A Traveller's Experience. Captain Steadman, in his "Narrative of a Five Years' Expedition against the Revolted Negroes of Surinam," relates, that on waking about four o'clock one morning in his hammock, he was extremely alarmed at finding himself weltering in congealed blood, and without feeling any pain whatever. "The mystery was," continues Captain Steadman, "that I had been bitten by the Vampyre or Spectre of Guiana, which is also called the Flying Dog of New Spain, and by the Spaniards, Perrovolador. This is no other than a bat of monstrous size, that sucks the blood from men and cattle while they are fast asleep, even sometimes till they die; and as the manner in which they proceed is truly wonderful, I shall endeavour to give a distinct account of it. Knowing, by instinct, that the person they intend to attack is in a sound slumber, they generally alight near the feet, where, while the creature continues fanning with his enormous wings, which keeps one cool, he bites a piece out of the tip of the great toe, so very small, indeed, that the head of a pin could scarcely be received into the wound, which is consequently not painful; yet through this orifice he continues to suck the blood until he is obliged to disgorge. Cattle they generally bite in the ear, but always in places where the blood flows spontaneously."
Megaderma Lyra. The Vampire Bat of South America has long been credited with sanguinivorous habits, and until recently was supposed to be the only bat having such propensities. Mr. Edward Blyth has, however, shown that the Megaderma Lyra of Asia will sometimes prey upon the smaller species of bat with which it comes in contact. Mr. Blyth, one evening, observed a rather large bat of this species enter an outhouse, whereupon he procured a light, closed the door to prevent escape and then proceeded to catch the intruder. In the chase the bat dropped what Mr. Blyth at first took to be a young one, but which proved to be a small Vespertilio Bat, "feeble from loss of blood, which it was evident the Megaderma had been sucking from a large, and still bleeding, wound under and behind the ear." As the Megaderma had not alighted while in the outhouse, Mr. Blyth concluded "that it sucked the vital current from its victim as it flew, having probably seized it on the wing, and that it was seeking a quiet nook where it might devour the body at leisure." Having caught the Megaderma Mr. Blyth kept both specimens until the next day, and having examined each separately put them both into a cage, whereupon the Megaderma attacked the smaller bat "with the ferocity of a tiger"; finding it impossible to escape the cage "it hung by the hind legs to one side of its prison, and after sucking the victim till no more blood was left commenced devouring it, and soon left nothing but the head and some portions of the limbs." "The voidings observed shortly afterwards in its cage," says Mr. Blyth, "resembled clotted blood, which will explain the statement of Steadman and others concerning masses of congealed blood being observed near a patient who has been attacked by a South American vampire."
ORDER III.
Insect-Eating Animals. Insect-eating animals (Insectivora) include several families, of which the hedgehogs, the moles and the shrews, are the best known genera. The Colugo is perhaps the most singular member of the order. According to some writers his proper place is among the lemurs, and except that his feet are adorned with claws instead of nails, it is easy to understand why he might be classed with the quadrumana. The Colugo is covered from head to foot by a furry membrane, resembling an overcoat open in front and ending in a three cornered flap at the tail.
The Hedgehog. The family of the hedgehog contains two genera and a number of species. Its length is from six to ten inches; the head, back, and sides being covered with short spines, the under parts with soft hair. It lives in thickets, and subsists on fruits, roots, and insects. During the winter, it lies imbedded in moss, or dried leaves, in a state of torpidity. It inhabits Europe, Asia and Africa. It is valuable in the garden for destroying the insects, and in the kitchen for the extermination of cockroaches, beetles and other household pests. For defence, it rolls itself into a ball in such a manner as to present its prickly spines on all sides. In this condition it can suffer considerable violence without injury. Mr. Bell mentions a hedgehog that was in the habit of running to the edge of an area wall twelve or fourteen feet high, and without a moment's pause, leap over, contracting into a ball as he fell, and in this form reaching the ground, where it quietly unfolded itself as if nothing had happened and ran on its way. It is nocturnal in its habits and in its natural state lives in pairs. It is easily tamed. A hedgehog has been trained to serve as a turnspit "as well," says Captain Brown, "in all respects as the dog of that denomination. In a wild state it has been known to attack and kill a leveret. In attacking a snake it will roll itself up between its bites and thus protect itself against retaliation.
The Mole. The family of the Talpidæ to which the mole belongs is a large and interesting one. The common mole "when at rest," says the author of "Tales of Animals," "bears more resemblance to a small stuffed sack than to a living animal, its head being entirely destitute of external ears, and elongated nearly to a point, and its eyes so extremely small and completely hidden by the fur, that it would not be surprising should a casual observer conclude it to be blind. This apparently shapeless mass is endowed with great activity and a surprising degree of strength, and is excellently suited for deriving enjoyment from the peculiar life it is designed to lead. It is found abundantly in Europe and North America, from Canada to Virginia; often living at no great distance from water-courses, or in dykes thrown up to protect meadows from inundation. The mole burrows with great quickness, and travels under ground with much celerity; nothing can be better constructed for this purpose than its broad and strong hands, or fore paws, armed with long and powerful claws, which are very sharp at their extremities, and slightly curved on the inside. Numerous galleries, communicating with each other, enable the mole to travel in various directions, without coming to the surface, which they appear to do very rarely, unless their progress is impeded by a piece of ground so hard as to defy their strength and perseverance. The depth of their burrows depends very materially on the character of the soil, and the situation of the place; sometimes running for a great distance, at a depth of from one to three inches, and sometimes much deeper. Moles are most active early in the morning, at midday, and in the evening; after rains they are particularly busy in repairing their damaged galleries; and in long continued wet weather we find that they seek the high grounds for security."
An Enterprising Mole. Though as Captain Brown points out nothing is more fatal to the mole than excessive rain, which fills their subterranean galleries with water; the following statement made by Mr. A. Bruce in the Linnæan Transactions, shows that the animal is not without enterprise on the water:—"On visiting the Loch of Clunie, which I often did, I observed in it a small island at the distance of one hundred and eighty yards from the nearest land, measured to be so upon the ice. Upon the island, the Earl of Airly, the proprietor, has a castle and small shrubbery. I remarked frequently the appearance of fresh mole casts, or hills. I for some time took them for those of the water mouse, and one day asked the gardener if it was so. No, said he, it was the mole; and that he had caught one or two lately. Five or six years ago, he caught two in traps; and for two years after this he had observed none. But, about four years ago, coming ashore one summer's evening in the dusk, with the Earl of Airly's butler, they saw at a short distance, upon the smooth water, some animal paddling towards the island. They soon closed with this feeble passenger, and found it to be the common mole, led by a most astonishing instinct from the castle hill, the nearest point of land, to take possession of this desert island. It had been, at the time of my visit, for the space of two years quite free from any subterraneous inhabitant; but the mole has, for more than a year past, made its appearance again, and its operations I have since been witness to."
The Use of the Mole. The use of the mole is often said to be far outweighed by the mischief he perpetrates, the truth appearing to be that like many other animals, in his own place he is valuable, out of it he is a source of danger. Both conditions are illustrated by the following, which I quote from Mrs. Bowdich's "Anecdotes of Animals."
"A French naturalist of the name of Henri Lecourt devoted a great part of his life to the study of the habits and structure of moles; and he tells us that they will run as fast as a horse will gallop. By his observations he rendered essential service to a large district in France; for he discovered that numbers of moles had undermined the banks of a canal, and that unless means were taken to prevent the catastrophe, these banks would give way, and inundation would ensue. By his ingenious contrivances and accurate knowledge of their habits, he contrived to extirpate them before the occurrence of further mischief. Moles, however, are said to be excellent drainers of land; and Mr. Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd, used to declare that if a hundred men and horses were employed to dress a pasture farm of 1500 or 2000 acres, they would not do it as effectually as moles would do, if left to themselves."
The Shrew. The shrew family is a large one and widely distributed over the surface of the earth. The common shrew (Sorex vulgaris) is that best known in England. It resembles the mouse in general form and varies in size and colour, its usual length, including the tail being about four and a half inches. Its body is moderately full, its neck short, its head tapering to a pointed snout, the fore-feet small, the hind-feet larger and the tail shorter than the body. The shrew is generally found either in burrows, or among heaps of stones, or in holes made by other animals; near dung heaps or hayricks, they are more numerous than elsewhere. Insects are their principal subsistence, but they seem no less fond of grain, and show a pig's predilection for filth of various sorts. Its principal enemies are the Kestrel and the Barn Owl. A superstition to the effect that if the shrew should run over the legs of a cow or a horse while reposing on the grass it causes lameness, is also responsible for the destruction of many by ignorant country folk. One species of the shrew enjoys the reputation of being the smallest living mammal; it is but an inch and a half long with a tail of an inch in length. The water shrew is somewhat larger than the common shrew attaining to a length of five and a half inches including the tail. The water shrew colonises on the banks of rivers.
ORDER IV.
Flesh-eating Animals. The order of flesh-eating animals (carnivora) includes a large number of species among which are the lion, the tiger and the leopard, as well as the cat and the dog. The two sub-orders into which this order is divided are: I, The Fissipedia, and II, The Pinnipedia. The Fissipedia are again divided into ten families; lions, cats, dogs, hyenas, weasels, and bears being the most important members. The Pinnipedia includes the seal, the sea lion, the walrus and their allies.