BY THOMAS P. LUCAS, M.R.C.S.E. 51 



the roosting trees, young ones would be left behind as the adults 

 took to flight. Again, when the young are strong enough to 

 cling tig-htly to the mother's fur, they appear to be carried by 

 the mother in her nightly journeys. Specimens have been shot 

 with half-grown young ones hanging on to the fur of the parent 

 so strongly, as needed to be literally torn away to get them off. 



The bats — which are insectivorous — as they sweep swiftly 

 through the air, strike at the insect with the claw, and laying 

 hold of the prey pass it to the mouth. In watching a bat one 

 night, flying round and round an electric light in pursuit of 

 moths, a moth fell from its mouth at my feet. One wing 

 bad been torn by the bat in catching. The moth was 

 covered with a viscid gluey substance, which prevented flight 

 when it crawled out of the bat's mouth. The use of such 

 salivary gastric secretion is apparent. As the creature rapidly 

 catches, and, so to speak, places or pitches each insect unkilled 

 in its mouth, every time it opened its mouth for fresh prey, 

 those already caught would escape. The gluing of the wings 

 prevents this, and rapidly and easily digests the dust plume of 

 the insect's wings. The flying-foxes, which feed on soft sugar 

 fruits and honey flowers, appear to try the fruit both with their 

 teeth and claws. They often waste more than they eat in 

 finding food to their taste. Since the pepsin of the pig is 

 manufactured as an artificial human stomach digestive, would it 

 not be possible to utilize the strong digestive secretions of the 

 flying-fox, if not of some of the bats, for the same purpose ? 

 The experiment is worth trying. 



The flesh of the flying-fox is pronounced to be good gamely 

 food. Uncivilized natives of the islands esteem it as a great 

 luxury, especially at the height of the fruit season, when fat 

 and in good condition. 



The two species, Pteropus poliocephalus and P. scapulatus, 

 found around Brisbane and Southern Queensland, are much 

 larger than the two northern species, P. Gouldii and P. con- 

 spicillatus. Mr. Broadbent states that he has seen a camp of 

 P. brunneus, which is plentiful on Percy Island, flying over the 

 opposite Australian coast. If so, we have five Australian 

 species. 



