The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1894-12-15

a worm. The cock appears to be greatly
excited, and he pretends to peck at it,
make the guiltless hens believe that he
is about to devour the bon bouche him.
SELF all the time he is saying cut, cut,
outcome. come, come-rapidly. which
causes the hens to run pell NELL in his
I direction, to find in many instances moth
ing, it being merely device to call the
flock away from some rival. But in the
case of the mother the little ones always
find some tid-bit which she has dis
covered
will not attempt to reproduce the
baby talk of the old hen to her chicks.
but it exists in great variety, and is sug-
gestive OF tenderness, affection and So
licitude. When the hen has her brood
beneath her ample folds she often utters
a sound like c-r-awz-z-e, of half warn
ing and contentment. And when an
intruder enters the coop after dark she
utters high, prolonged whistling note
like W h-o-o-o softly repeated, indicative
of wonder and slight alarm.
If now the fox or coyote or other enc
my seize her how quickly comes an en-
tirely different cry-a scream of terror
and alarm, era i al O. u, repeated again
and again, and so full of meaning that
the owner some distance away reaches
for his shotgun and answers the signal
of distress.
Among the songbirds there are many
such notes. Especially have / noticed
it in family of hooking birds. that
nest in a peach tree not far from my
window. The cry of alarm given by the
mother when l took out one of the
nestlings was a loud, clucking note
that invariably brought not only the
male but an entire flock of blackbirds
that nestled in an adjoining orange grove,
all gathering around me, uttering loud
and discordant notes, menacing me from
every point Of vantage and suggesting
that the hooking bird dialect of the
peach tree was understood by the black
birds Of the orange grove tribe.
Undoubtedly all birds have a more or
less we'll defined means of communica-
ton though differing. A pelican Kissed
in asthmatic tones at me. My owls had
a limited vocabulary, but looked volumes
through their expressive eyes.
The humming bird has dainty song
and delicate note which 1 hear among
the nasturtiums-chit chit chit; and the
purring love note of the pigeon is we'll
known.
Among the higher animals there is Of
ten range of sound that does duty as
a language. The cats have wide range
from the plaintive call for admittance
to the purr of content and the snarl of
rage and it's varied notifications.
The whale has voice, if we may be-
lieve the old writer's. One is called the
Gazing" whale, from it's alleged voice,
and no less naturalist than Lacepede
quotes Duhamel as authority regarding
the rorqual. "the lamentable and terrible
cries" it was supposed to utter.
The dogs combine with voice, move
ments Of the hair, tail, eyes and ears in
speaking. The low growl is accompanied
with rigidity of the body, the canine
teeth CLEAN brightly as a warning, and
the entire appearance speaks Of rage.
How opposite is it's appearance when
greeting it's master and fawning at his
feet!
The snake would hardly be considered
to possess language, but that it can call
it's young has been demonstrated. COL
Nicholas Pike, former consul to Mauri-
thus, told me that he had heard garter
snake call it's young as he approached
by peculiar noise" at which they
wriggled toward her and ran down her
throat for safety-a common trick
among various snakes. Col. Pike OBJ
served this on several occasions; 80 it is
evident the mother snake has vocal
call that is understood by its young.
Who can doubt that the strange noises
made by insects have not some meaning
understood by them? the song of the 10.
Gust, the shrill note of the katydid, the
chirp of the cricket that carries us back
to days long buried in the memory
These sounds are not vocal, but instru-
mental. The grasshopper fiddles to his
mate and the cricket STIMULATES his song,
while the locust drums. The noise of
the grasshopper is made by rubbing the
thighs against the forewing. The form
er is serrated for the purpose, and under
the glass resembles saw. In the To-
Gusts the base of the anterior wing is
transparent. forming drum with which
the males do their talking. the various
species uttering different sounds, which,
it is said, differ day and night. When
the katydid utters its call the lips are
silent. but there is vigorous rubbing
of the inner surface of the hind legs
against the outer surface of the front
wings, while the male cricket elevates
its forewing and rubs them against the
hind pair.
What Rddling and chirping there is
on summer nights or drumming on the
warm days when the cicada comes out.
II these are not calls, sounds with mean
ing, then nature has for once provided