THE REASON WHY: 



" On a bat's wing will 1 fly, 

 After sun-sot menih ! " 



185. Why are bats not classed ivith birds, although they art 

 capable of flight ? 



Chiefly because they suckle their young, which habit refers them 

 to the class mammalia. They breed at the hottest time of the year ; 

 and the young, which are usually two in number, are naked and 

 helpless at their birth, capable only of clinging to the teats of their 

 mother, which they do with the greatest firmness. There is no nest 

 in which the mother can leave her young ones ; so she bears them 

 about attached to her body, until they are capable of flight. 



186. Why is the wing of the bat furnished with a hook ? 

 Without this hook, the bat would be the most helpless of all 



animals. It can neither run upon its feet, and can raise itself from 

 the ground only with great difficulty. The hook takes the form of 

 a bent claw, and is situated at an angle of the wing, by which 

 means the bat attaches itself to the sides of rocks, caves, and build- 

 ings, laying hold of crevices, chinks, and protuberances. It hooks 

 itself by this claw, remains suspended, and takes its flight from this 

 position : which operations compensate for the decrepitude of its 

 legs and feet. 



187. Why do bats conceal themselves in old ruins, fissures of 

 walls, &c., by day ? 



Because, being organised for nocturnal flight, the impressions of 

 light are too powerful for them. Their wings being formed of a 

 highly sensitive membrane, they seek sheltered places, where 

 neither light nor currents of air can take effect upon them. 



188. Why have bafs wings numerous nerves distributed 

 upon them ? 



Their sight being defective, is compensated by the highly- 

 sensitive nature of their wings, ears, nostrils, &c., which vary in 

 different species. Their wings are so susceptible of impressions, 

 that bats, even after their eves have been destroyed, can fly about 

 amidst numerous objects, and avoid them all with the greatest 



