210
Natural Pumps.
and whenever the depth of water is insufficient to cover the opening be-tween bis lips, the animal instinctively draws closer those portions of themabove it, and contracts the orifice below, just as we do under similar cir-cumstances, and which we constantly practice in sipping tea or coffee froma cup, or any other beverage of which we wish to partake in small quan-tities. The capacious ehest of the tall camel, or of the still taller came-leopard or giraffe, whose head sometimes moves twenty feet from theground, is a large bellows pump which raises water through the longchannel or pipe in his neck. The elephant by a similar pneumatic appa-ratus, elevates the liquid through that flexible ‘ suction pipe,’ his proboscis;and those nimble engineers, the common house-flies, raise it through theirminikin trunks in like manner.
We may here remark, that among the gigantic animals which in remoteages roamed over this planet, and which quenched their thirst as the oxdoes, there could have been none which stood so high as to have theirstomachs thirty feet above the water they thus raised into them. And onthe table lands of Mexico , and the still higher regions of Asia, Africa, andSouth America , animals of this kind, if such there were, must have hadtheir stomachs placed still lower.
The mandibles of some insects are hollow, and are used as suckingpumps. They serve also sometimes as sheaths to poniards, with whichnature has furnished them, as weapons of offence and defence. Thoseof the lion-ant are pierced, and “no doubt act as suckers.” This littleanimal constructs a minute funnel-shaped excavation in dry sand, and co-vering its body at the bottom lays in wait, like an assassin, for its prey:“no sooner does an industrious ant, laden perhaps with its provision, ap -proach the edge of the slope, than the finely poised sand gives way, andthe entrapped victim rolling to the bottom, is instantly seized and suckeito a shadow by the lurking tyrant, who, soon after by a jerk of his headtosses out the dead body.” Weasels and other animals suck the bloodof their prey. The tortoise drinks by suction, for which purpose heplunges his head deep into the fluid, so as even to cover his eyes. Thereare several species of birds denominated ‘suctorial’ on account of theirobtaining food by means of atmospheric pressure, which they bring intoaction by apparatus analogous to the pump. The grallatores or Waden,“suck up their food” out of water.
It is impossible to contemplate the structure and habits of animals,without being surprised at the extent to which this principle of raising li-quids has been adopted by the Almighty in the formation of insects, rep-tiles, fishes, birds, amphibia and land animals ; and also at its adaptationto their various forms, natures, and pursuits. Had we the necessaryknowledge of their physiology, we would desire no greater pleasure, noother employment than to examine and describe these natural pneumaticmachines, and the diversified modes of their Operation.
For other natural pumps, see remarks at the end of Chapter 2, on bel-lows forcing pumps, in the next Book .
The vesseh or vases figured in this chapter are ancient. Those inwhich the tubes are inserted in illustradons Nos. 80 and 81, are of glass;the one ander the pump spout in No. 83, is a bronze bücket; all fromv Pompeii. The latter is referred to at page 67. The globular vessel inNo. 84, is a figure of a brazen cauldron, also Roman, from: Misson. Seepage 19 of this volume.