Animal Biography: Or, Authentic Anecdotes of the Lives, Manners, and Economy, of the Animal Creation, Arranged According to the System of Linnaeus, Volume 3R. Phillips, 1803 |
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Page 8
... frequently appearing abroad even a few hours only in the middle of the day . It always retired to rest for every shower , and in wet days never came at all from its retreat . Although he loved warm weather , yet he carefully avoided the ...
... frequently appearing abroad even a few hours only in the middle of the day . It always retired to rest for every shower , and in wet days never came at all from its retreat . Although he loved warm weather , yet he carefully avoided the ...
Page 12
... frequent muddy rivers and lakes , hiding themselves among the roots and leaves of the water - plants , from whence they spring on their prey . By suddenly stretching out their neck , which they do with wonderful celerity , they are ...
... frequent muddy rivers and lakes , hiding themselves among the roots and leaves of the water - plants , from whence they spring on their prey . By suddenly stretching out their neck , which they do with wonderful celerity , they are ...
Page 14
... frequently weighs so much as five or six hundred pounds . The shell is broader before than behind , where it is some- what pointed ; and it consists of thirteen brownish divisions , surrounded by twenty - five marginal ones . It feeds ...
... frequently weighs so much as five or six hundred pounds . The shell is broader before than behind , where it is some- what pointed ; and it consists of thirteen brownish divisions , surrounded by twenty - five marginal ones . It feeds ...
Page 22
... frequently got half its body out again : when completely swallowed , its contortions were very visible in the flaccid sides of its victor ‡ . With respect to the popular superstition that Frogs frequently descend from the clouds , Mr ...
... frequently got half its body out again : when completely swallowed , its contortions were very visible in the flaccid sides of its victor ‡ . With respect to the popular superstition that Frogs frequently descend from the clouds , Mr ...
Page 23
... frequently seen them dug up with the moss frozen as hard as ice . In this state their legs are as easily broken off as the stem of a tobacco pipe , without giving them the least sensation : but by wrapping them up in warm skins , and ex ...
... frequently seen them dug up with the moss frozen as hard as ice . In this state their legs are as easily broken off as the stem of a tobacco pipe , without giving them the least sensation : but by wrapping them up in warm skins , and ex ...
Common terms and phrases
abdomen afterwards animal animalcules antennæ ants appear become bees beetle belly body bottom Brit caterpillars cells chrysalis claws colour common covered creature deposited destroyed devoured distance dorsal fin earth eggs elytra extremely eyes feed feelers feet female fins fish fixed flies four frequently Frog furnished glass ground grubs half hatched head History of Barbadoes hole inch in length inhabitants insects jaws labour larva larvæ leaves legs Linn Linnæus live male manner membrane middle motion mouth nerally nest observed pectoral fins Phil prey produced propolis pupa resembling says seems seen seize Shaw's Gen shell side skin snails snake sometimes soon spawn species spider sting substance surface Surinam swallow tail teeth thick thorax threads tongue torpedinal torpid Tran trees TRIBE tube viviparous Wasps weather whole wings worms young Zool
Popular passages
Page 486 - For, to say nothing of half the birds, and some quadrupeds which are almost entirely supported by them, worms seem to be the great promoters of vegetation, which would proceed but lamely without them, by boring, perforating, and loosening the soil, and rendering it pervious to rains and the fibres of plants, by drawing straws and stalks of leaves and twigs into it ; and, most of all, by throwing up such infinite numbers of lumps of earth called worm-casts, which, being their excrement, is a fine...
Page 196 - Which strike ev'n eyes incurious ; but each moss, Each shell, each crawling insect, holds a rank Important in the plan of Him who framed This scale of beings ; holds a rank which lost Would break the chain, and leave behind a gap Which Nature's self would rue.
Page 255 - Indians once brought me (says she), before I knew that they shone by night, a number of these lantern flies, which I shut up in a large wooden box. In the night, they made such a noise, that I awoke in a fright, and ordered a light to be brought, not...
Page 487 - ... provide new soil for hills and slopes where the rain washes the earth away ; and they affect slopes, probably to avoid being flooded. Gardeners and farmers express their detestation of worms ; the former because they render their walks unsightly, and make them much work ; and the latter because, as they think, worms eat their green corn. But these men would find that the earth without worms would soon become cold, hard-bound, and void of fermentation, and consequently sterile...
Page 163 - Sometimes they sink for the space of ten or fifteen minutes, then rise again to the surface; and, in bright weather, reflect a variety of splendid colours, like a field bespangled with purple, gold, and azure.
Page 351 - Bees, therefore, in the formation of their cells have to solve a problem which would puzzle some geometers, namely, a quantity of wax being given, to form of it similar and equal cells of a determinate capacity, but of the largest size in proportion to the quantity of matter employed, and disposed in such a manner as to occupy in the hive the least possible space.
Page 486 - Earth-worms, though in appearance a small and despicable link in the chain of Nature, yet, if lost, would make a lamentable chasm.
Page 100 - The aggressor was of the black kind, six feet long; the fugitive was a water snake, nearly of equal dimensions. They soon met, and in the fury of their first encounter, they appeared in an instant firmly twisted together; and whilst their united tails beat the ground, they mutually tried with open jaws to lacerate each other.
Page 375 - To satisfy ourselves that the leaves were bent and held down by the effort of these diminutive artificers, we disturbed them in their work ; and as soon as they were driven from their station, the leaves on which they were employed, sprang up with a force much greater than we could have thought them able to conquer by any combination of their strength.
Page 343 - There is a sort of wild bee frequenting the garden-campion for the sake of its tomentum, which probably it turns to some purpose in the business of nidification. It is very pleasant to see with what address it strips off the pubes, running from the top to the bottom of a branch, and shaving it bare with all the dexterity of a hoop-shaver. When it has got a vast bundle, almost as large as itself, it flies away, holding it secure between its chin and its fore legs.