2004 Quadrupeds. 



58° Fahr., I was surprised to find that these specimens were again producing living 

 young. One of the large apterous females had already produced its living offspring, 

 and the other was at that very moment in the act of parturition. The posterior part 

 of the body of a young Aphis was then protruding from that of the parent, and was 

 quickly followed by the remainder of the body, the thorax and the legs. When these 

 parts had passed, there was a slight cessation of parturient action, the head being still 

 retained in the vaginal passage. The disengagement of the head seemed to be the 

 slowest part of the process. The manner in which the parent rid herself of the new- 

 born Aphis was deserving of notice. When the little insect was almost entirely ex- 

 truded from her body, it clung with its feet to the plant ; while the female Aphis, at 

 short intervals, gradually elevated her body, and with a slight jerk seemed to labour 

 to remove it. The young Aphis repeatedly missed its hold, but quickly regained it, 

 and was thus as it were partially dragged forth. The head, with its small black eyes, 

 parts of the mouth, and the antenna?, were thus gradually withdrawn, but I could not 

 detect any foetal coverings removed with them. The whole process of birth occupied 

 about five minutes. Immediately after the young had escaped from the parent, it 

 turned about on the leaf and moved very slowly, while the female plunged her probos- 

 cis into the plant to take food after her exertion. 



" These brief observations confirm the statements of former naturalists, that the 

 Aphides deposit at one period true ova, and at others produce living young ; and they 

 lead us hereafter to inquire more particularly respecting the circumstances which ac- 

 celerate the one, or retard the other form of development." — George Newport, F.R.S., 

 in ' Transactions of the Linnean Society' 



Habits of Noctilio Mastivus, a West- Indian Bat. — " The following notes are ex- 

 tracted from a journal kept in Jamaica during a residence there in the years 1845 and 

 1846.— 



" Being out on a shooting excursion, on the 18th of October, 1845, round Crabpond 

 Point, on the southern coast, about the middle of the day I looked about for a seat, on 

 which to rest while I ate some refreshment. A gigantic cotton tree (Eriodendron an- 

 fractuosum) in the grass-piece of Mount Edgecumbe seemed to promise in its long 

 root-spurs the seat I was seeking. On arriving at it I found the tree was hollow, the 

 trunk forming a wide chimney of unknown height, as, being closed at the top, the 

 darkness prevented my seeing more than a few yards up. I remarked to my servant 

 that it was a likely locality for bats ; but the appearance of a large gecko drew off my 

 attention, and I attempted to capture it. The reptile darted however within the ca- 

 vity, and I then noticed that beneath the hollow was piled a heap, several feet in di- 

 ameter, and at least a foot in height, of a soft granular substance, which on examina- 

 tion I found to be the dung of some insectivorous animals, with a very rank peculiar 

 odour. I had now no doubt of the tree being the abode of bats, but had little expecta- 

 tion of being able to ascertain the fact. While peering carefully up, however, I dis- 

 tinctly heard the flapping of wings and some shrill squeakings, and this determined 

 me to fire my fowling-piece at random up the cavity. This I did twice, and though I 

 brought down nothing but a little rotten wood, yet presently, when the smoke had a 

 little subsided, on looking up again I discerned amidst the darkness one or two heads, 



