FIELD NATURALISTS' CLUB. 129 



which I intend to plead to-night and in doing so I hope you 

 will neither find me too long or too tedious. As I have just 

 hinted, those animals which are neither (in our estimation) pretty 



or graceful and which lead secluded or nocturnal lives are regarded 

 with suspicion. Everything which creeps, crawls, or iiie.s in 

 obscurity, never mind how innocent it is, no matter what good 

 qualities it may possess, is condemned and slain without trial 

 or enquiry of any kind and in many cases the slayer considers 

 he has done a valiant action and rendered himself worthy of the 

 homage of the human race. Undoubtedly many animals, 

 by their appearance, on a first examination rouse our 

 repugnance, but why is Man learnedly styled, Homo sapiens, 

 if he is not to use his reason and to enquire into the things of 

 life, and amongst them, the habits and characteristics of his 

 humble friends of the Lower Creation 1 Amongst mammals, 

 Bats are perhaps the most abhorred and despised. In all 

 countries and in all times have they been regarded with dislike 

 and suspicion. The Jews thought them unclean and accursed 

 creatures. The Greeks horrow r ecl from them the wings of their 

 harpies and the Christians adorn their pictures of the 

 Evil One with the pinions of a bat. The poets too, have not been 

 behind hand in calumniating these unfortunate night-flyers. 

 Shakespeare makes his witches add " wool of bat " to the in- 

 gredients in the boiling cauldron ; the worst evil Caliban could 

 wish his master was that bats should light on him, and numbers 

 of other sweet singers of our own and other countries have evil 

 things to say when " the weak-eyed bat with short shrill shriek 

 Hits by on leathern wing." But what is the truth about bats? 

 At the first glance they are not very taking in appearance, but 

 a closer examination will show that they are, main' of them, 

 beautifully marked and that they are covered with extremely 

 fine fur; that they are wonderfully and beautifully adapted for 

 their peculiar mode of life, and that they deserve a better fate than 

 to lie knocked down and killed when they happen to lose their 

 way and suddenly find themselves in our dining rooms. For 

 their good offices they are contemned and killed. When we 

 light our lamps at night, the light attracts numbers of mosqui - 

 and other disagreeable insects, who love to pursue their 

 mystic atrial dances in the bright rays, and the bats, knowing this, 

 for they are intelligent animals, swoop in amongst tin in to 

 catch their evening meal. Our Pr< ideni will no doubt be able 

 to tell you how many species of bats, there are 1 in Trinidad which 

 are positive enemies of mankind, in that they are addicted to the 

 habit of bleeding our animals and robbing our fruit trees, but he 

 will also tell you that these are more frequently found inthecount ry 

 districts and that the large majority of the vast army of small 

 bats about town are insectivorous ami do no damage to either 



