228 
NATURE NOTES. 
Next winter I did not allow my two bats to hibernate for 
more than a week at a time. On being waked after a few days’ 
sleep, they were always very thirsty. One of them lived till 
April 23rd. The other had died from injury that it had acci- 
dentally received. 
Cleanliness. — I have carefully observed a bat cleaning 
itself. It hangs by one foot, and with the other washes its face, 
constantly putting its foot into its mouth. With the mouth it 
pays attention to the whole edge of the wing, specially to the 
thumb and first fingers, also to the tail. I have not seen it 
make any use of its thumb in cleaning itself. 
Affection. — During the months in which I have had more 
than one bat, i.e., from August to December, the bats appear to 
be absolutely indifferent to each other. They scold and chatter 
a little on going to roost — about corner places, I fancy. Two 
of my bats learned to snatch worms from others when they 
heard them crunching their food. 
Revenge. — I have seen a bat that had been robbed turn 
and bite the thief ; and on one other occasion I have noticed 
an action that looked like revenge, but they never fight. 
Fear. — Though bats do not seem to have any fear of human 
beings, I have seen one evidently terrified by the sound made by 
turning over the leaves of a book. 
Cry. — Bats seem to have at least two cries. First, the 
scolding “ tchee-tchee,” which can be heard by any ears; and 
second, the high note that is above the range of some men’s 
hearing. The only time I have heard this cry used in captivity 
was by a female, long-eared bat sent to me last year, on April 
i2th. I heard the cry on the first two or three evenings after 
its arrival, but never afterwards. 
Pain. — I do not think bats use any cry to express pain. 
One of my bats was, as I have said, accidentally caught by a 
fishing line. The hook was fixed in the right pectoral muscle, 
and in order to remove it, it was necessary to push the point 
of the hook out through the skin, cut off the barb, and withdraw 
the rest of the hook. The bat made no sound during the whole 
operation. I have noticed the same characteristic on another 
occasion. 
Sight. — Common bats appear to me to be practically blind, 
not only in the light but also in the dusk. They could never 
see the mealworms with which I fed them, or the paint brush 
with which I gave them water, until it was within one-third of 
an inch of their snouts. 
Hearing. — I am not sure that their hearing is very acute. 
They have failed to recognise the sound of mealworms crawling 
on the floor of the box — a sound which I could hear distinctly. 
The hearing of long-eared bats is evidently ver}^ sharp. I think 
they see better, too. Those that I have kept have been in 
every way more interesting and intelligent than the common bat. 
Death. — My brother, Dr. Fred. Batten, has examined most 
