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diff --git a/42414-0.txt b/42414-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..136c301 --- /dev/null +++ b/42414-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,20550 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 42414 *** + +[Illustration: TROPICAL AMERICAN HUMMING-BIRDS] + + + + + YOUNG FOLKS' TREASURY + + In 12 Volumes + + HAMILTON WRIGHT MABIE + _Editor_ + + EDWARD EVERETT HALE + _Associate Editor_ + + + The Animal World + + A Book of Natural History + + + _By_ + THEODORE WOOD + + _Edited by_ + ERNEST INGERSOLL + + + VOLUME V + + + NEW YORK + THE UNIVERSITY SOCIETY INC. + _Publishers_ + + + + + COPYRIGHT, 1909, BY + THE UNIVERSITY SOCIETY INC. + + + + +PARTIAL LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS, ASSISTANT EDITORS AND ADVISERS + + HAMILTON WRIGHT MABIE + _Editor_ + + EDWARD EVERETT HALE + _Associate Editor_ + + +NICHOLAS MURRAY BUTLER, President Columbia University. + +WILLIAM R. HARPER, Late President Chicago University. + +HON. THEODORE ROOSEVELT, Ex-President of the United States. + +HON. GROVER CLEVELAND, Late President of the United States. + +JAMES CARDINAL GIBBONS, American Roman Catholic prelate. + +ROBERT C. OGDEN, Partner of John Wanamaker. + +HON. GEORGE F. HOAR, Late Senator from Massachusetts. + +EDWARD W. BOK, Editor "Ladies' Home Journal." + +HENRY VAN DYKE, Author, Poet, and Professor of English Literature, +Princeton University. + +LYMAN ABBOTT, Author, Editor of "The Outlook." + +CHARLES G. D. ROBERTS, Writer of Animal Stories. + +JACOB A. RIIS, Author and Journalist. + +EDWARD EVERETT HALE, Jr., English Professor at Union College. + +JOEL CHANDLER HARRIS, Late Author and Creator of "Uncle Remus." + +GEORGE GARY EGGLESTON, Novelist and Journalist. + +RAY STANNARD BAKER, Author and Journalist. + +WILLIAM BLAIKIE, Author of "How to Get Strong and How to Stay So." + +WILLIAM DAVENPORT HULBERT, Writer of Animal Stories. + +JOSEPH JACOBS, Folklore Writer and Editor of the "Jewish Encyclopedia." + +MRS. VIRGINIA TERHUNE ("Marion Harland"), Author of "Common Sense in the +Household," etc. + +MARGARET E. SANGSTER, Author of "The Art of Home-Making," etc. + +SARAH K. BOLTON, Biographical Writer. + +ELLEN VELVIN, Writer of Animal Stories. + +REV. THEODORE WOOD, F. E. S., Writer on Natural History. + +W. J. BALTZELL, Editor of "The Musician." + +HERBERT T. WADE, Editor and Writer on Physics. + +JOHN H. CLIFFORD, Editor and Writer. + +ERNEST INGERSOLL, Naturalist and Author. + +DANIEL E. WHEELER, Editor and Writer. + +IDA PRENTICE WHITCOMB, Author of "Young People's Story of Music," +"Heroes of History," etc. + +MARK HAMBOURG, Pianist and Composer. + +MME. BLANCHE MARCHESI, Opera Singer and Teacher. + + + + +CONTENTS + + + PAGE + + Introduction xi + + CHAPTER + + I Apes and Gibbons 1 + + II Baboons 7 + + III The American Monkeys and the Lemurs 16 + + IV The Bats 26 + + V The Insect-Eaters 33 + + VI The Larger Cats 47 + + VII The Smaller Cats 60 + + VIII The Civets, the Aard-Wolf, and the Hyenas 68 + + IX The Dog Tribe 78 + + X The Weasel Tribe 91 + + XI The Bear Tribe 102 + + XII The Seal Tribe 113 + + XIII The Whale Tribe 121 + + XIV The Rodent Animals 136 + + XV The Wild Oxen 157 + + XVI Giraffes, Deer, Camels, Zebras, Asses, + and Horses 179 + + XVII The Elephants, Rhinoceroses, + Hippopotamuses, and Wild Swine 201 + + XVIII Edentates, or Toothless Mammals 212 + + XIX The Marsupials 218 + + XX Birds of Prey 232 + + XXI Cuckoos, Nightjars, Humming-Birds, + Woodpeckers, and Toucans 243 + + XXII Crows, Birds of Paradise, and Finches 254 + + XXIII Wagtails, Shrikes, Thrushes, etc. 263 + + XXIV Parrots, Pigeons, Pea-Fowl, Pheasants, etc. 273 + + XXV Ostriches, Herons, Cranes, Ibises, etc. 281 + + XXVI Swimming Birds 291 + + XXVII Tortoises, Turtles, and Lizards 299 + + XXVIII Snakes 311 + + XXIX Amphibians 321 + + XXX Fresh-water Fishes 326 + + XXXI Salt-water Fishes 337 + + XXXII Insects 354 + + XXXIII Insects (_continued_) 369 + + XXXIV Spiders and Scorpions 387 + + XXXV Crustaceans 397 + + XXXVI Sea-Urchins, Starfishes, and Sea-Cucumbers 409 + + XXXVII Mollusks 414 + + XXXVIII Annelids and Coelenterates 427 + + Walks with a Naturalist 437 + + Nature-study at the Seaside 457 + + Our Wicked Waste of Life 487 + + INDEX 497 + +(_Much of the material in this volume is published by permission of +E. P. Dutton & Company, New York City, owners of American rights._) + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS + + + TROPICAL AMERICAN HUMMING-BIRDS _Frontispiece_ + + FACING PAGE + + TYPES OF APES AND MONKEYS 6 + + PHOTOGRAPHIC PORTRAITS OF MONKEYS 16 + + FOUR GREAT CATS 48 + + SOME FIERCE CATS 64 + + A WOLFISH GROUP 80 + + TYPES OF FUR-BEARERS 96 + + TYPES OF BEARS 128 + + TYPES OF RODENTS 144 + + FOUR TYPES OF CATTLE 156 + + WILD SHEEP AND GOATS 164 + + GOATS AND GOAT-ANTELOPES 166 + + TYPES OF ANTELOPES 176 + + THE ANTLERED DEER 184 + + CHILDREN'S PETS AT THE ZOO 189 + + WILD RELATIVES OF THE HORSE 196 + + PACHYDERMS AND TAPIR 206 + + TYPES OF MARSUPIALS 220 + + TYPICAL BIRDS OF PREY 232 + + FOUR HANDSOME BIRDS 253 + + FINCHES AND WEAVER-BIRDS 262 + + AMERICAN INSECT-EATING SONG-BIRDS 272 + + GAUDY TROPICAL BIRDS 276 + + AMERICAN GAME-BIRDS 280 + + FOUR GREAT GAME-BIRDS 280 + + AMERICAN WADING BIRDS 298 + + TYPES OF WATER-BIRDS 298 + + CHARACTERISTIC FORMS AND MARKINGS OF AMERICAN + BIRDS EGGS 298 + + NORTH AMERICAN FOOD AND GAME FISHES 336 + + INSECTS INJURIOUS TO AMERICAN MAPLE-TREES 368 + + LEAF-EATING INSECTS OF SHADE-TREES 386 + + LIFE ON THE SEA-BOTTOM 413 + + NORTH AMERICAN SEED-EATING SONG-BIRDS 442 + + CHICKADEE AND WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH 456 + + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +This volume is a sketch of the animal life of the whole world. More than +a sketch it could not be in the space at the author's command; but he +has so skilfully selected his examples to illustrate both the natural +groups and the faunas which they represent, that his work forms a most +commendable ground-plan for the study of natural history. + +Few writers have been so successful in handling this subject. His style +is singularly attractive to the young readers whom he has in view; yet +he does not depart from accuracy, nor exaggerate with false emphasis +some unusual phase of an animal's character, which is the fault of many +who try to "popularize" zoölogy. + +One may feel confident, therefore, that the boy or girl who opens this +volume will enjoy it and profit by it. The sketch dwells on the animals +most often to be seen in nature, or in menageries, or read of in books +of travel and adventure, and will thus serve as a valuable reference aid +in such reading. But it will, and ought to, do more. It will arouse anew +that interest in the creatures about us which is as natural as breath to +every youngster, but is too rarely fostered by parents and teachers. + +Nothing is more valuable in the foundation of an education than the +faculty and habit of observation--the power of noting understandingly, +or at least inquiringly, what happens within our sight and hearing. To +go about with one's eyes half shut, content to see the curtain and never +curious to look at the play on nature's stage behind it, is to miss a +very large part of the possible pleasure in life. That his child should +not suffer this loss ought to be the concern of every parent. + +Little more than encouragement and some opportunity is needed to +preserve and cultivate this disposition and faculty. Direct a +youngster's attention to some common fact of woodland life new to him, +and his interest and imagination will be excited to learn more. Give him +a hint of the relationship of this fact to other facts, and you have +started him on a scientific search, and he has begun to train his eye +and his mind without knowing it. At this point such books as this are +extremely helpful, and lead to a desire for the more special treatises +which happily are now everywhere accessible. + +This suggestion is not made with the idea that every youngster is to +become a full-fledged naturalist; but with the sense that some knowledge +of nature will be a source of delight throughout life; and with the +certainty that in no direction can quickness of eye and accuracy of +sight and reasoning be so well and easily acquired. These are qualities +which make for success in all lines of human activity, and therefore are +to be regarded as among the most important to be acquired early in life. + +The physical benefit of an interest in animal life, which leads to +outdoor exercise, needs no argument. The mental value has been touched +upon. The moral importance is in the sense of truth which nature +inculcates, and the kindliness sure to follow the affectionate interest +with which the young naturalist must regard all living things. + +No matter what is to be their walk in life, the observing study of +nature should be regarded as the corner-stone of a boy's or girl's +education. + + ERNEST INGERSOLL + + + + +MAMMALS + + + + +CHAPTER I + +APES AND GIBBONS + + +First among the mammals come the monkeys. First among the monkeys come +the apes. And first among the apes come the chimpanzees, almost the +largest of all monkeys. + + +CHIMPANZEES + +When it is fully grown a male chimpanzee stands nearly five feet high. +And it would be even taller still if only it could stand upright. + +But that is a thing which no monkey can ever do, because instead of +having feet as we have, which can be planted flat upon the ground, these +animals only have _hind hands_. There is no real sole to them, no +instep, and no heel; while the great toe is ever so much more like a +huge thumb. The consequence is that when a monkey tries to stand upright +he can only rest upon the outside edges of these hand-like feet, while +his knees have to be bent awkwardly outward. So he looks at least three +inches shorter than he really is, and he can only hobble along in a very +clumsy and ungraceful manner. + +But then, on the other hand, he is far better able to climb about in the +trees than we are, because while we are only able to place our feet flat +upon a branch, so as to stand upon it, he can grasp the branches with +all four hands, and obtain a very much firmer hold. + +Chimpanzees are found in the great forests of Central and Western +Africa, where they feed upon the wild fruits which grow there so +abundantly. They spend almost the whole of their lives among the trees, +and have a curious way of making nests for their families to live in, by +twisting the smaller branches of the trees together, so as to form a +small platform. The mother and her little ones occupy this nest, while +the father generally sleeps on a bough just underneath it. Sometime +quite a number of these nests may be seen close together, the +chimpanzees having built a kind of village for themselves in the midst +of the forest. + + +A CLEVER SPECIMEN + +If you visit the zoölogical gardens in New York, London, or some other +city, you may be quite sure of seeing one or more chimpanzees. They are +nearly always brought to the zoos when they are quite young, and the +keepers teach them to perform all kinds of clever tricks. One of them in +the London Zoo, who was called "Sally," and who lived there for several +years, actually learned to count! If she was asked for two, three, four, +or five straws, she would pick up just the right number from the bottom +of her cage and hand them to the keeper, without ever making a mistake. +Generally, too, she would pick up six or seven straws if the keeper +asked for them. But if eight, nine, or ten were asked for she often +became confused, and could not be quite sure how many to give. She was a +very cunning animal, however, and when she became tired of counting she +would sometimes pick up two straws only and double them over, so as to +make them look like four! + +"Sally" could talk, too, after a fashion, and used to make three +different sounds. One of these evidently meant "Yes," another signified +"No," and the third seemed to be intended for "Thank you," as she always +used it when the keeper gave her a nut or a banana. + +Two kinds of chimpanzees are known, namely the common chimpanzee, which +is by far the more plentiful of the two, and the bald chimpanzee, +which has scarcely any hair on the upper part of its head. One very +intelligent bald chimpanzee was kept in Barnum's menagerie, and was even +more clever, in some ways, than "Sally" herself. + + +THE GORILLA + +Larger even than the chimpanzee is the gorilla, the biggest and +strongest of all the apes, which sometimes grows to a height of nearly +six feet. It is only found in Western Africa, close to the equator, and +has hardly ever been seen by white travelers, since it lives in the +densest and darkest parts of the great forests. But several +gorillas--nearly all quite small ones--have been caught alive and kept +in captivity in zoos, where, however, they soon died. + +One of these, named "Gena," lived for about three weeks in the Crystal +Palace, near London. She was a most timid little creature, and if +anybody went to look at her she would hide behind a chimpanzee, which +inhabited the same cage, and watched over her in the most motherly way. +Another, who was called "Pongo," lived for rather more than two months +in the London Zoo, and seemed more nervous still, for he used to become +terrified if even his keeper went into the cage. But when the animal has +grown up it is said to be a most savage and formidable foe, and the +natives of Central Africa are even more afraid of it than they are of +the lion. + +Like most of the great apes, the gorilla has a most curious way of +sheltering itself during a heavy shower of rain. If you were to look at +its arms, you would notice that the hair upon them is very thick and +long, and that while it grows _downward_ from the shoulder to the +elbow, from the elbow to the wrist it grows _upward_. So when it is +caught in heavy rain, the animal covers its head and shoulders with its +arms. Then the long hair upon them acts just like thatch and carries off +the water, so that the gorilla hardly gets wet at all. + +When the gorilla is upon the ground it generally walks upon all fours, +bending the fingers of the hands inward, so that it rests upon the +knuckles. But it is much more active in the trees, and is said to +be able to leap to the ground from a branch twenty or thirty feet high, +without being hurt in the least by the fall. + + +THE ORANG-UTAN + +Another very famous ape is the orang-utan, which is found in Borneo and +Sumatra. It is reddish brown in color, and is clothed with much longer +hair than either the gorilla or the chimpanzee, while its face is +surprisingly large and broad, with a very high forehead. But the most +curious feature of this animal is the great length of its arms. When a +man stands upright, and allows his arms to hang down by his sides, the +tips of his fingers reach about half-way between his hips and his knees. +When a chimpanzee stands as upright as possible, the tips of its fingers +almost touch its knees. But when an orang-utan does the same its fingers +nearly touch the ground. Of course, when the animal is walking, it finds +that these long arms are very much in its way. So it generally uses them +as crutches, resting the knuckles upon the ground, and swinging its body +between them. + +But the orang seldom comes down to the ground, for it is far more at its +ease among the branches of the trees. And although it never seems to be +in a hurry, it will swing itself along from bough to bough, and from +tree to tree, quite as fast as a man can run below. Like the gorilla and +the chimpanzee, it makes rough nests of twisted boughs, in which the +female animal and the little ones sleep. And if it is mortally wounded, +it nearly always makes a platform of branches in the same way, and sits +upon it waiting for death. + +Orangs are often to be seen in zoölogical gardens, although they are so +delicate that they do not thrive well in captivity. One of these +animals, which lived in the London Zoo for some time, had learned a very +clever trick. Leaning up against his cage was a placard, on which were +the words "The animals in this cage must not be fed." The orang very +soon found out that when this notice was up nobody gave him any nuts or +biscuits. So he would wait until the keeper's back was turned, +knock the placard down with the printed words underneath, and then hold +out his paw for food! + +As a general rule, orangs seem far too lazy to be at all savage. Those +in zoos nearly always lie about on the floor of their cage all day, +wrapped in their blankets, with a kind of good-humored grin upon their +great broad faces. But when they are roused into passion they seem to be +very formidable creatures, and Alfred Russel Wallace tells us of an +orang that turned upon a Dyak who was trying to spear it, tore his arm +so terribly with his teeth that he never recovered the proper use of the +limb, and would almost certainly have killed him if some of his +companions had not come to his rescue. + + +GIBBONS + +Next we come to the gibbons, which are very wonderful animals, for they +are such astonishing gymnasts. Most monkeys are very active in the +trees, but the gibbons almost seem to be flying from bough to bough, +dashing about with such marvelous speed that the eye can scarcely follow +their movements. Travelers, on seeing them for the first time, have +often mistaken them for big blackbirds. They hardly seem to swing +themselves from one branch to another. They just dart and dash about, +upward, downward, sideways, backward, often taking leaps of twenty or +thirty feet through the air. And yet, so far as one can see, they only +just touch the boughs as they pass with the tips of their fingers. + +If you should happen to see a gibbon in the next zoo that you visit, be +sure to ask the keeper to offer the animal a grape, or a piece of +banana, and you will be more than surprised at its marvelous activity. + +The arms of the gibbons are very long--although not quite so long as +those of the orang-utan--so that when these animals stand as upright as +they can the tips of their fingers nearly touch the ground. But they do +not use these limbs as crutches, as the orang does. Instead of that, +they either clasp their hands behind the neck while they are walking, or +else stretch out the arms on either side with the elbows bent downward, +to help them in keeping their balance. So that when a gibbon leaves the +trees and takes a short stroll upon the ground below, it looks rather +like a big letter W suspended on a forked pole! + +[Illustration: TYPES OF APES AND MONKEYS + + 1. Diana Monkey. 2. Orang-utan. 3. Hanuman Monkey. + 4. Mandrill Baboon. 5. Capuchin Monkey. 6. Spider Monkey.] + +Gibbons generally live together in large companies, which often consist +of from fifty to a hundred animals, and they have a very odd habit of +sitting in the topmost branches of tall trees at sunrise, and again at +sunset, and joining in a kind of concert. The leader always seems to be +the animal with the strongest voice, and after he has uttered a peculiar +barking cry perhaps half a dozen times, the others all begin to bark in +chorus. Often for two hours the outcry is kept up, so loud that it may +be heard on a still day two or three miles. Then by degrees it dies +away, and the animals are almost silent until the time for their next +performance comes round. + +Several different kinds of gibbons are known, the largest of which is +the siamang. This animal is found only in Sumatra. It is a little over +three feet high when fully grown. If you ever see it at a zoo you may +know it at once by its glassy black color, and its odd whitish beard. +Then there is the hoolock, which is common in many parts of India, and +has a white band across its eyebrows, while the lar gibbon, of the Malay +Peninsula, has a broad ring of white all round its face. Besides these +there are one or two others, but they are all so much alike in their +habits that there is no need to mention them separately. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +BABOONS + + +How can we tell a baboon from an ape? + +That is quite easy. Just glance at his face. You will notice at once +that he has a long, broad muzzle, like that of a dog, with the nostrils +at the very tip. For this reason the baboons are sometimes known as +dog-faced monkeys. Then look at his limbs. You will see directly that +his arms are no longer than his legs. That is because he does not live +in the trees, as the apes do. He lives in rough, rocky places on the +sides of mountains, where there are no trees at all, so that arms like +those of the gibbons or the orang-utan would be of no use to him. He +does not want to climb. He wants to be able to scamper over the rocks, +and to run swiftly up steep cliffs where there is only just room enough +to gain a footing. So his limbs are made in such a way that he can go on +all fours like a dog, and gallop along so fast among the stones and +boulders that it is hard to overtake him. + + +THE CHACMA + +Perhaps the best known of the baboons is the chacma, which is found in +South Africa. The animal is so big and strong, and so very savage, that +if he is put into a large cage in company with other monkeys, he always +has to be secured in a corner by a stout chain. A chacma that lived for +some years in the Crystal Palace was fastened up in this way, and the +smaller monkeys, who knew exactly how far his chain would allow him to +go, would sit about two inches out of his reach and eat their nuts in +front of him. This used to make the chacma furious, and after chattering +and scolding away for some time, as if telling his tormentors what +dreadful things he would do to them if ever he got the chance, he +would snatch up an armful of straw from the bottom of his cage and fling +it at them with both hands. + +"If I fed the smaller monkeys with nuts, instead of giving them to him," +says a visitor, "he would fling the straw at me." + +Chacmas live in large bands among the South African mountains, and are +very difficult to watch, as they always post two or three of their +number as sentinels. As soon as any sign of danger appears one of the +watchers gives a short, sharp bark. All the rest of the band understand +the signal, and scamper away as fast as they can. + +Sometimes, however, the animals will hold their ground. A hunter was +once riding over a mountain ridge when he came upon a band of chacmas +sitting upon a rock. Thinking that they would at once run away, he rode +at them, but they did not move, and when he came a little closer they +looked so threatening that he thought it wiser to turn back again. + +An angry chacma is a very formidable foe, for it is nearly as big as a +mastiff, and ever so much stronger, while its great tusk-like teeth cut +like razors. When one of these animals is hunted with dogs it will often +gallop along until one of its pursuers has outstripped the rest, and +will then suddenly turn and spring upon him, plunge its teeth into his +neck, and, while its jaws are still clenched, thrust the body of its +victim away. The result is that the throat of the poor dog is torn +completely open, and a moment later its body is lying bleeding on the +ground, while the chacma is galloping on as before. + +These baboons are very mischievous creatures, for they come down from +their mountain retreats by night in order to plunder the orchards. And +so cautiously is the theft carried out, that even the dogs on guard know +nothing of what is going on, and the animals nearly always succeed in +getting away. + +When it cannot obtain fruit, the chacma feeds chiefly upon the bulb of a +kind of iris, which it digs out of the ground with its paw, and then +carefully peels. But it is also fond of insects, and may often be seen +turning over stones, and catching the beetles which were lying hidden +beneath them. It will even eat scorpions, but is careful to pull off +their stings before doing so. + + +THE MANDRILL + +Another interesting baboon is the mandrill, which one does not often see +in captivity. It comes from Western Africa. While it is young there is +little that is remarkable about it. But the full-grown male is a +strange-looking animal, for on each of its cheeks there is a swelling as +big as a large sausage, which runs upward from just above the nostrils +to just below the eyes. These swellings are light blue, and have a +number of grooves running down them, which are colored a rich purple, +while the line between them, as well as the tip of the nose, is bright +scarlet. The face is very large in proportion to the size of the body, +and the forehead is topped by a pointed crest of upright black hair, +while under the chin is a beard of orange yellow. On the hind quarters +are two large bare patches of the same brilliant scarlet as the nose. So +you see that altogether a grown-up male mandrill is a very odd-looking +creature. + +The female mandrill has much smaller swellings on her face. They are +dull blue in color, without any lines of either purple or scarlet. + +Almost all monkeys are subject at times to terrible fits of passion, but +the mandrill seems to be the worst tempered of all. Fancy an animal +dying simply from rage! It sounds impossible, yet the mandrill has been +known to do so. And the natives of the countries in which it lives are +quite as much afraid of it as they are of a lion. + +Yet it has once or twice been tamed. In the Natural History Museum, at +South Kensington, London, is the skin of a mandrill which lived for some +years in that city in the earlier part of the nineteenth century. His +name was "Jerry," and he was so quiet and contented that he was +generally known as "Happy Jerry." He learned to smoke a pipe. He was +very fond of a glass of beer. He even used to sit at table for his +meals, and to eat from a plate by means of a knife and fork. And he +became so famous that he was actually taken down to Windsor to appear +before King George the Fourth! + +There is another baboon called the drill, which is not unlike the +mandrill in many respects, but the swellings on its face are not nearly +as large, and they remain black all through its life. It is a much +smaller animal, too, and looks, on the whole, very much like a mandrill +while it is quite young. + + +THE GELADA + +Almost as odd-looking as the mandrill, though in quite a different way, +is the gelada, which is found in Abyssinia. Perhaps we may compare it to +a black poodle with a very long and thick mane upon its neck and +shoulders. When the animal sits upright this mane entirely covers the +upper part of its shoulders, so that a gelada looks very much as if it +were wearing a coachman's mantle of long fur. + +In some parts of Abyssinia geladas are very numerous, living among the +mountains in bands of two or three hundred. Like the chacmas in South +Africa, they are very mischievous in the orchards and plantations, +always making their raids by night. It is said that on one occasion they +actually stopped no less a personage than a Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, +and prevented him from proceeding on his journey for several hours. + +The story is, that as the Duke was traveling in Abyssinia his road lay +through a narrow pass, overhung with rocky cliffs; that one of his +attendants, catching sight of a number of geladas upon the rocks above, +fired at them; that the angry baboons at once began to roll down great +stones upon the path below, and that before they could be driven off +they succeeded in completely blocking the road, so that the Duke's +carriage could not be moved until the stones had been cleared away. + +Whether this story is altogether true or not, we cannot say. But there +can be no doubt that geladas are very warlike animals. Not only will +they attack human beings who interfere with them, they also attack other +baboons. When they are raiding an orchard, for instance, they sometimes +meet with a band of Arabian baboons, which have come there for the same +purpose as themselves. A fierce battle then takes place. First of all +the geladas try to roll down stones upon their rivals. Then they rush +down and attack them with the utmost fury, and very soon the +orchard is filled with maddened baboons, tumbling and rolling over one +another, biting and tearing and scratching each other, and shrieking +with furious rage. + +The Arabian baboon itself is a very interesting creature, for it is one +of the animals which were venerated by the ancient Egyptians. They +considered it as sacred to their god Thoth, and treated it with the +greatest possible honor; and when it died they made its body into a +mummy, and buried it in the tombs of the kings. Sometimes, too, they +made use of the animal while it lived, for they would train it to climb +a fig-tree, pluck the ripe figs, and hand them down to the slaves +waiting below. + +These baboons sometimes travel in great companies. The old males always +go first, and are closely followed by the females, those which have +little ones carrying them upon their backs. As they march along, perhaps +one of the younger animals finds a bush with fruit upon it, and stops to +eat a little. As soon as they see what he is doing, a number of others +rush to the spot, and begin fighting for a share. But generally one of +the old males hears the noise, boxes all their ears and drives them +away, and then sits down and eats the fruit himself. + + +THE PROBOSCIS-MONKEY + +Next we come to a group of animals called dog-shaped monkeys, and the +most curious of them all is the proboscis-monkey. This is the only +monkey which really possesses a nose. Some monkeys have nostrils only, +and some have muzzles, but the proboscis-monkey has not merely a nose, +but a very long nose, so long, in fact, that when one of these monkeys +is leaping about in the trees it is said always to keep its nose +carefully covered with one hand, so that it may not be injured by a +knock against a bough. + +Strange to say, it is only the male animal that has this very long nose, +and even he does not get it until he is grown up. Indeed, you can tell +pretty well how old a male proboscis-monkey is just by glancing at his +nose. When he is young it is quite small. As he gets older it grows +bigger. And by the time that he reaches his full size it is three +or four inches long. Naturally this long nose gives him a very strange +appearance, and his great bushy whiskers, which meet under his chin, +make him look more curious still. + +We do not know much about the habits of the proboscis-monkey. In Borneo, +its native country, it lives in the thick forests, and is said to be +almost as active among the branches of the trees as the gibbons +themselves. The Dyaks do not believe that it is a monkey at all, but say +that it is really a very hairy man, who insists on living in the forests +in order to escape paying taxes. + + +THE HANUMAN + +The hanuman, another of the dog-shaped monkeys, lives in India, where it +is treated with almost as much reverence as the Arabian baboon was in +Egypt in days of old. + +The natives do not exactly worship these monkeys, but they think that +they are sacred to the god Hanuman, from whom they take their name. +Besides that, they believe that these animals are not really monkeys at +all, but that their bodies are inhabited by the souls of great and holy +men, who lived and died long ago, but have now come back to earth again +in a different form. So no Hindu will ever kill a hanuman monkey or +injure it in any way, no matter how much mischief it may do. The +consequence is that these animals are terrible thieves. They know +perfectly well that no one will try to kill them, or even to trap them, +so they come into the villages, visit the bazaars, and help themselves +to anything to which they may take a fancy. Yet all that the +fruit-sellers will do is to place thorn-bushes on the roofs of their +shops to prevent the monkeys from sitting there. + +European sportsmen, however, often find the hanuman very useful. For its +greatest enemy is the tiger, and when one of these animals is being +hunted a number of hanumans will follow it wherever it goes, and point +it out to the beaters by their excited chattering. + +Next to the tiger, the hanuman dislikes snakes more than any living +creature, and when it finds one of these reptiles asleep it will +creep cautiously up to it, seize it by the neck, and then rub its head +backward and forward upon a branch till its jaws have been completely +ground away. + +The hanuman belongs to a group of monkeys which are called langurs. They +may be known by their long and almost lanky bodies, by the great length +of their tails, and by the fact that they do not possess the +cheek-pouches which many other monkeys find so useful. And it is very +curious that while the arms of the apes are longer than their legs, the +legs of the langurs--which are almost as active in the trees--are longer +than their arms. + +If you ever happen to see a hanuman you may know it at once by its black +face and feet, and by its odd eyebrows, which are very bushy, and +project quite away in front of its face. + + +THE GUENONS + +We now come to the guenons, of which there are a great many kinds. Let +us take two of these as examples of the rest. The first is the green +monkey, which comes from the great forests of Western Africa. You may +know it by sight, because it is the commonest monkey in every menagerie. +It is one of the monkeys, too, which organ-grinders so often carry about +on their organs. But they do not care to have it except when it is quite +young, for although it is very gentle and playful until it reaches its +full size, it afterward becomes fierce and sullen, and is apt at any +moment to break out into furious passion. + +Like most of the guenons, green monkeys go about in droves, each under +the leadership of an old male, who wins and keeps his position by +fighting all his rivals. Strange to say, each of these droves seems to +have its own district allotted to it; and if by any chance it should +cross its boundary, the band into whose territory it has trespassed will +at once come and fight it, and do their utmost to drive it back. + +Wouldn't it be interesting to know how the animals mark out their own +domains, and how they let one another know just how far they will be +permitted to go? + +Our second example of the guenons is the diana monkey, which you +may at once recognize by its long, pointed, snow-white beard. It seems +to be very proud of this beard, and while drinking holds it carefully +back with one hand, in order to prevent it from getting wet. + +Why is it called the "diana" monkey? Because of the curious white mark +upon its forehead, which is shaped like the crescent which the ancients +used to think was borne by the goddess Diana. It is a very handsome +animal, for its back is rich chestnut brown in color, and the lower part +of its body is orange yellow, while between the two is a band of pure +white. Its face and tail and hands and feet are black. It is a very +gentle animal, and is easily tamed. + + +THE MANGABEYS + +These are very odd-looking monkeys, for they all have white eyelids, +which are very conspicuous in their sooty-black faces. Indeed, they +always give one a kind of idea that they must spend their whole lives in +sweeping chimneys. + +They are among the most interesting of all monkeys to watch, for they +are not only so active and full of life that they scarcely seem able to +keep still, but they are always twisting their bodies about into all +sorts of strange attitudes. When in captivity they soon find out that +visitors are amused by their antics, and are always ready to go through +their performances in order to obtain a nut or a piece of cake. + +Then they have an odd way, when they are walking about their cages, of +lifting their upper lips and showing their teeth, so that they look just +as if they were grinning at you. And instead of carrying their tails +behind them, as monkeys generally do, or holding them straight up in the +air, they throw them forward over the back, so that the tip comes just +above the head. + +Only four kinds of mangabey are known, and they are all found in Western +Africa. + + +MACAQUES + +There is one more family of monkeys found in the Old World which we must +mention, and that consists of the animals known as macaques. They +are natives of Asia, with one exception, and that is the famous magot, +the only monkey which lives wild in any part of Europe. It inhabits the +Rock of Gibraltar, and though it is not nearly as common as it used to +be, there is still a small band of these animals with which nobody is +allowed to interfere. They move about the Rock a good deal. When the +weather is warm and sunny, they prefer the side that faces the +Mediterranean, but as soon as a cold easterly wind springs up they all +travel round to the western side, which is much more sheltered. They +always keep to the steepest parts of the cliff, and it is not easy to +get near enough to watch them. Generally the only way to see them at all +is by means of a telescope. + +The magot is sometimes known as the Barbary ape, although of course it +is not really an ape at all. But it is very common in Barbary, and two +or three times, when the little band of monkeys on the Rock seemed in +danger of dying out, a few specimens have been brought over from Africa +just to make up the number. + +The only other member of this family that we can mention is the +crab-eating macaque, which is found in Siam and Burma. It owes its name +to its fondness for crabs, spending most of its time on the banks of +salt-water creeks in order to search for them. But perhaps the strangest +thing about it is that it is a splendid swimmer, and an equally good +diver, for it has been known to jump overboard and to swim more than +fifty yards under water, in its attempts to avoid recapture. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +THE AMERICAN MONKEYS AND THE LEMURS + + +A great many very curious monkeys live in America; and in several ways +they are very different from those of Africa and Asia. + +Most of the Old World monkeys, for example, possess large cheek-pouches, +in which, after eating a meal, they can carry away nearly enough food +for another. No doubt you have often seen a monkey with its cheeks +perfectly stuffed out with nuts. But in the American monkeys these +pouches are never found. + +Then no American monkey has those bare patches on its hind quarters, +which are present in all the monkeys of the Old World, with the +exception of the great apes, and which are often so brightly colored. +And, more curious still, no American monkey has a proper thumb. The +fingers are generally very long and strong; but the thumb is either +wanting altogether, or else it is so small that it cannot be of the +slightest use. + +[Illustration: PHOTOGRAPHIC PORTRAITS OF MONKEYS. + + 1. Young Orang-utan "Dohong." 2. Barbary Ape. + 3. Japanese Red-faced Monkey. 4. White-faced Sapajou. + 5. Siamang Gibbon. 6. Chimpanzee "Polly." + +_All lived in the New York Zoölogical Park._] + + +SPIDER-MONKEYS + +Perhaps the most curious of all the American monkeys are the +spider-monkeys, which look very much like big black spiders when one +sees them gamboling among the branches of the trees. The reason is that +their bodies are very slightly built, and their arms and legs are very +long and slender, while the tail is often longer than the head and body +together, and looks just like an extra limb. And indeed it is used as an +extra limb, for it is prehensile; that is, it can be coiled round any +small object so tightly as to obtain a very firm hold. A spider-monkey +never likes to take a single step without first twisting the tip of its +tail round a branch, so that this member really serves as a sort of +fifth hand. Sometimes, too, the animal will feed itself with its tail +instead of with its paws. And it can even hang from a bough for +some little time by means of its tail alone, in order to pluck fruit +which would otherwise be out of its reach. + +Owing partly, no doubt, to constant use, the last few inches of this +wonderful tail are quite bare underneath--without any hair at all. It is +worth while to remember, just here, that while in many American monkeys +the tail has this prehensile grasp, no monkey of the Old World is +provided with this convenience. + +When a spider-monkey finds itself upon level ground, where its tail, of +course, is of no use to it, it always seems very uncomfortable. But it +manages to keep its balance as it walks along by holding the tail over +its back, and just turning it first to one side and then to the other, +as the need of the moment may require. It uses it, in fact, very much as +an acrobat uses his pole when walking upon the tight rope. + +It is rather curious to find that while other monkeys are very fond of +nibbling the tips of their own tails, often making them quite raw, +spider-monkeys never do so. They evidently know too well how useful +those members are to injure them by giving way to such a silly +habit--which is even worse than biting one's nails. + +When a spider-monkey is shot as it sits in a tree, it always coils its +tail round a branch at once. And even after it dies, the body will often +hang for several days suspended by the tail alone. + +These monkeys spend almost the whole of their lives in the trees, +feeding upon fruit and leaves, and only coming down to the ground when +they want to drink. As a general rule they are dreadfully lazy +creatures, and will sit on a bough for hours together without moving a +limb. But when they are playful, or excited, they swing themselves to +and fro and dart from branch to branch, almost as actively as the +gibbons. + + +HOWLERS + +Very much like the spider-monkeys are the howlers, which are very common +in the great forests of Central America. They owe their name to +the horrible cries which they utter as they move about in the trees by +night. You remember how the gibbons hold a kind of concert in the +tree-tops every morning and every evening, as though to salute the +rising and the setting sun. Well, the howlers behave in just the same +way, except that their concert begins soon after dark and goes on all +through the night. They have very powerful voices, and travelers who are +not used to their noise say that it is quite impossible to sleep in the +forest if there is a troop of howlers anywhere within two miles. And it +is hard to believe that the outcry comes from the throats of monkeys at +all. "You would suppose," says a famous traveler, "that half the wild +beasts of the forest were collecting for the work of carnage. Now it is +the tremendous roar of the jaguar, as he springs upon his prey; now it +changes to his terrible and deep-toned growlings, as he is pressed on +all sides by superior force; and now you hear his last dying groan +beneath a mortal wound. One of them alone is capable of producing all +these sounds; and if you advance cautiously, and get under the high and +tufted trees where he is sitting, you may have a capital opportunity of +witnessing his wonderful powders of producing these dreadful and +discordant sounds." + +If one monkey alone is capable of roaring as loudly as a jaguar, think +what the noise must be when fifty or sixty howlers are all howling at +the same time. No wonder travelers find it difficult to sleep in the +forest. + +Perhaps the best known of these monkeys is the red howler. Its color is +reddish brown, with a broad band of golden yellow running along the +spine, while its face is surrounded by bushy whiskers and beard. + + +THE OUAKARI + +Another very curious American monkey is the red-faced ouakari. If you +were to see it from a little distance you would most likely think that +it was suffering from a bad attack of scarlet fever; for the face and +upper part of the neck are bright red in color, as though they had been +smeared with vermilion paint. And as its whiskers and beard are +sandy yellow, it is a very odd-looking animal. + +If a ouakari is unwell, strange to say, the bright color of its face +begins to fade at once, and very soon after death it disappears +altogether. + +Ouakaris are generally caught in a very singular way. They are only +found in a very small district on the southern bank of the Amazon River, +and spend their whole lives in the topmost branches of the tallest +trees, where it is quite impossible to follow them. And if they were +shot with a gun, of course they would almost certainly be killed. So +they are shot with a blowpipe instead. A slender arrow is dipped into a +kind of poison called wourali, which has been diluted to about half its +usual strength, and is then discharged at the animal from below. Only a +very slight wound is caused, but the poison is still so strong that the +ouakari soon faints, and falls from its perch in the branches. But the +hunter, who is carefully watching, catches it in his arms as it falls, +and puts a little salt into its mouth. This overcomes the effect of the +poison, and very soon the little animal is as well as ever. + +Ouakaris which are caught in this way, however, are generally very +bad-tempered, and the gentle and playful little animals sometimes seen +in zoos have been taken when very young. They are very delicate +creatures and nearly always die after a few weeks of confinement. + + +THE COUXIA + +If you were to see a couxia, or black saki, as it is often called, the +first thing that you would say would most likely be, "What an +extraordinary beard!" And your next remark would be, "Why, it looks as +if it were wearing a wig!" For its projecting black beard is as big as +that of the most heavily bearded man you ever saw, while on its head is +a great mass of long black hair, neatly parted in the middle, and +hanging down on either side, so that it looks just like a wig which has +been rather clumsily made. + +The couxia is extremely proud of its beard, and takes very great +pains to prevent it from getting either dirty or wet. Do you remember +how the diana monkey holds its beard with one hand while drinking, so as +to keep it from touching the water? Well, the couxia is more careful +still, for it will not put its lips to the water at all, but carries it +to its mouth, a very little at a time, in the palm of its hand. But the +odd thing is that it seems rather ashamed of thinking so much about its +"personal appearance," and, if it knows that anybody is looking at it, +will drink just like any other monkey, and pretend not to care at all +about wetting its beard. + +Like most of the sakis, the couxia is not at all a good-tempered animal, +and is apt to give way to sudden fits of fury. So savagely will it bite +when enraged, that it has been known to drive its teeth deeply into a +thick board. + + +THE DOUROUCOULIS + +Sometimes these odd little animals are called night-monkeys, because all +day long they are fast asleep in a hollow tree, and soon after sunset +they wake up, and all night long are prowling about the branches of the +trees, searching for roosting birds, and for the other small creatures +upon which they feed. They are very active, and will often strike at a +moth or a beetle as it flies by, and catch it in their deft little paws. +And their eyes are very much like those of cats, so that they can see as +well on a dark night as other monkeys can during the day. + +The eyes, too, are very large. If you were to look at the skull of a +douroucouli, you would notice that the eye-sockets almost meet in the +middle, only a very narrow strip of bone dividing them. And the hair +that surrounds them is set in a circle, just like the feathers that +surround the eyes of an owl. + +But perhaps the most curious fact about these animals is that sometimes +they roar like jaguars, and sometimes they bark like dogs, and sometimes +they mew like cats. + +There are several different kinds of these little monkeys, the most +numerous, perhaps, being the three-banded douroucouli, which has three +upright black stripes on its forehead. They are all natives of Brazil +and other parts of tropical America. + + +MARMOSETS + +One of the prettiest--perhaps the very prettiest--of all monkeys is the +marmoset, which is found in the same part of the world. It is quite a +small animal, being no bigger in body than a common squirrel, with a +tail about a foot long. This tail, which is very thick and bushy, is +white in color, encircled with a number of black rings, while the body +is blackish with gray markings, and the face is black with a white nose. +But what one notices more than anything else is the long tufts of +snow-white hair upon the ears, which make the little animal look +something like a white-haired negro. + +Marmosets are very easily tamed, and they are so gentle in their ways, +and so engaging in their habits, that if only they were a little more +hardy we should most likely see them in this country as often as we see +pet cats. But they are delicate little creatures, and cannot bear cold. +What they like to eat most of all is the so-called black beetle of our +kitchens. If only we could keep pet marmosets, they would very soon +clear our houses of cockroaches, as these troublesome creatures are +correctly called. They will spend hours in hunting for the insects, and +whenever they catch one they pull off its legs and wings, and then +proceed to devour its body. + +When a marmoset is suddenly alarmed, it utters an odd little whistling +cry. Owing to this habit it is sometimes known as the ouistiti, or +tee-tee. + + +LEMURS + +Relatives of the monkeys, and yet in many respects very different from +them, are those very strange animals, the lemurs, which are sometimes +called half-apes. The reason why that name has been given to them is +this: Lemurs by the ancients were supposed to be ghosts which wandered +about by night. Now most of the lemurs are never seen abroad by day. +Their eyes cannot bear the bright sunlight; so all day long they sleep +in hollow trees. But when it is quite dark they come out, +prowling about the branches so silently and so stealthily that they +really seem more like specters than living animals. + +When you see them close, they do not look very much like monkeys. Their +faces are much more like those of foxes, and they have enormous staring +eyes without any expression. + +The true lemurs are only found in Madagascar, where they are so numerous +that two or three at least may be found in every little copse throughout +the island. More than thirty different kinds are known, of which, +however, we cannot mention more than two. + +The first of these is the ring-tailed lemur, which may be recognized at +once by the fact that its tail is marked just like that of the marmoset. +The head and body are shaped like those of a very small fox, and the +color of the fur is ashy gray, rather darker on the back, and rather +lighter underneath. It lives in troops in Central Madagascar, and every +morning and every night each troop joins in a little concert, just like +the gibbons and the howlers. + +But, oddly enough, this lemur is seldom seen in the trees. It lives on +the ground, in rough and rocky places, and its hands and feet are made +in such a way, as to enable it to cling firmly to the wet and slippery +boulders. In fact, they are not at all unlike the feet of a house-fly. +The body is clothed with long fur, and when a mother lemur carries her +little one about on her back it burrows down so deep into her thick coat +that one can scarcely see it at all. + +The ruffed lemur is the largest of these curious animals, being about as +big as a good-sized cat. The oddest thing about it is that it varies so +very much in color. Sometimes it is white all over, sometimes it is +partly white and partly black, and sometimes it is reddish brown. +Generally, however, the shoulders and front legs, the middle of the +back, and the tail are black, or very dark brown, while the rest of the +body is white. And there is a great thick ruff of white hairs all round +the face. + +The eyes of this lemur are very singular. You know, of course, how the +pupil of a cat's eye becomes narrower and narrower in a strong +light, until at last it looks merely like an upright slit in the +eyeball. Well, that of the lemur is made in very much the same way, +except that the pupil closes up from above and below instead of from the +sides, so that the slit runs across the eyeball, and not up and down. + +The slender loris may be described as a lemur without a tail, It is +found in the forests of Southern India and Ceylon. It is quite small, +the head and body being only about eight inches long, and in general +appearance it gives one rather the idea of a bat without any wings. In +color it is dark gray, with a narrow white stripe between the eyes. + +This animal has a very queer way of going to sleep. It sits on a bough +and rolls itself up into a ball with its head tucked away between its +thighs, while its hands are tightly folded round a branch springing up +from the one on which it is seated. In this attitude it spends the whole +of the day. At night it hunts for sleeping birds, moving so slowly and +silently among the branches as never to give the alarm, and always +plucking off their feathers before it proceeds to eat them. Strange to +say, while many monkeys have no thumbs, the slender loris has no +forefingers, while the great toes on its feet are very long, and are +directed backward instead of forward. + + +LEMUROIDS + +There are two lemur-like animals which are so extraordinary that each of +them has been put into a family all by itself. + +The first of these is the tarsier, which is found in several of the +larger islands in the Malay Archipelago. Imagine an animal about as big +as a small rat, with a long tail covered thickly with hair at the root +and the tip, the middle part being smooth and bare. The eyes are +perfectly round, and are so big that they seem to occupy almost the +whole of the face--great staring eyes with very small pupils. The ears +are very long and pointed, and stand almost straight up from the head. +Then the hind legs are so long that they remind one of those of a +kangaroo, while all the fingers and all the toes have large round pads +under the tips, which seem to be used as suckers, and to have a +wonderful power of grasp. Altogether, the tarsier scarcely looks like an +animal at all. It looks like a goblin. + +This singular creature seldom seems to walk. It hops along the branches +instead, just as a kangaroo hops on the ground. And when it wants to +feed it sits upright on its hind quarters, and uses its fore paws just +as a squirrel does. + +Even more curious still is the aye-aye, of Madagascar, which has puzzled +naturalists very much. For its incisor teeth--the sharp cutting teeth, +that is, in the middle of each jaw--are formed just like those of the +rat and the rabbit. They are made not for cutting but for gnawing; and +as fast as they are worn away from above they grow from beneath. All of +its fingers are long and slender; but the middle one is longer than all +the rest, and is so thin that it looks like nothing but skin and bone. +Most likely this finger, which has a sharp little claw at the tip, is +used in hooking out insects from their burrows in the bark of trees. But +the aye-aye does not feed only upon insects, for it often does some +damage in the sugar plantations, ripping up the canes with its sharp +front teeth in order to get at the sweet juices. It is said at times to +catch small birds, either for the purpose of eating them or else to +drink their blood. And it seems also to eat fruit, while in captivity it +thrives on boiled rice. + +The aye-aye is about as big as a rather small cat, and its great bushy +tail is longer than its head and body put together. It is not a common +animal, even in Madagascar, and its name of aye-aye is said to have been +given to it on account of the exclamations of surprise uttered by the +natives when it was shown to them for the first time by a European +traveler. But it is more likely that the name comes from the cry of the +animal, which is a sort of sharp little bark twice repeated. + +Strange to say, the natives of Madagascar are much afraid of the +aye-aye. Of course it cannot do much mischief with its teeth or claws; +but they seem to think that it possesses some magic power by means of +which it can injure those who try to catch it, or even cause them to +die. So that they cannot be bribed to capture it even by the offer of a +large reward. Sometimes, however, they catch it by mistake, finding an +aye-aye in a trap which has been set for lemurs. In that case +they smear it all over with fat, which they think will please it very +much, and then allow it to go free. + +The aye-aye is seldom seen in captivity, and when in that state it +sleeps all day long. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +THE BATS + + +Next in order to the monkeys come the bats, the only mammals which are +able to fly. It is quite true that there are animals known as flying +squirrels, which are sometimes thought to have the power of flight. But +all that these can do, as we shall see by and by, is to take very long +leaps through the air, aided by the curious manner in which the loose +skin of the body is fastened to the inner surface of the legs. + + +HOW BATS FLY + +Bats, however, really can fly, and the way in which their wings are made +is very curious. If you were to look at a bat's skeleton, you would +notice, first of all, that the front limbs were very much larger than +the hinder ones. The upper arm-bone is very long indeed, the lower +arm-bone is longer still, and the bones of the fingers are longest of +all. The middle finger of a bat, indeed, is often longer than the whole +of its body! Now these bones form the framework of the wing. You know +how the silk or satin of a lady's fan is stretched upon the ribs. Well, +a very thin and delicate skin is stretched upon the bones of a bat's arm +and hand in just the same way. And when the little animal wants to fly, +it stretches its fingers apart, and so spreads the wing. When it wants +to rest it closes them, and so folds it against its body. + +Then you would notice that a high bony ridge runs down the bat's +breast-bone. Now such a ridge as this always signifies great strength, +because muscles must be fastened at each end to bones; and when the +muscles are very large and powerful, the bones must be very strong in +order to carry them. So, when an animal needs very strong +breast-muscles, so that it may be able to fly well, we always find a +high bony ridge running down its breast-bone; and to this ridge +the great muscles which work the wings are fastened. + +Something more is necessary, however, if the animal is to fly properly. +It must be able to steer itself in the air just as a boat has to be +steered in the water. Otherwise it would never be able to fly in the +right direction. So nature has given it a kind of air-rudder; for the +skin which is stretched upon the wings is carried on round the end of +the body, and is supported there, partly by the hind legs, and partly by +the bones of the tail. And by turning this curious rudder to one side or +the other, or tilting it just a little up or a little down, the bat is +able to alter its course at will. + + +THE USEFUL CLAW + +But you would notice something else on looking at a bat's skeleton. You +would notice that the bones of the thumb are not long and slender, like +those of the fingers, but that they are quite short and stout, with a +sharp hooked claw at the tip. The bat uses this claw when it finds +itself on the ground. It cannot walk, of course, as it has no front +feet; so it hitches itself along by means of its thumbs, hooking first +one claw into the ground and then the other, and so managing to drag +itself slowly and awkwardly forward. + +It is not at all fond of shuffling along in this way, however, and +always takes to flight as soon as it possibly can. But as it cannot well +rise from the ground it has to climb to a little height and let itself +drop, so that as it falls it may spread its wings and fly away. And it +always climbs in a very curious manner, with its tail upward and its +head toward the ground, using first the claws of one little foot and +then those of the other. + +When a bat goes to sleep it always hangs itself up by the claws of its +hind feet. In an old church tower, or a stable loft, you may often find +bats suspended in this singular way. And there is a reason for it. The +bat wants to be able, at the first sign of danger, to fly away. Now if +it lay flat upon the ground to sleep, as most animals do, it would not +be able to fly quickly; for it would have to clamber up a wall or a post +to some little height before it could spread its wings. And this +would take time. But if it should be alarmed while it is hanging by its +hind feet, all that it has to do is to drop into the air and fly off at +once. + + +BATS IN THE DARK + +There is something else, too, that we must tell you about bats. They +have the most wonderful power of flying about on the darkest night, +without ever knocking up against the branches of trees, or any other +obstacles which they may meet on their way. It used to be thought that +this was because they had very keen eyes. But it has been found out that +even a blind bat has this power, which seems really to be due to very +sensitive nerves in the wings. You can feel a branch by touching it. But +a bat is able to feel a branch _without_ touching it, while it is +eight or ten inches away, and so has time to swerve to one side without +striking against it. + + +THE WINTER SLEEP + +Bats, like hedgehogs and squirrels, pass through the winter in a kind of +deep sleep, which we call hibernation. It is more than ordinary sleep, +for they do not require any food for months together, while they +scarcely breathe once in twenty-four hours, and their hearts almost +cease to beat. If the winter is cold throughout, they do not wake at all +until the spring. But two or three hours' warm sunshine arouses them +from their slumber. They wake up, feel hungry, go out to look for a +little food, and then return to their retreats and pass into the same +strange sleep again. + + +AN INTERESTING SPECIMEN + +"I once kept a long-eared bat as a pet," says a writer, "and a most +interesting little creature he was. One of his wings had been injured by +the person who caught him, so that he could not fly, and was obliged to +live on the floor of his cage. Yet, although he could take no +exercise, he used to eat no less than seventy large bluebottle flies +every evening. As long as the daylight lasted, he would take no notice +of the flies at all. They might crawl about all over him, but still he +would never move. But soon after sunset, when the flies began to get +sleepy, the bat would wake up. Fixing his eyes on the nearest fly, he +would begin to creep toward it so slowly that it was almost impossible +to see that he was moving. By degrees he would get within a few inches. +Then, quite suddenly, he would leap upon it, and cover it with his +wings, pressing them down on either side of his body so as to form a +kind of tent. Next he would tuck down his head, catch the fly in his +mouth, and crunch it up. And finally he would creep on toward another +victim, always leaving the legs and the wings behind him, which in some +strange way he had managed to strip off, just as we strip the legs from +shrimps. + +"I often watched him, too, when he was drinking. As he was so crippled, +I used to pour a few drops of water on the floor of his cage, and when +he felt thirsty he would scoop up a little in his lower jaw, and then +throw his head back in order to let it run down his throat. But in a +state of freedom bats drink by just dipping the lower jaw into the water +as they skim along close to the surface of a pond or a stream, and you +may often see them doing so on a warm summer's evening." + + +THE PIPISTRELLE + +The pipistrelle, a common European bat, is said to feed chiefly upon +gnats, of which it must devour a very large number, and as it much +prefers to live near human habitations, there can be no doubt that it +helps to keep houses free from these disagreeable insects. In captivity +it will feed freely upon raw meat chopped very small. It appears earlier +in the spring than the other bats, and remains later in the autumn. + + +HORSESHOE BATS + +These bats of the Old World have a most curious leaf-like membrane upon +the face, which gives them a very odd appearance. In the great +horseshoe bat this membrane is double, like one leaf placed above +another. The lower one springs from just below the nostrils, and spreads +outward and upward on either side, so that it is shaped very much like a +horseshoe, while the upper one is pointed and stands upright, so as +partly to cover the forehead. The ears, too, are very large, and are +ribbed crosswise from the base to the tips; so that altogether this bat +is a strange-looking creature. + +Perhaps none of the bats is more seldom seen than this, for it cannot +bear the light at all, and never comes out from its retreat until +darkness has quite set in. And one very seldom finds it asleep during +the day, for it almost always hides in dark and gloomy caverns, which +are hardly ever entered by any human being. In France, however, there +are certain caves in which great numbers of these bats congregate +together for their long winter sleep. As many as a hundred and eighty of +them have been counted in a single colony. And it is a very strange fact +that all the male bats seem to assemble in one colony, and all the +female bats in another. + + +VAMPIRES + +In Central and South America, and also in the West Indian Islands, a +number of bats are found which are known as vampires. Some of these eat +insects, just like the bats of other countries, and one of them--known +as the long-tongued vampire--has a most singular tongue, both very long +and very slender, with a brush-like tip, so that it can be used for +licking out insects from the flowers in which they are hiding. Then +there are other vampires which eat fruit, like the flying foxes, about +which we shall have something to tell you soon. But the best known of +these bats, and certainly the strangest, are those which feed upon the +blood of living animals. + +If you were to tether a horse in those parts of the forest where these +vampires live, and to pay it a visit just as the evening twilight was +fading into darkness, you would be likely to see a shadowy form hovering +over its shoulders, or perhaps even clinging to its body. This would be +a vampire bat; and when you came to examine the horse, you would +find that, just where you had seen the bat, its skin would be stained +with blood. For this bat has the singular power of making a wound in the +skin of an animal, and sucking its blood, without either alarming it or +appearing to cause it any pain. And if a traveler in the forest happens +to lie asleep in his hammock with his feet uncovered, he is very likely +to find in the morning that his great toe has been bitten by one of +these bats, and that he has lost a considerable quantity of blood. Yet +the bat never wakes him as it scrapes away the skin with its sharp-edged +front teeth. + +Strangely enough, however, there are many persons whom vampires will +never bite. They may sleep night after night in the open, and leave +their feet entirely uncovered, and yet the bats will always pass them +by. Charles Waterton, a famous English traveler, was most anxious to be +bitten by a vampire, so that he might learn by his own experience +whether the infliction of the wound caused any pain. But though he slept +for eleven months in an open loft, through which the bats were +constantly passing, they never attempted to touch him, while an Indian +lad who slept in the same loft was bitten again and again. + +But as these bats cannot always obtain blood, it is most likely that +they do not really live upon it, but only drink it when they have the +chance, and that as a rule their food consists of insects. + + +FLYING FOXES + +Of course these are not really foxes. They are just big bats which feed +on fruit, instead of on insects or on blood. They are called also +fruit-bats. But their long, narrow faces are so curiously fox-like that +we cannot feel surprised that the name of flying foxes should have been +given to them. + +Flying foxes are found in many parts of Asia, as well as in Madagascar +and in Australia, and in some places they are very common. In India, +long strings of these bats may be seen regularly every evening, as they +fly off from their sleeping-places to the orchards in search of fruit. +In some parts of India, early in the morning, and again in the evening, +the sky is often black with them as far as the eye can reach, and they +continue to pass overhead in an unbroken stream for nearly +three-quarters of an hour. And as they roost in great numbers on the +branches of tall trees, every bat being suspended by its hinder feet, +with its wings wrapped round his body, they look from a little distance +just like bunches of fruit. + +It is rather curious to find that when they are returning to the trees +in which they roost, early in the morning, these bats quarrel and fight +for the best places, just as birds do. + +In districts where they are at all plentiful, flying foxes do a great +deal of mischief, for it is almost impossible to protect the orchards +from their attacks. Even if the trees are covered all over with netting +they will creep underneath it, and pick out all the best and ripest of +the fruit; while, as they only pay their visits of destruction under +cover of darkness, it is impossible to lie in wait for them and shoot +them as they come. + +The flight of the fruit-bats is not at all like that of the bats with +which we are familiar, for as they do not feed upon insects there is no +need for them to be constantly changing their course, and darting first +to one side and then to the other in search of victims. So they fly +slowly and steadily on, following one another just as crows do, and +never turning from their course until they reach their feeding-ground. + +The largest of these fruit-bats is the kalong, which is found in the +islands of the Malay Archipelago. It measures over five feet from tip to +tip of the extended wings. The Malays often use it for food, and its +flesh is said to be delicate and well flavored. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +THE INSECT-EATERS + + +Next to the bats comes the important tribe of the insect-eaters, +containing a number of animals which are so called because most of them +feed chiefly upon insects. + + +THE COLUGO + +One of the strangest of these is the colugo, which lives in Siam, Java, +and the Islands of the Malay Archipelago. It is remarkable for its +wonderful power of leaping, for it will climb a tall tree, spring +through the air, and alight on the trunk of another tree seventy or +eighty yards away. For this reason it has sometimes been called the +"flying colugo"; but it does not really fly. It merely skims from tree +to tree. And if you could examine its body you would be able to see at +once how it does so. + +First of all, you would notice that the skin of the lower surface is +very loose. You know how loose the skin of a dog's neck is, and how you +can pull it up ever so far from the flesh. Well, the skin of the colugo +is quite as loose as that on the sides and lower parts of its body. + +Then you would notice that this loose skin is fastened along the inner +side of each leg, so that the limbs are connected by membrane just like +the toes of a duck's foot. And you would also see that when the legs are +stretched out at right angles to the body, this membrane must be +stretched out with them. + +Now when a colugo wishes to take a long leap, it springs from the tree +on which it is resting, spreads out its limbs, and skims through the air +just as an oyster-shell does if you throw it sideways from the hand. The +air buoys it up, you see, and enables it to travel ten times as far as +it could without this loose skin. But of course this is not flight. The +animal does not beat the air with the membrane between the legs, +as bats and birds do with their wings. It cannot alter its course in the +air; and it is always obliged to alight at a lower level than that from +which it sprang. + +The colugo is about as big as a good-sized cat, and its fur is olive or +brown in color, mottled with whitish blotches and spots. When it clings +closely to the trunk of a tree, and remains perfectly motionless, it may +easily be overlooked, for it looks just like a patch of bark covered +with lichens and mosses. It is said to sleep suspended from a branch +with its head downward, like the bats; and whether this is the case or +not, its tail is certainly prehensile, like that of a spider-monkey. And +strangest of all, perhaps, is the fact that, although it belongs to the +group of the insect-eaters, it feeds upon leaves. + + +THE HEDGEHOG + +In European countries, where it is common, one can scarcely walk through +the meadows on a summer's evening without seeing this curious animal as +it moves clumsily about in search of prey. There everybody is familiar +with its spiky coat, which affords such an excellent protection against +almost all its enemies. + +But it is not everybody who knows how the animal raises and lowers its +spines. It has them perfectly under control; we all know that. If you +pick a hedgehog up it raises its spines at once, even if it does not +roll itself up into a ball and so cause them to project straight out +from its body in all directions. But if you keep the creature as a pet, +and treat it kindly, it will very soon allow you to handle it freely +without raising its spines at all. + +The fact is this. The spines are shaped just like slightly bent pins, +each having a sort of rounded head at the base. And they are pinned, as +it were, through the skin, the heads lying underneath it. Besides this, +the whole body is wrapped up in a kind of muscular cloak, and in this +the heads of the spines are buried. So if the muscle is pulled in one +direction, the spines must stand up, because the heads are carried along +with it. If it is pulled in the other direction they must lie +down, for the same reason. And it is just by pulling this muscle in one +direction or the other that the animal raises and lowers its spines. + + +HEDGEHOG HABITS + +The hedgehog is not often seen wandering about by day, because it is +then fast asleep, snugly rolled up in a ball under the spreading roots +of a tree, or among the dead leaves at the bottom of a hedge. But soon +after sunset it comes out from its retreat, and begins to hunt about for +food. Sometimes it will eat bird's eggs, being very fond of those of the +partridge; for which reason it is not at all a favorite with the +gamekeeper. It will devour small birds, too, if it can get them, also +lizards, snails, slugs, and insects. It has often been known to kill +snakes and to feed upon their bodies afterward. It is a cannibal, too, +at times, and will kill and eat one of its own kind. But best of all it +likes earthworms. + +The number of these which it will crunch up one after another is +astonishing. "I once kept a tame hedgehog," says a naturalist, "and fed +him almost entirely upon worms; and he used to eat, on an average, +something like an ordinary jampotful every night of his life. He never +took the slightest notice of the worms as long as the daylight lasted; +but when it began to grow dark he would wake up, go sniffing about his +cage till he came to the jampot, and then stand up on his hind feet, put +his fore paws on the edge, and tip it over. And after about an hour and +a half of steady crunching, every worm had disappeared." + +In many places farmers persecute the hedgehog, and kill it whenever they +have a chance of doing so. And if you ask the reason the answer is +generally to the effect that hedgehogs steal milk from sleeping cows at +night. Now it does not seem very likely that a cow would allow such a +spiky creature as a hedgehog to come and nestle up against her body. +But, on the other hand, it cannot be denied that hedgehogs are often to +be seen close by cows as they rest upon the ground. But they have not +gone there in search of milk. Don't you know what happens if you lay a +heavy weight, such as a big paving-stone, on the ground? The worms +buried under it feel the pressure, and come up to the surface in +alarm. Now a cow is a very heavy weight; so that when she lies down a +number of worms are sure to come up all round her. And the hedgehog +visits the spot in search, not of milk, but of worms! + +The young of the hedgehog, which are usually four in number, do not look +in the least like their parents, and you might easily mistake them for +young birds; for their spikes are very soft and white, so that they look +much more like growing feathers. The little creatures are not only +blind, but also deaf, for several days after birth, and they cannot roll +themselves up till they have grown somewhat. The mother animal always +makes a kind of warm nest to serve as a nursery, and thatches it so +carefully that even a heavy shower of rain never seems to soak its way +through. + +Strange to say, the hedgehog appears to be quite unaffected by many +kinds of poison. It will eat substances which would cause speedy death +to almost any other animal. And over and over again it has been bitten +by a viper without appearing to suffer any ill results. + +In England, about the middle of October, the hedgehog retires to some +snug and well-hidden retreat, and there makes a warm nest of moss and +dry leaves. In this it hibernates, just as bats do in hollow trees, only +waking up now and then for an hour or two on very mild days, and often +passing three or four months without taking food. + + +SHREWS + +During the earlier part of the autumn, you may very often find a curious +mouse-like little animal lying dead upon the ground. But if you look at +it carefully, you will see at once that in several respects it is quite +different from the true mice. + +In the first place you will notice that its mouth is produced into a +long snout, which projects far in front of the lower jaw. Now no mouse +ever has a snout like that. Then you will find that all its teeth are +sharply pointed, while the front teeth of a mouse have broad, flat edges +specially meant for nibbling at hard substances. And, thirdly, you +will see that its tail, instead of gradually tapering to a pointed +tip, is comparatively short, and is squared in a very curious manner. +The fact is that the little animal is not a mouse at all, but a kind of +shrew, of which there are many American species. One is large, and +pushes through the top-soil like a mole. Another, smaller, is blackish, +and has a short tail. The commonest one is mouse-gray and only two +inches long plus a very long tail. It is fond of water, but has no such +interesting habits as those of the European shrew next described. + +These creatures are very common almost everywhere. But we very seldom +see them alive, because they are so timid that the first sound of an +approaching footstep sends them away into hiding. Yet they are not at +all timid among themselves. On the contrary, they are most quarrelsome +little creatures, and are constantly fighting. If two shrews meet, they +are almost sure to have a battle, and if you were to try to keep two of +them in the same cage, one would be quite certain to kill and eat the +other before very long. They are not cannibals as a rule, however, for +they feed upon worms and insects, and just now and then upon snails and +slugs. And no doubt they do a great deal of good by devouring +mischievous grubs. + +Why these little animals die in such numbers just at the beginning of +the autumn, nobody quite seems to know. It used to be thought that they +were killed by cats, or hawks, or owls, which refused to eat them +because of some unpleasant flavor in their flesh. But then one never +finds any mark of violence on their bodies. A much more absurd idea was +that they always die if they run across a path which has been trodden by +the foot of man! Perhaps the real reason may be that just at that season +of the year they perish from starvation. + + +THE WATER-SHREW + +The best way to see this pretty little creature is to go and lie down on +the bank of a stream, and to keep perfectly still for five or ten +minutes. If you do this--not moving even a finger--you will very +likely see half a dozen or more of the little animals at play. They go +rushing about in the wildest excitement, chasing one another, tumbling +over one another, and uttering curious little sharp, short squeaks, just +like a party of boys let out from school after a long morning's work. +Suddenly one will dash into the water and dive, quickly followed by +another and then by a third. As they swim away beneath the surface they +look just like balls of quicksilver, because their soft, silky fur +entangles thousands of little air-bubbles, which reflect back the light +just as a looking-glass does. And you will notice that they do not swim +straight. First they turn to one side, and then to the other side, +exactly like some one who has just learned to ride a bicycle, but does +not yet know how to keep the front wheel straight. And the reason is +this. The shrew swims by means of its hind feet, which are fringed with +long hairs, so as to make them more useful as paddles; and it uses them +by striking out first with one and then with the other. The consequence +is that when it strikes with the right foot its head turns to the left, +while when it strikes with the left foot its head turns to the right. + +But it would not be able to swim even as straight as it does if it were +not for its tail, which is fringed with long hairs just like the hind +feet. And as the little animal paddles its way through the water it +keeps its tail stretched out behind it, and uses it as a rudder, turning +it a little bit to one side or the other, so as to help it in keeping +its course. + +After chasing one another under water for a minute or two, the little +animals give up their game. And now, if you watch them carefully, you +can see them hunting for food. First they go to one stone down at the +bottom of the stream, and then to another, poking their long snouts +underneath in search of fresh-water shrimps, or the grubs of +water-insects. But a minute or two later they are all back on the bank +again, dashing about and chasing one another and squeaking as merrily as +ever. + +Sometimes you may see a water-shrew which is very much darker in color +than the others, the fur on the upper part of its body being almost +black. It used to be thought that such animals as this belonged to a +different species, to which the name of oared shrew was given. But we +know now that they are only dark varieties of the common water-shrew. + + +JUMPING SHREWS + +These are all found in Africa. They are curious little creatures with +extremely long hind feet, by means of which they leap along just as if +they were tiny kangaroos. So swift are they, that it is very difficult +for the eye to follow their movements. And as they disappear into their +burrows at the slightest alarm and do not come out again for some little +time, few people ever have a chance of watching their habits. + +The snouts of these shrews are so very long that the little animals are +often known as elephant-shrews. + + +TREE-SHREWS + +This is a group so called because they spend almost the whole of their +lives in the trees. In some ways they are not unlike tiny squirrels, +being nearly as active in their movements, and sitting up on their hind +quarters to feed, while the food is held in their fore paws. They are +found in various parts of Southern Asia. They soon become very tame, +actually entering houses, and climbing up on the table while the +occupants are sitting at meals. They will even drink tea and coffee out +of the cups! And if they are encouraged they make themselves quite at +home, and will drive away any other tree-shrews which may venture into +the house. + +The largest animal of this group is the tupaia, which lives in Borneo +and Sumatra. But the most curious is the pen-tailed tree-shrew, which +has a double fringe of long hairs at the end of its tail, arranged just +like the barbs of a feather, so that its tail looks very much like a +quill pen. The rest of the tail, which is very long, is covered with +square scales; and while the tail itself is black, the fringe of hairs +is white, so that the appearance of the animal is very odd. It is found +in Sarawak, and also in some of the smaller islands of the Malay +Archipelago. + + +THE DESMAN + +This animal may be described as a kind of mixture of the elephant-shrew +and the water-shrew; for it has an extremely long and flexible snout, +and it spends almost its whole life in the water. Its feet are very well +adapted for swimming, the toes being joined together by a web-like +membrane like those of the duck and the swan, so that they form most +exquisite paddles. And the animal is so fond of the water that, although +it lives in a burrow in the bank of a stream, it always makes the +entrance below the surface. + +This is a very good plan in one way, for if the little animal is chased +by one of its enemies, it can easily take refuge in its long, winding +tunnel, which twists about so curiously, and has so many side passages, +that the pursuer is almost sure to be baffled. But in another way it is +a bad plan, for as the burrow has no entrance except the one under +water, it never gets properly ventilated, the only connection with the +outer air being some chance cranny in the ground. And in winter-time, +when deep snow has covered up this cranny, while the surface of the +stream is frozen to a depth of several inches, the poor little desman +can get no fresh air at all, and often dies in its own burrow from +suffocation. + +This animal has a curious musky odor, which is due to certain glands +near the root of the tail. So strong is this odor, that if a pike +happens to have swallowed a desman a few days before it is caught, its +flesh cannot be eaten, for its whole body both smells and tastes +strongly of musk. Two kinds of desman are known. One is the Russian +desman, which is found in the steppes, and the other is the Pyrenean +desman, which lives in the range of mountains from which it takes its +name. + + +THE COMMON MOLE + +This is perhaps the most interesting of all the insect-eaters. Have you +ever noticed how wonderfully it is suited for a life which is almost +entirely spent under the ground? + +Notice, first of all, the shape of its body. It is a pointed cylinder. +Now that is the very best shape for a burrowing animal, because it +offers so little resistance to the ground as the creature forces its way +along. And nowadays we make all our boring tools and weapons of that +shape. The gimlet, which has to bore through wood; the bullet, which has +to bore through air; the torpedo and the submarine boat, which have to +bore through water--they are all made in the form of pointed cylinders. +And the mole is a pointed cylinder too. Its body is the cylinder, and +its head is the point; and so the animal is able to work its way through +the soil with as little difficulty as possible. + +Then notice the character of its fur. It has no "set" in it. You can +stroke it backward or forward with equal ease. And this is most +important in an animal which lives in a burrow. If a mole had fur like +that of a cat, it would be able to travel head foremost through its +tunnel quite easily; but it could not move backward. And this would +never do, for sometimes the mole is attacked by an enemy in front, while +it has no room to turn round in order to retreat. So nature has made its +fur in such a way that it "gives" in either direction, and enables the +little animal to move either forward or backward with equal ease. + + +A WONDROUS DIGGER + +See what wonderful front paws the mole has--so broad, so very strong, +and armed with such great, stout claws. They are partly pickaxes, and +partly spades, which can tear away the earth and fling it up into +molehills with the most wonderful speed. The rapidity with which a mole +can dig is really marvelous. "Three times," a writer tells us, "I have +seen moles walking about on the ground. Each time I was within ten yards +of the animal; each time I ran to the spot. And yet each time the little +creature had disappeared into the ground before I could get there! It +did not seem to be digging. It simply seemed to sink into the soil, just +as though it were sinking into water." + +Then just see how hard and horny the skin of the paws is. If it were +not for this, the mole would be always cutting itself with sharp flints +as it dug its way through the ground. Notice, too, how both the eyes and +ears are hidden away under the fur, so that fragments of earth may not +fall into them. Nature has been very careful to suit the mole to the +strange life which she calls upon it to lead. + +Perhaps no animal is so strong for its size as the mole. Its muscles and +sinews are so hard that they will turn the edge of a knife. If a mole +could be magnified to the size of a lion or a tiger, and its strength +could be increased in corresponding degree, it would be by far the more +powerful animal of the two. + + +THE MOLE AND ITS FOOD + +The reason why the mole is so strong, and so well suited for a life +underground, is that it is meant to feed partly upon worms, and partly +upon such grubs as wireworms, which live on the roots of plants. And the +appetite of the animal is astonishing. It is ever eating, and yet never +appears to be satisfied. Don't think of keeping a mole as a pet; because +if you do, you will have to spend almost the whole of your time in +digging up worms for it to eat! Mole-catchers say, indeed, that if a +mole goes without eating for three hours it is in danger of starvation. +So that the animal must spend the greater part of the day, and of the +night too, in searching for food. + +How does it find the worms and grubs? Well, of course it cannot see +underground; so sometimes, we may think, it smells them, for its scent +is certainly very keen. But oftener, most likely, it hears them moving +about; for its ears are even keener still. Haven't you noticed that, +although you may often walk through fields which are almost covered with +molehills, you never see the earth being thrown up? That is because the +mole hears you coming. It hears your footsteps when you are a hundred +yards distant, or even more, and immediately stops work until you have +gone away again. In "The Tempest," Caliban tells his companions to +"tread softly, that the blind mole may not hear a footfall." Although +Shakespeare was wrong in thinking that moles are blind, he was quite +right in reminding us that they have very sharp ears. + + +FRIEND OR FOE? + +The gardener, of course, looks upon the mole as a foe; and so it is when +it drives its tunnels under our lawns, and throws up great heaps of +earth on the surface of the grass. And the farmer regards it as a foe +too, and kills it whenever he has an opportunity. But perhaps the farmer +may not know what a busy little animal the mole is, and what thousands +and thousands of mischievous grubs it devours. There are wireworms, +which nibble away at the roots of plants till they kill them, and then +move on to destroy other plants in the same way. There are +"leather-jackets," or daddy-long-legs grubs, which feed upon the roots +of grass, and sometimes ruin all the turf in a meadow. There are also +the great fat white grubs of beetles, which are worse, perhaps, than +either; and many others as well. Now the mole is always preying upon +these. It eats them in hundreds every day of its life. And just think of +all the mischief that they would have done if they had been allowed to +live! No doubt it is annoying to the farmer to have molehills among his +hay, which blunt the knives of the reaping-machines, and prevent them +from cutting properly. But even that is better than having no hay to +cut; and there would be none if all these mischievous grubs were allowed +to live. + +But there is another way as well in which the mole is useful; for the +earth which it digs up from down below, and throws up in heaps on the +surface of the ground, serves for what the farmer calls a top-dressing. +After a time, you see, the nourishment in the soil at the surface is +sucked out of it by the roots of the grass. If it were in a garden, the +farmer could dig it. If it were in a corn-field, or a turnip-field, he +could plow it. But in a meadow, he can do neither, without destroying +the pasture. So he applies a top-dressing. He gets some good, rich earth +from elsewhere, and spreads it over the surface; and this earth works +down to the grass-roots, and gives them just the nourishment they +require. + +Now this is exactly what the mole is always doing. The earth which it +throws up is fresh, rich earth from down below, which the roots have not +reached. It is just what the failing grass requires. And if the farmer +rakes the molehills down, so as to spread this earth evenly over the +surface of the field, he finds that it forms a top-dressing quite as +good as any he could apply himself. So instead of looking upon the mole +as one of his enemies, he ought to include it in the list of his +laborers. + + +THE LITTLE WELL-DIGGER + +Another thing that we must tell you about the mole is the way in which +it obtains water. It is a very thirsty animal, and constantly requires +to drink. At the same time, it cannot leave its burrow half a dozen +times a day, in order to visit a stream or a pond, for it would almost +certainly be killed by one of its many enemies. So it actually digs +little wells of its own, always doing so in the dampest parts of its +tunnels, where they fill up almost immediately. And when it wants to +drink it just goes off to the nearest of these wells and satisfies its +thirst. + + +THE MOLE'S FORTRESS + +But the most wonderful thing that the mole does is to make what we call +a fortress, surrounding the chamber in which it sleeps. This fortress is +situated either in a natural mound of earth, or else beneath the +spreading roots of a tree or a large bush; and it is made in this way: +First the mole digs a short circular gallery. A little way under this it +digs another, rather larger in diameter, and connects the two by means +of five short passages. In the middle of the mound, and about half-way +between the two galleries, it scoops out a large round hole, from which +three passages run to the lower gallery. This is the mole's bedroom, and +it communicates with the main burrow by a tunnel which dips under the +lower gallery. Finally, a number of runs branch out from the lower +gallery in all directions. + +So, you see, if a mole is chased by an enemy, it can nearly always +escape by passing through its fortress. It goes up one passage, down +another, up again by a third, down again by a fourth, and then off by +one of the side runs; so that its pursuer is almost sure to be +bewildered. And if the little animal should be surprised while asleep, +it can escape in any direction without losing even a moment. + +As the mole always likes to make itself comfortable, it collects +together a quantity of dry grass, moss, and leaves, and piles them up in +the central chamber, so as to make a warm and cosy bed! And the female +mole makes a nursery for her little ones in much the same way. + + +FIERCE FIGHTERS + +Sad to say, moles are very quarrelsome little animals, and frequently +fight when they meet. Here is an account of one of their battles, +written by a passer-by who happened to witness it. + +"Walking along a quiet lane, I heard some very funny little squeaks +proceeding from the other side of the hedge. I am perfectly used to all +sorts of animal and bird sounds, but had never heard the like of these +before. On getting cautiously over the hedge, I found two moles fighting +in the ditch. I went to within two yards of them, but they took not the +slightest notice of me, so intent were both on their business. I at once +looked at my watch. They kept on, up and down, scratch and bite, for +seven minutes, when one turned the other completely over on his back, +and seized him by the throat, which he cut as cleanly as if done by a +knife, thus finishing the fight. The way in which they used their +formidable front feet was surprising." + + +THE STAR-NOSED MOLE + +This mole is found in the United States and Canada. It is a very +odd-looking animal, for its muzzle is shaped into a long snout, at the +tip of which is a circle of fleshy rays of a rosy red color, which look +like the petals of a red daisy, or the spreading arms of a sea-anemone. +These rays can be opened wide or closed up at pleasure, and seem to +serve as very delicate organs of touch, helping the animal in finding +and catching its prey. + +This mole is also remarkable for having a very long tail, which is more +than half the length of the head and body. The total length is about +seven inches. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +THE LARGER CATS + + +Now we come to the beasts of prey, foremost among which stand the +members of the great cat tribe. All these animals have their bodies +formed in a very wonderful way. + +First of all, their eyes are intended for use chiefly by night. If you +look at a cat's eyes during broad daylight, when the sun is shining, you +will notice that the pupils, through which she sees, are nothing more +than mere narrow slits in the middle. Look at them again toward evening, +when the twilight is just beginning to creep on, and you will see that +the pupils are a good deal bigger, occupying nearly half the eyeball. +Look at them once again, when it is almost dark, and you will find that +they are bigger still, having widened out over nearly the whole of the +eye. + +Now the eyes of a lion and a tiger are made in just the same way. The +darker the night, the more the pupils expand, so that they may be able +to take in the few rays of light that there are. We sometimes say that +these animals can see in the dark. That, of course, is a mistake, for in +perfect darkness no animal can see at all. But even on the darkest night +there is always some light, and no matter how little there is it is +enough to allow lions and tigers to see perfectly well, because of the +wonderful way in which their eyes are made. + + +THE STEALTHY TREAD + +But these creatures do not only want to be able to see their victims on +a dark night; they also want to be able to creep up to them without +making the slightest sound. It would be quite useless, for instance, for +a lion to chase a deer, because the deer is by far the swifter animal of +the two. If the lion is to catch the deer at all he must spring upon it +unawares, and strike it down before it knows its danger. And this is +not at all easy, for the ears of a deer are very sharp, and if the lion +were to make the least noise while creeping up, it would take the alarm +directly. But under his great broad paws the lion has soft, fleshy +cushions, which enable him to walk along without making any noise at +all. Haven't you noticed how silent a cat's tread is? You simply cannot +hear her place her foot upon the ground. Well, lions and tigers walk in +just the same noiseless manner, so that the deer never hears them +creeping up, and is struck down and killed before it has time to realize +its danger. + +[Illustration: FOUR GREAT CATS + + 1. Lion and Lioness. 2. Canada Lynx. + 3. Cheeta. 4. Tiger.] + +But suppose that there are bushes in the way. Suppose, for example, that +in order to approach the deer at all the lion must creep through a +thicket. Is he not quite sure to brush up against a branch as he does +so, causing the leaves to rustle? And will not the deer hear the sound +and take the alarm? + +Well, no doubt this would happen if the lion had to depend for his +silent approach only on the soft cushions under his feet. But then, you +see, he has whiskers as well! Perhaps you thought these were only meant +for ornament. But they are meant for use; and they are employed in a +very curious manner. When they are spread out on either side, they +measure from tip to tip exactly the width of the body. Besides this, +there is a very delicate sensitive nerve at the root of every whisker, +which runs straight to the brain. So, you see, if the tip of a whisker +is touched, the brain feels it directly; and if as the lion is creeping +through the bushes his outspread whiskers brush against the branches, he +knows at once that there is no room for him to pass without making a +noise and alarming his victim. So he draws his head back, and creeps up +by another way. + + +KILLING AND EATING + +Then it is very important that his claws should be kept sharp; for he +depends upon them for tearing his victim down. So every claw fits into a +sheath, which protects the point, and prevents it from being worn down +by rubbing against the ground. You can easily see these sheaths by +examining the paw of a cat; and those of the lion and tiger are formed +in just the same way. And the muscles which work them are so arranged +that they keep the claws always drawn back, except just when the animal +uses its paw in striking. + +And then, once more, these animals have very curious tongues. Haven't +you noticed when a cat has licked your hand how very dry and rough her +tongue feels? It is quite different from the smooth, wet tongue of a +dog. Well, the tongue of a lion or tiger is even rougher still; and if +you were to look at it sideways, you would see why. It is covered all +over with sharp hook-like projections, the points of which are directed +toward the throat. + +The reason is this: a lion or a tiger does not succeed in killing prey +every night. Sometimes it hunts for one night, sometimes for two nights, +sometimes even for three nights, without any success at all. So that +when it does catch a victim, it wants to eat as much of its flesh as it +possibly can. And if its tongue were not made in this singular manner, +it would have to waste a great deal; for its sharp-pointed teeth cannot +tear off nearly all the flesh of the bones. By means of its rough +tongue, however, it can lick off even the tiniest scraps; and not even +the smallest atom has to be wasted. + +If you give a dog a bone which is too big for him to crunch up and +swallow, you will always find that he leaves a good deal of meat upon +it. But if you give a similar bone to a hungry cat, you will find that +she licks it perfectly clean. That is because her tongue is made in just +the same way as that of a lion. + + +LIONS + +About forty different kinds of cats are known, most of which are found +in the warmer parts of Africa and Asia. The most famous of all, of +course, is the lion, which is spread over the greater part of the +African continent, and is also found in Persia and in India. + +We need not describe the lion, for everybody knows perfectly well what +it is like. But perhaps you do not know that the Indian lion hardly ever +has a mane. For this reason it was formerly thought that there were two +different kinds of lions, the Indian animal being quite different from +that found in Africa. But we now know that this is not the case, and +that the Indian lion is only a kind or variety, not a distinct species. + +But there are very few lions left in India now, while even in Persia +they are not nearly so plentiful as they used to be. In many parts of +Africa, however, these animals abound, and it is not at all an uncommon +thing for six or eight to be seen together. + +During the daytime the lion is generally fast asleep, lying up in a +thicket, or in a bed of reeds by the side of a pool or a river. But as +soon as night falls he leaves his retreat, and begins to prowl about in +search of prey, roaring loudly from time to time. One would think that +this would only alarm other animals, and lead them to seek safety in +flight. But when a lion roars he generally puts his head close to the +ground, and this has the effect of making it almost impossible for them +to tell from which direction the sound is coming, so that they do not +know how best to try to escape him. And very often, in their +bewilderment, they rush to the very spot where he is lying in wait. + +When a lion springs upon his victim, he either kills it by a stroke from +his terrible paw, or else bites it in the throat or across the back of +the neck. He then drags it away to some convenient retreat, eats his +fill, and returns to his lair to sleep. Next day, very likely, he will +return to the carcass for another meal. But when he gets there he often +finds that the jackals and hyenas have discovered it, and left very +little for him. + +Wherever a lion goes he is almost sure to be followed by a number of +jackals, all anxious to feast on the remains of the animals he kills. +But he never allows them to approach until he has eaten as much as he +can possibly swallow, and it is said that if one of them attempts to do +so he will catch it and bite off all its paws as a warning to the others +to be more respectful. + +According to a great many hunters, the lion is not nearly so courageous +as it is generally supposed to be, and is really rather a cowardly +animal. They say, for example, that it will hardly ever face a man +unless it is brought to bay, but will always try to slink away and +escape. If they kill a deer, and want to protect its body from the +lions, they can always do so by tying two or three streamers of white +cloth to sticks planted round the carcass, so that they flutter in the +wind. And though the animals may prowl round and round all through the +night, roaring loudly from time to time, they will never venture to +approach within fifteen or twenty yards. Neither will they attack a +tethered horse if the bridle is left hanging from its neck. + +All hunters agree, however, that if a lion is wounded, or if it sees no +chance of escape, it is a most terrible foe, and cannot be encountered +without the utmost peril. + +If a lion is captured while quite young, it is very easily tamed, and +can even be taught to perform all kinds of tricks at the word of +command. But lions born in captivity are not nearly so easy to manage, +and can never be depended upon for a moment. + +Lions generally have three or four cubs at a birth, and the little +animals are just as playful at kittens. But although they are always +ready for a good romp it is not wise to play with them, for a baby lion +is as big as a good-sized cat, and is very much stronger, so that a bite +from its teeth or a blow from its paw is rather a serious matter. For +the first few months of their lives the cubs are brindled, almost like +tigers, the stripes disappearing by degrees as the fur grows darker. +They do not reach their full size until they are about four years old. + + +TIGERS + +The tiger is found principally in the jungles of India, although it is +spread over the greater part of Central and Southern Asia. In some +respects it is a finer animal than even the lion. It is certainly +stronger; it is quite as courageous; and it is nearly as large, though +the shortness of its legs and the absence of a mane cause it to appear a +good deal smaller. + +Probably any one, on seeing a tiger for the first time, would imagine +that it must be a very conspicuous animal in its native jungle. But, as +a matter of fact, this is not the case at all. As long as a tiger keeps +perfectly still it is most difficult to see him, even if you happen to +be looking straight at him; for his bright orange fur, marked with +glossy black stripes, looks just like the yellow leaves of the +jungle-grass, with streaks of deep shadow between them. This coloring, +of course, helps the tiger in two ways. In the first place, when he is +hunting, it enables him to creep up to his victims without being seen; +and in the second place, when he is being hunted himself, it often helps +him to crawl away without being noticed. + +In some parts of India tigers are still extremely common; and of course +they do a great deal of mischief. They are very fond of preying upon +domesticated cattle, and sometimes, every four or five days for months +together, the same tiger will kill and carry away a bullock from the +same herd. He generally kills his victims by springing upon them +suddenly, seizing their throats with his jaws, and then wrenching their +heads backward and sideways, so as to break their necks. Then he will +either drag away the carcass into the jungle at once, or he will hide +close by, and come back in order to feast upon it when night is +beginning to fall. + +Of course a tiger cannot devour the whole of a bullock's body at one +meal; but at the same time he does not care to leave the remainder for +the jackals. So when he has eaten his fill he nearly always finds a +sleeping place close by, so that if he should wake up and hear a party +of jackals quarreling over the carcass, he can rush out at them and +drive them away. + + +MAN-EATERS + +But worse by far than the cattle-destroying tigers are the man-eaters. +These are sometimes said to be the old and almost toothless animals +which can no longer kill a buffalo or a bullock, and therefore take to +preying upon human beings instead. But very often quite a young animal +becomes a man-eater; and it is said that if a tiger should once taste +human blood he will always prefer it afterward to any other food. + +A man-eating tiger will often throw a whole district into a state of +terror. Day after day he will conceal himself among the thick bushes +which border a native road, and lie in wait for solitary passers-by. One +day, perhaps, a man will be carried off; the next day, a woman; the day +after, a child. No one knows where the animal is hiding; and sometimes +he will succeed in killing fifty or sixty human beings before he is +discovered and destroyed. + + +TIGER-HUNTING + +When the natives kill a tiger, they generally do so by driving him into +a small clump of jungle, surrounding it with stout netting, and then +spearing him through the meshes. Or perhaps they will climb a tree close +to the carcass of a bullock which the animal has killed, and shoot him +when he comes at dusk to feast upon its remains. But in Oudh the tiger +is said to have been formerly destroyed in a very curious way. A number +of leaves of the prauss tree, which are large and broad like those of a +sycamore, were smeared with a kind of bird-lime, and laid upon the +ground in the animal's path. When he came along one of these leaves +would stick to his paws, and he would find that he could not shake it +off. So he would try to remove it by rubbing it against his face. The +only result, of course, would be that his nose and eyes became covered +with bird-lime. Meanwhile he had trodden upon other leaves, which he +tried to remove in the same way. Before very long his eyelids were stuck +down so that he could not open them. Then he would lie down and rub his +face upon the ground, covering it with earth, and so making matters +worse. By this time he would be thoroughly frightened and begin to howl +pitifully, so that when the hunters came running up they found the poor +beast an easy prey. + +Europeans, however, hunt the tiger by means of elephants, which have to +be carefully trained before they can be depended upon to face the +furious animal. A number of elephants are generally employed, the +hunters riding in howdahs, seats fixed upon their backs, while several +hundred natives, perhaps, act as beaters, shouting and yelling, beating +drums, firing guns, and making as much din as they possibly can to +frighten the animal from its retreat. Sometimes it is so terrified that +it slinks out, and falls an easy prey. But now and then it will charge +the nearest elephant with the utmost fury, sometimes springing upon it +and almost reaching the howdah before it is killed by a well-directed +bullet. + +The number of tiger cubs in a litter varies from two to five, or even +six, although families of more than three are not very common. The +little ones do not reach their full size until they are three years old, +and during the whole of that time they go about with their parents. + + +LEOPARDS + +Much smaller than either the lion or the tiger, but still a very large +and powerful animal, is the leopard, which is sometimes known as the +panther. It is spread over almost the whole of Africa, and also over the +greater part of Asia, and in many districts is very common. + +You can always recognize the leopard by its markings. The ground color +of the fur is bright yellow, with just a tinge of red in it, becoming +lighter on the flanks, and passing into white on the lower surface of +the body. The spots are black, and those on the back and sides are +always ring-shaped, enclosing a patch of yellow. Sometimes, however, the +whole of the fur is black. But even then you can see the spots, which +look something like the markings in watered silk. + +Somehow, these black leopards always seem far more savage than the +others, and those who have them under their care say that it is quite +impossible to tame them. + +In spite of its smaller size, the leopard is nearly as powerful as the +tiger, and in some ways is an even more formidable foe. It is much more +active, for instance, and is more easily roused into rage; while it can +climb trees like a cat, and spring down upon a passer-by from among the +branches. It does not as a rule attack man, and will always seek safety +in flight if it can. But if it is brought to bay it will fight +furiously, and nothing will check it but a bullet through the heart or +the brain. + +When it can do so, the leopard always likes to live near the habitations +of man, because there are so many opportunities of springing upon a +pony, a sheep, or a goat. At night, too, it will rob the hen-roosts, or +make its way into the pens where the calves are kept, and carry one of +them off before its presence is even suspected. Dogs, too, fall victims +to it in great numbers, and now and then it succeeds in pouncing upon +an unwary monkey. When it kills an animal it does not leave the carcass +lying on the ground as the tiger does, and visit it night after night +until it is consumed, but carries parts of its body up into a tree, and +hides them in a kind of larder which it has made among the branches. + +Those who have hunted it say that the leopard is a far more difficult +animal to kill than the tiger. The reason is that it is so much more +wary. A tiger, as it creeps through the jungle, will look most carefully +in front of it as it moves along, as well as on either side, but it +never seems to think of looking up into the branches of a tree above, to +see if an enemy is hiding there. So very often the hunter is able to +shoot it before it has the least idea that it is in danger. But a +leopard is much more cautious, and never comes back to its lair, or to +the remains of its kill, without carefully examining the boughs above as +well as the bushes below; so that unless the hunter is well concealed +the animal is almost sure to discover him and to crawl silently away +before he has got the chance of a shot. + + +THE OUNCE + +This animal looks rather like a leopard with very light-colored fur. But +the rosette-like spots are a good deal larger, the fur is very much +longer and thicker, and the tail is almost as bushy as that of a Persian +cat. The reason why the fur is so thick is that the ounce lives in very +cold countries. It is found high up in the mountains of Central Asia, +ascending during the summer to a height of perhaps eighteen thousand +feet--a good deal higher than the summit of Mont Blanc--and coming down +to the lower levels in winter. In other words, it is hardly ever seen +below the snow-line, and is often known as the snow-leopard. So it wants +good thick, warm fur. We do not know very much about its habits, for it +is a very difficult animal to watch in a state of nature. Very few +people ever see it. But it seems to prey chiefly upon wild goats, wild +sheep, and those odd little burrowing animals that we call marmots, and +also upon domesticated sheep and cattle which are sent up to graze on +the higher slopes of the mountains. It is said never to venture to +attack man. + + +THE JAGUAR + +Still more like a leopard is the jaguar, which lives in Central and +South America. But you can tell it at once by looking at the +rosette-like marks on its body, most of which have either one or two +small patches of dark brown fur in the middle. It also has three or four +bold black streaks across its breast, which are never seen in the +leopard. And its tail is ever so much shorter, the tip scarcely reaching +to the ground when the animal is standing upright. + +The jaguar is perhaps even a better climber than the leopard, and seems +far more at its ease among the branches than on the ground. Indeed, +there are some parts of the great swampy forests of Brazil in which the +animal is said never to descend to the ground at all, but to spend its +whole life in the trees which stand so close side by side that it can +easily spring from one to another. You wonder, perhaps, what it feeds +upon. Why, upon monkeys, and very active indeed it has to be if it +wishes to catch them. But then, when a band of monkeys discover a +jaguar, they are never able to resist the temptation of getting as close +to him as they dare, and chattering and screaming as loudly as they can, +just to annoy him. Isn't that exactly like monkeys? But sometimes they +venture a little _too_ close, and then with a sudden spring he +seizes the nearest of his impudent tormentors and carries it shrieking +away. + +Birds, too, are often caught by the jaguar, who pounces upon them as +they are roosting upon a branch. But he is not at all particular as to +what he eats, and sometimes he will leave the trees altogether, and go +hunting in the reed-beds by the riverside for capybaras, which we will +describe farther on. He is very fond of these animals, for they are so +slow in their movements that they cannot run away, so badly provided +with natural weapons that they cannot fight, and so fat and delicate +that they afford most excellent eating. + +Then, just for a change, perhaps, he will stroll down to the +sea-shore, and look for a good big turtle. When he sees one--which is +generally a female on her way back to the water after laying her eggs in +the sand--he seizes it suddenly with his fore paws, and turns it over on +its back, so that it cannot possibly escape. Then, perhaps, if he is not +very hungry, he leaves it for a little while. But soon he returns, and +manages to scoop out all the flesh of the animal from between the shells +by means of his long hooked talons, thrusting in his paw over and over +again, till scarcely the smallest particle is left remaining. + +Very likely, too, he will find the spot where the turtle had laid her +eggs, dig them up, and devour them as well. Sometimes he will crouch on +the bank of a stream, quite close to the water, and hook out the fish +that pass by with his claws. And when he is very hungry indeed he will +eat lizards and even insects. + +Like the ounce, however, the jaguar seldom or never ventures to attack a +human being, although he will fight savagely if he is driven to bay. But +he will often spring upon horses and cattle, and in such cases he nearly +always kills them by seizing their heads between his front paws, and +giving a sudden wrench sideways and upward so as to break their necks. + +Like most of the cats, the jaguar has a fondness for scratching the +trunks of trees, and sometimes a tree may be found with gashes in its +bark an inch deep and more than a yard long. + + +THE PUMA, OR COUGAR + +Next to the jaguar, the puma is the largest of the American cats, a +full-grown male being sometimes as much as eight feet in total length, +of which about three feet is taken up by the tail. In color it is tawny +brown, becoming lighter on the lower surface, and without any spots at +all. But the odd thing is that its young are marked all over with large +blotches of blackish brown, while their tails are ringed with black like +that of the tiger. And these markings do not disappear until they are +more than six months old. + +The puma is found in almost all parts of the American continent, from +British Columbia in the north to Patagonia in the south, and it is even +said to have been seen in Tierra del Fuego. It spends some part of its +life in the trees, being almost as good a climber as the jaguar. But it +almost always hunts upon the ground, trying to creep stealthily up to +its victim, and to spring upon it before its presence is even suspected. + +It scarcely ever ventures to attack a man, but will often follow him for +a long distance as though waiting an opportunity to pounce upon him +unawares. But if he suddenly turns and faces the animal, it will always +slink away, even if he is quite unarmed. Sometimes, too, it will allow +itself to be killed without attempting to defend itself at all. So +hunters have a rather poor opinion of its courage. The farmers, however, +have very good reason for dreading the animal, for it is a terrible +enemy to sheep, and has been known to kill as many as fifty in a single +night. And it will also leap suddenly upon horses and cattle and break +their necks, just as the jaguar does. + +Although in some ways it is such a cowardly creature, the puma will +often fight the jaguar itself. Of course it is the weaker animal of the +two, but it is so exceedingly quick in its movements, and makes such +excellent use of its teeth and talons, that in many cases it gets the +best of the battle. Sometimes, when a jaguar is killed by a hunter, its +back is found to be deeply scored all over by the claws of a puma. + +In many parts of North America the puma is known as the panther, or +"painter," also as the mountain lion, and it has other names besides. + + +THE CLOUDED LEOPARD + +There is still one more of the larger cats which we must not pass by +without mention, and that is the clouded leopard, or clouded tiger, +which is found in the southeastern parts of Asia, and in the larger +islands of the Malay Archipelago. In size it is about as big as a small +leopard, and its yellow brown fur is marked with stripes like those of +the tiger, spots like those of the leopard, rosettes like those of the +jaguar, and blotches like those of the ocelots, while its tail is +adorned with rings of glossy black. So, you see, it is a very handsome +animal. + +We do not know very much about its habits, but it seems to live +almost entirely in the trees, and to prey chiefly upon birds, while +those who have caught and tamed it say that it is very gentle and +playful. The Malays call it the rimau-dahan, or "tree-tiger"; and there +is a smaller variety, found in the same localities, which is generally +known as the marbled cat. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +THE SMALLER CATS + + +The smaller members of the cat tribe include many interesting animals of +which our readers, if not already informed concerning them, will be glad +to learn something. + + +THE SERVAL + +Unfortunately, although this is quite a common animal in many parts of +Africa, we know very little about its habits. But it appears to prey +chiefly upon the smaller antelopes, creeping silently up to them as they +are grazing, and springing upon them so suddenly that they never know +that they are in danger until they are struck down. + +In South Africa, where it is a good deal more numerous than it is in the +northern parts of the continent, the Dutch call the serval the +_bosch-katte_, or "bush-cat," because it looks like a rather big +cat, and lives in the thick bushy parts of the veldt. It is a pretty +animal, and would be prettier still if its short, stumpy tail were a +little longer, for its fur is bright golden yellow, marked with dark +spots, some of which run into one another, and so form stripes. +Underneath the body the fur is nearly white, while the ears are +jet-black, with a broad white band running across them. In length the +animal measures about three feet, ten inches of which are taken up by +the tail; and it stands about eighteen inches in height. + + +THE OCELOT + +This is one of the handsomest of all the cats. It is found in almost all +parts of tropical America. But it is not a very easy animal to describe, +because it varies so much in color that until a few years ago +naturalists thought there were several different kinds of ocelots, to +all of which they gave separate names. As a rule, however, the ground +color of the fur is either brownish yellow or reddish gray, while the +back and sides are marked with rows of streaks and spots and blotches, +which sometimes run into one another in such a way as to look almost +like stripes. The length of the animal is about four feet, of which +about fifteen inches is occupied by the tail, and it stands from sixteen +to eighteen inches in height. + +The ocelot is found only in forest districts, and is an excellent +climber, spending most of its life in the trees. It feeds chiefly upon +birds, hiding among the thick foliage until they settle within reach, +and then knocking them over with its ready paw. Or it will spring down +upon them as they alight on the ground below. It seems to like the head +of a bird best of all, and generally eats that first; and very often it +will pluck its victim most carefully before proceeding to devour it. + +The animal called the margay is really a kind of small ocelot, and it is +sometimes known as the tiger-cat. + + +THE EGYPTIAN CAT + +In this we have a most interesting animal, not only because it seems +certain that it is the ancestor of the cats we keep now as pets, but +also because in days of old the people of Egypt used to venerate it, +just as they also did the Arabian baboon. In every way they treated it +with the greatest possible honor. Indeed, to kill a cat, in those days, +was a far more serious offence than to kill a man, and if the offender +was discovered he was certainly made to pay the penalty with his life. +And when the animal died its body was carefully embalmed and wrapped in +spices, and was then solemnly buried in the tombs of the kings. + +If you ever go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, or to the +Boston Museum, you may see the mummied remains of some of the very cats +which were venerated by the people of Egypt five thousand years ago. + +In the British Museum is an old painting which is as interesting, +although in a different way. For it shows us that, while the ancient +Egyptians held the cat in such high honor, they expected it to make +itself useful in return. The picture represents a hunter and his family +going out on an expedition in search of water-birds, and from it we +learn that they would embark in a boat with several decoy birds, +together with a carefully trained cat. They would then push off into the +great beds of tall reeds which fringed the sides of the river, and sit +in the boat while the cat went and caught birds for them, which were +attracted within reach by the decoys. In a picture we have seen, the cat +is represented with one bird in her mouth, another in her fore paws, and +a third between her hind paws; so that if she got all three back to the +boat, she must have been a very clever cat. + +This animal is sometimes known as the Caffre cat, and it is found wild +in almost all parts of Africa, and also in Syria and Arabia. In size it +is about as big as a rather large domestic cat, and in color is +generally yellowish gray, with a few faint stripes across the back and +several darker ones on the hind quarters, while the tail is marked with +black rings and always has a black tip. + + +THE WILDCAT + +The true wildcat is a European animal. In the United States, what is +commonly called a wildcat is really a species of lynx--the bay +lynx--often called bobcat. It is found in nearly all the States east of +the Mississippi River that have large forests. + +If you were to see a real wildcat in captivity, you would most likely +think that it looked a very gentle creature. But in reality it is one of +the fiercest and most savage of all living animals, and no matter how +kindly it is treated it never seems to become tame. + +True wildcats are nearly always found in thickets in mountain districts +which are hardly ever trodden by the foot of man. They mostly live +either in hollow trees, or in crevices among the rocks, where they bring +up their litters of little ones. They keep their kittens in very good +order. We have heard of a wildcat which was kept in a large otter's +cage, with a pool of water in the middle; and there she brought +up three kittens. One day she heard a strange footstep approaching. Now +she could not bear strangers, and would never allow them to look at her +little ones; so she jumped into the sleeping-compartment, and called to +her kittens to come in after her. Two of them obeyed; the third +preferred to stay outside. So out she jumped, soused it three times in +the water, just to teach it to be more obedient in future, and then +carried it off by the scruff of its neck. + +A full-grown wildcat is about twenty-eight inches long without the tail, +which is much shorter and more stumpy than that of the domestic cat. The +thick soft fur is gray in color, brindled with black. + +Another kind of wildcat is found in the northern parts of Africa, and +also in Persia and India. Sometimes it is called the jungle-cat, and +sometimes the chaus. It is rather bigger than an ordinary cat, and is +sandy gray or grayish brown in color, with just a few darker streaks +across the legs. It lives, as a rule, among long grass and reeds, and in +corn-fields, coming out to hunt only by night; so very few people ever +see it in a wild state, and we do not know very much about its habits. +But it must be rather a formidable animal to meet, for a writer tells us +that a jungle-cat which he kept for some years as a pet was more than a +match for two powerful English bull-terriers, which used to attack her +day after day, but always got the worst of the battle. + + +THE CARACAL + +You may see this animal at some zoo; and if you go to look at it your +first idea will most likely be that it is very bad-tempered. For as soon +as you come near its cage it is almost sure to throw back its ears, show +its teeth, and spit and hiss and snarl at you, and to look as if it +would fly at you in a moment if only the bars were not in its way. And +so no doubt it would, for it is one of the most savage of all the cats, +and cannot be tamed without very great difficulty, unless it is caught +while very young. + +The name caracal signifies black-eared, and has been given to the +animal because its ears are jet-black in color. They also have a long +tuft of dark hairs at the tip. The head, body, and legs are bright +reddish brown. But some caracals are a good deal lighter than others, +and now and then the lower parts of the body are marked with dull +reddish spots. The height of the animal is about eighteen inches at the +shoulder, and the length of the body and tail together is from three to +four feet. + +Caracals are found in India and Arabia, and also in most parts of +Africa. They live among bushes and long grass, as a rule, and prey upon +the smaller deer and antelopes and also upon birds, which they are said +sometimes to capture even on the wing, springing into the air and +seizing them between their fore paws as they fly past. + +[Illustration: SOME FIERCE CATS. + + 1. Mexican Ocelot. + 2. Young Leopard-cat. 3. Himalayan Snow Leopard. + 4. Saharan Serval. 5. American Jaguar.] + + +THE LYNX + +This odd-looking creature appears somewhat like a stoutly built caracal. +But the ears are gray instead of black, the tufts of hair upon them are +a good deal longer, and the fur of the body is gray, generally marked +with a number of darker spots. Its curious appearance, however, is due +to the fact that it has an enormous pair of very bushy whiskers, which +hang down far below the chin. + +Not so very long ago the lynx was found commonly in many parts of +Europe, and it is still tolerably plentiful in Norway, Sweden, and the +northern parts of Russia, as well as in Northern Asia. But it is very +much persecuted by the hunters, for two reasons. In the first place, it +is a very destructive creature. A couple of lynxes have been known to +kill six sheep between them in a single night. In the second place, its +fur is so thick, so soft, and so warm that its skin sells for a good +deal of money. So a great many lynxes are shot or trapped every year, +and before very long the animal will most likely disappear from Europe +altogether. + +No doubt you have sometimes heard the expression "lynx-eyed" used of +somebody whose sight is unusually good. And certainly the lynx is very +sharp-sighted. In days of old it was actually thought that the animal +could see right through a solid wall as easily as we can through a pane +of glass! + +The lynx is a good climber, and spends a great part of its life in the +trees, often lurking among the branches in order to spring down upon an +unsuspecting victim as it passes below. But it mostly makes its lair +among rocks, just as the wildcat does. There it brings up its two or +three little ones, which are playful little creatures, but very +bad-tempered if any one interferes with them. However, they are easily +tamed if they are captured while quite small, and will follow their +master about just like a dog. + +Another kind of lynx, called the pardine lynx, inhabits the south of +Europe, from Spain as far as Turkey. + +Lynxes are also found in Canada; but it is not quite certain whether +these belong to a different species or not. At any rate, they are rather +smaller than those which live in Europe and Asia, and their tails are +hardly ever more than five inches long. They live in the deepest parts +of the forests, and in thick bushy districts, so that they are not very +often seen; and they prey upon hares and other small animals, and also +upon such birds as grouse and partridges. + +When one of these lynxes is running through long grass it looks very +odd; for it travels by means of a series of leaps, all four of its feet +coming to the ground together. + +We have already mentioned the bay lynx of the United States, which in +size is equal to the Canada lynx. + + +THE CHETAH + +Last among the cats comes the very curious chetah, or hunting-leopard, +which is found both in Africa and in India. + +In some ways, however, it is much more like a dog than a cat. Its head +is quite small and round, its body is very slender, and its legs are +much longer in proportion to its size than they are in any other member +of the family. But, more remarkable still, the claws are not entirely +drawn back into their sheaths while not in use, as they are in all the +true cats, but partly project, so that the points are worn away by +constantly rubbing against the ground. So we may consider the chetah +as partly a cat and partly a dog--a connecting link joining the two +families together. + +If it were not for the length of its limbs, however, the chetah might +very well be mistaken for a leopard, for its head and body are colored +and marked in much the same way. But the spots are solid, so to speak, +and not ring-like as they are in the leopard. The animal stands from +thirty to thirty-three inches in height at the shoulders and the body +and tail together are about seven feet long. + +The chetah does not capture its prey as other cats do. Lions, tigers, +and leopards, for example, always try to creep up quite close to their +victims, so that they may be able to pounce upon them at a single +spring. But the chetah only creeps up to within about two hundred yards, +and then runs them down in fair chase. It is exceedingly swift of foot, +being able easily to outrun a greyhound, so that when once it starts in +pursuit its victim has but little chance of escape. Indeed, a chetah has +actually been seen to put up a blackbuck two hundred yards away, and to +run it down within a quarter of a mile. + +Just fancy being able to run nearly twice as fast as an antelope! + +In India the chetah is often caught and tamed, in order that it may +catch game for its master. It is always taken out to the hunting-ground +in a light cart, drawn by a pair of bullocks, and its eyes are covered +with a kind of hood. When a deer or an antelope is sighted, this hood is +taken off, and the chetah is released from its chain. No sooner does it +catch sight of its quarry than it creeps quietly toward it until it is +within distance, and then starts off in pursuit like an arrow shot from +a bow. The hunters ride quietly after it, and before they have gone very +far they are sure to find the chetah with its victim pinned upon the +ground. Then the throat of the animal is cut, and some of the blood is +given to the chetah to drink, after which it is again blindfolded and is +led back to the cart. + +When the natives want to catch a chetah or two, in order to train them +for hunting, they do so in rather a curious way. Although these animals +cannot climb trees, because of the manner in which their claws +are made, there are certain trees to which they are very fond of +resorting, in order to sharpen their talons upon the bark. So the +natives make a number of nooses of raw hide, and arrange them on the +ground all round one of these trees: and when they visit them next day +they are almost sure to find that two or three chetahs have been snared. + +It is needless to say that this beautiful and interesting animal is very +easily tamed. If it is kindly treated it will rub its great round head +against one, put up its tail, and purr loudly just like a big cat. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +THE CIVETS, THE AARD-WOLF, AND THE HYENAS + + +Between the great tribes of the dogs and the cats come three small but +rather important families, one of which contains the civets, while the +aard-wolf belongs to the second, and the hyenas to the third. We must +tell you a little about each. + + +CIVETS + +First of all, then, come the civets; and first among the civets is the +fossa, which is found in Madagascar. + +This is a very curious animal. It is about five feet long from the end +of its snout to the tip of its tail, and has a body shaped much like +that of a weasel. Its fur is pale reddish brown in color, and reminds +one of the coat of a dachshund dog. But the oddest thing about the fossa +is its way of walking. Some animals walk on the tips of their toes, like +the cats and the dogs. We call these digitigrades. Others plant their +feet flat upon the ground, like the bears. We call these plantigrades. +But the fossa does neither, for its feet have half-soles only, the front +part being quite bare underneath, while the hind part is covered with +hair. And as it walks the animal places the bare part of its feet upon +the ground, while the hind part is lifted up; so that it is half a +digitigrade and half a plantigrade. + +Then it has claws just like those of a cat, which are drawn back into +sheaths while not in use, so that their sharp points may not be worn +down by rubbing against the ground. No doubt this is the reason why the +animal is able to climb so well. If you go to look at the fossa in a zoo +you will be quite surprised at its activity. In its double cage, with +one compartment above the other, and two or three stout branches on +which it can take exercise, it goes running up and down from one to the +other, and backward and forward from the branches to the walls, and +from the walls to the branches, with such wonderful swiftness that it is +really not at all easy to follow its movements. + +But don't be tempted to stroke the animal, if it happens to be lying +quietly near the bars, for although it looks very gentle it is in +reality a most savage creature, and has hardly ever been tamed. And +partly for this reason, and partly because it only comes out to hunt for +prey by night, we know very little about its habits. + +The true civets have much stouter bodies than the fossa. Their heads are +long and narrow, with the muzzle drawn out almost into a point, their +legs are quite short, and along the back runs a crest of stiff hairs, +which can be raised and lowered at will, just like the spines of the +hedgehog. + + +CIVET PERFUME + +Six different kinds of civets are known, five of them being found in +Asia, and one in Africa, and they are chiefly remarkable for producing a +most powerful perfume. This perfume is obtained in a very curious way. +It is secreted in a kind of double pouch under the body, close to the +root of the tail, and as it is continually being formed, the animal is +much too valuable to be killed in order that its pouch may be emptied. +At the same time, its teeth and claws are so sharp and strong, and it +knows so well how to use them, that it would be a most dangerous +creature to handle. So when the perfume has to be taken, the animal is +forced into a long and very narrow cage, in which it is held so close a +prisoner that it can neither scratch nor bite. Then the contents of the +pouch are scraped out by means of a long, slender spoon, which is passed +through a hole under the cage. + +Each side of this pouch is about as big as an almond, and the contents +are thick and greasy in character, almost like butter. When the animal +is at liberty the perfume is dropped from time to time, in lumps about +as big as an ordinary hazelnut. + + +INDIAN CIVET + +The best known of these animals is the Indian civet, which is about four +feet in length, including the tail. The general color of its fur is dark +gray, sometimes with a yellowish tinge, and on the chest, shoulders, and +thighs are a number of dark stripes. The crest of hairs along the back +is glossy black, and the tail is marked with six black rings and five +white ones. It is a solitary animal, and is hardly ever seen during the +daytime, which it spends in hiding among bushes, or in long, thick +grass, coming out after dark to search for the lizards, frogs, birds, +and other small creatures upon which it feeds. + + +GENETS + +The genets may be described as small civets, with narrower bodies, +shorter legs, and longer tails, and without the curious pouch for +producing perfume. + +One of these animals, the common genet, is found in Spain and the south +of France, as well as in Southwest Asia, and the northern parts of +Africa. It is between three and four feet in total length, and is +yellowish gray in color, with blotches of dark brown scattered all over +the body. It is a very gentle creature, and is easily tamed, being often +kept in houses to destroy rats and mice, just as we keep cats. + +The palm-civets live in trees, chiefly in palm-trees, and they are so +fond of drinking the sweet juice, or toddy, which the natives collect in +small vessels suspended on the trunks, that they are often known as +toddy-cats. + +One of these animals is very common in many parts of India, where it is +in the habit of taking up its abode in the thatched roofs of the native +huts. It is often tamed by Europeans, and after roaming about the house +all night in search of mice and cockroaches will come up to its master's +bedroom, jump up on his bed, snuggle away under his pillow, and there +sleep soundly until late in the following day. But if it finds a chance +it will get into the poultry-houses and kill some of the fowls, in order +to suck their blood; so that it has to be looked after very carefully. + +There are ten or eleven different kinds of these animals, the commonest +of which is the Indian palm-civet. It is about as big as a rather big +cat, and is brownish gray in color, with very coarse and rather ragged +fur. It has an odd way of twisting up its tail into a very tight coil, +and for this reason is sometimes known by the name of paradoxure, a word +which signifies queer-tailed. + + +THE BINTURONG + +The binturong, or bear-cat, as it is often called, may be recognized at +once by the long tufts of black hair upon its ears. Its fur, too, is +entirely black, without any gloss except upon the head, which is gray, +and its tail is very long and bushy, and is prehensile at the tip, like +that of a spider-monkey. When the animal is climbing it makes a great +deal of use of this organ, seldom moving unless it is tightly coiled +around a branch. But it seems hardly ever to hang from a bough by its +tail alone, as the spider-monkeys so often do. + +The binturong is a native of Assam, Siam, and some of the larger islands +in the Malay Archipelago. It is not at all an uncommon animal, but is +seldom seen, for it not only lives in the thickest and darkest parts of +the forests, which are scarcely ever trodden by the foot of man, but +spends the whole of the day fast asleep in some snug retreat, with its +head completely buried beneath its big bushy tail. And even if it is +found and disturbed it only gives an angry snarl and shows its teeth, +and then goes to sleep again. + + +MONGOOSES + +Of course you have heard of the mongooses. They look somewhat like +weasels with very long tails, which are thickly covered with hair. The +head is pointed, with a rather sharp nose, the ears are small and +rounded, the legs are very short, and the claws cannot be drawn back +into sheaths, so that they are always projecting like those of a +dog. The general color of the body is either brownish or reddish gray. +But the fur has a peculiar speckled appearance, which is due to the fact +that all the longer hairs are marked with alternate rings of black and +white, like those upon a surveyor's measuring-pole. + +At least sixteen kinds of mongooses are found in different parts of the +world, but we shall only be able to tell you about two. + +The first of these is the Indian mongoose, which is common in almost all +parts of the great country from which it takes its name. And it is one +of the most useful of all animals, for although it will feed upon mice, +small birds and their eggs, lizards, and even upon insects and fruit +when it is really hungry, there is nothing of which it is so fond as a +snake. + +Now snakes are more plentiful in India, perhaps, than in any other +country in the world. Many of them are terribly poisonous, and kill at +least twenty thousand people every year; so that an animal which +destroys them is very useful. Many people keep tame mongooses in their +houses just as we keep cats, knowing that if a snake should find its way +indoors they are sure to find it and kill it. + +When a mongoose attacks a snake it dances about in front of the reptile, +and pretends to be about to spring upon it, until the snake strikes. +Then, like lightning, it leaps over the snake's head, or underneath its +open jaws, or round to one side, and gives it a sharp bite just at the +back of its neck. This renders the snake quite harmless, paralyzing it +so that it cannot use its fangs. Then the mongoose crunches up its head, +eats a little of the body also if it is very hungry, and goes off to +look for another. + +Rats, too, are killed in great numbers by the mongoose. So in the year +1871, when these animals swarmed in some of the West Indian Islands to +such an extent that it was feared that the sugar-cane plantations would +be wholly destroyed by them, nine mongooses were set free in Jamaica. +Very soon they began to multiply, and the rats began to decrease, till +in about two years' time the mischievous little animals were almost +entirely destroyed. So mongooses were turned down in other islands, with +equally satisfactory results. Unfortunately, however, the mongooses soon +found out that fowls and chickens were even nicer than rats, and began +to visit the hen-roosts at night. Then they took to killing young lambs, +and even small pigs, while they also did a great deal of damage to +mangoes and yams. + +So now the planters had to turn their attention to destroying mongooses, +and on one estate alone more than fourteen hundred were trapped in about +two months. + +The Egyptian mongoose is a rather larger animal, being about three feet +in length from the head to the tip of the tail. Like its Indian +relation, it preys upon snakes; but it also feeds very largely upon +crocodile's eggs, which it digs out of the sand on the banks of the +rivers. For this reason it was venerated by the ancient Egyptians, who +used to treat it with the greatest reverence while it lived, and to +embalm its body and bury it in the tombs of the kings when it died, just +as they did with the cat and the sacred baboon. + + +MEERKATS + +The last of the civet-like animals about which we can tell you is the +meerkat, sometimes known as the suricate. It is found in South Africa, +and is a small, slender-bodied animal of a light grizzled gray color, +with a number of black stripes running across its back, while the ears +are black, and the tail is yellowish with a black tip. + +Meerkats live in large colonies, almost like rabbits, each animal +scratching out for itself a deep hole in the ground. If you were to +drive across the South African veldt, you would very likely come across +one of these curious meerkat warrens, and would see several hundred of +the little animals sitting upright on their hind legs with their front +paws hanging down, just like so many small dogs "begging." Until you +came quite close they would remain quietly watching you. But the moment +that you stopped and attempted to seize one of them there would be a +sudden whisk of hundreds of tails, and down they would all pop into +their burrows as if by magic. + +As they are gentle creatures, and very clean in their habits, +meerkats are often kept as pets, and in many parts of Cape Colony there +is scarcely a single house without them. You would think that the dogs +would be very jealous of them, wouldn't you, and that they would be very +much afraid of the dogs? But, strange to say, the two are nearly always +the best of friends, and may often be seen trotting about after their +master together. + + +THE AARD-WOLF + +This is such a very odd animal that it has been placed in a family all +by itself, though there can be no doubt that it is related to the civets +on the one side and to the hyenas on the other. In size it is about as +big as a fox, but with very much longer legs; and in general appearance +it certainly resembles a half-grown striped hyena. But then its skull +and teeth are not at all like those of a hyena; they are like those of a +very big mongoose. So the aard-wolf evidently forms a connecting link +between the two creatures. + +The name aard-wolf means earth-wolf, and has been given to this animal +because the Dutch people in South Africa thought that it really was a +kind of wolf, and because it lives in deep burrows which it digs in the +ground. Strange to say, although each aard-wolf digs its own burrow, +several of these tunnels often unite in one large central chamber--a +common sitting-room, as it were--which is used by all the animals alike. +But each always goes in and out by its own front door. + +During the daytime the aard-wolf is nearly always fast asleep +underground, so that it is hardly ever seen except by those who go out +to hunt it. But it is not often hunted, being so timid and cowardly that +when it is turned out of its burrow its only idea is to run away as fast +as it possibly can, so that it affords very poor sport. + +This animal is not a creature of prey, but feeds chiefly on carrion. But +it is rather fond of insects, and will sometimes break a hole in the +side of a termites' nest and lick up the inmates by thousands as they +come hurrying up to repair the breach in the walls. + + +HYENAS + +These are not very pleasant-looking animals, for their sloping hind +quarters give them a very slinking and cowardly appearance. In their +habits, too, they are disgusting. Nevertheless they are most useful +creatures in the countries in which they live; for they belong to that +vast group of animals which we may call "nature's dustmen," because +their great work in life is to clear away the rubbish from the world. +There are millions upon millions of these natural scavengers, and some +of them have to clear away carrion, some to clear away skins, and some +to clear away decaying vegetable matter. But the principal duty of the +hyenas is to clear away bones, and very thoroughly they do it. + +Their jaws and teeth are immensely strong. A hyena will seize the +thigh-bone of an ox, and crush it up into splinters as easily as a dog +will crush a chicken-bone. And when a lion or a tiger kills a victim, he +always leaves a great part of the carcass lying on the ground. Some of +it he has no time to eat because the jackals come and steal it while he +is fast asleep after the big meal which he always takes as soon as he +has killed his victim. Some of it neither he nor the jackals can eat +because their teeth are not nearly strong enough to crush the larger +bones. So they have to leave these for the hyenas, which come up in +numbers to the kill, and quarrel and fight over it, until nothing even +of the skeleton remains. + +Although the hyena is a much stronger animal than the aard-wolf, it is +quite as cowardly, and will hardly ever show fight, even when it is +driven to bay. The Arab hunters despise it for its want of courage, and +if they find it hiding in a burrow will never condescend to kill it +themselves. Neither will they use any weapon against it. They just fling +a handful of wet mud into its face, drag it out by its hind feet, and +hand it over to be stoned to death by the women. But sometimes, after +all, it contrives to escape, for it is so cunning that it will pretend +to be dead when it is not really injured, allowing itself to be pulled +about, or even to be severely beaten, without moving a limb. Then +suddenly, when the attention of its captors is taken off for a moment, +it will jump up and run away. + +Perhaps you wonder why they should want to kill the hyena if it is such +a useful creature and never attacks human beings. The reason is that it +is fond of prowling about the outskirts of villages in order to prey +upon the cattle. It is much too cowardly to attack them openly, and +always tries to frighten them and make them run away, so that it can +leap upon them from behind. It generally does this by creeping as close +to them as it can, and then springing up suddenly just under their eyes. +But if they stand and face it, instead of running away, it just looks at +them for a few moments and then slinks off without attempting to touch +them. + + +THE STRIPED HYENA + +Three different kinds of these animals are known, the commonest being +the striped hyena, which is found in India, Syria, Persia, Arabia, and +Northern Africa. It is about as big as a collie dog, and is brownish +gray in color, with a number of black stripes running across the body +and round the legs. The ears are long and pointed, the tail is big and +bushy, and a kind of mane of long hairs runs down the neck and along the +middle of the back. + +In some parts of Africa these animals roam about by night in large +packs, entering the native villages, and searching the streets for the +offal which has been thrown out from the huts. And more than once, when +very hungry, they have been known to enter a house and carry off a +sleeping man. + +Sometimes they will set a kind of snare for a dog. One hyena will lie in +wait behind a bush, while another will run boldly up to within two or +three hundred yards of the village and utter a series of loud howls. A +dog is almost sure to hear him and to rush out in pursuit. Then the +hyena, pretending to be dreadfully frightened, runs away past the bush +where his companion is hiding, and the dog is pounced upon and killed +almost before he realizes that he has two enemies to deal with instead +of only one. + + +THE BROWN HYENA + +This kind of hyena, found in South Africa, is not nearly so numerous as +that just described. It is about the same size as the striped hyena, but +may be recognized at once by the great length of its mane, which hangs +down on each side below the body. In fact, the animal looks just as if +it were wearing a mantle of thick, shaggy fur. It lives chiefly in rocky +ground, on the lower slopes of the mountains, but is fond of visiting +the sea-shore by night, and prowling about in search of the dead bodies +of fishes and other creatures flung up by the waves. + + +THE SPOTTED HYENA + +The tiger-wolf, as the spotted hyena is also called, is much more +dangerous than the other hyenas. It is a larger and more powerful animal +than either of its relations, and is not near so cowardly. It will enter +a sheepfold, or cattle-pen, for instance, under cover of darkness, and +boldly attack and carry off one of the animals. But even an unarmed man +need not be afraid of it, for though it will come quite close, and will +follow him for a long distance, it will never venture to spring upon +him. + +This animal is often known as the laughing hyena, because of the +extraordinary sounds it utters when very much excited. These sounds are +not in the least like a yell or a howl, but resemble a peal of strange, +unearthly laughter, and while they are being uttered the hyena dances +about on its hind legs, nods its head up and down, runs to and fro, and +twists itself into all sorts of singular positions, just as though it +had suddenly gone mad. Travelers tell us that sometimes for nights +together sleep is rendered impossible by the hideous outcry of these +creatures, which surround the camp as soon as darkness sets in, and +never cease from their horrible din till sunrise. + +The spotted hyena is found throughout Southern Africa, and may be known +from the other two species by its larger size, and also by the +dark-brown spots with which the body and the limbs are marked. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE DOG TRIBE + + +Next in order comes the great tribe of the dogs, which includes +altogether about forty different animals. We are not speaking of +domestic dogs, for we have not space in which to tell you about those. +Indeed, if we were to say all that might be said about them, they would +want a very big book all to themselves; and fortunately there are many +good books about domestic dogs that readers who desire them can easily +get. But besides the tame dogs there are two or three wild dogs in the +dog tribe, several wolves, several jackals, and several foxes; and many +of them are very interesting creatures. + + +THE DHOLE + +First of all, there is a dog which is known by three different names. +Sometimes it is called the dhole, sometimes the kholsun, and sometimes +the buansuah. It lives in India, but it is not very often seen, for it +keeps to the thickest parts of the jungle, and never ventures near the +habitations of man. Yet it is by no means a cowardly animal, like the +hyenas and the aard-wolf. On the contrary, it is extremely courageous, +and does not seem to know what fear is, for it will even attack the +tiger itself, and more than that, will kill it. + +Of course the tiger is by far the stronger and more formidable animal of +the two, and if he only had one dhole to reckon with, there would be no +doubt as to the issue of the combat. But the dhole always hunts in +packs. Sometimes there are eight or ten animals in one of these packs; +sometimes there are fifteen; sometimes there are as many as twenty, or +even thirty. And so fierce are they, and so determined, and so +persevering, that it is said that when they once put up an animal--that +is, start it from cover--no matter whether it be large or small, they +never fail to kill it. + +The deer, of course, are swifter than they are. But then the deer become +tired much sooner than the dholes; and while they are resting their +pursuers catch up with them. The tiger is much more powerful, and has +his talons and fangs to fight with. But while he is killing one of his +foes three or four more are leaping upon him; and even if he should +succeed in killing half the pack the rest will still go on fighting as +savagely as ever. They do not dread the horns of the buffalo, or the +tusks of the wild boar. In fact, they dread nothing, and no animals are +so feared in the jungle. + +When the pack are running, they never bark, or yelp or bay, as almost +all domesticated dogs do. For the most part they are silent, the only +sound which they utter being a low whimper. In color the dhole is a rich +bay, which becomes rather darker upon the ears, the muzzle, and the tip +of the tail. + + +THE DINGO + +This is the only member of the dog tribe found in Australia, and many +naturalists think that it is not really a native of that continent, but +was brought there a very long time ago from some other country. But as +the dingo is not now found in any other part of the world, it is quite +impossible to say whether this is actually the case or not. It is a very +fine-looking animal, about as big as a large sheep-dog, with a +reddish-brown coat, pointed, upright ears, and a bushy tail. And if you +were to see it you would most likely think that it must be a very gentle +animal. We have already seen, however, that there are several creatures +which look very gentle, but are in reality most savage and ferocious, +and though the dingo is not quite so fierce as the fossa or the wildcat, +its appearance is not at all in keeping with its character, for it is +very bad-tempered and hard to tame, and is always liable to fits of +rage. + +In many ways the dingo is not unlike the dhole. It lives in packs, for +instance, which scour the country in search of prey. These packs are +always led by one of the strongest and most experienced animals, +which has won its position by fighting and overcoming all the rest; and +when the leader begins to grow old and feeble, a younger and stronger +animal takes his place by overcoming him in the same way. In some +strange manner, these packs divide up the country among themselves. Each +pack has its own district allotted to it, over which it may roam at +will, while it is never permitted to hunt outside its own borders. +Wouldn't it be interesting to know how these districts are marked out, +and how the animals arrange what part of the country shall be allotted +to each pack? + +[Illustration: A WOLFISH GROUP. + + 1. Coyote. 2. Red Fox. 3. Hyena Dog, or Hunting Dog. + 4. Tasmanian Pouched Wolf. 5. Tasmanian Devil. 6. Gray Wolf.] + +When the first white colonists settled down in Tasmania, they found +these packs of dingoes terribly troublesome, for they would visit the +folds night after night and carry off the sheep and lambs in numbers. +Watchers were employed to shoot them, traps were set for them, huge +bonfires were lighted to keep them away; but all to no purpose. One +colony lost twelve hundred sheep from their ravages in less than three +months; another lost seven hundred. At last the settlers banded +themselves together in a war against the dingoes, and by hanging pieces +of poisoned meat to the branches of trees, about a foot from the ground, +they succeeded in greatly reducing their numbers, so that now they are +comparatively scarce. + +A dingo which was kept at the London Zoo many years ago used to sit +outside his kennel and bay at the moon so loudly that his dismal howling +could be heard all over the Regent's Park. + + +THE CRAB-EATING DOG + +Two or three kinds of wild dog are also found in South America; but of +these we can only mention the crab-eating dog which is chiefly found in +the forests of Guiana, Demerara, and Brazil. + +This animal owes its name to its great fondness for crabs. Even domestic +dogs will often eat these creatures. "I once had a black-and-tan +terrier, called 'Jock,'" says a writer, "whose greatest delight was to +be taken for a walk along the sea-shore, so that he might hunt for +crabs. Whenever he found one he would fling it up into the air half a +dozen times or so, until it was perfectly dazed. Then holding it down +with one paw, he would twist off the great claws so that it could not +nip him; and finally he would crunch up its body and lick out pieces of +flesh from the shell. Now and then, however, he would get a pinch and I +would see him dancing about on his hind legs with a crab hanging to his +lip, howling pitifully for me to come and set him free." + +Whether the crab-eating dog gets nipped in the same way, sometimes, we +cannot tell you. Most likely he does; at any rate he spends a great deal +of his time in hunting for crabs on the shore. But he also feeds on +small animals and birds, and it is said that sometimes he hunts in +packs, like the dingo and the dhole, which even run down and kill the +swift-footed deer. + + +WOLVES + +Of wolves--which are really only large and very savage wild dogs--there +are several different kinds. + +First of all, of course, there is the common wolf of Europe. We have all +read accounts of its ferocity, and of the way in which it sometimes +pursues travelers through the Russian forests during the depths of +winter. In days of old it was plentiful in England, while the last wild +wolf in Scotland was not killed until the middle of the eighteenth +century. + +During the spring, summer, and autumn the wolf is mostly found singly, +or at any rate only in pairs. But when the ground is covered with snow, +and food becomes scarce, the hungry animals gather together in packs, +which scour the forest in all directions and kill every living creature +which they meet. In the year 1875 no less than 161 human beings fell +victims to them in Russia, while the mischief which they do in the +farmyards and sheepfolds is very great. In Livonia alone, for instance, +during a single year, 15,182 sheep, 1,807 cattle, 1,841 horses, 3,270 +goats, 4,190 pigs, 703 dogs, and 1,873 geese and fowls were destroyed by +wolves. + +In some parts of France, too, these animals are still not uncommon, +although a reward of one hundred francs is paid for every adult wolf +that is killed, and thirty francs for each cub. And they are also +found in almost every other country in Europe. + +When they are not famished with hunger, wolves are by no means +courageous animals, and if we have many tales of their savage ferocity +we have quite as many more which bear witness to their cowardice. In +Norway, for example, a large tract of country in which wolves had always +been only too numerous was suddenly deserted by them; and what do you +think was the reason? Simply that a telegraph wire had been put up, +which frightened the wolves so much that they left the neighborhood +altogether, and never came near it again! And if a hunter kills a deer, +and wishes to leave the carcass lying on the ground for a while, and at +the same time to protect it from the wolves, all that he has to do is to +plant three or four sticks beside it with streamers of white cloth +fastened to the tips; for not a wolf will dare to approach the spot as +long as these are fluttering in the wind. + +When wolves are running they generally utter a series of dismal howls, +which are so loud that they can be heard by any one miles away. And even +a single wolf can make such an outcry that more than once a traveler, +hearing one howl, has imagined that a large pack were in pursuit of him, +and has climbed into a tree and spent the whole night among the branches +before discovering his mistake. + +Wolves usually make their lairs among rocks, or in the trunk of a hollow +tree, or among thick bushes. But sometimes they live in holes in the +ground, which they seem to dig out for themselves. There are generally +from six to ten cubs in a litter, which are born in the spring, and do +not leave their parents for at least eight or nine months. Strange to +say, the father often seems much fonder of them than the mother, for he +will take care of them, and hunt for them, and teach them how to hunt +for themselves for weeks after she has left them altogether. + + +WOLVES IN INDIA + +The common wolf is by no means confined to Europe, but is also found in +many parts of Asia, and throughout almost the whole of North +America. In India, however, there is another kind of wolf which is +rather smaller, and has very much shorter fur. It is seldom seen in +large packs, and hardly ever howls as the common wolf does. It is not in +the habit, as a rule, of attacking human beings. But now and then two or +three of these animals will band together to attack a man, while +sometimes they will prowl round the outskirts of a native village, in +the hope of being able to carry off some of the smaller children. + +These animals have a very clever way, too, of killing deer. Three or +four of them will creep quietly up and hide themselves near the spot +where the deer are feeding. Then another will come dashing up from the +opposite direction, the result, of course, being that when the +frightened animals run away they pass close to the very place where +their enemies are lying concealed. + + +COYOTES + +On the great plains of North America lives a very handsome wolf called +the coyote, or prairie-wolf. It is a good deal smaller than the common +wolf, but has much thicker and longer fur, so that it looks bigger than +it really is. And a very odd thing about it is that it is differently +colored at different seasons of the year, being reddish yellowish brown +in summer, and grayish, or even quite gray, in winter. The back is +generally darker than the rest of the body, and the tail is rather long +and very bushy. + +The coyote takes the place of the hyena as a scavenger, but has some of +the habits of the fox. It catches birds and jackrabbits, and feeds on +insects, as well as small rodents like prairie-dogs and mice. Its +melancholy howls make night hideous to prairie-dwellers. It is the +steady foe of young creatures, such as the fawns of deer. The skin of +this animal is thick and makes good fur wraps. + +Coyotes assemble in packs like jackals. It is not an easy matter to +destroy them, for they are so wary that it is almost impossible to +approach within gunshot. Often a single coyote will do a great deal of +mischief before it can be killed. Poison kills a great many; but +a good fence of wire netting has been found to be the best remedy +against these troublesome creatures. + + +JACKALS + +Jackals may be described as half wolves and half foxes. One of these +animals, the common jackal, is found in great numbers in the south of +Asia, and north of Africa, and the southeastern corner of Europe. +Sometimes it is seen singly, sometimes in pairs; but generally it +associates in great packs, which go roaming about the country together. +In India these packs visit the native villages by night, to carry away +any offal which may have been thrown out of the houses. They are +"nature's dustmen," you see, like the hyenas. Then they will follow a +lion or a tiger about for weeks, in order to feast upon the carcasses of +the animals which he kills, after he has eaten his fill. And when twenty +or thirty of these ravenous creatures are all struggling and fighting +over the body of a deer or an antelope, you can easily imagine that in a +short time there is not very much of it left. + +The jackal is sometimes called "the lion's provider," but we may say +that the lion ought rather to be called "the jackal's provider." + +The natives of Africa say that the jackals stand very much in awe of the +lion, and seldom dare even to show themselves until he has eaten his +fill of his victim's body, and has gone away to sleep. And they also +declare that if a jackal comes too near the carcass before the lion has +finished his meal, the lion catches him and bites off all his paws in +order to teach the rest of the pack better manners. + +The howling cry of the jackal is very strange and weird, and the animals +call to one another, and answer one another, just as if they were +carrying on a conversation. First comes a long, wailing yell; then +another, rather higher, then another, a little higher still, and then +three short, sharp barks. And so on, over and over again. + +When a jackal is caught, it often pretends to be dead, and will be +perfectly still for a very long time in the hope of being able to make +its escape when the attention of its captors is taken off. On one +occasion one of these animals lay without moving for a whole hour +although several times it was picked up and worried by a dog. Then quite +suddenly it jumped up and rushed away apparently unhurt. + +The common jackal is reddish brown in color, sometimes lighter and +sometimes darker, while the tip of the tail is black. But there is +another kind of jackal found in South Africa which has the whole upper +part of the back black, and the lower part of the body and the inner +sides of the limbs nearly white. This animal is called the black-backed +jackal, while a third, which has a pale streak running across its +flanks, is called the side-striped jackal. In habits the three animals +are almost exactly alike. + + +FOXES + +The best-known of the foxes, of course, is the common fox of Great +Britain and Western Europe, which is also found in many other parts of +the world. + +This animal is famous for its cunning, and certainly, in many ways, it +is very clever. It has all sorts of tricks, for example, to throw the +hounds off its track when it is being hunted. It seems to know perfectly +well that it is followed by scent, and sometimes it will suddenly leap +to one side so as to break the trail, and then make off in quite a +different direction. Sometimes, when it has a sufficient start, it will +return on its track for sixty or seventy yards, and then leap aside. Or +it will roll in carrion in order to disguise its own peculiar odor. A +hunter tells us that he once found a fox's burrow which was very +cleverly made. The entrance to it was about twenty feet from the edge of +a sand-pit, in the middle of a thick clump of bushes, and there was a +"bolt-hole" about half way down the side of the pit. So when the fox was +chased he could run into his burrow by the upper entrance, slip out by +the lower one, and so make his escape through the pit while the hounds +were all gathered round the hole up above. + +Very often a fox will climb a tree, sometimes to a great height, and +hide among the branches, and we have heard of a fox which baffled the +hounds over and over again in a most ingenious way. He used to run to a +certain fence, spring to the top, and then walk along for several +hundred yards before leaping down again to the ground. By doing this, of +course, he broke the scent most thoroughly, and long before the hounds +could find it again he had reached a place of safety. + +But although the fox is generally so clever he sometimes does the most +stupid things possible. Charles Waterton tells us of a fox which visited +a poultry-yard and carried off eight young turkeys. He could not eat +them all, of course, so he buried five in the ground, meaning no doubt, +to come and fetch them away on the following evening. But apparently he +thought that if he buried them entirely he might not be able to find +them again. So he carefully left one wing of each bird sticking up above +the surface to serve as a guide, and never seemed to reflect that others +would be able to see it as well as himself! So the farmer recovered his +turkeys, and when Reynard came to look for his supper next night he +found that it had disappeared. + +The burrow of a fox is sometimes an old rabbit-hole enlarged to a +suitable size. But generally the animal scrapes out a burrow for +himself, frequently choosing the roots of a large tree as a situation, +or a very rocky piece of ground from which it will be very difficult to +dig him out. In this burrow four or five little ones are brought up. +They are odd-looking creatures, with very snub noses, and if you did not +know what they were you would never take them for young foxes. + + +THE ARCTIC FOX + +This animal, more interesting still, perhaps, lives in the ice-bound +regions of the far north. There are often several of these to be seen in +a zoo, and the first thing that one notices on seeing them is that no +two of them are alike. One, perhaps, is reddish brown above and +yellowish white beneath. Another is gray all over. A third, very likely, +is mottled; while a fourth may be of that curious bluish color which we +see in Russian cats. + +In fact, in the snowy polar regions a great many of these foxes turn +perfectly white in winter. This enables them to creep over the snow +without being seen by their victims. Then, when warmer weather comes, +and the snow begins to melt, their fur passes back again to its original +color. + +During the spring and summer the arctic fox feeds on sea-birds and their +eggs, and it is said to attract the birds to the place where it is lying +in wait by imitating their peculiar cries. But we do not think that that +is true. What it feeds upon during the rest of the year is rather +doubtful. It cannot catch birds, for they have all flown away farther +south. It cannot catch fishes, for the water is covered in by ice +several feet in thickness. Most likely it catches numbers of those odd +little animals known as lemmings just as winter begins, and stores them +away in a kind of larder, where the cold prevents their bodies from +decaying. + +The arctic fox is a good deal smaller than the common fox, and has ears +so short and rounded that they look just as if they had been cropped. + +In order to allow it to travel over the slippery ice, the arctic fox has +the soles of its feet covered with long stiff hairs, which give it a +perfectly firm foothold on the frozen surface. + +The arctic fox is not nearly such a clever animal as the common fox, and +is very easily trapped. If a hunter follows one, it will certainly run +into its hole; but a moment or two later it is almost sure to poke out +its head in order to yelp at him, so that he is easily able to shoot it. +The consequence is that these animals are destroyed in very great +numbers for the sake of their skins, those with bluish fur being +especially valuable. + +First-class skins of these foxes are, in truth, among the most costly of +furs. In view of this, men interested in the fur-trade in Alaska have +endeavored to raise them in captivity, so as to obtain a constant supply +of their pelts. This experiment has succeeded best on a certain island +in Bering Sea, where a large colony of arctic foxes is kept, guarded and +tended by Eskimos, who feed them, and who once a year catch and kill a +certain number when their fur is in its best condition. + + +AMERICAN FOXES + +Besides the arctic fox, which of course is found in American as well as +other arctic regions, this country has many species of fox that belong +peculiarly to itself. William T. Hornaday, director of the New York +Zoölogical Park, who has written many instructive things about animals, +tells us in his "American Natural History" that north of Mexico this +continent has sixteen distinct species of foxes, some of which have +several subspecies. + +The American fox most widely found is that which Mr. Hornaday calls "our +wise old friend, the red fox," which is so well known in many parts of +the country. It is a very cunning creature, "so well able to take care +of itself that it refuses to be exterminated." Still we are told that it +was not hard for the early settlers in this country to outwit the red +foxes, and to shoot them and trap them when they came into the clearings +where the settlers made their homes. It is easier to get the better of +these animals in a wild region than where many people live, for the +foxes are sharp observers and appear to learn many things from seeing +what their human neighbors do. Naturalists tell us that in this way the +American foxes have come to be almost as intelligent as those of the Old +World. The red fox, we are told, "now holds his own against man, as much +by boldness and audacity as by caution; few of our wild animals look on +man with so little awe." + +You must have read many stories illustrating this boldness of the fox, +often shown in robbing hen-roosts and even catching chickens in the +yards or the fields. And quite as remarkable are the accounts of foxes' +cunning in avoiding hunters and hounds. In fact, they have often been +known to follow the very hunter who was looking for them, as though they +wanted to learn all his ways so as to be better able to baffle him. + +The gray fox, which is somewhat smaller than the red fox, belongs +especially to the southern part of the country, "but it ranges northward +far into the home of the red fox." It is very wild, and can move +swiftly. Sometimes, to escape from dogs, it will climb a small tree and +get far above the pursuer's reach. It is at its best only in the forest, +and cannot hold its own as the red fox does, in a country much inhabited +by men. With all his slyness the gray fox "lacks that astonishing +shrewdness and faculty for working out deep-laid schemes which enables +the red fox to turn the tables on the hunter." + +All the different varieties of American fox are more or less closely +related to the one or the other of these two--the red fox and the gray +fox--so that naturalists class them in two groups, the red fox group and +the gray fox group. If you learn all that you can about them you will +find that you have obtained a great deal of interesting knowledge. + + +THE FENNEC + +This is a very pretty fox-like little animal found in Nubia and Egypt. +It is only about twenty inches long, including its big bushy tail, and +its fur is sometimes pale fawn color, and sometimes creamy white. But +what strikes one most about it is the extraordinary size of its ears, +which are always carried perfectly upright, and look as if they were +intended for an animal at least five times as big as itself. + +The fennec is a creature of the desert, and lives in burrows which it +scoops out in the sand. In order to make these burrows more comfortable, +it lines them with leaves, hair, and the feathers of birds, while they +are nearly always situated beneath the roots of plants, where the sand +is softer and more easy to work. The animal digs with the most wonderful +speed, and those who have surprised it while at a distance from its +burrow say that it disappears in the sand just as though it were sinking +into water, and is lost to sight in a few seconds. + +The fennec spends the heat of the day comfortably curled up in its +burrow, with its nose tucked away under its big bushy tail. When the sun +sets it wakes up and goes off to the nearest water to drink, after which +it hunts for jerboas, birds, lizards, insects, and the various other +small creatures upon which it feeds. + + +THE HUNTING-DOG + +Although a member of the great dog tribe, this animal is not really a +dog. It looks very much like a spotted hyena, and yet it is not really a +hyena. Sometimes it is known as the hyena-dog, and perhaps that is the +best name which can be given to it. + +These animals are found throughout Southern Africa, and are especially +numerous in Cape Colony. They hunt in packs of from ten to fifty or +sixty, which run with such wonderful speed that even the swiftest +antelopes cannot escape them. When they catch up with their quarry they +all spring upon it together, snapping at it over and over again until +they bring it to the ground. And in a few minutes there is nothing left +of its carcass but just a few of the larger bones. + +In size the hyena-dog is about as big as a wolf. In color it varies a +good deal, but the head is always black, with a white mark round the +eyes, while the body is more or less mottled with black, white, and +yellow. The long bushy tail is yellow at the root, black in the middle, +and white at the tip. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +THE WEASEL TRIBE + + +Almost all the animals which belong to this tribe have very long, +slender bodies and very short legs; and the reason is a simple one. They +feed on living prey, which they often have to follow through a long and +winding burrow. Now if they had stout bodies or long legs they could not +do this. Most likely they could not enter the burrow at all; and even if +they did so they would be almost sure to find, before they had gone very +far, that they could neither move forward or backward. But, having such +snake-like bodies and such very short limbs, they can wind their way +through the tunnels without any difficulty, and then spring upon their +victim at the end. + +They always try to seize their prey by the throat, in order to tear open +the great blood-vessels which pass through that part of the body. One +who had a personal experience of the strength and sharpness of their +teeth thus tells it: "I was walking through a park one day early in the +autumn, when I noticed that the dead leaves under a tree were tossing +and tumbling about in a very curious manner. On going a little closer I +found that a mother weasel and her little ones were playing together. +When I came up of course they all ran away. So I ran after them, and +caught one of the little animals by putting my foot on it, just hard +enough to hold it down on the ground without hurting it. And immediately +the little creature, which was only about six inches long, twisted +itself round, and drove its sharp teeth into the edge of the sole of my +shoe, both from above and below. So that if I had done what I thought of +doing at first and had stooped to pick it up, its teeth would certainly +have met in my finger." + +The weasel is common in many parts of the United States as well as in +Europe. In some regions you can scarcely take a walk along the roads or +through the fields without catching sight of it. Very likely it will +poke its head out of a hole in the bank at the side of the road, and +watch you in the most inquisitive manner as you go past. Or you may +notice it slipping in and out of the herbage at the foot of a hedge, as +it searches for the small creatures on which it feeds. But very often it +will leave the hedge, and follow a mole along its burrow. Or it will +make its way to a wheatstack, and pursue the mice through their "runs." +And it is very fond of going out bird's-nesting, and robbing the nests +of the eggs or little ones which they contain. But the weasel is not +always successful when he sets out on one of these expeditions. While +coming down Helvellyn, a mountain in England, a writer witnessed a +strange little scene. "Hearing a loud chattering," he says, "I looked +up, and saw just above me a pair of stonechats and a weasel. Evidently +the weasel had come too near the nest of the birds, and they were trying +to entice him away. And this is how they managed it. First the cock bird +sat down on a stone about a yard in front of the weasel, and began to +flap his wings, and to chatter and scream. The weasel immediately darted +at him, and the bird flew away. Next the hen bird sat down on another +stone a yard farther on, and began to flap her wings and to chatter and +scream. Then the weasel darted at her, and _she_ flew away. As soon +as she had gone the cock came back, sat on a third stone, and played the +same trick again. And so the two birds went on over and over again, till +they got the weasel far up the mountain side, quite two hundred yards +from the nest, when they quietly left him and flew away together. + +"Wasn't it clever of them? And the odd thing was that the weasel never +realized that he was being taken in, but evidently thought he was going +to catch one of the birds every time that he darted at them." + +When fully grown the European weasel is from eight to ten inches long, +about one-fourth of that length being occupied by the tail. The fur of +the upper parts of the body is brownish red in color, while that of the +throat and lower surface is white. + +In the United States are found various species of weasels, the +largest of which is called the New York weasel. The length of the male +is sixteen inches, that of the female thirteen inches, the tail being +more than one-third of the total length. It is also called the +long-tailed weasel. The smallest species is the least weasel, only six +inches long. Both bear much resemblance to stoats. "The various kinds of +weasels in this country," say Stone and Cram in their "American +Animals," "are much alike in their habits.... They hunt tirelessly, +following their prey by scent, and kill for the mere joy of killing, +often leaving their victims uneaten and hurrying on for more." + + +THE STOAT, OR ERMINE + +This is the commonest and most widely distributed of all the weasel +tribe. The name is British. The fur of the lower parts of the stoat's +body is pale yellow instead of white, while the tip of the tail is +black. In very cold countries the whole of the fur becomes white in +winter, like that of the arctic fox, the tip of the tail alone excepted. +Indeed, the famous ermine fur which we value so highly, and which even +kings wear when they put on their robes of state, is nothing but the +coat of the stoat in its winter dress. + +The stoat preys upon rather larger animals than do other weasels, and +many a hare and rabbit falls victim to its sharp little fangs. Strange +to say, when one of these creatures is being followed by a stoat it +seems almost paralyzed with fear, and instead of making its escape by +dashing away at its utmost speed, drags itself slowly and painfully over +the ground, uttering shrill cries of terror, although it has not been +injured at all. + +In poultry-yards the stoat is sometimes terribly mischievous. One stoat +has been known to destroy as many as forty fowls in a single night. So +both the gamekeeper and the farmer have very good reason for disliking +it. But in some ways it is really very useful. It kills large numbers of +mice and rats and voles, which often do such damage in the fields. And +if we could set the good which it does against the evil, we should find +that the former more than makes up for the latter. + + +THE POLECAT + +This animal was formerly very common in Great Britain. But owing to its +mischievous habits it has been greatly persecuted, and now it is very +seldom met with. It is a good deal larger than the stoat, being nearly +two feet in length from the nose to the tip of the tail, and you would +think, on looking at it, that its fur was brown, yet it scarcely has a +brown hair on the whole of its body. The fact is that the long outer +hairs are so dark as to be almost black, while the soft under-fur next +the skin is pale yellow; and as the inner coat shows through the outer +one, the effect is very much the same as if the whole of the fur were +brown. + +The polecat is sometimes called the foumart. This name is formed from +the two words foul marten, and has been given to the animal because it +looks like a marten, and has a most foul and disagreeable smell. In its +habits it is very much like the stoat. It comes out chiefly by night, +and preys upon any birds or small animals which it may meet with, +following rabbits down their burrows, tracking hares to their "forms," +and sometimes killing nearly all the poultry, geese, and turkeys in a +farmyard. Early in April it makes a kind of nest in a deserted +rabbit-hole, or in a crevice among the rocks, and there brings up its +family of from three to eight little ones. + +The animal called polecat in North America is the skunk, of which we +shall speak soon; the name is particularly applied to the common skunk +of the Northeastern States and Canada. + + +THE FERRET + +You know that the ferret is much used in hunting rabbits and rats. It +appears to be really a variety of the polecat, and is usually of a +yellowish white color with pink eyes. But there is also a brown form, +which is generally called the polecat-ferret. It is known only in a +domesticated form. + +In some of the Western United States--Kansas, Colorado, etc.--is found +the black-footed ferret, "often called prairie-dog hunter because its +specialty is the killing of prairie-dogs." It has not become very well +known to animal students, for it dwells in burrows and hunts at night. + + +MARTENS + +Old World martens may be described as large weasels that live in the +trees. One of them, the pine-marten, is still found in the wilder parts +of Great Britain, although it is even scarcer, perhaps, than the +polecat. + +This animal is about as big as a cat. But it does not look as large as +it really is, because of the shortness of its legs. In color it is rich +brown above and yellowish white below, while the tail is very long, and +is almost as bushy as that of a squirrel. + +Martens are only found in the thickest parts of the forests, and spend +almost the whole of their lives in the trees, running up and down the +trunks, and leaping from bough to bough with the most wonderful +activity. They even make nests among the branches, in which to bring up +their little ones, weaving a quantity of leaves and moss together in +such a way as to make a most cosy little nursery. But it is to be feared +that they are sometimes lazy animals, for just to save themselves +trouble they will turn squirrels or woodpeckers out of their nests, and +take possession of them for themselves. + +Martens feed on any small animals which they can find, and have more +than once been known to kill lambs, and even fawns. When they happen to +live near the sea, it is said that they will visit the shore by night in +order to hunt for mussels. + +The American sable or pine-marten is about the size of a common domestic +cat, and looks much like a young red fox. It is now rare south of +Northern Canada. + +The sable found in the mountainous forests of Northern Asia seems to be +nothing more than a variety of the pine-marten with very long fur. This +fur is so much in request that the animal is greatly persecuted, more +than two thousand skins being sometimes taken in a single season. + +[Illustration: TYPES OF FUR BEARERS. + + 1. Weasel; Ermine. 2. Otter. + 3. Wolverine; Glutton. 4. Pine Marten; Sable. + 5. Skunk. 6. Badger.] + + +THE GLUTTON, OR WOLVERENE + +You would say that this animal hardly looks like a weasel at all, for it +is very heavily and clumsily built, and, including the tail, is often as +much as four feet long. If you did not know what it was, you might +almost take it for a bear cub with a tail. It is blackish brown in +color, with a lighter band which runs from the shoulders along the sides +and across the flanks, as far as the root of the tail. + +"Glutton" is rather an odd name for this creature, isn't it? But +certainly the animal deserves it, for it will go on eating and eating, +long after you would think that it could not possibly swallow a morsel +more. Indeed, a glutton has been known to devour, at a single meal, a +great joint of meat, which would have been more than sufficient for a +lion or a tiger for a whole day! It lives in North America, and also in +Northern Europe and Northern Asia, and the hunters find it a terrible +nuisance, for night after night it will search along a line of traps and +devour all the animals caught in them. Then, too, if they bury a +quantity of provisions in the ground, meaning to come back and fetch +them later on, a glutton is very likely to discover them and dig them +up, while the animal is also fond of visiting their huts while they are +absent, and stealing everything it can carry away. + +Blankets, knives, axes, and even saucepans and frying-pans have been +stolen in this way by gluttons, and once one of these animals actually +succeeded in dragging away and hiding a gun! It is even a worse robber, +in fact, than the arctic fox. And it can hardly ever be trapped, because +it is so crafty that it almost always discovers the traps, and either +passes them by or pulls them to pieces, while it is so wary, and so +swift of foot, that the hunter very seldom has a chance of shooting it. + +It was formerly supposed that this animal was even more crafty still, +and that it would collect a quantity of the moss of which deer are so +fond, lay it upon the ground as a bait, and hide in the foliage of an +overhanging bough, so as to spring down upon the animals when they +stopped to feed. But this story seems to be quite untrue. + + +THE RATEL + +More curious still is the ratel, which belongs to the family of badgers. +You cannot possibly mistake it if you see it, for all the upper part of +its body is grayish white, and all the lower part is black. So that it +looks rather like a lady wearing a white mantle and a black skirt. + +But if the ratel is odd in appearance, it is odder still in habits. If +you go to look at them in a zoo you are sure to find them trotting +leisurely round and round their cage in a perfect circle, one behind the +other. And when they come to a certain spot they always stop, turn head +over heels, pick themselves up, and then run on again. Why they do so +nobody knows, but for hours every day they keep up this singular +performance. + +The ratel is very fond of honey, so fond that it is often called the +honey-ratel, or honey-weasel, and it spends a good deal of time in +prowling about in search of the nests of wild bees. You would think that +it would get badly stung by the bees, wouldn't you, when it tore their +nests open and robbed them of their sweet stores? But its coat is so +thick that the insects can scarcely force their stings through it, while +even if they do so there is a thick loose skin under it, and a layer of +fat under that. So it seems quite certain that a ratel never gets stung, +no matter how many nests he may rob. + +The animal does not live entirely on honey, however, but also feeds upon +rats, mice, small birds, lizards, and even insects. + +Two kinds of ratels are known, one of which lives in Africa and the +other in India. + + +THE BADGER + +The European badger was formerly very common in Great Britain. It was +generally known as the brock, and when we hear of a place called by such +a name as Brockley, or Brockenhurst, we may be quite sure that it was +once inhabited by a great many badgers. Nowadays, however, these +animals are more scarce in Great Britain and only to be found as a +general thing, in the wildest parts of the country; and as they only +come out of their burrows by night, very few people even see them in a +state of freedom. But all over temperate Northern Europe and Asia the +European badger is found. + +Their burrows are generally made either in the very thickest part of a +dense forest, or else on the side of a steep cliff which is well covered +with trees. They run for some distance into the ground, and generally +open out into several chambers, while at the end there is always a large +hollow which the animals use as a bedroom. They like to be comfortable, +so they always line this hollow with a good thick layer of dried fern +and dead leaves. You would be quite astonished to find how much of this +bedding is often packed away in the burrow of a single badger. + +These animals are most cleanly in their habits, and are very careful not +to take any dirt into their burrows with them. They have been known, for +example, to use a low branch near the entrance as a scraper, and always +to rub their feet upon it before going in. And every now and then they +have a grand house-cleaning, turning out all their bedding, and taking +in a fresh supply. + +When the badger is digging, it uses its nose as well as its paws, +shoveling the earth aside with it from time to time. And every now and +then it walks backward to the entrance of the burrow pushing out the +loosened earth in a heap behind it. + +The teeth of the European badger are made in a very curious way, for +they interlock with one another just like those of a steel trap. The +jaws, too, are exceedingly strong, so that the animal is able to inflict +a very severe bite. But it is a most peaceable creature, and never +attempts to attack unless it is driven to bay. + +As regards food, it will eat almost anything. It seems equally fond of +mice, frogs, lizards, birds' eggs, snails, worms, fruit, beechnuts, and +roots. If it finds a wasps' or a bumblebees' nest, it will dig it up and +devour all the grubs and the food which has been stored up for them, +caring nothing for the stings of the angry insects. And very often +it gathers a quantity of provisions together in a small chamber opening +out of its burrow, which it uses as a larder. + +The head of the badger is white, with a broad black streak on either +side, which encloses both the eye and the ear. The body is reddish gray +above, whitish gray on the sides, and blackish brown below, and the +flanks and tail are nearly white. In length it is very nearly three feet +from the muzzle to the tip of the tail. + +The American badger, living in the western parts of North America, +resembles its European cousin in nearly all respects, differing from it +chiefly in the form of the teeth, in the habit of eating more flesh, and +in liking open flat country better than the dense forests preferred by +its Old World relation. Another difference is noted by Mr. Hornaday, who +tells us that the American badger "has a savage and sullen disposition, +and as a pet is one of the worst imaginable." + + +THE SKUNK + +Many of the animals of the weasel tribe have a most disagreeable odor; +but there is none whose scent is so horribly disgusting as that of the +skunk. + +This is a North American animal of about the size of a cat, with a long, +narrow head, a stoutly built body, and a big bushy tail. In color it is +black, with a white streak on the forehead, a white patch on the neck, +and a broad stripe of the same color running along either side of the +back. + +The offensive odor of the skunk is due to a liquid which is stored up in +certain glands near the root of the tail. This liquid can be squirted +out at will to a distance of twelve or fifteen feet, and if the animal +is attacked, or thinks itself in danger, it does not attempt to use its +teeth, but just turns round, raises its tail, and sends a perfect shower +of the vile fluid over its enemy. And it is almost impossible to wash +the smell away. A drop or two once fell on the coat of a dog. The animal +was washed over and over again, most thoroughly, with various kinds of +soap. Yet a week later, when he happened to rub himself against one +of the legs of a table, no one could bear to sit by it afterward. + +The skunk seems to know perfectly well how offensive its odor is, and +never runs away if it meets a man, or even a large dog. It just stands +perfectly quiet, like a cat expecting to be stroked, ready to make use +of its evil-smelling fluid if necessary. + +This singular animal lives in holes in the ground, making a warm little +nest at the end in which to bring up its young. It feeds upon small +animals, small birds and their eggs, frogs, lizards, and, most of all, +upon insects. + + +OTTERS + +Last among the members of the weasel tribe come the otters. These +animals are specially formed for living in the water. The paws, for +example, are very large and broad, and the toes are fastened together by +means of a kind of web, like that on the foot of a swan or a duck, so +that they form very useful paddles. Then the body is long, lithe, and +almost snake-like, and the tail is so broad and flat that it serves as a +capital rudder, and enables the animal to direct its course. The fur, +too, consists of two coats of hair instead of only one; the outer, which +is composed of long, stiff bristles, lying upon the inner like a very +close thatch, and quite preventing water from passing through. So +although an otter is dripping from head to foot when it comes out of the +water, it never gets really wet. + +The animal is wonderfully active in the water, and can easily overtake +and capture the swiftest of fishes. Sometimes it is very destructive, +for when fishes are plentiful it becomes so dainty that it never eats +its victims, but just takes a bite or two from the best part of the +flesh at the back of the neck, and then leaves the rest of the body +lying upon the ground. So fishermen are not at all fond of it, and kill +it whenever they can. But sometimes, when the rivers are very low, or +when the surface of the water is thickly covered with ice, the otters +find it very difficult to obtain a sufficient supply of food. So they +leave the streams and wander far inland, sometimes making their way into +the farmyards, and feasting upon poultry, or even upon young pigs and +lambs. But they only do this when they are in real danger of starvation, +and always return to the river-banks as soon as they can. + +The home of the otter is generally situated beneath the spreading roots +of a large tree on the bank of a stream. The animal does not dig a +burrow if it can help it, but prefers to take advantage of some natural +cleft in the ground, at the end of which it makes a nest of flags and +rushes. In this nest from three to five little ones are brought up, and +if you were to lie very quietly on the bank for some little time early +on a warm spring morning, you would very likely see the mother otter +playing with her little ones, or teaching them how to swim and to catch +fish. + +The bite of the otter is very severe, and it is almost impossible to +force the animal to loose its hold. + +In India there is a kind of otter which is often trained to catch fish +for its master. It is taught, first of all, to pursue an imitation fish +as it is drawn through the water by a string, and to bring it ashore and +lay it down upon the ground. Then a dead fish is substituted for the +false one, and when the otter has learned to bring this to its owner, +and to give it up at the word of command, it is sent in pursuit of a +live fish fastened to a line. And before very long it learns its duties +so thoroughly that it will catch fish after fish, and bring them back +without attempting to eat them, just as a well-trained retriever dog +will bring back the birds or the rabbits which its master has shot. + +The otter of North America is still found, but not numerously, in the +Carolinas and Florida, in some Rocky Mountain districts, in British +Columbia and Alaska, and in the Canadian provinces. + +There is also a kind of otter which lives in the sea, and is called the +sea-otter. It is also known as the kalan. It is found on the coasts of +the Northern Pacific, and is much larger than the common otter, often +weighing as much as seventy or eighty pounds, and being nearly four feet +in total length. Its fur is the most costly known, a fine pelt being +worth $600 or $800 before dressing. This high price is due partly to the +beauty of the fur, but mainly to its rarity. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE BEAR TRIBE + + +The bears are very interesting animals. In no animals, perhaps, are +young folks more interested than in these, for they have many traits +that endear them to little human admirers, while with older persons they +have often lived on terms of intimate friendship. In our own country +this interest in these fascinating animals was lately quickened, for +children especially, by the almost universal possession and popularity +among them of "Teddy bears," so named with playful reference to +President Theodore Roosevelt, affectionately called "Teddy," and himself +well acquainted with bears and other beasts, both wild and tame. + + +POLAR BEARS + +One of the most interesting of all bears is the polar bear, which is +found in almost all parts of the arctic regions. Sometimes it is called +the white bear, on account of the color of its coat. But this is very +seldom really white. Generally it is creamy yellow. And sometimes, in an +old male, it is dingy yellow, and not even of the color of cream. + +This is one of the largest of the bears, for it often grows to a length +of nine feet, and weighs eight hundred or even nine hundred pounds. Yet +it is wonderfully active, and it can run with very great speed. Indeed, +if it were to pursue a man, he would have very little chance of escape. +But it is not at all a quarrelsome animal, and although it will fight +most savagely if it is wounded or driven to bay, using both teeth and +claws with terrible effect, it very seldom attacks if it is not +molested. + +One of the first things that we notice on looking at a polar bear is the +small size of its head and the length of its neck. This, no doubt, is to +help it in swimming; for if it had a head as big as that of an +ordinary bear it would find it very much harder to force its way through +the water. And of course it must be able to swim well, for otherwise it +could never catch the porpoises and fishes upon which it feeds. We +notice, too, the huge size of its paws, which are nearly eighteen inches +long, and very broad as well. These form most excellent paddles, while +the thick fur is so oily that it quite prevents the icy water from +coming into contact with the skin. + +The bear is very fond of feeding upon seals as well as upon porpoises +and fishes. But these are so active in the water that it seldom attempts +to chase them, preferring to creep quietly up to them as they lie +sleeping on the ice. Then it kills them with one stroke of its terrible +paw. Sometimes, too, it is said to prey upon the walrus, crushing in its +skull by a series of tremendous blows before it can shuffle off the ice +into the sea. + +The feet of the polar bear are specially suited for traveling over the +ice, for the soles are covered with long, thick hairs, which give it a +firm foothold, and at the same time prevent it from feeling the cold of +the frozen surface. + +The young of these bears are born and brought up in a kind of nursery +under the snow, which is so warm and snug that they do not feel the cold +at all. Here they live with their mother until the snow melts at the +return of warmer weather, and then for some months father, mother, and +cubs all wander about together. + +Polar bears sometimes live for a very long time in captivity. One of +these animals lived in the London Zoo for thirty-four years, and another +for thirty-three. The former of these once gave the keepers a terrible +fright, for early one morning he managed to climb out of his enclosure, +and when they found him he was just setting off on a journey of +discovery into the Regent's Park. After a good deal of trouble they got +him back, and altered his enclosure in such a way that he could never +make his escape again. + + +THE BROWN BEAR OF EUROPE AND ASIA + +This bear is found in most parts of Europe, and also throughout almost +the whole of Asia north of the Himalayas. In former days it was not +uncommon even in England, and in the time of Edward the Confessor the +city of Norwich was obliged to kill a bear every year and send its body +to the king. + +These bears are found in wooded, hilly districts, often ascending to +considerable heights in the mountains. In some parts of Asia they make +regular tracks through the forest, in the form of pathways about two +feet wide; and it is said that these tracks sometimes run for hundreds +of miles. They are solitary animals, and it is not often that even a +pair are seen together. But for several months after they are born the +cubs go about with their mother. + +This bear is generally supposed, when it fights, to try to hug its +enemies to death, throwing its fore limbs round them, and crushing them +in its embrace. But in reality it strikes a kind of side blow, and +forces its great claws into its victim's body thus causing a terrible +wound. Just before it strikes it rears its body erect, and sits for a +moment almost perfectly still; and it is for this moment that an +experienced hunter waits in order to send a bullet through its heart. + +The brown bear of Europe and Asia can scarcely be called a beast of +prey, though now and then, when it is very hungry, it will kill a pony +or a sheep and feast upon its flesh. It eats roots, as a rule, digging +them up with its great paws; and it is also very fond of fruit. It will +rob the nests of wild bees, too, and feed greedily upon the honey, +appearing to pay no attention to the stings of the angry insects. And +sometimes it may be seen turning over large stones, in order to catch +and eat the beetles, earwigs, centipedes, etc., which have been hiding +beneath it. + +Now and then, too, these bears have been known to catch fish. Their +usual plan seems to be to wade out into a stream, in some place where +the water is not more than about eighteen inches deep, and there to +stand motionless until a fish comes swimming past. Then with one quick, +sudden stroke the victim is killed, and the bear seizes it in its mouth +and carries it to the bank to be devoured. + +When bears catch fish in this way they are usually rather dainty, and +only eat the best part of the flesh upon the back. + +In cold countries these bears often hibernate during the winter, just as +bats and hedgehogs do. They eat a great deal of food toward the end of +summer, and become exceedingly fat, and then retire to hollow trees or +caves and fall asleep for several months, during which they live on +their own fat. In the spring, of course, when they wake up, they are +very thin, but a few weeks of good feeding will bring them back into +proper condition. + +These brown bears are very easily tamed, and many "performing bears" +belong to this species. It is not nearly such a large animal as the +polar bear, its average length being only about six feet. + + +THE AMERICAN BROWN BEAR + +The brown bear of America is closely allied to that of the Old World. It +was first described by Sir John Richardson, who called it the +Barrenlands bear. It has since been further described by Dr. Clinton +Hart Merriam, chief of the United States Biological Survey. It differs +from the grizzly in the smallness of its claws. The difference in the +profile also is very marked--the brown bear having a profile like that +of the European and Asiatic bear, while that of the grizzly is flat. + +The brown bear of North America lives largely on the fruits and berries +of the northern plants, on dead deer, and on putrid fish, of which +quantities are left on the banks of the northern rivers. Whether the +large brown bear of the Rocky Mountains is always a grizzly, or often +this less dangerous race, is doubtful. The following is Sir Samuel +Baker's account of these bears. He says: "When I was in California, +experienced informants told me that no true grizzly bear was to be found +east of the Pacific slope. There are numerous bears of three if not four +kinds in the Rocky Mountains. These are frequently termed grizzlies; but +it is a misnomer. The true grizzly is far superior in size, but of +similar habits." There are certainly three Rocky Mountain bears--the +grizzly, the brown, and the small black bear. There is probably also +another--a cross between the black and the brown. It is a mistake to say +that the brown bears which come to eat the refuse on the dust-heaps of +the hotels of the Yellowstone Park, and let ladies photograph them, are +savage grizzly bears. + + +THE GRIZZLY BEAR + +The famous grizzly bear, which lives in North America, is much bigger +and stronger and more savage than the brown bears, so that it is really +a very formidable animal. When fully grown, this huge creature is +sometimes as much as nine feet long from the tip of the snout to the +root of the tail, while it weighs at least 800 or 900 pounds. + +The grizzly is a very distinct race of brown bear. It has a flat +profile, like the polar bear. This enormous creature is barely able to +climb trees, and has the largest claws of any--they have been known to +measure five inches along the curve. The true grizzly, which used to be +found as far north as 61º latitude and south as far as Mexico, is a rare +animal now. Its turn for cattle-killing made the ranchmen poison it, and +rendered the task an easy one. It is now only found in the northern +Rocky Mountains and parts of northern California and Nevada. Formerly +encounters with "Old Ephraim," as the trappers called this bear, were +numerous and deadly. It attacked men if attacked by them, and often +without provocation. The horse, perhaps more than its rider, was the +object of the bear. + +On a ranch near the upper waters of the Colorado River several colts +were taken by grizzly bears. One of them was found buried according to +the custom of this bear, and the owner sat up to shoot the animal. +Having only the old-fashioned small-bored rifle of the day, excellent +for shooting deer or Indians, but useless against so massive a beast as +this bear, unless hit in the head or heart, he only wounded it. The bear +rushed in, struck him a blow with its paw (the paw measures a foot +across), smashed the rifle which he held up as a protection, and struck +the barrel on to his head. The man fell insensible, when the bear, +having satisfied himself that he was dead, picked him up, carried him +off, and buried him in another hole which it scratched near the dead +colt. It then dug up the colt and ate part of it, and went off. +Some time later the man came to his senses, and awoke to find himself +"dead and buried." As the earth was only roughly thrown over him, he +scrambled out, and saw close by the half-eaten remains of the colt. +Thinking that it might be about the bear's dinner-time, and remembering +that he was probably put by in the larder for the next meal, he hurried +home at once, and did not trouble the bear again. + +Not so a Siberian peasant, who had much the same adventure. He had been +laughed at for wishing to shoot a bear, and went out in the woods to do +so. The bear had the best of it, knocked him down, and so frightfully +mangled his arm that he fainted. Bruin then buried him in orthodox bear +fashion; and the man, when he came to, which he fortunately did before +the bear came back, got up, and made his way to the village. There he +was for a long time ill, and all through his sickness and delirium +talked of nothing but shooting the bear. When he got well, he +disappeared into the forest with his gun, and after a short absence +returned with the bear's skin! + + +THE BLACK BEAR + +The black bear is also an inhabitant of North America, but is neither so +common or so widely distributed as it used to be. There are two reasons +for this. The first is that this bear is an extremely mischievous +animal, and is very fond of visiting farmyards, and carrying off sheep, +calves, pigs and poultry. So the farmer loses no opportunity of shooting +or trapping it. And the other reason is, that its coat is very valuable, +so that the hunters follow it even into the wilder parts of the country, +where settlers, as yet, have not made their appearance. + +This animal is only about half as big as the grizzly bear, for it seldom +exceeds five feet in total length. It never attacks man unless it is +provoked. When driven to bay, however, it becomes a most formidable +opponent, dealing terrific blows with its fore paws, and fighting on +with furious energy even after it has received a mortal wound. + +Early in the autumn the black bear generally goes into winter quarters. +Finding a hollow under a fallen tree, or a cave of suitable size, +it gathers together about a cartload of dead leaves and ferns, and makes +a snug, cosy nest. Very often it lays a number of branches on the top, +to prevent the leaves from blowing away. Before very long, of course, +this nest is deeply covered with snow, and the bear lies fast asleep +inside it for four or five months, living on the fat which it stored up +inside its body during the summer. + +This bear is sometimes known as the musquaw, an Indian name. + + +SUN-BEARS + +These animals are so called because they wander about by day, and like +to bask in the hottest sunshine, instead of hiding away in some dark +retreat, as most of the other bears do. They live in India and the +larger islands of the Malay Archipelago. They are excellent climbers, +spending a great part of their lives among the branches of the trees. + +These bears have most curious tongues, which are very long and slender, +and can be coiled and twisted about in the most singular way. Apparently +they are used for licking out honey from the nests of wild bees. + +Sun-bears are small, gentle creatures, and are easily tamed. In the zoo +they are extremely playful, and you may often see them standing upon +their hind legs and wrestling with one another, and then tumbling over +and rolling upon the floor, evidently enjoying themselves very much. +Their fur is smooth and glossy, and is jet-black in color, the chin and +a crescent-shaped patch under the throat being white. + + +THE SLOTH-BEAR + +Another name for this bear is the aswail--its East-Indian name. It is +perhaps the oddest of all the bears, for it has very long and shaggy +hair, a flexible snout which it is always curling and twisting, and a +very awkwardly and clumsily built body. It walks with a curious rolling +gait, crossing its paws over one another at every step it takes. And it +has a queer way of eating termites and ants by breaking open their +nests with its great fore paws, blowing away the dust and fine earth, +and then sucking up the insects by forcibly drawing in its breath +through its lips. It makes such a noise when doing this that it can be +heard from a distance of two or three hundred yards. + +The sloth-bear is seldom seen abroad during the daytime, for the odd +reason that the skin of the soles of its feet is so delicate that it +cannot bear to walk upon ground which is heated by the rays of the sun. +Sometimes, when a hunter has driven one of them from its lair and +pursued it by day, he has found its feet most terribly scorched and +blistered when at last he killed it, simply because it had been obliged +to walk over rocks on which the midday sun was beating down. + +When a mother sloth-bear has little ones, she always carries them about +on her back. If she stops to feed they at once jump down, but always +spring up again as soon as she moves on. Even when they are quite big +they travel about in this way, and a sloth-bear may often be seen with a +cub as large as a retriever dog perched upon her back, and another one +trotting along by her side. And from time to time she makes the little +ones change places. + +If a mother is wounded while her cubs are with her, she always seems to +think that one of them must have bitten her, and immediately gives them +both a good sound box on the ears. If several of these animals are +together, and one of them is struck by a bullet, it begins to howl and +cry at the top of its voice. The other bears at once come running up to +see what is the matter, and begin to howl and cry too, out of pure +sympathy for its sufferings. Then the wounded animal thinks that they +have caused his injuries, and begins to cuff them with his paws. They, +of course, strike back, and very soon all the bears are buffeting and +biting and scratching one another. They must be very stupid creatures, +mustn't they? + +The sloth-bear is a little more than five feet long when fully grown, +and stands from twenty-seven to thirty-three inches in height at the +shoulder. In color it is black, with a white crescent-shaped mark on the +upper part of its chest, like that of the sun-bear. + + +THE PANDA + +Besides the true bears, there are a number of smaller animals which +belong to the same tribe. + +One of these is the panda, wah, or bear-cat, which is only about as big +as a rather large cat. It is rusty red in color, with darker rings upon +the tail, the tip of which is black. The face is white, and the lower +parts of the body are very dark brown. + +The panda is found in the forests of the Eastern Himalayas, and also in +Eastern Tibet. It is a very good climber and spends much of its time in +the trees, searching for the nuts, fruits, and acorns on which it feeds. +If it happens to find a bird's nest with eggs in it, it will suck them +all, one after the other. And sometimes it will come down to the ground +to make a meal upon roots, or the young shoots of bamboo. + +The panda has rather large claws--just like those of a bear--and one +would think that they would form very serviceable weapons. But the +animal seems to have very little idea of fighting, and scarcely tries +even to defend itself if it is attacked. + + +RACOONS + +Next come the racoons, which live in America. The best known of them is +the common racoon, found throughout the United States, and also in +Central America as far south as Costa Rica. + +This is a very pretty animal. In size it is about as big as a rather +large cat, and is brown or grayish brown in color, with a tail that is +very bushy and beautifully ringed with gray and black. The head is +rather like that of a fox, with a whitish forehead, and a black patch +just below it, enclosing the eyes. + +Racoons may usually be seen in a zoo, and if you give one of them a +piece of bread or biscuit it will take it in its fore paws, just as if +the animal were a monkey, and then go and rinse it carefully in the +little pond in the middle of its cage. It never eats a scrap of food +without washing it in this curious manner, and for this reason the +Germans have given it the name of "Waschbär" or "washing-bear." + +The fur of the racoon is so soft and thick that it is very valuable, and +the animal is very much hunted. It is generally hunted by night, the +hunters going out with a number of dogs, which soon drive the animal +into a tree. They then sit in a circle round the trunk, while one of the +hunters climbs the tree, drives the racoon to the end of the branch, and +then shakes it violently till the poor creature falls to the ground, +where it is quickly seized and despatched. + +Racoons will eat almost anything. Sometimes they will visit a +poultry-yard and kill a number of the fowls by biting off their heads. +Or they will go down to the sea-shore when the tide is out to search for +crabs and oysters, or to the creeks and streams to hunt for crayfish. +They are fond, too, of mice, and young birds, and eggs, and lizards, and +fresh-water tortoises, and even insects. Occasionally they make a meal +on nuts or fruit; but although they are such capital climbers, and can +run about among the tree-branches as actively as squirrels, they never +appear to pluck fruits or nuts as they grow, but only to pick up those +which have fallen on the ground. + +In Northern Mexico and adjoining parts of the United States there is a +small relative of the racoon called cacomistle, or American civet-cat +(though it is not a real civet). This has a sharp, fox-like face, big +erect ears, a cat-like body, and long furry ringed tail; and it makes a +gentle and most amusing pet, of great service in keeping a house free +from vermin. Hence it is often tamed and kept by miners and others who +are glad of its lively company and need assistance in housekeeping. + + +THE COATI + +Closely allied to the racoons is the coati, or coati-mondi, which you +may recognize at once by its very long snout. This snout is turned up at +the tip, and gives to the animal a most curious appearance, while it is +continually being curled and twisted about like that of the sloth-bear. +It is chiefly used for rooting about in the ground in search of worms +and insects, and when the animal is drinking it always turns up the tip +of its snout as far as possible, in order that it may not get wet. + +The coati can climb quite as well as the racoons and spends most of its +life in the trees, seldom coming down to the ground except to feed or to +drink. It has a queer way of descending a tree with its head downward, +turning the hinder feet around in such a way that it can hook its claws +into the little crevices in the bark. During the daytime it is generally +fast asleep, using its long bushy tail partly as a pillow and partly as +a blanket. But almost immediately after sunset it wakes up and begins to +scamper about among the branches with the most wonderful activity, +stopping every now and then to rob a bird's nest, or to poke its snout +into a hole in search of insects. + +The coati is about a yard in length, nearly half of which belongs to the +tail. In color it is chestnut brown, with black ears and legs, while the +tail has black and brownish yellow rings. + + +THE KINKAJOU + +Only one more member of the bear tribe remains to be mentioned, and that +is the very curious kinkajou, which is found in the forests of South and +Central America. It is about as big as a cat, with very woolly fur of a +light brown color, and a very long tail. This tail is prehensile, like +that of a spider-monkey, and the animal never seems quite happy unless +the tip is coiled round a branch. And if you make a pet of it, and carry +it about in your arms, it will always try to coil its tail round one of +your wrists. + +It has a very odd tongue, too, so round and long that it looks almost +like a worm. The animal can poke this tongue into the cells of a +honeycomb, in order to lick out the honey, or use it in plucking fruit +which would otherwise be out of its reach. And it descends the trunks of +trees head first, just as the coati does. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +THE SEAL TRIBE + + +We now come to a group of carnivorous or flesh-eating mammals which live +in the water--the seals. + +People sometimes think that these creatures are fishes; but that is +quite a mistake, for their blood is as hot as our own, and they breathe +by means of nostrils and lungs just as we do, and not by means of gills, +like the fishes. Then they have not fins to keep their bodies upright in +the water as fishes have, neither do they swim by means of their tails; +and their bodies are covered with fur, not with scales. + + +HOW SEALS SWIM + +So, you see, seals are very different from fishes, although they spend +almost the whole of their lives in the water. But nature has formed them +in such a way that they can swim and dive quite as well as the fishes +can. Yet it is difficult to see how they do so. If you watch a tame seal +swimming about in a large tank of water, you will see that it glides +smoothly and swiftly and easily and gracefully along, rising and diving +and turning with the most perfect ease; but _how_ it swims you will +not be able to tell at all. + +You know, however, that you can row a boat by means of a single oar, if +you work it from side to side at the stern. You will not travel very +fast, partly because the oar is not very big, and partly because you are +not very strong. But still the boat will move. + +Now if you look at the hinder feet of a seal, you will see that they are +very broad, that they are set far back upon the body, and that, if +necessary, they can be placed side by side together. Then think of the +body of the seal as a live boat, and of these great broad feet as an +oar worked from the stern, and you will be able to understand how the +animal swims. It just places these feet side by side, and uses them in +such a way that they act upon the water exactly as an oar does, while +their strength is so great that they drive the body along very swiftly. + + +HOW THEY ARE KEPT WARM + +But if the seal is a hot-blooded animal, how can it remain in the sea +for days together without being chilled? If we go to the seaside, and +wish to bathe, we are advised not to stay in the water for more than ten +or fifteen minutes; and if we were to do so, we might be made seriously +ill. Yet the seal can live for days, or even weeks, in the icy seas of +the far north and yet never seem to suffer from the cold at all. How is +this? + +Well, the fact is that, first of all, nature has supplied the seal with +a kind of mackintosh, to keep it dry. This mackintosh, in most seals, is +made of a double coat of fur. First there is an outer layer of long, +stout hairs, almost like bristles; and underneath there is generally +another layer of soft, close hairs--those which you see in a lady's +sealskin jacket. And in order to keep the water from passing through it, +this double coat of fur is kept constantly oiled. All over the surface +of a seal's skin are thousands upon thousands of little holes, each of +which opens into a tiny bag of oil, and this oil is constantly oozing +out on to the fur. So, you see, the furry coat really does act like a +mackintosh, for it quite prevents the seal from ever getting wet. + +When an animal lives in water which is often covered with ice, however, +something more than a mackintosh is necessary in order to keep it warm; +so under the mackintosh nature has provided the seal with a thick +greatcoat. And this greatcoat is made of a substance much warmer than +cloth, or even than fur. It is made of fat. Just under the skin, +covering the whole of the body, is a layer of fat two or three inches +thick. And this keeps the seal so warm that even when it is lying upon +ice it never gets chilled in the least. + + +FULLY FITTED FOR ITS HOME + +The nostrils and the ears of the seal are made in such a way that water +cannot enter them when the animal is diving. They are furnished with +little valves, which are so arranged that they close as soon as the +water presses upon them. And the greater the pressure the more tightly +they shut up, so that not the tiniest drop of water can ever enter them. + +There is still one more way in which the animal is specially fitted for +its life in the water. It has to feed on fishes, and fishes are very +slippery creatures. If you have ever tried to hold a live fish in your +hand you will know that it is a difficult thing to do, for the fish just +gives a wriggle and a twist, and slips out of your grasp as if it had +been oiled. So that it would seem quite impossible for the seal to hold +its finny victims, even if it overtook and seized them. But when we come +to look at its teeth we find that those which we call molars, or +grinders, are set with long, sharp points; so that when a fish is seized +they enter its body, and hold it in a grip from which there is no +escape. + + +THE COMMON SEAL + +There are many different kinds of seals, but we shall only be able to +tell you about four or five of the best known. + +The first of these is the common seal. It is found on both sides of the +Atlantic Ocean and in the North Pacific. On some coasts it is much +disliked by fishermen, owing to the great number of fishes which it +devours. It is so cunning that it will even find its way in among the +nets they have let down, feast heartily upon the captive fish, and then +quietly swim out again, often doing the same thing day after day for +weeks together. And it is almost impossible to destroy it, for it seems +to know perfectly well when its enemies are on the watch, and will only +expose its nostrils above the water when it comes up to the surface to +breathe. + +Very often fishermen consider it "unlucky" to kill a seal, so that the +animal is able to carry on its robberies without being interfered with. + +The common seal, when fully grown, is about five feet long, and is +yellowish gray in color, with a number of darker spots sprinkled over +the body and sides. It is very active in the sea, and fairly active on +land, for although it cannot walk it will shuffle along over the beach +at a wonderful pace for such an animal. As it does so, it throws up a +perfect shower of stones with its hinder nippers, and those who have +chased it have often thought that it was doing so on purpose, and was +actually throwing stones at them. + +If this seal is caught when quite young and treated kindly, it soon +becomes exceedingly tame. It has even been known to live indoors, like a +dog or a cat, and to lie for hours together basking in front of the +fire. And in more than one case, when its owner wished to get rid of it, +and put it back into the sea, it swam after him, crying so pitifully as +he rowed away that he could not bear to leave it, and took it home with +him again after all. + + +SEA-LIONS + +The sea-lions are so called because they are supposed to look very much +like lions. But it is not easy to see the resemblance. Sometimes they +are called hair-seals, because there is no soft woolly under-fur beneath +the coating of thick bristles, as there is in most of the animals +belonging to this family. + +There are nearly always sea-lions to be seen in zoos, and they are so +intelligent and clever that the keepers are able to teach them to +perform many tricks. A wooden platform is built for them, with the upper +end standing some feet above the surface of the water, and they are very +fond of shuffling up this, lying at the end until a number of visitors +have come close to the railings to look at them, and then diving into +the water with a great splash, so as to send a shower of spray over the +spectators. + +There are several different kinds of these animals, of which the +Patagonian sea-lion is perhaps the most numerous. It is found on both +the Atlantic and the Pacific coasts of South America, and is rather +more lion-like than its relations, since it has a crest of long hairs on +the back of its neck, which really looks something like a mane. But you +cannot see this crest when the animal is wet, as it then lies down flat +upon the skin. The color of the fur varies much, for the old males are +brown, the females are gray, and the young ones are a rich chocolate, +which begins to grow paler when they are almost twelve months old. + +The California sea-lion is a distinct species of the Pacific coast, and +is found from there to Japan. On the rocks off San Francisco is one of +its ancient rookeries, and the animal is there preserved by the +government as one of the sights of the bay. In traveling menageries and +in zoos you may hear the California sea-lions loudly and continually +barking. + +A sea-lion that lived for a good many years in the London Zoo was +exceedingly clever, for it would climb up and down a ladder, with either +its head or its tail first, fire off a gun, kiss its keeper, and catch +fishes in its mouth if they were thrown to it, just as a dog will catch +a piece of biscuit. Cleverer still, however, were a party of sea-lions, +established at the London Hippodrome in 1902, for they would play a kind +of football with their heads, catching the ball and passing it from one +to another in a most wonderful way, and scarcely ever missing it or +making a mistake. They would take part, too, in a musical performance, +one playing the drum, another cymbals, a third the horn, and a fourth +the bells, while their trainer stood in the middle and beat time. And +one of them would actually balance an upright pole, with a fish on the +top, on the tip of its nose, waddle across the stage, still holding the +pole upright, and then suddenly jerk the pole aside, and catch the fish +in its mouth as it fell. + +But sea-lions are rather expensive pets to keep, for they have such very +large appetites. A single sea-lion will eat about twenty-five pounds of +fish in a single day! And when one remembers that these seals are +sometimes found in herds of hundreds of thousands, one would almost +think that they must very soon devour all the fishes in the sea. + +When fully grown the male of the largest species of sea-lion is often +ten feet long and weighs a thousand pounds. + + +FUR-SEALS + +The fur-seals are sometimes known as sea-bears, although they are not +even as much like bears as the sea-lions are like lions. They are +destroyed in very great numbers for the sake of their skins, which have +a thick coating of soft fur under the stiff outer bristles. These +bristles, of course, have to be removed before the fur can be used, and +this is done by shaving the inner surface of the skin away until their +roots are cut off. They can then be pulled out without any difficulty, +while the roots of the under-fur, which are not nearly so deeply buried, +are not hurt in the least. But the operation is not at all an easy one, +and can only be performed by a highly skilled workman, and that is one +reason why sealskin jackets are so expensive. + +Another reason is that in almost every skin there are a number of flaws, +all of which have to be most carefully cut out, after which the holes +have to be filled up in such a way as to leave no traces of the +operation. Then the fur has to be cleaned, combed, and prepared and +dyed, so that the garments which are made from it really cannot be sold +except at a very high price. + +These seals are not hunted in the sea, for they are such good swimmers +that it would be very difficult to kill them. So during the greater part +of the year they are allowed to live in peace. But during the +breeding-season they live on land, lying upon certain parts of the coast +in enormous herds; and the seal-hunters visit these places, drive the +young males to a distance from the rest, and there kill them by striking +them on the head with a heavy club. + +Such vast numbers of fur-seals were destroyed in this way that at last +it became necessary to protect them, for fear lest they should be +entirely killed off. So only a certain number may now be killed in each +year. + +The best known of the fur-seals is the northern sea-bear, which is found +on both shores of the Northern Pacific. It used to visit the Pribilof +Islands in enormous numbers during the breeding-season, but lately so +many have been killed, despite protective laws, that now the herds are +quite small. + + +THE HOODED SEAL + +Another seal whose fur is very valuable is called the hooded seal, or +crested seal, because the adult male has a singular growth upon the +front part of the head. This hood or crest consists of a kind of bag of +skin which lies just above the nose, and can be inflated with air at +will. What its use may be in a state of nature is not known. But when +the seal is hunted it is often of the greatest service, for the force of +a blow which would otherwise have caused instant death is so broken by +the crest that the animal is merely stunned for a few moments, and is +able to slip into the water before the hunter returns to take off its +skin. + +This seal is rather a formidable animal when it is enraged, for it is +quite large when fully grown, and uses both its claws and its teeth in +fighting. The male animals are very quarrelsome among themselves, and +most desperate battles take place. + +These and other hair-seals lie in summer upon floating ice-fields where +their young are born. Steamers filled with men find them off the coast +of Labrador, land on the ice, and kill thousands for the sake of their +skins and the oil tried out of the blubber or underlying fat. + + +THE SEA-ELEPHANT + +One of the biggest of all the seals is the great sea-elephant, also +called elephant-seal, which frequents the shores of many of the islands +in the Antarctic Ocean. It owes its name partly to its enormous size, +the old males sometimes reaching a length of eighteen or even twenty +feet, and partly to its very curious trunk, which is sometimes as much +as a foot long. In the females and the young animals this trunk is +wanting, and even in the male it is seldom seen unless the animal is +excited, when it can be blown out very much like the bag of the hooded +seal. + +The fur of the sea-elephant is much too coarse to be of any great value. +But its skin can be made into excellent leather, while the thick coat of +blubber which lies beneath it furnishes large quantities of useful oil. +The consequence is that the animal has been much hunted, and is now +comparatively scarce even in districts where it was once very common. It +is not nearly so fierce as the hooded seal, and almost always takes to +flight if it is attacked, its huge body quivering like a vast mass of +jelly as it shuffles awkwardly along over the beach. But the males fight +most fiercely with one another, inflicting really terrible wounds by +means of their tusk-like teeth. + + +THE WALRUS + +The strangest of all the seals is the walrus, whose tusks, representing +the canine teeth, are sometimes as much as two feet long. + +This animal is found only in the northern parts of the Atlantic and +Pacific oceans, and is not often seen outside the arctic circle. +Formerly it was far more widely distributed, and in the Atlantic was +even seen frequently as far south as the Gulf of St. Lawrence; but it +has been so persecuted by hunters that it has quite disappeared from +many districts where once it was in great numbers. + +The walrus is not quite so large as the sea-elephant, nevertheless, it +is a very big animal, for a full-grown male will often measure twelve +feet in length, and will weigh nearly a ton. It uses its tusks for many +different purposes. When it wants to climb upon an ice-floe, for +example, it will dig them deeply into the ice, and so obtain purchase +while it raises its huge body out of the water. They are very formidable +weapons, too, and the animal can strike so quickly with them, both +sideways and downward, that it is not at all easy to avoid their stroke. +Then they are very useful in obtaining food. If a walrus finds the body +of a dead whale, it will cut off huge lumps of the flesh by means of its +tusks; and very often it will dig in the sandy mud with them for mussels +and cockles. The consequence is that the tusks are frequently broken, +while they are nearly always very much worn at the tips. + +The name walrus is a corruption of whale-horse. The animal is sometimes +known as the sea-horse, and also as the morse. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +THE WHALE TRIBE + + +The whales are more thoroughly creatures of the water than even the +seals, for they never come upon dry land at all, even during the +breeding-season. Indeed, if a whale is unfortunate enough to be thrown +upon the shore by a great wave, and left stranded, it cannot possibly +make its way back into the sea, but is obliged to lie there till it +dies. + +Yet we must not think that these giant creatures are fishes; for they +are as truly mammals as the seals are. Their blood is hot, and is driven +through the body by a heart made up of four chambers, instead of only +two. They breathe by means of nostrils and lungs, and not by means of +gills. And besides that they suckle their young, just as all other +mammals do. + +Then, once more, if you look at the body of a whale, you will see that +its tail is quite different from that of a fish. The tail of a fish is +upright, but that of a whale is set crosswise. So that there is only one +respect in which whales are really like fishes, and that is the general +shape of the body. + +These huge animals fall naturally into two families, the first +consisting of those which have teeth, and the other of those which have +whalebone, or baleen, instead. But in many ways the members of both +these families are alike. + + +HOW WHALES BREATHE + +All whales, for example, breathe in a very curious way. No doubt you +have heard of the "spouting" of these animals, and perhaps you may have +seen a picture of a whale lying on the surface of the sea, and throwing +up a great column of water from its nostrils, or blow-holes. These +pictures, however, are rather exaggerated, for what really happens is +this: A whale, as of course you know, often remains under water for a +very long time, and when at last it rises to the surface, the air in its +lungs is heavily laden with moisture. When the air is discharged through +the blow-holes into the cold atmosphere the moisture condenses at once +into a kind of misty spray, just as that in our own breath does in very +cold weather. This is what one sees when a whale is spouting, although +as the animal sometimes begins to blow while its nostrils are still +beneath the surface, a small quantity of sea-water may, perhaps, be +thrown up too. + +A whale, if it is not disturbed, will often blow fifty or sixty times in +succession. Let us try to explain why it does so. + +If _you_ try to hold your breath, you will find that it is very +difficult to do so for more than three-quarters of a minute. But if, +before you make the attempt, you get rid of as much of the air in your +lungs as you possibly can, draw in a very deep breath and get rid of +that, and then repeat the process about half a dozen times, you will +find that you can hold your breath quite easily for at least a minute +and a half. The reason is that by breathing so often and so deeply you +have purified all the blood in your body, instead of having, as usual, a +very large quantity which has done its work, and requires to be +refreshed in the lungs before it can be of any further use. + +Now the whale spouts fifty or sixty times in succession for just the +same reason. It is taking a series of deep breaths so that it may purify +all the blood in its body, and be able to remain under water for as long +a time as possible without having to rise to the surface for air. And, +besides this, there is a most wonderful arrangement in its body which +enables it to stay below for very much longer than would otherwise be +possible. Inside its chest it has a sort of blood-cistern, so to speak, +consisting of a number of large vessels, which contain a great quantity +of extra blood, besides that which is circulating through the body. This +blood, also, is purified when the whale spouts. Then, when the animal +has remained under water for some little time, and begins to feel the +want of air, it does not rise to the surface at once, in order to +breathe, but just pumps some of the extra blood from this curious +cistern into its veins and arteries, to take the place of that which is +used up and requires to be purified. This it can do over and over +again until all the extra blood-supply is used up too, when it is +obliged to rise and spout. + +As a general rule a whale spends from ten to twelve minutes in spouting, +and can then remain under water, if necessary, for considerably more +than an hour. + +It is owing to this singular method of breathing that whales can be so +easily killed. The object of the hunters is simply to drive them below +before they have finished spouting. They do this again and again, and +the consequence is that the poor animal soon becomes completely +exhausted and falls an easy prey. + + +THE WHALE'S BLUBBER + +You remember, don't you, how the seals are protected from cold, partly +by their thick and oily fur, and partly by the layer of fat which lies +just under the skin? Well, the whales are protected in much the same +way. They have no fur, of course; but the layer of fat, which we call +blubber, is always several inches in thickness, and is sometimes as much +as two feet; so that the whale is never chilled by living in the water, +even when it has to make its way through floating ice. + +This blubber has another use as well. When the whale dives to a great +depth--and sometimes it sinks half a mile or more beneath the surface of +the sea--the pressure on its body becomes enormously great because of +the weight of the water above it. If you were to dive to half that depth +you would die. But the blubber of the whale is so elastic that it +resists the pressure just as a great thick sheet of india-rubber would, +so that the animal does not suffer from it in the least. + + +MISTAKES OF ARTISTS + +Sometimes you see pictures in which whales are drawn with very big eyes, +very long ears, and perhaps even with their tongues hanging out of their +mouths. Now such pictures are drawn by artists who know nothing about +whales, for the eyes of these animals are quite small, their outward +ears are merely little holes in the skin, closing by means of +self-acting valves like those of the seals, and the tongue cannot +be poked out of the mouth at all. + +Now let us learn something about the different kinds of whales. + + +TOOTHED WHALES + +First come the toothed whales, or denticetes. As an example of these we +will take the famous sperm or spermaceti whale, which is also known as +the cachalot. + +This whale has nearly all its teeth in the lower jaw, the upper one only +having a very short row of small teeth on either side. The lower teeth +are five or six inches long, and fit into pits in the upper jaw when the +mouth is closed. These teeth are composed of beautiful ivory, and were +formerly valued so highly by the natives of the South Sea Islands, that +more than once a tribe has actually gone to war with another tribe +simply to obtain possession of a single whale's tooth. + +Now that it has been hunted so much, apparently the sperm-whale does not +grow to so great a size as it did in days gone by. Yet it is a very big +animal, for a full-grown male will attain to a length of sixty or even +seventy feet, while even a baby whale is from eleven to fourteen feet +long, or as big as a big walrus. And, strange to say, the head is almost +as large as the body and tail put together. This is chiefly due to the +fact that there is a great cavity in the skull, which contains the +valuable substance we call spermaceti. When one of these whales is +killed, the head is cut off, and a kind of well is dug in the forehead, +from which the spermaceti is drawn to the surface in buckets, as much as +thirty barrels being sometimes taken from a single animal. + +Besides this, the blubber yields a large quantity of very valuable oil, +which burns with a much clearer and stronger light than ordinary +whale-oil. And sometimes a curious substance called ambergris is found +in its body. It is used in making certain kinds of scent, and is quite +costly, although as much as fifty pounds of it have sometimes been taken +from a single whale. + +Sperm-whales are generally seen in companies, which are known as +schools. In olden days there were sometimes as many as two hundred +whales in one of these schools. But so many of the great creatures have +been killed by whalers that it is now quite the exception to see more +than four or five together. + +These whales are very playful creatures, and may often be seen gamboling +on the surface of the sea, and now and then breaching, or leaping +completely out of the water and falling back again with a tremendous +splash. They feed chiefly upon the great cuttles, or squids, which are +so plentiful in some parts of the ocean, but also devour large numbers +of cod and other fishes. But how they manage to catch these fishes +nobody quite seems to know. + +These whales were formerly hunted by means of a small boat, in the bow +of which stood a man with a long spear, or harpoon, in his hand, +attached to an enormous coil of rope. As soon as this was hurled at a +whale the boat was backed, so as to escape the stroke of its tail, and +the whale would then sound, or dive to the depth of perhaps +three-quarters of a mile. As soon as he rose he was driven down again, +as already described, before he had had time to finish spouting, and at +last, when quite exhausted, was killed by means of a very long and +sharp-edged lance. Nowadays, however, the harpoon is generally fired +from a ship by means of a gun, and as a charge of gun-cotton is placed +in the harpoon's head, which explodes as soon as the weapon enters the +body of the whale, such a severe wound is caused that the animal very +soon dies. + + +BOTTLE-NOSED WHALES + +These whales are so called because their muzzles are produced into beaks +shaped somewhat like bottles. Although they belong to the toothed whales +they only have two teeth in the lower jaw, and even these are so small +that they are completely buried in the gum. + +By the side of the cachalot the bottle-nosed whale seems quite a small +animal, for even the full-grown male seldom exceeds thirty feet in +length, while the female is quite six feet shorter. It yields, on an +average, about two hundredweight of spermaceti and two tons of oil. Its +color, strange to say, is continually changing all through its life, for +the young animals are black above and the older ones brown, which grows +lighter and lighter as time goes on, till at last it becomes almost +yellow. + +These whales seem to be very sympathetic creatures, for if one of them +is wounded, its companions generally swim round and round it, and will +even allow themselves to be killed one after the other rather than take +to flight. But they are also rather stupid animals, for if they happen +to find themselves near the coast they seldom seem to realize that they +can easily escape by turning round and swimming out to sea, but leap and +tumble about in a state of great terror till at last a big wave comes +and throws them up on the beach. + + +WHALEBONE-WHALES + +The members of the other great group of these animals are called +whalebone-whales, because they have whalebone in their mouths instead of +teeth. + +Of course this substance is not really bone at all. It consists of a +kind of horny material which grows all round the upper jaw in a series +of flattened plates, which are usually very long, and hang downward from +the edge of the palate. Each of these plates, at the tip, is broken up +into a sort of hair-like fringe; so that when the jaws are partly closed +there is a kind of sieve, or strainer, between them, through which +everything must pass that goes in or out of the mouth. + +This sieve is used in feeding. It seems strange that an animal so huge +as a whale should feed on some of the smallest creatures which live in +the sea. Yet such is the case, for the throats of the whalebone-whales +are so narrow that one of them would almost certainly be choked if it +tried to swallow a herring. So these whales live upon very small jelly +fishes, and the young of shrimps, prawns, tiny crabs, etc., which often +swim about in such vast shoals that for miles and miles the sea is quite +alive with them. When the whale meets with one of these shoals it opens +its mouth wide and swims through it. Then it partly closes its mouth, +and squirts out the water which it has taken in through the whalebone +strainer, the little animals, of course, remaining behind. These are +then swallowed, a few thousand at a gulp, and the whale opens its mouth +and repeats the operation over and over again, until its enormous +appetite is satisfied. + +Most of the whalebone which we use is obtained from the bowhead, or +Greenland whale, which is found in the northern seas. This animal is +from forty to sixty feet long when fully grown, and the baleen plates +are often ten or even twelve feet in length, while there are nearly four +hundred of them on each side of the upper jaw. In a large whale these +plates weigh more than a ton, and are worth at least $15,000. Then from +130 to 150 barrels of oil will be obtained from its blubber; so that a +big Greenland whale is a very valuable animal. + +But whales of this size are now very rarely met with, and there seems to +be some danger that before many years have passed away these giant +creatures will be almost extinct. + + +RORQUALS + +The rorquals are sometimes known as fin-whales, or finbacks, because +they have an upright fin on the hinder part of the back. They are not so +valuable as the Greenland whale, because their baleen is of inferior +quality, and is very much shorter, while their blubber does not yield +nearly so much oil, and they can swim with such speed that they are very +much harder to catch. + +The common rorqual grows to a length of about sixty or sixty-five feet, +and is found throughout all the northern seas, and occasionally even in +the Mediterranean. It is a solitary animal as a rule, but schools of +from ten to fifteen individuals are sometimes met with, and may be seen +leaping into the air, and rolling and tumbling about in the water, as +though they were having a game of play together. + +The rorqual feeds partly upon the small creatures which it captures by +means of its whalebone strainer, and partly upon fishes. How vast its +appetite is you can judge from the fact that as many as six hundred +large codfish have been found in the stomach of one of these animals, +together with a number of pilchards. Sometimes a rorqual will come quite +near the coast, and remain in a fishing-ground for weeks together, and +as it swallows several boatloads of fish every day, it is scarcely +necessary to say that the fishermen are not at all pleased to see it. + +There is another kind of whale, called the lesser rorqual, which only +grows to the length of about twenty-five or thirty feet. It is common +off the shores of Norway, and commoner still in North American waters, +where it is known as the sharp-nosed finner. It is a very playful +animal, and is said sometimes to gambol round and round a ship for +miles, now and then diving underneath it on one side and coming up on +the other. + +[Illustration: TYPES OF BEARS. + + 1. Polar or Ice Bear. 2. American Black Bear. + 3. Brown Bear: Grizzly Bear. 4. A Marine Bear (California Seals).] + + +THE DOLPHIN FAMILY + +Next we come to the dolphin family, which includes the narwhal, the +grampuses, and the porpoises, as well as the true dolphins. + + +THE NARWHAL + +This is a curious animal, for the male has a very long straight tusk +projecting from one side of its upper jaw. This tusk is often as much as +seven or eight feet in length, and the ivory of which it is made is +twisted round and round in a spiral from base to tip. In former days +this tusk was thought to be the horn of the unicorn, and the narwhal is +often known as the sea-unicorn. + +In reality, this tusk is the left-hand upper "eye" tooth of the animal, +that on the right-hand side being very small and completely buried in +the bone of the jaw. Now and then, however, both teeth are developed, +and a narwhal was once killed which had one tusk seven feet five inches +long and the other seven feet. There are no other teeth in the mouth, +and the female animal has no tusks at all. + +Now what is the use of this singular weapon? Two or three answers have +been given to this question. Some people have supposed, for example, +that it is used in spearing fish, or in digging up buried mollusks from +the mud at the bottom of the sea. But the female narwhals require food +just as much as the males do; how is it that they are not provided with +tusks also? + +Other people have thought that when the winter is very severe, and the +ice on the surface of the sea is very thick, the animal could bore a +hole through it with its tusk, and so be able to breathe. But then +again, female narwhals require air just as they require food. So this +suggestion will not do either. + +The only explanation we can really give is that the narwhal's tusk is a +weapon used in fighting, just like the antlers of the male deer. At any +rate, narwhals have several times been seen as they were taking part in +a kind of make-believe battle, and striking and clashing their tusks +together just as though they were fencing with swords. And when they are +fighting in earnest they must be able to use their long spears with +terrible effect, for several times a narwhal has charged a ship, and +driven its tusk so deeply into her timbers that it was quite unable to +withdraw it. + +The ivory of which this weapon is made is of very fine quality. But as +the tusk is hollow for the greater part of its length it is not very +valuable. + +Narwhals are only found in the half-frozen seas of the far north, where +they are sometimes seen swimming side by side together in large +companies. They grow to a length of twelve feet or over, and are dark +gray in color on the upper part of the body, and white underneath, the +back and sides being more or less mottled with gray. + + +THE WHITE WHALE + +The white whale, or beluga, is something like a large narwhal without a +tusk, and is also a dweller in the northern seas. But it often ascends +the larger rivers for hundreds of miles in search of fish. Now and then +it has been killed off the coasts of Scotland, and one example lived for +quite a long time in the Firth of Forth, going up the river day after +day as the tide came in, and always retreating as it began to fall. The +fishermen were very anxious to kill it, because of the quantities of +fish which it devoured. But it was so quick and active that it eluded +them over and over again, and three whole months passed away before at +last they succeeded. + +In one or two of the great rivers of North America white whales are +regularly hunted, the animals being first driven up the stream, and then +caught with nets as they return. They yield a large quantity of very +pure oil, and the "porpoise-hide," which is used so largely in making +boots and shoes, is in reality prepared from their skins. + + +THE TRUE PORPOISE + +The true porpoise, or sea-hog, is much more widely distributed. It likes +to tumble and gambol on the surface of the sea quite close to the shore. +It will ascend tidal rivers too. Its range is mainly along the Atlantic +coast, and it is also found on coasts of Europe and in the Pacific +Ocean. Chasing porpoises in canoes, and spearing them, is an exciting +Canadian sport. + +Porpoises have a curious way of swimming, for they travel along by a +series of bounds, first of all leaping almost out of the water, and then +diving under it. When a number of them are moving along in this way one +behind the other, as they very often do, they look from a little +distance just like an enormous snake winding its way through the water, +and no doubt have given rise to some of the tales about the great +sea-serpent. + +A herd of porpoises will frequently follow a sailing ship for days, +sometimes, apparently, out of pure curiosity, and sometimes in the hope +of picking up something eatable among the rubbish that is thrown +overboard. But they are very much afraid of steamships, and always keep +at a respectful distance from them. They feed chiefly on fish, and are +so quick and active that even the salmon cannot escape from them, while +they will follow up shoals of mackerel and herrings and destroy them in +enormous numbers. + +When fully grown the porpoise is rather more than five feet long. The +upper part of the body is almost black in color, becoming paler on the +sides, while the lower surface is almost pure white. + + +THE GRAMPUS + +The largest and fiercest of all the members of the dolphin family is +undoubtedly the grampus, which is also known as the killer, or +killer-whale. It often reaches a length of twenty feet, or even more, +and is so savage and voracious that it has sometimes been called the +wolf of the sea. One of these animals was once found floating on the +surface of the sea, choked by a seal which it had attempted to swallow; +and when its body was opened fourteen other seals and thirteen porpoises +were taken from its stomach. + +Three or four killers will often combine in an attack upon a large +whale, leaping upon it again and again, and striking terrific blows upon +its body with their tails, hanging upon its lips like so many bulldogs, +biting and tearing its flesh, and often actually killing it. The whale +seems terrified by the onslaught of the ferocious creatures, and +sometimes scarcely attempts to resist them, apparently knowing quite +well that they are sure to be victorious in the end. + +The grampus is most plentiful in the northern seas, but is found now and +then in almost all parts of the ocean. It occasionally visits the +British shores. Once a living specimen was exhibited in the Brighton +Aquarium, and did very well for some little time. But one day it got its +snout jammed in the rock-work at the bottom of its tank, so that it +could not rise to the surface to spout. And when the keeper discovered +what had happened to it the poor creature was dead. + + +THE BLACKFISH + +Almost as large as the grampus, but not nearly so savage, is the +blackfish, which is so called on account of its color, for it is not a +fish, being a member of the dolphin family. It is found in great shoals, +generally consisting of two or three hundred animals, and often of a +great many more, which are always under the guidance of a single leader. +Wherever he goes they will always follow, and they are such stupid +creatures that if he swims into shallow water and casts himself ashore, +they will all swim after him and fling themselves on the beach also. In +Iceland, and also in the Faroe Islands, large numbers of them are often +killed, the fishermen arranging their boats in a semicircle between the +shoal and the deep sea, and then driving them forward till they strand +themselves upon the shore in their efforts to escape. Large herds have +also been driven ashore in the Orkneys and the Shetlands. + +On the east coast of North America the blackfish is one of the most +abundant cetaceans. Off Cape Cod more than a hundred blackfish have been +seen in one school, and they are eagerly hunted for the sake of the soft +oil yielded by their fat. + + +DOLPHINS + +There are two groups of dolphins, the first of which contains three +animals that live in rivers, and therefore are generally called +fresh-water dolphins. + +The only one of these that we can mention is the Gangetic dolphin, which +inhabits the great rivers of India, and is named from the Ganges. Its +chief peculiarity is that it is almost totally blind. Although the +animal grows to a length of seven or eight feet, and is bulky in +proportion, yet its eyeballs are no larger than peas, while the nerves +of sight are so imperfect that it is quite possible that it may not be +able to see at all. This is no deprivation to it however, for the rivers +in which it lives are always so thick with mud that even if it had +properly developed eyes it would be quite unable to use them. + +The Gangetic dolphin is very seldom seen, because when it comes up to +breathe it only raises just the blow-holes above the surface of the +water. For the same reason, we know very little indeed about its habits. +But it seems to feed on fresh-water shrimps and mollusks, and also on +certain fishes which lie half-buried in the mud at the bottom of the +water, rooting about for them with its snout after the manner of a pig. +This animal is often known as the susu. + + +SEA-DOLPHINS + +Of the sea-dolphins we can only notice two. The first of these is the +common dolphin, which is found in great numbers in almost all parts of +the temperate and tropical seas. Apparently it is not often to be found +on American coasts, but it has been captured in eastern harbors. It +generally lives in herds, which will follow ships for hours together, +leaping and gamboling on the surface of the sea, and yet keeping pace +with the vessel without the least apparent effort. It feeds on fishes, +to capture which, and hold them firmly, it has one hundred and ninety +teeth, so arranged that when the mouth is closed the upper and lower +ones fit in between one another like those of a steel trap and hold the +prey in a grip from which there is no escape. + +A full-grown dolphin is usually about seven feet long, but much larger +specimens are occasionally found. The color is dark gray or glossy black +above, and almost pure white on the lower parts of the body. + +The bottle-nosed dolphin is a rather smaller animal, with a shorter and +more pointed beak shaped rather like the neck of a bottle, and is purple +black above and grayish white below. Its range is on the North Atlantic +coast from Maine to Florida, on the Gulf coast, and also on some of the +coasts of Europe. + + +MANATEES AND DUGONGS + +There is just one other family of water-mammals which it will be +convenient to mention here, although they do not really belong to the +whale tribe. These are the very curious creatures known as sirenians, +the best known of them being the manatee and the dugong. + +Of course you have heard of mermaids, those imaginary creatures of the +sea, which were supposed in days of old to combine the head and body of +a woman with the tail of a fish. Well, very likely stories of them were +told in the first place by some traveler who had seen a manatee, for the +animal has a queer way of raising its head and the upper part of its +body almost upright out of the water and cuddling its little one in its +flippers, so that from a little distance it really looks something like +a human being with a child. But at close quarters the comparison would +not be a very flattering one, for there is a kind of disk-like swelling +at the end of the snout, and the skin is black and coarse and wrinkled +like that of an elephant. + +Manatees are found on the west coast of Africa, and also on the shores +of South America, living near the mouths of the larger rivers. They +never seem to leave the water of their own accord, and if by any chance +they find themselves upon dry land, they are perfectly helpless, and can +only roll over and over. One specimen seen in a zoo was quite a small +animal, and had to be fed with milk out of a baby's bottle, while the +keeper nursed it upon his knees. When it grew a little bigger it became +very playful, and would tumble and roll about in its tank almost like a +dolphin or a porpoise. And more than once it even succeeded in knocking +its keeper into the water. + +Another of these animals, caught at the mouth of the Essequibo River, +lived in an aquarium for sixteen months. It was about eight feet long, +and its tail was so powerful that every one was afraid the sides of its +tank would be broken in by its tremendous blows. Its appetite was +remarkably good, for it used to eat as much as eighty-four pounds of +lettuces every day. + +There is a species of manatee, also called sea-cow, formerly ranging the +South Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States, but now seen only +in the rivers and lagoons of southeastern Florida, where it has become +so rare that the State prohibits its wanton destruction under penalty of +a heavy fine. + +The dugong is found on the east coast of Africa, and also on the coasts +of Mauritius, Ceylon, the islands of the Indian Archipelago, and Western +Australia. In many respects it is very much like the manatee. But it has +a forked tail instead of a rounded one, and its body is bluish black +above and whitish below. It lives in shallow water near the mouths of +rivers, feeds on various water-plants, and is said to be so affectionate +that if one of a pair is killed the other cannot be induced to leave the +dead body, but will remain by it and allow itself to be slaughtered +also. + +Not very many years ago dugongs were found in large herds, sometimes +consisting of two or three hundred individuals, and were so tame that +they would even permit themselves to be touched without attempting to +escape. But they have been killed in great numbers for the sake of their +hides and a valuable oil which is extracted from their bodies, so that +nowadays it seldom happens that more than two or three are seen +together. + +A full-grown dugong is generally from seven to eight feet long, and +measures about six feet round the body. The Australian dugong is said to +attain a length of fourteen feet. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +THE RODENT ANIMALS + + +The group of the rodents is the largest of all the tribes of mammals, +for it contains more than a thousand different animals. Indeed, nearly +one third of all the mammals in the world belong to this very important +division. + + +TEETH OF THE GNAWERS + +The word rodent signifies gnawing, and is given to these creatures +because their front teeth are specially formed for the purpose of +gnawing hard substances. You know, of course, how long and sharp the +front teeth of a rat or a mouse are, and how easily these animals can +nibble their way through a stout piece of board. Well, all the rodent +animals have these teeth formed in just the same way. And when we come +to examine them we find that they are beautifully suited to their +purpose. + +You would think that as they are so constantly in use, these teeth would +quickly be worn down to the gums, wouldn't you? Ours would, if we +employed them in the same way. But then, in the rodent animals, these +teeth never stop growing, so that as fast as they are worn from above +they are pushed up again from below. + +Sometimes this fact leads to a very singular result. It happens now and +then that a rodent animal meets with an accident and breaks off one of +its front teeth. Now these teeth, remember, cannot be used unless they +have one another to work against, just as the blades of a pair of +scissors cannot be used unless they have one another to cut against. So, +you see, when one tooth is broken short off, the opposite tooth in the +other jaw becomes useless. It has nothing to work against. So it is no +longer worn away from above. But of course it still goes on growing. +So before very long it projects in front of the other teeth. Still it +continues to grow, and in course of time its natural curve brings it +round in a semicircle, with the point toward the face. And at last, if +it is a lower tooth, it pierces first the flesh of the forehead and then +the skull beneath it, and enters the brain and kills the animal; while, +if it happens to be an upper tooth, the point curls round under the chin +and at length prevents the poor creature from opening its mouth, so that +it dies miserably of starvation! It seems impossible, doesn't it? Yet in +museums there are skeletons of hares and rabbits which have been killed +in this singular way by one of their own front teeth. + + +HOW THE TEETH ARE KEPT SHARP + +One would think that the edges of the teeth, at any rate, must soon be +worn away. Nature has guarded against this danger by making these teeth +of two different substances. The face of the tooth is made of a very +thin plate of hard enamel, the rest of the tooth of much softer bone. +During use, of course, the soft bone is worn away very much faster than +the hard enamel, and so the sharp, cutting edge is preserved. + +It is interesting to find that we make our chisels in a very similar +way. The blade is not a solid piece of steel, of the same quality +throughout; it consists of steel of two different qualities. The face of +the tool is a very thin plate of extremely hard steel, but the rest is +of much softer metal. And as it is with the rodent's tooth, so it is +with the chisel. The soft metal is worn away during use much faster than +the hard, so that the edge is not destroyed. + +Only two pairs of front teeth are developed in the rodent animals, and +as the "eye" teeth are wanting there is always a gap in each jaw between +these and the grinders. + + +THE COMMON SQUIRREL + +First on our list of rodent animals comes the common red squirrel, which +of course you know by sight very well. There are very few parts of the +country where we may not see it frisking and gamboling among the +branches of the trees, or sitting upright on its hind quarters and +nibbling away at a nut, which is delicately held between its front paws. + +It skips up the trunk of a tree quite as easily as it runs along the +ground. That is because its sharp little claws enter the bark, and give +it a firm foothold. And it scarcely ever falls from a branch because its +big bushy tail acts as a kind of balancing-pole, like that of a man +walking upon a tight rope; and by stretching it straight out behind its +body, and turning it a little bit to one side or a little bit to the +other, the animal can nearly always manage to save itself from a tumble. + +Even if it does fall, however, it does not hurt itself, for the skin of +the lower part of the body is very loose, and it is fastened for a +little distance along the inner surface of each leg. So, when the animal +falls from a height, it merely stretches out its limbs at right angles +to its body--stretching out the loose skin, of course, with them--and so +turns itself into a kind of open umbrella, just like the parachutes +which are often sent down from balloons. And instead of tumbling +headlong to the ground and being killed by the fall, it is buoyed up by +the air and floats down comparatively slowly, so that it is not hurt in +the least. + +The squirrel feeds on nuts, acorns, beechnuts, bark, buds, and the young +shoots of certain trees. But it is also very fond of fir-cones, which it +nibbles right down to the core; and sometimes it will eat bird's eggs. +In fact, this squirrel is, in the United States, one of the most dreaded +foes of nesting birds, and they often attack it and chase it away from +their homes. Early in the autumn it always lays up a store of +provisions, hiding them away in a hole in a tree, or more often in +several holes. Then, when a warmer day than usual rouses it from its +long winter sleep, it goes off to its hoard and enjoys a hearty meal. + +These pretty little animals generally go about in pairs, and the little +ones are brought up in a warm cosy nest made of leaves and moss. It is +placed either in the fork of a lofty branch or in a hole high up in a +tree-trunk, and it is so perfectly made that rain never soaks through +it, and the wind never blows it away. + + +THE GRAY SQUIRREL + +"This," says Mr. Hornaday, "is the most prominent squirrel of Southern +Canada, New England, and the Eastern and Southern States southward to +Florida. It ranges westward to Minnesota, Kansas, and Texas. Above, its +color is clean iron-gray, which in southern specimens is mixed with dull +yellow. The lower surface is white, varying to yellowish brown. Usually +it nests in hollow trees, but when crowded for room builds an open nest +of green leaves, or strippings of cedar bark made into a round ball. The +young are usually five in number. The gray squirrel frequently consents +to live in city parks, and becomes quite tame. It spends much of its +time upon the ground, searching for nuts, roots, or anything which can +be eaten." + +Here is a good place to repeat some other words of Mr. Hornaday's. +"There is no other animal of equal size," he says, "that can add so much +of life and cheerfulness to a hardwood forest or a meadow as a good +healthy squirrel. _Why is it_ that American men and boys kill them +so eagerly?... Surely no true sportsman or right-minded boy can find any +real 'sport' in 'potting' squirrels out of the tree-tops." And we might +add that too often the desire to kill leads men and boys to destroy +other kinds of innocent animals, instead of treating them as friends to +be enjoyed, and whose right to live is just as good as that of human +beings. Kindness toward harmless animals helps to make us kinder to each +other. + + +FLYING SQUIRRELS + +So-called flying squirrels are found in some parts of the world; but +like the colugo, of which we have told already, they do not really fly. +They merely skim from one tree to another by spreading out the very +loose skin of the sides of the body and then leaping into the air. In +this way they can travel for perhaps two or three hundred feet. But as a +rule they merely spring from branch to branch, just like the common +squirrel. + +The largest and perhaps best known of these squirrels is the taguan, +which is found in India and Siam, and is about two feet in length, not +including the tail. It is fairly abundant, but is not very often seen, +for all day long it is fast asleep in a hole in some tree, only coming +out of its retreat after sunset. + +Several species of flying squirrels are found in North America, and +often make their homes in garrets. + + +GROUND-SQUIRRELS + +There are several squirrels that live upon the ground, and do not climb +trees at all. The most famous of these is the chipmunk, or chipping +squirrel, which is very common in many parts of North America. It is +called chipmunk because, when it is excited or alarmed, it utters a +sharp little cry like the word "chip-r-r-r," over and over again. + +This is an extremely pretty little animal, its fur being brownish gray +on the back and orange brown on the forehead and hind quarters, while a +broad black stripe runs along the back, and a yellowish-white stripe +edged with black along each side. The throat and lower part of the body +are white. + +The chipmunk lives in burrows which it digs in the ground, and very +wonderful little burrows they are, seldom less than eight or nine feet +long, with a large sleeping-chamber at the end, filled with moss and +grass and dry leaves. Then on either side of the main burrow are several +shorter ones which are used as larders, and in which large stores of +provisions are packed away. From one chipmunk's nest have been taken +nearly a peck of acorns, together with about a quart of beechnuts, two +quarts of buckwheat, a few grains of corn, and a quantity of +grass-seeds! Only three squirrels were found in this burrow; so that +they were in no danger of starving during the winter, were they? + +The beechnuts have very sharp points, and the chipmunk bites these +carefully off before it attempts to pack the nuts away in its mouth. It +carries four nuts to its burrow at a time, putting one into each of its +odd cheek-pouches, which are very much like those of certain monkeys, +and one into the mouth itself, while the fourth is held between the +teeth. + +The chipmunk is a very active little creature, and its quick, jerky +movements as it darts in and out among the herbage have often been +compared to those of the wren. + + +PRAIRIE-DOGS + +The prairie-dog, which is so called because it lives on the prairies of +North America, and utters an odd little yelping cry which is something +like the bark of a very small dog, has several other names as well, for +sometimes it is known as the prairie-marmot, and sometimes as the +wishtonwish. It is quite a small animal, being seldom more than twelve +inches in length without counting the tail, and is reddish brown or +brownish gray above, and yellowish or brownish white beneath. The tail +is about four inches long. + +In the great prairie-lands which lie to the east of the Rocky Mountains, +this quaint little animal is exceedingly plentiful. It lives in +underground burrows, and the earth which it digs out in making them is +always piled up just outside the entrance in the form of a mound about +two feet high, on the top of which it likes to sit upright, squatting on +its hind quarters as a dog does when "begging." At the slightest alarm +it utters its queer little yelping cry, throws a sort of +half-somersault, and dives into its burrow, to reappear a few minutes +later when it thinks the danger has passed away. + +A large number of prairie-dogs always live together, like rabbits in a +warren, and sometimes the prairie, as far as one can see, is dotted all +over with their mounds. Usually the animals are steadily moving +eastward. They increase as ranching and farming spread over the plains; +for the cultivation of hay and grain and the destruction of their +natural enemies favor them. In parts of Texas and northward they are so +destructive that united means of destroying them by poison have been +adopted. + +It was formerly thought that prairie-dogs took in lodgers, so to speak, +for small owls, known as burrowing owls, are often found in their +tunnels, together with rattlesnakes; and it was supposed that all three +lived peaceably together. But now we know that this is not the case, for +the owls are nearly always found in deserted burrows, while the +rattlesnakes undoubtedly enter the homes of the prairie-dogs for the +purpose of feeding upon their young. + + +MARMOTS + +Not unlike a rather big prairie-dog is the common marmot, which is found +in considerable numbers in the mountainous parts of Northern Europe and +America. Here it is named whistler or siffleur. More familiarly known is +the American woodchuck, or groundhog, which burrows deeply in the fields +of almost every farm in the country. These marmots are famous for their +winter sleep. During the summer months they are very active and busy. +From about the middle of autumn till the beginning of spring, however, +they are fast asleep in their burrows, not waking up at all for at least +six months! Before entering upon this long slumber they pack their +sleeping-chamber full of dry grass, and in these warm beds survive the +winter by the slow absorption of their fat, so that when they come out +they are very lean. + +Another kind of marmot, called the bobac, is found both in Northern +Europe and in Asia. It is sometimes eaten as food, but is most difficult +to kill, for unless it is actually shot dead as it sits it will nearly +always contrive to get back into its burrow. And if the animals are +startled by the report of a gun they all disappear underground, and will +not be seen again for several hours. + + +BEAVERS + +One of the most interesting of all the rodent animals is the beaver, +which is found in the northern parts of Europe, Asia, and America. It +spends a great part of its life in the water, and no doubt you have +heard of the wonderful dams which it makes in order to prevent the +rivers from drying up during the summer months. + +When the animals want to construct one of these dams, the first thing +they do is to fell a number of trees which stand near the banks of the +river. They do this by gnawing through the stems quite close to the +ground, and they are able easily to cut through trunks ten or even +twelve inches in diameter. Most likely one of the trees falls across the +stream. In that case they leave it as it is. Then they strip off the +bark from the others, and cut up both the trunks and the larger branches +into logs about four or five feet long. These logs they arrange most +carefully in position, piling them upon one another, and keeping them in +their places by heaping stones and mud upon them. They also fill up all +the gaps between them with mud, and so hard do they work that by the +time the dam is finished it is often two hundred yards long, fifteen or +even twenty feet thick at the bottom, and six or eight feet high. And +when the river runs swiftly, they are clever enough to make their dam in +the form of a curve, so that it may be better able to resist the force +of the current. + +This dam causes the river to swell out into a broad shallow pool, and in +districts where beavers are plentiful the whole course of a stream is +sometimes converted into a series of pools, made in this curious manner. +After a time peat is formed round the edges, and gradually spreads, and +then the marshy ground round the pool is called a beaver-meadow. + +But beavers do not only make dams. They construct what are called lodges +as well, to serve as dwelling-places. These are made by piling up a +number of logs, mingled with clods of earth, stones, and clay, and +digging out the soil from underneath so as to form a sort of hut. These +lodges are oven-shaped, and are from twelve to twenty feet in diameter, +the inside chamber being about seven feet wide. So, you see, they have +very thick walls. And they are generally entered by at least two +underground passages, all of which open in the river-bank below the +surface of the water, so that the animals can go straight from their +lodge into the river without showing themselves above ground at all. + +Inside each lodge is a bed of soft warm grasses and woodchips, on which +the animals sleep; and it is even said by some hunters that each beaver +has his own bed! At any rate, several animals of various ages live +together in each lodge. Then near the lodge these wonderful creatures +make a ditch or hole, which is so deep that even in the hardest winter +the water in it never freezes quite to the bottom; and in this deep +place they pile up a great quantity of logs and branches, so that in +winter they may have as much bark as they require to eat. + +Beavers are capital swimmers, for the toes of their hinder feet are +joined together with webbing, and make excellent oars, while the broad, +flat tail is very useful as a rudder. They are very much hunted, for +their fur is valuable, while they also secrete a curious substance known +as castor, or castoreum, which is used in medicine. So in some parts of +North America these animals are strictly preserved, and only a certain +number may be killed every third year. + +[Illustration: TYPES OF RODENTS + + 1. European Hamster. 2. East Indian Striped Squirrel. + 3. Woodchuck; Marmot. 4. South American Capybara. + 5. South American Vizcacha. 6. Beaver.] + + +THE DORMOUSE + +Everybody knows what a sleepy little creature the dormouse is. Very +often it may actually be picked up and handled without waking! It sleeps +all day long, and hibernates from the middle of October till the +beginning of April as well, so that it fully deserves its name of +dormouse, or sleep-mouse. It is found in Europe and Asia, and sometimes +in Africa. + +In Germany it is called the Haselmaus, or hazel-mouse, because it is so +fond of hazelnuts. It eats these just as the squirrel does, holding them +in its fore paws as it sits upright on its hind quarters. But it also +feeds upon acorns, beechnuts, hips and haws, and corn when it can get +it. + +Dormice always make two nests during the year, one being used during the +summer, and the other during the winter. They are very warm and cosy +little retreats, about six inches in diameter, and are made of grass, +leaves, and moss. Sometimes numbers of the summer's nests are found in +thick bushes, or among the low herbage at the bottom of a hedge, perhaps +with the dormice fast asleep in them. But the winter nests are generally +more carefully hidden, so that it is not very easy to find them even +when the leaves are off the bushes. + +Before it goes into hibernation in the autumn, the dormouse becomes very +fat. But it does not sleep right through the winter without taking any +food, for on very mild days it wakes up for an hour or two, and eats one +of the nuts or acorns which it has carefully stored away in its nest. + + +JERBOAS + +The jerboa is an extremely curious animal, and if you were to see it in +the sandy deserts of the Old World, where it is found, you would be very +likely to mistake it for a small bird. For it has very short fore legs, +which it tucks up against its breast in such a way that they can hardly +be seen, and very long hind ones, on which it hops about in a very +bird-like manner. But you would soon notice that it has a long tail, +rather like that of a mouse, but which has a tuft of hairs at the tip. +When it is leaping about it stretches this tail out behind it, and seems +to find it of very great use in keeping its balance. + +Jerboas are very common in Egypt and other parts of North Africa, and +live in burrows which they dig in the sandy soil. In order to enable +them to obtain a firm foothold on the slippery sand, the soles of their +feet are covered with long hairs, which also prevent them from being +scorched by contact with the heated ground. But as a rule they do not +come out of their burrows until the evening, when the sun is not so +powerful as it is during the middle of the day. They feed upon grasses +and dry shrubs; but how they find enough to eat in the desert places in +which they live is rather hard to understand. + +Many different kinds of jerboas are known. The best known, the common +jerboa, is about as big as a small rat, and has a tail about eight +inches long. In color it is so much like the sand that from a few yards +away it is almost impossible to see it, even when it is skipping about. + + +THE HAMSTER + +This is a queer little rodent which is found very plentifully in +Germany, and also in many districts between that country and Siberia. It +is a rather stoutly built animal, and measures nearly a foot in length +including the tail, which is about two inches long. In color it is +generally light brownish yellow above and black beneath, with a black +stripe on the forehead, a yellow patch on the back, and white feet. But +hamsters are by no means all alike, and some are entirely black, some +pied, and some entirely white. + +You remember how dormice make summer and winter nests. In the same way, +European hamsters make summer and winter burrows. The summer burrow is +quite a small one, not more than a foot or two deep, with a small +sleeping-chamber at the bottom. But the winter one is very much larger, +for it is not only six feet long at least, with quite a big +sleeping-chamber, but there are from one to five side chambers as well, +which are used as granaries. In these the animal stores up vast +quantities of grain, peas, and beans, as many as sixty pounds of corn +having been taken from the burrow of a single hamster, and a +hundredweight of beans from that of another. About the middle of October +it stops up the entrances to its home, and passes into a state of +hibernation, in which it remains till the beginning of March. For about +a month longer it still remains in its burrow, feeding on its stores and +provisions, till early in April it resumes its active life, and returns +to its summer habitation. + +Of course hamsters are terribly destructive in cultivated land, and +large numbers are destroyed every year. In one district alone nearly a +hundred thousand have been killed in a single season, while an enormous +quantity of grain was recovered from their tunnels. + + +WATER-VOLES + +If you walk along the bank of a stream in some European country, you may +often hear a splash, and see a brownish animal about eight inches long +swimming away through the water. This is a water-vole, often called +water-rat, although it belongs to quite a different family from that of +the true rats. And if one looks down the side of the bank he will see +its burrow, which generally runs into the ground for some little +distance. + +Water-voles are usually supposed to be mischievous; but during the +greater part of the year they feed only on water-plants, being specially +fond of the sweet pith of the wild flags. In winter, however, when food +of this kind is scarce, they will nibble away the bark of small +trees and shrubs, and sometimes do a good deal of damage in osier-beds, +while they will also visit cultivated fields in order to feed on +vegetables. + +The water-vole is a very good swimmer, although its toes are not webbed, +and its fur is so close and so glossy that it throws off the water just +like the feathers on a duck's back. + +A near relation of the water-vole is the field-vole, or field-mouse, +also called meadow-mouse, which is found very commonly in most parts of +Europe, and also in North and South America. It is about as big as an +ordinary mouse, and is grayish brown in color, which becomes rather +paler on the lower parts of the body. + +This animal is found chiefly in meadows, where it makes long runs +beneath the grass, and also burrows into the ground. It is always +plentiful, and sometimes appears in such vast numbers that it can only +be described as a plague. + +The muskrat, which is one of the most widely distributed and important +of American fur-bearing animals, is really a a sort of big aquatic vole. + + +LEMMINGS + +Still more mischievous, in Norway and Sweden, are the odd little rodents +known as lemmings, which make their appearance from time to time +literally in millions. They always seem to come down from the mountains, +and when once they have begun their journey nothing will stop them. If +they come to a river they swim across it; if to a house, they climb over +it; if to a stack of corn or hay, they eat their way through it. Large +numbers of wolves, foxes, weasels, stoats, hawks, and owls soon discover +the swarm, and kill off the animals in thousands; but still the great +army moves steadily on, leaving the country perfectly bare behind it, +until it reaches the sea. And then those behind push on those in front, +till almost the whole vast host perish in the waves. + +These great migrations take place, as a rule, about once in seven years, +and no one seems to know quite where the lemmings come from, or why they +travel in this singular manner. + +These strange little animals do not seem to know what fear is, for if a +passer-by happens to meet one of them it will never turn aside, but will +sit up and yelp defiantly at him, while if a dog goes up and examines +it, the chances are that it will try to bite his nose! + +In color the European lemming is blackish brown above and yellowish +white below, while its length is about six inches. + +Various kinds of rodents known as lemmings are found in North America. +The Hudson Bay lemming has a thick, warm fur. Eskimo children use +lemming-skins to make clothes for their dolls. + + +RATS + +The brown rat and the black rat, of course, are only too common +everywhere. They seem to have come in the first place from Asia, and +have spread to almost all parts of the world. For almost every ship that +sails the sea is infested with rats, some of which are nearly certain to +make their way ashore at every port at which she touches. + +Rats are rather formidable animals, for besides being very savage, a +number of them will often combine together in order to attack a common +foe. We have known a large cat, for example, to be so severely wounded +by rats, that after lying in great pain for two or three days it +actually died of its injuries. Rats are very bloodthirsty creatures, for +if one of their own number is caught in a trap, they will tear it in +pieces and devour it. They will enter fowl-houses at night, and kill the +birds as they roost upon their perches, while if they can find their way +into a rabbit-hutch they will even destroy the rabbits. + +In barns and farmyards rats are very mischievous, and corn-stacks are +often infested by them. How often they get into houses you know too +well! But on the other hand, they often do a great deal of good, by +devouring substances which would otherwise decay and poison the air; so +that they are not altogether without their uses, as people annoyed by +them are too apt to suppose. + +Rats generally have three broods of little ones in the course of the +year, and as there are from eight to fourteen in each brood, you can +easily understand how it is that these animals multiply so rapidly. + + +MICE + +Still more plentiful, and almost as mischievous, is the common mouse, +which is found both in town and country. And this, too, seems to have +been in the first place a native of Asia, and to have since spread to +almost all parts of the world. + +There is no need, of course, to describe its appearance, and most of us +are familiar with its habits. So we will pass on at once to one of its +near relations which is not quite so well known, namely, the long-tailed +field-mouse. + +In some respects this animal is very much like the field-vole. But you +can tell it at once by its more pointed muzzle, by its much larger ears, +and, above all, by its very much longer tail. It lives in gardens, +fields, and hedgerows, but often takes shelter in houses and barns +during the winter. But all through the spring, summer, and autumn it +occupies burrows in the ground, and very often it lays up quite large +quantities of provisions in its tunnels for winter use, just as the +hamster does in Germany. It does not always dig these burrows for +itself, however, for very often it will take possession of the deserted +run of a mole, or even of a natural hollow beneath the spreading roots +of a tree. + +As a general rule, this little animal is a vegetable-eater only. But +when food is scarce it will kill and devour small animals, and has even +been known to prey upon its own kind. + +The pretty little harvest-mouse is the smallest of the European rodents. +A full-grown harvest-mouse is seldom more than four and a half inches +long, of which almost one half is occupied by the tail. And it would +take six of the little creatures to weigh an ounce. + +The harvest-mouse is not found, as a rule, near human habitations, but +lives in corn-fields and pastures. But sometimes it is carried home in +sheaves of corn at harvest-time, and in that case it lives in the ricks +during the winter. Generally, however, it spends the winter months fast +asleep in a burrow in the ground. Then, when the warm months of spring +come round, it wakes up, and sets about building a most beautiful little +nest of grasses and leaves, which it always suspends among corn-stalks +or grass-stems at some little height from the ground. This nest is about +as large as a baseball, and the odd thing about it is that you can never +find any entrance! Apparently, when the little builder wishes to go in +and out, it pushes its way between the strips of grass of which the nest +is composed, and then carefully arranges them again in position. And it +is so cleverly built that when eight or nine little mice which are +brought up inside it begin to grow, it stretches to suit their +increasing size, so that their nursery is always just big enough to +contain them. + +The harvest-mouse is a capital climber, and runs up and down the +corn-stalks with great activity, even though they bend nearly to the +ground under its weight. The tip of its tail, strange to say, is +prehensile, just like that of a spider-monkey. + + +PORCUPINES + +Of course you know what a porcupine is like, with its coat of long, +bristling spines. Indeed, the word porcupine means spiny pig, and refers +partly to the quill-like spikes, and partly to the odd grunting noise +which the animal utters from time to time. + +There are several different kinds of porcupine in the Old World and in +America. The common porcupine is found in the south of Europe, and also +in the northern and western parts of Africa, and grows to a length of +about two feet four inches, not including the tail. The quills are of +two kinds. First of all, there are a number of long, slender spines, +which bend quite easily, and are not of very much use as weapons. But +under these is a close array of very much stiffer ones from five to ten +inches long; and these are very formidable indeed. For they are so +loosely fastened to the skin that when the animal backs upon a foe a +good many of them are sure to be left sticking in its flesh; while, +further, they are made in such a manner that they keep on boring their +way farther and farther in, and in course of time may penetrate a vital +organ, and cause death. Even tigers have sometimes lost their lives +through the quills of a porcupine which they had been trying to kill and +devour. The animal is not at all fond of fighting, however, and never +attacks unless it is provoked. + +During the daytime the porcupine is seldom seen, being fast asleep in +its burrow. But soon after sunset it leaves its retreat, and wanders to +long distances in search of the roots, bark, etc., upon which it feeds. +"In the woods, it loves to prowl around camps and eat every scrap of +leather or greasy board it can find." + +In North America is found the Canada porcupine, ranging from New England +westward to Ohio and northward to Hudson Bay. Another species in the +West and Northwest is the yellow-haired porcupine. In Mexico, Central +America, and South America are other species known as tree-porcupines. + +It has been widely supposed that porcupines shoot their quills, but this +belief has no foundation. When attacked, Mr. Hornaday tells us, its +defence consists in erecting its quills and striking quickly a strong +sidewise blow with the tail, which often drives many quills into its +enemy. + + +THE CHINCHILLA + +This pretty little rodent is famous for its beautiful silky fur, which +is in much request for women's garments. In appearance it is rather like +a large dormouse, with very big rounded ears, and a short, hairy tail. +It is found in Bolivia, Chile, and Peru, and lives high up among the +mountains in burrows in the ground. A large number of the animals always +dwell together, so that their burrows form a kind of large warren, and +they dart up and down the steep rocks with such wonderful speed that it +is almost impossible to follow their movements. + +When it is feeding the chinchilla sits upright, like a squirrel, and +conveys the food to its mouth with its fore paws. It lives chiefly upon +roots, and as the districts in which it lives are so wild and barren it +often has to travel for long distances in order to obtain them. + + +THE VISCACHA + +Closely related to the chinchilla is the viscacha, which is found very +abundantly in the great pampas districts of South America. It generally +lives in little colonies of from twenty to thirty animals, which dig +their burrows close together, and heap up the earth which they scrape +out into one common mound. These burrows are generally dug in the form +of the letter Y, and often a number of them communicate with one another +by means of short passages, so that if the little animals feel in want +of society they can easily go and see their friends. + +These colonies are called viscacheras, and in some parts of the +Argentine Republic the plains are closely studded with them as far as +the eye can reach. + +Viscachas have a curious way of clearing off all the vegetation that +grows near their burrows, and piling up the refuse in a mound near the +entrance. They will also collect together any hard objects which they +may happen to find, and we are told by Darwin that sometimes quite a +barrow-load of bones, stones, thistle-stalks, and lumps of earth may be +found outside the entrance to a single burrow, and that a traveler who +dropped his watch one evening found it next day by searching the +viscacha-mounds in the neighborhood. + +In appearance the viscacha is not unlike a rather small marmot; but the +fur is gray above, with dusky markings, and white below, while the face +is crossed by two black bands, with a broad white stripe between them. + + +THE AGOUTI + +This animal, found in South America and the West Indies, was formerly +very plentiful--in some parts literally swarming. But it did so much +mischief in cultivated ground that it was trapped and shot in immense +numbers, and it has now almost entirely disappeared from many districts +in which it once abounded. + +The first point that strikes one on looking at the agouti is the great +length of its hind legs. So long are these limbs, that the animal finds +a good deal of difficulty in running downhill, and often tumbles head +over heels and rolls for several yards before it can recover its +footing. And for the same reason, when it is running at any pace on +level ground, it travels along by a kind of gallop, which is really made +up of a series of leaps. + +As the agouti comes out only by night it is a difficult animal to watch, +and it is so wary that it cannot be approached without great caution. +All the time while it is feeding, it keeps on turning its head first to +one side and then to the other, so that it can scarcely ever be taken by +surprise. + +If it should be captured, however, it never seems to fight, and has no +idea of using either its sharp teeth or its claws to defend itself. So +sometimes it has been thought that an agouti would make a very nice pet. +Those who have allowed it to run loose in the house, however, have +seldom repeated the experiment, for it will ruin any article of +furniture in a very short time, and will cut its way through the +stoutest door in a few minutes! + +When fully grown, the agouti is rather more than eighteen inches long, +and in general color it is olive brown. But the hair of the hinder +quarters, which is very much longer than that of the rest of the body, +is golden brown, while the middle line of the lower part of the body is +almost white. + + +THE CAPYBARA + +Few people, on seeing a capybara for the first time, would take it to be +a rodent. It looks much more like a wild pig, for it has a very heavily +built body, which almost touches the ground as it waddles along, short, +stiff, bristly hair, and great hoof-like feet. Indeed, it is sometimes +called the water-hog. Yet we only have to look at its front teeth to see +that it really is a rodent after all. + +The capybara is a native of South America, and is generally found in the +damp, marshy ground near the banks of the larger rivers. It is a good +swimmer, and always makes for the water when alarmed. It is a good +diver, too, and can easily remain below the surface for seven or eight +minutes without requiring to breathe, so that if it can once plunge into +the river it is safe from almost any foe. When fully grown, the capybara +is about four feet long, and weighs nearly one hundred pounds. In fact, +it is the largest of all the rodent animals. In color it is reddish +brown above, and brownish yellow beneath, and it is further remarkable +for having no tail at all. + + +HARES AND RABBITS + +The hares and rabbits, of which our account is taken from "The Life of +Mammals," by Ernest Ingersoll, form a compact family of some sixty +species, scattered in all divisions of the globe except Australasia and +Madagascar; but only one species occurs in South America, and the family +is most numerous in northerly regions, where these animals form an +important food resource for man and beast. All are much alike in the +long, high-haunched hind legs, which give great leaping and dodging +power; tall, erectile ears; divided upper lip; short scut; and grizzled +gray-brown coat, with various specific markings of white and black. The +only exceptional one is the "hispid" hare of Northeastern India, which +has small eyes, bristly short ears, short hind legs, and much the manner +of a rabbit. + +The term rabbit has wholly replaced "hare" in America, because the +common small hare of the eastern United States, quickly seen by the +first English settlers, looked to them more like the rabbit they had +known at home than like their bigger hare; and they ignored the +difference in habits as they did so many other facts in their careless +naming of the animals of the New World after those of Europe. It must +always be remembered that the first Pilgrims, Puritans, and southern +"adventurers" were mainly from cities, and knew little of rural things, +to which ignorance, by the way, they owed most of their early +misfortunes in the colonies. + +The true rabbit, or cony, differs from its relatives by its small size +(average weight two and a half to three pounds), short ears and hind +legs; but more in its habits, for its young are born naked, blind, and +helpless, and it is comparatively slow-footed. Hence it has been +compelled to become a burrower for the safety of both itself and its +babies, and, as is usual with animals become burrowers, has acquired the +habit of gathering in communities, whose crowded diggings, or warrens, +are labyrinths of subterranean runways. Even this, however, would hardly +suffice to preserve this timid and nearly defenceless race were not +several litters of five to eight young (leverets) produced by each pair +annually to make good the loss from enemies and disease. The original +European wild rabbit is grayish brown, becoming foxy on the neck, but +this rabbit has been domesticated since ancient times, and alterations +of coloring as well as of form have been produced. Ten or more distinct +breeds are recognized by fanciers, some of which, as the lop-eared, the +great Belgian, and the Angora, are far away from the original type. + +Their amazing fecundity has caused rabbits to multiply into an almost +uncontrollable pest since they were unwisely introduced into Australia +and New Zealand, where the scarcity of beasts of prey allowed them to +increase without bounds. In a few years, therefore, the whole country +was overrun by millions, which threatened to devour not only all the +crops but every bit of wild herbage; even in Europe, when for any reason +their subjection is neglected, they do great damage to gardens, +orchards, and plantations of young trees. + +At present further use is being made of the rabbits by "packing" their +edible flesh in various forms as an article of preserved food, which is +finding a wide market; and probably the pest will be abated in course of +time by natural processes. + +Returning to the hares, not much need be said as to particular species. +All dwell either in open grassy country or else among rocks and bushes. +They do not flock, nor make any sort of shelter, but each inhabits a +certain small district, where it makes a smooth resting-place called its +form. To this it will return day after day for a long time unless +frightened; and in such a form the young are born and are left +concealed, when still in the suckling age, under a cover of leaves and +vines, or even fur plucked by the mother from her own loose coat and +felted into a sort of blanket. They seek no better shelter than this in +winter, except that some, as our common little cottontail, will creep +into the mouth of an old skunk's or woodchuck's hole or within a hollow +stump, to seek protection from the "cauld blast." The "jacks" of the +Plains are so well furred that even the soles of their feet are warm +mats of hair; and they are the only small animals able to survive +outside of burrows the intense winter cold and gales of those bleak +uplands. This hardihood is due primarily, of course, to the fact that +hares are able to find nutritious forage all through the winter, and so +keep up their bodily heat. + +[Illustration: FOUR TYPES OF CATTLE. + + 1. American Bison. 2. Hindu Humped Ox. + 3. Thibetan Yak. 4. Asiatic Water Buffalo.] + +All species have great speed--their principal means of safety--and the +swiftest hounds are hardly able to run them down; while they also have +astonishing skill in suddenly halting and turning, or doubling, by which +they gain a fresh start before their more clumsy pursuers can perceive +what has happened, and change their course. Chasing them with greyhounds +is a regular sport called coursing. Along with this goes extreme +timidity and watchfulness, in which their big ears serve a most useful +purpose, rising to the slightest sound, but dropping out of the way as +the animal makes off in a series of tremendous leaps; and the hare can +make faster time uphill than down, owing to the greater length of the +hind legs--a decided advantage. Knowing these tricks, most of its +enemies resort to counter-strategy--a stealthy approach and quick +rush--and an excellent picture of these wiles, and poor Bunny's efforts +to meet them, may be read in Seton's tale of "Raggylug," and in such +delightful writings as those of Audubon and Bachman, Godman, Kennicott, +Lockwood, Abbott, Robinson, Sharp, Cram, and some others. Even the least +of the tribe, however, is able to make a defense which often completely +disconcerts the foe, and the means are found in its strong hind feet. + +In addition to this familiar eastern cottontail we have in the United +States several other species, as the little marsh-hare and the big +water-hare of the Southern States; the large northern varying hare; the +arctic hares; the various long-eared, long-legged "jack rabbits" of the +Plains and Rocky Mountains; and several lesser species, more or less +common on the Pacific coast. The varying hare is so called because, as +is the case with several foreign northern hares, its brown summer coat +when shed as usual on the approach of winter is replaced by one which is +white. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +THE WILD OXEN + + +We now come to a very important group of mammals called ungulates, or +hoofed animals, because of the way in which their feet are formed. The +oxen, sheep, goats, antelopes, deer, horses, swine, elephants, and +rhinoceroses all belong to this order. First let us notice some of the +wild oxen. + + +THE GAUR + +The largest of these is the Gaur, which is found in India. It is a very +big animal, sometimes standing more than six feet in height at the +shoulder, and as it has long and very powerful horns, it is much dreaded +by the natives. As a rule, however, it is a very gentle and peaceable +animal, scarcely ever venturing to attack man, and only dwelling in +those remote parts of the jungle to which even hunters seldom find their +way. + +The gaur lives in small herds, generally of from ten to twenty in +number. Each of these is led by an old bull, and there are generally two +or three younger ones, the rest being cows and calves. When the younger +bulls grow up they usually fight the old one in order to take his place. +For some time he contrives to hold his own; but when at last he is +beaten he goes off and lives in the thickets by himself. + +These solitaries, as they are called, are generally very savage, and +will often rush out and attack a passer-by, even when he has not +provoked them at all. + +The gaur is a very wary animal, and sentries are always posted near the +herd, in order to give warning of the approach of a foe. When feeding, +they are said to stand in a circle with their heads outward, so that +they can see in every direction. + +The old male gaurs are nearly black in color, and the younger ones and +the cows reddish brown, while they all have white "stockings" from the +knee downward. + + +THE YAK + +The yak, which lives in Tibet, is something like an ox with great masses +of hair on its flanks, limbs, and tail. In color it is blackish brown, +with a little white upon the muzzle, and in height is about five feet +six inches at the shoulder. The thick fringes of hair do not begin to +grow till it is about three months old, and the young calf is covered +all over with curly black hair, like a Newfoundland dog. + +The yak lives among the mountains, sometimes climbing to a height of +fully twenty thousand feet, and scrambles about among the boulders with +wonderful activity. Large herds of these animals, however, have been +domesticated, and are used as beasts of burden, while their flesh is +said to be almost as tender and well-flavored as beef. The big, tufted +tail, too, is highly valued, for it is dyed in various colors, and is +then employed in making the fly-flappers which are used so much in +Eastern countries for driving away flies. + + +THE BISON + +The famous bison, commonly called buffalo, of North America, sad to say +is now almost extinct, for there are only a few small herds living under +special protection. Yet, not so very many years ago, these magnificent +animals wandered over the prairies in millions. Even a single herd, +sometimes, would extend farther than the eye could reach, and we read of +one herd which covered a tract of country fifty miles long and +twenty-five miles broad! But these herds were recklessly destroyed for +the sake of their hides and tongues, and now there are only a few wild +buffaloes left alive altogether. + +Generally, however, buffaloes are to be seen in zoos, and if you go to +look at them you will most likely think that the male looks rather like +a very big lion. For it has an enormous mane of long, shaggy hair, which +covers the head and shoulders. There is also a sort of long beard under +the chin, and the hair of the sides and hind quarters is very thick. The +consequence is that the animal looks a great deal bigger than it +really is, although it stands well over five feet high at the shoulders. + +In spite of its great mass of hair, this is a very active animal, and it +can both trot and gallop with considerable speed. When galloping it +always holds its head close to the ground, and its tail high up in the +air. It is not by any means a courageous animal, notwithstanding its +size and strength. But the bulls fight most savagely with one another, +roaring so loudly that in the days of the great herds the noise was +compared to thunder, and could be heard for miles. + +Another kind of bison, called the aurochs, lives in the great forests of +Northern Europe. Its mane is not so long and thick as that of the +American animal, but its horns are longer and not so strongly curved. + + +THE CAPE BUFFALO + +Smaller than the bison, but very much more formidable, is the cape +buffalo, which is spread over almost the whole of Africa south of the +equator. It is about as big as an ordinary bullock, and has a pair of +massive and sharply pointed curved horns, which are sometimes as much as +three feet in length. + +This animal lives in reedy swamps, and is generally found in herds, +which often number from 250 to 300 individuals. They are very wary, and +difficult to approach, while they are so swift of foot that only a very +fast horse can escape from them when carrying a rider on its back. In +charging they throw their heads back, with the horns upon the shoulders, +and then suddenly bend down and strike upward when they come within +reach. + +The buffalo does not usually attack unless it is wounded, however, +though solitaries will often lie in concealment and rush out upon the +hunter as he passes by. + + +THE INDIAN BUFFALO + +There is another kind of buffalo found in India, which is a very +different animal in every way. It is different in appearance, for it has +its head drawn out into a kind of muzzle, while its horns are very long +indeed, and taper gradually from base to tip, at the same time curving +outward and upward and backward. And it is different in disposition, +because it is easily tamed, and is employed in many parts of India as a +beast of draught and burden. You might see buffaloes drawing a plow, for +example, or dragging a cart, and for these and similar purposes they +have been introduced into Egypt, and even into Southern Europe. The wild +bulls, however, are apt to be very savage when they live alone. But a +herd of buffaloes, strange to say, though they will gallop up close, and +toss their heads, and behave in a most threatening manner, seem never to +actually attack a man so long as he has the courage to stand perfectly +still. + + +THE MUSK-OX + +Though it is called an ox, and looks like an ox, this animal is in +reality much more closely related to the sheep. It is of about the size +of a rather large ram, but looks much bigger than it really is, owing to +the great masses of long hair, which cover the whole of its body, and +hang down so far that one can scarcely see its legs at all. It is even +more hairy than the yak. + +The horns of the male animal are very curiously formed, for they are so +broad and flat at the base that they form a kind of helmet, which covers +almost the whole of the forehead. They then droop downward on either +side of the face, but curve upward and outward at the tips. Those of the +cow, however, are very much smaller. + +The musk-ox lives in the most northerly parts of North America. It is +perfectly at home amid the snow and ice, and lives in the wildest and +dreariest regions, in which the ground scarcely thaws during the whole +of the year; so that the life of those who hunt it is a very hard one. +But, as a rule, its only enemies are the arctic wolves, which drive it +to bay on some rocky mountain slope, and tear it to the ground by the +mere force of numbers. + +The name of this animal is due to the musky flavor of its flesh, which +is said to be very tender and delicate. + + +SHEEP + +The sheep are represented at the present time by several wild species, +one of which is found in Northern India east of the Indus, in the +Punjab, and in Sind; one in North America; and another in North Africa. +The rest inhabit the high ground of Europe and Asia as far south as the +Himalayas. These mountains, with the adjacent plateaus of the Pamirs and +the great ranges of Central Asia, form the main home of the group. Wild +sheep are of various types, some so much like the goats that it is +difficult to draw a hard and fast line between them; while others, +especially the curly-horned argalis, bighorns, urial, and Kamchatka wild +sheep, are unmistakably of the sheep type. + +The wild original of the domesticated breeds of sheep is unknown. +Domesticated sheep which live on hills and mountains are still inclined +to seek the highest ground at night. The rams fight as the wild rams do, +and many of them display activity and powers of climbing and of finding +a living on barren ground scarcely less remarkable than in the wild +races. + +The domesticated sheep have been bred by artificial selection for +unnumbered ages in order to produce wool. It is said that in some of the +wild breeds there is an under-fur which will felt like wool. Most of the +species are short-tailed animals, but this is not the case with the +Barbary wild sheep. Wild sheep are mainly mountain-living animals or +frequenters of high ground. They generally, though not always, frequent +less rugged country than that of the wild goats, and some are found at +quite low levels. The altitude at which other wild sheep are found is, +however, very great; on the Pamirs it reaches twenty thousand feet. Here +the country is quite open. + + +THE EUROPEAN MOUFLON + +The only wild sheep of Europe is the mouflon, found in the mountains of +Corsica and Sardinia. Its height at the shoulder is about twenty-seven +inches. In the rams the horns are strong, and curved into a spiral, +forming almost a complete circle. The hair is close, and in winter has a +woolly under-fur. In summer and autumn the coat is a bright red brown +on the neck, shoulders, and legs; the rump and under parts are whitish, +and the back and flanks marked with a white saddle. In winter the brown +becomes darker and the white saddle broader. A rather larger mouflon is +found on the Elburz mountain range in Persia, in Armenia, and in the +Taurus Mountains. A smaller variety exists in Cyprus, where it has been +preserved since the British occupation. The mouflon is a typical wild +sheep. In Sardinia and Corsica are dense scrubby forests of tall +heather, some five feet high, practically impenetrable to hunters. When +alarmed, the mouflon dash into this cover and are safe. These forests +have preserved two very interesting survivals of antiquity--the mouflon, +and the Corsican or Sardinian bandit. The Corsican bandit, like the +mouflon of the same island, is nearly extinct. In Sardinia both still +flourish. + + +THE ARGALI + +This animal is found in Siberia and Mongolia, and also in Tibet. It is +the largest of all living wild sheep, and is about as big as a large +donkey, and has enormous twisted and wrinkled horns, which are sometimes +as much as four feet long, and nineteen inches round at the base. The +male Tibetan argali has a ruff on the throat. The usual color is a stony +gray, mingled with white in summer in the case of the old males. + +The argali rams are very fond of fighting one another, and such fierce +conflicts take place that sometimes their horns are broken short off, +and left lying upon the ground. And it will give you some idea of the +size of these horns when we tell you that more than once a fox has been +found lying fast asleep in one of them! + +The argali is a mountain-loving animal, seldom seen at a lower level +than twelve or thirteen thousand feet even in winter, while in summer it +ascends much higher. It is a most difficult creature to approach, for it +lives in small flocks, which always post a sentry to keep careful watch +while they are feeding. At the slightest sign of danger the alert +sentinel gives the alarm and a moment later the animals are dispersing +in all directions, scrambling so actively over rocks and up and down +precipices that is it quite impossible to follow them. + +It has sometimes been said that when the argali leaps from a height it +alights on its horns, which break the force of its fall. But this +statement seems to be quite untrue. + +Writing of the argali of Southern Siberia, the naturalist Brehm says +that when the Tartars want mutton an argali-hunt is organized. The +Tartar hunters advance on their horses at intervals of 200 or 300 yards, +and when the sheep are started generally manage, by riding, shooting, +coursing them with dogs, and shouting, to bewilder, shoot, or capture +several. + + +THE GULJAR, OR MARCO POLO'S SHEEP + +On the high plateau of the Pamirs and the adjacent districts Marco +Polo's sheep is found. The rams are only slightly less in size than the +Siberian argali; the hair is longer than in that species, and the horns +are thinner and more slender and extend farther in an outward direction. +An adult ram may weigh three hundred pounds. The first description of +this sheep was given by the old traveler whose name it now bears. He +said that on the Pamir plateau wild animals were met with in large +numbers, particularly a sheep of great size, having horns three, four, +and even six palms in length; and that the shepherds (hunters?) formed +ladles and vessels from them. In the Pamirs Marco Polo's sheep is seldom +found at less than 11,000 or 12,000 feet above the sea. In the Tian-Shan +Mountains it is said to descend to 2,000 or 3,000 feet. They prefer the +hilly, grassy plains, and only seek the hills for safety. On the Pamirs +they are said to be very numerous in places, one hunter stating that he +saw in one day not less than six hundred head. + + +THE BIGHORN SHEEP OF AMERICA AND KAMCHATKA + +North America has its parallel to the argalis in the famous bighorn. It +is now very rare even in Northern Canada, and becoming scarce in the +United States, though a few are found here and there at various points +on the Rocky Mountains as far south as Mexico. In habits it is much the +same as other wild sheep--that is to say, it haunts the rock-hills and +"bad lands" near the mountains, feeding on the scanty herbage of the +high ground, and not descending unless driven down by snow. + +[Illustration: WILD SHEEP AND GOATS + + 1. Chamois. 2. Moufflon. + 3. Argali. 4. Markhor.] + +The bighorn sheep are very partial to salt. Mr. Turner, who hunted them +in British Columbia, says: "Wild sheep make periodical excursions to the +mountain-tops to gorge themselves with salty clay. They may remain from +an hour to two days, and when killed their stomachs will be found full +of nothing but the clay formed from denuded limestone, which they lick +and gnaw until sometimes deep tunnels are formed in the cliffs, large +enough to hide six or seven sheep. The hunter, standing over one of +these warrens, may bolt them within two yards of him. In the dead of +winter sheep often come to the woods to feed on fir-trees. At such times +they may be seen mixed with black-and-white-tailed deer, low on a +river-bank. I have known them come within forty yards of an inhabited +hut." + +Mr. H. C. Nelson tells us that once he was sleeping with two other +friends in a hut in the mountains where some miners had lived for a +time. These men, when they washed up their pots and pans, threw the +slops away at a certain place close by the hut. As all water used for +cooking meat has salt put into it, a little salt remained on the +surface. This the wild sheep had found out, and were in the habit of +coming to lick it at night. + +The bighorn sheep stands from three feet two inches to three feet six +inches at the shoulder. The horns are of the general type of the +argalis, but smoother. Another bighorn is found in Kamchatka. There is +also a beautiful white race of bighorn inhabiting Alaska. The typical +Rocky Mountain race is browner than the Asiatic argalis, and in winter +is dark even beneath the front parts of the body. It is not found on the +high peaks of the great ranges, but on difficult though lower ground on +the minor hills. + + +THE URIAL + +The vast range of the Himalayas affords feeding-ground to other species +of wild sheep and wild goat, so different in the shape of the horns that +the variations of the sheep race under domestication need not be matter +for wonder when so much variety is seen in nature. + +The urial, or sha, is found in Northwest India, on the Trans-Indus +Mountains, and in Ladak, Northern Tibet, Afghanistan, Baluchistan, +Turkestan, and Southern Persia. The horns make a half-curve backward, +and are flattened. The angle with the horizontal line across the ears is +about half a right angle. The coat is of a reddish-gray color, with +white on the belly, legs, and throat. This species has a very wide +geographical distribution, and is the only wild sheep found in India +proper. + + +THE AOUDAD, OR ARUI + +This is a large wild type of the North African highlands. It stands +intermediate between sheep and goats. The old rams have a very fine +appearance, with a long flowing beard or mane, and large horns. These +wild animals, though somewhat goat-like in appearance, are typical of +the sheep race in general habits. They live in the Atlas Range, and in +the splendid heights of the Aures Mountains, which lie at the back of +Algeria and fringe the great Sahara Desert. In the isolated and burning +rocks which jut up in the desert itself into single mountains they are +also found, living on ground which seems absolutely destitute of water, +grass, or vegetation. They live singly or in small families; but the +rams keep mainly alone. Sometimes they lie in shallow caves during the +heat of the day. These caves smell like a sheepfold. More generally the +aoudad reposes on some shelf of rock, where it matches the color of the +stone, and is almost invisible. The ground is one of the most difficult +in which any hunting is attempted, except perhaps in chamois-stalking; +but the pursuit seems to fascinate sportsmen. + +Mr. A. E. Pease gives some charming descriptions of the silence, +the rugged rocks, and the astonishing views over the great orange Sahara +Desert seen from the tops of these haunts of the aoudad--mountains on +the summits of which his Arab guides would prostrate themselves in +evening prayer as the sun sank over the desert, and then, rising, once +more resume the chase. The young of the aoudad are charming little +creatures, much like reddish kids. They can follow the mother over the +steepest ground at a great pace. When caught, as they sometimes are by +the Arabs, they soon become tame. + +[Illustration: GOATS AND GOAT-ANTELOPES. + + 1. Asiatic Tahr. 3. Rocky Mountain White Goat. + 2. Alpine Ibex. 4. African Aoudad. + 5. Arctic Musk-Ox.] + + +THE GOATS + +Though the dividing-line between the sheep and goats is very indistinct, +some differences are of general application. The goats are distinguished +by the unpleasant odor of the males, and by beards on the chins of the +same sex, by the absence of glands in the hind feet, which sheep +possess, and by certain variations in the formation of the skull. The +difference between the temperament of the sheep and goats is very +curious and persistent, showing itself in a marked way, which affects +their use in domestication to such a degree that the keeping of one or +the other often marks the owners as possessors of different degrees of +civilization. Goats are restless, curious, adventurous, and so active +that they cannot be kept in enclosed fields. For this reason they are +not bred in any numbers in lands where agriculture is practised on +modern principles; they are too enterprising and too destructive. +Consequently the goat is usually only seen in large flocks on mountain +pastures and rocky, uncultivated ground, where the flocks are taken out +to feed by the children. + +On the high alps, in Greece, on the Apennines, and in Palestine the goat +is a valuable domestic animal. The milk, butter, and cheese, and also +the flesh of the kids, are in great esteem. But wherever the land is +enclosed, and high cultivation attempted, the goat is banished, and the +more docile and controllable sheep takes its place. In Syria the goat is +perhaps more docile and better understood as a dairy animal than +elsewhere in the East. The flocks are driven into Damascus in the +morning; and instead of a milk-cart calling, the flock itself goes round +the city, and particular goats are milked before the doors of regular +customers. + +The European goat is a very useful animal for providing milk to poor +families in large towns. The sheep, while preserving its hardy habits in +some districts, adapts itself to richer food, and acquires the habits as +well as the digestion of domestication. The goat remains, as in old +days, the enemy of trees, inquisitive, omnivorous, pugnacious. It is +unsuited for the settled life of the farm. Rich pasture makes it ill, +and a good clay soil, on which cattle grow fat, kills it. But it is far +from being disqualified for the service of some forms of modern +civilization by the survival of primitive habits. Though it cannot live +comfortably in the smiling pastures of the low country, it is perfectly +willing to exchange the rocks of the mountain for a stable-yard in town. +Its love for stony places is amply satisfied by a granite pavement, and +it has been ascertained that goats fed in stalls and allowed to wander +in paved courts and yards live longer and enjoy better health than those +tethered even on light pastures. In parts of New York the city goats are +said to flourish on the paste-daubed paper of the advertisements which +they nibble from the bill-boards! + +It is beyond doubt that these hardy creatures are exactly suited for +living in large towns; an environment of bricks and mortar and +paving-stones suits them. Their spirits rise in proportion to what we +should deem the depressing nature of their surroundings. They love to be +tethered in places where they find bushes to nibble. A deserted +brick-field, with plenty of broken drain-tiles, rubbish-heaps, and +weeds, pleases them still better. Almost any kind of food seems to suit +them. Not even the pig has so varied a diet as the goat; it consumes and +converts into milk not only great quantities of garden stuff which would +otherwise be wasted, but also, thanks to its love for eating twigs and +shoots, it enjoys the prunings and loppings of bushes and trees. In the +Mont Dore district of France the goats are fed on oatmeal porridge. With +this diet, and plenty of salt, the animals are scarcely ever ill, and +never suffer from tuberculosis; they will often give ten times their own +weight of milk in a year. + +The Kashmir shawls are made of the finest goats' hair. Most of this very +soft hair is obtained from the under-fur of goats kept in Tibet, and by +the Kirghiz in Central Asia. Only a small quantity, averaging three +ounces, is produced yearly by each animal. The wool is purchased by +middlemen, and taken to Kashmir for manufacture. + +In India the goat reaches perhaps the highest point of domestication. +The flocks are in charge of herd-boys, but the animals are so docile +that they are regarded with no hostility by the cultivators of corn and +cereals. Tame goats are also kept throughout Africa. The valuable Angora +breed, from which mohair is obtained, is now domesticated in South +Africa and in Australia. In the former country it is a great commercial +success. The animals were obtained with great difficulty, as the Turkish +owners did not wish to sell their best-bred goats; but when once +established at the Cape, it was found that they proved better producers +of mohair than when in their native province of Angora. The clip from +their descendants steadily improves. + +We now pass to consider various species of wild goats, all of which +present very interesting features for our study. + + +THE TURS + +In the Caucasus, both east and west, in the Pyrenees, and on the South +Spanish sierras three fine wild goats, with some features not unlike the +burhal sheep, are found. They are called turs by the Caucasian +mountaineers. The species found in the East Caucasus differs from that +of the west of the range, and both from that of Spain. The East +Caucasian tur is a massive, heavy animal, all brown in color, except on +the fronts of the legs, which are blackish, and with horns springing +from each side of the skull like half-circles. The males are +thirty-eight inches high at the shoulder. The short beard and tail are +blackish, and there is no white on the coat. The West Caucasian tur is +much lighter in color than that of the East Caucasus, and the horns +point backward, more like those of the ibex, though set on the skull at +a different angle. The Spanish tur has the belly and inner sides of the +legs white, and a blackish line along the flank, dividing the white +from the brown; also a blackish chest, and some gray on the flank. + +In the Caucasus turs are found on the high crags above the snow-line in +summer, whence they descend at night to feed on patches of upland grass; +but the main home of the tur by day is above the snow-line. The Spanish +species modifies its habits according to the ground on which it lives. +Mr. E. N. Buxton found it in dense scrub, while on the Andalusian +sierras it frequents bare peaks 10,000 feet high. In Spain tur are +sometimes seen in flocks of from 100 to 150 each. + + +THE PERSIAN WILD GOAT + +The original of our domesticated goat is thought by some to be the +pasang, or Persian wild goat. It is a fine animal, with large +simitar-shaped horns, curving backward, flattened laterally, and with +knobs on the front edge at irregular intervals. It is more slender in +build than the tur, light brown in general color, marked with a black +line along the nape and back, black tail, white belly, blackish +shoulder-stripe, and a black line dividing the hinder part of the flank +from the white belly. Formerly found in the islands of Southeastern +Europe, it now inhabits parts of the Caucasus, the Armenian Highlands, +Mount Ararat, and the Persian mountains as far east as Baluchistan. A +smaller race is found in Sind. It lives in herds, sometimes of +considerable size, and frequents not only the high ground, but the +mountain forests and scrub, where such cover exists. The domesticated +goat of Sweden is said to be certainly a descendant of this species. + + +THE IBEX + +Of the ibex, perhaps the best known of all the wild goats, several +species, differing somewhat in size and in the form of their horns, are +found in various parts of the Old World. Of these, the Arabian ibex +inhabits the mountains of Southern Arabia, Palestine, and Sinai, Upper +Egypt, and perhaps Morocco. The Abyssinian ibex is found in the high +mountains of the country from which it takes its name. The Alpine +ibex is now extinct in the Swiss Alps and Tyrol, but survives on the +Piedmontese side of Monte Rosa. The Asiatic ibex is the finest of the +group; its horns have been found to measure nearly fifty-five inches +along the curve. This ibex inhabits the mountain ranges of Central Asia, +from the Altai to the Himalayas, and the Himalayas as far as the source +of the Ganges. + +The King of Italy is the great preserver of the Alpine ibex, and has +succeeded where the nobles of the Tyrol have failed. The animals are +shot by driving them, the drivers being expert mountaineers. The way in +which the ibex come down the passes and over the precipices is simply +astonishing. One writer lately saw them springing down perpendicular +heights of forty feet, or descending "chimneys" in the mountain-face by +simply cannoning off with their feet from side to side. Young ibexes can +be tamed with ease, the only drawback to their maintenance being the +impossibility of confining them. They will spring on to the roof of a +house, and spend the day there by preference, though allowed the run of +all the premises. The kids are generally two in number; they are born in +June. + +The ibex was long one of the chief objects of the Alpine hunter. The +Emperor Maximilian had a preserve of them in the Tyrol mountains, and he +shot them with a crossbow when they were driven down. He tells us in his +private hunting-book that he once shot an ibex at a distance of two +hundred yards with a crossbow, after one of his companions had missed it +with a gun, or "fire-tube." When away on an expedition in Holland, he +wrote a letter to the wife of one of the most noted ibex-poachers on his +domain, promising her a silk dress if she could induce her husband to +let the animals alone. In the Himalayas the chief foes of the ibex are +the snow-leopard and wild dog. + + +THE MARKHOR + +The very fine Himalayan goat of this name differs from all other wild +species. The horns are spiral, like those of the kudu antelope and +Wallachian sheep. It may well be called the king of the wild goats. A +buck stands as much as forty-one inches at the shoulder, and the +maximum measurement of the horns is sixty-three inches! It has a long +beard and mane, and stands very upright on its feet. Besides the +Himalayas, it haunts the mountains on the Afghan frontier. These goats +keep along the line between the forest and snow, some of the most +difficult ground in the hills. The horns are a much-prized trophy. + + +THE TAHR + +The tahr of the Himalayas is a very different-looking animal from the +true goats, from which, among other characters, it is distinguished by +the form and small size of the horns. The horns, which are black, spring +in a high backward arch, but the creature has no beard. A buck stands +sometimes as much as thirty-eight inches high at the shoulder. It has a +long, rough coat, mainly dark stone-color in tint. + +These animals live in the forest districts of the Middle Himalayas, +where they are found on very high and difficult ground. General Donald +Macintyre shot one standing on the brink of an almost sheer precipice. +Down this it fell, and the distance in sheer depth was such that it was +difficult to see the body even with glasses. The tahr is fairly common +all along the higher Himalayan Range. Its bones are believed to be a +sovereign cure for rheumatism, and are exported to India for that +object. A smaller kind is found in the mountains of Eastern Arabia, +where very few, even sportsmen, have yet attempted to shoot them. + + +THE NILGIRI TAHR, OR NILGIRI IBEX + +Though not an ibex, the sportsmen of India early gave this name to the +tahr of the Nilgiri and Anamalai hills. The Himalayan species is covered +with long, shaggy hair; the South Indian, has short smooth brown hair. + +"The ibex," says Hawkeye, the Indian sportsman, of this animal, "is +massively formed, with short legs, remarkably strong fetlocks, and a +heavy carcass, short and well ribbed up, combining strength and +agility wonderful to behold. Its habits are gregarious, and the does are +seldom met with separate from the flock or herd, though males often are. +The latter assume, as they grow old, a distinctive appearance. The hair +on the back becomes lighter, almost white in some cases, causing a kind +of saddle to appear; and from that time they become known to the hunters +as the saddlebacks of the herd, an object of ambition to the eyes of the +true sportsman. It is a pleasant sight to watch a herd of ibex feeding +undisturbed, the kids frisking here and there on pinnacles or ledges of +rock and beetling cliffs where there seems scarcely safe hold for +anything much larger than a grasshopper, the old mother looking calmly +on. Then again, see the caution observed in taking up their resting or +abiding places for the day, where they may be warmed by the sun, +listening to the war of many waters, chewing the cud of contentment, and +giving themselves up to the full enjoyment of their nomadic life and its +romantic haunts. Usually, before reposing, one of their number, +generally an old doe, may be observed gazing intently below, apparently +scanning every spot in the range of her vision, sometimes for half an +hour or more, before she is satisfied that all is well, but, strange to +say, seldom or never looking up to the rocks above. Then, being +satisfied on the one side, she follows the same process on the other, +and eventually lies down calmly, contented with the precautions she has +taken. Should the sentinel be joined by another, or her kid come and lie +by her, they always lie back to back, in such a manner as to keep a good +lookout to either side. A solitary male goes through all this by +himself, and wonderfully careful he is; but when with the herd he +reposes in security, leaving it to the female to take precautions for +their joint safety." Is it not pleasanter to think of watching such +innocent creatures, looking out for their own safety, than to think of +hunting and killing them? + + +THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN GOAT + +America possesses only one species of wild goat, the place of this genus +being taken in the southern part of the continent by the camel-like +guanacos. The Rocky Mountain goat, the North American representative of +the group, has very few of the characteristics of the European and +Asiatic species. In place of being active in body and lively in +temperament, it is a quiet, rather drowsy creature, able, it is true, to +scale the high mountains of the Northwest and to live among the snows, +but with none of the energetic habits of the ibex or the tahr. In form +it is heavy and badly built. It is heavy in front and weak behind, like +a bison. The eye is small, the head large, and the shoulders humped. It +feeds usually on very high ground; but hunters who take the trouble to +ascend to these altitudes find little difficulty in killing as many wild +goats as they wish. These goats are most numerous in the ranges of +British Columbia, where they are found in small flocks of from three or +four to twenty. Several may be killed before the herd is thoroughly +alarmed, possibly because at the high altitudes at which they are found +man has seldom disturbed them. None of the domesticated sheep or goats +of the New World are native to the continent of America. It is a curious +fact, well worth studying from the point of view of the history of man, +that, with the exception of the llama, the dog, and perhaps the +guinea-pig, every domesticated animal in use from Cape Horn to the +Arctic Ocean has been imported. The last of these importations is the +reindeer, which, though the native species abounds in the Canadian +woods, was obtained from Lapland and Eastern Asia. + +When the first rush to Klondike was made, the miners were imprisoned and +inaccessible during the late winter. The coming of spring was the +earliest period at which communication could be expected to be restored, +and even then the problem of feeding the transport animals was a +difficult one. The United States government decided to try to open up a +road from Alaska by means of sledges drawn by reindeer, and the Canadian +government devised a similar scheme. Agents were sent to Lapland and to +the tribes on the western side of Bering Sea, and deer, drivers, and +harness obtained from both. The deer were not used for the Klondike +relief expeditions by the Americans; but the animals and their drivers +were kept in Alaska, native reindeer were caught, and were found very +useful for carrying the mails in winter. + + +THE CHAMOIS + +The goats are linked with the antelopes by the famous chamois, which is +especially interesting because it makes its home among the snow-clad +mountains of Europe. It is a pretty little creature about two feet in +height, with a pair of short black horns which spring upright from the +forehead, and are then sharply hooked, with the points directed +backward. And its coat, strange to say, instead of becoming paler in +winter grows darker, so that from brownish yellow it deepens into rich +chestnut. + +The chamois is one of the most active of all living animals, leaping +from rock to rock, and skipping up and down steep cliffs, where it would +seem quite impossible for it to obtain any foothold at all. It will +often spring down, too, from a very great height, never seeming to +injure itself and always alighting upon its feet. And as it is very +sharp-sighted and exceedingly wary, a hunter finds the utmost difficulty +in approaching, and very often for days together he never has the chance +of obtaining a shot. + +When a chamois notices any sign of danger, it utters a shrill whistling +cry, on hearing which all the members of the herd instantly take to +flight. There are generally from fifteen to twenty animals in each herd, +consisting partly of does and partly of young bucks. The old bucks spend +most of the year quite by themselves. But early in the autumn they +rejoin the herds, drive away their younger rivals, and then fight fierce +battles with one another for the mastery. + +The young of the chamois are born in May or June, and are so strong and +active that when they are only a day old they can follow their mother +almost anywhere. + + +THE ELAND + +This is the finest of the antelopes, and is a really magnificent animal, +for it stands from five to six feet high at the shoulder, and +sometimes an eland weighs nearly fifteen hundred pounds! Both the buck +and the doe have spirally twisted horns, which are generally about two +feet long, and there is a heavy dewlap under the throat. In color the +animal is pale fawn, but sometimes the old males are bluish gray. + +In former days the eland was spread all over Southern and Eastern +Africa. But it has been so much hunted on account of its hide that it +has quite disappeared from South Africa, and is fast disappearing +elsewhere. There seems reason to fear that soon this splendid antelope +will be altogether extinct. It lives for the most part in wooded plains, +and is generally found in large herds, which spend the daytime hiding in +the forests, and come out into the open country by night to graze and +drink. In the desert districts, however, where water is scarce, they +quench their thirst by feeding upon melons. + +The eland is a difficult animal to hunt, for besides being very wary and +very timid, it is often accompanied by a rhinoceros-bird, which gives it +early warning of the approach of a foe. And, further, it is very swift +of foot, so that it can only be ridden down by a good horse. As a rule +it will never fight. But when a doe has calves with her, she will +withstand the onset of dogs, and has even been known to impale them upon +her horns. + + +THE KUDU + +This is another very fine antelope. It can easily be distinguished from +the eland by the shape of the horns of the male, which are twisted like +a corkscrew, while the female has none at all. Besides this, it has a +white mark across its face, shaped something like the letter V, several +white spots on its cheeks and throat, a white streak along its back, and +several others running down its sides and hinder quarters. It stands +rather more than four feet in height at the shoulder, and the horns are +often more than three feet long. + +The kudu is found all over Africa, from the Cape to Abyssinia, though it +is now very rare in the extreme south. It does not live in herds, as a +rule, but is generally found in pairs, which pass the day in dense +thickets, and come out to graze in the evening. It is not very swift +of foot, and can easily be run down by a man on horseback. But as it is +chiefly found in the country infested by the terrible tsetse-fly, whose +bite kills horses in a few days, it is generally hunted only with dogs. + +[Illustration: TYPES OF ANTELOPES + + 1. Waterbuck. 2. Dorcas Gazelle. 3. Indian Blackbuck. 4. Springboks. + 5. Oryx. 6. Eland. 7. Sable Antelope.] + + +THE GEMSBOK + +Another very fine antelope is the gemsbok, which is found in the more +desert regions of Southwestern Africa. It is remarkable for its very +long straight horns, which sometimes measure nearly four feet from base +to tip, and are such formidable weapons that the animal has been known +to drive off even the lion. More than once, indeed, a lion and a gemsbok +have been found lying dead together, the antelope having thrust his +horns deep into the lion's body, and been quite unable to withdraw them. + +What the gemsbok feeds upon is rather a mystery, for it is often found +in districts where there is no vegetation except a little dry scrub. Yet +it nearly always seems to be in good condition. And it is odder still to +find that for months together sometimes it must go without drinking! +Some hunters, indeed, have declared that they are quite positive that +the animal never drinks at all, obtaining all the moisture it needs from +small watermelons and certain bulbous roots. + +The gemsbok is of about the same size as the kudu, and is gray in color +above and white below. But there is a black streak across the face, +while another streak, which is much broader, runs along the sides, +dividing the gray of the upper parts from the white of the lower. This +antelope is hunted on horseback, and is so swift and so enduring, that +there is said to be no animal in Africa which is harder to overtake. + + +THE SPRINGBOK + +The most graceful and elegant of all the antelopes are the gazelles, of +which we may take the springbok as an example. + +In former days this was by far the most abundant of all the African game +animals, and would sometimes be seen traveling from one district to +another in enormous herds, covering the country as far as the eye could +reach. So vast were these herds, indeed, and so closely did the animals +march side by side together that sometimes a lion would be seen in their +ranks marching along with them, quite unable to stop, or to make his +escape, because of the pressure all round him! + +The springbok, or "springbuck," owes its name to its marvelous activity, +and to its curious habit of suddenly leaping straight up into the air. +In this way it can easily spring to a height of eight or ten feet. + +The springbok is easily tamed, and soon comes to know who are its +friends. One of these animals was kept as a pet by a lady living at +Klerksdorp, in South Africa, and would wander about the town by itself, +not seeming to be in the least afraid of the passers-by, or even of the +dogs. Every morning, too, it would cross the river, and go out upon the +veldt to feed; and although it would mix freely with its wild companions +during the day, it always left them in the evening and came home to +sleep. + +In height the springbok stands about two feet six inches, and it can +easily be distinguished from all the other gazelles by the white streak +which runs along the middle of the back. The horns are black, with a +number of ridge-like rings running round them, and the color of the coat +is dark cinnamon-yellow above and white beneath, with a blackish stripe +on the flanks between the two. + + +GNUS + +If the gazelles are the most graceful of all the antelopes, the gnus, +also known as wildebeests, are certainly the most ungainly, their great +broad heads, and very high shoulders giving them an extremely awkward +appearance. Then the curved horns are very broad at the base, and are +set so closely together on the forehead that they form a sort of helmet, +like those of the Cape buffalo, while the muzzle is fringed with long +bristles, and there is an upright mane of stiff hairs upon the neck. So +that altogether the gnu cannot be considered as a handsome animal! + +Two kinds of gnus are known, both of which are found in Southern and +Eastern Africa. The commoner of the two is called the white-tailed gnu, +because it has a long white tail, while the other, the brindled gnu, has +a black one. Both animals stand about four feet six inches in height at +the shoulder. + +Gnus are very suspicious, very inquisitive, and very timid, and when +they catch sight of a human being, they often behave in a most +extraordinary way, prancing about, pawing the ground, capering on their +hind legs, leaping into the air, and whisking their long tails about in +the most absurd manner. Then some will chase the others round and round +in circles. Next they will come charging on in a long line like cavalry, +as though they meant to attack. And then, quite suddenly, the whole herd +will wheel round, and dash off together, enveloped in a cloud of dust! + +They are so inquisitive that a hunter has often attracted a gnu to +within a very few yards just by tying a red handkerchief to the muzzle +of his gun, and allowing it to flutter in the breeze like a flag! + +Other antelopes that we should like to tell about have been described by +travelers and hunters. The sable antelope of South Africa, for example, +is regarded by Mr. Ernest Ingersoll as perhaps "the most admirable of +all antelopes," the object of "an admiring enthusiasm among sportsmen" +as well as naturalists. But as we cannot find space to describe all +these interesting creatures, we must leave you to learn about some of +them in books wholly designed to make them known. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +GIRAFFES, DEER, CAMELS, ZEBRAS, ASSES, AND HORSES + + +Here we reach a number of animals with which you have more or less +acquaintance, and about which you cannot fail to be interested in +hearing any particulars that we may be able to set down for you. + + +GIRAFFES + +These are the tallest of all living animals, for a full-grown male may +stand eighteen or even nineteen feet in height. Just think of it! If one +elephant were to stand upon another elephant's back a giraffe could look +over them both. + +This wonderful height is chiefly due to the great length of the neck. +Yet there are only seven _vertebræ_, or joints of the spine, in +that part of the body, just as there are in our own necks. But then each +of these joints may be as much as a foot long! When the animal is +hungry, its height is of very great use to it, enabling it to feed upon +the leaves of trees which do not throw out branches near the ground. And +in captivity, of course, its manger has to be put quite close to the +roof of its stable. + +Strange to say, the giraffe plucks each leaf separately by means of its +tongue, which is very long indeed and very slender, and is prehensile at +the tip, like the tail of a spider-monkey. So it can be coiled round the +stem of a leaf in order to pull it from the branch. And sometimes at the +zoo you may see a giraffe snatch flowers out of ladies' hats and bonnets +by means of this curious tongue. + +If a giraffe wants to feed upon grass instead of leaves, it straddles +its front legs very widely apart, and then bends its long neck down +between them. And it does just the same when it drinks. + +The giraffe is a fast runner, and a horse must be very swift to overtake +it. It runs in a most singular manner, with "a queer camel-like gallop," +and throwing out the hind legs with a semicircular movement, while its +long neck goes rocking backward and forward like that of a toy donkey, +and the long tail switches up and down as regularly as if it were moved +by clockwork. So a long line of giraffes all running away together must +look very odd indeed. + +You would think that giraffes would be very easily seen, even in the +forest, wouldn't you? Yet every hunter tells us that as long as they are +standing still it is almost impossible to detect them, since they look +just like the stems and foliage of the trees, with the sunlight shining +in patches between the leaves! + +Giraffes are found in various parts of Africa, south of the Sahara, and +two different varieties are known, that from South Africa being much the +darker of the two, and having the spots much larger and closer together. +A third kind, with five of the so-called horns on the head, has been +recorded by Sir Harry Johnston. + + +THE OKAPI + +A still more remarkable discovery, made in the same forest district by +the same famous explorer, was that of the okapi, which is a very +singular animal. Perhaps we can best describe it to you by saying that +it is something like a giraffe, and something like an antelope, and +something like a zebra, and something like an ox! The color of its coat +is like that of a very red cow, there are zebra-like stripes on the fore +and hind quarters, and the legs are cream-colored, while on the skull +are faint traces of horns like those of the giraffe. + +We do not as yet know much about the habits of this wonderful animal, +except that it lives in the thickest parts of the forest, seems to go +about in pairs, and to feed wholly on leaves and twigs. + + +THE DEER + +In some ways these animals are not unlike antelopes. But one great +difference between the two is this. In the antelopes the horns are +hollow, growing upon bony cores which spring from the skull, and remain +all through the life of the animal. But in the deer they are solid, and +are thrown off every year, fresh ones growing in their places in the +course of four or five months. Then the material of which they are made +is altogether different, for whereas the horns of the antelopes really +consist of highly compressed hair, those of the deer are composed of +lime, and are very much more like bone. On account of these differences +horns of deer are better called antlers. + +The way in which these antlers grow is very curious. For some little +time after they are shed the animal is extremely timid, for he knows +perfectly well that he has lost his natural weapons. So he hides away in +the thickest parts of the forest, where none of his enemies are likely +to find him. After a while, two little knobs make their appearance on +the head, just where the horns used to be. These knobs are covered with +a close furry skin, which is known as the velvet, and if you were to +take hold of them you would find that they were quite hot to the touch. +That is because the blood is coursing rapidly through them, and leaving +particles of lime behind it as it goes. Day by day they increase in +size, throwing out branches as they do so, until they are rather larger +than the pair which were cast off. Then the blood-vessels close up, and +the velvet becomes dry and begins to fall off, sometimes hanging down in +long strips, which are at last rubbed off against the trees and bushes. + + +REINDEER AND CARIBOU + +A great many kinds of deer are found in different parts of the world, +perhaps the most famous of all being the reindeer. + +This is the only deer in which the does possess horns as well as the +stags. It is found in the northern parts of Europe and Asia and also of +North America, where it is called the caribou and generally +lives in large herds. During the winter and spring these herds remain in +the forests. But in summer they are so annoyed by flies that they make +their way to the hills, ascending to such a height that their insect +enemies cannot follow them, and there they remain until the autumn. A +number of herds usually join together when they are migrating in this +way, and the appearance of thousands upon thousands of the animals +traveling slowly along, each with its antlers uplifted, has been +compared to that of a moving forest of leafless trees. + +In Siberia, Lapland, and Norway, large herds of reindeer are kept as we +keep cattle, and are used as beasts both of draught and burden. A single +reindeer can carry a weight of about 130 pounds upon its back, or draw a +load of 190 pounds upon a sledge, and it so enduring that it will travel +at the rate of from eight to ten miles an hour for twelve hours +together. + +"The caribou," says Mr. Ingersoll, "has never been utilized by any of +the people of arctic America, although just across Bering Strait the +same animal was kept in large herds by the Chuckchis of Siberia. The +United States government has attempted to repair this deficiency by +introducing large numbers of Lapp reindeer among the Alaskans, and the +experiment is proving successful." (See also page 173.) + +During the summer reindeer can obtain plenty of food, but in the winter +they have to live upon a kind of white lichen, which grows in waste, dry +places. Very often, of course, this is covered with snow, which the +animals have to scrape away with their hoofs. But when a slight thaw is +followed by a frost they find it very difficult to do this, and +sometimes they actually perish from starvation. + +The color of the reindeer varies slightly at different seasons of the +year, the coat usually being sooty brown in summer and brownish gray in +winter. The nose, neck, hind quarters, and lower parts of the body are +always white or whitish gray. + +The people of Lapland, Finland, and Siberia have for a long time +domesticated reindeer, finding their flesh good to eat, and their hides, +horns, and sinews valuable for making clothing and implements of various +kinds. Their milk makes excellent cheese, which in those regions is an +important article of food. + + +THE ELK, OR MOOSE + +The elk, which is found in the same parts of the world as the reindeer, +is a much larger animal. Indeed, it is the biggest of all living deer, a +full-grown stag standing well over six feet in height at the withers, +and sometimes weighing as much as twelve hundred pounds. It is not at +all a graceful creature, for the neck is very short, and the head is +held below the level of the shoulders, while the antlers are so +enormously large that it hardly seems possible that the animal should be +able to carry them. + +One would think that when the elk was traveling through the forest these +huge antlers would be constantly getting entangled among the branches of +the trees. But the animal is able to throw them well back upon its +shoulders, so that they do not really interfere with its progress in the +least. + +In America this animal is known as the moose, and is generally found in +small parties, consisting of a buck, a doe, and their fawns of two +seasons. During the summer they live near swamps or rivers, where there +is plenty of rich, long grass. But as soon as winter comes on they +retire to higher ground and spend the next few months in a small +clearing in the midst of the thickest forest. These clearings are +generally called moose-yards, and you might think, perhaps, that when a +hunter had discovered one he would have no difficulty in shooting the +animals. But they are so wary that it is almost impossible to approach +them, either by day or by night, and many a hunter has followed them for +weeks without obtaining a shot. + +The Indians attract the moose within range by imitating the cry of the +doe, which they do so cleverly that if a buck is within hearing he is +sure to come up to the spot. Or they will rattle a moose's shoulder-bone +against the bark of a tree so as to make a sound like the call of the +buck, which any buck in the neighborhood is sure to take as a challenge +to fight. For these animals are very quarrelsome creatures, and wage +fierce battles with one another, sometimes using their antlers with such +effect that both combatants die from their wounds. + +The deer family is so large that we must content ourselves with briefly +mentioning a few of its members. First we will speak of three of the Old +World deer, and of these as they are seen in Great Britain, whose +literature has so much to say of them. + +[Illustration: THE ANTLERED DEER + + 1. Virginian, or White-tailed Deer. 2. East Indian Sambar. + 3. Moose; European Elk. 4. East Indian Jungle Deer. + 5. Roe Deer. 6. Wapiti; American Elk. 7. Caribou Reindeer. + +(All are stags)] + + +THE RED DEER + +This is the noblest object of the chase in Europe. The only part of +England in which it is now really wild is Exmoor, where it is still +quite plentiful. But in many parts of the Scottish Highlands it is +carefully preserved, large moorland districts being given up to it under +the title of deer forests. + +When the female deer has a little fawn to take care of, she generally +hides it among very tall heather, pressing it gently with her nose to +make it lie down. There it will remain all day long without moving, till +she returns to it in the evening. But she is never very far away, and is +always ready to come at once to its aid if it should be attacked by a +fox or a wildcat. + +The stag of this animal is a good deal larger than the doe, and may +stand as much as four feet high at the shoulder, while its antlers may +be more than three feet long. In color it is a bright reddish brown, +which often becomes a good deal paler during the winter. + + +THE FALLOW DEER + +This deer is not nearly so big as the red deer. It is never more than +three feet in height, while you can also distinguish it by the fact that +the antlers are flattened out at the tip into a broad plate, and that +the coat is spotted with white. + +This is the deer which is kept in so many English parks, where one may +often see a herd of a hundred or more of the pretty, graceful animals +moving about together. + +There is always a "master" deer in each of these herds, who has won his +post by fighting and overcoming all his rivals. He does not always +remain with the herd, but often lives apart for weeks together, +accompanied, perhaps, by three or four favorite does; and in his absence +the herd is led by some of the younger bucks. But whenever he makes his +appearance these make way for him, and no one disputes his sway until he +becomes too old and infirm to hold his position any longer. + +The male fallow deer is known by different names at different times of +his life. In the first year he is called a "fawn," in the second year a +"pricket," in the third a "sorrel," and in the fourth a "soare," while +when he is five years old he is described as a "buck of the first lead," +and when he is six as a "buck complete." + + +THE ROEBUCK + +This is quite a small animal, seldom exceeding twenty-six inches in +height at the shoulder. In color it is reddish or grayish brown above +and grayish white underneath, with a white patch on the chin and another +round the root of the tail. The antlers stand nearly upright, and throw +off one "tine," or spur, in front, and two more behind. + +There is only one part of England where the roebuck is found wild, and +that is Blackmoor Vale, in Dorsetshire. But it is common in many of the +Scottish moors and forests. It is never seen in herds, like the fallow +deer, but goes about in pairs, although when there are fawns they +accompany their parents. + +The roebuck sheds its antlers in December, and the new ones are fully +developed by about the end of February. Although they are seldom more +than eight or nine inches long they are really formidable weapons, more +especially as the deer is very powerful in proportion to its size. The +bucks are very quarrelsome creatures and fight most savagely with one +another, while more than once they have been known to attack human +beings and to inflict severe wounds before they could be driven away. + + +AMERICAN DEER + +Excepting the moose, caribou, and wapiti, often wrongly called an elk, +found in the western United States and some parts of Canada, the deer of +North and South America stand quite apart from those of the Old +World, and are placed in a genus of their own. Usually the tail is long, +and the brow-antler is always wanting. The most familiar species is the +common American deer, of which the Virginia or white-tailed deer is the +type. This deer is found in varying forms in both continents, and was +regularly hunted by the ancient Mexicans with trained pumas. + +The well-known Virginia deer found in Eastern North America, and +believed to range as far south as Louisiana, stands a trifle over three +feet in height, and weighs, clean, about one hundred and seventy-five +pounds. The coloration is chestnut in summer, bluish gray in winter. The +antlers are of good size, and usually measure from twenty to twenty-four +inches in length. As a sporting animal the white-tailed deer is not +popular. It has been described as "an exasperating little beast," +possessing every quality which a deer ought not to, from the sportsman's +point of view. "His haunts are river-bottoms, in choking, blinding bush, +and his habits are beastly. No one could ever expect to stalk a +white-tail; if you want to get one, you must crawl." Mr. Selous bagged +one of these deer somewhat curiously. "He was coming," he writes, +"through the scrubby, rather open bush straight toward me in a series of +great leaps, rising, I think, quite four feet from the ground at every +bound. I stood absolutely still, thinking to fire at him just as he +jumped the stream and passed me. However, he came so straight to me +that, had he held his course, he must have jumped on to or over me. But +when little more than the width of the stream separated us--when he was +certainly not more than ten yards from me--he either saw or winded me, +and, without a moment's halt, made a prodigious leap sideways. I fired +at him when he was in the air, and I believe quite six feet above the +ground." The deer, an old buck with a good head, was afterward picked up +dead. In different parts of America, as far south as Peru and Bolivia, +various local races of this deer are to be found. + + +THE MULE-DEER + +The mule-deer is found in most parts of North America west of the +Missouri, as far south as Southern California, stands about +three feet four inches at the shoulder, and weighs over two hundred and +forty pounds. It carries good antlers, measuring as much as thirty +inches, and in color is tawny red in summer, brownish gray in winter. It +is a far better sporting animal than the sneaking white-tailed deer, and +affords excellent stalking. This deer is still abundant in many +localities. It is commonly called "blacktail," but the true blacktail is +a similar but smaller species confined to the Northern Pacific coast. + + +THE WAPITI + +This is the largest and finest of American deer, originally numerous +everywhere west of the Appalachian Mountains, but now to be found only +in the mountains of the Northwest. It is much like the European red +deer, but very much larger, and is connected with it by a series of +stags, known as the maral, shou, etc., inhabiting Central Asia from +Persia to Kamchatka. It grazes like cattle, rather than browses; and in +the fall gathers into herds, which formerly contained many thousands and +spent the winter among sheltering hills. + + +MARSH-DEER + +In South America are to be found several kinds of marsh-deer, of which +the best known has its range from Brazil to the forest country of the +Argentine Republic. The marsh-deer is almost equal in size to the red +deer of Europe, but somewhat less stout of build; the coloring is bright +chestnut in summer, brown in winter; the coat is long and coarse, as +befits a swamp-loving creature; the antlers usually display ten points, +and measure more than twenty inches. + + +THE PAMPAS-DEER + +This species, closely allied to the marsh-deer, is of small size, +standing about two feet six inches at the shoulder. The antlers, usually +three-pointed, measure no more than from twelve to fourteen inches in +fine specimens. The pampas-deer is found from Brazil to Northern +Patagonia. + + +PERUVIAN AND CHILEAN GUEMALS + +These are small deer, found on the high Andes, and are somewhat inferior +in size to the Virginia deer. The males carry simple antlers forming a +single fork, and measuring about nine inches. The coat, yellowish brown +in hue, is coarse, thick, and brittle. The Chilean guemal is found also +in most parts of Patagonia; unlike the guemal of Peru, which delights in +altitudes of from 14,000 to 16,000 feet, it lives chiefly in deep +valleys, thick forest, and even the adjacent plains, to which it resorts +in winter. + + +BROCKETS + +Of these, several species are found in South and Central America and +Trinidad. They are small deer, having spike-like antlers and tufted +crowns. The largest is the red brocket, found in Guiana, Brazil, and +Paraguay, which stands twenty-seven inches at the shoulder. The body +coloring is brownish red. Like most of the group, this brocket is +extremely shy; but although fond of dense covert, it is found also in +open patches. The pygmy brocket, a tiny dark-brown deerlet, less than +nineteen inches in height, found in Central Brazil, is the smallest of +these very small deer. + + +PUDUS + +Two other diminutive deer, known as pudus, closely allied to the +brockets, are found in South America. These are the Chilean and Ecuador +pudus, of which the former is only about thirteen inches in height, the +latter about fourteen or fifteen inches. Little is known of the history +and life habits of these charming little creatures, one of which, the +Chilean species, has occasionally been seen in zoölogical gardens. + + +CAMELS + +We now come to a remarkably interesting animal. First let us tell you +how wonderfully the camel is suited to a life in the desert. + +[Illustration: CHILDREN'S PETS AT THE ZOO. + + 1. Guanaco and Young. 2. Dorcas Gazelle. + 3. Bactrian Riding Camel.] + +In the first place, it has great spreading feet. Now this is very +important, for if the animal had small, hard hoofs, like those of the +horse or the donkey, it would sink deeply into the loose sand at every +step, and would soon be so tired out that it would be quite unable to +travel any farther. But its broad, splay, cushion-like toes do not sink +into the sand at all, and it can march easily along, hour after hour, +where a horse could scarcely travel a mile. + +Then it can go for several weeks with hardly any food. All that it finds +as it journeys through the desert is a mouthful or two of dry thorns, +and even at the end of the day its master has nothing to give it but a +few dates. And on this meager diet it has to travel forty or fifty miles +a day with a heavy load on its back. + +But then, you must remember, the camel has a hump. Now this hump +consists almost entirely of fat, and as the animal marches on day after +day with scarcely any food, this fat passes back by degrees into its +system, and actually serves as nourishment. So, you see, while the camel +is traveling through the desert it really lives chiefly on its own hump! +By the time that it reaches its journey's end, the hump has almost +entirely disappeared. Little more is left in its place than a loose bag +of empty skin. The animal is then unfit for work and has to be allowed +to graze for two or three weeks in a rich pasture. Then, day by day, the +hump fills out again, and when it is firm and solid once more the camel +is fit for another journey. + +More wonderful still, perhaps, is its way of carrying enough water about +with it to last for several days. + +Except the camel, typical ruminating animals, or those which chew the +cud, have the stomach divided into four separate compartments, through +which the food passes in turn. These are called the paunch, the +honeycomb stomach or bag, the manyplies and the abomasum. In the camel +the third of these is wanting, and the first and second are provided +with a number of deep cells, which can be opened or closed at the will +of the animal. + +In these cells the animal is able to store up water. When it has the +opportunity of drinking, it not only quenches its thirst, but fills up +all these cells as well. In this way it can store up quite a gallon and +a half of liquid. Then, when it grows thirsty, and cannot find a pool or +a stream, all that it has to do is to open one or two of the cells and +allow the contents to flow out, and so on from time to time until the +whole supply is exhausted. + +In this way a camel can easily go for five or six days without requiring +to drink, even when marching under the burning sun of the desert. + +Two kinds of camels are known, neither of which is now found in a wild +state. + + +ARABIAN CAMEL + +The first of these is the Arabian camel, which only has one hump on its +back, and is so well known that there is no need to describe it. It is +very largely used in many parts of Africa and Asia as a beast of both +draught and burden. Camels for riding upon, however, are generally +called dromedaries, and may be regarded as a separate breed, just as +hunters are a separate breed from cart-horses. And while they will +travel with a rider upon their backs at a pace of eight or nine miles an +hour, an ordinary camel with a load upon its back will scarcely cover a +third of that distance in the same time. + +This camel is a bad-tempered animal. It gets very cross when it is made +to kneel down to be loaded, and crosser still when it has to kneel again +in the evening for its burden to be removed, and all day it goes +grunting and snarling and groaning along, ready to bite any one who may +come near it. And it is so stupid that if it wanders off the path for a +yard or two, in order to nibble at a tempting patch of herbage, it goes +straight on in the new direction, without ever thinking of turning back +in order to regain the road. + +Besides being used for riding and for carrying loads, the camel is +valuable on account of its flesh and also of its milk, while its hair is +woven into a kind of coarse cloth. + + +BACTRIAN CAMEL + +This camel, which comes from Central Asia, has two humps on its back +instead of one. It is not quite so tall as the Arabian animal, and is +more stoutly and strongly built, while its hair is much longer and more +shaggy. For these reasons it is very useful in rocky and hilly country, +for it can scramble about for hours on steep and stony ground without +getting tired, while its thick coat protects it from the cold. + + +LLAMAS + +Llamas may be described as South American camels. But they are much +smaller than the true camels, and have no humps on their backs, and +their feet are not nearly so broad and cushion-like, while their thick +woolly coat grows in dense masses, which sometimes reach almost to the +ground. + +There are four kinds of llamas, but we can only tell you about one of +them, the guanaco. + +This animal lives both among the mountains and in the plains. It is +generally found in flocks, consisting of a single male and from twelve +to fifteen females. But sometimes the flocks are much larger, and more +than once several hundred animals have been seen together. The male +always keeps behind the flock, and if he notices any sign of danger he +utters a curious whistling cry. The does know exactly what this means +and at once take to flight, while the male follows, stopping every now +and then to look back and see if they are being pursued. + +Usually, when two male guanacos meet, they fight, biting one another +most savagely, and squealing loudly with rage. When one of these animals +is killed, its skin is likely to be found deeply scored by the wounds it +has received from its numerous antagonists. + +If you go to look at the llamas in a zoo, we would advise you not to +stand too near the bars of their enclosure, for they have a habit of +spitting straight into one's face! When they are used for riding they +will often turn their heads round and spit at their rider, just to show +that they are getting tired. And if once they lie down no amount of +persuasion or even of beating will make them get up again, until they +consider that they have had a proper rest! + + +ZEBRAS + +There are three different kinds of these beautiful animals. The largest +and finest is known as Grévy's zebra, which is found in the mountains of +Somaliland. It has many more stripes than the other two, while the +ground color is quite white. The smallest is the mountain zebra, which +is only about as big as a good-sized pony, and has its legs striped +right down to the hoofs. This is now a very scarce animal, being only +found in one or two mountainous districts in South Africa, where no one +is allowed to interfere with it. And between the two is the Burchell's +zebra, which is about as large as a small horse, and has its legs white, +with only a very few markings. This animal is quite common in many parts +of the South African plains, and has often been domesticated, and taught +to draw carriages and carts. Indeed, in some districts of Southern +Africa, a coach drawn by a team of zebras instead of horses is not a +very uncommon sight. + +You would think that an animal, colored like the zebra would be very +easily seen, even by night, wouldn't you? But strange to say, these +creatures are almost invisible from a distance of even a few yards. +Indeed, hunters say that they have often been so close to a zebra at +night that they could hear him breathing, yet have been quite unable to +see him! + +This seems to be due to his stripes, for it has been found that while a +pony can be easily seen from forty or fifty yards away on a moonlight +night, it at once becomes invisible if it is clothed with ribbons in +such a way as to resemble the stripes of the zebra! + +Zebras are generally found in herds, and they have a curious habit of +traveling about in company with a number of brindled gnus and ostriches, +which all seem to be as friendly as possible together. + + +THE QUAGGA + +The quagga, which became extinct some time ago, never had a very +extended range, but once it existed in great numbers on all the upland +plains of Cape Colony to the west of the Kei River, and in the open +treeless country lying between the Orange and Vaal rivers. North of the +Vaal it appears to have been unknown. + +The quagga seems to have been nearly allied to Burchell's +zebra--especially to the most southerly form of that species--but was +much darker in general color. Instead of being striped over the whole +body, it was only strongly banded on the head and neck, the dark brown +stripes becoming fainter on the shoulders and dying away in spots and +blotches. On the other hand, in size and build, in the appearance of its +mane, ears, and tail, and in general habits, it seems to have nearly +resembled its handsomer relative. The barking neigh "qua-ha-ha, +qua-ha-ha" seems, too, to have been the same in both species. The +Dutch word quagga is pronounced in South Africa "qua-ha" and is of +Hottentot origin, an imitation of the animal's neighing call. To-day +Burchell's zebras are invariably called qua-has by both Boers and +British colonists. + + +WILD ASSES + +The true asses are without stripes on the head, neck, and body, with the +exception of a dark streak down the back from the mane to the tail, +which is present in all members of the group, and in some cases a dark +band across the shoulders and irregular markings on the legs. + +In Africa the wild ass is only found in the desert regions of the +northeastern portion of that continent. It is a fine animal, standing +between thirteen and fourteen hands at the shoulder. It lives in small +herds or families of four or five individuals, and is not found in +mountainous districts, but frequents low stony hills and arid desert +wastes. It is as a general rule an alert animal and difficult to +approach, and so fleet and enduring that excepting in the case of foals +and mares heavy in young, it cannot be overtaken even by a well-mounted +horseman. Notwithstanding the scanty nature of the herbage in the +districts they frequent, these desert-bred asses are always in good +condition. They travel long distances to water at night, but appear to +require to drink regularly. Their flesh is eaten by the natives of the +Soudan. The bray of the African wild ass, it is said, cannot easily be +distinguished from that of the domesticated animal, which is undoubtedly +descended from this breed. + +In Asia three varieties of the wild ass are found, which were formerly +believed to represent three distinct species; but all the local races of +the Asiatic wild ass are now considered to belong to one species, and it +is to them that reference is made in the description on pages 196 and +197. + +These wild asses have a wide range, and are met with from Syria to +Persia and Western India, and northward throughout the more arid +portions of Central Asia. Like their African relatives, the wild asses +of Asia are inhabitants of waste places, frequenting desert plains and +wind-swept steppes. They are said to be as fleet and enduring as the +others. + +The wild asses of the desert plains of India and Persia are said to be +very wary and difficult to approach, but the kiang of Tibet is always +spoken of as a much more confiding animal, its curiosity being so great +that it will frequently approach to within a short distance of any +unfamiliar object, such as a sportsman, engaged in stalking other game. + +Asiatic wild asses usually live in small families of four or five, but +sometimes congregate in herds. Their food consists of various grasses in +the low-lying portions of their range, but of woody plants on the high +plateaus, where little else is to be obtained. Of wild asses in general +the late Sir Samuel Baker once said: "Those who have seen donkeys only +in their civilized state can have no conception of the wild or original +animal; it is the perfection of activity and courage." + + +THE HORSE + +Like the wild camels, genuine wild horses are very generally believed to +be extinct. The vast herds which occur to-day in a wild state in +Europe, America, and Australia are to be regarded, say those who believe +in the extinction theory, as descended from domesticated animals which +have run wild. So far as the American and Australian horses are +concerned, this is no doubt true; but of the European stocks it is by no +means so certain. However, without giving you any theory of our own, we +will quote at some length from an interesting and instructive chapter on +the horse by A. B. Buckley. + +"There rose before my mind the level grass-covered pampas of South +America, where wild horses share the boundless plains with troops of the +rhea, or American ostrich, and wander, each horse with as many mares as +he can collect, in companies of hundreds or even thousands in a troop. +These horses are now truly wild, and live freely from youth to age, +unless they are unfortunate enough to be caught in the more inhabited +regions by the lasso of the hunter. In the broad pampas, the home of +herds of wild cattle, they dread nothing. There, as they roam with one +bold stallion as their leader, even beasts of prey hesitate to approach +them, for, when they form into a dense mass with the mothers and young +in their center, their heels deal blows which even the fierce jaguar +does not care to encounter, and they trample their enemy to death in a +very short time. Yet these are not the original wild horses; they are +the descendants of tame animals, brought from Europe by the Spaniards to +Buenos Aires in 1535, whose descendants have regained their freedom on +the boundless pampas and prairies. + +"As I was picturing them careering over the plains, another scene +presented itself and took their place. Now I no longer saw around me +tall pampas-grass with the long necks of the rheas appearing above it, +for I was on the edge of a dreary, scantily covered plain between the +Aral Sea and the Balkash Lake in Tartary. To the south lies a barren +sandy desert, to the north the fertile plains of the Kirghiz steppes, +where the Tartar feeds his flocks, and herds of antelopes gallop over +the fresh green pasture; and between these is a kind of no-man's land, +where low scanty shrubs and stunted grass seem to promise but a poor +feeding-ground. + +"Yet here the small long-legged but powerful tarpans, the wild horses +of the treeless plains of Russia and Tartary, were picking their morning +meal. Sturdy wicked little fellows they are, with their shaggy +light-brown coats, short wiry manes, erect ears, and fiery watchful +eyes. They might well be supposed to be true wild horses, whose +ancestors had never been tamed by man; and yet it is more probable that +even they escaped in early times from the Tartars, and have held their +own ever since, over the grassy steppes of Russia and on the confines of +the plains of Tartary. Sometimes they live almost alone, especially on +the barren wastes where they have been seen in winter, scraping the snow +off the herbage. At other times, as in the south of Russia, where they +wander between the Dnieper and the Don, they gather in vast herds and +live a free life, not fearing even the wolves, which they beat to the +ground with their hoofs. From one green oasis to another they travel +over miles of ground. + + 'A thousand horse--and none to ride! + With flowing tail and flying mane, + Wide nostrils--never stretched by pain, + Mouths bloodless to the bit or rein, + And feet that iron never shod, + And flanks unscarred by spur or rod, + A thousand horse, the wild, the free, + Like waves that follow o'er the sea.'[A] + + [A] Byron's "Mazeppa." + +"As I followed them in their course I fancied I saw troops of yet +another animal of the horse tribe, the kulan, or _Equus hemionus_, +which is a kind of half horse, half ass, living on the Kirghiz steppes +of Tartary and spreading far beyond the range of the tarpan into Tibet. +Here at last we have a truly wild animal, never probably brought into +subjection by man. The number of names he possesses shows how widely he +has spread. The Tartars call him kulan, the Tibetans kiang, while the +Mongolians give him the unpronounceable name of dschiggetai. He will not +submit to any of them, but if caught and confined soon breaks away again +to his old life, a 'free and fetterless creature.' + +[Illustration: WILD RELATIVES OF THE HORSE. + + 1. Northern or Grévy's Zebra. 2. Abyssinian Ass. + 3. Southern (or Burchell's) Zebra. 4. Przwalsky's Central-Asian Horse.] + +"No one has ever yet settled the question whether he is a horse or an +ass, probably because he represents an animal truly between the two. His +head is graceful, his body light, his legs slender and fleet, yet his +ears are long and ass-like; he has narrow hoofs, and a tail with a tuft +at the end like all the ass tribe; his color is a yellow brown, and he +has a short dark mane and a long dark stripe down his back as a donkey +has. Living often on the high plateaus, sometimes as much as fifteen +hundred feet above the sea, this 'child of the steppes' travels in large +companies even as far as the rich meadows of Central Asia; in summer +wandering in green pastures, and in winter seeking the hunger-steppes +where sturdy plants grow. And when Autumn comes the young steeds go off +alone to the mountain heights to survey the country around and call +wildly for mates, whom, when found, they will keep close to them through +all the next year, even though they mingle with thousands of others. + +"Till recent years the _Equus hemionus_ was the only truly wild +horse known, but in the winter of 1879-80 the Russian traveler +Przhevalsky brought back from Central Asia a much more horse-like +animal, called by the Tartars kertag, and by the Mongols statur. It is a +clumsy, thick-set, whitish-gray creature with strong legs and a large, +heavy, reddish-colored head; its legs have a red tint down to the knees, +beyond which they are blackish down to the hoofs. But the ears are +small, and it has the broad hoofs of the true horse, and warts on the +hind legs, which no animal of the ass tribe has. This horse, like the +kiang, travels in small troops of from five to fifteen, led through the +wildest parts of the Dsungarian desert, between the Altai and Tian-Shan +Mountains, by an old stallion. They are extremely shy, and see, hear, +and smell very quickly, so that they are off like lightning whenever +anything approaches them. + +"So having traveled over America, Europe, and Asia, was my quest ended? +No; for from the dreary Asiatic deserts my thoughts wandered to a far +warmer and more fertile land, where between the Blue Nile and the Red +Sea rise the lofty highlands of Abyssinia, among which the African wild +ass, the probable ancestor of our donkeys, feeds in troops on the rich +grasses of the slopes, and then onward to the bank of a river in Central +Africa where on the edge of a forest, with rich pastures beyond, +elephants and rhinoceroses, antelopes and buffaloes, lions and hyenas, +creep down in the cool of the evening to slake their thirst in the +flowing stream. There I saw the herds of zebras in all their striped +beauty coming down from the mountain regions to the north, and mingling +with the darker-colored but graceful quaggas from the southern plains, +and I half grieved at the thought how these untamed and free rovers are +being slowly but surely surrounded by man closing in upon them on every +side. + +"I might now have traveled still farther in search of the onager, or +wild ass of the Asiatic and Indian deserts, but at this point a more +interesting and far wider question presented itself, as I flung myself +down on the moor to ponder over the early history of all these tribes. + +"Where have they all come from? Where shall we look for the =first= +ancestors of these wild and graceful animals? For the answer to this +question I had to travel back to America, to those Western United States +where Professor Marsh has made such grand discoveries in horse history. +For there, in the very country where horses were supposed never to have +been before the Spaniards brought them a few centuries ago, we have now +found the true birthplace of the equine race. + +"Come back with me to a time so remote that we cannot measure it even by +hundred of thousands of years, and let us visit the territories of Utah +and Wyoming. Those highlands were very different then from what they are +now. Just risen out of the seas of the Cretaceous Period, they were then +clothed with dense forests of palms, tree-ferns, and screw-pines, +magnolias and laurels, interspersed with wide-spreading lakes, on the +margins of which strange and curious animals fed and flourished. There +were large beasts with teeth like the tapir and the bear, and feet like +the elephant; and others far more dangerous, half bear, half hyena, +prowling around to attack the clumsy paleotherium or the anoplotherium, +something between a rhinoceros and a horse, which grazed by the +waterside, while graceful antelopes fed on the rich grass. And among +these were some little animals no bigger than foxes, with four toes and +a splint for the fifth, on their front feet, and three toes on the hind +ones. + +"These clumsy little animals, whose bones have been found in the rocks +of Utah and Wyoming, have been called _Eohippus_, or horse of the +dawn, by naturalists. They were animals with real toes, yet their bones +and teeth show that they belonged to the horse tribe, and already the +fifth toe common to most other toed animals was beginning to disappear. + +"This was in the Eocene Period, and before it passed away with its +screw-pines and tree-ferns, another rather larger animal, called +_Orohippus_, had taken the place of the small one, and he had only +four toes on his front feet. The splint had disappeared, and as time +went on still other animals followed, always with fewer toes, while they +gained slender fleet legs, together with an increase in size and in +gracefulness. First one as large as a sheep (_Mesohippus_) had only +three toes and a splint. Then the splint again disappeared, and one +large and two dwindling toes only remained, till finally these two +became mere splints, leaving one large toe or hoof with almost +imperceptible splints, which may be seen on the fetlock of a horse's +skeleton. + +"You must notice that a horse's foot really begins at the point which we +call his knee in the front legs, and at his hock in his hind legs. His +true knee and elbow are close up to the body. What we call his foot or +hoof is really the end of the strong, broad, middle toe covered with a +hoof, and farther up his foot we can feel two small splints, which are +remains of two other toes. + +"Meanwhile, during these long succeeding ages while the foot was +lengthening out into a slender limb, the animals became larger, more +powerful, and more swift, the neck and head became longer and more +graceful, the brain-case larger in front, and the teeth decreased in +number, so that there is now a large gap between the biting teeth and +the grinding teeth of a horse. Their slender limbs too became more +flexible and fit for running and galloping, till we find the whole +skeleton the same in shape, though not in size, as in our own horses and +asses now. + +"They did not, however, during all this time remain confined to America, +for, from the time when they arrived at an animal called +_Miohippus_, or lesser horse, which came after _Mesohippus_ +and had only three toes on each foot, we find their remains in Europe, +where they lived in company with the giraffes, opossums, and monkeys +which roamed over these parts in those ancient times. Then a little +later we find them in Africa and India; so that the horse tribe, +represented by creatures about as large as donkeys, had spread far and +wide over the world. + +"And now, curiously enough, they began to forsake, or to die out in, the +land of their birth. Why they did so we do not know; but while in the +old world as asses, quaggas, and zebras, and probably horses, they +flourished in Asia, Europe, and Africa, they certainly died out in +America, so that ages afterward, when that land was discovered, no +animal of the horse tribe was found in it. + +"And the true horse, where did he arise? Born and bred probably in +Central Asia from some animal like the kulan, or the kertag, he proved +too useful to savage tribes to be allowed his freedom, and it is +doubtful whether in any part of the world he escaped subjection. In +England he probably roamed as a wild animal till the savages, who fed +upon him, learned in time to put him to work; and when the Romans came +they found the Britons with fine and well-trained horses. + +"Yet though tamed and made to know his master, he has, as we have seen, +broken loose again in almost all parts of the world--in America on the +prairies and pampas, in Europe and Asia on the steppes, and in Australia +in the bush. And even in Great Britain, where so few patches of +uncultivated land still remain, the young colts of Dartmoor, Exmoor, and +Shetland, though born of domesticated mothers, seem to assert their +descent from wild and free ancestors as they throw out their heels and +toss up their heads with a shrill neigh, and fly against the wind with +streaming manes and outstretched tails as the kulan, the tarpan, and the +zebra do in the wild desert or grassy plain." + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +THE ELEPHANTS, RHINOCEROSES, HIPPOPOTAMUSES, AND WILD SWINE + + +There are three reasons, perhaps, why elephants interest us so greatly. + +The first is their enormous size. They are by far the largest of all the +animals which live upon land. "Jumbo," for instance, the famous African +elephant that we in the United States saw in the last century, was +nearly twelve feet in height, and weighed more than six tons. A height +of ten feet is quite common. + +Next, there is their wonderful docility. When wild, no doubt, they are +often very fierce and savage. Yet they are easily tamed; and it is a +strange sight to see one of these giant creatures walking about with a +load of children upon its back, and meekly obeying the lightest word of +a man whom it could crush to death in a moment by simply placing its +foot upon him. + +And then, once more, there is that marvelous trunk, so strong that it +can tear down great branches from the trees, and yet so delicate that it +can pick up the smallest scrap of food from the ground. When the +elephant wishes to feed, it seizes the food with its trunk and pokes it +into its mouth. When it wishes to drink, it fills the same organ with +water, and then squirts the contents down its throat. If it should be +hot, it can take a shower-bath by squirting water over its body instead. +And it breathes through its trunk and smells with it as well. So this +wonderful member is used for a great many different purposes. + +As it is so valuable, the elephant takes very great care of its trunk, +always curling it up out of harm's way, for example, if it should find +itself in any danger. + +Two different kinds of elephants are known, one of which is found in +Africa and the other in Asia. + + +THE AFRICAN ELEPHANT + +You can easily tell the African elephant by the great size of his ears, +which are so large that a man might almost hide himself behind one of +them. "Jumbo's" ear, indeed, measured no less than five feet five inches +from side to side. When the animal is excited these enormous ears stand +out at right angles to the head. Then the legs are much longer than +those of the Indian elephant, while the trunk, instead of having one +finger-like projection at the tip, has two, one in front and one behind. +Both the male and female animal, as a rule, possess tusks, while in +Indian elephants these weapons are only occasionally present in the +male, and hardly ever in the female. + +The tusks of the male elephant, however, are always much larger than +those of his mate, and sometimes they grow to a very great size. A +length of nine feet is not very uncommon, while tusks ten feet long, or +even more, have sometimes been recorded. Generally one tusk is several +inches shorter than the other, having been worn down in digging for the +roots on which the animal is fond of feeding; for elephants seem to dig +with one of the tusks only, and never with both. + +The ivory of which these tusks are composed is so valuable that the +African elephant has been most terribly persecuted, and in many +districts where it was formerly plentiful it has disappeared altogether. +It lives as a rule in herds, which seek the thickest parts of the forest +during the day, and come out at night to search for food and water. And +even a small herd of elephants will sometimes do a great deal of damage, +for they will uproot trees eighteen or even twenty feet high, in order +to feed upon the foliage of the upper branches, or snap off the stems +quite close to the ground. When the tree is a large one, it is said that +two elephants will unite in breaking it down. + +You would think that a herd of elephants would be very conspicuous even +in the thick forest, wouldn't you? Yet all hunters unite in saying that +as long as they remain still it is almost impossible to see them, while +they make their way through the bushes so silently that even +when they are moving it is not at all easy to hear them. + + +THE INDIAN ELEPHANT + +This elephant seldom exceeds nine feet in height at the shoulder, +although larger examples are sometimes found. It lives in the thick +jungle in herds of forty or fifty, which sometimes wander by night into +cultivated ground, and do terrible damage to the crops. Now and then, +however, a male elephant will live entirely alone. These solitary +animals are always very fierce, and will rush out and attack any one who +may pass by. For this reason they are known as "rogues." + +The Indian elephant is very often tamed, and is taught to perform all +kinds of heavy work, such as dragging timber or piling logs. It is also +used for riding, a howdah with several seats being placed upon its back, +while it is guided by a native driver, called a mahout, who sits upon +its neck and directs its movements by means of a spiked hook. It is +largely employed, too, in hunting the tiger. But for this purpose it has +to be most carefully trained, for elephants are naturally very much +afraid of tigers, and even after a long course of instruction will +sometimes take to flight when the furious animal springs at them with +open jaws and eyes flaming with rage. + +Elephants in India are mostly captured by being driven into a large +keddah, or enclosure of stout posts, from which they are unable to make +their escape. In this way a large herd of the huge animals are often +taken prisoners together. + +Next in size to the elephants are the great creatures known as +rhinoceroses, which are found both in Africa and in Asia. Five different +kinds are known altogether, but we shall only be able to tell you about +two. + + +THE INDIAN RHINOCEROS + +In this animal the hide falls into great folds upon the shoulders and in +front of the thighs, while there are smaller folds upon the neck and the +hind quarters. The sides of the body are marked with a large +number of round projections, sometimes as much as an inch in diameter, +which look very much like the rivets in the iron plates of a boiler. +When fully grown this animal stands rather over five feet in height at +the shoulder. + +The Indian rhinoceros has only one horn, which is generally about a foot +long. This horn, strange to say, is not connected in any way with the +bones of the skull, but is really a growth from the skin, although there +is a bony prominence under it on which it is set. By means of a sharp +knife, it could be cut away without difficulty. But it is a very +formidable weapon, and some of the rhinoceroses with longer horns have +been known to rush at a mounted hunter with lowered head, and then to +strike upward with such terrible force that the horn has actually +pierced the horse's body, and entered the thigh of the rider. Sometimes +a rhinoceros will rush along with its head bent downward so far that the +horn cuts a deep furrow in the ground. + +This animal is chiefly found in the swampy parts of the great +grass-jungles of India. It is very fond of taking a mud-bath, from which +it comes out with its whole body thickly caked with clay. This serves as +a great protection from flies and other insects, which persecute it +terribly, forcing their way under the thick folds of hide at the +shoulders and thighs, where the skin is thinner, and driving it nearly +mad by the irritation of their bites. + +In spite of its great size this rhinoceros is a rather timid animal, and +nearly always runs away when it is attacked. But if it is wounded or +brought to bay it becomes a terrible foe, charging with fury again and +again, and striking savagely with its horn, and sometimes with its tusks +as well. + +The African rhinoceroses are without the folds of skin which are found +in the Indian species, and have two horns on the head instead of one. +Sometimes these horns are of very great length. We have seen a +walking-stick that might serve a very tall man, which was cut from the +core of such a horn. + + +THE COMMON RHINOCEROS + +This is the better known of the two African species, and is found in +almost all the wilder districts from Abyssinia to Cape Colony. It lives +in the thickest parts of the forest, breaking away the bushes and the +lower branches of the trees so as to leave a clear space perhaps fifteen +or twenty feet in diameter. These retreats are called rhinoceros-houses, +and the animals remain in them during the heat of the day. + +The common rhinoceros is wonderfully quick and active for so large and +heavy an animal, and is said to be able to overtake a man riding a fast +horse. But it does not seem, as a rule, to be savage in disposition, and +very seldom attacks a human foe. One great hunter tells us that although +many rhinoceroses have advanced toward him to within twenty or thirty +yards, they always ran away if he threw stones at them, or even if he +waved his arms and shouted. When wounded, however, they will sometimes +attack furiously. But they never think of looking for their enemy in a +tree, and if he can climb on to a bough even three or four feet from the +ground he is perfectly safe. + + +THE HYRAX + +Oddly enough, one of the animals most closely related to the +rhinoceroses is much more like a rabbit, and actually lives in burrows +in the ground. This is the hyrax, or coney, as it is called in the +Bible, which almost anybody would mistake at first sight for a rodent. +Yet when one comes to look at its front teeth he sees at once that +instead of having flat, sharp edges, like a chisel, they are pointed; +and these teeth do not continue to grow all through life, like those of +the rodent animals. And besides this there are several other points in +its bodily structure which show us that it really is a relation of the +rhinoceroses. + +About fourteen different kinds of hyrax are known, some of which are +found in Africa, and the others in Arabia, Syria, and Palestine. They +all live in rocky districts high up on the sides of mountains, a great +number making their burrows close to one another, just as rabbits do in +a warren. They are very active and sure of foot, and scamper up and down +the sides of the rocks with the greatest ease. It is difficult to watch +them, however, for they are so shy that they will not leave +their holes if they think that any one can see them, while they only +come out to feed at night and very early in the morning. Sometimes, it +is true, they will lie out on the rocks during the day, enjoying the hot +sunshine. But one of them is always appointed to act as a sentinel, and +as soon as he notices the slightest sign of danger he gives the alarm, +and then they all disappear into their holes. + +[Illustration: PACHYDERMS AND TAPIR. + + 1. African Elephant. 2. African Rhinoceros. + 3. East African Hippopotamus. 4. Malayan Tapir.] + + +TAPIRS + +Very odd-looking animals are the tapirs, which are found both in Central +and South America, and also in some of the islands of the Malay +Archipelago. They are about as large as donkeys, but look more like very +big pigs. On the neck is a short, stiff, upright mane of black hairs, +and the upper lip is lengthened out into a kind of trunk, something like +that of an elephant, but on a very much smaller scale, and without the +odd finger-like organ at the tip. + +These curious animals live in thick forests near the banks of great +rivers, and come out from their retreats chiefly by night. By constantly +traveling backward and forward they make regular pathways through the +thickets. They swim very well, and are fond of gamboling in the water, +and also of rolling about on the muddy banks. But they are so timid that +it is very difficult to watch them; and it is said that they will run +away in terror from even a tiny dog. + +But if a mother tapir thinks that her little one is in danger she seems +to lose all sense of fear, and will even dash at a man and try to knock +him down. And if she succeeds she will trample upon him and even bite +him, just like the wild swine. + +In America the great enemy of the tapirs is the jaguar, which springs +upon them unexpectedly, and generally succeeds in tearing them to the +ground. But sometimes they manage to escape either by rushing at once +into the very thickest bushes, which sweep away their terrible enemy +from his hold, or else by plunging into the water, when he is obliged to +loose his grip for fear of being drowned. + +The American tapirs are sooty brown in color, but that which is found in +the Malayan Islands is white on the sides and the hinder parts of the +body, while the young animal is spotted and streaked with white all +over. + + +THE HIPPOPOTAMUS + +The hippopotamus, or river-horse, is perhaps the most awkward and +ungainly animal in the world. His huge body almost touches the ground as +he waddles clumsily along, while his short stout legs are set so far +apart that they actually make a double track through the herbage. So you +can easily understand that when a herd of twenty or thirty of these +enormous creatures find their way into a plantation they do terrible +damage, eating a good deal, and trampling down far more than they eat. + +Then what tremendous mouths they have! When they open their jaws wide, +their heads really look as if they were splitting in two right down into +their necks. And they have a most formidable array of tusks and teeth, +arranged in such a manner that they mow down the herbage almost like the +blade of a scythe. + +The hippopotamus is a native of Africa, and is found in great numbers in +many of the rivers and lakes. It spends a great deal of its time in the +water, often sinking its body so low that only its nostrils appear above +the surface. And it can dive for eight or even ten minutes at a time, +without requiring to breathe. When it rises again it generally begins to +blow out the exhausted air from its lungs just before reaching the +surface, whereby a column of spray is forced up into the air, just as it +is by a whale when spouting. + +When a mother hippopotamus has a little one, she generally carries it +about on her back. + +A writer tells us that the first hippopotamus that was ever brought to +the London Zoo was caught when it was quite young, on one of the islands +in the White Nile. As its mother had gone away to feed, the hunter who +found it picked it up in his arms and ran off with it toward the boat. +The skin of these animals, however, is thickly covered with a kind of +natural oil, and the result was that the little creature was so slippery +that it wriggled out of his arms just as he reached the water's edge, +and plunged into the river. But luckily the boat-hook was lying close +by, and with this he struck at the escaping animal, gaffed it as one +does a fish, and succeeded in capturing it again with nothing more than +a wound in its thick skin, which very soon healed. After a great deal of +trouble it was safely brought to England, and lived in the Zoo for +twenty-nine years. + +Another kind of hippopotamus, called the pygmy hippopotamus, is found in +Western Africa. It is a very much smaller animal, being only about as +big as a good-sized pig. + + +SWINE + +Next on our list come the swine, among the most famous of which is the +wild boar. + +Until about the middle of the sixteenth century this animal was +plentiful in the British Isles, and it is still found commonly in the +great forests of Europe. It is one of the fiercest and most savage of +animals, for it does not seem to know what fear is, and will attack over +and over again, even after receiving the most severe wounds. And its +tusks are so sharp and powerful that they have been known to rip up the +body of a horse at a single stroke. When removed from the jaw these +tusks are generally about eight or nine inches long. + +In India, where wild boars are very plentiful, they generally make their +lair among thick bushes in some marshy district, and often do a great +deal of mischief to cultivated crops in the neighborhood. They are fond +of roots, too, which they grub out of the ground with their snouts, and +in hot summers, when the ponds dry up, they are said to dig in the mud +at the bottom in search of the fish which have buried themselves until +the rainy season. The old boars generally live by themselves, like +"rogue" elephants, but the younger ones and the sows go about together +in droves of fifteen or twenty, all of which, most likely, are members +of the same family. + + +THE BABIRUSA + +This is one of the most curious of the swine. It is found in the islands +of Celebes and Borneo. In the boar of this animal the tusks in both jaws +spring upward, and then curve toward the eyes, so that there is a sort +of fringe, as it were, of tusks all round the face. Sometimes the upper +pairs are thirteen or fourteen inches long, without counting the part +that is buried in the jaw. These, however, are not very useful as +weapons. But very severe wounds can be inflicted by the lower tusks, +although they are a good deal smaller, and an enraged babirusa is a most +formidable foe. + +When fully grown, the babirusa stands about three feet six inches in +height in the middle of the back, which is always very much arched. The +color of the skin is dark ashy gray. + + +THE WART-HOG + +The wart-hog, or vlack-vark, which is found in Eastern Africa, is +certainly the ugliest of all the swine. Its head is enormously large in +comparison with its body, the muzzle is very long and broad, under each +eye is a great wart-like lump, with two others a little distance below +it, and on each side of the mouth two great stout tusks spring upward. +Altogether, it would be very hard to imagine a more sullen and +ferocious-looking animal. + +It is not nearly so savage as the babirusa, however, and if it is +attacked it nearly always runs away, and tries to take refuge in some +hole in the ground, such as the deserted burrow of an ant-bear. When it +takes to ground in this way, it always turns round just before entering, +and backs in tail foremost. Sometimes, if two or three men stand just +over the burrow and jump heavily up and down in time together, it can be +induced to bolt. But it is advisable to do so with a good deal of +caution, for the animal has a singular way of turning a kind of back +somersault just as it leaves its burrow, which lands it upon the top, +just where the hunters would most likely be standing. And if they +are not very careful one of them at least is almost sure to receive a +slashing cut from the terrible tusks, which will certainly cause a +severe wound, and may even render him a cripple for life. + +When it is running away from a pursuer, and wishes to see whether it is +gaining upon him, the wart-hog presents a most ridiculous appearance, +for its neck is so short that it cannot turn its head round to look +behind it. So it lifts its snout straight up into the air instead and +looks over its shoulders. Besides this, it always carries its tail +perfectly stiff and upright. + + +PECCARIES + +In South America, and in Mexico and western Texas, the wild swine are +represented by the peccaries, of which there are two different kinds, +the collared peccary and the less common white-lipped peccary. They are +not very large animals, being only about three feet in length, and +weighing not more than fifty or sixty pounds; but they are nevertheless +very dangerous creatures, for three different reasons. + +In the first place, they travel about in packs, sometimes consisting of +thirty or forty animals, which all attack a foe together. In the second +place, although their tusks are not nearly so long as those of the +preceding animals, they are almost as sharp as razors, and can inflict +most terrible wounds. Thirdly, the animals know no fear, and will go on +savagely attacking any enemy, over and over again, until the last of +them is killed. So if a hunter should meet with a herd of peccaries in +the forest, even if he be armed with a gun, his only chance of escape is +to climb into a tree and to stay there till they go away. + +When a herd of peccaries is not very large--consisting, perhaps, of only +ten or twelve individuals--they are very fond of taking up their abode +in the hollow trunk of some fallen tree. In this case they can be very +easily destroyed, for one animal is always placed at the entrance to act +as a sentinel; and if a hunter conceals himself in some convenient place +close by, takes careful aim, and shoots the watching peccary dead upon +the spot, the animal behind him will just push out his carcass and take +his place, to be himself shot in like manner. In this way the whole +herd may be killed one after another. + +Peccaries will eat almost any kind of food, and though they live as a +rule in the thickest parts of the forests, they will often wander to +long distances in order to feed upon the crops in cultivated ground. +There they sometimes do an immense amount of damage, and as they +generally come during the night, and leave again before daybreak, it is +very difficult to trap or shoot them. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +EDENTATES, OR TOOTHLESS MAMMALS + + +The animals which belong to this order are distinguished by having no +front teeth, while some of them have no teeth at all. And in many other +ways they are very curious and interesting creatures. + + +SLOTHS + +The sloths live almost entirely in the trees, scarcely ever descending +to the ground. Not only that, they walk along underneath the branches +instead of upon them, suspending themselves by means of their great +hooked claws. So they actually spend almost the whole of their lives +upside down, with their backs toward the ground! + +Yet they manage to travel along from bough to bough and from tree to +tree with some little speed, and when there is a high wind, so that the +branches are blown together, they will often wander for long distances. +And they never seem to get tired, although even during the night they +still hang suspended, just as they do during the day. + +Sloths are very odd-looking creatures, and if you were to see one of +them hanging from a bough in its native forests you would find it rather +hard to believe that it was really an animal at all. For it looks much +more like a bundle of twigs overgrown with lichens. And the strange +thing is that it really is covered with lichens, which grow upon its +long, coarse hairs just as they do on the twigs of the trees. These give +the fur of the sloth a curious green appearance, which disappears soon +after death, so that one never sees it in a stuffed specimen in a +museum. + +When a sloth is hungry, there is always plenty of food close by, for +it feeds only upon the leaves and fruits and the tender young shoots of +trees. And as there is plenty of moisture in these, it never requires to +drink at all. + +There are two different groups of these singular animals, the first +consisting of those which have three toes on the front feet, and the +other of those which have only two. They are only found in the great +forests of Central and South America. + + +ANT-EATERS + +Equally curious, although in quite a different way, are the ant-eaters, +or ant-bears, as they are sometimes called, the largest of which is the +great ant-eater of tropical America. + +When fully grown this animal is about four feet long, without counting +the tail, while it is about two feet high at the shoulder. And it has +two strange peculiarities. + +In the first place, its head is drawn out into a kind of long, narrow +beak, with the little round nostrils at the very tip. Then its tongue is +very long and worm-like, and is exceedingly sticky, so that when it is +swept to and fro among a number of ants, or other small insects, +hundreds of them adhere to it and are carried into the mouth. This is +the way in which the animal feeds, and if you go to look as the +ant-eater in a zoo you may often see it poke its long tongue down +between the boards at the bottom of its cage and bring up a cockroach +which had vainly been seeking a place of refuge. + +The other peculiarity is the enormous size of the tail, the hair of +which is so long that when it is carried over the back it completely +covers the whole of the body, and makes the animal look just like a +haycock. + +On its front feet the great ant-eater has very strong curved claws, with +which it tears open the nests of the insects on which it feeds. When it +is walking, of course, these claws are rather in its way, and it is +obliged to tread on the sides of its feet instead of on the soles. But +it manages, nevertheless, to shuffle along with some little speed, +although its movements are very far from being graceful. And sometimes +it uses them as weapons, for while it always tries to hug an enemy with +its powerful forearms and squeeze him to death, the claws often enter +his body and inflict a serious or even a fatal wound. + +When a mother ant-eater has a little one to take care of, she always +carries it about on her back, and only allows it to get down just now +and then in order to feed. + +There is another kind of ant-eater called the tamandua, which lives in +the trees and has a prehensile tail, just like that of a spider-monkey. +It is much smaller than the great ant-eater, and has a shorter and +stouter head, while its tail is scarcely as bushy as that of a Persian +cat. In color it is yellowish white, with a broad black patch which runs +from the neck to the hind quarters, and then widens out so as to cover +the whole of the flanks. The tip of the snout is also black. The animal, +like the preceding, is a native of tropical America. + + +THE ARMADILLOS + +These are remarkable for having their bodies almost entirely covered by +a kind of natural armor, which consists of several bony plates growing +in the skin. There are three of these plates altogether, one covering +the head and shoulders, another protecting the back, while the third +clothes the hind quarters. And they are fastened together by means of +bony rings, so that when the animal rolls itself into a ball no gap is +left between them. You know what a millepede or thousand-legs looks like +when it rolls itself up, don't you? Well, imagine a thousand-legs as big +as a football, and you will have a very good idea of an armadillo. + +These animals do not appear to be in the least inconvenienced by their +singular armor, and are able to run with considerable speed. They are +able to dig very well, too, by means of the large and powerful claws +with which their front feet are furnished, and it is said that if a man +on horseback sees an armadillo running by his side, and leaps to the +ground to secure it, he will nearly always find that it has succeeded in +burying itself before he is able to seize it. + +The six-banded armadillo is so called because the horny plate upon its +back is broken up into six separate bands, all of which, +however, are closely linked together by bony rings. Sometimes it is +called the weasel-headed armadillo, because its head is thought to be +rather like that of a weasel. It is about sixteen inches in length, +without including the tail, and is found in Brazil and Paraguay. + +The giant armadillo is very much larger, growing to the length of nearly +a yard from the tip of the snout to the root of the tail. It lives in +Brazil and Surinam, and feeds chiefly on ants and termites. + +One of the most interesting of these creatures is the odd little +pichiciago, which is only about five inches long, and has a pink shield +upon its back, and fur of snowy white. It is found in the western parts +of the Argentine Republic, in open sandy places, but nowhere seems to be +very plentiful. It digs in a most curious manner. First of all, it +scratches away for a minute or two with its front feet, just to loosen +the soil. Then, supporting itself partly on its front feet and partly on +its tail, it uses the hind feet with the most astonishing rapidity, so +that it sinks down into the ground as if by magic. And, strange to say, +it does not leave its burrow open behind it when it has gone in, but +carefully closes the entrance, ramming the earth hard by means of the +bony shield at the end of its body. + + +PANGOLINS + +Among other animals called ant-eaters are the pangolins, which are more +remarkable still. They are called scaly ant-eaters, because their heads, +bodies, and tails are covered with large, pointed oval scales, which +overlap one another very much like the tiles on the roof of a house. +When they are alarmed they coil themselves up into balls, just as most +of the armadillos do, and their muscles are so wonderfully strong that +it is quite impossible to unroll them. + +Seven different kinds of pangolins are known, four of which live in +Africa, and three in Asia. They all feed chiefly upon ants and termites, +which they catch by breaking down the walls of their nests, and licking +up the insects with their long, worm-like tongues as they run about in +confusion. They live either in crevices among rocks, or else in burrows +which they dig for themselves in the ground. Sometimes these burrows are +of very great size, that of the Indian pangolin often running for ten or +twelve feet downward into the ground, and having at the end a +sleeping-chamber at least five or six feet in diameter. + +When a pangolin comes to the edge of an overhanging rock, and wishes to +descend to the ground below, it coils itself up into a ball and then +rolls over, alighting on the edges of its scales just as a hedgehog does +upon its spines. In this way it can drop ten or fifteen feet without +receiving any injury. + +The different species of pangolin vary a good deal in size, but the +largest of them, the giant pangolin, is between four and five feet long +when fully grown, including the tail. + + +THE AARD-VARK + +This name means earth-pig, and has been given to the animal by the Boers +of South Africa, because in general appearance it is rather like a pig. +But then it has ears like those of a hare, and a muzzle and tongue like +those of an ant-eater, while all its feet are furnished with long and +stout claws. So that altogether it is a very odd-looking creature. + +The aard-vark feeds entirely upon termites and ants, and is nearly +always to be found where the nests of those insects are plentiful. It +digs with great rapidity, and is said to be able to burrow into the +ground faster than a man armed with a spade can dig it out. So it has no +difficulty in tearing a hole through the walls of the termites' and +ants' nests, and then it licks out the insects in thousands. + +During the daytime the aard-vark is hardly ever to be seen, for it lies +fast asleep in its burrow, which it seldom leaves till after sunset. +Before digging this burrow, it mostly scoops out quite a number of +half-finished ones, scraping a hole two or three feet in depth, and then +leaving it and beginning on another. Why it does this nobody seems to +know. + +In former days it was thought that the lion and the elephant were in the +habit of hunting the aard-vark together, the elephant flooding its +burrow, by means of a stream of water from his trunk, and the lion +pouncing upon the animal as it ran out. + +When fully grown the aard-vark is rather over six feet in total length, +about one third of which is occupied by the tail. The body is very +heavily and clumsily built, and the back is a good deal arched in the +middle. In color it is yellowish brown, with a tinge of red on the back +and sides, while the lower surface is rather paler. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +THE MARSUPIALS + + +The last order of mammals is a very curious one, for in most of the +animals which belong to it there is a large pouch on the lower part of +the body of the female, in which she carries her little ones about for +several weeks, or even several months, after they are born. That is why +these creatures are called marsupials, for marsupial means pouched. Even +after the little animals are quite able to take care of themselves they +will hurry back to their mother and jump into her pouch in moments of +danger. + +It is quite true that in a good many marsupials this pouch is wanting. +But traces of it are almost always to be found, although sometimes they +are so slight that only a very careful observer would be likely to +notice them. + +In earlier days marsupial animals lived in almost all parts of the +world, for there are very few countries in which their fossil remains +have not been discovered. But now they are almost entirely restricted to +Australia, the only exceptions being the opossums, which are found in +America. + + +KANGAROOS + +The largest, and in some respects the most interesting, of the +marsupials are the kangaroos. In some ways they are rather like gigantic +hares. But their front legs are so much smaller than the hinder ones +that they cannot run on all fours, but travel by means of a series of +leaps, skipping about, in fact, instead of running. And besides this +they have very long and stout tails, which serve to support them when +they are sitting upright, and also help them to balance their bodies +when they are leaping. + +The male kangaroo, which is often known as the "boomer," or as the "old +man," is very much larger than the female, sometimes attaining to a +total length of eight feet six inches, or even nine feet, nearly half +of which is occupied by the tail. But when he is sitting upright he is +nearly as tall as a tall man. The female is about two feet shorter. + +Although it is obliged to hop along instead of running, the kangaroo is +a very swift animal, and can only be run down by fast and powerful dogs. +At every leap it covers about fifteen feet of ground, the distances +between the holes which its great claws make in the ground being as +regular as if they had been marked out with a measuring-tape. + +These huge claws are very formidable weapons, and the kangaroo well +knows how to use them. As a rule it is a very timid animal, and when it +is attacked its first idea is always to seek safety in flight. But if it +is driven to bay it takes up its post with its back against a tree, so +that it cannot be approached from behind, and quietly awaits the +onslaught of its enemies. Then, as soon as one of them comes within +reach, it kicks suddenly out with one of its hind feet, delivering its +stroke with such force that the great sharp claw has been known to rip +up the body of a large dog from end to end, and to stretch the poor +beast dying upon the ground. For this reason hounds which are used in +kangaroo-hunting are made to wear collars of twisted steel chain, to +protect them from the stroke of their quarry. + +Sometimes, too, when a hunted kangaroo finds that it cannot escape +simply by speed, it will wade into a pool or river, wait till the dogs +swim up to it, and then seize them with its fore limbs one after +another, and hold them under water till they are drowned. Although they +are not large, these front limbs are wonderfully strong, and if even a +powerful man were to be embraced by them he would find it very difficult +to make his escape. + +The female kangaroo, however, is not nearly so well able to defend +herself, and sometimes she has been known, when chased by hounds, to lie +down and die simply from fear. But sometimes she escapes by taking a +sudden leap sideways into thick bushes, lying perfectly still until her +pursuers have rushed past her, and then making off in the opposite +direction. + +As the mother kangaroo hops about, the head of her little one, or +"joey," as it is called, may often be seen poking out of her pouch. And +she is so clever that if an enemy should appear when the "joey" is +playing on the ground or feeding, she will snatch it up and put it into +her pouch even while she is hopping away, without pausing for a moment +in her retreat. + +[Illustration: TYPES OF MARSUPIALS + + 1. Australian Sugar Squirrel. 2. American Opossum. + 3. Australian Echidna. 4. Australian Great Kangaroo. + 5. Tasmanian Devil.] + + +A JOYOUS MEETING + +Kangaroos are very affectionate animals, and a touching story is told of +a couple which lived together in captivity. They became the very best of +friends, but when they were sent from Australia to Philadelphia, they +had to travel by different ships. As soon as they were separated, they +became miserable, moping in their cages, refusing to take food, and +calling for each other all day long. "Jack," as the male was called, +reached Philadelphia first, and for a whole week seemed to be constantly +on the watch to see if "Flora," his mate, was coming. At last she +arrived, and both animals at once became madly excited, leaping in their +cages so wildly that at last they were put together, to prevent them +from injuring themselves against the bars. Then they cuddled up against +one another, licked each other with their tongues, and seemed so +overjoyed to meet that the keeper promised that they should never be +parted again. + + +VARIOUS SPECIES OF KANGAROOS + +Kangaroos generally live in droves, sometimes consisting of only a few +animals, sometimes of as many as a hundred and fifty, or even more. But +a "boomer" often lives during the greater part of the year quite alone, +like a "rogue" elephant. + +There are at least twenty-three different kinds of kangaroos, the +smaller ones being generally known as wallabies. And these are again +divided into large wallabies and small wallabies. + +The large wallabies are also called brush-kangaroos because they live in +the thick brushy jungle, called the bush, which occupies so large a part +of the Australian continent. The biggest of them is really quite a large +animal, for when fully grown it is six feet long, from the tip of the +muzzle to the end of the tail. Some of the small wallabies, however, are +very small, several of them being no bigger than rabbits. + +Then there are some of these animals which spend most of their life in +the trees and are called tree-kangaroos. Four of these creatures that +lived for some time in the London Zoo looked very odd as they sat on the +branches with their long tails hanging down behind them. But even when +they were on the floor of their cage one could not possibly mistake them +for ground-kangaroos, for their front limbs were almost as long as their +hind ones. + +The best known of these animals is found in Queensland. It spends the +day in sleep, only coming out from its retreat among the foliage when +darkness has set in, and it lives in the very thickest part of the bush, +which is hardly ever visited even by the natives. It does not seem to be +a very good climber, for it is rather slow in its movements, and appears +to be a little afraid of falling; for it clings so tightly to the branch +on which it is resting that it is difficult to force it to loose its +hold. + +The natives generally catch this curious kangaroo by climbing the tree +in which it is sleeping, jerking it from its perch by a violent pull at +its tail, and throwing it to the ground to be killed by the dogs below. +But if it reaches the ground unhurt it makes off with great speed, +hopping along with flying leaps like all the other members of the family. + + +KANGAROO-RATS + +These animals, often called potoroos, are quite small, even the largest +of them being scarcely as big as a rabbit. They do not jump so well as +the true kangaroos, and generally run on all fours in a kind of gallop. +But when they are at rest they sit upright on their hind quarters. + +One of these animals, known as the brush-tailed bettong, puts its tail +to a most curious use. It makes its nest of grasses and leaves in a +hollow in the ground, and when it is collecting materials for building, +it gathers them up into a bundle, twists the tip of its tail round them, +and then hops swiftly away, holding its little sheaf well away from its +body. It is a most clever little builder, for when it has chosen a +suitable hollow in the ground for its nest, it first of all enlarges it +until it is big enough for its requirements, and then weaves its +materials carefully together until the top of its little home is just on +a level with the herbage growing all round it. And whenever it goes in +or out, it pulls a tuft of grass over the entrance in order to prevent +it from being noticed. So well is the nest concealed, that you might +pass within a few feet and look straight at it without seeing it. + +This animal is also sometimes known as the jerboa-kangaroo. + + +THE SUGAR-SQUIRREL + +Among the Australian mammals we find a good many which are really +very much like those found in other parts of the world, and might +easily be mistaken for them if it were not for the presence of the +marsupial pouch. One of these is the curious sugar-squirrel, or +squirrel-petaurist, which is really very much like the flying squirrels +of Asia and North America. It has the skin of the sides and flanks +developed in just the same manner, and uses it in exactly the same way, +leaping from a lofty bough, spreading its limbs at right angles to its +body so that the skin is stretched out between them, and thus contriving +to skim for long distances through the air. And the big, bushy tail +serves partly to help it in keeping its balance, and partly to enable it +to keep a straight course. + +During the daytime sugar-squirrels are nearly always asleep in a hollow +tree, or in some other convenient retreat. But as soon as it grows dark +they all come out from their hiding-places and begin to frisk about, and +to leap from tree to tree, with the utmost activity. After a time they +will stop, in order to search for insects, or to feast upon the honey +which they find in the blossoms of the trees. But very shortly they +recommence their gambols, and so they go on, alternately playing and +feeding, till the dawn. + +The sugar-squirrel is a very pretty little creature, the fur being +brownish gray above, with a black stripe along the back, and a rich +brown edging to the umbrella-like skin of the sides. The lower parts +of the body are nearly white, and the tail is brown above and white +beneath. In length it is about nineteen or twenty inches, rather more +than half of which is occupied by the tail. + + +AUSTRALIAN BEAR + +There is an animal, much like a small bear, that is often known as the +Australian bear, although its proper name is the koala. When fully grown +it is about as big as a poodle. It has a stoutly built body, very short +legs, large and almost square ears, with a fringe of stiff hairs round +the edges, and no visible tail, while the fur is very thick and woolly. +In color it is ashy gray above and yellowish white under the body. + +The koala spends most of its life in the trees. Yet it is not a very +good climber, for its movements are curiously slow, and it always seems +to feel in danger of falling. On the ground it is slower and more +awkward still, for its feet are much more suited for grasping a branch +than for use upon a level surface. But it does not often come down from +the trees unless it wishes to drink, or to vary its diet of leaves and +buds by digging for roots. + +When a mother koala has a little one to take care of, she always carries +it about on her back, and even when it is nearly half as big as she is +it may sometimes be seen riding pickaback. + +The koala is a very gentle animal, and even when it is captured it +seldom attempts to scratch or bite. But sometimes it gets in a great +passion over nothing at all, and shows its teeth and yells and screams +in such a threatening manner that any one who did not know how harmless +it really is would most likely be afraid of it. + +Owing to the fact that it spends so much of its life in the trees, this +animal is sometimes called the Australian monkey; and it is curious to +find that it has pouches in its cheek in which it can store away food, +just as many of the true monkeys have. + + +THE WOMBAT + +The wombat might easily be mistaken for a rodent, for its front teeth +are formed almost exactly like those of the rabbit and the rat. But as +it possesses a marsupial pouch, there can be no doubt of the order it +really belongs to. It is not at all a handsome animal. In fact, it is +fat, awkward, clumsy, and heavy--something like a much overgrown +guinea-pig--and it seems to spend its whole life in eating and sleeping. +It can dig very well, however, and makes deep burrows in the ground, +with a large sleeping-chamber at the end. If in captivity, it will often +make its escape by digging its way out under the walls. + +When fully grown the wombat is about three feet in length, and its legs +are so short that its body almost touches the ground as it waddles +awkwardly along. Like the koala, it is very gentle in disposition, and +hardly even struggles when it is captured, although it is subject to +sudden fits of passion. If it is kept as a pet, it soon becomes very +affectionate, and likes to go to sleep on its owner's knees, like a cat. + +In color this animal is dark grayish brown. It is found in New South +Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. + + +THE BANDICOOTS + +There are about a dozen different kinds of these very odd-looking +animals. Perhaps we can best describe them by saying that if you can +imagine a rat with a snout drawn out like that of a shrew, very large +ears, three very long toes with still longer claws on each foot, +together with two toes with no claws at all, and a rather short, hairy +tail--then that is what a bandicoot looks like. + +Owing to the very odd way in which their feet are formed, bandicoots +cannot run like other animals, but travel along by means of a curious +mixture of running and jumping. They are common in most parts of +Australia--so common, in fact, that they are generally regarded as a +great nuisance. For they do a terrible amount of mischief both in +gardens and in cultivated fields, feeding both upon grain and fruits, as +well as upon the roots and bulbs which they scratch up out of the +ground. During the daytime they are hardly ever seen, for they hide away +in holes in the ground, or in hollow trees, and remain fast asleep till +after sunset. Some of them, however, make nests of dry leaves and +grasses which are so cleverly concealed among the herbage that it is +very difficult to find them. + + +THE TASMANIAN WOLF + +There are certain marsupial animals which look as though they belonged +to the dog and cat tribes. They are called dasyures, and are beasts of +prey. One of these is the Tasmanian wolf, or thylacine, as it is often +called, which is so wolf-like both in appearance and habits that it +fully deserves its name. But you can tell it from the true wolves at a +glance by the dark, zebra-like stripes upon its back, and also by its +long slender tail, which tapers down almost to a point. It is also known +as the zebra-wolf and the tiger-wolf. + +The Tasmanian wolf used to be very common indeed, for it was the most +powerful of all the Tasmanian animals, so that it had no natural foes, +while it was very seldom killed by the natives. But when white settlers +came to live in the country they found that it killed so many of their +sheep that it was necessary for them to do all that they could to +destroy it. So numbers of Tasmanian wolves were shot, and numbers more +were caught in traps, and by degrees the animal was driven back, until +now it is only found in wild and rocky districts among the mountains, +which are scarcely ever trodden by the foot of man. + +There are very few of the Australian animals which do not fall victims +to this fierce and savage creature. Even kangaroos are killed by it at +times. And it has been known to destroy and devour the echidna, which is +something like a small porcupine. But besides feeding upon living prey, +it will feed heartily upon any carrion that it may find, and will also +prowl about on the sea-shore in search of the various dead animals which +are flung up by the waves. + +The Tasmanian wolf is a nocturnal animal, remaining hidden all day long +in some deep recess among the rocks, into which no ray of sunshine can +ever penetrate. It does not like the daylight at all, and seems most +uneasy if it is brought out from its retreat. And, strange to say, it +has a kind of inner eyelid, which it draws across its eyes every moment +or two in order to keep out the light as much as possible. + + +THE TASMANIAN DEVIL + +Just as the Tasmanian wolf is like a dog, so the Tasmanian devil is like +a small bear--and a very wild, fierce, savage bear, too. Its name has +been given to it on account of its disposition, and there is perhaps no +animal which it is so difficult to tame. No matter how kindly it is +treated, it is always sullen and always ferocious. It will fly at the +very hand that gives it food. If you merely look at it as it lies in its +cage, it will dash furiously at the bars with its teeth bared, uttering +yells and screams of passion. You cannot help feeling that it would tear +you to pieces if only it had the chance. And its teeth are so sharp and +its jaws are so powerful, that there are very few dogs which could +overcome it in fair fight. + +The Tasmanian devil has its eyes protected just as the Tasmanian wolf +has, and like that animal it is seldom seen abroad by day. It is +extremely mischievous, for night after night it will visit the +hen-roosts and the sheepfolds, not only preying upon the poultry and the +young lambs, but seeming to kill for the very sake of killing. So it has +been almost as greatly persecuted as the Tasmanian wolf, and has +altogether disappeared from many districts where it used to be +plentiful, while in many others it is very seldom found. + +In size the Tasmanian devil is about as big as a badger, and in color it +is dull sooty black, with a white collar-like streak on the lower part +of the throat. + +Then the larger dasyures may be compared to cats, to which they are just +about equal in size. In Tasmania, indeed, they are called wild cats. +They live in trees, sleeping in hollows in the trunks during the day, +and prowling about in search of prey by night. And they are almost as +mischievous in poultry yards as the Tasmanian devil. But then, on the +other hand, they will learn to catch rats and mice if they are tamed and +trained, just as a cat will. + +There are several different kinds of these animals, but they all agree +in having grayish or grayish-brown fur, with a number of white spots on +the sides of the body. + + +POUCHED MICE + +Very pretty and graceful little creatures are these. There are a good +many different kinds of them. They are all small, the largest of them +being no bigger than a half-grown rat, while some of them are not equal +in size even to an ordinary mouse. And as they breed very freely, and +have quite a number of little ones at every birth, they are among the +most plentiful of all the Australian mammals. + +Pouched mice always spend much of their time in the trees, where they +seem quite as contented as they do on the ground. They run up and down +the trunk with the greatest activity, scamper along the branches, leap +from one bough to another, and never seem to miss their footing. And +they are continually poking their sharp little muzzles into the cracks +and crevices of the bark in order to search for tiny insects and +spiders. Their habits are not very much like those of mice, and one +cannot help thinking that they ought to be called pouched shrews. + + +THE MYRMECOBIUS, OR BANDED ANT-EATER + +This marsupial ant-eater is found in Southern and Western Australia. It +is a prettily marked little animal of about the same size as a squirrel, +with a pointed snout, a long slender body, and a rather long and bushy +tail. In color it is dark chestnut brown above and white below, while a +number of white stripes run across the hinder part of the back and +loins, beginning just behind the shoulders, and ending a little above +the root of the tail. + +The myrmecobius lives principally on the ground. But it is a very good +climber nevertheless, and can ascend trees and run about on the branches +with considerable activity. It feeds on ants and termites, catching them +by means of its long and worm-like tongue, which is so sticky that the +insects adhere to it as soon as they are touched. The marsupial pouch is +almost entirely wanting, so that one might almost be led to +suppose that the animal must be a true ant-eater. But then the +ant-eaters have no teeth at all, while the myrmecobius has no less than +fifty-two, or more than any other mammal with the exception of one or +two members of the whale tribe and the armadillo. + +This curious and pretty little animal is very gentle in disposition, and +never seems to bite or scratch even if it is taken prisoner. It makes +its home either in the decaying trunk of a fallen tree, or else in a +hole in the ground. + + +THE POUCHED MOLE + +This, one of the most curious of all the marsupial animals, was quite +unknown until a recent time. In size and shape it is very much like the +common mole, and it has its fore paws armed with enormous claws for +digging in just the same manner. In color it is pale yellow. It has no +outward ears, and its eyes are so tiny, and so deeply buried in the +skin, that it must be almost, if not quite, unable to see with them. And +in front of its snout is an odd kind of shield made of thick, horny +skin, which is evidently intended to protect the face as the animal +forces its way through the ground. + +This singular creature lives in sandy districts in the deserts of South +Australia. It appears to burrow through the soil for a few feet, then to +come to the surface and crawl for a little distance, and then to burrow +again. And as it creeps over the sand it leaves three tracks behind it, +one being made by the feet on either side, and the third by the stiff +and stumpy little tail, which appears to be pressed down upon the +ground. These tracks, of course, can only be seen after rain, for in dry +weather the sand very soon falls in upon them, and fills them up. + + +OPOSSUMS + +The next group of the marsupial animals is found, not in Australia, but +in America. + +There are several different kinds of opossums, most of which live in the +trees. They are excellent climbers, for they not only have their +hind feet made more like hands, with a thumb-like great toe which +enables them to grasp the branches, but are also the possessors of long +prehensile tails, like those of the spider-monkeys. So powerful is the +tail of an opossum that it can bear the entire weight of the body as the +animal swings from a branch to pluck fruit which would otherwise be out +of its reach. + +But opossums do not feed upon fruit alone. Indeed, there are very few +things which they will not eat. They are very fond of maize, or Indian +corn, for example, obtaining it sometimes by climbing up the stems of +the plants, and sometimes by cutting them down close to the ground. +Nuts, too, they devour in great quantities, together with acorns and +berries. Sometimes they dig up roots out of the ground. Then they will +search for birds' nests, and carry off the eggs or the unfledged little +ones. They will pounce upon a rabbit, too, or a young squirrel, and do +not disdain mice, or lizards, or frogs, or even insects. And the farmer +has very good cause for disliking them, for they not only get into his +fields and steal his grain, but find their way into his hen-roosts and +carry off the eggs and the young chickens. + +But then they are very easily caught, for they are attracted by any kind +of bait, and will walk into the simplest of traps. Yet in some ways they +are exceedingly cunning. If they are caught, for example, and are +injured in even the slightest degree, they will pretend to be dead, and +will allow themselves to be pulled about, or kicked, or beaten, without +showing any sign of life. Then the moment they think that no one is +looking at them they will rise to their feet and quietly slink away. +From this we get the proverb "playing possum." + +During the daytime the opossum is usually fast asleep in its nest, which +is sometimes made by itself, and sometimes is the deserted home of a +squirrel. So it has to be hunted by night. + +A moonlight night is always chosen for this purpose, and the animal is +first of all driven into a tree by dogs. One of the hunters then climbs +the tree and shakes it down from the branch to which it is clinging, and +the moment it reaches the ground it is pounced upon and destroyed by the +dogs. + +The opossum runs in a very curious manner, moving both limbs of the same +side together. + +When the little opossums are born, they are not only blind, like puppies +and kittens, but are quite deaf as well, and do not get their sight and +hearing for some little time. They remain hidden all of their infancy in +the mother's pouch, staying there five or six weeks, and afterward +riding about on her back. + +The common opossum is about as big as a cat. But it looks much more like +a very big rat, for its tail is long and scaly. It is found in North +America. In South America there is a different species, called the +crab-eating opossum, because it is so fond of the crabs and crayfishes +which abound in the salt creeks and the great swamps of Brazil. Then +Merian's opossum, in which the marsupial pouch is not developed, has a +most curious way of carrying its young about, for the little ones stand +in a row on their mother's back, with their tiny tails coiled tightly +round hers, to prevent them from falling off. And the yapock opossum +spends most of its life in the water, and lives upon fish, being such an +excellent swimmer that it is able easily to overtake them. + +Last of all, we come to two most extraordinary animals, which differ +from all other mammals in the fact that they lay eggs, while in some +parts of their skeletons they closely resemble the reptiles. + + +THE ECHIDNA + +The first of these creatures is called the echidna, and is also known as +the spiny ant-eater. It is from fifteen to nineteen inches in length, +and has the whole upper surface of the head and body covered with a +mixture of stiff hairs and short sharp spines, something like those of a +hedgehog. The head is drawn out into a very long, slender, beak-like +snout, at the tip of which the nostrils are placed, and the tongue is +long and worm-like and very sticky, just as it is in the true +ant-eaters. The feet are furnished with enormous claws, which are used +in tearing open the nests of the insects upon which the animal feeds, +and those of the hind feet, strange to say, are turned backward in +walking, so that they point toward the tail instead of the head. + +These claws are also used in digging, and can be used with such effect +that if the animal is surprised when on sandy soil it sinks into the +ground as if by magic. But if the ground is so hard that it +cannot use its claws, it rolls itself up like a hedgehog, and trusts to +its spiny coat for protection. + +The common echidna is found in Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea. +Besides this there is another species, called the three-toed echidna, +which is found in New Guinea only. + + +THE DUCKBILL + +Even more curious still is the duckbill, or duck-billed platypus, which +not only lays eggs like a bird, but resembles a bird in several other +ways as well. + +It has a bill, for example, just like that of a duck--broad and flat, +with a number of grooves round the edges. And it feeds by taking a +beakful of mud from the bottom of a pond or ditch, squirting out the mud +itself through the grooves, and then swallowing the grubs and other +small creatures which are left behind. + +Then its feet are like those of a duck, the toes being joined together +by webbing, so that they can be used as paddles. And even the tail is +rather like that of a duck, for it is very broad and flat, so that it +can serve as a rudder when the animal is swimming. + +This remarkable creature is found in Southern and Eastern Australia, and +also in Tasmania. It is not at all uncommon, but is seldom seen, for it +spends most of its time in the water, or else in its burrow, which is +always made in the bank of a pool or stream. This burrow is generally a +long one, running to a distance of forty or even fifty feet, and +terminates in a large chamber, which is used as a nursery. And it always +has two entrances, one below the surface of the water and one above, so +that if the animal is alarmed in any way it can run in by one door and +out again by the other. + +Two eggs are laid by this most curious creature. They measure about +three-quarters of an inch in length, and are enclosed in a tough white +shell. How they are hatched nobody seems quite to know; but when the +little ones first make their appearance they are quite blind and quite +naked, and have hardly any beaks at all. + +When fully grown the duckbill is about eighteen inches long from the end +of the snout to the tip of the tail. + + + + +BIRDS + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +BIRDS OF PREY + + +We have now first to think of the great class of the birds, which are +distinguished from all other living creatures by having their bodies +covered with feathers. + +These feathers serve a double purpose. + +[Illustration: TYPICAL BIRDS OF PREY. + + 1. Red-tailed Buzzard. 2. Sparrow-hawk. + 3. Golden Eagle. 4. Great Horned Owl.] + +In the first place, they help to preserve the warmth of the body. Birds +are hot-blooded animals--indeed, their blood is a good deal warmer than +ours--and they often have to fly very fast through very cold air. So, +you see, it is most important that they should be clothed with some sort +of covering which is very warm and at the same time light. And nothing +is warmer, and at the same time lighter, than a coat of feathers. + +And then, in the second place, many of these feathers are most useful in +flight. Without them, indeed, a bird could not fly at all. If we want to +keep a tame bird from escaping, we have only to clip its wings, and then +it can no longer raise itself into the air. But it is not only the +feathers of the wings that are used in flight; those of the tail are +employed as well, for they assist in flight, especially in checking +speed, and serve as a rudder, enabling the bird to steer its way through +the air. + +Now birds are divided into orders and tribes and families, just as the +mammals are. But scientific men are not quite sure which of the orders +ought to be placed first. Among the birds of prey, however, we find some +of the largest and finest and most powerful of all the feathered race; +so that we cannot do better than place these at the head of our list. + +You can always tell a bird of prey by two points in its structure. The +first we find in its beak, which is always very large and +strong, and very sharply hooked. And the second we find in its talons, +which are specially made for seizing and killing the animals upon which +it feeds. Some persons think that an eagle or a hawk kills its victims +with its beak, but that is a great mistake, for the beak is only used +for tearing the flesh from off its bones after it is dead. The real +weapons are the talons, which are so sharp and so strong that they can +be pressed deeply into the vitals of a captured animal and kill it at +once. All the birds of prey, therefore, have very powerful legs and +large feet and claws. + + +VULTURES--SYMBOLS OF RAPACITY + +First among the birds of prey come the vultures. Yet very often, strange +to say, they never kill any prey at all, and the best naturalists +suspect that they should be placed in a class by themselves. They much +prefer to feed on carrion, so that if they can find the dead body of an +animal they will never take the trouble to seek and kill victims for +themselves. When an animal dies in a country in which vultures live, +several of these birds are sure to find its carcass almost immediately. +And in a very short time nothing will be left of it but just the bare +skeleton. + +So, you see, these birds are really very useful. They belong to the +great army of nature's dustmen, just like the jackals and the hyenas. +For by destroying these carcasses before they can putrefy, they help to +keep the air pure. In the cities of the Southern United States and of +the tropics our small American vulture, the turkey-buzzard, is really +depended upon as a scavenger. + +How vultures find the dead body of an animal is just a little doubtful. +Some naturalists have thought that they find it by means of sight, and +others that they do so by means of smell. It seems almost certain, +however, that when they are hovering high in the air they are really +watching one another; so that when one of them sees a carcass and swoops +down upon it, all the other vultures within sight notice what he is +doing, and come hurrying up for a share in the banquet. This explains +how it is that if an animal is killed when not a vulture is to +be seen, quite a number of these great, strong, ravenous birds will make +their appearance in a very short time. + + +THE LAMMERGEIER + +This is the finest of all the vultures. It is found in Southern Europe, +in Northern Africa, and in Western Asia, and is sometimes as much as +four feet in length from the tip of the beak to the end of the tail, +while its wings may measure more than ten feet across when fully spread. +It is one of the very few vultures which have the head and neck clothed +with feathers. Besides this, a curious tuft of bristle-like hairs covers +the nostrils, while a similar tuft grows just under the base of the +bill. For this reason the bird is sometimes known as the bearded +vulture. + +Lammergeiers are generally found among high mountains, where they prey +upon hares and marmots, and even upon rats and mice. They will visit the +flocks, too, which are feeding upon the grassy slopes, and carry off +kids and lambs. Chamois, when formerly they were more plentiful than +now, used to be attacked by them, and their favorite plan was to swoop +down upon them when they were standing on the brink of a precipice, +strike them over into the depths below by a stroke of their powerful +wings, and then descend to feed upon their mangled bodies. + +The plumage of the lammergeier is grayish brown above and nearly white +below. The feathers of the neck are white, and there is also a pale +streak running down the middle of those upon the back. + +The lammergeier makes a great clumsy nest of sticks, which is sometimes +placed on a ledge of a lofty cliff, and sometimes in the topmost +branches of a very tall tree. Two eggs are laid, which are dirty white +in color, with brownish blotches. + + +THE CONDOR + +The condor is another very large vulture, inhabiting the great mountain +chain of the Andes. There it may be seen soaring high in air, +its keen eyes intently scanning the ground beneath it; and it may fly to +and fro for hours, rising and falling and sweeping round in great +circles, and yet never once flap its wings! + +Condors live for the most part on llamas which have died a natural +death, or which have been killed by pumas and only partly devoured; but +two or three of them will unite together, when they are hungry, in order +to kill sheep or cattle. + +In color the condor is grayish black, with a ruff of white feathers +round the lower part of the neck. On the head of the male is a large +fleshy wattle. It makes no nest at all, but simply lays its two white +eggs on a rocky ledge high up on the mountainside. + +A variety of the condor inhabited Mexico and southern California until +recent years, but has now become almost or quite extinct. It differed +little from that of the Andes in either appearance or habits. + + +THE SECRETARY-VULTURE + +The African secretary-vulture was formerly regarded as a kind of crane, +on account of its long stilt-like legs, and owes its name to the curious +tuft of very long feathers at the back of its head, which cause it to +look rather as though it were carrying a number of quill pens behind its +ears. The two middle feathers of the tail, also, are exceedingly long, +so that when the bird is standing upright their tips almost rest upon +the ground. + +The secretary-bird spends its time on the ground, where it wanders over +the plains in pairs, and feeds upon small mammals, lizards, tortoises, +frogs, and locusts. It is also said to kill and devour even large +snakes, but whether it really does so is not quite certain. + + +EAGLES--SYMBOLS OF POWER + +Next to the vultures come the eagles, of which two examples may be +mentioned--the white-headed, or bald eagle and the golden eagle, or +war-eagle as the Indians called it. Both are known in various local +varieties in all parts of the world, and both have been regarded +with admiration by brave men in all ages. The bald eagle is the symbol +of the United States; and its cousin, the white-tailed, is to be seen +along all the coasts of the Old World except the arctic. The American +eagle frequents the shores of both oceans, and of our great lakes and +rivers, because its favorite food is fish, which it obtains mainly by +robbing the industrious fish-hawks. + +Of a nobler character, according to our human ideas, is the golden +eagle, and it is also larger, the female--which, in birds of prey, +usually exceeds her mate in size--sometimes measuring nearly three feet +in length and eight or nine feet across her outspread wings. This +magnificent bird may still frequently be seen in the remoter and more +mountainous parts of both continents, but in America is extremely rare +east of the Rocky Mountains and Lake Superior, and in Europe west of the +Swiss and German Alps. This was the eagle which by its bold mien so +impressed the early conquerors of Italy that they chose it to represent +them on their coins and standards, so that it came to be known +throughout a subject world as the Roman Eagle; and its image has +descended to the arms of Italy, Austria, Germany, Russia, and other +nations. + +The aerie, or nesting-place, of these grand birds is much the same in +both kinds--a rude heap of sticks sufficiently hollowed on the summit to +hold the brown-blotched eggs, and placed upon a ledge of rocks, or +perhaps in the top of some huge tree. It may serve the purpose of a home +for many years in succession. Eagles have been recorded on both sides of +the Atlantic as using the same aerie for nearly a century without +interruption; and in such cases the structure often becomes of +prodigious size. A nest found in Scotland was nine feet high, five feet +across at the top, and twenty feet in width at the bottom; so that it +was really as big as a good-sized haystack! + +Round this nest were the bones of between forty and fifty grouse, +besides those of a number of lambs, rabbits, and hares, which had been +brought there by the parent birds for the use of the young. + +Very often a ledge close to the aerie is used as a larder, where the old +birds put their victims as soon as they are caught, and leave +them until they are wanted. When they are hunting the two birds +generally work together, one dashing in among bushes and low herbage, +among which hares, partridges, or other animals are likely to be hiding, +and the other lying in wait to pounce upon them as they rush out in +alarm. + + +THE OSPREY AND OTHER HAWKS + +Not quite as big as the eagles, the fish-hawk, or osprey, is +nevertheless a large bird, for it measures nearly two feet in length and +between five and six feet in spread of wing. It is found in nearly all +parts of the world where civilization is not too destructive of its +privileges, and is numerous on all our great lakes and rivers as well as +by the coast. + +The osprey feeds almost entirely upon fish, and may be seen sweeping to +and fro over the water, keenly watching for its victims as they rise to +the surface. When it catches sight of a fish it swoops down upon it, +plunges into the water with a great splashing, and nearly always rises +again a moment or two later with the fish struggling in its talons. But +it does not always succeed in reaching the shore with it, for the +white-headed eagle is also very fond of fish, though it does not like +the trouble of catching them. So it lies in wait for the fish-hawk as it +returns from a fishing expedition, and beats it about the head with its +great wings until it is glad to drop its victim in order to escape, when +the eagle swoops down and catches the morsel before it reaches the +ground. + +These great birds may still be seen all along our coasts and beside our +lakes, where they live usually unmolested, although most other hawks are +likely to be shot at by every wandering man and boy with a gun. This +safety is due not only to the belief that they do no particular harm, +but to a feeling, especially along the eastern sea-coast, that it is a +lucky thing to have a pair build their nest near the home of a +fisherman, to whom they are thought to bring good fortune. This nest is +a big structure of sticks which is placed among the branches of a tree +near the water--preferably a tall tree, but sometimes, when these are +not handy, in a low one. Thus at the eastern end of Long Island, +New York, where the ospreys have been protected for many years, their +nests often rest on a small cedar or other tree close to the ground; and +in some places on the coast of New England men have erected little +platforms on the top of poles where the ospreys have made their homes. +All these nests are repaired and occupied year after year, and thus +sometimes grow to be of immense size. + + +FAMILIAR FALCONS AND HAWKS + +If one were to try to describe even half of the great number of +different kinds of falcons and hawks in the world, or even in America, +this book would not be large enough for the purpose. Among those most +often seen in this country are two large, softly plumaged, brown hawks, +with square, barred tails, of the group called buzzards. One is the +red-tailed, another the red-shouldered, and a third the broad-winged, +the several names denoting the specially noticeable features in each +case. All make their homes in the woods, constructing big nests in +trees, and early in the spring laying brown-blotched eggs. These hawks +fly heavily over the fields in search of frogs, small snakes, field-mice +(of which they catch great numbers), and once in a while seize a young +bird which cannot yet fly very well; but mostly they live on mice and +insects. The country people call all of them hen-hawks, and are likely +to shoot them when they can; but in truth they harm the poultry-yard +very little. + +The really dangerous "hen-hawks" are two or three much smaller and more +active falcons, such as the Cooper's and sharp-shinned hawks. They are +swift and fierce, and will dart down and snatch a bird from its perch or +pick up a small chicken with amazing suddenness and speed. These hawks +are sometimes called kestrels, after a well-known European falcon which +they resemble. + + +KESTRELS AND OTHER CHICKEN-HAWKS + +You may often see one or the other of these hovering high in the air, as +do the English kestrels, about three or four hundred feet from +the ground, and carefully watching for the mice upon which after all +they mainly feed. It has eyes like telescopes, so that as soon as a +mouse pokes its head out of its burrow it catches sight of it, swoops +down upon it, seizes it in its talons, and carries it off to be +devoured. The number of mice which it catches in this way is very large, +and it has been estimated that at least ten thousand of these +destructive little creatures are killed by every kestrel in the course +of every year. So we must look upon the bird as one of the best friends +of the farmer, in spite of the occasional loss of a chicken. + +When it cannot find any mice the kestrel will sometimes eat small birds, +and now and then it will feed upon cockchafers and other large insects, +catching them in its claws as they fly, and then passing them up to its +beak. + +Kestrels sometimes build in trees and sometimes in towers and old +buildings. But very often they make use of the deserted nest of a magpie +or a crow. From four to six eggs are laid, which are blotched with +reddish brown on a bluish-white ground. + +Two near relatives, inhabiting both the old and the new worlds, are the +pigeon-hawk and sparrow-hawk. They are much alike, and their plumage is +more varied in color and pattern than that of other falcons. Both are +rather shy, and not often seen in the open; but are so courageous that +they will sometimes attack large birds, like ducks or grouse. The +handsome sparrow-hawk is best known. It will often dash into a flock of +sparrows and carry one of them off in its talons. It will sometimes +swoop down into a farmyard, too, and snatch up a chicken or a duckling, +while numbers of young pheasants and partridges fall victims to its +ravages. In days of old it was sometimes captured and trained for +hawking, like the merlin and the falcon, and it is said that a single +tame sparrow-hawk would sometimes kill as many as seventy or eighty +quail in a single day. + +In Europe sparrow-hawks seldom take the trouble to build a nest of their +own, but nearly always make use of the deserted abode of a crow or +magpie, in which they lay three or four grayish-white eggs marked with a +number of dark-brown spots and blotches; but the American hawks +of this group make their homes in crannies in hollow trees, stuffing the +hole with a warm bed of grass and feathers. + + +OWLS, THE TERROR OF THE NIGHT + +Next in order come those very singular birds which we call owls, and +which are really hawks that fly by night. + +The eyes of these birds are very much like those of cats, being formed +in such a way as to take in even the faintest rays of light. Owing to +this fact owls can see on very dark nights, and can fly with as much +certainty and catch their prey with as much ease as other birds can in +the daylight. Moreover the prominence of their eyes, in the middle of +the great feathery disks, enables them to see in almost every direction +without turning the head. + +This is very important, for wild animals are always alarmed by motion, +while they hardly ever notice creatures which keep perfectly still. If +you sit or stand for a while without moving even a finger, rabbits and +squirrels will often come quite close to you, and never seem to see you +at all. But at your very first movement they will take fright and +scamper away. So if an owl had to be constantly turning its head from +side to side in order to look for prey, its victims would certainly see +it, and would make good their escape. But as its eyes are set in the +middle of those great feathery circles, and turn easily in their +sockets, there is no need for it to do so, for it can look out in almost +every direction without moving its head in the least. + +There are a good many different kinds of owls, several of which are +found in both continents. There is the long-eared owl, for instance, +which has two rather long feathery tufts upon its head; and there is the +short-eared owl, which has short ones. As a rule, these tufts lie flat +upon the head. But when the bird is excited they stand upright, and give +it a very odd appearance. Then there is the brown owl, which utters that +mournful hooting sound which one so often hears by night in wooded +districts. + +Very often as one is walking along a country lane in the evening one of +these birds sweeps suddenly by and disappears into the darkness. +It is busy searching for mice, and the number which it catches must be +very great. For it has been found that when a pair of these birds have +little ones, they bring a mouse to them about once in every quarter of +an hour all through the night! And, besides that, their own appetites +have to be satisfied; and owls seem always to be hungry. + +One day the late Lord Lilford, one of the foremost British +ornithologists of his time, tried to see how many mice a barn-owl really +could swallow. So he caught one of these birds and put it in a cage, and +gave it seven mice one after the other. Six of these it gulped down +without any hesitation; but though it tried hard to swallow the seventh +it could not quite manage to do so, and for about twenty minutes the +tail of the mouse was dangling from a corner of its beak. At last, +however, the tail disappeared; and three hours later the owl was +actually hungry again, and ate four more mice! + +None of the owls ever digest the bones and feathers or hair of their +prey; but these materials get packed into balls in the stomach, and +after a time are coughed up and thrown away. Very often large quantities +of these "pellets" are found in hollow trees in which owls have been +roosting, more than a bushel having been taken from a single tree, and +by examining them one may learn the character of the bird's daily fare. +The birds do not make a nest, but lay their eggs on a heap of these +pellets instead; and they have an odd way of laying them at intervals, +so that sometimes half-fledged little ones, newly hatched little ones, +and freshly laid eggs may all be found together. + +When the young owls are waiting for their parents to return with a +mouse, they always get very much excited and make most odd noises, +something like loud hisses followed by loud snores. And when at last one +of the old birds returns with a mouse in its talons the outcry grows +louder than ever. + +One of the oddest members of the family is the burrowing owl, or +coquimbo, as the South American form is known. This inhabits only the +open plains of Western North America and Southern South America, and as +it can find no trees or rocky niches in which to nest, it scratches out +shallow burrows in little banks of earth, or takes possession of +the deserted burrows of some digging animal. It is therefore a constant +citizen of the "towns" of the prairie-dogs of the North and viscachas of +the South, where numbers of burrowing owls may sometimes be seen, some +hunting about for beetles and grasshoppers, on which they chiefly feed, +and others sitting at the entrances of the burrows and surveying the +surrounding country. They are not at all timid, and if a man approaches +them they will remain where they are until he is quite close, bobbing up +and down from time to time as though they were politely bowing to him. +If he continues to walk toward them they will rise into the air, fly two +or three times round his head, screaming loudly as they do so, and then +settle down on another mound a few yards away and bow to him again. But +if he walks round them instead they will turn their heads to look after +him, without moving their bodies, until one would almost think that they +would twist them off altogether. + +When neither prairie-dogs nor viscachas live in the neighborhood, these +queer little owls will sometimes take up their quarters in the burrow of +a wolf, a fox, or a badger. They make a very rough nest of grass and +feathers, in which they lay from six to eleven white eggs. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +CUCKOOS, NIGHTJARS, HUMMING-BIRDS, WOODPECKERS, AND TOUCANS + + +In Europe the cuckoo is one of the most familiar and well-known birds, +and every one recognizes its note, and regards it as a sure sign that +summer is near. The bird usually reaches England about the second week +in April, and very soon after that time the cock bird may be heard +uttering his cry, which is one of the most familiar sounds of the +country, until two months later. Then the bird's voice breaks, and after +crying "cuck-cuck-cuck-oo" for a few days, instead of the simple +"cuckoo," he becomes quite dumb, and is quite unable to utter his note +again until the following spring. + +This cuckoo is famous for its singular habit of placing its egg in the +nest of some other bird, instead of making a nest of its own. The hen +bird seems, first of all, to lay her egg on the ground; then, picking it +up in her beak, she flies off to look for a suitable nest in which to +put it. Having found one, she waits her opportunity, when the occupant +is absent, and then slips in the egg and flies away. The owner of the +nest, strange to say, hardly ever seems to notice when she comes back +that there is a strange egg among her own, although very often it is not +in the least like them in color and markings. So before very long a +young cuckoo is hatched out, together with her own little ones. Then on +the very day of its birth the cuckoo seems to make up its mind that +before long there will be no room in the nest for any one but itself, +and actually pushes all its little foster brothers and sisters over the +side, one after the other! And, strange to say, the mother bird does not +seem to mind, but just gives all the food which her own young would have +eaten to the cuckoo, and takes the greatest care of it in every way +until it is able to fly. + +The cuckoo family is a large and varied one, with representatives in all +parts of the world, and few of them show this extraordinary disposition +to impose upon their neighbors, though all are careless home-makers. In +the United States we have two kinds of cuckoos, the black-billed and the +yellow-billed, which have much the same slim form and plain yet elegant +dress as their European cousin, but a different note, uttering a loud +rattling cry instead of the soft _cuck-oo_; and both of these make +nests, lay eggs in them, and rear their young as faithfully as other +birds. The nests, however, are merely loose platforms of twigs set among +the branches of some small tree, through which, often, the greenish-blue +eggs are distinctly visible. + + +NIGHTJARS + +The nightjars are another world-wide family, with great similarity in +both appearance and habit among its members. All are nocturnal, have big +heads, large eyes, and very small beaks, although the mouth opens very +wide. They hunt their food by night, resting during the day in shady +forests or caves; and like owls they have plumage so plainly brown and +gray, and so soft, that their flight is noiseless and almost invisible. +The name--which refers to its jarring cry, which is more or less +characteristic of the whole family--was given first to the British +species, which is often called fern-owl in England. Late in the evening +you may often hear it uttering its curious note--"chur-r-r-r-r-r"--which +sometimes goes on without any break for three or four minutes. + +This continuous calling is one of the most characteristic things about +our American nightjar, the whippoorwill, whose loud, musical cry is +heard in summer from almost every hillside in the land, during the +dusk of evening or morning or when the woods are whitened with +moonlight; and sometimes two or three birds will sing against one +another, as if in jealous rivalry, repeating the call several hundred +times without a pause. In the Western United States, and in tropical +America, are several kinds of whippoorwills; and in the Southern +States a bigger cousin which calls its name loudly through the +darkness--_chuck-will's-widow_. More nearly deserving the name +nightjar, however, is our night-hawk, or bullbat, which is often seen +flying swiftly about, high in the air, even before sunset, uttering +a hoarse scream, or a queer-booming note, as it rushes, open-mouth, +after unlucky insects. + +All the birds of this group are insect catchers and eaters, and their +mouths, which have only a tiny pretence of a beak, open exceedingly +wide, so that they may scoop in a dozen little flies at once, or seize +and swallow a great moth. Then the tongue is exceedingly sticky, like +that of an ant-eater; besides this, the sides of the beak are fringed +with long, stiff bristles. So, when the bird catches an insect, its +victim nearly always sticks firmly to its tongue, while, if it should +break away from that, the bristles act just like a cage, and prevent it +from escaping. + +The nightjars make no nest at all, but lay their eggs in a small hollow +in the ground, generally under the shelter of a fern, or a tuft of +bramble or heather. These eggs are never more than two in number, and +are grayish white in color, mottled and marbled with gray and buff. + + +SWIFTS + +In these arrangements and habits the nightjars show how nearly they are +related to the very differently appearing chimney-swifts, which look so +much like swallows that we often call them chimney-swallows, but this is +wrong. Before this country was inhabited by white men, the swifts dwelt +in companies in hollow trees, but as fast as the settlers built houses +and chimneys the swifts left the trees and made their homes in the +chimneys, where they fasten to the bricks little shelf-shaped nests +composed of their glue-like saliva and bits of twigs. In the East Indies +a kind of swift makes such a nest wholly out of its saliva, which +hardens into a whitish material like isinglass. This is fastened against +the wall or roof of some cave by the sea, and the Malays and Chinese +gather these nests at the peril of their lives, where they are built in +hundreds in dark caverns, and sell them as delicacies to be made into +bird's-nest soup. + +The swift feeds upon flies and small beetles, which it catches +in the air, and on any fine summer's day you may see it hawking for +prey. It well deserves its name, for it dashes through the air with most +wonderful speed, and is said to be able to fly at the rate of two +hundred miles an hour! And as it flies it keeps twisting and turning +after the fashion of a bat, and is evidently snapping up insect after +insect as it goes. + +Yet, strange to say, the bird never seems to be tired. It is often on +the wing before three o'clock in the morning, and is still darting about +as actively as ever after sunset. + +[Illustration: FOUR HANDSOME BIRDS. + + 1. American Pileated Woodpecker, or Logcock. 2. European Roller. + 3. European Kingfisher. 4. European Jay.] + + +HUMMING-BIRDS + +Although they are not very much like swifts, the humming-birds are +closely related to them, and have powers of flight which are really +almost as wonderful. Indeed, if you alarm one of these birds when it is +hovering over a flower, it will dart away with such astonishing speed +that it is almost impossible for the eye to follow its course. And even +while it is hovering the wings vibrate so rapidly that you cannot see +them, all that is visible being a faint blur on either side of the body. + +These exquisite little birds are found in Central and South America, in +the West Indies, and in the warmer parts of the United States. Several +very beautiful species are known west of the Rocky Mountains, but only +one, the ruby-throat, visits the Eastern States. As a rule they are most +beautifully colored, their plumage shining with metallic gold, and +copper, and bronze, and purple, and crimson, and blue, and green. + +Sometimes, too--for there are a great many different species--there is a +ruff round the neck, or long tufts upon the head; or perhaps two of the +tail-feathers may be produced until they are longer than the head and +body and the rest of the tail put together. + +As a rule, the beaks of humming-birds are very long, in order that they +may be poked into flowers in search of any insects which may be lying +hidden within them. And the bird will hover over a bush, and move on +from one blossom to another, until every one has been thoroughly +explored. + +The nests of humming-birds are nearly always very small and +cup-shaped, and are made of little bits of lichen and moss neatly +fastened together with the silken threads of certain spiders. Only two +eggs are laid, which are quite white, and so tiny that it seems +impossible that a bird could be hatched out of them. At least five +hundred kinds of these beautiful little birds have already been +discovered. + + +WOODPECKERS + +North America has a large population of woodpeckers, including +the biggest and finest one in the world. This is the great +ivory-bill--twenty inches in length, and jet-black, with white +wing-tips, a grand scarlet topknot, and a beak like an ivory pickax. It +used to be abundant all over the Southern States, but now is nearly +extinct. Almost as fine, and still frequently seen all over the eastern +parts of the United States and Canada, is the similar but smaller +logcock, or pileated woodpecker, as it is named in the books, whose +shrill scream may be heard half a mile. + +Most of our familiar woodpeckers, however, are much smaller, and their +plumage is a checker of black and white. Everywhere common in town, as +well as among the farmlands, are three or four species, of which the +most often seen, and the smallest, is the downy woodpecker, which gets +its name from the broad stripe of soft white feathers up and down the +middle of its back. It is not so large as a sparrow, and haunts the +woods, the farmer's orchards, the shade-trees along the rural roads or +beside the streets of our villages, and often makes itself a welcome +visitor to the city parks and gardens. From morning till night, and all +the year round, it scrambles up and down the trunks of the trees and +round and round their branches, cleverly finding and dragging out +insects or their young concealed under the scales of the bark; and +though it digs many pits none is deep enough to injure the tree, as the +only woodpecker which digs deep enough to do harm is the yellow-bellied +one, which appears only in the spring, going far north to breed, and +which country people call the sapsucker. The downy and its relatives, on +the other hand, are doing good every day. Especially welcome is this +active little visitor in winter, often with such small companions as the +chickadee and nuthatch, when birds, or any other sort of living +things are scarce, and we are longing for their return. + +If you sit down for awhile at the foot of a tree, and keep very still +indeed, without moving even so much as a finger, it will very likely +come and sit on the trunk of another tree close by and begin to peck +away with its long, sharp beak in search of insects. + +How it makes the chips fly! Its beak is just like a chisel, and when the +bird finds that a beetle or a grub has burrowed into the trunk, it does +not take very long to dig it out. And it also has an extremely odd +tongue, which is very long and slender, and very sticky, and has a +curious tip. By means of this tongue the bird can often drag an insect +out of its burrow without being obliged to dig right down to it. + +Sometimes woodpeckers make a most amusing mistake. They hear the humming +of a telegraph wire, and think that it must be caused by insects living +in the posts. So they set to work with the utmost energy to dig them +out, and are so diligent and so persevering that they have often been +known to cut a big hole right through a telegraph post before finding +out that there were no insects there after all! + +There is another thing that we wish you especially to notice about the +woodpecker, and that is the way in which it is enabled to sit on an +upright tree-trunk for a long time without getting tired. The fact is +that it really sits on its own tail, which serves as a kind of +camp-stool! If you look at a woodpecker's tail you will find that the +feathers are very short and very stiff, and that they are bent downward. +When the bird perches on the trunk of a tree the tips of these feathers +rest upon the bark and prop it up, so that there is very little strain +upon the muscles of the feet and legs. + +Downy, after the manner of its kind, uses its chisel-beak to form a deep +and safe home in some old tree or stump, and often has enough confidence +in its friends of the village or farm to choose a tall fence-post; and +therein it deposits its pure white eggs and shelters its babies. +Moreover, Papa Downy often digs near by a more shallow tunnel for +himself, where he spends the night in safety and comfort as his mate is +doing in her own snug chamber. + +The hairy woodpecker is very similar to the downy in dress, but one-half +larger, and by no means so numerous or familiar. There are several +northern and far-western kinds of checkered woodpecker such as the +three-toed, the arctic and others, but their habits are very similar, +and we may pass them by to speak of two species more notable in every +way. + + +THE REDHEAD AND THE FLICKER + +The redhead is most strikingly colored, for its whole head and neck are +scarlet, its shoulders and back black, its wing-quills and rump white, +and the tail black. It is a fairly large bird and a bold one, though +like all woodpeckers it will slip around to the other side of the tree +when it hears your step, and then peep out with comical caution to see +whether you are dangerous. If you keep quiet it is likely soon to +scuttle back and go on hammering, making the chips fly and the forest +ring with its busy search after some buried grub. The Indians made a +good deal of use of the scarlet feathers of this bird; and it is always +a tempting mark for the wandering gunner, so that it is no wonder it is +becoming rare in thickly settled regions. + +A much less handsome but more numerous woodpecker in all parts of the +country is the golden-winged, or flicker, or high-hole, for it goes by +many names among the boys who love to trace it to its nesting-hole in +some tall stub, and take, if they can, the pearly eggs that lie on a bed +of chips in the bottom of the cavity. This nesting-hole, with its +accurately round doorway and hall, goes straight into the tree-trunk for +two inches or so, and then turns downward sometimes to the depth of a +foot. This large woodpecker is not black and white, like most of the +others, but wears a dress of greenish brown with wing-quills that look +just as though they were gilded, and a small bonnet of red on the back +of its head where there is no crest. In fact, the flicker is a queer +sort of woodpecker generally, for it spends quite as much time in fields +and gardens as in the woods, and much of this on the ground in search of +insects--mostly ants. + +Woodpeckers are noisy birds, both in their hammering and in +their rough cries, and this one is perhaps the noisiest of all; but its +call is so joyous that one cannot hear it without a sense of cheer. + + +TOUCANS + +We now come to a group of really extraordinary birds. They are found in +the forests of Central and South America, and are chiefly remarkable for +their beaks, which in the first place are so enormous that they look as +if they had been intended for birds at least six times as big, and in +the second place are most gaudily colored. It is not very easy to +describe them, because there are a good many kinds of toucans, and each +has its bill differently colored. In one the beak is partly orange and +partly black, with a lilac base. In another it is light green, with the +tip and edges of the most brilliant scarlet. In a third it is half +scarlet and half bright yellow; while in a fourth it is creamy white +with a broad streak of crimson running along the middle; and in a fifth +is a most singular mixture of orange and blue and chocolate brown and +white. + +Owing to the great size of their bills these birds are most ungainly in +appearance, and one cannot help wondering how they manage to hold up +their heads. But in reality these huge beaks are not at all heavy, for +instead of being made of solid horn, the whole of the interior is broken +up into cells, the divisions between which are no thicker than paper--a +structure which gives them not only great lightness but great strength. + +Toucans live chiefly in the trees, and spend most of their time in the +topmost branches, where they are fond of gathering together in large +flocks. They are very noisy birds, for they not only utter hoarse cries +and loud yells in chorus, but have a way of clattering their beaks +together as well. Owing to this habit the natives of South America +sometimes call them "preacher-birds." + +When they go to sleep toucans double their tails over upon their backs, +just as though they had hinges at the base, and bury their great beaks +among the feathers of their shoulders. The consequence is that they do +not look like toucans at all, or even like birds, and seem to be +mere bundles of loose feathers. + + +HORNBILLS + +These are more extraordinary still, some of them having beaks so +enormous that they look as if they had been meant for birds twelve times +instead of only six times as big as themselves. And the strangest thing +of all is that upon the upper part is a great horny helmet, which in +some cases is quite as large as the beak itself. In the +rhinoceros-hornbill, indeed, the beak and helmet together are pretty +nearly as big as the body. + +Both beak and helmet, however, except in one species, are made just like +the bills of the toucans, so that in spite of their enormous size they +are not at all heavy. But _why_ they should be so big is more than +we can tell you. + +Hornbills are found in many parts of both Africa and Asia, and most of +them live in the trees. They nearly always hop from one branch to +another until they reach the very topmost boughs, where they will sit +for hours together, occasionally uttering a series of loud, roaring +cries, which can be heard for a very long distance. And when they fly +they keep opening and closing their beaks, and so making an odd +clattering noise which generally puzzles travelers very much when they +hear it for the first time. + +There are two kinds of hornbills which live on the ground. One of these +is found in South Africa, and the Kafirs have a curious idea about it, +due to the fact that after death its body smells very nasty. They think +that if one of these birds is killed and thrown into a river it will +make the stream feel ill, and that a heavy fall of rain will take place +in order that the carcass may be washed into the sea! So in times of +drought they always try to kill a ground-hornbill and fling it into the +nearest river. + +When one of these birds discovers a snake, its cries bring others to the +place, and then, it is said, three or four attack the snake and kill it. +Their plan is to advance upon it sideways with their wings spread out, +and to irritate it with the tips of the feathers until it +strikes. Then they all peck it together before it can recover itself, +and nearly always succeed in killing it in a very short time. + + +THE HOOPOE + +This is another odd-looking bird; but instead of having a horny helmet +like the hornbills, it has a crest of very long feathers. These +feathers, which can be raised or lowered at will, are tawny brown in +color, with black tips, just before which is a streak of white. The body +is grayish brown above and nearly white below, and the wings and tail +are black, barred with white. + +The real home of the bird is in the sandy deserts of Northern Africa and +Southern Asia. There its plumage harmonizes so well with the color of +the soil that it is very difficult to see it, and it is said that when a +hawk appears the hoopoe only has to flatten its body against the sand +and remain perfectly still, when it is quite sure to be overlooked by +its enemy. + +The hoopoe utters its cry in a very curious manner. First it puffs out +the sides of its neck, and then it hammers its beak three times upon the +ground. Each time that it does so some of the air in its throat escapes, +and the result is a noise like the syllable "hoo" three times repeated. + + +AN ARAB LEGEND + +The Arabs have an odd legend about the hoopoe. One day, so the quaint +old story runs, King Solomon was traveling through the desert, and was +much oppressed by the heat of the sun, till a large flock of hoopoes +came and flew just above his head, so as to protect him from its rays. +At the close of the day the grateful monarch wished to know how he could +reward them for their kindness, and the foolish birds asked that crowns +of gold might grow upon their heads. Their request was granted, and for +a few days they admired themselves immensely, and spent most of their +time in gazing at their reflections in pools of water. Very soon, +however, great numbers of them were snared by the fowlers for the sake +of their valuable ornaments, and it seemed as though in a short +time not one would be left alive. So at last the survivors went back to +King Solomon, and begged that their golden crowns might be taken away. +Once more the king listened to their petition, and gave them crowns of +feathers instead, and that is how hoopoes come to have crests upon their +heads. + + +KINGFISHERS + +One of the most beautiful birds of our country is the kingfisher, which +is deep blue with white markings, and a chestnut band across the breast. +Upon its head is borne a high crest, like a crown. As you walk along the +banks of a stream, you may often see them darting through the air, and +looking almost like streaks of colored light. And if you sit down and +keep perfectly still for a little while you may, perhaps, see one of +them fishing. It perches on a branch overhanging the water, and waits +patiently till a fish passes underneath. Then suddenly it drops into the +water like a stone, splashes about for a moment or two, and then returns +to its perch with its victim struggling in its beak. + +The kingfisher digs a deep hole into the face of some earthen bank or +cliff, and at the inner end hollows out a little cave where it lays +several pure white eggs, with almost nothing but a few fishbones for a +nest. + +A good many different kinds of kingfishers are found in various parts of +the world, one of them, which lives in Australia, being known as the +laughing jackass, on account of its singular cry. Everywhere there are +birds of brilliant plumage, and in some places they have been almost +wholly destroyed for the wicked purpose of getting feathers to use as +ornaments on ladies' hats. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +CROWS, BIRDS OF PARADISE, AND FINCHES + + +The crow tribe contains several most interesting birds, first among +which stands the raven, a bird once known in all the northern parts of +the world, but now exceedingly rare in the United States except in the +far West. Even in the mountainous districts of Scotland it is not nearly +so common as it was, for it is so fond of killing weak and sickly lambs +that the shepherds trap or shoot it whenever they have an opportunity, +and the gamekeepers dislike it quite as much, because of the numbers of +hares, rabbits, partridges, and grouse that fall victims to its terrible +beak. + +Ravens have often been tamed, and have even learned to talk almost as +well as parrots. But they are exceedingly mischievous birds, and, in +addition, are only too ready to peck any one who comes near them with +the full force of their sharp and powerful bills; so that they cannot be +at all recommended as pets. + +The nest of the raven is a rather clumsy structure of sticks, and is +nearly always placed in the upper branches of a very tall tree. When the +young birds are nearly fledged, they often tumble out of the nest, and +are found by the shepherds fluttering helplessly about on the ground. +Most of the ravens which are kept in captivity have been caught in this +way. + + +THE AMERICAN CROW + +The various crows of the world are like small ravens--jet-black, +sometimes marked with white; but our familiar American crow is wholly +black. These birds are fond of gathering into flocks, which sometimes +are very large; and they are sociable, liking to spend the night +roosting in some favorite grove in great companies. When near the sea, +or some large river or lake, the crows go down to the shore every +morning, and spend most of the day on or near the beach, where +they pick up most of their food. Crows, however, will eat almost +anything edible except grain; and the great European carrion-crow is +almost a bird of prey, for like the raven it feeds chiefly on the flesh +of dead animals. But it also preys upon such creatures as rabbits, +hares, mice, frogs, and lizards, while it will also search for the nests +of game birds and poultry, and carry off the eggs and the young. +Sometimes, too, it will visit the seashore, and feast upon the crabs, +limpets, and mussels which it finds among the rocks at low water. In +order to crack the shells of these creatures, it is said sometimes to +carry them up into the air and drop them upon a rock. + + +ROOKS + +Except that it places its rude, stick-built nest in scattered trees, +each pair by itself, instead of in a company, our American crow is +closely similar to the English rooks about which so much is said in +books about Great Britain. Everybody in England knows the rook by sight, +and everybody is familiar with the rookeries in which a number of these +birds nest together year after year. Indeed, they use the same nests +over and over again, just putting them into proper order shortly before +the eggs are laid. + +The scene when building operations begin is always a lively one, and all +day long the birds are very busy. But oddly enough, they never seem to +know when the winter is really over, and when a thaw comes after two or +three frosty days in December, or even earlier, they get as excited as +possible, setting to work and gathering sticks, and evidently thinking +that spring is beginning! + +Rooks have very strict rules when they are building. For one rook to +steal a stick from another rook's nest, for example, is a very serious +crime, and sometimes is punished even with death. And young birds are +not allowed to build in a tree outside the rookery, their nest being at +once pulled to pieces by the older ones if they attempt to do so. + +Crows of all kinds are extremely useful birds, for they devour enormous +quantities of mischievous grubs, more especially those which live at the +roots of cultivated plants, where other birds cannot get at them. +And you may often see them following the plow, and picking up their +victims in scores. Thus they more than pay the farmer for the stalks of +young corn or grain which they sometimes pull up in the spring. + + +THE JACKDAW + +Another famous European bird, taking a part in many familiar stories and +poems, is the jackdaw. It is a smaller bird than the rook, and is +generally found near houses, being very fond of nesting in church +towers, or in old ruins. But very often a colony of jackdaws will settle +in a lofty cliff, and build on rocky ledges far beyond the reach of even +the boldest climber. + +The jackdaw is easily tamed, and is a very interesting bird when kept as +a pet, soon learning to talk almost as well as a parrot. But it is +dreadfully mischievous, and if it finds any small glittering object is +almost sure to carry it off and hide it. Sometimes, too, it will play +very amusing tricks. We knew a tame jackdaw once which lived in a very +large garden. One day the butcher's cart drove up, and the butcher went +round to the kitchen entrance to take the orders. No sooner had he +disappeared than the jackdaw flew up on the box, and called out, "Gee +up!" Off started the horse at once, and if the gardener had not happened +to meet the cart as it was passing out of the gate, with only the +jackdaw inside, the butcher would certainly have been obliged to walk +all the way home. + +The nest of the jackdaw, like that of the rook, is built of sticks, and +is lined with hay, wool, and feathers. It generally contains five eggs, +which are bluish green, spotted with gray and brown. + + +THE JAY + +What a beautiful bird the jay is! And how very seldom one gets a really +good view of it! For it is one of the shyest of all birds, and never +allows itself to be seen if it can possibly help it. And the very moment +that it catches sight of one it flies off with a terrified squall which +can often be heard from nearly half a mile away. + +Other birds do not at all like the jay, for it is very fond of visiting +their nests and stealing the eggs. It will carry off young birds, too, +and devour them, and many a young partridge and pheasant falls victim to +its appetite. But it also eats caterpillars, moths, beetles, and other +insects, as well as fruit and berries; while sometimes it will visit a +kitchen garden early in the morning, and feast heartily on the young +peas. + +Our common Eastern American jay is light blue, with pretty white +markings; while in the far West and in the tropics are many kinds which +are rich dark blue or green; the European jay, however, is more varied. +In general color it is light reddish brown. On either wing is a patch of +azure blue banded with black, while the head is decorated with a crest +of gray feathers, with black spots, which can be raised and lowered at +will. Nearly all jays have tall crests. The quill-feathers of the wings +and tail are black. + + +THE MAGPIE + +Another famous member of this family is the magpie, which occurs in both +Europe and America, and may be recognized by its glossy black and white +plumage, its long tail, and its curious dipping flight. It is found in +most parts of the British Isles, but never wanders far away from the +shelter of large woods, where it knows that it is much safer from the +attacks of hawks than in the open country. + +The magpie is as mischievous out of doors as the jay, and as mischievous +indoors as the jackdaw; so that it cannot be said to bear a very good +character. But at any rate it makes a very amusing little pet, even if +it does steal any small object that it can carry away, and hide it in +some hoard of its own. But with a little careful instruction it soon +learns to talk quite well. In Europe, consequently, many tame magpies +are to be seen; but not so often in the United States. + +The nest of the magpie cannot be mistaken for that of any other bird, +for although it is made of sticks, like that of the jackdaw and the jay, +it is always domed above, and has the entrance at the side. It is +generally situated in a thorn or a pine tree, although now and +then the birds will build in a low bush quite close to the ground. There +are generally from five to seven eggs, which are bluish white in color, +blotched and dotted with brown. + + +BIRDS OF PARADISE + +Next in order to the crows, jays, and magpies come these. They include +some of the most beautiful of all the feathered race. They are nearly +all found in New Guinea and the Papuan islands, and there are altogether +about fifty different kinds. + +One of the most beautiful is the king bird of paradise, which it is very +difficult to describe in words. The upper part of the body is rich +chestnut, with a bloom of purple, the lower part pure white, and across +the breast runs a band of golden green, which deepens into blackish +brown, while the upper part of the head and neck is pale straw-color. +Most exquisite of all, however, are the great masses of long, slender, +drooping plumes, which spring from either side of the body under the +wings. These plumes are nearly two feet long, and are golden yellow, +darkening toward the tips into pale brown. This exquisite plumage is +only found in the cock bird, the hen being of a dull brown color all +over, without any plumes at all; and the birds have now become extremely +scarce because killed so incessantly for the cruel purpose of getting +their feathers to put on hats! + +Very little is known about the habits of birds of paradise, for few +people ever have the opportunity of seeing them in their native forests, +and they are almost unknown in zoölogical gardens because they usually +die almost immediately when placed in captivity in a strange country. + + +BOWER-BIRDS + +The bower-birds of Australia owe their name to their singular habit of +making bowers in which to play! These bowers are built of sticks and +long pieces of grass, arranged in such a way that they meet at +the top so as to form a kind of avenue, and are often three feet long. +Stranger still, they are ornamented with stones, brightly colored +shells, and the blue tail-feathers of parrakeets, which the birds +carefully fasten up among the sticks, evidently in order to make the +bower look pretty. Then, when it is finished, they run through it, round +and round, over and over again, chasing one another, and seeming to +enjoy their game immensely. + +There is one of these birds, found in Papua, which builds a hut about +two feet high instead of a bower, and then makes a sort of garden in +front of it. This garden is decorated with bright-colored flowers and +berries, and as soon as they fade the bird throws them away and puts +fresh ones in their place! It is called the gardener-bird. + + +THE STARLING + +This bird is almost as well known as the sparrow in Europe. You may see +it on the lawn, every now and then plunging its beak into the ground, +and pulling out a grub or a worm; and it is fond of building a great +untidy-looking nest in water-pipes and other places where it is not +wanted. It is beginning to be well known also in America, for colonies +are established near New York City. + +Starlings in Europe often travel about the country in great flocks, +which frequently consist of several thousand birds. Sometimes, too, +several of these flocks join together at night, and then separate again +next morning. We have seen a little copse so full of roosting starlings +that every branch of every tree was occupied from end to end, while +thousands more kept flying in, and trying to turn the first comers off +their perches! And they made so much noise that we could hear them +chattering and quarreling when we were more than a mile away. + +Each flight of starlings seems to have its leader whose orders are +instantly obeyed, for every bird in the whole flock swerves, and wheels, +and turns at the same moment--a maneuver seen equally in the vast +migratory flocks of red-winged blackbirds which gather in autumn on +every American marsh and are gradually spreading inland. A few +years hence the bird may be seen all over the United States. + +Starlings are useful birds, although they certainly steal a great deal +of fruit; for if it were not for their labors--together with those of +certain other birds--our corn and vegetable crops would certainly be +destroyed by the mischievous grubs which live at the roots. So we ought +to look on the fruit which starlings take as wages paid them for their +work. + +[Illustration: FINCHES AND WEAVER-BIRDS. + + 1. European Yellowhammer. 2. African Weaver-Bird (Male). + 3. African Weaver-Bird (Female). 4. European Goldfinch. + 5. Stonechat.] + + +FINCHES + +We now come to the great group of the finches, which can easily be +recognized by their short, stout, strong beaks. + +This is one of the most extensive families of birds, for it includes, +besides the finches properly so called, all the sparrows, grosbeaks, +buntings, and seed-eaters of the world, together with many other similar +birds known by various names. The small robust size, and especially the +cone-shaped beak, suitable for cracking seeds, or tearing the husks of +fruit to pieces, are the badges of the family. Sometimes this beak is +big and strong, as in our northern rose-breasted, or the southern +cardinal grosbeak, or the British bullfinch; sometimes small and +slender, as in the sparrows, such as our pretty visitor to the garden +lilacs and rose-bushes, the chipping-bird; sometimes queerly out of +shape, as in the crossbills, where the lower half, or mandible, of the +bill does not meet the upper one squarely at the tip, but the points +cross past one another. These birds dwell in the northern evergreen +forests, and subsist almost wholly on the seeds of the pine and spruce, +which they twist out from beneath the tough scales of the cones with +remarkable skill, apparently using the crossed bill like a pair of +pliers. + +These birds come south in winter, when their bright reddish coats and +fearless ways are enjoyed by everybody. The farm children in Germany +hear pretty stories about them, one of which is that the twist in the +bill was caused by one of these birds injuring it in kindly trying to +pull out the nails by which Jesus was fastened to the cross; so their +name "cross-bill" may be thought of in two ways. + + +SPARROWS + +Every roadside and field has its sparrows--brown, streaked birds which +usually keep near the ground and feed upon the seeds of grasses and +weeds, yet pick up innumerable insects, as do all the others of their +busy tribe. These sparrows make their nests mostly on the ground; but +most of the finches, rightly so called, nest in bushes and trees. All +the sparrows have pleasant voices, and most of them are fair singers, +while some excel in that accomplishment. Our song-sparrow, fox-sparrow, +the whitethroat and others are among the best of American singing birds. + +It has been said that these plain brown birds have been granted the gift +of voice to make up for lack of ornament; but this explanation doesn't +seem to amount to much, for if it were true we ought to find the richly +dressed birds songless. That this is not the case in this family, at +least, is plain when we remember that our finches--and it is equally +true of foreign ones--include some of the most brilliantly colored birds +we have, such as the goldfinch, the purple finch, the indigo-bird, the +exquisite blue and red nonpareil of Louisiana, and many others, all of +which are capital musicians. + +Some of these finches are among our most highly prized cage-birds, such +as the European bullfinch, which not only sings prettily when wild, but +if caught young can be trained to learn several tunes, and between +whiles pipes and chirrups gaily. The goldfinch, linnet, waxbill, and +several others belong to this interesting tribe. + + +CANARIES + +Canaries, too, are finches, and are plentiful in the islands from which +they take their name. But if you were to see them in their own home you +would hardly recognize them; for a wild canary that is yellow all over +is hardly ever seen. Our cage-canaries, in fact, are an artificial +breed, the natural color of the plumage being olive green, marked with +black and yellow. Neither would you recognize the song of the wild +birds, which is not nearly so powerful nor so varied as that of the +feathered pets which we all know so well. + +Now and then talking canaries have been known, which had learned to +utter a number of different words quite distinctly. + + +THE SKYLARK + +No bird is more celebrated than the skylark, which has inspired +countless poems. It is a plain brown little bird, like one of our +field-sparrows; and would attract little attention were it not for the +sweetly clear and varied music of its joyous song as it mounts higher +and higher in the air, till at last it looks a mere speck in the sky. +For nearly eight months in the year it sings, and one can scarcely take +a ramble in the country without seeing and hearing it. A small colony of +skylarks dwells on Long Island, in the edge of Brooklyn, N.Y., where the +song may be heard by many a person who cannot go to Europe to listen to +it. + +The skylark builds upon the ground, in some little hollow, and its nest +is so well hidden that one scarcely ever finds it. It is made of dry +grass, leaves, and hair, and contains four or five yellowish-gray eggs +speckled with brown. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +WAGTAILS, SHRIKES, THRUSHES, ETC. + + +One can scarcely walk along the banks of a British stream in spring or +summer without noticing a pretty and graceful bird, sometimes running +along near the edge of the water, and stopping every now and then to +pick off an insect from the herbage, and sometimes rising into the air +to catch a fly or gnat. And one can easily understand why the name +wagtail has been given to it, for no matter whether it is flying or +running, its tail is never still. Sometimes, too, it may be seen in a +damp meadow, or even on a lawn in a garden; and where one wagtail is, +others are sure to be not very far off. + +The nest of this bird is usually placed in a hole in a river-bank, or +else among the spreading roots of a tree. It is made of dry grass, +withered leaves, and moss, and is lined with hair, wool, or feathers. + +This description applies excellently to a little American bird, known as +the water-thrush, although it is not a true thrush, but one of the +warblers, of which a great many sorts, some very beautiful, are seen in +our woods in the spring, on their way north; but just a few appear to +remain with us all the year round. + + +THE CREEPER + +Running about on the trunks and branches of trees, and looking very much +like a feathered mouse, you may often see the creeper. It is about as +big as a wren, and has a long, slender, and slightly curved beak, which +it is constantly poking into the cracks and crevices of the bark in +search of insects. It always begins its quest low down on the trunk, and +works its way gradually upward, peering into every little cranny, and +seldom remaining still for a single moment. The larger boughs are +examined in just the same way, and when the bird has reached the top of +the tree it flies down to another and begins again, and so on all +through the day. And in order to prevent it from getting tired, it has a +short, stiff tail like that of the woodpecker, which serves as a kind of +camp-stool, and supports the weight of the body. + +The nest of this quaint little bird is nearly always placed in a hole in +a tree-trunk. It is made of roots, twigs, fragments of bark, and grass, +and is lined with wool and feathers. From six to nine eggs are laid, +which are white in color, prettily spotted with yellowish red. + +[Illustration: AMERICAN INSECT-EATING SONG-BIRDS + + 1. Chimney Swift. 2. Barn Swallow. 3. Wood Thrush. + 4. Red-eyed Vireo. 5. Chestnut-sided Warbler. + 6. Maryland Yellow-throat. 7. Redstart. 8. Phoebe Pewee. + 9. Black-throated Green Warbler. 10. King-bird. + 11. Cedar Waxwing. 12. Oven-bird. 13. Bluebird. + +All adult males.] + + +THE NUTHATCH + +This is another bird that one may often see running about on the trunk +of a tree. It is shaped rather like a wren, but is a little bigger than +a sparrow, and has a bluish-gray head and back, a white throat and +breast. It has the curious habit of keeping head downward almost +continuously as it works. + +The European nuthatch is very fond of nuts, which it cracks in a most +curious way. First of all, it wedges a nut firmly in some crevice in the +bark of a tree. Then, taking up its stand on the trunk just above, it +deals blow after blow on the nut with its stout little beak, swinging +itself up into the air every time that it does so and giving a flap with +its wings, so as to add force to its stroke. It turns itself into a kind +of live pickax, and after a very few blows the nutshell is split open, +and the clever little bird is able to get at the kernel; but our +American nuthatch seems to have forgotten this habit, if it ever had it, +and lives almost wholly on insects. + +The nuthatch makes its nest in a hole in a tree, and it is generally +composed of small pieces of soft bark, lined with dry leaves. When the +mother bird is sitting on her eggs, which are white in color, spotted +with pink, she will peck most savagely at any enemy which may try to +enter, hissing as she does so, just like a snake. + + +TITMICE + +These birds can be seen almost everywhere, and very pretty and +attractive little birds they are as they run about on the trunks and +branches of trees, not seeming to mind in the least whether they are +perching on a bough, or hanging upside down underneath it. And all the +while they are searching every little chink and cranny in order to see +whether any small insects are hiding within it. + +It is a very good plan in winter to take a marrow-bone, or a little +network bag with a lump of suet in it, and hang it from the branch of a +tree for the titmice. Day after day the little birds will visit it, +clinging to it in all sorts of positions, and pecking vigorously away at +the suspended dainty. And they will like a cocoanut which has been cut +in half almost as well. + +Several other kinds of titmice are also found in the British Isles, of +which the great tit, the cole-tit, and the blue tit are plentiful almost +everywhere. They are all very much alike in habits, and they all build +in holes in trees, making their nests of moss, hair, wool, and feathers, +and laying six or eight white eggs, prettily speckled with light red. + +Titmice abound in all northern countries and, we have several American +species, one of which, the merry, courageous little black-capped +chickadee, is known by both eye and ear to every one who takes any +notice of birds. In the Southern States another familiar one is the +peto, or crested chickadee, who, when he lifts his pointed gray cap, +reminds one of a tiny jay. The Rocky Mountain region and Pacific coast +have several other kinds--all delightful. Our titmice all make their +nests in holes in trees and stumps, usually taking possession of the +last year's home of a woodpecker. + +In Europe there is a famous titmouse having a very different method. +This is the long-tailed tit, or bottle-tit, as it is sometimes called, +because its nest is shaped just like a bottle without a neck. It is +sometimes placed in the fork of a branch, but more generally in the +middle of a thick bush, and is made of wool, moss, and spider-silk, and +is lined with quantities of soft downy feathers. And although it is by +no means small it is very easily overlooked, for the clever little birds +cover all the outside with bits of gray lichen, so as to make it look as +much like the surrounding branches as possible. + +In this beautiful and cosy nest from ten to twelve eggs are laid, which +are white in color, with just a few very small reddish spots. When the +young birds are nearly fledged they quite fill up their nursery, and you +can actually see the walls swelling out and contracting again as the +little creatures breathe. And how they all manage to keep their long +tails unruffled in those narrow quarters nobody knows at all. + +In winter you may often see a whole family of these pretty +birds--father, mother, and ten or a dozen little ones--all flying about +together, for they never separate until the spring. + + +THE SHRIKE + +A notable bird is the shrike, which is also known as the butcher-bird, +owing to a most curious habit. It is a bird of prey, feeding upon all +sorts of small creatures, and it seems to know that though it can catch +plenty of these on warm, sunny days, they will all be hiding away in +their retreats when the weather is cold and rainy. So on a fine, bright +morning it will catch many more victims than it wants at the time, and +put them away in its larder! Sometimes you may find a thorn-bush with +four or five mice, half a dozen unfledged birds, two or three fat +caterpillars, a big beetle or two, and perhaps a bumblebee, all stuck +upon the thorns, like the joints of meat hung up in a butcher's shop. +Then you may be quite sure that you have discovered a butcher-bird's +larder. And by and by, when a cold and wet day comes, and the bird can +catch no prey, it just comes and takes some of these creatures from the +thorns, and so obtains plenty of provisions! + +There are two species of shrike in the United States--one which visits +us from the south in summer and the other from the north in winter. + + +THRUSHES + +The thrush family is spread all over the world, and contains some of the +most noted of singing birds. No one can read English poetry, or much of +the classic prose of our language, without meeting with the names of +such birds as the mavis, the blackbird, the blackcap, and especially the +nightingale, all European thrushes; even the English robin, after which +our larger American redbreast is named, is a sort of thrush, closely +related to our dear little bluebird. + + +THE ROBIN + +The robin is a great favorite with the people of Europe, because it is +so very trustful. We have actually seen one of these birds perching on a +man's knee for quite a minute, while it looked about for worms in a plot +of ground which he had just been digging. But it is by no means so +gentle a bird as many people think. In fact, it is a very quarrelsome +bird, for if two cock robins meet they are almost sure to fight, and +very often the battle goes on until one of the two is killed! + +A robin once took up his abode in Hereford Cathedral, and seemed to +think that it was his own private property. For one day, when another +robin came in, he was seen chasing it all over the building, and was at +last found sitting triumphantly on its dead body! + +You may find the nest of the robin in a hole in a bank or a wall, or +perhaps in the stump of a tree. It is made of dry leaves, roots, grass, +and moss, lined with hair, or wool, and contains either five or six +yellowish-white eggs, spotted with light brown. + + +THE NIGHTINGALE + +Perhaps no bird in the world is so famous as a songster as the +nightingale, largely because of its habit of singing in the night, for +its music is not preëminent above that of several other thrushes. The +nightingale spends the winter in Africa, returning to Central +Europe in April, and after that in the warmer parts of Great Britain and +the continent it may be heard every night for weeks, especially when the +moon shines; and sometimes nearly all day as well. + +If one passes near a bush in which a nightingale is singing, it is worth +while to stop and to whistle a few low notes. The bird imagines that it +is being challenged by another nightingale, and begins to sing louder +than before. Then it stops and listens; and if one whistles a few notes +more it becomes very much excited, and comes closer and closer, singing +all the time, till at last it finds out how it has been taken in. And +then it begins to scold, chattering away in the greatest indignation at +having been deceived! + +Only the cock nightingale sings, and even he is only able to do so for a +few weeks. For very soon after the eggs are hatched his voice breaks, +just as that of the cuckoo does, and the only note which he is able to +utter until spring comes round again is a harsh whistle, followed by a +hoarse croak. + +The nest of the nightingale is placed on the ground under a low bush, +and is made almost entirely of dead leaves. It contains either four or +five eggs, which are dark olive brown all over. + + +NORTH AMERICAN THRUSHES + +There is a long list of thrushes among our North American birds, and +some of them will compare well as songsters with any of the woodland +choristers of the world. The voice of our red-breasted robin carols +sweetly enough in the spring; but he is far excelled a little later in +the season by the wood-thrush, the hermit-thrush, the veery and certain +others which come from the south when the weather becomes warm. Some of +these species, as the hermit and its relatives, pass on into Northern +Canada to make their nests and rear their young; but fortunately +others--and among them queens of song--remain with us in the United +States all summer. + +Of these the most commonly seen and heard is that richest of woodland +musicians, the wood-thrush, whose serenely beautiful song, in four +parts, separated by brief pauses, floats to our ears from +orchard and grove and shady roadside as the quiet of the summer evening +draws on, and we begin to enjoy the coolness and peace of the twilight. + +This eloquent thrush is reddish brown or bright cinnamon above, +brightest on the head; and white below, thickly ornamented with rounded +black spots in lines from throat to thighs. It is the least shy of all +the thrushes except the robin, yet gracefully modest in its demeanor. It +constructs its nest on the low horizontal limb of some tree, always with +the peculiarity that its foundation is a layer of old sear leaves and +that black, thread-like rootlets are a favorite material for the walls. +The eggs are unspotted blue, smaller and lighter than the greenish +treasures in the mud-built cabin of the robin. + +Next in point of numbers, though not so often recognized, as the +wood-thrush is the oliveback, which is distinctly olive in color on the +back and flanks, and whose buffy underparts are unspotted save across +the breast. This species is highly variable, so that those of the +Pacific coast differ considerably from those of the Atlantic side of the +continent. + +The same is true of the hermit-thrush, which is heard only in the more +northern half of the continent in spring, when its rich, indescribable +fluting perhaps deserves the prize of superiority over all other +American bird-musicians. + +The veery, or Wilson's tawny thrush, is also noted for its song, which +has an extraordinary bell-like quality which excites first curiosity and +then admiration. + +The group of birds to which the thrushes belong is a very large one, and +includes many smaller and variously colored birds, among which are such +familiar American friends as the brown thrasher and its many cousins of +the Southwest; the saucy, mewing, catbird--a frequenter of every garden +and blackberry thicket in the land; those busybodies the wrens, and many +others. + + +WRENS + +One would not at first glance connect the great long-tailed brown +thrasher with the tiny garden-wren which stuffs a hole in one of +the barn timbers or a crevice in a broken tree with a mass of twigs +surrounding a soft little bed for the red-sprinkled eggs; but when you +closely compare the shape of bill and feet, and their general form and +manners, the resemblance becomes more plain. Then you are not surprised +to find the rough nest and speckled eggs of the big thrasher and the +tiny wren much alike, and to find a resemblance in their songs, much as +they differ in loudness. + +Wrens have a curious way of beginning to build nests, and leaving them +half finished. These are sometimes supposed to be the work of the male +bird alone, and are called cocks' nests; and certainly the cock does not +seem to take any part in building the true nest, for he simply sits on a +branch close by and sings, while the hen does all the work. Perhaps he +is lazy; or perhaps she thinks that she can build much better than he +can, and so will not let him help her. And therefore it may be that he +makes these cocks' nests just to show her what he can do. But as wrens +are very timid birds, and will often desert their nest if one even puts +one's finger inside, it seems rather more likely that they are nests +which the birds have left unfinished because they thought that some +enemy had discovered them. + + +THE DIPPER + +Not unlike a very big wren with a white throat and breast is the curious +and interesting dipper, well known to dwellers in the Rocky Mountains +and the ranges west of them. It is never found far from water, and you +may often see it perched upon a stone in the shallows of a river, +bobbing up and down every now and then just as though it were making a +courtesy. And every time that it does so it gives a quick little jerk to +its tail, just as the wren does. It also makes a nest of moss, somewhat +like that of the wren, which is placed in a hole in the bank of a +stream, or often in a crevice of the rocks behind a cascade. It feeds on +insects and water-shrimps, etc., and you may often see it busily hunting +for the little beetles which are hiding among the moss on the large +stones in the bed of a stream, where it actually walks on the bottom. It +can swim and dive perfectly well, and keeps itself beneath the +surface by flapping with its wings, while it searches for grubs in the +mud at the bottom of the water. The dipper has a very bright and gay +little song, and always seems happy, and busy, and active. + + +SWALLOWS AND MARTINS + +Swallows and martins form a very distinct group of small birds well +known to everybody, for no one can help noticing them as they sail +through the air in swift graceful circles or skim low over the water in +constant pursuit of the tiny flies which form their fare, and are so +small that vast numbers must be caught. Familiar, too, is their coming +in the spring, when they are welcomed as the special sign of returning +pleasant weather after the season of cold storms; and in autumn we +cannot but notice them gathering in large flocks along the telegraph +lines or over the marshes, preparatory to departing to their winter +retreat in the tropics. + +These characteristics, as well as their appearance--slender, +long-winged, dark-colored--belong to the swallows and martins all over +the world; and they are alike in all countries in their fearless +fondness for making close acquaintance with mankind when he dwells in +settled homes. + + +COMMON SWALLOWS + +Naturally, these birds are inhabitants of caves and rocky cliffs, or of +hollow trees; but, like the swifts, the moment a man builds a house or +barn in Europe, or Asia, or South America, there certain swallows are +sure to come to live with him, just as they do around our village and +farm houses in North America. Hence the English people call their common +species house-swallow, and we give the name barn-swallow to our similar +one. This is the very common species with the long, deeply forked tail, +which sets its nest of mud and straw on the beams of our barns or +plasters it against the walls or roof, always _inside_ the +building. Almost equally widespread and numerous is another barn-loving +kind, distinguished by its short square tail and its habit of +forming bulb-shaped nests wholly of mud, and of placing them in rows +_outside_ the building, close up under the eaves. These last are +better known as eaves-swallows. + +[Illustration: GAUDY TROPICAL BIRDS + + 1. Ara; Macaw. 2. Rose-Crested Cockatoo. 3. Senegal Parrot. + 4. Mexican Toucan. 5. African Hornbill.] + + +WELL-KNOWN MARTINS + +Martin is a name applied to various swallows, but with us it denotes the +big purple one which in the warmer parts of the country gladly takes +possession of the pretty bird-houses which many persons set on poles in +their gardens. + +Another smaller, sooty-brown martin, is the sand-martin, or +bank-swallow, which differs from all the rest in placing its eggs on a +little bed of straw and feathers at the end of a long burrow which it +bores into the face of a cliff of earth beside some river, where usually +a large company live as happy neighbors. This species is one of the few +birds known almost all over the world. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +PARROTS, PIGEONS, PEA-FOWL, PHEASANTS, ETC. + + +The members of the parrot family are very interesting birds; in the +first place because they are generally so gaily colored, in the second +place because they are so easily tamed, and in the third place because +many of them are such capital talkers. They nearly all spend the greater +part of their lives in the trees, and if you look at their feet you will +see that the first and fourth toes are turned backward while the second +and third are directed forward. This gives the birds a great power of +grasp, and helps them in climbing. + +At least five hundred different kinds of these birds have been +discovered in different parts of the world, but we shall only be able to +tell you about a few of them. Let us take first a parrot, then a +parrakeet, then a cockatoo, then a macaw, and then a love-bird, as +representing the various groups. + + +THE GRAY PARROT + +We take this parrot because it is the one which we see most often in +cages. It comes from Central Africa, and, like most parrots, is +generally seen in large flocks, which fly about together. During the +daytime these birds often travel long distances in search of food, which +consists chiefly of fruits and nuts, but in the evening they always +return to their regular roosting-places. + +This parrot makes no nest at all, but just lays its eggs in a hole in +the trunk of a tree. Both birds sit in turns, and if danger threatens +they will defend their eggs or their little ones with the greatest +courage. And if they seem to be getting the worst of the fight, it is +said that the rest of the flock will come to their rescue, and will +nearly always succeed in driving the enemy away. + +When they are kept as pets gray parrots nearly always learn to talk +well, and sometimes make such suitable remarks that it really almost +seems as if they must understand what they say. That they live to a very +great age appears certain from the fact that they have sometimes been +kept in captivity for seventy or eighty years. + + +PARRAKEETS + +These birds are found in the hotter parts of Africa, Asia, and +Australia, being very plentiful, for instance, in the forests of India. +Perhaps the best known of them is the East Indian ring-necked parrakeet, +which is green in color, the male having a red ring round his neck, with +a black ring underneath it. The length of the bird is about seventeen +inches, of which almost exactly half is taken up by the tail. + +These parrakeets are dreadfully mischievous birds, for they visit both +fields and gardens, and devour enormous quantities of grain and fruit. +You can easily understand how much harm four or five hundred of them can +do in a short time, and flocks of this size are often seen, while +sometimes they are even larger still. They have regular roosting-places, +to which they always return at night; and they lay their three or four +white eggs in holes in trees. + + +COCKATOOS + +Cockatoos may easily be recognized by their feathery crests, which they +can raise and lower at will. We will take the sulphur-crested cockatoo +as our example. + +This favorite cage-bird comes from Australia, where it is found in +enormous flocks. Fancy seeing a thousand cockatoos flying about +together! And fancy what it must be to listen to their screams! Yet a +flock of this size is not at all uncommon. The birds are not as +plentiful as they used to be, however, for they did so much mischief in +the grain-fields that the planters shot them in large numbers; often, +indeed, a field would be so full of cockatoos that from a little +distance it looked as though it were deeply covered with snow. + +As talkers cockatoos are not nearly so clever as parrots, but they soon +learn to imitate all kinds of sounds, such as the barking of dogs, the +mewing of cats, the cackling of fowls, and the gobbling of turkeys. +Unfortunately, however, they are very fond of screaming, and make a +terrible outcry if they are annoyed in any way, so that they are apt to +be rather a nuisance if they are kept as pets. + + +MACAWS + +The macaws are large and handsome birds, their plumage being nearly +always very brightly and even gaudily colored. In the red and blue +macaw, for instance, which is one of the best known, the general color +is bright vermilion red, with a patch of yellow feathers on the upper +part of each wing. Then the lower part of the back, together with the +quills of the wings and the outside feathers of the tail, is blue, while +the central tail-feathers are scarlet with blue tips. But even this is +not all, for underneath the wings and tail are golden red, varied by +patches of yellow feathers tipped with green. This magnificent bird is +nearly three feet long, two-thirds of that length being occupied by the +tail. + +Macaws are found in large flocks in the great forests of tropical +America, where they may be seen sometimes flying high in air, and +sometimes sitting on the topmost branches of the tallest trees. Their +cries can be heard from a very long distance away. + +Macaws are just as mischievous in the cornfields as parrots and +cockatoos are in other parts of the world, and are much more difficult +to kill; for some, before settling down to feed, post sentinels in the +tops of tall trees near by, and steadily watchful, they give the alarm +as soon as they see the slightest sign of danger. + +Macaws lay their eggs in holes in tree-trunks, as parrots do, and are +said to enlarge the holes to suit their requirements by means of their +powerful beaks. They are not very wise birds, however, for when they are +sitting they often leave their long tails projecting out of the hole, to +be seen by every passer-by! + + +LOVE-BIRDS + +Of all the birds which belong to the parrot family the love-birds are +the smallest, being little bigger than finches. Seven different kinds +are known, all found in Africa south of the Desert of Sahara. + +These pretty little creatures are called love-birds because they seem so +very fond of one another. If two or three are kept in a cage together, +they always snuggle up as closely as possible, and will sit side by side +for hours, perfectly happy in each other's company. And often, if one of +a couple dies, the other will pine away in a short time and die too, +apparently from sorrow. + +In a wild state love-birds are generally seen in small flocks which fly +very rapidly, and constantly utter their sharp screaming cry. They do +not seem to make any nests for themselves, but make use of those of +other birds instead. Whether they turn out the rightful owners, however, +or merely take possession of nests which have been deserted, nobody +seems to know. + + +PIGEONS + +We shall only be able to tell you about two members of the great pigeon +family, the first of which shall be the wood-pigeon, or ring-dove, which +is interesting as the wild original that has given us our domestic +pigeons, so many varieties of which have been produced by fanciers. + +This is a very common bird in almost all parts of the British Isles, and +one can scarcely walk through a wood without startling it from its +retreat in the thick foliage of some tall tree, or ramble through the +fields without seeing at least one flock on its way to its +feeding-grounds. Unfortunately, it does a good deal of mischief, for it +has a most enormous appetite, and carries off immense quantities of +grain from the cornfields. Just to give you some idea of the amount of +food that it will eat, we may mention that no less than eight hundred +grains of wheat have been taken from the crop of a single wood-pigeon, +six hundred peas from that of another, and one hundred and eighty +beechnuts from that of a third; while one naturalist tells us that the +bird will sometimes pack away enough turnip-tops to fill a pint measure +when they are well shaken up! + +Our American turtle-dove, or mourning-dove, is much like this but nobody +minds the few bits of grain it picks up. On the other hand, the +wood-pigeon devours great quantities of the seeds of weeds; so although +it is mischievous in one way, it is useful in another. + +The nest of the wood-pigeon, which is mostly placed in the upper +branches of a tall tree, is very clumsily made. Indeed, it is very +little more than a platform of sticks, which are often so loosely put +together, that as you look up from below you can see the eggs through +the gaps between them! There are never more than two eggs, which are +perfectly white. + + +THE PASSENGER-PIGEON + +The passenger-pigeon, or wild pigeon of North America, is remarkable for +two reasons. + +In the first place, it is (or rather, used to be) found in the most +astonishing numbers. Flocks of these birds _many miles in length_ +have often been seen, while large tracts of forest were once so thronged +with their nests that all the smaller branches and many of the larger +ones were broken down. Fancy what that means when a nesting-place is +thirty miles long and several miles broad, while as many as a hundred +nests may be found in a single tree! + +In the second place, the bird is renowned as a traveler. That is why it +is called the passenger-pigeon. All over the length and breadth of the +country a few years ago these vast flocks would fly, coming no man knows +whence, going no man knows whither, roosting just for one night in one +place, and passing on again early next morning. The flocks are not so +large as they were, however, for many millions of the birds have been +destroyed; and as these pigeons never lay more than two eggs, they do +not multiply very fast. In fact, this pigeon is already a rare bird. + + +PEACOCKS + +What a magnificent bird the peacock is, with his great train raised and +spread, so as to show off all the beautiful eye-like markings! And +how _very_ proud of it he seems as he struts about to be admired, +as though knowing quite well that everybody is looking at him! + +People sometimes speak of this train as the "tail." But it really +consists of those feathers which are called the tail-coverts, the true +tail lying underneath it, and serving to support it when it is spread. + +Peacocks are natives of Asia, and are found most commonly, perhaps, in +India, where flocks of thirty or forty may often be seen, and one +traveler tells us that he once saw quite fifteen hundred of these +splendid birds all together! They are sometimes caught in a very curious +way. The hunter rides up quietly to within a short distance of them as +they are feeding on the ground, and then suddenly dashes at them at full +speed. Of course they at once rise into the air, and just as they are +passing out of reach he strikes at one of them with a very long whip, +which coils round its neck like a lasso. Then all that he has to do is +to pull it down to the ground. + +In some parts of India, however, these birds are regarded by the natives +as sacred, and no one is allowed to kill them, or even to take them +alive. + +[Illustration: AMERICAN GAME BIRDS + + 1. Wood-duck. 2. Pheasant. 3. Green-winged Teal. + 4. Yellow-legs; Tattler. 5. Widgeon Duck. 6. Canvas-back. + 7. Canada Grouse. 8. Blue-winged Teal. 9. Quail; Bobwhite. + 10. Wood-cock. 11. Virginia Rail. 12. Common Snipe.] + + +TURKEYS + +Everybody takes an interest in the turkey--more especially at +Thanksgiving and Christmas time!--and many people think that it comes +from the country of Turkey, but this is quite a mistake, for it is a +native of North America, in many parts of which it is still found in +great abundance. The domesticated turkey probably arose from the Mexican +variety rather than from the more familiar wild turkey of the Northern +States. + +Some of the flocks seem to consist of cock birds only, and others of +hens and young, the reason being that the cocks are very fierce and +quarrelsome birds, and will attack and even kill the young ones if they +have an opportunity. Until long after her little ones are fledged, +indeed, the mother turkey has to take the greatest care of them; for not +only are they in constant danger from their unnatural father, but all +kinds of other enemies, such as foxes, lynxes, and horned owls, +have to be guarded against as well. So she keeps them nearly always +under cover, and when at last they are big enough to be taken for a +little ramble, she never brings them back to the nest by the path by +which they left it. + +Turkeys often travel for very long distances. When they come to a broad +river they perch in the upper branches of the tallest trees they can +find, and then fly across together at a given signal. They are not very +strong on the wing, and usually some of them fall into the water. But by +spreading out their tails and paddling hard they generally manage to +make their way to shore. + + +PHEASANTS + +The pheasant is a native of Southeastern Europe and Asia Minor; but it +has lived in Western Europe for so long that it is fully entitled to +rank among British birds. It has so many enemies, however, that if it +were not carefully preserved it would very soon disappear. + +Pheasants nearly always live in woods, though they often venture out +into the open fields to search for food, which consists of acorns, +grain, beechnuts, seeds, and small insects. During the winter, however, +they have to be fed, or they would be very likely to die from +starvation. + +These birds do not make a regular nest, the hen merely scratching a +slight hollow in the ground, and there laying her ten to fourteen +olive-brown eggs. When she is sitting it is difficult to see her, for +her light-brown mottled plumage looks just like the dead leaves among +which she is resting, and even the sharpest eye might often pass her by. + + +THE RED GROUSE + +This bird is remarkable for two reasons. The first is, that it is found +only in the British Isles, and not in any other part of the world; and +the second is, that it varies so very greatly in color. Sometimes it is +almost entirely black, sometimes it is reddish chestnut, and +sometimes nearly all the feathers are broadly tipped with white. + +The red grouse is found on moors and mountainsides wherever there is +plenty of heath or heather, and where it can obtain the whortleberries, +cranberries, and tender shoots of cotton-grass and sedge upon which it +feeds. And though it has many natural enemies, such as hawks and crows, +foxes and stoats, and while it is shot in thousands by sportsmen, it +never seems to decrease in abundance. + +As a general rule the grouse does not fly much, but runs with great +swiftness among the heather. It makes a very rough nest of straws and +twigs in a hollow in the ground, and often sits so closely on its eggs +that it may almost be trodden on before it will move. When the little +ones are hatched they seem to know without being taught how to conceal +themselves in moments of danger, and if they cannot find cover will +flatten themselves against the ground, where they look so much like +stones that even the sharp eye of a hawk will pass them by. + +[Illustration: FOUR GREAT GAME-BIRDS. + + 1. American Wild Turkey. 2. European Great Bustard. + 3. European Blackcock. 4. South American Chaha.] + + +PARTRIDGES + +Partridges, of which our quail is an example, are found almost +everywhere, being carefully protected in most countries for purposes of +sport; and they lay so many eggs that they are scarcely likely to become +less plentiful. Few nests contain less than ten eggs, while fifteen or +even more are frequently laid; and instances have been recorded in which +as many as thirty-three eggs have been found in a single nest, but in +these cases two birds have most likely laid together. The mother bird +sits very closely--so closely, indeed, that when she has nested in a +meadow and the grass is being mown, she often fails to move out of the +way of the scythe in time, and is found lying on the ground with her +head cut off after the reapers have passed by. + +When the little ones are hatched, both parents go about with them, and +the covey, as it is called, keeps together all through the autumn and +winter. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV + +OSTRICHES, HERONS, CRANES, IBISES, ETC. + + +The ostrich is a very remarkable bird indeed. + +In the first place, it is by far the largest of all living birds, for a +full-grown male ostrich is taller than a very tall man. Then its head is +somewhat like that of a camel, and its neck like that of a giraffe--very +long and slender, with scarcely any feathers on it. Next, its wings are +so small that they cannot be used for flight. All that an ostrich does +with its wings, indeed, is to spread them out when it is running, so +that they may help it in keeping its balance. And, finally, its legs are +as stout and as strong as those of a horse, while it has only two toes +on each foot. + +Ostriches live in the great desert plains of Africa, where they are +mostly found in small flocks. Although they cannot fly, they can run +with very great speed, and in fair chase will distance even a swift +horse. But for some strange reason they always run in circles, so that +all that a hunter has to do is to notice whether they are swerving to +the right or to the left, and then to gallop across and cut them off. + +When an ostrich is running at full speed it takes most wonderful +strides, its toes scarcely touching the ground as it dashes along. By +careful measurement, indeed, it has been found that there is sometimes a +distance of no less than twenty-eight feet between its footmarks! + +The ostrich is rather a formidable bird, for it can kick forward with +terrific force. But if a man lies down when attacked by one he is fairly +safe, for the kick cannot be properly delivered at a height of less than +three feet. Or if he has a forked stick he can hold the bird back by +pressing the fork against its neck. + +Ostriches' eggs are so large that one of them will make a good meal for +eight men. The bird does not make a nest, but scoops out a hollow in the +sand about three feet across and a foot deep, and then arranges +its eggs in it, each egg standing upright, and being lightly covered +with sand. Twenty eggs or more are often hatched together, and in +addition to these the bird generally lays a number round the edges of +the hole, which appear to serve as food for the young. During the day +the hen sits, the cock taking her place by night. + +The appetite of the ostrich is proverbial, and it would really be +difficult to say what an ostrich will not swallow. Stones, coins, +bunches of keys, tobacco-pipes, newspapers done up for post, brickbats, +old shoes, and tenpenny nails have all been taken from its crop; and it +seems to be very seldom indeed that any of these things disagree with +it! Its natural food, however, consists chiefly of wild melons, which +also supply it with all the moisture that it needs. + +Ostriches are very valuable to man, on account of the beautiful plumes +which are obtained from the male. These birds are therefore kept in +great numbers in ostrich-farms so that the plumes may be regularly cut +once in every year. As this does not destroy the bird, it is proper to +make use of these beautiful feathers as ornaments. + + +THE EMU + +In Australia the place of the ostrich is taken by the emu. It is a +smaller bird, however, though a full-grown hen--which is bigger than the +cock--is often six feet in height. And it has three toes upon each foot +instead of two. + +The emu was formerly very common in many parts of Australia, but it has +been so terribly persecuted that it is fast becoming exceedingly scarce. +It is generally hunted with dogs, which are trained to spring at the +neck, so as to be out of reach of the terrible feet. For the emu does +not kick forward, as ostriches do, but strikes sideways and backward, +like a cow. + +The emu only lays six or seven eggs, which are of a beautiful dark-green +color, without any markings at all. They are laid in a hollow scooped in +the ground. During the nesting-season the female bird utters a loud +booming sound, which is due to a very curious pouch in the throat. + + +RHEAS + +There are also several ostrich-like birds in South America which are +known as rheas. They inhabit the Argentine plains, and are not nearly so +large as the ostrich and the emu, but are quite as swift of foot, so +that it is not at all easy for a man mounted on even a fast horse to +overtake them. They are generally hunted with the bolas which is a long +cord with a heavy ball as each end, and is flung at the bird in such a +manner as to wind round its neck and hold it prisoner. + +Rheas always lay their eggs in hollows in the ground, and the number of +eggs in a nest seems to vary from twenty to twenty-four. The male bird, +apparently, sits upon them, the hen taking no part in the task of +hatching them out. Neither does she seem to take any care of the little +birds when at last they make their appearance, for they always travel +about with the cock. + + +CASSOWARIES + +Of these there are a good many kinds. They are formed like the ostrich +and the emu, but have shorter necks, which are sometimes wattled and are +marked with patches of brilliant red and blue and green. The legs are +stout and the feet are perfectly enormous. But their most striking +feature is an odd bony crest upon the top of the head, which is covered +with naked skin. + +Cassowaries are found only in Australia, New Guinea, Ceram, and some of +the neighboring islands, and, unlike all the preceding birds, are +dwellers in the forest. They are so shy that they are very seldom seen, +so that we do not know very much about their habits. The Australian +natives, however, often keep them in captivity, and treat them almost as +we treat poultry. But they are rather dangerous creatures, for they can +kick very hard with their great, strong feet, and are very ready to +attack any one who is a stranger to them. + +Cassowaries only lay from three to five eggs, and it seems that the +cock bird alone sits on them, and that he also takes care of the little +ones after they are hatched. + + +KIWIS + +More curious still are the kiwis of New Zealand, whose wings are so very +small, and so completely concealed under the feathers of the body, that +practically they may be said to have none at all. Besides this, the beak +is so long and slender that it reminds one of that of a woodcock or a +snipe. The nostrils are placed at the very tip of this beak, which the +bird appears to use by plunging it deeply into soft ground, and then +smelling for worms. + +When it finds a worm it seems to coax rather than to pull it out of the +ground, and then throws up its head and swallows it whole. + +Kiwis have several times been brought to the London Zoo, but hardly any +one ever saw them, for all day long they were fast asleep among their +straw. If the keeper took them out and woke them they would just yawn +once or twice, opening their beaks to the widest possible extent, and +then fall fast asleep again. + +After dark, however, these birds become very lively, and will run with +such speed that even a dog can scarcely overtake them. This shows that +their natural habit is to go abroad and seek their food during the +night. + +The egg of the kiwi is enormously large. Indeed, it is almost a quarter +of the size of the bird itself, and when two eggs have been laid and the +bird is sitting on them, the ends project beyond the feathers on either +side of its body. + + +BUSTARDS + +The bustards also are able to run very well, and unlike the birds +belonging to the ostrich family, they are also able to fly. + +The finest of these birds is the great bustard, which until about the +year 1840 was found wild in Great Britain. The cock is between three and +four feet in height, and the head and body together are nearly +four feet long, while when the wings are fully spread they measure quite +eight feet from tip to tip. The hen is a good deal smaller. + +The great bustard lives in wild, open plains, and is so extremely wary +that it is almost impossible to approach within gunshot. Except during +the nesting season it is found in small flocks, and both by day and by +night two of the party act as sentinels and stand always on the watch, +ready to give the alarm at the first sign of danger. They have +wonderfully sharp sight, and will detect a man long before they can be +seen by him. Almost the only way to shoot them, indeed, is to dig a pit +in the ground and hide inside it, covered over with branches, until they +pass by. + +These magnificent birds are now found chiefly in the steppes of Eastern +Europe and Asia, where they feed upon seeds and grain, and also upon +insects and even upon small animals. They lay two or three eggs in a +hollow in the ground, in which sometimes, but not always, they place a +few grass-stems by way of a nest. + + +CRANES + +Another tall and stately bird is the crane. It is found in one or +another species in all quarters of the world, living on plains and +marshes, coming north to breed, and retiring southward again during the +winter. + +Cranes generally travel about in flocks, which nearly always fly in the +form of a wedge, each bird having its long legs stretched stiffly out +behind it. Each flock is under the guidance of a leader, and the birds +are most careful when they alight to do so in some open place where they +can see for a long distance in every direction, so as to guard against +the danger of being surprised by an enemy. + +Cranes are generally to be seen in marshy districts, where they can find +plenty of frogs, newts, and worms. But sometimes they will make their +way to a newly sown field and dig up all the grain. Their nests are +generally placed on the ground, among osiers or in reed-beds, though now +and then they will build on the very top of an old ruin. The little +brown crane of the western plains is the most familiar American species. + +The crowned crane, which is found in Northern and Western Africa, is a +very odd-looking bird, for it has a large bunch of upright golden +feathers on the top of its head, and a scarlet wattle on the throat. +From a little distance it really looks as if it were wearing a bright +yellow bonnet, tied with a bow of scarlet ribbon under its chin! + + +LAPWINGS + +The European lapwing, known to every one by the familiar reference in +Tennyson's "Locksley Hall," represents the world-wide family of plovers. +They are beautiful birds with their black and white plumage and the tuft +of long feathers at the back of the head, and very often one may see +hundreds or even thousands of them together. Early in the spring one may +find their four long, pointed eggs, which are olive brown in color, +spotted and blotched with brownish black, and are always laid in a +little hollow in the bare ground with their small ends inward in the +form of a cross. But somehow or other, although they are quite large +eggs, it is very difficult to see them, and you might pass close by a +dozen nests, and even look straight at them, and yet never notice the +eggs at all. + +Often, when some one happens to find a hen lapwing sitting on her eggs, +she will pretend to be wounded, and will flap and tumble along the +ground in the hope of making the intruder chase her, and so of leading +him away from her nest. + +Sportsmen know of many other plovers, such as the golden, the ringneck, +the killdee, or killdeer, and several more, both American and foreign. + + +THE CURLEW + +This is another plains-bird common to both continents, which may often +be noticed on moors or in marshes during the summer, or on the sea-coast +in the winter. But generally one only sees it in the distance, for it +is extremely wary, and takes to flight at the very slightest alarm. + +All through the winter months curlews live in flocks, and one may hear +them uttering their mournful cries in chorus together. But early in the +spring they separate, and each pair selects some little hollow in the +ground which may serve as a nest. In this they lay four pear-shaped +eggs, which are olive green in color, spotted with gray and brown. When +the eggs are hatched the parents take the greatest care of their little +ones, and often if any one comes too near the nest they will fly round +and round his head in the most excited manner, and do their very best to +drive him away. + +In color the curlew is pale brown above, with darker spots and streaks, +and grayish white beneath. Its total length is about twenty-four inches, +and the beak is long and slender, with a downward curve. + + +RUFFS + +The ruff, a relative of the curlew, is remarkable for three reasons. In +the first place, during the breeding-season, the male bird has a great +frill or ruff of long feathers round his neck, which he can raise and +lower at will. In the next place, two male ruffs are never colored +alike, while sometimes they look so wholly different that it is quite +hard to believe that they can really belong to the same species. And, in +the third place, they are so dreadfully quarrelsome when the +nesting-season begins, that two male ruffs can never meet without +fighting. More than that, they actually have regular fighting-places, to +which numbers of the birds resort when they want to settle their +quarrels! But although they fight very savagely, they never seem to do +each other much harm. + +Ruffs are hardly known in America, except in Alaska, but at one time +they were very common in the marshy parts of England. + + +THE WOODCOCK + +The woodcock is a bird of wooded swamps. It is valued by sportsmen, +because difficult to shoot and delicate to eat. They lay their eggs in +a hollow in the ground, which they line with dry grass and leaves. When +the mother bird is sitting it is almost impossible to see her, for she +nearly always nests among dead ferns, which are of exactly the same hues +as her own plumage. Generally, indeed, it is her eyes that are noticed, +and if she only had the sense to keep them shut she would probably never +be detected at all. + +Woodcocks are hardly ever seen unless they are disturbed, for they hide +during the daytime in thick bushes in woods, and only come out to feed +in the evening. Their food consists chiefly of worms, which they pull +out of soft, muddy ground by means of their long, slender beaks. + +If two male woodcocks meet during the nesting-season they almost always +quarrel, and will fight nearly as savagely as ruffs. + + +THE SNIPE + +In appearance and habits the snipe is something like the woodcock, but +it is considerably smaller, and is found in damp, marshy ground instead +of in woods. When it is flushed it flies away for a few yards quite +straight, and then begins to twist and turn about in a most +extraordinary way, changing the direction of its flight at almost every +yard. In consequence of this habit it is not at all an easy bird to +shoot. + +The male snipe is very fond of rising to a great height in the air, and +there uttering his curious cry of "chick! chick! chick-a!" over and over +again. At the same time he also makes a strange drumming sound, which +seems to be caused in some way by the motion of the wings, as it is only +produced while he is "stooping" down toward the ground. + +The snipe generally nests in the middle of a tussock of coarse grass or +rushes, where it lays four buff or olive-green eggs marked with +dark-brown blotches. + + +THE HERON + +One of our finest American birds is the heron, which you may often see +flying high in the air, with its long legs stretched stiffly out +behind it. And sometimes you may see it standing quite motionless in +the shallower parts of a stream, watching for the fishes on which it +feeds. After a time it will slowly stoop, plunge its long beak into the +water, and draw it out again with a minnow, or a perch, or a frog +struggling in its grip. Then it holds its beak almost upright, gives a +gobble and a gulp--and the fish or the frog disappears! + +The heron feeds largely on frogs, mice, insects, and worms, as well as +upon fishes. And more than once it has been known to capture and swallow +a small snake. + +Herons build their nests in the upper branches of tall trees, making +them of sticks and twigs, lined with grass and roots. A number of these +birds generally nest together in the same clump of trees, just as rooks +do, and in each nest are laid either three or four bluish-green eggs, +without any markings at all. + +If a heron is attacked, it uses its long, dagger-like beak with great +readiness, and always tries to strike at the eyes of its enemy. Herons +are of many kinds, the great blue one being the finest of the tribe. + + +STORKS + +The stork is found in most parts of Europe, and also in Asia and +Northern Africa, but no stork lives in America. + +When storks are migrating, they fly in great flocks, which sometimes +consist of many thousand birds. As soon as they arrive, they spread +themselves over the country, being especially fond of marshy districts, +where they can find plenty of frogs, toads, lizards, and the other small +creatures upon which they feed. But they also devour large quantities of +the offal which they find in the streets of the villages and towns. + +In Holland and Germany storks breed in great numbers. Their nests, which +are usually placed on the tops of chimneys, are little more than clumsy +piles of sticks, and as fresh sticks are added every year, they +gradually get bigger and bigger until at last they reach a very great +size. From three to five pure white eggs are laid, and the young birds +remain in the nest until they are well able to fly. + + +THE IBIS + +Very much like storks in some ways are the ibises, which are found in +many parts of Asia, Africa, and America. They are generally found in +flocks, which live in marshes or on the banks of rivers and lakes, where +they spend most of their time dabbling in the water with their long +beaks in search of food. + +One of these birds was worshiped by the Egyptians of old, who treated it +with the greatest reverence during life, and carefully embalmed its body +when it died. For this reason it is known as the sacred ibis, and in +every large art museum you may see ibis mummies, which were taken from +the tombs of the kings. In color this bird is snowy white, with a black +head and neck, and long black plumes on the hinder part of the back. You +may generally see it in a zoo, together with the beautiful scarlet ibis, +whose plumage is bright red in color, with black tips to the wings. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI + +SWIMMING BIRDS + + +In the birds belonging to this group the feet are webbed, so that they +may be used as paddles. And some of them are very curious indeed. + + +FLAMINGO + +First of all, there is the well-known red and white flamingo, which is +quite an extraordinary bird, for it has extremely long, stilt-like legs, +and an extremely long, snake-like neck, which it can twist and coil +about as easily as if it were just a piece of rope. There is no part of +its body which a flamingo cannot reach with its beak, so that it can +preen its feathers quite easily. And when it wants to feed it wades into +the water, bends down its long neck, turns its head upside down, so that +its forehead rests upon the bottom, and scoops up great mouthfuls of +mud. Then, by means of the grooves at the sides of the bill, it gets rid +of the mud, while all the grubs, etc., which were lying buried in it, +are left behind to be swallowed. + +The nest of the flamingo is a cone-shaped heap of mud, sometimes as much +as two feet high, with a little hollow at the top to contain eggs. +Thousands of these birds nest together, and when they are sitting they +look just like a great rosy-white cloud resting upon the ground. And if +they are startled and fly away, their nests look as though hundreds of +children had been making big sand-pies on the beach and neatly arranging +them in rows. But such a sight as this can now be seen only in some +almost inaccessible tropical islands, for these birds have been greatly +persecuted by feather-hunters and others, and are rare everywhere near +civilization. They used to be common in Florida and all about the Gulf +of Mexico, where now only a few exist. + +Flamingoes are found in the warmer parts of all the great continents +except Australia. Nine different kinds are known, some of which stand +well over six feet in height. + + +GEESE, SWANS, AND DUCKS + +Of wild geese there are at least forty species, which are found in +almost all parts of the world. + +The graylag goose which breeds in the British Isles, seems to be the +ancestor of the domestic geese that we see in every farmyard. It lives +in flocks, which frequent marshes, lakes, and boggy moors during the +greater part of the year, but often visit the sea-coast in winter. +Sometimes, too, they may be seen near the mouth of a great river. They +are very shy birds, and when sportsmen wish to shoot them they have to +resort to all kinds of tricks in order to approach them without being +seen. + +When wild geese fly, they generally do so in the form of a half-opened +pair of compasses, with the angle in front. But now and then they may be +seen in the air in an irregular wavy line. As they fly they make a +curious "gaggling" cry, which can be heard from a very long distance. + +The nest of this goose is made of grass and flags, and is generally +placed at the base of a tussock of coarse grass. It usually contains six +plain white eggs. + +Swans, too, are found wild in many parts of the world, and used to be +almost as numerous as ducks or geese both on the inland lakes and along +the coasts of the United States, but now have become rare and shy. All +the species breed in the arctic regions, and appear among us only on +their migrations in spring and fall. + +Swans are most graceful birds in the water, and as their limbs are set +very far back they can swim with great ease. But for the same reason +they are very clumsy upon dry ground, and waddle along in the most +awkward way, seeming to find it very difficult to keep their balance. +All those in our parks are tame; but during the nesting-season the male +swan generally becomes very savage, and will attack any one who ventures +too near to his nest. And as a single stroke from his wing is +sufficient to break a man's arm, he is apt to be dangerous when +unfriendly. + +The nest of the swan is a very large structure of reeds, rushes, and +grass, and is generally placed quite close to the water's edge. It +contains six or seven large greenish-white eggs. + +A great many kinds of duck are known, but we can only mention the common +wild duck, which still visits rivers and lakes every winter in +considerable numbers, a few of which remain to breed. + +The male duck is called the mallard, and from October till May he is a +very handsome bird, with a dark-green head and neck, a white collar +round the lower part of his throat, brownish-gray wings, chestnut-brown +breast, and white hinder parts. But when he moults he puts off this +beautiful plumage, and for the next five months is mottled all over with +brown and gray, just like his mate. + +Wild ducks are found chiefly in marshes and fens, and on the borders of +rivers and lakes. But when they come over in the autumn they often spend +the daytime out at sea resting on the water. They make their nests of +grass, lined with down from the mother bird's own breast; and the little +ones are able to swim as soon as they leave the egg-shell. When they are +about half grown they sometimes use their wings in diving, and you may +see them flapping their way along beneath the surface, and really flying +under water. + + +CORMORANTS + +In Great Britain, due to its northern latitude, cormorants are commonly +seen where the coast is high and rocky; but in America they are less +often visible because they dwell mainly in the far north. They are very +odd birds. Sitting on rocks which overhang the water, every now and then +one will drop into the sea, splash about for a moment or two, and then +return to his perch. Then you may be quite sure that he has caught and +swallowed a fish. Sometimes you may see them swimming along with their +heads under water, watching for victims in the depths below. + +Cormorants are famous for their big appetites--perhaps it would be more +correct to say for their horrible greediness, for they will go on eating +till they simply cannot swallow another morsel, and yet will try hard to +catch every fish that comes near them. The little ones feed in a most +extraordinary way, for they actually poke their heads down their +mother's throat, and take as much food as they want from her crop! + +When these birds really feel that they have had enough to eat, they sit +upon a rock for an hour or two while they digest their dinners. They +also take this opportunity to dry their wings, and spread them out to +the fullest extent on either side, so that they look very much like rows +of black clothes hung out to dry! + +In China cormorants are often trained to catch fish for their masters, a +strap being fastened round the lower part of the neck to prevent them +from swallowing their victims. They were formerly used in England in +just the same way. + + +PELICANS + +More curious still are their cousins the pelicans, which have a pouch of +naked parchment-like skin under their long bills, capable of holding +quite two gallons of water. This pouch, as a rule, is folded closely up +under the beak, but when the bird is fishing, it packs victim after +victim into it until it is quite full, when it really looks almost half +as big as the body. + +In this way pelicans carry back food for their hungry little ones. But +on their way they are sometimes robbed, for there is a kind of large +hawk which is very fond of eating fishes, but is not at all fond of the +trouble of catching them. So he waits till he sees a pelican returning +home from a fishing expedition, and then dashes at it, and begins to +beat it about the head with his wings. The poor frightened pelican, +thinking that it is about to be killed, opens its beak to scream. This, +of course, is just what the hawk wants, and snatching a fish out of the +pelican's pouch, he flies off with it in triumph. + +Pelicans are very plentiful in many parts of the world, and are often +seen in vast flocks. We have two kinds in the United States and +Canada--the white and the brown. Both are more numerous on the marshes +and around the shallow lakes of the northwestern plains than anywhere +else, because they have been driven from their former coast-resorts. All +the birds in a flock will sometimes go out fishing together. Arranging +themselves in a great semicircle, about a yard apart, they all paddle +slowly forward, and in this way will drive a great shoal of fish into +shallow water, where they may be snapped up without difficulty. + + +SEA-GULLS + +These you know very well by sight, for they are common on all parts of +our coasts, and on many of our lakes, while numbers of them may be seen +even on the ornamental waters in the parks of New York and other +seaboard cities. In stormy weather, too, they often fly inland, and +sometimes great numbers of them may be seen in newly plowed fields, +hunting for worms and insects. Most of them go north for the +breeding-season, some visiting certain islands and rocky cliffs in +immense numbers, and making their nests of seaweed; while others, like +the black-headed gull, and the ringbill nest in marshes, merely +trampling down the broken tops of sedges and reeds, and so forming a +slight hollow in which to lay the eggs. + +At least fifty different kinds of gulls are known. But many of them are +very difficult to distinguish, for their summer plumage may be quite +unlike that with which they are clothed during the winter, while the +young birds are not marked like their parents till they are two or even +three years old. Those which are most common on the Atlantic coast are +two or three kinds of herring-gulls, which formerly bred in great +numbers on all our sandy shores and islets, but now have been driven to +quieter regions in the far north. On the western plains, around certain +shallow lakes, live great colonies of ring-billed and other small gulls, +breeding in the extensive marshes. + +Flying to and fro over the sea, or over a large inland lake, you may +sometimes see a number of birds which look like gulls, but are much +smaller, and have long, forked tails like swallows. These are terns, +or sea-swallows, as they are often called, and are most elegant and +graceful in their movements, gliding and sweeping through the air, and +twisting and turning with the most wonderful swiftness and ease. They +are summer visitors only, coming to us in May and flying south again in +September, and they breed on flat shores, generally laying their two or +three eggs in a small hollow in the shingle. They feed on small fishes +and shrimps, and also on the sandhoppers and the various insects which +are so plentiful upon the beach. + +[Illustration: AMERICAN WADING BIRDS. + + 1. Great White Egret. 2. Sandhill Crane. + 3. Great Blue Heron. 4. Whooping Crane. + 5. White Pelican (Male). 6. Snow Goose.] + + +GUILLEMOTS + +Very common are guillemots on some coasts where there are sea-fronting +cliffs, and freedom from disturbance. Thus they abound along the shores +of Labrador and Greenland, and many varieties are to be found along the +northern coasts of Alaska, and about the borders of the Arctic sea, +often thronging in great numbers together with puffins, kittiwakes, +petrels, and gannets, each kind occupying separate parts of the cliffs +and living on friendly terms with their neighbors. + +Guillemots feed entirely upon fishes, which they chase under water, +using both their wings and feet, just as dabchicks do. They do not make +any nest, but lay a single egg on a bare ledge of rock which is often +only a very few inches wide. One would think that this egg would be in +great danger of being knocked over the edge. But it is very large at one +end and very much pointed at the other, so that if it is struck it only +rolls round and round. In color it is green or blue, blotched and +streaked with black. + + +THE ALBATROSS + +One of the largest of all the sea-birds is the albatross, which is found +chiefly in the tropical seas. When the wings are fully spread, they +sometimes measure nearly twelve feet from tip to tip. Yet the entire +weight of the bird is not more than sixteen or seventeen pounds. It +often remains at sea for weeks or months together, sometimes remaining +in the air all through the night as well as all through the day, and +following ships for hundreds of miles in order to feed upon the refuse +which is thrown overboard. Its appetite is enormous, for it has been +known to gulp down a great piece of whale's blubber, weighing between +three and four pounds, and then to return almost immediately for more! + +Great numbers of albatrosses nest together on uninhabited islands, each +pair scooping together a quantity of clay, grass, and sedge, which they +arrange in a conical heap about ten or twelve inches high, with a little +hollow at the top. Only a single egg is laid, which is quite white, and +is rather larger than that of a goose. + + +THE PUFFIN AND THE PENGUIN + +Two most curious birds must be mentioned in conclusion. The first of +these is the puffin, which is found plentifully in one or another +species on all northern coasts where there are bold cliffs. An odder and +more quaint-looking bird it would be difficult to imagine, for it has a +beak quite large enough for a bird six times its size, while that beak, +which is banded with bright crimson, gray, and brilliant yellow, looks +just as if it had been stuck on with glue! More than that, it does not +appear to fit very well; so that altogether, with its short, squat body +and stout little legs, the puffin is by no means a graceful bird. It is +often known as the sea-parrot. + +On dry land, the puffin is very awkward, and can only waddle along +slowly and clumsily. But it is a good swimmer and diver, and can chase +and overtake small fishes with the greatest of ease. It is also able to +fly very well, and takes long journeys over the sea when it comes to us +in the spring, and again when it goes southward in the autumn. It makes +no nest, but finds a cranny, digs out a hole in the face of a cliff to +the depth of about three feet, and lays a single grayish-white egg at +the end of the hole. + +Odder still is the penguin, whose wings are but little more than +flippers, with scales on their upper edges instead of feathers! It +cannot fly, of course; but it uses its wings for two purposes. For if it +is frightened upon land it throws itself down on its breast and +scuttles along on all fours, just as though its wings were legs, and if +it wants to chase a fish in the sea it swims with them, just as though +they were paddles. + +There are a good many different kinds of penguins, all of which are +found in the southern hemisphere. On some of the islands in the Pacific +and Antarctic oceans they are found in immense numbers, and have a +curious way of standing side by side upon the shore in long rows, with +their flippers hanging down on either side of their bodies. From a +distance, indeed, they might almost be mistaken for lines of soldiers +standing at attention. When the breeding-season begins they become very +busy, picking up stones, carrying them about with a great deal of fuss, +and then carefully arranging them in position, every now and then +turning their beaks up to the sky, waving their flippers, and making a +curious gobbling noise. If a sitting hen leaves her nest for a little, +all the other hens become greatly excited, and peck at her as she passes +by in order to drive her back again, croaking loudly in chorus, and +evidently feeling extremely indignant with her for neglecting her +duties. + +When these odd birds are sitting on a ledge of ice, and want to get down +into the sea, they often throw themselves upon their breasts, and +"toboggan" down the slope into the water! + + + + +REPTILES + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII + +TORTOISES, TURTLES, AND LIZARDS + + +We now come to the cold-blooded animals, which are divided into three +classes. First we have the reptiles, whose hearts are formed of three +chambers, and which breathe air by means of lungs. Next come the +amphibians, which are like the reptiles in many ways, but which have to +pass through a tadpole stage before they reach the perfect form. And, +thirdly, there are the fishes, whose hearts are divided into two +chambers only, and which breathe water by means of gills. + + +TORTOISES AND TURTLES + +At the head of the reptiles stand the tortoises and turtles, whose +bodies are shut up in a kind of horny box, which we generally call the +shell. In reality, however, it is not a shell at all; for the upper +part, which we call the carapace, is a development of the spine and the +ribs, while the lower part, which is known as the plastron, is a +development of the breast-bone. These animals, in fact, have part of +their skeletons inside their bodies and part outside; so that they are +really shut up in their own bones! + +The so-called shell of a tortoise or a turtle is always very hard and +strong, so that you can stand upon quite a small tortoise without +hurting it in the least and in most cases the head and legs can be +tucked away inside it, so that the animal is safely protected from +almost every foe. + +None of the turtles and tortoises have any teeth. But the edges of their +jaws are so sharp and horny that they can often inflict a very severe +bite. Some of the larger turtles, indeed, could snap off the fingers of +a man's hand as easily as you could bite through a carrot! + +[Illustration: TYPES OF WATER-BIRDS + + 1. Mandarin Duck. 2. Penguin. 3. Heron. 4. Pelican. + 5. Bittern. 6. Flamingo. 7. Crane.] + + +LAND-TORTOISES + +The most famous of all the tortoises is the common land-tortoise, or +Greek tortoise, which is found in many parts of the south of Europe, and +also in Asia Minor. This is the animal which is so often kept as a pet, +and about which so much pleasant literary interest has gathered. It does +not grow to any great size, but will live in a garden for many years, +crawling about by night as well as by day. Early in the autumn it buries +itself underground, and falls into a deep sleep, from which it does not +awake until the spring. + +This tortoise is a vegetable-feeder, and is very fond of lettuce leaves, +more especially when they are quite crisp and fresh, so that it can +easily nip them to pieces with its sharp jaws. If they are rather old +and stringy, it will hold them down with its front feet while it tears +them asunder. And if you keep one of these animals as a pet, and want to +give it a great treat, there is nothing that it likes better than a +little milk. It is amusing to see how it drinks, for it first scoops up +a little milk in its lower jaw, just as if it were using a spoon, and +then holds up its head in order that the liquid may trickle down its +throat. + +There are a good many other kinds of land-tortoises, some of which grow +to a very great size. The largest of all comes from the Galapagos +Islands, and is quite a giant; for some of them are more than four feet +long, and weigh between eight and nine hundred pounds! These huge +creatures, however, are now nearly extinct. + + +TURTLES + +The turtles are distinguished from the tortoises by the structure of +their feet, which are flattened out in such a way as to serve as paddles +in the water. For this reason these reptiles hardly ever come upon land +except when they want to lay their eggs; and they can swim so +well that they are often met with many hundreds of miles out at sea. + +One of the best known of these creatures is the hawksbill turtle, which +is so called because its mouth is shaped just like the beak of a hawk. +The carapace is made up of thirteen large scales, which overlap one +another for about a third of their length, just like the slates on the +roof of a house. + +These scales are very valuable, for the best tortoise-shell is obtained +from them. When they are first taken from the animal they do not look +like tortoise-shell at all, for they are dull and crumpled and brittle. +But after they have been boiled, and steamed, and pressed for some hours +they quite change their character, and become so soft that they can +easily be molded into any required shape. + +The eggs of this turtle are laid in a hole which the mother scrapes in +the sand, and are hatched by the heat of the sun. As soon as the little +turtles make their appearance they hurry off as fast as they can toward +the water. But they are very good to eat, and a number of hungry animals +and birds are always on the lookout for them, so that a very great many +are snapped up and devoured before they can plunge into the waves. + +The famous turtle soup, which is considered so great a dainty, is made +from the flesh of the green turtle, which is found most plentifully off +the island of Ascension and in the West Indies. It grows to a great +size, for it is often four feet six inches in length and three feet in +breadth, while it may weigh nearly three-quarters of a ton. Of course it +is not at all easy to capture such big creatures. But they are generally +pursued when they come on shore to lay their eggs, and are turned over +on their backs by means of a lever. They are then perfectly helpless, +and can be left lying where they are until a number of others have been +overturned in the same way, when they are lifted into a boat one by one, +and are taken on board ship. There they thrive quite well if a pail of +water is thrown over them two or three times a day, and are generally in +very good condition when they reach this country. + +It is said that if one of these turtles has once begun to lay her eggs +in the sand, nothing will induce her to pause in her task until she has +finished it, and that even if the eggs are taken away from her as fast +as she lays them, she will still go steadily on just as if she were +undisturbed. + + +CROCODILES AND ALLIGATORS + +Of course you know what these huge creatures are like. They are just +enormous lizards, fifteen, or twenty, or even thirty feet long, with +very short legs, and very clumsy bodies, and very long tails. And their +great jaws are armed with rows of most terrible teeth. + +But what is the difference between crocodiles and alligators? Well, in +some ways they are certainly very much alike; but you can always tell +them by the shape of their heads, for the muzzle of a crocodile is +always narrowed just behind the nostrils, while that of an alligator is +not. And in the crocodiles the fourth lower tooth fits into a notch in +the edge of the upper jaw, so that you can distinctly see it even when +the mouth is closed. + +All these creatures live in the water, and spend a great deal of their +time lying motionless on the surface, when they look like floating logs. +One would think that they were fast asleep. But woe betide any animal +which comes to drink from the bank close by, for one of the great +reptiles instantly dives, swims swiftly along under water, and knocks it +into the stream by a blow from its mighty tail. + +There is scarcely any animal which does not fall a victim at times to +these giant lizards. And as soon as the unfortunate creature is knocked +into the water it is dragged beneath the surface, and held there until +it is drowned. You would think that the reptiles themselves would be +drowned, wouldn't you, as they have to remain submerged for many minutes +with their jaws widely opened? But they have a very curious valve at the +back of the throat, and as soon as the mouth is opened this closes so +tightly that not even the tiniest drop of water can find its way down +the throat. + +Both crocodiles and alligators swim with very great speed by waving +their powerful tails from side to side in the water. They can run, too, +with some little pace upon land. But it is very easy to avoid them, for +the bones of their necks are made in such a way that they cannot turn +their heads, and all that one has to do if pursued is to spring suddenly +to one side. But of course it is necessary to avoid the stroke of the +tail. + +The crocodiles always lay their eggs in the sand on the bank of a river. +The eggs are about as big as those of a goose, and are generally buried +at a depth of a couple of feet. The mother reptile always sleeps on the +top of the nest, and it is said that when the little ones are ready to +hatch out they utter a curious little cry. The mother hears this, and +scoops away the sand under which they are buried, in order that they may +have no difficulty in making their escape. + +Crocodiles are found in the warmer parts of Africa, Asia, America, and +Australia, and in some of the larger rivers are very plentiful. Just now +and then they venture down into the sea. Alligators, which also are +known as caymans and jacares, are only found in America and place their +eggs in holes dug in the mud or earth beside the water. In the colder +parts of the range they burrow under the mud of the banks and spend the +winter in sleep. + + +THE LIZARDS + +Lizards look at first glance like diminutive alligators, because most of +them have long-jawed heads, short legs wide apart, and long tails; but +really they are near relatives of the snakes, for not only their +internal structure but the coat of scales is snake-like; but an +important difference is that the jaws of the lizard are firmly hinged to +a solid skull, while the bones of the skull of the snake, including +those of the jaws, are connected by elastic cartilages which enable them +to spread apart and permit the swallowing of a mouthful astonishingly +large. But the lizards have no need of such a convenience, for they +subsist almost wholly on insects, or else are vegetable-eaters. Lizards +are almost entirely denizens of the tropics, and seem to rejoice in the +fiercest heat. They will lie contentedly in the desert at noonday on +rocks so hot that they would blister your hand if you touched them. +Therefore few are to be found in Europe or North America, except in the +extreme south. + + +THE BLINDWORM + +Two or three small kinds are to be found in the south of England, one of +which is curious as representing a tribe, largely represented in other +parts of the world, of legless burrowing lizards, which look much like +little snakes, for none of them are more than ten or twelve inches long, +while they are of the thickness of a lead-pencil. They look so shiny and +serpent-like that many people are afraid of them. + +But the blindworm, or slowworm, as this creature is called, is perfectly +harmless. It cannot bite you, for its teeth are far too tiny to pierce +the skin; and it cannot sting you, because it has no sting. There is its +odd little forked tongue, of course, which is always darting in and out +of its mouth, just like that of a snake. But this tongue is only a +feeler. Whenever a blindworm comes to an object it does not quite +understand, it touches it gently all over with the tip of its tongue, +just as we might touch it with the tips of our fingers. + +Notwithstanding its name, the blindworm has a pair of very good, though +rather small, beady black eyes; and, of course, it is not a worm. + +During the daytime the blindworm mostly lies hidden under a large stone; +and on turning such a stone over, one may sometimes find two or three of +these lizards all coiled up together. But in the evening they leave +their hiding-places, and go out to search for the tiny white slugs on +which they feed. + +When it is suddenly startled the blindworm sometimes behaves in a very +odd way. It stiffens its body, gives a kind of shudder and a twist, and +actually snaps off its own tail! Then the tail begins to writhe about on +the ground, wriggling and curling and even leaping up into the air in +the most curious manner; and while you are watching its antics, the +blindworm creeps away into some place of safety. You would think that it +must suffer a great deal of pain from this extraordinary injury, +wouldn't you, and that the blindworm would feel it quite as much as a +man would feel if his leg were cut off? But it does not seem to suffer +at all; and stranger still, a new tail very soon begins to grow +in the place of the old one, so that in the course of a very few weeks +the lizard is just as perfect as it was before! + + +SKINKS + +These are queer little lizards with four short legs and very stumpy +tails, which are found in many parts of Africa and Asia. They live in +sandy deserts, and are rather slow in their movements as a rule. But if +a fly should settle anywhere near them they will dart upon it with the +most surprising quickness, and will hardly ever fail to capture it. And +if they are alarmed they will burrow into the sand so rapidly that they +really seem to sink into it just as if it were water. In a very few +seconds, indeed, they will bury themselves to a depth of at least two or +three feet. + +In olden days skinks were very much used in medicine, and the powder +obtained from their dried bodies was thought to be a certain cure for +many diseases! It does not seem a very nice idea, yet even to this day +skinks are used for the same purpose in Eastern countries. + +There are several different kinds of these curious lizards, of which the +common skink, found in Northern Africa, is the best known. It is about +three inches and a half in length, and is yellowish brown in color, with +a number of darker bands on the sides of the body. + + +GECKOS + +Odder still are the geckos, which have their toes swollen out at the +tips into round sucker-like pads, by means of which they can climb a +wall or a pane of glass with the greatest ease, or even walk about like +flies on the ceiling. They are very fond of getting into houses, +generally remaining hidden in some dark corner during the day, but +coming out toward evening to search for insects, and continually +uttering their curious little cry of "geck-geck-geck-o." + +People used to be very much afraid of geckos, some thinking +that they could squirt out poison from the pads of their toes which +would act like the sting of a nettle, and others declaring that their +teeth were so sharp and strong that they could pierce even a sheet of +steel! But the real fact is that these lizards are perfectly harmless, +and cannot injure any living creature except the insects upon which they +feed. When they take up their quarters in a house they soon become +extremely tame, and will even climb up on the dinner-table to be fed. + +Geckos are found in almost all hot countries of the Old World, and +nearly three hundred different kinds have been found altogether. + + +IGUANAS + +American lizards are almost wholly members of the numerous iguana +family, which takes its name from the big examples found from Mexico +down into Brazil. The commonly known one when fully grown will measure +four feet from the tip of its blunt, top-shaped head to the end of its +long tapering tail. It looks rather forbidding, for a row of sharp +spikes runs right along its back, while under its chin is a great +dewlap. Yet it is not quite so terrible as it seems, for though it will +bite fiercely if it is driven to bay, and use its long tail like the +lash of a whip, it will always run away if it can, and will either climb +into the topmost boughs of a tree, or plunge into a stream and swim +away. + +This reptile is a very good swimmer, driving itself rapidly through the +water by waving its long tail from side to side, just like a crocodile +or an alligator. And it can dive beneath the surface and remain at the +bottom for a very long time without coming up to breathe. + +Iguanas live chiefly among the branches of trees which overhang the +water. Their flesh is very good to eat, for it is as tender as the +breast of a young chicken. Their eggs, too, which they bury in the sand +on the river-bank, are often used as food, and it is said that, no +matter how long they may be boiled, they never become hard. + + +VARIOUS AMERICAN LIZARDS + +The hot open plains which stretch from central Texas westward to the +Pacific Ocean, and northward in Utah and Nevada, abound in a great +variety of small lizards, none more than eighteen inches or so in +length. Some are fat and short-tailed, some slender and swift, with +tails like whiplashes. Some have gay colors and the power of changing +them more or less, while others are dull of hue and uninteresting or +repulsive to look at. Mostly they are insect-eaters, but some subsist +upon plants; and one of the latter is the big fat one known in southern +California as the "alderman." + +Another strange one is the broad, flat creature so frequently seen all +over the Southwest, and called horned toad, on account of its shape and +habit of sitting on its squat legs, with its tail tucked sideways out of +sight. It is covered almost all over with long and sharp spikes. Those +on its head, which are directed backward, are the longest; and from +these it gets its name of horned toad. But those on the back are very +nearly as long, while there are several rows upon the tail as well. Yet +it is perfectly harmless, for even when it is caught for the first time +it never seems to use either its spikes or its teeth. + +But it has another peculiarity which it sometimes uses as a means of +defence, and that is a very strange one indeed. It actually squirts out +little jets of blood from its eyes! That seems impossible, doesn't it? +Yet there is no doubt at all about it, for when these lizards have been +kept in captivity, and have been rather roughly handled, they have been +known to squirt several drops of blood at a time to a distance of twelve +or fifteen inches! Yet nobody seems to know how they do it. + + +THE GILA MONSTER + +This same region, however, contains a poisonous lizard--the only kind of +lizard in the world known to have sacs of venom in the mouth. This venom +enters any wound made by the animal's biting with certain teeth, and +acts upon the animal bitten like snake-poison. This is a +sluggish, round-headed, short-tailed creature which dwells in the sandy +plains along the Mexican boundary, and is called the Gila monster, or, +scientifically, the _Heloderma_. Its scales are rounded, so that +this lizard looks as if dressed in pebbled goatskin; and its colors are +black and yellow, in irregular blotches. The hunters and sheep-herders +are more afraid of it than need be, for it is sleepy and will never use +its poisonous teeth without great provocation, so that it is only +necessary to leave it alone in order to escape any harm. + + +THE FRILLED LIZARD + +This lizard is a native of Australia, and has round its neck a kind of +frill, or ruff, from six to eight inches in diameter! As a rule this +frill is folded round the throat, so that from a little distance one +would scarcely notice it. But as soon as the reptile is excited or +alarmed it spreads it out, sits on its hinder legs and its tail, raises +its head and body, and shows its teeth, just as if it were going to fly +at its enemy. This is only pretence, however, for though the lizard +grows to a length of nearly three feet, it is quite harmless. + +Another very curious habit which this lizard has is that of walking +upright on its hind legs, in the attitude of a dog when "begging." It +will even run in this position, and most odd it then looks. It is a +capital climber, and spends most of its life in the trees, to which it +always tries to escape when it thinks itself in danger. In color the +frilled lizard is yellowish brown mottled with black. + + +THE CHAMELEON + +Strangest of all strange lizards, however, is the chameleon. In the +first place, this lizard has a very long tongue, which it can dart out +to a really wonderful distance from its mouth. This tongue looks very +much like a worm, and is exceedingly sticky, so that all that a +chameleon has to do when it sees a fly settling near it is to dart out +its tongue and touch it with the tip. Then the fly adheres to +it, and is carried back into the mouth so quickly that it is almost +impossible to see what becomes of it. In this way it can catch a fly at +a distance of fully six inches. + +Then the chameleon has most extraordinary eyes. They are about as big as +peas; but instead of having lids which move up and down, as ours do, +they are entirely covered by the lids with the exception of just a tiny +round space in the middle. The lizard sees, in fact, through a hole in +the middle of its eyelid. That is strange enough; but what is stranger +still is that the animal can move its eyes in different directions at +the same time. They are hardly ever still for a single moment. But +instead of moving together, like those of all other animals, one may be +looking upward toward the sky and the other downward toward the ground; +or the right eye may be peering forward in front of the nose while the +left one is glancing backward toward the tail! Indeed, it would be very +difficult to find an odder sight than that of a chameleon when it is +moving its eyes about. They really look just as if they belonged to two +different animals. + +But the most wonderful fact of all about the chameleon is that it can +change its color whenever it chooses. + +How it does so no one quite knows. But the very same animal which is +brown all over as it sits upon a branch will become green all over if +you put it among leaves. The last thing at night, probably, you will +find that it is gray. Next day, perhaps, brown spots will appear upon +its body, and pinkish stripes upon its sides. And occasionally it may be +violet, and sometimes yellow, and sometimes nearly black. So that if you +were to go and look at a chameleon, and then go and look at it again +half an hour afterward, you might very likely take it for a wholly +different animal! + +Then the chameleon has very odd habits. If it is annoyed, for example, +it puffs out its body in the most extraordinary way till it is nearly +double its ordinary size and its skin is stretched almost as tight as +the parchment of a drum. When it is caught it hisses like a snake. And +really it must be the very laziest creature on earth. If it lifts a foot +into the air it will often wait for quite a minute before it puts it +down again, and for two or even three minutes more before it +takes a second step. Then it always has to rest for some little time +after uncoiling its tail from a branch, while when it coils it round +another it stops and rests again. It will hardly travel two yards, in +fact, in a day. + +Chameleons are found in many parts of Africa and Asia, and also in +Southeastern Europe. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII + +SNAKES + + +There are a great many different kinds of snakes; but before we read +about some of them, we must tell you some thing about the wonderful way +in which their bodies are made. + +In the first place, then, remember that snakes have a very large number +of those sections or pieces forming the spine which we call vertebræ. We +ourselves have only thirty-three of these little parts when we begin +life, and twenty-six afterward; this difference in number being caused +by the fact that five of the joints very soon unite into a bony mass at +the lower end, which we call sacrum, while four more unite into another, +which we call the coccyx. But some snakes have hundreds of these +vertebræ. The boas, for example, have no less than three hundred and +four! + +In the next place, remember that all these vertebræ are fastened +together by what we call ball-and-socket joints. That is, there is a +round knob at the back of each vertebra which fits into a socket in +front of the vertebra behind it. This gives to the spine of a snake +great strength, for a vertebra cannot be forced out of its place without +breaking the vertebra behind it. And it also allows the spine to be +curled and twisted about in almost any direction; so that a snake can +easily coil up its body like a spring, or even tie it into a knot. + +Then, remember that a snake has a great many ribs. We have twelve pairs +of these important bones, most of which are jointed to the breast-bone +in front. But a snake may have as many as two hundred and fifty-two +pairs of ribs, while it has no breast-bone at all; so that the tips of +all the ribs are free. And every rib is fastened to a vertebra of the +spine by a ball-and-socket joint, just like those which fasten the +vertebræ themselves together. Besides this, there are no less than five +separate sets of muscles connected with the ribs, so that the snake can +move those bones about quite easily. + +It is really by means of its ribs that a snake is able to glide over the +ground. If you were to look at the under side of a snake's body, you +would see that the scales are quite different from those on the upper +part. On the back and sides the scales are quite small, and are almost +oval, or oblong; but on the abdomen they are very long and very narrow, +and are set crosswise like the laths of a Venetian blind. + +[Illustration: CHARACTERISTIC FORMS AND MARKINGS OF AMERICAN BIRDS' EGGS + + SEA-FOWL:--13. Guillemot. 14. Tern. 21. Skimmer. + WATER-FOWL:--9, 16. Ducks, WADERS. 7. Heron. 11. Gallinule. + 12. Snowy Plover. 23. Stilt Sandpiper. 24. Ring Plover. + GAME-BIRDS:--6. Partridge. 19. Ptarmigan. + BIRDS OF PREY:--3. Owl. 17. Buzzard-hawk. 20. Falcon + CUCKOOS:--8. Cuckoo. 10. Roadrunner. + SONG-BIRDS:--1. Mockingbird. 2. Towhee Finch. 4. Sparrow. + 5. Oriole. 15. Blackbird (grakle). 18. Flycatcher. + 22. Rosbin (Thrush). 25. Woodhouse's Jay.] + +Now the tips of every pair of ribs in a snake's body are fastened to one +of these long abdominal scales in such a manner that when the snake +moves the ribs forward the edge of the scale is raised--very much as you +can raise the laths of the Venetian blind by pulling the cord at the +side; and the snake travels by moving forward its ribs in turn, and +catching hold of the ground with the edges of the scales, using first +the ribs of one side and then of the other. + +When a snake is crawling, however, it does not curve its body into +upright loops as inaccurate pictures sometimes represent, but keeps it +pressed flat upon the ground, so that the scales may be able easily to +take hold of any little roughness upon the surface. And when it climbs a +tree it does not twine its body round and round the trunk, but crawls +straight up it, just as it crawls along the ground. + +The mouth of a snake is very curiously made. We are not speaking now of +the fangs of the poisonous serpents; we will tell you about these by and +by. But remember that the mouth must be made in a very strange way, in +order to allow these creatures to swallow their victims, which are often +a good deal larger round than their own throats. + +It sounds impossible, yet the snake can swallow an animal larger in +diameter than its own throat, because the bones of its jaws, instead of +being firmly fastened together as ours are, can be forced a long way +apart, so as to make room for the carcass to pass. + +Besides this, it has no less than six separate jaw-bones, four in the +upper part of the mouth and two in the lower, every one of which is set +with sharp, hooked teeth; and the points of these teeth are directed +toward the throat. Now every one of these jaw-bones can be moved +backward and forward at will. So when a snake wishes to swallow +the body of a victim, it first of all seizes it in its mouth, and then +pushes one of the jaw-bones forward and takes a firm hold with the +teeth. Then it pushes another forward, and then a third, and then a +fourth; and so it goes on, each time taking a fresh hold with the hooked +teeth, till at last the carcass is forced into the mouth. Then the bones +separate, so as to make plenty of room for it to pass, and the alternate +action of the jaws goes on as before till the carcass is forced into the +throat. And then the flesh of the throat, which is very elastic, +stretches out too, till before very long the carcass disappears +altogether. + +Then the eyes of snakes are made in a very curious way, for the eyelids, +which are quite transparent, do not open and shut as ours do, but cover +the eyes altogether. So a snake cannot blink; and it looks at you +_through_ its own eyelids, which are very much like little +spectacle-glasses fastened into the skin! + +When a snake throws off its skin, which it always does once in a year, +and sometimes oftener, the eyelids are thrown off with it, and a pair of +new ones are found lying below all ready to take their place. Just while +this is happening (and it may take a day or two) the creature is trying +to look through a double layer of eye-coverings, and can see very poorly +until the outer one slips off. This is the explanation of the popular +saying that snakes are blind in August (the usual skin-changing time). + + +HARMLESS SNAKES + +All serpents may properly enough be divided into two sections--the +non-poisonous ones, which are "harmless," so far as their bite is +concerned; and the poisonous ones, which inject a more or less deadly +venom into wounds made by certain long weapon-teeth called fangs. + +Let us consider first, for a moment, the harmless ones. The great +majority of them--of the common snakes of the whole world--belong to a +single family called colubers; and this family far outnumbers all other +serpents. Most of its members are of small size; few exceed two yards in +length, one of the exceptions being our handsome king-snake of Texas and +westward, which is a variety of the northern milk-snake. All are +slender, agile, sometimes remarkably swift, with small heads, tapering +and unarmed tails, and little or no means of defence, although some of +them make such a show of fighting that they terrify many an enemy into +leaving them alone. + +To this great family belong our various blacksnakes, or blue racers, +which occasionally are more than six feet long, and are among the worst +robbers of birds' nests, eating both eggs and young, and the mother bird +as well if it is small, and is not quick enough in seeking to escape. +This is the snake about which stories of so-called _fascination_ +are told; we do not think there is much truth in them, but that the bird +is simply reckless in her efforts to drive away the robber, and flies +too near its darting jaws. The blacksnakes are exceedingly swift runners +and agile climbers. Another excellent climber is the slender greensnake, +which is so near the color of the leaves that it will not be noticed +easily as it hangs in loops upon the branches of a bush, waiting quietly +for some insect to come within reach. Most of our snakes, however, spend +their time mainly on the ground, searching about the grass, among the +tussocks of a swamp, or amid dense thickets, after frogs, toads, +tadpoles, ground-nesting birds, mice, and especially insects, which last +form the principal food of the smaller kinds. Among these probably the +most often seen are the striped garter-snakes which abound in meadows +and about haystacks and old barns, where they search holes and corners +for mice and beetles. The warm, soft soil of old barnyards is a favorite +place for the laying of their eggs by snakes, most of which bury them in +such places and leave them to be hatched by the warmth of the sunshine. +Nearly every pond, marsh, and slow stream abounds also in water-snakes, +which are ugly in disposition as well as in color, and feed mainly on +fishes, both dead and alive. Of this kind is the only snake to be found +in England except the viper. + +Perhaps the most curious of the colubrine snakes is the egg-eating snake +of South Africa. It is quite a small snake, not more than two feet long, +and scarcely thicker in body than a man's little finger; yet it will +swallow pigeons' eggs quite easily, and, if it is very hungry indeed, +will dispose of a hen's egg! This, of course, is owing to the way in +which the bones of the mouth are made. But if you were to watch one of +these snakes as it was eating an egg, you would see a very strange thing +happen. The egg would pass down the throat, and for a few inches you +would be able to watch its outline as it moved along toward the stomach. +Then, quite suddenly, the swelling would disappear! The fact is this. +About thirty of the vertebræ have each a long, slender spine springing +from the lower surface, and the tips of these spines pass through the +upper part of the throat and project inside it, just like a row of +little teeth in the wrong place. Just as the egg, while it is being +swallowed, comes against these teeth, the snake contracts the muscles of +its throat. The result is that the teeth pierce the egg from end to end +and cut it in two. Then the contents flow onward down the throat, while +the two halves of the shell, nearly always packed one inside the other, +are shortly afterward spit out of the mouth. + + +PYTHONS + +The pythons are very formidable snakes, not because they are +venomous--for they have no poison-fangs--but owing to their immense size +and strength. When fully grown they may measure as much as thirty feet +in length, while their bodies are as big round as a man's thigh; and +even when they are only half as long they are still most dangerous +creatures, for they could crush a man to death in two or three minutes. + +When a python attacks, it seizes its victim with its jaws, flings its +coils one over another around it, and then squeezes so hard that in a +very few minutes the bones fly into splinters, and the body is reduced +to pulp. And a large python can swallow a half-grown sheep or a +good-sized dog without any difficulty at all. + +After the snake has swallowed its victim it becomes very drowsy, and +often sleeps heavily for several days. + +Another very curious fact with regard to the python is that it actually +hatches its eggs by the warmth of its own body. It first collects the +eggs into a little pile, and then coils itself round them, after which +it remains perfectly still for nearly two months. During the whole of +that time its bodily heat is much greater than usual, and at last the +egg-shells split, and out from each comes a baby python. A fortnight or +so later they change their skins, and then are quite large and strong +enough to kill and swallow small birds. + +Pythons inhabit nearly all the hotter parts of Africa, Asia, and +Australia, and are sometimes known as rock-snakes, on account of their +living much in rocky places. + + +BOAS + +The boas, one kind of which, the boa-constrictor, has long been famous +among monsters, are much like the pythons, but are found only in +tropical America and in Madagascar, and spend the greater part of their +lives in the trees. They are quite as large as the pythons, and quite as +formidable. It is said, indeed, that the anaconda, which is the largest +of all, sometimes reaches a length of forty feet; and there is a stuffed +skin, twenty-nine feet long, in the Natural History Museum at South +Kensington, London. One can easily imagine what a terrible enemy such a +snake as this would be, and how helpless even a strong man would find +himself when wrapped in its mighty coils! + +The anaconda is very fond of lying in the water with only just its head +raised above the surface, and there waiting for some animal to swim +within reach. But most of the boas lie in wait for their prey on one of +the lower branches of a tree, in readiness to strike at any small +creature that may pass beneath. + +Some years ago a most singular accident happened in the reptile house at +the London Zoo. Two boas, one eleven feet long and the other nine feet, +were living in the same cage, and always seemed on the very best of +terms. One night a couple of pigeons--one for each snake--were put into +the cage, and the house was shut up as usual. Next morning, however, +when the keeper opened it, the smaller snake had disappeared, and there +was no hole in the cage through which it could possibly have escaped. At +first the keeper was puzzled; but soon he noticed that the larger +serpent was not coiled up as usual, but was lying stretched out +straight upon the ground. Then he understood what had happened. The big +snake had swallowed the smaller one during the night, although it was +only two feet shorter than itself! + +Most likely both snakes had seized the same pigeon at the same moment. +Before very long, of course, their jaws would have met in the middle. +Now when one of these big snakes has once seized its victim it cannot +let go, because of the way in which its jaws and teeth are made, but +must go on trying to swallow it. So, you see, when the jaws of the two +snakes met in the middle of the pigeon neither could give the bird up to +the other, because neither could withdraw its teeth, and the larger one, +in fact, could not help swallowing the smaller! And since that time two +or three other accidents of the same character have been prevented only +by the constant watchfulness of the keeper. + + +POISONOUS SNAKES + +In all these reptiles the poison-fangs are two in number, and are +situated in the upper jaw. They are very sharp indeed, and are almost as +brittle as glass. So while they are not in use they are folded back out +of harm's way upon the roof of the mouth. But if by chance they should +be broken, there are three or four other pairs lying ready for use +behind them which will quickly grow forward to take their place. + +Generally there is a tiny hole just under the tip of the fang, which +opens into a narrow passage running right through the center. But in +some snakes there is only a groove outside the fang. In either case, +however, the muscles which surround the poison-bag are arranged in such +a way that as soon as the snake strikes its victim a drop of poison is +squirted down each of the fangs, and so into the wound. + + +VIPERS + +The only poisonous snake found in Europe is the viper, or adder. It is +not by any means a large snake, for it is seldom more than twelve or +fourteen inches long. It has a zigzag chain of black, lozenge-shaped +markings all the way along its back. + +Vipers are generally found on heathy commons and moors, and are very +fond of lying on a patch of bare, sandy ground, and enjoying the warmth +of the sun. They never attempt to bite unless they are interfered with, +but always try to crawl away, if alarmed, into a place of safety. Their +poison is not strong enough to kill a man, unless he happens to be in a +very bad state of health at the time when he is bitten; but it would be +quite sufficient to cause the bitten limb to swell up to double its +size, and to lead to a great deal of suffering and sickness. + + +COBRAS + +Far more deadly is the bite of the cobra, which is found plentifully in +India. Any one who is bitten by this formidable snake is almost sure to +die within two or three hours. + +The upper part of a cobra's neck is widened out into what is called the +hood, which can be spread out or folded up at will by the action of the +ribs. On the upper part of this hood is a dark mark, which looks almost +exactly like a pair of spectacles. When a cobra is about to strike it +always raises its head and neck and spreads this hood before darting at +its foe. + +In many parts of India cobras are caught and tamed by men who are called +snake-charmers, and who sometimes capture them by playing an odd tune +upon a sort of wooden pipe. This music seems to fascinate the snake, +which comes out of its hole, rears up its head and neck, and begins to +sway slowly from side to side. Then, still playing, the charmer moves +his right hand very slowly indeed until it is just behind the snake's +head, when he suddenly grasps the reptile round the neck. It is now, of +course, quite helpless, and is quickly transferred to his bag. + +Many charmers carry cobras about with them, which they handle quite +freely. But in these cases the poison fangs have been carefully +extracted, so as to render the reptiles harmless. + +Cobras are very fond of eggs, and if they can find a rat-hole which +opens into a hen-house they will often take advantage of it in order to +rob the nests. But sometimes, when they have swallowed several eggs, and +the hole happens to be a small one, they cannot crawl out again, and are +found and killed when the house is opened in the morning. + + +THE PUFF-ADDER + +Quite as deadly is the puff-adder, of Africa, which has a way of lying +almost buried in the sand, so that it is not easily seen; and if it is +disturbed it does not crawl away, as most poisonous snakes will do, but +remains quite still, merely drawing back its head in order to strike. +When fully grown it is about six feet long, and its poison is so deadly +that even a horse has been known to die within two or three hours of +being bitten. + +This snake is called the puff-adder because it draws in a very deep +breath when it is annoyed or irritated, and puffs out its whole body to +nearly double its proper size. It then allows the air to escape +gradually, with a kind of sighing noise, draws in another deep breath, +and so on over and over again. + + +PIT-VIPERS + +Australia, also, has some snakes whose bite is very deadly; and in +general the tropics abound in these dangerous reptiles. This is as true +of America as elsewhere, but all the American venomous serpents are of a +kind peculiar to this continent, called pit-vipers. Some of them have +rattles at the end of the tail and some lack this appendage, but all are +much alike. Certain of the most dreaded, such as the fer-de-lance and +the bushmaster, belong to the West Indies and Northern South America; +but really the worst of the whole bad lot, because of its great size and +sullen ferocity, is the huge diamondback rattlesnake of the Southern +States. It is in some cases longer and heavier than any other known +venomous snake; and its bite, if the wound is well poisoned, means +almost immediate paralysis and death. + + +RATTLESNAKES + +Several different species of rattlesnakes are scattered over the United +States, and in some places, as on the hot dry plains of the Southwest, +and in the arid mountains of Utah and California, are numerous enough to +be troublesome. The cutting away of forests, draining of swamps, and +cultivation of prairies, soon destroy these pests in thickly settled +regions; but where rocky hills occur they linger for a long time, +because the breaks and little caves among the ledges offer them secure +retreats, winter homes where they sleep in safety, and proper nurseries +for the young, which are not produced from eggs, as in the coluber +family, but are born alive. + +The rattles from which these serpents take their name, are a number of +hollow, horny, button-like structures at the tip of the tail, which +rattle together, with a peculiar humming sound, when the creature shakes +its tail, as it is sure to do when disturbed or angry. It thus gives a +warning to the man who might not have noticed the sluggish creature in +his path in time to jump aside. Not all of the tribe have a rattle, +however; and one of the reasons why our water-moccasin and copperhead +are so much dreaded is that they possess no rattle, and therefore sound +no "keep-off" warning. + +All our American venomous snakes are too heavy and slow to climb trees. +They get their prey--mice, gophers, snakes, etc.--by going to a place +where it is likely to be running about, and then patiently waiting until +something comes within striking distance. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX + +AMPHIBIANS + + +You will remember that the amphibians are distinguished from the true +reptiles by having to pass through a tadpole stage before they obtain +their perfect form. A good example is the frog, which in one kind or +another exists in all parts of the earth except the very coldest. No +doubt, you have often seen great masses of its jelly-like spawn floating +on the surface of ponds early in the spring; and you must have wondered +how such small creatures as frogs could possibly lay such enormous +batches of eggs. + +But the fact is that when these eggs are first laid they are very tiny. +Each egg is only about as big as a small pin's head. Instead of having +shells, however, they are covered with a very elastic skin, while at the +same time they soak up water. So, as soon as they pass into the pond +they begin to swell, and very soon each egg is as big as a good-sized +pea. + + +TADPOLE AND FROG + +In the middle of each egg is a round black spot, which increases in size +every day. This is the future tadpole, and after a time the egg-skin +splits, and out it tumbles into the water. + +It is an odd-looking creature--just a big round head with a tiny pair of +gills and a little wavy tail, and nothing else at all. But it manages to +swim by wagging its tail, and it feeds on the tiny scraps of decaying +matter which are always floating about in the water of the pond. Before +long a little pair of legs begin to show themselves just at the base of +the tail. A few days later another pair begin to grow in front of them. +Then, by slow degrees, the tail passes back into the substance of the +body, and so do the gills, while lungs are developed and nostrils are +opened. And by the time that all these changes have taken place the +tadpole has ceased to be a tadpole and has turned into a frog. + +It leaves the water now and lives upon land, feeding upon small insects, +which it catches in a most curious way. Its tongue is turned, as it +were, the wrong way round; for the root is just inside the lips, while +the tip is down the throat. Besides this, the tongue is very elastic and +very sticky. So the animal catches its victims just as the chameleon +does, flicking out its tongue at them and just touching them with the +tip, to which they adhere. And as the tongue is drawn back into the +mouth it pokes them down the throat; so that frogs do not even have to +take the trouble of swallowing their dinner. + +If you look at a frog's hind feet, you will notice that the toes are +joined together by webbing. This allows them to be used in the water as +well as upon dry land. It is generally said that frogs swim. But if you +watch them in the water you will see at once that they do not really +swim at all, but leap along, just as they leap along the ground. And +each leap carries them through the water for some little distance. + + +TOADS + +In some ways toads are like frogs; but you can tell them at once by +their rough, dry skins, which are covered with warts like glands. And +they crawl over the ground, instead of leaping as frogs do. They are +very common almost everywhere, and you may often find them hiding under +logs or large stones during the daytime. + +Toads do not lay their eggs in great masses, as frogs do, but arrange +them in strings about four feet long and an eighth of an inch wide. Each +of these strings consists of two rows of eggs fastened side by side +together. The tadpoles are very much like those of the frog, the chief +difference being that they are rather smaller and blacker. + + +NEWTS + +All through their lives newts keep their tails, instead of losing them +when they cease to be tadpoles. + +You can find newts in plenty all through spring and summer by +fishing with a small net in any weedy pond; but you will find that they +are not all alike. Some have wavy crests running all along their backs; +others have none; and some are brightly colored while others are plain +olive green all over. Often in the woods in certain parts of the United +States you will meet with little newts traveling about on the damp old +leaves; and they are very conspicuous because of their brilliant +vermilion color. These are young green newts which come out of the +water, live ashore for a year or so in the red suit, and then go back to +the water and a green coat. + +Newts lay their eggs in a very curious manner. They do not fasten them +together in great batches, like the frog, or in long, narrow strings, +like the toad. They lay them one by one. And the mother newt takes each +egg as she lays it, places it in the middle of the narrow leaf of some +water-plant, and then twists the leaf neatly round it with her little +fore feet, so as to wrap it up in a kind of parcel! The tadpole which +hatches out of this egg is very much like that of a toad or a frog; but +the front legs are the first to appear, instead of the hind legs, while +the tail, of course, does not pass back into the substance of the body. + +Newts swim with their tails, and very pretty and graceful they look as +they move through the water. When they cease to be tadpoles, of course, +they breathe air, just as toads and frogs do, and have to come up to the +surface every two or three minutes to obtain it. And as long as they +live in the pond they feed upon grubs and worms and tiny water-insects. + + +SALAMANDERS + +The curious creatures known as salamanders are related to the newts, and +begin their lives in just the same way. But after they have ceased to be +tadpoles they only visit the water for two or three weeks in the spring. + +The most celebrated member of this group is the spotted salamander, +which is found in Central and Southern Europe, and also in Algeria and +Syria. When fully grown it is about eight inches long, and may be known +at once by the two rows of large yellow blotches which run down from +the back of its head, right along its body, to the very tip of its tail. + +In days of old it was thought that the salamander had the power of +walking through fire without being burnt! And it was also supposed, if +it were attacked, to spring upon its enemy, bite out a piece of his +flesh, and then spit fire into the wound! As a matter of fact it is +almost harmless, and may be picked up and handled without the slightest +danger. But the glands on its skin, like those on the toad's head and +back, contain a rather poisonous fluid, which is squirted out if they +are squeezed. So that if a dog were to pick up a salamander he would be +quite sure to drop it again very quickly, and would most likely foam at +the mouth for some little time. + +Salamanders are very slow and timid creatures, and generally spend the +whole of the day concealed in some crevice, or in the hollow trunk of a +tree, or perhaps under a large stone. They feed upon slugs and small +insects. + +There are several kinds in North America, some of which, as the +hellbender, are a foot or more in length. + +The giant salamander, which is sometimes nearly a yard long, is found in +the rivers of China and Japan, and spends the whole of its life in the +water. It feeds chiefly upon fishes. + + +THE AXOLOTL + +This is one of the most singular of all the amphibians. It is found in +North America. Sometimes it develops into its perfect form, and +sometimes it remains a tadpole all its life, and yet lays eggs just as +though it were adult! + +In the lakes of the southern Rocky Mountains the life of this creature +is just like that of any other batrachian. That is, it is hatched out of +the egg as a tadpole, grows first one pair of legs and then another, +loses its gills by degrees, and at last appears in a lizard-like form, +leaving the water and living upon dry land. But in the lake which +surrounds the city of Mexico it never becomes anything more than a big +tadpole, keeps its gills throughout its life, and does not leave the +water at all. + + +THE OLM + +The olm, or proteus, is found only in the underground lakes of Carniola +and one or two other parts of Central Europe. It is about a foot long +when fully grown, and has a slender, snake-like body, with a pair of +tiny legs just behind the head, and another pair at the base of the +tail. It is perfectly blind, the eyes being hidden under the skin, and +yet cannot bear light. For if it is kept in captivity it will always +hide in the darkest corner that it can find. And it has been known to +live in confinement for five years without once taking any food. + +What the habits of this extraordinary animal are in nature no one knows, +as it has never been found except in these underground lakes. + +In color the olm is pinkish gray, with bright-red gills, and there are +from twenty-four to twenty-seven grooves upon either side of its body. + + + + +FISHES + + + + +CHAPTER XXX + +FRESH-WATER FISHES + + +The lowest class of the vertebrate animals consists of the fishes. These +are easily distinguished. Some of the reptiles, it is true, are very +fish-like. But then they have three chambers in their hearts, while the +true fishes only have two. Then fishes never have limbs, the place of +which is taken by fins; and further, they breathe water by means of +gills. There are other differences as well; but these are quite +sufficient to show us that reptiles and fishes cannot possibly be +mistaken for one another. + +Between the two, however, come several very curious creatures, which +seem to be partly reptiles and partly fishes; for they have four slender +members which hardly seem to be legs, though they cannot possibly be +described as fins, while they possess not only gills but lungs as well. + + +THE MUD-FISH + +One of these is the odd mud-fish of the African rivers. In general +appearance this animal looks something like an eel, and it grows to a +length of about three feet. Its four long ray-like limbs seem to be +quite useless to it, and it swims by means of its tail, along the upper +part of which runs a narrow fin. It is a creature of prey, feeding upon +other fishes, and when food is plentiful, it just takes one bite out of +the lower part of their bodies and no more. + +In summer the rivers in which it lives often dry up altogether, and the +mud at the bottom is baked as hard as a brick by the rays of the sun. +So, as soon as the water begins to get shallow, the animal +burrows deep down into the mud, curls itself up like a fried whiting, +and falls fast asleep for several months, just as hedgehogs and dormice +do during the winter in cold countries. Then, when the rainy season +comes and the rivers fill up again, it comes out from its retreat and +swims about as before. It is from this habit that it gets its name of +mud-fish. + +Now we come to the true fishes; and perhaps our best plan will be to +read about some of the fresh-water fishes first, and afterward about +some of those which live in the sea. + + +STICKLEBACKS + +Let us begin with a little fish which is very common in almost every +pond, but is nevertheless very curious and very interesting. When fully +grown, the stickleback is about three inches long, and you can tell it +at once by the sharp spines on its back, which it can raise and lower at +will. It uses these spines in fighting. For the male sticklebacks, at +any rate, are most quarrelsome little creatures, and for several weeks +during the early part of the summer they are constantly engaged in +battle. + +At this season of the year they are really beautiful little fishes, for +the upper parts of their bodies are bright blue and the lower part rich +crimson, while their heads become pale drab, and their eyes bright +green! And apparently they are very jealous of one another, for two male +sticklebacks in their summer dress never seem able to meet without +fighting. Raising their spines, they dash at one another over and over +again with the utmost fury, each doing his best to swim underneath the +other and cut his body open. When one of them is beaten he evidently +feels quite ashamed of himself, for he goes and hides in some dark +corner where nobody can see him. And, strange to say, as soon as he +loses the battle his beautiful colors begin to fade, and in a very few +hours they disappear altogether. + +About the beginning of June, all the male sticklebacks which have not +been beaten set to work to build nests. These nests are shaped like +little tubs with no tops or bottoms, and they are made of tiny scraps of +grass and cut reed and dead leaf, neatly woven together. As soon as they +are finished the female sticklebacks lay their eggs in them. +Then the males get inside, and watch over the eggs until they hatch. + +[Illustration: NORTH AMERICAN FOOD AND GAME FISHES] + + +PERCHES + +Another very handsome fresh-water fish is the perch, which is plentiful +in almost every river and lake in the warmer parts of the whole world. +In color it is rich greenish brown above and yellowish white below, with +from five to seven upright dark bands on either side of its body, while +the upper fins are brown and the lower ones and the tail bright red. + +The front fin on the back of the perch, which can be raised or lowered +at will, is really a very formidable weapon, for it consists of a row of +very sharp spines projecting for some little distance beyond the +membrane which joins them together. Even the pike is afraid of these +spines, and it is said that although he will seize any other fresh-water +fish without a moment's hesitation, he will never venture to attack a +perch. + +Early in the month of May the mother perch lays her eggs, which she +fastens in long bands to the leaves of water-plants. Their number is +very great, over 280,000 having been taken from quite a small perch of +only about half a pound in weight! + +The climbing perch of India, notwithstanding its name, is not a true +perch, but belongs to quite a different family. It is famous for its +power of leaving the water and traveling for a considerable distance +over dry land. It does this in the hot season if the stream in which it +is living dries up; and if you were to live in certain parts of India +you might perhaps meet quite a number of these fishes shuffling across +the road by means of their lower fins, and making their way as fast as +possible toward the nearest river! + +But how do they manage to remain out of the water for so long? + +Well, the fact is that fishes can live for a long time out of the water +if their gills are kept moist. In some fishes, such as the herring, this +is not possible, because their gills are made in such a way that they +become dry almost immediately. But the climbing perch has a kind of +cistern in its head, just above the gill-chambers, which +contains quite a quantity of water. And while the fish is traveling over +land this water passes down, drop by drop, to the gills, and keeps them +constantly damp. + +When this fish has been kept in an earthenware vessel, without any water +at all, it has been known to live for nearly a week! + + +THE CARP + +Another fish which will live for quite a long time out of the water is +the carp, which has often been conveyed for long distances packed in wet +moss. + +This fine fish is a native of the Old World, where it is found both in +rivers and lakes, but prefers still waters with a soft muddy bottom, in +which it can grovel with its snout in search of food. During the winter, +too, it often buries itself completely in the mud, and there hibernates, +remaining perfectly torpid until the return of warmer weather. It is not +at all an easy fish to catch, for it is so wary that it will refuse to +touch any bait in which it thinks that a hook may be concealed. And if +the stream in which it is living is dragged with a net, it just burrows +down into the mud at the bottom and allows the net to pass over it. + +Owing to this crafty and cunning nature, the carp has often been called +the fresh-water fox. + +The carp is a very handsome fish, being olive brown above, with a tinge +of gold, while the lower parts are yellowish white. It sometimes weighs +as much as twenty-five pounds, and has been known to lay more than +700,000 eggs! It is domesticated in many parts of North America and +other countries. + + +THE BARBEL + +Found in many Old World rivers, the barbel may be known at once by the +four long fleshy organs which hang down from the nose and the corners of +the mouth. These organs are called barbules, and may possibly be of some +help to the fish when it is grubbing in the soft mud in search of the +small creatures upon which it feeds. It spends hours in doing this, and +a hungry barbel is sometimes so much occupied in its task that a swimmer +has dived down to the bottom of the river and caught it with his +hands. From this curious way of feeding, and its great greediness, the +barbel has sometimes been called the fresh-water pig. + +In color this fish is greenish brown above, yellowish green on the sides +of the body, and white underneath. When fully grown it weighs from ten +to twelve pounds. + + +THE ROACH + +This is one of the prettiest of the European fresh-water fishes, which +is found in many lakes and streams. The upper part of the head and back +are grayish green, with a kind of blue gloss, which gradually becomes +paler on the sides till it passes into the silvery white of the lower +surface. The fins and the tail are bright red. + +The roach does not grow to a very great size, for it seldom weighs more +than two pounds. It lives in large shoals, and in clear water several +hundred may often be seen swimming about together. + + +THE PIKE + +One of the largest and quite the fiercest of the British fresh-water +fishes is the pike, which is found both in lakes and rivers. In America +we have no pike proper, but in some of the great western lakes a very +large relative of similar habits known as the maskinonge; and our +pickerels are only small pikes. Wonderful tales are told of the ferocity +of the pike. He does not seem to know what fear is, and his muscular +power is so great, and the rows of teeth with which his jaws are +furnished are so sharp and strong, that he is really a most formidable +foe. All other fresh-water fishes are afraid of him, while he gobbles up +water-birds of all kinds, and water-mice, and frogs, and even worms and +insects. And no matter how much food he eats, he never seems to be +satisfied. + +When the pike is hungry, he generally hides under an overhanging bank, +or among weeds, and there waits for his victims to pass by. + +The young pike is generally known as the jack, and when only five inches +long has been known to catch and devour a gudgeon almost as big as +itself. With such a voracious appetite, it is not surprising that the +fish grows very fast, and for a long time it increases in weight at the +rate of about four pounds in every year. How long it continues to grow +nobody quite knows; but pike of thirty-five or forty pounds have often +been taken, and there have been records of examples even larger still. + +In color the pike is olive brown, marked with green and yellow. + + +TROUT + +Perhaps the greatest favorite of all anglers is the trout, which, in one +or more of its various species, is to be caught in almost every swift +stream and highland lake throughout the temperate zone, except where the +race has been destroyed by too persistent fishing. This happens +everywhere near civilization, unless protective laws regulate the times +and places where fishing may be done. Similar laws are required to save +many other kinds of fishes from quick destruction at the hands of the +thoughtless and selfish, and they should be honestly obeyed and +supported in spite of their occasionally interfering with amusement. + +Trout are graceful in form and richly colored, most of them having +arrangements of bright spots and gaily tinted fins. The common trouts of +Europe and the eastern half of the United States and Canada are much +alike; but in the Rocky and other mountains of the western shore of our +continent others quite different are scattered from the Plains to the +Pacific. One of the most interesting and beautiful of these, the +rainbow-trout, has been brought into the East, and has made itself at +home in many lakes and rivers of the Northern States and Canada. + +The trout is an extremely active fish, and when it is hooked it tries +its very hardest to break away, dashing to and fro, leaping, twisting, +and fighting, and often giving the angler a great deal of trouble before +he can bring it in. In small streams it seldom grows to any great size, +but in some of the Scottish lochs and lakes of Maine trout weighing +fifteen or even twenty pounds are often taken. It is sometimes +considered, however, that these belong to a different species. + + +THE SALMON + +More famous even than the trout is the salmon, the largest and finest of +all our fresh-water fishes, which often reaches a weight of forty-five +or fifty pounds, and sometimes grows to still greater size. + +It is hardly correct, however, to speak of it as a fresh-water fish, for +although salmon are nearly always caught in rivers, they spend a +considerable part of their lives in the sea. + +Salmon are of two kinds--the Atlantic and the Pacific species; and the +life-history of each is a very curious one. + +During the winter the parent fishes of the Atlantic salmon, which used +to be exceedingly numerous in all our northern rivers emptying into the +Atlantic, and still haunt the rivers of Northeastern Canada, and of +Scotland, make their way as far up a clear and gravelly river as they +possibly can, till they find a suitable place in which to lay their +eggs. The mother then scoops a hole at the bottom of the stream, in +which she deposits her eggs in batches, carefully covering up each batch +as she does so. At this time both parents are in very poor condition, +and the males are known to anglers as "kelts." For a time they remain in +the river, feeding ravenously. Then in March or April they travel down +the river and pass into the sea, where they stay for three or four +months, after which they ascend the river again, as before. + +Meanwhile the eggs remain buried in the gravel for about four months. At +the end of that time the little fishes hatch out, and immediately hide +themselves for about a fortnight under a rock or a large stone. You +would never know what they were if you were to see them, for they look +much more like tadpoles than fishes; and each has a little bag of +nourishment underneath its body on which it lives. When this is +exhausted they leave their retreat and feed upon small insects, growing +very rapidly, until in about a month's time they are four inches long. +They are now called parr and have a row of dark stripes upon +their sides, and in this condition they remain for at least a year. +Their color then changes, the stripes disappearing, and the whole body +becoming covered with bright silvery scales. + +The little fishes are now known as smolts, and, like their parents; they +make their way down the river and pass into the sea. There they remain +until the autumn, when they ascend the river again. By this time they +have grown considerably, weighing perhaps five or six pounds, and are +called grilse. And it is not until they have visited the sea again in +the following year that they are termed salmon. + +When salmon are ascending a river and come to a waterfall, they climb it +by leaping into the air and so springing into the stream above the fall, +trying over and over again until they succeed. When the fall is too high +to be climbed in this way, the owners of the river often make a kind of +water staircase by the side of it, so that the fishes can leap up one +stair at a time. This is called a salmon-ladder. + + +NORTH PACIFIC SALMON + +Now this description would not at all fit the case of the salmon which +live in the North Pacific and ascend the rivers of California, British +Columbia, and Alaska, and of Siberia and Japan on the other side of the +ocean. These are the salmon which supply the whole country, and many +other countries, with their pink flesh, boiled, and sealed in cans, so +that it may be sent long distances and kept many months without +spoiling. Every spring and summer, at different times according to the +locality and the species--there are five kinds of importance, caught for +the trade--vast numbers of them enter the mouths of the rivers and begin +to make their way up-stream in their effort to reach the shallow head +waters of each river, and of every one of its tributaries. It is at this +time that they are caught by spearing, netting, and various +contrivances; but laws prevent any general obstruction which would +altogether stop the advance of the host, so that while tens of thousands +are taken great numbers escape and pass on, as it is necessary they +should do in order to lay eggs and so keep up the race. + +This takes place far up at the heads of the streams in the foothills of +the mountains; and having deposited the spawn, late in summer, the spent +fish begin to drift down stream again. But all this time they have been +eating nothing, they are worn with the long struggle against the rapids, +often wounded by sharp rocks, and are good for nothing to catch or eat. +In fact, so fagged out and weak are they that all of them die before any +reach the mouth of the river. It is a strange fact that of all the vast +host of salmon which each summer climb the rivers not a single one gets +back to the sea. + +A year later, however, the young hatched from the eggs which were left +behind them at the heads of the streams swim down the rivers and enter +the ocean. There they remain, probably not very far from land, for two +or three years, feeding and growing until they are of full size and +strength; and each season a class of them, having reached the right age +and condition to spawn, force their way up to the spawning-grounds, to +leave their eggs and then die, as did their parents before them. + + +EELS + +The only other fresh-water fishes which we can notice are the eels, +which look more like snakes than fishes, for they have long slender +bodies, with a pair of tiny fins just behind the head, a long one +running along the back and tail, like a crest, and another, equally +long, under the body. And they are clothed with a smooth, slimy skin +instead of with scales. + +These curious creatures live in ponds and even in ditches as well as in +rivers, and are very plentiful in all parts of the northern hemisphere. +During the daytime, although they will sometimes bask at the surface in +the warm sunshine, they generally lie buried in the mud at the bottom of +the water, coming out soon after sunset to feed. And when the weather is +damp, so that their gills are kept moist as they wriggle through the +herbage, they will often leave the water and travel for some little +distance overland. + +They frequently do this when they are traveling toward the sea. +For it is a strange fact that, although they are fresh-water fishes, +eels both begin and end their lives in the sea. + +In the first place, the eggs are laid in the sea--generally quite close +to the mouth of a river. When the little elvers, as the young eels are +called, hatch out, they make their way up the river in immense shoals. +In the English river Severn, for instance, several tons of elvers are +often caught in a single day; and about thirty million elvers go to the +ton! After being pressed into cakes and fried, these little creatures +are used for food; but they are so rich that one cannot eat very many at +once. + +When they have traveled far enough up the river, most of the elvers +which have escaped capture make their way to different streams and pools +and ditches, and there remain until their growth is completed. They then +begin to journey back to the sea, and when they reach it they lay eggs +in their turn. After this, apparently, they die. + +In the rivers of South America a most wonderful eel is found which has +the power of killing its victims by means of an electric shock, +wherefore it is called the electric eel. The electricity is produced and +stored up in two large organs inside the body, but how it is discharged +nobody knows. If the fish is touched it merely gives a slight shudder. +But the shock is so severe that quite a large fish can be killed by it, +while a man's arm would be numbed for a moment right up to the shoulder. + + +LAMPREYS + +The lamprey, which is found plentifully in many northern rivers, is very +much like an eel in appearance. But it has no side fins, and instead of +possessing jaws, it has a round mouth used for sucking, and resembling +that of a leech; and on either side of its neck it has a row of seven +round holes, through which water passes to the breathing-organs. + +Lampreys seem to spend the greater part of their lives in the sea, but +always come up the rivers to spawn. They lay their eggs in a hollow in +the bed of the stream, which they make by dragging away stone after +stone till the hole is sufficiently deep. Very often a large +number of lampreys combine for this purpose, and make quite a big hole, +in which they all lay their eggs together. + +The length of the lamprey is generally from fifteen to eighteen inches, +and its color is olive brown. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXI + +SALT-WATER FISHES + + +We now come to the fishes of the sea; and at the head of these we may +place the sharks. + +These savage and voracious creatures are found in all oceans, the larger +ones wandering very widely, while the smaller ones are restricted to +limited parts of the sea. Among the latter are the various small sharks +called dogfish, from eighteen inches to six feet long, found on both +sides of the North Atlantic. Though small, and harmless to man, the +dogfish really is a shark, and for its size is very formidable, being +able easily to fight and kill fishes quite as large as itself. + +It is called the dogfish because it follows shoals of fish in the water, +just as a wild dog will follow the animals on which it preys upon dry +land. + +When you are staying at the seaside you may sometimes find the dead body +of a dogfish lying on the beach, where it has been flung by a very high +wave. And you will notice how coarse and rough its skin is. This skin is +often used for covering the handles of swords, as it gives such an +excellent grip; and also for putting on the sides of match-boxes instead +of sandpaper. + +But even if you do not find the dogfish itself lying on the beach, you +may often find its eggs, which are very curious little objects. They are +something like oblong horny purses, of a yellowish-brown color, with a +long twisted appendage at each corner, very much like the tendrils of a +vine. By means of these the egg is anchored down to the weeds at the +bottom of the sea, and they hold so firmly that they are hardly ever +torn away, except during a violent storm. + +At each end of this singular egg is a narrow slit, through which water +can pass to the gills of the little fish which is lying inside it. And +one end of the egg is made in such a manner that when the fish is ready +to hatch it can easily push its way out. + + +THE BLUE SHARK + +A much larger and more dangerous fish, which often visits northern seas, +is the blue shark, which sometimes grows to a length of fifteen or +sixteen feet. It does not often attack human beings, however, but is +very destructive in our fisheries, snatching away fishes which have been +hooked, and even swimming along the outside of the nets as they are +being drawn in, and biting great holes through them, in order to get at +the pilchards or herrings within. So the fishermen always kill a blue +shark if they have the chance of doing so, and sometimes destroy eight +or ten in a single day. + +But it is not very easily caught, for if it is hooked it will often bite +the line asunder, and if it cannot do this will roll round and round in +the water coiling the line round its body, when it will snap with a +sudden jerk. Even when it is caught, the blue shark is not killed +without much difficulty, for it thrashes its great powerful tail about +in such a manner that it cannot be approached without danger. So the +first thing that the fishermen always try to do when it is captured is +to chop off its tail with an ax. + +The color of this shark is slaty blue above and white beneath. + + +THE WHITE SHARK + +Even larger and more dangerous still, the great white shark, or +Rondeleti's shark, is one of the most formidable creatures that roam the +seas. It often grows to a length of thirty-five or even forty feet, and +weighs ten or twelve tons, while one snap of its huge jaws will shear +off a man's legs or cut his body in two. + +This enormous fish is found in all the warmer parts of the sea; and in +general sharks, and especially the large ones, belong to the tropical +rather than to the colder seas. + + +THE HAMMERHEAD + +A huge and much-to-be-dreaded creature, of curious appearance, this fish +has its head formed just like that of a hammer, the eyes being +placed at each end of the projecting lobes. It grows to a length of +fifteen or sixteen feet, and is very fierce and savage, attacking human +beings without the least hesitation. It is nearly always found in the +tropical seas, but has been several times captured off the coasts of New +England. + + +THE THRESHER + +Growing to a length of ten or twelve feet, the thresher is a remarkable +shark. It is common in the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It +feeds chiefly upon herrings, darting into the midst of a shoal and +snapping them up in hundreds. + +What it is specially famous for, however, is its habit of attacking +whales. For this purpose several threshers will unite together, leap up +into the air, and strike tremendous blows with their long tails upon the +whale's body as they fall back into the sea. This naturally terrifies +the whale, and he dives under water in order to escape from his +tormentors. Knowing that he must very soon rise again, however, they +wait for his reappearance, and then attack him again in the same way. +This happens again and again, until he is quite worn out by his +exertions, and by the impossibility of remaining long enough at the +surface to breathe properly. Then if any swordfishes happen to be in the +neighborhood, they come and attack him too, driving their long swords +deep into his body. Before long the whale is dead, and both threshers +and swordfishes are tearing great strips of flesh from the carcass and +greedily devouring them. + + +SAW-FISHES + +Next to the sharks come the saw-fishes, which have the upper jaw drawn +out into the form of a long, narrow beak, set on either side with a row +of large, pointed teeth. So it really looks very much indeed like a saw. +The fish uses this curious weapon by dashing into the midst of a shoal +of smaller fishes and striking them right and left with its saw. In this +way it is sure to disable a good many, which it then swallows leisurely +one after the other. + +Saw-fishes are found in all the warmer seas, and sometimes grow to a +length of fifteen or twenty feet. + + +RAYS + +The rays have broad flattened bodies, and very long and slender tails. +In consequence of this structure they cannot swim by means of their +tails, as nearly all other fishes do, but travel slowly through the +water by waving their side fins, after the manner of soles and +flounders. + +One of the best known of these fishes is the skate, which when fully +grown sometimes measures as much as six feet in length from the snout to +the tip of the tail, and five feet in width of body. As it cannot swim +fast enough to overtake other fishes, it preys chiefly upon crabs, +lobsters, and shell-bearing mollusks, which it finds on the bottom and +is able easily to crunch up, shells and all. + +The eggs of this fish may be found in great numbers on the sea-shore. +They are very much like those of the dogfish, but are nearly black in +color, and instead of a long twisted tendril at each corner, they only +have a blunt projection about an inch long. They remind one, in fact, of +a hand-barrow, and consequently the fishermen often call them +"skate-barrows." + +In color, the skate is grayish brown above and grayish white beneath. + +Another very curious ray is the torpedo, which is an electric fish, +having a kind of electric battery inside its body, from which a very +powerful shock can be discharged at will. This battery, in appearance, +is something like a honeycomb, consisting of a number of six-sided +columns, which run from the skin of the back to that of the lower +surface of the body. Each of these columns is divided into a number of +cells, or chambers, by thin walls of membrane; and each cell contains a +liquid which seems to consist chiefly of salt and water. + +The electricity produced and stored up in these organs seems to be +discharged along four great nerves, which run from the battery up to the +brain. The shock is sufficiently strong to kill a duck; and not only has +an electric bell been rung by it, but an electric spark has been +actually obtained. And when five persons held one another's hands, and +the person at each end laid his finger upon the torpedo, every one of +the five persons felt the shock. + +Even more formidable, though in quite a different way, is the sting-ray. +At the base of its long whip-like tail this fish has a bony spine set +with sharp teeth, like a saw; and its favorite mode of attack is to coil +this tail round the body of its victim and then to drive the spine into +his flesh, working it backward and forward in such a manner as to cause +a very serious wound always followed by severe inflammation. + +Some of the rays in the warmer seas grow to a very great size; indeed, a +ray measuring over eighteen feet in length has more than once been +captured. They are dangerous creatures to meddle with, for a fish of +this size is quite strong enough to overturn a boat, while if a man were +once seized by one of them, he would have very little chance of escape. + +These huge creatures are generally known as devil-fish. + + +THE STURGEON + +This fish belongs to quite a different group, which may be distinguished +by two points. In the first place, its skeleton is made not of bone, but +of gristle; and in the second place, five rows of shield-like bony +plates run along the back and sides of the body, forming a kind of +natural armor. + +The sturgeon is often eight or nine feet long, and weighs three or four +hundred pounds. It spends most of its life in the sea, but ascends the +rivers in order to spawn, like the salmon. It is not so common as +formerly in American waters, although sturgeon are taken in nearly all +our larger rivers from time to time; but in some parts of Europe, and +especially in Russia, it is very plentiful. + +Caviare is made from the sturgeon's roe. The membranes which separate +the eggs from one another are all removed, and the eggs are then salted +and pressed into small barrels, being afterward eaten as a kind of +preserve. + +The best isinglass is made from the sturgeon's swimming-bladder, +which has so much gelatine in it that, if a small quantity is dissolved +in a hundred times as much boiling water, it will form a stiff jelly +when it is cold. + +The sturgeon's flesh is very good to eat, for it is not only +well-flavored, but is so firm and solid that it is almost like beef. + +In England the sturgeon is known as a "royal" fish, because, in days of +old, when one of these fish was caught in an English river, it was +always kept for the table of the king; and even now, if a sturgeon is +captured in that part of the Thames which is under the control of the +Lord Mayor of London, it belongs by right to the Crown. + + +THE BEAKED CHÆTODON + +A great many fishes are very odd to look at, and this is one of the +oddest. Imagine a fish with an almost circular flattened body, with five +brown bands edged with white running round it, huge round eyes, enormous +triangular fins both above and below the body, a broad tail, which looks +as if it were tied in by a piece of ribbon at the base, and a mouth +drawn out into a long slender beak! And this fish has a habit which is +even odder still, for when it sees an insect sitting on a leaf which +overhangs the margin of the sea, it takes careful aim, squirts a drop of +water at it from out of its long beak, and nearly always succeeds in +knocking it into the water below! + +This fish lives in the Indian and Polynesian seas, and is sometimes kept +as a pet by the Japanese, who amuse themselves by fastening a fly to the +end of a piece of stick and holding it over the bowl in which the fish +is living, in order to see it knocked off its perch by a pellet of +water. + + +THE COD + +Throughout the northern seas the cod is found, and in some parts it is +taken in immense numbers. The largest and finest of all, which sometimes +weigh more than one hundred pounds, come from the banks, or shallows in +the sea, off the shores of Newfoundland, but very fine ones have been +taken elsewhere; and extensive cod-fisheries are maintained in +the North Pacific, near Alaska. + +Cod are mostly captured by means of long lines, each about forty fathoms +in length, to which a number of smaller lines are fastened at intervals. +The hooks are placed on the side lines, and are generally baited with +whelks, and then the long lines, or trawls, as the fishermen call them, +are anchored in shallow parts of the sea where codfishes, halibut, and +the like abound. Each boat carries about eight miles of these lines, +with nearly five thousand hooks, so that the work of baiting, lowering, +and raising them is very heavy indeed. The fishing takes place in the +winter, and the boats are generally out in all weathers for several +months at a time. + +One would think that with so many boats engaged in cod-fishing, each +with so many miles of line, nearly all the cod in the sea would soon be +caught. But to offset this, a single cod in a single year will often lay +eight or nine million eggs, so that notwithstanding the immense number +of these fishes which are taken, they still seem as plentiful as ever. + + +FLATFISH + +The so-called flatfishes, such as the sole, the plaice, the flounder, +and the dab, form an interesting group. Although we call them "flat," we +ought really to call them "thin," because what we always consider as the +back of a sole is really one of its sides, and what seems to be the +lower surface is the other side. + +The explanation is this: when these fishes are quite small, they swim +upright in the water, just as other fishes do, and drive themselves +along by means of their tails. But when they are about a month old a +strong desire comes over them to go and lie down on the mud at the +bottom of the sea, and then three remarkable things happen. + +First their color changes. Up till now, both sides of their bodies have +been nearly white. But if a white fish were to lie down on dark-brown +mud, of course it would very easily be seen, and most likely would very +soon be devoured by one of its many enemies. So as soon as the +little fish lies down at the bottom of the water its upper surface +begins to grow darker, and before very long it exactly resembles the hue +of the surrounding mud. Or if the fish should lie upon sand, as the +plaice does, then its upper surface becomes colored like the sand. So as +long as it keeps still its enemies may pass quite close to it without +noticing it. + +The next thing that happens is that the little fish changes its way of +swimming. Hitherto it has driven itself through the water by means of +its tail; now it uses what were formerly its upper and lower fins, but +have now been turned into side fins. And by a very graceful waving +movement of these fins it winds its way, as it were, through the water. + +But the third change is the strangest of the three. One of the eyes +would now seem to be useless, since it is on the lower surface of the +head as the fish lies on the sea-bottom, and would be completely buried +in the mud. But as soon as the fish goes and lies down at the bottom of +the sea, this eye actually begins to travel along the lower surface of +the head, till at last it works its way round and settles down by the +side of the other! + +If you look at the flounders the next time you pass by a fish-market, +you will observe that both eyes are placed quite close together above +the same corner of the mouth. That is because the lower eye traveled +round the head till it found a resting-place by the side of the other. + +In habits, all these fishes are very much alike. They are found in +almost all seas, except those of the polar regions, and in most parts of +the world are exceedingly plentiful, and everywhere form a cheap and +excellent food. + + +THE SWORDFISH + +A very odd-looking creature is this. It abounds in the Atlantic and also +in the Mediterranean. Its chase affords one of the finest summer sports +to be enjoyed along the south coast of New England, where it is taken by +spearing from swift sailboats. + +In this fish the upper jaw, which has hardly any teeth in it, is drawn +out into a long, slender, pointed beak. With this "sword" the +fish impales its victims, which are often of considerable size; but how +it gets them off its beak again in order to eat them nobody seems to +know. + +This fish sometimes drives its way through the water with such +tremendous force that it has been known to pierce the planking of a boat +with its sword, which it had to snap short off in order to release +itself. + +In the Natural History Museum at South Kensington, London, there is part +of a beam taken from the hull of a ship, into which one of these fishes +had driven its sword to a depth of twenty-two inches. + + +MACKEREL + +One of the best known of all the salt-water fishes is the mackerel. This +fish lives in enormous shoals, which are always traveling from place to +place, and visit the same parts of our coasts at about the same season +in every year. Sometimes they are caught in most extraordinary numbers, +so that they can be purchased at very small prices. In some cases, +indeed, the catch has been so heavy that it has been found quite +impossible to draw in the nets, which had to be allowed to sink to the +bottom with the fishes still in them. + +These nets are generally made with rather large meshes, not quite wide +enough to allow the fishes to swim through. When the mackerel are caught +they try to force their way through the meshes, but find that they +cannot do so. They then attempt to back out. In doing this, however, the +thin twine of which the net is made is almost sure to become entangled +with their gill-covers, so that they are held prisoners until the net is +lifted from the water. + +When fully grown the mackerel is about sixteen inches long, and weighs +perhaps two pounds. + + +SUCKING-FISHES + +Of the sucking-fishes, or remoras, there are about a dozen different +kinds, distinguished by the odd sucker-like disk on the upper +part of the head, by means of which they can attach themselves firmly to +any object to which they wish to cling. They often fasten themselves in +this manner to the hulls of ships, and also to the bodies of sharks and +the shells of turtles, and so are carried for long distances without any +exertion of their own. + +So firmly do these odd little fishes cling, that it is most difficult to +remove them without injuring them, and the sharks and turtles have no +means of forcing them to loose their hold. + +It is a very odd fact that the coloring of the sucking-fishes is just +the opposite of that which we find in almost all other fishes. Instead +of the upper surface being dark it is light, and instead of the lower +surface being light it is dark. But when one of these fishes is clinging +to a shark it is the lower surface which is seen, not the upper one; for +_that_ is pressed against the body of the shark; and in order to +prevent its enemies from seeing and eating it, the lower parts of its +body are colored just like the skin of the shark. + + +WEEVERS + +Strange little fishes are the weevers, two kinds of which are found on +the coast of Europe. + +Both are highly poisonous, a prick from the spines of the upper fin or +the gill-cover being almost as serious as the sting of a scorpion. The +poison lies in a deep double groove on each spine, and as the fishes +have a habit of burying themselves in the sand at the bottom of shallow +water, with only just the sharp spines projecting, they are rather apt +to be trodden upon by bathers. + +Accordingly, when a fisherman catches a weever-fish he always cuts off +its back fin and the spines of its gill-covers at once; while in France +and Spain he is compelled to do so by law. + + +THE ANGLER + +The angler, or all-mouth, is the name of a hideous creature--about five +feet long when fully grown--with a huge mouth, a great broad body shaped +very much like that of a seal, two big round eyes which look almost +straight up into the water above, and a row of long, slender +spines on the back instead of the usual fins. The first of these spines +has a broad, tufted, glittering tip, used for a most singular purpose. + +It is a creature of prey, feeding entirely upon other fishes; and it has +a most enormous appetite, which is hardly ever satisfied. But, at the +same time, it is so slow in its movements that if it were to try to +chase its victims it would never get anything to eat. It seems to know +perfectly well, however, that fishes are very inquisitive creatures, and +that they are always greatly attracted by any object that glitters. So +when it feels hungry it lies down at the bottom of the sea, stirs the +mud gently up with its side fins, so as to conceal itself from view, and +dangles the glittering spine up and down in front of its open mouth. +Before very long some passing fish is sure to come swimming up to see +what this strange object can possibly be; and then the angler just gives +one snap with its great jaws, and that fish is seen no more. + +Just to show you how successful it is in its fishing, we may tell you +that from the body of a single angler no less than seventy-five herrings +have been taken, while another had swallowed twenty-five flounders and a +John-dory! + +There is another kind of angler which lives down at the bottom of the +deep sea, where it is always perfectly dark. There, of course, a +glittering spine would be useless, for the other fishes would not be +able to see it. So this angler has a spine which shines at the tip like +a firefly, so that it can be seen from a considerable distance as the +fish dangles it up and down! + + +GURNARDS + +These, too, are remarkable fishes, having square heads, which look ever +so much too big for their bodies, and the first three rays of their +pectoral or breast fins made like fingers. These breast-fins are used +like fingers, too, for they serve as organs of touch, while the fish +also walks with them along the sand at the bottom of the sea. + +At least forty different kinds of gurnards have been discovered, but +nearly all dwell along foreign coasts. The handsomest of these, perhaps, +is the red gurnard, which grows to a length of twelve or +fourteen inches, and is bright red above and silvery white below. + + +FLYING FISHES + +Though objects of never-ending interest to every one who journeys +through the warmer seas, flying fishes do not really fly. They merely +skim for long distances through the air, just as the flying squirrel and +the flying dragon do; but instead of having a broad parachute-like +membrane to buoy them up, they are supported in the air by the pectoral +or breast fins, which are very large. These fins do not beat the air, +like the wings of a bird. They merely support the body. And the power of +the so-called flight is due to a stroke of the tail just as the fish +leaves the water. + +The reason why these fishes take their long leaps through the air +appears to be that they are much persecuted by other fishes, bigger and +stronger than themselves, and that they know quite well that they will +be overtaken if they remain in the water. They do not usually rise to a +height of more than a few feet above the surface, and the greatest +distance to which they can travel without falling back into the water +seems to be about two hundred yards. Whether they can alter the +direction of their course while they are in the air is uncertain. Some +observers say that they can, while others declare that they cannot. But +it is possible that they may sometimes do so by just touching the crest +of a wave with their tails. + +Flying fishes are found in all the warmer parts of the sea, and are very +common in the Mediterranean and the West Indies. + + +THE HERRING + +Like the mackerel, the herring is one of those fishes which live in vast +shoals and are of great value as a cheap and nutritious food. These +shoals consist of millions upon millions of fishes, and when they are +swimming near the surface of the sea their presence can generally be +detected by the numbers of sea-birds which follow them and devour them +in countless thousands. Whales, too, often follow the shoal for +days together, and sharks and many other big fishes do the same. Yet +nothing seems to lessen their numbers. + +These shoals generally appear in the same parts of the sea, year after +year, at the same season. But sometimes the herring will desert their +favorite haunts without any apparent cause. During spring and early +summer they remain in deep water; but in June and July they come in +nearer the coast in order to spawn. + + +GOBIES + +There are still several very curious and interesting fishes about which +we should like to tell you; and among these are the gobies. Many +different kinds of these odd little creatures are found in different +parts of the world other than North America; but perhaps the best known +of all is the black goby, which is very common off British coasts. You +can often catch it by fishing with a small net in the pools which are +left among the rocks as the tide goes out. And if you look into these +pools from above, you may often see it clinging to the rocks round the +margin. It does this by means of the fins on the lower part of its body, +which are made in such a manner that when they are placed side by side +together they form a kind of sucker. And if you keep the fish in an +aquarium, it has an odd way of suddenly darting at the side of the tank, +clinging to it with its fins, and staring at you through the glass. + +Some of the gobies make nests in which to bring up their little ones, +just as the sticklebacks do. One of them, the spotted goby, which is +found rather commonly in the lower reaches of the Thames, nearly always +takes one of the shells of a cockle for this purpose. First it turns the +shell upside down; then it scoops out the sand from beneath it, and +smears the surface of the hollow with slime from its own body; and then +it piles loose sand over the shell, so as to keep it in position. +Lastly, it makes a little tunnel by which to enter the nest from +outside. This work is always performed by the male. When the nest is +quite finished the female comes and lays her eggs in it, after +which the male keeps guard over them until they hatch, about eight or +nine days later. + + +MUD-SKIPPERS + +More curious still are these fishes, which are found on the coasts of +the tropical seas, and often make their way for some little distance up +the estuaries of rivers. They have singular eyes, which are set on the +upper surface of the head, and can be poked out to some little distance +and drawn back again in the oddest way. And besides that, these eyes +have eyelids. Then the lower fins are made just like those of the +gobies, but with an even greater power of clinging, so that the fish can +climb by means of them. Often these queer little creatures leave the sea +altogether and skip about on the muddy shore, or even climb up the +trunks of the trees which overhang the water. Sometimes they will rest +for quite a long time on the spreading roots, snapping at the flies and +other small insects which come within reach. They do not look like +fishes at all as they do so. They look much more like rather big +tadpoles. And if they are suddenly startled they go hopping and skipping +back into the water, not diving at once, but leaping along over the +surface, very much as a flat stone does when thrown sideways from the +hand. + +Some of these fishes were kept for some time at the London Zoo, and when +they were out of the water they had an odd way of lying at full length +and raising their heads and the front part of their bodies by means of +their lower fins, so that they reminded one very much of a man with his +elbows resting upon the table. + + +PIPE-FISHES + +The pipe-fish has its mouth drawn out into a very long snout, so that it +forms a kind of tube; the body is sixteen or eighteen inches long, yet +scarcely stouter than an ordinary drawing-pencil; and the only fin, +besides a small one on the back, is a tiny one at the very tip of the +tail. Besides this, the whole head and body are covered with bony +plates, which form a kind of coat of mail. And the fish is even +odder in habits than in appearance, for when the eggs are laid they are +put into a pouch in the lower part of the body of the male, and are kept +there until they hatch! It is even said that after the little ones are +hatched and are able to swim about in the water, they will return into +the pouch of the parent in moments of danger, just as young kangaroos +will into that of their mother. But this does not seem to have been +proved. + +Pipe-fishes are not uncommon on our coasts, and you may often find them +in the pools among the rocks when the tide is out. They swim half erect +in the water, and if you watch them carefully you may see them poking +their long snout-like mouths in among the seaweeds in search of food, +standing on their heads among the eel-grass, in which position they are +hard to see, or blowing furrows in the sand at the bottom of the pool in +order to turn out any small creatures which may be lying hidden in it. + + +THE SEA-HORSE + +Closely related to the pipe-fish is the sea-horse, which reminds one of +the knight in a set of chessmen. It has a long and slender tail, which +is prehensile, like that of a spider-monkey; and by means of this organ +the fish anchors itself firmly down to the stems of seaweeds, or to any +small object which may be floating on the surface of the water. + +The eyes of this fish can be moved independently of each other, like +those of a chameleon; and if you keep one of these creatures in a bowl +of sea-water and watch it for a few minutes, you will find it hard to +believe that it is not purposely "making faces" at you! + +The male sea-horse, like the male pipe-fish, has a pouch underneath his +body, in which the eggs are placed as soon as they are laid, and are +kept until they hatch. + +The sea-horse swims by means of a single fin on its back, which acts on +the water very much like the screw of a steamboat. Just at the back of +its head are two more fins, and when these are thrown forward they look +like the ears of a horse, increasing the queer resemblance of +its long head to that of a pony. + +Sea-horses are found in most of the warmer seas, and in summer float +north with the Gulf Stream, so that they are frequently seen near New +England. + + +CONGERS + +Just as there are eels which live in the fresh water, so there are eels +which live in the sea. These are known as congers, and very often they +grow to a great size. A conger eight feet long is by no means uncommon; +and a fish of this length will weigh at least one hundred pounds. + +Congers generally live in rather shallow water off a rocky coast, where +there are plenty of nooks and crevices in which they can hide during the +daytime. It is rather curious to find that those which live in muddy +places are nearly always dark brown or black in color, while those which +lie upon sand are light-colored, and sometimes almost white. + +These eels are generally caught by means of long lines, which are set at +intervals with short "snoods" just like those which are used in catching +cod. The hooks are generally baited with pilchards, or else with pieces +of the long arms of cuttles. When the congers are lifted on board the +scene is usually an exciting one, for they are very powerful and active, +and go twisting and writhing about in the most extraordinary manner, +slapping vigorously on all sides with their long tails. These tails, +too, to some extent, are prehensile, and sometimes the fishes will seize +the gunwale of the boat, and then, with a sudden effort, pull themselves +over the side and drop back into the water. As soon as they are lifted +on board, the fishermen always try to stun them by a heavy blow on the +lower side of the body, after which, of course, they can be easily +killed. + +Congers feed, as a rule, upon mollusks, which we wrongly call +shell-fish, devouring them shells and all. They will also eat small +fishes, however, and sometimes they are cannibals; for inside the body +of one of these fishes a young conger was found that was three feet in +length! + + +AMPHIOXUS, OR LANCELET + +In this we see a creature so curiously formed that a good many +naturalists have doubted whether it ought to be ranked among the fishes +at all. For in appearance it is much more like a slug; and it has no +skull, and no brain, and no bones, and no eyes, and no gills, and no +heart! It has a fin running along its back, however, and although it has +no spine, it possesses a spinal cord. So it is considered as the very +lowest of all the fishes, and as a kind of link between the animals with +bones and those without them. + +This strange little creature is about two inches and a half long when +fully grown, and is so transparent that one can almost see through its +body. It is very active, and can wriggle and twist about in the water, +or on the mud, with considerable speed. It spends most of its life +concealed under large stones, or lying almost buried in the muddy sand +at the bottom of the sea. And it seems to feed upon those minute atoms +of decaying animal and vegetable matter which are always floating about +in countless millions in the waters of the sea. + + + + +INVERTEBRATES + + + + +CHAPTER XXXII + +INSECTS + + +We now come to the second of the two great divisions of the animal +kingdom, namely, the invertebrates, which includes all those creatures +which have no bones. This division in its turn consists of a good many +classes, just as that of the vertebrates does; and among these is that +of the insects, the peculiarity of which is that they must pass through +three stages of development before they reach their perfect form, +namely: first the egg; then the grub, or caterpillar; and then the +chrysalis, or pupa. + +You can easily tell an insect when you see it by remembering one or two +simple rules. + +In the first place, its body is always divided into three principal +parts, which are known as the head; the thorax, or chest; and the hind +body. + +In the second place, it always has six legs. Spiders have eight legs. +Centipedes and millepedes have many legs. But an insect never has more +nor less than six. And each of these limbs is made up of a thigh, a +lower leg, and a foot; while the foot itself has from two to five little +joints, the last of which usually has a pair of tiny claws at the tip. + +Besides these, there are several other ways in which insects differ from +the rest of the vertebrates. We need only tell you about one of them, +however, and that is that in some form or other they always have four +wings. Sometimes, it is true, you cannot see these wings. That is +because they are not developed and cannot be used for flying. But still +they are there, and by means of the microscope it is almost always easy +to detect them. + +These wings, however, take all sorts of forms. The wings of a butterfly, +for example, are very different from those of a beetle or a bee; and +because of these differences in the wings, insects are divisible into +several smaller groups, which we call orders. + + +BEETLES + +First comes the order of the beetles. These are called +_Coleoptera_, or sheath-winged insects, because their front wings, +instead of being formed for flight, are turned into horny or leathery +sheaths, or elytra, which cover up and protect the lower pair while not +in use. + +At least 150,000 different kinds of beetles have already been discovered +in various parts of the world, of which America possesses tens of +thousands; and probably quite as many more remain to be distinguished. +Of these we can only mention a few of the most interesting. + +The tiger-beetles are so called because they are such fierce and +voracious insects, spending most of their time in chasing and devouring +other insects. The commonest of them is about half an inch long, and is +bright green above and coppery below. You may often see it darting about +in the hot sunshine, and if you try to catch it you will generally find +that it flies away as quickly as a bluebottle. + +Ground-beetles are common in gardens. One often seen is about an inch +long, and is deep black in color, with a narrow band of violet running +round the outer edge of its wing-cases. This, too, is a creature of +prey. It cannot hurt you; but if you pick it up it will make your +fingers smell very nasty. For it can pour out from its mouth a drop or +two of a dark-brown liquid which has a horrible odor. + +Then there are a good many beetles which live in streams and ponds, and +are called water-beetles in consequence. They can swim and dive very +well, and are also able to fly. Almost every night they go for long +journeys through the air. And when they want to go back into the pond +they hover above it for a moment, fold their wings, and drop into the +water with a splash. Only sometimes they fly over the roof of a +greenhouse, and mistake that for a pond; and then you can imagine the +result! + +The cocktails are beetles with short wing-cases and very long, slender +bodies, which they carry turned up at the rear end. Some of them are +quite large, like the ugly black "coach-horse," but many are very small. +Indeed, most of the "flies" which get into one's eyes on warm sunny days +in England are really tiny cocktail beetles, and the reason why they +make one's eyes smart so dreadfully is that they pour out a little drop +of an evil-smelling liquid from their mouths, just like the purple +ground-beetle. + + +SCAVENGERS + +The burying-beetles are so called because they bury dead animals. Have +you ever wondered why we so seldom find a dead mouse or a dead bird, +although these creatures must die in thousands every day? One reason is +that as soon as they are dead a couple of "scavengers" are almost sure +to come and bury them. They are big black beetles, sometimes with two +broad yellow stripes across their wing-cases, and they dig by means of +their heads, scooping out the earth from under the carcass till it has +sunk well below the surface of the ground. Then they lay their eggs in +it, come up to the surface, shovel back the earth till the dead body is +quite covered over, and then fly away. And when the eggs hatch, the +little grubs which come out from them feed upon the carcass. + +Among the largest beetles are those called stag-beetles because the jaws +of the male look very much like the horns of a stag. Those of the female +are much smaller, but are so sharp and strong that they can really give +a rather severe bite. These occur in various parts of the world, and are +fond of flying slowly about on a warm summer evening, generally about +twenty or thirty feet from the ground. + +The cockchafer is common everywhere in spring, and if you shake a young +birch-tree, or a hazel-bush, three or four of the great clumsy insects +will very likely come tumbling down. They are rather more than an inch +long, very stoutly and heavily built, and are chestnut brown in +color, while their bodies are drawn out into a kind of point behind. The +grubs of these beetles live underground, and do a great deal of mischief +in fields and gardens, for they feed upon the roots of the plants, and +very soon kill them. + +Dor-beetles, too, are very common everywhere. You may often see them +flying round and round in great circles on warm summer evenings, making +a loud humming noise as they do so. They often blunder in at open +windows, attracted by the lamplight, and children are afraid of them, +but they can do no harm. If you catch one you will find that it is +nearly black. You will also see that its front legs are broad and +strong, and that they are set with a row of stout horny teeth. With +these legs the beetle digs, using them with such address that in the +course of an hour or two it will sink a hole in the ground ten or twelve +inches deep, in order to lay its eggs at the bottom. + +The famous Scarabæus of Egypt, which in days of old some of the people +of that country used to revere, because they thought it a symbol of +immortality, is really a kind of dor-beetle. + + +SKIPJACKS AND GLOWWORMS + +Skipjacks, too, are beetles. You may know them by their long, narrow, +glossy bodies, and by the fact that the head is hidden under the thorax, +so that you can hardly see it from above. One very odd thing about them +is that they are constantly losing their footing and rolling over on +their backs; and their bodies are so shiny, and their legs are so short, +that when they do so they cannot get up again in the ordinary manner. +But after lying still for a moment they arch themselves into the form of +a bow, resting only upon their heads and the very tips of their tails, +and suddenly spring into the air, making an odd clicking noise as they +do so. And as they fall they turn half round, and so alight upon their +feet. For this reason they are often known as click-beetles. + +These insects are the parents of the well-known wireworms, which often +do such mischief in our fields and gardens, living underground +for three or even four years, and feeding upon the roots of the crops, +and of such bushes as the currant. + +Then the glowworm is a beetle. Perhaps you may have seen its little pale +green lamp shining in the grass on a summer evening. The light comes +from a liquid inside the hind part of the body, the skin of which is +transparent, and forms a kind of window, so that it can shine through; +and the insect has the power of turning on its light and shutting it off +at will. The lamp of the female beetle is very much brighter than that +of the male, and while the male has both wing-cases and wings, and can +fly very well indeed, those of the female are so small that one can +hardly see them. Indeed, she looks much more like a grub than a beetle. + + +DEATHWATCHES AND OIL-BEETLES + +Deathwatches are small brown beetles which burrow into dead wood and +call to one another by tapping with their horny heads. You may often +hear them if you happen to be lying awake at night in a room in which +there is old woodwork; and in former days people were silly enough to +think that when this sound was heard it was a sign that somebody in the +house was going to die! That is why these beetles are called +deathwatches. They are quite small, and are brown in color, with rather +long feelers and legs. + +Crawling on grassy banks in the warm sunshine on bright spring days, you +may often see a number of oil-beetles. These are large bluish-black +insects which have an odd habit, if you pick them up, of squeezing out +little drops of a yellow oily liquid from the joints of their legs! This +oil has a pungent smell, and no doubt prevents birds, etc., from eating +them. You will notice that the female beetles have enormous hind bodies, +which they can hardly drag along over the ground. This is because they +contain such a very large number of eggs, thirty thousand often being +laid by a single beetle. She places them in batches in holes in the +ground, and very soon afterward they hatch, and odd-looking little grubs +with six long legs come out of them. No sooner have they left the +egg-shells than these tiny creatures hunt about for a flower +with sweet juices, which is likely to be visited by a wild bee. When +they find one, they climb up the stem and hide among the petals. Then, +when the bee comes, they spring upon it and cling to its hairy body, and +so are carried back to its nest, where they feed upon the food which the +bee had stored up for its little ones. + + +WEEVILS AND OTHER BEETLES + +A great many beetles have a long beak in front of the head, with the +jaws at the very tip. These are called weevils, and many of them are +very mischievous. Grain of various kinds, for example, is destroyed in +enormous quantities by the wheat-weevil and the rice-weevil, while the +nut-weevil is the cause of those "bad" nuts which no doubt most of you +know only too well. The mother beetle bores a hole through the shell of +the nut while it is small, and the little grub which hatches out from +the egg she leaves inside it feeds upon the kernel, leaving nothing +behind but a quantity of evil-tasting black dust. + +One of the handsomest of European insects is the musk-beetle, which you +may often find sunning itself on the trunks and leaves of willow-trees +in England in July. Often you can smell it long before you find it, for +it gives out a strong odor much like that of musk. This beetle is +sometimes nearly an inch and a half long, with long legs and still +longer waving black feelers. In color it is rich golden green with a +tinge of copper. But if you put one of its wing-cases under the +microscope, it looks like a piece of green velvet studded all over with +diamonds, and rubies, and sapphires, and emeralds, and topazes, which +seem to turn into one another with every change of light. + +The grub of this beetle lives inside the trunks of dying willow-trees, +and feeds upon the solid wood. + +Then there are the turnip-fleas, little black beetles with a yellow +stripe on each wing-case, which skip about just as fleas do, by means of +their hind legs. They are only too common in turnip-fields, and often do +most serious mischief, nibbling off the seed-leaves of the young plants +as soon as they push their way above the surface of the ground, +and so destroying the greater part or even the whole of the crop. + +And, lastly, there are the ladybirds, common everywhere. But perhaps you +did not know that they are among the most useful of insects. The fact is +that both as grubs and as perfect insects they live upon the green +blight, or greenfly, an aphis which is terribly mischievous in fields +and gardens, and destroy it in thousands of thousands. Indeed, if it +were not for ladybirds, and for one or two other insects which help them +in their task, we should find it quite impossible to grow certain crops +at all. + +[Illustration: INSECTS INJURIOUS TO AMERICAN MAPLE TREES. + + BORING BEETLE (Plagionotus): 1, place where egg was laid; 2, borer + or grub in September from egg laid same season; 3, nearly fully + grown borer; 4, adult beetle (black and yellow); 5, hole through + which beetle escaped from its chrysalis in the burrow; 6, dust of + borings packed in a burrow. + + MAPLE-TREE PRUNER (Elaphidium): 7, 7a, grubs or borers in burrows; + 8, pupa; 9, beetle (brown). + + COTTONY SCALE (Pulvinaria): 10, active young (pink); 11, adult + female scales, each concealing many eggs under the woolly mass; 12, + leaf with young scale-insects on its under side.] + + +EUPLEXOPTERA + +Next after the beetles comes the order of the _Euplexoptera_, which +means beautifully folded wings. This order contains the earwigs. We do +not know much about these insects in the United States; but they are so +constantly spoken of in books about England, where they are numerous, +that it will be well to describe them. + +Perhaps you did not know that earwigs have wings; and certainly one does +not often see these beetles flying. But nevertheless they have very +large and powerful wings, only, during the daytime, while they are not +being used, these organs are folded away in the most beautiful manner +under the tiny wing-cases. By night, however, earwigs often fly; and +when they settle, they fold up their wings most cleverly by means of the +horny pincers at the tail-end of their bodies, and then pull the +wing-cases down over them! + +That is the real use of the pincers, although the earwig is able to give +quite a smart pinch with them if it is interfered with. + +Another very curious fact about the earwig is that the mother insect +heaps her eggs together into a little pile, and sits over them until +they are hatched. If you turn over large stones early in the spring you +may often find a mother earwig watching over her eggs in this odd +manner, and she will allow herself to be torn in pieces rather than +desert her charge. + + +ORTHOPTERA + +Next comes this order, the name of which means straight-winged insects, +so-called from the way in which the wings are folded. This order +contains many very well-known insects. + +There is the cockroach, for example, which is so common and so +mischievous in our houses. It is often called the black beetle, although +it is not a beetle at all, and is not black, but dark reddish brown. It +is remarkable for several reasons. One is that while the male has large +wing-cases and broad, powerful wings, those of the female are very small +indeed, so that she cannot possibly fly. And another is that the eggs +are laid in a kind of horny purse, about a quarter of an inch long, with +a sort of clasp on one side. These little purses are hidden away in all +sorts of dark corners, and if you open one you will find two rows of +little eggs inside it, arranged rather like the peas in a pod. + +The crickets, too, belong to this order. + +Of course you have often heard the big black cricket chirping merrily +away in the fields; and in Europe they have a kind called the +house-cricket, which comes into the house, and is often spoken of as +"the cricket on the hearth" in the kitchen. It is not correct, however, +to speak of the "note" or "song" of this insect, for it is not produced +in the throat at all, but is caused by rubbing one of the wing-cases +upon the other. You will notice, on looking at a cricket, that in each +wing-case there is a kind of stout horny rib, which starts from a +thickened spot in the middle. Now in the right wing-case this rib is +notched, like a file, and when it is rubbed sharply upon the other the +loud chirping noise is produced. + +The feelers of the cricket are very long and slender, and at the end of +the body of the male are two long hairy bristles, which seem almost like +a second pair of feelers, warning the insect of danger approaching from +behind. At the end of the body of the female is a long spear-like organ, +with a spoon-like tip. This is called the ovipositor, and by means of it +the eggs are laid in holes punched in the soil. + +Crickets have large wings, and fly rather like the woodpeckers, rising +and falling in the air at every stroke. + +Another kind of cricket lives in holes in the ground, which it digs by +means of its front legs. These limbs are formed almost exactly like the +fore feet of the mole, and for this reason the insect is known as the +mole-cricket. It is generally found in sandy fields, and scoops out a +chamber almost as big as a hen's egg at the end of its burrow, in which +to lay its eggs and where it lies, showing only its jaws and great front +legs until some small creature comes near upon which it may pounce for +food. + + +GRASSHOPPERS + +Right here has come a mixing up of names between the English, as spoken +and written in Great Britain, and that used in the United States. When +an Englishman speaks of a grasshopper he means the related insect which +we call a cicada, or katydid, and this _we_ call a locust; but when +_he_ says "locust" he refers to what _we_ call "grasshopper." +We suspect he is nearer right than we are, who have unfortunately fallen +in with the mistake of some ignorant early settler. At any rate the +locusts of which we read in the Bible, and in books of travel in desert +regions, are all of the same race as our grasshoppers. None of the +cicada tribe could ever do so much damage. + +Grasshoppers (to stick to our own name) abound in all warm countries, +especially in those which in summer, at least, are hot and dry, such as +Egypt, or Syria, or parts of India. They feed exclusively on leaves, +blades of grass, and the like, and are strong fliers; and in countries +that are favorable to them, where they are always very plentiful, +certain species sometimes become excessively abundant, and then spread +over the land, and swarm away to neighboring countries, in such immense +numbers that they devour every green leaf and every blade of grass, or +spear of grain, until they leave the ground as bare as if it had been +swept by fire. + +Nor is this the worst, for wherever they go the females push +quantities of eggs down into the ground. The following summer these eggs +hatch, and the devastation of the previous year is repeated, for where +before dense clouds of flying grasshoppers descended from the sky, now +enormous armies of grubs march over the ground, climb all the plants and +bushes, and devour all that has newly sprung up. + +Millions may be killed by fire or other means, but it has little effect, +and the farmers and grazers of a region so visited are all but +ruined--perhaps wholly so. + +When, in the last century, men began to settle on the prairies of the +far West, they met this plague; and between 1870 and 1880 the gardens +and farms and young orchards of Kansas, Nebraska, and other western +districts, were ruined again and again. The government sent out several +of the wisest entomologists it could employ to study the insects, and +they found that these destructive red-legged grasshoppers had their home +in the dry foothills of the Rocky Mountains, especially toward the +north. They learned a great deal about the habits of the insects, and +reported that there seemed no remedy just at hand; but that the more the +West was settled and cultivated, the more grass and other food would be +provided for the grasshoppers, so that they would not have to make those +wide flights, and the more the plowing of the land and burning of +rubbish would destroy their eggs, so that gradually the pest would +become less and less, until finally it would cease to be troublesome. +This has turned out to be true, and already the fear of grasshoppers has +departed. The same thing is taking place in Egypt and some other +improving countries, which no longer suffer from the plague of locusts +as they used to do. + +The wonderful walking-stick and the leaf-insects also belong to this +order. They are so marvelously like the objects after which they are +named that as long as they keep still it is almost impossible to see +them. They seem to know this perfectly well, and will remain for hours +together without moving, waiting for some unwary insect to come within +reach, for they are among the insects of prey. They are found in all the +warmer parts of the world. + +Equally curious, too, is the praying-mantis, which also is very much +like a leaf. It has very long front legs, with a row of sharp teeth +running along their inner margin, and when it is hungry it holds these +limbs over its head, in very much the attitude of prayer. That is why it +is called the praying-mantis. Then when an insect comes within reach it +strikes at it, and seizes it between the upper and lower parts of these +limbs, so that the long spike-like teeth enter its body and hold it in a +grip from which there is no escape. These occur in various parts of the +world, including the warmer parts of America. + + +DRAGON-FLIES AND MAY-FLIES + +The dragon-flies belong to another division of the _Orthoptera_. +You must know these insects very well by sight, with their long slender +bodies and their broad gauzy wings; for they are common in almost all +parts of the country, and you can hardly go for a ramble on a sunny day +in summer or autumn without seeing them in numbers. There are a good +many different kinds. Some have yellow bodies, some blue ones, and some +red ones, and the loveliest of all perhaps are the graceful demoiselles, +whose wings are rich metallic purple. You may sometimes see these +beautiful insects flitting to and fro over streams and ditches. + +All the dragon-flies spend the earlier part of their lives in the water. +The grubs are very curious creatures and catch their prey in a curious +way. Underneath the head is an organ called the mask. This consists of +two horny joints, which fold upon one another while not in use. At the +end of the second joint is a pair of great sickle-shaped jaws, and when +the grub sees a victim it swims quietly underneath it, unfolds the mask, +reaches up, and seizes it with the jaws. Then it folds the mask again, +and by so doing drags the prisoner down against the true jaws, by means +of which it is leisurely devoured. + +This grub swims, too, in a singular manner. At the end of its body you +will notice a short sharp spike. Now this spike really consists of five +points, which can be opened out into the form of a star; and in the +center of this star is a small round hole, which is really the entrance +to a tube running right through the middle of the body. And the +grub swims by filling this tube with water, and then squirting it out +again with all its force, so that the escaping jet pushes, as it were, +against the surrounding water, and drives the insect swiftly forward by +the recoil. + +Dragon-flies are voracious, and always seem to be hungry. They feed +entirely upon other insects, and spend almost all their time in chasing +and devouring them. + +The May-fly, or June-fly, also belongs to this order. One sometimes sees +it in thousands, dancing, as it were, up and down in the air toward +evening on warm spring days, in the neighborhood of water. You can +always tell this insect by the three long thread-like bristles at the +end of its body. + +Most people think that this insect only lives for a single day. This, +however, is not strictly true, for in damp weather many May-flies live +for three or four days. Before they become perfect flies, however, they +have lived for nearly two years in the muddy banks of rivers and ponds, +in the form of long slender-bodied grubs. These grubs always make their +burrows with two entrances, in the form of the letter U turned sideways, +so that they can easily leave them without having to turn round. + + +TERMITES + +The most wonderful of all the insects which belong to this order, +however, are the termites. Often these creatures are known as white +ants, and although they are not really ants, they are certainly very +much like them. In Africa they make marvelous nests of clay, which are +often twelve or fourteen feet high, and are so very large that a church, +a parsonage, and a schoolroom have been built of clay slabs cut from the +walls of a single termites' nest! These nests are made up of a wonderful +series of chambers and galleries, and in the middle is the royal cell, +in which the "king" and "queen" live. For in every termites' nest there +is one perfect male and one perfect female, which are treated with very +great respect, and have a kind of palace, as it were, all to themselves. +And the rest of the insects in the nest are either imperfect +males, which are called soldiers, or imperfect females, which are called +workers. + +The "king" is quite a handsome and graceful insect, with broad and +powerful wings; and the "queen," at first, is very much like him. But +they never take more than one flight in the air, and as soon as that is +over they actually break off their own wings close to their bodies! Then +they burrow into the ground and begin to form a nest. Before long, the +workers build the palace for the royal couple; and as soon as they have +been shut up inside it the body of the queen swells to a most enormous +size, so that she can no longer walk at all. This is because of the vast +number of eggs, developing within her body, which she at once begins to +lay at the rate of many thousands in a single day. As fast as she lays +them they are carried off by the workers, which also take care of the +little grubs that hatch out from them, just as bees do. + +The duty of the soldiers, as their name implies, is simply to fight, and +if a hole is broken in the side of the nest they hurry to the spot at +once, and begin to snap with their jaws at the foe. And these jaws are +so sharp and so powerful that they can really give a very smart bite. +The workers are a good deal smaller, and they have to build the nest and +keep it in repair, to find food for the grubs, and take care of them, +and wash them, and feed them, and do everything else that is necessary +for the welfare of the colony. + +The grubs of these insects are fed upon dead wood, which is generally +obtained from the trunks and branches of trees. But termites are +sometimes very troublesome in houses, for they will devour the woodwork +and the furniture and the books, leaving nothing but a thin shell of +wood or paper behind them. + +There are a good many different kinds of these wonderful insects, and +they are found in warm countries in all parts of the world. + +The North American termites do not build great clay hills or houses +above ground, but some species make extensive galleries beneath the +surface, while others hollow out a dead stump, or the dying branch of a +tree, or even an old fence-post or telegraph pole, until it becomes a +mere sponge, with a thin outside shell. + + +NEUROPTERA + +The _Neuroptera_, or nerve-winged insects, form an order whose +wings are divided up by horny nerves, or nervures, into such numbers of +tiny cells, that they look as if they were made of the most delicate +lace. + +The caddis-flies belong to this order--brownish insects with long +thread-like feelers and broad wings, which are folded tentwise over the +body when they are not being used. They are very common near ponds and +streams, in which they pass the earlier part of their lives, living down +at the bottom in most curious cases, which cover them entirely up with +the exception of their heads. + +These cases are made of all sorts of materials. Some caddis-grubs merely +fasten two dead leaves together, face to face, and live between them. +Others make a kind of tube out of grains of sand, or tiny stones, or +little bits of cut reed, all neatly stuck together with a kind of glue +which resists the action of water. But the oddest case of all is made of +tiny living water-snails, and you may sometimes see fifteen or twenty +little snails all trying to crawl in different directions, while the +grub is unconcernedly pulling them along in another! + +The grubs never leave these cases, but drag them about with them +wherever they go. And when they find that their odd little homes are +becoming too small, they just cut off a little piece at the end and add +a little piece on in front, rather larger in diameter. And so they +always manage to keep their homes of exactly the proper size. + +Most likely, too, you have heard of the ant-lion fly, which is a rather +large fly with a slender body and four long narrow wings, and is found +in many parts of the south of Europe, as well as in America. But the +interest lies in the grub, or "ant-lion" proper, which has a most +singular way of catching its insect victims. It digs a funnel-shaped pit +in the sand, about three inches in diameter and two inches deep, by +means of its front legs and its head. Then it almost buries itself at +the bottom, and lies in wait to snap up any ants or other small insects +which may be unfortunate enough to fall in. And if by any chance they +should escape its terrible jaws and try to clamber up the sides, it +jerks up a quantity of sand at them, and brings them rolling down again +to the bottom, so that they may be seized a second time. + +A relation of the ant-lion is called the lacewing fly, and is a pretty +pale-green insect with most delicate gauzy wings, over which, if you +look at them in a good light, all the colors of the rainbow seem to be +playing; and its eyes glow so brightly with ruby light that one can +scarcely help wondering if a little red lamp is burning inside its head. +You may often see it sitting on a fence on a warm summer day, or +flitting slowly to and fro in the evening. + +This fly lays its eggs in clusters on a twig, or the surface of a leaf, +each egg being fastened to the tip of a slender thread-like stalk. The +result is that they do not look like eggs at all; they look much more +like a little tuft of moss. When they hatch, a number of queer little +grubs come out, which at once begin to wander about in search of the +little greenfly insects upon which they feed. And when they have sucked +their victims dry, they always fasten the empty skins upon their own +backs, till at last they are covered over so completely that you cannot +see them at all! + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII + +INSECTS (Continued) + + +We now come to a very large and important order of insects indeed--that +of the _Hymenoptera_. This name means membrane-winged, and has been +given to them because their wings are made of a transparent membrane +stretched upon a light horny framework. It is not a very good name, +however, for many insects which do not belong to this order at all have +their wings made in just the same way. All the _Hymenoptera_, +however, have the upper and lower wings fastened together during flight +by a row of tiny hooks, which are set on the front margin of the lower +pair, and fit into a fold on the lower margin of the upper ones. + + +BEES + +The bees belong to this order, and most wonderful insects they are--so +wonderful, indeed, that a big book might easily be written about them. +They are divided into two groups, namely, social bees and solitary bees. + +The social bees are those which live together in nests; and our first +example, of course, must be the hive-bee. + +In every beehive there are three kinds of bees. First, there are the +drones, which you can easily tell by their stoutly built bodies and +their very large eyes. They are the idlers of the hive, doing no work at +all, and sleeping for about twenty hours out of every twenty-four. For +six or eight weeks they live only to enjoy themselves. But at last the +other bees become tired of providing food for them. So they drive them +all down to the bottom of the hive and sting them to death one after +another. And that is the end of the drones. + +Next comes the queen, the mistress of the hive. You can easily recognize +her, too, for her body is much longer and more slender than that +of the other bees, and her folded wings are always crossed at the tips. +The other bees treat her with the greatest respect, never, for example, +turning their backs toward her. And wherever she goes a number of them +bear her company, forming a circle round her, in readiness to feed her, +or lick her with their tongues, or do anything else for her that she may +happen to want. Her chief business is to lay eggs; and she often lays +two or three hundred in the course of a single day. + +Lastly, there are the workers. There are many thousands of these, and +they have to do all the work of the hive, making wax and honey, building +the combs, and feeding and tending the young. + +The comb is made of six-sided cells, and is double, two sets of cells +being placed back to back. Some of these cells are used for storing up +honey. But a great many of them are nurseries, so to speak, in which the +grubs are brought up. These grubs are quite helpless, and the nurse-bees +have to come and put food into their mouths several times a day. + +Fastened to the outside of the combs, there are always several cells of +quite a different shape. They are almost like pears in form, with the +smaller ends downward. These are the royal nurseries in which the queen +grubs are brought up. + +Bees feed their little ones with a curious kind of jelly, made partly of +honey and partly of the pollen of flowers. This is called bee-bread; and +it is rather strange to find that one kind of bee-bread is given to the +grubs of the drones and the workers, while quite a different kind is +given to those of the queens. + +You will want, of course, to know something about the sting of the +bee--though perhaps you already know enough of the pain it can give! +This is a soft organ, enclosed in a horny sheath, with a number of +little barbs at the tip. When a bee stings us, it is often unable to +draw the sting out again, because of these barbs. So it is left behind +in the wound, and its loss injures the body of the insect so severely +that the bee very soon dies. The poison is stored up in a little bag at +the base of the sting, which is arranged in such a way that when the +sting is used a tiny drop of poison is forced through it, and so enters +the wound. + +Then, no doubt, you would like to know how bees make honey; but +that neither we nor any one can tell you. All we know is, that the bee +sweeps out the sweet juices of flowers with its odd brush-like tongue +and swallows them; that they pass into a little bag just inside the hind +part of its body, which we call the honey-bag; and that by the time the +bee reaches the hive they have been turned into honey. But how or why +the change takes place no one knows at all. + +Bumblebees, or humblebees, are also social bees; but their nests are not +quite as wonderful as those of the hive-bee, and their combs are not so +cleverly made. + +One of these bees is called the carder, and you may sometimes find its +nest in a hollow in a bank. But it is not at all easy to see, for the +bee covers over the hollow with a kind of roof, which is made of moss +and lined with wax. And this looks so like the surrounding earth that +even the sharpest eye may often pass it by. When this roof is finished, +the bee makes a kind of tunnel, eight or ten inches long and about half +an inch in diameter, to serve as an entrance; and this is built of moss +and lined with wax in just the same way. + +On a warm sunny day in spring you may often see one of these bees flying +up and down a grassy bank searching for a suitable burrow in which to +build. Then you may be quite sure that she is a queen. For among +bumblebees the drones and workers die early in the autumn, and only the +queens live through the winter. + +Solitary bees are very common almost everywhere, and you may find their +nests in all sorts of odd places. One kind of solitary bee, for example, +builds in empty snail-shells, and another in small hollows like +keyholes. A third gnaws out a burrow in the decaying trunk of an old +tree, or in the timbers of a barn or house-porch and makes a number of +thimble-shaped cells out of little semicircular bits of rose-leaf, which +it cuts out with its scissor-like jaws. Haven't you noticed how often +the leaves of rose-bushes are chipped round the edges, quite large +pieces being frequently cut away? Well, that is the work of the +leaf-cutter bee, as this insect is called, and very often not a single +leaf on a bush is left untouched. + +But the commonest of all the solitary bees burrows into the +ground. As you walk along the pathway through a meadow in spring, you +may often see a round hole in the ground, just about large enough to +admit an ordinary drawing-pencil. That is the entrance to the burrow of +a solitary bee; and if you could follow the tunnel down into the ground +you would find that it was about eight or ten inches deep, and that at +the bottom were four round cells. In each of these cells the bee lays an +egg. Then it fills the cells with flies, or spiders, and caterpillars, +or beetles, for the little grubs to feed upon when they hatch out. For +solitary bees do not nurse their little ones, as social bees do, and +feed them several times a day. But at the same time the grubs are quite +helpless, and cannot possibly go to look for food for themselves. So the +mother bee has to store up sufficient to last them until the time comes +for them to spin their cocoons and pass into the chrysalis state. These +are only a few examples of a large number of interesting ways in which +the solitary bees in various parts of the world provide for their young. + + +WASPS + +Wasps make nests which are almost as wonderful as those of the hive-bee. +That of the common yellow-jacket wasp is generally placed in a hole in +the ground, or in a cavity under a stone, and is made of a substance +very much like coarse paper, which the wasps manufacture by chewing wood +into a kind of pulp. You may often see them sitting on a fence, or on +the trunk of a dead tree, busily engaged in scraping off shreds of wood +for this purpose. When the nest is finished it is often as big as a +football, and of very much the same shape; and inside it are several +stories, as it were, of cells placed one above another, and supported by +little pillars of the same paper-like material. These cells are +six-sided, like those of the hive-bee, but they are squared off at the +ends, instead of being produced into pointed caps, and they always have +their mouths downward. In a large nest there may be several thousands of +these cells, and very often three generations of grubs are brought up in +them, one after the other. + +The hornet, which is really a kind of big wasp, makes its nest in just +the same way, but places it on a beam in an out-house, or in a hole +which the sparrows have made in the thatched roof of a house, or in a +hollow tree, or perhaps hangs it in the open air to the bough of a tree. + + +ANTS + +Even more wonderful than bees and wasps are the ants, which sometimes do +such extraordinary things that we are almost afraid to tell you about +them, for fear that you might not believe us. There are ants, for +example, which actually take other ants prisoners and make them act as +slaves, forcing them to do all the work of the nest, which they are too +lazy to do themselves; and there are ants which keep large armies, +sometimes more than one hundred thousand strong; and there are many ants +which harvest grain and store it away in underground barns! Many ants, +too, keep little beetles in their nests as pets, and fondle and caress +them just as one might pat a dog, or stroke a favorite cat. They even +allow them to ride on their backs; while, if the nest is opened, the +first thing they think of is the safety of their pets which they pick up +at once and hide away in some place of safety, even before they carry +off their own eggs and young. They also pet tiny crickets and small +white wood-lice in just the same way. + +Then ants have little "cows" of their own, which they "milk" regularly +every day. These are the greenfly or aphis insects which do so much harm +in our gardens and fields, plunging their beaks into the tender shoots +and fresh green leaves of the plants, and sucking up their sap +unceasingly. And as fast as they do so they pour the sap out again +through two little tubes in their backs, in the form of a thin, sticky, +very sweet liquid which we call honeydew. Now the ants are very fond of +this liquid, and if you watch the greenfly insects which are almost +always so plentiful on rose-bushes, you may see the ants come and tap +them with their feelers. Then the little creatures will pour out a small +quantity of honeydew from the tubes on their backs, which the ants will +lick up. That is the way in which ants milk their little cows, +and they are so fond of the honeydew that they will carry large numbers +of these aphides into their nests and keep them, like a herd of cattle, +all through the winter, so that they may never be without a supply of +their favorite beverage! + +Ants, like bees and wasps, almost always consist of drones, queens, and +workers. Only the drones and queens have wings, and these are seldom +seen until the end of August. But then they make their appearance in +vast swarms, which are sometimes so dense that from a little distance +the insects really look like a column of smoke. They only take one short +flight, however, and when this is over they come down to the ground and +snap off their wings close to their bodies, just as termites do. + +One of the most curious of all these insects is the parasol-ant, of +South America, which makes enormous dome-shaped nests of clay. But as +the clay will not bind properly by itself, the insects work little +pieces of green leaf up with it. These pieces of leaf are generally +obtained from an orange plantation, perhaps half a mile distant. And +when the ants are returning from their expedition, each holds its little +piece of leaf over its head as it marches along, just as if it were +carrying a tiny green parasol! + +Another very famous ant is the African driver, which owes its name to +the way its vast armies drive every living creature before them. +Insects, reptiles, antelopes, monkeys, even man himself, must give way +before the advancing hosts of the drivers; for it is certain death to +stand in their path. + + +SAW-FLIES + +The saw-flies also belong to the order of the _Hymenoptera_. These +flies are so called because the female insects have two little saws at +the end of the body, which work in turns, one being pushed forward as +the other is drawn back. With these they cut little grooves in the bark +of twigs, or in the midribs of leaves, in which they place their eggs by +means of the ovipositor between the saws. + +Some of these insects are extremely mischievous. The grub of the +turnip saw-fly, for instance, often destroys whole fields of turnips, +while the currant saw-fly is equally destructive to currants and +gooseberries. One often sees bushes which it has entirely stripped of +their leaves. + +You may always know a saw-fly grub by the fact that it has no less than +twenty-two legs--three pairs of true legs on the front part of the body, +and eight pairs of false legs, or prolegs, as they are often called, on +the hinder part. + +There is one little family of saw-flies, however, which are quite unlike +all the rest, for instead of having saws at the ends of their bodies, +they have long boring instruments, very much like brad-awls. With these +they bore deep holes in the trunks of fir-trees, in order to place their +eggs at the bottom; and the grubs feed, when they hatch out, on the +solid wood. + +These insects are known as horn-tailed saw-flies, and one, which is very +common in pine woods, is very large, sometimes measuring an inch and a +half from the head to the tip of the tail, and very nearly three inches +across the wings, while the boring tool is fully an inch long. It is a +very handsome insect, and looks rather like a hornet, the head and +thorax being deep glossy black and the hind body bright yellow, with a +broad black belt round the middle. The feelers are also yellow, and the +legs are partly yellow and partly black. + + +GALL-FLIES + +Another group of the _Hymenoptera_ consists of the gall-flies. +These are all small insects, which lay their eggs in little holes which +they bore in roots, twigs, and the ribs and nervures of leaves. In each +hole, together with the egg, they place a tiny drop of an irritating +liquid, which causes a swelling to take place, on the substance of which +the little grub feeds. Sometimes these galls, as they are called, take +most curious forms. The pretty red and white oak-apples of course you +know; and no doubt, too, you have often found the hard, woody, +marble-shaped galls which are so common on the twigs of the same tree. +Then some galls look like bunches of currants, and some look like +scales, and some look like pieces of sponge. And if you cut one +of them open you will find perhaps one little grub, or perhaps several, +curled up inside them. + +[Illustration: LEAF-EATING INSECTS OF SHADE-TREES. + + TUSSOCK MOTH: 1, caterpillar (black and yellow, head red); 2, male + moth (mottled gray); 3, wingless female laying eggs on her recently + vacated cocoon; 4, cocoons; 5, cast skins of young caterpillars; 6, + work of youth caterpillars under the surface of a leaf; 7, male + pupa; 8, branch girdled by caterpillar; 9, broken end of girdled + twig. + + FOREST TENT-CATERPILLAR: 10, female moth (buff); 11, male moth + (rust-red); 12, egg-belt; 13, fully grown caterpillar, or + "maple-worm" (dull blue, red-streaked); 14, cocoon in leaf; 15, + pupa; 16, cast skins.] + + +ICHNEUMON-FLIES + +This is the last group of _Hymenoptera_ that we can mention. These +insects lay their eggs in the bodies of caterpillars or chrysalids, and +sometimes in those of spiders, boring holes to receive them by means of +their little sting-like ovipositors. Before long the eggs hatch, and the +little grubs at once begin to feed upon the flesh of their victims. For +some little time, strange to say, the unfortunate creature seems to +suffer no pain, or even discomfort, but goes on feeding and growing just +as before, although hundreds of hungry little grubs may be nibbling away +inside it. Sooner or later, however, it dies; and then the little grubs +spin cocoons and turn to chrysalids, out of which other little flies +appear in due course, just like the parents. + +Millions of caterpillars are destroyed by these little flies every year. +Out of every hundred of those which do so much damage to our cabbages +and cauliflowers, for example, at least ninety are sure to be "stung." +Indeed, if it were not for ichneumon-flies we should find it quite +impossible to grow any crops at all, for they would all be eaten up by +caterpillars. + + +LEPIDOPTERA + +Next we come to the butterflies and moths, which are called +_Lepidoptera_, or scale-winged insects, because their wings are +covered with thousands upon thousands of tiny scales. If you catch a +butterfly, a kind of mealy dust comes off upon your fingers, and if you +look at a little of this dust through a microscope, you find that it +consists simply of little scales, of all sorts of shapes. Some are like +battledores, and some like masons' trowels, and they are nearly always +most beautifully sculptured and chiseled. These scales lie upon the wing +in rows, which overlap one another like the slates on the roof of a +house. And sometimes there are several millions on the wings of a single +insect. + + +BUTTERFLIES + +It is possible here, of course, to mention only a few of the most +striking forms of butterflies, out of the many hundreds of species +counted as North American. It may be said that these insects are much +alike in general features all round the northern half of the globe, the +same families being represented, so that, at first glance, European or +Asiatic examples of such butterflies as the great yellow, black-striped +swallowtail seem the same as American examples. + +Among the handsomest of all northern butterflies is the purple emperor, +which you may sometimes see flying round the tops of the tallest trees +in large woods in the south of England. Far commoner, however, are the +large, small, and green-veined whites, whose caterpillars are so +destructive to cabbages; the scarlet admiral, with broad streaks of +vermilion across its glossy black wings; the peacock, with its four +eye-like blue spots on a russet ground; the tortoise-shells, mottled +with yellow and brown and black; and the pretty little blues, which one +may see in almost every meadow from the middle of May till the end of +September. Then there are the brimstone, with its pale yellow wings, +which with the blues dance along the roadways in little whirling +companies all summer; the meadow-brown and the large heath, to be seen +in thousands in every hayfield; the small heath and the small copper, +even more plentiful still; the fritillaries, some of which live in +woods, and some on downs, and some in marshy meadows; the pretty +orange-tip, with pure white wings tipped with yellow; and the odd little +skippers, which flit merrily about grassy banks in the warm sunshine in +May and again in August--besides several others, which are so scarce or +so local that hardly anybody ever sees them. + + +MOTHS + +You can easily tell moths from butterflies by looking at their antennæ, +or feelers, which have no knobs at the tips, as those of +butterflies have. Their number also is very great, and we can mention +only a few of the most remarkable. + +First among these is the splendid death's-head sphinx, or hawk, the +largest of all the insects, which sometimes measures five inches from +tip to tip of its wings when they are fully spread. It owes its name to +the curious patch of light-brown hairs on its thorax, which looks just +like a skull. The caterpillar is a huge yellowish creature, often nearly +six inches long, with a blue horn at the end of its body, and seven blue +stripes, edged with white, on either side. It lives in potato-fields, +hiding underground by day and coming out at night to feed upon the +leaves. And it is an odd fact that both the caterpillar and the perfect +insect have the power of squeaking rather loudly. The moth appears in +October. + +The humming-bird hawk-moth flies by day, and you may often see it +hovering over flowers in the garden, with its long trunk poked down into +a blossom in order to suck up the sweet juices. As it does so it makes +quite a loud humming noise with its wings, like the little bird from +which it takes its name. And sometimes you may see a bee-hawk, which has +transparent wings, hovering in front of rhododendron blossoms in just +the same way. + +The swifts fly between sunset and dark, and the largest of them is very +curious indeed. For although it has glossy white wings, so that one can +see it quite clearly in the dusk, it will suddenly disappear. The fact +is that although its wings are white above they are yellowish brown +below; so that when it suddenly settles, and folds them over its back, +it at once becomes invisible. + +The goat-moths are large, heavily built insects, with brownish-gray +wings marked with a number of very short upright dark streaks. The +caterpillar is a great reddish-brown creature with a broad chocolate +band running down its back. It lives for three years in the trunks of +various trees, and then spins a silken cocoon in which to turn to a +chrysalis. + +Tiger-moths have brown fore wings streaked with white, scarlet hind +wings with bluish-black spots, and bright scarlet body. The caterpillar, +which is very common in gardens, is generally called the woolly +bear, because of the long brown hairs which cover its body. + +Very beautiful indeed are the burnets, which have dark-green front +wings, with either five or six large red spots, and crimson hind wings, +edged with black. You may often see them resting on flowers and +grass-stems by the roadside in the hot sunshine. And in some parts of +the country the cinnabar-moth is almost equally plentiful. You can +recognize it at once by the crimson hind wings, and by the streak and +the two spots of the same color on the front ones. The caterpillar, +which is bright orange in color, with black rings round its body, feeds +upon ragwort. + + +THE CURIOUS VAPORER + +The vaporer-moth is very common toward the end of summer, and even in +London one may often see it dashing about in the hot sunshine with a +strange jerky flight. But one only sees the male, which is a bright +brownish-yellow insect measuring about an inch across the wings; for the +female is much more like a grub than a perfect insect, and has wings so +small that they are hardly visible. Of course she cannot fly; and her +body is so big and clumsy that she cannot even walk. So she spends her +life clinging to the outside of the cocoon in which she passed the +chrysalis state, and covers it all over with her little round white +eggs. And when she has laid the last of these she falls to the ground +and dies. + +Very handsome indeed is the emperor-moth, which has a big eye-like spot +in the middle of each wing, something like those of the +peacock-butterfly. But its caterpillar is even more beautiful still, for +its body is of the loveliest grass-green color, sprinkled all over with +little pink tubercles, each of which is enclosed in a ring of black, and +has a tuft of glossy black hairs sprouting from it. This caterpillar +feeds on bramble and heather, and when it reaches its full size it spins +a light-brown cocoon among the leaves of its food-plant, and then turns +to a chrysalis, from which the perfect moth hatches out in the following +April. + +Very often one finds caterpillars which look just like little bits of +stick, and which walk in a most curious fashion by hunching up +their backs into loops, and then stretching them out again, just as if +they were measuring the ground. These caterpillars are called loopers, +and they turn into moths with large broad wings and very slender bodies. + +There are a great many kinds of these moths. One, called the +swallowtail, may often be found hiding among ivy in July. It has large +wings of a pale-yellow color, with little tails upon the hinder pair. +Then there are the sulphur, a smaller insect with wings of a brighter +yellow; the emeralds, of the most delicate green; the magpie, which has +wings of the purest white, marked with streaks of orange and numbers of +almost square black spots and blotches; and many others far too numerous +to mention. If you ever shake a bush in summer-time you may see quite a +dozen of them flying away to seek for some fresh hiding-place. + +Then there is a large moth known as the puss, because it is colored +rather like a brindled gray cat. The caterpillar is bright green, with a +big hump in the middle of its body, and two long thread-like organs at +the end of its tail, with which it will sometimes pretend to be able to +sting you. But in reality it is perfectly harmless. You may often find +it feeding on the leaves of willow-trees in August, and when it is fully +fed it spins a hard, oval cocoon in a crack in the bark. And there are +three smaller moths belonging to the same family, which are known as +kittens! + +Another very large group of moths is that of the _Noctuæ_, or +night-fliers. But we so seldom see these unless we go out specially to +look for them that we shall pass them by without further mention. + + +HOMOPTERA + +The next order is that of the _Homoptera_, or same-winged insects, +which are so called because their upper and lower wings are just alike. + +The froghoppers all belong to this order. Do you know them? They are +little brown or gray insects, sometimes marked or marbled with white, +which carry their wings folded tentwise over their backs, and hop about +with really wonderful activity. It has been calculated that if a +man of ordinary height could leap as well as a froghopper, in proportion +to his greater size, he would be able to cover nearly a quarter of a +mile at a single jump! + +But if you do not know the froghoppers by sight you must at any rate +know something of their grubs; for these are the creatures which cause +the cuckoo-spit of which one sees so much during the early summer. Very +often the weeds and long grass in a meadow, or by the roadside, are +almost covered with the odd little masses of froth, so that one's feet +get quite wet as one walks through the herbage. And in the middle of +each mass is a fat little grub, which is sucking up the sap of the plant +upon which it is resting, and pouring it out again in frothy bubbles. + +The mischievous little aphides, or greenfly insects, also belong to this +order. There are many different kinds, some of which do terrible damage +to hops and corn and all sorts of cultivated plants. We have already +mentioned these when describing the habits of ants, and you will +recollect that they have sharp little beaks, which they thrust into +young shoots and tender leaves in order to suck up the sap; and that as +fast as they do so they pour it out again through two little tubes upon +their backs in the form of the thin, sweet, and very sticky liquid which +we call honeydew. You will remember, too, how fond ants are of this +liquid, and how they "milk" the tiny insects just as if they were little +cows. + +So, you see, the aphides injure plants in two ways. First, they draw off +all their sap, which is really their life-blood; and then they drop this +sticky honeydew on to the leaves below, and choke up the little holes by +means of which they breathe. And the worst of it is that these insects +multiply so rapidly. Where there is one to-day there will be five and +twenty to-morrow; and two days later there will be five and twenty times +five and twenty; and two days later still there will be five and twenty +times five and twenty times five and twenty! Indeed, if it were not for +ladybirds and lacewing flies and one or two other insects which feed +upon aphides, every green leaf would be destroyed by them in a few +months' time. + +A very curious fact about these insects is that as long as they +can find plenty of food they do not grow any wings. But as soon as the +sap becomes scanty or thin, wings make their appearance, so that they +can fly away and seek for better food elsewhere. + + +HETEROPTERA + +The order of the _Homoptera_, or same-winged insects, is followed +by that of the _Heteroptera_, or different-winged insects, in which +that part of the wings nearest to the body is hard and leathery, while +the rest is softer and thinner, and is generally almost transparent. +Some of these live upon land, while others spend most of their lives in +the water. + +The curious bishop's-miters belong to the former group. There are a good +many kinds, and some of them are very common. You may see them sitting +upon flowers, or resting upon raspberries and blackberries in the +sunshine. But although they are sometimes very pretty, we do not advise +you to handle them, for they have the power of pouring out a liquid +which will make your fingers smell very nasty indeed. And you should be +most careful not to eat any fruit on which they have been resting, for +they leave a horrible flavor behind them, which is even worse than the +smell. + +Among those which live in the water there are several most interesting +insects. There are the water-striders, for example, which you can see +running about on the surface of any pond, and which look like +narrow-bodied long-legged spiders. But you will notice that they only +have six legs, whereas true spiders always have eight. They skim about +on the water by means of the middle and hinder limbs, the front pair +being used in catching prey. And when they have caught a victim they +suck its juices through their sharp little beaks. + +Then there is the water-boatman, which always swims on its back. The +reason why it does so is that when its body is in that position it is +shaped just like a boat, while its long hind legs serve as a pair of +oars. So the little insect really rows itself through the water. On a +bright sunny day you may often see it resting on the surface of a pond, +with its hind legs thrown forward in readiness for a stroke. And +if even your shadow falls upon it, or it feels the vibration of a heavy +footstep, it will dive down in a moment to some hiding-place among the +weeds. + +If you ever catch a water-boatman, be careful how you handle it, or it +will give your finger a very painful prick with its sharp beak. + +The water-scorpion, too, is very curious. It is a flat, oval insect, of +a dirty-brown color, which looks very much like a piece of dead leaf. It +seems to know this quite well, for when it is hungry it always hides +among dead leaves down at the bottom of the water, and keeps perfectly +still. Then the other insects do not notice it, and as soon as one of +them comes within reach it seizes it with its great jaw-like front legs, +and plunges its beak into its body. + +This insect is called the water-scorpion because it has a long spike at +the end of its body, which looks something like a scorpion's sting. It +is really a breathing-tube, however, the top of which is poked just +above the surface of the water while the insect is lying at the bottom, +so as to enable it to breathe quite easily. + + +APHANIPTERA + +The order of the _Aphaniptera_, or unseen-winged insects, is a very +small one, consisting only of the fleas. The name has been given to them +because their wings are so tiny that, even with the microscope, they can +hardly be seen at all. + +There are a good many different kinds of fleas, all of which suck the +blood of animals through their sharp little beaks. Some of them are able +to leap to a really wonderful distance, by means of their powerful hind +legs. And they are so wonderfully strong that if a man were equally +powerful, in proportion to his greater size, he would easily be able to +drag a wagon which a pair of cart-horses could scarcely move! + + +DIPTERA + +The last order of insects is that of the _Diptera_, or two-winged +flies, which seem to have two wings only instead of four. But if you +look at them closely, you will see a pair of little knob-like +organs just where the hind wings ought to be. And these little organs, +which we call balancers, are really the hind wings in a very much +altered form. + +Although they are so tiny, and look so useless, these balancers are used +in some way during flight; for if they are damaged or lost the insect +can no longer balance itself or direct its course in the air. + + +THE MOSQUITO + +The mosquito is a troublesome insect which most of us know only too +well; for there are very few of us who have not suffered from the wounds +caused by its beak. Its life-history is very interesting. The eggs, +which are shaped just like tiny skittles, are laid in the water, and the +mother gnat fastens them cleverly together in such a way that they form +a little boat, which floats on the surface. After a time a little door +opens at the bottom of each egg, and a tiny grub tumbles out into the +water. It is a very odd-looking little creature, with a very small head, +a very big thorax, and a very long tail; and it mostly floats in the +water with its head downward, and the tip of its tail resting just above +the surface. + +These grubs feed on the little scraps of decaying matter which are +always floating in the water of the pond, and they wriggle their way +about in the strangest manner, by first doubling up their bodies and +then stretching them out, over and over again. After a time they throw +off their skins and change to chrysalids, and out of this, a few days +later, the perfect gnats make their appearance. + +The mosquito is a gnat that has many relatives, some very troublesome, +like the black fly. Some gnats have very big bushy feelers, just like +big plumes. These are the males, and you need not be afraid of them, for +they have no beaks and cannot bite. + + +CRANE-FLY AND DRONE-FLY + +Then there is the crane-fly, whose balancers you can see quite easily. +This insect lays it eggs in the ground, and the grubs which +hatch out from them are called leather-jackets, because their skins are +so very tough. They feed upon the roots of grass, and sometimes do a +great deal of mischief in pastures. Indeed, if it were not for such +birds as the crow and meadow-lark, which destroy them in enormous +numbers, we should find it almost impossible to grow any grass at all. + +The drone-fly really does look rather like a bee; but it only has two +wings instead of four, while its body is much more stoutly built, and it +has no sting, so that you need not be in the least afraid of it. You may +often see it sitting on flowers on sunny days in autumn, and it is +especially fond of those of the ragwort. + +The grub of this fly spends its whole life buried head downward in the +mud at the bottom of some shallow pool--thick, black mud, which is +largely made up of decaying leaves--and never comes out of it even to +breathe. But at the end of its body it has a long tube, the tip of which +rests just above the surface of the water, so that it can draw down as +much air as it requires. And this tube is made something like a +telescope, so that if a heavy fall of rain should raise the level of the +water, all that the grub has to do is to push out another joint, when it +can breathe just as easily as before. This grub is often known as the +rat-tailed maggot. + + +HAWK-FLIES, ETC. + +As you walk through a wood in summer, you may often see a black and +yellow fly hovering in mid-air. If you move, it darts away so swiftly +that the eye cannot follow its flight. But if you stop, and remain +perfectly still, it will come back again in a moment or two, and hover +just as before. + +This is a hawk-fly, and it is very useful, for the mother insect always +lays her eggs on twigs and leaves which are swarming with aphides. On +these insects the grubs feed, so that as soon as they hatch out they +find themselves surrounded with prey, and destroy the little insects in +great numbers. + +The house-fly and the bluebottle fly also belong to the order of the +_Diptera_. They are not very pleasant insects, but while they are +grubs they are really most useful, for they feed upon all sorts +of decaying substances. And another insect, called the flesh-fly, is +even more useful still, for it is the parent of from sixteen to twenty +thousand grubs: so that if even a single fly finds the carcass of a +small animal and leaves her eggs upon it, the little ones that soon +hatch out will devour it in a very short time. In a few days all these +grubs turn into perfect flies, and in their turn become the parents of +thousands of grubs: so that it has been said that three of these flies +could devour a dead ox as fast as a lion could! + +The last insect that we can mention is a brown and gray fly known as the +warble. It is very troublesome indeed to cattle, for the mother fly lays +her eggs upon their backs. Then as soon as the grubs hatch, they burrow +underneath the skin of the poor animals, and form large swellings there, +in which they spend the whole of their lives. When they are fully fed +they wriggle out through a hole in the hide, drop to the ground, burrow +into it, and turn to chrysalids, from which the perfect flies appear a +few months later. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIV + +SPIDERS AND SCORPIONS + + +Most people think that spiders are insects. But this is a very great +mistake, for they are just about as unlike insects as they can possibly +be. + +Insects, for example, always have distinct heads. But spiders never do, +for their heads are so sunk and lost in their chests that you cannot +possibly tell where the one leaves off and the other begins. So that +spiders have their bodies divided into two parts only instead of into +three, as is always the case in the insects. + +Then insects always have six legs; spiders always have eight. Insects +have wings; spiders have none. Insects have feelers; spiders have none. +Insects nearly always have a great many eyes, which are six-sided; +spiders never have more than eight eyes, which are round. And while +insects may have biting jaws, or sucking jaws, or a trunk, or a beak, +spiders always have poison-fangs, which no insect ever possesses. + +So you see that as far as the outside of their bodies is concerned, +spiders are very different indeed from insects. And the differences +inside the body are just as great. Insects have no hearts, the only +blood-vessel in their bodies being one long tube which runs along the +back; but spiders have quite a big heart, and a good many arteries as +well. Insects have no lungs, but breathe by means of slender tubes which +run to every part of the body; but spiders have quite big lungs, in +which the blood is purified just as it is in our own. Insects have no +brains, but only bunches of nerves in different parts of their bodies; +but spiders have quite big brains. And besides this, while all insects +which spin silk produce it through their mouths, spiders always do so by +means of organs at the very end of the body. So that inside, as well as +outside, there is hardly any respect in which spiders and insects really +resemble one another. + +The silk-organs of a spider are very wonderful indeed. Remember, in the +first place, that the silk, as long as it remains in the body of the +spider, is a liquid--a kind of thick gum, which is produced and stored +up in six long narrow bags, or glands. Then if you look at the end of a +spider's body through a good strong magnifying-glass--or, better still, +through a microscope--you will see several little projections, which we +call spinnerets. Now each of these spinnerets is covered with hundreds +of tinier projections still, every one of which has an extremely small +hole in the middle. And all these holes communicate, by means of very +slender tubes, with one of the silk-glands. + +So what a spider does when it wants to spin its line is to squeeze a +little drop of silk into one of the spinnerets. It then just touches the +object to which the line is to be fastened, and draws its body away. And +as it does so a delicate thread comes out from every one of the +projections on the spinneret; and all these threads unite together into +one stout cord. That is why a spider's thread is so strong. It really +consists of several hundred separate threads all firmly fastened +together. And if the spider wants to spin a stronger line still, it can +unite all the threads coming from several spinnerets into one, so as to +make a very stout cord indeed. + +Spiders use this silk for all sorts of different purposes. In the first +place, they use it for snaring insects. + + +THE GARDEN-SPIDER + +Let us take for an example, the web of the common garden-spider. It is +to be seen in every garden, resting in the middle of its web; and you +may always recognize it by the white cross upon its back. But I don't +suppose that you have ever seen it spinning its net. For it always does +so very early in the morning, generally beginning before sunrise, so +that it may be quite ready for use as soon as the insects begin to fly. + +First of all, the spider makes a kind of outer framework of very strong +silken cords, and fastens it firmly in position by stout guy-ropes of +the same material. Next, she carries a thread right across the +middle and fixes it down on either side. Then, starting from the center, +she carries thread after thread to the margin, carefully testing the +strength of each by giving it two or three smart pulls, and fastening it +firmly down. When she has finished this part of her task, the web looks +like a badly shaped wheel. + +The next thing that the spider does is to spin a little silken platform +in the middle of her web to sit upon. And as soon as she has done this +she begins to spin the spiral thread. Beginning from the center, she +goes round and round and round, fastening the thread down every time +that it crosses one of the straight cords--the spokes, as it were, of +the wheel--until at last the web is finished. Then she goes to the +little platform in the middle, and there remains, upside down, waiting +for an insect to blunder into her net. + +By and by, perhaps, a bluebottle fly does so. Then she shakes the web +violently for a few moments, so as to entangle it more thoroughly, +rushes down upon it, seizes it, and plunges her fangs into its body. But +if she catches a wasp or a bee she nearly always cuts it carefully out, +drops it to the ground, and then patches up the hole in her web. For she +knows perfectly well that wasps and bees can sting! + +Would you like to know why it is that flies stick to the web as soon as +they touch it? The microscope shows us. All the way along, the spiral +thread is set with very tiny drops of liquid gum. So tiny are these +drops indeed, that there are between eighty and ninety thousand of them +in a large web! And would you like to know why it is that the spider +does not stick to the web as the flies do? Well, the fact is that only +the spiral thread is set with these little gummy drops, and that as the +spider runs about over her web she is most careful to place her feet +only on the straight threads, and never on the spiral line. Other +spiders, however, snare their prey in quite a different way. + + +THE MARMIGNATTO + +This small spider, found on our western plains, is remarkable for +feeding on large insects, such as grasshoppers and field-crickets, which +it catches in an ingenious manner. It stretches a few silken threads +across a narrow path way, quite close to the ground, along which these +insects are likely to pass, and lies in wait just opposite until a +grasshopper or a cricket approaches. When it comes to the threads the +insect is sure to get at least one of its feet entangled. Then it stops, +and tries to shake itself free. The only result of its struggles, of +course, is that its other feet become entangled too; and while it is +struggling the marmignatto springs upon its back, fastens a silken +thread to it, springs down again, and fastens the other end to a +grass-stem close by. Over and over again it does this, and before very +long the unfortunate insect is firmly fastened down by hundreds of +threads, and is quite unable to break free, or even to move one of its +legs. Then the spider leaps upon its back once more, plunges its fangs +into its body, and proceeds to suck its blood. + + +HUNTING-SPIDERS + +Perhaps you may have seen little hairy black spiders, with white +markings upon the upper part of their bodies, running about in an odd +jerky way on sunny fences and walls. These are called hunting-spiders, +because they hunt their prey instead of snaring it. You may see them +gradually creeping up to a fly, so slowly that they hardly seem to move, +and then suddenly leaping upon it when they are about two inches away. +Then spider and fly, locked in one another's embrace, go falling toward +the ground together. But they never reach it, for wherever a +hunting-spider goes it always trails a rope of silk behind it, and +fastens it down at intervals. So when it springs from the fence it is +brought up at once by its own thread, and swings in the air till its +victim is dead. Then it just climbs up its thread, and so gets back to +the fence. + + +BIRD-SPIDERS + +These great spiders of the tropics hunt for prey in much the same way. +Only instead of catching flies on walls they prowl about the +branches of trees in search of small birds, springing upon them when +they are roosting at night, and killing them almost immediately by a +smart bite from their venomous fangs. These spiders, of course, are very +large. Indeed, the body of a full-grown bird-spider is as big as a man's +fist, while its great hairy legs cover nearly a square foot of ground +when they are fully spread out. + + +TRAP-DOOR SPIDERS + +These famous spiders are found more or less commonly in all warm +countries. They all live in tunnels in the ground, which they dig by +means of their fangs; and as they do not want the situation of their +nest to be discovered, they carry the earth away to a little distance as +fast as they dig it up, and carefully hide it. Very often the hole which +they dig in this way is eighteen inches or two feet deep. And at the +bottom it always turns sideways for an inch or two, so that the general +shape of the burrow is very much like that of a stocking. + +This hole is always dug in the side of a bank, so that when there is a +heavy fall of rain the water may run away without flooding it. + +When the burrow is finished, the spider lines it throughout with two +sheets of silk. The outer sheet, which comes next to the earth, is +rather coarse in texture, and is quite waterproof, in order to keep the +tunnel dry. The inner one is very much finer and softer, so that the +little home may be as comfortable as possible. + +As soon as the lining process is completed, the spider sets to work on +the trap-door. This she makes in the cleverest manner possible. First +she measures the doorway most carefully by the aid of her feelers. Then +she spins a thin silken pad of exactly the same size and shape. This is +sticky on the top, like the spiral thread of the web of the +garden-spider: and she sprinkles it all over with very small scraps of +earth. Upon this she fastens another silken pad, which she sprinkles +with earth in the same way. And then comes another and then another, and +so on till the door is sufficiently thick. Finally, she fastens it in +position by means of a hinge, which is also made of silk; and +she always places this hinge on the upper side of the doorway, so that +the door may fall down behind her by its own weight whenever she leaves +the burrow. She is rather a lazy creature, you see, and does not want to +have the trouble of shutting the door for herself! And if she left it +open, every passer-by would find out where she had made her home. + +The door always fits most wonderfully into its place, and the spider +carefully covers the top with little bits of moss and small scraps of +earth and stone, so as to make it exactly like the surface of the ground +all round it. Indeed, unless one happens to see the spider push it open, +it is almost impossible to find it. + +When one of these spiders is in her burrow, she always fastens about +half a dozen silken threads to the inner side of the door, carries them +down to the bottom, and sits with one of her feet resting upon each. No +one can then try to force her door open without her knowledge, and as +soon as she feels the least pull upon the threads she rushes up the +burrow, clings to the walls with her hind feet, seizes the door with her +front ones, and pulls it downward with all her might. And if the door is +forced open in spite of her efforts, she slips into a sort of side +tunnel which she always makes near the top of her burrow, and stays +there until the danger is past. + + +THE RAFT-SPIDER + +There are several spiders which live on or in the water. One of these is +the raft-spider, which is found in the fen districts of England. If you +should happen to meet with it you can recognize it at once, for all +round the upper part of its body is a narrow band of yellow, and inside +this is a row of small white spots. + +This spider is about an inch long, and owes its name to the fact that it +actually makes a little raft on which to go out searching for +water-insects. Collecting together a quantity of little bits of leaf and +cut grass and reeds, it fastens them firmly together with silken +threads, just as shipwrecked sailors might lash planks together with +ropes in order to escape from a sinking vessel. In this way it makes a +small floating platform, perhaps a couple of inches in diameter. +When the raft is finished, the spider gets upon it, pushes off from the +shore, and allows the current to carry it along. By and by, perhaps, it +catches sight of some water-insect floating at the surface, or of a +drowning fly which has fallen into the stream. Then it leaves its raft, +runs along over the surface of the water, seizes its victim, and carries +it back to the raft to be devoured. And if it should be alarmed, or +think itself in danger, it gets under the raft and clings to the lower +surface, so that it cannot be seen from above. + + +THE WATER-SPIDER + +More curious still is the water-spider, which actually makes its nest +under water. This spider, which is almost black in color, and has a very +hairy body and legs, is common in ponds and canals, and spends almost +the whole of its life beneath the water. Its little silken nest is +shaped like a thimble, with the mouth downward, and is placed among +weeds, to which it is firmly fastened down by guy-ropes, also of silk. +And when it is finished the spider fills it with air. She does this in a +most curious manner. Rising to the surface, she turns upside down, pokes +her long hind legs out of the water, and crosses the tips. Then she +dives again, carrying down a big bubble of air between these hairy legs +and her equally hairy body as she does so. She next gets exactly +underneath the entrance to her nest and separates her legs. The result +is, of course, that the air-bubble floats up and occupies the upper +part. Another bubble is now brought down in the same way, and so the +spider goes on, fetching bubble after bubble, until at last her little +nest is completely filled with air. Then she gets inside it, and watches +for the grubs of water-insects to swim by. + +In this wonderful nest the spider lays her eggs and brings up her +family. When the little ones have been hatched, of course, the air in +the nest very soon becomes too impure to breathe. Then the little +spiders cling tightly to the walls, while the mother gets outside and +tilts the whole nest sideways, so that all the exhausted air floats up +in one big bubble to the surface. Then she pulls the nest back into +position, hurries up to the top of the water and brings down a +bubble of air, and then another, and so on until the nest is filled with +air all over again. + +If you ever catch one of these spiders, and keep it for awhile in a jar +of water with a little piece of water-weed, you may see it spinning its +wonderful nest, and filling it with air, perhaps half a dozen times a +day. + + +GOSSAMERS + +Before we leave the spiders altogether, we must tell you something about +the wonderful little creatures called gossamers. These are really the +young of a good many different kinds of spiders. It often happens, of +course, that several families, with perhaps five or six hundred little +ones in each, are all living quite close to one another. The result is +that there is not sufficient food for them all. So they make up their +minds to go out into the world and seek their fortunes; and this is how +they do it. + +Choosing a warm, sunny morning in the early part of the autumn, all the +little spiders climb the nearest bush, and each one makes its way to the +very tip of a leaf. Then, clinging firmly to its hold, it begins to pour +out a very slender thread of silk from one of its spinnerets. You know +that on warm, sunny days the air near the ground soon becomes heated and +rises, as hot air always does; and in rising it carries up these +delicate gossamer-threads, as they are called, with it. Still the little +spiders hold on, and pour out their lines, till at last each has several +feet of thread rising straight up into the air above it. Then suddenly +they all let go, and are carried up into the air at the ends of their +own threads. So they go on, up and up and up, till at last they meet a +gentle breeze, which carries them along with it. So, perhaps, they +travel for thirty, forty, or fifty miles, or even farther still. And +when at last they make up their minds to descend, all that they have to +do is to roll up the threads which have been supporting them, and down +they come floating gently back to earth. One good name for them is +ballooning spiders. + +Haven't you sometimes found on a warm autumn morning that all the trees +and bushes, and even the grass and low plants, are quite covered +with threads of silk? The next time you see such a sight look carefully, +and you will find that on every thread a little baby spider is sitting. +Then you may be quite sure that all these little spiders set out early +in the morning to seek their fortunes, and that, borne up by their +slender threads, they have traveled for many long miles through the air. + + +SCORPIONS + +These formidable creatures are closely related to the spiders. They are +found in all warm countries, with the exception of New Zealand, and may +easily be known by two facts. In the first place, in front of the legs +they have a pair of great, strong claws, which look very much like those +of a crab. And in the second place, the last five joints of the body are +narrowed into a long, slender tail, at the end of which is a claw-like +sting. When they attack an enemy, or seize a victim, they grasp it with +the claws, turn the tail over the back, and force the sting into its +body. And the poison which is introduced into the wound is so powerful +that the sting of a large scorpion is almost as severe as the bite of an +adder. + +During the daytime scorpions hide away under stones and logs, or in +crevices in the ground, or perhaps under the loose bark of dead trees. +But very soon after sunset they come out from their retreats and prowl +about all night long in search of insects; and it is at such times that +they invade camps and houses, get into shoes, etc., and persons get +stung unless they are very careful. + + +CENTIPEDES AND MILLEPEDES + +One can easily recognize centipedes by the great number of their feet. +The name centipede, indeed, means hundred-footed. None of these +creatures, however, have exactly a hundred limbs. Some only have fifteen +pairs of legs; some have as many as one hundred and twenty-one pairs. +But whether they be many or few, the number of pairs is always odd. + +Another very curious fact about centipedes is that they have no +less than four pairs of jaws. But the fourth pair take the form of +fangs, which are very stout and strong, and very much curved, while at +their base, just inside the head, is a little bag of poison. In the +northern centipedes, which are quite small, the fangs are not large +enough, nor the poison sufficiently strong, to cause a serious wound. +But some of the tropical species, which grow to the length of nearly a +foot, are quite as venomous as the largest scorpions. + +The food of these creatures consists chiefly of worms and insects. But +the larger ones will kill lizards, and even mice, and have been known to +prey upon victims actually larger than themselves. + +The eggs of centipedes are laid in little clusters on the ground in some +dark, damp nook, and when they have all been deposited the mother +centipede coils herself round them, and there remains guarding them +until they hatch. + +Millepedes, in some ways, are very much like centipedes; but they only +have two pairs of jaws instead of four, and they are nearly all +vegetable-feeders. The long, smooth, and slender _Julus_ millepedes +are plentiful in every garden. And in tropical countries they sometimes +grow to a length of six inches. Even the largest, however, are perfectly +harmless, for they have no poison-fangs as the centipedes have, and the +only way in which they ever attempt to defend themselves is by pouring +out a small drop or two of a fluid which smells rather nasty, and no +doubt protects them from the attacks of birds. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXV + +CRUSTACEANS + + +We now come to a very important class of animals, which includes the +crabs, the lobsters, the shrimps, and the prawns. These creatures, +together with the mollusks, are often called shell-fish, although the +"shell" of a crab is not in the least like the shell of an oyster, for +example, or like that of a whelk, or a snail. It is only a sort of crust +upon the skin, made chiefly of carbonate of lime. That is why these +animals are called _crust_aceans; and instead of growing, like true +shells, this coat never increases in size at all. + +But crabs and lobsters grow? Yes: but not as other animals do, a little +every day. They only grow, as a rule, once a year; and they get a whole +twelvemonth's growth into about two days! + +When, in warm weather, the proper time approaches, they hide away in +some crevice among the rocks, where none of their enemies are likely to +find them. This is because they are going to throw off their so-called +shells; and they know that when these are gone they will be deprived of +their natural armor, and of their weapons too, and so will be quite at +the mercy even of foes much smaller than themselves. Then a very strange +thing happens. Part of their flesh actually turns to water! Sometimes, +if you happen to take up a crab in a fish-market, and shake it, you will +hear water swishing about inside it. This is a "watery" crab, and is not +good to eat; for it was just about to change its "shell" when it was +caught. A good deal of its flesh has actually turned to water. + +Now this always happens a few days before the "shell" is thrown off; and +the animal wriggles and twists about inside it, in order to loosen the +attachments which bind it to its body. It also rubs its feelers against +its legs, and its legs against one another, in order to loosen their +hard coverings in the same way. This goes on, perhaps, for three or four +days. Then, suddenly, the "shell" splits across, and the animal, +with a tremendous effort, springs right out of it, while the "shell" +closes up again, and looks just as it did before. One might really think +that there were two crabs instead of only one. + +For some little time the animal now lies perfectly still. It is +exhausted by its efforts, and its muscles are so cramped that they feel +quite hard to the touch. This cramp soon passes off, however; and then +at once the animal begins to grow. It grows very fast. Indeed, you can +almost _see_ it grow, for a whole year's increase in size has to +take place in about forty-eight hours. Then a fresh crust is gradually +formed upon the skin, and two or three days later the animal is once +more clad in a coat of mail, and is ready to leave its retreat and face +its enemies. For a whole twelvemonth after this it grows no bigger. But +at the end of that time the process is repeated, and so on, year after +year, until at last the animal reaches its full size. + + +FORMS OF CRUSTACEANS + +The bodies of the crustacean animals are made up of a number of rings, +or segments, like those of the insects. But there are always twenty of +these rings, instead of thirteen; six forming the head, while there are +eight in the thorax and six in the hind body. + +Then--again like the insects--crustaceans have feelers, or antennæ, upon +their heads. You can see these very well indeed in a lobster or a +shrimp. But instead of having one pair of these organs, as insects have, +they always possess two pairs. And it is rather curious to find that at +the base of the front pair there are two little organs which seem to be +ears, specially formed for hearing in the water, while at the base of +the second pair are two other little organs which seem to serve as a +nose, specially made for smelling in the water. + +And--once more like the insects--crustaceans have to pass through +several different forms before they reach the perfect state. They are +hatched in the first place from eggs, which the mother animal carries +about with her for some little time firmly fastened to the hairs +of the swimmerets, which we find under the hind part of her body. You +will often find a shrimp with quite a large bunch of these eggs; and if +you look at them carefully with a good strong magnifying-glass, you will +see that they are all glued down to hairs. + +Inside each of these eggs an odd little creature is formed, which is +called the nauplius. Sometimes it is hatched while still in that state, +and swims about through the water. But in almost all the higher +crustaceans a change takes place before it leaves the egg, and it +appears at last in the form of a zoëa. + +This is a kind of crustacean caterpillar, and a very odd little creature +it is. A great naturalist once described it as an animal "with goggle +eyes, a hawk's beak, a scorpion's tail, a rhinoceros' horn, and a body +fringed with legs, yet hardly bigger than a grain of sand!" Certainly it +does not look in the least like the crab, or lobster, or shrimp into +which it is going, by and by, to turn. And it swims in the oddest way +possible, by turning endless somersaults in the water! + +These zoëas are sometimes found in immense shoals, the surface of the +sea being quite thick with them for miles. And they are useful little +creatures, for they feed on the tiny scraps of decaying matter which are +always floating about in the sea, just as tadpoles and gnat-grubs do in +ponds, thus helping to keep the water pure. But a very great number of +them are devoured by whales. For when whalebone-whales are hungry, they +swim with open mouths through a shoal of these little creatures, and +then strain them out of the water by means of the whalebone fringe which +hangs down from the upper jaw. + +After a time the zoëa throws off its skin and appears in quite a +different form. It is now called a megalopa, or big-eyed creature, +because it has very large eyes, which are usually set on foot-stalks, +and project to quite a long distance from the sides of the head. And as +the zoëa is a kind of crustacean caterpillar, so the megalopa is a kind +of crustacean chrysalis. It generally has a long, slender body, made up +of several joints. And it swims by flapping this to and fro in the +water. + + +CRABS + +First among the crustaceans come the crabs, of which there are a great +many different kinds. They are distinguished by having the tail tucked +under the body, and firmly soldered, so to speak, to the "shell" on +either side. + +You can find several kinds of these creatures by hunting among the rocks +on the sea-shore when the tide is out. There is the common shore-crab, +for example, which is green in color. It is generally to be found hiding +under masses of growing seaweed. But sometimes you may see it prowling +about in search of prey. It is wonderfully active, and will even pounce +upon the sandhoppers as they go skipping about, just as a hunting-spider +will pounce upon flies, seldom or never missing its aim. It will catch +flies, too, leaping upon them when they settle, and shutting them up, as +it were, in a kind of cage formed by its legs. Then it pokes one claw +carefully into this cage, seizes the prisoners, pulls them to pieces, +and pokes the fragments into its mouth. + +Swimming about in the pools, too, you may often find a fiddler-crab, +which is so called because its movements in the water rather remind one +of a man who is playing the violin. You will find that its hind legs are +very much flattened, and are fringed with stiff hairs, so that they may +be used as oars. In fact, the animal rows itself through the water. Both +these crabs, sad to say, are cannibals, and are always ready to attack +and devour their own kind. + +Then there is the edible crab, or blue crab, which is common on many +parts of our coasts. The edible crab of Europe is somewhat different. +You are not likely to meet with the larger examples, which live in +deeper water. But even the smaller ones can give a very sharp nip with +their great claws, and you will find it as well to be very careful in +handling them. The best plan is to seize them with the thumb and finger +just behind these claws, then they are perfectly harmless. The larger +crabs, which sometimes weigh as much as twelve pounds, are extremely +powerful, and in more than one case a man has been killed by +them, having been seized by the wrist as he was groping among the rocks, +and held in a grip from which he could not break away until he was +drowned by the rising tide. + +These crabs are captured by means of crab-pots, made of basketwork, +which have the entrance so formed that while the crabs can easily enter, +they cannot possibly get out again. These pots are baited with pieces of +fresh fish, and are then weighted with stones, and lowered to the bottom +of the sea among the rocks, at a depth of from three to about twenty +fathoms. They are also caught on lines baited with meat. No hook is +needed, for the crab clings to the meat till it reaches the surface of +the water, when it must be flung into the boat or somehow captured +quickly, before it has time to let go and sink. + +Some crabs live on dry land, sometimes at a distance of two or three +miles from the sea, which they only visit at intervals. Among these are +the famous calling-crabs, found in many of the warmer parts of the +world. These crabs obtain their name from the fact that one of the great +claws of the male is very much larger than the other. So big is it, +indeed, that it has to be held aloft over the body when the animal is +running, in order to prevent it from losing its balance and toppling +over. And as soon as the crab begins to move this huge claw is jerked up +and down, just as if the creature were "calling," or beckoning, to its +companions. The calling-crabs live in burrows in the sand, which are +often placed as close to one another as those in a rabbit-warren. + + +HERMIT-CRABS + +Next we come to those small, curious creatures known as hermit-crabs, +which form a kind of connecting link between the crabs and the lobsters, +for their tails, instead of being firmly soldered down underneath their +bodies, are quite free. + +But the odd thing about these animals is that their tails have no shelly +covering. The front part of the body is protected by a coat of mail, +just as it is in all the other crabs; but the hind part is quite bare +and soft. The consequence is that a hermit-crab is always very +nervous indeed about his tail. He is dreadfully afraid that one of his +many enemies may creep up behind, and bite it when he is not looking. So +he always tucks it away in an empty shell like that of a whelk or a +sea-snail, which he drags about with him wherever he goes! + +You may often find these curious crabs by hunting for them in the pools +among the rocks at low water. The crab always sits just inside the +entrance of the shell, which he closes and guards with one of his great +claws. And if you try to pull him out, you will find that you are quite +unable to do so, for he has a pair of strong pincers at the end of his +body, by which he holds the shell so firmly that you can tear him in two +without forcing him to loose his grip. + +Sometimes you will find that a sea-anemone has fastened itself to the +edge of a shell in which a hermit-crab is living. This is a great +advantage to the crab; for while there are many fishes which would be +quite ready to crunch him up, shell and all, no fish will ever meddle +with a sea-anemone. So as long as the anemone remains on his shell he is +perfectly safe. + +And this plan is also a great advantage to the anemone, which is sure to +get plenty of food without any trouble. For when the crab finds the dead +body of some small creature, and begins to pull it to pieces, a quantity +of small fragments is sure to float upward in the water. And the anemone +catches them with its spreading tentacles and feeds upon them. + + +THE ROBBER-CRAB + +One of the most extraordinary crustaceans is this, which is found in +many of the islands in the Indian Ocean. It is like the hermit-crabs in +some ways, but the tail is covered with shelly plates, just like the +rest of the body; and instead of living in shells in the sea, it lives +in deep burrows on dry land. + +But the oddest thing of all with regard to this crab is its food. What +do you think it feeds upon? Cocoanuts! That seems impossible, doesn't +it? One would imagine that the crab could never get the nuts open. But +it manages in this way: First of all, it pulls away the fibers from that +end of the nut at which the three eyeholes are situated. With +one of its stout claws it then hammers away at one of these till it +breaks its way through. And finally, after allowing the milk to run +away, it pokes its hind claws, which are very slender indeed, through +the opening and picks out the white fleshy part of the nut a little +piece at a time. + +It is said, too, that this crab sometimes opens a nut by poking the +smaller joint of one of its claws into the hole, and then striking it +over and over again upon a big stone. + +The burrow of the robber-crab is rather a deep one, and is nearly always +situated beneath the roots of a tree. And at the end of the burrow is a +large chamber, in which the crab piles up a quantity of cocoanut fiber +to serve as a bed. + + +LOBSTERS + +Of course you know the lobster very well by sight; and perhaps you know +that until it is boiled it is black, not red. But do you know how it +swims? If so, you know that it has two different ways of swimming. When +it is not in a hurry it swims slowly forward by means of its swimmerets, +of which it has five pairs under the hinder part of its body. But if it +is startled or alarmed it swims swiftly backward by means of its tail. + +If you look at a lobster's tail, you will see that it is very broad and +flat, and that on either side of it are two plates, which are quite as +flat, and, if anything, are rather broader. So, when these are spread, +the tail looks like a fan. And the animal swims by first stretching out +its body almost straight, and then doubling it suddenly with all its +force. As it does so, the tail and the tail-plates spread out, and act +very much like a broad oar. And the result is that the lobster darts +swiftly backward through the water. Shrimps and prawns swim in exactly +the same way. + +Lobsters are very quarrelsome creatures, and are constantly fighting; +and it very often happens that in these battles they pull off one +another's limbs. They seem to feel very little pain, however, from such +an injury, and before very long new legs begin to grow in place of the +old ones, so that in course of time the wounded creatures are as perfect +as ever. + +Sometimes lobsters will throw off their limbs when they are not attacked +at all. They do so, for example, if they are suddenly frightened; and it +is said that if a heavy gun is fired near the surface of the water, +every lobster for a long way round will shed its great claws in alarm. + +You will notice, on looking at a lobster, that one of the great claws is +a good deal smaller than the other; and sometimes people think that this +is a new claw which is growing in place of one that has been lost, and +that it has not yet reached its full size. This, however, is a mistake, +for one of the claws is always much bigger than the other; and the +reason is that they are used for different purposes. The larger claw is +intended as a weapon, and with this the lobster fights. But the smaller +one is chiefly employed as a kind of anchor, by means of which the +animal can cling to the weeds or rocks at the bottom of the sea. + +Lobsters are caught in pots made of basketwork, just as crabs are. But +they are not nearly so dainty as crabs, and do not mind whether the bait +is fresh or putrid. They are always very much attracted, too, by any +object that glitters, and many a lobster has been lured to its death +merely by one or two oyster-shells hung up inside the pot in such a +manner as to show the shining pearly interior. + + +CRAYFISH + +The crayfish is a kind of fresh-water lobster, which is found commonly +in many parts of the world, and numerously in the central and southern +parts of the United States. Most species hide all day long under the +projecting edges of big stones, or in holes in the bank, only coming out +after nightfall to search for food. The British crayfish is said to be +particularly fond of the deserted burrow of a water-vole, and as it sits +inside it always guards the entrance with its great claws, striking +fiercely at any enemy which may be bold enough to come within reach. + +One, at least, of the American kinds sinks its own burrows, in the form +of round holes in the soil of damp meadows. These holes go down to +water, which the animal cannot live long away from; and a part of the +soil dug out is piled about the mouth of the hole in a little +tower or chimney, sometimes several inches high. + +In Europe crayfish are eaten and regarded as a delicacy when properly +cooked; and there is no reason why the American ones should not be +equally good, but they are rarely if ever used as food by us. The flesh +tastes like that of the lobster, but is more tender. + + +SHRIMPS AND PRAWNS + +These are really only tiny lobsters, and if you examine them carefully +you will find that their bodies are made in exactly the same way. They +swim, too, by means of their tails, and dart about so swiftly that it is +almost impossible to follow their movements. You may often find them in +numbers in the pools which are left among the rocks by the retreating +tide. But as they are almost colorless until they are boiled, it is very +difficult to see them, and they look just like shadows darting to and +fro in the water. + +You can easily tell a prawn from a shrimp, for the beak which projects +in front of its head is covered with sharp points, which are almost +exactly like the teeth of a saw. It feeds upon the bodies of the various +small creatures which die by millions every day. In this way it helps to +keep the water of the sea pure. It feeds in a curious way, tearing off +tiny scraps of flesh with the little pincers at the tips of the second +pair of legs, and poking them into its mouth one after another. The +sides of these limbs are covered with hairs, so that they form little +brushes; and with these the prawn carefully cleans its body and limbs, +rubbing off every little speck of dirt which may happen to cling to +them. + + +SANDHOPPERS + +You can hardly walk along a sand shore when the tide is rising without +seeing sandhoppers leaping and twisting about in thousands. If you turn +over a bunch of seaweed which has been flung up by the waves just above +high-water mark, you are almost sure to find forty or fifty of +these odd little creatures hiding under it. In some ways they are rather +like shrimps. But they differ from them in having their eyes set on the +head itself, instead of on little foot-stalks projecting from it. And +they have no carapace, or shelly shield, covering the middle part of the +body. + +How do these creatures hop? By first doubling up their bodies, and then +straightening them out again with a kind of jerk. It is exactly +opposite, in fact, to the way in which shrimps and lobsters swim. + +Sandhoppers do not follow the retreating tide, but bury themselves in +the sand very soon after the waves have ceased to break over them. Even +when the surface of the sand is quite dry you can find their burrows by +stamping with your foot, when a number of little round holes will +suddenly open all round you. + +These creatures have wonderfully sharp little teeth, and if you allowed +a swarm of them to rest for a little while on your handkerchief you +would most likely find that it was full of tiny holes when you took it +up. They will eat almost anything, either animal or vegetable, and are +quite as useful as the shrimps and prawns in helping to keep the +sea-water pure. But they have a great many enemies, for sea-birds, +land-birds, crabs, and all sorts of other creatures, destroy them +literally in millions. + + +THE FRESH-WATER SHRIMP + +This shrimp is very much like the sandhopper in some ways. You may find +it in numbers in almost any small stream or rivulet. It hides under +stones, or in little crevices in the bank, darting out now and then to +seize one of the tiny creatures upon which it feeds, and then hurrying +back with it to its retreat. When it is in the water it travels along by +a series of jerks; sometimes swimming with its back uppermost, and +sometimes on one side. But if it is placed on dry ground it is perfectly +helpless, for its legs are not nearly strong enough to carry it, and the +only result of its struggles is to turn it round and round in a +screw-like manner without forcing it forward at all. + + +WOODLICE + +These odd little creatures are really crustaceans, although they belong +to quite a different group from that about which you have just been +reading. They simply swarm in all damp places. Under logs, in heaps of +decaying leaves, and under the bark of dead trees, they are always +extremely plentiful, and you may also find them in hundreds in cellars +and outhouses. There are several different kinds, one of which rolls +itself up into a ball when it is touched or alarmed. This is called the +pill-woodlouse, or pill-armadillo. Another one is remarkable for the +fact that the mother carries her little ones about with her in a pouch +underneath her body for some little time after they are born. + + +BARNACLES + +You would hardly think that barnacles were crustaceans, would you? Yet +they are; though certainly they are very unlike any of those about which +we have been telling. You can find them in countless thousands upon the +rocks which are left bare by the tide at low water, and very often the +hulls of ships are so covered with them that the vessels have to be +taken into dry dock and thoroughly cleaned before they are fit to start +upon a voyage. + +These animals fasten themselves down to their hold by a kind of +foot-stalk, which is firmly attached by a very strong cement. The upper +part of the body becomes covered with a shell, consisting of several +pieces, or valves; and between these, six odd little limbs can be poked +out at will. These limbs are very hairy, and are always waving about, so +as to sweep into the mouth any tiny scraps of food which may be floating +in the water. + +There are a great many kinds of barnacles, some of which look very much +like acorns, and grow to a considerable size. These are known as +acorn-barnacles. And there is another, shaped rather like a piece of +round tube, which burrows into the skin of whales, in which it spends +all the remainder of its life! Sometimes it bores its way down +so far that it actually reaches the blubber. + +The young of these strange creatures pass through several +transformations, just like those of the lobster and the crab. First, +there is a nauplius, then a zoëa, and then a megalopa, all of which swim +freely about in the water, never fastening themselves down until they +are ready to pass into the perfect form. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVI + +SEA-URCHINS, STARFISHES, AND SEA-CUCUMBERS + + +Next in order to the crustaceans comes a group of animals which live in +the sea, and which are known as echinoderms, which simply means +spiny-skins. This group includes the sea-urchins, the starfishes, and +the sea-cucumbers. + +[Illustration: LIFE ON THE SEA-BOTTOM. + + 1. Sticklebacks. 2. Carp. 3, 5, 6, 13, 17. Sea-Anemones. + 4. Shrimps. 7. Prawn. 8. Fiddler Crab. 9. Starfish. + 10. Sea-horses. 11. Edible Mussels. 12. Serpula Worm. + 14. Hermit-Crab in Whelk's Shell. 15. Sea-urchins. 16. Rock Crab. + 18. Polyzoan (Flustra). 19. Corallines (Gorgonia).] + + +SEA-URCHINS + +You can find a good many of these creatures when you go to the seaside, +by hunting about on the beach at low water. In some places on rocky +coasts sea-urchins are very common. Sometimes they are known as +sea-eggs, and in many countries they are actually boiled and eaten as +food, just as we eat the eggs of fowls and ducks. And their shells are +so thickly covered with spines that they look just like little hedgehogs +which have rolled themselves up into balls. + +When the animal is alive it can move these spines at will, each of them +being fastened to the shell by a ball-and-socket joint, just like those +which we described to you when we were telling about the vertebræ of the +snakes. But after it has been dead for a few days they are nearly always +knocked off by the action of the waves, so that the shell is left quite +smooth and bare. + +By means of these spines a sea-urchin can bury itself in the sand at the +bottom of the sea in a very short time, only just a little funnel-shaped +pit being left to show where it is hiding. And in some of the larger +kinds they are really formidable weapons, for they grow to a length of +eight or ten inches, and are so sharp and strong that they can actually +pierce the sole of a stout shoe. Besides this, they have poison-glands +connected with them, so that they can easily inflict a really serious +wound. + +In the shell of a sea-urchin are a number of little holes, through which +the animal pokes out most curious sucker-like feet when it wants +to climb about over the rocks. By means of the suckers on the upper part +of the shell it often clings to small stones, which it sometimes gathers +up in such numbers as to conceal itself entirely from sight. + +Just inside the mouth of the urchin are five very large chisel-like +teeth. These are formed just like the front teeth of the rodent animals, +and grow as fast as they are worn away. + +Sea-urchins are not numerous on the Atlantic shores of North America, +because these shores are not rocky except in the cold north. One small +flat kind, however, occurs in the deep waters off this coast, and its +cases are often cast up on the beaches and are called sand-dollars. On +the Pacific coast, however, sea-urchins are common and well known; and +the Indians of the northwest coast boil them and eat them greedily. + + +STARFISHES + +More plentiful on both coasts, and extremely numerous and harmful in all +the bays and sounds from Florida to Maine, are the starfishes, or +fivefingers, as the oystermen call them. But although they are so +abundant, very few people seem to know what curious creatures they are. + +The starfish has hundreds of little sucker-like feet, just like those of +the sea-urchin. You cannot see these, as a rule, because the starfish +keeps them tucked away inside its skin. But when it wants to use them it +can poke them out in a moment. + +If you want to look at these odd little feet, the best way to do so is +to take a live starfish, put it at the bottom of a pool of sea-water, +and then wait patiently for ten minutes or a quarter of an hour. By the +end of that time you are almost sure to see that the animal is slowly +moving. Then snatch it out of the water, turn it upside down, and you +will see hundreds of little white objects waving about on the lower +surface of its body. These are its feet, and if you look at them through +a good strong magnifying-glass, you will see that they are shaped just +like wine-glasses, each having a kind of fleshy cup at the end of a +slender stem. And at the end of the cup is the sucker. + +In the very middle of the lower part of the body of a starfish is its +mouth. This is generally rather large, for the animal feeds chiefly on +shell-bearing animals which it swallows whole, shells and all. Then, +when it has digested the bodies of its victims, it turns their empty +shells out again through its mouth. That is an odd way of feeding, isn't +it? But sometimes it feeds in an odder way still, for when it finds a +creature which is too big to be swallowed, it will actually turn its own +digestive organs out of its mouth, wrap them round its victim, hold them +there until it is digested, and then drag them in again and go off to +look for another victim! + +Starfishes eat a great many oysters in this way. So many do they destroy, +indeed, that they are the very worst foes with which oyster-fishers have +to deal, and the damage done by them in one single oyster-bed on the +coast of North America is estimated at no less than fifty thousand +dollars every year. + +There are a great many different kinds of starfishes. One, for example, +has twelve rays instead of five, and looks very much like a live +sunflower. This is called the sun-star. Another has its five rays all +joined together by webbing, very much like the toes on a duck's foot, +and is known as the bird's-foot star. It is a very handsome creature, +for while the greater part of its body is bright yellow, it has a broad +band of crimson running all the way round the outer margin, and another +stripe of the same color down the outer edges of each ray, while the +membrane between them is fringed with yellow hairs. But you are not very +likely to find it, for it lives in rather deep water, and is hardly ever +caught except by means of that useful net which is called a dredge. + +Odder by far than any of these, however, are the brittle-stars, which +owe their name to their extraordinary habit of breaking themselves to +pieces! They nearly always do this if they are touched or alarmed. In +fact, they are so ready to do so that it is very difficult indeed to +obtain a perfect brittle-star for a museum. The creature just gives a +kind of shudder, and its five rays all drop off and break up into little +pieces, all that is left of the animal being just the central disk. But +it does not appear to suffer any pain, and loses hardly any blood. +And before very long new rays grow in the place of the old ones, +so that in a few weeks' time the starfish is just as perfect as ever! + +The brittle-stars have five very long and very slender rays, which are +generally fringed on either side with yellow hairs. And these rays are +hardly ever still, but twist and writhe and curl about so actively that +they really look almost like so many centipedes! It is by no means so +numerous as the fivefinger, and is so easily broken that it is hard to +find a whole one on the beach. + +Very curious, too, is the basket-star, which at first sight does not +look like a starfish at all. The reason is that, close to its body, each +of the five rays divides into two. Then each of the branches divides +into two again, and each of those into two more, and so on over and over +again, till sometimes there are more than eighty thousand little arms +altogether! + +The basket-star catches its prey by means of these wonderful rays, which +it wraps all round it in the form of a circular basket. It is not at all +a common creature, and is only found in deep water. + +But perhaps the oddest of all these creatures is the rosy feather-star, +which actually grows on a stalk while it is young, and looks just like a +flower with its petals spread. The stalk, which is fastened down to a +rock at the bottom of the sea, is made up of a great number of tiny +joints, and grows longer and longer. And when it reaches its full length +the animal breaks itself free and swims away, leaving the stem behind. + +The rosy feather-star lives in rather deep water, from which it is +sometimes brought up by means of the dredge. It can crawl about on the +ground by means of its sucker-like feet, and can swim through the water +with some little speed. And very often, to save itself trouble, it will +cling by means of its rays to a piece of floating wood, and allow itself +to be carried for long distances by the waves. + +In Great Britain these may often be found near shore, but the American +feather-stars all live in very deep water. They are all that remain of a +large class of such animals which abounded in the very ancient seas, +whose fossil remains are called stone-lilies. + + +SEA-CUCUMBERS + +These are really relations of the starfishes, although they do not look +in the least like them; for they closely resemble the vegetable after +which they are named. In front of the slit at one end of the body, +however, which serves as a mouth, there is a feathery tuft. This +consists of delicate little tentacles, or feelers, by means of which the +animal fishes for its food, and which can be drawn back inside the body +when it is not hungry. And if it were not for this tuft one really might +almost mistake the animal for a grayish-white cucumber. + +We saw just now that the brittle-star breaks off its own rays at the +slightest alarm. But the sea-cucumber, in this way, is even odder still, +for if it eats anything which disagrees with it, as it sometimes does, +it turns all its digestive organs out of its mouth, cuts them off, and +allows them to float away! Then for three or four months it is very +little else than a bag of empty skin, with just a slit at one end and a +tuft in front of it. But at the end of that time new digestive organs +begin to grow in the place of the old ones, and very soon the +sea-cucumber is as perfect as ever! + +Isn't that a remarkable way of curing indigestion? + +Some of the sea-cucumbers grow to a very great size. One indeed, when +fully grown, is nearly six feet long. And in China they are largely used +as food, under the name of trepang, and are looked upon as a great +dainty. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVII + +MOLLUSKS + + +The class of the mollusks is a very large one, for at least fifty +thousand different kinds of these creatures are already known, while new +ones are constantly being discovered. They may be described as +soft-bodied, boneless animals, which are enclosed in a tough muscular +skin called the mantle. And they are divided into five orders, the first +of which includes the singular creatures known as squids, or cuttles. + +You may sometimes find these animals hiding in the pools which are left +among the rocks when the tide goes out; and you can recognize them at +once by the long, fleshy tentacles, or arms, which spring from the upper +part of the head. Some of them have ten of these arms, and are called +decapods; the rest have only eight and are known as octopods. And the +lower surface of each arm is furnished with a row of circular suckers, +the grip of which is so powerful that the tentacle may even be torn in +two without causing it to release its hold. Indeed, if quite a small +cuttle were to seize you with one of its arms, you would not find it at +all easy to make it let go again without killing it. + +The cuttles employ these suckers for two purposes. In the first place, +they use them in walking. When a cuttle is crawling along at the bottom +of the sea it pushes one or two tentacles forward, takes firm hold of a +rock or a large stone with the suckers underneath them, pulls up the +body, and then thrusts them forward again. And in the second place, they +use them in catching their prey. Quite large victims are often seized by +cuttles, and when once the deadly suckers have fastened upon them there +is no hope of escape. In spite of their struggles one tentacle after +another comes closing in, till they are completely surrounded by the +long, slimy arms, soft almost as jelly, yet strong as steel. Then they +are pushed down against the sharp, strong beak, by which they are +quickly torn in pieces. + +On the upper part of the head of the cuttle there is another +curious organ known as the siphon, which consists of two tubes lying +side by side together, like the barrels of a double-barreled gun. This +organ is used in three different ways. + +First, it is used in breathing. The cuttles, like the fishes, breathe +water, by means of gills. These gills lie inside the head, and the water +passes down to them through one of the siphon-tubes, and then out again +through the other. + +Next, it is used in swimming. When cuttles are not in a hurry they crawl +along by means of their long tentacles, as we told you just now. But if +they are startled, or alarmed in any way, they fold all their tentacles +together in a straight line, fill both the siphon-tubes with water, and +then squirt it out again as hard as they possibly can. The result is, of +course, that they are driven rapidly backward by the recoil, just like +the dragonfly grub, of which we have read. + +But the third use of the siphon-tubes is the most curious. If you +discover a small cuttle hiding in a rock-pool, you will very likely find +that the water all round it suddenly grows dark as night, just as if a +quantity of ink had been poured into it. The fact is this. Inside its +body the cuttle has a bag filled with a quantity of a deep-black liquid +called sepia. This bag is surrounded by strong bands of muscle, and +opens into the siphon-tubes. So, you see, when the animal suddenly +contracts the muscular bands, the sepia is squirted out through the +siphon into the water, which is immediately darkened for some little +distance all round. And under cover of the darkness the animal escapes. + +The eggs of the cuttle are laid in a very curious way, for they are +fastened by little stalks to a stem of seaweed, so that they look very +much like a bunch of grapes. Fishermen, indeed, nearly always speak of +them as "sea-grapes." + +The cuttles which are found in the British seas are always quite small. +But in some parts of the ocean these creatures grow to a giant size. +Fragments of the tentacles of an enormous cuttle, for instance, have +been found lying on the coast of Newfoundland; and by careful +calculation it was shown that if the animal to which they belonged had +stretched them out at right angles to its body, they would actually have +measured more than eighty feet from tip to tip! + +These huge creatures seem to form the principal food of the +spermaceti-whale. + + +THE CHAMBERED NAUTILUS + +This animal is a near relation of the cuttles. It lives in a shell, +which cannot increase in size. The mollusk itself grows, however, and +soon becomes too big to live in its home; so it forms a second and +larger compartment outside the first one. Time after time this happens, +till at last the shell consists of about thirty-six chambers, only the +outside one being inhabited by the nautilus. + +This shell is often more than a foot in diameter. But if you were to see +it when it is first taken out of the sea you would never think that it +was a shell at all. Indeed it looks much more like a big shapeless lump +of blubber, for the animal covers it entirely with its muscular mantle, +so that the shell itself is completely concealed. + +Very little is known of the habits of the chambered nautilus, for it +lives at the bottom of the sea, at a depth of two or three hundred +fathoms. It is found in various parts of the Indian and Pacific oceans. + + +GASTROPODS + +A great many well-known creatures belong to this large group, first upon +the list being the slugs. We need not describe these animals, but +perhaps you will be surprised to hear that they have shells! These +shells are very small, however, and are entirely covered over by the +mantle, so that they cannot be seen unless the body is dissected. + +Slugs have the most wonderful power of stretching out and drawing up +their bodies. You may see one of these creatures crawling about on a +damp evening, and measuring fully five inches in length. But at the +slightest touch it begins to contract, and in a few seconds it is just a +shapeless lump, scarcely half as long as it was before. The odd little +tentacles are drawn back into the head, and the head is drawn back into +the body so that if you did not happen to know what it was you +might easily mistake it for a pebble. + +On the right-hand side of a slug's body, as it crawls along, you will +notice a rather large and almost round hole. This is the entrance to the +breathing-organs, which lie just behind the head and underneath the +mantle. + +During the daytime slugs remain in hiding, lying behind the loose bark +of dead trees, or under logs and large stones, or in heaps of decaying +leaves. And if the weather is very hot and dry they do not come out even +at night, for they very soon die if they are deprived of moisture. But +on warm, damp evenings they travel for long distances in search of food, +which is almost entirely of a vegetable character. In Europe every +gardener knows what injury they do to gardens there, but in America the +slugs are practically harmless. + +A good many different kinds of slugs are found in Great Britain. The +largest of all is the great gray slug, which often grows to a length of +more than six inches. Then the black slug is very common in many parts +of the country. It is not always black, however, for one may often find +examples which are brown, or yellow, or gray, or even white. The milky +slug, which has a thick creamy slime, is plentiful everywhere. And +sometimes one may dig up a very curious slug--testacella--which feeds on +earthworms, and follows them down to the very bottom of their burrows. +When the weather is cold, this slug makes a kind of cocoon of earth and +slime, and lies fast asleep inside it, often for many months at a time. + + +SNAILS + +In many ways snails are very much like slugs, but they have a shell +large enough to contain the entire body when the animal withdraws inside +it. Several hundred different kinds of snails are found in North +America, and many more in other parts of the world, varying in size from +that of a small pinhead to that of a big walnut. Some are exceedingly +numerous, others so rare and singular in their living-places that they +are highly prized by conchologists. All snails lay eggs, usually in damp +soil; and if you will turn over an old log in the woods in +summer, you will be almost certain to find some of the minute shining +globules. When winter draws near all the snails go into hiding, and they +have a most curious way of closing the entrances to their shells by +making little doors across them, composed partly of slime and partly of +very small fragments of earth. This is in order to prevent the frosty +air from getting in and killing them. But it would never do, of course, +to keep all the air out, for in that case they would be unable to +breathe. So they always leave a tiny hole in the middle of each door, +through which just enough air can pass to prevent them from being +suffocated. + +Among the largest of all is the edible snail, which is largely used for +food in many parts of Europe and is imported into the United States and +pickled, to be eaten by those who like this delicacy. + +Most of the gastropod mollusks, however, live in the water, some +inhabiting ponds and streams, while others dwell in the sea. + +In almost every brook and every ditch, for example, you may find +water-snails of different kinds. Some are quite flat, and some are +conical and pointed. Some are as large as land-snails, and some are so +tiny that they are almost always overlooked. Most of them feed upon +decaying leaves, and they have an odd way of traveling by floating +upside down at the surface of the water, each with its broad fleshy +"foot" expanded, so as to convert themselves into tiny boats. You may +sometimes see quite a fleet of these little creatures being carried +along by the stream. But if you throw a stone into the water they all +sink down to the bottom at once, and do not resume their journey until +many hours or even days afterward. + +The eggs of this snail are laid in long jelly-like ribbons, which are +generally fastened either to the stems and leaves of water-plants, or +under the edges of large stones lying at the bottom of the stream. A +very large number of gastropods live in the sea. One of the best known +of these is the whelk, of which one reads in all books of English +natural history. On almost every sandy and shingly beach, in Western +Europe, one may find it lying about in hundreds; and even in large +inland towns one often sees whelks for sale, both in fishmongers' +shops and on barrows at the corners of the streets. Its eggs are +one of the curiosities of the sea-beach--small, yellowish-white objects +about the size of peas, made of tough, parchment-like skin, and fastened +together in bundles about as big as cricket-balls. You may often find +these bundles on the shore in dozens; and most likely you will wonder +how the whelk ever managed to lay a batch of eggs a good deal bigger +than itself. + +But the fact is that the eggs of the whelk are just like those of the +frog. When they are first laid they are very tiny; but the tough skin of +which they are made is very elastic, so that it will stretch almost like +a piece of india-rubber. Besides this, it has the curious property of +allowing water to soak in from the outside, but not to pass out again. +So as soon as the eggs are dropped into the sea they begin to swell, and +before very long they are quite twenty or thirty times as large as they +were when they were first laid. + +We do not have these whelks in North America, but we have a variety of +small gastropods, whose shells are sometimes rough and coiled in a +spiral form, sometimes round like land-snails, and of various sizes. One +of them is the purpura, which has many ribs, and broad dark and light +stripes running spirally. The purpura of the Mediterranean is famous for +the purple dye obtained from its body; but our species yields such a dye +also in small quantity. This was the dye anciently known as Tyrian +purple. It is contained in a little bag behind the throat, which holds +just one small drop of liquid, and no more. And if you were to see it +you would never think that it was dye at all, for it looks only like +rather yellowish water. But if it is squeezed out on a sheet of white +paper, and laid in the sunshine, it very soon begins to change color. +First it becomes green, then blue, and then purple. And it is really the +dye which the ancient Romans valued so highly that no one who did not +belong to the royal family was allowed to dress in purple raiment. + + +BORERS + +In many parts of our eastern coast occur in great numbers two or three +kinds of small, rough, spiral gastropods, called borers by the +fishermen, who hate them because of the great number of oysters they +kill. Each of these spends its whole life in seeking and devouring other +shell-bearing mollusks. It kills and eats these in a very curious way. +Like all the gastropods, it possesses what we call a tooth-ribbon--that +is, a narrow strip of very tough gristle in its mouth; set with row upon +row of sharp, notched, flinty teeth. There are some times more than six +thousand of these teeth, and although they are so small that they cannot +be seen without the aid of a powerful microscope, they are nevertheless +very formidable. For every tooth is hooked, with the points of the hook +directed toward the throat. + +The tooth-ribbon is used in this way: When a borer meets with a victim, +it fastens itself to it by means of its fleshy, muscular "foot." Then it +bores a round hole through its shell, as neatly as if it had been +pierced by a drill. And then it pokes the tooth-ribbon down into the +body of the creature inside, and draws it back again. As it does so, of +course the hooked teeth tear away little bits of the victim's flesh. The +borer swallows these, and then pokes down its tooth-ribbon once more. +And so it goes on, over and over again, until the shell of its victim +has been completely emptied, when it goes off to look for another. + + +PERIWINKLES + +These are common on rocky parts of the coast, and you may find them +crawling about on the weed-covered rocks in thousands when the tide is +out. They have tooth-ribbons just like that of the borer, but they do +not use them in the same way, for they feed only upon seaweeds. And they +are remarkable for having the foot divided by a kind of groove, which +runs right down the middle. When a periwinkle crawls, it moves first one +side of this foot forward, and then the other side, so that although it +has no legs it may really almost be said to walk. + + +THE COWRY + +One of the prettiest of the gastropod shells, is that of the cowry, in +some parts of Africa used as money. It would seem strange to +earn one's living just by picking up money on the sea-shore, wouldn't +it? And perhaps you might think that every one who lived near those +parts of the coast where cowries are found must be very well off. But +then sixteen hundred of these shells are only worth about a quarter of a +dollar, so that you would have to hunt for a very long while and stoop a +great many times in order to obtain sufficient even to buy food. And it +must be very awkward to have to carry several sacks of money when one +goes out marketing! Many of them, however, are extremely beautiful. + + +LIMPETS + +Commoner still are the limpets, which you may find in thousands clinging +to the rocks that are left bare when the tide goes out. They fasten +themselves down by means of the broad, fleshy foot, which acts as a big +sucker. And so firmly do they hold that it is almost impossible to pull +them away. + +After a time, the edges of a limpet's shell cut a circular groove in the +rock to which it clings, so that even the sea-birds cannot drive their +beaks underneath and force it from its hold. And though, when the tide +is up, the mollusk will wander to a distance of two or even three feet +in search of food, it always seems to return to its resting-place before +the retreating waves again leave the rock uncovered. + + +AMPHINEURANS + +This order of mollusks contains the curious creatures which are known as +chitons. These may be described as sea-armadillos, for they are covered +with a kind of shelly armor, consisting of a series of plates, and can +roll themselves up into balls, in order to protect themselves from the +attacks of their enemies. + +One of these mollusks is called the prickly chiton, because it is +covered all over with sharp spines, like a hedgehog. It grows to a +length of nearly six inches. But long before it reaches its full size +the spines are rubbed off, so that a large example of this +creature is nearly always perfectly bare. The chitons live among muddy +rocks at low-water mark, and are not common outside the tropics or in +shallow water. + +The order of the amphineurans is quite a small one, and so is that of +the scaphopods, which consists only of the tooth-shells, which are very +common on the sandy coasts of the Northern Pacific, and look rather like +very tiny elephants' tusks. The Indians of the Puget Sound region used +to string them as ornaments, and valued them highly. + + +BIVALVES + +The order of the bivalves is a very large and important one. All these +creatures have their shells made of two parts, or valves, which are +fastened together by means of a hinge. They have no heads, and the +mantle forms a kind of flap on either side of the body. They are found +both in fresh and salt water. Every one knows the "fresh-water clams," +or mussels, which abound in our lakes and rivers. In the central and +southern parts of the United States they are exceedingly numerous and of +many kinds, some rough, others smooth. All are lined with +mother-of-pearl, and pretty buttons and other ornaments are made from +them. Moreover, pearls are very frequently discovered inside their +shells, and sometimes they are of great value. + + +THE PEARL-OYSTER + +Pearls are obtained chiefly, however, from the pearl-oyster, which is +found in warm seas in many parts of the world, the principal fisheries +being in Ceylon, the Persian Gulf, the South Sea Islands, and off the +northeast coast of Australia. They are deposited by the mantle, and it +is most likely that they are really due to a grain of sand, which has +lodged inside the shell and set up irritation. Indeed, it has been found +that if small objects, such as tiny stones, are forced between the +valves of one of these oysters, they become covered with layers of pearl +in a very short time. The best mother-of-pearl is also obtained from the +shells of the pearl-oyster. + + +OYSTERS + +The ordinary oyster belongs to another family of bivalves, in which one +part of the shell is a good deal larger than the other. + +The early life of this mollusk is very curious. The spawn is known as +spat, and is produced in enormous quantities. This spat looks at first +like very fine gray dust, and remains for some little time within the +shells of the parent. But one day in early summer the oyster opens its +valves a little way, and squirts it out like a cloud into the water. For +a few weeks the little oysters are able to swim, and they generally +travel backward and forward with the tide. But after a while they attach +themselves to some object at the bottom of the water, and there they +remain without moving any more for the rest of their lives. + +One would think that, since a family of oysters is so enormously large, +these creatures must be the most plentiful mollusks in the sea. But by +far the larger number are destroyed by other creatures before they are +able to settle down; while even after that they have a great many +enemies. We have already told you how mischievous starfishes are in the +oyster-beds. Then borers and dog-whelks are almost equally troublesome, +and besides these there is a curious kind of sponge, called the cliona, +which burrows into the shells of the mollusk and gradually destroys +them, sometimes actually causing them to fall to pieces. + + +BLACK MUSSELS + +Two or three kinds of black mussels live in vast numbers on almost all +coasts, clinging to rocks and submerged timber. The way in which a +mussel fastens itself to its hold is very curious, for instead of +turning the whole of the foot into a big sucker, as the limpet does, it +spins a number of very strong threads from that part which lies nearest +to the hinge; and every one of these threads is separately fastened to +the support, so that the creature is moored down, as it were, by a kind +of cable. These threads are known as the byssus, and hold so firmly that +it is not at all easy to pull them away. Some of these mussels +are good to eat, but are not as much used in the United States as in +Europe. + + +THE COCKLE + +This is another very well-known bivalve. Its heart-shaped shells, +covered with low ridges, you must know by sight. It is one of the +burrowing mollusks, spending its life buried in sandy mud. It is +especially common at the mouths of large rivers, where enormous +quantities are collected to serve as human food. And its large muscular +foot is not only used in digging, but also enables it to leap to a +considerable height. It is to this family that the quahog or hard clam +of our markets belongs. + + +RAZOR-SHELLS + +These, too, are inhabitants of the mud, and if you want to find their +burrows all that you have to do is to visit a patch of sandy mud when +the tide is out, and stand quietly watching it. Before long you are sure +to see a little jet of water spurt out of the mud to a height of three +or four inches. Now this water has been squirted out of the siphon-tubes +of a razor-shell, and if you walk to the spot, treading very carefully, +you will find a tiny hole in the mud. This is the entrance to the +burrow, and if you want to get the animal out, the best way to do so is +to drop a little salt down the hole. For it is a very strange fact that +although the razor cannot live in mud at the bottom of fresh water, it +does not like pure salt at all, and is sure to come up to the surface +and try to get rid of it. But if you fail to seize it at once it will +retreat to the very bottom of its burrow, and no amount of salt will +persuade it to come up again. The soft clam, which is sold in our +markets in such enormous quantities, is a near relative of the razor. + + +THE PIDDOCK + +One of the most wonderful of all the bivalves is the piddock, as it is a +boring mollusk, living buried in the solid chalk or limestone. +If you should examine the rocks which are left bare at low water along +the shore of the Mediterranean, or some other warm sea, you would often +find that they are pierced by numbers of rather large round holes. These +are the entrances to the burrows of piddocks; and if you could split the +rock open you would find several of these creatures lying in their +tunnels. + +Sometimes, when they are boring, their burrows become choked up behind +them with the material which they have scraped away. Then they just +squirt out a jet of water from their siphon-tubes, and so wash the +passage clear. + +It is really owing to the work of the piddocks that chalk and limestone +cliffs are so much cut away by the sea. The waves by themselves can do +very little in this way. For when they wash up against the face of the +cliff they leave the spores of seaweeds behind them; and these very soon +grow and cover the whole surface with a mantle of living green, which +almost entirely prevents the cliff from being worn away. But the +piddocks drive their burrows into the rock just below the surface of the +water, boring backward and forward till it is completely honeycombed by +their tunnels, which only have just the thinnest of walls left between +them. Then the sea washes into the burrows, and breaks these walls down, +so that the whole foundation of the cliff is cut away. Very soon, of +course, there is a landslip, and hundreds of tons of chalk or limestone, +as the case may be, come falling down. Then the piddocks begin working +again a little farther back, and the process is repeated; and so on over +and over again. + +On many parts of the south coast of England long stretches of rocks run +ever so far out into the sea, and are only partly left bare at low +water. Those rocks were once the bases of cliffs, which the piddocks and +the waves together have cut away. And it even seems almost certain that +the Strait of Dover was cut in this manner, and that if it had not been +for the labors of the piddocks, carried on day after day for thousands +upon thousands of years, Great Britain even now would not be an island, +but would still form part of the continent of Europe, as we know that it +did in ages long gone by! + + +THE TEREDO + +There is a bivalve mollusk which burrows into submerged timber, such as +the hulls of wooden ships, or the beams of piers and jetties. This is +called the teredo, or ship-worm, and certainly it does look much more +like a worm than a mollusk, for it has a cylinder-shaped body something +like a foot in length, with a forked tail, while the shell only covers +just a little part at one end. How it burrows into the wood nobody quite +knows. It is generally supposed to do so by means of the foot. But in a +very short time it will honeycomb a great beam of timber with its +burrows, which it always lines with a kind of shelly deposit, weakening +it to such a degree that at last it gives way beneath the slightest +pressure. + +Like a great many other mollusks, the teredo passes through a kind of +caterpillar stage before it reaches its perfect form. While it is in +this condition it is able to swim freely about in the water, and looks +rather like a very tiny hedgehog, being almost globular in shape, and +covered all over with short projecting hairs. It is by means of the +action of these hairs upon the water that it is able to swim. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVIII + +ANNELIDS AND COELENTERATES + + +The important class of the annelids contains those creatures which we +generally call worms. There are a great many of these, but we shall only +be able to mention one or two. + + +THE COMMON EARTHWORM + +This worm is really a most interesting as well as a most useful animal. +The way in which it crawls is decidedly curious. On the lower part of +every one of the rings of which its body is made up, with the sole +exception of the head, are four pairs of short, stiff, little bristles, +projecting outward from the skin. The worm really hitches itself along +by means of these bristles. First it takes hold of the ground with those +underneath the front rings, then it draws up its body and takes hold +with those underneath the hind ones, and then it pushes its head forward +and repeats the process; and so on, over and over again. + +If you take a worm and pass it between your finger and thumb from the +tail-end toward the head, you can feel these little bristles quite +easily. + +A worm does not often leave its burrow, however, but generally keeps the +tip of its body just inside the entrance, so that it can retreat in a +moment in case of danger. + +Worms make their burrows in a very odd manner, for they actually eat +their way down into the ground, swallowing mouthful after mouthful of +earth until their bodies can contain no more. Meanwhile they have been +absorbing nourishment from this soil; but presently they come up to the +surface and pour out the mold which they have swallowed in the form of +what we call a worm-cast, after which they go down again and swallow +more, and so on until the burrow is sufficiently deep. + +You will be surprised, we think, to hear how much earth is swallowed by +the worms in this way. Just think of it. Every year, in every acre of +agricultural land all over the country, worms bring up from below, on an +average, and spread over the surface in the form of worm-casts, no less +than fourteen tons of earth, or about seven large cartloads! + +This is why worms are such useful creatures. They are always, as it +were, digging and plowing the soil. After a time the earth at the +surface becomes exhausted. Nearly all the nourishment is sucked out of +it by the roots of the plants. But the worms are always bringing up +fresh, rich, unused soil from below, and spreading it over the surface +in the form of what farmers call a top-dressing. They are doing, in +fact, exactly what we do when we dig our gardens or plow our +fields--burying the used-up soil that it may rest, and bringing up fresh +mold to take its place. + +But, besides turning the soil over, they manure it; for almost every +night from early spring to late autumn worms are busy dragging down +leaves into their burrows. With some of these leaves they line their +tunnels, with some they close the entrances, and on some they feed. And +most of them decay before very long and turn into leaf-mold, which is +just about the very best manure that there is. So you see, the worms do +not merely turn the soil over, they enrich it as well, and help very +largely indeed to keep it in such a condition that plants can continue +to grow in it. + + +THE LUGWORM + +The similar lugworm lives in sandy mud on the sea-shore; and when the +tide is out you may often see its casts in thousands. It is very largely +used by fishermen as bait. When it is carefully washed it is really +quite a handsome creature, for sometimes it is deep crimson in color, +and sometimes dark green, while on its back are twenty-six little +scarlet tufts, arranged in pairs, which are really the gills by which +the worm breathes. + +The burrows of the lugworm are not quite like those of the earthworm, +for as its tunnels through the sand it pours out a kind of glue-like +liquid, which very soon hardens and lines the walls, so as to form a +kind of tube and prevent the sides from falling in. + + +THE TEREBELLA + +This worm forms very much stronger tubes. It is common on many parts of +our coasts. But it is not very easily found, for at the slightest alarm +it retreats to the very bottom of its burrow, which nearly always runs +under large stones and rocks. + +The terebella makes its tube by means of the little feelers, or +tentacles, which spring from the front part of its body. These have a +most wonderful power of grasp, and one after another little grains of +sand are seized by them, and carefully arranged in position. And when +the tube is quite finished, the animal constructs a little tuft of sandy +threads, so to speak, round the entrance, which you may often see in the +pools left among the rocks by the retreating tide. + + +THE SEA-MOUSE + +Looking far more like a hairy slug than a worm, the sea-mouse also +belongs to the class of the annelids. You can easily find this creature +by hunting in muddy pools among the rocks just above low-water mark; and +most likely you will consider it as one of the dingiest and most +unattractive-looking animals that you have ever seen. But if you rinse +it two or three times over in clean water till every atom of mud has +been washed out of its bristly coat, you may change your opinion. For +now you will see all the colors of the rainbow playing over it--crimson, +purple, orange, blue, and vivid green--just as if every hair were a +prism. It would be difficult, indeed, to find any creature more +beautiful in the waters of the sea. This bristly coat is really a kind +of filter, which strains out the mud from the water that passes to the +gills. + + +LEECHES + +Leeches, too, are annelids, living in fresh water instead of salt water. +They are famous for their blood-sucking habits, and when we examine +their mouths through a microscope we find that they are provided with +three sets of very small saw-like teeth, which are set in the form of a +triangle. When a leech wants to suck the blood of an animal, it fastens +itself to the skin of its victim by means of its sucker-like lips, and +then saws out a tiny triangular piece of skin. That is why it is so +difficult to stop the bleeding after a leech has bitten one. An actual +hole is left in the skin, which does not heal over for some little time. +And a great deal of blood is generally taken by the leech itself, which +will go on sucking away until its body is stretched out to at least +double its former size. + +That is rather a big meal to take, isn't it? But then such meals come +very seldom. Indeed, when a leech has once gorged itself thoroughly with +blood, it will often take no more food at all for a whole year +afterward! + +Leeches lay their eggs in little masses, called cocoons, which they +place in the clay-banks of the pools in which they live. In each of +these cocoons there are from six to sixteen eggs. + +We now come to the last great class of animals about which we shall be +able to tell you--that of the coelenterates. It contains three most +interesting groups of creatures. + + +JELLYFISHES + +You may have seen plenty of jellyfishes if at any time you have been +staying at the seaside, for they are often flung up on the beach by the +retreating tide. But if you were to go and look for them two or three +hours after seeing them, on a bright sunny day, you would find that they +had disappeared. All that would be left of them would be a number of +ring-like marks in the sand, with just a few threads of animal matter in +the middle of each. The reason would be that they had evaporated! That +sounds rather strange, doesn't it? But the fact is that the greater part +of the body of a jellyfish is nothing but water! It is quite +true that if you cut it in half the water does not run away. But then +that is equally true of a cucumber; and cucumbers, too, are made almost +entirely of water. The reason is the same in both cases. The water is +contained in a very large number of tiny cells; and when you cut either +the animal or the vegetable across, only a few of these cells are +divided, and only a small quantity of the water escapes. + +Round the edge of the disk of a jellyfish which has just been flung up +by the waves you will find a number of long, slender threads. These are +its fishing-lines, with which it captures its prey, and they are made in +a very curious manner. All the way along they are set with a double row +of very tiny cells, in each of which is coiled up an extremely sharp and +slender dart. These cells are so formed that at the very slightest touch +they fly open, and the little darts spring out; and, besides this, the +darts are poisoned. So as soon as any small creature swims up against +these threads a number of the venomed darts bury themselves in its body, +and the poison acts so quickly that in a very few seconds it is dead. +Then other threads come closing in all round it, and in a very short +time it is forced into the mouth and swallowed. + +Some jellyfishes are so poisonous that they are most dangerous even to +man. Only one of these, however, is found in the North Atlantic, almost +all the jellyfishes that one finds lying about on the beach being +perfectly harmless. But if, when you are bathing, you see a +yellowish-brown jellyfish about as big as a soup-plate swimming near you +in the water, be sure to get out of its way as fast as you possibly can; +for if its threads should touch any part of your body, you are almost +sure to be very badly stung. There is very little doubt, indeed, that +many swimmers have been killed by these creatures; while thousands of +unwary bathers have been laid up for days, or even weeks, from the +effects of their poison. + + +SEA-ANEMONES + +What beautiful creatures are these--just like flowers growing under the +sea! Some are like dahlias, some like chrysanthemums, and some +like daisies, of all shades of crimson, and purple, and orange, and +green, and it is very hard to believe that they are really living +animals. + +The tentacles of these creatures, which look so like the petals of +flowers, are set with little cells containing poisoned darts, just like +the fishing-threads of the jellyfishes. They can be spread out or drawn +back into the body at will, and when they have all been withdrawn the +anemone seems to be nothing more than a shapeless lump of colored jelly. + +Anemones spend the greater part of their lives clinging to the surface +of a rock at the bottom of the water, the broad base of the body acting +just like a big sucker. They can crawl about, however, at will, and +sometimes they will rise to the surface of the sea, turn upside down, +hollow their bodies into the form of little boats, and then float away, +perhaps for quite a long distance. + +But few sea-anemones are seen on our eastern coast, because, except in +the cool north, there are few rocks. On the warmer and rockier shores of +California and northward, however, these lovely creatures occur in great +variety. + + +CORALS + +Last upon our list come those most wonderful little creatures which are +known as corals. + +These are often called coral insects, but that is a great mistake. For +they have nothing to do with insects at all, and are as different from +them in every way as they can possibly be. They are properly called +polyps, and we can best describe them, perhaps as very small +sea-anemones. But they have one property which the anemones do not +possess, namely, the power of extracting lime out of the sea-water and +building it up round themselves in the form of coral. + +These creatures may be roughly divided into two groups, the one +consisting of the simple corals, which only live together in very small +numbers, and the other of the reef-builders, which live in vast +colonies, and build up masses of coral of enormous size. The latter are +by far the more interesting, and the way in which they build up +immense banks of coral is very wonderful indeed. + +Remember, first of all, that these animals multiply in two different +ways--sometimes by eggs, and sometimes by little buds, so to speak, +which grow out of the body of the parent. The polyps which hatch out +from eggs swim about for some little time quite freely. But after a few +days they fasten themselves down to the surface of a submerged rock, and +after that they never move again. Other polyps soon come and settle down +by them, and before very long there will be thousands upon thousands of +the little animals all growing, as it were, close together, and all +gradually building up coral underneath and round the margins of their +bodies. + +When they reach their full size they begin to multiply by "budding." +Baby polyps sprout out all over their bodies, and these, instead of +swimming about for a few days like those which are hatched from eggs, +remain fixed where they are for the whole of their lives. Then they, in +their turn, begin to deposit coral, and as they have nowhere else to put +it they place it on the bodies of their parents, which before very long +are completely covered in. Now, you see, there is a second layer of +coral on the top of the first. Then in due course of time a third layer +is formed upon the second, and a fourth layer upon the third, each +generation being built in by the one that comes after it, till at last +the coral bank rises above the surface of the water. Then the work has +to stop; for these little creatures cannot live unless the waves can +constantly break over them. But although the bank cannot be raised +higher it can still be extended on all sides; and so the little polyps +go working on, year after year, till at last the results of their labor +are almost too wonderful to realize. + + +CORAL BANKS + +These coral banks take three different forms. + +First, there are the fringing reefs. These are great banks of coral +surrounding the shores of a tropical island, or running for long +distances on the coasts of the mainland. The island of Mauritius, for +example, is entirely surrounded by a fringing reef. These reefs +often spread out for miles into the sea, and they are only broken here +and there by narrow passages, where some river or stream is flowing out. +For the polyps cannot live in fresh water. + +Next, there are barrier reefs. These are great walls of coral at a +distance from the shore, with deep water between the two. For the polyps +are unable to work at a greater depth than about thirty fathoms, or one +hundred and eighty feet, below the surface; and it often happens that +while there is deep water close to the shores of a tropical island, +there is shallow water farther out. In such a case the polyps have to +build out at sea, instead of close into the land, and there is a kind of +moat between the coral bank and the shore. In this case the bank is +called a barrier reef, and sometimes it is of enormous size. The Great +Barrier Reef, for instance, runs for no less than 1250 miles along the +northeast coast of Australia. + +Then, thirdly, there are coral islands, or atolls. There are thousands +of these wonderful islands in the Pacific and the Indian oceans, and +others are still being slowly pushed up out of the sea. They always take +the form of more or less circular rings, in the center of which is a +lake of sea-water called a lagoon. The coral bank of which they consist +is seldom more than a few hundred feet wide, but sometimes the islands +are very large indeed. The biggest of all is ninety miles long and sixty +miles broad, while several others are not very much smaller. Soon after +they rise to the surface of the sea a kind of soil is deposited upon +them, made up partly of powdered coral, ground up by the action of the +waves, and partly of decaying vegetable matter which has been flung up +on them. Then sea-birds bring mud upon their feet from the mainland, or +from another island at a distance, and leave some of it behind them when +they settle down to rest; and in that mud are seeds of plants, which +soon begin to sprout and grow. So in a very few years the island is +covered with low vegetation. Then one day, perhaps, a floating cocoanut +is flung up, and that, too, takes root and grows, so that in course of +time there is a palm-tree. Other palm-trees, of course, follow; and the +result is that the first glimpse which a traveler gets of a coral island +is nearly always that of a row of palm-trees upon the horizon. + +The simple corals live in almost all parts of the ocean. Some of them +are occasionally dredged up off our coasts, and can live in very cold +water. But the reef-builders are only found in warm seas, and are never +found working far outside the boundaries of the tropics. + +How wonderful it seems that tiny creatures such as these polyps, which +really do not appear to be much more than little lumps of living jelly, +should be able to build up these vast masses of coral from out of the +depths of the sea! One cannot help wondering what the results of their +work will be if the world should last for a few thousand years longer. +It would really seem that by that time the tropical seas will be choked +up with coral islands, and the lagoons inside them will be filled up +with coral too; so that not merely islands, but continents, will have +been raised from the ocean by some of the smallest and weakest and most +insignificant of all living animals! + +[Illustration: NORTH AMERICAN SEED-EATING SONG-BIRDS + + 1. Scarlet Tanager, or Black-winged Redbird. 2. Song Sparrow. + 3. Baltimore Oriole. 4. Rose-breasted Grosbeak. 5. Cowbird. + 6. Cardinal Grosbeak. 7. Purple Finch. 8. Indigo Finch. + +All are adult males.] + + + + +WALKS WITH A NATURALIST + +Suggestions for Teacher and Pupil in Nature Study + + +I + +SPRING + +Let us suppose that we are taking four country walks together, and +trying to use, in actual experience in the field, the information we +have been reading. The first shall be in the spring, the second in +summer, the third when autumn leaves are falling, and the last in +midwinter. We will go along the field-path, follow the lane through the +woods to the creek, then down the stream to the road, and so homeward. + +There is plenty to be seen, this bright spring morning. The birds are +very busy, of course, for they have nests to build, and eggs to lay, and +little ones to take care of; so they are hard at work from the very +first thing in the morning till the very last thing at night. Almost +every sparrow that we see has a feather or a piece of straw in its beak, +and the robin which has just flown out of that tree with a terrified +squall has already finished building, and was most likely sitting upon +her eggs. Yes, there is her nest, you see, right on the lowest limb, +with four greenish blue eggs. + +See that catbird, all lead-color, with a black cap. See her dodge into +that bush just beyond us. It is just the place for her nest; and, sure +enough, here it is. It is a rough affair, but she mews as pitifully at +us as if it were the finest of homes, and half a dozen other birds are +already screaming their sympathy. Let us just look at the eggs, and +remember that they are a deep polished green, and then walk on, for the +poor mother is very unhappy. We have no use for the eggs, and it +would be shameful to rob her; and, besides, we should thus destroy the +coming lives of four catbirds, who will be too useful as insect-hunters +in our gardens to be wasted. + +This path is dusty, and we notice a great many pinhole doors of the +little black ants. The ants are running in and out of them, and if we +should carefully dig up the ground we would find a labyrinth of narrow +passages, here and there widening into chambers, and so learn that these +tiny holes are entrances to an ant-city whose streets are all subways. + +Here are some larger ants--three times as big--a regular procession of +them going and coming out from under that half-buried stone, winding +through the grass, and then trotting up and down this tree-trunk. A lot +of them go out along that low limb. Let us climb upon the fence, and try +to see what it is that attracts them. Ah! This is the secret. Clustered +thickly on the bark are hundreds of minute green creatures, smaller than +pinheads. They are busily sucking the sap from the bark, and seem to +interest the ants greatly, for they are stroking these bark-lice +(aphids) with their feelers, and if we had a magnifying-glass we could +see that they were licking up a honey-like liquid which oozes out of two +short tubes on the back of each aphid. + +A little distance beyond the ant's apple-tree a young maple stretches +one of its branches out to the sunlight just above our heads, where the +sharp eyes which young naturalists must keep wide open when they walk +abroad will notice a bird's nest hung under the shelter of its broad +outermost leaves. It is one of the loveliest nests in the world. A slim, +graceful, olive-green little bird glides out from beneath the +maple-leaves as we approach, perches near by and watches us silently. +Though she does not mew and scream as did the catbird, she is just as +anxious, you may be sure. Be easy, dear little vireo--for we know your +name--we shall not ruin your home. Let us pull the branch gently down a +little. Now we can see that the nest is a round hammock, woven of +grapevine bark and spider-web, and hung by its edges. It seems too +fragile to hold the weight of the mother, slight as she is; and in it +are three white eggs with a circle of pink and purple dots around their +larger ends. But here is also a fourth egg, much larger, grayish +white, and speckled all over with brown. + +That is the egg of the cowbird, a sort of purple, brown-headed blackbird +which you may almost always see in pastures where there are cattle. The +cowbirds, like the European cuckoos, never build any nests of their own, +but put their eggs into those of other birds, and leave them to be +hatched. And they are very fond of choosing the nest of a vireo. One +would think that the mother would notice at once that a strange egg had +been placed in her nest, and would throw it out. But she never seems to +do so, but sits on the cowbird egg as well as on her own, so that in +course of time she hatches out three or four little vireos and one young +cowbird. Then what do you think the stranger does? Why, as soon as the +mother vireo goes out to look for caterpillars for food, it begins to +wriggle underneath the other little birds, and soon shoves them out of +the nest, one after another. Still more strange is it, that when the +vireo comes back she never seems to care that her own little ones are +all lying dead on the ground below, but gives all the food that they +would have eaten to the cowbird. And the greedy cowbird eats it all! +Until it is fledged she feeds it in this way, and takes the greatest +care of it, and even after it has left the nest and is able to fly about +she will come and put caterpillars into its beak. + +Look at the trunk of this tree. Why has so much of the bark fallen away +from the wood? And what is this curious pattern engraved, as it were, +upon the wood--a broad groove running downward, and a number of smaller +grooves branching out from this on each side? + +Ah! that is the work of a very odd little beetle, with a black head and +reddish-brown wing-cases. About eighteen months ago, probably, a mother +beetle came flying along, settled on the tree, and bored a hole through +the bark, just big enough for her to pass through. Then she began to +burrow downward between the bark and the wood, cutting the central +groove which you see in the pattern. As she did so she kept on laying +eggs, first on one side of the groove and then on the other, in the +short branch-tunnels, which she cut out as she went along. In this way +she laid, perhaps, eighty or ninety eggs altogether. When the last had +been laid she turned round, climbed up her burrow again, passed into the +hole by which she came in, and--died in it! And by so doing she blocked +up her burrow with her dead body, and so prevented centipedes and other +hungry creatures from getting in and eating up her eggs. + +Early in the following spring all the eggs hatched, and out came a +number of hungry little grubs with hard, horny heads and strong, sharp +little jaws. Every one of these grubs at once began to make a burrow of +its own, boring away at right angles to the groove made by the mother +beetle, and cutting away the fibers which bind the bark to the wood. The +consequence was, of course, that by the time they were fully grown quite +a big piece of bark had been cut away. And very likely if we were to +come and look at the tree again in two years' time we should find that +the whole of the trunk had been completely stripped. + +"Then these little beetles are very mischievous?" Oh, no, they are not; +for they never touch a healthy tree. They only attack those trees which +are sickly or diseased. + +Here we are on the banks of the stream. Let us make our way home by the +path which lies beside it. + +Ah! Did you see that flash of blue and white and orange that went +darting by, almost like a streak of many-colored light, sounding a loud +rattling call as he flew? It was a kingfisher, and if we stand quite +still for a minute or two, without moving so much as a finger, we shall +very likely see him again. Yes, there he is, sitting on that branch +overhanging the stream, and peering down into the water beneath. He is +watching for little fishes, upon which he feeds. There, he has caught +sight of one, and down he drops into the water, splashes about for a +moment or two, and then rises with a minnow in his beak. Back he flies +to his perch, slaps the little fish against the branch once or twice to +kill it, jerks it up into the air, catches it head foremost as it falls, +and then swallows it with one big gulp. A moment later he is peering +down into the water again on the lookout for another. + +That hole in the face of the steep bank across the stream is the doorway +of the kingfisher's home. If we could get there, and should try to dig +it, we would find it a hard task; for from that round door a tunnel runs +into the ground probably six or eight feet, and ends in a +chamber where lie half a dozen pure white eggs, resting upon the bones +of fishes and scraps of every sort, which make a very ill-smelling place +for the young kingfishers to be born in; but they do not mind that. + +The butterfly that has just floated by is a small tortoise-shell, and it +has lived through the winter, which kills nearly all of the butterfly +tribe. That is why its wings are faded and chipped, for it had six or +eight weeks of active life before it hid itself away, last of all, in a +hollow tree, and entered upon a six-months' slumber. Sometimes, on a +warmer day than usual, these and certain other butterflies will be +roused up, and will flutter about in the sunshine, so that now and then +you may capture a tortoise-shell even in the Christmas holidays. + +The warm May sunshine is enticing out many a minute insect--gnats and +flies especially. Dancing companies of small sulphur yellow and other +companies of blue butterflies whirl about one another over the rapidly +growing grass. + +Have you noticed among the May flowers how many are yellow? There are +dandelions, and yellow violets, and the modest fivefinger low in the +herbage, while above them tower great tufts of wild mustard and indigo, +the buttercups, the marsh-marigold, and many another. + +The frogs and toads are less noisy than a month ago, and one sees fewer +masses and strings of eggs in the roadside ditches than in April; but in +their place the pools swarm with tadpoles, and it will be well worth +your while to keep watch of their growth. Try to find out what they eat, +and what eats them. Observe when the tail begins to disappear, and how +it is lost; when the legs begin to appear, and which pair first shows +itself. You may learn a lot of interesting facts about frogs and toads +before the summer is done, if you are diligent. + +In this stream are a few turtles. Can you tell when and where they lay +their eggs? Keep careful watch of the little sandy beaches, and perhaps +you may see one digging a hole in which to bury her set of sixty or so, +leaving the sun to supply a better warmth than she could give them. + +May is a month of activity for snakes. They have thrown off the +stiffness and drowsiness of their long winter torpidity, and, grown +thin after five months of fasting, are running about in search of food. +Let the frogs and toads, the beetles and young ground-sparrows and +mice--also weak from their winter trials--take heed, for the swift +blacksnake or sly garter, or rapacious water-snake will seize them +before they have time to squeal! + +The water in the stream is still cool, but the fishes are struggling up +the current, pickerel are spawning in the weedy shallows, and among the +pebbles of the bottom a host of young creatures are beginning to grow +vigorous. + +None among them is more active than the larval caddis-flies, or +case-worms, as anglers call them. Here is a caddis-fly now, its gauzy +wings folded tentwise over its back. All its earlier life was spent in +the water, and when it was a grub it lived in a very curious case, which +it made by cutting up a rush into short lengths, and sticking them +together by means of a kind of natural glue. When once a caddis-grub has +made one of these cases it never gets out of it again, but drags it +about wherever it goes. And if you try to pull it out you will find that +you cannot do so without killing it. For at the end of its body it has a +pair of strong little pincers, with which it holds on so firmly and so +doggedly to its case that you might actually pull it in two without +forcing it to loose its hold. + +There are different kinds of caddis-flies, however, and the grub of one +kind fastens grains of sand together to make a case, while that of +another sticks two dead leaves face to face, and lives between them. + +It would be an interesting task for a boy or girl to see how many +different kinds of caddis-flies, judging by their cases, lived in the +stream, and to keep them alive in an aquarium, and watch their behavior +and changes. + + +II + +SUMMER + +A walk in midsummer is a stroll through what seems a quiet world +compared with the noise and brightness of May. Then every leaf was green +and crisp, every bird in full song, and the world seemed to have +an air of gay youth, like a vigorous boy or girl full of eagerness and +activity. + +Now as July draws toward its end the eagerness has subsided and the +year, like a lad grown a little older and more serious, has settled down +to regular work. Had our walk been taken before breakfast, we should +have heard no end of birds singing, it is true; but about the time the +dew dried from the grass most of them ceased their music. One reason, +besides the noonday heat, is that they are too busy to sing, for the +husband and father--and he is the singer of the family--must now help +his mate feed her young. We fear, however, he is not a very good +provider after the fledglings quit the nest, leaving most of their +support and schooling to the mother. At this season one may often come +upon and watch a little family group of this kind, and perhaps we may do +so. + +Meanwhile let us sit down for a moment on this grassy bank--not too near +that fence-post, for do you not see twined about it that vine with the +reddish hairy stem, and the shining leaves in groups of threes? That is +the poison-ivy, which may cause an itching rash to break out upon your +skin if you touch it. You must learn to recognize and avoid this +"ivy"--which is not a true ivy, but a kind of climbing sumach--before +you go poking around in the fields, or you will be sorry. Do you notice +the delicious beeswax-like odor in the air? That comes from the big +yellow branches of blossoms on another and perfectly harmless kind of +sumach--that scraggly sort of bush just beyond the fence. + +See how the bees are humming about it--some of them honey-bees from a +farmer's hive, others big bumblebees and small burrowing kinds. All are +in search of the minute drops of sweet liquid which each of the tiny +flowers in the blossom-head contains, and which turns into honey after +it has been carried a little while in the insect's crop, or lower part +of the throat, where it lodges. Then it is suitable to be really +swallowed, or to be coughed up and fed to the young bees at home, or +stored away in the cells of such bees as store up honey, for many wild +bees do not make such stores. + +Besides its nectar, however, every flower contains a quantity of small +particles, like dust, which are produced in the heads of the little +thread-like interior parts of the blossom called the stamens; and in +order that the flower shall turn to a seed it is needful that some +grains of this dust, or pollen, shall fall upon another hollow part +called the pistil, and so pass down into its base. It is much better +that the pollen of one flower shall get into the pistil of another than +into its own. The wind manages this to some extent--especially for the +grasses--by shaking or blowing the loose pollen out of one flower and +into another. + +But the bees help this process greatly, and so may be said to pay for +the sweets they use. Watch this one buzzing in front of that clump of +jewelweed. Suddenly the loud humming ceases, and the bee crowds herself +into the hanging, bell-like blossom, searching for the nectar. Now she +is backing slowly out, and you may see how her furry body is +half-powdered with yellow dust. That is pollen; and when she dives into +another "jewel" she will brush some of it off against the pistil there, +which is right in her way, and is very glad to accept her gift. So the +bees and other insects humming about the flowers in this hot sunshine +are not only getting their living but helping the plants to keep +vigorous and produce lots of healthy seed. + +Now let us move on. The sky is filled with swallows. There are the +fork-tailed ones that make their nests inside the barn; the +square-tailed ones that form their curious bottle-shaped nests of mud on +the outside, under the eaves; and the purple martins that live in our +bird-house in the garden. They are darting and dashing and skimming +about in mid-air as though they did not know what it is to be tired; and +if only they were a little closer we should see that every one of them +has its mouth wide open. The reason is that these birds have very sticky +tongues, and that all the time they are in the air they are chasing +flying insects, bothersome gnats and mosquitoes among the rest. As soon +as one of these insects is touched by the tongue, it sticks to it. Then, +without swallowing it, the bird tucks it away in the upper part of its +throat, and goes off to hunt for another. After a time it has quite a +ball of little bugs packed away in this curious manner, and can carry no +more; so it flies off to its nest, and divides them among its little +ones. + +Do you see that small olive-green bird sitting very erect on that +fence-post? There--it suddenly springs into the air, flutters up and +down for just half a moment, and then returns to the post. It is a +flycatcher, and for hours together it will go on catching insects just +in that same way. As it alights it tells us its name, calling +_Phoe-e-be, Phoe-e-be_ in a sad sort of voice, though there is +no reason to think it is sorrowful at all. If we should go down to that +bridge over the stream in the valley we would find its solid nest of +moss and mud among the stones of one of the piers. + +The woodland path is not so good a place for birds as are more open +spaces; but one hears here the distant cooing of a dove, the +_chip-chur-r-r_ shout of the scarlet tanager, as red as fire +everywhere except on its black wings and tail, and often the tapping of +a woodpecker. There is one at work now on that tall dead stub. If you +want to see him you must keep perfectly still, for if he notices that he +is watched he begins to think some harm may follow, and either flies +away or stops work, scrambling around the trunk and peering out from +behind it with one eye to see what you mean to do next. See how firmly +he clings to the trunk. If you were close enough you could see that two +of the large-clawed toes at the end of his short strong legs and feet +were straight forward and two straight backward; and that he is also +propping himself up by means of his short stiff little tail, which is +bent inward, and really serves as a kind of natural camp-stool! Now he +is pecking away at the bark with his strong chisel-like beak, and making +the chips fly in all directions. Most likely the grub of some burrowing +beetle is lying hidden in the wood below, and he is trying to dig it +out. But he will not have to dig down to the very bottom of its tunnel, +for he has a very long slender tongue with a brush-like tip; and this +tip is very sticky. And with this, after he has enlarged the mouth of +the burrow, he will lick out the little grub which is lying hidden away +within it. + +Now let us make our way to the path by the side of the stream. + +What a number of galls there are on these oak-trees--some on the leaves, +some hanging down from the twigs in clusters, like currants, and some +growing on the twigs themselves! Do you know what causes them? + +Well, a very tiny fly pricks a hole in a leaf, or a young shoot, by +means of a kind of sharp sting at the end of her body, and in that hole +she places an egg, together with a very small drop of a peculiar liquid. +This liquid has an irritating effect on the leaf, or twig, and causes a +swelling to grow; and when this has reached its full size, and become +what we call a gall, a little grub hatches out of the egg, and begins to +feed upon it. Sometimes there are several grubs in one gall. If we were +to cut one of those large red and white "oak-apples" to pieces, probably +we should find as many as a dozen, each lying curled up in a hollow +which it had eaten out. + +If a naturalist had to choose some one place in which to carry on his +outdoor studies, he could find none better than the course of a small +rural river, and a year's work would not exhaust it. Just now, in +midsummer, he would be most interested in the nesting of the sunfish and +minnows. Let us steal quietly to the brink, where the turf forms a +little bank, a foot or so high, to which the bottom slopes up in clear +sand and gravel, with here and there a clump of bulrushes. Let us lie +down and scan this bottom through the clear water rippling gently by, +keeping very quiet, so as not to alarm any fishes which may swim near, +for they are the very fellows we wish to see. + +Here comes a little one--a common shiner--no, a golden one--stealing +cautiously toward an open space. A much smaller fish--not so big as your +little finger--shoots past him and stops as suddenly as if it had run +against a wall, then an instant later is off again so swiftly you can +hardly see it move. No wonder it is called Johnny Darter! Meanwhile the +shiner, a minnow in a scale-armor of burnished gold, moves slowly on. +Where is he aiming? Ah! look over there. Do you see that low ring of +sand, about as large as a dinner-plate, running about some clear gravel, +as though the plate were strewn with small pebbles? + +That is a nest of a sunfish; and look! did you see the swoop of that +gray shadow from the bulrushes? The shiner turned and fled like a bright +streak through the water; and now the gray shadow is poised over the +dish-like nest, and we see that it is the blue-eared sunfish, or +"punkin-seed," as you say the boys call it when they go a-fishing. + +See how with its breast-fins it fans the gravel among which its eggs are +lying. They are so small and transparent that we cannot see them, but +they are there, and must be kept clean. So the fish stirs the water and +the current sweeps away everything which may have lodged there while the +owner was away for a few minutes. But he never goes far, for he must +guard his treasures against enemies like the shiner and other fishes, +salamanders, water-bugs, and the like, which would eat them if they +dared. + +Butterflies innumerable greet us and dance along the roadside, as if to +see us safely home. Many are small and yellow, or white and yellow, with +handsomely bordered wings, and they are greatly interested in the +clover. Then we see plenty of little blues, very regular in outline, and +with them various coppers, distinguished by their orange and brown +colors, each with a coppery tinge and set off by black markings. The +hair-streaks are brown, too, with delicate stripes for ornaments on the +lower surface, which are shown neatly when the wings are closed upright +above the back. Did you know this was one of the distinctive marks of a +butterfly? A moth never holds its wings on high in that fashion. + +But it is the larger butterflies that first catch the eye, such as the +monarch and the viceroy, the fritillaries, fox-red and black, with +trimmings of silver; the red admiral, and other anglewings, beautiful in +outline as well as in colors; the delicately pretty meadow-browns, and +the magnificent swallowtails and mourning-cloaks. + +Don't you think it would be interesting and delightful to study these +exquisite creatures? + + +III + +AUTUMN + +It is a bright warm day in October; and once more, as we go for our +ramble, everything seems changed. The autumn flowers are blooming, the +autumn tints are in the leaves; and again there are different animals, +and different birds, and different insects almost everywhere around us. + +We hardly take ten steps before there is a sudden commotion in a clump +of tall grass by the path, and a red-backed mouse leaps almost over our +toes and dives down a little hole which otherwise we should not have +noticed. Doubtless he carried a mouthful of grass-seeds to add to his +granary under ground. All over the country mice and gophers and +squirrels are doing the same thing. There's a big gray squirrel, now, +scratching a hole in the ground as busily as a terrier who thinks he +smells a mole. Suddenly he stops, drops a hickory-nut into the little +grave, paws the dirt and leaves over it, pats them down, and canters +away. All day he is burying nuts so that when, next winter, the trees +are bare, he may dig them up and feed upon their meat. Sometimes he +doesn't need to, or forgets, and then a tree may spring up. Many a fine +hickory or chestnut was planted in this way by squirrels. + +[Illustration: CHICKADEE AND WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH.] + +What is that red squirrel doing under the chestnut-tree by the side of +the lane? He is hard at work collecting chestnuts, stuffing his big +cheeks with them and carrying them away to hide for use next winter. He +seems to realize that although he will sleep in his bed under the stone +fence almost the whole time from Thanksgiving to Easter, he will wake up +now and then, on warm days, and will feel dreadfully hungry. But then +there will be little to be found in the way of food. So he is now +gathering nuts and acorns and dry mushrooms, and hiding them away so as +to be prepared. Some he puts in a hole in the trunk of a tree, others in +crevices in the stone wall; others he takes into his hole underground, +where his cousin, the saucy chipmunk, stores all of _his_ savings. + +Notice how the pretty little animal uses his bushy tail as he scampers +along a branch. Do you see that he holds it stretched out behind him, +and keeps on turning it slightly first to one side and then to the +other? The fact is that it helps him to keep his balance. When a man +walks upon the tight rope he generally carries in his hands a long pole, +which is weighted at each end with lead. Then if he feels that he is +losing his balance, he can almost always recover it again by tilting up +his pole. The squirrel's tail serves _him_ as a sort of +balancing-pole, and by turning it a little bit to one side, or a little +bit to the other, he can run along the slenderest branches at full speed +without any danger of falling. + +Everywhere we go we hear the whirring of grasshoppers, the chirping of +black crickets, and the shrill declarations of the katydids. A blind man +who could not see the scarlet of the maples, the deep crimson and purple +of sumachs, the pepperidge and the blackberry thickets, or the golden +glow in the birches as the sunlight strikes through them, would know the +season of the year by the sounds. + +How do the insects make their noise--for one can hardly call it singing? +That will be a good subject for you to look up in your books. The air is +filled with the droning and humming of other insects; how are these +sounds produced? + +We notice the insect-noises more, perhaps, because other animals are so +quiet. It is rare to hear the croak of a frog, or the piping of a +tree-toad or the note of a bird. What has become of the birds? When we +see a few they are in flocks, and seem very intent on traveling +somewhere. The truth is they are gathering in companies and journeying +away to the south, where winter, with its cold and snow and hunger, +cannot follow them. Next spring they will come back again, to spend the +summer with us. + +Only those birds remain which can live upon seeds, or pick up rough fare +along the sea-shore. A band of small winged friends are flitting about +among the weeds ahead of us. Do you not know them? Look closely. Aren't +the canary-like form and black wings familiar? You would say they were +goldfinches if they were more yellow, wouldn't you? Now you see that +that is what they are, but in an olive dress. The fact is that all birds +molt their feathers twice a year. In spring the new feathers come out in +bright colors, and in autumn there worn gay coats are lost, and feathers +of duller hue take their place. Thus the brilliant yellow and black +goldfinch of summer becomes a quiet Quaker in winter. Such a change is +very advantageous to the birds--how, you may study out for yourselves. + +Butterflies are scarce, too, but these have died, not run away, as the +birds are doing. One sees a good many sluggish caterpillars, however; +and sharp eyes may begin to find cocoons hanging from the bushes, or +tucked into crevices of bark, or plastered against rocks and the boards +of old fences. If you were to keep account of all the different kinds +you could find, you would soon have a long list; and if you were to +learn how to keep them properly and care for the butterflies and moths +which will come out of them in the spring, you could start an admirable +cabinet. + +Here is a patch of milkweed. Examine each plant thoroughly because there +may be a gift for you hidden among the leaves. You have found "something +pretty," you say? What is it like? "Like a green thimble, with rows of +gold buttons on it." That is a pretty accurate description; only your +thimble is closed at the top, where it hangs by a short thread, and it +is heavy and alive, for it is the lovely chrysalis of the milkweed +butterfly. Next summer you must learn the appearance of that species, +which you can easily do, for it is one of our largest and commonest +ones. + +Where the milkweeds grow you are pretty sure to see also masses of +goldenrod, and towering high above them the great, flowering pillars of +joepye-weed. Such clumps are good hunting-places for autumnal insects. +There gather the soldier-beetles, brilliant in uniforms of yellow and +black. They are sometimes so numerous as to bend down the plants by +their weight, and are in constant motion, crawling about the blossoms, +or flying from spray to spray. Here, too, come locust-boring beetles, +black with a line of yellow V's on the back, whose eggs are laid in the +soft inner bark of locust-trees; and fat short-winged blister-beetles, +or oil-beetles, which leave such a bad odor on the hands when touched. +This is due to an acrid oil which oozes out of the joints of the +beetle's legs when it is handled and thinks itself in danger. It is a +protection, for it both smells and tastes so nasty that no bird will +ever attempt to eat an oil-beetle. And its body is so very big because +it lays such an enormous number of eggs. How many eggs do you think an +oil-beetle will lay? Why, something like thirty thousand! She lays them +in batches in little holes in the ground, and a few days afterward a +tiny little grub hatches out of each egg, and begins to hunt about for +some flower that bees are likely to visit. When it finds one, it climbs +up the stem, hides among the petals, and waits. Then as soon as a bee +settles upon the flower it springs upon her and clings to her hairy +body. The bee is very busy collecting nectar and pollen, and the grub is +very tiny; so she never seems to notice that the long-legged little +creature is clinging to her, and carries it back with her to her nest. +Then the grub lets go, and proceeds to eat all the "bee-bread" which the +bee had stored up so carefully for her own little ones. + +How is it that all the trees, bushes, and plants are covered with +threads of spider's silk, which often annoys us by getting on our hands +or faces? Let us help you to an answer. This is the time of year when +spiders are most numerous and most active; and many a spider trails +behind it a thread of gossamer wherever it goes, and leaves it there. On +many of the plants, bushes, trees, and fences you may see, if you look +closely, very small spiders resting. Those little spiders have been +taking a journey through the air--a sort of balloon trip. During the +summer a number of spiders, all living near one another, had big +families--a hundred or more in each. Perhaps you noticed in July and +August spiders dragging about large white bundles: they were packets of +eggs from which the young hatched. So many coming into the world +together made it difficult to find food. So, one by one, the little +spiders climbed low bushes or tall plants, and perched themselves on the +tips of the topmost leaves. Then each poured out from the end of its +body a slender thread of silk, which floated straight up in the warm air +rising from the heated ground. + +At last each little spider had seven or eight feet of thread rising up +into the air above it. Then suddenly it loosed its hold of the leaf, and +mounted into the air at the end of its own thread, higher, and higher, +and higher, till it had risen several hundreds of feet into the air. +Then it met a gentle breeze traveling slowly overhead, and traveled +along with it, mile after mile, still resting on its thread. And when it +wanted to come down, all that it had to do was to roll up the thread +till there was not quite enough left to support it, and so it came +floating gently down to the ground below. Then, having no more use for +the thread, it broke loose from it and left it lying like a fallen +telegraph wire across the tops of the bushes and fences and other +things, where our faces brush against it. + +What a pretty green fly this is sitting upon the fence, with delicate +gauzy wings looking like the most delicate lacework! + +Yes, that is a lacewing fly. Just notice what wonderful eyes it has. +They look like little globes of crimson fire, and it is quite difficult +to believe that a tiny lamp is not alight inside the head. This fly lays +its eggs in a most curious way. Settling on a twig, she pours out a drop +of a kind of thick gum from the end of her body. Then, jerking her body +suddenly upward, she draws out this gum into a slender thread, which +hardens as soon as it comes into contact with the air; and just as she +lets go she fastens an egg to the tip. She then lays another egg in the +same manner, and then another, and then another, and so she goes on till +she has laid quite a little cluster of eggs--perhaps ninety or a hundred +altogether. You would not think that they were eggs if you were to see +them. You would be almost sure to think that the little cluster was a +tuft of moss. Indeed, for a great many years even botanists thought that +these eggs were a kind of moss, and put pictures of them in books of +botany accordingly! + +Look at these odd little black and white spiders. How jerkily they run; +never moving more than an inch or so at a time, then stopping to rest, +and then generally darting off again in a different direction. They are +hunting-spiders, and are so called because they hunt for insects instead +of trying to catch them in a web. You may see one of these spiders +"stalking" a fly very much as a cat creeps up to a bird, and then +suddenly springing upon it and leaping into the air with its victim firm +in its grip. + +Slowly the days grow shorter, the rains come more frequently, flowers +wither, and the herbage shrivels. Insects die off, the birds one by one +disappear quietly, or gather in flocks to journey southward, and the +woods grow quiet and gray. + + +IV + +WINTER + +As we look out of the window on a landscape of snow, or of half-bare +earth, frozen roads, and leafless trees, the world seems lifeless. But +one who starts out for a walk, anxious to discover whether all nature is +really dead, will soon find that it is very much alive, though much of +it is buried in slumber. Let us test it. + +As we take the well-accustomed path we cannot but contrast the bareness +and silence with the activity and color and cheerful noise about us when +a few weeks ago we strolled this way. The thought saddens and +discourages us a little, when suddenly there comes to our ears + + "_Chick-chick-a-dee-dee!_ Saucy note, + Out of sound heart and merry throat, + As if it said: 'Good day, good sir! + Fine afternoon, old passenger! + Happy to meet you in these places + Where January brings few faces.'" + +There is the singer--half a dozen of them in fact--fluffy little gray, +black-capped birds not much bigger than a man's thumb, dodging busily +about the limbs of that old apple-tree, swinging with desperate clutch +at the tip of a twig, hanging head downward to get at a morsel on the +under side of the bough, and chattering all the time as though cold +weather were no hardship at all. + +What do they find to eat? Keep your eyes on one, and see if you cannot +guess. He is pecking here and there at the bark, and swallowing +something so minute we cannot recognize it. But do you not remember how, +last summer, we watched the procession of ants climbing this very tree +to get honey from a "herd" of aphids on the branches? Those bark-lice +are still there, each hidden under a sort of scale, like a winter +blanket; and it is these that the chickadees are pulling off and eating. +It takes a great many of them to make a meal, and the birds must keep +very busy. Perhaps that is one reason why they seem so happy. A busy +person is usually a cheerful one. + +When you meet a winter group of these merry tomtits it is well to wait +quietly for a little while, since you are pretty sure to find others +following them. There! do you hear that sharp tapping? Turn your head +and you will see a small woodpecker with its checkered black and white +coat, and a broad white stripe down the back, hewing away at the thick +bark of that oak. He is tremendously in earnest, and let us hope he +finds a good fat grub. + +Gliding down the next tree-trunk comes something which for an instant we +take for a mouse--it is so bluish and furtive; but it is a bird--a +nuthatch--which has a straight slender bill almost like a woodpecker's, +and which digs into the cracks and crannies for eggs and hiding grubs of +small insects, now and then smashing a thin-shelled acorn for the wormy +meal it contains, or tearing to pieces the fuzzy cocoon of a +tussock-moth. It has an odd habit of working almost always head +downward, and now and then lifts its head and squeaks out a sharp +_nee-nee-nee_, as though it said "Never-mind-me. 'Tain't cold!" + +Quite likely on the next tree a brown creeper--sedate brown little lady +of a bird--is gliding about the trunk, very daintily picking and +searching with her long slender and curving beak for similar hidden +food. She is a dear little creature. + +Even prettier are the kinglets that often form one of this little +company of winter workers. They are the smallest of all American birds +except the hummers, and are olive green with tiny crowns of gold and +rubies, as one might say. They have the activity and nimbleness of the +chickadees, and toward spring cheer us with a brilliant song. These +lovely pygmies are cousins of the wrens; and one may sometimes see +flitting about the brush a real wren, which in summer flies away to the +far north, letting us hear for a few days in March, before he leaves, +specimens of the exquisite song with which he will make the Canadian +woods ring when next June he meets his mate and builds his nest among +the great pines and spruces. + +Most of our birds, you know, flee southward, when cold weather +approaches, but some, like the crow, many birds of prey, as hawks and +owls, some game-birds, such as Bob White and the grouse, several of the +seed-eating sparrow tribe, and some others, such as the little fellows +we have been watching, stay with us, because they find plenty of food. +If we should go out every day of the winter we could make a long list of +these by the time All Fools' day came around. To it might be added a +goodly list of birds whose proper home is in Northern Canada, but which +in midwinter come south to a country which is less snowy if not less +cold. The snowbirds, with their satiny feet and ivory bills, dressed +like gentlemen in lead-colored coats and white vests, to which you toss +crumbs from the breakfast table every morning, are in this class. +Doubtless we shall see others as we turn down the wooded lane that leads +to the creek. + +Here among these bushes is a good place to look for cocoons of moths and +butterflies. One is pretty sure to see at once a few of those of the big +Promethea moth folded within a large leaf, the stem of which is lashed +by silk threads to its twig so that it will not fall or be blown away. +Very likely on the same bush will hang a similar big cocoon, but this +one fastened all along the under side of the twig, so that it is +hammock-shaped. Search about among the heaped-up leaves beneath the +bush, and you may find the cocoons of the great Polyphemus silkworm-moth +and of that exquisite pale-green luna-moth which flits like a ghost to +our lighted windows on summer nights. + +But these are the giants of their race. Hundreds of smaller cocoons and +chrysalids--papery, fuzzy, leathery, or naked and varnished to keep out +the damp, may be discovered in the crevices of the old fence, upon and +beneath the rough bark of trees, rolled up in leaves little and big, and +buried in the ground, where the moles hunt for them when the ground is +not frozen too hard, and the skunks dig them up. + +How about the moles and the skunks? Well, the moles are by no means as +active as in summer, though they move around somewhat under the frozen +layer of top-soil, in search of the earthworms which have been driven +deep down by the frost. As for the skunks, they, like the woodchucks, +the chipmunks, and the red squirrels, are deeply sleeping in underground +beds; but plenty of four-foots are wide awake. See how that gray +squirrel is making the snow fly as he paws his way down to the nut he +buried three months ago! Only the tip of the plume of his tail waves +above the drift. + +Do you see that double row of holes punched in the snow? Every country +boy knows them as the track of a rabbit, and would tell you how fast the +rabbit was going. But what embroidered on the glistening snow-sheet this +lovely chain that extends wavily from this tree to that stone wall? A +weasel. Little cares he for cold, in his white ermine coat; and many's +the careless sparrow, and snugly tucked-in mouse that falls to his quick +spring and sharp white teeth. The weasel's nearest cousin, the mink, is +working for his living, too, these winter days, haunting the warm +spring-holes in hope of catching eels or other fish. Perhaps we shall +see some signs of his work along the creek. + +And now we have come to the end of the last of our rambles. But don't +think that we have seen nearly all that there is to be seen. If we had +been able to spend a little more time in the fields, or the lane, or the +wood, or on the banks of the stream, we should have noticed a great many +more animals and birds and reptiles and insects, quite as curious and +quite as interesting as any of those which we have met with. And if we +had taken a dozen rambles together instead of only four, each time we +should have found fresh creatures to look at, and fresh marvels to +wonder at, and fresh beauties to admire. For wherever we go nature +always has something new to show us; and the world is full of wonderful +sights for every one who has eyes to see. + + + + +NATURE-STUDY AT THE SEASIDE + + +Introduction + +Many very curious and interesting creatures are to be found on the +seashore, and we dare say you would like to know something about them. +So let us take, in thought, four rambles along the shore together. First +we will go for a stroll on the sandy beach, which is left quite dry for +some little time when the tide goes down. Next, we will pay a visit to +the stretches of mud just above low-tide mark, left bare in the coves +for perhaps a couple of hours twice each day. For our third ramble we +will wander about among the rocks, and examine the creatures which are +crawling about on them, or burrowing into them, or hiding underneath the +great masses of seaweed with which they are covered. And then, lastly, +we will search in the pools which lie between the rocks, where we shall +probably find some of the most interesting animals of all. + +We will suppose that these walks are on our Atlantic coast, for we have +not time now to explore the shores of the Pacific and describe its +animals, many of which are very different from those of the Eastern +coast. + + +I + +ALONG THE SANDY BEACH + +As all the coast of the United States south of New York, and Cape Cod +and Long Island besides, are formed of soil and pebbles ground off the +tops and sides of the Appalachian ranges of mountains, the ocean beaches +and the bottom of the sea near shore are all of sand, constantly swept +by currents, and moved by storms. On such a plain of shifting sand not +many plants or animals can live save those which are able to swim or to +bury themselves; and not nearly so long a list can be made as among the +rocks which give root-hold and shelter, or where the bottom is muddy, as +we shall see later; yet a walk will enable us to find a good many things +about which you ought to know something. + +Here, for instance, are a lot of shells, the hard outer coats of the +soft boneless creatures we call mollusks, such as you know very well on +land as snails. When you have filled your little basket, if we asked you +to sort them into two kinds, you would be almost sure to put those which +consist of two pieces, attached together, into one pile, and those which +are in one solid piece, and more or less twisted like a snail, into the +other. This would mark a real division, for the first heap would have +the clam-like mollusks which we call bivalves, and the second would have +those coiled gastropod mollusks that we may call sea-snails. + +The bivalves scattered along the beach are all dead and mostly broken, +for they have been washed up from muddy places; but many of the +sea-snails may be found alive and belong here on the sand, and so we may +look first at them. + +Here is a big one to begin with which the southern fishermen call a +conch and the northern oystermen a winkle. It is shaped like a pear, and +pushing out of its shell a very tough muscular part of its body called +the foot, it plows along in the sand, or even burrows into it, small end +first, searching for food, which consists of animal matter, either dead +or alive. It finds this by its sense of smell, and when it comes to it, +thrusts out of its head, near the forward end of the foot, a long +ribbon-like tongue, covered with hundreds of minute flinty teeth, and +rasps away the flesh. Winkles are numerous everywhere and are of great +service in devouring dead fish, etc., which would pollute the water; but +they also eat a great quantity of oysters, as we shall see presently. +You will find two kinds, and should note how their shells differ. + +Very likely you will find among the long rows of dead eel-grass and +drift-stuff marking the reach of high tides a twisted string of most +curious objects, each about as big as a cent, feeling as if made +of yellow paper and strung together like a necklace on a stiff cord. +These are the eggs of a conch, or more truly, the egg-cases, for in each +cent-like capsule was placed an egg. You can prove it by opening some of +them. In the dry ones you will probably find only dead young shells, +hardly bigger than pin-heads, which have hatched from the eggs; but now +and then you may pick up a soft and elastic set, and in these, which are +alive, or have only lately been torn from the weeds in deep water and +thrown upon the beach, you will find much larger baby conchs, which by +and by would have found a way out and begun to travel about. + +We have already picked up several different sorts of slender, twisted +sea-snails of small size, and a few as big as a walnut and almost as +round, save for the circular opening out of which the animal pushes its +foot. His name is Natica, and he is one of the worst foes of the clam, +whose shell he bores. Here, half buried in the wet sand at the edge of +the gentle surf, is a living one, and we can see the grooved trail +behind him showing where he has traveled. We will pick him up, and see +how hastily he shrinks back into the armor of his shell, and shuts his +door with a plate growing upon the tip-end of his foot. All these +sea-snails have such a plate, sometimes thin and horny like this one, +sometimes thick and shell-like; and if you try to pry it away you will +have to tear it to pieces, for the frightened animal will not let go its +strong hold. He knows better than to open his door and let you pick him +out. Even if you did you would have to tear his body out piecemeal, for +he would by no means uncoil it from around the central post of his house +and let himself be dragged out whole. This door is a good protection, +then, against the claws of crabs and the nibbling teeth of fishes and +various small parasites which would like to get at him. It is called an +operculum. + +Just lift up some of that seaweed and stuff which the waves have piled +up. Why, the sand underneath it is simply alive with sandhoppers, +besides various jumping and crawling insects, sand-bugs, spiders, etc. +But the sandhoppers are most numerous--there must be a hundred, all +skipping about so actively that it is quite difficult to follow their +movements. They were feeding upon the seaweed, and their sharp +little jaws are so powerful that if you were to tie up a few sandhoppers +in your handkerchief and carry them home, you would be almost sure to +find that they had nibbled a number of little holes in it by the time +that you got there! But surely such little creatures as sandhoppers +cannot do very much good, even by eating decaying seaweed. Ah! but there +are so many of them! Wherever the shore is sandy they live in thousands, +and even in millions. If you walk along the edge of the sea, sometimes, +when the tide is rising, you will see them skipping about in such vast +numbers that the air looks as if it were filled with a kind of mist for +a foot or eighteen inches from the ground. And though many of the +shore-birds feed upon them, and some of the land-birds do so, too, and +the shore-crabs eat a very great many, yet their numbers never seem to +grow less. + +These sandhoppers are small cousins of the crabs with which we shall get +acquainted when we go to the mud-flat; and a search would find many +others, such as beach-fleas of various kinds. Here and there are strange +grooves, and--look! one of them is growing longer under our very eyes. +Dig away the sand just ahead of it, and see what you can find. There it +is--a small ivory-like creature, about twice as big as a pumpkin-seed. +It is a sand-bug, or hippa, and it burrows along just under the surface, +searching for minute particles of food among the grains and letting the +sand fall in behind it, for it does not mean to make a tunnel. + +One of the waste objects you tossed aside was a piece of wood which the +waves have flung up, and which no doubt once formed part of a wrecked +vessel. + +"And I don't wonder!" some one exclaims, "if all the timbers were as +rotten as that!" + +The bit of timber is certainly ruined--but what has happened to it? It +is full of long round burrows, each about big enough to admit a +lead-pencil, and so close together that the walls between them are very +little thicker than paper; and every burrow seems to be lined with a +kind of glaze. + +That is the work of a curious creature known the world over as the +ship-worm, which often does a great deal of mischief by burrowing into +the hulls of ships and the timbers supporting wharfs and harbor-side +buildings. It has a soft round body no bigger than a piece of stout +string, and often nearly a foot in length. But it is really a +shell-bearing mollusk, like the cockle and the clam. And if you were to +look closely at the fore end of its body you would see its bivalve +shells, although they are so very small that they might easily be +mistaken for jaws. + +When first this animal hatches from the egg it is not in the least like +its parents. It is just a little round-bodied creature covered almost +all over with hairs, by waving which up and down it manages to swim +about in the water. But it does not keep its shape very long, for if you +were to look at it about thirty-six hours later you would find that it +was oval instead of round. Twenty-four hours later still it would be +almost triangular, while next day it would be almost round again. And so +it would go on changing its form day after day, till at last it fastened +itself down by its fleshy foot to a piece of sunken timber and began to +burrow in it. And then at last it would take the form of its parents. +The birth and growth of most of the bivalves is similar to this; and it +must be remembered that these changing larval forms are hardly large +enough to see. + +Another timber-destroyer all along the New England coast is the gribble, +a crustacean related to the sandhoppers, which is not bigger than a +grain of wheat, and looks like a pill-bug. It devours wood wherever it +finds it under water, and will gradually honeycomb and weaken until they +fall to pieces the bases of piles, boat-stairs, and other timbers under +water which are not sheathed with copper or filled with creosote. +Therefore it is much hated. + +A sandy beach is not the place for crabs in general, but there is one +kind which we ought to find here. There is one now, but one might wager +something that you can't discover it in its hiding-place unless shown to +you. Do you see those two little round objects on short stems sticking +half an inch out of the sand by that old winkle-shell? Yes? Well, please +go and get one or both of them. What! is it alive? some sort of crab, +buried in the sand? All right--pick it up, but look out it doesn't nip +you! Those claws are powerful, for with them the crabs must seize and +firmly hold struggling, slippery fish and other animals, until it can +subdue and eat them. Notice how the hind legs are flattened into strong +paddles to enable it to swim swiftly upon its prey. In spite of these +fierce qualities we call this one a lady-crab, because of its richly +ornamented costume--greenish yellow profusely marked with purple rings. +It spends most of its time crawling or swimming in the sea where the +bottom is sandy and the water shallow, but now and then comes ashore and +buries itself in the dry sand, all but its stalked eyes, as we found +this one. + +A smaller, lighter-colored, and more square-bodied cousin of this +crustacean, called the ghost-crab, is very common on southern beaches, +where it digs slanting burrows deeply into the sand. Prof. A. G. Mayer +tells us that it is a scavenger, feeding on dead animals, and also +catching and eating beach-fleas. It is at night that they are most +active. "As they flit rapidly about in the moonlight their popular name +of ghost-crab seems remarkably appropriate. As one approaches they dash +off with great rapidity, and will often rush into the water, although +the gray snappers are swimming close along the shore in order to devour +them." + +What have you found now? It appears to be a horseshoe-shaped skillet, or +frying-pan, made of brown parchment, with a long spike loosely hinged to +one side for a handle, and a big crab lying on its back in the pan. No +wonder you are surprised. The first white men who came to this country +were equally so, for nothing of the sort is to be seen in any other part +of the world, except in the Malayan islands. If we search we are likely +to find one alive and creeping about, and then we shall see that the +skillet is a broad shield covering the back of an animal, and that what +we thought was the crab inside it, is its body and legs. When you come +to study natural history more deeply you will learn many very +interesting things about this strange inhabitant of our beaches, which +is known as a horseshoe-crab, or king-crab, and also as limulus. It is +the sole remnant of a great tribe of sea-animals called trilobites, +which became extinct ages ago. + +One more curiosity must be mentioned before we quit this first short +walk upon the open beach--what the fishermen call the mermaid's-purse, +of which, see, you have found several. + +It is an egg, but you never would have suspected it, would you? Examine +it. It is about two inches long, and made of a hard, black, leathery +substance, and at each of the four corners there is a little projection +about an inch in length. It is the empty egg of a skate--a fish of the +shark tribe with a broad, flat body and a long whip-like tail--from +which one of these curious fishes has just escaped. How do you think it +got out of the egg when the time came for it to be hatched? Just look at +this empty case, and you will see. At one end there is a slit running +across it almost from one side to the other, made in such a manner that +the little fish could easily push its way out, while none of its enemies +could push their way in. So the baby skate lay in its cradle in safety +till the time came for it to pass out into the sea. + +But here is an egg made in just the same way, with one little +difference. Instead of having a short straight projection at each +corner, it has a long, coiled, twisted one, much like the tendril of a +grapevine. That is the egg of one of the small sharks called dogfish, +which are so called because they swim about in parties or packs of fifty +or sixty together, driving herring and other fishes before them, as dogs +drive deer. The skin of a dogfish is as rough as a piece of sandpaper. + +When the eggs of this fish are first laid, the twisted projections at +the ends coil themselves round the stems of weeds growing at the bottom +of the sea, and hold them so firmly that they cannot be washed away; and +at each end there is a small hole, so that a current of water may always +flow through this egg-case and over the little fish inside--something of +just as much importance to it as is a supply of air to a land-baby. + + +II + +SEARCHING THE SHORE AT LOW TIDE + +The shore of the eastern United States, at least south of New York, is +formed of a line of long narrow islets whose outer beaches, and the +sea-floor for miles out, are pure sand. They support very little life, +as has been said. Behind them, however, are shallow bays and sounds, in +which the water, though salt, is usually warm and still; mud gathers +upon the sand, and eel-grass and other water-weeds grow in abundance. +Here is excellent ground for naturalists, old or young, and in a single +walk you can discover enough to surprise you greatly. We must go when +the tide is low, and it will be a good idea to take our rubber boots, so +that we may not be afraid of the wet mud. We will also take a small +spade or strong trowel, and some boxes and bottles. + +What a lot of clam-shells are lying about the shore! There are two +kinds, the soft clam and the hard clam; but none of them are alive. + +How is this? We have already learned, you will remember, that the clams +are bivalves; that is, the shell is in two pieces, hinged together by an +elastic ligament over the back, and covering each side of the animal. +The soft body is attached to each shell by a strong muscle, by which the +creature can pull the shells tight together, and so cover itself +completely. When it wishes, however, it lets the shells spring open +somewhat, so that it may put out from between their lower edges its +muscular "foot," and perhaps move about, while out of the front end it +stretches a double-barreled tube, called its siphon. Down one of the +tubes is sucked a stream of water which not only bathes the animal's +gills, or breathing organs, but carries minute floating particles of +food into its stomach, after which the waste water is forced out of the +other tube. + +Now you will understand what we shall see, and are ready for the answer +to our question. You never find live clams crawling about the sand, +because they live buried in the mud. + +Now let us put on our boots and look about on the surface of the wet +mud. Do you see ahead of us those little jets of water come spouting up +into the air as if squirted out of tiny syringes? Every one of these +little jets is thrown up by a soft clam, which lies perhaps several +inches deep in the mud, with its siphon stretched up to the surface and +held full of water, waiting for the tide to come in and refresh it. When +it feels the jarring of our footsteps it squirts the water out; and +you must dig deep and fast if you want to catch it. This is what those +men are doing out there on the flat--digging out clams with long spades, +and filling their baskets for market. Thousands of little ones lie in +the mud, not yet big enough to eat. + +The soft clam is a shapeless sort of mollusk, with a thin chalky shell, +not at all pretty; but the hard clam, or quahog, is thick-shelled and +regular in outline; and in an end-on view takes the shape of an ace of +hearts, like the Venus-shell, or the cockle, which is so commonly eaten +in Europe. This species likes much deeper water than the soft clam, and +is gathered mostly from boats, by a kind of rake; but we shall no doubt +find a few up here. Do you see that scratch in the mud? It looks like a +trail, and there at the end is the traveler himself, standing upright in +the mud like a half-buried wedge. + +This shows another difference between the two clams; for while the soft +clams and their relatives, such as the pretty razor-fish, and the "old +maid" of English bays, never leave the burrow where they begin life, the +quahogs slowly wander about all the time. As for the scallops, they +fairly skip and jump. + +What are scallops? Well, we shall hardly see much of them, for they live +in deep water; but their half-shells are to be seen cast up everywhere, +for they also are bivalves. Our common ones are usually about the size +of a silver dollar, and fan-shaped, the thin shell ribbed like the +sticks of a fan, and the margin crinkled, and they are variously +colored, but mostly in tints of reddish and yellow. + +Several small bivalves and sea-snails may be added to our collection +from this uncovered bay-bottom, and here and there spaces are fairly +sprinkled with little blackish fellows about the size of hazelnuts. When +we have gathered a handful we shall find we can sort out three or four +kinds. + +A very curious denizen of the tide-flats of our Southern States is the +pinna, a large bivalve with thin horny shells shaped like a slightly +opened fan, which lies deeply buried, point down. The edges of its shell +come just at the surface, and are exceedingly sharp, so that barefooted +persons have to be very careful how they step where pinnas are common, +as on the Gulf coast of Florida, and it is no wonder the people there +call them razor-fish. Lying there in the mud, with its shells parted, +and a current of water always sucking down what we may call its throat, +it forms a regular trap for little fishes and other small creatures. The +instant one swims between the shells, they close and the unfortunate +curiosity-seeker finds himself in a prison from which there is no escape. + +When a young pinna settles down in its place it at once anchors itself +to some rock or fixed thing below it by throwing out from near its +lower, narrow end a bunch of very strong threads, which hold it down so +firmly that it takes a very hard pull to tear them away. This +anchor-cable is called a byssus. + +A short distance from us a narrow stream wriggles through the salt +marsh, and we can get into a rough little boat and paddle down toward +that old wharf whose weedy piles are covered with interesting things, +which we may examine now that the ebbing tide has left them uncovered +for a few hours. The peaty banks, with their growth of harsh salt-grass +and algæ, will keep our eyes busy as we float along the black and +winding creek. + +Now we shall get acquainted with some of the crabs. Look sharply down +into the water and you will see the large "blue" crabs which we buy in +the market, and eat, swimming near the bottom or crawling over the mud +near the banks. There is one, now. He doesn't look very blue, nor very +appetizing, does he? His back is brown and muddy, to be sure; but his +big claws and lower plates have much more blue upon them than has any of +the other large crabs, and so he gets the distinguishing name. + +But, you say, you have heard of "hard-shell" and "soft-shell" crabs, and +want to know the difference? It is simply a difference of condition. If +you will turn to page 397, you will find described that extraordinary +process by which crabs grow, by throwing off their stiff old skins and +expanding to fill the elastic new one which has formed underneath. +Before this change, the creature is a "hard-shell" in fishermen's +language, and just afterward, when he is large and tender, he is +naturally a "soft-shell"; and then is the time to eat him. + +Notice how the black masses of peat along the banks are honeycombed with +holes, as if somebody had been pushing down the point of his umbrella. +They are the homes of little fiddler-crabs, which scuttle into them by +the hundred as we approach, and then creep up to peer out after we have +passed by, and make sure it is safe to go abroad again. In other holes +live two other sorts of burrowing crabs. One is the little mud-crab +(_Panopæus_), which is a peaceful cousin of the fiddler; and the +other is the sand-crab (_Ocypoda_) whose peculiarity it is to be +perfectly sand-colored, so that it is almost impossible to see him until +he moves; consequently he is commonly found only in the sandy places. + +As we float nearer to the mouth of our winding creek, we begin to notice +bunches of mussel-shells, clinging closer to each other than grapes in a +bunch; and when we try to pick one up we find it quite immovable. In +fact, they are anchored to the roots of the grasses, and to each other, +by a bunch of byssus threads from each mussel, like those of the pinna; +and these threads are so strong that they can hold the mussels firm +against the beating of the waves, so that a shore which is thickly +covered with mussels is safe from wearing away. You may see an example +of this in the tideway at the mouth of this very creek, and masses of +mussels strengthen the supports of that wharf we are approaching. If you +were to go near the town of Bideford, England, you would see a bridge of +twenty-four arches, which runs across the Torridge River close to the +place where it joins the Taw. Now that bridge is held together by +clusters of mussels! The force of the stream is so great, that if mortar +is used to repair the bridge it is very soon washed away. So from time +to time large boat-loads of mussels are taken to the spot and shot into +the water, and they fasten themselves so firmly to the bridge by means +of their byssus threads, that they actually hold together the stones of +which it is built! + +These binding mussels are mostly of the smooth, dark-blue sort which are +found on both sides of the Atlantic, and in Europe are gathered and +eaten. When our people become a little wiser and more economical, we +also will take advantage of this great stock of excellent food right at +our doors. + +But in the bunches which are scratching the side of the boat as we glide +along close to the bank are some which are much larger, though smooth, +like the edible mussels. They are an American species. Then here and +there in peat you may see a sort whose shell is rough, with ridges +spreading out toward the large end, and these you may call +horse-mussels. + +Now we have got down to the boat-landing toward which we have been +lazily drifting, and we will twist the chain around one of the piles +that support it, and stop long enough to take a look at one of them. +Most of the time each pile is under water, and therefore is overgrown +with a thick "fur" of plants and animals. + +You will see that most of this fur consists of seaweeds, but their +leaves are often the resting-place of several sorts of lowly animals. +Indeed, you must look sharp to make sure whether some of the feathery +tufts that droop from a dank old post, or spray out so beautifully in +the ripples at its foot, are plants or animals. We will not talk about +that just now, but wait till we take our excursion to the rocky shore, +where we shall find barnacles and corallines and sea-mats and polyps +bigger and better than here. + +But do you see between those green fronds that roundish yellow object +about as big as a filbert? Touch it gently. Did you see tiny jets of +water squirt out of two little nozzles on its surface? That gives it the +name of sea-squirt. Into one of the nozzles, when the tide comes over +it, is constantly sucked a current of sea-water which passes into a +stomach-like cavity, where the minute particles of food in the water are +caught and digested; then the water passes on through another cavity +where the blood receives its oxygen, as in our lungs or a crab's or +fish's gills, and then rushes out. So this little object is a real +animal, with heart, blood, stomach, and something in the way of +nerves--enough, at any rate, to feel your touch, shrink, and squirt out +all the water in its bag-like body. + +There are a good many kinds and forms of these ascidians, as naturalists +call them, some larger, some waving about on the summit of stalks like +lily-buds, and some clustered into colonies grown together, which form +bands around the stems of plants, or make masses called "sea-pork" by +the fishermen, or float in chains, by millions, on the surface of the +open sea. + +Here, too, are small red and yellow sponges; some coarse little +sea-anemones, etc.; and wandering over the whole, feeding upon one or +another of these, and cleaning the polyps and polyzoans off the algæ, +are a sort of marine daddy-long-legs, called no-body crabs, because they +seem all legs and look crab-like. + +It isn't very sweet-smelling under this damp old wharf, where the rising +tide is beginning to bathe the piles, and one after another plants and +animals are expanding as they feel the refreshment of the water around +them; and we will move away as soon as we have dug a few things out of +the mud, soon be hidden by the tide. + +Let us run the bow of our boat up on that soft black slope, and see what +we can find by leaning over the side. Just look at this hairy object, +for instance, which has been left by the retreating waves. It seems like +a big brown slug covered with bristles and is not very pleasant to +handle; but you needn't be afraid of it, and you mustn't be squeamish. +Just dip up some water in that pail, and rinse it till you have washed +every scrap of mud from its bristly coat, and then look at it in the +sunlight. Do you think it is dull and dingy now? Did you ever see a more +beautiful creature? This animal is called the sea-mouse, although really +it is a kind of sea-worm and if you will turn back to page 429 you will +find it described. The reason why its coat is always so dirty is that +the bristly hairs which cover it act as a sort of filter, and strain out +the mud from the water which is passing to the gills. But these hairs +have another use as well. Each one is really a sort of slender spear, +with a barbed tip, the edges being set with a number of sharp little +points, all directed backward, forming a capital protection from such +creatures as the fishes, a great many of which would be glad to feed +upon sea-mice if it were not for their coating of spines. + +Do you see those twisted little coils of muddy sand scattered about on +the mud? Those are the casts of lugworms, which are made in the same way +as the casts of earthworms seen in our garden-paths on damp mornings; +in fact, these lugs are just marine earthworms (see page 427), and like +them eat their way down into the mud, swallowing mouthful after mouthful +for the sake of nourishing particles in it, and then voiding the useless +remainder. + +Perhaps you wonder how it is that the burrows of the lugworms remain +open. Why doesn't the mud close in behind the animal? The fact is that +the worm is always pouring out from its skin a sticky slime which +quickly becomes quite hard and firm. And this binds the sandy mud +together as the worm forces its way down, and forms a kind of lining to +its burrow, just like the brickwork with which we line our railway +tunnels. + +You would scarcely suspect what interesting and often beautiful worms +lie buried in the mud or muddy sand of sea-beaches and salt marshes. +They occur elsewhere, too, as upon weedy rocks, while a great many kinds +dwell upon or within the bodies or coverings of other animals, from +whales to periwinkles and crabs. + +Most of the beach-worms belong to the highest class of the tribe, called +annelids because their bodies are made up of ring-like segments (a +little ring in Latin is _annellus_), as you can easily see by +examining one of the angleworms you dig in the garden for fish-bait. The +red lugworm, or "red thread," as it is often called, is another plain +example of this structure. + +Digging down by low-water mark we are likely to unearth one or more of +the ribbon-worms which, when they are large, seem rather terrible. Their +bodies are flat, so that when they swim they move through the water like +a floating ribbon, and they have been found five or ten feet long and as +wide as your palm. Such big ones are rare, however, and we are more +likely to have to deal with one two or three feet long and less than an +inch broad. They are active creatures, burrowing into and through the +mud in search of other worms upon which they feed, and which they seize +by thrusting out a sticky proboscis. There is also a smaller one, pink +in color, while the bigger species is yellowish. + +Though we may not dig up a ribbon, we are pretty sure to turn out a +nereis, or clam-worm, as the fishermen call it--a reddish creature a +foot or two long, looking like a centipede, for there is a pair of +minute feet on each ring, and every foot is feathered with a gill. This +also is a ravenous enemy of all other worms or animals it can overcome; +and young clams, limpets, starfish, and other protected creatures must +be thankful for their armor when it comes crawling near them. Its rich +green and salmon coat has no charm in their eyes, you may be sure. But +the nereis itself must have its fears, for it is not only hunted by +ribbon-worms, by a big active annelid called "four-jawed," and by +winkles and dog-whelks, but is well liked by various fishes; and, last +misfortune of all, it is constantly sought by fishermen for bait. In +spite of all this, clam-worms of all kinds remain immensely numerous all +along the coast. On calm summer nights they leave their burrows, swim up +to the surface at high tide, and cast out vast numbers of eggs, from +which presently hatch little pear-shaped larvæ, which swim about a short +time, when the few that have survived settle down, change to the +worm-like form, and burrow into the mud. + +When we come to explore the rocky places, and peer into the still pools +left by the ebb-tide among the reefs and boulders, we shall make the +acquaintance of some other worms that display themselves in such places +as in a natural aquarium. + + +III + +ON THE ROCKY LEDGES + +There are practically no rocks on our Southeastern coast, so that we +must imagine ourselves now somewhere in New England--let us say on the +southern shore of Rhode Island. All along the north side of Long Island +Sound, about Buzzards and Narragansett bays, and then from Boston Harbor +right up to Labrador, the shore is rock, with many headlands, reefs, and +islets, separated by shallow coves or by swift tidal runways. This is +good hunting-ground for the seaside naturalist, and one visit to the +space left uncovered at low tide will be no more than a glance at what +might easily keep us busy and interested a whole summer through. + +As the water ebbs away, the tops of the ledges and boulders emerge like +the hairy heads of some sea-monsters, for they are mostly overgrown with +long tresses of olive-brown rockweed and green ribbons of sea-cabbage, +(_Ulva_), which trail, wet and shining, down their sides. Step +carefully, for it is all extremely slippery. Do you hear that continual +popping under your feet? That means that you are crushing the little +bladder-like swellings strung like big beads on the stems of the +rockweed. They are filled with air, and keep the long and heavy stems +and leaves of the weed afloat, as you may see if you look down where it +is swishing back and forth in the lapping waves. These plants must be +exceedingly strong to resist the pulling and pounding of the surf in a +storm; and their power to keep afloat by means of these gas-filled +"bladders" is of assistance, not only in enabling them to hold together, +but to form a breakwater which protects the rocks and ledges they cover +from being beaten to pieces by the surf. + +Underneath and upon these masses of seaweed hide a great quantity and +variety of small plant and animal life, some of which we shall be able +to find and study, though a large part of it requires more thorough work +than we have time for, and the aid of a microscope. + +But first let us look at some of the bare places, where there is no +seaweed. Here is a black rock with white patches of rough little things +growing upon it by the hundred. They are not mollusks, however, but +rock-barnacles (see page 407), which English boys call acorn-shells. +They are small and distant cousins of the crabs. + +The story of these barnacles is a very curious one. When first they +hatch from the eggs which older barnacles have cast out into the sea, +they are not in the least like their parents, but are queer little +round-bodied creatures, smaller than pin-heads, with six feathery legs +by which they paddle about, one round black eye, and two feelers. Every +two or three days they throw off their skins, as caterpillars do, and +appear in the new ones which have formed underneath; and every time they +do this they change their shape, so that sometimes they are round, and +sometimes oblong, and sometimes almost triangular! + +At last they reach their full size. Then they cling with their feelers +to the first rock, log, or other hard thing they come to, and pour out a +drop or two of a very strong cement, which hardens around them and +fastens them firmly down. After this they never move again; but a day or +two later they change their skins once more, and appear as perfect +acorn-shells. + +Now look at one of them carefully through this magnifying-glass. Do you +see that there is a little hole in the top of the shell, which is made +of several pieces? That is the hole through which the animal inside +fishes for food. If you were to watch it when the rocks are thinly +covered with water, you would see that it kept poking out a net-like +scoop, and then drawing it in again. This net really consists of the +hairy legs; and as they wave to and fro in the water they collect the +tiny scraps of decaying matter on which the little creature feeds. They +also bear the gills by which the barnacle refreshes its blood. + +You must be very careful not to knock your hand against these shells +when you are hunting about among the rocks, for their edges are so sharp +that they cut almost like knives. + +"Another sort of barnacle," you say you have found? No: there _are_ +other sorts--the strange goose-barnacle, for instance, which attaches +itself to the bottoms of ships--but what you have found is one of the +limpets, and that is not a crustacean, but a gastropod mollusk. It is +shaped like a tiny rough mountain, or rather like a volcano, for you see +there is a hole in its summit; and we call it the keyhole limpet on +account of the shape of that hole. Pick it up. Oh! you can't, eh? Of +course not. Pull and push as hard as you like, you won't be able to move +it, nor can the heaviest waves wash it off. + +Would you like to know why? + +Well, the reason is that a limpet clings to a rock by turning the whole +lower surface of its body into one big sucker; it presses it tightly +against the rock and then lifts the middle part. The consequence is that +a chamber is formed in which there is nothing at all--no water, not even +air; and, as happens when you lift a brick with a small leather sucker, +the weight of the atmosphere presses down upon it so strongly +that no force you can bring to bear will pull it off. + +However, a limpet is not gripping the rock all the time with such vigor; +he would literally be tired to death, and starved to death, too, if he +didn't ease up most of the time. It is only when he is alarmed by a +touch that he clamps down. If you want to get him free, just wait till +he loosens up, then hit him a sudden sharp blow on one side with a stick +or stone, and knock him off. Then you will be able to examine the soft +body and see how he is built. + +Limpets are vegetable-feeders, and when the water is still, or absent, +they creep slowly about the rock, nibbling the tiny vegetation on its +surface. Another interesting fact in limpet-life is told on page 421. + +Another kind of limpet is very common on those rocky shores, which is +shaped somewhat like a loose round-toed slipper or a French +_sabot_. This is the slipper-limpet, or half-deck, as fishermen +call it. + +On the lower rocks near the water, and hidden in among the wet seaweeds, +lie many small spiral gastropods which we call periwinkles. Two of the +commonest kinds are littorinas, marked with fine lines and colors in +various ways. Another, reddish with chestnut bands, is named +_Lacuna_; and you may pick up several kinds of small blackish ones, +such as _Bittium_, or of light-colored ones, as _Rissoa_, +which is prettily mottled; while numerous in some places is the +purple-shell or _Purpura_, which is interesting because it belongs +to the European shores as well as to ours, and because from it the +ancients gathered some of their purple dye, although another mollusk +(the murex) furnished most of it. But in old times the coast people, +both of old England and New England, obtained from this little mollusk +an indelible violet ink with which to mark their clothes. + +Would you like to see a little of this dye? + +Very well, you can easily do so. Look! Hold the purpura over this sheet +of white paper, and give the animal a little poke with the head of a +pin. There! It has squirted out a drop of liquid upon the paper. It does +not look much like purple dye, does it? It looks very much more like +curdled milk. But lay it in the sunshine and notice what +happens. Do you see? It is turning yellow. Now a blue tinge is creeping, +as it were, into the yellow, and turning it to green. The blue gets +stronger and stronger, till the green disappears. And at last a crimson +tinge creeps into the blue, and turns it to purple. + +Another curious thing about the purpura is the way in which it lays its +eggs. It fastens them down to the surface of the rock by little stalks, +so that they look like tiny egg-cups with eggs inside them; therefore +when these eggs hatch, several little purpura come out of each cup. + +All the small periwinkles feed upon the algæ, but with the purpura, +which seems to live mainly on young barnacles, we come to a lot of +flesh-eaters--small mollusks of prey, as we might say. + +There are several spiral sorts, mostly from one to two inches long, +whitish and heavily ribbed, which are sometimes called dog-whelks; but +the worst one, which lives by thousands on the beds of planted oysters +scattered all along the shore of Long Island Sound, is known to the +oystermen as the drill, or borer. It is particularly fond of the flesh +of oysters, and cares nothing for their shells, as it carries in its +mouth a drilling instrument (see page 419) by which it can bore a round +hole through the poor oyster's armor. In this way it destroys many +thousands of dollars' worth of valuable oysters every year. + +It was pretty certain we should find a starfish down near low-water +mark, and here is a fine one. + +Starfishes are among the oddest of sea-animals; for one reason, because +they have so many legs. Perhaps you did not know they had any legs at +all; certainly you can see none when you pick up a dead specimen on the +beach. The fact is that a starfish keeps its legs inside its body, where +there are a lot of organs protected by its hard, limy hide; and when it +wants to use them it pokes them out through little holes on its under or +grooved side, and fills them with water. + +You would like to see its legs, no doubt. Very well; you shall. This +starfish is still alive: we can easily see that, for when we pick it up +its rays stand stiffly out; but if it were dead they would be quite soft +and flabby, and would hang down. So we will put it into a shallow pool +of clear sea-water, and see what happens. There! did you notice that it +moved one of its rays? See, the one in front is being slowly pushed +forward. Now the rays behind are being drawn up; and now that they have +taken a fresh hold the front one is being pushed forward again. The +starfish is really walking! What will it do when it comes to a stone? +Why, walk over it! What will it do when it comes to rock? Why, climb up +it! Now take the starfish out of the water. Turn it over on its back. +There! do you see? On the lower surface of every ray are hundreds of +little fleshy objects waving about in the air. Those are its "feet," or +at least its means of walking; and each has a sort of cup at the end +which acts as a sucker. By means of these the starfish can cling tightly +to the surface of a stone. So by using first the little sucker-legs on +one or two of its rays, and then those on the others, the starfish is +able to crawl about quite easily. + +The starfishes live upon animal food--mainly other mollusks, which they +kill in a very curious manner. When, in crawling about, they come upon a +whelk or clam or oyster, they creep over it and clasp it in their five +arms in a murderous embrace from which there is no escape. Even if the +creature can move off, its captor clings to it with its hundreds of tiny +suckers, and rides along with it like that Old Man of the Sea in +Sindbad's story. + +Now if you look again at our specimen you will see on its under side, a +small pit in the center of its body, closed by five points. This is the +mouth, and the points are sharp. As soon as the starfish has a grip upon +its victim the mouth opens and there is gradually pushed out a strong +membrane which is the creature's great loose stomach. This envelops the +animal, shell and all, or as much of it as possible, and soon begins +actually to digest the flesh. When the meal is finished the starfish +draws back its stomach and leaves only the empty shell of its prey. + +These voracious starfish are a worse enemy to the cultivated oysters +than are the drills; and, having an abundance of food on the thickly +planted beds, they become extremely numerous, so that it costs the +owners of the beds much money each year to gather them off the beds by +means of a sort of great rake called the tangles. Otherwise the oysters +would soon be wholly destroyed. The men used simply to tear to pieces +what they caught and throw them overboard again; but they soon learned +that this was worse than useless, because each half, or even a single +arm, would not only go on living but would reproduce all the missing +parts; so that in trying to kill one starfish they had brought to life +two or perhaps even five, which was very discouraging. Nowadays, +therefore, all captured starfishes are brought ashore and left there, +and often are made use of by being ground up with oyster-shells, +fish-bones, etc., into an excellent fertilizer. + +What is that greenish-gray object covered all over with spikes? It is +clinging in a little hollow of the rock, half hidden in seaweed of the +same color. + +Ah! that is a sea-urchin, and although it looks so very unlike them it +is really a kind of first cousin to the starfishes. Here is a dead one +from which the spines have been knocked off. Just look at it carefully, +and you will see that it is very much like a starfish rolled up into a +ball. See, you can trace the five rays quite easily, and if you look at +it through a strong magnifying-glass you will find that its surface is +pierced in hundreds of places with tiny holes through which it can poke +out little sucker-feet, just as the starfishes do. + +Look again at the shell from which the spines have been knocked away. Do +you see that it is covered all over with little pimples? Now on every +one of these pimples a spine was fastened by a kind of ball-and-socket +joint, the pimple being the ball, and the socket lying inside the base +of the spine; and by means of special muscles the animal could move the +spines about, just as though it were a kind of hedgehog. In fact, this +is the reason why it is called sea-urchin, for urchin is an old name for +hedgehog. So, when a sea-urchin crawls about, it does so partly with its +sucker-feet, and partly with its spines as well. + +Sometimes, however, these creatures use their sucker-feet for quite a +different purpose. They poke them out as far as they can from among +their spines, and then take hold of little stones, small pieces of +broken shell, and other bits of rubbish which they find at the bottom +of the sea, and cling to them very tightly. The consequence is that you +cannot see the animal at all, for it is quite concealed by this curious +covering, and unless you were to take it out of the water, you would +never have the least idea what it really was. + +Now look at the mouth of this spiky sea-urchin. You will find it in the +very middle of the lower part of the body. Do you see what great teeth +it has? There are five of them arranged in a circle as in the mouth of a +starfish, and they are made in just the same way as the front teeth of a +rat or a rabbit, that is, they never stop growing all through the life +of the animal, so that as fast as they are worn away from above they are +pushed up from below, and thus always keep just the proper length and +sharpness. + +Sea-urchins are rather few and small along the shores of southern New +England, but more numerous northward, and on rocky bottoms offshore. On +the offshore bottom there lives also a queer sort whose shells are often +cast up and are well known to the children as sand-dollars. + +These are about the size and shape of one of mother's cookies, and are +covered with a stiff brown fur of short spines. On one side--the under +one--is the little mouth, and around it the faint outlines of five +radiating arms, each sketched, as it were, by a double row of +"pin-pricks" where the almost invisible feet are pushed out. These +sand-dollars are creeping about at the bottom in myriads where the water +is a few fathoms deep; and storms cast up thousands upon the beaches or +into the tide-pools, where very likely we may find some in the course of +our next visit to the ocean-side. + + +IV + +BETWEEN TIDE-MARKS + +We must start early on our walk today, as soon as the tide falls away +from the piece of rocky shore we have in mind, so that we may have +plenty of time; for the field which we have left until the last is +the richest the seaside naturalist has to explore. + +As the sea sinks away it uncovers not only the weedy ledges which we +studied the other day, but also spaces between them of low rocks and +loose stones half sunk in mud and sand. There is much to interest the +botanist, too, but he will have to look out for himself. We have more +than enough to do to look after the animals. + +Many dead shells are lying about, showing the various species of +shell-fish which inhabit this shore or the waters of the offing. Some of +them we already know, and others we can never expect to get alive except +by dredging. Such are the scallops, which rarely come up as far as +low-water mark, in spite of their wandering habits; and the jingleshells +or goldshells, although these, like the young oysters to which they are +closely related, may usually be found clinging to stones, where they +seem swollen scales or "blisters" of thin amber, or gold-colored horn. +There is one--let us examine it. We can't pick it off, or even pry it +off; but when we slip a knife-blade slowly beneath it, it comes loose, +and we discover that this queer creature is a bivalve mollusk looking +(and tasting) like an oyster, and with a small flat shell underneath the +bulging top one. In this undershell is a large hole, through which +passes a stout stony stalk which anchors this creature as firmly as an +oyster is fixed by the cementing of its undershell to whatever it has +attached itself when young. + +The jingleshells are extremely numerous all along the coast south of +Cape Cod, wherever the water is no more than about seventy feet deep, +especially in Long Island Sound; and the oystermen gather them from the +beaches and from their dredgings, and scatter their shells over the +floor of the sound as "seats" for young oysters. They are especially +useful for this purpose because they are so slight and brittle that +when, as often happens, two or three minute oyster-larvæ settle down on +one of these shells, they will, as they grow, break it apart by the +strain, and then each oyster, relieved from the crowding of its mates, +will form a round, nicely shaped shell instead of a narrow or misshapen +one, and consequently be more valuable when it comes to be dredged up, +after a couple of years or so, and offered for sale. + +This rough space between tide-marks is a fine place for crabs. We have +seen some of these creatures already, elsewhere; and our book (see +Chapter XXXV) has already instructed us as to the general +characteristics of crustaceans. Here, scrambling about the ledges just +under water, are big rock and Jonah crabs, but not so many of them as +you might see in Maine. Both are eaten when "soft-shells," but are not +so good as the blue crab. Here, too, are lively and pugnacious fiddlers +and some green or stone crabs, wonderfully active little creatures, +which in England are sent to market, but on this side of the ocean are +used only for bait. + +Still more comical and interesting is one of the spider-crabs, which may +be called thornback. It has a little body, but very long legs, so that a +big male thornback might cover eighteen inches in the stretch of its +legs. + +Do you see how long his great claws are, and how his back is covered all +over with tiny hooked spines? It is quite easy to understand why the +name of thornback was given to him. But how is it that all those tufts +of seaweed are growing on the upper part of the shell? + +Well, the answer is a very odd one. The crab planted them there himself! +The fact is that when he is lying down at the bottom of a pool he does +not want to be seen, for fear that the animals upon which he preys +should take alarm, and escape before he can catch them. So he actually +pulls up a number of little sprigs of seaweed, and plants them on his +back one after the other, pressing the roots down with his claws till at +last they are held quite firmly by the little hooked spines with which +his shell is covered! Then as long as he keeps quite still he is +perfectly invisible, and his victims may even crawl over him without +suspecting that they are in any danger. + +Stranger still, if a thornback crab which has covered his back with +seaweeds should be placed in a tank in which sponges are growing, he +will soon find out that he is not nearly so well hidden as he would like +to be, and will get very uneasy. Before long he will discover what the +reason is, and will actually pull all the sea weed off his shell, and +plant sponges on it instead. + +Here, too, scampering and rattling about among the pebbles, are lots of +hermit-crabs, dragging after them the shells in which they have +ensconced their soft hind bodies, as is described on page 402. And under +the stones--turn them over and you will see--are dozens of strange +little half-transparent creatures which you might easily believe were +insects, but which really are diminutive cousins of the crabs and +crayfish named amphipods and isopods, and so forth. You may find under +some stone one of the tubes made by a certain species, composed of +grains of sand glued together by sticky threads much like spiders' silk. +These minute crustaceans exist in vast multitudes near the surface of +the ocean at certain seasons, and form the principal food of the +whalebone-whales, which gulp them down wholesale. Some of them, also, +are parasitic on fishes. + +But what is the curious little creature clinging flat upon this rock +among the weeds? It looks like some sort of pill-bug half an inch long, +doesn't it? + +Ah! that is a chiton. It is really a kind of shell-bearing mollusk, like +the whelk and the periwinkle; only instead of having its shell made all +in one piece, it has eight shelly plates on its back, which overlap one +another just like the slates on the roof of a house. Just touch it with +your finger. There! Do you see? It has rolled itself up into a ball, +just like those pill-millepedes which you may find in the garden. It +always does this if it is frightened. And its shell is so stout and hard +that as long as it is rolled up it is quite safe from nearly all its +enemies. + +If you were to hunt about among the rocks quite close to the water's +edge when the tide is at its lowest, you would most likely meet with a +number of chitons, and you would be surprised to find how much they vary +in color. Some are ashy gray all over; but a great many are streaked and +spotted with brown, and pink, and orange, and lilac, and white. But the +strangest thing of all about chitons--there are far larger ones in the +warmer parts of the world--is that some of them have nearly twelve +thousand eyes scattered about all over their shells! + +But we are lingering too long by the way, for our real destination +to-day is that fine pool over there. It is a basin among the ledges, +filled with quiet sea-water left by the retreat of the tide, +half-floored with sandy mud, and its edges fringed with feathery +seaweeds, corallines, and hydroids. Here is a capital home for the +little folk of the sea, where there is always fresh clear water, but +where only a part of the time do the surges pound, and then never with +full force; furthermore, a wall of rocks protects the nook, and enemies +can rarely enter to destroy the peaceful society. + +In warmer parts of the coast, as in the Gulf of Mexico, or upon the +Pacific coast, or most of all in some of the tropical islands which now +belong to the United States, such a pool would be brilliantly carpeted +with sponges, sea-anemones, coral-polyps and corallines, of which you +may read on pages 431 to 435. The water of the North Atlantic, and the +winters of its American coast, are too cold, however, to allow any but a +very few hardy species of these lowly sea-flowers to grow in our pool; +but there are quite enough to keep us busy during the hour or two left +before the returning tide creeps over the jagged rim of the basin and +drives us away. + +Here, for instance, is half an oyster-shell looking as if it had been +bored full of holes with bird-shot. It could hardly have been any boy's +target though; for, see, we can find many such fragments. There is one +under water. Take it out and you will find every one of the hundreds of +little pits filled with a yellow spongy material. It is real sponge, +called the boring-sponge, because it riddles all sorts of old shells +until they fall to pieces. This is a good thing, for then they are +gradually ground to powder and dissolved in the water, and so help to +keep it supplied with the lime needed by living animals for their +shells. + +But other sponges help in this work. One is a brilliant crimson, and +spreads a velvety mantle over the shell, from which rise branches as big +as your fingers. We may probably discover among others here the pretty +urn-sponges, like clusters of yellow or gray goblets about half an inch +high. On the reefs of the Gulf coast of Florida, you know, several sorts +of sponges grow to great size and are gathered and prepared for use--a +trade which furnishes employment to hundreds of men. + +But this clear pool holds more beautiful things than sponges. If we are +fortunate we may find a sea-anemone. Do not fancy from its name that it +looks anything like the pretty pink and white anemones that delight you +in the woods in the spring. It does, indeed, look something like a +clove-pink, or some sorts of chrysanthemum, when it is fully expanded, +yet it is not a flower at all, but a true animal. + +Its body is shaped like a barrel, or sometimes more like a tube, with a +large throat leading into a big stomach which is held in position in the +center of the body by six partitions radiating like the spokes of a +wheel from the stomach to the tough outer skin. Between these are other +shorter partitions extending inward from the skin, but not reaching the +stomach. + +This is the type of structure in the polyp family, which the +sea-anemones represent; and the stony coral-polyps are built on the same +plan, only there the outer wall and the radiating inside partitions +become hardened plates of lime as the animal grows, and form, when many +grow into a solid mass, the immense coral reefs described on page 433. + +The New England coast has several small sea-anemones, and one handsome +one, sometimes as big as a teacup, a few of which dwell in our pool. +Just come, very quietly, over to this side, and gaze down through the +clear water upon that reddish block of stone. Do you not see that large +brown tuft, quivering and moving like a chrysanthemum each petal of +which was alive? That is the brown sea-anemone; but some specimens show +much brighter tints. + +Ah!--did you notice how that minnow turned and fairly flew as he felt a +touch of one of those waving petals? No wonder he was in such a hurry to +escape from its clutches, since he knew quite well that the grasp of +those arms means death. For every one of them is set with scores and +scores of tiny oval cells, made in such a way that they spring open at +the slightest touch. And inside each cell is a slender poisoned dart, +which leaps out as soon as it is opened. + +So, if the minnow had waited a few minutes longer hundreds of these +little darts would have buried themselves in the soft parts of his body +and stung him to death, and then the anemone would have swallowed him! + +Now just touch the anemone with the tip of your finger. You need not be +afraid to do so, for its little poisoned darts are not nearly strong +enough to pierce your skin. There! do you see how its arms at once come +closing in? It seems to be pushing them right down into the very middle +of its body. Now they have entirely disappeared, and you cannot see them +at all. The animal looks just like a shapeless lump of jelly. + +Yes, it always does that when it is frightened, and also if it is left +high and dry when the tide goes out. And when it catches a good-sized +victim and swallows it, it generally remains closed up for at least a +couple of days. + +Now let us tell you another curious thing about the anemone. It looks as +if it were growing out of the rock, doesn't it? If you try to push it +loose, you will probably kill it before you succeed. Yet it can release +it's sucker-like grip, and move about if it wishes to. This is only one +of many very interesting things to be learned about these lovely +creatures. + +And here is another very beautiful thing which you must not miss. One +would think the dark rock under the water had blossomed out into a small +bed of filmy bluish pinks, only what you see is even more delicate and +feathery. That is a patch of true corals; and it is most fortunate it +was found here, for it is rarely seen, except when brought up in a +dredge from water several fathoms deep. + +Now let us see whether we cannot find some of the tube-worms which in +feathery beauty are rivals of even the anemones and coral-polyps. Look +down to the very bottom of the pool. Do you see that bunch of long, +twisted tubes, which seem to be fastened to one of those big stones? + +They are made by a very common sea-worm called the serpula, or +shell-worm, for they are quite as often found attached to shells as to +stones. This worm never leaves the tube it forms about it out of the +limy mucus thrown out of its skin, so that it has no use for feet; +consequently these have become simply a row of bristles along its sides, +by which the animal can hitch itself up and down, or forward and +backward, within its case. Sometimes it may want to draw itself +back into its tube very quickly, to save its head being bitten off by +some fish or ravenous worm. So along its back it has a row of between +thirteen and fourteen thousand little hooked teeth, with which it can +take a firm hold of the lining of its tunnel. And if it is suddenly +alarmed it just raises these teeth, and then jerks itself back into its +tunnel with such wonderful speed that you can scarcely see what has +become of it. + +Now let us lift the bundle of tubes out of the water, and examine them a +little more closely. Do you see that each one is closed, just a little +way below the entrance, by a kind of scarlet stopper? That shows that +the worm inside is alive. The stopper is shaped just like a tiny cork, +and whenever the serpula retreats into its tube it pulls this odd little +stopper in after it, and so prevents any of its enemies from getting in +and devouring it, just as gastropods close the aperture of their shells +with the operculum. + +If you were to put this bunch of tubes back into the water and watch it +carefully for an hour or so, you would most likely see all the stoppers +come out, one after another; and a few moments later you would see a +bright scarlet tuft projecting out of the mouth of each tube. These +tufts are the gills, by means of which the serpulas breathe. But at the +slightest alarm the tufts would all disappear, and in less than a second +every tube would be tightly corked up again, just as before. + +On the Gulf coast of Florida, and throughout the West Indies, lives a +larger relative of the serpula called "sea-flower," which secretes its +tube upon the surface of large coral-heads, so that the tube becomes +covered by the coral, leaving the opening still at the surface. "This +opening," says Dr. Mayer, "is protected by a sharp spine, and is closed +by the operculum of the worm when it withdraws its gills. When expanded +these gills resemble a beautiful pink or purple passion-flower, about +three-quarters of an inch wide." + +In such pools, and in the mud among the stones near low-tide mark, lie +buried several kinds of worms which poke their heads up into the water +above them when the tide comes in, and expand tufts of pink, or crimson, +or yellow gills and tentacles, the latter used to catch minute +floating food--mainly the microscopic larvæ of various mollusks, worms, +etc.--and also, in some cases, to drag to them the grains of sand out of +which they construct their tubes. One of these is the fringed worm +(_Cirratulus_) whose gills are like long orange-colored threads; +and another the similar "blood-spot" (_Polycirrus_) whose great +cluster of crimson tentacles about the mouth looks like a clot of blood +on the sand. More often turned out by the naturalist's spade, however, +is the tufted worm (_Amphitrite_) which dwells in a house made by +itself, by taking a number of good-sized grains of sand, and sticking +them together by means of a kind of glue which it pours out of its +mouth, and which very soon "sets" and becomes quite hard, even though it +is under water. This glue is so tough and strong that you can take the +tube and give it quite a smart pull without tearing or hurting it in the +least. And when the tube is finished Amphitrite makes that little fringe +round the entrance by taking a number of very tiny grains and fastening +them together in the form of threads. + +There is one in this nook of our pool, now; and you may see the three +pairs of blood-red tentacles which, with many pale yellow ones, the worm +has thrust out into the clear water, breathing by means of some (the +gills), and with the others capturing the invisible creatures upon which +it mainly feeds. + +The tubes of these worms usually run for several inches down into the +sandy mud at the bottom of the pool, and are often carried down under +the rocks, or big stones. So you will not find it very easy to dig them +up. And if you startle Amphitrite herself, she will always wriggle at +once down to the very bottom of her tubular fortress. + +There! our four rambles are over, and although we have met with a great +many interesting creatures, we have not seen nearly all that there is to +be seen, either on the beach, or in the mud, or on the rocks, or in the +pools which lie among them. But all the curiosities of the seashore may +be found by those who have patience and know how to use their eyes. + + + + +OUR WICKED WASTE OF LIFE + +A Plea to Women for Consistency + + +One of the most puzzling things in life is why almost all our mothers +and sisters and aunts and "dear teachers" continue to trim their hats +with feathers. + +They give their boys and girls books about birds, and teach love of +nature in the schools, and sing and march on Bird Day, and pay money to +missionaries to convert South Sea Islanders from wearing feather +head-dresses, and then go down-town and buy bird-skins to deck their own +heads! This confuses the boys and girls a good deal. How, they ask, can +a mother preach against cruelty and vanity to her children when she +continues to load her hat and theirs with feathers every one of which +represents a crime against the laws of both God and man? The reason why +lawmakers find it so difficult to enforce protective legislation is that +the women demand dead birds, careless whether of useful species or not, +no matter by what gory slaughter and violated laws obtained, as +ministers to their vanity--and the law be hanged! + +They will even wear these evidences of cruelty and crime to church, and +listen unabashed to exhortations and prayers which others think ought to +shrivel them with shame. A recent writer in "Hampton's Magazine" +describes his impressions of a scene of this kind in a Chicago church, +whose preacher that morning had chosen Christian gentleness as his +theme. This writer indulgently believes that the bird-bedecked listeners +"did not know at what a cost, not in life alone, but in hard dollars and +cents, they, and other persons equally careless and equally reckless, +were securing the transient satisfaction of their immediate desires." +And he expresses himself as "equally sure that, if they did know, they +would never again appear in public so savagely adorned." + +We are sorry to be obliged to disagree with him. If they do not know, it +is because they do not read and listen, and few American women, gentle +or simple, are chargeable with negligence in that respect. The officers +of the Audubon Societies, who have been laboring for years as vigorously +as they know how, tell us there is no lack of information; but that, in +general, women don't care, and can't be made to care what hat-birds cost +either themselves or the country so long as they are "in style." +Apparently the only way to stop the ruin of our bird-life is for the +general government to prohibit absolutely both import and export of any +kind of bird-skins or feathers (except of the ostrich) intended or +liable to be used in millinery; and for the States to stamp out dealing +in feather trimmings by a prohibitive licensing tax. Appeals to the +women are useless. The only way is to attack the trade. + +Nevertheless, let us make one more effort. Here are four cardinal facts, +for instance, relating to the aigrettes, or "ospreys" which you covet, +showing what they cost: + +(1) Aigrettes are produced only by white herons, and only during the +breeding-season; therefore (2) the parent birds must be shot in order to +obtain the plumes; hence (3) the young birds in the nests must starve, +in consequence of the death of the parents; consequently (4) all +statements that the plumes are manufactured or are gathered after being +molted by the adult birds are false. + +Here is a picture of how they are got, and it can be verified by +photographs: + +"Notwithstanding the extreme heat and the myriads of mosquitos, I +determined to revisit the locality during my holidays, in order to +obtain one picture only--namely, that of a white crane, or egret, +feeding its young. When near the place, I could see some large patches +of white, either floating in the water or reclining on the fallen trees +in the vicinity of the egrets' rookery. This set me speculating as to +the cause of this unusual sight. As I drew nearer, what a spectacle met +my gaze--a sight that made my blood fairly boil with indignation. There, +strewn on the floating water-weed, and also on adjacent logs, were at +least fifty carcasses of large white and smaller plumed egrets--nearly +one-third of the rookery, perhaps more--the birds having been shot off +their nests containing young. What a holocaust! Plundered for their +plumes. What a monument of human callousness! There were fifty birds +ruthlessly destroyed, besides their young (about two hundred) left to +die of starvation! This last fact was betokened by at least seventy +carcasses of the nestlings, which had become so weak that their legs had +refused to support them, and they had fallen from the nests into the +water below, and had been miserably drowned; while, in the trees above, +the remainder of the parentless young ones could be seen staggering in +the nests, some of them falling with a splash into the water, as their +waning strength left them too exhausted to hold up any longer, while +others simply stretched themselves out on the nest and so expired. +Others, again, were seen trying in vain to attract the attention of +passing egrets, which were flying with food in their bills to feed their +own young, and it was a pitiful sight indeed to see these starvelings +with outstretched necks and gaping bills imploring the passing birds to +feed them. What a sickening sight!" + +A like gruesome story is given by William L. Finley, agent of the +National Association of Audubon Societies, after he had explored the +region about Lake Malheur, Oregon, where formerly thousands of white +herons bred, but now none are to be found--all absolutely exterminated +by plume-hunters. In Florida an agent of this Association was lately +murdered while trying to defend a rookery from plume-hunters. + +Every aigrette--and almost every other wild-bird's feather you +wear--represents a broken law, and in buying it you become a voluntary +partner in crime. + +The manufacturing milliners and dealers realize this, and consequently +resort to all sorts of lies and disguises and subterfuges, which your +buying encourages, for it sustains the bloody business of the illegal +feather-hunters. Some dealers assert that none but imported feathers are +now sold by them. This is not true, but if it were, the wearing of them +is wrong, not only because it encourages the devastation of other +countries, but also because it keeps up the general fashion. The same +may be said in answer to the plea of the milliner that her ornaments +were "made up" of chicken-feathers. You can't be sure of that, and you +are setting a harmful example. + +"Here, of course," remarks Reginald W. Kauffman, in the illuminative +"Hampton's" article already quoted, "is involved merely a question of +individual ethics, but if the trifling life of a bird is a matter of +small moment even to the gentler sex--so long as the eyes of that sex +are not outraged by an actual sight of the bloody slaughter--at least a +matter of very great moment is the fact that the rise in the price of +your foodstuffs, the yearly increase in your market-bill, is the direct +result of those feathers in your bonnet, those plumes upon your +daughter's hat.... + +"Difficult as the figures are to get, such as may be acquired are +appalling. Surely you cannot read them and remain unmoved. England, by +importing the bird of paradise at the rate of six thousand a year, has +practically exterminated that species. In four months one London house +disposed of eight hundred thousand East and West Indian bird-skins; the +United States alone sends to the British Isles four hundred thousand +humming-birds every twelve months, which helps bring the English grand +total up to thirty million birds a year. + +"And we keep a comfortable figure for home consumption. In one year a +single Chicago dealer has been known to handle 32,000 humming-birds in +one consignment, 32,000 gulls, and the wings of 300,000 other birds. In +all, the National Audubon Association puts our total at about +150,000,000 birds a year. The European continent repeats this, and so +you have the women of the 'civilized' world, with the omission of our +South American cousins, wearing 300,000,000 birds every year. + +"Legislation is here, as always, powerless in the face of fashionable +womankind." + +Another point of view is that of good taste. A single large feather or a +shapely wing--in themselves beautiful objects and well adapted to +decorative effect--may be so applied as really to adorn a lady's hat, or +a man's for that matter, very pleasingly; and if it is the trophy of the +skill of some friend, obtained in fair sport, it may embody a delightful +sentiment as well. It was in this simple, wasteful, and unobjectionable +manner that feathers were originally employed as trimmings. But fierce +trade competition among milliners catering to the foolish cry for +"novelties" regardless of becomingness in any sense, has developed +absurdities of head-gear which often make their wearers utterly +ridiculous. + +What possible justification in art or common sense is there in setting a +dead animal on a hat? If any can be found, surely the effigy should be +lifelike and not some horrible travesty. If ribbons and flowers are not +enough ornaments to set off pretty faces, why not wind shining +snake-skins about the crown of the hat; or utilize our resplendent moths +and beetles as trimmings? They are elegant in form and color, varied, +preservable, and by no means costly. Moreover, the general destruction +which would follow the entry of such a fashion would reduce the insect +enemies of our crops and garden-plants--but women seem to care nothing +about that aspect of the case. + +"The insects kill the crops," remarks Kauffman, "the birds kill the +insects, and we--for the most part in order to trim your hats for +you--kill the birds. A study of the government reports will show that +crop losses from insects are rarely less than 10 per cent. and sometimes +as high as 50." + + +We may now turn to another phase of our subject--the waste of game, +fur-bearing animals, and other useful or beautiful creatures. + +When Europeans first came to this continent the bison and elk roamed +everywhere west of the Blue Ridge. By the middle of the nineteenth +century all had disappeared east of the Great Plains, as completely as +had the salmon which used to throng in our eastern rivers. And here, a +few years later, both were almost utterly destroyed by wretched +pot-hunters. + +The moose, elk, antelope, mountain sheep and goats, beaver, sea-otter, +and many other game and fur animals of North America have also suffered +so terribly under relentless persecution that they now are found only in +small numbers in very remote places. The sea-otter, of which at the +beginning of the nineteenth century more than 15,000 were killed every +year, has become so scarce that its coat, in good condition, is now +worth $1,000 to the hunter. + +The horrible stories of the butchery of the fur-seals and the +passenger-pigeon need not be recited. The building up of great cities +made a market for game and fish, and coincident therewith the +market-hunter and the market-fisherman came into existence. Under these +conditions the destruction went on merrily, until, in the early +eighties, observant sportsmen and naturalists began to realize that +extermination threatened such game-birds as the prairie-chicken, the +quail, the ruffed grouse, the wood-duck, the canvasback duck, and even +the well-known mallard and teal. + +"Coincident with this great hegira to the woods," we are told by G. O. +Shields, in a late number of "Collier's Weekly," "there appeared on the +scene a type of man that has become known and recognized everywhere as +the American game-hog. This depraved creature developed a fondness for +killing every living thing he could find, whether edible or not, or +whether he needed it for food or not. All he cared for was to kill, +kill, kill. He loved to stop a beautiful animal in its flight and put it +to death, or to see a bird double up in the air and fall with +shot-pellets through its body. + +"The competition became so strong between these game-hogs that they got +to challenging one another to combats in the field, and contests were +arranged weeks ahead, large stakes being deposited on the result.... The +nineteenth-century 'side-hunt' became a feature of many rural districts. + +"Is it any wonder, then, that decent men came to rebel against this +savage slaughter? Good sportsmen, naturalists, and laymen became so +disgusted with it that they went before their legislatures and demanded +that it be stopped. Laws were accordingly enacted in many States ... and +recently legislation for the preservation of the game has become a +science, and a few men are devoting their best thought and their best +energies to it. + +"But the game-hog and the fish-hog bid defiance to all game-laws, +written and unwritten. No State employs enough game-wardens to police +all of its territory, so the ravaging of the wild went on." + +To the correction of this evil no one has contributed more energetically +than Mr. Shields and some other editors of periodicals devoted to +field-sports and recreation. They have given the game-hog so disgraceful +a notoriety, and have brought down upon his head such scorn from decent +sportsmen, that he has been largely suppressed. + +Here, too, mothers, wives, and sisters, are largely at fault; but they +may plead ignorance much more plausibly than in the case of their own +sins of hat-trimming. Why should they applaud useless slaughter, +dictated by vanity and blood-lust, in the men over whom they have +influence? Is it a manly or an admirable thing? + +These ignorant and thoughtless women have still time to repent and force +their men-folks to behave like gentlemen. There is still game enough to +bring about a revival of plenty for all reasonable sportsmen of the next +generation as well as this. There are laws enough, too, to protect it, +but between the ignorance of the legislators and their fear of offending +the very game-butchers against whom the laws are directed (who +unfortunately have votes), they will not appropriate the money necessary +to provide game-wardens and other means of enforcing the laws properly. +Here is where the influence of every fair-minded woman and patriotic man +can be tellingly exerted. Show the lawmakers that the good opinion of +the decent half of the community is better worth having than that of the +meaner half; and see that _your_ men-folks are not in the latter +class. + +When you have done this, let your boys understand the position they must +take on this subject if they wish to be regarded as "true sportsmen," +not to say gentlemen. Their training should begin early. Little boys are +fond of bean-shooters--a forked stick, or "crutch," with a rubber band +hurling a bean or a pebble. Insist that they do not use it for knocking +over birds. + +All boys, also, pass through a season of "collecting specimens," when +they are enthusiastic toward preparing a cabinet of natural history. +Encourage them to do so, but without taking life, or robbing birds' +nests. Give them an opera-glass instead of a shotgun. Show them how they +can learn more, and get more amusement, by watching the bird family in +its home than by arranging dead shells on a string or in a box. (Watch +the birds yourself a while, and then see how you feel about your hat!) +There is no scientific need or excuse, nowadays, for private collections +of the skins or eggs of birds, and the stopping of all birds'-nesting is +of the utmost importance for the same reasons as the stoppage of +millinery murder; and both are the immediate duty of all parents. + +Nor must there be forgotten, in considering this matter, the disastrous +effect of recklessness as to waste and suffering on the mind of the +game-hog, the birds'-nester, and the aigrette-wearer. Cruelty cannot be +practiced without crushing and blighting the best insects. As Burns +says: + + "It hardens a' within + And petrifies the feeling" + +A child that is cruel to animals, disdainful of their sufferings when in +pursuit of his pleasure, cannot be trusted to be kind to a younger +sister, a weaker companion, or a valued pet. Cruelty is a vice of the +basest and most cowardly--a mark of the savage and criminal. Let the +mother remember this, not only in her precepts, but in the example she +gives her children. "Even the birds of the air," wrote the German critic +Harnisch, "bear an accusation to their Creator against those who with +wanton cruelty, destroy helpless innocence." + + + + +LIST OF BEST BOOKS FOR YOUNG NATURALISTS + + * In many cases the authors mentioned have written + other books equally interesting and procurable. + + + ABBOTT, C. C.* _Days out of Doors_ + + BAKER, SIR S.* _Wild Beasts and their Ways_ + + BASKETT, J. N. _The Story of the Fishes_ + + BASKETT, J. N. _The Story of the Reptiles and Batrachians_ + + BATES, W. H. _The Naturalist on the River Amazon_ + + BEEBE, W. C.* _The Bird_ + + BIGNELL, EFFIE _A Quintette of Gray Coats (Squirrels)_ + + BLATCHLEY, W. S.* _A Nature Wooing_ + + BULLEN, F. T.* _Denizens of the Great Deep_ + + BURROUGHS, JOHN* _Squirrels and other Fur-bearers_ + + BURROUGHS, JOHN _Wake Robin_ + + CHAPMAN AND REED _Color Key to N. A. Birds_ + + COMSTOCK, J. H.* _Insect Life_ + + CRAM, W. E. _Little Beasts of Wood and Field_ + + DAMON, N. E. _Ocean Wonders_ + + DARWIN, CHARLES* _A Naturalist's Voyage_ + + ECKSTROM, MRS. F. H.* _The Bird Book_ + + EGGELING AND EHRENBERG _The Fresh-Water Aquarium_ + + EMERTON, E. S. _Spiders_ + + GIBSON, W. H.* _Blossom Hosts and Insect Guests_ + + GIBSON, W. H. _Sharp Eyes_ + + HOLDER, F. C.* _Along the Florida Reefs_ + + HOLLAND, W. J. _The Butterfly Book_ + + HOLLAND, W. J. _The Moth Book_ + + HORNADAY, W. T.* _American Natural History_ + + HOWARD, L. O.* _The Insect Book_ + + HUDSON, W. H. _British Birds_ + + HUDSON, W. H. _Idle Days in Patagonia_ + + HUDSON, W. H. _The Naturalist in La Plata_ + + INGERSOLL, ERNEST* _Life of Mammals_ + + INGERSOLL, ERNEST _The Wit of the Wild_ + + INGERSOLL, ERNEST _Wild Life of Orchard and Field_ + + KELLOGG, VERNON _American Insects_ + + KEYSER, L. S. _Birds of the Rockies_ + + LOTTRIDGE, S. A. _Animal Snap Shots and How Made_ + + LUCAS, F. A. _Animals of the Past_ + + MATTHEWS, S.* _Familiar Life of the Roadside_ + + MERRIAM, FLORENCE* _A-birding on a Bronco_ + + MILLER, MRS. O. T.* _Little Brothers of the Air_ + + MORLEY, MARY W. _The Bee People_ + + MORLEY, MARY W. _Wasps and their Ways_ + + OSWALD, FELIX _Zoölogical Sketches_ + + PACKARD, A. S. _Half-hours with Insects_ + + PORTER, J. H. _Wild Beasts_ + + REED, C. A. _North American Birds' Eggs_ + + ROBINSON, R.* _New England Fields and Woods_ + + ROOSEVELT, THEODORE* _The Wilderness Hunter_ + + SAMUELS, E. _Birds of New England_ + + SCUDDER, S. H. _Everyday Butterflies_ + + SHARPE, D. L.* _Wild Life near Home_ + + STANDARD LIBRARY OF NATURAL HISTORY (5 vols.) + + STANDARD (OR RIVERSIDE) NATURAL HISTORY (6 vols.) + + STONE AND CRAM _American Animals_ + + TODD, ADA J. _The Vacation Club_ + + TORREY, B.* _Everyday Birds_ + + WATERTON, C.* _Wanderings in South America_ + + WHITE, GILBERT _Natural History of Selborne_ + + WILSON, ALEX _American Ornithology_ (_Brewer's Edition_) + + WOOD, J. G.* _Homes without Hands_ + + WRIGHT, MRS. M. O.* _Bird-craft_ + + WRIGHT, MRS. M. O. _Four-footed Americans_ + + + + +INDEX + + + A + + Aard-vark, 216 + Aard-wolf, 74 + Acorn-barnacles, 407 + Adder, puff, 319 + African elephant, 202 + " rhinoceros, 204 + Agouti, 152 + Albatross, 296 + Alderman lizard, 307 + Alligators, 302 + American crows, 254 + " eagle, 236 + " foxes, 88 + " lizards, 307 + " monkeys, 16 + " tapirs, 206 + Amphineurans, 421 + Amphioxus, 353 + Anaconda, 316 + Anemones, sea-, 431 + Angler, 346 + Ant-bears, 213 + Ant-eaters, 213 + " banded, 227 + " great, 213 + " scaly, 215 + " spiny, 230 + Antelopes, 174 + Ant-lion, 367 + Ants, 373 + " driver, 374 + " parasol, 374 + Aoudad, 165 + Apes, 1 + " Barbary, 15 + Aphides, 381 + Arabian baboon, 11 + " camel, 190 + Arctic fox, 86 + Argali, 162 + Armadillos, 214 + " giant, 215 + " pichiciago, 215 + " six-banded, 214 + Arui, 165 + Asses, wild, 193 + Aswail, 108 + Aurochs, 159 + Australian bear, 223 + Axolotl, 324 + Aye-aye, 24 + + + B + + Babirusa, 209 + Baboons, 7 + " Arabian, 7 + " chacma, 7 + " drill, 9 + " gelada, 10 + " mandrill, 9 + Bactrian camel, 191 + Badger, 97 + Bald chimpanzee, 3 + Banded ant-eater, 227 + Bandicoots, 224 + Barbary ape, 15 + Barbel, 329 + Barnacles, 407 + " acorn, 407 + Barn-owl, 241 + Bats, 26 + " flying foxes, 31 + " horseshoe, 29 + " kalong, 32 + " pipistrelle, 29 + " vampire, 30 + Beaked chætodon, 34 + Bear-cat, 110 + Bears, 102 + " ant, 213 + " aswail, 108 + " Australian, 223 + " black, 107 + " brown, 103 + " grizzly, 106 + " polar, 102 + " sea, 118 + " sloth, 108 + " sun, 108 + " white, 102 + Beavers, 142 + Bees, 369 + " bumble-, 371 + " carder, 371 + " hive, 369 + " leaf-cutter, 371 + " social, 369 + " solitary, 371 + Beetles, 355 + " burying, 356 + " coach-horse, 356 + " dor, 357 + " ground, 355 + " musk, 359 + " oil, 358 + " soldier, 449 + " stag, 356 + " tiger, 355 + " water, 355 + Beluga, 129 + Bettong, brush-tailed, 221 + Bighorn sheep, 163 + Binturong, 71 + Bird, butcher, 266 + " humming, 246 + " love, 276 + Birds, bower, 258 + Bird's-foot starfish, 411 + Birds of paradise, 258 + Bird-spiders, 390 + Bishop's-miters, 382 + Bison, 158 + Bivalves, 422 + Black-backed jackal, 85 + Black bear, 107 + Blackbird, 267 + Blackcap, 267 + Blackfish, 131 + Black goby, 349 + Black mussels, 423 + Black rat, 148 + Black saki, 19 + Black slug, 417 + Black-tailed deer, 187 + Blindworm, 304 + Bluebottle fly, 385 + Blue shark, 338 + Blue tit, 265 + Boa-constrictor, 316 + Boar, wild, 208 + Boatman, water, 382 + Bobcat, 62 + Borers, 419 + Bosch-katte, 60 + Bottle-nosed dolphin, 133 + Bottle-nosed whales, 125 + Bottle-tit, 265 + Bower-birds, 258 + Brindled gnu, 178 + Brittle-stars, 411 + Brockets, 188 + Brown bear, 103 + Brown hyena, 77 + Brown owl, 240 + Brown rat, 148 + Brown thrasher, 269 + Brush-kangaroo, 220 + Brush-tailed bettong, 221 + Buansuah, 78 + Buffalo, American, 158 + " Cape, 159 + " Indian, 159 + Bullbat, 245 + Bullfinch, 261 + Bumblebees, 371 + Bunting, 260 + Burchell's zebra, 192 + Burrowing owl, 241 + Burying-beetle, 356 + Bush-cat, 60 + Bustards, 284 + Butcher-bird, 266 + Butterflies, 377, 440, 446 + Buzzards, 238 + + + C + + Cachalot, 124 + Caddis-flies, 367, 441 + Caffre cat, 62 + California sea-lion, 117 + Calling-crabs, 401 + Camels, 189 + " Arabian, 190 + " Bactrian, 191 + " dromedary, 190 + Canada lynx, 65 + Canaries, 261 + Cape buffalo, 159 + Capybara, 152 + Caracal, 63 + Carder-bee, 371 + Caribou, 182 + Carp, 329 + Carrion-crow, 255 + Cassowaries, 283 + Cat, Caffre, 62 + " Egyptian, 61 + " jungle, 63 + " marbled, 59 + " tiger, 61 + " wild-, 62 + Catbird, 269, 437 + Cats, larger, 47 + " smaller, 60 + Caymans, 303 + Centipedes, 395 + Chacma, 7 + Chætodon, beaked, 34 + Chambered nautilus, 416 + Chameleon, 308 + Chamois, 174 + Chaus, 63 + Chetah, 65 + Chimpanzees, 1 + " bald, 3 + " common, 2 + Chinchilla, 151 + Chipmunk, 140 + Chipping-bird, 260 + Chitons, 421 + " prickly, 421 + Cicada, 362 + Civets, 68 + " Indian, 70 + " palm, 70 + Climbing perch, 328 + Clouded leopard, 58 + " tiger, 58 + Coach-horse beetle, 356 + Coati, 111 + Cobras, 318 + Cockatoos, 274 + Cockchafer, 356 + Cockle, 424 + Cockroach, 361 + Cod, 342 + Cole-tit, 265 + Colubers, 313 + Colugo, 33 + Condor, 234 + Congers, 352 + Cony, 154 + Coquimbo, 241 + Coral banks, 433 + Corals, 432 + Cormorants, 293 + Cougar, 57 + Couxia, 19 + Cowbird, 438 + Cowry, 420 + Coyotes, 83 + Crab-eating dog, 80 + " macaque, 15 + " opossum, 230 + Crabs, 397, 400 + " blue, 400 + " calling, 401 + " common shore, 400 + " edible, 400 + " fiddler, 400 + " hermit, 401 + " robber, 402 + Crane-fly, 384 + Cranes, 285 + " brown, 286 + " crowned, 286 + Crayfish, 404 + Creeper, 263 + Crested seal, 119 + Crickets, 361, 448 + " house-, 361 + " mole, 362 + Crocodiles, 302 + Crossbills, 260 + Crows, American, 254 + " carrion, 255 + Crowned crane, 286 + Cuckoos, 243 + Cucumbers, sea, 413 + Curlew, 286 + Currant saw-fly, 375 + Cuttles, 414 + + + D + + Dab, 343 + Dasyures, 225 + Death's-head sphinx-moth, 378 + Deathwatches, 358 + Deer, 181 + " American, 185 + " black-tailed, 187 + " brocket, 188 + " caribou, 182 + " elk, 183 + " fallow, 184 + " marsh, 187 + " moose, 183 + " mule, 186 + " pampas, 187 + " pudu, 188 + " red, 184 + " rein-, 181 + " roebuck, 185 + " wapiti, 187 + Desman, 40 + " Pyrenean, 40 + " Russian, 40 + Devil, Tasmanian, 226 + Devil-fish, 341 + Dhole, 78 + Diana monkey, 14 + Dingo, 79 + Dipper, 270 + Dog, crab-eating, 80 + " hunting, 90 + " hyena, 90 + " prairie, 141 + Dog-faced monkeys, 7 + Dogfish, 337 + Dogs, 78 + Dolphins, 128 + " bottle-nosed, 133 + " common, 133 + " fresh-water, 132 + " Gangetic, 132 + " sea, 133 + Dor-beetle, 357 + Dormouse, 144 + Douroucoulis, 20 + Dove, mourning, 277 + " turtle, 277 + Dragon-flies, 364 + Drill, 9 + Driver ant, 374 + Dromedary, 190 + Drone-fly, 385 + Duck, wild, 293 + Duckbill, 231 + Duck-billed platypus, 231 + Dugong, 133 + + + E + + Eagles, 235 + " American, 236 + " bald, 236 + " golden, 236 + " white-tailed, 236 + Earth-pig, 216 + Earthworm, 427 + Earwigs, 360 + Echidna, 230 + " common, 231 + " three-toed, 231 + Edible crab, 400 + " snail, 418 + Eel, 334 + " conger, 352 + " electric, 335 + Egg-eating snake, 314 + Egyptian cat, 61 + " mongoose, 73 + Eland, 174 + Electric eel, 335 + Elephant, sea, 119 + Elephants, 201 + " African, 202 + " Indian, 203 + Elephant-shrew, 39 + Elk, 183, 187 + Emperor-moth, 379 + Emu, 282 + Ermine, 93 + + + F + + Falcons, 238 + Fallow deer, 184 + Fennec, 89 + Ferret, 94 + " polecat, 94 + Fiddler-crab, 400 + Field-mouse, 149 + Field-vole, 147 + Finches, 260 + " purple, 261 + Fin-whales, 127 + " sharp-nosed, 128 + Fish, black, 131 + " devil, 341 + " dog-, 337 + " flat-, 343 + " flying, 348 + " jelly-, 430 + " mud, 326 + " pipe, 350 + " saw, 339 + " sucking, 345 + " sword-, 344 + Fish-hawk, 237 + Fivefingers, 410 + Flamingo, 291 + Flatfish, 343 + Fleas, 383 + " turnip, 359 + Flesh-fly, 386 + Flicker, 249 + Flounder, 343 + Fly, bluebottle, 385 + " caddis, 367, 441 + " currant saw, 375 + " dragon-, 364 + " drone-, 385 + " flesh, 386 + " gall, 375, 445 + " green-, 360, 381 + " hawk, 385 + " horn-tailed saw, 375, 445 + " house, 385 + " ichneumon, 376 + " June, 365 + " lacewing, 368, 451 + " May, 365 + " saw, 374 + " turnip saw, 375 + Flycatcher, 444 + Flying colugo, 33 + " fish, 348 + " foxes, 31 + " squirrel, 139 + Fossa, 68 + Foumart, 94 + Foxes, 85 + " American, 88 + " arctic, 86 + " flying, 31 + Fox-sparrow, 261 + Fresh-water dolphins, 132 + " fishes, 326 + " shrimp, 406 + Frilled lizard, 308 + Fritillaries, 377, 446 + Frog, 321 + Froghoppers, 380 + Fur-seal, 118 + + + G + + Gall-fly, 375, 445 + Galls, 444 + Gangetic dolphin, 132 + Garden-spiders, 388 + Gastropods, 416 + Gaur, 157 + Geckos, 305 + Geese, 292 + Gelada, 10 + Gemsbok, 176 + Genets, 70 + Giant armadillo, 215 + " pangolin, 216 + " salamander, 324 + Gibbons, 5 + " hoolock, 6 + " lar, 6 + " siamang, 6 + Gila monster, 307 + Giraffes, 179 + Glowworm, 358 + Glutton, 96 + Gnats, 384, 440 + Gnus, 177 + " brindled, 178 + " white-tailed, 178 + Goat-moth, 378 + Goats, 166 + " Persian wild, 169 + " Rocky mountain, 172 + Goby, black, 349 + " spotted, 349 + Golden eagle, 236 + Goldenrod, 449 + Goldfinch, 261, 448 + Goose, graylag, 292 + Gorilla, 3 + Gossamers, 394 + Grampus, 131 + Grasshoppers, 362, 448 + Graylag goose, 292 + Gray parrot, 273 + Great ant-eater, 213 + " bustard, 284 + " gray slug, 417 + " horseshoe bat, 30 + " tit, 265 + Greek tortoise, 300 + Greenfly, 360, 381 + Greenland whale, 127 + Green monkey, 13 + " turtle, 301 + Grévy's zebra, 192 + Grizzly bear, 106 + Grosbeak, 260 + Ground-beetles, 355 + Groundhog, 142 + Grouse, red, 279 + Guanaco, 191 + Guemals, 188 + Guenons, 13 + Guillemots, 296 + Guljar, 163 + Gull, sea, 295 + Gurnards, 347 + + + H + + Hair-seals, 116 + Hammerhead shark, 338 + Hamster, 145 + Hanuman, 12 + Hares, 154 + Harvest-mouse, 149 + Hawk, fish, 237 + Hawk-flies, 385 + Hawks, 237 + " chicken, 238 + " night, 245 + " pigeon, 239 + " sparrow, 239 + Hawksbill turtle, 301 + Hazel-mouse, 144 + Hedgehog, 34 + Hermit crab, 401 + Heron, 288 + Herring, 348 + Hippopotamus, 207 + " pygmy, 208 + Hive-bee, 369 + Hog, sea, 130 + " wart, 209 + Honey-ratel, 97 + Honey-weasel, 97 + Hooded seal, 119 + Hoolock, 6 + Hoopoe, 252 + Hornbill, 251 + " rhinoceros, 251 + Horned toad, 307 + Hornet, 373 + Horn-tailed saw-fly, 375 + Horse, 195 + " river, 207 + " sea, 120, 351 + Horseshoe bat, great, 30 + House-cricket, 361 + House-fly, 385 + Howlers, 17 + Humblebees, 371 + Humming-bird, 246 + " " hawk-moth, 378 + Hunting-dog, 90 + Hunting-leopard, 65 + Hunting-spider, 390 + Hyena-dog, 90 + Hyenas, 75 + " brown, 77 + " laughing, 77 + " spotted, 77 + " striped, 76 + Hyrax, 205 + + + I + + Ibex, 169 + " Nilgiri, 171 + Ibis, 290 + " sacred, 290 + " scarlet, 290 + Ichneumon-flies, 376 + Iguanas, 306 + Indian buffalo, 159 + " civet, 70 + " elephant, 203 + " mongoose, 72 + " pangolin, 216 + " rhinoceros, 203 + Indigo-bird, 261 + Insect-eaters, 33 + Insects, 354 + Ivory-bill woodpecker, 247 + Ivy, poison, 442 + + + J + + Jacares, 303 + Jackals, black-backed, 85 + " common, 84 + " side-striped, 86 + Jackass, laughing, 253 + Jackdaw, 256 + Jack rabbits, 156 + Jaguar, 56 + Jay, 256 + Jelly fishes, 430 + Jerboa-kangaroo, 222 + Jerboas, 145 + Joepye-weed, 449 + Johnny Darter, 445 + Julus millepede, 396 + Jumping shrew, 39 + June-fly, 365 + Jungle-cat, 63 + + + K + + Kalan, 101 + Kalong, 32 + Kangaroo-rats, 221 + Kangaroos, 218 + " brush, 220 + " jerboa, 222 + " tree, 221 + Katydid, 362 + Kestrels, 238 + Kholsun, 78 + Killer-whale, 131 + King bird of paradise, 258 + Kingfishers, 253, 439 + Kinkajou, 112 + Kiwis, 284 + Koala, 223 + Kudu, 175 + + + L + + Lacewing fly, 368, 451 + Ladybirds, 360 + Lammergeier, 234 + Lampreys, 335 + Lancelet, 353 + Land-tortoises, 300 + Langurs, 13 + Lapwings, 286 + Lar gibbon, 6 + Laughing hyena, 77 + Laughing jackass, 253 + Leaf-cutter bee, 371 + Leather-jackets, 385 + Leeches, 430 + Lemmings, 147 + Lemuroids, 23 + Lemurs, 21 + " ruffed, 22 + " slender loris, 23 + " tarsier, 23 + Leopard, 54 + " clouded, 58 + " hunting, 65 + " snow, 55 + Limpets, 421 + Linnet, 261 + Lion, 49 + " ant, 367 + " California sea, 117 + " Patagonian sea, 116 + " sea, 116 + Lizards, 303 + " alderman, 307 + " American, 307 + " frilled, 308 + Llamas, 191 + Lobsters, 403 + Locust, 362 + Logcock, 247 + Long-eared owl, 240 + Long-tailed tit, 265 + Long-tongued vampire, 30 + Loris, slender, 23 + Love-birds, 276 + Lugworm, 428 + Lynx, 64 + " Canada, 65 + " pardine, 65 + + + M + + Macaques, 14 + " crab-eating, 15 + Macaws, 275 + Mackerel, 345 + Magot, 15 + Magpie, 257 + Malayan tapir, 206 + Manatees, 133 + Mandrill, 9 + Mangabeys, 14 + Mantis, praying, 363 + Marbled cat, 59 + Marco Polo's sheep, 163 + Margay, 61 + Markhor, 170 + Marmignatto spider, 389 + Marmosets, 21 + Marmots, common, 142 + " prairie, 142 + Marsupials, 218 + Martens, 95 + Martins, 271 + Mavis, 267 + May-fly, 365 + Meerkats, 73 + Megalopa, 408 + Merian's opossum, 230 + Mice, pouched, 227 + Milkweed, 449 + Milky slug, 417 + Millepede, 395 + " Julus, 396 + Mole, common, 40 + " pouched, 228 + Mole, star-nosed, 45 + Mole-cricket, 362 + Mollusks, 414 + Mongoose, Egyptian, 73 + " Indian, 72 + Monkeys, American, 16 + " aye-aye, 24 + " Barbary ape, 15 + " black saki, 19 + " couxia, 19 + " diana, 14 + " dog-faced, 7 + " douroucouli, 20 + " green, 13 + " guenons, 13 + " hanuman, 12 + " howlers, 17 + " howlers, red, 18 + " langurs, 13 + " macaques, 14 + " magot, 15 + " mangabeys, 14 + " marmosets, 21 + " night, 20 + " ouakari, 18 + " proboscis, 11 + " spider, 16 + Moose, 183 + Morse, 120 + Mosquito, 384 + Moth, 377 + " bee-hawk, 378 + " burnet, 379 + " cinnabar, 379 + " death's-head sphinx, 378 + " emerald, 380 + " emperor, 379 + " goat, 378 + " humming-bird hawk, 378 + " kitten, 380 + " luna, 454 + " magpie, 380 + " Polyphemus, 454 + " Promethea, 454 + " puss, 380 + " sulphur, 380 + " swallowtail, 380 + " swift, 378 + " tiger, 378 + " vaporer, 379 + Mouflon, European, 161 + Mountain zebra, 192 + Mourning dove, 277 + Mouse, 149, 447 + " field, 149 + " harvest, 149 + " hazel, 144 + " pouched, 227 + " sea, 429 + Mud-fish, 326 + Mud-skippers, 350 + Mule-deer, 186 + Musk-beetle, 359 + Musk-ox, 160 + Muskrat, 147 + Musquaw, 108 + Mussels, black, 423 + Myrmecobius, 227 + + + N + + Narwhal, 128 + Nauplius, 408 + Nautilus, chambered, 416 + Newts, 322 + Night-fliers, 380 + Night-hawk, 245 + Nightingale, 267 + Nightjars, 244 + Night-monkeys, 20 + Noctuæ, 380 + Nuthatch, 264 + Nut-weevil, 359 + + + O + + Ocelot, 60 + Oil-beetles, 358 + Okapi, 180 + Oliveback, 269 + Olm, 325 + Opossums, 228 + " common, 230 + " crab-eating, 230 + " Merian's, 230 + " yapock, 230 + Orang-utan, 4 + Osprey, 237 + Ostriches, 281 + Otters, 100 + " sea, 101 + Ouakari, 18 + Ouistiti, 21 + Ounce, 55 + Owls, barn, 241 + " brown, 240 + " burrowing, 241 + " long-eared, 240 + " short-eared, 240 + Ox, musk, 160 + Oxen, wild, 157 + Oysters, 423 + " pearl, 422 + + + P + + Painter, 58 + Palm-civets, 70 + Panda, 110 + Pangolins, 215 + " giant, 216 + " Indian, 216 + Panther, American, 58 + " or leopard, 54 + Paradise, birds of, 258 + " king bird of, 258 + Parasol-ant, 374 + Pardine lynx, 65 + Parrakeets, 274 + " ring-necked, 274 + Parrots, 273 + Partridges, 280 + Passenger-pigeon, 277 + Patagonian sea-lion, 116 + Peacocks, 277 + Pearl-oyster, 422 + Peccaries, 210 + Pelicans, 294 + Penguin, 297 + Pen-tailed tree-shrew, 39 + Perch, 328 + " climbing, 328 + Periwinkles, 420 + Persian wild goat, 169 + Petaurist, squirrel, 222 + Pheasants, 279 + Phoebe, 444 + Pichiciago, 215 + Piddock, 424 + Pig, earth, 216 + Pigeons, 276 + " passenger, 277 + " wood, 276 + Pike, 330 + Pine-marten, 95 + Pipe-fishes, 350 + Pipistrelle, 29 + Pit-vipers, 319 + Plaice, 343 + Platypus, duck-billed, 231 + Poison-ivy, 442 + Polar bear, 102 + Polecat, 94 + " ferret, 94 + Polyps, 432 + Porcupines, 150 + Porpoise, 130 + Potoroos, 221 + Pouched mice, 227 + Pouched mole, 228 + Prairie-dogs, 141 + Prawns, 405 + Praying-mantis, 363 + Prickly chiton, 421 + Proboscis-monkey, 11 + Pudus, 188 + Puff-adder, 319 + Puffin, 297 + Puma, 57 + Purpura, 419 + Puss-moth, 380 + Pygmy hippopotamus, 208 + Pyrenean desman, 40 + Pythons, 315 + + + Q + + Quagga, 193 + + + R + + Rabbits, 154, 455 + " jack, 156 + Racoons, 110 + Raft-spider, 392 + Rat, black, 148 + " brown, 148 + " kangaroo, 221 + " water, 146 + Ratel, 97 + " honey, 97 + Rattlesnakes, 320 + Ravens, 254 + Rays, 340 + Razor-shells, 424 + Red and blue macaw, 275 + Red deer, 184 + Red-faced ouakari, 18 + Red grouse, 279 + Red gurnards, 347 + Red howler, 18 + Reindeer, 181 + Rheas, 283 + Rhinoceros, African, 204 + " common, 204 + " Indian, 203 + Rhinoceros-hornbill, 251 + Rice-weevil, 359 + Ring-necked parrakeet, 274 + Ring-tailed lemur, 22 + River-horse, 207 + Roach, 330 + Robber-crab, 402 + Robin, 267 + Rock-snakes, 316 + Rocky Mountain goat, 172 + Rodents, 136 + Roebuck, 185 + Rondeleti's shark, 338 + Rooks, 255 + Rorqual, common, 127 + " lesser, 128 + Rosy feather-starfish, 412 + Ruffed lemur, 22 + Ruffs, 287 + Russian desman, 40 + + + S + + Sable, 95 + Sacred ibis, 290 + Saki, black, 19 + Salamanders, 323 + " giant, 324 + " spotted, 323 + Salmon, 332 + " North Pacific, 333 + Salt-water fishes, 337 + Sandhoppers, 405 + Saw-fishes, 339 + Saw-flies, 374 + Scaly ant-eater, 215 + Scarabæus, 357 + Scarlet ibis, 290 + Scarlet tanager, 444 + Scavengers, 356 + Scorpion, water, 383 + Scorpions, 395 + Sea-anemones, 431 + Sea-bears, 118 + Sea-cucumbers, 413 + Sea-dolphins, 133 + Sea-elephant, 119 + Sea-gulls, 295 + Sea-hog, 130 + Sea-horse, 120, 351 + Sea-lions, 116 + Sea-mouse, 429 + Sea-otter, 101 + Sea-unicorn, 128 + Sea-urchins, 409 + Seals, 113 + " common, 115 + " fur, 118 + " hair, 116 + " hooded, or crested, 119 + Secretary-vulture, or secretary-bird, 235 + Serval, 60 + Shark, blue, 338 + " hammerhead, 338 + " Rondeleti's, 338 + " thresher, 339 + " white, 338 + Sharp-nosed finner, 128 + Sheep, 161 + " bighorn, 163 + " Marco Polo's, 163 + Shells, razor, 424 + Shiner, 445 + Ship-worm, 426 + Shore-crab, 400 + Short-eared owl, 240 + Shrews, 36 + " elephant, 39 + " jumping, 39 + " pen-tailed tree, 39 + " tree, 39 + " tupaia, 39 + " water, 37 + Shrike, 266 + Shrimps, 405 + " fresh-water, 406 + Siamang, 6 + Side-striped jackal, 86 + Sirenians, 133 + Six-banded armadillo, 214 + Skinks, 305 + Skipjacks, 357 + Skippers, mud, 350 + Skunk, 99, 454 + Skylark, 262 + Slender loris, 23 + Sloth-bear, 108 + Sloths, 212 + Slugs, 416 + Snails, 417 + " edible, 418 + " water, 418 + Snakes, 311, 440 + " black-, 314 + " egg-eating, 314 + " garter, 314 + " green-, 314 + " harmless, 313 + " king, 313 + " milk, 314 + " poisonous, 317 + " rattle-, 320 + " rock, 316 + " water, 314 + Snipe, 288 + Snow-leopard, 55 + Soldier-beetle, 449 + Sole, 343 + Solitary bee, 371 + Sparrow-hawk, 239 + Sparrows, 261, 437 + Sperm or Spermaceti whale, 124 + Spider-monkeys, 16 + Spiders, 387, 450 + " bird, 390 + " garden, 388 + " gossamer, 394 + " hunting, 390 + " marmignatto, 389 + " raft, 392 + " trap-door, 391 + " water, 393 + Spiny ant-eater, 230 + Spotted goby, 349 + " hyena, 77 + " salamander, 323 + Springbok, 176 + Squids, 414 + Squirrels, 137, 447 + " chipmunk, 140 + " flying, 139 + " gray, 139 + " sugar, 222 + Stag-beetle, 356 + Starfish, 410 + " basket, 412 + " bird's-foot, 411 + " rosy feather, 412 + " sun, 411 + Starling, 259 + Star-nosed mole, 45 + Sticklebacks, 327 + Stoat, 93 + Storks, 289 + Striped hyena, 76 + Sturgeon, 341 + Sucking-fishes, 345 + Sugar-squirrel, 222 + Sulphur moth, 380 + Sun-bear, 108 + Sunfish, 445 + Sun-star, 411 + Suricate, 73 + Susu, 132 + Swallows, 271, 443 + Swallowtail moth, 380 + Swans, 292 + Swifts, 245 + " chimney, 245 + Swine, 208 + Swordfish, 344 + + + T + + Tadpole, 321, 440 + Taguan, 140 + Tahr, 171 + Tamandua, 214 + Tanager, scarlet, 444 + Tapirs, American, 206 + Tapirs, Malayan, 206 + Tarsier, 23 + Tasmanian devil, 226 + " wolf, 225 + Tawny thrush, Wilson's, 269 + Terebella, 429 + Teredo, 426 + Termites, 365 + Testacella, 417 + Thousand-legs, 214 + Three-banded douroucouli, 20 + Three-toed echidna, 231 + Thresher-shark, 339 + Thrushes, 267 + " hermit, 269 + " North American, 268 + " oliveback, 269 + " Wilson's tawny, 269 + " wood, 268 + Thylacine, 225 + Tiger-beetle, 355 + Tiger-cat, 61 + Tiger-moth, 378 + Tigers, 51 + " man-eating, 52 + " tree, 59 + Tiger-wolf, 77 + Tit, blue, 265 + " bottle, 265 + " cole, 265 + " great, 265 + " long-tailed, 265 + Titmice, 265 + Toads, 322 + " horned, 307 + Tomtits, 452 + Torpedo, 340 + Tortoises, 299 + " Greek, 300 + " land, 300 + Toucans, 250 + Trap-door spider, 391 + Tree-kangaroo, 221 + Tree-shrew, 39 + Trout, 331 + Tupaia, 39 + Turkeys, 278 + Turnip-fleas, 359 + Turnip saw-flies, 375 + Turs, 168 + Turtle-dove, 277 + Turtles, 300, 440 + " green, 301 + " hawksbill, 301 + + + U + + Unicorn, sea, 128 + Urchins, sea, 409 + Urial, 165 + + + V + + Vampires, 30 + Vaporer-moth, 379 + Veery, 269 + Vipers, 317 + " pit, 319 + Vireo, 437 + Viscacha, 151 + Vlack-vark, 209 + Vole, field, 147 + " water, 146 + Vultures, 233 + " secretary, 235 + + + W + + Wagtails, 263 + Wah, 110 + Walking-stick, 363 + Wallabies, 220 + Walrus, 120 + Wapiti, 187 + Warblers, 263 + Wart-hog, 209 + Wasps, 372 + Water-beetle, 355 + Water-boatman, 382 + Water-rat, 146 + Water-scorpion, 383 + Water-shrew, 37 + Water-snail, 314 + Water-spider, 393 + Water-striders, 382 + Water-thrush, 263 + Water-vole, 146 + Waxbill, 261 + Weasels, 91, 455 + " honey, 97 + " least, 93 + " New York, 93 + Weevers, 346 + Weevils, nut, 359 + " rice, 359 + " wheat, 359 + Whales, 121 + " bottle-nosed, 125 + " fin, 127 + " Greenland, 127 + " killer, 131 + " rorqual, 127 + " sperm, 124 + " whalebone, 126 + " white, 129 + Whelk, 418 + Whippoorwill, 244 + White bear, 102 + White shark, 338 + White-tailed gnu, 178 + Whitethroat, 261 + Wild asses, 193 + " boar, 208 + " duck, 293 + " oxen, 157 + Wildcat, 62 + Wildebeests, 177 + Wilson's tawny thrush, 269 + Wireworms, 357 + Wishtonwish, 141 + Wolf, aard, 74 + " common, 81 + " coyote, 83 + " Tasmanian, 225 + " tiger, 77 + Wolverene, 96 + Wombat, 223 + Woodchuck, 142 + Woodcock, 287 + Woodpecker, 247 + " flicker, 249 + " ivory-bill, 247 + " logcock, 247 + " redhead, 249 + Woodlice, 407 + Wood-pigeon, 276 + Worm, earth-, 427 + " lug-, 428 + " ship, 426 + Wrens, 269 + + + Y + + Yak, 158 + Yapock opossum, 230 + + + Z + + Zebra, 192 + " Burchell's, 192 + " Grévy's, 192 + " mountain, 192 + Zoëa, 408 + + + * * * * * + + + + +TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES: + + +1. Passages in italics are surrounded by _underscores_. + +2. Passages in bold are indicated by =bold=. + +3. In this etext an 'a' with macron is represented as [=a]. + +4. Certain words use oe ligature in the original. + +5. Images have been moved from the middle of a paragraph to the closest +paragraph break. + +6. The following misprints have been corrected: + + "CHIPMANZEES" corrected to "CHIMPANZEES" (page 1) + Added missing period after "siamang" (page 6) + "mountian" corrected to "mountain" (page 8) + Added missing quotation mark after "water." (page 41) + "mischevious" corrected to "mischievous" (page 44) + Added missing period after "Canada Lynx" (facing page 48) + "mountians" corrected to "mountains" (page 56) + Added missing quotation mark after 'Jock,' (page 80) + "yeilded" corrected to "yielded" (page 132) + Removed partial paragraph indenting from sentence starting + "Sometimes a rhinoceros...." (page 204) + "pecarry" corrected to "peccary" (page 210, last paragraph) + "miliped" corrected to "millepede" (page 214) + "They will" corrected to "they will" (page 226) + "noisest" corrected to "noisiest" (page 250) + Added missing period after "Bluebird" (facing page 264) + Removed comma from "the mewing, of cats" (page 275) + Changed "burrow, 6" to "burrow; 6" (facing page 360) + Added missing period after "chrysalis state" (page 372) + Changed "September, Then" to "September. Then" (page 377) + "wine-glasess" corrected to "wine-glasses" (page 410) + "mullusks" corrected to "mollusks" (page 420) + Added missing period after "Eastern coast" (page 457) + "bivavle" corrected to "bivalve" (page 479) + "It's body" corrected to "Its body" (page 483) + "trimimngs" corrected to "trimmings" (page 491) + Added missing quotation mark before "Even the birds" (page 494) + "Coaiti" corrected to "Coati" (page 499) + "Ivorybill" corrected to "Ivory-bill" (page 502) + "ivorybill" corrected to "ivory-bill" (page 508) + Replaced named index entries on the beginning of page (continuing + from previous page) with quotation mark (pages 498, 501, 503, + 504, 508) + +7. Other than the corrections listed above, printer's inconsistencies in +spelling, punctuation, and hyphenation have been retained. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Animal World, A Book of Natural +History, by Theodore Wood + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 42414 *** |