Vernon Parish Democrat. (Leesville, La.) 1917-193?, 1921-12-08

eoltdu AuSutute IN my lRall@s EEldt -ltle
bat was one of the Oldest forms of
vertebrates still in existence, not one
of the commissioners even looked at
the book. They not only were ignor-
ant, but did not care to be enlightened.
/ might just as well have presented
scientific evidence to the court that
condemned Calico, or Bruno, with the
sole exception that they did not have
the power to send me to the stake as
they did Giordano Bruno. The fact
that there are over 5000 varieties of
bats, some blood-sucking. some fruit
eating, and the greater part of them
insect=eating-as wide apart as the IT,
ger and the sheep-is proof that it
has taken over million years to cree
ate so wide a variation. The tropical
brown bat is no larger in body than a
mouse, has a peculiar and distinguish
ing habit Of flight, and will eat nothing
but mosquitoes IF IT CAN OBTAIN
THEM; but if the mosquitoes are err
adicated, the bats next choice is night
flying moths and, when these are
scarce, almost any night-flying insect,
even the hard wing, shelled coleop-
trous beetles. All of this is also true
Of the Temperate Zone black bat, and
once you are we'll acquainted with the
peculiarities of their flight, when you
see them in the early twilight, you can
no more mistake them than you would
an elephant, or a camel, or a sheep.
One reason why they are absent from
some localities is, that they are not
able to find roosting places to their
liking in the day time. Generally,
caves are their favorite lodgings; but
here there are no caves. But there
are hardwood hollow trees; and in
the old deserted buildings of the old
lumber camps they find a place to
roost, and under the caves Of barns.
The City of San Antonio, Texas has
a municipality owned bat-roost. and,
it is stated, the bat guano of this roost
is sold for fertilizer and brings an in
come that pays for the maintenance of
the roost. See the Scientific Ameri-
can.
Now, while am on the subject, |
might say that probably IS per cent,
and with all certainty 90 per cent of
the insects that are injurious to gar
den vegetables and garden crops are
the result of eggs laid by night-flying
insects. The birdie are in their nests
or roosting, and there are not enough.
night-fIying birds to keep down the
moths, coleoptrous and other beetles
that fly by night Night hawks, night
flying swallows, barn owls, toads and
frogs, destroy many of these insects;
but the bats, if they can find roost-
ing places, destroy most of all: north
Of the frost line, the little black bat
is the special destroyer of the mosqui-
to, and also of moths, and, when he is
good and hungry, he destroys beetles.
/ am sure that if at Ell Llano, the Col
ony would build one or two, or more
bat roosts, and send to San Antonio
for one-hundred pounds of bat guano
to spread on the floor to give the rank,
strong and peculiar smell that the bats
like, these little black boys would de-
sert the hollow. trees and populate the
roosts and breed MANY MORE BATS.
And the cucumber bug, the bug that
preys on the watermelon, cantaloupe,
pumpkin, squash, ETC., and other both
ersome pests would entirely disappear
Don't laugh when | state a scientific
fact; for, when farmers are agricul-
turists and are endowed with scientif-
&c knowledge. farm without a bat
roost would indicate only one thing
an ignorant, unscientific farm owner.
But there are no mosquitoes in Ell Llano
because there are fair number of the
little black bats. IF they should be-
come extinct in this locality the festive
mosquito would be present in large
numbers.