66 A FIELD GUIDE IN NATURE-STUDY 



will roughly represent the arrangements of mechanical elements in the 

 squirrel's jaw. Notice how much power is required to balance the weight 

 attached at the end of the ruler. Now use a longer stick; have the weight 

 at its end and the distance from the fulcrum to the point of attachment of 

 the string about the same as before. Do you need more or less weight on 

 the string to hold the stick horizontal ? Would it then be best for an animal 

 that needed to bite hard to have a short jaw or a long jaw ? What sort of 

 a dog can bite hardest ? Has he a long or short jaw ? Why does a hound 

 have a long head ? Compare a cat's teeth with those of a dog. Are they 

 alike ? Are they like your own ? Are they like those of a horse or cow or 

 sheep ? How are the sharp, cutting teeth of the dog or cat well adapted to 

 its methods of eating ? What do you feed a horse or cow ? Why do they 

 have flat-crowned teeth ? State the relation of the kind of teeth to the 

 habits of the animal. 



Note the position of the organs of special sense eyes, ears, nose, 

 tongue. Is there any advantage in having the sense organs on the head 

 end ? What is the use of a cat's whiskers ? 



Wild relatives. -We have seen that the cat is a warmth-loving creature. 

 She loves to lie stretched before the fire and curls up to sleep in the warmest 

 corner. She goes out regretfully in winter and then gingerly treads the 

 snowy paths. From these observed peculiarities what would you infer 

 regarding the probable habitat of the great cats her wild relatives ? 



Endeavor to form clear mental pictures of the following wild relatives: 

 fox, wolf, coyote, jackal, otocyon, bay cat, cheetah, fishing cat, jaguar, 

 lynx, lion, manuel, ocelot, ounce, panther, puma, rusty cat, serval, tiger, 

 wild cat, yaguarundi. Consult encyclopedias and natural histories to 

 find descriptions of the appearance, habits, and haunts of these animals. 

 Recall the work already done on protective colors of the great cats. Do 

 any other of these animals besides those noted earlier illustrate the laws we 

 there found ? 



Distribution. Have each pupil draw an outline map of the world on a 

 large sheet of paper (12 by 24 inches), or else use the printed outline maps. 

 Indicate by initial letter (L, lion, Ly, lynx, etc.) on these maps the habitats 

 of each great cat. Thus the tiger is found in Arabia, Persia, India, Siam, 

 Borneo, Sumatra, Eastern China, Manchuria, and Eastern Siberia. In 

 each of these localities put a T. Similarly mark the regions inhabited by the 

 other great cats. A brief study of the map will enable you to discover some 

 interesting facts. Can you state these and tell what you learn from them ? 



[NOTE. The material of this chapter is graded so as to give the student-teacher an 

 idea of how to adopt the subject-matter to the various grades, making it increasingly 

 difficult as the student grows in ability.] 



