BAT. 
347 
commonly rested some minutes, and then, begin- 
ning to look about, crawled slowly to a dark corner 
or crevice. At sunset the scene was quite changed : 
every one then endeavoured to scratch its way out 
of the box ; a continued chirping was kept up ; and 
no sooner was the lid of their prison opened than 
each was active to escape ; either flying away im- 
mediately, or running nimbly to a convenient place 
for taking wing. When these bats were first col- 
lected, several of the females had young ones cling- 
ing to their breasts in the act of sucking. One of 
them flew with perfect ease, though two little ones 
were thus attached to her, which weighed nearly as 
much as the parent. All the young were devoid of 
down, and of a black colour. 
Bats make their first appearance towards the end 
of spring, or rather early in the summer, when they 
are to be met with in the dusk of the evening, flit- 
ting about the sides of woods, and shady walks, in 
quest of insects. They likewise frequent the wa- 
ters where the gnats abound, skimming along the 
surface, and destroying myriads at a meal. 
The woods of South America produce a very for- 
midable bat, the extent of whose wings is about four 
feet, and the body as large as that of a fowl. This 
bat, to which Linnaeus has given the nameofVam- 
pyre, on account of its inclination to suck the blood 
both of men and cattle, resides in the hollow trunk 
of some large decayed tree, where it remains till 
the twilight calls it forth to seek its prey. Many 
extraordinary accounts have been related respecting 
