62 A DESCRIPTION OF 
SECTION III. fidroptcroug 
THE BAT. (Vespertilio noctule.) 
THE Bat has the body of a mouse, and the wings of a 
bird. Its head has an enormous mouth, and very large 
ears, which are of a kind of membrane, thin and almost 
transparent ; and the pinions of its wings are furnished 
with hooks, by which the Bat hangs to trees or the 
crevices in old walls during the day, a great number of 
them together, as they only fly at night. The wings of 
the Bat are very large ; those of the Great Bat measuring 
fifteen inches across. The Bat feeds on insects of various 
kinds, particularly on cock-chafers and other winged 
beetles, part of which, however, it always throws aAvay. 
A female Bat that was caught, and kept in a cage, ate 
meat when it was given to her in little bits, and lapped 
water like a cat. She was very particular in keeping her- 
self clean, using her hind feet like a comb, and parting 
her fur so as to make a straight line down the back. Her 
wings she cleaned by thrusting her nose into the folds, 
and shaking them. She had a young one born in the 
cage. It was blind, and quite destitute of hair, and its 
mother wrapped it in the membrane of her wing, pressing 
it so closely to her breast, that no one could see her suckle 
it. The next day the poor mother died, and the little 
one was found alive, hanging to her breast. It was fed 
with milk from a sponge, but it only lived about a week. 
