The Log of the Sun: A Chronicle of Nature's YearBeebe, William
History
The Log of the Sun: A Chronicle of Nature's Year
Beebe, William
Natural history -- Outdoor books
"Civet," which is obtained from the civet cat, and "musk," from the queer
little hornless musk deer, are secretions of glands. It has been suggested
that the defenceless musk deer escapes many of its enemies by the
similarity of its secretion to the musky odour of crocodiles. In many
animals which live together in herds, such as the antelope and deer, and
which have neither bright colours nor far-reaching calls to aid straying
members to regain the flock, there are large and active scent glands. The
next time you see a live antelope in a zoological park, or even a stuffed
specimen, look closely at the head, and between the eye and the nostril a
large opening will be seen on each, side, which, in the living animal,
closes now and then, a flap of skin shutting it tight.
Among pigs the fierce peccary is a very social animal, going in large
packs; and on the back of each of these creatures is found a large gland
from which a clear watery fluid is secreted. Dogs and wolves also have
their odour-secreting glands on the back, and the "wolf-pack" is
proverbial.
The gland of the elephant is on the temple, and secretes only when the
animal is in a dangerous mood, a hint, therefore, of opposite significance
to that of the herding animals, as this says, "Let me alone! stay away!"
Certain low species of monkeys, the lemurs, have a remarkable bare patch
on the forearm, which covers a gland serving some use.
If we marvel at the keenness of scent among animals, how incredible seems
the similar sense in insects--similar in function, however different the
medium of structure may be. Think of the scent from a female moth, so
delicate that we cannot distinguish it, attracting a male of the same
species from a distance of a mile or more. Entomologists sometimes confine
a live female moth or other insect in a small wire cage and hang it
outdoors in the evening, and in a short time reap a harvest of gay-winged
suitors which often come in scores, instinctively following up the trail
of the delicate, diffused odour. It is surely true that the greatest
wonders are not always associated with mere bulk.
INSECT MUSIC
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