Cheiroptera. MAMMALIA. Cheiroptera. xxiii 
with garret, cellars, stone laundry and milk house 
attached. The liouses had remained unoccupied for 
some time, and appeared damp and neglected.” The 
weather was warm and beautiful when they arrived, 
and they availed themselves of the occasion to sit on 
the open veranda and lawns. The chairs were scarcely 
occupied by them, when, to their amazement and 
horror, the air became clouded with small black Eats 
hovering about the house, entering and almost ob- 
scuring the early twilight, causing a stampede among 
the ladies, who fled, covering their heads, fearing the 
dreaded little vampires would make a lodgment in 
their hair. 
An amusing description follows concerning the 
various means used in vain to exterminate them ; 
scientific friends were applied to, and others sent 
various recipes, but all to no purjiose. “ Evening 
after evening did we patiently, though not compla- 
cently, watch this periodical exodus of dusky wings 
into light, from their lurking place, one after another, 
and in some instances in couples and even triples, 
according as the size of the holes or apertures from 
which they emerged in the slate roofing would permit. 
Their excursions invariably commenced with the cry 
of the Whip-poor-will, both at coming evening and at 
early dawn, and it was observed that they always 
directed their flight towards the river, undoubtedly 
to damp their Mouse-like snouts ; they then returned 
to gambol, and satisfy their appetites, as the absence 
of Gnats and Musquitoes testified. I thus ascertained 
one very important fact — that this Bat ate and drank 
twice in twenty-four hours. Such appeared their 
habit. Upon ascertaining this fact, after having tried 
suffocation by sulphur with only partial success, I 
concluded to adopt a more efficient mode of warfare, 
and for this purpose ordered all the holes and fissures 
in the wood-work, and apertures in the slating, to be 
closed with cement. This put a stop to their egress ; 
but to avoid their dying by starvation and deprivation 
of water, which would manifoldly increase the annoy- 
ance, by adding their dead to their living stench, I 
ordered apertures of about two feet square to be 
opened in the lath-and-plaster partition, on each side 
of the garret windows, and also in the ceiling of every 
garret room ; lastly, when the Bats’ reveille was 
sounded by the Whip-poor-will, all the hands of our 
establishment, men and boys, each armed with a 
wooden implement, shaped like a cricket bat, marched 
to the third floor, ‘ on murderous deeds with thoughts 
intent.’ A lighted lantern was place in the middle 
of the room. After closing the windows to prevent 
all escape into the open air, the assailants separated 
at proper distances to prevent clubbing each other, 
and awaited the appearance of the Bats, enticed into 
the room by the artificial light, and impelled by their 
own natural craving. The slaughter commenced, and 
continued with sanguinary vigor for several hours. 
This succeeded perfectly. After a few evenings, the 
war terminated by the extermination of every indi- 
vidual of the enemy in the main building. ’I’liere was, 
however, a cock-loft in the laundry, which gave evi- 
dence of a large population. In this case I had the 
slater remove the slates that needed repairing, and 
here were disclosed some 1500 or 2000 Bats, of 
which the larger number were killed, the remainder 
seeking the barns, trees and other places of conceal- 
ment in the neighborhood. In the main building 
thousnml, six hundred and forty Buts, from actiud 
counting, were destroyed. 'I'lie manure, as well as the 
bodies of the slain, was used to fertilize the flower and 
vegetable garden, and thus, in some degree, they 
served to compensate us for the annoyance to which 
we had been subjected.” 
With free use of disinfectants, it was five years 
before the stench from this enormous Bat-roost was 
eradicated. 
'I'he habits of the Bat favor the breeding and rapid 
increase of various pests, as Bed-bugs (Uinie.!: lectn- 
laris) and Acari. in immense numbers. 
An interesting anecdote is related in Godman’s 
Natural History, by 'I’itian Peale : “ In J une, 1823, 
a son of the keeper of a city park in Philadelphia, 
brought home with him a young Bat [L. noveiora- 
censis). Three hours afterwards, in the evening, as 
he was conveying it to the museum in his hand, 
while passing near the place where he caught it, the 
mother made her appearance, and followed the boy 
two squares, flying around him, and finally alighting 
on his breast — such was her anxiety to save her off- 
spring. Both were brought to the museum, the young 
one firmly adhering to the mother’s teat. 'I'his faith- 
ful creature lived two days, but died of injuries re- 
ceived in its capture. The young was too small and 
immature to live.” 
Audubon relates an amusing incident that occurred 
to a guest, whom he does not mention by name, but 
who is known to be the eminent naturalist, M. Rafin- 
esque. The latter had been assigned a room, and 
“ when it was waxed late, and we had all retired to 
rest, every person, I imagined, was in deep slumber, 
save myself, when, of a sudden,! heard a great uproar 
in the naturalist’s room. I got up, and reached the 
door, when, to my astonishment. I saw my guest run- 
ning about the room naked, holding the handle of my 
favorite violin, the body of which he had battered to 
pieces against the walls, trying to kill the Bats which 
had entered by the open window, probably attracted 
by the insects around his lighted candle. I stood 
amazed, but he continued running around the room 
until he was fairly exhausted, when he begged me to 
capture one of the animals, as he felt sure they were 
a new species.” 
The Bats of North America have been so thor- 
oughly studied by Dr. Allen, U. S. A., that we con- 
sider it as adding to the usefulness of this work many- 
fold by presenting the larger portion of the matter. 
In the announcement by Prof. Henry, Secretary of 
the Smithsonian Institution [Smithsonian Misc. Col- 
lections, 165), in June, 1864, he says : “ 'i’he following 
memoir by Dr. Allen is designed to exhibit the present 
state of our knowledge respecting the species of 
Cheiroptera, or Bats, found in America, north of 
Mexico, and their general geographical distribution. 
It is based principally on the specimens in the Smith- 
sonian Institution and other American Societies.” 
No order of Mammals has received so little attention 
