Natural History in Anecdote Part 30

A Narrow Escape.

Mr. Byam's book contains many interesting anecdotes of the experiences of travellers, of which the following snake story is one.

"Two travellers pa.s.sed a hillock in a marsh, and heard some groans proceeding from a man on the top of it. Earnestly beckoned to approach, they at first hesitated, thinking it might be a contrivance to entice them into danger. They, however, went near, and the man told them that, while asleep, a snake had crept up his loose drawers, and was then lying on his stomach, and from what he had seen of it, he believed it to be a Coral-snake, one of the deadliest of the western serpents. He had nothing on but his drawers and a short cloak. The travellers saw the form of the snake under the drawers; they dismounted, put on thick gloves, took a pair of scissors, cut very carefully through the drawers till they came to the head of the animal, still fast asleep, and then one of them seized it by the neck, and so released the poor man. It was nearly three feet long, as thick as a walking-stick, coral-red in colour, with yellow rings. The poor man said he had pa.s.sed two or three hours in that dangerous situation, which appeared as long as weeks, and had called to two or three pa.s.sers-by, who had all avoided him, from the supposition that it was the decoy of a marauding Indian. He was completely unmanned, and his strength was prostrated by his apprehensions."

CLa.s.s IV--BATRACHIA.

The Batrachia.

Cla.s.s IV of the Vertebrata comprises the Batrachia. Batrachia, which are divided into three orders: I Pseudophidia, II Urodela, III Anura. The first order comprises the limbless worm-like reptiles of the genus Caecilia of Africa and South America; the second includes the Newts, the Salamanders, etc., etc.; the third the Frogs and the Toads. Leaving the first two orders, we devote a few lines to the third, dealing with the Toad, the Common Frog and the Tree Frog. The members of this order are singular for the extraordinary changes through which they pa.s.s between birth and maturity. As Tadpoles, in which form they first reach life, they have thick black legless bodies ending in tapering tails, and are provided with the fishlike anatomy necessary to an aquatic existence. In the process of development they completely change both in internal arrangement and external appearance. The gills are exchanged for lungs, the legs supersede the tail and the internal system undergoes corresponding change. In the end the animal becomes semi-aquatic, capable of living under water for some time, but compelled to come to the surface for air at intervals; and also of living out of the water altogether in such places as afford sufficient moisture, damp being as necessary to their comfort as food and air. They hybernate in the winter and propagate in the spring; and in times of drought burrow into the earth and remain lethargic until rain falls. They feed on insects and slugs for which they have a voracious appet.i.te. Their tongues, which like those of the chameleon and other insect eaters, are furnished with a sticky mucus to which insects adhere,--when in repose, turn inwards towards the throat, and the act of catching flies and other insects is simply that of flapping the tongue out and in again, an act performed with such rapidity as to almost escape observation.

The Common Toad.

The toad is found in all temperate and torrid climes. It hides in damp secluded places during the day emerging in search of food at night, or after the fall of rain. Though voracious in its appet.i.te, it can accommodate itself to circ.u.mstances, and can subsist with little food, if its abode be damp. Failing food and damp, it has yet another resource, namely that of sleep, or torpor, in which condition it can lay by and wait for better times. Under such circ.u.mstances, the toad naturally lives a long life, and survives conditions usually fatal. The voracity of the toad is attested by the following incident, furnished by Captain Brown. "A gentleman who resides at Keswick, c.u.mberland, one evening in the latter end of July, observed a rustling among the strawberries in his garden, and on examining what it was, found that a toad had just seized a field-mouse, which had got on the toad's back, scratching and biting to get released, but in vain. The toad kept his hold, and as the strength of the mouse failed, he gradually drew the unfortunate little animal into his mouth, and gorged him."

Tame Toads.

The toad may be easily tamed. Mr. Wood tells of one which lived with a family for years and was in the habit of supping on a piece of sugar.

The story of the Duke of Wellington and the tame toad deserves telling in this connection. The Duke of Wellington was one day taking his usual country walk, when he heard a cry of distress. He walked to the spot, and found a chubby, rosyfaced boy lying on the ground, and bending his head over a tame toad, and crying as if his little heart would break.

Enquiry elicited the fact that the boy was about to be sent to boarding school and that he was afraid the toad, lacking his attention, would die in his absence. The duke promised to look after the toad, and apprise the boy, from time to time, of its condition. During the time the boy was at school he received five letters couched in the following terms:--_Strathfieldsaye, July 27, 1837_. "Field Marshal the Duke of Wellington is happy to inform William Harries that his toad is alive and well." When the boy returned for his Christmas holidays, the toad was, as the duke said, "Alive and well," but, in accordance with the usual habits of these animals, he was in his winter's sleep, in which he remained until spring and genial weather brought him from his well-guarded hole in the ground.

The Common Frog.

The Common Frog (_Rana Temporaria_) is now found all over the British Isles. Formerly unknown in Ireland it was introduced there about the year 1700 and has since spread all over the country. The frog is more sociable than the toad, and is often seen, and heard in large numbers; his habits, however, are very similar, and his mode of seizing his prey the same. The Edible Frog belongs to Europe, where it is used as an article of food, and is not found in England. The Bull Frog is an Indian Variety and attains to a great size. The American Bull Frog is also an interesting species.

The Ingenuity of the Frog.

Mr. Jesse gives the following ill.u.s.tration of the ingenuity of the Frog: "I may mention a curious observation made in regard to some frogs that had fallen down a small area, which gave light to one of the windows of my house. The top of the area being on a level with the ground, was covered with some iron bars, through which the frogs fell. During dry and warm weather, when they could not absorb much moisture, I observed them to appear almost torpid; but when it rained they became impatient of their confinement, and endeavoured to make their escape, which they did in the following manner. The wall of the area was about five feet in height, and plastered and whitewashed, as smooth as the ceiling of a room. Upon this surface the frogs soon found that their claws would render them little or no a.s.sistance; they therefore contracted their large feet, so as to make a hollow in the centre, and by means of the moisture which they had imbibed in consequence of the rain, they contrived to produce a vacuum, so that by the pressure of the air on the extended feet (in the same way that we see boys take up a stone by means of a piece of wet leather fastened to a string), they ascended the wall and made their escape. This happened constantly in the course of three years."

The Tree Frog.

The Tree Frog, of which there are numerous varieties, belongs to both East and West occurring in China and j.a.pan or well as in North and South America. It is not found in England. Mr. Gosse says: "They are very numerous in the damp woods of tropical America, and reside by day in the tufts of those parasitical plants, which form reservoirs for rain-water.

The under-surface of their bodies is very different to that of the terrestrial species; for the skin, instead of being smooth, is covered with granular glands, pierced by numerous pores, through which the dew or rain, spread on the surface of the leaves, is rapidly absorbed into the system, and reserved to supply the moisture needful for cutaneous respiration. The males make the woods resound throughout the night with their various cries, and, mingled with the shrill chirping of insects, quite banish sleep from the stranger's eyes."

CLa.s.s V--PISCES.

Fishes.

We come now to the fifth and last cla.s.s of the Vertebrata, a cla.s.s so large that it is impossible to deal adequately with it in a single volume of ordinary size, much less in a single section of one treating of the whole of the vertebrates. There are said to be 10,000 species, so that a book which devoted one page to each would make an enormous volume. All that can be done here is to deal with a few of the better known species, as far as possible selecting types of orders-without attempting to follow closely any cla.s.sification. Gunther divides the Fishes into six sub-cla.s.ses, which are further arranged in thirteen orders. The first of these orders includes the Sticklebacks, the Perches, the Mullets, the Gurnards, the Mackerel and the Sword-fish besides others. Of these we can deal with but two or three.

The Stickleback.

The Stickleback a.s.sociated with the earliest efforts of the youthful angler, and most of us can remember capturing specimens of some fresh water variety, in the days of childhood, and carrying them home in triumph, in a bottle. There are a number of species of the stickleback, some living in fresh water and some being marine. They are extremely voracious and it is a good job for a large number of other living things that they are no bigger than they are. They are also very pugnacious, and fight among themselves with great determination. The Stickleback is about an inch and a half in length and is furnished with spines, which it uses with great effect when fighting with its enemies.

The Stickleback and the Leech.

Mr. John Stark who experimented with some sticklebacks and leeches some years ago, gives the following description of his experiences.

"On putting the leeches into the water, the stickleback darted round the tumbler with lively motions till it found a leech detached, and in a proper situation for being seized. When the leech was very small, say about half an inch in length, it was often swallowed at once before it reached the bottom of the vessel, but when a larger one, about an inch, or an inch and a half in length in its expanded state, was put in, and had fastened itself by its mouth to the gla.s.s, the efforts of the stickleback to seize and tear it from its hold, were incessant, and never failed to succeed. It darted at the loose extremity, or, when both ends were fastened, at the curve in its middle, seized it in its mouth, rose to near the surface, and after a hearty shake (such as a dog would give a rat) let it drop. The leech, who evidently wished to avoid its enemy upon its release, again attached itself by its mouth to the gla.s.s; but again and again the attack was repeated, till the poor leech became exhausted, and ceased to attempt holding itself by its disc. The stickleback then seized it by the head in a proper position for swallowing, and after a few gulps the leech disappeared. The flattened leech being of an oval form, and having a hard skin, was not attacked, unless when very young, and small; and leeches of the other species when pretty well grown, or larger than himself when expanded, were killed in the manner above mentioned, but not swallowed. In one of his attempts to seize a leech, the stickleback having got it by the tail, the animal curled back and fixed its disc upon his snout. The efforts of the stickleback to rid himself of this enc.u.mbrance were amusing. He let go his hold of the leech, which then hung over his mouth, and darting at the bottom and sides of the gla.s.s with all his strength, endeavoured to rub off this tantalizing morsel. This lasted for nearly a minute, when at last he got rid of the leech by rubbing his back upon the bottom of the vessel. The leech, perfectly aware of the company he was in, no sooner loosed his hold, than he attempted to wriggle away from his devourer; but before he had reached mid-way up the tumbler, the stickleback had turned and finished the contest by swallowing him up."

The Mackerel.

The Mackerel is one of the most useful as well as one of the most beautiful of familiar fishes. It measures from twelve to twenty inches and weighs from one and a half to two or three pounds. It is elegant of form and brilliant of colour, as well as agreeable as an article of food. Mackerel visit the coast of England in vast shoals at certain seasons, but retire to deep seas for the winter. They are exceedingly voracious, and prey upon the herrings; Captain Brown tells a story of a number of mackerel fastening on to a sailor who had plunged into their midst for a bath. The man was rescued by his comrades, but he died soon after from loss of blood.

The Sword-fish.

The Sword-fish is a formidable member of this order. It is found in the Mediterranean, and the Atlantic, and sometimes visits the English coast.

It has been known to measure ten feet or more without the sword, with which it attains even to a length of fifteen feet. It attacks other large fish and is a great enemy to the whale, which it charges with great force and destructive effect. It is said sometimes to mistake the hull of a ship for the body of a whale and to charge it accordingly, with the result that it leaves its sword fixed in the ship's timbers as the bee leaves its sting in human flesh. The sword of this fish is formed by the elongation of its upper jaw, and some idea of the force with which it can be used may be gained from the fact that one found in the hull of a ship at Liverpool and described by Scoresby had penetrated a sheet of copper, an oak plank two and a half inches in thickness, a solid oak timber of seven and a half inches, and another plank also of two inches. "The position of the bone was at the distance of four feet horizontally from the stern, and two feet below the surface of the water when the vessel was afloat. Hence, it appeared, that when the ship had been in rapid progress through the water, she had been met with and struck by a sword-fish advancing in an opposite direction, by the shock of which, or by the action of the water forced past the body of the animal by the vessel's progress, the snout had been broken off and detached. The blow, though it must have been singularly forcible, was not observed by any person in the ship. Had the bone been withdrawn, the vessel would probably have foundered." Mr. Wood says in one instance, a Sword-fish attacking a whaling-ship, drove its weapon "through the copper sheathing, an inch board sheathing, a three-inch plank of hard wood, the solid white oak timber of the ship twelve inches thick, through another two-and-a-half inch hard oak ceiling plank, and lastly, perforated the head of an oil-cask, where it still remained immovably fixed, so that not a single drop of oil escaped."

The Cod.

The third order of Dr. Gunther's cla.s.sification includes many of the more familiar fishes. Here we find the Cod, the Haddock, the Plaice, the Flounder, the Halibut, the Turbot, the Brill, and the Sole. Of these we will take the Cod as representative. The Cod is one of the most prolific of fish. Enormous quant.i.ties are caught and consumed every year, and yet the number seems to increase rather than decrease. This is accounted for by the fact, that the sp.a.w.n of one fish will sometimes contain nine millions of eggs. The Cod frequents the deep seas of the temperate and colder climes, not being found in any quant.i.ties north of Iceland, or South of Gibraltar. They are found chiefly in the Northern Atlantic where extensive fisheries are carried on, but they are also caught in the Firth of Forth at the mouth of which some of the best are taken. The Cod grows very rapidly and often to a great size. One is said to have been caught off Scarborough many years ago which weighed seventy-eight pounds and measured five feet eight inches in length. They feed on herrings, sprats, mollusca, worms, and small sh.e.l.l-fish, are very voracious, and have excellent digestions. Captain Brown killed one at Killough, Co. Down, Ireland in which he found upwards of fifty small crabs, and other testaceous and crustaceous animals. The Cod fisheries find employment for a large number of people and are a great source of profit. The flesh is highly valued as an article of diet, and the liver for the properties of the oil which it produces, while other parts are used for various purposes.

The Salmon.

In the Fourth order of Dr. Gunther's cla.s.sification we find the Salmon, the Trout, the Pike, the Flying Fish, the Carp, the Roach, the Chub, the Herring, the Sardine, the Anchovy, the Gymnotus and the Eel, besides other fish. Of these the Salmon takes easy precedence. Izaak Walton called it "the King of fresh water fish," and many have accorded it the first place among its kind for the delicacy of its flavour. It is of migratory habits, leaving the sea in the autumn and ascending rivers for the purpose of depositing its sp.a.w.n, and returning to the sea in the spring. In seeking suitable places for its purpose the salmon brooks no obstacle, leaping with great vigour the rapids and falls that impede its course even though they may sometimes exceed eight or ten feet in height. Curving the body until it forms a circular spring, it strikes the water with great force throwing itself forward and thus lifting itself over rocks and weirs. In the shallow gravelly pools which they find towards the source of rivers, Salmon form hollows in which they sp.a.w.n, covering up their eggs with the loose sand they excavate in the process. The eggs deposited in the later months of the autumn are hatched in the earlier months of Spring and by the end of May the whole of the young fish have followed their parents to the sea.

The Pike.

The Pike,--fierce, strong, and voracious,--holds his own in the rivers of both the old and the new Worlds. It has been known to attack a man when its retreat has been cut off; to bite the legs of bathers, and to snap at the fingers of persons cooling their hands in the water; and when pressed with hunger, to fight an otter for the possession of a carp, which the latter had caught. Its strength and endurance have often been demonstrated in the destruction of strong tackle and in its power to survive, without apparent inconvenience, with hooks and wires mingling with its anatomy. Captain Brown gives an instance of a pike being caught, which had a strong piece of twisted wire projecting from its side. It was in excellent condition, and on being opened, discovered in its stomach a double eel hook, much corroded, and attached to the protruding wire. Another pike when caught, in the river Ouse, was found in possession of a watch with a black ribbon and seals attached; property which it was afterwards discovered had belonged to a gentleman's servant who had been drowned. The pike has often been caught with portions of tackle broken from the line in former engagements hanging from the mouth. Its rapacity is extraordinary. Eight-hundred gudgeon are said to have been consumed in three weeks by eight pike of not more than five pounds weight each. "The appet.i.te of one of my pike,"

says Mr. Jesse, "was almost insatiable. One morning I threw to him one after the other, five roach, each about four inches in length. He swallowed four of them, and kept the fifth in his mouth for about a quarter of an hour, when it also disappeared." The pike attains to large proportions and to a great age. When less than two pounds weight, it is called a jack, but it has been known to attain to sixty or seventy pounds weight, and if all records be true, to more than a hundred years of age. Gesner mentions a pike caught in standing water at Heilbroon, in Suabia in 1497 which had a ring round its head with an inscription in Greek which ran somewhat as follows; I am the first fish that was launched into this pond, and was thrown in by Frederick the Second, emperor of the Romans, on the fifth of October, 1230." If this be true, the pike was two hundred and fifty-seven years old at the time of its capture, when it is said to have weighed three hundred and fifty pounds.

The Herring.

Probably no living thing of its size is equal to the herring in its value to man. It visits the northern coasts of England and Scotland in vast shoals, of several miles in extent, in the autumn of the year, heralded by seagulls and followed by dog-fish, both of whom take toll as it proceeds. The annual produce of these little fish is beyond all calculation. The Scotch fisheries are credited with the capture of over four hundred millions a year, while those of Norway can scarcely be much less successful. The Swedish fisheries are said to capture nearly double that number, to which must be added those taken by the English, Irish, Dutch, French, and German fisheries before the grand total can be reached. The enormous number of hands employed in these various fisheries, to say nothing of the capital invested in them, marks them out as one of the most important of European enterprises.

The Flying Fish.