1 6 THE INFANCY OF ANIMALS 



Somehow or another, people seem to be convinced 

 that natural history- in our own islands is an unprofitable 

 study, yielding no discoveries of any scientific worth. On 

 the other hand, the distant tropics, or indeed any land 

 remote from the British Islands, may be regarded as a 

 sure and certain happy hunting ground for zoological 

 surprises of all sorts. These impressions, I say, are 

 common, but they are very far indeed from being well 

 founded. This very theme of young bats and their up- 

 bringing proves this ; for during the last few years our 

 native bats have been most patiently and laboriously 

 studied by Major Barrett Hamilton and others, and they 

 have brought to light some extremely interesting facts, 

 bearing directly on this very theme. 



For example, it has been found, in regard to the largest 

 and handsomest of our native bats, the Noctule {Nyctalus 

 noctuld), that the young at the moment of birth is dropped 

 into a pocket formed by the interfemoral membrane, 

 that is to say by the skin stretched between the hind- 

 legs, and enclosing the tail' as a central supporting 

 rod. Naked and blind, it is then carefully licked clean 

 by the mother and transferred to the membrane of her 

 wing ; there the umbilical cord is gnawed off, and the 

 placenta eaten. She then cleans herself, and presently 

 gives her precious charge its first drink of milk. About 

 a fortnight elapses before the eyes open, and the fur 

 appears. Blind and naked though they are on entering 

 the world, these young yet display a wonderful amount of 

 activity. For in another case, within a few moments after 

 birth the youngster worked its way under its mother's 

 shoulder and so round on to her back, where it clung, head 

 downwards, by means of its powerful hind-toes, and quite 

 exposed. 



