. Cassell's natural history. Animals; Animal behavior. W.\LKIKG. the side walls. During its flight it detected a small cavity in the roof at a distance of eighteen inches, and immediately changed its course in order to conceal itself in this retreat. In a garden a sort of cage was prepared, with nets, and from its top sixteen strings were allowed to hang down. Two Bats were introduced into this enclosure, one blinded, the other with its eyes perfect. Both flew about freely, never touching the strings with more than the tips of the wings. Finally, the blind Bat dis- covered that t
. Cassell's natural history. Animals; Animal behavior. W.\LKIKG. the side walls. During its flight it detected a small cavity in the roof at a distance of eighteen inches, and immediately changed its course in order to conceal itself in this retreat. In a garden a sort of cage was prepared, with nets, and from its top sixteen strings were allowed to hang down. Two Bats were introduced into this enclosure, one blinded, the other with its eyes perfect. Both flew about freely, never touching the strings with more than the tips of the wings. Finally, the blind Bat dis- covered that the meshes of the enclosing net were Iar<;v rmmuli for it to get through, and made its ; and, after flying about for a time, niiMlc its \v;iy r:i| and directly to the only roof in the neighbourhood, in whicli it ilis;ip]icared. In a room containing numerous branches of trees, or in which silk threiwls, stretched by small weights, were suspended from the ceiling, the Bats, though blinded, avoided all these obstacles; and when, after tiring themselves with their aerial evolutions, they settled on some object for the sake of rest, they would immediately rise again on an attempt being made to seize them with the hand. From these experiments it was perfectly clear that in threading the galleries of caverns and other narrow and piitch-dark places to which Bats commonly resort for their diurnal repose, these animals were guided by some other sense than that of sight, and the worthy abbe set himself to ascertain what this sense might be. He commenced opera- tions by covering the body of one of his blind Bats with varnish, and found that this had no effect in rendering its movements uncertain. He then stopped up the ears v/ith wax, and finally with melted sealing-wax, and still the Bats obstinately persisted in avoiding obstacles placed in theii' way. Consequently they did not /ieai- their way in the dark. There remained the senses of smell and taste. To test the former t
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjecta, booksubjectanimals
