226 
NATURE NOTES. 
Habit. — The two characteristics in which bats appear to me 
to differ most conspicuously from any other creatures with which 
I am acquainted are, first, the readiness with which, on being 
captured, they will adopt an entirely new method of life ; and, 
second, the speed with which the new habits that they individu- 
ally adopt harden into second nature. So far to tame a bat that 
it will lie in your hand and take food from your fingers is gene- 
rally the task of a few hours, at most of a few days. I do not 
think they recognize human beings sufficiently to have any fear 
of them. 
Their individuality of habit I can best illustrate by extracts 
from the notes I made at various times. 
Of the bat caught on the fishing line (August 1890) I have 
noted, “We kept the bat in a cardboard box and fed it with flies, 
moths and grasshoppers. These we put into the box alive 
through a small hole. The bat soon learned where they came 
from, and used to push its snout into the hole when hungry. It 
was most excited over moths, and there was a great tumult 
inside the box whenever a large moth was put in.’’ 
We caught two more bats the same autumn. “ From Sep- 
tember we fed the bats on meal worms, which they grew so 
fond of that after a while they refused blue-bottles. The first 
bat (which we could always distinguish by the scar left by the 
hook) was much cleverer than the others in pursuing meal 
worms. We would put several worms into the box and the first 
bat would hunt systematically for them, feeling along the edges 
with its snout, but it soon came to the conclusion that corners 
were the most likely places, and used to run from one corner to 
the other. None of the bats ever seemed able to see a meal 
worm however close it crawled to them, nor did they turn to 
catch it if it crawled over or under them. When they touched 
it with the snout they understood and grabbed it eagerly. 
Neither of the other bats ever attempted to hunt the worms. 
They ran about with their snouts up waiting to be fed. They 
understood that meal worms w’ere to be found at the tips of 
fingers, so, if I put my finger down on a worm at the bottom 
of the box, the bat would come and touch my finger with its 
snout, and then feel down till it came to the worm.” 
Of two bats that I kept in 1891-2 I have noted: — “ One of the 
bats will never find a meal worm for itself. I have seen it after 
it had not been fed for five days, and had waked up very hungry, 
scrambling round the box, treading on worms that I had put in, 
but keeping its head as high up as it could. The other bat, 
though just as ready to feed from my fingers, would always hunt 
for itself if put in the box. This bat was evidently the stronger. 
It kept its coat much cleaner and eat quicker.” 
Sleep. — It was my custom to feed the bats at night, generally 
about nine o’clock. In the summer months they would always 
be awake and eager for their food. But in October and Novem- 
ber they were generally asleep, and needed to wake themselves 
