in the execution of their
curious gymnastics. In this group belong the fire-flies of
warm countries, and it may be mentioned that the larve of
some of our species are too familiar to the agriculturist under
the name “ wireworm.”’
All these beetles have very short legs and very long bodies,
so that if they should fall on their backs on a smooth surface,
they could not recover themselves. Now, as they, when dis-
covered, instinctively try to save themselves by falling to the
ground, it is evident that some means must be used to enable
them to regain their position. This is found in a most curious
apparatus.
Attached to the “prothorax”’ is a rather long, pointed, and
very elastic projection exactly corresponding with the tongue
ec2
388 NATURE'S TEACHINGS.
of the Skip-jack. The end of this tongue fits into a groove in
the “ sternum.”
When the beetle falls on its back, it curves its body as shown
in the illustration, the tongue thus being freed from its groove.
It then smartly springs the tongue back into its place with the
sharp clicking sound already referred to, and does so with
such force that it leaps into the air to some height.
Generally it falls on its feet, but if it should fail, it repeats
the process. If one of these beetles be laid on a plate or
similar smooth surface, it will skip ten or twelve times without
stopping, and after a short rest will begin again.
THERE are some curious little beings, popularly called
Spring-tails, which afford excellent examples of the Leaping
Spring. Their exact place in the system of Nature is rather
uncertain, some zoologists considering them as insects, while
strict entomologists reject them. They are very small, and
mostly of a darkish brown colour.
Plenty of them may be found under stones in damp spots,
under bark, and in similar localities, though they are often
found in houses, and have frequently traversed the paper on
which I have been writing this book. Cellars are favourite
localities of theirs, and a little flour sprinkled on a plate or
piece of paper in a cellar is tolerably sure to attract them.
Although they are certainly not more than the fifteenth of an
‘noch in length, they may be at once recognised by their
peculiar attitude, which very much resembles that of a dog or
cat in its usual sitting posture.
As long as they are not disturbed they crawl about in a
quiet manner, but if touched, or even alarmed, they suddenly
make a tremendous leap, propelling themselves by means of a
forked and elastic tail, doubled under their bodies, and acting
just like the tongue of a Skip-jack.
Brtow the Skip-jack Beetle is shown the common Grass-
hopper, as an example of muscular leaping springs.
We all know what wonderful leaps the Grasshopper, Cricket,
and all their kin can make, the leaping movement being
evidently intended more as a means of defence than as an
ordinary mode of locomotion. The same may be observed in
LEAPING. 389
the Kangaroos and Gerboas, which are content to use an
ordinary walking pace when undisturbed, but when alarmed
can make tremendous leaps, and outstrip almost any pursuer.
Even in Man, the Horse, the Dog, &c., which are most essen-
tially leaping animals, the same principle is employed, the legs
being used as muscular springs acted upon by the will of
the owner.
USEFUL ARTS.
CHAPTER VII.
FOOD AND COMFORT.
Parents and their Young.—Milk, and the various Ways of obtaining and using it.
—The Kafir Tribes and Clotted Milk.—The Tonga Islanders.—The Tartars.
—Ants and Aphides.—Honey-dew.—Milch Cows in Insect-land.—Fish-tanks
and Aquaria.—Bill of the Pelican.—Eggs and Chickens.—The Hen-coop.—
Nest of Termite.—Workers and Queen.—Kigg-hatching.—The Hen and her
Young.—Artificial Egg-hatching Machine.—The Snake and her Eggs.—
The Gad-fly and Bot-fly.—Preservation of Provisions.—Hanging Meat.—
Eggs of the Lace-wing Fly.—Spider-eggs.—The Butcher's Hook and the
Claws of the Sloth.—Bats and Insects.
r see subject is necessarily a very large one, and I shall, in
- consequence, be obliged to compress it, though it might
‘well make a separate work by itself. For Food represents the
very existence of Man, considered as one of the animal world ;
and Comfort represents the progress of civilisation, by which
man leaves day by day his savage and solitary nature behind
him, and becomes social, moral, and elevated.
Purtine aside the instinct which forces the parent to feed
the young without external assistance, we come to those cases
where the parent has to seek food which the offspring could
not have found for itself, and often to prepare it for the use of
the offspring.
In the greater part of the world, the milk of various animals
is the staple of food, not only for children, but adults; and the
“milk diet,” as it is called, is strongly urged by many phy-
sicians of the present day.
The Kafir tribes, for example, a wonderfully powerful race
of men, live almost wholly on sour milk, mixed with maize
flour, never eating such valuable animals as kine except on
MILK. 391
great occasions. Yet the natives of the Tonga Islands think
that nothing can be more disgusting than for a human being
to drink the milk of a cow.
How the operation of milking is conducted we need not say,
whether it be performed on the cow as with most nations, or
the ass in case of need with ourselves, or the mare as with
the Tartars, or the goat and sheep in various parts of the
world. The milk of the sheep, by the way, is singularly rich
and nourishing.
Suffice it to say that the animals which are to be milked are
kept for that purpose, and that the touch of the human hand,
rightly applied, induces the animal to part with its milky stores.
In Nature there is an exact parallel.
It has long been known that some species of Ants are in
ANT AND APHIS. MILKING COW.
the habit of acting in exactly the same manner as ourselves, in
not only extracting a nutritious liquid from other insects, but
watching and tending those which furnish their daily food just
as a good dairyman watches and tends his cows.
The Ants, beiug insects, would naturally require insect cows,
and such are to be found in the Aphides, of which mention has
already been made. These insects are furnished with a pair of
very small tubercles near the end of the abdomen, and from
them flows that sweet liquid which is so familiar to us under
the name of “honey-dew.” For centuries no one knew the
source of the sweet honey-dew which attracted all the bees of
the neighbourhood to the tree on whose leaves it was sprinkled,
sometimes in patches, and sometimes coating them with a thin
shining coat, as if varnished.
At last it was discovered that the honey-dew is, in fact, the
392 NATURE'S TEACHINGS.
liquid exudations from these tubercles upon the backs of the
aphides, and that the ants feed regularly upon it. Not only do
they lick up the honey-dew that has fallen from the ants, but they
milk them, so to speak, exactly as a dairymaid milks a cow.
With their antenne the ants pat and stroke the tubercles of
the aphides, and in a few seconds a drop of pellucid liquid
appears at the extremity. This is the honey-dew, and is at
once lapped up by the ant, which proceeds from one aphis to
another until it has obtained its fill of the sweet food.
How the ants carry off the aphides, cherish and guard them
for the sake of their honey-dew, is a story too long to be told,
but it is well known among entomologists. Our English ants
are, however, totally eclipsed by a Mexican species, which not
only collects honey, but stores it in the bodies of its kindred.
PELICAN. FISH-TANK.
After taking precautions that no food can escape, the ants feed
with their sweet store their companion, who is thus doomed to
pass the remainder of life as a mere honey-cell. The abdomen ~
becomes spherical, smooth, and so transparent that the honey
tan be seen within it. It is quite air-tight, and so preserves
the fragance of the honey until it is wanted.
So plentiful are these honey-ants, that they are an article of
commerce, and are sold by measure for the purpose of making
a sort of mead. There are many of them in the British
Museum, with the honey still within their transparent bodies,
and they are well worth seeing.
THE accompanying illustration represents the artificial and
natural way of preserving food in an uninjured state. The
THE FISH-TANK. 393
right-hand figure is that of an ordinary glass aquarium, such
as was in general use until the properties of air and water were
better understood, and it still need not be rejected. It is
simply a vessel in which water is contained, so that aquatic or
marine animals may be able to live in it for some time.
There are infinite varieties of the “ Fish-tank,” if we may
so call it, the chief of which is the “ well,” which is so exten-
sively used in bringing fish to market.
Through the bottom of the boat projects a sort of box pierced
with holes, so that the water has free access and egress. The
sides of the box are so high that there is no fear of the water
rising into the boat. When fish are taken, they are thrown
into the well, and there can live until they are wanted for sale.
Also, as all know who are acquainted with river-banks or
seashores, fishermen have similar wells detached from the
boats, and partly or entirely sunk in the water. In them they
keep their stock, and, when a customer arrives, they simply
draw the box ashore, so that the water runs out, select what
fish they choose, and replace the box in the water.
Now, the power of conveying fish to some distance without
destroying life has for countless ages been possessed by the
Pelican, one of which birds is shown in the accompanying
ulustration.
As every one knows, the chief peculiarity of this bird is the
large and very elastic membrane of the lower jaw. When not
in use, it contracts by its own elasticity, and the bill looks
quite slender, as well as long. But, when distended with
water and fish, it presents the appearance shown in the illus-
tration.
Any one who wishes to see the exercise of this power can
do so by attending the Zoological Gardens, and visiting the
Pelicans at feeding-time, and an hour or two before it. They
hardly seem to be the same birds. Some years ago I made a
series of sketches of the same Pelican under different circum-
stances, and it is scarcely possible to believe that they could
be, as they are, truthful representations of the same bird.
THE right-hand figure of the next illustration requires no
comment, as it simply represents the ordinary hen-coop.
394 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
As everybody is aware, the object of the coop is to keep the
hen within its bars, while the little chicks can run in and out
as they choose, and the coop is made so as to prevent the egress
of the mother, while the offspring find no difficulty in
escaping. |
Now, in the world of insects we find an exactly analogous
structure. As is the case with many hymenopterous insects,
there is in the nest of the Termite, or White Ant, as it is
popularly called, a single perfect female, which is the mother of
the nest. A similar arrangement occurs in the common hiye-
bee, but there is a notable distinction between the queen Bee
QUEEN TERMITE IN HER CELL. HEN IN HER COOP.
and the queen Termite, the latter belonging to the neuropterous
order.
The former is unconfined, and moves about from cell to cell,
depositing her eggs within them, and taking the greatest pains
that they occupy exactly their proper place within the cell. The
latter never moves after she has begun to deposit eggs, but
remains motionless in the same spot, and allows her subordi-
nates to dispose of the eggs which she lays.
How this end is achieved will now be seen.
The reader is probably aware that the queen Termite attains
to enormous dimensions, her head, thorax, and legs retaining
their normal size, but the abdomen becoming several inches in
length, and thick in proportion. The legs are necessarily
unable to move so vast a body, and in order that so important
a personage should not receive injury, a large oval cell is built
around her, from which she never moves for the rest of her
life. She has but one duty, namely, to lay eggs, and so is fed
EGG-HATCHING. 395
that she may have strength to produce them. She is simply
passive, and never even sees her eggs, much less has care of
her young.
All the care of guarding and nurturing the eggs and young
falls upon the worker Termites. These insects are quite small,
about the size of our common Wood-ant.
When they build the clay cell around their queen, they bore
a number of holes along the sides, which are just large enough
to allow the workers to pass freely, but which effectually exclude
the soldier Termites, or any foes larger than themselves.
Through these apertures streams of workers are continually
passing—some entering the cell to fetch the eggs, and others
coming out with eggs carried carefully in their jaws.
EGGS OF STRUS. EGG-HATCHING MACHINE.
Thus, as the reader will see, we have in Nature an exact
analogy of Art, the Termite queen being confined within her
cell exactly as is the hen within the coop.
Berne on the subject of eggs and egg-hatching, we will
take another case in which Art has acknowledgedly followed
Nature.
We all know that eggs are developed into life by means of
well-regulated heat, and that with birds the general rule is,
that the needful heat is supplied by the parent bird, who sits
upon them for a certain time, until the young birds make their
appearance in the world.
Under ordinary circumstances, the aid of the parent bird is
396 NATURE'S TEACHINGS.
quite sufficient ; but when the progress of civilisation requires
that the eggs of poultry should be hatched in numbers too
great for the powers of the parent bird, Man has been fain to
imitate Nature, and to invent machines whereby eggs can be
hatched by artificial heat, regulated to the temperature of the
hen’s body.
Various as are these machines in detail, they are all alike in
principle, and the right-hand figure of the accompanying illus-
tration will give a fair idea of the method which is employed.
A box is fitted up with trays, on which the eggs are
arranged. At the bottom of the box there is the heat-
producing apparatus, which can be regulated at pleasure. The
trays of eggs can be moved from one part of the box to
another, so as to insure the right amount of heat, and, if this
process be only carefully carried out, the young chicks emerge
from the eggs exactly as they would have done if the hen had
sat upon them.
This machine is sometimes called the Artificial Mother, and
it is worthy of notice that it is no modern invention, the ancient
Egyptians having used it more than three thousand years ago.
Wits regard to Nature, it would have been simple enough
to give one illustration of a bird sitting on her eggs, but I
have preferred to select a different subject, as more relevant to
the question of artificial heat.
There is an insect to which we have had several occasions of
reference, namely, the Wurble-fly of the ox, scientifically
known as Cistrus bovis.
The eggs of this insect are deposited in the skin of the ox,
and are there hatched by the heat of the animal. In propor-
tion as the larva grows, it raises lumps upon the skin, these
being practically the roofs of the artificial home. There are
several other species of the same genus, all of which have their
eggs hatched by the heat of the animals on which they are
placed. There are, for example, the common Bot-fly (strus
equi), whose eggs are hatched in the interior of the horse,
and the Sheep-fly (Gistrus ovis), whose eggs are hatched in the
head of the sheep. The common Snake leaves her eggs to be
hatched in the artificial heat produced by decaying vegetable
matter.
PRESERVATION OF PROVISIONS. 3947
WE now come to the preservation of provisions.
In the first place, we have the well-known “cache” of
Northern America—.e. a spot wherein provisions are hidden,
and their locality only marked by signs intelligible to those for
whose use they are intended. It is, perhaps, hardly necessary
to mention that many creatures—such as the dog, the squirrel,
and most of the crow tribe—are in the habit of concealing pro-
visions for future use.
In those parts of the world, however, where the rights of
hunters are acknowledged, any one who kills a deer, or other
animal of chase, and is not able to carry off the entire body,
can preserve it for his own use. He simply cuts it up in
hunter fashion, and hangs the various portions to branches of
SPIDER-NESTS. EGGS OF SPIDER-NEST- PROVISIONS HUNG TO TREE BRANCH.
LACE-WING FLY-
trees, where they are out of the reach of wild beasts. Stores
like these, such as are shown in the illustration, are always
respected, and no hunter would dream of helping himself to
the game which was killed and dressed by another.
Beasts of prey, however, cannot be expected to be so punc-
tilious, and in consequence the hunters hang their meat to
branches which cannot be reached.
In Nature we find many similar examples, one or two of
which are given on the left hand of the illustration.
In the centre is seen a group of eggs of the Lace-wing Fly
(Hemerobius), so called on account of the delicate, lace-like
structure of its beautiful pale green wings.
When the female lays her eggs she always chooses a slight
398 NATURE'S TEACHINGS.
twig, and upon it deposits a little drop of a slimy consistence.
She then draws out this drop into a thread, which hardens as it
is brought into contact with the air. At the extreme end of
the thread she places an egg, which is thus kept at some height
above the ground, and defies the approach of inimical insects.
The eggs, as well as the stalks, are perfectly white, and have
so singular a resemblance to mosses, that for many years they
were actually classed and figured as such.
These egg-groups are plentiful enough, if the observer only
knows where to look for them. I have several of them in my
collection, and have found that nearly every one who sees them
for the first time takes them for mosses. I never myself saw
the pretty insect lay its eggs, and for the description am
indebted to Mr. A. G. Butler, of the British Museum, who has
kept them and watched their habits.
The objects on either side of the Lace-wing Fly’s eggs are
ege-croups of certain spiders, suspended by threads from
branches.
A sTILL more remarkable instance of unconscious imitation
may be found in the two objects in the accompanying illustra-
tion. It is hardly necessary to say that the right-hand figure
represents a portion of the arrangement by which a butcher
hangs up his meat out of harm’s way until it is wanted.
The hooks in question are simply formed into a double curve,
like the letter S, and can be slid along the horizontal bar with-
out any danger of falling.
Now, in the common Sloth we have an exact prototype of
the butcher’s hook. The Sloth passes the whole of its life in
the remarkable attitude which is shown in the illustration.
It lives among the branches—not on them, but under them—
its claws being long and curved, just like a butcher’s hook.
I have often watched the animal traversing the branches, and
have been greatly struck with the accurately picturesque
description of the late Mr. Waterton, who was the first to dis-
cover the real character of the Sloth.
It was he who found out that the previous ideas as to the
Sloth’s mode of life were utterly erroneous, and that, instead of
being a sort of bungle, the Sloth was as perfect in its way, and
as well fitted for its mode of life, as the lion or tiger. He dis-
HOOKS AND CLAWS. 399
covered that the animal always hung from the branches, as
shown in the illustration. In fact, as Sydney Smith remarked
in his witty review of ‘“‘ Waterton’s Wanderings,” the Sloth
SLOTH BUTCHERS’ HOOKS.
passes his whole life in suspense, “like a young clergyman dis-
tantly related to a bishop.”
THERE are many other creatures which afford similar
examples, though perhaps none are so striking as the Sloth.
For instance, there are the whole tribe of Bats, which, by
means of the curved claws attached to their hind-feet, can hang .
themselves head downwards in the open air, and even swing in
wind, without the least fear of falling.
USEFUL ARTS.
CHAPTER VIII.
DOMESTIC COMFORT.
How to make Home comfortable.—The Bed in its various Forms.—The Feather
Bed of Man.—The Eider-duck and her Plumage.—The Rabbit and her
Down.—The Long-tailed Titmouse and her wonderful Nest.—The Hammock
of civilised Man and Savage.—The Sailor’s Canvas Hammock.—The String
Hammock of tropical America.—Nest of the Pensile Oriole.—Silken Ham-
mock of the Tiger-moth and other Insects.—The Mat Bed.—Cocoa-nut
Matting.—The Robber-crab and its Bed.—Strength and Uses of the Cocoa-
nut Fibre.—The Surgeon’s “ Cradle” and the Pupa of Tabanus.—The Art
of Sewing and the Tailor-bird.—Principle of the Umbrella and its Original
Use.—Natural Umbrella on the Rosemary.—Servants and Slaves, and the
Distinction between them.—The Use of Slaves in hot Countries.—Slavery in
the Insect World.—The Ants and their Slaves.—Ornamental Gardening and
Pleasure-grounds.—The Hanging Gardens of Babylon.—The Bower-birds
and their Pleasure-grounds.
E now come to a different branch of the same subject,
namely, the means by which our dwellings are rendered
comfortable.
After having procured a dwelling which can withstand the
elements, we next look for a bed on which to repose, and
which will ease the limbs and brain, wearied by the toils of
the day.
Allusion has already been made to the ordinary feather bed
and its multitudinous natural springs. We now have to see
how the various kinds of beds are anticipated in Nature, and
will begin with the feather bed.
As to our own beds, nothing need be said about objects so
familiar, although, in order to preserve the parallelism, it is
necessary to introduce an illustration on the right hand of the
page.
On the left hand are shown two examples of natural feather
FEATHER BEDS. 401
beds, selected from many others on account of the exact parallels
which they afford.
We all know the wonderful warmth and lightness of the
Hider-down mattress or quilt, though there are comparatively
few who know how the Hider-down is procured.
In common with many other creatures, the Eider-duck forms
a bed for her young by plucking the down from her own body.
Rabbits do exactly the same thing, as all boys know who have
kept them, the only difference being that fur is substituted for
feathers. So do many insects, stripping themselves of their
LONG=TAILED TITMOUSE. FEATHER BED.
EIDER-DUCK.
own downy covering, and employing it for the comfort of their
offspring.
The lower figure on the left hand represents the Kider-
duck in the act of plucking the far-famed down from her
breast in order to make a soft and warm couch for her young,
and the amount of feathers which she will devote to this
purpose is simply astonishing. Their weight is insignificant,
but their bulk is wonderful.
Above the Hider-duck is shown the nest of the common
Long-tailed Titmouse. It is the most perfect nest that is
constructed by any British bird. Its shape exactly resembles
that of an egg, and it has but one small aperture, as is shown
in the illustration.
The Titmouse lays a vast number of eggs, and almost fills
DD
402 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
the nest with soft downy feathers, on which they can rest.
If the finger be introduced into the nest through the aperture,
the tiny eggs can be felt reposing in their natural feather-bed.
In this case, however, the bird does not denude herself of
feathers, but has a way of picking them up wherever she can
find them.
Now we will take another form of bed, namely, the Hammock,
which is used in many parts of the world.
Putting aside the well-known hammock as used on board
our ships, we will take the same kind of bed as used among
the natives of tropical America.
In that wonderful part of the world, where water and
vegetation reign supreme, an aérial couch of some kind is
absolutely needful, and is supplied by the singularly ingenious
hammocks which are constructed by the natives. They are
made of a fine, but marvellously strong fibre, procured from
the aloe plant by the simple process of soaking the long leaves
in water, and dashing them against a stone. The soft green
parts are eaten away, and the tough fibres remain in all their
strength.
From these fibres are woven the strings of which the
Hammocks are made. I possess four of the Hammocks, all
made on different lines, but all based on the same principle.
In some the strings are laid parallel to each other, and con-
nected by transverse strings at regular intervals, but in the
best specimens they are interlaced diagonally into a sort of
loose network without knots, so that it yields in every direction
to the outlines of the body.
It is one of the most comfortable couches ever invented,
especially when it is of considerable size. I have one specimen
which, even in its curved state, extends completely across a
tolerably sized room. I never use it because it is so comfortable
that the temptation to lie in it is almost too strong to be
resisted.
As to Hammocks in Nature, they are almost too many to
be computed.
So we will first take the nest of the Pensile Oriole, which is
shown in the illustration, and which is an admirable exampie
THE HAMMOCK. 403
of the Hammock, being woven from long vegetable fibres
intertwisted very much like the strings of the South American
Hammock. And as if to increase the resemblance, the bird,
whenever it can do so, will carry off hanks of cotton, linen,
thread, or pieces of string, and weave them into its nest.
I have one of these nests, and, directly I saw it, was struck
with its exact similitude to the Hammock of human manu-
facture.
There are many other birds in various parts of the world
“1g IN A
NEST OF PENSILE ORIOLE. HAMMOCK,
especially in Australia, which make their nests on exactly the
same principle, though in slightly varied forms.
Also, in the insect world, there are innumerable examples of
the natural Hammock, the most common of which is that made
by the caterpillars of the Tiger-moth, and in which it slings
itself while undergoing its changes from the chrysalis to the
perfect state.
It is made of silken threads, interwoven so slightly that the
chrysalis can be seen through them, and so exactly like the
Hammock of the South American Indian that if a drawing
were made and enlarged, one might easily be taken for the
other.
Now we come to the Mat Bed, which is so much used in the
warmer parts of the world, where the earth is dry, and the air
so warm that nothing is required but the slightest possible
protection from the soil.
In inland places, such as Southern Africa, the bed is made
of long grass-stems laid side by side, and sewn together with a
Db D2
404 NATURE'S TEACHINGS.
sort of twine. One of these beds in my collection is some three
feet wide by seven feet long, and can be rolled up into a cylin-
der so compact and light that even a child could carry it.
Of course, when the Kafirs are on a journey, the women have
to carry the beds, together with the heavy wooden pillows and
other necessaries, the men carrying nothing but their weapons.
I have a pair of figures made by a native artist, representing a
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FEET OF DUCKS. SNOW -SHOE.
FOOT OF JACANA. MUD-PATTEN.
WATER-GNAT. SKIDOR-
It occasionally happens that the snow falls before the shoes
are ready. In this case the hunter is obliged to extemporise
snow-shoes by cutting them out of thin boards.
Several years ago, when snow fell heavily and remained
unmelted for many days, some Canadians, who were visiting
England, made quite a sensation by donning their snow-shoes,
and travelling over the snow-clad country. It was very pretty
to see the easy way in which they could shoot down a hill, -
and to watch the peculiar gait which is needed by the snow-
shoe. i
H H
466 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
At the bottom of the illustration is shown a portion of a
curious skate used in Norway, and called Skidor.
These remarkable implements achieve by means of lenin
the task which the snow-shoe accomplishes by width. They
are made of wood, and, though but a few inches in width, are
ten feet or more in length. One is always a few feet shorter
than the other, for the convenience of turning. Much practice
is needed for the management of the Skidors, but, when they
are fairly mastered, they enable their owner to travel at a
wonderful pace.
The Norwegian hunter is quite as dependent on his Skidor
as the North American on his Snow-shoe, and uses it for
exactly the same purpose. A corps of these hunters has been
organized for war, and very formidable they were, hanging on
the skirts of the enemy, and giving him no rest, day or night.
They never came within fifty yards of each other, so that even
cannon were useless; and, as soon as they thought that they
were endangered, they dispersed in all directions, only to reunite
and swoop down again on the enemy at the first opportunity.
‘Tue central figure represents the Mud-patten, which, as its
name implies, plays the same part towards mud that the snow-
shoe and skidor do to the snow. Like them, also, it is not easy
to manage; and a novice is tolerably certain to drive the front
of the patten into the mud, and so get an awkward and not
aromatic fall.
This patten, which is merely a square piece of board attached
to the foot, is in use on many of our coasts where the ebbing
tide runs out to a great distance, leaving a vast expanse of soft
mud. Like the skidor and the snow-shoe, it is mostly used by
sportsmen, especially.in the winter, when wild-duck shooting
sets In.
Aided by the pattens, a sportsman can travel for miles over
mud that would otherwise swallow him up, shoot his birds, .
and secure them when fallen. While engaged in winter
shooting on the Medway, we have often lost birds because —
they fell beyond a deep mud-bank, and we had no means of
crossing it.
On the left hand of the illustration are some natural paral-
TREE-CLIMBING. 467
lels of these artificial aids. The two upper figures represent
two forms of webbed feet, and the analogy between them
and the snow-shoe and mud-patten is too obvious to need
explanation.
In the centre is the foot of the Jacana, an Asiatic bird. Its
foot may well be taken as the analogue of the skidor, length
taking the place of breadth, and enabling the weight to be
distributed over a large surface.
This bird finds its food in rivers and lakes, and, by reason of
its enormously long toes, can walk with safety over slight
floating vegetation, which would give way at once under the
tread of any bird except a Jacana. Very good representations
of this bird are to be seen in Japanese works of art, especially
those which are mounted as screens. Even the peculiar gait of
the bird is given with marvellous truth.
The last figure represents the common Water-gnat (Gerrzs),
which may be seen in almost any piece of fresh water, however
small. Ponds that are open to the south, and sheltered from
the north wind, are its favourite localities.
It is a carnivorous being, feeding almost wholly on insects that
fall into the water. In order to capture them, it runs rapidly
over the surface of the water, the long slender legs distributing
its weight over a large surface, and so keeping it from sinking.
Only the last two pairs of legs are employed for this purpose,
the first pair being held in front of the body, and used for the
purpose of capturing prey.
TREE-CLIMBING.
ANOTHER curious aid to locomotion is shown in the accom-
panying illustration.
In many parts of the world, where the cocoa-nut palm grows,
the natives have invented a simple, but ingenious, plan for
ascending the tall, curved stem. Such a thing as an upright
palm-tree is unknown, and consequently the ascent of the
branchless stem is not an easy task without artificial assistance.
When I treated of Warfare and the different modes of scaling
walls, the cliimbing-spur was casually mentioned. The imple-
ment of the palm-climber, however, is simpler and more
effective, as it leaves both hands at liberty when desired.
HH 2
468 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
The man cuts a long piece of one of the tough and almost
unbreakable creepers which festoon the trees of tropical climes.
He passes it round the trunk which he wishes to climb, and
fastens the ends firmly together, so as to forma large loose hoop.
He then passes the hoop over his head, until it presses against
his back, as seen in the illustration, and serves to support him
as he leans against it. |
Taking the hoop by the two sides, he lifts it up the trunk as
far as he can, places the soles of his feet against the tree, and
so walks up it, hitching the hoop upwards at every step. When
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GIRT PUPA AND BUTTERFLY. OLIMBING PALM-TREE.
he has reached the top of the tree, he supports himself entirely
by the hoop, while his hands are at liberty to be used in getting
the cocoa-nuts,
In the insect world there are many examples of support
being given by a belt passing round the body.
Among the Butterflies, for example, there are many which,
in their pupal stage of existence, are attached to upright stems.
They are fixed to the stem by a few threads at the tail, answer-
ing to the feet of the tree-climber, while the body is kept in
position by a stout silken thread passed loosely round it.
The illustration represents the pupa of the common Swallow-
tailed Butterfly, while in the centre is the same insect in the
perfect state as it appears when resting. It really seems as if
THE WHEEL. 469
the ancient habit of the pupa had been remembered by the
perfect insect, the long ends of the hinder wings taking the
place of the pupal tail, and the legs that of the belt.
THE WHEEL.
Yet another aid to locomotion is found in the WHEEL, a
contrivance for diminishing friction.
When man first learnt that heavier weights could be dragged
than carried, he simply placed them on flat boards to which
ropes were attached. The next step was necessarily the
invention of the sledge, the burden resting on two parallel
runners, the ends of which were slightly curved so as to prevent
them from hitching against any small obstruction. In some
countries—such, for example, as in Esquimaux-land—the sledge
is the only vehicle practicable, and even Europeans, when
WHEEL-SPICULE OF CHIRODOTA. CART-WHEEL,
they visit that country, are fain to adopt the sledge if they
would live.
But, in more temperate zones, the Wheel is paramount. In
its earlier stages the wheel was a very simple business. It
was simply a section of a tree-trunk, dubbed roughly round,
and with a hole in the centre, through which the axle passed.
Such wheels are still in existence in many parts of Europe;
and, owing to the want of regularity of outline in the circum-
ference, and the utter absence of grease, the wheels keep up
a continuous shriek, almost deafening to those who are unused
to it, but perfectly unheeded by those who own or drive the
vehicle.
The next improvement was to make the circumference of the
wheel as perfectly circular as the art of man could devise, and,
470 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
instead of having the wheel solid, to fill up its interior with
spokes, thus gaining lightness and strength at the same time.
Of all locomotive wheels, I suppose that the modern Bicycle
affords the best example. The driving wheel is larger than
the hind wheel of an ordinary coach, and yet the spokes are
not nearly so thick as the porcupine quill with which this
account is written.
If we look at the ancient sculptures and paintings of Egypt
and Assyria, as preserved in the British Museum, we shall see
that either kind of wheel was used according to the work
which it had to do. The solid, uneven, squeaking, wooden
wheel was devoted to agriculture, while the light, spoked wheel
was sacred either to warfare or hunting.
Let us hope that in the two latter cases some modicum of
grease might have been used, as the outcries of tortured and
unlubricated machinery are enough to drive away all wild
beasts which come within the range of its complaints, while the
nervous system of hunter or warrior must have been seriously
damaged by it.
EveEN in such a structure as the spoked Wheel, Nature has
anticipated Man.
My readers may remember that, when treating of nautical
matters, I mentioned the singular anchor-shaped spicules that
are found upon one of the sea-slugs, called Synapta.
There is another group of these creatures inhabiting the
Mediterranean, in which the skin-spicules take a different form.
Like those of the Synapta, they are too small and translucent
to be seen without the aid of the microscope and carefully
adjusted light. But, just as the spicules of the Synapta
resemble the ancient anchor, so do those of the Chirodota
resemble the ancient wheel, the similitude being in both cases
absolutely startling.
Not only that, but, as all readers must be aware, if they
have studied practical mechanics, there are many machines
which are toothed on the inner, and not the outer, side of
the circumference. Here, in the Chirodota, the inner toothing
is manifest.
What purpose it serves we know not. The Chirodota’s
wheels (of which there are thousands) never revolve, neither
ANTICIPATIONS OF NATURE. 471
do the anchors of the Synapta hold the ground. Yet the very
fact that such exceedingly minute objects should be so carefully
constructed tells us at once that they must have some important
purpose to serve, though at present that purpose is a mystery
which no one has attempted to solve.
I have little doubt that when the hour and the man arrive,
as arrive they surely will, we shall find in these tiny and almost
unrecognised spicules the keys to treasures of wisdom which
at present have been opened to no human being.
The whole history of the progress of the human race shows
that facts have been allowed to accumulate, fought about, and
turned in all directions, before the generaliser comes who
pierces to the heart of everything, reduces apparent dis-
crepancies to harmony, and usually is rewarded by finding some
one else assume the credit of his discoveries, and receive all
the honours and emoluments.
USEFUL ARTS
CHAPTER XIV.
Paper and its many Uses.—The Egyptian Papyrus.—India Paper.—China and
its Manufactories.—Materials of which Paper is made.—Annual Consump-
tion of Material.—The ‘“ Water Mark.’’—Nature’s Papers.—Wasps and
Hornets.—The common Wasp, and the various Materials of its Nest.—
Utilisation of Material—Papier-maché. — Printing. — Nature-printing.—
Method and Results of the Process.—Use of the Electrotype.—‘‘ Facing ”’ the
Copper Plates with hard Metal.—The Coal Mine and its Nature-printing.—
Stippling, its Use and Abuse.—The Line and the Dot.—Modification of the
Dot.—Flower-petals.—The Pelargonium.—Plaster Castings.—Stereotyping
and Electrotyping.—Modern Method of taking Plaster Casts.—The Principle
of Corrugation.—Flower-pot Covers.—lron Buildings. —The Polistes and its
Corrugated Dwellings.
ART.
E will now touch lightly on the subject of Art.
In the present day one of the most indispensable
accessories to art is Paper.
It is a curious fact that we have no records as to the time
when paper was first invented. ‘The Hgyptian papyrus we do
not consider, as it was not paper in our sense of the word,
although we have retained the name.
Paper is a vegetable fibre carefully disintegrated, made into
a pulp with water, and then dried in thin sheets. As is the
case with many arts, China seems to have taken the lead in
paper manufacture, and we are even now indebted to that
country for the “India Paper” on which the finest proofs of
engravings are taken. ‘This paper is made from the inner bark
of the bamboo. ‘ Rice Paper,” so called, is not paper at all,
but only a kind of pith cut spirally, and flattened by pressure.
There is scarcely any vegetable fibre of which paper cannot
_be made, and various plants have been suggested for this
purpose, such as the stinging-nettle, cabbage-stalks, hop-bines,
PAPER-MAKING. 473
the waste of sugar-cane, sawdust, &c. Straw has already been
successfully used, and so has Esparto grass.
Some years ago, when there was a scarcity of material for
paper-making, the well-known Grass-wrack of our shores
(Zostera marina) was brought into partial use. I believe,
however, that the experiment was not a successful one. The
Chinese make their paper of bamboo, macerating and pounding
it until it is reduced to a pulp, and then shaken into fibres in
a mould.
With us, white paper, such as is used by the writer, printer,
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NEST OF HORNET. PAPER-MAKING.
NEST OF TREE-WASP. PAPER.
or artist, is made almost exclusively of cotton or linen rags.
Upwards of a hundred and twenty thousand tons weight of
rags are annually consumed in this country for the manufacture
of paper. After being bleached, they are torn and ground into
a pulp, which is then handed over to the actual maker.
The illustration represents paper-making by hand, a process
which is now rarely used, except for special kinds of paper.
Omitting technical details, the mode of paper-making by hand
is as follows :—The pulp being prepared, the workman takes a
“mould,” 7.e. a frame with a bottom of closely woven wire.
474 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
Having put into the mould a sufficient quantity of pulp, he
shakes the mould so as to spread the pulp evenly over the
surface. The water runs away between the wires, the sheet of
pulp is transferred to a piece of felt, and when it is dry it
becomes paper. Ifa sheet of ordinary note-paper be held up to
the light, the marks of the wires are plainly perceptible. The
so-called ‘“‘water-mark” is due to wires twisted into the
requisite shape.
The Chinese workman makes his paper exactly on the same
principle, but the bottom of his mould is made of bulrushes
instead of wires.
As for machine-made paper, the process seems absolutely
magical. Endless bands of felt and wire are substituted for
the hand frames, and, the pulp being poured in at one end,
the finished paper is poured out at the other, and self-wound on
rollers. Without any exaggeration, paper is now made by the
mile, the only limit to its length being the size of the rolls.
Wuen I mention Paper-making in the world of Nature,
many of my readers will at once know that I am about to
refer to the Wasp tribe.
These insects were paper-makers long before even the Chinese
had invented the art, and, so exactly similar is the mode of
action, that man might well have copied from the insect.
The Wasp gnaws a bundle of vegetable fibres, mostly of
wood, sound or decaying, according to the species. It masti-
cates them until it has reduced them to a pulp, and then, by
means of its jaws, spreads the pulp into sheets of various
shapes and sizes.
With some of the pulp it forms hexagonal cells like those of
the bee, and with some it makes the roof-like covering which
defends the cells. Not only that, but it can make a sort of
papier-maché, which it uses for the flooring, if we may so call
it, of the different strata of cells, and for the pillars which
bind them together. |
Like our own paper manufacturers, it is economic of material,
will re-masticate any superabundant paper, and is only too
glad if it can get hold of any paper made by man. I have seen
a wasps nest which was made entirely from the empty blue
and white cartridges that were thrown away by soldiers.
NATURE-PRINTING. 475
Then there is as much difference in the papers made by wasps
as in those made by man. In this country all wasps’ nests are
made of very fragile material, but in South America there are
some wasps which make the external covering of their nests as
hard and white as the stiff cardboard employed by artists.
Havrne now got our paper, we will glance at one or two modes
of using it for Art. Papier-maché has already been mentioned,
and it is worthy of notice that there are now in existence
many decorated ceilings which are made of this material, on
account of its great strength and its non-liability to fire.
The first invention which we shall notice is that which is
_ FERNS IN COAL. NATURE-PRINTING.
known by the name of Nature-printing, and which has been
so successful in transferring to paper an exact representation of
vegetable foliage.
One simple tolerably efficacious mode of Nature-printing
has long been known. A piece of paper being rubbed with
lamp-black and oil, the leaf was laid upon it and gently rubbed,
so as to transfer the lamp-black to the nervures. It was then
laid on a sheet of white paper, and again rubbed, when an
impression of the leaf was left upon the paper.
The present system of Nature-printing is far in advance of
this rather rude method, and amounts to an exact reproduction
of the plant, not only in form and detail, but in colour.
In order to illustrate this beautiful process, I cannot do
better than transfer to these pages the following account of
Nature-printing as given in Ure’s “Dictionary of Arts,’’ &c.
It is an abstract of a lecture delivered by Mr. H. Bradbury at.
the Royal Institution.
“Nature-printing is the name given to a technical process:
476 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
for obtaining printed reproductions of plants and other objects
upon paper, ina manner so truthful, that only a close inspection
reveals the fact of their being copies; and so distinctly sensible
even to touch are the impressions, that it is difficult to
persuade those unacquainted with the manipulation that they
are an emanation of the printing-press.
“The distinguishing feature of the process consists, first, in
impressing natural objects—such as plants, mosses, seaweeds,
and feathers—into plates of metal, causing, as it were, the objects
to engrave themselves by pressure; secondly, in being able to
take such casts or copies of the impressed plates as can be
printed from at the ordinary copper-plate press.
‘This secures, in the case of a plant, on the one hand, a
perfect representation of its characteristic outline, of some of
the other external marks by which it is known, and even in
some measure of its structure, as in the venation of ferns and
the ribs of the leaves of flowering plants; and, on the other,
affords the means of multiplying copies in a quick and easy
manner, at a trifling expense compared with the result, and to
an unlimited extent.
“The great defect of all pictorial representations of botanical
figures has consisted in the inability of art to represent faith-
fully those minute peculiarities by which natural objects are
often best distinguished. Nature-printing has therefore come
to the aid of this branch of science in particular, whilst its
future development promises facilities for copying other objects
of nature, the reproduction of which is not within the province
of the human hand to execute; and even if it were possible,
it would involve an amount of labour scarcely commensurate
with the results.
“ Possessing the advantages of rapid and economic production,
the means of unlimited multiplication, and, above all, unsur-_
passable resemblance to the original, nature-printing is calcu-
lated to assist much in facilitating not only the first-sight
recognition of many objects in natural history, but in supplying
the detailed evidences of identification, which must prove of
essential value to botanical science in particular.”
Many plans have been tried with only partial success, but
that which is now in operation produces the most wonderful
results. The plants are laid upon sheets of lead, and then
STIPPLING. 477
passed through rollers, so as to leave an impression in the
soft metal. The electrotype then comes into play, exact copies
- of the impression being taken by it. As the face of the
electrotyped plate is covered with a slight deposit of some
hard metal, usualty nickel, a great number of copies can be
taken without damaging the plate.
A WONDERFULLY exact parallel to Nature-printing is seen in
almost every coal bed. In the coal are found impressions
of various leaves, mostly ferns, and so exact are they, that the
different species have been determined and named with as much
accuracy as if, instead of mere impressions, they had been the
fern-leaves themselves.
Indeed, if it were needed, it would be perfectly easy to take
electrotype plates from these impressions, and to treat them in
exactly the same manner as those obtained in the way which
has already been described.
STIPPLING,
WE now come to another branch of Art, namely, the produc-
tion of shadow in an engraving by means of Stippling, ze. the
insertion of dots instead of lines. At one time the Stipple was
in great favour. Then it was almost wholly abandoned in
favour of the line, and now it is much used in conjunction with
the line, especially for the delicate shading of flesh tints,. such
as faces, female arms, &c.
In the illustration a little stippling of a cheek is shown, the
dots being purposely exaggerated.
A singularly beautiful modification of the Stipple is now in
use. When the engraver wishes for exceptional softness of
shading, he does not content himself with mere dots, but, with
the aid of his magnifying-glass, converts each dot into a tiny
star with three or more rays. Thus the dots seem to melt into
each other, and the requisite softness is obtained.
A very good example of this star-stipple is seen in the well-
known print called “Coming of Age.’’ If the face and neck
of the girl in the foreground be examined with a magnifying-
glass, the apparent dots will be seen to be stars, so beautifully
arranged that the projecting rays of one fuse themselves, so to
478 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
speak, with those of the surrounding stars, as is shown in the
illustration.
WHETHER the engraver who hit upon this singularly effec-
tive plan took it from Nature, I cannot say, but he well might
have done so, had he examined the petal of a flower through a
good microscope. We all know the peculiar rich softness of
a petal, and how our very best floral artists feel the impossi-
bility of transferring it to paper. . |
The real reason for this special beauty lies in the star-
stippling of the petal. The whole surface of the petalis covered
STIPPLING. PETAL OF GERANIUM.
with multitudinous projections, which are, in fact, undeveloped
hairs. These projections are wrinkled down the sides, and so,
when viewed from above, they present the curious star-like
appearance shown on the right hand of the illustration.
The drawing is taken from a petal of Pelargonium prepared
by myself.
There is yet one point in the petal which the star-stipple has
not touched, and probably cannot touch. I mean the slight
projection of the stipple-hairs, which give an effect of light and
shade as well as mere flat softness.
PuasterR Casts.
WE have already mentioned the electrotype, and may now
come to a branch of art which is much associated with it,
namely, the Stereotype.
PLASTER CASTS. 479
As many of my readers may know, types are very valuable
articles, and must not be wasted. If, therefore, a book should
be thought likely to have a steady sale, much of its value would
be lost if the types were kept standing, inasmuch as they could
not be used for any other work.
In such cases the Stereotype is employed. Omitting minute
details, the process is as follows :-—
The type, ready set up, is carefully oiled. Plaster of Paris
mixed with water is then poured into a shallow trough, and the
type pressed into it. In a short time the plaster hardens, and
the type is withdrawn. The plaster mould is then baked, to
SHELL-CAST IN CHALKe CAST IN PLASTER OF PARIS.
drive off all moisture, and type metal is poured into it. Thus
a solid mass is procured, instead of a number of separate pieces,
so that there is no danger of disturbance, and the whole block
can be multiplied ad libitum if needed. This process sets free
the types, which can be broken up and used again.
The ordinary method of taking plaster casts is nearly the
same as that which has been described. The object to be cast
is oiled, and plaster of Paris carefully applied to it. When it .
is “‘set,’’ the plaster ‘“‘mould”’ is removed and dried. The process
is then reversed, the interior of the mould being oiled, and
plaster poured into it, so as to produce an exact reproduction of
the original.
In Nature we have almost exactly the same process, although
it is necessarily conducted in a much slower manner.
480 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
All who have tried their hand at practical geology must be
aware of the multitudinous casts of perished beings which are
found in various strata. Sometimes the casts are those of
vegetables, the original material having been decomposed, and
stony matter taken its place. Sometimes there are casts of
fishes or echini, while shells, and even insects, are found to
have been cast almost as perfectly as could be done with plaster
of Paris at the present day.
As might be anticipated, the chalk deposits are peculiarly
rich in these casts, the fine particles of the chalk taking the
place of the plaster of Paris.
In the illustrations are shown examples of casting in Art and
Nature. On the right hand is a cast of fruit and leaves, which
may afterwards be reproduced in plaster, wax, papier-maché,
or electrotype. On the left is shown one of the shells so
common in the chalk, the upper figure representing the shell
itself, and the lower the mould that has been formed around it.
CoRRUGATED [RON.
WE have already seen that the Wasps are paper-makers.
We may now see how some of the Wasps have anticipated a
ly
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NESTS OF POLISTES. CORRUGATED IRON.
valuable invention of man, namely, the principle of corrugation,
whereby a thin plate gains strength.
Even a sheet of paper gains great strength by corrugation,
as is seen in those paper covers which are so much in use for
the decoration, or rather the concealment, of flower-pots. But
the best example that can be given of this principle is the
NESTS OF POLISTES. 481
Corrugated Iron, which has come so much into use for
temporary buildings, such as schools, places of worship, reading-
rooms, &c. It is very light and very strong, and can be used
either for roof or walls with equal success.
By means of certain wasps belonging to the genus Polistes,
Nature produces corrugated dwellings, which are made of very
thin materials, but which are marvellously strong in proportion
to their weight.
The insects belonging to this genus are all exotic, but are
spread over a very large surface of the earth.
So strong are the nests made by some of these species, that
they need no external covering, the corrugated paper supplying
ai the same time strength and warmth, the latter element being
furnished by the air which is entangled between the corruga-
tions.
There are many species of Polistes, mostly belonging to
Australasia and tropical America, the latter displaying the
greatest variety of form and structure in the nest.
i
USEFUL ARTS.
CHAPTER XV.
Electricity, Magnetism, and Galvanism mutually convertible-—The Force co-
extensive with Nature.—Uses of Thunder-storms.—Languor from Want of
Electricity.—Frictional and Voltaic Electricity.—Origin of the Name.—
Structure of the Voltaic Pile.—A simple Example of the Pile.—Nerves of a
Frog’s Leg.—The Electric Shock, and how to produce it.—The Electric Jar
and Battery.—Animal Electricity—The Torpedo and Electric Kel.—Struc-
ture of the Electric Apparatus.—The Electric Spark obtained from both
Fishes. —Channels of Electricity in the Body.—The Will and the Muscles.—
Electricity the conducting Agent.—The Human Body permeated by Nerves.
—Telegraph Wires and the Nervous System.—Lightning and the Electric
Spark.—The Electric Light and its Power.—The Fire-fly, the Glow-worm,
and the luminous Inhabitants of the Sea.—Magnetism and Diamagnetism.—
The Electric Telegraph and the Compass.—The Principle identical in both
Instruments.
ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM.
T has long been known that Electricity, Galvanism, and
Magnetism are but different manifestations of the same
force, and that one can be converted into the other at will.
It is also known that this wonderful and most important
principle lies latent in everything, and only needs the proper
machinery to evoke it.
The few following illustrations are intended to show its
prevalence in Nature, and that human art does not create, but
only makes manifest a power that exists, but lies latent until
called forth.
Without going into details, which would occupy the whole of
such a volume as this, I may mention that Electricity saturates
all the material creation, and that even man himself is not
only a reservoir of electricity, but that he feels positively ill if
the normal amount be not supplied.
Take, for example, the hours that precede a thunder-storm.
We feel languid and depressed. Wecannot bring our thoughts
AMBER. 483
together. Weare almost incapable even of bodily labour. The
reason is, that the portion of the earth on which we live has
parted with some of its electricity, and has drawn it out of our
bodies. |
Then comes the welcome thunder-storm ; clouds overcharged
with electricity come to restore the balance. The lightning
flashes from the clouds to the earth as soon as they are near
enough; the rain falls, carrying with it stores of silent electricity ;
and in an hour or two all seems changed.
The air, which hitherto seemed to afford no nourishment
to the lungs, is bracing and invigorating. The nervous sys-
tem recovers its tension, and the brain can act without a pain-
ful effect. All Nature seems to put on a different aspect,
and brightness and vigour take the place of dulness and lan-
guor.
By a strange coincidence, there is just such a lack of
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GALVANISING A FROGS LEG . VOLTAIC PILE.
electricity as I am writing, and the barometer has rapidly sunk
to such a degree that a storm seems inevitable.
One of the chief difficulties in dealing with such a subject
as this is to know where to begin. We will, however, do our
best to take a general view of it, without going into details.
Many centuries ago it was well known that amber, if rubbed
with a dry cloth, would first attract, and then repel, various
small and light substances. Indeed, the Greek word for amber,
namely, Elektron, has given its name to the modern science of
Lie
484 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
Electricity. Many other substances, such as glass, sealing-wax,
&c., possess the same property.
This frictional electricity is but transient, the electric fluid,
if we may be allowed to use the term, being driven out by
main force from the material in which it was latent, just as fire
is procured by the friction of two dry sticks. There is, how-
ever, a form of Electricity called Galvanism, from its discoverer,
Galvani, who, somewhere about 1790, discovered that the limbs
of a dead frog might be excited to action by electricity applied
to the nerves.
Afterwards, Volta of Pavia, from whom the Voltaic Pile is
named, took up Galvani’s discoveries, and produced electricity
without friction, by the contact of differently conducting
substances.
The right-hand figure represents the Voltaic Pile. It is
composed of a series of plates arranged in the following manner—
Zine, Silver, and Cloth, the whole being moistened with diluted
acid. Copper will answer the purpose nearly as well as silver,
and is not so costly. A very simple mode of demonstrating
the presence of electricity is by taking a piece of zinc and a
silver coin, and placing one below and the other above the
tongue. Ifthe two be then brought together, a very peculiar
taste is perceived, and a sudden flash of light seems to pass
across the eyes.
The illustration represents on the right hand the Voltaic
Pile as at present made, and on the left are the two hind-legs
of a frog, with the upper part of the nerves made bare for the
purpose of experimenting. The dotted lines show the extent
of the movements of the leg when the galvanic current is
passed through the nerves.
Now we come to a plan whereby electricity can be accumu-
lated, or locked up, so to speak, and be discharged at once
with a definite shock instead of being poured away by degrees.
This can be done in many ways, the most common being that
which is known by the name of the Electric Jar. It is a glass
vessel coated within and without with tin-foil, and having a
metal rod passing through the cork in such a way that while
the lower end is in contact with the inner coating of tin-foil,
the other end is guarded by a ball.
THE ELECTRIC BATTERY. 485
Electricity is now poured into the interior of the jar, and,
when contact is made between the inner and outer coatings,
a sudden discharge takes place. If a number of persons hold
each other’s hands, and those who form the two extremities touch
the outer coating and the ball which communicates with the inner
coating, asharp discharge is at once made, passing through all the
bodies, and inflicting a smart shock, especially at the elbows.
Similar effects can be produced with the Voltaic Battery,
but, as that instrument has already been figured, the Electric
Jar has been selected. Of course any number of such jars can
be connected together, and the shock will be proportionately
increased in intensity.
In Nature we have several-parallels. Putting aside the
obvious one of a lightning-flash, which has already been
TORPEDO. ELECTRIC EEL. ELECTRIC BATTERY.
mentioned, we pass to two remarkable examples of the capability
of animal structure to produce electricity, to store it up, so to
speak, and discharge it at will. Both these creatures are fishes,
one belonging to the Skates or Rays, and the other to the Eels.
The upper figure on the left-hand side of the illustration
represents the Torpedo, sometimes called the Cramp-fish,
Numb-fish, or Electric Ray. Fortunately for us, it is but
seldom found on our coasts, but it is tolerably common in the
warmer parts of the world.
The electric organ in this fish is double, and so large that its
shape can easily be recognised even through the skin. Itismade
up ofa vast number of discs arranged upon each other in columns
like the metallic portions of the Voltaic Pile, and separated
486 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
from each other by delicate membranes, which take the place of
the cloth. When I mention that more than eleven hundred
columns have been found in a single Torpedo, and that each
column contains several hundred discs, it may be imagined that
the shock which such a creature can give must be a very power-
ful one.
The object of this power seems to be analogous to that of the
venomous serpent, i.e. to enable the creature to secure its
prey by either killing it or rendering it temporarily insensible by
an electric shock. As if to show that the delivery of the shock
is achieved by an exertion of will, observers have noticed that
just before the shock is delivered, the eyes are depressed in the
head like those of a toad when swallowing a large insect.
A sTILL more powerfully electric animal is the Electric Eel
of Southern America. It sometimes attains a length of six
feet, and its electric organs are four times as proportion
large as those of the torpedo.
There is no doubt as to the object of the electric power of
this eel, as I have often seen it kill fish, and then eat them.
When about to deliver its shock, it curves its body towards
the intended victim, stiffens itself, and with a sort of shudder
the electric fluid is emitted. The fish at which it 1s aimed
never seems to escape, but, simultaneously with the shudder on
the part of the Electric Eel, turns on its back and lies motion-
less until it is picked up by its destroyer.
Neither the Torpedo nor the Electric Eel has unlimited
stores of electricity. If irritated into delivering repeated
shocks, each discharge is less powerful than its predecessor,
until at last the creature is almost wholly powerless, and must
rest and recruit itself before it can lay up fresh stores of the
electric fluid.
I may add that the electric spark has been obtained from
both these fishes. It was only a small spark, but in such
experiments a small spark is as satisfactory as a large one.
Wuat are the channels by which the electric fluid is
transmitted through our bodies ?
They are the nerves, which convey from and to the brain a
subtle fluid, if it may be so called, just as the arteries and
NERVES AND TELEGRAPHIC WIRES. 487
veins convey blood to and from the heart. If any of these
nerves be electrified, even after the death of the animal, or
after the separation of a limb from the body, muscular move-
ments are induced, and the limb moves as if instinct with life.
Without these nerves we should be unable to feel the
severest shock, but they permeate the body so completely,
that not a part of the skin can be pricked without a nerve
being wounded.
It is by means of these conductors that the will is made to
act upon the limbs. The mind, for example, desires the legs
to walk, and they do so, the order being transmitted to them
through the nerves. |
Asarule, we are unconscious of this process. But, when
pa.alysis takes place, and the nerves refuse to perform their
functions, the will is absolutely useless, and, however desirous
a man may be of walking, he cannot move a step if the nerves
of his legs are paralyzed. In cases where the paralysis comes
on slowly and in detail, the patient mostly becomes conscious
of the part played by the nerves, and feels that his will can to
a certain degree rouse the expiring powers of the nerve fluid.
This in its turn is but the conductor for another and
infinitely more subtle fluid, of which our space will not allow
us to treat, but which forms the connecting link between body
and spirit. Perhaps some of my readers may have seen those
curious preparations of the human form, when the arteries have
been injected with red wax, and the veins with blue wax, and
then the fleshy portions dissolved away by chemical means.
The result is a perfect human form, and even to the very
tips of the fingers and toes the blood-vessels follow the contour
of the body. Did we have means of injecting the nervous
system, we should arrive at similar results, except that the
nerves would be found infinitely more intricate than the veins
and arteries. Thus a human being is a series of human forms,
interwoven with each other, and mutually dependent on each
other.
Ir is curious to see how the great discoveries of modern days
have but copied Nature.
Take, for example, the network of telegraphic wires which is
day by day spreading itself over the surface of the earth, and
488 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
the parallel will at once be visible. Just as the brain transmits
its message to the limbs by means of the nerves, so does the
same brain transmit its message through thousands of miles,
by utilising the wires which are but the rough and coarse imi-
tations of the wonderful nervous system of the human frame.
Tue illustration shows the parallelism as well as can be done
by a mere chart.
On the left-hand side is shown the manner in which a nerve-
group is distributed to different parts of the body. On the
right the railway telegraph wires are seen, and, as the reader
will probably remember, branch wires are carried into the
NERVES. TELEGRAPHIC WIRES.
signal boxes, just as branch nerves are carried to the most
distant parts of the body.
I AVE already mentioned the Electric Spark, and that it is,
in fact, a miniature lightning-flash, the little crackling report
being a miniature thunder-clap. It can be produced by fric-
tional electricity, or by the voltaic pile in its many variations,
or by animal substances alone, as in the case of the torpedo and
electric eel.
We now come to a modification of the spark, whereby a con-
tinuous current of electricity is sent through two charcoal
points, and inflames them with such intensity that the eye can-
not look upon its dazzling whiteness. There is none of the
yellowness about it which is so great a drawback to our arti-
ficial lights, whether they be gas, candle, or lamp, and which
ELECTRIC LIGHT. 489
makes ladies’ dresses that are really beautiful by day look dull
and almost ugly by night.
It is wonderful to see how the Electric Light kills all other
lights. The brightest gas becomes dull, and its shadow is
thrown on the wall which it formerly illuminated, and the
most delicate tints of silks and satins suddenly display them-
selves in the blinding whiteness of the Electric Light.
At present it is too costly to be brought into common use,
but its intensity is so great that serious ideas have been formed
of dispensing with street lamps altogether, and illuminating
towns with a few electric lamps placed at a considerable height,
.and having their beams reflected downwards.
London is thought to be a specially fit subject for this mode
SS
—— SEN
_ LIGHTNING. ELECTRIC LIGHT.
FIRE-FLY- GLOW-WoRM.
of lighting, as the electric beams can pierce the fogs which
the gas-lamp only augments, and give the traveller some hope
of finding his way through the most familiar streets.
In the illustration the right-hand figure represents” the
Electric Light as at present in use. The upper portion of the
left-hand side represents the forked lightning, whose dazzling
whiteness is so familiar to us, even in the noon of a summer’s day.
Below are shown the Fire-fly of warm climates, and the
Glow-worm, which, in our comparatively cool country, cheers
the summer evenings with its pale lamp. As to the source of
490 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
this mysterious light, which burns without producing heat
sufficient to be recognised by our most delicate instruments, we
know but little.
There are instruments so infinitely more sensitive than the
best thermometer, that they will record instantaneously an
increase of heat if a human being passes in front of them,
though at several yards’ distance. Yet no effect is produced
on them by any of the Fire-flies or the Glow-worm. The
spectroscope itself gives little or no information, the spectrum
of the light being without bands or bars, and being what is
technically called a “ continuous ”’ spectrum.
Last year I tried numbers of Glow-worms with the spectro-
scope, and always with the same result. I never saw the Fire-
flies alive, but, no matter what may be the colour of the light,
the spectrum, whether of the Glow-worm or any of the Fire-
flies, seems to be always continuous, and so to give but little
information as to its source.
There appears, however, to be little doubt that animal elec-
tricity is the real cause of this curious phenomenon, and that
the force which is expended in the torpedo and electric eel, in
giving shocks accompanied by slight electric sparks, may
develop itself in these insects by producing a continuous light.
And just as the electric fishes can emit or withhold the shock
as they please, so can the Fire-flies and Glow-worms give out
or retain the light by which they are so well known.
Then we come to the multitudinous luminous inhabitants of
the sea, which, as many of my readers have probably seen,
convert the waves into rolling masses of living fire.
MAGNETISM.
Now we come to another condition of electrical force, called —
MAGNETISM. |
One form of it is strongly developed in the Loadstone, an
ore of iron. This ore has the property of turning east and
west when suspended freely, it attracts any object made of iron,
and can communicate its powers to iron by merely stroking it.
There is in the Museum at Oxford a splendid specimen of the
Loadstone, which has imparted its virtues to thousands of iron
magnets, and has lost none of its virtues by so doing.
All bodies are now known to be magnetic in some way or
MAGNETISM. 491
other. Several, such as iron, nickel, and one or two other
metals, turn north and south when suspended on a pivot, but
the great bulk of other bodies turn east and west, and are
called Diamagnetics. ,
As we all know, the property of turning north and south
has been utilised in the Compass, without which modern
science would be paralyzed, and travel rendered impossible.
It is worthy of notice that although the magnetic needle
of the compass turns to the north, it does not do so because it
LOADSTONE. COMPASS.
is attracted by the north pole, but because it is repelled from
the east and west.
We have long known that if a current of electricity be sent
round a magnetic needle, the latter at once turns at right
angles to it. On this principle depends the Electric Telegraph.
When communication is made by using the handles, a current
of electricity is sent round the needles, and causes them to turn
at right angles until stopped by a little ivory pin, which pre-
vents them from overshooting themselves.
There is a perpetual stream of electricity passing over the
earth from east to west, and in consequence all magnetic bodies
are forced to turn at right angles, just as is the case with the
magnetic needle.
USEFUL ARTS.
CHAPTER XVI.
TILLAGE. — DRAINAGE. — SPIRAL PRINCIPLE. — CENTRIFUGAL
FORCE.
Systems of cultivating Ground.—The Fallow System.— Manuring the Ground.—
Custom of China.—Nature’s Abhorrence of Waste.— What becomes of Dead
Animals.—Burying-beetles.—The Scarabzeus-beetles and their Work.—
Drainage versus Sewage.—Clay Soils and Drains.—The Mole, the EKarth-
worm, Rats, Mice, and Rabbits.—The Flexible Drain and the Lobster’s
Tail.—The Turbine Pump and the Ascidian.—The Spiral Principle.—The
Smoke-jack, Kite, and Wings of Birds.—Centrifugal Force.—Revolution of
Planets.—The “‘ Governor ”’ of the Steam-engine.—The Sling, Amentum, and
Mop.—The Gyroscope, the Bicycle, and the Hoop.
EVERAL times, in the course of this work, we have touched
upon man’s dealings with the earth, such as mining and
tunnelling. We will now take another side of the same
question, and, in connection with Tillage, consider Drainage,
whereby superabundant moisture is removed from the earth,
and Manuring, whereby the exhausted soil is renovated.
We will take this subject first.
It has long been known that it is impossible to get more out
of the ground than exists in it, and that when the soil has
been so worked as to become unproductive, there are only two
remedies. The one is to allow the ground to remain unculti-
vated for a time. It must be ploughed in deeply, as if it were
to be sown with a crop, and must be left to recruit itself
from the air. This is the now abandoned “fallow” system,
which used to be in full operation when I was a child.
As, however, population increased, and with it the per-
petually increasing demand for food, land was found to be too
precious to be allowed to lie fallow and idle. Then came the
system of rotation of crops, potato following wheat, clover
THE ECONOMY OF NATURE. 493
following potato, &c. But, above all, agriculturists learned
that in the long-run there is nothing so cheap as manure, i.e.
the return to the soil by animals of the elements which these
animals took out of it.
On the right hand of the illustration (page 495) is shown the
simplest mode of enriching the soil, namely, by spreading the
manure on the surface of the earth, and then digging it in.
Any mode of thus enriching the earth is a proof of civilisa-
tion. No savage ever dreamed of such a thing, and I doubt
whether barbarians recognised the principle at any time.
Nowadays we have recognised the necessity of returning to the
soil in one form the elements which we have taken from it in
another. As usual in such arts of civilisation, the Chinese
have long preceded us. They waste nothing, carrying, perhaps,
its principles to an extent which scarcely suits our European
ideas.
They even utilise the little clippings of hair, to which every
Chinaman is almost daily subject, if he wishes to keep up his
self-respect in public. The barbers carefully preserve these
clippings, and sell them to gardeners. They are too precious
to be used in general agriculture, but the flower artist, when
he plants the seed, puts in the same hole a little pinch of human
hair, knowing it to be a strong stimulant to growth.
Wirnovt multiplying examples of artificial manuring, most
of which are too familiar to need description, we will proceed
to the methods by which Nature has for countless centuries
achieved the same work that Man has lately learned to under-
take.
Nature abhors waste, and in the long-run will prove it,
however wasteful may be the ways of her servants. Take, for
example, the case of an ordinary tree, such as an elm, an oak,
or a birch. In the autumn the leaves fall. In the next
summer scarcely a dead leaf can be found. They have been
decomposed by rain, dews, and gases, and have thus returned
to the earth more than the nutriment which they took out
of it.
Here man is apt tointerfere. Knowing the invaluable produc-
tive powers of decayed leaves, he removes them as they fall, and
stores them in heaps so as to form the costly, but almost indis-
494 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
pensable, “leaf mould.” In so doing, however, he deprives
the trees of their natural nutriment, and by degrees they
dwindle and die.
Nature, in this case, shows her superiority over Art.
Then we have the remarkable fact that millions of animated
beings die annually, and no vestige of their remains is found.
Hyznas and vultures might account for a few bodies, the
remnants of which have been found in ancient caverns. But
there is no hyzena which could crush the leg bones of an adult
elephant ; and yet I suppose that neither in Africa nor Asia
has any one discovered the body of an elephant or rhinoceros
that had died a natural death.
In the first place, there is the curious point, which I have
already mentioned, and which is shared by nearly every race
of human savages, that when an animal feels that it has
received its death-stroke, it accepts the conditions, withdraws
itself from those who yet have life in them, and yields up
its life as calmly as if it were but sleeping.
But what becomes of the body? As to such enormous
beings as elephants, the various species of rhinoceros, and
whales, which are as large as several elephants, rhinoceros,
and hippopotamus put together, I cannot say from practical
knowledge.
Still, as size is only comparative, the rule that holds good
with a small animal may hold equally good with a large one.
It is my lot to walk very often upon the banks of the Thames. It
is a charming walk at high water, but at low water there is too
much odoriferous mud, and there are too many dead dogs and
cats to make it an agreeable resort, except for enthusiastic
entomologists, who seem to swarm in this neighbourhood.
Searcely has such a carcass been stranded than it is beset by
Burying-beetles of various kinds. Hundreds upon hundreds
can be shaken out of the corpse of a dog or cat, and, before the
next tide has come up, there is scarcely any flesh left on the bones,
it having been dug into the earth by the Burying-beetles.
THEN there is that wonderful family of Scarabzeus-beetles,
which do us invaluable service as scavengers and agricul-
turists. They follow the path of the caravans, and eftec-
tively cleanse the course which has been traversed... Hven
THE SCARABRUS. 495
man is obliged to utilise as fuel the droppings of the norses,
cows, and camels; but the Scarabzeus goes further, collecting
all that man does not need, and burying it in the earth.
The instinct of the female Scarabeus urges it to gather
together the rejecta, to form them into balls, placing an egg
in the middle of each ball, and to bury them in the ground.
Thus a double object is attained, the offensive substances being
removed from the surface of the ground, where they do harm,
and being transferred below the surface, where they do good.
Even the curious instinct of the dog, which leads it to bury
bones, &c., which it cannot consume, and which it often
forgets, if well fed, leaves them to be consumed by the all-
absorbing earth.
It is evident that, in the end, the earth must receive back again
that which has been taken from it. If, for example, we follow
the present most wasteful plan of drainage, and fling into
SCARABZUS-BEETLES. MEN MANURING GROUND.
rivers everything which ought to be utilised on land, it only
gets into the sea in the end, and in the course of years is
decomposed, and returns to the earth in the form of gases.
Meanwhile, however, we have robbed the locality, deprived it
of the nourishment which i required, and forced ourselves to
supply it elsewhere at a costly rate.
So runs the cycle of creation. Sooner or later, Nature
will have her way, and the more we help her, the better it
will be for us.
Or course I do not mean to condemn Drainage, which is
an absolute necessity in agriculture, and a matter of life and
death in households. But, when rightly conducted, it only
signifies that water is removed from a spot which is overstocked
496 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
with moisture to one where it is needed. Wet clay lands, for
example, which were unproductive in point of crops, and
injurious in point of human health, have been converted by
judicious drainage into fertile and healthy grounds.
This, as it will be seen, is a very different business from
removing from the soil the elements which rightly belong to
it, and which sooner or later, in some form or another, it will
claim and recapture.
Still, it is evident that in the progress of civilisation there
must be accumulations of all kinds of refuse, which savages
utterly disregard. Then we come to the question of the Drain
combined with the Sewer, and are enabled to see how the hand
of man, if properly directed, only follows the course of Nature.
So we undermine our towns with a complex system of drains
which are understood by only a very few people. For example,
TUNNEL OF MOLE. SEWER.
just asa tree is only half visible, the roots being about equiva-
lent to the branches, London is only half visible, the subter-
ranean architecture being little, if at all, inferior to that of the
surface.
Here, again, we are met by Nature. Very few of us can
appreciate the extensive subterranean works which underlie
us, even where the hand of man has never been placed. Putting
aside a multitude of tiny creatures, there are, in our own country,
the earth-worms which pierce the ground in all directions, at the
same time draining and manuring it. They penetrate it with
their little burrows, thus admitting the air, which the earth
needs as much as we do, and allowing moisture to take its right
place. Then there are the moles, that are perpetually travelling
after the earth-worms, and making drainage galleries of wonder-
DRAINAGE. 497
ful extent. Then there are the numerous other burrowers, such
as rabbits, mice, and rats, which are common everywhere,
besides the less plentiful foxes, badgers, and various burrowing
birds, all of which assist more or less in the drainage of the
earth.
Even bees and wasps of different kinds assist in this work,
the hardest soil yielding to their small, though powerful, jaws
and feet, and so being made, if only temporarily, able to carry
off the superabundant moisture.
OnE of the most ingenious modes of Drainage was that which
was invented by Watts, and was avowedly based on Nature.
He had engaged himself to carry a drain tube through, or
rather over, an extremely irregular bed of a river, where the
pipes must accommodate themselves to existing conditions.
TAIL OF LOBSTER. FLEXIBLE WATER MAIN.
The modern system of pipes not having been brought into
existence, Watts had to adapt himself to circumstances, and
did so by making his pipe on the model of a Lobster’s tail, as
shown in the illustration.
We have already seen how the same object has been utilised
in warfare as a pattern for armour, but it’ does seem rather
strange that it should be employed in the tranquil arts of peace.
ANOTHER method of removing superfluous water is by the
Tursine Pump, by which the water, instead of being cast up
in successive jets, was flung out in a continuous torrent. Some
of my readers may remember the sensation which was created
at the first Exhibition of 1852 by the then extraordinary
powers of the Turbine Pump.
Yet this is, after all, nothing but an imperfect copy of the
now celebrated being to which human beings have been sup-
posed to owe their origin, namely, the Ascidian, popularly
K
498 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
known by the name of the Sea-squirt, and with very good
reasons. |
As a rule, it keeps up a rotation of tentacles, such as is
shown in the illustration, acting exactly on the principle of
the Turbine Pump, and drawing in and discharging water with
a power that is perfectly astonishing in so small a being.
Beside this, it has the power of flinging out at once the whole
of its watery contents, and any one who has incautiously
handled a mass of Ascidians, and been drenched by them, can
answer with more truth than satisfaction as to the water-
absorbing power of the Turbine.
Then the Ascidian can do what the Turbine cannot do. In
the Turbine the water which is taken in must necessarily be
| ———
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ASCIDIAN. TURBINE PUMP.
ejected in equal proportions. With the Ascidian the same
thing takes place, but with the additional power of ejecting all
the contained water, and then beginning afresh.
There is now no doubt that the Circular or the Turbine
Pump is the most powerful in such cases as emptying mines of
the water which, in spite of all precautions, will make its way
in, and destroy the labours of the miners. But I merely wish
to carry out the object of this work by remarking that the
invaluable Turbine Pump is only a very inferior copy of a
natural pump, which existed, as far as we know, centuries
before Man could find his place upon this earth. yy
THE SPIRAL.
In an early portion of this work the Spiral or Screw was
touched upon, mostly in connection with the propulsion of
THE SMOKE-JACK. 499
vessels. We will now extend it a little further, and see how
it is modified so as to perform other offices than those which
have been described.
Allusion has already been made to the Spiral or Wedge
principle, but some of the illustrations were accidentally
omitted. I therefore introduce them here, this being a chapter
of miscellanea.
The Windmill has previously been described, as has also the
ship’s Screw, another form of which is here given.
In the centre is shown the mechanism popularly known as
the Smoke-jack, though it really works by means of hot air,
BIRDS’ WINGS AND TAILS. SMOKE-JACK. SHIP’S SCREW. WINDMILL. KITE.
and only becomes gradually choked by the soot which the
smoke by degrees deposits upon it. It is, in fact, nothing but
a windmill working horizontally instead of vertically, the vanes
being moved by the rapidly ascending heated air. So powerful
is the spiral pressure of this air, that in my old college days
at least a dozen rows of heavily laden spits were perpetually
turned by a single Smoke-jack. It is many years since I
visited my old college, and I cannot say whether the Smoke-
jack still exists, but, as it did its work well so long ago, I
presume that it does so now.
Then there is the well-known spiral ventilator set in the
K K 2
500 NATURE'S TEACHINGS.
windows of workshops. Perhaps its revolution may not assist
the air-current, but it does, at all events, show how much
exhausted air has to be expelled from the room, and conse-
quently how much fresh air needs to be brought into it.
Prruaps the reader may be surprised to see that the Wings
and Tail of a bird and a boy’s Kite are placed among the
examples of the Spiral principle. Yet such is the fact. If the
reader will move up and down the wings of any bird which
will not bite him, he will find that there is in them a peculiar
screwing motion, difficult of description, but very observable.
It is mostly for want of this movement that all our attempts
at fitting wings to human beings have been such utter failures.
We can make the wings work up and down well enough,
but we cannot as yet impart to them the all-important spiral
movement.
Tat very well-known toy, the Kite, is another example of
the same principle which drives the screw steamer. Its “ tail,”
which need be nothing but a piece of string with a propor-
tionate weight at the end, keeps the Kite in a slanting posi-
tion, providing that the “belly-band” be properly arranged.
The consequence is that the pressure of the wind acts on it
as on a wedge, and so drives it upwards until the combined
weight of itself and the string counterbalance the upward
pressure.
Indeed, the only object of the string is to keep the Kite at a
proper inclination ; and, if that object could be attained by the
force of gravity alone, the Kite would ascend to a height
nearly double that to which it can at present attain.
CENTRIFUGAL FORCE.
CLosreLy connected with the spiral principle is Centrifugal
Force, that marvellous power which gives to our whole solar
system its ceaseless movements, and may extend, as far as we
know, to other and vaster systems yet unknown.
Tie a ball to a string, and swing it round, and it will be an
exact, though rough, representation of the double power by
which the movements of the heavenly bodies are governed, our
earth being included among them.
CENTRIFUGAL FORCE, 501
The string represents the force of attraction, which binds all
our planets to the sun, and their satellites to the planets, while
the force that is employed in swinging the ball represents the
mysterious power that issues from the sun, and gives motion to
the planets. The metaphor is a very homely one, but it is
nevertheless correct.
In the accompanying illustration are several examples of
Centrifugal Force as found both in Nature and Art. On the
left hand we have diagrams of some of the heavenly bodies,
showing the revolution of their offspring, so to call them, while
CENTRIFUGAL FORCE OF HEAVENLY BODIES. CENTRIFUGAL FORCE OF ‘* GOVERNORS” OF ENGINE.
SLING. AMENTUM AND MOP.
on the right are seen examples of Centrifugal Force as applied
to human use. For convenience’ sake, the illustrations have
been separated into two portions.
In the first of these illustrations we have the ‘ Governor”
of the steam-engine, that wonderfully ingenious and simple
piece of mechanism which controls the force of the steam, and,
without the superintendence of man, acts almost as a living
being might.
It is composed of two heavy metal balls, hinged, as shown in
the illustration, to a movable collar which slides up and down
the central rod. When.the engine is at work the Governor
revolves, and the harder it works, the more rapid is the revolu-
tion. Consequently, as it revolves, the balls diverge and draw
the sliding collar up the rod.
Here lies the whole beauty of the invention. The sliding
502 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
collar is connected with the safety-valve. Thus, if the engine
should be working beyond its proper powers, the Governor
draws up the collar, and releases sufficient steam to take the
undue pressure off the boiler. Thus the engine may be left,
so to speak, to manage itself.
Next are shown two examples of Centrifugal Force as
applied in ancient warfare, namely, the Sling, which is now
retained merely as a boy’s toy, and the Amentum, which was
practically a sling attached to a spear. Both weapons have
been superseded by the modern firearms, but the Sling is
really a more formidable offensive weapon, in skilful hands,
than is generally suspected. |
A good slinger is as sure of his aim as a good rifleman, and
~can send his missile to a wonderful distance. Were I to be
armed with the best pistol hitherto invented, I should be sorry
to fight an accomplished slinger, unless under cover.
The really tremendous power of the Sling is obtained by
Centrifugal Force, the weapon, with its missile, being whirled
in the air, and then one string being loosed with a peculiar
knack something like the ‘‘loose” of a good archer. In
consequence, the centrifugal force is converted into direct
force, and the missile flies directly forwards.
The Amentum is simply a cord tied to a javelin, so that the
thrower has the advantage of a lever, which, after all, is only
the conversion of centrifugal force.
The very familiar Mop, flinging off its moisture to a con-
siderable distance, needs no description ; but I have introduced
it to show the action of centrifugal force in small as well as
in great things.
THE next illustration shows how this very same power acts
upon the greatest as well as the least of objects, and enables them
to maintain positions which otherwise they must of necessity fail
to do. Take, for example, our own Earth, and its peculiar
position of being tilted on one side, so as to give us the alter-
native seasons as it flies on its annual course.
This is simply due to its own rapid revolution, which, on
the same principle that keeps the arrow and the rifle-ball
straight on their course, prevents it from altering its position.
THE TOP AND THE GYROSCOPE. 503
The very same principle acts on the boys’ Tops, and is shown
in a really remarkable manner by the professional Japanese
top-spinners, who will place several tops upon each other, as
shown in the illustration, and make them sway backwards and
forwards in the most extraordinary manner, sometimes being
all upright, and sometimes leaning almost at nght angles to
each other.
A favourite mode of illustrating this power of Centrifugal
Force is by the Gyroscope, a figure of which is given on the
right hand of the illustration. The interior wheel is made to
revolve rapidly, and the effect of the revolution is to enable
the instrument to maintain a horizontal position, even when
suspended on one side, as shown in the engraving.
The power of this revolution is quite wonderful, even in a
small Gyroscope which can be purchased for a few shillings.
REVOLUTION OF EARTH. JAPANESE TOPS. GYROSCOPE.
It almost seems to be alive, and to insist on retaining its
position, in spite of all efforts to the contrary.
This principle is used in the swinging cabin of the Bessemer
ship, and is also employed by quoit-players in keeping their
missile steady as it flies towards the mark. Even the now
fashionable Bicycle is managed on the same principle.
As is well known to all bicycle riders, it is comparatively
easy to maintain the balance when the pace is rapid and the
wheels revolving quickly. The difficulty is, to do so when the
pace is slow, and the rider is deprived of the centrifugal force
which keeps him on his balance almost in spite of himself. It
is just the same with a child’s hoop, which runs straight and
upright when it is driven rapidly, or when, for example, it
runs downhill. But, as soon as the centrifugal force is
expended, it begins to waver, loses its direction, and soon falls
to the ground.
USEFUL ARTS.
CHAPTER XVII.
OSCILLATION.—UNITED STRENGTH.—THE DOME.
Connection of Oscillation with Centrifugal Force.—Kquality of Time in Oscil-
lation. —The Spider.—The Stone and String.—Pendulum of the Clock, and
its Effect on the Machinery.—Acceleration and Retardation. —Compen sating
Pendulums.—The Metronome, and its Use in Music.+-A simple Metronome.
—Value of the Instrument in War.—The Escapement, and its Connection
with the Pendulum.—Mode of Action.—Larva of Burying-beetle.—Earth-
worms and Serpents.—Union is Strength.—The Hippopotamus Rope and its
Structure.—The Spider-web.— Distinction between the Threads.—Prirciple
of the Dome.—The Arch, and its Connection with the Dome.—Esquimaux
Huts.— Receiver of the Air-pump, and its Power of Resistance.—The Human
Skull and the Egg.—Accidental Resemblance.—The Salad-dressing Bottle.—_
The Medusa, Strobila, and Hydra.
PORTION of our last chapter dealt of Centrifugal Force.
We will now proceed to another well-known power,
which seems to be a variation, or perhaps a division, of the
same power. I mean the principle of OsciitLarion, which has
done so much for the present state of the world. I mention
the connection of the two principles because it is evident that,
if Oscillation were continued in one direction, it would be
converted into centrifugal force. In fact, it can only be
considered as centrifugal force interrupted.
The chief point in this subject is the equal time occupied
by the oscillating body, no matter what may be the “are”
distance through which it sways, provided that the length of
the line remains the same. The discovery of this principle by
Galileo in a church at Florence is too well known to need
repetition.
This principle may be observed by any one, and at almost
any time. The Spider at the end of its line illustrates it, and
OSCILLATION. 505
so does a stone tied to a string, both of which objects are
shown in the illustration.
In various departments of Art, Oscillation is absolutely
invaluable. We will take, for instance, the best known of these
examples, namely, the Pendulum, by which the movements of
clocks are regulated. Without some mode of regulation, the
works would run down rapidly, and the clock rendered inca-
pable of measuring time. But, in the Pendulum, we possess
a means of making a clock go at any desirable rate, and be
faster and slower at pleasure ; a long Pendulum working slowly,
an¢ a short one rapidly.
How the Pendulum affects the working of a clock may be
seen by reference to the right-hand figure of the illustration.
SPIDER. OSCILLATING WEIGHT. METRONOME. PENDULUM.
The movements of the clock are connected with the Pendulum
by means of an ingenious piece of mechanism called an
*‘ escapement,’’ because it only allows the wheel shown in the
illustration to move one cog at each swing of the Pendulum.
Now, as in the latitude of London a pendulum which is a
trifle more than thirty-nine inches in length swings once in a
second, it is evident that, by lengthening or shortening the Pen-
dulum, we have the rate of the clock entirely under command.
For example, if a Pendulum be required to swing once in
506 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
two seconds, if must be four times as long as that which
swings once in one second, while to swing once in three
seconds it must be nine times as long, the length Dewi:
measured by the square of the time of vibration.
We are thus able to “ regulate’ clocks by lengthening the
Pendulum if they be too fast, and shortening them if they be
too slow. The reader will probably have remarked that the
conditions of the atmosphere—such as heat, cold, moisture, or
dryness—must have an effect on the length of the Pendulum,
and thus alter the rating of the clock. So they do, and in
consequence the Compensating Pendulums have been invented,
some of them being made of metallic rods of different powers of
expansion, mostly brass and steel, while others carry a quantity
of mercury in a glass tube near the bottom of the Pendulum.
ANOTHER familiar example of the Pendulum is the Metro-
nome, which is simply a Pendulum with a weight at the top
instead of the bottom, the weight being movable up or down
so as to decrease or hasten the pace. Generally a bell is
added to it, which is struck at the beginning of each bar.
The exactness of its beats is perfect, as is known to all
musicians, and is calculated to take the conceit out of players
who are apt to disregard their time. I knew one lady, a really
good pianiste, before whom I placed my Metronome.. Before
she had played many bars she broke down, exclaiming that
the horrid bell always said “ting” in the wrong place.
However, she soon acknowledged the value of the instrument,
and was glad to use it.
A very good Metronome may be made by fastening a bullet
to the end of a piece of tape, and swinging it backwards and
forwards, regulating the tape according to the time required.
Such a Metronome is very portable, and extremely useful
where the conveyance of the clockwork instrument would be
troublesome. Moreover, its beats can be seen by a great
number of persons. I have often used it myself.
Such a Metronome is used in the army, in order to regulate
the pace of the soldier’s step, it being of the last importance
that the pace should always be the same. Otherwise it would
be impossible to calculate the time which ought to be consumed
in marching a certain distance, and the military calculations
THE ESCAPEMENT. 507
on which depends the success or failure of a campaign would
be wholly upset, half an hour too soon or too late meaning
failure.
THe EscAPEMENT.
As we are on the subject of the pendulum and Escapement,
we will say a few words about the latter piece of mechanism.
It is here given on a larger scale than in the previous illustra-
tion, so that its action may be more easily understood.
Whether in watch or clock, the Escapement is exactly the
same 1n principle.
First there is the escapement wheel, the circumference of
which is furnished with a number of very deep cogs, varying
as to the work which they have todo. Then there comes the
escapement itself, which swings on its pivot, and is regulated
LARVA OF BURYING-BEETLE. ESCAPEMENT OF WATCH.
in its oscillations by the pendulum. As it swings backwards
and forwards, it is evident that only one tooth of the wheel
can ‘escape,’ and only that in one direction.
We can reverse a steam-engine, but the man has yet to be
found who can reverse a clock, 7.e. enable it to continue going
in the opposite direction. The only mode would be to enable
one set of cogs to flatten themselves, so as to pass the escape-
ment, and a second set to start up in exactly the opposite
direction. Or perhaps there might be two parallel escapement
wheels, capable of being connected or disconnected with the
clock at pleasure. As, however, a reverse movement is quite
needless, no such invention seems to have been made.
On the left hand is seen an example of the same principle as
shown in Nature. It represents a larva or grub of the Burying-
beetle. It has no legs available for locomotion, and yet it can
get along with tolerable speed.
508 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
Many years ago, when living in Wiltshire, I was much
struck with this fact. There had been an epidemic among
sheep, which killed them off so fast that the farmers would at
last not even bury them, but took off the skins, and left the
bodies to moulder as they best might.
It was very unpleasant for the Peemete but just the contrary
for the Burying-beetles, which simply swarmed in the deserted
carcasses. If one of them were tapped with a stick, hundreds of
these larvee came scuttling out, displaying an activity which was
really remarkable in creatures practically legless.
In reality this movement is achieved by an apparatus very
similar in its action to that of the escapement. The rings, or
“‘seoments,” of which the body is composed, are furnished with
rows of sharp points, arranged very like the cogs of the escape-
ment wheel. By alternately elongating and contracting the
body, these points catch against surrounding substances, and
force the creature onwards, only allowing of movement in one
direction.
Perhaps the reader will remember that in an earlier part of
this work it has been mentioned that the various worms propel
themselves by the same means. So do the Serpents, the
edges of the scales serving the same purpose as the hairs of the
worms and the hooks of the grub.
UNION Is STRENGTH.
On the left hand of the accompanying illustration we have
an example of the wonderful power obtained by uniting
together a number of comparatively weak objects. It repre-
sents a portion of the rope attached to the harpoon with which
the natives of some parts of Africa attack and kill the hippo-
potamus.
Considering that a full-grown hippopotamus weighs several
tons, and, in spite of its enormous size, is as active as a tiger,
we can infer the strength of the rope which must be needed to
hold such an animal when excited with rage and pain.
A few years ago the female hippopotamus at the Zoological
Gardens, when deprived of her cub, actually tried to leap over
the lofty iron barrier, and so far succeeded as to throw her
weight on the uppermost bar. Fortunately. it was made of
well-wrought iron, and was only bent by her weight. Had it
THE ROPE AND THE SPIDER-THREAD. 509
been made of cast-iron, like most railings, she would have
snapped it like glass.
Now, the fibres of which the rope is composed are individually
feeble, but, when they lend their strength to each other, their
strength is amazing. It is well shown by a lasso in my posses-
sion, made of the fibres of the aloe-leaf. It is scarcely as thick
as a man’s little finger, and yet it is strong enough to resist the
efforts of the most powerful wild bull. I have some of the
separate fibres, and it is interesting to notice how fibres so
slight when separate should be so strong when united. Part
of the rope has been unlaid, so as to show the manner in which
it has been put together.
Towards the harpoon itself, a number of small cords laid
loosely side by side are used, so as to prevent the hippopotamus
HIPPOPOTAMUS ROPE. SPINNERET OF SPIDER.
from severing the rope with -his chisel-like teeth, which he
would assuredly do if it were single. The multitudinous cords
become entangled among the teeth, and baffle his efforts ; but
still their unity is their strength; and, though the animal
may sever one or two of them, the others retain their hold
until he dies under a shower of spears.
On the right-hand side of the illustration is the Spinneret of
the ordinary garden Spider, showing the many orifices from
which the silken threads emerge. Itisa remarkable point, and
one which, I believe, is seldom noticed, that the Spider can at
pleasure combine all these fibres into a single cord, or issue and
keep them separate, just as is the case with the hippopotamus
rope.
510 NATURE’S TEACHINGS,
The latter operation may be seen whenever a large fly gets
into the web. The Spider darts at it, bites it, and then, ejecting
a loose mass of fibres, rolls it up in a moment, as in a shroud,
carries it off and hangs it in a convenient place, and mends the
broken meshes of thee web. But both kinds of the cords of the
net are made differently from the winding-up fibres, the former
being fixed together, and the latter kept separate.
PRINCIPLE OF THE Dome.
Weare all familiar with Domes, especially when the Dome
of St. Paul’s is the most conspicuous object in our metropolis.
Few persons, however, except professional architects and
builders, seem to ask themselves the principle on which the
Dome is constructed.
The strength of the arch is well known, and the Dome is
practically a number of arches, affording material support to
each other, and so enormously increasing the strength of the
edifice.
A good idea of the Dome principle may be formed by taking
two croquet hoops, placing them at right angles to each other,
tying them together at the intersection, and pushing the ends
inthe ground. Even by this very simple arrangement consider-
able strength can be obtained; but, if the hoops be sufficiently
multiplied to form a close Dome, it will be evident that the
strength will be correspondingly increased.
So strong, indeed, is the Dome, that it could be made icone
mortar or cement, although, of course, its strength is increased
by their use. A very good example of a Dome thus con-
structed is found in the “igloo,” or snow-hut of the Esqui-
maux, which has already been described.
As to the example which I have selected, 1t would have been
easy enough to have chosen one of the great Domes of the
world, such as St. Peter's at Rome, St. Maria del Fiore at
Florence, St. Paul’s of London, or St. Genevieve or the .
Invalides of Paris.
I have, however, selected the present example on account of
the thinness of its walls, the fragility of its material, and the
enormous pressure which it has to undergo. This is the
“ Receiver ” of the Air-pump. It is made of glass not thicker
than an ordinary tumbler, and yet, even when exhausted
THE DOME. 511
of air, it will resist the pressure of the atmosphere for days
together.
When it is remembered that the Receiver is deprived of its
internal air, and therefore has to resist a pressure equal to
fifteen pounds on every square inch of its surface, it may be
imagined how strong the Dome is. Were the top or either
side to be flat, it would be crushed as soon as a vacuum was
formed sufficient to deprive it of the support of the air within.
A GLANCE at the illustration will show how the Receiver is
modelled on the same plan as the Human Skull, the outlines
being curiously similar. It is this formation which imparts
such strength to so thin a set of bones as those which com-
HUMAN SKULL. RECEIVER OF AIR-PUMP.
pose the human skull as enables them to protect a sensitive
organ like the brain, on which both reason and life itself depend.
Eggs also form good examples of the wonderful strength
obtained by this principle, their thin shells protecting the yelk
and the white, as well as the chick through its progress to
maturity.
THE last subject in this chapter is a curious example of an
evidently accidental resemblance in form.
The figure on the right of the accompanying illustration will
at once be recognised as one of those Salad-dressing Bottles
which try to conceal by their shape the small volume of their
contents.
That on the left represents one of the many forms through
which the Medusa passes before it attains its perfect form. It
512 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
was long thought to be a separate creature, and was known
under the scientific name of Strobila. Modern researches have,
however, made the discovery that it is one of the transitional
stages between the creature known as the Trumpet-hydra
(Hydra tuba) and the Medusa, popularly known as Jelly-fish.
The former almost exactly resembles the Hydra of our fresh
waters. It isatiny transparent gelatinous bag—so transparent
as to be scarcely perceptible, and with some thirty or forty
long and delicate tentacles hanging from its open end. These
tentacles are used in catching the minute creatures on which it
feeds. Itis fixed, and, to use Mr. Rymer Jones’s simile, looks
like a beautiful silk-like pencil waving amidst the water. Its
length is not quite half an inch.
That it should be identical with the remericanle form shown
TRUMPET-HYDRA. SALAD=DRESSING BOTTLE.
in the illustration seems impossible, but such is the case. Its
body becomes contracted as if tied with strings, and every.
segment thus formed develops a set of tentacles, breaks away,
and swims off in the form of a Medusa. The upper segment is
exhibited as undergoing this process.
The figure is magnified so as to show the structure better,
its right length being about one-third of an inch. A full and
graphic history of this creature and its manifold changes may
be found in Mr. Rymer Jones’s “ Aquarian Naturalist.”
It is not likely that the inventor of the Salad-dressing Bottle
ever saw a Hydra, but the resemblance is strangely exact.
ACOUSTICS.
CHAPTER I.
PERCUSSION.—THE STRING AND REED.—THE TRUMPET.—EAR-
TRUMPET.—STETHOSCOPE.
The Science of Sound.—Rhythmical Vibrations.—The Drum.—Primitive Drums.
—The Solid and Hollow Log.—The Bass Drum and Kettle-drum.—African
Drums.— Gnostic Gems and the Ashanti Drum.—Tympanum, or Drum of
the Human Ear, and its Mechanism.—An artificial ZTympanum.—The
String.—The Bow and the Harp.—The Harpsichord and the Zither.—The
Bow and the Violin.—The Cricket.—The Vibrator, or Reed.—The Jew’s
Harp and Harmonium.—The Cicada and its Song.—Harmonics upon Strings.
—The Aolian Harp.—Harmonics upon the Trumpet.—The Trombone.—
Trachea of the Swan.—The Ear-trumpet.—The Sea-shell.—The Stethoscope.
—Savage Food.—The YE aye.—The Siren and its Uses.—Echo and Whis-
pering Gallery.
i a work of this nature it would be absolutely impossible,
not to say out of place, to give an account of so elaborate
a subject as Acoustics, i.e. the science of Sound. Suffice it to
say, that all sounds are produced by the vibration of air, and
that the fewer vibrations, the lower is the sound, and vice
versa.
When such vibrations are produced regularly, they form
Musical sounds, but, if irregularly, the sounds can be only
distinguished under the term of Noise. The earliest germ of
music les in certain savage races, who, as long as they can
maintain a rhythmical beat on any resonant substance, do not
particularly care what it is. A hollow tree is a splendid instru-
ment in their opinion, but, if this cannot be had, a dry log of
wood will answer the same purpose.
Some tribes, more ingenious than others, cut a deep groove
upon the upper surface of a log, hollow it through this groove,
and then hammer away at it to their hearts’ content. The
LL
514 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
next move was to cut off a section of the trunk of a tree,
hollow it, set 1t on end, and then beat it on the sides.
Lastly, some one hit upon the idea that if the open upper part
of the hollowed log were covered with a tightly stretched mem-
brane, and thatif the membrane, instead of the log, were beaten,
the resonance would be increased. In consequence, the real
Drum was invented, and seems to have existed from time
immemorial in parts of the world so distant that they could
not have had any communication with each other.
Take, for example, the well-known “Bass Drum” of our
bands, which is shown on the right hand of the figure. We
make it a very ornamental article, with frame of metal, and
heraldic decorations of all kinds.
Lying against it is one of a pair of Kettle-drums, such as
DRUM OF EAR.
are always seen in mounted bands. They look very easy to
play, but, if the reader will try a pair, he will soon find his
mistake. —
But there are savage tribes of Western Africa who make
Drums of such wonderful power that their sullen roar is heard
for miles around, as their slow, triple beat summons the
tribe to arms like the fiery cross of the Highland clans. As to
shape, lightness, and beauty, our Drums are infinitely superior
to theirs, but, so far as I can gather from personal and written
narratives of African travellers, none of our Drums surpass
theirs in richness, depth of tone, and power of carrying sound.
Sometimes these Drums, instead of being mere cylinders,
are carved into the most strange and fantastical patterns. I
possess one of these curious Drums, brought from Ashanti,
and carved out of a solid piece of wood. |
THE DRUM. 515
The strange point in it is, that it represents a double head
carrying, after all negro fashions, a sort of vessel upon it. One
part of the head represents a human head (not that of a negro),
while the other merges gradually into an eagle’s head and beak.
It is, in fact, a Gnostic gem, and would pass muster as such
if it had been engraved on chalcedony, cornelian, or other
semi-precious stones which are employed in the seal-engraver’s
art.
Upon this composite head is placed the Drum itself, which
is also cut out of the solid block, and which, after the fashion
of West African Drums, has a hole on one side.
This remarkable instrument was given to me by an old
merchant captain, who brought it himself from West Africa,
and who, when I made his acquaintance, had actually painted
it all kinds of colours, planted it in his garden, and was using
the Drum as a flower-pot. Of course, as soon as it came into
my possession, I put it in “ pickle,’—~.e. a strong solution of
alkali,—brushed off the paint, and placed it in my museum,
where it is now.
On the left hand of the illustration on page 514 is given
a sort of map or chart of the human Ear, with its internal
Drum, or Tympanum, as it is scientifically termed.
It is by the vibration of this Drum that hearing is made
possible, the vibrations of the air being transmitted to the
Drum by means of a beautiful bony apparatus, termed the
Hammer and Anvil (Malleus et Incus). Sometimes the action
of the Drum is partially checked, and then the sufferer is
said to be “hard of hearing.” Sometimes it is broken, or its
action totally clogged, and then he is said to be “stone
deaf.” There have been cases where an artificial tympanum
has been inserted, and answered its purpose fairly well.
THE STRING AND REED.
It has previously been mentioned that all sounds are owing
to vibrations of the air. But thereare many ways of producing
these vibrations, and each mode gives a different quality of
tone. We have already seen, by means of the drum, how
sound is produced by percussion. We shall now see how
sounds can be produced by the vibrations of a String.
LL2
516 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
If the string of a bow be pulled and smartly loosed, the
result is a distinctly musical sound, higher or lower according
to the length and tension of the string. Perhaps some of my
readers may recall the passage in Homer’s ‘‘ Odyssey,” where
Ulysses strings the fatal bow :—
“‘ Heedless he heard them; but disdained reply,
The bow perusing with exactest eye.
Then, as some heavenly minstrel, taught to sing
High notes responsive to the trembling string,
To some new strain when he adapts the lyre,
Or the dumb lute refits with vocal wire,
Relaxes, strains, and draws them to and fro;
So the great master drew the mighty bow,
And drew with ease. One hand aloft displayed
The bending horns, and one the string essayed.
From his essaying hand the string let fly, —
Twanged short and sharp, like the shrill swallow’s cry.”
The Harp is, in fact, nothing but a magnified bow, with a
number of strings of graduated length and tension. Some
very beautiful experiments have been made on this subject by
the Rev. Sir F. A. G. Ouseley, Professor of Music at Oxford,
who stretched a string of sixty-four feet in length, and found
that although, when vibrating, it must produce a note, there
was no human ear that could distinguish it. Yet, if combined
with other musical instruments, it would probably do its work
well. The theory of the vibrations will be briefly described
on another page.
These vibrations may be produced in various manners.
The string may be pulled with the fingers, as in the harp, the
guitar, the zither, or even the violin, &c., in pizzicato pas-
sages.
The old harpsichord, now an instrument vanished into the
shadows of the past, pulled the strings with little strips
of quill, acting like the thumb-ring of the zither-player.
The “plectrum ” of the ancients acted in the same manner,
and the Japanese have at the present day a sort of guitar
played with a plectrum. I have heard it, but cannot par-
ticularly admire the effect, the notes appearing to be without
feeling, and as if they were played on a barrel-organ.
Sometimes, as in our modern pianos, the strings are struck
by hammers instead of being pulled by fingers, plectrum, or
goose-quill.
STRINGED INSTRUMENTS. OL?
The most ingenious mode of causing musical vibration is the
Bow, which is too familiar to need a detailed description.
Suffice it to say that it really is a modified bow, the place of
the string being supplied by a flat band of horsehair, which
is drawn over the string, and so causes it to vibrate. In order
to enable the bow to grip the string, it is rubbed with resin
almost as often as a billiard-player chalks his cue.
Some skill is required even in producing a sound by the
bow. It looks asif any one could do it, but a novice, if he
extorts any sound at all, never rises above a squeak. When
I took my first violin lessons, nearly thirty years ago, I was
so horrified at the discordant sounds elicited from the instru-
ment, that I retired to the topmost garret of the house in
order not to hurt any one’s feelings except my own.
CRICKET. CICADA. $ JEW’S HARP.
Oy the left hand of the illustration is seen a well-known
example of the imitation of Nature by Art. This is the
common Cricket, whose loud shrill call is more familiar than
agreeable.
Some years ago, while engaged on my “Insects at Home,”
I gave much time to the examination of the structures by
which such a sound can be produced. On the under side of
the wing-covers, or “elytra,” as they are scientifically termed,
are notched ridges, which, when examined with a moderate
power of the microscope, have something of this appearance
The friction of these notches produces the musical
sound, which, as the reader will see, is exactly analogous to the
friction of the bow upon the string.
518 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
NeExtT we come to the Vibrator, sometimes called the Reed.
It is introduced into various musical instruments, such, for
example, as the harmonium, the clarionet, the oboe, the
bassoon, and various organ pipes.
The simplest form of the Vibrator is shown in the Jew’s
Harp, as it is popularly called, though it is not a harp, and
has nothing to do with Jews. :
The word is really a mistaken pronunciation of “ jaw’s
harp,” because the instrument is held against the teeth, while
its tongue is vibrated by strokes of the finger. These vibra-
tions affect the air within the mouth, and, by expanding or
contracting the mouth, the sound is lowered or raised according
to the laws of Acoustics. Of course, the range of notes is very
small, being limited to those of the common chord, and even
they being attainable only by a practised performer. Very
good effects, however, have been produced by means of a series
VIBRATING STRINGS. ZZEOLIAN HARP.
of Jew’s Harps, set to different tones by loading the end of the
tongue with sealing-wax or similar substances.
AN apparatus constructed on the same principle is to be
found in the vocal organs of the male Cicada. If one of these
insects be examined on the lower surface, two curious and
nearly circular flaps will be seen, just at the junction of the
thorax with the abdomen. It is by the action of these two little
vibrators that the insect is able to produce a sound so loud,
that in calm weather it may be heard at the distance of a
mile.
THE accompanying illustration is, in fact, a sort of chartas to
the vibration of sound.
On the right is shown the Aiorian Harp, with its upper lid
raised, so as to show the structure of the strings. These areall
HARMONICS. 519
tuned to the same note, the present D being generally accepted as
being most free from false tuning, and less liable for the errors
of ‘‘ temperament.” Several of the strings are an octave lower
than the others, but the tonic 1s always the same.
The instrument is placed in a current of air, generally in a
window, with the sash let down upon it, and the air-currents
set the strings vibrating in a most wonderful manner.
Thereis no need for human fingers to touch them, but they
automatically divide themselves into the component parts of the
common chord, and produce octaves, fifths, and thirds ad
infinitum.
On the left hand of the same illustration is exhibited a string
of the same length and tension, vibrating in two different ways.
The upper figure shows it divided into three portions, each
of which gives the fifth above the tonic, and all of which, when
sounding simultaneously, give a fulness and richness to the
tone which could only be attained otherwise by three distinct
instruments. All players of stringed instruments know how
invaluable are these harmonics, without which many passage
of well-known music could not be played, and which are
produced by “‘damping,” and not pressing the strings.
So, if the string be lightly touched, or damped at the
crossing portion at either end, the result will be that the string
divides itself into three portions, and all three resound
simultaneously.
The lower string is vibrating in thirds, having divided itself
into four portions. Ifit were damped in the middle, it would
divide itself into two portions, and sound octaves.
The subject is a most interesting one, but our space is nearly
exhausted, and we must pass to another branch of it.
In all brass instruments furnished with a mouthpiece, and
not with a reed, the notes are obtained by vibrations of the
enclosed air, caused by the movement of the lips. They are
all set to some definite tonic, sometimes C natural, but mostly
to a flat tone, such as B flat or E flat.
Taking the ordinary military trumpet or bugle as an
example, we have (when we have learned how to play it),
first, the tonic. By alteration of the lips we get the octave
above the tonic. Then comes the fifth; then the third, which
520 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
is, in fact, another octave; and then a few other notes, the
truth of which depends on the ear of the player. :
Now, all these notes are obtained by means of the lips,
which set the column of air vibrating, and divide it into
harmonics. The apparently complicated bugle-calls of the
army are nearly all formed from four notes only, ie. (taking
C as the tonic) CG CEG.
Tue Trombone, which is shown on the right hand of the
illustration, has the advantage of being lengthened at will,
and thus giving the performer a fresh tonic, and consequently
TRACHEA OF SWAN. TROMBONE.
another series of harmonics. Valved and keyed instruments
have a similar advantage, the one acting by lengthening, and
the other by shortening, the column of air. The former
is infinitely the better plan, as it sets more harmonics vibrating,
and consequently gives a greater richness of tone.
A familiar example of this is to be found in the Ophicleide
and Kuphonium. The former is eight feet in total length, and
alters its tonic by eleven keys, which shorten the column of
air. The latter is of the same length, but, by the employment
of valves, can be made sixteen feet in length. Consequently
the euphonium has practically killed the ophicleide, just as the
ophicleide killed the serpent. The cornet-a-pistons, the brass
contra-basso, the flugel horn, the tenor sax-horn, &c., are all
constructed on the same principle.
THE EAR-TRUMPET. 521
On the left hand of the illustration is shown the wonderful
apparatus by means of which the Swan produces its far-
resounding cry. The windpipe, or “trachea,” as it is
technically named, passes down the neck, protected by the
bones, until it reaches the chest. There it leaves them, enters
the cavity of the chest, and contorts itself in such a manner as
to obtain greater length, just as is the case with the trombone
and valved instruments.
Acoustics As AIDS To SURGERY.
WE have already seen how the air-vibrations poured in at
the small end of the trumpet can make resonant notes. We
have now to see how the reverse process can be employed, and
sounds poured into the larger end be conveyed to the ear.
The Har-trumpet is a familiar example of such an instru-
ment, and, as it is shown in the illustration, there is no need
EAR-=TRUMPET. CONCHA OF HUMAN EAR.
of further description. It is rather remarkable, by the way,
that the length of tube does not seem to interfere with the
conveyance of sound, as may be seen by the speaking-tubes
which are now so common in private houses, hotels, and
offices.
I know of one church in which there is a special seat for
deaf persons. The reading-desk and pulpit are both fitted
with the large ends of Ear-trumpets. From them pass tubes
under the flooring, and so into the seat, where they can be
applied to the ear of the deaf worshippers.
Own the right hand is the “ Concha,” as it is called, of the
human ear, which is evidently constructed for the purpose of
collecting and concentrating sounds. Instinctively, if we wish
522 NATURE'S TEACHINGS.
to hear any sound more distinctly, we place the open hand
behind the ear, so as to enlarge its receptive capacity, and
send a greater volume of sound into the ear.
The well-known experiment of holding a shell to the ear so
as to hear the murmur of the sea is due to the same cause, the
shell collecting, though in a mixed manner, all the surrounding
sounds, and making a murmur which really resembles the
distant wash of the waves upon the shore.
Then, if we examine the various animals which need acute
hearing, either to seize prey or escape from enemies, we shall
find that they have large and mobile ears, which can be directed
so as to catch the expected sound. The hare, rabbit, and deer
are examples of the latter, while the former are well repre-
(
S \ $y}, Yy),
av ty a iy)
i, , I) h
“
SAVAGE TAPPING TREE. SURGEON USING STETHOSCOPE.
sented by the domestic cat, whose ears are always pricked
forward when she hears the scratchings of a mouse.
ANOTHER most useful appliance is the SrerHoscorn, which
enables the skilful surgeon to investigate the interior of the
body almost as clearly as if it were transparent. It is per-
fectly simple, being nothing but a trumpet-shaped piece
of wood, formed as shown in the illustration. Sometimes
it is hollow, and sometimes solid, but the result is the same,
THE STETHOSCOPE. 523
sound being transmitted through wood in a most remarkable
manner.
For example, if one end of the longest scaffolding pole be
slightly scratched with a pin, the sound will be distinctly
heard by any one who places his ear against the other end,
though the person who uses the pin can scarcely hear the
sound himself. The surgeon, therefore, places the broad end
of the Stethoscope upon the patient, and the other upon his ear,
taps more or less lightly with his fingers, and by the sounds
transmitted through the Stethoscope ascertains the condition
of the internal organs.
On the left hand is an illustration of the mode in which the
Australian savage, without the least idea of the theory of
Acoustics, utilises the sound-conducting power of wood. If
he wishes to know whether or not a hollow tree is tenanted by
an animal of which he is in pursuit, he places his ear against
the tree, taps it smartly with his tomahawk, and listens for the
movement of the animal inside.
So delicate is this test, that it 1s employed even when the
native is hunting for the large beetle-grubs on which they
feed, and which are accounted a luxury even by Europeans,
when they have once overcome the prejudice attaching itself
to eating, without cookery, fat white grubs as thick and long
as a man’s finger.
The Aye-aye is said to eat in exactly the same manner,
tapping with its long finger the trunks and branches of trees,
and, if it hears a maggot inside, gnawing it out.
MEASUREMENT OF Sounp.
Or late years we have had an instrument which enables
us to measure the vibrations of sound as accurately as the
barometer measures the weight of the atmosphere, the thermo-
meter the temperature, and the photometer the power of light.
This is the Siren, which is shown on the right hand of the
accompanying illustration.
To explain this instrument fully would require ten times
the space which we have at command, and necessitate a great
524 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
number of drawings. I will, therefore, endeavour to an
its principle in as brief terms as possible.
The reader will observe that at the lower part of the instru-
ment there is a disc pierced with a number of holes, and that
above these are two dials. Below the perforated disc, and
therefore unseen, is a circular plate, also pierced with holes.
When a pipe is attached to the lower part of the instrument,
and air propelled through it, the disc begins to revolve, every
revolution being recorded by the dials, after the fashion of the
ordinary gas-meter.
As the pressure is increased, the air, passing through the
holes, assumes a rhythmical beat, which soon becomes meta-
morphosed into musical notes. It is evident, therefore, that,
(mn Be
GNAT. HUMBLE=BEE, SIREN.
by means of this instrument, the number of vibrations which
produce a definite tone can be measured with absolute accuracy
by any one who has an ear capable of appreciating a musical
note.
It is by means of the Siren that the much-disputed tonic of
C will be settled, the Continental and the English C being
greatly at variance, and even the English C having been
advanced almost a tone since the time of Handel. Much is it
to be wished that Italy, the home of song, and England, the
patron of song, could unite in their tonic, instead of having
systems so widely different that an Italian singer is at a loss
with the English pitch, as is an English singer with the Italian
pitch.
The Siren is even brought into the service of entomologists,
enabling them to measure by the sound the rapidity with which
a flying insect moves its wings. By means of this instrument
ECHO. 529
we know the origin of the sharp, piercing “ ping”’ of the Gnat,
and the heavy, dull boom of the Humble-bee, both of which
insects are given in the illustration. |
Before taking leave of this subject, I may mention that the
instrument is called the Siren because it sings as well under
water as in the air, provided that water instead of air be
driven through it.
Ecuo.
Our last page will be given to the phenomenon called by the
name of Ecuo, which consists in the power of solid substances,
, whether natural or artificial, of reflecting the waves of sound
thrown against them, just as a mirror reflects the waves of
light.
Very often the Echo is naturally formed, as shown in
the illustration, by rocks which cast back the sound—waves
thrown against them. This is the case in several parts of
WHISPERING GALLERY.
Dovedale in Derbyshire, where a pistol shot is reverberated
backwards and forwards in a most wonderful manner, and a
trumpet blast repeats itself over and over again.
At Walton Hall, the residence of the late C. Waterton, Esq.,
there is a wonderful Echo, nearly half a mile from the house.
Mr. Waterton had discovered the Echo, which proceeded from
the walls of the house, and, having found its focus, placed on
526 NATURE’S TEACHINGS.
it a large stone, called the Echo-stone. Any one sitting on
this stone, and singing, speaking, or whistling towards the
house, heard every sound repeated, as if in mockery.
The celebrated Whispering Gallery in St. Paul’s Cathedral
is nothing but an ordinary Kcho, though so intensified by the
process of radiation, that the sound is transmitted from one
side of the dome to the other, just as light or heat is reflected
from concave mirrors. |
INDEX.
A. Band Saw, 244
Barea, 14
- 2
Aa Sada el Barometer, 444
Abattis, 109
Basket-urchin, 89
_ Acaleph, 15 = ’
Acorn Barnacles, 90 ats, 399
i Battering-ram, 153
Acoustics, 513 = a
Acrida viridissima, 231 oe of Duck, 304
Actinurus, 461 eaver, 233
Beds, 400
Adze, 234 =
fKolian Harp, 518 Soe 220
Aérostatics, 436 eroé, 15
Air 77 Bessemer Process, 299
-gun, :
Bicycle, 503
Aloe, 252 eee :
Amentum, 502 ae ar Microscope, 28
Amphidotus cordatus, 224 an me, 98
Anchor, 39 ow-gun, 75
Angler-fish, 91, 416 Boat, 5
Antherozoids, 368 Boat-hook, 44
Ant-bear, 100 Boatman, 12
-li ‘ Boiling Water, 446
Ant-lion, 52 " ;
Anthidium manicatum, 237 Bombardier-beetle, 156
Bombyx mori, 179
Ants, 391, 409 :
Ants’ Nest, 214 Bosjesman, 308
Aphides, 391 Foren 396
Aphrodite aculeata, 353 ower, 410
Apple- 456 ‘ Bower-birds, 410
pple-parer, 1
i Bowsing of Rope, 318
Aquarium, 393 I
é Brachinus crepitans, 156
Archer-fish, 78 )
Architecture, 159 Bradawl, 249
Argus Star-fish, 89 Brocken Spectre, 295
Armadillo, 189 Brown-tailed Moth, 180
Brushes, 340
Armour, 120 ;
re Buffer of Train, 369
Art, 472 = 4
Artesian Well, 433 ae eae Machine, 157
Arundinaria Schomburgkii, 28 unday, 69
Burdock, 117
Ascalaphus, 111 C
idi Burial, 419
Ascidian, 497 Ata
Aspidomorpha excelsum, 198 urying-ants, 420
Auger, 254 Burying-beetle, 507
Buttons, 346
B Buttresses, 196 c
Baited Traps, 97 C.
Ball-and-socket Joint, 313
Balloon, 436 Cache, 397
Bamboo, 28 Callipers, 274
028
Caltrops, 110
Camel, 424
Camera obscura, 277
Candle, 351
Carriage Spring, 363
Cassava Press, 447
Catapult, 361
Catchpoll, 104
Cathedral, 166
Centrifugal Force, 500
Cephalotus, 98
Chaff-cutter, 320
Chameleon-fly, 11
Chinese Paper Lantern, 378
Chinese Repeating Cross-bow, 365
Chinese Stink-pot, 155
Chirodota, 470
Chisel, 232
Choetodon, 78
Chromatrope, 305
Cicada, 2438, 518
Circular Saw, 247
Cistern, 422
Clam Shell, 260
Clasp, 347 |
Climbing-spur, 134
Cloth-dressing Machine, 339
Club, 52
Cnide, 371
Coffee-making Machine, 329
Coluber natrix, 106
Combs, 343
Compass, 491
Concealment, 144
Condenser, 428
Contouring-glass, 272
Coracle, 22
Cordon Saw, 244
Cork, 350
Corrugation, 480
Cossus ligniperda, 237
Crab, 261
Crab-pot, 103
Creeper, 203
Cricket, 388, 517
Crow-oyster, 348
Crushing Instruments, 320
Cuckoo-spit, 146
Culex pipiens, 9
Cupping, 330
Cuttle-bone of Sepia, 166
Cydippe, 15
D.
Daddy Long-legs, 337
Dagger, 58
Dam, 210
Dandelion Seed, 439
Decticus griseus, 231
Deer-trap, 104
INDEX.
Dew, 426
Diamond Drill, 459
Digging-stick, 223
Dionea muscipula, 97
Dipsacus fullonum, 339
Disguise, 147
Divers, 382
Diving-bell, 383
Diving Dress, 384
Dog-fish Skin, 265
Dome, 510
Doors and Hinges, 172
Drag, 43
Dragon-fly, 455
Dragon-fly Trachea, 376
Drainage, 492
Driver-ant, 201
Drosera, 100
|
Drum, 514
Dutch Rush, 264
E.
Ear, 515
EKar-trumpet, 521
Earth-worm, 44
Earwig, 261
Eaves, 184
Echeneis remora, 333
Echinococcus, 40
Echinus, 315
Echo, 525
Kcho-stone, 526
Kel-pot, 103
Egg-hatching Machine, 395
Eider-duck, 401
Elastic,Springs, 360
Elateride, 387
Electric Kel, 486
Electric Light, 488
Electric Ray, 485
Electric Tourniquet, 463
Electricity, 482
| Elk, 181
Elk-yard, 131
Emperor-moth, 104
Epeira diadema, 87, 348
Equisetum, 264
Ermine-moth, 180
Escapement, 507
Ether Spray, 428
EKumenes, 311
Hye, 277
Hye of Spider, 288
FE.
Fairy Martin, 169
Fall-trap, 140
Fan, 416
Feather Mail, 125
Fencers, 317
File, 263
Filter, 352, 425
Fire, 412
Fire-fly, 489
Fire-guard, 419
Fish-hook Spicule, 117
Fish-scales, 189
Fish-tank, 393
Fishing-frog, 91, 416
Flying Dragon, 440,
Flying Frog, 441
Flying Squirrel, 440
Foot of Aard-vark, 227
Foot of Mole, 226
Foot of Mole-cricket, 226
_ Fork-grinders, 356
Fort, 129
Fountains, 430
Frog, 484
Furnarius fuliginosus, 310
Fur of Beaver, 186
G.
Gad-fly, 254, 406
Galleria alvearia, 151
Galleria-moth, 151
Garden Spider, 87, 345
Gecko, 334
Geometra Caterpillar, 149
Geranium, 478
Gerris, 467
Gills of Fish, 414
Gimlet, 252
Gin, 95
Girder, 193
Glow-worm, 342, 489
Gnat, 9
Goat-moth, 237
Goby, 334
Gold-tailed Moth, 180
Goose-grass, 116
Gossamer Spider, 437
Grallina Australis, 310
Grasping Tools, 258
Grass-blade, 250
Grass-snake, 106
Grass-wrack, 473
Grasshopper, 337, 388
Great Green Grasshopper, 231
Grindstone, 325
Gyrinus natator, 22
Gyroscope, 503
EE
Hammer and Anvil, 515
Hammock, 402
Hand, 450
Harpoon, 71
INDEX.
|
529
Heart or Hairy Urchin, 224
Hedgehog, 110
Hemerobius, 397
Hen-coop, 393
Hippopotamus, 508
Hippopotamus Tooth, 234
Hirundo Ariel, 169
Hoof of Elephant, 364
Hoof of Horse, 363
Hookah, 377
Hooks, 115, 398
Hooks and Eyes, 346
Hoop-shaver Bee, 237
House-fly, 343, 456
Human Spine, 369
Hydra, 512
Hydrant, 430
Hymedesmia, 117
Hyponomeuta padella, 180
L.
Tee, 457
Ice-house, 179
Ichneumon-fly, 174, 249, 338
Injecting Syringe, 65
Iris of Kye, 293
Ita Palm-tree, 162
J.
Janthina communis, 48
Japanese Fishing-rod, 460
Japanese Singlethorn, 124
Jaws of Crocodile, 366
Jaws of Pike, 105
Jaws of Shark, 106
Jaws of Whale, 355
K.
Kedge, 41
Kite, 500
Knee-joint, 316
Kris, 239
L.
Lace-wing Fly, 397
Lagopus vulgaris, 150
Lamp, 412
Lampern, 336
Lampetra fluviatilis, 335
Lancet, 83, 239
Lappet-moth, 149
Laurel-bottle, 358
Lazy-tongs, 454
Leaf-cutter Bees, 231
Leaf-insect, 149
Leaf-rollers, 362
Leech, 335
030
Lighthouses, 207
Limnza stagnalis, 6
Limpet, 245, 332
Loadstone, 490
Lobster, 261, 497
Locust, 231
Long-tailed Titmouse, 401
Lophius, 416
Low-pressure Engine, 429
Lump-sucker, 334
M.
Maelstrom, 1
Magdeburg Hemispheres, 331
Magic Lantern, 294
Magnetic Respirator, 356
Main Gauche, 73
Mangle, 324
Mangrove-tree, 143
Manuring, 492
Mare’s Tail, 264
Mason Wasp, 170
Mat, 404
Meadow Orchis, 100
Measure, 267
Medusa, 372, 512
Megachile, 231
Metronome, 506
Microgaster alvearius, 174
Microgaster glomeratus, 174
Milk, 390
Mines, 443
Mining, 430
Misericorde, 120
Mole, 496
Mole-cricket, 227
Mont Cenis Tunnel, 267
Mop, 502
Mortar, 217
Moselekatze, 162
Moss, 371
Mountains, 216
Mouse-trap, 97
Movable Gas-lamp, 376
Mud-patten, 466
Mud Walls, 181
Multiplying-glass, 288
Muscles of Leg, 449
Mussel-shell, 35, 259
Myrapetra scutellaris, 184
Myrmeleo, 52
Myrmica Kirbyi, 184
N.
Nature-printing, 475
Nautilus, 2, 464
Needle-gun, 367
Nemertes Borlasii, 93
Nerves, 486
INDEX.
Net, 85
Northern Crown, 297
Norton Tubes, 433
Notonecta glauca, 13
Nshiego Mbouvé, 160
Nut-crackers, 321
Nuthatch, 256
O.
Octopus, 463
Odynerus murarius, 170
Cistrus bovis, 254
Ophion, 174
Optics, 276
Orchis morio, 100
Oscillation, 504
Ostracion, 122
Orang-outan, 161
Oven-bird, 310
Owl’s Hye, 284
Pa
Paddle-wood Tree, 198
Paint, 219
Palm-leaf, 418
Paper, 472
Parachute, 438
Parasol, 407
Pea-shooter, 74
Pelecinus, 338
Pelicans, 393
Pelopceus, 312
Pendulum, 505
Pensile Oriole, 402
Perfume Spray, 428
Periwinkle, 245
Phantasmascope, 305
Philetzrus socius, 185
Pholas dactylus, 200
Phryganea, 192
Physa fontinalis, 8
Physalis pelagicus, 46
Pichiciago, 123
Piddock, 200
Pied Grallina, 310
Pill Millipede, 123
Pincers, 258
Pinna pectinata, 35
Pinna-shell, 35
Pistolograph, 361
Pitfall, 50
Plane, 235, 250
Pneumatic Peg, 330
Poison, 62
Polar Bear, 137
Polistes, 481
Polynoe, 71
Porches, 183
Porcupine, 110
Porcupine Ant-eater, 110
Porthesia auriflua, 180
Porthesia chrysorrhcea, 180
Portuguese Man-of-war, 46, 372
Pouch-shell, 8
Pressure of Atmosphere, 329
Printing-press, 317
Proboscis of Fly, 379
Processionary Moth, 180
Projectiles, 74
Propolis, 220
Pseudoscope, 287
Ptarmigan, 150
Pucunha, 76
Puff and Dart, 75, 351
Pulley, 452
Pyramids, 216
Q.
Quilt Armour, 126
R.
Radius, 194
Rain-cloud, 429
Ranjows, 109
Rat-tail Maggots, 385
Rattan, 204
Razor, 236
Receiver of Air-pump, 511
Reduvius personatus, 146
Reed, 518
Reverted Spikes, 102
Ribbon Saw, 244
Ring and Staple, 415
Ringed Tissues, 378
Robber-crab, 405
Rocket, 462
Rod and Line, 90
Rolling-mill, 322
Rosemary, 408
Sabella, 218
Saddle-back, 348
Sailing Raft, 5
Salad-dressing Bottle, 511
Sand-paper, 265
Saturnia pavonia minor, 104
Saw, 239
Saw-fly, 241
Sawyer-beetle, 248
Scale Armour, 123
Scales of Butterfly’s Wings, 187
Scaling-fork, 133
Scarabzeus, 494
Scissors, 228
INDEX.
Screw, 498
Sea-anemone, 8
Sea-basket, 89
Sea-mouse, 353
Sea-urchin, 315
Seed-drills, 336
Sepia officinalis, 167
Serpula, 44, 135, 219, 352
Sewage, 496
Sewing, 406
Shark-tooth Sword, 56
Shears, 228
Sheep-fly, 396
Shell of Tortoise, 188
Ship-worm, 200
Short-tailed Manis, 124, 188
Sialis armata, 275
Siamese Link, 448
Silkworm, 158
Silkworm Cocoon, 179
Siren, 523
Sirex gigas, 252
Skidor, 466
Skip-jack Beetle, 387
Skull, 210, 511
Slates, 188
Sling, 502
Sloth, 398
Slug, 245
Smoke-jack, 499
Snow-house of Esquimaux, 163
Snow-house of Seal, 163
Snow-shoe, 464
Spade, 223
Spear, 58
Spectroscope, 297
Spider, 509
Spider-crab, 147
Spiked Defences, 107
Spiracles of Fly, 357
Spiral, 498
Spiral Spring, 371
Spiral Tissues, 375
Spirit-level, 271
Spokeshave, 236
Spout-hole, 434
Sprat-sucker, 71
Spring, 430
Spring-bow, 142
Spring-gun, 142
Spring-jack, 386
Spring Solitaire, 371
Spring-tails, 388
Spring-trap, 95
Squirrel, 456
Stag-beetle, 248
Star-fish, 332
Steam-blast, 443
Steelyard, 450
Stereoscope, 286
Stereotype, 479
531
O32 INDEX.
Stethoscope, 522 | Trachea of Insects, 376
Stickleback, 218 Trap-door Spider, 175
Still, 425 Traveller’s Tree, 423
Stinging Jelly-fish, 372 Tree-caddis, 111
Stinging-nettle, 67 Trench, 150
Stipple, 477 Trichiosoma lucorum, 242
Stoat, 150 Tripod Wheel-bearer, 461
Stone-fly, 192
Stopper, 350
Stove, 413
Stratiomys, 11
Stratiomys chameleon, 11
String, 515
Subterranean Dwelling, 213
Suckers of Cutile-fish, 332
Suckers of Water-beetle, 332
Sucking Eggs, 445
Sucking-fish, 333
Sucking Sugar-cane, 445
Sumpitan, 75
Sundew, 100
Surgical Cradle, 405
Suspension-bridge, 202
Swallow-tailed Butterfly, 468
Sword, 56
Sword-grass, 57
Synapta, 40, 470
Synovia, 454
Triquetra, 219
Troglodytes calvus, 160
Trombone, 520
Trunk-fish, 122
Trypoxylon aurifrons, 312
Tunnel, 168, 199
Turbine Pump, 497
Turkish Bath, 426
Turtle, 229
U.
Ulna, 194
Umbrella, 407
Useful Arts, 308
Vv.
Vallisneria Plant, 38~-
Varnish, 219
Velella, 2
Venus Fly-trap, 97
Vertebree of Snake, 314
Victoria Regia, 196
Violet Snail, 48
Voltaic Pile, 484
I
Tachina, 172
Tail of Scorpion, 66
Tailor-bird, 406
Tearing Weapons, 112
Teazle, 339 W.
Teeth, 327
Telegraph, 487 Walls, 177
Terebella, 218 Walrus, 41, 136
Teredo, 200 Waraus, 162
Termite, 153, 182, 394 Wart-biter, 231
Thaumatrope, 302 Wasp, 474
Thigh-bone, 314
Thornback-crab, 147
Throwing-stick, 79
Ties, 194
Tiger-beetle, 134
Tiger-claw, 112
Tiger-moth, 403
Wasp-comb, 167
Water-boatman, 13
Water-fall, 431
Water-gnat, 467
Water-lily, 382
Water Main, 497
Water-ram, 434
Tiles, 187 Water-snail, 6
Tillage, 492 Water-spider, 383
Tipula, 337 Water-tank, 423
Toggle, 316 Water Telescope, 291
Tools, 222 Water Turbine, 463
Tools of Measurement, 267 Wax, 220
Top, 503 Wax-moth, 151
Weaver-bird, 169, 185
Webbed Feet, 467
Wet-bulb Thermometer, 428
Wheat Straw, 27
Torpedo, 485
Tortoise, 229
Toucan, 346
Trachea of Animals, 380
> ee Mm
Wheel, 469
Wheel Animalcule, 306
Whelk, 245
Whirlwig-beetle, 22, 292
Whisperiny Gallery, 526
Wind, 442
Window, 190
Woodpecker, 256
INDEX.
Woolly Bear, 110
Wurble-fly, 396
Z.
Zarabatana, 76
Zoetrope, 305
Zostera marina, 473
THE END.
533