The Bats of British Guiana. 99 
to be continuous sets of holes by which they were able 
to make egress. Burning sulphur was then tried and 
various other means, with further stoppage of holes, but 
the great hollow trunk and its ramifications were, too 
much for us and not a single specimen of the bats was 
procured. As I had to leave the scene the next murning, 
there was no further chance of trying more elaborate 
methods which must have resulted in success. It had 
been tantalising the evening before to witness a con- 
tinuous stream of these great winged creatures pouring 
out of one central hole high up in the trunk, and darting 
and wheeling, fluttering and hovering, about the fruit 
trees around the house, and helping themselves, no 
doubt, to the ripest fruits on the small high branches, as 
they listed; but it was infinitely more tantalising to 
know that the same stream would issue undiminished 
next evening, after our departure. 
Though these bats are to a great extent insectivorous, 
yet from their size they must devour a large quantity of 
the mangoes, star-apples, sapodillas and other soft fruits 
where they occur, since their stomachs, when full, con- 
tain a considerable amount of pulpy matter. And indeed 
their great canine teeth, as in our bats generally, seem 
especially adapted for piercing and tearing open the 
skin, rind and fleshy parts of fruits, the power for the 
tear being derived from the force of their flight after they 
have seized the fruit with their teeth. 
Though the name of this species is popularly associated 
with the small blood-sucking bats, and though such habits 
have been ascribed to this bat even in modern works on 
Zoology, yet it is well-known, and known for a certainty, 
that the species is quite innocent of such fell intentions and 
N2 
