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THE LIBRARY

OF

THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA

PRESENTED BY

PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND
MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID

PLATE I.

WHALES, SEALS, AND WALRUS.

TRESPASSERS.

SHOWING HOW THE INHABITANTS OF EARTH, AIR, AND WATER
ARE ENABLED TO TRESPASS ON DOMAINS NOT THEIR OWN.

BY THE

KEY. J. a. WOOD, M.A., F.L.S.,

AUTHOR OF "THE ILLUSTRATED NATURAL HISTORY,"

" HOMES WITHOUT HANDS,"

ETC. ETC.

WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS.

SEELEY, JACKSON, AND HALLIDAY, 54, FLEET STREET,
LONDON. MDCCCLXXV.

V/7

PREFACE.

IN almost every large group of animal life there is a
curious tendency towards usurping the domain which
is usually occupied by other groups.

Taking, for example, the Fishes as typical occu-
piers of the water, we find that there are various
groups of Mammalia, Birds, Reptiles, Insects, etc.,
which live almost as much in the water as do the
Fishes themselves. Such, for example, are the
Whales and Dolphins among the Mammalia, the
Penguins among the Birds, the Turtles, Water Snakes
and Newts among the Reptiles, and the Water Beetles
among the Insects.

Then, we have the Bats as examples of mammalia
which trespass on the domain of the birds j while the
Flying Monkey or Colugo, the Flying Squirrels of
the Old World, and the Flying Phalangists of Aus-
tralasia, are examples of partial Trespassers in the
same direction. With regard to reptiles (putting
aside the extinct Pterodactyls) we have the Flying

si

IT PREFACE.

Dragons and the Flying Frog. Even in the fishes
and the molluscs we find examples of Trespassers on
the domain of air, such as the Flying Fishes, Flying
Gurnards, and Flying Squids.

Lastly, we find that some of the fishes, such as
the Climbing Perch, and several marine Crustacea,
such as the Land Crabs, the Kobber Crabs, and the
Hermit Crabs, are able to leave the water and to
trespass on the domain of the mammalia.

It has been my endeavour, in the course of this
work, to show how simple, and yet how effectual,
are the modifications of structure by which a mammal,
ordinarily an inhabitant of earth, is enabled to tres-
pass upon the domains of the Fishes and the Birds
— a bird or reptile to trespass upon the realm which
belongs to the Fishes, and a fish to trespass upon
that of the Mammal.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

PAGB

INTRODUCTION...

CHAPTER II.
MARINE AND AQUATIC TRESPASSERS : THE WHALES 12

CHAPTER III.
DOLPHINS AND SIRENS 43

CHAPTER IV.

SEALS 55

CHAPTER V.

REPTILIAN WATER TRESPASSERS 76

CHAPTER VI.
PARTIAL WATER TRESPASSERS: CARNIVOHA 120

VI CONTENTS.

CHAPTER VII.

PAGE

RODENT WATER TRESPASSERS : THE BEAVEE 143

CHAPTER VIIT.
PACHYDERMATOUS WATER TRESPASSERS : THE HIPPOPOTAMUS 171

CHAPTER IX.
MARSUPIAL AND MONOTREMATOUS WATEB TRESPASSEES 192

CHAPTER X.

BIRD WATEE TEESPASSEES 209

'<
CHAPTER XI.

INSECT WATEE TEESPASSEES 238

CHAPTER XII.

TRESPASSERS UPON THE AlB 277

CHAPTER XIII.
FLYING REPTILES, FISHES, AND MOLLUSCS 301

CHAPTER XIV.
EARTH TRESPASSERS.., .. 322

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

Plate ^.. Whales, Seals, and "Walrus Frontispiece.

„ II. Crocodile, Hippopotamus, and Water Hog 94

„ III. Tapirs and Capybara 184

„ IV. Cormorant, Puffin, and Penguin 210

„ V. Vampire Bat, Kalong, Opossum Mouse, Hepoona Roo,

and Sugar Squirrel 288

„ VI. Fox, Badger, Rabbit, and Field Mouse 348

Cut 1. Dolphin and Porpoise 44

,, 2. Manatee and Dugong 52

„ 3. Toad, Newt, and Frog 78

„ 4. Snake and Axolotl.... 82

„ 5. Hawkbill Turtle, Snapping Turtle, Chelodyne, and

Alligator Terrapin 102

„ 6. Otters 122

„ 7. Beaver 144

„ 8. Water Vole and Water Shrew 154

„ 9. Duckbill 196

„ 10. Waterhen and Dabchick 226

„ 11. Water Boatman, Water Scorpion, Swimming Ichneu-
mon, Larva of Gnat, and Whirl wig Beetle 245

„ 12. Colugo 292

„ 13. Flying Dragon and Flying Frog 304

„ 14. Flying Fishes, Flying Gurnard, and Flying Squid 310

„ 15. Climbing Perch and Walking Fish 324

„ 16. Robber Crab, Land Crab, and Four Eyes 330

„ 17. Eels and Conger 338

„ 18. Mole and Slepez 342

„ 19, Termites 348

„ 20. Travelling Ants f 350

TRESPASSERS.

CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTION.

TRESPASSING seerns to exert a strange fascination over
most animated beings. There are many, like the sea-
anemone and the barnacle, which are fixed to one spot,
and cannot trespass even if they wished to do so. In
the latter case, however, the creature has led a roving
life before it finally settled upon a resting-place, and had
every opportunity of gratifying a restless disposition.
The very existence of a boundary seems to create a
desire to pass it, no matter what may be its nature or
extent.

Any one who has seen a goat fastened by a cord,
will have remarked that the animal is always at the full
extent of the rope. And if its position has not been
changed for a day or two, there is always a ring of short
grass round the edges of the circle which the goat has
described by walking round and round at the extent of
its tether. The grass which is near the peg is quite
as good as that near the circumference ; but, whereas
the former is almost untouched, the latter is so closely
nibbled by the animal's teeth, and so trodden down by

OL

2 INTRODUCTION.

its hoofs, that it looks just like the spot which a
travelling circus has recently vacated.

Horses and cows act in very much the same man-
ner. They will stand for hours close to the boundary,
and be quite grateful to any one who will pluck them
some of the grass that grows without their limits, even
though it be inferior to that within them. A gate is a
favourite resting-place, both with horses and cows ;
and they often press so heavily against it, that they
injure the fastenings.

The late Charles Waterton pointed out to me a
device which he had put in practice on his estate at
Walton Hall, near Wakefield. He found that when
the cattle were on the side towards which the gate
opened, they did no great harm, because they only
pushed it against the post ; but that, when they were
on the opposite side, all the strain came against the
hinges and latch. So on the inside of every gate he
had a strong chain fastened to the left gate-post by a
staple, and to the right by a stout iron hook.

The chain was set at the average height at which
the breast of a horse or cow would press against it, and,
by means of the hook, it could be unhitched whenever
the animals had to be moved. By means of this
ingenious device, it is impossible for the cattle to
damage the fastenings of the gate, as in the one case
the pressure was against the posts, and in the other
against the chains.

Close to my house there is a ludicrous example of
the trespassing instinct.

There is a stable, with an open yard attached to it,
and surrounded by a high park fence. The owner of

INTRODUCTION. 6

the stable, being of a humane disposition, allows his
horse to roam at large in the yard. Not content with
this amount of liberty, the animal is always trying to
cross the barrier that separates him from the rest of
the world, and has contrived, in some way or other, to
get his head over the fence, so as to enable him to
survey the country at large. Many a lady has been
frightened, when walking along the path, to see his
great head flung suddenly over the fence ; and even
to those who know the animal and his ways, the sight
is rather startling on a dusky evening.

The same feeling holds good with human, beings.
I suppose that there never yet was a schoolboy who
did not always experience a burning desire to cross
he legitimate bounds of the school, no matter whether
they be far or near. Indeed, so well is this feeling
known, that in more than one school all bounds have
been abolished, and in others a quaint sort of com-
promise has been virtually agreed upon between the
boys and the master.

If a master happen to meet a boy out of bounds,
and the latter conceals himself, even though by pre-
tending to hide behind a sapling not an inch thick, or,
in default of any such advantage, by turning his back,
and making believe not to see the master, the latter
also pretends not to see the boy, though they may be
close to each other. Should, however, the boy give any
recognition of the master, or even look him in the
face, he is considered to be in open defiance of the
rules, and punished accordingly.

Men act in just the same manner. All those who
have read history, whether ancient or modern, must be

4 INTRODUCTION.

familiar with many instances where persons who had
been banished from their country, on pain of death,
have been irresistibly drawn towards the frontiers ;
and though they knew that their lives would be for-
feited if they were captured, have been unable to
resist the impulse that urged them to trespass across
the forbidden line.

Not many years ago, there existed in the vicinity
of certain prisons a few streets, technically named the
" Rules " of the prison. In these " Rules " any one
imprisoned for debt might live, without being actually
within the walls of the prison, provided that he could
pay the high rental demanded.

If he ventured across the boundary of. the " Rules/'
were ib but by a foot, he might be captured, and then
would be strictly confined within the walls of the prison.
This partial liberty was certainly a considerable privi-
lege, though, in fact, it was more apparent than
real. For, so deeply does human nature resent the
existence of any boundaries, that the residents within
the Rules found them scarcely less galling than the
prison itself. They would come to the entrance of the
street, stand as close as they could to the line of
separation, and gaze wistfully at the world with which
they might not mix.

Sometimes, after watching carefully so that no
enemy might be in sight, they would jump across the
boundary ; and occasionally one of them, bolder or
more active than the rest, would run fairly across
the street, touch the opposite wall, and dart back
again, amid the envious congratulations of his com-
panions. He really felt much better after an exploit

INTRODUCTION. 5

of this kind, which was a brief taste of the sweets
of liberty.

Perhaps the spice of danger added to the enjoy-
ment of the trespass. For there have been instances
where spiteful creditors, baffled by the debtor's refuge
in the Rules, have placed cunning officers within
hiding, and so have captured their unfortunate debtors,
and deprived them even of the small modicum of
liberty which they had been permitted to enjoy.

Even where man is not a prisoner in this sense of
the word, he feels himself a prisoner in many others,
and is always trying to pass the boundary. Pent by
the sea within an island, no matter how large, he is
sure to break through the boundary by artificial means,
and by a vessel, a boat, a raft, or even a log of wood,
to trespass beyond his original domains.

Viewing the birds, insects, and other winged crea-
tures disporting themselves in the air, man at once
repines at his imprisonment upon earth, and longs to
follow them in their aerial flights. " Oh, that I had
wings like a dove ! " is the natural cry of man ; and
from the time of Icarus to the present day, he has
never ceased from the attempt to make himself wings,
and to launch himself boldly into the regions of air.

By means of the balloon, he has succeeded in sus-
taining himself for a certain time above the earth, and
has risen to an elevation far higher than any which a
bird has as yet been known to attain. In fact, pigeons,
when thrown out of the car of a balloon, have been
seen to fall perpendicularly for a considerable depth,
before they found the air sufficiently dense to support
them.

6 INTRODUCTION.

Man is not, however, satisfied with the balloon.
In the first place, he wishes to be perfectly independent
of a huge machine like a balloon, to be able to rise in
the air at will, and, as do the birds, to guide his own
course on his own wings.

There is, perhaps, no one who does not feel an
innate yearning after such a capability. It even visits
us in our dreams; and there are very few who, in
dreamland, have not soared at will through the air,
serenely conscious that at last they had attained the
fruition of their long-delayed ambition.

Will man ever succeed in this object ? I am in-
clined to think that he will, and that he will do so by
means which have escaped us from their very sim-
plicity. To fly through the air is really no more diffi-
cult a task than the practical annihilation of space and
time by the electric telegraph, of which Puck's forty
minutes' journey round the earth was but an imperfect
prophecy.

I am inclined to think that the very fact that the
idea has for so many centuries existed in the mind of
man, and that so many attempts have been made to
convert the idea into a practical reality, is, if not a
proof, yet an indication, that such a result will be,
sooner or later, attained.

There has been much verbal wit wasted on the
many failures, and much pictorial wit is displayed by
caricatures. These, however, rather tend to counteract
themselves ; for there is no great discovery which has
not been preceded by similar caricatures, whether of
pen, pencil, or both. For example, I have before me
a caricature of a steam- carriage, drawn but a very few

INTRODUCTION. 7

years before the introduction of the railway system.
Of course, the engine is in the act of bursting ; the
artist intending to convey the idea that locomotion by
steam is too dangerous to be attempted.

Perhaps some of my readers may have Gilray's
caricature of vaccination. The scene is laid in the
inventor's opera tin g-rcom, and Jenner is engaged in
vaccinating a number of patients, from all parts of
whose bodies miniature cows, calves, and bulls are
protruding themselves. Yet neither of these sciences
was hindered by caricatures, though they created, or
rather increased, the popular prejudice which is sure
to be aroused against any great advance or improve-
ment.

In Miss Eden's charming work, " Up the Country,"
which is a description of her travels with her brother,
Lord Auckland, in India, where he was Governor-
General, there is a most singular instance of ridicule
cast on a noble invention, through simple want of
appreciation or foresight.

They were halting at TTmreepore, and went to visit
a certain physician, who had the reputation of being
very scientific, though slightly insane. So he was ;
but, in the present instance, the very facts that showed
his real scientific powers were accepted as proofs of
his insanity.

Magnetism and electricity were his special hobbies,
and in his case madness was certainly allied to genius.
He had some fantastic notions about Solomon's
Temple, which he asserted to have been made by the
magnetic angles of a stone brought from Egypt. He
had found stones with similar properties at Gwalior,

8 INTRODUCTION.

and with their aid had constructed a model of the
Temple, which he presented to Miss Edeu.

This was bad enough ; but the worst was to come.
Not only had he discovered the principle of Solomon's
Temple, and enabled any one to reproduce it, but he
had invented a plan of instantaneous communication be-
tween distant places, by means of electricity and wires.
" So then he showed us that experiment ; and a great
many of the galvanic tricks were very amusing/'

The man had actually discovered the electric
telegraph, and this invention which has well-nigh
changed the aspect of civilization, was only taken as a
proof of insanity. The experiment was shown to
Miss Eden in 1838.

Afterwards when the invention was comparatively
perfected, it was offered to the Government, in order
to supplant the clumsy semaphore, which some of my
readers may remember on the roof of the Admiralty,
and which was absolutely useless in foggy weather.
Let there be but a fog, and an enemy's fleet might
effect a landing long before their approach could be
known. Then as the signs had to be repeated through
a succession of stations, the process was very slow,
when compared to the instantaneous communication of
electricity. Yet " My Lords " rejected the invention
on the ground that no other mode of telegraphy,
except that in use was advisable or necessary.

As we all know, gas had to fight its way against
the theorists and alarmists, the latter showing that any
town lighted by gas must inevitably be blown up.
Satirists and alarmists have never succeeded in ar-
resting, though they may have delayed, the pro-

INTRODUCTION.

9

gress of science, and I cannot but think that our
yearnings for aerial travelling will one day be satisfied,
and that railways will be to the aerial carriages what
waggons are to railways.

We pass to another element — namely, the water,
in which man also becomes a trespasser.

The simplest and most natural mode of trespassing
in this element is by swimming ; and every swimmer
knows the exultant delight with which he lies rocked
in the heaving waves, or dives through the curling,
white-topped breakers with as much security as if he
were reclining on a feather-bed at home. Still further
does he trespass by the act of diving, and exults in his
power of penetrating into the depths of the sea, and
defying, though for a short time, the power of the
water.

As he progresses in civilization, he is propor-
tionately dissatisfied with his natural powers of
trespassing, and resorts to art, The log becomes a
raft, is modified into a boat, and soon is magnified into
a vessel. The wind is pressed into the service of man,
and aids him to propel his vessel by means of sails.
At last, dissatisfied with a vessel that is dependent
upon the wind, and anxious to be able to trespass upon
the ocean at his own will, man applies the power of
steam to his ship, and so becomes independent of
wind, tide, or any other obstacle to his progress-

Nor is he yet satisfied. It is not enough to
trespass upon the surface of the water. He wishes to
emulate those air-breathing creatures which are enabled
to spend most of their time beneath the surface, and
contrives, by means of diving-bells and diving- dresses,

10 INTRODUCTION.

to remain beneath the water much longer than those
creatures whom he imitates.

This dress, by the way, is not so modern an inven-
tion as is generally thought, although its present state of
perfection is necessarily owing to the modern improve-
ments in machinery. In the Ambras Collection there
is a manuscript of the fifteenth century in which are
represented several men in diving dresses, and fur-
nished with stoppered vessels of air, which they can
breathe when needed. It is true that the value of
compressed air for respiratory purposes was not known
at the time, and that a single vessel could only contain
air sufficient for two or three respirations. The
principle, however, had been recognized, and its
further development was only a work of time.

As to fire, it has at present baffled us, and all
that we can do is to delay its conquering powers.

There still remains the Earth, into which man is
becoming daily a more accomplished trespasser, his
powers in this respect increasing, together with his
civilization. The savage never troubles himself about
penetrating into the earth any more than he does
about rising into the air. He may make use of a cave
by way of a habitation ; but there he stops. Whereas
civilized man must needs act the trespasser in the
domains of earth, as he does in those of air and
water. He digs mines, which descend to vast depths,
and traverses the earth with a network of subterranean
galleries.

Or, dissatisfied with the mountains that divide
one district from another, just as he is dissatisfied
with separating seas, he drives his tunnels through

INTRODUCTION. 11

them, and so renders himself independent of the
barriers which formerly hindered his progress. Should
the proposed tunnels succeed in connecting Southamp-
ton and the Isle of Wight, or, as is hoped, England
and France, the power of man as an earth trespasser,
will, at all events for a while, have attained its acme
of perfection.

But however great his power, he has been anti-
cipated by creatures which are still lesser than himself
in the scale of creation, and at present he can but offer
an humble rivalry to many, while he is infinitely
surpassed by others. Some of these I will now lay
before the reader, for the purpose of showing the
wonderful, though simply-planned modifications of
structure which permit them to trespass, and which
may, perhaps, give to us some hints for furthering our
own progress in the conquest of Nature.

CHAPTER II.

intf and §M}uatir

THE WHALES.

As those animals which trespass upon the domains
of water are far more numerous than* those which
trespass upon air or earth, we will take them first in
order.

It is a very remarkable fact that among the
mammalia, which are all breathers of atmospheric air
and are hot-blooded, so as to be incapable of existing
without frequent and thorough respiration, there
should be a vast number which are either totally or
partially, inhabitants of the water. There is a regu-
larly graduated series of them representing almost
every known group of mammalia.

Some live entirely in the water, and are quite as
dependent on it for existence as if they were fishes ;
some pass more of their time in the water than on the
land; some divide their time totally equally; while
others live chiefly on land, but resort to the water
either for food or shelter.

At present no aquatic representation of the monkey

THE WHALES. 13

tribe has been known, and there are not wanting
persons who aver that even if none are known to
exist at present,, some have existed, and have been the
cause of the legends respecting mermaids and mermen,
which have been current in every part of the world
where there is a sea coast, and where a written lan-
guage exists. It is worthy of notice that in Japan,
as well as in England, the legendary mermaid is
quite familiar to the popular mind, and that it is from
Japan that have been procured those ingenious com-
positions of skin, papier-mache, membranes, hair,
teeth, bones, and scales, which have been palmed off
upon the public as genuine mermaids.

In one sense they are very unlike the mermaid of
romance. She was always represented as a veritable
human being in size, as well as in shape, as far as
the waist, while the rest of the body was that of a
fish. She was also held to be superbly beautiful, and,
by means of that beauty, to have decoyed many a
heedless lover beneath the waves.

Now the Japanese mermaids are little more than
mere dolls in point of size. The celebrated specimen
of which Barnum made such a speculation, was not
quite three feet in length — I speak from memory —
because, though I saw it repeatedly, I did not measure
it. The thing was hideously ugly, with the head
drawn on one side, and the features contorted, as if it
had died in fearful agonies. It was a mean, wizened,
mummified, and most repulsive object, and except that
it exhibited the junction of a mammal with a fish, had
nothing in common with the mermaid of tradition. I
have seen many specimens of Japanese mermaids, and

14 MARINE AND AQUATIC TRESPASSERS.

this is by far the largest, the generality seldom exceed-
ing eighteen inches in length.

Yet, utterly absurd as they are, there are many
persons who firmly believe in them. I once had a
narrow escape from a personal assault at the hands of
an owner of a Japanese mermaid. I saw it in his
shop — a fishmonger's; stepped in to look at it, and
made some remarks upon the ingenuity with which
wire had been made to imitate ribs and other bones.
I thought that I was paying a compliment, but very
soon found that the sooner I was out of the shop the
better it would be. I have even seen one of these
objects in which the artist had been audacious enough
to fasten a great pair of bat-like wings to the
shoulders. *•

The origin of the mermaid is utterly obscure, and
is lost in the mists of antiquity. Horace, in his " Ars
Poetica," treats the popular idea of the mermaid as
represented by modern artists —

"Desinit in piscem mulier formosa superne;"
which may be translated —

"A lovely woman with a fish's tail."

But the idea is far older than Horace. We find it
in Dagon, the Fish God of the Philistines — a deity
who is even at the present time worshipped in the same
shape throughout Burmah, and whose gigantic images
stand, all glittering with their golden scales, in the
Burmese temples, exactly as they did in the time
when Dagon fell prostrate before the Ark in Philistia.

*We see the same idea of the union of the man and
the fish in the ancient Assyrian sculptures. This idea

THE WHALES. 15

is not carried out in precisely the same manner, but it
is nevertheless the same idea.

I need scarcely mention the absolute physical
impossibility of such a being. In the fish and the
mammal even the very blood is different, the mode of
circulation is different, and the respiration is different.
Had such beings really existed, they must have been
not only seen, but secured. They could not have
breathed without coming to the surface in order to
obtain atmospheric air, and must have done so at such
short intervals that they could not have escaped ob-
servation.

If, then, any aquatic representatives of the monkey
tribe have ever existed, they must have been formed
in a very different manner from those fabricated ob-
jects which have been put forward as mermaids, or
from the conventional and poetical idea of such beings.
When combs and mirrors grow wild in the sea, then
will mermaids be found to use them.

Yet, although no such beings as mermaids exist,
or have existed, the ocean holds creatures which are
every whit as wonderful. It contains mammalia of such
dimensions that the largest elephant is, in proportion
to them, but as a cat beside an ox. Indeed, none but
those who have seen them can have the least idea of a
mammal which is more than ninety feet long, and so
thick that if it were laid on the ground, the body
would reach half-way from the first to the second floor
of an ordinary London house.

I have only seen a few specimens which have been
accidentally thrown on the shore, but even in these
cases was greatly struck with the very great bulk of

16 MARINE AND AQUATIC TEESPASSERS.

the animals when compared with their measurement in
feet and inches. A foot more or less, either in length
or thickness, does not seem very much on paper, but
in actual bulk a foot short makes the difference be-
tween a giant and a dwarf.

Take ourselves for example. A man of five feet six
inches high is looked upon— not to say down upon —
almost as a dwarf, while a man of six feet six inches
is nearly a giant. Indeed, a man who measures six
feet in height looks like a little boy when standing by
the side of a man who is only three inches taller, and
it may easily be seen that when bulk as well as height
have to be taken into consideration, the difference in
size is really astounding.

As a general rule, all the gigantic mammalia of the
present day are exclusively vegetarian, such as the
elephant, the hippopotamus, the rhinoceros, and the
giraffe ; not to mention the various species of buffalo,
some of which are but little inferior in bulk to an
ordinary elephant.

Here, however, we have the curious fact that the
largest of living mammals are predacious, and that in
order to supply their enormous bodies with sufficient
food, they must either prey upon a few animals nearly
as large as themselves, or upon vast numbers of
smaller animals. The former alternative is clearly
out of the question, and so they have to fall back upon
the latter.

Some, such as the Greenland Whale, feed upon
small molluscs, which they catch in the natural
net which fringes their vast mouths. Some, such
as the Spermaceti Whale, live mostly on the

THE WHALES. 17

cuttles and other large molluscs, while others are
almost entirely fish-eaters. Now, the earth does not
supply animal life in the teeming abundance which is
required in order to supply these vast beings with
food, and their lot is, in consequence, cast in the
sea, which absolutely swarms with animal life in many
forms.

When, therefore, one of the whale tribe happens to
be stranded, it is sure to die, as does a fish when
thrown ashore, though from different causes. The fist
dies because it is nearly as incapable of breathing
atmospheric air as is a man of breathing under water,
whereas the whale dies for want of food. These
animals act towards the small creatures which consti-
tute their food much as do the vegetable- eating mam-
mals of the land towards the leaves and herbage on
which they feed.

They do not seem to ha ye any particular time for
feeding ; but during all their waking hours are almost
constantly engaged in taking food. A short sojourn
on shore, therefore, is fatal to them, because they are
deprived of the food supply which is absolutely neces-
sary to their existence. Indeed, there are many true
fishes, some of which will be mentioned in their places,
which can live upon land very much longer than can a
whale, or even a porpoise, and which are quite at
home on the land, where they can not only breathe,
but even obtain food.

It is no wonder that creatures which are so fish-
like in their habits that they die like fish when taken
from the water, should be mistaken for fish. Indeed,
so deeply rooted is this idea, that many persons flatly

18 MARINE AND AQUATIC TRESPASSERS.

refuse to believe that whales are not fish. " They
live in the water/' say they, " like fish, they feed like
fish, they die like fish when out of the water, and there-
fore fish they must be."

Now let us proceed to sum up the details of
structure which enable these enormous mammals to
take possession of the seas, and so to trespass upon
the domains of the fish.

The power of respiration is necessarily the first
requisite for a habitation in the water. Mammals, being
hot-blooded creatures, require a constant supply of
oxygenated blood, so that whales, being mammals,
must have this first necessity of existence. The
amount of blood which is poured through the system
of a whale is perfectly astonishing. I never appre-
ciated it until, while engaged in the Anatomical School
at Oxford, I assisted in preparing a section of an
aorta (i.e., principal artery of the heart) that had been
taken from a whale of moderate size. It looks some-
thing like a child's hoop, or a section of the main pipe
of some large waterworks.

But I am quite sure that no one who was not
previously acquainted with the subject would ever
guess its real nature. Indeed, all those to whom I
have showed it have experienced some difficulty in
believing me, and have acknowledged that, without
having seen it, they never could have formed the least
conception of the gigantic proportions of the whale,
and of the vast torrent of blood that is driven through
its body.

Three problems now present themselves.

The first is this : The blood being there, how is a

THE WHALES. 19

creature which leads an aquatic life to keep such an
enormous quantity of the vital fluid aerated. The
second is this : How is the animal to obtain sufficient
food to keep up the supply of blood, and to com-
pensate for the waste that must be caused by the
violent exertions that are inseparably connected with
its aquatic life. The third problem is this : How to
prevent the vital heat from being absorbed in the ice-
cold water in which so many whales pass the whole of
their lives ?

These problems are by no means easy of solution,
and it is really wonderful to see how beautifully and
yet simply are they treated in the structure of the
whale tribe. We will take them in order, and begin
with Eespiration.

Here, at the very outset, we are met by another
problem. It is manifestly impossible that the animal
should always remain at the surface of the water. In
the first place, it would be unable to procure its food ;
in the second place, it would be exposed to the
assaults of various enemies ; and in the third place,
it would be at the mercy of the storms.

For the largest whale that ever lived is powerless
against a storm, which hurls its huge body about like
a cork. Indeed, when the whale has been overtaken
by a storm in comparatively still water, it is tolerably
certain to be stranded, and it has sometimes happened
that a whole " school^ of whales have been flung
ashore by a single gale. Now, as all good swimmers
know, the power of the waves is quite superficial, and
even a human being can set them at defiance by
meeting them, diving just before they reach

20 MARINE AND AQUATIC TRESPASSERS.

and so allowing them to roll harmlessly over his
head.

It is therefore absolutely necessary that the whale
should be able to pass a considerable time beneath the
surface, and be for that time deprived of the power of
respiration. How can we reconcile these conflicting
necessities ?

The first and most obvious suggestion is, that the
animal should be supplied with an internal apparatus,
by means of which it can take down with it a supply
of air that will suffice for respiration during the time
of submergence. But, considering that the ordinary
time during which the animal is under water is about
an hour, and that it must be capable of extending that
time if needful, it is evident that the air-vessel would
be so large that the whale would be absolutely incap-
able of sinking at all.

This plan, therefore, is not feasible, and we must
look for one which will give a supply of arterialized
blood while the whale is under water. Suppose that,
instead of giving to the whale a supply of air which
will oxygenate the blood, it should have a reserved
supply of already oxygenated blood, which can be
passed into the system when required.

In fact, suppose that the whale has the power of
acting, with regard to respiration, as the camel does
with drink, and is enabled in a few minutes to oxyge-
nate as much blood as will serve the purpose of life
for an hour or more. If this can be done, the problem
is at once solved, for the blood-reservoir will be very
small when compared with the air-reservoir, and, not
being lighter than the rest of the body, will not

THE WHALES. 21

interfere with the power of sinking or rising at
will.

This latter condition is an extremely important
one. As all human swimmers know, they can only
keep themselves below water by continuous exertion,,
and as soon as it ceases they float to the surface. This
is all well enough for man, but would be practically
fatal to the whales, who ought to possess the power of
rising or sinking without any such violent movements.
They can compass this end by contracting the muscles
of the body so as to lessen their size and make them
rather heavier than an equal bulk of water, while as
soon as the muscles are relaxed the animal becomes,
bulk for bulk, lighter than water, and will float on it?
surface without effort.

Such a blood-reservoir as has been mentioned
would fulfil the above-mentioned conditions, and it
is just such a reservoir which is possessed by the
whale.

The discovery of this reservoir was, I believe,
made by William Hunter. At all events, the first
description of it was published by him in the " Philo-
sophical Transactions " for 1787.

The greater part of the cavity of the chest is lined
with a vast mass of blood-vessels, forming a com-
plete maze of tubes. On a small scale, the arrange-
ment of these arteries can be tolerably imitated by
taking a large quantity of macaroni, boiling it, and
then plastering it in a thick layer against the ribs,
making it thicker towards the spine than towards the
ends of the ribs. These vessels take their origin from
the " intercostal " arteries — i.e., those which suppl

22 MAEINE AND AQUATIC TRESPASSERS.

the region of the chest. They are twenty in number,
ten on either side, and in the whale they are enor-
mously developed, so as to produce the remarkable
appendage to respiration which has been mentioned.

This, however, is not all. Beside this enormous
mass of arteries, there is a corresponding network of
veins, which appear to form reservoirs for the blood
which has been passed through the system and
become useless.

Even in these veins there is a difference in struc-
ture. In most veins there is a series of valves, which
allow the blood to pass forward but not backward ; so
that, no matter how rapidly the heart may beat, the
blood is propelled forward with corresponding force.

Any of my readers, who have been accustomed to
running, or have subjected themselves to training, are
familiar with the phenomenon called " second wind."
When the first half mile or so has been passed, the
action of the heart seems to be so much in advance of
that of the lungs that the runner feels half-choked,
gasps, and is almost unable to proceed. If, however,
he doggedly perseveres, the feeling of oppression soon
goes off, and he can then run for almost any distance
without distress, as far as respiration goes. His legs
may fail him, but his lungs will not.

The fact is, that after a little time, the blood that
has been violently forced through the system, has had
time to equalize its rate of progress with the increased
pressure, and breathing becomes as easy as if the
runner were seated at rest.

In the reserved vein-system of the whale tribe,
however, there are scarcely any valves, so that the

THE WHALES. 23

blood moves but slowly through them, and can
wait until the time comes for aerating the whole
mass.

It will be seen, therefore, from this brief sketch,
that the whales have, even in proportion to their vast
bodies, far more blood than any other animals ; the
additional reservoirs containing blood enough to supply
the enormous creature for more than one hour.

We have not yet come to the end of this subject.
This enormous mass of reserved blood would be per-
fectly useless, unless the respiration were modified so
as to enable it to be oxygenated in a short time. We
will take as an example the adult male spermaceti
whale, and see how he manages his respiration.

When the whale comes to the surface for the
purpose of breathing, he lies nearly motionless, and
then goes through a series of enormous respirations,
called by the whalers, " spoutings." On the average,
he makes some sixty of these respirations in regular
succession, each occupying, as nearly as possible, ten
seconds; so that the whole time employed in this
operation is ten or eleven minutes.

The act of expiration is very violent, and as the
animal always has the nostrils — which are technically
named the " blow-holes " — situated on the upper
part of the extremity of the head, filled with water,
this water is ejected in a jet of thick, dense, white
spray. The mode of respiration is very curious.
First, the animal ejects the consumed air in "spouts;"
the spouts occupying about three seconds. It then
draws one rapid breath, of about a second in duration,
and then sinks its nostrils beneath the water for about

24 MARINE AND AQUATIC TEESPASSERS.

six seconds, during which the respired air is employed
in oxygenating the blood.

All these movements are made with the regularity
of machinery, and each individual whale has its own
particular number of respirations. This is known so
well, that the whalers have only to watch one of these
animals going through its spoutings, to know how long
it will remain at the surface when it again makes its
appearance. Should the creature be disturbed before
it has " had its spoutings out/' and dive, it is sure to
return to the surface for a few minutes and finish
them, when it will generally sink itself by " settling "
down in the water, without performing the usual
diving movement.

The same regularity extends to the duration of the
animal's sojourn beneath the water, so that the whalers
can always make their calculations as to the time
when a whale that has dived will again make its
appearance.

The reader will probably have observed that the
respiration of the whale differs from that of ordinary
mammalia in one important respect. Terrestrial
mammalia do not make their respiration a separate
business of their life, but breathe as they go about
their ordinary duties, and without interrupting them.
Whereas the whales are obliged to set aside a certain
portion of their time for respiration, during which
they are perfectly quiescent, and only think about
oxygenating the vast storage of blood which is to
supply them during their sojourn under water.

So we see that at least one-seventh of the whole time
of the creature is occupied in respiration. This

THE WHALES. 25

applies to the male. The females seldom remain
submerged for more than twenty minutes, and they
occupy about four minutes in having their spoutings
out ; so that, in their case, one-fifth of their time is
taken up by respiration.

Even we ourselves in, a small way, can imitate the
whale in their mode of respiration, and produce a
similar result.

Any one who wishes to hold his breath for a con-
siderable time, can do so by preparing himself much
as the whales do. Let him first expel, as far as he
can, every particle of air from the lungs, and then
take as deep an inspiration as possible. Let this be
repeated for some twenty times, and the blood will be
so completely oxygenated that another respiration is
not needed for some little time. I have often been
thus enabled to hold my breath for a minute and a
half, and have found it a very useful accomplishment
in diving matches, where a second more or less means
winning or losing them.

Another important aid to respiration is found in
the substance from which the spermaceti whale derives
its name. The skull is comparatively small, the
greater part of the enormous head being composed of
a very light oily substance, enclosed in a thin mem-
braneous case. It is this oil which, when purified by
pressure, and treatment with successive washings in
alkaline solutions, crystallizes into the well-known
spermaceti.

The object of this substance is evident enough
when we consider the habits of the animal. On
account of its lightness, it very much increases the

26 MARINE AND AQUATIC TRESPASSERS.

bulk of the head, without adding much to its weight,
and so renders it lighter than water. In consequence
of this structure, when the whale rises to the surface
of the water for the purpose of respiration, the head
floats as easily as a cork ; and without any exertion on
the part of the animal, the nostrils are kept well above
the water.

So much for respiration, as the act by which the
whale purifies its blood. We will now proceed to
Feeding, as the act by which the animal keeps up the
supply of the vital fluid.

As examples of the same end attained by different
means, we cannot do better than take the Cachalot,
being a toothed whale of the Southern Seas, and
the Greenland whale being the toothless whale of
the Northern Seas. There are plenty of others, but
these afford the best types of the mollusc-feeding
whales, the former living on the large, and the latter
on the small molluscs.

The jaws of these animals are beautifully adapted
for the purposes which they have to fulfil. In the
former, the upper jaw is nearly toothless ; whereas
the lower jaw is furnished on each side with a row of
large conical teeth, set at some distance from each
other, and fitting into cavities in the upper jaw.

These teeth, by the way, were at one time the most
cherished and valued objects that could be possessed
by Fiji or Friendly Islander, some peculiarly sacred
character being attached to them. None but a chief
could possess so coveted an article ; and many dis-
astrous wars have taken place because the principal
chief of one island had obtained possession of a whale's

THE WHALES. 27

tooth, and would not give it up to the principal chief
of another island.

A singular example of the passion for whale's teeth
is given in Mariner's account of the Tonga Islands. A
whale had been thrown on a small island, inhabited
only by a man and his wife, and the king came, accord-
ing to custom, to take the teeth. Finding only two,
he demanded the others from the man, who produced
two more from a basket, and declared that there were
no more. His wife, however, confessed that she had
secreted one, which she gave up. Nothing could
induce either of them to acknowledge that they knew
of any more teeth ; and first the man and then the
woman were killed with clubs.

Some years afterwards the missing teeth were dis-
covered on the island, carefully buried, so that these
extraordinary people actually preferred to lose their
lives rather than their treasure.

With these teeth the spermaceti whale seizes its
prey, which consists almost exclusively of cuttle-fish of
various species, mostly those which are called "squids;"
Mr. Bennett asserting that he has often seen large
limbs of the squid floating on the water, having evi-
dently been bitten off. He always used in such cases
to look out for spermaceti whales, and never failed to
find them.

It seems rather strange that such creatures should
form the food of the whale. In the first place, the
suckers with which their arms are thickly set can cling
so tightly to any object, that it is a wonder how the
whale can manage to get them down its throat ; an din
the second place, they are so active that the narrow

28 MARINE AND AQUATIC TRESPASS EES.

jaw of the whale seems quite inadequate to their
capture. Many species can even shoot through the air
to a considerable distance, if hard pressed.

Yet the whale never seems to be in any distress for
food, an emaciated one never having been found. Nor
is sight required for the capture, as whales have been
taken which have been absolutely blind, and yet were
in as good condition as their fellows who had the use
of their eyes. Sometimes the whale contrives to
capture an enormously gigantic cuttle, large enough,
one would think, to defy even the whale itself. Dr.
Schwediawer mentions, in a letter published in the
' ' Philosophical Transactions," that a spermaceti whale
was captured, in whose mouth was a tentacle of a squid
that measured twenty- seven feet in length. This, more-
over, was not the complete length, as one end of it was
wanting.

It is believed that the mode by which the whale
catches the squids is by rushing through the water
with open mouth, and taking its chance as to finding
prey. This theory is strengthened by the fact that the
remains of fishes, generally the rock cod, are some-
times found in the stomach of the whale, though, as a
general rule, there is nothing but mangled cuttle-fish,
whose horny beaks defy the digestive powers of the
captor. Once, part of a dolphin's tail was found within
a whale, but such an occurrence as this is not likely to
happen again. In a future page, we shall see how the
Greenland, or oil-whale, manages to find its food in
the northern seas, where there are but few large
molluscs.

I may here observe, casually, that ambergris is

THE WHALES. 29

almost entirely composed of partially-digested cuttles,
their beaks being often found embedded in the mass.
There was for many years an utter ignorance of the
real origin of ambergris, but, as it has been taken from
the interior of the spermaceti whale, and the remains
of cuttle can be recognized in it, there is no longer any
doubt on the subject.

We have now seen how this mammalian trespasser in
the water is able to support its existence in that
element ; we have seen the remarkable modification of
the blood-vessels, which enable it to aerate the blood,
and the mode by which the volume of that vast blood-
supply is preserved undiminished. We have now to
see how the whale, being a hot-blooded animal, is able
to pass its whole existence in water, which, especially
in the cold seas in which so many of them live, would
rob them of the heat which is so needful for them.
This point is very well put by Mr. Rymer Jones in
his " General Structure of the Animal Kingdom," a
book through which I had the pleasure of dissecting
my way : —

" The Cetacea form a very remarkable group of hot-
blooded Mammifers, as related to the external covering
of their bodies. No covering of hair or wool would
have been efficient in retaining the vital heat under the
circumstances in which these creatures live ; and, even
if such clothing could have been made available, it
would seriously have impeded their progress through
the water.

" Another kind of blanket has, therefore, been
adopted. The cuticle is left perfectly smooth and
polished, without any vestige of hair upon its surface.

30 MARINE AND AQCTATIC TEESPASSEES.

Bat, beneath the skin, fat has been accumulated in
prodigious quantities ; and, enveloped in this non-con-
ducting material, the whales are fully prepared to
inhabit an aquatic medium, and to maintain their tem-
perature even in the Polar seas."

This structure, which is appropriately called by
sailors the "blanket," is of a very remarkable cha-
racter. There are plenty of animals, notably the swine,
the hippopotamus, and the like, which, when in good
condition, have a thick layer of fat beneath the skin.

In all these animals the skin can be removed,
leaving the fatty layer in its place. This, however, is
not the case with the whale tribes, in which the
blubber, as this peculiarly fatty substance is called, is
really but a modification of the skin itself, and is com-
posed of a mass of interlacing fibres, the spaces between
which are filled with oil. A good idea of this structure
can be formed by comparing it with that of an orange,
the juice of the fruit taking the place of the oil, and
the sponge-like cells in which it is held representing
the tissues of the skin. Consequently, the skin and
the blubber have to be separated by the whaler's
<{ spade," before the oil can be expressed from the
labyrinthine fibres among which it is entangled.

Such a substance as this is of necessity exceedingly
elastic, and Sir W. Jardine has happily compared it to
India-rubber, " possessing a density and resistance
which, the more it is pressed, it resists the more.''' The
reader will see, therefore, that this wonderful structure
fulfils a double duty. In the first place, it acts as a
non-conducting layer between the vital parts and the
water, thus preserving the animal heat ; and, in the

THE WHALES. 31

second place, it acts as a safeguard against the tre-
mendous pressure of the water at the depths to which
the whale descends.

Whales have been known to dive perpendicularly,
carrying with them such a length of line that if a bottle
had been sunk to the same depth, corked, sealed, and
closed in every way, the water would have forced its
way through everything, and filled the bottle. Pieces
of wood that have been sunk to such depths are found
to have the water driven into every pore, so that they
can no longer float, but sink as if they were bars of
iron.

Such a pressure as this, if exercised directly upon
the body of the animal, would be fatal, but the thick
elastic coat of blubber yields to the weight of water,
and is itself compressed without transmitting the
pressure to the vital organs.

The reader may, perhaps, ask how it is that the
aperture of the nostrils can be sufficiently closed to
keep the water from forcing its way into the lungs.
This is done by means of a beautifully-formed valve,
which can only be opened by force applied from below,
and is spontaneously closed by force applied from
above, fitting more and more tightly in proportion as
the pressure increases.

Thus we see that although we cannot, without her-
metically sealing it (i.e., fusing the glass together),
close a bottle so tightly that the water cannot force its
way through the obstacles, the living whales possess a
self-acting valve through which they can respire when
at the surface, but which is absolutely impervious to
the water, no matter at what depth the animal may be.

32 MARINE AND AQUATIC TRESPASSERS.

In fact, even supposing that the whale were to attempt
to expel the air from its lungs when below the surface,
it would be unable to open the valve, the pressure from
above being too strong to yield to any force that the
animal could apply from below.

All the whale tribes possess this structure, but it is
developed to the fullest extent in those animals which
are obliged to descend to considerable depths below
the surface of the water. This valve is formed much
after the fashion which is adopted in the heart and
veins — namely, it is composed of elastic bags, which,
when filled, press firmly against each other, but, when
empty, fall into wrinkled folds, leaving a clear passage
between them.

A few words as to the general form of the whale
tribe.

It is almost exactly the same as that of the fish,
inasmuch as the movements must necessarily be of a
similar character. As the whole body is sustained in
the water, the limbs are not required for support, and
are modified to suit the peculiar life which the animal
leads. The fore limbs are very short, very wide, and
very flat, so as to act as fins, and are apparently used
for the purpose of balancing the animal rather than
aiding or even directing its course.

As to the hinder limbs, they are not needed ; and
in some are altogether absent. There is not even a
rudiment of them, and the pelvis itself is wanting,
being only represented by a small bone lying loose in
the tissues.

Thus, the whole of the body behind the thorax
is flexible ; and, unlike that of fishes in general, can

THE WHALES. 33

be moved from side to side, or up and down, accord-
ing to the will of the animal. The end of the body is
flattened out into a broad and powerful tail, popularly
called the "flukes/' This tail, though shaped like
that of a fish, is differently set. When a fish is in its
natural position, the tail is perpendicular, and a for-
ward movement is obtained by moving it from side to
side ; but, in the whales, the tail is set horizontally,
so that when the animal is at rest, it lies flatly upon
the surface of the water. The forward movement is
therefore obtained, not by sweeping the tail from side
to side, but by moving it up and down. It is believed
that this modification of structure is due to the habits
of the whale, which must possess the power of diving
rapidly. In so doing, it strikes the water with its tail,
so as to throw itself partly into the air, and then dives
almost perpendicularly, the flukes waving in the air as
it descends. So powerful is this instrument of pro-
pulsion, that in spite of its enormous weight, a whale
measuring a hundred feet in length can throw itself
completely out of the water, and can urge itself along
the surface at a rate of some fifteen miles an hour.

The organs of hearing are curiously modified when
compared with those of the terrestrial mammalia.
Water is a much better conductor of sound than air ;
and, if the ear of the whale were constructed like that
of a land animal, a single blow struck on the water
by the flukes of one whale, would stun all the rest in
the immediate neighbourhood.

This transmissive power of water is utilized by
beaver-hunters. In the winter-time a hunter some-
times sees a beaver attempting to escape by swimming

3

34 MARINE AND AQUATIC TRESPASSERS.

under the ice. He instantly strikes a heavy blow on
the ice with the back of his axe, which stuns the animal
almost as effectually as if the blow had been dealt
directly ; so that a hole can be cut in the ice, and the
lifeless body lifted out.

Now with the whales, a very difficult problem has
to be solved — namely, to make a mammalian ear that
is capable of hearing sounds below the surface, and
yet will not be too sensitive, and will not admit water.
The first difficulty is solved by the manner in which
the internal ear is constructed. That portion of the
temporal bone in which the organ of hearing is placed
does not form part of the skull, but is quite separate,
and only held in its place by ligaments. Next, the
orifice of the ear is exceedingly small ; so tiny, indeed,
as almost to escape observation. In spite of the
enormous size of the whale, the external aperture is
so small that a crow-quill can hardly be introduced
into it.

The most remarkable part of the organ is yet to
come.

We have seen how the animal is enabled to hear
sounds which are transmitted through the water, and
the wonderful manner in which the auditory organs
are modified for that purpose.

But another problem now arises. As the animal
spends a considerable portion of its time on the
surface, it must also be able to hear sounds which are
transmitted through the air, lest it should be surprised
by foes which are out of the range of its vision, and
which it is unable to detect by hearing. The tiny
apertures which serve perfectly well for the trans-

THE WHALES. 35

mission of sound through water, would be absolutely
useless when air is to be the transmitting medium.

The manner in which this most difficult problem —
not to say paradox — is solved, is singularly beautiful,
and is simple as it is effective. It is done by a sort of
reversal of the ear.

Perhaps the reader may not be aware that there
are two opposite openings in the ear — namely, the
external opening, which we all know, and the internal
opening, called the eustachian tube, which passes
from the internal auditory organs to the back of the
mouth, just where the nostrils open into it. Some-
times this tube becomes choked; and in that case,
deafness — often incurable — is the result.

Although so few persons, except those who have
studied anatomy, are aware of the existence of this
tube, we all unconsciously make use of it. For ex-
ample, if human beings are earnestly endeavouring to
catch sounds, and are forgetful of everything but
those sounds, they instinctively open the mouth, so as
to hear with the eustachian tube as well as with the
external orifices. Shakespeare, who seems to have
noticed everything, has not allowed this instructive
action to escape his observation. Speaking of the
rumours concerning Arthur's death, he writes as
follows :

"I saw a smith stand with his hammer, thus,
The whilst his iron did on the anvil cool,
With open mouth swallowing a tailor's news."

Now, in the human ear, the eustachian tube is
very small in proportion to the external orifice; but

36 MARINE AND AQUATfC TRESPASSERS.

with the whale the case is exactly reversed. The
external orifice is, as we have seen, extremely small ;
but the eustachian tube is very large. This tube
opens into the nostrils, or blow-holes, just behind the
valve that keeps out the water; so that when the
animal rises to the surface, and the passage of the
nostrils is opened, the whale is able to hear atmo-
spheric sounds through the eustachian tube. Thus,
the creature is doubly armed : its tiny external ear
conveying sounds that are transmitted through the
water ; and its large eustachian tube receiving those
that are conveyed through the air.

As for the sense of smell, it appears to be totally
absent, and this for two reasons. In the first place, it
would be impossible for the animal to use the sense of
smell while below the surface, unless, as Mr. R. Jones
tersely puts the case, " it had the nose of a fish, which
could not be granted without infringing upon the laws
that regulate the progression of animal organization."
When the creature is at the surface of the water, the
sense of smell is not needed, and, as has been men-
tioned, the nostrils are required for another purpose —
namely, that of respiration, and are so filled with water
that no scent could reach them through the air.

The foregoing remarks have been based upon one
species, the Spermaceti Whale. Reverting for a short
time to some of the structures which have been briefly
sketched, we shall see how they are further modified
in another species of the cetacea, a perfect water tres-
passer.

The great Greenland, or right whale, which in-
habits the Northern seas, has most of the habits which

THE WHALES. 37

distinguish the Spermaceti Whale of the South. The
general form is much the same, but there are one or
two important distinctions.

In the first place, the animal feeds almost wholly
upon small shell-less molluscs, usually those which are
known under the name of Clio borealis, and are about
as large as the common white slug of our gardens. The
great brown slug which is so often found by entomo-
logists when " sugaring " at night for moths, would
make three or four of the clio. These little creatures
are soft-bodied, about an inch in length, and rather
conical in form, the broader end of the cone being in
front. No one who was not acquainted with the real
facts would ever think that so small a creature could
supply food for the vast bulk of the Greenland Whale.

Yet it is from these little molluscs that the animal
derives almost the whole of its food ; and, indeed, the
gullet is so small that it could not, by any manner of
means, admit the passage of any large morsel of food.
It has been said that a penny loaf will choke a Green-
land Whale, so that, although the Spermaceti Whale can
swallow large fishes on occasion, and even accommo-
date a dolphin, the Greenland Whale would not be able
to eat a common carp of a couple of pounds' weight.

In this animal the teeth are modified into the re-
markable substance which is called by the popular but
absurd name of whalebone. It is, like the horns and
hoofs of the cow, the horn of the rhinoceros, the
spur of the cock, the nails of the human being, and
the claws of the predacious animals, a production of the
skin exactly analogous to hair and feathers.

There is a second modification also, which is worthy

38 MARINE AND AQUATIC TEE8PASSERS.

of notice. In the Spermaceti Whale the teeth are
almost entirely confined to the lower jaw, whereas, in
the Greenland Whale, the substitute for teeth is en-
tirely confined to the upper jaw. Each structure
answers the same purpose, but is altered to suit the
material on which it has to work.

From the upper jaw start some six hundred plates
of whalebone, or " baleen/' as it is more properly
called. In one species, the Rorqual, there are no less
than five thousand of these plates. They vary in size
according to the size of the individual, and the position
which they occupy in the mouth ; but in a full-grown
whale, the largest plates will measure some thirteen
feet in length, and nearly a foot wide at the base.
They become rather narrower towards the point, but
are there split up into fan-like sprays of hair-like
fibres. The plates of baleen vary much in length,
those at the tip of the jaw being the longest, and those
at the base the shortest, so that when the mouth is
partly opened, the baleen forms a sort of cage all
round it.

The mode in which these plates enclose the opened
mouth may be seen from the accompanying illustra-
tion. Some years ago, when I was living in Paris, I
was greatly struck with the fine skeleton of the Green-
land Whale that is kept in the Museum of Comparative
Anatomy in the Jar din des Plantes. In this admirable
specimen, the baleen has been retained in its natural
position, and as the mouth has been shown as it ap-
pears when open, the beautiful arrangement of the
plates is far better seen than would have been the case
with the jaws closed.

THE WHALES. 39

I at once purchased a photograph of the jaw, and
had it engraved for my "Illustrated Natural History/'
published by Messrs. Routledge and Sons, by whose
kindness the illustration is permitted to appear in the
present work.

In keeping this illustration in his mind, the reader
may easily comprehend the manner in which the
Greenland Whale obtains its food. The Northern seas
absolutely swarm with the clio, and other small
marine beings. The whale, when it wishes to feed,

SKULL OF GREENLAND WHALE.

opens its mouth, and drives through the sea at its best
speed. As it passes along, the water through which it
rushes is enabled to escape between the narrow inter-
stices of the baleen plates, while the inhabitants of
the water are intercepted as if by the gratings of a
sieve. When the whale has obtained a fair mouthful,
it expels the rest of the water from its mouth, swallows
the enclosed prey, and then sets off again for another
mouthful.

40 MARINE AND AQUATIC TRESPASSERS.

It has been thought that the spoutings of the
whale are due to food rather than respiration, and are
produced by driving the water from the mouth through
the nostrils. This, however, is not the case — the whale-
bone acting as strainers at the sides of the mouth, and
not across the nostrils. There is not the least neces-
sity for blowing off the water in order to swallow, for
the mere act of closing the mouth will drive the water
through the plates of baleen, while the mass of little
molluscs and Crustacea is left behind.

It is probable that in this operation the tongue is
of great service. I never saw but one whalebone
whale, but in that instance I was much struck with the
size of the tongue. It seemed to be little more than a
large mass of blubber, and, on pressing upon it in the
middle, a deep hollow was formed, which slowly filled
with oil.

As is the case with most animal structures which
are much exposed to wear and tear, the whalebone has
the power of self-renewal from the waste that occurs
by the friction of the water that is perpetually rushing
between the plates, and, like the teeth of the rodent
animals, it is renewed as fast as it is worn away.

Perhaps the reader may have wondered at the
enormous size to which the head attains in the whale
tribe, and especially in the two species which have been
taken as examples. That an animal of ninety feet in
length should have a head measuring thirty feet, does
seem almost incredible, but, from the description which
has been given of the animal's habits, the reader will
see that with a smaller head neither creature could
live. The head is, in fact, a sort of trap, in which is

THE WHALES. 41

caught the food which is necessary to support life, and
if that trap were smaller the whale could not procure
sufficient food to maintain itself.

From the very nature of their food, it is evident
that they cannot chase it as do those animals which
hunt their prey either by the eye or the nostril. The
latter sense would be, as we have seen, absolutely use-
less in an animal that lives in the sea and procures all
its living from submarine creatures. The former sense
would be equally useless, as, in the first place, scarcely
any light can penetrate to the depths into which the
whale descends ; and, in the next place, the animal
would be in a very bad way if the Greenland Whale had
to chase the tiny molluscs, or the Spermaceti Whale
the cuttles, as swallows chase flies.

In point of fact, even if there were sufficient light
to enable the whale to see its prey, the eyes of the
animal are so situated that they are unable to see any
object directly in its front, so that they are utterly use-
less in the chase of prey. Indeed, as we have already
seen, a whale is quite as able to procure its food when
blind, as if it possessed its full visual powers. The
whalers are perfectly aware of this fact, and always try
to approach a whale either directly in front or in rear,
knowing that the animal is equally unable to see in
either direction, although it has a wide range of vision
on either side.

Before we leave the whales proper, there is just one
point to be noticed as a distinction between the Sper-
maceti Whale and its Greenland relative. Both, as we
have seen, are constructed in much the same way, the
whalebone of one being, in fact, only a modification of

42 MARINE AND AQUATIC TRESPASSERS.

the other's teeth. Both are encased in blubber, but in
the Greenland Whale this coating is very much thicker
than in the Spermaceti Whale. The reason is simply
this, that the seas in which the former animal lives are
colder than those of the southern seas, and that, there-
fore, it must be protected by a thicker blanket of non-
conducting material.

CHAPTER III.

DOLPHINS AND SIEENS.

WE now pass from the whales to another group of
mammalian trespassers, which are called by the popular
names of Porpoise and Dolphin.

With regard to the former of the two words, there
is a difference of opinion with regard to its ortho-
graphy, some persons spelling it as porpoise, and others
as porpesse. Personally, I incline to the former of the
two arrangements, because the word porpoise is clearly
a slight corruption of the French name, porc-poisson,
i.e., swine-fish.

In many respects the Porpoise agrees with the
whales, but in others it widely differs from them. It
agrees with them in the peculiar mode of respiration,
although, as it has not to remain below the surface of
the water for so long a period, the blood-reservoir
is not nearly so large. Like the whales, its body
is encased in a layer of fat, but, as it inhabits
the more temperate waters, the " blanket " is com-
paratively thin, and scarcely more than an inch in
thickness.

One of the principal differences lies in the size of

44 MAEBTE AXD AQUATIC

the head, which is comparatively small, and is nod
with a row of sharply-pointed teeth in each jaw. The
Itatpoise, in feet, is essentially a fish-eater, and thia
fact explains its habitual liking for waters which are
within easy reach of some coast. As is well known by
aU seamen, there are very few fish to be taken in the
open sea, and even where fish are found under rorfc
circumstances, their presence is generally the indication
of some sunken rock which has hitherto v^p^ the
observation of marine surveyors.

Now, as the fish ding to the shores, and as tike
Porpoise feeds on fish, it is evident that the
must remain in the vicinity of its food. The
do sometimes make their way up tidal rivers, and so
|in»ntiair to a considerable distance inland ; but I do
not know of any instance where a Porpoise has been
observed on the high seam. .:

As the Porpoise feeds upon the active fish, and
can chase and capture even the swift and powerful
salmon, it k evident that the structure of the head
must be very different from that of the whale. Ac-
cordingly, we find that the head is much advanced in
front, so as to allow of vision in a sinful line. The
jaws and teeth, also, must be very diflerenk

The fish being comparatively of large raze, when
compared with the molloaci on which the whales feed,
there is no necessity for so large a head; and accord-
ingly we find that it is not larger, in proportion
to the size of the body than is that of the lion, the
bear, or any other predacious atiinuJ. The m trait
lias certainly a wider gape, but nothing like that of the

DOLPHINS AND SIRENS. 45

The teeth are modified in accordance with the task
which they have to perform. They are very nume-
rous, some forty or fifty on each side, and are so
arranged that when the jaw is closed, they interlock
with each other. This is needful, on account of
the nature of their prey. The fish on which it
feeds are not only active; but, as a rule, are de-
fended with a scaly armour, which would enable
them to slip out of the grasp of a mouth less formid-
ably armed.

The teeth are rather long, sharply pointed, and
are all alike; there being no distinction between
incisors, canines, and molars. If a section is made
of them, they are seen to be hollow cones, supplied
with fresh substance of a soft pulp which fills the
interior. They are exceedingly variable in number,
some falling off in front, while others are developed
behind, their number apparently depending on the
size of the jaw.

One main point in the economy of the Porpoise is
the flexibility of the body. This is absolutely neces-
sary in order to enable the animal to turn and twist
in the water with sufficient activity to take its prey.
Sometimes it is able to come upon a shoal of herrings,
pilchard, mackerel, or other fish ; and works frightful
havoc among them, driving into the shoal, and
snapping up the fish as they are crowded together
and hampered in their movements. But these are
exceptional pieces of good fortune ; and when the
Porpoise has to match itself against such a fish as a
salmon, it needs agility as well as speed ; and those
who have seen it while engaged in salmon hunting,

46 MARINE AND AQUATIC TRESPASSERS.

have been very much struck with the exceeding grace
of its swift movements, as it twists and turns in the
water, following and often anticipating every move-
ment of its agile prey.

There are many of these creatures, some of which,
as they attain a large size, are properly known as
whales. Such, for example, is the Beluga, commonly
called the White Whale, on account of its creamy
white colour. It sometimes attains to the length of
twenty feet, and is therefore so large an animal that
the popular title of whale is a very natural one. It is
however, simply a very large Dolphin ; and has all the
characteristics of its tribe, including the extreme
agility which is necessary in capturing prey. Whalers,
therefore, seldom attempt its capture, for, in the
first place, its exceeding activity makes it a diffi-
cult mark for the harpooner; and in the next
place, even if the harpoon be successfully thrown,
the beluga can generally manage to shake it out
again.

The Greenlanders, however, in their light canoes,
manage to capture it; and in many parts of North
America, where it enters the tidal rivers in search of
fish, it is captured by means of nets, which are spread
across the river, and intercept its progress sufficiently
to render it a mark for various missiles. The St.
Lawrence river is a favourite resort of the beluga,
where it is regularly hunted, the skin and oil being
very valuable, and the flesh being in some esteem
when salted.

Another well-known trespasser on the sea is the
Dolphin.

DOLPHINS AND SIRENS. 47

The chief peculiarity of this animal is the elongated
head, and especially the manner in which the lower
jaw is prolonged beyond the upper. Like the Porpoise,
it has its teeth interlocking with each other so per-
fectly, that when the jaws are closed, the blade of a
penknife can scarcely be passed between the teeth ;
sharp, and slightly curved backwards. As there are
nearly two hundred teeth in the jaws, the whole appa-
ratus forms a trap from which scarcely any fish is
likely to escape.

On looking at these jaws, we may well ask our-
selves the reason why they differ so much in shape
from those of the Porpoise, although they are evidently
intended for the same object. The reason is evident
when we inquire into the manner in which it
feeds.

Like the Porpoise, it is fond of pursuing shoals of
fish whenever it can find them. But its principal
food consists of various flat fish. These creatures, as
all know who have visited any large aquarium, gene-
rally lie flat on the sand, with their heads a little
raised above it, and their bodies often covered with a
thin layer of sand which has been raised while the
fish is settling down. The rounded jaws of the Por-
poise would find great difficulty in capturing one of
these fish ; but the Dolphin, when it sees a sole, a
plaice, or similar fish lying on its sandy bed, shoots
rapidly towards it, drives its long under-jaw beneath
it, and so scoops it up before it has time to escape.
It is remarkable that some of the diving birds use
their beaks in exactly the same manner.

One of the strangest of these animals is the Narwhal,

48 MAEINE AND AQUATIC TRESPASSERS.

in which the development of the teeth is extraordinary,
and, at present, unexplained.

Both sexes have in youth a few teeth which soon
fall out, but in the upper-jaw of the male are two teeth
which are capable of enormous development. In the
female these teeth, or tusks, as they may be called,
remain, as a rule, undeveloped, and are not seen exter-
nally ; but in the male, one of them, usually the left,
is developed into a long horn-like tusk, sometimes
reaching to the length of ten feet, and containing an
enormous mass of ivory.

The power of the animal may be inferred by lifting
one of these large horns, which, as the animal seldom
exceeds twelve or thirteen feet in length, is very nearly
as long as itself. The tusks are supposed to be develop-
ments of the canine teeth. They are smooth externally,
gradually tapering, and spirally grooved in so perfect
a manner that they seem to be beautifully carved in the
lathe. The ivory is of good quality.

The question now arises, What can be the use of
the tusk, and how can it aid the animal in its course of
life ? This question is at present unsettled, and it is
not easy to frame any hypothesis which will account
for it.

Some persons have thought that it was used in
order to pierce the fish on which it feeds, much after
the same manner that the saw-fish dashes among its
prey, and disables them with its tremendous beak before
seizing them in its mouth. If both sexes of the narwhal
were armed with the horn, as both sexes of the saw-fish
are armed with a beak, this theory might have some
grounds of probability.

DOLPHINS AND SIRENS. 49

But, inasmuch as only the male possesses the horn,
and the female needs food quite as much as the other
sex, it is evident that she would die of starvation if the
horn were necessary in procuring food. Another theory
is, that when the narwhal gets below an ice-field, and
wishes to breathe, it bores holes through the ice with
its horn. But this theory is open to the same objection
as the former, the females wanting to breathe as well
as the males, and yet having no horn. Moreover, I do
not think that any narwhal could drive its tusk through
the enormously thick and hard-frozen ice of the
Northern waters in which it lives. It would be
much more likely to break the tusk than to pierce
the ice.

No use has been observed for this extraordinary
appendage, but the very fact that it exists is a proof
that it must serve some definite and important purpose,
It has already been mentioned that, as a rule, only one
tusk is developed. Several specimens have been dis-
covered, in which both have been developed. It is
remarkable that in each case the animal was a
female.

A very remarkable instance of a mammalian Water
Trespasser occurs in India. It inhabits the Ganges,
and is called the Susue,or Soosoo (Platanista Gangetica).
Perhaps the reader may remember that the same river
is also inhabited by a peculiar crocodile, which has a very
long, narrow snout, widened and flattened at the end.
The susue imitates this lizard in the most singular
manner. Like the crocodile, the susue has a very long
and narrow snout, on account of which some zoologists
have called it Delphinus restrains.

4

50 MARINE AND AQUATIC TRESPASSERS.

It also imitates the crocodile in its habits. The
lizards are remarkable for their singular alternations
between absolutely sluggish apathy and the wildest
excitement. Perhaps my readers may remember the
character of Mrs. Leslie in Lord Lytton's "My Novel."
The worthy lady was descended from two ancient
families, the Saxon Daudlers, of Daudle Place, and the
Norman Montfydgets, and inherited the f ' musing do-
nothingness of the Daudlers, and the reckless have-at-
everythingness of the Montfydgets."

Now, this is exactly the reptilian character. As a
rule, a reptile will lie or stand for hours, without
moving a muscle, but, if excited, will fly about with
such speed that the eye can scarcely follow its move-
ments. It is, however, very remarkable that an aquatic
mammal should so closely resemble the aquatic lizard
of the same river, and that the two are marvellously
similar both in form and constitution.

When we mention the word Siren, the reader must
not imagine that there is any connection between the
Sirens of zoology and the sweet-voiced sirens of my-
thology, who inveigled sailors to the shore by their
melody and beauty, and then treacherously devoured
them. The Sirens of zoology are large, unwieldy,
thick-skinned mammalia, which inhabit the brackish
waters of tidal rivers, and have not the least claim to
beauty of any kind.

Like the whales, the fore limbs are modified into
nippers, and with their aid the animal can raise itself
partly out of the water, though it is not able to venture
entirely upon land. It has a curious habit of coming

DOLPHINS AND S1EENS. 51

to the river-bank, raising itself by means of the flippers,
and resting with the head and upper part of the body
on the shore, while the rest is in the water.

Having somewhat of the whale tribe in their
general form, they have little of the whale's habits. In
the first place, they are vegetable feeders, living almost
entirely on sea-weed and such like vegetation. Conse-
quently, they are obliged to remain close to the land,
whereas the whales are uneasy unless they are at some
distance from it.

The structure of the teeth is also different, as they
are intended for the mastication of vegetable food, and
not for the capture of living animals. There is a dis-
tinction between the character of the teeth, the animals
having incisors in both jaws, one molar in the upper
side of the upper jaw, but no canines ; whereas in the
porpoise and dolphin, all the teeth look like canines,
and, indeed, are used for the same purpose — namely,
securing the prey.

Respiration and circulation are in the Sirens diffe-
rent from the same functions in the whales. Living in
comparatively shallow waters, and feeding upon a
vegetation that never grows at any great depth, the
animal does not require to possess the power of
remaining under water for any lengthened period.

Consequently, it does not possess the great sub-
sidiary mass of blood-vessels which play so important
a part in the economy of the whale, and the nostrils
are placed at the end of the muzzle, like those of most
mammals. The peculiar " blowing " of the whale tribe
is not found in the Sirens, as they are not obliged to
aerate the vast supply of blood which is needful in

52 MARINE AND AQUATIC TRESPASSERS.

order to keep the whales from being drowned during
their long sojourn beneath the water.

Such are the general characteristics of these re-
markable animals, and it only remains to give examples
of them.

The first is the Dugong, which is represented in
the lower part of the illustration on Cut 2. There
are several species of this animal, the longest being
known to reach the length of twenty- six feet, though
the average length is only about eight feet. These
animals are found in the rivers that run into the Indian
seas, where they may be seen in numbers, feeding on
the algae at the bottom of the river, and every now and
then coming to the surface to breathe. When feeding,
the Dugong has been observed to seize the plants with
its singularly shaped jaws, the upper of which con-
siderably overhangs the lower, drag them from their
attachments, and then quietly eat them at the surface
of the water. In consequence of the general structure
and the vegetable-feeding habits, some zoologists have
considered the Siren as the aquatic type of the pachy-
dermatous animals.

The natives of Australasia prize the Dugong almost
beyond the power of expression. They use the layer
of fat which lies just under the skin as a cosmetic,
with which they plentifully besmear the whole of their
bodies. As to the flesh, it is perhaps the greatest
dainty which an Australian savage knows. He will
make a journey of several days in order to partake of
it, caring very little whether the meat be fresh or far
gone in putrefaction ; and, after every available
morsel has been eaten, his memory always recalls him

DOLPHINS AND SIRENS. 53

to the remembrance of the feast, and affords him a
subject of conversation.

As is the case with most of these animals, the skin
is very thick and tough, and can be manufactured into
various articles.

Much the same can be said of the Manatees, one
of which is represented in the upper portion of the illus-
tration. There are several species which inhabit Soufch
America and Africa, the former being the best known.
The average length is nine or ten feet. Like the
Dugong, the Manatees are useful to mankind, furnish-
ing excellent food, a delicate oil, and a very tough skin
that is invaluable for many purposes.

In consequence of its value, and of the necessity
for inhabiting the shallow waters, where it must be
within easy reach of man, it is greatly persecuted, and
even now its numbers are sensibly diminished.

It is much to be feared, indeed, that these singular
beings, which form a link between existing and fossil
mammalia, may be, before very long, as utterly extinct
as the dodo and the great auk, and from the same
reason — i.e., their helplessness to protect themselves
from mankind. Indeed, one species, the Rytina,
has been erased from the earth almost within the
memory of living men. It was discovered on an
island in Behring's Straits in 1741, and in 1768
not a single specimen was left alive. It was an enor-
mous animal, quite as bulky as a full-sized elephant,
though not of the same shape, for its average length
was some twenty-five feet, and its thickness rather
more than eight feet. If the reader will measure off
twenty feet in length on the side of a room, and place

54 MARINE AND AQUATIC TRESPASSERS.

a mark at eight feet in height, he can appreciate the
gigantic size of this trespasser upon the domain of
water.

It is rather a remarkable fact that the Rytina did
not possess any true teeth, those organs being modified
into two bony plates, one in each jaw.

CHAPTER IV.

SEALS.

HAVING now given this brief sketch of those mammalian
water trespassers which pass the whole of their lives
in the water, we proceed to those mammalia which
pass the greater part of their life in the water, procure
their food in it, and fly to it for safety, though they
produce and nurture their young on the shore.

These animals we know by the popular name of
Seals, scientifically termed Phocidse. They are distri-
buted over the greater part of the world, and are never
found at any distance from the shore. They cannot
be called amphibious — that being a term, indeed, to
which no creature can fairly lay a claim.

But in one respect they are superior to the whale —
namely, that although they procure their food in the
water, they are capable of leaving that element for the
land, and progressing upon it. Moreover, they are
able to live on the shore, many specimens having been
kept for years far away from the sea, and without
having even access to water in which to disport them-
selves. No whale could live for any time under such
circumstances, and when one of these huge animals is
driven ashore, it soon dies of hunger.

The method in which the structure of fche body is

56 MARINE AND AQUATIC TRESPASSERS.

modified, so as to allow the Seal a perfect freedom of
action in the water and a tolerable power of locomo-
tion on land, is very beautiful.

The fore limbs are much more developed than
those of the whale, and project so far from the body
that they can serve the double purpose of fins and
feet. With their aid the animal can scramble along
upon land, or even ice, and there are some species
which are fond of climbing rocks, and will ascend to a
considerable height.

How such apparently clumsy limbs can be used
with such effect seems almost incredible. Yet I have
often seen the sea-bear climb a high pair of wooden
steps, sit comfortably on the top, and then descend
with perfect ease. It also clambered on a common
Windsor chair, stood on the back, supported by its
master's hand, and went through a variety of per-
formances by his orders.

To see the creature mount the chair was really a
remarkable sight. First, it raised itself up on its
hinder feet, with its fore feet resting on the chair, one
on the seat and the other on the back. It then con-
trived to jerk one of the hind feet on the seat of the
chair, and slowly pulled itself up. When it wished to
climb on the back of the chair, it took advantage of
its master's hand, until it could get both feet on the
back, when it placed its fore paws on his shoulders,
and looked out for the little piece of raw fish with
which it was always rewarded when it had accom-
plished a task properly. As to the steps, the Seal
scrambled up and down them with perfect ease and
considerable speed.

SEALS. 57

These performances are the more wonderful be-
cause the long limbs of the Seal are so feeble in com-
parison with the size of the body that they bend under
its weight, and the animal is compelled to advance by
swinging the legs under it by way of making bteps,
and at the same time swaying its body from side to
side so as to allow the legs to pass beneath.

Judging from its slow and awkward movements
when it is not hurried, a Seal when on land appears as
if it could not proceed at any great pace, and, indeed,
it looks so helpless that progression appears to be
absolutely painful as well as difficult. But when it
is actuated by fear, anger, or expectation, it can propel
itself at a wonderful rate. This it does by a series of
rapid leaps, the body undulating violently, and looking
like a large fat caterpillar working its way along.

The body is never raised more than a few inches
from the ground during these leaps, but the rate of
speed is very great, as is often experienced by
hunters who have surprised a party of Seals on shore,
and are trying to intercept them in their passage
towards the water, to which they rush at the least
alarm. Should the beach be a stony one, the pebbles
are flnng back in showers by the action of the hind
feet, so that the course of the pursuers is often mate-
rially checked by them. The missiles are not,
however, flung intentionally, as some persons have
thought, but are thrown by the natural action of the
animal, just as a horse at full gallop flings mud or
stones from its hind feet.

Any one who wishes to see the curious galloping
movement of the Seal has only to go to the Zoological

58 MARINE AND AQUATIC TRESPASSERS.

Gardens, and induce the keeper to bring some fish.
The intelligent animals know his step as well as pos-
sible, and as soon as they hear it will scuttle over the
pavement of their enclosure, plump themselves into
the water, shoot themselves out on the opposite side,
and raise themselves against the bars, anxiously ex-
pecting the food. He will then fling a fish to the
opposite side of the enclosure, whereupon the animals
gallop along as has been described, race for the fish,
and then come back for more, the same gallop and
scramble being repeated each time, and the Seals
appearing to enjoy the game as much as if they
were children scrambling for sweetmeats.

That the gallop is the only way by which a seal can
proceed on land with any rapidity, is evident from the
structure. The reader will remember that in the whale
the hind limbs are entirely absent, so as to leave the
body free and flexible, and that there is not even a
pelvis. Now, the Seal has to move about on the land
as well as to be active in the water, and these two con-
ditions are fulfilled in a very simple manner.

It is evident that there must be hind limbs, and
that, therefore, there must be a pelvis to which the
limbs can be attached. But the pelvis is very small, as
the animal does not need to support the weight of the
body upon the limbs, and it is set so far back that the
body is as flexible as that of the whales or the dolphins.
The limbs themselves are short, but the actual feet are
rather long, flat, and set vertically, like the tail of a
fish, the functions of which, indeed, they perform.

The long toes are connected with skin, like the
webbed feet of a duck, and when the Seal wishes to

SEALS. 59

propel itself with speed through the water, it presses
the hind feet together so as to form them into a single
paddle, and, by swaying the body sharply from side
to side, propels itself through the water just as a man
"sculls" a boat with a single oar at the stern.

I once took advantage of this mode of propulsion —
perhaps rather an unfair one. Many years ago I had
obtained permission to go with a party of friends to
fish in the great Swindon reservoir. We were received
by a surly keeper, who would not let us fish from the
bank, but put us into a punt, rowed us to an old barge
that was anchored in the middle of the reservoir, and
then rowed off again, leaving us prisoners until he chose
to release us.

When he was out of sight I first thought of cutting
the rope, and swimming ashore with the barge, but
presently hit upon a much better plan. We took the
butt-joints of our fishing rods, put them into the holes
of the capstan, and succeeded in getting up the anchor.
We then shifted the rods to the rudder and used them
by way of a tiller, that article, as well as oars, poles,
etc., having been carefully removed.

By working the rudder backwards and forwards
we soon got the barge into movement, and traversed
the whole of the reservoir at will, visiting various islets,
and procuring the eggs of coots and other water birds.
At last, we took the barge to the furthest end of the
reservoir, got ashore, and then pushed the barge back
into the water.

The keeper's rage was unbounded when we pre-
sented ourselves at the door of the enclosure, he think-
ing that we were prisoners all the while, and not

60 MARINE AND AQUATIC TRESPASSERS.

having the least intention of releasing us for some time.
Nor was his anger appeased when we declined to give
any explanation as to the mode of our escape.

I mention this incident in order to illustrate the
propulsive power of a Seal's hind feet. For, even
under such disadvantageous circumstances, the rudder
being very small in proportion to the barge, and having
to be worked very slowly and cautiously for fear of
breaking the fishing-rod which acted as a tiller, we
traversed a course of several miles, and guided the un-
wieldy vessel just as we liked.

Now, the paddles, or hind feet of the Seal are very
large in proportion to the size of the animal, and are
swept backwards and forwards with the whole force of
the powerful and flexible body. A single slow and
gentle sweep of the paddles drives the animal for a
wonderful distance through the water, while a power-
ful stroke gives sufficient impetus to send the Seal
fairly out of the water. The fore paws are principally
used for preserving the balance and inclining the body
from side to side. One of the Seals in the Zoological
Gardens used habitually to swim on its back, like the
well-known water-boatman of our ponds.

As the Seals spend so much of their time in the
water, it is evident that, like the whale tribe, they
should have a sort of blanket in order to preserve the
heat of the body. This object is attained by two
methods.

In the first place, there is a layer of fat beneath the
skin, somewhat like that of the whales, but separate
from the skin and not entangled in it. In the next
place, there is a covering of hair outside the skin :

SEALS. 61

this covering is two-fold. Next the skin comes a
coat of thick, soft, downy fur, which in some species is
so fine, glossy, and warm, that it is of great value in
the fur trade. The seal-skin jackets, mantles, and
muffs, which are so favoured by ladies, are formed of
this inner coating.

Next comes an outer coating of long and rather
coarse hairs, which project through the down and are
laid as closely together as the thatch of a house, and are
quite as impervious to water. They are all set with a
decided slope backward, so as to offer scarcely any
resistance to the water when the Seal is swimming.
These hairs are-too thick and coarse for civilized wear,
though the Greenlanders and Esquimaux are only too
glad to make use of a double protection against the
cold. In order, therefore, to suit the present taste,
the coarse hairs must be plucked out by hand, and this
process adds in no small degree to the cost of the
fur.

It is remarkable, by the way, that the extinct
Siberian elephant, popularly known as the Mammoth,
had just such an arrangement of fur and hair. Next
the skin was a thick coat of fur, the hairs of which were
about an inch and a half in length, and over them came
a thatch, so to speak, of very coarse hairs, varying
greatly in length, but evidently intended to shield the
animal from wet as well as to retain the bodily heat.
The colour of both kinds of hair is reddish brown, the
fur being of a warmer hue than the coarse hairs.
Beside these, there was a further protection afforded
by a number of very thick hairs, or rather bristles,
fully eighteen inches in length. I believe that these

62 MARINE AND AQUATIC TRESPASSERS.

are for the purpose of straining off the water, and con-
ducting it so as to fall in streams away from the
animal's body.

The reader may be reminded that the long hairs of
the great apes are used for a similar purpose. Those
of the upper arm are directed downwards, and those of
the lower arm upwards, so that they meet at the elbow
in a sort of point. When rain comes on, the animal
sits crouching together as closely as possible, with its
arms crossed and the hands resting on the shoulders.
The arms then act as a penthouse for the rest of the
body, the water running down them and pouring off
the long hairs at the elbow.

• As is the case with the whales, the external orifice
of the ear is exceedingly small, so that the water cannot
penetrate into the auditory apparatus. The lungs are
similarly guarded by means of the structure of the
nostrils, which are self-closed by their own elasticity,
and are held tighter together in proportion to the
pressure of water.

It has been mentioned that the Seals produce their
young on the shore, or, at all events, out of the water,
thus differing essentially from the whale tribe, which are
unable to leave the water, even for a short space of time.
Sometimes the Seals proceed a little inland for this
purpose, and sometimes they remain upon the ice,
their two-fold coating of hair outside the skin, and
their single, but thick, coating of fat inside it,
effectually enabling them to endure contact with its
cold surface. A most remarkable history of the nursery
life of a Seal is given by Capt. Hall in his "Life among
the Esquimaux."

SEALS. 63

It appears that in that region the Seals always keep
open breathing-holes for themselves, which they con-
trive to pierce completely through the thick ice. This
is done by always resorting to the same spot when the
ice begins to form, so that at last a perpendicular
tunnel is always kept open, and is large enough for a
full-grown Seal to pass up and down with perfect ease.

As the time approaches for the young one to be
born, the mother ascends the tunnel, and with her
fore paws scrapes away the snow until she has formed
a cavity of a dome-like form, and much wider than the
opening of the tunnel. She is enabled to ascend the
tunnel easily enough, because the weight of the ice and
snow forces the water almost to its entrance. On the
ledge which is left around the entrance she deposits
her young one, which is thus nurtured in almost
absolute safety — the bear, fox, and the dog being the
only enemies which it has to fear. The Esquimaux
call these remarkable houses by the name which they
give to their own snow-houses, namely, ' ( igloo," and
it is most probable that the first idea of the Esquimaux
snow-house was taken from the dwelling of the Seal.

Within this house the young Seal remains for some
time. Gradually, summer comes on ; the rays of the
sun melt away the snow that lay upon the roof of the
igloo. But, by this time, the young Seal has so increased
in size and strength that it no longer needs the pro-
tection, and is able to shift for itself.

A rough plan or chart of the Seal's igloo is here
given. It is taken from Capt. Hall's description. A
represents the snow ; B is the igloo scraped in it ; C
is the ice; and D is the tunnel, nearly filled with water

6* MARINE AND AQUATIC TRESPASSERS.

by the pressure of the ice and snow ; E is the sea on
which the ice-floe is resting. The reader will see from
this rough chart what a simple, and yet what an effi-
cient, plan this is for enabling the young Seal to be
nurtured in safety, and the mother to visit it whenever
she likes, and to procure food without betraying the
position of her nursling to the many terrestrial foes
which would at once render her childless if they dis-
covered the hiding-place of her young one.

SEALS IGLOO.

A good account of the Seal's igloo is given by
Capt. Hall. A cry was raised that one of the Esqui-
maux women had caught a young Seal. Everyone ran
to the spot, the capture of a Seal being a most mo-
mentous event among these people.

" On reaching the place of capture, we found that
Tunukderlien had beneath her feet a young Seal, alive
and kicking. Koojesse immediately made a line fast

SEALS. 65

to one of its hind flippers, and allowed the Seal to re-
enter the igloo where it had been caught.

" As this was something new and interesting to ine,
I intently watched what followed. The Seal was, per-
haps, two or three weeks old, and, like all young Seals,
was white, though not so white as untainted snow.

" While Koojesse kept hold of the line, four or five
fathoms long, the Seal worked itself hastily back into
the igloo, its birth-place, where it made a plunge
down the seal-hole into the sea. Koojesse allowed it
the whole play of his line, crawling into the igloo,
taking the seal-hook with him, and waiting patiently
for the parent Seal to come up. I was close by him,
there being just sufficient room through the opening
made where the young Seal was caught for me to push
myself in. Then, lying flat down, we both carefully
watched.

" In three or four minutes the young Seal returned,
popping up its round, shining head, and blowing and
puffing like a whale, though on a reduced scale, its
large eyes glistening like lights from twinkling stars.
It came directly to its bed-place, where we reclined.
As it attempted to crawl up, Koojesse gave it a stroke
on the head, signifying, f Go away — dive down — show
to your mother that you, the darling of her affections,
are in trouble ; and when she comes to your aid Fll
hook her too ! }

" The two women were now close by us, each with
a seal-dog, and, while waiting, I had a good oppor-
tunity of inspecting a Seal^s igloo.

" It was a model of those which the Innuits make
for themselves, and was completely dome-shaped. It

5

66 MARINE AND AQUATIC TEESPASSERS.

was five feet or so in diameter, and two-and-a-half feet
high, with a depth of snow above it of some five feet.
The platform of sea-ice was where the parent Seal gave
birth to its young, and afterwards nursed it. On one
side was the seal-hole, filled with sea- water, which was
within two inches of the top of the platform."

In all probability, the igloo is retained in its shape
by the animal warmth and hot breath of the young.
We shall return to the Seal's igloo when we come to
treat of the polar bear as a trespasser. The little
animal which was thus used as a bait wherewith to
catch its mother, was afterwards killed in the usual
fashion — i.e., pressing it strongly on the back with the
whole weight of the body, and so stopping its breath.
This is done for the purpose of saving the blood,
which, -when drunk warm, is one of the greatest luxuries
of the Esquimaux, and even appreciated by Capt. Hall
himself.

See how many laws of Nature are utilized to pre-
serve the life of a baby Seal.

First, there is the fact that water, when frozen,
expands in size, and therefore floats upon the yet un-
frozen water. Did it contract instead of expanding, the
whole of both polar seas would have been by this time
nothing but a solid mass of ice. If the ice had sunk
instead of floated, it would have congealed the water
around it, and so added to its bulk as well as to its
weight. Nor would it ever have been thawed
again.

Water is a very bad conductor of heat ; so bad,
indeed, that if a vessel be filled with water at thirty-
four degrees, and a red-hot lump of iron plunged

SEALS. 67

into it for an inch or so, the water around the
iron will be boiling fiercely, while at a couple of
inches below the iron it will still remain at thirty-four
degrees.

As far as the Seal goes, two points are already
gained in its favour. The ice floating on the surface
of the water acts as a safeguard; for it is just as
difficult for heat to get through ice in one direction as
in another; and, however cold the external atmosphere
may be, it can but slowly extract the heat through the
covering of ice, which serves in the inanimate world
the same purpose that the fatty "blanket" serves in
the living whales and seals. Next, by means of this
layer of ice interposed between the sea and the open
air, the water is preserved unfrozen ; and so the Seal
can always find the supply of fish on which its life,
together with that of its young, depends.

The same quality of flotation in the ice is also
utilized in supplying the infant Seal with a couch on
which it can lie until it is strong enough to enter the
water and shift for itself.

Again, the peculiar crystalline formation of the
snow is utilized in providing a shelter for the little
animal. It is light enough to be easily scooped away
by the fore paws of the mother Seal. Yet the ramified
form of the crystals, which interlace each other in all
directions, render it tenacious enough for the igloo to
preserve its form, instead of falling in, as would be
the case if it were sculptured in sand. And, lastly, it
is partially pervious both to light and air, so that the
young Seal is not altogether deprived of these acces-
sories to life.

68 MARINE AND AQUATIC TRESPASSERS.

Another law of Nature is then brought into play.
If the superincumbent weight of the ice and snow
were to produce no mechanical effect on the water on
which it floats, the mother Seal would have great
difficulty in ascending the tunnel, if, indeed, she did
not find it impossible. But the pressure forces the
water to such a height, that the animal can rise nearly
to the surface of the ice, and can easily scramble to
the assistance of her offspring.

Thus we see how the same property of matter —
i.e., a slow conducting of heat, can be employed for
the use of the same animal in three different ways.
Directly applied to itself in the way of the fatty layer
beneath the skin and the coating of fur outside the
body, it prevents the animal heat from escaping into the
surrounding water, ice, and cold atmosphere. Indirectly
applied, in the form of snow and ice, it preserves the
sea from being wholly frozen ; and in the form of snow,
it affords to the young Seal a warm residence.

It is well known that owing to the non-conducting
power of snow, the snow-house of the Esquimaux is
not only warm, but so hot, that although it is only
warmed by the lamp, the inhabitants are often obliged
to throw off all their clothes. Indeed, were it not for
this property, the Esquimaux could not sustain ex-
istence. In their country no tree can grow, and there
is absolutely nothing with which the inhabitants can
build a house, except the snow. This, however, is
always at hand; and so, where an European would
speedily lose his life by the frost, the Esquimaux finds
a warm and comfortable refuge from the cold. Ex-
perienced travellers in cold climates have long known

SEALS. 69

that if they are benighted at a distance from shelter,
they can make themselves tolerably comfortable, pro-
vided that there be only a reasonable depth of snow
into which they can burrow. And this very property
is utilized by the Seal, which, like the human inhabi-
tants of the same land, finds a shelter and a home
beneath the ice-cold snow.

Having thus seen how the structure of the Seals is
modified according to the surrounding conditions,
and enables them to divide their lives between the land
and water, we will briefly notice one or two of the
most conspicuous species, and see how their habits
agree with their structure.

The Common Seal (Phoca vitulind) is too familiar
to need description, and we will therefore proceed at
once to the two species which are represented on
Plate I.

The figures in the foreground represent the
Walrus, an enormous species of Seal, measuring, when
adult, no less than fifteen feet in length ; and being,
as may be seen by reference to the illustration, very
stout in the body.

On looking at the Walrus, the first point that
strikes the observer is the enormous development of
the canine teeth of the upper jaw, which form two
long and powerful tusks, slightly curved, and gradually
tapering to a point at the tip.

The reader may remember that in the description
of the narwhal, a doubt was expressed as to the purpose
served by the one enormous tooth that projects from
the jaw of the male. The chief difficulty lies in the

70 MARINE AND AQUATIC TRESPASSERS.

fact that only the male possesses this tusk ; so that it
could not be used for the purpose of gaining food, or,
indeed, of preserving life in any direct manner.

In the Walrus, however, both sexes possess the
tusks ; so that no such difficulty arises. One use to
which these enormous tusks are put, is to aid the
animal in dragging its huge body upon the shore.
Another use is, to tear up the algae which grow
upon the rocks below water-mark : for this Seal is
omnivorous, and, besides eating fish, Crustacea, and
other animal substances, feeds also upon the marine
vegetation.

The tusks are larger in the males than in the
females, and are used on occasions either when they
fight with each other, or when they are engaged in
defence against other enemies. The worst of them is
the Polar bear, which, however, is often beaten off by
a powerful male Walrus, though the skin of the latter
shows many deep wounds caused by his enemy's claws.

When they fight among themselves, it is almost
invariably in the breeding season. Each male has
quite a harem of females, over whom he watches with
the extremest jealousy, though he does not lose an
opportunity for decoying a member of a neighbouring
harem into his own premises.

The very peculiar shape of the muzzle is caused by
the very large bony sockets which are needed for
the reception of the huge tusks. These sockets
extend nearly to the upper part of the head, and are
so long that when the mouth is closed, the lower
part of the socket is about level with the bottom of the
lower jaw.

SEALS. 71

The accompanying illustration, which is kindly lent
by Messrs. Routledge and Sons, shows the remarkable
form which both jaws are obliged to assume in order
to accommodate those enormous tusks. This jaw, if
formed in the usual manner, would be in the way of
tusks, so that the mouth could not be closed. It is,

FKULL OF WALRUS.

therefore, very much narrowed in front, so that it
passes easily between the tusks, and can move with
freedom.

Another strange variation in the structure of these
animals is shown in the centre of Plate I., the figures
in which represent that extraordinary creature, the

72 , MARINE AND AQUATIC TEESPASSERS.

Crested Seal (Stemmatopus crestatus), so called on
account of the upper part of the head, which in the
male is developed into a sort of crest, that can be
raised or lowered at pleasure. It is, in fact, a modifi-
cation of the nose, and constructed in a singular
manner.

An upright ridge of gristly substance passes from
the nose to over the top of the head, like the crest of
an ancient helmet, and averages some seven inches in
height. This supports the flexible sides of a large
pouch that communicates with the nostrils, and by
means of them can be inflated until it forms a large
projection on the top of the head, looking like a huge
wen. As soon as the Seal allows the air to pass
out of this singular structure, the sides collapse by
their own elasticity, so that in the course of a few
seconds the whole aspect of the animal is totally
changed.

No one has the least idea as to the purpose which
this remarkable addition to the head is meant to per-
form.

Some persons have suggested that, as the Seals are
very sensitive about the nostrils, and can be killed by
a comparatively slight blow at the end of the nose, the
inflatable sac is intended to protect the animal's life.
This object it certainly does fulfil, but I cannot think
that it was designed for any such purpose.

In the first place, Seals were not made for the pur-
pose of being knocked on the nose ; and in the next
•place, there can be no reason why the females and
immature males should not be endowed with the same
protective armour, their fur being quite as saleable as

SEALS. 73

that of the adult male, and they, in consequence, being
equally liable to be knocked on the nose.

It has also been suggested that the sac is intended
to increase the loudness of the voice; but the fact
that it communicates with the nostrils, which are used
for breathing, and not with the throat, which is used
for the production of sound, militates strongly against
this theory. All known species of Seal can bellow
loudly enough when they are angry, but they do so
with their throats, and not through their noses.

An appendage of an equally mysterious character
belongs to the gigantic seal, which is called the Sea
Elephant (Morunga proboscidea) . The name is doubly
appropriate, the animal being of gigantic dimensions,
and the snout of the adult male prolonged into a
form that somewhat resembles the proboscis of the
elephant.

Even the Walrus looks small in point of size by the
side of the Sea Elephant, the former averaging some
fourteen or fifteen feet in length, while an adult male
Sea Elephant has been known to measure thirty feet in
length.

The enormous snout of the male is, in one respect,
like the head-pouch of the Crested Seal. When the
animal is undisturbed, it hangs down quite loose and
flaccid, and is scarcely noticeable at a little distance.
But when it is angered, especially by a rival of its own
species, it has a way of expanding the proboscis to a
wonderful size, thereby giving itself a most formidable
aspect.

Its enormous dimensions, and the powerful teeth
with which its jaws are armed, render it a very un-

74 MARINE AND AQUATIC TRESPASSERS.

pleasant looking animal, but the additional feature of
the expanded proboscis gives it a look of ferocity
which is quite appalling. Fortunately for its human
enemies, its terrors evaporate in mere show, for, .if
boldly faced, it will shuffle off as fast as is permitted
by its huge, fat, oil-clad body, which quivers like a
shape of jelly as it moves along.

We naturally ask ourselves the use of these singular
appendages to the Crested Seal and the Sea Elephant.
We do not as yet know, any more than we know the
object of the long mane-like hair upon the head, neck,
and shoulders of the Seal called the Sea Lion. It de-
rives this name partly from the mane, which gives it a
lion-like aspect, and partly from its habit of almost
perpetually roaring when on shore. This habit, by the
way, has more than once been of the greatest use to
sailors, by warning them of the vicinity of land or an
ice-floe which they were approaching too closely in
foggy weather.

Even with our own species, we do not understand
the use of many of the structures. Take, for example,
a parallel case, the beard of man, which is analogous
to the head-pouch of the Crested Seal, the dilated
snout of the Sea Elephant, and the mane of the Sea
Lion. It serves no definite purpose, as far "as we know.
It cannot be intended, as some have said, for protec-
tion against cold, because while the Hindoos, who live
in a hot climate, have very large stiff beards, the Esqui-
maux of the Northern Polar regions, and the Fuegians
of the Southern Pole, are devoid of any such protec-
tion, their faces being practically beardless, as far as
defensive purposes are concerned.

SEALS. 75

Again, we have two distinct races of men inhabit-
ing contiguous localities, in which the one is bearded
and the other beardless : these are the Fijians and the
Tongans. The former are magnificent creatures, with
vast quantities of long and curly hair on their heads,
and their fd,ces covered with the fullest and most luxu-
riant of beards. The latter have long and straight
hair on their heads, and their faces are nearly as smooth
as those of women. Yet they live under the same
skies, have many of the same habits, and feed on the
same food.

And it is a curious fact that the fierce-looking
Fijian, who is always crying for war, who never walks
without a club on his shoulder, and is a confirmed
cannibal, is hopelessly overmatched by the quiet, mild-
looking, beardless Tongan, who, indeed, has made
inroads upon the Fijian coast, and threatened to esta-
blish himself permanently there, despite all efforts of
the externally valiant, but at heart cowardly Fijian, to
expel him.

CHAPTER V.

Winter

AMONG the reptiles there are so many water trespassers
that it is difficult to determine the species with which
to begin, especially as there are some beings which
occupy so closely the boundary line between reptiles
and fishes, that it is not easy to fix their exact place.
Again, the reptiles being divided into two distinct
portions — the one of which is represented by the frogs,
toads, and newts, while the other consists of lizards,
tortoises, and serpents — we find ourselves in some con-
fusion as to their precedence.

The best plan is, as I think, to take those creatures
first which, like the seals among the mammalia, pass
almost the whole of their lives in the water, although
they are capable of living upon land. Familiar
examples of the most perfect form of these creatures
may be found in our Common Frog and Newt, which,
however, unlike each other externally, are constructed
exactly on the same model as regards their power of
water trespassing, and differ chiefly in their mode of
propulsion, whether in water or on land.

It is evident, for example, that the Newt, which

THE NEWT. 77

passes by far the greatest part of its time in the water,
should be formed on a more fish-like model than is
needful for the Frog, which passes the greater part of
its time on the land, though the water is a perfectly
familiar element to it, and it can propel itself nearly as
fast, though not so gracefully, as does the Newt, the
one advancing by a series of intermittent strokes from
the webbed hind feet, while the other undulates rapidly
and steadily, after the manner of the fish, being pro-
pelled by the sinuous movement of the flattened and
flexible body.

We will begin with the Newt, as an example of a
water trespasser which passes most of its time in the
water, though it can live and travel upon land.

One of these singularly pretty creatures is repre-
sented in the central figure upon Cut 3. In common
with the Frog and Toad, both of which are seen upon
the same illustration, it begins its active life as a
fish, carrying on respiration by means of gills, and
ends it as a reptile that breathes atmospheric air
by means of lungs. So that we have before our
eyes one of the most astonishing arcana of Nature,
examples of which may be found any day by any one
who will take the trouble to look for them. As the
space of this work is but limited, it will be necessary
to give but a very brief description of this remarkable
modification of structure, as exemplified in the Newts,
Frogs, and Toads.

The egg is deposited in the water, like that of a
fish, and when the young is hatched it has gills con-
structed on precisely the same plan as those of the fish,
except that they are outside instead of inside the head,

78 REPTILIAN WATER TRESPASSERS.

looking like little pink feathers attached to the sides of
the neck, the pink colour being due to the blood which
is seen through their delicate membranes. In this
state, the young animal is well-known under the name
of tadpole, and I very strongly advise my readers who
are within reach of a pond or ditch, to catch some tad-
poles and examine them with the magnify ing- glass.
Whether they be the young of Newt, Frog, or Toad,
does not in the least signify.

In this form, they remain in the water for some
three weeks, during which time the limbs are begin-
ning to show themselves, and the lungs are being
gradually developed. Taking the Newt as our first
example, it retains through life the elongated and
fish-like shape of the body, and takes, in addition,
four legs, which are short, not very strong, but
quite capable of enabling their owner to walk upon
land.

Another great and radical change is, however, taking
place.

Not only does the animal gain limbs and lungs, but,
exactly in proportion to the development of the lungs,
the gills begin to become gradually less, until they
vanish entirely, and the whole of respiration is con-
ducted by means of the lungs. We have now a reptile
which is to its own order what the whales are to the
mammals. It lives in the water, finds its food below
the surface, and is, therefore, obliged to be able to
pass a considerable time without respiration.

This object is achieved in a very simple manner.
In the case of the whales and dolphins, which are hot-
blooded mammals, so large an amount of oxygen is

THE NEWT. 79

required for the aeration of the blood that the animal
cannot take with it a supply of air, but substitutes a
reservoir of clearly aerated blood. The reptiles, how-
ever, being cold-blooded animals, do not require so
much oxygen, and, in consequence, they are able to
take with them a quantity of air which suffices them
for a considerable period.

For this purpose, the lungs are composed of cells
very much larger in proportion to the size of the animal
than those of the mammalia. Thus, only a portion of
the blood is at a time brought into contact with the
air within the lungs, and a comparatively small supply
can last for a considerable time before its properties
are exhausted. As the quantity is so small, the act of
respiration can be performed in a very short time ; and
a Newt which has been below the water for a long time
will just wriggle its way to the surface, put its head
partly out of the water, take a single quick breath, and
then wriggle its way down again, the whole business
being transacted in so short a time that if the observer
be armed with a net he must be very quick in his
movements if he can capture the Newt before it has
descended beyond his reach.

Generally all the Salamanders, as these creatures
are collectively termed, are of small size ; but there
are one or two exceptions, the most illustrious of
which is the Giant Salamander (Sieboldm maxima), of
Japan, which is about a yard in length, and very
broad in proportion to its width, so that it is really
a large animal. It does not possess the beautiful
green and orange hues of our own little Newt, but is
black-brown, and all covered with warty knobs, so

80 EBPTILIAN WATER TRESPASSERS.

that it is anything but a pretty creature. It lives
well in this country.

Another very large Newt is the Menopome of the
Ohio river, which reaches the length of two feet or so.
Both these large Newts are very voracious ; and are
so destructive among fish, that the latter has received
the popular but not euphonious names of mud-devil,
hell-bender, and ground-puppy.

The fishermen are nearly as much afraid of it as
our English peasants are of the Common Newt, though
with a little more reason/inasmuch as the Menopome is
a large animal ; and in spite of the small size of its
teeth, might manage to give an ugly bite ; whereas
the Newt is absolutely incapable of harm. But, in
both cases, the animal is credited with powers which
it does not possess, and its bite is thought to be
venomous.

It does not seem to be very plentiful in any
locality, its numbers having apparently been dimin-
ished within the last few years. Dr. C. C. Abbott
mentions that in various parts of the United States,
the Menopome has been exhibited in travelling mena-
geries under the title of the "Australian Ornithor-
hynchus paradoxus." The exhibitor must have pos-
sessed wonderful confidence in the ignorance of the
general public.

In captivity it is found to feed voraciously on
minnows and similar fish, an astonishing number of
which it devours daily. One of these reptiles tried to
eat a large cray-fish, but got so sharply pricked in the
nose by the projecting points of the crustacean's head,
that it afterwards took care to let the creature alone.

THE NEWT. 81

There are some of these animals which seem to
have their development arrested, and never to get
beyond the tadpole state. Such, for example, is the
well-known Proteus anguinus of Adelsberg, in Carniola,
a creature in which not only the organs of respiration,
but those of sight are undeveloped. It is, in fact,
little more than a blind tadpole of full size, having no
eyes, and breathing entirely through gills.

Then there is the Axolotl (Axoloteles guttatus) of
Mexico, which is about eight or ten inches in length.
It has anything but a pleasing look, but yet is valued
as an article of food, and regularly sold in the
markets.

The gills in this creature are very bold and con-
spicuous, standing out like tufts of feathers on either
side of the back of the head.

The strangest thing about this animal is, that
although when left in its native waters, it never
passes beyond the tadpole condition, it can be arti-
ficially developed into the state of a Newt. It is found
that if the supply of water be gradually cut off, the
gills diminish in proportion to the lessening of
their usefulness, while the lungs become developed.
In fact, the creature is forced artificially to go through
just the same process as the newts, frogs, and toads,
undergo naturally.

It may seem strange that these creatures should be
undeveloped all their lives, and yet produce young.
Such, however, is the case ; for they lay eggs just
like any other Newt, and their eggs are hatched into
little tadpoles, which afterwards grow to be big tad-
poles, but never pass beyond that stage.

6

82 EEPTILIAN WATER TRESPASSERS.

In the Insect-room at the British Museum, several
of these creatures have been kept for some years in a
glass vessel. They are quite tame, and will come to
be fed when summoned; the mode of calling them
being to make a slight rippling on the surface of
the water with the finger.

The axolotl breeds freely in England — the speci-
mens in the British Museum producing annually great
quantities of young. They are, however, difficult crea-
tures to rear; and only a very small percentage pass even
beyond their infancy. I tried to rear a dozen of them,
but failed, although I took care to supply them with
water in which were great numbers of the water-flea,
and other entomostraca. Most of them died gradually
off, without having increased in size ; while only one
seemed to be in the way of thriving. That one did
grow finely, and I thought that it would have sur-
vived; but one day the usual fatal sign made its
appearance, i.e., a sort of flocculence round the body,
and in another day all my axolotls were dead.

I much regretted its loss, as I wished, as soon as
it was about half-grown, to try the experiment of
converting the gill-breathing axolotl into an air-
breathing newt.

The axolotl is shown in the lower figure of
Cut 4.

There is one very large species of gill-breathing
Newt which inhabits the Mississippi and several of the
American lakes. Its scientific title is Necturus late-
ralis. I do not know whether it possesses a popular
name.

It sometimes reaches a length not very far short of

CUT 4.— SNAKE AND AXOLOTL.

SALAMANDERS. 83

that of the great Japanese Salamander, though it is
not so broad and stout. Its gills have a more fan-
like form than those of the axolotl; and it is probable
that if the experiment were tried, the respiratory
apparatus of theNecturus could be artificially developed,
like that of the axolotl.

With regard to these gill-breathing Salamanders,
Dr. Baird was of the opinion that they were really the
arrested form of some animal, which is, at present,
unknown in the perfect state. Perhaps some of my
readers who take a delight in the aquarium, may
remember the pretty little Spotted Salamander or Eft,
that is in such demand on account of its violet-black
colour, relieved with a row of large, irregular, yellow
spots on each side, The scientific name of the
animal is Ambystoma Carolina, and Dr. Baird con-
sidered that the axolotl is in reality the arrested
larval form of some Newt belonging to the same genus
as the Spotted Eft.

In consequence of the fact that they retain the gills
throughout their whole life, the animals which have
just been mentioned are collectively termed Perenni-
branchiate Amphibia, that is, amphibious reptiles whose
gills are permanent. The true newts, frogs, and toads
are, on the other hand, termed Caducibranchiate
Amphibia, i.e., amphibious reptiles whose gills are
obliterated.

On these remarkable changes of structure Mr.
Eymer Jones has the following remarks : —

" However curious the phenomena attending the
development of the tadpoles of the amphibious reptiles
may be to the observer who merely watches the changes

84 REPTILIAN WATER TRESPASSERS.

perceptible from day to day in their external form,
they acquire a tenfold interest to the physiologist who
traces the progressive evolution of their internal viscera.
More especially, when he finds that in these creatures
he has an opportunity afforded him of contemplating,
displayed before his eyes, as it were, upon an enlarged
scale, those phases of development through which the
embryo of every air-breathing vertebrated animal must
pass while concealed within the egg.

" The division, therefore, of reptiles into such as
undergo a metamorphosis and such as do not, is by no
means philosophical, though convenient to the physio-
logist ; for all reptiles undergo a metamorphosis, though
not to the same extent."

Mr. Jones then proceeds to sum up the subject by
showing that in the Perennibranchiate reptiles the
change from the aquatic to the air-breathing animal is
never fully accomplished, while in the Caducibranchiates
the change takes place after the young has been
hatched. He then shows that even in the case of the
reptiles proper, such as the lizards, snakes, and
tortoises, a similar change takes place, though it is
accomplished within tKe egg, long before the little
animal is hatched. And the same rule holds good with
birds.

From these observations the reader will, I think,
see the extreme value, not only of observation, but of
generalizing the facts that are observed.

Even if taken alone, the faculty of observation is of
very high value. It adds a new charm to life, and
gives entrance, so to speak, into a different world.
The good old story of "Eyes and No Eyes" is applicable

SALAMANDERS. 85

to Natural History as well as to general observation,
and anyone who is even partially trained to observa-
tion will find himself absorbingly interested in a walk
where another finds nothing but dull uniformity.

Still, the mere accumulation of facts, though valu-
able, is not all that is required. It is knowledge, but
not wisdom. Taking our present example of the
development of the newt, it is a singularly interesting
task to watch the gradual development of the tadpole
into the newt or frog — to notice the growth of the
limbs and the disappearance of the gills. But it is
infinitely more interesting when we grasp the fact, that
in the development of this creature, which is carried
on before our eyes, we have the key to the develop-
ment of all vertebrated animals, and to note that all
pass through similar changes, though not in so open a
manner.

It is evident that the generalizer must possess a
mind of wider grasp than is needed for observation
alone, and it has frequently happened that the person
who has hit upon the most valuable generalizations is
one whose thoughts are mostly engaged on subjects of
a different nature.

Take, for example, the two great discoveries in
zoology and botany — namely, the homologies of the
skeleton and the structure of the fruit. These dis-
coveries were not made by professed zoologists or
botanists, but by Goethe, the poet. He certainly had
some knowledge of both these sciences, but he was
also deeply read in various forms of literature, and had
studied chemistry, jurisprudence, music, drawing, and
languages. In this latter branch of knowledge he was

86 REPTILIAN WATER TRESPASSERS.

so expert that for his own amusement he wrote a sort
of novel, composed of letters written by seven corres-
pondents, each in a different language.

A mind thus trained was sure to see a new fact in
various lights, and to grasp at once the relations
which it would hold with other facts. No idea ever
presents itself alone to such a mind, but is immediately
grouped about with other ideas gathered from various
sources, but all bearing on that one point.

Now let us see how it happened that a poet dis-
covered the homologies of the skeleton.

He was walking, and saw a skull — I believe of a
deer — lying on the ground. There was nothing very
noteworthy in this. Thousands of skulls had been
examined by professed anatomists, who were familiar
with every part of them, and the use of every hollow,
projection, or perforation ; and yet none of them had
detected in the skull its relationship to the rest of the
skeleton. It is possible that the very same skull had
been seen by many persons, who saw in it nothing
more than a familiar object.

To the eye of the poet, the skull was a revelation.
It lay with the base towards him, and it suddenly
flashed across his mind that the occipital bone was,' in
fact, nothing but a vertebra modified, the large hole at
the base of the skull being an enlargement of the hole
in the vertebra through which the spinal cord passes,
and the disc-shaped bone itself nothing but the vertebra
flattened. The next thought evidently was to the effect
that if one part of the skull were a modified vertebra,
the other parts had probably the same origin, the
hollow of the skull being a still further enlargement of

SALAMANDERS. 87

the vertebral hole, and the dome-like bones nothing
but modifications of the vertebra itself. In fact, the
skull is not an isolated structure, but is formed of a
simple modification of four vertebrae.

On this beautiful discovery, so obscure before it was
made, and so simple afterwards, is based the whole of
our modern knowledge of the skeleton and its homo-
logies throughout the whole of the mammalia. The
subject is far too vast to be discussed in the present
work, and I can only refer my readers to Professor
Owen's " Lectures on Comparative Anatomy." Suffice
it to say that since the time when Goethe saw that
stray skull, the vertebra has been known to be the key
to the whole skeleton, all other parts being but modifi-
cations of it, however unlike they may appear to the
uninstructed eye.

The second great discovery of this wonderful man
was the structure of fruit, which he found out while
eating an orange. I suppose, and certainly hope, that
most of my readers have eaten plenty of oranges in
their time ; but scarcely think that, unless as botanists,
they were aware of the fact that the orange contained
the key to the structure of the fruit, as the vertebra
contains the structure of the skeleton.

Goethe, however, saw with other eyes than most
men, and, as he opened the orange, a mystery of
Nature was revealed. It is probable, and almost
certain, that he had eaten many oranges before this
particular one opened the eyes of his understanding.
On separating the various segments of which the
interior of an orange is composed, he was at once
struck with the fact that each segment was in reality a

REPTILIAN WATER TRESPASSERS.

modified leaf, the outer membranes representing the
upper and lower epidermis of the leaf, and the soft,
juicy interior being a modification of the "parenchyma,"
which in some leaves is very thin, but in others is very
thick and juicy. The leaves in question are of the kind
which are technically called " carpels/' and are those
of which seed-vessels are made.

He saw in that one intuitive flash of genius that
the orange is, in fact, a whorl of leaves, and thus was
given the key to a great mystery hitherto concealed
from man, By means of this discovery one or two
apparent anomalies are easily explained. There is
a variety of orange, known by the name of the Female
Bigarade. It is a large, coarse, deep yellow fruit, which
has the peculiarity of being double, one orange being
enclosed within another. Although this fact had been
known for many years, no botanists could account for
it, and it was left for the poet Goethe to supply the
key to the mystery. When this is understood, the
structure of the double orange is easily understood. It
consists of two whorls of carpels on the same stem, the
upper and smaller whorl being consolidated into the
central fruit, and the lower and larger whorl encircling
it. In some cases, three oranges are found one within
the other.

Other curious varieties of the orange tribe are also
accounted for in the same manner. For example, there
is the Fingered Bigarade, in which the fruit is divided
into finger-like globes ; the Horned Bigarade, in which
the fruit is deeply ribbed, and has its sides projecting
into horns ; and the enormous Chinese Fingered Citron,
in which the fruit is entirely divided into long, finger-

FROGS AND TOADS. 89

like portions. Before Goethe's discovery, no one could
account for these singular varieties of form ; but when
we know that the fruit is composed of whorls of carpels,
there is no difficulty in understanding that in the one
case there are successive whorls on ihe same stem, the
larger enclosing the smaller, and that in the latter case
the carpels are only partially united to each other, so
that they form fingers or horns.

Here, then, we see the incalculable value of the
union between the observing and the generalizing
mind, the latter utilizing the results of the former, and
bringing apparently dissimilar facts to bear upon the
one central subject. Newton's discovery of gravitation,
or, rather, of universal attraction, was of a precisely
similar nature, although the subject is a much larger
one. There are still many unsolved mysteries in
Nature ; and I feel sure that when the ' ' hour and the
man " come, they will be solved as simply as Goethe
solved the homologies of the skeleton and the structure
of fruit, and as Newton discovered that the courses of
the heavenly bodies and the falling of a stone to the
ground were governed by one and the same law of
mutual attraction.

There seems to be an idea that Frogs and Toads can
live entirely in the water. This is not the case, for
either of these animals will be drowned if placed in
water from which it cannot escape. It will drown as
certainly as will a dog or a cat, only the operation will
occupy a longer time. I well recollect that when I
was a small boy I found some frogs in the garden,
and thinking them to be in want of water, I filled a
pail nearly full and put them in it. I was sorely dis-

90 REPTILIAN WATER TRESPASSERS.

concerted one day to find that my pets were dead, and
had some difficulty in understanding that a Frog or
Toad could be drowned.

There is an artificial bathing-place near where I
live. It is a large oblong basin, lined with cement,
and so arranged that the water cannot rise within a
foot or so of the edge. Towards the end of summer,
there are numbers of dead frogs and toads in the basin.
They have heedlessly leaped into the water, and not
being able to clamber up the side, have been
drowned.

It may be that in these cases the death of the
animals may be partly owing to hunger; and this
brings us to another point in the history of these water
trespassers.

In the case of the newts, the creature obtains its
food in the water, through which it propels itself by
the sinuous movements of its body. Large limbs
would therefore be useless, and, in fact, would only be
an inconvenience in the water, while they would be of
no great use on the land. Whenever the newt goes
out of the water, it does not need to hurry itself, and
the four slight limbs with which it is furnished are
quite sufficient for its purpose.

But the Frogs and Toads are differently constituted,
They have to procure their food on the shore, as well
as to propel themselves in the water, and it is evident
that the whole plan of their locomotive machinery must
be entirely changed. Legs are therefore substituted
for the tail as means of progression, and the latter is
therefore abolished altogether. Another problem now
remains — i.e., to form legs which will be equally

FROGS AND TOADS. 91

capable of rapid progress on the ground ; and how
admirably this double duty is fulfilled in the legs of
the Frog, is evident enough to all who have seen the
perfect ease with which the creature moves either on
the ground or in the water.

On the land the progress of the Frog is wonderfully
like that of the kangaroo, the very long and powerful
hind legs being in both animals the means of pro-
pulsion, and the short fore legs used principally to
support the body when the animal is at rest. In the
water the fore legs are not used at all, but kept
motionless in front of the breast.

As for the webbed foot which drives the Frog so
rapidly through the water, it is formed by a simple
extension of the skin between the lengthened toes. If
we separate our own fingers widely, we see that at
their juncture there is a fold of skin, which, if con-
tinued to the tips of the fingers, would give them a
strong resemblance to the foot of the Frog. I have
seen more than one instance where, in the human
being, the hands were webbed nearly half up the
fingers.

Lately there have been in the shops some swim-
ming gloves with a piece of waterproof cloth connect-
ing each finger, so as to make them useful organs of
propulsion. As, however, the speed in swimming de-
pends more on the legs than on the arms, the instru-
ment should have been attached to the feet, and not
to the hands.

The late Captain Morton, K.N., invented a very in-
genious plan of increasing the speed of a swimmer. To
the sole of each foot was attached a rather thick strip

92 REPTILIAN WATER TRESPASSERS.

of wood about two incites wide, and extending along
the whole of the foot. On either side was a piece of
very thin but strong board, making the whole appa-
ratus about eleven or twelve inches in width. The
side pieces were attached by hinges, so that when the
feet were drawn forward, they collapsed, and offered no
resistance to the water, while they opened out again in
making the stroke. Flat pieces of board were also
attached to the hands ; and by means of this apparatus
a wonderful rate of speed could be attained.

Still, ingenious as was the invention, it is infinitely
surpassed by the structure of the Frog's hind feet,
which have also the advantage of being useful on land,
whereas the swimming apparatus just mentioned
would render its wearer incapable of advancing ten
steps on land.

Another point in the structure of the Frog is the
mode of its breathing. It has neither diaphragm nor
ribs, and cannot, therefore, respire by means of either
the one or the other. It is, however, compensated for
their absence by the great development of the throat-
bone called os hyoides, and the muscles connected
with it. By their action the large throat is converted
into a sort of bellows, by means of which air is forced
into and drawn out of the lungs. Anyone can see
this movement by watching a Frog or a Toad.

In consequence of this structure, added to the
large size of the cellular lungs, the fore part of the
body is rendered very light, and is the better able to
sustain the animal in the water. Like many semi-
aquatic creatures, the Frog can float on the surface of
the water, or lie on the bed of the pond or stream, the

THE CROCODILE. 93

contraction of the body enabling it to render itself for
a time heavier than an equal bulk of water.

We will now revert to our water trespassers, and
take one of the most perfect of the lizard trespassers,
namely, the Crocodile, with which the Alligator will be
included. There is really but little difference between
these two groups of large aquatic lizards, and it is not
necessary to describe the marks by which they are
distinguished. The word " crocodile " will, therefore,
be understood to signify the various species of Crocodiles
and Alligators, the structures which enable them to
trespass upon the water being practically the same in
all the members of both groups.

Beginning with the first necessity of life — i.e.,
respiration — we shall find in these huge lizards a most
wonderful provision, which enables the animal to respire
under disadvantageous conditions.

In the first place, the peculiar cellular structure of
the lungs in all lizards assures a slow aeration of the
blood, so as to suit the sluggish and cold-blooded cir-
culation of these creatures.

A very little amount of respiration is therefore
needed in these creatures, which are able to pass a
considerable time without any respiration at all. This
may be easily tested by watching the specimens at
the Zoological Gardens, which lie flat on the bottom
of their tanks for a very long period, looking as life-
less as if "they were sham Crocodiles made of cast iron,
and apparently regardless of the fact that they are
completely covered with water.

Something more is, however, needed. The Croco-

94 REPTILIAN WATER TRESPASSERS.

diles feed mostly on animals which they catch upon
the banks of the river in which they live. It is evi-
dent, therefore, that they must not only be able to
exist for some time without respiration, but also with-
out food, inasmuch as the conditions of obtaining food
are of necessity precarious, and the animal may have
to pass weeks without obtaining food. When urged
by hunger, it rouses itself from its usual inactive state,
and displays much ingenuity in seizing prey.

Crocodiles have even been seen to catch the little
birds as they drink from the stream. The birds perch
on a branch that overhangs the stream, and assemble
upon it in such numbers that the bough is weighed
down to the surface of the water, so that they may
drink. Seeing them, the Crocodile makes a rush and
a snap at them, when they fly off in great alarm.

The reptile passes on, as if chagrined at having
missed his prey, and swims out of sight. . The birds
now settle again, thinking that their enemy has dis-
appeared. So he has, but he has only sunk himself
quietly below the surface. He then swims under
water until he has reached the spot where the birds
are drinking in apparent security, rises suddenly with
open mouth, and is tolerably sure to capture some of
them before they can escape.

Such small game as birds, however, are not so
much to the Crocodile's taste as the larger animals,
which it usually captures by knocking them into the
water with a blow of its powerful tail, and then hold-
ing them under water until they are drowned. Human
beings, dogs, and even the large and powerful cattle,
are in this way destroyed, and it is chiefly on account

PLATE II.

CROCODILE, HIPPOPOTAMUS, AND WATER-HOG.

THE CEOCODILE. 95

of this mode of feeding that the Crocodile is furnished
with the curious apparatus which will be briefly de-
scribed.

As to the smaller animals, it can kill them with
the gripe of its powerful jaws, but a buffalo, or even
a full-grown cow or horse, would not succumb to the
mere bite, and its struggles would be so violent that
the Crocodile would scarcely be able to secure it. Even
if the reptile were to plunge beneath the water with its
prey, with the intention of drowning it, the severe
struggle would force the Crocodile itself to need breath
as well as its victim.

Moreover, if it were to submerge itself with open
mouth, the water would pour down its throat, and very
soon incapacitate it for further action. Some plan
must therefore be devised which will enable the animal
to be submerged with open mouth, and yet will pre-
serve it from the inconvenience of having water pour-
ing down its throat into its stomach. This, indeed, is
much more important than the mere question of respi-
ration, for, supposing both animals to be submerged
simultaneously, it is evident that the hot-blooded mam-
mal must succumb before the cold-blooded reptile.

The means by which this end is attained is beauti-
fully simple and efficacious.

At the back of the throat, and just before the
opening of the gullet, a broad plate of gristly substance
passes completely across. The plate starts from the
bony process of the throat, called technically "os
hyoides/' and extends completely across the back of
the throat. From the upper part of the palate there
hangs a flap of a similar substance, which envelopes the

96 REPTILIAN WATER TRESPASSERS.

lower plate, so that when the mouth is opened the
pressure of the water forces one flap against the other,
and effectually closes the aperture. And, as is in-
variably the case with such valves, the resistance is
increased in exact proportion to the pressure, so that
the deeper the Crocodile dives, and the greater the
pressure of the water trying to force its way down the
throat, the more firmly are the two parts of the valves
squeezed against each other.

The valves of the heart, of the veins, and that
which has been described on page 31 as aiding the
respiration of the whale tribe, are all constructed on
the same principle. At present, with all our advances
in science, and having the advantage of such models,
we cannot make such simple and yet such perfect
valves as those which have existed ever since the rep-
tiles took their place on earth.

Another point in the respiration of these creatures
is yet to be mentioned. It may be that the animal is
forced to respire, and yet cannot come into the open
air. As in the case of many animals which pass much of
their time in the water, the nostrils are placed at the
extremity of the muzzle, so that the creature can keep
itself entirely below the surface of the water, with the
exception of an inch or two of nostril. The exposed
portion is so small, that even in the open water it is
not easily detected, while it can be entirely concealed
by choosing some situation where there are reeds, or
other aquatic vegetation.

The mode of progress through the water is exactly
the same as that which is adopted by the fishes —
namely, sweeping the body from side to side. In these

THE CROCODILE. 97

animals, the body is lengthened into a very long and
very powerful tail, which, as we have already seen, not
only acts the part of a propeller, but as a weapon. If
a Crocodile be driven to fight, its tail is far more to be
dreaded than its jaws, formidable though they may be,
for its sweep is enormous, and the power of such a
weighty mass, lashing about as sharply as if it were
nothing but a slight whip, is sufficient to clear the
ground of any foe which it may encounter.

The teeth, again, are adapted to the peculiar mode
in which the Crocodile has to kill its prey. They are
not intended for mastication, but simply for retaining
the prey when it is alive, and tearing it when it is
dead. In fact, they are of the kind that is popularly
and graphically called " snatch-and-swallow/' They
are all conical, rather long, and sharply pointed, and
are slightly curved, the curve being in the direction of
the back of the mouth, so as to give a better hold en
the prey.

As the struggles of some of the larger animals
would probably break off one or two teeth before it
was rendered helpless, there is a provision for their
renewal. They are hollow, and filled with a pulp
which is perpetually engaged in forming a new tooth
within the old one, ready to take its place when it shall
fall. I have in my collection an Indian shikarry's
necklace, composed of fangs and claws of the tiger,
claws of the great sloth-bear, and teeth of the Crocodile,
all trophies of the owner's prowess in hunting. One
of the teeth must have belonged to a very large Croco-
dile, as it is blunted and chipped from hard usage,
while others are quite smooth and sharp.

7

98 REPTILIAN WATER TRESPASSERS.

The contrast between the tooth of the Crocodile and
that of the tiger is very curious. In point of dimen-
sions they are about the same, but in their shape and
weight are very different : the tiger's tooth being solid,
heavy, and flattened, with a distinct knife-like edge on
the inner curve, while the Crocodile's tooth is hollow,
light, and rounded.

These teeth are set in hollows in the jaw, and not
consolidated with the bones of the skull. Consequently,
they are easily removed, and, indeed, in dried skulls
the teeth are always liable to fall out, owing to the
shrinking of the soft material of the socket. It is
evident, therefore, that the number of teeth must
be extremely variable. In my collection there is a
skull of the great Gangetic Crocodile, or Gavial, a huge
reptile which sometimes attains the length of twenty-
five feet. It has a very long and narrow head. My
specimen belonged to a young animal, and the skull
measures only twenty-six inches in length ; yet, in the
middle, the diameter of the skull is only one inch and
three-quarters. Many of the teeth have fallen from the
sockets, but some still remain, so that their size and shape
can be understood. In the lower jaw there are twenty-
five teeth on each side, and in the upper jaw twenty-
nine, making a complement of one hundred and eight.
A figure of the African Crocodile is given in the
upper portion of Plate II.

Another curious group of water-trespassers is to be
found in the marine and aquatic members of the
Tortoise tribe, some of which are vegetarians and others
carnivorous.

THE TORTOISE. 99

Of the terrestrial species, the common Greek
Tortoise is a sufficiently familiar example, being often
kept in the garden. It is as well, by the way, not to
allow it to visit the strawberry beds, as it will assuredly
help itself to the fruit as soon as it ripens, and, stupid
as it may seem, has quite sense enough to pick out the
best berries. I had one for some five or six years,
and was obliged, during the strawberry season, to keep
it tethered on the grass by means of a string, one end
of which passed through a hole bored in the shell, and
the other was fastened to a weight too heavy for the
creature to move.

In the marine turtles, the fore limbs, and especially
the feet, are greatly lengthened and flattened, so as to
form instruments of propulsion. The hind feet are
also very wide and flat, but are not so much elongated
in proportion as are the fore limbs. In the Hawksbill
Turtle, which furnishes the " tortoise-shell " of com-
merce, the fore limbs are enormously elongated. I
have in my collection a young Hawksbill that was
captured almost immediately after it was hatched, and
before the projecting shelly plates had been developed.
In this little creature the fore limbs are so long that if
they were straightened, instead of being bent, as they
always are, they would be nearly as long as the entire
body.

With these modified limbs they can propel them-
selves at a wonderful pace, and, if struck with a
harpoon, will sometimes tow a boat for a considerable
distance, and with a speed that is truly surprising.
They do not seem, however, to be capable of long-
continued exertion, and in shallow waters are some-

100 REPTILIAN WATEE TRESPASSERS.

times taken by a couple of men in a boat, who chase
the creature from spot to spot, and do not allow it to
rest for a single moment. When it is quite tired out
they strike the harpoon into it, and make it a com-
paratively easy prey. Even under these circumstances,
however, the turtle always dashes off at a great pace as
soon as it feels the point of the harpoon, and, were not
the weapon constructed so that the point becomes
detached from the shaft, .the violent movements of the
reptile would soon dislodge the harpoon, and, in all
probability, break the shaft to pieces. As it is, how-
ever, the shaft is shaken off, floats to the surface, and
is recovered, while the turtle is held by a strong line
that is attached to the iron point, which is buried
deeply in the reptile's back.

So effective is the swimming apparatus, that some
of these creatures seem as much at home in the sea as
do the whale tribe, and may be found hundreds of
miles from land. A Loggerhead Turtle, for example,
was once captured midway between the Bahamas and
the Azores.

The distance to which the creature can swim is the
more remarkable when we remember that although
the turtles pass nearly the whole of their lives in the
sea, they are forced to come to shore for the purpose
of depositing their eggs. This they all do in a very
similar manner. They select a sunny spot, some thirty
or forty yards above high-water mark, and scrape
a large hole by pushing their flat hind legs under
the sand, and jerking it away, just as a child throws
about the sand with its wooden spade. When the
female has made an excavation some two feet deep, she

THE TORTOISE. 101

deposits in it about a hundred and fifty or two hundred
eggs, scrapes the sand back again, and goes off to the sea.

Here, then, we have a case where the machinery
which enables the creature to swim in the sea, also
enables it to make short journeys on land, and to pro-
vide for its future young. The animal is a trespasser
upon the domain of water, and not a denizen of it.

It has already been mentioned that some of these
reptiles are vegetable feeders, while others are car-
nivorous. Yet, there is very little difference in the
structure of their mouths; and for the following
reason. Whether it eat animal or vegetable sub-
stances, it does not masticate its food, but only bites
or tears it into pieces, small enough for it to swallow.

Both jaws are edged with a very strong, horny plate,
nearly as sharp as a knife, and more or less waved, so
as to produce a " drawing-cut,^ as swordsmen say,
when the jaws are closed. Some of these creatures
are much dreaded for their power of jaw ; for they
have been known to take off a man's finger at a single
bite, or to sever in the same way an ordinary walking-
stick. The lower jaw is rather smaller than the upper,
and when the mouth is closed, the sharp edges of the
upper jaw overlap those of the lower, so that they act
just like a pair of shears.

Armed with these powerful instruments, the turtles
can either crop the marine vegetation on which they
feed, or even tear to pieces animal substances. Some
species, such as the Loggerhead Turtle, which has just
been mentioned, live almost entirely upon molluscs,
their shear-like jaws crushing shells of considerable
size and great hardness.

102 REPTILIAN WATER TRESPASSERS.

There are many species of turtle, of which the
Green Turtle and the Hawksbill Turtle are the best
known, and the most useful to man. The former is
the reptile which is so justly famous as a delicacy,
whether in the form of soup or cutlets. It is one of
the vegetable feeders.

It has been noticed that most of the turtles which
are brought to this country are females. The reason
is evident.

Although they can be chased and harpooned in
the manner that has been already described, such
captures are rather matters of sport than of business.
Those, therefore, who hunt the turtle by way of busi-
ness, choose the time when the reptiles are obliged to
come on shore to lay their eggs. They watch until
she has finished the operation ; and then, intercepting
her as she is making her way to the sea, turn her on
her back, and leave her. She cannot stir in this
position, and the men are set free to attack another.
The spots where the eggs have been laid are carefully
noted, as the eggs, when preserved, furnish an abun-
dant supply of excellent oil.

As to the males, they seldom trouble themselves to
come to shore, and so it is that nearly all the turtles
brought to England are of the female sex.

The Hawksbill Turtle, which is seen in the upper
right-hand corner of the illustration on Cut 5 pos-
sesses a very singular development of the shell.
As the reader may probably know, the shell of the
Turtle and Tortoise is formed of a development of the
vertebrae and the ribs, covered with a coating, more or
less thick, of a horny substance. In the Green Turtle,

THE TORTOISE. 103

this heavy coating is spread evenly over the surface of
the bones ; but in the Hawksbill Turtle,, it is modified
into a series of separate plates, which overlap each
other like the tiles of a house, or the surface of an
imbricated bud. They are rather leaf-shaped, the
pointed end projecting, and the blunter end fixed to
the skeleton. Altogether there are thirteen of these
plates in every Hawksbill Turtle, the complete set
being technically called a "head." One of these
plates, which is in my collection, is exactly a foct
long, by six inches and a half at its widest part. On
it are six circular scars, showing the places where
sessile barnacles have at one time established them-
selves.

On turning it over, and looking at the edges, it is
easy to see how the plates are increased by successive
depositing of new substance around the edges, the
series of deposits being as clearly marked as the rings
in the wood of an exogenous tree.

The whole of the upper surface is covered with
multitudinous scratches in all directions, showing the
rough usage which it must have endured during the
life of the animal, and when merely viewed from the
side it looks a very uninteresting object. A piece of
black horn or pasteboard would be about as handsome.
But, when it is held up to a good light, it is instan-
taneously metamorphosed, and becomes endowed with
the richest mottlings of red, brown, black, and
yellow.

It is rather a remarkable fact that the horny cover-
ing is removable from the skeleton by means of heat.
The turtle hunters, therefore, who have not the least

101 REPTILIAN WATER TRESPASSERS.

idea that they are inflicting pain on a fellow -creature,
do not kill the Hawksbill Turtles, but expose them to a
steady heat, sometimes by the simple process of light-
ing a fire on their backs. The tortoiseshell being thus
removed, the suffering creature is returned to the sea,
where it grows a fresh set of plates, though they are
not as good in quality as the original set.

We now pass to an allied group of water trespassers,
popularly called by the collective name of Terrapins.
They vary much in size, some, such as the
Alligator Terrapin, being a full yard in length, while
others, like the well-known chicken-tortoise, are barely
six inches in length, even when the head is protruded
to its fullest extent. As these inhabitants of land
divide their time tolerably equally between land and
water, it is evident that their limbs must be suited
to either element. This is done by the simple plan of
narrowing and lengthening the toes of both pairs of
feet, and connecting them with a membrane.

They are fairly active, both in and out of the water,
and, unsuitable as their structure may seem for such a
feat, can scramble to the top of a large stone, or even
make their way up the branches of a partially sub-
merged tree. If such a tree be cautiously approached, it
presents an extraordinary sight, being literally covered
with tortoises, packed together like herrings in a
barrel, or figs in a box, and having apparently about
as much life in them. But, if a stick be incautiously
snapped, or a hasty movement made, the whole
assemblage drop into the water, and in a few seconds
not a tortoise is to be seen.

TERRAPINS. 305

I kept a couple of chicken-tortoises for some time,
and very troublesome pets they were. Scarcely any
precautions could keep them from escaping from their
house, and whenever they escaped they always climbed
up something. They were always pleased when set
upon some elevation — say, a table, a shelf, or a chest
of drawers. But the worst part of their conduct was,
that whenever they were pleased to take fright, which
was very often indeed, and without the least imagin-
able reason, they would scuttle off with such rapidity
that it was almost impossible to anticipate them, and
fling themselves down as fearlessly as if they had deep
water beneath them instead of a hard floor. It was a
curious example of the failure of instinct when ordinary
conditions are altered.

They soon became very tame, and would come to
me if food were offered to them. They swam with
much celerity, and, in order to indulge their climbing
propensities, I put some stones and set a brick on end
in the middle of the vessel in which they were kept.
G-enerally, they contented themselves with clambering
up the stones and brick, but they always had a
hankering for escape, and, if they could contrive to
hitch one single claw over the top of the vessel, out
they went, and often caused no small trouble in finding
them.

Their mode of eating was remarkable. If a piece
of meat were offered them, they would seize it in
their jaws, close the mouth firmly, so that the sharp,
horny edges should cut deeply into it, and then,
placing one of the fore feet at either side of the mouth,
they would push the meat forcibly from them, so as to

106 REPTILIAN "WATER TRESPASSERS.

tear away the piece which was grasped in their jaws.
They would repeat the process until the whole of the
meat was swallowed.

One of them was a special favourite of mine, and
when it died I preserved it after the manner taught me
by the late Charles Waterton, and the effigies of the
little creature is on my book as I write,, in the exact
attitude which it assumed when it expected food from
me. It used to stretch its neck to the fullest extent,
and rather on one side, with a curiously pleading ex-
pression in a creature which looks almost passionless.
The beautiful colouring of bright yellow streaks on
dark brown that adorned its head, neck, and limbs,
has almost totally vanished, but the attitude is exactly
the same as that which it so often assumed during life,
and which, unless damaged by very rough usage, it
will retain for years after the hand that preserved it
has passed from off the earth.

I am told that some of the larger species of the
same genus, Emys, attack fish, by coming quietly
beneath them as they are sleeping, and then taking
a bite out of the lower part of the body. I can
well believe this to be the case, having personally
known instances where even the little chicken-
tortoise has killed numbers of gold-fish in this very
way.

Two species of Terrapin are shown in Cut 5.

Occupying the lower part of the illustration is the
great Alligator Terrapin (Ohelydra Serpentina), to which
allusion has already been made. The name Chelydra,
by the way, is composed of two Greek words, and sig-
nifies water- tortoise. The name Serpentina, or snake-

TEREAPINS. 107

like,, is applied to the reptile on account of its long,
snake-like neck.

As may be seen by reference to the illustration,
the shell does not entirely envelope the body, as is the
case with most of the tortoises, but merely forms a
shield on the back, the whole of the legs being visible
outside it, and the neck not able to be concealed within
it, as is the case with the terrestrial tortoises. The
animal is a tolerably good walker, and travels farther
from the water than is generally usual among the
aquatic tortoises. Still, it is not as much at home on
land as in the water, and its gait ashore is as awkward
and ungainly, compared with its easy gliding through
the water, as the almost ludicrous waddle of a swan on
land, compared with its proverbially graceful move-
ments afloat.

It is one of the predacious tortoises, making much
havoc among fish of various kinds, and especially
delighting in eels, which it can capture in spite of
their agile nature and slippery bodies, by the grasp of
its strong jaws, which very much resemble the beak
of a falcon. Indeed, should the struggles of the fish
be very violent, the Alligator Terrapin would not have
very much difficulty in shearing it asunder with a
single bite.

It is easily kept in captivity, feeding readily on all
kinds of butcher's offal, and, as it seems to be always
hungry, it is often captured with the hook. Terrapin
fishing is thought to afford very good sport. The line
is a very strong one, and for a few yards from the hook
is covered with wire, like the " gimp " used in pike
fishing. For not only would the sharp jaws shear

108 REPTILIAN WATER TRESPASSERS.

asunder any ordinary line, but the creature has a way
of bringing its fore feet to bear upon it, and snapping
it by main force, which, as it sometimes reaches three
feet in length, it is certain to do with any ordinary
line.

Like most of its kind, the Alligator Terrapin is
valued for the table, and is kept alive to be sold in the
market. The popular name of alligator is given to it
because in America all the crocodiles are called alli-
gators, and the reptile certainly does look very much
like a small crocodile with the shell of a tortoise upon
its back.

Nearly in the middle of the illustration, and just
above the Alligator Terrapin, is shown the Australian
river tortoise, called the Chelodine. There are many
chelodines, but this has been selected as an example
of an Australian water trespasser, belonging to the
great group of tortoises. Its scientific name is Chelo-
dina longicollis. The latter of these names signifies
" long-necked," and is given to the animal because its
neck is very long, thin, and flexible. For the same
reason, the popular name of snake tortoise has some-
times been given to it.

It is also called the yellow chelodine, in conse-
quence of the colour of the horny plates or shields,
which are yellow in the centre and black on the edges.
It is rather remarkable, by the way, that although the
shields of the hawksbill turtle retain their richness of
colour as long as the material itself exists, the shields
of many other chelodines becomes dull and dark soon
after death.

This contrast is well shown in the shield of the

TERRAPINS. 109.

hawksbill turtle and the preserved chicken-tortoise,
which have already been mentioned. The former
retains all its rich inottlings, although many years have
elapsed since I took it from a barrel at the Docks.
The latter has entirely lost its colouring. When the
little creature was alive the shields were olive-brown,
with a net-like pattern of a paler hue, and in the
middle of each was a pale ring edged with black, from
which diverged a number of lines towards the edges of
the shield. Now all this colouring has faded, and the
colour is dull, brown-black, with a few blacker lines on
each shield.

It is easy to understand that the yellow stripes
upon the skin should fade away after death, but that
the colour of the horny plates should alter is as unex-
pected a fact as if black or brown human hair were to
turn white after it had been severed from the head.

The Australian chelodine loves stagnant water in
preference to running streams, and feeds upon the
slow-paced fishes, the frogs, and similar creatures
which inhabit the same localities.

The last of the tortoise water trespassers which
can be described in these pages is the Snapping Turtle,
as it is popularly called, its scientific name being
Trionyx ferox. The name is probably familiar to my
readers through the medium of the " Bon Gaultier "
legends, where " Slingsby, of the manly chest/' defied
and slew the ' ' snapping turtle of the West/'

I very much regret that the clever illustrator of
this work did not draw the real snapping turtle instead
of a mere green turtle, which is a very harmless being.
He would have made a much more effective picture.

110 REPTILIAN WATER TRESPASSERS.

The real snapping turtle has a very ferocious look about
it, while the green turtle is one of the mildest and
foolishest-looking of reptiles. The name trionyx is
Greek, and signifies three-clawed, in allusion to the
structure of the feet, only three toes of each foot pos-
sessing claws, although the full complement of five toes
is possessed by the reptile.

It well deserves its name of snapping turtle, for it
snaps and bites with astonishing ferocity; while its
long and lithe neck enables it to bring a considerable
area within reach of its jaws. It feeds mostly on fish,
but catches various water-fowl, and is not above
eating young alligators when it can find them.

Its voracity renders it liable to be taken with a
hook and line, as has been related of the Alligator
Terrapin ; but it requires very strong tackle, and a
skilful hand, to land it safely. It is so heavy, so
strong, and so active, that an angler who caught one
of these creatures when he was expecting a fish, com-
pared it to a mill-stone with a steam engine inside it.
Fish is perhaps the best bait for this reptile. After
it has been captured, it is generally placed in a tank and
kept alive until wanted; the injury inflicted by the
hook not affecting it in the least.

So indifferent is the creature to injury, that after
the head has been severed from the body, the former
will snap and bite for a considerable time, as if it were
possessed of its body; while the latter will crawl
about as if it were still possessed of its head. In one
case, where a snapping turtle was decapitated, and
then plunged into boiling water, the heart was still
pulsating; and, when removed from the body and

TERRAPINS. Ill

placed on a table, continued to beat for some twenty-
four hours longer.

Like the Alligator Terrapin, the snapping turtle is
highly valued as an article of food, and is kept for
this purpose just as we keep the green turtle in the
tanks called " crawls." In England, the turtles
spend one day in the tank, and the next on the floor
of the cell; this plan being found to keep them in
good health.

There is an African representative of the snapping
turtle, called the Tyrse (Trionyx Nileticus). As its
specific name implies, it inhabits the Nile, and there
makes much havoc among the young crocodiles.
Both these creatures belong to a small group of
aquatic tortoises, called soft turtles, because the hard
shell-covering only extends over a part of the back,
leaving the rest comparatively soft. They owe the
name of turtle to their size, although, as is shown by
the structure of the feet, they are only tortoises who
are qualified by their webbed feet for swimming in
the water.

We now come to another group of reptilian water
trespassers. We have seen how the lizards are thus
represented by the crocodiles and alligators ; the
batrachians by the newts, frogs, and toads, and their
kin ; and the tortoises by the turtles of the ocean, and
the various aquatic tortoises of the rivers and lakes.
Only one group of reptiles now remains, namely, the
Serpents ; and even among them we find many species
that are as much water trespassers as are the newt or
the turtle. All snakes, I believe, are able to swim ;

112 REPTILIAN WATER TRESPASSERS.

and, to judge by our common Grass Snake or Viper,
they undulate their way through the water in a most
graceful manner. Then there are some, such as the
Black Snake of Australia, which is often called the
Water Viper, from its habit of frequenting the rivers.

But there are some species of snakes which live
almost entirely in the water; and, like the whale or
the dolphin, soon die upon dry land. They all in-
habit the same latitude, and are common in the Indian
seas, where they always excite the admiration of those
who see them for the first time. Mr. Williams, the
well-known missionary, in his " Narrative/' mentions
the water snakes which he saw, some striped with
yellow and black, and others ringed with white upon
a black ground. Both kinds are considered to be
valuable articles of food, as are those species which
live on the shore.

I possess a copy of Bennett's " Whaling Voyage/'
which has evidently passed through the hands of an
old whaling captain, who has annotated it profusely.
His experience is evidently very wide, and his remarks
are valuable ; but his literary education has been
much neglected, and the mode in which he conveys
his information is often most ludicrous. He has a
strong objection to the " Mishunnarys," as he is
pleased to call them, and invariably prefaces the word
with some powerfully depreciating epithet. Every
evil is laid on the shoulders of the missionaries. For
example, there is an account of a certain disastrous
war, which is annotated as follows : " There is not one
wourd of truth in this steatment ; Mr. Willims, Since
killed in Dillons Bay Erremanga, caus this bluddy war."

SERPENTS. 113

In vol. i., p. 67, Mr. Bennett remarks that no
Serpents are found on the Society Islands, though
water snakes are not uncommonly seen on their
coasts. On the margin of the page, there is an
annotation as follows : " There was no such Sneaks in
nay time."

With all his prejudices against the "Rascelly
Iggerent Mishunnarys," with whose misdeeds the
book is plentifully sprinkled, his notes are really
valuable when he comes to his own practical experi-
ence ; and among them are many upon subjects of
natural history, which have the advantage of being
written by a man who merely relates his own obser-
vations, without having any theory to carry out.

For example, in vol. ii., p. 74, Mr. Bennett makes
the following remarks on a species of water snake :
" While we were yet engaged in the strait, my tow-
net captured a Water Snake (Hydrtiphis bicolor). It
was two feet in length ; the upper surface of the body
uniformly black; the inferior of a bright-yellow colour;
the tail vandyked with black and white. It had the
ordinary form of a land snake, with the exception that
the belly was keel-shaped, and the tail compressed (to
facilitate swimming), and blunt at the extremity.
The teeth were similar to those of innocuous land
snakes.

" It should be remembered that some sea snakes
have tubular, or poisonous, teeth mingled with the
true teeth.

" It did not appear much inconvenienced by being
removed from its natural element; and when taken oh
board the ship, resembled the terrestrial snakes in its

8

114 REPTILIAN WATER TRESPASSERS.

mode of rearing the head, gazing fixedly, and rapidly
protruding and retracting a cloven tongue. It did
not appear, however, to possess any power of pro-
gressing on land ; since, when placed on the deck of
the ship, it made the lateral motions usual with land
snakes, but could not advance. Tt uttered no sound,
nor did it make any attempt to bite. On dissection
after death, I found several small fish in its stomach."

This passage is annotated as follows : —

" Thees Sneaks are Numerous at the fegee Isslanes,
and bask in the Sun on the Rocks, the breed on
Shore/'

This species is a very pretty one, being black
above, and light yellow beneath and on the sides,
whence it derives its name of "bicolor," or two-
coloured. It scarcely ever comes on shore, except for
the purpose of depositing its eggs, which it lays
tolerably near high-water mark, so that when the
young are hatched by the heat of the sun, they can
make their way into the sea with very little trouble.
It is, on the average, about three feet in length.

Before examining the different species of water
snakes, we will glance at a few details of structure.
The first point is, as has already been noticed in all
water trespassers, the power of respiration.

In the Serpent tribe, there is no necessity for
special structures for the use of the water snakes.
The lungs are most curiously formed. They are long,
nearly cylindrical sacs, looking, when inflated, very
much as if they were meant to receive sausage-meat.
If carefully injected, it is seen that only the upper
part is vascular ; so that nearly the whole of the lung

SERPENTS. 115

is nothing more than a receptacle for air, the reptile
having therefore always within it a supply of air that
will aerate the blood for a long time.

Many years ago. when I had a school, my boys
were accustomed to make pets of snakes, and to carry
them about in their pockets. One of their amuse-
ments was, to take their pets to a deserted stone
quarry, which had become half-filled with water, and
give them a swim. They used to have races across
the quarry; and, as a rule, the snakes went straight
across. Sometimes, however, they would dive, flatten
themselves against the bottom of the quarry, and
there remain until they were roused by a stone dropped
over them. The time during which they would re-
main submerged was astonishing; and not even a
frog could hold out longer, if so long.

Now, in the marine snakes, which spend almost
the whole of their time in the water, the lungs are
very large indeed ; so that the reptile can lie quietly
sleeping on the surface of the water, being kept afloat
by the large and inflated lungs. If the snake can be
detected in this position, it can be easily taken, as it
must partially empty the lungs before it can dive;
and this is a work of some little time, the reptile being
obliged to throw itself on its back. I imagine that
the specimen which was caught in Mr. Bennett's net,
must have been taken while it was thus lying asleep.

Another point connected with respiration is, that
in the water snakes, the nostrils are furnished with a
structure which fulfils the same purpose as the corre-
sponding portion of the whales and dolphins. They
are fitted with a sort of valve, which effectually closes

116 REPTILIAN WATER TRESPASSERS.

them while the reptile is beneath the water, but can
be opened for the purpose of respiration when at the
surface.

The second point in the economy of a water tres-
passer, is the manner of progression. It has already
been mentioned that all snakes can propel themselves
through the water by an undulating movement of the
body. Those species, however, which almost exclu-
sively inhabit the water, have their structure modified
so as to suit their way of life. The tail portion of the
body, instead of being round, like that of the land
snake, is widened and flattened; assuming, in fact,
almost the exact shape of the eel's tail.

There are many species of water snakes, more than
seventy species being in the collection of the British
Museum. Some of them, among which is the species
which has just been mentioned, are such thorough
trespassers on the sea that not only cannot they live
upon land, but they soon perish in fresh water. Occa-
sionally, when there has been a severe storm, they are
thrown ashore, where they very soon die. Sometimes
they are driven up the mouth of tidal rivers, but,
unless they can make their way to the sea, they do not
long survive the change of element.

They are among the venomous Serpents, and are
held in great dread by the fishermen, in whose nets
they are often accidentally taken.

As is the case with many fishes of the warmer seas,
the colours of these water snakes, though brilliant
during life, are fugitive after death, and often vanish
entirely from the stuffed skin. It is a curious fact that
even during life the colours are brightest in the young

SERPENTS. 117

specimens, and so dull in the old that they are nearly
entirely of one colour. For example, in the present
species, which is called the Black -backed Pelamis, the
young snake is yellow below and black above, while
the old snake is almost entirely black.

This species has a very wide range, the specimens
in the British Museum having been taken off the shores
of India, Borneo, and New Zealand ; and there is one
specimen which is believed to have been captured near
Madagascar. It is common enough in India to have
received a vernacular name, and is called by the
natives Nalla Whallagee Pam.

Then there is a genus of Asiatic marine snakes,
which are called by the common titles of Shooter-sun
and Chittul by the natives, and are known to zoologists
by the generic name of Hydrophis.

About fifteen species of Hydrophis are in the
British Museum ; but there is the greatest difficulty in
determining a species of Hydrophis, the marks which
are generally used for this purpose being exceedingly
variable, not only in different species or in different
individuals of the same species, but in the same indi-
vidual.

For example, the shield-scales of the various parts
of the head are used as means by which the species
can be determined. In the Black-backed Pelamis the
specific distinction lies in the number and arrange-
ment of the scales about the eyes ; but in some
specimens the scales on the one side will be quite
different from those on the other, so that it is very
possible that mere varieties may be counted as species,
or species as varieties. In the British Museum there

118 REPTILIAN WATER TRESPASSERS.

are very many specimens of the Black -backed Pelamis,
and, in order to attain some kind of arrangement, they
are divided into six different groups, each of which is
so distinct from the others that it is not easy to decide
whether they may not be totally distinct species,
instead of simple varieties of a single species.

They have very long, slender necks, and sometimes
attain the length of four feet.

The species which is represented in the illustration
is the Banded Chersydrus (Ghersydrus granulatus) , so
called because its body is marked with bands of white
on a black ground. There are also white spots upon
the sides, the tail, and the head.

It inhabits the shores of India and Java, and by
the natives of the latter country is called Oular-limpe.
It is not such a sea-going reptile as those which have
just been mentioned, preferring inland bays and the
estuaries of large rivers, where the water is brackish
rather than wholly salt. When the water is clear these
snakes may be seen lying on the bottom.

From this attachment to the land as well as the
water, it has received the name of Chersydrus. This
title, as Greek scholars will know, is composed of two
words, the former signifying dry land, and the latter
signifying water. All these water snakes, indeed, have
received names expressive of their habit, structure, or
colour. For example, taking the Nalla Whallagee Pam.
Its generic name, Pelamis, is formed from a Greek
word signifying the sea ; and its specific name, bicolor,
or two-coloured, refers to the black and yellow of its
hues. The name Hydrophis, again, is formed from
two Greek words, signifying water serpent.

SEKPENTS. 119

Beside these flat-tailed, eel -like water snakes, there
are many others which are frequenters of the water,
but prefer fresh water to salt, and cannot trust them-
selves so far from land as do the true sea-snakes.

Several of these are placed in the genus Cerberus,
and are probably so called on account of the almost
repulsive ugliness of their large heads. They are not
dreaded as are those which belong to the group which
has already been described.

The commonest of these snakes is the Karoo
Bokadam of India, Borneo, etc. It is a brown snake,
banded with black across the back, having white sides
and a black belly, mottled with black. The tail is
black, and there are a few pale spots along the sides.

CHAPTER VI.

CARNIVORA.

WE will next take another series of mammalia, which
may be called Partial Trespassers in the water, and shall
find representatives of them among the caraivora, the
rodents, the pachydermata, the marsupials, and the
monotremes. We will begin with the Carnivora.

Perhaps the best-known examples of these animals
are the various species of Otter, most of which frequent
rivers and lakes, though some prefer the sea.

In these aquatic weasels, for such are the Otters, we
cannot but admire the mode in which the form is
modified so as to suit the element in which they have
to obtain their food. Both the terrestrial and aquatic
weasels have to capture prey by chase, and as the prey
of the Otter is exclusively*. found among the fishes, it is
evident that the structure of the body must be greatly
different in the two groups.

The first point which strikes the eye of an anatomisfc
is the use which is made of the tail. In the terrestrial
weasels, such as the common weasel, the stoat, the
badger, the ratels, etc., the tail is very short andinsig-

OTTERS. 121

nificant. Considering their habits, these animals would
only be- incommoded by a long tail, and it is, therefore,
abbreviated to suit the conditions of their life. But
when the animal has to propel itself rapidly through
the water, and to be endued with great agility as well
as speed, it is evident that as it is a trespasser in the
domains of the fishes, it must have something of the
fish-structure.

This object is attained chiefly by the form of the
tail, which, instead of being short and insignificant, as
in the terrestrial weasels, is very long, thick, and
powerful. Moreover, it is slightly compressed. By
means of this organ the Otter can propel itself through
the water with wonderful rapidity, the movement being
from side to side, just as is the case with the whales,
the seals, the crocodiles, the newts, and the water-
snakes.

Besides the tail, the Otter has other^ instruments of
propulsion — namely, the feet, the toes of which are
webbed, so as to present a wider surface to the water.
The feet, however, are more used to balance and direct
the body than to propel it, as can easily be seen by
watching the animal as it pursues its course through
the water.

It is absolutely impossible to exaggerate, and not
easy to describe adequately, the wonderful beauty,
ease, and gracefulness of its movements in the water.
On land, though it can proceed at a considerable pace,
it has anything but a graceful gait. Its ordinary walk
is a pattering trot, but when it is hurried it changes its
pace to that of an up-and-down kind of gallop, which
certainly is speedy, but is not graceful. This peculiar

122 PARTIAL WATER TRESPASSERS.

gait is caused by the length of the body, the shortness
of the legs, and the distance between the fore and hind
legs. As the creature goes galloping along, the back
is arched at every leap, and the entomological spectator
is at once reminded of the peculiar mode of progression
adopted by the looper caterpillar.

The animal is perfectly aware of. its inferiority on
land, and seldom trusts itself far from water. Almost
the only exception is when the rivers are so frozen that
it cannot obtain its ordinary food, and is obliged to
hunt for game on land, like its terrestrial relatives.
Under such conditions it has been known to enter
farm-yards at many miles' distance from the river which
it frequents, and to make as much havoc among the
poultry as would be caused by a marten or a polecat.

If, therefore, it be alarmed when on land, it always
makes for the water at once, dives, and can swim to a
considerable distance before it emerges. Its mode of
respiration is rather peculiar. The lungs are capacious,
so as to contain a large quantity of air, and as the
animal swims below the surface it continually expires
the air which it had taken into its lungs, so that as it
goes along its progress can be traced by the rising
air-bubbles. The supply of air being exhausted, it
rises to the surface, takes a breath, and again dives.
The rapidity with which this operation is conducted
seems rather startling until we recollect that as the
animal has already emptied its lungs under water, it
only needs to make a single inspiration to complete the
act of breathing.

When the Otter goes into the water from the land,
it slips in as noiselessly as if the water were oil, and,

1 w

OTTERS. 123

with easy wavings of its tail and undulations of its
body, glides along with admirable ease and elegance.
It is seen to great advantage when at play with a com-
panion ; and as there are mostly some living Otters in
any Zoological Gar dens, there are plenty of opportunities
•of seeing them. It is in these mock encounters that
the use of the webbed feet is best seen. As they twist,
and turn, and double beneath the water, the feet, and
especially the fore feet, are used for this purpose, just
as a swimmer alters his course by means of his hands.
The tail is all the while used for propulsion, and partly
for direction, but the doubling below the water is
achieved almost wholly by means of the feet.

There are few more interesting sights than to
watch Otters at play with each other. The infinite
variety of graceful attitudes as they twine and undu-
late beneath the surface must be seen to be appreciated.
They pretend to fight, just like a couple of puppies at
play, grasp each other with feet as well as with teeth,
roll over and over, and then, with a single wave of the
tail, they shoot out of the water upon the bank, gallop
round and round, and then glide again into the water
to pursue their graceful sport.

The shape of the head calls for some attention. It
is broader and flatter than in the terrestrial weasels
and has the nostrils placed high as well as the eyes, so
that it can both breathe and see without exposing
more than a few inches of surface. The same modi-
fication of structure is to be seen in the hippopotamus
and crocodile, both of which creatures, in spite of their
enormous size, expose so small a surface to the open
iiir, that even a good rifleman has to take his most

124 PARTIAL WATER TRESPASSERS.

careful aim before he can plant his bullet success-
fully.

In order that the Otter should be enabled to retain
the slippery and active prey on which it feeds, its
canine teeth must of necessity be long and sharp, and
its jaws powerful. But many Otters live habitually on
the salmon, one of the most powerful and active fish of
our rivers. In course of time they become epicures,
only kill the finest fish, and are dainty enough to eat
only the shoulders, leaving the rest on the bank.

Many a shepherd has kept himself well fed by
discovering the larder of one of these old Otters, and
taking the fish which the dainty creature had left on
the bank. Perhaps scarcely half a pound of the fish
would have been eaten by the Otter, the remainder
falling to the man, who of course took very good care
not to reveal the dwelling-place of so useful an ally,
and never to disturb the animal at its food.

Any one who has caught a salmon can appreciate
its strength. Even when landed, it struggles so
fiercely, that only experienced fishers can hold it, and
its power in its own element is necessarily very much
greater. Yet the Otter can swim faster than the
salmon, turn more nimbly, and when it has once
grasped its prey is strong enough to bring it to land.
This fact shows that the neck must possess the double
qualities of flexibility and strength, and accordingly,
if the skin be removed, the neck is seen to be clothed
with muscles quite as strong, in proportion to the size
of the animal, as are those of the lion himself.

Indeed, there are few creatures in which flexibility
and power are so wonderfully combined as in the Otter.

OTTERS. 125

As it moves about in the water, it scarcely seems to
possess any joints at all, so easy is the turn of the body
and limbs. Yet when it sets itself to a struggle with
its prey, its whole character seems to be changed, and
the entire framework of the animal becomes as rigid as
if the bones and sinews were of steel.

This can be readily seen by throwing a fish into
the water at the Zoological Gardens. Of course, in
such limited dimensions, there is little scope for flight
on the part of the fish, or chase on the part of the
Otter. But the Otter can " make-believe " as well as
any child at its play, and it generally makes believe
that the fish is a large salmon, which is costing a hard
fight before it yields.

Then, after it has safely landed its prey, the Otter
places its fore paws oil the fish, seizes it in its mouth,
and tears it to pieces with a crunching sound that
speaks plainly of the great strength that is employed
in .the operation. It is no wonder that few dogs can
be found to face the Otter in fair fight, and that even
the best-trained Otter hounds have all their work to
do in securing an animal which can twist about like a
snake and bite like a badger.

It seems somewhat curious that while the falcon
should have been trained to catch birds in the air, and
ferrets to chase rats and rabbits beneath the ground,
the Otter, which is a near relation of the ferret, should
not have its aquatic powers utilized, and be taught to
catch fish for its trainer, instead of depopulating the
river on its own account and in its own wasteful
manner.

It is trained in some parts of India and China, and

126 PARTIAL WATER TRESPASSERS.

is kept near the water, tethered by rope and collar
until wanted. This animal is the Chinese Otter, or
Indian Otter (Lutra Chinensis), which is spread over a
considerable portion of Asia. The reader may remem-
ber that the cormorant is used for a similar purpose ;
but as reference will be made to that bird in a future
page, it needs at present only a passing mention.

The Otter would be even more valuable than the
cormorant for this purpose, and for the following
reason : The instinct of the cormorant teaches it, when
it has caught a fish, to swallow it on the spot ; but the
instinct of the Otter teaches it, under similar circum-
stances, to bring the fish ashore. It does not swallow
its prey whole, like the cormorant, but, as we have
already seen, tears it to pieces with its teeth, while
holding it down with its fore paws.

As the present work does not pretend to give a
detailed description of all the water trespassers, but
only to give a slight sketch of them and the modifica-
tions of structure which will enable them to trespass
upon an alien element, I shall only mention one other
species of Otter — namely, the Sea Otter (Enhydra
Lutris) .

This is a most singular animal, and presents a
remarkable contrast to the structure of the Ofcters in
general. As has already been mentioned, in the gene-
rality of the Otters, the tail plays the most conspicuous
part. But in the Sea Otter it is quite short, and is, in
fact, scarcely larger, in proportion to the size of the
animal, than that of the stoat or common weasel. In
order, however, to compensate for the smallness of the
tail, the body is very much elongated, and the hind

OTTEES. 127

legs are set on in such a way that they present a
curious resemblance to the nippers of the seal.

Indeed, so strongly marked is the similitude, that
several systematic zoologists have considered that the
Otters form, through this species, a transitional link
between the weasels and the seals.

Although it is popularly called the Sea Otter, it
does not restrict itself to the sea, but passes a migra-
tory existence. It inhabits the shores of the Northern
Pacific, and as the winter cold of that locality is very
severe, the rivers and lakes are frozen for a consider-
able portion of the year, so that no Otter could live if it
were dependent on fresh water.

During the warmer seasons of the year, the Sea
Otter inhabits the inland lakes, and feeds upon the
fresh-water fish. When, however, the frosts of winter
begin to approach, the Otter is led by instinct to leave
the lakes and descend the rivers until it reaches the
sea. Here it is sure of obtaining food, and here it
remains until the summer's sun has broken up the ice
of the fresh water, when it returns to its former
locality. In default of fish, it can feed upon Crustacea
and molluscs, its powerful teeth enabling it to crush
even the hard aud strong shells with which the greater
number of marine molluscs are protected.

As is the case with the seal, and particularly with
those species that are confined to northern climates,
the Sea Otter is furnished with very thick and warm
fur. This fur is doubly valuable — firstly, because it is
very soft in texture and rich in colour ; and, secondly,
because the animal is a rare one, and not easily cap-
tured when discovered.

128 PARTIAL WATER TRESPASSERS.

The colour of the fur is a very deep black-brown
above, and whitish beneath. The animals live in pairs,
and are said to produce only one cub at a time. In size
it is far superior to our British species, for whereas
the common Otter weighs, on an average, about twenty-
four pounds, the Sea Otter weighs from seventy to
eighty pounds.

Unsuited as the Bears may seem for aquatic feats,
they yet have a representative as a water trespasser —
namely, the well-known Polar Bear, or White Bear,
so called from the cream-white colour of its coat.

It is well known that in the colder regions there
are many creatures which assume a white hue in the
winter-time. The common ptarmigan of Scotland is a
familiar example which occurs within our own island.
Then there is the Arctic fox, which becomes perfectly
white in winter, and the Arctic wolf, which becomes
pale grey, while the lovely white ermine is, as most-
people know, merely the common stoat, which has as-
sumed its winter clothing. The last-mentioned animal,
by the way, has been artificially bleached by keeping
it in a cold atmosphere ; and even in our country are
occasionally found stoats which have partially assumed
the white winter's dress of the ermine.

In all those creatures, however, the white hue is
but temporary, and at the beginning of the warm
weather the ordinary dark hue of the fur or plumage
is resumed. The white bear, however, forms an ex-
ception to the general rule, the fur retaining its white
colour through life, and even keeping it when the
animal is brought to a warmer climate. Several Polar

POLAR BEAES. 129

bears have lived for years in the Zoological Gardens,
and in spite of the many hot summers which they have
painfully endured, the fur has never darkened.

Various reasons have been adduced for this reten-
tion of the white hue. I think, however, that its con-
dition as a water trespasser may afford a very sufficient
reason. The animal feeds partly on fishes, but its
chief food consists of seals. In fair chase, the bear
would have but little chance of catching so speedy and
active an animal as the seal, and it therefore employs
stratagem to attain its object.

Seals always resort to the shore for repose, and
have a very curious fashion of sleeping. They take
short naps of barely ten seconds each, raising their
heads and looking about them between each nap. The
Polar Bear takes advantage of this peculiarity, and
when he sees a seal asleep on the land or an ice-floe,
he makes his approach with the greatest caution.

He first dives and swims under water in the direc-
tion of his intended prey, only just putting his nose
above the surface for the purpose of breathing. When
he has thus reached the shore, he scrambles upon it
during one of the seal's naps, and lies motionless while
it takes its customary survey. As soon as the seal lays
down its head, the bear hitches himself towards it by
means of his claws, and again becomes quiet as soon
as it awakes. He then contrives to come near enough
to cut off its retreat to the water, and is perfectly sure
of his prey, the seal having no more chance against
the bear ashore, than has the bear against the seal in
the water. The seal can scuttle along at a tolerable
rate, but the fur-soled feet of the bear gives the animal

9

130 PARTIAL WATER TRESPASSERS.

so firm a hold of the slippery ground that there is no
difficulty in intercepting and killing the seal.

The reader will now see why the colour of this
water-loving bear should be white. If, during one of
its brief intervals of wakefulness, the seal were to espy
a dark object floating in the water, its suspicions would
at once be excited, and it would make off to a place of
safety before it could be captured. But, at a little
distance, the white body of the Polar Bear looks just
like a lump of floating ice, and the seal, therefore
suffers it to approach, being in ignorance of its true
character. It is in the approach by water that the
bear's chief difficulty lies, for, as we have seen, if he
can only manage to interpose between the seal and the
water, the fate of the destined prey is assured, unless
it happens to be near a hole in the ice.

It is rather a remarkable fact that the Esquimaux
seal-hunters have borrowed from the Polar Bear two
modes of catching the seal. One mode is by imitat-
ing the method of approach to the sleeping seal, the
hunter lying flat on his face, and hitching himself along
gradually during the short naps of the animal. So
skilful are the men at this work that they will often
contrive to kill the seal even though it should be close
to a hole in the ice. The animal has mostly strength
enough to plunge through the hole, but is retained by
the rope attached to the harpoon.

The second mode is that of catching the young seal
in the igloo, which has been described on page 64.

The bear manages to find out by its sense of smell
the exact position of the igloo. It then goes to a little
distance, leaps with all its weight on the igloo so as to

POLAR BEAKS. 131

break in the roof, and seizes the young seal before it
can escape. The hunter does just the same thing,
except that he uses his dog's nose for the discovery,
and his spear instead of claws.

The modifications of form which permit the Polar
Bear to become a trespasser upon the water are few and
simple, but effective for their purpose. As the animal
is not intended to remain below the surface for any
length of time, no change of structure is needed in the
respiratory organs. As, however, it is obliged to be
very active in the water, and to swim to long distances,
the means of locomotion must evidently be very different
from those of the terrestrial bears.

In the first place, the body is longer and more
flexible, while the neck is so much elongated as to
remind the observer of the same part of a weasel, and
is almost as flexible as that of the otter, which has
already been described. Then, the head is of a rather
peculiar shape, tapering regularly from the forehead to
the nose, instead of having a depression at the base of
the snout, as is the case with land-inhabiting bears,-
this form being probably given in order to enable the
animal to dart its head faster at its prey than it could
do if it were" broad and thick.

The chief instruments of locomotion are the feet,
which serve to transport the animal over land or ice,
or to propel it through the water. They are very much
longer and broader than those of the terrestrial bears,
measuring, in fact, one-sixth of the length of the body.
By means of these four paddles, the bear, in spite of
its large size, can play about in the water almost as
actively as the otter itself, and is so swift and quick

132 PARTIAL WATER TRESPASSERS.

that it lias been seen to chase and capture a salmon in
the open sea. So powerful is the action of its feet
while swimming that, when it is much excited in chase
of prey, it can make a succession of long springs out
of the water, just as one may sometimes see a pike
do when chasing a smaller fish.

Both the sole and the upper part of the foot are
clothed with stout and long hairs. Those of the sole
are invaluable in giving the creature a foothold upon
the ice, and the latter act as a sort of pent-house to
shoot the water away from the foot when the animal
lands.

There is a peculiarity also about the fur, which, I
believe, had not been publicly noticed until I called
attention to it in an article published in the "Daily
Telegraph." Ordinarily, the hairy clothing of the
Polar Bear is as impervious to water as the fur of a seal
or the feathers of a duck, and, when the animal comes
on shore after a dive or a swim of thirty or forty miles,
its skin is perfectly dry, though the water pours in
torrents from its back. But, in order to perform this
office properly, the skin must be perfectly clean ; and
this fact was discovered in rather a curious manner.

A young Polar Bear was added to the collection at
the Zoological Gardens, and as soon as it was trans-
ferred to the den, it plunged joyfully into the water,
and swam about for a little time. Presently, however,
it was seen to be in difficulties. It sank lower and
lower in the water, and became so weak by struggling
that it was not able to drag itself ashore. Fortunately,
the keeper was, as usual, on the alert, and, by letting
off the water, contrived to save the creature's life.

WATER SHREW. 133

It seems rather absurd that an animal which can
chase and capture a salmon in its own element, and
swim thirty miles, should be in danger of drowning in
a little tank not so large as a moderate-sized room.
The reason, however, was soon apparent. The animal
had travelled for a considerable distance by land,
without any opportunity of getting at water. Conse-
quently, its fur became choked with dust and dirt,
absorbed water like a sponge, and was very nearly the
cause of its owner's death.

The water-resisting power of fur will be mentioned
in the description of the animal next on our list.

Still taking the carnivorous animals in their
zoological order, we find that the insect-eating carni-
vora have several representatives as water trespassers.
We will begin with one little animal that is very
common in this country, but not nearly so well known
as might be imagined from its numbers. The fact is,
it is a quick and very little creature, and the sound of
a human voice or even a heavy step at some distance
will send it to its secure hiding-place.

Everyone is familiar with the long-nosed Shrew-mice
that are found lying dead about the roads in autumn,
and used at one time to be objects of superstitious
dread to the ignorant. Several members of its family
are as much at home in the water as the polar bear,
their best representative being the Water shrew
(Crossopus fodiens) , which is shown on Cut 7.

I am tolerably sure that these Iittl6 animals exist
on the banks of many streams where their presence is
not even suspected. I have found them in places

PARTIAL WATER TRESPASSERS.

where no one would think that the creatures could pick
up a living, and have always been much interested in
them. As far as I have seen, they do not appear to
travel to any great distance from their burrow, so that
although there may be several families of water shrews
within a mile, every yard of the stream must be care-
fully inspected before they can be found.

In some respects, the modifications of structure
which enable them to become water trespassers
resemble those of the polar bear. As in that animal,
the feet are the instruments of propulsion, are long and
wide, the width being gained partly by the length of
the toes, which can be spread well apart, and partly by
the fringe of stiff hairs which surround them, and
which acts just like the hairs in the rowing legs of the
water-beetles.

The generic name of Crossopus, or tassel-footed, is
given to the various Water shrews in consequence of
this hairy fringe to the feet. When the creature is
carefully inspected, it will be seen that from the
manner in which these hairs are set upon the foot, they
hold the water like the blade of an oar while the animal
is making its stroke, and yield to the water as the limb
is drawn forward in readiness for the next stroke.

We will now revert for a time to the question
which was mentioned at the end of the account of the
polar bear — namely, the capability of fur to resist
water.

At first sight, it appears absurd to suppose that
hairs, when laid side by side, can resist the action of
water, and keep the animal perfectly dry though it may
be submerged for a considerable time. Such an opinion

WATER SHREW. 135

would be perfectly justified. Taken alone, no amount
of hairs would keep water from the skin any more
than water could be carried in a sieve. But another
element has to be considered — namely, the air which
entangled among the hairs, and which is the real
barrier both to the penetration of water to the skin,
and of loss of animal heat through the skin into the
water.

Some of my readers may perhaps have tried to pour
water into an empty vessel through a single narrow
aperture, and, if they have done so, have signally failed,
the air in the vessel not permitting the water to enter.
Suppose, for example, that the vent-peg of an empty
barrel be removed, and a funnel tightly inserted in its
place. The funnel may be filled with water, but not a
drop will enter the barrel, the invisible air within
forming a barrier as effectual as a cork or a stopper.

There is an amusing little trick which is sometimes
played upon unsuspecting persons, and which illus-
trates this property of air. An empty soda-water bottle
is laid on its side, and a piece of cork about as large
as a pea placed within the neck. Anyone is then
challenged to blow the cork into the bottle. This
looks so easy that a person who does not know the
trick, or whose knowledge of the properties of matter
does not enable him to see through the attempted
delusion, advances and blows sharply into the bottle. To
his great surprise he finds himself struck in the face
with the piece of cork, which he has blown out of the
bottle and not into it.

The fact is, the bottle, although it looks empty, is
really full of air; and just in proportion as air is blown

136 PARTIAL WATER TRESPASSERS.

into it, the air that already exists is blown out, carry-
ing the cork with it. The only way to get the cork
into the bottlo is to coax it, so to speak, by blowing
very gently and steadily on one side, so that the air
within the bottle is allowed to escape gradually, and
the cork slowly rolls along the side of the neck until
it is fairly within the body of the bottle.

These two examples illustrate the action of fur
upon the life of the animal, and show that the very
same property which keeps an animal warm in winter,
keeps it dry in water. In itself, fur has no warmth ;
and, if in the depth of winter, a thermometer were
applied to a fur coat and a steel cuirass, each would be
found to be of the same temperature ; though the
former would keep a man warm, and the latter freeze
him to death. Air is a very bad conductor of heat ;
and, as there is much air entangled in fur, it pre-
vents the animal heat from escaping.

Thus we see why it is that long-haired furs are so
much warmer than those of a shorter character.
They entangle more air, and consequently interpose
more of a non-conducting medium between the animal
and the external cold. Even in these cases, such as
the seal-skin, in which ladies so rejoice, where the fur
is apparently short, the individual hairs are really
found to be long, but curled and twisted so as to
occupy less space, while holding the same amount of
air. A familiar example of the value of air as a non-
conductor of heat, may be seen in the conduct of birds
when exposed to severe cold.

Take, for example, the redbreast — a bird peculiarly
sensitive to cold, and so bold as to be easily ap-

WATER SHREW. 137

preached. See what the redbreast looks like in the
winter, as he sits disconsolately on a bough, or
crouches about on the ground. He is hardly recog-
nizable for the trim, smooth- feathered bird of the
summer time. All his plumage is puffed out until he
looks a mere ball of feathers. In fact, the poor bird
is suffering from cold, and instinctively erects all its
feathers, so as to entangle as much air as possible
between them.

It is evident that the " set," whether of hair or
feathers, has much to do with the capability of entang-
ling air ; and that anything which interferes with the
orderly arrangement of the fibres, will equally interfere
with the cold or water-resisting power. I think that
in this respect much depends on life. Take, for
example, a common water rat, as it comes out of the
water, and capture it on shore. It will be found that
although the exterior of the fur be wet, the skin is
quite dry. But, if the same animal had been shot
while in the water, it would have been wet to the
skin when taken out.

It is to this fact that is due the fearful cruelty
committed by professional cat stealers. We have
most of us heard the shameful details of cases where
the delinquent has fortunately been brought to. justice,
and seen that the heartless miscreants always excused
themselves for flaying cats alive, by saying that their
skins were worth nothing if taken from them after
death.

We can now understand why the young polar
bear which has been lately mentioned, was so nearly
drowned. The dust and dirt that had worked their

138 PARTIAL WATEE TRESPASSERS.

way into its fur had interfered with the set of the
hairs, and had allowed the air to escape, and conse-
quently the water to get in. Take, again, the familiar
example of a sponge. Sink it below the water with-
out pressing it ; let it remain for a few minutes, and
then remove it. Scarcely a drop of water will have
penetrated to its interior. Bubbles of air will be seen
at the mouth of every aperture, and will have acted as
effectual barriers to the water. Sink it again for half
a second, but squeeze it at the time, and then loosen
it. On removing the sponge it will be found filled
with water, the air having been expelled by the
pressure.

Now, every one who has watched the gambols of
the Water shrew in a stream, has been struck with the
beauty of its appearance when diving. It seems to be
enveloped in a suit of silver spangles, and this appear-
ance is due to the innumerable air bubbles which are
entangled among its hairs, and which glitter just like
those of the sunken sponge. So firmly are they held
among the hairs that the rapid movements of the
animal through the water do not dislodge them ; and
they alter its appearance so completely, that when
the Water shrew emerges and goes pattering along the
bank, it is hardly to be recognized as the same
creature which was but a moment ago gliding beneath
the water ; the velvet-black of its dry coat contrast-
ing curiously with the silvery suit which it wears
while submerged.

It has already been mentioned that the sense of
hearing is in these animals very acute. That of sight
appears to be rather dull, or perhaps it is incapable

WATER SHRfcW. 139

of being extended beyond a certain distance. Let the
observer only sit quiet, without moving, and the
Water shrews will play about within reach of a stick,
entirely unconscious of man's proximity. But a
movement which produces the least sound at once
gives the alarm, and sends the little animals off to
their hiding-places.

There is yet another provision of nature which
ought to be noticed. In common with many other
water trespassers, it has but very small ears. Still, as
it is much given to diving — and the water might force
its way into the auditory passages — the entrance to
the ear is guarded by a valve composed of three little
flaps, which are forced together by the pressure of
the superincumbent water, and so keep the interior of
the ear entirely dry.

There is another British Water shrew, which is
called the oared shrew, because the stiff, hairy fringe
upon the feet is very hard and conspicuous, looking,
while the animal is swimming, like the blade of an
oar. It is sometimes called the black shrew, because,
although the upper part of the body is of the same
velvety black in both animals, the oared shrew is
much darker beneath than the common Water shrew.
In both species, the tail is flattened from the tip to
about one-third of its length, so that it probably serves
the purpose of a rudder.

140 PARTIAL WATER TRESPASSERS.

THE DAESMAN (Galemys Pyrenaica).

In some parts of Russia and France there are found
some curious animals allied to our water shrews, but
even more determined water trespassers. Their scien-
tific name is Galemys, and they are popularly known
under the name of Daesman.

In many respects, such as the flattening of the tail,
the Daesman very much resembles the water shrew, but
as it is a much more aquatic animal, its structure is
modified accordingly.

Unlike the water shrew, which gambols about on
shore or in the water with equal agility, the Daesman
spends hardly any of its time out of the water, and is in
the fresh water almost as constantly aquatic as the seals
are in the ocean. As, therefore, its legs are needed for
swimming rather than for walking, they are very much
shortened, very little more than the paws appearing
outside the skin. The toes are very long in proportion,
and are connected with webs, so as to convert the foot
into a powerful oar.

It is very much averse to walking on land, and if
it be obliged to pass from one stream to another, it
will avoid the overland route, and dig for itself a
tunnel, the fore feet being adapted for burrowing as
well as swimming.

The strangest part of its formation, which enables
the Daesman to be a water trespasser, is the shape of
the nose. In the ordinary shrew this organ is elon-
gated, but in the Daesman it is so very long and mobile

THE DAESMAN. 141

that it reminds the observer of the elephant's pro-
boscis. Were it not for the peculiar form of this organ,
nearly all the Daesmans would perish in the winter time,
not from cold, against which they are tolerably proof,
but from want of air.

In the winter time, the streams in which the Daes-
man lives are covered with thick ice, through which
very little air can pass. The animal is therefore driven
to its burrow, which is a complicated series of tunnel-
lings some twenty feet or so in total length. The
mouth of the burrow opens under the surface of the
water, and although its ramifications extend upwards,
they do not break into the open air like those of the
mole. Indeed, even if the Daesman did desire to dig
its way into the air, it could not do so, the frozen soil
beiDg too hard for its feet.

Its long proboscis of a nose now stands the crea-
ture in good stead, for it goes about in search of small
apertures in the ground or ice, and by thrusting its
nose into them, contrives to breathe where an animal
less fitly endowed would, to a certainty, die of asphyxia.
Even the Daesman sometimes succumbs, and the
animals are found lying dead and suffocated in their
burrows.

For frost the Daesman cares but little, being pro-
tected from cold as well as from the water by a double
coating of fur, like that of the seal, namely, an inner
coat of fine soft down, and an outer covering of stiffer
hair. The inner coat is so thick and warm that the
fur is in great requisition as an article of apparel. It
is not only warm, but light, and the only drawback to
its use is its costliness, the Daesmans not being very

142 PARTIAL WATER TRESPASSERS.

plentiful, and a great many skins being required for a
single garment. The average length, of each skin is
not more than eight inches.

One of the true moles is called the shrew- mole,
and really seems to form a connecting link be-
tween the moles and the shrews. Its scientific name
is Scalops, which literally signifies a digger, and is
given to the animal on account of its burrowing
habits.

It has a very long mobile nose, like that of the
Daesman, with which animal it is sometimes con-
founded. Although not so aquatic as the Daesman, it
is a water-lover, and swims well, the broad digging
feet acting as paddles wherewith it can propel itself
through the water. Even the common mole is no mean
swimmer, as I can testify from experience, having
seen it take voluntarily to the water and swim across
a stream.

CHAPTER VII.

THE BEAVEE (Castor Fiber).

AT the head of the rodent water trespass era, the
Beaver at once takes its place as being one of the best
swimmers, and possessing the most interesting habits,
besides being one of the largest of the whole group.
It is rather remarkable that the largest of all the
rodent animals, the capybara, is also a water tres-
passer, though not to such an extent as the Beaver.

The history of the Beaver is a very wonderful one,
and there are few animals about whom so many strange
stories have been told, some being true and some
false, and the former more wonderful than the latter.
In the present case, we are only concerned with those
details of the animal's economy which enable it to
become a trespasser in the water.

The most remarkable part of the Beaver's history is
the manner in which it keeps itself supplied with
a sufficient depth of water for its purpose when it
inhabits a shallow stream. This purpose it fulfils by
making a dam, constructed on exactly the same prin-

144 RODENT WATER TRESPASSERS.

ciple as that of an ordinary water-mill. This fact has
long been known, but the manner in which the dam is
constructed has been much misunderstood, and some
of the stories respecting the Beaver's powers of build-
ing are nearly as fabulous as those of the sailing
powers of the nautilus shell.

For example, we used to be told that the Beaver
made the dam by cutting long stakes, sharpening one
end, driving them into the bed of the river, and then
intertwining smaller boughs between the uprights.
The work was finished by filling all the interstices
with stones and mud, which were brought on their
tails, just as a mason carries mortar on a board. The
tail was also said to subserve the purpose of a trowel,
and to be chiefly used in smoothing and patting down
the mud.

As a boy, I was always puzzled to understand
how a Beaver should be able to drive stakes into the
bed of the river, not seeing where the necessary power
could be obtained. I had often constructed dams
across streamlets, but could not have driven stakes
without the use of a heavy mallet, an implement which
a Beaver was not likely to possess. Similarly, being a
swimmer, I could not understand how the Beaver could
carry mud or stones on its tail, conjecturing, from
practical experience, that the weight of the cargo
would sink the tail in the water, so that everything
upon it would slide off.

On land, the conveyance was supposed to be
managed in a different manner. An old Beaver, whose
teeth were too much worn to be serviceable in cutting
down trees, was utilized as a timber cart. He had to

THE BEAVER. 145

lie on his back, and was then laden with logs, which
he embraced with his legs. Several other Beavers
then drew him to the spot where the timber was
wanted, and so often was this done that many old
Beavers had the skin rubbed quite off their backs. If
the community were a recent one, and no old Beaver
was to be found, they took possession of the first
stranger whom they met, and impressed him into
their service. The Beaver was also supposed to be
unable to live if its tail were dry, so that if it went on
shore, it was obliged to go to the river at short inter-
vals, and dip its tail in the water.

There is now before me an engraving representing
a party of Beavers engaged in architecture. Their dam
is made of strong stakes driven perpendicularly into
the bed of the river, and placed quite parallel to each
other. Between tnem are interlaced a number of
branches, some of which are so large that they could
not have been fixed without the exertion of far greater
power than a Beaver can possess.

The real history of the manner in which the Beaver
makes itself a home in the water is admirably given in
a paper by Mr. A. H. Green, who has been a practical
Beaver trapper for some^ years, and had carefully
watched the customs of the animal. The paper was pub-
lished in the Journal of the Linnaean Society for August,
1869. The following extract is taken from the paper : —

" They begin to build their dams about July or
August, as soon as the summer floods begin to subside.
For this purpose they generally choose a bend in the
stream, with high and clayey banks, and commence by
felling a large tree that will reach across the water ; or

10

146 RODENT WATER TRESPASSERS-

they fell a tree on each side of the water so as to meet
in the centre. They then float sticks from six to four
feet long down to the dam, and lay them horizontally,
filling in the spaces with roots, tufts of grass, leaves,
and clay or mud. The branches of the first tree are
the perpendicular supports, almost all the remaining
sticks being placed horizontally and crosswise. The
last six or eight inches in height is very insecurely con-
structed, being nothing but mud and leaves.

" The highest dam I ever saw was only about four
feet six inches ; but the generality of them are not above
two or three feet. The action of the water, by bringing
down mud, gravel, or fallen leaves, strengthens the
dam by making a sloping bank against it ; and, the
willow sticks of which it is composed sending forth their
roots and shoots, the dam in course of time becomes
a fixture, bound together as strongly as well could be.

" The winter floods almost invariably destroy the
upper part of the dam, which is reconstructed afresh
every year. The shape of the dam is almost always
semicircular, with the crown of the arch down stream,
thus reversing the order of things ; but I have no doubt
this is in consequence of the heads of the first or
principal trees being floated down stream when they
are first thrown.

" The body of water raised by these dams varies,
of course, according to the fall of the original stream,
from a small hole of 20 feet diameter to a lake of miles
in length. In the former case, the Beaver builds his
house close to the dam, so as to get depth of water,
and there saves himself from any hungry panther
(Felis concolor, L.) or wolf who might feel inclined to

THE BEAVER. 147

indulge in Beaver-meat. The Beaver also burrows into
the banks of streams, always taking care to have two
entrances, one under (or close to) the water, and a
smaller air-hole on land. With a good dog, capital
sport may be had on some of the smaller rivulets lead-
ing into or out of a lake.

" The houses are formed of water-logged sticks
placed horizontally in the water. They have always
two or more entrances, and a small chamber with a
little grass for the Beaver to lie on. The top of the
house is constructed very thick, to guard against
attacks by animals. Mud and roots are used to make
the house solid ; but no mud is seen from the outside,
as the top is covered with loose sticks left there by the
Beaver, after taking the bark off. The houses are gene-
rally about four feet in height, and about six in diameter
on the outside, and would hold about four Beavers,
though I have known small houses to hold two only/'

It is probable that the two errors respecting the
tail of the Beaver — namely, that it is used as a trowel
or mortar-board — may arise from the fact that as the
animal always trails its flat tail after it as it walks, the
muddy sides of the river are worn quite smooth in
spots which are much frequented by the Beaver. Then,
after it has deposited its load, it has a way of giving
a self-satisfied sort of slap on the water with its tail,
which has evidently been mistaken for the act of pat-
ting down the mud.

As to their mode of carrying the materials used
for their buildings, the stones, earth, and similar sub-
stances are held firmly between the fore paws and the
chin, so that they are upheld by the inflated lungs.

148 RODENT WATEE TRESPASSERS.

As to trees, the Beavers proceed in a very ingenious
manner. They are invariably cut so that the head of
the tree falls away from the river. As soon as it is
down the Beavers precipitate themselves on it, cut
away the branches which are not needed, and drag it
into the river so that it can be floated down. They in-
variably fell trees above, and never below, their dams.
To drag a tree up the stream would be beyond the
power of any number of Beavers, but to guide it down
is a different business, and three or four of the animals
are quite enough to pilot a large tree to its destina-
tion, taking advantage of every eddy in the stream as
craftily as if they were experienced boatmen.

The houses are built in two flats, the lower one
being nearly on a level with the water, and used as a
landing-stage, and the upper employed as a sleeping
apartment. It was at one time thought that the Beaver
was in the habit of filling its house with fresh branches
by way of a store of food. This, however, is not the
case, for, as Mr. Green very rightly observes, a single
day's food for a Beaver would more than fill the house.
Their stores are generally made at some distance from
the dam, and above it, and when the animal has
stripped the bark from the branch," which forms almost
its sole food, it throws the peeled branch into the
stream, and utilizes it either for its dam or house.

It is evident that the Beaver, which spends so much
of its time in the water, must possess some kind of
clothing, whether of fur, scale, or feather, which will
protect its body. In point of fact, hair, scales, and
feathers are only modifications of the same develop-
ment of the skin. In common with many other water-

THE BEAVER. 149

loving mammals, they have a double coating of
differently formed hairs. Next to the skin comes the
close, soft hair, of which beaver-hats are made, and
over that is a thatching of longer and coarser hair.

So effectual is this double protection that the Beaver
seems to be absolutely indifferent to temperature.
Some years ago, when I had the curiosity to visit the
Zoological Gardens in the depth of a severe winter, I
was greatly interested in the behaviour of the Beaver.
It was one of the nastiest and most uncomfortable days
that could be imagined. There was ice, there was
sleet, and there was a north-east wind which seemed
to drive through the thickest and stoutest garments as
if they were mere cobwebs.

For myself, though never caring very much for
weather, I was so completely chilled to the very bone
that I could hardly have patience to watch any animal,
however interesting, and was quite unable to make
notes, my fingers being incapable of even feeling the
pencil. Yet, the Beaver seemed to be in the full
exultation of an enjoyable existence. He was popping
in and out of his house, running round the edge of his
little pond, biting a stick or two with his chisel-like
teeth, and ever and anon plunging into the water with
a loud slap of his tail, and disappearing below the sur-
face. Presently, he would reappear, scramble upon
land, and resume his walk, apparently unconscious of
the fact that he was trailing with him a number of
lumps of ice that had become entangled with his fur.
I felt horribly envious of a creature who could enjoy
itself by swimming about in water that almost froze
one to look at.

150 RODENT WATER TRESPASSERS.

It may at first sight appear rather strange that the
possession of very large teeth should be necessary in
order that the Beaver may retain its position as a
water trespasser. Yet, were it not for these wonder-
fully powerful weapons, the beaver would soon perish
off the face of the earth. A certain depth of water is
absolutely necessary for its existence ; this depth
cannot be secured without the use of dams ; and dams
cannot be made without the assistance of teeth that

SKULL OF BEAVEK.

are large, sharp, and powerful enough to fell the trees
which make the foundation of the dam, to cut off the
boughs, and to strip them of the bark. These teeth
are, therefore, even for a rodent animal, of very great
size and strength. They are so powerful that they
can cut in two with a single bite a strong walking-
stick, and the grooves which they leave upon the trees
are so deep that they are often mistaken for the marks
cut by the Indian tomahawks.

The strength and size of the teeth may be judged

THE BEAVER. 151

from the preceding figure of a Beaver's skull.
This figure was drawn for my " Illustrated Natural
History," published by Messrs. Routledge and Sons,
and is kindly lent by them.

There is one remarkable point in their internal
structure, the object of which is not precisely known.
The cavities of the heart are very large in proportion to
the size of the organ, then the walls are quite thin,
and when the animal is dead, the heart seems to col-
lapse almost into nothing.

Perhaps the reader may not be aware that the
Beaver, although it is chiefly known as an inhabitant
of North America, still exists in several parts of
Europe, and, until a comparatively late period of
history, was found in this country, and was called in
Scotland the broad-tailed otter. I believe that it was
not fairly extinct until the end of the fifteenth or the
beginning of the sixteenth century.

It is a notable fact that in the historical records of
this country, the fur of the Beaver was not only more
costly than that of any other British animal, bub
regularly increased in proportionate value, showing
that the animal was gradually becoming scarcer. The
last specimens were seen in some of the Scottish lakes,
and I think that it would be a good work to procure a
number of specimens, whether European or American,
and try to re-introduce this curious and interesting
animal.

It has already been mentioned that the mental
qualities of the Beaver have been much exaggerated,
in consequence of the erroneous ideas which were pre-
valent respecting its mode of life. But truth is, indeed,

152 EODENT WATER TRESPASSERS.

often stranger than fiction, as may be seen from the
following anecdote which is given by Mr. Green : —

" In a creek about four miles above the mouth of
Quesnelle River, in British Columbia, some miners
broke down a Beaver' s dam, in the course of the opera-
tions for making a ditch, at the same time erecting a
wheel to force up the water. Beavers abounded in this
stream, and found themselves much inconvenienced
by these proceedings. Accordingly, it is said that, in
order to stop the wheel, the Beavers placed a stick
between the flappers, in such a way as to stop the revo-
lutions of the wheel. This was so continually repeated
night after night, and was so artfully performed, as to
preclude the possibility of its being accidental."

Although it is not true that the Beaver must
always have its tail wet, yet the auimal does not seem
to thrive unless it can obtain access to water. It has
often been kept on land and supplied with food, but
its natural instincts lead it to perform many of the acts
which it would perform if at liberty. For example, if
kept in a room, it will collect articles of furniture and
make a sort of dam with them in a corner, although
there may not be a drop of water in the room. Some-
times it has found the necessity for dam-building so
strong, that, not being able to find any loose furniture,
such as brushes, or even waste-paper, it has supplied
itself with building materials by gnawing off the legs
of the chairs and tables. In one such case, the Beaver
laid all the furniture prostrate in a single night, having
cut off all the legs of every chair and table.

Water seems to be even a matter of health with the
animal. Mr. Green mentions a specimen that was

THE WATER EAT, OR WATER VOLE. 153

kept at Fort M'Leod. By degrees it became blind,
but if allowed access to the water, it always used to
bathe its eyes, and in a short while recovered and
maintained its sight as long as it could wet its face.

THE WATER RAT, OR WATER VOLE (ArVlCold AmphillUs).

Although, as has just been stated, the beaver has
long been extinct in England, we still retain some of
its relatives, one of which shares with it the power of
trespassing upon the water. This is the well-known
Water Eat, as it is popularly called, or the Water Yole,
as it is more rightly named. At first sight, and as it
is seen running along the banks of the stream, it cer-
tainly has a very rat-like appearance.

But if a common rat and a water vole be placed
side by side, they will at once be seen to be two
entirely distinct animals. The former has a long and
sharp nose, capacious ears, and a very long tail ;
whereas the latter has a short head, with a blunt,
rounded muzzle, short ears, and a tail quite insignificant
when compared with that of the land rat. The fur,
too, is of a different texture, as can be seen by com-
paring them under the microscope.

Like the beaver, the Water Vole does not flourish
when away from its favourite element, to which it
always retreats when in danger. The land rat can
swim and even dive, as I have witnessed in a case
where a barn rat was driven into a pond by dogs, and
very nearly escaped by diving. It could not, however,
remain below the water for any length of time, and
was so exhausted for want of breath when it came to

154 RODENT WATER TRESPASSERS.

the surface, that it fell an eary victim. It could also
see under the water, as was evident from the fact that
it made for a wooden stake which had been driven into
the bed of the pond, and clung to it for some little time.

The Water Vole, on the contrary, if it once got an
opportunity of diving, would at once have made for
the bottom of the pond, and then would havs skirted
the edge, until it found one of the burrows which were
tolerably sure to lead into the water.

These burrows are made on just the same principle
as those of the beaver, their entrance being well below
the surface of the water, and the extremities well
above the highest point to which the water can reach.
How numerous are those burrows very few people
know. A stream may appear to be absolutely free
from Water Voles, while both banks are literally riddled
with their holes. This fact may be ascertained by
anyone who chooses to take the trouble of wading
along the banks and feeling for the rat-holes.

During my boyhood I was much addicted to cray-
fish hunting. This is rather an exciting sport. You
wade along the river bank, and with the fingers test
every inch of it as low as can be reached. There will
be plenty of rat-holes, especially in those parts which
are edged by willows, whose roots hang in the water
like great tufts of long red hair, as of a giant's beard.
Under the cover of these roots the Water Vole
loves to place the entrance of its burrow, and it is in
such places that the crayfish makes its haunt. A little
practice soon enables the crayfish hunter to detect his
prey. He pushes his hand into the burrow, and if his
fingers are pricked, he knows that it is by the spiky

CUT 7. — WATER VOLE AND WATER SHREW.

THE WATER EAT, OR WATER VOLE. 155

projections of the crayfish's head. By a quick move-
ment he catches the crayfish by the long antennae,
jerks it out of its hiding-place, and transfers it to his
basket, if he takes the trouble to carry one. At
Oxford, where the Isis and Cherwell swarm with cray-
fish, we never troubled ourselves about baskets, but
always put the crayfish in our caps.

No one who has not had a similar experience can
form any idea of the manner in which the banks of
streams and ditcbes are perforated with the burrows of
the Water Vole. Many are disused, but are occupied
by squatters, such as the crayfish already mentioned,
the water shrew, and even the kingfisher, when an
entrance to the burrow can be found above the surface
of the water.

Another point in which the Water Yole agrees with
the beaver is the vegetable nature of its food, which
consists almost entirely of the bark of reeds, mare's -
tail, and other aquatic plants, though the animal some-
times makes raids into cultivated grounds, and does
some amount of damage to the crops. Such an event
as this is, however, a rare one, and a single barn rat
will do more harm to the agriculturist than a hundred
Water Voles.

Sometimes, however, the Water Vole does become a
mischievous animal, though in another manner. There
is no great harm in its burrows when they are made
in the banks of streams or ditches. But when they
perforate the banks of artificial pieces of water, they
have been known to weaken the restraining walls to
such a degree that they have given way. In some
places the Water Vole becomes a constant danger to

156 RODENT WATER TRESPASSERS.

reservoirs, for if the water once forces its way even
through so small an aperture as a rat's burrow, it
enlarges it with increasing rapidity, and soon cuts a
large channel for itself.

Even in a small way the animal may become a
great nuisance. The late Mr. Waterton had for many
years a pond in front of his house. The Water Voles
inhabited the banks of this pond, and were continually
boring their tunnels, so as to let out the water into a
neighbouring stream. He could not extirpate them
until the herons came and built in the ground, when
the birds soon found out this fertile source of food,
and demolished the intruders.

THE CAPYBARA (Hydrochcerus Capylara).

It is a rather remarkable fact that the largest of all
existing rodents should be a partial water trespasser ;
so much so, indeed, that whenever pressed by danger,
it always rushes to the water for safety. It is a native
of South America.

Like most of the swimming animals, its feet are
webbed. With these feet it makes wonderful way in
the water, and, clumsy as it looks, can dive and swim
with such speed that no ordinary foe can overtake it.
The flesh of this animal is very good, and it is there-
fore much hunted by the natives. Its speed and
agility in the water, however, are so great, that they
could have but little hope of securing it but for the
terrible wourali poison with which they cover their
arrows. These weapons are five or six feet long, so
that they can not only force their way through the

THE CAPYBARA. 157

luxuriant foliage that fringes the banks of South
American rivers, but can be driven with sufficient
strength to penetrate the singularly tough skin with
which the Capybara is guarded against the effects of
the water.

This skin is so strong that it almost deserves the
title of hide, and is the only material known that will
resist the spear-like points of the agave plant. Yet
the hard wooden point of the long arrow can be driven
into it, and if it only penetrate for an inch, the fate of
the animal is sealed.

The point is flat, and cut with a series of barbs.
It is quite independent of the arrow, being slipped
loosely into a square hole at the end of the shaft. As
soon, therefore, as the animal feels the wound, it
springs forward, and shakes off the shaft, the head
remaining in the wound. The effect of the wourali
poison with which it is covered is very remarkable.

It produces an almost instantaneous insensibility.
The creature seems to be seized with irresistible
drowsiness, which increases momentarily ; and, though
it may not die at once, it cannot exert itself, and so
falls a victim to its pursuers. Mr. Waterton states
that if birds be but slightly wounded with the tiny
blow- gun arrow, the point of which is no longer than
that of an ordinary darning needle, it can seldom fly
more than a yard or two ; but sits nodding on the
branch until it falls to the ground. I have only seen
one animal die from the effects of the wourali ; and,
though the arrow did not penetrate a quarter of an
inch into the hip, the creature never moved, but dozed
off into death by imperceptible gradations.

158 RODENT WATER TRESPASSERS.

So, by using this potent weapon, the native hunter
neutralizes the water- trespassing powers of the Capy-
bara, and either prevents it from reaching the water
at all, or compels it to float helplessly along the stream
so as to be easily secured.

Like many other water trespassers, it is so constructed
as to be able to conceal nearly the whole of its body
below the surface, only just permitting its nostrils to
be out of the water. And it takes advantage of every
piece of cover, such as a patch of weed, the shade of
an overhanging branch, or a tuft of herbage floating
down the stream. Under their protection, it just lifts
its nostrils above the surface of the water, ta,kes breath,
and again sinks. And, as it sees perfectly well under
water, and need only take breath at intervals of seven
or eight minutes, the water is evidently the safest place
for it.

It is mostly a nocturnal animal, moving and feed-
ing by night ; and by day lying asleep in the herbage
of the river bank, and within a few paces of the water.
The foliage is so dense that scarcely any eye but that
of the native hunter could detect the animal ; and
scarcely any weapon but the poisoned arrow could
secure it. Even the rifle ball might be turned aside
from a vital part, and so give the Capybara a chance of
escaping ; whereas, it does not matter where the arrow
strikes, provided it only penetrates through the skin.

No one, in looking at the animal, could imagine
its prowess in the water. On land it looks so very
much like a pig, that it has received the name of
Hydrochcerus, i.e., water pig. It is thick-bodied, has
short and stout limbs, very little ears, and a peculiarly

THE CAPYBARA. 159

blunt, rounded, and thickened muzzle, that has almost
a ludicrous aspect when seen from the front.

The fur is very thick, and serves to defend the
animal from the action of the water. I possess a
quiver, given to me by the late Mr. Waterton, which
well illustrates the water-resisting power of the Capy-
bara's clothing. In order to preserve its efficiency,
the wourali poison must be kept dry ; which, in a
country of almost perpetual moisture, is a matter of no
small difficulty. The native hunters never lose an
opportunity of drying their poison, whether in store
or upon the weapons ; and, as soon as they light a
fire, they are sure to place their weapons and wourali
gourd close to it.

It is to the extreme care which has been taken" in
preserving the dryness of the wourali, which Mr.
Waterton brought from Guiana some sixty years ago,
that its present potency is to be ascribed. I have
seen many descriptions of experiments with wourali,
both in England and France (there called "curara"),
but they have all been unsatisfactory, except those
which were made with Mr. Waterton' s poison. I am
perfectly certain that my own poisoned arrows are
just as venomous now as they were in 1812, when
Mr. Waterton procured them from the natives.

Now, as it often happens that in Guiana the hunter
has to travel for days through water up to his knees,
it is of the last consequence that he shall preserve his
poisoned weapons absolutely dry. This is achieved
by placing them in a quiver woven from a split rattan,
and covered with a pitch-like cement. The cover is
made from a circular piece of Capybara skin, with the

160 RODENT WATEE TRESPASSERS.

fur still on it. While still warm and fresh from the
animal, it is worked over a wooden mould, much as a
felt hat is made at the present day, so as to make a
circular cover for the quiver.

The hair is inside, and not outside, as might be
imagined. But the native hunter knows what he is
about. In the first place, the presence of the stiff,
coarse hair serves to retain the cover in its place when
screwed on, as it were, with a rotatory motion ; and
in the next place, not a particle of water can pass
through the hairs thus compressed together. Rain
has no effect upon it, neither has dew, or the drip-
pings from moisture-saturated leaves. Even if the
quiver should perchance fall into the water, no harm
would befal it, and it would float away as lightly and
as free from water as a corked bottle. It might lie
in, or rather on, the "water for a week, and the en-
closed weapons would be as serviceable as when they
were first shut into it.

The use of these hairs to the animal can easily be
seen by watching the Capybara in the water. As it
swims about, in spite of the graceful ease of its move-
ments, it looks as if its long clothing of coarse hair
must be very unpleasant when it comes on shore.
After it has swum about for some time, it clambers
up the bank, when the water pours off its hairy
clothing like rain off" a thatched house, leaving the
animal as dry as are the rooms of the house in
question.

The Capybara does not seem to care particularly
about the quality of the water, and may often be found
near the mouths of tidal rivers, when at time of flood,

THE COYPU RAT, 161

the water is almost as salt as that of the sea. The
animal has but very little tail, the steering, as well as
the chief power evidently resting in the hind legs.
The average length of the Capybara is about three
feet seven inches ; and it is so stoutly made, that,
while it is on land, its abdomen nearly touches the
ground. It extends over a very considerable portion
of South America ; and wherever a river exists, there
will the Capybara be found.

THE COYPU EAT (Myopotamus voypus) .

In Chili there is an animal which has some relation-
ship to the capybara, and possesses many of its habits.
It is one of the Water Trespassers, spending a consider-
able portion of its time in that element, and propelling
itself almost wholly with its hind feet, which are
very broadly webbed.

Like the capybara, it is protected by a double
coating of hair, by means of which the water is
excluded from actual contact with its skin. This
double coating is useful in commerce, and has of late
years attained quite a celebrity under the name of
Nutria, or American Otter.

One of the most curious points in the structure of
the Coypu, is the manner in which the mouth is modi-
fied so as to enable the animal to become a temporary
denizen of the water. The incisor teeth are always
large in rodents, but in the Coypu they are simply
enormous when compared with the size of the animal.
They are, in fact, so large that the lips cannot be

11

162 RODENT WATER TRESPASSERS.

closed over them; and the mouth is, in consequence,
perpetually open.

This would not matter very much in a terrestrial
quadruped, but as the Coypu is semi-aquatic, passes
much of its time in the water, and also swims with its
body almost entirely submerged, the water would run
down its throat as it swims, and thus prevent it from
swimming for any length of time. On opening the
mouth, however, a most curious structure is seen.
The palate is modified into a soft cushion-like projec-
tion, which is covered with hair, and which passes
behind the teeth, so as to close the aperture.

Nor is this all. In most animals the glottis, or
entrance to the wind-pipe, opens into the back of the
mouth; although, as with mankind, it can be connected
at will with the nostrils, so as to allow of respiration
through them. The Coypu,. however, has no choice in
the matter ; the glottis opening into the cavity which
leads to the nostrils, so that it could not breathe
through its mouth even if it wished.

Thus, there is a double protection to the lungs
from being filled with water i the projecting palate
forming the first line of defence, and the structure of
the glottis the second. If the water were to flow
down the throat only, and find its way into the
stomach, much inconvenience would ensue, but that
is all ; whereas, life would be endangered if water
were to find its way into the lungs.

We see, therefore, that the stomach is protected
from water by a single line of defence, namely, the
projecting palate ; and no great harm would happen
even if a drop or two of water did force their way

THE BEAVER RAT,

163

through it. But, inasmuch as the presence of water
in the lungs would be fatal, a second line of defence
is needed, and is found in the manner in which the
glottis opens into the nostrils.

One rather curious result ensues from the latter
structure. As the glottis does not open into the
mouth, as is usual among animals, the Coypu cannot
utter any loud or resonant cry, and can only produce
a shrill sort of whistle through its nose.

The fondness of the animal for water is an integral
part of its nature; and even if it be only supplied
with a basin full, it will be dabbling in it all day.
Like many of the rodents, it uses its fore paws much
after the manner of hands ; and, if it be not satisfied
that its food is pure and clean, the Coypu will take it
to the water, dip it, and shake it with wonderful
dexterity until its fastidious love of cleanliness is
gratified. In its feeding it much resembles the
squirrel, sitting upright, and holding its food to its
mouth with its fore paws. The hind feet are long,
and the toes webbed ; these being the chief instru-
ments of propulsion*

THE BEAVER RAT (Hydromys chrysog aster) .

There are other rodent water trespassers, of which
we have only space for two. The first is the Beaver
Hat, a native of Van Diemen's Land. It is not nearly
so large as the coypu, the former animal measuring
three feet in total length, while the latter is only two
feet long. The tail of the Beaver Eat too, occupies

164 RODENT WATER TRESPASSERS.

much more proportionate space than that of the
coypu.

Owing to the strong odour which it exhales, it is
often called the Musk Rat, a title which it holds in
common with several other rodents. So powerful is
this odour, that human beings have often tracked the
animal to its hiding-place, simply by means of the
sense of smell.

As its form, which very much resembles that of
the ichneumon, implies, it is very active in the water,
swimming and diving with wonderful agility. It is a
terrible foe to fishes, which it can chase and capture
in their own element. It is quite as voracious as the
otter, which, though a rodent, it resembles in many of
its habits. When kept in confinement, it is best fed
by placing in its cage a vessel of water, in which are a
number of fish. The Beaver Rat delights to plunge
into the water, seize a fish, eat it, and then repeat the
process. It will in this way consume twenty small
fish at a single meal.

In consequence of its otter-like ways, the Beaver
Rat is a terrible foe to fish-ponds, and in more than
one case nearly the whole stock of a new pond has
been devoured before the depredators could be checked.

As is the case with many of the water trespassers,
the fore legs are but little used in swimming. They
are employed for progress upon the land, and can be
used after the manner of hands, for the conveyance of
food to the mouth.' The principal means of propul-
sion in the water are the hind legs, which are
exceedingly powerful, and furnished with large and
broadly-webbed feet. It is a handsome animal, the

THE MUSQUASH. 165

upper part of the far being rich., dark brown, and the
lower part a bright, golden yellow. It is in conse-
quence of this colouring that the animal has received
the specific name of Chrysogaster, or " golden-belly."
The generic title of Hydromys signifies " water-

THE MUSQUASH (Fiber zibethicus).

This is another of the many animals that are popu-
larly called by the name of musk rat. The animal,
however, to which that title ought to be restricted is the
Sondeli, or Musk Rat of India (Sorex murinus), which,
however, as its generic name imports, is not a rodent,
but one of the shrew tribe, and closely related to the
water-shrews, which have already been mentioned.
None of the other animals which are called musk rats
possess an odour nearly so powerful as that of the
sondeli, which, if it should find its way into a cellar,
will render the wine undrinkable whenever it passes
over a bottle.

The Musquash is a native of North America. It is
about two feet in length, exclusive of the tail, which
is about ten inches long. As in the coypu, the fore
feet are small, and but little used in swimming, this
task being entrusted to the hind feet, which are very
long, and so broadly webbed that persons who are
not acquainted with the animal, and who see its foot-
prints on the muddy banks of the river in which it is
accustomed to disport itself, are nearly sure to mistake
the traces for those of some duck.

The animal is one of the partial trespassers, and is
beautifully adapted to the semi-aquatic life which it

166 RODENT WATER TRESPASSERS.

leads. Except when pressed by hunger, it is scarcely
ever seen except in the water or on the river-bank ;
and even when on shore it is protected from its many
foes by its assimilation in colour to the locality which
it frequents.

When it leaves the water and sits on the river-
bank, it has a way of remaining in a crouching sort of
attitude, and sitting absolutely still. As long as it
does not move, it bears so exact a resemblance, both in
colour and outline, to a lump of wet mud, that even if
it be pointed out by an experienced musquash hunter,
it can scarcely be distinguished from the mud on which
it is squatting.

On land its movements are not remarkable in any
way, but when it is in the water the grace and swift-
ness with which it is endowed are really wonderful. It
is so quick and active that no hunter would dream of
shooting at it except from behind, for its watchful eyes
are sure to see the flash of the gun, and before the
bullet can reach it, the animal has dived, leaving the
missile to skim uselessly over the protecting water.

This may seem strange to those who have not had
practical experience of the singular protecting power
of water against a bullet. There is no need for the
animal to descend to any great depth to be secure
against fire-arms. An inch will render it almost safe,
and two inches absolutely so. Indeed, if the bullet
has even to touch the water, the animal below it is
tolerably secure, for a bullet which strikes the water
obliquely does not enter it to the depth of half-an-inch,
but rebounds just like a stone when boys are playing
at " ducks and drakes,"

THE MUSQUASH. 167

If any of my readers have seen artillery practice at
a sea-mark, they will appreciate the protecting power
of the water. Even the enormous shot of the present
day, which are capable of being driven through the
thickest and strongest iron plates that have as yet
been made, go lightly skipping over the water in
almost a playful manner. They do not enter it, but
make a series of leaps over the surface, driving up at
each jump a perpendicular column of water, and not
sinking until the initial force is nearly expended.

When I was a boy, I remember being present at a
pike-shooting party. There was a tolerably large sheet
of water, which might almost be dignified by the name
of a lake. On calm, warm summer days, the pike
with which it abounded were in the habit of floating*
at the surface, either asleep or basking in the sunshine.
Now and then the proprietor of the lake used to get
together a few friends, and have a few hours' sport in
shooting at the fish as they lay asleep — presupposing
that fish ever do sleep, which some people think to be
doubtful.

To shoot a sleeping fish may seem a very unsports-
manlike proceeding to those who are accustomed to
despise a " sitting " shot, but, in reality, a fish was
never hit without the utmost accuracy of aim on the
part of the marksman. Scarcely any part of the body
projects above the surface of the water, and unless that
part be struck, the fish escapes unhurt. I have often
seen the charge take effect all round the sleeping pike,
and yet, although the water was driven up in showers
by the shot, the fish escaped unhurt.

As to the Musquash, when once it dives, the hunter

168 RODENT WATER TRESPASSERS.

will see no more of it for a long time, It always makes
for its burrow, which opens into the water, and has
several entrances, so as to allow the animal to enter or
leave it at several points. The burrow runs for a con-
siderable distance, and, as is the case with most
animals which dig tunnels in the banks of rivers, it
slopes upwards, so that the sleeping chamber is far
above the highest point which the water is likely to
reach. When the Musquash dives, it always gives the
water a slap with its tail, very much after the manner
of the beaver.

I have, in the course of this brief narrative, men-
tioned that there are men who systematically hunt the
Musquash. This is done for the sake of its fur, which,
like that of many other water trespassers, is of a very
fine quality. According to the usual structure among
such animals, there are two coats of hair — the outer
being coarse, and the inner thick and fine, very much
like that of the beaver. As the animal is wary and
active, the hunters seldom employ the gun, partly
because so much time is wasted in getting a shot, and
partly because the skin is injured if the animal be
struck anywhere except on the head.

The fur- hunters, therefore, place their chief reliance
in traps, just as they do when they hunt the beaver.
These traps are made of iron, and are not fixed, but so
placed that as soon as the Musquash is caught, its
struggles bring it into deep water, where it is sunk
by the weight of the trap and drowned.

Audubon, who was practically familiar with these
cunning rodents, mentions that if the animal be not at
once sunk when trapped, its companions gather round

THE MUSQUASH. 169

it, and tear their luckless comrade to pieces. This
mode of procedure is familiar to naturalists, as it is
shared by other animals. Rats, for example, always
devour a wounded comrade, and so do wolves. Several
ppecies of birds and insects also act in the same manner.

At first sight, this modification of instinct seems to
be a cruel one, but, in reality, it is peculiarly merciful.
The injured creature must die, and it is certainly more
merciful to destroy it with a sudden and sharp pang,
perhaps scarcely so painful as that which it is already
enduring, than to allow it to die a lingering death of
hunger, thirst, exhaustion, and slow agony.

The animals, in fact, do by instinct that very act
to which an American Indian, tied to the stake of
torture, tries to urge his foes. While being slowly
tortured to death by foes who exhaust all their treasures
of invention and tradition by sparing life as long as
possible while adding torture to torture, the captive
warrior loads his enemies with jeers and taunts,
endeavouring to goad their savage nature into dashing
out his brains in a fit of rage, and so ending his agony
and his life together. So, when crucifixion was an
acknowledged mode of punishment, the friends of the
criminal would try to find some mode of killing him
as he hung on the cross, instead of leaving him to
perish with sheer pain.

So, in later days, when the wheel and the stake
were in vogue, the sufferer used always to attempt to
bribe his executioner into shortening his pangs — in
the former case, by administering the " coup-de-
grace," or blow of mercy, as it was rightly called, as
soon as possible ; and in the latter, by providing dry

170

RODENT WATER TRESPASSERS.

and well-seasoned wood, so as to raise a fierce flame
which might almost instantaneously destroy life, and
by attaching bags of gunpowder to the vital parts of
the body. This was not cruelty, but pure mercy, and
so is the action of the animals who fall on a wounded
comrade and tear or peck him to pieces.

M. Audubon, however, makes another statement
concerning the Musquash, which is of a very startling
nature. We are not surprised to hear that when a
Musquash is caught in a trap, it should be killed by its
companions. But we are very much surprised to hear
that the animals can exercise discretionary powers,
and act in a totally different manner if their comrade
be wounded and at liberty, to their conduct when he is
wounded and captured in a trap. Audubon states that
if a Musquash be shot and not at once picked up, it is
carried off by its comrades and removed to a place of
safety. This is a most remarkable statement, but I
believe it to be a perfectly true one ; and it throws
quite a new light on the mental character of the lower
animals.

CHAPTER VIII.

Water

THE HIPPOPOTAMUS.

WE now come to a group of animals which contains
the largest terrestrial mammalia that the world pro-
duces. Sometimes they are called Pachydermata, or
thick-skinned animals, in consequence of the very
great thickness of the hide in many species. That the
term is well deserved is evident from the fact that
there is now before me a piece of hide which I myself
cut, with a saw, from the shoulders of a wild boar.
Even in its dry state it is almost two inches in thick-
ness, and it is very much harder than a piece of oak of
the same dimensions.

Some systematic naturalists gather them into one
large family, called Elephantidse, in which they included
elephants, tapir, hyrax, hippopotamus, and swine —
each of these smaller groups forming a separate sub-
family.

Most of them are extremely fond of the water, and
some may claim to be ranked among the water tres-
passers. Among these the elephant cannot be named,

172 PACHYDERMATOUS WATER TRESPASSERS.

because, although it is very fond of the water, and
cannot be happy without either a plunge or a douche
bath, it does not fly to the water for shelter when
alarmed, neither does it obtain its food therein. We
therefore pass the elephant by, and proceed at once to
the typical water trespasser among them — namely, the
Hippopotamus.

I was much struck, when reading TopsePs " His-
tory of Four-footed Beasts/' with a remarkable point
in the history of the Hippopotamus. This book was
published more than two hundred years ago, and in it
are several curious examples of scepticism and credu-
lity. The latter quality is shown in the accounts
which the author gives of certain fabulous animals —
such as the satyr, the lamia, the sphinx, the sea-
serpent, etc. — all of which are described in perfect
good faith, the descriptions accompanied by illustra-
tions as remarkable as the letterpress.

The reader may perhaps remember that, almost
within the memory of living men, the existence of the
giraffe was stoutly denied by the learned, while no
doubt was expressed about the Hippopotamus.

Yet in TopseVs book the opposite course is pur-
sued. The author gives two figures of the giraffes
rather exaggerated, especially about the horns, which
in one figure are made like those of the ibex, but
figures which very fairly express the shape of the
animal. They are evidently drawn from the living
animal, and give the peculiar sloping shoulders, the
shape of the tail, and the form of the hoofs with perfect
accuracy.

The writer also describes the very long and pre-

THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 173

hensile tongue : " His mouth, but small, like a hart's ;
his tongue is near three feet long, and with that he
will so gather in his meat that the eyes of a man will
fail to behold his haste/' Topsel, also mentions the
peculiar gait of the animal, the legs of the same side
being moved together. Yet one hundred years after-
wards, the animal was considered as a myth, and any
travellers who mentioned it were denounced as liars.

It is very remarkable, therefore, that Topsel, who
gave so accurate an account of the giraffe, should be
incredulous respecting the existence of the Hippopo-
tamus. For his figure of the animal he gives the well-
known allegorical painting in the Vatican, which repre-
sents a hippopotamus with a crocodile in its mouth, and
signifies the river Nile. His remarks on the subject
are worthy of notice.

" The sea-horse, called in the Greek Hippotomos,
and in Latinae Equus fluviatilis. It is a most ugly
and filthy beast, so called because in his voyce and
mane he resembleth a horse, but in its head an oxe or
a calf, in the residue of his body a swine ; for which
cause some Grecians call him sometimes a sea-horse,
and sometimes a sea-oxe, which thing hath moved
many learned men in our time to affirm that a sea-
horse was never seen ; whereunto I could easily sub-
scribe (saith Bellonius), were it not that the antient
figures of a sea-horse altogether resembled that which
is here expressed, and was lately to be seen at Con-
stantinople, from where this picture was taken.

" It liveth for the most part in Nilus ; yet it is of
a doubtful life, for it brings forth and breedeth on the
land, and by the proportion of the legs it seemeth

174 PACHYDERMATOUS WATER TRESPASSERS.

rather to be made for going than for swimming ; for
in the night time it eateth both hay and fruit, forraging
into corn-fields and devouring whatsoever cometh in
the way ; and therefore I thought it fit to be inserted
into this story. As for the sea-calf, which cometh
sometimes to land only to take sleep, I did not judge
it to belong to this discourse, because it feedeth only
in the water/' (I presume that Topsel here refers to
the manatee.)

" The picture was taken out of the Colossus in the
Vatican at Rome, representing the river Nilus, and
eating of a crocodile ; and thus I reserve the further
discourse of this beast unto the History of Fishes,
adding only thus much, that it ought to be no wonder
to consider such monsters to come out of the sea
which resemble horses in their heads, seeing therein
are also creatures like unto grapes and swords."

One of the most remarkable points about the Hippo-
potamus is its extreme activity when roused to exer-
tion. Under ordinary circumstances it is slow, sluggish,
and leisurely in its movements, and has a very great
predilection for lying down on shore, or floating
motionless on the water. But when roused, its tons
of flesh seem to be no impediment, and the huge
beast flies as nimbly about as an enraged cat.

The rapidity of its movements on shore has been
well shown by the large female Hippopotamus in the
Zoological Gardens, against whose fury a variety of
precautions have to be taken that seem scarcely neces-
sary when the vast body and short legs of the animal
are taken into consideration.

The rhinoceros, an animal closely allied to the

THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 175

Hippopotamus, affords another example of unexpected
activity. Slow and deliberate in its usual movements,
it can suddenly charge with lightning-like rapidity,
and with such terrific force that one of these animals
has been known to strike its horn completely through
the body of a horse as far as the saddle on the opposite
side, and to throw the horse a complete somer-
sault.

Then, to compare small things with large, there is
the hyrax, or rock rabbit, the ' ' coney " of Scripture,
which, in spite of its smaller size,, forms a connecting
link between the rhinoceros and the Hippopotamus.
Usually the hyrax is quiet enough, but, if startled, its
sudden activity is quite astonishing. I have seen the
little animal fly over the wire gratings of the cage
with such rapidity that the eye can scarcely follow its
movements. Indeed, the jerboa is the only creature I
have seen that equals it in this respect.

Neither of these animals continue their rapid move-
ments for any long period, but during the short time
of activity their agile quickness is almost preter-
natural.

In consequence of the enormous bulk of the Hippo-
potamus, the legs are planted so widely asunder, that
when it walks through grass the feet on each side
form a distinct line of tracks, just like those of a very
fat man when he walks ; and that such an enormous
mass of flesh should be capable of rapid movement
seems almost impossible. A very good perspective
view of the animal is given on Plate II.

In the water the activity of the animal is no less
surprising than when on land. We have little oppor-

176 PACHYDERMATOUS WATEE TRESPASSERS.

tunity of judging of the animal's aquatic powers by
seeing it in the small ponds which can alone be given
for its use in this country, but in its native rivers its
speed is really wonderful. Sometimes,, when angry
and pursuing an enemy, it dashes along in a series of
bounds, springing half out of the water at every leap,
just like a terrified whale. Sometimes it keeps up a
steady rush like that of a locomotive on a railway, its
deafening snorts and yells increasing the resemblance.
Mr. Baines, the well-known African traveller, who had
the advantage of being an accomplished artist, made
several drawings which exhibit the aquatic powers of
the Hippopotamus.

One of these shows the speed at which the creature
can rush through the water, even when hampered by
a heavy weight and weakened by a wound and loss of
blood. It represents a Hippopotamus which has been
struck by a native harpooner belonging- to the Makoba
tribe. The hunters have approached the animal in a
canoe which contains several assistants and a steers-
man. As soon as the creature is struck, it dashes off
down the stream at such a pace that the head of the
canoe is half buried in the water, and throws up
volumes of spray, like the bows of a swift yacht in a
smart breeze.

The harpooner and his assistants all hold on to the
rope, lying almost on their backs in the boat, and
holding themselves with their feet against the sides.
Sometimes the pace is too much even for these expe-
rienced boatmen, and they are obliged to cast off the
rope and wait for a chance of putting in another
harpoon.

THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 177

Sometimes the Hippopotamus turns sharply on the
canoe and endeavours to crush it between his enormous
jaws, or to drive it out of the water by a blow from
his head. Should he succeed in his attack, the men
all dive to the bottom of the river and hold on by the
weeds or stones until they are forced to come to the
surface to breathe. The fact is, that the Hippopotamus
cannot imagine the possibility of a foe beneath the
water, and therefore never thinks of looking for enemies
anywhere below it. As soon as he has smashed the
canoe, he raises his head as high out of the water as
possible, and if he cannot see anything alive on which
to wreak his vengeance, he goes off, satisfied with
what he has done.

Mr. Baines most kindly placed all his sketches at
my disposal, and I have transferred three of them
which represent the Hippopotamus hunt to my "Natural
History of Man/' published by Messrs. Eoutledge and
Sons, vol. 1, pp. 880—383.

Although the Hippopotamus can live without access
to water, it does not thrive properly, and even the
very character of its skin becomes altered. This was
shown by the male Hippopotamus which was sent to
England in 1850, and which created such a sensation.
During its long travels from Egypt to the Zoological
Gardens, it could not bathe properly, and could only
have the comfort of a few buckets of water poured
over it daily. When it arrived it was about as large
as a prize hog, and was quite mild and tame, being
quite demonstratively affectionate towards its keeper,
a young Arab lad named Salama, who called his charge
by the name of Buckeet, i.e., the Lucky One. Mr. F.

12

178 PACHYDERMATOUS WATER TRESPASSERS.

Buckland wrote at the time an interesting account of
the animal, which was published in the " Field " news-
paper. The following is an extract from his letter: — •

" From not having been able to have a bath for six
weeks or more, his skir had assumed a curious appear-
ance. The back, instead of being soft, shiny, and
indiarubber-like, was quite hard and dry, and the
skin was peeling off it, as from the bark of a tree.
His back, in fact, was much more like a bit of an old
forest oak than that of a water-loving animal.

" It was, of course, expected that the moment
Hippo smelt and saw the water he would rush into it ;
but no— he merely went up to it and smelt it as
though he had never seen it before, and it was not
until the Arab advanced himself partially into the
water that Hippo would follow. He (like a naughty
boy at the sea-side) soon came out again, and was
only persuaded to go right in by the Arab walking
round the edge of the tank.

" Hippo then began to find out where he was, and
fcow comfortable the clean, warm water was. Down
he went to the bottom like a bit of lead ; then up he
came with a tremendous rush and a vehement snort-
ing ; then a duck under, then up again, prancing after
the manner of Neptune's sea-horses that are harnessed
to his chariot in the old pictures of the worthy marine
deity. I never recollect to have seen any creature,
either man or beast, so supremely happy for a short
time as was poor, travel- worn Hippo after his long
voyage of so many thousand miles.

" Coming out of the water, Hippo smelt about for
food ; mangold wurzel was given him, and mightily

TF1E HIPPOPOTAMUS. 179

did he enjoy it. Like all young creatures in a strange
place, he kept a close eye upon his nurse, and gave a
peculiar half-bellow half-cry when he went out of his
sight, refusing food till his return.

" Evening soon arrived. Hippo retired to rest by
the side of his faithful keeper, who, the next morning,
reported that, whereas on ordinary occasions, if he
coughed or moved or made the least noise in the night,
1 Jamoos' (the Arabic for Hippopotamus) would wake up
and answer. The night of his arrival he slept a sound
sleep, waking only at sunrise for his breakfast and his
bath, which he mightily enjoyed. His skin is now
beginning to lose its bark-like appearance ; it is
getting soft and shiny, and of a black-pinkish colour,
and he promises to grow up into a larger beast than
his fellow Hippopotamus in the next cage to him; for
' Buckeet ' comes from the White Nile, in which river
the animals grow larger than in the Blue Nile, from
whence the two Hippopotami now in the Gardens were
brought."

The slight pinkish hue which is here mentioned is
a sign of health. Mr. Baines tells me that when the
animals are at liberty in their native river, the ears,
nostrils, and ridge over the eyes are of the most glow-
ing scarlet, and not merely pink as they are in the
animals kept in captivity.

This brilliancy of colour is very useful to those who
hunt the Hippopotamus with fire-arms. As is the case
with many semi-aquatic animals, the head is so con-
structed that the creature can lie for hours with its
body submerged, and nothing showing above the sur-
face of the water except its ears, the ridges over the

180 PACHYDERMATOUS WATER TRESPASSERS.

eyes (the " garret-windows," as Gordon Camming calls
them), and the nostrils. Formerly, it used to be the
custom to aim at the eye, because, if it were accurately
struck, the shot was almost instantly fatal. Now,
however, the hunter aims at the nostrils, for such
accuracy of aim is not absolutely necessary, and, if the
animal be hit anywhere about the nostrils, it is rendered
incapable of remaining below the surface, so that it
falls a comparatively easy prey to the bullet. Three
pairs of bright scarlet spots are seen on the surface of
the water, indicating the positions of the ears, the
eyes, and the nostrils. The hunter aims between the
nostrils, and, unless he is a very bad shot, is tolerably
sure to cripple the animal.

The point mentioned by Mr. Buckland about the
hide is well worthy of further consideration, inasmuch
as it is one of the most important modifications of
structure which enable the animal to be a water
trespasser. In most of the animals which have been
described, the vital parts are defended from the water
by a modification of their fur, which forms a water-
proof covering. But the Hippopotamus has no hair,
so that another mode of protection is needed. This is
obtained in a manner similar to that which has been
already noticed in the whale tribe.

The body is first covered with a thick layer of fat,
which is a bad conductor of heat, and therefore serves
to keep the animal warm. This fat is called by the
Dutch colonists Zee-koe speck, or sea-cow bacon, and
is much esteemed as an article of diet. Over this
casing of fat comes the skin, which is about an inch
and a half in thickness, and is pierced with innume-

THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 181

rable pores, through which exudes an oily, slimy sort
of fluid, which has the effect of preventing the water
from coming into absolute contact with the skin
itself.

Soon after " Buckeet " had been established in the
Zoological Gardens, I had a talk with him and patted
him. I could not at the time but think of Sydney
Smith's remark upon some one who was patting a
tortoise, and whom he recommended to pat the dome
of St. Paul's, by way of gratifying the Dean and
Chapter. Unfortunately, I had not removed a pair of
new kid gloves, and, to my astonishment, I found the
right-hand glove hopelessly spoiled, being saturated
with the dark, oily secretion of the skin.

Another point about the skin is its wonderful
flexibility. It is so hard and tough that when removed
from the animal, it has to be cut into lengths, like so
many planks, and so to be torn off by main force.
Its thickness and toughness are well shown by the
principal use to which it is put — namely, the manufac-
ture of those terrible "jamboks^ or "cow-hide"
whips, which are so powerful that each stroke will
leave a groove in a deal board, and when employed on
the thick-hided draught oxen of Southern Africa, will
strike off a strip of skin along the whole back of the
animal.

Yet, this skin, thick, tough, and hard as may be,
is, when on the living animal, as soft and flexible as
india-rubber, enabling the Hippopotamus to perform
those feats of agility in and out of the water which
have already been mentioned.

Like many other animals which frequent the water,

182 PACHYDERMATOUS WATER TRESPASSERS.

the Hippopotamus always rushes to that element for
safety when alarmed. So strong is this instinct, that
even the newly- born cub does the same thing, and if
it be disturbed when sleeping, scuttles off at once for
the water. It was this instinct which made the task
of the keepers at the Zoological Gardens so heavy
when the young Hippopotamus had to be removed in
order to give it nourishment.

The first time that they tried to get the mother
away from her offspring, the little creature plumped
after her into the water, and, as it swam as well as she
did, and evinced no likelihood of coming out again
without her, the attempt failed. When they did
succeed, it was by taking advantage of a time when
the young one was asleep.

" Buckeet/5 part of whose history has already been
narrated, was captured in a similar manner. The
little creature was fast asleep on a bank of reeds during
its mother's temporary absence. Mr. Petherick was
sailing a boat on the lake, and the owner, who was
conning the vessel from the mast-head, saw the sleep-
ing cub. Some of the men got into the water, went
quietly up to the little Hippopotamus, and whipped
him into the boat before he was fairly awake. After
the manner of his kind, he screamed lustily, but, for-
tunately, his mother was too far away to come to his
assistance. He must at that time have weighed some-
where about one hundred pounds.

Mr. Petherick caught no less than four animals in
the same way, of which *' Buckeet " was the only one
that reached England. One died on board, one was
thrown into the river when the boat struck on a rock,

THE HIPPOPOTAMUS. 183

and escaped ; and the other became entangled in the
boat, sank with it, and was drowned.

Having these habits, the Hippopotamus is always
watchful to preserve its communication with the
river, and cannot endure that anything or anyone
should cut off its retreat. On one occasion, when a
native hunter had got between the Hippopotamus and
the river, the animal was too frightened to be angry.
It made headlong for the water, caught the man on its
enormous nose, jerked him high in the air, and rushed
into the water. Fortunately for the man, it was so
alarmed that it did not think of stopping and using its
teeth. Had it done so, there would have been no
chance for him, as Mr. Petherick once saw a Hippopo-
tamus seize a man and cut him in two with a single
bite.

Aquatic as it is, the Hippopotamus does not affect
the rapid parts of the stream ; and seems to prefer
the lake to the river, because there is no stream.
It is rather a lazy animal, and likes to lie asleep in the
water, if possible, with its chin resting on a bank of
reeds, or some such support. Consequently, it pre-
fers, when it awakes, to find itself in the spot which it
occupied when it fell asleep ; an event which would
not take place in a stream, however sluggish. When
the animal inhabits a river, such as the Nile, it looks
out for quiet bays which are well flanked with reed-
beds. In these bays there is scarcely the slightest
current, and the animal can repose in perfect quietude.

AVhen very young, the Hippopotamus is carefully
tended by its mother. After a while it becomes tired
of swimming, and needs rest. Now, the mother could

184 PACHYDERMATOUS WATER TEESPASSERS.

easily take her little one on shore, but she very much
prefers to remain in the river; so she sinks herself
in the water until she comes below the feet of her
offspring, and then, rising to the surface, she lifts her
child on her back, and carries it about wherever she
goes. The neck is the usual position for the young
Hippopotamus under these circumstances.

THE TAPIR (Tapirus terrestris).

There are supposed to be several species of Tapir,
but we will restrict ourselves to the two typical
examples, namely, the Common Tapir of tropical
America, which is figured in Plate III., and the
Malayan Tapir (Tapirus Malay anus).

These are most valuable animals to the systematic
zoologist, as by their means he is -able to trace many
of the links that bind together the various species of
the pachydermata. They scarcely look like modern
creatures, so closely do they resemble in form and
attitude the extinct animals which we only know by
their fossil remains. There is one peculiar, squatting
attitude which they are fond of assuming, and which
gives them a sort of weird, grotesque aspect that is
really startling.

One of the most conspicuous points in the structure
of this animal is the extraordinary length of its snout,
which is very much longer than that of the pig, but
not nearly so long as that of the elephant. And it is
a very remarkable point that there are fossil remains
of animals in which the snout is gradually lengthened,

PLATE III.

'f .

TAPIRS, AND CAPYBARA.

THE TAPIR. 185

so that there is a complete series of links between the
elephant at one end of the scale, and the swine at the
other.

The upper lip of the rhinoceros is, as we all know,
capable of great elongation, and can be worked very
much after the fashion of the elephant's proboscis.
Indeed, when the rhinoceros desires to feed, it always
gathers together the fodder with its upper lip, rolls
it into a bundle, and by means of that useful member,
tucks the bundle into its mouth.

The same organ of the Tapir is, however, very
much more developed; and it can be turned and
twisted about in such a manner as to give a wonderful
variety of expressions to the animal. Some of these
modifications of shape may be seen in the illustration ;
and, if the reader would like to study the subject for
himself, he has only to go to the Zoological Gardens,
and offer to one of the animals a little tuft of grass,
holding it slightly out of reach. The Tapir will then
be induced to protrude its lip to the utmost, and a
very curious object it will be sure to be.

Like the hippopotamus, the Tapir is always found
in the immediate vicinity of water ; and, though
not partaking so largely of the amphibious nature, is
yet a very aquatic animal. Like the hippopotamus,
it always retreats to the water for safety when alarmed,
and is a much greater traveller than that animal. The
hippopotamus is rather local, and loves to hang about
one spot ; whereas the Tapir is much of a wanderer,
and will make single journeys of wonderful extent,
partly by swimming and partly by walking. The
specimens in the Zoological Gardens are very fond of

18:3 PACHYDERMATOUS WATER TRESPASSERS.

paddling about in their drinking trough, and splashing
the water over themselves, in default of a regular
bath.

The animal is most useful to the aborigines, who
eat its flesh, and employ its singularly tough skin for
many useful purposes.

The flesh is, as a rule, tough and stringy; but the
jaws of a savage are equal to the mastication of any
sort of meat, however tough.

It is not so welcome, however, to the civilised
colonists and agriculturists. It has the good taste
to prefer grain and garden crops to the wild and com-
paratively coarse vegetation of its native country, and
is rather apt to make great havoc in fields and gardens.
Unless cultivated grounds are very strongly fenced,
the Tapir will be sure to enter them. Trusting to its
great weight to break down the fence, and to its
tough skin to keep it from harm, it rushes against the
enclosure, and, if it should force its way through the
barrier, does infinite harm by treading down as well
as eating the crops.

Like the capybara, which inhabits the same rivers,
the Tapir is a wonderful adept at hiding among the
reeds and foliage of the river- bank. Generally, it
lies so concealed through the day, and is so well
hidden, that a practised eye is required to detect it.
Indeed, so well hidden is the animal, in spite of its
large size, that a traveller has often been startled
while walkirg along the banks of a stream, by the
sudden rush of a Tapir into the water ; the animal
having been almost at his very feet before it would
move.

THE TAPIR. 1S7

It is remarkable, by the way, how completely some*
of our largest animals can hide themselves, owing to
their capacity of resembling surrounding objects.
Take, for example, the elephant, the giraffe, and the
buffalo. The elephant, although standing some ten
feet in height, and weighing many tons, can conceal
himself so effectually in a forest, that a hunter may be
near enough to touch him with a stick, and yet not
even catch a glimpse of his vast form. Not only that,
but the hunter may be among a herd of elephants,
and never be able to see one of them sufficiently for
a shot.

Then there is the giraffe. Any one would have
thought that so conspicuous an animal as this, which
rears its lofty head some eighteen feet from the
ground, must be visible at a great distance ; yet,
when it is among the trees upon which it feeds, it
bears so close a resemblance to them, that not only
white hunters, but even the natives, have failed to
distinguish them; and have sometimes been so com-
pletely deceived as to mistake the trees for giraffes.

As to the buffalo, whether it be the long-horned
arnee of India, or the thick-fronted buffalo of Southern
Africa, it has a way of concealing itself so that ib is
quite unseen, and then rushing out angrily at the
traveller who happens to disturb it.

1 have already alluded to the size and weight of
the Tapir. Now, as the animal only averages some
four feet in height at the shoulder, it may scarcely
seem entitled to be called a large one. But it is very
heavily and stoutly made, the body is thick, and the
legs are short, so that it is far more bulky than it

188 PACHYDERMATOUS WATER TRESPASSERS.

•appears to be at first sight. The feet of the Tapir are
very curiously constructed, so that their prints upon
the muddy banks of the river look very much as if
they had been made by some gigantic bird.

The Malayan species much resembles its American
relative in general habits, except that it seldom, if
ever, swims, but walks on the bed of the river.

BABYROUSSA (Bobirussa Alfurus).

Several of the swine may be ranked among the
partial water trespassers, the first of which is the
Babyroussa of Malacca.

The male of this animal often grows to a very large
size, and is really a formidable being. It is armed in
a very singular manner. The lower jaw possesses
tusks like those of the ordinary boar, except that they
are very much longer — so long, indeed, that they pro-
ject very far above the upper surface of the snout.

Now, even with his comparatively short tusks, the
common wild boar is a dangerous foe. In India, the
natives think the animal quite as formidable as the
tiger ; for it is nearly as active, and can kill a man
with a single stroke of its tusks. When, therefore, we
see a boar as large as an ordinary donkey, and with
enormously developed tusks, it is evident that the
animal must be a terrible antagonist, if its activity
and courage correspond to its armature.

Besides these tusks of the lower jaw, the Baby-
roussa possesses a second pair, which proceed from
the upper jaw, and which are very curiously formed.

BA.BYROUSSA. 189

The sockets in which they are developed are curved
in such a way as to give the tusks an upward, instead
of a downward turn. They actually pass through
a pair of holes in the upper lip, and often grow to so
great a length, that their points almost touch the
forehead. The object of these remarkable tusks is at
present unknown, although the fact of their presence
is a proof that they subserve some definite purpose.
Generally, tusks are used as weapons ; but those of
the adult male Babyroussa are quite unavailable for
this purpose, as the points are so close to the forehead
that they cannot make the slightest wound. Indeed,
they only interfere with the action of the tusks of the
lower jaw.

Some persons have thought that they are intended
as safeguards to the eyes when the animal is forcing its
way through the thick underwood. Perhaps they may
serve this purpose ; but that it is not the real object
of the tusks, is evident from the fact that the female, as
well as the male, has to force her way through under-
wood, and yet does not possess tusks in either jaw.

The Babyroussa is one of the water-lovers, and has
many of the habits which have been narrated as be-
longing to the tapir and capybara. Like these
animals, it frequents the banks of rivers, and hides
itself among the foliage. Even when kept in cap-
tivity it preserves the habit, and is fond of gathering
up the litter into a corner, and then backing itself
into the heap with a movement very similar to that
by which a crab works its way beneath the sand.

I have often seen a Babyroussa at the Zoological
Gardens perform this feat. The animal wriggles its

190 PACHYDERMATOUS WATER TRESPASSERS.

way perseveringly among the litter; and, when it is
satisfied with its position, gives a grunt of satisfaction,
and then sinks on the ground. The litter closes over
it, and the animal is so perfectly concealed, that even
though it has been seen in the act of burrowing, it
can scarcely be detected.

If alarmed, it makes for the water, and swims off;
and I have been told by a traveller who had been
often brought into contact with it, that the animal can
swim for a very long distance with perfect ease.
Large herds of this formidable animal are often found
in the swampy portions of Malacca.

THE BOSCH VARK (Choiropotamus A/ricanus).

The lower figure on Plate II. represents another of
the water-loving swine, called by the African settlers
the Bosch Vark, or Bush Hog. The generic name of
choiropotamus, or river hog, alludes to its aquatic
habits, just as does that of hippopotamus, or river
horse, to similar habits in another denizen of the same
land.

It is a handsome animal, being, unlike the gene-
rality of pigs, variegated in colour, ' the chief hues
being ruddy brown and white, and the hair being very
long. All these semi water trespassers appear to have
very similar habits. They are great adepts at hiding
themselves, and will spend a considerable portion of
their time in lying concealed arrxong the herbage.
Each individual seems to have its regular den or hiding-
place, and, if it be disturbed, it rushes angrily at tho
intruder. Like the babyroussa, the Bosch Vark asso-

THE BOSCH VARK. 191

ciates in herds, and the natives are alwa}rs chary of
disturbing them, knowing that the wounds inflicted by
their tusks are dangerous, and not easily healed.

A very fine specimen of an allied animal, the Red
River Hog (Potamochoerus penicillatus) was sent to the
Zoological Gardens about eleven years ago. This is a
native of Western Africa, and is a very handsome
animal. The head is enormously long, and so are the
ears, which are tipped with a brush-like tuft of long
hairs, thus earning for the animal the title of 'penicil-
latus, or pencilled. These tufted ears are used by the
hog much as a horse uses its tail, and are switched
sharply about for the purpose of driving away the flies.
Putting aside its rather grotesque form, the Red River
Hog is a handsome animal, with a rich chestnut coat, a
large black patch on the forehead, and a snowy- white
stripe down the back.

CHAPTER IX.

ial and gtmtoimnafous

YAPOCK OPOSSUM (Cheironectes Yapock).

EVEN the marsupial group — i.e., those animals which
carry their young in natural pouches — is not without
its aquatic representative, which we find in the Yapock
Opossum of Tropical America.

This remarkable animal departs in many ways from
the structure and habits of its kin. As a rule, the
opossums are lovers of trees, traversing them as
actively as the squirrels, and securing themselves by
their long, prehensile tails, which they twist round the
branches after the fashion of the spider-monkeys of
the same country. Indeed, so powerful is the grasp
of the tail that the animal often feeds while suspended,
holding the food to its mouth by means of its fore
paws. And if it be shot while hanging, it will often
retain its hold until decomposition sets in, and loosens
the tense muscles.

They are all predacious animals, and, whenever
they find their way to the farm-yard, work terrible
destruction among the poultry.

THE YAPOCK OPOSSUM. 193

It is, therefore, rather startling to find that there
is a species of opossum which cannot even climb a
tree, which obtains its prey in the water, whose feet
are modified into oars, and whose tail acts as a rudder.
Such, however, is the Yapock Opossum, a handsome
creature, with a coat of light grey, blotched with great
bars and patches of black. All the paws are webbed,
but the fore paws have the web extending only as far
as the first joints, so that they can be used after the
manner of hands. This structure, however, renders
them incapable of being employed in traversing the
branches of trees, as is done by the terrestrial, or, I
may rather say, the arboreal opossum. Even the shape
of the animal is unlike that of the other opossums, and,
to a practised eye, at once indicates its aquatic character.
The toes of the hind feet are much lengthened,
and, as they are webbed down to the claws, they form
very effective instruments of propulsion. By their aid,
the Yapock can swim so swiftly and actively that it
can chase and capture even the fish in their own
element, and, indeed, has been captured in a fish-trap.
The animal dived into the trap in pursuit of the fish,
and, being unable to extricate itself, was drowned.

Aquatic insects, Crustacea, and similar creatures,
form part of the Yapock' s food. Perhaps the nature
of its food may have some connection with the curious
fact that the mouth is furnished with cheek-pouches,
like those of the monkeys. These pouches are very
large, extending completely along the side of the head,
and are supposed to be given to the animal for the
purpose of enabling it to gather a store of water-
insects, and to take them home to its young.

13

194 MARSUPIAL WATER TRESPASSERS.

Like most aquatic animals of small size, it resides
in burrows which it digs in the bank, the opening
being beneath the surface of the water.

In this remarkable animal we see, therefore, a most
instructive instance of the manner in which a compara-
tively slight modification of structure can transform an
arboreal into an aquatic animal, and enable it to live
with completely changed habits. Instead of traversing
trees, it swims and dives through the water. It seeks
its prey in the river, and not on the shore ; and, in-
stead of making its home, as the terrestrial opossums
do, in the hollow of a tree, or even usurping that of a
squirrel or some other animal that makes a warm and
snug nest, it excavates for itself a burrow in the bank
of the river, just after the fashion of the common
water rat of our own country.

Before leaving the marsupials, I should like to say
a few words upon another marsupial trespasser,
although it trespasses in another direction. Assuming
the monkeys to be the type of arboreal animals, we
have the remarkable fact that by very slight modifica-
tions of structure, an essentially terrestrial marsupial
animal becomes changed into an arboreal trespasser.
We have already seen how the arboreal opossum can
take an aquatic form, and we shall now see how the
kangaroo itself can become arboreal.

I allude to the famous Tree Kangaroo (Dendrologus
ursinus). This very remarkable animal has the fore
paws much longer, and the hind legs much shorter,
than is the case with those species which have only to
traverse the ground. The black claws are peculiarly
long and rather curved.

THE DUCKBILL. 195

That a kangaroo should be able to traverse the
branches of a tree is so extraordinary a fact that
many people refused to believe its possibility until
positive proof was given of the animal by a living
specimen at the Zoological Gardens. Its cage was
fitted wifch a large tree-branch, such as is supplied to
the leopards, and it was a very curious sight to watch
the animal skipping about the boughs as lightly and
securely as if it had been a squirrel. It retained
many of the habits of its wild state, notably that of
sitting motionless for long periods, as if asleep, but,
when roused to action, leaping about with astonishing
quickness.

I imagine that these habits tend to its preservation.
The dark-brown colour of the fur bears so close a
resemblance to the hue of the branches that, even when
the animal is in a cage, and the observer knows where
to look, he will not at once discriminate between the
tree and the animal. Its habit of stillness will, there-
fore, account for its preservation from the eyes of
enemies, while its exceeding quickness and agility
when in motion, will enable it to escape from almost
any foe except man.

DUCKBILL (Platypus anatinus).

We will now return to our mammalian watei
trespassers, the last of which is the celebrated Duck-
bill, called Mullingong or Tambreet by the natives, and
Water- mole by the colonists.

Not for a moment could anyone doubt the aquatic
nature of the animal, for its thick and water-proof fur,
its deeply-webbed feet, and its oddly- shaped head,

196 MONOTREMATOUS WATER TRESPASSERS.

which looks almost exactly like that of a duck — all
point to the fact that it passes much of its time in the
water.

In this animal, as well as in that which was just
described, the protection of colour is very considerable.
As it floats on the surface of the water, it bears an
almost exact resemblance to a bunch of loose weeds,
and, as it has a habit of allowing itself to drift with
the stream, the resemblance is so close that it can
hardly be detected. In fact, it is only when the animal
begins to paddle that the slight rippling motion which
it makes in the water leads to its detection. As, more-
over, it does not expose itself in daylight, but chooses
the dusk of the evening for its wanderings, it is ren-
dered still more indistinguishable by the fading light.

Dr. Bennett has given in his " Gatherings of a
Naturalist in Australia," a very interesting account of
the habits and appearance of the animal, together with
an admirable coloured illustration.

In the first place, the stuffed specimens which are
usually seen give but little idea of the real form and
contour of the Duckbill. The most conspicuous part
of the creature — namely, the bird-like beak, is always
black, flat, and withered ; whereas in the living animal
it is rounded, fleshy, and of a pinkish colour. It is
used as a tactile organ, and is evidently well furnished
with nerves, the animal paddling with it in the mud
just as a duck does, and extracting from it the aquatic
insects and molluscs on which it feeds. Like the
yapock opposum, it is furnished with large pouches on
either side of its cheeks.

Dr. Bennett succeeded in capturing several of these

THE DUCKBILL. 197

animals alive, and so had many opportunities of watch-
ing their movements. With the aid of some natives,
he succeeded in digging a full-grown female out of the
burrow in which she lived, and, after it had become a
little used to captivity, experimented upon it. Taking
the precaution to fasten a long string to its hind leg,
he allowed it to swim about in a pond. It at once
made for the spot where aquatic weeds were floating,
and ranged between them and the weeds of the bank,
thrusting its beak among them, and evidently extract-
ing food.

It took no notice of insects which had fallen into
the water and were fluttering on the surface, but
restricted itself to those which it obtained from the
mud. The movements of the beak were noticed to l>r
exactly like those of the duck's bill while feeding.
Having no teeth, but only four grooved bony plates
which act like mills, it cannot eat hard or large
morsels, and this is probably the reason why the float-
ing insects were disregarded.

After a while, it climbed up the bank and began to
clean its fur, in which both the hind feet and the beak
were brought into requisition — the latter being used
just like the beak of a bird among the feathers, and
producing a beautiful gloss on the fur.

Stuffed specimens also distort the whole shape of
the body. In such specimens the skin is stuffed as
full of tow as a sausage of meat, and the body is almost
round; but, in the living specimen, the skin is
peculiarly loose, and forms a large fold along each side,
almost as conspicuous as that of the flying squirrel.
in consequence of this structure, the animal can force

198 MONOTREMATOTJS WATER TRESPASSERS.

itself through an aperture which seems hardly capable
of admitting an animal of half its size, and if held in
the hand, it can scarcely be retained there, slipping
through the grasp in a most uncanny fashion. It feels,
as Dr. Bennett says, as if the animal were enclosed in
a thick fur bag. When moving on land, the extreme
looseness of the skin gives the Duckbill a singularly
uncouth appearance, and neither dogs nor cats will
touch it, the former barking at it, and the latter
running away in alarm.

Dr. Bennett's account of his first sight of a Duck-
bill is graphic and interesting : —

"The sun was now near its setting, when, at a
more quiet part of the river (knowing as I did the
crepusculous nature of the animals), I endeavoured to
obtain a sight of the shy OrnithorhyncJms paradoxus.
Those only who are anxious to view and investigate
the works of nature, either in the peculiar forms of
the animals or the surpassing beauty and variety of
the vegetable kingdom, can appreciate the sense of
enjoyment experienced on seeing in their native
country objects which, before, were known only from
vague description.

"At a tranquil part of the river, called by the
colonists a ' pond/ on the surface of which numerous
aquatic plants were growing profusely, or in places of
this description, the water moles were most commonly
seen, seeking their food among the plants, whilst the
shaded banks afforded them excellent situations for
excavating their burrows.

" We remained stationary on the banks, with gun
in rest, waiting their appearance with some degree of

THE DUCKBILL. 199

patience ; and it was not long before my companion
quietly directed my attention to one of these animals
on the surface of the water, not far distant from the
bank on which we were then standing. In such
circumstances they may be readily recognized by
their dark bodies just seen level with the surface,
above which the head is slightly raised, and by tho
circles made in the water around them by their
paddling action.

" On seeing them, the spectator must remain
perfectly stationary, as the slightest noise or move-
ment will cause the timid creature instantly to dis-
appear, so acute are they in sight or hearing, or
perhaps in both; and they seldom reappear when
once frightened.

" By remaining perfectly quiet, however, when the
animal is paddling about, it is possible to obtain an
excellent view of its movements on the water; ib
seldom remains longer than one or two minutes play-
ing on the surface, but dives, and reappears a short
distance above or below the place at which it was,
observed to descend.

" Although the animal may ' come up ' close to
the place where the sportsman is standing, it would
be useless to attempt to level the gun, for that action
alone would cause its instantaneous disappearance;
but, after waiting patiently until the animal dives,
and watching the direction in which it sinks, prepara-
tion must be made to receive it with the discharge of
the piece instantly on its reappearance at the surface,
which — when it descends unfrightened — is almost cer-
tain to take place in a short time.

200 MONOTREMATOUS WATER TRESPASSERS.

" A near shot is requisite, a distant one being
almost hopeless ; and the aim should be invariably
directed afc the head, in which part the shots are more
likely to take speedy effect than in the loose, dense
integuments of the body, which the charge is unable
to penetrate. I have seen the skull shattered by the
force of the shot, when the integuments covering it
have scarcely suffered injury.

" If the water is very clear, the course of the
animal beneath its surface after diving can be dis-
tinctly seen; but as the places frequented by it
usually abound in river-weeds, it is seldom noticed in
a clear part of the river. On diving, they never rise
again at the same place ; but it is not difficult, with
a little experience in sporting for these animals
to judge with tolerable accuracy where they may
come up."

Aquatic as is this animal, it cannot endure a long
immersion ; and is in the habit of coming ashore at
intervals. Dr. Bennett found that if a Duckbill be
kept in deep water for a quarter of an hour or
twenty minutes, it is so much fatigued that it would
soon perish from exhaustion. In consequence of
ignorance on this subject, some of the earlier attempts
to keep the animal alive proved to be failures. When
the Duckbill was taken, its captors placed it in a tub
with water, and then were very much surprised to
find that by the next morning it was lying drowned
if the tub were half full of water ; and had scrambled
out and escaped if it were full enough to allow the
animal to get a foot upon the edge of the vessel.

He also found that the longest time that they

THE DUCKBILL. 201

could endure below the surface of the water without
requiring to breathe was a little more than seven
minutes. Some specimens which he had in captivity,
used to sink to the bottom, and lie there quietly,
their position being only indicated by a bubble of air
rising occasionally to the surface. After a time they
would gradually rise in the water, just protruding
their nostrils for a few seconds, and again sink to the
bottom. Sometimes they float almost entirely im-
mersed, only the part of the beak containing the
nostrils being left out of the water. Under these
circumstances, the nostrils are often annoyed by
floating dust, or other substances ; and, if they cannot
be cleared off by a sharp ejection of the breath, the
bill is carefully washed.

At the base of the beak there is a fold of skin, of
which Dr. Bennett writes as follows : —

" The use of the fold or lappet which falls back
over the fore part of the head and throat, may be to
prevent the mud, into which these creatures thrust their
beak, from injuring the surrounding fur; or, what is
more probable, protect the eyes from injury during
the time that they are burrowing in the earth. The
nostrils are situated at the upper surface of the beak,
near its extremity.

" The formation of the lips enables the animal to
strain the water from its food, which is then conveyed
into two rather capacious cheek-pouches. As regards
the use of these, Professor Owen observes that any ' air-
breathing, warm-blooded animal, which obtains its
food by the capture of small aquatic animals while
submerged, must derive great advantage from the

202 MONOTRKMATOU8 WATER TRESPASSERS.

structure which enables it to transfer them quickly to
a temporary receptacle, whence they may be extracted
and masticated whilst the animal is floating on the
surface of the water, or at rest in its burrow/

" These animals have horny teeth on the toDgue.
On the back part of this organ there is a bulb, which
serves to prevent the passage of food collected in the
mouth, together with the water, into the gullet, and
to direct the former into the temporary receptacles,
the cheek pouches, which have an opening on each
side, at the back part of the mouth.

" In these I have found the food well comminuted,
mingled with fine gravel, of the consistence of mud ;
the food being composed of debris of insects and
small shell-fish, with mud and gravel to aid digestion.
I have also found the whole length of the alimentary
canal filled with mud or sand, together with fragments
of food ."

I may here mention that the peculiar shape of the
head is obtained by the development of certain bones.
The upper jaw is formed from the intermaxillary bones,
which are lengthened, flattened, and turned inwards
at the ends ; while a similar development of the bones
of the lower jaw constitutes the lower mandible. In
the stuffed and dried specimen, the shape of these
bones can easily be traced through the dried skin.
When the skeleton is freed from the soft portions,
the aspect of the head is even more remarkable than
in the living animal, and has quite a grotesque
appearance about it.

Dr. Bennett mentions that his Duckbills never
looked so absurd as when they yawned. When they

THE DUCKBILL. 203

awoke, they generally stretched themselves much as
a cat does, thrusting out the fore paws as far as pos-
sible, and spreading the toes, and at the same time
opening their jaws to the fullest extent. The action
was natural enough ; but as one does not expect to
see a duck yawn, it was very absurd.

A casual mention has already been made of the
fact that the Duckbill can clamber out of a vessel in
which it is placed. Unfit as it may seem for perform-
ing such feats, the Duckbill is a capital climber — a
faculty which is probably needed for ascending the
banks out of the water. A pair of young Duckbills
which were kept by Dr. Bennett in his house, were
perpetually found on the tops of book-cases, or other
elevated spots. At last the mode was discovered, and
was seen to be exactly the same as that which was
formerly employed by chimney-sweepers during their
ascent. The animal got between the wall and the
furniture, placed its back against the one, and its
feet against the other, and so managed to wriggle
its way upwards. I may be pardoned for repeating
here a personal anecdote, because it illustrates the
subject.

During my childhood we were accustomed to get
on the roof of a summer-house in exactly the same
way. The summer-house was within two feet or so of a
stable ; and, by setting our feet against the stable
wall, and our backs against that of the summer-house,
we very speedily reached the roof. This was a
useful accomplishment, especially in the autumn, be-
cause some remarkably fine Sweetwater and Black
Hamburg grapes were trained over the roofs of the

204 MONOTREMATOUS WATER TRESPASSERS.

summer-house and stable, and, having a southern ex-
posure, ripened admirably.

The entomological reader will probably recollect
that the larva of the tiger-beetle acts in exactly the
same manner. When it ascends its perpendicular
burrow, it wriggles itself upwards by bending its
body, and pressing alternately with its back and belly
against the sides of the tunnel. When it wishes to
descend, it has only to straighten its body, and down
it falls by its own weight.

The animal is not only a good climber, but an
accomplished burrower. The fore paws, whjch are
such admirable instruments of propulsion in the water,
and aid it so well in climbing, are equally useful when
intended to perform the office of a spade. When the
animal is on land, the web collapses between the toes,
and leaves the claws free to perform their task of
digging.

Like many other aquatic animals, the Duckbill lives
in burrows which it excavates in the bank. These
burrows are often of very great length — seldom less
than twenty feet long, and sometimes reaching the
great length of fifty feet. They always ascend, so
that the water cannot rise far into them; and they
have the peculiarity that there are two entrances — one
above the surface of the water, and the other below it.
The former is generally about a yard or so from the
surface of the water, while the other is below it ;
this secondary passage joining the main burrow a
short distance from the other entrance.

Thus the animal can regain its home either by
water or by land. If, for example, it has been lying

THE DUCKBILL. 205

on the bank, and has completed its toilet as has already
been described, it would naturally prefer to walk into
its burrow without wetting itself, and being obliged to
repeat the operation. But, if it were pursued, or even
alarmed, it would dive, and so regain its home unseen.

At the upper extremity of the burrow is the home.
This is always oval in form, and much larger than the
burrow itself. It is floored with dry weeds and similar
substances, and is a very comfortable residence.
Within this chamber the animal always sleeps, rolling
itself up into a ball like a hedgehog, and uttering little
angry growls if disturbed. In it the young ones are
born, and pass the first few months of their lives in safety
from any foe except man. Even white men, with all
their tools, find that to dig out a Duckbill when it has
taken refuge in its nest is no easy matter. The natives,
however, with no tools better than sharp sticks, can
beat the white man in digging, and, when once they
have made up their minds to secure the Duckbill, they
never fail to do so. The outer entrance to the burrow
is almost invariably concealed by grass or other foliage,
and is not easily found.

Whether or not the remarkable spur with which
the hind foot of the male is armed has any connection
with its aquatic habits, is at present unknown, and,
indeed, the object of the spur is altogether a mystery.
It exists also in an allied animal, the echidna, or
porcupine ant-eater, of the same country, and is
in both animals thought to be armed with a poisonous
fluid.

However, Dr. Bennett, after trying all kinds of
experiments on adult male Duckbills, and doing his

206 MONOTREMATOU8 WATER TRESPASSERS.

best to get himself wounded, could not succeed even
in being scratched with the spur. This curious
instrument, by the way, almost exactly resembles
that of the game-cock, except that it is but loosely
attached, and is often kept folded back, so that it is
not visible unless specially sought for.

As yet, none of these animals have been brought
in a living state to England. They are very delicate
in constitution, and, unless supplied with a proper diet,
invariably pine away and die. Various attempts have
been made, but all in vain. As far as is yet known,
molluscs chopped up very fine furnish the best food,
but the animal never seems to thrive unless it can
forage for itself in the inud. Probably, if some speci-
mens could only be got safely across the sea, they might
find sufficient nutriment in the ponds of the Zoological
Gardens, but at present the voyage has proved an in-
superable obstacle.

The water-repelling property of the fur has already
been mentioned. It is a curious fact that this property
only exists as long as the animal is in health. This
was shown by the various Duckbills which have been
captured and kept alive. At first, while they were
plump and in good health, the water rolled off their fur
as soon as they left it, and they were almost immediately
dry ; but, when they began to fail in health, the fur
failed in proportion, became matted, and would not
dry. The mandibles also lost their round plumpness
and their beautiful pinky colour.

It is rather interesting to note that even in the
Duckbill the sense of humour is to be found. Dr.
Bennett states that his pair of young Duckbills were as

THE DUCKBILL. 207

playful as kittens, sporting with each other in exactly
the same manner, knocking each other over, and pre-
tending to bite. They had even invented a game exactly
like our " hide-and-seek/' one of them concealing
itself and then calling the other to come and look for it.

Although no living specimens have yet been trans-
mitted, many have been preserved in spirits of wine
and sent over for dissection. By these means we have
attained to some knowledge of the economy of this
wonderful creature, which hardly seems to belong to
the same epoch as ourselves.

I recollect meeting with a dire disappointment with
regard to the anatomy of the Duckbill. At the dissect-
ing room in which I was then working, there arrived a
large jar of Australian creatures preserved in spirits.
Our exultation was great when among them was dis-
covered the body of a Duckbill. It was held up in
triumph, and we were gathering round it in extreme
anxiety, when an exclamation of horror and disgust
burst from our chief. The ingenious person who
placed the Duckbill in the jar had taken the precaution
to remove the whole of the interior, and so all our
anticipations were frustrated.

However, others have been more fortunate ; and,
what with the researches of Professor Owen in this
country, and the observations of Dr. Bennett in
Australia, several of the mysteries relating to this
creature have been disclosed. Others yet remain un-
solved, involving the distinction, or, perhaps we may
say in this case, the relationship, between mammalia
and birds. It is to be hoped that these very puzzling
difficulties may be soon explained, as, if this be not

208 MONOTREMATOUS WATER TRESPASSEE8.

done, they will probably remain in their present state
of uncertainty. The spread of civilization over
Australia has had the same effect upon the Duckbill as
it has upon all wild animals, and it is much to be
feared that absolute extinction may.be expected. Only
lately, the curator of a New Zealand museum was
obliged to send to England for a preserved Maori's
head ; and it may be that specimens of the Duckbill
may have to be sent to Australia from this country.

CHAPTER X.

AMONG the birds there is also a graduated series
of water trespassers, corresponding in many ways to
the mammalia which have just been described.

There are none, however, which correspond with
the whale tribe, in living entirely in the water ; and
this for obvious reasons. The whales are enabled to
produce their young in the water ; and as the little
creatures are born alive and in the full enjoyment of
their muscular power, they can swim as soon as they
see the light, and can accompany their mothers. The
birds, however, lay eggs, which must be hatched by
constant and regular warmth. This requisite cannot
be supplied in the sea ; and, in consequence, the bird
is obliged to go on shore for the purpose of depositing
and hatching its eggs.

The most aquatic of birds are undoubtedly the
Penguins, which pass almost the whole of their time
in the water, and seldom come on shore except for
breeding purposes. They may therefore be considered
as analogous to the seals, which live almost entirely in
the water, but sleep on the land, and go ashore to
nurture their young.

14

210 BIRD WATER TRESPASSERS.

A mere glance at the Penguin will show at once
that it belongs more to the water than to the land,
and not at all to the air; its structure having been
extraordinarily, though simply, modified.

Take, for example, the structure of the bones. In
flying birds, they are hollow, very light, and com-
municate with the lungs ; but in the Penguins they
are solid, heavy, and have no communication with
the lungs.

Then there are the wings, which are absolutely
useless for flight. In the first place, they are far too
small to support the bird in the air, as may be seen by
reference to the figures in Plate IV., where a couple
of Penguins are seen standing in the extraordinary
attitude which they adopt when at rest. The plumage
with which they are covered is not in the least like
that of flying birds, but consists of short and very
stiff feathers pressed closely together, and looking
just like scales.

Although these curiously modified wings cannot
be employed to raise the bird in the air, they certainly
aid its progress in the water ; and in them there is a
singular analogy to the same organs in the aquatic
ichneumon discovered by Sir J. Lubbock. As this
insect will presently be described in full, I shall only
refer to it in the present place.

These wings can also be employed for the purpose
of running on land, so that for a time the bipedal bird
is transformed into a quadruped. Mr. Darwin, when
at the Falkland Islands, saw a Jackass Penguin
(Spheniscus demersus) thus running about among
the tussocks on the side of the cliff", and moving

PLATE IV.

CORMORANT, PUFFIN, AND PENGUIN.

THE PENGUIN. 211

BO quickly that it might easily have been taken for a
quadruped.

The legs are set as far back as possible, so that
when the bird is at rest, it must stand quite erect, as
shown in the illustration.

The legs are very short, very powerful, and the
feet are broad and webbed, so that when they are put
to their proper use, they propel the bird with won-
derful velocity. This very structure, however, renders
the movements of the bird extremely awkward when it
is on shore. The feet have to be crossed over each
other at every step, and are brought down with a
peculiar slapping noise. This sound, by the way, is
produced in perfection by the common cormorant.
Several of these birds have been domesticated, and
their loud, slapping footsteps were very audible as
they went about the house. The albatross also, when
trying to walk upon the ship's deck, does just the
same thing. We see a somewhat similar mode of
progress, though not carried out to such an extent, in
the ducks, geese, and swans.

This attitude, and the peculiar shuffling waddle,
are utilized by the bird in a very singular manner.
Being unable, from its peculiar form, to sit on its eggs
in the manner adapted by most birds, it holds the
egg firmly between its legs. Then, if disturbed, it
shuffles off, carrying the egg with it ; and keeping it
in its place by the pressure of the short, stiff tail
feathers, which are partly bent under it. When
hatched, the young is fed by both parents, who are
so persevering in their task, that they become quite
thin, while the little Penguin grows rapidly into a

212 . BIRD WATER TRESPASSERS.

downy ball of fat. No bird appears to have any par-
ticular nest, but there is a sort of general nest, com-
posed of loose sticks.

Just as the old sailor could never see any use in
land except to furnish ships, spars, rigging, and pro-
visions, so the Penguin seems to think that but for
the necessity of egg hatching, the land is rather a
nuisance than otherwise.

Indeed, Mr. Gr. Bennett, to whom we are indebted
for much of our knowledge respecting these remarkable
birds, has met with them at sea, not only out of sight
of land, but far from any land known to geographers.
Now, when it is remembered that the bird cannot fly
an inch, and that all that distance must be traversed
by swimming, the natatory powers of the Penguin are
very strikingly shown. Indeed, the seal itself is not
more at ease in the water than is the Penguin.

The analogy between the marine mammal and bird
is further shown by the fact that their food is of a
similar character, and obtained in the same way,
namely, by fair chase; and it is remarkable that
in each case, the trespasser upon the water is superior
in speed and agility to the rightful denizens thereof.
But, whereas the food of the seal consists mostly of
fish, that of the Penguin is found^ to consist almost
entirely of cuttles, the indigestible beaks of which are
found in the rapidly digesting stomachs of the birds.
I may here remark that similar remains have been
found within the fossil skeletons of extinct reptiles of
the ancient world, showing that they also fed upon
cuttles, and, like the Penguins, could not digest the
beaks, nor the scales of sundry fishes which were

THE PENGUIN. 213

found accompanying the cuttle beaks, both being
made of very similar material.

In one or two remarkable instances, when Dr.
Buckland made those discoveries in geology which
scattered terror and mistrust among those who had
not sufficient mental capacity to understand their real
bearings, even the ink-bag of the cuttle was pre-
served; and with the ink of a creature that had been
dead for more thousands of years than we know, the
portrait of its destroyer was taken, and the description
of the remains written. So perfect, indeed, was the
preservation of the ink, that a professional artist to
whom the drawing was shown, asked where such ink
could be purchased.

Perhaps the reader may think that the Penguin has
an easier task than the seal in procuring food, the
former feeding chiefly on molluscs, and the latter on
fish. But these same molluscs, called cuttles, or squids ,
are most active creatures ; darting through the water
with a rapidity that almost baffles the eye, and having
such a tremendous power of impetus, that they have
been known to spring completely over a ship. We
shall refer to this subject again, when we come to the
Air Trespassers. So, if there be any difference in the
powers of the two creatures, the bird has rather the
advantage over the mammal.

When they do go on shore, the Penguins take no
more exercise than they can possibly avoid ; and, for
the most part, stand motionless in lines so accurately
drawn, that any regiment of soldiers might be proud
of their dressing.

The most curious part of this proceeding is, how-

214 BIRD WATER TRESPASSERS.

ever, the distinctions of rank which are carried out by
the birds. Instinctively, they divide themselves into
great masses, according to their age, sex, and con-
dition. For example, as Mr. Bennett says, " The
young birds are in one situation, the moulting birds in
another, the sitting hens in a third, the clean birds in
a fourth, etc. And so strictly do birds in similar
condition congregate, that should a bird that is moult-
ing intrude itself among those which are clean, it is
immediately ejected from among them"

I suppose that after the moult is complete, and the
ejected bird takes its place with the full-feathered
brigade, none of them would be more zealous in driving
out any Penguin that still wanted a few feathers to be
completely attired. We all know that a man who has
just escaped being blackballed when he desired admis-
sion to a club, becomes one of the most uncompromis-
ing handlers of the black ball himself, and the strictest
scrutinizer into the antecedents of every new candidate
for admission.

When the Penguin is in its natural element, the
sea, its movements are full of spirit and grace. It
feels this contrast so much, that if it be disturbed
when on land, it makes its way to the sea through all
obstacles. Mr. Darwin gives an interesting account
of its behaviour when cut off from its natural element,

" One day, having placed myself between a Jackass
Penguin and the water, I was much amused by watch-
ing its habits. It was a brave bird, and until reaching
the sea, it regularly fought and drove me backwards.
Nothing less than heavy blows would have stopped
him. Every inch gained he firmly kept, standing

THE PENGUIN. 215

close before me, erect, and determined. When thus
opposed, he continually rolled his head from side to
side, in a very odd manner, as if the power of vision
only lay in the anterior and back part of each eye.

The bird is commonly called the Jackass Penguin,
from its habit, while on shore, of throwing its head
backwards, and making a loud, strange noise, very like
the braying of that animal. When at sea and fishing,
it comes to the surface for the purpose of breathing,
with such a spring, and dives again so instantaneously,
that I defy any one at first sight to be sure that it is
not a fish leaping for sport.

Vast multitudes of these birds herd together, and
so regular is their arrangement, and so still their
attitude, to which allusion has already been made,
that they have more than once been mistaken for
regiments of disciplined soldiers, drawn up at " at-
tention ! "

The extraordinary noise which they make soon
dissipates the deception, by means of the ear. Not
only do they produce that remarkable sound which has
earned for one species the popular title of " jackass/'
but both parents and child are very noisy when the
latter is being fed. Perhaps my readers may have
heard the loud, chattering sounds which are produced
by starlings under the same circumstances ; and if so,
they can comprehend what a noise can be made by the
Penguin, with its superior power of vocalization.
The mother bird always precedes the act of giving
the food with a loud clattering sound, which lasts for
about a minute ; and after the food has been given,
makes a similar clatter. Captain Fitzroy, who saw

216 BIED WATER TRESPASSERS.

the Jackass Penguins in great numbers at Noir Island,
believes that those birds who are moulting, and cannot
therefore procure food for themselves, are fed by their
fully-feathered companions, as if they were young and
helpless.

AUKS.

Perhaps the bird which comes, or rather, which
came, next to the penguin in its aquatic power, is the
Great Auk (Alca impennis) .

This is one of the species which has become extinct
by the agency of man within the present generation,
just as did the Philip Island parrot of Australia (Nestor
productus) after it, and the dodo some years before it.
This extinction of species is one of the most curious
problems of zoology, especially when it takes effect on
such birds as the magnificent cockatoo, called the
Philip Island parrot, and the great auk. It can easily
be understood how a large, fat-bodied, slow-paced
bird like the dodo should be rapidly extirpated,
especially as it was unable to fly, and the flesh was
very good to eat. Moreover, the bird was a local one,
and its extirpation was accomplished by sailors, the
least accustomed of all men to weigh the future con-
sequences of present acts.

But the case is different with the other two birds.
Take, for example, the Philip Island parrot. Fifteen
years ago, whilst describing this bird, I mentioned
that " it may probably become extinct at no distant
period, as its singularly shaped beak renders it an

AUKS. 217

object of attraction to those who get their living by
supplying the dealers with this and other objects of
natural history ; and its disposition is so gentle and
docile, that it readily accommodates itself to captivity."
The bird is now, as far as is known, extinct, and I
have reason to believe that the last specimen perished
even before these sentences were printed.

Still more extraordinary is the disappearance of
the Great Auk. Both the previously mentioned birds
were essentially local, the dodo inhabiting the
Mauritius and neighbouring isles, and the Philip
Island parrot being confined to the spot whence it
takes its name — a mere islet only some five miles in
extent. Then the former bird was eminently sluggish,
and the latter neither very active nor wary.

But in the case of the Great Auk, the case is widely
different. It had a very wide range in Northern
regions, and was found io Labrador, Norway, Iceland,
Greenland, Spitzbergen, and even on the northern
coast of Scotland. Moreover, it was a singularly
active bird, scarcely less swift and agile than the
penguin, which it much resembled in general form.
Like that bird, it did not possess wings suitable for
flight, those members being reduced to a very small
size, and only useful as fins in the water. The feathers
are longer than those of the penguin, but the wing is
absolutely useless for aerial progress in both birds.

The specific name, " impennis," or wingless, al-
ludes to the very small size of the wing, though it is
not a really correct term.

Yet, in spite of its wide range and its extreme
activity in the water, it became extinct with a rapidity

218 BIRD WATER TRESPASSERS.

that is absolutely startling. Within the memory of
middle-aged men, the bird was considered as a common
one, and in 1813 great numbers of them were killed
and eaten, having been captured at a place called the
Auk-Skar, in consequence of the multitudes of Auks
which used to'breed upon it. One of these birds was
taken alive at St. Kilda in 1822.

One day — it was really almost as circumscribed a
time — ornithologists woke up to the knowledge that
the Great Auk had disappeared from the face of the
earth. The sharpest watch was set in every place
which the bird had been known to visit, and expedi-
tions of skilled ornithologists scoured sea and land in
hopes of lighting upon the bird. All was in vain, and
the only remains of this once plentiful bird are to
be found in thirty-four skins and forty-two eggs, not
more than were taken in one day at the Auk-Skar in
1813. The birds were well known in the Orkneys as
the king and queen of the auks, but, as far as we know,
the living bird will never again receive a name from
anyone.

As is the case with most of the Auk tribe, the eggs
were laid on rocky shelves, or similar spots, and were
inaccessible to ordinary foes. None but the stout-
hearted cragsman, with his trusty rope, could descend
from the top of the cliff to the resting-place of the
Great Auk, or ascend from a boat.

Like the marine birds in general, it was accustomed
to seek its food among the fishes, and those who knew
its habits said that it fed chiefly upon the common
Lump-fish (Cyclopterus lumpus). It also lived upon
various Crustacea and similar creatures. It fed its

AUKS. 219

young after the manner of the penguins, and the
young bird was accustomed to depend on its parents
for food long after it had attained its full growth.

The most familiar of these birds is the Little Auk,
commonly called the Puffin (Fratercula arctica) , so well
known for its enormous and brightly coloured beak,
the orange stripes of which are retained long after
death, although their brilliancy is much dulled.

In this bird the wings are well developed, so that
it is able to carry its prey out of the sea and bring it
ashore to its nest, which is usually made towards the
summit of a cliff. The Puffin breeds in burrows,
which it excavates for itself if it cannot find a de-
serted habitation of a rabbit, or cause one to be
deserted by turning the owner out, a nefarious feat
which it has been known to perform. Being a small
bird, and its wings not very large, it cannot carry large
fish through the air, but contents itself with little fish
somewhere about as large as an ordinary sprat. It
has a curious way of catching them all by the head,
and arranging them in a row along the side of its
beak, so that the look of the bird as it rises from the
water is not a little grotesque. In the centre of
Plate IV., the lower figure shows the bird diving in
chase of its finny prey, and the upper as rising and
carrying the sprats in its bill, as has just been
described.

The reader will probably have noticed how closely
the Puffin follows the habits of many aquatic mam-
malia, finding its food in the water, and its home in a
burrow, which it digs in the bank. The labourers
say that the bird makes wonderfully deep galleries,

220 BIRD WATER TRESPASSERS.

and that persons who are walking near the edge of the
cliff can hear the Puffins uttering their peculiar grunting
cry beneath their feet.

While engaged in digging, they are so intent
upon their work that they can be taken by hand.
Generally, however, the Puffin resents vastly any
intrusion into its domicile, biting fiercely with the
sharp-edged beak, from which the bird has derived
the popular name of coulter-neb — i.e., with a beak
resembling the coulter of a plough.

GREAT NORTHERN DIVER (Colymbus gladalis}.

Another of our water trespassers among the
birds is the Great Northern Diver. This bird is
seldom seen on the coast of England, being, as its
name implies, a northern species.

It is nearly as aquatic in its habits as the penguin,
and, like that bird, spends much more of its time in
the sea than on shore. As may be inferred from its
popular name, it is a great adept at diving, being
able to swim for a considerable distance under water,
and to endure a submersion of more than three minutes
without needing to breathe. It is said to be able to
swim at the rate of some seven or eight miles an hour,
and this is likely to be the case, as the swiftest boat
can scarcely approach near enough for a shot. I may
here mention that the generic name, " Colymbus," is
of Greek origin, and signifies a diver.

It obtains most of its food from the sea, but, as is
the case with many marine birds, is sometimes driven

GREAT NORTHERN DIVER. 221

to the shore, where it has to put up with frogs, insects,
and such " small deer," in lieu of the fishy diet to
which it is accustomed. Stormy weather generally
forces the Diver into such straits for subsistence.

Not that it is afraid of the water, for even in the
roughest weather it may be seen sporting amid the
waves- with perfect confidence. But in stormy weather
the fish descend to such depths that the Diver cannot
catch them, especially as the darker surface of the
waves prevents the light from penetrating much below
the surface. Every swimmer is aware that whereas
on a calm day he can, when diving, see objects in the
water almost as plainly as if they were on land, even
a breath of wind that is sufficient to create a ripple on
the surface will cause a comparative darkness.

Near Oxford there is a well-known "lasher" — i.e.,
an artificial cataract — that serves to carry off the
superfluous water above a lock. This lasher-pool was
always a much-frequented bathing-place, and one of
the feats to which we were accustomed was to jump
into the middle of the lasher, and be hurled along in
the boiling torrent until we came out in the smoother
water below. All who have done this have noticed
the regular transition from darkness to light. At first
the water is so dark that nothing can be seen, the
light being kept out by the thick foam on the surface ;
but it rapidly improves in lightness, and when the
smooth water is gained, the eyes can be used with
perfect ease. So, in the case of the Diver, the bird
is not daunted by the waves, but it is prevented
from seeing the fish at the depths to which they then
descend.

222 BIRD WATER TRESPASSERS.

So familiar are they with the water, that they sleep
on its surface as safely as if they were on land, their
heads tucked comfortably in their shoulders, after the
manner of birds. Generally, a Diver descends below
the water by means of a sudden leap, and, if it be
pursued, comes to the surface and dives again with
such rapidity that the best marksman will hardly have
time for his aim. But it can also compress its body
sufficiently to allow itself to sink gradually, and if it
should take alarm and not see immediate danger, it
will then submerge itself until only its head remains
above the water.

The legs being short, and set very far back, the
bird has much of the attributes of the penguin when
on land, sitting bolt upright, and being almost as bad
a walker. Indeed, its gait hardly deserves the name
of a walk, but can only be called an awkward shuffle.
The long, lithe, and powerful neck enables its sharp
and powerful bill to be used with terrible effect among
the fishes, and to defend itself against foes, at whom
it strikes quickly and fiercely, as the heron does.

How efficient a weapon is this beak may be
imagined from the fact that within one of these birds
were found nineteen flounders and a salmon-trout. It
is no matter of surprise, therefore, that so voracious a
creature should be in great straits for food when it is
obliged to depend on frogs and insects for sub-
sistence.

THE CORMORANT — THE GANNET. 223

THE CORMORANT (Graculus carlo).

On Plate IV. may be seen two figures of the Cor-
morant. One is represented on the upper part of the
plate sitting on a rock and looking after the young,
while the other is diving into the water for the pur-
pose of catching fish. The skill of the bird in this act
is quite proverbial ; and, just as the cheetah has been
trained to capture antelopes on the ground, and the
falcon to chase birds in the air, for the use of man, so
has the Cormorant been trained to chase and capture
fish, not for its own use, but for the services of its
master.

As the nest of the Cormorant is always, if possible,
placed on some elevated spot, it is evident that the
wings of the bird must be developed sufficiently to
enable it to rise in the air though impeded by the
weight of its prey. Accordingly, we find that the
wings are large and powerful, but that they can be
folded to the body so closely that they offer no resist-
ance to the water, and allow the bird to assume that
nearly fish-like form which is so noticeable in many
diving birds. This form is well expressed in the bird
which is represented plunging into the water.

THE GANNET (Sula lassanea).

I mention the Gannet, not only for its skill in the
water, but for a most remarkable modification of its
structure by which it is able to obtain its prey from the
water.

224 BIRD WATER TRESPASSERS.

It can dive to some depth and for some distance,
as is proved by the fact that it is sometimes caught in
the fishermen's nets, having been entangled in them
when chasing its prey. But it does not catch fish like
the birds which have already been mentioned. Their
usual plan is to swim about on the* surface of the water,
then to dive, and, if they are successful, to come to the
surface, swallow their prey, and dive again.

The Gannet, on the other hand, takes its prey much
after the fashion of the common kingfisher. It hovers
over the sea at some height, watching for fish. When
it sees a chance, it darts down into the water with
wonderful force, and almost invariably comes up with
the fish in its mouth. The osprey catches fish in a
somewhat similar manner, except that it does not dive
beneath the surface, and catches the prey with its
claws, and not with its beak.

It is evident, therefore, that the hawk does not
strike the water with such force as does the Gannet,
and, indeed, keeps itself, by its outspread wings, from
being dragged below the surface by the weight of the
fish which it has taken in its claws. But the Gannet
hurls itself into the water with such force that it
would injure itself by the shock, were it not protected
in some manner from the collision with the water.
This object is attained in the following simple and
effective manner : —

I have already mentioned that the bones of flying
birds are hollow, and communicate with the lungs. In
the Gannet there is a further development of the idea.
Not only are the bones hollow, but the skin is hollow
also, if I may use such an expression. It is perforated

THE GEEBES. 225

with a number of cells or sacs, varying greatly in size.
These sacs communicate with the lungs, and are filled
with air, this fact being evident at every respiration
which the bird makes. The reader will now see that
these air-sacs form an elastic cushion between the body
of the bird and the water, so that when it makes its
violent plunge, the shock is a very trifling one.

Moreover, this remarkable structure serves other
purposes. These cells, when fully inflated, contain
about one hundred and eighty cubic inches of air, and
therefore render the bird so buoyant, that it can float
securely on the roughest sea. Unlike the cormorants
and divers, which swim very low in the water, the
gannet floats on the surface like a cork.

Then it also acts as a protection against cold, and
enables the bird to remain at sea during weather so
inclement, that all other birds are driven to seek the
land for shelter. There are few instances in the
animal kingdom where a single and so simple a modi-
fication of structures should serve three such important
and yet diverse purposes as a spring- cushion, a life-
buoy, and a blanket.

THE GREBES.

There is a well-known tribe of aquatic birds called
the Grebes, of which we possess several indigenous
species, the best known and most common being the
Little Grebe, or Dabchick (Podiceps minor), a bird
which is represented on Cut 10.

They may at once be known by the peculiar form

15

226 BIRD WATER TRESPASSERS.

of the feet, which are webbed like those of most
aquatic birds, except that the web of each toe is sepa-
rate, giving to the whole foot the appearance of a
' ' palmated " leaf with three lobes. These birds have
many of the habits which belong to the penguins,
except that they have fairly powerful -wings, and can
fly for long distances. As their legs are short and
set very far back, and their bodies and necks are long,
they are very bad walkers, having much of the shuffling
gait which has already been noticed in the penguin
and other sea birds. Indeed, the Grebes do not
trouble the land much with their presence, and, except
when engaged in sitting on their eggs, pass nearly the
whole of their time in the water.

Several other species of Grebe inhabit these
islands, such as the Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps
cristatus), and the Eared Grebe (Podiceps auritus),
either of these popular names being equally appro-
priate to each bird, the ears deserving the name of a
crest, and the double crest that of ears.

As to the Dabchick, it is a queer little bird, with an
oddly contradictory way about it. It is at the same
time one of the shyest and boldest of birds. It fears
the presence of man, and yet frequents his neighbour-
hood in a way that few bolder birds would copy. I
have often noticed, when travelling by railway, that
in the little ponds which are so often found on the
edge of the line, there are two aquatic birds — namely,
the Water Hen and the Dabchick, neither of them
being in the least disturbed by the swiftly-rushing
train, with all its accompaniments of shriek, roar,
rattle and thunder.

CUT 10.— WATEKHEN AND DABCHICK.

THE GREBES. 227

It is perfectly easy to watch the habits of the birds.
The ponds which they frequent are generally fringed
with reeds, rushes, and other vegetation. Supposing
any one to walk casually in the direction of one
of these ponds, he might be absolutely unaware of
the presence of the Dabchick. On seeing him, or even
on hearing his footstep, the bird would sink itself in
the water, only keeping its beak above the surface,
and merging its outline so well among the weeds and
their shadows, that the sharpest eye can hardly
see it.

So perfect is the concealment, that even if the
intruder be an entomologist, and engaged in the cap-
ture of aquatic insects, he may be working away with
his net for an hour or two, and yet be unsuspecting of
the Dabchick's presence.

Some years ago, I was greatly struck with this
capability. As all Oxonians know, there is in the
centre of the great quadrangle of Christchurch, popu-
larly called "Tom Quad," in honour of the domed
campanile in which the bell, " Great Tom/' resides, a
circular pond. This pond generally goes by the name
of " Mercury," because in olden times there was a
figure of that deity in the centre. I never saw him,
though my recollections of Tom Quad are of some
forty years' date, because the undergraduates bathed
him so often, that he was at last removed alto-
gether.

Now, this pond, which was originally the basin of
the fountain of which Mercury formed the centre, is
constructed of stone, and has no shelter whatever
around it. Some years ago several Dabchicks were

228 BIRD WATER TRESPASSERS.

placed in this pond, so that every opportunity was
offered for studying their habits.

After a while, they became used to the presence of
man, but for a considerable time they retained their
natural wariness. Whenever any one approached the
basin, the little birds would dive instantaneously, as if
they had some sheltered spot to which they could
retreat. Shelter, however, there was none, and the
water was so clear that they could be seen throughout
the whole of their proceedings. As there was no
aquatic vegetation in which they could hide, the Dab-
chicks always made for the shaded side of the basin,
and, under cover of the shade, used to rise very
gradually to the surface. They would only just allow
their heads to be seen above the water, and as they
kept themselves closely against the dark side of the
basin, they would escape the observation of any one
who was not specially looking for them. Indeed, so
well were they concealed, that I have often found some
difficulty in pointing out the birds, though, the basin
being but a small one, they were only a few yards
distant.

Still, if any one should wish to watch the Dabchicks
in their wild state, he can generally do so by approach-
ing very quietly the pond which they frequent, and
sitting absolutely still. For a time he may not see a
single bird, but after a while the Dabchicks appear to
become accustomed to the motionless object which at
first alarmed them, and they generally make their
appearance and swim about as merrily as if a human
being were not within a mile of them.

It is noticeable, by the way, that neither birds nor

THE GEEBES. 229

wild animals appear to fear human beings when they
are absolutely still. To lift the hand, or even to turn
the head, will frighten them at once ; but as long as a
man sits, or even stands still, the wild animals seem
to have no fear of him. For this reason, the scare-
crows that are stuck up in gardens and fields are really
not of the least use, for there is no bird so stupid as to
be deceived by them for a single minute. If the scare-
crow could be made so as to move its arms in the
wind, it might do service in frightening the birds, but
as it is generally made, a stump of a tree would be of
quite as much use.

The rapidity with which these pretty little birds
dive is very remarkable, especially when their move-
ments are quickened by alarm. But even when they
are diving for food or amusement, they are wonderfully
quick. They pop below the surface so rapidly that
the eye can scarcely follow them, and all that can be
seen is, that where the Dabchick was a moment ago,
nothing is left but a little circle of ripples. Then,
when they again reappear, they do so almost as sud-
denly as they vanished, popping up to the surface like
cork, and nodding their heads in an absurdly self-
satisfied manner. Should it see anything which
alarms it, the little bird is no sooner up than it is
down again, and it will not for some time afterwards
show itself openly.

When alarmed on land, the Dabchick, in common
with most aquatic birds, prefers the water to the air
by way of refuge. In consequence of its wonderful
powers of diving, it has been called doucker, or
ducker. As the legs are placed very far back, the

230 BIRD WATER TRESPASSERS.

Dabchick is a bad walker an land, shuffling along with
a very awkward gait, although it can get over the
ground with some little speed.

It is usually to be found in fresh waters, but
during the winter time it is driven to the sea and
the mouths of tidal rivers for subsistence. This habit
has caused it to be considered by many persons as a
migratory bird, and, indeed, it may be held as a par-
tially migratory one, only that its migrations do not
extend beyond the limits of the country.

The general habits of all the species of Grebe are
very similar, and, as the Dabchick is the most familiar,
I have taken it as the type of the genus. I may
mention that in some parts of England, any Grebe is
called by the popular name of loon, a title which by
rights belongs to the Great Northern Diver.

DIPPER (Hydrobates cinclus).

The birds which have been previously mentioned
all belong to one great group of aquatic birds, which
can at once be recognized as such by their form and
plumage. The webbed feet, for example, would alone
be a definite proof that the bird is meant for the
water more than the land. But we will now glance at
two more water trespassers, one of which belongs to
the thrushes, and the other to the rails, neither of
them having the aquatic form, the peculiar plumage,
nor the webbed feet.

The first of these is the Dipper, our only represen-
tative of the ant- thrashes which are so conspicuous in

THE DIPPER. 231

other countries, and some of which are so gorgeously
coloured. Our species does not possess the splendid
plumage, but is yet a pretty bird, with its dark-brown
back and white and chestnut breast. It is to be found
in most parts of England, but, on account of its soli-
tary and retiring habits, is not so often seen as might
be supposed by reason of its frequency.

It has more than one popular name, being in some
places called by the appropriate title of the water ouzel,
in consequence of its relationship to the thrush family ;
and in others by the less appropriate name of the
water crow.

The word ' ' dipper " very well expresses the move-
ments of the bird. It could hardly be called a diver,
because diving infers the power of swimming through
the water, while the Dipper possesses this power in a
very limited degree, and, as far as is known, only uses
it- to descend to the bed of the stream.

The generic name of Hydrobates refers to the same
characteristic. It is composed of two Greek words,
and literally signifies <f water- walker." As for the
specific name, cindus, it is by no means appropriate,
for it signifies vibration, and was, in all probability,
applied by Aristotle and other Greek writers to the
wagtail.

The ordinary manner in which the Dipper enters the
water is by walking into it, clinging with its large feet
to the stones or other objects in the bed of the stream,
and searching on all sides for its prey. It does not
remain under water for any long time, but comes to
the surface, swims to the shore, and is ready for
another dip. Sometimes it picks up the caddis-

232 BIRD WATER TRESPASSERS.

worms, and as it is not able to pull their tough cases
to pieces while in the water, it takes them ashore, and
there extracts the fat white grub from its dwelling-
place. It is worthy of notice, by the way, that the
length and development of the feet, which do the bird
such service in the water, render its gait on land a
peculiarly awkward one.

Objections have been raised to the peculiar move-
ments of the Dipper while under water, and many
persons have doubted whether it really does walk on
the bottom of the stream. Their chief argument — and
it is certainly a strong one — is, that the natural
buoyancy of the body would cause the bird to rise to
the surface, so that the action of walking must be im-
possible. To this argument, however, it was replied,
that as the bird had been repeatedly seen walking
under water, no amount of opposite theory could alter
a fact. Moreover, the action of the Dipper was not
that of the same bird when walking on land, for in
the former case the bird clings to the bed of the river,
and by so doing is able to force its way against the
stream.

Another argument might also be used, which I
believe has not as yet been brought forward. In the
" Annals of Sporting/' there is a passage which seems
to me to afford a key to the problem. An observer
was watching the proceedings of five Dippers, probably
the parents and their three children.

"They next entered the water and disappeared,
but they did not all do this at the same time, neither
did they do it in the same manner. Three of them
plunged overhead instantaneously, but the remaining

THE DIPPER. 233

two walked gradually into the water, and, having dis-
played their wings, spread them upon the surface, and
by these means appeared entirely to support them-
selves.

"In this position they continued for some time,
at one moment spinning themselves, as it were, two or
three times round, and at another desisting, and re-
maining perfectly motionless upon the surface ; at
length, they almost insensibly sank."

This last sentence is an extremely valuable one,
especially as the writer had no idea that he was eluci-
dating one of the problems of natural history. It is
evident that this bird, like those which have already
been described, has the power of contracting its body
at will, so as to make itself heavier than the water.
This being the case, the Dipper would have no diffi-
culty in walking under water, the supposed buoyancy,
on which so much stress was laid, not existing at the
time, and only resumed when the bird wishes to return
to the surface.

The food of this bird is almost wholly composed of
aquatic insects, molluscs, etc., though it will occa-
sionally eat small fish. It has already been mentioned
that in searching for prey, the Dipper makes its way
up the stream. The reason for this proceeding is
evident. Did the bird walk down the stream, it would
not see the various insects that are carried towards it
by the force of the water. Moreover, whenever it
turned over a stone in search of prey, the hidden
insect would be swept away from it ; while, as the
bird keeps its head up the stream, the prey is carried
into its mouth. Within the stomachs of those Dippers

234 BIRD WATER TRESPASSERS.

that have been dissected, the remains of aquatic insects
are always found, chiefly consisting of the head, wing-
cases, and legs of various species of water beetles.

WATER HEN, OR MOOR HEN (Gdllinula

If the reader will refer to the illustration in which
the dabchicks are represented, he will see that near
them is a Water Hen engaged in looking after her eggs.
She may well do so, for her nest is singularly con-
spicuous and very large, and the eggs are usually
some seven or eight in number, and of considerable
size. It is always placed near the water, as the bird,
being a really aquatic one, always takes to the water
instinctively when alarmed. Indeed, when it is only
just hatched, and looking like a shapeless ball of black
down, out of which a head oddly protrudes itself, it is
much more at ease in the water than on shore, and
swims and dives as well as its parents.

At a little distance, the Water Hen seems to be
rather a plain bird in point of plumage, just as the
splendidly attired magpie appears to be only black
and white ; but when closely examined, the adult
male is found to be one of our handsomest English
birds. In its nuptial plumage, which is in the be-
ginning of spring, the general colour is rich dark
olive-green, looking a brighter hue on the sides. The
head and neck are deep purple, and the legs are bright
green, with a crimson bar just above the knee, looking
exactly as if the bird wore green silk stockings and
crimson garters.

WATER HEN, OR MOOR HEN. 2o5

There is also a patch of bright scarlet on the base of
the yellow bill, the scarlet portion extending over the
forehead, and looking singularly beautiful as the bird
swims to and fro, nodding its head in its own peculiar
manner. If the weather be calm, the scarlet patch is
reflected in the water, and has a most curious effect,
seeming to rise from the depths as the bird bends its
head downwards, and then sink again as it raises its
head. A similar effect is produced by the white patch
on the beak of the common coot, as I have often seen
when watching the birds as they swam on the lake at
Walton Hall. Mr. Waterton never would allow a bird
to be molested, and, in consequence, even these birds,
which are generally wild and shy, allowed themselves
to be approached closely without showing the least
alarm.

The Water Hen is quite as good at concealing itself
as is the dabchick, and is full of artifice. I once de-
tected one of these birds in a very ingenious ruse. I
was with a friend in a boat on the Isis, near Sandford,
when a Water Hen that was sitting on the bank took
alarm, and flew into the water with the usual impetuo-
sity of these birds. It dived as soon as it struck the
water, and made as though it were intending to cross
to the other side of the river. Not caring particularly
about the bird, I happened to be looking towards the
bank from which it had plunged. Presently the artful
bird came to the surface under the shadow of the weeds
that overhung the bank, and quietly stole off between
them and the bank itself. It had doubled when under
water, thinking that it had induced us to fancy that it
was crossing to the opposite side, and that we should

236 BIRD WATER TRESPASSERS.

never dream of looking for it on the bank which it had
quitted so precipitously.

I once employed the same ruse very successfully.
There was a game very popular at Oxford. We used
to jump into the river, and try to catch each other
under water — a sort of aquatic ' ' prisoners' base/' and
with some of the same rules. There was one very
good swimmer of whom I was rather afraid, as he
immediately followed me. It must be remembered
that to catch your predecessor is easier than to avoid
being caught by your successor. You can see the
man whom you are chasing, but you do not know what
your pursuer is doing, or how near he may be. So,
as soon as I entered the water, I gave a strong curl and
twist of the body, so as to bring me under the bank,
where I held on to the lowest step of the bathing-
ladder. My pursuer consequently jumped over me, and
while he made a momentary pause, and was looking
for me ahead, found himself unexpectedly seized by
the ankle. Unfortunately, that is a trick which cannot
be played twice.

The Water Hen has another method of concealing
itself, which is even superior to the art of the dabchick.
When it is really anxious about its safety, and dives,
it swims to some place where there is a patch of weeds
or aquatic vegetation, and rises very slowly, with its
head stretched upwards. It does not allow even its
head to appear above the surface, but only shows the
beak as far as the nostrils. Bishop Stanley says that
when these rather combative birds fight, the van-
quished one acknowledges his defeat by diving and not
appearing again. He merely keeps his beak above the

WATEE HEN, OR MOOR HEN. 237

water for the purpose of respiration until he has
recovered, and then makes off.

How well it can dive is evident from the fact that
one of these birds was caught in a net with which a
river was being dragged, and another was taken upon
a hook by Mr. Morris, who mentions that they have
been found upon night-lines set for fish. The first of
these birds was apparently dead, its feet clinging with
the death-grip to the meshes. It was relieved with
much difficulty, and laid on the ground, when it was
found that life was not extinct, but that the bird was
too weak to be able to stand. In the hope that it
might recover, it was placed among the flags on the
river bank, when it immediately sprang to its feet and
ran off into shelter, as if nothing had happened to it.
Similar examples of simulated death in the Water Hen
have been noticed by many observers.

CHAPTER XI.

As every one knows, who has paid the least attention
to practical Natural History, there are very many
insects which can almost invariably be found in the
water, and very seldom elsewhere. Such, for example,
are to be found in the great groups of water beetles,
water boatmen, water gnats, water scorpions, etc., etc.
Now as all insects breathe atmospheric air, it is evident
that any insect which is found in the water must be a
trespasser, and therefore entitled to a notice in this
book. These insects are, however, so numerous, that
I can only select one of each kind as an example of
the entire group.

Any one who has looked into a pond, or the still
parts of a stream, must have noticed the vast number
of beetles that inhabit the water; some spinning in
mazy circles on the surface, and seldom going below it ;
while others, with long oar- like legs, are perpetually
coming up from the depths below, and diving down
again out of sight. The general structure of all these
latter beetles is in all important points the same, and
so we will take one species as a representative of
them.

GEEAT WATER BEETLE. 239

GREAT WATER BEETLE (Dyticus marginalis) .

It is impossible to point to a more perfect example
of design than this creature, which is made for two
elements only, namely, water and air, and is quite
helpless when on land. The whole of the insect is
covered with a very hard shelly skin, composed of the
horny substance called " chitine/' which is, I believe,
peculiar to the insect tribes. The surface of the
insect has such a polish, and is so hard, that to hold
one of these beetles in a living state is not at all an
easy matter ; and even when they are dead and dry,
they are very apt to slip through the fingers. They
are absolutely impervious to water, which has no hold
on their surface ; and, if the beetle be captured, as
it comes up after a dive, it will be found that not a
drop of water has adhered to its polished surface.

The wing-cases, or elytra, as they are technically
named, are very large, somewhat convex, and come
well over the sides, to which they cling so tightly, that
no water can penetrate the junction. Under the elytra
are the ample and powerful wings, which, in spite of
their size, are packed so closely as to leave space for
the curious structure which enables the insect to
remain under water for a considerable time.

The reader is probably aware that insects have no
lungs, and do not breathe through nostrils as do the
higher animals ; but that their whole body is perme-
ated with air tubes opening into certain apertures
along the sides, called spiracles.

It is evident, therefore, that the body of the insect

240 INSECT WATER TEESPASSEES.

must be very light in proportion to its bulk, and must
have a very strong tendency to float. Accordingly,
any one who watches these insects will see that they
cannot keep themselves below the surface without
continuous exertion; and that as soon as they cease
from action, they rapidly float upwards. This buoyancy
has a use to which reference will presently be made.

The question now presents itself, how the supply of
air is to be renewed below the surface of the water. This
is done in exactly the way to which reference was made
during the description of the whales — namely, by carry-
ing a supply[of air below the water. This supply is kept
in the space between the wing-cases and the body; and
as the spiracles open into it, the insect can take with it
a supply of air that is sufficient to last it for some time.

Of course, the beetle is obliged to act just as the
whales and seals do, i.e., come to the surface at inter-
vals for breath, and this it can do with great rapidity.
If alarmed, it just rises to the surface with its tail
upwards, protruding the ends of the elytra for a
moment, ejects the air that has been used, and takes
in a fresh supply. This is done with such speed, that
the rising to the surface and the subsequent descent
seem to be one and the same action.

Perhaps the reader may have noticed when looking
at a still pool, that bubbles of air are almost continually
rising to the surface. The large bubbles, which appear
at rare intervals, are almost entirely due to the gases
caused by decomposing matter at the bottom of the
pool. But the very small bubbles, which are scarcely
perceptible, except when watched for, are mostly caused
by the respiration of aquatic insects. The air traverses

GREAT WATER BEETLE. 241

the whole of the body, and then, after having done its
work, is ejected in a series of tiny bubbles. So that
when these bubbles are seen, they will form an indi-
cation to the observer of the wealth of animal life that
exists below the surface.

Owing to the great buoyancy of the Water Beetle,
it is obliged, if it wishes to remain below the surface,
either to continue the action of diving or to cling to
some object which will prevent it from being floated
upwards. The males are furnished with a remarkable
apparatus for this purpose. Three joints of the fore
legs are very much flattened and rounded, and are
covered on their under surface with a great number of
circular suckers, which act exactly like those of the
cuttle-fish. These suckers cling so firmly, that, as I
have seen myself, they retain their hold long after the
death of the owner, and may be seen sticking to the
stones of the pond after the beetle itself has putrefied
and floated off.

When the Water Beetle is not alarmed or engaged
in the chase of prey, it is fond of floating at the
surface of the water with its head downwards, its
swimming legs stretched out at right angles to the
body, and the tips of its elytra just projecting in the
air. It is not easy to see the insect in this attitude,
because it is exceedingly wary, takes alarm at the least
movement, and dives below. On a fine summer's day,
it affords rather an amusing sight to steal up very
gently to a pond, and take up a place where the wate
can be observed closely. In doing this, the chief
precaution is to avoid throwing the shadow on the
water ; for so readily do these creatures take alarm

10

242 INSECT WATEE TRESPASSERS.

that even the shadow of a passing bird or butterfly
will send them below.

If the approach has been properly made, the surface
of the water will be seen to be thickly studded with
these beetles, all lying motionless, and apparently
enjoying the warm sunbeams. The multitude of these
insects which will find room in a small pond must be
seen to be believed. A casual passenger will scarcely
know that there is a single beetle in the pond, for his
approach will have sent them all below, the only
aquatic insects visible being the whirlwigs and the
water gnats, who seem to be incapable of fear, and
traverse the surface of the water as freely as if no
intruder were near.

There is a little pond near my house which admi-
rably illustrates the habits of these insects. On a fine
day, the whole surface is covered thickly with these
creatures, scarcely any of them descending, but others
ascending in all parts of the pond, and immediately
floating motionless at the top. Then, if the spectator
but raises an arm, all is flurry and confusion, and the
water is filled with the rapidly descending insects. A
few moments more, and except the whirlwigs and
water gnats, there is not a sign of life in the pond.

The Water Beetles, of which the Great Water Beetle
is a type, are very numerous, and vary greatly in
size j some measuring a full inch in length, while
others are scarcely the eighth of an inch long.

They are all predacious creatures, finding their
food chiefly among the larvae of the various water
insects. They are not at all fastidious as to the pecu-
liar food which they eat ; and have no hesitation in

THE WATER BOATMAN. 243

attacking and devouring their own kind. It is in
consequence of this voracity that they are furnished
with such powerful wings; for when they have ex-
hausted the supply of food in one pond they can easily
fly to another.

THE WATER BOATMAN (Notonectd

There is another large group of water trespassing
insects, which are popularly and appropriately called
Water Boatmen, and equally appropriately, though
not, perhaps, as intelligibly, by the scientific title of
NotouectidaB. This term will presently be explained.
They belong to the order called Heteroptera ; and,
although they agree in many points with the water
beetles, they are very diverse in others.

Both groups of insects pass the greater part of
their time in the water, find their food in the water,
prey upon living beings, and are exceedingly voracious.
Both, also, are furnished with wings, by means of
which they can transport themselves from one piece
of water to another. But they feed in a different
manner and swim in a different manner.

First, as to the feeding. The water beetles seize
their prey in- their jaws, and tear it to pieces ; the
mandibles being strong enough to pierce the human
skin and draw blood. The Water Boatman, however,
goes on a different principle. It has not jaws like
those of the water beetle ; but the parts of the mouth
which in an insect are numerous and complicated, are
modified into a short, but very sharp proboscis. When

844 INSECT WATER TRESPASSERS.

the Water Boatman is hungry, it goes in search of some
unfortunate insect ; and having overtaken it, clasps it
in its fore legs, and draws it tightly against its head,
by the same action driving the proboscis into it. The
juices are then sucked, and when they are exhausted,
the Water Boatman throws off its now useless prey, and
goes off in search of another.

I have often watched these Water Boatmen em-
ployed in capturing and killing the water gnats which
may be seen traversing the surface of any still river or
pond. The water gnat is active, but seems to be
powerless against the Water Boatman, which rises from
below, clasps the unfortunate insect, and almost before
the eye can detect its movements, has the proboscis
buried in its body.

The time occupied in sucking an insect varies
considerably. I have often watched the process, and
have found that, whereas in some cases five minutes
is enough for a water gnat to be sucked dry, in another
case the operation lasts for a full quarter of an hour.
I apprehend that the difference of time is caused by
the greater or less hunger of the captor.

Although the Water Boatman is not a large insect,
the proboscis is strong and sharp enough to inflict a
severe prick upon the human hand. I fancy that in
some species, at all events, some kind of a poisonous
fluid must be injected into the wound. There is one
'of these insects belonging to the genus Corixa, which
is as large as the present species, but wider and flatter.
I have more than once been pricked by the proboscis
of the Corixa, and have always found that the sharp
smart of the prick was followed by a dull aching pain,

THE WATER BOATMAN.

215

which, very much resembled that which generally fol-
lows the sting of a wasp after the first pang has gone off.

Now for a few words as to the special aquatic
capacities of the creature.

In the first place, it has the curious habit of
swimming on its back. If it be taken out of the water

CUT. XI. — WATER BOATMAN, WATER SCOBPION, SWIMMIN& ICHNEUMON
LAEVA OP GNAT, AND WHIELWIG

and examined, it will be found that the wing-cases are
so formed, that, when closed, they present a most
curious resemblance to the keel of a boat. This is not
the case with all Water Boatmen, for in some, such as
the Corixa, which has just been mentioned, the back is
flat. But even in these cases the boat-like form is

246 INSECT WATER TRESPASSERS.

very perceptible, and the difference between the two
forms is just that of the keeled rowing-boat and the
keel-less canoe.

Another very remarkable point is the structure of
the rowing legs, or oars, as they may be called. The
last pair of legs are reserved for this purpose, the first
pair being chiefly used for catching prey, the middle
pair for crawling, and the last for swimming. I
strongly recommend the reader to capture one of these
insects, which may be found by hundreds in every
pond, and to examine the structure of their swimming
legs. I cannot but think that they gave the first idea
of oars, as used at the present day, i.e., propelling
instruments set at right angles to the central line of the
boat, having broad ends and a very powerful leverage.
The superior power of the oar over the paddle is the
reason why the latter has been gradually abandoned
in favour of the former.

Now, in the leg of the Water Boatman all the ele-
ments of the oar are found.

Firstly, there is the leverage. An oar is a lever,
the fulcrum of which is the rowlock, the shorter arm
being within the boat, and the longer outside it. The
shorter arm being pulled by the rower's hands, causes
the longer to describe a considerable arc in the water,
and the end of the oar being flat and thin, so as to
offer the greatest possible resistance with the least
weight, the boat is urged onwards.

Now, let us take the Water Boatman, and see how
the rowing legs of this insect comply in every respect
with the boat-oar which has been slowly developed
through a series of years. In the case of the insect,

THE WATER BOATMAN. 247

the fulcrum, instead of being a rowlock affixed to the
side of the boat, is formed by the horny shell of the
insect's side. The short lever is represented by that
part of the limb which passes through the shell into
the interior of the thorax, and the stout muscles of
the thorax, which are fixed to the leg, take not only
the office, but the exact position of the arms of a human
boatman.

Next, we come to a small but important point.
All of my readers who have been trained to the use or
a boat, and to

" Feather their oars with skill and dexterity,"

must remember how much trouble they had to take in
order to turn the oar at the end of the stroke, so as to
present the edge, and not the flat side of the blade, to
the air, as the oar is drawn back for another stroke.
It is one of these things which looks absurdly easy,
but in which the very ease betrays the consummate
skill of him who handles the implement.

In the rowing legs of the Water Boatman we find a
provision for feathering exactly like that of the human
boatman, except that the rowing limb, as made by
nature, is infinitely superior to the oar which is formed
by art. Supposing that a boat-builder could invent
an oar in which the blade should be very much longer,
wider, twice as strong, and not half as heavy as the
blade of a wooden oar, and that as soon as the stroke
was made the blade vanished altogether, leaving
nothing but a thin, tapering spike of wood, a tre-
mendous advantage would be given to the boat's crew
which first made use of the improved implement,

248 INSECT WATEE TRESPASSERS.

and the speed of rowing would be very much in-
creased.

This is exactly what is done by the Water Boatman,
and I strongly recommend the reader to catch a few
specimens, put them in a glass vessel of water, and
watch the action of the rowing legs. The blade of the
oar in the insect is found in a fringe of very stiff hairs,
with a slight curve backwards. The joints of the leg
are so constituted, that the limb has only one set of
movements, which are almost exactly like those of a
human rower, and the effect is very remarkable.

As the stroke is made by which the Water Boatman
is propelled, the bristly fringes are expanded, so as to
" catch " the water, in the language of oarsmen, while
their slight curve enables them to " hold " it to the
end of the stroke. No sooner is the stroke over, than
the leg gives a slight turn in the socket, and, as the
limb is thrown forward preparatory to another stroke,
the bristly blade collapses, the sharp edge of the leg
is turned towards the water, and so the insect is
enabled to send its legs forward with the slightest
possible friction against the water.

Only one point more with regard to those natural
oars. My rowing readers will remember that the
grease-pot is part of the essential furniture of a boat,
and that the leather and "button" of the oar have
to be frequently lubricated. There are few things
which worry an oarsman so much, or which impedes
his progress more, than the want of grease. In the
first place, the friction is increased very greatly, entail-
ing much needless exertion; and in the next place,
the squeaking sound of each stroke is nearly as irri-

THE WATER BOATMAN. 249

tating to the senses as that of a slate pencil when held
by an awkward child.

Now, the natural oar of the insect has its grease-
pot as well as the artificial oar of the human being.
The joints, especially the principal one at the thorax,
are lubricated with a natural grease exactly analogous
to the " synovia/' or oily fluid, which diminishes the
friction in the joints of human beings. It is worthy
of notice, too, that in artificial machinery man has to
imitate the absolutely perfect machinery of nature.
I have always thought, when looking at a steam-
engine at work, and seeing the oil-cups above each
important part, that the engineer was only executing
a clumsy imitation of nature, and that the greatest
engineer of coming times would be a man who was
versed in the anatomy of the human frame.

The air which serves the purpose of respiration
while it is beneath the surface, is carried between the
wing-cases and the body, exactly as has been narrated
of the water beetle. Fortunately for observers of
nature, the wing-cases are sufficiently translucent to
enable the progress of the air to be seen through
them. I believe that I was the first to describe this
progress, through actual observation of some Water
Boatmen that I kept in an aquarium.

The discovery was quite a matter of accident. I
had been keeping some Water Boatmen in a bottle
which was standing on my desk, and happened to get
one of the insects between the eye and the light.
The translucent character of the elytra at once was
evident, and the course taken by the air was perfectly
visible.

250 INSECT WATER TRASPASSEES.

In order to obtain a supply of air, the insect rises
to the surface of the water, protrudes the end of its
tail, and takes in the required supply. By degrees
the air-bubble which then appears under the elytra is
pushed gradually forward, and,, when it has done its
duty, escapes in a series of very tiny bubbles at the
spot where the bases of the elytra are pressed against
the breast.

THE WATER SCORPION (Nepa cinerea).

In the lower corner of the same illustration may
be seen the very remarkable insect called the Water
Scorpion. This name is given to it in consequence of
the peculiar outline of the creature, which certainly
does bear some resemblance to that of the scorpion.
I well recollect how startled I was, when, as a boy, I
first found this insect. I was watching the inhabitants
of a certain fish-pond at Radley, when I saw an object
that I had taken for a piece of dead leaf begin to move
about. In those days there were no books to give
information on such subjects, and the scorpion-like
claws and the sting- like projections of the tail, rather
deterred me from touching it. However, it was so
curious an insect, that I got it out of the water with a
stick, and very soon found that it could do no harm
whatever.

It does not possess the activity of the predacious
insects which have already been mentioned, and trusts
to craft rather than speed for procuring its food. I
have no doubt that the insects on which the Water
Scorpion feeds are deceived, just as I was, by its

THE WATER SCOBPION. 251

resemblance to a dead leaf. When any luckless insect
comes within reach, the two fore legs are struck
smartly at it, and almost to a certainty the prey is
inclosed in the limb, the joints of which fold closely
upon one another. Then, the prey having been seized,
it is firmly held while the beak of the capfcor is driven
into its body, and its juices sucked, as has already
been narrated of the water boatman.

The manner in which the Water Scorpion obtains
air for respiration is worthy of notice. On referring
to the illustration, the reader will see that there is a
dangerous-looking spike projecting from the tail.
This is a compound instrument, forming a sort of
channel, along which air can be introduced to the
respiratory system while the body is under water.
For this reason the Water Scorpion is generally found
close to the bank, so that it can be protected from
foes by its wonderful resemblance to a dead leaf, and,
while resting in the mud, protrude its spiky tail above
the surface, and so take in the needful air.

I may here mention, that there is an allied insect
that has, as far as I know, no popular name, but is
scientifically called Ranatra linearis. One of these
insects was taken by a young lady of my acquaintance,
and she, not knowing its name, called it " Daddy,"
from its resemblance to a Daddy-long-legs fly with-
out the wings.

She kept the insect in a glass globe, and ' ' Daddy "
soon became quite an important personage in the
house. He used to catch prey with a wonderfully
sharp stroke of the fore legs. Various aquatic larvse
and insects are its usual food, and I have seen it prey

252 INSECT WATER TRESPASSERS.

upon the fresh- water shrimps, in spite of their shelly
armour.

The insect used to crawl very gently and quietly
towards its prey, and as soon as it came within reach,
would raise its fore legs well over its head, and deliver
a blow so rapid that the eye could hardly follow it.
" Daddy " was of a very combative nature, and would
strike at anything which annoyed it. Irritating the
insect with a pencil was rather a favourite amusement,
and certainly, the courage of " Daddy/' and the force
of the blows which he delivered on the pencil, were
well worthy of notice. Like the preceding insects,
the Eanatra is furnished with large wings, which are
packed with great neatness beneath the elytra.

THE WHIRLWIG BEETLE (Gyrinus natator) .

We will now pass to a few examples where insects
are trespassers upon, rather than beneath, the water.

The reader will recollect that mention has been
made of the Whirlwig Beetles, so called from their
perpetual gyrations upon the surface of the water.

These curious insects look exactly as if they were
encased in burnished steel and then oiled, so hard,
polished, and slippery are they. The modification of
structure which enables the insect to whirl about in
so active a manner is well worth investigation.

The two fore legs are rather long and slender, and
are used, like those of the preceding insect, in cap-
turing prey. The middle and last pairs are exceed-

THE WHIKLW1G BEETLE. 253

ingly short, wide, and flattened into a paddle-like
form, by means of which the insect can take those
short and quick strokes which propel it so swiftly over
the surface of the water, and enable it to turn with
such agility. When the insect is taken out of the
water, these paddle-legs are tucked under the body,
so that it only appears to have two legs — i.e., the first
pair, which project in front of the head.

It may be easily imagined that an insect whose
legs are thus modified does not make much progress
on land. Its attempts at walking are almost as awk-
ward as those of the sloth, for all the crawling that it
can do is managed by the two fore legs, the other two
pairs only moving the body by a series of jerky hitches.

On the water, however, it skims over the surface
with consummate ease, forming graceful curves, like
those of a practised skater, and gliding about with an
equally apparent absence of effort. This perpetual
movement is necessary to enable the Whirlwig to take
its prey, which consists mostly of the tiny insects that
fall upon the water and cannot immediately free them-
selves. It is a very sociable insect, a solitary specimen
being rarely seen, and the Whirlwigs appear to take as
much pleasure in their sociable swim as do the gnats
in the perpetual rising and falling of their airy
dance.

It has been said that in their gyrations they are so
active that they never strike against each other. This
is by no means the case. I have repeatedly seen
collisions take place, but without the least damage to
either party, the hard and polished armour of their
bodies effectually protecting them.

254 INSECT WATER TRESPASSERS.

As if to carry out the curious similitudes in art and
nature which have been indicated when mentioning
the resemblance of the water boatman to a keeled, and
the water beetle to a keel-less boat, the Whirlwig bears
an equally striking resemblance to the Welsh coracle,
its swimming legs also resembling paddles instead of
oars.

The wings of the Whirlwig are large, and the
insect can use them with wonderful readiness, by
jumping out of the water by a violent jerk of the four
swimming legs, and instantly taking to wing. So
quickly is this done, that although the Whirlwigs are
continually darting into the air, they escape detection,
being mistaken for ordinary flies. The water boat-
man, by the way, can perform a similar feat, and when
it takes to wing, it produces a loud, deep, humming
sound like that of the hornet. It has quite a startling
effect if the insect should happen to pass close to the
ear.

The peculiar eyes of the Whirlwig have often been
described. Generally, the compound eyes of the in-
sects are restricted to two clusters ; but in the Whirl-
wig they are again divided, so as to form four
clusters. Two of these occupy the usual position, and
are above the surface of the water when the insect
swims. The other pair are set almost on the under-
side of the head, and are, in consequence, always sub-
merged.

Perhaps we may understand the position of the
eyes better by an illustration. The profile of the
Whirlwig's head bears a close resemblance to that of
a fish — say a perch. If we then suppose that the

THE WATER GNAT. 255

upper cluster of compound eyes occupies the same
position as the eyes of the fish, the lower clusters will
be placed at the angles of the lower jaw, just at their
junction with the upper jaw. Thus the insect is
specially fitted for its water-trespassing life, by pos-
sessing one set of eyes for the water and a second for
the air.

At the bottom of the illustration, and occupying
the middle, is seen a creature which has some resem-
blance to a centipede. This is the larva of the Whirl-
wig, and the projections from the side are the gills
or branchiae, as they are scientifically termed. This
larva is always in motion, so as to make the water
impinge against the gills. Generally, it does so by
means of a graceful serpentine curve, in which the
white gills stream about like white plumes waving in
the wind. Sometimes it will wriggle its way upwards
for several inches, and then sink to the bottom, the
gills being stretched out on either side of the body,
and helping to support it.

These larvse are much eaten by the water scorpion,
who finds plenty of nourishment in their fat, soft
bodies.

THE WATER GNAT (Gems IdCUstris).

Again I take a single species as a type of several
others — the insect which is represented as walking on
the surface of the water. There are many insects be-
longing to the Heteroptera, which are grouped together
under the general and appropriate name of Hydro-
metridaa, or Water Measurers. They all have slight

256 INSECT WATER TRESPASSERS.

bodies and very long legs, and in some, such as
Hydrometra stagnorum, both the body and legs are so
exceedingly delicate, that the insect looks almost like a
shadow flitting over the surface of the water. Take
half an inch of a fine needle, support it on four black
hairs, and stretch out two hairs in front of the head,
stain the needle black, and there is a very fair imita-
tion of the Hydrometra.

Slight and delicate as is this creature, it is a very
predacious one, and I have seen them seizing and
carrying off their prey quite as ferociously as f ' Daddy"
used to do. The Hydrometra feeds almost entirely
upon the small insects that fall into the water. It
comes gliding up to them like a shadow, and almost
as silently, picks up its prey with the very ends of its
fore legs, and, holding the captured insect out at the
full stretch of its legs, makes for the shore, where it
sucks the juices, and then goes off in search of more
prey.

It is worthy of remark, that the process of sucking
seems to have no effect whatever upon the outward
aspect of the victim. I have seen plenty of water
gnats killed and sucked by the water boatman, and
when the exhausted prey is rejected, the keenest eye
cannot detect any change of form. It could at once
be " set " and dried, and in that case would look as
well as if it had been killed by poison or boiling
water.

THE SWIMMING ICHNEUMON FLY. 257

THE SWIMMING ICHNEUMON FLY (Polyuema natans) .

In the lower corner of the same illustration may be
seen a square space marked off, so as to separate it
from the rest of the figures. In it are two winged
insects — one moderately large, and the other very
small. These are representations of the Swimming
Ichneumon, the smaller figure giving it of its real size,
and the larger showing it as it appears when
magnified.

As we have already seen, there are plenty of swim-
ming insects. These, however, all propel themselves
by means of their legs, which are modified for that
purpose, and their wings are kept closely hidden
under the elytra. In the Swimming Ichneumon, how-
ever, we have a most remarkable anomaly in the
history of insects. The ichneumons belong to the
Hymenoptera — i.e., the order which contains the bees,
wasps, ants, etc. ; and that one of these creatures
should swim, using its wings instead of fins, appears
to be an anomaly. Yet this is just what the Swimming
Ichneumon does, and its di.covery forms an epoch in
the history of entomology.

As the reader will see from the account which
will presently be given, the insect was discovered
almost simultaneously by two individuals within a
week, but as one of them, Sir J. Lubbock, Bart., had
the precedence by a few days, the discovery belongs to
him.

Similar examples of nearly simultaneous discovery

17

258 INSECT WATER TRESPASSERS.

are familiar to all students of science. One such
instance occurred to myself. I had settled a doubtful
point in the anatomy of insects by dissection of the
humble bee. According to custom, the description of
dissection was written in full, and entered in the book.
Some six months afterwards, the same discovery was
made in France, and published. But as, in all matters
of science, the individual who publishes the discovery
first has the credit of it, this particular one belonged
to France, and not to England.

The following account of the discovery of the
Swimming Ichneumon was read before the Linnaean
Society on May 7, 1863, and afterwards printed in the
" Transactions " of that Society.

" On one of the early days in August, I was enjoy-
ing myself by watching the animals in a basin of pond
wnter.

" It is customary to regard the inhabitants of
fresh water as less beautiful and varied than those of
the sea. But though our inland lakes and rivers can
boast no sea anemones, no starfishes, medusae, shrimps,
nor sea urchins, they still are full of beauty and
variety.

1 ' Without counting the rarer forms, almost every
weedy pool contains specimens of daphnia, cy clops,
diaptomus, and asellus among Crustacea, the hydra
among polypes, the lovely green volvox, and many
other alg89, besides numerous desmidiae and diato-
macese, with insects almost innumerable. Besides the
perfect insects, such as water beetles, notonecta., nepa,
and other hemiptera, there are larvae of dragon flies,
beetles, phryganeas, and ephemeras, the beautifully

THE SWIMMING ICHNEUMON FLY. 259

transparent larvae of corethra, and many other species
of diptera. But though most of the great orders are
more or less richly represented, no aquatic species of
hymenoptera or orthoptera had, till now, been dis-
covered.

' ' The female of Agriotypus armatus, indeed, has
been observed to descend the sides of rocks in the
Clyde to a considerable depth, and to remain there
several minutes. Even this species, however, cannot
be considered as truly aquatic, or as being entirely at
home in the water, since there is no evidence that it
knows how to swim. Mr. Smith also reminds me that
Smiera (Chalcis) femorata and S. sispes are said to be
parasites on the aquatic larvae of Stratiomys, in which
case the perfect insect probably seeks its prey under
water ; but I am not aware that it has been actually
observed to do so.

" The species of Hymenoptera have been estimated
at about 30,000 in number, and Mr. F. Smith (than
whom there is no better authority) informs me that
about 12,000 have been already described, 3,500 of
which live in Great Britain. From the interest attach-
ing in mr.ny cases to their habits, from their marvel-
lous instincts, and their curious relations to other
animals (no order presenting more parasites and vic-
tims of parasites), the peculiarities of Hymenoptera
have received more attention than those of almost any
other group of invertebrata.

" Great, therefore, was my astonishment, on the
occasion to which I allude, when I saw in the water a
small hymenopterous insect, evidently quite at its ease,
and actually swimming by means, of. its wings. At

260 INSECT WATER TRESPASSERS.

first I could hardly believe my eyes; but having found
several specimens and shown them to some of my
friends, there can be no doubt about the fact. More-
over, the same insect was again observed, within a
week, by another entomologist, Mr. Duchess, of Step-
ney. This gentleman mentioned it to Dr. Sclater, and
from his description and sketch, there can be no doubt
that the insect observed by him belongs to the same
species.

"It is a very curious coincidence that, after re-
maining so long unnoticed, this little insect should
thus be found, almost simultaneously, by two indepen-
dent observers. Perhaps this may, in part, at least, be
accounted for by supposing that the insect was un-
usually abundant this summer. Yet Mr. Duchess ap-
pears to have met with only one specimen. Mine were
altogether twenty-one in number, and the females
were more than twice as numerous as the males.

' ' As the motion in Polynema natans is caused by the
wings, it might almost be called a flight; owing, how-
ever, to the density of the medium, and partly,
perhaps, to the direction in which the wings act,
the movement, though not inelegant, is slow, and
is rather a succession of jerks than a continuous pro-
gression.

" The insect is provided with tracheae, and respi-
ration appears to take place through spiracles in the
usual manner. Most of those insect larvae which
spend much of their time under water are either pro-
vided with gills, or carry down with them a supply of
air attached to their body, and from which the tracheae
can be replenished. Our insect possesses neither of

THE SWIMMING ICHNEUMON FLY. 261

these advantages ; nor can much respiration take place
through the skin, which is thick and chitinous.

(t Moreover, it has some difficulty in passing from
air to water, or vice versa : a bubble of air would
quite destroy its equilibrium when under water, and a
drop of water would equally prevent free motion in the
air. The difficulty is, however, mitigated by the fact
that the air in the tracheae requires changing only at
considerable intervals. A common house fly placed
under water ceased to move in half an hour. My
specimens, however, of Polynema natans lived under
water several hours without suffering any apparent
inconvenience. One, which I put in a bottle full of
water at 7 o'clock in the morning, was quite lively at
7 o' clock in the evening, after having therefore been
no less than twelve hours at least under water. I say
at least, because I had no means of knowing how long
it had been there before my experiment began. Pro-
bably, however, this was about the limit of its endur-
ance ; for four other specimens which I treated in the
same manner at about 6 o'clock in the evening, were
apparently dead at the same hour on the following
morning ; and the individual above-mentioned was
itself motionless at 9 o'clock, or after fourteen hours
of submersion. I then, however, put it in a dry bottle,
and next morning it was as lively as ever. Wishing
to see whether it retained any unpleasant recollections
of its drowning, I gave it the opportunity of again
entering the water, which it immediately proceeded
to do.

" I was unfortunately unable to ascertain whether
they could fly : taking my opportunity when they

262 INSECT WATER TRESPASSERS.

were out of the water, I teased several specimens of
Polynema natans with the point of a needle; but never
succeeded in making one take to its wings — at least,
not in air. When walking on the water, however,
they sometimes started off suddenly ; but always kept
close to the surface, so that it rather seemed as if they
were carried by some tiny gust of air."

Sir John Lubbock then proceeds to remark that
the insect has no peculiarity which indicates an aquatic
life, such as we see in the boat-like form and the oar
or paddle-like legs of the insects. No one would
therefore think, in case of seeing a Swimming Ichneu-
mon in the open air, that it had habits differing so
greatly from those of its kinsfolk in general. " Per,
mit me to say, in conclusion, that if Polynema natans
and Prestwichia aquatica had been extinct species, no
palaeontologist would have suspected that they were
aquatic. In the present state of our knowledge there
is nothing in their structure which would have sug-
gested such an idea."

The wings are made after a curious fashion, but
certainly have no aquatic look about them. The
upper pair are about as long as the body, and are flat,
covered with hairs, and edged with a deep fringe of
bristles. No nervures are perceptible, even with the
aid of a magnifying glass, if we may except a slight
thickening on one of the edges. The second, or
lower pair of wings, could scarcely be taken for wings
if removed and viewed independently of the insect.
When the insect is at rest, these wings are crossed over
the back, and the hairs with which they are edged make
a radiating fringe round the whole of the abdomen.

THE SWIMMING ICHNEUMON PLY. 263

The generic name, Polynema, refers to this pecu-
liarity. It is formed from two Greek words, the
former of which signifies " many/' and the latter, a
thread or filament. Some of these hairs or bristles
are even longer than the breadth of the wing. There
is a closely -allied species, Mymar pulchellus, in which
these hairs or bristles are more than twice as long as
the wing is wide.

The writer also calls attention to the very imperfect
state of our entomological knowledge. The order oi
the Hymenoptera is one of the most popular and best
studied in all entomology, inasmuch as in it we have
the best workers, and most interesting species that
are as yet known to the world. The bees, wasps, and
ants are proverbial for their industry and the wonderful
structures which they erect ; while the Ichneumons are
equally interesting on account of their parasitic habits.
Yet, here is an indigenous Ichneumon which escaped
observers for many years, and at last was only found,
as it were, by chance.

Another point which is to be considered, is the
object for which the Polynema enters the water. The
obvious reply to such a query is, that it does so for
the purpose of meeting with subaquatic insects in
which to deposit its eggs. There are, however, two
objections to the theory, either of which seems fatal ;
the first being, that the male enters the water as freely
as the female ; and the second, that the larvae of all
known Hymenoptera breathe atmospheric air, and
could not exist beneath the water.

264 INSECT WATER TRESPASSERS.

THE GNAT.

There are many more insects which are water
trespassers, but our space warns us to be brief. We
will therefore be content with two examples of insects
which are water trespassers in their larval states ; but
which, when they have attained their perfect condi-
tion, would soon die if they fell into the water and
could not extricate themselves.

Perhaps the best-known, and certainly the most
plentiful of these insects, is the common Gnat (Culex
pipiens), so well known from the beautiful plumy
antennae of the male, and the venomous proboscis of
the female. With the perfect insect we have nothing
to do, it being a denizen of the air and not of water ;
and we are at present only concerned with it in its
earliest forms.

It begins its water trespassing career while it is
still in the egg form ; and I cannot but think that this
is the most curious of its three, or perhaps four, diffe-
rent modes of trespassing, each of which will be very
briefly described.

The egg itself very much resembles a skittle in
form ; and, if placed in water, would sink and never
be hatched, for want of warmth and air. Yet it must
be placed in the water, because the larva when hatched,
finds its food in the water, and on land is absolutely
helpless ; so that if it were hatched ashore, it could
never make its way to the water.

The solution of this rather difficult problem is

THE GNAT. 265

another of the many instances in which nature has
anticipated art. A single plate of iron will sink, but
a number of plates, if arranged in a definite form, so
as to cause the weight of their united bulk to be less
than that of a corresponding bulk of water, will float.
The iron ships, and iron caissons, and iron docks
of the present day, are familiar examples of this
fact.

Now, the eggs of the Gnat are arranged on exactly
the same principle. They are placed side by side, and
glued to each other with a fluid secreted by the mother
insect, and which is not soluble in water. Taught by
instinct, the Gnat, without even seeing the eggs, builds
them up into a boat-like form, and then leaves the
little vessel to float on the water. And, as every
practical entomologist knows, the egg-boat is built on
exactly the same principle as the best life-boats of the
present day, righting itself if it be upset by force.
Any number of these boats may be obtained from the
surface of a pond, or even a water-butt; and they
make very interesting objects for the magnifying
glass.

After a short space of time — varying according to
the warmth of the weather — the larvae are hatched,
and are liberated from the egg by means of a little
lid which opens at the end, and allows them to drop
into the water. In this form they are probably familiar
to all who have used their eyes. Tkere must be few
people, indeed, who have not seen in rain-water these
curious little larvae, looking, with their large heads
and slender bodies, something like the conventional
dolphins of ancient art. They swim by a series of

266 INSECT "WATER TRESPASSERS.

waggling movements, bending themselves almost
double, and then suddenly straightening the body.

Although they live in the water, and find their
food there, they cannot breathe in it as can those
larvae which respire by means of gills, and are obliged
to have access to atmospheric air, just as are the
aquatic insects which have been described. This is
done after a curious manner. The breathing- tubes
with which the whole body is permeated open into
-two large tubes, which run along the sides. These
tubes pass into the tail, and the orifice is surrounded
with a star-like fringe of radiating hairs. When the
larva wishes to breathe, it ascends to the surface, and,
head downwards, just protrudes the tip of the tail
above the surface, where it is upheld by the hairy
fringe.

The process of breathing may be easily examined
by taking a little glass tube, such as is used by homoeo-
pathic chemists, heating it in a spirit lamp or a gas
flame, and squeezing it until it is nearly flat. If, then,
it be nearly filled with water, and a Gnat larva placed
in it, the creature can be examined with a tolerably
high power of the magnifying glass. Unless the
tube be flattened, the lens cannot be brought near
enough to allow of a sufficiently high power to be
used.

After a while, the larvse assume the pupal state.
There is not very much difference in their appearance
or their actions. Their shape remains much the same,
except that the part which comprises the head and
thorax of the future insect, is now very large, seeing
that it contains the loug legs and wings. It still

THE RAT- TAILED FLY, Oli DRONE FLY. 267

respires atmospheric air, but does so in a different
manner. Instead of obtaining air through the tail, it
breathes through some little tubes which are placed
in the thorax. The body is much curved, and the
creature, although it can move about, has not its
former activity, and is unable to eat.

The large size of the pupal skin is the last feature
in the water trespassing habits of the Gnat, as with-
out it the perfect insect would never be able to free
itself from the water. As it is, when the Gnat is fully
developed it rises to the surface, and then, with a
powerful movement, splits the skin throughout a con-
siderable portion of its extent. The split skin opens
out, and forms a sort of boat, which is very buoyant.
The Gnat slowly draws itself out of the skin, and,
standing upon its cast garment, moves its wings in
the air until they are dry and firm, and then takes
flight.

THE RAT-TAILED FLY, OR DRONE FLY (Eristdlis

Here we have another of the numberless examples
in which a slight and simple modification of form
enables a creature which breathes atmospheric air to
exist while under water.

We are all familiar with the common Drone fly,
which is so plentiful in the summer time, and which
looks so very much like a bee. In its perfect state it
is a denizen of air, darting along with such velocity
that the eye can scarcely follow it. But in its pre-
liminary stages it is a dweller in the water, or rather

268 INSECT WATER TRESPASSERS.

in the mud, and perfectly motionless, as we shall pre-
sently see.

These larvae are not at all pretty objects, looking
in miniature very much like brown soda-water bottles,
with necks some four feet long. As in the gnat larva,
that of the Drone fly breathes through the tail,and avery
curious tail it is. The gnat larva being able to swim
through the water, and ascend to the surface whenever
it desires, has nothing abnormal in the shape or size
of the body, the chief peculiarity being the star-like
fringe by which the orifice of the breathing tubes is
kept in contact with the air.

The larva of the Drone fly, however, passes a very
curious existence. It lives in soft mud, mostly that
which is obtained by the decomposition of leaves in
the shallow water at the edge of a pond. Into this
very unfragrant material it burrows with its head
downwards, and there remains until its larval life is
over. The problem now remains, how it is to obtain
a supply of air. This is done by means of the extra-
ordinary appendage which has gained for it the popular
title of "rat-tailed" maggot.

The end of the body is modified into a tube, which
can be lengthened or shortened at the will of the
owner, and through this tube run the air-vessels which
supply the body, When all is quiet, the larva elon-
gates the tube, so that the tip of it projects just above
the surface of the water, and it is thus enabled to
breathe, just as the elephant does when it walks
across the bed of a stream, and only keeps the tip of
its trunk above the water.

Here, again, we find that art has been anticipated

THE EAT-TAILED FLY, OR DRONE FLY. 269

by nature. At the present day we are able to execute
subaquatic works of great magnitude — such, for
example, as the Dover piers — by means of the diving
apparatus. This is nothing more than an imitation of
the Rat-tailed larva's air-tube, the diver being sub-
merged for hours at a time, and supplied with air
through an elastic tube.

Should anything occur which might alarm the
insect, the tail is instantly and swiftly withdrawn, so
that scarcely a trace of its presence is left. I once
found quite a preserve of these larvse in a neglected
water-butt which was nearly filled with dead leaves, dead
insects, and other debris. They were so thickly planted
in the fetid mud, that their tails looked just like a
number of fine grasses set closely together. It was
curious to see the effect of a tap on the edge of the
barrel. In a moment every tail was withdrawn, and
the few inches of water that was left above the mud
became on a sudden quite clear and bright.

The best way of observing the remarkable struc-
ture of the telescopic tail, with its double air vessels, is
to place one of the grubs with its head downwards in
a glass tube, at the bottom of which there is an inch
or so of mud. The grub will at once make its way
down, and the tube should then be filled with rain-
water for some three inches above the mud. The
water will soon clear itself, and by means of the mag-
nifying-glass the structure of the tail can easily be
made out. With a little management this tube may
be so arranged as to bring a moderate power of the
microscope — say the half- inch object-glass — to bear
upon it.

270 INSECT WATER TRESPASSERS.

It is interesting to draw off the water gradually,
and see how the grub instinctively shortens the tail,
the peculiar elasticity of the air-tubes, with their wire-
like coils of filaments, keeping them always open, no
matter how much they may be contorted. Then, in
order to test the extremest length to which the tube
can be stretched, water should be very gently added .
As the depth of the water increases, so does the grub
stretch out its tail, and the extent to which it can be
thus elongated must be seen to be believed.

When this larva is about to change into its pupal
state, it wriggles itself out of the water, and crawls
upon the ground, in which it buries itself. It then
changes into a pupa, and, not needing the tail any
longer, respires through four little tubes in the thorax,
very similar to those which have been mentioned as
belonging to the gnat.

Besides these, there are very many insects, such
as the Dragon fly, the May fly, and the Stone fly,
which pass their larval state in the water, although
the perfect condition is that of a denizen of air, and
in no sense may be reckoned as water trespassers.
I do not, however, take any detailed notice of these
in the present work, because, as long as they re-
main in the water they are practically water dwellers,
and not trespassers, breathing the water by means of
gills, and net being dependent for respiration on
atmospheric air.

WATER SPIDERS. 271

WATER SPIDERS.

Under the present head I rank two members of
the Arachnida : one a trespasser in, and the other
upon, the water.

The first of these creatures is the Water Spider
(Argyronetra aquatica) , a being which affords another
of the many examples in which nature has preceded
the art of man. In the rat-tailed fly we have already
seen that the diving machinery of modern days has
been anticipated by the elongated air-tube of the
larva, and in the present case we have an exact
analogy with the diving-bell itself. I will first give a
brief account of the habits of the Water Spider, and
then show the analogy between its habitation and
the diving bell.

I must premise, in the first place, that the Water
Spider has the power of swimming and diving, and
that it obtains its prey in the water. If any ordinary
land spider be thrown into water, it will float for a
considerable time, being buoyed up by the numerous
air-bubbles which are entangled among the hairs
of its body. The Water Spider, in addition to this
airy envelope, can carry with it a large bubble of
air, which is sufficient for its respiration for some
little time.

I have often watched the Spider take its bubble
beneath the water. It comes to the surface, and waits
there for a moment or two, as if to collect its forces.
It then gives a sort of jerk of the body and kick of

272 INSECT WATER TRESPASSERS.

the legs, and at once dives. If watched, it will be
seen to have stretched its last pair of legs well be-
hind the body, and by their aid to have inclosed a
large bubble of air, which completely envelopes the
abdomen. Burdened — for it is a burden — with this
bubble of air, the Spider dives with manifest exertion,
and is lost to sight.

Not that when it dives it always takes this air-
bubble with it. In fact, as a general rule, it dives
without the large bubble, and only has its body
studded with the minute bubbles which have already
been mentioned. They completely alter the Spider's
appearance.

Out of the water the Spider has nothing con-
spicuous about it, and no one who did not know the
creature would ever suspect that it had anything in its
mode of life which distinguished it from other spiders.
But, as soon as it dives, the multitudinous air-bubbles
which surround the body make it look exactly as if it
were clothed in an envelope of quicksilver globules,
which have a curiously glittering appearance as the
Spider descends into the water.

The generic name, Argyronetra, refers both to the
appearance and the shape of the body. It is com-
pounded of two Greek words, the former signifying
silver, and the latter a spindle. This name is given to
it in consequence of the form of the body, which ends
in a point, and is altogether of a spindle-like shape.
If I wished to use strictly scientific language, I should
say that the generic name of the Spider was given to
it because its body was fusiform ; but I prefer to
express the same idea in simple English terms.

THE WATER SPIDERS. 273

Many years ago, as a child, I used to watch the
Water Spiders diving into the dark, still pools with
which the Cherwell abounds, and to wonder where
they could be going with their glittering suit of
bubbles. As far as I know, when it dives without
the large air-bubble, it is either in search of prey or
going home. But, when it carries the large bubble
within its hind-legs, it is engaged in supplying its
subaquatic home with air. Briefly told, this is the
story of its home : —

The female Spider, when she is about to lay her
eggs, dives to some depth, and searches for a suitable
locality among the submerged portions of aquatic
vegetation. She then spins an oval cocoon, shaped
very much like an empty egg-shell with the end cut
off, and having the opening downwards. Having
completed this task, she then ascends to the surface,
takes down a large bubble of air in the manner that
has already been described, and, still laden with it,
enters the cocoon. She then releases the bubble,
which rises to the top of the cocoon, which is air-
tight, and, of course, expels a corresponding quantity of
water. Several similar journeys then take place, and in
a short time the cocoon is filled with air, and becomes
a subaquatic chamber in which the Spider can live.

Perhaps some of my readers may remember the
old diving-bells. In the present bells a constant
supply of air is kept up by means of pumps anc*
tubes; but in the older bells no such plan was
adopted. A quantity of air was forced into strong ves-
sels, which were lowered by ropes to the bell. The
divers then took the vessels into the bell, and set the

18

274 INSECT WATER TRESPASSERS.

air free. Thus, there is an exact analogy between the
old diving-bell and the home of the Water Spider — the
cocoon representing the bell, and the bubble enclosed
by the legs taking the place of the air vessels.

Perhaps the reader may ask what may be the real
object of this structure, seeing that the Spider can
catch its prey in the water, eat it ashore, and hide
itself on land like any of its terrestrial brethren ? As
has already been stated, the cocoon does act as a place
of refuge, but its chief object is to serve as a protec-
tion for the young. For, singular to state, not only
does the mother Spider, herself an air-breathing crea-
ture, pass much of her time under the water, but her
eggs are hatched and her young are nurtured beneath
the water, and never go into the outside air until
they are strong enough to shift for themselves. On
an average, one hundred little spiders are hatched
simultaneously in this subaquatic residence.

When the Spider deposits her eggs, she fastens
them to the top of the cocoon, so that they receive the
benefit of any air that is contained in it, and then
covers them with a circular plate of very tough threads.
Similar coverings may be seen on the eggs of many
terrestrial spiders, especially those which belong to the
genus Agelena.

Some twelve years ago, I mentioned that a gradual
but steady destruction of the Spider was taking place,
in consequence of the great demand for it as an inha-
bitant of the fresh-water aquarium. This destruction
has gone on so fast, that in many localities where the
Water Spider was once plentiful, an absolute extirpa-
tion has taken place.

THE PIRATE SPIDEE.

Indeed, so difficult is it at the present day to pro-
cure the Water Spider, that I have been unable to give
an illustration of the creature and its cocoon. In
spite of much search and orders to dealers, not a
specimen could be obtained ; and, as I did not choose
to have an illustration which was not drawn from the
actual object, I was forced to omit it altogether.

THE PIRATE SPIDEE (Lycosa piratico).

There is a very large genus of spiders called
Lycosa. This name is derived from a Greek word,
signifying a wolf, and is given to these creatures on
account of their roving and predatory habits. Popu-
larly, they are called Wolf Spiders, and we have nearly
twenty species in England. They are very plentiful,
and may be found on almost any piece of ground,
especially if it be uncultivated. Being mostly dark-
coloured, they escape observation, unless the ground
be carefully watched, and then they may be detected
as they run with great speed, and pounce upon any
stray insect that comes in their way. They spin no
web for the capture of insects, though some species
line their hiding-places with a silken mantle, and all
are in the habit of enveloping their eggs in a silken
bag, and carrying it about with them. The celebrated
Tarantula is one of the Wolf Spiders.

Among these also we have an aquatic representa-
tive which is popularly called the Pirate Spider, because
it exercises its depredations on water, and not on land.
Like the Water Spider, it has a furry covering, which

276 INSECT WATER TRESPASSERS.

entangles air among the hairs, and so enables it to
run over the surface of the water. Sometimes it will
take advantage of a dead leaf or bundle of weeds
floating on the water, and make that extemporized
raft its headquarters, sallying out to secure prey, and
then returning to the raft on which it can take its meal
in peace and quiet.

Although the Pirate Spider can run on the surface
of the water without sinking, it can also dive when it
is alarmed. Its usual plan of diving is to make use of
some water plant, run down its stem, and cling there
until it thinks the danger to be past. It can remain
below the surface for a considerable time, and, as
far as is known, is able to breathe by respiring the aiv
with which its body is surrounded.

CHAPTER XII.

upn Vkt

I THINK that we cannot do wrong if we accept the
insects as the most perfect types of the denizens of air.
How perfect they are in this respect can only be
appreciated by dissecting one of the fully- developed
insects, and examining its internal anatomy.

I suppose that there are few people who have seen
the large-bodied dor beetle, cockchafers, or humble-
bees upon the wing, who have not been struck with
the ease of their flight, in spite of their large and ap-
parently heavy bodies. This is specially notable in the
case of the larger bombylidae, or humble-bee flies, and
the hawk moths, which dash through the air so rapidly
that the eye can scarcely follow their movements.

On opening the body, the problem is at once
solved. I have already mentioned the system of air
vessels with which the whole of an insect is permeated.
Along each side, and just under the skin, runs a large
tube, into which opens the " spiracles/' or little
mouths that communicate with the outer air. From
these main tubes spring a vast number of smaller

278 TRESPASSERS UPON THE AIR.

tubes that penetrate every portion of the body, and
often cause great trouble to the dissector. They sur-
round and cling to all the internal organs, which they
envelope as if in a network of entangling meshes.

Even in the larvse, which do not fly, this structure
is to be found, but it is in the flying insects that it is
developed to the highest extent. Not only do these
vessels penetrate into every part of the body, even
into the delicate antennge and the membranes of the
wings, but they are in many parts of the body swollen
into large vesicles, which occupy a considerable amount,
of space, and materially lighten the body.

One of the most remarkable instances of these
vesicles is to be found in the common Stag Beetle.

Considering the enormous size of the head and
mandibles in a fully developed male, it would be
'natural to suppose that even if the insect were able to
raise itself in the air at all, it would be overbalanced
by the weight of the fore part of the body, and must
fly with its head downwards. Yet, not only can the
insect fly with its head upwards, but I never saw one
fly in any other attitude, and as the Stag Beetle swarms
in my neighbourhood, I have had plenty of opportuni-
ties of watching its habits.

The large, square head is necessary in order to
afford support for the muscles which move the power-
ful jaws. Here I may parenthetically remark, that it
has been said that the male Stag Beetle does not use its
jaws for offensive purposes, and cannot be induced to
bite. If that be the case, I can only say that it has
bitten me without being induced, for I have frequently
received very severe pinches from the antler-like jaws.

THE STAG BEETLE. 279

Take one of these insects, kill it by the " death-
bottle/' or by dashing it into boiling water, lay open
the head and jaws, and a most beautiful structure will
present itself. The jaws are then seen to be quite
hollow, the hard, horny material being a mere shell
enclosing a row of the air vesicles which have already
been mentioned. A similar arrangement will be found
in the head, so that strength and bulk are beautifully
united with lightness. Any of my readers who are
students of comparative anatomy will remember that
in the elephant these three qualities are combined in a
very similar manner, the bulk of the skull being com-
posed of bony, comb-like cells.

The thorax has many of these cells, and in the
abdomen they occupy a very large space, especially
towards the base of the abdomen, where it joins the
thorax. If a large beetle be rendered insensible by
chloroform, and the upper part of the head removed,
these vesicles can be plainly seen, swelling and lessen-
ing with every inspiration and expiration.

We may be justified, therefore, in taking the in-
sects as best representing the denizens of air.

Next to them come the Birds, in which there is a
lightness of structure analogous to that of the insects.
I have already mentioned that in the flying birds the
bones are hollow, and connected by certain apertures
with the air of the lungs. In Bennett's " Whaling
Voyage," a curious adventure is narrated, which very
well illustrates this peculiarity of structure.

"Another bird which we noticed at the same
time is a nondescript, but nearest allied to the alba-
tross family. It is the size of the lesser albatross ;

£80 TRESPASSERS UPON THE AIR.

its plumage uniformly deep black ; its beak and
legs white.

f ' The example we obtained was shot in the wing
and brought on board alive, fighting savagely with its
beak and feet.

" With a view to preserving its plumage uninjured,
I endeavoured to destroy the bird by compressing its
windpipe, but found that as the breathing became
laborious, a loud whistling sound was emitted from
some part of the. body, and, upon close investigation,
found that the bone (humerus) of the wing, which was
fractured across, projected through the skin, and ad-
mitted within its tube a forcible current of air when-
ever the lungs made an effort at respiration.

"The bird was, in fact, breathing through its
broken wing ; and so sufficient was the supply of air
which the lungs received through this novel channel,
that I was wearied with my attempts to suffocate my
prize, and had to destroy it in another manner.

" The free communication which exists between the
air cells of the lungs and the cavities of the bones in
birds, offers an easy elucidation of this phenomenon,
although such an application of the economy must be
regarded as singular/'

In connection with this subject, I may remind the
reader that the bone of an albatross' wing is much in
fashion as a pipe stem, being light, strong, and
tubular.

In the Flying Mammalia, this modification of
structure is not found, but we shall presently see that
in them a similar effect is produced by different
means.

281

CHEIROPTERA, OR BATS.

The only members of the mammalia which can
really rival the birds or the insects in the air are those
remarkable beings which are popularly called Bats,
and of which we have several representatives in our
own country.

In the insects, the organs of propulsion through
the air are variously modified projections from the
thorax — some membranous and transparent, as in the
bees and flies, and some covered with scales, as in the
moths and butterflies. In the birds, the organs of
propulsion are the fore limbs, the structure of which is
modified for the purpose, and which are clothed with
feathers. In the Bats, the organs of flight are also
the fore limbs, which are modified in a very simple but
effectual manner. None of the mammalia being
clothed with feathers, but either having the skin
naked, scaled, or hairy, the order of Nature would be
infringed if the Bats were gifted were feathered wings
like those of birds.

Another mode of flight has therefore to be employed,
and this is chiefly done by a modification of the fore
feet. In the birds, the fore limbs are not used for
progression on land, and consequently the feet are so
altered in shape as scarcely to be recognized as such,
except by the eye of the comparative anatomist. It
is the foot of the bird, for example, which supplies
the principal or primary feathers of the wing, the
secondaries being attached to that part which cor-

282

TRESPASSERS UPON THE AIE.

responds with the fore arm of man. Any one can
examine this structure by stripping the feathers and
skin from the wing of a fowl before it is cooked.

In the Bat, however, the foot, instead of being
flattened and crushed into a mere support for the
feathers, is developed in a most extraordinary manner,
the most being made of every joint. The accom-
panying figure, will explain this structure at a
glance.

SKELETON OF VAMPIKE BAT.

Each portion of the limb is greatly elongated,
while the toes are so long and so delicate, that they
look as if they had been passed through a wire-
drawing machine. The great toe, or thumb, is the only
one which is not elongated, and it is furnished with a
sharp, curved claw, by means of which the Bat is able
to draw itself along a level surface whenever it wishes
to walk.

There is another point about the skeleton of the
arm, which assists materially in enabling the Bat to

CHEIROPTERA, OR BATS. 283

be an air trespasser. In human beings the fore arm
is composed of two bones, called the radius and ulna,
and by their means the hand is able to rotate and
execute the different movements for which it was
designed. In the Bat, however, this rotating power
is not only needless, but would be absolutely injurious,
as it would make the limb incapable of acting as an
instrument of flight. The ulna, therefore, is prac-
tically absent, being represented only by a very tiny
piece of bone pressed against the radius, and, as a
consequence, the hand cannot rotate.

The reader will now perceive that there is no
necessity for these bones to be hollow like those of
the birds, their great attenuation giving them the
requisite lightness. No new structure is therefore
required in order to convert a mammal into a winged
creature, a slight modification of existing structures
being amply sufficient for the purpose. A further
adaptation is to be seen in the thorax, which is very
large in proportion to the animal, and has the upper
portion of the breast bone greatly developed, so as to
afford an attachment to the powerful muscles which
are needed to move the wing.

The next point is to furnish the developed limb
with a wide, flat, and light substance that will take
the place of the bird's feathers. This is managed in
an equally simple manner. In the first place, the toes
or fingers are webbed to the tips, like the feet of
frogs. This, however, would not afford a sufficient
surface, and so the webbing, if it may be so called,
extends from the thumb to the neck, and from the
fingers to the feet, so that when the limbs are ex-

284 TRESPASSERS UPON THE AIR.

tended the surface is very large in proportion to the
weight of the animal.

There is at least one genus of Bat which possesses
still further means of lightening the body.

" In the genus Nycteris a curious faculty is ob-
served, namely, the power of inflating the sub-
cutaneous tissue with air. The skin adheres to the
body only at certain points, where it is connected by
means of a loose cellular membrane. It is therefore
susceptible of being raised from the surface on the
back as well as on the under parts. These large
spaces are filled with air at the will of the animal, by
means of large cheek-pouches, which are pierced at the
bottom, and they communicate with the subcutaneous
spaces just mentioned.

" When the animal, therefore, wishes to inflate its
skin, it inspires, closes the nostrils, and then, con-
tracting the cavity of the chest, the air is forced
through the openings in the cheek-pouches under the
skin, from whence it is prevented from returning
by means of a fine sphincter, with which those open-
ings are furnished, and by large valves on the neck
and back.

" By this curious mechanism, the Bat has the power
of so completely blowing up the spaces under the
skin, as to give the idea, as Geoffrey observes, of a
little balloon furnished with wings on head and feet."
The foregoing passage is taken from Mr. Bell's
article on the Cheiroptera, in the " Cyclopaedia of
Anatomy and Physiology."

The reader will remember that some of the sea-
birds have the same capacity of inflating a series of

CHEIROPTERA, OE BATS. 285

air cells beneath the skin. The various diodon
fishes possess a similar power; but in them it is
probably used as a means of defence, the swollen
body causing the multitudinous spikes with which it
is armed to stand out like the prickles of a rolled-up
hedgehog1.

It has been proved that the wings possess more
points of interest than is generally known.

They are almost as elastic as if made of India-
rubber, and nearly as delicate as goldbeaters' skin,
so that, when the creature is at rest, they fall of
their own accord into folds that occupy very little
space, and do not interfere with their owner's move-
ments.

They also act as a cradle for the infant young;
but one of their principal uses, in addition to that of
flight, is their power of directing the course of the Bat
as it flies through the air. Anatomists have often
been struck with the fact that, according to the usual
custom of nocturnal animals, the insect-eating Bats
have very small eyes. Taking as examples of dark-
ness-loving and predatory creatures, the owls, the
lemurs, and even the domestic cat, we find that the
eyes are very large, and we might naturally expect
that we should find a similar structure in the Bats. In
them, however, the eyes are very small, and there is
reason to suppose that they are not much brought into
requisition in the capture of flies, moths, and other
insects which form the chief food of the Bat.

Many years ago, a series of experiments were
instituted by Spallanzani, who had been struck with
the fact that Bats could fly with confidence in a

286 TRESPASSERS UPON THE AIR.

perfectly dark room, and even after they had been
blinded. He then stretched threads across the room
in various directions, and found that the Bat, blind as
it was, never by any chance touched one of them.
He then proved that neither smell nor hearing could
assist the animal, and therefore concluded that the
Bat must possess a sixth sense, at present unknown
to us.

Cuvier, however, read these experiments in a
somewhat different manner. He looked to the wings
themselves for an explanation of this wonderful power
of guidance without sight, and found the whole surface
of the delicate membrane to be an enormously ex-
panded organ of touch, possessing exquisite sensibility,
and being capable of detecting by the sense of touch
the presence of external objects. In all probability,
therefore, the Bat depends but little, if at all, upon its
eyes for the capture of prey, and is guided almost
entirely by the sensitive surface of the wings. Perhaps
the reader will call to mind the fact that the moles
are practically blind, and that when they pursue and
capture their prey they are guided by the sensitive
snout, which performs the same office for them that
the wing does for the Bat.

In our own Bats the external ear is of considerable
size, and is formed by a membrane very similar to that
of the wing, so that it may probably assist the animal
in guiding its flight. The most prominent example
of this structure is to be found in our common Long-
eared Bat (Plecotus auritus), the ears of which are
nearly as long as the body, and can be thrown into
most graceful curves at the will of the owner.

THE VAMPIRE BAT. 287

Other Bats, again, such as our Horseshoe Bat, have
membranous growths of a like nature about the nos-
trils, which, if we may judge from analogy, perform
the same office as the membrane of the wings.

THE VAMPIRE BAT (Vampirus spectrum).

We will now proceed to examine one or two species
of the Bat, taking as opposite types the blood-sucking
Vampire and the fruit- eating Kalong. I intentionally
put aside our own species, which are all insect-eaters,
pursuing their prey through the air in the hours of
darkness.

The Vampire Bat is a West Indian animal, and is
plentiful about Guiana and the regions of tropical
America. It is best known by the blood-sucking
habits, from which it derives its popular name of
Vampire; but I cannot think that it has no other
means of subsistence. Blood-sucking may be a luxury,
like champagne-drinking, but I do not think that a
Vampire Bat lives on blood any more than a human
being on champagne.

Indeed, if the Vampires had nothing to depend
upon but the blood of mammalia, I think that they
would soon be in as bad a case as would be the so-
called " carrion " crows, if they had nothing to live
upon but the flesh of dead animals. As far as can be
understood of the animal's habits, it must make its
ordinary food of insects, and only drink the blood of
other animals when it gets a chance of doing so.

238 TRESPASSERS UPON THE AIR.

Indeed, I feel sure that, just as there are millions
of mosquitoes, fleas, leeches, and similar bloodthirsty
creatures, which never taste blood in the whole course
of their lives, so it is with the Vampire, whose oppor-
tunities of blood-sucking are quite exceptional.

It will, however, seldom neglect a chance which
offers itself, and man, horse, or mule are equally
sufferers from its predilection for blood. It does not
cause much, if any pain, insinuating its needles of
teeth into the skin, and quietly drinking the blood as
it pours from the tiny apertures.

With animals, the Yampire generally attacks the
shoulder or the flank, but with human beings the
great toe is the favourite point of assault. The Vam-
pire almost always waits until its intended victim is
sleeping, and then draws off the blood so gently and
quietly, that the sleeper is not disturbed.

It seems to be rather capricious in its taste.
Somewhere about the year 1813, Mr. Waterton, who
was then travelling in Guiana, wished to have practical
experience of a Vampire's bite. Accordingly, for many
months he exposed himself to the attacks of the Vam-
pires, by sleeping in an open shed, through which the
bats used to pass freely, and were seen hovering over
the traveller's hammock. But not a Vampire would
touch him. They bit a native servant who was sleep-
ing within a few yards of his hammock ; they bit a
young English lad, about twelve years of age ; they
nearly killed an unfortunate jackass, and they did kill
the fowls ; but they would not touch Mr. Waterton.
Some years ago, when telling me the story, he jokingly
remarked, that perhaps the Vampires showed their

PLATE V.

VAMPIRE BAT, KALONG, OPOSSUM MOUSE, HEPOONA ROO, AND SUGAR SQUIRREL.

THE KALONG, OB FLYING POX. 289

good sense, for there was very little blood to be got
out of him.

THE KALONG, OE FLYING FOX (Pteropus rubricollis).

There are several species of Kalongs, which are
spread over a considerable portion of Asia and the
neighbouring islands.

On looking at one of these animals, the difference
in the eye is at once apparent. As I have already
mentioned, the eye is small in the insect-eating bats ;
but in the Kalong, which is a fruit eater, it is large,
round, soft, and full. They are very large when com-
pared with the carnivorous bats, some species having
been known to measure five feet across the expanded
wings.

Not needing to catch its prey by aerial evolutions,
the Kalong has a very different flight from that of the
insect-eating bats. As we know, from watching our
own species, which are all insect eaters, the flight of
the latter is quick and erratic, while that of the
former is slow and majestic, like that of some large
bird.

They are nocturnal in their habits, though not such
utter haters of light as the insect-eating bats. Our
own species are scarcely ever seen in the day-time;
for as soon as the early rays of the sun show them-
selves, the bats retire to the dark corners in which
they love to assemble. Hollow tree-trunks, disused
chimneys, clefts in rocks, and similar localities, are
their favourite hiding-places. The Kalongs, on the

19

290 TRESPASSERS UPON THE AIR.

contrary, resort to the most open and unprotected
spots, such as the highest branches of trees. To these
they hang themselves, bat-fashion, with their heads
downwards, and their wings wrapped round their
bodies.

Whether the bats can or cannot swim, as can most
of the mammalia, has long been a disputed point
among naturalists, and one which the nocturnal habits
of the animals render extremely difficult of determina-
tion. It is known, however, that one of these fru«
givorous bats does possess the power of swimming ;
and we may therefore infer that other species may be
equally able to cope with the water. Nearly in the
centre of Plate V. may be seen two Kalongs, repre-
sented as hanging from the branch of a tree, and
just above there is another, which is about to
settle.

On account of their large size they are very con-
spicuous, and look very much like great bunches of
fruit growing from the boughs. I have a photograph
of an Indian fig-tree, the upper branches of which are
thronged with Kalong bats. They hang in regular
rows, and the resemblance which I have just men-
tioned is so strong, that every one to whom I have
shown the photograph has, as a matter of course,
taken them for large fruits.

Mr. Bennett, in his " Whaling Voyage/' mentions
that if they are disturbed by striking the trunk of the
tree, they spread their wings, and fly off to some other
place of refuge. One peculiarity in their flight is the
regularity with which it is accomplished, the bats flying
in long lines, and not singly or in a shapeless group.

THE COLUGO, OR FLYING LEMUR. 291

The cry of this bat is much like the short, sharp bark
of the deer.

Living upon fruit, they do very great damage to
the crops; and in spite of nets, baskets, and other
protections, they will sometimes manage in a single
night to strip a tree of every ripe fruit, leaving the
unripe alone. I have seen this bat eating apples, and
a very curious sight it was. The animals were hang-
ing by their hind legs, and seemed to consider that to
be the most agreeable position for taking their meals.
Their large brown eyes looked rather excited as they
fell on the fruit ; but, as soon as the repast was finished^
they were closed again, the head tucked up against
the breast, and the animal was fast asleep.

In Tunis and the neighbourhood, there is a very
large species of these fruit-eating bats, called the
Edible Kalong (Pteropus edulis). As its name implies,
it is used for food ; so that the owners of the fruit-
trees revenge themselves for the loss of their crops
by eating the robbers. The flesh of this Kalong is
said to be very delicate and white. I may mention
here that the generic name of Pteropus is formed from
two Greek words, and signifies wing-footed.

THE COLUGO, OR PLYING LEMUR (GoleOpitheCUS

Although there is no aquatic form of the monkey
tribes, we have one which may well take its place as a
trespasser in the air, namely, the singular animal
called the Colugo, or Flying Lemur, which inhabits
many of the islands of the Indian Archipelago.

292 TRESPASSERS UPON THE AIR.

In a sort of way, many monkeys are partial tres-
passers upon the air, being able to fling themselves
from one branch to another, and so to pass through
considerable distances. The Gibbons are specially
celebrated for their aerial feats, being able to launch
themselves through distances of forty feet or so.

These animals, however, do not possess auy capa-
bility of sustentation in the air ; and, if they were to
miss their aim, would fall heavily to the ground. The
Colugo, however, has a power of sustentation which
may be called a modified flight ; and, although it can-
not rise in the air, it can at all events pass for con-
siderable distances through it, and direct its course.

Putting aside the very great length of the fore
limbs, and especially of the fingers, the structure of
the Colugo is wonderfully like that of the bats. In-
deed, so close is the resemblance, that naturalists were
long undetermined where to place it : whether at the
end of the monkey tribe, or at the head of the bats.

In this animal the skin of the sides is modified into
a membrane much resembling the wing of the bat,
except that it is covered with hair upon the upper
surface. This membrane extends to both pairs of feet.
It also passes from the hind feet to the tip of the tail,
and from the fore feet to the neck, so that when the
limbs are extended, a very large and flat surface is
presented to the air, not so large as that of the bat
tribes, but still of very great extent.

Like all the monkey tribe, the Colugo is arboreal
in its habits, but has a rather peculiar mode of passing
from tree to tree. It does not take the trouble to
descend to the ground, run to the desired tree, and

CUT 12. — COLUGO.

THE COLUGO, OR PLYING LEMUR. 293

ascend it, but takes exactly an opposite course. It
ascends to one of the topmost branches, makes a spring
in the direction of the spot which it wishes to reach,
and spreads out its limbs to the fullest extent. It
then skims through the air much after the manner
of an oyster- shell or a piece of slate when used in
making f{ ducks and drakes/' and can in this manner
pass over a distance of a hundred yards or so without
coming to the ground.

Perhaps the reader may say that the oyster-shell or
slate rotates, while the Colugo cannot do so.* That is
true enough, but the rotatory motion has nothing to
do with the skimming movement of the missile
through the air. It only serves, according to the
well-known law by which the arrow and the rifle-bullet
are kept steadily in their course, to preserve the mis-
sile in its proper position ; and as the Colugo can do
this by means of the inflection of its body, rotation is
not needed, and is therefore not employed. In point
of fact, the Colugo is sustained in the air on precisely
the same principle as is a boy's kite, the relationship
of forces being identical in either case, although they
are applied in a rather different manner.

A figure of the Colugo, shown as it appears while
passing through the air, is given in Cut 12. The
reader will notice the singularly close resemblance be-
tween this animal and the flying petaurist, which is
shown in the lower corner of Plate V.

Among the points in which the Colugo resembles
the bat tribe, two may be specially mentioned. In
the ordinary monkey, the mammae are placed upon
the breast, whereas in the Colugo they are set upon

294 TRESPASSERS UPON THE AIR.

the lower part of the abdomen, exactly as in the
bats.

The second point is the position assumed while
the animal is at rest. The ordinary monkeys, whether
of the Old or New World, gather themselves up into
as small a space as possible, just as birds tuck their
heads on their shoulders, and so court their sleep.
But the Colugo acts exactly as the bats do, and when
it retires to rest, it slings itself from a branch by its
hind legs. It is, therefore, no matter of surprise that
naturalists should so long have been perplexed as to
the real position of this extraordinary animal.

In size the Colugo equals a large cat, and when it
is walking or climbing among the branches, the mem-
branous skin which converts it into a living para-
chute clings so tightly to the body by its own elasticity,
that it is scarcely visible. The name Galeopithecus is
formed from two Greek words, and literally signifies
weasel monkey.

THE SQUIRREL PETAURIST, OR SUGAR SQUIRREL (PetdUTUS

sciureus) .

We have already seen that there are examples of
water trespassers among the Marsupial or Pouched
animals, and shall now find that several air trespassers
are among them.

These animals are comprised in an Australian
group, which is technically named Petaurist, from a
Greek word signifying a rope-dancer, and alluding to

THE SQUIRREL PETAUEIST, OE SUGAR SQUIREEL. 295

the manner in which they balance themselves on the
slender branches of the trees which they frequent.

One of the prettiest of these animals is shown in
the lower corner of Plate V., and is popularly known
as the Sugar Squirrel, though it is not a squirrel, or
even a rodent, and though the sugar-cane is not an
Australian plant.

The general structure of this animal is very much
like that of the colugo ; and, indeed, it would be easy
to put a colugo among a number of petaurisfcs, and for
the distinction between them not to be noted, except
by a tolerably skilled naturalist. In the petaurists,
the skin is extended exactly as it is in the colugo,
the principal difference lying in the tail. In the
colugo, the skin-membrane extends to the end of the
tail, but in the petaurists it gets no further than the
root of the tail. This organ, however, is clothed with
very long and dense hair projecting on either side, and
answering the same purpose which is fulfilled in the
colugo by the skin membrane.

The animal which is represented in the illustration
is a pretty little creature, measuring about eight
inches from the nose to the tip of the tail. It is
rather remarkable that the tail is just as long as the
body, and as it is clothed with very long hair, it adds
much to the power of sustentation as the creature
takes its sweeping flights.

The power of flight, if we may so call it, in this
creature is very remarkable, one of these animals
having been seen to leap across a river forty yards in
width, though it only started from an elevation of
thirty feet.

296 TRESPASSERS UPON THE AIR.

It is a lively and playful little animal as soon as the
dusk sets in, but remains perfectly quiet during the
daytime. These nocturnal habits are common to all
its kind. One of these curious marsupials, which
belonged to a friend of mine, used to spend the whole
of the day in a bag which was hung from the back of
a chair. In this curious hammock it lay quietly sleep-
ing until the evening, when it began to move, and by
scratching or kicking showed its desire to be released.
As soon as the bag was opened, the animal went to
the place where a saucerful of bread and milk was
placed for it, and then began its graceful gambols.

The largest of these animals is the Petauriste
( Petaurista taguanoides) .

In spite of its size it is seldom seen in a living
state by white men. In the first place, it is nocturnal
in its habits; and so completely can it trust to its
wing-like membranes, that it seldom comes to the
ground, passing through the air from tree to tree.

Moreover, it dwells during the day in hollow trees ;
and trusts so completely to the security of its hiding-
place, that even when the axe lays open its dwelling,
it refuses to stir, but crouches in the furthest corner.
It is no coward, however, for it can and will fight in
the most desperate manner when fairly driven to bay,
using both its teeth and claws with great force and
quickness. Even the dexterous native hunter does
not dare the combat, but as soon as he has cut a
sufficiently sized hole in the tree-trunk, he seizes the
animal by the tail, swings it round and dashes its head
against the tree before it has recovered itself sufficiently
to think of using its teeth or claws.

THE SQUIRREL PETAURIST. 297

The specific name of Taguanoides, or taguan-like,
is given to the animal in consequence of the resem-
blance which it bears to the Taguans, or Flying
Squirrels of the Old World ;" a similitude, indeed,
which is so close, that a sketch of one of these animals
would be no very unfaithful representation of the
other.

Scarcely smaller than the Petaurist is the Hepoona
Roo (Pelaurus Australia), sometimes called the Great
Flying Phalanger.

I may here mention that the general name of
Phalanger is applied to the whole of this group, on
account of the length of the phalanges, or joints of
the toep.

The present species is a native of New Holland,
and was at one time plentiful ; though, like all wild
animals, it became scarce in the presence of civili-
zation. The full length of the body rather exceeds a
yard ; but very nearly half of this measurement be-
longs to the long and woolly tail.

It is a prettily coloured animal; but the beautifully
contrasting tints of the fur are scarcely to be seen
except when the animal spreads itself for flight. In
that case the cream-white of the under surface affords
an admirable contrast to the deep, warm brown of the
upper surface. When the animal is at rest, the only
indication of this contrast of colour is a waving line of
cream-colour along the sides, marking the edge of
the flying membrane. The colour of the fur is, how-
ever, very variable ; and in some cases, both surfaces
are nearly white.

The smallest of the Petaurists is the pretty little

298 TEESPASSEES UPON THE AIR.

animal which is popularly called the Opossum Mouse
(Acrooates pygmceus) .

It is barely as large as our common mouse, measur-
ing about three inches from the nose to the root of the tail.
The tail is as long as the body, and is stiffly feathered on
either side ; so that it not only aids in sustaining the
body in the air, but also acts as a rudder whereby its
course can be directed. The distances through which
this beautiful little creature can project itself are really
wonderful ; and it can alter its aerial course with so
much ease, that most persons who see it for the first
time, have some difficulty in believing that it is not a
bird.

A figure of the Opossum Mouse is given on Plate Y.,
on the same level with the suspended kalongs.

FLYING SQUIEEELS OF THE OLD WORLD.

Nature, as well as history, repeats herself. This
fact is specially familiar to entomologists, who find the
same types of form and colour repeated through many
of the various orders. In the mammalia, we have a
similar repetition in the flying lemur, which belongs
to the monkey tribe; the flying petaurist, which
belongs to the marsupials ; and the flying squirrels,
which belong to the rodents.

And, so close is the resemblance, that I am certain
that if thirty or forty living specimens of all these
three groups were placed in a room wherein they had
ample space to exercise themselves, and to display
their forms to the best advantage, not one in a hun-

PLYING SQUIRRELS OP THE OLD WORLD. 299

dred of ordinary spectators would be able to say which
was monkey, which was rodent, and which was mar-
supial.

It is rather a remarkable fact, too, that the largest
species of these groups resemble each other in size as
well as in form. Take, for example, average speci-
mens of the colugo, the petauriste, and the taguan,
and there will be but an inch or two difference between
them, either in length or breadth. Again, not only
are all these animals furnished with the skin membrane
that enables them, to take their aerial flight ; but their
toes are elongated in a manner very similar to that
which we have seen in the phalangists.

In the Taguan, the membrane is greatly developed,
reaching to the roots of the toes of the fore feet, and
to the heel of the hind feet. The habits of this and
the other flying squirrels are almost identical with
those of the petaurists, except that the former are
not nocturnal in their habits. Their generic names
all allude to their power of flight. For example,
the Taguan belongs to the genus pteromys, or winged
mouse ; the word which is here translated as mouse
being widely used in Greek to represent any rodent
animal of moderate size. Other Taguans and Assapans
belong to the genus sciuropterus, or winged squirrels.

Like most of the active rodents, the Flying
Squirrels are very capable of domestication, and will
soon learn to prefer the society of human beings who
are good to them, to that of their own kind. There
is a singularly interesting account of a tame Flying
Squirrel, given by Miss Eden, in her charming work,
"Up the Country," Vol. II., p. 130. As her little

300 TRESPASSERS UPON THE AIR.

biography does not refer directly to its flying powers,
I cannot insert it in this work.

Suffice it to say, that she describes her pet as
being the ' ' most coaxing animal she ever saw ;" and
narrates the manner in which he would persist in
making his way into her room at night. Although
shut up in an apartment at some distance from that of
his mistress, he contrived to break a window, to make
his way into the garden, where he had never been
before, and then to scramble up the wall until he
came to the open window of his mistress's room. He
was so very fond of her that he woke her by licking
her face.

She had the broken window stopped up, shut him
up afresh, and again courted sleep. In a few minutes,
however, she was again awoke by the Squirrel patting
her ear ; whereupon she gave up the attempt at
coercing him, rolled him up in the mosquito curtain,
and allowed him to remain there for the rest of the
night.

CHAPTER XIII.

, and

PASSING by the birds, which may be considered
as naturally denizens of air, and which may not
therefore be counted among the trespassers, we come
to the next great class of animated beings — i.e., the
Eep tiles.

As the word Reptile, being formed from the Latin
word Repo, signifies something which creeps, we
would scarcely expect to find among them any species
which were trespassers on the air.

Another example of Nature repeating herself now
comes before us. I had seriously debated with myself
whether I ought not to include in this work the many
Reptiles which in the ancient times of this world occu-
pied the same place which the bats do at the present
day. As, however, the book would extend to an in-
convenient length if the various extinct species were
recorded in it, I shall only give a very brief notice of
them.

The reader will naturally call to recollection the

302 PLYING REPTILES, PISHES, AND MOLLUSCS.

wonderful Flying Lizards, which seem to have been so
plentiful in the ancient times, and which we now know
by the general term of Pterodactyls. This word sig-
nifies wing-fingered, and the name is given to the
animals because, like the bats, they were enabled to
f y by means of a membrane which was stretched be-
tween the elongated joints of the fore limbs.

It is worthy of notice, by the way, that in these
reptiles of an extinct age, the wing seems to have de-
pended for its power principally on that joint which in
the animals of the present time is the weakest —
namely, the fifth, or, as we should call it, the " little "
toe or finger. In the various Pterodactyls, however,
the first four toes are only moderately elongated,
whereas the fifth is not only drawn out until it is
nearly as long as the head, neck, and body put to-
gether, but its two basal joints are as thick as those ot
the arm itself, and rather longer.

Of the habits of these creatures little can be known,
but the shape of their teeth shows that they must
have been carnivorous, seizing their prey and swallow-
ing it without any power of mastication. They varied
much in size, some species being about as large as a
pigeon, while others measured several feet across the
extended wings. How these extraordinary animals
looked when in life, the reader may easily see by
visiting the Extinct Animals' Department in the
grounds of the Crystal Palace, where the art of Mr.
Waterhouse Hawkins has reproduced the forms of
these and various other animals, which are now known
only by their fossil remains, and shows us how strange
and almost grotesque were the creatures which in-

PLYING DEAGON. 303

habited the earth before we have any traces of man's
presence upon it.

One of the Flying Lizards of the olden time was
remarkable for having a very long tail.

FLYING DEAGON (Draco volans).

At the present day we have no examples of Reptiles
which can really fly, though we have some which, like
the Flying Squirrels, are able to sweep for some dis-
tance through the air.

These animals are known by the popular name of
Flying Dragon, in consequence of their resemblance to
the conventional dragon of fables. There are several
species of them, all agreeing in form and general
habits, and all being quite little creatures, the body
only measuring a few inches in length. The tail is
very long, very slender, and tapers to a sharp point.

The structure by which these reptiles are enabled
to pass through the air is very remarkable. As the
reader may see, by reference to Cut 13, the sides
of the body are expanded like those of the flying
squirrels, but the expansion is obtained in a different
manner. In the flying squirrel, the skin of the sides is
expanded with a membrane, which is opened ty
stretching out the legs ; but in the Flying Dragon the
ribs are employed for the purpose.

I suppose that the reader knows the difference be-
tween the two kinds of ribs. There are the " true "
ribs, which occupy the upper part of the chest, and
which have their ends resting on the breast-bone;

304 PLYING BEPTILES, PISHES, AND MOLLUSCS.

and the " false " ribs, which occupy the lower part of
the chest, and which have their ends free. It is by
means of the latter set of ribs that the expansion of
the sides is managed.

The false ribs, instead of being, as they usually
are, much shorter than the others, are greatly length-
ened, or, to be more accurate, they are furnished with
very long and slender appendages. These additional
bones are so joined to the ribs that they can be spread
out laterally, or laid against the sides at the pleasure
of the animal. When they are spread, they very much
resemble the sticks of an opened fan, and as they are
connected with each other by a membrane which is
formed from the skin of the sides, they offer a very
wide surface to the air.

The movements of the Flying Dragon are curiously
like those of the flying squirrels of the Old World, and
the flying marsupials of Australasia; and, indeed, if
the Flying Dragon and the opossum mouse were simul-
taneously to spring from one tree to another, their
sweeping flight would be almost identical, and it
would not be easy to distinguish between the two
animals.

There is another point in the structure of the
Flying Dragon which has been thought to have some
effect in increasing its buoyancy when in the air. In
common with many arboreal lizards, it possesses a large
pouch under the throat, which it is capable of inflat-
ing to a very great extent. When the lizard is pre-
paring to launch itself into the air, it inflates this
sac simultaneously with spreading its wings, if we
may use this term to express its peculiarly constructed

CUT 13.— FLYING DRAGON AND FLYING FROG.

FLYING FROG. 305

side. Many naturalists have thought that the prin-
cipal object of this sac is to increase the buoyancy of
the animal while in the air. It does probably have
that effect, but I do not think that buoyancy is its
chief object, for the reason that the inflatable pouch
is found in many lizards which do not possess the
expansible sides, nor the power of skimming through
the air.

The Flying Dragons are tolerably plentiful in
Borneo, Java, and the Philippine Islands,

FLYING FROG.

I presume that my readers are familiar with the
pretty Tree Frogs, which are now so plentiful in
ferneries. Their habits are curiously contrary to those
of the ordinary frogs, for they abandon both earth
and water for the trees, and lead an arboreal, and not
a terrestrial or aquatic life, as do their fellows.

In order to enable them to ascend trees, they are
furnished with sucker-like appendages at the tips of
their toes, and with these they can cling firmly to any
smooth object, such as the trunk of a tree, the surface
of a leaf, or even a flat piece of glass.

In the last- mentioned case, it is interesting to
examine with a magnifying lens the structure of the
suckers as they are pressed against the glass, and to
note how instantaneous is their action of exhausting
or admitting the air at will. This structure, indeed.
is absolutely necessary for the creature's existence. It
lives upon insects, and if it were to depend for its

20

306 PLYING REPTILES, FISHES, AND MOLLUSCS.

subsistence upon those which come within its reach,
it would stand a very good chance of starving. But,
aided by these marvellous developments of the feet,
it is able to spring at a passing insect, to catch it, and
to affix itself instantaneously to another branch or leaf.

There are many species of Tree Frogs, spread
over a large portion of the earth, but the most re-
markable at present known is the Flying Frog of
Borneo, which was discovered by Mr. A. K. Wallace
in 1865. It was brought to him by a Chinese work-
man, who saw it skimming down from a high tree, in
a slanting direction, evidently upborne by the webs of
its enormously long toes.

If the reader will refer to Cut 13, he will see the
Flying Frog shown in the act of passing through the
air, its toes being widely spread,, so as to stretch
the membrane which connects them. In proportion
to the size of the reptile, the extent of surface which
can be thus opposed to the air is very great. The
body of the Frog is about four inches in length, while
the web of each hind foot covers a space of four
square inches, and if the webs of all four feet be put
together, they will be seen to equal a space of twelve
square inches. It is evident enough, therefore, that
a creature which is only four inches in length, and
which is able to spread a flat membrane of twelve
square inches, would be upborne for some distance
through the air,, if it only projected itself with some
force.

In this curious reptile, then, we have another or
the many ways in which a very simple variation of
structure is sufficient to make the creature a trespasser.

PLYING PISHES. 307

Except that the limbs do not seem to be moved when
the Frog passes through the air, there is but little
difference between the structure of the bat' a wing and
the membrane of the Flying Frog, each being nothing
but an existing membrane developed and expanded by
being attached to the lengthened toes. In order, also,
to assist in the buoyancy of the creature, the body is
capable of considerable inflation.

In life it is a very handsome species. The back is
rich deep green, and the under surface yellow. The
webs are black, adorned with streaks of yellow.

Probably these enormously developed feet are used
foi* swimming as well as for flight, and in that case they
will form a remarkable analogy with the wings of the
extinct Pterodactyls, which are proved with tolerable
certainty to be organs adapted to the water as well as
to the air.

FLYING FISHES.

Passing from the reptiles to the next class of
beings, we come to the Fishes, and shall find among
them several examples of air trespassers.

The first in order of these creatures is necessarily
the Flying Fish (Exocoetus volitans), which we will
take as an example of some thirty species, all re-
sembling each other in general form and habits. They
are only found in the warmer seas, and Mr. Bennett,
who has observed these fishes very carefully, states
that he has never seen them further north than lat.
36° N.

308 FLYINQ REPTILES, FISHES, AND MOLLUSCS.

They have long been famous for their powers of
leaving the water; and, indeed, the generic name,
Exocoetus, which is formed from two Greek words,
signifying sleeping out, was given to these fishes by
the earlier naturalists, because they believed that the
Flying Fishes left the sea at night, and went on shore
to sleep.

In all these fishes, the pectoral fins are enormously
developed, so that when they are extended they look
exactly like wings, and perform very similar functions.
Whether urged by fear, as some persons think, or by
sport, as others think, these fishes are in the habit of
springing out of the water, and of being upborne by
their wing-like fins in the air.

The mode in which this feat is achieved is identical
in principle with that which enables the air trespassers
which we have already noted to support themselves in
their aerial journeys. Just as in the Fljing Colugo,
the Flying Squirrels, the Flying Marsupials, the
Flying Dragons, and the Flying Frogs, the membranes
bv which they support themselves in the air are folded
closely to the body while the creatures do not require
to use them, so in the Flying Fishes the great pectoral
fins are folded into a very neat and compact form
v hile the fish is swimming, and do not interfere in the
least with their owner's progress through the water.
Whether or not they are used in swimming is a
doubtful point, but in all probability they can be used
in guiding the course and balancing the body, just as
if they had been no larger than those of ordinary
fish. In some species the ventral fins are also very
large, so that the creature appears to have four wings.

FLYING PISHES. 309

The mode by which the Flying Fish propels itself
through the air is this. By means of the backward
and forward movements of the tail, it springs com-
pletely out of the water, just as the salmon does when
it makes its leap. Simultaneously, it spreads its wing-
like fins, and is borne upon their wide surface to a
considerable distance. See Cut 14.

When alarmed, it has been known to pass over a
space of two hundred and fifty yard^, and to remain
in the air for half a minute. The average length of
flight appears to be about one hundred and fifty
yards. The fish dashes into the air with such force
that its wings produce a distinctly audible ru filing
sound.

Accounts are very conflicting concerniog the move-
ment of the wings. It is certain that they possess
some power of directing their course in the air, as is
their function in the water. But whether or not the
wings are moved like those of birds seems to be an
open question, witnesses differing diametrically in
their accounts. I never saw the Flying Fish alive,
but I should very much doubt whether its flight is
more than that of the flying dragon — i.e., a mere sus-
tentation in the air until the force of the spring is
exhausted.

The Flying Fishes are sociable, a solitary one being
seldom seen ; and when a number of them are seen
starting into the air at once, they present a very pretty
sight, their broad, white, transparent wings gleaming
in the sun in beautiful contrast with their blue bodies.

The force with which these fishes can drive them-
selves out of the water is so great, that they not

310 FLYING KEPTILES, PISHES, AND MOLLUSCS.

only shoot to considerable distances, but can impel
themselves to such a height that they can pass com-
pletely over the hull of a ship, and frequently are
known to strike among the rigging or against the sails,
and fall upon the deck. As their flesh is in much
repute, the sailors will sometimes hang lanterns on the
rigging at night, for the purpose of attracting the
Flying Fish, which, when starting out of the water, are
sure to make for the light, as do many other creatures
which are more nocturnal in their habits.

Perhaps the best time to see the Flying Fish in
perfection is when a shoal of them is chased by the
splendid and voracious Coryphene, a fish which the
sailors will persist in calling by the name of dolphin.
The Coryphene, as soon as it sees its prey, dashes at it
like a greyhound at a hare, springing out of. the water
as if it too were about to take a flight. The Flying
Fishes soon see that they are pursued, and when they
drop upon the water, spring off again at an angle,
just like a hare doubling upon a greyhound, hoping
thereby to elude their terrible pursuer.

But the Coryphene is too sharp-sighted to be de-
luded in that manner, and as the Flying Fishes alter
their direction, so does the Coryphene alter its own
course. In their power of flight the Fishes have
some advantage over their enemy, but the advantage
does not hold good for long. The speed of the Cory-
phene is fully twice as much as that of the Flying Fish,
and its endurance much greater. Their flights become
shorter and shorter, while the leaps of the pursuer
seem to become, as Capt. Hall says, more vigorous at
each bound.

CUT 14.— FLYING FISHES, FLYING GURNAKD, FLYING SQUID.

FLYING FISHES. 311

At last, the poor Flying Fishes become too ex-
hausted to continue the race, and, one by one, they
fall into the jaws of the Coryphene, which exactly
times its leaps so as to receive them as they fall back
into the water.

There are one or two points about the air trespass-
ing structure of the Flying Fish which are worthy of
notice. The first is, that the pectoral fins or wings
are set very much higher on the back than those of
ordinary fishes, so that when the fish is in the air the
centre of gravity is much below them, and the balance
is rightly preserved.

The organ of propulsion in the Flying Fish is the
tail, which is large, and lengthened into two long and
sharply-pointed lobes, the lower much exceeding the
upper in length. It is thus formed into an exceedingly
powerful instrument, and it is by the violent sidewa} s
movement of the tail that the fish can project itself
into the air. It is worthy of remark that the tail of
its terrible pursuer, the Coryphene, is constructed
after a similar principle, the lobes being long, and each
running to a sharp point.

Yet another point in which the air trespassing
power of the Flying Fish is increased. The reader will
remember that I have already mentioned sundry con-
trivances for ensuring buoyancy when needed. A
similar provision is found in the Flying Fish. The
air-bladder is of very great size, and when fully
inflated, occupies nearly the entire cavity of the
abdomen. Besides this, there is a corresponding
arrangement which renders the fore part of the fish
equally buoyant, and this is done by means of a mem-

312 PLYING REPTILES, FISHES, AND MOLLUSCS.

branous structure in the mouth, into which air can be
drawn through the gills.

Thus we have in the Flying Fish another instance
of the wonderful and yet simple manner in which a
slight alteration or development of existing structures
enables an animal to adapt itself for a time to a dif-
ferent kind of life.

There is a well-known group of fish called by the
popular name of Gurnards, and which have the pectoral
fins enlarged or otherwise modified in a most singular
manner. Many of them are exceedingly beautiful
creatures, the pectoral fins being adorned with spots
and stripes of brilliant scarlet, crimson, green, or blue.
No idea can be formed of the real beauty of these
lovely fishes unless they are seen alive, and this can
now be done in the great aquaria which are built in
different parts of England.

Several of these fishes are known as Flying Gur-
nards, because, like the Flying Fish, they are able to
propel themselves for some distance through the air,
upborne on their enormous pectoral fins. Those fins
are, however, not long and sharply pointed, like those
of the Flying Fish, but they afford the same propor-
tionate surface to the air by being rendered very broad
and rounded. In them the membrane does not extend
quite to the end of the rays, which project like a fringe
from the outer top of the wing.

It is worthy of notice that, in order to increase the
width of the fin, and at the same time to give it the
necessary strength, the rays are not only very long,
but are greatly increased in number.

FLYING FISHES. 313

One of these fishes is represented in the middle of
Cut 14, and is shown in the act of flying, its pec-
toral fins being extended to the utmost. When the
fish is swimming, the fins are laid along the body and
directed downwards. I have seen the Gurnards in the
Crystal Palace use their fins like legs, crawling with
their aid upon the bed of the tank.

The species which is shown in the illustration is
the common Flying Gurnard (Dactylopterus volitans),
and is common enough in the Mediterranean. It
sometimes reaches the length of fifteen inches, and is
altogether larger than the Flying Fish. It is a lovely
creature when living, its beauties, however, being
mostly confined to the pectoral fins. The body is
mostly brown, tinged with red below and on the sides.
The pectoral fins are black, but covered with spots
and mottlings of light azure, so that when spread they
look very much like the wings of some gorgeous
butterfly.

Altogether four species of Flying Gurnards are
known, but the present species is a good example of
all four.

Other fishes have the power of springing out of
the water, and shooting for some distance through
the air.

There is, for example, the Gar-fish, a long, slender,
and almost eel-like fish, which has both its jaws drawn
out to a very great length, wonderfully attenuated,
and very sharp at the tip. Mr. Bennett, while describ-
ing the island of Raitea, has the following remarks
on this fish : " Gar-fish infest the harbours in large
shoals, often darting through the air in a horizontal

314

FISHES, AND MOLLUSCS.

direction, and with a force which has caused their
long and slender jaws to penetrate the planks of a
boat."

FLYING CUTTLES.

Perhaps the reader may have seen the Cuttles
which at one time caused such a sensation at the
aquarium at the Crystal Palace, and the discussion
which arose in the journals as to the right pronunci-
ation of the name " octopus." They may not be
aware that some of these molluscs have the power
of leaving the water and darting through the air ;
and that they can skim as far as can the flying fish
itself.

As far as the semi-aerial part of its life goes, the
Flying Cuttle has many points in common with those
fishes. It is gregarious, not only in the sea, but when
it takes its leaps into the air, at which times great flocks
of them come flying out all at once. As is the case
with the fish, this simultaneous flight is mostly caused
by attacks of a marine foe, mostly the albacore, which
is also one of the enemies of the flying fish. Like the
various fishes that are able to rise into the air, includ-
ing the gurnards, the Flying Cuttles have their foes
of air as well as those of water ; and, while flying from
the attack of the albacore below, are snapped up by
the various sea birds which hover above.

These flying molluscs belong to a group which are
popularly called Squids, and which, as a rule, are
about as large as the flying fish. Sometimes, however,
they reach to an enormous size, as has been casually

PLYING CDTTLES. 315

mentioned on page 28, when treating of the spermaceti
whale.

Dr. Schewediawer's account has been recently
corroborated by a communication sent by the Rev.
Mr. Harvey to the Natural History Society of Montreal.
Some fishermen saw floating near St. John's, New-
foundland, something which they took to be a wreck,
and struck it with a gaff. It proved to be a gigantic
cuttle, shaped, and moving like a squid ; and on being
struck, it wrapped two enormous arms over the boat.
These the men cut off with an axe, when the creature
moved off, ejecting at the time its ink to such an
extent as to darken the water for some distance.
They afterwards saw it with its tail in the air, the
width of which they estimated at ten feet.

They considered that the total length of the
creature must have been about sixty feet. This seems
an enormous measurement, but is carried out by the
dimensions of the arms, which were brought ashore.
The people not knowing the value of the acquisition,
destroyed one, and had already cut off six feet of the
other, when Mr. Harvey rescued it. The portion
which he saved measured nineteen feet in length ; and
if we add to that the six feet which were lost, and the
ten feet which the men estimated to have been left on
the cuttle, their measurement is not very far from
correct. The arm was not much more than an inch in
diameter, except at the tip, where, however, it was
six inches. The arm was plentifully beset with
suckers.

A clergyman told Mr. Harvey that while he was at
Lauraline, two Cuttles were thrown ashore in the

316 TLYING REPTILES, PISHES, AND MOLLUSCS.

winter of 1870, one measuring forty feet in length,
and the other forty-five.

We will now see how the Squid is able to propel
itself into the air.

All those who watch the Cuttles in the aquarium,
must have noticed their remarkable mode of progres-
sion. As long as they are on the bed of the tank, or
near the sides, they crawl, or haul themselves about,
using their tentacles by way of legs or arms. But they
may occasionally be seen to shoot through the water,
with their tentacles trailing behind them.

This is done by means of the " siphon/' a tube
which is connected with the respiratory apparatus.
For the purpose of respiration, water is drawn into the
body through the siphon, passes over the gills, and is
then expelled through the aperture into which it
entered. When this is done gently, no effect is pro-
duced in the movements of the animal. But if the
water be violently ejected, the Cuttle is propelled back-
wards by direct action, on exactly the same principle
as a rocket is impelled through the air. Even the
large-bodied and comparatively sluggish Cuttles can
thus shoot at some pace across a tank ; while the
slight-bodied, active Squids can drive themselves with
such velocity as to project themselves into the air.

Here is an extract from Mr. Bennett's <( Whaling
Voyage/' in which he gives a very good account of
the Flying Squid. There are one or two trifling
errors, which I will mention at the end of the extract.

" Many different kinds of Loligo are called by
sailors Flying Squid, from a habit they have of leaping
from the water, and proceeding through the air to

FLYING CUTTLES. 317

some distance in a horizontal direction, like the flying
fish.

" The head of this cephalopod is a plane, circular
disc, surrounded by long arms, furnished on their
upper surface with many small circular suckers, which
hold with a tenacious grasp. The eyes are large, very
perfectly formed, and lodged in capacious cartilaginous
orbits. The mouth, like that of most of the cuttle
fish tribe, is horny, and shaped like the beak of a
parrot. A slender neck connects the head with the
body, and is received into the latter as into a capa-
cious sheath. The trunk is conical, tapering to a
point at the tail, smooth, and composed of a dense
white semi-cartilaginous structure, covered with a
delicate membrane, or skin, beneath which are de-
posited the brilliant colours this mollusc often dis-
plays.

" Near the tail there is a broad fin-like appendage,
which can either be expanded horizontally on either
side, or folded neatly upon the abdomen. The interior
of the back contains an elastic horny rod, or substitute
for the ' sepia bone' that occupies the same part in
other tribes of cuttle fish. It extends the entire
length of the body, and is flattened at its anterior
extremity, whilst its caudal end is shaped like a cup,
the whole bearing some resemblance to the instrument
used for tasting wine from casks. This elastic struc-
ture, and the membranous expansion on each side of
the tail, are apparently the two principal agents em-
ployed by the animal in its protracted leaps through
the air. Whether the fin-like appendage is also em-
ployed in swimming is very questionable.

318 FLYING REPTILES, FISHES, AND MOLLUSCS.

" One kind of Loligo, which we captured in the
Pacific Ocean, in lat. 34° N., measured six inches in
its entire length. The upper surface of the body is
grey, freckled with purple, the under white j iris
silvery, pupil jet black and prominent. It has eight
arms and two tentacles. Each arm is furnished with
a double row of suckers on its entire length, and all,
with the exception of the first or dorsal fins, have a
loose membrane floating from their posterior surface.
The two tentacles are round, slender, and twice the
length of the arms, and have at their extremity a
broad sickle- shaped membrane, covered with two rows
of yellow hooks of different sizes.

" This individual leaped from the sea over the
high balustrades of the ship, and alighted on the
deck, at a time when vast flocks of the same species
were seen leaping around, and after striking with
violence against the bows of the vessel, the sea being
comparatively smooth. The creature was much in-
jured by the violence with which it had struck the
deck, and showed little animation : it did not attempt
to leap or swim when put into a bucket of sea- water,
though it emitted a quantity of inky fluid through a
canal in the body, opening by a large orifice imme-
diately below the neck. This secretion is contained in
a narrow oblong bag of silvery hue, and placed imme-
diately below the stomach.

" The prehensile power of the suckers on the arms
was retained for a considerable time after the death of
the animal ; from which I should judge that, like the
buckles of the sucking fish, their function in a great
measure depends upon solely mechanical causes.

PLYING SPIDERS. 319

" A second species,, which we also obtained in the
Pacific, resembled the above in size and form, but its two
long tentacles were furnished at their extremities with
rows of suckers (acetabula), instead of horny, hooked
appendages. The prevailing colours of this species are
silver- white and steel-blue, spread with red spots and
tints of violet and purple, a brilliant and very beautiful
spot of emerald green being placed immediately above
each eye. We noticed examples of this family of
cephalods from the Equator to lats. 34° N. and 160° S.,
Pacific Ocean.-"

In this interesting account there is one decided
error, namely, in thinking the posterior fins or flaps
at either side of the sharply-pointed tail to be the
instrument of locomotion. This is not the case, for
the animal always flies tail foremost, and must in that
case turn round in the air, which would decrease its
impetus. The real organ of propulsion is the siphon
which has just been described.

The species which Mr. Bennett first mentioned
belonged to the genus Onychoteuthis, or Hooked Cuttle,
so called from the hooks upon the ends of the
tentacles.

FLYING SPIDERS.

The last of the air trespassers for which I have
space are those little spiders which are known as
Gossamer, and which float so plentifully in the air
that they sometimes become very annoying to per-
sons who are out in the open air.

320 PLYING REPTILES, FISHES, AND MOLLUSCS.

The end of summer or the beginning of autumn
is the best time for witnessing this remarkable pheno-
menon. Sometimes the Gossamer threads are so
numerous that a number of them become attached to
each other, and form large, light, flake-like masses.
In the early morning, before the dew is off the grass,
the fields present a wonderfully beautiful appearance,
the ground being covered, as far as the eye can see,
with snowy- white flakes, every line of which is studded
with multitudinous dewdrops glittering in the sun-
beams like rubies, sapphires, and emeralds.

This is one of the many beauties of nature that is
lost by those who do not rise early, and I am quite
sure that no one who has tasted the pleasures of a
country walk just after sunrise will be likely again to
waste the sweet morning hours in bed.

The reader will probably have noticed that I have
mentioned Flying Spiders in the plural, and not the
singular number. The reason is, that the term Gos-
samer Spider is only a general one, which is applicable
to a considerable number of species, mostly while the
creature is still young and light. The mode in which
the ascent is made is as follows : —

The little Spider climbs a branch or plant, or even
a large stone, and raising its abdomen upwards, pro-
ceeds to emit from its spinnerets a fine thread. This
streams upwards in the air, which radiates from the
heated ground, and when the spider feels the upward
pull, it loosens the hold of its feet, and sails away into
the air, than which it and its thread parachute are a
trifle lighter.

As to the mode of its descent, I imagine that to be

FLYING SPIDERS. 321

caused by the deposition on the thread of the moisture
which is floating in the air, and which may be seen on
the threads as I have described, glittering like rows of
gems.

The reason for these aerial excursions is not very
well ascertained, but, in all probability, food has some-
thing to do with it, as if the threads be intercepted
while in the air, and carefully examined, they will often
be found to have captured very minute insects, which
have adhered to their viscid surface. These insects
are so small that they are scarcely visible to the naked
eye, and would, in all probability, not be captured in
any other way. In size they are very suitable to their
captor, who is seldom larger than the tiny spiders
which are popularly called money-spinners, and which
are thought by some persons to bring good luck to
those on whom they may happen to settle.

A very good account of the Gossamer Spiders and
of their flight, may be found in Mr. Blackwall's splendid
work on the British Spiders.

21

CHAPTER XIV.

(Smith 8bpgp&*4r*.

PART I.

TRESPASSERS PROM THE WATER UPON THE EARTH.

I SHALL divide this subject into two portions — namely,
Trespassers upon the Earth,, and Trespassers in the
Earth. The former portion will comprise those re-
markable creatures which breathe by means of gills,
and are properly denizens of the water, but which are
able, by means of a simple modification of the breathing
organs, to exchange the water for the land, and to
live for a considerable time on shore without needing
to return to the water.

We will begin with the celebrated Climbing Perch
(Anabas scandens). This remarkable fish is spread
over a considerable part of Asia, and is tolerably
plentiful in Ceylon.

The reader may remember that I have already men-
tioned, when treating of air trespassers, that the gur-
nard is able to use its large pectoral fins like legs, and

THE CLIMBING PERCH. 323

with their assistance to crawl along the bed of the
tank. In the Climbing Perch, not only the pectoral,
but the ventral fins are used for this purpose, the
sharp points of the rays being very strong, and
enabling the fish to hitch itself along the ground,
much as the snakes do by means of the projecting
edges of their ventral scales.

Aided by these modified fins, the Climbing Perch
is able not only to crawl about on the bed of the river,
but to go ashore and walk on the dry land, travelling
for considerable distances, and making its way over
obstacles which no fish would be thought likely to sur-
mount, and which would be absolutely insurmountable
by many an inhabitant of the land.

We shall presently revert to this part of the
subject.

This modification of the fins is seen to be developed
in a most remarkable manner in the Walking Fish
(Antennarius hispidus), which is shown on Cut 15, just
below the figure of the Climbing Perch. This is one
of a large group of fishes in which the pectoral fins
are set at the end of a pair of arms or legs, caused by
an elongation of the carpal bones. The external aper-
ture of the gills is exceedingly small, being reduced to
a little slit which is so small as almost to escape obser-
vation. The well-known Frog Fish, or Fishing Frog
(Lophius piscatorius) , belongs to this group.

One species, which was obtained by Mr. F. D.
Bennett at Oahu, remained alive for many hours after
it had been taken out of the water. " During this
time, its abdomen and throat remained distended to a
great size ; but previous to death, both air and water

324 EAETH TRESPASSERS.

were evacuated from the mouth, and the body col-
lapsed. Dissection proved that the cavity of the
stomach was the part thus distended. This fish has
no ribs, though it has a very distinct sternum. Its
swim bladder is small, and of ovoid form.

' ' The native name for the fish is 0 obu te tai, or the
Sea Belly, expressive of the power it has of inflating
the abdomen to a large size."

These fishes are all tropical, and are mostly found
upon the vast masses of floating seaweed wldch are so
characteristic of these seas. Their peculiarly formed
leg- like fins aid them in walking over the weeds, and
they are further aided by their power of inflating the
body.

Perhaps the reader may ask for the reason why the
Climbicg Perch should be able to pass so much of its
time upon the land. It is to be found in the climate
and physical geography of the country in which they
live. The climate is hot, and the supply of water is
uncertain. Hence, if fishes are to exist at all, the
conditions of existence demand that they should not
require much water for respiration, that they should be
able to procure that limited supply of water wherever
it may be found, and that the means of transit shall be
supplied to them. If all or any of these conditions be
missing, this group of fishes must perish.

Now in the warmer parts of Asia, where these
fishes most abound, the supply of water is very un-
certain, and the pools become less and less in pro-
portion to the want of rain, sometimes drying up
altogether. Thus, the fish is in the proverbially
unpleasant position of being not only out of water,

CUT 15. — CLIMBING PERCH AND WALKING FISH.

THE CLIMBING PERCH. 325

but without water ; and, if it did not possess some
special modification of structure, it would soon die.

This modification is to be found in a remarkable
apparatus, called, in learned language, the " super-
branchial organ/' a term which I will explain as
simply and briefly as possible.

It is composed, as too many scientific terms are,
of one Latin word and one Greek word. In this case,
the combination of the two signifies something that is
over the gills. If the respiratory apparatus of any of
these fishes be examined, it will be seen to be modified
in rather a remarkable manner. The aperture of the
gills is small and narrow, so that when the fish is out
of the water, there is but little loss of moisture by
evaporation. If the side of the head be opened, a
supplementary apparatus will be found just above the
gills, consisting of a number of very thin plates spring-
ing from one of the bony arches which support the
gills. Between these plates a considerable amount of
water is entangled, and serves to keep the gills moist
while the fish is out of the water.

In fact, there is a remarkable analogy between the
stomachs of the camel and the respiratory apparatus of
the Climbing Perch. In both cases there are excep-
tional conditions which require an exceptional structure.
In both cases the creature has to endure occasional
deprivation of water ; and in both cases it would die
if it did not possess some means of retaining an amount
of moisture sufficient to support life while it seeks for
fresh supplies of water.

Now, the camel has, as all naturalists know, a
stomach which is specially modified for the retention

32G EARTH TRESPASSERS.

of water, so that the animal can at one time take in
enough water to serve it for three days, even in the
dry sands and under the burning sun of the African
desert. Thus provided, the camel is able to pass
through the desert which no other animal could
cross. The springs are very few, and some are several
days' journey from each other; but the camel can
cross the interval between them, sustained by the
internal supply of water, which can be gradually intro-
duced into the system as it is wanted. Here, again*
is another analogy with the blood reservoir of the
whales, which has already been described.

The water pools are to the Climbing Perch what
the springs are to the camel; and so we have the
remarkable fact that a fish is not only able to live out
of water, but to travel over land. Nor is this all that
it can do, for there is no doubt that the fish can not
only travel on land, but can really climb trees. A
report was current many years ago that it did possess
this power ; but it was thought to be one of the many
popular but false notions about living creatures that
had gradually fallen into disbelief.

It is now, however, certain that the Climbing
Perch does ascend the trunks of the palm-trees, for
the purpose of getting at the water which is generally
found lodged at the junction of the leaves with the
stem. In some species of palms this supply of water
is so plentiful that the name of Traveller's Trees has
been given to them. As long as any of these trees
can be found, a traveller need not fear thirst, as all he
has to do is to pierce the base of the leaf, and to hold
a vessel to receive the water which pours from it.

THE CLIMBING PEECH. 327

The Climbing Perch would, therefore, find it no diffi-
cult matter to obtain the small quantity of water
which is needful for filling its respiratory reservoir.
From this remarkable habit, the fish has received the
name of Paneiri, or Tree-climber.

The life led by these fish during the dry season,
is very remarkable. They remain in their pools until
they are so far dried up that nothing but a little mud
is left at the bottom. They then find themselves
obliged to migrate in search of water j and always
choose the early morning for this purpose, so as to
avoid the hot rays of the sun.

In these expeditions they can travel to great
distances, and will pass over very rough ground. The
worst part of their journey is always that which is
nearest the pool. The cattle and wild animals come
to drink, and, as the water is gradually dried up, they
have to wade through the mud, into which their feet
sink, leaving deep holes. The burning rays of the sun
soon dry the mud, and bake it into a mass nearly as
hard as brick ; beside breaking it into wide and deep
cracks. The fishes cannot avoid these cracks, and all that
they can do is to make their way in and out of them.

Mr. Morris, who has supplied much useful informa-
tion on this subject, calculates that in travelling sixty
yards over this ground, the fishes had used sufficient
muscular exertion to have taken them half a mile over
level soil. Many of them lose their lives in these
pits ; not because they cannot climb out of them, but
because the crows, hawks, and other birds pounce
upon them while they are struggling to release them-
selves.

328 EARTH TEESPASSEES.

How they find their way to the water is not known .
Their eyes being so close to the ground, they have but
little range of vision ; so that they cannot guide them-
selves by sight. Perhaps their sense of smell may
have something to do with it ; or they may possess a
sense which is unknown to us, by which they are
guided to the water.

This seems to be the case with the Crustacea, as
regards their food. If a number of shrimps and
prawns are in a tank, and a tiny piece of meat be
gently fplaced in the water and allowed to sink, the
creatures take no notice for some little time. But if
one of them happens to swim across the track of the
meat, it becomes all life and animation ; waves its
antennae here and there, like a dog hunting by scent,
and then, having got on the track, follows it up, and
seizes its food. A piece of shrimp or prawn will do
just as well as any meat, the Crustacea being terrible
cannibals.

If the water were quite still, there would be little
difficulty in understanding that the scent might be left
in it. But at the Crystal Palace aquarium the water
is perpetually driven through the tanks by a steam-
engine, spirting into them with such force that the
water is divided into a number of currents, crossing
each other in all directions, as may be seen by the
myriads of tiny air-bubbles which sparkle in it like
those of newly-opened soda-water. Not a drop of
water remains still for a second. The tiny column of
water through which the piece of food passed, and in
which its scent might have remained, was dispersed
over the entire tank before it escaped at the outlet .

CEABS AS TRESPASSERS. 329

and yet the shrimps gave no sign until they came to
the narrow track of their food. It is possible, there-
fore, that the Climbing Perch may be attracted to the
water by a sense analogous to that which enables the
Crustacea to discover their prey.

The fishes can live for five or six days without a
fresh supply of water, and so have plenty of time in
which to make their migrations. When on shore they
keep the gill-covers open, so that the oxygen of the
atmosphere can play upon them, and they only need
just enough of the water to keep them moist. The
reader will remember that several of our own fish, such
as the carp, can live for several days if kept in wet
moss.

CRABS AS TRESPASSERS.

I suppose that there are few, if any, of my readers
who have not seen living crabs and lobsters on the
marble slab of a fishmonger's shop ; and have, per-
haps, when children, been quite astonished when they
found that lobsters were not red until they were
boiled.

Now these creatures had all been out of the sea for
many hours, and were yet lively and strong, as anyone
could testify who put his finger between their claws.
33 ow was it, then, that they were able to sustain life
under such conditions, while fish which came from the
sea at the same time were all dead ? This is a very
fair and reasonable question, and deserves a definite
answer.

The reader will remember that the climbing

330 EARTH TRESPASSERS.

perch is able to sustain life while out of the water by
an apparatus which keeps the gills moist, and enables
them to perform their functions. A similar provision
is to be found in the crabs and lobsters, although it is
carried out in a different manner, which can be under-
stood by any one who will take the trouble of opening
a lobster.

When the shell of the " head," as it is called, is
removed, there are seen on either side a number of
whitish pointed objects, which go by the popular name
of "lady's fingers," and are rejected as uneatable.
If one of these fingers be removed and bent, it will be
seen to consist of a vast number of delicate plates set
very closely side by side. These are the gills or
respiratory apparatus of the lobster; and, as long as
they are kept moist, the creature can live.

Being protected as they are by that portion of the
shell which encloses them, and is technically known
as the carapace, there is but little evaporation ; while
their great comparative volume enables them to retain
a considerable amount of water. Should they become
at all dry, their moisture "may be renewed by a short
dip in the water, and the animal has another lease of
life.

Not all the Crustacea can thus endure a long
absence from the water ; but there are several species
which can survive without water for many days ; and
there are some which live almost entirely on land, and
only pay occasional visits to the water.

One of this species, the Robber Crab (Birgus latro),
presents a curiously exact parallel to the climbing
perch : not only being able to live for a considerable

THE BOBBER CEAB. 331

time without water, but also possessing the ability to
climb trees, which power it shares with others whose
form seems less adapted for such a feat.

This Crab is found in the various islands of the
Indian Ocean; and is a very odd-looking creature,
appearing something like a compromise between a
lobster, a crab, and a river cray-fish. It has very long
and powerful legs, very large claws, and a very little
abdomen.

It is almost as complete a trespasser as is the
whale or the dolphin, for it passes almost the whole of
its time upon land, and only visits the sea once in
twenty-four hours, when it takes a dip, and then
returns to its home. This home is essentially terres-
trial, for it consists of a deep burrow excavated by the
Crab, and in this retreat it passes the greater part of
its time.

Most of the Crustacea are carnivorous, as is seen in
sea crabs, lobsters, and shrimps, which make short
work of a drowned sailor if they can get at him.
When a disfigured corpse is thrown ashore, the fishes
generally have the credit of the defacement, but it is
really due to the crabs, lobsters, and shrimps. The
reader is perhaps aware that " shell fish/' as they are
called, which are supplied by our fishmongers, have
been caught in traps which were baited with butcher's
offal.

The Robber Crab, however, is vegetarian, and lives
almost entirely on cocoa-nuts.

I have placed this Crab at the head of its kind
because I think it to be the most extraordinary example
of trespassing that can well be imagined. Let the

332 EARTH TEESPASSEES.

reader just imagine himself cast on a desert island
with no tools, with nothing to eat but cocoa-nuts, and
these on the top of a palm-tree which waves about
in every breeze. I know that, under such circum-
stances, nine out of every ten men would starve to
death.

Putting aside the difficulty of climbing the tree,
even if a cocoa-nut happened to fall, they could not
easily get at its contents. Cocoa-nuts, when fresh
from the tree, are surrounded with a thick coating of
hard, matted fibre, which bears about the same rela-
tion to the nut itself as the fruit of a peach does to its
stone. A human being would find himself rather at a
loss to get at the interior of a nut ; and yet the Robber
Crab can supply itself with nuts, and open them as
easily as the attendant at a fishmonger's shop opens
oysters.

Should no nut have fallen, the Crab can climb the
tree and fling the nuts down, descending afterwards to
feed on the banquet which it has provided for itself.
It begins by inserting its claws into the outer coating,
and tearing it away piecemeal. When it has thus ex-
tracted the nut from its covering, it sets to work at
the task of opening it. Anyone who has seen a cocoa-
nut is aware that at one end there are three circular
spots, much softer than the shell of the nut, these
being, in fact, the apertures through which the young
palm plant springs when the nut is buried in the
ground. One of these is much softer than the rest, and
into it the Kobber Crab fixes its claw. Holding the
nut in this manner, the Crab bangs it against a stone,
breaks the shell, and then feasts on the contents.

THE LAND CRAB. 333

Nor is this all. In its burrow, the Crab requires a
bed in order to be comfortable, and this bed it pro-
cures by taking the outer covering of the nut, tearing
it into fibres, and carrying it in bundles into its
burrow. The amount of this fibre which a single Crab
will thus stow away is so great that the Malay sailors
are in the habit of robbing them in order to obtain
material for caulking the seams of their vessels.

As may be supposed from the strength which is
needed in tearing up the outer cover of the nut and
breaking the shell, the Ecbber Crab is a large species.
When full grown it is about two feet in length, and
when it walks it stands a full foot from the ground.
The flesh of these Crabs is considered to be excellent.

The reader may probably be aware that there are
many species of Crab which go under the collective
name of "Land Crab," because, like the preceding
species, they pass the greater part of their time on
land, only visiting the water at intervals for the pur-
pose of moistening the gills. Some of them are so
remarkable for their speed when on shore, that they
have gained the name of Eacer Crabs. They can
easily beat a man on foot, and to capture one of these
creatures is a most difficult task, requiring the assist-
ance of several persons, who drive it backwards and
forwards until it is tired. Being gifted with this
speed of limb, they think nothing of a long journey,
and accordingly make their habitations at a consider-
able distance from the sea. In a favourable spot, the
earth will be absolutely riddled with their burrows,
even though the spot be several miles from the sea.

334 EARTH TRESPASSERS.

Sometimes the locality which is selected is not agree-
able to the human inhabitants of the place. For
example, in several parts of Ceylon, they have chosen
to burrow in the public road, and have become absolute
nuisances. They could not be extirpated, and, in
consequence, a number of labourers were perpetually
employed in filling up all the holes which the Land
Crabs make.

Sometimes they had a grewsome way of choosing
the cemeteries for their burrowing places. As the
flesh of the Land Crab is considered a delicacy, the
European residents are careful in ascertaining the
dwelling-place of the Crabs which are brought to their
tables. The negroes, however, are by no means fas-
tidious, saying, with some justice, "Land Crab eat
black man, black man eat he." For the Land Crabs
follow the general custom of Crustacea, and are car-
nivorous in their nature, eating anything in the way of
animal substances that they can get, so that a dead
negro affords a great feast for them.

These crabs are so completely acclimatized to the
land, that even when they have to cast off" their shells
at the moulting season, they retire to their burrows
for that purpose, block up the entrance, and remain
there until the new shell has hardened.

Perhaps there are a few of my readers who are not
acquainted with the curious Crustacea called Hermit
Crabs, or Soldier Crabs, which inhabit the shells of
dead molluscs, and walk about with perfect ease,
trailing their borrowed habitations behind them. They
are very common along our coasts, and mostly inhabit

THE HERMIT CRAB. 335

the shells of whelks or periwinkles. The dog whelk
is a very favourite shell with them. They are forced
to occupy this curious habitation, because they have
the abdomen quite soft, and without any shelly cover-
ing, so that if they could not procure an artificial pro-
tection, they would be liable to great danger. In order
to enable them to hold themselves firmly in their habi-
tation, they are furnished with some claspers at the
end of the tail.

The boatmen and fishermen of our coasts firmly
believe that the Hermit Crabs are the young of
lobsters, and no amount of reasoning can persuade
them to the contrary.

In our country they never attain any great size, the
whelk being the largest shell that they are likely to
find. In the tropical seas, however, they grow to a
very great size, and inhabit the shores in vast numbers.
We shall see, from the following description by Mr.
F. D. Bennett, in his " Whaling Voyage," that, like
the Robber Crab, which has just been described, the
great Hermit Crabs of the tropics possess the power
of climbing trees. I may here add that the Robber
Crab itself is allied to the Hermit Crabs, but as its tail
is covered with shelly plates, like those of the ordinary
lobster, it does not need any additional protection.

" The entire island is covered with Hermit Crabs,
or Land Lobsters (Ccenobati Sp.), occupying the shells
of Turbo argyrostoma. They bore a general resem-
blance to the largest species of Pagurus we found in
the reef waters of the Society Isles, but different
essentially from it in generic character, as well as in
possessing terrestrial habits.

336

EARTH TRESPASSERS.

" The anterior and crustaceous portion of the
animal (or that usually protruded from its tenement),
is bright red, while the posterior and covered part of
the body is flaccid, and of a yellow colour. The left
forceps claw is larger than the right, though both are
shorter than the first pair of legs ; the eyes (ophthalmic
peduncles) are long, and admirably adapted to afford
a wide range of vision when the Coenobita is closely
retracted within the shell it inhabits.

' ' Their odour is peculiar and disagreeable.

" They were for the most part assembled in dense
crowds, beneath bushes, or in shallow excavations at
the roots of trees ; though some of them, notwith-
standing the cumbrous shells they carried, were clus-
tered on the branches or in the crevices of trees. It
was evident that, with- the assistance of their forceps
claws, they could climb a perpendicular height with
great facility.

"It is a curious fact, that the most unique and
elegant univalve sea shell in my collection was
gathered from the branch of a tree, whither it had
been conveyed by one of these creatures. When
alarmed, they retreated, bearing their shells with
them, but if touched, they shrank into the cavity of
their dwellings and remained motionless. They some-
times, though very rarely, used their forceps in self-
defence. When irritated, they produce a shrill croak,
alternating with a rapid succession of sipping sounds.

"We preserved several of them alive for many
weeks. They ate both animal and vegetable sub-
stance, as fish, land crabs, yams, and cocoa-nut. It
was amusing to see them feed, uipping off, with much

THE HERMIT CRAB. 337

nicety, a portion of the food with their forceps, and
carrying it to their mouth, where it was received by
the two small appendages in front of that organ.

" Night was their most busy time. When removed
from their borrowed tenements., they easily regained
them, and resumed their former position, while the
vast number of empty shells strewn over the land
indicated how frequently they changed their habitation
during their progress to a mature growth."

In some places the shore is so covered with these
Hermit Crabs, that when they are alarmed, and scuttle
off for shelter, they make a great rattling as they
bump their temporary house over the stones and
among the empty shells which are strewn upon the
shore.

In connection with the land-trespassing powers of
the climbing perch and other fishes, it may here be
mentioned that the Eels have great power, not only of
existing on land, but of travelling over it. They
wriggle themselves along with a sinuous movement
like that of the serpent tribe, and can proceed for a
considerable distance and with tolerable speed. They
appear to prefer the early dawn for their migration,
probably because the dew is still on the ground, and
moistens the grass through which they thread their
way.

The power of living out of the water is due to a
modification of the breathing apparatus, which is
identical in principle, if not in details of structure, to
that which produces the same effect in the fishes and
Crustacea which we have lately examined. For the

22

338 EARTH TRESPASS BBS.

Eel, indeed, such a structure is absolutely necessary,
and that for the same reason which makes it useful in
the climbing perch.

Although the Eels live much in rivers, they find a
larger supply of food in ponds and ditches than in
rivers; and accordingly, such places are generally
well stocked with Eels. For example, not far from
my house there is a little^ muddy, narrow ditch,
scarcely seven or eight feet wide, running parallel
with the Thames, and only divided from it by the
river wall. This ditch is a favourite resort for Eels,
which find their way into it through the channels by
which the ditch communicates with the river ; and,
being there, prefer their new quarters.

Such fortunate Eels as these would not need to
migrate. Being able to exist in salt water as well as
in fresh, they do not feel themselves discommoded
by the sea water which flows into their ditches every
tide. They have plenty of frogs and aquatic inhabit-
ants for food ; and, owing to its connection with the
river, the ditch never runs dry.

But it is a different business when the Eel gets
'into ponds unconnected with springs, or into ditches
that have no communication with rivers. In a time of
lengthened drought they are sure to dry up, and then
the Eels must perish, unless they could find some way
of travelling to the water. Accordingly, the power of
existing without water for a time is given to them by
the modification of the breathing organs ; while the
means of transit is afforded by the sinuous movement
of the snake-like body.

On Cut 1 7, two species of Eel are shown, the upper

THE EELS. 339

figure representing the River Eel, and the lower, the
marine Conger Bel. In the opinion of fishermen, the
power of existing out of the water is anything but
agreeable to them ; for the Conger lashes so furiously
with its tail, and snaps so fiercely with its powerful
jaws, that if it be a large one, they are obliged to
kill it before they dare to haul it on board.

Mention may also be made here of the curious little
West Indian fishes called by the name of Four-Eyes,
in which an adaptation of the organs of vision exists
similar to that found in the Whirlwig beetle. When
undisturbed, they seem to spend more of their time
ashore than in the water, lying stranded on the shallow
bank as shown in Cut 16. If alarmed, they scuttle
into the water, returning in shoals to land as soon as
the cause of their fear is removed.

PART II.

TRESPASSERS WITHIN THE EARTH.

We now come to the second division of this subject,
namely, those creatures which pass most or a con-
siderable portion of their time under the surface of the
ground, and resort there for food or safety, or both.
The actual proprietors of the dominion of Earth, we
may take to be these annelids, of which the common

340 EARTH TRESPASSERS.

Earth-worm of the land, and the Lug- worm of the sea,
may be accepted as typical examples.

The animal which at once suggests itself to the
mind is that which not only shares the domain of
earth with the worms, but feeds upon them, and there-
fore must be able to follow them wherever they go,
namely, the common Mole. This animal has long
been such a favourite of mine, and its life has always
appeared to me to be so exceedingly wonderful, that I
have already written much about it, and do not wish to
repeat myself. I will therefore restrict myself entirely
to the modifications of structure which enable it to
trespass upon the domain of earth.

It is evident that the first requisite for an earth
burrower is the possession of effective digging tools,
and these are found in the two fore legs of the Mole.
The hind legs are quite insignificant and feeble, all
their strength seeming to have been lent to the front
pair of limbs. In them, the bones are short, strong,
and there is a supplementary bone at the shoulder,
which affords attachment to the muscles used in
digging, as well as giving a powerful leverage.

Then the shape and general structure of the fore
paws, armed with their formidable nails, is worthy of
notice, as producing a digging tool which is almost, if
not quite, unrivalled. The muscular strength pos-
sessed by the Mole can hardly be estimated until the
creature be taken in the hand.

This, however, is a dangerous experiment if the
animal is to be kept alive; for it uses all its great
power in its efforts to escape ; the strong muscles
being plainly felt as they work under the skin, and

THE MOLE. 341

the creature can hardly be detained without holding it
tightly. This, however, is sure to kill the Mole,
which is curiously sensitive to a grasp round the waist ;
and, although no signs of injury can be detected,
the animal is sure to die before many hours have
elapsed. It is a strangely delicate animal ; and, in
spite of the ferocity, and even the fury of its dispo-
sition, seems to have but little hold on life.

Only a few days before writing this account, a
professional mole-catcher brought me a fine specimen.
Not having by me a large box or tub in which I could
put some earth, I placed the animal in a box which
had been filled with specimens of auriferous quartz
from Brazil. Some of the dust was still left in the
corners, and this appeared to be fatal to the Mole,
which ran about with great fussiness, poking its long,
mobile muzzle into each corner, and seeming to be
quite distressed at the dust.

Its movements became perceptibly slower; and
before an hour had elapsed, the Mole was dead. It
would not even touch one of the worms for which I
sent the gardener as soon as it arrived ; and, from that
unwonted abstinence, I augured bad things ; the Mole
generally flying at a worm as if it were mad.'

By what sense the animal .is able to trace its prey,
or how it can manage to find its way through the
innumerable tunnels which it drives, at all kinds of
levels, are two problems which have hitherto remained
unsolved. Anyone who has seen a worm jerk itself
into its hole, can appreciate the quickness with which
it can pass through its narrow tunnel ; and it certainly
is a mystery to me how the Mole can manage to

342 EARTH TRESPASSERS.

capture the worms. These annelids are slow movers
on the surface of the earth ; but in their holes they
move like lightning, being aided by the stiff, bristly
hairs that project from the many rings of which the
body is composed, and which are set against the sides
of the tunnel.

When, for example, the worms come to the surface,
they do not leave their holes entirely, but always keep
the end of the tail within the hole, stretching the body
as far as possible in all directions. If under these
circumstances they are alarmed, they spring back with
such rapidity, that the eye can scarcely follow the
movement. That there is some sort of a pursuing on
the part of the Mole, and flight on that of the worm,
is, I think, obvious from the fact that whenever the
earth is agitated, either by stamping on it, or by
driving a spade into the ground and moving it back-
wards and forwards, the worms come to the surface,
evidently in flight from their enemy the Mole. The
reader will see, therefore, how difficult must be the
task of the Mole. And this difficulty is increased
when we reflect upon the furiously raging appetite of
the Mole, and the great number of worms which it
devours in the course of a day.

The next point is its ability of finding its way
through the maze of dark tunnels which it constructs.
Even if they were not dark, there would be no means
of distinguishing one from the other, all being exactly
alike. I suppose that the action of gravity tells the
Mole the way to the upper earth ; but I have not the
least idea how it can find its way to the elaborate
subterranean fortress which it constructs under the

CUT 18. — MOLE AND SLEPEZ.

THE SLEPEZ. 343

roots of some tree or bush, and from which its tunnels
radiate in all directions.

A figure of the Mole is given on Cut 18.

That the title of blind is often applied, though
wrongly, to the Mole, is familiarly known. That
animal, however, does possess a pair of veritable eyes,
very tiny, but still eyes, may be seen by blowing
away the fur.

But in the Slepez, sometimes called the Mole Rat
(Spalax typJdus), the external eyes are absolutely
wanting, being represented by a couple of little black
specks under the skin. The Slepez, like the Mole,
passes a subterranean life, and seems never to come to
the surface of the earth except to bask in the sun. Even
in that case, it imitates the worm in remaining close
to its burrow, into which it plunges at the least alarm.

There is one great distinction between the Mole
and the Slepez. The food of the former is wholly of
an animal nature ; while that of the latter is, as far as
is. known, wholly of a vegetable nature. As the Mole
feeds upon the worms which it captures under ground,
so does the Slepez feed upon the roots of plants ; both
animals procuring their food without showing them-
selves above the surface of the ground. Whether or
not the Slepez can be reckoned as beautiful, is a
mooted point. That the Mole is one of the most
useful wild animals in our country is now recognized ;
inasmuch as it does not damage the crops j and it;
renders inestimable service in admitting air and rain
into the earth, as well as bringing fresh soil from
below, and placing it on the surface, where it acts as

344

EARTH TRESPASSERS.

a "top-dressing." In these latter respects the two
animals are tolerably equal; but it may be said
against the Slepez, that the good which it does in
removing the soil is counterbalanced by the harm
which it does in devouring the roots.

There is a very remarkable animal which was, I
believe, discovered by the laie Mr. J. K. Lord in
British Columbia, or, at all events, he was the first to
notice its habits. It is an insectivorous mammal,
about as large as an ordinary shrew-mouse. Like the
Slepez, it has no eyes, and apparently possesses but
little sense of hearing, all sensation seeming to be
comprised in its nose. This again is very much elon-
gated, and, according to Mr. Lord, " is terminated in
a naked, fleshy kind of a bulb gland, and this gland is
pierced by two minute holes, which are the nostrils.
Each nostril has a little fold of membrane hanging
down over it like a shutter, effectually preventing sand
and minute particles of dust from getting into the nose
while digging. It belongs to the genus Urotrichus.

This animal has a central house something like
that of the mole, and from that it cuts a number of
radiating tunnels, having frequent openings into the air.
Mr. Lord is of opinion that these tunnels are simply
used as roadways, not as means of obtaining food.

Mr. Lord's account of the habits of this animal is
so graphic that I cannot resist the temptation of trans-
ferring a portion of it to these pages, for a better
description of the life of an earth trespasser can hardly
be found.

" As he digs out the tunnel with his trowel hands,

THE SLEPEZ. 345

he throws back the earth towards his hind feet.
These, from their peculiar shape, enable him to back
this dirt out of the hole, using them like two scrapers,
only that he pushes the dirt away instead of pulling
it towards himself. Having backed the dirt clear of
the mouth of the hole, he throws it out over the edge
of the open cutting. After having dug some distance,
and finding, I dare say, the labour of backing out
rather irksome, he digs up through the ground to the
surface, makes another open cutting, and then begins
a new hole or tunnel, and disappears into the earth
again. When he has gone as far from his dormitory
as he deems wise, he again digs through, and clears
away the rubbish. This road is now complete, so he
goes back again to his central mansion, to begin
others at his leisure.

" He is a night-feeder, and exposed to terrible
dangers from the various small carnivova that prowl
about like bandits in the dark — stoats, weasels, mar-
tens, and skunks. So to avoid and escape these
enemies, he comes quietly along the subterranean
roadways, and cautiously emerging at the open
cutting, feels about with his wonderful nose ; and, I
doubt not, guided by a sense of smell, pounces upon
larvae, slugs, beetles, or any nocturnal creeping thing
he can catch ; and so traversing his different hunting
trails during the night, manages in that way to fare
sumptuously and safe from danger.

"It is scarcely possible to imagine a more skilfully
contrived hunting system, to avoid danger and facili-
tate escape, than are these tunnel trails with open
cuttings. For the shy little hunter has, on the slightest

346 EAKTH TRESPASSERS.

alarm, two means of flight at his disposal, one before
and another behind him, and the fur, lying as evenly
when smoothed from tail to head as it does when
turned in the natural direction, enables him to turn
astern, and retreat, tail first, into his hole, as easily as
he would go head first.

"When we contemplate this grotesque and
strangely formed little creature, and see how wisely
and wonderfully it is fashioned and adapted to its
destined place, supplying another link in the great
chain of Nature, we cannot but feel God's power and
omnipresence.

" Feeding in the dark, and living in the dark, eyes
would have been superfluous. Sound, save from
vibration in the earth, or when hunting at the open
cuttings, would seldom reach the tiny hermits. Hence,
the hearing organs have no external appendage for
catching sounds, and are but in a rudimentary form.

" Hands fashioned with marvellous digging tools,
and hind feet turned into scrapers, for getting rid of
the rubbish dug out with the hands ; nose possessing
smell and touch in their most exquisite forces ;— these
serve him for guides of unerring certainty and unde-
viating precision through his darksome wanderings."

There are many other earth- trespassing animals
which I should well like to describe, but must omit,
on account of our fast -waning space. I cannot, how-
ever, but mention that extraordinary little being, the
Pichiciago of Chili (Chlamyphorus truncatus), which is
at the same time one of the rarest and the most
curious of the mammalia.

THE PICHICIAGO. 347

It is a little bit of a creature, only a few inches in
length, and possessing a suit of shelly armour much
like that of the armadillo, except that the hind
quarters are also covered with shelly plates. Beneath
the shell, if we may so call it, there is a coating of
shining yellow hair, looking very much like floss silk.

There are two points about this remarkable animal
which are worthy of notice, the one being the mode
in which the hind quarters are protected, and the other
the manner in which the shelly covering is affixed to
the body.

As to the first point, there is a curious and very
striking analogy between the armour of the Pichiciago
and the shell of the testacella slug. This creature feeds
on worms, which it follows down their holes, and in
order to be protected from any foe that might follow it in
the rear, it has a small shell on the end of its tail. This
shell prevents the slug from being assailed from behind,
and is clearly analogous to the armour of the Pichiciago.

The next point is the mode of affixing the shelly
plates. In most mammals which possess similar
armour, such as the armadillo, the manis, etc., the
armour is a mere growth from the skin, and can be
removed with the skin. But in the Pichiciago, we
have the remarkable fact that the framework which
supports the horny armour is attached to the skeleton,
as may be seen by examining the specimen to be seen
in the British Museum.

As to the partial earth trespassers among the
mammalia, they are far too many to be described, or
even enumerated. I will therefore merely content

348 EARTH TRESPASSERS.

myself with mentioning a few which are inhabitants of
our country, and which are represented on Plate VI.

On the upper part of the plate is shown the
common Badger, which was once so plentiful in Eng-
land, and is now so rare, the progress of agriculture
having driven it from so many spots where once it
dwelt in safety.

Next comes the Fox, another of the partial earth
trespassers. Like the Badger, the Fox remains in its
tunnel, or " earth," as it is popularly called, during
the day, and only issues forth at night for the purpose
of procuring food.

Then there are the Eabbits, which, as far as earth
trespassing goes, have many of the habits of the
badger and the fox, except that their food is of a
vegetable and not an animal nature.

Although they are not so strictly nocturnal as the
two preceding animals, they always prefer the very
early morning or the evening dusk for issuing from
their burrows. I scarcely know a prettier sight than
that of the Rabbits somewhere about sunrise on a
summer's day. They are not accustomed to be dis-
turbed at that time, and, in consequence, play about
with a freedom which they scarcely ever assume at any
other time of day.

Lastly, we have the Field Mice, which are by no
means nocturnal, like their fellows the house mice, but
boldly leave their burrows and search for food in
broad day, trusting to the manner in which their hues
blend with those of the ground, the resemblance being
so perfect that scarcely any eye but that of the kestrel
can detect them.

PLATE VI.

FOX, BADGER, RABBIT, AND FIELD MOUSE.

TERMITES. 349

I shall end this work with brief descriptions of
two remarkable earth trespassers among the insects,
both of which are popularly called Ants, though, they
are as far apart as are the cat and the rabbit.

Yet, diverse as they are in the scale of creation,
their resemblance to each other, both in appearance
and habits, is extraordinarily close. I have now before
me a box full of Termites and Travelling Ants, and I
am quite sure that no one who was not a practical
entomologist could distinguish between the Termites
and the Ants. In both there are the remarkable gra-
dations of soldier and labourer ; in both there is the
dislike to light; and in both there is the habit of
constructing for t themselves habitations which shall
keep from them the unwelcome rays of the sun.

We will first take the Termites.

The illustration on Cut 1 9 represents a portion of
the nest laid open, and is drawn from a specimen in
the British Museum.

I have not space to relate the whole of the won-
derful life led by the various species of Termite, inas-
much as the whole of the present volume would not
suffice for such a biography. Suffice it to say that all
the Termites have the strongest objection to light,
and that they have various ways of protecting them-
selves from it. Some of them build galleries for
themselves, while some are content to burrow into
wood and similar substances, sometimes even boring
into trees, and eating out the whole of the interior,
and leaving nothing but a thin shell.

As an example of the manner in which the Ter-

350

EARTH TKESPA.SSERS.

mites will burrow into a tree until it is nothing but a
shell, I may mention an adventure which befel Mr. E.
Sullivan, and which is related by him in his work,
" The Bungalow and the Tent."

He had disturbed an elephant, which charged
fiercely, and very nearly caught him. At last he
saw a fairly sized tree, from which hung a " bush-

cur XX. — TEAVELLING ANTS.

rope," one of the creeping plants of which the jungle
is so full. He sprung at the rope, ascended about
twenty feet, and had the satisfaction of seeing the
elephant pass beneath him and lose the track.

"It was not until I had descended from my retreat
that I was aware of the actual danger I had escaped.
The tree was entirely hollowed out and consumed by

TRAVELLING ANTS. 351

the White Ant, and nothing but the shell remained.
Had I been a stone or two heavier, it is probable it
would not have borne me, and as it was, if the elephant
had seen me and pulled at the tree, it would have
crumbled down like so much paper/'

It has often happened that travellers have casually
snapped a branch of a tree, and have been very much
surprised at being covered with Termites which have
issued from it.

Now as to the Travelling Ants, which are shown
in the illustration. These creatures act, when on the
march, just as do soldiers when pushing their way
towards a battery. They always keep themselves
under cover, and in a most extraordinary manner, and
with wonderful speed, build covered galleries, under
the shelter of which they can proceed unmolested by
the unwelcome light.

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