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This book must not be
taken from the Library
building.

'^ **«** ^^

mar' 60

NATURAL HISTORY

OF

BIRDS, FISH,
INSECTS AND REPTILES.

EMBELLISHED WITH
UPWARDS OF TWO HUNDRED ENGRAVINGS.

i^ SIX VOLUMES

VOL V.

5lDntion :

PRINTED FOR THE PROPRIETOR;
AND SOLD BY H. D- SYMONDS PATERNOSTER-ROW.

1808.

JFfiuted by Law and Gilbert, St. John's Square, Clerkenwcll.

, * ua.T J-\. -.JL. ■

CONTENTS

OF THE

FIFTH VOLUME,

Page

Multivake Shell Fish - - I

The Sea Urchin - - 2

Jcorn Shell Fish - ' - 4

Thumb-footed ditto - - ibid

Imaginary Barnacle - ibid

Pholades - -5

Of Frogs, Lizards, Serpents - 11

Of Frogs - - - ibid

The Toad - - - 22

Pipal, or Sunnam Toad - 32

Lizard - * ' 3G

Iguana - - - 38

Common Green Lizard - 39

Green Lizard of Carolina - 40

The Cameleon - - 41

—^Ge^ko - - - 4(5

a 2

K

( iv )

'■^ht Scinms
— — Nilotica

■ Palustris

' Salamander

Dragon

' Flying Lizard

Chalcidian ditto

Of Serpents

— — Of Venomous Serpents

The Viper

— Rattle Snake
. Whip-Snake

— — Jaculus -
*.. • Heemorrbois
— • Seps

■ Cor«Z Serpent
I Hooded ditto

Of Serpents without venom
The Ringed Snake

— Black Snake of Virginia
»- Blindworm

•— — Amphishoena

Escidapian Serpent

The Boyana

»— — Surinam Serpent

Prince of Serpents

page

47

48-

ibid

4^

60

61

6Q

63

86

94

99

104

105

ibid

ibid

ibid

ibid

ibid

lor

109

no

ibid
111
112
112
ibid
ibid-

C V )

Pag«

The Gemnda - - 1 15

jlfrican Geranda - ibid

Jiboya - - 314

■ Boi/giiacu - - ibid

Dq)Oua - - ] 15

Of insects - - - II7
Of the external Parts vft/ie Body - 122
Of the Sexes - - 130
Metamorphoses of^ Insects - 135
Of Insects mitko at W'mgs - 340
TAe Spider - - 140
Garden Spider - - ij.0

Caff/cina - - 1§S

ylviciclaria, - - - jg4

Ocellata - - ibid

- S ace at a - - ibid
■ Diadema - - ibi^

. Cttcurhitina - - ibid

Ltabyrinthica - - 1^5

Fimbriata - - ibid

Holosericea - - ibid

Viatica - - jQS

Aquatka - - ibid

The Fasciata - - 16S

• Taraiittda - - i69

Flea - - - ISi

Lou&c - - - ifis

( V, )

The Human Louse . - 183

■ Leaf ditto - - 188

Wood ditto - - 193

Water Flea . - igs

- Scorpion ^ _ 200

Scolopendra - _ 209

Gally-worm - _ 210

Leach . _ _ 211

The Second Order of Insects. - 017

Dragon Fly . . fbid

Lion Ant ^ . 223

Grasshopper - - 231

Locust - ^ 23g

■ ^^«PS^ Indian ditto ^ 248

Cricket - ^ 246

Mole ditto _ . 248

Cuckow Spit, or Froth Worm - 253

W^fl^er Tipula - . jj^j^j

Water Ffy . . 254

Water Scorpion - jjjj^j

Ephemera _ - 255

(y /wsec^5 of the Third Order - og j

Caterpillars - . 26 1

T-^e Butterfli/ - - 271

ilfo^A - „ 277

Silkworm . . q^q

Of the Fourth Order of Insects - 29 1

( vii )

Pag«

Tht Bee - - . 292

Hnmhh B^e . - 313

Mason ditto - - 315

Ground ditto - - ibid

Leaf-cutting ditto - 3l6

Wall ditto - - ibid

" Wasp - - - 317

Hornet - - - 326

Ichneumon Tly - 331

Ant - - - 534

Beetle - - . 34Q

May-Bug - - S4g

• Tumble-dung - - 352

■ Elephant Beetle - 354

■ Glow-worm - - 355

Cantharis - - 33(3

Kermes - - . 33'jf

Cochineal - - 3o8

Gall-Insects - - 350

Gwa^ - - . 3^2

Tf^w/fl - - . ibid

Zoophytes - - _ 3(j7

The IVorm . - _ ^^-g

■ Sea-Zi'orm - - 373

r Star-fish - - ibid

■ Cuttle Fish - - S76

Polypus - . 377

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Moa^artBita

NATURAL HISTORY

OF

mUDS, FISH, REPTILES, 8,-c.

~j. _ I 1 .... .1 — _

MULTiVALVE SHELL-FIStt.

THE covering of the Multivalve shell-fisli
is so singularly formed > as not to give the
least reason to suppose from its outward ap-
pearance, that it contains a living animal, and
much less (when that fact is ascertained) that
the animal within is capable of moving its un-
wieldy habitation with any degree ofspeed, and
yet both are equally true. Of this class of
shell-fish there are two kinds, the one which
moves about, and the other which is nearly sta-
tionary. The first are generally denominated
echini, or sea-urchins, though sometimes known
by the name oi sea-eggs ; and the latter, /?Ao-
lades, OYJile'fish, These have been ofcen ad-
mired for the facility with whic?i they scoop out
VOL. V. B cavities

nomnr ubrakt

2 NATURAL HISTORY

cavities in the hardest marble, and whereiif
they seek a place of security. There are many
varieties in both these species, but a competent
idea of the whole may be drawn from the fol-
lowing accurate description which has been
given of the two principal.

" To a slight view the sea-urchin may be
'* compared to the husk of a chesnut ; being
" hke it round, and with a number of bony
*' priokles standing out on every side. To ex-
** hibit this extraordinary animal in every light :
*' if we could conceive a turnip stuck full of
** pins on every side, and rupning upon those
" pins with some degree of swiftness, we should
** have some idea of this extraordinary creature.
" The mouth is placed downwards ; the vent
" above ; the shell is a hollow vase, resembling
*' a scooped apple ; and this filled with a soft,
" muscular substance, through which the in-
" testines wind from the bottom to the top.
** The mouth, which is placed imdermost, is
'* large and red, furnished with five sharp teeth,
** which are easily discerned. The jaws are
*' strengthened by five small bones, in the cen-
" tre of which is a small fleshy tongue; and
" from this the intestines make a winding of
" five spines, round the internal sides of the

« shell.

OF ?IRI)S, FISH, &C. "3

" shell, ending at the top, where the excre-^
" ments are excluded. But what makes the
" most extraordinary part of this animal's con-
" formation, are its horns and its spines, that
" point from every part of the body, like the
" horns of a snail, and that serve at once as
" legs to move upon, as arms to feel with, and
** as instruments of capture and defence. Be-
*' tvveen these horns it has also spines, that are
" not endowed with such a share of motion.
*' The spines and the horns issue from every
** part of its body ; the spines being hard and
" prickly ; the horns being soft, longer than
" the spines, and never seen except in the svater*
*' They are put forward and withdrawn like the
** horns of a snail, and are hid at the basis of
" the spines, serving, as w^as said before, for
" procuring food and motion. All this appa-
" mtu-, however, is only seen when the ani-^
" mal is hunting its prey at the bottom of the
" water ; for a few minutes after it is taken,
" all the horns are withdrawn into the body,
*' and most of the spines drop off.

" It is generally said, that those animals
" which have the greatest number of legs al-
" ways move the slowest : but this animal is
" an exception to the rule ; for though fur-

" nished

4 NATURAL HISTORY

" nished with two thousand spines, and twelve
" hundred horns, all serving for legs, and from
" their number seeming to impede each other's
" motion, yet it runs with some share of swift-
" ness at the bottom, and is sometimes no easy
" matter to overtake it. It is often taken in
" the ebb, by following it in shallow water,
" either in an ozier basket, or simply with the
" hand. Both the spines and the horns assist
" its motion ; and the animal is usually seen
" running with the mouth downward.

" Some kinds of this animal are pretty large,
" and esteemed as good eating as the lobster ;
" and its eggs, which are of a deep red, are
" considered as a very great delicacy. But of
•• most of them the flesh is indifferent ; and
** in all places, except the Mediterranean, they
«' are little sought for, except as objects of
** curiosity.

" The acorn shell-fish,the thumb-footed sheW-
** fish, and the imaginary barnacle, though near-
" ly resembling the preceding in shape, are
" very different as far as relates to motion.
" These are fixed to one spot, and appear to
" vegetate from a stalk. Indeed, to an inat-
** tentive spectator, each actually appears to be
" a kind of fungus that grows in the deep, des-

" titute

OF BIKDS^ FISH^ £CC, 5

*' titute of animal life as well as motion. But
" the enquirer uill soon change his opiuion,
** nhen he comes to observe this mushroom-
'*' like figure more minutely. He uill then
** see that the animal residing williin the shell
" has not only life, but some decree of vora-
*' cioinsness. They are seen adhering to every
*' substance that is to be met with in the ocean ;
" rocks, roots of trees> ships' bottoms, m hales,
** lobsters^ and even crabs, like bunches of
^' grapes clung to each other. ' It is,' says An-
derson, in his History of Greenland, ' amusing
' enough to behold their operations. Tliev for
' some time remain motionless within their shell,

* but when the sea is calm they are seen open-?
' ing tlie lid, and peeping about them. Thej'

* then thrust out their long neck, look round
' them for some time, and then abruptly retreat:
' back into their box, shut their lid, and lurk
' in darkness and security. Some people eat

* tiiem, but they are in no great repute.

*' The pholades of all animals of the shelly
*' tribe are the most wonderful, and most par-
^ ticularly excite the attention of the curious
^^ observer. These animals are foimd in dif-
'* ferent places ; sometimes cWathed in their
*' proper shell, at the bottom of the water ;

VOL. V. C 'f some-

NATURAL HISTORY

^' sometimes concealed in lumps of marly earth;
" and sometimes lodged, shell and all, in the
'' body of the hardest marble. In their proper
*' shell they assume different figures ; but, in
"^ general, they somewhat resemble a muscle,
^' except that their shell is found actually com-
'^ posed of five or more pieces, the smaller
^' valves serving to close up the openings left by
^^ the irregular meeting of the two principal
^' shells. But their penetration into rocks, and
^^ their residence there, makes up the most won-
'^ derful part of their history.

*' This animal, when divested of its shell,
'^ resembles a roundish, soft pudding, with no
*' instrument that seems in the least fitted for
*' boring into stones, or even penetrating the
^' softest substance. It is furnished with two
*' teeth indeed, but these are placed in such a
" situation, as to be incapable of touching the
** hollow surface of its stony dwelling : it has
'' also two covers to its shell, that open and shut
'* at either end ; but these are totally unservice-
** able to it as a miner. The instrument with
*' which it performs all its operations, and bu-
'* ries itself in the hardest rocks, is only a broad
^* fleshy substance, which somewhat resembles
" a tongue, issuing from the bottom of its shell.

" With
9

or BIRDS, FlSHj 8cc. i

^ With this soft, yielding instrument, it perfo-
" rates the most solid marbles ; and having,
^ while young, made its way by a very narrow
'^ entrance into the substance of the stone, as it
^ grows larger it encreases the size of its apart-
" ment."

The improbability of such animals being ca-
pable of penetrating into rocks, and even the
hardest marbles, aided the supposition that they
entered the stone while it was in a soft state,
which hardening round them, by the petrifying
quality of the water, they were enabled to
form their habitations at pleasure. This opinion,
though maintained by several of the ancient
philosophers, has been successfully objected to
by Dr. Bohads, who, in support of the contrary
being the fact, observes, that ^^ many ctf the
*' pillars of the Temple of Serapis, at Puetoli,
^^ were penetrated by the pholades ; and there
^' can be no doubt of the animals having pierced
'' into them since their erection, for no work-
'^ men would have laboured a pillar into form,
" if it had been honey-combed by worms in
^^ the quarry. In short, there can be no doubt
" but that the pillars were perfectly sound when
*^ erected, and that the pholades have attacked
*' them during that time in which they conti-
C 2 *^ nued

8» NATURAL HISTORY

'^ nued buried under water, by means of the
" earthquake which swallowed up the city."

This animal, then, armed with nothing but
a blunt augre of the softest texture, by perse-
verance and patience penetrates into one of the
hardest of bodies. This operation it performs
when very young and perfectly naked, and hav-
ing made an entrance and buried its body in t
jitone, it there continues for life at his ea»e, the
sea-water that enters at the little aperture sup-
plying it with luxurious plenty. When the ani-
mal has taken too great a quantity of water, it
spurns the superfluity out of its hole with some
degree of violence. Upon tliis seemingly thin
diet, it quickly grows larger, and soon finds a
necessity for enlarging both habitation and shell.
The motion of the pholas is slow beyond con-
ception ; its progress keeps pace with the
growth of its body ; and iu proportion as it be-
comes larger, it makes its way farther into the
rock. When advanced to a certain distance, it
then changes its direction, and hollows down-
ward, till at last, when its habitation is com-
pleted, the whole apartment resembles the bole
of a tobacco-pipe ; the hole in the shank being
that by which the animal oiiginally made its
entry.

Thus

or BIRDS, FISH, &C. Q

Thus imimired, the pholas lives in darkness,
iudolence, and plenty ; having once formed its
mansion, it appears to live perfectly satisfied
uilh the retreat it has chosen, nor ever after
attempts its emancipation; the influx of the
sea-water, that enters at the small original ca-
vity, satisfies all its wants, and without any
odier food, they not only thrive, but freqnentiv
grow to seven or eight inches long, and ai'k
thick in proportion.

Besides the security, wliich they find in this
stony habitation, their bodies are defended by a
shelly covering, and which grows upon tliem
after they Iiave taken up their residence in th«
body of tlie rock. These shells take difterent
forms, and are often composed of a different
number of valves ; sometimes six, and some-
times not more than three; sometimes the
shell resembles a tube with holes at either end,
one for the mouth, and the other for voiding
the excrements.

*' Yet (says Goldsmith) the pholas thus shut
'' up, is not so solitary an animal as it would at
" first appear ; for though it is immured in its
*' hole without egress, though it is impossible
'* for the animalj grown to a great size, to o^et
" out by the way it made in, yet many of this

" kind

lO NATURAt HIIlTdRy

*^ kind often meet in the heart of the rock^ andf^
'^ like miners in a siege_, who sometimes cross
'*" each other's galleries^ they frequently break
*^ in upon each other's retreats. Whether their
^^ thus meeting be the work of accident, or of
^^ choice, few can take upon them to deter-
*' mine ; certain it is, they are most commonly
**" fomid in numbers in the same rock ; and
^' sometimes above twenty are discovered within
*' a few inches of each other."

These animals are pretty generally diffused,.
But they are found in the greatest numbers at
Ancona, in Italy ; along the shores of Normandy
and Poitou, in France ; and upon some of the
coasts of Scotland. They are generally held
as a great delicacy, and in some places are se-
dulously sought after for the purpose of sup-
plymg the tables of the luxurious.

er

OF BIRDS, riSHj &C. 11

OF FROGS, LIZARDS, AND SERPENTS.

OF FROGS.

IT has already been observed, when treating
generally of amphibious animals, in the Fourth
Volume, that the whole of these animals, by
their internal conformation, are equally capable
of living upon land, or in the water, having
their hearts so formed as to dispense with the
assistance of the lungs in carrying on the cir-
culation. The frog- and the toad therefore can
live several days under water without any dan-
ger of suffocation ; they want but httle air at
the bottom, and what is wanting is supplied by
lungs, like bladders, which are generally dis-
tended with wind, and answer all the purposes
of a reservoir whence to breathe.

The frog and toad, though so nearly resem-
bling each other, have many strong and striking

differences.

!2 NATURAL HISTORY

differences, which particularly distinguish them
from each other. The frog moves by kapinff,
the toad crawls along the ground. The frog is
in general less than the toad ; its colour is
brighter, and with a more polished surface; the
toad is brown, rough, and dusty. The frog is
light and active, and its belly comparatively
small ; the toad is slow, swollen, and incapable
of escaping. The frog, when taken, contracts
itself so as to have a lump on its back : the
toad*s back is straight and even ; and internally
the lungij of the toad are found to be more com-
pact than those of the frog, they have a less
number of air-bladders, and, of course, the ani-
mal is less fitted for living under water.

The power which the fro* possesses of leaping
is remarkably great, compared to the size of its
body. It is the best swimmer of all four-footed
animals ; and the formation of its parts are sin-
gularly adapted for that purpose, the arms being
light and active, and the legs and thighs long,
and fiu-nished with very strong muscles. In
dissecting this animal, it has been found, that its
braki is very small in proportion to its size;
that it has a very wide swallow; a stomadi
seemingly small, but capable of great disten-
tion. The heart in the frog, as in all other

animals

OF BiKDSj FISH, &C. 13

animals that are truly amphibious, has but one
ventricle, so that the blood can circulate with-
out the assistance of the lungs, while it keeps
under water. The lungs resemble a number of
small bladders joined together, like the cells of
a honeycomb : they are connected to the back
by muscles, and can be distended or exhausted
at the animal's pleasure. The male ha» two
testiculi lying near the kidneys ; and the female
has t^vo ovaries lying near the same place : but
neither male nor female have any of the exter--
nal instruments of generation, the anus serving
for that purpose in both. Such are the most
striking peculiarities in the anatomy of a frog ;
and in these it agrees with the toad, the lizard,
and the serpent. They are all internally formed
in nearly the same manner, with spongy lungs,
a simple heart, and are destitute of the external
instruments that serve for continuing their
kind.

Of all naturalists who have enquired into
the nature and habits of the frog, Mr. Raesel, of
Nuremberg!!, is generally admitted to be the
most particular and accumte. He says, '^ the
'^ common brown frog begins to couple early
^^ in the season, and as soon as the ice is thawed
^^ from the stagnated waters. In some places

VOL, V. B ^' th<5

14 JJATIRAL HISTORY

" the cold protracts their genial appetite till
*' i\pril, but it generally begins about the mid-
" die of March. The male is usually of a
^' greyish brown colour; the female is more
'^ inclining to yellow, speckled with brown.
" ^^hen they couple their colours are nearly
'^ alike on the back, but as they change their
'*■ skins almost every eighth day, the old one
*' falling off in the form of mucus, the male
'^ becomes more yellow, and the female more
" brown. In the males the arms and legs are
*^ much stronger than in the females ; and at
'*■ the time of coupling they have, upon their
**^ thumbs, a kind of fleshy excrescence ; this
" Linnaeus supposed to be the male instrument
*^ of generation, but, by closer inspection, it
" is found only of service in holding the fe-
*' male in a more strict embrace ; as it may be
^* cut off without impairing the impregnation,
*' and besides, it is sometimes found in the op-
*^ posite sex.

" The frogs only couple once a year, and
*^ then continue united sometimes for four
'^ days together. At this time they have both
*' their bellies greatly swollen ; that of the fe-
" male being filled with eggs, and the male
f^ having the skin of its whole body distended

^^ with

OF BIRDSj FISII, 8CC. 15

^' with a limpid water which is ejected in im-
'' pregnation. As soon as the male has leaped
** upon the female, he throws his fore-legs
'^ round her breast, and closes them so firmly
'^ that it is impossible with the naked hands to
*^ loose them. The male clasps his fingers be-
*' tween each other, and presses with the ihick-
-' est sides of the thumbs against the breast of
*' the female ; the grasp seems to be involun-
*' tary and convulsive: they cannot easily be
'^ torn asunder ; and they swim, creep, and live
" united for some days successively, till the fe-
" male has shed her spawn, or eggs. A single
^^ female produces from six to eleven hundred
f' eggs at a time ; and, in general, she throws
^' them all out together by a single effort, though
'' sometimes she is an hour in performing this
^' task ; the eggs are impregnated by the insper-
'^ sion of the male seminal fluid upon them as
" they proceed from the body of the female.

'^ When the spawn is emitted and impreg-
'^ nated by the male, it sinks to the bottom of
'' the water ; during the first four hours they
*' suffer no perceptible change, but when they
^' begin to enlarge, grow lighter, and, in
" consequence, arise to the surface. At the
'^ end of eight hours the white in which they
D 2 '^ swim

l6 jJatural history

*'- swim grows thicker, the ^gs^ black at first,
*' begin to grow wtiiter, and as the}? encrease
** in size take somev,hiit oi 'i spherical form.
'' The twenty-first day the egu is s^- n to open
*^ a httle on one side, and the h(r^ii!«iiiig of a
'* tail to peep out» which bcc ^r- s inoie and
" more distinct every day. hirty-niuth

'^ day the little animal begins to have motion ;
*^ it moves, at intervals, iis tail, and it 1? per-
'' ceived that the liqnor in which it is circum-
'' fused, serves it for nonrisliment. In two
^' days more some of these httle creatures fall
" to the bottom, while others remain swimming
" in the fiuid round them, and their vivacity
** and motion is seen to encrease. Those which
'^ fall to the bottom remain there the whole
" day, but having lengthened themselves a lit-
*^ tie, for hitherto they are doubled up, they
** frequently mount to the )>m*us which they
*' had quitted, and feed upon it with great eager-
** ness. The next day they acquire their tad-
*' pole form. In three days more they are per-
** ceived to have two little fingers, that serve
*' as fins beneath the head ; and these in four
* days after assume a more perfect form. It is
** then also they are seen to feed very greedily
" on pond-weed^ and on which they continue

'' to

iC

OF BlUDS, FISH_,&C. 17

to feed until they arrive at maturity. When
ninety- two days old^ two small feet are seen
beginning to burgeon near the tail ; and the
head appears to be separate from the body.
In five days after this,, they refuse all vegeta-
ble food ; their mouth appears furnished with
teeth ; and their hinder legs are completely
'* formed. In two days more^ the arms are
'^ perfectly produced ; when the frog is com-
** pletely formed, except that it still continues
" to carry the tail, and at once resembles both
" frog and lizard. In this state it continues
" for about six or eight hours ; and then the
** tail dropping off by degrees, the animal ap-
" pears in its most perfect shape.

" The frog having thus in less than a day
'^ changed its iigure, it changes its appetites
'* also. As soon as tjie animal acquires its
^^ perfect state, from having fed upon %'ege-
'^ tables, it becomes carnivorous, and lives en-
" tirely upon worms and insects. But, as the
*' water cannot supply these, it is obliged to
'^ quit its native element, and seek for food
^' upon land, where it lives by hunting worms
*^ and taking insects by surprise. Being at all
'* times tenacious of the sun, they generally
* continue in damp places shaded by reeda

'' and

18 NATURAL HISTORY

** and bushes ; but after a shower of rain they
*^ quit their retreats^ and are sometimes seen in
*' great multitudes.

*' The frog hves for the most part out of
*' the water ; but when the cold nights begin
*^ to set in, it returas to its native element, al-
*^ ways chusing stagnant waters, where it can
'^ lie without danger concealed at the bottom.
^' In this manner it continues torpid, or with
'^ but very little motion, all the winter, from
** which it is roused by the approach of spring.
" I^ike the rest of the dormant race, it requires
** no food ; and the circulation is slowly carried
" on without any assistance from the air.

" The difference of sexes, which was men-
" tioned above, is not perceivable in these ani-
'^ mals^ until they have arrived at their fourth
'* year ; nor do they begin to propagate till
" they have compleated that period. By com-
" parmg their slow growth with their other
*' habitudes, it would appear, that they live
" about twelve years; but having so manyene-
'^ mies, both by land and water, it is probable
" that few of them arrive at the end of their
" term.''

These animals live upon all kinds of insects ;
but they never eat any, unless they have mo-
tion.

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C» I9

tion. They continue fixed and immoveable
till their prey appears ; and just when it comes
sufficiently near, they jump forwaid with great
agilit}', dart out their tongues, and seize it with
certainty. The tongue in this animal, as in
the toad, lizard, and serpent, is extremely long,
and formed in such a manner, that it swallows
the point down its throat; so that a length of
tongue is thus drawn out, like a sword from its
scabbard, to assail its prey. This tongue is fur-
nished with a glutinous substance ; and whatever
insect it touches, it infallibly adheres to it, which
is thus held fast till it is drawn into the mouth,
A very little food, however, seems to satisfy
their wants, and they are capable of bearing
hunger for a considerable time. A Germau
surgeon states, that he kept one eight years ia
a glass vessel covered with a net ; that its food
at all times was but sparing ; in summer he
gave it fresh grass, and in winter, hay a little
moistened ; he frequently put flies into the
glass, which it would follow, and was very
expert at catching. In winter, when the flies
are difficult to be procured, it usually fell
away, but in summer, on being supplied with
plenty of them, it soon grew fat again. He
coiMtantly kept it in a warm room, alid it waa

always

20 NATURAL HISTORY

always lively, and ready to take its prey ; Iioat-
ever, in the eighth winter, there being no flies
to be found, it sickened and died.

These animals are very tenacious of life ;
they will live and jump about for several hours
after their heads are severed from their bo-
dies ; nay, they will continue active, though all
their bowels be taken out, and live for some
days, even after being entirely stripped of their
skins.

The croaking of frogs is well known ;
whence in some countries, they are distinguish-
ed by the ludicrous title of Dutch Nightingales.
The large water, or hull frogs, of the north-
ern countries, have a note as loud as the bel-
low ing of a bull ; and, for this purpose, pulT
up the cheeks to a surprising magnitude. Of
all frogs, however, the male only croaks;
the female is silent. At the time of coupling,
and before wet weather, their voices are in,
full exertion; they are then heard with unceas-
ing assiduity, sending forth their call, and weU
coming the approaches of their favourite mois-
ture. No weather-glass was ever so true as a
frog in foretelling an approaching change.
This may probably serve to explain an opinion
^vhicb some entertain, that there is a month in

the

OF BIRDS^ FISH, 8CC. 21

the year, called Paddock Moon, in ^vhich the
frogs never croak : the whole seems to be no
more than that, in the hot season, when the
moisture is dried away, and consequently when
these animals neither enjoy the quantity of
health nor food that at other times they are
supplied with, they shew, by their silence, how
much they are displeased with the weather.

As frogs adhere closely to the back of their
own species, so it has been found, by repeated
experience, that they will also adhere to the backs
offish. Every one that has ponds knows that
these animals will stick to the backs of carp^
and fix their fingers in the corner of each eye.
In this manner they are often caught together ;
the carp blinded and wasted away. Whether
this proceeds from the desire of the frog, dis-
appointed of its proper mate, or whether it
proceeds from natural enmity to fish is a matter
of doubt, though the following story related by
Vs alton, seems to confirm the latter opinion ;
" As Dubravius, a bishop of Bohemia, was
" walking with a friend by a large pond in
'' that country, they saw a frog, when a pike
'' lay very sleepily and quiet by the shore side,
'Mcap upon his head; and the frog having
^' expressed malice or anger by his swollen
VOL. V. E " cheeks

$J5 NATURAL HISTORY

^' cheeks and staring eyes, did stretch out his
'^ legs, and embraced the pike's head, and pre-
'^ sently reached them to his eyes, tearing witii
'^ them and his teeth those tender parts ; the
'^ pike, irritated with anguish, moves up and
'^ down the water, and rubs himself against
'' weeds, and whatever he thought might quit
'' him of his enemy ; but all in vain, for the
*' frog did continue to ride triumphantly, and
^' to bite and torment the pike till his strength
*' failed, and then the frog sunk with tjie
" pike to the bottom of the water; then pre-
*^ sently the frog appeared again at the top, and
'* croaked, and seemed to rejoice like a con-
*' (jueror, after which, he presently retired to
*' his secret hole. The bishop tliat had beheld
" the battle, called the fisherman to fetch his
'^ nets, and by all means to get the pike, that
*^ they might declare what had happened. The
'' pike was drawn forth, and both his eyes eaten
" out; at which, when they began to wonder,
'^ the fisherman wished them to forbear, and
'* assured them, that he was certtiin pikes were
'* often so served."

The Toad. If we regard the figure of the
toad, there seems nothing in it that should dis-
gust^ more than that of the frog. Its form and

proportions

OF B1IIDS> FISH^ &C. 23

proportions are nearly the same ; and it? chief dif-
ference is in its colouiv, whicli is bhcker; and its
slow and heavy motion, which exhibits nothing
of the agility of the frog: yet such is the force of
habit, begnn in early prejudice, that those who
consider the one as a harmless, playfid ani-
mal, tarn from the' other t^iih horroV and dis-
gust. The frog is considered as a liseful assib*-
tant in ridding our grounds of vermin ; the
toad^ as a setret enemy, who otiiy wants an
opportunity to infect us with its venom.

As the toad bears a general resemblance itl
figure to the frog^ so also it resembles that ani-
mal in its nature and appetites. It has been
said by a French gentleman, that he saw an
instance^ in the king's gardens at Paris, of tile
male toad assisting tlie female in the exclusion of
her eggs, but naturalists agree, that it must have
been an uncommon circumstance, possibly
arising from the delivery being on lattd, as it
is invariably the same as with the fro^s when
in the water. When like the frog, these ani-
mals have undei'gone all the variations of their
tadpole state, they forsake rile water, and are
often seen, in a moist summer's evening, crav»'l-
ing up, by myriads, from feiiny places, iiito
drier situations. There, having found' oat a

E 2 retreat^

24 NATl'RAL HISTORY

retreat, or having dug themselves one with
their mouth and hands, they lead a solitary
life, seldont venturing out, except when the
moisture of a summer's evening invites them
abroad. At that time the grass is filled with
snails, and the pathway covered with worms,
tvhich Constitute their principal food. In-
sects also, of every kind, they are fond of; and
Linnaeus asserts, that they sometimes con-
tinue inmoveable, \\ith the mouth open, at
the bottom of shrubs, where the butterflies,
in some measure fascinated, are seen to
fly down their throats.

In a letter from Mr. Arscott, there are some
curious particulars relating to this animal, which
throw great light upon its history. " Concern-
^^ ing the toad," says he, '^ that lived so many
'' years with us, and was so great a favourite,
'^ the greatest curiosity was its becoming so re-
*^ markably tame : it had frequented some steps
*^ before our hall door some years before my ac-
** quaintance commenced with it, and had been
•^ admired by my father for its size (being the
*' largest I ever met with) who constantly paid
*^ it a visit every evening. I knew it myself
*' above thirty years; and by constantly feeding
*^ it, brought it to be so tame, that it always

" came

n, C State Colleet

((

or B1BD3, F1SII_, &c. C.5

'^ came to the candle^ and looked up, as if ex-
'^ pecting to be taken up and brought upon the
'^ table, where I always led it with insects of all
'^ sorts. It was fondest of flesh maggots, which
*' I kept in bran ; it would follow them, and
^^ when within a proper distance, would tix his
" eyes, and remain motionless, for near a
'^ quarter of a minute, as if preparing for the
" stroke, which was an instantaneous throwing
of its tongue at a great distance upon the in-
*' sect, which stuck to the tip by a glutinous
*^ matter. The motion is quicker than the
^^ eye can follow. I cannot say how long my
" father had been acquainted with the toad,
" before I knew it ; but when I was first ac-*
" quainted with it, he used to mention it as the
'^ old toad I have kn6wn so many years. I caa
'^ answer for thirty-six years. The old toad
" made its appearance as soon as the warm wea-
'*" ther came ; and I always concluded it retired
^^ to some dry bank, to repose till spring. \V hen
'^ we new laid the steps, I had two holes made
^^ in the third step, on each side, with a hollo\T
'^ of more than a yard long ior it ; in which I
*^ imagine it slept, as it came thence at its first
" appearance. It was seldom provoked. Nei-
"' ther that toad, nor the multitudes I have seen

" tornie^ited

S9 NATURAL HISTORY

" tormented with great cruelty, ever shewed
" the least desire of revenge, by spitting or
" emitting anyJLiice from their pimples. Some-
" times, upon taking it up,, it would let out SL
" great quantity of clear water, which, as I
" have often, seen it do the same upon the steps-
'^ when quite quiet, was certainly its urine, and
" no more than a natural evacuation. Spiders,
" millepedes, and flesh maggots, seem to be
" this animal's favourite food. 1 imagine if a
" bee was to be put before a toad, it w ould cer-
" tainly eat it to its cost; but as bees are seldom
" stirring at the same time that toads are, they
" rarely come in their way ; as they do not ap- '
" pear after sun-rising, or before sun-set. In
" the heat of the day they will come to the
" mouth of their hole, I beheve for air. I
'^ once, from my parlour- window, observed a
" lai'ge toad I had in the bank of a bowling-
" green, about twelve at noon, a very hot day,
" very busy and active upon the grass. So im-
*' common an appearance made me go out to
" see what it was ; w hen I found an innumera-
'^' ble swarm of winged ants had dropped round
*' his hole ; which temptation was as irresisti-
'*^ ble as a turtle would be to a luxurious alder-
*' man. In reject te its end, h^d it not been

'' for
1

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 07

f-' for a tame raven, I make no doubt but it
" would have been now living. This bird, one
'' day, seeing it at the mouth of its hole, pulled
" it out, and, although I rescued it, pulled out
one eye, and hurt it so, that, notwithstanding-
Its living a twelvemonth, it never enjoyed
itself, and had a difficulty of taking its food,
" missing the mark for want of its eye. Be-
^' fore that accident, it had all the apjiearance
'' of perfect health/'

Valisnieri ako mentions a circumstance to
prove that toads, if even taken internally, are
no ways dangerous. This author says, " in the
" year \692, some German soldiers, who had
" taken possession of the castle of Arceti, find-
" ing that the peasants of the country often
'^ amused themselves with catching frogs,
'.' and dressing them for the table, resolved to
" provide themselves with the like entertaiir-
^^ raent, and made preparations for frog-fishing
'^ in the same manner. It may easily be sup-
*' posed that the Italians and their German
^' guests were uot veiy fond of each other ; and
*' indeed it is natural to. think tliat the soldiers
gave the poor people of the country many
good reasons for discontent; they were not a
little pleased, tlier^fore, when they saw them

'' go

26 NATUKAL hlSTORY

" go to a ditch m here toads, instead of frogs_,
*^ were found in abundance. The Germans
" no way distinguishing their sport, caught
'^ them hi great numbers ; while the peasants
'' kept looking on, silently flattering themselves
*' with the hv>j es of speedy revenge. After be-
^' ing brou h*^ home, the toads were dressed up,
" after tiie Italian fashion : the peasants quite
*' happv at seeing their tyrants devour them
*^ with so i^ood an appetite, and expecting eveiy
^ moment to see them drop down dead. But
" what was their surprise to find, that the Ger-
*' man-; continued as well as ever, and only
" compLiined of a slight excoriation of the
" \ip9y which probably arose from some other
^' cause than that of their repast.'-

Soleiiander also relates a story w hich serves
to exculpate toads from the charge of pos-
sessing any poisonous quahties : " A tradesman
^'^ of Rome," says he, " and his wife had long
*' lived together with mutual discontent ; the
"^ man w as dropsical, and the woman amorous :
'^ this il!-n atched society promised soon, by the
^^ very inlirm state of the man, to have an end ;
" but the woman was unwilling to wait the
*' progress of the disorder, and therefore coi>
'' eluded, that to get rid of her husband, no-

'' ihiiif-

OF DIRDS^ FISH, &C. 2^

** thing ^as left her but poison. For this pur-
'' pose she chose out a dose that she supposed
*' would be most effectual, and having calcined
" some toads, mixed their powder with his
*' drink. The man, after taking a hearty dose,
*' found no considerable inconvenience, except
** that it greatly promoted urine. His wife,
'* who considered this as a beginning symptom
'* of the venom, resolved not to stint the next
'• dose, but gave it in greater quantities than
" before. This also encreased the former symp-
*' tom ; and, in a few days, the woman had the
*^ mortification to see her detested husband re-
*' stored to perfect health, and remained in ut-
*^ ter despair of ever being a widow."

Here then we have sufficient evidence of the
injustice with which this animal has been treat-
ed. It has been held forth as possessing a poi-
g,on with which it could kill at a distance ; of
ejecting its venom upon whatever gave it dis-
turbance; of infecfing those vegetables near
which it resides ; of having an excessive fond-
ness for sage, and poisoning every plant upon
which it had fed ; with a thousand otlier charges
equally false and absurd, and which have most
probably been attributed to it by those who have
taken an antipathy to the animal from its for-
bidding and unpleasing appearance; and as

VOL. V. F earlv

30 NATURAL HISTORY

early prejudices are not easily surmounted, i^-
is difficult to consider the toad in any otheF
view than a venomous creature ; while the fact
as stated by an ingenious writer isj that *' Th©-^
" toad is a harmless, defenceless creature, tor-
'' pid and unvenomous, and seeking the darkest
*^ retreats> not from the malignity of its na-
'^ ture, but the multitude of its enemies ^J^

Like all the frog kind, the toad is torpid in-
winter. It then chuses for a retreat either the
hollow root of a tree, the cleft of a rock, or
sometimes the bottom of a pond, where it isu
found in a state of seeming insensibility. As it.
is very long-lived, it is extremely difficult to kill y
its skin is tough, and cannot be easily pier-
ced ; and, though covered with wounds, the
creature continues to shew signs of life, and
every part appears in motion. But what shall
we say to its living for centuries lodged in the
bosom of a rock, or cased within the body of an
oak tree, without the smallest access on any side,
- either

. * Poetry too has lent its aid to countenance this idea of
the toad being a venomous animal : and it is usually coupled
■w\tb sentiments of abhorrence and malignity. Thus Sliak-
jfpearc in Lear exclaims»

" From the extreniest upward of thy head.
To the descent and dust below thy loot,
A most toad spotted traitor. "

, . Bacop sa3'.s, that in the great; plague, there were seeiiiji-
divers ditches about London, many toads that had tail*
•/lirdfe inches long, whereas toads usually have'uo toils.

^iflier for ncjurishment or air, and yet taken out
^live and perfect ? Stories of this kind it would
he as rash to coutiadict as difficult to believe ;•
we have the highest authorities being witness
to their truths and yet the whole analogy of na-<
tare seems to arraign them to falsehood. Bacon
asserts, that toads ar« found in this manner^
Dr. Plot asserts the same; there is to this day,
a marble chimney-piece atChatswOrth with the
print of the toad upon it, and a tradition of the
manner in which it was found. In the Me-
moirs of the Academy of Sciences, in the year
1719> there is an account of a toad that was
found alive and healthy in the heartof a very thick
^Im, without the smallest entrance or egress. In
the year 1731, there was another found near
Nantes in the heart of old oak, without the smal-
iest issue to its cell ; and the discoverer was' 6!f
opinion, from the size of the tree, that theaifimal
could not have been confined there less than
eighty or a hundred years, without sustenance,
and without air. In contradiction to these ac-
counts there is the necessity which the animal ap^
pears under of receiving air : and its dying,
like other animals, if put into an aiir-pump,
and deprived of that all-sustaining fluid *.

J^ 2 A no

* 'Mr. Barrow in his Travels in China, mentions the follow-
mg circuinstauce, *• A remarkable circuinftance not easily

tQ

St NATURAL HISTORY

A no less doubtful property has been given
to toads ; namely, that of sucking out the poi-
son from cancerous breasts, and thus perform -
ing a cure ; a circumstantial detail of their per^
forming which is given in a letter by Dr^
Pitfield to the bishop of Carlisle. He says, the
toads were put into a linen cloth, all but their
heads, which being placed near the affected
part, they immediately laid hold, and sucked
with great greediness until they were very
much swollen, when they fell off and expired ;
and he was convinced of their having sucked,
by weighing them before and after they were
applied to the breast. Their sucking, however,
has been positively denied by others, who iur
deed admit of their swelling and dying, but that
they think it as likely to be occasioned by the
external as the internal appUcation of the can*
cerous poison.

Of

to be accounted for, occurred in openmg a cask of Birming-
ham hardware. Every one knows the necessity of excluding
the feea air as much as possible from highly polished articles
of iron and steel, and accordingly all such articles intended to
be sent abroad are packed with the greatest care. The casks
or cases are made as light as possible and covered witl^
pitched canvass. Yet, when the head was taken off, and ;i
few of the packages removed, an enormous large scorpion was
found in the midst of the cask, nearly in a torpid state, but it
quickly recovered on expol'ure to Ihe warm air.
" This thing we know is neither rich nor rare,
" But wonder how the dc\il it got there."
See Barrow's Travels, and Unicersul Magazine^ vol. n.
Kew Series (1801) p. 411. "

OF BIRDS, FISH, SCC. S3

Of this animal there are several varieties ;
such as the water and the land toad, which pro-
bably differ only in the ground-colour of their
skin. In the first, it inclines to ash colour,
with brown spots; in^^the other, the colour is
brown, approaching to black. The water-toad
is not so large as the other ; but both equally
breed in that elejnent. The size of the toad
with us is generally from two to four inches
long; but in the fenny countries of Europe,
they are seen, much larger, and not less than a
common crab. But this is nothing to what they
are found in some of the tropical climates, where
travellers often, for the first time, mistake a
toad for a tortoise. Their usual size is from
six to seven inches; but there are some still
larger, and as broad aS a plate. Of these,
some are beautifully ftreaked and coloured ;
some studded over, as with pearls ; others
Joristled with horns or spines; some have the
head distinct from the body, while others have
it so sunk in, that the animal appears without
a head. With us, the opinion of its raining
toads and frogs, has long been justly exploded ;
but it still is entertained in the tropical coun-
tries, and that not only by the savage natives,
but the more refined settlers, who are weak
enough to add the prejudices of other nations
to their own.

6 Tlie

'34 NAYuRAL HlSTOIlY

The Pipal, or the Surinam Toad, is in form
more hideous than even the common toad.
According to Seba^ the body is flat and-broad^;
the head small; the jaws, like those of a mole,
are extended and evidently formed for r(»oting
in the ground; the skin of the neck forms'a
sort of wrinkkd collar: the colour of the head
is of a dark chesnut, and the eyes are small:
the back^ which is very broad, is of a lightish
%i^y, and "seems covered over with a number of
•^mall eyes, which are round, and placed at
nearly equal distances. These eyes are very
different from what they seem; they are the
animal's eggs covered with their shells, aifd
placed there for hatching. These eggs are bu-
ried deep in the skin, and in the beginning of
gestation but just appear; they are very visible
however when the young animal is about to burst
from its confinement. 1 hey are of a reddish shi-
ning yellow colour; and the spaces between them
are full of small warts, resembHng pears. The
eggs, when formed in the ovary, are sent by
some internal canals, to lie and come to matu-
rity under the bony substance of the back.
In this state they are impregnates! by the male,
whose seed- find* its way by pores very singu-
larly contrived, and pierces not only the ^kin,
i)ut the peiiosteum. The skin, however, is still

" apparently

OF :»IRDS, FISH, &c. S3t

affparently- entire, and forms a very, thick co4
veiling over the whole brood, but as they ad*
vance to niaturit)-, at different interv&ls, on©
after another, the egg seems to start forward
from the back, becomes more yellow, and at last
breaks, when the young one puts forth its head ;
*it still; however, keeps its situation, until it has*
acquired a proper degree of strength, and then
It leaves the shell, but does not immediately
quit the back of the parent.
' In this manner the pipal is seen travellincr,
with her numerous family on her back, in all
the different stages of maturity. Some of the
strange progeny, not yet come to sufficient per-
fection, appear quite torpid, and as yet without
hfe in the egg: others seem just beglbning tQ
ri^ through the skin; here peeping forth froiii
the shell, and there, having entirely forsaken
their prison : some are sporting at large upon
the parent's back; and others descending to
the ground, to try their own fcntune below.

The male pipal is much larger than the fe*
hi ale, and has the skin less tightly drawn round
the body, the whole of which is covered with
pustules resembhng pearls ; the belly, which i»
of a bright yellow, seems as. if it were sewed
wp from the throat to the vent, a seam appa-
rently running in that direction*. Tliis animui,
like, the rest of the {t<yr kind, i? most' probably

harmle^.

S6 NATURAL HISTORY

harmless, though we are told of moat terrible
effects resulting from its powder when cal-
cined, the absurdity of which is evident, all
animal substances being the same when they
have passed the fire.

THE LIZARD.

IT is difficult to ascertain to what class in
nature lizards are chiefly allied. They are
unjustly raised to the rank of beasts, as they
bring forth eggs, dispense with breathing, and
are not covered with hair. They cannot be
placed among tish, as the majority of them
live upon land: they are excluded from the
serpent tribe, by their feet, upon which they
run with some celerity; and from the insects,
by their size; for though the newt may be
looked upon in this contemptibic light, a ca-
melion would be a terrible insect indeed.

As lizards thus diflcr from every other class
of animals, they also differ widely from each
other. With rej-pect to size, no class of beings
has its ranks so opposite.

The colour of these animals is also very va-
rious, as tliey are found of a huiidrcd diffe-
rent hues, green, blue, red, chesnut, yellow,

spotted.

?«pOttdd; streamed, and marbled. Were colour
alonie capable of constituting beauty_, the li-
zard would often please ; but there is some-
thing so repulsive in the aiiimal's figure, that
the brilliancy of its scales, or the variety of
its spots, only tend to give an air of more ex-
quisite venom, of greater malignity. The
figure of these animals is not less various ;
sometimes swollen in the belly ; sometimes
pursed up at the throat ; sometimes with a
rough set of spines on the back, like the
teeth of a saw ; sometimes with teeth, at others
w ith none ; sometimes venomous, at others,
harmless, and even philanthropic : sometimes
smooth and even : soUielimes with a long,
slender tail ; and often with a short blunt
one.

But their greatest distinction arises from their
manner of bringing forth their young : some of
them, particularly the large animals, (among
whom is generally ranked the crocodile, al-
ready treated of in the fourth volume) are pro-
duced perfectly from the egg; some, as most
of the salamander tribe, are viviparous ; and
many of the water-lizards are brought forth
from spawn, like fish. The whole of them
have, nevertheless, many points of similitude,

VOL. T. (m and

3$ TS^ATUEAL HISTORT

and in all their varieties of figure, colour, and
production, this tribe is easily distinguished,
and strongly marked. They have all four short
legs ; the two foremost some\> hat resembling a
man*s hand and arm ; they have tails almost as
thick as the body at the beginning, and which
commonly run tapering to a point ; they are
all amphibious, equally capable of living upon
land and water. These peculiarities suffici-
ently separate lizards from all other animals;
but no one has hitherto been able to point out
the limits which separate the three kiiKls from
each other.

Tlie iguana, or guana, is a native of th^
Bahama islands, and is next to the crocodile^
in size, being frequently found to mea-
sure five feet in length. It commonly
inhabits the rocks in the Bahama islands,
though sometimes met with in hollow trees.
It feeds entirely on fruits and vegetables^
and the fat of the abdomen assumes the colour
of tliat which it has last eaten. It is slow of
motion, and has a most disgusting look. Be-»
i^des the usual characteristics of the kind, thai
top of the back and great part of the tail are^
strongly serrated ; notwithstanding which it i;i.
s^ 4^1icat«^ and wholesome food, and held ia

much

61f ilft»8^ FISH, &IC. 39

must estimation. It is said that this species is
not amphibious, yet on necessity will continue
long under water ; it swims by means of the tail,
keeping its legs close to the body. They form
great part of the support of the inhabitants
of ths Bahama islands, who go from rock to
rock in search of them. They are taken with
dogs trained for the purpose ; and as soon as
caught, their mouths are sewed up to prevent
them from biting ; for they have a quantity of
small sharp teeth, and bite very hard. Some
are carried alive for sale to Carolina; and
others are salted and barrelled for home con-
sumption.

The Common green lizard is a native of
both Europe and India ; this species is ex-
tremely nimble ; it basks on the sides of dry
banks, or under old trees in hot weather, but
on being observed, immediately retreats to its
hole. The food of this, as well as of all other
British lizards, is insects, and they themselves
arc devoured by birds of prey. The>' are aH
perfectly harmless ; yet then: form strikes al-
most every beholder with di^ust, and has occa-
^ion^ great obscurity m their history. Mr.
Pennant mentions a lizard killed in Worce^-
lershire hi the year 1714, which was two feet
G 2 six

40 NATURAL HISTORT

six inches long, and four inches in girth: the
fore-legs were placed eight inches from the
head, the hind-legs five inches behind those ;
the legs were two inches long ; the feet divided
into four toes_, each furnished with a sharp
claw. Another of the same kind was after-
wards killed in that county : but whether these
large lizards were natives of other countries,
and imported into England, or whether they
were of British growth, is uncertain ; though
the former is most probable, as in this country
they scarcely ever exceed six inches. This
species have a pretty long verticillated tail, with
sharp scales, and a scaly collar.

The green lizard^ of Carolina, is so deno-
minated from its colour : it is very slender ;
the tail is nearly double the length of the body,
and the whole length above five inches. It in-
habits Carolina, where it is domestic, familiar,
and harmless. It sports on the tables and win-
dows, and amuses with its agility in catching
fiies. Cold affects its colours ; in that un-
certain climate, where there is a quick transi-
tion in the same day from hot to cold, it changes
instantly from the most brilliant green to a dull
brown. They are a prey to cats and ravenous
birds. They appear chiefly in summer, and ^t

the

OF BIRDS^ riSH_, Sec. 41

the approach of cold weather^ they retire to
their winter recesses^ and lie torpid in the holes
and crevices of hollow trees. It frequcntlj
happens, that a few warm sunshiny days so in-
vigorate them, that they will come out of their
holes, and appear abroad ; when on a sudden
the weather changing to cold, so enfeebles
them, that they are unable to return to their
retreats, and will die of cold.

The cameleon has a crooken cylindrical tail ;
the head of a large one is almost two inches
long, and from thence to the beginning of the
tail, it is four inches and a half ; the tail is five
inches long, and the feet two and a half: the
thickness of the body is different at different
seasons ; sometimes, from the back to the
belly, it is two inches, and sometimes but one^
for he can expand, and contract him-
self at pleasure ; this swelling and contraction
is not only of the back and belly, but also of the
legs and tail.

These different motions are not like those of
other animals, which proceed from a dilatation
of the breast in breathing, and which rises and
falls successively ; but they are very irre<yular
as in tortoises and frogs. The cameleon has
i'ontinued,, as it were blown up for two hours

together^

4t NATURAI HISTORY

together, and then he would grow less and less
insensibly, for the dilatation was always more
quick and visible than the contraction ; in this
last state he appeared extremely lean, and the
spine of the back was sharp, and all his ribs
might be told ; the skin is very cold to the touch ;
and notv^ itlistanding he seems so lean, tlie
beating of the heart is not perceptible ; the surface
of the skin is unequal, and has a grain not unlike
shagreen, but very soft, because each eminence
is as smooth as if it were polished. Some of these
are as large as a middling pin's head on the
arms, legs, belly, and tail ; but on the shoulder*
and head they are of an oval figure, and a little
larger ; those under the throat are ranged in the
fonn of a chaplet, from the lower lip to the
breast : some on the head and back are amassed
together in clusters, with spaces between them,
in which are almost imperceptible spots of 9,
pale red and yellow colour, as well as the ground
of the skin itself, which plainly appears between
these clusters. This ground changes colour
when the animal is deadj becoming of a grey-
ish brown, and the small spots are whitish.

The colour of all these eminences, when
the cameieon is at rest in a shady place, is of
a bkush grey, except ou the claws, where it is

white.

OF BIRDS, FISH, 8Cc. 43

white, with a little yellow, as was before ob-
served; but wheii he is in the sun, all parts of
the body wliicii are affected with the light, be-
come of a greyish brov.n, or rather of a taw-
»ey. That part of the skin which the sun doe*
not shine on, clianges into se-veral brit^hter
colours, which form spots of the si2e of half
one's finger. Some of these descend iVoni th«
*pine half way on the back ; and others appear
on the sides, arms and tail. They are all of
an Isabella colour, from a mixture of a pale
yellow and a bi ight red, whieU is the colour o£
the ground of the skin.

The head of a cameleon is not unlike tlmt oS
a fish, it being joined to the breast by the very
short neck, covered on each side with cartiiiH
ginoua membranes resembling the gills of £sk
There is a crest directly on the top of the
head, and two others on each side above die
eyes, and between these there aie two cavities
near the top of the head; the muzzle is bliiiit,
and not much mdike that of a frog; at the end
there is a hole on each side for the nostrils, but
there are uq eaj-s, lior any sign of any.

The ja;\v& are furnished \vith teeth, or rather

mth u bo4ie in the form of them, which he makes

Jittle or UQ use o4 because he lives upon swal-

^ lowiii^

44r NATtriJAL HISTORY

lo^VJ'ng fliesj and other insects, without chew-
ing them; and hence arose the vulgar ndtioit
of his living upon air, because he was never
seen to eat. The tongue, which Linnaeus says
resembles an earth-worm, is of considerable
lengthy and is enhirgeil and somewhat flattened
at the end. From this membrane there conti-
nually oozes out a very glutinous liquor, by
means of which it catches such insects as come
within its reach, and it is surprising to see
with what quickness it retracts its tongue the
instant it has arrested any prey; the form,
structure, and motion of the eyes, have some-
thing very particular; for they are very large,
being almost half an inch in diameter. They
are of a globous figure, which may be easily
seen, because they stand out of the head ; they
have a single eye-lid like a cap, with a small
hole in the middle, through which the sight of
the eye appears no bigger than a pin's head,
and of a shining brown, encircled by a little
ring of a gold colour.

This eye-lid has a grain like shagreen as well
as the other parts of the skin; and when the
rest of the body changes colour, and assumes
spots of different shapes ; those on the lid al-'
-ways keep the same form, though they are tine-*

tured

OF BiRDs^ FISH, &:c. 4w»

lured with the same colour as the skin. But
the most extraordinary thing relating to the
eyes is, that this animal often moves one when
the other is entirely at rest; nay, sometimes
one eye will seem to look directly forward, and
the other backward, and one will look up to the
sky, while the other regards the earth.

That part of the body which is called the
trunk, and comprehends the thorax and the
belly in a cameleon, is almost all thorax, with
little or no belly ; the four feet are all of a
length ; and the only difference between them
is, that those before are turned backwards, and
those behind forwards. There are five toes on
each paw, which have a greater resemblance
to hands than feet; they are all divided into
two, which gives the appearance of two hands
to each arm, and two feet to each leg ; and
though one of these parts has three toes, and the
other but two, yet they seem to be all of the same
size. These toes lie together under the same
skin, as in a kitten ; however, their shape might
be seen through the skin. With these paws the
cameleon can lay hold of the small branches of
trees in the same manner as a parrot. When
he' is about to perch, he parts his toes differ-
ently from birds, because lie puts t\'\'o behind
and two before. The claws are little^ crooked,

VOL. V. H very

46 NATURAL iriSTORT

very sharp^ and of a pale yellow, proceeding
but half way out of the skin, while the other
half is hid beneath it ; his walk is slower than that
of a tortoise, and he seems to move along with
an affectation of gravity; he seems to seek for
a proper place to set his feet upon ; and w hen
he climbs up trees, he does not trust to his feet
like squirrels, but endeavours to find out clefts
in the bark, that he may get a surer hold.

His tail is like that of a viper when it is
puffed and round; for otherwise the bones
may be seen in the same manner as on the back ;
he always wraps his tail round the branches of
trees, and it serves him instead of a fifth hand.
He is a native of Africa and Asia *.

The Gecko has a cylindrical tail, concave
ears, and a warty body ; it is the Indian Sala-
mander of Bontius. ^^ This animal is very
^' frequent in Cairo, says Hasselquist, both witli-
**^ in the houses, and without them. The poison
" of this animal is very singular, as it exhales
'^ from the lobuli of the toes. The animal
'' seeks all places and things impregnated with

" seai-

* The most interesting and complete account of the came-
leon, iu r^Lumers, Habits, and mode of Subsistence, &c. is
to be found in Goiberry'i travels in Ajricu, p. I. et !>eq. of the
second vohime.

He lias there carefully examiued them, and cominuuicaledi
his results.

<)V BIRDS, TISH, &C. 47

*^ sea-salt, and passing over them several times,
^^ leaves this very noxious poison behind it. In
*' July, 1730, 1 saw two women and a girl at
*' Cairo, at the point of death, from eating
" cheese newly salted, bought in the market,
^^ and on which this animal had drcpt its poison.
^^ Once at Cairo, I had an opportunity of ob-
" serving how acrid the exhalations of the toes
" of this animal are, as it ran over the hand of
*' a. man who endeavoured to catch it ; there
^' immediately arose little pustules over all those
'^ parts tlie animal had touched; these were
'^ red, indamed, and smarted a little, greatly
" resembling those occasioned by the stinging
*' of nettles. It emits an odd sound, especially
'^ in the night, from its throat, not unlike that
'^ of a frog."

The Siiicus has a cylindrical tail, compressed
at the point, and blunt marginated toes. This
animal is found in Arabia Petraea, near the Red
Sea, and in Upper Egypt, near the Nile; it is
much used by the inhabitants of the East as an
aphrodisiac, but not .at this time by the Euro-
peans. The flesh of the animal is given in
powder, with some stimulating vehicle ; broth,
Diade of the recent flesh, is likewise used by the
Arabs. It is brought from Upper Egypt and
Ajabia to Alexandria, whence it is carried to

H 2 Venice

4S NATURAL HISTORY

Venice and ISIarseilles, and from thence to all
the apothecaries shops of Europe.

The Nilotica has a long tail, with a triangu-
lar edge, and four lines of scales on the back ;
it is met with in the moist places of Egypt,
near the Nile. The Egyptians say that this
lizard proceeds from the eggs of the croco-
dile laid in the sand ; while the crocodile
proceeds from those laid in the water. Mr.
Hasselquist has detected the fallacy of this ac-
count.

The Palusfris has a lanceolated tail, and
four toes on the fore-feet, and inhabits the stag-
nant waters of Europe ; it has a slow and
crawling pace. Mr. Pennant mentions his
having more than once found under stones and
old logs some very minute lizards that had
much the appearance of this kind; they were
perfectly formed, and had not the least vestiges
of fins, which circumstance, joined to their
being found in a dry place remote from water,
seems to indicate that they had never been inha-
bitants of that element; as it is certain many
of our lizards are in their first state. At that
period they have a fin above and below their
tail; that on the upper part extends along the
back as far as the tail, but both drop oif as soon
as tlie animal takes to the land, being then no

lonjier

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 49

longer of any use. Mr. Ellis has remarked
certain pennated fins at the gills of one species,
which is very common in most of our stagnating
waters, and is frequently observed to take bait
like a lish.

The salamander has a short cylindrical tail,
four toes on the fore-feet, and a naked porous
body. The ancients, for what reason it would
be difficult to say, attributed to this animal the
property of being able to live in fire ; but
what is more extraordinarv, the same circum-
stance is seriously detailed as a fact in the Phi-
losophical Transactions. This species is found
in most of the southern countries of Europe ;
and of which the Comte de la Cepede has given
the most accurate account. Whilst the hardest
bodies, says he, cannot resist the violence of
fire, the world have endeavoured to make us
believe that a small lizard can not only with-
stand the flames, but even extinguish them.

As agreeable fables readily gain belief, every
one has been eager to adopt that of a small ani-
mal so highly priviledged, so superior to the most
powerful agent in nature, and which could fur-
nish so many objects of comparison to poetry,
ISO many pretty emblems to love, and so many
brilliant devices to valour. The ancients be-
lieved this property of the salamander, wishing
5 that

JK> NATURAL HISTORY

ifaat its origui might be as surprisiag as iU^
power, and being desirous of realizing the in-
genious fictions of the poets, they have pre-
tended tliat it owes its existence to the purest
of elements, which cannot consume it ; and they
have called it the daughter of fne, giving it,
however, a body of ice. The moderns have
followed the ridiculous tales of the ancients ;
and as it is difficult to stop when once the
bounds of probability are passed, some have gone
so icur as to think that tiie most violent lire could
be extinsui. bed bv the land salamander. Quacks
sold this small lizard, affirming, that if thrown
into the greatest conflagration it would check
its progress. It was very necessary that philoso-
phers and naturalists should take the trouble to
prove by facts what reason alone might have
demonstrated ; and it was not till after the light
of science was diffused abroad, that the world
gave, over believing in this ^vonderful property
of the salamander. This lizard, which is found
in so many countries in the ancient world, and
even in very high latitudes, has been, however,
"but verv little noticed, because it is seldom seen
out of it hole, and because it for a long time
inspired so much terror : even Aristotle speaks
^f it as an animal with which he was not much
acquainted.

OF BIRDS, FISII, &C. J'i

One of tiie largest of this species, uhich was
preserved in the Trench kings cabinet, was
seven inches five lines in length, from the end
t)f the muzzle to the root of tlic tail, which is
three inches eight lines. The skin does not ap-
pear to be covered with scales, but it is fur-
nished with a number of excrescences hke
teats, containing a great many holes, several of
which may be very plainly distinguished by the
naked eye, and through which a kind of milk
oozes, that generally spreads itself in such a
manner as to form a transparent coat of var-
nish above the skin of this oviparous quadruped,
which is naturally dry.

The eyes of the salamander are placed in tlie
upper part of the head, which is a little flattened ;
their orbit projects into the interior part of the
palate, and is there almost surrounded by a row
of verj' small teeth, like those in the jaw-bones ;
these teeth establish a near relation between li-
zards and fish, many species of which have also
several teeth placed in the bottom of the mouth.
The colour of this lizard is very dark ; ujwn
the belly it has a blueish cast, intermixed with
somewhat large irregular yellow spots, that ex-
tend over the whole body, and even to the ft^et
and eye.lids ; some of these spots are besprinkled

with

52 JIATURAL HISTORY

with small black specks, and those Mliich are
upon the back often coalesce without interrup-
tion and form two long yellow bands. The co-
lour, however, must be subject to vary, as it
appears that some salamanders are found in the
marshy forests of Germany, which are quite
black above and yellow below\ To this variety
we must refer the black salamander found by
Mr. Lauventi in the Alps, which he considered
as a distinct species.

The salamander, like frogs, has no ribs, and
it has a great resemblance to the latter in the ge-
neral fonn of the anterior part of its body.
When touched, it suddenly covers itself with
that kind of coat of which we have spoken, and
it can also very rapidly change its skin from a
state of humidity to a state of dryness. The
milk which issues from the small holes in its
surface is very acrid ; when put upon the tongue
it produces a sensation as if « kind of scar were
left on the part which it touched. This milk,
which is considered as an excellent substance
for taking off hair, has some resemblance to that
which distils from those plants called esaJa and
euphorbium. When the salamander is crushed,
or when it is only pressed, it exhales a bad
bmell, which is pecidiar to it.

Salamanders

0

OF BIRDSj FISH, SCC. 53

Salamanders are fond of cold damp places,
thick shades, tufted woods, or high mountains,
and the banks of streams that run through mea-
dows : they sometimes retire in great numbers
to hollow trees, hedges, and below old rotten
stumps. They pass the winter in places of
high latitude, in a kind of burrows, where they
are found collected, several of them being join-
ed and twisted together. The salamander being
destitute of claws, having oiily four toes on each
of the fore-feet, and no advantage of confor-
mation making up the deficiences, its manner
of living must, as indeed is the case, be very
clitterent from that of other lizards. It walks
very slow ly ; far from being able to climb trees
with rapidity, it often appears to drag itself with
great difficulty along the surface of the earth.
It seldom goes far from the place of shelter it
has fixed on ; it passes its life under the earth,
often at the bottom of old walls during summer j
it dreads the heat of the sun, which would dry
it, and it is commonly only when rain is about
to fall that it comes forth from its sca-et asylum,
as if by a kind of necessity, to bathe itself, ajid
to imbibe an element to which it is analogous.
Perhaps it finds then with greatest facility those
insects upon wliich it feeds. It lives upon flics,
VOL. v. I beetles.

54 NATURAL History

beetles, snails, and earth-Xvofms ; when it re-
poses, it rolls up its body in several folds like
serpents. It can remain some time in the wa-
ter without dan<]5er, and it casts a very thin pel-
licle of a greenish grey colour.- Salamanders
have even been kept more than six months in
the water of a well without giving them any
food ; care only was takefi to change the wa-
ter often.

It has been remarked, that every time a sa»
lamander is plunged into the water, it attempts
to raise its nostrils above the surface as if to seek
for air, which is an additional proof that all ovi-
parous quadrupeds have a need of respiratioa
during the titne they are not in a state of torpor.
The salamander has apparently no ears^ and in
this it resembles serpents. It has even been pre-
tended that it does not hear, and in consequence
it has got the name of sourd in some provinces
of France. This is very probable, as it hai».
never been heard to utter a cry, and silence in
general is coupled with deafness. Having then,
perhaps, one sense less than other animals,^ and
being destitute of the faculty of communicating
its sensations to those of the same species, it must
be reduced to an inferior degi ee of instinct ; it
is therefore very stupid, and not bold, as som«

have

OF BTHDS, FISH, &c. 55

liiave asserted ; it does not brave danger, as has
been pretended, and probably because it does
not perceive it> Whatever gestures are made to
frighten this animal, it always advances without
turning aside j however, as no animal is de-
prived of that sentiment necessary for its pre-
servation, it suddenly compresses its skin when
tormented, and spurts forth, upon those who at-
tack it, that corrosive milk which is under the
skin. If beaten it begins to raise its tail ; after-
wards it becomes motionless, as if stunned by a
kind of paralytic stroke ; for we must not, with
some naturalists, ascribe to an animal so devoid
of instinct, so much art and cunning as to
counterfeit death. In short, it is very difficult
to kill the salamander; but when dipped iq
vinegar, or surrounded with salt reduced to a
powder, it expires in convulsions, as is the case
with several other lizards and worms.

It seems that we cannot allow a being a chi-
merical quality, without refusing it at the same
time, a real property. The cold salamander
has been considered as an animal endued with
the miraculous power of resisting, and even of
extinguishing fire ; but it has also been debased
as much as elevated by this singular property,
Jt has been made the most fatal of animals : the

I 2 ancients

5(> NATUUAL HISTORY

iDK-lents^ and even Pliny, have devoted it to a
iiind of anathema, by affirming that its poison
i^5 the most dangerous of all. In their writings
they have affirmed tliat, infecting with its poison
ahnost all the vegetables of a large country, it
might cause the destruction of whole nations.
The moderns also, for a long time, believed the
salamander to be very poisonous ; they have said
that its bite is mortal, like that of the viper ; they
liave sought out and prescribed remedies for it ;
i;ut they have at leivgth had recourse to observa-
tions, by which they ouglit to have begun. The
celebrated Bacon wished that naturalists would
endeavour to ascertain the truth respecting the
poison of the salamander. Gcsner proved by ex-
periments that it did not bite, whatever means
Averc used to irritate it ; and Wurf banius shew-
ed that it might safely be touched, and that we
might, ^vithout danger, drink the water of
those wells w hich it inhabited.

M. de Maupertuis studied also the nature of
this lizard ; in making researches to discover
what might be its pretended poison, he demon-
strated, experimentally, that tire acted upon the
salamander in the same manner as upon all other
anitnals ; he remarked tliat it was scarcely upon
the lire when it appeared to be covered with the

drops

OF BIRDS, FISH, &,C. 57

\^Tops of its milk, which, rarefied by the heat,
issued through all the pores of the skin, but in
greater quantities from the head and dags, and
that it immediately became hard. It is need-
less to say that this milk is not sufficiently
abundant to extinguish even the smallest fire.

M. de I^Iaupertuis, ia the course of his ex-
periments in vain irritated several salamanders ;
uone of them ever opened their mouths; he
was obliged to open them by force. As the
teeth of this lizard are very small, it was diffi-
cidt to find an animal with a skin sufficiently
fine to be penetrated by them : he tried, with-
out success, to force them into the flesh of a
<:hicken stripped of its feathers; he in vain
pressed them against the skin ; they were dis-
placed, but they could not enter: he, how-
ever, made a salamander bite the thigh of a
chicken after he had taken off a small part of
the skin : he made salamandei s, newly caught,
bite also the tongue and lips of a dog, as well
as the tongue of a turkey: but none of these
animals received the least injury. M. de Mau-
pertuis afterwards made a dog and a turkey
swallow salamanders whole, or cut into pieces ;
and yet neither of them appeared sensible of tlie
least uneasiness. Mr. Laurenti also has since

made

5S *fATURAL IHSTORy

made experiments with the same viev' : he forced
grey lizards to swallow the milk proceeding from
the salamander, and they died very suddenly.
The milk, tlierefore, of the salamander, taken
internally, may hurt, and even be fatal to cer-
tain animals, especially those which arc small ;
but it does not appear to be hurtful to large
animals.

Itwas long believed that the salamander was of
no sex, and that each individual had the power of
engendering its like; the same as several spe-r
cles of worms. This is not the most absurd
fable whicli has been imagined with respect to
the salamander ; but if the manner in which
they come into the world be not so marvellous
as has been written, it is remarkable in this,
that it differs from that in which most other
lizards are brought forth, as it is analogous to
that in which the chalcyde and the seps, as well
as vipers, and several kinds of serpents, are
produced. On this account, the salamander
merits the attention of naturalists much more
than on accoimt of the false and brilliant repu-
tation which it has so long enjoyed. M. de
Maupertuis having opened some salamanders,
found eggs in them, and, at the same time,
jjome young perfectly formed ; the eggs wertj .

divided

ot bihds, FisiT, 5cc ^

iBivided into two long bundles like grapes, and
die young were inclosed in two transparent
bags; they were equally formed like the old
ones, and much more active. The salaman-
der, therefore, brings forth young from an egg
hatched within its belly, as the viper; and her
fecundity is very great: naturalists have long
written that she has forty or fifty at a time ;
and M, de Maupertuis found forty-two young
ones in tlte body of a female salamander, and
fifty-four in another.

The young salamanders are generally of a
black colour, almost without spots ; and tbis
colour they preserve sometimes during their
whole lives, in certain countries, where they
have been taken for a distinct species, as we
have said. M. Thunberg has given, in tlie
Memoirs of the xVcademy of Sweden, tlie de-
scription of a lizard, which he calls the Japanese
lizard, and which appears to differ in nothing
from our salamander but in the arrangement of its
colours. This animal is alniost black, with
several whitish and irregular spots, both on die
upper part of the body, and below the paws ;
on the back there is a stripe of dirty wlnte,
which becomes narrower to the point of the
tail. This whitish stripe is interspersed with

▼CTV

60 NATURAL HisTonr

very small specks, ^vhich form the distingur^ti-
ing characteristic of our land salamander. We
are of opinion, therefore, that we may con-
sider this Japanese lizard, as a variety of the
species of our land salamanders, modified
a little, perhaps, by the climate of Japan ;
it is in the largest island of that empire,
named Niphon, that this variety is found ;
it inhabits the mountains there, and rocky
places. The Japanese consider it as a pow-
erful stimulant, and a very active remedy ;
and on this account, in the neighbouihood of
Jedo, a number of these Japanese salamanders
may be seen dried, hanging from the cielings
of the shops.

The Dragon has been magnified into a teiri-
lic animal by authors of all ages, and to \\hom
the most dreadlul destructive powers have been
applied : happily however no such animal, at pre-
sent at least, is known to exist ; and the only
one of that name is a little harmless flying lizard,
that preys upon insects, and even seems to embel-
lish the forest with its beauty. I'able and su-
perstition so long dwelt upon the description of
the death-dealing dragon, that even to this day,
the uncivilized people of Africa and America
traverse the forests with terror, lest they should

fal!
3

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 6\

fall into its pbwei*, aud scarcely a savage is found
Uiaf does not talk of serpents of an imniodemte
length flying away with a eaniel or rhinoceros,
and who is capable of destroying njankind with
a single glance.

. The Flying Lizard of Java perches npon fruit
trees, and feeds upon flies, ants, butterflies,, and
other small insects. It is a harmless creaturci
and does no injury in any respect. Gentil, ia
his voyage, says, he saw these lizards at the
Island of Java in the East Indies. He ob-
served tjhat they flew very swiftly from tree to
tree, and having killed one, he could not but ad-
mire the skin, which looked as if painted with
several beautiful colours: it was a foot in length,
and had four pavs's like the common lizards,
but its head was flat, and had a small hole in
the middle ; the wings were very thin, and re~
sembled those of a flying fish. About the neck
were a sort of wattles, not unlike those of
cocks, which gave it no disagreeable appear-
ance. He intended to have preserved it, iu
order to bring it into Europe, but it was cor-
rupted with the heat before the close of the
day. Since his time, however, many have
been brought mto Europe.

VOL. T. K Tlic

02 NATURAL mSTORY

The Chalcidian Lizard, of Aldrovandus, is
very improperly called tVie seps, by modern
historians. This animal seems to form the
Separating shade between the lizard and the ser-
pent race. It has four legs, like the lizard ; but
so short, as to be utterly unserviceable in walk-
ing ^ it has a long slender body, like the ser-
pent ; and is said to have the serpent's malig-
nity also. These animals are found about
three feet long, and thick in proportion, with
a large head and pointed snout. The whole
body is covered with scales ; and the belly is
white, mixed with blue, ft has four crooked
teeth, as also a pointed tail, which, however,
can inflict no wound. It is viviparous : upoo
the whole, it appears to bear a strong aflSnity
to the viper j and, like that aiiiraal, its bite
may be dangerous.

OT BIHDS, FISH, &C. 63

OF SERPENTS.

OF all classes of animals there is not one to
which mankind have in general so strong an
antipathy, as to those which we are now about
to consider. Their deformity creates an aver-
sion, and the venom which they possess, and
their malignity, both horror and detestation.
In vain has man endeavoured to destroy them:
formidable in itself, it has checked pursuit,
and, from its figure, being capable of effecting its
escape, it has found security from those who
were inclined to try the encounter, and there-
fore has still continued to breed in all parts
of the world ; but in none of the countries of
Europe is the serpent tribe at present suffici-
ently numerous to be truly terrible. The vari-
ous malignity also that has been ascribed to
European serpents of old, is now utterly un-
known ; there are not above three or four
kinds that are dangerous, and tlie poison of all
K Q, operates

§4 NATU'^AL HISTOHY

operates in the same manner. A burning pain
in the part, easily removeaMe by timely appli-
cations, is the worst effect that we experience
from the bite of the most venomous serpents of
Europe.

Though, however, Europe is happily de-
livered from these reptiles, yet in the warm coun-
tries that lie within the tropic, as well as in
the cold regions of the north, w here the inha-
bitants are few, the serpents propagate in equal
proportion. All along the swami)y banks of
the river Niger, or Oroonoko, where the sun
is hot, the forests thick, and the men but few,
the serpents cling among the branches of the
trees in inhnite numbers, ^nd carry on an un-
ceasing war against all other animals in their
vicinity. Travellers have assured us, that
they have often seen large snakes twining
round the trunk of a tall tree, encompassing it
like a wreath, and thus rising and descending
at pleasure. In these countries, therefore, the
sferpent is top formidable to become an ob-
ject of curiosity ; it excites more violent sen»
sations.

We are not, however, to reject as wholly
fabulous, the accounts left us by the ancients of
the terrible devastations committed by a single

serpent.

OF BIRDS^ FISH, &C. 65

sitrpent. It is probable, that in early times, when
the arts were little known, and mankind were
but thinly scattered over the earth, serpents,
continuing undisturbed possessors of the forest,
grew to an amazing magnitude ; and every
other tribe of animals fell before them. To
animals of this kmd, grown by time and ra-
pacity to a hundred, or a hundred and fifty
feet in length, the lion, the tiger, and even
the elephant itself, were but feeble opponents.
The dreadful monster spread desolation around
him ; every creature that had life w as devoured,
or fled to a distance. In this manner, having
for ages lived in the hidden and unpeopled fo-
rests, and finding, as their appetites were more
powerful, the quantity of their prey decreasing,
it is possible they might venture boldly from
their retreats into the more cultivated parts of
the country, and carry consternation among
mankind, as ihev had before desolation amonij:
the lower ranks of nature. We have many
histories of antiquity, presenting us such a
picture ; and exhibiting a whole nation sinking
under the ravages of a single serpent. At
that time man had^ not learned the art of unit-
ing the eftbrts of nrany to effect one great

purpose ;

ij6 NATURAL HlSTOHy

ptvpose; tlie animal was therefore to be op-
jK>s€cl singly by him uho liad the greatest
strength, the best armour, and most undaunted
cfmr'fi^e ; in such encounters many must have
fallen till oiie more fortunate than the rest might
fk} the country of its destroyer; and such was
the original occupation of heroes. But as we
nJescetid into more enlightened antiquity, we
^nd these animals less formidable, as being at-
tacked iu a more successful manner. We are
told, that while I\egulus led his army along the
l;anks of the river i^agrada, in Africa, an enor-
mous serpent disputed his passage across it. Wp
are assured by Pliny, who says, tliat he him-
. self saw the skin, that it was a hundred and
twenty feet long, and that it had destroyed
many of the army. At last, however, the bat-
tering engines wer^ brought out against it; and
these assailing it at a distapce, it was soon de-
stroyed. Its spoils were carried to Rome, and
the general was decreed an ovution for his suc-
cess ; a kind of honour which was given for an
exploit that was not of sufficient importance |.o
merit a triumpL At present, indeed, such ra-
vages from serpents are scarcely seen in any part
pf the world ; not but in Africa and Arqerica

there

OF BIRDS^ riSH, 5CC. 6^

tHei e are soine too powerful for man to hazard "
ail attack, and from whom few beasts caii
escape, even at this day.

\^'ith respect to their conformation, all ser-
pents have a very Avide mouth, in proportion
to the size of the head ; and, what is very ex-
traordinary, they can gape and swallow the
head of another animal which is three times as
big as their own. To explain this, it must he
observed, that the jav/s of this animal do itot
open as ©urs, in the manner of a pair of
hinges, where bones are applied to bones, znd
play upoii one another ; on the contrary; the
serpent's jaws are held together at tlie roots by
a stretching muscular skin ; whence thev open
as wide as the auiuial chuses to stretch
them, and admit of a prey much thicker thau
tlie snake's own body. The throat, like
stretching leather, dijates to admit the mor-
sel ; the stomach receives it in part ^ and the
rest remains in the gullet,, till putrefaction,
aud the juices of the serpent's budy, unite to
dissolve it.

As to the teeth, some serpents have fanes
or canine teeth, and others are without them.
Their teeth are crooked and hollow, and bv a
peculisir contrivance, they are capable of be'imr

raised

63 NATURAL HISTO-RY

raised or depressed at pleasure. Their eyes are
small in proportion to the length of their bo^
dies ; they are of different colours . yet all
have a malignant appearance. In some, the
upper eye-lid is wanting, and the animal winks
with the under one : others have a membra-
neous skin, like that of birds, which preserves
tlje sight : the substance of the eye is hard and
horny, the crystalline humour occupying a
great part* The holes for hearing are visible,
but it is somewhat doubtful whether they pos-
sess the sense of smelling, as they do not ap-
pear to have any conduits for that purpose.
The tongue in all these animals is long and
forky. It is composed of two long, fleshy
substances, which terminate in sharp points,
and are very pliable. Some of the viper kind
have tongues a fifth part the length of their
bodies ; they are continually darting them out,
but they are entirely harmless, and only terrify
those who are ignorant of the real situation of
tbeir poisOn.

The gullet is very wide for the size of the ani-*
mal and -capable of being greatly distended ; at the
bottom of this in the stomach, but which is by
no means so capacious, and only receives a pait
of the prey, while the rest ^continues in ihot

gullet
1

OF EIRDS^ FISHj8CC<( C*}

giillet for digestion. When the substance in
the stomach in dissolved into chyle, it passes into
the intestines, and from thence goes to nou-
rishment, or to be eslcluded by the vent.

The lungs of the serpent are long and largo,
and HO doubt necessary to promote their lan-
guid circulation ; but though they often appear
to draw in their breath, yet there is not the
smallest signs of its expiration. The heart
is formed as in the tortoise, the frog^ and
the lizard kinds, so as to work \vilhout the
assistance of the lungs ; wlience we are au-
thorized to conclude that snakes are amphibi-
ous, equally capable of living on the land, or
in the watef ; and that they are torpid in the
winter, like the bat, the lizard, and seveial
other animals.

The vent, in the serpents, serves for the emis-
sion of the urine, and fasces, and the purposes of
generation ; the organs for which, in the male,
are double and forked, and the female has two
ovaries. They copulate in their retreats, and
the ancients have described them, in this situ-
ation, to resemble one snake with two heads ;
but of the truth of this we are unable to de-
termine.

VOL. V. L The

7(3 ^^AIltItAt fifsrottt

The joints in the back-bone are e^c^dmgtf
t!Umerou9> which enable the creature to belief
in any dkection. In the generality of animalsy
these joints do not exceed thirty or forty ; but
in the serpent kind, they ainount to one hun-
dred and forty-five fronv the liead to the vent/
and twenty-five more from that to the taih
The number of these joints must give the back-
bone a surprising degree of pliancy ; but this
is still increased by the manner in which each
of these joints are locked into the other* la
man and quadrnpeds, the fl^ surfJices of tlie
bones are laid one against the OtJier^ and bound'
tight by sinews, but ia serpents, the bones
play one within the other like a ball and socket>
Sfo that they have full motion upon each other
in every direction. Tliough the number of
joints in the back bone is* so very great, yet that
in the ribs is greater ; for from the bead to the
vent, there are two ribs to every joittt, which
tiiake tlieir number two hundred and ninety.
These ribs are ftimished witli four mascles;
"fvhich being inserted in the hfead> run^onglo
the end of fe (ail, and give the aniflial great
stl'ength andiagility in all iti^ irtotietii^:

The skin is composed of a number of seales,
united to each other bjrtutransparentmtmbrancej

which
3

OF UIHPS, FISH, 8cc. 7^

'v^hieh grows harder as it grows older, until
the animal changes, which it usually does
twice a year. This cover then bursts near the
:head, and the serpe&t creeps from it, by an uu-
^lulatory motion, in a new skin, much more
vived than the former. As the edges of the
foremost scales lie over the ^nds of 4;heir fol-
lowing scales, so those edges, when the scales
are er-ected, ^ich the animal has a power of
doing in a small degree, catch in the ground.,
like the naib in the wheel of a chariot, and
so piomote and fiiciHtate the animal's progres-
sive motion. The .erecting of these scales is by
means of a multitude of distinct muscles, with
which each is fiup|itied, and one end of which is
tacked to die middle of each of the foregoing.
In the form and disposition of scales there
is a great difference in the different kinds;
.fiome have them disposed with exact symmetry,
while in o^rs Aey are veiy irregularly
placed.; some have large scales <m the belly,
others smaller, and often answering in num-
ber to that of the ribs, while soUie are en-
tirely without them- But when we come to
compare serpents with each other, Uie iirst
great distinction appears in their size ; for the
gr^st lybm/a of Surinam frequently grows to

L 2 tlie

73 NATURAL HISTGHY

the length of thirty-six feet ; while the little
serpent of the Cape of Good Hope seldom ex-
ceeds three inches ; of which kind there are
such numbers to the north of the river Senegal,
that they cover whole sandy desarts with their
multitudes.

Tliis tribe of animals, like that of fish,
seems to have no bounds put te) their growth :
their bones are in a great measure cartilagi-
;ious, and they are consequently capable of
great extension ; the older, therefore, a serpent
becomes, the larger it grows ; and as they
seem to live to u great age, they airive at an
enormous size.

Leguat assures us, that he saw a serpent in
Java that was fifty feet long ; and Carli menr
tions their growing above forty feet. Mr.
Wentworth, who had large concerns in the
Brebices in America, assures us, that in that
country, they grow to an enormous length.
He one day sent out a soldier, with an Indian^
to kill wild-fowl for the table ; and they ac*
cordingiy went son^.e miles from the fort : in
piusuing their game, the Indian, who gene-
rally marched before, beginning to tire, went
to rest himself upon the fallen trunk of a tree,
^s be supposed it to be j bu^ when he was just

gciug

0<e BIRDS^ FISII^ Sec. 7^

^oftng to sit dawn, the enormous monster be-
^aH to move, and tlie poor savage, perceiving
ithat he had approached a lyboya, the greatest
of all the serpent kind, dropped down in aa
^gony. The soldier, who beheld at some dis-
tance what had happened, levelled at the ser-
pent's head, and, by a lucky aim, shot it dead ;
he continued however, his lire, until he was
assured th:it the enemy was killed;, and then
going up to rescue his companion, \vlio had
fallen motionless by its side, he, to his astonishr-
ment, found him dead likewise, being killed
by the fright. Upon his return to the fort, and
telling what had happened, Mr. Wentwortb
.ordered the animal to be brouglit up, when it
was measured, and found to be thirty-six feet
long. He had it stu#ed, and sent as a present
to the Prince jof Orange, who deposited it in
his cabinet at the Hague.

In the Elftst Indies they grow also to an enor^
mous size; particularly in the inland of Java,
where, we are assured, that one of them will
destroy and devour a buffalo. In a letter pruited
in tlie German Ephemerides, we have an ac-
,count of a combat between an enormous serpent
and a buffalo, by a person, who assures us, that
ie was himself a spectator. The serpent had,

f.QX

74 NATDRAL HISTQEV

■for some time, been waitijig ncer the brink oi \f.
pool^ in expectation of its prey ; when a but^
fftio w^s the firat that offered. Having darted
«pon ike affrighted anima]^ it instantly began
to%vrap it round with ita voluminous twistings ;
and at every twist tlie bones of the buffalo were
heard to crack almost as loud as tlie report of
a cannon. It wa^ in vain that the poor animal
ftruggled and bellowed, its enormous enemy was
entwined round it too closely to gel free; till at
length ^1 its bones being mashed to pieces, like
those of u malefactor on the wheel, and the whole
body reduced to one uniform mass, the serpent
untwined its folds to swallow its prey at leisure.
To prepare for this, and in order to make the
body slip down the throat more glibly, it was
seen to lick the whole body over, and thus covei-
it with its mncns. It then began to swallow
it at that end that offered least resistance ; while
-iti length of body was dilated to receive its prey,
and thus took in a morsel at once that was three
times its own thickness. We are also assured by
travellers, that these animals are often found
trkh the body of a stag in their gullet, while
like lioms, which they are unable to swallow,
^ep sticking out at their nioii^s.

ifp BIRDS, FISH, &t. 73

Bat happily for mankind, the rapacity of
Ihese frightfiU creatures is often their punisk-
ment ; for, whenever aiiy of the serpeiit kind
have gorged themselves in this maimer, and
tiieir botly is seen particularly distended
with food, they then become torpid, and may
l>e approached and destroyed with safety. They
l^eneraHy, after feavifig surfeited themselves witii
their prey, seek some retreat, where tliey iurk
for several days together, and remaiu unwieidyj
«tiipid, helpless and sleepy; the smallest a^att
k captibte of destroying them ; tliej can .soofcely
make any resistante ; they are e^aally unqim-
Ulied for flight ov oppo.^tionj and evew th^
nuked Iiftdiau does not theii fear to assail then).

Carli diBscribes having seen a long serpent^
Congo, making its track throi^h tlie tall ^asf ,
Kfkc mouere an a summ^*s day. He ^^ bo
coM «ot without tenor ijeboAd -MiiQie livk^ <$£
grass lying levelled under tiie swfep <*f ay ^^^
iit moved forwai-d in that iniamer with ^^estfra-
fttdity, mitil it J'©imd « pr<\p@r sit%wtioa 6<-
^uented by its prey; there it contiBued to JWc
ta ptitieat expec^atioa, aftd wouM htLf& »-
enabled ioc weeks together, had at jjot l»e<m
d4i>turbed by the native>\

Other

Other creatures have a choice in their j^rtf-
vision ; but the serpent has none ; he preys in-
discriminately upon the buffalo, the tiger^ancUhe
gazelle. One would think that the porcupine's
quills would be sufficient to protect it; but
t\'hatever has life serves to appease the hunger
of these devouring creatures: porcupines, with
all their quills, have frequently been found in
their stomachs, when killed and opened;
nay, they are often seen to devour each
Other.

When in pursuit of their prey, they are most
indefatigable; theymay be said to be ever on
the watch, as they sleep with their eyes open ;
and from its venom and power, scarcely any ani-
mal dare dispute with ihem a prize until their
rapacity is satisfied.

But though these animals are, above alt
others> the most voracious ; and though the
morsel which they swallow without chewing,
is greater than what any other creature, either
by land or water, the whale itself not excepted^
can devour, yet no animals upon earth bear ab-
stinence so long as- they. A single meal, with
many of the snake kind, seems to be the ad-
venture of a season ; and is an occurrence for

which

OF BIRDS^ FISH, &C. 77

^^liich tbey have been for weeks, nay, some-
times for months, jn patient expectation of;
and the fortunate capture of an hour is often
sufficient to serve them for the period of their
annual activity. Their prey continues for a
long time, partly in the stomach, partly in the
gullet ; and a part is often seen hanging out of
the moudu lu this manner it digests by de-
grees ; and in proportion as the part below is
dissolved, the part above is taken in. It is not
therefore till this tedious operation is entirely
performed, that the serpent renews its appetite
and its activity. But should any accident pre-
vent it from issuing once more from its cell, it
still can continue to bear famine for weeks,
months, nay, for years together. V ipers are
often kept in boxes for six or eight months,
without any food whatever; and there are little
serpents sometimes sent over to Europe, from
Grand Cairo, that live for several years in
glasses, and never eat at all, nor even stain the
^lass with their excrement. Thus the serpent
liibe unite in themselves two very opposite cjua-
iiiies; wonderful abstinence, and yet incredible
rapacity.

With respect to the voices of these animals,
come of ihem have- a peculiar shriek, and some

YOL. Y. M are

76 NATURAL HISTORY

are silent, but hissing is the sound which they
most commonly send forth, either as a call to
tht ir kind, or as a threat to their enemies. In <he
hot climates, in which they most abound, they
are never heard in the middle of the day, but as
soon as the cool of the evening approaches, they
issue from their cells with continued hissmgs.

Some serpents in their motions, particularly
those of the viper kind, move very slowly, while
others, such as the ammodytes, dart with amaz-
ing swiftness. Their method of gettinj^ forward
is nearly similar in all ; the viper makes way in
a heavy, undulating manner, advancing its
head, then drawing up its tail behind, and
bending the body into a bow ; then, from the
spot where the head and tail are brought toge-
ther, advancing the head forwar^l as before ;
this bending the body into an arch seems to be
the motion of most serpents ; but there are many
which dart with such amazing swiftness, that
they rather appear to leap than advance in that
manner. It is most probable, however, that no
serpent can dart upon a level surface farther than
its own length at one effort, though it has been
asserted by some, that ihey will dart to a great
distance; but this we rather apprehend to
havB arisen from apprehension of the conse-
quences

OF IJIEDS, FISH, &C. 79

quences of its approach. The manner of pro-
gression in the jaculus, which is supposed to
move the quickest of any other, is by suddenly
rising upon its tail, and darting from thence to
its full extent ; then caiTying the tail instanta-
neously to the head, rising, and darting again ;
by which means it proceeds with wonderful
rapidity, without ever quitting the ground.
When we consider that, in the vhole tribe of
serpents, the back-bone is very long and weak,
and the whole body composed of unsupported
muscles, and joints that are yieldmg, we can-
not suppose them to possess the pow er of spring-
ing from the ground.

All serpents are amphibious, yet some are
much more partial to water than others ; and
though destitute of tins and gills, remain at the
bottom, or swim along the surface with great
ease. It is in fresh-water alone, however, that
they can live, as the salt is an effectual bane to
the whole tribe. The greatest serpents are
usually found in the water, either chusing it as
their favourite element, or finding their prey
in such places in greatest abundance. An ex-
periment of Rhedi proves that they will all
lire and swim in liquids; that naturalist put a
M 2 serpent

80 KATUftAL HISTORY

•erpefit into a large glass vessel of wine, where
it swam about for six hours; but being im-
itiersed and kept under that liquid by force, it
lived only an hour and a half. He put anothef
in common water, w here it lived three days ;.
but on being kept under water, it died in
about twelve hours. Their motion in the wa-
ter is qnite different to what it is- on land ; m
the former they move their bodies backAvard
and forward, from the right to the left, but oa
the latter it is simply up and do\\ n.

Some serpents have a most horrible foetor at*
tending them, which is alone capable of inti-.*
midating the brave. This proceeds from two-
glands near the vent, like those in the weasel
and pole-cat; and^ like those animals, in* pro-
portion as they are excited by r-age or by feaPy,
the scent grows stronger. It would seem, how-
ever, that such serpents as are most venomous
aie least offensive in this particular ; since the
Tattle -snake and the viper have no smell what-
ever: nay, we are told that at Caleciit and Crafn-
ganor, in the East Indies, there are some very
noxious serpents, who are so far from being dis-
agreeable, that their excrements are sought af-
ter, and kept as the most pleasing perfume,
llie aesculapian serpent is also of this number.

Som«-
1

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 81

Some serpents bring forth their young alive
as the viper ; some bring forth eggs, which
are hatched by the heat of their situation as
riie common black snake, and the majority of
the serpent tiibe. When a reader, ignorant of
anatomy, is told, that some of those animals
produce their young alive, and that some pro-
duce eggs only, he is apt to suppose a very
great difference in the internal conformation,
which makes such a variety in the manner of
bringing forth. But this is not the case ; these
animals are internally alike, in whatever man-
ner they produce their young ; and the variety
in their bringing forth, is rather a slight than a
real discrimination. The only difference is,
that the viper hatches her eggs, and brir^ them
to maturity within her body ; the snake is more
premature iu her productions, and sends her
eggs into the light sometime before the young
ones are capable of leaving the shell. Thus,
if either be opened, the eggs w ill be found in
the womb, covered with their membraneoirs
shell, and adhering to each other, like large
beads on a string. In the eggs of both, the
young one swill be found, though at different
stages of maturity : those of the viper wilt'
crawl and bite the moment the shell that

encloses-

8(2 NATURAL HISTORY

encloses them is brokn open; those of the
snake are not yet arrived at their perfect form.

Father Labat took a serpent of the viper
kind, that was nine feet long, and ordered it to
he opened in his presence. He then saw the
manner in which tlie eggs of these animals lie
in the womb. In this creature there were six
eggSj each of tlie size of a goose egg, but lon-
ger, more pointed, and covered with a mem-
braneous skin, by w hich also they were united
to each other. Each of these eggs contained
from thirteen to fifteen young ones, about six
inches long, and as thick as a goose- quill.
These little mischievous animals were no sooner
let loose from the shell than they crept about^
and put themselves into a threatening posture,
coiling themselves up, and bitting the stick
with which he was destroying them. In this
manner he killed seventy-four young ones ;
those that were contained in one of the eajsjs
escaped from the place where the female was
killed, by the bursting of the egg, and their
getting among the bushes.

The most material distinction among ser-
pents is that some ai c venomous and some inof-
fensive. Of the poison of these animals much
Las been said; the various calamities that it is

capable

OF JJIRPS, FISH, Sec. 83

capublc of producing are not only inflicted by the
animal itself, but by men, more mischievous eveu
than serpents, \vho prepare their venom to dcr-
stroy each other. With this the savages poison
.their arms, and also prepare their revengeful
potions ; the ancients were known to .preserve
it for the purposes of suicide ; and among sonic
barbarians, the venom of snakes is used as a
philtre to this day. But though their poison is
justly terrible to us, it has been given to very
good purposes for the animal's own support and
defence. Without this, serpents, of all ani-
mals, would be the most exposed and defences-
less; unable to inflict wounds, or to escape by
speed, they would have been the prey of all;
but from being furnished with a powerful poi-
son, every rank of animals approaches them with
dread, and never seize them but at an advan-
tage. Nor is this all ; for the malignity of a
.few serves as a protection for the whole. Though
not above one tenth of their number are actu-
ally venomous, yet the similitude they all bear
to each other, excites a general terror of the
whole tribe ; and thus the uncertainty iu which
the poison resides, renders even the most harm-
less formidable.

Form

S4 NATURAL HISTORY

Form these noxious qualities in the serpent
kindj, it is no wonder that not only man, but even
beasts and birds carry on unceasing war against
them. The ichneumon of the Indians, and
the peccary of America, destroy them in great
jnumber. These animals have the art of seiz-
ing them near the head ; and it is said that they
can skin them with great dexterity. The vul-
ture and the eagle also prey upon them in great
abundance ; and often sousing down from the
clouds, drop upon a long serpent, which they
snatch up struggling and writhing in the air.
X)ogs also are bred up to oppose them.

Father Feuillee telLs us, that being in the
woods of Martinico, he was attacked by a large
serpent, which he could not easily avoid, when
his dog immediately came to his relief, and
seized the assailant with great courage. The
serpent twined round him, and pressed him so vio-
lently, that the blood came out of his mouth,
and yet the dog never ceased till he had torn
it to pieces. The dog was not sensible of his
wounds during the fight; but soon after his
head swelled prodigiously, and he lay on the
ground as dead. But his master having found,
close by, a banana-tree^ he applied its juice,

mixed

OF BIRDS, FISH, 8CC. 85

mixed with treacle, to the wounds ; which
recovered the dog, and quickly healed his
sores.

Tlie Psjlli, of old, were famous for charming
and destroying serpents; and Cassauban says,
that he knew a man who could at any time
summon a hundred serpents together, and
draw them into the fire, and that on a parti-
cular time, when a large one refused to obey,
he only repeated his charm, and it came for-
ward, like the rest, to submit to the flames.
Philostratus says, that the Indians charm ser-
pents in the following manner : *^ they take a
" scarlet robe, embroidered with golden letters,
'' and spread it before a serpent's hole ; the
'^ golden letters have a fascinating power, and
*' by looking stedfastly, the serpent's eyes are
'^ overcome, and laid asleep/'

In India there is nothing so common as
dancing serpents, Avhich are carried about in a
broad flat vessel resembling a sieve. These
erect and put themselves into motion at the
word of command. When their keeper sings
a slow tune, they seem by their heads to keep
time ; when he sings a quicker measure, they
appear to move more brisk and lively. All
animals have a certain degree of docility ; and

VOL. V. N w«

86 WATDRAL HISTORY

we find that serpents themselves can be brbuglit
to move and approach at the voice of their
master. From this trick successfully practised
before the ignorant, it is most probable that all
the boasted pretensions which some have made
to charming of serpents have arisen ; an art to
which the native Americans pretend at this
very day.

OF VENOMOUS SERPENTS.

IN all countries, the poison of the serpent
is sufficiently formidable to deserve notice, and
to excite our attention to its nature and ef-
fects. It will therefore, be proper in the first
place, to describe its seat in the animal,^ as also
the instrument by which the wound is made and
the poison injected. In all this venomous class
of reptiles, whether the viper, the rattle-snake,
or the cobra di capello, there are two largte
teeth or fangs that issue from the upper-jaw_,

and

OF r.iRDS, FISH, Sec. 87

and that hang out beyond the other. The rest
of the snake tribe are destitute of these; and
it is most probable, that wherever these fangs
are wanting, the animal is harmless; on the
contrai'y, wherever they are found, it is to be
avoided as the most pestilent enemy. Our first;
great attention, therefore, upon seeing a ser-
pent, should be directed to the teeth. If it
have the fang teeth, it is to be avoided as ve-
nomous, and if without them, it may be con-
sidered as inoffensive ; for although some of the
latter have been set down as dangerous, ye^
not one of the whole tribe which has not fauss
has a bag for containing the pofson, or a con-
duit for ejecting it into the wound. The black
snake, the liboya, the blind worm, and a hun-^
dred others that might be mentioned, hav^
their teeth of an equal size, and with no othef
apparatus for inflicting a dangerous wound than
a dog or a lizard: but it is otbeiwise with the
venomous kind; these are all furnished, not
only with an elaboratory, situated behind the
liead on each side of the eyes, where the
poison is foniied, but a canal, by which it is
conducted to the jaw, a bag under the tooth
for keeping it ready, and also an apeiture
in the tooth itself for injecting it into the
N 2 wound.

88 NATURAL HISTORY

wound. The venom contained in this bag
is a yellowish, thick, tasteless liquor, which
injected into the blood is death, but which may
be swallowed without any danger.

The fangs that give the wound are large in
proportion to the size of the animal that bears
them ; crooked, yet sharp enough to inflict a
ready wound. They grow one on each side,
and sometimes two from two moveable bones
in the upper jaw, which, by sliding backward
or forward, have a power of erecting or de-
pressing the teeth at pleasure. In these bones
are also fixed many teeth, but no way veno-
mous, and only serving to take and hold the
animal's prey. If a viper inflict a wound,
and the remedy be neglected, the symptoms are
not without danger. It first causes an acute
pain in the place affected, attended with a swel-
ling, first red, and afterwards livid, and which,
by degrees, spreads to the neighbouring parts.
To this succeed great sicknes at the stomach,
bilious and convulsive vomitings, cold sweats,
pains about the navel, and death itself. These
symptoms are much more violent, and succeed
each other more rapidly after the bite of
a rattle-snake ; but when the person is bitten by
the cobra di capello^ he dies in an hour, his

whole

or EiRDs^ FISH, See. R9

whole frame being dissolved into a putrid mass
of corruption.

It has hitherto remained a matter of astonisli-
ment that so small a quantity of matter should
produce such sudden, powerful, and deadly ef-
fects, for the venom has not the smallest acrid
taste, and from all experiments that liave been
made it apjjears only a slimy insipid fluid.
Charas, who often tasted it, assures us of the fact,
and asserts, that it may be taken inv/ardly without
any sensible effects, or any prejudice to the con-
stitution. But tiie famous experijiients that were
tried by Rhedi, and others, in the presence of
the Great Duke of Tuscany and his court, put
this beyond any doubt whatsoever. By these it
appeared, that the serpent having once bitten,
exhausted for that time the greatest part 6f its
poison ; and though the wound caused by its
biting a second time was attended with some ma-
lignant symptoms, yet they were much milder
than before. It appeared also that the serpent
bitting upon a sponge, or a piece of soft bread,
and then biting a dog immediately after, did not
inflict a wound more dangerous than the prick
of a needle. It appeared that the venom being
collected, and a needle dipped in it, the
MOund made by that produced almost as painful

effects

so NATURAL HISTORY

efifects as those by the tooth of the animal itself.
But what caused the greatest surprize in ,the
court was the seeming rashness of one Tozzi,
a viper-catcher ; who, while the philosophers -
f^ere giving elaborate lectures on the danger of
tlie poison when taken internally, boldly desired
that a large quantity of it might be put together,
and then with the utmost confidence drank it of
before them all. Tlie court was struck with
astonishment, and expected that the man w^ould
instantly fall dead ; but they soon perceived their
uaistake, and found that taken in this manner
the poison was as harmless as water. In sup-
port of this seeming ccnitradiction that the \e-
»om of serpents should be perfectly harmless if
takeu iavv'ardiy, and yet so fatal if ejected ir.to
the circulation, we need only observe that
milk, though one <if the most mild and nourish-
ing of all fluids, and seemingly the most friendly
tr> the human constitution, yet if milk be in-
jected into a vein, it will quickly become fatal,
and kill with as much certainty as the venom
of a viper. Hence then we may infer, that
the introduction of a quantity of any mix-
tare into the circulation would be fatal ; and
that consequently, serpents kill as well by their
power of injecting their poison into the wound

as

OF bihds, fish, See. 9'

as by the malignant potency with which it is
impregnated.

Ray relates the following instance of th»
powerful effects of the poison, but the veracity
of which many have doubted. *^ A gentiemaa
** who went over to the East Indies, while
" he was one day sitting amop-g some friends,
" was accosted by an Indian juggler, wlio
^' oifered to shew him some experiments re-
" specting the venom of serpents ; an exhibi-
**^ tion usual enough in that country. Havin^r
*' first, therefore, produced a large serpent,
'^ he assured the company that it was haim-
'' less; and to convince them of what he said,
" he tied up his aiTn, as is usual with thcss
'^ who are going to be bled, and whip}>ed the
*' serpent until it was provoked to bite hiin.
^' Having drawn, in this manner, about half a
" ^oonful of blood from his arm, he put the
*' congealed clot upon his thigh. He then took
**■ out a much smaller serpent, which was no
*' other than the cobra di capello ; and having
" tied up its neck, he procmed about half a
'^ drop of its venom, whidi he sprmkled on the
^* clot of blood on his thigh, which instantly be-
" gan to ferment and bubble, and soon changetl
*' colcmr from a red into a }^llow.''

9 Whether

92 NATURAL HISTORY

Whether this were really the case, or that the
Indian made use of some artifice to surprise his
spectators, it is of little consequence, for the
fetality of the serpents poison is too well known.
It is very seldom that any of this malignant
kind are seen to exceed nine feet in length ; their
food chiefly consists of small prey, such as birds,.
moles, toads, and lizards, and they never com-
mence an attack with any formidable animal
\yith whom they arc likely to have a serious en^
counter. They lurk in the clefts of rocks, or
among stony places ; they entwine round the
branches of trees, or bask themselves in the sun
among the long grass at the bottom. There
they only seek repose and safety ; and if some
unwary traveller happen to invade their retreats,
their first effort is to fly ; but when either pursued
or accidentally trod upon, they then make a fierce
and fatal resistance. For this purpose they raise
themselves upon their tail, erect their head, and
seize whatever presses them ; the wound is given
and the head withdrawn in a moment. And
tliis. is probably one reason why the Asiatics,
who live in regions where serpents greatly
abound, wear boots and long clothes, as they
are by that means in some measure protected
from the resentments of these reptile aiinovers.

' In

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. ()9

In the East and West Indies the number of
noxious serpents is various ; in this country ^^ c
arc acquainted only with one. The viper is the
only animal in Great Britain from uhose bite
we have any thing to fear. In the tropical cli-
mates, the rattle-snake, the vhip-snake, and
the Gobrai di capello, are the most formidable.
From the general notoriety of the particular
serpents, and the universal (error which they
occasion, it would seem that few others are
possessed of such powerl'ul malignity.

/ ipers are found in many parts of Europe i
but the dry, stonvy and in particular the chalky
countries abound with them. This animal !?el-
dom grows to a greater length than two feet ;
though sometimes they are found above three.
The ground colour of their belhes is a dirty
yellow ; that of the female is deeper. The whole
length of the back is marked with a series of
rhomboid black spots, touching each other »X
the points ; the sides with triangular ones, the
belly entirely black. It is chiefly distinguished
from the common ringed snake by the colour^
which in the latter is more beautifully mottled,
as well as by the head, which is thicker than
the body ; but particularly by the tail, which,
in the viper, though it ends in a point, does

vot.. V. O not

<>4 KATURAL HISTORt"

not run tapering off to so great a length as in tn^
other. When^ therefore, other distinctions
fail, the difference of the tail can be discerned
at a single glance.

The viptr differs from most other serpenti?
in being much slower,, as also in excluding its
young completely formed, and bringing them
forth alive. The kindness of Providence seems
to be exerted not only in diminishing tlie speed;,
but also the fertility, of this dai^gerous creature.
They copulate in May, and are supposed to be
about three months before they bring forth, and
have seldom above eleven eggs at a time:
These are of the size of a blackbird's egg, and
chained together in the womb like a string of
beads. Each egg contains from one to four
young ones; so that the whole of a brood may
amoimt to about twenty or thirty. They con-
tinue in the womb till they come to such per-
fection as to be able to burst from the shell ;
and they are said to creep from their conline-
meiu into the open air by their own efforts, where
1 11 ey 'Continue for several days without taking
any food whatever.

Mr. Pennant says, '^ We have been ofteft
^^ assured by intelligent people, of the truth of
'^ a fact^ that the young of a viper^ when ter-

^^ rifled^

OF BIRDS, FISW, &C. 95

*^ rified, will run down the throat of the pa-
^^ rent, and seek shelter in its belly in the same
" manner as the young of .the oppossum retires
^' into the ventral pouch of the old one. From
^' this some have imagined that the viper is sq
'^ unnatm-al as to devour its own young, but
*^ this deserves no credit, as these animals live
''^ upon frogs, toads, lizards, and young birds,
"which they often swallow whole, though the
" morsel is ofteu three times as 4;hick as their
'^ own body."

The viper is capable of supporting very
long abstinence, it being a well ascertained fact
that some have been kept in a box six months
without food; yet during the whole .time their
vivacity Avas not abated. They feed only a smaH
part of the year, -but never during their con^
iinement; for if juice, th^ir favourite diet^
should at that time be thrown into their box,
though they will kill, yet they will- never eat
them. When at liberty, they remain torpid
throughout the winter; yet, when- confined,
they have never been observed to take their annual
repose.

They are usually taken .with wooden tongs,
by the end of the tail, which may be done with-
-out danger ; foj, m hile held in that position,

O 2 , they

«}() Natural history

tliey are unable to ^Tilld themselves up to Iiurt
t^ieir enemy: yet, notwithstanding this pre-
caution, the \iper-catchers are often bitten by
them ; but, by the application of oiivc-oil, the
effect is safely obviated.

** W'iUiam Oliver, a viper-catcher, at Bath,
■* was the first who discovered this admirable
" remedy. On the first of June, 1735, in the
'^ presence of a great number of persons, he
*^ suffered himself to be bit by an old black
** viper, brought by one of the company, upf>n
^* the wrist, and joint of the thumb of the right
^' hand, 50 that drops of blood came out of
^^ the wounds : he immediately felt a violent
'^ pain, both at the top of his thumb, and up
" liis arm, even before the viper was loosened
" from his hand; soon after he felt a pain^
** resembling that of burning, trickle up hi^j
*' arm; in a few miniitcS his eyes began to
'/ look red and fiery, and to water much; in
ry less than an hour he perceived the venom
'* seize his heart, with a pricking pain, which
'* was attended with faintness, shortness of
^ breath, and cold swents; in a few^ minuteo
*^ after this, his belly began to swell, with
f' great gripings, and pains in his back, which
f^ were attended with vomitings and purging;
C> *' duripjj

^' during the violence of these symptoms, his
■' sight was gone for several minutes, but he
*' could hear all the while. He said that in
'^ his former experiments he had never de-
*' ferred making use of his remedy longer than
^' he perceived the effects oi the yenom reached
" his heart; but this time, being willing to
*' satisfy the company thoroughly, and trust-
'' iiig to the speedy effects of his remedy,
" which was nothing more than olive oil, \\%
*' forebore to apply xiny thing till he found him.
'^ self exceedingly ill, and quite giddy; in
^^ about an hour and a quarter after the first
'^ of his being bit, w chaffing dish of glowing
^^ charcoal was bronglit in, and his naked
^' arm was held over it as near as he could
^' beir, while his wife rubbed in the oil with
'' her hand, tur^iing his arm continually round,
*' as if she would have roasted it over the
" coals: he said the poison soon abated, but
" the swelling did not diminish nmch. Most
'' violent purgings and vomitings soon ensued;
'^ and his pulse became so low, and so often in-
'^ terrupted, that it was thought proper to or-
^' der him a repetition of cordial potions ; he
^' said he was not. sensible of any o-reat relief
." from these; but that a glass or two of olive

- oil.

0^ NATURAL IIlSTOllY

'' oil drank down, seemed to give him ease.
^' Continuing in this dangerous condition, he
^' was put to-bed, where his arm was again
" bathed over a pan of charcoal, and rubbed
^^ with ohve oil, heated in a ladle Over the
" charcoal, by Dr. I>Iortimer's directions,
*^' who was the physician that drew up the ac-
" count. From this last operation he declared
^^ that he found immediate ease, as though by
*^ some charm : he soon after fell into a pro-
*^ found sleep, and, after about nine hours
^* sound rest, awaked about six the next morn-
'^ ing, and found himself very well ; but in
*' the afternoon, on drinking some rum and
*' strong beer, so as to be almost intoxicated,
'' the swelling returned, with nuicli pain and
*^ cold sweats, w hich abated soon, on bathing
*^ the arm as before, and wrapping it up in a
^^ brown paper soaked in the oil."

Notwithstanding that the bite of the vijxjr is at-
tended w ith such dreadful effects, its flesh has
long been esteemed for its medicinal virtues; a
broth made by boiling a viper in water, which
|ust covers it, until it comes to half the quan-
tity, is a powerful restorative in battered con-
stitutions. The salt of vipers is also thought
la exceed any other animal salt whatever, in

giving

OF BiRDSj FISH, &.C. 99

giving vigour to a languid constitution, and
i)ronipting to venery.

The Rattle-snake is bred in America, and
in no part of the old world. Some are as
thick as a man's leg, and six feet in length :
but the most usual size is from four to iive feet
long. It resembles in most particulars the
viper: having like that animal a large head,
and a small neck> and furnished with fangs tliat
inflict the most terrible wounds. It differs,
however, in having a large scale, whicli hangs
like a penthouse over each eye. They are of
an orange tawny, and blackish colour on the
back ; and of an ash colour on the belly, in-
clining to lead. The male may be readily dis-
tinguished from tlie female, by a black velvet
spot on the head, and the head being smaller
and longer. But that which, besides their su-
perior malignity, distinguishes them from all
other animals, is their rattle, au instrument
lodged in their tail, by which they make such
a loud rattling noise, when they move, that
their approach may readily be perceived, and
tiic danger avoided. This rattle, which is
placed in the tail, somewhat resembles, when
taken from the body, the curb chain of a bri-
dle: it is composed o\' several thin, hard^ hoi-
how

100 tiAlVRAt Itl^^tORT

low bonesj linked to each other, and latttiii;.!
upon the shghtest motion. It is supposed by
some,- that the gnake atcjiiires an additional bone
every year, and that, from this, its age may
be precisely known : however this may bt>
certain it is> that the young snakes,, or those a
year or two oki, have no yattles at all ; while
many old ones have been killed, that had from
eleven to thirteen joints each. They shake and
make a noise with these rattles with prodigiou;^
quickness' when tliey are disturbed ; the peccary
and the culture however are no way terri-
tied at the sound-, but hasten, at the signal, to
seize thq snake,- as their most favourite prey.

It is very diflferent with almost every other
animal. The certain death which ensues from
this creature's bke, makes a solitude wherever
it is heard. It moves along- with the most ma-
jestic rapidity; neither seeking to offend the
larger animals, nor fearing their insults. If
unprovoked, it never meddles with any thhig*
but its natural prey; but when accidentally
tTodden upon, or pursued to be destrojed, it then
JBiakesan able and desperate defence. It erects
Vtseii upon its tail, throws back the head, and
inflicts its wound in a moment ; then parts, and
inflicts a second wound : ufter which,, we arc

told

OF BiRDs> ris^tt, 8cc. lot

told by some, tliat it remains torpid and iilac-
tive^ without eVen- attempting to escape.

The Very instant the wound ih inflicted',
though small iti itself, it appears more painful
than the sting of a bee. This painy w^ich ijf
so suddenly felt*, far fronV abating, gro^Vs every
moment more excruciating and dangerous ; the
limb swells; the venonl reaches the head,
^\^hich is soon of a monstrous size; the eyey
are red arid tibry; the heart beats' qiiick, with'
frequent interruptions: the pain becomes' in-
suppoitable, and some expire utider it in fiVe'
or six hours ; but others, who are of strongti*'
constitutions, survive the agony for a few hotirs •
longer only to sink under a general moriiti-
cation which ensues^ and^ dorrupts the whole*
bbdy.

It is related by Goldsmith, that, ^' As a gen-
^^ tleman in Vii^nia w^as walking in the fields
*' for his amusement, he accidentally trod upoa
^' a rattle-snake that had been lurking in a
*' stony place, which, enraged by the pressure,
'' reared up, bit his hand, and shook its rat-
*^ ties* The gentleman readily perceived that
*^ he was in the most dreadful danger ; but un*"
*' willing to die unrev^jged, he killed the
** shake, and' carrying it home in his handi

VOL. V. P '* threw

102 NATURAL HISTORY

*' threw it on the ground before his famift,'
*' crying outy I am killed, and there is my
^ murderer! In such an extremity, the spee-
'^ diest remedies were the best. His arm
*' which was beginning to swell, was tied up
** near the shoulder, the woimd was anointed
'^ with oil, and every precaution taken to stop
*^ the- infection. By the help cf a very strong
^^ constitution he recovered, but not without
" feeling the most various and dreadful symp-
'^ toms for several weeks together. His arm
^^ below the ligature, appeared of several co-
*^ lours, with a writhing among the muscles,
'^ that, to his terrified imagination, appeared
*^ like the motions of the animal that had
^'^ wounded him. A fever ensued ; the loss of
'^ his hair, giddiness, drought, weakness, and
'^ nervous faintings ; till, by slow degrees, a
*^ very strong habit overpowered the latent
" malignity of the poison."

The rattle-snake has been described by some
authors, as being very quick in its motions, while
others on the contrary ,^ as strongly contend that it
is the slowest of all the serpent kind, and to which
latter opinion we are most inclined to give '
credit, from its perfect similarity in all other
respects to the viper. This creature has also '

been

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 103

l&een said to possess the power of charming its
prey into its mouth, and that the inhabitants
of Pennsylvania have daily opportunities of ob-
serving the strange fascination. The circum-
stance has been thus related : " This snake is
*^ often seen basking at the foot of a tree where
*' birds and squirrels make their residence :
^' there coiled upon its tail, its jaws extended,
" and its eyes shining like fire, it levels its
*' dreadful glare upon one of the little animals
*' above. The bird, or the squirrel, which-
" ever it may t>e, too plainly perceives the mis-
*^ chief meditating against it, and hops from
^^ branch to branch, with a timorous, plaintive
'^ sound, wishing to avoid, yet incapable of
^^ breaking through the fascination: thus it
*^ continues for some time its feeble efforts and
*' complaints, but is still seen approaching
^* lower towards the bottom branches of the
" tree, imtil at last, as if overcome by the po-
'^ tency of its fears, it jumps down from the
*^ tree into the throat of its frightful destroyer.
'^ In order, says the same author, to ascertain
'^ the truth of this story, a mouse wiis put into
*' a large iron cage, where a rattle-snake was
'^ kept, and the effect carefully observed. The
f' mouse remained motionless at one end of the
P 2 *' cage.

104 NATURAL HISTORY

*■ c^ge^ while the snake at tlie otlijer .continued
*' iixed, with its eyes glaiing full on th/e little
^' a^iin?al, ^\f^ jts ja^s opened to their widest
'^ €^e^>t: tiiie moiise, for some time^ seesiped
'■ eager to ^^ape : but every effoil onJy served
*^ tf> ,encr/^a^ ^^ t^xorSj 4^^4 tf) dra^ ^ still
^^ Clearer tlie e^en^y, till^ after several ineJfec-
*' tual attempts to break the fascination, it was
*^ fioen -to run into tii.e jaws of the rattle-snaice,
'f whe^re it was i^iat^i^Iy kiilied."

Both this story howey.er and that of the
, serpent's possessing such a fasci^tiug prq:)erty,
l^as been greatly doubted ; and by way of provijig
its iijaprobahalijty, Jt has been as roundly asserted
by others, that if the snake be put into confine-
uiei^t, 90 far ivofQ. ope^ipg its pioivth for the
p^ey to ruii in, it fefu^es alj kin^ of food, and
wjJI j^solutely .dije for '^ant of nourislunent.

A SjBrpent, called tixe Whip-make y is still
more venomous than the former. This ani-
i^aJ, which \s a i^ative pf th^ East, is about
fiyjB fcjet Jopg, y/et jiot mnch thicker than the
^png of a co.achwj^'s whip. It is /exceedingly
>piipn?o^is; ar^^ its bite is said to kill in about
^^ hoiu-s. Ope pf the Jesuit missionanes hap*
l^/eijing to /B»ter into an Indian pagoda, saw
^jxat h^ toic4 tp be a whip-cord lying on the

flcor.

OF BIRDS, FISH, SCC, 105

floor, and stooped to take it up ; but, what was
his surprise upon touching it to iind that it was
animated, and no other than the whip-snake,
of which he had heard such formidable ac-
counts. Fortune, however, seemed favour-
abJe to him ; for lie grasped it by the head, so
tliat it had no power to bite him, and only
twisted its folds up his arm. in this manner
he held it, till it was killed by those who came
to his assistance.

To tiiis formidable class might be added the
Jlsp, whose bite, however, is not attended with
those drowsy symptoms, which the ancieiits as-
cribed to it. The Jacuhts of Jamaica is also
one of the swiftest of the serpent kind. The
Hcemorrhois, so called from tlie haemorrhages
which its bite is said to produce; the Seps,
whose wound is very venomous, and causes the
part affected to corrupt in a very short time;
the Coral Serpt?itj \vhich is red, and whose bite
is said to be fatal. But the Cobra di Capello,
or Hooded Serpent, inflicts the most deadly and
incurable wounds. Of this formidable crea-
ture, diere are live or six different kinds ; but
they aie all equally dangerous, and their bite
is followed by speedy and certain death. It is
from three to eight feet long, with two large

fang?

106 NATURAL HISTORY

fangs hanging out of the upper jaw. It has a
broad neck, and a mark of dark brown on the
forehead, which, when viewed frontwise, looks
like a pair of spectacles; but behind, like the
head of a cat. The eyes are fierce, and full of
fire; the head is small, and the nose flat, though
covered with very large scales, of a yellowish
ash colour; the skin is white; and the large
tumour on the neck is flat, and covered with
oblong, smooth scales.

From the fatal effects of the venom of these
animals, it was natural for constant researches
to be made to discover an antidote, but hi-
therto they have been inefi'ectual, at least with
any degree of certainty ; though there are fre-
quent instances of relief being obtained by an
application of the Virginian snake-root; and
the head of the animal bruised and laid upon the
part affected, has been thought to assist in the
cure : salad oil is also reckoned very efficacious ;
and the Indians make use of a composition,
called the serpent's stone, which has the pro-
perty of sticking to the skin of the injured part,
and will draw out the blood ; yet, in general,
it is painful to remark, that the poison baffles
every effort; and of which the rude Indians are so

sensible.

OF BIIIDS^ FISH, &C. 107

sensible, that they always dip their aiTOws in
the poison under their fangs, when they desire
to take a certain revenge on their enemies.

OF SERPENTS WITHOUT VENOM.

THE whole of this class of serpents may be

m a great measure distinguished from the pre-

ceeding by their entire want of the fang teeth,

by their heads being less hi proportion to their

bodies, and in general by their tapering off to

the tail more giadually ni a point. Their teeth

are short, numerous, and in the smaller kinds

perfectly inoffensive; they lie in both jaws as

in frogs and fish, their points bending back^

wards, the better to secure their prey. 'i\hey

also want the artificial mechanism by which the

poisonous tribe inflict such deadly wounds: they

liave no gland in the head for preparing venom*;

no conduits for conveying it to the teeth ; no

receptacles there; no hollow in the instrument

that inflicts the wound. Their bite, when the

teeth happen to be large enough to penetrate

the

103 NATURAL HISTOtl?

the skin, (for in general they are too small for
this purpose,) is attended with no other symp-
toms than those of an ordinary puncture : and
many of this tribe, as if sensible of their own
impotence, cannot be provoked to bite,, though
ever so rudely assaulted. They hiss, dart out
their forky tongues, erect themselves on the
tail, and call up all their terrors to intimidate
their aggressors, but seem to con-^ider their teeth
as unnecessary instruments of defence, and never
attempt to use them. Even among the largest
of this kind, the teeh are never employed, in
the most desperate engagements. \V hen a hare
or a bird is caught, tlie teeth may serve to pre-
vent such small game from escaping ; but, wheit
a buffalo or a tiger is to be encountered, it i<i
by the strong folds of the body, by the liercef
verberations of the tail, that the enemy is de-
stroyed: for, twining round, and drawing
the knot w-ith convulsive eneigy, this enor-
mous reptile breaks every bone in the quadru-
ped's body, and then, at one morsel, devours
it.

Hence we may distinguish the unvenomous

tribe into tw'o kinds; first, into those whiclv

are seldom found of any considerable magnitude,

s^nd that never offend animals larger or more

3 powerfiL

OF BlitDS^ FISH^ Sec. JOQ

powerful than themselves, but which find their
chief protection in flight, or in the doubtfahieSs
of their form ; secondly, into such as grow to ati
enormous size, fear no enemy, but indiscrimi-
nately attack all other animals, and devour them.
Of the first kind is the common Ringed snake,
the Blindworm, the Esculapian serpent, the
Amphish(Zna, and several others. Of the se-
cond the Jiboya, the Boiguacu, the Depona,
and the Boiquatrara.

The Hinged Snake, or as it is sometimes cal-
led the Black Snake, is the largest of English ser-
pents, sometimes exceeding four feet in length.
Tlie neck is slender, the middle of the body
thick, the back and sides covered with small
scales; the belly with oblong, narrow, trans-
verse plates ; the colcur of the back and sides is
of a dusky brown ; the middle of the back
marked with two rows of small black spots,
tuning from the head to the tail ; the plates on
the belly are dusky ; the scales on the sides are
of a bluish white ; the teeth are small and ser-
rated, lying On each side of the jaw, in two rows.
The whole species is perfectly inoffensive, tak-
ing shelter in dunghills, and among bushes in
moist places ; whence they seldom remove, un-
less in the midst of the day, in sumiHer, when
VOL. T. Q they

110 NATURAL HISTORY

they are called out by the heat^ to bask them-
selves in the sun. If attacked they at first en-
deavour to escape, but if much pressed they be-
gin to hiss and put themselves into a threatening
position, though incapable of doing mischief.

This snake preys upon frogs, insects, worms,
mice, and young birds; and, considering the
smallness of the neck, it is amazing how large
an animal it will swallow.

The Black Snake of Virginia, which is larger
than the above, and generally grows to six feet
long, takes a prey proportionable to its size ;
partridges, chickens, and young ducks. It is
generally found in the neighbourhood of the
hen-roost, and will devour the eggs, even while
the hen is setting upon them ; these it swallows
whole ; and often after it has done the mischief,
will coil itself round in the nest.

The whole of this tribe are oviparous, lay-
ino" eighty or a hundred eggs at a time, in
dung-hills, or hot-beds, the heat of which,
aided by that of the sun, brings them to matu-
rity. During winter they lie torpid, in banks
of hedges, and under old trees.

The IMindxcorm is another harmless reptile,
with a formidable appearance. The common
length of this species is eleven inches. The

eyes

OP BIRDS, FISH^&C. Ill

eyes are red^ the head small, the neck still more
slender ; from that part the body encreases sud-
denly, and continues of an equal bulk to the
tail, which ends quite blunt. The colour of
the back is cinereous, marked with very small
lines, composed of minute black specks. The
motion of this serpent is slow ; from which, and
from the smallness of the eyes, are derived its
names ; some calling it the slow, and some the
Mindworm. Like all the rest of the kind, in
our climates, they lie torpid during winter, and
are sometimes found, in vast numbers, twisted
together. This animal, like the former, is per-
fectly innocent ; but, like the viper, it brings
forth its young alive.

The Jmphisbana, or Double-headed Serpent,
is remarkable for moving along with either the
head or the tail foremost, whence it has been
thought to have two heads ; an error which the
slightest inspection detects. It is of equal
thickness at both ends ; the colour of the skin
is like that of the earth ; it is rough, hard, and
spotted. Some have affirmed that its bite is
dangerous, but this must be a mistake, as it
wants the fangs, and consequently the elabora-
tory that prepares the poison.

Q 2 The

l\^ NATURAL mSTQRY

The Esculapicin Serpent of Italy is so harm-
less that, in that country, it is suffered to crawl
about the chambers, and often gets into the
teds where people lie. Jt is a yellow serpent,
of about an ell long, and, though innocent, yet
will bite when exasperated. They are said to
be great destjoyers of mice, and this may be
the reason why they are taken under human
protection.

The Boyuna of Ceylon is ecjually a favourite
among the natives of that place ; it is full as
inoffensive, m^. they consider the meeting of it
as a sign of good luck.

The Surinam Serpent, which some have im-
properly called the Ammoydez is in lil^e manner
harmless and desirable among the natives of that
part of the world. They consider themselves as
extremely happy if this animal come into their
huts. The colours of this serpent are so many
^d so beautiful, that they surpass all descripticm;
and these, perhaps, are the chief inducements
to the savages to consider its visits as so very
fortunate.

A still greater favourite is the Prince ofSer-
pentSy a native of Japan, which has not its equal
for beauty. The scales which cover the back
SIX^ reddish, finely shaded, and marbled with

large

OP BlRDSj FISH^ &C. 115

large spots of irregular figures mixed through-
out with black.

The fore part of the head is covered with
large, beautiful scales ; the jaws bordered with
yellow; the forehead marked with a black mar-
bled streaky and the eyes handsome and livelj.

But the Gerenda of tlie East Indies is the
most honoured and esteemed. To this animal,
which is finely spotted with various colours, the
natives of Caiicut pay di-.iue honours; aad
while their deity lies coiled up, which is its
most usual postme, the people fall upon' their
faces before it \\'ith serious adoration.

The African Gerenda nearly resembles the
foregoing, being only somewhat larger, and it is
worshipped in the same manner by the inha-
bitants of tlie coasts of Mosambique.

Such, however, are nearly the whole of this
race of animals which may be considered as in-
offensive ; for when we turn to the larger tribe,
even of this species, we find there is nothing
but danger to be apprehended. Besides which,
^s formidable class have something frightful
in their colour, as well as their size and form.
They want that vivid hue, with which the sa-
vages are so much pleased in the lesser kinds.
They are all found of a dusky colour, with

large

Il4r NATURAL HISTORY

large teeth, but \vhich are more formidable
than dangerous.

As the largest, so, of course, stands foremost
in this class, the great Jiboya of Java and Bra-
zil, which Leguat aiiivms he has seen fifty feet
long. The largest animal o^ this kind which
has been l^xought into Europe is but thirty-six
feet long; though it is propable tiiat much
larger have been seen, and destroyed, before they
weie thought worth sending so far to satisfy
European curiosity. The most usual length, ac-
cording to all travellers, is about twenty feet,
and the tluciaiess in proportion. The teeth are
small compared to the size of the body ; nor
are they used but when it seizes the smallest
prey. It lies in wait in the paths frequented
by wild animals, and having cast itself upon its
prey, wraps so closely round the body as to
break all the bones, and then takes the whole
at once into its enormous mouth.

The Boicuagu is supposed to be the next in
magnitude, and has often been seen to swallow
a gvoat whole. It is thickest in the middle of
the body, and grows saialler towards the head
and the tail. On the middle of the back there
is a chain of small black spots, and on each side
there are large round black spots, at some dis-
tance

OF B1P.I>5, .FI3H> Sic. US

tauce from each other^ with white specks in
the centre ; between these, near the belly, arc
two rows of small black spots, which run pa-
rallel to the back. It has a double row ol sharp
teeth in each jaw, shining like mother-of-pearl.
The head is broad, and over the eyes it is raised
into two prominences : near the extremity of
the tail there are two claws, resembling those
of birds.

These serpents He hidden in thickets, whence
they sally out unawares, and raising tliemselves
upright on tlieir tails, will attack both men and
beasts. They make a loud hissing noise whea
exasperated; sometimes they wind themselves
round trees, wliere they patiently- wait for their
prey; on the a})proach of a beast, or even tt
tiaveller, they dart down, and twist so closely
round their bodies as to, dispatch them in a few
minutes.

To this class of large serpents we may refer
the Depo}ia, a native of Mexico, with a very
large head, and great jaws. The mouth is armed
with cutting, crooked teeth, among which there
are two longer than the rest, placed in the fore
part of the upper jaw, but wry different from
the fangs of the viper. All round the mouth
there is a broad, scaly border, and the eyes are
9 ' so

116 JfATCRAL RtSTORT

SO large that they give it a very terrible aspect.
Tlie forehead is covered with vei^ large scales,
and on which are placed others that are smaller,
curiously arranged : those on the back are of a
greyish colour. Each side of the belly is mar-
bled with large square spots, of a chesnut co-
lour, in the middle of which is a small round
yellow spot. They avoid the sight of man,
and, conssequently, never do much harm.

To these which we have enumerated might,
possibly, be added many other tribes of serpents ;
and, indeed, to those naturalists who are in-
clined to consider every difference in marks and
colour as a distinct species, their varieties must
be innumerable ; but that such would be a false
conclusion is clearly demonstrated by the fact,
that th« brood of one serpent are frequently of
seven or eight different colours.

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 117

OF INSECTS.

BY some natural historians, this class of
animals is considered as the most imperfect of
any, while others prefer them to the larger
animals. One mark of their imperfection is
said to be, that many of them can live a long
time, though deprived of those organs which
are necessary to life in the higher ranks of na-
ture. Many of them are furnished with luno-s
and a heart like the nobler animals ; yet the
caterpillar continues to hve, though its heart
and lungs, which is often the case, be entirely
eaten away. It is not, however, from their
conformation alone, that insects are inferior to
other animals, but from their instincts also.
It is true that the ant and the bee present us
with striking instances of assiduity ; yet even
these are inferior to the marks of sagacity dis-
played by the larger animals. A bee taken
from the swarm is totally helpless and inactive,
VOL. V. R incapable

lis NATURAL HISTORY

incapable of giving the smallest variations to
its instincts. It has but one sin«:le method of
operating; and if put from that, it can turn
to no other; in the pursuits of the hound
there is something like choice ; but in the la-
bours of the bee, the whole appears like ne-
cessity and compulsion. All other aninwls are
capable of some degree of education ; their in-
stinct may be suppressed or altered ; the dog
may be taught to fetch and carry^ the bird to
whistle a tune, and the serpent to dance : but
the insect has only one invariable method of
operating ; no art can turn it from ita instincts ;
and, indeed, its life is too short for instruction,
as a single season often terminates its existence.
Their amazing number is also an imperfec-
tion. It is a rule which obtains through all Na-
ture that the nobler animals are slowly produc-
ed, and that Nature acts with them in a kind of
dignified economy ; but that the meaner births^
are lavished in profusion, and thousands are pro-
duced merely to supply the necessities of the
more favourite part of the creation. Of all
productions in nature, insects are by far the
most numerous. The vegetables which cover
the face of the earth bear no proportion to tlie
multitude of insects ; and though, at first sight

the

OP BIRDS, FISH, &C. 119

the herbs of the field seem to be the parts of or-
ganized Nature which are produced in the great-
est abundance, yet, upon more minute inspec-
tion, we shall find that every plant supports a
multitude of scarcely perceptible creatures, that
fill up the compass of youth, vigour, and age, in
the space of a few days existence. In Lapland,
and some parts of America, the insects are so
numerous, that if a candle be lighted, they swarm
about it in such multitudes, that it is instantly
extinguished by them ; and in those parts of the
world, the miserable inhabitants are forced to
smear their bodies and faces with tar, or some
other unctious composition, to protect them
from the stings of their minijite enemies.

On the other hand, Swammerdam argues for
the perfection of insects in the following man-^
ner : ^' After an attentive examination, says he,
of the nature and anatomy of the smallest as
well as the largest animals, I cannot help al-
lowing to the least an equal, or perhaps a supe-
rior degree of dignity. If, while we dissect
with care the larger animals, we are filled with
wonder at the elegant disposition of their parts,
to what a height is our astonishment raised,
when we discover all these parts arranged in
the least, in the same regular manner ? Not-
R S withstanding

120 NATURAL HISTORY

withstanding the smallest of ants, nothing
hinders our preferring them to the largest
animals^ if we consider either their unwearied
diligence^ their wonderful strength, or their
inimitable propensity to labour. Their amaz-
ing love to their young is still more unparal-
leled among the larger classes ; they not only
daily carry them to such places as may aiford
them food, but if by accident they are killed,
and even cut into pieces, they will, with the
utmost tenderness, carry them away piecemeal
in their arms. Who can shew such an exam-
ple among the larger animals, that are digni-
fied with the title of perfect ? Who can find
an instance in any other creature, that can come
in competition with this?*'

On this dispute it is only necessary to ob-
serve, that the wisdom of the Creator is so con-
spicuous in all his works, and such surprising
art is discovered in the mechanism of the body
of every creature, that it is very difficult, if
not impossible, to say where it is most, and
where it is least, to be observed.

Whoever is desirous of attaining a syste
matic knowledge of insects, must in the
first place acquire the terms made use
of in the science, that so he may be able

rightly

OP BIRDS, FISH, &C. 121

rightly to denominate every part of an insect.
The student is first to ascertain what an insect is,
lest he mistake hippocampi, and other amphi-
bious animals, for them, as was formerly done ;
or confound them with the vermes which
Lannaeus first distinguished from insects, and
which differ as essentially from them, as the
class mammalia do from birds. Every insect
is furnished with a head, antennas, and feet, of
all which the vermes are destitute. All insects
have six or more feet; they respire through
pores placed on the sides of their bodies, and
which are termed spiracula ; their skin is ex-
tremely hard, and serves them instead of bones,
of which they have internally none. From this
definition, the acm marina is evidently no in-
sect. But the antennae placed on the fore part
of the head, constitute the principal distinction ;
these are jointed and moveable in every part,
in which they differ from the horns of other
animals ; they are organs conveying some kind
t)f sense ; but we have no more idea of what
this kind of sense is, than a man has, who,
without eyes, attempts to determine the parti-
cular action of the rays of light on the retina
of the eye, or to explain the changes which
thence take place in the human mind. That

they

1^<^ JJATURAL HISTORY

they are the organs of some kind of sense^
is apparent frofti their perpetually moving them
forward ; yet the hard crust with ^hich they
are invested, and their shortness in flies and other
insects^ would lead us to be'^eve that they are
not the organs of touch : Mr. Barbut supposes
them to constitute or contain the organs of
hearing. That they are tubular^ and filled with
air^ and some kind of humour, appears from
the antennae of butterflies immersed in water.

OF THE EXTERNAL PARTS OF THE BODY.

1. The Head. This part, in insects, is
without any brain. The difference between the
brain and the spinal marrow consists in the for-
mer being a medullary part organized. We
do not deny the existence of a medullary
thread in the heads of insects, but we never
could discover it to be organized : hence the
hippobosca equina, or horse-fly, will live, run,
nay, even copulate, after being deprived of its
head; to say nothing of many others, which

are

OF BIRDS, fISIf, &C. ICS

are capable of living a long ^vhiIe in the sime
situation. As they are not apparently furnished
with ears^ they have been deemed incapable
of hearing; for we can no more conceive that
sense to exist without ears^ than vision m ithout
eyes. That they are nevertheless susceptible of
any shrill gr loud noise, as well as fish, is in-
disputable ; but it has been supposed to be in a
manner different from that of hearing.

Mr. Barbut, however, imagines them to pos-
sess this sense in a very distinct manner. Many
insects, he observes, are well known to be
endowed with the power of uttering sounds,
such as large beetles, the bee, wasp, common
fly, gnat, &c : the sphinx atropos squeaks,
when hurt, nearly as loud as a mouse. Now,
if insects be endowed with the power of ut-
tering sounds, it certainly must be for some
purpose. As they vary their cry occasionally,
it must certainly be designed either to give no-
tice of pleasure or pain, or some affection in
the creature who possesses it. The knowledge
of their sounds, says that author, is undoubtedly
contined to their tribe, and is a language in-
telligible to them only; except when violence
obliges the animal to exert the voice of nature
in distress, craving compassion; then all ani-
o mals

124 NATCRAL HISTORY

Dials understand the doleful cry. For instance^
attack a bee, or wasp^ near the hive, or nest, or
a few of them ; the consequence of that assault
will be, the animal, or animals, by a different
tone of voice, will express his or their disap-
probation or pain.

That sound is known to the hive to be plain*
tive, and that their brother, or brethren, require
their assistance ; and the offending party seldom
escape with impunity. Now if they had not
the sense of hearing, they could not have known
the danger their brother^ or brethren, were in
by the alteration of their tone.

Another proof, which he reckons still more
decisive, was taken from an observation made
by himself on a large spider in St. James s
Park. This creature had made a very large
web on a wooden railing, and was, at the time
of observation, on one of the rails at a consi-
derable distance from the place where a large fly
entangled itself. Yet, the moment the
fly was entangled, the spider became sensible of
it; though from the situation of the rail, he
could not possibly have seen ih In this, how-
ever, Mr. Barbut might possibly be deceived ;
the spider was, perhaps, alarmed by the tre-
mulous motion of the threads, occasioned by

the

OF IJIRDS;, Fisn_,&c. 125

the fluttering of the fly ; >vhich he might easily
know how to distinguish from their vibration by
the wind. The organ of hearing,, in our au-
thor's opinion, is situated in the antenna ; both
from their position in the part of the head most
favourable to such organs, and their inward struc-
ture being moveable, the ears of most inferior
animals being so. He has never considered the
antennae as being either off'ensive, or defensive,
but has obser\'ed them to be endowed with an
exquisite sense of feeling; that the animal ap-
peared^to be in agony when its antennae were
4>inrhed ; and that it takes care to avoid the
touching any hard substance with them roughly.
^ This tenderness in the organ of hearing, says
he, is common to all animals ; and insects seem
to be particularly tender in these parts, by
quickly withdi-awiug them from the touch."
That authoi' further observes that the antennas
of all insects are composed of joints varying in
size, form, and number. Those who are destined
to live chiefly under water, have their antennae
shorter than those m ho live on land. Some who
roam at large in the air, have them lono-
and slender. They are all hollow, and are
rendered flexible by the joints. This hollo w-
ness, in our author's opinion, is to receive the
VOL. V. S sound.

I2v5 NATURAL HJ5T0RY

sound communicated to the extremities of ilie
antcnriiE by the repercussion of the air afi'ected
by any noise, and convey it, by means of the
joints, from one to another, till it arrives in
ijiat lessened degree of tone best suited to the
i.iniid nature of the animal. In this circum-
itance there may be many variations in point of
perfection in those organs ; the strength, uti-
i:t\", and degree of powej* in receiving sound,
beuig proportioned to the necessities of the
animals, different in their natiue and requi-
sites. In most animals the entrance to the au-
ricular organ is patulous ; but in this case the
animal would suffer gieat inconvenience from
such an organization, as the organ would often
be clo-med with dirt, &c.

It has a'iso appeared dubious whether they have
the sense of smell, no organ being found in them
which seems to be adapted to that purpose : and
although it was evident they had a preception of
agreeable and fcetid effluvia, it was thouirht to be
in a maimer altogether unknown to us. !Mr.
Barbut is of opinion however that the organs of
smell reside in the palpi, cr feelers. !Many in-
sects have four, and some iix ; two of which
are in general chahform, in order to assist the in-
sect in conveying its food to its mouth.

It

OF lilllDS, FISH, 8CC. 157

It may be likewise observed, that the palpi-
are in continual motion ; the animal thrusting
lliem into every kind of putrid or other matter,
as a hog would do his nose, smelling and search-
ing after food. Insects, which apparently do
not possess palpi, or spiral tongues, have un-
doubtedly some organ concealed uithiu the
mouth analooous to them in function and uti-
lity ; the fleshy proboscis of the fly is thrust into
ever}' substance in which the animal expects to
lind food ; and w hen it is extended, nearly in
the middle, are situated, in our author's opi-
nion, two upright palpi, v*hich, no doubt, per-
form in their turn some oflice, perhaps that of
smell.

!Many insects have no tongue, nor make any
sound w ith their mouth ; but, for this puipose,
some use their feet, others their wings, imd
others some elastic instrument with which they
are naturally furni:<hed.

JEi/es. !Most insects have two ; but the gy-
rinus has four ; the scorpion six ; the spider
eight; and the scolopendra three; they have
no eye-brows, but the external tynip of tl'.eir
eyes is hard and transparent like a watch-glass ;
their eyes have no external motion, Tl:ey
S 2 chietiy

128 NATURAL iriSTOI^Y

chiefly consist of one lens only ; but in thos«
of the butterfly, and many of the beetles, they
are more numerous. Pugett discovered 17,325
lenses in the cornea of a butterfly, and Leu-
wenhoek, 800 in a fly.

AntcniKE. Of these there are in general
t\vo, which are placed on the fore-part of the
head ; they are peculiar to insects, and are plainly
distinguishable from the palpi, which are more
numerous, commonly four, sometimes six ; they
are placed near the mouth, and are sometiines
wantinn:.

The moutli of most insects is placed in the
anterior part of the head, extending somewhat
downward, while in others it is pkced'under the
breast, as in the chermes. See. Many have a
proboscis which is the mouth drawn out to a
rigid point ; in several of the hemlptera class it
is bent downward towards the breast and belly,
as in the bug, SCc. They have in geneial two
jaws ; some of them, indeed, have four, and
others even more ; they are placed horizontally ;.
the inner edge of them, in some, is serrated, or
furnished with little teeth. The tongue, as wx
the buttei-fly, is taper and spiral, but in others
it is fleshy, resembling a proboscis,^ and tubu-
lar, as in the fly.

The

OF BiRDSj risH, Sec. 12[>

Tlie greatest part of insects liave the num-
ber of their legs confined to six ; mites, spiders,
and scorpions, however, have eight; the onis-
€\is has fourteen; and there are some few
which have still more. The lirst joint of the
teg is generally thickest, and is called femur ;
the second, which is of the same size through-
out, ^i^irt; the third, which is jointed, tarsus;
and t^ie last, which iii most insects is double,
itng^uis. Tli€! claws are %\\e fore-fe^t enlarged
towards their extremities, each of which is fur-
nished with twQ lesser claws, wVcU act like 4
thumb and linger.

Their wings are membraneous and undivided,
except in the instance of the p ha l{&}ia alucitcCy
in which they are in part divided. Most
ii^sects have four; but the diptera-class and the
coccus have only two. The wing is divided
into its inferior and superior surfaces; its an-
terior part in a butterfly, is that towards the
a^iterior margin, or next to tlie l^ead; its pos-
terior part that towards the anus; its exterior
part tl>at towards th€ o*.iter edge ; and th^ uv
ferior that next the abdomen.

The tails oi iijtsects, with very few excep-
tiqu% are simple, capable of being extended
and drawn back at pleasure.

130 NATURAL JUSTORY

OF THE SEXES.

THE same difference of sex exists in in-
sects as in other animals, and they even appear
more disposed to increase their species than
other animals ; many of them, when become
perfect, seeming to be created for no other
purpose but to propagate their species Thus
the silk-worm, when it arrives at its perfectj>
or moth state, is incapable of eating, and can
hardly fly : it endeavours only to propagate its
species; after which, the male innnediately
dies, and the female also, as soon as she has depo-
sited her eggs.

In many insects, the male and female are
with difficulty distinguished; while in some ihey
differ so widely, that an unskilful person might
easily take the male and female of the same in-
sect for different species; as in the phalaena,
humuli, piuiaria, and russula, each sex of w hich
differs in colour.

This

OF BiRDSj FISH, 8cc. ]3;

This dissimilarity is still more apparent in some
insects, as the coccus, 6cc. in which the male has
wings, and the female none. And as some in-
sects remain along while in copulation, as \^e may
see in the tipula and silk-worm, the winged males
fly with the wingless females, and carry them
about from one place to another. It is, how-
ever, no certain rule, that when one insect of
the same species is found to have wings, and
the other to be without, that the former must ne-
cessarily be the male, and the other the female.
The aphides, for instance, are an exception ;
and besides these, individuals of both sexes,
and of the same species, are found without
M'ings, as the carabi, &c.

The gri/lius pedestris is likewise destitute of
w ings ; and might have passed for a gryllus in
its pupa state, had it not been seen in copula-
tion; for it is well known that no insect can
propagate its species, till it arrives at its last
or perfect state.

Besides those of the male and female, a third
sex exists in some insects, which we cull Jieu-
ter; and as these have not the distinguishing parts
of either sex, they may be considered as eu-
puchs, or infertile.

We

31 3£ NATURAL HISTORY

• V> e know of no instance of this kind in any
other class of animals, nor even in vegetables, ex-
cept in class syngenesise, and in the opulus.
This kind of sex is only found among those in-
sects which form themselves into societies, such
as bees, wasps, and ants : and here these kind of
eunuchs are real slaves, as on them lies the
whole business of the econoiny ; while those of
the other sex are idle, or only employing them-
selves in the increase of the family. Each fa-
mily of bees has one female only (called the
Queen), many ttjales, and almost an innume-
rable quantity of neuters. Of these, the neu-
ters (wdiose antennae have eleven joints) do the
working part ; they extract and collect honey
tiwd wax, build up the cells, keep watch, and
do a variety of other things.
-' The males, whose antennae consist of fifteen
joints, do no work; they serve the female once,
alid that at the expence of their lives; they
may be considered in the light of a set of para-
sites, or cecisbeos ; but as soon as their busi-
ness of impregnation is over, they are expelled
by their servants, the neuters, w ho now shake
off the yoke, but yet pay all due respect to their
common mother the queen. Nearly the same
economy takes place in wasps, where the

young

OF BIRDS, ^ISH, &C. 13$

young females, which are impregnated in the
autumn, live through the winter, and in the
spring, propagate their species; but the queen,
together with all the males perish in the win-
ter. Among ants the neuters form a hill in
the shape of a cone, that the water may run off
It, and place those which are in the pupa stat«
on that side of it which is the least exposed to
the heat of the sun. At a considerable distance
from these are found the habitations of the
males and females, to whom the most ready
obedience is paid by the neuters, till a new off-
spring succeeds, and then they oblige them to
quit their habitations. But those ants which
live entirely under ground, provide better for
themselves in this respect; for, a little before
their nuptials, they quit the habitation of thfeir
own accord, and after swarming in the manner
of bees, they copulate in the air; and each re-
tiring to some new habitation, founds a new
family.

No hermaphrodites have as yet been disco-
vered among insects; but there is something
very singular, in the propagation qi the
aphides. A female aphis, once impregnated,
can produce young, which will continue to
produce others without any fresh impregnation,

VOL. V. T

'■' «v§n

134 NATURAL HISTORY

even to the fifth progeny ; afterwards a fresh
impregnation must take place.

The male insects, like male hawks, are al-
ways smaller than the females; in the propaga-
tion of their species, they are remarkably care-
ful ; so that it is with the greatest difficulty that
flies are kept from depositing their eggs on fresh
meat ; the cabbage butterfly from laying them
©n cabbage, and other insects from depositing
them in the several places peculiar to each.
The scarabaeus, pilularious, and carnifex, are
deserving our attention, as they afford a mu-
tual assistance to each other ; for when the fe-
male has laid her eggs in a little ball of dung,
the males with their feet, which are axiform,
assist the females to roll it to some suitable
place; as Aristotle and Pliny formerly, and
Loefling has lately observed.

It is very wonderful to obsqrve, that in the
coccus and oniscus. the female has no sooner
brought forth her young, than she is devoured by
it; and that the sphex should be able so readily
to kill th^ caterpillar of a moth, then bury it i»
the earth, and there deposit her eggs in it. Nor
can we without admiration behold the same
species of aphis which was viviparous in the
summer^ become oviparous in the autumn.

Almost

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 13;^

Aliriiost innumerable examples might be
brought of the singularities in the eggs of in-
sects : we shall, however, only mention those
of the hemerobius, which are deposited on a
foot-stalk, those of the phalaena neustri, which
are placed regularly in a ring round the branch
of some tree; and the compound eggs of the
blatta.

METAMORPHOSES OF INSECTS

THERE are no insects, except of the optera
class, but what are continually undergoing some
tranformation. Insects change first from the
egg, into the caterpillar or maggot; then into
the pupa chrysalis, and lastly, into the fly, or
perfect state. During each of those changes,
their appearance differ as much as night and
day.

The insect, as soon as it comes out of the
egg, was, by former entomologists called eruca;
but as this is synonimous with the botanic
name sisi/mhrium, it was changed by Linnaeus
for the term larva; a name expressive of the
insect's being, in this state, as it were masked,
having its true appearance concealed. Under
T2 thi^

136 NATURAL HISTORY

this mask, or skin, the entire insect, such ai
it afterwards appears when perfect, lies con-
cealed, enveloped only in its tender wings, and
putting on a soft and pulpy appearance; inso-
much that Swammerdam was able to demon-
strate a butterfly, with its wings, to exist in a
caterpillar, though it bore but a faint resem-
blance to its future perfection. Tlie insect,
therefore, in this state, undergoes no other al-
teration but the change of its skin ; the lurt(t
are, for the most part, larger than the insect,
when perfect, and are very voracious; the ca-
terpillar of the cabbage butterfly eats doubU
what it would seem to require from its size ;
but its growth is not adequate to its voracity.

JPupa : the insect in this state, was formerly
called chrysalis^ or aurelia, but as the appear-
ance of gilding is confined to a few butterflies
only, the term of pjipa has been adopted in its
stead; because the lepidoptera especially re-
sembles an infant in swaddling clothes; and
in this state all, except those of the hemiptera
class, take ao nourishment.

Tonago is the third state. This name is
given by Linnaus to this third change, in
which the insect appears in its proper shape
and colours; and as it undergoes no more

trans-

OF BIRDS, FlSHj&C. 137

transformations, it is called perfect. In this
state it flies, is capable of propagating its
species, and receives true antennae ; which be-
fore, in most insects, were scarcely apparent.

AS insects are endowed with the varioiw
powers of creeping, flying, and swimming,
there is scarcely any place, however remote and
secure, in which they are not to be found; and
therefore, upon casting a slight view over the
whole insect tribe, just when they are supposed
to rouze from their state of annual torpidity,
when they begin to feel the genial influ-
ence of spring, and again exhibit new life iu
every part of nature, their numbers and their
varieties seem to exceed all powers of calcula-
tion, and they are certainly too great for de-
scription ; but from the similtudes of the form,
manners, and propagation of several of them,
the extensive discription has been easily com-
pressed, and a separate history of each species
has become totally unnecessary. Swammerdam,

Rheaumur,

138 NATURAL HISTORt

•Rlieaumur, and Linnaeus, undertook the task
of abridging their descriptions ; and Goldsmith,
availing himself of their joint labours, has, with
much propriety divided the whole class of in-
sects into four separate distributions. His ar-
rangement we shall principally follow, as under
it may be contained a sufficiently comprehen-
sive detail of the whole class of insects, which
he has faithfully desciibed to consist of ^' little
*' animals without red blood, bones, or carti-
" lages, furnished with a trunk, or else a mouth
'*' opening lengthwise, with eyes which they are
*' incapable of covering, and with lungs which
*^ have their opening on the sides. This de-
*' finition comprehends the whole class of in-
" sects, whether with or without wings, whe-
*' ther in their caterpillar or butterfly state,
*' whether produced in the ordinary method of
*' generation between male and female, or from
*' an animal that is itself both male and female,
*^ or fi'om the same animal cut into several
*^ parts, and each part producing a perfect ani-
« mal."

The^rs^ animals that offer themselves are
tliose that want wings, which appear crawling
about on every plant, and on every spot of
earth which we regard m ith any degree of atten-
tion.

OP BIRDS, FISH, &C. 139

tion. Those, therefore, that never have wings,
but creep about till they die, may be considered
as constituting the first class of insects. All
these, the flea and the wood-louse only excepted,
are produced from an egg; and, when onc^
they break the shell, they never suffer any fur-
ther change of form, but continue to grow
larger till they die. The second order of msects
consists of such as have wings ; but which,
when produced from the egg, have those wings
cased up in such a manner as not to appear.
The third order of insects is of the moth and
butterfly kind. All these have four wings,
each covered with a mealy substance of va-
I'ious colours, which when handled, comes ofiT
upon the fingers ; and, if examined by the mi-
croscope, will appear like scales, with which tlie
wing is nicely embroidered over. The fourth'
order is of those winged insects which come
from a worm, instead of a caterpillar, and yet
go through changes similar to those which moths
and butterflies are seen to undergo. To these
we add, as a fifth order, a numerous tribe lately
discovered, to which naturalists have given the
name of Zoophytes. These do not go through
the ordinary forms of generation, but may be
propagated by dissection. They seem a set of
^ creature*

140 NATURAL HISTOKT

creatures placed between animals and vegeta-
bles, and make the shade that connects sensi-
ble and insensible nature.

OF INSECTS WITHOUT WINGS.

THIS tribe may be said to consist of all such
as resemble the flea, the louse, the spider, the
bee, the wood-louse, and the water-louse; all
of which are produced from an egg in that
form from which they never change, nor ever ac-
quire wings.

If we consider this class as distinct from
others, we shall find them, in general longer
lived than the rest, and often continuing their
tenn beyond one season, which is the ordinary,
period of an insect's existence. They seem
also less subject to the influence of the weather ;
and often endure the rigours of winter without
being numbed into torpidity. The whole race
of mothsj butterflies, bees, and flies, are ren-
dered

OP BIRDS^ FISH, &C. 14.1

dered lifeless by the return of cold weather^
but we need not be told, that the louse, the
flea, and many of those wingless creatures that
seem formed to teize mankind, continue their
painful defffedations the whole year round.

They come to perfection in tlie egg, and it
fiometimes happens, that when the animal is in-
terrupted in performing the offices of exclu-
sion, the young ones burst the shell within the
parent's body, and are thus brought forth alive.
This not unfrequently happens with the wood^
louse, and otiiers of tlue kind, which are some-
times seen producing eggs, and sometimes
young one« perfectly formed.

Tliough these creatu) ts are perfect from tlie
beginning, yet they are often, during their ex-
istence, seen to change tlieir skin : this is a fa-
culty which they possess in common with many
of the higher ranks of animals, and which an-
swers the same purposes. However tender their
skins may seem to us, yet if compared to
the animaj's strength and size, they will be found
to resemble a coat of mail, or, to speak more
intelligibly, the shell of a lobster. By this skin
these animals are defended from accidental mju-
ries, and particularly from the attacks of each
other; within this they continue to grow, till
VOL. V. U their

142 NATURAL HISTORY

their bodies become so large as to be imprisoned
in their own covering, when the shell bursts,
and is quickly replaced by a new one.

Lastly, these animals are endued with a de-
gree of strength for their size, that at first might
exceed credibility. Hud man an equal degree
of strength, bulk for bulk, with a louse or flea,
the history of Samson w ould be no longer mi-
raculous. A flea will draw a chain a hundred
times heavier than itself; and to compensate
for this force, will eat ten times its own size of
provision in a single day.

The Spider is the animal that deserves our
first notice in this principal order of insects,
whose manners are the most subtle, and whose
instincts the most various. Formed for a life
of rapacity, and incapable of living upon any
other than insect food, all its habits are calcu-
lated to deceive and surprize ; it spreads toils to
entangle its prey; it is endued with patience to
expect its coming ; and is possessed of arms and
strensfth to destrov it when fallen into the
snare.

In these countries, where all the insect tribes
are kept under by human assiduity, the spiders
are but small and harmless. We are acquainted
with few except the house-spider, which weaves

its

OF BIRDS^ FISH^ &C. ' 1*4S

its web in neglected rooms; the gardcn-spidcr,
that spreads its toils from tree to tree; and rests
in the centre ; the zi'andering spider, that has
no abode like the rest,; and the Jie/d-spider,
5vhich is sometimes seen mounting, web and
all, into the clouds. These are the chief of
our native spiders ; and which, though reputed
to be venomous, are entirely inoffensive. But
they form a much more terrible tribe in Africa
and America ; and it is a well known fact, that the
bottom of the Martinico spiders body is as large
as a hen's egg, and covered all over with hair.
Its web is strong, and its bite dangerous.

Every spider has two divisions in its body.
The fore i)art, containing the head and breast,
is separated from the hinder part or belly by a
very slender thread, through which, however,
there is a communication from one part to the
other. The fore part is covered with a hard
shell, as well as the legs, which adhere to the
breast. The hinder part is clothed with a sup-
ple skin, beset all over with hair. They have
several brilliant and acute eyes all round the
head; they are sometimes eight in number,
sometimes but six; two behind, two before,
and the rest on each side. Like all other in-
sects, their eyes are immoveable j and they
U 2 want

144 NATURAL HISTOKT

".vant eye-lids ; but this orgao is forfilied w'lik
a tiansparent horny-sitb&ia-'ice, which at once
secures and assists their vision. As the am-
iTial ppocuies its subsistence by the- most watcli*
fill atention, so kirge a- number of eyes was ne-
cessary to give it the earliest inibrmation ol the
capture of its prey. They have two piuct- rs on
the fore part of the head, rough,^ with strong
points, toothed like a saw, and terminating in
elaw& like those of a cat. A little below the
point of the claw there is a small hole, through
which the anknal emits a poison, which, though
harmiess to us, is sufficiently capable ot in-
stantly destroying it» prey, ^i!as is the most
powerful weapon ^ey have against their ene-
mies; they can opcR OF extend these pincers a*
occasion may req.uire ; and wlien tfeey are un-
disturbed, they suffer thetn to lie one upon the
ether, never opening them but when there is
a necessity for their exertion. All of them have
eight legs, jointed like those of lobsters, and
similar also in another respect; for if a leg be
torn away, or a joiiit cut «>ff, a new one will
quickly grow in ittf place, and the animiil will
find itself fitted fof combat as before. At the
end" of each leg there are three crooked move-
able clavr^ 5 namely^ a small one, placed higher

^

Ot BIRDS^ fiSH, &C. 145

up, like a cock's spiir^ by the assistance of \\hich
it adheres to the threads of its ^veb. There are
two others larger^ which meet together like a
lobster's claw, by which they can catch hold
of the smallest depressions, walking up or down
the most polished surfaces, on which they can
tind mequalities that are imperceptible to oi*r
grosser sight. But when they walk upon such
bodies as are peifectly smooth, as looking-glass,
or polished marble, they squeeze a little sponge
which grows near the extremity of their claws,
and thus diffusing a glutinous substance, adhere
to the surface until they make a second step.
Besides the eigbt legs just mentioned, th€s^
animals have two others, which may more pro-
perly be called amis, as they do not serve to
assist motion, but are used in holding and ma-
nnging their prey.

The spider, though thus formidably equip-
ped, would seldom prove successful in the cap-
ture, were it not equally funiished with other
instruments to assist its depredations. It is a
most experienced hunter, and spreads its nets
to catch such animals as it is unable to pur-
sue. The spider's web is generally laid in those
places where flies are most apt to come and
shelter:; and there this little animal remains Tor

days,
2

^

J4G NATURAL HISTOKY

dnj-s, nay weeks together, in patient expecta-
tion, seldom changing its situation though ever
so unsuccessful.

For the purposes of making this web. Na-
ture has supplied this animal with a large quan-
tity of glutinous matter within his body, and
five dugs or teats for spinning it into thread.
This substance is contained in a little bag, and
at first sight resembles soft glue ; but when ex-
amined more accuratelv, it will be found »a be
twisted into many coils of an agate colour, and
upon breaking it, the contents may be easily
drawn out into threads, from the tenacity of
the substance, not from those threads being
already formed. Those who have seen the
machine by which wire is spun, will have an
idea of the manner in which this aniinal forms
the threads of its little net, the orifices of the
five teats above mentioned, through which the
thread is drawn, contracting or dilating at plea-
sure. The threads which we see, and which
appear so fine, are, notwithstanding, composed
of five joined together, and these are many times
doubled when the web is in formation.

When a house-spider proposes to begin a
web, it first makes choice of some commodious
spot, where there is an appearance of plunder

and

OF BIRDS^ FISH, &C. 147

and security. The animal then distils one little
drop of this glutinous liquor, ^^hich is very te-
nacious, and then creeping up the wail, and
joining its threads as it proceeds, it darts itself
in a surprising manner, to the opposite place,
\vhere the other end of the web is to be fastened.
The first thread thus formed, drawn tight, and
fixed at each end, the spider then runs upon it
backward and forward, still assiduously employed
in doubling and strengthening it, as upon its
force depends the strength and stability of the
whole. The scaffolding thus compleated, the
spider makes a number of threads parallel to
the first in the same manner, and then crosses
them with others ; the clammy substance of
whicli they are formed, serving to bind them,
when newly made, to each other. The insect,
after this operation, doubles and trebles the
thread that borders its web, by opening all it%
teats at once, and secures the edges, so as 4o
prevent the wind from blowing the work away.
The edges, being thus fortified, the retreat is
next to be attended to ; and tiiis is formed like
a funnel at the bottom of the w eb, where the
little creature lies concealed. To this are two
passages, or outlets, one above and the other
beioWj veiy artfully contrived, to give it aa

opportunitj

148 NATURAL HISTORY

opportunity of making excursions^ at proper
seasons^ of prying into every corner, and
cleaning those parts which are observed to be
clogged or encumbered. Still attentive to its
weh, the spider, from time to time, cleans away
the dust that gathers round it, which might
otherwise clog and incommode it : for this pur-
pose, it gives the whole a shake with its paws ;
still, however, proportioning the blow so as not
to endanger the fabric. It often happens also,
that from the main web there are several threads
extended at some distance on every side: these
are, in some measure, the outworks of the for-
tiiication, which, M'henever touched from with-
out, the spider prepares for attatpk or self-de-
fence. If the insect, which is entangled in
the web, be a fly, it springs forward with great
agility ; ii", on the contrary, it be the assault of
an enemy stronger than itself, it keeps within
its fortress, and never ventures out till the dan-
ger be over. Another advantage which thf
spider reaps from this contrivance of a cell, or
retreat behind the web, is that it serves for a
place where the creature can feast upon its
game with all safety, and conceal the fragments
oi' those carcases which it has picked, without
exposing to public view the least trace of bar-
barity.

OF BIRDSj FISHj &C. UQ

barity, that might create a suspicion in any in-
sects that their enemy was near.

It often happens, however, that the wind^
or the shaking of the supporters, or the ap-
proach of some large animal^ destroys, in a mi-
nute, the labours of an age. In this case th©
spider is obliged to remain a patient spectator
of the imiversal ruin ; and when the danger is
passed away, it sets about repairing the cala-
mity, being possessed of a large quantity of the
glutinous substance of which the web is made.
It sometimes undertakes the task of forming*
new w eb ; but, in general, the animal is much
fonder of mending than making, as it is fur-
nished originally with but a certain quantity of
glutinous matter, which, when exhausted, no-
thing can renew. The time seldom fails to
come, when their reservoirs are entirely dried
up, and the poor animal is left to all the chances
of irretrievable necessity. An old spider is
thus frequently reduced to the greatest extre-
mity; its web is destroyed, and it wants the
materials to make a new one. But as it has
been long accustomed to a life of shifting, it
hunts about to find out the w eb of another spi-
der, younger and weaker than itself, with whom
it ventures a battle. The invader generally

VOL. y. X succeeds ;

150 NATURAL HISTORY

succeeds; the young one is driven out to make
a new web, and the old one remains in quiet
possession. If, however, the spider is unable to
dispossess any other of its web, it then endea-
vours, for a while, to subsist upon accidental
depredation ; but in two or three mouths it in-
evitably dies of hunger.

The Garden-spider seems to work in a dif-
ferent manner. The method which this insect
adopts is to spin a great quantity of thread, which
floating in the air in various directions, hap-
pens from its glutinous quality, at last to stick
to some object near it, a lofty plant, or the
branch of a tree. The spider only wants ta
have one end of the line fast, in order to secure
and tighten the other. It accordingly draws
the line when thus fixed, and then by passing
and repassing upon it, strengthens the thread in
such a manner as to answer all its intentions.
The first cord being thus stretched, the spider
walks along a part of it, and there fastens ano-
ther, and dropping thence, fastens the thread to
some solid body below, then climbs up again
and begins a third, which it fastens by the same
contrivance. When three threads are thus
fixed, it forms a square, or something that very
nearly resembles one ; and in this the animal is

generally
9

OF BIKDS^ FISH, &C. 151

generally seen to reside. It often happens, how-
ever, when the young spider begins spinning,
that its web becomes too buoyant, and not only
the thread floats hi the air, but even the little
spinster. Tn this manner we have often seen
the threads of spiders floating in the air ; and
what is' still more surprising, the young spiders
themselves attached to their own web.

The web being thus completed, and fixed
in a proper place, its next care is to seize
and secure whatever insect happens'to be caught
m the toil. For this purpose, it remains for
weeks, and even months, upon the watch,
without catching a single fly; for the spider,
like most other insects, is surprisingly patient of
hunger. It sometimes happens that too strong
a fly strikes itself against the web, and thus,
instead of being caught, tears the net to pieces.
In general, however, the butterfly or the hor-
net, when they touch the w eb, fly off again,
and the spider seems little inclined to inter-
rupt Iheir retreat. The large blue-bottle-fly,
the ichneumon-fly, and the common meat-fly,
seem to be its favourite game. When one of
these strike into the toils, the spider is instantly
seen alert and watchful at the mouth of its hole,
careful to observe whether the fly be com-
X 2 pletely

152 NATURAL HISTORY

pletel}' secured. If that be the case, he walks
leisurely for^vard, seizes its pre}', and instantly
kills it by instilling a venomous juice into the
wound which it makes. If, however, the fly be
not fast, the spider patiently waits, without ap-
pearing till its prey has fatigued itself by its
struggles to obtain its liberty ; for should the ra-
vager appear in all his terrors while the prey
is but half involved, a desperate eff'ort might
give it force enough to get free. If the spi-
der have fasted for a long time, it then drags
the fly immediately into its hole and devours it ;
but if there have been plenty of game, and the
animal be no way pressed by hunger, it then
gives the fly two or three turns in its web, so
as to completely secure it, and there leaves it
impotently to struggle until the little tyraut
comes to his appetite.

Jt has been the opinion of some philosophers,
that the spider was in itself both male and fe-
male; but Lister has been able to distinguish
the sexes, and to perceive that the males were
much less in size than the females. As most
of these insects prey upon each other, except
during the time of their amours, they dare not
come within reach of one another but with
the utmost caution. They ma^- sometimes be

seen

or BIKDS, FISH, &c. 153

seen stretching out their legs, shaking the web,
and tampering with eadi other by a slight
touch with the extremity of their feet ; then in
a fright dropping hastily down their thread,
and returning in a few moments to make fresh
trial by feeling. When both parties are well
assured of the sex they have to deal with, the
approaches of their feet, in order to feel, be-
come more frequent, confidence takes place,
and amorous dalliance ensues. '^ We cannot/'
says Lyonnet, " but admire how careful they
" are, not to give themselves up blindly to a
'^ passion, or venture an imprudent step, which
*' might become fiital to them." Lister and
Lyonnet, two accurate observes, say, that the
extremity of those arms, or claws, wlijch the
spider uses to grasp his prey with, suddenly
opens, as it were, with a spring, and lets out a
white body, which the male applies beneatli
the abdomen of the female, to fulfil the wish of
nature,

The female generally lays from nine hun-
dred to a thousand eggs in a season ; they are
of a bluish colour speckled with black. These
eggs are large or small in proportion to the size
of the animal that produces them. Li some
they are as large as a grain of mustard-seed ;

in

154 NATURAL HISTORY

in others, they are scarcely visible. Tlie fe-
male never begins to lay till she is two vears
old.

^\ hen the number of eggs which the spider
has brought forth has remained for an hour
or two to dry after exclusion, the little animal
then prepares to make them a bag, where they
are to remain until they leave the shell.
For this purpose she spins a web four or five
times stronger than that made for catching
fiies ; and, besides, lines it with a down, w hich
she plucks from her own breast. This bag,
when completed, is as thick as paper, is
smooth within side, but rough without.
Within this they deposit their eggs; and it
is almost incredible to relate the concern and
industry which they bestow in the preservation
of it. T^ey stick it, by means of their glu-
tinous fluid, to the end of their body ; so that
the animal, when thus loaded, appears as if
she had one body placed behind another. If
this bag be separated from her by any accident,
she employs all her assiduity to stick it again in
its former situation, and seldom abandons her
treasure but with her life. When the vounsj
ones are excluded from their shells they remain
for some time in their confinement^ until

the

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 1j5

the female, instinctively knowing their matu-
rity, bites open their prison, and sets them free.
But her parental care does not terminate with
their exclusion ; she receives them upon her
back for some time, until they have strengtli
to provide for themselves, when they leave
her never to return, and each begins a se-
parate manufactory of its own. The young
ones begin to spin when they can scarcely be
discerned; and prepare for a life of plunder
before they have strength to overcome.

There are some species of spiders remarka-
ble for darting out long threads, and by means
of which they can convey themselves to great
distances. Dr. Lister tells us, that, atteudino-
closely to a spider weaving a net, he observed
it suddenly to desist in the mid-work ; and turn-
ing its tail to the wind, it darted out a thread
w ith the violence and stream which we see water
spout out of a jet: this thread, taken up by the
wind, was immediately carried to some fathom*
long ; still issuing out of the belly of the aui-
mal. Presently after the spider leaped into tlie
air, and the thread mounted her up swiftly.
After this discovery, he made the like observa-
tion in nearly thirty different sorts of spiders ;
and found the air tilled with young and old,

sailins:

JoG JJATURAL HISTORY

sailing on tlieir threads, and doubtless seizing
gnats and other insects in their passage, there
being often manifest signs of slaughter, legs and
wings of flies, &c. on these threads, as well as
m their webs bclow\ Dr. Hulse discovered
the same thing about the same time.

Dr. Lister thinks there is a fair hint of
the darting of spiders in Aristotle, Hist. An.
lib. ix. cap* SQ. and in Pliny, lib. x. cap. 74.
but with re2;ard to their sailinc;, the ancients
are silent, and he thinks it was first seen by
him. He also observes of these sailing spiders,
that thev will often dart, not a single thread
only, but a w hole sheaf at once, consisting of
many filaments, yet all of one length, all di-
vided each from the other and all distinct until
some chance either snap them off, or entangle
tiiem. But for the most part you may observe,
that the lunger they grow, the more they spread
and appear, to a diligent observer, like the nu-
merous rays in the tail of a blazing star. As
for that which carries them away in the air, it
is partly their sudden leap, partly the length
and number of the threads projected, the
stream of the air and wind beating more forcibly
upon them, and partly the posture and manage-
ment of their feet, which^ at least by some sort

of

OF JURDS, FISH, &C. Id?

of them, I have observed to have been used
Very like wings or oars, the several legs being
sometimes close joined, at other tim.es opened!
iigain bent, extended, and according to the se-
veral necessities and will of the sailor. They
cannot be strictly said to fly for they are carried
into the air by external force; but they can, in
case the wind suffer them, steer thSir course,
and perhaps mount and descend at pleasure :
and for the purpose of rowing themselves along
the air, it is observable that they always take
their flight backwards; tliat is, their head
looking a contrary way, like a sculler upon
the Thames. It is scarcely credible to what
height they will mount; which yet is precisely
true, and a thing easily to be observed by one
that shall tix his eye some time on any part of
the heavens, the white webs, at a vast distance,
very distinctly appearing from the azure sky ;
but this is in autumn only, and that in very
fair and calm weather. In a letter to Mr.
Ray, dated January, 1670, speaking of the
height spiders are able to fly to, he says, '' Last
*' October I took notice that the air was very
'' full of webs; I forthwith mounted to the
'' top of the highest steeple on the Minster, in
" York, and could there discern them yet ex^
*^ ceeding high above me."

VOL. V. Y He

1-;S NATURAL HISTOHY

He further observes, that they not only thus
shoot their threads upwards, and mount with
them in a hne ahnost perpendicular, they also
project them in a line parallel to the horizon, as
may be seen by their threads running from one
wall to another in a house, or from one tree to
another in a field, and even from wall to wall
across gardens of considerable extent. The
matter of which the spider's threads are formed,
we have already observed, is a viscid juice, ela-
borated in the body of the animal, and emitted
from papillte situated at the extremity of the
belly ; which papilla? are furnished with numerous
apertures that do the business of wire- drawers,
as it were, in forming the threads. Of these
apertures, M. Rheaumur observes, there are
enough in the compass of the smallest pin's
head, to yield a prodigious quantity of distinct
threads. The holes are perceived by their
effects : take a large garden-spider ready to
lay its eggs, and applying the finger on a part
of its papillae, as you withdraw that finger, it
ViWl take with it an amazing number of threads.
M. Rheaumur has often counted 70 or 80 with
a microscope, but has preceived that there w ere
infinitely more than he could tell. In effect, if
he should say that each tip of a papillae furnished

a thousand

OF BIRDS^ FISH, &C. 15^

a thonsaiid he should say much too little. The
part is divided into a number of little promi-
nences, like the eyes of a butterfly, and each
prominence no doubt makes its several threads ;
or rather between the several protuberances
there are holes that give vent to threads : the
use of the protuberances, in all probabihty,
being to keep the threads at their first exit, be-
fore they are yet hardened by the air, asunder :
In some spiders these protuberances are not so
serviceable, but in lieu of them, there are tufts
of hair which may serve the same office, viz. to
keep the threads apart; be this as it may, however,
threads may issue from above a thousand dif-
ferent places in every papillas ; consequently
the spider, having five papillae, has holes for
above five thousand threads.

Such is the tenuity of the threads in the
larger sort of spiders; yet if we examine the
young produced by those, we shall find that
they no sooner quit their egg than they begia
to spin ; indeed their threads can scarcely be per-
ceived, but the webs may ; they are frequently
as thick and close as those of house spiders ; and
no wonder, there being often four or five
hundred little spiders concuiiing to the same
work,

Y 3 How

160 NATURAL HISTORY

How minute must their holes be ! the im^ -
gination can scarcely conceive that of their pa«
pillse ; the whole spider is perhaps less than a
papillae of the parent which produced it. But
there are even some kinds of spiders so small at
their birth that they are not visible without a
microscope. There are usually found an inli
nity of these in a cluster, and they only appear
like a number of red points ; and yet there are
found webs under them, though scarcely per-
ceptible. M. Leuwenhoek has computed that
one hundred of the single threads of a full grown
spider are not equal to the diameter of the hair
of his beard, and consequently that if the thread?
and hair be both round, ten thousand such threads
are not bigger than such a hair. He calculates
further, that when young spiders first begin to
spin, four hundred of them are not larger than
one which is of a full growth ; allowing which,
four miliions of a young spider's threads are
not so big as a single hair of a man's beard.

Garden Spiders, particularly the short legged
species, yield a kind 6f silk, which has by some
been judged scarcely inferior to that of the silk-
worm. Mr. Bon, of Languedoc, about 70
years ago, contrived to manufacture from it a
pair of silk stockings and mittens, of a beautiful.

natural

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. l6l

natural grey colour, which were almost as
handsome and strong as those made with com-
mon silk ; and he published a dissertation con-
cerning the discovery. But M. Rheaumur be-
ing appointed by the Royal Academy to make
a further enquiry into this new silk work, raised
several objections and difficulties against it,
which are found in the Memoirs of the Aca-
demy for the year 1710. The sum of what he has
urged amounts to this; that the natural fierceness
of the spiders renders them untit to be bred and
kept together. Four or five thousand being
distributed into cells, fifty in some, one or two
hundred in others, the big ones soon killed and
eat the less, so that in a short time there were
scarce left more than one or two in a cell; and
to this inclination of mutually eating one ano-
toer, M. Rheaumur ascribes the scarcity of spi-
ders, considering the vast number of eggs which
they lay. But this is not all ; he even affirms that
the spider's bag is inferior to that of the silk-
worm, both in lustre and strength, and that it
produces less matter to be manafactured. The
thread of the spider's web^ he says, only bears
a weight of two grains without breaking, and
that of the bag bears thirty-six. The latter^
therefore, in all probability, is eighteen times

thicker

iQo, NATURAL HISTORY

thicker than the former; yet it is weaker than
that of the silk-worm^ which bears a weight of
two drachms and a half; so that five threads of
the spider's bag must be put together to equal
one iJiiead of the siik- worm's bag.

How it is impossible that these should be ap-
plied so justly over one another as not to leave
little vacant spaces between them^ whence the
Xi^ht will not be reflected,, and in consequence a
thread thus composed must fall short of the lus-
tre of a solid thread; add to this, that the spi-
der's thread cannot be wound off like that of the
silk-worm hut must of necessity be carded ;
by which means, being torn in pieces, its even-
ness, which contributes much to its lustre, is
destroyed. In effect, this want of lustre was
taken notice of by M. de la Hire, when the
stockings were presented to the Academy.
A*^ain, spiders furnish much less silk than the
worms; the largest bags of the latter weigh
four grains, the smaller three grains; so that
12304 worms produce a pound of silk. The spi-
der bags do not weigh above one grain ; yet
when cleared of their dust and filth, they lose
two-thirds of their weight. The work of
twelve spiders, therefore, only equals that of one
«ilk-worm; and a pound of silk will require at
5 ' least

OF BIRDSj FlSn^ &C. 16.1

least 27,648 spiders, but as the bags are wholly
the work of the females^ who spin them to de-
posit their eggs in, there must be kept, 0.5,296
spiders to jield a pound of silk. Yet will this
only hold of tlie best spiders; those large ones
ordinarily seen in gardens, &c. scarce yielding
a twelfth part of the silk of the others. 280 o4'
these he shews would not yield more than one
silk-worm; 663,552 of them would scarce
yield a pound.

Spiders frequently change their colour, which
varies much in respect to to season, sex, age, &c,
but they are in general more beautifully varie->
gated in autumn ; a season not only the most
opportune and plentiful respecting their prey,
but at the time when they arrive at their greatest
magnitude, and are in their height of vigour.
The species of spiders enumerated by natu-
ralists amount to upwards of fifty; of which it
may here suffice to mention a few of the most
remarkable.

1 . The Cali/cina, with a round pale yellow
belly, and two hollow points; it lives in the
cups of flow^ers after the flower leaves are Mien
oft, and catches bees, and other flies, when
they are in search ©f honey.

The

164 NATURAL HISTORY

^. The Avicnlaria hag a convex roun*^
breast_, hollowed transversely in the middle. If.
is a native of America^ and feeds upon small
biidsj insects, &c. the bite of this spider is as
venomous as that of the serpent.

3. The Ocellati, has three pair of eyes on
its thighs ; it is about the same size with the
tarantula, of a pale colour, -with a black ring
round the belly, _ and two large black spots on
the sides of the breast; it is a native of
China.

4. The Saceata, has an oval belly, of a
dusky iron colour; it lives in the ground, and
carries a sack with its eggs wherever it goes.
This sack it glues to its belly, and will rather
die than Iqgve it behind.

5. The Diadema, is the largest spider this
country produces; the abdomen is of an oval
form, downy, and of a ruddy yellow colour,
which is very variable in different seasons, being
sometimes paler, at others very dark coloured>
the upper part is beautifully adorned with black
and white circles and dots, having a longitudi-
nal band in the middle, composed of oblong and
oval shaped pearl coloured spots, so arranged
as to resemble a fillet, similar to those worn by

the

OF BIRDS^ FISH^ &C l65

the Eastern Kings; the ground upon which
this fillet^ and the white dots are laid, when
viewed with a glass, and the sun shininr^ there-
on, is beautiful and rich beyond all description.
There are varieties in colour of this spider whea
young; some have their abdomen purple, or-
namented with white dots, the legs yellow, and
annulated with a deeper colour; others have
their abdojnen of a fine red, likewise ornamented
with white, but the legs of a fine pale green
colour, annulated with dark purple, or black.
It inhabits the birch trees.

6. Tlie Cucurhitina has a globular yellow
belly, with a few black spots; it lives in the
leaves of trees, and incloses its eggs in a soft
Bet.

7. The Lahi/rinthiea, with a dusky oval belly,
a whitish indented line, and a forked anus. The
web of this species is horizontal, with a cylin-
<irical well or tube in the middle.

S. The Fimbria fa has a black oblong belly,
with a white line on each side, and dusky co-
loured legs ; it lives in water, upon the surface
of which it runs with great swiftness.

9. The Holosericea has an oval belly, co-
• ^ered with a down like velvet ; ai the base or

VOL. v, Z ""ler

J66 NATURAL HISTORY

ilTjdfer part it has two yellow spots. It is fbund
ie tke folded leaves of plants.

10. The Viatica f or Wanderer^ is generally
of a yellow colour, more or less deep, some^
times it is whitish, and even rather green; the
the abdomen is large, broad, almost square, with
two bands of dark orange, which arising from
the thorax degcends obliquely on the sides to-
wards the middle. Between the bands are a
few small black dots forming a kind of triangle
upoti the middle of the abdomen; on the thoJ-ax
are seen two longitudinal bands somewhat greed,
one on each side; the two foremost pair of legs
are very long and the hinder short, which makes
it walk like a citlb; it is found upon plants, and
is a very lively, active, indefatigable hunter.
Without any motioA of thfe head, which is fur-
nished with immoveable eyes, it perceives all
the flics that hover round about, does not scare
them, but stretches over them its arms furnished
•with feathers, which prov^ Uets in which their
wings entangle. It is said to sit on its eggs,
which, however, it often cojiveys about with
it, wrapt up in a ball of white silk.

11. The Aquati-ca is of a livid colour; with
an oval belly, a&d a transverse line, and two

hollowed

OF BIRDS^ FISH, &/;. Il^

hollowed points. It fr ec^uents the fr^sh wa-
ters of Europe. But it is ia some sort ampl^^-
bioiis ; for it can live ou land as well as in the
water, and comes often- on shor^ ^or its foo^ 3
ret it Bvvims well in water, both on its be]iy
and back: it is distinguishable by its bright^
ness. In the water its be% appears covered
with a silver varnish, which is only a bubble
of air attached to the abdomen by means of the
oily humours which transpire from its body^
and prevent the immediate contact of the wa
ter. This bubble of air constitutes the substance
of its dwelling, which it constiucts uadef
water; for it fixes several threads of silk, or
such fine matter, to the stalks of plants in th^
W'ater; and then ascending to the surface,
thrusts the hinder part of its body above wa-
ter, drawing it back again with such rapidity,
that it attaches underneath a bubble of air,
which it has the art of detaining under watgf^
by placing it beneadi the threads above-mepr
tioned, and which it binds like a fjoverij^jg
almost all round the air bubble. Then it stSf
eends again for another air bubble; and tjbns
proceeds, until it has construeted a large ai^risl
apartment undef water, which it enters mto pf
quits at pleasure. "The male jEienstrwcts fesr
Z 2 himself

i6S NATVUAL HISTORY

himself one near to the female; and when love
invites, he breaks through the thread walls of
the female's dwelling, and the two bubbles at-
tached to the bellies of both, uniting in
one, form one large nuptial chamber. The
female is sometimes laid, for a whole day to-
gether, stretched on her back, waiting for the
arrival of the male, without motion, and seem-
higly as if dead. As soon as he enters, and
glides over her, she seems to be brought to life
again, gets on her legs, and runs after the
male, who makes his escape with all possible
speed. The female takes care of the young,
and constructs similar apartments , on purpose
for them. The figure of this spider has no-
thing remarkable; and would be overlooked
among a crowd of curiosities, if the spectator
be unacquainted M'ith its singular art of con-
structing an aerial habitation under water, and
thus uniting together the properties of both
elements. It lodges during the winter in
empty shells, which it dexterously shuts up
with a web.

12. The Fasciataj with yellow bands round
the bell, and dusky rings round the legs, is a
native of Barbary, and is as large as the thumb.
It inhabits hedges and thickets : its webs have

large

or BIRDS, ViSH, 8cc. 1^<)

large meshes, and it resides in the centre ; tlie
snares are spread for larges flies, wasps, drones,
and even locusts ; the lesser insects can escape
through the meshes. The animal when eri-<
tangled is soon bound with strong threads, killed
by the spider's jaws, and partly eaten if the spi-
der be hungry : the rest is concealed under some
neighbouiing dry leaves, covered with a kind of
web and a blackish glue in great abundance : its
larder is said to be often plentifully stored. Its
nest is of the size of a pigeon's egg, divided ho-
rizontally, and suspended by the threads of the
insect, which are of a silvery white, and stronger
than silk. The young ones live in amity, but
when grown up are mortal enemies ; they never
meet but they tight with violence, and their bat-
tle only ends with the death of the weakest :
the dead body is carefully stored in the larder.
Twelve of these spiders, by way of experiment,
were shut up together, and after a battle of
eight days, the strongest only remained alive.

13. The Tarantula has the breast and bdiy
of an ash colour ; the legs are likewise ash co-
loured ; with blackish rings on the under part ;
the fangs or nippers are red on the inner side,
the rest being blackish ; two of its eyes are
red, larger tlian the others, and placed in ih^
3 front;

170 NATURAL HISTORY

front ; four other eyes are placed in a transverse ^
direction tow^.rds the mouth ; the other two are
nearer -the back : k has two antennae^ or feelers.
It is a native of ItaU', Cyprus, Barbary and
iJie Ea«t Indies. It lives in bare fields, where
the lands are fallow, but not very hard; and
from its antipathy to damp and shade, chuses for
its residence the rising part of the ground facing
tiie east. Its dwelling is about four inches deep
and half an inch wide; at the bottom it is curved,
and there the msect sits in wet weather, and
cuts its way out if water gain upon it. It
waves a net at the mouth of the hole. These
spiders do not live quite a year : in July they
shed tlieir skin, and proceed to propagation ;
which, from mutual distrust, as they fre-
quently devour one another, is a work under-
taken with great circumspection. They lay
about seven hundred and thirty eggs, which are
hatched in the spring ; but the parent does not
live to see her progeny, having expired early in
the winter. The ichneumon fly is their most
formidable enemy.
• The bite of the tarantula is said to occasion
an inflammation in the part, which in a few
tiours brings on sickness, difficulty of breathing,
and universal faintness ; the person is afterwards

affiicted

or BiRDs^ FISH, Sec. 171

afflicted with a delirium and sometimes is
seized with a deep melancholy ; and the same
tiymptoms return annually, in some cases, for
feeveral years, and at last terminate in death.
Music, it has been pretended, is the only cure. A
musician is brought, who tries a variety of airs,
till at last he hits upon one that urges the patient
to dance ; tlie violence of which excercise, pro-
duces a proportionable agitation of the vital
spirits, attended with a consequent degree of
perspiration, the certain consequence of which
is a cure. Such are the circumstances which
have been generally related, and long credited,
concerning the bite of this animal. Kircherus,
in his Musurgia, gives a very pai ticular account
of the symptoms and cures, illustrated by his-
tories of cases, among which he mentions a
girl, who being bitten by this insect, could be
cured only by the music of a drum. He then
proceeds to relate, that a ceatain Spaniard,
tiiisting to the efficacy of music in the cure of
the frenzy occasioned by the bite of the taran-
tula, submitted to be bitten on the hand by two
of these creatures, of different colours, and pos-
sessed of different qualities, the venom was no
sooner diffused about his body, than the symp-
tonis of the disorder began to appear : upmi

whicl^

17*^ NATURAL HISTORY

%vhicii harpers^ pipers, and other musicians,
were sent for, who by various kinds of music
endeavoured to rouze him from that stupor into
which he had fallen ; but here it was observed
that the bites of the two insects had produced
contrary effects ; for by one he was incited to
dance, and by the other restrained from it :
and in this conflict of nature the patient died.

In his Musurgia, this author, attempting to
account mechaiiicaliy for the cure of the bite of
the tarantula, by music, says of the poison, that
it is sharp, gnawing and bilious, and that it is
received and incorporated into the medullary
substance of the fibres. With respect to the
music, hd says, that the sound of the chords
have a power to rarify the air to a certain har-
monical pitch; and that the air thus rarified,
penetrating the pores of the patient's body, af-
fects the muscles, arteries, and minute fibres,
and incites him to dance ; which exercise begets
a perspiration in which the poison evaporates.

Unsatisfactory as this theory may appear, the
belief of this strange phenomena has prevailed
among the ablest of modern naturalists. Sir
Thomas Brov.ii, so far from disputing it, says,
,that since many attest the fact from experience,
and that the learned Kircherus hath positively,

averred

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 173

averred it, and set down the soiigs and tunes so-
lemnly iise<l for the cure of the disease; and sinc^
some also affirm that the tarantula itself will
dance at the sound of music, he shall not at al|
question it. Farther, that eminent Italian
Physician of tiie last century, Baglivi, a native
of Apulia, the country where the tarantula i$
produced, has written a dissertation De Anato-
mia, morsu, et effectibus tarantulca. In this he
describes the region of Apulia where the taran-
tula is produced, with the anatomy and figure
of the insect and its eggs; he mentions parti-
cularly the symptoms that follow from the bite,
and the cure of the disease by music, with a
variety of histories of cures thus wrought,
and many of them communicated by persons who
were eye-witnesses of tlie process.

Ludovicus Valetta, aCelestine monk of Apu-
lia, published at Naples, in the year ] 70(5, a
treatise upon this spider, in which he not only
answers the objections of those who deny the
whole circumstances, but gives, from his own
knowledge, several instances of persons who
had suffered this way, some of whom were gf
great families, and so far from being dissemblers,
that they would at any rate, to avoid shame, have
concealed the misfortune which had befallen

VOX. y. A a thejjj.

774 NATURAL HISTORY

them. The Hon. Mr. "Robert l^oyle, in his
treatise of Languid and Unheeded Motions,
speaking of the bite of the tarantula, and the
cure of the disease which follows it, by means
of music, says, that having himself had some
doubts about the matter, he was, after strict
envquiry, convinced that the relations were in the
main true. Lastly, Dr. Mead, in his Mecha-
nical account of Poisons, has given an essay on
the tarantula, containing the substance of the
above relations, and which he endeavours to
confirm by his own reasoning upon the subject.
Notwithstanding the number and weight of
these authorities, and the general acquiescence
i)f learned and ingenious men in the opinion
that the bite of the tarantula is poisonous, and
that the cure of the disorder occasioned by it is
effected by music, we have reason to apprehend
that the whole is a mistake. In the Philoso-
phical Transactions for the year i672, p. 406.
is an extract of a letter from Dr. Thomas Cor-
nelia, a Neapolitan Physician, to John Dod-
dington. Esq; his Majesty's Rebident at Venice,
communicated by the latter, in which, speaking
of his intention to send to Mr. Doddington some
tarantulas, he says, meanwhile I shall not omit
to impart to you what was related to me a few

days

OF BIRDS, F.ISH, &C. 175

days since, by a judicious and unprejudiced per-
son ; \^hicll is, " that being in the countr}' of
'' Otranto, where these insects are in great num-
" bers, there was a man, who thinking himself
" stung by a tarantula, shewed in his heck a
*' small speck, about which in a short time there
" arose some pimples, full of a serous humour
*' and that, in a few hours dter, the poor man
" was afflicted with very violent symptoms,
*' as syncopes, very great agitations, giddiness
" of the head, and vomiting; but that without
'^ any inclination to dance, and without a desire
*' to have any musical instrument : he miserably
" died within two day;;!. The same person af-
^ firmed to me, that all those that think tbem-
" selves bitten by tarantulas, except such as for
'^ evil ends feign themselves to be so, are for
" the most part young wanton girls, whom the
'^ Italian writers call Dolci di Sale ; who by
" some particular indisposition falling into this
^* melancholy madness, persuade themselves,
"^ according to the vidgar prejudice, to have
" been stung by a tarantula."

Dr. Serao, an Italian physician, has written

also an ingenious book upon this subject, in

which he has effectually exploded this opinion as

a popular error; and in the^ Philosophical Tran-

A a 2 sactions

175 NATURAL HISTORY

sactions^ No. Lx. for the year 1 770. p. ^S6, is a
letter from Dominico Cirillo, M. D. professor of
natural history in the University of Naples, where-
in taking notice of Serao's book, he says that hav-
ing had an opportunity of examining the effects of
this animal in the province of Taranto, where
it is found in great abundance, he fmds that the
surprising cure of "^^le bite of the tarantula by
music has not the least truth m it, and that it is
only an invention of the people, who want to
get a little money by dancing when they say the
tarantism begins. He adds, *' I make no doubt
*' but sometimes the heat of the climate contri-
*^ butes very much to warm their imaginations,
'^ and throw them into a delirium, which may
'' be in some measure cured by music ; but se-
" veral experiments have been tried with the
'' tarantulas, and neither man nor animals after
*' the bite have had any other complaint than a
*' very trifling inflammation upon the part, like
'^ that produced by the bite of the scorpion,
*' which goes off by itself without any danger
'' at all. In Sicily, where the summer is still
'^ warmer than in any part of the kingdom of
'^ Naples, the tarantula is never dangerous;
*'. and music is never employed for the cure of
*^ the pretended tafantism." Mr. Swinburn,

when

OF BIRDS, risii. Sec. 177

wheh in the country of the tai"antu!a, n^as desir-
ous of investigating minutely every particular
relative to that insect ; but the season was not
far enough advanced, and no tarantafi (persons
bitten, or pretended to have been bitten, by the
tarantula) had begun to stir. He prevailed how-
ever upon a woman ^^ho had formerly been
bitten, to act the part and dance the tarantata
before him. Many musicians were summoned,
and she performed the dance, as all present as-
sured him, to perfection. At first she lolled
stupidly on a chair while the instruments were
playing some dull music, they touched, at
length, the chord supposed to vibrate to her
heart ; and up she sprung with a most hideous
yell, staggered about the room like a drunken
person, holding a handkerchief in both hands,
raising them alternately, and moving in very
true time ; as the music grew brisker, her mo-
tions quickened, and she skipped about with
great vigour, and variety of steps, every now
and then shrieking very loud. The scene was
far from pleasant ; and at his desire an end was
put to it before the woman was tired.

He further informs us that whenever ilie
larantati are to dance, a place is hung round with
buuches of grapes and ribbo;is ; the patients are

dressed

178 NATURAL HISTORY

dressed in white^ with red^ green, or yellow rib-
bons, forthose are their favourite colours; on their
shoulders they cast a white scarf, let their hair
fall loose about their ears, and throw their heads
as far back as they can bear it : they are, in
fact, exact copies of the ancient priestesses of
Bacchus. The orgies of that god, whose wor-
ship, under various symbols, was more widely
spread over the globe than that ox any other divi-
nity, were no doubt performed with energy and en-
thusiasm by the lively inhabitants of this warm
climate. The introduction of Christianity abo-
lished all public exhibitions of these heathenish
rites, and the women durst no longer act a
frantic part in the character of Bacchantes.
Unwilling to give up so darling an amusement,
they devised other pretences, and possession by
evil spirits may have furnished them with one.
Accident may also have led them to a discoveiy
of the tarantula; and upon the strength of its
poison, the Puglian dames still enjoy their old
dance, though time has effaced the memory of
its ancient name and institution ; and this Mr.
Swinburn takes to be the origin of so strange
a practice. If at any time these dancers are
really and involuntarily affected, he supposes it
can be nothing more than an attack upon tlieir

nerves,
o

OF BIRDS, FISH, 8Cc. 179

nerves, a species of St. Vitus*s dance ; and he
inclines the more to the idea, as there are num-
berless churches and places throughout these
provinces dedicated to that saint.

Many sensible people of the country, how-
ever, differ, in opinion, from Dr. Serao and
other authors, who have ridiculed the pre-
tended disorder, and have affirmed that the venom
of this species of spider can produce no ef-
fects but such as are common to all other. The
Brindisians say, that the tarantulas sent to Na-
ples for the experiment were not^ofx^the true
sort, but were much larger and more innocent;
and that the length of the journey, and want of
food, had weakened their power so much, as
to fulfer the Doctor, or others, to put their
arm into a bag where they were kept with
impunity. They quote many examples of per-
sons being bitten as they slept out in the fields
during the hot months, who grew languid, stupid,
deprived of all courage and elasticity, till the
sound of some favourite tune roused them to
dance, and throw off ^^he poison. These argu-
ments, however, Mr. Swinburn thinks of little
weight, for they acknowledge that elderly
persons were more frequently afflicted than
young ones ; and that most of them were

women

ISO NATUBAL HISTORY

women^ and those unmarried. He says^ that no
person above the lowest rank was ever seized
with this malady, nor is there an instance of its
<:au5i«g death. The length of the dancCj and
the patient's power of bearing such excessive
ftitigue in the canicular season, prove nothing j
because every day at that time of the year, pea-
SHBts may be seen dancing with equal spirits
and preseverance, though they do no pretend
to be seized with the tarantism.

The illness may, therefore, be attributed to
hysterics, excessive heat, stoppage of perspira-
tion, and other effects of sleeping out of doors
in a hot summer air, which is always extremely
dangerous, if not mortal, in most parts of Italy.
Violent exercise may have been found to be a
certain cure for this disorder, and continued by
tradition, though the date and circumstances of
this discovery have long been buried in obli-
vion ; a natural passion for dancing, imitation,
custom of the country, and a desire of raising
contributions upon the spectators, are probably
the real motives, that inspire the tarantati. Be-
fore Serao*s experiments, the tarantula had been
proved to be harmless, from trials made in
1693 by Clarizio, and in 1740 at Lucera, by
other naturalists.

Thc^

Ot BIRDS, FISH, Sec. . 181

The Flea. Of all the insect tribe this is, by
far, the most agile and active : its power of
springing indeed is wonderful for its size, being
capable of bounding more in height than two
hundred times the bulk of its whole body ; and
some naturalists have been induced to attribute,
to it a degree of cunning and sagacity no less ex-
traordinary ; for they say that it makes its ap-
proach for an attack w ith as much caution, as
it effectuates its escape with art and velocity ;
but this is, perhaps, allowing the flea a greater
share of instinct than it, in reality, has any pre-
tensions to ; for although it certainly appears to
exert a variety of manoeuvres to save its life,
and to preserve its freedom, yet that may pro-
bably be accounted for from the diminutlveness
of its size, and the elasticity of its limbs ; and as
to its precaution in making its attacks, what-
ever individuals may imagine that they have
observed, the flea hastily approaches the body
that is warm, and greedily attacks those pores
through which the blood can most easily be
procured.

Numerous as these insects are, and notwith-
standing that they are found in every part of the
known world, yet their tormenting depreda-
tions are mostly confined to men and domestic
, yoL. V. B b animals.

182 NATtRAL HISTORY

aninialsj such as the dog, cat, poultry, pigeons'.,
&c. In the warm climates they are in the
greatest abundance, particularly in the southern
parts of France and Italy, but in the northern
they are by much the most tormenting; and
Goldsmith savs, the bite of the flea is more
troublesome in England than he ever found it
in any other place. If it be examined with a
microscope, the flea will be observed to have u
small head, large eyes, aud a roundish body.
It has two feelers, or horns, which are short,
and composed of four joints, and between these
lies its trunk, which it buries in the skin, and
through which it sucks the blood in large quan-
tities. The body appears to be curiously adorn-
ed all over with a suit of polished sable ar-
mour, neatly jointed, and beset with a great
number of sharp pins, almost like the quills of
a porcupine. It has six legs, the joints of
which are so adapted, that it can, as it were,
fold them up one within another, and when it
leaps they all spring out at once, in which effort
its whole strength is exerted, and the body
thrown, comparatively, to a considerable distance.
The flea deposits a multitude of nits, or
^ggs, which are round and smooth, and from
tliese proceed white worms, of a shining pearl

colour ;

o^ lURDs, FISH, 8ce. 183

colour; in a fortnight's time they come to a
tolerable size, and are very lively and active ;
but if they are touched at this time, th«y roll
themselves up in a ball : soon after this they
begin to creep like silk-worms that have no
legs, and then they seek a place to hide them-
selves in, where they spin a silken thread from
their mouth, and with this they enclose themselves
in a small round bag or case, as white within as
writing paper, but dirty without; in this they
continue for a fortnight longer ; after which
they burst fiom their confinement perfectly
formed, and armed with powers to distui-b the
^est even of a tyrant.

The Lonse, This insect, observes an inge-
nious writer, is not only tlie most disagreeable,
but also the most inveterate tormentor of man ;
for wherever misfortune sends her train of
wretchedness, disease, and hunger to beset him,
the louse seldom fails to add itself to the tribe,
and to increase in proportion to the number of
his calamities.

When the human louse is examined with the

microscope, the shape of the fore-part of the

^lead appears to be somewhat oblong; that of

,tlie hind-part somewhat round; the skin is hard,

B b 2 and

184 NATURAL HISTORY

and being stretched^ transparent, with here and
there sevei al bristly liairs ; in the fore-part is a
proboscis^, or sucker, which is seldom visible ;
on each side of the head are antennae^ or horns,
each divided into five joints, covered M'itli
bristly hair ; and several other wliite vessels are
seen through these horns ; behind these are the
eyes, which seem to want those divisions ob-
servable in other insects, and appear encompassed
with some few hairs; the neck is very short,
and the breast is divided into three parts; on
each side of which are placed six legs^ consist-
ing of six joints, covered also with bristly hairs ;
the ends of the legs are armed with a large and
a small ruddy claw, serving them as a finger and
thumb, by which they catch hold of such ob-
jects as they approach; the end of the body
terminates in a cloven tail, while the sides are
covered with hau', the whole resembling clear
parchment, and, when roughly pressed, crack-
ing with a noise. On a closer view its white
veins, and other internal parts become apparent,
as likewise a most wonderful motion in its intes-
tines, from the transparency of its external cover-
ing. When the louse feeds, the blood is seen to
rush like a torrent, into the stomach ; and its gree-
diness is so great, that the excrements contained

ia

OF BIRDS, FISH, &e. 185

5a the intestines are ejected at the same time, tQ
make room for this new supply.

The louse has neither beak, teeth nor any.
kind of mouth. In the place of all these it;
has a proboscis, or trunk ; or as it may other^
wise be called, a pointed hollow sucker, with
which it pierces the skin, and sucks the human
blood, taking that alone for food. The stomach
is lodged partly in the breast and back ; but the
greatest portion of it is in die abdomen. Whea
empt}', it is colourless, but when filled, it is
plainly discernible, and its motion seems very
extraordinary. It then appears working with
very strong agitations, and somewhat resembles
an animal within an animal. Supei-ficial ob-
servers are apt to take this for the pulsation of
the heart; but if the animal be observed whea
sucking, it will then be seen that the food takes
a direct passage from the trunk to the stomach,
where the remainder of the old aliment may be
observed mixing with the new, and agitated up
and down on every side. If this creature be
kept from food two or three days, and then
placed upon the back of the hand, or any soft
part of the body, it will immediately seek for
food ; and which it will the more readily find
if the place be rubbed until it grows red. The

animal

IB6 NATURAL HISTORY

animal then turns its head, which lies between
the two fore-legs, to the skin, and diiigently^
searches for some pore ; when found it fixes the
trunk into it, and soon, with the microscope,
the blood may be discovered ascending through
fhe head, in a very rapid stream. The louse
lii'ill, at that time, feed in any posture, even
with its head downward, and its tail elevated.
If, during this operation, the skin be drawa
tight, the trunk becomes bound fast, and the
animal is incapable of disengaging itself; but
it more frequently suffers from its gluttony,
since it gorges to such a degree that it is crush-
ed to pieces with the slightest impresion.

The most assiduous examiners of this part of
the creation have not been able to discover whe-
ther lice are divided into sexes. Swammerdam,
who was indefatigable in his pursuits, after
having dissected no less than forty-two, was of
opinion they were hermaphrodites, having dis-
covered an ovary in every one of which he dis-
sected ; in one of them, he says, he found ten
large eggs, and forty-four smaller that were not
come to their full perfection.

Scarcely any creature in the animal creation
multiplies so fast as the louse. It is a popular
expressioHj that a louse becomes a grandfather

ia

OF UlRDS, FISH, &C. 18^

in the space of twenty-four hours ; this cannot
be ascertained as a fact^ but nothing is more
true than that the moment the nit, which is
no other than the egg of the louse> gets rid oi
its superfluous moisture, and throws off its
shell, it begins to breed in its turn. Nothin«c
so much prevents the encrease of this nauseous
animal as cold and want of humidity ; the nits
nuist be laid in a place that is vi ajm and moist
to produce any thing.

This nauseous insect is equally troublesome
on every part of the human body, and among:
the ancients what is called thephiriasis or lousy
disease, was not uncommon; Antiochus, He-
rod Epiphanes, Alcman, the poet, Pherecv-
des, Cassander, Callistheneji, Sylla, and'seve-
-ral others are said Ui have died of that disorder.
The use of mercury, which was unkuowu
.among the ancients, may probably have reliev-
edthe moderns.

So general is this tribe of insects, that there i«
scarcely an animal or vegetable which does not
suffer the persecutions of its own peculiar louse,
Thfi sheep, the horse, the hog, and the elephant
are all teized by them : the whale, tlie shark,
the salmon, and the lobster, are not without
their company; while every hot-house, and

every

every garden is infested with sortie peculiarly
destructive. Linnaeus tells us, that he once
found a vegetahle louse upon some plants newly
arrived from America ; and willing to trace the
little animal through its various stages, he took
it with him from London to Leyden, where he
carefull}' preserved it during the winter, imtil
it bred in the spring; but the louse it seems did
not treat him with all the gratitude he expect-
ed ; for it became the parent of so numerous
a progeny, that it soon overrun all the physic-
garden of that beautiful city ; and leaves, to
this day, many a gardener to curse the Swede's
too indulgent curiosity.

The animal which some have called the Leaf
Louse, is of the size of a flea, and of a bright
•green, or bluish green colour ; the body is near-
ly oval, and is largest and most convex on the
hinder part ; the breast is very small, and the
head is blunt and green ; the eyes may be seen
very plainly, being prominent on the fort part
of the head, and of a shinning black colour ; near
•these there is a black line on each side ; and the
legs are very slender. These animals are usual-
tly found upon the leaves of the orache, and
other plants ; and the weaker the leaves and buds
are^ in the greater abundance do these insects
5 swarm

OV IJTRDSj FlSn, &'C. 189

-S!warm upon tliem . Some plants are covered over
M itb them ; though they are not the cause of the
plant's weakness, but the sign: however^ by
wounding and sucking the leaf, they increase the
disease. They generally assume their colour from
the plant on which they reside. Those that feed
upon pot herbs and plumb-trees^ are of an ash-
colour; but they are greenish when they are young;
those that belong to the alder and cherry-tree,
are black ; as are also those upon beans, and
some other plants : those on the leaves of apples
and rose trees, are w hite ; but as they leap like
grasshoppeis, some place them in the number
of the flea kind. The most uncommon co-
lour is reddish ; and lice of this sort may be
found on the leaves of tansey ; and their juice,
w hen rubbed in the hands, thiges them with no
disagreeable red. All these live upon their re-
spective plants ; and are often engendered with
in the very substance of the leaf.

All these produce their young alive; and
the foetus, when it is ready to be brought forth,
entirely fills the belly of the female; its fore
parts being excluded first, and then the hinder.
The young one does not begin to move till the
borns, or feelers^ appear out of the body of the

VOL. V. C c old

190 NATURAL HISTORY

old one ; and by the motion of these it first
shews signs of life, moving them in every di-
rection, and bending all their joints. When
the horns and head are excluded, the tvvo fore
feet follo"> \Yhich they move "with equal agili«
ty; after this follow the middle feet, and then
the hinder : still, ho->vever, the young one con-
tinues sticking to its parent, supported only at
one extremity, and hanging, as it were, in air,
Biltil its small and soft members become har-
dened and fitted for self-support. The parent
then gets rid of its burthen; by moving from
the place where she was sitting, and forcing
the young one to stand upon its legs, leaves it
to shift for itself.

As the animal has not far to go, its provision
lying beneath it^ it continues to eat and creep
about with great agility during the summer.
But as it is viviparous, and must necessarily
lurk somewhere in winter, where its body may
be defended from the cold, it endeavours to se-
cure a retreat near the trees or plants that serve
to nourish it in the beginning of spring. They
i^ever hide themselves in the earth, like many
Other insects, because they have no part of their
bodies fitted to remove the earth, nor can they
creep into every chink, as their legs are too

long;

OF BiRD&v, Fisn^ Sec. J9i

iong ; besides, their bodies are so tender, that
the least rough particle of the earth would hurt
tlieui. They get therefore into. the deep chhiks
of the bark, and into the cavities of the stronger
stalks, whence they sally out upon the branches
and leaves, when the warmth of the sun begins
to be felt. Neither the cold in the autumnal
season, nor the lesser degree of heat in the
spring, ever hurts them; they seldom, there-
fore, seek for hiding-places before the fall of
the leaf, and are alert enough to take the ear-
liest advantage of the returning spring.

Like many other insect*, they cast their skins
four several times ; and, Vvhat is ver}' remark-
able, the males have four wings-, but the fe-
niaks never have any. All of them have long
legs, not only to enable them to ci'eep over the
long hairs of plants and leaves, but also to tra-
vel from one tree to another, when they hap-
pen to stand at a distance. Their trunk, or
snout, lies under their breast; and this they
thrust into the pores of the plant to suck out the
juice, for they do not gnaw them, like the ca-
terpillar; but they hurt them so much by sucking,
that the leaves become spotted, and as it were
overun with scabs ; for which reason their edges
always turn towards the middle.

C c 2 It

19£ NATURAL lIISTOnY

It lias been said, that these inserts are often
carried away and devoured by ants; but this^
Frysch^ from wliom this description is takenr^
could never observe. The ants indeed are fond
of those trees where there is a great number of
those insects; but then it is only to suck the
juice which flows from the leaves that have been
just wounded. This more partlewlarly happens
in the heat of summer, when other moisture is
wanting: but he never found them hinting
or carrying away any of these insects while alive ;
nor indeed are thev able, for the leaf louse is
more than a mutch for the ant at single combat.
Whenever they perceive the ant approaching
behind them, they kick back with the hinder
feet, and thus drive off the invader, as a horse
would a Lon.

The three principal and constant enemies to
these insects are first, the fire-fly, which lays
its egsfs where these insects are in jireatest num-
bcr, and which, producing a worm, seizes and de-
vours ail the leaf lice that con»e near it; ano-
ther enemy is the worm of a peculiar kind of
beetle, which destroys them in great numbers;
but the most formidable of all enemies, is tiie
, ichneumon fly, that seizes upon one of the

largest

OF bihds^ nsif, &c. r93

largest females^ and laying its egg upon her,
this is hatched into a worm^ which soon de-
vours and destroys the animal iVom whose body
it sprung.

The common IVood lome is seldom above
lialf an inch long, and a quarter of an inch
broad. The colour i.s of a livid black, espe-
cially when found about dung-hills, and on the
ground ; but those that are to be met with under
tiles, and in drier places, are of the colour of
the hair of an ass. It has fourteen ^aei, seven
on each side; and they have only one joint each,
which is scarcely perceivable. It has t^vo short
feelers, and the body is of an oval shape. When
it is touched, it rolls itself up in a sort of bail:
and the sides, near the feet, are dentated, like
a saw. It is often found among rotten timber,
and on decayed trees: in winter it lies hid in
the crevices of walls, and all sorts of buildings.
The male is easily distinguished from the female,
being less, and more slender. The eggs they
lay are white and shinhig, like seed pearls, and
are very numerous; more properly speaking,
however, when excluded, the young have all
ilie appearance of an eg^, yet they are alive,
and, without throvv^ing off any shell, stir and

move

194 NAftrttAL Histotty

move about with great vivacity; so that this
animal may stiictly be said to be viviparous.
The little wonnsi at first seem scarcely able to
stir; but they soon feed, and become very brisk.
I'liese animals are much used in medicine, as
they are impregnated with a saline fjuality,, which
is diiu-ctic and stimulating. Of this insect Lin-
nfckis makes three species*

Tlie l^ug is another of those nauseous insects
that intrude upon the retreats of mankind, and
often banish that sleep, which even sorrow and
anxiety permitted to approach. This, to many
m.en, is of all insects, the most troublesome and
obnoxious. The night is the only season when
the bug issues from its retreats, to make its de-
predations. By day it lurks, like a robber, in
the most secret parts of the bed: takes ad-
vantage of every chink and cranny, to make a
secure lodgment ; and contrives its habitation
with so much art, that scarcely any industry can
discover its retreat. It seems to avoid the light
with gicat cunning; and even if candles be kept
burning, this formidable insect will not issue
from its hidincr place. But, when darkness
promif^es security, it then issues from eveiy cor-
ner of the bedj drops fron the tester, crawls

from
1

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. IQS

from behind the arras, and travels, with great
assiduity, to attack those who have retired to
rest. It is generally in vain that you destroy one
only, since there are hundreds more to reven<ye
their companion's fate ; so that the person who
is thus subject to be bitten, remains the whole
night, like a centinel upon duty, rather watchincr
the approach of fresh invaders, than inviting the
pleasing approaches of sleep.

Nor are these insects less disagreeable from
their nauseous stench, than their unceasing ap-
petites. When they begin to crawl, the whole
bed is infected with the smell ; but if the5^ ^^^^
accidentally killed, it is then insupportable.

These are a part of the inconveniences that
result from the persecution of these odious in-
sects : but happily for Great Britain, they mid-
tiply less in that island, than in any part of the
continent. In France and Italy the beds swarm
with them ; and every place of furniture seems
to aiford them a retreat. They grow larger
also with them than in England, and bite with
more cruel appetite.

Tliis. animal, if examined minutely, appears
to consist of three principals parts ; the head,
the corselet, and the belly. It has two brown
eyes, that are very small, and a litde prominent,

besides

l-gd TjATURAL HISTORY

besides two feelers, with three joints ; under-
neath tliese there is a crooked trunk, which is
its instrument of torture, and which, when in
motion, lies close upon the breast. The breast
is a kind of ring, in which are placed the first
two pair of legs. The belly consists of nine
rings, under which are placed two pair of legs
more. Each leg has three joints, which form
tlie thigh, the leg and the foot, the last being
aimed with a crooked claw, like a hook. The
body is smooth, except a few short hairs, that
may be seen by the miscroscope, about the vent,
and on the last rings. It is particularly at-
tached to the darkness of the night, and con-
stantly makes a hasty retreat at the approach of
any light.

Upon an internal examination, the bug ap-
pears to have the great artery which, in all in-
sects, performs the functions of the heart ; it
has the apertures of the lungs on both sides,
through which it breathes ; the stomach and
intestines, as in other animals, run from the
mouth to tlie anus : if it has been long fastinsr,
there will be a mucus found in its bodv, like
the white of an egg ; but if crushed, after a
full meal^ the human bloody which it has suck-
ed

OP BIRDS,, FISH, 8CC. 197

ed in, will appear a little darkened by having
passed through the insect's body.

The male and female of these animals are
plainly distinguishable from each other, and tlio
parts of generation are obvious enough. They
are often found coupling tail to tail. The fe-
male has an ovary hlled with eggs, joined to-
gether like a bunch of grapes; each egg being
oblong, almost cylindrical, inclining to white,
and pretty transparent, in about two days af-
ter impregnation she deposits her eggs, to th^
number of about one hundred and tifty, in som«
concealed place; there they continue for S9tn^
months, during which time neither cold noi*
heat, neither moisture nor fumigation, can in
tha least retard their exclusion^ but they com«
forth active, and ready for mischief. It is thitf
hardiness in the shell that seems to preserve the
breed, as the old ones die every winter, or are
easily destroyed by fumigation ; but the eggs ap-
pear proof against destruction. Cleanliness is,
most certainly^ the best antidote to guard against
these nauseous insects, and wherever that is
wanting their increase seems but a just punisii-
ment. They are sometimes found in such num*
bers among old furniture, and neglected cham*
bers exposed to the south, that, wanting oth«f

VOL, V. P d sustenance

19S NATURAL HISTORY

sustenance, they devour each other. They ate
also enemies to other vermin, and destroy fleas
very effectually. Of the bug kind Linnaeus
reckons forty varieties.

The MoncziduSy or jJrhorcsccnt Water-jieaf
is about the size of a common flea ; it appear*
to the sight, unassisted by the microscope, to have
but one eye, for the eyes, in consequence of the
sraallness of the head, seem to be joined to eacii
other: they are situated in the trunk, and
the beak is likewise very small and sharp
pointed. The structure of the eye is seen
by the microscope to be reticulated, or
made like a net; and the trunk, by which
it feeds, is not only small and sharp, but
also transparent. They are of a blood red
colour, and sometimes are seen in such multi-
tudes on the surface of standing water, as to
make it appear entirely red.

Swammerdam tells us of a celebrated pro-
fessor at Leyden, \Aho was, at first, much asto-
nished by an appearance of this kin !. Being
one day intent upon his studies he was disturbed
by a noise, and calling up the servant to know
the cause, she told him, quite in a fright and
Y^ith a tremulous voice, that all the waters of

■- Leyden

OP BIRDS^ FISHj &e IQQ

Leyden were turned into blood!. He went di-
rectly to the place where the water was said to
he thus changed^ and put some of it into a
glass : he was himself much astonished at first,
hut upon viewing it with attention, he observed
that it abounded with infinite numbers of these
litde red insects, which tinged the w hole body
of the fluid with that seemingly formidable co-
lour.

This little animal has several branchinsj arms
with which, when in the water, it can move
in a straight line, waving them as a bird does
its wings in the air, sometimes upward, some-
times downward, sometimes to the rights some-
times to the left, yet still continuing to proceed
in a right line. By striking the water with its
arms, it can ascend with great velocity ; and
by striking in a contrary direction, it dives
with equal ease. As these motions are ver\' ra-
pid, the little animal appears to jump in the
water, its head always tending to the surface^
and its tail stretching downward. This insect
is produced from an egg, which, when ex-
cluded, is carried on the back of the female,
and soon after is seen floating in the w ater round
her. When excluded from the egg its appear-
ance is that of a small whitish insect, endued

Dd2 with

^00 NATtJRAL HIST0K7

with a vefy nimble motion. It undergoes n6
change in form^ but continues to encreafee ift
redness, as it grows older and larger. They
sometimes i-emain several days on the surface of
the water, and sometimes are seen at the bot-
tom only, but they are never at rest. They
change their skin like most other insects ; and
the cast skin resembles the insect itself so es*
actly, that one might mistake the mask for the
animal.

The Scorpiojt is one of the largest of the in-
sect tribe, and no less terrible from its size than
from its malignity. It resembles a lobster some-*
tvhat in shape, but is infinitely more hideous.
There have been nine different kinds of this dan-
gerous insect enumerated, but which are chiefly
distinguished by their colour : some are yellow,
brown, and ash coloured ; others the colour of
rusty iron, green, pale, yellow, black, claret
colour, white and grey.

There are four principal parts distinguishable
in this animal ; the head, the breast, the belly,
and the tail. Tlie scorpion's head seems, as it
>Vere, jointed to the breast^ in the middle of
it are seen , two eyes ; and a little more for-
i)kafd, two eyes mwe, placed in tlie forepart of

the

OF BIRD?, FISH, &C. 201

t!ie head : these eyes are so small, that they are
scarcely preceivable; and it is probable that the
animal has but little occasion for seeing. The
mouth is furnished with two jaws ; the under-
most is divided into two, and the parts notched
into each other, which serve the animal for
teeth to break its food, and thrust it into its
mouth : these he can at pleasure pull back into
its mouth, so that no part of them can be seen.
On each side of the head are two arms, each
composed of four joints : the last of which is
large, with strong muscles, and made in tlie
manner of a lobster's claw. Below the breast
are eight articulated legs, each divided into
six joints J the two hindmost of which are
each provided with two crooked claws, and
here and there covered with hair. The
belly is divided into seven little rings ; from
the lowest of which is continued a tail com-
posed of six joints, which are bristly, and
formed like little globes, the last being armed
with a crooked sting. This is that fatal in-
strument which renders this insect so formida-
ble ; it is long, pointed, hard, and hollow ; it
is pierced near the base by two small holes,
through which, when the animal stings, its ejects
a drop of poison, which is wiiite, caustic^ and

fatal.

(202 NATURAL HISTOEY

fatal. The reservoir in which this poison is
liept^ is in a §mall bladder near the tail, into
which the venom is distilled by a peculiar ap-
paratus. If this bladder be gently pressed, the
venom will be seen issuing out through the two
holes above-mentioned ; so that it appears, that
when the animal stings, the bladder is pressed,
and the venom issues through the two apertures
into the wound.

There are few animals more formidable, or
n^ore truly mischievous than the scorpion. As
it takes refuge in a small place, and is generally
found sheltering in houses, it must of course
frequently sting those among whom it re-
sides. In some of the towns of Italy, and in
France, in the province of Languedoc, it is
one of the greatest pests that torment man-
kind : but its malignity in Europe is trifling,
when compared to what the natives of Africa
and the East are known to experience. In
Batavia, where they grow twelve inches long
there is no removing any piece of furniture,
without the utmost danger of being stung bv
them.

Bosman assures us, that, along the Gold
Coast, they are often found larger than a lob-
ster 5 and that their istbg is inevitably fatal.

In

or BIRDS, FISH, S:c. 203

In Europe, the general size of this animal does
not exceed two or three inches ; and its sung
is very seldom found to be fatal,

Maiipertuis, who made several experiments
on the scorpion of Languedoc, found it to be
by no means so invariably dangerous as had till
tlien been represented. He proToked one oi
tliem to sting a dog in three places of the belly,
which were without hair: in about an hour after-
wards the poor animal seemed greatly swollen,
and he became very sick ; he then cast up what
he had i|» his stomach, and for about three hours
continued vomiting a whitish liquid. His belly
was always very much swollen when he be-
gan to vomit ; this operation seemed to abate
riie swelling, which alternately encreased and
was thus reduced for three hours successively.
The poor animal, after this, fell into coiivuU
sions, bit the ground, dragged himself along
upon his fore feet, and at last died, about five
hours after he had been bitten. Some days
after, however, the same experiment ^^^s tried
upon another dog, and even with more aggra-
vated cruelty, yet the dog seemed no way «f-
fected by the wounds, but howling a little
when he received them, co'ntinued perfectly,
alert, and was soon after set at liberty, without

shevviii'T

£04 NATURAL HJSTOSY

shewing the smallest symptom of paifl. Th«
same experiment was tried, by fresh seorpioiis,
upon seven other dogs, and three henSj but not
the smallest deadly symptom was seen to ensue.
From hence it appears, that many circum-
stances, which are utterly unknown, must con-
tribute to give efficacy to the scorpion's ve-
nom. Whether its food, long fasting, the sea-
son, the nature of the vessels it wounds, or its
state of maturity, contribute to, or retard it»
malignity, is yet to be ascertained by succeed-
ing experiments. In the trials made by M
Ma«pertuis, he employed scorpions of both
sexes, newly caught, and seemingly vigorous
and active.

The scorpion of the torpical climates being
much larger is, probably, much more veno-
mous. Helbigiou5, however, who resided for
many years in tlie east, assures us that he was
Qfteii stung by the scorpion, and never received
any material injury from the woimd: a painful
tumour, he says, generally ensued, but he always
t:ured it, by rubbing the part with a piece of iron
or stone in the same manner as he had seen the
Indians, until the Hesh became insensible. Seba,
?JMoore, and Bosman, nevertheless, give a very
4ifierefitapcountof ihescorpion^s malignity; tliey

assert
3

OF BIRDS^ FISH, SvC. 205

assert that^ unless immediately relieved^ the
\voimd becomes fatal.

Of all animals in the creation the scorpion
is the most irascible. When taken they act
with perfect fury ; they rush against the sides
of the vessel in which they are enclosed^ aiid
endeavour to sting every thing which comes
near them. Maupertuis put three scorpions
and a mouse into the same vessel together, and
they all immediately stung the little animal in
different places : the mouse, tlius assaulted,
stood for some time upon the defensive, and at
last killed them all, one after the other, and
even survived the severity of the wounds it had
received.

Wolkamer tried the courage of the scorpion
against the large spider, and enclosed several of
both kinds in glass vessels for that purpose. The
spider at first used all its efforts to immesh the
scorpion in its web, which it immediately began
spinning ; but the scorpion rescued itself from
the danger, by stinging its adversaiy to death :
it soon after, w ith its claws, cut off all the legs
of the spider, and then sucked all the internal
parts at its leisure. — If the scorpion's skin had
not been so hard, Wolkamer was of opinion,
that the spider would have obtained the victory,

VOL. V. E e for

206 NATURAL HISTORY

for he bad often seen one of the same kind of
spiders overcome and kill a toad.

It is not to others alone but also to tlieir own
species that tins ferocity of temper is dangerous,
for they are the most inveterate of enemies
to each other. Maupertuis put about a hundred
of them together in the same glass ; and they
scarcely came into contact, when they began to
exert all their rage in mutual destruction : there
was nothing to be seen but one universal car-
nage, axid in a very few days there remained
only fourteen, which had killed and devoured
all the rest.

But their unnatural malignity is still move ap-
parent in their cruelty to their offspring. The
same author enclosed a female scorpion, big
with young, in a glass vessel, and she was seen
to devour them as fast as they were excluded ;
there was but one that escaped the general
destruction, and that by taking refuge on the
back of its parent; and this soon after re-
venged the cause of its brethren, by killing the
old one in its turn. Such is the l^rocious na-
ture of this insect ; nay, it is asserted, that when
driven to an extremity it will even destroy itself.
Goldsmith says that he was informed by a person
who made the experiment in America^ and on
.5 whose

OF r>iRDs^ Fisn_, &c. 207

wliose veracity lie could rely, that a fjcorpion,
newly caught, being placed in the midst of a
circle of burning charcoal, and thus an egress
prevented on every side, it run, for about a
minute, round the circle, seeking for a place
to escape, but iinding that impossible, it stings
itself on the back of the head, and by Vvhich
wound the undaunted suicide instantly expires.

If these animals were not so destructive to
each other, they would multiply in so great a
degree as to render some countries almost un-
inhabitable. The male and female of this in-
sect are very easily distinguishable ; the male
beinoj smaller and less hairy. The female brin<rs
forth her young alive, and perfect in their kind.
Rhedi, having procured a quantity of scorpions,
ijelected the females from the rest, and putting
them into separate glass vessels, he kept them a
few days without food. In about five days one
of them brought forth thirty-eight young ones,
well shaped, and of a milk white colour, which
changed every day more and more into a dark
rusty hue. Another female, in a different ves-
sel, brought fortli twenty-seven of the same co-
lour ; and the day follwing the young ones
seemed all fixed to the back and belly of the fe-
male. For nearly a foraight all these continued

E e 2 alive

208 NATURAL HISTORY

alive and vvell_, but afterwards some of tlien^
died dail)\, and in about a month they were all
dead except two.

Were it worth the trouble^ these animals
might be kept Uving for a considerable time.
Their chief food is worms and insects^ and
with a proper supply of those their lives might
n)0st probably, be preserved to their natural ex-
tent ; how long indeed that may be has not been
exactly ascertained, but if we may conclude from
analogy, it cannot be less than seven or eight
years_, and, perhaps, in the larger kind, double
that period. As they resemble tlie lobster in
appearance, so likewise they cast their skhi as
the latter docs its shell, which is, liowever,
softer and covered with hair, particularly at the
joinings. The young lie in the womb of the
parent, each covered up in its own membrane,
and united to each other by an oblong thread,
so as to exhibit altogether the form of a
chaplet.

There is however, a scorpion of America
produced from the egg in the manner of the
spider. The eggs are not larger than the point
of a pin, and they are deposited in a web which
they spin from their bodies, and carry about
with them, till they are hatched. As soon as

the

OF BIRDS^ FISH, &C. 209

the young ones are excluded from the shell,
they get upon the back of the parent, who
turns her tail over them, and defends theni
with her sting.

The Scolopendra and Ga Uy-worm , Of these
hideous and angry insects we know little, ex-
cepting the tigure and their noxious qualities.
With us they seldom grow above an inch long;
in the tropical climates they are often found
^bove a quarter of a yard.

The Scolopendra is otherwise called the Cc/z-
fipcs, from the number of its feet ; and is very
common in many parts of the world, especially
between the tropics. Those of the East In-
dies, where they grow to the largest size, are
about six inches long, of a ruddy colour, and
as thick as a man's linger : they consist of many
joints, and from each joint is a leg on each
side; they are covered with hair, and seem to
have no eyes; but there are two feelers on the
head, which they make use of to find out the
way they are to pass: the head is very round,
with two small sharp teeth, with which they
inflict wounds that are very painful and dange-
rous. A sailor that was bitten by one on l^oard
ii ship, felt an excessive pain, and his life m as
isupposed to be in danger: however, he reco-
vered

210 NATURAL HISTORY

vered^ by the application of three roasted onions
to the part; and was soon quite well *. Of
this animal there are different kinds; some livin'^
like worms, in holes in the earth ; and others
under stones, and among rotten wood : so that
nothing is more dangerous than removing
those substances, in the places where they breed.

The Gallii-rsi'orm differs from the scolopen-
dra, in having double the number of feet; there
being two on each side, to every joint of the
body. Some of these are smooth, and others
Ijairy; some are yellow, some black, and some
brown. They are found among decayed trees,
between the wood and the bark; as also among
stones that are covered with moss. They
all, when touched, roll themselves up like
a ball. Whatever may be their qualities in the
tropical parts of the world, in Europe they are
perfectly harmless; having been often handled
and irritated without any vindictive conse^quences.

All these, as well as the scorpion, are sup-
posed to be produced perfect from the parent,
(Of the egg; and to undergo no changes after
their first exclusion. They are seen of all sizes ;

and

♦ In some countries, Spain for example, it is generally
believed that spirits of wine, in which a Centipes is pre-
served, will cure its bite, and accordingly almost every
person provides himfelf with one so preserved as aa antidote.

OF BIRDS^ FISH, SCC. 2H

and this is a sufficient inducement to suppose,
that they preserve their first appearance, thiougli
the whole of their existence. It is probabb,
however, that, like most of this class, tlicy of'
ten change their skins; but of this we have no
ceitain information.

Tlie Leech, from its uses in medicine, is
one of those insects that man has taken care to
propagate; but of a great variety, one kind
oaly is considered as serviceable. ' The horse-
leech, which is the largest of all, and grows to
four inches in length, with a glossy black sur-
face, is of no use, as it will not stick to the
skin; the snail-leech \s hxxt an inch in leni^th;
and though it will stick, is not large enough tJ
extract a sufficiently quantity of blood from th.e
patient; tlie' hroacUaUcd huh, which grows
to a inch and a half in length, with the back
raised into a sort of ridge, will stick but on
very few occasions; it is the large hroivn leech
Mith a whitiiih belly, that is made use of in
medicine, and whose history best merits ciir
curiosity.

The leech has the general figure of a ^vorm,
and is about as long as one's middle finger!
Its skin i,5 composed of rings, by means of

\\ hich

(2IS NATURAL HISTORY

uhicli it is possessed of its agility, and swiiii^
in Water. It contracts itself, when out of wa-
ter, in sucli a manner, that when touched, it is
not above an inch long. It has a small head,
nnd a black skin, edged with a yellow line on
each side, \vlth some yellowish spots on the
back. The belly also, which is of a reddish
colour, is marked with whitish yellow spots.
But the most remarkable part of this animal is
tlie mouth, which is composed, of two lips, that
take whatever form the insect fnids convenjent.
Mlien at rest, tlie opening is usually triangu-
lar; and within it are placed three very sharp
teeth, capable ef piercing not only the human
skin, but also that of a horse or an ox. Still
deeper in the head is discovered the tongue,
which is composed of a strong fleshy substance,
and which serves to assist the animal in suck-
ing, when it has inflicted its triple wound;
for no sooner is the voracious creature applied
to the skin, than it buries its teeth in it,
then* closes its lips round the w ound w hich it
has made; and thus, in the manner of a cup-
ping-glass, extracts the blood as it flows ta
the different orifices.

In examining this animal's form farther to-
w ards the tail, it is seen to have a gullet^, and

an

OF JJIRDS^ FiaH^-&,e 213

^n intestinal canal, into which the blood
ftows in great abundance. On each side of
this are several little bladders, which, wiien
the animal is empty, seem to be filled with
nothing but water; but when it is gopgiug
blood, tbej seem to communicate with the
intestines, and receive a large portiov! of tho
blood which tk^ws into the body. If thesa
bladders should be considered as so many sto-
machs, then every leech will be found to have
twenty-four. But wliat is the most extraor-
dinary in this animal's formation is, that thougb
it takes so large a quantity of food, it has no
anus or passa^ to eject it from the body
when it has been digested. On tlie cGntraiVj
the blood whicfe the leech has thus sucked,
remains for sev^nal months clotted withia
its body, blackened a little by the change,
but no way putrified, and very little altered
in its texture or const ten r , In what mauner
it passes through t-ie a iuju/s body, or how
it contributes to, iU nourishment, is not ear
sily accounied for. The water in which they
are kept is very little discoloured by their con>-
tinuauce; they camiot be supposed to return
the blood by the same passst^ through whiah it
vias taken in ; k Qoly ijemaius, therefore, that

VOL. V. 1 f It

214 NATURAL HISTORY

it goes off through the pores^ of the body, and
that these are sufficiently large to permit its
exclusion.

But it is not in this instance alone that the
leech differs from all other insects. It has been
remarked in a former section^ that the whole
insect tribe had their opening into their lungs
placed in their sides; and that they breathed
through those apertures as other animals through
the mouth. A drop of oil poured on the sides
of a wasp, a bee, or a worm, would quickly
suffocate them, by stopping up the passages
through which they breathe ; but it is other-
wise with the leech, for this animal may be im-
mersed in oil without injury; nay, it will live
in it; and the only damage it will sustain is
that when taken out, it will be seen to cast a
fine pellucid skin, exactly of the shape of the
animal, after which it is alert and vigorous as
before. It appears from this, that the leech
breathes through the mouth; and^ in fact, it
has a motion that seems to resemble the act of
respiration in more perfect animals : but con-
cerning all this we are very much in the
dark.

The leech is viviparous, and produces its
young, one after the other^ to the number of

forty

QF BIRDSV, FISH^ &C. 215

forty or fifty at a birth. It is probable, that
like the snail, each insect contains the twa
sexes, and that it impregnates, and is impreg-
nated in the same manner. The youno* ones
are chiefly found in the month of July, in shal-
low running waters, and particularly where
they are tepified by the rays of the sun. The
large ones are chiefly sought after; and being
put hito a glass vessel filled with w^ater, they re-
main for months, nay for years, without taking
any other subsistence. But they never breed
in this confinement; and, consequently, what
regards that part of their history still remains
obscure.

In this part of the world they seldom grow
to above four inches; but in America and the
East they are found from six to seven. Their
pools there abound with them in such numbers,
that this circumstance alone would render it dan-
gerous to bathe. Even in some parts of
Europe they increase so as to become formt-
dable. Sedilius, a German physician, relates,
that a girl of nine years old, who was keeping
sheep near the city of Bombst, in Poland, per-
teiving a soldier making up to her, went to
liide herself in a neighbouring marsh among
F f 2 some

215 SATURAt HUTOBV

some busies; bat the number of leeches was
so great in that place, and tliey stuck to her sO-
close, that the poor ci'eatnre expired from the
quantity of blood which she lost by their united
efforts. Nor is this mach to be wondered at,
amce one of those insects, that, when empty,
generally weighs but a scruple, will, when
gorged, w^igh more tlian two drachms.

When leeches are to be applied, the best way
is to take them from the water in which they
are contained, about an hour before, for they
thus become more voracious, and fasten more^
readily; when saturated with blood, they ge-
nerally fall off of themselves; but by sprinkling
them with a little salt, if they adliere too long,
they may be taken off at any time.

Though the leech so closely resembles the
worm, it certainly has a claim to rank in a
superior order of nature ; for if the worm bo
cut in two, each part continues to live, but the
leech being severed there is an end to its ex»
istence.

^

Gnair.

W"

FUm.

/Il

Gr<xfht)pper.

-Lvi-ust ■

OF BIRDS, FISIf, 6^. 217

THE SECOND OE-DER OF INSECTS,

™H

THE second order of insects is those that are
produced from the egg, like the former, but not
in a perfect state ; for, when first excluded,
they are without wings; in which state, the
insect possess the exercise of all its auimal
functions, for it can \\ alk, leap, and eat ; nor
is it at any time deprived of motion, only it
rests a little when it is about to cast that part
of its skin previously to its coming to a state of
perfection.

To this order, we may, in the first place,,
refer the Libella or Dragon-Jiif.

Of all the flies which adorn or diversify the
face of Nature, these are the most various and
the most beautiful ; they are of all colours ;
green, blue, crimson, scarlet, white, &c. while
©thers are adorned with all the various tints of
the rainbow.

£J8 NATURAL HISTORY

They are distinguished from all oth^r flies by
the length of their bodies, by the largeness
of their eyes, and the beautiful transparency of
their wings, which are four in number. They
are seen in summer flying with great rapidity
near evei*y hedge, and by every running brook ;
they sometimes settle on the leaves of plants,
and sometimes keep for hours together on the
wing.

Dragon-flies, though there are three or] four
difi*erent kinds, yet agree in the most striking
parts of their natural history, and one account
may serve for all. The largest sort are generally
found from two to three inches long ; their tail
is forked ; their body divided into eleven rings ;
their eyes are large homy, and transparent, di-
vided by a number of intersections and their
wings, that always lie flat when they are at
rest, are of a beautiful glossy transparency ;
sometimes shinning like silver, sometimes glis-
tening like gold. Within the mouth are t^^ o
teeth, covejed with a beautiful lip : with
these the creatures bite fiercely when they
are taken; but their bite is perfectly harm-
less.

These insects, beautiful as they are, are pro-
duced from eggs, which are deposited in the

wateo
1

OF BIRDS, risH, Sec. 219

water, where they remain for some time ap-
parently without life or motion. They are
ejected by the female into the water in clusters,
like a bunch of grapes, where they sink to the
bottom by their natural weight, and continue
in that state till the young ones find strength
enough to break the shell, and to separate from
each other. The form in which they first
ihew life is that of a wonn with six legs,
bearing a strong resemblance to the dragon-
fly in its winged state, except that the
wings are yet concealed within a sheath pe-
culiar to this animal. The rudiments of
these appear in bunches on the back, within
which the wings are folded up into each other,
while all the colours and varieties of painting
appear transparent through the skin. I'hese
animals, upon quitting the e^g, still continue
in the water, wiiere they creep and swim,
but do not move swiftly. They have like-
wise a sharp sight, and immediately sink
to the bottom, if any one come to the
places where they live, or whenever they
preceive the least uncommon object. Their
food at that time is soft mud and the gluti-
nous earthy substances that are found at the
bottom.

When

When tl^se afiini?=ls prepare to change from
iheir reptile to their flyuig state, they then move
out of the water to a drj place ; iiito grass for
example, pieces of wood, stone, or any thing else
they meet with. There they iirmly fix theib*
acute cla^^s; and, for a short time, continue quite
immoveable. It is then observed, that tiie &ki»
jirst opens on the head and back ; and out of
this opening they exhibit their real head and
eyes, and at length their six legs ; whilst, in
the mean time, the hollow and empty skin, or
slough of their legs, remains firmly hxed in its
place. After this, the creature creeps forward
by degrees ; and by this means draws first itg
wings and then its body out of the skin; and
proceeding a little farther, sits at rest for some
.time, as if immoveable. During this time the
Avings, which were moist and folded, begin by
degrees to expand themselves, and to make
smooth and even all those plaits which were laid
against each other, like a closed fan. The body
h likewise insensibly extended, until all the limbs
have obtained their proper size and dimensions.
It cannot at first make use of its new vving?^
and is therefore obliged to stay in the same place
until its limbs are dried by the circumam-
bient air; that being effected it takes wing, and

instead

OF BiRDS^ Fisii^ 8;c. 22 1

mstcnd of creeping at the bottom of a brook, it
soars into the airy regions.

As this insect haunts and seeks after its food
Avhile flying in the air. Nature has provided it with
two large -eyes, which make almost the whole
head, and which resemble glittering mother-of-
pearl. It has also four expimsive silver-colour-
ed wings, with which it can turn itself with
prodigious velocity, and to assist these it is fur-
nished with a very long body, which, like a rud-
der, directs its motions. As the wings are long
and the legs short, they seldom walk, but are
constantly seen either resting or Hying i for this
reason tbey always choose dry branches of trees
or shrubs to remain on, where they stay but a
little time, bejng soon refreshed, and then agaia
renew their fligiit.

Thus they are seen, adorning the summer
with a profusion of beauty, lightly traversing
the air in a thousand directions, and expanding
the most beautiful colours to the sun. The gar-
den, the forest, the hedges, and the rivulets,
are animated by their sports ; and there are few
who have been brought up in the country, who
have not employed a part of their childhood in
pursuit of them.

VOL. V. C g 5uj

23^ NATURAL HISTORY

ButwhilQ these beautM flies appear to us s<^
idly and innocently employed,, they are, in fact,
ih& greatest tyrants o£ ifce ins.ect tribe; and,
Ijke tij^ hawk among bird3, are only hovering
up and down to §eiz:e their prey. They are the.
strongest and mo3t courageous of all winged in-"
sects ; nor h. there one, that they will not attack
and devour however large it may be. The bluo>
fly, the bee, the wasp, and the hornet, form their
constant prey; and even the butterfly, that
§p)eads so laage a wing, is often caught and
treated, without mercy. Their appetite seems,
to know no bounds ; they spend the whole day*
in the pursuit, and have been seen to devour
three times their own size in the capture of a.
jingle hour. They seize: tjieir prey flying, with
their six claws, and tear it easily to pieces witU
tJieir teeth, which are capable of inflicting
troublesome wounds.

.The males aie exceedingly salacious and seek
the females with • great ardour ; and no sooner
doey oj[ie appear than two or three males are
seQn pursuing and endeavouring to seize her
"with all their arts and agility. The instrument-
of generation in the male is placed very differ-
ent from that of any other insect, being imme-
diately

OF BlRDSj nsH, &c. 223

^lately under the breast_, and therefore seems as
if incapable of being united to the sexual part
of the female, which lies in the tail. His me-
thod of proceeding is this ; as soon as he finds
himself sufficiently near the feniale he seizes
upon the back of her head, and fastening his
claws upon her, turns round his forky tail,
tS'hich he fastens round her neck, and in this
manner fixes himself so firmly that no efforts
can remove him ; her endeavours are all in vain,
and he often continues in this situation for thy*ee
or four hours before she gives her consent.
When he flies she is obliged to fly with him,
but though she moves her wings he continues to
direct the way ; at length, as it were by the
continuance of her restraint, she seems to coffi-
ply, for turning up the end of her tail under his
breast both instruments meet, and the essfs of
the female receive the necessary fecundation.
An hour or two after this she flies to Some
neighbouring pool, where she deposits her eggs ;
after exclusion they remain in a reptile state for
a year, and then are changed into a beautiful
fly, resembling the parent.

The 'Lion-Ant, Although this animal pro-
perly belongs to no order of insects^ yef^ as it

G g 2 is

*224 NATURAL HISTOHY

is changed into a fly very mudi resembling that
which has just been described it may not be im-
proper to give its history here.

The lion-ant, in its reptile state, is of the
size of a common wood-louse, but somewhat
broader. It has rather a longer head, and a
roundish body, which becomes a little narrower
towards the tail. The colour is a dirty grey,
speckled with black, and the body is composed
of several flat rin^s, which slip one upon ano-
ther. It has six feet, four of which are fixed to
the breast, and two to the ijeck. The head is
small and flat, and before there are two little
smooth horns, or feelers, which are hard, about
a quarter of an inch long, and crooked at the
ends. At the basis of the feelers there arc two
small black lively eyes, by which it can see the
smallest object, as is easily discovered by its
starting from every thing that approaches.

To a form so unpromising, and so ill provided
for the purposes of rapacity, this animal unites
the most ravenous appetites in nature ; but to
mark its imbecility still stronger, as other ani-
mals have vVings or feet to enable them to ad-
vance towards their prey, the lion-ant is unpro-
vided with such assistance from either. It has
legs, indeed ; but these only enable it to run

backward

or BiUDS^ FisHj Sec. 225

backward, and therefore incapable of making
the smallest progressive motion. Thys, famished
and rapacious as it ever seems^ its prey must
come to it^ or rather into the snare provided
for it, or the insidious assassin must starve.

But Nature^ that has denied it strength or
swiftness, has given it an equivalent in cunning,
so that no animal fares more sumptuously, with-
out ever stirring from its retreat. For tliis
purpose^ it chooses a dry sandy place, at the
foot of a wall, or under some shelter, in order
to preserve its machinations from the rain. The
driest and most sandy spot is the most proper
for it; because a heavy clogged earth would de-
feat its labour. When it goes about to dig the
hole where it takes its prey, it begins to bend
tlie hinder part of its body, which is pointed,
and thus works backward; makings after several
attempts, a circular furrow, which serves to
mark out the size of the hole it intends makinsf.
Within this first furrow it digs a second, then
a third, and afterwards others, which are always
less than the preceeding. Then it begins to
deepen its hole, sinking lower and lower into the
sand^ which it throws with its horns, or feelers,
towards the edges. Thus, by repeating its la-
bours uU round, the sand is thrown up in a cir-
cle

£26 KATCRAt HlStORV

cle about the edge of the pit, uJltil the tvhofe is
quite compleated. This hole is always formed
in a perfect circle ; and the pit itself resembles
the inside of an inverted funnel ; and when they
are at their full growth they generally make
their pit about two inches deep, and at the top
as much in diameter.

The work being thus^ with great labour,
finished, the insidous insect places itself in am-
bush, hiding itself in the bottom under the sand
in such a manner, that its two horns encircle
the bottom of the pit. All the sides of this pit-
fall are made of the loose and crumbling mate-
mis ; so that scarcely any insect can climb up
that has once got down to the bottom. Con-
scious of this, the lion-ant remains in patient
expectation, ready to profit by that accident
which throws some heedless little animal into
his den. If then, by misfortune, an ant, a wood-
louse, or a small catterpillar, walk too near the
edge of the precipice, the sand gives way beneatk
them, and they fall to the bottom of the pit,
where they meet inevitable destruction. The
fall of a single grain of sand gives the murderer
notice at the bottom of its cave ; and it .never
fails to sally forth to seize upon its pi'ey. It
happens sometimes, however, that the ant, or

the
2

OF BIRDSj FISH^ &Ci S27

the wood-louse is too nimble^ and runs up the
sides- of the pit- fall before the other is ready
to seize it. The lion-ant has then another
contrivance, still more wonderful than th^
former ; for, by means of its broad head and
feelers, it has a method of throwing up a shower
of sand, which falling upon the struggling cap-
tive, crushes it again to the bottom.

When the msect has once fallen thus low, no
efforts can retrieve or release it ; the lion-anJj
seizes it with its feelers, whiqh are hollow, and
darting them both into its body, sucks out ail'
the little animafs juices with the utmost rapa-
city. The prey being reduced to a husk, tho
nest care of the nmrderer is to remove tiie bo-
dy from its cell ; seemingly as if fearf^il that the'
appearance of dead carcases siiould caution others
of the danger of the place; taking, therefore,
the wasted tnmk up with its feelers, it throws-
it with wonderful strength, at least six inches
from the edge of its hole, and then patiently
setsabout mending the injuries its fortifications
may have received during the engagement-
Nothing can abate the industry, vigilance, pa-
tience, or rapacity of this little animal ; it will
work for a week together to make its pit-fall ;
it will continue upon the watch for more thau

a month.

C2S NATURAL HISTORY

a month, patiently expecting the approach of
its prey, and if a second liappen to fall in be-
fore it has devonred the first, it will leave the
iialf eaten one to attack the other. Thou;;h
so voracious, it is surprisingly patient of hun-
ger, some of them having been kept in a box
with sand for upwards of six months without
any kind of food.

When arrived at the age in which it is to
change into another form, it then leaves off
its u^ual rapacious habits, but preserves its in-
dustry. It no longer continues to make pits,
but furrows up the land all round in an irregu-
lar manner; testifying those workings and vio-
lent agitations which most insects exhibit pre-
viously to thei^' tiansformation. These aujinals
are produced in autumn ; they generally li\ e
^ year, or as some think, two, before they as-
sume a winged fc^rm ; certain it is that they are
found at the end of winter of all sizes, aud the
smaller kinds do not appear as if they had ob-
tained sufficient maturity for transformation.

When the time of change approaches, if the
insect find its little cell convenient, it seeks no
other: if it be obliged to remove, after fur-
i:owing up the sand, it entirely conceals itself.
It there spins a web^ in the manner of the

spider ;

OF BIRDS, F!SH, Sec. 2'29

spider ; which being made of a ghitinous sub-
stance, and being humid from the moisture of
its body, sticks to the Httle particles of sand
among which it is spun ; and in proportion as it
is thus exckided, the insect rolls up its web,
sand and all, into a little ball, the centre of which
is formed by itself. This ball is about half an
inch in diameter; and within it, the insect resides,
in an apartment sufficiently spacious for all its
motions. The outside is composed of sand and
silk ; the inside is lined with silk only, of a
fine pearl colour, extremely delicate and per-
fectly beautiful. But though the work is so
curious within, it appears externally nothing
more than a lump of sand ; and thus escapes
the search of birds, that might otherwise dis-
turb the inhabitant within.

The insect continues thus shut up for six
weeks or two months ; and gradually parts
^vlth Its eyes, its feeleis, its feet, and its
skm; all which are thrust into the corner of
the mner apartment, like a rag. The insect
then appears almost in its winged state, except
that there is a thin skin which wraps up the wings
and which appears to be nothing else but a li'
quor dried on the outside. Still, however, the
httle anmial is too delicate and tender to venture

VOL. V. Hh

230 NATimAL HISTORY

from its retreat, but continues enclosed for
3ome time longer : at length, when the mem-
bers of this new insect have acquired the ne-
cessary consistency and vigour, it tears open its
Jodging, and breaks through its wall. For
this purpose, it has two teeth, like those of
grasshoppers, with which it eats through, and
enlarges the opening, till it gets out. Its body,
which is turned like a screw, takes up no more
ihan the space of a quarter of an inch ; but
when it is unfolded, it beconies half an inch in
length ; while its wings, that seemed to occupy
\he smallest space, in two minutes time unfold,
and become longer than the body. In short,
it becomes a large and beautiful fly, of the //-
hdlula kind, with a long and slender body, of a
brown colour ; a smalt head, with large bright
eyes, long slender legs, aad four large, trans-
parent, reticulated wings. The rest of its ha-
bits resemble that insect whose form it beais ;
except, that instead of dropping its eggs in the
water, it deposits them in sand, where they are
soon hatched into that rapacious insect, so justly
admired for its method of entrapping and catch-
ing its prey.

The

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 231

The Grasihcpptr, the Locust, the Cicada,
the Cricket and ihe Mole Cricket, form a tribe
of little animals, which, though they differ in
size and colour, perfectly resemble each other
in figure, appetites, nature, and transforma-
tion. Their differences, however, are suffi-
ciently strong to render each family easily dis-
tinguishable, and they are held io a very dif-
ferent degree of estimation by mankind, some
being considered as harmless, amusing insects/
M'hile others are condemned as the most de-
structive animals in nature: but possibly, as an
ingenious author remarks, '< if these animals
'' be separately considered, the devouring lo-
'' cust is not iu the least more mischievous than
" the musical grasshopper ; tli£ only difference
" is, that one species comes for food in a swarm,
*' the other feeds singly," In shape, size, and
colour, they differ most materially; for some
are green, some black, some livid, and some
variegated ; but many of them do not shew all
their colours till they fiy. Some have long legsy
others short ; some have many joints in them,
and others but few. Some chirrup, others are
mute. Some do little or no damage to the
husbandman, \\hile others in a single night,
render a beautiful plain a drearj' waste.

H h 2 d^

*i32 NATURAL IIISTOHY

,'Of this variegated tribe, the little grais-
Copper that breeds in such plenty in every mea-
dow, and that continues its chirping throu-li
the summer, is best known to us; and, by per
rusing its history," we shall be in some measure
acquainted with that of all the rest. This ani- '
mal is of the colour of green leaves, except a
little of brown which streaks the back, and two.
pale lines under the belly, and behind the legs.
It may be divided into the head, the corselet,
and the belly. -The bead is oblong, looking
towards the earth, and bearing some re-
semblance to that of a horse. Its mouth is
covered by a kind of round buckler jutting over
it, and armed with teeth of a brown colour,
hooked at the points. Within the mouth is
preceivable a large reddish tongue, which is
fixed to the lower jaw. The feelers, or
horns, are very long, tapering off to a point ;
and the eyes are like two black specks, a little
prominent. The corselet is elevated, narrow,
armed above and below, by two serrated spines.
The back is armed with a strong buckler, to
wliich the muscles of the legs are firmly bound,
and round these muscles are seen the vessels by
M'hich the animal' breathes, as w liite as snow.
The last pair of legs is much ' longer and
stronger than the first two pair, fortified by
6 thick

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C» ^S-

thick muscles, and very well formed for leap-
ing. It has four wings; the anterior ones
springing from the second pair of kgs, the
posterior from the third pair. The hinder
wings are much finer, and more expansive,
than the foremost, and are the principal instru^
ments of its flight. The belly is very large,
composed of eight rings, and termuiated by
a forky tail, covered with dovin, like the
tail of a rat. Wlicn examined internally, be-
sides the gullet, we discover a small stomach;
and behind that a very large one, wrinkled and
furrowed within side : lower down there is still
a third: so that it is not without reason, that
all the animals of this order are said to chew
t^he cud, as they so much resemble iiiminant
j^nimals in their internal conformation.

A short time after the grasshopper assumes
its wings, it fills the meadow with its note;
wliich, like that among birds, is a call to
courtship. The male only of this tribe is vo-
cal : and upon examining at the base of the
wings, there will be found a little hole in its
body, covered with a line transparent mem-
brane. This is thought by Linnaeus, to be
the instrument it employs in singing ; but
others are of opinion, the sound is produced

, by

234 NATURAL HISTOEY

by rubbing its hinder legs against each other :
however this may be, the note of one male is
seldom heard, but it Ls returned by another; and
the two little animals, after many mutual in-
sults of this kind, are seen to meet and fight
desperately. The female is generally the re-
Nvard of victory : for, after the combat, the
male seizes her with his iteeth behind the neck,
and thus keeps her for several hours.
. Towards the latter end of autumn, the fe-
male prepares to deposit her burthen ; and her
body is then seen greatly distended with her
eggs, which she carries to the number of a
hundred and fifty. In order to make a proper
lodgment in the earth for them. Nature has
furnished her with an instrument at her tail,
somewhat resembling a two-edged sword, which
bhe can sheath and unshcath at pleasure: with
this she pierces the earth as deep as she is able;
and into the hole which her instnuneut has
made, she deposits her eggs, one after the
other.

Having thus provided for the continuation
of her posterity, the animal herself does not
long survive; but as the winter approaches,
she dries up, seems to feel the effects of age,
aud dies from a total decay. Some^ however,

assert.

OF lilKDS, FISH, 3vC. 235

ussert, that she is killed by the cold; and others
Ihat she is eaten by worms: but certain it is,
that neither the male nor female are ever seen
to survive the winter. In the mean time, the
eggs which have been deposited continue unal-
tered, either by the severity of the season, or
the retardation of the spring. They are of an
oval figure, white, and of the consistence of
horn : their size nearly equals that of a grain
of anise ; ihey are envelot)ed in the body within
a covering, branched all over vi(h veins and
arteries ; and when excluded, they crack, on
being pressed between the fingers : their sub«
stance N>iihin is a whitish, viscous, and trans-
parent fluid.

Generally, about the beginning of May,
every egg produces an insect, about the size qf
a flea; these, -^t first are of a whitish colour;
at thti end of two or Uiree days tliey turn black;
and soon aftei' thqy become of a reddish brown.
Ihey appear, from the beginning, like grass-
hoppers, wanting wings ; and hop amoiig the
grass, as soon as excluded, with great agility.

Yet still tliey are by no means arrived at their
state of full perfection ; although they bear a
strong resemblance to the animal in its perfect
form. They want, or see!n to want, the wings

which

23(5 NATURAL HI stohy

which they are at last seen to assume ; and cail
only hop among the grass, without being able
to fly. The wings, however, are not want-
ing, but are concealed within four little bunches,
that seem to deform the sides of the aninial :
there they lie rolled up in a most curious .man-
ner ; and occupying a smaller space than one
could conceive. Indeed, all insects, whatever
transmutations they seem to undergo, are yet
brought forth ^ith those very limbs, parts, and
%vings, which they afterwards seem tc- acquire.

. The grasshopper, which, for above twenty
days after its exclusion, has continued without
the use of its wings, that wore folded up to its
body, at length prepares for its emancipation,
and for a life of greater liberty and pleasure.
To make the proper dispositions for the ap-
proaching change, it ceases from its grassy
ibod, and seeks about for a convenient place,
beneath some thorn or thistle, that may protect
it from an accidental shower.

At length, the skin, covering the head and
breast, is seen dividing above the neck ; the
bead issues out first from the bursting skin ;
the efforts still continuing, the other parts
follow successively ; so that the little ani-
mal

OF BIRDS, FISH, &Ci 237

Bal, with its long feelers, legs and all, works
its way from the old skin, that remains fixed
to the thistle, or the thorki. It is, indeed, in-
conceivable how the insect can thus extricate
itself from so exact a sheath as that which co-
vered every part of its body.

The grasshopper thus disengaged from its
outer skin, appears in its perfect form ; but
it is so feeble, and its body so soft and tender>
that it may be molded like wax. It is no lon-
ger of that obscure colour which it exhibited
before, but a greenish white> which becomes
iMore vivid as the moisture on the surface is
dried away. Still, however, the animal shews
no signs of life, but appears quite spent and fa-
tigued with its labour for more than an hour
together. During this time> the body is dry-
ing, and the wings unfolding to their great-
est expansion ; and the curious observer will
perceive them, fold after fold> opening to ihe
sun, till at last they become longer than the
two hinder legs. The insect's body also is
lengthened during this operation, and it be-
comes much more beautiful than before.

These insects are generally vocal in the midst
of summer ; and they are heard at sun-setting
much louder than during the heat of the day.

VOL. V. I i Tliey

23B NATURAL HISTORY

They feed upon grass, and if their belly be
pressed they are seen to return t^he juices of the:
plant which they last fed upon. Though un-
willing to fly, and slow in , flight, particulaily
when the weather is moist or cool, they are
sometimes seen to fly to considerable distances,
if caught by one of the hinder legs, they in-
stantly disengage tliemselves, by leaving the leg
behind; this does not grow again, as is the case
widi the crab and spider species ; and the loss
of it also prevents them from flying; for
being unable to spring into the air, they have
not room for the expansion of their wings. If
handled roughly, tliey will bite very fiercely;
and when they fly they make a noise with their
wings. They generally keep in the low lands,
where the grass i^ luxuriant, and the ground
rich and fertile; there they deposit their eggs,-
particularly in those cracks which are formed
by the. heat of the sun.
o '• .::. :? '• .

The Locust differs from the ab©\'fe only in-
size, in rapidity of flight, and the powers of
injuring mankind. The quantity of grass which
a few grasshoppers that sport in the fields can
destroy must be trifling ; but when a swarm of
locusts, two or tliree miles long, and several

yard?

CV JURDS, FISH, &C. 239

yards deep, settle in a country, their devasta-
tions are dreadful. They seldom visit Europe
in such dangerous swarms^, yet in some of the
southern kingdoms they appear very formidable,
Those which have, at intervals, visited Europe,
are supposed to have come from Africa^ and are
called the Great Brown Locust. This insert
is about three inches long, and has two horns,
or feelers, an ineli in length. The head and
horns are of a brownish colour ; ij is, blue
about the mouth, and also on the inside of the
larger legs: the shield that covers th« back is
greenish ; the upper side of thq body brown>
spotted with black, and the under side purple :
the upper wings are brown, with snaall dusky
^potsy and one larger at the tips ; the under
wings are more transparent, and of a light
brown tinctured with green, with a dark cloud
^f spots near the tips.

. There is no animal in the .creation whicti
multiplies so fast as these, if the sun be warm,
and the soil in which their eggs are deposited
4iry. But damp cUmates are so cojitraiy to
their nature, that so 6ir from encreasing thejj
ca« barely exist. . .

r The Scripture, wLicli was writtea in a coun-
try where the locust made a distinguished fea-

I i S ture

240 NATURAL HISTORY

ture in the picture of Nature, has given us se-
veral very striking images of this animal's num-
bers and rapacity. It compares an army v.'h<;re
the numbers are almost infinite, to a swarm of
locusts : it describes them as rising out of the
earth, where they are produced : as pursuing a
settled march to destroy the fruits of the earth,
to co-operate with divine indignation.

It is confidently asserted that when locusts
take the field they have a leader at their head,
whose course they observe, and pay a strict at-
tention to all his motions. They appear at a
distance like a black cloud, which, as it ap-
proaches, gathers upon the horizon, and almost
hides the light of day. In this manner they
sometimes proceed to a considerable distance,
but wretched is the district upon which they
settle : they ravage the meadow and the pasture
ground ; strip the trees of their leaves, and
the garden of its beauty ; their visitation for a
few minutes destroys the expectations of a year ;
and a famine but too frequently ensues. In
their native tropical climates they are not so
dreadful, as when they come into the southern
parts of Europe; for there, though the plain
and the forest be stripped of their verdure, the
power of vegetatiou is so great that an interval

of

a

OF BIRDS, FISH, 8CC. 241

of three or four days repairs the calamity ; but
our verdure is the livery of a season, and, if
destroyed, we must wait tiil the ensuing spring
repairs the damage. Besides, in their long
flights to this part of the world, they are fa-
mished by the length of their journey, and are
therefore more voracious wherever they happen
to settle. But it is not by w hat they devour
that they do so much damage as by what they
destroy. Their very bite is thought to conta-
minate the plant, and to prevent its vegetation.
To use the phrase of the husbandman_, they burn
whatever they touch, and leave the marks of
their devastation for two or three years. But
if tliey are noxious while living, they are still
more so when dead ; for wherever they fall they
infect the air in such a manner, that the smell
is insupportable.

Orosius tells us, that in the year of the world
3800, there was an incredible number of locusts
infected Africa ; and, that after having eaten
Hp every thing that was green, they flew off^,
aitd were drowned in the African sea, where
their stench was so great as almost to infect the
Air. In the year 1 69O, a cloud of locusts were
Been to enter Russia, and thence to spread them-
Sflyes over Poland and Lithuania, in such asto-
nishing

242 NATURAL HISTORY

nishing multitudes^ that the air was darkened
and the earth covered M'ith tliem. In some
places tliey were seen lying dead, heaped upon
each other, four feet deep ; in others they co-
vered the surface like a black, coth ; the trees
feent beneath, their weight; and the damage
Y/hich the country sustained exceeded compu-
tation. In Barbary their numbers are formida-
l^le, and their visits are frequent. Dr. Shaw
giyes. an account of their devastations .in that
country in the year 1724, to which he was a
witness. Their, first appearance was about the
latter end of March, when the wind had been
southerly for some time. In the beginning of
i\pril their numbers were so greatly eeqreased
thatj in the hej^t of the day, they formed tliem-
pelves into large swarms, which appeared like
clouds and darkened the sun. In the middle of
May they began to disappear, retiring into the
plains to deposit their eggs. In June the young
^rood begjm to make tli^ir .apearance,. form-
ing many compact bodies of several yards square ;
which afterwards, marching forward, climbed
the trees, w^lls, and houses, eating every thing
$hat was green in their way. The inhabitants,
to stop their progrjess, laid trenches all over
tht'ir ii^lds^aud gardens^ filling tliem with wa»
• . ^c. . ter.

av BIRDS, FISH, &C. 243

ter. Some placed large quantities of heath,
stubble, and such like combustible matter, in
rows, and set them on fire, on the approach of
the locusts ; but all this was to no purpose, for
the trenches were quickly filled up, and the
fires put out by the vast number of swarms that
succeeded each other. A day or two after one
of these was in motion, others that were just
hatched came to glean after them, gnawing oft'
the young branches, and the very bark of thte
tiees. Having lived iiear a month in this man-
ner, they ajrived at their full growth, and thre«f
off their worm-like state, by casting their skin."?.
To prepare themselves for this change, they
fixed their hinder feet to some bush or twig, or
corner of a stone, when immeiliately, by an un-
diilatnig motion, their heads would fir^t appear,
and soon after the rest of their bodies. ' Tlje
whole ti ansformatiori was performed in seven
or eight minutes ; aftfer w hich they were a little
while in a languishing condition, but as soon
as the sun and air had hardened their winffa,
and dried the moisture that remained after cast-
ing off then- sloughs, they returned again to
their former greediness, w ith an addition both
of strength and agility. But they did not con-
tinue long in this state before they were entirely

dispersed ;

S44 NATURAL HISTORY

dispersed ; after laying their eggs they directeei
their course northward, and probably perished
in the sea. It is said that the holes these ani*
mals make to deposit their eggs are four feet
deep in the ground ; «ach lays about fourscore
eggs, which are about the size of carraway
comfits, and bundled up together in clusters.

In some parts of the world, the inhabitants
turn, what seems a plague, to their own advan-
tage. Locusts are eaten by the natives in many
kingdoms of the east, and are caught in small
nets provided for that purpose. They parch
these insects over the fire in an earthen pan, and
when their wings and legs are fallen off, they
turn reddish, like boiled shrimps. Dampier says
he. has eaten them, thus prepared, and they are
a tolerable dish. "^Flie natives of Barbary also
eat them fi ied with salt, and they are said to
taste like cray-fish. Vaillant also, in his Tra-
vels into the Interior part of Africa, in 1731,
relates that his Hottentot attendants were much
delightedat the appearance of a swarm of lo-
custs, which resembled a cloud; as these. insects
passed x)ver their heads they caught them ,in
o-rgat numbers, and eat them with muck avidi-
ty ; he too was induced to partake of them, but
declares that he did not like them.

There

Ot BIRDS, f ISH, &C. 24.5

There is a locust in Tonqiiin, about the big-
tiess of the top of a man's finger^ and as long as
the first joint. It breeds in the earth, in low
grounds ; and in the months of January and
Februaiy, they issue thence in vast swrtrms,
jAt first they can hardly fly, so that they often
fall into the rivers in great numbers : however,
Ihe natives in these months are upon the watch
and take them lip in multitudes in small
nets. They either eat them fresh, broiled on
the coals, or pickle them for keeping. They
iare considered as a great delicacy in that part of
the world, as well by the rich as the poor. In
the countries where they are eaten, they are re-
gularly brought to market, and sold likfe larks
or quails are in Europe. They must have beeii
a common food with the Jews, as Moses, in the
book of Leviticus, permits them to eat four
ndifFerent kinds of this insect, which he takes
care to specify.

Of all animals, however, of this noxious
tribe, the Grea^ West Lrdian locust, individually
considered, is the most formidable. It is about
the thickness of a goose-quill, and the body is
divided into nine or ten joints, in the whole
about six or seven inches lonj^. It has two
small eyes, standing out of the head like those

VOL. V. Kk of

246 NATURAL HISTORY

of .crabs, and two feelers like long hair. The
\vliole body is studded with small excrescences,
which are not much bigger than the points of
pins. The shape is roundish, and the botly di-
minishes in circumference to the tail, which is
forked into two horns. Between these, there
is a sort of a sheath, containing a small dangerous
sting. If any person happen to touch this in-
sect, he is sure to be stung; and is immediately
taken with a shivering and trembling all over
the body ; which, however may soon be put
a stop to, by rubbing the place that was affected
with a little palm oil.

The Cricket is a very inoffensive animal.
Though there is a species of this insect that
lives entirely hi the woods and fields, yet that
with which we are best acquainted is the House
Cricket whose voice is so well known behind
a country fire in the winter's evening.

This insect very much resembles the grass-
hopper in its shape, its manner of ruminating,
its voice, its leaping, and methods of propaga-
ting. It differs in its colour, which is uniformly
of a rusty brown ; in its food, which is more
various ; and in its place of residence, which
i» most usually in the warmest chinks behind a

country

OF BIRDS^ VISH^ &C. 247

'Cmintry hearth. The smallest chink serves to
give them shelter ; and where they once make
their abode they are sure to propagate. They
are of a most chilly nature, seldom leaving the
lire-side ; and, if undisturbed, are seen to hop
from their retreats to chirrup at the blaze in
the chimney. The wood-cricket is the most
timorous animal in nature; but the chim-
ney-cricket, being used to noises, disregards
them

Whether the voice of this animal is form-
ed in the same manner with tliat of the grass-
hopper is not yet ascertained; nor do we
well know the use of tlus voice, since ana-
tomical inspection has not been able to discover
the smallest organs of hearing. Certain it is,
however, that they can distinguish sounds, since
they are often heard to call, and this call is
regularly answered by another, although none
but the males are vocal.

As the cricket lives chiefly in the dark, so its
eyes seem forward for the gloominess of its abode ;
and those who would surprise it, have only to
light a candle unexpectedly; by which it is
dazzled, and cannot find the w ay back to its re-
treat. It is a very voracious little animal, and
will eat bread; flour, and meat ; but it is parti-

K k 2 cularly

C4S NATURAL HISTORY

ciilarly fond of sugar. They never drink, but
keep for months together at the back of the
chimney, where they cannot possibly have
any moisture. They never cease chirruping but
^\ hen affected by cold.

The great Scahger \yas particularly delighted
with the chirruping of crickets, and kept seve-
ral of them for his amusement, enclosed in a
box, which he placed in a warm situation.
Others, on the contrary, think there is some;
thing ominous and melancholy in the sound, and
wse every endeavour to banish this insect froi^
their houses.

Ledelius tells us of a woman who was very
nmch incommoded by crickets, and tried, bu^
in vain, every method of banishing them from
lier house. She at last accidentally succeeded ;
for having one day invited several guests to her
house, w here there was a wedding, in order to
increase the festivity of the entertainment, she
procured drums and trumpets to entertain them.
The noise of these was so much gieater than
what the little animals were used to, that they
instantly forsook their situation^ and were never
heard in that mansion more.

But of all this kind, the Mole Cricket is the
most extraordinary. This animal is the largest

of

pF BIRPS^ FISH, ^C. <249

of all the insects \vith which we are acquainted
jln this country, being two inches and an half
in length, and three quarters of an inch in
breadth. The colour is of a dusty brown;
^nd, at the extremity of the tail, tjiere are two
hairy excrescences, resembling in some degree,
the tail of a mouse. The body consists of
eight scaly joints, or separate folds, is brown
on the upper parts, and more deeply tinged be--
low. The wings are long, and narrow, and ter-
minate in a sharp point, each having a blackish
line running down it : however, when they are
extended, they appear to be much broader than
could, at first sight, be supposed. The shield
of the breast is of a firm texture, of a blackish
colour, and hairy. The fore-feet, which are
this animal's principal instruments of burrow
ing in the earth, are strong, webbed, and
hairy ; it generally, however, runs backwards,
but it is commonly under ground, where it bur-
rows ^ven faster than a mole. It is thought
also to be amphibious ; and capable of living
under water, as well as under ground. Its legs
are formed in such a manner, that it can pe-
netrate the earth in every direction ; before,
i>ehiud, and above it. At night, it ventures
ifom its subterraneous habitation, and, like the

cricket

€50 NATURAL HISTORY

cricket, has its chirping call. When the female
is fecundated, she makes a cell of clammy
earth, in which she lays her eggs ; the whole
pest is aboiit the size of a hen's e^^, closed
up oij every side, and well defended from the
smallest breath of air : she generally lays about
1 50 eggs, which are white, and about the size
iof a carraway comfit; and by thus enclosing
them, they are secured from the depredations
of the black beetle, who would otherwise de-
stroy them. Nothing can exceed the care and
assiduity which these animals exhibit in the pre-
servation of their young. Wherever the nest
is placed, there seems to be a fortification, ave-
nues, and entrenchments, drawn round it : there
are numberless winding^ wavs that lead to it,
iand a ditch drawn about it, which few of its
insect enemies are able to pass. But their care
is not confined to this alone ; for, at the ap-
proach of winter, they carry their nest entirely
away, and sink it deeper in the ground, so that
the frost can have no influence in retarding
the young brood from coming to maturity. As
the weather grows milder, they raise tlieir ma-
gazine in proportion ; till, at last they bring
it as near the surface as they can, to receive
the genial influence of the sun^ without wholly

exposing

OF BIllDS^ risH^ &c. 251

r-xposing it to view ; yet, should the frost un*
expectedly return,, they sink it again as before.

Of all this clases of insects^ the Earzcig un-
dergoes the least change of any. This animal is
so common, that it scarcely needs a description:
its swiftness, in the reptile state, is not less re-
markable than its indefatigable velocity when
upon the wing. That it must be very prolific,
appears from its numbers ; and that it is very
harmless^ every one*s experience can readily
testify. It is provided with six feet, and two
feelers : the tail is forked ; and with this it of-
ten attempts to defend itself against every assail-
ant. But its attempts are only the threats of
impotence; they draw down the resentment of
powerful animals, but no way serve to defend
it. By prejudice it is almost universally sup-
posed to enter into the ears of people sleeping;
thus causing madness, from the intolerable pain,
and soon after death itself; but such calumny is
entirely groundless; and it were well if the ac-
cusations which gaideners bring against the
earwig were as slightly founded. There is
nothing more certain, than that it lives among
flowers, and destroys them. When fruit also
has been wounded by flies^ the earwig gene-
5 rally

fally comes in for a second feast, and shcklt
those juices <vhich they first began to broach.
Still, however, this insect is not so noxious a^
it would seem ; and it is seldoin found but where
the ntischief has been originally begun by others.
Like all of this class, the earwig is Iiaf ched froni
im egg. As there are various kiftds of this ani-
mal, sd they choose different places to breed in :
in general, ho wetter, they lay their eggs under
the bark of plants, or in the clefts of trees,
Avhen beginning to decay. They proceed from
the egg in that reptile state in which they are
most commonly seen ; and as they grow larger,
the wings that are bound under the skin begin
to sprout. It is amazing how very little room
four large wings take up before they are pro-
truded. The sheath in which they arc enveloped,
folds and covers them so neatly, that the ear-
wig seeiiis quite destitute of wings ; and even
when they have burst from their confinement, the
animal, by the power of the muscles and joints^
■■i\hich it has in the middle of its wings, can closely
fold them into a; very narrow compass. When
the earwig has become a winged insect, it flies irt
pursuit of the female, ceasing to feed, and is
wholly employed in the business of propagation.
It lives, in its winged state, but a few days ;

and

and^ having taken care for the continuance of
posterity, dries up, by degrees, and dies.

The Cuckozo Sjnt or Froth Worm, is com-,
moiily found hidden in that frothy matter m hich
is seen on the surface of plants. It has an oblono-
obtuse body^ and a large head with small eyes.
It has four wings : the external ones are of a
dusky brown colour, marked with two whitd
spots ; the head is black. The spume in which
it is found wallowing, is all of its own forma-
tion ; it proceeds from the vent of the animal,
and other parts of the body, and if it be wiped
away it will quickly eject a new quantity.
Within this spume it acquires four tubercles
on its back, wherein the wings are enclosed :
these bursting, from a reptile it becomes a
winged insect; and thus having arrived
at its perfect state, it flies abroad, for a
short time, to meet its mate and propagate its
kind.

Tlie Water Tipiila lias an oblong, slender
body, with four feet fixed upon the breast, and
four feelers near the mouth. It has four weak
wings, seemingly incapable of serving the purpose
of flying ; but to assist the animal in leaping,

VOL. V. Li and

£34 NATURAL HISTORY

and to run on tlie water, which it does with-siicli.
wonderful hghtness as scarcely to cause the
slightest motion on the surface. This insect is
generally seen sporting on the rivf rs, and about
their banks, especially under shady trees, and
commonly great numbers of them together.

The common Water Fh/ breeds in the same
manner as ihe preceding of this class. This
insect is sometimes called the Notaueeta, be-
cause it does not swim, i?! the usual manner,
upon its belly, but on its back ; and which,
indeed, seems to be highly necessary, since it
feeds on the under side of plaiits which grow ou
the surface of the water ; and it was therefore
doubtless, thus formed with its mouth upwards
to take its food with greater ease.

The Water Scorpion is a large insect, being
nearly an inch in length, and about half an inch
in breadth. Its body is nearly oval, but very
flat and thin ; its t^il is long and pointed ; its
head is small, and the feelers appear like legs,
resembling the claws of a scorpion, but widiout
^harp points. This insect is generally found in
ponds ; it is extremely tyrannical and rapacious,
and destroys twenty times as much as its hunger
2 re(|uircs*

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 255

requires. One of these being put into a bason
of water in which were thirty or forty worms of
the libellula kind, each as large as itself, it de-
stroyed them all in a few minutes, getting on
their backs and piercing through their bodies with
its trunk. I'hese animasl, however, thougli
so formidable to -others, are themselves greatly
over run with a little kind of louse, about the
size of a nit, which, to all appearance, repays
the injury which they inflict upon others. Tnese
insects live in the water by day, out of which
they rise in the dusk of the evening into the
air, and so flying from place to place often be-
take themselves, in quest of food, to other wa-
ters. It remains in the place where it was
produced, until its wings are grown, but
when come to its state of perfection it sallies
forth in search of a companion of the other sex
in order to continue its kind.

The Ephemera, though not strictly belong-
ing, seems more properly referred to this rank
than any other. Indeed, as we- have had re-
peated occasion to observe, it is in vain to at-
tempt exactness in a history where Nature seems
to take delight in sportmg with variety.

LI 2 All

0,56 NATUUAL HISTOKY

All ephemeras, of which there are various
kinds, are produced from the egg, iu the form
of worms; whence they change into a more
perfect form^ namely, that of aiueliaSj which
is a kind of middle state between a worm and
a fly ; and thence they take their last mutation,
which is into a beautiful fly, of a longer ov
shorter duration according to its kind.

The ephemera, in its fly state, is a very beau-
tiful winged insect^ and has a strong similitude
to the butterfly ; but its wings differ, not be-
ing covered with the painted dust with which
those of butterflies are adorned, and rendered
opake, for they are very transparent and very
thio. Those insects have four wings, the up-
permost of which are much the largest ; when
it is at rest it generally lays its wings one over
the other^ on the back. The body is long,
being formed of six rings, that are larger
at the origin than near the extremity ; and from
ihis a tail proceeds that is longer than all the
rest of the fly, and consists sometimes of three
threads of an equal length, and sometimes of
two long and one short one.

The' reptile which is to become a fly, and
which is granted so long a term, when com-
pared to its latter duration^ (living sometimes

in

pF BIRDS, FISH, &C, 25?

In the first state two or three years, and in the
last scarcely as many hours) is an inhabitant of
the water, and, in many particulars bears a
strong resemblance to fish; having gills, by
^vhich it breathes at the bottom, and also the ta-
pering form of aquatic animals. These insects
have six scaly legs, fixed on the corselet. Their
head is triangular; the eyes are placed forwards
and may be distinguished by tlieir largeness and
croloiir. The mouth is furnished with teeth ;
the body consists of six rings ; that next the
corselet being the largest, but growing less and
less to the end : the last ring is the shortest, and
from which the three threads proceed, which arc
as long as the whole body.

As there are several kinds of this animal,
their aurelias are consequently of different co-
lours; some yellov/, others brown, and others
cream-coloured. Some of them perforate
cells at the bottom of the water, from
which tliey never stir out, but feed upon the
mud that composes the walls of their habitation.
Others range about, rise from the bottom to the
surface, swim between two waters, quit that
element entirely to feed upon plants by the ri-
ver side, and then return to their favorite ele-
ment for safety and protection.

When

25S NATtJRAL HISTORY

W'bcn these reptiles are about to change in*
to a fly Slate, the smooth and depressed form of
the upper part of the body becomes more swol-
len and of a rounder shape. They are found
in tlie greatest numbers along the banks of tlic
Rhine, or the Seine> near Paris,, where about
sun-set, for three or four days in the middle of
uimvatr, ihey excite astonislnnent by their mul-
tiplicity. The thickest descent of flakes of
snow in winter does not seem to equal their num-
ber; the whole air seems alive with the new-
born race, and the earth itself is covered all
over with their remains. With these the ope-
ration of change is performed with the greatest
ease. The auielias aje scarcely lifted above the
sirface of" the water, when their old sheathing
skin bursts, and through the cavity v»hich is
thus formed a fly issues, Miiose Avings, at the
iame instant are unfolded, and lift it into the
air. Those that are yet beneath the surface of
the water, wait only for the evening to begin
their transformation; the most industrious shake
off their old garments about eight o'clock, and
those who are the most tardy are transformed
before nine. Millions and millions of aurelias
rise in this manner to the surface, and at once
become flies, and fill every quarter with their

fluttc rings.

0¥ BIRDS, FISH, ;<cc:. 253

iliitterings. But all these sports aie, shortij lc»
have an end; tiie little strangers live but an
hour or two; in that short space the whole
swarm falls to the ground, and covers the earth,
like a deep snow for several hundred yards, oa
each side of the river. They are of a most
delicate nature ; the slightest touch is fatal to
them ; if they even hit agaiiist each other they
instantly die.

At this time the males and females ar« verj
differently employed. The males, quite inad
tive, and apparently without desires, seem only
born to die : unlike those of other insects, they
/leither follow the opposite sex, nor bear any
enmity to each other: after flutterhig for ai»
Iiour or two, they drop on the land, and c;:i>
elude their existence. It is otherwise with tlm
females : tliey have scarcely risen from the snr-
hce of the water, and dried their wings, but
they hasten back again to deposit their eggs:
if they happen to flutter upon land, they l^v^
their burden in the place where they drop.

This appears to be one of, if not the mo5t
prolific of all insects; audit would seem tli&t
there was a necessity for such a supply, as in its
reptile slate, it is the favourite food' of every
]>md of fresh-water fish. It is in vain that

thcs^

26a NATtJJlAt HIStdTlt

these little animals form as it were galleries a^
the bottom of the river for their security, for
inany kinds of fish break in upoii their retreats
and thin thfeir niimbefs. For this reasdn fisher-
men endeavotir toi provide themselves with these
insects, as the most grateful bate to ensnare
those Whose rapacity leads them to seek the
destruction of others.

But though, in general, these flies do not
live above two or three hoiirs at farthest, there
are some few kinds which live several days, and
6ne in particular, after quitting the water has
another case or skin to get rid of. These are
often sefen ill the fields and -viroods distant from
the water; but they are more frequently found
in its vicinity. They may also be discovered
Sticking upon walls and trees, and frequently with
their head downwards, >\ithout changing place;
or having any sensible motion. They are then
waiting for the moment when they shall be di-
gested of their last incommodious covering,
Mhich sometitnes does not happen for two or
three days, but they never move until it is*
effected.

*

tlV/X- Wcnn in i-k- JijJir^'U Stutc^ ■

Spttftr.>-

HL^^JL ^■^*^*

# ^

^■I„/,r „n.t^r,tJJ-tU.

OF BIRDJ, nSH, Sec. 26l

OF INSECTS OF THE TiURD ORDER.

IN proceeding to describe this class^ the Ca-
terpillars naturally present themselves the first,
and which may be easily distinguished from
worms or maggots, by the number of their feet,
and by their producing butterflies or moths.
When the sun calls up vegetation, and vivifies the
various eggs of insects, the caterpillars are the
first that are seen, upon almost every vegeta-
ble and tree, eating its leaves, and preparing
for a state of greater perfection. They have
feet both before and behind ; which not only
enable them to move forward by a sort of steps
made by their fore and hinder parts, but also to
climb up vegetables, and to stretch themselves
out from the boughs and stalks, to reach their
food at a distance. All of this class have from
eight feet, at the least, to sixteen ; and this may
serve to distinguish them from the worm tribe,

VOL. V. M m that

q62 natural history

that never have so manj-. The animal inta
which they are converted^ is always a butterfly
or a moth ; and these are always distinguished
from other flies^ by having their wings covered
over wtih a painted dust^ which gives them
such various beauty.

It has been established by the united observa-
tions of several naturalists^ that all caterpillars^
are hatched from the eggs of butterflies. Where
the caterpillar first bursts from it* egg, it is
small and feeble ; its appetites are in proportion
to its size, and it seems to make no great con-
sumption ; but as it encreases in magnitude, it
improves in its appetites f so that, in its adult
or caterpillar state,^ it is the most ravenous of all
animals whatsoever. A single caterpillar will
eat double its own weight of leaves in a day,^
and yet seem no way diijordered by the meal.

The body of the caterpillar, >vheri anatomi-
cally considered, is found to be commposed of
lings, whose circumference iapretty near circular
or oval. They are generally twelve in number,
find are all membraneous ; by which caterpil-
lars may be distinguished from many other in-
sects, that nearly resemble them in form. The
head of the caterpillar is connected to the tirst
ring by the neck, which is generally so short

and

6

OF IJIRDS, FISH^ &C. 263 p

nVkA contracted, that it is scarcely visible. All
the covering of the head in caterpillars seems
to consist of a shell ; and they have neither up-
per nor under jaw, for they are both placed ra-
ther vertically, and .each jaw armed with a large
thick tooth, which is, singly, equal to a number.
With these the animals devour their food in
such amazing quantities; and, with these, some
of the kind defend themselves against theu' ene-
mies. Though tlie mouth be kept shut, the
teeth are always uncovered; and, while the in-
t»ect is in health, they are seldom without em-
ployment. Whatever the cater^illa;r devours,
these teeth serve to chop into small pieces, and
J ender the parts of the leaf lit for swallowing.
Many kinds, while they are yet young, eat
only the succulent part of the leaf, and leave all
ihe fibres untouched ; others, however, attack,
the whole leaf, and eat it clean away : some are
jseen eating the whole day ; others have their
Jiours of repast ; some chuse the night, and
others the day. When the caterpillar attacks a
leaf, it places its body in such a manner, that
the edge of the leaf shall fall between its feet,
which keeps it steady, while the teeth are em-
ployed in cutting it : these fall upon the leaf,
son^e\yhat in the manner of a pair of gardener's
M m 2 shecrg .

264 NATURAL HISTORY

sheers ; and every morsel is swallowed as soon
as cut. Some caterpillars feed upon leaves so
very narrow, that they are not broader than
their mouths ; in this case the animal is seen
to devour it from the point.

As there are various kinds of caterpillars^
so the number of their feet is various ; some
having eight, and some sixteen. Of these feet,
the six foremost are covered with a sort of shin-
ing gristle ; and therefore called the shelly
legs. The hindmost feet, whatever be their
number, are soft and flexible, and are called
membraneous. Caterpillars also, with regard
to their external figure, are either smooth or
hairy. The skin of the first kind is soft tp the
touch, or hard, like shagreen ; the skin of the
latter is hairy, and, as it were thorny i and ge-
nerally, if handled, stings like nettles.

Caterpillars, in general, have six small black
spots, placed on the circumference of the fore-
ring, and a little to the side of the head. Three
of these are larger than the rest, and are con-
vex and transparent : these Rheaumur takes to
be the eyes of the caterpillar ; yet, most of
these reptiles have very little occasion fo|p
sight, and seem to be directed only by their
feeling.

OF BIRDS, FISH, 8CC. 265

Bitt the parts of the caterpillar's body which
most justly demand our attention, are the s^/V-
mata, as they are called ; or those holes on the
sides of its body, through which the animal is
supposed to breathe. These holes are easily dis-
coverable all along on each side. "^They are
^eighteen in mimber, nine on a side, rather near-
er the belly than tiie back; a hole for every ring,
of which the animal's body is composed, except
^he second, the third, and the last. These
oval openings may be considered as so many
mouths, through which the insect breathes •
.but with this difference, that as we have but
one pair of lungs, the caterpillar has no
less than eighteen. These lungs appear to
be hollow cartilaginous tubes, and of the co-
lour of mother-of-pearl. These tubes are of-
ten seen to imite with each other ; some are
perceived to open into the intestines ; and some
go to different parts of the surface of the
body. That these vessels serve to convey the
air, appears evidently, from the well known ex-
periment of Malpighi; who, by stopping up the
mouths of the stigmata with oil, quickly suffo-
cated the animal, which was seen to die con-
vulsed the instant after. In order to ascertain
his theory, he rubbed oil upon other parts of the

insects

266 NATURAL HISTORY

insect's body, leaving the stigmata free: and
this seemed to have no effect upon the animal's
liealth, but it continued to move and eat as
usual : he rubbed oil on the stigmata of one
side, and the animal undei-went a partial con-
vulsion, but recovered soon after. However,
it ought to be observed, that air is not so ne-
cessary to these as to the nobler ranks of ani-
mals, since caterpillars will live in an exhausted
receiver for several days together; and though
they seem dead at the bottom, yet, when taken
out, recover, and resume their former vivar
city.

If the caterpillar be cut open longitudinally
along the back, its intestines will be perceived
running directly in a straight line from the
xnouth to the anus. They resemble a number
of small bags opening into each other, and
strengthened on both sides by which they are
united. These insects are, upon many occa-
sions, seen to cast forth the internal coat of
tlieir intestines with their food, in the changes
which they so frequently undergo. But the in-
testines take up but a small pai t of the animal's
bod}', if compared to the fatty substance in
which they are involved. This substance
changes its colour when the insect's metamor-

phosis

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. Sl67

phosis begins to approach ; and from white it
is usually seen to become yellow. If to these -
parts we add the caterpillar's implements for
.spinning, (for all caterpillars spin at one time
or other) we shall have a rude sketch of this
animal's conformation.

The life of a caterpillar seems one continued
succession of changes; and it throws off one
skin only to assume another; and this for
eight or ten times successively; but we must
not, however, confound this changing of the
skin with the great metamorphosis \\4iich
it is afterwards to undergo, the one being
the action of a minute, the other the most
important event of their lives; and besides
which, it is nothing more than what is com-
mon with almost the whole insect tribe.
A day or two before the time of this ope-
ration approaches, the insect ceases to eat.
loses its usual activity, and appears to re-
main immoveable. It retires to some place of
sup|K)sed security, thongh it is no longer timo-
rous but seems regardless even of the touch.
It now and then bends itself, and elevates its
back, and then stretches again to the utmost
<i'xtent ; it will lift up its head, but soon lets it
fall again ; it sometimes waves it tlnee or four

times

268 NATURAL HISTORY

times from side to side^ and then remains quicfy
At length some of the wings of the body are
seen to swell considerably, particularly the first
and second ; the old skin distends and burstsy
till by repeated swellings and contractions, in
every ring, the caterpillar disengages itself, and
creeps from its inconvenient covering.

However laborious this operation may be>
it is performed in the space of a minute ; and
the animal, having thrown off its old skin,
seems to enjoy new vigour, as well as to have
acquired colouring and beauty. Sometimes it
happens that it takes a new appearance, and co-
lours very different from the old. Tliose that
are hairy, still preserve their covering, although
their ancient skin seems not to have lost a single
hair; every hair seems to have been drawn, like
a sword from the scabbard. The fact, how^
ever, is, that a new crop of hair grows be-
tween the old skin and the new, and probably
helps to throw off the external covering.

The caterpillar having, in this manner, con-
tinued fur several days feeding, and at intervals
casting its skin, begins at last to prepare for its
change into an aurelia.

Preparatory to this important transmutationy
the caterpillar most usually quits the plant, or the

trc«

or BIRDS, FISH_, &c. -269

tr^ on which it fed ; or at least attaches itself
to the stalk, or the stem) more gladly than the
leaves. It forsakes its food, and prepares, by
fasting, to undergo its transmutation.

Those of them ^vhieh are capable of spinning
themselves a web, set about this operation;
those which have already spun, await the change
in the best manner they are able. The web, or
cone, with which some cover themselves, hides
the aurelia contained within from the view;
but in others, where it is more transparent, the
caterpillar, when it has done spinning, strikes
in the claws of the two feet under the tail, and
tifterwards forces in the tail itself, by contracting
those claws, and violently striking the feet one
against the other. If, however, they be taken
from their web at this time, they appear in a
state of great languor ; and, incapable of walk-
ing, remain on that spot where they are placed.
In this condition they remain one or two days,
preparing to change into an aurelia; somewhat
in the manner they made preparations for chang-
ing their skin. They then appear with their
bodies bent into a bow, which they now and
then are seen to straiten : they make no use of
ihcir legs ; but, if they attempt to change place;,
-do it by the contortions of their body.

Nn In

270 KATURAL HISTORY

In proportion as their change into aure-
Ua approaches^ their body becomes more an(|
piore bent; while their extensions and con-
vulsive contractions increase. The hinder
end of the body is the part which the ani-
mal first disengages from its caterpillar skin;
that part of the skin remains empty, while the
body is drawn up contracted towards the head.
In the same manner they disengage themselves
from the two succeeding rings ; so that the ani-
mal is then lodged entirely in the forepart of its
caterpillar covering; that half which is aban-
doned remains flaccid and empty; while the
fore part, on the contrary, is swollen and dis-
tended. The animal having thus quitted the
hinder part of its skin, to drive itself up into
the fore part, still continues to heave and work
as before; so that the skin soon bursts into
three pieces, and a longitudinal opening is made
in the three first rings of the body, through
which the insect thrusts forth its nake^
body, with strong eft'orts. Thus, at last^ it
entirely gets free of its caterpillar skin, and
for ever forsakes its most odious reptile form.

The caterpillar, thus stripped of its skin for
the last time, is now become an aureha, in
which the parts of the future butterfly are all vi-
sible ;

#i

£iiUe/jlJf^-.

Fia.i2e.

127,

128.

ISO

131.

OF BlRDSj FISH, &C. 271

^ible; but in so soft a state, that the smallest
touch can discompose them. The animal
now becomes helpless and motionless.

Immediately after being stripped of its cater-
pillar skin, it is of a green colour, especially
in those parts which are distended by an extra-
ordinary afflux of animal moisture ; but in ten or
twelve hours after being thus exposed, its parts
harden, and the air forms its external cover-
ing into a hard crust. From the beautiful and
resplendent colour, with which it is thus some-
times adorned, some authors have called it a
chrysalis, implying a creature made of gold.

Tlie hutterfiij does not continue so long un-
der the form of an uurelia, as one would be
apt to imagine. In general, those caterpillars
that provide themselves with cones, continue
within them but a few days after the cone is
completely finished. Some, however, remain
buried in this artificial covering for eight or
nine months, without taking the smallest suste-
nance during the whole time: and though in the
caterpillar state no animals are more voracious,
yet when thus transformed, they appear a miracle
of abstinence. In all, sooner or later, the but-
terfly bursts from its prison ; not only that na-
tural prison which is formed by the skin of the
N n 2 aureJia,

27^ NATURAL HISTORY

aurelia^ but also from that artificial one of siik^
or any other substance in which it has enclosed
itself.

If the animal be shut up within a cone, the
butterfly always gets rid of the natural internal
skin of the aurelia, before it eats its way through
the external covering which its own industry
has formed round it. When this operation be-
gins^ there seems to be a violent agitation in
the humours contained within the animal's
body, though by no means so_ great as it expe-
rienced in changing from its caterpillar into its
aurelia state. After some struggles, the skiu
bursts in four regular pieces ; the skin of the
head and legs first separates ; then the skin at
the back flies open, and, dividing into two re-
gular portions, disengages the back and wings :
then there likewise happens another rupture,
in that portion which covered the rings of the
back of the aurelia. After this, the butterfly,
as if fatigued, remains very quiet for some
time, with its wings pointed downwards, and
its legs fixed in the skin which it had just thrown
off. At first sight, the animal, just permitted
the use of its wings, seems to want them en-
tirely : they take up such little room, that one
would wonder where they were hidden. But

soon

OF BIRDS, VISH, &C. ^^

soon after, they expand so rapldily, that the eye
can scarcely attend their unfolding, and ahnost
in an instant appear five times longer than be-
fore.

Nor . is it the wings alone that are thus in-
creased : all their spots and paintings, before se>
minute as to be scarcely discernible, are .propor-
tionably extended ; so that, what a few mi-
nutes before seemed only a number of confused>
unmeaning points, now become distinct and
most beautiful ornaments.

The wing, at the instant it is freed from its
confinement, is considerably thicker than after-
w'ards ; so that it spreads in all its dimensions,
growing thinner as it becomes broader. If one
of the wings be plucked from the animal just
set free, it may be spread by the iiager, and it
will soon become as broad as the otlier, wliich
has been left behind. As the wings extend
themselves so suddenly, they have not yet had
time to dry ; and accordmgly appear like pieces
of wet paper, soft, and full of wrinkles. In
about half an hour, they are perfectly dry,
their wrinkles entirely disappear, and the little
animal assumes all its splendor. Those whicji
are enclosed within a cone find their emancipa-
tion somewhat more difficult, as they have ano-

ther

S74 KAtURAL HISTORY

ther prison to break through; but this they
perform in a short time ; for the butterfly^
freed from its aurelia skin butts with its head
against the walls of its artificial prison ; thus it
soon forces its way through, and in less than
SI quarter of an hour acquires its full per-
fection.

The number of these beautiful animals iv
▼ery great; and -though Linnaeus has reckoned
up above seven hundred and sixty different
kinds, the catalogue is still very incomplete.
Every collector of butterflies can shew unde-
scribed species; and such as are fond of mi-
nute discovery, can here produce animals that
have been examined only by himself. In ge*
neral, however, those of the warmer climates
are larger and more beautiful than such as are
bred in this countrv*

if

Tlie wings of buttei-flies are very different
from those of any other fly : they have four in
Dumber, and though two of them be cut off,
the animal is still enabled to fly. They are, in
their own substance, transparent, but owe their
opacity to the beautiful dust with which they are
covered. The wing of the butterfly being ob-
served with a good microscope, it will be seen
to be studded over with a variety of little grains,

of

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 275

A)f different forms and dimensions, generally
«uppoi ted upon a footstalk regularly laid upon
tlie whole surface. The wing itself is com-
posed of several membranes, which render the
consti'uction very strong, though light; and
though it is covered over with thousands of
those scales, or studs, yet its weight is very
little encreased by the number, and the animal
is enabled to support itself for a considerable
time in the air.

The butterfly may be said to consist of three
parts; the head, the corselet, and the body.
The body is the hinder part, and is composed
of rings, which are generally concealed under
long hairs with which that part of the animal
is clothed. The corselet is more solid than
the rest of the body, and in which the fore
wings, and the legs are fixed. They have six
legs but only make use of four ; the two fore
are covered by the long haks of the body, and
are sometimes so much concealed that it is dif-
ficult to discover them. The eyes of butter-
flies have not ail the same form ; in some they
are the larger portion of a sphere, in others
they are but a small part of it, and just apr
pearing from the head ; in some also they are
small, and in others large; but in all of them
9 thp

*S7^ NATURAL HISTORY

the outward coat has a lustre, in which may be
discovered all the various colours in the rain-
bow. It has> likewise the appearance of a
multiplying glass, having a great number of
sides, or facets, in the manner of a brilliant cut
diamond. In this particular, the eye of the
butterfly and of most other insects correspond,
and Leuwenhoek pretends there are above 6000
lacets in the cornea of a flea. Puget adapted
the cornea of a flea in such a position, as to see
objects through it by the means of a micro-
scope, and nothing, he says, could exceed the
strangeness af its representations : a soldiei*,
who was seen through it, appeared like an ar-
my of pigmies ; for while it mnltiplied, it also
diminished the object : the arch of a bridge ex-
hibited a spectacle more magnificent than hu-
man skill could perform : the flame of a candle
seemed a beautiful illumination. It still, how-
ever, remains a doubt, whether the insect see
objects singly, as with one eye, or whether
every facet is itself a complete eye, exhibitijig,
its own object distinct from all tlie rest.

Butterflies, as well as most other flying in-
sects, have two instruments, like horns, on
their heads, called feelers. These are mover
able at the base^ and have a number of joints,

by

Molll.r

'W

OJ* BIKDS, FISH, &C; 277

by which means the insect is enabled to turn
them in every direction. Those of the butter-
fly are placed at thei top of the head^ pretty
near to the external edge of each eye. Of what
benefit they are to the animal cannot be ex-
actly ascertained^ and all that has hitherto been
said is mere conjecture. Directly between the
eyes, most of the butterfly kind have a trunk,
which, when the animal is not seeking its nou-
rishment is rolled up like a curl ; but when in
search of food, and the butterfly has settled upon
Some flower, then the trunk is thrust out and
employed in searching the flower to the very
bottom, let it be ever so deep. This search
being repeated seven or eight times, the but-
terfly passes on to another. The trunk itself
consists of two equal hollow tubes, nicely join-
ed to each other.

This tribe of insects has been divided into
Diunial dnd NocturnalWies; or, as commonly
called, Batteijiks and Moths ; from the one fly-
ing by day, and the other being usually on the
wing during the night. They may be easily
distinguished from each other by their horns, or
^'feelers; those of the butterfly being clubbed,
or knobbed at the end ; those of the moth ta-
pering to a point.

VOL. V. O o The

27ft NATURAL HISTORY

The butterflies, as well as the moths^ em-
ploy the short life assigned them in a variety of
enjoyments. Their whole time is spent either
in quest of food, which every flower offers ; or
in pursuit of the female, whose approach they
can often perceive at a very great distance.
Their sagacity in this particular is not less asto-
nishing than true ; but by what sense they are
thus capable of distinguishing each other at such
distances is not easy to conceive. From what-
ever power it may arise, however, it is certain that
the male may be often observed fluttering, and
then taking wing, fly directly to a female who
may be perched on a flower at two miles dis-
tance.

The general rule among insects is, that the
female is larger than the male ; and this obtains
particularly in the tribe we are describing. The
body of the male is more small and slender; that
of the female more thick and oval. The eggs
of the female butterflies are deposited in the body
like a bed of chaplets ; which, when excluded,,
are usually oval, and of a whitish colour : some,
however, are quite round; and others flatted^
like a turnip. The covering, or shell of th»
egg, though solid, is thin and transparent; and
in proportion as the caterpillar grows within the

OF BIRDS, FTSH, &C. 279

<?gg, the colours change, and are dishibuted
(differently. The butterfly seems very well m
^mcted by Nature in its choice of the plan
or the leaf, where it shall deposit its burthen.
Each egg contains but one caterpillar ; and it
is requisite that this little animal, when exclud-
led, should be near its peculiar provision. All
the eggs of butterflies are attached to the leaves
of their favourite plant, such as the rag- weed,
the cabbage, or the nettle, by a sort of size or
glue ; where they continue, unobserved, unless
carefully seught after. The eggs are sometimes
placed round the tender shoots of plants, in the
form of bracelets, consisting of above two hun-
dred in each, and generally surrounding the
shoot, hke a ring upon a finger. Some butter-
flies secure their eggs from the injuries of air,
by covering them with hair, plucked from their
own bodies, as birds sometimes are seen to make
their nests; so that their eggs are thus kept
warm, and also entirely concealed. All the
moth kind lay their eggs almost as soon as they
quit their aurelia state, while many butterflies
do not deposit them until the approach of win-
ter ; nay some conceal themselves in the hol-
, lows of trees till April, when they deposit
their eggs and die.

O o 2 Some

280 NATtJIlAL HISTORY

Some of the caterpillar kind, that seem fitted
to live only upon leaves and plants, will how-
ever, eat each other ; and the strongest will de-
vour the weak in preference to their vegetable
food. That which lives upon the oak, is found
to seize any of its companions, that it con-
veniently can, by the first rings, and inflict a
deadly wound : it then feasts in tranquillity on
its prey, and leaves nothing of the animal but
the husk.

But it is not from each other that they have
most to fear, as in general they are inoffensive ;
and many of this tribe are found to live in a sort
of society. Many kinds of flies lay their eggs
either upon, or within their bodies; and as
these turn, into worms, the caterpillar is seen
to nourish a set of intestine enemies within its
body, that must shortly be its destruction : na-
ture having taught flies, as well as all other
animals, the surest methods of perpetuating
their kind. *' Towards the end of August,"
says Rheaumur, ^^ I preceived a little fly, of
" a beautiful gold colour, busily employed in
" the body of a large caterpillar, of that kind,
f' which feeds upon cabbage. I gently sepa-
f^ rated that part of the leaf on which these in-
" sects were placed, from the rest of the plant,

'* an4

OF BIRDS, PISH, &:c. -231

** and placed it where I might observe them

*^ more at my ease. The %, wholly taken up

" by the business in which it was employed,

*^ walked along the caterpillar's body, now and

" then remaining lixed to a particular spot,

^* Upon this occasion I perceived it every now

*^ and then dart a sting, which it carried at the

*^ end of its tail, into the caterpillar's body, and

'^ then drew it out again, to repeat the same ope-

*^ ration in another place. It was not difficult

" for me to conjecture the business which en-

" gaged this animal so earnestly; its whole aim

'' was to deposit its eggs in the caterpillars

" body; which was to serve as a proper retreat

*^ for bringing them to perfection. The rep-

'' tile thus rudely treated, seem.ed to bear all

" very patiently, only moving a little when

*' stung too deeply ; which, however, the fly

" seemed entirely to disregard. I took parti-

'^ cular care to feed this caterpillar; which

//seemed to me to continue as voracious and

^' vigorous as any of the rest of its kind. In

" about ten or tsvelve days, it changed into an

^' aurelia, which seemed gradually to decline,

^^ and died ; upon examining its internal parts,

^' the animal was entirely devom-ed by worms,

" which.

2Sa NATURAL HlSTOkY

" wliichy however^ did not come tX) perfection,
*^ H9 it is probable they had not enough to sus-
^ tain th-em within/*

What Rheaumur perceived in this instance,
may be daily observed in all the caterpillar kind^
particularly in the large one that feeds on cab-
l)a2:es, which in some seasons it is difficult to
iind without being thus impregnated^ especially
t>y the ichneumon, and other flies who make
a nest of their bodies, and carefully deposit
tlieir eggs in them. But, laid in those parts
that are not mortal, the reptile still Continues
to live, and to feed, shewing no sign of be-
iijg incommoded by its new guests.

The Silk'ZOorm. Though silk M'as anciently
■Iffotight in small quantities to Rome, yet it
Yras so scarce as to be sold for its weight iti
i:oId: and was considered as such a luxurious
refinement in dress, that it was infamous for
a man to appear in habits of which silk formed
btit half the composition. It was most pro-
bably brought among them from the remotest
parts of the East, since it was, at the time of
which we are speaking, scarcely known evert
in Persia,

The

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 235

The silkworm is a large caterpillar, of a
whitish colour, with twelve feet, aiid produc-
ing a butterfly of the moth kind, lliere arc
two methods of breeding silk-worms; for they
soay be left to grow, and remain at liberty
upon the trees where they are hatched; ox they
may be kept in a place built for that purpose,
and fed every day with fresh leaves. The fii'st
method is used in Chiiia, Tonquin, and other
hot countries ; but to breed them iu Europe,
they must be sheltered and protected from eveiy
external injury. For this purpose, a room is
chosen, with a south aspect ; and the windows
are so well glazed, as not to admit the least airj
the walls are well bqilt, and the planks of the
tioor exceedingly close, so r^s to admit neituer
birds nor mice, nor even so much as an insect-
In the middle there should be four pillars erect-
ed, or four wooden posts, so placed as to form a
pretty large square. Between tliese are di^er*
ent stories made of ozier hurdles; and mider
each hurdle there should be a floor, with an up-
right border all round. These hurclles and
floors must hang upon pulleys, so as to be
placed, or taken down at pleasure.

When the worms are hatched, some tender
mulberry leaves are provided, and placed in th?

clotli

i284 NATURAL HISTORY

cloth or paper box in which the eggs were laid^
and which are large enough to hold li great
number. When they have acquired some
strength^ they must be distributed on beds of
mulberry leaves^ in the different stories of the
square in the middle of the room, roimd which
a person may freely pass on every side. They
will fix themselves to the leaves, and afterwards
to the sticks of the hurdles, when the leaves are
devoured. They then have a thread, by which
they can suspend themselves on occasion, to
prevent any shock by a fall. Care must be
taken that fresh leaves be brought every moni-
ing, which must be strewed very gently and
equally over them; when the silkworms will
forsake the remainder of the old leaves, which
must be carefully removed, and every thing
left very clean ; for nothing hurts these in-
sects so much as moisture and uncleanliness*
For this reason, the leaves must be gathered
\yhen the weather is dry, and kept in a dry
place, if it be necessary to lay in a store. As
these animals have but a short time to live,
tliey make use of every moment, and are almost
continually spinning, except at those inter-
vals when they change their skins. If mulberry
leaves be difficult to be obtained, the leaves of
9 lettuce.

OF BTTIDS, FISH, &C. 285

lettuce, or holy oak, will sustain them : but they
do not thrive so well as upon their own diet ; and
their silk will neither be so copious, nor of so
good a quality.

Though a judicious choice and a careful
management of their diet, is alsolutely neces-
sary, yet there is another precaution of equal
importance, which is to give them air, and
open their chamber windows, at those times
when the sun shines warmest.

The worm, at the time it bursts the shell, is
extremely small, and of a black colour; but the
head is of a more shining black than the rest of
the body : some days after they begin to turn
whitish, or of an ash coloured grey. After the
slvin begins to grow too rigid, or the animal is
stinted with it, the insect throws it off, and ap-
pears clothed a-new : it then becomes larger
and much whiter, though it has a greenish cast.
After some days, which are more or less, ac-
cording to the different heat of the climate, or
to the quality of the food, it leaves off eating,
and seems to sleep for two days together: then
it begins to stir, and puts itself into violent
motions, till the skin falls off the second time,
and is thrown aside by the animal's feet. All
these changes are made in three weeks or a

VOL. V. P p month's

<286 NATURAL HISTORY

month's time ; after which it begins to feed
once more, still in its caterpillar form, but a
good deal differing from itself before its change.
In a few days time it seems to sleep again ; and
when it awakes, it again changes its clothing,
and continues feeding as before. When it has
thus taken a sufficiency of food, and its parts
are disposed for assuming the aurelia form, the
animal forsakes, for the last time, all food and
society, and prepares itself a retreat to defend
it from external injuries, while it is seemingly
deprived of life and motion.

This retreat is no other than its cone, or ball
of silk, which Nature has taught it to com-
pose with great art; and within which it bu-
ries itself, till it assumes its winged form. This
cone, or ball, is spun from two little longish
kinds of bags that lie above the intestines, and
are filled with a gummy fluid, of a marigold
colour. This is the substance of which the
threads are formed ; and the little animal is fur-
nished with a suprising apparatus for spinning
it to the degree of fineness which its occasions
may require. This instrument in some mea-
sure, resembles a wire drawer's machine, in
^ which gold or silver threads are drawn to any
degree of minuteness ; and through which the

animal

OF BiRDSj FISH^ SCC. 287

animal draws its thread with great assiduity.
As every thread proceeds from two gum bags,
it is probable that each supplies its own;
though they become united, as they proceed
from the animal's body. If we examine the
thread with a microscope, it will be found that
it is flatted on one side, and grooved along its
length: whence we may infer, that it is dou-
bled just upon leaving the body; and that the
two threads stick to each other by that gummy
quality of which they are possessed. Previously
to spinning its web, the silk worm seeks out
some convenient place to erect its cell, without
any obstruction. When it has found a leaf, or
a chink fitted to its purpose, it begins to wreathe
its head in every direction, and fastens its thread
on every side of its retreat. Though all its
first essays seem perfectly confused, yet they
are not altogether without design ; there ap-
pears, indeed, no order or contrivance in
the disposal of its first threads ; they are
by no means laid artfully over each other,
but are thrown out at random, to serve as an
external shelter against rain; for nature hav-
ing appointed the animal to work upon trees in
the open air, its habits remain, though it is
brought up in a warm apartment.

P p 2 Malpighi

'288 - NATURAL HISTORY

Malpighi pretends to have observed six dif-
ferent layers in a single cone of silk : but what
may be easily observed is^ that it is composed
externally of a kind of rough cotton-like sub-
stance, which is called floss ; within, the thread
is more distinct and even ; and next the body
of the aurelia, the apartment seems lined with
a substance of the hardness of paper, but of a
much stronger consistence. The thread which
goes to compose the cone, is not rolled round,
as we roll a bottom, but lies upon it in a very
irregular manner, and winds off first from one
side of the cone, and then from the other.
This whole thread, if measured, will be found
about 300 yards long: and so very fine, that
eight or ten of them are generally rolled off into
one by the manufacturers. The cone, when
completed, is in form Hke a pigeon's egg, and
more pointed at one end than the other; at the
smaller end, the head of the aurelia is usually
found ; and this is the place that the insect,
when converiea mio a moth, is generally seen
to burst through.

It is commonly a fortnight or three weeks
before the aurelia changes into a moth; but
no sooner is the winged insect completely
formed, than having divested itself of its aure-
lia
6

OF BlKDSj FISH, &C. 289

lia skin, it prepares to bust through its cone,
or outward prison : for this purpose it extends
its head towards the point of the cone, butts
with its eyes, which are rough, against the
lining of its cell, wears it away, and at last
pushes forward, through a passage whicli is
small at first, but which enlarges as the ani-
mal encreases its efforts for emancipation ;
while the tattered remnants of its aurelia skin
lie in confusion within the cone, like a bundle
of dirty linen.

The animal, when thus set free from its dou-
ble confinement, appears exhausted with fe-
tigue, and seems produced for no other purpose
but to generate a future brood. The male at
first seeks the female, and have impregnated
her eggs, dies in a few da}s after; the female
lives for some time, it being frequently a month
or two before she deposits her eggs, which are
not hatched until the ensuing spring. There
are few, however, of these animals suffered to
come to a state of maturity ; for as their burst-
ing through the cone destroys the silk, the
manufacturers take care to kill the aurelia, by
exposing it to the sun, before the moth comes
to perfection. This done, they take off the
floss^ and throw tlie cones into warm water,

stirring

290 NATURAL HISTORY

stirring them till the first thread offers them a
due for winding ail off. They generally take
eight of the silken threads together; the cones
still kept under water, till a proper quantity of
the silk is wound off; they do not however
take all ; for the latter parts grow weak, and
are of a bad colour. As to the paper like sub-
stance which remains, some stain it with a va-
riety of colours, to make artificial flowers;
others let it lie in the water, till the glutinous
matter which cements it is all dissolved: it is
then carded like wool, spun with a wheel, and
converted into silk stuffs of an inferior kind.

145.

OF BIRDS, FISH, &c. 291

OF THE FOURTH ORDER OF INSECTS,

[N this class naturalists have placed such as
are at first laid in the form of eggs, then ex-
cluded in that of maggots, or grubs, (differing very
essentially from the caterpillar, of which we have
just treated, particularly in wanting the number of
eet) afterwards changed into aurelias, but with
their legs and wings visible, and, lastly, assuming
wings, in which state they propagate their
kind. Some of these have four transparent
wings, as bees ; some have two membraneous
cases to their wings, as beetles ; and some have
but two wings which are tiansparent, as ants-
In this class, therefore, are to be found the bee,
the wasp, the humble bee, the ichneumon fly,
the gnat, the tipula, or longlegs, the beetle, the
may-bug, the glow-worm, the ant, and all
their varieties. The transformations which ali
these undergo are nearly similar ; and though
very different animals in form, are yet produced
nearly iii the same manner.

Tlie

292 NATURAL HISTORY

The Bee is most undoubtedly entitled to our
first notice, both from its evident superior in-
stincts, and from the great benefits which man-
kind derive from its labour and industry. No
animal .in the creation has excited so much cu-
riosity ; and many individuals of various talents,
have made the history of the bee their study and
pleasure ; it is no wonder, therefore, that some
contradition is to be met with. Rheaumur, was
particularly attentive to 'this insect, and from
his knowledge in natural history has certainly left
the best account of it, and which, as being
confirmed by the latter experiments of Debraw,
we shall entirely follow.

There are three different kinds of bees in
every hive. First, the labouring bees, which
make up by far the greatest number, and are
thought to be neither male nor female, but
merely born for the purposes of labour, and
continuing the breed, by supplying the young
with provision, while yet in their helpless state.
The second sort are the drones ; they are of a
darker colour, longer, and more thick by one
third than the former ; they are supposed to be
the males ; and there are not above a hundred
of them, in a hive of seven or eight thousand

bees.

OF BIRDS^ FISH, &C. 293

l)ees. The third sort are still larger and fewer
in number; some assert that there is not above
one in every swarm : but this, later observers
affirm not to be true, there being sometimes
five or six in t4ie same hive. These are called
queen-bees, and are said to lay all the eggs
from which the whole swarm is hatched in the
season.

In examining the structure of the common
working bee, the first remarkable part that of-
fers is the trunk, which serves to exract the
honey from flowers. It is not formed, like that
of other flies, in the manner of a tube, by
which the fluid is to be sucked up ; but like a
besom, to sweep, or a tongue, to lick it away.
The animal is furnished also with teeth, which
serve it in making wax, which is also ga-
thered from flowers, like honey. In the
thighs of the hind legs there are two cavities,
edged with hair ; and into these, as into a bas-
ket, the animal sticks its pellets. Thus em-
ployed, the bee flies from flower to flower^
encreasing its store, and adding to its stock of
wax; until the bale, upon each thigh, becomes
as big as a grain of pepper ; by this time hav-
mg got a sufl[icient load, it returns, making the
best of its way to the hive.

VOL. V. Q^ The

£94 NATURAL HISTORY

The belly of the bee is divided into sis
ringSj which shorten the body, by slipping one
over the other. It contains within it, besides
the intestines, the honey-bag, the venom-bag,
and the sting. The honey bag is as trans-
parent as crystal, containing the honey that the
bee has brushed from the llovvers ; of which
the greater part is carried to the hive, and
poured into the cells of the honey-comb : while
the remainder serves for the bee's own nou-
rishment : for during the summer, it never touches
what has been laid up for the winter. The
sting, which serves to defend this little animal
from its enemies, is composed of three parts :
the sheath, and two darts, which are extremely
small and penetrating. Both the darts have se-
veral small points or barbs, like those of a fish-
hook, which renders the sting more painful,
and makes the darts rankle in the wound.
Still, however^ this instrument would be very
slight, did not the bee poison the wound. The
sheath, which has a sh^rp point, makes the
first impression ; which is followed by that of
the darts, and then the venomous liquor is
poured in. The sheath sometimes sticks so fast
in the wound, that the animal is obliged to
leave it behind; by which the bee soon after

dies.

OP BlRDSj FISH, &G. 295

die?, and tlie wound is considerably enflamed.
It might at first appear well for mankind, if the
bee were without its sting : but, upon recol-
lection, it will be found that the little animal
would then have too many rivals in sharing its
labours. A hundred other lazy animals, fond
of honey, and hating labour, would intrude
upon the sweets of the hive ; and the treasure
would be carried off, for want of armed guar-
dians to protect it.

The bee is a gregarious animal, and is not
only subject to laws, but active, vigilant,
laborious, and disinterested. AW its pro-
visions are laid up for the community; and
all its arts in building a cell, designed for
the benefit of posterity. The substance with
which bees build their cells is wax ; which is
fashioned into convenient apartments for them^
selves and their young. When they begin to
work in their hives, they divide themselves into
four companies ; one of which roves in the
fields in search of materials ; another employs
itself in laying out the bottom and partitions of
their cells ; a third is employed in making the
inside smooth from the corners and angles ; and
the fourth company bring food for the rest, or
relieve those who return with their respective
Q q 2 bui thens.

S96 NATURAL HISTOKY

burthens. But they are not confrtaiitto one
emplo3ment ; they often change the tasks as-
signed them ; those that have been at work,
are permitted to go abroad ; and those that
have been in the fields already, take their
places. They seem even to have sigcs, by
which they understand each other ; for when
any of tliem vvant food, it bends down its trunk
ta the bee from whom it is expected, which
then opens its honey-bag, and lets some drops
fall into the other's mouth. Their diligence
and labour is so great, that, in a day's time,
they are able to make cells, which lie upon each
other, numerous enough to contain three thou-
sand bees.

Their cells are formed in the most exact pro*
portion. It was said by Pappus, an ancient
geometrician, that of all figures, hexagons
were the most convenient ; for, when placed
touching each other, the most convenient room
would be given, and the smallest lost. The
cells of the bees are perfect hexagons : these,
in every honey-comb, are double, opening on
either side, and closed at the bottom. The
bottoms aje composed of little triangular panes,
which, when united together, terminate in a

point.

OF BIRDS, FISH, 8CC. 297-

point, and lie exactly upon the extremities of
other panes of the same shape, in opposite
cells. These lodgings have spaces, like streets,
between them, large enough to give the bees a
free passage in and out ; and yet narrow
enough to presence the necessary heat. The
mouth of every cell is defended by a border,
which makes the door a little less than the in-
side of the cell, which serves to strengthen the
whole. They serve for different purposes :
for laying up their young, for their wax,
and for their honey, which makes their prin-
cipal subsistence.

The habitation of bees require to be very
close; and what their hives want, from the
negligence or unskilfulness of man, these
animals supply by their own industr}' : so that
it is their principal care, when first hived, to
stop up all the crannies. For this purpose,
they make use of a resinous gum, wdiich is
more tenacious than wax, and differs greatly
from it. This the ancients called prcpolis:
it will grow considerably hard in June, though
it will in some measure soften by heat; and is
often found different in consistence, colour, and
smell. It has generally an agreeable aromatic
pdour when it is warmed; and by some it is

considered

29B NATURAL HISTORr

rw'^fdereo as a mo.st c;ratefii] perfume. When
the bec-^T begin to work with it, it is soft^ but
it acquires a firmer consistence every day; till
»t length it assumes a brown colour, and be-
cromcs much harder than wax. The bees carry
it ftn their liinder \e^^; and some thinkit is
met with on the birch, the willow, and pop-

The swarm, when examined through a glass
hive, seem, from their hurry, to be all anarchy
and coniusioir: but the spectator soon finds every
arJmal diligently employed, and following one
pnr.--uit, with a settled purpose. Their teeth are
the iiistrumetits by which they model and fashion
their various buildings, and give them such
symetry and perfection. They begin at the
top of the hive ; and several of them work
at a time, at the cells which have two faces.
If they are stinted with regard to time, they
%\ve the new cells but half the depth which
they ought to have ; leaving them imper-
fect, till they have sketched oat the num-
ber of cells necessary for the present occasion.
The constiTiction of their combs, costs them
a great deal of labour: they are made by insen-
sible additions ; and not cast at once into a mold.

The

Of BiRDS^ FISH^ Sec. 'J^f)

Ihe cells for their young are most carefujfy
formed; those designed i'or lodsing the dron^^,
ure larg<ir than the rest; and that tor the queeii^
bee, the largest of all. Honey is not tlie oulv
food upon which these animals subsist. Thtr
meal of Howers, of v\ hich their wax id formts.1,
Js one of their most favourite repasts. This is
a diet ^^ hich they live upon during tiie sum-
mer, and of whicli they lay up a large winter
provision. The wax of which their combos mt^
made, is no more than this meal digei,ted, ai.d
wrought into a paste. \', hen the dowers
upon which bees generally ieed, are not fuiiy
blown, and this meal or dust is not offered ia
sufficient quantities, the bees pinch the top.^
of the stamina in which it is contained, wirii
their teeth ; and thus anticipate the progress of
vegetation. In i\pnl and May the bees are
busy, from morning to evening, in gathering
this meal ; but when the weather becomes too
hot in the midst of summer^ th'oy work only k
the morninsc.

The bee is furnished with a stomach for its
wax as weU as its honey. In the former of tlie
two, their powder is altered, digested and
concocted into real wax ; and is thus ejected by
ihe same pas.sage by which it was swalioued.

''erv

300 NATURAL HlStORT

Every comb, newly made, is white : but it
becomes yellow as it grows old, and almost
black when kept too long in the hive. Beside
the wax thus digested, there is a large portion
of the powder kneaded up for food in every hive,
and kept in separate cells, for winter provision ;
this is called bee-bread, and contributes to the
health and strength of the animal durinsj win-
ter.

Numerous as the multitude of bees may
appear in one swarm, they all ov^e their origin
to a single parent, which is called the queen-
bee ; and Rheaumur assures us, that opening
one of them, he found no less than five thou-
sand esTSS. This animal, whose existence is of
such importance to the community, may easily
be distinguished from the rest by her size, and
the shape of her body. On lier safety depends
the whole welfare of the commonwealth ; and
the attentions paid to her by all the the rest of the
swarm, evidently shew the dependence her sub-
jects have upon her security.

The queen-bee is generally concealed in the
tnost secret part of the hive, and is seldom visi-
ble but when she lays her eggs, in such combs?
as are exposed to sight. When she does ap-
pear, she is always attended by ten or a dozen
9 of

O? BIRPS, P16H, &r. SOJ

of the commo nsort, who form a kind of reti-
nue, and follow her wherever she goes with »
sedate and grave tread. Those which cprnposfr
her train are supposed to be the m.ale§, who
impregnate her by turns, B§fQre she \^y$
her eggs, she examines tlie cells where ?he de»
signs to depoeit them, and if she finds that they
contain neither honey, wax, nor any embryo^
she introduces the posterior pgrt of hep- body
into a cell, and fixes t^ -the bottom of it a small
Mhite egg, which is composed of % thijii wl^itf
pienibrane, full of a whitish iiquof*. In thi^
manner she goes on, leaving on^ ip eacl^ ceJJ
until she has visited as njany cells a« sh^ Iisls
eggs, which commonly apipynt tp sgnm thou^
sands. Sometimes more thaai one egg is depo?-
sited in the same cell, but when this is thjE case,
the working bees reippve the supern^tnerary
eggs, and leave one in each. A day or twQ
after it is deposited, tlie worm is excluded fi oijqi
the shell of the egg, having the appearance of
a maggot rolled up in a ring, and lying sctftlj
on a bed of a whitish coloured jelly ; upoj^
which also the httle animal begins to feed. li^
the mean time, the instant it appears, the w-ork-
ing bees attend it with the moat anxiou3 aud pa-
rentaL tenderness. Thus attended, and plentifully
. VOL. V. R r fed

502 NATURAL HISTORY

fed, the worm, in less than six days time,
comes to its full growth, and no longer ac-
cepts the food offered it. When the bees per-
ceive that it has no further occasion for feeding,
they perform the last offices of tenderness, and
shut up the little animal in its cell ; they wall up
the mouth of its apartment with wax : and there
they leave the worm to itself, having secured
it from every external injury.

The worm is no sooner left enclosed, but,
from a state of inaction, it begins to labour,
extending and shortening its body ; and by this
means lining the wall of its apartment with a
silken tapestry, which it spins in the manner of
caterpillars, before they undergo their last trans-
formation. When their cell is thus prepared,
the animal is soon after transformed into an au-.
relia ; but differing from that of the common
caterpillar, as it exhibits not only the legs, but
the wings of the future bee, in its present state
of inactivity. Thus, in about twenty, or one
and twenty days after the egg was laid, the beo
is completely formed, and fitted to undergo the
fatigues of its state. When all its parts have
acquired their proper strength and consistence
the young animal opens its prison, by piercing
with its teeth the waxen door that confines

it,

bF BIRDS, FISH, &<i. S03

it. When first freed from its cell, it is moist>
and incommoded with the spoils of its for-
mer situation ; but the oflicious bees are soon
seen to flock round it, and to lick it clean
on all sides with their trunks; while another
band with equal assiduity, are observed to feed
it with honey : others again begin immediately
to cleanse the cell that has been just left; to
carry the ordures out of the hive, and to fit the
place for a new inhabitant. The young bee soon
repays their care, by its industry, for as soon
as ever its external parts become dry, it disco-
vers its natural appetites for labour, and indus-
triously begins the task, which it pursues unre-
mittingly through life*

The bees depart from their usual stile of
building when they are to raise cells for such
maggots as are destined to become queens.
These are of a longish oblong form, havino- one
end bigger than the other, with their exterior
furface full of little cavities. Wax, which is
employed with so geometrical a thriftiness in
the raising of hexagonal cells, is expended with
profusion in the cell which is to be the cradle
of a royal maggot. Several common cells are
sacrificed to serve as a basis and support to it.
It is placed almost perpendicular to the com-
K r 2 moa*

5t)4 NATURAL HISTORY

moil cells, the largest end being uppermost.
The IXiWtT end k op6n till the season for closing
it comefi, and the maggot is ready for transfor-
mation, it would be difficult to conceive how
•^ tender mag-got can reieaki in a cell turned
bottom wp^^arcis, if we did not tiud it baried
in a substance scarcely fluid, and if it were not
in itself, as first, femall and light enough to be
^spended in this damniy paste. As it grows, it
i&lis all 'the larger and upper parts of the cell.
As soon as the yotmg queen comes out, lier cell
is destroyed, and its place is supplied by
common ones ; but as the foundation of
the royal cell is left, this part of the comb
is found thicker than any other. They tak«
care to 'prepare several such cells to guard, a*
it "Were, agaiast accidents : for if thefre were only
one reared in each hive, the swarms mightoften
v/ant a conductress ; or the little maggot might
■chart<!e to be destroyed before it came to a bee.
'it is, therefore, necessary that a number of sudr
»i!ells should be provided ; and accordingly there
areobserved several young queens in e^ery hive
lit the beginning of summer.

vA. young queen is in a condition to lead a

iswarm from & hive in which she was born in

-fouror five -daiys after she hos^ppeared in it with.

5 ' winas..

OF mKDS^ TISH, &C. S05

wings. The "bees of a swarm are ill a great
hurry if their queen is ready to lay. In this
case they give to their new cells biit part of
the depth tiiey are to have, and defer the finish-
ing tbem till they have traced tiie nunil>er of
cells requisite for the present time. When, by
any accident the queen dies, the bees of her
hive immediately cease working, consume tlieir
own honey, iiy about their own and other hives
at unusual houis, when othei* bees are at rest,
and pine away if not soon supplied with another
sovere^n. Her loss is proclaimed by a clear
and uninterrupted humming; but if they pro-
cure another queen, even from any other hive
or swarm, the flock instantly revives, pleasure
-and activity ai'e apparent through the whole
hive; the presence of a sovereign restores vigour
and exeition, and her voice commands univer-
jgal respect and obedience.

In the space of a few weeks, the number of
the inhabitants in one hive, of moderate size^
becomes so great, that there ds no place to con-
tain the new vomers. While there is jroom
enough iu the hive, they remain quietly toge-
ther; but necessity compel& a separation.
Someiimtra the young brood refuse to depart^
^ud -even venture Xo resist their sprogenitorsw

The

S05 NATtJitAL 'tnsroHV

The young ones are known by being browncf
than the old, with whiter hair ; the old ones are
of a lighter colour^ with red hair. The two
armies are therefore easily distinguishable^ and
dieadful battles are often seen to ensue. But
tlie victory almost ever terminates in favour of
the veterans, and the rebellious offspring are
diivcn off, not without loss and mutilation.

Sometimes, indeed, there being another
queen, numbers of them both young and old<
will unite under her, and set off in a body to
establish a new colony wherever she leads them.
An unusual buzzing is heard in the hive on the
night previously to this intended migration : in
the morning, though the weather be ever
so inviting, they do not come out ; all la-
bour is discontinued in the hive, every bee is
either employed in forcing, or reluctantly yield-
ing a submission ; at lengih, after some noise
and tumult, a queen-bee is chosen, to guard,
rather than conduct, the young colony to other
habitations, and then they are marshalled with-
out any apparent conductor. The usual time
of swarming, is from ten in the morning, to
three in the afternoon, when the sun shines
bright, and invites them to seek their fortunes.
They flutter for a while, in the air, and some-
times

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. SO?

times undertake a distant journey, but more
frequently are contented with some neighbour-
ing asylum; the branch of a tree, a chimn^
top, or some other exposed situation. It some-
times is found, that there are two or three
queens to a swarm, and the colony is divided
into parties ; but it most usually happens, that
one of these is more considerable than the other,
and the bees by degrees, desert the weakest, to
take shelter under the most powerful protector.
The deserted queen does not long survive this
defeat: she takes refuge under the new mo-
march, and is soon destroyed by her jealous ri-
val. Till this cruel execution is performed,
the bees never go out to work ; and if there
should be a queen-bee, belonging to the new
colony, left in the old hive, she always under-
goes the fate of the former. It must be
observed, however, that the beef .never sacrifice
any of their queens, when the hive is full of
Max and honey; for there is at that time no
danger in maintainiug a plurality of breeders.

When the swarm is thus conducted to a
-place of rest,, and the policy of government is
settled, the bees soon resume their former la-
bours. The making cells, storing them with
iioneVj impregnating the queen, making pro-
per

308 NATUBAL HIBTOHY

per cells for tbe reception of the rising progeny,
and protecting them from external danger, em-
ploy their unceasing industry. But soon after,
and towards the latter end of summer, when
the colony is sufficiently stored with inhabi
tanti;, the drone bees are marked for slaughter,
and soon destroyed.

When the flowers that are near home are rifled,
then are these industrious insects seen taking
more extensive ranges, but if they are obliged, in
quest of honey, to go too far from home, they
are over-wearied in the pursuit, devoured by
iMrds, or beaten down by the winds and rain.
From a knowledge of this, in some parts of
France and Piedmont, they have contrived a
kind of floatiag bee-house, containing a num.
ber of hives, with wiiich tJiey gently float down
the sides of tbe river.

Besides lli^; capital instincts wiiicfa we have
already mentioned, bees are possessed of others,
sonie of which ane equally neoessary £or their
preservaliofi and hafpiness. They anxiously
provide agaisst tfee entrance of insects into the
hive, by ghiiag up with wax the smallest hole$
m the »kip. Some staad as ccntinels at the
inoutb of live hive, to prevent insects of any
kind fjom •coaning m that pi^ ; but jf a snad,

or

OF BIBDS, FIBH, 8CC. &09

AFjLfly ether large insect ^ should get in_, notwithi-
ttanding all resistances they sting it to death;
and then cover it over with a coat of propolis^
to prevent the effects of a bad smell, or maggots^
which might proceed from its putrefaction.
They seem also to be warned of the approach
-of bad weather by some particular feeling. It
sometimes happens, even when they are very
assiduous and busy, that they suddenly cease
from their work ; not a single one stirs out, and
those that are abroad hurry home in such prodi-
gious crowds, that the doors of their habita-
tions are too small tP admit them. On this oo
casion look up to the sky, and you will soon
discover some of tho§e black clouds which de-
note impending rajn. Whether they see the
clouds gathering for it, as £ome imagine, or
whether they feel some other effects of it'upop
their bodies, is not yet determined; but it is
ailedged, that no bee is ever caught, €ve\\ in
what we call a sudden shower, unless it have been
at a very great distance from the hive, ^
been before injured by some accident, or ^
sickly and unable to fly as fast as the rest. Cold
•is a very great enemy to them : to defend theiVi-
fielves against its effects during a hard winter,
ihey crov\'d together in the middle of the hive,
' VOL. V, § s and

310 NATURAL HISTORY

and buzz about, thus exciting a warmth which
is often perceptible by laying the hand on the
glass windows of the hive. They seem to
understand one another by the motion of their
wings. When the queen wants to quit the
hive, she gives a little buzz; all the others
immediately follow her example, and retire
along with her.

There often happen among bees, either of
the same, or of different hives, most deadly feuds,
iu which their stings are their chief weapons.
In these contests, great skill may be discerned
in the manner of pointing the sting between
the scaly rings which cover their bodies, or to
some other vulnerable part. The bee which
first gains the advantage remains the conque-
ror; though the victory costs the victor his life,
if he has left his sting in the body of the ene-
my; for, with the sting, so much of the body
is torn out, that death inevitably follows. Bees
have very severe conflicts when whole hives en-
gage in a j: itched battle, and many are slain on
both sides. Thorley thinks their fighting and
plundering one another ought chiefly to be im-
puted either to their perfect abhorrence of sloth
and idleness, or to their insatiable thirst for
honey j for when, in spring or autumn, th^'

w^ajher

OF BlRfiS^ FISHj &C. 311

Weather is fair, but no honey can be collected
from plants, and is to be found only in the hives
of other bees, they tvill venture their lives to
get it there. Dr. Warder is of opinion, that
the cause of their fighting is the necessity to
which they are reduced from their own hives
being plundered at a season when it is too
late for them to repair the loss by any industry
iu the fields.

Sometimes one of the queens is killed in T)at-
tle : in that case the bees of both hives unite as
soon as her death is generally known among
them. All then become one people; if it be
the queen of the attacked which falls, the van-
quished go off with the robbers, richly laden
with their own spoils, and return every day
with their new associates to pillage their old
habitation.

It is well knowii that bees gather two kinds
of wax, one coarse and the other fine. The
coarser sort is bitter, and with this, which is
called propolis, they stop up all the holes and
crevices of theur hives. It is of a more resinous
• nature than the fine wax, and is consequently
better qualified to resist the moisture of the
season, and preserve the works warm and dry
within. The fine wax is as necessary to the
S s 2 inimars

512 NATURAL HISTORY

animal's preservation as the honey itself. Witit
this they make their lodgings^ with this the^f
cover the cells of their young, and iti this
they lay up their magazines of honey.

As of wax, there are also tvfo kinds of ho-
ney. The white and the yellow. The whit©
is taken without fire from the honey v combs,,
the yellow is extracted by heat, and squeezed
through bags in a press. Honey made in
mountainous countries, is preferable to that of
the valley. The honey made in the spring, is
best, the summer next, and that in autumn the
most inferior.

Bees are nearly alike in all parts of the
world, yet these are differences worthy our no-
tice. In Guadaloupe, the bee is less by one
half than the European, and more black and
round. They have no sting, and make theif
cells in hollow treeS; where> if the hole tiiey
me6t with be too large, they form a sort of
A^axen house, of the shape of a pear, and in
this they lodge and store their hoYiey, and lay
their eggs. They lay up theii* honey in waxen
Tassels of the size of a pigeon's e^, of a black
or deep violet colour, and these ate so Joined
together^ that there is no space l^ft between
^em. The honey nev^r congeak^ but }sr

£ui(^

b^ tiRDS, FISH, Sc^ S\5

fluid of.tne consistence of oil,, and the colour
of amber. There are also little black bees
found without a sting in all the tropical climates,
and which resemble the former. The honey
they produce^ is neither so unpalatable,
nor so surfeiting as ours ; and the wax ia
so soft^ that it is only used for medicinal pur»
poses.

The Huffible Be& is the laigest of aix>^ther
inhe, being as large as the fii*st joint of a man s
Hiiddle fjnger. These are seen in every Md,
and perched on every flower. They build their
nest in holes in the ground^ of dry leaves, mix-
ed with wax and wool, defended with mos;>
from the weather. Each humble-bee makci
a separate cell, about the size of a small nut-
meg, which is round and hollow, containing the,
honey in a bag. Several of these cells a!«
joined together, in such a manner, that thff
"\vhole appears like a cluster of grapes. The
females, which have the appearance of was|»Sv
arie very few, and their eggs are laid in ceils,
which the rest soou cover over with wax. It
is uncertain whether they hav^ a queen or not ;
but there is one much larger than the rest, with-
out w ings, and without hair, and dil over black,
}ike .polished ebony. This goes and views
5 ali

314 NATURAL HISTORY

all the works^ from time to time, and trt^
ters into the cell, as if it wanted to see
whether every thing were properly performed ;
ift the morning, the young humble-bees are very
idle, and seem not at all inclined to labour, till
dne of the largest, about seven o'clock, thrusts
lialf its body from a hole, designed for that
purpose, and seated on the top of the nest, beats
its wings for twenty minutes sucessively, buz-
zing the whole time, till the whole colony \s
put in motion. The humble-bees ; gather ho-
ney, as well as the common bees ; but it is
neither so fine, nor so good, nor is the wax so
dean, or so capable of fusion.

There are various kinds of bees which rafake
only wax ; such as the Wood^bee, which is seen
in every garden. It is rather larger than the
common queen-bee ; its body of a bluish black,
which is smooth and shining. It begins to
appear at the approach of spring, and is seen
flying near walls exposed to a sunny aspect.
This bee makes its nest in some piece of half
rotten wood, which it contrives to scoop and
hollow for its purpose. The holes^are not made
directly forward, but turning to one side, and
have a small opening ; whence runs the inner
apartment, generally twelve or fifteen inches

long.

of BIRDS, fish/ &C 315

long. The instruments used in boring these ca«
!vities, are their teeth; the cavity is usually
branched into three or four apartments ; and
in each of these they lay their eggs, to the num-
ber of ten or twelve, each separate and distinct
from the rest. The egg is involved in a sort
of paste, which serves at once for the young
animal's protection and nourishment. The
grown bees, however, feed upon small insects,
particularly a louse, of a reddish bro^vn colour,
f)f the size of a small pin's head.

Mason-bees fabricate their cells with a sort of
mortar made of earth, which they build against
a wall that is exposed to the sun. The mortar,
which is at first soft, soon becomes as hard as
stone, and in this their eggs are laid. Each
nest contains seven or eight cells, and an egg in
every cell, placed regularly one over the other.
If the nests remains unhurt, or want but little
repairs, they make use of them the year ensuing :
and thus they often serve three or four years
successively.

The Ground-hee builds its nest in the earth,
in which they make round holes, five or six
inches deep ; the Hiouth being narrow, and only

just

^16 :1mATU«AL HISTDJIV

-just sufficient to admit the little inhabitant. Thev
carry out all the eartli, grain by grain, to the

sjDoiUh of the hole, where it forms a little hillock,

-an Alps CGmpared to the power of the artist
hy vhich it v.as raised. They lay up in these
cavities provision for their young, which con-

«ist3 of a paste that has the appearance of corn^
«nd is of a sweetish taste.

The L^gf'CxUting hees m^ke tJieir nest ^i>d
lay their eggs >iniong l;>it8 af leavefJ^ very artift-
cially placed in holes in the earth, of about the
JeBgth of a tooth-pick case. They make the
bits of leaves of a roundisli form, and witij them
ii^e the inside of their habitaUons. This tape^-
iry is still fiurther lined by a r^d^ish kind Qf
paste, sometime rather sweets ^n^ at others acid.
These bees are of various kinds j tho^ that
l>uild their nests with chesnut-Jeaves ar^ as b^
as drones^ but those of the rose-tree are sroaUer
than the common heii.

The Wall bees are so called becauj^ they
make their nests in walls, of a kind of silky
Biemhrane with which they fdl up their vacuities
iietvv^en the small stones which form th^ sides
cvf tbeii' habitation. Theiy apartment consists

of

OF BIRDS, riSH, &C. .51?

of several cells, placed end to end, each in the
shape of a woman's thimble. Though the web
which lines this fiabitation is thick and warm,
yet it is transparent and of a whitish colour.
This substance is supposed to be spun from the
animal's body ; the males and females are of a
size, but the former are without a sting. To
these varieties of the bee kind might be added
several others wliich are all different in nature,
but not sufficiently distinguished to excite cur-
riosity.

The TVasp is also a winged insect with a
sting; it is longer in proportion to its bulk
than the bee, is marked with bright yellow cir-
cles round its body, and is the most swift and
active insect of all the fly kind. On each side
of the mouth this' animal is furnished with a
long tooth notched like a saw, and with these
it is enabled to cut any substance, not omit-
ting meat itself, and to carry it to its nest.
Wasps live like bees in connnunity, and some-
times ten or twelve thousand are found inhabit-
ting a single nest.

Of all insects the wasp is the most fierce, vo-
racious, and most dangerous, when enraged.
They are seen m herever flesh is cutting up, gor-

voh. V. T.t gins

318 NATURAI, HISTORY

ging themselves with the spoil, and then flying
to their ne.^t with their reeking prey. They
make war also on every fly, and the spider
itself dreads their approaches.

Every community among bees is composed
r/ females, or queens; drones, or m.ales, and
neutral, or working bees. AVasps have similar
occupations; the two first are for propagating
tlie species, the last for nursing, defending, and
supporting the rising progeny. Among bees,
however, there is seldom above one queen or two
in a hive ; among wasps there are above two
or three hundred.

The wasp is among the first insects that
are drawn into activity 1 y the warmth of the
summer. They immediately set about prepar-
ing their nest, for which, their principle care is
to seek out a hole that has been begun by a
field mouse, a rat, or a mole. They sometimes
build upon the plain, where they are sure of
t] e dryness of their situation, but most com-
mcnly on the side of a bank, to avoid the rain
a id water that would otherwise annoy them.
Wiien they have chosen a proper place, they
go to ^^ork with wonderful assiduity. Their
first labour is to enlarge and widen the hole,
taking away the earth and carrying it off to

some

OF BIRDS, FISH, 8CC. SlQ

Some distance. To prevent the earth from fall-
ing down and crushing tbeir rising city into
ruin, they make a sort of roof with their ghiey
suhstance, to which they begin to fix the rudi-
ments of their building, working from the top
downwards, as if they were hanging a bell,
which, however, at length, they close up at the
bottom. The materials with which they build
their nests, are bits of wood and glue. The
wood they get where they can, from the rails
and posts which they meet with in the fields,
and elsewhere. These they divide into a mul-
titude of small fibres, and then take up little
bundles in their claws, letting fall upon them
a few drops of gluey matter with which their
bodies are provided ; and by the help of which
they knead the whole composition into a paste,
which serves them in their future building. When
they have returned with this to the nest, they
stick their load of paste on that part where they
make their walls and partitions ; they tread it
close with their feet, and trowel it with their
trunks, still going backwards as they work.
Having repeated this operation three or four
times, the composition is at length flatted out
until it becomes a small leaf of a grey colour,
much finer than paper, and of a pretty firm
T t 2- texture.

3'2(> NATURAL HISTORY

textiire. This done, the sanie wa^sp returns tcp
the field to collect a second load of paste, re-
peating the same several times, placing layer
upon layer, aod strengthening every partition
in proportion to the want or convenience of
the general fabric. Other working wasps come
quickly after to repeat the same operation, lay-
ing more leaves uix>n the former, till at length,
after much toil, they have finislied the large
roof which h to secure them from the tumb-
ling in of the earths Tliis dome being finished,,
tliey make another entrance to then- habitation,
designed either for letting in the warmth of the
sun, or for escaping in case one door be invaded
by plunderers. Certain however it is, that by
one of these they always enter, by the other they
sally forth to- their toil ; each hole being so-
^mall that they can pass but one at a time. The
walls being thus composed, and the whok
somewhat of the shape of a pear^ they labour
at their eells, which they compose of the same
paper-like substance that goes to the formation
of the outside works. Their combs differ irom
those of bees, the latter being edgeways with
respect to the hive; that of the wasp is flat,
and the mouth of every cell opens downwards.
Thus is their habitation^.' contrived story abo\c

storv.

oiJ-Ri]ftDt>, VI SH, &e. 32 1

»tory, supported by several raws of pillars,
which give firmness to the whole building,
while the upper story is flat-roofed, and as
8inox)th as the pavement of a room laid witb
squares of marble. The wasps can freely walk
upon thiise stories between the pillars to do
whatever their wants require. The pillars arc
very hard and compact, being larger at each
end tiian in the middle^ not much unlike the
columns of a building. All the cells of the
nests are oidy destined for the reception of the
young, being replete with neither wax nor ho-
ney.

Each cell is like that of the bee, hexasro-
nal; but they are of two sorts, the one larger,
for the production of the male and female
wasps, the other less, for the reception of the
working part of the community. When tlie
females are impregnated by the males, they lay
their eggs, one iu each cell, and stick it in
witk a kind of giunmy matter to prevent it from
falling out. From this egg proceeds die in-
spect in its worm state, of which the old ones
are extremely careful, feeding it until it has grown
MO large as entirely to fill up the ceil. But the
wa-sp comuuniity differs from that of the bee;
anjong the latter, the workiiiig bees take the p*.

rental

322 NATURAL HISTORY

rental duties upon them, while among the
wasps the females alone are permitted to feed
their young, and to nurse their rising progeny.
For this purpose the female waits with
great patience till the working wasps have
brought in their provisions, which 6he takes
from them, and cuts into pieces. She then
goes with great composure from cell to cell, and
feeds every young one with her mouth. When
the young worms have come to a certain size,
they leave off eating, and begin to spin a very
fine silk, lixing the tirst end to the entrance of
the cell, then turning their heads, first on on«
side, then on the other, they fix the thread to
different parts, and thus they make a sort of a
door which serves to close up the mouth of the
cell. After this they divest themselves of their
skins in the usual manner, and the aurelia
by degrees begins to emancipate itself from
its shell: by little and little it thrusts out
its legs and wings, and insensibly acquires
the colour and shape of its parent.

The wasp thus formed, and prepared for de-
predation, becomes a bold, troublesome, and
dangerous insect: there are no danger^ which
it will not encounter in pursuit of its prey, ar.d
nothing seems to satiate its gluttony. Though

il

or BIRDS, risii, 8;c. 323

it can gather no honey of its own, no animal
is more fond of sweets. For this purpose^ it wiil.
pursue the bee and the humble-bee, destroy them
with its sting, and then plunder them of their lio-
ney-bag, with which it flies triumphantly laden
to its nest to regale its young. Wasps are always
fond of makiug their nest in the neighbourhood
of bees, merely to have an opportunity of rol)-
bing their hives, and feasting on the spoiL . Yet
the bees do not always patiently submit to
their tyranny, but fierce battles are sometimes
seen to ensue, in which the bees make up
by conduct and numbers what they want in
personal prowess. When there is no honey
to be had, they seek for the best and
sweetest fruits, and they are never mistaken in
tlieir choice. From the garden they fly to the
city, to the grocers shops, and butchers sham-
bles. They will sometimes carry off" bits of
flesh half as big as themselves, with which they
fly to their nests for the nourishment of their
brood. Those who cannot drive them awav.
lay for them a piece of ox's liver, which being
without flbres, they prefer to other flesh ; and
wherever they are found, all other flies are
seen to desert the place immediately. Such is
the dread with which these httle animals im-

prcs3

$24 NATXJRAL IIIS'TGRY

press all the rest of the insect tribes^ \vh6m tlicy
seize and devour without mercy. Wherever
they fly, like the eagle or the falcon,, they
form a desert in the air around them, la
this manner the summer is passed in plun-
dering the neighbourhood, and rearing up
their young ; every day adds to their nuni-
l>ers; and from their strength, agility, and
indiscriminate appetite for every kind of pro-
vision. Mere they as long-lived as the bee, they
would soon swarm upon the face of Nature,
and become the most noxious plague of
man: but providentially their lives are mea-
sured by their powers of mischief, and they
live but a single season. In proportion as the
cold of the winter encreases, they are seen to be-
come more domestic ; they seldom leave the
nest, they make but short adventures from
home, they flutter about in the noon-day heats,
and soon after return chilled and feeble.

As their calamities increase, new passions
begin to take place ; the care for posterity
ceases, and as the parents are no longer
able to provide their growing progeny with a
supply, they take the barbarous resolution
of sacrificing them all to the necessity of the
times. In this maimer, like a garrison upon

.short

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 325

short allowance, all the useless hands Are de-
stroyed ; the young worms, which a little be-
fore they fed and protected with so much assi-
duity, are now butchered and dragged from
their cells. As the cold encreases, they no lon-
ger find sufficient warmth in their nests, which
grow hateful to them ; and they fly to seek it
in the corners of houses, and places that re-
ceive an artificial heat. But the winter is still
insupportable; and, before the new year be-
gins, they wither and die ; the working wasps
first, the males soon following, and many of
the females suffering in the general calamity.

In every nest, however, one or two females
survive the winter, and having been impreg-
nated by the male during the preceding season,
she begins in spring to lay her eggs in a little
hole of her own contrivance. These eggs,
which are clustered together like grapes.
Soon produce two worms, which the female
takes proper precaution to defend and supply,
and these, when hatched, soon give assistance to
the female, who is employed in hatching two
more ; these also gathering strength, extricate
themselves out of the web that enclosed them ;
and become hkewise assistants to their mother :
fifteen days after, two more make their appear-
voL. V. U u ancej

325 NATURAL HISTORY

ance; thus is the commonity every day encreas-
ing, while the female lays in every cell^ first a
male and then a female. These soon after be-
come breeders in turn, till, from a single female,
ten thousand wasps are seen prodoced before the
month of June.

The Hornet is twice as large as the eom-
mon wasp, and is also distinguished by a black
breast, and double black spots on the belly ; the
head is also lorger and more slender, and the eyes
somewhat resembling a half moon. It is ex-
tremely bold and venomous. Its predominant
passion is for flesh, and when hungry, two or
three of them w ill seize upon a small bird, kill
it, and devour its flesh. Nay, it has even
been said, that singly, it will attack and con-
quer a sparrow. In all its manners and habits,
it entirely resembles the other wasps.

Besides these, there are various tribes that
live in solitude : these lay their eggs in a hole
for the purpose, and the parent dies long before
the birth of her offspring. In the principal
species of the Solitary Wasps, the insect is
smaller than the working wasp of the social
kind. The filament, by which the corselet is
joined to the body is longer and more distinctly
seen^ and the whole colour of the insect is

blacker

OF BIRDS^ FISH, &C. 327

blacker than in the ordinary kinds. But it is
Hot their figure, but the manners of this extra-
ordinary insect, that claim our principal re-
gard.

From the end of May to the beginning of
July, this wasp is seen most diligently em-
ployed, in contriving and fitting up a commo-
dious apartment for its young one, which
however, is not to succeed it till the ensuing year.
For this purpose it bores a hole into the
finest earth some inches deep, but not much
wider than the diameter of its own body.
This is only a gallery leading to a wider
apartment. As it always chooses a gravelly
soil to work in, and where the earth is almost as
hard as stone itself, the digging and hollowing
this apartment is an enterprise of no small
labour; and for effecting which this insect is
turnished with two teeth, that are strong and firm,
but not sufficiently hard to penetrate the substance
through which it is resolved to make its way :
in order, tlierefore, to soften that earth which it
is unable to pierce, it is furnished with a gummy
liquor which it emits upon the place, and
which renders it more easily separable from the
rest, and the whole becoming a kind of soft
U u 2 pustp

328 NATURAL HISTORY

paste is removed to the mouth of the habita-
tion. The animars provision of liquor in these
operations is however soon exhausted; and
it is then seen taking up water from some
neigh))Ouring flower, or stream, in order to
supply the deficiency.

At length after much toil, a hole some
inches deep is formed, at the bottom of which
is a large cavity; and to this no other hostile
insect would venture to find its way, from the
length and narrowness of the defile through
•which it would be obliged to pass. In this
the solitary wasp lays its eggs, which is destined
to continue the species: there the nascent ani-
mal is to continue for above nine months, un-
attended and immured, and, at first appearance
the most helpless insect of the creation. But
"when we come to examine, new wonders offer :
no other insect can boast so copious and luxuri-
ous a provision, or such confirmed security.

As soon as the mother-wasp has deposited
her egg at the bottom of the hole, her next
care is to furnish it with a supply of provisions,
which may be offered to the young insect as
soon as it leaves the egg. To this end she pro-
cures a number of little green worms, gene-
rally from eight to twelve^ and these are to

serve

©FBiRPs,. FISH, &c sog

serve as food for the young qae the instant it
awakens into hfe. When this supply is regularly
arranged and laid in, the old one then, with as
much assiduity as it before worked out its hole,
now closes the mouth of the passages ; and thus
leaving its young one immured in perfect secu-
rity, and with a copious supply of animal food,
she dies satisfied with having provided for a fix-
ture progeny.

When the young one leaves the egg it is
scarcely visible, and is seen immured among a
liumber of insects, infinitely larger than itself,
ranged in proper order around it, which how-
ever give it no sort of fear. Whether the
parent, when she laid in the insect provision,
contrived to disable the vvorms from resistance,
or whether they were at first incapable of
any, is not known. Certain it is, that the
young glutton feasts upon the living spoil
without any controul ; its game lies ready,
and it devours one after the other as the calls
of appetite incite. The life of the young
animal is, therefore, spent in the most luxurious
manner, till its whole stock of worms is ex-
hausted, and the time of its transformation be-
gins to approach ; and then spinning a silkea
wiib, It continues fixed in its cell till the sun

calls

3S0 NATURAL HISTORY

calls it from its dark abode tke ensuing sura
mer.

The wasps of Europe are very mischievous,
and yet they are innocence itself when compared
to those of the tropical climates, where all the
insect tribes are not only numerous, but large,
•voracious, and formidable. Those of the West
Indies are thicker, and twice as long as the com-
mon bee ; they are of a grey colour, striped with
'yellow, and armed with a very dangerous sting.
They make their cells in the manner of a honey-
comb, in which the young ones are hatched and
bred. They generally hang their nest by
threads, composed of the same substance as the
cells, to ;the branches of trees, and the eaves of
houses. They are seen every where in great
abundance, descending like fruit, particularly
pears, of which shape they are, and as large as
one's head. The inside is divided into three round
stories, full of cells, each hexagonal, like those
of a honey-comb. In some of the islands, these
insects are so very numerous, that their nests are
stuck up in this manner, scarcely two feet asun-
der, and the inhabitants are in continual appre-
hension from their accidental resentment. It
sometimes happens, that no precautions can
prevent their attacks, and the pains of their sting
are almost insupportable. Those who have felt

It

OF BlllI>S, FISH., &q. 3:^1

it think it more terrible than even that of a scor-
pion ; the whole visage swells and the features
are so disfigured^ that a person is scarcely known
hy his most intimate acquaintance.

Tlie Ichneumon Fly. Every rank of in-
sects, however voracious^ have enemies that
are terrible to them, and that revenge upon them
tiie injuries done upon the rest of the animated
cieatioa. The wasp, as we have seen, is very
troublesome to man, and very formidable to the
iiisect tribe ; but the ichneumon fly (of which
there are many varieties) fear^ not the wasp it-
self; it enters its retreats, plunders its habitations,
and takes possession of that cell for its own
young, which the wasp had laboriously bjuilt for
a dearer posterity.

This fly receives its name from the little
quadruped, which is found to be so destructive
to the crocodile, as it bears a strong similitude
in its courage and rapacity ; but though there
are many different kinds of it, yet the most
formidable, and tiiat best known, is called
the common ichneumon, with four wings, like
the bee, a long slender black body, and a three
forked tail, consisthig of brisJes; the two outer-
most black, and the middlemost red. Though

this

SS'l NATURAL HISTORY

this instrtrment is, to all appearance, slender and
feeble, yet it is found to be a weapon of great
force and efficacy. There is scarcely any sub-
stance which it will not pierce : and indeed, it
is seldom seen but when employed in penetration.
The male is unprovided with such a sting,
uhile the female uses it with great force and
dexterity, brandishing'it when caught, from side
to side, and very often wounding those who
thought they held her with the greatest secu-
rity.

All the flies of this tribe are produced in the
same manner, and Owe their ])irth to the destruc-
tion of some other insect, within whose body
they have been deposited, and upon whose vitals
they have, preyed, till they came to maturity.
There is no insect whatever, which they wil^
not attack in order to leave their fatal present
in its body; the caterpillar, the gnat, and even
the spider itself, so formidable to others, is
often made the unwilling fosterer of this des-
tructive progeny.

About the middle of summer, when othef
insects are found in great abundance, the ich-
neumon is seen flying busily about, and seeking
proper objects upon whom to deposit its eggs;
As there arc various kinds of this fly, so they

seem

OF BIKDS, FISH, &C. 333

seem to have various appetites. Some are fbuiid
to place their eggs within the aurelia of som«
nascent insect, others place them within th<5
nest, which the wasp had curiously contrived
for its own young; and as both are produced at
thp same time, the young of the ichneumon
not only devours the young wasp, but the
whole supply of worms, which the parent had
carefully provided for its provision. But the
greatest number of the ichneumon tribe are seen
setthng upon the back of the caterpillar, and
darting, at different intervals, their stings into
its body. In this manner they leave from six to
twelve eggs in the fatty substance without th§
reptile shewing the least symptoms of receiving
any injury, but continues feeding as voracious-
ly as before. Their internal enemies, however,
soon burst from their egg state, and begin to
prey upon the substance of their prison ; as they
encrease in growth they require a greater sup-
ply, till at last the animal, by whose vitals they
are supported, is no longer able to sustain them,
but diejj, its inside being almost eaten away.
It often happens, that the caterpillar survives
^le worm state of the infiint ichneumons, and
then they change into a crysalis, enclosed in its
body till the time of tlieir delivery approaches^
¥OL. V. X X when

33-4 NATUPAL HISTORY

vhen they burst their prisons, and fly away.
The caterpillar, however, is irreparably de-
stroyed ; it never changes into a chrysalis, but
jt soon dies, from the injuries it has sustained.

We now come to a species of four-winged

insects, that are famous from all antiquity, for
their social and industrious habits, that are
marked for their spirit of subordination, that are
' oftered as a pattern of parsimony to the pro-
fuse, and of unremitting diligence to the slug-
gard ; the jliit.

In the experiments, however, whith have
been more recently made, and the observations
M'hich have be^n taken, much of their boasted
frugality and precaution seems denied to them ;
jhe treasures they lay up, are no longer supposed
to be intended for future provision; and, the
<;hoic.e thay make in their stores, seems no way
dictated by wisdom. It is, indeed> somewhat
surprising, that almost every writer of antiqui-
ty, should desci ibe this insect, as labouring in
the summer, and feasting upon the produce
during the winter Perhaps, in some of the
warmer climates, v\here the winter is mild,
and of short continuance, this may take placve ;
put in France and England these aniiiials can

have

OP IJIRDS, FlSlI^ &c. 335

have no manner of occasion for a supply of
winter provisions^ as they are actually. in a
state of toi'pidity durin;; that season.

The comniou auts of Europe are of two or
three sorts ; some red, some hlack, some with
stings, and others without. Such as have stings,
hillict their wounds in that manner; such as are
unprovided with these weapons of defence,
have, a power of spurting from their hinder
parts, an acid pungent liquor, vhich, if it
lights upon the skin, inflames and burns it like
nettles.

The body of an ant is divided into the head,
breast, and belly. In the head, the eyes are
placed, which are entirely black, and under the
eyes there are two small horns, gv feelers, com-
posed of twelve joints, all covered with a fine
silky hair. The mouth is furnished with two
crooked jaws, Vvhich project outwards, in each
of which are seen hicisors, that look like teeth.
The breast is covered with a line silky liair,
from which project six legs, that are pretty
strong and hairy, the extremities cf each arrnqd
"with two small claws, which the animal us^s
in climbii^.g. 'i'he belly is moi*e red than tl]«
rest of the body^ .which is of u br^wn chei<nut

X .\ 2 . colour.

555 NAttJllAl instonY

ijoloiir, shining as glass, and covered with ex«9
tremely fine hair.

From such a formation, this animal seems
bolder, and more active, for its size, than any
other of the insect tribe, and does not fear to attack
a creature above ten times its own magnitude.

As toon as the winter is past, in the first
fine day in x^pril, the ant hill, that before
deemed a desert, now swarms with new life, and
myriads of these insects are seen just awaked
from their annual lethargy, and preparing for
the pleasures and fatigues of the season. For the
first day they never ofier to leave the hill, which
may be considered as their citadel, but run over
every part of it, as if to examine its present
situation, to c>/serve what injuries it has sus-
tained during the rigours of winter, while they
slept, and to meditate and settle the labours of
the day ensuiiHjj.

lit the first display of their forces, none but
the wingles? tribe appears, while those furnish-
ed with wings remain at the bottom. These
Jure the working ants, that first appear, and that
sre always destitule of wings; the mules and
females that are furnish*, d with four large
wings each, are more slow in making their ap*
peaiauce

Thus,

OF BIRDS, FI^H, fcc.

Thus, like bees, thfey are divided into
Hi ales, females, and the neutral, or the working
tribe. These are all easily distinguished from
each other; the females are much larger thaYi
the males; the working are the smallest of
^11. Th'e two forhicT have \^ings; which,
flow ever, they sometimes are divested of; the
latter never have ^ny, and upon tliem are irt-
\olved all the labours that tend to the welfare
^f the community. The female, also, may be
tiiistingiiished by the colour and structure of her
trcast, which is a little more brown than that
of the common ant, and a little brighter than
that of the male. In eight or ten days afit€lr
iheir first appearance, the labours of the hill are
in somt forwai'dness ; the males arid females are
•Seen mixed with the Xvorking multitude; tk^
"Seem no way to parta'^einthe common drudge-
■ries, the r.jales 'pursue the females with gieat
assidurty, und m a mamier fprce them to com-
pliance. They rema hi coupled for some time-;
while the males, thus miited, suffer themselves
to be drawn along by the will of their partners.
Iti the fields of England, ant-hills ai'e fdrfti-
^ with but little appa'i-eiit regularity. In the
%fKM^ sOuJhtri^ provinces of Europe, %hey ^re
cfoft^lrttceed vMh woecferfui ccttitrivaflce, ^nil

offer

«5

3S l^ATURAL HISTORY

offer a sight highly worthy a naturalist's Cut-Io-*
sity. These are generally formed in the neigh-
bourhood of some large tree and a stream of
water. The one is considered by the animals,
as the proper place for getting food ; the other
for supplying them with moisture, which they
cannot well dispense with. The shape of the
ant-hill is that of a sugar-loaf, about three feet
high, composed of various substances; leaves,
bits of wood, sand, earth, bits of gum, and
grains of corn. These are all united into a
compact body, perforated Vvith galleries down
to the bottom, and winding ways within the
body of the structure. From this retreat to the
w^ater, as well as to the tree, in different direc-
tions, there are many paths worn by constant
assiduity, and along these the busy msects are
seen passing and re-passing continually, so that
from May, or the beginning of June, accord-
ins: to the state of the season, thev work conti-
nually, till the cold weather comes on.

The chief employment of the working ants,
is hi sustaining not only the idlers at home, but
also finding a sufficiency of food for themselves.
They live upon various provisions, as well of
the vegetable as of the animal ki.id. Small
insects they will kill and devour ; s\veets of all

kinds
2

OF' BIRDS, FISH, 8CC. 339

kinds they are particularly fond of. They sel-
dom, however, think of their community, till
they are first satisfied themselves. Having
found a juicy fruit, they swallow what they
can, and then, tearing it in pieces, carry home
their load. If they meet with an insect above
their match, several of them will fall upon it
at once, and having mangled it, each will car-
ry off a part of the spoil. If they meet in their
excursions, with any thing that is too heavy for
one to bear, and yet, which they are unable to di-
vide, several of them will endeavour to force it
along ; some dragging and others pushing. If
any of them happen to make a lucky discove-
ry, it will immediately give notice to others ;
and then, at once, the whole republic will put
themselves in motion. If in these struggles,
one of them happen to be killed, some kind
survivor will carry him off to a great distance,
to prevent the obstructions his body may give
to the general spirit of industry.

But while they are thus employed in support-
ing the state, in feeding abroad, and carrying
in provisions to those that continue at home,
they are not unmindful of posterity. After a
few days of fine weather, the female ants be-
gin to lay their eggs, and those are assidu-i

ously

S4CX jiAfnikXh HisrroBY

ously watched and protected by the wor-king
aKtts, who take upon themselves to supply
whatever i» wasting to the nascent animal's
convenience or necegsity. They are carried^
as soon as laid^ to the safest situation, at the
bottom of their hill, where they are carefully
defended from cold and moisture. We are not
to imagine, that those white substanccF, which
we find so plentifully in every ant hill, are the
eggs as newly laid. On the contrary, the ant*s
egg is so very small, that, though laid upon a
black ground, it can scarcely be discerned.
The little white bodies which we see, are the
young animals in their maggot state, endued
with life, long since freed from the egg, and oftea
involved in a cone, which it has spun round it-
self, like the silk worm. The real egg, when
laid, if viev\'ed through a microscope, appears
smooth, polished, and shining, while the maggot
is seen composed of twelve rings, and is often
larger than the ant itself.

It is impossible to express the fond attach-
Bient which tlie working ants shew to their
rising progeny. In cold weather they take
them in their mouths, but without doing
them the smallest injury, to the very depths of
their hal^itatlon, where they are less subject to

the

OF BIRDS, nSH, &C. 341

the severity of the season. In a fine day they
remove them, with the same care, nearer the
surface, where their maturity may be assisted
by the warm beams of the sun. If a formida-
ble enemy should happen to batter down their
whole habitation, and crush them by thousands
in the ruin, yet these wonderful insects, still
mindful of their parental duties, make it their
iirst care to save their offspring. They are
seen running wildly about, different ways,
each loaded with a young one, often bigger
than the insect that supports it. '^ I have kept,"
says Swammmerdam, " several of the working
'' ants in my closet, with their vouno-, in a <yla«JS
'' filled with earth. I took pleasure in observ-
" ing, that in proportion as the earth dried on
'' the surface, they dug deeper and deeper to
'' deposit their eggs; and when I poured wa-
'^ ter thereon, it was surprising to see with
" what care, affection, and diligence they la-
" boured, to put their brood in safety, in the
'' driest place. I have seen also, that when
" water has been wanting for several davs, and
" ^^hen the earth was moistened after it a lit-
*' tie, they immediately carried their young
'' ones to have a share, who seemed to enjoy'
*^ and suck the moisture."

^o^- V. Yy ;yj,^jj

342 NATURAL HISTORY

When the yoimg maggot coraes to its full
growth, the breast swells insensibly, it casts
iSs skin, and loses all motion. All the mem-
bers which were before hidden, then begin
to appear ; an aurelia is formed, which re-
presents, very distinctly, all the parts of the
animal, though they are yet without mo-
tion, and, as it were, wrapped up in swad-
dling clothes. When, at length, the little in-
sect has passed through all its changes, and
acquired its proper maturity, it bursts this
last skin, ' to assume the form it is to retain
ever after. Yet this is not done by its efforts
alone, for the old ones very assiduously break
open, with their teeth, the covering in which it
is enclosed. Without this assistance the aurelia
vould never be able lo get free, as De Gcer of-
ten found, who tried the experiment, by leaving
the aurelia to themselves. The old ones not only
assist them, but know the very precise time for
lending their assistance ; for, if produced too soon,
the young one dies of cold; if retarded too long,
they are suffocated in their })rison.

V/hen the female has done laying, and the
whole brood is thus produced, her labours, as
well as that of the male, become unnecessary ;
and her wings', which she had but a short time
before so actively employed, drop off. \\ hat

\>Qcouies

becomes of her when thus divested of her <:r
naments is not well known, for she is seen in
the cells some weeks after. The males^
on the other hand, having no longer any occu-
pation at home, make use of those wings with
which they have heen furnished by nature, and
fly aW^ay, never to return, or to be lieard of
more. It is probable that they perish witli cold,
OT are devoured by the birds, which are partica-
krly fond of this petty prey.

In the mean time, tlie workinj^ ants huvinjf
probably deposed their queens, and being de-
serted by the males, which served but to clog the
community, prepare for the severity of the
winter, and bury their retreats as deep in tlie
earth as they conveniently can. It is now
found, that the j^rains of corn, and other sub-
stances with which they ftirnish their hills, are
only meant as fences to keep oft' the rigours of
the weather, not as provisions to support them
during its continuance. It is found generally
that every hisect that lives a year after it is coaie
to its full growth, is obliged to pass foiu* or five
fnoiiths without (uking any nourishment, and
will fseem to be dead all that time. It would
l^ to no purpose, therefore, for ants to lay up
corn for the winter, since they lie during that time
without motion, heaped upon each other, and
y y 2 are

344 NATURAL HISTORY

are so far from eating that they are utterly un-
able to stir. Thus, what authors have digni-
^ed with the name of a magazine, appears to be
no more than a cavity, which serves for a com-
mon retreat when the weather forces them to
return to their lethargic state.

What has been said with exaggeration of the
.European ant, is however true, if asserted of
those of the tropical climates. They build an
ant-hill with great contrivance and regularity ;
lay up provisions, and, as they probably
live the whole year, submit themselves to regula-
tions entirely unknown among the ants of Europe.

Those of Africa are of three kinds, the red,
the green, and the black ; the latter are above
an inch long, and in every respect a most for-
midable insect. Their sting produces extreme
pain, and their depredations are sometimes
highly destructive. They build an ant-hill
of a very great size, from six to twelve feet
liigh ; it is made of viscous clay, and tapers into
a pyramidal form *. This habitation is con-

* These pyramids are ten, fifteen and sixteen feet high in
Western Atrica, of a red colour, and absolutely like •well
baked earth. Their bases are all from a hundred to a hundred
and twenty square feet ; it would be a curious and philosophi-
cal underi nking, to compare these pyramids with the celebra-
ted ones ol Egypt.

structed

OF BIRDS> VISH> &C, $45

Itructed with great artifice; and the cells are
so numerous and even, that a honey-comb
scarcely exceeds them in number and regula-
rity.

The inhabitants of this edifice seem to be
under a very stiict regulation. At the slight-
est warning they will sally out upon whatever
disturbs them ; and if they have time to arrest
their enemy, he is sure to fin^ no mercy. Sheep,
hens, and even rats, are often destroyed by
these merciless insects, and their flesh devoured
to the bone. No anatomist in the world can
strip a skeleton so clean as they; and no ani-
mal, however strong, when they have once
seized upon it, has power to resist them.

It often happens that these insects quit their
retreat in a body, and go in quest of adven-
tures.

" During my stay,'* says Smith, '^ at Cape
^^ Corse Castle, a body of these ants came to
*^ pay us a visit in our fortification. It was
'^ about day-break when the advanced guard
^' of this famished crew entered the chapel,
'' where some negroe servants were asleep upon
*^ the floor. The men were quickly alarmed
■^ at the invasion of this unexpected army, and
*' prepared as well as they could for a defence.

'' While
2

^^ NATURAL ttlsrOtlY

*^ Wbile fhe foremost battalion of insects had
** already taken possession of the place, the rear-
•^ guard was more than a ciuarter of a mile dis-
*' tant. The whole ground seemed alive and
'^ cra^\li»lg with unceasing destruction. After
^ deliberating a fe^v moments upon whvA was
^' to be done, it was resolved to ky a large train
*^ of gunpowder along the path they had taken :
*' by this means millions were blown to pieces,
*' and the rear-guard perceiving the destruction
'^ of their leaders, thought i>roper instantly to
** return, and make back to tlieir origmal ha.
** bitation."

The order which these ants ob:?erve, seem*
very extraordinary; whenever tliey sally forth,
fifty or sixty larger than the rest are seen to head
the band, and conduct them to theSr destined
prey. If they have a fixed spot where their
prey continues to resort, they then form a
vaulted gallery, which is sometimes a quarter
of a mile in length; and yet they will hollow it
©ut in the space of tew or twelve hours.

Of the Beetle there are various kinds ; all,
however, concurring in one common formation
of having cases to their wings, two in number;
which are the more necessarj' to those insects^

as

OF 91Rl>iS> FISH^ 8tc. 547

^s they often live iiader the surface of the earth,
in holes which they dig out by their own in'
dustry. The cases prevent the various inju-
ries their widgs might sustain, by rubbing or
cru.^hing against the sides of their abode.
These, though thry do not assist flight, yet
keep the internal wings clean and even, and
produce a loud buzzhig noise, when the animal
rises in the air.

If we examine the formation of all animals of
the beetle kind, we shall find, as in shell-fish,
that their bones are placed externally, and their
muscles within. These muscles are formed
very much like those of quadrupeds, and are
endued with such surprising strength, that bulk
for bulk, they are a thousand times stronger
than those of a man. This strength is of us^
in digging the animal's subterraneous abode,
where it is most usually hatched, and to
which it most frequently returns, even after
it becomes a winged insect and capable of
fl)iiig.

Besides the difference which results from the
sliape and colour of these animals, tlic size also
makes a considerable one; some beetles being
not larger than the head of a pin, wliile others"
such as the elephent beetle, are as big as one's

fist:

548 NATURAL HISTORT

fist : but the greatest difference amorg them is,
that some are produced in a monthj and go
through all the stages of their existence in a
single season while others take nearly four years
to their production ; and live a year beyond in
the state of winged insects.

The May-hug or dorr-heethy as some call
\t, has, like all the rest, a pair of cases to its
wings, which are of a reddish brown colour,
sprinkled with a whitish dust, which easily
comes off. In some, their necks are covered
with 'a red plate, and in others with a black
one. The fore legs are very short, and the
better calculated therefore for burrowing in the
ground where this insect makes its retreat. It is
well known by its evening buzz, to children ; but
still more formidably introduced to ,the ac-
quaintance of husbandmen and gardeners, for
in some seasons, it swarms in such numb'ers^^
as to eat up every vegetable production. '^' '

The two sexes in the may- bug, are easily di-
stingiiished from each other, by the superior
length of the tufts, at the end of the horns,
in tlie male. They copulate in summer, and
in that season join each other for a consider-
able time. The female being impregnated,

quickly

OP BIRDS, FISH, &C. 349

quickly sets about boring a hole to deposit her
burthen; this she generally makes about half
a foot deep, and in it she places her eggs,
which are of an oblong shape, and bright yel-
low colour, and having covered them over>
she leaves them.

In about three months after the eggs have
been deposited in the earth, the contained in-
sect begins to break its shell, and a small grub,
or maggot, crawls forth, and feeds upon the
roots of whatever vegetable happens to be
nearest. All substances, of this kind, seem
equally gratefiil, yet it is probable the mother
insect has a choice among what ki d of vege-
tables she shall deposit her young. In thi«
manner, these voracious creatures continue in
the wonn state, for more than three years, de-s-
vouring the roots of every plant they approach,
and making their way under ground, in quest
of food, with great dispatch and facility. At
length they grow to above the size of a wal-
nut, being a great thick white maggot with
a red head, which is seen most frequently in
new turned earth, and which is so greedily
sought after by birds of every species.

When largest, they are found an inch and
a half long, of a whitish yellow colour, with

TOL. V. Z z a body

350 KATUKAL HlSTOHy

a body consisting of twelve segmenta or joint?/
on each side of which there are nine breathing
hc>leSj and three red feet. The head is large,
in proportion to the body^ of a reddish colour,
with a pincer before, and a semi-circular lip,
with which it cuts the roots^ of plants, and sucks
out their moisture. As this insect lives entirely
under ground, it has no occasion for eyes, and
accordingly it is found to have none; but is
furnished with two feelers^ which serve to direct
its motions.

It is not till the end of the fourth year> that
this extraordinary insect prepares to emerge from
its subterraneous abode, and even this is
not effected, but by a tedious preparation.
About the latter end of autumn, the grub begins
to perceive the approach of its transformation ;
it then buries itself deeper and deeper in the
earth, sometimes six feet beneath the surface, and
there forms a capacious apartment, the walls
of which it renders very smooth and shin-
ing, by the excretions of its body. Its abode
being thus completed, it begins soon after to
shorten itself, to swell, and to burst its last skin,
in order to assume the form of a cry sal is. This,
in the beginning, appears of a yellowish colour,
which heightens by degrees, till, at last, it is

seen

OF BIRDS, FISH, &:c 351

:*en nearly red. Its exterior form plainly dis-
covers all the vestiges of the future winged
insect, ail the fore parts being distinctly seoa ;
while behind, the animal is concealed.

The young may-bug continues in this state
for about three months longer, and it is not till
the beginning of January, that the aurelia di-
vests itself of all its impediments, and becomes
a winged iqsect, completely formed. Yet still
the animal is far from attaining its natural
strength, health, and appetite. It undergoes a
kind of infant imbecility, and, unlike most other
msects, which the instant they become flies, are
arrived at their state of full perfection, the may-
bug continues feeble and sickly. Its colour is
much brighter than in the perfect animal ; all
Its parts are soft, and its voracious nature seems,
for a while to have entirely forsaken it.
• About the latter end of May, these insects,
after having lived for four years under ground,
burst from the earth, when the first mild even-
ing invites them abroad. They are at that time
seen rising from their long imprisonment : and
i-om living long only upon roots, and imbibing
only the moisture of the earth, visiting the mild>
ness of the summer air, choosing the sweetest
vegetables for their banquet, and drinking the
dew of the evenin;?.

Z z 2 Whca

352 NATURAL HISTORY

When the season is favourable for them, they
are seen by thousands buzzing along, hitting
against every object that intercepts their flight.
The mid-day sun, however, seems too powerful
for their constitutions ; they then lurk under
the leaves and branches of some shady tree ;
but the oak seems their most favourite food ^
there they lurk in clusters, and seldom quit the
tree till they have devoured all its verdure.
Their duration, however, is but short, as they
never survive the season.

Of all the beetle kind, this is the most nume*
rous : like them all other beetles are bred from
the egg, which is deposited in the ground, and
sometimes, though seldom in the barks of trees ;
they change into a worm ; they subsist in that
stats by living upon the roots of vegetables, or
the succulent parts of the bark round them.
§ome pf the others, however merit notice for
their peculiarities.

The Tumhk'dun^, as the Americans call it,
is all over ^ dusky black, rounder than those
animals 4xre hi general, and so strong, (though
XiDt much laj^ger. than the common black beC"
^e,) that itf one^^of them be put under a can-
j^stick, it wili move it backwards and for*
8 wafds.

OF BIRDS, risH, &c. S53

wards. There is no creature more laborious,
eitker in seeking subsistence^ or in providing a
proper retreat for its young. They are en-
dowed with sagacity to discover subsistence, by
their excellent smelling, which directs them ui
flight to excrements just fallen from man or
l)east, on which they instantly drop, and fall
unanimously to work in forming round bulls or
pellets thereof, in the middle of which they lay
an egg. These pellets in September, they bury
three feet deep in the earth, where thty lie
till the approach of spring, when the eggs are
hatched, the nests burst, and the msects find their
way out of the earth.' They assist each other
with indefa':gable industry, in rolhng these glo-
bular pellets to the place where they are to
lae buried. This they perform with the tail
foremost, by raising up their hinder parts
and shoving alon^ the ball with their hind feet.
They are always accompanied with other
beetles of a larger size, and of a more elegant
structure and colour. The breast of those is
covered with a shield of a crimson colour,
and shining like metal ; the head is of the
like colour, mixed with green^ and on the
crown of the head sta&ds a shining black
)iorn^ bent backwards. These are called

the

^54 NATURAL HISTOftY

the kings of the beetles, but why, is uncertain,
since they partake of the same drudgery.

The Elephant'heeth is the largest of this
kind hitherto known, and is found in South
America, particularly Guiana and Surinam, as
well as about the river Oroonoko. It is of a
black colour, and the whole body is covered
with a \ery hard shell, full ay thick and as strong
as that of a small crab. Its length, from the
hinder part of the eyes, is almost four inches,
and from the same part to the end of the pro-
boscis, or trunk, four inches, and three-quar-
ters. The transverse diameter of the body is
two inches and a quarter, and the breadth of
each elytron, or case for the wings, is an inch
and three-tenths. The attennae, or feelers, are
quite horny; for which reason the proboscis, or
trunk, is moveable at its insertion into the head,
and seems to supply the place of feelers. Tlie
horns are eight tenths of an inch long, and ter-
minate in points. The proboscis is an inch and
a quarter long, and turns upwards, making a
crooked line, terminating in two horns, each
of which is near a quarter of an inch long ; but
they are not perforated at the end like the pro-
boscis of other insects. About four tenths of

aa

OF BIRDS, FISH, SCC. 355

an inch above the head, at that side next the
body, is a pronimence, or small horn, which,
if the rest of the trunk were away, w ould cause
this part to resemble the horn of a rhinoceros.
There is indeed, a beetle so called, but then the
horn, or trunk, has no fork at the end, though
the lower horn resembles this.

In the GIow-zvo7-tn species, no two insects
can differ more from each other than the male
and female. The male is in every respect a
beetle, having cases to its wings, and rising in
the air at pleasure; the female, on the contra-
ry, has none, but is entirely a creeping in-
sect, and is obliged to await the approaches of
her capricious companions. The body of the
female has eleven joints, with a shield breast-
plate, the shape of which is oval; the head is
placed over this, and is very small, and the
three last joints of her body are of a yellow ish
colour ; but what distinguishes it from all
other animals, at least in this part of the worlds
is the shining light which it emits by night,
and which is supposed by some philosophers to
be an emanation, which she sends forth to al-
lure the male to her company. If taken in the
hand, this light will soon disappear.

Th?

356 NATURAL HISTORY

The Cantharis is of the beetle kiild, whence U
derived the appellation of cantharideSj well known
in the shops by the name of Spanish Flies, and for
their use in blisters . They have feelers like bristles^
flexible cases to their wings, a breast pretty plain,
and the sides of the belly wrinkled. Cantharides
differ from each other in their size, shape, and
colour. The largest in these parts are about
an inch long, and as much in circumference,
but others are not above three quarters of an
inch. Some are of a pure azure colour, others
of pure gold, and others again, have a mixture
of pure gold and azure colours : but they are all
very brilliant and extremely beautiful. They
are of the greatest benefit to mankind,
making a part in many medicines conducive to
human preservation. They are chiefly natives
of Spain, Italy, and Portugal ; but they are to
be met with also about Paris in the summer
time, upon the leaves of the ash, the poplar,
and the rose trees, and also among wheat, and
in meadows.

Such numbers of them have sometimes been
seen together in the air, that they appeared like
swarms of bees^ and they have so disagreeable a
smell, that it may be perceived a great way off.
This b.^d smell is a guide for those who make
,. it

OF r.IRDS^ FISH, &c. 357

it their business to catch them. When the}*
are caught they dry them, after which they are
so hght, that fifty will hardly weigh a dram.
Tlvose that gather them, tie them in a bag, or
a piece of liaen cloth, that has been well worn,
and then they kill them with the vapours of
hot vinegar, after which, they are dried in the
sun, and kept in boxes^.

Another insect of great use in medicine, is
the Kermes ; it is produced in the excrescence
of an oak, called the berry -bearing ilex, and
appears at first wrapt up in a membraneous
bladder, of the size of a pea, smooth and shin-
ingy of a brownish red colour, and covered
with a very fine ash-coloured powder. This
bag teems with a number of reddish eggs, or in-
sects, which being rubbed with the fingers,
pour out a crimson colour. It is only met
with in warm countries in May and June.

In the month of April it becomes of the
size and shape of a pea, and its eggs some time
after burst from the womb, and soon turning
into worms, run about the branches and leaves
of the tree, llie males are very distinct from
the females, and are a sort of small flies like
gnats, with six feet^ of which the four forward

VOL. V. 3 A are

358 NATURAL filSTOTl?

are shorty and the two backward lonj, dinded
into four joints, and armed with three crooked
nails. Tliere are two feelers ou the head^ a
line and a half long, \thich are moveable,
streaked, and articulated. Th6 tail is Italf
a line long, and forked. The whole body
is covered with two transparent wings, and
they leap about in the manner of fieas.

An insect, perhaps, still more useful than
either of the former^ is the Cochineal. This
is of a scarlet colour within, and without of
a blackish red ; it is of an oval form, of the
size of a small pea, with six feet, atid a snout or
trunk. It brings forth its young alive, and is
"nourished by sucking the juice of the plant. Its
body consistB of several rings ; ahd when
it is once fixed on the plant, it continues im-
Inoveable, being subject to no change. Some
pretend there are two sorts^ the one domestic^
which is best, and the other wild, which is of a
Vivid • colo&r ; they appear however to be the
samC; only ^vith this difference, that the wild feeds
iipdn unculti\'ated trees, without any assistance>
\vhereas the domestic is carefully at a stated
season, femoved to cultivated treeg^ where it
feeds opofl a purer juice^ and at the approach
■* " of

Of BIRDS^ FISH^ &C. S59

of winter th€y are taken within doors on the
kaves of the prickly pear plant, which supplies
them during the cold weather. When the
weather becomes milder, and these animals are
about to exclude their young, tlie natives make
them nests, like those of birds, but less, of tree-
moss, or soft hay, or tlie down of cocoaruuts,
placing twelve in every nest. These they fix
on the thorns of the piickly pear-plant, and in
three or four days time they bring forth their
young, which leave their nests in a few days,
and creep upon the branches of the plant, till
they find a proper place to rest in.

When the native Americans have gathered
the cochineal, they put them into holes in the '
ground, where they kill them with boiling M'a-
ter, and afterwards dry them in the sun, or in
an oven, or lay them upon hot plates. From
the various methods of drying them, arise the
different colours which they present when brought
to us. While they are living, they seem to
be sprinkled over with a white powder, which
they lose as soon as the boiling water is poured
upon them. Those that are dried upon hot
plates are the blackest. What we call the
cochineal, are only the females, for the males
af e a soi t of fiy.

3 A 2 The

5C0 NATURAL HISTORY'

Th e G allinsccts (which, though not belong
ing to the beetle tribcj we know not where bet-
ter to introduce,) are bred in a sort of bodies ad-
hering to a kind of oak in Asia, which diflfer with
regard to their colour, size, roughness, smooth-
ness, and shape, and which we call galls. They
are not fruit, as some kave imagined, but pre-
ternatural tumours, owing to the wounds given
to the buds, leaves, and twigs of the tree, by
a kind of insects that lay their eggs within
them. This animal is furnished with an im-
plement, by which the female penetrates into
the bark of the tree, or into that spot which
just begins to bud, and there sheds a drop of
corrosive fluid into the cavity. Having thus
formed a receptacle for her eggs, she deposits
them in the place, and dies soon after.

The juice, or sap of the plant, being by this
means turned back from its natural course, ex-
travasates and flows round the egg ; after w hich,
it swells and dilates into a kind of ball, by the
assistance of some bubbles of air, which get ad-
mission through the pores of the bark, and
which run into the vessels with the sap.

This little ball receives its nutriment, growth,

and vegetation, like the Other parts of the tree,

by slow degrees, and is what we call the gall-

8 nut.

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. SGl

nut The worm that is hatched under this
spacious vault, finds, in the substance of the
ball;, a subsistence suitable to its nature ; gnaws
and digests it till the time comes for its trans-
formation to a nympha or chrysalis, and from
that state of existence, changes into a fly.
After this the insect, perceiving itself duly
provided with all things requisite, disengages
itself from its confinement, and takes its flight
into the open air. The cold weather, how-
ever, frequently comes on before the worm is
transformed into a fly, or before the fly can
pierce through its inclosure. The nut falls
with the leaves, and the fly spends the winter
in a warm house, where it is preserved from
the injuries of the weather. This apartment
liowever, though so commodious a retreat in
the winter, is a perfect prison in the spring.
The fly, roused out of its lethargy with the first
heat, breaks its way through, and ranges
where it pleases. A very small aperture is suf-
ficient, since at this time it is but a dimi-
nutive creature. Besides, the ringlets of which
its body is composed, dilate, and become pliant
in the passage*

The

3tiC NATURAL HISfOR^V . -

The G72at and the Tipuh, are two* insccls
that entirely resemble each other iu their
iornij and yet Aviclely differ in their hab^p,
manners, and propagation. The chief aiid
only difference between them is, that the tipula
wants a trunk, wliile the gnat has a large one,
which it often exerts to very mischievous pur-
poses.

The gnat proceeds from a little worm^i which
is usually seen at the bottom of standing waters.
i\fter having laid the proper number of eggs on
the surface of the water, it surrounds them
with a kind of unctuous matter, which pre-
vents them from sinking ; but at the same time
fastens them with a thread at the bottom, to
prevent their floating away from the place, the
warmth of which \s proper for tlieir produc-
tion, to any other where tlie water may be too
coldj or the animal's enemies too numerous.
As they come to maturity, they sink deeper,
and at last, when they leave the eggs as worms,
ibey creep along at the bottom. They then maktj
themselves lodgments of cement, which they
fi^sten to some solid body at the very bottom of
the water, unless, by accident, ihey meet witl^
SI piece of chalk which being of a soft and

pliant

(TF BIRDS, rrsHj^c. 563

pliant nature, gives them an opportunity of
jrinking a retreat for themselves, where nothing
but the claws of a cray-fish can possibly molest
them. The worm afterwards changes its form.
It appears with a large head, and" a tail invested
with hair, and moistened with an oleaginous li-
quor, which she makes use of as a cork, to
sustam her head in the air, and her tail in the
water, and to transform her from one place to
another. When the oil with which her tail is
moistened begins t» grow dry, she discharges
out of her mouth an unctuous humour, which
she sheds all over her^ by virtue whereof she is
enabled to transport herself where she pleases,
without being either wst, or any way incom-
moded by the water.

The gnat, in her nest state, being- divested
of her second skin, resigns her eyes, her an-
tennae, and her tail ; in short, she actually seemj
to expire. However, from the spoils of the
amphibious animal, a little winged insect ap-
pears. Its head is adorned with a plume of
feathers, and its whole body invested with
scales and hair. The fur below, or little border
of fine feathers, which graces its wings, is V€ry
curious ; but there is nothing of greater im-
portance to the gnat, than its trunk: and that

weak

S64 NAtCRAL HISTORY

weak instrument may justly be deemed one of
Nature's master- pieces. It is so very small^
tliat the extremity can scarcely be discerned
through the best microscope. That part which
is at first obvious to the eye, is nothing but a
long scaly sheath under the throat. At the dis-
tance of nearly two-thirds of it^ there is an aper-
ture, through which the insect darts out four
stings, and afterwards retracts thenij one of
which, however sharp aud active it may be, is
no more than the case in which the other three
lie concealed, and run in a long groove. The
sides of these stings are sharpened like two-
edged swords; they are likewise barbed, and
have a vast number of cutting teeth towards
the point, which turns up like a hook, and is
fine beyond expression. When the gnat, has
tasted any fruit, flesh, or juice, with the point
of its case, which it uses like a tongue: if it
be a fluid, the animal sucks it up, without
playing her darts upon it ; but if there be
any obstruction, it exerts its strength, and
pierces through if possible. After this, it draws
back its stings into their sheath, which it ap-
plies to ilie wound, in order to extract, as
through a reed, the juices which it finds in-
%:losed. In the winter the gnat ceases to eat,

and

«iid spends all that season either in quarries, or
in caverns, which it abandons at the retnrn of
tiLunmer, and flies about in search of gome
commodious ford, or standing water, where it
may produce its progeny. The little brood are
sometimes so numerous, tha^ the very water "is
tinged according to the colour of the species,
green, if they be green, and of a sanguine'
hue, if they be red.

However similar insects of the gnat kind ate
in their appearance, yet they differ\'idely from
each other in the manner in which they are
brought forth, for^some are produced from
^ggs, while some are t^iviparous, and come forth
at once in their full and perfect forai.

A gnat separated from the rest of its kind,
and inclosed in a glass vessel, with air sufficient
to keep it alive, will produce young/ which,
also, when separated from each other, will be
the parents of a numerous progeny. Thus
tlown for five or six generations, do these ex-
traordinary animals propagate, without any
union between the male and female, but, in
the manner of vegetables, the young burstin-
from the body of their parents, without any
previous impregnation. At the sixth genera-
tion, however, their propagation stops, the

VOL. V. 3 R

S(36 NATURAL HISTOBY

gnat no longer produces its like, from itself
alone, but it requires the access of the male to
oive it another succession of fecimditv.

The gnat of Europe gives but little unea-
siness ; but it is very different in the regions
of America, where the waters stagnate, and the
climate is warm, and where they are produced
in multitudes beyond expression. The whole
air is there filled with clouds of those famished
insecti ; and they are found of all sizes, from
six inches long, to a minuteness that even re-
quires the microscope to have a distinct percep-
tion of them. The warmth of the mid-day
fcun is too powerful for their constitutions; but
when the evening approaches, neither art nor
flight can shield the wretclied inhabitants from
their attacks ; though millions are destroyed,
miilions still succeed, and produce unceasing
torment.

The native Indians, who anoint their bo-
dies with oil, sleep in their cottages covered all
over with thousands of the gnat kind upon their
bodies, and yet do not seem to have their slum-
bers interrupted by their cruel devourers. If
a candle is lighted in one of those places, a
cloud of insects, at once light upon the flame,
and extinguish it ; they are therefore obliged t«
keep their candles in glass lanthorns.

OF BiRDSj, FISH, 8CC, 36/

ZOOPHYTES.

THESE are supposed to be the last order of
animated nature, or rather the link by which
the animal and vegetable world are united.
The gradations throughout the whole system,
as Buffon has judiciously remarked, are by
such imperceptible degrees that it would be
impossible to say, positively, where the one be-
gins and the other ends; particularly in this, as
the sensitive plant, the fly-trap, Scc. have more
actual motion than the oyster, and others that
are called animals. In the vegetable world the
species may be continued by cutting a slip from
a plant, and the same also may be done in this
order, and a thousand perfect beings be formed
by cutting one into as many pieces.

In the class of zoophytes, we may place all

those animals, which may be propagated by

3 B 2 cuttings.

S68 NATURAL HISTORt ^

cuttings, or, in other words, uliich, ifdW
vided into two or more parts, each part in time
iDecomcs a separate and perfect animal; the
head shoots forth a tail, and, on the contrary
the tail produces a head ; some of these wilt
bear dividing into two parts, such as the earth-
worm: some may be divided into more than
two, and of this kind are many of the star fish ;
others may be cut into a thousand parts,-
. each becoming a perfect animal ; they may be
turned inside out, like the finger of a glove,
tliey may be moulded into all manner of shapes^
yet still their vital principal remains, still every
jungle part becomes perfect in its kind, and, af-
ter a few days existence, exhibits all the arts and
industry of its parent.

The first in this class is the JVorm kind,
which, being entirely destitute of feet, trail
themselves along the ground, and find a
safe retreat under the earth, or in th^
water. As these, like serpents, have a creep-
ing motion, so both, in general, go under the
common appellation of reptiles ; their mannes
of moving is, however, very different, for
the worm has a power of contracting oj
lengthening itself at will. There is a spiral

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 3^9

tti-iisdcj that' rims round its whole body, from
the head to the tail, somewhat resembling a
^vire wound round, which, ^Ahen one end is
extended and held fast, will bring the other
nearer to it; in this manner the earih-worm3
having shot out, or extended its body, takes
hold by the slime of the lore part of its body,
and so contracts and brings forward the hinder
part : and in this manner it moves onward, but
not without considerable effort. Its body is
armed with small stiff sharp burrs, or prickles,
■vvhich it can erect or depress at pleasure ; under
the skin their lies a slimy juice, thp.t is ejected
as occasion requires, at certain perforations,
between the rings of the muscles, to lubricate
ks body, and facilitate its passage into the
fourth. Like most other insects, it has breath-
ing holes along the back, adjoining each ring ;
but' it is without bones, without eyes, without
ears, and, properly, without feet, it has a
mOuth, and also an alimentary canal, which
runs along to the very point of the tail. In
some worms, however, particularly such as
are found in tlie bodies of animals, this canal
opens towards the middle of the belly, at some
dist^ce. from the tail. The. intestines of the

earth-

S70 NATURAL HISTORY

earth-worm are always found filled with a very
fine earth, which seems to be the only nourish-
ment it is capable of receiving.

The animal is entirely without brain, but
near the head is placed the heart, m hich is seen
to beat with a very distinct motion, and round
which are the spermatic vessels, forming a num-
ber of little globules, containing a milky fluid,
which have openings into the belly, not far
from tlie head : they are also found to contain
a number of eggs, which are laid in the earth,
and are hatched in twelve or fourteen days into
life, by the genial warmth of their situation.
Lake snails, these animals are of both sexes,
and like them impregnate, and are impregnated
at the same time.

In about fourteen days the young ones come
forth very small, but perfectly formed, and suf-
fer no change during their existence : but how
long their life continues is not well known,
though it certainly continues for more than two or
three seasons. During the winter, they bury
themselves deeper in the earth, and seem, in
some measun?, to share the general torpidity of
the insect tribe. lu the spring, they revive with
the rest of nature, and on those occasions, a

moist

OF EiRDSj riSHj 8cc. 571

moist or dewy evening brings them forth from
their retreats, for the universal purpose of con-
tinuing their ]:ind. They chiefly hve in a light,
rich, and fertile soil^ moistened by dews or
accidental showers^ but avoid those places
where the water is apt to lie on the surface of
the earth, or where the clay is too stiff for
their easy progression under ground.

Helpless as they are formed, yet they seem
very vigilant in avoiding those animals that
chiefly make them their prey; in particular,
the mole, who feeds entirely upon them be-
neath the surface, and who seldom ventures,
from the dimness of its sight, into the open
air; him they avoid, by darting up from the
earth, the instant they feel tlie ground move.
I'hey are also driven from their retreats under
ground, by pouring bitter or acid water on
it, such as the water in which green walnuts
have been steeped, or a lye made of pot-ashes.

Some animals live without their limbs, and
are often seen to re-produce them ; some are
seen to live without their brain for many weeks
together ; caterpillars continue to encrease and
grow large, though all their nobler organs are
entirely destroyed within ; some animals conti-
nue to exist, though cut in two, their nobler

parts

372; NATURAL HISTORY

parts preserving life, while the others periJ^lr
that were cut away ; but the earth-worm, and
all the zoophyte tribe, continue to live in se-
parate parts, and one animal, by the means of
cutting, is divided into two distinct existences,
sometimes into a thousand.

Spalanzani tried several experiments upon
the earth-worm, many of which succeeded ac-
cording to his expectation ; every earth-worm,
however, did not retain the vital principle
with the same obstinacy ; some, w hen cut in
two, were entirely destroyed; others survived
only in the nobler parts, and, while the head
was living, the tall entirely perished, and a
new one was seen to bud from the extre-
mity. But, what was most surprising in some,
particularly in the saiail red-headed earth-worm,
was that both extremities survived the operation :
the head produced a tail with the anus, the in-
testines, the annular muscle, and the prickly
beards ; the tail part, on the other hand, was
seen to shoot forth the nobler organs, and hi
less than the space of three months sent forth a
head and heart with all the apparatus and instru-
ments of generation. This part, as may ea-
sily be supposed, was produced much more
slowly tlian the former, a new head taken above

three

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C 37 S

three or four months for its completion, while a
new tail is shot forth in less than as many
weeks •

What was performed upon the earth-worm,
was found to obtain also in many other of the
vermicular species.

The Sea-wornij the zvhite water worm, and
many of those little worms with feelers, found
at the bottom of dirty ditches. In all these the
nobler organs are of such little use, that if
taken away, the animal does not seem to feel
the want of them ; it lives in all parts, and in
every part ; and, by a strange paradox in na«
ture, the most useless and contemptible life is
of all others, the most difficult to destroy.

The next genus of zoophytes is that of the
Star-Jishy or sea nettles, a numerous tribe,
shapeless and deformed, assuming, at different
times, different appearances. All of this kind
are formed of a semi-transparent, gelatinous
substance, covered with a thin membrane, and
often appearing like a lump of inanimate jelly.
But, upon a more minute inspection, they will
be found possessed of life and motion ; they will
be seen to ^hoot forth their arms in every di-
vx)L. V. 3 C reetion.

374 NATtJRAL HISTORY

rection, in order to seize upon such insects as
are near, and to devour them with great rapa-
cit}'. Wormsj the spawn of fish, and even
muscles themselves, with their hard resisting
shells, have been found in the stomachs of these
voracious animals : and what is very extraor-
dinary, though the substance of their own bo-
dies is almost as soft as v/ater, yet they are no
way injured by swallowing these shells, which
are almost of a stony hardness. They increase
in size as all other animals do. In summer,
when the water of the sea is warmed by the
heat of the sun, they float upon the surface,
and in the dark they send forth a kind of shining
light, resembling that of phosphorus.

They are often seen fastened to the rocks,
and to the largest sea-shells, as if they derived
their nourislmient from them. If they be taken
and put into spirits of wine, they will continue
for many years entire; but if they be left to
the influence of the air, they are in less than
four and twenty hours, melted down into a lim-
pid and offensive water.

In all this species, the same passage by which
they devour their food, serves for the ejection
of their foeces. 1 1 is impossible to describe them
under one determinate shape ; but, in general,

their

OF BIRDS^ FISM, &C. S75

their bodies resemble a truncated cone, whos^
base is applied to the rock to which they are
usually found attached. Though generally trans-
parent, yet ihey are of different colours, as
green, red, white, and brown. In some, their
colours appear diffused over the whole surface,
in others they are streaked, and in others,
often spotted. Tliey are possessed of a very
slow progressive motion, and in fine weather,
they are continually seen, stretching out and
fishing for their prey. Many of them are pos-
sessed of a number of long slender filaments, in
which they entangle any small animals they
happen to approach, and thus draw them into
their enormous stomachs, which fill the whole
cavity of their bodies. The harder shells con-
tinue for some weeks indigested, but at length
they undergo a kind of nmceration in the sto-
mach, and become a part of the substance of
the animal itself. The indigestable parts are
returned by the same aperture by which they
were swallowed, and then the star-fish beorins
to fish for more. These also may be cut in
pieces, and every part will survive the opera-
tion ; each becoming a perfect anunal, endued
with its. natural rapacity. Of this tribe, the
3 C 2 number

376 NATURAL HIStOfeV

fttimber is various, but the maniiers and nature
of all, are nearly as described.

The Cuttle Fish, or sea-poli/pi, is about
two feet long, covered with a very thin skin, and
its flesh is composed of a gelatinous subr
stance, which however, internally, is strength-
eiied by a strong bone, of which such great
uSe is made by the goldsmiths. It is round at one
end, and at the other has eight kind of arms,
which it extends, and which are probably of
service to it in fishing for its prey ; while alive,
it is capable of lengthening or contracting these
^t pleasure; they feed upon small fish, which
they seize with their arms; and they are bred
from eggs, which are laid upon the weeds
along the sea shore.

The cuttle-fish is found along many of the
poasts of Europe, but is not easily caught,
from a contrivance with which they are fur-
nished by nature; this is a black substance, of
the colour of ink, which is contained in a blad-
der generally on the left side of the belly, and
which is ejected in the manner of an excre-
nieht from the anus. Whenever, therefore,
this fish is pursued, and when- it finds a diffi-
culty of escaping;, it spurts forth a great quan-
tity

or BTRDS, FISM, &C. 377

city of this black liquor, by which the waters
jsrre totally darkened ; and then it escapes^ by
lying at the bottom.

. The common Poli/pus is found at the bot-
tom of wet ditches, or attached to tl>e under
surface of the broad-leafed plants that grow
and swim on the waters. The same difference
holds between these and the sea- water polypus,
as between all the productions of the land
and the ocean. The marine vegetables and
animals grow to a monstrous size. It is the
same betx^een the polypi of both elements.
Those of the sea are found from two to three
or four feet in length, and Pliriy has even de-
scribed one, the arms of which were no less
than thirty feet long. Those in fiesh waters,
are seldom abo\e three parts of an inch long,
and when gathered up into their usual form,
not above a third of those dimensions.

Whoever has looked with care mto the bot-
tom of a wet ditch, when the water is stagnant,
and the sun has been powerful, may remember
to have seen many little transparant lumps of
jelly, about the size oF a pea, and flatted on
one side : such, also as have examined the under
side of the broad leafed weeds that grow on the

surface

578 JNATURAL HISTOHY

surface of the water, must have observed them
studded wich a number of these httle jelly-like
substances, which were probably then disre-
garded, because their nature and history was
unknown. These little substances, however,
where no other than living polypi gathered up
into a quiescent state, and seemingly inanimate,
because either undisturbed, or not excited by
the calls of appetite to action- When they are
seen exciting themselves, they put on a very
different appearance from that when at rest ; to
conceive a just idea of their figure, we may
suppose the finger of a glove cut off at the bot-
tom ; we may suppose also several threads or
boms planted round the edge like a fringe.
The hollow of this finger will give us an idea
of the stomach of the animal ; the threads is-
suing forth from the edges may be considered
as the arms or feelers, with which it hunts for
its prey. The animal is furnished neither
with muscles nor rings, and its manner of
lengthening or contrac ting itself more resem*
bles that of the snail than worms, or any other
insect. Warmth animates them, and cold be-
numbs them; but it requires a degree of cold
approaching congelation, befoie they are re-
duced to perfect inactivity ; those of an inch long

have

OF BIRDS, FISH, 8CG. 379

have generally tlieir arms double, often thrice
as long as their bodies. The arms, where the
animal is not disturbed, and the season not un-
favourable, are thrown about in various direc-
tions, in order to seize and entangle its little
prey ; sometimes three or four of the arms are
thus employed, while the rest are contracted
like the horns of a snail, within the animaFa
body. It seems capable of giving what length
it pleases to these arms; it contracts and extends
them at pleasure, and stretches ihem only in
porportion to the remoteness of the object k
would seize.

These animals have a progressive motion,
which is performed by that power which they
poscss of lengthening and contracting themselves
at pleasure; they mount along the margin of
the water, and climb up the side of aquatic plants,
Tliey are often seen to come to the surface of
the water, where they suspend themselves by
their lower end. As they advance but very
slowly, they employ a great deal of time in
every action, and bind themselves very siroiig-
h to what ever body they chance to move upon
as they proceed ; their adhesion is voluntaiy,
and is probably performed in the manner of a
cupping-glass applied to the body.

All

SSO NATURAL HiyTOllY

AW animals of this kind have a remarkable
propensity to turn towards the light, and this
might induce an enquirer to look for their eyes;
but nothing that has the smallest resemblance
to this organ was ever found over the whole body.

In the centre of the arms, the mouth is
placed, which the animal can open and shut at
pleasure, and this serves at once as a passage for
food, and an opening for it after digestion.
The inward part of the body seems to be one
great stomach, which is open at both ends;
but the purposes which the opening at the bottom
serves are hitherto unknown, but certainly not
for excluding their excrements. The surface
of the body is studded with a number of warts,
as are also tlie arms, especially when they are
contracted.

-'These insects chiefly subsist upon others that
are less than themselves : particularly a kind of
millipeds that live in the water, and a very small
red worm. No insect whatever, less than them-
selves, seems to come amiss to them. Wherever
their prey is perceived, which the animal effects
by its feeling, it is sufficient to touch the object
it would seize upon, and it i« fastened without a
power of escaping. The greater the distance at
which it is touched, the greater is the e^se with

wliich

OF BIRDS, FISH, &C. 581

which the polypus brings the prey to its mouth.
When it has seized upon its prey, it then
opens the mouth distinctly, and this opening is
always in proportion to the size of the animal
which it would swallow; the lips dilate insen-
sibly by small degrees, and adjust themselves
precisely to the ligure of their prey. Mr.
Trembly, who took a pleasure in feeding this
useless brood, found that they could devour ali-
ments of every kind, fish and flesh as well as in-
sects; but he owns that tliey did not thrive so
well upon beef and veal, as upon the little worms
of their own providing.

T^vo of them are oft^n seen seizing the same
worm at different ends, and dragging it in oppo-
site directions with great force. It often happeos
that while one is swallowing its respective end,
the other is also employed in tiie same manner,
and thus they continue swallowing each his part,
until their mouths meet together; th^y then
rest, each for some time in this situation, till the
worm breaks between them, and each goes off
with his share; but it often happens, that a
seemingly more dangerous combat ensues, when
the mouths of both are thus joined upon one
common prey together : the largest polypus
then gapes and swallows his antagonist, but

VOL. V. S D what

38^ NATURAL HISTORY

>vh^t is very wonderful, the animal thus swal-
lowed, seems to be rather a gainer by the mis*
fortune. After it has lain in the conqueror's
belly for about an hour, it issues forth imhurt^
and often in possession of the prey which had
been the original cause of contention.

These reptiles continue eating the whole
year, except when the cold approaches to con-
gelation, and then, like most others of the insect
tribe, they feel the general torpor of nature, and
all their faculties are for two or three months
suspended ; but if they abstain at one time, they
are proportionally voracioua at another, and the
mtal of one day siifHces them for several months
together.

Their manner of propagation, or rather mul-
tiplication, has been for some years the astonish-
ment of all the learned of Europe. They are
produced in as great a variety of manners as
every species of vegetable. Some polypi are
propagated from eggs, as plants are from their
seed; some are produced by buds issuing from
their bodies; and all may be multiplied by
cuttings.

If a polypus be carefully observed in summer,
Mhtn these animals are chiefly active, and more

par-

OT BIRBS^ FISHj &C. S83

Particularly prepared for propagation^ it will be
Ibiind to protrude, from different parts of
its bedy, several tubercles, or little knobs,
%vliich grow larger and larger every day; after
two or three days inspection, what at first ap-
peared but a small excrescence, takes the figure of
a little animal, entirely resembling its parent,
furnished with feelers, a mouth, and all the ap-
paratus for seizing and digesting its prey. This
diminutive creature every day becomes larger like
the parent, to which it continues attached; it
spreads its arms to seize upon whatever insect is
proper for aliment, and devours it for its owa
particular benefit ; thus it is possessed of two
sources of nourishment, tliat whicli it receives
from the parent by the tail, and that which it re-
ceives from its own industry by the mouth. The
food which these animals receive, often tinc-
tures the whole body, and upon this occasion
the parent is often seen communicating a part
of its own fluids to that of its progeny that grows
upon it ; while, on the contrary, it never re-
ceives a tincture from any substance that is
caught and swallowed by its young. Several
young ones are thus seen at once, of different
sizes, growing from its body.

3 D 2 But

384 NATURAL HISTORY

But, what is more extraordinary, those young
ones themselves, that continue attached to their
parent, are seen to protrude, and propagate their
own young ones also, each holding the same de-
pendence upon its respective parents, and pos-
sessed of the same advantages that have beea
already described in the lirst connection.

This seems tf> be the most natural way by
which these insects are multiplied, for their pro-
duction from the egg is not so common ;
and though some of tliis kind are found with a
little bladder attached to their bodies, which is
supposed to be filled with eggs, yet the artificial
method of propagating them, is much more
expeditious, and equally certain: it is indifferent
whether one of them be cut into ten, or ten
hundred parts, each becomes as perfect an ani.
mal as that which was originally divided.

Besides these kinds mentioned by Mr. Trem-
bly, there are various others which have been
lately discovered, by succeeding observers, and
some of them so strongly resemble a flowering
vegetable in their forms, that they have been
mistaken by many naturalists for such.

Mr. Hughes, the author of the J^atural His-
iorij of Barbadoes, has described a species of
this animal, but has mistaken its nature, and

called

OF BiRirs, FiSH^Sce. 3B5

called fbem a sensitive flowering plant; be
observed it to take refuge in the holes of rocks,
and, when undisturbed, to spread forth a num-
ber of ram iti cations, each terminated by a flow-
ery petal, which shrunk at the approach of the
hand, and withdrew into the hole, whence be-
fore it had been seen to issue. This plant, how-
ever was no other than an animal of the polypus
kind, which is not only to be found in Barba-
does, but also on many parts of the coast of
Cornwall, and along the shores of the Continent.
A very minute race of the polypi species have
also been found to cover what is called the Co^
ral Plant, which is in such abundance all along
the shores of the Persian gulph, the ^vhole ex-
tent of the Red Sea, and the western coasts of
America. These have excited the attention of
several philosophers, and a variety of opinions
have been thrown out concerning iliem, or ra-
ther as to the nature of the substance on which
they are found; some confidently affirming it
to be an aquatic plant, and that myriads of these
insects being found on it, is not in the least
singular, as there are many vegetables on earth
equally covered by multitudes of lining crea-
tures, so small as to require a microscope to
distinguish them. Others, on the contrary, ^

pretend

38G KATtJRAL HISTOftY

pretend to prove, that neither the coral nor the
sponge can belong to the vegetable kingdom,
but that they are entirely the formation of these
Kttle animals, who construct them for their ha-
bitations and convenience, as bees do the ho*
ney-comb.

Without pretending to decide this question,
^re must confess our doubts of the latter
opinion, and consider all the ingenious ex-
periments that have been made as mere con-
jectures, drawn, certainly from analogy ; but
surely theories founded upon conjecture ought
to be received with caution ; it is upon facts
alone that Natura ists should determine ; and of
those there are enough to make us reflect with
admiration on the works and will of the Di-
vine Being, who (we have shewn through the
course of this work) has so closely united the
different classes of the creation, as to form one
universal machine, which is as wonderful in
itself, and as far beyond our power to deve
lope as He is in might and wisdom above our
t:onception !

FINIS.

Piinted by Lavr and Gilbert, St. John's Square, Clerkenwell,

DIRECTIONS FOR PLACING THE PLATES,

VOLUME I.

^^ Page

Ostrich and Cassowary to front - - i

Eagle and Vulture - , » grt

Honey Buzzard and FalcoB - - - IS*

Jiite, Horned Owl, and Barn Ovfl - - tST

Bustard and Peacock ... -jy^

Cock and Turkey - . . i^g

Cock of the Wood, Black Cock - . gl5

Gold Pheasant, Silver ditto - - _ g^5

Partridges and Quails - , _. 334

Magpie and Crow - - . . 045

Birds of Paradise - - _ . ^jv

Tropick Birds and Nests, Cuckoo and Woodpecker 284

Lory and Green Parrot - - _ 314

VOLUME IL

Blackbird, Thrush, Sky- lark, Niglitingale - gft

Wood-lark, Robin-Redbreast, Hedge Sparrow, &c. 5S

Wren, Crested ditto, Humming Bird, &c. - 67

Chaffinch, Canary Bird, Greenfinch, &c. - o.^

Bullfinch, Goldfinch, Linnet, Red Pole - 149

Little Dove or Rock Pigeon, Powter, &c. - 197

Brown Heron, Cyprus Crane - _ ggg

Spoan Bill, Demoiselle - - . g^g

VOLUaiE in.

Ruff, Lapwing - - . - 27

Plover, Coot, Water Hen, Sea Pie - - 30

Pelican, Albatross - , - 53

The Auk, Peuguin - » _ ^^q

Barnacle, Swan - - - » ^37

Sheldrake, Cfaincse Drake - - _ 182

Male

( 2 )

Male Widgeon, Female ditto, Male Teal, &c. - 194

Avoletta, Crown Bird - - - *i09

Whale, Narwhale, Spermacctti ditto - - 307

VOLUME IV.

Dolphin, Balance Fish, Shark - - If

Sturgeon, Kay Fisl>, Ditto, Sea Devil - - 43

Sword Fish, Gudgeon, Turbot, Mackerel, Tunny - Itil

Perch, John Dorce, Mullet, Eel, Lamprey - 125

Cod Fish, Salmon, Herring, Carp, Flying Fish - 1'1+

Roach, Barhel, Whiting, Soa), Flounder - 182

Lobster, Crab, Ditto, Turtle - - 212

Nautilis, Shell ditto. Crocodile's Egg, Crocodile - 175

VOLUME V.

Frog, Caraeleon, Salamander, Rattle Snake, &c. - It

Beetle, Dragon Fly, Gnats, Flies, Locusts, &c. - 217

Silk Worm in its different states. Spiders, &c. - 261

Butterflies - - - - 271

Moths - - - - 277

Bees, Drones, Wasps, Hornets - - 291

1

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