84 FARM VERMIN, HELPFUL AND HURTFUL. 



cases and harder portions of which are found in its excre- 

 ment. When Buffon visited the famous grotto of Arcy he 

 found the ground covered to the extent of several feet with 

 what he at first thought to be soil. Upon examination this 

 proved to consist mainly of the remains of wings and the 

 harder portions of various insects — a mass which had 

 doubtless taken years to accumulate. Another instance 

 is recorded where one hundred and eighty-five bats 

 (mainly V, 7iocttcla) were taken from under the eaves of 

 Queen's College, Cambridge, and sixty-three individuals 

 upon another occasion. And yet again a singular scene in 

 this connection is reported in connection with the discovery 

 of a colony of bats of the Reddish-grey species {Vesperh'h'o 

 nattereri) in the village church at Arrow — proving the 

 social and gregarious habits of the species : — Between the 

 ceiling of the chuich and the tiled roof was a dark retreat, 

 accessible by a low arch from a floor in the tower. Here the 

 bats were seen adhering, by all their extremities, to the 

 under surface of the row of tiles which forms the crest or 

 ridge of the roof (partly supported, however, by the upper 

 tier of roof-tiles on which the ridge-tiles rested), and others 

 clinging to them, until a mass was made up three or four 

 inches thick, six or seven wide, and about four feet in length. 

 It would be wrong to call this their place of repose, as they 

 presented a most singular scene of activity, the constant 

 endeavour of those outside being to penetrate the mass, 

 probably for warmth, and to do this they were continually 

 poking their noses between those nearest them, and then 

 forcing in their bodies, to be in their turn again pushed to 

 the outside. In this way a regular bickering was kept up in 

 the whole mass. However, they seemed to be very gentle^ 

 and to have no idea of biting or otherwise annoying each 

 other/' 



One of our fairly abundant species, Daubenton's bat 

 ( Ves^ertilio Daubentoiin)^ has for its haunts aquatic situations, 



