THE MUSEUM. 



71- 



Industries of Animals. 



Among animals, as well as human 

 beings, we find the art of ' hunting and 

 fishing, of storing food in houses made 

 for its reception, of domesticating vari- 

 ous species and of harvesting and reap- 

 ing- — the rudiments of the chief human 

 industries. Some animals take advan- 

 tage of natural caverns in the same 

 manner as do many races of primitive 

 man. Others, like the rodents, dig 

 out dwellings in the earth; even to-day 

 there are regions where man does not 

 act otherwise. Woven dwellings, con- 

 structed with materials entangled to- 

 gether, like the nests of birds, proceed 

 from the same method of manufacture 

 as the wollen stuffs of which nomad 

 tribes make their tents. 



The beavers who build huts of wood 

 and of mud, and the termites who con- 

 struct vast dwellings of clay, have in 

 this industry reached the same point as 

 man. Although they do not build 

 their dwellings so well, nor in so com- 

 plex a fashion as modern architects, 

 yet they work in the same way. All 

 of these ingenious little architects work 

 without organs specially adapted to ac- 

 complish the effect which they reach. 

 It is of these genuine industries that we 

 wish to speak in the present article. 



Struggles OF the Chase. 



Among the birds, none display more 

 remarkable qualities for hunting and 

 conquering the game, than does the 

 Secretary Bird, [Gypogrrauus rcptili- 

 vo?-us.) His food consists of the most 

 deadly of poisonous snakes, and his 

 great success depends upon his quick- 

 ness in striking without being struck, 

 since the fangs of his prey might give 

 him a mortal wound at the first blow. 



In South Africa he pursues every 



snake, whether venomous or not, and 

 so terrible is his attack that the snakes 

 seem to feel that their only safety lies 

 in flight. When the snake is cornered 

 he suddenly turns round, and prepares 

 to use his defensive weapons. The 

 bird also stops, and turns in one of his 

 wings to protect the lower part of his 

 body. A terrific duel then begins. 

 The snake throws himself upon his 

 enemy, who at each stroke parries with 

 the end of his wing; the fangs of the 

 snake are buried in feathers which 

 terminate the end of the wing, and 

 leave their poison without producing 

 any effects. While the Secretary bird 

 is parrying with one wing it is repeated- 

 ly striking with the other, until the 

 reptile is stunned, and ceases to resist. 

 The bird then thrusts its beak into the 

 skull, throws the reptile about in the 

 air for a time, and finally swallows him. 



Hunting wtth Projectiles. 



We often hear people remark that 

 man is the only animal endowed with 

 sufficient intelligence to utilize as weap- 

 ons exterior objects like a stone or stick; 

 and it is still more strongly stated that 

 he is the only creature who can use 

 these projectiles for striking at a dist- 

 ance. It is quite true, nevertheless, 

 that creatures very low in the scale of 

 organization are known to use projec- 

 tiles with extreme skill for securing 

 their prey. In the rivers of India lives a 

 fish, Toxotes jacnlator by name, whose 

 principal food is formed by the insects 

 who live about the leaves of aquatic 

 plants. Were our fish to wait until 

 they fell into water he would soon 

 starve. Should he leap at them, the 

 noise of breaking from the water would 

 cause them to fly before he could reach 

 them. So what does our Toxotes do> 



