70 
BAT TRIBE. 
aware of, but in a most ridiculous and grotesque 
manner. 
From experiments made by Spallanzani, on the 
long-eared, the horse-shoe, and the noctule bats, 
it appears that these animals possess some ad- 
ditional sense, which enables them, when deprived 
of sight, to avoid obstacles as readily as when 
they retained the power of vision. When their eyes 
were covered, or even put entirely out, they would 
fly about in a darkened chamber without ever 
hitting against the walls, and always suspend their 
flight with caution, w hen they came to a place 
where they could perch. In the middle of a dark 
sewer, that turned at right angles, they would 
always, though at a considerable distance from the 
walls, regularly bend their flight w ith the great- 
est nicety. When branches of trees w r ere sus- 
pended in a room; they always avoided them ; 
and flew betwixt threads hung perpendicularly 
from the ceiling, though these were so near each 
other, that they had to contract their wings in pas- 
sing through them. Mr. Jurin supposes that the 
sense which enables them to perform these unac- 
countable operations, is lodged in the expanded 
nerves on the nose ; but on that of the present, 
and several other species, the membrane in which 
these end, is wanting. , Some have supposed, how- 
ever, that this power of avoiding obstacles in the 
dark is dependant principally on their ears ; for 
when the ears of the blinded bats were closed, they 
hit against the sides of the room, and did not seejn 
at all aware of their situation. 
Several were collected together for the purpose 
of the above experiments, and they w ere preserved 
in a box for more than a week. They refused 
every species of food for several days. During 
the day-time they were extremely desirous of re- 
tirement and darkness, and, while confiaed to th$ 
