794 



THE NATURE BOOK 



distinguished by a peculiar neatness of 

 flight — Mr. Coward describes the Lesser 

 Horseshoe Bat as turning in the air 



■jiii-, SI. KOI i\i: 



Noticeable poin's are the pad at the base of the thumb— 

 which is possibly the remnant of a sucker— and the 

 triangular naked patch in the centre of the under lip. 



immediately before alighting, aiul so 

 avoiding the laborious reversal which is 

 necessary in the case of Bats which alight 

 head upwards — and one would naturallv 

 expect to find in Bats so distinguishetl 

 some clue to the nature of that delicate 

 sense-perception which is characteristic 

 of Bats in general, and whose existence, 

 first investigated by the Abbe Sjxillan- 

 zani, has been confirmed recently in 

 this country by Mr. A. Whitakcr. In 

 Spallanzani's experiments specimens of 

 the Xoctule, the Long-Eared, and the 

 Greater Horseshoe Bats were completel}' 

 blinded, and deprived, as far as was 

 possible without killing them, of the 

 senses of smell and hearing. They 

 were then " set at liberty." 



"It was discovered that under these 

 conditions they could conduct their fliglit 

 through subterranean passages without 

 striking against the walls, that they 

 turned exactly as the most complicated 

 windings required, and that they e\-en 

 avoided, with great exactness, cords, 

 branches of trees, and other obstacles." 



Mr. Whitaker's experiment is described 

 by Millais as follows : "He obtained a 

 Katterer's Bat and covered its closed 

 eyes with wax, fastening it with a little 

 patch of rubber and solution, and then 

 released the Bat in a room in which it 

 had not been before. When, on previous 



occasions, other Bats had been at liberty 

 in this room they had visually circled 

 round close to the ceiling ; but this 

 blinded Bat at first flew in a hesitating 

 manner, and then, gaining confidence, 

 went straight towards the closed door. 

 It stopped when about six inches away, 

 and hovered slowly along the line of 

 the toj-) and right down the side, without 

 doubt keeping its position through its 

 sensitiveness to the slight draught which 

 came through the tiny chink. Finding 

 no opening large enough to get through, 

 it flew quickly down the room towards 

 the fireplace, no doubt again feeling the 

 draught, bat turned away when it felt 

 llie heat of the fire. It flitted then close 

 to the wainscot, hesitating repeatedly 

 at a spot where the woodwork was a 

 little sprung and there was again a sensible 

 draught. It flew quickly, passing under 

 chairs, of which there were twelve in 

 the room, besides other furniture, and 

 never even touched anything with the 

 tips of its wings. An attempt to catch it 

 showed that, although incapable of sight, 

 it was well able to dodge ; but it constantly 



THE PIFISTKKLLE. 

 The small common Bat. 



stoj^ixnl in its lli.i^ht, li()\-eied, and scratched 

 at the covering over its eyes. When a 

 stick was held in its direct path it avoided 

 it when three or four inches away. When 

 it wanted to rest it settled on one of the 



