THE BAT. 131 



In the dusk of the evening, at the approach of sum- 

 mer, this little animal seems to rouse from its torpid 

 state, and flies about in pursuit of different insects, 

 though it does not reject either bacon or meat. Even 

 in summer the bat passes the greatest part of its time in 

 sleep ; and in winter wholly confines itself either to 

 some damp or some dreary abode. Decayed castles, 

 or mouldering caves, are the cheerless dwellings which 

 this animal prefers ; where, sticking its hooked claws 

 into the sides of their walls, it hangs suspended till the 

 approach of spring, when the power of the sun reno- 

 vates its faculties, and in some degree restores it to ac- 

 tivity and life. 



In this country there are some varieties of this ani- 

 mal, which are distinguished by the following names : 

 the long-eared bat ; the horse-shoe bat ; and the rhi 

 noceros bat ; which are all perfectly inoffensive, and 

 incapable of doing any injury to mankind ; but in the 

 East and West Indies the bats are considered as for- 

 midable foes, and individually, from their size, are 

 capable of much harm ; but when they unh.e in flocks 

 they then become dreadful, and, like locusts, seem to 

 overspread the land. 



Of all the creatures of this species which Naturalists 

 have described, the great bat of Madagascar seems to 

 be the most destructive ; for, though it resembles our 

 bat in the form of its wings, manner of flying, and in- 

 ternal make, it differs from it in habits, disposition, 

 and size. When the wings of this formidable animal 

 are extended, they are very near four feet in breadth ; 

 the body is about one foot long, and the form of its 

 head resembles that of a fox. When these enormous 

 creatures are put in motion, nothing can be more for- 

 midable than the appearance they make ; they are 



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