THE FUN OF SEEING THINGS 



223 



that the little squirrels manage them. 

 They evidently handle them but how 

 they do it and not get their paws full 

 of "needles" is more than 1 can under- 

 stand. 



Goose Flower. 



I5V H. E. ZIMMERMAN, MT. MOKRIS, lU.. 



This plant is a native of Guatemala, 

 antl is a climber. The large goose-like 

 flowers emit an obnoxious oclor which at- 

 tracts numerous carrion flies. These enter 



essary to their habits of life. At other 

 times it is of minor importance and the 

 animal can and does get along well 

 enough without it. Very often it is 

 mainly ornamental. 



In the cat the tail is used to balance 

 the body in leaping and help it to alight 

 in the right position. It is not very 

 necessary for this purpose, as the Manx 

 cats manage very well without any. 

 But they always look awkward, and I 

 think thev reallv are somewhat clumsy 



YOU MAY WELL CALL THIS PLANT "A GOOSE." 



throu-^h the dark purple opening and con- 

 tinue their course up the interior of the 

 goose-neck to small window-like open- 

 ings. While encirclinig these openings 

 the flower is pollinated. These flies very 

 rarely find the exit, so perish within the 

 flower. 



What's the Use of the Cat's Tail? 

 Alliance, Ohio. 

 To the Editor : 



T come in contact with some students 

 and we have raised the cjuestion of the 

 function of the cat's tail — or the tail of 

 any animal for that matter. We are 

 unable to get any light on it from any 

 source. Can you furnish any informa- 

 tion through The Guide to Nature? 

 Fraternally, 

 William Wallace Burton. 



The tail in different animals serves 

 quite different purposes Sometimes 

 these purposes are important and nec- 



by comparison. Without the tail there 

 would be more tendency for the ani- 

 mal to get turned around in the air, 

 and land sideways instead of head for- 

 ward. The tail serves somewhat the 

 same purpose as the tail of a kite. 

 You can see this much better in a squir- 

 rel in which the tail is bigger and fluf- 

 fier and is a very useful aft'air in leap- 

 ing from bough to bough. I suspect 

 though that a tail in a cat is more or- 

 namental than useful. A fox has a big 

 fluft'y tail too, but he cannot have much 

 use for it. Probably it is mostly or- 

 namental in his case. 



In monkeys the tail is used for bal- 

 ance in leaping, and in many kinds it 

 is also prehensile and serves as a sort 

 of fifth leg, helping them in swinging 

 from branch to branch. 



In the large hoofed animals the tail 

 is useful chiefly as a fly-flapper. They 

 are stiff jointed and compactly built 

 so that they could not reach insects on 



