126 THE FLYING FOX, OR ROUSSETTE. 
other vegetable substances by which animal life is sustained. Figs and other soft fruits 
appear to be the principal food of these bats ; and so pertinacious are the animals in their 
assaults on the crops, whether of field or tree, that they are held in no small dread by 
the agriculturist. 
It is no easy matter to guard against such foes as these winged devourers, for as the 
air is an ever open path by which they can proceed on their destructive quest, and the 
darkness of night shields them from watchful eyes, the ordinary precautions which are 
taken against marauders would be useless. 
There are but two alternatives for any one who desires to partake of the fruit which 
he has cherished—the one, to cover the whole tree with netting or similar fencing, and 
the other, to enclose each separate fruit-cluster with a sufficient protection, As the trees 
which the Kalongs, as these bats are often called, most affect, are of considerable size, the - 
latter plan is that which is generally pursued. For this purpose, the natives weave from 
the split branches of the bamboo, certain basket-like armour, which is fastened round the 
fruit as it approaches maturity, and is an effectual guard even against the Kalong’s 
teeth. 
When the trees are small, they are sometimes covered entirely with netting, but not 
to such good purpose as when each fruit is separately protected. For these bats are so 
cunning, that they creep under the nets and render nugatory all the precautions which 
have been taken. One proprietor of a garden at Pernambuco was never able to secure 
a single fig from his trees, in spite of nets by night and guns by day. The bats are 
wise animals, and do not meddle with unripe fruit. 
The flight of these creatures is unlike that of the more active insect-feeding Cheiroptera. 
The stroke of the wings is slow and steady, and instead of the devious course which 
characterizes the carnivorous bats as they flit about the air in chase of their insect prey, 
these frugivorous species fly in straight lines and to great distances. 
The Kalongs do not seem to care much for dark and retired places of abode; and pass 
the day, which is their night, suspended from the trunks of large trees, preferring those 
which belong to the fig genus. On these boughs they hang in vast numbers, and by 
an inexperienced observer, might readily be taken for bunches of large fruits, so closely 
and quietly do they hang. If disturbed in their repose, they set up a chorus of sharp 
screams, and flutter about in a state of sad bewilderment, their night-loving eyes being 
dazzled by the hateful glare of the sun. They are apt to quarrel under such cireum- 
stances, and fight for their roosting, or rather their hanging places, much as birds do when 
retiring to rest for the night. 
Bats do not seem to be very tempting additions to the cusine, but man is an 
omnivorous animal, and eats everything, whether animal, vegetable, or mineral, the last- 
named diet being exemplified by the “stone-butter” of the German miners, and the clay 
balls of the Indian savage. Some nations there are which feed on their own kind. 
Many there are which live habitually on the Quadrumana that inhabit their country, and 
there are some who find a favourite article of diet in the Cheiroptera. 
The species which is most generally eaten is the Edible Kalong (Ptéropus Edilis), a 
bat which is found in great quantities in the island of Timor and other places. It is a 
very large animal, the expanse of wing rather exceeding five feet, and the length of head 
and body being about a foot. The eye is a fine brown. The flesh of these bats is said 
by those who have ventured upon so strange a diet, to be very delicate in flavour, tender 
in substance, and white in colour. 
It is probably to these animals that Bennett refers, in his “Whaling Voyage round 
the Globe.” 
“The only animals that came under our notice at Timor, were bats and foxes. The 
bats were of that large kind which sailors call Flying Foxes. When our woodcutters 
commenced their labours in the forest, the first blow of the axe caused a large flock of 
these creatures to mount in the air, and wing their way to a less precarious retreat. They 
flew in a body to the distance of more than two hundred yards, then retuned as 
simultaneously to the vicinity of the spot which they had quitted, and ultimately settled 
in the depths of the jungle. 
