ENCE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES THE GIFT OF MAY TREAT MORRISON IN MEMORY OF ALEXANDER F MORRISON /' EARLY CHAPTERS IN SCIENCE EARLY CHAPTERS IN SCIENCE A FIRST BOOK OF KNOWLEDGE OF NATURAL HISTORY, BOTANY, PHYSIOLOGY PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY FOR YJOUNG: PEOPLE'*. "" BY MRS. W. AWDRY EDITED BY W. F. BARRETT PROFESSOR OF EXPERIMENTAL PHYSICS IN THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF SCIENCE FOR IRELAND WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS NEW YORK E. P. BUTTON & CO. LONDON JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET 1899 LONDON : PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS. PREFACE. WHEN, in the autumn of 1897, the Author of this little book left England to accompany her husband, Bishop Awdry, to his diocese in Japan, she placed the manu- script in my hands, and asked me, as an old friend, whether I would write a brief introduction and find a publisher, if, in my judgment, I thought the book likely to be useful. This I gladly consented to do, as there appeared to be a distinct want for an elementary book on science of this kind. I therefore submitted the manuscript to Mr. Murray, and he at once undertook its publication. And here I may, perhaps, be allowed to express both my own and the Author's great indebted- ness to Mr. A. H. Hallam Murray, who has kindly devoted much time to the superintendence of the illus- trations and other details. The object of the book is to provide young people, especially the junior classes in schools, with an intro- duction to the two great divisions of science Biological and Experimental ; to the World of Life and the World 439414 VI PREFACE. of Experiment. The first part of the book teaches the boy or girl to observe, the second part to question, Nature. Whilst the young reader is throughout led to feel he is still only on the threshold of scientific know- ledge, the aim has been to make the work accurate as far as it goes; so that the reader, whilst he will have much more to learn, need not fear he will have much to unlearn. For this purpose I have gratefully to acknowledge the invaluable help rendered by several scientific friends who undertook the revision of different parts of this book : Mr. G. H. Carpenter, B.Sc., Assistant Naturalist in the Science and Art Museum, Dublin, kindly revised the part on Zoology : my colleague, Pro- fessor T. Johnson, D.Sc., F.L.S., Professor of Botany in the Royal College of Science, Dublin, the section on Botany : Professor J. A. Scott, M.A., M.D., F.R.C.S.I., Professor of Physiology in the Royal College of Surgeons, Dublin, the chapter on Physiology : Mr. H. Ramage, F.I.C., F.C.S., Assistant Chemist at the Royal College of Science, Dublin, the chapter on Chemistry. I have revised, and in some parts rewritten, the section on Physics, and have especially to thank my learned friend the Rev. Maxwell H. Close, M.A., for also reading the proof sheets of this section, and for many valuable suggestions. Nearly all the illustrations were drawn specially for the work, and, as regards Part I., direct from nature, either from the animals themselves in the Zoological Gardens, or from the collections in the PREFACE. Vll Natural History Museum, at South Kensington. For the attractiveness thus given to its pages, thanks are due to Miss L. Stevenson, Miss J. Mothersole, and others to whom were entrusted this part of the work. Thanks are also due to Mr. C. E. Lawrence for the preparation of the Index and Table of Contents, etc. The wide success which M. Paul Bert's " First Year of Scientific Knowledge " has attained in France, en- courages me to hope that a somewhat similar, but more modest attempt, may be found of use in England. Mrs. Awdry's " Early Chapters in Science," whilst more elementary and not covering so wide a field as M. Paul Bert's volume, is written in a more attractive style, and avoids the kind of scientific " pemmican " which charac- terizes M. Bert's volume, and which must be to young people so indigestible, and favourable to mere cram. The object of the present little book will be attained if it awakens in its young readers an intelligent interest in this wonderful world in the midst of which we live, and a desire to know more of the procession of life and unfolding of phenomena which it is the business of science to arrange in an orderly sequence. W. F. BARRETT. January, 1899. TABLE OF CONTENTS. PART I. THE WORLD OP LIFE. THE ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. CHAPTER I. CLASSIFICATION. PAGE The first division Vertebrate animals Hot-blooded Mam- malsBirdsCold blooded Reptiles, amphibians, fishes Invertebrate animals The main divisions Multitudi- nous varieties A table of the animal kingdom ... 3 CHAPTER II. MAMMALIA. Man Apes The various kinds of monkeys Bats Insect eaters Flying lemur, a connecting link Beasts of prey Land carnivora The cat family Hyena The dog family Bears Weasels Marine carnivora The whale family Sirenia ... ... ... ... 25 CONTENTS. CHAPTER III. MAM MALTA continued. PAGE Elephants The coney family Hoofed animals The horse family Tapirs Rhinoceros Swine Hippopotamus Ruminants The ox family Sheep, goats, and antelopes Giraffes The deer family The growth of antlers- Camels The hump Llamas Rodents or gnawing creatures The squirrel group Rats and mice Porcu- pine Hares and rabbits Edentata Sloths Ant-eaters Marsupials or pouched animals Egg-laying mammals 5 2 CHAPTER IV. BIRDS (Aves). Distinctions of this class The egg Birds of prey Picarian or wood-pecking birds The parrot Climbing birds Perching birds The songsters Game birds and pigeons Waders Water birds Wingless birds Nests Won- derful varieties ... ... ... ... ... 91 CHAPTER V. REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS. Characteristics Tortoises Crocodiles Lizards Snakes Poisonous and not poisonous Amphibia The develop- ment from tadpole to frog ... ... ... ... 107 CHAPTER VI. FISHES. Fins Various families of fish Sea and fresh-water fish ... 1 15 CONTENTS. CHAPTER VII. INVERTEBRATE ANIMALS. PAGE Great number of minute creatures Mollusca Shell-fish Arthropoda The life history of an insect The busy bee The fly group Centipedes Crustaceans Worms Vast numbers EchinodermataCoelenterata Jelly-fish Sponges Protozoa Lowest forms of animal life From a single cell to the highest forms of life ... ... 121 CHAPTER VIII. PHYSIOLOGY. The human body Bones The jointed back-bone Simi- larities of the bone-structure among the vertebrata The limbs Clavicles Muscle How it contracts Inside the body The diaphragm The heart How it does its work The blood Comparisons The stomach The digestive apparatus The brain Nerves The senses The ear and the eye The nerve centres of the invertebrate ... 137 CHAPTER IX. PLANTS. Different forms of roots Trailers and creepers Leaves Flowers The parts of a flower Examination of various flowers and blossoms Many different shapes of flowers The seed and its development Dicotyledons Monoco- tyledons Coniferne Flowerless plants ... ... 167 CHAPTER X. PLANT LIFE. The length of a plant's life Tissues How a plant feeds Cells Effect of sunlight on plants Flesh-eating plants 191 xii CONTEXTS. PART II. THE WORLD OF EXPERIMENT. THE FORCES OF NATURE. CHAPTER XI. FORCES AT WORK. PAGE Gravitation Why have unsupported objects a tendency to fall ? Various forces Cohesion Heat Chemical affinity Electricity Friction Definition of force ... 199 CHAPTER XII. ENERGY. Work and the capacity for doing work Potential energy Active or kinetic energy Transference of energy Energy, indestructible and yet ever changing A swing- ing weight Momentum and gravitation ... ... 207 CHAPTER XIII. WEIGHT AND DENSITY. Velocity of falling objects Effect of the resistance of the air An experiment Momentum Transformation of energy Density and volume Specific gravity Why iron ships float ... ... 214 CHAPTER XIV. PRESSURE OF FLUIDS. THE BAROMETER. Transmission of pressure in liquids Pressure of gases Air has weight The working of a pump The barometer What it measures How it is made... ... ... 223 CONTENTS. XI 11 CHAPTER XV. THREE STATES OF MATTER COHESION. PAGE From ice to vapour A simple experiment All things exist as solid, liquid, or gas The effects of heat and cold Cohesion Heat the enemy of cohesion Evaporation Solution Crystallization Various crystals ... ... 231 CHAPTER XVI. HEAT. I low steel expands A thermometer, and what it measures Freezing point and boiling point Centigrade and Fahren- heit thermometers Temperature Specific heat Fusion Latent heat Density of ice and water Force of ex- pansion Steam in a kettle Convection Conduction Good and bad conductors Radiation CHAPTER XVII. LIGHT. Luminous bodies Transparency, translucency, opacity Re- flected light Colour Regular reflexion Proof of law of reflexion Simple experiments Refraction Apparent place of objects altered by refraction Proportion of light reflected Effects of refraction Prisms and lenses The speed at which light travels CHAPTER XVIII. SOUND. Its velocity The telephone Connexion of sound and motion Vibrations An air pump Musical sounds Music and mathematics ... CONTENTS. CHAPTER XIX. MAGNETISM. Experiments with a magnet The north and south poles of a magnet Lines of magnetic force The mariner's compass Magnetism of the earth ... ... ... ... 285 CHAPTER XX. ELECTRICITY. The nature of electricity unknown Frictional electricity Conduction and insulation Doubleness of electricity Positive and negative electricity Electroscopes Electric distribution Induction Current electricity A voltaic battery Electro-magnetism The telegraph Electric lighting ... ... ... ... ... ... 292 CHAPTER XXI. CHEMISTRY. Analysis of water Decomposition Hydrogen and oxygen Elements and compounds Combination and mixture A table of elements Metals and non-metals Nitrogen Carbon Phosphorus and Sulphur Oxidation Acids Combustion A flame Respiration Carbonic acid gas Hard and soft waters Diffusion of gases Con- clusion 39 INDEX 339 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PART I. ZOOLOGY. Skeleton of Snake . . Frog Worm PAGE 5 7 12 13 13 13 13 13 13 H 14 14 4 19 23 27 28 29 30 32 33 33 34 Hedgehog Flying Lemur (Colugo) . Cat's Teeth .... Skeleton of Lion . . . Lion PAGE 36 37 38 39 40 43 45 46 47 47 48 49 50 53 55 56 58 60 61 63 64 65 66 68 70 72 Slug Snail Hyena Fox Wolf Wasp Butterfly, with Closed Wings Caterpillar Spider Centipede Shrimp Sea-Anemone .... Starfish ... Bear Weasel ... Otter Seal Whale Coney Tapir Rhinoceros .... Hippopotamus Indian Ox, or Zebu . Bison Mountain Goat, or Ibex . Gazelle Gnu Antlers of Deer in succes- sive years Head of Reindeer Chevrotain .... Llama . The Chief Sub-divisions of Animal Life . Genealogical Tree . . Skeleton of Gorilla . . of Man .... Chimpanzee .... Entellus Monkey . Baboon Lemur Bat, with Spread Wings . Bones of the Wing of a Bat Mole . LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. I Flying Squirrel . . . AGE 74 76 77 78 79 81 82 83 84 86 88 89 93 95 96 97 99 IOI 1 02 103 104 105 108 109 IIO in 112 "3 "5 116 116 117 118 119 119 121 Whelk Scallop Solen Caterpillar .... Pupa Butterfly PAGE 123 123 "3 I2 4 124 124 125 126 126 127 127 127 128 129 131 132 132 133 134 134 135 139 144 I 4 8 I 49 'S3 154 54 155 155 I 5 8 Rat Jerboa Porcupine .... Sloth . Great Ant-bear Pangolin Armadillo Beetle, with Spread Wings Bee . . Ant . Crane Fly . Opossum, with Young on her Back .... Duck-billed Platypus ( Or- nithorhyncus} . Sections of an Egg showing development of the Chick Condor Owl Woodpecker .... Bird of Paradise . . . Flamingoes .... Albatross Grasshopper .... Earwig, Flying Scorpion Crab Sea-Urchin .... Jellyfish Sea-Anemone .... Coral Sponge Living Foraminifer (much magnified) .... PHYSIOLOGY. Skeleton of Fowl . . . Bones of Arm, with Biceps Muscle Human Thorax and Abdo- men laid open . Diagram of the Circulation through the Heart . Blood Corpuscles . Heart of a Frog . . . Heart of a Fish . . . Stomach of a Man Compound Stomach of a Penguin Ostrich .... Tailor-bird's Nest Tortoise Crocodile Lizard Viper Head of Venomous Ser- pent showing Fangs Tadpole and Frog in Dif- ferent Stages . . . Skeleton of a Perch . Salmon Shark Sunfish Skate Flatfish . . Diagram showing the Human Brain and the Spinal Cord .... Cod ... Octopus LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Section of Eyeball . . Nervous System of Frog . Nervous System of Earth- PLANTS. PAGE 163 I6 4 165 Buttercup Plant Oak Tree Daisy 167 ; 168 169 Plantain 170 Dandelion Potato 171 i Turnip Lily of the Valley . . . Spruce Fir 171 171 1 172 Stem of Convolvulus . Virginia Creeper . Tendrils of Pea . . . Flower of Poppy . Plantain Cuckoo-flower Carrot 173 173 i 174 ] 176 176 176 176 Daisy, with Two Florets separated . . Apple Blossom Section of Apple Blossom 177 178 179 Section of Pistil and Re- ceptacle of Buttercup . 1 79 Primrose Blossom . . 180 Lily of the Valley Blossom 18 1 Blossom of Sweet Pea . 181 Ovules of Pea in Pod . . 182 Germination of Bean . . 184 Mustard Plant, with Coty- ledons and Second Leaves 185 Harebell 186 Snowdrop 1 86 Wallflower .... 187 Daffodil 187 Palm Tree 188 Germination of Spruce Fir 188 Cellular Tissue ... 193 Woody Tissue . . . . 193 Vascular Tissue . . . 193 Magnified Tip of Rootlet, with Root Hairs . . 194 Timber cut across, showing Rings and Crack during Drying 197 Dodder on Heather . . 197 Sundew Plant, and one Leaf closing over Fly . 198 PART II. PHYSICS. Ball Swinging to illustrate Alternating Types of Energy Coin and Feather falling in vacuo Water spouting from Butt Uniform Level of Water in Can and Spout . I )iagram of Suction Pump 227 Construction of a Baro- meter 229 Water distilled from a 213 | Kettle 232 ! Group of Alum Crystals . 238 215 Crystals of Alum, Common 224 | Salt, etc 238 Experiment illustrating 22 5 Expansion by Heat . 242 LIST OF ILI.VSTKATIOXS. Experiment illustrating Analogy of Water-level and Temperature . Diagram of Reflexion . Experiment to show the Law of Reflexion . Experiment to show Re- fraction PAGE 245 265 266 267 The Common Chord of (i Magnet and Keeper . Knitting-needle magne- tized and suspended Magnetic Curves, similar Poles juxtaposed Magnetic Curves, unlike Poles juxtaposed 84 285 287 288 280 Pencil Reflected in Mirror Apparent Place of Re- flected Object . . . Apparent Place of Coin altered by Refraction . Refracted Image of Stick in Water .... Prism 269 270 271 272 273 Magnetic Needle . . . Suspended Pith Balls . . Mode of suspending Rod Gold-leaf Electroscope Experiment illustrating Electric Induction . Simple form of Voltaic Battery Boy 290 294 295 297 300 7O4 Convex and Concave Lenses . . * / -j 2T\ Bar of Iron magnetized by J^T 1 7OC Refraction of Light by a Convex Lens Formation of an Enlarged inverted Image by a Double Convex Lens . A Toy Mechanical Tele- phone Air Pump */ o 274 274 277 28l CHEMISTRY. Decomposition of Water by Electric Current Sulphur and Copper heated in a Test-tube . J5 310 315 The Middle C on the Pianoforte .... 283 Preparation of Nitrogen from Atmospheric Air . 319 EARLY CHAPTERS IX SCIEXCE PART I. THE ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. CHAPTER I. CLASSIFICATION. PROBABLY, when any one speaks of animals and animal life, we all think first of horses and cows, cats and dogs, and other conspicuous or useful animals, or perhaps of lions, tigers, and elephants. But a little thought will remind us of many other varieties of living creatures, some of them differing so widely from these that they seem to have nothing in common but the fact of their all being alive. Suppose we sit down quietly in a shady country garden in early summer, and make a list of the live creatures that come under our notice in the course of half an hour. The first we see make us smile, for they are baby and the kitten, having a game of play ; and next a flock of sheep passes bleating along the road, while the busy and important sheep-dog barks at the stragglers. But when they are gone by and all is quiet again, shyer creatures begin to venture in sight. What is that bonny ball of 4 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. brown fur\Wancing\dnf the' branch of the larch tree, and nibbling ; spme,thing .held in .its. paws ? It is not every garden' that is' enlivened ^ by 1 "sqmrrels with their pretty gambols, but I know one that is their constant and welcome haunt. Now the whole air is musical with the voices of the birds; the thrush is never tired of his song, a cuckoo is proclaiming himself from the wood, numberless small birds are busily twittering and chattering over their young families, and here comes a swallow darting and turning after the flies. Ah yes, the flies ; why, there are crowds and crowds of them dancing in the sunny air, and supply- ing food enough alike for the birds and the spiders. At midday the flies are but a slight annoyance ; but if we linger in the garden till evening we know well that at five o'clock, or thereabouts, their places will be taken by swarms of midges, to the sorrow of any one who is sensitive to midge bites ; and when the swallows go to bed, out will come the bats pursuing gnats and midges with their swift silent flight. If we look attentively at the rough ground under the shrubbery we shall see that the fallen leaves and rubbish lying there are constantly in motion. What is moving them ? On examining a little more closely we find beetles, snails, ants, and numberless other small creatures at work there. Turn over that log of wood, and many earwigs hurry off in all directions on important business, while the woodlice are trying to roll themselves up into pills, and a toad which had sheltered there, crawls leisurely into a cooler and darker retreat. Our list may grow much longer yet. There are THE FIRST DIVISION. 5 butterflies at play in the sunshine, green aphis on the rose trees, bees buzzing about the flowers, while the ripple of the stream at the foot of the hill reminds us that its cool waters are full of fish. I do not suppose we shall see a garden snake or a lizard, as these are comparatively rare. But we want another creature that has not appeared yet, so let us walk round where the gardener is digging among the vegetables, and see what he turns up. Ah, here it is, a fine fat wriggling earthworm ! Lay it on the hard path where we can have a good look at it. Is it not like a snake? They are both long, narrow, round creatures, without legs, which wriggle along upon the ground. But is a worm a snake ? No ; you shake your heads, you know better than that. Yet I am not so sure that you can say what is the great difference between them a difference so important as to put them on opposite sides in the one great division that runs through all the animal creation ; probably you have never looked inside either of them to see how they are made. Here is a picture of a snake's skeleton. If the skin and the flesh of a snake were all taken away, we should find 6 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. these bones left a head, and a long flexible backbone with numeixms ribs coming out of it, bent round somewhat into the shape of the creature a framework of a snake. Well, what about the worm ? Ah, we are beginning to see the difference. A worm has no bones at all ; if the body of a worm is cut open, its structures are found to be all quite soft ; there is no hard, bony, framework. However alike they may outwardly appear, this is indeed a main distinction, and by means of it we may arrange all animals into two divisions animals that have a bony skeleton on which the body is built up, and animals that have not. Take the list of creatures in the garden, and see how they are divided by this test. Now that your attention is drawn to it, no doubt you can tell in a moment in which division most of them are to be placed. Certainly baby has bones ; and the sheep, for we have seen mutton bones ; and dogs and cats, for we have known of their bones being broken in traps ; yes, and so have the squirrels, and, in fact, all the four-legged animals. What about the birds? Every one who has seen a fowl or any other bird on the dinner-table knows the look of its bones, and if birds are alike they must all have bones. Then, fish-bones are familiar enough to everybody, and some of us think fish hardly worth eating on account of them. Has the frog bones? Perhaps you are not so certain about this; but here is a picture of a frog's skeleton, which puts the matter beyond a doubt. But they all seem to have bones; what is there left to go into the other class ? Let us look back at our list, and see what else there is. Snails and slugs. Their BONY AND BONELESS CREATURES. bodies are soft enough. We may examine them with- out finding any trace of hard frame-work; and the flies, bees, and butter- flies, if trodden on, will be crushed quite flat ; there is nothing inside them hard enough to resist pressure. And the same may be said of the spiders and wood- lice, as well as the worms. Most of the insects, indeed, have rather hard cases, but no skeleton inside. These are all little creatures; and though there are a few large ones in the sea, yet the great majority of the boneless creatures are compara- tively small, for which, however, they amply make up by their countless numbers, both on land and in the water. We need go no further than the two pictures of skeletons already given, to see that there is a good deal of difference in the number and shapes of bones in different creatures. Some creatures have legs, some have tails, some have both, and bones to support them are present or absent accordingly. Every animal, however, Skeleton of Frog. 8 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. that has any bones at all, always has a backbone, formed of separate pieces or joints, more or less easily movable one upon another; and from this the whole great division gets its scientific name of Vertebrate Animals, or Vertebrata, from the Latin word vertebra, a joint, which is used of the joints of the backbone. The boneless creatures are called Invertebrate Animals, or Invertebrate ; but we will put these on one side for the present, and, turning our attention to the Vertebrate Animals, try if we can find some other good test by which to divide them again into two sets. Take this frog in your hand, and tell me what it feels like. It is not poisonous, there is nothing to be afraid of; yet it is an unpleasant, cold, slimy creature, and no one is very willing to handle it. But we do not mind touching other creatures. Only see how pussy is caressed. Ah, pussy is not cold and slimy ; she is quite soft and warm. Warm and cold ! Well, take this for the next division, and see which of the Vertebrate creatures are warm and which are cold. We can feel the dogs and the sheep, the cows and the horses, and find that they are all warm. The wild birds will not let us touch them, but in the poultry-yard, perhaps, we can get hold of a downy young chick newly hatched, and feel what a hot little thing it is. And when the hen chaffinch flies off her nest we can feel her eggs, which are quite warm from the heat of her body. To be sure, birds generally keep their eggs warm by sitting on them, so they must be all warm themselves. Speaking of birds' eggs reminds us that we have yet one more division to make among the creatures with MAMMALS, BIRDS, REPTILES. 9 warm blood : we must separate those that lay eggs from those that do not. The cows, horses, sheep, and many other animials are born alive, and nourished for some time by their mothers' milk. Creatures born and nourished in this way are called Mammals, or Mammalia, and all the warm-blooded animals known are either Mammals, or else belong to the Birds, which are, as we know, first produced as eggs, out of which the young birds are hatched under the influence of heat. Now, let us in the same sort of way try and divide into two or three classes the cold and slippery Vertebrata, among which, besides frogs and toads, we must reckon the snakes and lizards, and all the fish. These creatures are all produced from eggs, which are generally deposited before hatching, although in a few instances the eggs are retained in the body of the mother until they are hatched, so that the young are born alive. We must therefore look for some other dividing line among them, and a very important one is afforded by their manner of breathing. If we watch a live fish in a pan of water, we shall see a constant heaving movement of two openings set one on each side of the head, an apparent opening and closing of little doors. The little doors are the gill-covers, and if they were removed we should see behind them the gills, a series of delicate membranes so transparent that we can see the blood through them, making them look quite red. The gills are the breathing organs of fishes ; for fishes can only breathe air contained in water, and die when the gills become dry. But gills, which require to be always wet, would not at all suit the snakes and other 10 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. creatures living on dry land, and they breathe by lungs, like the mammals and birds. The name for most cold- blooded Vertebrate animals breathing by lungs is Reptiles, while those that breathe by gills belong to the Class of Fish, In which of these classes, then, are we to put the frogs and toads ? Why, they can live on land and breathe dry air, so we take it for granted that as they have lungs they must be Reptiles. Ah, but think of their history ! When frogs' eggs are hatched, frogs do not come out, but tad- poles, which swim about in water and breathe by gills like fishes ; then, as they grow older, they gradually develop lungs, lose their gills, turn into frogs, and come out of the water. Gills first and lungs afterwards. Then they ought to belong to both classes. In fact, they are reckoned a separate Class, which stands between the other two, and is named Amphibians, or Amphibia, from two Greek words, meaning " life in both ways." Thus we have arranged all the Vertebrate animals into five classes. I. Mammals. Creatures with warm blood, whose young are born alive,* and nourished by their mothers' milk. II. Birds. Creatures with warm blood, whose young are hatched out of eggs. III. Reptiles. Creatures with cold blood, breathing only by lungs. IV. Amphibians. Creatures with cold blood, breath- ing both by gills and by lungs. * Except the Australian duckbill, and spiny anteaters, which lay eggs from which the young are hatched. They form the lowest order of mammals, showing, by their structure, affinity to the Reptiles. TRUE CLASSIFICATION. \\ V. Fishes. Creatures with cold blood, breathing only by gills.* It is clear that we might have taken quite different tests to form classes by; for instance, we might have reckoned together all the creatures that have four legs, so putting frogs and lizards into the same class as the mammals ; or have made a test of the power of flying, which would include bats among the birds, while it left out ostriches. But the arrangement given above is that agreed upon by all naturalists, and the proof of a good arrangement is when the members placed in one class have many characters in common and do not depend upon one alone. So, if flying were the only test of a bird, the ostriches would have to be placed in some other class; but when we find that they are clothed with feathers as birds, and only birds, are : that they have no teeth, but a horny beak, a character belonging to birds alone : that they lay eggs, out of which the young are hatched, and moreover, that close examination of their structure shows that the wing-bones are present though very small; then we can have no hesitation in classing them as birds, though they do not fly. Bats, on the contrary, are covered with hair, like most of the mammals; they have soft snouts, and a set of sharp teeth ; their young ones are born alive and suckled by the mother; so that, in spite of their power of flight, they cannot be included with the birds from whom they differ in so many important characters. So again, if we looked only at its habit of swimming * Except the mudfishes, found in rivers in South America, Africa, and Australia, which breathe also by lungs. 12 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. and living in water, we might easily suppose a whale to be a fish ; but when on further examination we find that its blood is warm, that it breathes by lungs and not by gills, coming up to the surface of the water to take breath, and moreover that the young do not come out of eggs, but are born alive and fed with milk, we are convinced that its true place is among the mammals, in spite of much that is fishlike in its form and habits. Besides the five classes of animals mentioned above, the soft, jelly-like Sea-squirts (Tunicata) are now gene- rally classed with Vertebrates, on account of the corre- spondence of their development with that of the bony animals. The Lampreys and the Lancelet, formerly grouped with the Fish, are now considered worthy to rank as independent Classes. Now for the Invertebrate Animals. We must get another worm, a slug and a snail, a wasp, a butterfly, a caterpillar, a spider, and a centipede. If we were by the seaside, it would be well also to go down to the shore and search for a sea-anemone and a starfish, which may often be found thrown up on the INVER TRBRA TE CREA TURES. beach after stormy weather ; hut if these are not to be had we must be content with their pictures. A shrimp, Butterfly (with closed wings\ Caterpillar. Spider. too, is wanted in our collection, and by the help of the fishmonger we can very likely get this anywhere. First put the worm and slug side by side and notice '4 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. the difference in the way their bodies are made. The worm seems to be made in a number of different Centipede. Shrimp. Starfish. pieces or rings set one behind another all down the body from the head to the tail, while the slug shows no such divisions. Which of our other animals are made in the MOLLUSC A. 15 worm fashion, of pieces or segments joined one behind another ? We pick out the caterpillar, the centipede, and the shrimp at once, but then comes a doubt. Well, never mind whether the segments are alike or not, pro- vided they are behind each other. Upon this we add the wasp, butterfly, and spider to the set. The snail's body is not in segments ; it is more like that of the slug, only it carries on its back a snug house, into which it can withdraw on the approach of danger. Place it with the slug. Notice that both snail and slug walk upon a long, flat, muscular " foot." Now there are the starfish and sea-anemone left. The starfish does indeed seem to be made of different pieces, but, instead of being set behind one another, they are arranged all round a centre in which is the creature's mouth ; and the anemone, though less divided up, is of the same general pattern. These two, therefore, must be placed together, apart from the other sets. Here we have a few main distinctions among the Invertebrate creatures. The first group, called Molhtsks, or Mollusca, to which the slug and snail belong, have soft bodies enveloped in a muscular skin or mantle, and most of them have also a shelly covering, sometimes made like the snail's in one piece, sometimes like the oyster's in two. The " foot" is nearly always present in some form. The animals whose bodies show segments one behind another may be divided into two groups, according to whether they have legs or not. Those that walk about upon jointed legs have been called Arf/iropoda, from two Greek words meaning "jointed legs;" while those 1 6 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. that have no legs belong to the group of Worms. Among the Worms, too, are included a number of animals whose bodies are not divided into segments; flat-worms and thread-worms, for instance. These are separated from Mollusks by having no foot or mantle, though some of them live in shells (Lamp-shells). Two more groups are formed of the creatures the parts of whose bodies are arranged in stars or circles round their own mouths. Those that have prickly or spiny skins, like the starfishes and sea-urchins, are called Echinodermata (thorny skins), and the smooth-skinned sea-anemones and jellyfish are known as Zoophytes (plant animals). Many Zoophytes, however, build up a hard framework to protect themselves, like the tiny coral animals; colonies of these, by their united labours, are able to form vast living reefs and islands. The best distinction between the echinoderms and the zoophytes will be seen if we look inside the animals. In the starfish, as in all Vertebrates, Mollusks, and Arthropods, we shall find a distinct body- cavity between the inside of the body-wall and the outside of the food- canal (stomach, &c.). But the sea-anemone is merely a hollow bag with the inside lining thrown into folds ; this hollow is the creature's stomach, and there is no body- cavity around it. Hence the sea-anemone and its allies are now called Cceknterata (" hollow-stomachs ") by most naturalists. In this group we can also include the Sponges, whose insides may be like a simple bag, or may become branched into a puzzling set of canals. But many naturalists nowadays prefer to reckon the sponges as a group by themselves. SIMPLEST FORMS OF LIFE. I? There is yet another group, of which it is not easy to show you a specimen. Its members are creatures consisting of single cells, which are simple living bodies, generally so small that they cannot be seen except with the help of a microscope. One of the simplest is the little creature called an Amoeba, which lives in ponds. These are the simplest forms of animal life, and are called Protozoa. In all the other groups of animals we have considered the body is built up of a great number of cells. All of these groups are too large and general to be considered as "Classes" in the same sense as the five Classes of the Vertebrate animals. Each of them is to be compared with the whole group of Vertebrates, and each can be divided, like the Vertebrates, into several Classes; the Arthropoda, for instance, include at least four, and more likely six or seven, Classes. But, in truth, naturalists are not yet thoroughly agreed as to the proper classification of these myriads of little creatures, and we find different arrangements in the books of different writers. This list will, however, be a sufficient guide in the very short account that can here be given of the Invertebrate animals. I. Mollusks. Soft creatures, showing no rings or divisions along their bodies, generally provided with a "mantle" and a "foot," and often living in shells, such as shellfish, cuttlefish, slugs. II. Arthropoda. Creatures with bodies arranged in successive rings or segments, and with jointed legs, such as insects, centipedes, spiders, lobsters. III. Worms. Creatures with bodies arranged in suc- cessive rings, without legs ; also creatures without the C 1 8 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. ringed arrangement of the body and also without " mantle " or " foot." * IV. Echinodcrmata. Creatures with prickly skins, the parts of whose bodies are arranged round a central mouth, such as starfishes and sea-urchins. V. Cotlenterata. Creatures with smooth skins, and without body-cavities, usually with tentacles or soft arms arranged round a central mouth, such as jellyfish and sea-anemones. VI. Protozoa. Creatures consisting of simple cells. In the diagram given on the next page the chief sub- divisions of animal life are shown in a way that can be easily understood with a little care. All living creatures on the earth, from the great whales and elephants to the tiny beings that can only be seen with a microscope, are included under one or another of the divisions given above ; and we will now go on to learn something about the Orders and Families into which the principal Classes are divided. For though it would be an endless task to give even a very slight account of animals were each to be spoken of separately, yet by the help of this classification we may hope, even in a short space, to gain so much knowledge of the leading groups as to be able to refer to their proper places most of the animals we meet with, and to make it easier to remember anything we may learn about them in future. Here is a table which sets forth how all the * Worms, in fact, form a very diverse group, whose members have hardly any characters in common, so that many naturalists do not regard them as one, but as several sub-kingdoms. I 1 SS r tfi - sis -15 S W S y -I S I I 20 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. living creatures known upon the earth may be classified. The names in italics are those used by all naturalists, whatever language they may speak. TABLE OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM, i. VERTEBRATE ANIMALS. Class. Order. Chief Groups. I. Mammals i. Man* (Biinana}. ii. Apes, etc. (Quaiiru- Monkeys and lemurs. mana) iii. Bats (Chiropterd). iv. Insect eaters (In- Shrews, moles, hedge- sectivord) hogs. v. Beasts of prey ( Car- Land. Cat group, nivord] Dog group, Bear group. Water. Walrus, sea- lions, seals. vi. Whales (Cetacea) Including dolphins. vii. Manatee (Sirtuiia). viii. Elephants (fro- boscided). ix. Cony (Hyracoided). x. Hoofed animals (Un- Horse group, tapir, gulatd) rhinoceros, swine, peccary, hippopota- mus, oxen, sheep, goats, antelopes, giraffes, deer, chev- rotains, camels, llamas. xi. Rodents (Rodentid) Squirrels, rats, porcu- pines, hares and rabbits. * The usual practice among zoologists is to class Man with Apes, Monkeys, and Lemurs in one order (Primates), For if the bodily structure of Man alone is considered, he is found to differ less from the higher apes than these do from the lemurs, or even from the lower monkeys. TABLE OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 21 If. Birds III. Reptiles IV. Amphibians V. Fishes Order. Chief Groups. xii. "Toothless" animals Sloths, anteaters, (Edentata] armadillos, xiii. Marsupials (Afar- Kangaroos, opos- stipialia) sums, etc. xiv. Egg-lay ing mammals Duckbill, spiny ant- (Monotremata). eaters. i. Birds of prey (Acct- Falcon group, owls. pitres) ii. Woodpeckers, etc. Climbing birds, par- (Picarite) rots, etc. Wide- gaping birds, king- fishers, etc. iii. Perching birds (Pas- Crow group, thrush seres) group, finch group, starling group, lyre bird group. iv. Pigeons (Columba) v. Game birds (Gal- Fowl, turkey, phea- lina) sant, partridge. vi. Waders (Gralfa) Plovers, cranes, rails, storks, snipes. vii. Water-birds (An- Ducks, geese, and seres). swans, gulls and petrels, auks and penguins. viii. Wingless birds Ostrich, emu, casso- (Sirnthiones) wary. i. Tortoises (Chelonid), ii. Crocodiles (Croco- dilia). iii. Lizards (Saitria). iv. Snakes (Ophidia). (Amphibia} The orders of fishes are too difficult to be given in a small book like this. Frogs, toads, newts. 22 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. 2. INVERTEBRATE ANIMALS. Sub-Kingdom. Principal Classes. Chief Groups. 1. Mollusks Cuttle fish (Cephalopoda). (Mollusca) Univalve shells (Gas- teropoda). Bivalve shells (Lamelli branckiala). II. Creatures Insects (Insecta). with jointed Centipedes and milli- legs (Ar- pedes (Myriopoda). thropoda) Spiders, etc. (Arachnida). Crabs and lobsters, etc. ( Crustacea) . III. Worms ( Vermcs). IV. Prickly Starfishes, sea - ur- skinned chins. creatures (Echino- dermata) V. Zoophytes, etc. Jelly fish, sea - ane- (Ccelenlerata) mones, coral, and sponges. VI. Simplest forms of life (Pro- tozoa) We may arrange all these Classes, from the lowest and simplest forms of life to the highest and most complex, in a sort of genealogical tree, " with branches springing from different levels, each branch again bearing twigs, some of which rise higher than the base of the branch A GENEALOGICAL TREE. 23 above." At present our knowledge is very imperfect, but if we could make a perfect scheme of this sort, it would give not only an image of the wonderful unity 24 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. of the whole animal kingdom, but would also express the way in which naturalists believe the different forms of animal life are related to one another. Here is such a genealogical tree taken from Mr. J. A. Thomson's delightful book called " The Study of Animal Life." * It must, however, be borne in mind that this picture is only an imaginary sketch, meant to be nothing more than a pleasing symbol, with many limitations and imperfections. It would be foolish to suppose any naturalist could assert that the various forms of animal life arose from one another exactly in the way shown in the picture. It will also be understood that this genealogical tree is not meant to express anything beyond the relationship of bodily structure in the animal kingdom. * The small twigs from the main trunk represent the way in which different classes of -worms may be supposed to be little off- shoots at different levels. CHAPTER II. MAMMALIA. Man. Among the Mammalian creatures the first Order is that of human beings ; but though this must be duly noticed, it is not our object to study them here. It is evident that in our bodily frames we closely resemble many other of the animal inhabitants of the world, and some account of this resemblance will be given later ; but even the lowest races of men are immeasurably removed by their mental and spiritual capabilities from the lower animals. Apes (Qnadriimana). We can easily recognize that next to man comes the order of animals most nearly resembling him, that of the Apes and Monkeys. The distinctive mark of the Order is in the formation of the hind paws, which always have five toes, one of them being placed opposite to the rest like our thumbs, so making a true hand, able to grasp firmly. Most of the apes and monkeys have also true hands on their fore- paws, but in some instances the thumb is very small, or altogether absent. Their skin is covered with hair, except on the face and the palms of the hands. Monkeys are found both in the Old and New Worlds, but only in warm climates. When brought to our 26 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. country they suffer much from cold, and are very liable to consumptive disease. There is always something specially interesting to us in these "poor relations" of man, as they have been called ; and no doubt the feeling that they are soulless caricatures of ourselves causes a sort of fascination in watching them, whether it is combined with horror at the fierce and hideous great apes, or with amusement at the grotesque impishness of the smaller monkeys. The likeness to man is not only in the outward form, but shows itself in the way in which many of them will weep with sorrow or distress, chuckle, and even smile, with amusement, redden with rage, or grow pale with fear ; and in noticing these things we begin to have an uncomfortable sort of feeling that there is no very great difference between us. But if we imagine a monkey reading this book, or studying and classifying other creatures, we immediately see the absurdity of the comparison. The largest of the apes is the great African Gorilla, which is between five and six feet in height when full grown, and is enormously strong in the arms and shoulders. The gorilla, like all the other apes, is with- out a tail, and when standing up has a horrible likeness to a very heavily-built and awkward man, with dispro- portionately long arms and hideous face. It cannot, however, stand upright without clinging to some support with its arms, and the knees are always somewhat bent, so that it does not really walk like a man. Its strength and ferocity are such that a full-grown male gorilla has never been captured alive, though the females and the MAN AND THE ATE. 2J young have been taken. The gorilla lives in forests; sometimes it climbs into the branches of the trees, and 28 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. when a band of negroes passes below it has been said to reach down one powerful hind paw, and, seizing a man APES OF VARIOUS A'LVDS. 29 by the throat, to strangle him in its grasp. As it does not eat the man, this would appear to be done if the story be true from simple spite and malice. The Chimpanzee, another African ape, is more gentle than the gorilla. Chimpanzees habitually live in trees, where they make nests among the branches. The rest of the apes are Asiatic, and consist of the Orang-outangs in Borneo and Sumatra large creatures covered with reddish hair, living entirely among trees, whose branches they weave together into platforms to sit upon ; and of the Gibbons, which belong to Sumatra and Malacca, and are not quite such unpleasant-looking 30 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. objects as the other apes. The Gibbons do not exceed three feet in height, and their bodies are slender and light, with small heads and very flexible necks, and extra- ordinarily long arms; some of them being able to put their whole hands flat on the ground without stooping. They are all very agile in their movements, springing from tree to tree almost as if they were flying. Their Entellus Monkey. disposition is shy and quiet, and they are capable of being tamed and trained in captivity. Most of the members of the Order that have tails are called monkeys, and many different kinds of them are found in all the warmer parts of Asia, Africa, and America ; but the only monkey inhabitant of Europe lives on the rock of Gibraltar, and is really a North African species that has crossed the Straits. It is known as the Barbarv BABOONS AND THEIR WAYS. 3! ape ; but it is not a true ape, for, though its tail is reduced to a mere knob or projection, yet a tail it has. The monkeys have not the disproportionately long arms of the apes, and they generally go on all fours. None of the family is better known than the Entellus, the monkey that haunts the villages of Northern India, and, being protected by the religion of the people, makes itself quite at home there. It varies from three to four feet in length, without reckoning the tail, which is often longer than the body, and it is covered with greyish fur, growing darker with age. Troops of these creatures live in the banyan groves, and make themselves a great nuisance by their cool familiarity and ingenious thefts, not only among the crops and fruits, but also in the shops and markets ; yet it appears that even they are surpassed in impudence, grimaces, and mischief by the innumerable smaller monkeys of the African forests, who live a merry life chasing each other through the branches, chattering, screaming, playing practical jokes, and, when they get a chance, pulling out the tail-feathers of unfortunate parrots who come within reach of their mischievous fingers. The Baboons of Africa have not the half-human look of other monkeys, but their heads are shaped more like that of a dog ; a fact to which they owe their generic name of Cynocephalus. They hunt together in large troops, keeping strict discipline among themselves, and setting sentries to watch against the approach of enemies. The young are playful and impertinent ; but they get soundly cuffed by the grave elders of the tribe if they misbehave, or make a noise when it is important that they should be 32 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. quiet. They are large, strong animals, living among rocks, and making raids on cultivated grounds, where they commit great depredations. The monkeys of America are entirely distinct, and there are no families of the tribe common to the Old and New World. The expressive names Howlers, Spider monkeys, Squirrel monkeys, indicate some of their characteristics. There is a tribe of small animals living in Madagascar and the neighbouring islands, sometimes called half-apes, but properly Lemurs. They have little monkey hands, and are therefore included in the same Order, but in appearance are more like foxes or cats, being rather pretty creatures, with very soft fur, and long, soft, round tails. They are nocturnal in their habits, sleeping through 33 the day, but collecting together at night in large com- panies, and displaying great activity. Bats (Chiroptera). The next Order is that of the Bats, which are distinguished from all other Mamir.als Bat, with spread wings. by their wings and power of flight. Their bodies are D 34 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. not unlike that of a mouse, but their forepaws have enormously long fingers, supporting the folds of large membranes, which connect the body, limbs, and tail, and form real wings. Bats are found in all parts of the world, and vary in size, from the great Kalong, or Flying Fox of India, the spread of whose wings measures four feet across, to little creatures a couple of inches in length. Many of the large foreign bats are fruit eaters ; but our English bats feed entirely on in- sects. People are often afraid of bats ; but though their swift silent flight, and their appearance only at night, certainly give a feeling that there is a strange sort of mystery about them, yet there is nothing to be afraid of, and, indeed, if allowed to come freely into our rooms in warm weather, they often do good service by destroying gnats and other annoying insects. In the daytime they hook themselves up in some quiet dark corner, and wrapped up in their folded leathery wings are hardly to be recognized except by a practised eye. Insect Eaters (Insectivora). From the Bats we pass to another Order of creatures, who help to keep down our insect pests. This Order has not such clear dis- tinguishing marks as the two already spoken of; but the creatures which compose it cannot be included in any other. The rats and mice seem very near them in some respects, but are clearly separated by their possession of the curious teeth which are the special mark of their INSECT EATERS. 35 own Order; while the smaller kinds of beasts of prey (Carnivora) differ in their bones and teeth. So the Insect Eaters stand by themselves, consisting, in England, of the Mole, Shrew, and Hedgehog, and they have relations in all parts of the world except South America and Australia. The Mole lives, works, and hunts underground, constructing a wonderful dwelling, with tunnels leading into it in all directions, so that it is sure of a way of escape at the approach of an enemy. Worms and grubs are its food, and though, living in the dark, its eyes are small and little used, yet it is wonder- Mole. fully keen in hearing and smell, by which it detects and follows its prey. In our country walks we are all familiar with the occasional sight of dead shrews lying about, though the cause of their death is unknown. Possibly their strong flavour prevents their being eaten by the creatures that kill them. They are not unlike mice in appearance, but the true mouse belongs to quite another Order of animals. The smallest known Mammal in the world is a tiny Italian Shrew, only an inch and a half long in the body, and with a tail of another inch. The back of the Hedgehog is covered with prickly 36 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. spines, and it has the power of rolling itself up at the approach of danger, so as to present nothing but a ball of spines. It wanders at night in search of its food, trotting at a pretty rapid pace, and is not over particular as to what it takes. I have seen it eating a shrew, and it cannot be acquitted of the crime of feeding at times on young rabbits, poultry, etc. How a hedgehog walks up steep staircases is best known to itself; but when Hedgehog. kept in houses to eat the cockroaches, it may often be found in the most distant and apparently inaccessible parts of the building. We might well be surprised at finding creatures so apparently unlike as Monkeys, Bats, and the Insect Eaters placed next to each other as the three first Orders of Mammals; but this is partly explained by the existence of a very curious animal in Malacca and the neighbouring islands, which seems to partake of the nature of all three. It has been known as the Flying Lemur, and used to be generally described as one of the Lemurs ; but naturalists now consider that its true place is among the Insectirora. Its limbs and tail are BEASTS OF PREY. 37 connected by a large membrane, which spreads out and supports it while leaping from tree to tree, as if it were really flying ; but it has not true wings, and cannot fly Flying Lemur (Colugd). upwards'. It moves at night, and by day sleeps hanging by its hind feet from the branch of a tree, like a bat. Beasts of Prey (Carnivore?). Now comes the vast order of beasts of prey ; divided into the Land Carnivora, or eaters of flesh, and the Marine Carnivora, eaters of fish. All the Land Carnivora are armed with sharp claws and teeth. Of front teeth, or incisors, they have six in the upper jaw and six in the lower. These are suc- ceeded by a large strong pointed tooth on each side, corresponding to our eye-teeth, and properly called canines, which are the chief instruments by which the creature holds its prey. The back teeth are different in 4:39414 38 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. the different families. The six pair of incisor teeth are very characteristic of the order, for the only other animals which have them are the horse family, tapirs, and some swine, all of which are easily distinguished from the Carnivora by having hoofs and not claws ; and also a few species of the Insectivora, which vary a good deal in the number of their front teeth. Among the Land Carnivora are three main groups : the Cat group, including the families of the cats, the civets, and the hyenas ; the Dog group, which has but a single family ; and the Bear group, in which, besides the bear family, are reckoned the racoons, and the numerous family of the weasels. The beasts of prey are powerful, active, energetic animals, with very acute sight and hearing. Unlike the quiet cattle which feed upon grass, they have to hunt their prey, and depend for a livelihood upon what they can catch and kill for themselves and their children. The young are born helpless, and often blind, so that they depend on the care of their parents, who gradually educate and train them to provide for themselves. CATS. The characteristics of the whole Cat family can be well seen in our domestic Cat's Teeth. CatS< Take P USS >' OI1 >' Ur knee, and, if she will let you handle her, open her mouth and look at her teeth. Her front teeth are very tiny, but the canines are large and formidable, and you will see that the back teeth also CAT AND LION. 39 have sharp points, not flattened crowns like our grinders, for as cats can only move their jaws up and down, and not at all sideways, they only chop and tear their food, and do not grind it. Their tongues are rough all over like a file. Now, compare pussy's limbs with this picture of a lion's skeleton. If you pass your hand up her hind leg Skeleton of Lion. you will find the knee-joint almost hidden in the loose folds of the skin of the body, and can then see that what looks like a knee turned backward, halfway down her leg, is really the heel, the beginning of a very long foot. The cats walk only on their toes, keeping this heel lifted well above the ground, which gives them a tread as light and springy as it is powerful. A cat always strikes with its feet, and, in the larger members of the family, there is immense strength in the feet and legs, for a lion will kill an ox with a blow of its paw, as a cat kills a mouse. The toes are armed with sharp claws, which can be put out or retracted at will. This gives a double 4O ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. advantage ; for when the claws are drawn back they are protected from getting blunted against the ground, and, at the same time, the soft cushions upon which pussy then treads, give the peculiar, silent, and stealthy step with which she steals upon her prey. First of the great Cats stand the Lions. They are of a yellowish, tawny colour, with a tuft of hair at the end of the tail, and the head and shoulders of the male are covered with a thick mane, which gives him his majestic look. A full-grown lion measures about ten feet from the nose to the tip of the tail. His strength and swiftness are prodigious, and his roar strikes terror into the heart of every animal within hearing. He is not always anxious to attack. Dr. Livingstone writes, " \Yhen encountered in the day time, the lion stands a second or two, gazing, then turns slowly round, and walks as slowly away for a dozen paces, looking over LIVINGSTONE'S EXPERIENCE. 41 his shoulder; then begins to trot, and when he thinks himself out of sight, bounds off like a greyhound." He had, however, another story to tell one day when he had attacked a lion, and shot at him, but missed his aim. " He came with a tremendous roar, and Ferns " (Livingstone's horse) " whipped round like a top, and away at full speed. My horse is a fast one, and has run down the Gemsbok, one of the fleetest antelopes; but the way the lion ran him in was terrific. On came the lion, two strides to my one. I never saw anything like it, and never want to do so again. When he was within three strides of me, I gave a violent jerk on the near rein, and a savage dig at the same time with the off heel, armed with a desperate rowel, just in the nick of time, as the old mannikin bounded by me, grazing my right shoulder with his, and all but unhorsing me." Livingstone then jumped off his horse and shot the lion. Lions are found in all parts of Africa, and in the south-west corner of Asia; but the king of the Asiatic wild beasts is the royal Tiger. The Tiger is of enormous size, sometimes reaching twelve feet in total length, extremely lithe, graceful and active in movement, and beautiful in colour, with black stripes or spots upon a yellow ground. He is a fearful enemy to cattle, and a tiger who has once tasted human flesh, generally becomes a confirmed man-eater, when no life is safe in his neighbourhood. " One Tiger, in 1887-8-9, killed, respectively, twenty-seven, thirty-four, forty-seven people." Tiger-hunting is generally undertaken 42 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. by large bodies of armed men, mostly mounted on elephants. The beautifully spotted Leopard, or Panther, occurs both in Africa and in Asia. It is smaller than the Lion or Tiger, but has an advantage over them in being able to climb trees. In America the places of the lion and tiger are taken by the tawny-coloured Puma, and the Jaguar, which is spotted like a Leopard ; and many smaller kinds of cats are found throughout America, Asia, and Africa, but Europe possesses only the Wild Cat, which, though nearly extinct in Great Britain, is still found in many parts of the Continent, and several varieties of Lynxes. CIVETS. Next to the true Cats comes the Family of Civets, of which we hear comparatively little, as none of them belong to this country. They vary considerably in size ; the largest of them being about fifty inches in total length, the smallest not above twenty. In general appearance they are not unlike cats, but have longer and more pointed noses. They walk on their toes, but keep the heel much nearer the ground than cats, and their claws can only be partially drawn back, not entirely concealed. Their home is chiefly in Africa and Asia, but one species, the Genette, lives in Southern Europe. HYENAS. The Hyena may be considered to stand half way between the Cats and the Dogs. It is not unlike a hideous, degraded-looking dog, with a long, blunt nose and bushy tail. It has immensely strong teeth and jaws, which can crack even large bones ; but it is a cowardly beast, and rarely kills food for itself, THE DOG FAMILY. 43 preferring to follow the great beasts of prey, and eat what they leave, or haunting burial-grounds, where it prowls at night in search of the dead bodies, uttering cries like a horrible discordant laugh. It belongs to Africa and parts of Asia. DOGS. The Dog Family includes Dogs, Wolves, Foxes, and Jackals. Their claws cannot be drawn back at all ; and though they walk on their toes, like the cats, yet they have not the same power in the paws ; and when they attack, it is always with their teeth. The teeth also vary from those of the cats ; for instead of having all sharp cutting teeth, the two hindermost teeth of dogs, above and below on each side, are grinders, with flattened crowns. There are no animals that vary so largely as domestic dogs. They are of many colours, and of all sizes, from the huge mastiff to the tiny toy dogs petted by ladies. We have swift dogs, like the greyhound ; sporting dogs, like the pointer and setter ; fighting dogs, like the bull- dog ; hunting dogs, like the foxhound or the terrier ; 44 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. wise, responsible dogs, like the collies. No doubt this great variety is largely produced through careful breeding and training by men, but it remains doubtful whether they really all belong to the same species or not. Dogs are so constantly our companions that we know more of their minds, their intelligence, sympathy, even of their conscience, than is the case with any other animals. Who does not know how ashamed of himself a dog will look when he knows he has done wrong, how happy he will be when his master is pleased with him, how quickly he will learn what he is wanted to do, or how quiet and gentle he will be when he sees his friends sad and depressed ? In the Arctic regions the Eskimos are entirely de- pendent on their dogs to draw their sledges over the ice and snow when they move from place to place, and the dogs are also employed in hunting Bears and Seals, but they are only half-tamed, and are often very savage and unmanageable. What is known as the Cape hunting dog, though it belongs to the same group, is not one of the true dogs ; but there are real wild dogs in India, and one in Australia, called the Dingo. Wild dogs live in burrows, caves, or hollow trees. It is a curious thing that wild dogs, and even domestic dogs that have run wild, whine or howl like wolves, but seldom or never bark ; it almost seems as if the barking of a civilized dog is like an attempt to imitate man in speaking. FOXES. Foxes have more pointed snouts, shorter legs, and bushier tails than dogs, and also the pupils of their eyes narrow into slits in bright light, like those FOXES J A CKALS IVOL VES. 45 of a cat. Their depredations among poultry and other small animals are well known. JACKALS. The Jackal of Asia and Africa is not very unlike a yellow fox. It will follow larger beasts of prey, and eat what they leave, or will kill sickly or wounded animals for itself. Jackals hunt by night in packs, and their wailing cry as they sweep by an encampment is one of the most weird and melancholy of sounds. WOLVES. In the Wolf we come to a far more formidable animal. It is about the size of a large shepherd's dog, to which it bears a good deal of re- semblance. It will kill and devour almost anything. Horses and oxen are pulled down by wolves; and in winter when they hunt in large packs, even a troop of armed men cannot always defend their lives from these savage beasts, unless they can reach some shelter. Wolves used formerly to live in the British Islands, and 46 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. it is less than two hundred years since the last was killed in Scotland, while in Ireland they lingered also into the last century. BEARS. From the Dog group we pass to the Bear group. Bears have larger front teeth than cats or dogs, and grinders behind their canine teeth. They walk on the whole sole of the foot, which gives them a slow, heavy tread, very different from that of the light creatures that run on their toes. They have long sharp claws, which cannot be drawn back; and when attacked will rear themselves up on their hind legs, and strike terrible blows with their claws. Or they will try to seize an adversary in their front paws, and squeeze him to death. Most of the Bears are harmless enough towards men, unless attacked first or pressed by hunger. This, THE BEAR. 47 however, is not the case with the great Grizzly Bear of North America, nor with the Polar Bear of the Arctic Seas, both of which are very dangerous creatures, and most formidable foes to the hunter. Bears feed on mixed food, and most of them appear to be quite as partial to vegetable as to animal food, and particularly fond of sweet things. Indeed, none of the flesh-eaters object to an occasional change of diet, and even a lion is said to enjoy water-melons. WEASELS. Of Bears we happily see none in England except in menageries, but the same cannot be said of 4 8 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. the large Family of the Weasels. Long, slender, and lithe in body, very short in the limbs, very sharp in the teeth, and very fierce in disposition, are most of its members. Weasels, Stoats, Martens, Polecats, Ferrets, have a strong family resemblance to each other, and are all terrible enemies to poultry and other small creatures. Ferrets are frequently used in hunting rabbits and rats, as they will go into the animals' burrows and turn them out. A larger cousin of theirs is the Badger, which more nearly resembles some of the foreign mem- bers of the family. Lastly we come to the Otter, which burrows in the banks of rivers, and lives upon fish, being itself equally at home in water or on land. The Sea-Otter of the North Pacific varies from other members of the Order in having only four lower incisors, and in any case, with its aquatic habits and its webbed feet, it forms a natural link to the next Family. MARINE CARNIVORA. The sea, as well as the land, has its beasts of prey, feeding upon the fish. These are the Walrus, the Sea Lions, and the Seals. The limbs of all these creatures scarcely resemble legs at all, but are modified into mere flappers, by which they U'ALKUS AND SEALS. 49 move nimbly and easily in the water, but awkwardly on shore. The Walrus is an enormous animal, from twelve to fifteen feet in length, and its great tusks, which are really the upper canine teeth immensely developed, give it an extraordinary and formidable appearance, which is indeed justified by its fury in fight when attacked. Walruses congregate in vast herds along the shores of the Arctic Seas, but upon any alarm they at once make for the water, where they feel safe. Seals are remarkably intelligent creatures, easily tamed and very affectionate, and in captivity they readily learn to obey the voice of their keepers and to play many tricks. They are much attracted by music, and are well known to follow boats in which a musical instru- ment is played. The valuable seal-skin fur is not the skin of the true seals, but of a species of the sea lions, or eared seals, which are often much larger animals. The true seals do not exceed five feet in length, while some of the eared seals reach as much as ten feet. All the Marine Carnivora come ashore for the birth E 50 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. and nursing of their young, and by this power of coming ashore are completely marked off from the next Order of the Mammalia. Whales (Cetacea). Whales belong entirely to the water, and by ignorant people are often supposed to be fish ; but though rather fish-like in form and without limbs, yet they are true Mammals, warm-blooded and suckling their young. To the Whale family belong the largest animals 1 known, some of them exceeding even a hundred feet in length. They have to come to the surface from time to time to breathe, and if unable to do so would be drowned ; but the intervals for which they can remain below vary in different species, from five minutes to an hour. Some of the whales have teeth, but other kinds have no teeth, their mouths being furnished with a series of plates, of what is commonly called whalebone, but more properly baleen. These plates are solid where they join the palate, but split into fringes at their loose edges, and serve as strainers to keep in the small shellfish and other creatures that STKANGE SEA ANIMALS. 5! enter the whale's mouth with the sea water. Huge as the whales are, they have very tiny throat passages, not more than two inches across. Hence they live princi- pally upon the smaller kinds of crustaceans, mollusks, and fish. The families of Dolphins and Porpoises, however, which belong to the same Order as the Whales, have not this difficulty, and make great havoc among fish. Sirenia. We will only notice in passing another small Order of strange sea beasts, to which belongs the Manatee, an ugly and ungainly animal, which, however, is supposed, from its habit of lifting itself upright in the water, and carrying its young in its arm, to have given rise to the legends about mermaids. The animals of this Order cannot be included with the Marine Carnivora, which are all furnished with powerful canine teeth to hold their prey, while the Sirenia have no canines at all, and feed only on seaweeds. On the other hand, they are quite distinct from the Order of Whales, for the Cetacea have smooth bodies, and their nostrils or " blow-holes," as they are called, set right on the top of their heads ; while the Sirenia have hairy bodies, and their nostrils on the end of their snout. They must, therefore, be set in an Order by themselves. 52 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. CHAPTER III. .MAMMALIA continued. WE must now leave the sea, and return to the land, where we are approaching the vast Order of the Hoofed Animals; but a word must first be said about two Families which are by some naturalists considered to belong to it, while by others they are separated into distinct Orders, as not having true hoofs. Elephants (Probosddea). The first of these are the Elephants, the largest of land animals, natives of Africa and India. The Elephant is a great heavy creature, usually about eight feet in height when full grown, but occasionally reaching ten or eleven feet, and of a dark grey colour. His great tusks, so much sought after by the ivory hunters, are not, like those of the Walrus, canine-teeth, but are the upper front teeth, or incisors, developed to a very great length; and he has also the advantage of growing fresh grinding teeth when the old ones are worn out. But the most wonderful thing about the Elephant is its trunk, which is really an immense lengthening of its nose. The trunk can be lengthened or contracted, waved from side to side, or curled round to carry food and water to the elephant's mouth, and its sensitive tip can pick up any small object from the RIG AND LITTLE RELATIONS. 53 ground. The Elephant has been humorously and happily described as " a square animal, with a leg at each corner, and a tail at both ends : " but few tails could be so useful as the trunk. Elephants are wonderfully wise and teach- able beasts, and can be employed in many ways. Not only does their great strength enable them to carry all sorts of heavy burdens, but they will also learn to pile up stacks of logs, and even to lay courses of masonry in building, while it is well known that the keeper can safely trust his child to the care of one of these faithful attendants. Coney Family (Hyracoidea). The other Family spoken of above contains the little creature which in the Bible is called the Coney and a few related animals living in Africa. The group seems very small to have a Family and an Order to itself; but while the skeleton shows resemblances to those of several other animals, it cannot be exactly classed with any of them. Coneys 54 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. are small thickset animals with short legs and ears. One group (including the animal mentioned in Psalms and Proverbs) live in colonies among rocks. Another, in- habiting South and West Africa, climb trees. Hoofed Animals (Ungulata). The Order of the Hoofed Animals must be divided into groups somewhat in the same way as the Order of the Beasts of Prey ; and the main distinction is made by the number of the toes. The first or odd-toed group includes the Horses and Asses, the Tapir and the Rhinoceros Families in which the middle toe is the longest ; in the Horse family this toe alone is developed and bears the hoof. All the rest of the hoofed animals belong to the immense group of the even-toed or cloven hoofs, which must be further subdivided when we come to it. All the animals of the Order feed on vegetables, except the Swine Family which eat everything they can get. HORSE FAMILY. The Horses and Asses, the creatures with a single hoof on each foot, are a good deal like each other, and form only one Family, but the Horses have horny places, or warts, on the inner side of each leg, and tails all covered with long hair, while the Asses have the warts only on the fore-legs, and hair only on the end of their tails. Their teeth are not all close together, but there is a considerable space left between the front and back teeth, which affords room for the bit by which they can be controlled and guided. The Horse, like the dog, is known to us in a great variety of breeds, but these seem to be due to careful continued selection, and not to any real difference of THE HORSE FAMILY. 55 species. It is a highly intelligent and affectionate animal, and its good memory for a way once travelled has often been the saving of a rider who has lost his way; but horses are very nervous, and, if frightened or distrustful, will often appear ill-tempered or unmanageable when in truth they chiefly need to be soothed or reassured. Our hardy, strong little Donkeys are not generally apt to be very swift in their movements, but most of the wild Asses are remarkable for swiftness and wariness. Wild Asses of different species are found both in Asia and Africa, and Africa is also the home of those striking and beautiful creatures, the Quagga and the Zebra, both of whom belong to the Asses. The domestic Ass has generally a single dark stripe across its shoulders, perhaps marking its relationship to the finely-striped Zebra. TAPIRS. Tapirs, which form the second division of Tapir. the Hoofed Animals, are creatures about the size of a donkey with very thick hides, and short trunks; they 56 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. are fond of water and swim well. They are not very clean feeders, but live chiefly on vegetables, and never attack men unless hard pressed by hunters. Their home is in Central and South America, and in the Malayan peninsula and islands. RHINOCEROS. Perhaps there is hardly a more hideous beast living than the Rhinoceros. Its large, heavy body, sometimes reaching 12 ft. in length, and 5ft. loins, in height, and thick, tough skin, which is much prized Rhinoceros. by African and Indian natives for making shields, give it somewhat the appearance of a huge pig ; but, unlike a pig, it carries either one or two horns, not on the top of its head, but set behind one another along its snout. In the largest African Rhinoceros the front horn varies in height from 2 ft. 6 ins. to 4 ft., while the hinder one is only about 12 to 15 inches. In spite of its unwieldy appearance the Rhinoceros is a very swift runner, severely trying the powers even of good horses, and this combined THE CLOVEN FOOT. 57 with its uncertain temper and habit of making attacks without waiting for provocation, make it a very dangerous beast. Even the Elephant has a terror of the Rhinoceros' powerful horn. It is fond of wallowing in mud, partly perhaps as a protection against the insects by which it is constantly infested. As the Families of the Swine and the Hippopotamus differ considerably from the other two-toed families, and in their heavy build and thick hides approach the character of the Rhinoceros and Tapir, and even of the Elephant, it is natural to take them first for considera- tion among the cloven-footed animals. SWINE. The Pigs or Hogs have round snouts, cut off abruptly at the end, and capable of being moved about a good deal, with which they root about, plough- ing up the ground as they seek for food with their very keen scent. In their wild state they are neither stupid nor specially dirty, and if left to themselves they soon run wild and get back to the fierceness of their natural condition. It is not so very long since wild boars became extinct in the British Isles, and they are still found in most parts of Europe, Southern Asia, and Northern Africa. A large wild boar is a very powerful animal ; armed with strong, sharp tusks, and being very swift in his movements, he will charge in a most dangerous manner. In India the animals, which are fond of being in thick cover, often take up their abode in the standing crops, where they do great damage ; they are hunted on horse- back with spears. They grow to a great size, and a male has been measured as much as five feet nine inches in 58 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. length; the females being smaller and having smaller tusks. The hogs are replaced in America by smaller animals of the Swine Family called Peccaries, which do not exceed three feet in length. They look harmless enough, but are fierce little creatures, running in large troops ; and being absolutely fearless, and armed with small, scarcely-seen tusks, as sharp as lancets, are dangerous to encounter. HIPPOPOTAMUS. The Hippopotamus, or River Horse, is found only in Africa. This enormous creature, Hippopotamus. though not exceeding about five feet in height, is fre- quently eleven or twelve feet long, and it opens its huge mouth with a width of gape unapproached by any other animal. It is of a heavy, unwieldy-looking build. The hippopotamus was first brought to England in 1850, and when full grown reached a weight of four tons. These animals live by day almost entirely in the water, RUMINANTS. 59 where they may be seen together in large numbers, and where they can remain below for a considerable time between their breathing intervals ; but at night they often come ashore, trampling and devastating the crops on which they feed. They are for the most part quiet in dis- position when unprovoked ; but a bull hippopotamus in a fury is an enemy not to be trifled with, and will easily crunch up a boat in its huge jaws, while the extreme thickness and toughness of its skin make it very difficult to kill. RUMINANTS. All the other families of the cloven hoofed animals, after the Pigs and Hippopotamus, are characterized by a curious habit. Any one who has watched a Cow knows that after feeding she will lie down in a quiet spot and enjoy the food over again. From the peculiar structure of the stomach she is able to bring the food again into her mouth, where it is leisurely chewed, and prepared for digesting. This action is called "chewing the cud," or ruminating, and the animals that perform it are called Ruminants. The Ruminants include all cattle, sheep, and goats, all antelopes and deer, and the camels and llamas. Many of them have horns, which are always set side by side on the top of the head, not along the nose like those of the Rhinoceros. But there is an important distinction between their horns. The cattle, sheep, goats, and antelopes have hollow horns, covering a hard bony core, and they remain through life, gradually grow- ing larger ; but the horns or antlers of the deer family are solid, not hollow, and they fall off and are renewed every year. 60 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. OXEN. No creature that lives is more valuable and useful to man than the common ox. In this country we value them chiefly, while living, for the sake of the milk of the cows ; but elsewhere their strength is con- stantly used for labour, both in ploughing and in drawing waggons. Indeed in South Africa the principal means of travelling is in waggons drawn by teams of oxen, which are less liable than horses to the attacks of the terrible Indian Ox or Zebu. tsetse fly of that country. Then their flesh is one of our most valuable foods, and almost every part of the body can be turned to useful account. Cows are so familiar to us that we can closely observe their ways, and it is very curious to see the order which they maintain among themselves. The leading cow of the herd is supreme in dignity; none of the younger animals will presume to enter or leave the pasture before THE OX FA MI I. Y. 6l her, and so tenacious is she of her position that it is said that when a leading cow in Switzerland was deprived of the deep-toned bell hanging round her neck which gave the signal to the rest, she refused her food and pined away, and though the bell was restored, it was too late to save her life. In the Ox Family must be reckoned several kinds of Asiatic oxen, including the large Indian cattle with a hump on the back, the Yak, or long-haired ox of Tibet, the Bisons, and Buffaloes. These two last names are often mixed and applied to the same animals ; but properly speaking, the Bisons include only the Aurochs, a nearly extinct animal of the forests of South-eastern Europe, and the North American Bisons. These last have thick shaggy manes and beards, and are large animals, the males being about six feet high at the 62 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. shoulder. They move about in herds, which used formerly to be often vast in numbers ; but they are now much reduced by hunters, who valued them for their skins and their excellent beef. Buffaloes of different kinds are found in South Europe, in Africa, and in India, and are among the largest of the Ox tribe, with very large horns. Herds of tame buffaloes are kept like oxen; but wild ones are often dangerous, and have a special enmity against tigers, which they attack and kill. All the buffaloes are very fond of lying in mud and water, sometimes showing only their noses and eyes above the surface, and to this position they retire to chew the cud. With the little Musk Ox of the extreme north of America we seem to be passing from the oxen to the sheep, as its appearance is not very unlike that of a ram covered with long hair, which hangs nearly to the ground, concealing its limbs. The name is derived from its strong musky odour. SHEEP. -The Sheep Family rival the oxen in their usefulness to man, and have been so long domesticated that it is impossible to say from what country our breeds of tame sheep first came. We read in the very beginning of history that Abel was a keeper of sheep, and wher- ever men have migrated they have taken with them this docile animal, valuable equally for its flesh and its wool. The breeds vary greatly, especially in the presence or absence of horns, in one or both sexes, and also in activity and spirit, mountain sheep being generally remarkably agile. Of the wild sheep the largest number belong to Asia ; SHEEP- GO A TS ANTELOPES. but the Moufflon lives in Corsica and Sardinia ; North Africa has a large and handsome species in the Barbary sheep, and America in the Big Horn of the Rocky Mountains. All the wild sheep have horns, which in some kinds reach a very large size. GOATS. Closely related to the sheep, and really difficult to distinguish from them in some species, are the Goats, all of whom are horned and bearded. They belong exclusively to Europe, North Africa, and Asia. The flesh of the goat is not so highly esteemed as that Mountain Goat or Tbex. of the sheep, but their milk is more used, and the hair of the Angora and Cashmere goats is as valuable as the sheep's wool. ANTELOPES. The principal home of the great Ante- lope Family is in Africa, where vast herds of these 6 4 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. creatures range in endless variety of species, varying in size from the Grand Eland, which rivals the ox in dimensions, to the tiny and graceful Gazelles, barely two feet high. We read in African travels of Steinboks, Springboks, Bushboks, Gemsboks, Koodoos, Hartebeests, and many others, all included among antelopes. Some are nearer the Ox group, others more like goats, while many have a strong resemblance to deer, from which, however, they are clearly distinguished by their perma- nent hollow horns. Most of them are light, active, and graceful in their movements, and the little Springbok, which is about thirty inches in height, frequently leaps into the air to a height of from seven or eight to as much as twelve feet. But the most extraordinary of the African antelopes is the Gnu, or Wildebeest. It has a head and THE GIRAFFE. 65 shoulders not unlike a bull, while its hind quarters and tail are more like those of a pony, which animal it also resembles in its manner of wheeling, prancing, kicking, and snorting. Several species of Antelopes are found in Asia, one in California, and one in Europe, the pretty little Chamois of the Alps. GIRAFFES. Next to the Antelopes, and intermediate between them and the Deer, is placed the Giraffe, which, instead of true horns, has only two short appendages on the head, and a bony lump between the eyes, all of which are entirely covered by the skin. There is something very attractive about this quaint, long-legged, long-necked creature, which, with its gentle eyes and awkward, angular movements, so vividly suggests a Noah's ark animal of wood and leather as to give F 66 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. rise to a constant wish to feel it and make sure that it is real. The great height, some sixteen or eighteen feet, from which it looks down on us should, indeed, inspire respect; but then it is all the more comical when straddling its legs apart in the difficult endeavour to get its head to the ground. In its African home it feeds habitually on the leaves of trees, selecting and plucking them daintily with its long tongue. It is a gentle, timid, and affectionate animal, and has rarely been heard to make a sound. DEER. The Deer Family are distinguished from all others by the remarkable history of their antlers. These ornaments belong to the male animal only, except with the reindeer, whose female is also horned. The horns vary greatly in size and in the number and kind of branches borne by different species and at different ages, Antlers of deer (1-5) in successive years. From Chambers's Encyclopaedia. but all alike are shed every year. In each year of a stag's growth its antlers grow more and more branched. The Red Deer, which are still found wild in parts of the British Islands, lose their horns in the spring between February and May. In a few days, however, they begin THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANTLERS. 67 sprouting again, and all the time they are growing they are covered with a soft furry skin, called " velvet," which is hot to the touch from the rapid coursing of the blood in it. When the growth of the horn is complete for the year, this skin or " velvet " dries up, and is gradually worn off by the animal rubbing its head against the trees until only the hard solid horn of the antler remains. In its first year the young stag grows only a simple spike with one point, but year by year the new horns increase in size and complexity until the full-grown stag over six years old, carries magnificent antlers with points varying from sixteen up to even as many as sixty-six. But the whole of this growth is completed in a very short time about ten weeks. By the end of August the horns are cleared of " velvet," and the fully-armed stag, who remained in quiet and retirement while his weapons were growing, comes out prepared to fight the world, and at this time of year, is very quarrelsome and dangerous. The stags fight each other for the possession of the does, and not infrequently kill each other. The fawns, which are born in May and June, are brightly spotted with white in the summer, and gradually assume the red colour of the full-grown animal. In those kinds of deer which have very small or simple horns, the canine teeth are developed into small tusks as if to balance the want of them, and there are one or two species altogether hornless, such as the Musk Deer, and the Chinese Water-deer, in which the tusks become of considerable size. Deer belong chiefly to Europe and Asia ; there are a few in America, but they are unknown in Africa south 68 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. of the Sahara, where their place seems to be taken by the antelopes. The red deer and the roebuck are natives of Britain, though now driven into remote districts, but the fallow or spotted deer, which are most frequently seen in our parks, are imported from other countries. The largest of the deer is the Elk, or the Moose of North America, which sometimes stands eight feet high Head of Reindeer. at the shoulder as high as a fair-sized elephant. Its horns are " palmated ; " that is, their branches are THE DEER FAMILY. 69 connected together by sheets of bony tissue, making the whole pair of antlers appear like a huge basin, and adding immensely to the weight, which is so great that one wonders how the animal can carry such a burden. Nevertheless, the Moose is a swift and powerful runner, and a good swimmer. An extinct gigantic deer, the so-called " Irish Elk," had still larger antlers than the Moose. The most useful to man of the Deer Family, is the Reindeer of the Arctic Regions, herds of which con- stitute the wealth of the Laplanders. This is a powerful and enduring animal, and is used both for carrying riders and baggage, and drawing sledges. It is peculiarly fitted for travelling over snow, as the two sides of the hoof part widely when pressed upon the ground, and spread so much as to give the same sort of help as a snow-shoe. Also one of its horns has generally a branch widely expanded, and standing straight forward just over its brow (see picture), which serves as a snow-plough to shovel aside the snow, under which its food, consisting in winter principally of a dry sort of lichen, is concealed. CHEVROTAINS. After the Deer come a family known as the Chevrotains, which are wee, pretty Deerlets, about as big as a rabbit or hare, with large dark eyes and a gentle and confiding expression. They differ from the true deer in having no horns, but tusks large enough to show outside when the mouth is shut ; and also the bones of the feet approach in some respects more nearly to those of the swine. These graceful little creatures belong to Southern Asia and West Africa. The whole of the Ruminating animals hitherto spoken 70 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. of are distinguished by having front teeth only in the lower jaw, the upper front teeth being replaced by a horny sort of pad against which the lower teeth bite, and which helps to lay hold of and tear off the green food on which they live. The sound of this tearing up the grass is very noticeable when a herd of cattle or sheep are grazing together. But the Camels and Llamas, though they are also Ruminants, have two upper front teeth. CAMELS. Camels have been kept for use by dwellers in the East from the earliest times, and formed part of the wealth of Abraham. Their broad cushioned feet, well adapted for travelling over the desert sands, great endurance, power of subsisting on small quantities of the dryest shrubs, and of storing several days' supply of water in their stomachs, render them invaluable to Eastern travellers. They stand about six or seven feet high at the shoulder, and are of a light brown colour, THE CAMEL. 7 I closely resembling that of the desert sand itself. To be loaded or unloaded the camels kneel down, and this is also their attitude of rest, their weight being supported in that position upon thick pads with which the knees and breast are furnished. Their long soft lips, the upper one of which is split up in the centre, and their slit-like nostrils, give them a curious expression of countenance ; but the most remark- able point about the camel is the hump, which acts as a reserve store of nourishment, being large and plump when the animal is well fed, and gradually absorbed during a long journey with scanty food. The Arabian Camel, which is found throughout North Africa, and as far east as India, and the Dromedary, a lighter and swifter variety of the same, have only one hump ; but the Bactrian Camel, a native of more northern districts of Asia, has two. The humps are soft and flexible, and blow to one side in a wind. In our recent North African campaigns a Camel corps was raised for the work in the desert ; no new feature in war, for we hear that, in David's Amalekite raid, " there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, which rode upon camels, and fled" (i Sam. xxx. 17). All the Camels bear a bad character with those who know them well. They are described by a traveller as " great, grumbling, groaning, brown brutes ; " and he adds, " never do I remember to have seen a camel in a good humour." LLAMAS. In the New World the Camels are replaced by the Llamas of South America, animals of the same family, but much smaller, the largest not exceeding three 72 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. feet six inches at the shoulder, without humps, without the broad cushions of the feet, and with more sheep-like faces. They have a very unpleasant habit, when annoyed, of discharging the contents of their mouths over the offender, and have been known in this way to rid them- selves of their riders when tired of carrying ; but they are now rarely used as beasts of burden. The wool of these creatures is long and silky, and under the names of Llama, Alpaca, and Vicuna, according to the species, is well known in manufactures. On looking back over the numerous Families of this great Order it is interesting to see that in the Bible history notice had been taken of their main divisions, and the only animals reputed clean for food for the Israelites were the cloven-hoofed ruminants. " Whatso- ever parteth the hoof, and is cloven-footed, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat. The RODENTS. 73 camel, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you. And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be cloven-footed, yet he cheweth not the cud ; he is unclean unto you " (Lev. xi. 3. 4, ?) We do, in fact, reckon the camel among the cloven- footed, but the division of the foot is less marked than with some of the Order. Rodents (Rodentia). We come now to an Order of animals small in size, but immensely prolific in numbers, and very distinctly marked off from all others, which are aptly known as Rodents, or Gnawing creatures. They have two long front teeth above and two below, with a considerable gap between these and the back teeth or grinders, and no canines at all. But their peculiarity is that the long front teeth are always growing and are only kept to a reasonable size by constant use. Gnaw they must, or they will die; and instances abound in which by the accidental loss of a tooth, the opposite tooth which should have been ground down by it has grown on right through the other jaw till the poor creature could no longer open and shut its mouth, and has died of starvation. The Rodents consist of four main groups, the Squirrels, the Rats and Mice, the Porcupines, and the Hares and Rabbits. SQUIRRELS. Our pretty little English squirrel is a good example of its Family. With its large bushy tail cocked up over its back, its bright eyes, quick, lively, and playful movements, scampering up and down trees, taking flying leaps from one to another, challenging 74 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. its companions to race, or sitting up nibbling a nut held between its fore paws, it is one of the most captivating of our wild animals. It is eight or ten inches in length, the tail adding seven or eight more inches ; it has hind legs much longer than the fore legs, and is in summer of a red-brown colour above and white below, becoming greyer in winter. It is Flying Squirrel. a prudent little creature, and, when food is abundant, lays by stores for winter use, for though it sleeps away much of the winter, yet it rouses from time to time to satisfy its hunger. Squirrels of different species are dis- tributed over almost 'all the world, and a large group of them, the Flying Squirrels, have a deep fold of skin stretching along each side of the body, connecting the fore and hind legs, which is widely extended when they THE SQUIRREL GROUP. 75 are jumping, and serves to support them in the air like that of the Colugo, or Flying Lemur. One of the Flying Squirrels, the wee little Assapan of North America, does not measure more than four and three-quarter inches in length without the tail. In America also are found most of the Ground Squirrels, which, instead of building their nests in trees, burrow into the ground; and these lead by an easy connection to their relations the Marmots, which are not unlike squirrels with very poor tails. The Alpine Marmot of Europe is large for a Rodent, measuring twenty inches to the root of the tail, but the most interesting of the set is the Prairie " Dog " of North America, so called from its little quick cry like the barking of a small dog. The Prairie " Dogs " live together in great numbers and their burrows are as thickly con- gregated as those in any rabbit warren, while in front of the mouth of each is thrown up a hillock of the excavated earth, on which the occupant habitually sits. It is a quaint sight to see, from the railway trains running through the prairies, these hillocks, clustered by hundreds, each with a little animal seated on the top of it. Another very curious feature of a " Dog town," as it is called, is that the burrows are constantly shared with a kind of small Owl, known as the Burrowing Owl, about the last creature one would expect to find underground, and sometimes a less welcome guest appears in the Rattle- snake, which feeds upon the young " dogs." To the Squirrel Group also is referred that intelligent carpenter and builder, the Beaver, which haunts the rivers of North America, having now almost entirely disappeared from Europe, where it used to be plentiful. 76 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. Beavers are about two and a half feet long, with a flattened trowel-like tail, and webbed hind-feet. They live together in communities, building their strong lodges in the water, and for this purpose they actually cut down trees by gnawing round and round the trunk with their powerful teeth. The trees, some of which have been measured not less than eighteen inches Ifxi in diameter, are neatly cut into logs about five feet long, and then built one upon another with a plaster of mud. The dwellings, when complete, stand out above the top of the water, but the entrances are always under water, and if the beavers cannot find a sufficiently deep pool for their needs they build in the same way a dam across the stream, to pen back a good height of water. Some of these engineering works are of astonishing size, RATS AND MICE. 77 beaver dams having been seen three hundred yards long, and ten or twelve feet wide at the bottom, narrowing up to the top of the water. RATS AND MICE. Whatever other animals may be strange to us, we are all familiar enough with rats and mice, and probably regard them with no friendly feelings, from their habits of making themselves at home without invitation, and making free with all eatable property alike in our houses, ships, barns, ricks, and in the open fields. They are found in all parts of the world and in many species, but our domestic rats and mice are cha- racteristic types of the whole group. The common Brown Rat is a masterful creature, and allows no other species to remain where he has taken possession, so that he has partially exterminated the Black Rat which formerly abounded in this country. Although every one's hand is against the rats, yet they hold their own, partly through the extraordinary rate at which they multiply, breeding several times a year, with from ten to four- teen young in each litter, partly through their power of acting together. They will eat anything, and their disposition varies with their food, but those that fre- quently get animal food (like the sewer rats in our towns) are fierce creatures, and, when hungry, positively ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. dangerous. A large party of famishing rats would soon pull down a man, and even a single rat will sometimes attack a young child. However, even these unpleasant animals have their use in devouring offal and other pestilence-breeding matters thrown into the sewers ; and the country rats are quite content with stealing vegetable food. The audacious little mice imitate their bigger cousins in the matter of thieving ; and they are also very wary creatures, soon understanding and avoiding a trap which has been several times set for them. Mice are un- doubtedly fond of music, and individuals among them have some power of singing and even of imitating the song of a special bird. They are quite as prolific as rats. The Dormouse and the tiny Harvest Mouse, only five inches in total length, are attractive little creatures, and the Harvest Mouse makes a beautiful cradle for its little ones of grass blades woven together into a hollow ball about the size of a cricket-ball, which is slung between the stems of the growing grass by using some of the blades as they grow, without de- taching them. One of the most remark- able of the rat group is the active little Jerboa or Jumping Mouse of the African and Arabian deserts. boa. THE PORCUPINE. 79 It is six inches long, with about eight inches more in the tail, and its special distinction is the disproportionate length of the hind legs. As it walks and jumps only on these, carrying the short fore paws pressed close to its breast, it has very much the air of a bird hopping. PORCUPINES. The peculiar feature of the Porcupine is the number of stiff bristles, spines, and quills mixed with its hair : and when it is irritated, and sets these up on end, it presents a formidable appearance. Its mode Porcupine. of attack is by backing upon its enemy with the points of its quills, and as the quills are loosely attached to the skin, and readily come out when touched, they remain in the flesh of the opponent and make severe wounds. A tiger has been found with porcupine quills sticking in its paws and head. The common porcupine is from thirty to thirty-six inches in total length, and is an inhabi- tant of South Europe and North Africa. Other like species are found in Asia, while the American porcupines are different in their habits and live in trees. To the Porcupine group belong a number of small 80 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. rodents Chinchillas, rather like squirrels with very soft, grey fur ; Agoutis, small, slender-limbed pig-like creatures, very quick and active in running and springing, which do great damage in the sugar plantations of South America ; and Cavies, of which the best known in this country is the dull little tailless guinea-pig. In their South American home, however, much larger kinds of Cavy are to be found, and, indeed, the Capybara, or Water Pig, the largest of the Rodents, measuring four feet in length, belongs to this Family. HARES AND RABBITS. The Hares and the Rabbits form a single family belonging to the fourth group, and there is a great general resemblance between them, but the hind-legs of hares are nearly twice as long as the fore-legs, while there is much less difference between those of rabbits : the hares' ears, also, are much longer in proportion. Hares live on the ground, concealing themselves among the grass : rabbits burrow under- ground. Young hares are born with their eyes open, and clothed with hair, while rabbits are born blind and naked. They all feed principally in the twilight, but, while the hare loves to lie quiet in the daytime, the little rabbits are constantly engaged in comical play together near their burrows. They are native in almost every part of the world except Australia, and rabbits have been introduced there in recent years ; they have multiplied exceedingly and become a great nuisance to the colonists. Edentata. The next Order is a complete contrast to the last ; for, whereas the rodents are characterized by their large strong front teeth, these have no front TOOTHLESS CREATURES. 8l teeth or canines, and some of them have no teeth at all, from which they get their name of Edentata, or toothless. They belong entirely to tropical countries, and include some of the oddest beasts living on the earth. SLOTHS. The first group of them are the Sloths, hairy animals, without tails, about two feet long, with three toes on the hind-feet, and either two or three on the Sloth. fore feet, all armed with long sharp curved claws. Their special peculiarity is that they spend their lives clinging to the under-side of tree boughs : they travel in this way from tree to tree upside down, they eat upside down, they sleep upside down. But to counterbalance the awkward- ness of this position they have an extraordinary power of 82 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. turning their heads right round, so as to look at anything behind, or beneath them. If placed upon the ground they drag themselves slowly and awkwardly, not upon their front paws, but upon their elbows, to the nearest tree, or anything they can hang to. In the trees they move faster, but are never very nimble, and spend much of their time in sleep, feeding chiefly at night on leaves and twigs. They belong to Central and South America. ANT-EATERS. Next come the Ant-eaters, which are strangely various in shape and appearance. They all have very long, round, worm-like tongues, which can be thrust far out of the mouth, and which wriggle as if they had an independent life, but this almost seems the end of their likeness. The Tamandua and the two- toed ant-eater of South America are not unlike sloths with long, useful tails, which they twist round branches to hold on by like the American monkeys. Then we have the Great Ant-bear of South America, the oddest of all. It has a very long narrow head, a still longer ANT-EATERS. 83 tongue, a long neck, and is in all about four and a half or five feet long to the root of the tail ; but then comes at least three feet more of tail, and such a tail huge, bushy, plumy making a complete shelter from the sun when the owner turns it over his back, and lies down under his own shadow. He is a slow, stupid animal but when very hard pressed will sit up and endeavour, like a bear, to squeeze his enemy to death in his grasp. Except the Tamandua and its relations, which hunt for insects under the bark of the trees, all these creatures live by scratching down the sides of great ant-hills with their powerful claws, and laying their long sticky tongues among the ants, which adhere to them, and are thus drawn into the mouth of the ant-eaters. The CAPE ANT-EATER from Africa, which belongs to quite a distinct family, more nearly resembles a pig, if we can imagine a pig five feet long, including its twenty inches of tail, without teeth, with a tongue like a worm, and with long pointed ears like a hare. A third set, the PANGOLINS, or Scaly Ant-eaters, form another distinct 84 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. family. They are covered all over with a complete armour of large, horny, pointed scales, overlapping each other like tiles, with their pointed ends towards the tail. These extraordinary creatures vary from two to five feet in length, most of which is in the tail, and when attacked, roll themselves up so as to protect their heads under their armour, and set up the sharp edges of their scales towards the enemy. They are found both in Africa and in Southern Asia, and are absolutely without teeth. ARMADILLOS. The Armadillos, the last Family of the Edentata, all belong to South America, and are dis- tinguished by the hard bony shields, like those of Crocodiles, which cover the upper side of their bodies and heads. They vary in size from fourteen inches to over three feet, and have round bodies, short legs, and large, strong claws, with which they burrow rapidly into the earth. They are quick runners, will eat anything, and are themselves very good to eat. One small species, the Ball Armadillo, has the power of rolling itself up, POUCHED ANIMALS. 85 and thus baffling the monkeys, who love to drag back an Armadillo by the tail as it runs to its burrow, but who can make nothing of a ball with nothing to pull at, and too large to be cracked. It makes a beautiful ball, the neat fit of its shields being only rivalled by the beauty of their ornamentation. Marsupials (Manupialia). Pouched animals. The next Order of the Mammals, which belongs almost ex- clusively to Australia and the neighbouring islands, is a very interesting study, for it appears to include animals closely resembling members of many families already described, Cats, Dogs, Bears, Squirrels, Rats, Hares, etc. ; but the Australian forms of these creatures are dis- tinguished by a peculiarity so marked that all who possess it must be referred to one Order. This peculiarity is the history of the birth and nourishment of the young. KANGAROO. The Kangaroo is the typical animal, the description of which will best serve to introduce this leading feature of the whole Order. The male of the Great Kangaroo is a very large animal, clothed in thick warm fur of a greyish brown colour, with a gentle-looking face, large full eye, and upright ears. Its limbs appear much out of proportion, for the fore-legs are short, while the hind limbs are very long, large, and strong, the great hind feet sometimes nearly as long as the leg bone, and armed with claws, one of which is larger than the rest, and a truly formidable weapon. When moving slowly or feeding, the Kangaroo goes on all fours, with an awkward gait ; but when speed is required the hind legs alone are used, and the animal progresses by great leaps, clearing often fifteen feet or 86 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. more at every bound, and distancing even good horses. It habitually sits or stands upright, supporting itself on the hind legs and great tail, and in this attitude often reaches the full height of a man. Though the front limbs are short they are capable of much more varied movement than those of many creatures, and may almost be called arms. They can be turned freely on the elbow like a man's arm, can be '''.', ''' i< Kangaroo. moved up and down, or put behind the back, and the paw can grasp, hold, or pick up things like a hand. The Kangaroo will run away from a hunter if it can, but if hard pressed will fight to the last, and is not to be trifled with, as one blow of its powerful hind claws can rip open the body of a dog. When turned to bay by dogs near water it has been known to seize a dog in its arms, hop off to the water, and hold it under water till it is drowned. CURIOUS CREATURES. 87 The female, who is much smaller, carries the distinctive mark of the Order, a large outside pouch of skin on the lower part of the body. When the young Kangaroo is born, it is very tiny and in very undeveloped condition, hardly more than an inch long, colourless, and almost transparent. The mother immediately places it in her pouch, containing the teats, to one of which it attaches itself; and in this living cradle it dwells and grows for eight months, until it is able to take care of itself. As it grows larger, it may be seen peeping out of the pouch ; and even when able to come out and feed on the grass, it still runs back to its shelter for rest and safety, until it reaches a weight of about ten pounds, when the mother finally turns it out. There are many species of Kangaroo, varying in size and in details, and to the same Family belong the Kangaroo Hare, and the Kangaroo Rats, or Potoroos, which are about as large as rabbits, and have heads and teeth somewhat like rodents. Among the many other curious creatures of the Order, must be mentioned the Wombat, a burrowing animal, with round fat body two or three feet long, a stumpy tail, short equal limbs, heavy waddling gait, and a singularly placid and apathetic disposition ; the Koala, or Australian " bear," a little bear-like tailless creature with thick fur, which early transfers its young one from the pouch to its back, and habitually carries it there ; the Cuscus, somewhat resembling a Lemur, with long pre- hensile tail ; and the Phalangers, some of whom have a close likeness to the Flying Squirrels. The cats find their Marsupial representative in the Ursine Dasyure or 88 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. Native Devil of Tasmania, a savage little creature which commits great havoc among poultry and small animals ; and the dogs in the Thylacinus or Zebra Wolf, also a Tasmanian animal which attacks and hunts down sheep. Both these creatures have great canine teeth, and other points of likeness to the Carnivora. The only Marsupial animals found outside the Australian Opossum, with young on her back. district are the stout furry Opossums of America, the largest of which is equal to a large cat in size, and the smallest not exceeding five inches without the tail. Their tails are a great feature long, round, flexible now holding on to the branches to steady their owners in their bird's-nesting excursions, now supporting their whole weight as they hang from a bough, and again arched over a mother's back with the tails of a whole EGG-LA YING ANIMALS. 8 9 young family twisted round it to secure their safe seat as they ride. The Opossum will eat anything, and is much hunted, both on account of its depredations among poultry, and for the value of its fur. Egg-laying Mammals (Monotremata). The list of the Mammals closes with an order which may really be considered a sort of link between other mammals and reptiles. The best known member of this very remark- able group is a flattish animal, reaching at most eighteen Duck-billed Platypus (.Ornit/iorkyncJius), inches in length, with a broad, flat tail, like a beaver, flat, webbed feet, furnished with claws, the web of which is folded back when the claws are used for digging ; and in place of a snout a broad bill, like that of a duck, which, duck-like, it thrusts into the mud, searching for food, and from which it takes its name of Duck-billed Platypus. Its burrows are made in the banks of streams and pools, the entrances to them being always under water; and much of its life is passed in QO ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. the water, but it can also run on land and even climb. A gentleman who has kept them in captivity says that they are very cleanly in their habits, tending their fur as carefully as cats, and that the young are very lively and playful. The Spiny ant-eaters (Echidna) agree with the Platypus in their general structure, and in the young being hatched from eggs, not born alive. They are, however, very different outwardly, being provided with a long pointed " beak," and covered with short, strong spines. Both the Platypus and Echidnas are found in Australia and Tasmania, and Echidnas in Papua as well. All the known Mammalia are included by naturalists under one or other of the fourteen Orders described above ; but in classifying and arranging animals, attention is always chiefly directed to the examination of the bony skeleton, rather than to the outward appearance, so that without a good deal of study it is not always easy to see the reasons why certain animals are reckoned in one family rather than another. It is noticeable that among the lower species of the Edentata, the Marsupials, and the Monotremes which are purposely set last in the series, some details of the skeleton show an approach to characters which belong more generally to birds or to reptiles, and so fitly lead to the consideration of these other great classes of the Vertebrate Animals. CHAPTER IV. BIRDS (Aves). BIRDS, which form the second class of the Vertebrate Animals, have several distinguishing characters, marking them off very clearly from all other creatures. They do indeed share with Mammals their red, warm blood, being, in fact, hotter than the Mammals themselves, but from these they are entirely separated by their hatching out of eggs ; and their clothing of feathers and possession of horny beaks are easily recognized outward characters which belong to Birds alone. But the great privilege of birds is the power of flight, for the sake of which their forelimbs are modified into wings. Their bodies contain air-chambers, and even the bones in many birds have cavities filled with air. It is true that there are birds, like the ostrich, which cannot fly, perhaps having lost the power through long disuse, but still the wings exist in a small and stunted form, showing that the same ground plan runs through the whole Class. Birds annually shed and renew their feathers, but they lose them gradually, so that though they pass through a time of shabby plumage at the moulting season they never become actually bare. They vary much in their powers of voice ; some birds uttering only harsh screams, 92 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. or twittering or chattering sounds, while others, chiefly belonging to one Order, fill the air with their musical songs. Another most notable thing in many birds is the extraordinary instinct of migration every year from one climate to another. It is indeed only made possible by their power of flying over the sea, but it is wonderful how unerringly they guide themselves from land to land, many of our bird friends, after wintering in Africa, re- turning even to the same nest which they built here the previous summer. Among the most noticeable of our summer visitors are the cuckoo, the swallow, and the nightingale, but the migratory instinct is found in birds belonging to almost every Order. The whole subject of the migrations of birds is far from being well under- stood, and many more observations are needed. There is indeed much of all kinds still to be learnt even about our most ordinary birds, and any one who will observe closely and record accurately what comes in his way, can be of service in adding to our knowledge. The young of birds are hatched out of eggs, the part of the egg which develops into the young bird being a tiny germ speck. If an egg is laid on its side, the germ spot is always in the middle of the upper side, and may be seen by breaking open the shell at that point. It can be preserved alive for a short time in the same condition, but will only develop into a living bird under the influence of continued heat. This heat is generally supplied by the mother bird sitting on the eggs ; but some kinds are hatched by the heat of the sun, or by being buried in heaps of decaying vegetable matter hot-beds, in fact. SECTION OF EGG AT THREE STAGES. 93 After 9 days. 94 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. The rapid growth in the egg is marvellous to think cf. By the end of the first day's sitting, the germ has become elongated and grooved, the brain and spinal cord of the young bird forming along the groove; on the second day the heart appears ; by the third bloodvessels have been formed, and so the little chick grows on, supported by the. yolk of the egg which is gradually absorbed, until within three weeks the tiny germ spot is changed into a complete bird, which pecks a hole in the shell and comes out into the world. The condition, however, of the young birds when hatched varies greatly in different kinds. Some, like the young thrushes, are naked, help- less little objects, which must be fed by the parents for a long time while their feathers are growing ; while others are like the newly hatched chick of the poultry yard, a dainty little creature clothed in soft down, which will catch a fly for itself with the egg-shell still on its tail. England is very specially a land of birds. In no other European country, perhaps, are they so continually in sight, forming a constant feature of every country walk, and not infrequent in towns also. Travellers on the Continent must have noticed the comparative scarcity of birds, which have to be searched for, instead of present- ing themselves, as here, familiarly at every turn. Birds of Prey. The first Order is that of the Birds of Prey. They all have strong, hooked bills, and most of them sharp powerful claws or talons, and they feed on other birds and animals, either hunting and killing for themselves, or acting as scavengers and clearing away what they find dead or dying. The, Falcons and the Owls are typical birds of the two THE FALCON GROUP. 95 main groups. The Falcon group includes Vultures, Eagles, Condors, Hawks, and Kites ; the Osprey, or Fish- ing Eagle, holding an intermediate place between them Condor. and the Owl group. Owls have soft, fluffy feathers, which enable them to fly very silently, large heads, little or no necks, round flat faces, with eyes looking straight forwards, ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. instead of being set on the sides of the head, like those of other birds, and a general air of composed gravity. Falcons always have three toes turning forward and one at the back of the leg ; but Owls can turn the outermost of their front toes either back or for- ward as they please. The poor Owl is often unmercifully persecuted by game- keepers in the belief that it destroys young pheasants ; but, in truth, it is often ac- cused of the crimes committed by rats, while it really does excellent service by destroying large numbers of rats and mice. Indeed, as the Owls hunt only at night, it is difficult to see how they could get at the young birds, which are then safely sheltered. Like all birds of prey, Owls throw up in the shape of pellets the indigestible parts of the food they swallow, and an examination of 706 pellets found about a Barn Owl's nest proved them to contain the remains of 16 bats, 3 rats, 237 mice, 693 voles, 1590 shrews, and 22 birds. Picarian Birds. The second Order takes its name of Picarian birds from the Latin name of Woodpecker CLIMBING BIRDS. 97 (Picas), which is considered the leading type. They are generally bad nest-builders, and many of them breed in holes. In this Order there are many groups. Some are Climbers which have two toes turned forward and two back, an arrangement with which we are familiar in the Parrots. These beautiful but noisy creatures, of which there are many kinds, are found only in the tropics and in Woodpecker. Australia and New Zealand. The last-named country is favoured with several remarkable and troublesome parrots of its own. Parrots have strong, large, curved bills, with which they help themselves in climbing about, and the upper side is jointed so that it can be lifted right up instead of being faxed to the bones of the head like that of most birds. Their mouths and tongues are singularly H 98 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. dry indeed, a parrot is a dry, powdery bird altogether and they are continually using their voices screaming, chattering, mimicking, with observant accuracy, and a good memory which has been turned to account in teaching them to talk. It is very difficult to believe that a parrot is entirely unaware of the meaning of its remarks, they are often so quaintly appropriate and humourous. Every one has heard good stories of their conversation ; but few are better than that of the parrot who, having once or twice interrupted the reader during family prayers, was sent out of the room, when, as he was carried to the door, he turned, and said humbly, " Sorry I spoke." Among Climbing Birds also, we may reckon the foreign Families of Honey Guides, Plantain Eaters, Toucans, and Barbets, and they are represented in England by the Woodpeckers, who climb with their claws and stiff tails while tapping the wood in search of insects, and the Cuckoos who visit us in spring and summer, and who make no nest for themselves, leaving their eggs about in other birds' nests to be hatched. The Picarian Birds also include Kingfishers, of which there are many more foreign than English ; Hornbills, Trogons, with gorgeous plumage and long tails, Goat- suckers, and others, as well as the dainty little Humming- birds, which hover over the flowers, shining in exquisite colours, the smallest of them having a body hardly larger than a Humble Bee. Perching Birds is the name given to the third Order, a very large one, including all the songsters, and, in fact, almost all our small birds. Their feet have three PERCHING BIRDS. 99 toes forward and one behind, all well developed and with claws. First among them stands the Crow group, in- cluding Crows, Rooks, Jays, Magpies, etc. Handsome cousins of the Crows are the Birds of Paradise from New Guinea and the neighbouring islands. The body, wings, and tail of one of these beautiful creatures are of a rich brown, the top of the head and neck pale gold, the Bird of Paradise. throat and under side of head emerald green, while from under each wing springs a tuft of feathery golden plumes two feet long, which falling backward mingle with the long wire-like feathers of the tail. Among the Thrushes and Warblers are found our best song-birds ; the Thrush, Blackbird, and Nightingale. The Nightingale arrives in England in the middle of April, 100 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. and for some weeks until the young are hatched, pours out its song almost all day and night, except for an hour or two in the evening. It does not show itself very freely, but otherwise is not a shy bird, often singing its best by the roadsides. Nightingales seem to answer each other, and may often be started in song by whistling or singing to them. The little Wrens and Tits are members of the same Order. Another group is formed by the lively Families of the Finches, Swallows, Wagtails, etc. From the time that the welcome Swallows arrive in spring till they assemble together before winter for their departure to warmer countries, they are constantly in sight, sweeping through the air or over the surface of water in search of insects, with rapid and graceful flight, or building round our houses or under our eaves the little plastered nests to which the same birds faithfully return year after year. Then come the Starlings and their relations, among whom are the cheery Larks; and the last group of Perching birds is entirely foreign, including Bell-birds and Ant-thrushes from America, and the beautiful Australian Lyre bird, which carries its lyre-shaped tail feathers erect like a Peacock. Game Birds and Pigeons. To the Order of the Game birds belong those which are most valued for the table, all the varied inhabitants of our poultry-yards, as well as the Peacocks, Pheasants, Partridges, and Grouse. They all have small heads for the size of their bodies, and scaly markings on their feet, and they do not pair with a single mate, but herd many together. The young birds are active and independent as soon as they are WADERS. IOI hatched, and on this account the Pigeons, whose young are naked and helpless, are iejiarajte/f'firom tb'isX-frder in which they were formerly reckoned. ,......, /, Waders. Waders coiije. nex, , '^,'- as: 'iKei* name shows, are mostly to be found near water ; but a few land birds are included with them which have the same character of long bare legs, small head, and generally long narrow beak. They are shy birds, migrating Flamingoes. annually, and they mostly breed in cold climates, making their nests on the ground. Rails and Crakes, Moorhens and Plovers, belong to this group, and though some naturalists place them in a separate Order we will mention with them the Herons, the Storks so familiar and highly respected on the European Continent, where they constantly make their nests on the roofs of houses and the Flamingoes. No one who has seen them can ever forget the look 102 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. of these last, standing, generally on one leg, in the shallows { of Lake" ,-Menzakh in Egypt. Troops and troops of O them. some five or, six feet in height, looking like ^ regiment^, of ;, soldiers in their scarlet and white plumage, and occasionally bending down their long necks to rake the mud in search of food. They, how- ever, have webbed feet, like ducks, and must therefore be considered as intermediate between the Waders and the Water Birds. Water Birds. The Water Birds, who all have webbed feet, are, by some writers, reckoned all together ; by others divided into half a dozen different Orders. Swans are found mostly on fresh water, ducks and geese on both fresh and salt; but the gulls and their Albatross. allies belong to the sea, and, from their numbers and variety, form a great feature of life on every sea coast in the world. The grandest of the whole number is the Albatross, whose magnificent wings, when outstretched, cover a space of some twelve feet from point to point. In the southern seas they will follow a ship for many- days together, to pick up anything eatable among the BIRDS WHICH DO XOT FLY. 103 refuse thrown overboard, when their unrivalled powers of flight, as they sail sometimes for an hour without a flap of the wings, are a source of the greatest interest to the voyagers. In strong contrast to these splendid flyers are the Penguins, queer birds on the islands of the southern ocean, whose little wings, quite useless for flight, are modified into flappers, some- thing like those of a Seal. When very hard pressed, they actually use these for running on all fours, like a quadruped ; but their usual attitude is that of sitting upright on their tails, if, indeed, they can be said to have tails, and each / bird even hatches her single egg in this position by keeping it close between her legs. The largest species is three feet in height, and they crowd together in communities of many thousands, feeding in the sea. Wingless Birds. The last Order of birds is also without the power of flight, but the immense speed at which they can run makes up for this defect. The Ostrich of the African plains is the largest of all living birds, standing from six to eight feet high, with a long Pengi 104 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. neck and long legs, and a considerable likeness, from a little distance, to its neighbour, the Camel. It has two front toes, and, like all the rest of the Order, no hind toe at all. Contrary to popular belief, Ostriches are very careful of their eggs, the male birds taking a full share of the work of hatching ; but they have a curious habit of laying additional eggs round the outside of the nest a mere hollow in the sand which serve for food for the young birds when first hatched. There seems to be BIRDS' NESTS. 105 no doubt that, at all events for a short time, an ostrich can keep up a speed of fifty miles an hour, and if pressed in a long chase, will double many times to throw off the hunters. The birds are valued for their beautiful plumes, and ostrich-farming has now become a regular industry of South Africa. Birds' Nests. We cannot leave our feathered friends without a word of admiration for the nests which they Tailor-bird nest. prepare with such wonderful skill before the time of egg-laying comes on. At the Natural History Museum in South Kensington you will find a large and beautiful collection of the nests of different birds, forming a 106 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. delightful and instructive study. The nest-building instinct is doubtless a habit birds have acquired for the protection of their young, and for keeping up the warmth necessary for the hatching of their eggs. And what a wonderful variety of nests are made by different classes of birds ! The Ostrich merely scrapes a hole in the sand ; Sand-martins, King-fishers, etc., make a burrowed hole ; Swallows, Thrushes, etc., make a well-built nest of mud or clay ; Eagles and Storks make a flat nest of twigs on elevated spots ; most of our singing birds and the crows weave a nest of grass or hair and twigs ; the Bull-finches and Humming birds make a soft felt-work nest of wool ; whilst the Wren, Titmouse, and Water Wagtails build a covered nest, with an entrance on one side ; a few robbers, like the Cuckoo, and the Sparrow if he gets a chance, use the nests of other birds ; on the other hand, some, like the Indian Tailor-bird, display almost human intelligence in the construction of their nests. On the last page is a picture of the nest of the so-called Tailor- bird, which is common in the hedgerows of parts of India and China ; the name of the bird is derived from the way it prepares its nest. Two or three leaves are actually stitched together by any thread or fibre the bird can get, the bird using its bill to bore the holes for the thread. A sort of cradle is thus formed which the bird lines with cotton wool and fine grass before laying its eggs in its tailor-built nest. CHAPTER V. REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS. WE now pass to the Third Class of the Vertebrate Animals the Reptiles, or Creeping Things. Their blood is cold, their breathing and digestion slow, their eyes cold and without expression, and most of them are rather sluggish in movement. They show wonderful tenacity of life, many of them being able to endure fasts for months and even years, and they are often very hard to kill. The young are always produced from eggs, even though, in a few instances, these are hatched before leaving the mother. Whether it is from the un- pleasant, clammy feel of these creatures, or from the deadly powers which some of them possess, or from causes less easily assigned, there is no doubt that most people feel an involuntary repulsion from them. They are most numerous in hot countries, diminishing in number as we go north and south from tropical regions ; in England, the Class is represented only by a few lizards, three snakes, and some frogs, toads, and newts. Tortoises. The first Order is that of the Tortoises- creatures with four limbs and without teeth, in whom the bony skeleton, instead of being wholly covered by flesh, comes partly to the outside in the shape of large, 108 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. bony shields, which form a protecting armour over the back and breast. Some of the Tortoises are able to treat their shell actually as a house, withdrawing their heads and limbs entirely into them ; and one group, the Box Tortoises, have a jointed piece of shell with which they can close their doors against all enemies, but others cannot thus protect their heads, which are always pro- truded from the shell. They all lay eggs, digging holes to put them in and covering them over, but they then leave them to hatch out without further attention, and do not watch over the young, who are lively and able to take care of themselves as soon as they come out. Many sleep all through the winter, burying or hiding themselves under rubbish, and all become more sluggish when it is cold. There are sea tortoises, including the green Turtles, so much valued for the table, freshwater, mud, and land tortoises, and they vary in size from monsters, five and a half feet long, four feet wide, and three feet thick in the body, to the little tortoise from the south of Europe, which is often imported into CROCODILES AND ALLIGATORS. IOQ England as a garden pet, and which can lie on a man's hand. Crocodiles and Alligators are ferocious reptiles, haunting the rivers of hot countries. Crocodiles are found in Asia, Africa, Australia, and America ; Alligators, which differ from Crocodiles in their bones and teeth, in America only, except one kind which lives in a river in China. They have flat, long bodies, of a dirty, dark colour, protected on the back with solid scales, and long tails, the whole length sometimes reaching twenty feet Crocodile. or more. Their limbs are short and powerful, and their toes somewhat webbed, and they can go either in the water or on land, but are much more nimble in the water. Their long jaws, armed with a formidable array of sharp teeth, can be very widely opened, and as they will devour anything animal that comes in their way, they are often dangerous enemies to men. Considering the size of the full-grown reptiles, they lay strangely small eggs, not larger than those of a goose ; but the tiny crocodiles that emerge from them are very like their parents, and already armed with their sharp teeth. IIO ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. Lizards. In the Third Order of Reptiles we find all the many varieties of Lizards, of which our common little English lizard may be considered a good repre- sentative. It is about six inches long, with a slender, scaly body and long tail, a long, forked tongue, and fair- sized limbs, with five widely spreading toes. In warm weather it loves to lie basking in the sun, or darts about in a lively manner catching flies. It is one of those whose young are born alive. All the Lizards are rather apt, when handled, to snap off their tails, which, however, grow again, a peculiarity which marks them as animals of a low order. They usually have four limbs, but in some cases, as, for instance, in the slow-worm, no limbs are visible outside, only traces of them being found under the skin. This makes them look very like snakes, from which, however, they are distinguished by the shape of the head and manner of opening the jaws. There are Lizards of all sizes, the Nile Monitor, which is the largest, measuring six feet in length. Some live SNAA'ES. I I I in water, some on land ; some have long forked tongues, some thick fleshy ones just notched at the tip ; several change their colour under different circumstances, of which the Chameleon is the most noted example ; and some, like the Gecko, have flattened feet, like suckers, which enable them to run on upright and slippery surfaces. Snakes, the most formidable Order of Reptiles, are not conspicuous in this country, but in some hot climates they constitute a serious danger. The outward form of a Snake is well known, elongated and slender, covered with scales and without limbs, travelling, often with great rapidity, by a sort of gliding movement, extended along the ground, but able to lift up the head and fore-part of the body. But the speciality of Snakes is in the poison fangs possessed by many of them. These are like two long teeth in the upper jaw, curved and pointed downward when extended to strike. They contain hollow tubes, and when a wound is made by their sharp points, a drop of colourless venom is squeezed 112 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. through them from the poison bag which lies behind their base. The power of this venom varies in different species ; thus, the bite of the Viper, the only venomous Snake in England, though it kills small animals, is rarely fatal to men, unless they are already in an unhealthy condi- tion; but the bite of Head of Venomous Serpent showing Fangs//. , T ... _ . . the Indian Cobra, the African Puff Adder, and many others, will kill very rapidly. A Viper may always be known by the zigzag chain of dark markings that runs down the spine, while our common harmless ringed Snake is darkest on its under side and of a lighter greenish grey on the back. Snakes swallow their prey whole, the bones of their jaws being loosely jointed together, and so far separable that they, as well as the throat, can be enormously distended, and allow of the passage of objects which might beforehand be thought far too large to go down. All Snakes are not venomous, but some of the Python group, which have no poison fangs, are of very large size, sometimes eighteen or twenty feet long, or even more, and they kill their prey by winding their coils round it and crushing it to death. Even animals as large as deer are swallowed by these serpents. Amphibia. This is the place to speak of the Am- phibian animals, which have been sometimes included under Reptiles, but are now always placed in a separate Class. Their peculiarity is that, when hatched out of the egg, they are quite unlike their parents, and only by a FROM TADPOLE TO FROG. series of changes gradually acquire the same form. The best known of them are Frogs and Toads, which are born as tadpoles, little dark creatures swimming about in water, with a large flat tail but no limbs, and the heart and breathing apparatus of a fish. By degrees the limbs begin to grow, the hind legs appearing first and then the front ones ; and as the limbs increase in size, the tail gradually disappears, not dropping off, but being absorbed into the body. During these changes the little creature is also develop- ing lungs fit to breathe atmospheric air, and as soon as and Frog in different Stages. the tail is gone it comes ashore a perfect little frog or toad, and henceforward spends much of its time on land, though always loving moisture and haunting cool, damp places. They have shiny skins, without scales, and remarkable tongues, which are fastened to the//w// of the lower jaw, and lie with the tip pointing down the throat : and consequently can be protruded to a con- siderable distance when shot out in pursuit of insects. Frogs are the more active creatures, moving usually on land by hops and leaps, while toads crawl. They can be tamed ; and toads especially, which are often kept in 114 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. gardens and greenhouses to destroy insects, soon come to know those who are kind to them. Toads secrete a kind of acrid juice in their skin, which makes them very distasteful to dogs and other animals, and this has pro- bably given rise to the idea that they are venomous, but they have no real venom. There are other Amphibian creatures that never lose their tails, as the Salamanders and the common Newts, or Efts of our waters ; and a word must be said of an extraordinary Mexican Amphibian, whose eggs hatch out sometimes what we may call the tadpole form, but some- times the mature form at once, with all its organs com- plete. Moreover, to complicate the matter, eggs are laid both by the complete creature and by its tadpole form, and there is no telling which form of the creature will come out of the eggs of either. The immature animal rejoices in the name of Axolotl, while the mature is known as Amblystoma. CHAPTER VI. FISHES. THE last Class of Vertebrate creatures is that of the Fishes, which are cold-blooded and live entirely in water, breathing through gills the air contained in the water. A fish out of water dies when the gills become dry, but two or three species, such as eels, and a wonderful fish called the Climbing Perch, have gill covers able to Skeleton of a Fish (Perch). retain a store of water to moisten the gills; these can maintain life out of water as long as the store lasts, and are thus enabled to pass from one pool to another. Most fishes are covered with scales overlapping each other, but in some the place of the scales is taken by bony armour. The fins of a fish are its nearest approach to limbs, and the two front pair (pectoral and ventral), Il6 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. where they exist, may be taken to represent the fore and hind limbs, but the back fins (dorsal), the tail fins (caudal) and the anal fin (see illustration), have nothing that corre- sponds to them in the higher Vertebrate animals. Fishes are produced from eggs which, like those of reptiles, are sometimes hatched before birth, and their fertility is extraordinary, the number of eggs which form the roe of a single fish being sometimes counted by millions. The eggs and young are generally left to take care of themselves, but a very few fishes, among whom are some of the Stickle-backs, build nests and watch over their young. If we take the Salmon as a type of the fish form, we may notice how beautifully it is built for rapid motion, like a swift ship, its sloping lines offering the least possible resistance to the water. It is driven forward by strokes of the tail, the fins helping to balance and steady the VARIOUS FAMILIES OF FISH. I I/ body. But in truth, though the general plan of fish shape is very distinct, there are really endless modifica- tions among different kinds. Thus there are fish with their mouths at the end, and others with mouths under- neath their heads, like the Shark family, the larger members of which are the terror of the sea, while others again have long snouts, like the Pipe-fish, or formidable weapons projecting from their noses, as the Sword-fish. The great Sunfish, which sometimes reaches a length of Il8 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. six feet, is almost round, and looks rather like the head and shoulders of a huge fish which has lost the rest of the body. Skates are flattened out as if heavy weights had been pressed on the back of a very wide fish, and had squeezed it into a sort of resemblance to a child's kite : and on the other hand there are a whole group of fishes, squeezed in from side to side, which are in the habit of lying flat on the bottom of the sea, and so have both their eyes twisted on to the same side of their head, that neither of them may be underneath as they lie. These flat fishes are very excellent food, as they include the Turbot, Plaice, Flounder, Brill, and Sole. But the most important fisheries are those of the Cod, which are found most plentifully off the coasts of Newfound- land, and of the Mackerel and Herring, which at certain seasons assemble in vast shoals, and come towards the FRESH AND SALT-WATER FISH. 1 19 shores for the purpose of spawning, or laying their eggs, followed by many enemies in the shape of birds, large fish, and Cetaceans, as well as by the fishing-boats. It is a pretty and interesting sight to see these boats come in and unlade their catch, the Mackerel in particular, being a beautiful fish coloured dark green, black, and silver. Sprats and Anchovies are nearly related to the Herring, and there are plenty of other useful sea-fish, while the fresh waters supply Trout, Carp, Tench, Barbel, Perch, etc., and there are both fresh and salt-water Eels. As a rule, the fresh and salt-water fishes keep each to I2O ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. their own domain ; but the Salmon migrate annually between them, coming up the rivers to lay their eggs, and returning to the sea to recruit their strength after the exhaustion of this process. It is considered that the migration also helps to free them from parasites, of which the river kinds are killed by the sea, and the sea kinds by the river water. CHAPTER VII. INVERTEBRATE ANIMALS. IF it has only been possible to give a very slight sketch of the main Orders of the Vertebrata, what can be said of the vast families of the Invertebrate creatures, of which a single Order, that of the Beetles, has been estimated to contain more than double the number of species of all the Vertebrate animals put together, and 122 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. in which the individuals are simply countless myriads, apparently becoming the more numerous the smaller their size? Mollusca. Of their main Divisions the first is that of the Mollusks, creatures with soft bodies, either naked, or covered in whole or in part with shelly covering. They have a mantle, or soft membrane surrounding the body, by means of which most of their movements are made : and the higher mollusks have a kind of heart and blood vessels, but these cannot be distinguished in the lower. The Octopus and Cuttle-fish have distinct heads, round which are set long tentacles covered with suckers by which they grasp their prey. Some of these creatures are of enormous size, well authenticated cases being known in which the tentacles or arms have reached forty feet in length. Large specimens are dangerous enemies, for whatever they grasp they hold on to with tremendous grip, and men seized by them have only escaped by cutting the tentacles to pieces. Another group of the Mollusks contains snails, slugs, and the shell-fish that form what are called univalve shells, that is, shells made all in one piece like a snail-shell. These are often extremely beautiful in their colouring and marking, and very various in shape, but they almost all have a tendency to be spirally coiled up, more or less tightly. Some, when alive, have their mantles wrapped over part of the outside of their shells, but many can withdraw themselves entirely into their shelter, like the snail, who only puts out his great flat, crawling foot, and his head with its eyes carried on footstalks, when he is satisfied that no danger is near. CREATURES INHABITING SHELLS. 123 Bivalve shells, which form another group, are those made in two pieces and hinged together, like the Oysters, Solens, and Scallops. The greater number of their in- habitants are very sedentary, often fixing themselves to Whelk. Scallop. one spot for their whole life. Pearls are found in the shell of a sort of oyster, and other bivalve shells furnish the beautiful substance mother of pearl. Arthropoda. The vast Division called Arthropoda includes all that have jointed legs among the animals whose bodies are arranged in successive rings or seg- ments. They may be divided into four Classes. i. The Insects, whose bodies are in three parts, head, thorax, and abdomen : they always have six, and only 124 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. six, legs, attached to the thorax, or middle division, and two antenna, or feelers on their head; and generally one or two pairs of wings also. 2. The Myriopoda, or many legged creatures, Centi- pedes and Millipedes, which have wormlike bodies in Caterpilla Pupa. Butterfly. successive rings, varying in number from ten up to one hundred and sixty, and legs on nearly every segment. 3. Arachnida, or spider-like animals, with eight legs, and no wings or antennae. THE LIFE HISTORY OF AN INSECT. 125 4. Crustaceans, Crabs, Lobsters, etc., with two pairs of antennae and many pairs of legs. In some the body segments are very distinct ; in others, such as the Crabs, some of them are welded together to form strong shields on the back and breast. Insects have a specially interesting life history in the number and completeness of the changes which many of them undergo, being hatched from the egg in the shape of maggots, grubs, or caterpillars, which can only crawl and eat voraciously (this is called the larva stage) ; then passing into a second condition called the pupa, closed up in a case of skin, motionless and apparently dead for some time, until the case at last splits asunder, and the insect comes out perfect, and generally with wings where- with to fly about in the air. Those that go through the whole of these changes are the Beetles, whose front pair of wings are not used for Beetle with spread wings. flying, but merely form horny cases or sheaths to put away the flying wings in ; the Ants, Bees, and Wasps, and all their relations ; the Butterflies and Moths, Caddis 126 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. Flies and Lacewing Flies, all the innumerable varieties of two-winged Flies, and the Fleas. Volumes have been written about the Bees, and their wonderful communities, living together round their queen, , , , the mother of the hive, working to- gether for the common good at building their beautiful combs, collecting honey from the flowers to fill them, tend- Bee. Ant. ing the young, and when the hive becomes too populous, emigrating in a swarm to found a fresh city elsewhere. Not less wonderful are the histories of Wasps, and of the Ants, some of whom actually keep herds of the tiny Aphis, or green fly, often so abundant on rose-trees, and do something very like milking them regularly. You must read about them in larger books. Butterflies and Moths, the loveliest of Insects, have their wings clothed with tiny feathery scales, which, like works of inlaid gems, form all the beautiful colouring and patterning. The scales differ in shape, and are beautiful objects as seen through a microscope. The Butterflies have long antennas ending in a little knob, while the antennas of Moths are pointed at the tip, though often like combs or feathers below. These are the most conspicuous and interesting insects in which to watch the gradual transformations from the caterpillar and chrysalis. THE FLY GROUP. 127 To the Fly group belong all the true Flies, the Midges, Craneflies or Daddy-long-legs, and Gnats and Mosquitoes. These last lay their eggs in water, glueing them to- gether into the form of perfect little boats, which float on the top until the eggs hatch out, when the larvae fall into the water, where they pass their early days. There remain some in- Crane Fly. sects which do not go through all these changes, or do so only imperfectly, either resembling the parents from the first, or being active in the pupa stage. Such are the Bugs, including Cicads, Greenfly, and Froghoppers ; the Cricket and Grasshopper group, which also includes Grasshopper. Earwig, flying. creatures so different in appearance as Cockroaches and Earwigs, White Ants or Termites, Mayflies, Dragonflies, and Springtails. The second Class of the Arthropoda, the Centipedes 128 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. (see p. 14) and Millipedes, show very distinctly their formation in rings. They do not go through the same series of changes as Insects; but in some Millipedes the young when first hatched have only three pairs of legs, acquiring more at each change of skin, until they fully resemble their parents. The third Class, which includes the Scorpions and Spiders, have eight legs, and are the only Arthropod creatures without antennae. They are largely car- nivorous, and many of the Spiders make nets to catch their prey, cleverly spinning their thread from a sticky substance, which issues from their own bodies. They vary in size, from tiny creatures that need a magnify- ing glass to distinguish them, up to monsters whose legs cover a space of six inches, and who are able to attack and kill humming-birds and other small verte- brates. But the most formidable of the Arachnid animals are the Scorpions, found in most hot countries, whose terrible Scorpion. poisoned sting, though rarely fatal to the life of a man, " puts him," as it has been graphically expressed, " to the necessity of howling for the next four-and-twenty hours." CRABS AND LOBSTERS. 129 The Order of Crustaceans completes the number of the Arthropoda. It consists of Crabs and Lobsters, Prawns, Shrimps, " Water-fleas," Barnacles, and such-like creatures, mostly covered with a hard shell or crust. They almost all live wholly or partly in water, except the familiar Woodlice which haunt our gardens, and some Land-crabs. These Land Crustaceans resemble their parents from the time they come out of the egg; but the water creatures only gradually arrive at the perfect form through a series of changes, much more gradual and numerous than those of the insects, and made through successive moultings or castings of the skin. Worms. We must pass on to a few words about Worms, an extraordinarily numerous assemblage of animals, of which the common Earthworm (see p. 12) is a good example, so useful in producing good soil, and so delightful to the thrushes and blackbirds that busy them- selves in dragging the worms from their holes. They have no limbs at all ; but their bodies are arranged in a series of rings bearing small bristles, by means of which K - 130 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. they move with a sort of snake-like motion. Earthworms lay eggs ; but they also have the power, if cut in half, of growing a fresh head or tail, so that the one individual becomes two ; and in several of the Worm Family this power goes further, and they divide up of their own accord, the tail part growing a fresh head before it separates from the old one, so that for a time the creature goes about with two heads to one tail. One or two species carry this so far as to have half a dozen worms behind them sharing their tail, all of which eventually separate. In this case the old front worm alone does the eating, while the supplementary individuals occupy them- selves solely in laying eggs. Some of the sea worms, though without true jointed limbs, have simple projections that may be called feet ; and many form shelly or sandy tubes to live in. A beautiful example of the tube worms is seen in the Serpula, well known to any one who has studied a sea aquarium. From the mouth of its twisted tube it pro- trudes a plume of breathing gills, which, when fully expanded, forms a brilliant scarlet fan, beside which stands up a footstalk carrying a stopper of the same rich colour. But the Serpula is shy : at the slightest suspicion of danger, sometimes at the mere falling of a shadow across the water, the whole pretty show is gone like a flash of lightning, withdrawn into the shell, the mouth of which is closed with the scarlet stopper. Besides land worms and water worms, there is a highly disagreeable set of parasitic worms, inhabiting the bodies of living animals, where they often give rise to serious discomfort and disease. Almost all creatures, from man TTtE SERPULA. downwards, are liable to attacks from some of the numerous species of Internal Worms. The three Divisions of the Invertebrate Animals thai remain belong entirely to the water, and chiefly to the sea. Serpula. Echinodermata. First come the creatures the parts of whose bodies are set in rays round a central opening, and who are covered with prickles or spines. If any one picks up and handles a Starfish (see p. 14) stranded on the seashore, he will at once see that it belongs to this group. Starfishes are active creatures, walking about by means of the innumerable tiny suckers or tentacles with which its rays are furnished. They are voracious, and do immense damage by devouring the oysters in oyster beds, 132 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. and often take the bait on the fisherman's hook. The angry fishermen, finding that their catch was only a worthless starfish, used to tear them in half, and throw them back into the sea, a proceeding which made two starfishes in the place of one, for, like most creatures in these lowest groups, each half could heal its wounds and grow again what it had lost ; even a single arm being sufficient to grow a new starfish. They lay enormous numbers of eggs, and protect the young until they have developed their rays and tentacles. To the same Division belong the Sea-Urchins or Sea-Eggs, the upper part of whose bodies is covered with a shell of most elaborate and beautiful construction, armed all over with spines; and also the Sea Lilies and Sea Cucumbers. Coelenterata. The creatures of the next Division Jellyfish. are distinguished from all those which have gone before by the absence of a body-cavity between the body-wall JELLY-FISH AND SEA-ANEMONES. 133 and the food-canal. The Jellyfish are like beautiful, almost transparent umbrellas, with tentacles hanging down from the under side, and they float in the water with their umbrellas opening and partly closing in a constant pulsation. They vary in size from tiny microscopic objects to a diameter of several feet, and many of them are not only of extreme beauty by day, but shine with phosphorescent light at night. There are few more beautiful and interesting sights than a night at sea when the phosphorescence is strong ; tiny star sparks con- tinually snapping in and out, while among or below them float the pale white moons of the larger Jellyfish. Care should be taken by sea bathers not to come in contact with Jellyfish, for many of them sting like nettles, and a few produce really severe effects. The pretty Sea-anemones are fa- miliar to all dwellers by the sea side, and a great ornament to the aqua- rium ; bearing a considerable like- ness to flowers when all their ten- Sea-anemone tacles are spread out, but when these are withdrawn, subsiding into shapeless lumps of jelly. Nearly related to the Sea-anemones are the wonderful little creatures that build and live in coral. Every one has seen coral, dead coral, in white branches like trees, in rounded masses folded in and out like the brain, in clusters like multitudes of wee organ pipes, or in some others of its numerous forms ; but few have the chance of watching living coral, when every little tube has its living tenant, and they thrust 134 ANIMAL AXD VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. out through every pore their mouths fringed with tentacles like tiny sea-anemones. Corals grow on the bottom of the sea, or on rocks below the sea level, and increase both by eggs which escape from their mouths, and by budding from the side of the parent. The little creatures polypes they are called deposit hard structures from the lime contained in their food or absorbed from the sea water, and in their turn bud again. The polypes of the older parts die, but the solid structure remains as a foundation below the newer Coral. Sponge. growth, and so the whole mass grows until reefs of great extent are formed, generally surrounding islands. The reef-building corals require warm seas, and they are prin- cipally found fringing the islands of the Indian, Atlantic, and Pacific Oceans; but other coral polypes, some of which dwell separately and not in colonies, belong to cooler seas, and some are found on our own coasts. We may conveniently class the Sponges with the Zoophytes and Corals, though they are often reckoned SIMPLEST FORMS OF ANIMAL LIFE. as a group by themselves. The simplest form of sponge is like a hollow bag, with numerous holes through which currents of water pass to the inside, and a mouth at one end through which the water passes out. As the water passes through the sponge, the tiny cells which line the inside feed on the little living creatures in the water. In most sponges the inside lining becomes branched into a very complicated system of tubes or canals leading to chambers where the feeding goes on. A hard skeleton of limy, flinty or horny spicules or fibres, is usually de- veloped to support the soft, living tissue of the sponge. Protozoa. Lastly we come to creatures which throughout their life are simple cells, as a rule so tiny that they cannot be seen without a micro- scope, but which yet often form as their dwelling places shells of considerable va- riety and beauty ; as, for instance, the mi- nute sea- shells which are known as Fora- mi nifera. These shells are formed of lime, and though each of them is not bigger than a pin's head, yet their accumulation in Living Foraminifer (much magnified). past ages has formed the great chalk deposits which we all know in the cliffs and downs of the south coast of 136 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. England. A living Foraminifer collects and absorbs its food, and is able to move about by means of ever- changing and interlacing threads of living matter which stream outwards from its tiny shell. As an example of a simple animal belonging to the same group as the Foraniinifera, but without a shell, we may take the very elementary freshwater creature called Amceba, consisting of a single cell of slimy substance, soft, naked, constantly changing its shape, without mouth or stomach, but which, nevertheless, contrives to absorb other living creatures by putting forth processes which surround them, and gradually digesting them. We have now passed in rapid review the main groups of the Animal Kingdom, from Man down to these simple creatures we have just described, which remain all their lives long in the condition of single cells. It is of great interest to remember that any of the higher animals begins its life as a single cell the egg-cell from which it is built up by a slow or rapid process of growth. So it is believed that in the animal world generally there is progress from the simple to the complex, from the lower to the higher forms of life. ( 137 ) CHAPTER VIII. PHYSIOLOGY. AFTER this brief review of animals in their classes, it will be interesting to examine a little more closely how they are made, what are the different parts of the body, how it is nourished and moved, and how the actions of life are performed; but as there is a great general simi- larity in construction, w r e will take the human body, the most highly developed and also the most interesting, as the type, and while giving a short account of it, will try to notice at the same time some of the main points in which it differs from other animals, or in which they differ from one another. The pillars and foundations of the body are to be found in the bony skeleton, which supports all the softer structures, and which is far more permanent than they, being left when the rest of the body decays. Look at the picture of the human skeleton on p. 28, and notice first the main central pillar, or spine, or vertebral column, reaching from the central part of the body, where the legs join it, up to the skull. It is formed of a series of small similar bones, laid one on the top of the other, and jointed together by a tough strong substance, so that, though quite firm and strong, it is not stiff like a 138 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. poker, and we are able to bend it a little when we stoop, or lean to one side. The skull, which rests on the top of it, is a strong, solid bony case, hollow inside, with the cavities of the face on its front surface, and the lower jaw, which is a separate bone, jointed on to it. If the small bones, or vertebrae of the back, are separately examined, it is seen that each consists of a solid central portion from which springs a bony arch enclosing a hole and bearing projections. When the vertebrae are laid over each other, the holes form together a continuous tube passing right up the centre of the column, enclosed in a strong case of bone, and opening above into the large hollow of the skull. The skull and the tube together are like a strong safe, and they contain and protect a most important treasure which we shall speak of presently. The jointed backbone, as we know, is the distinguish- ing mark of all the Vertebrate animals. Look at the skeletons of creatures from different Classes of the Vertebrata on pages 5, 7, 27, 28, and 39 and you will see that they all have a spine and a skull, but both the shape and number of the vertebrae differ very much in different creatures. You will be interested to notice some of these varieties on the dinner-table in the animals we use for food. In the spine of a pig the massive vertebrae are comparatively simple in shape ; but the vertebra; of rabbits are complicated with sharp pro- jections ; so are those of a fowl, but we cannot so easily make them out, as all the winged birds have their hinder vertebrae firmly united into one solid mass. In man there are thirty-three vertebrae, and they come THE JOINTED BACKBONE. 139 to an end, as you see, just below the attachment of the lower limbs; but in many animals they are continued into long tails (see p. 39), and some large snakes have more than four hun- dred, moving upon each other by such free joints that the creatures can coil themselves up into knots (see p. 5). The seven top joints of the spine in man are above the attachment of the upper limbs, and so belong to the neck; and it is a curious thing that throughout all the Mammalia there are always seven vertebrae in the neck, neither more nor less, except in those odd creatures the Sloths, some of which have nine and others only six. Even the Giraffe has but seven, and consequently each bone is so long as to make his long neck look very awkward and inflexible. With birds, on the contrary, the neck vertebrae vary in number from nine up to twenty-three, so that, though their backs are rigid, their necks are very flexible and enable Skeleton of Fowl. 140 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. them to reach every part of their bodies and every feather with their beaks. The twelve vertebrae next below the neck (pages 27 and 28) carry the ribs, long curved bones bending round to the front of the body, the upper part of which they enclose like a cage. The front ends of the ribs do not reach right to the flat breast-bone, and the two lowest pair are very short ; but most of them are joined to it by bands of cartilage or gristle, a tough strong substance not so hard as bone. All the Mammals have the breast- bone, or sternum, as it is called, more or less flat, like that of a man ; but in the flying birds it is large and extended forwards into a sharp ridge or keel, as is well known to any one who has carved the breast of a fowl (see picture on last page). Coming to the Reptiles, we find that some Lizards and Crocodiles have a sternum, flat like those of the Mammals ; but other Lizards, Tortoises, and Snakes dispense with it entirely, as do also the Fishes. The number of ribs varies greatly in different creatures. Next we come to the limbs, of which there are never more than two pairs in Vertebrate animals, and we find that each pair is attached to and supported upon a sort of bony circle or girdle. In man the shoulder girdle, which extends round and completely outside the upper ribs, consists in front of what is called the collar-bone, or clavicle, slightly curved strips of bone joined to each side of the top of the sternum, and meeting on the point of the shoulder with the shoulder-blades, large flattened bones which form the back of the circle. O UR BONY FRAME WORK. \ 4 1 The upper part of the arm has but one bone, called the humerus ; but from the elbow to the wrist we find two, so jointed to the elbow that the arm can either be bent or straightened, and so attached to each other that the arm and hand can be turned in different directions. Lay your hand upon the table with the palm downwards, and you will find that you can turn the palm upwards without moving the upper arm at all, by the rotating upon each other of these two bones, of which that widest at the elbow is called the ulna, and the other, which is widest at the wrist, is known as the radius. The finger bones are called digits, and their separate joints phalanges. The bony girdle which supports the lower limbs and soft lower parts of the trunk is called the pelvis. In young children it consists of three bones on each side, but in a full grown person the three are firmly grown together, and the pelvic bones form a flattened irregular sort of basin, to each side of which are attached the leg bones. The bones of the leg correspond to those of the arm, the single strong bone of the thigh bearing the name of femur, the two between knee and ankle being called the tibia and fibula, and the toes sharing with the fingers the names of digits and phalanges. Now, let us compare the bony girdles and the limbs in other animals. Their general correspondence with those of man is very evident on looking at the skeletons, and we can generally without difficulty name each bone from those of the human skeleton. It is true that Whales and Manatees have no hind limbs, and Snakes no shoulder girdle or fore limbs, yet we find in all these Orders very small pelvic bones, not joined with the spine, but 142 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. embedded in the flesh, and a few of the Snakes have traces of actual hind limbs. A principal variation from the human type is in the presence or absence of the collar bones or clavicles. It seems as if these bones, which have nothing corre- sponding to them in the hinder bony circle, were only necessary in those animals which use their forepaws for something else than just to stand upon. Bats have it well developed to support their wings; but, as the twisting arrangement of the fore arm might make their flight unsteady, they have the ulna reduced to very small proportions, while the fingers are enormously lengthened to carry the wing membranes. Rodents, also, several of whom, like the squirrels, hold up their food in their paws, have good collar bones, and so have Sloths, which swing by their long arms on the tree boughs, and Kangaroos, which use their forepaws almost like arms. But, in the beasts of prey, the clavicle is either absent or very little developed, and the forelimbs are not directly attached to the bones of the trunk, but are held to it only by cartilages and soft structures, so that a tiger alighting from a leap does not get a great jar through all its frame from the fall, as we should do. The absence of the clavicles is one of the distinctions that marks off the beasts of prey from the Insect-eaters (p. 34). Elephants, cattle, deer, horses, etc., which do not lift their forelegs high, are not only without collar bones, but the double bones of the limbs are so fixed together, that there is no power of rotating them, while they are strong and steady as supports. GENERAL PLAN OF VERTEBRATES. 143 We may be sure that birds, which depend so much on their wings, must have good clavicles ; and, perhaps, we shall recognize them better under the familiar name of the merrythought. Look back at the skeletons of the gorilla (p. 27), the lion (p. 39), and the snake (p. 5), and compare them with that of the man (p. 28). The gorilla is really not unlike a man, except for its very long arms, receding skull, and prominent jaws. As to the lion, try for a moment to imagine the skeleton set upright in the same position as the man's. You will notice that its hind legs can never be com- pletely straightened into the same line as the backbone, and its fore limbs can neither be lifted up towards the head, nor dropped down by its sides, but must always stick straight out in front. No other creature but man can really stand and walk upright ; some of the apes come nearest to it, but they cannot truly straighten their knees, and always want to pull themselves up by their arms. The lion's skeleton shows well, too, how all the cats walk on their toes, with the heel lifted from the ground, though pussy puts- down the whole of her back feet when sitting up in her dignified manner. Certainly the snake is different with its absence of limbs, for it is just a long series of vertebrae and ribs, with a head and a tail. Thus we see that the general plan of bones, skull, spine, ribs, breastbone, and two pairs of limbs with a bony girdle supporting each, is traceable on the whole, in spite of variations in details, throughout the Verte- brate animals. The widest departure from it is in the 144 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. Fishes, the lowest Class of Vertebra ta, where there are additional rows of small bones. Let us pass on now to look at the machinery by means of which the bones are made to move in living bodies. We cannot have a more convenient example to begin with than the way in which we bend and straighten our arms. Here is a figure of the bones of i. Arm hanging down. 2. Elbow bent. Bones of Arm with biceps muscle. the arm as we saw them in the skeleton ; but now there is added a certain mass of flesh, wide in the middle, but narrowing down at each end into firmer and stronger cords called tendons, by which it is fastened to the bones. The lower tendon is attached to the radius of the arm just below the elbow, while, at the upper end, not one, but two tendons pass MUSCLE. 145 upwards, and are secured round the shoulder blade, on to which the arm bone is jointed. Now this fleshy mass, which is called a muscle, has the power of contracting in length, or drawing up its particles so that it becomes shorter and wider, and when it does this it draws up the lower part of the arm, bending it upon the elbow and bringing the hand up towards the shoulder, in the position shown by the outlined arm in the figure. Stretch your arm out quite straight, clasping it round with the other hand about halfway between the elbow and the shoulder, and then, if you bend the elbow, you can feel the muscle rising up under your hand as it grows thicker and shorter. This particular muscle is called the biceps, or two- headed muscle, from the two tendons in which it ends above, and its work is to bend the arm ; but it is by no means the only one in the arm. There is another muscle over the back of our elbows, and when this back muscle contracts it draws the lower part of the arm down, and so straightens it out again. When the arm is held in a half-bent position, each muscle is partly contracted, and the pull of each just balances the other. Muscle is what we know as " lean " meat or flesh, and, as you know, the bones of almost every part of the body are covered with this soft muscle. It does not, however, lie anyhow, like mere padding, but every bit of it is a separate muscle which has its own definite direction in which it contracts, and its own proper fastenings to the bones or other parts which it moves L 146 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. by contracting. In a figure of the human body, which has the skin removed so as to show the flesh, or muscle, we can see the directions in which some of the muscles lie and in which they must contract. In the same way when we look at a piece of meat we see that there is a distinct grain or direction in which the bundles of fibres are laid, so that it can be cut either with the grain or across the grain ; and the fibres lie the lengthway of the muscle. Many muscular contractions often go to the perform- ance of what we call one movement, and we generally have very little idea of how the obedient muscles carry out the orders we give them to do this or that. So when we stand upright many strong muscles are at work, their contractions being balanced against each other to keep us in this position. One stretching over the front of the knee contracts to keep the knee from bending ; the muscles of the calf, the back of the thigh, and up the spine are contracting sufficiently to prevent us from falling forwards, and those up the front of the body are at work to keep us from falling backwards. If the muscle of the back of the neck left off working the head would sink upon the breast, or if the front muscles of the throat failed to contract it would fall helplessly backward ; and we can see that this is just what happens in a swoon, when the usual work is not going on. When a muscle is at rest it is at full length; all its work, its labour, its effort, is in shortening, and this labour may be either voluntary, as when we move our arms and legs on purpose, or involuntary, like the motions of our heart and our chest during breathing, which go on THE IXSIDE OF THE BODY, 147 regularly from our birth till we die, without our ever having to think at all about them. While we were speaking of bones, we compared the human body only with those of the Vertebrate animals, as they alone have bones, but now the whole animal kingdom can come into comparison, for vigorous muscles are at work when a grasshopper leaps or a serpula spreads its tentacles, as well as in a tiger striking its prey, or a swallow migrating across the sea. The breast muscles of flying birds, by which they move their wings, are very largely developed, and this is the reason why the breast- bone of a bird should be, as it is, extended forward in a sharp keel, since it gives far more space for the attach- ment of the large breast muscles than it would if it were flat like those of mammals. Another remarkable development of muscular power may be noticed in the whale, whose vast masses of flesh end in long tendons, which run just like rudder-cords down to the tip of the tail, and by their contractions turn it hither and thither for swimming and for guiding the body. This body of ours, supported by bones and overlaid with muscles, is hollow, and we want next to know what it contains. Look at this general picture of the contents of the body (see next page), and notice first that it is divided in two by a partition, D, rather above the middle. The partition, which is called the diaphragm, is partly of flesh, partly of a sort of skin or membrane, and is attached by its edge all round to the sides of the body ; but as it is not tightly stretched the centre can move up and down. The upper chamber, which is above the 148 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. diaphragm, is the part of the body enclosed by the bony cage of the ribs and breast-bone, and it contains the heart and lungs. You can see the heart in the middle, just over the diaphragm, D, lying between the large spongy masses of the lungs, which fill up the cavity on each side. The lower chamber, which is soft in front, Human Thorax and Abdomen laid open. is called the abdomen, and contains the stomach, the bowels or intestines, and some other organs. The heart is a complicated bag, enclosed in a double membrane, and completely divided inside from top to bottom, so that there is no interior communication at all between the two sides of the heart, and the only way in which anything can pass from one side to the other is by going out through the passages which lead out of IIOIV THE HEAKT DOES ITS WORK'. 14$ one side, and going all round to get at the passages which come in at the other and a very long way round it is. It is like a block of two houses under one roof, each with front and back doors, and no way for the neighbours to meet except by going out at the front door of one house and round to the back door of the Diagram of the Circulation through the Heart (Dalton). other. Each division is further divided into two chambers, one above, and one below, making altogether four parts, of which the two upper are called auricles, and the two lower ventricles. The walls of the heart itself are formed of a network of muscles, so that when the muscles con- tract, they give a squeeze to the heart, squeezing out some of the blood that it contains, just as you squeeze out 150 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. some water when you tighten your fingers round a damp sponge. The whole of the heart does not contract at the same moment, but the auricles first get a squeeze, and the next instant the ventricles follow, after which there is a moment's rest while they expand again. The blood thus squeezed out runs round all the passages, and comes back into the other side of the heart, from which another squeeze sends it through a second set of passages, not the same as before, round again into the first side ; and so, as the heart goes on, every second or oftener, regularly contracting beating, as we call it all the blood continually runs round and round, making the double journey and getting back to its starting point in about half a minute. Let us follow the blood on this journey. Starting from the left ventricle we find that the passage from it is a large tube with firm muscular walls, called an artery, which like the stem of a tree branches and branches again and again into ever smaller and smaller tubes, spreading through every part of the flesh of the body. There are arterial tubes passing into the head, the arms, the legs, the different organs of the interior, even into the walls of the heart itself (not into its cavities), and constantly dividing, they come down at last into innumer- able very tiny branchlets with very thin walls, which are called capillary tubes. These capillary tubes are literally everywhere ; you cannot make a prick in any spot of the body without fetching blood from them and the blood in them gives the red colour to the flesh. Now the blood, as it travels along the arteries, brings with it all the supplies needed for the nourishment and growth of VEINS AND ARTERIES. l$l the tissues of the body, and through the very thin walls of the capillaries, as through a filter, every one of these tissues, as the different materials of the body are called, draws from the blood the particular substances it needs ; the bony tissue takes what it wants to make bone, the muscular tissue the supplies for muscle ; the cartilages, the fat, the skin, each finds what it needs; and, more- over, each of these gives back into the blood to be carried away all that it has used up and done with, consisting chiefly of water, ammonia, and a gas called carbonic acid. In fact, the blood is like a merchant everywhere selling food to the tissues, and buying up and carting away their dust and rubbish. It does not itself go out of the capillaries, but travels always inside the vessels, carrying on these transactions through the walls, as the huckster might stay always in his van, giving out and taking in goods through the windows. After this distribution the capillaries begin to flow together again, as little rivulets flow into river channels, until all the distributed streams are gathered again into large channels, finally discharging themselves in one great vessel into the right auricle of the heart. As the vessels carrying blood to the capil- laries were called arteries, and the blood in them arterial blood, so the vessels bringing it back to the heart are called veins, and the blood in them venous blood. Instead of being rich bright red, the venous blood, charged with carbonic acid, etc., is of a much darker red colour, and the veins themselves are not so firm and muscular as the arteries ; their walls are flabby and fall together when empty. The next contraction of the 152 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. auricles drives the venous blood forward to the right ventricle, and when the ventricles contract in their turn it is again squeezed out into a great artery called the pulmonary artery, which, dividing up as before, carries it this time to the lungs, where it spreads out again into capillaries. Through the walls of these the carbonic acid and some of the water are filtered out into the little spongy holes of the lungs, and when the chest contracts and squeezes the lungs the air is forced up the windpipe and out through the nose and mouth into the atmosphere. As the chest expands again, clean, fresh air is drawn into the lungs, and the blood seizes upon the particles of oxygen gas which it contains, draws them into its tubes, and carries them along, purifying and brightening itself with them all the way, as it travels back through larger and larger veins till it is discharged into the left auricle of the heart, from whence it is squeezed into the left ventricle, ready to begin its course all over again. The journey is always made in the same direction, and blood can never flow backwards the wrong way, as the openings of the heart and the passages of the veins are protected by valves, which are like swing doors, only opening one way, letting everything pass freely in the right direction, but shutting tight against any pressure from the wrong side. The lungs are not the only filter by which the blood is purified they drain off most of the carbonic acid and a good deal of water ; but the skin is also at work getting rid of water in the form of sweat, and the rest of the water, with the other refuse substances, is filtered A DROP OF BLOOD. 153 through the kidneys into the bladder and so passed out of the body. If we prick our finger, so as to draw a drop of blood, and then examine the blood through a microscope, we shall find that in- stead of being all a red liquid, it is really an almost colour- less liquid, in which numbers of tiny red things, like specks of red jelly, float about and give it its colour. They are round and rather flat in shape, like thick pennies, and as the blood cools they have a tendency to stick together in rolls, like a roll of copper coins. These are called the red corpuscles tiny things three thousand of which would lie side by side in an inch. Among them wander some white cor- puscles, which are fewer in number than the red, larger, and not flat ; they might rather be called globular, but these wonderful little things are always changing their shape, and, in fact, have a great likeness to the Amoeba, which we read of as the last and simplest of the animals. The liquid in which the corpuscles float is called plasma, and has the property, when taken from the body, of thickening like the white of egg when boiled, and making what is called a clot. The blood of all the Mammalia contains two kinds of Blood Corpuscles. Magnified Blood. 154 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE KINGDOMS. corpuscles, like that of man ; Birds, Reptiles, Amphibia, and Fishes have red and white corpuscles in their blood, but the red ones are oval in shape, not circular like those of Mammals. Those of the Invertebrate animals which have true blood at all, have only white corpuscles in it. The corpuscles vary a good deal in size in different creatures, and, strange to say, they are largest in the Amphibia. The whole arrange- ment of the circula- tion of blood gets simpler as we look The Heart of a Frog(A > a