12 MODE OF FEEDING. 



large pin's head be placed in the air, a few minutes 

 will dry and harden its exterior ; and when this was 

 the case, my bat did not even notice it. So I had to 

 make twenty or more attempts daily before the crea- 

 ture would condescend to take any food. 



When, however, it did eat, its mode of so doing 

 was remarkable enough. It seized the meat with a 

 sharp snap, retreated to the middle of the cage, sat 

 upright — as in the engraving already alluded to — 

 thrust its wings forward to form a kind of tent, and 

 then, lowering its head under its wings, disposed of 

 the meat unseen. 



From the movement of the neck and upper portion 



of the head, it would be seen that the creature ate the 



meat much after the manner of a 



cat ; that is, by a series of snaps or 



pecks ; for the teeth are all sharply 



pointed, and have no power of 



grinding the food. These teeth 



can be seen in the accompanying sketch of a bat's 



skull. 



In many parts of England the bats are called 

 " Flitter-mice," and are thought to be simply mice 

 plus wings. This Opinion has been formed from the 

 resemblance between the general shape, and especi- 

 ally that of the fur, of the two animals. But if we 

 look at the teeth, we find at once that those of the 

 bat are sharp and pointed, extending tolerably 

 equally all round the jaw-bone ; while the teeth of 



