Evening star., 1936-07-06
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES Z. TRAcEWELL.

There are bats which eat fruit, others
which live on insects and some which
drink the blood Of their victims.
Fortunately the specimens which live
and ny around Washington at dusk are
little fellows, whose erratic flight in the
dusk possesses O strange fascination for
those who view them fairly.
It Is not always kept in mind that the
bats as q class, are among the most per-
fectly aerial Of all animals. That is,
locomotion is very difdcult for them;
practically all their life they either hang
head down or are on the wing.
The average view is that they are
filthy, covered with lice. etc. This is per-
hape true, although only scientists have
investigated them to that extent.
Let the nasty bat alone. Jimmy"
somebody hollers at the small boy, be-
lieving that he will become covered with
vermin from head to foot II he fools
around the creature.
Yet apparently nobody ever got harmed
in the old days when 1t was common
occurrence for q bat to come swooping
into an open bed room window.
y u
Then what an outcry went UP.
"A batl A bat!"
What screams resounded as feminine
footsteps pattered into the hall.
To slay the invader was . speciality re-
served for the male members Of the
household.
And what time they mostly had Of
it, for of all things dificult to dislodge
few exceed the erratic bat.
1t seems perfectly determined on not
going out the window.
Time and time again in those old days
the bat would swoop toward the opening
only to make q sudden turn just as it
seemed on the point of going out.
There were vicious whacks with brooms,
stumbles, yellS, even curses, as the male
members of the family tried at one and
the same time to demonstrate both
bravery and agility, when all the time
they secretly were very much afraid.
Perhaps it is not exactly fair to those
old-time heroes to attribute cowardice
to them. Surely they drove the bats out
at last, or managed to settle their hash, "
as popular phrase Of the time had it,
via the broomstick route.
Still there was an undeniable horror
of the creatures, induced by their erratic
habits Of flight, the legend of their
vermin and the general atmosphere
which always surrounds the creature on
the borderline between two worlds.
A flying squirrel loose in house, for
instance, is much worse. If one may judge
from screams, than plain ordinary form
Of gray or brown squirrel.
If there are bats in the neighborhood
take advantage of their presence to study
their habits. AS crafty as they dip, they
will take good care not to get too close
to you.
Study them with the understanding
that they are very fine aviators after all
and capable forms of life from other
standpoints. Although completely noe
turnal, the time they seem to like best
Is Just at dusk, as twilight arrives. Then
the bats come out to frolic and frisk in
the air 1t seems frolicking and frisking
to human observers, but really it is very
serious business for the bats. They are
catching insects.
Dinner time in batland is just as in
teresting period to them as dinner time
for us at the most splendily equipped
place. Food is one thing the living world
agrees is very much worth while, although
ideas as to what constitutes food differ
widely.