The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1905-11-21
HOW ANIMALS 81 EEP.
The Modes and Pastures in Which
Various Animals Take Rest.

Translation in the Literary Digest.
In what posture does bear sleep?
What positions are assumed by the
monkey, the elephant, the tiger, dur
ing slusnber? Do fishes sleep? To
answer such questions as these one
would ordinarily be obliged to search
through many works on natural his
tory, but Mr.. A. Peres has gathered
together large number Of facts along
this line in an interesting article which
he contributes to Cosmos. Such items
of information, he says, belong to
the class of common things that no.
body knows" OF them the ordinary
reader says: That's odd; I never
though of it before!'S while many STU
dents OF natural history must confess
ignorance In the first place Mr..
Peres takes up the creatures that
sleep standing, among which, he tells
Us, are included the ass and the mule,
as we'll as the elephant and most of
the sotaer pachyderms. Most birds,
he says, sleep standing on one leg,
with the head under the wing; sew
eral kinds sleep in company, like the
wild pigeons of North America. Of
the sleep of fish he writes:
"Fish have a density so nearly that
of water that they can rest quietly
on the sand OF gravel without appar-
ent effort. Are they asleep? Prob
ably; though they do not shut their
eyes. At the beginning of evening,
for instance, THE gudgeon chooses a
sandy spot between stones and re-
mains there, facing the current, is
body resting on the lower lobe of the
tail and on it's pectoral and ventral
fins X X X It is probable that it as
sumes the same position in winter
and remains in it until spring, hi
bernating. The barbels and Dreams
sleep in companies, like the gudgeon,
but on a muddy bottom; the pike
sleeps in summer near the bank, at
the surface, where the sunlight can
reach it; the carp keeps near the bot
tom; the eel hides in holes thar it
makes near the bank. The observa-
ton of sea fish is more difficult, as
may be imagined; it is now agreed
that herrings, mackerel and other So
called migratory fish pass the winter
at the bottom in kind Of lethargy.
Do they adopt the gudgeon's posi-
tion? Perhaps, though Pleville le
Peley has seen thousands of mackerel
half buried in the mud, holding their
tails up vertically above it.
"Batrachians sleep sitting, with the
head in the air; the toad sleeps by
day in holes or under rocks, and re-
tires under ground for the winter
He burrows backward, his hind feet
and the end of his body serving to dig
the hole, while he pushes with his
forefeet. The rnarsupials are gener-
ally forced by the shape OF their bod
les to sleep sitting; the phalanger fox
sleeps in crouching posture, the
head between the forefeet. The
1emurs & *also crouch, with the long
bushy tail around the hind feet. With
the chimpanzees and other apes the
hair on the upper arm and the fore
arm grows in opposite directions; this
serves to protect The animal more
effectively from Tire rain when he
sleeps crouching in the thick woods
or in the brush with his arms folded
and pressed against the body. The
orang takes his siesta with bent back,
head hanging on his chest, and some
times holding to branch by one Of
his extended arms, bu. generally with
both arms hanging by his sides.
"Penguins and pelicans also rest in
a sitting posture;sa whole flock takes
refuge under a projecting rock, the
beak resting on the breast, Or with
neck bent to allow it to rest on the
back.