BATS, OR CHEIROPTEI53. 43 



animals, about ten feet long, was kept for two years in 

 the Aquarial Gardens in Boston. He was quite docile, 

 knew his keeper, and would come and take food from 

 his hand. He was trained to a harness, and drew a 

 young lady in a car prepared for the purpose. 



The mammals already described are mostly of large 

 size ; we now come to the snialler ones. 



BATS, OR CHEIROPTERS. 



Bats are animals which have a thin skin reaching 

 from the neck to the hind legs, and extending to the 

 ends of their long fingers. By means of this skin they 

 can fly as easily as birds, and their flight is noiseless 



Fig. 75. — Hoary Bat. 



and rapid. The body is covered with soft fur. Their 

 eyes are very small, ears large, and the thumb has a 

 sharp hook. In the daytime tliey stay in caves, hollow 

 trees, or other dark places, hanging by their hooks, or 

 by the sharp claws of their hind feet. Bats can fly 

 through the most winding and crooked passages with- 

 out harm, even after their eyes have been destroyed. 

 Some of the larger ones of the East Indies eat fruits 

 and birds, but most kinds feed upon insects, which they 

 are catching when we see them flitting and turning 

 hither and thither in the dusk of evening. The Red, 

 and the Hoary Bat, three or four inches long, are com- 

 mon species in North America. 



