Science from an Easy ChairLankester, E. Ray (Edwin Ray), Sir
History
Science from an Easy Chair
Lankester, E. Ray (Edwin Ray), Sir
Natural history; Science
Whilst man has learnt to avoid swallowing poisonous plants, although
occasionally blundering over pretty-looking berries and deceptive
mushrooms, he has had little to fear in that way from animals. To a
small degree this is due to the fact that only parts of animals are
eaten by man, and those very generally are cooked before being eaten,
the heating often sufficing to destroy substances present in flesh,
fish, and fowl which would be poisonous if taken raw. But, as a matter
of fact, animals do not generally protect themselves from being eaten,
as plants largely do, by developing nasty or poisonous substances in
their flesh, though some do. They fight rather by claws, teeth, and
poison glands therewith connected, or else escape by extra quick
locomotion, a method not possible to plants. Many insects (butterflies,
beetles, and bugs), however, produce nasty aromatic substances which
cause animals like birds and lizards to reject them as food. The toad
and the salamander both produce a very deadly poison in their damp, soft
skins, which causes any animal to drop them from its mouth, and to
regret “bitterly” the attempt to swallow them. The frog has no such
poison in its skin, but can jump out of harm’s way. The strong yellow
and black marking of the European salamander is what is called a
“warning” coloration, just as is the yellow and black outfit of the
poisonous wasp. Animals learn to leave the yellow and black livery
untouched, and the creatures so marked escape the injury which would be
caused them by tentative bites.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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