Cnidaria

“ An animal like a jellyfish, easily supported in the water, would be impossible on land. Such apparent exceptions as earthworms, centipedes, and snakes are not difficult to explain, for the earthworm [Pg 86] is a burrower which eats its way through the soil, the centipede's long body is supported by numerous hard legs, and the snake pushes itself along by means of the large ventral scales to which the lower ends of very numerous ribs are attached. ”

“ I remember seeing a huge oriental centipede exhibited in a herbalist's window in a large town in Yorkshire, as having been an inmate of the stomach of a human being.
I have heard the same story as that told me in Devon, repeated in Sussex with this variation, that instead of an earthworm tempting the newt from its retreat, a roast leg of mutton was exhibited at the mouth of the patient. A friend of mine was warned by an old woman in Staffordshire not to eat cress from a brook, on the ground that an acquaintance of hers had once thus swallowed toad-spawn which had been hatched within her. ”

“ Sinking immediately, it swims perhaps a hundred yards nearer, and again appearing for an instant upon the surface, it assures itself of the position of its prey by a stealthy look; once more it sinks, and reaches the exact spot above which the person or animal may be. Seeing distinctly through the water, it generally makes its fatal rush from beneath—sometimes seizing with its jaws, and at other times striking the object into the water with its tail, after which it is seized and carried off. ”

“ There, where a slow stream winds in and out, unmarked by willow or bush, but fringed with green aquatic grasses growing on a margin of ooze, the snipe finds tempting food; or in the meadows where a little spring breaks forth in the ditch and does not freeze—for water which has just bubbled out of the earth possesses this peculiarity, and is therefore favourable to low forms of insect or slug life in winter—the snipe may be found when the ponds are bound with ice. ”

“ Wait one moment, my friend, and I shall welcome you to the hospitality of my cyanide jar.”
After a brief flight the insect settled down well toward the centre of another patch of shrubbery. Having prepared his net, the hunter set about forcing his way into this patch, but before he was in reach of his prey the pressure on the close-knit vegetation had disturbed the sensitive insect and again it rose, this time in alarm. Though barely an inch across the wings, this species exhibits capacities for flight greater than that of much larger butterflies. ”

“ The present species is far less abundant than the Common Snipe; yet still it is often seen, more frequently, perhaps, than the other, by non-sporting observers, for it frequents not only downright marshes, but the little streams which meander through meadows, the sides of grassy ponds, and the drains by the side of canals, where the ordinary pedestrian, if accompanied by a dog, will be very likely to put one up. ”

“ Observations.—The snipe darts through the air at a great height, and descends like an arrow, continually uttering the cry “maicherai.” It is found in marshy places, abounding with bushes and brambles; in a hole in the ground, washed by the water, it lays four or five dusky olive-coloured eggs, streaked with brown. Its common food is worms, and the grubs of insects, but it will eat corn, and the tender roots of marsh plants. Every one knows that it is delicate eating; but many are ignorant that it may be tamed, and that it is then a very pleasing bird. ”

“ Early in spring, the males exhibit a very pugnacious disposition, and have many fierce encounters with their rivals before obtaining a mate. The movements of the Snipes, both on the ground and in the air and water, are extremely active and easy, and the facility with which they seize and extract their insect prey from the mud and ooze, must be regarded as truly astonishing. Their voice is usually monotonous and harsh, but during the period of incubation the male indulges in a variety of gesticulations and peculiar notes. ”

“ In spite of his size—and he stands four feet high without stockings—it takes the sharpest eyes to detect him as he waits in {257} some shallow pool among the sedges along the creek or river side, silently, solemnly, hour after hour, for a little fish, frog, lizard, snake, or some large insect to come within striking distance. With a sudden stroke of his long, strong, sharp bill, he either snaps up his victim, or runs it through. A fish will be tossed in the air before being swallowed, head downward, that the fins may not scratch his very long, slender throat. ”

“ The cygnets are clothed in a grey or rufous down, and can swim and dive as soon as they are hatched. The food of both young and adults comprises water-plants of all kinds, as well as worms, molluscs, and small frogs and fishes. ”

“ The flood had driven from the earth its multitude of creeping folk: snakes hung across the forks of trees, or basked on the branches; centipedes crawled upon floating rubbish; and many bushes were black to every tip with thronging ants. In one tree-hollow we surprised strange company — a pair of gorgeous dhaman snakes, three bran-new centipedes bright as copper, a most villainous-looking spider, and a gem of a frog, a little metallic creature that showed among the foul crew like the maiden among Comus’s companions. ”

“ If the bather, or shore wanderer, should happen to see, either tossing on the waves, or thrown upon the beach, a loose, roundish mass of tawny membranes and fibres, something like a very large handful of lion’s mane and silver paper, let him beware of the object, and sacrificing curiosity to discretion, give it as wide a berth as possible. For this is the fearful stinger, scientifically called Cyanea capillata, the most plentiful and most redoubtable of our venomous Medusæ. ”

“ But a much more loathsome and a really dangerous creature is the large green centipede of the tropics. Of these things, the natives themselves have more horror than of any serpent whatever, not excepting the common cobra, and many a tale they have to tell you of people who have been bitten, and have soon after gone raving mad, and so died. They are from six to twelve inches in length, and just below the neck are armed with a powerful pair of sharp claws, like the nails of a cat, with which they hold on to their victim while they bite ”

“ It is seldom that more than one larva is found in each individual. It is generally found in the arm and leg, but now and then the face. The perfect insect has never been bred from a larva removed from a human being, so that there is still uncertainty as to the actual species. D. cyaniventris is 11 to 12 mm. long, has an ochraceous buff-coloured face, dark grey thorax, metallic dark blue to purple abdomen, and brownish wings. ”

“ On the basis of these considerations, the Cynipidæ may be divided into two miore or less distinct groups. One group, including mainly oak gall-wasps, has little vitality, possesses a mode of reproduction which would seem to guarantee a continuation of the lowering of vitality, and has a manner of living its larval life which invites a tremendous number of parasites and offers often insurmountable obstacles to the insect's growth to maturity. ”

“ It is interesting to watch snipe boring for food, and it is surprising what hard ground their admirably-adapted long mobile bills can penetrate. This is an exceedingly sensitive organ however, the outer membrane being underlaid by delicate nerve fibre, which infallibly tells the bird when it touches food, although far hidden from sight. The seeds which are sometimes found in birds of the snipe kind have come there not by being eaten, but attached to some glutinous food, and eaten accidentally. ”

“ An encounter between one of the smaller centipedes and a worm is like a fight between a ferret and a snake, so frantic is the writhing of the worm, so determined the hold which the hard and shiny centipede maintains with its hooked jaws. ”

“ The Scinks are a harmless race, for the most part living upon insects, slugs, and worms; but one of the most typical species, the great Gally-wasp of Jamaica, we have found to feed on fruits and other vegetable substances. Of their reproduction little seems known, but as the Gally-wasps, the Mabouyas, and the Slow-worm are viviparous, perhaps the same is true of the whole Family. They are commonly agile creatures, and the shortness of their limbs, and the smoothness of their scales, enable them to glide through small apertures with facility. ”

“ The spider about to be stricken apparently first experiences a peculiar numbness of the first left foreleg, to judge from its inability to use or move the affected member. A day or so later the leg, which in a healthy condition is a dull brown, turns a pale, sickening shade of yellow, which deepens rapidly until it has taken on a flaming orange hue. Then, in a few hours, a deep, vicious-looking blue cincture, or band, appears just at the first joint of the affected member. ”

“ The humble Cionus, for its part, tells us of a primordial force, the motive power of the smallest as of the greatest things.
A day is not too long to give the bladder a good lining. Next day the larva moults and passes into the nymphal state. Let us complete its story with the data gleaned in the fields. The cocoons are often found on the grass near the food-plant, on the stalks and dead blades of the Gramineæ. Generally, however, they occupy the little twigs of the mullein, stripped of their bark and withered. The adult insect emerges sooner or later in September. ”

“ The next great family of the tribe of carnivorous beetles is composed of the Cicindelidæ—slender insects, with large prominent heads, very long legs, and which are very active in their movements. The Cicindelidæ like sandy plains. When the sun shines they fly in 492 a zig-zag manner, but their flight is not continued for long together. In dull weather they are to be seen running on the turf or hiding themselves in holes, and are met with on the sea-shore, where they are seen sometimes to pop up by hundreds. They live on flies and little shrimps, which abound on the sea-shore. ”

“ When wounded and brought to the water, they try in vain to dive, and on reaching the nearest 287 part of the shore, they usually run a few steps and squat among the grass, when it becomes difficult to find them. Those which have escaped unhurt often remain looking upon their dead companions, sometimes waiting until shot at a second time. When they are fat, they afford good eating, but their flesh is at no time so savoury as that of the common American Snipe.
The cry of this species when on wing is a single and rather mellow weet. ”

“ I never could have thought that these snakes or eels, for they seem to partake of the character of the latter, would have wound themselves round the prey they seized. The elongated fish in our part of the world, congers, dog-fish, guard-fish, and similar creatures, fasten their teeth into their prey, then setting their bodies in rapid motion like a screw, they regularly cut great pieces out of their victim. ”

“ When the Snipe alights within sight, and you are concealed and silent, its movements can easily be observed. It first stands for an instant in a half crouching attitude, as if to listen, then raises itself and runs a few steps, when, if it be in any degree apprehensive of danger, it squats, and there remains until put up. ”

“ The food of our Common Snipe consists principally of ground worms, insects, and the juicy slender roots of different vegetables, all of which tend to give its flesh that richness of flavour and juicy tenderness, for which it is so deservedly renowned, it being equal to that of the woodcock. Many epicures eat up both Snipe and Woodcock with all their viscera, worms and insects to boot, the intestines in fact being considered the most savoury parts. ”

“ Schneider saw several species of fish at the Naples Aquarium protecting their eggs. In one case the male mounted guard over a rock where the eggs were deposited, and swam with open mouth against intruders. The following accounts of the nidification of certain species of fish show that the parental instincts are not unlike those which obtain in birds, and are comparable in point of strength with the same instincts as they occur in ants, bees, and spiders. ”

“ A more detailed genetic interpretation of our material must for the most part be postponed for a later paper; but we may point out that the graded series of individuals, obtained when short-winged species hybridize with long-winged stocks as with Cynips bifurca and several species in other genera on which we shall publish later, indicate that wing characters in these insects may be dependent on multiple factors or perhaps on more than one group of such factors. ”

“ The mullet and the wolf-fish2848 are animated with a mutual hatred; and so too, the conger and the murena gnaw each other’s2849 tails. The cray-fish has so great a dread of the polypus, that if it sees it near, it expires in an instant: the conger dreads the cray-fish; while, again, the conger tears the body of the polypus. Nigidius informs us that the wolf-fish gnaws the tail of the mullet, and yet that, during certain months, they are on terms of friendship; all those, however, which thus lose their tails, survive their misfortune. ”

“ On various parts of the sea-anemones, and of all other polyps, especially on their tentacles or fringes, there are very remarkable objects called cnidæ, or lasso-cells, like those on jellyfishes, each cell being less than one two-hundredths of an inch in length. In each there is a long, slender, coiled, and wonderfully-constructed thread, which can be instantly darted forth, paralyzing any little animal which it strikes ”