New-York tribune., 1900-07-15
HOW WILD CREATURES EAT
vARIANCEs IN THEIR ORGANS DUE TO
THEIR FOOD.
BY F. @. AFLALO.

macnlneS, RraterS ana sleNeS, nut crackers, ovens
and kettles, man command. in spite Of his
feeble teeth, a bill Of fare. animal and vegetable
that might well appall any of the lower animals
The hardest shelled egg nut, the toughest flesh
the largest smallest fruits, these offer diff
culties. BY one process or many, according TO the
needs OF the he prepares each article to his
liking and digestion. In the great world of wild
life. however. meals are differently ordered. and
animals must find the food for which they
physically ftted-hnd It The old fable
OF the fox and stork with their fat dish and deep
pitcher, illustrates one aspect, but only one, of
this difficulty.
Nature is generally equal to the work. The
harnacle IS interesting case in point In its
early days the harnacle swims freely fish,
seeking its food in The manner adopted by most
animals OF that class. When. in middle age. il
settles demurely a more restful existence. even
though IFS home be the skin Of whale, IT can no
longer 60 70 seek its food. The food must in these
circumstances ne induced To come to the barnacle.
and this is facilitated by the ability of the crusta
cean 10 up tiny currents in the water with the
aid of its six pairs of curly feet
DIET JUDGED BY THE TEETH.
It must be admitted that we shall not find in
Natures realm many other creatures that feed in
this way, with their feet that is say by kicking
the food into their stomach. but 4 glance around
some Of the rooms Of her workshop will reveal the
manner in which the teeth, bill, tongue and claws
have been modelled and modified to constitute a
perfect food equipment. So closely in some cases
have these organs been adapted the food sought,
that 1t Is sometimes possible to tell from slight
examination of them the diet of the particular ami
NAL under notice, inference particularly allow
able in the case of the majority OF birds. The
head of the kea, that much discussed mutton eater
Of New-Zealand, illustrates at once the ease and
difficulty of accepting such evidence. though II
must fairly be confessed that the kea is ex-
ceptonal individual. It scarcely be insisted
that its bill. though powerful, points TO any pre-
disposition FOR meat diet. for many of the cock
Rtoos pure vegetarans display tas for instance the
great black cockatooD far power in their
beak than many Of the truly carnivorous and rap
torIal birds.
The kea has. as q matter Of fact. the fringed
tongue Of a honey eater. and honey it unqueston-
ably have fed in the days before certain
unforeseen circumstances Qn the shape of the colo
nists and their sheep intervened and. while de-
Etroying the birds natural sources of food. gave
II tastes and new opportunities Of satisfying
them Those who interest themselves closely in
evolution will watch with interest tat some future
safe: the change is yet too recent to be of use
this generation for the falling into disuse and
5nal obsolescence of an organ no longer needed.
As a better example Of Natures foresight we find
the nostrs OF the gannet the base of the bill "a
of the of the kiWi. in which they arc
situated almost at the tip) and almost covered by
the skin. thanks which device the bird is able TO
sive without inconvenience from great height On
the shoals OF fish beneath.
Looking for instance, the skulls Of the right
and sperm whales heads Of such different
structures to seem scarcely capable OF reference
to the same order OF mammals. The right,
Whalebone whale has teeth and feeds only
The minute creatures Of different kinds that float
under the collective scientific title of plankton
tanning them in the baleen sieve. The huge sperm
whale cachalot, the other hand, has strong
teeth in the lower Jaw, which enable 1t to feed
fishes and even on porpoises. smaller members of
rs own order. Eschricht. q German naturalist, dis
covered sunk deep in the gums of young whale
bone whales, traces of teeth. and this discovery
gives rise the doubt whether in bygone ages
these whalebone whales may not also have pos
sessed teeth when full grown. feeding. like the
-achalot. on fish. If So then did IL also possess
whalebone. and for what purpose? Dentists tell
that jaws gradually diminishing in
ength and Darwin regarded practice of cook
ng food. and thereby giving teeth less work
o do as responsible for the tendency of the wisdom
.eeth TO disappear.
TEETH WHICH MAY BE FATAL TO THE
POssESSOR.
In the rodents we have to consider very inter-
sting feature in the shape of incisors striking
" and developed in either Jaw. the presence
sf which at indicates habit Of gnawing vege-
table food. These tzeth are ever growing and.
should any Of the four be broken by accident the
opposing incisor viii inevitably grow unchecked
into the other jaw and bring about the animals
death from starvation. In the hares and rabbits
there is a second smaller pair Of incisor teeth in
.he upper jaw. Immediately behind the other two
Of the precise significance of this supplementary
pair do not recollect having read or heard any
satisfactory explanation.
In the teeth Of grazing animals we shall find the
ohief practical interest to lie in the comparative
Damage they do 10 the grass; and this connection
Sir Walter Gibey has shown by diagrams in his
Young Race Horses that the teeth of the horse
which meet. dc far more harm to pasture grass
than those in the padded mouth Of the OK
In the kangaroos we find the large incisors in the
lower jaw cropping the grass like scissors.
Birds. those at any that exist nowadays
outside OF archaeological collections no teeth
nothing fact to represent them unless we so
hsh eating kinds that will be noticed later.
than the birds, We find teeth intended for Selling
rather than ting for it is the simple practice
81 snakes and their KIND to bolt their victims whole,
after the manner Of fishes In the dreadful rattle
s-she, lOI Cahcg Ine I"G upper Iubular fangs
are Conspicuous whenever the creature opens its
mouth, and it is through these that the venom is
boas show no such long fangs for they have aio no
venom TO inject In these the teeth lie in rows
In the upper jaw, and in only in the lower
These teeth, it will be noticed point back toward
often unable Immediately TO relinouish their hold
Of any prey they may have seized This and not
fine for the accident at the aooogc 5 taf
Garden, when two pythons working at opposite
larger had to swallow the smaller.
TEETH VARYING WITH FOOD
The teeth OF fish cover a rule only both
jaws but likewise the tongue and palate. In the
sharks and rays we find supplementary rows of
teeth ready to replace those in front when use
shall have them down or accident rendered
them useless: and in Of the rays. notably In
the thoFnback. the teeth of the male are sharp and
pointed while those of the female are blunt and
feeds on hsh. the female on shellhsh but such a
types OF teeth in the world OF waters. In those
FISH, the mullets and surgeons, that eat soft
wanting e'--e-
The tongue, which chiefly associate with taste
and speech. is largely used in feeding by certain
classes OF animals. Not TO any great extent do