INTRODUCTION. XVll 



Under these circumstances the}* can be readily cauglit, and 

 although bearing captivity poorly, can yet with care be sustained 

 for some time. In this condition they will take small pieces 

 of raw meat with avidity, though — strange as it may appear — 

 refuse to partake of insects. They appear to drink largely 

 of water. A small Brown Bat, which I once caught and caged, 

 would lap up water eagei'ly when all food was refused. 



The first act of the bat, after emerging in the evening from 

 its retreat, is to fly to the water. The following account illus- 

 trating this peculiarity, as well as showing the enormous numbers 

 in which these animals will live together, is of great interest. It 

 is from the pen of M. Figaniere, Minister to this country from 

 Portugal, in a letter addressed to Prof. Henry, Secretary of 

 Smithsonian Institution : — 



" In the winter of 1859, having purchased the property known 

 as Seneca Point, on the margin of the Northeast Eiver, near 

 Charlestown, in Cecil County, Maryland, we took possession of 

 it in May of the next year. The dwelling is a brick structure 

 covered with slate in the form of an L, twc-3toried, with garret, 

 cellars, and a stone laundry and milk house attached. Having 

 been uninhabited for several years it exhibited the appearance, 

 with the exception of one or two rooms, of desolation and neglect, 

 with damp, black walls, all quite unexpected, as it had been but 

 very slightly examined, and was represented in good habitable 

 condition, merely requiring some few repairs and a little painting, 



" The boxes, bundles and other packages of furniture which had 

 preceded us, lay scattered around and within the dwelling : 

 these, with the exception of some mattresses and bedding for 



him during his stay, and endeavored to render him comfortable, leaving 

 him writing material in abundance. I was indeed heartily glad to have a 

 naturalist under my roof. We had all retired to rest. Every person I 

 imagined was in deep slumber, save myself, when of a sudden I heard a 

 great uproar in the naturalist's room. I got up, reached the place in a 

 few moments, and opened the door, when, to my astonishment, I saw my 

 guest running about the room naked, holding the handle of my favorite 

 violin, the body of which he had battered to pieces against the walls in 

 attempting to kill the bats, which had entered by the open window, 

 probably attracted by the insects flying around his candle. I stood 

 amazed, but he continued running round and round, until he was fairly 

 exhausted ; when he begged me to procure one of the animals for him, as 

 he felt convinced they belonged to a ' new species.' " 

 B 



