St. Landry democrat., 1889-09-07
The Flittermouse.

The bat Is not bird, though it has
wings, and can fly; the power of fight he.
ing the only point of resemblance betweeo
bat and bird. The bat is mammal a
quadruped and the only beast that can
truly fly. Resembling the mouse. and
possessing the power of fight, the bat
was early called by the English "FitterN
mouse" and by the Germans "Fleder-
maus"
The organs of flight consist of delicate
membrane stretching from limb to limb on
both sides of the body, enclosing the varv
long fingers, and, in many cases. extending
beyond the hind legs so as to include the
tail Their propeIling force is in thai
hind legs. Their fig bit is graceful but
their movements on foot are very avk-
ward
Bats generally have very large ears, the
ears of the Long -eared Bat of Britain being
equal to the entire length of the BODY
Some bats are provided with leaf-like ap-
pendages to the nose, probably answering
the same purpose to the sense of smellin9
as the external ear to the sense of hearing
The sense Of touch is very acute in this
nAsel spqendag-, and has been supposed to
be OF great service to bats deprived of
sight and in circumstances where the sense
of sight cannot be employed. Bats de-
prived of sight have displayed such power
to avoid objects among which they flew
that to account for it, some have ascribed
to them the possession of a sixth sense.
Bats are generally nocturnal in their
habits, spending the day in caves, hollow
trees, under the roofs of houses, in desert
ed buildings, and in the dark recesses of
the woods coming forth at twilight in
search of food.
In Europe and America The food of bats
consists principally of insects. But the
Vampire of America sucks the blood of
other mammals. In the warmer regions of
Asia and Africa the Fruit eating Bat is met
with, which attains to great size, speci-
mems having been found measuring FIVE
feet from tip to tip of wings
The bat is found in almost all parts of
the world, except the very coolest, but ale
largest and most numerous in tie tropics,
In temperate countries where the winters
are sufficiently cold to cat off their usual
sources of food, bats hibernate. Collecting
in great numbers in their usual retreats
and suspending themselves by their hind
legs, their usual method of resting, they
become torpid, the circulation of the blood
becomes very laIguid, and desperation gen
orally ceases. There they hang, with their
heads downward, until revived by return
ing spring, which brings them again a
supply of insects.
Bats are mentioned in the Scriptures in
Leviticus xi, Is, Deuteronomy xiv, IS, and
Isaiah ii, 20. In the two former passages
it is enumerated among the unclean fowls
that were forbidden as articles of food.
Indeed the bat, though easily tanned, is
not desirable as pet, because
it emits such an unpleasant odor
The latter passage reads: ''In that day
man shall cast off his idols of silver, and
his idols of gold, which they made each
one for himself to worship, to the moles
and to the bats /; to go into the clefts of the
rocks, and into the tops of the ragged
rocks, for fear of the Lord, and for the
glory of his majesty when he ariseth to
shake terribly the earth Young Peoples
World.