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diff --git a/41625-0.txt b/41625-0.txt index 4c3eac0..762b9c9 100644 --- a/41625-0.txt +++ b/41625-0.txt @@ -1,43 +1,4 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Curious Facts in the History of Insects; -Including Spiders and Scorpions., by Frank Cowan - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Curious Facts in the History of Insects; Including Spiders and Scorpions. - A Complete Collection of the Legends, Superstitions, - Beliefs, and Ominous Signs Connected with Insects; Together - With Their Uses in Medicine, Art, and as Food; and a Summary - of Their Remarkable Injuries and Appearances. - -Author: Frank Cowan - -Release Date: December 15, 2012 [EBook #41625] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CURIOUS FACTS--HISTORY OF INSECTS *** - - - - -Produced by Chris Curnow, Jennifer Linklater and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41625 *** CURIOUS FACTS IN THE @@ -19395,361 +19356,4 @@ Page 389, Paplionidæ => Papilionidæ End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Curious Facts in the History of Insects; Including Spiders and , by Frank Cowan -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CURIOUS FACTS--HISTORY OF INSECTS *** - -***** This file should be named 41625-0.txt or 41625-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/1/6/2/41625/ - -Produced by Chris Curnow, Jennifer Linklater and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Curious Facts in the History of Insects; Including Spiders and Scorpions. - A Complete Collection of the Legends, Superstitions, - Beliefs, and Ominous Signs Connected with Insects; Together - With Their Uses in Medicine, Art, and as Food; and a Summary - of Their Remarkable Injuries and Appearances. - -Author: Frank Cowan - -Release Date: December 15, 2012 [EBook #41625] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CURIOUS FACTS--HISTORY OF INSECTS *** - - - - -Produced by Chris Curnow, Jennifer Linklater and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - - CURIOUS FACTS - IN THE - HISTORY OF INSECTS; - - INCLUDING - SPIDERS AND SCORPIONS. - - A COMPLETE COLLECTION OF THE LEGENDS, SUPERSTITIONS, BELIEFS, - AND OMINOUS SIGNS CONNECTED WITH INSECTS; TOGETHER - WITH THEIR USES IN MEDICINE, ART, AND AS FOOD; - AND A SUMMARY OF THEIR REMARKABLE - INJURIES AND APPEARANCES. - - BY - FRANK COWAN. - - - PHILADELPHIA: - J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO. - 1865. - - Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1865, - by J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO., - In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States - for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. - - - TO - MISS CATHARINE STOY - THE FOLLOWING PAGES - ARE RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED - BY HER FRIEND, - THE AUTHOR. - - - - -PREFACE. - - -In the early part of the winter of 1863-4, having the free use of the -Congressional Library at Washington, I began the compilation of the -present work. It was my prime intent, and one which I have endeavored to -follow most carefully, to attach some fact, whatever might be its -nature, to as many Insects as possible, to increase the interest, in a -commonplace way, of the science of Entomology. I noticed the pleasurable -satisfaction I invariably felt when I came accidentally upon any -extra-scientific fact, and how the association fixed the particular -Insect, to which it related, ineffaceably upon my memory. To collect and -group, then, all these facts together, to remember many Insects as -easily as one,--was a natural thought; and as this had never been done, -but to a very limited extent, I undertook it myself. - -The facts contained in this volume are supposed to be purely historical, -or rather not to belong to the natural history of Insects, namely, their -anatomy, habits, classification, etc. They have been collected mostly -from Chronicles, Histories, Books of Travels, and such like works, -which, at first view, seem to be totally foreign to Insects: and were -only discovered by examination of the indexes and tables of contents. - -But are my facts _facts_?--it may be asked. They are; but I do not vouch -for each one's containing more than one truth. It is a fact, or truth if -you will, that Pliny, Nat. Hist. xi. 34, says, "Folke use to hang -Beetles about the neck of young babes, as present remedies against many -maladies;" but that this statement is entitled to credit, and that these -Insects, hung about the necks of young babes, _are_ a present remedy -against many maladies, are two things which may be very true or far -otherwise. I confine myself to the fact that Pliny says so, and only -wish to be understood in that sense, unless when otherwise stated. - -The classification of Mr. Westwood, in the arrangement of the orders and -families, I have followed as closely as was possible, except in one or -two instances: and where Insects have common and familiar names, they -have been given together with their scientific ones. - -To Dr. J. M. Toner, of Washington, for his suggestions and assistance in -collecting material, I tender my thanks; the same also to N. Bushnell, -Esq., and Hon. O. H. Browning, of Quincy, Ill., for the use of their -several libraries. - -I am much indebted, too, to Mrs. A. L. Ruter Dufour, of Washington, for -many superstitions and two pieces of poetry contained in this volume. I -beg her to accept my thanks. - - GREENSBURG, PENNA., - July 10th, 1865. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - AUTHORS QUOTED 9 - - - COLEOPTERA--BEETLES. - - Coccinellidæ--Lady-birds 17 - - Chrysomelidæ--Gold-beetles 23 - - Carabidæ 23 - - Pausidæ 23 - - Dermestidæ--Leather-beetles 24 - - Lucanidæ--Stag-beetles 24 - - Scarabæidæ--Dung-beetles 27 - - Dynastidæ--Hercules-beetles, etc. 45 - - Melolonthidæ--Cock-chafers 47 - - Cetoniidæ--Rose-chafers 49 - - Buprestidæ--Burn-cows 50 - - Elateridæ--Fire-flies, Spring-beetles, etc. 51 - - Lampyridæ--Glow-worms 55 - - Ptinidæ--Death-watch, etc. 58 - - Bostrichidæ--Typographer-beetle, etc. 61 - - Cantharidæ--Blister-flies 62 - - Tenebrionidæ--Meal-worms 65 - - Blapsidæ--Church-yard-beetle, etc. 65 - - Curculionidæ--Weevils 68 - - Cerambycidæ--Musk-beetles 72 - - Galerucidæ--Turnip-fly, etc. 74 - - - EUPLEXOPTERA. - - Forficulidæ--Ear-wigs 76 - - - ORTHOPTERA. - - Blattidæ--Cockroaches 78 - - Mantidæ--Soothsayers, etc. 82 - - Achetidæ--Crickets 92 - - Gryllidæ--Grasshoppers 98 - - Locustidæ--Locusts 101 - - - NEUROPTERA. - - Termitidæ--White-ants 132 - - Ephemeridæ--Day-flies 138 - - Libellulidæ--Dragon-flies 138 - - Myrmeleonidæ--Ant-lions 141 - - - HYMENOPTERA. - - Uroceridæ--Sirex 142 - - Cynipidæ--Gall-flies 143 - - Formicidæ--Ants 146 - - Vespidæ--Wasps, Hornets 170 - - Apidæ--Bees 174 - - - LEPIDOPTERA. - - Papilionidæ--Butterflies 216 - - Sphingidæ--Hawk-moths 232 - - Bombicidæ--Silkworm-moths 234 - - Arctiidæ--Woolly-bear-moths 242 - - Psychidæ--Wood-carrying-moth, etc. 245 - - Noctuidæ--Antler-moth, Cut-worm, etc. 246 - - Geometridæ--Span-worms 248 - - Tineidæ--Clothes'-moths, Bee-moths, etc. 248 - - - HOMOPTERA. - - Cicadidæ--Harvest-flies 250 - - Fulgoridæ--Lantern-flies 255 - - Aphidæ--Plant-lice 257 - - Coccidæ--Shield-lice 259 - - - HETEROPTERA. - - Cimicidæ--Bed-bugs 265 - - Notonectidæ--Water-boatmen 275 - - - DIPTERA. - - Culicidæ--Gnats 278 - - Tipulidæ--Crane-flies 286 - - Muscidæ--Flies 287 - - Oestridæ--Bot-flies 302 - - - APHANIPTERA. - - Pulicidæ--Fleas 305 - - - ANOPLEURA. - - Pediculidæ--Lice 316 - - - ARACHNIDÆ. - - Acaridæ--Mites 321 - - Phalangidæ--Daddy-Long-legs 321 - - Pedipalpi--Scorpions 321 - - Araneidæ--True-spiders 332 - - MISCELLANEOUS 363 - - INDEX 373 - - - - -AUTHORS QUOTED. - - -ALEXANDER, SIR JAS. EDW. Exped. of Disc. into Interior of Africa. 2 v. -12mo., London, 1838. - -ANDERSON, CHAS. ROSS. Lake Ngami; or, Explor. and Disc. during four -years wanderings in S. W. Africa. 8vo., New York, 1856. - -ANDREWS, JAMES PETTIT. Anecdotes, etc., Ancient and Modern. New edit. -8vo., London, 1790. - -ASIATICK MISCELLANY. 2 v. 4to., Calcutta, 1785, 1786. - -ASTLEY, THOMAS. New Gen. Collection of Voyages and Travels in Europe, -Asia, Africa, and America. 4 v. 4to., London, 1745-1747. - -AUBREY, JOHN. Miscellanies upon various subjects. 16mo. 4th edit., -London, 1857. - - -BACKHOUSE, JAMES. Narrat. of Visit to Mauritius and S. Africa. 8vo., -London, 1844. - -BAIRD, WILLIAM. Cyclopædia of Natural Sciences. 8vo., London and -Glasgow, 1858. - -BANCROFT, EDWARD. Essay on the Nat. Hist. of Guiana, in S. America. -8vo., London, 1769. - -BANCROFT, EDWARD. On Permanent Colours. 2 v. 8vo., London, 1813. - -BARTER, CHARLES. The Dorp and the Veld. 16mo., London, 1852. - -BARTH, HENRY. Travels and Discov. in North and Central Africa, from 1849 -to 1855. 5 v. 8vo., London, 1857-1858. - -BIOGRAPHIE UNIVERSELLE, ANCIENNE ET MODERNE. 84 v. 8vo., Paris, -1811-1857. - -BJÖRNSTJERNA, COUNT M. Theogony of the Hindoos. 8vo., London, 1844. - -BOSMAN, WILLIAM. New and Accurate Desc. of Coast of Guinea. 8vo., -London, 1705. - -BOYLE, ROBERT. Works. New edit. 6 v. royal 4to., London, 1772. - -BRANDE, JOHN. Observations on the Popular Antiquities of Great Britain. -3 v. 12mo., London, 1853-5. - -BRAY, ANNA ELIZA. Tamar and the Tavy. 3 v. 12mo., London, 1836. - -BROWNE, SIR THOMAS. Works; including his life and Correspondence. 4 v. -8vo., London, 1835. - -BROWN, THOMAS. Book of Butterflies, Sphinges, and Moths. 2d edit. 3 v. -16mo., London, 1834. - -BURMEISTER, HERMANN. Manual of Entomology. Tr. by W. E. Shuckard. 8vo., -London, 1836. - -BURTON, RICHD. F. The City of the Saints. 8vo., London, 1861. - -BUTLER, ALBAN. Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and other principal -Saints. 12 v. 8vo., London, 1854. - -BUTLER, CHARLES. Feminine Monarchie. 16mo., Oxford, 1609. - - -CAMPANIUS, THOMAS. Short Desc. of Province of New Sweden; now called by -the English Pennsylvania, in America. Tr. by Peter S. Ponceau. 8vo., -Philad., 1834. - -CAMPBELL, JOHN. Travels in S. Africa, undertaken at the request of the -Missionary Society. 3d edit. 8vo., London, 1815. - -CARPENTER, WM. BENJ. Zoology. 2 v. 8vo., London, 1847. - -CHAMBERS, ROBERT. Book of Days. Royal 8vo., London, 1862-3. - ----- ---- Hist. of Scotland. 2 v. 12mo., London, 1830. - ----- ---- Domestic Animals of Scotland from the Reformation to the -Revolution. 2 v. 8vo., Edinb. and London, 1859. - ----- ---- Popular Rhymes of Scotland. 16mo., Edinburgh, 1826. - ----- ---- Select Writings; Popular Rhymes of Scotland. 16mo., -Edinburgh, 1841. - -CHAMBERS, WILLIAM AND ROBERT. Edinburgh Journal, Feb. 1832 to Dec. 1843. -12 v. in 6 v. folio, London, 1833-'44. - ----- ---- New Series. Jan. 1844 to Dec. 1853. 20 v. in 10 v. royal -8vo., London, 1844-'54. - ----- ---- Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Art. 10 v. in -5 v. 8vo., Edinburgh, 1854-'58. - -CHURCHILL, AWNSHAM AND JOHN. Collection of Voyages and Travels. 6 v. -folio, London, 1732. - -COLEMAN, CHARLES. Mythology of the Hindus. 4to., London, 1832. - -COLTON, WALTER. Three Years in California. 12mo., New York, 1850. - -CURTIS, JOHN. Farm Insects. Royal 8vo., London, 1860. - -CUVIER, G. L. C. F. BARON. Animal Kingdom. By Edwd. Griffeth and others. -16 v. royal 8vo., London, 1827-'35. - - -DARRELL, WILLIAM. History of Dover Castle. 4to., London, 1797. - -DARWIN, CHARLES. Journ. of Research into Nat. Hist. and Geol. of -Countries visited during Voy. of H. M. S. Beagle, round the world. New -edit. 12mo., London, 1852. - -DIAZ DEL CASTILLO, BERNAL. Memoirs and Disc. and Conq. of Mexico and New -Spain. Tr. by John J. Lockhart. 2 v. 8vo., London, 1844. - -DIODORUS THE SICILIAN, Historical Library of, in fifteen books; -Fragments, etc. Tr. by G. Booth. 2 v. 8vo., London, 1814. - -DONOVAN, EDWARD. Nat. Hist. of Insects of China. 4to., London, 1842. - -DRAYSON, ALFRED W. Sporting Scenes in S. Africa. 8vo., London, 1858. - -DU HALDE, J. B. General Hist. of China, etc. 4 v. 8vo., London, 1836. - - -FABYAN, ROBERT. New Chronicles of England and France. 4to., London, -1811. - -FLEMING, FRANCIS. Kaffraria. 12mo., London, 1853. - -FORBES, JAMES. Oriental Memoirs. 4 v. 4to., London, 1813. - -FOSBROKE, THOS. DUDLEY. Encyclopædia of Antiquities. 2 v. 4to., London, -1825. - - -GASSENDUS, PETRUS. Mirrour of true Nobility and Gentility. Life of -Peiresc. Tr. by W. Rand. 8vo., London, 1657. - -GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE. 202 v. 8vo., London, 1731-1859. - -GOLDSMITH, OLIVER. Hist. of the Earth, and Animated Nature. 4 v. 8vo., -London, 1826. - -GOOD, JOHN MASON. Study of Medicine. 4th edit. 4 v. 8vo., London, 1840. - -GOSSE, PHILIP HENRY. Naturalist's Sojourn in Jamaica. 12mo., London, -1851. - -GROSIER, ABBE J. B. G. A. Genl. Desc. of China. 2d edit. 2 v. 8vo., -London, 1795. - - -HARLEIAN MISCELLANY. 12 v. 8vo., London, 1808-1811. - -HARRIS, JOHN. Navigantium atque Itinerantium Bibliotheca; or, a Complete -Col. of Voy. and Travels. 2 v. folio, London, 1744, 1748. - -HAWKINS, SIR JOHN. General Hist. of the Science and Practice of Music. -5 v. 4to., London, 1776. - -HAWKS, FRANCIS L. Monuments of Egypt. 8vo., New York, 1850. - -HOLINSHED, RAPHAEL. Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland. 6 v. -4to., London, 1807-8. - -HOLMAN, JAMES. Travels in Brazil, Cape Colony, etc. 2d edit. 8vo., -London, 1840. - -HONE, WILLIAM. Every-Day Book and Table Book. 3 v. royal 8vo., London, -1838. - -HORNE, THOMAS HARTWELL. Introd. to the Study of Bibliography. 2 v. in 1, -8vo., London, 1814. - -HOUDIN, ROBERT. Autobiograpical Memoirs. 12mo., Philad., 1859. - -HUBER, PIERRE. Nat. Hist. of Ants. Tr. by J. R. Johnson. 12mo., London, -1820. - -HUGHES, GRIFFITH. Nat. Hist. of Barbados. Folio, London, 1750. - - -INSECTORUM SIVE MINIMORUM ANIMALIUM THEATRUM. Thos. Moufeti operâ -perfectum. Folio, Londoni, 1634. - - -JACKSON, JAMES GREY. Acct. of Empire of Marocco, and Districts of Suse -and Tafilelt. 2d edit. 4to., London, 1811. - -JENKINS, JOHN S. Voy. of U. S. Exploring Squadron, commanded by Capt. -Chas. Wilkes; from 1838 to 1842. 8vo., Auburn, 1852. - -JONES, JOHN MATTHEW. Naturalist in Bermuda. 12mo., London, 1859. - -JOSEPHUS, FLAVIUS. Genuine Works. Tr. by William Whiston. Folio, London, -1737. - -JOSSELYN, JOHN. Acct. of Two Voyages to New England. 16mo., London, -1674. - - -KALM, PETER. Travels into North America. Tr. by John R. Foster. 2 v. -8vo., London, 1859. - -KIDDER, DANL. P., and J. C. FLETCHER. Brazil and the Brazilians. Royal -8vo., Philad., 1857. - -KIRBY, R. S. Wonderful and Eccentric Museum; or, Mag. of Remarkable -Characters. 6 v. 8vo., London, 1820. - -KIRBY, WILLIAM, and WILLIAM SPENCE. Introduction to Entomology. 5th -edit. 4 v. 8vo., London, 1829. - -KNOX, ROBERT. Hist. Relation of the Island of Ceylon. 4to., London, -1817. - -KOLBEN, PETER. Pres. State of Cape of Good Hope. Tr. by Mr. Medley. 2d -edit. 2 v. 8vo., London, 1731, 1738. - -KORAN, THE: commonly called the Alcoran of Mohammed. Tr. by Geo. Sale. -8vo., Philad., 1850. - - -LATROBE, CHAS. JOS. Journ. of Visit to S. Africa, in 1815 and 1816. -8vo., New York, 1818. - -LANGSTROTH, L. L. Prac. Treatise on the Hive and Honey-Bee. 3d edit. -12mo., New York, 1860. - -LAYARD, AUSTEN H. Disc. among the Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon; with -Travels in Armenia, etc. 8vo., New York, 1853. - -LEPSIUS, RICHARD. Desc. in Egypt, Ethiopia, and Penins. of Sinai, in -1842-1845. 2d edit. 8vo., London, 1853. - -LINNÆUS, CAROLUS. Lachesis Lapponica; or, a Tour in Lapland. Tr. by J. -E. Smith. 2 v. 8vo., London, 1811. - -LIVINGSTONE, DAVID. Missionary Travels and Researches in S. Africa. -8vo., New York, 1858. - -LIVIUS, TITUS. History of Rome. Tr. by George Barker. 2d edit. 6 v. -8vo., London, 1814. - - -MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY. Cond. by J. C. Loudon. 9 v. 8vo., London, -1829-1836. - -MARTYR, PETER. De Nouo Orbe; or, The Hist. of the West Indies. Tr. by R. -Eden and M. Lok. 4to., London, 1612. - -MAYHEW, HENRY. London Labor and the London Poor. 4 v. 8vo., London, -1861, 1862. - -MIRROR OF LITERATURE, AMUSEMENT, AND INSTRUCTION. 40 v. 8vo., London, -1823-1842. - -MOFFAT, ROBT. Missionary Labors and Scenes in S. Africa. 8vo., London, -1842. - -MONTFAUCON, BERNARD DE. L'Antiquité Expliquée et Représentée en Figures. -2e édition, revue et corrigée. Lat. et Fr. 5 v. en 10, folio, Paris, -1722. - -MONTAIGNE, MICHAEL DE. Works. By William Hazlitt. 8vo., Philad., 1850. - -MOUFET, THOMAS. Insectorum sive Minimorum Animalium Theatrum. Londoni, -1634. - ----- ---- The same, translated. See Topsel's Hist. of Beasts, etc. - - -NATURAL HISTORY OF INSECTS. Vols. 64 and 65 of John Murray's Fam. -Library. 18mo., London, 1830-1842. - -NEWELL, ROBT. HASELL. Zoology of the English Poets. 16mo., London, 1845. - - -OCKLEY, SIMON. History of the Saracens. 3d ed. 2 v. 8vo., Cambridge, -1757. - -OGILBY, JOHN. America. Folio, London, 1671. - -OLIN, STEPHEN. Travels in Egypt, Arabia Petræa, and the Holy Land. 8th -edit. 2 v. 8vo., New York, 1846. - -OLIPHANT, LAURENCE. Narrat. of Earl of Elgin's Mission to China and -Japan, in 1857-9. 8vo., New York, 1860. - -OWEN, REV. T. Geoponika; or, Agricultural Pursuits. 2 v. 8vo., London, -1805. - - -PERCY SOCIETY PUBLICATIONS. 30 v. 12mo., London, 1840-'52. - -PETTIGREW, THOS. JOS. History of Egyptian Mummies. 4to., London, 1834. - -PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. Royal Society of London. 1665 to 1858. 147 -v. 4to., London, 1665-1858. - -PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. Royal Society of London, abridged. 1665 to -1750. 11 v. 4to., London, 1749-1756. - -PIERIUS VALERIANUS, IOANNIS. Hieroglyphica. Folio, Lugduni, 1626. - -PINKERTON, JOHN. General Collection of Voyages and Travels in all parts -of the World. 17 v. 4to., London, 1808-1814. - -PLINY, by J. Bostock and H. T. Riley. 6 v. Bohn's Classical Library. - -PLINIUS SECUNDUS, CAIUS. Historie of the World; commonly called the Nat. -Hist. of C. Plinius Secundus. Tr. by Philemon Holland. 2 v. in 1, folio, -London, 1657. - -PRICHARD, JAMES COWLES. Analysis of the Egyptian Mythology. 8vo., -London, 1819. - -PRINGLE, THOMAS. Narrat. of Resid. in S. Africa. New edit. 8vo., London, -1851. - -PURCHAS, SAMUEL. Hakluytus Posthumus; or, Purchas his Pilgrimes. 5 v. -folio, London, 1625, 1626. - - -RHIND, A. HENRY. Thebes; its Tombs and their Tenants, anct. and modern. -8vo., London, 1862. - -RICHARDSON, JAMES. Travels in Great Desert of Sahara, in 1845-6. 2 v. -8vo., London, 1848. - -RILEY, JAMES. Authen. Narrat. of Loss of Amer. Brig Commerce, wrecked on -western coast of Africa, in 1815. 8vo., Hartford, 1850. - -RIVERO, MARIANO EDWARD, and JNO. JAS. VON TSCHUDI. Peruvian Antiquities. -Tr. by Francis L. Hawks. 8vo., New York, 1853. - -ROBBINS, ARCHIBALD. Journ. of Advent. in Africa, in 1815-'17. 12mo., -Hartford, 1851. - - -SAMOUELLE, GEORGE. Entomological Cabinet. 2d edit. 16mo., London, 1841. - -SATURDAY MAGAZINE. Folio. From 1833 to 1844, London. - -SCHOMBURGK, SIR ROBERT H. Hist. of Barbados. 8vo., London, 1847. - -SHAW, GEORGE. General Zoology; or, Syst. Nat. Hist. 14 v. 8vo., London, -1800-1826. - -SILLIMAN, BENJAMIN. Amer. Journ. of Sci. and Art. 78 v. 8vo., New York -and New Haven, 1819-1859. - -SIMMONDS, PETER LUND. Curiosities of Food; or, the Dainties and -Delicacies of different nations obtained from the Animal Kingdom. 12mo., -London, 1859. - -SLOANE, HANS. Voy. to Islands of Madeira, Barbados, Nieves, S. -Christophers, and Jamaica; with the Nat. Hist. of Jamaica. 2 v. folio, -London, 1707-1725. - -SMITH, THOMAS. Wonders of Nature and Art; or, a Concise Acct. of -whatever is most curious and remarkable in the world. 12 v. 16mo., -Philad., 1806-1807. - -SPARRMAN, ANDERS. Voy. to C. of G. Hope, towards Antarc. Circle, and -Round the World. From 1772 to 1776. 2 v. 12mo., Perth, 1789. - -SOUTHEY, ROBT. Common-Place Book. 4th series. In 4 v. 8vo., London, -1849-1851. - ----- ---- Hist. of Brazil. 3 v. 4to., London, 1817-1822. - -STANLEY, THOMAS. History of Philosophy. 3d edit. Folio, London, 1701. - -STEDMAN, J. G. Narrat. of five years' Exped. against revolted Negroes of -Surinam, in Guiana, in 1772-1777. 2 v. 4to., London, 1796. - -STEEDMAN, ANDREW. Wanderings and Advent. in Interior of S. Africa. 2 v. -8vo., London, 1835. - -ST. JOHN, JOHN AUG. Hist. of Manners and Customs of Ancient Greece. 3 v. -8vo., London, 1842. - -STRABO, by H. C. Hamilton and W. Falconer. 3 v. Bohn's Classical -Library. - -STRONG, A. B. Illustr. Nat. Hist. of the Three Kingdoms. New ser. 2 v. -8vo., New York, 1853. - -STUART, J. View of Past and Present State of Island of Jamaica. 8vo., -Edinburgh, 1823. - -SWAMMERDAM, JAN. Book of Nature; or, the Hist. of Insects. Tr. by Thos. -Floyd. Folio, London, 1758. - - -TAYLOR, FITCH W. Voy. Round the World, and Visits to foreign countries, -in the U. S. Frigate Columbia. 9th edit. 8vo., 2 v. in 1, New Haven, -1848. - -TENNENT, SIR J. EMERSON. Sketches of the Nat. Hist. of Ceylon. 12mo., -London, 1861. - -THEODORET AND EVAGRIUS. Hist. of the Church, from A.D. 322 to A.D. 594. -12mo., London, 1854. - -THEVENOT, MONSIEUR DE. Travels into the Levant. Folio, London, 1687. - -THORPE, BENJ. Northern Mythology. 3 v. post 8vo., London, 1851, 1852. - -THUNBERG, KARL PETER. Travels in Europe, Africa, and Asia, bet. 1770-9. -4 v. 8vo., London, 1795, 1796. - -TOPSEL, EDWARD. The Hist. of Four-footed Beasts and Serpents. Whereunto -is added The Theater of Insects: by T. Moufet. Folio, London, 1658. - -TREASVRIE OF AVNCIENT AND MODERNE TIMES. Tr. from Pedro Mexia, M. -Francesco Sansovino, Anthony du Verdier, etc., by Thomas Milles. Folio, -London, 1613. - ----- ---- Containing Ten following Bookes to the former. Folio, London, -1619. - -TWELVE YEARS IN CHINA. The People, the Rebels, and the Mandarins. By a -British Resident. 12mo., Edinburgh, 1860. - - -UNIVERSAL HISTORY. Ancient Part. 21 v. 8vo., London, 1747-1754. - - -VOLNEY, COMTE C. F. Chasseboeuf de. Travels through Syria and Egypt, in -1783-'85. 2 v. 8vo., London, 1787. - - -WALTON, WILLIAM, JR. Pres. State of the Spanish Colonies. 2 v. 8vo., -London, 1810. - -WANLEY, NATHANIEL. Wonders of the Little World; or, a General Hist. of -Man. 2 v. 8vo., London, 1806. - -WELD, ISAAC. Travels through States of N. America, and Canadas, in -1795-'97. 3d edit. 2 v. 8vo., London, 1800. - -WESTWOOD, JOHN OBAD. Introd. to Mod. Classif. of Insects. 2 v. 8vo., -London, 1840. - -WHITE, GILBERT. Nat. Hist. of Selborne. 8vo., London, 1854. - -WILKINSON, SIR J. G. Manners and Customs of the Anct. Egyptians. 6 v. -8vo., London, 1837-1841. - -WILLIAMS, S. WELLS. The Middle Kingdom; or, Survey of Chinese Empire. 3d -edit. 2 v. 8vo., New York, 1853. - -WOOD, WILLIAM. Zoography. 3 v. 8vo., London, 1807. - - - - -CURIOUS HISTORY OF INSECTS. - - - - -ORDER I. - -COLEOPTERA--BEETLES. - - -Coccinellidæ--Lady-birds. - -The Lady-bird, _Coccinella septempunctata_, in Scandinavia was dedicated -to the Virgin Mary, and is there to this day called _Nyckelpiga_--Our -Lady's Key-maid,[1] and (in Sweden, more particularly) _Jung-fru Marias -Gullhona_--the Virgin Mary's Golden-hen.[2] A like reverence was paid to -this beautiful insect in other countries: in Germany they have been -called _Frauen_ or _Marien-käfer_--Lady-beetles of the Virgin Mary; and -in France are now known by the names of _Vaches de Dieu_--Cows of the -Lord, and _Bêtes de la Vierge_--Animals of the Virgin.[3] The names we -know them by, _Lady-bird_, _Lady-bug_, _Lady-fly_, _Lady-cow_,[4] -_Lady-clock_, _Lady-couch_ (a Scottish name),[5] etc., have reference -also to this same dedication, or, at least, respect. - -The Lady-bird in Europe, and particularly in Germany, where it probably -is the greatest favorite, and whence most of the superstitions connected -with it are supposed to have originated, is always connected with fine -weather. At Vienna, the children throw it into the air, crying,-- - - Käferl', käferl', käferl', - Flieg nach Mariabrunn, - Und bring uns ä schone sun. - -Or,-- - - Little birdie, birdie, - Fly to Marybrunn, - And bring us a fine sun. - -Marybrun being a place about twelve English miles from the Austrian -capital, with a miracle-working image of the Virgin (still connected -with the Virgin), who often sends good weather to the merry Viennese.[6] - -And, from the marsh of the Elbe, to this little insect the following -words are addressed: - - Maikatt, - Flug weg, - Stuff weg, - Bring me morgen goet wedder med. - -Or,-- - - May-cat, - Fly away, - Hasten away, - Bring me good weather with you to-morrow.[7] - -In England, the children are wont to be afraid of injuring the Lady-bird -lest it should rain. - -With the Northmen the Lady-bird--Our Lady's Key-maid--is believed to -foretell to the husbandman whether the year shall be a plentiful one or -the contrary: if its spots exceed seven, bread-corn will be dear; if -they are fewer than seven, there will be an abundant harvest, and low -prices.[8] And, in the following rhyme from Ploen, this insect is -invoked to bring food: - - Marspäert (Markpäert) fleeg in Himmel! - Bring my'n Sack voll Kringeln, my een, dy een, - Alle lütten Engeln een. - -Or,-- - - Marspäert, fly to heaven! - Bring me a sack full of biscuits, one for me, one for thee, - For all the little angels one.[9] - -In the north of Europe it is thought lucky when a young girl in the -country sees the Lady-bird in the spring; she then lets it creep about -her hand, and says: "She measures me for wedding gloves." And when it -spreads its little wings and flies away, she is particular to notice the -direction it takes, for thence her sweetheart shall one day come.[10] -The latter part of this notion obtains in England; and it has been -embodied by Gay in one of his Pastorals, as follows: - - This Lady-fly I take from off the grass, - Whose spotted back might scarlet red surpass. - Fly, Lady-bird, north, south, or east or west, - Fly where the man is found that I love best. - He leaves my hand, see to the west he's flown, - To call my true-love from the faithless town.[11] - -In Norfolk, too, where this insect is called the Bishop Barnabee, the -young girls have the following rhyme, which they continue to recite to -it placed upon the palm of the hand, till it takes wing and flies -away:[12] - - Bishop, Bishop Barnabee, - Tell me when my wedding be: - If it be to-morrow day, - Take your wings and fly away! - Fly to the east, fly to the west, - Fly to him that I love best.[13] - -Why the Lady-bird is called Bishop Barnabee, or Burnabee, there is great -difference of opinion. Some take it to be from St. Barnabas, whose -festival falls in the month of June, when this insect first appears; and -others deem it but a corruption of the Bishop-that-burneth, in allusion -to its fiery color.[14] - -The following metrical jargon is repeated by the children in Scotland to -this insect under the name of Lady Lanners, or Landers:[15] - - Lady, Lady Lanners, - Lady, Lady Lanners, - Tak' up your clowk about your head, - An' flee awa' to Flanners (Flanders). - Flee ower firth, and flee ower fell, - Flee ower pule and rinnan' well, - Flee ower muir, and flee ower mead, - Flee ower livan, flee ower dead, - Flee ower corn, and flee ower lea, - Flee ower river, flee ower sea, - Flee ye east, or flee ye west, - Flee till him that lo'es me best. - -So it seems that also in Scotland, the Lady-bird, which is still a great -favorite with the Scottish peasantry, has been used for divining one's -future helpmate. This likewise appears from a rhyme from the north of -Scotland, which dignifies the insect with the title of Dr. Ellison: - - Dr. Dr. Ellison, where will I be married? - East, or west, or south, or north? - Take ye flight and fly away. - -It is sometimes also termed Lady Ellison, or knighted Sir Ellison; while -other Scottish names of it are Mearns, Aberd, The King, and King Galowa, -or Calowa. Under this last title of dignity there is another Scottish -rhyme, which evinces also the general use of this insect for the purpose -of divination: - - King, King Calowa, - Up your wings and flee awa' - Over land, and over sea; - Tell me where my love can be.[16] - -There is a Netherlandish tradition that to see Lady-birds forebodes good -luck;[17] and in England it is held extremely unlucky to destroy these -insects. Persons killing them, it is thought, will infallibly, within -the course of the year, break a bone, or meet with some other dreadful -misfortune.[18] - -In England, the children are accustomed to throw the Lady-bird into the -air, singing at the same time,-- - - Lady-bird, lady-bird, fly away home; - Your house is on fire, your children's at home, - All but one that ligs under the stone,-- - Ply thee home, lady-bird, ere it be gone.[19] - -Or, as in Yorkshire and Lancashire,-- - - Lady-bird, lady-bird, eigh thy way home; - Thy house is on fire, thy children all roam, - Except little Nan, who sits in her pan, - Weaving gold laces as fast as she can.[20] - -Or, as most commonly with us in America,-- - - Lady-bird, lady-bird, fly away home, - Your house is on fire, and your children all burn. - -The meaning of this familiar, though very curious couplet, seems to be -this: the larvæ, or young, of the Lady-bird feed principally upon the -aphides, or plant-lice, of the vines of the hop; and fire is the usual -means employed in destroying the aphides; so that in killing the latter, -the former, which had come for the same purpose, are likewise destroyed. - -Immense swarms of Lady-birds are sometimes observed in England, -especially on the southeastern coast. They have been described as -extending in dense masses for miles, and consisting of several species -intermixed.[21] In 1807, these flights in Kent and Sussex caused no -small alarm to the superstitious, who thought them the forerunners of -some direful evil. They were, however, but emigrants from the -neighboring hop-grounds, where, in their larva state, they had been -feasting upon the aphides.[22] - -The Lady-bird was formerly considered an efficacious remedy for the -colic and measles;[23] and it has been recommended often as a cure for -the toothache: being said, when one or two are mashed and put into the -hollow tooth, to immediately relieve the pain. Jaeger says he has tried -this application in two instances with success.[24] - -In the northern part of South America--the Spanish Main--a species of -Lady-bug, Captain Stuart tells me, is extensively worn as jewels and -ornaments. He may, however, refer to some species of the -Gold-beetles--_Chrysomelidæ_, next mentioned. - -Hurdis, who has frequently, in his Poems, availed himself of the modern -discoveries in Natural History, has drawn the following accurate and -beautiful picture of the Lady-bird in his tragedy of Sir Thomas More: - - SIR JOHN. - - What d'ye look at? - - CECILIA. - - A little animal, that round my glove, - And up and down to every finger's tip, - Has traveled merrily, and travels still, - Tho' it has wings to fly: what its name is - With learned men I know not; simple folk - Call it the Lady-bird. - - SIR JOHN. - - Poor harmless thing! - Save it. - - CECILIA. - - I would not hurt it for the world; - Its prettiness says, Spare me; and it bears - Armor so beautiful upon its back, - I could not injure it to be a queen: - Look, sir, its coat is scarlet dropp'd with jet, - Its eyes pure ivory. - - SIR JOHN. - - Child, I'm not blind - To objects so minute: I know it well; - 'Tis the companion of the waning year, - And lives among the blossoms of the hop; - It has fine silken wings enfolded close - Under that coat of mail. - - CECILIA. - - I see them, sir, - For it unfurls them now--'tis up and gone.[25] - -Southey, also, in his lines addressed to this insect under the name of -the Burnie-Bee, has thus elegantly described it: - - Back o'er thy shoulders throw thy ruby shards, - With many a tiny coal-black freckle deck'd; - My watchful eye thy loitering saunter guards, - My ready hand thy footsteps shall protect. - - So shall the fairy train, by glow-worm light, - With rainbow tints thy folding pennons fret, - Thy scaly breast in deeper azure dight, - Thy burnish'd armor deck'd with glossier jet.[26] - - -Chrysomelidæ--Gold-beetles. - -In Chili and Brazil, the ladies form necklaces of the golden -_Chrysomelidæ_ and brilliant Diamond-beetles, with which their countries -abound, which are said to be very beautiful.[27] The wing-cases of our -common Gilded-Dandy, _Eumolpus auratus_, the metallic colors of which -are pre-eminently brilliant and showy, have been recommended as -ornaments for fancy boxes, and such like articles.[28] A closely allied -species, I have seen upon the finest Parisian artificial flowers. - - -Carabidæ. - -In some parts of Africa, a rather curious benefit is derived from a -large beetle belonging to this family, the _Chlænius saponarius_, for it -is manufactured by the natives into a soap.[29] - - -Pausidæ. - -The etymology of the word _Pausus_, Dr. Afzelius imagines to be from the -Greek #pausis#, signifying a pause, cessation, or rest; for Linnæus, now -(in 1796) old and infirm, and sinking under the weight of age and labor, -saw no probability of continuing any longer his career of glory. He -might therefore be supposed to say _hic meta laborum_, as it in reality -proved, at least with regard to insects, for Pausus was the last he ever -described.[30] - - -Dermestidæ--Leather-beetles. - -In one of the stone coffins exhumed from the tumuli in the links of -Skail, were found several small bags, which seemed to have been made of -rushes. They all contained bones, with the exception of one, which is -said to have been full of beetles belonging to the genus _Dermestes_. -Both the bag and beetles were black and rotten.[31] - -Four species of _Dermestes_ were found in the head of one of the mummies -brought by Sir J. Gardner Wilkinson from Thebes--the _D. vulpinus_ of -Fabricius, and the _pollinctus_, _roei_, and _elongatus_ of Hope.[32] - -It is a remarkable coincidence that two peoples should bury beetles of -the same genus with their dead, and much the more so, when they differ -so widely, as did the ancient Britons and Egyptians. Was it for the same -reason--the result of any communication? - -At one time the ravages of the _Dermestes vulpinus_ were so great in the -skin-warehouses of London, that a reward of £20,000 was offered for an -available remedy.[33] - - -Lucanidæ--Stag-beetles. - -The etymology of the word Lucanus, as well as its application to a -species of insect, it is interesting to notice. The ancients gave the -name of _Lucas_, _Lucana_, to the _ox_ and elephant. It is said that -Pyrrhus had thus named the elephant the first time that he saw it, -because this word signified ox in his own language, and that he thus -gave it the name of the largest animal which he had ever before seen. -According to Pliny, who employed the word _Lucani_, in speaking of the -Horn-beetles, Nigridius was the first who gave the name to these -insects; and this he did, most probably, from their large size, and the -resemblance of their mandibles to horns. Dalechamp, however, thinks that -the name _Lucanus_ was given to the Horn-beetle only because this insect -was very common among the Lucanians, a people of Italy. But it is -probable, after what has been above said, that the Lucanians themselves -were thus named, in consequence of the great numbers of oxen which they -reared. The common name, _Flying-bull_, given to this insect in -different languages, corresponds very well with that given by -Nigridius.[34] - -A popular belief in Germany is, that the Stag-beetle, _Lucanus cervus_, -carries burning coals into houses by means of its jaws, and that it has -thus occasioned many fearful fires.[35] - -In the New Forest of England, the Stag-beetle by the rustics is called -the _Devil's Imp_, and is believed to be sent to do some evil to the -corn; and woe be to this unfortunate insect when met by these -superstitious foresters, for it is immediately stoned to death. A -writer, in the Notes and Queries,[36] states that he saw one of these -insects actually thus destroyed. - -Professor Bradley, of Cambridge, mentions the following remarkable -instance of insect strength in a Stag-beetle. He asserts that he saw the -beetle carry a wand a foot and a half long, and half an inch thick, and -even fly with it to the distance of several yards.[37] Linnæus observes, -that if the elephant was as strong in proportion as the Stag-beetle, it -would be able to tear up rocks and level mountains.[38] - -Bingley has the following marvelous story of the supposed rapacity of -the Stag-beetle, which, it has been remarked, if not gravely stated by -the reverend editor of the Animal Biography, as related to him by one -of his own intimate and intelligent friends, might have been supposed by -the general reader to have been borrowed from the Travels of the -veracious Munchausen. "An intimate and intelligent friend of the editor -informed him that he had often found several heads of these insects -together, all perfectly alive, while the abdomens were gone, and the -trunks and heads were left together. How this circumstance took place he -never could discover with any certainty. He supposes, however, that it -must have been in consequence of the severe battles that sometimes take -place among the fiercest of the insect tribes; but their mouths not -seeming formed for animal food, he is at a loss to guess what becomes of -their abdomens. They do not fly till most of the birds have retired to -rest, and indeed if we were to suppose that any of them devoured them, -it would be difficult to say why the heads or trunks should be -rejected."[39] - -Moufet says: "When the head (of the Stag-beetle) is cut off, the other -parts of the body live long, but the head (contrary to the usual custom -of insects) lives longer. This is said to be dedicated to the moon, and -the head and horns of it wax with the moon, and do wane with the moon, -but it is the opinion of vain astrologers."[40] - -The mandibles of the Stag-beetle were formerly employed in medicine, -under the name of Horns of Scarabæi. This remedy was administered as an -absorbent, in case of pains or convulsions supposed to be produced by -acidity in the _primæ viæ_.[41] This is the insect most probably alluded -to by Pliny, when he says, "Folke use to hang Beetles about the neck of -young babes, as present remedies against many maladies."[42] The -_Scarabæus cornutus_ of Schröder (v. 345) is also, perhaps, the _Lucanus -cervus_. We learn from this gentleman that it has been recommended to be -worn as an amulet for an ague, or pains and contractions of the tendons, -if applied to the part affected. He tells us also, that if tied about -the necks of children, it enables them to retain their urine. An oil, -prepared by infusion of these insects, is recommended by the same -author, in pains of the ears, if dropped into them.[43] - -The _Cossus_ of the Greeks and Romans, which, at the time of the -greatest luxury among the latter, was introduced at the tables of the -rich, was the larva, or grub, of a large beetle that lives in the stems -of trees, particularly the oak; and was, most probably, the larva of the -Stag-beetle, _Lucanus cervus_. On this subject, however, entomologists -differ very widely, for it has been supposed the larva of the _Calandra -palmarum_ by Geoffroy and Keferotein; of the _Prionus damicornis_ by -Drury; but of the _Lucanus cervus_ by Roesel, Scopoli, and most others. -The first two, being neither natives of Italy nor inhabiting the oak, -are out of the question. But the larva of the _Lucanus cervus_, and -perhaps also the _Prionus coriarius_, which are found in the oak as well -as in other trees, may each have been eaten under this name, as their -difference could not be discernible either to collectors or cooks. -Linnæus, following the opinion of Ray, supposed the caterpillar of the -great Goat-moth to be the cossus.[44] - -Pliny tells us that the epicures, who looked upon these _cossi_ as -delicacies, even fed them with meal, in order to fatten them.[45] - -Our children, who call the Stag-beetles and the _Passalus cornutus_, -oxen, are wont to hitch them with threads to chips and small sticks, -and, for their amusement, make them drag the wood along as if they were -oxen. - - -Scarabæidæ--Dung-beetles. - -The _Coprion_, _Cantharus_, and _Heliocantharus_ of the ancients were -evidently the _Scarabæus (Ateuchus) pilurarius_, or, as it is commonly -called, the Tumble-dung, or one nearly related to it, for it is -described as rolling backward large masses of dung; and in doing this -it attracted such general attention as to give rise to the proverb -_Cantharus pipulam_. From the name, derived from a word signifying an -ass, it should seem the Grecian beetle made, or was supposed to make, -its pills of _asses'_ dung; and this is confirmed by a passage in one of -the plays of Aristophanes, the Irene, where a beetle of this kind is -introduced, on which one of the characters rides to heaven to petition -Jupiter for peace. The play begins with one domestic desiring another to -feed the Cantharus with some bread, and afterward orders his companion -to give him another kind of bread made of _asses'_ dung.[46] - -Illustrative of the great strength of the Tumble-bug, the following -anecdote may be related: Dr. Brichell was supping one evening in a -planter's house of North Carolina, when two of these beetles were -placed, without his knowledge, under the candlestick. A few blows were -struck on the table, when, to his great surprise, the candlestick began -to move about, apparently without any agency, except that of a spiritual -nature; and his surprise was not lessened when, on taking one of them -up, he discovered that it was only a chafer that moved.[47] - -In Denmark, the common Dung-beetle, _Geotrupes stercorarius_, is called -_Skarnbosse_ or _Tor(Thor)bist_, and an augury as to the harvest is -drawn by the peasants from the mites which infest it. The notion is, -that if there are many of these mites between the fore feet, there will -be an early harvest, but a late one if they abound between the hind -feet.[48] - -In Gothland, where Thor was worshiped above and more than the other -gods, the _Scarabæus (Geotrupes) stercorarius_ was considered sacred -to him, and bore the name of Thorbagge--Thor's-bug. "Relative to this -beetle," says Thorpe, "a superstition still exists, which has been -transmitted from father to son, that if any one finds in his path a -Thorbagge lying helpless upon its back, and turns it on its feet, he -expiates seven sins; because Thor in the time of heathenism was -regarded as a mediator with a higher power, or All-father. On the -introduction of Christianity, the priests strove to terrify the -people from the worship of their old divinities, pronouncing both -them and their adherents to be evil spirits, and belonging to hell. -On the poor Thorbagge the name was now bestowed of Thordjefvul or -Thordyfvel--Thor-devil, by which it is still known in Sweden Proper. -No one now thinks of Thor, when he finds the helpless creature lying -on its back, but the good-natured countryman seldom passes it without -setting it on its feet, and thinking of his sin's atonement."[49] - -A common symbol of the Creator among the Hindoos (from whom it passed -into Egypt, and thence into Scandinavia, says Bjornstjerna) was the -_Scarabæus (Ateuchus) sacer_, commonly called the Sacred-beetle of the -Egyptians.[50] Of this insect we next treat at length. - -Of the many animals worshiped by the ancient Egyptians, one of the most -celebrated, perhaps, is the insect commonly known as the -Sacred-scarab--_Scarabæus sacer_. This name was given it by Linnæus, but -later writers know it as the _Ateuchus sacer_.[51] The insect is found -throughout all Egypt, in the southern part of Europe,[52] in China, the -East Indies, in Barbary, and at the Cape of Good Hope.[53] - -The _Ateuchus sacer_, however, is not the only insect that was regarded -as an object of veneration by the Egyptians; but another species of the -same genus, lately discovered in the Sennâri by M. Caillaud de Nantes, -appears to have first fixed the attention of this people, in consequence -of its more brilliant colors, and of the country in which it was found, -which, it is supposed, was their first sojourn.[54] This species, which -Cuvier has named _Ateuchus Ægyptorum_, is green, with a golden tint, -while the first is black.[55] The _Buprestis_ and _Cantharus_, or -_Copris_, were also held in high repute by the Egyptians, and used as -synonymous emblems of the same deities as the Scarabæus. This is further -confirmed by the fact of S. Passalacqua having found a species of -Buprestis embalmed in a tomb at Thebes.[56] But the _Scarabæus_, or -_Ateuchus sacer_, is the beetle most commonly represented, and the type -of the whole class; and the one referred to in this article under the -general name of _Scarabæus_, unless when otherwise particularly -mentioned. - -The Scarabæus, according to the beliefs of the ancient Egyptians, was -sacred to the Sun and to Pthah, the personification of the creative -power of the Deity; and it was adopted as an emblem or symbol of-- - -1. The World.--According to P. Valerianus, the Scarab was symbolical of -the world, on account of the globular form of its pellets of dung, and -from an odd notion that they were rolled from sunrise to sunset.[57] - -2. The Sun.--P. Valerianus supposes this insect to have been a symbol of -the sun, because of the angular projection from its head resembling -rays, and from the thirty joints of the six tarsi of its feet answering -to the days of an (ordinary) solar month.[58] According to Plutarch, it -was because these insects cast the seed of generation into round balls -of dung, as a genial nidus, and roll them backward with their feet, -while they themselves look directly forward. And as the sun appears to -proceed in the heavens in a course contrary to the signs, thus the -Scarabæi turn their balls toward the west, while they themselves -continue creeping toward the east; by the first of these motions -exhibiting the diurnal, and by the second the annual, motion of the -earth and the planets.[59] Porphyry gives the same reason as Plutarch -why the beetle was considered, as he calls it, "a living image of the -sun."[60] Horapollo assigns two reasons for the Scarab being taken as -an emblem of the sun. He tells us there are three species of beetles: -one of which has the form of a cat, and is radiated;[61] and this one -from a supposed analogy the Egyptians have dedicated to the Sun, -because, first, the statue of the Deity of Heliopolis (City of the Sun) -has the form of a cat![62] In this, however, Wilkinson asserts, that -Horapollo is wrong; for the Deity of Heliopolis, under the form of a -cat, was the emblem of Bubastis, and not of Rê, a type of the sun; and -the presence of her statue is explained by the custom of each city -assigning to the Divinities of neighboring places a conspicuous post in -its own temples; and Bubastis was one of the principal contemplar -Deities of Heliopolis.[63] The second reason of Horapollo is, that this -insect has thirty fingers, which correspond to the thirty days of a -solar month.[64] - -3. The Moon.--The second of the three species of beetles, described by -Horapollo, has, according to this writer, two horns, and the character -of a bull; and it was consecrated to the moon; whence the Egyptians say, -that the bull in the heavens is the elevation of this Goddess. This -statement of beetle "with two horns" (the _Copris Isidis_) consecrated -to the moon, Wilkinson says is not confirmed by the sculptures where it -is never introduced.[65] - -It is said the Egyptians believed that the pellet of the Scarabæus -remained in the ground for a period of twenty-eight days. May not this -have some connection with their choosing the insect as a symbol of the -moon which divides the year into months of twenty-eight days each; or, -of the month itself (of which we shall notice it was also a symbol) for -the same reason? I have seen, too, a Scarabæus engraved upon a seal, the -joints of whose tarsi numbered but twenty-eight. - -Conformable to this supposition, the following quotation may be given -from that chapter of the Treasvrie of Auncient and Modern Times devoted -to the "Many meruailous (marvelous) properties in sundrie things; and to -what Stars and Planets they are subjected naturally," where we find -mention of the Scarab as being subject to the moon: "The _Scarabe_, -which is otherwise commonly called the Beetle-flye, a little old -Creature, is maruelously subject to the Moon, and thereof is found both -written, and by experience: That she gathereth or little pellets, or -little round bals, and therein encloseth her young Egges, keeping the -Pellets hid in the ground eight and twenty daies; during which time the -Moone maketh her course, and the nine and twentieth day shee taketh them -forth, and then hideth them againe vnder the Earth. Then, at such time -as the Moone is conioyned with the Sunne, which wee vsually tearme the -New Moone: they all issue forth aliue, and flye about."[66] - -4. Mercury.--The third of the three species of beetles, described by -Horapollo, has one horn, and a peculiar form; and it is supposed, like -the Ibis, to refer to Mercury.[67] - -5. A Courageous Warrior.--As such they forced all the soldiers to wear -rings, upon each of which a beetle was engraved, _i.e._ an animal -perpetually in armor, who went his rounds in the night.[68] Plutarch -thus alludes to this custom: "In the signet or seal-ring of their -martial and military men, there was engraven the portraeture of the -great Fly called the Beettil;" and assigns this curious and ridiculous -reason, "because in that kinde there is no female, but they be all -males."[69] The custom is also mentioned by Ælian;[70] and some Scarabs -have been found perfect, set in gold, with the ring attached.[71] The -Romans adopted this emblem and made it a part of some legionary -standards. - -6. Pthah, the Creative Power.--Plutarch says, that in consequence of -there being no females of this species, but all males, they were -considered fit types of the creative power, self-acting and -self-sufficient.[72] Some, too, have supposed that its position upon the -female figure of the heavens, which encircles the zodiacs, refers to the -same singular idea of its generative influence.[73] - -7. Pthah Tore, another character of the creative power.[74] - -8. Pthah-Sokari-Osiris.--Of this pigmy Deity of Memphis, it was adopted -as a distinctive mark, being placed on his head.[75] - -9. Regeneration, or reproduction, from the fact of its being the first -living animal observed upon the subsidence of the waters of the -Nile.[76] - -10. Spring.[77] - -11. The Egyptian month anterior to the rising of the Nile, as it appears -first in that month.[78] It also may have been a symbol of a lunar month -from an above-mentioned belief, namely, that its pellets remain -twenty-eight days in the ground. It is sometimes found with the joints -of its tarsi numbering but twenty-eight instead of thirty, hence the -supposition is that it was held as a symbol of a lunar, as well as a -solar, month. - -12. Fecundity.--Dr. Clarke informs us that these beetles are even yet -eaten by the women to render them prolific.[79] - -13. With the eyes pierced by a needle, of a man who died from fever.[80] - -14. Surrounded by roses, of a voluptuary, because they thought that the -smell of that flower enervated, made lethargic, and killed the -beetle.[81] - -15. An only son; because, says Fosbroke, they believed that every beetle -was "both male and female."[82] Was it not because they imagined these -insects were all males, as above stated upon the authority of Plutarch, -and hence the analogy in a family of an only son since it could be but -of the masculine gender? - -The Scarabæus was also connected with astronomical subjects, occurring -in some zodiacs in the place of Cancer; and with funereal rites.[83] - -To no place in particular, as the dog at Cynopolis, the ichneumon at -Heracleopolis, was the worship of the beetle confined; but traces of it -are found throughout the whole of Egypt. It is probable, however, it -received the greatest honors at Memphis and Heliopolis, of which cities -Pthah and the Sun were the chief Deities.[84] The worship is also of -great antiquity, for in many of the above-mentioned characters, the -beetle occurs upon the royal sepulchers of Biban-el-Moluc, which are -said to be more ancient than the Pyramids.[85] Scarabæi are, in fact, to -be retraced in all their monuments and sculptures, and under divers -positions, and often depicted of gigantic dimensions. Mr. Hamilton tells -us that in the most conspicuous part of the magnificent temple which -marks the site of the ancient Ombite nome, priests are represented -paying divine honors to this beetle, placed upon an altar; and, that it -might have a character of more mysterious sanctity, it was generally -figured with two mitered heads--that of the common hawk, and that of the -ram with the horn of Ammon.[86] It may be remarked here, that the -Scarabæus, when represented with the head of a hawk, or of a ram, is -meant to be an emblem of the sun; and as such emblem it is most commonly -found. It often occurs in a boat with extended wings, holding the globe -of the sun in its claws, or elevated in the firmament as a type of that -luminary in the meridian. Figures too of other Deities are often seen -praying to it when in this character.[87] - -In the cabinet of Montfaucon, there is a Scarabæus in the middle of a -large stone, with outspread feet; and two men, or women, who are perhaps -priests, or priestesses, stand before it with clasped hands as if in -adoration.[88] This gentleman also has remarked that on the Isiac table, -there is the figure of a man in a sitting posture, who holds his hands -toward a beetle which has the head of a man with a crescent upon it.[89] -On this table there is another Scarab with the head of Isis.[90] Besides -these Scarabæi with the heads of hawks, rams, men, and the goddess Isis, -Mr. Hertz has in his possession a small Scarabæus in stone with the -head of a cow.[91] - -The mode of representing the Scarabæi on the monuments was frequently -very arbitrary. Some are figured with, and some without the scutellum; -and others are sometimes introduced with two scutella, one on either -clypeus. An instance of this mode of representation, of which no example -is to be found in nature, occurs in a large Scarabæus in the British -museum.[92] - -Among the ideographics of the hieroglyphic writing, the Scarabæus is -found under several forms: seated with closed and spread wings upon the -head of a god, it signifies the name of a god--a Creator;[93] and with -the head and legs of a man, it is emblematic of the same creative power, -or of Pthah. Another emblem of Pthah is supported by the arms of a man -kneeling on the heavens, and surmounted by a winged Scarab supporting a -globe or sun.[94] - -The Scarabæus likewise belongs to the hieroglyphic signs as a syllabic -phonetic; and with complement a mouth, signifies type, form, and -transformation: flying, to mount--a phonetic of the later alphabet, with -sound of H in the name of Pthah. Another phonetic of the later alphabet, -belonging to the XXVI. dynasty, of the time of Domitianus and Trajanus, -was a Scarabæus in repose.[95] - -The Scarabæus entered also into the royal scutcheons. It first appeared -in the XI. dynasty, and is found afterward in the XII., XIII., XIV., -XVIII., XIX., XX., XXI., XXII., XXIII., and XXX.[96] - -The most important monuments of the great edifice of Amenophis--the -so-called Palace of Luxon,--in an historical sense, are said to be four -great Scarabæi. They contain statements as to the frontier of the -Egyptian empire under Amenophis at the time of his marriage with Taja. -Rosellini has given copies and explanations of two of them. A third, now -in the Louvre, states that the King, conqueror of the Lybian Shepherds, -husband of Taja, made the foreign country of the Karai his southern -frontier, the foreign land of Nharina (Mesopotamia) his northern. The -inscription of the other Scarabæus, now in the Vatican, states that in -the eleventh year and third month of his reign, King Amenhept made a -great tank or lake to celebrate the festival of the waters; on which -occasion he entered it in a barge of "the most gracious Disc of the -Sun." This substitution, by the King, of the barge of the Disc of the -Sun for the usual barge of Amun-Ra, is the _first_ indication of an -heretical sun-worship.[97] - -Such historical Scarabæi, Champollion and Rosellini have happily -compared to commemorative coins; and, in fact, those which record the -names of the kings might perhaps be considered as small Egyptian -coins.[98] - -Besides being ensculped upon monuments and tablets, Scarabæi, as images -in baked earth, are found in great numbers with the mummies of Egypt. -These little figures also present an intermingling of several animal -forms; for some are found with the heads of men, others with those of -dogs, lions, and cats, and others are figures entirely fantastical. -Father Kirker says, they were interred with the dead to drive away evil -spirits; and there is much probability, he continues, that these were -put here for no other purpose than to protect their relatives.[99] The -largest of these rude images of Scarabæi, thus used for funereal -purposes, frequently had a prayer, or legend connected with the dead, -engraved upon them; and a winged Scarabæus was generally placed on those -bodies which were embalmed according to the most extensive process.[100] -These latter are found in various positions, but generally upon the eye -and breast of the body.[101] Placed over the stomach, it was deemed a -never-failing talisman to shield the "soul" of its wearer against the -terrific genii of Amenthi.[102] - -A small, closely cut, glazed limestone Scarabæus has been found tied -like a ring by a twist of plain cord on the fourth finger of the left -hand. This has occurred twice. Another has been found fastened around -the left wrist.[103] - -It has been remarked before that the Scarabæus was connected with -astronomical subjects. Donovan tells us that "when sculptured on -astronomical tables, or on columns, it expressed the divine wisdom which -regulated the universe and enlightened man."[104] - -From another point of view we will look now upon the worship of the -Scarabæus. When the hieroglyphics of the _ancient_ Egyptians, by reason -of their antiquity, became unintelligible, and, in consequence, to the -superstitious people, sacred, they were formed into circles and borders, -after the manner of cordons, and engraved upon precious stones and gems, -by way of amulets and trinkets. It is thought this fashion was coeval -with the introduction of the worship of Serapis by the Ptolemies.[105] -In the second century, that sect of the Egyptians called the -Basilidians, intermingling the new-born Christianity with their -heathenism, introduced that particular kind of mysterious hieroglyphics -and figures called Abraxas, which were supposed to have the singular -property of curing diseases.[106] These abraxas are generally oval, and -made of black Egyptian basalt. They are sometimes covered with letters -and characters, fac-similes of the ancient hieroglyphics, but more -commonly with the inscriptions in the more modern letters. Besides these -inscriptions, figures of animals and scenes were also frequently -represented; and among the animals, one of frequent occurrence was the -Scarabæus. For this insect the Basilidians had the same great veneration -as their forefathers; and they paid to it almost the same divine honors. -This appears in many abraxas, and particularly in one in the cabinet of -Montfaucon, where two women are seen standing before a beetle, with -uplifted hands, as if supplicating it to grant them some favor. Above is -a large star, or, more probably, the sun, of which the beetle was the -well-known symbol.[107] On another abraxas, figured by Montfaucon, there -are two birds with human heads, which stand before a Scarab. These -figures are surrounded by a snake the ends of which meet. Upon the other -side is written in Greek characters the word #phrê# (Phre or Phri), -which in the Coptic or Egyptian language signifies the sun.[108] -Chifflet has figured an abraxas which contains a Scarabæus having the -sun for its head, and the arms of a man for legs.[109] Another, in the -cabinet of M. Capello, is remarkable for having a woman on its reverse, -who holds two infants in her arms.[110] Montfaucon has also figured two -others, given by Fabreti; and Count Caylus has engraved one, which -represents a woman's head upon the body of a Scarab. The head is that of -Isis.[111] As these beetles differ much in form, it may be there are -several species. To the abraxas succeeded the talismans, which were of -the highest estimation in the East. - -Carved Scarabæi of all sizes and qualities are quite common in the -cabinets of Europe. They were principally used for sets in rings, -necklaces, and other ornamental trinkets, and are now called Scarabæi -gems,[112] though some suppose them to have been money. All of these -gems, Winkleman says, which have a beetle on the convex side, and an -Egyptian deity on the concave, are of a date posterior to the -Ptolemies; and, moreover, all the ordinary gems, which represent the -figures or heads of Serapis, or Anubis, are of the Roman era.[113] -According to C. Caylus, the Egyptians used these gems for amulets, and -made them of all substances except metal. They preferred, however, those -of pottery, covered with green and black enamel. Cylinders, squares, and -pyramids were first used; then came the Scarabæi, which were the last -forms. They now began to have the appearance of seals or stamps, and -many believe them to have been such. The body of the beetle being a -convenient hold for the hand, and the base a place of safety and -facility to engrave whatsoever was wished to be stamped or printed. Many -of these characters are as yet unintelligible. These seals are made of -the most durable stones, and their convex part commonly worked without -much art. - -The Egyptian form of the Scarabæus, which somewhat resembled a -half-walnut, the Etruscans adopted in the manufacture of their gems. -These scarcely exceed the natural size of the Scarabæus which they have -on the convex side. They have also a hole drilled through them -lengthwise, for suspension from the neck, or annexation to some other -part of the person. They are generally cornelians. Some are of a style -very ancient, and of extremely precious work, although in the Etruscan -manner, which is correctness of design in the figures, and hardness in -the turn of the muscles. - -The Greeks also made use of the Scarabæus in their gems; but in the end -they suppressed the insect, and preserved alone the oval form which the -base presented, for the body of the sculpture. They also mounted them in -their rings.[114] - -Several Egyptian Scarabæi were among the relics discovered by Layard at -Arban on the banks of the Khabour; and similar objects have been brought -from Nimroud, and various other ruins in Assyria.[115] - -Layard has figured a bronze cup, and two bronze cubes, found among the -ruins of Nimroud, on which occur as ornaments the figures of Scarabs. -Those on the cubes are with outstretched wings, inlaid with gold. The -cubes have much the appearance of weights.[116] - -The Scarabæus was not only venerated when alive, but embalmed after -death. In that state they are found at Thebes. It, however, was not the -only insect thus honored, for in one of the heads brought by Mr. -Wilkinson from Thebes, several others were discovered. These were -submitted to Mr. Hope for examination; and the species ascertained by -this gentleman, Mr. Pettigrew has enumerated as follows: - -1. Corynetes violaceous, _Fab._ - -2. Necrobia mumiarum, _Hope_. - -3. Dermestes vulpinus, _Fab._ - -4. ---- pollinctus, _Hope_. - -5. ---- roei, _Hope_. - -6. ---- elongatus, _Hope_. - -7. Pimelia spinulosa, _Klug_? - -8. Copris sabæus? "found by Passalacqua; so named on the testimony of -Latrielle." - -9. Midas, _Fab._ - -10. Pithecius, _Fab._ - -11. A species of Cantharis in Passalacqua's Collection, No. 442.[117] -The House-fly has also been found embalmed at Thebes.[118] - - * * * * * - -Concerning the worship in general of the Scarabæus, many curious -observations have been made besides the ones above recorded. - -Pliny, in the words of his ancient translator, Philemon Holland, tells -us "The greater part of Ægypt honour all beetles, and adore them as -gods, or at leastwise having some divine power in them: which -ceremoniall devotion of theirs, Appion giveth a subtile and curious -reason of; for he doth collect, that there is some resemblance between -the operations and works of the Sun, and this flie; and this he setteth -abroad, for to colour and excuse his countrymen."[119] - -Dr. Molyneux, in the conclusion of his article on the swarms of beetles -that appeared in Ireland in 1688, makes the following allusion to the -worship of the Scarabæus by the Egyptians: "It is also more than -probable that this same destructive Beetle (Hedge-chafer--_Melontha -vulgaris_) we are speaking of, was that very kind of _Scarabæus_ the -idolatrous _Ægyptians_ of old had in such high veneration, as to pay -divine worship to it. For nothing can be supposed more natural, than to -imagine a Nation addicted to Polytheism, as the _Ægyptians_ were, in a -Country frequently suffering great Mischief and Scarcity from Swarms of -devouring Insects, should from a strong Sense and Fear of Evil to come -(the common Principle of Superstition and Idolatry) give sacred worship -to the visible Authors of these their Sufferings, in hopes to render -them more propitious for the future. Thus 'tis allowed on all hands, -that the same People adored as a God the ravenous Crocodile of the River -Nile; and thus the _Romans_, though more polite and civilized in their -Idolatry, _Febrem ad minas nocendam venerabantur, eamque variis Templis -extructis colebant_, says Valerius Maximus, L. 2, c. 5."[120] - -It is curious to observe how the reason is affected by circumstances. -The mind of Dr. Molyneux being long engaged upon the destruction caused -by insects, worked itself insensibly into certain grooves, out of which -it was afterward impossible to act. The same may be remarked of Mr. -Henry Baker, as appears from his article, "On a _Beetle_ that lived -three years without Food." In conclusion, this gentleman says, "As the -_Egyptians_ were a wise and learned people, we cannot imagine they would -show so much regard to a creature of such a mean appearance (as the -Beetle) without some extraordinary reason for so doing. And is it not -possible they might have discovered its being able to subsist a very -long time without any visible sustenance, and therefore made it a symbol -of the Deity?"[121] - -In parts of Europe the ladies string together for necklaces the -burnished violet-colored thighs of the _Geotrupes stercorarius_ and such -like brilliant species of insects.[122] - -Under _Copris molossus_, in Donovan's Insects of China, it is mentioned -that the larvæ of the larger kinds of coleopterous insects, abounding in -unctuous moisture, are much esteemed as food by the Chinese. "Under the -roots of the canes is found a large, white grub, which, being fried in -oil, is eaten as a dainty by the Chinese." Donovan suggests that perhaps -this is the larvæ of the _Scarabæus (copris) molossus_, the general -description and abundance of which insect in China favors such an -opinion.[123] - -Insects belonging to the family Scarabæidæ have been used also in -medicine. Pliny says the green Scarabæus has the property of rendering -the sight more piercing of those who gaze upon it, and that hence, -engravers of precious stones use these insects to steady their -sight.[124] - -Again, he says: "And many there be, who, by the directions of magicians, -carrie about them in like manner," _i.e._ tied up in a linen cloth with -a red string, and attached to the body, "for the quartan ague, one of -these flies or beetles that use to roll up little balls of earth."[125] -We learn from Schroder (v. 345) that the powder of the _Scarabæus -pilurarius_ "sprinkled upon a protuberating eye or prolapsed anus, is -said to afford singular relief;" and that "an oil prepared of these -insects by boiling in oil till they are consumed, and applied to the -blind hæmorrhoids, by means of a piece of cotton, is said to mitigate -the pains thereof."[126] Fabricius states that the _Scarabæus (copris) -molossus_ is medicinally employed in China.[127] - -We quote the following from Moufet: "The Beetle engraven on an emerald -yeelds a present remedy against all witchcrafts, and no less effectual -than that moly which Mercury once gave Ulysses. Nor is it good only -against these, but it is also very useful, if any one be about to go -before the king upon any occasion, so that such a ring ought especially -to be worn by them that intend to beg of noblemen some jolly preferment -or some rich province. It keeps away likewise the head-ach, which, -truly, is no small mischief, especially to great drinkers.... - -"The magicians will scarce finde credit, when foolishly rather than -truly, they report and imagine that the precious stone Chelonitis, that -is adorned with golden spots, put into hot water with a Beetle, raiseth -tempests." _Pliny_, _l._ 37, _c._ 10. - -"The eagle, the Beetle's proud and cruel enemy, does no less make havock -of and devour this creature of so mean a rank, yet as soon as it gets an -opportunity, it returneth like for like, and sufficiently punisheth that -spoiler. For it flyeth up nimbly into her nest with its fellow-soldiers, -the Scara-beetles, and in the absence of the old she eagle bringeth out -of the nest the eagle's eggs one after another, till there be none left; -which falling, and being broken, the young ones, while they are yet -unshapen, being dashed miserably against the stones, are deprived of -life, before they can have any sense of it. Neither do I see indeed how -she should more torment the eagle than in her young ones. For some who -slight the greatest torments of their own body, cannot endure the least -torments of their sons."[128] - -Pliny says that in Thrace, near Olynthus, there is a small locality, the -only one in which the beetle[129] cannot exist; from which circumstance -it has received the name of "Cantharolethus--Fatal-to-the-Beetle."[130] - - -Dynastidæ--Hercules-beetle, etc. - -The Hercules-beetle, _Dynastes Hercules_, is four, five, or even -sometimes six inches long, and a native of South America. It is said -great numbers of these immense insects are sometimes seen on the -Mammæa-tree, rasping off the rind of the slender branches by working -nimbly round them with their horns, till they cause the juice to flow, -which they drink to intoxication, and thus fall senseless to the -ground! These stories, however, as the learned Fabricius has well -observed, seem not very probable; since the thoracic horn, being bearded -on its lower surface, would undoubtedly be made bare by this -operation.[131] - -Col. St. Clair, though he confesses he never could take one of these -insects in the act of sawing off the limbs of trees, or ascertain -what they worked for, gravely repeats the above old story, and says -that during the operation they make a noise exactly like that of a -knife-grinder holding steel against the stone of his wheel; but a -thousand knife-grinders at work at the same moment, he continues, -could not equal their noise! He calls this beetle hence the -knife-grinder.[132] - -The Goliath-beetle, _Dynastes Goliathus_, is said to be roasted and -eaten by the natives of South America and Africa.[133] - -The enormous prices of £30, £40, and even £50 used to be asked for these -latter beetles a piece; fine specimens for cabinets even now bring from -five to six pounds.[134] - -The large pulpy larva of a species of Dynastidæ--the _Oryctes -rhinoceros_, called by the Singhalese _Gascooroominiya_--is, -notwithstanding its repulsive aspect, esteemed a luxury by the Malabar -coolies.[135] - -Immediately after mentioning the above fact, Tennent records the -following interesting superstition respecting a beetle when found in a -house after sunset: - -"Among the superstitions of the Singhalese arising out of their belief -in demonology, one remarkable one is connected with the appearance of a -beetle when observed on the floor of a dwelling-house after nightfall. -The popular belief is that in obedience to a certain form of incantation -(called _cooroominiya-pilli_) a demon in shape of a beetle is sent to -the house of some person or family whose destruction it is intended to -compass, and who presently falls sick and dies. The only means of -averting this catastrophy is, that some one, himself an adept in -necromancy, should perform a counter-charm, the effect of which is to -send back the disguised beetle to destroy his original employer; for in -such a conjuncture the death of one or the other is essential to -appease the demon whose intervention has been invoked. Hence the -discomfort of a Singhalese on finding a beetle in his house after -sunset, and his anxiety to expel but not kill it."[136] - -The _Dynastes Goliathus_, Moufet says, "like to beetles (_Ateuchus -sacer_), hath no female, but it shapes its own form itself. It produceth -its young one from the ground by itself, which Joach. Camerarius did -elegantly express, when he sent to Pennius the shape of this insect out -of the storehouse of natural things of the Duke of Saxony; with these -verses: - - A bee begat me not, nor yet did I proceed - From any female, but myself I breed. - -For it dies once in a year," continues Moufet, "and from its own -corruption, like a Phoenix, it lives again (as Moninus witnesseth) by -heat of the sun. - - A thousand summers' heat and winters' cold - When she hath felt, and that she doth grow old, - Her life that seems a burden, in a tomb - O' spices laid, comes younger in her room."[137] - - -Melolonthidæ--Cock-chafers. - -The family of insects, commonly called _Cock-chafers_, _Hedge-chafers_, -_May-bugs_, and _Dorrs_ (from the Irish _dord_, humming, buzzing, or -from the Anglo-Saxon _dora_, a locust or drone) have been included by -Fabricius in the genus _Melolontha_,--a word which retains an odd notion -of the Greeks respecting them, viz., that they were produced from or -with the flowers of apple-trees. It is a name also by which the Greeks -themselves used to distinguish the same kind of insects. - -In Sweden the peasants look upon the grub of the Cock-chafer, -_Melolontha vulgaris_, as furnishing an unfailing prognostic whether the -ensuing winter will be mild or severe; if the animal have a bluish hue -(a circumstance which arises from its being replete with food), they -affirm it will be mild, but on the contrary if it be white, the weather -will be severe: and they carry this so far as to foretell, that if the -anterior be white and the posterior blue, the cold will be most severe -at the beginning of the winter. Hence they call this grub -_Bemärkelse-mask_--prognostic worm.[138] - -An absurd notion obtains in England that the larvæ of the May-bugs are -changed into briers.[139] - -The following quotation is from the Chronicle of Hollingshed: "The 24 -day of Februarie (1575), being the feast of Saint Matthie, on which dai -the faire was kept at Tewkesburie, a strange thing happened there. For -after a floud which was not great, but such as therby the medows neere -adioning were covered with water, and in the after noone there came -downe the river of Seuerne great numbers of flies and beetles -(_Melolontha vulgaris_?), such as in summer evenings use to strike men -in the face, in great heapes, a foot thicke above the water, so that to -credible mens judgement there were seene within a paire of buts length -of those flies above a hundred quarters. The mils there abouts were -dammed up with them for the space of foure daies after, and then were -clensed by digging them out with shovels: from whence they came is yet -unknowne but the daie was cold and a hard frost."[140] - -Such another remarkable phenomenon is recorded to have occurred in -Ireland, in the summer of 1688. The Cock-chafers, in this instance, were -in such immense numbers, "that when," as the chronicler, Dr. Molyneux, -relates, "towards evening or sunset, they would arise, disperse, and fly -about, with a strange humming noise, much like the beating of drums at -some distance; and in such vast incredible numbers, that they darkened -the air for the space of two or three miles square. The grinding of -leaves," he continues, "in the mouths of this vast multitude altogether, -made a sound very much resembling the sawing of timber."[141] - -In a short time after the appearance of these beetles in these immense -numbers, they had so entirely eaten up and destroyed the leaves of the -trees, that the whole country, for miles around, though in the middle of -summer, was left as bare as in the depth of winter. - -During the unfavorable seasons of the weather, which followed this -plague, the swine and poultry would watch under the trees for the -falling of the beetles, and feed and fatten upon them; and even the -poorer sort of the country people, the country then laboring under a -scarcity of provision, had a way of dressing them, and _lived upon them -as food_. In 1695, Ireland was again visited with a plague of this same -kind.[142] - -In Normandy, according to Mouffet, the Cock-chafers make their -appearance every third year.[143] In 1785, many provinces of France were -so ravaged by them, that a premium was offered by the government for the -best mode of destroying them.[144] During this year, a farmer, near -Blois, employed a number of children and the poorer people to destroy -the Cock-chafers at the rate of two liards a hundred, and in a few days -they collected fourteen thousand.[145] - -The county of Norfolk in England seems occasionally to have suffered -much from the ravages of these insects; and Bingley tells us that "about -sixty years ago, a farm near Norwich was so infested with them, that the -farmer and his servants affirmed they had gathered eighty bushels of -them; and the grubs had done so much injury, that the court of the city, -in compassion to the poor fellow's misfortune, allowed him twenty-five -pounds."[146] - -The seeming blunders and stupidity of these insects have long been -proverbial, as in the expressions, "blind as a beetle," and -"beetle-headed." - - -Cetoniidæ--Rose-chafers. - -A very pretty species of the _Cetoniidæ_, the _Agestrata luconica_, is -of a fine brilliant metallic green, and found in the Philippine -Islands. These the ladies of Manilla keep as pets in small bamboo cages, -and carry them about with them wheresoever they may go.[147] - - -Buprestidæ--Burn-cows. - -Many species of the _Buprestidæ_ are decorated with highly brilliant -metallic tints, like polished gold upon an emerald ground, or azure upon -a ground of gold; and their elytra, or wing-coverings, are employed by -the ladies of China, and also of England, for the purpose of -embroidering their dresses.[148] The Chinese have also attempted -imitations of these insects in bronze, in which they succeed so well -that the copy may be sometimes mistaken for the reality.[149] In -Ceylon[150] and throughout India,[151] the golden wing-cases of two of -this tribe, the _Sternocera chrysis_ and _S. sternicornis_, are used to -enrich the embroidery of the Indian zenana, while the lustrous joints of -the legs are strung on silken threads, and form necklaces and bracelets -of singular brilliancy. The _Buprestis attenuata_, _ocellata_ and -_vittata_ are also wrought into various devices and trinkets by the -Indians. The _B. vittata_ is much admired among them. This insect is -found in great abundance in China, and thence exported into India, where -it is distributed at a low price.[152] - -Mr. Osbeck saw in China a _Buprestis maxima_, which had been dried, and -to which were fastened leaden wings so painted as to make them look like -the wings of butterflies. This artificial monster, he adds, was to be -sold in the vaults among other trifles.[153] The _B. maxima_ is set up -along with Butterflies in small boxes, and vended in the streets of -Chinese cities.[154] - -So many species of the _Buprestidæ_ are clothed with such brilliant -colors, that Geoffroy has thought proper to designate them all under -the generic appellation of _Richard_. The origin of this name is as -singular as its application is fantastical. It was originally given to -the Jay, in consequence of the facility with which that bird was taught -to pronounce the word.[155] - -Modern writers have been much divided in their opinion as to what genus -the celebrated _Buprestis_ of the ancients belongs. All indeed have -regarded it as of the order Coleoptera, but here their agreement ceases. -Linnæus seems to have looked upon it as a species of the genus to which -he has given its name. Geoffroy thinks it to be a _Carabus_ or -_Cicindela_; M. Latrielle, to the genus _Melöe_; and Kirby and Spence to -_Mylabris_.[156] - -Of this Buprestis, Pliny says: "Incorporat with goat sewer, it taketh -away the tettars called lichenes that be in the face."[157] And Dr. -James says that insects of this family "are all in common, inseptic, -exulcerating, and (possess) a heating quality; for which reason, they -are mixed up with medicines adapted to the cure of a Carcinoma, Lepra, -and the malignant Lichen. Mixed in emollient pessaries, they provoke the -Catamenial discharges."[158] - -The Greeks, it is said, commended the Buprestis in food.[159] - - -Elateridæ--Fire-flies, Spring-beetles, etc. - -In an historical sense, the most interesting species of the family -_Elateridæ_ is the _Elater noctilucus_, a native of the West Indies, and -called by the inhabitants, _Cucujus_. From an ancient translation of -Peter Martyr's History of the West Indies, we make the following -quotation, which contains many curious facts relative to this insect: - -"Whoso wanteth _Cucuji_, goeth out of the house in the first twilight of -the night, carrying a burning fier-brande in his hande, and ascendeth -the next hillocke, that the _Cucuji_ may see it, and swingeth the -fier-brande about calling _Cucuji_ aloud, and beating the ayre with -often calling and crying out _Cucuji, Cucuji_.... Beholde the desired -number of _Cucuji_, at what time, the hunter casteth the fier-brande out -of his hande. Some _Cucuji_ sometimes followeth the fier-brande, and -lighteth on the grounde, then is he easily taken.... The hunter havinge -the hunting _Cucuius_, returneth home, and shutting the doore of the -house, letteth the praye goe. The _Cucuius_ loosed, swiftly flyeth about -the whole house seeking gnatts, under their hanging bedds, and about the -faces of them that sleepe, whiche the gnattes used to assayle, they seem -to execute the office of watchmen, that such as are shut in, may quietly -rest. Another pleasant and profitable commodity proceedeth from the -_Cucuji_. As many eyes as every _Cucuius_ openeth, the host enjoyeth the -light of so many candles: so that the Inhabitants spinne, sewe, weave, -and daunce by the light of the flying _Cucuji_. The Inhabitants think -that the _Cucuius_ is delighted with the harmony and melodie of their -singing, and that he also exerciseth his motion in the ayre according to -the action of their dancing.... Our men also read and write by that -light, which always continueth untill hee have gotten enough gnatts -whereby he may be well fedd.... There is also another wonderfull -commodity proceeding from the _Cucuius_: the Islanders, appoynted by our -menn, goe with their good will by night with 2 _Cucuji_ tyed to the -great tooes of their feete: (for the travailer[160] goeth better by -direction of the lights of the _Cucuji_, then if hee brought so many -candels with him, as the _Cucuji_ open eyes) he also carryeth another -_Cucuius_ in his hande to seeke the Utiae by night (Utiae are a certayne -kind of Cony, a little exceeding a mouse in bignesse.)... They also go a -fishing by the lights of the _Cucuji_.... In sport, and merriment, or to -the intent to terrifie such as are affrayed of every shaddow, they say -that many wanton wild fellowes sometimes rubbed their faces by night -with the fleshe of a _Cucuius_ being killed, with purpose to meete their -neighbors with a flaming countenance ... for the face being annointed -with the lumpe or fleshy parte of the _Cucuius_, shineth like a flame of -fire."[161] - -At Cumana, the use of the Cucujus is forbidden, as the young Spanish -ladies used to carry on a correspondence at night with their lovers by -means of the light derived from them.[162] - -Captain Stedman tells us, that one of his sentinels, one night, called -out that he saw a negro, with a lighted tobacco-pipe, cross a creek near -by in a canoe. At which alarm they lost no time in leaping out of their -hammocks, and were not a little mortified when they found the pipe was -nothing more than a Fire-fly on the wing.[163] - -An individual of this species, brought to Paris in some wood, in the -larva or nymph state, there underwent its metamorphosis, and by the -light which it emitted, excited the greatest surprise among many of the -inhabitants of the Faubourg St. Antoine, to whom such a phenomenon had -hitherto been unknown.[164] - -When Cortes and Narvaez were at war with one another in Mexico, Bernal -Diaz relates "that one night in the midst of darkness numbers of shining -Beetles (_Elater noctilucus_) kept continually flying about, which -Narvaez's men mistook for the lighted matches of our fire-arms, and this -gave them a vast idea of the number of our matchlocks."[165] Thomas -Campanius tells us that one night the Cucuji frightened all the soldiers -at Fort Christina, in New Sweden (Pennsylvania?): they thought they were -enemies advancing toward them with lighted torches.[166] Another such -like story, which is not incredible by any means, is told us by Mouffet. -He says that when Sir Thomas Cavendish and Sir Robert Dudley first -landed in the West Indies, and saw an infinite number of moving lights -in the woods, which were merely these Elaters, they supposed that the -Spaniards were advancing upon them with lighted matches, and immediately -betook themselves to their ships.[167] - -The Indians of the Carribbee Islands, Ogleby remarks, "anoint their -bodies all over (at certain solemnities wherein candles are forbidden) -with the juice squeezed out of them (Cucuji), which causes them to -shine like a flame of fire."[168] And in the Spanish Colonies, on -certain festival days in the month of June, these insects are collected -in great numbers, and tied as decorations all over the garments of the -young people, who gallop through the streets on horses similarly -ornamented, producing on a dark evening the effect of a large moving -body of light. On such occasions the lover displays his gallantry by -decking his mistress with these living gems.[169] - -At the present day, the poorer classes of Cuba and the other West India -Islands, make use of these luminous insects for lights in their houses. -Twenty or thirty of them put into a small wicker-work cage, and dampened -a little with water, will produce quite a brilliant light. Throughout -these islands, the Cucujus is worn by the ladies as a most fashionable -ornament. As many as fifty or a hundred are sometimes worn on a single -ball-room dress. Capt. Stuart tells me he once saw one of these insects -upon a lady's white collar, which at a little distance rivaled the -Kohinoor in splendor and beauty. The insect is fastened to the dress by -a pin through its body, and only worn so long as it lives, for it loses -its light when dead. - -The statement of Humboldt is, that at the present day in the habitations -of the poorer classes of Cuba, a dozen of Cucuji placed in a perforated -gourd suffice for a light during the night. By shaking the gourd -quickly, the insect is roused, and lights up its luminous disks. The -inhabitants employ a truthful and simple expression, in saying that a -gourd filled with Cucuji is an ever-lighted torch; and in fact it is -only extinguished by the death of the insects, which are easily kept -alive with a little sugar cane. A lady in Trinidad told this great -traveler, that during a long and painful passage from Costa Firme, she -had availed herself of these phosphorescent insects whenever she wished -to give the breast to her child at night. The captain of the ship would -not permit any other light on board at night, for fear of the -privateers.[170] - -Southy has happily introduced the Cucujus in his "Madoc" as furnishing -the lamp by which Coatel rescued the British hero from the hands of the -Mexican priests: - - She beckon'd and descended, and drew out - From underneath her vest a cage, or net - It rather might be called, so fine the twigs - Which knit it, where, confined, two fire-flies gave - Their lustre. By that light did Madoc first - Behold the features of his lovely guide. - -Darwin says: "In Jamaica, at some seasons of the year, the Fire-flies -are seen in the evening in great abundance. When they settle on the -ground, the bull-frog greedily devours them, which seems to have given -origin to a curious, though very cruel, method of destroying these -animals: if red-hot pieces of charcoal be thrown toward them in the dusk -of the evening, they leap at them, and hastily swallow them, mistaking -them for Fire-flies, and are burnt to death."(!)[171] - -Beetles belonging to the family _Elateridæ_ have been so called from a -peculiar power they have of leaping up like a tumbler when placed on -their backs, and for this reason they have received the English -appellations of _Spring-beetles_ and _Skip-jacks_, and from the noise -which the operation makes when they leap, they are also called _Snap_, -_Watch_, or _Click-beetle_, and likewise _Blacksmiths_. - -If a Blacksmith beetle enters your house, a quarrel will ensue which may -end in blows. - -This superstition obtains in Maryland. - - -Lampyridæ.--Glow-worms. - -Antonius Thylesius Bonsentinus, following his elegant description of the -Glow-worm, gives a pretty fable of its origin. As translated in Moufet's -Theater of Insects, his words are these: - - This little fly shines in the air alone, - Like sparks of fire, which when it was unknown - To me a boy, I stood then in great fear, - Durst not attempt to touch it, or come near. - May be this worm from shining in the night, - Borrow'd its name, shining like candle bright. - The cause is one, but divers are the names, - It shines or not, according as she frames - Herself to fly or stand; when she doth fly, - You would believe 'twere sparkles in the skie, - At a great distance you shall ever finde - Prepar'd with light and lanthorn all this kinde. - Darkness cannot conceal her, round about - Her candle shines, no winds can blow it out. - Sometimes she flies as though she did desire - Those that pass by to observe her fire; - Which being nearer, seem to be as great, - As sparks that fly when smiths hot iron beat. - When Pluto ravish'd Proserpine, that rape, - For she was waiting on her, chang'd her shape, - And since that time, she flyeth in the night - Seeking her out with torch and candle light.[172] - -The following anecdote is related by Sir J. E. Smith, of the effect of -the first sight of the Italian Glow-worms upon some Moorish ladies -ignorant of such appearances. These females had been taken prisoners at -sea, and, until they could be ransomed, lived in a house in the -outskirts of Genoa, where they were frequently visited by the -respectable inhabitants of the city; a party of whom, on going one -evening, were surprised to find the house closely shut up, and their -Moorish friends in the greatest consternation. On inquiring into the -cause, they found that some Glow-worms--_Pygolampis Italica_--had found -their way into the building, and that the ladies within had taken it -into their heads that these brilliant guests were no other than the -troubled spirits of their relations; of which curious idea it was some -time before they could be divested.--The common people of Italy have a -superstition respecting these insects somewhat similar, believing that -they are of a spiritual nature, and proceed out of the graves, and hence -carefully avoid them.[173] - -Cardan, Albertus, Gaudentinus, Mizalduo, and many others have asserted -that perpetual lights can be produced from the Glow-worm; and that -waters distilled from this insect afford a lustre in the night. It is -needless to say these assertions are without foundation.[174] - -In India, the ladies have recourse to Fire-flies for ornaments for -their hair, when they take their evening walks. They inclose them in -nets of gauze.[175] And the beaux of Italy, Sir J. E. Smith tells us, -are accustomed in the summer evenings to adorn the heads of the ladies -with Glow-worms, by sticking them also in their hair.[176] - -Never kill a Glow-worm, if you do, the country people say, you will put -"the light out of your house,"--_i.e._ happiness, prosperity, or -whatever blessing you may be enjoying. - -A Glow-worm, in your path, denotes brilliant success in all your -undertakings. If one enters a house, one of the heads of the family will -shortly die. These superstitions obtain in Maryland. - -Of the Glow-worm--_Noctiluca terrestris_, Col. Ecphr., i. 38--Dr. James -says: "The whole insect is used in medicine, and recommended by some -against the Stone. Cardan ascribes an anodyne virtue to it."[177] - -Mr. Ray, in his travels through the State of Venice, says: "A discovery -made by a certain gentleman, and communicated to me by Francis Jessop, -Esq., is, that those reputed meteors, called in Latin _Ignis fatui_, and -known in England by the conceited names of _Jack with a Lanthorn_, and -_Will with a Wisp_, are nothing else but swarms of these flying -Glow-worms. Which, if true, we may give an easy account of those -phenomena of these supposed fires, _viz._, their sudden motion from -place to place, and leading travelers that follow them into bogs and -precipices."[178] It has been suggested[179] also that the mole-cricket, -_Gryllotalpa vulgaris_,[180] which in its nocturnal peregrinations was -supposed to be luminous, is this notorious "Will-o'-the-wisp." - -Pliny says: "When Glow-worms appear, it is a common sign of the -ripenesse of barley, and of sowing millet and pannick.... And Mantuan -sang to the same tune: - - Then is the time your barley for to mow, - When Glow-worms with bright wings themselves do show."[181] - - -Ptinidæ--Death-watch, etc. - -The common name of _Death-watch_, given to the _Anobium tesselatum_, -sufficiently announces the popular prejudice against this insect; and so -great is this prejudice, that, as says an editor of Cuvier's works, the -fate of many a nervous and superstitious patient has been accelerated by -listening, in the silence and solitude of night, to this imagined knell -of his approaching dissolution.[182] The learned Sir Thomas Browne -considered the superstition connected with the Death-watch of great -importance, and remarks that "the man who could eradicate this error -from the minds of the people would save from many a cold sweat the -meticulous heads of nurses and grandmothers,"[183] for such persons are -firm in the belief, that - - The solemn Death-watch clicks the hour of death. - -The witty Dean of St. Patrick endeavored to perform this useful task by -means of ridicule. And his description, suggested, it would appear, by -the old song of "A cobbler there was, and he lived in a stall," runs -thus: - - ----A wood worm - That lies in old wood, like a hare in her form, - With teeth or with claws, it will bite, it will scratch; - And chambermaids christen this worm a Death-watch; - Because, like a watch, it always cries click. - Then woe be to those in the house that are sick! - For, sure as a gun, they will give up the ghost, - If the maggot cries click when it scratches the post. - But a kettle of scalding hot water injected, - Infallibly cures the timber affected: - The omen is broken, the danger is over, - The maggot will die, and the sick will recover. - -Grose, in his Antiquities, thus expresses this superstition: "The -clicking of a Death-watch is an omen of the death of some one in the -house wherein it is heard." Watts says: "We learn to presage approaching -death in a family by ravens and little worms, which we therefore call a -Death-watch."[184] Gay, in one of his Pastorals, thus alludes to it: - - When Blonzelind expired,.... - The solemn Death-watch click'd the hour she died.[185] - -And Train,-- - - An' when she heard the Dead-watch tick, - She raving wild did say, - "I am thy murderer, my child; - I see thee, come away." - -And Pope,-- - - Misers are muck-worms, silkworms beaux, - And Death watches physicians.[186] - -"It will take," says Mrs. Taylor, a writer in Harper's New Monthly -Magazine, "a force unknown at the present time to physiological science -to eradicate the feeling of terror and apprehension felt by almost every -one on hearing this small insect." She herself, an entomologist, -confesses to have been very much annoyed at times by coming in contact -with this "strange nuisance;" but she was cured by an overapplication. -"I went to pay a visit," says she, "to a friend in the country. The -first night I fancied I should have gone mad before morning. The walls -of the bed-room were papered, and from them beat, as it were, a thousand -watches--tick, tick, tick! Turn which way I would, cover my head under -the bedclothes to suffocation, every pulse in my body had an answering -tick, tick, tick! But at last the welcome morning dawned, and early I -was down in the library; even here every book, on shelf above shelf, was -riotous with tick, tick, tick! At the breakfast table, beneath the -plates, cups, and dishes, beat the hateful sound. In the parlor, the -withdrawing-room, the kitchen, nothing but tick, tick! The house was a -huge clock, with thousands of pendulums ticking from morning till night. -I was careful not to allow my great discomfort to annoy others. I argued -what they could tolerate, surely I could; and in a few days habit had -rendered the fearful, dreaded ticking a positive necessity."[187] - -The Death-watch commences its clicking, which is nothing more than the -call or signal by which the male and female are led to each other, -chiefly when spring is far advanced. The sound is thus produced: Raising -itself upon its hind legs, with the body somewhat inclined, it beats its -head with great force and agility upon the plane of position. The -prevailing number of distinct strokes which it beats in succession is -from seven to nine or eleven; which circumstance, thinks Mr. Shaw, may -perhaps still add, in some degree, to the ominous character which it -bears. These strokes follow each other quickly, and are repeated at -uncertain intervals. In old houses, where these insects abound, they may -be heard in warm weather during the whole day.[188] - -Baxter, in his World of Spirits, p. 203, most sensibly observes, that -"there are many things that ignorance causeth multitudes to take for -prodigies. I have had many discreet friends that have been affrighted -with the noise called a Death-watch, whereas I have since, near three -years ago, oft found by trial that it is a noise made upon paper by a -little, nimble, running worm, just like a louse, but whiter and quicker; -and it is most usually behind a paper pasted to a wall, especially to -wainscot; and it is rarely, if ever, heard but in the heat of summer." -Our author, however, relapses immediately into his honest credulity, -adding: "But he who can deny it to be a prodigy, which is recorded by -Melchior Adamus, of a great and good man, who had a clock-watch that had -layen in a chest many years unused; and when he lay dying, at eleven -o'clock, of itself, in that chest, it struck eleven in the hearing of -many." - -In the British Apollo, 1710, ii. No. 86, is the following query: "Why -Death-watches, crickets, and weasels do come more common against death -than at any other time? _A._ We look upon all such things as idle -superstitions, for were any thing in them, bakers, brewers, inhabitants -of old houses, &c., were in a melancholy condition." - -To an inquiry, ibid. vol. ii. No. 70, concerning a Death-watch, whether -you suppose it to be _a living creature_, answer is given: "It is -nothing but a little worm in the wood." - -"How many people have I seen in the most terrible palpitations, for -months together, expecting every hour the approach of some calamity, -only by a little worm, which breeds in old wainscot, and, endeavoring to -eat its way out, makes a noise like the movement of a watch!" Secret -Memoirs of the late Mr. Duncan Campbell, 8vo. Lond. 1732, p. 61.[189] - -Authors were formerly not agreed concerning the insect from which this -sound of terror proceeded, some attributing it to a kind of wood-louse, -others to a spider. - -M. Peiguot mentions an instance where, in a public library that was but -little frequented, _twenty-seven folio_ volumes were perforated in a -straight line by one and the same larva of a small insect (_Anobium -pertinax_ or _A. striatum_?) in such a manner that, on passing a cord -through the perfectly round hole made by the insect, these twenty-seven -volumes could be raised at once.[190] - - -Bostrichidæ--Typographer-beetles. - -The Typographer-beetle, _Bostrichus typographus_, is so called on -account of a fancied resemblance between the paths it erodes and -letters. This insect bores into the fir, and feeds upon the soft inner -bark; and in such vast numbers that 80,000 are sometimes found in a -single tree. The ravages of this insect have long been known in Germany -under the name of _Wurm trökniss_--decay caused by worms; and in the old -liturgies of that country the animal itself is formally mentioned under -its common appellation, _The Turk_. About the year 1665, this pest was -particularly prevalent and caused incalculable mischief. In the -beginning of the last century it again showed itself in the Hartz -forests; it reappeared in 1757, redoubled its injuries in 1769, and -arrived at its height in 1783, when the number of trees destroyed by it -in the above-mentioned forests alone was calculated at a million and a -half, and the whole number of insects at work at once one hundred and -twenty thousand millions. The inhabitants were threatened with a total -suspension of the working of their mines, for want of fuel. At this -period these _Bostrichi_, when arrived at their perfect state, migrated -in swarms like bees into Suabia and Franconia. At length a succession of -cold and moist seasons, between the years 1784 and 1789, very sensibly -diminished the numbers of this scourge. In 1790 it again appeared, -however, and so late as 1796 there was great reason to fear for the few -fir-trees that were left.[191] - - -Cantharidæ--Blister-flies. - -Many species of this family of insect possess strong vesicating powers, -and are employed externally in medicine to produce blisters, and -internally as a powerful stimulant. Taken internally, Pliny considered -them a poison, and mentions the following instance of their causing -death: Cossinus, a Roman of the Equestrian order, well known for his -intimate friendship with the Emperor Nero, being attacked with lichen, -that prince sent to Egypt for a physician to cure him; who recommended a -potion prepared from Cantharides, and the patient was killed in -consequence.[192] But there is no doubt, however, Pliny adds, that -applied externally they are useful, in combination with juice of -Taminian grapes, and the suet of a sheep or she-goat. They are extremely -efficacious, too, continues Pliny, for the cure of leprosy and lichens; -and act as an emmenagogue and diuretic, for which last reason -Hippocrates used to prescribe them for dropsy.[193] - -The vesicatory principle of the Blister-fly is called _Cantharidine_, -and has been ascertained by experiment to reside more particularly in -the wings than in other parts of the body. Our officinal insect is the -_Cantharis vesicatoria_; and since the principal supply is from Spain, -we call them commonly _Spanish-flies_. In Italy, the _Mylabris -cichorii_, a native of the south of Europe, is used; and the _M. -pustulata_, a native of China, is used by the Chinese, who also export -it to Brazil, where it is the only species employed. In India also a -species of _Meloe_ is used,[194] possessing all the properties of the -Spanish-fly. - -At one time in Germany, the genus Meloe--Oil-beetles (so called from -their emitting from the joints of the legs an oily yellowish liquor, -when alarmed)--were extolled as a specific against hydrophobia; and the -oil which is expressed from them is used in Sweden, with great success, -in the cure of rheumatism, by anointing the affected part.[195] Dr. -James thus enumerates the medicinal virtues of these insects: "The -Oil-beetle (_Scarabæus unctuosus_ of Schroder) is much of the nature of -Cantharides, forces urine and blood, and is of extraordinary efficacy -against the bite of a mad dog. Taken in powder, it cures the vari, or -wandering gout, as we are assured by Wierus. The liquor is, by some, -esteemed of efficacy in wounds; it is an ingredient also in plaisters -for the pestilential bubo and carbuncle, and in antidotes; an oil is -prepared by infusion of the living animals in common oil, which some -use instead of oil of Scorpions."[196] In some parts of Spain, they are -mingled with the Cantharides, for the same purposes as these latter -insects. Farriers also employed, in some cases, oil in which these -insects had been macerated.[197] - -Pliny tells us that Cato of Utica was one time reproached for selling -poison, because when disposing of a royal property by auction, he sold a -quantity of Cantharides, at the price of sixty thousand sesterces.[198] - -The natives of Guiana and Jamaica make ear-rings and other ornaments of -the elytra, or wing-coverings, of the _Cantharis maxima_; the brilliant -metallic colors of which beetles, says Sloane, sparkle with an -extraordinary lustre, when worn by the Indians dancing in the sun.[199] - -Zoroaster says, that "Cantharides" will not hurt the vines, if you -macerate some in oil, and apply it to the whetstone on which you are -going to set your pruning-knives.[200] - -Cantharides are comparatively rare in Germany; yet we are told in the -German Ephemerides, says Brookes, that in June, 1667, there were found -about the town of Heldeshiem, such a great number of them, that they -covered all the willow-trees. Likewise that in May, 1685, when the sky -was serene and the weather mild, a great number of Cantharides were seen -to settle upon a privet-tree, and devour all the leaves; but they did -not meddle with the flowers. We are also told that the country people -expect the return of these insects every seven years. It is very -certain, adds Brookes, that such a number of these insects have been -together in the air, that they appeared like swarms of bees; and that -they have so disagreeable smell, that it may be perceived a great way -off, especially about sunset, though they are not seen at that time. -This bad smell is a guide for those who make it their business to catch -them.[201] - - -Tenebrionidæ--Meal-worms. - -The larvæ of the _Tenebrio molitor_, commonly called Meal-worms, which -are found in carious wood, are bred by bird-fanciers, to feed -nightingales, and constitute the only bait by which these shy birds can -be taken: a fact the more curious when it is considered that the -nightingale, in a state of nature, can seldom or never see these larvæ. -They are also used to feed cameleons which are exhibited.[202] - - -Blapsidæ--Church-yard beetle, etc. - -We learn from Linnæus that in Sweden the appearance of the Church-yard -beetle, _Blaps mortisaga_, produces the most violent alarm and -trepidation among the people, who, on account of its black hue and -strange aspect, regard it as the messenger of pestilence and death. -Hence is this insect called _mortisaga_--the prophesier of death.[203] - -A common species in Egypt, the _Blaps sulcata_, is made into a -preparation which the Egyptian women eat with the view of acquiring what -they esteem a proper degree of plumpness! The beetle they broil and mash -up in clarified butter; then add honey, oil of sesame, and a variety of -aromatics and spices pounded together.[204] Fabricius reports that the -Turkish women also eat this insect, cooked with butter, to make them -fat. He also tells us that they use it in Egypt and the Levant, as a -remedy for pains and maladies in the ears, and against the bite of -scorpions.[205] Carsten Niebuhr also mentions this curious practice of -the women of Turkey, and adds, the women of Arabia likewise make use of -these insects for the same purpose, taking three of them, every morning -and evening, fried in butter.[206] - -The Blatta mentioned by Pliny is evidently, from his description, the -Church-yard beetle, _Blaps mortisaga_, instead of the insect we now -call by that name--the Cockroach: and may very properly be here -introduced. "There is kind of fattinesse," says this author in the words -of his translator, Philemon Holland, "to bee found in the Flie or insect -called Blatta, when the head is plucked off, which, if it be punned and -mixed with Oile of Roses, is (as they say) wonderful good for the ears: -but the wooll wherein this medicine is enwrapped, and which is put into -the ears, must not long tarrie there, but within a little while drawne -forth againe; for the said fat will very soone get life and prove a grub -or little worme. Some writers there be who affirme, that two or three of -these flies called Blattæ sodden in oile, make a soveraigne medicine to -cure the eares, and if they be stamped and spread upon a linen rag and -so applied, they will heale the eares, if they be hurt by any bruise or -contusion: Certes this is but a nastie and ill-favoured vermine, howbeit -in regard of the manifold and admirable properties which naturally it -hath, as also of the industrie of our auncestours in searching out the -nature of it, I am moved to write thereof at large and to the full in -this place. For they have described many kinds of them. In the first -place, some of them be soft and tender, which being sodden in oile, they -have proved by experience to be of great efficacie in fetching off -werts, if they be annointed therewith. A second sort there is, which -they call Myloecon, because ordinarily it haunteth about mils and -bake-houses, and there breedeth: these by the report of _Musa_ and -_Picton_, two famous Physicians, being bruised (after their heads were -gone) and applied to a bodie infected with the leprosie, cured the same -persitely. They of a third kind, besides that they bee otherwise -ill-favoured ynough, carrie a loathsome and odious smell with them: they -are sharp rumped and pin buttockt also; howbeit, being incorporat with -the oile of pitch called Pisselæon, they have healed those ulcers which -were thought _nunquam sana_, and incurable. Also within one and twenty -daies after this plastre laid too, it hath been knowne to cure the -swelling wens called the King's evil: the botches or biles named Pani, -wounds, contusions, bruises, morimals, scabs, and fellons: but then -their feet and wings were plucked off and cast away. I make no doubt or -question, but that some of us are so daintie and fine-eared, that our -stomacke riseth at the hearing onely of such medicines: and yet I assure -you, Diodorus, a renowned Physician, reporteth, that he has given these -foure flies inwardly with rozin and honey, for the jaundise, and to -those that were so streight-winded that they could not draw their breath -but sitting upright. See what libertie and power over us have these -Physicians, who to practise and trie conclusions upon our bodies, may -exhibit unto their patients, what they list, be it never so homely, so -it goe under the name of a medicine."[207] - -The following extraordinary case of insects introduced into the human -stomach, which is of rare occurrence, has been completely authenticated, -both by medical men and competent naturalists. It was first published by -Dr. Pickells, of Cork, in the Dublin Transactions.[208] - -Mary Riordan, aged 28, had been much affected by the death of her -mother, and at one of her many visits to the grave seems to have -partially lost her senses, having been found lying there on the morning -of a winter's day, and having been exposed to heavy rain during the -night. It appears that when she was about fifteen, two popular Catholic -priests had died, and she was told by some old woman, that if she would -drink daily, for a certain time, a quantity of water, mixed with clay -taken from their graves, she would be forever secure from disease and -sin. So following this absurd and disgusting prescription, she took from -time to time large quantities of the draught; and, some time afterward, -being affected with a burning pain in the stomach (_cardialgia_), she -began to eat large pieces of chalk, which she sometimes also mixed with -water and drank. In all these draughts, it is most probable, she -swallowed the eggs of the enormous progenies of apterous, dipterous, and -coleopterous insects, which she for several years continued to throw up -alive and moving. Dr. Pickells asserts that altogether he himself saw -nearly 2000 of these larvæ, and that there were many he did not see, -for, to avoid publicity, she herself destroyed a great number, and many, -too, escaped immediately by running into holes in the floor. Of this -incredible number, the greatest proportion were larvæ of the Church-yard -beetle, _Blaps mortisaga_, and of a dipterous insect, an _Ascarides_; -and two were specimens of the Meal-worm--the larvæ of the -Darkling--_Tenebrio molitor_. It may be interesting to learn that, by -means of turpentine in large doses, this unfortunate woman was at length -entirely rid of her pests.[209] - - -Curculionidæ--Weevils. - -At Rio Janeiro, the brilliant Diamond-beetle, _Eutimis nobilis_, is in -great request for brooches for gentlemen, and ten piasters are often -paid for a single specimen. In this city many owners send their slaves -out to catch insects, so that now the rarest and most brilliant species -are to be had at a comparatively trifling sum. Each of these slaves, -when he has attained to some adroitness in this operation, may, on a -fine day, catch in the vicinity of the city as many as five or six -hundred beetles. So this trade is considered there very lucrative, since -six milresis (four rix dollars, or about fourteen shillings) are paid -for the hundred. For these splendid insects there is a general demand; -and their wing-cases are now sought for the purpose of adorning the -ladies of Europe--a fashion, it is said, which threatens the entire -extinction of this beautiful tribe.[210] - -Messrs. Kidder and Fletcher tell us that in Brazil "a commerce is -carried on in artificial flowers made from beetles' wings, fish-scales, -sea-shells, and feathers, which attract the attention of every visitor. -These are made," they continue, "by the _mulheres_ (women) of almost -every class, and thus they obtain not only pin-money, but some amass -wealth in the traffic."[211] Among the beetles referred to by these -gentlemen may be placed no doubt the _Eutimis nobilis_. - -Among the largest of the species of this family is the Palm-weevil, -_Calandra palmarum_, which is of an uniform black color, and measures -more than two inches in length. Its larva, called the _Grou-grou_,[212] -or Cabbage-tree worm, which is very large, white, of an oval shape, -resides in the tenderest part of the smaller palm-trees, and is -considered, fried or broiled, as one of the greatest dainties in the -West Indies. "The tree," says Madame Merian, "grows to the height of a -man, and is cut off when it begins to be tender, is cooked like a -cauliflower, and tastes better than an artichoke. In the middle of these -trees live innumerable quantities of worms, which at first are as small -as a maggot in a nut, but afterward grow to a very large size, and feed -on the marrow of the tree. These worms are laid on the coals to roast, -and are considered as a highly agreeable food."[213] Capt. Stedman tells -us these larvæ are a delicious treat to many people, and that they are -regularly sold at Paramaribo. He mentions, too, the manner of dressing -them, which is by frying them in a pan with a very little butter and -salt, or spitting them on a wooden skewer; and, that thus prepared, in -taste they partake of all the spices of India--mace, cinnamon, cloves, -nutmegs, etc.[214] This gentleman also says he once found concealed near -the trunk of an old tree a "case-bottle filled with excellent butter," -which the rangers told him the natives made by melting and clarifying -the fat of this larva.[215] Dr. Winterbottom states this grub is served -up at all the luxurious tables of West Indian epicures, particularly of -the French, as the greatest dainty of the western world.[216] - -Dobrizhoffer doubtless refers to the larva of the _Calandra palmarum_, -when he says: "The Spaniards of Santiago in Tucuman, when they go -seeking honey in the woods, cleave certain palm-trees upon their way, -and on their return find large grubs in the wounded trees, which they -fry as a delicious food."[217] The same is said of the Guaraunos of the -Orinoco--"that they find these grubs in great numbers in the palms, -which they cut down for the sake of their juice. After all has been -drawn out that will flow, these grubs breed in the incisions, and the -trunk produces, as it were, a second crop."[218] - -The Creoles of the Island of Barbados, says Schomburgk, consider the -Grou-grou worm a great delicacy when roasted, and say it resembles in -taste the marrow of beef-bones.[219] - -Antonio de Ulloa, in his _Noticias Americanas_, says this grub has the -singular property of producing milk in women.[220] The Argentina, the -historic poem of Brazil, adds an assertion which is more certainly -fabulous, viz., that they first become butterflies, and then mice.[221] - -They have a similar dainty in Java in the larva of some large beetle, -which the natives call _Moutouke_.--"A thick, white maggot which lives -in wood, and so eats it away, that the backs of chairs, and feet of -drawers, although apparently sound, are frequently rotten within, and -fall into dust when it is least expected. This creature may sometimes be -heard at work. It is as big as a silk-worm, and very white, ... a mere -lump of fat. Thirty are roasted together threaded on a little stick, and -are delicate eating."[222] - -Ælian speaks of an Indian king, who, for a dessert, instead of fruit set -before his Grecian guests a roasted worm taken from a plant, probably -the larva of the _Calandra palmarum_, a native of Persia and Mesopotamia -as well as of the West Indies, which he says the Indians esteemed very -delicious--a character that was confirmed by some of the Greeks who -tasted it.[223] - -The trunk of the grass-tree, or black-boy, _Xanthorea arborea_, when -beginning to decay, furnishes large quantities of marrow-like grubs, -which are considered a delicacy by the aborigines of Western Australia. -They have a fragrant, aromatic flavor, and form a favorite food among -the natives, either raw or roasted. They call them _Bardi_. They are -also found in the wattle-tree, or mimosa. The presence of these grubs in -the _Xanthorea_ is thus ascertained: if the top of one of these trees is -observed to be dead, and it contain any bardi, a few sharp kicks given -to it with the foot will cause it to crack and shake, when it is pushed -over and the grubs taken out, by breaking the tree to pieces with a -hammer. The bardi of the Xanthorea are small, and found together in -great numbers; those of the wattle are cream-colored, as long and thick -as a man's finger, and are found singly.[224] - -Dr. Livingstone states that in the valley of Quango, S. Africa, the -natives dig large white larvæ out of the damp soil adjacent to their -streams, and use them as a relish to their vegetable diet.[225] - -In the latter part of the eighteenth century, there was published at -Florence, by Prof. Gergi, the history of a remarkable insect which he -names _Curculio anti-odontalgicus_. This insect, as he assures us, not -only in the name he has given it, but also in an account of the many -cures effected by it, is endowed with the singular property of curing -the toothache. He tells us, that if fourteen or fifteen of the larvæ be -rubbed between the thumb and fore-finger, till the fluid is absorbed, -and if a carious aching tooth be but touched with the thumb or finger -thus prepared, the pain will be removed; a finger thus prepared, he says -in conclusion, will, unless it be used for tooth-touching, retain its -virtue for a year! This remarkable insect is only found on a nondescript -plant, the _Carduus spinosis-simus_.[226] - -It is said, also by Prof. Gergi, that the Tuscan peasants have long been -acquainted with several insects which furnish a charm for the toothache, -as the _Curculio jæcac_, _C. Bacchus_, and _Carabus chrysocephalus_. - - * * * * * - -The curious facts contained in the following quotation, from Chambers' -Book of Days, were among the first that led me to attempt the present -compilation. The scientific name of the insect here mentioned is, in the -opinion of Prof. Gill and other scientists, a misprint for _Rhynchitus -auratus_, and, following this decision, I have here placed it under the -_Curculionidæ_.--"A lawsuit between the inhabitants of the Commune of -St. Julien and a coleopterous insect, now known to naturalists as the -_Eynchitus aureus_, lasted for more than forty-two years. At length the -inhabitants proposed to compromise the matter by giving up, in -perpetuity, to the insects, a fertile part of the district for their -sole use and benefit. Of course the advocate of the animals demurred to -the proposition, but the court, overruling the demurrer, appointed -assessors to survey the land, and, it proving to be well wooded and -watered, and every way suitable for the insects, ordered the conveyance -to be engrossed in due form and executed. The unfortunate people then -thought they had got rid of a trouble imposed upon them by their -litigious fathers and grandfathers; but they were sadly mistaken. It was -discovered that there had formerly been a mine or quarry of an ochreous -earth, used as a pigment, in the land conveyed to the insects, and -though the quarry had long since been worked out and exhausted, some one -possessed an ancient right of way to it, which if exercised would be -greatly to the annoyance of the new proprietors. Consequently the -contract was vitiated, and the whole process commenced _de novo_. How or -when it ended, the mutilation of the recording documents prevents us -from knowing; but it is certain that the proceedings commenced in the -year 1445, and that they had not concluded in 1487. So what with the -insects, the lawyers, and the church, the poor inhabitants must have -been pretty well fleeced. During the whole period of a process, -religious processions and other expensive ceremonies that had to be well -paid for, were strictly enjoined. Besides, no district could commence a -process of this kind unless all its arrears of tithes were paid up; and -this circumstance gave rise to the well-known French legal maxim--'The -first step toward getting rid of locusts is the payment of tithes?' an -adage that in all probability was susceptible of more meanings than -one."[227] - - -Cerambycidæ--Musk-beetles. - -Moufet says: "The Cerambyx, knowing that his legs are weak, twists his -horns about the branch of a tree, and so he hangs at ease.... They -thrust upon us some German fables, as many as say it flies only, and -when it is weary it falls to the earth and presently dies. Those that -are slaves to tales, render this reason for it: Terambus, a satyrist, -did not abstain from quipping of the Muses, whereupon they transformed -him into a beetle called Cerambyx, and that deservedly, to endure a -double punishment, for he hath legs weak that he goes lame, and like a -thief he hangs on a tree. Antonius Libealis, lib. i. of his -Metamorphosis, relates the matter in these words: The Muses in anger -transformed Terambus because he reproached them, and he was made a -Cerambyx that feeds on wood," etc.[228] - -A large species of longicorn beetles, the _Acanthocinus ædilis_, is the -well-known _Timerman_ of Sweden and Lapland; an insect which the natives -of these countries regard with a kind of superstitious veneration. Its -presence is thought to be the presage of good fortune, and it is as -carefully protected and cherished as storks are by the peasantry of the -Low Countries.[229] - -It has been found that the common cinnamon-colored Musk-beetle, -_Cerambyx moschatus_, when dried and reduced to powder, and made use of -as a vesicatory, in the manner of the officinal Cantharides, produces a -similar effect, and in as short a space of time.[230] - -The _Prionus damicornis_ is a native of many parts of America and the -West Indies, where its larva, a grub about three and a half inches in -length, and of the thickness of the little finger, is in great request -as an article of food, being considered by epicures as one of the -greatest delicacies of the New World. We are informed by authors of the -highest respectability, that some people of fortune in the West Indies -keep negroes for the sole purpose of going into the woods in quest of -these admired larvæ, who scoop them out of the trees in which they -reside. Dr. Browne, in his History of Jamaica, informs us that they are -chiefly found in the plum and silk-cotton trees (_Bombax_). They are -commonly called by the name of _Macauco_, or _Macokkos_. The mode of -dressing them is first to open and wash them, and then carefully broil -them over a charcoal fire.[231] Sir Hans Sloane tells us the Indians of -Jamaica boil them in their soups, pottages, olios, and pepper-pots, and -account them of delicious flavor, much like, but preferable to, marrow; -and the negroes of this island roast them slightly at the fire, and eat -them with bread.[232] - -A similar larva is dressed at Mauritius under the name of _Moutac_, -which the whites as well as the negroes eat greedily.[233] According to -Linnæus, the larva of the _Prionus cervicornis_ is held in equal -estimation; and that of the _Acanthocinus tribulus_ when roasted forms -an article of food in Africa.[234] - -The _Cossus_ of Pliny belonged most probably to this tribe, or to the -_Lucanidæ_. - - * * * * * - -Wanley knew a nun in the monastery of St. Clare, who at the sight of a -beetle was affected in the following strange manner. It happened that -some young girls, knowing her disposition, threw a beetle into her -bosom, which when she perceived, she immediately fell into a swoon, -deprived of all sense, and remained four hours in cold sweats. She did -not regain her strength for many days after, but continued trembling and -pale.[235] - - -Galerucidæ--Turnip-fly, etc. - -The striped Turnip-beetle, _Haltica nemorum_, commonly called the -_Turnip-fly_, _Turnip-flea_, _Earth-flea-beetle_, _Black-jack_, etc., is -a well known species from the ravages the perfect insect commits upon -the turnip. In Devonshire, England, in the year 1786, the loss caused by -these insects alone was valued at £100,000 sterling. And in the spring -of 1837, the vines in the neighborhood of Montpellier were attacked to -so great an extent by another species, _Haltica oleracea_, in the -perfect state, that fears were entertained for the plants, and religious -processions were instituted for the purpose of exorcising the -insects.[236] - -Anatolius says that if the seeds of radishes, turnips, and other -esculents be sown in the hide of a tortoise, the plants when grown will -not be eaten by the fly, nor hurt by noxious animals or birds.[237] -Paladius has also related the method of drying the seeds in the hide of -this animal,[238] and of sowing them.[239] - - - - -ORDER II. - -EUPLEXOPTERA. - - -Forficulidæ--Ear-wigs. - -The vulgar opinion that the Ear-wig, _Forficula auricularia_, seeks to -introduce itself into the ear of human beings, and causes much injury to -that organ, is very ancient, but not founded on fact, for they are -perfectly harmless. To this opinion the names of this insect in almost -all European languages point: as in English, _Ear-wig_ (from Anglo-Saxon -_eare_, the ear, and _wigga_, a worm; hence, also, our word _wiggle_), -in French, _Perce-oreille_, and in the German, _Ohrwurm_. But, according -to some writers, these names arose from the shape of the wing when -expanded, which then resembles the human ear; and _ear-wig_ might easily -be a corruption of ear-_wing_. - -Swift, in the following lines, introduces an "Ear-wig (probably a -_Curculio_) in a plum," as though in allusion to some superstition: - - Doll never flies to cut her lace, - Or throw cold water in her face, - Because she heard a sudden drum, - Or found an ear-wig in a plum. - -"Oil of Ear-wigs," says Dr. James, "is good to strengthen the nerves -under convulsive motions, by rubbing it on the temples, wrists, and -nostrils. These insects, being dried, pulverized, and mixed with the -urine of a hare, are esteemed to be good for deafness, being introduced -into the ear."[240] - -In August, 1755, in the parishes adjacent to Stroud, it is said there -were such quantities of Ear-wigs, that they destroyed not only the -fruits and flowers, but the cabbages, though of full growth. The houses, -especially the old wooden buildings, were swarming with them: the cracks -and crevices surprisingly full, so that they dropped out oftentimes in -such multitudes as to literally cover the floor. Linen, of which they -are fond, was likewise full, as was the furniture; and it was with -caution any provisions could be eaten, for the cupboards and safes -flocked with these little pests.[241] - - - - -ORDER III. - -ORTHOPTERA. - - -Blattidæ--Cockroaches. - -Sloane tells us the Indians of Jamaica drink the ashes of Cockroaches in -physic: bruise and mix them with sugar and apply them to ulcers and -cancers to suppurate; and are said also to give them to kill worms in -children.[242] Dr. James, quoting Dioscorides, Lib. II. cap. 38, -remarks: "The inside of the Blatta (_B. foetida_, Monf. 138), which is -found in bake-houses, bruised or boiled in oil, and dropped into the -ears, eases the pains thereof."[243] It is most probable the insect now -called Blatta is not at all meant by either of the above gentlemen. The -Blatta of Dioscorides is quite likely the Blatta of Pliny, which has -been with good reason conjectured to be the modern _Blaps -mortisaga_--the common Church-yard beetle. - -In England, the hedge-hog, _Erinaceus Europæus_, from its fondness for -insects and its nocturnal habits, is often kept domesticated in kitchens -to destroy the Cockroaches with which they are infested; and the -housekeepers of Jamaica, as we are informed by Sir Hans Sloane, for the -same reasons and purpose, keep large spiders in their houses.[244] A -species of monkey, _Simia jacchus_, and a species of lemur, _L. -tardigradus_, are also made use of for destroying these insects, -especially on board ships.[245] Mr. Neill, in the Magazine of Natural -History, in his account of the above-mentioned species of monkey, says: -"By chance we observed it devouring a large Cockroach, which it had -caught running along the deck of the vessel; and, from this time to -nearly the end of the voyage, a space of four or five weeks, it fed -almost exclusively on these insects, and contributed most effectually to -rid the vessel of them. It frequently ate a score of the largest kind, -which are from two to two and a half inches long, and a very great -number of the smaller ones, three or four times in the course of the -day. It was quite amusing to see it at its meal. When he had got hold of -one of the largest Cockroaches, he held it in his fore-paws, and then -invariably nipped the head off first; he then pulled out the viscera and -cast them aside, and devoured the rest of the body, rejecting the dry -elytra and wings, and also the legs of the insect, which are covered -with short stiff bristles. The small Cockroaches he ate without such -fastidious nicety."[246] - -The common Cockroach, or Black-beetle, as it is sometimes vulgarly -called, the _Blatta orientalis_, is said originally to be a native of -India, and introduced here, as well as in every other part of the -civilized globe, through the medium of commerce. In England, another -species, said to be a native of America, _Blatta Americana_, larger than -the last, is now also becoming very common, especially in seaport towns -where merchandise is stored.[247] - -An old Swede, Luen Laock, one of the first Swedish clergymen that came -to Pennsylvania, told the traveler Kalm, that in his younger days, he -had once been very much frightened by a Cockroach, which crept into his -ear while he was asleep. Waking suddenly, he jumped out of bed, which -caused the insect, most probably out of fear, to strive with all its -strength to get deeper into his skull, producing such excruciating pain -that he imagined his head was bursting, and he almost fell senseless to -the floor. Hastening, however, to the well, he drew a bucket of water, -and threw some in his ear. The Roach then finding itself in danger of -being drowned, quickly pushed out backward, and as quickly delivered the -poor Swede from his pain and fears.[248] - -The proverbial expression "Sound as a Roach" is supposed to have been -derived from familiarity with the legend and attributes of the Saint -Roche,--the esteemed saint of all afflicted with the plague, a disease -of common occurrence in England when the streets were narrow, and -without sewers, houses without boarded floors, and our ancestors without -linen. They believed that the miraculous St. Roche could make them as -"sound" as himself.[249] - -A quite common superstitious practice, in order to rid a house of -Cockroaches, is in vogue in our country at the present time. It is no -other than to address these pests a written letter containing the -following words, or to this effect: "O, Roaches, you have troubled me -long enough, go now and trouble my neighbors." This letter must be put -where they most swarm, after sealing and going through with the other -customary forms of letter writing. It is well, too, to write legibly and -punctuate according to rule. - -Another receipt for driving away Cockroaches is as follows: Close in an -envelope several of these insects, and drop it in the street unseen, and -the remaining Roaches will all go to the finder of the parcel. - -It is also said that if a looking-glass be held before Roaches, they -will be so frightened as to leave the premises. - -A firm, which has been established in London for seven years, and which -manufactures exclusively poison known to the trade as the "Phosphor -Paste for the Destruction of Black-beetles, Cockroaches, rats, mice," -etc., has given to Mr. Mayhew the following information: - -"We have now sold this vermin poison for seven years, but we have never -had an application for our composition from any street-seller. We have -seen, a year or two since, a man about London who used to sell -beetle-wafers; but as we knew that kind of article to be entirely -useless, we were not surprised to find that he did not succeed in making -a living. We have not heard of him for some time, and have no doubt he -is dead, or has taken up some other line of employment. - -"It is a strange fact, perhaps; but we do not know anything, or scarcely -anything, as to the kind of people and tradesmen who purchase our -poison--to speak the truth, we do not like to make too many inquiries of -our customers. Sometimes, when they have used more than their customary -quantity, we have asked, casually, how it was and to what kind of -business people they disposed of it, and we have always met with an -evasive sort of answer. You see tradesmen don't like to divulge too -much; for it must be a poor kind of profession or calling that there are -no secrets in; and, again, they fancy we want to know what description -of trades use the most of our composition, so that we might supply them -direct from ourselves. From this cause we have made a rule not to -inquire curiously into the matters of our customers. We are quite -content to dispose of the quantity we do, for we employ six travelers to -call on chemists and oilmen for the town trade, and four for the -country. - -"The other day an elderly lady from High Street, Camden Town, called -upon us: she stated that she was overrun with black beetles, and wished -to buy some of our paste from ourselves, for she said she always found -things better if you purchased them of the maker, as you were sure to -get them stronger, and by that means avoided the adulteration of the -shopkeepers. But as we have said we would not supply a single box to any -one, not wishing to give our agents any cause for complaint, we were -obliged to refuse to sell to the old lady. - -"We don't care to say how many boxes we sell in the year; but we can -tell you, sir, that we sell more for beetle poisoning in the summer than -in the winter, as a matter of course. When we find that a particular -district uses almost an equal quantity all the year round, we make sure -that that is a rat district; for where there is not the heat of summer -to breed beetles, it must follow that the people wish to get rid of -rats. - -"Brixton, Hackney, Ball's Pond, and Lower Road, Islington, are the -places that use most of our paste, those districts lying low, and being -consequently damp. Camden Town, though it is in a high situation, is -very much infested with beetles; it is a clayey soil, you understand, -which retains moisture, and will not allow it to filter through like -gravel. This is why in some very low districts, where the houses are -built on gravel, we sell scarcely any of our paste. - -"As the farmers say, a good fruit year is a good fly year; so we say, a -good dull, wet summer, is a good beetle summer; and this has been a very -fertile year, and we only hope it will be as good next year. - -"We don't believe in rat-destroyers; they profess to kill with weasels -and a lot of things, and sometimes even say they can charm them away. -Captains of vessels, when they arrive in the docks, will employ these -people; and, as we say, they generally use our composition, but as long -as their vessels are cleared of the vermin, they don't care to know how -it is done. A man who drives about in a cart, and does a great business -in this way, we have reason to believe uses a great quantity of our -Phosphor Paste. He comes from somewhere down the East-end or Whitechapel -way. - -"Our prices are too high for the street-sellers. Your street-seller can -only afford to sell an article made by a person in but a very little -better position than himself. Even our small boxes cost at the trade -price two shillings a dozen, and when sold will only produce three -shillings; so you can imagine the profit is not enough for the itinerant -vendor. - -"Bakers don't use much of our paste, for they seem to think it no use to -destroy the vermin--beetles and bakers' shops generally go -together."[250] - -If a black beetle enters your room, or flies against you, severe illness -and perhaps death will soon follow. I have never heard this superstition -but in Maryland. - - -Mantidæ--Soothsayers, etc. - -We now come to a very extraordinary family of insects, the _Mantidæ_. -"Imagination itself," as Dr. Shaw well observes, "can hardly conceive -shapes more strange than those exhibited by some particular -species."[251] "They are called _Mantes_; that is, fortune-tellers," -says Mouffet, "either because by their coming (for they first of all -appear) they do show the spring to be at hand, as Anacreon, the poet, -sang; or else they foretell death and famine, as Cælias, the scholiast -of Theocritus, writes; or, lastly, because it always holds up its -fore-feet, like hands, praying, as it were, after the manner of their -divines, who in that gesture did pour out their supplications to their -gods. So divine a creature is this esteemed, that if a childe aske the -way to such a place, she will stretch out one of her feet and show him -the right way, and seldome or never misse. As she resembleth those -diviners in the elevation of her hands, so also in likeness of motion, -for they do not sport themselves as others do, nor leap, nor play, but -walking softly she returns her modesty, and showes forth a kind of -mature gravity."[252] - -The name _Mantis_ is of Greek origin, and signifies diviner. In one of -the Idylls of Theocritus, however, it is employed to designate a thin, -young girl, with slender and elongated arms. _Præmacram ac pertenuem -puellam #mantin#. Corpore prælongo, pedibus etiam prælongis, locustæ -genus._ - -These insects, _Mantis oratoria_, _religiosa_, etc., in consequence of -their having, as Mouffet says, their fore-feet extended as if they were -praying, are called in France, _Devin_, and _Prega-diou_ or -_Prêche-dieu_; and with us, _Praying-insects_, _Soothsayers_, and -_Diviners_. They are also often called from their singular shape -_Camel-crickets_. - -The Mantis was observed by the Greeks in soothsaying;[253] and the -Hindoos displayed the same reverential consideration of its movements -and flight.[254] - -But, in modern times, the superstition respecting the sanctity of the -Mantis begins in Southern Europe, and is found in almost every other -quarter of the globe, at least wherever a characteristic species of the -insect is found. - -In the southern provinces of France, where the Mantis is very abundant, -both the characters of praying and pointing out the lost way, as above -mentioned by Mouffet, are still ascribed to it by the peasantry, as is -evidenced by the above mentioned names they know them by. And here, as -wherever else this superstition obtains, it is considered a great crime -to injure the Mantis, and as, at least, a very culpable neglect not to -place it out of the way of any danger to which it seems exposed. - -The Turks and other Moslems have been much impressed by the actions of -the common Mantis, the _religiosa_,[255] which greatly resemble some of -their own attitudes of prayer. They readily recognize intelligence and -pious intentions in its actions, and accordingly treat it with respect -and attention, not indeed as in itself an object of reverence or -superstition, but as a fellow-worshiper of God, whom they believe that -all creatures praise, with more or less consciousness and -intelligence.[256] - -But it is in Africa, and especially in Southern Africa, that the Mantis -(here the _Mantis causta_)[257] receives its highest honors. The -attention of the travelers and missionaries in that quarter was -necessarily much drawn to the kind of religious veneration paid to an -insect, and from their accounts, though very contradictory, some curious -information may be collected. - -The authority of Peter Kolben, an early German traveler to the Cape of -Good Hope, is as follows: That the Hottentots regard as a good deity an -insect of the "beetle-kind" peculiar to their country. This "beetle-god" -is described by him to be "about the size of a child's little finger, -the back green, the belly speckled white and red, with two wings and two -horns." He also assures us that whenever the Hottentots meet this -insect, they pay it the highest honor and veneration; and that if it -visits a kraal they assemble about it as if a divinity had descended -among them; and even kill a sheep or two as a thank-offering, and esteem -it an omen of the greatest happiness and prosperity. They believe, also, -its appearance expiates all their guilt; and if the insect lights upon -one of them, such person is looked upon as a saint, be it man or woman, -and ever after treated with uncommon respect. The kraal then kills the -fattest ox for a thank-offering; and the caul, powdered with _bukhu_, -and twisted like a rope, is put on, like a collar, about the neck, and -there must remain till it rots off.[258] - -Kolben, in another place, describes the Mantis under the name of the -_Gold-beetle_, saying that its head and wings are of a gold color, the -back green, etc., as above.[259] - -Mr. Kolben, again speaking of this singular reverence, remarks that the -Hottentots will run every hazard to secure the safety of this fortunate -insect, and are cautious to the last degree of giving it the slightest -annoyance, and relates the following anecdote: - -"A German, who had a country-seat about six miles from the fort, having -given leave to some Hottentots to turn their cattle for awhile upon his -land there, they removed to the place with their _kraal_. A son of this -German, a brisk young fellow, was amusing himself in the kraal, when the -deified insect appeared. The Hottentots, upon sight, ran tumultuously to -adore it; while the young fellow tried to catch it, in order to see the -effect such capture would produce among them. But how great was the -general cry and agony when they saw it in his hands! They stared with -distraction in their eyes at him, and at one another. 'See, see, see,' -said they. 'Ah! what is he going to do? Will he kill it? will he kill -it?' Every limb of them shaking through apprehensions for its fate. -'Why,' said the young fellow, who very well understood them, 'do you -make such a hideous noise? and why such agonies for this paltry animal?' -'Ah! sir,' they replied, with the utmost concern, ''tis a divinity. 'Tis -come from heaven; 'tis come on a good design. Ah! do not hurt it--do not -offend it. We are the most miserable wretches upon earth if you do. This -ground will be under a curse, and the crime will never be forgiven.' -This was not enough for the young German. He had a mind to carry the -experiment a little farther. He seemed not, therefore, to be moved with -their petitions and remonstrances; but made as if he intended to maim or -destroy it. On this appearance of cruelty they started, and ran to and -again like people frantic; asked him, where and what his conscience was? -and how he durst think of perpetrating a crime, which would bring upon -his head all the curses and thunders of heaven. But this not prevailing, -they fell all prostrate on the ground before the young fellow, and with -streaming eyes and the loudest cries, besought him to spare the -creature and give it its liberty. The young German now yielded, and, -having let the insect fly, the Hottentots jumped and capered and shouted -in all the transports of joy; and, running after the animal, rendered it -the customary divine honors. But the creature settled upon none of them, -and there was not one sainted upon this occasion."[260] - -Afterward, Mr. Kolben, discoursing with these Hottentots, took occasion -to ask them concerning the utmost limit they carried the belief of the -sanctity and avenging spirit of this insect, when they declared to him, -that if the German had killed it, all their cattle would certainly have -been destroyed by wild beasts, and they themselves, every man, woman, -and child of them, brought to a miserable end. That they believed the -kraal to be of evil destiny where this insect is rarely seen. Mr. Kolben -asserts that they would sooner give up their lives than renounce the -slightest item of their belief.[261] - -Dr. Sparrman, a Swedish traveler into the country of the Hottentots and -Caffres between the years 1772 and 1779, in speaking of the Mantis, -called in his time the "Hottentot's God," denies the above statement of -Mr. Kolben, and says the Hottentots are so far from worshiping it, that -they several times caught some of them, and gave them to him to put -needles through them, by way of preserving them, in the same manner as -he did with the other insects. But there is, he adds, a diminutive -species of this insect, which some think would be a crime, as well as -very dangerous, to do any harm to, but that it was only a superstitious -notion, and not any kind of religious worship.[262] - -Dr. Thunberg, who traveled in South Africa about the same time as Dr. -Sparrman, corroborates the latter's statement, and says he could see no -reason for the supposition that the Hottentots worshiped the Mantis, -but, he adds, it certainly was held in some degree of esteem, so that -they would not willingly hurt, and deemed that person a creature -fortunate on which it settled, though without paying it any sort of -adoration.[263] - -Dr. Vanderkemp, in his account of Caffraria, after describing the -Mantis, says that the natives call it _oumtoanizoulou_, the _Child of -Heaven_, and adds that "the Hottentots regard it as almost a deity, and -offer their prayers to it, begging that it may not destroy them."[264] - -Mr. Kirchener, speaking of the same people, says they reverence a little -insect, known by the name of the _Creeping Leaf_, a sight of which they -conceive indicates something fortunate, and to kill it they suppose will -bring a curse upon the perpetrator.[265] - -Mr. Evan Evans, a missionary to the Cape of Good Hope, gives an account -of a conversation which he had with the Hottentot driver of his wagon, -which seems to make out the claims of the Mantis to be the God of the -Hottentots--as it is even yet called. The driver directed his attention -to "a small insect," which he called by its above-mentioned familiar -name, and alluded to the notions he had in former times connected with -it. "I asked him, 'Did you ever worship this insect then?' He answered, -'Oh, yes! a thousand times; always before I came to Bethelsdorf. -Whenever I saw this little creature, I would fall down on my knees -before him and pray.' 'What did you pray to him for?' 'I asked him to -give me a good master, and plenty of thick milk and flesh.' 'Did you -pray for nothing else?' 'No, sir; I did not then know that I wanted -anything else.... Whenever I used to see this animal (holding the insect -still in his hand) I used sometimes to fall down immediately before it; -but if it was in the wagon-road, or in a foot-path, I used to push it up -as gently as I could, to place it behind a bush, for fear a wagon should -crush it, or some men or beasts would put it to death. If a Hottentot, -by some accident, killed or injured this creature, he was sure to be -unlucky all his lifetime, and could never shoot an elephant or a buffalo -afterward.'"[266] - -Niuhoff, in his account of his travels in Java in 1643, tells us "the -Javanese set two of these little creatures (Mantes) a fighting together, -and lay money on both sides, as we do at a cock-match."[267] Among the -Chinese also this quarrelsome property in the genus Mantis is turned -into an entertainment. They are so fond of gaming and witnessing fights -between animals that, as says Mr. Barrow in his Travels, "they have -even extended their inquiries after fighting animals into the insect -tribe, and have discovered a species of Gryllus or Locust that will -attack each other with such ferocity as seldom to quit their hold -without bringing away at the same time a limb of their antagonist. These -little creatures are fed and kept apart in bamboo cages, and the custom -of making them devour each other is so common that, during the summer -months, scarcely a boy is to be seen without his cage of -grasshoppers."[268] The boys in Washington City, who call the Mantis the -"Rear-horse," are also fond of this amusement. - -Among the legends of St. Francis Xavier, the following is found. Seeing -a Mantis moving along in its solemn way, holding up its two fore-legs, -as in the act of devotion, the Saint desired it to sing the praises of -God, whereupon the insect caroled forth a fine canticle.[269] - -The _Mantis religiosa_ of America is said to make a most interesting pet -when tamed, which can be done in a very short time and with but little -pains. Professor Glover, of the Maryland Agricultural College, tells me -he once knew a lady in Washington who kept a Mantis on her window which -soon grew so tame as to take readily a fly or other small insect out of -her hand. But Mrs. Taylor, in her Orthopterian Defense, has given us the -particulars in full of a Mantis which she had petted. She speaks of it -under the name of "Queen Bess," and in her most interesting style, as -follows: - -"Queen Bess, of famous memory, would alight on my shoulder and take all -her food from me half a dozen times a day. When she omitted her visit I -knew she had been hunting on her own account. All night long she would -keep watch and guard under the mosquito-net. The silk (the thread with -which the insect was bound) was fastened to the post of the bed; and woe -betide an unfortunate mosquito who fancied for his supper a drop of -claret. It was the drollest, the most laughter-moving sensation, to feel -one of these trumpeters saluting your nose or forehead, and hear Queen -Bess approaching with those long claws, creeping slowly, softly, nearer -and nearer; to feel the fine prick of the lancet setting in for a -tipple; then you would suppose a dozen fine needles had been suddenly -drawn across the part; then, _presto!_ Bess's strong, saber-like claws -had the jolly trumpeter tucked into her capacious jaws before you could -open your eyes to ascertain the state of affairs. - -"These creatures very seldom fly far," continues Mrs. Taylor, "but walk -in a most stately and dignified manner. Queen Bess could not bear to be -overlooked or slighted(!); and as sure as she saw me bending over the -magnifier with an insect, and I thought she was ten yards off, the -insect would be incontinently snapped out of my fingers. Many a valuable -specimen disappeared in this way. I learned to put her at these times in -the sounding-board of an Æolian harp, which was generally placed in the -window. Her majesty liked music of this kind amazingly; as the vibration -was _felt_ though not heard. I presume she fancied she was serenaded by -the singing leaves of the forest. I knew she would have remained there -spell-bound until driven forth by hunger, if I did not remove her when I -was not afraid of her company. - -"As I have begun my 'experiences,'" continues the same writer, "I will -go through with them and confess that I was obliged from circumstances -to attach more than accident to her prophetic capacity--her -fortune-telling. I have not a grain of superstition to contend against -in other matters, having so much reverence for the Creator of all things -that I certainly have no fear of anything earthly or spiritually -conveyed to the senses. But I was taught by the saddest teacher, -Experience, that whenever Queen Bess's refusal went unheeded I was the -sufferer. The first time I ever tried it was to determine a vacillating -presentiment I felt about trying a new horse whose reputation was far -from good. I placed Queen Bess before me, held up my finger: - -"'Attention! Queen Bess, would you advise me to try that horse?' - -"She was standing on her hind legs, her antennæ erect, wings wide -spread. I repeated the question. Antennæ fell; wings folded; and down -she went, gradually, until her head and long thorax were buried beneath -her front legs. I took her advice, and did not venture. Two days later -the horse threw his rider and killed him. - -"Here was the turning-point. Was I to allow such folly to master me? If -French girls do take a Mantis at the junction of three roads, and ask -her on which their lover will come, and watch the insect turning and -examining each road with her weird sibyl head,[270]--if French girls -commit such follies, should I, a staid American woman, follow their -example--putting my faith in the caprices of an insect? Pshaw! I was -above such folly. So the next time Queen Bess was consulted a more -decided refusal was given; but I disregarded her warning, and most -sorely did I repent it. Again she would approve, by standing more erect, -if possible, spreading and closing her wings; then all was sunshine with -me. So it went for many months. Many others have had the same -experience, if they will confess it honestly. I learned to obey the -hidden head more carefully than any other, I am sorry to say; and I -never, in one single instance, knew her to refuse her opinion; and I -never knew it to be wrong in whatever way she announced it." - -This same superstitious woman says that boys and girls try their future -expectations by making a mimic chariot, ballasting it with small -pebbles, shot, or any such like thing, and harnessing the Mantis in with -silk. Upon being freighted she rises immediately, as if to try the -weight; if too heavy she will not fly. Lighten the chariot, and she will -soar away to a tree or a field; then her owner is to be a lucky boy. If -she will not go at all, or only a short distance, and soon come down, -misfortune is to be his doom.[271] - -Other superstitions among us, with respect to the Mantis are as follows: - -When the Mantis (Rear-horse) kneels, it sees an angel in the way, or -hears the rustle of its wings. When it alights on your hand, you are -about to make the acquaintance of a distinguished person; if it alights -on your head, a great honor will shortly be conferred upon you. If it -injures you in any way, which it does but seldom, you will lose a valued -friend by calumny. Never kill a Mantis, as it bears charms against evil. - -From the great resemblance of many species of Mantis to the leaves of -the trees upon which they feed, some travelers, who have observed them, -have declared that they saw the leaves of trees become living creatures, -and take flight. Madame Merian informs us of a similar opinion among -the Indians of Surinam, who believed these insects grew like leaves upon -the trees, and when they were mature, loosened themselves and crawled, -or flew away. - -We find also in the works of Piso an account of insects becoming plants. -Speaking of the Mantis, that author says: "Those little animals change -into a green and tender plant, which is of two hands breadth. The feet -are fixed into the ground first; from these, when necessary humidity is -attracted, roots grow out, and strike into the ground; thus they change -by degrees, and in a short time become a perfect plant. Sometimes only -the lower part takes the nature and form of a plant, while the upper -part remains as before, living and movable; after some time the animal -is gradually converted into a plant. In this Nature seems to operate in -a circle, by a continual retrograde motion."[272] - -There may be, however, much truth in this remarkable metamorphosis; for, -that an insect may strike root into the earth, and, from the -co-operation of heat and moisture, congenial to vegetation, produce a -plant of the cryptogamic kind, cannot be disputed. Westwood states that -he has seen a species of _Clavaria_, both of the undivided and branched -kinds, which had sprung from insects, and were four times larger than -the insects themselves. In truth, it cannot then be denied that Piso may -not have seen a plant of a proportionate magnitude which had likewise -grown out of a Mantis. The pupæ of bees, wasps, and cicadas, have been -known to become the nidus of a plant, to throw up stems from the front -part of the head, and change in every respect into a vegetable, and -still retain the shell and exterior appearance of the parent insect at -the root. Specimens of these vegetated animals are frequently brought -from the West Indies. Mr. Drury had a beetle in the perfect state, from -every part of which small stalks and fibers sprouted forth; they were -entirely different from the tufts of hair that are observed in a few -Coleopterous insects, such as the _Buprestis fascicularius_ of the Cape -of Good Hope, and were certainly a vegetable production.[273] Mr. -Atwood, in his account of Dominica, describes a "vegetable fly" as -follows: "It is of the appearance and size of a small Cock-chafer, and -buries itself in the ground, where it dies; and from its body springs up -a small plant, resembling a young coffee tree, only that its leaves are -smaller. The plant is often overlooked, from the supposition people have -of its being no other than a coffee plant, but on examining it properly, -the difference is easily distinguished.... The head, body, and feet of -the insect appearing at the foot as perfect as when alive."[274] - -Dr. Colin, of Philadelphia, has mentioned, also, on the authority of a -missionary, a "vegetable fly," similar to the last mentioned, on the -Ohio River.[275] - -The inhabitants of the Sechell Islands raise the _Mantis siccifolia_, or -Dry-leaf Mantis, as an object of commerce and natural history. - - -Achetidæ--Crickets. - -In the Island of Barbados, the natives look upon the creaking chirp of a -species of Cricket, to which Hughes has given the name of the -_Ash-colored_ or _Sickly Cricket_, when heard in the house, as an omen -of death to some one of the family.[277] - -In England, also, is the Cricket's chirp sometimes looked upon as -prognosticating death. "When Blonzelind expired," Gay, in his Pastoral -Dirge, says, - - And shrilling Crickets in the chimney cry'd.[278] - -So also in Reed's Old Plays is the Cricket's cry ominous of death: - - And the strange Cricket i' th' oven sings and hops. - -The same superstition is found in the following line from the Oedipus of -Dryden and Lee: - - Owels, ravens, Crickets, seem the watch of death. - -Gaule mentions, among other vain observations and superstitious -ominations thereupon, "the Cricket's chirping behind the chimney stack, -or creeping on the foot-pace."[279] - -Dr. Nathaniel Horne, after saying that "by the flying and crying of -ravens over their houses, especially in the dusk of evening, and when -one is sick, they conclude death," adds, "the same they conclude of a -Cricket crying in a house where there was wont to be none."[280] - -"Some sort of people," says Mr. Ramsay, in his Elminthologia, "at every -turn, upon every accident, how are they therewith terrified! If but a -Cricket unusually appear, or they hear but the clicking of a -Death-watch, as they call it, they, or some one else in the family, -shall die!"[281] - -Gilbert White, the accurate naturalist of Selborne, speaking of -Crickets, says: "They are the house-wife's barometer, foretelling her -when it will rain; and are prognostics sometimes, she thinks, of ill or -good luck, of the death of a near relation, or the approach of an absent -lover. By being the constant companions of her solitary hours, they -naturally become the objects of her superstition."[282] - -The voice of the Cricket, says the Spectator, has struck more terror -than the roaring of a lion. - -Mrs. Bray also notices that the Cricket's chirp in England, which in -almost all other countries, and in that too in some families, as will be -shown hereafter, is considered a cheerful and a welcome note, the -harbinger of joy,--is deemed by the peasantry ominous of sorrow and -evil.[283] - -"In Dumfries-shire," says Sir William Jardine, "it is a common -superstition that if Crickets forsake a house which they have long -inhabited, some evil will befall the family; generally the death of some -member is portended. In like manner the presence or return of this -cheerful little insect is lucky, and portends some good to the -family."[284] - -Melton also says,--"17. That it is a sign of death to some in that -house where Crickets have been many years, if on a sudden they forsake -the chimney."[285] - -The departure of Crickets from a hearth where they have been heard, is, -at the present time, in England, considered an omen of misfortune.[286] - -From the above statements of Mr. White, Mrs. Bray, and Sir William -Jardine, we learn that in England the Cricket's chirp is not always -ominous of evil, but sometimes also of good luck, of joy, and of the -approach of an absent lover. - -A correspondent of the "Notes and Queries" mentions the Cricket's cry as -foreboding good luck.[287] So also a writer for "The Mirror," remarking, -it is singular that the House-cricket should by some persons be -considered an unlucky, by others a lucky, inmate of the mansion. Those -who hold the latter opinion, he adds, consider the destruction of these -insects the means of bringing misfortunes on their habitations.[288] -Grose thus expresses this last superstition: Persons killing these -insects (including the Lady-bird, before mentioned) will infallibly, -within the course of the year, break a bone, or meet with some other -dreadful misfortune.[289] - -That the belief that the appearance of Crickets in a house is a good -omen, and prognosticates cheerfulness and plenty, is pretty generally -entertained in England, may be inferred also from the manner in which it -has been embodied by Cowper, in his address to a Cricket - - Chirping on his kitchen hearth. - -His words are: - - Whereso'er be thine abode, - Always harbinger of good. - -And again in that admirable little tale of Charles Dickens, entitled -"The Cricket on the Hearth," this good and happy superstition is -embodied. "It's sure to bring us good fortune, John! It always has been -so. To have a Cricket on the hearth is the luckiest thing in the world," -says its heroine. - -All these superstitions are more or less entertained in America, -brought here by the English themselves, and retained by their -descendants. That the Cricket is the "harbinger of good," it gives me -pleasure to say, is the most common. - -Another superstition obtaining in this country, and particularly in -Maryland and Virginia, is that Crickets are old folks and ought not -therefore to be destroyed. This probably arose from Crickets being found -about the kitchen hearth where the old folks were accustomed to sit. - -Milton chose for his contemplative pleasures a spot where Crickets -resorted: - - Where glowing embers through the room - Teach light to counterfeit a gloom, - Far from all resort of mirth, - Save the Cricket on the hearth.[290] - -The learned Scaliger is said to have been particularly delighted with -the chirping of these animals, and was accustomed to keep them in a box -for his amusement in his study.[291] - -Mrs. Taylor, the writer of a very interesting series of papers on -insects for Harper's Magazine, relates that in her travels through -Wales, she obtained several House-crickets in the old Castle of -Caernarvon. These she carried with her, in her journeyings to and fro -over the Kingdom, for several years, and at last brought them to this -country, where they were liberated in the snuggest corner of a Southern -hearth. Again a wanderer for many years, she went back to the old house -to see how her chirping friends were coming on, but, alas! she was told -by the then residents, with the utmost calmness, "they had had great -difficulty in _scalding_ them out, and they hoped there was not one left -on the premises!"[292] - -In certain countries of Africa, Crickets are reported to constitute an -article of commerce. Some persons rear them, feed them in a kind of iron -oven, and sell them to the natives, who are very fond of their music, -thinking it induces sleep.[293] De Pauw finds some traces of the -Egyptian worship of the Scarabæus in this fondness for the music of the -"holy Crickets," as he calls them, of Madagascar! By the rearing of -which insects, he tells us, the Africans make a living, and the rich -would think themselves at enmity with heaven, if they did not preserve -whole swarms in ovens constructed expressly for that purpose.[294] - -The youth of Germany, Jaeger says, are extremely fond of Field-crickets, -so much so, that there is scarcely a boy to be seen who has not several -small boxes made expressly for keeping these insects in. So much -delighted are they, too, with their music, that they carry these boxes -of Crickets into their bed-rooms at night, and are soothed to sleep with -their chirping lullaby.[295] - -On the contrary, others, as has been before mentioned, think there is -something ominous and melancholy in the Cricket's cry, and use every -endeavor to banish this insect from their houses. "Lidelius tells us," -says Goldsmith, "of a woman who was very much incommoded by Crickets, -and tried, but in vain, every method of banishing them from her house. -She at last accidentally succeeded; for having one day invited several -guests to her house, where 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 greater than what the -little animals were accustomed to, that they instantly forsook their -situation, and were never heard in that mansion more."[296] Like many -other noisy persons, Crickets like to hear nobody louder than -themselves. - -In the Island of Sumatra, Capt. Stuart tells me, a black Cricket is -looked upon with great respect, amounting almost to adoration. It is -deemed a grievous sin to kill it. - -Baskets full of Field-crickets, Lopes de Gomara says, were found among -the provisions of the Indians of Jamaica when they were first -discovered.[297] - -"The Criquet called Gryllus," says Pliny in the words of Holland, "doth -mitigat catarrhs and all asperities offending the throat, if the same -bee rubbed therewith: also if a man doe but touch the amygdals or -almonds of the throat, with the hand wherewith he hath bruised or -crushed the said Criquet, it will appease the inflamation thereof."[298] -Again, "The Cricket digged up and applied to the plase, earth and all -where it lay, is very good for the ears. Nigridius," continues Pliny, -"attributeth many properties to this poore creature, and esteemeth it -not a little: but the Magicians much more by a faire deale: and why so? -Forsooth because it goeth, as it were, reculing backward, it pierceth -and boreth a hole into the ground, and never ceaseth all night long to -creake very shrill. - -"The manner of hunting and catching them is this, They take a flie and -tie it above the middest at the end of a long haire of one's head, and -so put the said flie into the mouth of the Cricquet's hole; but first -they blow the dust away with their mouth, for fear lest the flie should -hide herself therein; the Cricket spies the sillie flie, seaseth upon -her presently and claspeth her round, and so they are both drawne foorth -together by the said haire."[299] - -At the present time, children in France practice the same method of -capturing Crickets for amusement; substituting, however, an ant for the -"sillie flie," and a long straw for "the haire of one's head." Hence -comes the common proverb in France, _il est sot comme un grillon_. A -ruse for capturing the larva of the Cicindela, now commonly practiced by -entomologists, is founded on the same principle. - -Pliny further says: "The Cricquets above rehearsed, either reduced into -a liniment, or else bound too, whole as they be, cureth the accident of -the lap of the eare, wounds, contusions, bruises," etc.[300] - -Dr. James, quoting Schroder and Dale, says: "The ashes of the Cricket -(_Gryllus domesticus_) exhibited, are said to be diuretic; the expressed -juice, dropped into the eyes, is a remedy for weakness of the sight, and -alleviates disorders of the tonsils, if rubbed on them."[301] - -The English name _Cricket_, the French _Cri-cri_, the Dutch _Krekel_, -and the Welsh _Cricell_ and _Cricella_, are evidently derived from the -_creak_-ing sounds of these insects. - - -Gryllidæ--Grasshoppers. - -Mr. Hughes, after describing an ash-colored Grasshopper (which may be -his ash-colored cricket before mentioned),[302] remarks that the -superstitious of the inhabitants of Barbados are very apprehensive of -some approaching illness to the family, whenever this insect flies into -their houses in the evening or in the night.[303] - -Athenæus tells us the ancient Greeks used to eat the common Grasshopper -and the Monkey-grasshopper as provocatives of the appetite. Aristophanes -says: - - How can you, in God's name, like Grasshoppers, - Catching them with a reed, and Cercopes?[304] - -Turpin tells us there is a kind of brown Grasshopper in Siam, which the -natives consider a delicate food.[305] - -"Fernandus Oniedus declareth furthermore," says Peter Martyr in his -History of the West Indies, "that in a certain region called Zenu, lying -fourescore and tenne miles from Darrina Eastwarde, they exercise a -strange kinde of marchaundize: For in the houses of the inhabitantes -they found great chests and baskets, made of twigges and leaves of -certaine trees apt for that purpose, being all ful of Grasshoppers, -Grilles, Crabbes, Crefishes, Snails also, and Locustes, which destroie -the fields of corne, all well dried and salted. Being demanded why they -reserved such a multitude of these beastes: they answered, that they -kept them to be sowlde (sold) to the borderors, which dwell further -within the lande, and that for the exchange of these pretious birdes, -and salted fishes, they received of them certayne straunge thinges, -wherein partly they take pleasure, and partly use them for the -necessarie affaires."[306] - -In the account of the voyages of J. Huighen Linschoten, it is stated -that the inhabitants of Cumana eat "horse-leeches, bats, Grasshoppers, -spiders, bees, and raw, sodden, and roasted lice. They spare no living -creature whatsoever, but they eat it."[307] - -"Among the choice delicacies with which the California Digger Indians -regale themselves during the summer season," says the Empire County -Argus, "is the Grasshopper roast. Having been an eye-witness to the -preparation and discussion of one of their feasts of Grasshoppers, we -can describe it truthfully. There are districts in California, as well -as portions of the plains between Sierra Nevada and the Rocky Mountains, -that literally swarm with Grasshoppers, and in such astonishing numbers -that a man cannot put his foot to the ground, while walking there, -without crushing great numbers. To the Indian they are a delicacy, and -are caught and cooked in the following manner: A piece of ground is -sought where they most abound, in the center of which an excavation is -made, large and deep enough to prevent the insect from hopping out when -once in. The entire party of Diggers, old and young, male and female, -then surround as much of the adjoining grounds as they can, and each -with a green bough in hand, whipping and thrashing on every side, -gradually approach the center, driving the insects before them in -countless multitudes, till at last all, or nearly all, are secured in -the pit. In the mean time smaller excavations are made, answering the -purpose of ovens, in which fires are kindled and kept up till the -surrounding earth, for a short distance, becomes sufficiently heated, -together with a flat stone, large enough to cover the oven. The -Grasshoppers are now taken in coarse bags, and, after being thoroughly -soaked in salt water for a few moments, are emptied into the oven and -closed in. Ten or fifteen minutes suffice to roast them, when they are -taken out and eaten without further preparation, and with much apparent -relish, or, as is sometimes the case, reduced to powder and made into -soup. And having from curiosity tasted, not of the soup, but of the -roast, really, if one could divest himself of the idea of eating an -insect as we do an oyster or shrimp, without other preparation than -simple roasting, they would not be considered very bad eating, even by -more refined epicures than the Digger Indians."[308] - -An item dated Tuesday, Aug. 21st, 1742, in the Gentleman's Magazine, -states: "Great damage has been done to the pastures in the country, -particularly about Bristol, by swarms of Grasshoppers; the like has -happened in Pennsylvania to a surprising degree."[309] - -A common species in Sweden, the _Decticus verrucivorus_, is employed by -the native peasants to bite the warts on their hands; the black fluid -which it emits from its mouth being supposed to possess the power of -making these excrescences vanish.[310] This black fluid, from whatever -Grasshoppers it may be emitted, is called by our boys "tobacco spit," -which it much resembles; and they attribute to it also a wart-curing -quality. When they catch one, they hold it between the thumb and -fore-finger, and cry out,-- - - Spit, spit tobacco spit, - And then I'll let you go. - -The exuviæ of a Grasshopper called _Semmi_ or _Sebi_, Kempfer tells us, -are preserved for medicinal uses, and sold publicly in shops both in -Japan and China.[311] - -Dr. James, quoting Dioscorides, says: "Grasshoppers (_Locusta Anglica -minor, vulgatissima_, Raii _Ins._ 60.) in a suffumigation relieve under -a dysury, especially such as is incident to the female sex. The Locusta -Africanus is a very good antidote against the poison of the -Scorpion."[312] - -After describing the Grasshopper of Italy, Brookes says: "It is often an -amusement among the children of that country to catch this animal; and, -by tickling the belly with their finger, it will whistle as long as they -chuse to make it."[313] - -In France, Grasshoppers are called _Sauterelles_, Hoppers; and in -Germany, _Heupferde_, Hay-horses, because they generally feed on -grasses, and their head has something of the form of a horse's head. - -If Grasshoppers appear early in the summer in great numbers, they -foretell famine and drouth,--a superstition obtaining in Maryland. - - -Locustidæ--Locusts. - -Moufet says: "That Locusts should be generated of the carkasse of a mule -or asse (as Plutarch reports in the life of Cleonides) by putrefaction, -I cannot with philosophers determine; first, because it was permitted to -the Jewes to feed on them; secondly, because no man ever yet was an -eye-witness of such a putrid and ignoble generation of Locusts."[314] - -The first record of the ravages of the Locusts, which we find in -history, is the account in the Book of Exodus of the visitation to the -land of Egypt. "And the Locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and -rested in all the coasts of Egypt--very grievous were they.... For they -covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and -they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees -which the hail had left; and there remained not any green thing in the -trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of -Egypt."[315] - -It is to the Bible, too, we go to find the best account, for correctness -and sublimity, of the appearance and ravages of these terrific insects. -It is thus given by the prophet Joel: "A day of darkness and of -gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread -upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been -ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of -many generations. A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame -burneth; the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them -a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them. Like the -noise of chariots[316] on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like -the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong -people set in battle array. Before their faces the people shall be much -pained: all faces shall gather blackness. They shall run like mighty -men; they shall climb the wall like men of war, and they shall march -every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks; neither -shall one thrust another, they shall walk every one in his path; and -when they fall upon the sword they shall not be wounded. They shall run -to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb -up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief. The -earth shall quake before them, the heavens shall tremble; the sun[317] -and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining." -The usual way in which they are destroyed is also noticed by the -prophet. "I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will -drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face towards the -east sea, and his hinder part towards the utmost sea, and his stink -shall come up, because he hath done great things."[318] - -Paulus Orosius tells us that in the year of the world 3800, during the -consulship of M. Plautius Hypsæus, and M. Fulvius Flaccus, such infinite -myriads of Locusts were blown from the coast of Africa into the sea and -drowned, that being cast upon the shore in immense heaps they emitted a -stench greater than could have been produced by the carcasses of one -hundred thousand men. A general pestilence of all living creatures -followed. And so great was this plague in Numidia, where Micipsa was -king, that eighty thousand persons died; and on the sea-coast, near -Carthage and Utica, about two hundred thousand were reported to have -perished. Thirty thousand soldiers, appointed as the garrison of Africa, -and stationed in Utica, were among the number. So violent was the -destruction that the bodies of more than fifteen hundred of these -soldiers, from one gate of the city, were carried and buried in the same -day.[319] - -St. Augustine also mentions a plague to have arisen in Africa from the -same cause, which destroyed no less than eight hundred thousand persons -(_octigenta hominum millia_) in the kingdom of Masanissa alone, and many -more in the territories bordering upon the sea.[320] - -Blown from that quarter of the globe, Locusts have occasionally visited -both Italy and Spain. The former country was severely ravaged by myriads -of these desolating intruders, in the year 591. These were of a larger -size than common, as we are informed by Mouffet, who quotes an ancient -historian; and from their stench, when cast into the sea, arose a -pestilence which carried off near a million of men and cattle.[321] - -In A.D. 677, Syria and Mesopotamia were overrun by Locusts.[322] - -"About the year of our Lord 872," we read in Wanley's Wonders, "came -into France such an innumerable company of Locusts, that the number of -them darkened the very light of the sun; they were of extraordinary -bigness, had a sixfold order of wings, six feet, and two teeth, the -hardness whereof surpassed that of stone. These eat up every green thing -in all the fields of France. At last, by the force of the winds, they -were carried into the sea (the Baltic) and there drowned; after which, -by the agitation of the waves, the dead bodies of them were cast upon -the shores, and from the stench of them (together with the famine they -had made with their former devouring) there arose so great a plague, -that it is verily thought every third person in France died of it."[323] -These Locusts devoured in France, on an average every day, one hundred -and forty acres; and their daily marches, or distances of flight, were -computed at twenty miles.[324] - -In 1271, all the cornfields of Milan were destroyed; and in the year -1339, all those of Lombardy.[325] We read in Bateman's Doome, that in -1476, "grasshoppers and the great rising of the river Isula did spoyle -al Poland." A famine took place in the Venetian territory in 1478, -occasioned by these terrific scourges, in which thirty thousand persons -are reported to have perished. Mouffet mentions many other instances of -their devastations in Europe,--in France, Spain, Italy, and -Germany.[326] - -A passage of Locusts in France, in 1613, entirely cut up, even to the -very roots, more than fifteen thousand acres of corn in the neighborhood -of Arles, and had even penetrated into the barns and granaries, when, as -it were by Providence, many hundreds of birds, especially starlings, -came to diminish their numbers. Notwithstanding this, nothing could be -more astonishing than their multiplication, for the fecundity of the -Locust is very remarkable. Upon an order issued by government, for the -collection of their eggs, more than three thousand measures were -collected, from each of which, it was calculated, would have issued -nearly two millions of young ones.[327] In 1650, they entered Russia, in -immense divisions, in three different places; thence passed over into -Poland and Lithuania, where the air was darkened by their numbers. In -many parts they lay dead to the depth of four feet. Sometimes they -covered the surface of the earth like a dark cloud, loaded the trees, -and the destruction which they produced exceeded all calculation.[328] -In 1645, immense swarms visited the islands of Formosa and Tayowan, and -caused such a famine that eight thousand persons died of hunger.[329] - -"In 1649," says Sir Hans Sloane, "the Locusts destroyed all the products -of the island of Teneriffe. They came from the coast of Barbary, the -wind being a Levant thence. They flew as far as they could, then one -alighted in the sea, and another on it, so that one after another they -made a heap as big as the greatest ship above water, and were esteemed -almost as many under. Those above water, next day, after the sun's -refreshing them, took flight again, and came in clouds to the island, -whence the inhabitants had perceived them in the air, and had gathered -all the soldiers of the island and of Laguna together, being 7 or 8000 -men, who laying aside their arms, some took bags, some spades, and -having notice by their scouts from the hills when they alighted, they -went straight thither, made trenches, and brought their bags full, and -covered them with mould.... After two months fruitless management of -them in this manner, the ecclesiastics took them in hand by penances, -etc. But all would not do: the Locusts staid their four months; cattle -eat them and died, and so did several men, and others stuck out in -botches. The other Canary islands were so troubled, also, that they were -forced to bury their provisions. They were troubled forty years before -with the like calamity."[330] - -Barbot, after mentioning a famine that happened in North Guinea in -1681, which destroyed many thousands of the inhabitants of the -Continent, and forced many to sell themselves for slaves, to only get -sustenance, says these fearful famines are also some years occasioned by -the dreadful swarms of Locusts, which come from the eastward and spread -over the whole country in such prodigious multitudes, that they darken -the very air, passing over head like mighty clouds. They leave nothing -that is green wheresoever they come, either on the ground or trees, and -fly so swiftly from place to place, that whole provinces are devastated -in a very short time. Barbot adds, terrific storms of hail, wind, and -such like judgments from Heaven, are nothing to compare to this, which -when it happens, there is no question to be made but that multitudes of -the natives must starve, having no neighboring countries to supply them -with corn, because those round about them are no better husbands than -themselves, and are no less liable to the same calamities.[331] - -Of a swarm, which in the year 1693 covered four square miles of ground, -a German author has made the following estimate. Observing that, when he -trod on the ground, at least three were crushed, and that in a square -German measure, less than an English foot, ten were destroyed; and after -determining the number of these square measures in the four miles, he -concluded that ninety-two billions, one hundred and sixty millions of -Locusts were congregated on the surface. This is altogether a very -moderate calculation, for not only is their number more compact in -breadth, but they are often piled knee-high on the earth.[332] - -In 1724, Dr. Shaw was a witness of the devastations of these insects in -Barbary. He has given us a description of their habits.[333] For four -successive years, from 1744 to 1747, Locusts ravaged the southern -provinces of Spain and Portugal.[334] In a letter from Transylvania, -dated August 22d, 1747, a graphic description is given of two vast -columns that overswept that country. "They form," says the writer, "a -close compact column about fifteen yards deep, in breadth about four -musket-shot, and in length about four leagues; they move with such -force, or rather precipitation, that the air trembles to such a degree -as to shake the leaves upon the trees, and they darkened the sky in such -a manner, that when they passed over us I could not see my people at -twenty feet distance."[335] This flight was four hours in passing over -the Red Tower. The guards here attempted to stop them, by firing cannon -at them; and where, indeed, the balls and shot swept through the swarm, -they gave way and divided; but, having filled up their ranks in a -moment, they proceeded on their journey.[336] In an item dated -Hermanstadt, July 24, 1748, it is stated that on the day before, a -hussar, coming from the plague committee, saw such a host of these -insects near Szanda, that they covered the country for a mile round, and -were so thick, that he was obliged to dismount from his horse, and halt -for three hours, until the inhabitants of the district, coming with all -sorts of instruments, beat about and forced with loud cries these pests -to quit the spot.[337] In another item, dated Warsaw, August 15, 1748, -it is stated that a certain prince sent out soldiers against the -Locusts, who fired upon them not only with small arms, but with cannons. -They succeeded in dividing the Locusts, but unluckily with the noise -frightened away the storks and cranes which daily consume many of these -insects.[338] Some stragglers from these swarms which so desolated -Wallachia, Moldavia, Transylvania, Hungary, and Poland, in the years -1747 and '48, made their way into England, where they caused some -alarm.[339] During this grand invasion of Europe, they even crossed the -Baltic, and visited Sweden in 1749. Charles the Twelfth, in Bessarabia, -imagined himself, it is said, assailed by a hurricane, mingled with -tremendous hail, when a cloud of these insects suddenly falling, and -covering both men and horses, arrested his entire army in its -march.[340] - -During the devastations committed by the Locusts in Spain in 1754, '55, -'56, and '57, a body of them entered the church of Almaden, and -devoured the silk garments that adorned the images of the saints, not -sparing even the varnish on the altars.[341] - -In 1750 and '53 Poland was again devastated by Locusts.[342] In June, -1772, there were several swarms of "large black flies of the Locust -kind," that did incredible damage to the fruits of the earth, seen in -England. Salt water, it is said, was found effectual in destroying -them.[343] - -From 1778 to 1780 the empire of Morocco was terribly devastated by -Locusts: every green thing was eaten up, not even the bitter bark of the -orange and pomegranate escaping--a most dreadful famine ensued. The poor -wandered over the country, in search of a wretched subsistence from the -roots of plants. They picked, from the dung of camels, the undigested -grains of barley, and devoured them with eagerness. Vast numbers -perished, and the streets and roads were strewed with the unburied -carcasses. On this sad occasion, fathers sold their children, and -husbands their wives. When they visit a country, says Mr. Jackson, from -whom we have gathered the above facts, speaking of the same empire, it -behooves every one to lay in provision for a famine, for they stay from -three to seven years. When they have devoured all other vegetables, they -attack the trees, consuming first the leaves and then the bark.[344] - -To prevent the fatal consequences which would have resulted from a -passage of Locusts in 1780 near Bontzhida, in Transylvania, fifteen -hundred persons were ordered each to gather a sack full of the insects, -part of which were crushed, part burned, and part interred. -Notwithstanding this, very little diminution was remarked in their -numbers, so astonishing was their multiplication, until very cold and -sharp weather had come on. In the following spring there were millions -of eggs disinterred and destroyed by the people, who were levied "en -masse" for the operation; but notwithstanding all this, many places of -tolerable extent were still to be found, in which the soil was covered -with young Locusts, so that not a single spot was left naked. These -were finally, however, swept into ditches, the opposite sides of which -were provided with cloths tightly stretched, and crushed.[345] - -When the provincial governors of Spain are informed in the spring that -Locusts have been seen, they collect the soldiers and peasants, divide -them into companies and surround the district. Every man is furnished -with a long broom, with which he strikes the ground, and thus drives the -young Locusts toward a common center, where a vast excavation, with a -quantity of brushwood, is prepared for their reception, and where the -flame destroys them. Three thousand men were thus employed, in 1780, for -three weeks, at Zamora; and it was reckoned that the quantity collected -exceeded 10,000 bushels.[346] In 1783, 400 bushels more were collected -and destroyed in the same way.[347] - -Mr. Barrow informs us that in South Africa, in 1784 and 1797, two -thousand square miles were literally covered by Locusts, which, being -carried into the sea by a northwest wind, formed, for fifty miles along -shore, a bank three or four feet high; and when the wind was in the -opposite point, the horrible odor which they exhaled was perceptible a -hundred and fifty miles off.[348] - -The immense column of Locusts which ravaged all the Mahratta territory, -and was thought to have come from Arabia, extended, Mr. Kirby's friend -told him, five hundred miles, and was so dense as thoroughly to hide the -sun, and prevent any object from casting a shadow. This horde was not -composed of the migratory Locust, but of a red species, which imparted a -sanguine color to the trees on which they settled.[349] - -Mr. Forbes describes a flight of Locusts which he saw soon after his -arrival at Baroche in 1779. It was more than a mile in length, and half -as much in breadth, and appeared, as the sun was in the meridian, like a -black cloud at a distance. As it approached, its density obscured the -solar rays, causing a gloom like that of an eclipse, over the gardens, -and causing a noise like the rushing of a torrent. They were almost an -hour in passing a given point.[350] - -In another place, this traveler states that, in one considerable tract -near the confines of the Brodera district, he witnessed a mournful -scene, occasioned by a scourge of Locusts. They had, some time before he -came, alighted in that part of the country, and left behind them, he -says, "an awful contrast to the general beauty of that earthly -paradise." The sad description of Hosea, he adds, was literally -realized: "That which the palmer-worm hath left, hath the caterpillar -eaten. They have laid waste the vine, and barked the fig-tree; they have -made it clean bare, and the branches thereof are made white: the -pomegranate-tree, the palm-tree also, and the apple-tree, even all the -trees of the field are withered. Howl, O ye husbandmen! for the wheat -and for the barley; because the harvest of the field is perished. How do -the beasts groan! The herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have -no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate!"[351] - -On the 16th of May, 1800, Buchanan met with in Mysore a flight of -Locusts which extended in length about three miles. He compares the -noise they made to the sound of a cataract.[352] This swarm was very -destructive to the young crops of jola.[353] - -In 1811, at Smyrna, at right angles to a flight of Locusts, a man rode -forty miles before he got rid of the moving column. This immense flight -continued for three days and nights, apparently without intermission. It -was computed that the lowest number of Locusts in this swarm must have -exceeded 168,608,563,200,200! Captain Beaufort determined that the -Locusts of this flight, which he himself saw, if framed into a heap, -would have exceeded in magnitude more than a thousand and thirty times -the largest pyramid of Egypt; or if put on the ground close together, in -a band of a mile and an eighth in width, would have encircled the globe! -This immense swarm caused such a famine in the district of Marwar, that -the natives fled for subsistence in a living torrent into Guzerat and -Bombay; and out of every hundred of these Marwarees, Captain Carnac -estimates, ninety-nine died that year! Near the town of Baroda, these -poor people perished at the rate of five hundred a day; and at -Ahmedabad, a large city of two hundred thousand inhabitants, one hundred -thousand died from this awful visitation![354] - -In 1816, Captain Riley met with a flight of Locusts in the north of -Africa, which extended in length about eight miles, and in breadth -three. He tells us, also, he was informed that several years before he -came to Mogadore, nearly all the Locusts in the empire, which at that -time were very numerous, and had laid waste the country, were carried -off in one night, and drowned in the Atlantic Ocean: that their dead -carcasses a few days afterward were driven by winds and currents on -shore, all along the western coast, extending from near Cape Spartel to -beyond Mogadore, forming in many places immense piles on the beach: that -the stench arising from their remains was intolerable, and was supposed -to have produced the plague which broke out about that time in various -parts of the Moorish dominions.[355] Before this plague in 1799, Mr. -Jackson tells us, from Mogadore to Tangier the face of the earth was -covered by them, and relates the following singular incident which -occurred at El Araiche: The whole region from the confines of the Sahara -was ravaged by the Locusts; but on the other side of the river El Kos -not one of them was to be seen, though there was nothing to prevent -their flying over it. Till then they had proceeded northward; but upon -arriving at its banks they turned to the east, so that all the country -north of El Araiche was full of pulse, fruits and grain, exhibiting a -most striking contrast to the desolation of the adjoining district. At -length they were all carried by a violent hurricane into the Western -Ocean; the shore, as in former instances, was covered by their -carcasses, and a pestilence (confirming the statement, and verifying the -supposition of Captain Riley) was caused by the horrid stench which they -emitted: but when this evil ceased, their devastations were followed by -a most abundant crop.[356] - -In 1825 the Russian empire was overrun to a very alarming extent by -young Locusts. About Kiew, as far as the eye could reach, they lay piled -up one upon another to the height of two feet. Through the government of -Ekatharinoslaw and Cherson to the Black Sea, a distance of about 400 -miles, they covered the ground so thickly that a horse could not walk -fast through them. The sight of such an immense number, says an -eye-witness, Mr. Jaeger, of the most destructive and rapacious insects, -justly occasioned a melancholy foreboding of famine and pestilence, in -case they should invade the cultivated and populous countries of Russia -and Poland. It was at this juncture, however, that the Emperor Alexander -sent his army of thirty thousand soldiers to destroy them. These forming -a line of several hundred miles, and advancing toward the south, -attacked them with shovels, and collected them, as far as possible, in -sacks and burned them. This is the largest army of soldiers sent against -Locusts we have any record of.[357] - -In 1824, Locusts made their appearance at the Glen-Lynden Colony in -South Africa, being the first time they had been seen there since 1808. -In 1825, they continued to advance from the north; in 1826, the corn -crops at Glen-Lynden were totally destroyed by them; and in 1827, 1828, -and 1829, they extended their ravages through the whole of the northern -and southern districts of the colony. In 1830, they again -disappeared.[358] - -The following graphic description of the swarm that visited Glen-Lynden -in 1825 is from the pen of Mr. Pringle. He says: "In returning to -Glen-Lynden, we passed through a flying swarm, which had exactly the -appearance, as it approached, of a vast snow-cloud hanging on the slope -of a mountain from which the snow was falling in very large flakes. When -we got into the midst of them, the air all around and above was darkened -as by a thick cloud; and the rushing sound of the wings of the millions -of these insects was as loud as the dash of a mill-wheel.... The column -that we thus passed through was, as nearly as I could calculate, about -half a mile in breadth, and from two to three miles in length."[359] - -In 1835, a plague of Locusts made their appearance in China, in the -neighborhood of Quangse, and in the western departments of Quangtung. -The military and people were ordered out to exterminate them, as they -had done two years before. A more rational mode, however, was adopted by -the authorities, of offering a bounty of twelve or fifteen cash per -catty of the insects. They were gathered so fast for this price, that it -was immediately lowered to five or six cash per catty. A strike -followed, and the Locusts were left in quiet to do as much damage as -they could.[360] - -Nieuhoff tells us, Locusts in the East Indies are so destructive that -the inhabitants are oftentimes obliged to change their habitations, for -want of sustenance. He adds that this has frequently happened in China -and the Island of Tojowac.[361] - -In 1828-9, in the provinces lying between the Black and Caspian Seas, -Locusts appeared in such vast numbers as were never seen in that country -before.[362] - -In 1839, Kaffraria was again visited by Locusts, which, together with -the war at that time, caused so great a famine that many persons -perished for want of subsistence.[363] Again in 1849-50, this country -was visited by this dreadful scourge. The whole country, says the Rev. -Francis Fleming, was covered with them; and when they arose, the cloud -was so dense that this gentleman was obliged to dismount, and wait till -they passed over.[364] - -Mr. Jules Remy says, that at his arrival at Salt Lake, he observed upon -the shore, on the top of the salt, a deposit of a foot deep which was -entirely composed of dead Locusts--_Oedipoda corallipes_. These insects, -driven by a high wind in prodigiously thick clouds, had been drowned in -the lake, after having, during the course of the summer (of 1855), -destroyed the rising crops, and even the prairie grass. A famine ensued; -but the Mormons, continues Mr. Remy, only saw in this scourge a fresh -proof of the truth of their religion, because it had happened, as among -the Israelites, in the seventh year after their settlement in the -country.[365] - -According to Lieutenant Warren, whose graphic description is here -borrowed, these devastating insects of our great western plains are -"nearly the same as the Locusts of Egypt; and no one," continues this -officer, "who has not traveled on the prairie, and seen for himself, can -appreciate the magnitude of the swarms. Often they fill the air for many -miles in extent, so that an inexperienced eye can scarcely distinguish -their appearance from that of a shower of rain or the smoke of a prairie -fire. The height of their flight may be somewhat appreciated, as Mr. -Evans saw them above his head, as far as their size would render them -visible, while standing on the top of a peak of the Rocky Mountains 8500 -feet above the plain, and an elevation of 14,500 above that of the sea, -in the region where the snow lies all the year. To a person standing in -one of the swarms as they pass over and around him, the air becomes -sensibly darkened, and the sound produced by their wings resembles that -of the passage of a train of cars on a railroad, when standing two or -three hundred yards from the track. The Mormon settlements have suffered -more from the ravages of these insects than probably all other causes -combined. They destroyed nearly all the vegetables cultivated last year -at Fort Randall, and extended their ravages east as far as Iowa."[366] - -The Mormons, in their simple and picturesque descriptions, say that -these insects ("Crickets"--_Oedipoda corallipes_, Haldemars) are the -produce of "a cross between the Spider and the Buffalo."[367] - -In Egypt, in 1843, the popular idea was that the hordes of Locusts, -which were then ravaging the land, were sent by the comet observed about -that time for twelve days in the southwest.[368] - -Pliny, in the words of his translator, Holland, says: "Many a time have -the Locusts been knowne to take their flight out of Affricke, and with -whole armies to infest Italie: many a time have the people of Rome, -fearing a great famine and scarcity toward, beene forced to have -recourse unto Sybil's bookes for remedie, and to avert the ire of the -gods. In the Cyrenaick region within Barbarie, ordained it is by law, -every three years to wage warre against them, and so to conquer them.... -Yea, and a grievous punishment lieth upon him that is negligent in this -behalf, as if hee were a traitour to his prince and countrey. Moreover, -within the Island Lemnos there is a certaine proportion and measure set -down, how many and what quantity every man shall kill; and they are to -exhibit unto the magistrate a just and true account thereof, and namely, -to shew what measure full of dead Locusts. And for this purpose they -make much of Iaies, Dawes, and Choughs, whom they do honour highly, -because they doe flie opposite against the Locusts, and so destroy them. -Moreover in Syria, they are forced to levie a warlike power of men -against them, and to make ridance by that means."[369] - -Democritus says, if a cloud of Locusts is coming forward, let all -persons remain quiet within doors, and they will pass over the place; -but if they suddenly arrive before they are observed, they will hurt -nothing, if you boil bitter lupines, or wild cucumbers, in brine, and -sprinkle it, for they will immediately die. They will likewise pass over -the subjacent spot, continues Democritus, if you catch some bats and tie -them on the high trees of the place; and if you take and burn some of -the Locusts, they are rendered torpid from the smell, and some indeed -die, and some drooping their wings, await their pursuers, and they are -destroyed by the sun. You will drive away Locusts, continues this same -writer, if you prepare some liquor for them, and dig trenches, and -besprinkle them with the liquor; for if you come there afterward, you -will find them oppressed with sleep; but how you are to destroy them is -to be your concern. A Locust will touch nothing, he concludes, if you -pound absinthium, or a leek, or centaury with water, and sprinkle -it.[370] - -Didymus says, to preserve vines from that species of Locusts called by -the ancients _Bruchus_, set three grains of mustard around the stem of -the vine at the root; for these being thus set, have the power of -destroying the Bruchus.[371] - -Nieuhoff tells us that when a swarm of Locusts is seen in China, the -inhabitants, to prevent their alighting, "march to and again the fields -with their colors flying, shouting and hallooing all the while; never -leaving them till they are driven into the sea, or some river, where -they fall down and are drowned."[372] - -Volney says, that when the Locusts first make their appearance on the -frontiers of Syria, the inhabitants strive to drive them off by raising -large clouds of smoke; and if, as it too frequently happens, their herbs -and wet straw fail them, they dig trenches, in which they bury them in -great numbers. The most efficacious destroyers of these insects are, -however, he adds, the south and southeasterly winds, and the bird called -the Samarmar.[373] - -Capt. Riley tells us, it is said at Mogadore, and believed by the Moors, -Christians, and Jews, that the Bereberies inhabiting the Atlas Mountains -have the power to destroy every flight of Locusts that comes from the -south, and from the east, and thus ward off this scourge from all the -countries north and west of this stupendous ridge, merely by building -large fires on the parts of the mountains over which the Locusts are -known always to pass, and in the season when they are likely to appear, -which is at a definite period, within a certain number of days in almost -every year. The Atlas being high, and the peaks covered with snow, these -insects become chilled in passing over them, when, seeing the fires, -they are attracted by the glare, and plunge into the flame. What degree -of credit ought to be attached to this opinion, Capt. Riley says he does -not know, but is certain that the Moorish Sultan used to pay a -considerable sum of money yearly to certain inhabitants of the sides of -the Atlas, in order to keep the Locusts out of his dominions. He also -adds, the Moors and Jews affirmed to him, that during the time in which -the Sultan paid the said yearly stipend punctually, not a Locust was to -be seen in his dominions; but that when the Emperor refused to pay the -stipulated sum, because no Locusts troubled his country, and thinking he -had been imposed upon, that the very same year the Locusts again made -their appearance, and have continued to lay waste the country ever -since.[374] - -An impostor, who is believed to have been a French adventurer, at one -time, it is said, endeavored to persuade the people of Morocco that he -could destroy all the Locusts by a chemical process.[375] - -The superstitious Tartars of the Crimea, in order to rid their country -of its most destructive enemy, the Locusts, at one time sent over to -Asia Minor, whence these insects had come, to procure Dervises to drive -them away by their incantations, etc. These divines prayed around the -mosques, and, as a charm, ordered water to be hung out on the minarets, -which, with the prayers, were meant to entice a species of blackbird to -come in multitudes and devour the Locusts! The water thus hung out is -said to be still preserved in the mosques. On this occasion, the -Dervises collected eighty thousand rubles, the poorest shepherd giving -half a ruble.[376] - -We read in "Purchas's Pilgrims," of Locusts being exorcised and -excommunicated, so that they immediately flew away![377] From this -interesting collection the following is clipped: "In the yeere 1603, at -Fremona, great misery happened by Grasse-hoppers, from which Paez freed -the Catholikes, by Letanies and sprinkling the Fields with Holy-water; -when as the Fields of Heretikes, seuered only by a Ditch, were spoyled -by them. Yea, a Heretike vsing this sacred sprinkling, preserued his -corne, which, to a Catholike neglecting in one Field, was lost, and -preserued in another by that couiured aspersion (so neere of kinne are -these Locusts to the Deuill, which is said to hate Holy-water)."[378] - -In the south of Europe rewards are offered for the collection both of -the Locusts and their eggs; and at Marseilles, it is on record that, in -the year 1613, 20,000 francs were paid for this purpose. In 1825, the -same city paid a sum of 6200 francs for destroying these pests to -agriculture.[379] We read in the eighty-first volume of the Gentleman's -Magazine, that most of the Agricultural Societies of Italy have offered -premiums for the best method of destroying Locusts: that in many -districts several thousand persons are employed in searching for the -eggs; that in four days the inhabitants of the district of Ofanto -collected at one time 80,000 sacks full, which were thrown into the -river.[380] - -The noise Locusts make when engaged in the work of destruction has been -compared to the sound of a flame of fire driven by the wind, and the -effect of their bite to that of fire.[381] Volney says: "The noise they -make, in browsing on the trees and herbage, may be heard at a great -distance, and resembles that of an army foraging in secret." His -following sentence may also be introduced here: "The Tartars themselves -are a less destructive enemy than these little animals."[382] Robbins -compares their noise to that of small pigs when eating corn.[383] The -noise produced by their flight and approach, the poet Southey has -strikingly described: - - Onward they came a dark continuous cloud - Of congregated myriads numberless, - The rushing of whose wings was as the sound - Of a broad river headlong in its course - Plunged from a mountain summit, or the roar - Of a wild ocean in the autumn storm, - Shattering its billows on a shore of rocks![384] - -Another comparison may be introduced here, to give some idea of the -infinite numbers of these insects. Dr. Clarke compares a cloud of them -to a flight of snow when the flakes are carried obliquely by the wind. -They covered his carriage and horses, and the Tartars assert that people -are sometimes suffocated by them. The whole face of nature might have -been described as covered with a living veil. They consisted of two -species--_Locusta tartarica_ and _L. migratoria_; the first is almost -twice the size of the second, and, because it precedes it, is called by -the Tartars the herald or messenger.[385] - -In the Account of the admirable Voyage of Domingo Gonsales, the little -Spaniard, to the World of the Moon, by Help of several Gansa's, or large -Geese, we find the following: "One accident more befel me worth mention, -that during my stay, I say, I saw a kind of a reddish cloud coming -toward me, and continually approaching nearer, which, at last, I -perceived, was nothing but a huge swarm of Locusts. He that reads the -discources of learned men concerning them (as John Leo, of Africa, and -others, who relate that they are seen for several days in the air before -they fall on the earth), and adds thereto this experience of mine, will -easily conclude that they can come from no other place than the globe of -the moon."[386] - -To accompany this piece of satire, the following suits well: - -A Chinese author, quoted by Rev. Thomas Smith, observes, that Locusts -never appear in China but when great floods are followed by a very dry -season; and that it is his opinion that they are hatched by the sun from -the spawn of fish left by the waters on the ground![387] - -So far the history of the Locust has been but a series of the greatest -calamities which human nature has suffered--famine, pestilence, and -death. No wonder that, in all ages and times, these insects have so -deeply impressed the imagination, that almost all people have looked on -them with superstitious horror. We have shown how that their -devastations have entered into the history of nations. Their effigies, -too, like those of other conquerors of the earth, have been perpetuated -in coins. - -We are the army of the great God, and we lay ninety-and-nine eggs; were -the hundredth put forth, the world would be ours--such is the speech the -Arabs put into the mouth of the Locust. And such is the feeling the -Arabs entertain of this insect, that they give it a remarkable pedigree, -and the following description of its person: It has the head of the -horse, the horns of the stag, the eye of the elephant, the neck of the -ox, the breast of the lion, the body of the scorpion, the hip of the -camel, the legs of the stork, the wings of the eagle, and the tail of -the dragon.[388] - -The Mohammedans say, that after God had created man from clay, of that -which was left he made the Locust: and in utter despair, they look upon -this devastating scourge as a just chastisement from heaven for their or -their nation's sins, or as directed by that fatality in which they all -believe.[389] - -The wings of some Locusts being spotted, were thought by many to be -leaves from the book of fate, in which letters announcing the destiny of -nations were to be read. Paul Jetzote, professor of Greek literature at -the Gymnasium of Stettin, wrote a work on the meaning of three of these -letters, which were, according to him, to be seen on the wings of those -Locusts which visited Silesia in 1712. These letters were B. E. S., and -formed the initials of the Latin words "Bella Erunt Sæva," or "Babel Est -Solitudo;" also the German words, "Bedeutet Erschreckliche Schlacten," -portending frightful battles, "Bedeutet und Erfreuliche Siege," -portending happy victories. There are Greek and Hebrew sentences -likewise, in which, no doubt, the professor showed as much learning, -judgment, and spirit of prophecy as in those already quoted.[390] - -A quite common belief in our own country is, that every Locust's wing is -marked with either the letter W, portending War, or the letter P, -portending Peace. - -Not content with the dreadful presence of this plague, the inhabitants -of most countries took that opportunity of adding to their present -misery by prognosticating future evils. The direction of their flight -pointed out the kingdom doomed to bow under the divine wrath. The color -of the insect designated the national uniform of such armies as were to -go forth and conquer.[391] - -Aldrovandus states, on the authority of Cruntz, that Tamerlane's army -being infested by Locusts, that chief looked on it as a warning from -God, and desisted from his designs on Jerusalem.[392] - -Mouffet says: "If any credit may be given to Apomasaris, a man most -learned in the learning of the Indians, Persians, and Egyptians, to -dream of the coming of Locusts is a sign of an army coming against us, -and so much as they shall seem to hurt or not hurt us, so shall the -enemy."[393] - -We now turn to the history of the Locust as an article of food--a -striking benefit directly derived from insects. For as they are the -greatest destroyers of food, so as some recompense they furnish a -considerable supply of it to numerous nations--as they cause, they are -frequently the means of preventing famines. They are recorded to have -done this from the remotest antiquity. - -In the curious account given by Alexis of a poor Athenian family's -provisions, mention of this insect is found: - - For our best and daintiest cheer, - Through the bright half of the year, - Is but acorns, onions, peas, - Ochros, lupines, radishes, - Vetches, wild pears nine and ten, - With a Locust now and then.[394] - -Diodorus Siculus, who lived about threescore years before our Saviour's -birth, first, if I mistake not, described the Acridophagi, or -Locust-eaters, of Ethiopia. He says they are smaller than other men, of -lean and meager bodies, and exceeding black: that in the spring the -south winds rise high, and drive an infinite number of Locusts out of -the desert, of an extraordinary bigness, furnished with most dirty and -nasty colored wings; and these are plentiful food and provision for them -all their days. This historian has also given us an account of their -peculiar mode of catching these insects: In their country there is a -large and deep vale, extending far in length for many furlongs together: -all over this they lay heaps of wood and other combustible material, and -when the swarms of Locusts are driven thither by the force of the winds, -then some of the inhabitants go to one part of the valley, and some to -another, and set the grass and other combustible matter on fire, which -was before thrown among the piles; whereupon arises a great and -suffocating smoke, which so stifles the Locusts as they fly over the -vale, that they soon fall down dead to the ground. This destruction of -them, he continues, is continued for many days together, so that they -lie in great heaps; and the country being full of salt, they gather -these heaps together, and season them sufficiently with this salt, which -gives them an excellent relish, and preserves them a long time sweet, -so that they have food from these insects all the year round. - -Diodorus concludes his history of this people, with an account of the -strange and wonderful death that comes to them at an early age, the -result of eating this kind of food: They are exceeding short-lived, -never living to be over forty; and when they grow old, winged lice breed -in their flesh, not only of divers sorts, but of horrid and ugly shapes; -that this plague begins first at the abdomen and breast, and in a short -time eats and consumes the whole body. (_Phthiriasis._)[395] - -Strabo, most probably quoting from the above passage from Diodorus, -speaks of a nation bordering on that of the Struthophagi, or -Bird-eaters, whose food consisted entirely of Locusts, and who were -carried off by the same most horrible disease.[396] - -Pliny remarks: "The people of the East countries make their food of -grasshoppers, even the very Parthians, who otherwise abound in -wealth."[397] - -The Arabs, who are compelled at the present day to inhabit the desert of -Sahara, welcome the approach of Locusts as the means, oftentimes, of -saving them from famishing with hunger. Robbins tells us their manner of -preparing these insects for food is, by digging a deep hole in the -ground, building a fire at the bottom, and filling it with wood. Then, -after the earth is heated as hot as possible, and the coals and embers -taken out, they prepare to fill the cavity with the live Locusts, -confined in a bag holding about five bushels. Several hold the bag -perpendicularly over the hole with the mouth near the surface of the -ground, while others stand round with sticks. The bag is then opened, -and the Locusts shaken with great force into the hot pit, while the -surrounding persons immediately throw sand upon them to prevent their -flying off. The mouth of the hole is now completely covered with sand, -and another fire built upon the top of it. When the Locusts are -thoroughly roasted and become cool, they are picked out with the hand, -thrown upon tent-cloths, or blankets, and placed in the sun to dry. -During this process, which requires two or three days, they must be -watched with the utmost care, to prevent the live Locusts from devouring -them, if a flight should happen to be passing at the time. When -perfectly dry, they are pounded slightly, pressed into bags, or skins, -and are ready for transportation. To prepare them now for present -eating, they are pulverized in mortars, and mixed with water sufficient -to make a kind of dry pudding. They are, however, sometimes eaten singly -without pulverizing, after breaking off the head, wings, and legs. Mr. -Robbins considers them nourishing food.[398] - -Locusts are sometimes boiled at Wadinoon for food for men and -beasts.[399] - -The Arabs of Morocco, we learn from Mr. Jackson, esteem Locusts a great -delicacy; and, during the summer of 1799 and the spring of 1800, after -the plague had almost depopulated Barbary, dishes of them were served up -at the principal repasts. Their usual way of dressing these insects, was -to boil them in water half an hour, then sprinkle them with salt and -pepper, and fry them, adding a little vinegar. The body of the insect is -only eaten, and resembles, according to this gentleman, the taste of -prawns. For their stimulating qualities, the Moors prefer them to -pigeons. A person may eat a plateful of them containing two or three -hundred without any ill effects.[400] In another place, however, Mr. -Jackson says the poor people, when obliged to live altogether on this -kind of food, become meager and indolent.[401] - -In Morocco, the price of provisions falls when the Locusts have entered -the neighborhood.[402] - -The authority of Capt. Riley is, that Locusts are esteemed very good -food by the Moors, Arabs, and Jews of Barbary, who catch large numbers -of them in their season, and throw them, while alive and jumping, into a -pan of boiling argan oil, where they are allowed to remain, hissing and -frying, till their wings are burned off and their bodies sufficiently -cooked; they are then poured out and eaten. Riley says they resemble, -in consistence and flavor, the yolks of hard-boiled hens' eggs.[403] - -Capt. Beechey tells us he saw many asses, heavily laden with Locusts for -food, driven into the town of Mesurata, in Tripoli.[404] - -Barth, in Central Africa, saw whole calabashes filled with roasted -Locusts, which, he says, occasionally form a considerable part of the -food of the natives, particularly if their grain has been destroyed by -this plague, as they can then enjoy not only the agreeable flavor of the -dish, but also take a pleasant revenge for the ravages of their -fields.[405] - -Adanson, after describing an immense swarm of Locusts that covered an -extent of several leagues which he saw, says the negroes of Gambia eat -these insects, and have different ways of dressing them--some pounding -and boiling them in milk, others only boiling them on coals.[406] - -Dr. Sparrman says the Hottentots rejoice greatly upon the arrival of the -Locusts, although they never fail to destroy every particle of verdure -on the ground. But, continues the doctor, they make themselves ample -amends for this loss, for, seizing these marauding animals, they eat -them in such numbers as, in the space of a few days, to get visibly -fatter and in a better condition. The females are principally eaten, -especially when about to migrate, before they are able to fly, when -their wings are short and their bodies heavy and distended with eggs. -The soup prepared of these is of a brown coffee color, and, when cooled, -from the eggs has a fat and greasy appearance.[407] - -Dr. Sparrman also relates a curious notion which the Hottentots about -the Visch River have with respect to the origin of the Locusts: that -they proceed from the good will of a great master-conjurer a long way to -the north, who, having removed the stone from the mouth of a certain -deep pit, lets loose these insects in order to furnish them with -food.[408] This is not unlike the account, given by the author of the -Apocalypse, of the origin of the symbolical Locusts, which are said to -ascend upon an angel's opening the pit of the abyss.[409] - -The Korannas and Bushmen of the Cape save the Locusts in large -quantities, and grind them between two stones into a kind of a meal, -which they mix with fat and grease, and bake in cakes. Upon this fare, -says Mr. Fleming, they live for months together, and chatter with the -greatest joy as soon as the Locusts are seen approaching.[410] - -Locusts in Madagascar are greatly esteemed by the natives as food.[411] - -The account of the missionary Moffat differs somewhat from and is much -more complete than Mr. Fleming's and Dr. Sparrman's. He says the natives -of S. Africa embrace every opportunity of gathering Locusts, which can -be done during the night. Whenever the cloud alights at a place not very -distant from a town, the inhabitants turn out with sacks, and often with -pack-oxen, gather loads, and return next day with millions. The Locusts -are then prepared for eating by simple boiling, or rather steaming, as -they are put into a large pot with a little water, and covered closely -up; after boiling for a short time, they are taken out and spread on -mats in the sun to dry, when they are winnowed, something like corn, to -clear them of their legs and wings; and, when perfectly dry, are put -into sacks, or laid upon the house floor in a heap. The natives eat them -whole, adding a little salt when they can obtain it, or pound them in a -wooden mortar; and, when they have reduced them to something like meal, -they mix them with a little water and make a cold stir-about. - -When Locusts abound, the natives become quite fat, and would even reward -any old lady who would say that she had coaxed them to alight within -reach of the inhabitants. - -Mr. Moffat thinks the Locust not bad food, and, when well fed, almost as -good as shrimps.[412] - -The plan of gathering Locusts by night is occasionally attended with -danger. "It has happened that in gathering them people have been bitten -by venomous reptiles. On one occasion a woman had been traveling for -several miles with a large bundle of Locusts on her head, when a -serpent, which had been put into the sack with them, found its way out. -The woman, supposing it to be a thong dangling about her shoulders, laid -hold of it with her hand, and, feeling that it was alive, instantly -precipitated the bundle to the ground and fled."[413] - -Pringle, in his song of the wild Bushman, has the following lines: - - Yea, even the wasting Locust-swarm, - Which mighty nations dread, - To me nor terror brings nor harm; - I make of them my bread.[414] - -Flights of Locusts are considered so much of a blessing in South Africa, -that, as Dr. Livingstone states, the _rain_-doctors sometimes promised -to bring them by their incantations.[415] - -Carsten Niebuhr says that all Arabians, whether living in their own -country or in Persia, Syria, and Africa, are accustomed to eat Locusts. -They distinguish several species of insect, to which they give -particular names. The red Locust, which is esteemed fatter and more -succulent than any other, and accordingly the greatest delicacy, they -call _Muken_; another is called _Dubbe_, but they abstain from it -because it has a tendency to produce diarrhoea. A light-colored Locust, -as well as the Muken, is eaten. - -In Arabia, Locusts, when caught, are put in bags, or on strings, to be -dried; in Barbary, they are boiled, and then dried upon the roofs of the -houses. The Bedouins of Egypt roast them alive, and devour them with the -utmost voracity. Niebuhr says he saw no instance of unwholesomeness in -this article of food; but Mr. Forskal was told it had a tendency to -thicken the blood and bring on melancholy habits. The former gentleman -also says the Jews in Arabia are convinced that the fowls, of which the -Israelites ate so largely of in the desert, were only clouds of Locusts, -and laugh at our translators, who have supposed that they found quails -where quails never were.[416] - -The wild Locusts upon which St. John fed have given rise to great -discussion--some authors asserting them to be the fruit of the -carob-tree, while others maintain they were the true Locusts, and refer -to the practice of the Arabs in Syria at the present day. "They who deny -insects to have been the food of this holy man," says Hasselquist, "urge -that this insect is an unaccustomary and unnatural food; but they would -soon be convinced of the contrary, if they would travel hither, to -Egypt, Arabia, or Syria, and take a meal with the Arabs. Roasted Locusts -are at this time eaten by the Arabs, at the proper season, when they can -procure them; so that in all probability this dish has been used in the -time of St. John. Ancient customs are not here subject to many changes, -and the victuals of St. John are not believed unnatural here; and I was -assured by a judicious Greek priest that their church had never taken -the word in any other sense, and he even laughed at the idea of its -being a bird or a plant."[417] - -Mr. Forbes incidentally remarks that in Persia and Arabia, roasted -Locusts are sold in the markets, and eaten with rice and dates, and -sometimes flavored with salt and spices.[418] - -The _Acridites lincola_ (_Gryllus Ægypticus_ of Linnæus) is the species -commonly sold for food in the markets of Bagdad. - -In fact, Locusts have been eaten in Arabia from the remotest antiquity. -This is evinced by the sculptured slabs found by Layard at Kouyunjic; -for, among other attendants carrying fruit, flowers, and game, to a -banquet, are seen several bearing dried Locusts fastened on rods. And -being thus introduced in this bas-relief among the choicest delicacies, -it is most probable they were also highly prized by the Assyrians. -Layard has figured one of these Locust bearers, who upon the sculptured -slab is about four and a half feet in height.[419] - -The Chinese regard the Locust, when deprived of the abdomen, and -properly cooked, as passable eating, but do not appear to hold the dish -in much estimation.[420] - -Mr. Laurence Oliphant, in Tientsin, China, saw bushels of fried Locusts -hawked about in baskets by urchins in the streets. Locust-hunting, he -asserts, was a favorite and profitable occupation among the juvenile -part of the community. He thought the taste not unlike that of -periwinkle.[421] - -Williams says: "The insect food (of the Chinese) is confined to Locusts -and Grasshoppers, Ground-grubs and Silk-worms; the latter are fried to a -crisp when cooked."[422] - -Dampier says in the Bashee (Philippine) Islands, Locusts are eaten as a -regular food. The natives catch them in small nets, when they come to -devour their potato-vines, and parch them over the fire in an earthen -pan. When thus prepared the legs and wings fall off, and the heads and -backs, which before were brownish, turn red like boiled shrimps. Dampier -once ate of this dish, and says he liked it well enough. When their -bodies were full they were moist to the palate, but their heads cracked -in his teeth.[423] - -Ovalle states that in the pampas of Chili, bread is made of Locusts and -of Mosquitos.[424] - -According to Mr. Jules Remy, our Western Indians eat in great quantities -what are generally there called _Crickets_, the _Oedipoda -corallipes_.[425] - -In the southern parts of France, M. Latrielle informs us, the children -are very fond of the fleshy thighs of Locusts.[426] - -The Arabs believe the Locusts have a government among themselves similar -to that of the bees and ants; and when "Sultan Jeraad," King of the -Locusts, rises, the whole mass follow him, and not a solitary straggler -is left behind to witness the devastation. Mr. Jackson himself evidently -believed this from the manner he has narrated it.[427] An Arab once -asserted to this gentleman, that he himself had seen the great "Sultan -Jeraad," and described his lordship as being larger and more beautifully -colored than the ordinary Locust.[428] - -Capt. Riley also mentions that each flight of Locusts is said to have a -king which directs its movements with great regularity.[429] - -The Chinese believe the same, and affirm that this leader is the -largest individual of the whole swarm.[430] - -Benjamin Bullifant, in his observations on the Natural History of New -England, says: "The Locusts have a kind of regimental discipline, and as -it were commanders, which show greater and more splendid wings than the -common ones, and arise first when pursued by fowls, or the feet of a -traveler, as I have often seriously remarked."[431] - -The truth, however, is found in the Bible. They have no king.[432] - -The Saharawans, or Arabs of the desert, "whose hands are against every -man,"[433] and who rejoice in the evil that befalls other nations, when -they behold the clouds of Locusts proceeding toward the north are filled -with the greatest gladness, anticipating a general mortality, which they -call _El-khere_, the good, or the benediction; for, when Barbary is thus -laid waste, they emerge from their arid recesses in the desert and pitch -their tents in the desolated plains.[434] - -Pausanias tells us, that in the temple of Parthenon there was a brazen -statue of Apollo, by the hand of Phidias, which was called Parnopius, -out of gratitude for that god having once banished from that country the -Locusts, which greatly injured the land. The same author asserts that he -himself has known the Locusts to have been thrice destroyed by Apollo in -the Mountain Lipylus, once exterminating them by a violent wind; at -another time by vehement heat; and the third time by unexpected -cold.[435] - -At a time when there were great swarms of Locusts in China, as we learn -from Navarette, the Emperor went out into his gardens, and taking up -some of these insects in his hands, thus spoke to them: The people -maintain themselves on wheat, rice, etc., you come to devour and destroy -it, without leaving anything behind; it were better you should devour my -bowels than the food of my subjects. Having concluded his speech, the -monarch was about to put them in a fair way of "devouring his bowels" by -swallowing them, when some that stood by telling him they were -venomous, he nobly answered, "I value not my life when it is for the -good of my subjects and people to lose it," and immediately swallowed -the insects. History tells us the Locusts that very moment took wing, -and went off without doing any more damage; but whether or not the -heroic Emperor recovered leaves us in ignorance.[436] - -Mr. J. M. Jones gives the following ludicrous account of the capture of -a Locust in the Bermudas. While walking one hot day in the vicinity of -the barracks at St. George's, with his lamented friend, the late Col. -Oakly (56th Regt.), on the lookout for insects, a very fine specimen of -the Locust sprung up before them. The former chased it for a while -unavailingly, but determined not to be balked of his prey; the colonel -then joined in the pursuit, and after a sharp and hot chase, bagged his -game right before a sentry-box; the sentry, as in duty bound, standing -with arms presented, in the presence of a field officer, who was, -however, in a rather undignified position to receive the salute. They -had gained their prize, however, and had a hearty laugh, in which we -fancy the sentry could scarcely help joining.[437] - -Capt. Drayson, in his South African Sporting, tells the following -anecdote: A South African, riding through a flock of Locusts, was struck -in the eye by one of them, and, though blinded momentarily in the -injured eye, he still kept the other on the insect, which sought to -escape by diving among the crowd on the ground. So, dismounting, he -captured it, passed a large pin through its body, and thrust it in his -waistcoat pocket; and whenever the damaged eye smarted, he pulled it out -again, and stuck the pin through it in a fresh place.[438] - -Darwin tells us that when the "Beagle" was to windward of the Cape de -Verd Islands, and when the nearest point of land, not directly opposed -to the trade-wind, was Cape Blanco on the coast of Africa, 370 miles -distant, a large Grasshopper--_Acrydium_--flew on board![439] But Sir -Hans Sloane mentions a much more remarkable flight in his History of -Jamaica; for when the Assistance frigate was about 300 leagues to -windward of Barbados, he says a Locust alighted on the forecastle among -the sailors![440] - -Several species of Locusts are beautifully marked; these were sought -after by young Jewish children as playthings.[441] - -The eggs of the _Chargol_ Locust, _Truxalis nasuta_?, the Jewish women -used to carry in their ears to preserve them from the earache.[442] - -The word _Locust_, Latin _Locusta_, is derived by the old etymologists -from _locus_, a place, and _ustus_, burned,--"quod tactu multa _urit_ -morsu vero omnia erodat." True Locusts are the _Acridium_, or -_Criquets_, of Geoffroy, and the _Gryllus_ of Fabricius. The -Migratory-locust, _Locusta migratoria_, a rather small insect, is the -most celebrated species of the family. To it almost all the devastations -before mentioned have been attributed. It is most probable, however, -many species have been confounded under the same name. - -In Spain, as we are told by Osbeck, the people of fashion keep a species -of Locust--called there _Gryllo_--in cages--_grillaria_,--for the sake -of its song.[443] De Pauw says that, like Canary birds, they were kept -in cages to sing during the celebration of mass.[444] - -The song of a Spanish Gryllo on one occasion, if we may credit the -historian, was the means of saving a vessel from shipwreck. The incident -evinces the perilous situation of Cabeza de Vara, in his voyage toward -Brazil, and is related by Dr. Southey in his history of that country as -follows: - -"When they had crossed the Line, the state of the water was inquired -into, and it was found, that of a hundred casks there remained but -three, to supply four hundred men and thirty horses. Upon this, the -Adelantado gave orders to make for the nearest land. Three days they -stood toward it. A soldier, who had set out in ill health, had brought a -Gryllo, or ground cricket, with him from Cadiz, thinking to be amused by -the insect's voice; but it had been silent the whole way, to his no -little disappointment. Now, on the fourth morning, the Gryllo began to -sing its shrill rattle, scenting, as it was immediately supposed, the -land. Such was the miserable watch which had been kept, that upon -looking out at the warning, they perceived high rocks within bowshot; -against which, had it not been for the insect, they must inevitably have -been lost. They had just time to drop anchor. From hence they coasted -along, the Gryllo singing every night, as if it had been on shore, till -they reached the Island of St. Catalina."[445] - -To account for the singular sound produced by the _Platyphyllon -concavum_, which much resembles the expression _Katy did_, so much so -that the insect is now called the Katy-did,--a curious legend is told in -this country, and particularly in Virginia and Maryland. Mrs. A. L. -Ruter Dufour has kindly embodied it in the following verses for me: - - Two maiden sisters loved a gallant youth, - Once in the far-off days of olden time: - With all of woman's fervency and truth;-- - So runs a very ancient rustic rhyme. - - Blanche, chaste and beauteous as a Fairy-queen, - Brave Oscar's heart a willing captive led; - Lovely in soul as was her form and mien, - While guileless love its light around her shed. - - A Juno was the proud and regal Kate,-- - Her love thus scorn'd, her beauty thus defied, - Like Juno's turn'd her love to vengeful hate:-- - Mysteriously the gallant Oscar died. - - Bereft of reason, faithful Blanche soon lay;-- - The mystery of this fearful fate none knew, - Save proud, revengeful Kate, who would not say - It was her hand had dared the deed to do. - - Justice and pity then to Jove appealed, - That the dark secret be no longer hid; - Young Oscar's spirit he at once concealed, - That cries, each summer night, _Kate_, _Katy-did_! - - ROSE HILL, D. C., June 24, 1864. - -If a Katy-did enters your house, an unlooked-for visitor will speedily -come. If it sings there, some of your family will be noted for fine -musical powers. These superstitions obtain in Maryland. - - - - -ORDER IV. - -NEUROPTERA. - - -Termitidæ--White-ants. - -The Termites or White-ants (which are _ants_ only by a misnomer) are -found in both the Indies, in Africa, and in South America, where they do -vast damage, in consequence of their eating and perforating wooden -buildings, utensils, furniture, and indeed all kinds of household stuff, -which are utterly destroyed by them if not timely prevented. They are -found also in Europe, and, about thirty years ago, from the extent of -their ravages in the West of France, and particularly at Rochelle, -caused considerable alarm.[446] - -There is a story commonly told, if not commonly credited throughout -India, of the Termites demolishing a chest of dollars at Bencoolen, -which is in a great degree cleared up by the following anecdote -introduced by Mr. Forbes in his Memoirs: A gentleman having charge of a -chest of money, unfortunately placed it on the floor in a damp -situation; and, as a matter of course in that climate, the box was -speedily attacked by the Termites, which had their burrow just under the -place the treasure stood. Soon annihilating the bottom, these devouring -insects were not any more ceremonious in respect to the bags containing -the specie; which, being thus let loose, fell piece by piece gradually -into the hollows in the Termites' burrow. When the cash was demanded, -and not to be found, all were greatly amazed at the wonderful powers, -both of teeth and stomachs, of the little marauders, which were supposed -to have consumed the silver and gold as well as the wood. But, after -some years, however, the house requiring repair, the whole sum was found -several feet deep in the earth; and, thanks, the Termites were rescued -from that obloquy which the supposed power of feasting on precious -metals had cast on their whole race.[447] - -Kempfer, during his stay at a Dutch fort on the coast of Malabar, one -morning discovered some peculiar marks like arches upon his table, about -the size of his little finger. Suspecting they were the work of -Termites, he made an accurate examination, and, much to his surprise, -found not only what he expected to be true, but that these voracious -insects had pierced a passage of that thickness up one leg of the table, -then across the table, and so down again through the middle of another -leg into the floor! What made it the more wonderful was that it had all -been done in the few hours that intervened between his retiring to rest -and his rising.[448] - -Mr. Forbes, on surveying a room which had been locked up during an -absence of a few weeks, observed a number of advanced works in various -directions toward some prints and drawings in English frames; the -glasses appeared to be uncommonly dull, and the frames covered with -dust. "On attempting," says he, "to wipe it off, I was astonished to -find the glasses fixed on the wall, not suspended in frames as I left -them, but completely surrounded by an incrustation cemented by the -White-ants, who had actually eaten up the deal frames and back-boards, -and the greater part of the paper, and left the glasses upheld by the -incrustation, or covered way, which they had formed during their -depredation."[449] - -It is even asserted, says Kirby and Spence, that the superb residence of -the Governor-general at Calcutta, which cost the East India Company such -immense sums, is now going rapidly to decay in consequence of the -attacks of these insects. But not content with the dominions they have -acquired, and the cities they have laid low on Terra Firma, encouraged -by success, the White-ants have also aimed at the sovereignty of the -ocean, and once had the hardihood to attack even a British ship of the -line--the Albion; and, in spite of the efforts of her commander and his -valiant crew, having boarded they got possession of her, and handled -her so roughly, that when brought into port, being no longer fit for -service, she was obliged to be broken up.[450] - -Lutfullah, in his Autobiography, relates the following: "I returned the -couch kindly sent to me by a friend, with my thanks, and made my bed on -the ground, placing my new desk of Morocco leather at the head to serve -as a pillow, and went to bed. In the morning, when roused by the bugle, -I found my bed strewed with damp dust, my skin excoriated in some parts, -and my back irritated in others. I called my servant, who was saddling -my horse. 'Mahdilli,' said I angrily, 'you have been throwing dust all -over my bed and self, in shaking the trappings of the horse near my bed -in the tent.'--'No, sir, I have done no such thing,' was his reply. When -I took up my cloak it fell to pieces in my hand; the blanket was in the -same state, and the bottom of my desk, with some valuable papers, were -destroyed. 'What misfortune is this?' cried I to Mahdilli, who -immediately brought a burning stick to examine the cause, and coolly -observed, 'It is the White-ants, sir, and no misfortune, but a piece of -bad luck, sir.' Poor man! in all mishaps, I always found him attaching -blame to destiny, and never to his own or my imprudence."[451] - -The Caffres, as we are informed by Mr. Latrobe, when first permitted to -settle at Guadenthal, before they could build ovens, according to the -custom of their country, availed themselves of the Ant-hills found in -that neighborhood; for, having destroyed the inhabitants by fire and -smoke, they scooped them out hollow, leaving a crust of a few inches in -thickness, and used them for baking, putting in three loaves at a -time.[452] - -Mr. Southey says that in Brazil the Spaniards hollow out the nests of -the Termites, and use them for ovens.[453] The authority of Messrs. -Kidder and Fletcher is, that in Brazil, "the Termites' dwelling is -sometimes overturned by the slaves, the hollow scooped wider, and is -then used as a bake-oven to parch Indian-corn."[454] - -Mr. Latrobe also tells us that the clay of which these Ant-hills are -formed, is so well prepared by the industrious Termites, _Termes -bellicosus_, that it is used for the floors of rooms in South Africa -both by the Hottentots and farmers.[455] - -Mr. Southey states that in Brazil "the Spaniards pulverize the nests of -the Termites, and with the powder form a flooring for their houses, -which becomes as hard as stone, and on which it is said no fleas or -other insects will harbor."[456] The early Spanish settlers built the -walls of their houses of the same earth; and some of which, which were -erected in the seventeenth century, are said to be still in -existence.[457] - -Ant-hills, or rather the Termites which inhabit them, have also been -used as an instrument of perhaps the most infernal torture the ingenuity -of man has ever invented. For, in South Africa, at one time, the -wretched victim, whether prisoner of war or offending subject, having -been smeared with some oily substance, was partially interred in one of -these heaps, and, if not first roasted to death by the burning sun, was -literally devoured alive by the myriads of insects which have their -habitation there. It has been asserted that even some Englishmen have -met this dreadful fate.[458] - -At Unyamwezi, in the lake regions of Central Africa, the natives chew -the clay of Ant-hills as a substitute when their tobacco fails. They -call this clay "sweet earth." It is said the Arabs have also tried it -without other effects than nausea.[459] - -The goldsmiths of Ceylon employ the powdered clay of Ant-hills in -preference to all other substances in the preparation of crucibles and -moulds for their fine castings, for so delicate is the trituration to -which the Termites subject this material;[460] and Knox says, "the -people use this finer clay to make their earthen gods of, it is so pure -and fine."[461] - -Termites, as an article of food, are eaten by the inhabitants of many -countries. Mr. Koenig, in his essay on the history of these insects, read -before the Society of Naturalists of Berlin, tells us, that to catch -the Termites before their emigration, the natives of the East Indies -make two holes in the nest, one to windward, and the other to leeward; -at the latter aperture, they place a pot, rubbed with aromatic herbs. On -the windward side they make a fire, the smoke of which drives these -insects into the pots. By this method they take a great quantity, of -which they make, with flour, a variety of pastry, which they sell to the -poorer people. This author adds, that in the season in which this -aliment is abundant, the abuse of it produces an epidemic colic and -dysentery, which carries off the patient in two or three hours.[462] - -The Africans, says Mr. Smeatham, are less ingenious in catching and -preparing them. They content themselves in collecting those which fall -into the water at the time of emigration. They skim them off the surface -with calabashes, filling large caldrons with them, then grill them in -iron pots, over a gentle fire, stirring them as coffee is stirred. They -thus eat them by handfuls, without sauce, or any other preparation, and -find them delicious. This gentleman has several times eaten them cooked -in this manner, and thinks them delicate, nourishing, and wholesome, -being sweeter than the grub of the palm-tree weevil (_Calandra -palmarum_), and resembling in taste sugared cream or sweet almond -paste.[463] - -The Hottentots, Dr. Sparrman informs us, eat them greedily boiled and -raw, and soon grow fat and plump upon this food.[464] - -An idea may be formed of this dish by what once occurred to Dr. -Livingstone on the banks of the Zouga, in South Africa. The Bayeiye -chief Palani visiting this traveler while eating, he gave him a piece of -bread and preserved apricots; and as the chief seemed to relish it much, -he asked him if he had any food equal to that in his country. "Ah!" said -the chief, "did you ever taste White-ants?" As the doctor never had, he -replied, "Well, if you had, you never could have desired to eat anything -better."[465] - -In the lake regions of Central Africa, says Burton, man revenges -himself upon the White-ant, and satisfies his craving for animal food, -which in those regions oftentimes becomes a principle of action,--a -passion,--by boiling the largest and fattest species, and eating them as -a relish with his insipid porridge.[466] - -Buchanan says the Termes, or White-ant, is a common article of food -among one of the Hindoo tribes; Mr. Forbes says, of the low castes in -Mysore, and the Carnatic.[467] Captain Green relates that, in the ceded -districts of India, the natives place the branches of trees over the -nests, and then by means of smoke drive out the insects; which -attempting to fly, their wings are broken off by the mere touch of the -branches.[468] - -The female Termite, in particular, is supposed by the Hindoos to be -endowed with highly nutritive properties, and, we are told by Mr. -Broughton, was carefully sought after and preserved for the use of the -debilitated Surjee Rao, Prime-minister of Scindia, chief of the -Mahrattas.[469] - -The Hottentots not only eat the Termites in their perfect state, but -also, when their corn is consumed and they are reduced to the necessity, -in their pupa. These pupæ, which they call "rice," on account of their -resemblance to that grain, they usually wash, and cook with a small -quantity of water. Prepared in this way they are said to be palatable; -and if the people find a place where they can obtain them in abundance, -they soon become fat upon them, even when previously much reduced by -hunger. A large nest will sometimes yield a bushel of pupæ.[470] - -Termite queens in the East Indies are given alive to old men for -strengthening the back.[471] - - -Ephemeridæ--Day-flies. - -The name of Ephemeridæ has been given to the insects, so called, in -consequence of the short duration of their lives, when they have -acquired their final form. There are some of them which never see the -sun; they are born after it is set, and die before it reappears on the -horizon. - -These insects, indifferently called also Day-flies and May-flies, -usually make their appearance in the districts watered by the Seine and -the Marne, in the month of August; and in such countless myriads, that -the fishermen of these rivers believe they are showered down from -heaven, and accordingly call the living cloud of them _manna_--manna for -fish, not men. Reaumur once saw them descend in this region so fast, -that the step on which he stood by the river's bank was covered by a -layer four inches thick in a few minutes. He compares their falling to -that of snow with the largest flakes.[472] - -Scopoli assures us that such swarms are produced every season in the -neighborhood of some particular spots in the Duchy of Carniola, that the -countrymen think they obtain but a small portion, unless every farmer -can carry off about twenty cartloads of them into his fields for the -purpose of a manure.[473] - - -Libellulidæ--Dragon-flies. - -On account of the long and slender body, peculiar to the insects of this -family, they are with us sometimes called _Devil's Darning-needles_, but -more commonly _Dragon-flies_. In Scotland they are known by the name of -_Flying Adders_, for the same reason. The English, from an erroneous -belief that they sting horses, call them _Horse-stingers_. In France, -from their light and airy motions, and brilliant, variegated dress, they -are called _Demoiselles_; and in Germany, for the same reason, and that -they hover over, and lived during their first stages in, water, -_Wasser-jungfern_--Virgins of the Water. Another German name for them is -_Florfliegen_--Gauze-flies, in allusion to their net-like wings. Our -boys also call them _Snake-feeders_ and _Snake-doctors_, in the belief -that they wait upon snakes in the capacity of feeders and doctors; and -so firm are they in this belief, that frequently I have been laughed at -for asserting the contrary to them. The belief probably arose from the -manner in which the Dragon-fly sometimes falls a prey to the snakes. -Hovering over ponds, they are fond of alighting on little sticks and -twigs just out of the water, and mistaking the heads of snakes, which -probably swam there for the purpose, for such twigs, they are instantly -caught by the snakes. - -On the 30th and 31st of May, 1839, immense cloud-like swarms of -Dragon-flies passed in rapid succession over the German town of Weimar -and its neighborhood. They were the _Libellula depressa_, a species -which, in general, is rather scarce in that part of Germany. The general -direction of this migration was from south by west to north by east. The -insects were in a vigorous state, and some of the flocks flew as high as -150 feet above the level of the River Ilm. - -At Gottingen on June the 1st, at Eisenach on May the 30th and 31st of -the same year, swarms of the same species were seen flying from east to -west; and at Calais, June 14th, similar clouds, though of a different -species, were noticed on their way toward the Netherlands. At Halle, -also, on May 30th, a short time before a thunder-storm, swarms of the -Dragon-fly, _L. quadrimaculata_, were seen by Dr. Buhle, flying very -rapidly from south to north. The _L. quadrimaculata_ is not generally -found in the neighborhood of Halle. - -This wonderful migration, for it is a phenomenon of rare occurrence, -extended from the 51st to the 52d degree of latitude, and was observed -within 27° 40' and 30° east of Ferro. But the instance of Calais renders -it probable that it extended over a great part of Europe. - -Another migration of Dragon-flies was observed at Weimar on the 28th of -June, 1816. The insects, in this instance, belonged also to the _L. -depressa_. They were taken then, as were they also in 1839, for locusts -by the common people, and looked upon as the harbingers of famine and -war. - -In these migrations they followed the direction of the rivers, with the -currents. They did not, however, always keep close by them, since they -must spread over wide districts in order to subsist. - -To account for the great multiplication of these insects, in the year -1839, is by no means difficult. From the beginning to the 21st of May -(in the latter part of which month, it will be remembered, they -appeared), the weather had been exceedingly rainy; rivers and lakes -overflowed their banks and inundated immense areas of low grounds, -whereby myriads of the _larvæ_ and _pupæ_ (which live entirely in water) -of the _Libellulæ_, which, under other circumstances, would have -remained in deep water, and become the prey of their many enemies, fish, -etc., were brought into shallow water, and hot weather following, from -May 21st to May 29th, converted these shallows and swamps into true -hotbeds for them. Their development into perfect insects was thus -rendered rapid, so that, somewhat earlier than usual, they appeared, and -in far greater, their undiminished, numbers; and, being very voracious -in their appetite, as well in the imago as the pupa state, they were -obliged to migrate immediately to satisfy it.[474] - -Mr. Gosse observed in Jamaica, Oct. 8th, 1845, a swarm of Dragon-flies -in the air, about twenty feet from the level of the ground. They floated -and danced about, over the stream of water that runs through -Blue-fields, much in the manner of gnats, which they resembled also in -their immense numbers.[475] And Rev. T. J. Bowen, on one occasion, in -descending the Ogun River (in the Yoruba country, Africa), met millions -of Dragon-flies, about one-fourth of an inch in length, making their way -up the country by following the course of the stream.[476] - -It is commonly said among us, that if a Dragon-fly be killed, there will -soon be a death in the family of the killer. - - -Myrmeleonidæ--Ant-lions. - -When children meet with the funnel-shaped pitfalls of the larva of the -Ant-lion, _Myrmeleon formicales_, they are wont to put their heads close -to the ground and softly sing _ooloo-ooloo-ooloo_, till the larva, -mistaking the sound for that of a fly escaping his trap, throws up a -shower of sand to bring its supposed victim down again. - -Ant-lions are held in great esteem in many sections of our country, so -much so that they are not suffered to be in any way injured. - - - - -ORDER V. - -HYMENOPTERA. - - -Uroceridæ--Sirex. - -In a work called "_Ephemerides des curieux de la nature_," is an -observation apparently relative to this family of insects, which, if -true, would be very extraordinary indeed. It is there said, that in the -town of Czierck and its environs, there were seen in 1679 some unknown -winged insects which, with their stings, mortally wounded both men and -beasts. They fell abruptly upon men without provocation, and attached -themselves to the naked parts of the body: the sting was immediately -followed by a hard tumor, and if care was not taken of the wound within -the first three hours, by hastily extracting the poison from it, the -patient died in a few days after. These insects killed five and thirty -men in this diocese, and a great number of oxen and horses. Toward the -end of September, the winds brought some of them into a small town on -the confines of Silesia and Poland; but they were so feeble on account -of the cold, that they did but little mischief there. Eight days after, -they all disappeared. These animals have all of them four wings, six -feet, and carry under the belly a long sting provided with a sheath, -which opens and separates in two. They make a very sharp noise in -attacking men. Some of them are ornamented with yellow circles (_Sirex -gigas_, or _S. fusicornis_? M. Latreille), and others are similar to -them in all respects, but they have the back altogether black, and their -stings are more venomous (_S. spectrum_ or _juvencus_?). The author of -these observations gives an extended description of the species with the -yellow circles, which he accompanies with figures, in which the -character of _Sirex_ may be clearly distinguished.[477] - - -Cynipidæ--Gall-flies. - -In the spring of 1694, some Galls hung down like chains upon the oaks in -Germany, and the common people, who had never observed them before, -imagined them to be magical knots.[478] - -A very old and common superstition is, that every oak-apple contains -either a maggot, a fly, or a spider: the first foretelling famine, the -second war, and the third, the spider, pestilence. Matthiolus gravely -affirms this conceit to be true;[479] and the learned Sir Thomas Browne, -in his Pseudodoxia Epidemica, has thought it worth his while, with much -gravity, to explode it. He, however, while combating one popular error, -falls himself into another, for want of that philosophical knowledge of -insects which later times have succeeded in obtaining. We pass this by, -and hurry to his conclusion: "We confess the opinion may hold some -verity in analogy, or emblematical phancy; for pestilence is properly -signified by the spider, whereof some kinds are of a very venomous -nature: famine by maggots, which destroy the fruits of the earth; and -war not improperly by the fly, if we rest in the phancy of Homer, who -compares the valiant Grecian unto a fly. Some verity it may also have in -itself, as truly declaring the corruptive constitution in the present -sap and nutrimental juice of the tree; and may consequently discover the -disposition of the year according to the plenty or kinds of those -productions; for if the putrefying juices of bodies bring forth plenty -of flies and maggots, they give forth testimony of common corruption, -and declare that the elements are full of the seeds of putrefaction, as -the great number of caterpillars, gnats, and ordinary insects do also -declare. If they run into spiders, they give signs of higher -putrefaction, as plenty of vipers and scorpions are confessed to do; the -putrefying materials producing animals of higher mischief according to -the advance and higher strain of corruption."[480] - -Moufet says: "In oak acorns and spongy apples sometimes worms breed, -and astrologers presage that year to be likely to produce a great famine -and dearth.... It is strange that Ringelbergius writes, _lib. de -experiment_, that these worms may be fed to be as big as a serpent, with -sheep's milk; yet Cardanus confirms the same, and shewes the way to feed -them, _Lib. de rer. varietat_."[481] - -There is a very curious operation performed at the present day in the -Levant with one of these Gall-flies, which is termed _caprification_. -The object of it is to hasten the maturity of figs; and the species -employed for that purpose is the _Cynips ficus caricæ_, or _Cynips -psenes_ of Linnæus; it consists in placing on a fig-tree, which does not -produce flowers or early figs, some of these last strung together with a -thread. The insects which issue from them, full of fecundating dust, -introduce themselves through the eye into the interior of the second -figs, fecundate by this means all the grains, and provoke the ripening -of the fruit. - -This operation, of which some authors have spoken with admiration, -appeared to Hasselquist and Olivier, both competent observers, who have -been on the spot, to be of no advantage whatsoever in fertilizing the -fig;[482] and scientific men of the present day generally hold that it -cannot be of any utility, for each fig contains some small flowers -toward the eye, capable of fecundating all the female flowers in the -interior, and moreover this fruit will grow, ripen, and become excellent -to eat even when the grains are not fecundated.[483] - -A curious kind of gall, produced on the rose-trees by the _Cynips rosæ_, -which is known by the name of _Bedeguar_, has been placed among the -remedies which may be successfully employed against diarrhoea and -dysentery, and useful in cases of scurvy, stone, and worms.[484] - -The galls of commerce, commonly called _Nut-galls_, are found on the -_Quercus infectoria_, a species of oak growing in the Levant, and are -produced by the _Cynips Gallæ tinctorum_. When gathered before the -insects quit them, the nut-galls contain more astringent matter, and are -then known as Black, Blue, or Green-galls. When the insects have -escaped, they are less astringent, and are called White-galls. They are -of great importance in the arts, being very extensively used in dyeing -and in the manufacture of ink and leather. They are the most powerful of -all the vegetable astringents, and are sometimes used, both internally -and externally, with great effect in medicine. Those imported from Syria -are the most esteemed, and, of these, those found in the neighborhood of -Moussoul are considered the best.[485] - -The gall of the field cirsium formerly enjoyed a very great reputation, -for it was considered, when carried simply in the pocket, as a sovereign -remedy against hemorrhages. It, no doubt, owed this virtue to its -resemblance to the principal sign of this disease, the swelling of the -vein.[486] - -The galls of the ground-ivy, produced by the _Cynips glecome_, have been -eaten as food in France; they have an agreeable taste, and to a high -degree the odor of the plant which bears them. Reaumur, however, is -doubtful whether they will ever rank with good fruits.[487] - -The galls of the sage (_Salvia pomifera_, _S. triloba_, and _S. -officinalis_), which are very juicy, like apples, and crowned with -rudiments of leaves resembling the calyx of that fruit, are gathered -every year, as an article of food, by the inhabitants of the Island of -Crete. This is the statement of Poumefort. Olivier confirms it, and -adds: They are esteemed in the Levant for their aromatic and acid -flavor, especially when prepared with honey and sugar, and form a -considerable article of commerce from Scio to Constantinople, where they -are regularly exposed in the market.[488] - -The celebrated "Dead Sea Fruits," often called _Poma insana_, or -Mad-apples, _Mala Sodomitica_, etc., which have given rise to great -controversy among Oriental scholars and Biblical commentators, are -produced by the _Cynips insana_ on the low oaks (_Quercus infectoria_) -growing on the borders of the Dead Sea.[489] - - -Formicidæ--Ants. - -Herodotus, who wrote in the fifth century before the birth of Christ, -tells the following fabulous story without the slightest trace of -diffidence or disbelief: There are other Indians bordering on the City -of Caspatyrus and the country of Pactyica, settled northward of the -other Indians, whose mode of life resembles that of the Bactrians. They -are the most warlike of the Indians, and these are they who are sent to -procure the gold; for near this part is a desert by reason of the sand. -In this desert then, and in the sand, there are Ants in size somewhat -less indeed than dogs, but larger than foxes. Some of them are in the -possession of the King of the Persians, which were taken there. These -Ants, forming their habitations under ground, heap up the sand as the -Ants in Greece do, and in the same manner; and they are very like them -in shape. The sand that is heaped up is mixed with gold. The Indians, -therefore, go to the desert to get this sand, each man having three -camels, on either side a male one harnessed to draw by the side, and a -female in the middle; this last the man mounts himself, having taken -care to yoke one that has been separated from her young as recently as -possible; for camels are not inferior to horses in swiftness, and are -much better able to carry burdens.... The Indians then, adopting such a -plan and such a method of harnessing, set out for the gold, having -before calculated the time, so as to be engaged in their plunder during -the hottest part of the day, for during the heat the Ants hide -themselves under ground.... When the Indians arrive at the spot, having -sacks with them, they fill these with the sand, and return with all -possible expedition; for the Ants, as the Persians say, immediately -discovering them by the smell, pursue them, and they are equaled in -swiftness by no other animal, so that if the Indians did not get the -start of them while the Ants were assembling, not a man of them could be -saved. Now the male camels (for they are inferior in speed to the -females) slacken their pace, dragging on, not both equally; but the -females, mindful of the young they have left, do not slacken their pace. -Thus the Indians, as the Persians say, obtain the greatest part of their -gold.[490] - -Concerning these remarkable Ants, Strabo and Arrian have preserved the -statement of Megasthenes, who traveled in India about two centuries -later than the time of Herodotus. As given by Strabo, who is somewhat -more particular in his story than Arrian, it is as follows: Megasthenes, -speaking of the Myrmeces (or Ants), says, among the Derdæ, a populous -nation of the Indians, living toward the East and among the mountains, -there was a mountain plain of about 3000 stadia in circumference; that -below this plain were mines containing gold, which the Myrmeces, in size -not less than foxes, dig up. They are excessively fleet, and subsist on -what they catch. In winter they dig holes and pile up the earth in -heaps, like moles, at the mouths of the openings. The gold dust which -they obtain requires little preparation by fire. The neighboring people -go after it by stealth with beasts of burden; for if it is done openly, -the Myrmeces fight furiously, pursuing those that run away, and, if they -seize them, kill them and the beasts. In order to prevent discovery, -they place in various parts pieces of the flesh of wild beasts, and when -the Myrmeces are dispersed in various directions, they take away the -gold dust, and, not being acquainted with the mode of smelting it, -dispose of it in its rude state at any price to merchants.[491] - -Nearchus says he has himself seen several of the skins of these Ants, -which were as large as the skins of leopards. They were brought by the -Macedonian soldiers into Alexander's camp.[492] - -Pliny, as a matter of course, believed this marvelous story, and has -inserted it in brief in his compilation of natural history. He adds, -too, that in his time there were suspended in the temple of Hercules, at -Erythræ, this Ant's horns, which were looked upon as quite miraculous -for their size. He also informs us it was of the color of a cat.[493] - -Strabo and Arrian, from the manner in which they refer to the statements -of Megasthenes and Nearchus, no doubt disbelieved them;[494] not so, -however, Pomponius Mela.[495] - -M. de Veltheim thinks this animal, which, as Pliny says, "has the color -of a cat, and is in size as large as an Egyptian wolf," is nothing more -than, and really is, the _Canis corsac_, the small fox of India, and -that by some mistake it was represented by travelers as an ant. It is -not improbable, Cuvier says, that some quadruped, in making holes in the -ground, may have occasionally thrown up some grains of the precious -metal. Another interpretation of this story has also been suggested. We -find some remarks of Mr. Wilson, in the _Transactions of the Asiatic -Society_, on the Mahabharata, a Sanscrit poem, that various tribes on -the mountains Meru and Mandara (supposed to lie between Hindostan and -Thibet) used to sell grains of gold, which they called _paippilaka_, or -_Ant-gold_, which, they said, was thrown up by Ants, in Sanscrit called -_pippilaka_. In traveling westward, this story (in itself, no doubt, -untrue) may very probably have been magnified to its present -dimensions.[496] - -The laborious life and foresight of the Ant have been celebrated -throughout all antiquity, and from the wise Solomon down to the amiable -La Fontaine, the sluggard has been referred to this insect to "learn her -ways and be wise."[497] The Arabians held the wisdom of these animals in -such estimation, that they used to place one of them in the hands of a -newly-born infant, repeating these words: "May the boy turn out clever -and skillful."[498] But their wisdom is magnified by all, and in the -panegyrics of their providence we always find the following curious -notion. Plutarch, in his Land and Water Creatures Compared, thus -mentions it: "But that which surpasseth all other prudence, policy, and -wit, is their (the Ants') caution and prevention which they use, that -their wheat and other corn may not spurt and grow. For this is certain, -that dry it cannot continue alwayes, nor sound and uncorrupt, but in -time will wax soft, resolve into a milky juice, when it turneth and -beginneth to swell and chit; for fear, therefore, that it become not a -generative seed, and so by growing, loose the nature and property of -food for their nourishment, _they gnaw that end thereof or head where it -is wont to spurt and bud forth_."[499] - -The ancients, observing the Ants carry their pupæ, which in shape, -size, and color very much resemble a grain of corn, and the ends of -which they sometimes pull open to let out the inclosed insect, no doubt -mistook the one for the other, and this action for depriving the grain -of the embryo of the plant. - -Some modern writers, as Addison[500] and Pluche,[501] it is curious to -observe, have fallen into this ancient error; so ancient, in fact, it is -that some have supposed the Hebrew name of the Ant to be derived from -it.[502] Among the poets, Prior asks: - - Tell me, why the _Ant_ - In _summer's plenty thinks of winter's want_? - By constant journey _careful to prepare - Her stores_, and _bringing home the corny ear_, - By what instruction _does she bite the grain_? - Lest, hid in earth, and taking root again, - It might elude the foresight of her care.[503] - -Thus Watts, also: - - They don't wear their time out in sleeping or play; - But _gather up corn_ in a sunshiny day, - And _for winter they lay up their stores_: - They manage their work in such regular forms, - One would think they _foresaw_ all the frosts and the storms, - And so _brought their food within doors_.[504] - -And Smart: - - The _sage, industrious Ant_, the _wisest insect_, - And _best economist_ of all the field: - For when as yet the favorable sun - Gives to the genial earth th' enlivening ray, - ----All her subterranean avenues, - And storm-proof cells, with management most meet, - And unexampled housewif'ry, she frames; - Then to the field she hies, and _on her back - Burden immense! brings home the cumbrous corn_: - Then, many a weary step, and many a strain, - And many a grievous groan subdued, at length - Up the huge hill she hardly heaves it home; - Nor rests she here her providence, but _nips - With subtle tooth the grain_, lest from _her garner_, - In mischievous fertility, it steal, - And back to daylight vegetate its way.[505] - -Milton also entertained this erroneous opinion: - - First crept - The _parsimonious Emmet, provident - Of future_, in small room large heart inclos'd; - Pattern of just equality perhaps - Hereafter, join'd in her popular tribes - Of commonalty.[506] - -And also Dr. Johnson: - - Turn on the _prudent Ant_ thy heedless eyes, - Observe her labors, sluggard! and be wise. - No stern command, no monitory voice, - Prescribes her duties or directs her choice; - Yet _timely provident_ she hastes away, - To snatch the blessings of a plenteous day; - When fruitful Summer loads the teeming plain, - _She crops the harvest, and she stores the grain_.[507] - -There is an old Eastern proverb, that "what the Ant _collects_ in a year -the monks eat up in a night," which seems to be founded on the -supposition that the Ants provide themselves with stores of food. -Juvenal, also, observes, in his Sixth Satire, that "after the example of -the Ant, some have learned to _provide_ against cold and hunger."[508] - -"Since, therefore," says Moufet, "(to winde up all in a few words) they -(the Ants) are so exemplary for their great piety, prudence, justice, -valour, temperance, modesty, charity, friendship, frugality, -perseverance, industry and art; it is no wonder that Plato, in Phædone, -hath determined, that they who without the help of philosophy have lead -a civill life by custom or from their own diligence, they had their -souls from Ants, and when they die they are turned to Ants again. To -this may be added the fable of the Myrmidons, who being a people of -Ægina, applied themselves to diligent labour in tilling the ground, -continual digging, hard toiling, and constant sparing, joyned with -virtue, and they grew thereby so rich, that they passed the common -condition and ingenuity of men, and Theogonis knew not how to compare -them better than to Pismires, that they were originally descended from -them, or were transformed into them, and as Strabo reports they were -therefore called Myrmidons. The Greeks relate the history otherwise than -other men do; namely, that Jupiter was changed into a Pismire, and so -deflowered Eurymedusa, the mother of the Graces, as if he could no -otherwise deceive the best woman, then in the shape of the best -creature. Hence ever after was he called Pismire Jupiter, or, Jupiter, -King of Pismires.... - -"They do better, in my opinion, who observe the Pismire, and grow rich -by following his manners in labor, industry, rest, and study. We read of -Midas that he was the richest King of all the West, and when he was a -boy, the Pismires carryed grains of wheat into his mouth while he slept, -and so foreshowed without doubt that he should be endowed with the -Pismire's prudence, and should by his labour and frugality, gain so much -riches, that he should be called the Golden boy of fortune, and the -Darling of prosperity. _Ælianus._ And when the Ants did devour and eat -up the live serpent of Tiberius Cæsar, which he so dearly loved, did -they not thereby give him sufficient warning that he should take heed to -himself for fear of the multitude, by whom he was afterwards cruelly -murthered? _Suetonius._"[509] - -Of the wars and battles of the Ants, now so familiar from the writings -of Huber and others, one of the oldest records is that given by Æneas -Sylvius, who afterward became Pope Pius II., of an engagement contested -with obstinacy by a great and a small species, on the trunk of a -pear-tree. "This action," he states, "was fought in the pontificate of -Eugenius the Fourth, in the presence of Nicholas Pistoriensis, an -eminent lawyer, who related the whole history of the battle with the -greatest fidelity." Another engagement of the same description is -recorded by Olaus Magnus, as having happened previous to the expulsion -of Christiern the Second, of Sweden, and the smallest species, having -been victorious, are said to have buried the bodies of their own -soldiers that had been killed, while they left those of their -adversaries a prey to the birds.[510] - -Alexander Ross, in his Appendix to the Arcana Microcosmi, p. 219, tells -us: "That the cruel battels between the Venetians and Insubrians, and -that also between the Liegeois and the Burgundians, in which about -thirty thousand men were slain, were presignified by a great combat -between two swarms of Emmets (Ants)."[511] - -Ants were used in divination by the Greeks, and generally foretold -good.[512] They were also considered an attribute of Ceres.[513] - -The following extract is from an English North-Country chap-book, -entitled the Royal Dream Book: "To dream of Ants or Bees denotes that -you will live in a great town or city, or in a large family, and that -you will be industrious, happy, well married, and have a large -family."[514] The Ant and the Bee are common figures to express these -predictions. - -I heard a mother once say to her child, "Never destroy Ants, for they -are fairies, and will so bewitch our cows that they will give no milk." -This superstition prevails in particular about Washington and in -Virginia. - -Mrs. Meer Hassan Ali, in an interesting article on the Ants of India, -remarks that she has often witnessed the Hindoos, male and female, -depositing small portions of sugar near Ants' nests as acts of charity -to commence the day with. - -With the natives of India, this lady also tells us, it is a common -opinion that wherever the Red-ants colonize, prosperity attends the -owner of that house.[515] - -We read in Purchas's _Pilgrims_, that "the natives of Cambaia and -Malabar will go out of the path if they light on an Ant-hill, lest they -might happily treade on some of them."[516] - -Other insects, as will be noticed in the course of this volume, are -looked upon by these people with the same respect. - -Moufet says: "In Isthmus the priests sacrificed Pismires to the sun, -either because they thought the sun the most beautiful, and therefore -they would offer unto him the most beautiful creature, or the most wise, -as seeing all things, and therefore they offered unto him the wisest -creature."[517] - -In the twenty-seventh chapter of the Koran, which was revealed at Mecca, -and entitled the Ant, we find, among other strange things, an odd story -of the Ant, which has therefore given name to the chapter. It is as -follows: "And his armies were gathered together unto Solomon, consisting -of genii, and men, and birds; and they were led in distant bands, until -they came to the valley of Ants.[518] And an Ant, seeing the hosts -approaching, said, O Ants, enter ye into your habitations, lest Solomon -and his army tread you under foot, and perceive it not. And Solomon -smiled, laughing at her words, and said, O Lord, excite me that I may be -thankful for thy favour, wherewith thou hast favoured me, and my -parents; and that I may do that which is right, and well pleasing unto -thee: and introduce me, through thy mercy, into paradise, among my -servants, the righteous."[519] - -Thevenot mentions "Solomon's Ant" among the "Beasts that shall enter -into Paradise" in the belief of the Turks, and gives the following -reason: "Solomon was the greatest king that ever was, for all creatures -obey'd him, and brought him presents, amongst others, an Ant brought him -a Locust, which it had dragged along by main force: Solomon, perceiving -that the Ant had brought a thing bigger than itself, accepted the -present, and preferred it before all other creatures."[520] - -Plutarch, speaking of the Ant, says: "Aratus in his prognostics setteth -this down for a rain toward, when they bring forth their seeds and -grains (pupæ), and lay them abroad to take the air: - - 'When Ants make haste with all their eggs aload, - Forth of their holes to carry them abroad.'"[521] - -In the Treasvrie of Avncient and Moderne Times, it is also asserted that -"when Ants walk the thickest, and more than in vsuall numbers, meeting -together confusedly, it is a manifest signe of raine."[522] - -It is related of the celebrated Timour, that being once forced to take -shelter from his enemies in a ruined building, he sat alone many hours; -and, desirous of diverting his mind from his hopeless condition, at -length fixed his observation upon an Ant which was carrying a grain of -corn (probably a pupa) larger than itself, up a high wall. Numbering the -efforts it made to accomplish this object, he found that the grain fell -sixty-nine times to the ground; but the seventieth time it reached the -top of the wall. "This sight," said Timour, "gave me courage at the -moment, and I have never forgotten the lesson it conveyed."[523] - -Plutarch, in his comparison between land and water creatures, narrates -the following anecdote: "Gleanthus the Philosopher, although he -maintaineth not that beasts have any use of reason, made report -nevertheless that he was present at the sight of such a spectacle and -occurrent as this. There were (quoth he) a number of Ants which went -toward another Ant's hole, that was not their own, carrying with them -the corpse of a dead Ant; out of which hole, there came certain other -Ants to meet them on the way (as it were) to parl with them, and within -a while returned back and went down again; after this they came forth a -second, yea a third time, and retired accordingly until in the end they -brought up from beneath (as it were a ransom for the dead body) a grub -or little worm; which the others received and took upon their shoulders, -and after they had delivered in exchange the aforesaid corpse, departed -home."[524] - -Of the ingenuity of the Ant in removing obstacles, the following -anecdote is a very appropriate illustration: A gentleman of Cambridge -one day observed an Ant dragging along what, with respect to the -creature's size, might be denominated a log of wood. Others were -severally employed, each in its own way. Presently the Ant in question -came to an ascent, where the weight of the wood seemed for a while to -overpower him: he did not remain long perplexed with it; for three or -four others, observing his dilemma, came behind and pushed it up. As -soon, however, as he got it on level ground, they left it to his care, -and went to their own work. The piece he was drawing happened to be -considerably thicker at one end than the other. This soon threw the poor -fellow into a fresh difficulty; he unluckily dragged it between two bits -of wood. After several fruitless efforts, finding it would not go -through, he adopted the only mode that even a man in similar -circumstances would have taken: he came behind it, pulled it back again, -and turned it on its edge; when, running again to the other end, it -passed through without the slightest difficulty.[525] - -Franklin was much inclined to believe Ants could communicate their -thoughts or desires to one another, and confirmed his opinion by several -experiments. Observing that when an Ant finds some sugar, it runs -immediately under ground to its hole, where, having stayed a little -while, a whole army comes out, unites and marches to the place where the -sugar is, and carry it off by pieces; and that if an Ant meets with a -dead fly, which it cannot carry alone, it immediately hastens home, and -soon after some more come out, creep to the fly, and carry it away; -observing this, he put a little earthen pot, containing some treacle, -into a closet, into which a number of Ants collected, and devoured the -treacle very quickly. He then shook them out, and tied the pot with a -thin string to a nail which he had fastened in the ceiling, so that it -hung down by the string. A single Ant by chance remained in the pot, and -when it had gorged itself upon the treacle, and wanted to get off, it -was under great concern to find a way, and kept running about the bottom -of the pot, but in vain. At last it found, after many attempts, the way -to the ceiling, by going along the string. After it was come there, it -ran to the wall, and thence to the ground. It had scarcely been away -half an hour, when a great swarm of Ants came out, got up to the -ceiling, and crept along the string into the pot, and began to eat -again. This they continued till the treacle was all eaten; in the mean -time one swarm running down the string, and the other up.[526] - -It has been suggested, that in such instances as the preceding, the Ants -may have been led by the scent or trace of treacle likely to be left by -the solitary prisoner; and the following case, related by Bradley, is -quoted to favor the opinion: "A nest of Ants in a nobleman's garden -discovered a closet, many yards within the house, in which conserves -were kept, which they constantly attended till the nest was destroyed. -Some, in their rambles, must have first discovered this depot of sweets, -and informed the rest of it. It is remarkable that they always went to -it by the same track, scarcely varying an inch from it, though they had -to pass through two apartments; nor could the sweeping and cleaning of -the rooms discomfit them, or cause them to pursue a different -route."[527] - -Dionisio Carli, of Piacenza, a missionary in Congo, lying sick at that -place, was awakened one night by his monkey leaping on his head, and -almost at the same time by his Blacks crying out, much to his surprise, -"Out! Out! Father!" Thoroughly awake now, Carli asked them what was the -matter? "The Ants," they cried, "are broke out, and there is no time to -be lost!" Not being able to stir, he bid them carry him into the garden, -which they did, four of them lifting him upon his straw bed; and yet -though very quick about it, the Ants had already commenced crawling up -his legs. After shaking them off their master, the Blacks took straw and -fired it on the floor of four rooms, where these insects by this time -were over half a foot thick. The pests being thus destroyed, Carli was -conveyed back to his chamber, where he found the stench so great from -the burnt bodies, that he was forced, he says, to hold his _monkey_ -close to his nose! - -These Ants, Carli relates, ate up every living object within their -reach; and of one cow, which was accidentally left over night in the -stable through which they passed, nothing but the bones were found the -next morning.[528] We need not wonder at this, if we believe what Bosman -has said of the Black-ants of Guinea, which were so surprisingly -rapacious that no animal could stand before them. He relates an -instance where they reduced for him one of his live sheep in one night -to a perfect skeleton, and that so nicely that it surpassed the skill of -the best anatomists.[529] Du Chaillu says the elephant and gorilla fly -before the attack of the Bashikouay-ants, and the black men run for -their lives. Many a time has he himself, he says, been awakened out of a -sleep, and obliged to rush out of his hut and into the water to save his -life![530] The Driver-ants[531] of Western Africa, _A. nomma arcens_, -have been known to kill the _Python natalensis_, the largest serpent of -that part of the world.[532] - -Col. St. Clair, after a visit by a species of small Red-ants, makes -mention of the following instance, among others, of their singular -destructiveness: "I next discovered that a little pet deer, which I had -purchased from a negro, was extremely ill. I could not discover the -cause of its malady, until, placing it on its legs, I observed that it -would not let one foot touch the ground, and, on examining it, I found, -to my grief, that the Red-ants had absolutely eaten a hole into the -bone. The poor little animal pined all that day and died in the -evening."[533] - -Capt. Stedman relates that the Fire-ants of Surinam caused a whole -company of soldiers to start and jump about as if scalded with boiling -water; and its nests were so numerous that it was not easy to avoid -them.[534] And Knox, in his account of Ceylon, mentions a black Ant, -called by the natives _Coddia_ or _Kaddiya_,[535] which, he says, "bites -desperately, as bad as if a man were burnt by a coal of fire; but they -are of a noble nature, and will not begin unless you disturb them." The -reason the Singhalese assign for the horrible pain occasioned by their -bite is curious, and is thus related by Knox: "Formerly these Ants went -to ask a wife of the _Noya_, a venomous and noble kind of snake;[536] -and because they had such a high spirit to dare to offer to be related -to such a generous creature, they had this virtue bestowed upon them, -that they should sting after this manner. And if they had obtained a -wife of the Noya, they should have had the privilege to sting full as -bad as he."[537] Capt. Stedman has a story of a large Ant that stripped -the trees of their leaves, to feed, as was supposed by the natives of -Surinam, a blind serpent under ground,[538] which is somewhat akin to -this: as is also another, related to Kirby and Spence by a friend, of a -species of Mantis, taken in one of the Indian islands, which, according -to the received opinion among the natives, was the parent of all their -serpents.[539] But, the reverse: Among the harmless snakes of Mexico is -a beautiful one about a foot in length, and of the thickness of the -little finger, which appears to take pleasure in the society of Ants, -insomuch that it will accompany these insects upon their expeditions, -and return with them to their usual nest. From this peculiarity it is -called by the Spaniards and Mexicans the "Mother of the Ants."[540] - -When in Africa, Du Chaillu was told by the natives that criminals in -former times were exposed to the path of the Bashikouay-ants, as the -most cruel way of putting them to death.[541] This dreadful manner of -torturing was at one time also practiced by the Singhalese, and I have -heard that several British soldiers have thus met their fate. The -Termites have been referred to before as having been employed for a -similar purpose. - -To check the ravages of the Coffee-bug, _Lecanium coffea_, Walker, which -for several years was devastating some of the plantations of Ceylon, the -experiment was made of introducing the Red-ants, _Formica smaragdina_, -Fab., which feed greedily on the Coccus.[542] But the remedy threatened -to be attended with some inconvenience, for, says Tennent, the Malabar -coolies, with bare and oiled skins, were so frequently and fiercely -assaulted by the Ants as to endanger their stay on the estates. - -The pupæ or cocoons of the Ants, during the day, are placed near the -surface of the Ant-hills to obtain heat, which is indispensable to the -growth of the inclosed insects. This is taken advantage of in Europe to -collect the cocoons in large quantities as food for nightingales and -larks. The cocoons of a species of Wood-ant, _Formica rufa_, are the -only kind chosen. In most of the towns of Germany, one or more -individuals make a living during summer by this business alone. "In -1832," says a contributor to the Penny Encyclopedia, "we visited an old -woman at Dottendorf, near Bern, who had collected for fourteen years. -She went to the woods in the morning, and collected in a bag the -surfaces of a number of Ant-hills where the cocoons were deposited, -taking Ants and all home to her cottage, near which she had a small -tiled shed covering a circular area, hollowed out in the center, with a -trench full of water around it. After covering the hollow in the center -with leafy boughs of walnut or hazel, she strewed the contents of her -bag on the level part of the area within the trench, when the Nurse-ants -immediately seized the cocoons, and carried them into a hollow under the -boughs. The cocoons were thus brought into one place, and after being -from time to time removed, and black ones separated by a boy who spread -them out on a table, and swept off what were bad with a strong feather, -they were ready for market, being sold for about 4_d._ or 6_d._ a quart. -Considerable quantities of these cocoons are dried for winter food of -birds, and are sold in the shops."[543] - -Ants not only furnish food to man for his birds, but also food for -himself, in both the pupa and imago states. Nicoli Conti, who traveled -in India in the early part of the fifteenth century, says the Siamese -eat a species of Red-ant, of the size of a small crab, which they -consider a great delicacy seasoned with pepper.[544] At the present day, -the pupæ of a species of Ants are a costly luxury with these people. -They are not much larger than grains of sand, and are sent to table -curried, or rolled in green leaves, mingled with shreds or very fine -slices of fat pork.[545] And in the province of Michuacan, Mexico, is a -singular species of Ant, which carries on its abdomen "a little bagful -of a sweet substance, of which the children are very fond: the Mexicans -suppose this to be a kind of honey collected by the insect; but -Clavigero thinks it rather its eggs."[546] - -Piso, De Laet, Marcgrave, and other writers mention their being an -article of food in different parts of South America. Piso speaks of -yellow Ants called _Cupia_ inhabiting Brazil, the abdomen of which many -used for food, as well as a large species under the name of -_Tama-joura_: "Alia præterea datur grandis species _Tama-ioura_ dicta -digiti articulum adæquans. Quarum etiam clunes dessicantur et friguntur -pro bono alimento."[547] Says De Laet: "Denique formicæ hic visuntur -grandissimæ, quas indigenæ vulgo comedunt; et in foris venales -habent."[548] And again: "Formicis vescebantur, easquæ studiose ad -victum educabant."[549] Lucas Fernandes Piedrahita, in his Historia -General de las Conquistas del Nuevo Regno de Granada, states that cakes -of Cazave and Ants were eaten in that country: "Al tiempo de tostarlas -para este efecto, dan el mismo olor que los quesillos, que se labran -para comer asados."[550] Herrera says, the natives of New Granada made -their main food of Ants, which they kept and reared in their yards.[551] -Sloane confirms this, and says they are publicly sold in the -markets.[552] Abbeville de Noromba tells us these great Ants are -fricasseed.[553] Schomburgk, in his journey to the sources of the -Essequibo, one evening saw all the boys of a village out shouting and -chasing with sticks and palm leaves a large species of winged Ant, which -they collected in great numbers in their calabashes for food. When -roasted or boiled, he says, the natives considered these insects a great -delicacy.[554] Humboldt informs us that Ants are eaten by the -Marivatanos and Margueritares, mixed with resin for sauce.[555] - -Mr. Consett, in his Travels in Sweden, makes mention of a young Swede -who ate live Ants with the greatest relish imaginable.[556] This author -states also, that in some parts of Sweden Ants are distilled along with -rye, to give a flavor to the inferior kinds of brandy.[557] - -The inhabitants of the Tonga Group have a superstitious belief that when -their kings, and matabooles, or inferior chiefs, die, they are wafted to -Bulotu--"the island of the blessed," but the spirits of the lower class -remain in the world, and feed on Ants and lizards.[558] - -Ants also furnish us with an acid, called by the chemists _Formic_, -which is said to answer the same purposes as the acetous acid. It is -obtained in two modes: 1st. By distillation; the insects are introduced -into a glass retort, distilled by a gentle heat, and the acid is found -in the recipient. 2d. By the process called lixiviation; the Ants are -washed in cold water, spread out upon a linen cloth, and boiling water -poured over them, which becomes charged with the acid part.[559] - -Formic acid is shed so sensibly by the wood Ant, _Formica rufa_, when an -Ant-hill is stirred, that it can occasion an inflammation. If a living -frog, it is asserted, be fixed upon an Ant-hill which is deranged, the -animal will die in less than five minutes, even without having been -bitten by the Ants.[560] - -We read in Purchas's Pilgrims that the large Ant of the West Indies is -"so poysonfull that herewith the Indians infect their arrowes so -remedilesse, that not foure of an hundred which are wounded -escape."[561] - -The medicinal virtues of the Ant are as follows: "Ants, _Formica minor_ -of Schroder, heat and dry, and incite to venery; their acid smell -mightily refreshes the vital spirits. They are said to cure the Flora, -Lepra, and Lentigo. The eggs (pupæ) are effectual against deafness, and -correct the hairiness of the cheeks of children being rubbed thereon." - -The Horse-ant, _Formica major_, Schrod., "provokes to venery, and the -oil thereof, by infusion, is good for the gout and palsy."[562] - -Sloane tells us the Spaniards in the West Indies have a very highly -valued medicated earth called "Makimaki," which he thinks is made of the -nests of Ants.[563] - -There is a species of Ant in Cayenne, _Formica bispinosa_, which -collects from the bombax and silk-cotton trees a sort of lint which the -natives value much as a styptic in cases of hemorrhage.[564] - -The magicians, as mentioned by Pliny, recommended that the parings of -all the finger-nails should be thrown at the entrance of Ant-holes, and -the first Ant to be taken which should attempt to draw one into the -hole; for if this, they asserted, be attached to the neck of a patient, -he will experience a speedy cure.[565] - -The two following remarkable cures effected by Ants of themselves are -worthy of being noticed: Schuman, a missionary among the negroes of -Surinam, relates in one of his letters, that after a most dangerous -attack of the acclimating fever, his body was covered with boils and -painful sores. He lay in his cot as helpless as a child, and had no one -to administer any relief or food but a poor old negro woman, who -sometimes was obliged to follow the rest to the plantations in the -woods. One morning while she was absent, after spending a most restless -and painful night, he observed at sunrise an immense host of Ants -entering through the roof, and spread themselves over the inside of his -chamber; and expecting little else than that they would make a meal of -him, he commended his soul to God, and hoped thus to be released from -all suffering. They presently covered his bed, and entering his sores -caused him the most tormenting pain. However, they soon quitted him, and -continued their march, and from that time he gradually recovered his -health.[566] - -The second is a case of stiffness in the knee effectually cured: In -1798, Mrs. Jane Crabley, aged 56 years, began to complain of a most -torturing pain, and considerable enlargement of the knee-pan, which she -described as, and which her neighbors believed to be, a smart paroxysm -of gout. Early in February, 1799, the inflammation and pain entirely -ceased, but the swelling continued, and rather increased. The joint of -the knee, from disuse, became perfectly stiff, and, owing to the -particular form and size of her breasts, no relief could be gained by -the use of crutches. However, toward the end of May, the Ants became so -strangely troublesome to her, that she was sometimes obliged to avail -herself of the help of travelers to assist her in changing her station. -Still, however, they followed her, and seemed entirely attracted by her -now useless knee. She was at first considerably annoyed by these little -torments, but, in a few days, became not only reconciled to their -intrusion, but was desirous of having her chair placed where she -imagined them most to abound, even giving them freer access to her knee -by turning down her stocking; for, she said, "the cold numbness she -suffered just around the patella was eased and relieved by their bite; -and that it was even pleasurable;" and, strange to say, these insects -bit her nowhere else. The skin at first was pale and sallow, but began -now to assume a lively red color; a clear and subtile liquid oozed from -every puncture the Ants had left; the swelling and stiffness of the -joint gradually abated; and, on the 25th of July, she walked home with -the help of a stick, and before winter perfectly recovered the use of -her limb.[567] - -Says Plutarch, as translated by Holland: "The bear finding herself upon -fulness given to loth and distaste for food, she goes to find out Ants' -nests, where she sits her down, lilling out her tongue, which is glib -and soft with a kind of sweet and slimy humour, until it be full of Ants -and their egges, then draweth it she in again, swalloweth them down, and -thereby cureth her lothing stomack."[568] - -Also, in the Treasurie of Avncient and Moderne Times, we find: "The -Bear, being poysoned by the Hearbe named _Mandragoras_, or _Mandrake_, -doth purge his bodie by the eating of Ants or Pismires."[569] - -M. Huber, initiated in the mysteries of the life of these insects, and -whose observations can be most relied on, has made us acquainted with -two of their maladies: one is a species of vertigo, occasioned, as he -thinks, by a too great heat of the sun, and which transforms them for -two or three minutes into a sort of bacchantes; the other malady, much -more severe, causes them to lose the faculty of directing themselves in -a right line. These Ants turn in a very narrow circle, and always in the -same direction. A virgin female, inclosed in a sand-box, and attacked by -this mania, made a thousand turns by the hour, describing a circle of -about an inch in diameter; it continued this operation for seven days, -and even during the night.[570] - -Immense swarms of winged Ants are occasionally met with, and some have -been recorded of such prodigious density and magnitude as to darken the -air like a thick cloud, and to cover the ground or water for a -considerable extent where they settled. We find in the memoirs of the -Berlin Academy a description of a remarkable swarm, observed by M. -Gleditch, which from afar produced an effect somewhat similar to that of -an Aurora Borealis, when, from the edge of the cloud, shoot forth by -jets many columns of flame and vapor, many rays like lightning, but -without its brilliancy. Columns of Ants were coming and going here and -there, but always rising upward, with inconceivable rapidity. They -appeared to raise themselves above the clouds, to thicken there, and -become more and more obscure. Other columns followed the preceding, -raised themselves in like manner, shooting forth many times with equal -swiftness, or mounting one after the other. Each column resembled a very -slender net-work, and exhibited a tremulous, undulating, and serpentine -motion. It was composed of an innumerable multitude of little winged -insects, altogether black, which were continually ascending and -descending in an irregular manner.[571] A similar kind of Ants is spoken -of by Mr. Accolutte, a clergyman of Breslau, which resembled columns of -smoke, and which fell on the churches and tops of the houses, where they -could be gathered by handfuls. In the German _Ephemerides_, Dr. Chas. -Rayger gives an account of a large swarm which crossed over the town of -Posen, and was directing its course toward the Danube. The whole town -was strewed with Ants, so that it was impossible to walk without -crushing thirty or forty at every step. And more recently, Mr. Dorthes, -in the _Journal de Physique_ for 1790, relates the appearance of a -similar phenomenon at Montpellier. The shoals moved about in different -directions, having a singular intestine motion in each column, and also -a general motion of rotation. About sunset all fell to the ground, and, -on examining them, they were found to belong to the _Formica nigra_ of -Linnæus.[572] - -"In September, 1814," says Dr. Bromley, surgeon of the Clorinde, in a -letter to Mr. MacLeay, "being on the deck of the hulk to the Clorinde -(then in the river Medway), my attention was drawn to the water by the -first lieutenant observing there was something black floating down the -tide. On looking with a glass, I discovered they were insects. The boat -was sent, and brought a bucketful of them on board; they proved to be a -large species of Ant, and extended from the upper part of Salt-pan Reach -out toward the Great Nore, a distance of five or six miles. The column -appeared to be in breadth eight or ten feet, and in height about six -inches, which I suppose must have been from their resting one upon -another."[573] Purchas seems to have witnessed a similar phenomenon on -shore. "Other sorts of Ants," says he, "there are many, of which some -become winged, and fill the air with swarms, which sometimes happens in -England. On Bartholomew, 1613, I was in the island of Foulness, on our -Essex shore, where were such clouds of these flying pismires, that we -could nowhere flee from them, but they filled our clothes; yea, the -floors of some houses where they fell were in a manner covered with a -black carpet of creeping Ants, which they say drown themselves about -that time of the year in the sea."[574] - -When Colonel Sir Augustus Frazer, of the British horse-artillery, was -surveying, on the 6th of October, 1813, the scene of the battle of the -Pyrenees from the summit of the mountain called Pena de Aya, or Les -Quartres Couronnes, he and his friends were enveloped by a swarm of -Ants, so numerous as entirely to intercept their view, so that they -were obliged to remove to another station in order to get rid of -them.[575] - -"Not long since," says Josselyn in his Voyage to New England, London, -1674, "winged Ants were poured down upon the Lands out of the clouds in -a storm betwixt _Blackpoint_ and _Saco_, where the passenger might have -walkt up to the Ancles in them."[576] - -Wingless Ants, in swarms or armies, also migrate at particular seasons; -but for what purpose is not clear, except to obtain better forage. In -Guiana, Mr. Waterton says he has met with a colony of a species of small -Ant marching in order, each having in its mouth a leaf; and the army -extended three miles in length, and was six feet broad.[577] - -It is recorded by Oviedo and Herrera, that the whole island of -Hispaniola was almost abandoned in consequence of the Sugar-Ant, -_Formica omnivora_ of Linnæus, which, in 1518 and the two succeeding -years, overran in such countless myriads that island, devouring all -vegetation, and causing a famine which nearly depopulated the Spanish -colony. A tradition, says Schomburgk, prevails in Jamaica that the town -of Sevilla Nueva, which was founded by Esquivel in the beginning of the -sixteenth century, was entirely deserted for a similar reason. Herrera -relates that, in order to get rid of this fearful scourge in Hispaniola, -the priests caused great processions and vows to be made in honor of -their patron saint, St. Saturnin, and that the day of this saint was -celebrated with great solemnities, and the Ants in consequence began to -disappear. How this saint was chosen, we read in Purchas's Pilgrims: -"This miserie (caused by the Ants) so perplexed the _Spaniards_, that -they sought as strange a remedie as was the disease, which was to chuse -some Saint for their Patron against the Antes. _Alexander Giraldine_, -the Bishop, having sung a solemne and Pontifical Masse, after the -consecration and Eleuation of the Sacrament, and devout prayers made by -him and the people, opened a Booke in which was a Catalogue of the -Saints, by lot to chuse some he or she Saint, whom God should please to -appoint their Advocate against the Calamitie. And the Lot fell vpon -Saint _Saturnine_, whose Feast is on the nine and twentieth of -Nouember; after which the Ant damage became more tolerable, and by -little and little diminished, by God's mercie and intercession of that -Saint."[578] - -These devouring Ants showed themselves about the year 1760 in Barbados, -and caused such devastations that, in the words of Dr. Coke, "it was -deliberated whether that island, formerly so flourishing, should not be -deserted." In 1763, Martinique was visited by these devastating hordes; -and about the year 1770 they made their appearance in the island of -Granada. Barbados, Granada, and Martinique suffered more than any other -islands from this plague. Granada especially was reduced to a state of -the most deplorable desolation; for, it is said, their numbers there -were so immense that they covered the roads for many miles together; and -so crowded were they in many places that the impressions made by the -feet of horses, which traveled over them, would remain visible but for a -moment or two, for they were almost instantly filled up by the -surrounding swarms. Mr. Schomburgk assures us that calves, pigs, and -chickens, when in a helpless state, were attacked by such large numbers -of these Ants that they perished, and were soon reduced to skeletons -when not timely assisted. It is asserted by Dr. Coke that the greatest -precaution was requisite to prevent their attacks on men who were -afflicted with sores, on women who were confined, and on children that -were unable to assist themselves. Mr. Castle, from his own observation, -states that even burning coals laid in their way, were extinguished by -the amazing numbers which rushed upon them. - -Notwithstanding the myriads that were destroyed by fire, water, poison, -and other means, the devastations continued to such an alarming extent, -that in 1776 the government of Martinique offered a reward of a million -of their currency for a remedy against this plague; and the legislature -of Granada offered £20,000 for the same object; but all attempts proved -ineffectual until the hurricane in 1780 effected what human power had -been unable to accomplish. - -In 1814, the Ants again made their appearance in the island of Barbados, -doing considerable injury; but happily they did not continue long.[579] - -Malouet, in visiting the forests of Guiana, of which he has spoken in -his travels into that part of the globe, perceived in the midst of a -level savanna, as far as the eye could reach, a hillock which he would -have attributed to the hand of man, if M. de Prefontaine, who -accompanied him, had not informed him that, in spite of its gigantic -construction, it was the work of black Ants of the largest species (most -probably of the genus _Ponera_). He proposed to conduct him, not to the -Ant-hill, where both of them would infallibly have been devoured, but to -the road of the workers. M. Malouet did not approach within more than -forty paces of the habitation of these insects. It had the form of a -pyramid truncated at one-third of its height, and he estimated that its -elevation might be about fifteen or twenty feet, on a basis of from -thirty to forty. M. de Prefontaine told him that the cultivators were -obliged to abandon a new establishment, when they had the misfortune to -meet with one of these fortresses, unless they had sufficient strength -to form a regular siege. This even occurred to M. de Prefontaine himself -on his first encampment at Kourva. He was desirous of forming a second a -little farther on, and perceived upon the soil a mound of earth similar -to that which we have just described. He caused a circular trench to be -hollowed, which he filled with a great quantity of dry wood, and, after -having set fire to it in every point of its circumference, he attacked -the Ant-hill with a train of artillery. Thus every issue was closed to -the hostile army, which, to escape from the invasion of the flames and -the shaking and plowing of the ground by the cannon-balls, was obliged -to traverse, in its retreat, a trench filled with fire, where it was -entirely cut off.[580] - -The Portuguese found such prodigious numbers of Ants upon their first -landing at Brazil, that they called them Rey de Brazil, King of Brazil, -a name which they now there bear.[581] - -Mr. Southey states, on the authority of Manoel Felix, that the Red-ants -devoured the cloths of the altar in the Convent of S. Antonio, or S. -Luiz (Maranham, Brazil), and also brought up into the church pieces of -shrouds from the graves; whereupon the friars prosecuted them according -to due form of ecclesiastical law. What the sentence was in this case, -we are unable to learn. A similar case, however, the historian informs -us, had occurred in the Franciscan Convent at Avignon, where the Ants -did so much mischief that a suit was instituted against them, and they -were excommunicated, and ordered by the friars, in pursuance of their -sentence, to remove within three days to a place assigned them in the -center of the earth. The Canonical account gravely adds, that the Ants -obeyed, and carried away all their young, and all their stores.[582] - -Annius writes, that an ancient city situate near the Volscian Lake, and -called Contenebra, was in times past overthrown by Ants, and that the -place was thereupon commonly called to his day, "the camp of the -Ants."[583] - -Ctesias makes mention "of a horse-pismire (_i.e._ the bigger kind of -them in hollow trees) which was fed by the Magi, till hee grew to such a -vast bulke as to devour two pound of flesh a daye."[584] - -Martial has written the following beautiful epigram on an Ant inclosed -in amber: "While an Ant was wandering under the shade of the tree of -Phaeton, a drop of amber enveloped the tiny insect; thus she, who in -life was disregarded, became precious by death. - - "A drop of amber from the weeping plant, - Fell unexpected and embalmed an Ant; - The little insect we so much contemn - Is, from a worthless Ant, become a gem."[585] - -It has been said, remarks Mr. Southey, and regarded as a vulgar error, -that Ants cannot pass over a line of chalk: the fact, however, is -certain. Mr. Coleridge tried the experiment at Malta, he continues, and -immediately discovered the cause: The formic acid is so powerful, that -it acts upon the chalk, and the legs of the insect are burnt by the -instantaneous effervescence![586] - -Paxamus says, that if you take some Ants and burn them, you will drive -away the others, as experience has taught us. Ants also, he continues, -will not touch a vessel with honey, although the vessel may happen to be -without its cover, if you wrap it in white wool, or if you scatter white -earth or ruddle round it. If a person, continues Paxamus, takes a grain -of wheat carried by an Ant with the thumb of his left hand, and lays it -in a skin of Phoenician dye, and ties it round the head of his wife, it -will prove to be the cause of abortion in a state of gestation.[587] - -Pliny says the proper remedy for the venom of the _Solipuga_ or -_Solpuga_ Ant, and for that of all kinds of Ants, is a bat's heart.[588] - -Callicrates used to make Ants, and other such little creatures, out of -ivory, with so much skill and ingenuity that other men could not discern -the counterfeits from the originals even with the help of glasses.[589] - - -Vespidæ--Wasps, Hornets. - -Concerning the generation of the Wasp, Topsel and Moufet have the -following: "Isidore affirms that Wasps come out of the putrefied -carkasses of asses, although he may be mistaken, for all agree that the -Scarabees are procreated from them: rather am I of opinion with Pliny, -1. ii. c. 20, and the Greek authors, that they are sprung from the dead -bodies of horses, for the horse is a valiant and warlike creature, hence -is that verse frequently and commonly used among the Greeks: - - Wasps come from horses, Bees from bulls are bred. - -And indeed their more than ordinary swiftnesse and their eagernesse in -fight, are sufficient arguments that they can take their original from -no other creature (much less from an asse, hart, or oxe) since that -Nature never granted to any creatures else, to excel both in swiftness -and valour. And surely that I may give another sense of that proverb of -Aristotle, - - Hail the daughters of the wing-footed steed: - -this would I suppose fit to be spoken in way of jest and scorn to -scolding women, which do imitate the hastiness and froward disposition -of the Wasp. Other sorts of them are produced out of the putrid corps of -the Crocodiles, if Horus and the Ægyptians be to be believed, for which -reason when they mean a Wasp, they set it forth by an horse or -crocodile. Nicander gives them the name _lukosnoadon_, because they -sometimes come from the dead carkasses of wolves. Bellenacensis and -Vicentius say, that Wasps come out of the putrefaction of an old deer's -head, flying sometimes out of the eyes, sometimes out of the -nostrils.... There are those also that affirm that Wasps are begotten of -the earth and rottenness of some kind of fruits, as Albertus and the -Arabick scholiast." - -Of the Hornet, likewise, these writers tell the following fabulous -stories: "The Latins call the Hornets _Crabrones_, perchance from the -village Crabra in the countrey of Tusculum (where there are great store -of them), or from the word _Caballus_, _i.e._ a horse, who is said to be -their father. According to that of Ovid, _Met._ 15: - - The warlike horse if buried under ground, - Shortly a brood of Hornets will be found. - -Albertus calls it a yellow Bee. Cardanus will needs have them to arise -from the dead mule. Plutarch, in the life of Cleomedes, saith they come -out of horse flesh, as the Bees do out of the oxe his paunch. Virgil -saith they are produced of the asse.... I conceive that those are -produced of the harder flesh of the horse, and the Wasps of the more -tender flesh."[590] - -The Hornet (but whether or not it was the common species, _Vespa -crabro_, Linn., is uncertain), we learn from Scriptures was employed by -Providence to drive out the impious inhabitants of Canaan, and subdue -them under the hand of the Israelites.--"And I sent the Hornet before -you, which drave them out before you, even the two kings of the -Amorites."[591] - -In the second volume of Lieutenant Holman's Travels, the following -anecdote is related: "Eight miles from Grandie----, the muleteers -suddenly called out 'Marambundas! Marambundas!' which indicated the -approach of Wasps. In a moment all the animals, whether loaded or -otherwise, lay down on their backs, kicking most violently; while the -blacks, and all persons not already attacked, ran away in different -directions, all being careful, by a wide sweep, to avoid the swarms of -tormentors that came forward like a cloud. I never witnessed a panic so -sudden and complete, and really believe that the bursting of a -water-spout could hardly have produced more commotion. However, it must -be confessed that the alarm was not without good reason, for so severe -is the torture inflicted by these pigmy assailants, that the bravest -travelers are not ashamed to fly, the instant they perceive the host -approaching, which is of common occurrence on the Campos."[592] - -Dr. Fairfax, in the Philosophical Transactions, mentions a lady, who had -such a horror of Wasps, that during the season in which they abound in -houses, she always confined herself to her apartment.[593] - -Dr. James tells us: "The combs (of the Hornet) are recommended in a -drench for that disorder in horses, which Vigetius, L. 2, c. 23, calls -scrofula, meaning, I believe, what we call the strangles."[594] - -Hornets'-nest is smoked under horses' noses for distemper, cold in the -head, and such like diseases. It is also given to horses in their feed -for thick-windedness. - -The nests of Hornets are gathered by the country people to clean -spectacles. - -Topsel, in his History of Four-footed Beasts and Serpents, has the -following prognostications of the weather from the appearances of -Hornets: "They serve instead of good almanacks to countrey people, to -foretel tempests and change of weather, as hail, rain, and snow: for if -they flie about in greater numbers, and be oftner seen about any place, -then usually they are wont, it is a signe of heat and fair weather the -next day. But if about twilight they are observed to enter often their -nests, as though they would hide themselves, you must the next day -expect rain, winde, or some stormy, troublesome or boysterous season: -whereupon Avienus hath these verses: - - So if the buzzing troups of Hornets hoarse to flie, - In spacious air 'bout Autumn's end you see, - When Virgil star the evening lamp espie, - Then from the sea some stormy tempest sure shall be."[595] - -"In the year 190, before the birth of Christ," say Moufet and Topsel, -"as Julius witnesseth, an infinite multitude of Wasps flew into the -market at Capua, and sate in the temple of Mars, they were with great -diligence taken and burnt solemnly, yet they did foreshew the coming of -the enemy and the burning of the city."[596] - -The first Wasp seen in the season should always be killed. By so doing, -you secure to yourself good luck and freedom from enemies throughout the -year.[597] This is an English superstition, and it prevails in parts of -America. We have one, also, directly opposed to it, namely, that the -first Wasp seen in the season should not be killed if you wish to secure -to yourself good luck. Many of our people, too, will kill a Wasp at no -time, for, if killed, they say, it will bring upon them bad luck. - -If a Wasp stings you, our superstitious think that your foes will get -the advantage of you. - -If the first Wasp seen in the season be seen in your house, it is a sign -that you will form an unpleasant acquaintance. If the first Bee seen in -the season be seen in your house, it is a sign you will form a pleasant -and useful acquaintance. This arose doubtless from the apparent -uselessness of the former, and worth of the latter insect. - -Wasps building in a house foretell the coming to want of the family -occupying it. Likewise arose from the unthriftiness of this insect. - -If Hornets build high, the winter will be dry and mild; if low, cold and -stormy. This is firmly believed in Virginia; and the idea seems to be, -that if the nest is built high it will be more exposed to the wind than -if built low. - -That a person may not be stung by Wasps, Paxamus says: "Let the person -be rubbed with the juice of wild-mallow, and he will not be stung."[598] - -The Creoles of Mauritius eat the larvæ of Wasps, which they roast in the -combs. In taking the nests, they drive off the Wasps by means of a -burning rag fastened to the end of a stick. The combs are sold at the -bazaar of Port Louis.[599] - -The following story, of the cunning of the fox in killing the Wasps to -obtain their combs, is told by Ælian: "The fox (a subtile creature) is -said to prey upon the Wasp in this manner: he puts his tail into the -Wasps' nest so long till it be all covered with Wasps, which he espying, -pulls it out and beats them against the next stone or tree he meets -withall till they be all dead, this being done again and again till all -the Wasps be destroyed, he sets upon their combs and devours them."[600] - -The Chinese Herbal contains a singular notion, prevalent also in India, -concerning the generation of the Sphex, or solitary Wasp. When the -female lays her eggs in the clayey nidus she makes in houses, she -incloses the dead body of a caterpillar in it for the subsistence of the -worms when they are hatched. Those who observed her entombing the -caterpillar did not look for the eggs, and immediately concluded that -the Sphex took the worm for the progeny, and say, that as she plastered -up the hole of the nest, she hummed a constant song over it, saying, -"_Class with me! class with me!_"--and the transformation gradually took -place, and was perfected in its silent grave by the next spring, when a -winged Wasp emerged, to continue its posterity the coming autumn in the -same mysterious way.[601] - - -Apidæ--Bees. - -Concerning the piety of Bees, we find the following legends: - -"A certaine simple woman having some stals of Bees which yeelded not -vnto her hir desired profit, but did consume and die of the murraine; -made her mone to another woman more simple than hir selfe: who gave her -councel to get a consecrated host or round Godamighty and put it among -them. According to whose advice she went to the priest to receive the -host; which when she had done, she kept it in hir month, and being come -home againe she tooke it out and put it into one of hir hives. Wherevpon -the murraine ceased, and the honey abounded. The woman therefore lifting -vp the hive at the due time to take out the honie, sawe there (most -strange to be seene) a chapel built by the Bees with an altar in it, the -wals adorned by marvelous skil of architecture with windowes -conveniently set in their places: also a dore and a steeple with bels. -And the host being laid vpon the altar, the Bees making a sweet noise -flew round about it."[602] - -Mr. Hawker's legend is to this effect: A Cornish woman, one summer, -finding her Bees refused to leave their "cloistered home" and had -"ceased to play around the cottage flowers," concealed a portion of the -Holy Eucharist which she obtained at church: - - She bore it to her distant home, - She laid it by the hive - To lure the wanderers forth to roam, - That so her store might thrive;-- - 'Twas a wild wish, a thought unblest, - Some evil legend of the west. - - But lo! at morning-tide a sign - For wondering eyes to trace, - They found above that Bread, a shrine - Rear'd by the harmless race! - They brought their walls from bud and flower, - They built bright roof and beamy tower! - - Was it a dream? or did they hear - Float from those golden cells - A sound, as of a psaltery near, - Or soft and silvery bells? - A low sweet psalm, that grieved within - In mournful memory of the sin![603] - -The following passage, from Howell's _Parley of Beasts_, furnishes a -similar legend of the piety of Bees. Bee speaks: - -"Know, sir, that we have also a religion as well as you, and so exact a -government among us here; our hummings you speak of are as so many hymns -to the Great God of Nature; and there is a miraculous example in -_Cæsarius Cisterniensis_, of some of the Holy Eucharist being let fall -in a meadow by a priest, as he was returning from visiting a sick body; -a swarm of Bees hard-by took It up, and in a solemn kind of procession -carried It to their hive, and their erected an altar of the purest wax -for it, where it was found in that form, and untouched."[604] - -Butler, quoting Thomas Bozius, tells us the following: - -"Certaine theeves (thieves) having stolen the silver boxe wherein the -wafer-Gods vse to lie, and finding one of them there being loath, -belike, that he should lie abroad all night, did not cast him away, but -laid him under a hive: whom the Bees acknowledging advanced to a high -roome in the hive, and there insteade of his silver boxe made him -another of the whitest wax: and when they had so done, in worshippe of -him, and set howres they sang most sweetly beyond all measure about it: -yea the owner of them took them at it at midnight with a light and al. -Wherewith the bishop being made acquainted, came thither with many -others: and lifting vp the hive he sawe there neere the top a most fine -boxe, wherein the host was laid, and the quires of Bees singing about -it, and keeping watch in the night, as monkes do in their cloisters. The -bishop therefore taking the host, carried it with the greater honour -into the church: whether many resorting were cured of innumerable -diseases."[605] - -Another legend, from the School of the Eucharist, is as follows: - -"A peasant swayed by a covetous mind, being communicated on Easter-Day, -received the Host in his mouth, and afterwards laid it among his bees, -believing that all the Bees of the neighborhood would come thither to -work their wax and honey. This covetous, impious wretch was not wholly -disappointed of his hopes; for all his neighbors' Bees came indeed to -his hives, but not to make honey, but to render there the honours due to -the Creator. The issue of their arrival was that they melodiously sang -to Him songs of praise as they were able; after that they built a little -church with their wax from the foundations to the roof, divided into -three rooms, sustained by pillars, with their bases and chapiters. They -had there also an Altar, upon which they had laid the precious Body of -our Lord, and flew round about it, continuing their musick. The peasant -... coming nigh that hive where he had put the H. Sacrament, the Bees -issued out furiously by troops, and surrounding him on all sides, -revenged the irreverence done to their Creator, and stung him so -severely that they left him in a sad case. This punishment made this -miserable wretch come to himself, who, acknowledging his error, went to -find out the parish priest to confess his fault to him...." etc.[606] - -We quote also another from the School of the Eucharist: - -"A certain peasant of Auvergne, a province in France, perceiving that -his Bees were likely to die, to prevent this misfortune, was advised, -after he had received the communion, to reserve the Host, and to blow it -into one of the hives. As he tried to do it, the Host fell on the -ground. Behold now a wonder! On a sudden all the Bees came forth out of -their hives, and ranging themselves in good order, lifted the Host from -the ground, and carrying it in upon their wings, placed it among the -combes. After this the man went out about his business, and at his -return found that this advice had succeeded ill, for all his Bees were -dead...."[607] - -We will close this series of legends with one from the Lives of the -Saints: - -"When a thief by night had stolen St. Medard's Bees, they, in their -master's quarrel, leaving their hive, set upon the malefactor, and -eagerly pursuing him which way soever he ran, would not cease stinging -of him until they had made him (whether he would or no) to go back again -to their master's house; and there, falling prostrate at his feet, -submissly to cry him mercy for the crime committed. Which being done, so -soon as the Saint extended unto him the hand of benediction, the Bees, -like obedient servants, did forthwith stay from persecuting him, and -evidently yielded themselves to the ancient possession and custody of -their master."[608] - -By the Greeks, Bees were accounted an omen of future eloquence;[609] the -soothsayers of the Romans, however, deemed them always of evil -augury.[610] They afforded also to the Romans presages of public -interest, "clustering, as they do, like a bunch of grapes, upon houses -or temples; presages, in fact, that are often accounted for by great -events."[611] The instances of happy omens afforded by swarms of Bees -are the following: - -"It is said of Pindar," we read in Pausanias' History of Greece, "that -when he was a young man, as he was going to Thespia, being wearied with -the heat, as it was noon, and in the height of summer, he fell asleep at -a small distance from the public road; and that Bees, as he was asleep, -flew to him and wrought their honey on his lips. This circumstance first -induced Pindar to compose verses."[612] - -A similar incident is mentioned in the life of Plato: - -"Whilst _Plato_ was yet an infant carried in the arms of his mother -_Perictione, Aristo_ his father went to _Hymettus_ (a mountain in -_Attica_ eminent for abundance of Bees and Honey) to sacrifice to the -Muses or Nymphs, taking his Wife and Child along with him; as they were -busied in the Divine Rites, she laid the Child in a Thicket of Myrtles -hard by; to whom, as he slept (_in cunis dormienti_) came a Swarm of -Bees, Artists of Hymettian Honey, flying and buzzing about him, and (as -it is reported) made a Honeycomb in his mouth. This was taken for a -presage of the singular sweetness of his discourse; his future Eloquence -foreseen in his infancy."[613] - -From Butler's Lives of the Saints we have the following: - -"The birth of St. Ambrose happened about the year 340 B.C., and whilst -the child lay asleep in one of the courts of his father's palace, a -swarm of Bees flew about his cradle, and some of them even crept in and -out at his mouth, which was open; and at last mounted up into the air so -high, that they quite vanished out of sight. This," concludes the -Reverend Alban, "was esteemed a presage of future greatness and -eloquence."[614] - -Another instance is mentioned in the Feminine Monarchie, printed at -Oxford in 1634, p. 22. - -"When _Ludovicus Vives_ was sent by Cardinal Wolsey to Oxford, there to -be a public professor of Rhetoric, being placed in the College of Bees, -he was welcomed thither by a swarm of Bees; which sweet creatures, to -signifie the incomparable sweetnesse of his eloquence, settled -themselves over his head, under the leads of his study, where they have -continued to this day.... How sweetly did all things then accord, when -in this neat #mousaion# newly consecrated to the Muses, the Muses' -sweetest favorite was thus honoured by the Muses' birds."[615] - -Moufet, in his Theater of Insects, and Topsel, in almost the same words -in his History of Four-footed Beasts and Serpents, gives the following -list of remarkable omens drawn from Bees: - -"Whereas the most high God did create all other creatures for our use; -so especially the Bees, not only that as mistresses they might hold -forth to us a patern of politick and oeconomic vertues, and inform our -understanding; but that they might be able as extraordinary foretellers, -to foreshew the success and event of things to come; for in the years -90, 98, 113, 208, before the birth of Christ, when as mighty huge swarms -of Bees did settle in the chief market-place, and in the beast-market -upon private citizens' houses, and on the temple of Mars, there were at -that time stratagems of enemies against Rome, wherewith the whole state -was like to be surprised and destroyed. In the reign of Severus, the -Bees made combes in his military ensigns, and especially in the camp of -Niger. Divers wars upon this ensued between both the parties of Severus -and Niger, and battels of doubtful event, while at length the Severian -faction prevailed. The statues also of Antonius Pius placed here and -there all over Hetruria, were all covered with swarms of Bees; and after -that settled in the camp of Cassius; what great commotions after -followed Julius Capitolinus relates in his history. At what time also, -through the treachery of the Germans in Germany, there was a mighty -slaughter and overthrow of the Romans. P. Fabius, and Q. Elius being -consuls in the camp of Drusus in the tent of Hostilius Rutilus, a swarm -of Bees is reported to have sate so thick, that they covered the rope -and the spear that held up the tent. M. Lepidus, and Munat. Plancus -being consuls, as also in the consulship of L. Paulus, and C. Metellus, -swarms of Bees flying to Rome (as the augurs very well conjectured) did -foretell the near approach of the enemy. Pompey likewise making war -against Cæsar, when he had called his allies together, he set his army -in order as he went out of Dyrrachium, Bees met him and sate so thick -upon his ensigns that they could not be seen what they were. Philistus -and Ælian relate, that while Dionysius the tyrant did in vain spur his -horse that stuck in the mire, and there at length left him, the horse -quitting himself by his own strength, did follow after his master the -same way he went with a swarm of Bees sticking on his mane; intimating -by that prodigy that tyrannical government which Dionysius affected over -the Galeotæ. In the Helvetian History we read, that in the year 1385, -when Leopoldus of Austria began to march towards Sempachum with his -army, a swarm of Bees flew to the town and there sate upon the tyles; -whereby the common people rightly foretold that some forain force was -marching towards them. So Virgil, in 7 Æneid: - - The Bees flew buzzing through the liquid air: - And pitcht upon the top o' th' laurel tree; - When the Soothsayers saw this sight full rare, - They did foretell th' approach of th' enemie. - -That which Herodotus, Pausanias, Dio Cassius, Plutarch, Julius Cæsar, -Julius Capitolinus, and other historians with greater observation then -reason have confirmed. Saon Acrephniensis, when he could by no means -finde the oracle Trophonius; Pausanias in his oeticks saith he was lead -thither by a swarm of Bees. Moreover, Plutarch, Pausanias, Ælian, Alex. -Alexandrinus, Theocritus and Textor are authors that Jupiter Melitæus, -Hiero of Syracuse, Plato, Pindar, Apius Comatus, Xenophon, and last of -all Ambrose, when their nurses were absent, had honey dropt into their -mouths by Bees, and so were preserved."[616] - -In East Norfolk, England, if Bees swarm on rotten wood, it is considered -portentous of a death in the family.[617] This superstition is as old at -least as the time of Gay, for, among the signs that foreshadowed the -death of Blonzelind, it is mentioned: - - Swarmed on a rotten stick the Bees I spy'd - Which erst I saw when Goody Dobson dy'd.[618] - -In Ireland, the mere swarming of Bees is looked upon as prognosticating -a death in the family of the owner. - -In parts of England it is believed, that if a swarm of Bees come to a -house, and are not claimed by their owner, there will be a death in the -family that hives them.[619] - -It is a very ancient superstition that Bees, by their acute sense of -smell, quickly detect an unchaste woman, and strive to make her infamy -known by stinging her immediately. In a pastoral of Theocritus, the -shepherd in a pleasant mood tells Venus to go away to Anchises to be -well stung by Bees for her lewd behavior. - - Now go thy way to Ida mount-- - Go to Anchises now, - Where mighty oaks, where banks along - Of square Cypirus grow, - Where hives and hollow trunks of trees, - With honey sweet abound, - Where all the place with humming noise - Of busie Bees resound. - -Incontinence in men, as well as unchastity in women, was thought to be -punished by these little insects. Thus in the lines of Pindarus: - - Thou painful Bee, thou pretty creature, - Who honey-combs six angled, as the be, - With feet doest frame, false Phoecus and impure, - With sting has prickt for his lewd villany.[620] - -Pliny says: "Certain it is, that if a menstruous woman do no more but -touch a Bee-hive, all the Bees will be gone and never more come to it -again."[621] - -In Western Pennsylvania, it is believed that Bees will invariably sting -red-haired persons as soon as they approach the hives. - -It is a common opinion that Bees in rough and boisterous weather, and -particularly in a violent storm, carry a stone in their legs, in order -to preserve themselves by its weight against the power of the wind. Its -antiquity is also great, for in the writings of Plutarch we find an -instance of this remarkable wisdom. "The Bees of Candi," says this -philosopher, "being about to double a point or cape lying into the sea, -which is much exposed to the winds, they ballase (ballast) themselves -with small grit or petty stones, for to be able to endure the weather, -and not be carried away against their wills with the winds through their -lightness otherwise."[622] - -Virgil, too, about a century earlier, mentions this curious notion in -the following lines: - - And as when empty barks on billows float, - With sandy ballast sailors trim the boat; - So Bees bear gravel stones, whose poising weight - Steers through the whistling winds their steady flight.[623] - -Swammerdam, who has noticed this belief of the ancients, makes the -following remarks: "But this, as Clutius justly observes, has not been -hitherto remarked by any Bee-keeper, nor indeed have I myself ever seen -it. Yet I should think that there may be some truth in this matter, and -probably a certain observation, which I shall presently mention, has -given rise to the story. There is a species of wild Bees not unlike the -smallest kind of the Humble-Bee, which, as they are accustomed to build -their nests near stone walls, and construct their habitations of stone -and clay, sometimes carry such large stones that it is scarcely credible -by what means so tender insects can sustain so great a load, and that -even flying while they are obliged also to support their own body. -Their nest by this means is often so heavy as to weigh one or two -pounds."[624] - -It was the general opinion of antiquity that Bees were produced from the -putrid bodies of cattle. Varro says they are called #Bougonai# by the -Greeks, because they arise from petrified bullocks. In another place he -mentions their rising from these putrid animals, and quotes the -authority of Archelaus, who says Bees proceed from bullocks, and wasps -from horses.[625] Virgil, however, is much more satisfactory, for he -gives us the recipe in all its details for producing these insects: - - First, in a place, by nature close, they build - A narrow flooring, gutter'd, wall'd, and til'd. - In this, four windows are contriv'd, that strike - To the four winds oppos'd, their beams oblique. - A steer of two years old they take, whose head - Now first with burnished horns begins to spread: - They stop his nostrils, while he strives in vain - To breathe free air, and struggles with his pain. - Knock'd down, he dies: his bowels bruis'd within, - Betray no wound on his unbroken skin. - Extended thus, in his obscene abode, - They leave the beast; but first sweet flowers are strow'd - Beneath his body, broken boughs and thyme, - And pleasing Cassia, just renew'd in prime. - This must be done, ere spring makes equal day, - When western winds on curling waters play; - Ere painted meads produce their flowery crops, - Or swallows twitter on the chimney tops. - The tainted blood, in this close prison pent, - Begins to boil, and thro' the bones ferment. - Then wond'rous to behold, new creatures rise, - A moving mass at first, and short of thighs; - Till shooting out with legs, and imp'd with wings, - The grubs proceed to Bees with pointed stings: - And more and more affecting air, they try - Their tender pinions and begin to fly.[626] - -This absurd notion was also promulgated by the great English chronicler, -Hollingshed; for, says this author, "Hornets, waspes, Bees, and such -like, whereof we have great store, and of which an opinion is -conceived, that the first doo breed of the corruption of dead horses, -the second of pears and apples corrupted, and the last of kine and oxen; -which may be true, especiallie the first and latter in some parts of the -beast, and not their whole substances, as also in the second, sith we -never have waspes but when our fruit beginneth to wax ripe."[627] - -To conclude the history of this belief, the following remarks of the -learned Swammerdam will not be inappropriate. He says: "It is probable -that the not rightly understanding Samson's adventure of the Lion, gave -rise to the popular opinion of Bees springing from dead Lions, Oxen, and -Horses; and this opinion may have been considerably strengthened, and -indeed in a manner confirmed, by the great number of Worms that are -often found during the summer months in the carcasses of such animals, -especially as these Worms somewhat resemble those produced from the eggs -of Bees. However ridiculous this opinion must appear, many great men -have not been ashamed to adopt and defend it. The industrious Goedaert -has ventured to ascribe the origin of Bees to certain dunghill Worms, -and the learned de Mei joins with him in this opinion; though neither of -them had any observation to ground their belief upon, but that of the -external resemblance between the Bee and a certain kind of Fly produced -from these Worms."[628] - -The opinion that stolen Bees will not thrive, but pine away and die, is -almost universal.[629] It is, too, of reverend antiquity, for Pliny -mentions it: "It is a common received opinion, that Rue will grow the -better if it be filched out of another man's garden; and it is as -ordinarie a saying that stolen Bees will thrive worst."[630] - -In South Northamptonshire, England, there is a superstition that Bees -will not thrive in a quarrelsome family.[631] It might be well to -promulgate this and the next preceding superstition. This prevails among -us. - -In Hampshire, England, it is a common saying that Bees are idle or -unfortunate at their work whenever there are wars. A very curious -observer and fancier says that this has been the case from the time of -the movements in France, Prussia, and Hungary, up to the present -time.[632] - -In Bishopsbourne, England, there prevails the singular superstition of -informing the Bees of any great public event that takes place, else they -will not thrive so well.[633] - -In Monmouthshire, England, the peasantry entertain so great a veneration -for their Bees, that, says Bucke, some years since, they were accustomed -to go to their hives on Christmas eve at twelve o'clock, in order to -listen to their humming; which elicited, as they believed, a much more -agreeable music than at any other period; since, at that time, they -celebrated, in the best manner they could, the morning of Christ's -nativity.[634] - -Sampson, in his Statistical Survey of the County of Londonderry, 1802, -p. 436, says that there "Bees must not be given away, but sold; -otherwise neither the giver nor the taker will have _luck_."[635] - -A clergyman in Devonshire, England, informs us that when any Devonian -makes a purchase of Bees, the payment is never made in money, but in -things (corn, for instance) to the value of the sum agreed upon; and the -Bees are never removed but on a Good Friday.[636] In western -Pennsylvania, it is thought by some of the old farmers that the vender -of the Bees must be away from home when the hive is taken away, else the -Bees will not thrive. - -Another superstition is that if a swarm of Bees be met with in an open -field away from any house, it is useless to hive them, for they will -never do a bit of good. - -In many parts of England, a popular opinion is that when Bees remove or -go away from their hives, the owner of them will die soon after.[637] - -It is commonly believed among us that if Bees come to a house, it -forebodes good luck and prosperity; and, on the contrary, if they go -away, bad luck. - -A North German custom and superstition is, that if the master of the -house dies, a person must go to the Beehive, knock, and repeat these -words: "The master is dead, the master is dead," else the Bees will fly -away.[638] This superstition prevails also in England, Lithuania, and in -France.[639] - -[Some years since, observes a correspondent of the Athenæum, quoted by -Brande, a gentleman at a dinner table happened to mention that he was -surprised, on the death of a relative, by his servant inquiring "whether -his master would inform the Bees of the event, or whether _he_ should do -so." On asking the meaning of so strange a question, the servant assured -him that Bees ought always to be informed of a death in a family, or -they would resent the neglect by deserting the hive. This gentleman -resides in the Isle of Ely, and the anecdote was told in Suffolk; and -one of the party present, a few days afterward, took the opportunity of -testing the prevalence of this strange notion by inquiring of a cottager -who had lately lost a relative, and happened to complain of the loss of -her Bees, "whether she had told them all she ought to do?" She -immediately replied, "Oh, yes; when my aunt died I told every skep -(_i.e._ hive) myself, and put them.... - -"Into mourning." I have since ascertained the existence of the same -superstition in Cornwall, Devonshire (where I have seen black crape put -round the hive, or on a small black stick by its side), and Yorkshire. -It probably exists in every part of the kingdom.... The mode of -communicating is by whispering the fact to each hive separately.... In -Oxford I was told that if a man and wife quarreled, the Bees would leave -them.][640] - -"In some parts of Suffolk," says Bucke, "the peasants believe, when any -member of their family dies, that, unless the Bees are put in mourning -by placing a piece of black cloth, cotton or silk, on the top of the -hives, the Bees will either die or fly away. - -"In Lithuania, when the master or mistress dies, one of the first duties -performed is that of giving notice to the Bees, by rattling the keys of -the house at the doors of their hives. Unless this be done, the -Lithuanians imagine the cattle will die; the Bees themselves perish, -and the trees wither."[641] - -At Bradfield, if Bees are not invited to funerals, it is believed they -will die.[642] - -In the Living Librarie, Englished by John Molle, 1621, p. 283, we read: -"Who would beleeve without superstition (if experience did not make it -credible), that most commonly all the Bees die in their hives, if the -master or mistress of the house chance to die, except the hives be -presently removed into some other place? And yet I know this hath hapned -to folke no way stained with superstition."[643] - -A similar superstition is, that Beehives belonging to deceased persons -should be turned over the moment when the corpse is taken out of the -house.[644] No consequence is given for the non-performance of this -rite. - -The following item is clipped from the Argus, a London newspaper, -printed Sept. 13, 1790: "A superstitious custom prevails at every -funeral in Devonshire, of turning round the Bee-hives that belonged to -the deceased, if he had any, and that at the moment the corpse is -carrying out of the house. At a funeral some time since, at Columpton, -of a rich old farmer, a laughable circumstance of this sort occurred: -for, just as the corpse was placed in the hearse, and the horsemen, to a -large number, were drawn in order for the procession of the funeral, a -person called out, 'Turn the Bees,' when a servant who had no knowledge -of such a custom, instead of turning the hives about, lifted them up, -and then laid them down on their sides. The Bees, thus hastily invaded, -instantly attacked and fastened on the horses and their riders. It was -in vain they galloped off, the Bees as precipitately followed, and left -their stings as marks of indignation. A general confusion took place, -attended with loss of hats, wigs, etc., and the corpse during the -conflict was left unattended; nor was it till after a considerable time -that the funeral attendants could be rallied, in order to proceed to the -interment of their deceased friend."[645] - -After the death of a member of a family, it has frequently been -asserted that the Bees sometimes take their loss so much to heart as to -alight upon the coffin whenever it is exposed. A clergyman told -Langstroth, that he attended a funeral, where, as soon as the coffin was -brought from the house, the Bees gathered upon it so as to excite much -alarm. Some years after this occurrence, being engaged in varnishing a -table, the Bees alighted upon it in such numbers as to convince the -reverend gentleman that love of varnish, rather than sorrow or respect -for the dead, was the occasion of their conduct at the funeral.[646] - -The following is an extract from a _Tour through Brittany_, published in -the Cambrian _Quarterly Magazine_, vol. ii. p. 215: "If there are Bees -kept at the house where a marriage feast is celebrated, care is always -taken to dress up their hives in red, which is done by placing upon them -pieces of scarlet cloth, or one of some such bright color; the Bretons -imagining that the Bees would forsake their dwellings if they were not -made to participate in the rejoicings of their owners: in like manner -they are all put into mourning when a death occurs in a family."[647] - -In the Magazine of Natural History we find the following instance of -singing psalms to Bees to make them thrive: "When in Bedfordshire -lately, we were informed of an old man who sang a psalm last year in -front of some hives which were not doing well, but which, he said, would -thrive in consequence of that ceremony. Our informant could not state -whether this was a local or individual superstition."[648] - -It is commonly said that if you sing to your Bees before they swarm, it -will prevent their leaving your premises when they do swarm. - -Peter Rotharmel, a western Pennsylvanian, had a singular notion that no -man could have at one time a hundred hives of Bees. He declared he had -often as many as ninety-nine, but could never add another to them.[649] -I have since learned that this is not an individual superstition, but -one that pretty generally prevails. - -The Apiarians of Bedfordshire, England, have a custom of, as they call -it, ringing their swarms with the door-key and the frying-pan; and if a -swarm settles on another's premises, it is irrecoverable by the owner, -unless he can prove the ringing, but it becomes the property of that -person upon whose premises it settles.[650] - -The practice of beating pans, and making a great noise to induce a swarm -of Bees to settle, is, at least, as old as the time of Virgil. He thus -mentions it: - - But when thou seest a swarming cloud arise, - That sweeps aloft, and darkens all the skies: - The motions of their hasty flight attend; - And know to floods, or woods, their airy march they bend. - Then melfoil beat, and honey-suckles pound, - With these alluring savors strew the ground, - And mix with tinkling brass the cymbal's drowning sound.[651] - -But concerning this practice, Langstroth says: "It is probably not a -whit more efficacious than the hideous noises of some savage tribes, -who, imagining that the sun, in an eclipse, has been swallowed by an -enormous dragon, resort to such means to compel his snakeship to -disgorge their favorite luminary."[652] - -Dr. Toner, the author of that very interesting little work, "Maternal -Instinct or Love," informs me that when a boy he witnessed a mode of -alluring a swarm of Bees to settle, performed by a German man and his -wife, which struck him at the time as being remarkable, and which was as -follows: Having first put some pig-manure upon the hive into which they -wished the Bees to go, they ran to and fro under the swarm, singing a -monotonous German hymn; and this they continued till the Bees were -settled and hived. - -Another strange mode of alluring Bees into a new hive is practiced near -Gloucester, England, but only when all the usual ways of preparing hives -fail; it is this: When a swarm is to be hived, instead of moistening the -inside of the hive with honey, or sugar and water, the Bee-master throws -into it, inverted, about a pint of beans, which he causes a sow to -devour, and immediately then, it is said, will the Bees take to it.[653] - -Pliny, as follows, incidentally mentions another curious mode of -preparing the hives to best suit the Bees: "Touching Baulme, which the -Greeks call Melittis or Melissophyllon: if Bee-hives be rubbed all over -and besmeared with the juice thereof, the Bees will never go away; for -there is not a flower whereof they be more desirous and faine than of -it."[654] - -Borlase, in his Antiquities of Cornwall, p. 168, tells us of another -strange practice in the hiving of Bees. He says: "The Cornish, to this -day, invoke the spirit of Browny, when their Bees swarm; and they think -that their crying Browny, Browny, will prevent them from returning into -the former hive, and make them pitch and form a new colony."[655] - -The Rev. Thomas P. Hunt, of Wyoming, Pa., has devised an amusing plan, -by which he says he can, at all times, prevent a swarm of Bees from -leaving his premises. Before his stocks swarm, he collects a number of -dead Bees, and, stringing them with a needle and thread, as worms are -strung for catching eels, makes of them a ball about the size of an egg, -leaving a few strands loose. By carrying--fastened to a pole--this -"_Bee-bob_" about his Apiary, when the Bees are swarming, or by placing -it in some central position, he invariably secures every swarm.[656] - -The barbarous practice of killing Bees for their honey, not yet entirely -abolished, did not exist in the time of Aristotle, Varro, Columella, and -Pliny. The old cultivators took only what their Bees could spare, -killing no stocks except such as were feeble or diseased. The following -epitaph, taken from a German work, might well be placed over every pit -of these brimstoned insects: - - HERE RESTS, - CUT OFF FROM USEFUL LABOR, - A COLONY OF - INDUSTRIOUS BEES, - BASELY MURDERED - BY ITS - UNGRATEFUL AND IGNORANT - OWNER. - -To the epitaph also may be appended Thomson's verses: - - Ah, see, where robbed and murdered in that pit, - Lies the still heaving hive! at evening snatched, - Beneath the cloud of guilt-concealing night, - And fixed o'er sulphur! while, not dreaming ill, - The happy people, in their waxen cells, - Sat tending public cares. - Sudden, the dark, oppressive steam ascends, - And, used to milder scents, the tender race, - By thousands, tumble from their honied dome - Into a gulf of blue sulphureous flame![657] - -It is considered very cruel in Africa, as Campbell observes, to kill -Bees in order to obtain their honey, especially as from flowers being -there at all seasons, and most in winter, they can live comfortably all -the year round. A Hottentot, who was accustomed to kill the Bees, was -often reasoned with by the humane to give up so cruel a practice, yet he -persisted in it till a circumstance occurred which determined him to -relinquish it. He had a water-mill for grinding his corn, which went -very slowly, from the smallness of the stream which turned it; -consequently the flour dropped very gently. For some time much less than -usual came into the sack, the cause of which he could not discover. At -length he found that a great part of his flour, as it was ground, was -carried off by the Bees to their hives: on examining this, he found it -contained only his flour, and no honey. This robbery made him resolve to -destroy no more Bees when their honey was taken, considering their -conduct in robbing him of his property as a just punishment to him for -his cruelty. The gentleman who related this story, Mr. Campbell says, -was a witness to the Bees robbing the mill.[658] - -An old English proverb, relative to the swarming of Bees, is,-- - - A swarm of Bees in May, - Is worth a load of hay; - A swarm of Bees in June, - Is worth a silver spoon; - A swarm of Bees in July, - Is not worth a fly.[659] - -In Tusser's Five Hundred Points of Husbandry, under the month of May, -are these lines: - - Take heed to thy Bees, that are ready to swarme, - The losse thereof now is a crown's worth of harme. - -On which is the following observation in Tusser Redivivus, 1744, p. 62: -"The tinkling after them with a warming-pan, frying-pan, kettle, is of -good use to let the neighbors know you have a swarm in the air, which -you claim wherever it lights; but I believe of very little purpose to -the reclaiming of the Bees, who are thought to delight in no noise but -their own." - -Ill fortune attends the killing of Bees,--a common saying. This, -doubtless, arose from the thrift and usefulness of these insects. - -That swarms of Bees, or fields, houses, stalls of cattle, or workshops, -may not be affected by enchantment, Leontinus says: "Dig in the hoof of -the right side of a sable ass under the threshold of the door, and pour -on some liquid pitchy resin, salt, Heracleotic origanum, cardamonium, -cumin, some fine bread, squills, a chaplet of white or of crimson wool, -the chaste tree, vervain, sulphur, pitchy torches; and lay on some -amaranthus every month, and lay on the mould; and, having scattered -seeds of different kinds, let them remain."[660] - -To cure the stings of Bees, we have the following remedies: "Rue," says -Pliny, "is an hearbe as medicinable as the best ... and is available -against the stings of Bees, Hornets, and Wasps, and against the poison -of the Cantharides and Salamanders.[661] - -"Yea, and it is an excellent thing for them that be stung, to take the -very Bees in drinke; for it is an approved cure.[662] - -"Baulme is a most present remedy not only against their stings, but also -of Wespes, Spiders, and Scorpions.[663] - -"The Laurell, both leafe, barke, and berrie, is by nature hot; and -applied as a liniment, be singular good for the pricke or sting of -Wasps, Hornets, and Bees.[664] - -"For the sting of Bees, Wasps, and Hornets, the Howlat (owlet) is -counted a soveraigne thing, by a certaine antipathie in nature.[665] - -"Moreover, as many as have about them the bill of a Woodspeck -(Woodpecker) when they come to take honey out of the hive, shall not be -stung by Bees."[666] - -It is said that if a man suffers himself to be stung by Bees, he will -find that the poison will produce less and less effect upon his system, -till, finally, like Mithridates of old, he will appear to almost thrive -upon poison itself. When Langstroth first became interested in Bees, -according to his statement, a sting was quite a formidable thing, the -pain being often intense, and the wound swelling so as sometimes to -obstruct his sight. But, at length, however, the pain was usually -slight, and, if the sting was quickly extracted, no unpleasant -consequences ensued, even if no remedies were used. Huish speaks of -seeing the bald head of Bonner, a celebrated practical Apiarian, covered -with stings, which seemed to produce upon him no unpleasant effects. The -Rev. Mr. Kleine advises beginners to suffer themselves to be stung -frequently, assuring them that, in two seasons, their systems will -become accustomed to the poison. An old English Apiarian advises a -person who has been stung, to catch as speedily as possible another -Bee, and make it sting on the same spot.[667] - -It is generally believed among our boys that if the part stung by a Bee -be rubbed with the leaves of three different plants at the same time, -the pain will be relieved. - -Willsford, in his Nature's Secrets, p. 134, says: "Bees, in fair -weather, not wandering far from their hives, presage the approach of -some stormy weather.... Wasps, Hornets, and Gnats, biting more eagerly -than they used to do, is a sign of rainy weather."[668] - -The prognostication drawn from a flight of Bees, in which there is -doubtless much truth, appears from the following lines to have been -known to Virgil: - - Nor dare they stay, - When rain is promised, or a stormy day: - But near the city walls their watering take, - Nor forage far, but short excursions make.[669] - -Bees were employed as the symbol of Epeses; they are common also on -coins of Elyrus, Julis, and Præsus.[670] - -One of the most remarkable facts in the history of Bees is that passage -in the Bible[671] about the swarm of these insects and honey in the -carcass of the lion slain by Samson. Some look upon it as a paradox, -others as altogether incredible; but it admits of easy explanation. The -lion had been dead some little time before the Bees had taken up their -abode in the carcass, for it is expressly stated that "after a time," -Samson returned and saw the Bees and honey in the carcass, so that "if," -as Oedman has well observed, "any one here represents to himself a -corrupt and putrid carcass, the occurrence ceases to have any true -similitude, for it is well known in these countries, at certain seasons -of the year, the heat will in twenty-four hours so completely dry up the -moisture of dead animals, and that without their undergoing -decomposition, that their bodies long remain, like mummies, unaltered, -and entirely free from offensive odor." To the foregoing quotation we -may add that very probably the larvæ of flies, ants, and other insects, -which at the time when Bees swarm, are to be found in great numbers, -would help to consume the carcass, and leave perhaps in a short time -little else than a skeleton.[672] - -An instance of Bees tenanting a dead body is found in the following -passage from the writings of Herodotus: "Now the Amathusians, having cut -off the head of Onesilus, because he had besieged them, took it to -Amatheus, and suspended it over the gates; and when the head was -suspended, and had become hollow, a swarm of Bees entered it, and filled -it with honey-comb. When this happened, the Amathusians consulted the -oracle respecting it, and an answer was given them, 'that they should -take down the head and bury it, and sacrifice annually to Onesilus, as -to a hero; and if they did so, it would turn out better for them.' The -Amathusians did accordingly, and continued to do so until my time."[673] - -Another singular instance is mentioned by Napier in his Excursions on -the shores of the Mediterranean: "Among this pretty collection of -natural curiosities (in the cemetery of Algesiras), one in particular -attracted our attention; this was the contents of a small uncovered -coffin in which lay a child, the cavity of the chest exposed and -tenanted by an industrious colony of Bees. The comb was rapidly -progressing, and I suppose, according to the adage of the poet, they -were adding sweets to the sweet, if not perfume to the violet."[674] - -Butler, in his Feminine Monarchie, narrates the following curious story: -"_Paulus Jovius_ affirmeth that in _Muscovia_, there are found in the -woods & wildernesses great lakes of honey, which the Bees have forsaken, -in the hollow truncks of marvelous huge trees. In so much that hony & -waxe are the most certaine commodities of that countrie. Where, by that -occasion, he setteth down the storie reported by _Demetrius_ a -_Muscovite_ ambassador sent to Rome. A neighbor of mine (saith he) -searching in the woods for hony slipt downe into a great hollow tree, -and there sunk into a lake of hony vp to his brest: where when he had -stucke faste two daies calling and crying out in vaine for helpe, -because no bodie in the meane while came nigh that solitarie place; at -length when he was out of all hope of life, hee was strangely delivered -by the means of a great beare: which coming thither about the same -businesse that he did, and smelling the hony stirred with his striving, -clambered vp to the top of the tree, & thence began to let himselfe -downe backward into it. The man bethinking himself, and knowing the -worst was but death, which in that place he was sure of, beclipt the -beare fast with both his hands aboit the loines, and withall made an -outcry as lowd as he could. The beare being thus sodainely affrighted, -what with the handling, & what with the noise, made vp againe withal -speed possible: the man held, & the beare pulled, vntil with main force -he had drawne _Dun out of the mire_: & then being let go, away he trots -_more afeard than hurt_, leaving the smeered swaine in a joyful -feare."[675] - -By the Chinese writers, the composition of the characters for the Bee, -Ant, and Mosquito, respectively, denote the awl insect, the _righteous_ -insect, and the _lettered_ insect; referring thereby to the sting of the -first, the orderly marching and subordination of the second, and the -letter-like markings on the wings of the last.[676] - -In May, 1653, the remains of Childeric, King of the Franks, who died -A.D. 481, and was buried at Tournay, were discovered; and among the -medals, coins, and books, which were found in his tomb, were also found -above three hundred figures of, as Chiflet says, Bees, all of gold. Some -of these figures were toads, crescents, lilies, spear-heads, and such -like, but Chiflet, after much labor and research, was fully convinced -they were Bees; and, more than that, determines them to be the source -whence the _Fleur de lis_ in the Arms of France were afterward derived. -Montfaucon, however, did not hesitate to say they were nothing more than -ornaments of the horse-furniture.[677] - -Napoleon I. and II. are said to have had their imperial robes -embroidered with golden Bees, as claiming official descent from Carolus -Magnus, who is said to have worn them on his coat of arms.[678] - -On a Continental forty-five dollar bill, issued on the 14th of January, -1779, is represented an Apiary in which two Beehives are visible, and -Bees are seen swarming about. The motto is "Sic floret Respublica--Thus -flourishes the Republic." It conveys the simple lesson that by industry -and frugality the Republic would prosper.[679] - -Bees in the heroic ages it appears were not confined in hives; for, -whenever Homer describes them, it is either where they are streaming -forth from a rock,[680] or settling in bands and clusters on the spring -flowers. Hesiod, however, soon after makes mention of a hive where he is -uncourteously comparing women to drones: - - As when within their well-roof'd hives the Bees - Maintain the mischief-working drones at ease, - Their task pursuing till the golden sun - Down to the western wave his course hath run, - Filling their shining combs, while snug within - Their fragrant cells, the drones, with idle din - As princes revel o'er their unpaid bowls, - On others' labors cheer their worthless souls.[681] - -It may be surprising to many to know that Bees were not originally -natives of this country. But such is the case; the first planters never -saw any. The English first introduced them into Boston, and in 1670, -they were carried over the Alleghany Mountains by a hurricane.[682] -Since that time, it has been remarked they betray an invariable tendency -for migrating southward.[683] - -Bees for a long time were known to our Indians by the name of "English -Flies;"[684] and they consider them, says Irving, as the harbinger of -the white man, as the buffalo is of the red man, and say that in -proportion as the Bee advances, the Indian and the buffalo retire.[685] - -Longfellow, in his Song of Hiawatha, in describing the advent of the -European to the New World, makes his Indian warrior say of the Bee and -the white clover: - - Wheresoe'er they move, before them - Swarms the stinging fly, the Ahmo, - Swarms the Bee, the honey-maker; - Wheresoe'er they tread, beneath them - Springs a flower unknown among us, - Springs the White Man's Foot in blossom. - -Many Apiarians contend that newly-settled countries are most favorable -to the Bee; and an old German adage runs thus: - - Bells' ding dong, - And choral song, - Deter the bee - From industry: - - But hoot of owl, - And "wolf's long howl" - Incite to moil - And steady toil.[686] - -Hector St. John, in his Letters, gives the following curious account of -the method which he employed in discovering Bees in our woods in early -times: Provided with a blanket, some provisions, wax, vermilion, honey, -and a small pocket compass, he proceeded to such woods as were at a -considerable distance from the settlements. Then examining if they -abounded with large trees, he kindled a small fire on some flat stones, -close by which putting some wax, and, on another stone near by, dropping -distinct drops of honey, which he encircled with the vermilion. He then -retired to carefully watch if any Bees appeared. The smell of the burnt -wax, if there were any Bees in the neighborhood, would unavoidably -attract them; and, finding the honey, would necessarily become tinged -with the vermilion, in attempting to get at it. Next, fixing his -compass, he found out the direction of the hives by the flight of the -loaded Bees, which is invariably straight when they are returning home. -Then timing with his watch the absence of the Bee till it would come -back for a second load, and recognizing it by the vermilion, he could -generally guess pretty closely to the distance traversed by it in the -given time. Knowing then the direction and the probable distance, he -seldom failed in going directly to the right tree. In this way he -sometimes found as many as eleven swarms in one season.[687] - -The shepherds of the Alps, as we learn from Sausure quoted in the Insect -Miscellanies, as soon as the snows are melted on the sides of the -mountains, transfer their flocks from the valleys below to the fresh -pasture revived by the summer sun, in the natural parterres and patches -of meadow-land formed at the foot of crumbling rocks, and sheltered by -them from mountain storms; and so difficult sometimes is this transfer -to be accomplished, that the sheep have to be slung by means of ropes -from one cliff to another before they can be stationed on the little -grass-plot above.[688] A similar artificial migration (if we may use the -term), continues the author of the Miscellanies, is effected in some -countries by the proprietors of Beehives, who remove them from one -district to another, that they may find abundance of flowers, and by -this means prolong the summer. Sometimes this transfer is performed by -persons forming an ambulatory establishment, like that of a gipsy horde, -and encamping wherever flowers are found plentiful. Bee-caravans of this -kind are reported to be not uncommon in some districts of Germany;[689] -and in parts of Greece,[690] Italy, and France,[691] the transportation -of Bees was practiced from very early times. But a more singular -practice in such transportation was to set the Beehives afloat in a -canal or river, and we are informed that, in France, one Bee-barge was -built of capacity enough for from sixty to one hundred hives, and by -floating gently down the river, the Bees had an opportunity of gathering -honey from the flowers along the banks.[692] - -An instance of Bees being kept in this singular manner is found in the -following quotation from the London Times, 1830: "As a small vessel was -proceeding up the Channel from the coast of Cornwall, and running near -the land, some of the sailors observed a swarm of Bees on an island; -they steered for it, landed, and took the Bees on board; succeeded in -hiving them immediately, and proceeded on their voyage; as they sailed -along shore, the Bees constantly flew from the vessel to the land, to -collect honey, and returned again to their moving hive; and this was -continued all the way up the Channel."[693] - -In Lower Egypt, observes M. Maillet in his Description of Egypt, where -the blossoming of flowers is about six weeks later than in the upper -districts, the practice of transporting Beehives is much followed. The -hives are collected from different villages along the banks, each being -marked and numbered by individual proprietors, to prevent future -mistakes. They are then arranged in pyramidal piles upon the boats -prepared to receive them, which, floating gradually down the river, and -stopping at certain stages of their passage, remain there a longer or a -shorter time, according to the produce afforded by the surrounding -country within two or three leagues. In this manner the Bee-boats sail -for three months; the Bees, having culled the honey of the -orange-flowers in the Said, and of the Arabian jasmine and other flowers -in the more northern parts, are brought back to the places whence they -had been carried. This procures for the Egyptians delicious honey and -abundance of wax. The proprietors in return pay the boatmen a recompense -proportioned to the number of hives which have been thus carried about -from one extremity of Egypt to the other.[694] The celebrated traveler -Niebuhr saw upon the Nile, between Cairo and Damietta, a convoy of 4000 -hives in their transit from Upper Egypt to the coast of the Delta.[695] - -In the Bienenzeitung for 1854, p. 83, appears the following statements: -"Mr. Kaden, of Mayence, thinks that the range of the Bee's flight does -not usually extend more than three miles in all directions. Several -years ago, a vessel, laden with sugar, anchored off Mayence, and was -soon visited by the Bees of the neighborhood, which continued to pass to -and from the vessel from dawn to dark. One morning, when the Bees were -in full flight, the vessel sailed up the river. For a short time, the -Bees continued to fly as numerously as before; but gradually the number -diminished, and, in course of half an hour, all had ceased to follow the -vessel, which had, meanwhile, sailed more than four miles."[696] - -Aristomachus of Soli, says Pliny, made Bees his exclusive study for a -period of fifty-eight years; and Philiocus, the Thracian, surnamed -Agrius--"Wildman"--passed his life in desert spots tending swarms of -Bees.[697] - -Schomburgk says he saw, in his journey to the sources of the Takutu, an -Indian, who was the conjuror or piaiman of his tribe, merely approach a -nest of the wild Wampang-bees (_Wampisiana camniba_), and knocking with -his fingers against it, drive out all the Bees without a single one -injuring him. The piaiman, Schomburgk remarks, drew his fingers under -the pits of his arms before he knocked against the hive.[698] - -Brue, in his first voyage to Siratic, in Africa, met with what he called -a "phenomenon" in a person entitling himself the "King of the Bees." His -majesty accordingly came to the boat of the traveler entirely covered -with these insects, and followed by thousands, over which he appeared to -exercise the most absolute authority. These Bees were never known to -injure either himself or those whom he took under his protection.[699] - -Mr. Wildman, the most celebrated Bee-tamer, frequently asserted that -armed with his friendly Bees he was defensible against the fiercest -mastiffs; and, it is said, he actually did, at Salisbury, encounter -three yard-dogs one after the other. The conditions of the engagement -were, that he should have notice of the dog being set at him. -Accordingly the first mastiff was set loose; and as he approached the -man, two Bees were detached, which immediately stung him, the one on the -nose, the other on the flank; upon receiving the wounds, the dog retired -very much daunted. After this, the second dog entered the lists, and was -foiled with the same expedition as the first. The third dog was at last -brought against the champion, but the animal observing the ill success -of his brethren, would not attempt to sustain a combat; so, in a -cowardly manner, he retired with his tail between his legs. - -Many other remarkable anecdotes are told of this gentleman, illustrating -his wonderful control over Bees. He could also, indeed, tame wasps and -hornets, with almost the same ease as he could Bees, and an instance is -mentioned of his hiving a nest of hornets which hung at the top of the -inside of a high barn. He, however, was stung twice in this undertaking. - -Mr. Wildman frequently exhibited himself with his head and face almost -covered with Bees, and with such a swarm of them hanging down from his -chin as to resemble a venerable beard. In this extraordinary dress he -was once brought through the City of London sitting in a chair. Before -Earl Spencer, Mr. Wildman also made many wonderful performances.[700] - -Says Dr. Evans: - - Such was the spell, which round a Wildman's arm - Twined in dark wreaths the fascinated swarm, - Bright o'er his breast the glittering legions led, - Or with a living garland bound his head. - His dexterous hand, with firm but hurtless hold, - Could seize the chief, known by her scales of gold, - Prune, 'mid the wondering throng, her filmy wing, - Or o'er her folds the silken fetter fling.[701] - -"Long experience has taught me," says Mr. Wildman himself, "that as soon -as I turn up a hive, and give some taps on the sides and bottom, the -queen immediately appears. Being accustomed to see her, I readily -perceive her at the first glance; and long practice has enabled me to -seize her instantly, with a tenderness that does not in the least -endanger her person. Being possessed of her, I can, without exciting any -resentment, slip her into my other hand, and returning the hive to its -place, hold her, till the Bees, missing her, are all on the wing and in -the utmost confusion." It was then, by placing the queen in view, he -could make them light wherever he pleased, from their great attachment -to her, and sometimes using a word of command to mystify the spectators, -he would cause them to settle on his head, and to hang to his chin like -a beard, from which he would order them to his hand, or to an adjacent -window. But, however easy such feats may appear in theory, Mr. Wildman -cautions (probably with a view to deter rivals) those who are -inexperienced not to put themselves in danger of attempting to imitate -him. A liberated Roman slave, C. F. Cnesinus, being accused before the -tribunals of witchcraft, because his crops were more abundant than -those of his neighbors, produced as his witnesses some superior -implements of husbandry, and well fed oxen, and pointing to them said: -"These, Romans! are my instruments of witchcraft; but I cannot show you -my toil, my perseverance, and my anxious cares." "So," says Wildman, -"may I say, These, Britons! are my instruments of witchcraft; but I -cannot show you my hours of attention to this subject, my anxiety and -care for these useful insects; nor can I communicate to you my -experience acquired during a course of years."[702] - -Butler mentions two instances where the stings of Bees have been fatal -to "cattaile": - -"A horse," he informs us, "in the heate of the day looking over a hedge, -on the other side whereof was a staule of Bees, while hee stood nodding -with his head, as his manner is, because of the flies, the Bees fell -vpon him and killed him. Likewise I heard of a teeme that stretching -against a hedge overthrew a staule on the other side, and so two of the -horses were stung to death."[703] - -Mungo Park and his party were twice seriously attacked by large swarms -of Bees. The first attack is mentioned in the account of his first -journey; the second in the account of his second. The latter singular -accident befell them in 1805, and is thus narrated in his journal: The -coffle had halted at a creek, and the asses had just been unloaded, when -some of his guide Isaaca's people, being in search of honey, -unfortunately disturbed a large swarm of Bees near their resting-place. -The Bees came out in immense numbers, and attacked men and beasts at the -same time. Luckily, most of the asses were loose, and galloped up the -valley; but the horses and people were very much stung, and obliged to -scamper off in all directions. The fire which had been kindled for -cooking, being deserted, spread, and set fire to the bamboos, and the -baggage had like to have been burned. In fact, for half an hour the Bees -seemed to have completely put an end to the journey. In the evening when -they became less troublesome, and the cattle could be collected, it was -found that many of them were very much stung, and swollen about the -head. Three asses were missing; one died in the course of the evening, -and one next morning, and they were forced to leave one behind the next -day. Altogether six were lost, besides which, the guide lost his horse, -and many of the people were much stung about the face and hands.[704] - -But in the Treasvrie of Avncient and Moderne Times, we find the -following: "Anthenor, writing of the Isle of Crete (with whom also -ioyneth Ælianus) saith, that a great multitude of Bees chased al the -dwellers out of a City, and vsed their Houses instead of Hives."[705] - -Montaigne mentions the following singular assistance rendered by Bees to -the inhabitants of Tamly: The Portuguese having besieged the City of -Tamly, in the territory of Xiatine, the inhabitants of the place brought -a great many hives, of which there are great plenty in that place, upon -the wall; and with fire drove the Bees so furiously upon the enemy that -they gave over the enterprise, not being able to stand their attacks and -endure their stings: and so the citizens, by this new sort of relief, -gained liberty and the victory with so wonderful a fortune, that at the -return of their defenders from the battle they found they had not lost -so much as one.[706] - -Lesser tells us that in 1525, during the confusion occasioned by a time -of war, a mob assembling in Hohnstein (in Thuringia) attempted to -plunder the house of the minister of Elende; who having spoken to them -with no effect, as a last resort ordered his domestics to bring his -Beehives, and throw them in the midst of the furious mob. The desired -effect was instantaneous, for the mob dispersed immediately.[707] - -Bees have also been employed as an article of food. Knox tells us that -the natives of Ceylon, when they meet with a swarm of Bees hanging on a -tree, hold burning torches under them to make them drop; and so catch -and carry them home, where they boil and eat them, in their estimation, -as excellent food.[708] - -Peter Martyr, speaking of the Caribbean Islands, says: "The -Inhabitantes willingly eate the young Bees, rawe, roasted, and sometimes -sodden."[709] - -Bancroft tells us that when the negroes of Guiana are stung by Bees, -they in revenge eat as many as they can catch.[710] - -The following account of the Bee-eater of Selborne, England, is by the -Reverend, and very accurate naturalist, Gilbert White: "We had in this -village," says he, "more than twenty years ago (about 1765), an idiot -boy, whom I well remember, who, from a child, showed a strong propensity -to Bees: they were his food, his amusement, his sole object; and as -people of this cast have seldom more than one point in view, so this lad -exerted all his few faculties on this one pursuit. In the winter he -dozed away his time, within his father's house, by the fireside, in a -kind of torpid state, seldom departing from the chimney corner; but in -the summer he was all alert, and in quest of his game in the fields and -on sunny banks. Honey-bees, Humble-bees, and Wasps were his prey, -wherever he found them: he had no apprehensions from their stings, but -would seize _nudis manibus_, and at once disarm them of their weapons, -and search their bodies for the sake of their honey-bags. Sometimes he -would fill his bosom between his shirt and his skin with a number of -these captives; and sometimes would confine them in bottles. He was a -very _Merops apiaster_, or Bee-bird, and very injurious to men that kept -Bees; for he would slide into their Bee-gardens, and, sitting down -before the stools, would rap with his finger on the hives, and so take -the Bees as they came out. He has been known to overturn hives for the -sake of honey, of which he was passionately fond. Where metheglin was -making, he would linger round the tubs and vessels, begging a draught of -what he called _Bee-wine_. As he ran about he used to make a humming -noise with his lips, resembling the buzzing of Bees. This lad was lean -and sallow, and of a cadaverous complexion; and, except in his favorite -pursuit, in which he was wonderfully adroit, discovered no manner of -understanding."[711] - -There is a peculiar substance formed by a species of Bee in the Orinoco -country, which, says Captain Stedman, the roosting tribes burn -incessantly in their habitations, and which effectually protects them -from all winged insects. They call it _Comejou_; Gumilla says it is -neither earth nor wax.[712] - -Concerning the medicinal virtues of Bees, Dr. James says: "Their salts -are very volatile, and highly exalted; for this reason, when dry'd, -powder'd, and taken internally, they are diuretic and diaphoretic. If -this powder is mixed in unguents, with which the head is anointed, it is -said to cure the Alopecia, and to contribute to the growth of hair upon -bald places."[713] - -Another, an old writer, says: "If Bees, when dead, are dried to powder, -and given to either man or beast, this medicine will often give -immediate ease in the most excruciating pain, and remove a stoppage in -the body when all other means have failed." A tea made by pouring -boiling water upon Bees has recently been prescribed, by high medical -authority, for violent strangury; while the poison of the Bee, under the -name of _apis_, is a great homoeopathic remedy.[714] - -Concerning wax, Dr. James says: "All wax is heating, mollifying, and -moderately incarning. It is mixed in sorbile liquors as a remedy for -dysentery; and ten bits, of the size of a grain of millet, swallowed, -prevent the curdling of milk in the breast of nurses."[715] - -[If we might credit the history of former times, says Jamieson, in his -Scottish Dictionary, sub. _Walx_, iv. 642-3, there must have been a -considerable demand for this article (wax) for the purpose of -witchcraft. It was generally found necessary, it would seem, as the -medium of inflicting pain on the bodies of men. - -"To some others at these times he teacheth, how to make _pictures of -waxe_ or clay, that by the wasting thereof, the persons that they beare -the name of, may be continually melted or dried away by continuall -sickenesse." K. James's Dæmonologie, B. II. c. 5. - -In order to cause acute pain in the patient, pins, we are told, were -stuck in that part of the body of the image, in which they wished the -person to suffer. - -The same plan was adopted for inspiring another with the ardor of love. - - Then mould her form of fairest _wax_, - With adder's eyes and feet of horn; - Place this small scroll within its breast, - Which I, your friend, have hither borne. - - Then make a blaze of alder wood, - Before your fire make this to stand; - And the last night of every moon - The bonny May's at your command. - - _Hogg's Mountain Bard_, p. 35. - -Then it follows: - - With fire and steel to urge her weel, - See that you neither stint nor spare; - For if the cock be heard to crow, - The charm will vanish into air. - -The wounds given to the image were supposed to be productive of similar -_stounds_ of love in the tender heart of the maiden whom it represented. - - A female form, of melting _wax_, - Mess John surveyed with steady eye, - Which ever an anon he _pierced_, - And forced the lady loud to cry.--P. 84. - -The same horrid rites were observed on the continent. For Grilland (de -Sortilegiis) says: Quidam solent apponere _imaginem cerae_ juxta ignem -ardentem, completis sacrificiis, de quibus supra, & adhibere quasdam -preces nefarias, & turpia verba, ut quemadmodum imago illa igne -consumitur & liquescit, eodem modo cor mulieris amoris calore talis viri -feruenter ardeat, etc. Malleus Malefic. T. H., p. 232. - -It cannot be doubted that these rites have been transmitted from -heathenism. Theocritus mentions them as practiced by the Greeks in his -time. For he introduces Samoetha as using similar enchantments, partly -for punishing, and partly for regaining her faithless lover. - - But strew the _salt_, and say in angry tones, - "I scatter Delphid's, perjured Delphid's bones." - --First Delphid injured me, he raised my flame, - And now I burn this bough in Delphid's name; - As this doth blaze, and break away in fume, - How soon it takes, let Delphid's flesh consume, - Iynx, restore my false, my perjured swain, - And force him back into my arms again.-- - As this devoted _wax_ melts o'er the fire, - Let Mindian Delphy melt in warm desire! - - _Idylliums_, p. 12, 13. - -Samoetha burns the bough in the name of her false lover, and terms the -wax _devoted_. With this the more modern ritual of witchcraft -corresponded. The name of the person, represented by the image, was -invoked. For according to the narrative given concerning the witches of -Pollock-shaws, having bound the image on a spit, they "turned it before -the fire,--saying, as they turned it, _Sir George Maxwell, Sir George -Maxwell_; and that this was expressed by all of them." Glanvil's -Sadducismus, p. 391. - -According to Grilland, the image was baptized in the name of Beelzebub. -Malleus, ut. sup., p. 229. - -There is nothing analogous to the Grecian rite, mentioned by Theocritus, -of strewing _salt_. For Grilland asserts that, in the festivals of the -witches, salt was never presented. Ibid., p. 215. It was perhaps -excluded from their infernal rites as having been so much used as a -sacred symbol.] - -The following are among the twenty-eight "singular vertues" attributed -by Butler to Honey: "... It breedeth good blood, it prolongeth old age -... yea the bodies of the dead being embalmed with honey have been -thereby preserved from putrefaction. And _Athenæus_ doth witness it to -be as effectual for the living, writing out of Lycus, that the Cyrneans, -or inhabitants of Corsica, were therefore long-lived, because they did -dailie vse to feed on honey, whereof they had abundance: and no -marvaile: seeing it is so soveraigne a thing, and so many waies -available for man's health, as well being outwardly as inwardly applied. -It is drunke against the bite of a serpent or mad dogs: and it is good -for them having eaten mushrooms, or drunke popy, etc."[716] - -In the Treasvrie of Avncient and Moderne Times,[717] there are two -chapters devoted to the "Vertues of Honey." - -There is a story, that a man once came to Mohammed, and told him that -his brother was afflicted with a violent pain in his belly; upon which -the prophet bade him give him some honey. The fellow took his advice; -but soon after coming again, told him that the medicine had done his -brother no manner of service: Mohammed answered, "Go and give him more -honey, for God speaks truth, and thy brother's belly lies." And the dose -being repeated, the man, by God's mercy, was immediately cured.[718] - -In the sixteenth chapter of the Koran, Mohammed has likewise mentioned -honey as a medicine for men.[719] - -Athenæus tells us that Democritus, the philosopher of Abdera, after he -had determined to rid himself of life on account of his extreme old age, -and when he had begun to diminish his food day by day, when the day of -the Thesmophonian festival came round, and the women of his household -besought him not to die during the festival, in order that they might -not be debarred from their share of the festivities, was persuaded and -ordered a vessel full of honey to be set near him: and in this way he -lived many days with no other support than honey; and then some days -after, when the honey had been taken away, he died. But Democritus, -Athenæus adds, had always been fond of honey; and he once answered a -man, who had asked him how he could live in the enjoyment of the best -health, that he might do so if he constantly moistened his inward parts -with honey and his outward man with oil. Bread and honey was the chief -food of the Pythagoreans, according to the statement of Aristoxenus, who -says that those who ate this for breakfast were free from disease all -their lives.[720] - -"The gall of a vulture," says Moufet, quoting Galen, in Euporist, -"mingled with the juice of horehound (twice as much in weight as the -gall is) and two parts of honey cures the suffusion of the eyes. -Otherwise he mingles one part of the gall of the sea-tortoise, and four -times as much honey, and anoints the eyes with it. Serenus prescribes -such a receipt to cause one to be quick-sighted: - - Mingle Hyblæan honey with the gall - Of Goats, 'tis good to make one see withall."[721] - -We are told in the German Ephemerides, that a young country girl, having -eaten a great deal of honey, became so inebriated with it, that she -slept the whole day, and talked foolishly the day following.[722] - -Bevan, in his work on the Honey-Bee, mentions the following instances of -a curious use to which propolis is sometimes put by the Bees: A snail, -says he, having crept into one of Mr. Reaumur's hives early in the -morning, after crawling about for some time, adhered, by means of its -own slime, to one of the glass panes. The Bees, having discovered the -snail, surrounded it, and formed a border of propolis round the verge of -its shell, and fastened it so securely to the glass that it became -immovable. - - Forever closed the impenetrable door; - It naught avails that in its torpid veins - Year after year, life's loitering spark remains. - - EVANS. - -Maraldi, another eminent Apiarian, states that a snail without a shell -having entered one of his hives, the Bees, as soon as they observed it, -stung it to death; after which, being unable to dislodge it, they -covered it all over with an impervious coat of propolis. - - For soon in fearless ire, their wonder lost, - Spring fiercely from the comb the indignant host, - Lay the pierced monster breathless on the ground, - And clap in joy their victor pinions round: - While all in vain concurrent numbers strive - To heave the slime-girt giant from the hive-- - Sure not alone by force instinctive swayed, - But blest with reason's soul-directing aid, - Alike in man or bee, they haste to pour, - Thick, hard'ning as it falls, the flaky shower; - Embalmed in shroud of glue the mummy lies, - No worms invade, no foul miasmas rise. - - EVANS.[723] - -Xenophon tells us that all the soldiers, who ate of the honey-combs, -found in the villages on the mountains of the Colchians, lost their -senses, and were seized with such violent vomiting and purging, that -none of them were able to stand upon their legs: that those who ate but -little, were like men very drunk, and those who ate much, like madmen, -and some like dying persons. In this condition, this writer adds, great -numbers lay upon the ground, as if there had been a defeat, and a -general sorrow prevailed. The next day, they all recovered their senses, -about the same hour they were seized; and, on the third and fourth days, -they got up as if they had taken physic.[724] - -Pliny accounts for this accident by saying there is found in that -country a kind of honey, called from its effects, Thænomenon, that is, -that those who eat it are seized with madness. He adds, that the common -opinion is that this honey is gathered from the flowers of a plant -called _Rhododendros_, which is very common in those parts. Tournefort -thinks the modern _Laurocerasus_ is the Rhododendros of Pliny, from the -fact that the people of that country, at the present day, believe the -honey that is gathered from its flowers will produce the effects -described by Xenophon.[725] - -The missionary Moffat in South Africa found some poisonous honey, which -he unknowingly ate, but with no serious consequences. It was several -days, however, before he got rid of a most unpleasant sensation in his -head and throat. The plant from which the honey had been gathered was an -Euphorbia.[726] - -"In Podolia," says the chronicler Hollingshed, "which is now subject to -the King of Poland, their hives (of Bees) and combes are so abundant, -that huge bores, overturning and falling into them, are drowned in the -honie, before they can recover & find the meanes to come out."[727] - -Honey was offered up to the Sun by the ancient Peruvians.[728] - -Dr. Sparrman has described a Hottentot dance, which he calls the -Bee-dance. It is in imitation of a swarm of Bees; every performer as he -jumps around making a buzzing noise.[729] - -"To have a Bee in one's bonnet" is a Scottish proverbial phrase about -equivalent to the English, "To have a maggot in one's head"--to be -hair-brained. Kelly gives this with an additional word: "There's a Bee -in your bonnet-_case_." In Scotland, too, it is said of a confused or -stupefied man, that his "head is in the Bees."[730] These proverbial -expressions were also in vogue in England.[731] - -The following beautiful epigram, on a Bee inclosed in amber, is from the -pen of Martial: "The Bee is inclosed, and shines preserved, in a tear of -the sisters of Phaëton, so that it seems enshrined in its own nectar. It -has obtained a worthy reward for its great toils; we may suppose that -the Bee itself would have desired such a death. - - The Bee inclosed, and through the amber shown, - Seems buried in the juice that was her own. - So honor'd was a life in labor spent: - Such might she wish to have her monument."[732] - -The Septuagint has the following eulogium on the Bee in Prov. vi. 8, -which is not found in the Hebrew Scriptures: "Go to the Bee, and learn -how diligent she is, and what a noble work she produces, whose labors -kings and private men use for their health; she is desired and honored -by all, and though weak in strength, yet since she values wisdom, she -prevails."[733] - -In Spain Bees are in great estimation; and this is evinced by the -ancient proverb: - - Abeja y oveja, - Y piedra que traveja, - Y pendola trans oreja, - Y parte en la Igreja, - Desea a su hija, la vieja---- - -The best wishes of a Spanish mother to her son are, Bees, sheep, -millstones, a pen behind the ear, and a place in the church.[734] - -The following anecdote in the history of the Humble-bee (_Bombus_) is -from the account of Josselyn of his voyages to New England, printed in -1674: "Near upon twenty years since there lived an old planter near -_Blackpoint_, who on a Sunshine day about one of the clock lying upon a -green bank not far from his house, charged his Son, a lad of 12 years of -age, to awaken him when he had slept two hours; the old man falls -asleep, and lying upon his back gaped with his mouth wide open enough -for a Hawke to ---- into it; after a little while the lad sitting by -spied a Humble-bee creeping out of his Father's mouth, which taking wing -flew quite out of sight, the hour as the lad guest being come to awaken -his Father, he jagged him and called aloud Father, Father, it is two -o'clock, but all would not rouse him, at last he sees the Humble-bee -returning, who lighted upon the sleeper's lip and walked down as the lad -conceived into his belly, and presently he awaked."[735] - -The following, on the different species of Humble-bees, is one of the -popular rhymes of Scotland: - - The todler-tyke has a very gude byke, - And sae has the gairy Bee; - But weel's me on the little red-doup, - The best o' a' the three.[736] - -When the Archbishop of St. Andrews was cruelly murdered in 1679, "upon -the opening of his tobacco box a living humming bee flew out," which was -explained to be a familiar or devil. A Scottish woman declared that a -child was poisoned by its grandmother, who, together with herself, were -"in the shape of bume-bees," that the former carried the poison "in her -cleugh, wings, and mouth." A great Bee constantly resorted to another -after receiving the Satanic mark, and rested on it.[737] - -An anecdote is related by M. Reaumur respecting the thimble-shaped nest, -formed of leaves, of the Carpenter-bee (_Apis centuncularis_?), which is -a striking instance of the ridiculous superstition which prevails among -the uneducated, and which even sometimes has no slight influence on -those of better understandings. "In the beginning of July, 1736, the -learned Abbé Nollet, then at Paris, was surprised by a visit from an -auditor of the chamber of accounts, whose estate lay at a distant -village on the borders of the Seine, a few leagues from Rouen. This -gentleman came accompanied, among other domestics, by a gardener, whose -face had an air of much concern. He had come to Paris in consequence of -having found in his master's ground many rows of leaves, unaccountably -disposed in a mystical manner, and which he could not but believe were -there placed by witchcraft, for the secret destruction of his lord and -family. He had, after recovering from his first consternation, shown -them to the curate of the parish, who was inclined to be of a similar -opinion, and advised him without delay to take a journey to Paris, and -make his lord acquainted with the circumstance. This gentleman, though -not quite so much alarmed as the honest gardener, could not feel himself -at perfect ease, and therefore thought it advisable to consult his -surgeon upon the business, who, though a man eminent in his profession, -declared himself utterly unacquainted with the nature of what was shown -him, but took the liberty of advising that the Abbé Nollet, as a -philosopher, should be consulted, whose well-known researches in natural -knowledge might perhaps enable him to elucidate the matter. It was in -consequence of this advice that the Abbé received the visit above -mentioned, and had the satisfaction of relieving all parties from their -embarrassment, by showing them several nests formed on a similar plan by -other insects, and assuring them that those in their possession were the -work of insects also."[738] - -In an English paper, the Observer, of July 25, 1813, there is an account -of a "swarm of Bees resting themselves on the inside of a lady's -parasol." They were hived without any serious injury to the lady. - -In the Annual Register, 1767, p. 117, there was published by M. Lippi, -Licentiate in Physic of the army of Paris, an account of a petrified -Beehive, discovered on the mountains of Siout, in Upper Egypt. Broken -open it disclosed the larvæ of Bees in the cells, hard and solid, and -Bees themselves dried up like mummies. Honey was also found in the -cells![739] The account is curious, but not entitled to much credit. - -In the Liverpool Advertiser, and Times, of Nov. 24, 1817, there is a -lengthy account of three Bees being found in a state of animation in a -huge solid rock from the Western Point Quarry. Scientific attention was -attracted, and as appears from the above-mentioned papers of Dec. 5, -1817, the mystery was cleared up by discovering in the rock "a sand -hole" through which the insects had made their way.[740] - - - - -ORDER VI. - -LEPIDOPTERA. - - -Papilionidæ--Butterflies. - -The lepidopterous insects in general, soon after they emerge from the -pupa state, and commonly during their first flight, discharge some drops -of a red-colored fluid, more or less intense in different species, -which, in some instances, where their numbers have been considerable, -have produced the appearance of a "shower of blood," as this natural -phenomenon is commonly called. - -Showers of blood have been recorded by historians and poets as -preternatural--have been considered in the light of prodigies, and -regarded where they have happened as fearful prognostics of impending -evils. - -There are two passages in Homer, which, however poetical, are applicable -to a rain of this kind; and among the prodigies which took place after -the death of the great dictator, Ovid particularly mentions a shower of -blood: - - Sæpe faces visæ mediis ardere sub astris, - Sæpe inter nimbos guttæ cecidere cruentæ. - - With threatening signs the lowering skies were fill'd, - And sanguine drops from murky clouds distilled. - -Among the numerous prodigies reported by Livy to have happened in the -year 214 B.C., it is instanced that, at Mantua, a stagnating piece of -water, caused by the overflowing of the River Mincius, appeared as of -blood; and, in the cattle-market at Rome, a shower of blood fell in the -Istrian Street. After mentioning several other remarkable phenomena that -happened during that year, Livy concludes by saying that these prodigies -were expiated, conformably to the answers of the Aruspices, by victims -of the greater kinds, and supplication was ordered to be performed to -all the deities who had shrines at Rome.[741] Again it is stated by -Livy, that many alarming prodigies were seen at Rome in the year 181 -B.C., and others reported from abroad; among which was a shower of -blood, which fell in the courts of the temples of Vulcan and Concord. -After mentioning that the image of Juno Sospita shed tears, and that a -pestilence broke out in the country, this writer adds, that these -prodigies, and the mortality which prevailed, alarmed the Senate so -much, that they ordered the consuls to sacrifice to such gods as their -judgment should direct, victims of the larger kinds, and that the -Decemvirs should consult their books. Pursuant to their direction, a -supplication for one day was proclaimed to be performed at every shrine -at Rome; and they advised, besides, and the Senate voted, and the consul -proclaimed, that there should be a supplication and public worship for -three days throughout all Italy.[742] In the year 169 B.C., Livy also -mentions that a shower of blood fell in the middle of the day. The -Decemvirs were again called upon to consult their books, and again were -sacrifices offered to the deities.[743] The account, also, of Livy, of -the bloody sweat, on some of the statues of the gods, must be referred -to the same phenomenon; as the predilection of those ages to marvel, -says Thomas Brown, and the want of accurate investigation in the cases -recorded, as well as the rare occurrence of these atmospherical -depositions in our own times, inclines us to include them among the -blood-red drops deposited by insects.[744] - -In Stow's Annales of England, we have two accounts of showers of blood; -and from an edition printed in London in 1592, we make our quotations: -"Rivallus, sonne of Cunedagius, succeeded his father, in whose time (in -the year 766 B.C.) it rained bloud 3 dayes: after which tempest ensued a -great multitude of venemous flies, which slew much people, and then a -great mortalitie throughout this lande, caused almost desolation of the -same."[745] The second account is as follows: "In the time of Brithricus -(A.D. 786) it rayned blood, which falling on men's clothes, appeared -like crosses."[746] - -Hollingshed, Graften, and Fabyan have also recorded these instances in -their respective chronicles of England.[747] - -A remarkable instance of bloody rain is introduced into the very -interesting Icelandic ghost story of Thorgunna. It appears that in the -year of our Lord 1009, a woman called Thorgunna came from the Hebrides -to Iceland, where she stayed at the house of Thorodd: and during the hay -season, a shower of blood fell, but only, singularly, on that portion of -the hay she had not piled up as her share, which so appalled her that -she betook herself to her bed, and soon afterward died. She left, to -finish the story, a remarkable will, which, from not being executed, was -the cause of several violent deaths, the appearance of ghosts, and, -finally, a legal action of ejectment against the ghosts, which, it need -hardly be said, drove them effectually away.[748] - -In 1017, a shower of blood fell in Aquitaine;[749] and Sleidan relates -that in the year 1553 a vast multitude of Butterflies swarmed through a -great part of Germany, and sprinkled plants, leaves, buildings, clothes, -and men with bloody drops, as if it had rained blood.[750] We learn also -from Bateman's Doome, that these "drops of bloude upon hearbes and -trees," in 1553, were deemed among the forewarnings of the deaths of -Charles and Philip, dukes of Brunswick.[751] - -In Frankfort, in the year 1296, among other prodigies, some spots of -blood led to a massacre of the Jews, in which ten thousand of these -unhappy descendants of Abraham lost their lives.[752] - -In the beginning of July, 1608, an extensive shower of blood took place -at Aix, in France, which threw the people of that place into the utmost -consternation, and, which is a much more important fact, led to the -first satisfactory and philosophical explanation of this phenomenon, but -too late, alas! to save the Jews of Frankfort. This explanation was -given by M. Peiresc, a celebrated philosopher of that place, and is thus -referred to by his biographer, Gassendi: "Nothing in the whole year 1608 -did more please him than that he observed and philosophized about, the -_bloody rain_, which was commonly reported to have fallen about the -beginning of July; great drops thereof were plainly to be seen, both in -the city itself, upon the walls of the church-yard of the church, which -is near the city wall, and upon the city walls themselves; also upon the -walls of villages, hamlets, and towns, for some miles round about; for -in the first place, he went himself to see those wherewith the stones -were colored, and did what he could to come to speak with those -husbandmen, who, beyond Lambesk, were reported to have been affrighted -at the falling of said rain, that they left their work, and ran as fast -as their legs could carry them into the adjacent houses. Whereupon, he -found that it was a fable that was reported, touching those husbandmen. -Nor was he pleased that naturalists should refer this kind of rain to -vapours drawn up out of red earth aloft in the air, which congealing -afterwards into liquor, fall down in this form; because such vapours as -are drawne aloft by heat, ascend without color, as we may know by the -alone example of red roses, out of which the vapours that arise by heat -are congealed into transparent water. He was less pleased with the -common people, and some divines, who judged that it was the work of the -devils and witches who had killed innocent young children; for this he -counted a mere conjecture, possibly also injurious to the goodness and -providence of God. - -"In the mean while an accident happened, out of which he conceived he -had collected the true cause thereof. For, some months before, he shut -up in a box a certain palmer-worm which he had found, rare for its -bigness and form; which, when he had forgotten, he heard a buzzing in -the box, and when he opened it, found the palmer-worm, having cast its -coat, to be turned into a beautiful Butterfly, which presently flew -away, leaving in the bottom of the box a red drop as broad as an -ordinary sous or shilling; and because this happened about the beginning -of the same month, and about the same time an incredible multitude of -Butterflies were observed flying in the air, he was therefore of opinion -that such kind of Butterflies resting on the walls had there shed such -like drops, and of the same bigness. Whereupon, he went the second time, -and found, by experience, that those drops were not to be found on the -house-tops, nor upon the round sides of the stones which stuck out, as -it would have happened, if blood had fallen from the sky, but rather -where the stones were somewhat hollowed, and in holes, where such small -creatures might shroud and nestle themselves. Moreover, the walls which -were so spotted, were not in the middle of towns, but they were such as -bordered upon the fields, nor were they on the highest parts, but only -so moderately high as Butterflies are commonly wont to fly. - -"Thus, therefore, he interpreted that which Gregory of Tours relates, -touching a bloody rain seen at Paris in divers places, in the days of -Childebert, and on a certain house in the territory of Seulis; also that -which is storied, touching raining of blood about the end of June, in -the days of King Robert; so that the blood which fell upon flesh, -garments, or stones could not be washed out, but that which fell on wood -might; for it was the same season of Butterflies, and experience hath -taught us, that no water will wash these spots out of the stones, while -they are fresh and new. When he had said these and such like things to -various, a great company of auditors being present, it was agreed that -they should go together and search out the matter, and as they went up -and down, here and there, through the fields, they found many drops upon -stones and rocks; but they were only on the hollow and under parts of -the stones, but not upon those which lay most open to the skies."[753] - -This memorable shower of blood was produced by the _Vanessa urticæ_, or -_V. polychloros_, most probably, since these species of Butterflies are -said to have been uncommonly plentiful at the time when, and in the -particular district where, the phenomenon was observed.[754][755] - -Nicoll, in his Diary, p. 8, informs us that on the 28th of May, 1650, -"there rained blood the space of three miles in the Earl of Buccleuch's -bounds (Scotland), near the English border, which was verefied in -presence of the Committee of State."[756] - -We learn from Fountainhall that on Sunday, May 1st, 1687, a young woman -of noted piety, Janet Fraser by name, the daughter of a weaver in the -parish of Closeburn, Dumfriesshire, went out to the fields with a young -female companion, and sat down to read the Bible not far from her -father's house. Feeling thirsty, she went to the river-side (the Nith) -to get a drink, leaving her Bible open at the place where she had been -reading, which presented the verses of the 34th chapter of Isaiah, -beginning--"My sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come -down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment," etc. On -returning, she found a patch of something like blood covering this very -text. In great surprise, she carried the book home, where a young man -tasted the substance with his tongue, and found it of a saltless or -insipid flavor. On the two succeeding Sundays, while the same girl was -reading the Bible in the open air, similar blotches of matter, like -blood, fell upon the leaves. She did not perceive it in the act of -falling till it was about an inch from the book. "It is not blood," our -informant adds, "for it is as tough as glue, and will not be scraped -off by a knife, as blood will; but it is so like blood, as none can -discern any difference by the colour."[757] - -On Tuesday, Oct. 9th, 1764, "a kind of rain of a red color, resembling -blood, fell in many parts of the Duchy of Cleves, which caused great -consternation. M. Bouman sent a bottle of it to Dr. Schutte, to know if -it contained anything pernicious to health. Something of the like kind -fell also at Rhenen, in the Province of Utrecht."[758] - -Dr. Schutte, to whom was submitted a bottle of this red rain, gave it as -his opinion that it was caused by particles of red matter, which had -been raised into the atmosphere by a strong wind, and that it was in no -way hurtful to mankind or beasts![759] - -In 1819, a red shower fell in Carniola, which, being analyzed, says -Bucke, was found to be impregnated with silex, alumine, and oxide of -iron. Red rain fell also at Dixmude, in Flanders, November 2d, 1829; and -on the following day at Schenevingen, the acid obtained from which was -chloric acid, and the metal cobalt.[760] - -In the year 1780, Rombeag noticed a shower of blood that had excited -universal attention, and which he could satisfactorily show to be -produced by the flying forth and casting of bees, as the phenomenon in -the place around the beehives themselves was remarkably striking. From -this fact it is evident that the appearance is attributable to other -insects as well as the lepidoptera.[761] - -Bloody rain has also been attributed, with much apparent reason, to -other causes still, as the following accounts from reliable authorities -show: - -In 1848, Dr. Eckhard, of Berlin, when attending a case of cholera, found -potatoes and bread within the house spotted with a red coloring matter, -which, being forwarded to Ehrenberg, was found by him to be due to the -presence of an animalcule, to which he gave the name of the _Monas -prodigiosa_. It was found that other pieces of bread could be inoculated -with this matter.[762] - -Swammerdam relates that, one morning in 1670, great excitement was -created in the Hague by a report that the lakes and ditches about Leyden -were turned to blood. Florence Schuyl, the celebrated professor of -physic in the University of Leyden, went down to the canals, and taking -home a quantity of this blood-colored matter examined it with a -microscope, and found that the water was water still, and had not at all -changed its color; but that it was full of small red animals, all alive -and very nimble in their motions, the color and prodigious numbers of -which gave a reddish tinge to the whole body of the water in which they -lived. The animals which thus color the water of lakes and ponds are the -_Pulices arborescentes_ of Swammerdam, or the water fleas with branched -horns. These creatures are of a reddish yellow or flame color. They live -about the sides of ditches, under weeds, and among the mud; and are -therefore the less visible, except at a certain time, which is in the -month of June. It is at this time these little animals leave their -recesses to float about the water, and meet for the propagation of their -species; and by this means they become visible in the color which they -give to the water. The color in question is visible, more or less, in -one part or other of almost all standing waters at this season; and it -is always at the same season that the bloody waters have alarmed the -ignorant.[763] - -The prodigy, mentioned by Livy, of a stagnating piece of water at Mantua -appearing as of blood, was no doubt owing to the appearance of great -numbers of the _Pulices arborescentes_ in it.[764] - -Concerning the origin of bloody rain, Swammerdam entertained the same -idea as Peiresc; but he does not appear to have verified it from his -own observation. He makes the following remarks: "Is it not possible -that such red drops might issue from insects, at the time they come -fresh from the nymphs, which distil a bloody fluid? This seems to happen -especially when such insects are more than ordinarily multiplied in any -particular year, as we often experience in the butterflies, flies, -gnats, and others."[765] - -Dust is commonly attributed as the cause of this phenomenon, but will -satisfactorily explain only a few instances. A writer for Chambers' -Journal, in an article on showers of red dust, bloody rain, etc., says: -"In October, 1846, a fearful and furious hurricane visited Lyon, and the -district between that city and Grenoble, during which occurred a fall of -blood-rain. A number of drops were caught and preserved, and when the -moisture was evaporated, there was seen the same kind of dust (as fell -in showers in Genoa in 1846) of a yellowish brown or red color. When -placed under the microscope, it exhibited a great proportion of fresh -water and marine formations. Phytolytharia were numerous, as also -'neatly-lobed vegetable scales;' which, as Ehrenberg observes, is -sufficient to disprove the assertion that the substance is found in the -atmosphere itself, and is not of European origin. For the first time, a -living organism was met with, the '_Eunota amphyoxis_, with its ovaries -green, and therefore capable of life.' Here was a solution of the -mystery: the dust, mingling with the drops of water falling from the -clouds, produced the red rain. Its appearance is that of reddened water, -and it cannot be called blood-like without exaggeration."[766] - -To conclude the history of bloody rain, the following is most -appropriate: In 1841, some negroes, in Wilson County, Tennessee, -reported that it had rained blood in the tobacco field where they had -been at work; that near noon there was a rattling noise like rain or -hail, and drops of blood, as they supposed, fell from a red cloud that -was flying over. Prof. Troost, of Nashville, was called upon to explain -the phenomenon; and, after citing many instances of red rain, red snow, -and so called showers of blood, he concluded his learned article with -this opinion: "A wind might have taken up part of an animal, which was -in a state of decomposition, and have brought it in contact with an -electric cloud, in which it was kept in a state of partial fluidity or -viscosity. In this case, the cloud which was seen by the negroes, as the -state in which the materials were, is accounted for." - -Prof. Troost published this profound solution in the forty-first volume -of Silliman's Journal; but in the forty-fourth of the same magazine a -much more satisfactory one is given, for it is there stated "that the -whole affair was a hoax devised by the negroes, who pretended to have -seen the shower for the sake of practicing on the credulity of their -masters. They had scattered the decaying flesh of a dead hog over the -tobacco leaves."[767] - -Another phenomenon to be particularly noticed in the history of the -Butterflies, is their appearance at certain times in countless numbers -migrating from place to place. H. Kapp, a writer in the _Naturforsch_, -observed on a calm sunny day a prodigious flight of the -Cabbage-Butterfly, _Pontia brassicæ_, which passed from northeast to -southwest, and lasted two hours.[768] Kalm, the Swedish traveler, saw -these last insects midway in the British Channel.[769] Lindley tells us -that in Brazil, in the beginning of March, 1803, for many days -successively there was an immense flight of white and yellow -Butterflies, probably of the same tribe as the _Pontia brassicæ_. They -were observed never to settle, but proceeded in a direction from -northwest to southeast. No buildings seemed to stop them from steadily -pursuing their course; which being to the ocean, at only a small -distance, they must all have inevitably perished. It is to be remarked -that at this time no other kind of Butterfly was to be seen, though the -country usually abounds in such a variety.[770] - -A somewhat similar migration of Butterflies was observed in Switzerland -on the 8th or 10th of June, 1828. The facts are as follows: Madame de -Meuron Wolff and her family, established during the summer in the -district of Grandson, Canton de Vaud, perceived with surprise an -immense flight of Butterflies traversing the garden with great rapidity. -They were all of the species called _Belle Dame_ by the French, and by -the English the Painted Lady (_Vanessa cardui_, Stephens). They were all -flying close together in the same direction, from south to north, and -were so little afraid when any one approached, that they turned not to -the right or to the left. The flight continued for two hours without -interruption, and the column was about ten or fifteen feet broad. They -did not stop to alight on flowers; but flew onward, low and equally. -This fact is the more singular, when it is considered that the larvæ of -the _Vanessa cardui_ are not gregarious, but are solitary from the -moment they are hatched; nor are the Butterflies themselves usually -found together in numbers. Professor Bonelli, of Turin, however, -observed a similar flight of the same species of Butterflies in the end -of March preceding their appearance at Grandson, when it may be presumed -they had just emerged from the pupa state. Their flight, as at Grandson, -was from south to north, and their numbers were so immense, that at -night the flowers were literally covered with them. As the spring -advanced, their numbers diminished; but even in June a few still -continued. A similar flight of Butterflies is recorded about the end of -the last century by M. Loche, in the Memoirs of the Turin Academy. -During the whole season, these Butterflies, as well as their larvæ, were -very abundant, and more beautiful than usual.[771] - -Pallas once saw such vast flights of the orange-tipped Butterfly, -_Pontia cardamines_, in the vicinity of Winofka, that he at first -mistook them for flakes of snow.[772] At Barbados, some days previous to -the hurricane in 1780, the trees and shrubs were entirely covered with a -species of Butterfly of the most beautiful colors, so as to screen from -the sight the branches, and even the trunks of the trees. In the -afternoon before the gale came on, and when it was quite still, they all -suddenly disappeared. The gale came on soon after.[773] Darwin tells us -that several times, when the "Beagle" had been some miles off the mouth -of the Plata, and at other times when off the shores of Northern -Patagonia, the air was filled with insects: that one evening, when the -ship was about ten miles from the Bay of San Blas, vast numbers of -Butterflies, in bands or flocks of countless myriads, extended as far as -the eye could range. The seamen cried out "It was raining Butterflies," -and such in fact, continues Darwin, was the appearance. Several species -were in this flock, but they were chiefly of a kind very similar to, but -not identical with, the common English _Colias edusa_. Some moths and -hymenopterous insects accompanied the Butterflies; and a fine beetle -(_Calosoma_) flew on board.[774] Captain Adams mentions an extraordinary -flight of small Butterflies, with spotted wings, which took place at -Annamaboo, on the Guinea coast, after a tornado. The wind veered to the -northward, and blew fresh from the land, with thick mist, which brought -off from the shore so many of these insects, that for one hour the -atmosphere was so filled with them as to represent a snow-storm driving -past the vessel at a rapid rate, which was lying at anchor about two -miles from the shore.[775] - -Mr. Charles J. Anderson encountered, in South-western Africa, for two -consecutive days, such immense myriads of lemon-colored Butterflies that -the sound caused by their wings was such as to resemble "the distant -murmuring of waves on the sea-shore." They always passed in the same -direction as the wind blew, and, as numbers were constantly alighting on -the flowers, their appearance at such times was not unlike "the falling -of leaves before a gentle autumnal breeze."[776] - -In Bermuda, October 10, 1847, the Butterfly, _Terias lisa_ of Boisduval, -suddenly appeared in great abundance, hundreds being seen in every -direction. Previous to that occasion, Mr. Hurdis, the observer of this -flight, had never met with this Butterfly. In the course of a few days, -they had all disappeared.[777] - -In Ceylon, in the months of April and May, migrations of Butterflies -(mostly the _Callidryas hilariæ_, _C. alcmeone_, and _C. pyranthe_, with -straggling individuals of the genus _Euploea_, _E. coras_, and _E. -prothoe_) are quite frequent. Their passage is generally in a -northeasterly direction. The flights of these delicate insects appear to -the eye of a white or pale yellow hue, and apparently to extend miles in -breadth, and of such prodigious length as to occupy hours, and even -days, in their uninterrupted passage. A friend of Tennent, traveling -from Kandy to Kornegalle, drove for _nine miles_ through such a cloud of -white Butterflies, which was passing _across_ the road by which he went. -Whence these immense numbers of Butterflies come no one knows, and -whither going no one can tell. But the natives have a superstitious -belief that their flight is ultimately directed to Adam's Peak, and that -their pilgrimage ends on reaching that sacred mountain.[778] - -Moufet says: "Wert thou as strong as Milo or Hercules, and wert fenced -or guarded about with an host of giants for force and valour, remember -that such an army was put to the worst by an army of Butterflies flying -in troops in the air, in the year 1104, and they hid the light of the -sun like a cloud. Licosthenes relates, that on the third day of August, -1543, that no hearb was left by reason of their multitudes, and they had -devoured all the sweet dew and natural moisture, and they had burned up -the very grasse that was consumed with their dry dung."[779] - -The most beautiful as well as pleasing emblem among the Egyptians was -exhibited under the character of Psyche--the Soul. This was originally -no other than a Butterfly: but it afterwards was represented as a lovely -female child with the beautiful wings of that insect. The Butterfly, -after its first and second stages as an egg and larva, lies for a season -in a manner dead; and is inclosed in a sort of coffin. In this state it -remains a shorter or longer period; but at last bursting its bonds, it -comes out with new life, and in the most beautiful attire. The Egyptians -thought this a very proper picture of the soul of man, and of the -immortality, to which it aspired. But they made it more particularly an -emblem of Osiris; who having been confined in an oak or coffin, and in a -state of death, at last quitted his prison, and enjoyed a renewal of -life.[780] This symbol passed over to the Greeks and Romans, who also -considered the Butterfly as the symbol of Zephyr.[781] - -Among the coats of arms of several of our most celebrated tribes of -Indians, Baron Lahontan mentions one, that of the "Illinese," which bore -a beech-leaf with a Butterfly argent.[782] - -The sight of a trio of Butterflies is considered an omen of death.[783] -An English superstition. - -If a Butterfly enters a house, a death is sure to follow shortly in the -family occupying it; if it enters through the window, the death will be -that of an infant or very young person. As far as I know this -superstition is peculiar to Maryland. - -If a Butterfly alights upon your head, it foretells good news from a -distance. This superstition obtains in Pennsylvania and Maryland. - -The first Butterfly seen in the summer brings good luck to him who -catches it. This notion prevails in New York. - -In Western Pennsylvania, it is believed that if the chrysalides of -Butterflies be found suspended mostly on the under sides of rails, -limbs, etc., as it were to protect them from rain, that there will soon -be much rain, or, as it is termed, a "rainy spell"; but, on the -contrary, if they are found on twigs and slender branches, that the -weather will be dry and clear. - -Du Halde and Grosier tell us that the Butterflies of the mountain of -Lo-few-shan, in the province of Quang-tong, China, are so much esteemed -for their size and beauty, that they are sent to court, where they -become a part of certain ornaments in the palaces. The wings of these -Butterflies are very large, and their colors surprisingly diversified -and lively.[784] Dionysius Kao, a native of China, also remarks, in his -Geographical Description of that Empire, that the Butterflies of -Quang-tong are generally sent to the emperor, as they form a part of the -furniture of the imperial cabinets.[785] - -Osbeck says the Chinese put up insects in boxes made of coarse wood, -without covering, and lined with paper, which they carry round to sell; -each box bringing half a piastre. Of the Butterflies, which were the -principal insects thus sold, he enumerates twenty-one species.[786] - -The Chinese children make Butterflies of paper, with which "they play -after night by sending them, like kites, into the air."[787] - -We learn from Captain Stedman, that even in the forests of Guiana, some -people make Butterfly-catching their business, and obtain much money by -it. They collect and arrange them in paper boxes, and send them off to -the different cabinets of Europe.[788] - -Butterflies are now extensively worn by French and American ladies on -their head-dresses. - -From the relations of Sir Anthony Shirley, quoted in Burton's Anatomy of -Melancholy,[789] we learn that the kings of Persia were wont to hawk -after Butterflies with sparrows and stares, or starlings, trained for -the purpose; and we are also told that M. de Luisnes (afterward Prime -Minister of France), in the nonage of Louis XIII., gained much upon him -by making hawks catch little birds, and by making some of those little -birds again catch Butterflies.[790] - -In the Zoological Journal, No. 13, it is recorded that at a meeting of -the Linnæan Society, March 11, 1832, Mr. Stevens exhibited a remarkable -freak of nature in a specimen of _Vanessa urtica_, which possessed five -wings, the additional one being formed by a second, but smaller, hinder -wing on one side.[791] - -J. A. de Mandelsloe, who made a voyage to the East Indies in 1639, tells -us that not far from the Fort of Ternate grows a certain shrub, called -by the Indians _Catopa_, from which falls a leaf, which, by degrees, is -supposed to be metamorphosed into a Butterfly.[792] - -De Pauw tells us that, not long before his time, the French peasants -entertained a kind of worship for the chrysalis of the caterpillar found -on the great nettle (the pupa of _Vanessa cardui_?), because they -fancied that it revealed evident traces of Divinity; and quotes M. Des -Landes in saying that the curates had even ornamented the altars with -these pupæ.[793] - -The Butterfly (Ang. Sax. _Buttor-fleoge_, or _Buter-flege_) is so named -from the common yellow species, or from its appearing in the butter -season. Its German names are _Schmetterling_, from _schmetten_, cream; -and _Molkendieb_, the Whey-thief. The association with milk in its three -forms, in butter, cream, and whey, is remarkable. - -The African Bushmen eat the caterpillars of Butterflies; and the Natives -of New Holland eat the caterpillars of a species of Moth, and also a -kind of Butterfly, which they call _Bugong_, which congregates in -certain districts, at particular seasons, in countless myriads. On these -occasions the native blacks assemble from far and near to collect them; -and after removing the wings and down by stirring them on the ground, -previously heated by a large fire, winnowing them, eat the bodies, or -store them up for use, by pounding and smoking them. The bodies of these -Butterflies abound in oil, and taste like nuts. When first eaten, they -produce violent vomitings and other debilitating effects; but these go -off after a few days, and the natives then thrive and fatten exceedingly -on this diet, for which they have to contend with a black crow, which is -also attracted by the Butterflies, and which they dispatch with their -clubs and use also as food. - -Another practice in Australia is to follow up the flight of the -Butterflies, and to light fires at nightfall beneath the trees in which -they have settled. The smoke brings the insects down, when their bodies -are collected and pounded together into a sort of fleshy loaf.[794] - -Bennet tells us the larva of a Lepidopterous insect (the _Bugong_?) -that destroys the green-wattle (_Acacia decurrens_) is much sought -after, and considered a delicacy, by the blacks of Australia. These -people eat also the pink grubs found in the wattle-trees, either -roasted or uncooked. Europeans, who have tasted of this dish, say it -is not disagreeable.[795] - -Swammerdam, treating of the metamorphoses of larvæ into pupæ and thence -into perfect insects, makes the following curious comparison: "The -worms, after the manner of the brides in Holland, shut themselves up for -a time, as it were to prepare, and render themselves more amiable, when -they are to meet the other sex in the field of Hymen."[796] - - -Sphingidæ--Hawk-moths. - -To the superstitious imaginations of the Europeans, the conspicuous -markings on the back of a large evening moth, the _Sphinx Atropos_, -represent the human skull, with the thigh-bones crossed beneath; hence -is it called the _Death's-head Moth_, the _Death's-head Phantom_, the -_Wandering Death-bird_, etc. Its cry,[797] which closely resembles the -noise caused by the creaking of cork, or the plaintive squeaking of a -mouse, certainly more than enough to frighten the ignorant and -superstitious, is considered the voice of anguish, the moaning of a -child, the signal of grief; and it is regarded "not as the creation of a -benevolent being, but as the device of evil spirits"--spirits, enemies -to man, conceived and fabricated in the dark; and the very shining of -its eyes is supposed to represent the fiery element whence it is thought -to have proceeded. Flying into their apartments in the evening, it at -times extinguishes the light, foretelling war, pestilence, famine, and -death to man. The sudden appearance of these insects, we are informed by -Latrielle, during a season while the people were suffering from an -epidemic disease, tended much to confirm the notions of the -superstitious in that district, and the disease was attributed by them -entirely to their visitation.[798] Jaeger says, at a very recent day, -that this large Moth first attracted his "attention during the -prevalence of a severe and fatal epidemic, and of course nothing more -was necessary than its appearance at such a time to induce an ignorant -people to believe it the veritable prophet and forerunner of death. A -curate in Bretagne, France," continues this author, "made a most -horrible and fear-exciting description of this animal, describing the -very loud and dreadful sound which it emitted as a sort of lamentation -for the awful calamity which was coming on the earth."[799] Reaumur -informs us that all the members of a female convent in France were -thrown into the greatest consternation at the appearance of one of these -insects, which happened to fly in during the evening at one of the -windows of the dormitory.[800] - -In the Isle of France, the natives believe that the dust (scales) cast -from the wings of the Death's-head Moth, in flying through an apartment, -is productive of blindness to the visual organs on which it falls.[801] - -There is a quaint superstition in England that the Death's-head Moth has -been very common in Whitehall ever since the martyrdom of Charles -I.[802] - -Illustrative of the tough texture of the skin with which many soft larvæ -are provided for protection, the following may be instanced: Bonnet -squeezed under water the caterpillar of the privet Hawk-moth, _Sphinx -ligustris_, till it was as flat and empty as the finger of a glove, yet -within an hour it became plump and lively as if nothing had -happened.[803] - -The name Sphinx is applied to this genus of insects from a fancied -resemblance between the attitude assumed by the larvæ of several of the -larger species, when disturbed, and that of the Egyptian Sphinx. - - -Bombicidæ--Silk-worm Moths. - -The notices of the cultivation of the mulberry and the rearing of -Silk-worms, found in Chinese works, have been industriously collected -and published by M. Julien, by order of the French government. From his -work it appears that credible notices of the culture of the tree and the -manufacture of silk are found as far back as B.C. 780; and in referring -its invention to the Empress Siling, or Yuenfi, wife of the Emperor -Hwangti, B.C. 2602 (Du Halde says 2698), the Chinese have shown their -belief of its still higher antiquity. The Shi King contains this -distich: - - The legitimate wife of Hwangti, named Siling Shi, - began to rear Silk-worms: - At this period Hwangti invented the art of making clothing. - -Du Halde says this invention raised the Empress to the rank of a -divinity, under the title of Spirit of the Silk-worm, and of the -Mulberry-tree.[804] - -The Book of Rites contains a notice of the festival held in honor of -this art, which corresponds to that of plowing by the emperor. "In the -last month of spring, the young empress purified herself and offered -sacrifice to the goddess of Silk-worms. She went into the eastern fields -and collected mulberry-leaves. She forbade noble dames and the ladies of -statesmen adorning themselves, and excused her attendants from their -sewing and embroidery, in order that they might give all their care to -the rearing of Silk-worms."[805] - -The manufacture of silk has been known in India from time immemorial, -it being mentioned in the oldest Sanscrit books.[806] It is the opinion -of modern writers, however, that the culture of the Silk-worm passed -from China into India, thence through Persia, and then, after the lapse -of several centuries, into Europe. But long before this, wrought silk -had been introduced into Greece from Persia. This was effected by the -army of Alexander the Great, about the year 323 before Christ. - -The Greeks fabled silk to have first been woven in the Island of Cos by -Pamphila, the daughter of Plateos.[807] Of its true origin they were, in -a great measure, ignorant, but seem to have been positive that it was -the work of an insect. Pausanias thus describes the animal and its -culture: "But the thread, from which the Ceres (an Ethiopian race) make -garments, is not produced from a tree, but is procured by the following -method: A worm is found in their country which the Greeks call _Seer_, -but the Ceres themselves, by a different name. This worm is twice as -large as a beetle, and, in other respects, resembles spiders which weave -under trees. It has, likewise, eight feet as well as the spider. The -Ceres rear these insects in houses adapted for this purpose both to -summer and winter. What these insects produce is a slender thread, which -is rolled round their feet. They feed them for four years on oatmeal; -and on the fifth (for they do not live beyond five years) they give them -a green reed to feed on: for this is the sweetest of all food to this -insect. It feeds, therefore, on this till it bursts through fullness, -and dies: after which, they draw from its bowels a great quantity of -thread."[808] - -Aristotle seems to have had a much clearer idea of the origin of silk, -for he says it was unwound from the _pupa_ (he does not expressly say -the _pupa_, but this we must suppose) of a large horned -caterpillar.[809] The _larva_ he means could not, however, be the common -Silk-worm, since it is rather small and without horns. - -Pliny, who, most probably, obtained the most of his ideas from Pausanias -and Aristotle, was of opinion that silk was the produce of a worm which -built clay-nests and collected wax. At first these worms, he says, -assume the appearance of small butterflies with naked bodies, but soon -after, being unable to endure the cold, they throw out bristly hairs, -which assume quite a thick coat against the winter, by rubbing off the -down that covers the leaves, by the aid of the roughness of their feet. -This they compress into balls by carding it with their claws, and then -draw it out and hang it between the branches of the trees, making it -fine by combing it out, as it were: last of all, they take and roll it -round their body, thus forming a nest in which they are enveloped. It is -in this state that they are taken; after which they are placed in -earthen vessels in a warm place, and fed upon bran. A peculiar sort of -down soon shoots forth upon the body, on being clothed with which they -are sent to work upon another task.[810] - -The first kinds of silk dresses worn by the Roman ladies were from the -Island of Cos, and, as Pliny says, were known by the name of _Coæ -vestes_.[811] These dresses, of which Pliny says in such high praise, -"that while they cover a woman, they at the same time reveal her -charms," were indeed so fine as to be transparent, and were sometimes -dyed purple, and enriched with stripes of gold. They had their name from -the early reputation which Cos acquired by its manufacture of silk. But -silk was a very scarce article among the Romans for many ages, and so -highly prized as to be valued at its weight in gold. Vospicius informs -us that the Emperor Aurelian, who died A.D. 125, refused his empress a -robe of silk, which she earnestly solicited, merely on account of its -dearness. Galen, who lived about A.D. 173, speaks of the rarity of silk, -being nowhere then but at Rome, and there only among the rich. -Heliogabalus is said to have been the first Roman that wore a garment -entirely of silk. - -We learn from Tacitus, that early in the reign of Tiberius, about A.D. -17, the Senate enacted "that men should not defile themselves by wearing -garments of silk."[812] Pliny says, however, that in his time men had -become so degenerate as to not even feel ashamed to wear garments of -this material.[813] - -The mode of producing and manufacturing silk was not known to Europe -until long after the Christian era, being first learned about the year -555 by two Persian monks, who, under the encouragement of the Emperor -Justinian, procured in India the eggs of the Silk-worm Moth, with which, -concealing them in hollow canes, they hastened to Constantinople. They -also brought with them instructions for hatching the eggs, rearing and -feeding the worms, and drawing, spinning, and working the silk.[814] - -From Constantinople, the culture of the Silk-worm spread over Greece, so -that in less than five centuries that portion of this country, hitherto -called the Peloponnesus, changed its denomination into that of Morea, -from the immense plantations of the _Morus alba_, or white -mulberry.[815] Large manufactories were set up at Athens, Thebes, and -Corinth. The Venetians, soon after this, commencing a commerce with the -Grecians, supplied all the western parts of Europe with silks for many -centuries. Several kinds of modern silk manufactures, such as damasks, -velvets, satins, etc., were as yet unknown. - -About the year 1130, Roger II., King of Sicily, having conquered the -Peloponnesus, transported the Silk-worms and such as cultivated them to -Palermo and to Calabria. Such was the success of the speculation in -Calabria, that it is doubtful whether, even at the present moment, it -does not produce more silk than the whole of the rest of Italy.[816] - -By degrees the rest of Italy, as well as Spain, learned from the -Sicilians and Calabrians the management of Silk-worms and the working of -silk; and at length, during the wars of Charles VIII., in 1499, the -French acquired it, by right of neighborhood, and soon large plantations -of the mulberry were raised in Provence. Henry I. is reported to have -been the first French king who wore silk stockings. The invention, -however, originally came from Spain, whence silk stockings were brought -over to England to Henry VIII. and Edward VI. - -It is stated, that at the celebration of the marriage between Margaret, -daughter of Henry III., and Alexander III. of Scotland, in the year -1251, a most extravagant display of magnificence was made by one -thousand English knights appearing in suits of silk. It appears also by -the 33d of Henry VI., cap. 5, that there was a company of silk-women in -England as early as the year 1455; but these were probably employed -rather in embroidering and making small haberdasheries, than in the -broad manufacture, which was not introduced till the year 1620. - -Sir Thomas Gresham, in a letter to Sir William Cecil, Elizabeth's great -minister, dated Antwerp, April 30th, 1560, says: "I have written into -Spain for silk hose both for you and my lady, your wife, to whom, it may -please you, I may be remembered." These silk hose, of a black color, -were accordingly soon after sent by Gresham to Cecil.[817] - -Hose were, in England, up to the time of Henry VIII., made out of -ordinary cloth: the King's own were formed of yard-wide taffata. It was -only by chance that he might obtain a pair of silk hose from Spain. His -son, Edward VI., received as a present from Sir Thomas Gresham--Stow -speaks of it as a great present--"a pair of long Spanish silk -stockings." For some years longer, silk stockings continued to be a -great rarity. "In the second year of Queen Elizabeth," says Stow, "her -silk-woman, Mistress Montague, presented her Majesty with a pair of -black knit-silk stockings for a New-Year's gift; the which, after a few -days' wearing, pleased her Highness so well, that she sent for Mistress -Montague, and asked her where she had them, and if she could help her to -any more; who answered, saying, 'I made them very carefully, of purpose -only for your Majesty, and, seeing these please you so well, I will -presently set more in hand.' 'Do so,' quoth the Queen, 'for indeed I -like silk stockings so well, because they are pleasant, fine, and -delicate, that henceforth I will wear no more cloth stockings.' And -from that time to her death the Queen never wore cloth hose, but only -silk stockings."[818] - -James I., while King of Scotland, is said to have once written to the -Earl of Mar, one of his friends, to borrow a pair of silk stockings, in -order to appear with becoming dignity before the English Ambassador; -concluding his letter with these words: "For ye would not, sure, that -your King should appear like a scrub before strangers." This shows the -great rarity of silk articles at that period in Scotland. - -In 1629, the manufacture of silk was become so considerable in London, -that the silk throwsters of the city and parts adjacent were -incorporated; and in 1661, this company employed above forty thousand -persons. The revocation of the Edict of Nantes, in 1685, contributed in -a great degree to promote the manufacture of this article; and the -invention of the silk-throwing machine at Derby, in 1719, added so much -to the reputation of English manufactures, that even in Italy, according -to Keysler, the English silks bore a higher price than the Italian.[819] - -Rev. Stephen Olin tells us that the Mohammedans of Arabia will not allow -strangers to look into their cocooneries, on account of their -superstitious fear of the evil eye, of the influence of which the -Silk-worms are thought to be peculiarly susceptible.[820] - -The silk of the nests of the social caterpillar of the _Bombyx Madrona_, -was an object of commerce in Mexico in the time of Montecusuma; and the -ancient Mexicans pasted together the interior layers, which may be -written upon without preparation, to form a white, glossy pasteboard. -Handkerchiefs are still manufactured of it in the Intendency of -Oaxaca.[821] - -A complete nest of these Silk-worms, called in Brazil _sustillo_, was -sent by the Academy of Sciences and Natural History to the King of -Spain. The naturalist, Don Antonio Pineda, sent also a piece of this -natural silk paper, measuring a yard and a half, of an elliptical shape, -which, however, is peculiar to them all.[822] - -The Chinese fix on rings with threads the females of two species of -wild _Bombyx_, whose caterpillars produce silk, and place these insects -on a tree, or on some body situated in the open air, to allow the males, -guided by their scent, to visit them.[823] - -"The manner of the Chinese is," we read in Purchas's Pilgrims, "in the -Spring time to revive the Silke-worms (that lye dead all the Winter) by -laying them in the warme sunne, and (to hasten their quickening, that -they may sooner goe to worke) to put them into bagges, and so hang them -under their childrens armes."[824] - -In China, the pupæ of the Silk-worms after the silk is wound off, and -the larvæ of a species of Sphinx-moth, furnish articles for the table, -and are considered delicacies.[825] The natives of Madagascar, who eat -all kinds of insects, consider also Silk-worms a great luxury.[826] - -Aldrovandus states that the German soldiers sometimes fry and eat -Silk-worms.[827] - -Dr. James says: "Silk-worms dried, and reduced to a powder, are, by -some, applied to the crown of the head for removing vertigos and -convulsions. The silk, and case or coat, are of a due temperament -between heat and cold, and corroborate and recruit the vital, natural, -and animal spirits."[828] The cocoons are also the basis of Goddard's -_Drops_, and enter into several other compositions, such as the -_Confectio de Hyacintho_, when made in the best manner.[829] - -With respect to the coloring of silk, we find in "Tseën Tse Wan," or -thousand character classic, a work that has been a school-book in China -for the last 1200 years, that an ancient sage by the name of Mih, seeing -the white silk colored, wept on account of its original purity being -destroyed.[830] - -Some of the eggs of a wild species of Silk-worm being sent overland from -China to Paris, proved a source of considerable anxiety to different -parties who received them during the transit, the instructions on the -box, instead of simply stating that it contained the eggs of the _wild_ -Silk-worm Moth, was couched in the following manner by the French savant -who forwarded them: "Must be kept far from the engines; this box -contains _savage_ worms."[831] - -About twenty-five years ago, during a mania for rearing Silk-worms, to -meet the demand for the eggs of these insects, fish-spawn was -distributed throughout the country. The humbug was quite as successful -as it was curious. - -It has been said that the search after the "Golden Fleece" may be -ascribed to the desire to obtain silk.[832] - -As a protection against rifle-balls, the Chinese, who were engaged in -the rebellion of 1853, state that they wore dresses thickly padded with -floss silk; they said that while the ball had a twist in it, revolving -in its course, it caught up the silk and fastened itself in the garment. -One man declared that he took out six so caught, in one day, after a -severe fight. They said the dress was of more use within a hundred yards -than at long range, when the ball had lost its revolving motion.[833] - -Vaucanson, the inventor of the famous "automaton duck," to revenge -himself upon the silk-weavers of Lyons, who had stoned him because he -attempted to simplify the ordinary loom, is said to have invented a loom -on which a donkey worked silken cloth.[834] - -The following curious Welsh epigram on the Silk-worm is composed -entirely of vowels, and can be recited without closing or moving lips or -teeth: - - O'i wiw wy i ê â, a'i weuaw - O'i wyau y weua; - E' weua ei wî aia', - A'i weuau yw ieuau iâ. - - I perish by my art; dig mine own grave; - I spin the thread of life; my death I weave.[835] - - -Arctiidæ--Wooly-bear Moths. - -In 1783, the larvæ of the Moth, _Arctia chrysorrhoea_, were so -destructive in the neighborhood of London that subscriptions were opened -to employ the poor in cutting off and collecting the webs; and it is -asserted that not less than eighty bushels were collected and burnt in -one day in the parish of Clapham. And even in some places prayers were -offered up in the churches to avert the calamities of which they were -supposed by the ignorant to be the forerunner.[836] - -If a caterpillar spins its cocoon in a house, it foretells its -desolation by death; if in your clothes, it warns you you will wear a -shroud before the year is out. This superstition obtains in the Middle -States, Virginia, and Maryland. - -If Moths, flying in a candle, put it out, it forebodes a calamity -amounting to almost death. This superstition is pretty general. - -Why Moths fly in a candle: Kempfer tells us, there is found in Japan an -insect, which, by reason of its incomparable beauty, is kept by the -Japanese ladies among the curiosities of their toilets. He calls it a -Night-fly, and describes it as being "about a finger long, slender, -round-bodied, with four wings, two of which are transparent and hid -under a pair of others, which are shining as it were polished, and most -curiously adorned with blue and golden lines and spots." The following -little fable, which accounts so beautifully for the flying of Moths in a -candle, owes its origin to the unparalleled beauty of this insect, and -is well worthy of being preserved: The Japanese say that all other -Night-flies (Moths, etc.) fall in love with this particular one, who, to -get rid of their importunities, maliciously bids them, under the -pretense of trying their constancy, to go and bring to her fire. And the -blind lovers, scrupling not to obey her command, fly to the nearest fire -or candle, in which they never fail to burn themselves to death.[837] - -The following verses, embodying the above fable (except in several minor -particulars) are from the pen of Mrs. A. L. Ruter Dufour: - - One summer night, says a legend old, - A Moth a Firefly sought to woo: - "Oh, wed me, I pray, thou bright star-child, - To win thee there's nothing I'd dare not do." - - "If thou art sincere," the Firefly cried, - "Go--bring me a light that will equal my own; - Not until then will I deign be thy bride;"-- - Undaunted the Moth heard her mocking tone. - - Afar he beheld a brilliant torch, - Forward he dashed, on rapid wing, - Into the light to bear it hence;-- - When he fell a scorched and blighted thing.-- - - Still ever the Moths in hope to win, - Unheeding the lesson, the gay Firefly, - Dash, reckless, the dazzling torch within, - And, vainly striving, fall and die! - - WASHINGTON, D. C., June 24, 1864. - -Moufet says: "Our North, as well as our West countrymen, call it (the -Moth, _Phalaina_) _Saule_, _i.e._ _Psychen, Animam_, the soul; because -some silly people in old time did fancy that the souls of the dead did -fly about in the night seeking light."[838] "Pliny commends a goat's -liver to drive them away, yet he shews not the means to use it."[839] - -One of the most highly prized curiosities in the collection of Horace -Walpole, was the silver bell with which the popes used to curse the -caterpillars. This bell was the work of Benvenuto Cellini, one of the -most extraordinary men of his extraordinary age, and the relievos on it -representing caterpillars, butterflies, and other insects, are said to -have been wonderfully executed.[840] - -In Purchas's Pilgrims, we read of worms being sprinkled with holy water -to kill them.[841] - -Apuleius says, that if you take the caterpillars from another garden, -and boil them in water with anethum, and let them cool, and besprinkle -the herbs, you will destroy the existing caterpillars.[842] - -Pliny says, that "if a woman having a catamenia strips herself naked, -and walks round a field of wheat, the caterpillars, worms, beetles, and -other vermin, will fall off the ears of the grain!" This important -discovery, according to Metrodurus of Scepsos, was first made in -Cappadocia; where, in consequence of such multitudes of "Cantharides" -being found to breed there, it was the practice for women to walk -through the middle of the fields with their garments tucked up above the -thighs.[843] Columella[844] has described this practice in verse, and -Ælian[845] also mentions it. Pliny says further that in other places, -again, it is the usage of women to go barefoot, with the hair disheveled -and the girdle loose: due precaution, however, he seriously observes, -must be taken that this is not done at sunrise, for if so the crop will -wither and dry up.[846] Apuleius,[847] Columella,[848] and -Palladius[849] relate the same story. Constantinus, likewise, whose -verses, as translated in Moufet's Theater of Insects, are as follows: - - But if against this plague no art prevail, - The Trojan arts will do't, when others fail. - A woman barefoot with her hair untied, - And naked breasts must walk as if she cried, - And after Venus' sports she must surround - Ten times, the garden beds and orchard ground. - When she hath done, 'tis wonderful to see, - The caterpillars fall off from the tree, - As fast as drops of rain, when with a crook, - For acorns or apples the tree is shook.[850] - -This remarkable superstitious remedy for destroying caterpillars was -frequently practiced by the Indians of America. Schoolcraft, treating of -the peculiar superstitions connected with the menstrual lodge of these -people, says: - -"This superstition does not alone exert a malign influence, or spell, on -the human species. Its ominous power, or charm, is equally effective on -the animate creation, at least on those species which are known to -depredate on their little fields and gardens. To cast a protective spell -around these, and secure the fields against vermin, insects, the -sciurus, and other species, as well as to protect the crops against -blight, the mother of the family chooses a suitable hour at night, when -the children are at rest and the sky is overcast, and having completely -divested herself of her garments, trails her _machecota_ behind her, and -performs the circuit of the little field."[851] - -The fat of bears, says Topsel, "some use superstitiously beaten with -oil, wherewith they anoynt their grape-sickles when they go to vintage, -perswading themselves that if nobody know thereof, their tender -vine-branches shall never be consumed by caterpillars. Others attribute -this to the vertue of bears' blood."[852] - -Nicander used "a caterpillar to procure sleep: for so he writes; and -Hieremias Martius thus translates him: - - Stamp but with oyl those worms that eat the leaves, - Whose backs are painted with a greenish hue, - Anoint your body with 't, and whilst that cleaves, - You shall with gentle sleep bid cares adieu."[853] - -Of a caterpillar that feeds upon cabbage leaves, the _Eruca officinalis_ -of Schroder, Dr. James says: "Bruised, or a powder of them, raise a -blister like cantharides, and take off the skin. Moufet says, they will -cause the teeth to fall out of their sockets, and Hippocrates writes, -that they are good for a Quinsey."[854] - - -Psychidæ--Wood-carrying Moth, etc. - -The larvæ of the Wood-carrying Moth (of the genus _Oiketicus_, or -_Eumeta_, Wlk.) of Ceylon, surround themselves with cases made of stems -of leaves, and thorns or pieces of twigs bound together by threads, -till the whole resembles a miniature Roman fasces; in fact, an African -species of these insects has obtained the name of "Lictor." The Germans -have denominated the group _Sackträger_, and the Singhalese call them -Darra-kattea or "billets of fire-wood," and regard the inmates, Tennent -says, as human beings, who, as a punishment for stealing wood in some -former state of existence, have been condemned to undergo a -metempsychosis under the form of these insects.[855] - - -Noctuidæ--Antler-moth, Cut-worm, etc. - -The Antler-moth, _Noctua graminis_, Linn., has been particularly -observed in Sweden, Norway, Northern Germany, and even in Greenland, -where it does great mischief to grass-plots and meadows. It is recorded -to have done very great injury in the eastern mountains of Georgenthal, -as well as at Töplitz in Bohemia, where larvæ were in such large numbers -that in four days and a half 200 men found 23 bushels of them, or -4,500,000 in the 60 bushels of mould which they examined. In Germany it -seems to be confined to high and dry districts, and it never appears -there in wet meadows, but its devastations are sometimes most extensive, -as happened in the Hartz territory in 1816 and '17, when whole hills -that in the evening were clad in the finest green, were brown and bare -the following morning; and such vast numbers of the caterpillars were -there that the ruts of the roads leading to the hills were full of them, -and the roads being covered with them were even rendered slippery and -dirty by their being crushed in some places.[856] - -The notorious astrologer, William Lilly, alluding to the comet which -appeared in 1677, says: "All comets signify wars, terrors, and strange -events in the world;" and gives the following curious explanation of the -prophetic nature of these bodies: "The spirits, well knowing what -accidents shall come to pass, do form a star or comet, and give it what -figure or shape they please, and cause its motion through the air, that -people might behold it, and thence draw a signification of its events." -Further, a comet appearing in the Taurus portends "mortality to the -greater part of cattle, as horses, oxen, cows, etc.," and also -"prodigious shipwrecks, damage in fisheries, monstrous floods, and -destruction of fruit by caterpillars and other vermin."[857] - -Josselyn, in the account of his voyage to New England, printed in London -in 1674, has the following relation of an insect which is doubtless a -species of _Agrotis_, probably the _Agrotis telifera_: "There is also -(in New England) a dark dunnish Worm or Bug of the bigness of an -Oaten-straw, and an inch long, that in the Spring lye at the Root of -Corn and Garden plants all day, and in the night creep out and devour -them; these in some years destroy abundance of _Indian_ Corn and Garden -plants, and they have but one way to be rid of them, which the _English_ -have learned of the Indians; And because it is somewhat strange, I shall -tell you how it is, they go out into a field or garden with a -Birchen-dish, and spudling the earth about the roots, for they lye not -deep, they gather their dish full which may contain a quart or three -pints, then they carrie the dish to the Sea-side when it is ebbing water -and set it a swimming, the water carrieth the dish into the Sea, and -within a day or two you go into your field you may look your eyes out -sooner than find any of them."[858] - -The Army-worm (larva of _Leucania unipunctata_ of Haworth), during this -our great rebellion, is thought, by many persons in Western -Pennsylvania, to prognosticate the success or defeat of our armies by -the direction it travels. If toward the North, the South will be -victorious; and if toward the South, the North will conquer. An old -gentleman, who believes that a frog's foot drawn in chalk above the door -will keep away witches, tells me this worm invariably travels southward. - -This larva was noticed but a few years before the war began, and then -appearing, as it were, in armies, it was called the Army-worm. The -superstitious omen from it has followed not preceded the name. - -Lindenbrog, in his Codex Legum Antiquarum, cum Glossario, fol. Francof. -1613, mentions the following superstition: "The peasants, in many places -in Germany, at the feast of St. John, bind a rope around a stake drawn -from a hedge, and drive it hither and thither, till it catches fire. -This they carefully feed with stubble and dry wood heaped together, and -they spread the collected ashes over their potherbs, confiding in vain -superstition, that by this means they can drive away Canker-worms. They -therefore call this Nodfeur, q. _necessary fire_." - -These fires were condemned as sacrilegious, not as if it had been -thought that there was anything unlawful in kindling a fire in this -manner, but because it was kindled with a superstitious design. They -are, however, Du Cange says, still kindled in France, on the eve of St. -John's day.[859] - - -Geometridæ--Span-worms. - -The Measuring-worm, crawling on your clothes, is thought to foretell a -new suit; on your hands, a pair of gloves, etc. - - -Tineidæ--Clothes'-moth, Bee-moth, etc. - -In Newton's Journal of the Arts for December, 1827, there is the -following mention of a new kind of cloth fabricated by insects: The -larvæ of the Moth, _Tinea punctata_, or _T. padilla_, have been directed -by M. Habenstreet, of Munich, so as to work on a paper model suspended -from a ceiling of a room. To this model he can give any form and -dimensions, and he has thus been enabled to obtain square shawls, an air -balloon four feet high, and a woman's complete robe, with the sleeves, -but without seams. One or two larvæ can weave a square inch of cloth. A -great number are, of course, employed, and their motions are interdicted -from the parts of the model not to be covered, by oiling them. The cloth -exceeds in fineness the lightest gauze, and has been worn as a robe -over her court dress by the Queen of Bavaria.[860] - -Authors are of opinion that the ancients possessed some secret for -preserving garments from the Moth, _Tinia tapetzella_. We are told the -robes of Servius Tullius were found in perfect preservation at the death -of Sejanus, an interval of more than five hundred years. Pliny gives as -a precaution "to lay garments on a coffin;" others recommend -"cantharides hung up in a house, or wrapping them in a lion's -skin"--"the poor little insects," says Reaumur, "being probably placed -in bodily fear of this terrible animal."[861] - -Moufet says: "They that sell woollen clothes use to wrap up the skin of -a bird called the king's-fisher among them, or else hang one in the -shop, as a thing by a secret antipathy that Moths cannot endure."[862] - -Among the various contrivances resorted to as a safeguard against the -Bee-moth, _Galleria cereana_, Fabricius, perhaps the most ingenious is -that, mentioned by Langstroth, of "governing the entrances of all the -hives by a long lever-like _hen-roost_, so that they may be regularly -closed by the crowing and cackling tribe when they go to bed at night, -and opened again when they fly from their perch to greet the merry -morn."[863] - -An intelligent man informed Langstroth that he paid ten dollars to a -"Bee-quack" professing to have an infallible secret for protecting Bees -against the Moth; and, after the quack had departed with his money, -learned that the secret consisted in "always keeping strong -stocks."[864] - - - - -ORDER VII. - -HOMOPTERA. - - -Cicadidæ--Harvest-flies. - -The Cicadas, _C. plebeja_, Linn., called by the ancient Greeks, (by -whom, as well as by the Chinese, they were kept in cages for the sake of -their song,) _Tettix_, seem to have been the favorites of every Grecian -bard, from Homer and Hesiod to Anacreon and Theocritus. Supposed to be -perfectly harmless, and to live only upon dew, they were addressed by -the most endearing epithets, and were regarded as almost divine. Thus -sings the muse of Anacreon: - - Happy creature! what below - Can more happy live than thou? - Seated on thy leafy throne, - Summer weaves thy verdant crown. - Sipping o'er the pearly lawn, - The fragrant nectar of the dawn, - Little tales thou lov'st to sing, - Tales of mirth--an insect king. - Thine the treasures of the field, - All thy own the seasons yield; - Nature paints thee for the year, - Songster to the shepherds dear; - Innocent, of placid fame, - What of man can boast the same? - Thine the loudest voice of praise, - Harbinger of fruitful days; - Darling of the tuneful nine, - Phoebus is thy sire divine; - Phoebus to thy note has given - Music from the spheres of heaven; - Happy most as first of earth, - All thy hours are peace and mirth; - Cares nor pains to thee belong, - Thou alone art ever young. - Thine the pure immortal vein, - Blood nor flesh thy life sustain; - Rich in spirits--health thy feast, - Thou art a demi-god at least. - -But the old witticism, attributed to the incorrigible Rhodian -sensualist, Xenarchus, gives quite a different reason to account for the -supposed happiness of these insects: - - Happy the Cicadas' lives, - Since they all have voiceless wives![865] - -Plutarch, reasoning upon that singular Pythagorean precept which forbid -the wife to admit swallows in the house, remarks: "Consider, and see -whether the swallow be not odious and impious ... because she feedeth -upon flesh, and, besides, killeth and devoureth especially grasshoppers -(Cicadas), which are sacred and musical."[866] - -The Athenians were so attached to the Cicadas, that their elders were -accustomed to fasten golden images of them in their hair. Thucidides -incidentally remarks that this custom ceased but a little before his -time. He adds, also, that the fashion prevailed, too, for a long time -with the elders of the Ionians, from their affinity to the -Athenians.[867] - -This singular form, for their ornamental combs, seems to have been -adopted originally from the predilection of the Athenians for whatever -bore any affinity to themselves, who boasted of being autochthones or -aboriginal. It is sung of the Athenians: - - Blithe race! whose mantles were bedeck'd - With golden grasshoppers, in sign that they - Had sprung, like those bright creatures, from the soil - Whereon their endless generations dwelt. - -Mr. Michell supposes the Athenians to have imitated in this instance -their prototypes, the Egyptians; for as they, he adds, wore their -favorite symbol, the Scarabæus, in this manner, so Attic pride set up a -rival in the head-dress thus introduced by Cecrops and his -followers.[868] - -From a very ancient writer,[869] we have similar ornaments ascribed to -the Samians. They also most probably derived this fashion from the early -Athenians.[870] - -It seems, from the following lines of Asius,[871] that Cicadas were also -worn as ornaments on dresses: - - Clad in magnificent robes, whose snow-white folds - Reach'd to the ground of the extensive earth, - And golden knobs on them like grasshoppers. - -The sound of the Cicada and that of the harp were called by the Greeks -by one and the same name; and a Cicada sitting upon a harp was the usual -emblem of the science of music. This was accounted for by the following -very pleasing and elegant tale: Two rival musicians, Eunomis of Locris -and Aristo of Rhegium, when alternately playing upon the harp, the -former was so unfortunate as to break a string of his instrument, and by -which accident would certainly have lost the prize, when a Cicada, -flying to him and sitting upon his harp, supplied the place of the -broken string with its melodious voice, and so secured to him an easy -victory over his antagonist.[872] - -To excel the Cicada in singing was the highest commendation of a singer, -and the music of Plato's eloquence was only comparable to the voice of -this insect. Homer compared his good orators to the Cicadæ, "which, in -the woods, sitting on a tree, send forth a delicate voice."[873] But -Virgil speaks of them as insects of a disagreeable and stridulous tone, -and accuses them of bursting the very shrubs with their noise,-- - - Et cantu querulæ rumpent arbusta Cicadæ.[874] - -Moufet says: "The Cicadæ, abounding in the end of spring, do foretel a -sickly year to come, not that they are the cause of putrefaction in -themselves, but only shew plenty of putrid matter to be, when there is -such store of them appear. Oftentimes their coming and singing doth -portend the happy state of things: so also says Theocritus. Niphus saith -that what year but few of them are to be seen, they presage dearness of -victuals, and scarcity of all things else.... - -"The Egyptians, by a Cicada painted, understood a priest and an holy -man; the latter makers of hieroglyphics sometimes will have them to -signifie musicians, sometimes pratlers or talkative companions, but very -fondly. How ever the matter be, the Cicada hath sung very well of -herself, in my judgement, in this following distich: - - Although I am an insect very small, - Yet with great virtue am endow'd withall."[875] - -Sir G. Staunton, in his account of China, remarks: "The shops of -Hai-tien, in addition to necessaries, abounded in toys and trifles, -calculated to amuse the rich and idle of both sexes, even to cages -containing insects, such as the noisy Cicada, and a large species of the -Gryllus."[876] - -S. Wells Williams tells us that the Chinese boys often capture the male -Cicada of their country, and tie a straw around the abdomen, so as to -irritate the sounding apparatus, and carry it through the streets in -this predicament, to the great annoyance of every one, for the -stridulous sound of this insect is of deafening loudness.[877] - -When in Quincy, Illinois, in the summer of 1864, I was shown by a boy a -toy, which he called a "Locust," with which he imitated the loud -rattling noise of the _Cicada septemdecim_ with great accuracy. It -consisted of a horse-hair tied to the end of a short stick, and looped -in a cap of stiff writing-paper placed over the hole of a spool. To make -the sound, then, the toy was whirled rapidly through the air, when the -stiff paper acted as a sounding-board to the vibrating hair. - -At Surinam, Madame Merian tells us, the noise of the _Cicada tibicen_ is -still supposed to resemble the sound of a harp or lyre, and hence called -the _Lierman_--the harper.[878] Another species, in Ceylon, which makes -the forest re-echo with a long-sustained noise so curiously resembling -that of a cutler's wheel, has acquired the highly appropriate name of -the _Knife-grinder_.[879] - -It is said of our _Cicada septemdecim_, the so-called, but very -improperly, "Seventeen-year Locust," that, when they first leave the -earth, when they are plump and full of juices, they have been made use -of in the manufacture of soap. - -The larva of a Chinese species of Cicada, the _Flata limbata_, which -scarcely exceeds the domestic fly in size, forms a sort of grease, which -adheres to the branches of trees and hardens into wax. In autumn the -natives scrape this substance, which they call _Pela_, from off the -trees, melt, purify, and form it into cakes. It is white and glossy in -appearance, and, when mixed with oil, is used to make candles, and is -said to be superior to the common wax for use. The physicians employ it -in several diseases; and the Chinese, as we are informed by the Abbe -Grosier, when they are about to speak in public, or when any occasion is -likely to occur on which it may be necessary to have assurance and -resolution, eat an ounce of it to prevent swoonings or palpitations of -the heart.[880] - -On the large cheese-like cakes of this wax, hanging in the grocers' and -tallow-chandlers' shops at Hankow, are often seen the inscription -written: "It mocks at the frost, and rivals the snow." The price, in -1858, was forty dollars a picul, or about fifteen pence a pound.[881] - -The Greeks, notwithstanding their veneration for the Cicada, made these -insects an article of food, and accounted them delicious. Aristotle -says, the larva, when it is grown in the earth, and become a -tettigometra (pupa), is the sweetest; when changed to the tettix, the -males at first have the best flavor, but after impregnation the females -are preferred, on account of their white ova.[882] Athenæus and -Aristophanes also mention their being eaten; and Ælian is extremely -angry with the men of his age that an animal sacred to the Muses should -be strung, sold, and greedily devoured.[883] The _Cicada septemdecim_, -Mr. Collinson in 1763 said, was eaten by the Indians of America, who -plucked off the wings and boiled them.[884] - -Osbeck tells us that the _Cicada chinensis_, along with the _Buprestis -maxima_, and several species of Butterflies, is made an article of -commerce by the Chinese, being sold in their shops.[885] - - -Fulgoridæ--Lantern-flies. - -The Lantern-fly, _Fulgora lanternaria_ of Linnæus, found in many parts -of South America, is supposed to emit a vivid light from the large hood, -or lantern, which projects from its body, and to be frequently -serviceable to benighted travelers; hence the specific name, -_lanternaria_. This story originated about a century and a half ago, -from the work of the celebrated Madame Merian, who lived several years -in Surinam. Her account contains the following anecdote: "The Indians -once brought me, before I knew that they shone by night, a number of -these Lantern-flies, which I shut up in a wooden box. In the night they -made such a noise that I awoke in a fright, and ordered a light to be -brought; not knowing whence the noise proceeded. As soon as we found -that it came from the box, we opened it; but were still much more -alarmed, and let it fall to the ground, in a fright at seeing a flame of -fire come out of it; and as so many animals as came out, so many flames -of fire appeared. When we found this to be the case, we recovered from -our fright, and again collected the insects, highly admiring their -splendid appearance."[886] - -Dr. Darwin, in a note to some lines relative to luminous insects, in his -poem, the Loves of the Plants, makes Madame Merian affirm that she drew -and finished her figure of the insect by its own light. This story is -without foundation. - -The Indians of South America say and believe that the Lyerman, _Cicada -tibicen_, is changed into the Lantern-fly; and that the latter emits a -light similar to that of a lantern.[887] - -This story of the Lantern-fly being luminous is the more remarkable -since the veracity of its author is unimpeached. She doubtless has -confounded it with the _Cucujus_, _Elater noctilucus_. Donovan, however, -states that the Chinese Lantern-fly, _Fulgora candelaria_, has an -illuminated appearance in the night.[888] - -From the loud noise the Lantern-fly makes at night, which is said to be -somewhat between the grating of a razor-grinder and the clang of -cymbals, it is called by the Dutch, in Guiana, _Scare-sleep_.[889] -Ligon, in his History of Barbados, printed in 1673, probably refers to -this insect, when he says: "They lye all day in holes and hollow trees, -and as soon as the Sun is down they begin their tunes, which are neither -singing nor crying, but the shrillest voyces that ever I heard; nothing -can be so nearly resembled to it, as the mouths of a pack of small -beagles at a distance." This author, however, thought this sound by no -means unpleasant. "So lively and chirping," he continues, "the noise is, -as nothing can be more delightful to the ears, if there were not too -much of it, for the musick hath no intermission till morning, and then -all is husht."[890] - - -Aphidæ--Plant-lice. - -The Aphides are remarkable for secreting a sweet, viscid fluid, known by -the name of Honey-dew, the origin of which has puzzled the world for -ages. Pliny says "it is either a certaine sweat of the skie, or some -unctuous gellie proceeding from the starres, or rather a liquid purged -from the aire when it purifyeth itself."[891] - -Amyntas, in his Stations of Asia, quoted by Athenæus, gives a curious -account of the manner of collecting this article, which was supposed to -be superior to the nectar of the Bee, in various parts of the East, -particularly in Syria. In some cases they gathered the leaves of trees, -chiefly of the linden and oak, for on these the dew was most abundantly -found,[892] and pressed them together. Others allowed it to drop from -the leaves and harden into globules, which, when desirous of using, they -broke, and, having poured water on them in wooden bowls, drank the -mixture. In the neighborhood of Mount Lebanon, Honey-dew was collected -plentifully several times in the year, being caught by spreading skins -under the trees, and shaking into them the liquid from the leaves. The -Dew was then poured into vessels, and stored away for future use. On -these occasions the peasants used to exclaim, "Zeus has been raining -honey!"[893] - -In the Treasvrie of Avncient and Moderne Times, we read: "_Galen_ saith, -that there fell such great quantity of this Dew (in his time) in his -Countrey of _Pergamus_, that the Countrey people (greatly delighted -therein) gave thankes therefor to _Iupiter_. _Ælianus_ writeth also that -there fell such plenty thereof in _India_, in the Region which is called -_Prasia_, and so moistened the Grasse, that the Sheepe, Kine, and Goates -feeding thereon, yeelded Milke sweete like Hony, which was very pleasing -to drinke. And when they used that Milke in any disease, they needed not -to put any Hony therein, to the end it should not corrupt in the -stomacke: as it is appointed in Hecticke Feauers, Consumption, -Tisickes, and for others that are ulcered in the intestines, as is -confirmed by the Histories of _Portugall_."[894] - -The Aphides, like many other insects, sometimes migrate in clouds; and -among other instances on record of these migrations, Mr. White informs -us that about three o'clock in the afternoon of the first of August, -1785, the people of the village of Selborne were surprised by a shower -of Aphides which fell in those parts. Persons who walked in the street -at this time found themselves covered with them, and they settled in -such numbers in the gardens and on the hedges as to blacken every leaf. -Mr. White's annuals were thus all discolored with them, and the stalks -of a bed of onions were quite coated over for six days afterward. These -swarms, he remarks, were then no doubt in a state of emigration, and -might have come from the great hop-plantations of Kent and Sussex, the -wind being all that day in the east. They were observed at the same time -in great clouds about Farnham, and all along the vale from Farnham to -Alton.[895] A similar emigration of these insects Mr. Kirby once -witnessed, to his great annoyance, when traveling later in the year in -the Isle of Ely. The air was so full of them, that they were incessantly -flying into his eyes and nostrils, and his clothes were covered by them; -and in 1814, in the autumn, the Aphides were so abundant for a few days -in the vicinity of Ipswich, as to be noticed with surprise by the most -incurious observers.[896] Neither Mr. White nor Mr. Kirby informs us -what particular species formed these immense flights, but it is most -probable they belonged to the Hop-fly, _Aphis humuli_. - -Reaumur tells us that in the Levant, Persia, and China, they use the -galls of a particular species of _Aphis_ for dyeing silk crimson.[897] - -In England, the mischief caused by the Hop-fly, _Aphis humuli_, in some -seasons, as in 1802, has brought the duty of hops down from £100,000 to -£14,000. - -A quite common, though erroneous, belief in England is, that Aphides are -produced, or brought by, a northern or eastern wind. Thomson has fallen -into the error; he has also confounded the mischief of caterpillars with -that of the Aphis: - - For oft, engendered by the hazy north, - Myriads on myriads insect armies warp, - Keen in the poison'd breeze, and wasteful eat - Through buds and bark into the blackened core - Their eager way. A feeble race! Yet oft - The sacred sons of vengeance, on whose course - Corrosive famine waits, and kills the year. - - -Coccidæ--Shield-lice. - -The Kermes-dye, or scarlet, made from the _Coccus ilicis_ of Linnæus, an -insect found chiefly on a species of oak, the _Quercus ilex_, in the -Levant, France, Spain, and other parts of the world, was known in the -East in the earliest ages, even before the time of Moses, and was a -discovery of the Phoenicians in Palestine, who also first employed the -murex and buccinum for the purpose of dyeing. - -_Tola_ or _Thola_ was the ancient Phoenician name for this insect and -dye, which was used by the Hebrews, and even by the Syrians; for it is -employed by the Syrian translator.[898] Among the Jews, after their -captivity, the Aramæan _zehori_ was more common. This dye was known also -to the Egyptians in the time of Moses; and it is most probable that the -color mentioned in Exodus[899] as one of the three which were prescribed -for the curtains of the tabernacle, and for the "holy garments" of -Aaron, and which the English translators have rendered by the word -_scarlet_ (not the color now so called, which was not known in James the -First's reign when the Bible was translated), was no other than the -blood-red color dyed from the _Coccus ilicis_. - -The Arabs received the name _Kermes_ or _Alkermes_ for the insect and -dye, from Armenia and Persia, where the insect was indigenous, and had -long been known; and that name banished the old name in the East, as the -name scarlet has in the West. For the first part of this assertion we -must believe the Arabs. The Kermes, however, were not indigenous to -Arabia, as the Arabs appear to have no name for them. To the Greeks this -dye was known under the name of _Coccus_, as appears from Dioscorides, -and other Greek writers.[900] - -From the epithets _kermes_ and _coccus_, and that of _vermiculus_ or -_vermiculum_, given to the Kermes in the middle ages, when they were -ascertained to be insects, have sprung the Latin _coccineus_, the French -_carmesin_, _carmine_, _cramoisi_ and _vermeil_, the Italian _chermisi_, -_cremisino_, and _chermesino_, and our _crimson_ and _vermilion_. - -The imperishable reds of the Brussels and other Flemish tapestries were -derived from the Kermes; and, in short, previous to the discovery of -cochineal, this was the material universally used for dyeing the most -brilliant red then known. At the present time the Kermes are only -gathered in Europe by the peasantry of the provinces in which they are -found, but they still continue to be employed as of old in a great part -of India and Persia.[901] - -Brookes says the women gather the harvest of Kermes insects before -sunrise, tearing them off with their nails; and, for fear there should -be any loss from the hatching of the insects, they sprinkle them with -vinegar. They then lay them in the sun to dry, where they acquire a red -color.[902] - -The scarlet grain of Poland, _Coccus polonicus_, found on the German -knot-grass or perennial knawel (_Scleranthus perennis_), was at one time -collected in large quantities in the Ukraine and other provinces of -Poland (here under the name of _Czerwiec_), and also in the great duchy -of Lithuania. But though much esteemed and still employed by the Turks -and Armenians for dyeing wool, silk, and hair, as well as for staining -the nails of women's fingers, it is now rarely used in Europe except by -the Polish peasantry. A similar neglect has attended the Coccus found on -the roots of the Burnet (_Poterium sanguisorba_, Linn.), which was used, -particularly by the Moors, for dyeing wool and silk a rose color; and -the _Coccus uvæ-ursi_, which with alum affords a crimson dye.[903] - -Cochineal, the _Coccus cacti_, is doubtless the most valuable product -for which the dyer is indebted to insects, and with the exception -perhaps of indigo, the most important of dyeing materials. It is found -on a kind of fig, called in Mexico, where the insect is produced in any -quantity, Nopal or Tuna, which generally has been supposed to be the -_Cactus cochinilifer_, but according to Humboldt is unquestionably a -distinct species, which bears fruit internally white. - -Cochineal was discovered by the Spaniards, on their first arrival in -Mexico, about the year 1518; but who first remarked this valuable -production, and made it known in Europe, Mr. Beckman says, he has been -unable to discover. Some assert that the native Mexicans, before the -landing of Cortes, were acquainted with cochineal, which they employed -in painting their houses and dyeing their clothes; but others maintain -the contrary. Be that as it may, however, the Spanish ministry, as early -as the year 1523, as Herrera informs us, ordered Cortes to take measures -for multiplying this valuable commodity; and soon after it must have -begun to be quite an object of commerce, for Guicciardini, who died in -1589, mentions it among the articles procured then by the merchants of -Antwerp from Spain. - -Professor Beckman, who has given the subject particular attention, -thinks that with the first cochineal, a true account of the manner in -which it was procured must have reached Europe, and become publicly -known. Acosta in 1530, and Herrera in 1601, as well as Hernandez and -others, gave so true and complete a description of it, that the -Europeans could entertain no doubt respecting its origin. The -information of these authors, however, continues this gentleman, was -either overlooked or considered as false, and disputes arose whether -cochineal was insects or worms, or the berries or seeds of certain -plants. The Spanish name _grana_, confounded with _granum_, may have -given rise to this contest. - -Illustrative of this great difference of opinion, Mr. Beckman narrates -the following anecdote: "A Dutchman, named Melchior de Ruusscher, -affirmed in a society, from oral information he had received in Spain, -that cochineal was small animals. Another person, whose name he has not -made known, maintained the contrary with so much heat and violence, that -the dispute at length ended in a bet. Ruusscher charged a Spaniard, one -of his friends, who was going to Mexico, to procure for him in that -country authentic proofs of what he had asserted. These proofs, legally -confirmed in October, 1725, by the court of justice in the city of -Antiquera, in the valley of Oaxaca, arrived at Amsterdam in the autumn -of the year 1726. I have been informed that Ruusscher upon this got -possession of the sum betted, which amounted to the whole property of -the loser; but that, after keeping it a certain time, he again returned -it, deducting only the expenses he had been at in procuring the -evidence, and in causing it to be published. It formed a small octavo -volume, with the following title printed in red letters: _The History of -Cochineal proved by Authentic documents_. These proofs sent from -New-Spain are written in Dutch, French, and Spanish."[904] - -Among the important discoveries made by accident, the following in the -history of Cochineal may be instanced: "The well-known Cornelius -Drebbel, who was born at Alcmaar, and died at London in 1634, having -placed in his window an extract of Cochineal, made with boiling water, -for the purpose of filling a thermometer, some aqua-regia dropped into -it from a phial, broken by accident, which stood above it, and converted -the purple dye into a most beautiful dark red. After some conjectures -and experiments, he discovered that the tin by which the window frame -was divided into squares had been dissolved by the aqua-regia, and was -the cause of this change. He communicated his observation to Kuffelar, -an ingenious dyer at Leyden. The latter brought the discovery to -perfection, and employed it some years alone in his dye-house, which -gave rise to the name of Kuffelar's color."[905] - -That innocent cosmetic, so much used by the ladies, and commonly known -by the French term Rouge, is no other than a preparation of -Cochineal.[906] - -Kermes-berries, _Coccus ilicis_, and Cochineal, _C. cacti_, Geoffroy -says, "are esteemed to be greatly cordial and sudorific, being very full -of volatile salt. They are given also to prevent abortion from any -strain or hurt."[907] - -_Lac_ is the produce of an insect supposed by Amatus Lusitanus to be a -kind of ant, and by others a bee, but now ascertained to be a species -belonging to the Coccidæ--the _Coccus ficus_ or _C. lacca_. It is -collected from various trees in India, where it is found so abundantly, -that, were the consumption ten times greater than it is, it could be -readily supplied. - -Lac is known in Europe by the different appellations of _stick-lac_, -when in its natural state, adhering to, and often completely -surrounding, for five or six inches, the twigs on which it is produced -by the insects contained in its cells; _seed-lac_, when broken into -small pieces, garbled, and the greater part of the coloring matter -extracted by water; when it appears in a granulated form; _lump-lac_, -when melted and made into cakes; and _shell-lac_, when strained and -formed into transparent laminæ. - -Lac, in its different forms, is made use of in the manufacture of -varnishes, japanned ware, sealing-wax, beads, rings, arm-bracelets, -necklaces, water-proof hats, etc., etc. Mixed with fine sand it forms -grindstones; and added to lamp or ivory black, being first dissolved in -water with the addition of a little borax, it composes an ink not easily -acted upon by dampness or water. It has been applied also to a still -more important purpose, originally suggested by Dr. Roxburgh about the -year 1790--that of a substitute for Cochineal in dyeing scarlet.[908] -From this suggestion, under the direction of Dr. Bancroft, large -quantities of a substance termed _lac-lake_, consisting of the coloring -matter of stick-lac precipitated from an alkaline lixivium by alum, were -manufactured at Calcutta and sent to England, where at first the -consumption was so great, that, according to the statement of Dr. -Bancroft, in 1806, and the two following years, the sales of it at the -India House equaled in point of coloring matter half a million of -pounds' weight of Cochineal. Soon after this, a new preparation of lac -color, under the name of _lac-dye_, was substituted for the lac-lake, -and with such advantage, that in a few months £14,000 were saved by the -East India Company in the purchase of scarlet cloths dyed with this -color and Cochineal conjointly, and without any inferiority in the color -obtained.[909] - -The Coccidæ, although they furnish an invaluable dye and many articles -of commerce, are among the most hurtful of insects in gardens and -hot-houses. In 1843, the orange-trees of the Azores or Western Islands -were nearly entirely destroyed by the _Coccus Hesperidum_; and in Fayal, -an island which had usually exported twelve thousand chests of oranges -annually, not one was exported.[910] - - - - -ORDER VIII. - -HETEROPTERA. - - -Cimicidæ--Bed-bugs. - -"In the year 1503," says Moufet, "Dr. Penny was called in great haste to -a little village, called Mortlake, near the Thames, to visit two noble -ladies (_duas nobiles_), who were much frightened by the appearance of -bug-bites (_ex cinicum vestigiis_), and were in fear of I know not what -contagion; but when the matter was known, and the insects caught, he -laughed them out of all fear."[911] - -This fact disproves the statement of Southall, that the _Cimex -lectularius_ was not known in England before 1670, and that of Linnæus, -and the generality of later writers, that this insect is not originally -a native of Europe, but was introduced into England after the great fire -of London in 1666, having been brought in timber from America. - -The original English names of the _C. lectularius_, were _Chinche_, -_Wall-louse_, and _Punaise_ (from the French); and the term _Bug_, which -is a Celtic word, signifying a ghost or goblin, was applied to them -after the time of Ray,[912] most probably because they were considered -as "terrors of the night."[913] - -In the Nicholson's Journal[914] there is mention of a man who, far from -disliking Bed-bugs, took them under his protecting care, and would never -suffer them to be disturbed, or his bedsteads removed, till in the end -they swarmed to an incredible degree, crawling up even the walls of his -drawing-room; and after his death millions were found in his bed and -chamber furniture. - -Gemelli, in 1695, visited the Banian hospital at Surat, and says that -what amazed him most, though he went there for that express purpose, was -to see "a poor wretch, naked, bound down hands and feet, to feed the -Bugs or Punaises, brought out of their stinking holes for that -purpose."[915] - -Mr. Forbes, speaking of this remarkable institution for animals, says: -"At my visit, the hospital contained horses, mules, oxen, sheep, goats, -monkeys, poultry, pigeons, and a variety of birds. The most -extraordinary ward was that appropriated to rats and mice, Bugs, and -other noxious vermin. The overseers of the hospital frequently hire -beggars from the streets, for a stipulated sum, to pass a night among -the Fleas, Lice, and Bugs, on the express condition of suffering them to -enjoy their feast without molestation."[916] - -Navarette says that a species of Bugs (most probably a _Cimex_), which -swarm in some parts of China, are a source of great amusement to the -natives; for they take particular delight in killing them with their -fingers, and then clapping them to their noses.[917] - -Democritus says that the feet of a hare, or of a stag, hung round the -feet of the bed at the bottom of the couch, does not suffer Bugs to -breed; but, in traveling, Didymus adds, if you fill a vessel with cold -water and set it under the bed, they will not touch you when you are -asleep.[918] - -A superstition prevails among us that beds, in order to rid them -effectually of Bugs, must be cleaned during the dark of the moon. - -The medicinal virtues of the Cimex are given by Pliny (doubtless quoting -Dioscorides, ii. 36) as follows: "The Bug is said to be a neutralizer of -the venom of serpents, asps in particular, and to be a preservative -against all kinds of poisons. As a proof of this, they tell us that the -sting of an asp is never fatal to poultry, if they have eaten Bugs that -day; and that, if such is the case, their flesh is remarkably -beneficial to persons who have been stung by serpents. Of the various -recipes given in reference to these insects, the least revolting are the -application of them externally to the wound, with the blood of a -tortoise; the employment of them as a fumigation to make leeches loose -their hold; and the administering of them to animals in drink when a -leech has been accidentally swallowed. Some persons, however, go so far -as to crush Bugs with salt and woman's milk, and anoint the eyes with -the mixture; in combination, too, with honey and oil of roses, they use -them as an injection for the ears. Field-bugs, again, and those found -upon the mallow (perhaps the _Cimex pratensis_ is meant here; neither -this nor the _Cimex juniperinus_, the _C. brassicæ_, or the _Lygæus -hyoscami_, has the offensive smell of the _C. lectularius_) are burnt, -and the ashes mixed with oil of roses as an injection for the ears. - -"As to the other remedial virtues attributed to Bugs for the cure of -vomiting, quartan fevers, and other diseases, although we find -recommendations given to swallow them in an egg, some wax, or in a -bean,[919] I look upon them as utterly unfounded, and not worthy of -further notice. They are employed, however, for the treatment of -lethargy, and with some fair reason, as they successfully neutralize the -narcotic effects of the poison of the asp; for this purpose seven of -them are administered in a cyathus of water; but in the case of -children, only four. In cases, too, of strangury they have been injected -into the urinary channel.[920] So true it is that nature, that universal -parent, has engendered nothing without some powerful reason or other. In -addition to these particulars, a couple of Bugs, it is said, attached to -the left arm in some wool that has been stolen from the shepherds, will -effectually cure nocturnal fevers; while those recurrent in the daytime -may be treated with equal success by inclosing the Bugs in a piece of -russet-colored cloth."[921] - -Guettard, a French commentator on Pliny, recommends Bugs to be taken -internally for hysteria; and Dr. James says "the smell of them relieves -under hysterical suffocations!"[922] - -At the present time the Bed-bug is sometimes given by the country people -of Ohio as a cure for the fever and ague. - -Moufet says: "The verses of Quintus Serenus show that they are good for -tertian agues: - - Shame not to drink three Wall-lice mixt with wine, - And garlick bruised together at noon-day. - Moreover a bruised Wall-louse with an egg, repine - Not for to take, 'tis loathsome, yet full good I say. - -"Gesner in his writings confirms this experiment, having made trial of -it among the common and meaner sort of people in the country. The -ancients gave seven to those that were taken with a lethargy, in a cup -of water, and four to children. Pliny and Serenus consent to this in -these verses: - - Some men prescribe seven Wall-lice for to drink, - Mingled with water, and one cup they think - Is better than with drowsy death to sink."[923] - -Anatolius says that if an ox, or other quadruped, swallows a leech in -drinking, having pounded some Bugs, let the animal smell them, and he -immediately throws up the leech.[924] - -Mr. Mayhew, in his work on the London poor and their labor, has an -interesting chapter devoted to the Destroyers of Vermin, from which we -have taken the liberty of quoting pretty largely in the course of this -work. His statements can be relied on, and we give them as nearly in his -own words as possible. Concerning Bugs and Fleas, and the trade carried -on in the manufacture and vending of poisons to destroy these pests, we -learn from him: The vending of bug-poison in the London streets is -seldom followed as a regular source of living. He has met with persons -who remembered to have seen men selling packets of vermin poison; but to -find out the venders themselves was next to an impossibility. The men -seem to take merely to the business as a living when all other sources -have failed. All, however, agree in acknowledging that there is such a -street trade; but that the living it affords is so precarious that few -men stop at it longer than two or three weeks. - -The most eminent firm, perhaps, of the bug-destroyers in London now is -that of Messrs. Tiffin and Son. They have pursued their calling in the -streets, but now rejoice in the title of "Bug-Destroyers to Her Majesty -and the Royal Family." - -Mr. Tiffin, the senior party in this house, kindly obliged Mr. Mayhew -with the following statement. It may be as well to say that Mr. Tiffin -appears to have paid much attention to the subject of Bugs, and has -studied with much earnestness the natural history of this vermin. He -said: - -"We can trace our business back as far as 1695, when one of our -ancestors first turned his attention to the destruction of bugs. He was -a lady's stay-maker--men used to make them in those days, though, as far -back as that is concerned, it was a man that made my mother's dresses. -This ancestor found some bugs in his house--a young colony of them, that -had introduced themselves without his permission, and he didn't like -their company, so he tried to turn them out of doors again, I have heard -it said, in various ways. It is in history, and it has been handed down -in my own family as well, that bugs were first introduced into England, -after the fire in London, in the timber that was brought for the -rebuilding of the city, thirty years after the fire, and it was about -that time that my ancestor first discovered the colony of bugs in his -house. I can't say whether he studied the subject of bug-destroying, or -whether he found out his stuff by accident, but he certainly _did_ -invent a compound which completely destroyed the bugs, and, having been -so successful in his own house, he named it to some of his customers who -were similarly plagued, and that was the commencement of the present -connection, which has continued up to this time. - -"At the time of the illumination for the Peace, I thought I must have -something over my shop, that would be both suitable for the event and to -my business; so I had a transparency done, and stretched on a big frame, -and lit up by gas, on which was written - - MAY THE - DESTROYERS OF PEACE - BE DESTROYED BY US. - TIFFIN & SON, - BUG-DESTROYERS TO HER MAJESTY. - -"Our business was formerly carried on in the Strand, where both my -father and myself were born; in fact, I may say I was born to the bug -business. - -"I remember my father as well as possible; indeed, I worked with him for -ten or eleven years. He used, when I was a boy, to go out to his work -killing bugs at his customers' houses with a sword by his side and a -cocked-hat and bag-wig on his head--in fact, dressed up like a regular -dandy. I remember my grandmother, too, when she was in the business, -going to the different houses, and seating herself in a chair, and -telling the men what they were to do, to clean the furniture and wash -the woodwork. - -"I have customers in our books for whom our house has worked these 150 -years; that is, my father and self have worked for them and their -fathers. We do the work by contract, examining the house every year. -It's a precaution to keep the place comfortable. You see, servants are -apt to bring bugs in their boxes; and, though there may be only two or -three bugs perhaps hidden in the woodwork and the clothes, yet they soon -breed if let alone. - -"We generally go in the spring, before the bugs lay their eggs; or, if -that time passes, it ought to be done before June, before their eggs are -hatched, though it's never too late to get rid of a nuisance. - -"I mostly find the bugs in the bedsteads. But, if they are left -unmolested, they get numerous and climb to the tops of the rooms, and -about the corners of the ceilings. They colonize anywhere they can, -though they're very high-minded and prefer lofty places. Where iron -bedsteads are used, the bugs are more in the _rooms_, and that's why -such things are bad. They don't keep a bug away from a person sleeping. -Bugs'll come if they're thirty yards off. - -"I knew a case of a bug who used to come every night about thirty or -forty feet--it was an immense large room--from the corner of the room -to visit an old lady. There was only one bug, and he'd been there for a -long time. I was sent for to find him out. It took me a long time to -catch him. In that instance I had to examine every part of the room, and -when I got him I gave him an extra nip to serve him out. The reason why -I was so bothered was, the bug had hidden itself near the window, the -last place I should have thought of looking for him, for a bug never, by -choice, faces the light; but when I came to inquire about it, I found -that this old lady never rose till three o'clock in the day, and the -window-curtains were always drawn, so that there was no light like. - -"Lord! yes, I am often sent for to catch a single bug. I've had to go -many, many miles--even 100 or 200--into the country, and perhaps only -catch half a dozen bugs after all; but then that's all that are there, -so it answers our employer's purpose as well as if they were swarming. - -"I work for the upper classes only; that is, for carriage-company and -such like approaching it, you know. I have noblemen's names, the first -in England, on my books. - -"My work is more method; and I may call it a scientific treating of the -bugs rather than wholesale murder. We don't care about the thousands, -it's the last bug we look for, whilst your carpenters and upholsterers -leave as many behind them, perhaps, as they manage to catch. - -"The bite of the bug is very curious. They bite all persons the same -(?); but the difference of effect lies in the constitutions of the -parties. I've never noticed that a different kind of skin makes any -difference in being bitten. Whether the skin is moist or dry, it don't -matter. Wherever bugs are, the person sleeping in the bed is sure to be -fed on, whether they are marked or not; and as a proof, when nobody has -slept in the bed for some time, the bugs become quite flat; and, on the -contrary, when the bed is always occupied, they are round as a -lady-bird. - -"The flat bug is more ravenous, though even he will allow you time to go -to sleep before he begins with you; or at least till he thinks you ought -to be asleep. When they find all quiet, not even a light in the room -will prevent their biting; but they are seldom or never found under the -bedclothes. They like a clear ground to get off, and generally bite -round the edges of the nightcap or the nightdress. When they are found -_in_ the bed, it's because the parties have been tossing about, and -have curled the sheets round the bugs. - -"The finest and fattest bugs I ever saw were those I found in a black -man's bed. He was the favorite servant of an Indian general. He didn't -want his bed done by me; he didn't want it touched. His bed was full of -'em, no beehive was ever fuller. The walls and all were the same, there -wasn't a patch that was not crammed with them. He must have taken them -all over the house wherever he went. - -"I've known persons to be laid up for months through bug-bites. There -was a very handsome fair young lady I knew once, and she was much bitten -about the arms, and neck, and face, so that her eyes were so swelled up -she couldn't see. The spots rose up like blisters, the same as if stung -with a nettle, only on a very large scale. The bites were very much -inflamed, and after a time they had the appearance of boils. - -"Some people fancy, and it is historically recorded, that the bug smells -because it has no vent; but this is fabulous, for they _have_ a vent. It -is not the human blood neither that makes them smell, because a young -bug who has never touched a drop will smell. They breathe, I believe, -through their sides; but I can't answer for that, though it's not -through the head. They haven't got a mouth, but they insert into the -skin the point of a tube, which is quite as fine as a hair, through -which they draw up the blood. I have many a time put a bug on the back -of my hand, to see how they bite; though I never felt the bite but once, -and then I suppose the bug had pitched upon a very tender part, for it -was a sharp prick, something like that of a leech-bite. - -"I once had a case of lice-killing, for my process will answer as well -for them as for bugs, though it's a thing I never should follow by -choice. Lice seem to harbor pretty much the same as bugs do. I find them -in the furniture. It was a nurse that brought them into the house, -though she was as nice and clean a looking woman as ever I saw. I should -almost imagine the lice must have been in her, for they say there is a -disease of that kind; and if the tics breed in sheep, why should not -lice breed in us? for we're but live matter, too. I didn't like myself -at all for two or three days after that lice-killing job, I can assure -you; it's the only case of the kind I ever had, and I can promise you it -shall be the last. - -"I was once at work on the Princess Charlotte's own bedstead. I was in -the room, and she asked me if I had found anything, and I told her no; -but just at that minute I _did_ happen to catch one, and upon that she -sprang up on the bed, and put her head on my shoulder, to look at it. -She had been tormented by the creature, because I was ordered to come -directly, and that was the only one I found. When the Princess saw it, -she said, 'Oh, the nasty thing! That's what tormented me last night; -don't let him escape.' I think he looked all the better for having -tasted royal blood. - -"I also profess to kill beetles, though you never can destroy them so -effectually as you can bugs; for, you see, beetles run from one house to -another, and you can never perfectly get rid of them; you can only keep -them under. Beetles will scrape their way and make their road round a -fire-place, but how they go from one house to another I can't say, but -they _do_. - -"I never had patience enough to try and kill Fleas by my process; it -would be too much of a chivey to please me. - -"I never heard of any but one man who seriously went to work selling -bug-poison in the streets. I was told by some persons that he was -selling a first-rate thing, and I spent several days to find him out. -But, after all, his secret proved to be nothing at all. It was -train-oil, linseed and hempseed, crushed up all together, and the bugs -were to eat it till they burst. - -"After all, secrets for bug-poisons ain't worth much, for all depends -upon the application of them. For instance, it is often the case that I -am sent for to find out one bug in a room large enough for a school. -I've discovered it when the creature had been three or four months -there, as I could tell by his having changed his jacket so often, for -bugs shed their skins, you know. No, there was no reason that he should -have bred; it might have been a single gentleman or an old maid. - -"A married couple of bugs will lay from forty to fifty eggs at one -laying. The eggs are oval, and are each as large as the thirty-second -part of an inch; and when together are in the shape of a caraway comfit, -and of a bluish-white color. They'll lay this quantity of eggs three -times in a season. The young ones are hatched direct from the egg, and, -like young partridges, will often carry the broken eggs about with -them, clinging to their back. They get their fore-quarters out, and then -they run about before the other legs are completely cleared. - -"As soon as the bugs are born they are of a cream color, and will take -to blood directly; indeed, if they don't get it in two or three days, -they die; but after one feed they will live a considerable time without -a second meal. I have known old bugs to be frozen over in a -horse-pond--when the furniture had been thrown in the water--and there -they have remained for a good three weeks; still, after they have got a -little bit warm in the sun's rays, they have returned to life again. - -"I myself kept bugs for five years and a half without food, and a -housekeeper at Lord H----'s informed me that an old bedstead that I was -then moving from a store-room was taken down forty-five years ago, and -had not been used since, but the bugs in it were still numerous, though -as thin as living skeletons. They couldn't have lived upon the sap of -the wood, it being worm-eaten and dry as a bone. A bug will live for a -number of years, and we find that when bugs are put away in old -furniture without food, they don't increase in number; so that, -according to my belief, the bugs I just mentioned must have existed -forty-five years: besides, they were large ones, and very dark colored, -which is another proof of age. - -"It is a dangerous thing for bugs when they are shedding their skins, -which they do about four times in the course of a year; when they throw -off their hard shell and have a soft coat, so that the least touch will -kill them; whereas at other times they will take a strong pressure. I -have plenty of bug-skins, which I keep by me as curiosities, of all -sizes and colors, and sometimes I have found the young bugs collected -inside the old ones' skins for warmth, as if they had put on their -father's great-coat. There are white bugs--albinoes you may call -'em--freaks of nature like."[925] - - -Notonectidæ--Water-boatmen. - -Humboldt mentions that he saw insects' eggs sold in the markets of -Mexico, which were collected on the surface of lakes. Under the name of -_Axayacat_, these eggs, or those of some other species of fly, deposited -on rush mats, are sold as a caviare in Mexico. Rev. Thomas Smith, who -makes the same statement, also says the Mexicans likewise eat the flies -themselves, ground and made up with saltpetre. Something similar to -these eggs, found in the pools of the desert of Fezzan, serves the Arabs -for food, having the taste of caviare. - -In the Bulletin de la Société Impériale Zoologique d'Acclimation, M. -Guerin Méneville has published a paper on a sort of bread which the -Mexicans make of the eggs of three species of heteropterous insects. - -According to M. Craveri, by whom some of the Mexican bread, and of the -insects yielding it, were brought to Europe, these insects and their -eggs are very common in the fresh waters of the lagunes of Mexico. The -natives cultivate, in the lagune of Chalco, a sort of carex called -touté, on which the insects readily deposit their eggs. Numerous bundles -of these plants are made, which are taken to a lagune, the Texcuco, -where they float in great numbers in the water. The insects soon come -and deposit their eggs on the plants, and in about a month the bundles -are removed from the water, dried, and then beaten over a large cloth to -separate the myriad of eggs with which the insects have covered them. -These eggs are then cleaned and sifted, put into sacks like flour, and -sold to the people for making a sort of cake or biscuit called "hautlé," -which forms a tolerably good food, but has a fishy taste, and is -slightly acid. The bundles of carex are replaced in the lake, and afford -a fresh supply of eggs, which process may be repeated for an indefinite -number of times. - -It appears that these insects have been used from an early period, for -Thomas Gage, a religionist, who sailed to Mexico in 1625, says, in -speaking of articles sold in the markets, that they had cakes made of a -sort of scum collected from the lakes of Mexico, and that this was also -sold in other towns. - -Brantz Mayer, in his Mexico as it was and as it is, 1844, says: "On the -lake of Texcuco I saw men occupied in collecting the eggs of flies from -the surface of plants, and cloths arranged in long rows as places of -resort for the insects. These eggs, called _agayacath_, formed a -favorite food of the Indians long before the conquest; and when made -into cakes, resemble the roe of fish, having a similar taste and -appearance. After the use of frogs in France, and birds'-nests in China, -I think these eggs may be considered a delicacy, and I found that they -are not rejected from the tables of the fashionable inhabitants of the -capital." - -The more recent observations of MM. Saussure, Sallé, Virlet d'Aoust, -etc. have confirmed the facts already stated, at least in the most -essential particulars. - -"The insects which principally produce this animal farinha of Mexico," -says a writer in the Journal de Pharmacie, "are two species of the genus -_Corixa_ of Geoffroy, hemipterous (heteropterous) insects of the family -of water-bugs. One of the species has been described by M. Guerin -Méneville as new, and has been named by him _Corixa femorata_: the -other, identified in 1831 by Thomas Say as one of those sold in the -market at Mexico, bears the name of _Corixa mercenaria_. The eggs of -these two species are attached in innumerable quantities to the -triangular leaves of the carex forming the bundles which are deposited -in the waters. They are of an oval form with a protuberance at one end -and a pedicle at the other extremity, by means of which they are fixed -to a small round disk, which the mother cements to the leaf. Among these -eggs, which are grouped closely together, there are found others, which -are larger, of a long and cylindrical form, and which are fixed to the -same leaves. These belong to another larger insect, a species of -_Notonecta_, which M. Guerin Méneville has named _Notonecta -unifasciata_." - -It appears from M. Virlet d'Aoust, that in October the lakes of Chalco -and Texcuco, which border on the City of Mexico, are haunted by millions -of "small flies," which, after dancing in the air, plunge down into the -water, to the depth of several feet, and deposit their eggs at the -bottom. - -"The eggs of these insects are called hautle (haoutle) by the Mexican -Indians, who collect them in great numbers, and with whom they appear to -be a favorite article of food. They are prepared in various ways, but -usually made into cakes, which are eaten with a sauce flavored with -chillies."[926] - -Rev. Thomas Smith enumerates the following insects as eaten by the -ancient Mexicans: The _Atelepitz_, "a marsh beetle, resembling in shape -and size the flying beetles, having four (?) feet, and covered with a -hard shell." The _Atopinan_, "a marsh grasshopper of a dark color and -great size, being no less than six inches long and two broad."(!) The -_Ahuihuitla_, "a worm which inhabits the Mexican lakes, four inches -long, and of the thickness of a goose quill, of a tawny color on the -upper part of the body, and white upon the under part; it stings with -its tail, which is hard and poisonous." And the _Ocuiliztac_, "a black -marsh worm, which becomes white on being roasted."[927] - - - - -ORDER IX. - -DIPTERA. - - -Culicidæ--Gnats.[928] - -Concerning the generation of Gnats, Moufet says: "Countrey people -suppose them, and that not improbably, to be procreated from some -corrupt moisture of the earth."[929] - -A battle of Gnats (probably an appearance of Ephemera) is recorded in -Stow's Chronicles of England, p. 509, to have been fought in the reign -of King Richard II.: "A fighting among Gnats at the King's maner of -_Shine_, where they were so thicke gathered, that the aire was darkened -with them: they fought and made a great battaile. Two partes of them -being slayne, fel downe to the grounde; the thirde parte hauing got the -victorie, flew away, no man knew whither. The number of the deade was -such that they might be swept uppe with besomes, and bushels filled -weyth them."[930] - -In the year 1736 the Gnats, _Culex pipiens_, were so numerous in -England, that, as it is recorded, vast columns of them were seen to rise -in the air from the steeple of the cathedral at Salisbury, which, at a -little distance resembling columns of smoke, occasioned many people to -think the edifice was on fire.[931] At Sagan, in Silesia, in July, 1812, -a similar occurrence gave rise in like manner to an alarm that the -church was on fire.[932] In May of the following year at Norwich, at -about six o'clock in the evening, the inhabitants of that city were -alarmed by the appearance of smoke issuing from the upper window of the -spire of the cathedral, for which at the time no satisfactory account -could be given, but which was most probably produced by the same -cause.[933] And in the year 1766, in the month of August, they appeared -in such incredible numbers at Oxford as to resemble a black cloud, -darkening the air and almost intercepting the rays of the sun. Mr. John -Swinton mentions, that in the evening of the 20th, about half an hour -before sunset, he was in the garden of Wadham College, when he saw six -columns of these insects ascending from the tops of six boughs of an -apple-tree, two in a perpendicular, three in an oblique direction, and -one in a pyramidal form, to the height of fifty or sixty feet. Their -bite was so envenomed, that it was attended by violent and alarming -inflammation; and one when killed usually contained as much blood as -would cover three or four square inches of wall.[934] A similar column, -of two or three feet in diameter and about twenty feet in height, was -seen at eight o'clock in the evening of Sunday, July 14th, 1833, in -Kensington Gardens. The upper portion of the column being curved to the -east, the whole resembled the letter J inverted. The Gnats in every part -of the column were in the liveliest motion.[935] The author of the -"Faerie Queene" seems to have witnessed the like curious phenomenon, -which furnished him with the following beautiful simile: - - As when a swarme of gnats at eventide - Out of the fennes of Allan doe arise, - Their murmuring small trumpets sownden wide, - Whiles in the air their clust'ring army flies, - That as a cloud doth seem to dim the skies; - Ne man nor beast may rest or take repast, - For their sharp wounds and noyous injuries, - Till the fierce northern wind with blust'ring blast - Doth blow them quite away, and in the ocean cast. - -Ligon, in his History of Barbados, makes the following curious -observation relative to a species of insects which he calls "Flyes," but -which are more probably Gnats or Mosquitoes: "There is not only a race -of all these kinds, that go in a generation, but upon new occasions, new -kinds; as, after a great downfall of rain, when the ground has been -extremely moistened, and softened with the water, I have walk'd out upon -a dry walk (which I made my self) in an evening, and there came about me -an army of such Flyes, as I had never seen before, nor after; and they -rose, as I conceived, out of the earth: They were as big bodied as Bees, -but far larger wings, harm they did us none, but only lighted on us; -their colour between ash-colour and purple."[936] - -If Gnats swarm in the summer in globular masses, it is supposed to -prognosticate a storm. Moufet says: "If Gnats near sunset do play up and -down in open air, they presage heat; if in the shade, warm and milde -showers; but if they altogether sting those that passe by them, then -expect cold weather and very much rain.... If any one would finde water -either in a hill or valley, let him observe (saith Paxanus in Geoponika) -the sun rising, and where the Gnats whirle round in form of an obelisk, -underneath there is water to be found. Yea, if Apomasaris deceive us -not, dreams of Gnats do foretell news of war or a disease, and that so -much the more dangerous as it shall be apprehended to approach the more -principall parts of the body."[937] - -"On the 14th of December, 1830, at Oremburg, snow fell accompanied by a -multitude of small black Gnats, whose motions were similar to those of a -flea." This singular phenomenon was described at the session of the -Academy of St. Petersburg, held February 21st, 1831.[938] - -The pertinacity of the _Culicidæ_ frequently renders them a most -formidable pest. Humboldt tells us "that between the little harbor of -Higuerote and the mouth of the Rio Unare, the wretched inhabitants are -accustomed to stretch themselves on the ground, and pass the night -buried in the sand three or four inches deep, exposing only the head, -which they cover with a handkerchief."[939] As another proof of the -terrible state to which man is sometimes reduced by Mosquitoes, Captain -Stedman relates that in one of his dreadful marches, the clouds of them -were such, that the soldiers dug holes with their bayonets in the earth, -into which they thrust their heads, stopping the entry and covering -their necks with their hammocks, while they lay with their bellies on -the ground: to sleep in any other position was absolutely impossible. He -himself, by a negro's advice, climbed to the top of the highest tree he -could find, and there slung his hammock among the boughs, and slept -exalted nearly a hundred feet above his companions, "whom," says he, "I -could not see for the myriads of mosquitoes below me, nor even hear, -from the incessant buzzing of these troublesome insects."[940] - -"The Gnats in America," says Moufet, "do so plash and cut, that they -will pierce through very thick clothing; so that it is excellent sport -to behold how ridiculously the barbarous people, when they are bitten, -will skip and frisk, and slap with their hands their thighs, buttocks, -shoulders, arms, and sides, even as a carter doth his horses."[941] -Isaac Weld tells us that "these insects were so powerful and -bloodthirsty that they actually pierced through General Washington's -boots."[942] They probably crept within the boots, but the story is not -incredible if we believe Moufet. This naturalist says: "In Italy, near -the Po, great store and very great ones are to be seen, terrible for -biting, and venomous, piercing through a thrice-doubled stocking, and -boots likewise (_morsu crudeles et venenati, triplices caligas, imo -ocreas, item perforantes_), sometimes leaving behind them impoysoned, -hard, blue tumours, sometimes painful bladders, sometimes itching -pimples, such as Hippocrates hath observed in his Epidemics, in the body -of one Cyrus, a fuller, being frantic."[943] - -The poet Spenser, in his View of Ireland, says the Irish "goe all naked -except a mantle, which is a fit house for an outlaw--a meet bed for a -rebel--and an apt cloak for a thiefe. It coucheth him strongly against -the Gnats, which, in that country, doe more to annoy the naked rebels, -and doe more sharply wound them, than all their enemies' swords and -speares, which can seldom come nigh them." - -Stewart says that the negroes of Jamaica, who cannot afford -mosquito-nets, get into a mechanical habit of driving away these -troublesome nocturnal visitors, that even when apparently wrapt in -profound sleep, there is a continual movement of the hands.[944] - -Herodotus says: "The means devised by the Egyptians to avoid the Gnats, -which swarm in prodigious numbers, are these: Those who reside at some -elevation above the marshes, avail themselves of towers which they -ascend to sleep; for the Gnats, to avoid the winds, do not fly high. -While those who dwell on the very margins of the marshes, instead of -towers, practise another contrivance. Every man possesses a net, which, -during the day, he employs in catching fish, and which at night he uses -as his bed-chamber, where he places it over his couch, and so sleeps -within it. For if any one," he concludes, "sleeps wrapped in a cloak or -cloth, the Gnats will bite him through it; but they never attempt to -penetrate the net."[945] With regard to the conclusion of Herodotus, -that nets with meshes will effectually exclude Gnats, Tennent says he -has "been satisfied by painful experience that (if the theory be not -altogether fallacious) at least the modern mosquitoes of Ceylon are -uninfluenced by the same considerations which restrained those of the -Nile under the successors of Cambyses."[946] - -Jackson complains that after a fifty-miles journey in Africa, the Gnats -would not suffer him to rest, and that his hands and face appeared, from -their bites, as if he was infected with the small-pox in its worst -stage.[947] Dr. Clarke relates that in the neighborhood of the Crimea, -the Russian soldiers are obliged to sleep in sacks to defend themselves -from the mosquitoes; and even this, he adds, is not a sufficient -security, for several of them die in consequence of mortification -produced by these furious blood-suckers.[948] - -When we consider these circumstances, it is not incredible that the army -of Julian the Apostate should be so fiercely attacked by these insects -as to be driven back; or that the inhabitants of various cities, as -Mouffet has collected from different authors,[949] should, by an -extraordinary multiplication of this plague, have been compelled to -desert them. Also the latter part of the following story, related by -Theodoret, seems entitled to belief: When Sapor, King of Persia, says -this historian, was besieging the Roman City of Nisibis in the year 360, -James, Bishop of that city, ascended one of the towers, and "prayed that -Flies and Gnats might be sent against the Persian hosts, that so they -might learn from these small insects the great power of Him who -protected the Romans." Scarcely had the Bishop concluded his prayer, -continues Theodoret, when swarms of Flies and Gnats appeared like -clouds, so that the trunks of the elephants were filled with them, as -also were the ears and nostrils of the horses and of the other beasts of -burden; and that, not being able to get rid of these insects, the -elephants and horses threw their riders, broke the ranks, left the army, -and fled away with the utmost speed; and this, he concludes, compelled -the Persians to raise the siege.[950] - -"As the Cossacks of the Black Sea are no agriculturists," says Jaeger, -"but derive their subsistence from their numerous herds of horses, oxen, -sheep, goats, and hogs, they suffer immensely, at times, from the -ravages of the mosquitoes. Although they are fortunately not seen every -year, these blood-suckers may be considered a real Egyptian plague among -the herds of these Cossacks; for they soon transform the most delightful -plains into a mournful, solitary desert, killing all the beasts, and -completely stripping the fields of every animated creature. One thousand -of these insatiate tormentors enter the nostrils, ears, eyes, and mouth -of the cattle, who shortly after die in convulsions, or from secondary -inflammation, or from absolute suffocation. In the small town of -Elizabethpol alone, during the month of June, thirty horses, forty -foals, seventy oxen, ninety calves, a hundred and fifty hogs, and four -hundred sheep were killed by these flies."[951] - -Ammianus Marcellinus, in his Roman History, treating of the wild beasts -in Mesopotamia, gives us the following curious zoological theory on the -destruction of lions by mosquitoes: - -"The lions wander in countless droves among the beds of rushes on the -banks of the rivers of Mesopotamia, and in the jungles, and lie quiet -all the winter, which is very mild in that country. But when the warm -weather returns, as these regions are exposed to great heat, they are -forced out by the vapours, and by the size of the Gnats, with swarms of -which every part of that country is filled. And these winged insects -attack the eyes, as being both moist and sparkling, sitting on and -biting the eyelids; the lions, unable to bear the torture, are either -drowned in the rivers, to which they flee for refuge, or else, by -frequent scratchings, tear their eyes out themselves with their claws, -and then become mad. And if this did not happen, the whole of the East -would be overrun with beasts of this kind."[952] - -I have never heard of mosquitoes being turned to any good account save -in California; and there, it seems, according to Rev. Walter Colton, -they are sometimes made the ministers of justice. A rogue had stolen a -bag of gold from a digger in the mines, and hid it. Neither threats nor -persuasions could induce him to reveal the place of its concealment. He -was at last sentenced to a hundred lashes, and then informed that he -would be let off with thirty, provided he would tell what he had done -with the gold; but he refused. The thirty lashes were administered, but -he was still stubborn as a mule. He was then stripped naked, and tied to -a tree. The mosquitoes with their long bills went at him, and in less -than three hours he was covered with blood. Writhing and trembling from -head to foot with exquisite torture, he exclaimed, "Untie me, untie me, -and I will tell where it is." "Tell first," was the reply. So he told -where it might be found. Then some of the party with wisps kept off the -still hungry mosquitoes, while others went where the culprit directed, -and recovered the bag of gold. He was then untied, washed with cold -water, and helped to his clothes, while he muttered, as if talking to -himself, "I couldn't stand that anyhow."[953] - -The largest kind of mosquito in the valley of the lower Mississippi is -called the "Gallinipper." It is peculiarly described, by the boatmen, to -be as large as a goose, and that it flies about at night with a brickbat -under its wings with which it sharpens its "sting." - -They tell a good story to show the superiority of the Gallinipper, over -the ordinary Mosquito, in this wise. Some fellow made a bet that, for a -certain length of time, he could stand the stings of the mosquitoes -inflicted upon his bare back while he lay on his face. He stripped -himself for the ordeal, and was bearing it manfully, when some -mischievous spectator threw a live coal of fire on him. He winced, and, -looking up by way of protest, exclaimed, "I bar (debar) the -Gallinipper." - -The Culicidæ, say Kirby and Spence, like other conquerors who have been -the torment of the human race, have attained to fame, and have given -their names to bays, towns, and even to considerable territories; and -instance Mosquito Bay in St. Christopher's; Mosquito, a town in the -Island of Cuba; and the Mosquito Shore of Central America.[954] - -Democritus says: "Horse-hair, stretched through the door, and through -the middle of the house, destroys Gnats."[955] - -St. Macarius, Alban Butler says, was a confectioner of Alexandria, who, -in the flower of his age, spent upwards of sixty years in the deserts in -labor, penance, and contemplation. "Our Saint," continues Butler, -"happened one day to inadvertently kill a Gnat that was biting him in -his cell; reflecting that he had lost the opportunity of suffering that -mortification, he hastened from the cell for the marshes of Scete, which -abound with great flies, whose stings pierce even wild boars. There he -continued six months, exposed to those ravaging insects; and to such a -degree was his whole body disfigured by them with sores and swellings, -that when he returned he was only to be known by his voice."[956] - -In the old English translation of the Bible, the observation of our -Saviour to the Pharisees, "Ye blind guides, which strain _at_ a Gnat, -and swallow a camel," is rendered "which strain _out_ a Gnat," and -Bishop Pearce observes that this is conformable to the sense of the -passage. An allusion is made to the custom which prevailed in Oriental -countries of passing their wine and other liquors through a strainer, -that no Gnats or flies might get into the cup. In the Fragments to -Calmet, we are informed that there is a modern Arabic proverb to this -effect, "He swallowed an elephant, but was strangled by a fly."[957] - - -Tipulidæ--Crane-flies. - -The larvæ of a species of Agaric-Gnat (_Mycetophila_) live in society, -and emigrate in files in a very soldier-like manner. First goes one, -next follow two, then three, etc., so as to exhibit a singular -serpentine appearance. The common people of Germany call this file -_heerwurm_, and, it is said, view them with great dread, regarding them -as ominous of war.[958] - -Maupertuis, in describing his ascent to Mount Pulinga, in Lapland, says: -"They had to fell a whole wood of large trees, and the Flies (most -probably _Tipulidæ_) attack'd 'em with that fury, that the very -soldiers, tho' harden'd to the greatest fatigues, were obliged to rap up -their faces, or cover them with tar. These insects poison'd their -victuals, for no sooner was a dish serv'd, but it was quite covered with -them."[959] Maupertuis, in another place, says: "These Flies make -Lapland less tolerable in the summer than the cold does in the -winter."[960] The severity with which the Tipulidæ torment the -Laplanders is attested also by Acerby,[961] Linnæus,[962] De Geer,[963] -and Reaumur.[964] - - -Muscidæ--Flies. - -Among the instances recorded of Flies appearing in immense numbers, the -following are the most remarkable: - -"When the Creole frigate was lying in the outer roads of Buenos Ayres, -in 1819, at a distance of six miles from the land, her decks and rigging -were suddenly covered with thousands of Flies and grains of sand. The -sides of the vessel had just received a fresh coat of paint, to which -the insects adhered in such numbers as to spot and disfigure the vessel, -and to render it necessary partially to renew the paint. Capt. W. H. -Smyth was obliged to repaint his vessel, the Adventure, in the -Mediterranean, from the same cause. He was on his way from Malta to -Tripoli, when a southern wind blowing from the coast of Africa, then one -hundred miles distant, drove such myriads of Flies upon the fresh paint -that not the smallest point was left unoccupied by the insects."[965] - -"In May, 1699, at Kerton," records Mrs. Thoresby, p. 15, "in -Lincolnshire, the sky seemed to darken north-westward at a little -distance from the town, as though it had been a shower of hailstones or -snow; but when it came near the town, it appeared to be a prodigious -swarm of Flies, which went with such a force toward the south-east that -persons were forced to turn their backs of them."[966] - -On the morning of the 17th of September, 1831, a small dipterous insect, -belonging to Meigen's genus _Chlorops_, and nearly allied to, if not -identical with, his _C. læta_, appeared suddenly, and in such immense -quantities, in one of the upper rooms of the Provost's Lodge, in King's -College, Cambridge, that the greater part of the ceiling toward the -window of the room was so thickly covered as not to be visible. They -entered by a window looking due north, while the wind was blowing -steadily N. N. W. So it appears they came from the direction of the -River Cam, or rather came with its current.[967] - -In the summer of 1834, which season was remarkable in England for its -swarms and shoals of insects, the air was constantly filled, says a -writer in The Mirror, with millions of small delicate Flies, and the sea -in many places, particularly on the Norfolk coasts, was perfectly -blackened by the amazing shoals. The length of these masses was not -determined; but they were, it is asserted, at least a league broad. It -is said the oldest fishermen of those seas never remembered having seen -or heard of such a phenomenon.[968] - -Capt. Dampier calls the natives of New Holland the "poor winking people -of New Holland," and concludes his description of them with the -following observations: "Their eyelids are always half closed, to keep -the Flies out of their eyes, they being so troublesome here that no -fanning will keep them from coming to one's face; and without the -assistance of both hands to keep them off they will creep into one's -nostrils, and mouth, too, if the lips are not shut very close. So that -from their infancy, being thus annoyed with these insects, they do never -open their eyes as other people, and therefore they cannot see far, -unless they hold up their heads, as if they were looking at something -over them."[969] - -In a house at Zaffraan-craal, Dr. Sparrman suffered so much from the -common House-fly, _Musca domestica_, which, in the south of Africa, -frequently appears in such prodigious numbers as to cover almost -entirely the walls and ceilings, that, as he asserts, it was impossible -for him to keep within doors for any length of time. To get rid of these -troublesome pests, the natives resort to a very ingenious contrivance. -It is thus related by the above-mentioned traveler: "Bunches of herbs -are hung up all over the ceiling, on which the Flies settle in great -numbers; a person then takes a linen net or bag, of a considerable -depth, fixed to a long handle, and, inclosing in it every bunch, shakes -it about, so that the Flies fall down to the bottom of the bag: when, -after several applications of it in this manner, they are killed by a -pint or a quart at a time, by dipping the bag into scalding hot -water."[970] - -Rhasis, Avicen, and Albertus say: "Bury the tail of a wolf in the house, -and the Flies will not come into it."[971] - -Berytius says: "Flies will never rest on dumb animals if they are -rubbed with the fat of a lion."[972] - -Pliny says: "At Rome yee shall not have a Flie or dog that will enter -into the chappell of Hercules standing in the beast market."[973] - -Plutarch, in the Eighth Book of his Symposiaques, learnedly discourses -upon the tamableness of the Fly. His opinion is that it cannot be -tamed.[974] - -Moufet, in his Theater of Insects, says: "Many ways doth nature also by -Flies play with the fancies of men in dreams, if we may credit -Apomasaris in his Apotelesms. For the Indians, Persians, and Ægyptians -do teach, that if Flies appear to us in our sleep, it doth signifie an -herauld at arms, or an approaching disease. If a general of an army, or -a chief commander, dream that at such or such a place he should see a -great company of Flies, in that very place, wherever it shall be, there -he shall be in anguish and grief for his soldiers that are slain, his -army routed, and the victory lost. If a mean or ordinary man dream the -like, he shall fall into a violent fever, which likely may cost him his -life. If a man dream in his sleep that Flies went into his mouth or -nostrils, he is to expect with great sorrow and grief imminent -destruction from his enemies."[975] - -In an English North country chap-book, entitled the Royal Dream-book, we -find: "To dream of Flies or other vermin, denotes enemies of all -sorts."[976] - -"When we see," says Hollingshed, "a great number of Flies in a yeare, we -naturallie iudge it like to be a great plague."[977] - -Among the deep-sea fishermen of Greenock (Scotland), there is a most -comical idea that if a Fly falls into a glass from which any one has -been drinking, or is about to drink, it is considered a sure omen of -good luck to the drinker, and is always noticed as such by the -company.[978] Has this any connection with our saying of "taking a -glass with a _fly_ in it?" - -If Flies die in great numbers in a house, it is believed by the common -people to be a sure sign of death to some one in the family occupying -it; if throughout the country, an omen of general pestilence. It is -positively asserted that Flies always die before the breaking out of the -cholera, and believed that they die of this disease. - -Moufet, in his Theater of Insects, says: "When the Flies bite harder -than ordinary, making at the face and eyes of men, they foretell rain or -wet weather, from whence Politian hath it: - - Thirsty for blood the Fly returns, - And with his sting the skin he burns. - -Perhaps before rain they are most hungry, and therefore, to asswage -their hunger, do more diligently seek after their food. This also is to -be observed, that a little before a showre or a storme comes, the Flies -descend from the upper region of the air to the lowest, and do fly, as -it were, on the very surface of the earth. Moreover, if you see them -very busie about sweet-meats or unguents, you may know that it will -presently be a showre. But if they be in all places many and numerous, -and shall so continue long (if Alexander Benedict and Johannes -Damascenus say true), they foretell a plague or pestilence, because so -many of them could not be bred of a little putrefaction of the -air."[979] Elsewhere Moufet states: "Neither are Flies begotten of dung -only, but of any other filthy matter putrefied by heat in the summer -time, and after the same way spoken of before, as Grapaldus and -Lonicerus have very well noted."[980] - -Willsford, in his Nature's Secrets, p. 135, says: "Flies in the spring -or summer season, if they grow busier or blinder than at other times, or -that they are observed to shroud themselves in warm places, expect then -quickly to follow either hail, cold storms of rain, or very much wet -weather; and if these little creatures are noted early in autumn to -repair into their winter quarters, it presages frosty mornings, cold -storms, with the approach of hoary winter. Atomes of Flies swarming -together, and sporting themselves in the sunbeams, is a good omen of -fair weather."[981] - -In Gayton's Pleasant Notes upon Don Quixot, 1654, p. 99, speaking of -Sancho Panza's having converted a cassock into a wallet, our pleasant -annotator observes: "It was serviceable, after this greasie use, for -nothing but to preach at a carnivale or Shrove Tuesday, and to tosse -Pancakes in after the exercise; or else, if it could have been -conveighed thither, nothing more proper for a man that preaches the -Cook's sermon at Oxford, when that plump society rides upon their -governour's horses to fetch in the Enemie, the Flie." That there was -such a custom at Oxford, let Peshall, in his history of that city, be a -voucher, who, speaking of St. Bartholomew's Hospital, p. 280, says: "To -this Hospital cooks from Oxford flocked, bringing in on Whitsun-week the -Fly." Aubrey saw this ceremony performed in 1642. He adds: "On -Michaelmas-day, they rode thither again to carry the Fly away."[982] - -Plutarch, in his disquisition on the Art of Discerning a Flatterer from -a Friend, makes the following curious comparison: "The Gad-Flie (as they -say) which useth to plague bulles and oxen, setteth about their eares, -and so doth the tick deal by dogges: after the same manner, flatterers -take hold of ambitious mens eares, and possesse them with praises; and -being once set fast there, hardly are they to be removed and chased -away."[983] - -Plautus twice compares envious and inquisitive persons to Flies.[984] - -In a narrative of unheard-of Popish cruelties toward Protestants beyond -Seas, printed in 1680, we find the insinuating detectives of the Spanish -Inquisition under the name of Flies.[985] - -Flies are mentioned somewhere in Lyndwood as the emblem of unclean -thoughts.[986] - -Flies were driven away when a woman was in labor, for fear she should -bring forth a daughter.[987] - -Flies are found represented in the pottery of the ancient -Egyptians.[988] - -Flies (_Cuspi_) were sacrificed to the Sun by the ancient -Peruvians.[989] - -"To let a Flee (Fly) stick i' the wa'" is, in Scotland, not to speak on -some particular topic, to pass it over without remark.[990] - -"Certes, a strange thing it is of these Flies," says Pliny, "which are -taken to be as senselesse and witlesse creatures, yea, and of as little -capacity and understanding as any other whatsoever: and yet at the -solemne games and plaies holden every fifth yeare at Olympia, no sooner -is the bull sacrificed there to the Idoll or god of the Flies called -Myiodes, but a man shall see (a wonderful thing to tell) infinit -thousand of flies depart out of that territorie by flights, as it were -thick clouds."[991] - -This Myiodes or Maagrus, the "Fly-catcher," was the name of a hero, -invoked at Aliphera, at the festivals of Athena, as the protector -against Flies. It was also a surname of Hercules. - -The following rendering of the second verse of the first chapter of the -Second Book of Kings, by Josephus, contains an allusion to the worship -of Baalzebub under the form of a Fly: "Now it happened that _Ahaziah_, -as he was coming down from the top of his house, fell down from it, and -in his sickness sent to the _Fly_ (Baalzebub), which was the god of -_Ekron_, for that was this god's name, to enquire about his -recovery."[992] - -With reference to this worship, we read in Purchas's Pilgrims: "At -Accaron was worshipped _Baalzebub_, that is, the Lord of the Flies, -either of contempt of his idolatrie, so called; or rather of the -multitude of Flies, which attended the multitude of his sacrifices, when -from the sacrifices at the Temple of Jerusalem, as some say, they were -wholly free: or for that hee was their Larder-god (as the Roman -_Hercules_) to drive away flies: or for that from a forme of a Flie, in -which he was worshipped.... But for Beelzebub, he was their _Æsculapius_ -or Physicke god, as appeareth by Ahaziah who sent to consult with him in -his sickness. And perhaps from this cause the blaspheming Pharisies, -rather applyed the name of this then any other Idoll to our blessed -Saviour (Math. x. 25) whom they saw indeed to performe miraculous cures, -which superstition had conceived of _Baalzebub_: and if any thing were -done by that Idoll, it could by no other cause bee effected but by the -Devill, as tending (like the popish miracles) to the confirmation of -Idolatrie."[993] - -This god of the Flies was so called, thinks Whiston, as was Jove among -the Greeks, from his supposed power over Flies, in driving them away -from the flesh of their sacrifices, which otherwise would have been very -troublesome to them.[994] - -It has been conjectured that the Fly, under which Baalzebub was -represented, was the Tumble-bug, _Scarabæus pilluarius_; in which -case, says Dr. Smith, Baalzebub and Beelzebub might be used -indifferently.[995] - -"Urspergensis saith that the Devil did very frequently appear in the -form of a Fly; whence it was that some of the heathens called their -familiar spirit _Musca_ or Fly: perchance alluding to that of Plautus: - - Hic pol musca est, mi pater, - Sive profanum, sive publicum, nil clam illum haberi potest: - Quin adsit ibi illico, et rem omnem tenet.-- - -This man, O my father, is a Fly, nothing can be concealed from him, be -it secret or publick, he is presently there, and knowes all the -matter."[996] - -Loke, the deceiver of the gods, is fabled in the Northern Mythology, to -have metamorphosed himself into a Fly: and demons, in the shape of -Flies, were kept imprisoned by the Finlanders, to be let loose on men -and beasts.[997] - -In Scotland, a tutelary Fly, believed immortal, presided over a fountain -in the county of Banff: and here also a large blue Fly, resting on the -bark of trees, was distinguished as a witch.[998] - -Among the games and plays of the ancient Greeks was the #Chalkê Myia#, -or Brazen Fly:--a variety of blind-man's-buff, in which a boy having his -eyes bound with a fillet, went groping round, calling out, "I am seeking -the Brazen Fly." His companions replied, "You may seek, but you will not -find it"--at the same time striking him with cords made of the inner -bark of the papyros; and thus they proceeded till one of them was -taken.[999] - -This is most probably an allusion to some species of Fly of a bronze -color which is most difficult to catch, as, for instance, the little fly -found in summer beneath arbors, apparently standing motionless in the -air. - -Petrus Ramus tells us of an iron Fly, made by Regiomontanus, a famous -mathematician of Nuremberg, which, at a feast, to which he had invited -his familiar friends, flew forth from his hand, and taking a round, -returned to his hand again, to the great astonishment of the beholders. -Du Bartas thus expresses this: - - Once as this artist, more with mirth than meat, - Feasted some friends whom he esteemed great, - Forth from his hand an iron Fly flew out; - Which having flown a perfect round-about, - With weary wings return'd unto her master: - And as judicious on his arm he plac'd her. - O! wit divine, that in the narrow womb - Of a small fly, could find sufficient room - For all those springs, wheels, counterpoise and chains, - Which stood instead of life, and blood, and veins![1000] - -We find also in a work bearing the title "Apologie pour les Grands -Homines Accusés de Magie," that "Jean de Montroyal presented to the -Emperor Charles V. an iron Fly, which made a solemn circuit round its -inventor's head, and then reposed from its fatigue on his -arm."--Probably the same automaton, since Regiomontanus and Montroyal -are the same. - -Such a Fly as the above is rather extraordinary, yet I have something -better to tell--still about a Fly. - -Gervais, Chancellor to the Emperor Otho III., in his book entitled "Otia -Imperatoris," informs us that "the sage Virgilius, Bishop of Naples, -made a brass Fly, which he placed on one of the city gates, and that -this mechanical Fly, trained like a shepherd's dog, prevented any other -fly entering Naples; so much so, that during eight years the meat -exposed for sale in the market was never once tainted!"[1001] - -"Varro affirmeth," says Pliny, "that the heads of Flies applied fresh to -the bald place, is a convenient medicine for the said infirmity and -defect. Some use in this case the bloud of flies: others mingle their -ashes with the ashes of paper used in old time, or els of nuts; with -this proportion, that there be a third part only of the ashes of flies -to the rest, and herewith for ten days together rubb the bare places -where the hair is gone. Some there be againe, who temper and incorporat -togither the said ashes of Flies with the juice of colewort and -brest-milke: others take nothing thereto but honey."[1002] - -Mucianus, who was thrice consul, carried about him a living Fly, says -Pliny, wrapped in a piece of white linen, and strongly asserted that to -the use of this expedient he owed his preservation from -ophthalmia.[1003] - -Ferdinand Mendez Pinto says: "In our travels with the ambassador of the -King of Bramaa to the Calaminham, we saw in a grot men of a sect of one -of their Saints, named Angemacur: these lived in deep holes, made in the -mider of the rock, according to the rule of their wretched order, eating -nothing but Flies, Ants, Scorpions, and Spiders, with the juice of a -certain herb, much like to sorrel."[1004] - -Says Moufet, in his Theater of Insects: "Plutarch, in his Artaxerxes, -relates that it was a law amongst a certain people, that whosoever -should be so bold as to laugh at and deride their lawes and -constitutions of state, was bound for twenty daies together in an open -chest naked, all besmeared with honey and milk, and so became a prey to -the Flies and Bees, afterward when the days were expired he was put into -a woman's habit and thrown headlong down a mountain.... Of which kinde -of punishment also Suidas makes mention in his Epicurus. There was -likewise for greater offenders, a punishment of Boats, so called. For -that he that was convict of high treason, was clapt between two boats, -with his head, hands, and feet hanging out: for his drink he had milk -and honey powred down his throat, with which also his head and hands -were sprinkled, then being set against the sun, he drew to him abundance -of stinging Flies, and within being full of their worms, he putrefied by -little and little, and so died. Which kinde of examples of severity as -the ancients shewed to the guilty and criminous offenders; so on the -other side the Spaniards in the Indies, used to drive numbers of the -innocents out of their houses, as the custome is among them, naked, all -bedawbed with honey, and expose them in open air to the biting of most -cruel Flies."[1005] - -Mr. Henry Mayhew, in that part of his interesting work on London Labor -and London Poor devoted to the London Street-folk, has given us the -narratives of several "Catch-'em-Alive" sellers--a set of poor boys who -sell prepared papers for the purpose of catching Flies. He discovered, -as he relates, a colony of these "Catch-'em-alive" boys residing in -Pheasant-court, Gray's-inn-lane. They were playing at "pitch-and-toss" -in the middle of the paved yard, and all were very willing to give him -their statements; indeed, the only difficulty he had was in making his -choice among the youths. - -"Please, sir," said one with teeth ribbed like celery, to him, "I've -been at it longer than him." - -"Please, sir, he ain't been out this year with the papers," said -another, who was hiding a handful of buttons behind his back. - -"He's been at shoe-blacking, sir; I'm the only reg'lar fly-boy," shouted -a third, eating a piece of bread as dirty as London snow. - -A big lad with a dirty face, and hair like hemp, was the first of the -"catch-'em-alive" boys who gave him his account of his trade. He was a -swarthy featured boy, with a broad nose like a negro's, and on his -temple was a big half-healed scar, which he accounted for by saying that -"he had been runned over" by a cab, though, judging from the blackness -of one eye, it seemed to Mr. Mayhew to have been the result of some -street fight. He said: - -"I'm an Irish boy, and nearly turned sixteen, and I've been silling -fly-papers for between eight and nine year. I must have begun to sill -them when they first come out. Another boy first tould me of them, and -he'd been silling them about three weeks before me. He used to buy them -of a party as lives in a back-room near Drury-lane, what buys paper and -makes the catch 'em alive for himself. When they first come out they -used to charge sixpence a dozen for 'em, but now they've got 'em to -twopence ha'penny. When I first took to silling 'em, there was a tidy -lot of boys at the business, but not so many as now, for all the boys -seem at it. In our court alone I should think there was about twenty -boys silling the things. - -"At first, when there was a good time, we used to buy three or four -gross together, but now we don't no more than half a gross. As we go -along the streets we call out different cries. Some of us says, -'Fly-papers, fly-papers, ketch 'em all alive.' Others make a kind of -song of it, singing out, 'Fly-paper, ketch 'em all alive, the nasty -flies, tormenting the baby's eyes. Who'd be fly-blow'd, by all the nasty -blue-bottles, beetles, and flies?' People likes to buy of a boy as sings -out well, 'cos it makes 'em laugh. - -"I don't think I sell so many in town as I do in the borders of the -country, about Highbury, Croydon, and Brentford. I've got some regular -customers in town about the City-prison and the Caledonian-road; and -after I've served them and the town custom begins to fall off, then I -goes to the country. We goes two of us together, and we takes about -three gross. We keep on silling before us all the way, and we comes back -the same road. Last year we sould very well in Croydon, and it was the -best place for gitting the best price for them; they'd give a penny a -piece for 'em there, for they didn't know nothing about them. I went off -one day at ten o'clock and didn't come home till two in the morning. I -sould eighteen dozen out in that d'rection the other day, and got rid of -them before I had got half-way. But flies are very scarce at Croydon -this year, and we haven't done so well. There ain't half as many flies -this summer as last. - -"Some people says the papers draws more flies than they ketches, and -that when one gets in, there's twenty others will come to see him. It's -according to the weather as the flies is about. If we have a fine day it -fetches them out, but a cold day kills more than our papers. - -"We sills the most papers to little cook-shops and sweet-meat shops. We -don't sill so many at private houses. The public-houses is pretty good -customers, 'cos the beer draws the flies. I sould nine dozen at one -house--a school--at Highgate, the other day. I sould 'em two for -three-ha' pence. That was a good hit, but then t'other days we loses. If -we can make a ha'penny each we thinks we does well. - -"Those that sills their papers at three a-penny buys them at St. -Giles's, and pays only three ha'pence a dozen for them, but they ain't -half as big and good as those we pays tuppence-ha'penny a dozen for. - -"Barnet is a good place for fly-papers; there's a good lot of flies down -there. There used to be a man at Barnet as made 'em, but I can't say if -he do now. There's another at Brentford, so it ain't much good going -that way. - -"In cold weather the papers keep pretty well, and will last for months -with just a little warming at the fire; for they tears on opening when -they are dry. You see we always carry them with the stickey sides -doubled up together like a sheet of writing-paper. In hot weather, if -you keep them folded up, they lasts very well; but if you opens them, -they dry up. It's easy opening them in hot weather, for they comes apart -as easy as peeling a horrange. We generally carries the papers in a -bundle on our arm, and we ties a paper as is loaded with flies round our -cap, just to show the people the way to ketch 'em. We get a loaded paper -given to us at a shop. - -"When the papers come out first, we use to do very well with fly-papers; -but now it's hard work to make our own money for 'em. Some days we used -to make six shillings a day regular. But then we usen't to go out every -day, but take a rest at home. If we do well one day, then we might stop -idle another day, resting. You see, we had to do our twenty or thirty -miles silling them to get that money, and then the next day we was -tired. - -"The silling of papers is gradual falling off. I could go out and sill -twenty dozen wonst where I couldn't sill one now. I think I does a very -grand day's work if I yearns a shilling. Perhaps some days I may lose by -them. You see, if it's a very hot day, the papers gets dusty; and -besides, the stuff gets melted and oozes out; though that don't do much -harm, 'cos we gets a bit of whitening and rubs 'em over. Four years ago -we might make ten shillings a day at the papers, but now, taking from -one end of the fly-season to the other, which is about three months, I -think we makes about one shilling a day out of papers, though even that -ain't quite certain. I never goes out without getting rid of mine, -somehow or another, but then I am obleeged to walk quick and look about -me. - -"When it's a bad time for silling the papers, such as a wet, could day, -then most of the fly-paper boys goes out with brushes, cleaning boots. -Most of the boys is now out hopping. They goes reg'lar every year after -the season is give over for flies. - -"The stuff as they puts on the paper is made out of boiled oil and -turpentine and resin. It's seldom as a fly lives more than five minutes -after it gets on the paper, and then it's as dead as a house. The -blue-bottles is tougher, but they don't last long, though they keeps on -fizzing as if they was trying to make a hole in the paper. The stuff is -only p'isonous for flies, though I never heard of anybody as ever eat a -fly-paper." - -A second lad, in conclusion, said: "There's lots of boys going selling -'ketch-'em-alive oh's' from Golden-lane, and White-chapel and the -Borough. There's lots, too, comes out of Gray's-inn-lane and St. -Giles's. Near every boy who has nothing to do goes out with fly-papers. -Perhaps it ain't that the flies is falled off that we don't sill so many -papers now, but because there's so many boys at it." - -A third, of the lot the most intelligent and gentle in his demeanor, -though the smallest in stature, said: - -"I've been longer at it than the last boy, though I'm only getting on -for thirteen, and he's older than I'm; 'cos I'm little and he's big, -getting a man. But I can sell them quite as well as he can, and -sometimes better, for I can holler out just as loud, and I've got -reg'lar places to go to. I was a very little fellow when I first went -out with them, but I could sell them pretty well then, sometimes three -or four dozen a day. I've got one place, in a stable, where I can sell a -dozen at a time to country people. - -"I calls out in the streets, and I goes into the shops, too, and calls -out, 'Ketch 'em alive, ketch 'em alive; ketch all the nasty -black-beetles, blue-bottles, and flies; ketch 'em from teasing the -baby's eyes.' That's what most of us boys cries out. Some boys who is -stupid only says, 'Ketch 'em alive,' but people don't buy so well from -them. - -"Up in St. Giles's there is a lot of fly-boys, but they're a bad set, -and will fling mud at gentlemen, and some prigs the gentlemen's pockets. -Sometimes, if I sell more than a big boy, he'll get mad and hit me. -He'll tell me to give him a halfpenny and he won't touch me, and that if -I don't he'll kill me. Some of the boys takes an open fly-paper, and -makes me look another way, and then they sticks the ketch-'em-alive on -my face. The stuff won't come off without soap and hot water, and it -goes black, and looks like mud. One day a boy had a broken fly-paper, -and I was taking a drink of water, and he come behind me and slapped it -up in my face. A gentleman as saw him give him a crack with a stick and -me twopence. It takes your breath away, until a man comes and takes it -off. It all sticked to my hair, and I couldn't rack (comb) right for -some time.... - -"I don't like going along with other boys, they take your customers -away; for perhaps they'll sell 'em at three a penny to 'em, and spoil -the customers for you. I won't go with the big boy you saw, 'cos he's -such a blackgeyard; when he's in the country he'll go up to a lady and -say, 'Want a fly-paper, marm?' and if she says 'No,' he'll perhaps job -his head in her face--butt at her like. - -"When there's no flies, and the ketch-'em-alive is out, then I goes -tumbling. I can turn a cat'enwheel over on one hand. I'm going to-morrow -to the country, harvesting and hopping--for, as we says, 'Go out -hopping, come in jumping.' We start at three o'clock to-morrow, and we -shall get about twelve o'clock at night at Dead Man's Barn. It was left -for poor people to sleep in, and a man was buried there in a corner. The -man had got six farms of hops; and if his son hadn't buried him there, -he wouldn't have had none of the riches. - -"The greatest number of fly-papers I've sold in a day is about eight -dozen. I never sells no more than that; I wish I could. People won't buy -'em now. When I'm at it I makes, taking one day with another, about ten -shillings a week. You see, if I sold eight dozen, I'd make four -shillings. I sell 'em at a penny each, at two for three-ha'pence, and -three for twopence. When they gets stale I sells 'em for three a penny. -I always begin by asking a penny each, and perhaps they'll say, 'Give me -two for three ha'pence?' I'll say, 'Can't, ma'am,' and then they pulls -out a purse full of money and gives a penny. - -"The police is very kind to us, and don't interfere with us. If they see -another boy hitting us they'll take off their belts and hit 'em. -Sometimes I've sold a ketch-'em-alive to a policeman; he'll fold it up -and put it into his pocket to take home with him. Perhaps he's got a -kid, and the flies teazes its eyes. - -"Some ladies like to buy fly-cages better than ketch-em-alive's, because -sometimes when they're putting 'em up they falls in their faces, and -then they screams." - -The history of the manufacture of Fly-papers was thus given to Mr. -Mayhew by a manufacturer, whom he found in a small attic-room near -Drury-lane: "The first man as was the inventor of these fly-papers kept -a barber's shop in St. Andrew-street, Seven Dials, of the name of -Greenwood or Greenfinch, I forget which. I expect he diskivered it by -accident, using varnish and stuff, for stale varnish has nearly the same -effect as our composition. He made 'em and sold 'em at first at -threepence and fourpence a piece. Then it got down to a penny. He sold -the receipt to some other parties, and then it got out through their -having to employ men to help 'em. I worked for a party as made 'em, and -then I set to work making 'em for myself, and afterwards hawking them. -They was a greater novelty then than they are now, and sold pretty well. -Then men in the streets, who had nothing to do, used to ask me where I -bought 'em, and then I used to give 'em my own address, and they'd come -and find me."[1006] - - -Oestridæ--Bot-flies. - -The larvæ of Bots, _Oestris ovis_, found in the heads of sheep and goats, -have been prescribed, and that, from the tripod of Delphos, as a remedy -for the epilepsy. We are told so on the authority of Alexander Trailien; -but whether Democritus, who consulted the oracle, was cured by this -remedy, does not appear; the story shows, however, that the ancients -were aware that these maggots made their way even into the brain of -living animals.[1007] The oracle answered Democritus as follows: - - Take a tame goat that hath the greatest head, - Or else a wilde goat in the field that's bred, - And in his forehead a great worm you'l finde, - This cures all diseases of that kinde.[1008] - -The common saying that a whimsical person is _maggoty_, or has got -_maggots in his head_, perhaps arose from the freaks the sheep have been -observed to exhibit when infested by their Bots.[1009] - -The following "charme for the Bots[1010] in a horse" is found in Scots' -Discovery of Witchcraft, printed in 1651: "You must both say and do thus -upon the diseased horse three days together, before the sun rising: _In -nomine pa{+}tris & fi{+}lii & Spiritus{+}sancti, Exorcize te vermen per -Deum pa{+}trem & fi{+}lium & Spiritum{+}sanctum_: that is, In the name -of God the father, the sonne, and the Holy Ghost, I conjure thee O worm -by God, the Father, the sonne, and the Holy Ghost; that thou neither -eate nor drink the flesh, blood, or bones of this horse; and that thou -hereby maiest be made as patient as Job, and as good as S. John Baptist, -when he baptized Christ in Jordan, _In nomine pa{+}tris & fi{+}lii et -spiritus{+}sancti_. And then say three _Pater nosters_, and three -_Aves_, in the right eare of the horse, to the glory of the holy -trinity. Do{+}minus fili{+}us spirit{+}us Mari{+}a."[1011] - -There is a popular error in England respecting the _Oestrus -(Gasterophilus) equi (hæmorrhoidalis)_, which Shakspeare has followed, -and which has been judiciously explained by Mr. Clark. Shakspeare makes -the carrier at Rochester observe: "Peas and oats are as dank here as a -dog, and that's the next way to give _poor jades the bots_."[1012] - -The larvæ of this insect, says Mr. Clark, are mostly known among the -country people by the name of _wormals_, _wormuls_, _warbles_, or, more -properly, _Bots_. And our ancestors erroneously imagined that poverty or -improper food engendered them in horses. The truth, however, seems to -be, that when the animal is kept without food the Bots are also, and are -then, without doubt, most troublesome; whence it was very naturally -supposed that poverty or bad food was the parent of them.[1013] - -A cow with its hide perforated by Warbles, in England, was said to be -elf-shot: the holes being made by the arrows of the little malignant -fairies. In the Northern Antiquities, p. 404, we find the following: - -"If at such a time you were to look through an elf-bore in wood, where a -thorter knot has been taken out, or through the hole made by an -elf-arrow (which has probably been made by a Warble) in the skin of a -beast that has been elf-shot, you may see the elf-bull naiging (butting) -with the strongest bull or ox in the herd; but you will never see with -that eye again." - -In the Scottish history of the trials of witches, we find the following: -Alexander Smaill offended Jonet Cock, who threatened him, "deare sail -yow rewe it! and within half ane howre therafter, going to the -pleugh,--befoir he had gone one about, their came ane great Wasp or Bee, -so that the foir horses did runne away with the pleugh, and wer liklie -to have killed themselves, and the said Alexander and the boy that was -with him, narrowlie escaped with their lyves."[1014] Possibly the -incident is not exaggerated, as a single Oestrus will turn the oxen of a -whole herd, and render them furious. - - * * * * * - -Spencer, in his Travels in Circassia, speaks of a poisonous Fly, known -in Hungary under the name of the Golubaeser-fly, which is singularly -destructive to cattle. The Hungarian peasants, to account for the -severity of the bite of this insect, tell us that in the caverns, near -the Castle of Golubaes, the renowned champion, St. George, killed the -dragon, and that its decomposed remains have continued to generate these -insects down to the present day. So firmly did they believe this, that -they closed up the mouths of the caverns with stone walls.[1015] - - - - -ORDER X. - -APHANIPTERA. - - -Pulicidæ--Fleas. - -The name _Pulex_, given to the Flea by the Romans, is stated by Isodorus -to have been derived from _pulvis_, dust, _quasi pulveris filius_. Our -English name _Flea_, and the German _Flock_, are evidently deduced from -the quick motions of this insect. - -As to the origin of Fleas, Moufet had a similar notion to that contained -in the word Pulex, if we adopt the etymology of Isodorus, for he says -they are produced from the dust, especially when moistened with urine, -the smallest ones springing from putrid matter. Scaliger relates that -they are produced from the moistened humors among the hairs of -dogs.[1016] Conformable to the curious notion of Moufet, Shakspeare -says: - - _2 Car._ I think this be the most villainous house in all London - road for fleas: I am stung like a tench. - - _1 Car._ Like a tench? by the mass, there is ne'er a king in - Christendom could be better bit than I have been since the first - cock. - - _2 Car._ Why, they will allow us ne'er a jorden, and then we leak in - your chimney; and your _chamber-ley breeds fleas_ like a - loach.[1017] - -"Martyr, the author of the Decads of Navigation, writes, that in -Perienna, a countrey of the Indies, the drops of sweat that fall from -their slaves' bodies will presently turn to Fleas."[1018] - -Ewlin, in his book of Travels in Turkey, has recorded a singular -tradition of the history of the Flea and its confraternity, as preserved -among a sect of Kurds, who dwelt in his time at the foot of Mount -Sindshar. "When Noah's Ark," says the legend, "sprung a leak by -striking against a rock in the vicinity of Mount Sindshar, and Noah -despaired altogether of safety, the serpent promised to help him out of -his mishap if he would engage to feed him upon human flesh after the -deluge had subsided. Noah pledged himself to do so; and the serpent -coiling himself up, drove his body into the fracture and stopped the -leak. When the pluvious element was appeased, and all were making their -way out of the ark, the serpent insisted upon the fulfillment of the -pledge he had received; but Noah, by Gabriel's advice, committed the -pledge to the flames, and scattering its ashes in the air, there arose -out of them Fleas, Flies, Lice, Bugs, and all such sort of vermin as -prey upon human blood, and after this fashion was Noah's pledge -redeemed."[1019] - -The Sandwich Islanders have the following tradition in regard to the -introduction of Fleas into their country: Many years ago a woman from -Waimea went out to a ship to see her lover, and as she was about to -return, he gave her a bottle, saying that there was very little valuable -property (_waiwai_) contained in it, but that she must not open it, on -any account, until she reached the shore. As soon as she gained the -beach, she eagerly uncorked the bottle to examine her treasure, but -nothing was to be discovered,--the Fleas hopped out, and "they have gone -on hopping and biting ever since."[1020] - -Our pigmy tormentor, _Pulex irritans_, in the opinion of some, seems to -have been regarded as an agreeable rather than a repulsive object. "Dear -Miss," said a lively old lady to a friend of Kirby and Spence (who had -the misfortune to be confined to her bed by a broken limb, and was -complaining that the Fleas tormented her), "don't you like _Fleas_? -Well, I think they are the prettiest little merry things in the -world.--I never saw a dull Flea in all my life."[1021] Dr. Townson, as -mentioned by the above writers, from the encomium which he bestows upon -these vigilant little vaulters, as supplying the place of an alarum and -driving us from the bed of sloth, should seem to have regarded them with -the same happy feelings.[1022] - -When Ray and Willughby were traveling, they found "at Venice and -Augsburg Fleas for sale, and at a small price too, decorated with steel -or silver collars around their necks, of which Willughby purchased one. -When they are kept in a box amongst wool or cloth, in a warm place, and -fed once a day, they will live a long time. When they begin to suck they -erect themselves almost perpendicularly, thrusting their sucker, which -originates in the middle of the forehead, into the skin. The itching is -not felt immediately, but a little afterwards. As soon as they are full -of blood, they begin to void a portion of it, and thus, if permitted, -they will continue for many hours sucking and voiding. After the first -itching no uneasiness is subsequently felt. Willughby's Flea lived for -three months by sucking in this manner the blood of his hand; it was at -length killed by the cold of winter."[1023] - -We read in Purchas's Pilgrims that a city of the Miantines is said to -have been dispeopled by Fleas;[1024] and Messrs. Lewis and Clarke, who -found these insects more tormenting than all the other plagues of the -Missouri country, say they sometimes here compel even the natives to -shift their quarters.[1025] - -Dr. Clarke was informed by an Arab Sheikh that "the king of the Fleas -held his court at Tiberias."[1026] - -To prevent Fleas from breeding, Pliny gives the following curious -recipe: "Since I have made mention of the cuckow," says this writer, -"there comes into my mind a strange and miraculous matter that the said -magicians report of this bird; namely, that if a man, the first time -that he heareth her to sing, presently stay his right foot in the very -place where it was when he heard her, and withal mark out the point and -just proportion of the said foot upon the ground as it stood, and then -digg up the earth under it within the said compasse, look what chamber -or roume of the house is strewed with the said mould, there will no -Fleas bread there."[1027] - -Thomas Hill, in his Naturall and Artificiall Conclusions, printed 1650, -quotes this passage from Pliny, calling it "A very easie and merry -conceit to keep off fleas from your beds or chambers."[1028] - -The Hungarian shepherds grease their linen with hogs' lard, and thus -render themselves so disgusting even to the Fleas and Lice, as to put -them effectually to flight.[1029] - -There is still shown in the Arsenal at Stockholm a diminutive piece of -ordnance, four or five inches in length, with which, report says, on the -authority of Linnæus, the celebrated Queen Christiana used to cannonade -Fleas.[1030] - -But, seriously, if you wish for an effectual remedy, that prescribed by -old Tusser, in his Points of Goode Husbandry, in the following lines, -will answer your purpose: - - While wormwood hath seed, get a handfull or twaine, - To save against March, to make flea to refraine: - Where chamber is sweeped and wormwood is strown, - No flea for his life dare abide to be known. - -The inhabitants of Dalecarlia place the skins of hares in their -apartments, in which the Fleas willingly take refuge, so that they are -easily destroyed by the immersion of the skin in scalding water.[1031] - -Pamphilius among others gives the following remedies against Fleas: If a -person, he says, sets a dish in the middle of the house, and draws a -line around it with an iron sword (it will be better if the sword has -done execution), and if he sprinkles the rest of the house, excepting -the place circumscribed, with an irrigation of staphisagria, or of -powdered leaves of the bay-tree, they having been boiled in brine or in -sea-water, he will bring all the Fleas together into the dish. A jar -also being set in the ground with its edge even with the pavement, and -smeared with bulls' fat, will attract all the Fleas, even those that are -in the wardrobe. If you enter a place where there are Fleas, express the -usual exclamation of distress, and they will not touch you. Make a small -trench under a bed, and pour goats' blood into it, and it will bring all -the Fleas together, and it will allure those from your clothing. Fleas -may be removed also, concludes this writer, from the most villous and -from the thickest pieces of tapestry, whither, they betake themselves -when full, if goats' blood is set in a vessel or in a cork.[1032] - -Moufet says: "A Gloeworm, set in the middle of the house, drives away -Fleas."[1033] - -On the subject of destroying Fleas, the following pleasant piece of -satire, by Poor Humphrey, will be read with a smile: "A notable -projector became notable by one project only, which was a certain -specific for the killing of fleas, and it was in form of a powder, and -sold in papers, with plain directions for use, as followeth: The flea -was to be held conveniently between the thumb and finger of the left -hand; and to the end of the trunk or proboscis, which protrudeth in the -flea, somewhat as the elephant's doth, a very small quantity of the -powder was to be put from between the thumb and finger of the right -hand. And the deviser undertook, if any flea to whom his powder was so -administered should prove to have afterwards bitten a purchaser who used -it, then that purchaser should have another paper of the said powder -gratis. And it chanced that the first paper thereof was bought idly, as -it were, by an old woman, and she, without meaning to injure the -inventor, or his remedy, but, of her mere harmlessness, did innocently -ask him, whether, when she had caught the flea, and after she had got -it, as before described, if she should kill it with her nail it would -not be as well. Whereupon the ingenious inventor was so astonished by -the question, that, not knowing what to answer on the sudden occasion, -he said with truth to this effect, that without doubt her way would do, -too. And according to the belief of Poor Humphrey, there is not as yet -any device more certain or better for destroying a flea, when thou hast -captured him, than the ancient manner of the old woman's, or instead -thereof, the drowning of him in fair water, if thou hast it by thee at -the time."[1034] - -The old English hunters report that foxes are full of Fleas, and they -tell the following queer story how they get rid of them: "The fox," say -they, as recorded by Mouffet, "gathers some handfuls of wool from -thorns and briars, and wrapping it up, he holds it fast in his mouth, -then goes by degrees into a cold river, and dipping himself close by -little and little, when he finds that all the Fleas are crept so high as -his head for fear of drowning, and so for shelter crept into the wool, -he barks and spits out the wool, full of Fleas, and so very froliquely -being delivered from their molestation, he swims to land."[1035] - -Ramsay thus alludes to this story: - - Then sure the lasses, and ilk gaping coof, - Wad rin about him, and had out their loof. - _M._ As fast as fleas skip to the tale of woo, - Whilk slee Tod Lowrie (the fox) hads without his mow, - When he to drown them, and his hips to cool, - In summer days slides backward in a pool.[1036] - -Preceding this story, Mouffet makes the following observations: "The -lesser, leaner, and younger they are, the sharper they bite, the fat -ones being more inclined to tickle and play; and then are not the least -plague, especially when in greater numbers, since they molest men that -are sleeping, and trouble wearied and sick persons; from whom they -escape by skipping; for as soon as they find they are arraigned to die, -and feel the finger coming, on a sudden they are gone, and leap here and -there, and so escape the danger; but so soon as day breaks, they forsake -the bed. They then creep into the rough blankets, or hide themselves in -rushes and dust, lying in ambush for pigeons, hens, and other birds, -also for men and dogs, moles and mice, and vex such as passe by."[1037] - -It is frequently affirmed that asses are never troubled with Fleas or -other vermin; and, among the superstitious, it is said that it is all -owing to the riding of Christ upon one of these animals.[1038] - -Willsford, in his Nature's Secrets, printed 1658, p. 130, says: "The -little sable beast (called a _Flea_), if much thirsting after blood, it -argues rain."[1039] - -It is related that the Devil, teasing St. Domingo in the shape of a -Flea, skipped upon his book, when the saint fixed him as a mark where -he left off, and continued to use him so through the volume.[1040] - -Fleas infesting beds were attributed to the envy of the Devil.[1041] - -Giles Fletcher says that Iwan Yasilowich sent to the City of Moscow to -provide for him a measure full of Fleas for a medicine. They answered -that it was impossible, and if they could get them, yet they could not -measure them because of their leaping out. Upon which he set a mulct -upon the city of seven thousand rubles.[1042] - -We read in Purchas's Pilgrims that the Jews were not permitted to burn -Fleas in the flame of their lamps on Sabbath evenings.[1043] - -The muscular power of the Flea is so great that it can leap to the -distance of two hundred times its own length, which will appear the more -surprising when we consider that a man, were he endowed with equal -strength and agility, would be able to leap between three and four -hundred yards. Aristophanes, in his usual licentious way, ridicules the -great Socrates for his pretended experiments on this great muscular -power: - - _Disciple._ That were not lawful to reveal to strangers. - - _Strepsiades._ Speak boldly then as to a fellow-student; - For therefore am I come. - - _Disc._ Then I will speak; - But set it down among our mysteries. - It is a question put to Chærophon - By our great master Socrates to answer, - How many of his own lengths at a spring - A Flea can hop; for one by chance had skipp'd - Straight from the brow of Chærophon to th' head - Of Socrates. - - _Streps._ And how did then the sage - Contrive to measure this? - - _Disc._ Most dext'rously. - He dipp'd the insect's feet in melted wax, - Which hard'ning into slippers as it cool'd, - By these computed he the question'd space. - - _Streps._ O Jupiter, what subtilty of thought![1044] - -The witty Butler has also commemorated the same circumstance in his -justly celebrated poem of Hudibras: - - How many scores a Flea will jump - Of his own length, from head to rump; - Which Socrates and Chærophon - In vain assay'd so long agon. - -As illustrative of the strength of the Flea, the following facts may -also be given: We read in a note to Purchas's Pilgrims that "one Marke -Scaliot, in London, made a lock and key and chain of forty-three links, -all which a Flea did draw, and weighed but a grain and a half."[1045] -Mouffet, who also records this fact, says he had heard of another Flea -that was harnessed to a golden chariot, which it drew with the greatest -ease.[1046] Bingley tells us that Mr. Boverick, an ingenious watchmaker -in the Strand, exhibited some years ago a little ivory chaise with four -wheels, and all its proper apparatus, and the figure of a man sitting on -the box, all of which were drawn by a single Flea. The same mechanic -afterward constructed a minute landau, which opened and shut by springs, -with the figures of six horses harnessed to it, and of a coachman on the -box, a dog between his legs, four persons inside, two footmen behind it, -and a postillion riding on one of the fore horses, which were all easily -dragged along by a single Flea. He likewise had a chain of brass, about -two inches long, containing two hundred links, with a hook at one end -and a padlock and key at the other, which a Flea drew nimbly -along.[1047] At a fair of Charlton, in Kent, 1830, a man exhibited three -Fleas harnessed to a carriage in form of an omnibus, at least fifty -times their own bulk, which they pulled along with great ease; another -pair drew a chariot, and a single Flea a brass cannon. The exhibitor -showed the whole first through a magnifying glass, and then to the naked -eye; so that all were satisfied there was no deception.[1048] Latrielle -also mentions a Flea of a moderate size, which dragged a silver cannon, -mounted on wheels, that was twenty-four times its own weight, and which -being charged with gunpowder was fired off without the Flea appearing in -the least alarmed.[1049] - -It is recorded in Purchas's Pilgrims that an Egyptian artisan received a -garment of cloth of gold for binding a Flea in a chain.[1050] - -The Flea is twice mentioned in the Bible, and in both cases David, in -speaking to Saul, applies it to himself as a term of humility.[1051] - -A Prussian poet, quoted by Jaeger,[1052] gives us the song of a young -Flea who had emigrated to this country from Prussia, and thus expresses -his dissatisfaction to his sweetheart: - - Kennst de nunmehr das Land, we Dorngestripp und Disteln blüh'n, - Im frost'gen Wald nur eckelhafte Tannenzapfen glüh'n, - Der Schierling tief, und hoch der Sumach steht, - Ein rauher Wind vom schwarzen Himmel weht; - Kennst du es wohl? O lass uns eilig zieh'n, - Und schnell zurück in unsre Hiemath flieh'n! - -An English prose translation of which is: "Know'st thou now this -country, where only briars and thistles bloom; where ugly fur-nuts only -glow in the icy forest; where down in the vale the fetid hemlock grows, -and on the hills the poisonous sumach; where heavy winds blow from black -clouds over desolate lands? Dost thou not know of this country? Oh, -then, let us fly in haste and return to our own fatherland!" - -"To send one away with a Flea in his ear," is a very old English phrase, -meaning to dismiss one with a rebuke.[1053] "Flea-luggit" is the -Scottish--to be unsettled or confused.[1054] - -There is a collection of poems called "La Puce des grands jours de -Poitiers"--the Flea of the carnival of Poitiers. The poems were begun by -the learned Pasquier, who edited the collection, upon a Flea which was -found one morning in the bosom of the famous Catherine des Roches.[1055] - -During the winter of 1762, at Norwich, England, after a chilling storm -of snow and wind that had destroyed many lives, myriads of Fleas were -found skipping about on the snow.[1056] - -To the Pulicidæ belongs also a native of the West Indies and South -America, the _Pulex penetrans_, variously named in the countries where -it is found, Chigoe, Jigger, Nigua, Tungua, and Pique. According to -Stedman, this "is a kind of small sand-flea, which gets in between the -skin and the flesh without being felt, and generally under the nails of -the toes, where, while it feeds, it keeps growing till it becomes of the -size of a pea, causing no further pain than a disagreeable itching. In -process of time, its operation appears in the form of a small bladder, -in which are deposited thousands of eggs, or nits, and which, if it -breaks, produce so many young Chigoes, which, in course of time, create -running ulcers, often of very dangerous consequence to the patient; so -much so, indeed, that I knew a soldier the soles of whose feet were -obliged to be cut away before he could recover; and some men have lost -their limbs by amputation--nay, even their lives--by having neglected in -time to root out these abominable vermin. The moment, therefore, that a -redness and itching more than usual are perceived, it is time to extract -the Chigoe that occasions them. This is done with a sharp-pointed -needle, taking care not to occasion unnecessary pain, and to prevent the -Chigoe from breaking in the wound. Tobacco ashes are put into the -orifice, by which in a little time the sore is perfectly healed."[1057] -The female slaves are generally employed to extract these pests, which -they do with uncommon dexterity. Old Ligon tells us he had ten Chigoes -taken out of his feet in a morning "by the most unfortunate -Yarico,"[1058] whose tragical story is now so celebrated in prose and -verse. Mr. Southey says that many of the first settlers of Brazil, -before they knew the remedy to extract the Chigoes, lost their feet in -the most dreadful manner.[1059] - -Walton, in his Present State of the Spanish Colonies, tells us of a -Capuchin friar, who carried away with him a colony of Chigoes in his -foot as a present to the Scientific Colleges in Europe; but, -unfortunately for himself and for science, the length of the voyage -produced mortification in his leg, that it became necessary to cut it -off to save the zealous missionary's life, and the leg, with all its -inhabitants, were tumbled together into the sea.[1060] - -Humboldt observes "that the whites born in the torrid zone walk barefoot -with impunity in the same apartment where a European, recently landed, -is exposed to the attack of this animal. The _Nigua_, therefore, -distinguishes what the most delicate chemical analysis could not -distinguish, the cellular membrane and blood of an European from those -of a Creole white."[1061] - - - - -ORDER XI. - -ANOPLEURA. - - -Pediculidæ--Lice. - -At Hurdenburg, in Sweden, Mr. Hurst tells us the mode of choosing a -burgomaster is this: The persons eligible sit around, with their beards -upon a table; a Louse is then put in the middle of the table, and the -one, in whose beard this insect first takes cover, is the magistrate for -the ensuing year.[1062] - -Respecting the revenue of Montecusuma, which consisted of the natural -products of the country, and what was produced by the industry of his -subjects, we find the following story in Torquemada: "During the abode -of Montecusuma among the Spaniards, in the palace of his father, Alonzo -de Ojeda one day espied in a certain apartment of the building a number -of small bags tied up. He imagined at first that they were filled with -gold dust, but on opening one of them, what was his astonishment to find -it quite full of Lice? Ojeda, greatly surprised at the discovery he had -made, immediately communicated what he had seen to Cortes, who then -asked Marina and Anguilar for some explanation. They informed him that -the Mexicans had such a sense of their duty to pay tribute to their -monarch, that the poorest and meanest of the inhabitants, if they -possessed nothing better to present to their king, daily cleaned their -persons, and saved all the Lice they caught, and that when they had a -good store of these, they laid them in bags at the feet of their -monarch." Torquemada further remarks, that his reader might think these -bags were filled with small worms (gasanillos), and not with Lice; but -appeals to Alonzo de Ojeda, and another of Cortes' soldiers, named -Alonzo de Mata, who were eye-witnesses of the fact.[1063] - -Oviedo pretends to have observed that Lice, at the elevation of the -tropics, abandon the Spanish sailors that are going to the Indies, and -attack them again at the same point on their return. The same is -reported in Purchas's Pilgrims.[1064] One of the supplementary writers -to Cuvier's History of Insects says: "This is an observation that has -need of being corroborated by more certain testimonies than we are yet -in possession of. But, if true, there would be nothing in the fact very -surprising. A degree of considerable heat, and a more abundant -perspiration, might prove unfavorable to the propagation of the -_Pediculi corporis_. As their skin is more tender, the influence of the -air might prove detrimental to them in those burning climates."[1065] - -We read in Purchas's Pilgrims, that "if Lice doe much annoy the natives -of Cambaia and Malabar, they call to them certain Religious and holy -men, after their account: and these Observants y will take upon them all -those Lice which the other can find, and put them on their head, there -to nourish them. But yet for all this lousie scruple, they stick not to -coozenage by falese weights, measures, and coyne, nor at usury and -lies."[1066] - -In a side-note to this curious passage, we find: "The like lousie trick -is reported in the Legend of S. _Francis_, and in the life of Ignatius, -of one of the Jesuitical pillars, by Moffæus." - -Steedman says of the Caffres, that "except an occasional plunge in a -river, they never wash themselves, and consequently their bodies are -covered with vermin. On a fine day their karosses are spread out in the -sun, and as their tormentors creep forth they are doomed to destruction. -It often happens that one Caffir performs for another the kind office of -collecting these insects, in which case he preserves the entomological -specimens, carefully delivering them to the person to whom they -originally appertained, supposing, according to their theory, that as -they derived their support from the blood of the man from whom they were -taken, should they be killed by another, the blood of his neighbor would -be in his possession, thus placing in his hands the power of some -superhuman influence."[1067] - -Kolben says the Hottentots eat the largest of the Lice with which they -swarm; and that if asked how they can devour such detestable vermin, -they plead the law of retaliation, and urge that it is no shame to eat -those who would eat them--"They suck our blood, and we devour 'em in -revenge."[1068] - -We are assured in Purchas's Pilgrims, that Lice and "long wormes" were -sold for food in Mexico.[1069] From this ancient collection of Travels, -we learn that when the Indians of the Province of Cuena are infected -with Lice, "they dresse and cleanse one another; and they that exercise -this, are for the most part women, who eate all that they take, and have -herein (eating?) such dexterity by reason of their exercise, that our -own men cannot lightly attaine thereunto."[1070] - -The Budini, a people of Scythia, commonly feed upon Lice and other -vermin bred upon their bodies.[1071] - -Mr. Wafer, in his description of the Isthmus of America, says: "The -natives have Lice in their Heads, which they feel out with their -Fingers, and eat as they catch them."[1072] Dobrizhoffer also mentions -that Lice are eaten by the Indian women of South America.[1073] - -The disgusting practice of eating these vermin is not confined to the -Hottentots, the Negroes of Western Africa, the Simiæ, and the American -Indians, for it has been observed to prevail among the beggars of Spain -and Portugal.[1074] - -Schroder, in his History of Animals that are useful in Physic, says: -"Lice are swallowed by country people against the jaundice."[1075] As a -specific against this disease, Beaumont and Fletcher thus allude to -them: - - Die of the jaundice, yet have the cure about you: lice, large lice, - begot of your own dust and the heat of the brick kilns.[1076] - -Lice were also made use of in cases of Atrophy, and Dioscorides says -they were employed in suppressions of urine, being introduced into the -canal of the urethra.[1077] - -In the Gentleman's Magazine for 1746, there is a curious letter on "a -certain _creature_, of rare and extraordinary qualities"--a Louse, -containing many humorous observations on this "_lover_ of the human -race," and concluding with some queries as to its origin and -pedigree. "Was it," the writer asks, "created within the six days -assigned by _Moses_ for the formation of all things? If so, where was -its habitation? We can hardly suppose that it was quartered on _Adam_ -or his lady, the neatest, nicest pair (if we believe _John Milton_) -that ever joyned hands. And yet, as it disdained to graze the fields, -or lick the dust for sustenance, where else could it have had its -subsistence?"[1078] - -In a modern account of Scotland, written by an English gentleman, and -printed in the year 1670, we find the following: "In that interval -between Adam and Moses, when the Scottish Chronicle commences, the -country was then baptized (and most think with the sign of the cross) by -the venerable name of Scotland, from Scota, the daughter of Pharaoh, -King of Egypt. Hence came the rise and name of these present -inhabitants, as their Chronicle informs us, and is not to be doubted of, -from divers considerable circumstances; the plagues of Egypt being -entailed upon them, that of Lice (being a judgment unrepealed) is an -ample testimony, these loving animals accompanied them from Egypt, and -remain with them to this day, never forsaking them (but as rats leave a -house) till they tumble into their graves."[1079] - -Linnæus, seemingly very anxious to become an apologist for the Lice, -gravely observes that they probably preserve children who are troubled -with them, from a variety of complaints to which they would be -liable![1080] - -As an attempt toward discovering the intention of Providence in -permitting the frequency of these tormenting animals, the following -lines of Serenus may be given: - - See nature, kindly provident ordain - Her gentle stimulants to harmless pain; - Lest Man, the slave of rest, should waste away - In torpid slumber life's important day! - -Of the horrible disease, Phthiriasis, occasioned by myriads of Lice, -_Pediculi_, and sometimes by Mites, _Acari_, and _Larvæ_ in general, I -shall but mention that the inhuman Pheretrina, Antiochus Epiphanes, the -Dictator Sylla, the two Herods, the Emperor Maximin, and Philip the -Second were among the number carried off by it. - -Quintus Serenus speaks thus of the death of Sylla: - - Great Sylla too the fatal scourge hath known; - Slain by a host far mightier than his own. - -According to Pliny, Nits are destroyed by using dog's fat, eating -serpents cooked like eels, or else taking their sloughs in drink.[1081] - -In Leyden's Notes to Complaynt of Scotland are recorded the following -few rhymes of the Gyre-carlin--the bug-bear of King James V. - - The Mouse, the Louse, and Little Rede, - Were a' to mak' a gruel in a lead. - -The two first associates desire Little Rede to go to the door, to "see -what he could see." He declares that he saw the gyre-carlin coming, - - With spade, and shool, and trowel, - To lick up a' the gruel. - -Upon which the party disperse: - - The Louse to the claith, - And the Mouse to the wa', - Little Rede behind the door, - And licket up a'.[1082] - - - - -ORDER XII. - -ARACHNIDA.[1083] - - -Acaridæ--Mites. - -The white spot on the back of a certain species of Wood-tic (_Acarus_) -is said to be the spot where the pin went through the body when Noah -pinned it in the Ark to keep it from troubling him. - - -Phalangidæ--Daddy-Long-legs. - -A superstition obtains among our cow-boys that if a cow be lost, its -whereabouts may be learned by inquiring of the Daddy-Long-legs -(Phalangium), which points out the direction of the lost animal with one -of its fore legs. - -In England, the Phalangium has been christened the Harvest-man, from a -superstitious belief that if it be killed there will be a bad -harvest.[1084] - - -Pedipalpi--Scorpions. - -Concerning the generation of the Scorpion, Topsel, in his History of -Four-footed Beasts and Serpents, printed in 1658, treats as follows: - -"Now, then, it followeth that we inquire about the manner of their -(Scorpions') breed or generation, which I find to be double, as divers -authors have observed, one way is by putrefaction, and the other by -laying of egges, and both these ways are consonant to nature, for -Lacinius writeth that some creatures are generated only by propagation -of seed--such are men, vipers, whales, and the palm-tree; some again -only by putrefaction, as mice, Scorpions, Emmets, Spiders, purslain, -which, first of all, were produced by putrefaction, and since their -generation are conserved by the seed and egges of their own kinde. Now, -therefore, we will first of all speak of the generation of Scorpions by -putrefaction, and afterward by propagation. - -"Pliny saith[1085] that when Sea-crabs dye, and their bodies are dried -upon the earth, when the sun entereth into Cancer and Scorpius, out of -the putrefaction thereof ariseth a Scorpion; and so out of the putrefied -body of the crefish burned arise Scorpions, which caused Ovid thus to -write: - - Concava littoreo si demas brachia cancro, - Cætera supponas terræ, de parte sepulta - Scorpius exibit, caudaque minabitur unca. - -And again: - - Obrutus exemptis cancer tellure lacertis, - Scorpius exiguo tempore factus erit. - -In English thus: - - If that the arms you take from Sea-crab-fish, - And put the rest in earth till all consumed be, - Out of the buried part a Scorpion will arise, - With hooked tayl doth threaten for to hurt thee. - -"And therefore it is reported by Ælianus that about Estamenus, in India, -there are abundance of Scorpions generated only by corrupt rain-water -standing in that place. Also out of the Basalisk beaten into pieces and -so putrefied are Scorpions engendered. And when as one had planted the -herb basilica on a wall, in the room or place thereof he found two -Scorpions. And some say that if a man chaw in his mouth fasting this -herb basill before he wash, and afterward lay the same abroad uncovered -where no sun cometh at it for the space of seven nights, taking it in -all the daytime, he shall at length finde it transmuted into a Scorpion, -with a tayl of seven knots.[1086] - -"Hollerius,[1087] to take away all scruple of this thing, writeth that -in Italy in his dayes there was a man that had a Scorpion bred in his -brain by continuall smelling to this herb basill; and Gesner, by -relation of an apothecary in France, writeth likewise a story of a young -maid who, by smelling to basill, fell into an exceeding headache, -whereof she died without cure, and after death, being opened, there were -found little Scorpions in her brain. - -"Aristotle remembreth an herb which he calleth sissimbria, out of which -putrefied Scorpions are engendered, as he writeth. And we have shewed -already, in the history of the Crocodile, that out of the Crocodile's -egges do many times come Scorpions, which at their first egression do -kill their dam that hatched them, which caused Archelaus, which wrote -epigrams of wonders unto Ptolemæus, to sing of Scorpions in this manner: - - In vos dissolvit morte, et redigit crocodilum - Natura extinctum, Scorpii omnipotens. - -Which may be Englished thus: - - To you by Scorpions death the omnipotent - Ruines the crocodil in nature's life extinct."[1088] - -The remarks referred to by Topsel in the last paragraph in his history -of the Crocodile are as follows: - -"It is said by Philes that, after the egge is laid by the crocodile, -many times there is a cruel Stinging Scorpion which cometh out thereof, -and woundeth the crocodile that laid it.[1089] - -"The Scorpion also and the crocodile are enemies one to the other, and -therefore when the Egyptians will describe the combat of two notable -enemies, they paint a crocodile and a Scorpion fighting together, for -ever one of them killeth another; but if they will decipher a speedy -overthrow to one's enemy, then they picture a crocodile; if a slow and -slack victory, they picture a Scorpion."[1090] - -"Some maintain," says Moufet, "that they (Scorpions) are not bred by -copulation, but by exceeding heat of the sun. Ælian, _lib. 6_, _de Anim. -cap. 22_, among whom Galen must first be blamed, who in his Book _de -foet. form._ will not have nature, but chance to be the parent of -Scorpions, Flies, Spiders, Worms of all sorts, and he ascribes their -beginning to the uncertain constitutions of the heavens, place, matter, -heat, etc."[1091] - -Topsel further says: "The principall of all other subjects of their (the -Scorpions') hatred are virgins and women, whom they do not only desire -to harm, but also when they have harmed are never perfectly recovered. -(Albertus).... - -"The lion is by the Scorpion put to flight wheresoever he seeith it, for -he feareth it as the enemy of his life, and therefore writeth S. -Ambrose, _Exiguo Scorpionis aculeo exagitatur leo_, the lion is much -moved at the small sting of a Scorpion."[1092] - -Naude tells us that there is a species of Scorpions in Italy, which are -so domesticated as to be put between sheets to cool the beds during the -heat of summer.[1093] Pliny mentions that the Scorpions of Italy are -harmless.[1094] - -Among the curious things recorded by Pliny concerning the Scorpion, the -following have been selected: Some writers, he says, are of opinion that -the Scorpion devours its offspring, and that the one among the young -which is the most adroit avails itself of its sole mode of escape by -placing itself on the back of the mother, and thus finding a place where -it is in safety from the tail and the sting. The one that thus escapes, -they say, becomes the avenger of the rest, and at last, taking -advantage of its elevated position, puts its parent to death.[1095] - -According to Pliny, those who carry the plant "tricoccum," or, as it is -also called, "scorpiuron,"[1096] about their person are never stung by a -Scorpion, and it is said, he continues, that if a circle is traced on -the ground around a Scorpion with a sprig of this plant, the animal will -never move out of it, and that if a Scorpion is covered with it, or even -sprinkled with the water in which it has been steeped, it will die that -instant.[1097] - -Attalus assures us, says Pliny, that if a person, the moment he sees a -Scorpion, says "Duo,"[1098] the reptile will stop short and forbear to -sting.[1099] - -Concerning Scorpions, Diophanes, contemporary with Cæsar and Cicero, has -collected the following several opinions of the more ancient writers: If -you take a Scorpion, he says, and burn it, the others will betake -themselves to flight: and if a person carefully rubs his hands with the -juice of radish, he may without fear and danger take hold of Scorpions, -and of other reptiles: and radishes laid on Scorpions instantly destroy -them. You will also cure the bite of a Scorpion, by applying a silver -ring to the place. A suffumigation of sandarach[1100] with galbanum, or -goat's fat, will drive away Scorpions and every other reptile. If a -person will also boil a Scorpion in oil, and will rub the place bit by a -Scorpion, he will stop the pain.[1101] But Apuleius says, that if a -person bit by a Scorpion sits on an ass, turned toward its tail, that -the ass suffers the pain, and that it is destroyed.[1102] Democritus -says that a person bit by a Scorpion, who instantly says to his ass, "A -Scorpion has bit me," will suffer no pain, but it passes to the -ass.[1103] The newt has an antipathy to the Scorpion: if a person, -therefore, melts a newt in oil, and applies the oil to the person that -is bitten, he frees him from pain. The same author also says that the -root of a rose-tree being applied, cures persons bit by Scorpions. -Plutarch recommends to fasten small nuts to the feet of the bed, that -Scorpions may not approach it. Zoroaster says that lettuce-seed, being -drunk with wine, cures persons bit by Scorpions. Florentinus says, if -one applies the juice of the fig to the wound of a person just bitten, -that the poison will proceed no farther; or, if the person bit eat -squill, he will not be hurt, but he will say that the squill is pleasant -to his palate. Tarentinus also says that a person holding the herb -sideritis may take hold of Scorpions, and not be hurt by them.[1104] -Dioscorides, among many other remedies for the sting of the Scorpion, -prescribes "a fish called _Lacerta_, salted and cut in pieces; the -barbel fish cut in two; the flesh of a fish called _Smaris_; house-mice -cut asunder; horse or ass dung; the shell of an Indian small nut; ram's -flesh burnt; mummie, four grains, with butter and cow's milk; a broiled -Scorpion eaten; river-crabs raw and bruised, and drank with asses' milk: -locusts broiled and eaten," etc. Rabby Moyses prescribes pigeon's dung -dried; Constantinus, hens' dung, or the heart applied outwardly; -Anatolius, crows' dung; Averrhois, the bezoar-stone; Monus, silver; -Silvaticus, from Serapis, pewter; and Orpheus, coral. - -"Quintus Serenus writes thus, and adviseth: - - These are small things, but yet their wounds are great, - And in pure bodies lurking do most harm, - For when our senses inward do retreat, - And men are fast asleep, they need some charm, - The Spider and the cruel Scorpion - Are wont to sting, witnesse great Orion, - Slayn by a Scorpion, for poysons small - Have mighty force, and therefore presently - Lay on a Scorpion bruised, to recall - The venome, or sea-water to apply - Is held full good, such virtue is in brine, - And 'tis approved to drink your fill of wine. - -"And Macer writes of houseleek thus: - - Men say that houseleek hath so soveraign a might, - Who carries but that, no Scorpion can him bite."[1105] - -The natives of South Africa, when bitten by a Scorpion, apply, as a -remedy, a living frog to the wound, into which animal it is supposed the -poison is transferred from the wound, and it dies; then they apply -another, which dies also: the third perhaps only becomes sickly, and the -fourth no way affected. When this is observed, the poison is considered -to be extracted, and the patient cured. Another method is to apply a -kidney, scarlet, or other bean, which swells; then apply another and -another, till the bean ceases to be affected, when they consider the -poison extracted.[1106] - -There is a vast desert tract, says Pliny, on this side of the Ethiopian -Cynamolgi--the "dog-milkers"--the inhabitants of which were exterminated -by Scorpions and venomous ants.[1107] - -Navarette tells us, in the account of his voyage to the Philippine -Islands, that there was there in practice a good and easy remedy against -the Scorpions which abound in that country. This was, when they went to -bed, to make a commemoration of St. George. He himself, he says, for -many years continued this devotion, and, "God be praised," he adds, "the -Saint always delivered me both there and in other countries from those -and such like insects." He confesses, however, they used another remedy -besides, which was to rub all about the beds with garlic.[1108] - -Navarette[1109] and Barbot[1110] both tell us that a certain remedy -against the sting of a Scorpion, is to rub the wound with a child's -private member. This, the latter adds, immediately takes away the pain, -and then the venom exhales. The moisture that comes from a hen's mouth, -Barbot says, is also good for the same. - -The Persians believe that Scorpions may be deprived of the power of -stinging, by means of a certain prayer which they make use of for that -purpose. The person who has the power of "binding the Scorpion," as it -is called, turns his face toward the sign Scorpio, in the heavens, and -repeats this prayer; while every person present, at the conclusion of a -sentence, claps his hands. After this is done they think that they are -perfectly safe; nor, if they should chance to see any Scorpions during -that night, do they scruple to take hold of them, trusting to the -efficacy of this fancied all-powerful charm. "I have frequently seen," -says Francklin, "the man in whose family I lived, repeat the -above-mentioned prayer, on being desired by his children to bind the -Scorpions; after which the whole family has gone quietly and contentedly -to bed, fully persuaded that they could receive no hurt by them."[1111] - -Bell says the Persians "have such a dread of these creatures, that, when -provoked by any person, they wish a Kashan Scorpion may sting -him."[1112] - -An old story is, that a Scorpion surrounded with live coals, finding no -method of escaping, grows desperate from its situation, and stings -itself to death. This, though considered a mere fable of antiquity, may -still have some truth, if we believe the following from the pen of -Ulloa: "We more than once," says this traveler, "entertained ourselves -with an experiment of putting a Scorpion into a glass vessel, and -injecting a little smoke of tobacco, and immediately by stopping it -found that its aversion to this smell is such, that it falls into the -most furious agitations, till, giving itself several stings on the head, -it finds relief by destroying itself."[1113] There is also told a story -in the East Indies, that "the Scorpion is sometimes so pestered with the -pismires, that he stings himself to death in the head with his tail, and -so becomes a prey to the pismires."[1114] - -The Scorpion was an emblem of the Egyptian goddess Selk; and she is -usually found represented with this animal bound upon her head.[1115] - -Ælian mentions Scorpions of Coptos, which, though inflicting a deadly -sting, and dreaded by the people, so far respected the Egyptian goddess -Isis, who was particularly worshiped in that city, that women, in going -to express their grief before her, walked with bare feet, or lay upon -the ground, without receiving any injury from them.[1116] - -The Ethiopians that dwell near the River Hydaspis commonly eat Scorpions -and serpents without the slightest harm, "which certainly proceeds from -no other thing than a secret and wonderful constitution of the body!" -says Mercurialis.[1117] - -Lutfullah, the learned Mohammedan gentleman, in his Autobiography, -relates the following: - -"On the morning of the 11th (April, 1839), I ordered my servant boy to -shake my bedding and put it in the sun for an hour or so, that the -moisture imbibed by the quilt might be dried. As soon as the quilt was -removed from its place, what did I behold but an immense Scorpion, -tapering towards its tail of nine vertebræ, armed with a sting at the -end, crawling with impunity at the edge of the carpet. I had never seen -such a large monster before. It was black in the body, with small -bristles all over, dark green in the tail, and red at the sting. This -hideous sight rendered me and the servant horror-struck. In the mean -time, an Afghan friend of mine, by name Ata Mohamed Khan Kakar, a -respectable resident of the town, honoured me with a visit, and, seeing -the reptile, observed, 'Lutfullah, you are a lucky man, having made a -narrow escape this morning. This cursed worm is called Jerrara, and its -fatal sting puts a period to animal life in a moment; return, therefore, -your thanks to the Lord, all merciful, who gave you a new life in having -saved you from the mortal sting of this evil bed-companion of yours.' 'I -have no fear of the worm,' replied I, 'for it dare not sting me unless -it is written in the book of fate to be stung by it.' Saying this, I -made the animal crawl into a small earthen vessel, and stopped the mouth -of it with clay; and then making a large fire, I put the vessel therein -for an hour or so, to turn the reptile into ashes, which, administered -in doses of half a grain to adults, are a specific remedy for violent -colicky pains."[1118] - -The ashes of burnt Scorpions, besides being good for colicky pains, as -Lutfullah says, were often prescribed by the ancient physicians for -stone in the bladder;[1119] and Topsel, quoting Kiranides, has the -following: "If a man take a vulgar Scorpion and drown the same in a -porringer of oyl in the wane of the moon, and therewithall afterward -anoynt the back from the shoulders to the hips, and also the head and -forehead, with the tips of the fingers and toes of one that is a -demoniack or a lunatick person, it is reported, that he shall ease and -cure him in short time. And the like is reported of the Scorpion's sting -joyned with the top of basil wherein is seed, and with the heart of a -swallow, all included in a piece of harts skin."[1120] The oil of -Scorpions, Brassavolus says, "drives out worms miraculously;" and oil of -Scorpions' and vipers' "tongues is a most excellent remedy against the -plague, as Crinitus testifies, i. 7."[1121] Galen prescribes Scorpions -for jaundice, and Kiranides the same for the several kinds of ague. -"Plinius Secundus saith, that a quartan ague, as the magicians report, -will be cured in three daies by a Scorpion's four last joynts of his -tail, together with the gristle of his ear, so wrapped up in a black -cloth, that the sick patient may neither perceive the Scorpion that is -applied, nor him that bound it on.... Samonicus commends Scorpions -against pains in the eyes, in these verses: - - If that some grievous pain perplex thy sight, - Wool wet in oyl is good bound on all night. - Carry about thee a live Scorpion's eye, - Ashes of coleworts if thou do apply, - With bruised frankincense, goat's milk, and wine, - One night will prove this remedy divine."[1122] - -The following Asiatic fable of the Scorpion and the Tortoise is from the -Beharistan of Jamy: A Scorpion, armed with pernicious sting and filthy -poison, undertook a journey. Coming to the bank of a wide river, he -stopped in great perplexity, wanting height of leg to cross over, yet -very unwilling to return. A Tortoise, seeing his situation, and moved -with compassion, took him on his back, sprang into the river, and was -swimming toward the opposite shore, when he heard a noise on his shell -as of something striking him; he called out to know what it was; the -ungrateful Scorpion answered, "It is the motion of my sting only, I -know it cannot affect you, but it is a habit which I cannot relinquish." -"Indeed," replied the Tortoise, "then I cannot do better than free so -evil-minded a creature from his bad disposition, and secure the good -from his malevolence." Saying which he dived under the water, and the -waves soon carried the Scorpion beyond the bourn of existence. - - When, in this banquet house of vice and strife, - A knave oft strikes the various stings of fraud, - 'Tis best the sea of death ingulf him soon, - That he be freed from man, and man from him.[1123] - -Topsel, in his History of Four-footed Beasts and Serpents, has the -following in his chapter on the Scorpion: - -"There is a common adage, _Cornix Scorpium_, a Raven to a Scorpion, and -it is used against them that perish by their own inventions: when they -set upon others, they meet with their matches, as a raven did when it -preyed upon a Scorpion, thus described by Alciatus, under his title -_Justa ultio_, just revenge, saying as followeth: - - Raptabat volucer captum pede corvus in auras - Scorpion, audaci præmia parta gulæ. - Ast ille infuso sensim per membra venemo, - Raptorem in stygias compulit ultor aquas. - O risu res digna! aliis qui fata parabat, - Ipse periit, propriis succubuitque dolis. - -Which may be Englished thus: - - The ravening crow for prey a Scorpion took - Within her foot, and therewithal aloft did flie, - But he empoysoned her by force and stinging stroke, - So ravener in the Stygian Lake did die. - O sportfull game! that he which other for bellyes sake did kill, - By his own deceit should fall into death's will. - -"There be some learned writers, who have compared a Scorpion to an -epigram, or rather an epigram to a Scorpion, because as the sting of the -Scorpion lyeth in the tayl, so the force and vertue of an epigram is in -the conclusion, for _vel acriter salse mordeat, vel jucunde atque -dulciter delectet_, that is, either let it bite sharply at the end, or -else delight pleasingly."[1124] - - -Araneidæ--True Spiders. - - A little head and body small, - With slender feet and very tall, - Belly great, and from thence come all - The webs it spins.--MOUFET.[1125] - -"Domitian sometime," says Hollingshed incidentally in his Chronicles of -England, "and an other prince yet living, delited so much to see the -iollie combats betwixt a stout Flie and an old Spider.... Some parasites -also in the time of the aforesaid emperour (when they were disposed to -laugh at his follie, and yet would seem in appearance to gratifie his -fantasticall head with some shew of dutiful demenour) could devise to -set their lorde on worke, by letting a fresh flie privilie into his -chamber, which he foorthwith would egerlie have hunted (all other -businesse set apart) and never ceased till he had caught him in his -fingers: whereupon arose the proverbe 'ne musca quidem,' altered first -by Vitius Priscus, who being asked whether anie bodie was with Domitian, -answered 'ne musca quidem,' whereby he noted his follie. There are some -cockes combs here and there in England, learning it abroad as men -transregionate, which make account also of this pastime, as of a notable -matter, telling what a fight is seene betweene them, if either of them -be lustie and couragious in his kind. One also hath mad a booke of the -Spider and the Flie, wherein he dealeth so profoundlie, and beyond all -measure of skill, that neither he himself that made it, neither anie one -that readeth it can reach unto the meaning thereof."[1126] - -Chapelain, the author of Pucelle, was called by the academicians the -Knight of the Order of the Spider, because he was so avaricious, that -though he had an income of 13,000 livres, and more than 240,000 in ready -money, he wore an old coat so patched, pieced, and threadbare, that the -stitches exhibited no bad resemblance to the fibers produced by that -insect. Being one day present at a large party given by the great Condé, -a Spider of uncommon size fell from the ceiling upon the floor. The -company thought it could not have come from the roof, and all the -ladies at once agreed that it must have proceeded from Chapelain's -wig;--the wig so celebrated by the well-known parody.[1127] - -The often-told anecdote of the Scottish monarch, Robert Bruce, and the -cottage Spider, is thus related in Chambers' Miscellany: While wandering -on the wild hills of Carrick, in order to escape the emissaries of -Edward, Robert the Bruce on one occasion passed the night under the -shelter of a poor deserted cottage. Throwing himself down on a heap of -straw, he lay upon his back, with his hands placed under his head, -unable to sleep, but gazing vacantly upward at the rafters of the hut, -disfigured with cobwebs. From thoughts long and dreary about the -hopelessness of the enterprise in which he was engaged, and the -misfortunes he had already encountered, he was roused to take interest -in the efforts of a poor industrious Spider, which had begun to ply its -vocation with the first gray light of morning. The object of the animal -was to swing itself, by its thread, from one rafter to another; but in -the attempt it repeatedly failed, each time vibrating back to the point -whence it had made the effort. Twelve times did the little creature try -to reach the desired spot, and as many times was it unsuccessful. Not -disheartened with its failure, it made the attempt once more, and, lo! -the rafter was gained. "The thirteenth time," said Bruce, springing to -his feet; "I accept it as a lesson not to despond under difficulties, -and shall once more venture my life in the struggle for the independence -of my beloved country." The result is well known.[1128] - -It is related in the life of Mohammed, that when he and Abubeker were -fleeing for their lives before the Coreishites, they hid themselves for -three days in a cave, over the mouth of which a Spider spread its web, -and a pigeon laid two eggs there, the sight of which made the pursuers -not go in to search for them.[1129] - -A similar story is told in the Lives of the Saints, of St. Felix of -Nola: "But the Saint," says Butler, "in the mean time had slept a little -out of the way, and crept through a hole in a ruinous old wall, which -was instantly closed up by Spiders' webs. His enemies, never imagining -anything could have lately passed where they saw so close a Spider's -web, after a fruitless search elsewhere, returned in the evening without -their prey. Felix finding among the ruins, between two houses, an old -well half dry, hid himself in it for six months; and received during -that time wherewithal to subsist by means of a devout Christian -woman."[1130] - -It is said of Heliogabalus, that, for the purpose of estimating the -magnitude of the City of Rome, he commanded a collection of Spiders to -be made.[1131] - -Illustrative of the singularly pleasurable effect of music upon Spiders, -in the Historie de la Musique, et de ses Effets, we find the following -relation: - -"Monsieur de ----, captain of the Regiment of Navarre, was confined six -months in prison for having spoken too freely of M. de Louvois, when he -begged leave of the governor to grant him permission to send for his -lute to soften his confinement. He was greatly astonished after four -days to see at the time of his playing the mice come out of their holes, -and the Spiders descend from their webs, who came and formed in a circle -round him to hear him with attention. This at first so much surprised -him, that he stood still without motion, when having ceased to play, all -those Spiders retired quietly into their lodgings; such an assembly made -the officer fall into reflections upon what the ancients had told of -Orpheus, Arion, and Amphion. He assured me he remained six days without -again playing, having with difficulty recovered from his astonishment, -not to mention a natural aversion he had for this sort of insects, -nevertheless he began afresh to give a concert to these animals, who -seemed to come every day in greater numbers, as if they had invited -others, so that in process of time he found a hundred of them about him. -In order to rid himself of them he desired one of the jailors to give -him a cat, which he sometimes shut up in a cage when he wished to have -this company and let her loose when he had a mind to dismiss them, -making it thus a kind of comedy that alleviated his imprisonment. I long -doubted the truth of this story, but it was confirmed to me six months -ago by M. P----, intendant of the duchy of V----, a man of merit and -probity, who played upon several instruments to the utmost excellence. -He told me that being at ----, he went into his chamber to refresh -himself after a walk, and took up a violin to amuse himself till supper -time, setting a light upon the table before him; he had not played a -quarter of an hour before he saw several spiders descend from the -ceiling, who came and ranged themselves round about the table to hear -him play, at which he was greatly surprised, but this did not interrupt -him, being willing to see the end of so singular an occurrence. They -remained on the table very attentively till somebody came to tell him -that supper was ready, when having ceased to play, he told me these -insects remounted to their webs, to which he would suffer no injury to -be done. It was a diversion with which he often entertained himself out -of curiosity."[1132] - -The Abbé Olivet has described an amusement of Pelisson during his -confinement in the Bastile for refusing to betray to the government -certain secrets intrusted to him by a friend who was a leading -politician at the court of Louis XIV., which consisted in feeding a -Spider, which he discovered forming its web across the only air-hole of -his cell. For some time he placed his flies at the edge of the window, -while a stupid Basque, his sole companion, played on a bagpipe. Little -by little the Spider used itself to distinguish the sound of the -instrument, and issued from its hole to run and catch its prey. Thus -calling it always by the same sound, and placing the flies at a still -greater distance, he succeeded, after several months, to drill the -Spider by regular exercise, so that at length it never failed appearing -at the first sound to seize on the fly provided for it, at the extremity -of the cell, and even on the knees of the prisoner.[1133] - -At a ladies' school at Kensington, England, an immense species of -Spider is said to be uncomfortably common; and that when the young -ladies sing their accustomed hymn or psalm before morning and evening -prayers, these Spiders make their appearance on the floor, or suspended -overhead from their webs in the ceiling, obviously attracted by the -"concord of sweet sounds."[1134] - -The following lines "to a Spider which inhabited a cell," are from the -Anthologia Borealis et Australis: - - In this wild, groping, dark, and drearie cove, - Of wife, of children, and of health bereft, - I hailed thee, friendly Spider, who hadst wove - Thy mazy net on yonder mouldering raft: - Would that the cleanlie housemaid's foot had left - Thee tarrying here, nor took thy life away; - For thou, from out this seare old ceiling's cleft, - Came down each morn to hede my plaintive lay; - Joying like me to heare sweete musick play, - Wherewith I'd fein beguile the dull, dark, lingering day.[1135] - -"When the great and brilliant Lauzun was held in captivity, his only joy -and comfort was a friendly Spider: she came at his call; she took her -food from his finger, and well understood his word of command. In vain -did jailors and soldiers try to deceive his tiny companion; she would -not obey their voices, and refused the tempting bait from their hand. -Here, then, was not only an ear, but a keen power of distinction. The -despised little animal listened with sweet affection, and knew how to -discriminate between not unsimilar tones."[1136] - -Quatremer Disjonval, a Frenchman by birth, was an adjutant-general in -Holland, and took an active part on the side of the Dutch patriots when -they revolted against the Stadtholder. On the arrival of the Prussian -army under the Duke of Brunswick, he was immediately taken, tried, and, -having been condemned to twenty-five years' imprisonment, was -incarcerated in a dungeon at Utrecht, where he remained eight years. -During this long confinement, by many curious observations upon his sole -companions, Spiders, he discovered that they were in the highest degree -sensitive of approaching changes in the atmosphere, and that their -retirement and reappearance, their weaving and general habits, were -intimately connected with the changes of the weather. In the reading of -these living barometers he became wonderfully accurate, so much so, that -he could prognosticate the approach of severe weather from ten to -fourteen days before it set in, which is proven by the following -remarkable fact, which led to his release: "When the troops of the -French republic overran Holland in the winter of 1794, and kept pushing -forward over the ice, a sudden and unexpected thaw, in the early part of -December, threatened the destruction of the whole army unless it was -instantly withdrawn. The French generals were thinking seriously of -accepting a sum offered by the Dutch, and withdrawing their troops, when -Disjonval, who hoped that the success of the republican army might lead -to his release, used every exertion, and at length succeeded in getting -a letter conveyed to the French general in 1795, in which he pledged -himself, from the peculiar actions of the Spiders, of whose movements he -was enabled to judge with perfect accuracy, that within fourteen days -there would commence a most severe frost, which would make the French -masters of all the rivers, and afford them sufficient time to complete -and make sure of the conquest they had commenced, before it should be -followed by a thaw. The commander of the French forces believed his -prognostication, and persevered. The cold weather, which Disjonval had -predicted, made its appearance in twelve days, and with such intensity, -that the ice over the rivers and canals became capable of bearing the -heaviest artillery. On the 28th of January, 1795, the French army -entered Utrecht in triumph; and Quatremer Disjonval, who had watched the -habits of his Spiders with so much intelligence and success, was, as a -reward for his ingenuity, released from prison."[1137] - -In Bartholomæus, De Proprietatibus Rerum (printed by Th. Berthelet, 27th -Henry VIII.), lib. xviii. fol. 314, speaking of Pliny, we read: "Also he -saythe, spynners (Spiders) ben tokens of divynation and of knowing what -wether shal fal, for oft by weders that shal fal, some spin and weve -higher or lower. Also he saythe, that multytude of spynners is token of -moche reyne."[1138] - -Willsford, in his Nature's Secrets, p. 131, tells us: "Spiders creep out -of their holes and narrow receptacles against wind or rain; Minerva -having made them sensible of an approaching storm."[1139] - -Hone, in his Every Day Book, also mentions that from Spiders -prognostications as to the weather may be drawn; and gives the following -instructions to read this animal-barometer: "If the weather is likely to -become rainy, windy, or in other respects disagreeable, they fix the -terminating filaments, on which the whole web is suspended, unusually -short; and in this state they await the influence of a temperature which -is remarkably variable. On the contrary, if the terminating filaments -are uncommonly long, we may, in proportion to their length, conclude -that the weather will be serene, and continue so at least for ten or -twelve days. But if the Spiders be totally indolent, rain generally -succeeds; though, on the other hand, their activity during rain is the -most certain proof that it will be only of short duration, and followed -with fair and constant weather. According to further observations, the -Spiders regularly make some alterations in their webs or nets every -twenty-four hours; if these changes take place between the hours of six -and seven in the evening, they indicate a clear and pleasant -night."[1140] - -Pausanias tells us that after the slaughter at Chæronea, the Thebans -were obliged to place a guard within the walls of their city; but which, -however, after the death of Philip, and during the reign of Alexander, -they drove out. For this action, this historian continues, it was that -Divinity gave them tokens in the webs of Spiders of the destruction that -awaited them. For, during the battle at Leuctra, the Spiders in the -temple of Ceres Thesmophoros wove white webs about the doors; but when -Alexander and the Macedonians attacked their dominions, their webs were -found to be black.[1141] - -It was thought by the Classical Ancients and the old English unlucky to -kill Spiders; and prognostications were made from their manner of -weaving their webs.[1142] It is still thought unlucky to injure these -animals. - -Park has the following note in his copy of Bourne and Brande's Popular -Antiquities, p. 93: "Small Spiders, termed _money-spinners_, are held by -many to prognosticate good luck, if they are not destroyed or injured, -or removed from the person on whom they are first observed." - -In Teviotdale, Scotland, "when Spiders creep on one's clothes, it is -viewed as betokening good luck; and to destroy them is equivalent to -throwing stones at one's own head."[1143] - -In Maryland, this superstition is thus expressed: If you kill a Spider -upon your clothing, you destroy the presents they are then weaving for -you. - -In the Secret Memoirs of Mr. Duncan Campbell, p. 60, in the chapter of -omens, we read that "others have thought themselves secure of receiving -money, if by chance a little Spider fell upon their clothes."[1144] - -"When a Spider is found upon your clothes, or about your person," says a -writer in the Notes and Queries,[1145] "it signifies that you will -shortly receive some money. Old Fuller, who was a native of -Northamptonshire, thus quaintly moralizes this superstition: 'When a -Spider is found upon your clothes, we used to say some money is coming -toward us. The moral is this: such who imitate the industry of that -contemptible creature may, by God's blessing, weave themselves into -wealth and procure a plentiful estate.'"[1146] - -A South Northamptonshire superstition of the present day is, that, in -order to propitiate money-spinners, they must be thrown over the left -shoulder.[1147] - -It is most probable that Euclio, in Plautus' Aulularia, would not -suffer the Spiders to be molested because they were considered to bring -good luck. - - _Staphyla._ Here in our house there's nothing else for thieves to - gain, so filled is it with emptiness and cobwebs. - - _Euclio._ You hag of hags, I choose those cobwebs to be watched for - me.[1148] - -A superstition prevails among us that if a Spider approaches, either by -crawling toward or descending from the ceiling to a person, it forebodes -good to such person; and, on the contrary, if the Spider runs hurriedly -away, it is an omen of bad luck. But if the Spider be a poisonous one, -or a Fly-catcher, and it approaches you, some evil is about to befall -you, which to avert you must cross your heart thrice. - -If you kill a Spider crossing your path, you will have bad luck. - -A Spider should not be killed in your house, but out of doors; if in the -house, our country people say you are "pulling down your house." - -If a Spider drops down from its web or from a tree directly in front of -a person, such person will see before night a dear friend. - -A variety of this superstition is, that, if the Spider be white, it -foretells the acquaintance of a friend; and if black, an enemy. - -In the Netherlands, a Spider seen in the morning forebodes good luck; in -the afternoon, bad luck.[1149] - -There is a common saying at Winchester, England, that no Spider will -hang its web on the roof of Irish oak in the chapel or cloisters;[1150] -and the cicerone, who shows the cathedral church at St. David's, points -out to the visitor that the choir is roofed with Irish oak, which does -not harbor Spiders, though cobwebs are plentifully seen in other parts -of the cathedral.[1151] This superstition (for it certainly is nothing -more)[1152] probably originated with the old story of St. Patrick's -having exorcised and banished all kinds of vermin from Ireland. - -The same virtue of repelling Spiders is attributed also to chestnut and -cedar wood;[1153] and the old roof at Turner's Court, in -Gloucestershire, four miles from Bath, which is of chestnut, is said to -be perfectly free from cobwebs;[1154] hence also are the cloisters of -New College, and of Christ's Church, in England, roofed with -chestnut.[1155] - -A small Spider of a red color, called a Tainct in England, is accounted, -by the country people, a deadly poison to cows and horses; so when any -of their cattle die suddenly and swell up, to account for their deaths, -they say they have "licked a Tainct." Browne thinks this is, most -probably, but a vulgar error.[1156] - -It is a very ancient and curious belief that there exists a remarkable -enmity between the Spider and serpents,[1157] and more especially -between the Spider and the toad; and many curious stories are told of -the combats between these animals. The following, related by Erasmus, -which he asserts he had directly from one of the spectators, is probably -the most remarkable, and we insert it in the words of Dr. James: "A -person (a monk)[1158] lying along upon the floor of his chamber in the -summer-time to sleep in a supine posture, when a toad, creeping out of -some green rushes, brought just before in to adorn the chimney, gets -upon his face and with his feet sits across his lips. To force off the -toad, says the historian, would have been accounted death to the -sleeper; and to leave her there, very cruel and dangerous; so that upon -consultation, it was concluded to find out a Spider, which, together -with her web and the window she was fastened to, was brought carefully, -and so contrived as to be held perpendicularly to the man's face; which -was no sooner done but the Spider, discovering his enemy, let himself -down and struck in his dart, afterward betaking himself up again to his -web: the toad swelled, but as yet kept his station. The second wound is -given quickly after by the Spider, upon which he swells yet more, but -remained alive still. The Spider, coming down again by his thread, gives -the third blow, and the toad, taking off his feet from over the man's -mouth, fell off dead."[1159] - -The following cosmogony is found in the sacred writings of the Pundits -of India: A certain immense Spider was the origin, the first cause of -all things; which, drawing the matter from its own bowels, wove the web -of this universe, and disposed it with wonderful art; she, in the mean -time, sitting in the center of her work, feels and directs the motion of -every part, till at length, when she has pleased herself sufficiently in -ordering and contemplating this web, she draws all the threads she had -spun out again into herself; and, having absorbed them, the universal -nature of all creatures vanishes into nothing.[1160] - -Among the Chululahs of our western coast, Capt. Stuart informs me there -is a vague superstition that the Spider is connected with the origin of -the world. To what extent this curious notion prevails, or anything more -concerning it, I have been unable to learn. - -The natives of Guinea, says Bosman, believe that the first men were -created by the large black Spider, which is so common in their country, -and called in their jargon "Ananse;" nor is there any reasoning, -continues this traveler, a great number of them out of it.[1161] Barbot -also remarks that, in the belief of the Guinea negroes, the black Ananse -created the first man.[1162] - -That the Spider should be connected with the origin of the world and man -in the several beliefs of the Hindoos, Chululahs, and negroes, races so -widely different and separated from one another, is a coincidence most -remarkable. - -A large and hideous species of Spider, said to be only found in the -palace of Hampton Court, England, is known by the name of the -"Cardinals." This name has been given them from a superstitious belief -that the spirits of Cardinal Wolsey and his retinue still haunt the -palace in their shape.[1163] - -In running across the carpet in an evening, with the shade cast from -their large bodies by the light of the lamp or candle, these "Cardinals" -have been mistaken for mice, and have occasioned no little alarm to some -of the more nervous inhabitants of the palace.[1164] - -The story of the gigantic Spider found in the Church of St. Eustace, at -Paris, in Chambers' Miscellany, is related as follows: It is told that -the sexton of this church was surprised at very often discovering a -certain lamp extinguished in the morning, notwithstanding it had been -duly replenished with oil the preceding evening. Curious to learn the -cause of this mysterious circumstance, he kept watch several evenings, -and was at last gratified by the discovery. During the night he observed -a Spider, of enormous dimensions, come down the chain by which the lamp -was suspended, drink up the oil, and, when gorged to satiety, slowly -retrace its steps to a recess in the fretwork above. A similar Spider is -said to have been found, in 1751, in the cathedral church of Milan. It -was observed to feed also on oil. When killed, it weighed four pounds! -and was afterward sent to the imperial museum at Vienna.[1165] - -The following remarkable anecdote is translated from the French: "M. -F---- de Saint Omer laid on the chimney-piece of his chamber, one -evening on going to bed, a small shirt-pin of gold, the head of which -represented a fly. Next day, M. F---- would have taken his pin from the -place where he had put it, but the trinket had disappeared. A -servant-maid, who had only been in M. F----'s service a few days, was -solely suspected of having carried off the pin, and sent away. But, at -length, M. F----'s sister, putting up some curtains, was very much -surprised to find the lost pin suspended from the ceiling in a Spider's -web! And thus was the disappearance of the _bijou_ explained: A Spider, -deceived by the figure of the fly which the pin presented, had drawn it -into his web."[1166] - -In the Treasvrie of Avncient and Moderne Times, it is stated that -"Spiders do shun all such wals as run to ruine, or are like to be -ouerthrowne."[1167] - -A Spider hanging from a tree is said to have made both Turenne and -Gustavus Adolphus shudder![1168] - -M. Zimmerman relates the following instance of antipathy to Spiders: -"Being one day in an English company," says he, "consisting of persons -of distinction, the conversation happened to fall on antipathies. The -greater part of the company denied the reality of them, and treated them -as old women's tales; but I told them that antipathy was a real disease. -Mr. William Matthew, son of the Governor of Barbados, was of my opinion, -and, as he added that he himself had an extreme antipathy to Spiders, he -was laughed at by the whole company. I showed them, however, that this -was a real impression of his mind, resulting from a mechanical effect. -Mr. John Murray, afterward Duke of Athol, took it into his head to make, -in Mr. Matthew's presence, a Spider of black wax, to try whether this -antipathy would appear merely on the sight of the insect. He went out of -the room, therefore, and returned with a bit of black wax in his hand, -which he kept shut. Mr. Matthew, who in other respects was a sedate and -amiable man, imagining that his friend really held a Spider, immediately -drew his sword in a great fury, retired with precipitation to the wall, -leaned against it, as if to run him through, and sent forth horrible -cries. All the muscles of his face were swelled, his eye-balls rolled in -their sockets, and his whole body was as stiff as a post. We immediately -ran to him in great alarm, and took his sword from him, assuring him at -the same time that Mr. Murray had nothing in his hand but a bit of wax, -and that he himself might see it on the table where it was placed. He -remained some time in this spasmodic state, and I was really afraid of -the consequences. He, however, gradually recovered, and deplored the -dreadful passion into which he had been thrown, and from which he still -suffered. His pulse was exceedingly quick and full, and his whole body -was covered with a cold sweat. After taking a sedative, he was restored -to his former tranquillity, and his agitation was attended with no other -bad consequences."[1169] - -In Batavia, New York, on the evening of the 13th of September, 1834, -Hon. David E. Evans, agent of the Holland Land Company, discovered in -his wine-cellar a live striped snake, about nine inches in length, -suspended between two shelves, by the tail, by Spiders' web. From the -shelves being two feet apart, and the position of the web, the witnesses -were of opinion the snake could not have fallen by accident into it, and -thus have become inextricably entangled, but that it had been actually -captured, and drawn up so that its head could not reach the shelf below -by about an inch, by Spiders, and of a species much smaller than the -common fly, three of which at night were seen feeding upon it, while it -was yet alive. - -Hon. S. Cummings, first Judge of the Court of Common Pleas in his -county, and also Postmaster of Batavia, and Mr. D. Lyman Beecher have -described this phenomenon, and given the names of quite a number of -gentlemen who witnessed it, and will testify to the accuracy of their -accounts. Says Mr. Cummings: "Upon a critical examination through a -magnifying glass, the following curious facts appeared. The mouth of the -snake was fast tied up, by a great number of threads, wound around it so -tight that he could not run out his tongue. His tail was tied in a knot, -so as to leave a small loop, or ring, through which the cord was -fastened; and the end of the tail, above this loop, to the length of -something over half an inch, was lashed fast to the cord, to keep it -from slipping. As the snake hung, the length of the cord, from his tail -to the focus to which it was fastened, was about six inches; and a -little above the tail, there was observed a round ball, about the size -of a pea. Upon inspection, this appeared to be a green fly, around which -the cord had been wound as a windlass, with which the snake had been -hauled up; and a great number of threads were fastened to the cord -above, and to the rolling side of this ball to keep it from unwinding, -and letting the snake down. The cord, therefore, must have been extended -from the focus of this web to the shelf below where the snake was lying -when first captured; and being made fast to the loop in his tail, the -fly was carried and fastened about midway to the side of the cord. And -then by rolling this fly over and over, it wound the cord around it, -both from above and below, until the snake was raised to the proper -height, and then was fastened, as before mentioned. - -"In this situation the suffering snake hung, alive, and furnished a -continued feast for several large Spiders, until Saturday forenoon, the -16th, when some persons, by playing with him, broke the web above the -focus, so as to let part of his body rest upon the shelf below. In this -situation he lingered, the Spiders taking no notice of him, until -Thursday, eight days after he was discovered, when some large ants were -found devouring his body."[1170] - -At a recent meeting of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, -Mr. Lesley read the following extract from a letter written by Mr. E. A. -Spring, of Eagleswood, N. J.: - -"I was over on the South Amboy shore with a friend, walking in a swampy -wood, where a dyke was made, some three feet wide, when we discovered in -the middle of this ditch a large black Spider making very queer motions -for a Spider, and, on examination, it proved that he had _caught a -fish_. - -"He was biting the fish, just on the forward side of the dorsal fin, -with a deadly gripe, and the poor fish was swimming round and round -slowly, or twisting its body as if in pain. The head of its black enemy -was sometimes almost pulled under water, but never entirely, for the -fish did not seem to have had enough strength, but moved its fins as if -exhausted, and often rested. At last it swam under a floating leaf at -the shore, and appeared to be trying, by going under that, to scrape off -the Spider, but without effect. They then got close to the bank, when -suddenly the long black legs of the Spider came up out of the water, -where they had possibly been embracing a fish (I have seen Spiders seize -flies with all their legs at once), reached out behind, and fastened -upon the irregularities of the side of the ditch. The Spider then -commenced tugging to get his prize up the bank. My friend stayed to -watch them, while I went to the nearest house for a wide-mouthed bottle. -During the six or eight minutes that I was away, the Spider had drawn -the fish entirely out of the water, when they had both fallen in again, -the bank being nearly perpendicular. There had been a great struggle; -and now, on my return, the fish was already hoisted head first more than -half his length out on the land. The fish was very much exhausted, -hardly making any movement, and the Spider had evidently gained the -victory, and was slowly and steadily tugging him up. He had not once -quitted his hold during the quarter to half an hour that we had watched -them. He held, with his head toward the fish's tail, and pulled him up -at an angle of forty-five degrees by stepping backward.... The Spider -was three-fourths of an inch long, and weighed fourteen grains; the fish -was three and one-fourth inches long, and weighed sixty-six -grains."[1171] - -The following interesting account of the rarely-witnessed phenomenon of -a shower of webs of the Gossamer-spider, _Aranea obtextrix_, is given us -by Mr. White: "On the 21st of September, 1741, being intent on field -diversions, I rose," says this gentleman, "before daybreak; when I came -into the enclosures, I found the stubbles and clover grounds matted all -over with a thick coat of cobweb, in the meshes of which a copious and -heavy dew hung so plentifully, that the whole face of the country -seemed, as it were, covered with two or three setting-nets, drawn one -over another. When the dogs attempted to hunt, their eyes were so -blinded and hood-winked that they could not proceed, but were obliged to -lie down and scrape the incumbrances from their faces with their -fore-feet.... As the morning advanced, the sun became bright and warm, -and the day turned out one of the most lovely ones which no season but -the autumn produces; cloudless, calm, serene, and worthy of the south of -France itself. - -"About nine an appearance very unusual began to demand our attention, a -shower of cobwebs falling from very elevated regions, and continuing, -without any interruption, till the close of the day. These webs were not -single filmy threads, floating in the air in all directions, but perfect -flakes of rags; some near an inch broad, and five or six long. On every -side, as the observer turned his eyes, might he behold a continual -succession of fresh flakes falling into his sight, and twinkling like -stars."[1172] - -The Times of October 9th, 1826, records another shower of gossamer as -follows: "On Sunday, Oct. 1st, 1826, a phenomenon of rare occurrence in -the neighborhood of Liverpool was observed in that vicinage, and for -many miles distant, especially at Wigan. The fields and roads were -covered with a light filmy substance, which, by many persons, was -mistaken for cotton; although they might have been convinced of their -error, as staple cotton does not exceed a few inches in length, while -the filaments seen in such incredible quantities extended as many yards. -In walking in the fields the shoes were completely covered with it, and -its floating fibres came in contact with the face in all directions. -Every tree, lamp-post, or other projecting body had arrested a portion -of it. It profusely descended at Wigan like a sleet, and in such -quantities as to affect the appearance of the atmosphere. On examination -it was found to contain small flies, some of which were so diminutive as -to require a magnifying glass to render them perceptible. The substance -so abundant in quantity, was the gossamer of the garden, or field -Spider, often met with in fine weather in the country, and of which, -according to Buffon, it would take 663,552 Spiders to produce a single -pound."[1173] - -"In the yeare that L. Paulus and C. Marcellus were Consuls," says Pliny, -"it rained wool about the castle Carissa, neare to which a yeare after, -T. Annius Milo was slaine."[1174] This rain of wool was doubtless a -shower of gossamer. - -It was an old and strange notion that the gossamer webs were composed of -dew burned by the sun. Says Spenser: - - More subtle web Arachne cannot spin; - Nor _the fine nets_, which oft we woven see, - Of _scorched dew_, do not in th' ayre more lightly flee.[1175] - -Thomson also: - - How still the breeze! save what _the filmy threads_ - Of _dew evaporate_ brushes from the plain.[1176] - -And Quarles: - - And now _autumnal dews_ were seen - To _cobweb_ every green.[1177] - -Likewise Blackmore: - - How part is spun in _silken threads_, and clings, - Entangled in the grass, in _gluey strings_.[1178] - -Henry More also mentions this old belief; but suspected, however, the -true origin and use of the filmy threads: - - As light and thin as _cobwebs_ that do fly - In the blue air caused by th' _autumnal sun_, - That _boils the dew_, that on the earth doth lie; - May seem this whitish rag then is the scum; - Unless that wiser men mak't the _field-spider's loom_.[1179] - -Jamieson, in his Scottish Dictionary, gives _sun-dew webs_ as a name -given in the South of Scotland to the gossamer. - -The Swedes call a cobweb _dwaergsnaet_, from _dwaerg_, a species of -malevolent fairy or demon; very ingenious, and supposed often to assume -the appearance of a Spider, and to form these nets. The peasants of that -country say, _Jorden naetjar sig_, "the earth covers itself with a net," -when the whole surface of the ground is covered with gossamer, which, it -is commonly believed, indicates the seedtime.[1180] - -Voss, in a note on his Luise (iii. 17), says that the popular belief in -Germany is, that the gossamers are woven by the Dwarfs. Keightley thinks -the word gossamer is a corruption of _gorse_, or _goss samyt_, _i.e._ -the _samyt_, or finely-woven silken web that lies on the _gorse_ or -furze.[1181] - -A learned man and good natural philosopher, and one of the first Fellows -of the Royal Society, Robert Hooke, the author of _Micrographia_, -gravely remarked in his scientific disquisition on the gossamer, that it -"was not unlikely, but those great white clouds, that appear all the -summer time, may be of the same substance!!"[1182] - -The following well-authenticated incident is told by Turner as having -occurred when he was a young practitioner: A certain young woman was -accustomed, when she went into the vault after night, to go -Spider-hunting, as she called it, setting fire to the webs of Spiders, -and burning the insects with the flame of the candle. It happened at -length, however, after this whimsey had been indulged a long time, one -of the persecuted Spiders sold its life much dearer than those hundreds -she had destroyed, and most effectually cured her of her idle cruel -practice; for, in the words of Dr. James, "lighting upon the melted -tallow of her candle, near the flame, and his legs becoming entangled -therein, so that he could not extricate himself, the flame or heat -coming on, he was made a sacrifice to his cruel persecutor, who, -delighting her eyes with the spectacle, still waiting for the flame to -take hold of him, he presently burst with a great crack, and threw his -liquor, some into her eyes, but mostly upon her lips; by means of which, -flinging away her candle, she cried out for help, as fancying herself -killed already with the poison." In the night the woman's lips swelled -excessively, and one of her eyes was much inflamed. Her gums and tongue -were also affected, and a continual vomiting attended. For several days -she suffered the greatest pain, but was finally cured by an old woman -with a preparation of plantain leaves and cobwebs applied to the eyes, -and taken inwardly two or three times a day. - -Before this accident happened to her, this woman asserted that the smell -of the Spiders burning oftentimes so affected her head, that objects -about her seemed to turn round; she grew faint also with cold sweats, -and sometimes a light vomiting followed, yet so great was her delight in -tormenting these creatures, and driving them from their webs, that she -could not forbear, till she met with the above narrated accident.[1183] - -A similar story is related by Nic. Nicholas of a man he saw at his hotel -in Florence, who, burning a large black Spider in the flame of a candle, -and staying for some time in the same room, from the fumes arising, grew -feeble, and fell into a fainting fit, suffering all night great -palpitation at the heart, and afterward a pulse so very low as to be -scarcely felt.[1184] - -Several monks, in a monastery in Florence, are said to have died from -the effects of drinking wine from a vessel in which there was afterward -found a drowned Spider.[1185] - -There are two animals to which the Italians give the name Tarantula: the -one is a species of Lizard, whose bite is reputed mortal, found about -Fondi, Cajeta, and Capua; the other is a large Spider, found in the -fields in several parts of Italy, and especially at Tarentum--hence the -name. "Such as are stung by this creature (the _Aranea Tarantula_)," -says Misson, "make a thousand different gestures in a moment; for they -weep, dance, tremble, laugh, grow pale, cry, swoon away, and, after a -few days of torment, expire, if they be not assisted in time. They find -some relief by sweating and antidotes, but _music_ is the great and -specific remedy. A learned gentleman of unquestionable credit told me at -Rome, that he had been twice a witness both of the disease and of the -cure. They are both attended with circumstances that seem very strange; -but the matter of fact is well attested, and undeniable."[1186] Such is -the story generally told, believed, and unquestioned, that has found its -way into the works of many learned travelers and naturalists, but which -is without the slightest shadow of truth. - -"I think I could produce," continues the deluded Misson, "natural and -easy reasons to explain this effect of music; but without engaging -myself in a dissertation that would carry me too far, I shall content -myself with relating some other instances of the same kind: Every one -knows the efficacy of David's harp to restore Saul to the use of his -reason. I remember Lewis Guyon, in his Lessons, has a story of a lady of -his acquaintance, who lived one hundred and six years without ever using -any other remedy than music; for which purpose she allowed a salary to a -certain musician, whom she called her physician; and I might add that I -was particularly acquainted with a gentleman, very much subject to the -gout, who infallibly received ease, and sometimes was wholly freed from -his pains by a loud noise. He used to make all his servants come into -his chamber, and beat with all their force upon the table and floor; and -the noise they made, in conjunction with the sound of the violin, was -his sovereign remedy."[1187] - -In the Treasvrie of Avncient and Moderne Times, printed in London, the -year 1619, we find the following: "_Alexander Alexandrinus_ proceedeth -farther, affirming that he beheld one wounded by this Spider, to dance -and leape about incessantly, and the Musitians (finding themselves -wearied) gave over playing: whereupon, the poore offended dancer, hauing -vtterly lost all his forces, fell downe on the ground, as if he had bene -dead. The Musitians no sooner began to playe againe, but hee returned to -himselfe, and mounting vp vpon his feet, danced againe as lustily as -formerly hee had done, and so continued dancing still, til hee found the -harme asswaged, and himselfe entirely recovered. Heereunto he addeth, -that when it hath happened, that a man hath not beene thorowly cured by -Musique in this manner; within some short while after, hearing the sound -of Instruments, hee hath recouered footing againe, and bene enforced to -hold on dancing, and never to ceasse, till his perfect and absolute -healing, which (questionlesse) is admirable in nature."[1188] - -Robert Boyle, in his Usefulness of Natural Philosophy, among other -stories of the power of music upon those bitten by Tarantulas, mentions -the following: "_Epiphanius Ferdinandus_ himself not only tells us of a -man of 94 years of age, and weak, that he could not go, unless supported -by his staff, who did, upon the hearing of musick after he was bitten, -immediately fall a dancing and capering like a kid; and affirms that -Tarantulas themselves may be brought to leap and dance at the sound of -lutes, small drums, bagpipes, fiddles, etc.; but challenges those, that -believe them not, to come and try, promising them an occular conviction: -and adds what is very memorable and pleasant, that not only men, in whom -much may be ascribed to fancy, but other animals being bitten, may -likewise, by musick, be reduced to leap or dance: for he saith, he saw a -Wasp, which being bitten by a Tarantula, whilst a lutanist chanced to be -by; the musician, playing upon his instrument gave them the sport of -seeing both the Wasp and Spider begin to dance: Annexing, that a bitten -Cock did the like."[1189] - -In an Italian nobleman's palace, Skippon saw a fellow who was bitten by -a Tarantula; "he danced," says this traveler, "very antickly, with naked -swords, to a tune played on an instrument." The Italians say that if -the Spider be immediately killed, no such effects will appear; but as -long as it lives, the person bitten is subject to these paroxysms, and -when it dies he is free. Skippon says that usually they are the poorer -sort of people who say they are bitten, and they beg money while they -are in these dancing fits.[1190] - -Bell was informed at Buzabbatt (in Persia) that the celebrated Kashan -Tarantula "neither stings nor bites, but drops its venom upon the skin, -which is of such a nature that it immediately penetrates into the body, -and causes dreadful symptoms; such as giddiness of the head, a violent -pain in the stomach, and a lethargic stupefaction. The remedy is the -application of the same animal when braised to the part affected, by -which the poison is extracted. They also make the patient," continues -this traveler, "drink abundance of sweet milk, after which he is put in -a kind of tray, suspended by ropes fixed in the four corners; it is -turned round till the ropes are twisted hard together, and, when let go -at once, the untwining causes the basket to run round with a quick -motion, which forces the patient to vomit."[1191] - -Skippon was shown by Corvino, in his Museum at Rome, "a _Tarantula -Apula_, which he kept some time alive; and the poison of it, he said, -broke two glasses."[1192] - -In the Treasvrie of Avncient and Moderne Times, it is stated of "Harts, -that when they are bitten or stung by a venomous kinde of Spiders, -called _phalanges_; they heale themselves by eating _Creuisses_, though -others do hold, that it is by an Hearb growing in the water."[1193] - -Diodorus Siculus tells as that there border upon the country of the -Acridophagi a large tract of land, rich in fair pastures, but desert and -uninhabited; not that there were never any people there, but that -formerly, when it was inhabited, an immoderate rain fell, which bred a -vast host of Spiders and Scorpions: that these implacable enemies of the -country increased so, that though at first the whole nation attempted to -destroy them (for he who was bitten or stung by them, immediately fell -dead), so that, not knowing where to remain, or how to get food, they -were forced to fly to some other place for relief.[1194] Strabo has -inserted also this miraculous story in his Geography.[1195] - -Mr. Nichols mentions Spiders as having been embroidered on the white -gowns of ladies in the time of Queen Elizabeth.[1196] - -Sloane tells us the housekeepers of Jamaica keep large Spiders in their -houses to kill cockroaches.[1197] - -Captain Dampier, after minutely describing in his quaint way the "teeth" -of a "sort of Spider, some near as big as a Man's Fist," which are found -in the West Indies, says: "These Teeth we often preserve. Some wear them -in their Tobacco-pouches to pick their Pipes. Others preserve them for -tooth-pickers, especially such as are troubled with the toothache; for -by report they will expell that Pain."[1198] These teeth, which are of a -finely polished substance, extremely hard, and of a bright shining -black, are often, in the Bermudas, for these qualities set in silver or -gold and used also for tooth-picks.[1199] - -Dr. Sparrman says that Spiders form an article of the Bushman's -dainties;[1200] and Labillardiere tells us that the inhabitants of New -Caledonia seek for and eat with avidity large quantities of a Spider -nearly an inch long (which he calls _Aranea edulis_) and which they -roast over the fire.[1201] Spiders are also eaten by the American -Indians and Australians.[1202] Molien says: "The people of Maniana, -south of Gambia and Senegal, are cannibals. They eat Spiders, Beetles, -and old men."[1203] In Siam, also, we learn from Turpin, the egg-bags of -Spiders are considered a delicate food. The bags of certain poisonous -species which make holes in the ground in the woods are preferred.[1204] - -And Peter Martyr, in his History of the West Indies, makes the following -statement: "The Chiribichenses (Caribbeans) eate Spiders, Frogges, and -whatsoever woormes, and lice also without loathing, although in other -thinges they are so queasie stomaked, that if they see anything that -doth not like them, they presently cast upp whatsoever is in their -stomacke."[1205] - -Reaumur tells us of a young lady who when she walked in her grounds -never saw a Spider that she did not take and eat upon the spot.[1206] -Another female, the celebrated Anna Maria Schurman, used to crack them -between her teeth like nuts, which she affirmed they much resembled in -taste, excusing her propensity by saying that she was born under the -sign Scorpio.[1207] "When Alexander reigned, it is reported that there -was a very beautiful strumpet in Alexandria, that fed alwayes from her -childhood on Spiders, and for that reason the king was admonished that -he should be very carefull not to embrace her, lest he should be -poysoned by venome that might evaporate from her by sweat. Albertus -Magnus also makes mention of a certain noble mayd of Collen, that was -fed with Spiders from her childhood. And we in England have a great lady -yet living, who will not leave off eating of them. And Phaerus, a -physician, did often eat them without any hurt at all."[1208] - -La Lande, the celebrated French astronomer, we are told by Disjonval, -ate as delicacies Spiders and Caterpillars. He boasted of this as a -philosophic trait of character, that he could raise himself above -dislikes and prejudices; and, to cure Madame Lepaute of a very annoying -fear of, and antipathy to Spiders, it is said he gradually habituated -her to look upon them, to touch, and finally to swallow them as readily -as he himself.[1209] - -A German, immortalized by Rösel, used to eat Spiders by handfuls, and -spread them upon his bread like butter, observing that he found them -very useful, "_um sich auszulaxiren_."[1210] - -The satirist, Peter Pindar, records the same of Sir Joshua Banks: - - How early Genius shows itself at times, - Thus Pope, the prince of poets, lisped in rhymes, - And our Sir Joshua Banks, most strange to utter, - To whom each cockroach-eater is a fool, - Did, when a very little boy at school, - Eat Spiders, spread upon his bread and butter. - -Conradus, bishop of Constance, at the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, -drank off a Spider that had fallen into his cup of wine, while he was -busied in the consecration of the elements; "yet did he not receive the -least hurt or damage thereby."[1211] - -We learn from Poggio, the Florentine, that Zisca, the great and -victorious reformer of Bohemia, was such an epicure, that he only asked -for, as his share of the plunder, what he was pleased to call "the -cobwebs, which hung from the roofs of the farmers' houses." It is said, -however, that this was but one of his witty circumlocutions to express -the hams, sausages, and pig-cheeks, for which Bohemia has always been -celebrated.[1212] - -For the bite of all Spiders, according to Pliny, the best remedies are -"a cock's brains, taken in oxycrate with a little pepper; five ants, -swallowed in drink; sheep's dung applied in vinegar; and Spiders of any -kind, left to putrify in oil."[1213] Another proper remedy, says this -writer, is, "to present before the eyes of a person stung another Spider -of the same description, a purpose for which they are preserved when -found dead. Their husks also," he continues, "found in a dry state, are -beaten up and taken in drink for a similar purpose. The young of the -weasel, too, are possessed of a similar property."[1214] - -Among the remedies given by Pliny for diseases of eyes, is mentioned -"the cobweb of the common fly-Spider, that which lines its hole more -particularly. This," he continues, "applied to the forehead across the -temples, in a compress of some kind or other, is said to be marvellously -useful for the cure of defluxions of the eyes; the web must be taken, -however, and applied by the hands of a boy who has not arrived at the -years of puberty; the boy, too, must not show himself to the patient for -three days, and during those three days neither of them must touch the -ground with his feet uncovered. The white Spider with very elongated, -thin legs, beaten up in old oil, forms an ointment which is used for the -cure of albugo. The Spider, too, whose web, of remarkable thickness, is -generally found adhering to the rafters of houses, applied in a piece of -cloth, is said to be curative of defluxions of the eyes."[1215] - -As a remedy for the ears, Pliny says: "The thick pulp of a Spider's -body, mixed with oil of roses, is used for the ears; or else the pulp -applied by itself with saffron or in wool."[1216] - -For fractures of the cranium, Pliny says, cobwebs are applied, with oil -and vinegar; the application never coming away till a cure has been -effected. Cobwebs are good, too, he continues, for stopping the bleeding -of wounds made in shaving.[1217] They are still used for this purpose, -as also the fur from articles made of beaver. - -In Ben Jonson's Stable of News, Almanac says of old Penny boy (as a skit -upon his penuriousness), that he - - Sweeps down no cobwebs here, - But sells 'em for cut fingers; and the Spiders, - As creatures rear'd of dust, and cost him nothing, - To fat old ladies' monkies.[1218] - -And Shakspeare, in his Midsummer-Night's Dream, makes Bottom say to the -fairy Cobweb: - - "I shall desire you of more acquaintance, good master Cobweb. If I - cut my finger, I shall make bold with you."[1219] - -Pills formed of Spiders' webs are still considered an infallible cure -for the ague.[1220] Dr. Graham, in his Domestic Medicine, prescribes it -for ague and intermittent fever. And Spiders themselves, with their legs -pinched off, and then powdered with flour, so as to resemble a pill, -are also sometimes given for ague.[1221] Dr. Chapman, of Philadelphia, -states that in doses of five grains of Spiders' web, repeated every -fourth or fifth hour, he has cured some obstinate intermittents, -suspended the paroxysms of hectic, overcome morbid vigilance from -excessive nervous mobility, and quieted irritation of the system from -various causes, and not less as connected with protracted coughs and -other chronic pectoral affections.[1222] - -Mrs. Delany, in a letter dated March 1st, 1743-4, gives two infallible -recipes for ague. - -1st. Pounded ginger, made into paste with brandy, spread on sheep's -leather, and a plaister of it laid over the navel. - -2d. A Spider put into a goose-quill, well sealed and secured, and hung -about the child's neck as low as the pit of its stomach. - -Upon this Lady Llanover notes: "Although the prescription of the Spider -in the quill will probably create amusement, considered as an old charm, -yet there is no doubt of the medicinal virtues of Spiders and their -webs, which have been long known to the Celtic inhabitants of Great -Britain and Ireland."[1223] - -The above mentioned Dr. Graham states that he has known of a Spider -having been sewed up in a rag and worn as a periapt round the neck to -charm away the ague.[1224] - -In the Netherlands, it is thought good for an ague, to inclose a Spider -between the two halves of a nut-shell, and wear it about the neck.[1225] - -"In the diary of Elias Ashmole, 11th April, 1681, is preserved the -following curious incident: 'I took early in the morning a good dose of -elixir, and hung three Spiders about my neck, and they drove my ague -away. Deo gratias!' Ashmole was a judicial astrologer, and the patron of -the renowned Mr. Lilly. Par nobile fratrum."[1226] - -"Among the approved Remedies of Sir Matthew Lister, I find," says Dr. -James, "that the distilled water of black Spiders is an excellent cure -for wounds, and that this was one of the choice secrets of Sir Walter -Raleigh.... - -"The Spider is said to avert the paroxisms of fevers, if it be applied -to the pulse of the wrist, or the temples; but it is peculiarly -recommended against a quartan, being enclosed in the shell of a -hazlenut.... - -"The Spider, which some call the catcher, or wolf, being beaten into a -plaister, then sewed up in linen, and applied to the forehead and -temples, prevents the return of the tertian.... There is another kind of -Spider, which spins a white, fine, and thick web. One of this sort, -wrapped in leather, and hung about the arm, will, it is said, avert the -fit of a quartan. Boiled in oil of roses, and distilled into the ears, -it eases (says Dioscorides, ii. 68) pains in those parts.... - -"The country people have a tradition, that a small quantity of Spiders' -web, given about an hour before the fit of an ague, and repeated -immediately before it, is effectual in curing that troublesome, and -sometimes obstinate distemper.... The Indians about North Carolina have -great dependence on this remedy for ague, to which they are much -subject."[1227] - -"Of the cod or bags of Spiders, M. Bon caused a sort of drops to be -made, in imitation of those of Goddard, because they contain a great -quantity of volatile salt."[1228] - -Moufet, in Theatrum Insectorum, has the following: "Also that knotty -whip of God, and mock of all physicians, the Gowt, which learned men say -can be cured by no remedy, findes help and cure by a Spider layed on, if -it be taken at that time when neither sun nor moon shine, and the hinder -legs pulled off, and put into a deer's skin and bound to the pained -foot, and be left on it for some time. Also for the most part we finde -those people to be free from the gowt of hands or feet (which few -medicaments can doe), in whose houses the Spiders breed much, and doth -beautifie them with her tapestry and hangings.... Our chirurgeons cure -warts thus: They wrap a Spider's ordinary web into the fashion of a -ball, and laying it on the wart, they set it on fire, and so let it burn -to ashes; by this means the wart is rooted out by the roots, and will -never grow again.... I cannot but repeat a history that I formerly heard -from our dear friend worthy to be believed, Bruerus. A lustfull nephew -of his, having spent his estate in rioting and brothel-houses, being -ready to undertake anything for money, to the hazzard of his life; when -he heard of a rich matron of London, that was troubled with a timpany, -and was forsaken of all physicians as past cure, he counterfeited -himself to be a physician in practice, giving forth that he would cure -her and all diseases. But as the custom is, he must have half in hand, -and the other half under her hand, to be payed when she was cured. Then -he gave her a Spider to drink, as supposing her past cure, promising to -make her well in three dayes, and so in a coach with four horses he -presently hastes out of town, lest there being a rumor of the death of -her (which he supposed to be very neer) he should be apprehended for -killing her. But the woman shortly after by the force of the venome was -cured, and the ignorant physician, who was the author of so great a -work, was not known. After some moneths this good man returns, not -knowing what had happened, and secretly enquiring concerning the state -of that woman, he heard she was recovered. Then he began to boast -openly, and to ask her how she had observed her diet, and he excused his -long absence, by reason of the sickenesse of a principal friend, and -that he was certain that no harm could proceed from so healthful -physick; also he asked confidently for the rest of his reward, and to be -given him freely."[1229] - -"A third kind of Spiders," says Pliny, "also known as the 'phalangium,' -is a Spider with a hairy body, and a head of enormous size. When opened, -there are found in it two small worms, they say: these, attached in a -piece of deer's skin, before sunrise, to a woman's body, will prevent -conception, according to what Cæcilius, in his Commentaries, says. This -property lasts, however, for a year only; and, indeed, it is the only -one of all the anti-conceptives that I feel myself at liberty to -mention, in favour of some women whose fecundity, quite teeming with -children (plena liberis), stands in need of some such respite."[1230] - -Mr. John Aubrey, in the chapter of his Miscellanies devoted to Magick, -gives the following: "To cure a Beast that is sprung, (that is) poisoned -(It mostly lights upon Sheep): Take the little red Spider, called a -tentbob (not so big as a great pin's-head), the first you light upon in -the spring of the year, and rub it in the palm of your hand all to -pieces: and having so done, make water on it, and rub it in, and let it -dry; then come to the beast and make water in your hand, and throw it in -his mouth. It cures in a matter of an hour's time. This rubbing serves -for a whole year, and it is no danger to the hand. The chiefest skill is -to know whether the beast be poisoned or no."[1231] Mr. Aubrey had this -receipt from Mr. Pacy. - -In the year 1709, M. Bon, of Montpellier, communicated to the Royal -Academy of that city a discovery which he had made of a new kind of -silk, from the very fine threads with which several species of Spiders -(probably the _Aranea diadema_ and others closely allied to it) inclose -their eggs; which threads were found to be much stronger than those -composing the Spider's web. They were easily separated, carded, and -spun, and then afforded a much finer thread than that of the silk-worm, -but, according to Reaumur, inferior to this both in luster and strength. -They were also found capable of receiving all the different dyes with -equal facility. M. Bon carried his experiments so far as to obtain two -or three pairs of stockings and gloves of this silk, which were of an -elegant gray color, and were presented, as samples, to the Academy. As -the Spiders also were much more prolific, and much more hardy than -silk-worms, great expectations were formed of benefit of the discovery. -Reaumur accordingly took up and prosecuted the inquiry with zeal. He -computed that 663,522 Spiders would scarcely furnish a single pound of -silk; and conceived that it would be impossible to provide the -necessarily immense numbers with flies, their natural food. This -obstacle, however, was soon removed, by his finding that they would -subsist very well upon earth-worms chopped, and upon the soft ends or -roots of feathers. But a new obstacle arose from their unsocial -propensities, which proved insurmountable; for though at first they -seemed to feed quietly, and even work together, several of them at the -same web, yet they soon began to quarrel, and the strongest devoured the -weakest, so that of several hundred, placed together in a box, but three -or four remained alive after a few days; and nobody could propose to -keep and feed each separately. The silk was found to be naturally of -different colors; particularly white, yellow, gray, sky-blue, and -coffee-colored brown.[1232] - -A Spider raiser in France, more recently, is said to have tamed eight -hundred Spiders, which he kept in a single apartment for their -silk.[1233] - -De Azara states that in Paraguay a Spider forms a spherical cocoon for -its eggs, an inch in diameter, of a yellow silk, which the inhabitants -spin on account of the permanency of the color.[1234] - -The ladies of Bermuda make use of the silk of the Silk-Spider, _Epeira -clavipes_, for sewing purposes.[1235] - -The Spider-web fabric has been carried so nearly to transparency (in -Hindostan) that the Emperor Aurengzebe is said to have reproved his -daughter for the indelicacy of her costume, while she wore as many as -seven thicknesses of it.[1236] - -Astronomers employ the strongest thread of Spiders, the one, namely, -that supports the web, for the divisions of the micrometer. By its -ductility this thread acquires about a fifth of its ordinary -length.[1237] - -Topsel, in his History of Four-footed Beasts and Serpents, has the -following, which he calls an "old and common verse: - - Nos aper auditu præcellit, Aranea tactu, - Vultur odoratu, lynx visu, simia gustu. - -Which may be Englished thus: - - To hear, the boar, to touch, the Spider us excells, - The lynx to see, the ape to taste, the vulture for the smells." - [1238] - -"It is manifest," says Moufet, "that Spiders are bred of some aereall -seeds putrefied, from filth and corruption, because that the newest -houses the first day they are whited will have both Spiders and cobwebs -in them."[1239] This theory of generation from putrefaction was a -favorite one among the ancient writers; see the history of the Scorpion. - - - - -MISCELLANEOUS. - - -It may be new to many of our readers, who are familiar with the Elegy in -a Country Church-yard, to be told that its author was at the pains to -turn the characteristics of the Linnæan orders of insects into Latin -hexameters, the manuscript of which is still preserved in his -interleaved copy of the "Systema Naturæ."[1240] - -It is related by Boerhaave, in his Life of Swammerdam, that when the -Grand Duke of Tuscany was visiting with Mr. Thevenot the curiosities of -Holland, in 1668, he found nothing more worthy of his admiration than -the great naturalist's account of the structure of caterpillars,--for -Swammerdam, by the skillful management of instruments of wonderful -delicacy and fineness, showed the duke in what manner the future -butterfly, with all its parts, lies neatly folded up in the caterpillar, -like a rose in the unexpanded bud. He was, indeed, so struck with this -and other wonders of the insect world, disclosed to him by the great -naturalist, that he made him the offer of twelve thousand florins to -induce him to reside at his court; but Swammerdam, from feelings of -independence, modestly declined to accept it, preferring to continue his -delightful studies at home.[1241] - -There is an epitaph in the church of St. Hilary at Poictiers, beginning -"Vermibus hic ponor," which the people interpreted to mean that a Saint -was buried there who undertook to cure children of the worms. Women, -accordingly used to scrape the tomb and administer the powder; but the -clergy, to prevent this absurdity (for Luther had arisen), erected a -barrier to keep them off. They soon began, however, to carry away for -the same purpose pieces of the wooden bars.[1242] - -A diseased woman at Patton, drinking of the water in which the bones of -St. Milburge were washed, there came from her stomach "a filthie worme, -ugly and horrible to behold, having six feete, two hornes on his head, -and two on his tayle." Brother Porter, in his Flowers of the Saints, -tells this, and adds that the "worme was shutt up in a hollow piece of -wood, and reserved afterward in the monasterie as a trophy and monument -of S. Milburg, untill, by the lascivious furie of him that destroyed all -goodness in England, that with other religious houses and monasteries, -went to ruin." Hence the "filthie worme" was lost, and we have nothing -now instead but the Reformation.[1243] - -Capt. Clarke, in his passage from Dublin to Chester, on the 2d of -September, 1733, met with a cloud "of flying insects of various sorts," -which stuck about the rigging of the vessel in a surprising -manner.[1244] - -De Geer, chamberlain to the King of Sweden, writes (iv. 63) that in -January, 1749, at Leufsta, in Sweden, and in three or four neighboring -parishes, the snow was covered with living worms and insects of various -kinds. The people assured him they fell with the snow, and he was shown -several that had dropped on people's hats. He caused the snow to be -removed from places where these worms had been seen, and found several -which seemed to be on the surface of the snow which had fallen before, -and were covered by the succeeding. It was impossible that they could -have come there from under the ground, which was then frozen more than -three feet deep, and absolutely impervious to such insects. In 1750, he -again discovered vast quantities of insects on the snow, which covered a -large frozen lake some leagues from Stockholm. Preceding and -accompanying both these falls of insects were violent storms that had -torn up trees by the roots, and carried away to a great distance the -surrounding earth, and at the same time the insects which had taken up -their winter quarters in it.[1245] These insects were chiefly -_Brachyptera_ L., _Aphodii_, Spiders, caterpillars, and particularly the -larvæ of the _Telephorus fuscus_.[1246] Another shower of insects is -recorded to have fallen in Hungary, November 20, 1672;[1247] another, -also, in the newspapers of July 2d, 1810, to have fallen in France the -January preceding, accompanied by a shower of red snow.[1248] - -In the Muses Threnodie, p. 213, we read that "many are the instances, -even to this day, of charms practised among the vulgar, especially among -the Highlands, attended with forms of prayer. In the Miscellaneous MS., -written by Baillie Dundee, among several medicinal receipts I find an -exorcism against all kinds of worms in the body, in the name of the -Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, to be repeated three mornings, as a certain -remedy."[1249] - -The Guahibo, Humboldt says, that "eats everything that exists above, and -everything under ground," eats insects, and particularly scolopendras -and worms.[1250] The same traveler also says he has seen the Indian -children drag out of the earth centipedes eighteen inches long, and more -than half an inch broad, and devour them.[1251] - -"The seventeene of March, 1586," says John Stow in his Annales of -England, "a strange thing happened, the like whereof before hath not -beene heard of in our time. Master Dorington, of Spaldwicke, in the -countie of Huntington, esquier, one of his maiesties gentlemen -Pensioners, had a horse which died sodainly, and, being ripped to see -the cause of his death, there was found in the hole of the hart of the -same horse a strange worme, which lay on a round heape in a kall or skin -of the likeness of a toade, which, being taken out and spread abroad, -was in forme and fashion not easie to be described, the length of which -worme divided into many greines to the number of fiftie (spread from the -bodie like the branches of a tree), was from the snowte to the ende of -the longest greine, seventeene inches, having four issues in the -greines, from the which dropped foorth a red water; the body in bignes -round about was three inches and a halfe, the colour whereof was very -like a makerel. This monstrous worme, found in manner aforesaid, -crauling to have got away, was stabbed in with a dagger and died, which, -after being dried, was shewed to many honorable persons of the -realme."[1252] - -Dr. Sparrman, in his journey to Paarl, an inland town at the Cape of -Good Hope, having filled his insect-box with fine specimens, was obliged -to put a "whole regiment of flies and other insects" round the brim of -his hat. Having entered the house of a rich old widow troubled with the -gout, for food, he was warned by his servant that if she should happen -to see the insects he would certainly be turned out of doors for a -conjuror (hexmeester). Accordingly he was very careful to keep his hat -always turned away from her, but all would not do--the old lady -discovered the "little beasts," and to her greater astonishment that -they were run through their bodies with pins. An immediate explanation -was demanded; and had the doctor not been just then lamenting with the -widow for her deceased husband, and giving dissertations on the dropsy -and cough that carried off the poor man, the explanation he gave would -hardly have been sufficient to quell the rage of this superstitious boor -at the thought of there being a sorcerer in her house.[1253] - -In several parts of Europe quite a trade is carried on in the way of -buying and selling rare insects, chiefly the rare Alpine butterflies and -moths. The instant the entomologist steps from his carriage, in the -celebrated valley of Chamouni, with net in hand, whence he is known to -be a papillionist, he is surrounded by half a dozen Savoyard boys, from -the age of fifteen down to eight, each with a large collecting-box full -of insects in his hands for sale, and with the scientist bargains for -the insects that are found only on the mountains, and which these hardy -chaps alone can obtain. There are again insect dealers on a larger -scale, who live there, and have many of these boys in their employ; one -of which wholesale merchants, Michel Bossonney, at Martigni in the -Vallais, in the year 1829, sold 7000 insects, mostly of rare and -beautiful species. Another dealer, on a perhaps still larger scale, is -M. Provost Duval, of Geneva, a highly respectable entomologist. In 1830, -he could supply upwards of 600 species of Lepidoptera, and as many -Coleoptera, of the Swiss Alps, the south of France, and Germany, at -prices varying from one to fifteen francs each, according to their -rarity. - -The advantage of this new traffic, both to the individuals engaged in it -and to science, is great. Now the _Sphinx (Deilephila) hippophaes_, -formerly sold at sixty francs each, and of which one of the first -discovered specimens was sold for two hundred francs, is so plentiful, -in consequence of the numbers collected and reared through their several -stages, by the peasants all along the course of the Arve, where the -plant, _Hippophae rhamöides_, on which the larvæ feed, and the imago -takes its specific name, grows in profusion, that a specimen costs but -three francs. A general taste also for the science, and an appreciation -for beauty, is spread by the more striking Alpine species, such as -_Parnassius apollo_ and _Calichroma alpina_, not only among the -travelers who buy them for their beauty, who before would hardly deign -to look upon an insect, but among the more ignorant Alpine collectors -themselves.[1254] - -Navarette, under the head of "Insects and Vermin," speaks of an animal -which the Chinese call Jen Ting, or Wall-dragon, because it runs up and -down walls. It is also, says this traveler, called the Guard of the -Palace, and this for the following reason: The emperors were accustomed -to make an ointment of this insect, and some other ingredients, with -which they anointed their concubines' wrists, as the mark of it -continued as long as they had not to do with man; but as soon as they -did so, it immediately vanished, by which their honesty or falsehood was -discovered. Hence it came that this insect was called the Guard of the -Court, or, of the court ladies. Navarette laments that all men have not -a knowledge of this wonderful ointment.[1255] - -Navarette tells us he once caught (in China?) a small insect that was -injurious to poultry--"a very deformed insect, and of a strange -shape"--when, as soon as it was known, several women ran to him to beg -its _tail_. He gave it to them, and they told him it was of excellent -use when dried, and made into powder, "being a prodigious help to women -in labor, to forward their delivery, if they drank it in a little -wine."[1256] - -The Irish have a large beetle of which strange tales are believed; they -term it the Coffin-cutter, and deem it in some way connected with the -grave and purgatory.[1257] - -Turpin, in his History of Siam, says: "There is a very singular animal -in Siam ... bred in the dung of elephants. It is entirely black, its -wings are strong, and its head extremely curious: it is furnished on the -top with several points, in the form of a trunk, and a small horn in the -middle: it has four large feet, which raise it more than an inch from -the ground: its back seems to be one very hard entire shell. It flies to -the very top of the cocoa-trees, of which it eats the heart, and often -kills them, if a remedy is not applied. Children play with them, and -make them fight."[1258] - -General Count Déjeau, Aid-de-camp to Napoleon Bonaparte, was so anxious, -says Jaeger, in his Life of North American Insects, to increase the -number of specimens in his entomological cabinet, that he even availed -himself of his military campaigns for this purpose, and was continually -occupied in collecting insects and fastening them with pins on the -outside of his hat, which was always covered with them. The Emperor, as -well as the whole army, were accustomed to see General Déjeau's head -thus singularly ornamented, even when in battle. But the departed -spirits of those murdered insects once had their revenge on him; for, in -the battle of Wagram, in 1809, and while he was at the side of Napoleon, -a shot from the enemy struck Déjeau's head, and precipitated him -senseless from his horse. Soon, however, recovering from the shock, and -being asked by the Emperor if he was still alive, he answered, "I am not -dead; but, alas! my insects are all gone!" for his hat was literally -torn to pieces.[1259] - -Professor Jaeger tells also the following anecdote of another passionate -naturalist: The celebrated Prince Paul of Würtemberg, whom Mr. Jaeger -met in 1829 at Port-au-Prince, being one day at the latter's house, shed -tears of envy when he showed him the gigantic beetle Actæon, which, only -a short time before, had been presented to him by the Haytien Admiral -Banajotti, he having found it at the foot of a cocoa-nut tree on his -plantation.[1260] - -While traveling in Poland, Professor Jaeger visited the highly -accomplished Countess Ragowska, at her country residence, when she -exhibited her fine, scientifically-arranged collection of butterflies -and other insects, and told him that she had personally instructed her -children in botany, history, and geography by means of her entomological -cabinet--botany, from the plants on which the various larvæ feed; -history, from the names, as Menelaus, Berenice, etc., given as specific -names to the perfect insects; and geography, from the native countries -of the several specimens.[1261] From the scientific names of insects, -and the technical terms employed in their study, quite a knowledge of -Latin and Greek, and philology in general, might also be gained. - -In R. Brookes' "Natural History of Insects, with their properties and -uses in medicine," we find the following statement: "There have been the -solid shells of a sort of Beetle brought to England, that were found on -the eastern coast of Africa, over against part of the Island of -Madagascar, which the natives hang to their necks, and make use of them -as whistles to call their cattle together."[1262] What this "sort of -Beetle" is I have not been able yet to determine. - -Mr. Fitch W. Taylor, chaplain to the squadron commanded by Commodore -Geo. C. Read, gives a translation of several Siamese books, and among -others the Siamese Dream-book. It was translated by Mrs. Davenport, and -the subject is thus introduced: - -"In former times a great prophet and magician, who had much wisdom and -could foretell all future events, gave the following interpretation of -signs and dreams. Whosoever sees signs and visions, if he wishes to know -whether they forebode good or evil, whether happiness or misery, if he -dream of any animals, insects, birds, or fishes, and wishes to know the -interpretation, let him examine this book." - -Of these signs and dreams I make extract of those which refer to -insects, as follows: - -"If a person be alone, and an insect or reptile fall before the face, -but the individual see it only without touching it, it denotes that some -heavenly being will bestow great blessings on him. If it fall to the -right side, it denotes that all his friends, wherever scattered abroad, -shall again meet him in peace. If it fall behind the person, it denotes -that he shall be slandered and maliciously talked of by his friends and -acquaintances. If in falling it strike the face, it denotes that the -individual will soon be married. If it strike the right arm, it denotes -that the individual's wishes, whatever they are, shall be accomplished. -If it strike the left hand, it denotes that the individual will lose his -friends by death. If it strike the foot, it denotes that whatever -trouble the individual may have had, all shall vanish, and he shall -reach the summit of happiness. If, after touching the foot, it should -crawl upward toward the head, it denotes that the individual shall be -raised to high office by the rulers of his country. If it crawl to the -right side, it denotes that the person shall hear bad tidings of some -absent friend. If the insect or reptile fall without touching the body, -and immediately flee toward the northeast, it denotes deep but not -lasting trouble; if toward the northwest, it denotes that the person -shall receive numerous and valuable presents; if toward the southeast, -it denotes that he shall receive great riches, and afterwards go to a -distant land; or that he shall go to a distant land, and there amass -great wealth. - -"If an animal, insect, bird, or reptile, cross the path of any one as he -walks along, the animal coming from the right, let him not proceed--some -calamity will surely happen to him in the way. If the animal come from -the left, let him proceed--good fortune shall surely happen to him. If -the animal proceed before him in the same road in which he intends to -travel, it denotes good fortune.... - -"I now beg to interpret the signs of the night. If at midnight an -individual hears the noises of animals in the house where he resides, I -will show him whether they indicate good or evil. If any insect cry -'click, click, click,' he will possess real treasures while he abides -there. If it cry 'kek, kek,' it is an evil omen both to that and the -neighboring houses. If it cry 'chit, chit,' it denotes that he shall -always feed upon the most sumptuous provisions. If it cry 'keat, keat,' -in a loud, shrill voice, it denotes that his residence there shall be -attended with evil. - -"I now beg to interpret with regard to the Spider. If a Spider on the -ceiling utter a low, tremulous moan, it denotes that the individual who -hears the noise shall either change his residence or that his goods -shall be stolen. If it utter the same voice on the outside of the house, -and afterward the Spider crawl to the head of the bed, it denotes -troublesome visitors and quarrels to the residents."[1263] - -Thevenot, in his Travels into the Levant, relates the following: "But I -cannot tell what to say of a Moorish Woman who lives in a corner close -by the quarter of France, and pulls worms out of Children's Ears. When a -Child does nothing but cry, and that they know it is ill, they carry it -to that Woman, who, laying the Child on its side upon her knee, -scratches the ear of it, and then Worms, like those which breed in musty -weevily Flower, seem to fall out of the Child's Ear; then, turning it on -the other side, she scratches the other Ear, out of which the like Worms -drop also; and in all there may come out ten or twelve, which she raps -up in a Linen-Rag, and gives them to those that brought the Child to -her, who keep them in that Rag at home in their House; and when she has -done so she gives them back the Child, which in reality cries no more. -She once told me that she performed this by means of some words that she -spake. There was a French Physician and a Naturalist there, who -attentively beheld this, and told me that he could not conceive how it -could be done; but that he knew very well that if a child had any of -these Worms in its head it would quickly die. In so much that the Moors -and other inhabitants of _Caire_ look upon this as a great Vertue, and -give her every time a great many _maidins_ (pieces of money). They say -that it is a secret which hath been long in the Family. There are -children every day carried to her, roaring and crying, and as many would -see the thing done, need only to follow them, provided they be not -Musulman Women who carry them, for then it would cost an _Avanie_; but -when they are Christian or Jewish Women, one may easily enter and give a -few _maidins_ to that Worm-drawer."[1264] - -This is most probably but a sleight-of-hand performance, since "worms, -like those which breed in musty weevily flower," could easily be -obtained and concealed in her hand or sleeve; imagination would then -effect the cure, as probably it had done the disease. - -Dr. Livingstone and his party, in traveling in South Africa, sometimes -suffered considerably from scarcity of meat, though not from absolute -want of food. And the natives, says this traveler, to show their -sympathy, gave the children, who suffered most, a large kind of -caterpillar, which they seemed to relish. He concluded these insects -could not be unwholesome, for the natives devoured them in large -quantities themselves.[1265] - - - - -INDEX. - - - Abortion, Ant to cause, 170; - from hurt, Cochineal to prevent, 262. - - Abraxas for curing diseases, 37-39. - - _Acanthocinus ædilis_, 73. - _tribulus_, 74. - - _Acaridæ_, 321. - - _Acarus_, 320, 321. - - _Acheta domestica_, 92-97. - - _Achetidæ_, 92-97. - - Acid made from Ants, 161. - - _Acridites lincola_, 126. - - Acridophagi, account of the, 120. - - Adultery, insect to detect, 367. - - Africa, Ants in, 156-7; - Bees, 191, 200; - Butterflies, 227, 231; - Caterpillars, 372; - Crickets, 95; - Dragon-flies, 140; - Flies, 288; - Gnats, 282; - Goliath-beetle, 46; - Larvæ, 71; - Lice, 317; - Locusts, 101-130; - Mantis, 84-88; - Soap from beetle, 23; - Spiders, 354; - Termites, 132-137. - - Agaric-Gnat, 286. - - _Agestrata luconica_, 49. - - _Agrotis telifera_, 247. - - Ague, Bed-bugs as a remedy for, 67; - Dung-beetle, 44; - Oil of Scorpions, 330; - Spiders, 357-360; - Stag-beetle, 26. - - Albugo, Cobwebs remedy for, 357. - - Ali Gamooni, forger of Scarab-gems, 38, n. - - Alopecia, Bees remedy for, 206. - - Altars ornamented with Chrysalids, 231. - - Amber, Ant inclosed in, 169; - Bee, 212. - - America, Bees in, 197; - Crickets, 95; - Fleas, 313; - Gnats, 281; - Lady-birds, 21; - Lice, 318; - Musk-beetle, 73; - Spiders, 354. - - Amputation on account of Chigoes, 315. - - Animals becoming plants, 90-92; - Egyptian worship of, theory on, 43, n. - - _Anobium pertinax_, 61. - _striatum_, 61. - _tesselatum_, 58-61. - - _Anopleura_, 316-320. - - Ant-hills, ovens made of, 134. - - Antipathy to Beetles, 74; - Spiders, 344. - - Antler-moth, 246. - - _Ant-lions_, 141. - - _Ants_, 146-170, 196, 295, 322, 327, 356. - - Anus, prolapsed, Scarab remedy for, 44. - - _Aphaniptera_, 305-315. - - _Aphidæ_, 257-259. - - _Aphis humuli_, 258. - - _Apidæ_, 174-215. - - _Apis centuncularis_, 213. - - Apple-blossoms, May-bugs produced with, 47. - - Apocalypse, symbolical Locusts of the, 123. - - Apollo, Locusts destroyed by, 128. - - Aquitaine, bloody-rain in, 218. - - Arabia, beetle eaten by women of, 65; - Silk-worms in, 239. - - _Arachnida_, 321-362. - - _Araneidæ_, 332-362. - - _Aranea diadema_, 361. - - _Aranea edulis_, 354. - _obtextrix_, 347. - _tarantula_, 351. - - _Arctiidæ_, 242-245. - - _Arctia chrysorrhoea_, 242. - - Armies routed by Mosquitoes, 282. - - Armpits, Silk-worms hatched under, 240. - - Arms, Bees on coat of, 196; - Butterfly, 229. - - Army-worm, 247. - - Arrows tipped with poison of an Ant, 161. - - Artificial flowers, beetles upon, 23. - - Artillery employed against Ants, 168; - Locusts, 106. - - _Ascarides_ in human stomach, 67. - - Asia, Honey-dew in, 257; - Locusts, 103-130. - - Ass, dung of, for sting of Scorpions, 326; - Fleas do not bite, 310; - Hornets generated from carcass of, 171; - Locusts, 101; - Scarabs, 170; - Scarab supposed to make its balls of the dung of, 28; - Silk woven by an, 241; - sting of Scorpions transferred to, 325; - Wasps generated from carcass of, 170. - - Assyria, Egyptian Scarab-gems among ruins of, 39-41. - - Assyrians, Locusts eaten by the, 126. - - Astringent, Galls as an, 145. - - Astronomical subjects, Scarab connected with, 33, 37. - - _Ateuchus Ægyptorum_, 29. - _sacer_, 29-43. - - Athenians, golden cicadas worn by, 251; - Locusts eaten by, 120. - - Athens, so-called Flies at, 291, n. - - Atrophy, Lice remedy for, 319. - - Auks, snow colored red by, 220, n. - - Australia, Butterflies in, 231; - Flies, 288; - larvæ eaten in, 70. - - Automaton Flies, 294. - - Azores, _Coccidæ_ in, 264. - - - Baalzebub worshiped under form of a Fly, 292. - - Back, Termite queens for strengthening the, 137. - - Baldness, Bees remedy for, 206; - Flies, 295. - - Balm, antidote for poisons, 193; - Bee-hives prepared with, 190. - - Banian Hospital for animals, 266. - - Banks, Sir Joshua, Spiders eaten by, 356. - - Barbados, Ants in, 167; - Ash-colored Cricket, 92; - Ash-colored Grasshopper, 98; - Gnats, 279; - Grou-grou worm, 70; - Lantern-flies, 256. - - Barbary, Locusts in, 105-130. - - Barley, Glow-worms indicate ripeness of, 58. - - Bashikouay-ants, 157, 158. - - Basilidians, abraxas invented by the, 37. - - Basill, the herb, Scorpions generated from, 322. - - Basilisks, Scorpions generated from, 322. - - Battles of Ants, 151; - Gnats, 278. - - Bats eaten in Cumana, 99; - to drive away Locusts, 114. - - Beans for sting of Scorpions, 327. - - Bears, Ants eaten by, to purge, 163; - fat and blood of, to kill Caterpillars, 245; - man saved by a, 196. - - _Bed-bugs_, 265-274, 306. - - Bedeguar, 144. - - Beds, to rid of Bugs, 266; - Scorpions to cool, 324. - - Bee-moth, 248. - - _Bees_, 174-215. - - Beggars hired as food for vermin, 266; - Lice eaten by, 318. - - Bell, Caterpillars cursed with a, 243. - - Besiegers routed with Bees, 204; - by Mosquitoes, 283. - - Beetle-headed, 49. - - Beetles, 17-75. - - Bermuda, Butterflies in, 227; - Spiders, 354, 362. - - Berries, Cochineal supposed to be, 261. - - Bezoar-stone for sting of Scorpions, 326. - - Bible, Ant in the, 148; - Bees, 184; - Flea, 313; - Gnat, 285; - Locusts, 101, 128. - - Birds preserved to destroy Locusts, 114. - - Bishop Barnabee, Lady-bird so called, 19. - - Black-beetles, 78-82. - - Blacksmith-beetle, 55. - - _Blapsidæ_, 65-68. - - _Blaps mortisaga_, 65, 68, 78. - - _Blatta Americana_, 79. - _foetida_, 78. - _orientalis_, 79. - of the ancients, 78. - - _Blattidæ_, 78-82. - - Bleeding of wounds, cobwebs to arrest, 357. - - Blind as a beetle, 49. - - Blindness, Death's-head Moth supposed to cause, 233. - - _Blister-flies_, 62-64. - - Blood, showers of, 216-225. - - Boars drowned in Honey, 211. - - Boils cured by Ants, 162. - - _Bombicidæ_, 234-241. - - _Bombus_, 213. - - _Bombyx Madroni_, 239. - _mori_, 234. - - Books perforated by beetles, 61. - - _Bostrichidæ_, 61. - - _Bostrichus typographus_, 61. - - Botany, study of, from cabinet of insects, 369. - - _Bot-flies_, 302-304. - - Brain, Scorpion in a woman's, 322. - - Brandy flavored with Ants, 161. - - Brides in Holland, pupæ compared to, 232. - - Briers, May-bug grubs changed into, 48. - - Brazen Fly, game so called, 294. - - Brazil, Ants in, 160, 168; - Blister-flies, 63; - Diamond-beetles, 68; - Gold-beetles, 23; - Termites, 134-5. - - Browny invoked in hiving Bees, 190. - - Bruce and the Spider, 333. - - Bubo, pestilential, Oil-beetles for, 63. - - Buenos Ayres, Flies in, 287. - - Buffalo, Locusts a cross between the and Spider, 113. - - Bug-bear, meaning of, 265. - - Bug-poison, vending of, in London, 268. - - Bull, fat of, in charm to destroy Fleas, 308. - - Bullocks, Bees generated from, 183. - - _Burn-cows_, 50-51. - - Burnie-bee, Lady-bird so called, 22. - - Burning Spiders for amusement, 350. - - _Buprestidæ_, 50-51. - - _Buprestis attenuata_, 50. - _fascicularius_, 51. - _maxima_, 50. - _ocellata_, 50. - _vittata_, 50. - in Egypt, 29. - of the ancients, 51. - - _Butterflies_, 216-232. - - Butter, Grou-grou worm made into, 69. - - - Cabbage-tree worm, 68-70. - - _Cactus cochinilifer_, 261. - - Caffres make ovens of Ant-hills, 134. - - _Calandra palmarum_, 27, 68-70. - - _Calichroma alpina_, 367. - - California, Mosquitoes in, 284. - - _Callidryas alcmeone_, 227. - _hilariæ_, 227. - _pyranthe_, 227. - - Cameleons, Meal-worms as food for, 65. - - Camels employed in stealing gold from Ants, 146. - - Canaan subdued with Hornets, 171. - - Canary Islands, Locusts in, 104. - - Cancers, Cockroaches cure for, 78. - - Candle, why Moths fly in a, 242. - - Canker-worms, 248. - - _Canis corsac_ supposed to be the fabled gold-loving Ant - of India, 148. - - Cannon employed against Fleas, 308. - - _Cantharidæ_, 62-64. - - _Cantharides_, 62-64, 193. - - Cantharidine, 63. - - _Cantharis vesicatoria_, 62-64. - - _Cantharis_ in head of mummy, 41. - - Cantharus of the ancients, 27. - - Caprification of figs, 144. - - Capua, burning of, foreshown by Ants, 173. - - _Carabidæ_, 23. - - Carbuncle, Oil-beetle remedy for, 63. - - _Carabus chrysocephalus_, 71. - - Carcasses, Bees tenanting, 194. - - Caravans, Bee-, 199. - - Carcinoma, Buprestis remedy for, 51. - - Cardinals, Spiders so called, 342. - - Carli and the Ants, 156. - - Carpenter-bee, 213. - - Carriages drawn by Fleas, 312. - - Caribbean Islands, Bees in, 204; - Cucujus in, 53. - - Catamenia, women with, Caterpillars destroyed by, 244; - Buprestis for, 51. - - Catarrh, Crickets remedy for, 96. - - Catch-'em-alive papers, sellers of, 296. - - Caterpillars, 158, n., 242-248. - - Cattle, Bees generated from carcasses of, 183; - Daddy-Long-legs to find lost, 321; - killed by Bees, 203; - Mosquitoes, 283; - sting of Sirex, 142; - Spiders cure for poisoned, 360; - warbles of, 303; - whistle to call, made of beetle-shards, 369. - - Cats, Scarab-images with heads of, 36. - - Cayenne, Ants in, 162. - - Cedar, Spiders repelled by, 341. - - Centipedes as food, 365. - - _Cerambycidæ_, 72-74. - - _Cerambyx moschatus_, 73. - - Ceres, the Ant an attribute of, 152. - - _Cetoniidæ_, 49. - - Ceylon, Ants in, 158; - Bees, 214; - Black-ants, 157; - British soldiers tortured with Ants, 158; - _Buprestidæ_, 50; - Butterflies, 227; - Gnats, 282; - _Oryctes rhinoceros_, 46; - superstitions connected with insects, 46; - Termites, 135; - Wood-carrying Moth, 245. - - Chained Fleas, 312. - - Chalk, Ants cannot pass over a line of, 169. - - Chapelain, anecdote of, 332. - - Charity, sugar given to Ants as an act of, 152. - - Charles XII., army of, impeded by Locusts, 106. - - Charm for Bots in horses, 302. - - Chelonitis used in raising tempests, 45. - - Chemical process to destroy Locusts, 116. - - Chestnut, Spiders repelled by, 341. - - Chickens made to close Bee-hives against the Bee-moth, 249. - - Chigoes, 341. - - Chili, Gold-beetles in, 23. - - China, _Aphis_ for dyeing in, 258; - Blister-flies in, 63; - _Buprestidæ_, 50; - Butterflies, 229; - Cicadas, 253; - _Copris molossus_, 44; - Grasshoppers, 100; - insect to discover unchastity, 367; - to forward delivery, 368; - Lantern-fly, 256; - Locusts, 112-130; - Mantis, 87; - Silk-worms, 234-241; - Smelling-bug, 266, 272; - Solitary Wasp, 174. - - _Chlænius saponarius_, 23. - - _Chlorops læta_, 287. - - Cholera, Flies die before breaking out of, 290. - - Christiana, Queen, Fleas cannonaded by, 308. - - Chrysalids of Butterflies venerated, 230. - - _Chyrsomelidæ_, 23. - - Chululahs, Spider in cosmogony of the, 342. - - _Church-yard Beetles_, 65-68. - - _Cicada chinensis_, 255. - _septemdecim_, 253. - - _Cicadidæ_, 250-255. - - Cicindela, larvæ of, how captured, 97. - - _Cimex brassicæ_, 267. - _juniperinus_, 267. - - _Cimex lecturarius_, 265-274. - _pratensis_, 267. - - _Cimicidæ_, 265-274. - - City abandoned on account of Ants, 169; - depopulated by Bees, 204; - of Myas dispeopled by Fleas, 307; - of Nisibis, siege of, raised by Mosquitoes, 283; - of Tamly saved with Bees, 204. - - Clay, Locusts made from, 118; - of Ant-hills, uses of, 134. - - Clothes'-moth, 248. - - Clothes, suit of, foretold by Measuring-worm, 248. - - Clouds, Gossamer supposed to form, 349. - - Cobra-de-Capello and the Ants, 157. - - _Coccidæ_, 259-264. - - _Coccinella septempunctata_, 17-23. - - _Coccinellidæ_, 17-23. - - _Coccus cacti_, 260. - _ficus_, 263. - _Hesperidum_, 264. - _ilicis_, 259. - _lacca_, 263. - _polonicus_, 260. - _uvæ-ursi_, 260. - - Cochineal, 260, 317, n. - - Cock, brains of, for bite of Spider, 356. - - _Cock-chafers_, 47-49. - - _Cockroaches_, 78-82. - - Coffee-bug, 158. - - Coffin, Bees alighting on, 188; - clothes laid on, to keep away Moths, 249. - - Coffin-cutter, the, of the Irish, 368. - - Coins, Bees on, 194; - Scarab-gems supposed to be, 36. - - Cold in horses, Hornets' nest for, 172. - - _Coleoptera_, 17-75. - - _Colias edusa_, 227. - - Colic, Lady-birds remedy for, 21; - Scorpions, 329. - - Comet, Locusts sent by, 113; - omens from, 246. - - Commerce, Crickets as an article of, 95; - Mantis, 92. - - Communication between Ants, 155. - - Conception, Spiders to prevent, 360. - - Conjuror of Bees, 201. - - Conradus, Bishop, Spider drank in wine by, 356. - - Consumption, Honey-dew for, 257. - - Continental money, Bees on, 197. - - Convulsions, Silk-worms for, 240. - - Coprion of the ancients, 27. - - _Copris molossus_, 44. - _sabæus_, 41. - in Egypt, 29. - - Coral for sting of Scorpions, 326. - - _Corixa femorata_, 276. - _mercenaria_, 276. - - Corn, Indian mode of destroying Caterpillars injurious to, 244; - Stag-beetle supposed to injure, 25; - stored by Ants, 148-150. - - Correspondence by means of Cucuji, 53. - - Cortes, army of, saved from attack by Cucuji, 53. - - Cosmogonies, Spiders in various, 342. - - _Cossus_ of the ancients, 27, 74. - - Counterfeiting Scarab-gems, 38, n. - - Country depopulated by Spiders and Scorpions, 353. - - Courtezans, Cantharides employed by, 62. - - _Corynetes violaceous_, 41. - - Cow, in names of Lady-bird, 17; - killed by Ants, 156; - bewitched by killing Ants, 152; - Scarab figured with head of, 35. - - Crabley, Mrs. Jane, stiffness in knees of, cured by Ants, 162. - - Crabs for sting of Scorpions, 326. - - _Crane-flies_, 286. - - Cray-fish, Scorpions generated from, 322. - - Creator, Scarab sacred to, 30; - symbol of, 29. - - Creoles not attacked by Chigoes, 315. - - Crete, Galls eaten in, 145. - - _Crickets_, 92-97. - - Crimea, Gnats in, 282; - Locusts, 116. - - Criminals tortured with Ants, 158; - Flies, 296; - Mosquitoes, 284. - - Crimson, Galls for dyeing, 258; - Cochineal, 259. - - Crocodile, Scorpions generated from carcass of, 323; - Wasps, 171; - Scorpions enemies to, 324; - worship of, in Egypt, 43, n. - - Crow, dung of, for sting of Scorpions, 326. - - Cuckoo to prevent breeding of Fleas, 307. - - Cucujus, 51. - - _Culex pipiens_, 278. - - _Culicidæ_, 278-286. - - Cumana, Grasshoppers eaten in, 98. - - _Curculionidæ_, 68-72. - - _Curculio anti-odontalgicus_, 71. - _Bacchus_, 71. - _jæcac_, 71. - in a plum, 76. - - Cut-worm, 246. - - _Cynipidæ_, 143-145. - - _Cynips ficus caricæ_, 144. - _gallæ tinctorum_, 144. - _glecome_, 144. - _insana_, 145. - _psenes_, 144. - _rosæ_, 144. - - - Daddy-Long-legs, 321. - - Dance, Hottentot Bee-, 211. - - Dank food, Bots generated from, 303. - - _Day-flies_, 138. - - Dead, Leather-beetles buried with the, 24; - Scarab-images, 36. - - Dead Sea fruits, 145. - - Deafness, Ants remedy for, 161; - Ear-wigs, 76. - - Death, Bees informed of a, 185-188; - omens of, from Bees, 181, 185; - Black-beetle, 82; - Butterflies, 229; - Caterpillars, 242; - Church-yard beetle, 65; - Crickets, 92-95; - Death-watch, 58-61; - Dragon-fly, 140; - Glow-worm, 57; - Hawk-moth, 232; - Mantis, 83; - Spiders, 340. - - Death's-head Moth, 232. - - _Death-watch_, 58-61, 93. - - Debility, Termites remedy for, 137. - - _Decticus verrucivorus_, 100. - - Deer killed by Ants, 157; - their antidote for poisons, 353; - Wasps generated from the head of, 171. - - Dejeau, Genl. Count, anecdote of, 368. - - Democritis, fondness of, for Honey, 209. - - Denmark, Dung-beetle in, 28. - - _Dermestes elongatus_, 24, 41. - _pollinctus_, 24, 41. - _roei_, 24, 41. - _vulpinus_, 24, 41. - - _Dermestidæ_, 24. - - Devil, Fleas attributed to the envy of the, 311; - in the shape of a Flea, 310; - Fly, 293. - - Dew, scorched, Gossamer supposed to be, 348. - - _Diamond-beetles_, 23, 68. - - Diaphoretic, Bees as, 206. - - Diarrhoea, Rose-gall for, 144. - - Digger Indians, Grasshoppers eaten by, 99. - - _Diptera_, 278-304. - - Disease, foretold by Gnats, 280. - - Disjonval and his Spiders, 336. - - Distemper in horses, Hornets' nest for, 172. - - Diuretic, Bees as, 206. - - Dog, fat of, to destroy Nits, 320; - Fleas generated from humors on, 305; - foiled with Bees, 201; - Scarab-images with heads of, 36. - - Domitian, anecdote of, 332. - - _Dragon-flies_, 138-140. - - Dragon of St. George, Flies generated from, 304. - - Dreams, signification of, of Ants and Bees, 152; - Flies, 289; - Locusts, 119; - insects in general in Siam, 370. - - Dr. Ellison, Lady-bird so called, 20. - - Drink, Honey-dew as a, 257. - - Dropsy, Cantharides for, 63. - - Drouth foretold by Grasshoppers, 100. - - Du Chaillu runs from Ants to save his life, 157. - - Dufour, Mrs. A. L. R., verses by, 131, 243. - - _Dung-beetles_, 27-45. - - "Duo," the pronouncing of, to prevent Scorpions stinging, 325. - - Dust, Fleas generated from, 305. - - Dwarfs, Gossamer woven by, 349. - - Dyeing, Cochineal used in, 260; - Galls used in, 145. - - _Dynastes Goliathus_, 46, 47. - _Hercules_, 45-47. - - _Dynastidæ_, 45-47. - - Dysentery, bedeguar for, 144. - - Dysury, Grasshoppers for, 100. - - - Eagle, Beetle's revenge upon, 45. - - Ear, Beetle in the, of Capt. Speke, 79, n.; - Cockroach in the, of a Swede, 79; - _Blatta_ of Pliny for diseases of the, 66; - Bugs, 267; - Cockroaches, 78; - Crickets, 97; - Spiders, 357; - Stag-beetles, 26; - worms extracted from children's, 371. - - _Ear-wigs_, 76, 77. - - East Indies, Locusts in, 112, 113; - Termites, 137. - - Egypt, Beetles eaten by the women in, 65; - buried with the dead, 24; - bloody-waters, 223, n.; - _Buprestis_, 29; - _Copris_, 29; - Cicadas, 253; - frontiers of, made known from inscriptions on Scarabæi, 35; - Gnats in, 282; - insects embalmed in, 41; - Locusts in, 101, 113; - Scarab worshiped, 29-42; - Scorpions in, 328. - - Egyptian pottery, Flies on, 292; - worship of animals, theory on, 43, n. - - _Elateridæ_, 51-55. - - _Elater noctilucus_, 51-55, 255. - - Elephant named _Lucas_, 24; - put to flight by Ants, 157. - - Elf-shot, cattle said to be, 303. - - Elizabeth, Queen, silk stockings worn by, 238. - - Eloquence foretold by Bees, 178. - - Embalmed, _Buprestis_, 30; - House-fly, 41; - Scarab, 41. - - Embalming, Honey used for, 208. - - Embroidered, Spiders, on ladies' dresses, 354. - - Emerald, Beetle engraven on, against witchcraft, 44. - - Emmets, 146-170. - - Emperor of China and the Locusts, 128. - - Enchantment, counter-charm for, 192. - - Encouragement taken from an Ant, 154; - Spider, 333. - - Enemies represented by a Scorpion and a Crocodile fighting, 324; - sign of, from dreams of Flies, 289. - - England, Aphides in, 258; - Bed-bugs, 265, 299; - beetles buried with the dead, 24; - Bees, 181-184; - bloody-rain, 217; - _Buprestidæ_, 50; - Caterpillars, 242; - Crickets, 92-94; - Death's-head Moth, 233; - Fleas, 314; - Flies, 287; - Gnats, 278; - hedge-hogs kept to kill roaches, 78; - Lady-birds in, 17-23; - Locusts, 107; - silk and silk-worms, 238; - Spiders, 336; - Stag-beetles, 25. - - Engravers, Scarab used by, to steady their sight, 44. - - Enormous prices paid for insects, 46, 64. - - Equator, Lice leave sailors when crossing, 317. - - _Epeira clavipes_, 362. - - _Ephemeridæ_, 138. - - Epigram compared to a Scorpion, 331; - on an Ant, 169; - Bee, 212; - Silk-worm, 241. - - Epilepsy, larvæ of Bots for, 302. - - Epitaph, cure for worms, on account of an, 363. - - _Erinaceus Europæus_, 78. - - _Eruca officinalis_, 245. - - Esteem for Ant-lions, 141. - - Etruscans, Egyptian Scarab adopted by, 39. - - Etymology of Cricket, 97; - Locust, 130; - _Pulex_, 305. - - Eucharist, holy, respect of Bees for, 174-177. - - _Eumeta_, 245. - - _Eumolpus auratus_, 23. - - _Eunota amphyoxis_, 224. - - _Euplexoptera_, 67-77. - - _Euploea coras_, 228. - _prothoe_, 228. - - Europe, Antler-moth in, 246; - Bee-caravans, 199; - Deaths'-head moth, 233; - Dragon-flies, 139; - insect ornaments, 44; - Locusts in, 102-130; - Mantis, 83; - Silk-worms, 235; - Termites, 132-137; - trade in insects, 366. - - _Eutimis nobilis_, 68. - - Evil eye, silk-worms susceptible to, 239. - - Exorcised, Ants, 169; - Locusts, 116; - Turnip-fly, 74. - - Eyes, cobwebs for defluxions of, 356; - green Scarab for, 44; - Honey in preparation for, 209; - oil of Scorpions for, 330; - Scarab for protuberating, 44. - - _Eynchitus aureus_, 71. - - - Fairies, Ants supposed to be, 152; - Gossamer spun by, 349. - - Famine foretold by Grasshoppers, 100; - maggot, 143; - Mantis, 83. - - Farriers, Cantharides employed by, 64. - - Fat, beetle eaten by women to become, 65. - - Fecundity, Scarab symbolical of, 33; - eaten to cause, 33. - - Fever, Bugs medicine for, 367; - Honey-dew, 257; - Spiders, 357, 359; - sign of, from dreams of Flies, 289. - - Fever, man dead from, Scarab symbol of, 33. - - Figs, caprification of, 144; - for sting of scorpions, 326. - - Fighting, beetles kept for, 368; - Mantis, 87. - - Fire, alarms of, occasioned by Gnats, 278. - - _Fire-flies_, 51-55. - - Fires occasioned by Stag-beetles, 25; - Scorpion surrounded with, 328; - to destroy Canker-worms, 248. - - Fish killed by a Spider, 346; - Locusts hatched from spawn, 118; - for sting of Scorpions, 326; - spawn of, sold for eggs of silk-worms, 241. - - _Flata limbata_, 254. - - Flatterers compared to Flies, 291. - - _Fleas_, 266, 273, 135, 305-315. - - Fleur de lis, origin of, on arms of France, 196. - - _Flies_, 287-301, 306, 324. - - Flight, extent of the Bee's, 200; - Locust's, 129. - - Floors made from clay of Ant-hills, 134. - - Flora, Ants' remedy for, 161. - - Flour, Bees steal, from a mill, 191. - - Flying-bulls, 25. - - Food, Ants as, 159-161; - Bees, 204; - _Buprestis_, 51; - Butterflies, 231; - Caterpillars, 372; - Cicadas, 254; - Cossi, 27; - _Copris molossus_, 44; - Field-crickets, 96; - Flies, 295; - Galls, 145; - Goliath-beetle, 46; - Grasshoppers, 98, 99; - Grou-grou worm, 69, 70; - Honey, 208-211; - Lice, 99, 317; - Locusts, 98, 120-127; - May-bug, 49; - _Notonectidæ_, 275; - _Oryctes rhinoceros_, 46; - _Prionus damicornis_, 73; - Scolopendras and Centipedes, 365; - Scorpions, 329; - Silk-worms, 240; - Spiders, 354-356; - Termites, 135-137. - - _Forficulidæ_, 76, 77. - - Forger of Scarab-gems, 38, n. - - Formic acid, 161. - - _Formica bispinosa_, 162. - _major_, 161. - _minor_, 161. - _omnivora_, 166. - _rufa_, 159. - _smaragdina_, 157, 158. - - _Formicidæ_, 146-170. - - Fortune, good, presaged by _Acanthocinus ædilis_, 73. - - Fox, how it rids itself of Fleas, 309; - how it kills Wasps for their combs, 174. - - Fractures, cobwebs for, 357. - - France, bloody-rain in, 218; - Crickets, 97; - _Cynips glecome_, 145; - Death's-head Moth, 233; - Lady-bird, 17; - Locusts, 103-130; - Mantis, 83; - shower of insects, 365; - Termites in, 132. - - Frankfort, massacre of the Jews at, 218. - - Franklin and the Ants, 155. - - Freak of nature: five-winged Butterfly, 230. - - Frogs killed with hot charcoal, 55; - foot in chalk, to keep away witches, 247; - for sting of Scorpions, 327. - - Fruit, wasps generated from rotten, 171, 184. - - _Fulgora candelaria_, 256. - _lanternaria_, 255. - - _Fulgoridæ_, 255-256. - - Funereal rites, Scarab connected with, 33, 36. - - Funerals, Bees invited to, 187. - - - Gad-fly, 291. - - _Gallerucidæ_, 74. - - _Galleria cereana_, 249. - - _Gall-flies_, 143-145. - - Galls, 143-145. - - Gambaia, Lice in, 317. - - Garlic, to keep away Scorpions, 327. - - _Gasterophilus hæmorrhoidalis_, 302. - - Generation of Fleas, 305; - Flies, 290; - Gnats, 278; - Scorpions, 321; - Spiders, 362; - Wasps, 171, 184. - - Geography, study of, from cabinet of insects, 369. - - _Geometridæ_, 248. - - _Geotrupes stercorarius_, 28, 44. - - Germany, Agaric-Gnat in, 286; - Ants, 159; - Blister-flies, 63; - bloody-rain, 218; - Butterflies, 225; - Canker-worms, 248; - Crickets, 96; - Gall-flies, 143; - Lady-bird, 17; - Stag-beetle, 25; - Typographer-beetle, 61. - - Ghosts, Glow-worms supposed to be, 56. - - Gilded-Dandy, 23. - - Gleanthus and the Ants, 154. - - _Glow-worms_, 55-58, 339. - - _Gnats_, 52, 194, 278-286. - - Goat, blood of, to destroy Fleas, 308; - fat of, for sting of Scorpions, 325; - gall of, in medicine, 210; - liver of, to drive away Moths, 243; - maggots in the brain of, 302. - - Gods, earthen, made of clay of Ant-hills, 135. - - _Gold-beetles_, 23. - - Golden-Bees in tomb of Childeric, 196. - Fleece, search after the, 241. - - Gold obtained from Ants in India, 146. - - Goldsmiths, clay of Ant-hills used by, 135. - - Good foretold by Ants, 152. - Friday, Bees removed on, 185. - - Goose-quill, Spider in, for Ague, 358. - - Gorilla put to rout by Ants, 157. - - Gossamer, 347. - - Gout, Ants remedy for, 162; - Oil-beetles, 63; - Spiders, 359. - - Granada, Ants in, 167. - - _Grasshoppers_, 98-100, 251. - - Gray, characteristics of Linnæan orders of insects, - turned into hexameters by, 363. - - Greece, silk-worms in, 237. - - Greek, study of, from names of insects, 369. - - Greeks, Ants in divination by, 152; - Bees, 178; - _Buprestis_ as food by, 51; - Egyptian Scarab adopted by, 39; - estimation of, for Cicadas, 250; - Grasshoppers eaten by, 98; - knowledge of silk, 235; - larvæ eaten by, 27; - Mantis in soothsaying by, 83. - - Grou-grou worm, 68-70. - - _Gryllidæ_, 98-100. - - _Gryllotalpa vulgaris_, 57, n. - - _Gryllus Ægypticus_, 126. - _domesticus_, 97. - - Guiana, Ants in, 168; - Bees, 205; - Black-ants, 156; - _Cantharis maxima_, 64; - Lantern-flies, 256. - - Guinea, Spiders in, 342. - - Gustavus Adolphus' aversion for Spiders, 344. - - Gyre-carlin, Louse in rhyme of the, 320. - - - Hæmorrhoids, Dung-beetle for, 44. - - Happiness of Cicadas, 251. - - Hair, Cicadas ornaments for the, 251; - insects, 57; - on children's cheeks, Ants to remove, 161. - - _Haltica oleracea_, 74. - _nemorum_, 74. - - Hampton Court, Spiders at, 342. - - Harvest, augury as to, from Dung-beetle, 28. - - _Harvest-flies_, 250-255. - - Harvest-man, 321. - - Hare, feet of, to drive away Bugs, 266; - urine of, in a prescription, 76. - - Harp, Cicada emblem of, 252. - - Harts, their antidote for poison, 353. - - Hawking with Butterflies, 230. - - Hawk, Scarab figured with head of, 34. - - _Hawk-moths_, 232-234. - - Headache, Scarab on an emerald for, 45. - - Head-dresses, Butterflies on, 230. - - Heart, worm in the, of a horse, 365. - - Hedge-hog kept to kill Roaches, 78. - - _Heliocantharus_ of the ancients, 27. - - Heliogabalus estimates population of Rome - from collection of Spiders, 334. - - Hemorrhages, Ants for, 162; - Galls, 145. - - Hen, dung of, for sting of Scorpions, 326; - moisture from mouth of, for same, 327. - - Hercules-beetle, 45-47. - - Hercules, god of the Flies, 292. - - _Heteroptera_, 265-277. - - Hieroglyphics, Cicadas as, 253; - Scarab, 35, 37, 43, n. - - Hispaniola ravaged by Ants, 166. - - History, study of, from cabinet of insects, 369. - - Hiving Bees, curious practice at, 189. - - Hoax: bloody-rain in Tennessee, 224. - - Holy men, Lice nourished by, 317. - - Holy water, Caterpillars destroyed with, 243; - Locusts, 116. - - _Homoptera_, 250-264. - - Honey, 208-211. - - Honey-dew, 257. - - Hops, Aphides and Lady-birds killed on, 21; - injury to, from Hop-fly, 258. - - _Hornets_, 170-174, 194. - - Horns of Scarabæi in medicine, 26. - - Horse-hair, Gnats destroyed by, 285. - - Horse-leeches eaten in Cumana, 98. - - Horses, Bots in, 303; - dung of, for sting of Scorpions, 326; - diseases of, Hornets' nest for, 172; - in descriptions of Locusts, 118; - Hornets generated from carcass of, 171, 184; - Wasps, 170. - - Hottentots, Bee-dance of, 211; - make floors of clay of Ant-hills, 135; - origin of Locusts, 123; - worship of Mantis, 84-88. - - House-fly, 41, 287-301. - - House-leek for sting of Scorpions, 326. - - _Humble-bees_, 213. - - Hundred hives of Bees, cannot have, 188. - - Hungary, Fleas in, 308; - poisonous Fly, 303; - shower of insects, 365. - - Hydrophobia, Oil-beetles for, 63. - - _Hymenoptera_, 142-215. - - Hymn, singing of, when hiving Bees, 190. - - Hysteria, Bed-bugs for, 267. - - - Ibis in Egypt, 43, n. - - Iceland, bloody-rain in, 218. - - Ideographic, Scarab as an, 35. - - Ignatius, Lice nourished by, 317. - - Illness, omen of, from Black-beetle, 82; - Grasshopper, 98. - - Incantations, Locusts destroyed by, 116. - - Incontinence detected by Bees, 181. - - India, Ants in, 152; - Blister-flies, 63; - _Buprestidæ_, 50; - Dung-beetle, 29; - fabled gold-loving Ants of, 146; - Fire-flies in, 57; - larva of beetle eaten in, 70; - Mantis in, 83; - Silk-worms, 235; - Spiders, 342; - Termites, 132-137. - - Indians, American, Butterfly totem of, 229; - Caterpillars destroyed by, 244; - Cicadas eaten, 254; - Cut-worms destroyed, 247; - Grasshoppers eaten, 99; - name for Bees, 197. - - Ingenuity of Ants, 154. - - Ink, Galls in manufacture of, 145. - - Inquisitive persons compared to Flies, 291. - - Ireland, Bees in, 181; - Coffin-cutter, 368; - Gnats, 281; - May-bugs, 48; - Spiders, 358. - - Irish oak, Spiders repelled by, 340. - - Isis, respect of Scorpions for, 328; - Scarab figured with the head of, 34. - - Italy, Blister-flies in, 63; - Glow-worms, 57; - Gnats, 281; - Locusts, 102-130; - Scorpions, 324; - Silk-worms, 237. - - Ivory, Ants carved out of, 170. - - - Jack-'o-lanterns, Glow-worms supposed to be, 57; - Mole-crickets, 57. - - James I., anecdote of, 239. - - Jamaica, _Cantharis maxima_, in, 64; - Cockroaches, 78; - Crickets, 96; - Dragon-flies, 140; - frogs, 55; - Gnats, 282. - - Japan, Grasshoppers in, 100; - Moths and Night-flies, 242. - - Jaundice, _Blatta_ of Pliny for, 67; - Lice, 319; - Oil of Scorpions, 330. - - Java, larvæ of beetle eaten in, 70; - Mantis in, 87. - - Jays preserved to kill Locusts, 114. - - Jerusalem saved by Locusts, 119. - - Jews, Locusts eaten by, 101; - as playthings for children, 130; - massacred on account of bloody-rain, 218; - not permitted to burn Fleas, 311. - - Jiggers, 314. - - Julian the Apostate, army of, routed by Mosquitoes, 282. - - July, swarm of Bees in, 192. - - June, swarm of Bees in, 192. - - Jupiter in the form of an Ant, 151. - - - Katy-did, 131. - - Kermes-dye, 259. - - Killing Bees for their Honey, 190. - - King Calowa, Lady-bird called, 20. - - King-fisher to keep away Clothes'-moth, 249. - - King of the Fleas, 307; - Locusts, 127. - - King's evil, _Blatta_ of Pliny for, 66. - - Knife-grinder, Hercules-beetle called the, 46. - - Koran, the Ant of the, 153. - - Kuffelar's color, origin of, 262. - - - Labor, Flies driven away from women in, 292; - insect to relieve, 368. - - Lac, -dye, -lake, 262. - - _Lady-birds_, 17-23. - - La Lande, Spiders eaten by, 355. - - Lamp, Cucuji used as, 54. - - _Lampyridæ_, 55-58. - - _Lantern-flies_, 255-6. - - Laock, Cockroach in the ear of, 79. - - Lapland, _Acanthocinus ædilis_ in, 73; - Crane-flies, 286. - - Lard, Fleas kept away with, 308. - - Latin, study of, from names of insects, 369. - - Lauzun and his pet Spider, 336. - - Law, Mosquitoes to execute the, 284. - - Lawsuit between Commune of St. Julien and an Insect, 71. - - _Leather-beetles_, 24. - - Leather, Galls in manufacture of, 145. - - Leaf becoming a Butterfly, 230. - - Leeches, Bed-bugs to remove or kill, 267. - - _Lecanium coffea_, 158. - - Legends connected with Bees, 174-180; - Katy-did, 131. - - Lemurs kept to kill Roaches, 78. - - Lentigo, Ants remedy for, 161. - - Lepaute, Madame, Spiders eaten by, 355. - - _Lepidoptera_, 216-249. - - Leprosy, Ants for, 161; - _Buprestis_, 51; - Cantharides, 63; - _Myloecon_ of Pliny, 66. - - Lethargy, Bed-bugs for, 268. - - Letters on wings of Locusts, 119. - - Lettuce-seed for sting of Scorpions, 326. - - _Leucania unipunctata_, 247. - - Levant, Aphis for dyeing in, 258. - - _Libellula depressa_, 139. - _quadrimaculata_, 139. - - _Libellulidæ_, 138-140. - - _Lice_, 266, 306, 308, 316-320. - - Lichen, _Buprestis_ for, 51; - Cantharides, 63. - - Lierman, 254. - - Light from Cucuji, 51-3; - perpetual, from Glow-worms, 56; - of the Lantern-fly, 255. - - Linnæus and the genus _Pausus_, 23. - - Lion, Bees from carcass of, slain by Samson, 194; - driven mad by Mosquitoes, 284; - fat of, to drive away Flies, 289; - put to flight by Scorpions, 324; - Scarab-images with head of, 36; - skin of, to destroy Clothes'-moth, 249. - - Lithuania, Bees in, 186. - - Lizard for sting of Scorpions, 326. - - _Locusta migratoria_, 101-131. - _tartarica_, 117. - - _Locustidæ_, 101-131. - - _Locusts_, 101-131, 326. - - Loke in the form of a Fly, 294. - - London, vending of Bug-poison in, 268; - Fly-papers, 296; - Phosphor Paste for killing Roaches, etc., 80-82. - - Love divination, Lady-bird in, 19-20; - Mantis, 89. - - Lover, approach of, foretold by Crickets, 93. - - _Lucanidæ_, 24-27. - - _Lucanus cervus_, 24-27. - etymology of, 24. - - Luck, omens of, from Bees, 185; - Crickets, 93-94; - Spiders, 339. - - Lump-lac, 263. - - Lunacy, Scorpion for, 330. - - Lupines to drive away Locusts, 114. - - Lutfullah and the Scorpion, 329; - Termites, 134. - - _Lygæus hyoscami_, 267. - - - Madagascar, Silk-worms eaten in, 240. - - Mad-dogs, Honey for bite of, 208; - Oil-beetles, 63. - - Magical knots, nests of Carpenter-bee supposed to be, 213. - - Magicians, Ants used by, 162; - beetle, 45. - - Magistrate chosen by a Louse, 316. - - Malabar, Ants in, 152; - Lice, 317; - Termites, 133. - - Maladies of Ants, 164. - - _Mala Sodomitica_, 145. - - Man, first formed by a Spider, 342; - Scarab figured with the head of, 34. - - Mandrake, bears poisoned with, how cured, 163. - - Manilla, Rose-chafers kept as pets in, 50. - - _Mantes_, 82-92, 157. - - _Mantidæ_, 82-92. - - _Mantis causta_, 84. - _oratoria_, 82-92. - _siccifolia_, 92. - - Manure, Day-flies used as, 138. - - Maryland, Black-beetle in, 82; - Blacksmith-beetle, 55; - Butterfly, 229; - Caterpillars, 242; - Crickets, 95; - Glow-worm, 57; - Grasshoppers, 100; - Katy-did, 131. - - Marriage-feast, Bees invited to, 188. - - Mass, Locusts in celebration of, 130. - - Matchlocks, Cucuji mistaken for, 53, 54. - - Mauritius, Wasps eaten in, 174. - - _May-bugs_, 47-49. - - May, swarm of Bees in, 192. - - _Meal-worms_, 65. - - Measles, Lady-bird for the, 21. - - Measuring-worms, 248. - - Medicated earth from Ants'-nests, 162. - - Medicine, Ants in, 161-163; - Bed-bugs, 266-268; - Bees, 206; - _Blaps sulcata_, 65; - _Blatta_ of Pliny, 65-66; - _Buprestidæ_, 51; - Cantharides, 62-64; - Caterpillars, 245; - Cochineal, 262; - Crickets, 97; - Curculios, 71; - Ear-wigs, 76; - Fleas, 311; - Flies, 295; - Gall-flies, 145; - Glow-worm, 57; - Grasshoppers, 100; - Honey, 208; - Honey-dew, 257; - Hornets' nest, 172; - Lady-bird, 21; - Lice, 319; - Locusts, 130; - Musk-beetles, 73; - Oil-beetles, 62; - Scarabs, 44; - Scorpions, 329; - Silk-worms, 240; - Spiders, 357-360; - Stag-beetle, 26; - Wax, 206, 254. - - Mediterranean, Flies in the, 287. - - _Meloe_, 63. - - _Melolontha vulgaris_, 42, 47. - - _Melolonthidæ_, 47-49. - - Men killed by sting of Sirex, 142. - - Menstruous women, Caterpillars destroyed by, 244; - stung by Bees, 182. - - Mercury, Scarab emblematical of, 32. - - Merian, Madame, her account of the Lantern-fly, 255. - - Metempsychosis under form of insects, 246. - - Mexico, Ants in, 157, 159; - Cochineal, 261; - Cucujus, 53-54; - Lice, 316, 318; - silk from a _Bombyx_, 239; - Water-boatmen, 275. - - Mice for sting of Scorpions, 326; - generation of, 322. - - Micrometer, Spider's web for divisions of, 362. - - Midas, riches of, foretold by Ants, 151. - - _Midas_ in head of mummy, 41. - - Migrations of Aphides, 258; - Bees, 199; - Butterflies, 225; - Dragon-flies, 139-140; - Lady-birds, 21. - - Milk, association of Butterflies with, 231. - - Millet, time to sow, indicated by Glow-worms, 58. - - Milton's fondness for Crickets, 95. - - Mississippi, the Gallinipper of the, 285. - - Missouri, Fleas in, 307. - - _Mites_, 320-321. - - Mob dispersed with Bees, 204. - - Mocking-birds, Spiders fed to, 357. - - Mohammed, anecdote of, 209; - life of, saved by Spiders, 333. - - Mole-cricket, 57. - - _Monas prodigiosa_, 222. - - Money-spinners, 339. - - Money eaten by Termites, 132. - - Monkeys kept to kill Roaches, 78; - singular use of an, 156; - Spiders fed to, 357. - - Monk, life of, saved by a Spider, 341; - poisoned with a Spider, 351. - - Month, Scarab symbol of an Egyptian, 33. - - Moon, beds to be cleaned in dark of, 266; - horns of Stag-beetles dedicated to, 26; - Scarab symbol of, 31; - subject to, 32; - swarms of Locusts from, 118. - - Moorish ladies frightened by Glow-worms, 56. - - Morea, etymology of, 237. - - Mormons, Locusts among the, 112. - - Morocco, Locusts in, 107-130. - - _Morus alba_, 237. - - Moscow, mulct laid upon, for not catching Fleas, 311. - - _Mosquitoes_, 196, 278-286. - - Mourning, Bees put into, 186. - - Mule, Hornets generated from carcass of, 171; - Locusts, 101. - - Mummy, insects in head of, 41; - for sting of Scorpions, 326. - - _Musca domestica_, 287-301. - - _Musidæ_, 287-301. - - Mushrooms, Honey antidote for poisonous, 208. - - Music, effect of, on persons bitten by Tarantulas, 351; - on Spiders, 334; - of Cicadas, 252. - - Musicians, Cicadas symbols of, 253. - - _Musk-beetles_, 72-74. - - Mustard to destroy Locusts, 114. - - Myas dispeopled by Fleas, 307. - - _Mycetophila_, 286. - - Myiodes, the god of Flies, 292. - - _Mylabris cichorii_, 63. - _pustulata_, 63. - - _Myrmeleonidæ_, 141. - - Myrmidons, the, 150. - - - Narvaez prevented from attacking Cortes by Cucuji, 53. - - _Necrobia mumiarum_, 41. - - Negroes run for their lives from Ants, 157. - - Nerves, Oil of Ear-wigs for strengthening, 76. - - Netherlands, Lady-bird in, 20; - Spiders, 340. - - Nets, Mosquitoes kept away with, 282. - - New England, Cut-worm in, 247; - Humble-bees, 213. - - New Granada, Ants in, 160. - - Newt for sting of Scorpions, 326. - - New York, Butterflies in, 229. - - _Neuroptera_, 132-141. - - Night-fly of Japan, 242. - - Nightingales, pupæ of Ants food for, 159. - - Nile, Bee-hive barges on the, 200. - - Nits, 320. - - Noah and the origin of Vermin, 306; - Wood-tic pinned by, 321. - - _Noctiluca terrestris_, 57. - - _Noctua graminis_, 246. - - _Noctuidæ_, 246-248. - - Noise made by flights of Locusts, 117. - - North Carolina, Spiders for ague in, 359. - - _Notonecta unifasciata_, 276. - - _Notonectidæ_, 275-277. - - Nun, antipathy of a, to a beetle, 74; - frightened by a Hawk-moth, 233. - - Nut-galls of commerce, 144-145. - - Nut-shell, Spider in, for ague, 358. - - Nuts for sting of Scorpions, 326. - - - Oak-balls, superstition connected with, 143. - - _Oedipoda corallipes_, 112. - - _Oestridæ_, 302-304. - - _Oestrus equi_, 302. - _ovis_, 302. - - Ohio, Bed-bugs for ague in, 268. - - _Oiketicus_, 245. - - Oil-beetles, 63. - - Old folks, Crickets supposed to be, 95. - - Ophthalmia, Fly in linen for, 295. - - Orange-trees injured by _Coccidæ_, 264. - - Orators compared to Cicadas, 252. - - Ornaments, Blister-flies as, 64; - Butterflies, 229; - _Buprestidæ_, 50; - Cicadas, 251; - Cucujus, 54; - Diamond-beetle, 68; - Fire-flies, 57; - _Geotrupes stercorarius_, 44; - Glow-worms, 57; - Gold-beetles, 23; - Lady-bird, 21; - Scarabs, 38; - Spiders, 354. - - _Orthoptera_, 78-131. - - _Oryctes rhinoceros_, 46. - - Ovens, Ant-hills made into, 134; - Crickets reared in, 96. - - Owlet antidote for sting of Bees, 193. - - Oxford, bringing in the Fly at, 291. - - - Painted, Flies on vessels newly, 287. - - Palm-tree, generation of the, 322. - - Palm-weevil, 68-70. - - Palpitations, wax to prevent, 254. - - Palsy, Ants remedy for, 162. - - Pans, beating of, when Bees swarm, 189. - - Paper, manufacture of, from silk, 239. - - _Papilionidæ_, 216-232. - - Paradise, Solomon's Ant in, 153. - - Paraguay, Spiders in, 362. - - Parasol, swarm of Bees on a lady's, 214. - - Paris, Cucujus in, 53. - - Park, Mungo, attacked by Bees, 203. - - _Parnassius Apollo_, 367. - - Paroxysms, Spiders for, 358. - - Parthians, Locusts eaten by, 121. - - _Passalus cornutus_, 27. - - Paul, Prince, anecdote of, 369. - - _Pausidæ_, 23-24. - - Peace foretold by Locusts, 119. - - _Pediculidæ_, 316-320. - - _Pediculi corporis_, 317. - - _Pedipalpi_, 321-331. - - Peiresc's solution of bloody-rain, 218. - - Pelisson and his pet Spider, 335. - - Pennsylvania, Bees in, 182, 188; - Butterflies, 229. - - Persia, _Aphis_ in, 258; - Scorpions, 328; - Silk-worms, 235. - - Peruvians, Flies offered to the Sun by, 292. - - Pestilence foretold by Spiders, 143. - - Petrified Bee-hive, 214. - - Pets, beetles as, 50; - Mantis, 88-90; - Spiders, 235. - - Pewter for sting of Scorpions, 326. - - Phaerus, Spiders eaten by, 355. - - Phaeton's sisters, origin of fable of, 91, n. - - _Phalangidæ_, 321. - - _Phalangium_, 321. - - Philology, study of, from names of insects, 369. - - Phonetic, Scarab as a, 35. - - Phosphor Paste for killing Roaches, etc., - manufacture and vending of, 80-82. - - Phthiriasis, 121, 320. - - Phthisic, Honey-dew for, 257. - - Physicians, Pliny's invective against, 67. - - Piety of Bees, 174-177. - - Pigeon for sting of Scorpions, 326; - Mohammed's life saved by, 333. - - Pig-manure, Bee-hives prepared with, 189. - - _Pimelia spinulosa_, 41. - - Pindar, Bees induce, to write verses, 178. - - Pismires, 146-170. - - _Pithecius_, 41. - - Plague, oil of Scorpions for, 330; - occasioned by Locusts, 101-118. - - _Plant-lice_, 257-259. - - Plants, animals becoming, 90-92. - - Plato, eloquence of, foretold by Bees, 178. - - _Platyphyllon concavum_, 131. - - Plenty foretold by Lady-bird, 18. - - Plum, Ear-wig in a, 76. - - Poems on a Flea, 313. - - Poison of Spiders, antidotes for, 356; - from ants, 161. - - Poisonous Honey, 210. - - Poland, poisonous Sirex in, 142; - scarlet grain of, 260; - Locusts in, 103-130. - - _Poma insana_, 145. - - _Pontia brassicæ_, 225. - _cardimines_, 226. - - Poor Humphrey's satire on killing Fleas, 309. - - Popes, Caterpillars cursed by, 243. - - Poppy, Honey antidote for, 208. - - _Poterium sanguisorba_, 260. - - Prayers offered to destroy caterpillars, 242; - to prevent stinging of Scorpions, 327. - - Praying-Mantis, 82-92. - - Priest, Cicada symbol of, 253. - - _Primæ viæ_, acidity in, Stag-beetle for, 26. - - _Prionus cervicornis_, 74. - _coriarius_, 27. - _damicornis_, 27, 73. - - Prognostications from Ants, 152; - Army-worm, 243; - Bees, 178; - Butterflies, 229; - Cicadas, 252; - comets, 246; - Crane-fly, 286; - Crickets, 92; - Daddy-Long-legs, 321; - Death's-head Moth, 232; - Death-watch, 58; - Dragon-fly, 140; - Dung-beetle, 148; - Fleas, 310; - Flies, 289; - Gall-flies, 143; - Glow-worm, 57; - Gnats, 280; - Grasshoppers, 98; - Hornets, 172; - Katy-did, 131; - Lady-bird, 18; - Locusts, 119; - Mantis, 82; - May-bugs, 47; - Moths, 242; - Span-worms, 248; - Spiders, 336-340; - Wasps, 173. - - Propolis, curious uses of, by Bees, 210. - - Prosecution against Ants, 168. - - Prosperity foretold by Ants, 152. - - Proverbial phrases connected with Bees, 212. - - Psalms, singing of, to Bees, 188. - - Psyche, Butterfly symbol of, 228. - - _Psychidæ_, 245-246. - - Pthah, Scarab sacred to, 30; - emblematical of, 32. - - Pthah Tore, Scarab emblematical of, 33. - - Pthah-Sokari-Osiris, Scarab emblem of, 33. - - _Ptinidæ_, 58-61. - - Public events, Bees informed of, 185. - - _Pulex irritans_, 305-314. - _penetrans_, 314. - - _Pulicidæ_, 305-315. - - _Pulices arborescentes_, 223. - - Pupæ of Ants as food for birds, 159; - of Termites eaten, 137. - - Purgatory, beetle connected with, 368. - - Putrefaction, generation from, 290, 322. - - _Pygolampis Italica_, 56. - - Pythagoreans, Honey eaten by, 209. - - _Python natalensis_ killed by Ants, 157. - - - Quang-tong, Butterflies of, 229. - - Quarrel prognosticated by Blacksmith-beetle, 55. - - Quarrelsome family, Bees will not thrive for, 184. - - Quartan ague, Bed-bugs for, 267; - Spiders, 359. - - _Quercus ilex_, 259. - - Quinsey, Caterpillars for, 245. - - - Radish to destroy Scorpions, 325. - - Rain: see weather. - - Rain, bloody, 216-225. - - Rain-doctors, Locusts brought by, 125. - - Ram, flesh of, for sting of Scorpions, 326; - Scarab figured with head of, 34. - - Ravages of the Antler-moth, 246; - Ants, 166-169; - _Coccus Hesperidum_, 264; - _Dermestes vulpinus_, 24; - Ear-wigs, 76; - Gnats and Mosquitoes, 281-283; - Grasshoppers, 100; - Hop-fly, 258; - larvæ of Woolly-bear Moths, 242; - Locusts, 101-118; - May-bugs, 48, 49; - Scorpions, 327; - Spiders, 353; - Termites, 132-134; - Turnip-fly, 74; - Typographer-beetle, 61. - - Raven and the Scorpion, a fable, 331. - - Reason of Ants, 154. - - Red-haired persons stung by Bees, 182. - - Red snow, origin of, 220, n. - - Regeneration, Scarab symbol of, 33. - - Rewards offered for killing Ants, 167; - Locusts, 116. - - Revenue of "Lice" of Montecusuma, 316. - - Rheumatism, Oil-beetle for, 63. - - _Rhynchitus auratus_, 71. - - Richards, _Buprestidæ_ called, 51. - - Rifle-balls, protection against, 241. - - Ringing swarms of Bees, 189. - - Rings, Scarab as signet in, 32, 39. - - Riordan, Mary, insects in stomach of, 67. - - Roach, sound as a, 79. - - Robin, veneration for the, 43, n. - - Rock, solid, living Bees in, 215. - - Romans, Bees in divination by, 215; - _Cossi_ eaten, 27; - Scarab emblem adopted by, 32; - silks used, 236. - - Rome, Flies in, 289; - showers of blood in, 216. - - _Rose-chafers_, 49. - - Rotharmel, Peter, 188. - - Rouge, Cochineal made into, 262. - - Rue, antidote for poisons, 193. - - Russia, Honey in, 195; - Locusts, 104-130. - - - Sabbath, Jews not permitted to burn Fleas on the, 311. - - Sacred-Scarab of the Egyptians, 29-44. - - St. Ambrose, eloquence of, foretold by Bees, 178. - Domingo and the Flea, 310. - Eustace, Spider at church of, 343. - Felix, life of, saved by Spiders, 333. - Francis, Lice nourished by, 317. - George, Flies from the dragon killed by, 304; - prayer to, to keep away Scorpions, 327. - John, Locusts eaten by, 125. - Hector, manner of discovering Bee-trees, 198. - 's day, fires to kill Canker-worms on, 248. - Julien, lawsuit between Commune of, and an Insect, 71. - Macarius, penance of, for killing a Gnat, 285. - Milburge, cure effected by the water in which his bones - were washed, 364. - Roche and "Sound as a Roach," 79. - Saturnine, patron saint to destroy Ants, 166. - Xavier and the Mantis, 88. - - Salt, use of, in witchcraft, 207. - - Salamander, antidote for poison of, 193. - - Samson, Bees from lion slain by, 184, 194. - - Sandwich Islands, Fleas in, 306. - - Sapor, army of, routed by Mosquitoes, 283. - - Scaliger, his fondness for Crickets, 95. - - Scandinavia, Dung-beetle in, 28-29; - Lady-bird in, 17. - - _Scarabæidæ_, 27-45. - - _Scarabæus auratus_, 45. - _cornutus_, 26. - _nasicornis_, 45. - _pilurarius_, 27-44, 293. - _sacer_, 27-44. - _unctuosus_, 63. - - Scarlet, history of dyeing, 259. - - Schurman, Anna Maria, Spiders eaten by, 355. - cured of boils by Ants, 162. - - _Scleranthus perennis_, 260. - - Scolopendras as food, 365. - - _Scorpions_, 65, 100, 295, 321-331. - - Scotland, bloody-rain in, 221; - Flies, 289; - Humble-bees, 213; - Lady-birds, 19-20; - Lice, 319, 320. - - Scrofula in horses, combs of Hornets' nest for, 172. - - Scurvy, Bedeguar for, 144. - - Scutcheons, Scarab on Egyptian royal, 35. - - Scythia, Lice in, 318. - - Sea-crabs, Scorpions generated from, 322. - - Sea-water for sting of Scorpions, 326. - - Seals, Scarab-gems as, 39. - - Sechell Islands, Dry-leaf Mantis in, 92. - - Seed-lac, 263. - - Seeds, Cochineal supposed to be, 261; - sown in the hide of a tortoise, 75. - - Selborne, the Bee-eater of, 205. - - Selk, Scorpion emblem of, 328. - - Selling of Bees, notions concerning, 185. - - Septuagint, Bee eulogized in the, 212. - - Serpents and Ants, 157; - enmity between Spiders and, 341; - Honey for bite of, 208; - a Mantis the parent of the, 157; - of Tiberias Cæsar eaten by Ants, 151; - to kill Nits, 320; - worship of, in Egypt, 43, n. - - Seventeen-year Locust, 254. - - Sheep, artificial migration of, 198; - dung of, for bite of Spider, 356; - killed by Ants, 157; - maggots in brain of, 302. - - _Shield-lice_, 259-264. - - Shell-lac, 263. - - Ships, monkeys kept on board, to kill Roaches, 78. - - Showers of blood, 216-225; - of Gossamer, 347; - insects with snow, 364. - - Siam, Ants in, 159; - interpretation of signs and dreams of insects in, 370; - beetle for fighting in, 368; - Grasshoppers in, 98; - Spiders, 354. - - Sideritis, the herb, for sting of Scorpions, 326. - - Singing to Bees, 188. - - Signs: see prognostications and superstitions. - - Silesia, poisonous Sirex in, 142. - - Silk of Silk-worms, 234-241, 248. - Spiders, 361. - - _Silk-worm Moths_, 234-241. - - Silver for sting of Scorpions, 325, 326. - - Sins expiated by assisting Dung-beetles, 28. - - _Sirex fusicornis_, 142. - _gigas_, 142. - _juvencus_, 142. - _spectrum_, 142. - - Skull, Bees make Honey in a, 195. - - Sleep, Caterpillar to procure, 245; - chirping of Crickets to induce, 95-96. - - Sleight-of-hand, supposed performance of, 372. - - Sloth, Fleas to prevent, 306. - - Sluggard referred to the Ant, 148. - - Smoke to drive away Locusts, 115. - - Snails embalmed by Bees, 210; - eaten in the West Indies, 98. - - Snake, living, hung by a Spider, 345; - danger from, in collecting Locusts, 124; - fed by Dragon-flies, 139. - - Snow, Fleas on the, 314; - Gnats falling with, 280; - insects in numbers on, 364; - origin of red, 220, n. - - Soap, beetle made into, 23; - Cicadas, 254. - - Socrates measures the jump of a Flea, 311. - - Solomon and the Ant, 148; - Ant in Paradise, 153. - - Song, Locusts kept for sake of, 130; - vessel saved by song of a Spanish Gryllo, 130. - - Son, Scarab emblematical of an only, 33. - - Soothsayers, 82-92. - - Soul, Butterfly symbol of, 228; - Moths supposed to be, 243; - of industrious from Ants, 150. - - Sound as a Roach, 79. - - South America, Ants in, 160; - Goliath-beetle, 46; - Grou-grou worm, 69; - Hercules-beetle, 45-46; - Termites, 132-137. - - Spain, Bees in, 212; - Cantharides, 63; - Locusts, 102-130; - Silk-worms, 237. - - _Spanish-flies_, 62. - - Spanish Inquisition, detectives of, called Flies, 292. - - _Span-worms_, 248. - - Sparrman, Dr., anecdote of, 366. - - Spawn, fish, Locusts hatched from, 118; - sold for eggs of Silk-worms, 241. - - Spectacles, Hornets' nest to clean, 172. - - Speke, Capt., beetle in the ear of, 79, n. - - _Spiders_, 61, 99, 113, 193, 322, 324, 332-362, 370. - - Spirits, Ants and lizards eaten by, 161. - - Sphex, notion respecting, 174. - - _Sphingidæ_, 232-234. - - _Sphinx Atropos_, 232. - _(Deilephila) hippophaes_, 367. - _ligustris_, 233. - - _Spring-beetles_, 51-55. - - Spring, Scarab symbolical of, 33. - - Squill for sting of Scorpions, 326. - - _Stag-beetles_, 24-27. - - Stag, feet of, to drive away Bugs, 266. - - _Sternocera chrysis_, 50. - _sternicornis_, 50. - - Stick-lac, 263. - - Stiffness in knees cured by Ants, 162. - - Sting of Bees, Hornets, etc., remedies for, 174, 193. - - Stockings, silk, 238. - - Stolen Bees will not thrive, 184. - - Stomach, insects introduced into the human, 67. - - Stone, Bedeguar for, 144; - Glow-worm, 57; - Scorpions, 329. - - Storm, prognostication of, from Gnats, 280. - - Strangles in horses, combs of Hornets for, 172. - - Strangury, Bed-bugs for, 267; - Bees, 206. - - Strength of Dung-beetle, 28; - Flea, 311; - Stag-beetle, 25. - - Success foretold by Glow-worm, 57. - - Sudorific, Cochineal as a, 262. - - Sumatra, Cricket in, 96. - - Sun, Ants sacrificed to, 153; - Flies, 292; - Scarab sacred to, 30; - the first worship of the, 36. - - Superstitions connected with Agaric-Gnat, 286; - Ants, 151; - _Acanthocinus ædilis_, 73; - Army-worm, 247; - Butterflies, 229; - Caterpillars, 242; - Cockroaches, 80-82; - Crickets, 92-95; - Death-watch, 58-61, 91; - Death's-head Moth, 232; - Dragon-flies, 138, 140; - Dung-beetle, 28; - Ear-wig, 76; - Flies, 290; - Gall-flies, 143; - Glow-worm, 57; - Grasshoppers, 98, 100; - Katy-did, 131; - Lady-birds, 17-23; - Locusts, 119; - Mantis, 82-92; - Silk-worms, 239; - Stag-beetles, 25; - Scorpions, 322-331; - Spiders, 339; - Wasps and Hornets, 173; - Span-worms, 248. - - Surinam, Cicadas in, 254; - Fire-ants, 157; - Gnats, 280; - Lantern-flies, 255. - - Surat, hospital at, for animals, 266. - - Swallow, heart of, for lunacy, 330; - odious and impious, 251. - - Swammerdam, anecdote of, 363. - - Swarms of Ants, 164; - Aphides, 258; - Butterflies, 225; - Cantharides, 64; - Day-flies, 138; - Dragon-flies, 139-140; - Flies, 287; - Gnats, 278; - Lady-birds, 21; - May-bugs, 48. - - Swarming of Bees, notions concerning, 185-190. - - Sweat, Fleas generated from, 305. - - Sweden, _Acanthocinus ædilis_ in, 73; - Ants, 161; - _Blaps mortisaga_, 65; - Fleas, 308; - Grasshoppers, 100; - Lady-bird, 17; - Lice, 316. - - Switzerland, Caterpillars in, 158, n. - - Swoonings, wax to prevent, 254. - - Sword, in charm to destroy Fleas, 308. - - Sybils resorted to, to drive away Locusts, 113. - - Syria, Galls from, 145; - Locusts in, 103-130. - - - Tamableness of the Fly, 289. - - Tarantula, 351. - - Taylor, Mrs., and her Crickets, 95; - Mantis, 88-90. - - _Telephorus fuscus_, 364. - - Tempests raised by magicians, 45. - - Tendons, Stag-beetle for contractions of, 26. - - _Tenebrio molitor_, 65, 68. - - _Tenebrionidæ_, 65. - - Teneriffe, Locusts in Island of, 104. - - Tennessee, bloody-rain in, 224. - - Terambus transformed into the Cerambyx, 73. - - _Terias lisa_, 227. - - _Termes bellicosus_, 135. - - _Termites_, 132-137. - - _Termitidæ_, 132-137. - - Tertian ague, Bed-bugs for, 268; - Spiders, 359. - - Tettix, 250. - - Thebes, Spiders in, 338. - - Thor, Dung-beetle sacred to, 28. - - Thread, sewing, Spider's web used for, 362. - - Throat, Crickets for affections of, 96. - - Tiberias Cæsar, death of, foretold by Ants, 151. - - Tiffin and Son, Bug-destroyers in London, 268. - - Timour and the Ant, 154. - - Timpany, Spiders for, 360. - - _Tinea padilla_, 248. - _punctata_, 248. - _tapetzella_, 249. - - _Tineidæ_, 248, 249. - - _Tipulidæ_, 286. - - Toads, enmity between Spiders and, 341. - - Tobacco, clay of Ant-hills as substitute for, 135. - - Toothache, Curculios for, 71; - Lady-bird, 21; - tooth-picks of Spiders' mandibles for, 354. - - Tooth-picks, mandibles of Spiders for, 354. - - Tortoise and the Scorpion, a fable, 330; - Bugs administered in the blood of, 267; - gall of, in medicine, 209; - seeds sown in the hide of, 75. - - Torture, Ants as an instrument of, 158; - Flies, 296; - Mosquitoes, 284; - Termites, 135. - - Tonga Group, Ants in, 161. - - Trade in insects, 229, 255, 307, 366. - - Transylvania, Locusts in, 105-126. - - Tumuli, Leather-beetles buried in, 24. - - Turenne's aversion for Spiders, 344. - - Turkey, beetle eaten by women in, 65; - Mantis in, 84. - - _Turnip-fly_, 74. - - _Typographer-beetles_, 61. - - - Ulcers, _Blatta_ of Pliny for, 66; - Cockroaches, 78; - Honey-dew, 258. - - Unchastity, insect to discover, 367; - punished by Bees, 181. - - Unclean thoughts, Flies emblem of, 292. - - United States, Ant-lions in, 141; - Cicadas, 254; - Spiders, 340; - see Indians, American; New England; New York; Maryland; Ohio; - Mississippi; Pennsylvania; North Carolina; Virginia. - - Urine, Fleas generated from, 305; - forced with Cantharides, 63; - Lice to suppress, 319; - Stag-beetle, 26. - - _Uroceridæ_, 142. - - - _Vanessa cardui_, 226, 230. - _polychloros_, 220. - _urticæ_, 220, 230. - - Vegetable-flies, 90-92. - - Venery, Ants to provoke to, 161. - - Veneration for _Acanthocinus ædilis_, 73; - chrysalids of Butterflies, 308; - Mantis, 83-88; - Scarab, 28-44. - - Vermin, origin of, 305. - - Vertigo, silk-worms for, 240. - - Vesicatory, Cantharides as, 63; - _Cerambyx moschatus_, 73. - - _Vespa crabro_, 171. - - _Vespidæ_, 170-174. - - Vessel attacked by Termites, 133; - saved from being wrecked by song of a Spanish Gryllo, 130. - - Vienna, Lady-bird at, 17. - - Vines, to prevent "Cantharides" from injuring, 64. - - Vipers, generation of, 322. - - Virginia, Ants in, 152; - Caterpillars, 242; - Crickets, 95. - - Virgin Mary, Lady-bird dedicated to, 17, 18. - - Virgins, hatred of Scorpions for, 324. - - Virtues of Honey, 208. - - Vives, Ludovicus, eloquence of, foretold by Bees, 178. - - Voluptuary, Scarab emblematical of a, 33. - - Vomiting, Bugs for, 267. - - Vulture, gall of, in medicine, 219. - - - Wall-lice, 265. - - War, omens of, from Agaric-Gnat, 286; - Gall-fly, 143; - Gnats, 280; - Locusts, 119; - Spiders, 338; - waged against Locusts, 114; - Bees idle during, 184. - - Warbles, 303. - - Wars of Ants, 151. - - Warrior, Scarab emblematical of, 32. - - Warts, Cobwebs to remove, 359; - Grasshoppers, 100. - - Washington City, Mantis in, 88. - - Washington, General, Mosquitoes pierce boots of, 281. - - _Wasps_, 170-174, 194, 202. - - Water as a charm to destroy Locusts, 116; - found from swarms of Gnats, 280. - - _Water-boatmen_, 275-277. - - Wax, Bees-, 206-208. - _Pela_, 254. - - Way, lost, discovered by Mantis, 83. - - Weasel, young of, for bite of Spider, 356. - - Weather, prognostications as to, from Ants, 153; - Bees, 182, 194; - Butterflies, 229; - Fleas, 310; - Flies, 290; - Hornets, 172; - Spiders, 336; - Lady-bird connected with fine, 17, 18. - - _Weevils_, 68-72. - - West Indies, Ants in, 162, 167; - Cucujus, 51; - Grasshoppers, 98; - Grou-grou worm, 68-70; - Musk-beetle, 73; - Spiders, 354; - saved from invasion by Cucuji, 53. - - Whales, generation of, 322. - - Wheat, prices of, connected with the ocean tides, 188, n. - - Whistles to call cattle, made of beetle-shards, 369. - - _White ants_, 132-137. - - White-clover, Indian name for, 197. - - Wildman, anecdotes of, 201. - - Wind, Aphides produced by a, 258. - - Winter, prognostication from May-bug as to, 47. - - Wisdom of the Ant exaggerated, 148-151. - - Witchcraft, beetle against, 44; - Bot-fly in, 303; - Humble-bees, 213; - use of wax in, 206. - - Witches in the forms of Flies, 294. - - Wolf, tail of, to drive away Flies, 288; - Wasps generated from carcass of, 171. - - Women, hatred of Scorpions for, 324. - - Wood-louse, Death-watch supposed to be, 61. - - Woodpecker to keep Bees from stinging, 193. - - Wood-carrying Moth, 245. - - Wood-tic, 321. - - Wool, rain of, 348; - to drive away Ants, 170. - - _Woolly-bear Moths_, 242-245. - - World, Scarab symbolical of, 30. - - Worm in the heart of a horse, 365; - from stomach of a woman, 364. - - Wormals, 303. - - Worms extracted from children's ears, 371; - intestinal, Bedeguar for, 144; - charm, 365; - Cockroaches, 78; - oil of Scorpions, 330; - powder of a tombstone, 363. - - Worm-wood to destroy Fleas, 308. - - Worship of the Mantis, 83-88; - pupæ of Butterflies, 230; - Scarab, 28-44; - Egyptian, of animals, 43, n. - - Wounds, _Blatta_ of Pliny for, 66; - Crickets, 97; - Oil-beetles, 63; - Spiders, 359. - - - Zephyr, Butterfly symbol of, 229. - - Zisca, what he meant by "cobwebs," 356. - - - - -FOOTNOTES. - - -[1] Thorpe's Northern Mythol., ii. 104. - -[2] Jamieson's _Scot. Dict._ Another designation, in Sweden, is not so -honorable, for it is that of _Laettfaerdig kona_, the Wanton -Quean.--_Ibid._ The term Lady-bird, in England, has been also applied to -a prostitute.--Wright's _Provinc. Dict._ - -[3] Jaeger, _Life of Amer. Ins._, p. 22. - -[4] It is curious to notice the association of this insect with the cow -in the English and French names. - -[5] Jamieson's _Scot. Dict._ - -[6] Chambers' _Pop. Rhymes_, 1841, p. 170-1. - -[7] Thorpe's _North. Mythol._, iii. 182. - -[8] _Ibid._, ii. 104. - -[9] _Ibid._, iii. 182. - -[10] Thorpe's _North. Mythol._, ii. 104. - -[11] 4th Pastoral, 11. 83-8. - -[12] It probably is induced to fly away by the warmth of the hand. - -[13] _Notes and Queries_, i. 132. - -[14] _Ibid._, i. 28, 55, 73. - -[15] Jamieson supposes this word to be derived from the Teutonic -_Land-heer_, a petty prince.--_Scot. Dict._ - -[16] Jamieson's _Scot. Dict._ Cf. Chambers' _Pop. Rhymes_, 1841, -p. 170-1. - -[17] Thorpe's _North. Mythol._, iii. 328. - -[18] Grose, _Antiq._ (_Prov. Gloss._) p. 121. - -[19] Chambers' _Pop. Rhymes_, 1841, p. 170. - -[20] _Notes and Queries_, iv. 53. - -[21] Baird's _Cyclop. of Nat. Sci._ - -[22] Kirby and Spence, _Introd._, ii. 9. - -[23] Newell's _Zool. of the Poets_, p. 48. - -[24] _Life of Amer. Ins._, p. 21. - -[25] A. 1, sc. iii. - -[26] Quot. with preceding in Newell's _Zool. of the Poets_, p. 50-2. - -[27] Kirb. and Sp. _Introd._, i. 317. - -[28] Jaeger, _Life of Amer. Ins._, p. 61. - -[29] Kirb. and Sp. _Introd._, i. 316. - -[30] Shaw's _Zool._, vi. 42. - -[31] Gough's _Sepul. Mon._, vol. i. p. xii.--These sepulchral tumuli, or -burrows, are of the remotest antiquity, and continued in use till the -twelfth century.--_Ibid._ - -[32] Wilkin. _Anct. Egypt._ ii. (2d S.) 261; and Pettig. _Hist. of -Mummies_, p. 53-5. - -[33] Baird's _Cyclop. of Nat. Sci._ - -[34] Cuvier's _Animal Kingd.--Ins._, i. 530. - -[35] _The Mirror_, xix. 180; and _Saturday Mag._, xvi. 144. - -[36] N. & Q., 2d S., ii. 83. - -[37] Bradley, _Phil. Account_, p. 184. - -[38] _N. Dict. d'Hist. Nat._, xxii. 81. - -[39] _Nat. Hist. of Ins._, _Lond._, 1838, ii. 156. - -[40] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 149. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 1006. - -[41] Cuvier, _An. King.--Ins._, i. 533. - -[42] _Nat. Hist._, xi. 34. Holl. _Trans._, p. 326. K. - -[43] James' _Med. Dict._ Cf. Brookes' _Nat. Hist. of Ins._, p. 321. - -[44] _Amoreux_, p. 154. Burmeister's _Manl. of Entomol._, p. 561. -Keferot. _Uber den unmittelbaren Nutzen der Insekten_, Erfurt, 1829, -4to, p. 8-10. Kirb. and Sp. _Introd._, i. 303, note. Shaw's _Zool._, vi. -28, note. - -[45] _Nat. Hist._, xvii. 37. - -[46] Kirb. and Sp. _Introd._, i. 255, note. - -[47] _Ins. Archit._, p. 252. - -[48] Detharding _de Ins. Coleop. Danicis_, 9. Quot. by Kirb. and Sp. -_Introd._, i. 33. - -[49] _Northern Mythol._, ii. 53. - -[50] Bjornstj. _Theog. of Hindoos_, p. 108. - -[51] Oliv. Col. I. 3, viii. 59. Cuvier, _An. King.--Ins._, i. 452. - -[52] Cuvier, _qua supra_. - -[53] Donovan's _Ins. of China_, p. 4. - -[54] Cuvier, _qua supra_. - -[55] De Pauw's Sacred-beetle of the Egyptians was "the great golden -Scarabee, called by some the Cantharides."--ii. 104. - -[56] Wilkinson, _Anct. Egypt._, ii. (2d S.) 259. - -[57] Val. _Hieroglyphica_, p. 93-5. - -[58] _Ibid._ - -[59] Plut. _Of Isis and Osiris_, p. 220. The translation of this passage -as given by Philemon Holland is as follows: "The Fly called the Beetill -they (the Egyptians) reverence, because they observe in them I wot not -what little slender Images (like as in drops of water we see the -resemblance of the Sun) of the Divine power.... As for the Beetills, -they hold, that throughout all their kinds there is no female, but all -the males do blow or cast their seed into a certain globus or round -matter in the form of balls, which they drive from them and roll to and -fro contrariwise, like as the Sun, when he moveth himself from the West -to the East, seemeth to turn about the Heaven clean contrary."--p. 1071, -ed. of 1657. - -[60] Quot. by Montfaucon, _Antiq._, vol. ii., Part 2, p. 322. - -[61] De Pauw tells us that the description of the Scarabæus as given by -Orus Apollo (Horapollo) is, that "it resembles the sparkling luster of -the eye of a cat in the dark."(!)--ii. 104. - -[62] Horap., i. 10. - -[63] _Anct. Egypt._, i. (1st S.) 296. - -[64] Horap., _Hierogl._, i. 10. - -[65] _Anct. Egypt._, ii. (2d S.) 258. - -[66] _Treasvrie_, B. 7. c. 14, p. 662. Printed 1613. - -[67] Horap. _Hierog._, i. 10. - -[68] Fosbroke, _Encycl. of Antiq._, i. 208. - -[69] _Of Isis, &c._ Holl. _Transl._, p. 1051. - -[70] Ælian, x. 15. - -[71] Wilkinson, _Anct. Egypt._, ii. (2d S.) 257. - -[72] _Of Isis, &c._, _qua supra_. - -[73] Wilkin. _Anct. Egypt._, ii. (2d S.) 256. - -[74] Wilkin. _Anct. Egypt._, ii. (2d S.) 256. - -[75] _Ibid._ - -[76] Pettigrew, _Hist. of Mum._, p. 220. - -[77] _Ibid._ - -[78] _Ibid._ - -[79] Travels, ii. 306 (?). - -[80] Fosbroke, _Encycl. of Antiq._, i. 208. - -[81] _Ibid._ Vide Pierius' _Hieroglyph._, p. 76-80. Solis operum -similitudo; Mundus; Generatio; Vnigenitus; Deus in humano corpore; Vir, -paterve; Bellator strenuus; Sol; Luna; Mercurius; Febris lethalis a -sole; Virtus enervata deliciis. - -[82] Fosbroke, _Encycl. of Antiq._, i. 208. - -[83] Wilkin. _Anct. Egypt._, ii. (2d S.) 257. - -[84] Wilkin. _Anct. Egypt._, ii. (2d S.) 257. - -[85] De Pauw, ii. 104. - -[86] Pettig. _Hist. of Mum._, p. 220. - -[87] Wilkin. _Anct. Egypt._, ii. (2d S.) 256. - -[88] Montf. _Antiq._, ii. (Pt. II.) 322. - -[89] _Ibid._, ii. (Pt. II.) 339. - -[90] Wilkin. _Anct. Egypt._, ii. (2d S.) 259, note. - -[91] Wilkin. _Anct. Egypt._, ii. (2d S.) 259, note. - -[92] _Ibid._ - -[93] Bunsen, _Egypt's Place_, i. 504, fig. 116; i. 508, fig. 169. - -[94] Wilkin. _Anct. Egypt._, i. (2d S.) 258, fig. - -[95] Bunsen, _Ibid._, i. 572, fig. 12; i. 576, fig. 9; i. 582, fig. 3. - -[96] Bunsen, _Ibid._, i. 617-632. - -[97] Bunsen's _Egypt's Place_, iii. 142. - -[98] _Ibid._ - -[99] Quot. by Montf. _Antiq._, ii. (Pt. II.) 323. - -[100] Wilkin. _Anct. Egypt._, ii. (2d S.) 257. - -[101] Pettig. _Hist. of Mum._, p. 220. - -[102] Maury's _Indig. Races_, p. 156. - -[103] Phind's _Thebes_, p. 130. - -[104] Donovan, _Ins. of China_, p. 3. - -[105] Fosbroke, _Encyclop. of Antiq._, i. 208. - -[106] _Ibid._ - -[107] Montf. _Antiq._, ii. (Pt. II.) 339. - -[108] _Ibid._ - -[109] Montf. _Antiq._, ii. (Pt. II.) 339. - -[110] _Ibid._ - -[111] Fosbroke, _Encycl. of Antiq._, i. 208. - -[112] There is now at Thebes an arch-forger of Scarabæi--a certain Ali -Gamooni, whose endeavors, in the manufacture of these much-sought-after -relics, have been crowned with the greatest success. For the coarser -description of these, he has, as well as chance European purchasers, an -outlet in a native market; for they are bought from him to be carried up -the river into Nubia, where they are favorite amulets and ornaments, as -mothers greatly delight to patch one or two to the girdles by short -thongs, which constitute the only article of dress of their children. -Through this very medium, too, it sometimes happens that these spurious -Scarabæi come into the possession of unsophisticated travelers, who are -not likely to suspect their origin in that remote country, and under -such circumstances. - -Scarabæi also of the more elegant and well-finished descriptions are not -beyond the range of this curious counterfeiter. These he makes of the -same material as the ancients themselves used,--a close-grained, -easily-cut limestone, which, after it is graven into shape and lettered, -receives a greenish glaze by being baked on a shovel with brass filings. - -Ali, not content with closely imitating, has even aspired to the -creative; so antiquarians must be on their guard lest they waste their -time and learning on antiquities of a very modern date.--_Vide_ Rhind's -Thebes, p. 253-5. Mr. Gliddon, in an incidental note, _Indig. Races_, p. -192, takes credit for having furnished this same Ali, some twenty-four -years ago (as it would appear), with broken penknives and other -appliances to aid his already-manifested talent, in the somewhat -fantastic hope of flooding the local market with such curiosities, and -so saving the monuments from being laid under contribution! - -[113] Winkleman, _Art._ 2, c. 1. - -[114] Paraph. from Fosbroke's _Encycl. of Antiq._, i. 208. - -[115] Of those deposited in the British Museum, Mr. Birch has made the -following report: - -1. A Scarabæus having on the base _Ra-men-Chepr_, a prenomen of Thothmes -III. Beneath is a Scarab between two feathers, placed on the basket -_sub._ - -2. A Scarabæus in dark steaschist, with the figure of the sphinx (the -sun), and an emblem between the fore paws of the monster. The sphinx -constantly appears on the Scarabæi of Thothmes III., and it is probably -to this monarch that the one here described belongs. (On many Scarabæi -in the British Museum, and on those figured by Klaproth from the Palin -Collection, in Leeman's Monuments, and in the "Description de l'Egypt," -Thothmes is represented as a sphinx treading foreign prisoners under -him.--_Layard._) After the Sphinx on this Scarab are the titles of the -king, "The sun-placer of creation," of Thothmes III. - -3. Small Scarabæus of white steaschist, with a brownish hue; reads -_Neter nefer nebta Ra-neb-ma_, "The good God, the Lord of the Earth, the -Sun, the Lord of truth, rising in all lands." This is Amenophis III., -one of the last kings of the XVIII. dynasty, who flourished about the -fifteenth century B.C. - -4. Scarabæus in white steaschist, with an abridged form of the prenomen -of Thothmes III., _Ra-men-cheper at en Amen_, "The sun-placer of -creation, the type of Ammon." This monarch was the greatest monarch of -the XVIII. dynasty, and conquered Naharaina and the Saenkar, besides -receiving tribute from Babel or Babylon and Assyria. - -5. Scarabæus in pale white steaschist, with three emblems that cannot -well be explained. They are the sun's disk, the ostrich feather, the -uræus, and the guitar nablium. They may mean "Truth the good goddess," -or "lady," or _ma-nefer_, "good and true." - -6. Scarabæus in the same substance, with a motto of doubtful meaning. - -7. Scarabæus, with a hawk, and God holding the emblem of life, and the -words _ma nefer_, "good and true." The meaning very doubtful. - -8. A Scarabæus with a hawk-headed gryphon, emblem of _Menta-Ra_, or -Mars. Behind the monster is the goddess Sati, or Nuben. The hawk-headed -lion is one of the shapes into which the sun turns himself in the hours -of the day. It is a common emblem of the Aramæan religion. - -9. Scarabæus with hawk-headed gryphon, having before in the uræus and -the _nabla_ or guitar, hieroglyphic of good. Above it are the -hieroglyphics "Lord of the earth." - -10. Small Scarabæus in dark steaschist, with a man in adoration to a -king or deity, wearing a crown of the upper country, and holding in the -left hand a lotus flower. Between this is the emblem of life. - -11. Scarabæus, with the hawk-headed Scarabæus, emblem of _Ra-cheper_, -"the creator Sun," flying with expanded wings, four in number, which do -not appear in Egyptian mythology till after the time of the Persians, -when the gods assume a more Pantheistic form. Such a representation of -the sun, for instance, is found in the Torso Borghese. - -It will be observed, adds Layard, that most of the Egyptian relics -discovered in the Assyrian ruins are of the time of the XVIII. Egyptian -dynasty, or of the fifteenth century before Christ; a period when, as we -learn from Egyptian monuments, there was a close connection between -Assyria and Egypt.--Layard's _Babylon and Nineveh_, p. 239-240. - -[116] Layard's _Babylon and Nineveh_, p. 157, 166. - -[117] _Hist. of Mum._, 53-5; Wilkin. _Anct. Egypt._, ii. (2d S.) 261, -note. - -[118] Wilkin. _Anct. Egypt._, ii. (2d S.) 156. - -[119] Pliny, _Nat. Hist._, xxx. 11; Holland, ii. 395. K. - -[120] _Phil. Trans. Abridg._, ii. 785; _Gent. Mag._, xix. 264-5. - -[121] _Phil. Trans. Abridg._, ix. 11. Concerning the worship of animals -in general by the Egyptians, the following remarks in a note may not be -inappropriate, as they embrace the worship of the Scarabæus. - -1. A class of animals, to which may be referred the cow, dog, sheep, and -ibis, were _at first_ naturally protected and respected out of gratitude -for the benefits derived from them. But in time, it is supposed, this -respect, by unthoughtful descendants believing too implicitly the -teachings of their fathers, was gradually enlarged to so great extent -that it became reverence, and at last, perhaps after centuries, worship. -For example, at A time, the ibis is respected on account of its -destroying noxious serpents; at B, reverenced; and at C, worshiped. - -2. When at C time, the ibis is worshiped, suppose the masses have lost -the reason (which in the case of the Egyptians is an allowable -supposition, since it is an historical fact that but the initiated knew -the reasons for their manner of worship), and serpents are its food, is -it not plain then that if the food be taken away the sacred bird cannot -live? Hence at C time are serpents preserved and protected as food for -the ibis; and as this protecting care increases as above, till at D they -are reverenced, and at E worshiped. To this second class may be referred -the crocodile, which was preserved, etc. as food for the ichneumon, a -sacred animal of the first class. - -3. Analogies between animals, and even plants, and certain sources of -goodness, or objects of wonder, as the sun, and motion of the stars, -were at A time, noticed; at B, respected or reverenced; and at C, -worshiped. Thus, among plants, became the onion sacred, from the -resemblance of the laminæ which compose it, in a transverse section, to -circles--to the orbits of the planets. And thus the Scarabæus from the -analogies between its movements and shape and the motions of the sun, -traced, as we have before remarked on the authority of several ancient -writers, became also an object of adoration. - -4. A fourth reason may also be given, which follows as a consequence of -the latter. If such analogy, as, for example, that between the beetle -and the sun, had been observed in the time of picture and hieroglyphic -writing, to represent the sun, the beetle would have been taken. Now, it -is a well-authenticated fact, that these hieroglyphics in time became -sacred, and, if the beetle was found among them, it for this, if for no -other reason, would have been looked upon with the same veneration. - -5. Good men, too, to preserve the lives of animals oftentimes wantonly -taken, introduce them into fables and poetry, and connect pleasing tales -with them. The "Babes in the Wood" have so fixed the respect for the -tameness of the robin, that it is even now deemed a sacrilege with our -boys to stone this bird. And may there not have been such good men, and -such tender stories, among the Egyptians, and the remembrance of whom -and which long lost by the lapse of time? - -[122] Kirb. and Sp. _Introd._, i. 33. - -[123] _Ins. of China_, p. 6. - -[124] _Nat. Hist._, xxix. 6 (38). - -[125] _Nat. Hist._, xxx. 11 (30). Holland, _Trans._, ii. 390. - -[126] James' _Med. Dict._ - -[127] Donovan's _Ins. of China_, p. 6. - -[128] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 160. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 1012. - -[129] Cuvier suggests that the _Scarabæus nasicornis_ of Linnæus, which -haunts dead bark, or the _S. auratus_, may be the insect here referred -to. - -[130] _Nat. Hist._, xi. 28 (34). - -[131] Shaw's _Zool._, vi. 20. Baird's _Cyclop. of Nat. Sci._ - -[132] St. Clair, _West Indies, etc._, i. 152. - -[133] Simmond, _Curiosities of Food_, p. 295. - -[134] _Ibid._ - -[135] Tennent, _Nat. Hist. of Ceylon_, p. 407. - -[136] Tennent, _Nat. Hist. of Ceylon_, p. 407. - -[137] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 152. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 1009. - -[138] De Geer, iv. 275-6. Kirb. and Sp. _Introd._, i. 33. - -[139] _Hist. of Ins._ (Murray, 1830) ii. 296. - -[140] _Chronicles_, iv. 326.--The water overflowing the low grounds -brought the beetles for air to the surface, whence they were swept away -by the current. - -[141] _Phil. Trans. Abridg._, ii. 781-3. - -[142] _Phil. Trans. Abridg._, ii. 782. - -[143] Shaw, _Zool._, vi. 25. - -[144] Kirb. and Sp. _Introd._, i. 179. - -[145] Anderson's _Recr. in Agric._, iii. 420. - -[146] _Anim. Biog._, iii. 233. - -[147] Baird's _Cyclop. of Nat. Sci._ - -[148] _Ibid._ - -[149] Shaw's _Zool._, vi. 88. - -[150] Tennent, _Nat. Hist. of Ceylon_, p. 405. - -[151] Donovan, _Ins. of India_, p. 5. - -[152] Donovan, _Ins. of China_, p. 13. - -[153] Travels, i. 384. - -[154] _Ibid._, i. 331. - -[155] Cuvier, _An. King.--Ins._, i. 356. - -[156] _Introd._, i. 156. - -[157] Pliny, xxx. 4; Holland, ii. 377. E. - -[158] _Med. Dict._ - -[159] _Ibid._ - -[160] Peruvians travel by the light of the _Cucujus Peruvianus_.--See -Kirby's _Wond. Museum_, ii. 151. - -[161] _Hist. of West Indies_, p. 274. - -[162] Baird's _Cyclop. of Nat. Sci._ - -[163] Stedm. _Surinam_, i. 140. - -[164] Cuvier, _An. King.--Ins._, i. 321. - -[165] _Conq. of Mex._, i. 327. - -[166] _Hist. of New Swed._, p. 162. - -[167] _Theatr. Insect._, p. 112. - -[168] _Hist. of Amer._, p. 378. - -[169] Walton, _Pres. St. of Span. Col._, i. 128. - -[170] Humboldt's _Cuba_, p. 395. - -[171] _Saturday Mag._, ix. 229. - -[172] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 111. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 977. - -[173] _Tour on the Continent_, 2d. Edit., iii. 85. - -[174] Browne's _Vulg. Err._, B. iii. c. 17. _Works_, ii. 531. - -[175] Kirb. and Sp. _Introd._, i. 317. - -[176] _Tour on Continent_, iii. 85. 2d Edit. - -[177] _Med. Dict._ - -[178] Harris' _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, ii. 688. - -[179] Harris, _Farm Insects_, p. 372. - -[180] This insect has received its English names, of _Mole-cricket_ and -_Earth-crab_, from its burrowing like a mole, and some species of W. -Indian crabs; and, from its supposed jarring song at night, it is also -called _Eve-churr_, _Churr-worm_, and _Jarr-worm_.--_Ibid._ - -[181] Moufet, _Theatr. Ins._, p. 110. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. -977. - -[182] Cuvier, _An. King.--Ins._, i. 382. - -[183] Cf. _Works_, ii. 375. - -[184] Johnson's _Eng. Dict._ - -[185] 4th Past., 1. 101. - -[186] In Kirby's _Wonderful Museum_, ii. 309, there is an article on the -Death-watch, headed "A curious Description and Explanation of the -Death-watch, so commonly listened to with such dread." - -[187] Harper's _Mag._, xxiii. 775. - -[188] Shaw, _Zool._, vi. 34. _Nat. Misc._, iii. 104. - -[189] Brand's _Pop. Antiq._, iii. 226-7. - -[190] Horne's _Introd. to Bibliog._, i. 311. - -[191] Wilhelm's _Recr. from Nat. Hist._, quot. by Latrielle, _Hist. -Nat._, ix. 194. Quot. by Kirb. and Sp. _Introd._, i. 213. Carpenter, -_Zool._, ii. 133. - -[192] Brookes informs us that Dr. Greenfield, a practitioner in London, -was sent to Newgate, by the college, for having given Cantharides -inwardly. This happened in the year 1698; but he was soon after -released, by a superior authority, when he published a work upon the -good effects of these insects taken inwardly for strangury, and other -disorders of the kidneys and bladder. We are also told by Ambrose Parry, -that a courtezan, having invited a young man to supper, had seasoned -some of the dishes with the powder of Cantharides, which the very next -day produced such an effect, that he died with an evacuation of blood, -which the physicians were not able to stop. Many other instances might -be brought, continues Brookes, of persons that have been either killed, -or brought to death's door, by a wanton use of these Flies, which had -been given them privately, with a design to cause love. Some go so far -as to affirm, that people have been thrown into a fever, only by -sleeping under trees on which were a great number of Cantharides; and -Mr. Boyle informs us, after authors worthy of credit, that some persons -have felt considerable pains about the neck of the bladder, only by -holding Cantharides in their hands.--_Nat. Hist. of Ins._, p. 50-1. - -[193] Pliny, _Nat. Hist._, xxix. 30. - -[194] _Asiatic Res._, v. 213. - -[195] Baird's _Cyclop. of Nat. Sci._ - -[196] _Med. Dict._ - -[197] Cuvier, _An. King.--Ins._, i. 569. - -[198] Pliny, _Nat. Hist._, xxix. 30. - -[199] Sloane, _Hist. of Jamaica_, ii. 206. - -[200] Owen's _Geoponika_, ii. 156. - -[201] _Nat. Hist. of Ins._, p. 49. - -[202] Cuvier, _An. Kingd.--Ins._, i. 569. - -[203] Linn. _Faun. Suec._, p. 822. - -[204] Lane's _Mod. Egypt._, i. 237, ii. 275. - -[205] Cuvier, _An. King.--Ins._, i. 568. - -[206] Pinkerton's _Voy. and Trav._, x. 190. - -[207] Pliny, _Nat. Hist._, xxix. 6. Holl., p. 370. - -[208] _Trans. of Assoc. Phys. in Ireland_, iv., vii., and v., p. 177, -8vo., Dublin, 1824-8. - -[209] In Kirby's _Wonderful Museum_, iv. 360, there are several -instances of living insects being found in the human stomach, quite as -extraordinary as the above. - -[210] _The Mirror_, xxviii. 304. - -[211] _Hist. of Brazil_, p. 346. - -[212] Jamieson gives Grou-grou as a Scottish name for the -Corn-grub.--_Scot. Dict._, iii. 516. - -[213] Shaw, _Zool._, vi. 62. Cuvier, _An. Kingd.--Ins._, ii. 80. - -[214] Stedm. _Surinam_, ii. 23. - -[215] _Ibid._, ii. 115. - -[216] _Acct. of the Sierra Leone Africans_, i. 314, note. - -[217] Travels, i. 410. - -[218] _Gummila_, i. 9. See also Southey's _Hist. of Brazil_, i. 110. - -[219] _Hist. of Barbados_, p. 646. - -[220] _Entretenimiento_, vi. § 11. - -[221] Canto iii. - -[222] _Sketches of Java_, 310. - -[223] Ælian, _Hist._ L. xiv. c. 13. - -[224] Simmond's _Curiosities of Food_, p. 313. - -[225] _Travels and Researches in S. Africa_, p. 389. - -[226] _Monthly Mag._ ii. (Pt. II.) 792, for 1796. - -[227] _Book of Days_, i. - -[228] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 151. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 1007. - -[229] _The Mirror_, xxxiii. 202, note. - -[230] Drury, Ins., i. 9 (Pref.). Shaw's _Zool._, vi. 73. - -[231] Shaw's _Zool._, vi. 71-2. Merian, _Ins. Sur._, 24. - -[232] _Hist. of Jamaica_, ii. 193-4. - -[233] _St. Pierre_, _Voy._, 72. - -[234] Smeatham, 32. Kirb. and Sp. _Introd._, i. 303. - -[235] _Wonders_, i. 18. - -[236] Curtis, _Farm Ins._, p. 22. Baird's _Cyclop. of Nat. Sci._ - -[237] Owen's _Geoponika_, ii. 98. - -[238] Probably the coriaceous tortoise, which is covered with a strong -hide. - -[239] Paladius, B. i. c. 35. - -[240] _Med. Dict._ - -[241] _Gent. Mag._, xxv. 376.--Some authors assert that Ear-wigs are not -in the least injurious to vegetation. - -[242] _Hist. of Jam._, ii. 204. - -[243] _Med. Dict._ - -[244] _Hist. of Jam._, ii. 204. - -[245] Baird's _Cyclop. of Nat. Sci._ - -[246] Quot. by Samouffle, _Ent. Cab._, 1-3. - -[247] Baird's _Cyclop. of Nat. Sci._ - -[248] Pinkerton's _Voy. and Trav._, xiii. 108. A beetle, insinuating -itself in the ear of Captain Speke when in Central Africa, caused him -the greatest pain imaginable. It was six or seven months before all the -pieces of it were extracted.--_Blackwood's Mag._, Sept. 1859. Barth's -_Central Africa_, ii. 91, note. - -[249] Hone's _Every Day Book_, i. 1121. - -[250] _London Labor and London Poor_, iii. 40-1. - -[251] _Zool._, vi. 118. - -[252] _Theat. Ins._, p. 983. - -[253] Harwood, _Grec. Antiq._, p. 200. - -[254] Chamb. _Journ._, xi. 362, 2d S. - -[255] Carpenter's _Zool._, ii. 142. - -[256] _Penny Mag._, 1841, 2d S. p. 436. - -[257] Cuvier, _An. Kingd.--Ins._, ii. 190. - -[258] _Present St. of the C. of Good Hope_, i. 99-100. Astley's _Collec. -of Voy. and Trav._, iii. 366. - -[259] Astley's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, iii. 381. - -[260] _Pres. St. of the C. of Good Hope_, i. 101-2. - -[261] _Ibid._ - -[262] _Trav._, i. 150. - -[263] _Ibid._, ii. 65. - -[264] Quot. by _Penny Mag._, 1841, 2d S. p. 436. - -[265] _Ibid._ - -[266] _Ibid._ - -[267] Churchill's _Coll. of Voy. and Trav._, ii. 23, and Pinkerton's -_Voy. and Trav._, xiv. 720. - -[268] _Trav. in China_, p. 159. Cf. Williams' _Middle Kingdom_, i. 273. - -[269] Ins. Arch., 63. - -[270] This superstition I have found in no other place. - -[271] Harper's _New Monthly Mag._, xxiv. 491, 2. - -[272] Donovan seems to think that Ovid's account of the Transformation -of Phaeton's Sisters into trees, had its origin in some such idea as -this.--_Insects of China_, p. 18, note. See also Chamb. _Journal_, xi. -367, 2d Ser. - -[273] Donovan's _Ins. of China_, p. 19. - -[274] Smith's _Nature and Art_, x. 240. - -[275] _Amer. Phil. Trans._, vol. iii. _Introd._ - -[276] Cuvier, _An. Kingd.--Ins._, ii. 173. - -[277] _Nat. Hist. of Barbados_, p. 90. - -[278] 4th Pastoral, line 102. - -[279] _Mag-astromancers Posed and Puzzel'd_, p. 181. - -[280] _Dæmonologia_, 1650, p. 59. - -[281] _Elminth._, 8vo. Lond., 1668, p. 271. - -[282] _Nat. Hist. of Selborne_, p. 255. - -[283] _Tamar and Tavy_, i. 321. - -[284] _The Mirror_, xix. 180. - -[285] _Astrologaster_, p. 45. - -[286] _Notes and Queries_, iii. 3. - -[287] _Ibid._ - -[288] _The Mirror_, xix. 180. - -[289] Grose, _Antiq. Prov. Gloss._, p. 121. - -[290] _Il Penserosa._ - -[291] Mouffet, _Theat. Insect._, p. 136. - -[292] Harper's _Mag._, xxvi. 497. - -[293] Mouff. _Theat. Ins._, p. 136. - -[294] De Pauw, ii. 106. - -[295] _Life of Amer. Ins._, p. 114. - -[296] _Earth and Animat. Nat._, iv. 216. - -[297] Sloane's _Nat. Hist. of Jamaica_, ii. 204. - -[298] _Nat. Hist._, xxx. 4. Holland, p. 378. H. - -[299] _Ibid._, xxix. 6. Holland, p. 370. K. - -[300] Pliny, _Nat. Hist._, xxix. 6. Holl., p. 371. A. - -[301] _Med. Dict._ - -[302] The Grasshopper, however, according to Mr. Hughes' description, is -twice as large as the cricket; it being two inches, the cricket but one -inch, in length.--P. 85 and 90. - -[303] _Nat. Hist. of Barb._, p. 85. - -[304] Athen. _Deipnos_, L. 4, c. 12. The Cercope, or Monkey-grasshopper, -was so called from having a long tail like a monkey, _cercops_. - -[305] Pinkert. _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, ix. 612. - -[306] _Hist. of West Indies_, p. 121-2. - -[307] Voy., ii. 239. Wanley's _Wonders_, ii. 373. - -[308] Quoted in Simmond's _Curios. of Food_, p. 304. - -[309] _Gent. Mag._, xii. 442. - -[310] Good, _Study of Med._, iv. 515. - -[311] Pinkerton's _Voy. and Trav._, vii. 705. - -[312] _Med. Dict._ - -[313] _Nat. Hist. of Ins._, p. 67. - -[314] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 120. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 984. - -[315] Exod., chap. x. - -[316] Of the symbolical Locusts in the Apocalypse it is said--"And the -sounds of their wings was as the sound of chariots, of many horses -running to battle."--ix. 9. - -[317] Cf. Ex. x. 15; Jer. xlvi. 23; Judg. vi. 5, viii. 12; Nah. iii. 15. - -[318] Joel, ii. 2-10, 20. - -[319] Oros., _Contra Pag._, l. 5, c. 2. - -[320] Kirb. and Sp. _Introd._, i. 217; Cuv. _An. Kingd.--Ins._, ii. 206. - -[321] Mouff., _Theat. Ins._, p. 123. - -[322] Shaw, _Zool._, vi. 137. - -[323] _Wonders_, ii. 507. - -[324] Shaw, _Zool._, vi. 137. - -[325] _Ibid._ - -[326] _Theatr. Insect._, p. 123. - -[327] Cuvier, _An. Kingd.--Ins._, ii. 212. - -[328] Bingley, _Anim. Biog._, iii. 258. - -[329] _Hist. of Ins._ (Murray, 1838), ii. 188. - -[330] _Nat. Hist. of Jam._, quot. in _Gent. Mag._, xviii. 362. - -[331] Churchill's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, v. 33. - -[332] _Ins._ (Murray, 1838), ii. 188. - -[333] _Ibid._, ii. 197. - -[334] _Gent. Mag._, lxx. 989. - -[335] _Phil. Trans._, vol. xlvi., and _Gent. Mag._, xvii. 435. - -[336] _Ibid._ - -[337] _Ins._ (Murray, 1838), ii. 190. - -[338] _Ibid._, 191. Dr. Shaw says, Governors of particular provinces of -the East oftentimes command a certain number of the military to take the -field against armies of Locusts, with a train of artillery.--_Zool._, -vi. 131, note. - -[339] _Phil. Trans._, vol. xlvi. - -[340] Cuv. _An. King.--Ins._, ii. 211. - -[341] Dillon's _Trav. in Spain_, quot. in _Ins._ (Murray, 1838), ii. -205. - -[342] _Gent. Mag._, xx. 382; xxiii. 387. - -[343] _Ibid._, xlii. 293. - -[344] Jackson's _Trav. in Morocco_, p. 105. Cf. Lempriere, Pinkerton's -_Col. of Voy. and Trav._, xv. 709. - -[345] Cuv. _An. King.--Ins._, ii. 212. - -[346] _Gent. Mag._, lxii. 543. - -[347] _Ibid._, liii. 526, Pt. I. - -[348] _Trav., etc._, 257. - -[349] K. and S. _Introd._, i. 219. - -[350] _Orient. Mem._, ii. 273. - -[351] _Ibid._, iii. 338. - -[352] Pinkerton's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, viii. 595. - -[353] _Ibid._, viii. 613. - -[354] _Penny Mag._, 1843, p. 231. - -[355] _Narrative_, p. 234, and p. 238. - -[356] _Trav. in Morocco_, p. 105. - -[357] Jaeg. _on Ins._, p. 103. - -[358] Pringle's _S. Africa_, p. 54. The Missionary Moffat has written -the history of the scourge of 1826.--_Miss. Lab._, p. 447-9. - -[359] _Ibid._ - -[360] _Chinese Repository._ - -[361] Churchill's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, ii. 317. - -[362] _Penny Mag._ 1843. - -[363] Backhouse, p. 264. - -[364] _Kaffraria_, p. 79. - -[365] Remy & Brenchley's _Voy. to G. Salt Lake City_, iv. 440, note; -Burton's _City of the Saints_, p. 345. - -[366] Quot. by Burton, _City of the Saints_, p. 86. Cf. Long's _Exped._, -ii. 31. - -[367] Remy and Brenchley's _Voy. to G. S. Lake City_, i. 440, note; -Burton's _City of the Saints_, p. 345. - -[368] Lepsius, _Disc. in Egypt_, p. 50. - -[369] _Nat. Hist._, xi. 29; Holland, Pt. I. p. 327, F-H. - -[370] Owen's _Geoponika_, ii. 137-8. - -[371] _Ibid._, 138. - -[372] Pinkerton's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, vii. 257. - -[373] Volney's _Trav._, i. 387. - -[374] Riley's _Narrative_, p. 236-7. - -[375] Richardson's _Sahara_, i. 338. - -[376] _The Mirror_, xv. 429. - -[377] _Pilgr._, ii. 1047. - -[378] _Ibid._, ii. 1186. - -[379] Baird's _Cyclop. of Nat. Sci._ - -[380] _Gent. Mag._, lxxxi. (Pt. II.) 273. - -[381] Vide Bochart, _Hierozoic_, L. IV. c. 5, 474-5. - -[382] Volney, _Trav._, i. 304. - -[383] Robbins' _Journal_, p. 228. - -[384] Southey's _Thalaba_, i. 171. - -[385] Clarke's _Travels_, i. 348. - -[386] _Harleian Miscel._, ii. 523. - -[387] _Nature and Art_, vi. 109. - -[388] Bochart, _Hierozoic_, Pt. II. L. iv. c. 5, 475.--Much of this -description is quite oriental, but such is the general resemblance to -some of the animals mentioned, that in Italy it still bears the name of -"Cavalletta." A German name for this Locust, as well as the Grasshopper -(before mentioned), is the "Hay-horse." About the Locust's neck, too, -the integuments have some resemblance to the trappings of a horse; some -species, however, have the appearance of being hooded. In the Bible, -Locusts are compared to horses.--Joel, ii. 4; Rev. ix. 7. Ray says, -"_Caput oblongum, equi instar prona spectans_." - -[389] Riley's _Narrative_, p. 234. - -[390] _Ins._ (Murray, 1838), ii. 186. - -[391] _Ibid._, 187. - -[392] _Ibid._ - -[393] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 125. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 988. - -[394] St. John's _Man. and Cust. of Anct. Greeks_, iii. 95. - -[395] Diod. Sic. _Hist._, L. III. c. 2. Booth's Trans., 170-1. - -[396] Strabo. _Geog._, L. XVI. c. 4, § 13. - -[397] _Nat. Hist._, xi. 26. Holl. Pt. I. p. 325. E. Cf. Pliny, _Nat. -Hist._, xi. 29. - -[398] Rob. _Journal_, p. 172. - -[399] _Ibid._, p. 228. - -[400] Jackson's _Morocco_, p. 104. - -[401] _Ibid._, p. 106. - -[402] _Wand. and Adv. in S. Afr._, i. 137. - -[403] Riley's _Narrat._, p. 237. - -[404] _Exped. to Africa_, p. 107. - -[405] _Cent. Africa_, ii. 30. - -[406] Pinkerton's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, xvi. 634. - -[407] _Travels to C. of Good Hope_, i. 263. - -[408] _Ibid._ - -[409] _Revel._ ix. 2, 3. - -[410] Fleming's _Kaffraria_, p. 80. - -[411] Holman's _Travels_, p. 487. - -[412] _Miss. Lab._, p. 448-9. - -[413] Quot. in Anderson's _L. Ngami_, p. 284. - -[414] _Ibid._, p. 283. - -[415] _Trav. and Res. in S. Africa_, p. 48. - -[416] Pinkerton's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, x. 189. - -[417] Hasselq. _Trav._, p. 419. - -[418] _Orient. Mem._, i. 46. - -[419] Layard's _Nin. and Bab._, p. 289. - -[420] _Chinese Repository._ - -[421] _Lord Elgin's Miss. to China and Japan_, p. 273. - -[422] _Middle Kingdom_, ii. 50. - -[423] _Voy._, i. 430. Pinkerton's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, xi. 49. - -[424] _Ibid._, xiv. 128. - -[425] Vol. ii. p. 525. - -[426] Cuvier, _An. King.--Ins._, ii. 205. - -[427] Jackson's _Morocco_, p. 103. - -[428] _Ibid._, p. 106. - -[429] _Narrative_, p. 235. - -[430] _Chinese Repository._ - -[431] _Phil. Trans._ for 1698. - -[432] _Prov._ xxx. 27. - -[433] _Genes._ xvi. 12. - -[434] Jackson's _Travels in Morocco_, p. 105-6. - -[435] _Hist. of Greece_, b. i. c. 24. - -[436] _Hist. Acct. of China_, b. ii. c. 15, and Church _Col. of Voy. and -Trav._, i. 95. - -[437] _Naturalist in Bermuda_, p. 112. - -[438] _S. African Sport._, p. 220. - -[439] Darwin's _Res._, p. 159. - -[440] _Hist. of Jam._, ii. 261. - -[441] Smith's _Bib. Dict._ - -[442] _Ibid._ - -[443] _Travels_, i. 71. - -[444] _Egypt and China_, ii. 106. - -[445] _Hist. of Brazil_, i. 105. - -[446] Baird's _Cyclop. of Nat. Sci._ The species here referred to was -the _Termes lucifuga_. - -[447] _Orient. Mem._, i. 363-4. - -[448] Kempf. _Japan_, ii. 127; also Pinkerton's _Col. of Voy. and -Trav._, vii. 701. - -[449] _Orient. Mem._, i. 362. - -[450] _Introd._, i. 247. - -[451] _Autobiog._, Lond., 1858, p. 222-3. - -[452] _Latr. S. Africa_, p. 315. - -[453] _Hist. of Brazil_, i. 319. - -[454] Kid. and Fletch., _Brazil_, p. 443. - -[455] _S. Africa_, p. 315. - -[456] _Hist. of Brazil_, i. 319. - -[457] Kidder and Fletcher, _Brazil_, p. 442. - -[458] Barter's _Dorp and Veld_, p. 81. - -[459] Burton's _Central Africa_, i. 202. - -[460] Tennent, _Nat. Hist. of Ceylon_, p. 412. - -[461] Knox, _Ceylon_, Pt. I. ch. vi. p. 24. - -[462] _Phil. Trans._, lxxi. 167-8, note. - -[463] _Ibid._ - -[464] _Voy. to Cape of Good Hope_, i. 261; Cf. Alexander's _Exped. into -Africa_, i. 52. - -[465] _Trav. in S. Africa_, p. 501. - -[466] Burton's _Cent. Africa_, i. 202. - -[467] Buchanan, i. 7; Forbes, _Orient. Mem._, i. 305. - -[468] Kirb. and Sp. _Introd._, i. 308, note. - -[469] _Letters written in a Mahratta Camp in 1809._ - -[470] Backhouse, p. 584. - -[471] _Phil. Trans._, lxxi. 167-8, note. - -[472] _Memoirs_, vi. 485. Quot. by K. and S. _Introd._, i. 284. Cuv. -_An. Kingd.--Ins._, ii. 315. _Ins. Trans._, p. 373. - -[473] Quot. by Shaw, _Zool._, vi. 250. - -[474] _Mag. of Nat. Hist._, iii. 516-8. - -[475] Gosse's _Jamaica_, p. 251. - -[476] _Gram. and Dict. of the Yoruba Language._ Smithson. Public., p. -xiii. - -[477] Cuv. _An. King.--Ins._, ii. 404. - -[478] They were produced by that species of Gall-fly, _Cynips_, -delineated by Reaumur in his _Hist. of Ins._, vol. iii. tabl. 40. _The -Mirror_, xxx. 234. - -[479] K. and S. _Introd._, i. 33. - -[480] Browne's _Works_, ii. 376. - -[481] _Theatr. Ins._, 252. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 1085. - -[482] Hasselquist's _Travels_, p. 253. - -[483] Cuv. _An. King.--Ins._, ii. 424. - -[484] _Ibid._, p. 427. - -[485] Baird's _Cyclop. of Nat. Sci._ Cf. Cuv.--_Ins._, ii. 428; K. and -S. _Introd._, i. 318. Medict. Virt. Cf. Geoffroy's _Treatise on Subs. -used in Physic_, p. 369. - -[486] Cuv. _An. Kingd.--Ins._, ii. 428. Cf. Geoffroy's _Subs. used in -Phys._, p. 369. - -[487] Reaum. iii. 416. Cf. Cuv. _Ibid._ ii. 429. K. and S. _Introd._, i. -310. - -[488] Smith's _Introd. to Bot._, p. 346. Olivier's _Trav._, i. 139. Cf. -_Ibid._ - -[489] Baird's _Cyclop. of Nat. Sci._ - -[490] Herod., B. 3, 102-5. Cary's _Trans._, p. 214. - -[491] Strabo, _Geog._, B. xv. c. 1, § 44. Hamilton's _Trans._, iii. 101. -Cf. Arrian's _Ind. Hist._, c. 15. Rooke's _Trans._, ii. 211. - -[492] _Ibid._ - -[493] Pliny, _Nat. Hist._, B. xi. c. 31. Bost. and Riley's _Trans._, -iii. 39. - -[494] _Ubi supra_, and Strabo, B. xv. c. 1, § 37. - -[495] Pomp., _Vita Apollon. Tyan._, B. vi. c. 1. - -[496] Bostick and Riley's _Trans. of Pliny_, iii. 39, note. - -[497] Prov. vi. 6. Cf. Prov. xxx. 23. - -[498] Smith's _Bib. Dict._ - -[499] Holland's _Trans._, p. 787. - -[500] _Guardian_, No. 156-7. - -[501] _Nat. Displ._, i. 128. - -[502] _Namahl a Namal Circumcidit._--Browne's _Pseud. Epid.--Works_, ii. -531. - -[503] _Poems: Solomon._ - -[504] _Hymns: The Emmet._ - -[505] _On the Omnis. of God._ - -[506] _Par. Lost_, B. vii. l. 484. - -[507] _Saturday Mag._, xix. 190. - -[508] Lawson's _Bible Cyclop._, ii. 505. - -[509] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 245-6. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 1078. -Vide Pierius' _Hieroglyph._, p. 73-6. - -[510] Mouf. _Theatr. Ins._, p. 242. - -[511] Quot. in Brande's _Pop. Antiq._, iii. 224. - -[512] Harwood's Grec. _Antiq._, p. 200. - -[513] Stosch. Cl., ii. 227-8. Fosbr. _Encycl. of Antiq._, ii. 738. - -[514] Quot. in Brande's _Pop. Antiq._, iii. 134. - -[515] _The Mirror_, xxx. 216. - -[516] _Pilgrims_, v. 542. - -[517] _Theatr. Ins._, 246. Topsel's _Hist of Beasts_, p. 1079. - -[518] The valley seems to be so called from the great number of Ants -which are found there. Some place it in Syria, and others in Tayeb.--_Al -Beidawi, Jallalo'ddin._ - -[519] _The Koran_, p. 310. Translated by Geo. Sale. - -[520] _Trav. in the Levant_, Pt. I. p. 41. - -[521] _Land and Water Creatures Compared_, Holland, p. 787. - -[522] B. 7, c. 16, p. 665; printed 1613. - -[523] Strong's _Nat. Hist._, iii. 163. - -[524] Holland's _Trans._, p. 787. - -[525] Chamb. _Misc._, x. 17. - -[526] Kalm in Pinkerton's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, xiii. 474. - -[527] Chamb. _Misc._, x. 22. - -[528] Pinkerton's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, xvi. 174. - -[529] _Guinea_, p. 276; Astley's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, ii. 727. - -[530] Du Chaillu, p. 312 and 108. - -[531] Allied to the Stinger (_ota_) of Yoruba, and _Idzalco_, "the -fighter which makes one go."--_T. J. Bowen._ - -[532] Livingstone's _Travels_, p. 468. - -[533] St. Clair's _W. Indies_, i. 167-8. - -[534] Stedm. _Surinam_, ii. 94. - -[535] Of similar size and ferocity as the great Red-ant of Ceylon, the -_Dimiya_, _Formica smaragdina_.--Tennent, _N. H. of Ceyl._, p. 424. - -[536] The Cobra de Capello, _Naja tripudians_, Merr. - -[537] Knox, _Hist. Rel. of Ceylon_, Pt. I. ch. vi. p. 24. - -[538] Stedm. _Surinam_, ii. 142. - -[539] K. and S. _Introd._, i. 123. - -[540] Smith's _Nature and Art_, xii. 195. Clavigero supposes that all -the attachment which the snake shows to the Ant-hills proceeds from its -living on the Ants themselves. - -[541] _Du Chaillu_, p. 312. - -[542] The Swiss farmers, in order to rid their trees of caterpillars, -allure the Ants to climb the trees, where, being confined by a circle of -pitch round the holes, hunger soon causes them to attack the noxious -larvæ. - -[543] _Penny Encycl._, _sub._ Ant. - -[544] _Hakluyt Society_, ii. 13. - -[545] _The Mirror_, xxxi. 342. - -[546] Smith's _Nature and Art_, xii. 197. - -[547] _Hist. Nat._, i. 9, and v. 291. Cf. Sloane, _Hist. of Jam._, ii. -221. - -[548] _Amer. Utriusq. Desc._, p. 333. - -[549] _Ibid._, p. 379. - -[550] Southey's _Com. Place Book_, 3d S. p. 346-7. - -[551] Herrera, vi. 5, 6. - -[552] _Hist. of Jam._, ii. 221. - -[553] Quoted, _Ibid._ - -[554] _Journ. of Geog. Soc._, 1841, x. 175. - -[555] Quot. by K. and S. _Introd._, i. 309. - -[556] _Trav. in Swed._, p. 118, Lond. 1789, 4to. - -[557] _Ibid._ - -[558] Jenkin's _Voy. of U. S. Explor. Exped. Com. by Wilkes_, 8vo. -Auburn, 1852, p. 319. - -[559] Cuv. _An. Kingd.--Insects_, ii. 489. - -[560] _Ibid._ - -[561] _Pilgrims_, iii. 996. - -[562] James's _Med. Dict._ - -[563] _Hist. of Jam._, ii. 221. - -[564] Brande's _Encycl. of Sci. Lit., etc._ - -[565] Pliny, _Nat. Hist._, xxviii. 7 (23). - -[566] Southey's _Com. Place Book_, 3d S. p. 419. - -[567] _Gent. Mag._, Pt. II. lxxiii. 704-5, and Kirby's _Wond. Museum_, -i. 353-5. - -[568] _Land and Water Creatures Compared_, Holl. _Trans._, p. 793. - -[569] B. 7, c. xv. p. 664. Printed 1613. - -[570] Cuv. _An. Kingd.--Ins._, ii. 472. - -[571] _Mem. Berlin Acad._ for 1749. - -[572] _Penny Encycl._, _sub._ Ant. - -[573] K. and S. _Introd._, ii. 54. - -[574] _Pilgrimage_, p. 1090. - -[575] K. and S. _Intro._, ii. 54. - -[576] Joss. _Voy._, p. 118. - -[577] Baird's _Cyclop. of Nat. Sci._ - -[578] Purchas's _Pilgrims_, iii. 998. - -[579] Schomburgk's _Hist. of Barbados_, 640-3; and Coke's _West Indies_, -ii. 313. - -[580] Cuv. _An. Kingd.--Ins._, ii. 471. - -[581] Pinkerton's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, xiv. 716. - -[582] Southey's _Hist. of Brazil_, iii. 334, note. - -[583] Wanley's _Wonders_, ii. 507. - -[584] Thom Browne's _Works_, ii. 337, note. - -[585] Martial, B. iv. 15. - -[586] Southey, _Hist. of Brazil_, i. 645. - -[587] Owen's _Geoponika_, ii. 148-9. - -[588] _Nat. Hist._, xxix. 29. - -[589] Wanley's _Wonders_, i. 378. - -[590] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 40-50. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 921-7. -Vide Pierius' _Hieroglyph._, p. 267-8; Pernicies summota; Pugnacitas; -Imperfecti mores civiles; Perturbator. - -[591] _Josh._ xxiv. 12; _Deut._ vii. 20. - -[592] Kirby's _Bridgewater Treatise.--Saturday Mag._, ix. 239. - -[593] _Phil. Trans._, i. 201. - -[594] _Med. Dict._ - -[595] _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 660. - -[596] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 49. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 657, 927. - -[597] _Notes and Queries_, ii. 165. - -[598] Owen's _Geoponika_, ii. 211. - -[599] Backhouse's _Mauritius_, p. 32. - -[600] Moufet, _Theatr. Insect._, p. 47. Topsel's _Hist. of Four-footed -Beasts and Serpents_, p. 925, 655. - -[601] William's _Middle Kingdom_; or _Chinese Empire_, i. 274. - -[602] Thom. Bozius _de signis Eccles._, B. 14, c. iii. Quot. by Butler, -_Fem. Monarchie_, c. i. 48. - -[603] Quot. in _Notes and Queries_, ix. 167. - -[604] _Parley of Beasts_, p. 144. London, 1660. - -[605] Bozius, _ubi supra_. Butler, _ubi supra_. - -[606] Vicentius in _Spec. Moral._, B. 2, D. 21, p. 3. _N. and Q._, x. -499. - -[607] Pet. Cluniac, B. 1, c. i. _N. and Q._, x. 499. - -[608] Quot. in _Notes and Queries_, x. 499. - -[609] Harwood, _Grec. Antiq._, p. 200. - -[610] Pliny, _Nat. Hist._, ix. 18 - -[611] _Ibid._ - -[612] Paus. _Hist. of Greece_, B. ix. c. xxiii. 3. - -[613] Stanley's _Hist. of Philos._, Pt. V. c. ii. p. 157, Lond. 1701. -Cf. Pliny, _Nat. Hist._, xi. 18. - -Vide Pierius, _Hieroglyph._, p. 261-5. Populus regi suo obseques; Rex; -Regnum; Grata eloquentia; Poeticæ amoenitas; Futuri seculi beatitudo; -Dulcium appetitus; Diuturnæ valetudinis prosperitas; Meretrix; Exoticæ -disciplinæ; Prophetarum oracula, etc. - -[614] _Lives of the Saints_, xii. 106. - -[615] Quot. in _N. and Q._, x. 500. This story is not in the _Fem. -Monarchie_ of 1609, printed for Jos. Barnes. - -[616] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 21-2. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts and Serpents_, -p. 645, 905. - -[617] _N. and Q._, vi. 480. - -[618] Gay's _Pastorals_, v. 107-8. - -[619] Chambers' _Book of Days_, i. 752. - -[620] Plutarch, _Nat. Quest._, 36. Holl. Trans., p. 831. - -[621] _Nat. Hist._, xxviii. 7. Holl. Trans., p. 308. - -[622] Plutarch, _Land and Water Creatures Compared_. Holl. Trans., p. -786. - -[623] _Georg._ iv. 283-7. Dryden's Trans. - -[624] Swam. _Hist. of Ins._, Pt. I. p. 226. - -[625] Martin's _Georg. of Virgil_, iv. 295, note. - -[626] Dryden's _Virgil, Georg._ iv. 417-442. Democritus, said to have -been contemporary with Socrates and Hippocrates, the learned Varro, -Columella, and Plorentinus, have severally given this same receipt. Vide -Owen's _Geoponika_, ii. 199. - -[627] Hollings. _Chron._, i. 384. - -[628] Swam. _Hist. of Ins._, Pt. I. p. 228. - -[629] _N. and Q._, ii. 356. - -[630] _Nat. Hist._, xix. 7. Holl. _Trans._, p. 23. E. - -[631] _N. and Q._, ii. 165. Chamb. _Bk. of Days_, i. 752. - -[632] _N. & Q._, xii. 200. - -[633] _Mag. of Nat. Hist._, ii. 405. - -[634] Bucke _on Nature_, i. 419. - -[635] Brand's _Pop. Antiq._, ii. 300. - -[636] _Ibid._ - -[637] _Ibid._ - -[638] Thorpe's _North. Mythol._, iii. 161. - -[639] Vide _N. and Q._ in Devon, v. 148; Essex, v. 437; Lincolnshire, -iv. 270; Surrey, iv. 291; a Cornish superstition, too, xii. 38; in -Buckinghamshire, Sussex, Lithuania, and France, iv. 308. - -[640] Brande's _Pop. Antiq._, ii. 300. - -[641] Bucke _on Nature_, i. 413, note. - -[642] _N. and Q._, iv. 309. - -[643] Brand's _Pop. Antiq._, ii. 300. - -[644] Fosbr. _Encycl. of Antiq._, ii. 738. - -[645] Brand's _Pop. Antiq._, ii. 300. - -[646] Langstroth _on Honey-Bee_, p. 80. - -[647] _Mag. of Nat. Hist._, iii. 211, note. - -[648] _Ibid._, i. 303. London, 1829. - -[649] Peter Rotharmel had three specialties: Bees, Wheat, and Bonaparte. -Concerning Bees, he had many strange notions, but the above recorded is -the only one of which I have any positive information. Concerning wheat, -at one time in his life he purchased an almanac, which indicated, among -other things, the high and low tides, and, from studying this, he got it -into his head that the fluctuations in the price of wheat were -intimately connected with the rise and fall of the tides. So impressed -was he with this idea, that he ever afterward yearly bought that -particular almanac, and prophesied from it to his neighbors the probable -value of their coming crops of wheat. On Sunday, he would walk fifteen -and twenty miles through the country, to examine the different -wheat-fields, and to afford him a topic of conversation for the ensuing -week. But Napoleon was his principal study and his greatest mania. On -him he would talk for hours, on the slightest provocation. The history -of Bonaparte and his campaigns, which he only read, was an old German -one. - -[650] _Mag. of Nat. Hist._, ii. 209. - -[651] _Geog._, Dryden's _Trans._, iv. 82-9. - -[652] _On the Honey-Bee_, p. 113. - -[653] _N. and Q._, 2d Ser., ix. 443. - -[654] _Nat. Hist._, xxi. 20, Holl. _Trans._, p. 106. K. - -[655] Quot. in Brand's _Pop. Antiq._, iii. 225. - -[656] Langstroth _on the Honey-Bee_, p. 132. - -[657] Quot. by Langstroth _on the Honey-Bee_, p. 231. - -[658] Campbell's _Travels in S. Africa_, p. 339. - -[659] _Percy Soc. Public._, iv. 99. - -[660] Owen's _Geoponika_, ii. 109-10. - -[661] _Nat. Hist._, xx. 13. Holl., p. 56. M. - -[662] _Ibid._, Holl., p. 95. A. - -[663] _Ibid._, xxi. 20. Holl., p. 106. K. - -[664] _Ibid._, xxiii. 18. Holl., p. 173. A. - -[665] _Ibid._, xxix. 4. Holl., p. 361. D. - -[666] _Ibid._, xxx. 16. Holl., p. 399. F. - -[667] Langstroth _on the Honey-Bee_, p. 316, note. - -[668] Brand's _Pop. Antiq._, iii. 225. - -[669] _Georg._, iv. 280-4; Dryden's _Trans._ - -[670] Fosb. _Encycl. of Antiq._, ii. 738. - -[671] _Judg._ xiv. 8. - -[672] Cf. Swammerdam, _Hist. of Ins._, Pt. I. p. 227, and Smith's _Dict. -of the Bible_. - -[673] Herod., v. 114-5. - -[674] _Excursions_, i. 127. - -[675] _Fem. Monarchie_, c. vi. 49. - -[676] Williams' _Chinese Empire_, i. 275. - -[677] Chiflet, 164-181; Montf. _Monarch. Franc._, i. 12; Gough's _Sepul. -Mon._, vol. i. p. lxii. - -[678] Cf. _N. & Q._, vii. 478, 553; viii. 30. - -[679] Harper's _New Monthly Mag._, xxvi. 441. - -[680] _Il._ b. 87; m. 67; _Odyss._, n. 106. - -[681] Hesiod, Theog., 594, seq. - -[682] Bucke _on Nature_, ii. 75. - -[683] Cf. Kalm, ii. 427; Schneider, Observ. sur Ulloa, ii. 198. - -[684] _Ibid._ - -[685] _Tour in the Prairies_, ch. ix. - -[686] Langstroth _on the Honey-Bee_, p. 236. - -[687] _Letters._ - -[688] _Voyages dans les Alpes._ _Ins. Misc._, p. 262. - -[689] Brookes mentions the Duchy of Juliers, a district of Westphalia, -Germany.--_Nat. Hist. of Ins._, p. 160. - -[690] Columella says the Greeks were accustomed, every year, to remove -the hives from Achaia into Attica.--_Ibid._ - -[691] One person in particular, in the territory called Gatonois, has -been at the pains of removing his hives, after the harvest of Sainfoin, -into the plains of Beauce, where the melilot abounds, and thence into -Sologne, where it is well known the Bees may enjoy the advantage of -buckwheat, till toward the end of September, for so long that plant -retains its flowers.--_Ibid._ - -[692] _Ins. Misc._, p. 262. - -[693] _Mag. of Nat. Hist._, iii. 652. - -[694] Wood's _Zoog._, ii. 429. - -[695] _Ins. Misc._, p. 263. - -[696] Quot. by Langstroth--_On Honey-Bee_, p. 305, note. - -[697] _Nat. Hist._, x. 9. - -[698] _Journ. of Geog. Soc._, 1843, xiii. 40. - -[699] Murray's _Africa_, i. 168. - -[700] Scot's _Mag._, Nov. 1766. Chamb. _Journ._, 1st S. xi. 184. - -[701] _The Bees._ - -[702] _Treatise on Bees_, 1769. _Ins. Misc._, p. 320-1. - -[703] _Fem. Monarchie_, ch. i. 39. - -[704] _Travels_, p. 178, Harper's ed. - -[705] B. VII. c. xvi. p. 667. Printed, 1613. - -[706] Montaigne's _Works_, p. 243. - -[707] Lesser, ii. 171. K. & S. _Introd._, ii. 247. - -[708] Knox, Pt. I. c. vi. p. 48. - -[709] Martyr, p. 274. - -[710] Banc. _Guiana_, p. 230. - -[711] _Nat. Hist. of Selborne_, p. 293. - -[712] _Trav._, i. 9. - -[713] _Med. Dict._ - -[714] Langstroth _on Honey-Bee_, p. 315, note. - -[715] _Med. Dict._ - -[716] _Fem. Monarchie_, c. x. 1. - -[717] B. 3, c. xv. xvi. p. 274-9. See also extract from Works of Sir J. -More, London, 1707, given by Langstroth--_on the Honey-Bee_, p. 287, -note. - -[718] _The Koran_, p. 219, note, Sale's. - -[719] _Ibid._, p. 219. - -[720] Athen. _Deipn._, B. 2, c. 26. - -[721] Moufet, _Theatr. Ins._, p. 29. Topsel's _Trans._, p. 911. - -[722] Brooke's _Nat. Hist. of Ins._, p. 168. - -[723] Quot. by Langstroth _on the Honey-Bee_, p. 78-9. - -[724] _Anab._, B. 4. - -[725] Pliny, _Nat. Hist._, xxi. 13. Tournefort, _Letters_, 17. - -[726] _Mission. Lab._, p. 121. - -[727] Hollingsh. _Chron._, i. 384. - -[728] Hawk's _Peruvian Antiq._, p. 198. - -[729] _Voyage to C. of G. Hope_, i. 255. - -[730] Jamieson's _Scot. Dict._ - -[731] Wright's _Prov. Dict._ - -[732] _Epigrams_, B. iv. epigr. 32. - -[733] Smith's _Dict. of the Bible_. - -[734] Osbeck's _Travels_, i. 32-3. - -[735] Josselyn's _Voy._, p. 121. - -[736] Chambers' _Pop. Rhymes of Scot._, p. 292. Edit. of 1841, p. 172. - -[737] Dalyell's _Superst. of Scotland_, p. 563. - -[738] Shaw's _Zool._, vi. 346-7. Wood's _Zoog._, ii. 436-7. - -[739] Kirby's _Wonderful Museum_, v. 390-1, given at length. - -[740] Kirby's _Wond. Museum_, vi. 260-2, at length. - -[741] Livy, B. 34, c. 10. - -[742] _Ibid._, B. 40, c. 19. - -[743] _Ibid._, B. 43, c. 13. - -[744] Brown's _Book of Butterflies_, i. 126. - -[745] _Annales_, p. 15. - -[746] _Ibid._ - -[747] Holling., i. 449. Graft., i. 37. Fabyan, p. 17. - -[748] Howitt's _North. Literat._, i. 187. - -[749] Bucke _on Nature_, i. 277. - -[750] Moufet, p. 107. - -[751] Hone's _Ev. Day Book_, p. 1127. - -[752] Chambers' _Domest. Annals of Scotland_, ii. 489. - -[753] Gassendi's _Life of Peireskius_, p. 123-5; and Reaumur, i. 638, -667. - -[754] Shaw, _Zool._, vi. 206. - -[755] The origin of red snow has likewise been a puzzle and query for -ages, and many theories have been advanced by philosophers and -naturalists to account for it. To those interested in the solution of -this phenomenon, the following extract from the _Mag. of Nat. Hist._, -vol. ii. p. 322, may be curious, if not satisfactory. Mr. Thomas -Nicholson, accompanied with two other gentlemen, made an excursion the -24th July, 1821, to Sowallick Point, near Bushman's Island, in Prince -Regent's Bay, in quest of meteoric iron. "The summit of the hill," he -says, "forming the point, is covered with huge masses of granite, whilst -the side, which forms a gentle declivity to the bay, was covered with -crimson snow. It was evident, at first view, that this colour was -imparted to the snow by a substance lying on the surface. This substance -lay scattered here and there in small masses, bearing some resemblance -to powdered cochineal, surrounded by a lighter shade, which was produced -by the colouring matter being partly dissolved and diffused by the -deliquescent snow. During this examination our hats and upper garments -were observed to be daubed with a substance of a similar red colour, and -a moment's reflection convinced us that this was the excrement of the -little Auk (_Uria alle_, Temmink), myriads of which were continually -flying over our heads, having their nests among the loose masses of -granite. A ready explanation of the origin of the red snow was now -presented to us, and not a doubt remained in the mind of any that this -was the correct one. The snow on the mountains of higher elevation than -the nests of these birds was perfectly white, and a ravine at a short -distance, which was filled with snow from top to bottom, but which -afforded no hiding-place for these birds to form their nests, presented -an appearance uniformly white." - -This testimony seems to be as clear and indisputable as the explanation -given by Peiresc of the ejecta of the Butterflies at Aix. But though it -will account, perhaps, for the red snow of the polar regions, it will -not explain that of the Alps, the Apennines, and the Pyrenees, which are -not, so far as is known, visited by the little Auk.--Vide _Ins. -Transf._, p. 352-5. - -[756] Chamb. _Domes. Annals of Scotl._, ii. 199. - -[757] Chamb. _Domes. Annals of Scotl._, ii. 447-8. - -[758] _Gent. Mag._, xxxiv. 496. - -[759] _Ibid._, xxxiv. 542. - -[760] Bucke _on Nature_, i. 277. - -[761] Brown's _Bk. of Butterflies_, i. 129. - -[762] Chamb. _Domes. Annals of Scotl._, ii. 448. - -[763] Swam. _Hist. of Ins._, Pt. I. p. 40. - -[764] Cf. the following verses from Ex. vii. 19: "And the LORD spake -unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand -upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and -upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may -become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of -Egypt, both in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone. - -"20. And Moses and Aaron did so, as the LORD commanded; and he lifted up -the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river in the sight of -Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were -in the river were turned to blood." - -[765] Swam. _Hist. of Ins._, Pt. I. p. 40. - -[766] Chamb. _Journ._, 2d S. xvii. 231. - -[767] _Sil. Journ._, xli. 403-4, and xliv. 216. - -[768] _Naturforsch_, xi. 94. - -[769] _Travels_, i. 13. - -[770] _Royal Milit. Chron._ for March, 1815, p. 452. K. and S. -_Introd._, ii. 11. - -[771] _Mag. of Nat. Hist._, i. 387, and _Mem. de la Soc. de Phys. et -d'Hist. Nat. de Genève_. - -[772] _Penny Mag._, 1844, p. 3. - -[773] _Gent. Mag._, liv. 744. - -[774] _Researches_, ch. viii. p. 158. - -[775] Brown's _Bk. of Butterf._, p. 101. - -[776] _Lake Ngami_, p. 267. - -[777] _Naturalist in Bermuda_, p. 120. - -[778] Tennent's _Nat. Hist. of Ceylon_, ch. xii. p. 407. - -[779] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 107. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 974. - -[780] Bryant's _Anct. Mythol._, ii. 386. - -[781] Fosbroke, _Encycl. of Antiq._, ii. 738. - -[782] _Travels._ He doubtless refers to an Indian _totem_. - -[783] _N. and Q._, iii. 4. - -[784] Du Halde, _China_, p. 21-2; Grosier's _China_, i. 570; Williams' -_Mid. Kingd._, i. 273; Astley's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, iv. 512. - -[785] Harris's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, ii. 987. - -[786] Osbeck, _Travels_, i. 331. - -[787] _Ibid._, i. 324. - -[788] Stedman, _Surinam_, i. 279. Cf. Bancroft, _Guiana_, p. 229. - -[789] _Anat. of Melanch._, 1651, p. 268. - -[790] _Life of Lord Herbert of Cherbury_, p. 134. - -[791] _The Mirror_, xxv. 160. - -[792] Harris's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, i. 790. - -[793] _Egypt. and Chinese_, ii. 106. - -[794] Simmond's _Curios. of Food_, p. 312. - -[795] _Gatherings of a Nat. in Austral._, p. 288. - -[796] _Hist. of Ins._, p. 3. - -[797] Reaumur considers this cry to be produced by the friction of the -palpi against the proboscis (_Memoires_, ii. 293). Huber, but without -mentioning the particulars, says he has ascertained that Reaumur was -quite mistaken (_On Bees_, p. 313, note). Schroeter ascribes the sound -to the rubbing of the tongue against the head; and Rösel to the friction -of the chest upon the abdomen. M. de Johet thinks it is produced by the -air being suddenly propelled against these scales by the action of the -wings. M. Lorry states that the sound arises from the air escaping -rapidly through peculiar cavities communicating with the spiracles, and -furnished with a fine tuft of hairs on the sides of the abdomen (Cuv. -_An. Kingd.--Ins._, ii. 678). Mr. E. L. Layard seems to be of the same -opinion (Tennent's _Nat. Hist. of Ceylon_, p. 427). But M. Passerini, -curator of the Museum of Nat. Hist. at Florence, has lately investigated -the subject more minutely. He traced the origin of the sound to the -interior of the head, in which he discovered a cavity at the passage -where muscles are placed for impelling and expelling the air. M. Dumeril -has since discovered a sort of membrane stretched over this cavity, -like, as he says, to the head of a drum. M. Duponchel has also confirmed -by experiment the opinions of Passerini and Dumeril, and confutes Lorry, -whose notion was generally adopted, by stating that the noise is -produced from the head when the body of the insect is removed (_Annales -des Sci. Nat._, Mars., 1828). - -[798] Cf. _Penny Encycl._, _sub._ Sphinx, and _The Mirror_, xix. 212. - -[799] _Hist. of Ins._, p. 191. - -[800] Reaumur, ii. 289. Shaw, _Zool._, vi. 217. - -[801] _Saturday Mag._, xix. 102. - -[802] _Notes and Queries_, xii. 200. - -[803] Bonnet, _Oevres_, ii. 124. - -[804] _China_, p. 253. Astley's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, iv. 138. - -[805] Williams' _Middle Kingdom_, ii. 121-2. - -[806] Colebrook, _Asiat. Research._, v. 61. - -[807] Aristotle, v. 17-9. Pliny, ix. 20. - -[808] Paus. _Hist. of Greece_, B. 6, c. 26. - -[809] Aristot. _Hist. An._, v. 19. - -[810] Pliny, _Nat. Hist._, xi. 23. - -[811] _Ibid._, xi. 22. - -[812] Tacitus, _Ann._, B. 2, c. 33. - -[813] _Nat. Hist._, xi. 22. - -[814] Cf. Gibbon's _Decl. and Fall of Rom. Em._, c. 40. - -[815] Some authors, however, assert that the name was suggested by the -resemblance of the Morea to the shape of the mulberry-leaf, a less -plausible opinion by far than the former. - -[816] Thuanus, in contradiction to most other writers, makes the -manufacture of silk to be introduced into Sicily two hundred years -later, by Robert the Wise, King of Sicily and Count of Provence. - -[817] Burgon's _Life of Sir Thomas Gresham_, 1839, i. 110, 302. - -[818] Stow's _Chronicle_, edit. 1631, p. 887. - -[819] Keysler, _Trav._, i. 289. - -[820] Olin, _Travels_. - -[821] _Polit. Essay on N. Spain_, iii. 59. - -[822] Skinner's _Pres. State of Peru_, p. 346, note. Southey's _Hist. of -Brazil_, iii. 644. Calancha's _Augustine Hist. of Peru_, i. 66. - -[823] Cuvier, _An. King.--Ins._, ii. 634. - -[824] _Pilgrims_, iii. 442. - -[825] Darwin, _Phytolog._, p. 364. Donovan's _Ins. of China_, p. 6. - -[826] Hollman, _Travels_, p. 473. - -[827] Donovan's _Ins. of China_, p. 6. - -[828] _Med. Dict._ - -[829] Geoffroy, _Treat. on Subst. used in Physic_, p. 383. - -[830] _Twelve Years in China_, p. 14. - -[831] _Twelve Years in China_, p. 14. - -[832] _Ibid._ - -[833] _Ibid._, p. 194. - -[834] _Memoires of Robt. Houdin_, p. 161. - -[835] _Mag. of Nat. Hist._, vi. 9. - -[836] Baird's _Encycl. of Nat. Sci._ Shaw's _Zool._, vi. 229. - -[837] Pinkerton's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, vii. 705. - -[838] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 88. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 958. - -[839] Moufet, p. 108. Topsel, p. 975. - -[840] _Monthly Mag._, 7 (Pt. I.) xxxix. 1799. - -[841] _Pilgrims_, ii. 1034. - -[842] Owen's _Geoponika_, ii. 99. - -[843] Pliny, _Nat. Hist._, xxviii. 7 (23). - -[844] Col. B. x. - -[845] Ælian, B. xi. c. 3. - -[846] Pliny, _Nat. Hist._, xxviii. 7 (23). - -[847] Vide Owen's _Geoponika_, ii. 99. - -[848] Col. _In Hort._, v. 357. - -[849] Pallad. B. i. c. 35. - -[850] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 193. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 1041 and -670. - -[851] _Hist. of Indians of U. S._, v. p. 70. - -[852] _Hist, of Beasts_, p. 30. - -[853] Moufet, _Theatr. Ins._, p. 194. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, pp. -670, 1041. - -[854] _Med. Dict._ - -[855] Tennent, _Nat. Hist. of Ceylon_, p. 431. - -[856] Köllar's _Treat. on Ins._, Lond. Trans., p. 105-36. Curtis's _Farm -Insects_, p. 507. - -[857] Lilly's _Prophetical Merlin_, pub. in 1644. - -[858] Josselyn's _Voy._, p. 116. - -[859] Jamieson's _Scot. Dict._, ii. 144. - -[860] _Mag. of Nat. Hist._, i. 66. - -[861] Harper's _New Monthly Mag._, xxii. 41. - -[862] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 274. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 1100. - -[863] _On the Honey-Bee_, p. 248. - -[864] _Ibid._, p. 238, note. - -[865] It is a philosophical fact that the female Cicadas are not capable -of making any noise--the above distich evinces its early discovery. - -[866] _Symposiaques._ B. 8. Holl. _Trans._, p. 630. - -[867] Thuc. B. 1, vi. (Bohn's ed.). - -[868] On Aristoph., _Vesp._ 230. - -[869] Cited by Athen., 525. - -[870] Cicada-combs are alluded to in Aristoph., Eq. 1331. Cf. also -Philostr. _Imag._, p. 837. Heracl. Pont., cited by Athen., p. 512. -Bloomfield's _Thucid._, i. 14. - -[871] Cited by Athen., p. 842 (Bohn's ed.). - -[872] Strabo, _Geog._ B. 6. - -[873] _Iliad_, iii. 152. Buckley's translation, p. 53. - -[874] _Georg._ iii. 328. Cf. Bucol. ii. Sir J. E. Smith, Tour., iii. 95, -says also that the common Italian species makes a most disagreeable and -dull chirping. The Cicadas of Africa, it is said, may be heard half a -mile off; and the sound of one in a room will put a whole company to -silence. Thunberg asserts that those of Java utter a sound as shrill and -piercing as that of a trumpet. Captain Hancock informed Messrs. Kirby -and Spence that the Brazilian Cicadas sing as loud as to be heard at the -distance of a mile. _Introd._, ii. 400. The sound of our American -species, _C. septemdecim_, has been compared to the ringing of -horse-bells. The tettix of the Greeks, says Dr. Shaw, _Travels_, 2d -edit., p. 186, must have had quite a different voice, more soft surely -and more melodious; otherwise the fine orators of Homer, who are -compared to it, can be looked upon as no better than loud, loquacious -scolds. - -[875] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 134. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 994. Vide -Pierius' _Hieroglyph._, p. 270-1. Initiatus sacris; Dicacitatis -castigatio; Vana garrulitas; Nobilitas generis; Musica. - -[876] V. 2, c. 4, Donovan's _Ins. of China_, p. 32. - -[877] _Middle Kingd._ - -[878] _Surinam_, 49. - -[879] Tennent, _Nat. Hist. of Ceylon_, p. 432. - -[880] _Desc. of China_, i. 442. - -[881] Oliphant's _Lord Elgin's Miss. to China_, p. 565. - -[882] _Hist. An._, B. 5, c. 24, § 3, 4. Bohn's edit. - -[883] Cf. Bochart, _Hieroz._, ii. 491. - -[884] _Phil. Trans._, 1763, n. 10. - -[885] _Travels_, i. 331. - -Baird says, but on what authority he does not state, that Cicadas are -frequently to be seen represented on the Egyptian monuments, and are -said to be emblems of the ministers of religion.--_Encycl. of Nat. Sci._ - -[886] _Insects of Surinam_, p. 49. - -[887] Jaeger, _Life of N. A. Ins._, p. 73. - -[888] _Ins. of China_, p. 30. That the Lantern-fly emits no light, see -_Dict. d'Hist. Nat._; M. Richards' statement in _Encyclop._, art. -_Fulgora_; _Berlin Mag._, i. 153; Kirby and Spence, _Introd._, ii. 414, -note; Jaeger, _qua supra_. - -[889] Stedman, _Surinam_, ii. 37. - -[890] _Hist. of Barbados_, p. 65. - -[891] Nat. Hist., xi. 12. Holl. _Trans._, i. 315. E. - -[892] Theoph. _Hist. Plant._, iii. 7, 6. Cf. Hes. _Opp. et Dies_, 232, -seq. and Bacon, _Syl. Sylvarum_, 496. - -[893] St. John's _Anct. Greeks_, ii. 299. - -[894] B. 3, c. xvi. p. 278. Printed 1613. - -[895] _Nat. Hist. of Selborne_, p. 366. - -[896] K. and S. _Introd._, ii. 9. - -[897] Reaumur, iii. xxxi. Pref. - -[898] Isaiah, ch. i. v. 18. - -[899] Ex. ch. xxvi. xxviii. xxix. - -[900] Diosc. iv. 48, p. 260. Pausan. B. x. p. 890. - -[901] Beckman's _Hist. of Inventions_, ii. 163-195. Bancroft _on Perm. -Colors_, i. 393-408. - -[902] _Nat. Hist. of Ins._, p. 77. - -[903] Bancroft _on Permanent Colors_, i. 408-9. - -[904] _Hist. of Inventions_, ii. 184. - -[905] _Ibid._, 192. - -[906] Shaw's _Zool._, vi. 192. - -[907] _Subst. used in Physic_, p. 370. - -[908] _Phil. Trans._ for 1791. - -[909] Bancroft _on Permanent Colors_, ii. 1-59. - -[910] _Baird's Cyclop. of Nat. Sci._ - -[911] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 270. - -[912] Ray, _Hist. Ins._, 7. - -[913] Hence the English word _Bug-bear_. In Matthew's Bible, the passage -of the Psalms (xci. 5), "Thou shalt not be afraid of _the terror_ by -night," is rendered, "Thou shalt not nede to be afraid of any _bugs_ by -night." _Bug_ in this sense often occurs in Shakspeare. _Winter's Tale_, -A. iii. Sc. 2, 3; _Henry VI._, A. v. Sc. 2; _Hamlet_, A. v. Sc. 2. - -[914] _Journal_, xvii. 40. - -[915] Churchill's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, iv. 190. - -[916] _Oriental Memoirs_, i. 256. - -[917] Astley's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, iv. 513. Churchill's _same_, i. -34. - -[918] Owen's _Geoponika_, ii. 160. - -[919] Dr. James says: "Given to the number of seven, as food with beans, -they help those who are afflicted with a quartan ague, if they be eaten -before the accession of the fit."--_Med. Dict._ - -[920] An excellent method, Ajasson remarks, of adding to the tortures of -the patient. - -[921] Pliny, _Nat. Hist._, xxix. 17. Bostock and Riley's _Trans._, v. -393. - -[922] _Med. Dict._ - -[923] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 270-1. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 1098. - -[924] Owen's _Geoponika_, ii. 157. - -[925] _London Labor and the London Poor_, iii. 36-9. - -[926] _Annals of Nat. Hist._ Simmond's _Curiosities of Food_, p. -308-311. - -[927] _Nature and Art_, xii. 198. - -[928] The numerous family of _Culicidæ_ are confounded under the common -names of Gnat and Mosquito; hence many mistakes will necessarily arise. - -[929] _Theat. Ins._, p. 81. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 952. - -[930] Quot. in N. & Q., ix. 303. - -[931] _Phil. Trans._, lvii. 113; Bingley's _Anim. Biog._, iv. 205. - -[932] Germar's _Mag. der Entomol._, i. 137. - -[933] K. & S. _Introd._, i. 114. - -[934] _Phil. Trans._, lvii. 112-3. - -[935] _Mag. of Nat. Hist._, vi. 545. - -[936] _Hist. of Barbados_, p. 63. - -[937] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 86. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 956. - -[938] Silliman's _Journal_, xxii. 375. - -[939] _Personal Narrative_, E. T. v. 87. Humboldt has given a detailed -account of these insect plagues, by which it appears that among them -there are diurnal and crepuscular, as well as nocturnal species, or -genera: the Mosquitoes, signifying _little flies_ (_Simulia_), flying in -the day; the _Temporaneros_, flying during twilight; and the Zancudos, -meaning _long-legs_ (_Culices_), in the night. - -[940] Stedm. _Surinam_, ii. 93. - -[941] _Ins. Theatr._, p. 82. - -[942] _Travels_, 8vo. edit. p. 205. - -[943] _Ins. Theatr._, p. 81. - -[944] _View of Jamaica_, p. 91. - -[945] Herod. Taylor's _Trans._, p. 141. - -[946] Nat. _Hist. of Ceylon_, p. 435. - -[947] Jackson's _Morocco_, p. 57. - -[948] _Travels_, i. 388. - -[949] _Ins. Theatr._, p. 85. - -[950] Theod. _Eccles. Hist._, B. ii. ch. xxx. - -[951] _N. A. Ins._, p. 317. - -[952] _Roman History_, B. xviii. c. 7, § 5. - -[953] _Three Years in California_, p. 250. - -[954] _Introd._, i. 119. - -[955] Owen's _Geoponika_, ii. 150. - -[956] _Lives of the Saints_, i. 50. - -[957] Lawson's _Bible Cyclop._, ii. 558, 3 v. 8vo. - -[958] Kirb. and Sp. _Introd._, ii. 8. - -[959] _Gent. Mag._, 1738, viii. 577. - -[960] _Ibid._, xxiv. 274. - -[961] _Travels_, ii. 5; 34-5; 51. Lond. 1802. 4to. - -[962] _Lach. Lapp._, ii. 108. _Flor. Lapp._, 380. - -[963] V. vi. p. 603-4. - -[964] V. ix. p. 573. - -[965] Lyell's _Princ. of Geol._, p. 656. - -[966] Southey's _Com. Place Bk._, 1st S. p. 567. - -[967] _Mag. of Nat. Hist._, v. 302. - -[968] _The Mirror_, xxvii. 68. - -[969] Damp. _Voy._ O (vol. i.), 464. - -[970] _Travels_, i. 211. - -[971] Moufet's _Theat. Ins._, p. 78. - -[972] Owen's _Geoponika_, ii. 152. - -[973] _Nat. Hist._, x. 29. Holland, p. 285. D. - -[974] Holl. _Trans._, p. 631. - -Vide Pierius' _Hieroglyph._, p. 268-9. Importunitas ac impudentia; -Pertinacia; Res gesta cominus; Indocilitas; Cynici. - -[975] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 70. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 945. - -[976] Brand's _Pop. Antiq._, iii. 134. - -[977] _Chron. of Eng._, iii. 1002. - -[978] _N. and Q._, xii. 488. - -[979] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 70. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 944. - -[980] _Ibid._, p. 55. Topsel, p. 933. - -[981] Brand's _Pop. Antiq._, iii. 191. - -[982] Brand's _Pop. Antiq._, i. 84. - -[983] Holl. _Trans._, p. 76. There was one time a law at Athens, which a -good deal nonplussed these sponging gentlemen so appropriately called -Flies. "It was decreed that not more than thirty persons should meet at -a marriage feast; and a wealthy citizen, desirous of going as far as the -law would allow him, had invited the full complement. An honest Fly, -however, who respected no law that interfered with his stomach; -contrived to introduce himself, and took his station at the lower end of -the table. Presently the magistrate appointed for the purpose entered, -and espying his man at a glance, began counting the guests, commencing -on the other side and ending with the parasite. 'Friend,' said he, 'you -must retire. I find there is one more than the law allows.' 'It is quite -a mistake, sir,' replied the Fly, 'as you will find if you will have the -goodness to count again, beginning _on this side_.'"--St. John's _Man. -and Cust. of Anct. Grec._, ii. 172. - -[984] Vide _Mercator_, A. ii. Sc. 4, and the _Young Carthag._, A. iii. -Sc. 3. - -[985] _Harleian Miscel._, viii. 423. - -[986] Fosbr. _Encycl. of Antiq._, ii. 738. - -[987] _Ibid._ - -[988] Wilkinson's _Anct. Egypt._, 2d S. ii. 126, 260. - -[989] Hawk's _Peruvian Antiq._, p. 197. - -[990] Jamieson's _Scottish Dict._ - -[991] _Nat. Hist._, xxix. 6. Holl. _Trans._, p. 364. K. - -[992] _Antiq. of the Jews_, B. ix. c. 2. Whiston's _Trans._, p. 274. - -[993] _Pilg._, v. 81. Fol. 1626. - -[994] Whiston's _Trans. of Josephus_, p. 274, note. - -[995] _Dict. of Bible._ - -[996] Moufet, _Theatr. Ins._, p. 79. Topsel's _Transl._, p. 951. - -[997] Dalyell's _Darker Superst. of Scotland_, p. 562. Edinbgh. 1834. - -[998] _Ibid._ - -[999] _St. John's Man. and Cust. of Anct. Grec._, i. 150. - -[1000] Wanley's _Wonders_, i. 377. - -[1001] _Mem. of Robt. Houdin_, p. 156. Philad. 1859. - -[1002] _Nat. Hist._, xxix. 6. Holland's _Trans._, p. 364. I. - -[1003] _Ibid._, xxviii. 2 (5). - -[1004] _Voy._, C. 56, p. 222. Wanley's _Wonders_, ii. 373. - -[1005] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 79. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 951. - -[1006] _London Lab. and London Poor_, iii. 28-33. - -[1007] Kirb. and Sp. _Introd._, i. 158. - -[1008] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 284. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 1107, -1122. - -[1009] Kirby and Spence, _Introd._, i. 158. - -[1010] _Gasterophilus equi._ - -[1011] Reg. Scot's _Disc. of Witchcraft_, p. 179. - -[1012] Henry IV., Pt. I. Act ii. Sc. 1. - -[1013] Newell's _Zool. of the Poets_, p. 29. - -[1014] Dalyell's _Superstitions of Scotland_, p. 564. - -[1015] _Saturday Mag._, xviii. 153. - -[1016] _Hist. of Ins._ (Murray, 1838), ii. 313. - -[1017] Henry IV. Pt. I., Act ii. Sc. 1. - -[1018] Moufet, _Theatr. Ins._, p. 276. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. -1102. - -[1019] _Hist. of Ins._ (Murray, 1838), ii. 312. - -[1020] Jenkin's _Voy. of the U. S. Explor. Exped._, p. 385. - -[1021] _Introd._, i. 100. - -[1022] _Ibid._ - -[1023] Ray, _Hist. of Ins._, p. 8. - -[1024] _Pilgr._, iii. 997. - -Myas, a principal city of Ionia, was abandoned on account of -Fleas.--_Wanley's Wonders_, ii. 507. - -[1025] K. and S. _Introd._, i. 100. - -[1026] _Travels_, vol. ii. - -[1027] _Nat. Hist._, xxx. 10. Holl. _Trans._, p. 387. - -[1028] Brand's _Pop. Antiq._, ii. 198. - -[1029] K. and S. _Introd._, i. 101. - -[1030] _Lach. Lapp._, ii. 32, note. - -[1031] _Hist. of Ins._, iii. 319, Murray, 1838. - -[1032] Owen's _Geoponika_, ii. 155-6. - -[1033] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 277. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 1103. - -[1034] _Hist. of Ins._, ii. 318. Murray, 1838. - -[1035] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 102. - -[1036] Ramsay's _Poems_, ii. 143. - -[1037] _Theatre of Insects_, p. 102. - -[1038] Brookes' _Nat. Hist. of Ins._, p. 284. - -[1039] Brand's _Pop. Antiq._, iii. 204. - -[1040] Southey's _Com. Place Bk._, 2d S. p. 406. - -[1041] Fosbr. _Encycl. of Antiq._, ii. 539. - -[1042] Southey's _Com. Place Bk._, 4th S. p. 470. - -[1043] _Pilgr._, x. 192. - -[1044] Aristoph. _Clouds_, A. i. Sc. 2. - -[1045] _Pilg._, ii. 840, note. - -[1046] _Ins. Theatr._, p. 275. - -[1047] _Anim. Biog._, iii. 462. - -The hand-bill, published by Mr. Boverick, in the Strand, in the year -1745, and another nearly of the same date, ran thus: "To be seen at MR. -BOVERICK'S, Watchmaker, at the DIAL, facing Old Round Court, near the -New Exchange, in the Strand, at One Shilling each person." Then follows -a descriptive list of the articles to be seen, among which are mentioned -the above.--Kirby's _Wonderful Museum_, i. 101. - -[1048] _Ins. Misc._, p. 188. - -[1049] _Nouv. Dict. d'Hist. Nat._, xxviii. 249. - -[1050] _Pilg._, ii. 840. - -[1051] 1 Saml. xxiv. 14; xxvi. 20. - -[1052] _Hist. of Ins._, p. 310. - -[1053] Wright's _Provincial Dict._ - -[1054] Jamieson's _Scottish Dict._ - -[1055] D'Israeli, _Curios, of Lit._, i. 339. - -[1056] _Gent. Mag._, xxxii. 208. - -[1057] Stedman's _Surinam_. - -[1058] _Hist. of Barbados_, p. 65. - -[1059] _Hist. of Brazil_, i. 326. - -[1060] Vol. i. p. 128. - -[1061] _Pers. Narrative_, E. T. v. 101. - -[1062] Bayle, iii. 484. Southey's _Com. Place Bk._, 4th S. p. 439. - -[1063] Bernal Diaz' _Conquest of Mexico_, i. 394, note 54. This story, -no doubt, is founded on something like truth, and most probably these -bags were filled with the _Coccus cacti_, the Cochineal insect, then -unknown to the Spaniards, who might have easily mistaken them in a dried -state for Lice. - -[1064] _Pilg._, iii. 975. - -[1065] Cuv. _An. King.--Ins._, i. 163. - -[1066] _Pilg._, v. 542. - -[1067] _Wand. and Adv. in S. Africa_, i. 266. - -[1068] Kolb. _Trav._, ii. 179. Astley's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, iii. -352. - -[1069] _Pilg._, iii. 1133. - -[1070] _Ibid._, iii. 975. - -[1071] Wanley's _Wonders_, ii. 373. - -[1072] Dampier's _Voy._, iii. 331. Lond. 1729. - -[1073] Dobriz., ii. 396. Southey's _Com. Place Bk._, 2d S. p. 527. - -[1074] Cuvier, _An. Kingd.--Ins._, i. 163. - -[1075] Southey's _Com. Place Bk._, 4th S. p. 439. - -[1076] _Thierry and Theod._, A. v. Sc. 1. - -[1077] James's _Med. Dict._ - -[1078] _Gent. Mag._, xvi. 534. - -[1079] _Harleian Miscel._, vii. 435. - -[1080] Shaw, _Zool._, vi. 454. - -[1081] _Nat. Hist._, xxix. 6 (75). - -[1082] Chambers' _Pop. Rhymes of Scotl._, p. 282-3. Edit. of 1841, p. -243. - -[1083] Properly the second _Class_ of the sub-kingdom _Articulata_. - -[1084] Chambers' _Book of Days_, i. 687. - -[1085] _Nat. Hist._, xx. 12. - -[1086] Cf. Pliny, x. 12; and Moufet's _Theatr. Ins._, p. 205. - -[1087] B. i. ch. 1. - -[1088] _Hist. of Four-footed Beasts and Serpents_, p. 753.--Scorpions -are bred "from the carkass of the crocodile, as Antigonus affirms, _lib. -de mirab. hist. cong._ 24. For in Archelaus there is an epigram of a -certain Egyptian in these words: - - In vos dissolvit morte, et redigit crocodilum, - Natura extinctum (Scorpioli) omniparens. - -In English: - - The carkass of dead crocodiles is made the feed, - By common nature, whence Scorpions breed." - -Moufet's _Theatr. Ins._, p. 208. Topsel's _Trans._, p. 1052. - -[1089] _Qua supra_, p. 685. - -[1090] _Qua supra_, p. 689. - -[1091] _Ibid._, p. 207. Topsel's _Trans._, p. 1051. - -[1092] _Ibid._, p. 754. - -[1093] Andrew's _Anecdotes_, p. 427. - -[1094] _Nat. Hist._, xi. 25. Pliny here probably alludes to the -Panorpis, or Scorpion-fly, the abdomen of which terminates in a forceps, -which resembles the tail of the Scorpion. - -[1095] _Nat. Hist._, xi. 25. - -[1096] "Scorpion's tail." Dioscorides gives this name to the -Helioscopium, or great Heliotropium. - -[1097] _Nat. Hist._, xxii. 29. - -[1098] "Two." - -[1099] _Nat. Hist._, xxviii. 5. - -[1100] The red arsenic of the Greeks was called by this -name.--_Matthiol_, vi. 81. - -[1101] This prescription is given at the present day in Italy and the -Levant. - -[1102] Zoroaster also mentions this. Vide Owen's _Geoponika_, ii. 194. - -[1103] Pliny relates the same story, _Nat. Hist._, xxviii. 10 (42); also -Zoroaster, _qua supra_. - -[1104] Owen's _Geoponika_, ii. 146-8. - -[1105] Moufet's _Theatr. Ins._, 210-215. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts and -Serpents_, p. 1053-7. - -[1106] Campbell's _Travels in S. Africa_, p. 325. - -[1107] _Nat. Hist._, viii. 29 (43). - -[1108] Churchill's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, i. 212. - -[1109] _Ibid._ - -[1110] _Ibid._, v. 221. - -[1111] Pinkerton's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, ix. 261. - -[1112] _Ibid._, vii. 298. - -[1113] _Ibid._, xiv. 348. - -[1114] Churchill's _Coll. of Voy. and Trav._, ii. 316. - -[1115] Wilkinson's _Anct. Egypt._, v. 52, 254. - -[1116] Ælian, xvi. 41, and xii. 38. Wilkinson's _Anct. Egypt._, v. 254. - -[1117] Wanley's _Wonders_, ii. 459. - -[1118] _Autobiog._, Lond. 1858, p. 304-5. - -[1119] Prescribed by Galen, Pliny, Lanfrankus, etc. - -[1120] _Hist. of Beasts and Serpents_, p. 757. - -[1121] So also Manardus.--Moufet, p. 210. Topsel's _Trans._, p. 1053. - -[1122] _Ibid._ - -[1123] _Asiatic Miscellany_, ii. 451. - -[1124] Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts and Serpents_, p. 755-6. - -[1125] Topsel's _Trans.--Hist. of Beasts and Serpents_, p. 1058. - -[1126] _Chronicles_, i. 385. - -[1127] Keddie's _Cyclop. of Anecd._, p. 288. - -[1128] _Chamb. Misc._, vol. xi. No. 100. Compare this story with that of -Timour and the Ant. - -[1129] Ockley's _Hist. of the Saracens_, i. 36. - -[1130] _Lives of the Saints_, i. 177-8. Cf. Wanley's _Wonders_, ii. 402. - -[1131] Bucke _on Nature_, ii. 103. - -[1132] _Hist. de la Mus._, i. 321. Hawkins' _Hist. of Music_, iii. 117, -note. - -[1133] _Biogr. Univers._, tome xxxiii. See also Arvine's _Anecdotes_, p. -402. - -To this account, in the Hist. of Insects printed by John Murray, 1830, -i. 269, is added: "The governor of the Bastile hearing that this -unfortunate prisoner had found a solace in the society of a Spider, paid -Pelisson a visit, desiring to see the manoeuvres of the insect. The -Basque struck up his notes, the Spider instantly came to be fed by his -friend; but the moment it appeared on the floor of the cell, the -governor placed his foot on its body, and crushed it to death." - -[1134] _The Mirror_, xxvii. 69. - -[1135] Hone's _Ev. Day Book_, i. 334. - -[1136] _Stray Leaves from the Book of Nature._ - -[1137] _Quart. Rev._ for Jan. 1844. - -[1138] This passage from Pliny is thus translated by Bostock and Riley: -"Presages are also drawn from the Spider, for when a river is about to -swell, it will suspend its web higher than usual. In calm weather these -insects do not spin, but when it is cloudy they do, and hence it is, -that a great number of cobwebs is a sure sign of showery -weather."--_Nat. Hist._, xi. 24 (28). _Trans._, iii. 28. - -[1139] Brande's _Pop. Antiq._, iii. 223. - -[1140] _Ev. Day Bk._, i. 931. Quot. also in Chamb. _Journ._, 1st Ser., -vi. 95. - -[1141] Paus. _Hist. of Greece_, B. 9, c. 6. - -[1142] Fosbr. _Encycl. of Antiq._ - -[1143] Jamieson's _Scottish Dict._ - -[1144] Brande's _Pop. Antiq._, iii. 223. - -[1145] _N. and Q._, iii. 3. - -[1146] _Worthies_, p. 58. Pt. II. Ed. 1662. - -[1147] _N. and Q._, ii. 165. - -[1148] _Aulul._, A. i. Sc. 3. - -[1149] Thorpe's _North. Antiq._, iii. 329. - -[1150] _N. and Q._, 2d ed. iv. 298. - -[1151] _Ibid._, iv. 377. - -[1152] _Gent. Mag._, June, 1771, xli. 251. - -[1153] _N. and Q._, 2d ed. iv. 523. - -[1154] _Ibid._, iv. 421. - -[1155] _Ibid._, iv. 298. - -[1156] _Vulg. Err._, B. iii. c. 277. _Works_, ii. 527. - -[1157] Pliny says the Spider, poised in its web, will throw itself upon -the head of a serpent as it lies stretched beneath the shade of the tree -where it has built, and with its bite pierce its brain; such is the -shock, he continues, that the creature will hiss from time to time, and -then, seized with vertigo, coil round and round, while it finds itself -unable to take to flight, or so much as to break the web of the Spider, -as it hangs suspended above; this scene, he concludes, only ends with -its death.--_Nat. Hist._, x. 95. - -[1158] Browne's _Works_, ii. 524, note. - -[1159] _Med. Dict._, sub _Araneus_. - -[1160] _Univers. Hist._, i. 48, also _Gent. Mag._, xli. 400. - -[1161] _Trav._, p. 322, and Astley's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, ii. 726. -Bosman says this "was the greatest piece of ignorance and stupidity he -observed in the negroes." - -[1162] Churchill's _Col. of V. and T._, v. 222. - -[1163] _N. and Q._, vii. 431. - -[1164] Chamb. _Misc._, vol. xi. No. 100. - -[1165] _Ibid._ - -[1166] _The Mirror_, xxvii. 69. - -[1167] B. 7, c. xv. p. 665. Printed 1613. - -[1168] Eliz. Cook's _Journ._, vii. 378. - -[1169] Wanley's _Wonders_, i. 20. - -[1170] Silliman's _Journal_, xxvii. 307-10. - -[1171] _Annual of Sci. Disc._, 1862, p. 335. - -[1172] _Nat. Hist. of Selborne_, p. 285. - -[1173] Hone's _Ev. Day Bk._, p. 1332. - -[1174] _Nat. Hist._, ii. 54. Holl. _Trans._, p. 27. F. - -[1175] _Faerie Queene_, B. 2, c. xii. s. 77. - -[1176] _Seasons: Summer_, 1. 1209. - -[1177] _Emblems_, p. 375. - -[1178] Blackmore, _Prince Arthur_. - -[1179] Quot. in the _Athenæum_, v. 126. - -[1180] Jamieson's _Scot. Dict._, iv. 138. - -[1181] Keightley's _Fairy Mythol._, p. 514. - -[1182] _Microgr._, p. 202. It has been objected, say Kirby and Spence, -to the excellent primitive writer, Clemens Romanus, that he believed the -absurd fable of the phoenix. But surely this may be allowed for in him, -who was no naturalist, when a scientific natural philosopher could -believe that the clouds are made of Spiders' web!--_Introd._, ii. 331, -note. - -[1183] James's _Med. Dict._ - -[1184] _Ibid._ - -[1185] James's _Med. Dict._ - -[1186] Harris's _Coll. of Voy. and Trav._, ii. 586-7. - -[1187] _Ibid._ - -[1188] _Treasvrie of Anct. and Mod. Times_, p. 393. - -[1189] Boyle's _Works_, ii. 181-2. - -[1190] Astley's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, vi. 607. - -[1191] Pinkerton's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, vii. 299. - -[1192] Astley's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, vi. 656. - -[1193] B. 7, c. 15, p. 664. Printed 1613. - -[1194] Diod., B. 3, c. 2. - -[1195] Strabo, B. 16, c. 6, § 13. - -[1196] Fosbr. _Encyc. of Antiq._, ii. 738. - -[1197] Sloane's _Hist. of Jamaica_, ii. 195. - -[1198] Damp. _Voy._ Camp., p. 64. - -[1199] Harris's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, ii. 242. Cf. Smith's _Nature -and Art_, x. 257. - -[1200] _Travels_, i. 201. - -[1201] _Voyage à la recherche de la Perouse_, ii. 240. K. & S. -_Introd._, i. 311. - -[1202] _New Amer. Cyclop._ - -[1203] _Trav. in Africa._ Bucke _on Nature_, ii. 297. - -[1204] Pinkerton's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, ix. 612. - -[1205] _Hist. of West Indies_, p. 301. - -[1206] Reaum., ii. 342. K. & S. _Introd._, i. 311. - -[1207] _Phil. Trans._ Southey's _Com. Place Bk._, 3d S. p. 731. Shaw, -_Nat. Misc._ - -[1208] Moufet, _Theatr. Ins._, p. 220. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts and -Serpents_, p. 789, 1067. Wanley's _Wonders_, ii. 459. - -[1209] _Biogr. Univers._, tome xxiii. p. 230, note. - -[1210] Rösel, iv. 257. K. & S. _Introd._, i. 311. - -[1211] Wanley's _Wonders_, ii. 459. - -[1212] Andrew's _Anecd.,_ p. 37. App. - -[1213] _Nat. Hist._, xxix. 27. Bost. & Riley. - -[1214] _Ibid._ - -[1215] _Nat. Hist._, xxix. 38. - -[1216] _Ibid._, xxix. 39. - -[1217] _Ibid._, xxix. 36. - -[1218] _Staple of News_, A. ii. Sc. 1, vol. v. p. 219. Lond. 1816. "A -Spider is usually given to monkeys, and is esteemed a sovereign remedy -for the disorders those animals are principally subject to."--_James's -Med. Dict._ Spiders are also fed to mocking-birds, not only as food, but -also as an aperient. - -[1219] _Mid. Night's Dream_, Act iii. Sc. 1. - -[1220] Vide _Eventful Life of a Soldier_. Edinbg. 1852. - -[1221] _N. and Q._, 2d ed. x. 138. - -[1222] _Elements of Mat. Med. and Therap._, Philad. 1825. - -[1223] Chamb. _Bk. of Days_, i. 732. - -[1224] Grah. _Domest. Med._ - -[1225] Thorpe's _North. Mythol._, iii. 329. - -[1226] Brand's _Pop. Antiq._, iii. 287. - -[1227] James's _Med. Dict._ - -[1228] Geoffroy's _Substances used in Med._, p. 383. - -[1229] Moufet, _Theatr. Insect._, p. 237. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts and -Serpents_, p. 1073. - -[1230] _Nat. Hist._, xxix. 27. - -[1231] _Miscellanies_, p. 138. - -[1232] Vide _Hist. and Mem. de l'Acad. Royale des Sciences_, ann. 1710; -Dissert. by M. Bon, _Sur l'utilité de la soye des Arraignées_, 8vo. -Also, Bancroft _on Permanent Colors_, i. 101; and Shaw's _Nat. Hist._, -vi. 481. - -[1233] _New Amer. Cyclop._ - -[1234] _Voy. dans l'Amer. Merid._, i. 212. K. and S. _Introd._, i. 337. - -[1235] _Naturalist in Bermuda_, p. 126. - -[1236] _Atlantic Monthly_, June, 1858, p. 92. - -[1237] _Nouv. Dict. d'Hist. Nat._, ii. 280. K. and S. _Introd._, i. 337, -note. - -[1238] _Hist. of Beasts and Serpents_, p. 778. - -[1239] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 235. Topsel's _Trans._, p. 1072. - -[1240] _Ins. Archit._, p. 7. - -[1241] Swammerdam, _Hist. of Ins._, p. 5. - -[1242] Garasse, _Recherches des Recherches de M. Estiene Pasquier_, p. -357. Southey's _Com. Place Bk._, 3d S. p. 282. - -[1243] Hone's _Ev. Day Bk._, i. 294. - -[1244] _Gent. Mag._, iii. 492. - -[1245] _Ibid._, xxiv. 293. - -[1246] K. and S. _Introd._, ii. 415. - -[1247] _Ephem. Nat. Curios._, 1673. 80. - -[1248] K. and S. _Introd._, ii. 415, note. - -[1249] Brand's _Pop. Antiq._, iii. 273. - -[1250] _Pers. Nar._, iv. 571. - -[1251] _Ibid._, ii. 205. - -[1252] _Ann. of Eng._, p. 1219. - -[1253] _Voy. to C. of Good Hope_, i. 45. - -[1254] _Mag. of Nat. Hist._, iv. 148-9. - -[1255] _Hist. of China_, B. I. c. 18, and Churchill's _Col. of Voy. and -Trav._, i. 39. - -[1256] Churchill's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, i. 212. - -[1257] _The Mirror_, xix. 180. - -[1258] Pinkertons _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, ix. 632. - -[1259] _Hist. of Ins._, p. 53-4. - -[1260] _Ibid._ - -[1261] _Hist. of Ins._, p. 197. - -[1262] _Nat. Hist. of Ins._, p. 35. - -[1263] _Voy. round the World_, ii. 35-7. - -[1264] Thevenot's _Travels_, Pt. I. p. 249. - -[1265] _Trav. and Res. in S. Africa_, p. 48. - - - - -ERRATA. - - -Page 43, line 19 from the top, between the words "is it" and "plain" -insert the word "not." - -Page 71, line 29, for "_Carabus chrysocephaluo_" read "_Carabus -chrysocephalus_." - -Page 131, line 12, for "Mrs. A. L. Ruyter Dufour" read "Mrs. A. L. Ruter -Dufour." - - - - - * * * * * - - - - -Transcriber's Notes. - - -Punctuation has been standardised, and obvious typographical errors -have been repaired. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Curious Facts in the History of Insects; Including Spiders and Scorpions. - A Complete Collection of the Legends, Superstitions, - Beliefs, and Ominous Signs Connected with Insects; Together - With Their Uses in Medicine, Art, and as Food; and a Summary - of Their Remarkable Injuries and Appearances. - -Author: Frank Cowan - -Release Date: December 15, 2012 [EBook #41625] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CURIOUS FACTS--HISTORY OF INSECTS *** - - - - -Produced by Chris Curnow, Jennifer Linklater and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - - CURIOUS FACTS - IN THE - HISTORY OF INSECTS; - - INCLUDING - SPIDERS AND SCORPIONS. - - A COMPLETE COLLECTION OF THE LEGENDS, SUPERSTITIONS, BELIEFS, - AND OMINOUS SIGNS CONNECTED WITH INSECTS; TOGETHER - WITH THEIR USES IN MEDICINE, ART, AND AS FOOD; - AND A SUMMARY OF THEIR REMARKABLE - INJURIES AND APPEARANCES. - - BY - FRANK COWAN. - - - PHILADELPHIA: - J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO. - 1865. - - Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1865, - by J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO., - In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States - for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. - - - TO - MISS CATHARINE STOY - THE FOLLOWING PAGES - ARE RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED - BY HER FRIEND, - THE AUTHOR. - - - - -PREFACE. - - -In the early part of the winter of 1863-4, having the free use of the -Congressional Library at Washington, I began the compilation of the -present work. It was my prime intent, and one which I have endeavored to -follow most carefully, to attach some fact, whatever might be its -nature, to as many Insects as possible, to increase the interest, in a -commonplace way, of the science of Entomology. I noticed the pleasurable -satisfaction I invariably felt when I came accidentally upon any -extra-scientific fact, and how the association fixed the particular -Insect, to which it related, ineffaceably upon my memory. To collect and -group, then, all these facts together, to remember many Insects as -easily as one,--was a natural thought; and as this had never been done, -but to a very limited extent, I undertook it myself. - -The facts contained in this volume are supposed to be purely historical, -or rather not to belong to the natural history of Insects, namely, their -anatomy, habits, classification, etc. They have been collected mostly -from Chronicles, Histories, Books of Travels, and such like works, -which, at first view, seem to be totally foreign to Insects: and were -only discovered by examination of the indexes and tables of contents. - -But are my facts _facts_?--it may be asked. They are; but I do not vouch -for each one's containing more than one truth. It is a fact, or truth if -you will, that Pliny, Nat. Hist. xi. 34, says, "Folke use to hang -Beetles about the neck of young babes, as present remedies against many -maladies;" but that this statement is entitled to credit, and that these -Insects, hung about the necks of young babes, _are_ a present remedy -against many maladies, are two things which may be very true or far -otherwise. I confine myself to the fact that Pliny says so, and only -wish to be understood in that sense, unless when otherwise stated. - -The classification of Mr. Westwood, in the arrangement of the orders and -families, I have followed as closely as was possible, except in one or -two instances: and where Insects have common and familiar names, they -have been given together with their scientific ones. - -To Dr. J. M. Toner, of Washington, for his suggestions and assistance in -collecting material, I tender my thanks; the same also to N. Bushnell, -Esq., and Hon. O. H. Browning, of Quincy, Ill., for the use of their -several libraries. - -I am much indebted, too, to Mrs. A. L. Ruter Dufour, of Washington, for -many superstitions and two pieces of poetry contained in this volume. I -beg her to accept my thanks. - - GREENSBURG, PENNA., - July 10th, 1865. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - AUTHORS QUOTED 9 - - - COLEOPTERA--BEETLES. - - Coccinellidae--Lady-birds 17 - - Chrysomelidae--Gold-beetles 23 - - Carabidae 23 - - Pausidae 23 - - Dermestidae--Leather-beetles 24 - - Lucanidae--Stag-beetles 24 - - Scarabaeidae--Dung-beetles 27 - - Dynastidae--Hercules-beetles, etc. 45 - - Melolonthidae--Cock-chafers 47 - - Cetoniidae--Rose-chafers 49 - - Buprestidae--Burn-cows 50 - - Elateridae--Fire-flies, Spring-beetles, etc. 51 - - Lampyridae--Glow-worms 55 - - Ptinidae--Death-watch, etc. 58 - - Bostrichidae--Typographer-beetle, etc. 61 - - Cantharidae--Blister-flies 62 - - Tenebrionidae--Meal-worms 65 - - Blapsidae--Church-yard-beetle, etc. 65 - - Curculionidae--Weevils 68 - - Cerambycidae--Musk-beetles 72 - - Galerucidae--Turnip-fly, etc. 74 - - - EUPLEXOPTERA. - - Forficulidae--Ear-wigs 76 - - - ORTHOPTERA. - - Blattidae--Cockroaches 78 - - Mantidae--Soothsayers, etc. 82 - - Achetidae--Crickets 92 - - Gryllidae--Grasshoppers 98 - - Locustidae--Locusts 101 - - - NEUROPTERA. - - Termitidae--White-ants 132 - - Ephemeridae--Day-flies 138 - - Libellulidae--Dragon-flies 138 - - Myrmeleonidae--Ant-lions 141 - - - HYMENOPTERA. - - Uroceridae--Sirex 142 - - Cynipidae--Gall-flies 143 - - Formicidae--Ants 146 - - Vespidae--Wasps, Hornets 170 - - Apidae--Bees 174 - - - LEPIDOPTERA. - - Papilionidae--Butterflies 216 - - Sphingidae--Hawk-moths 232 - - Bombicidae--Silkworm-moths 234 - - Arctiidae--Woolly-bear-moths 242 - - Psychidae--Wood-carrying-moth, etc. 245 - - Noctuidae--Antler-moth, Cut-worm, etc. 246 - - Geometridae--Span-worms 248 - - Tineidae--Clothes'-moths, Bee-moths, etc. 248 - - - HOMOPTERA. - - Cicadidae--Harvest-flies 250 - - Fulgoridae--Lantern-flies 255 - - Aphidae--Plant-lice 257 - - Coccidae--Shield-lice 259 - - - HETEROPTERA. - - Cimicidae--Bed-bugs 265 - - Notonectidae--Water-boatmen 275 - - - DIPTERA. - - Culicidae--Gnats 278 - - Tipulidae--Crane-flies 286 - - Muscidae--Flies 287 - - Oestridae--Bot-flies 302 - - - APHANIPTERA. - - Pulicidae--Fleas 305 - - - ANOPLEURA. - - Pediculidae--Lice 316 - - - ARACHNIDAE. - - Acaridae--Mites 321 - - Phalangidae--Daddy-Long-legs 321 - - Pedipalpi--Scorpions 321 - - Araneidae--True-spiders 332 - - MISCELLANEOUS 363 - - INDEX 373 - - - - -AUTHORS QUOTED. - - -ALEXANDER, SIR JAS. EDW. Exped. of Disc. into Interior of Africa. 2 v. -12mo., London, 1838. - -ANDERSON, CHAS. ROSS. Lake Ngami; or, Explor. and Disc. during four -years wanderings in S. W. Africa. 8vo., New York, 1856. - -ANDREWS, JAMES PETTIT. Anecdotes, etc., Ancient and Modern. New edit. -8vo., London, 1790. - -ASIATICK MISCELLANY. 2 v. 4to., Calcutta, 1785, 1786. - -ASTLEY, THOMAS. New Gen. Collection of Voyages and Travels in Europe, -Asia, Africa, and America. 4 v. 4to., London, 1745-1747. - -AUBREY, JOHN. Miscellanies upon various subjects. 16mo. 4th edit., -London, 1857. - - -BACKHOUSE, JAMES. Narrat. of Visit to Mauritius and S. Africa. 8vo., -London, 1844. - -BAIRD, WILLIAM. Cyclopaedia of Natural Sciences. 8vo., London and -Glasgow, 1858. - -BANCROFT, EDWARD. Essay on the Nat. Hist. of Guiana, in S. America. -8vo., London, 1769. - -BANCROFT, EDWARD. On Permanent Colours. 2 v. 8vo., London, 1813. - -BARTER, CHARLES. The Dorp and the Veld. 16mo., London, 1852. - -BARTH, HENRY. Travels and Discov. in North and Central Africa, from 1849 -to 1855. 5 v. 8vo., London, 1857-1858. - -BIOGRAPHIE UNIVERSELLE, ANCIENNE ET MODERNE. 84 v. 8vo., Paris, -1811-1857. - -BJOeRNSTJERNA, COUNT M. Theogony of the Hindoos. 8vo., London, 1844. - -BOSMAN, WILLIAM. New and Accurate Desc. of Coast of Guinea. 8vo., -London, 1705. - -BOYLE, ROBERT. Works. New edit. 6 v. royal 4to., London, 1772. - -BRANDE, JOHN. Observations on the Popular Antiquities of Great Britain. -3 v. 12mo., London, 1853-5. - -BRAY, ANNA ELIZA. Tamar and the Tavy. 3 v. 12mo., London, 1836. - -BROWNE, SIR THOMAS. Works; including his life and Correspondence. 4 v. -8vo., London, 1835. - -BROWN, THOMAS. Book of Butterflies, Sphinges, and Moths. 2d edit. 3 v. -16mo., London, 1834. - -BURMEISTER, HERMANN. Manual of Entomology. Tr. by W. E. Shuckard. 8vo., -London, 1836. - -BURTON, RICHD. F. The City of the Saints. 8vo., London, 1861. - -BUTLER, ALBAN. Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and other principal -Saints. 12 v. 8vo., London, 1854. - -BUTLER, CHARLES. Feminine Monarchie. 16mo., Oxford, 1609. - - -CAMPANIUS, THOMAS. Short Desc. of Province of New Sweden; now called by -the English Pennsylvania, in America. Tr. by Peter S. Ponceau. 8vo., -Philad., 1834. - -CAMPBELL, JOHN. Travels in S. Africa, undertaken at the request of the -Missionary Society. 3d edit. 8vo., London, 1815. - -CARPENTER, WM. BENJ. Zoology. 2 v. 8vo., London, 1847. - -CHAMBERS, ROBERT. Book of Days. Royal 8vo., London, 1862-3. - ----- ---- Hist. of Scotland. 2 v. 12mo., London, 1830. - ----- ---- Domestic Animals of Scotland from the Reformation to the -Revolution. 2 v. 8vo., Edinb. and London, 1859. - ----- ---- Popular Rhymes of Scotland. 16mo., Edinburgh, 1826. - ----- ---- Select Writings; Popular Rhymes of Scotland. 16mo., -Edinburgh, 1841. - -CHAMBERS, WILLIAM AND ROBERT. Edinburgh Journal, Feb. 1832 to Dec. 1843. -12 v. in 6 v. folio, London, 1833-'44. - ----- ---- New Series. Jan. 1844 to Dec. 1853. 20 v. in 10 v. royal -8vo., London, 1844-'54. - ----- ---- Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Art. 10 v. in -5 v. 8vo., Edinburgh, 1854-'58. - -CHURCHILL, AWNSHAM AND JOHN. Collection of Voyages and Travels. 6 v. -folio, London, 1732. - -COLEMAN, CHARLES. Mythology of the Hindus. 4to., London, 1832. - -COLTON, WALTER. Three Years in California. 12mo., New York, 1850. - -CURTIS, JOHN. Farm Insects. Royal 8vo., London, 1860. - -CUVIER, G. L. C. F. BARON. Animal Kingdom. By Edwd. Griffeth and others. -16 v. royal 8vo., London, 1827-'35. - - -DARRELL, WILLIAM. History of Dover Castle. 4to., London, 1797. - -DARWIN, CHARLES. Journ. of Research into Nat. Hist. and Geol. of -Countries visited during Voy. of H. M. S. Beagle, round the world. New -edit. 12mo., London, 1852. - -DIAZ DEL CASTILLO, BERNAL. Memoirs and Disc. and Conq. of Mexico and New -Spain. Tr. by John J. Lockhart. 2 v. 8vo., London, 1844. - -DIODORUS THE SICILIAN, Historical Library of, in fifteen books; -Fragments, etc. Tr. by G. Booth. 2 v. 8vo., London, 1814. - -DONOVAN, EDWARD. Nat. Hist. of Insects of China. 4to., London, 1842. - -DRAYSON, ALFRED W. Sporting Scenes in S. Africa. 8vo., London, 1858. - -DU HALDE, J. B. General Hist. of China, etc. 4 v. 8vo., London, 1836. - - -FABYAN, ROBERT. New Chronicles of England and France. 4to., London, -1811. - -FLEMING, FRANCIS. Kaffraria. 12mo., London, 1853. - -FORBES, JAMES. Oriental Memoirs. 4 v. 4to., London, 1813. - -FOSBROKE, THOS. DUDLEY. Encyclopaedia of Antiquities. 2 v. 4to., London, -1825. - - -GASSENDUS, PETRUS. Mirrour of true Nobility and Gentility. Life of -Peiresc. Tr. by W. Rand. 8vo., London, 1657. - -GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE. 202 v. 8vo., London, 1731-1859. - -GOLDSMITH, OLIVER. Hist. of the Earth, and Animated Nature. 4 v. 8vo., -London, 1826. - -GOOD, JOHN MASON. Study of Medicine. 4th edit. 4 v. 8vo., London, 1840. - -GOSSE, PHILIP HENRY. Naturalist's Sojourn in Jamaica. 12mo., London, -1851. - -GROSIER, ABBE J. B. G. A. Genl. Desc. of China. 2d edit. 2 v. 8vo., -London, 1795. - - -HARLEIAN MISCELLANY. 12 v. 8vo., London, 1808-1811. - -HARRIS, JOHN. Navigantium atque Itinerantium Bibliotheca; or, a Complete -Col. of Voy. and Travels. 2 v. folio, London, 1744, 1748. - -HAWKINS, SIR JOHN. General Hist. of the Science and Practice of Music. -5 v. 4to., London, 1776. - -HAWKS, FRANCIS L. Monuments of Egypt. 8vo., New York, 1850. - -HOLINSHED, RAPHAEL. Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland. 6 v. -4to., London, 1807-8. - -HOLMAN, JAMES. Travels in Brazil, Cape Colony, etc. 2d edit. 8vo., -London, 1840. - -HONE, WILLIAM. Every-Day Book and Table Book. 3 v. royal 8vo., London, -1838. - -HORNE, THOMAS HARTWELL. Introd. to the Study of Bibliography. 2 v. in 1, -8vo., London, 1814. - -HOUDIN, ROBERT. Autobiograpical Memoirs. 12mo., Philad., 1859. - -HUBER, PIERRE. Nat. Hist. of Ants. Tr. by J. R. Johnson. 12mo., London, -1820. - -HUGHES, GRIFFITH. Nat. Hist. of Barbados. Folio, London, 1750. - - -INSECTORUM SIVE MINIMORUM ANIMALIUM THEATRUM. Thos. Moufeti opera -perfectum. Folio, Londoni, 1634. - - -JACKSON, JAMES GREY. Acct. of Empire of Marocco, and Districts of Suse -and Tafilelt. 2d edit. 4to., London, 1811. - -JENKINS, JOHN S. Voy. of U. S. Exploring Squadron, commanded by Capt. -Chas. Wilkes; from 1838 to 1842. 8vo., Auburn, 1852. - -JONES, JOHN MATTHEW. Naturalist in Bermuda. 12mo., London, 1859. - -JOSEPHUS, FLAVIUS. Genuine Works. Tr. by William Whiston. Folio, London, -1737. - -JOSSELYN, JOHN. Acct. of Two Voyages to New England. 16mo., London, -1674. - - -KALM, PETER. Travels into North America. Tr. by John R. Foster. 2 v. -8vo., London, 1859. - -KIDDER, DANL. P., and J. C. FLETCHER. Brazil and the Brazilians. Royal -8vo., Philad., 1857. - -KIRBY, R. S. Wonderful and Eccentric Museum; or, Mag. of Remarkable -Characters. 6 v. 8vo., London, 1820. - -KIRBY, WILLIAM, and WILLIAM SPENCE. Introduction to Entomology. 5th -edit. 4 v. 8vo., London, 1829. - -KNOX, ROBERT. Hist. Relation of the Island of Ceylon. 4to., London, -1817. - -KOLBEN, PETER. Pres. State of Cape of Good Hope. Tr. by Mr. Medley. 2d -edit. 2 v. 8vo., London, 1731, 1738. - -KORAN, THE: commonly called the Alcoran of Mohammed. Tr. by Geo. Sale. -8vo., Philad., 1850. - - -LATROBE, CHAS. JOS. Journ. of Visit to S. Africa, in 1815 and 1816. -8vo., New York, 1818. - -LANGSTROTH, L. L. Prac. Treatise on the Hive and Honey-Bee. 3d edit. -12mo., New York, 1860. - -LAYARD, AUSTEN H. Disc. among the Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon; with -Travels in Armenia, etc. 8vo., New York, 1853. - -LEPSIUS, RICHARD. Desc. in Egypt, Ethiopia, and Penins. of Sinai, in -1842-1845. 2d edit. 8vo., London, 1853. - -LINNAEUS, CAROLUS. Lachesis Lapponica; or, a Tour in Lapland. Tr. by J. -E. Smith. 2 v. 8vo., London, 1811. - -LIVINGSTONE, DAVID. Missionary Travels and Researches in S. Africa. -8vo., New York, 1858. - -LIVIUS, TITUS. History of Rome. Tr. by George Barker. 2d edit. 6 v. -8vo., London, 1814. - - -MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY. Cond. by J. C. Loudon. 9 v. 8vo., London, -1829-1836. - -MARTYR, PETER. De Nouo Orbe; or, The Hist. of the West Indies. Tr. by R. -Eden and M. Lok. 4to., London, 1612. - -MAYHEW, HENRY. London Labor and the London Poor. 4 v. 8vo., London, -1861, 1862. - -MIRROR OF LITERATURE, AMUSEMENT, AND INSTRUCTION. 40 v. 8vo., London, -1823-1842. - -MOFFAT, ROBT. Missionary Labors and Scenes in S. Africa. 8vo., London, -1842. - -MONTFAUCON, BERNARD DE. L'Antiquite Expliquee et Representee en Figures. -2e edition, revue et corrigee. Lat. et Fr. 5 v. en 10, folio, Paris, -1722. - -MONTAIGNE, MICHAEL DE. Works. By William Hazlitt. 8vo., Philad., 1850. - -MOUFET, THOMAS. Insectorum sive Minimorum Animalium Theatrum. Londoni, -1634. - ----- ---- The same, translated. See Topsel's Hist. of Beasts, etc. - - -NATURAL HISTORY OF INSECTS. Vols. 64 and 65 of John Murray's Fam. -Library. 18mo., London, 1830-1842. - -NEWELL, ROBT. HASELL. Zoology of the English Poets. 16mo., London, 1845. - - -OCKLEY, SIMON. History of the Saracens. 3d ed. 2 v. 8vo., Cambridge, -1757. - -OGILBY, JOHN. America. Folio, London, 1671. - -OLIN, STEPHEN. Travels in Egypt, Arabia Petraea, and the Holy Land. 8th -edit. 2 v. 8vo., New York, 1846. - -OLIPHANT, LAURENCE. Narrat. of Earl of Elgin's Mission to China and -Japan, in 1857-9. 8vo., New York, 1860. - -OWEN, REV. T. Geoponika; or, Agricultural Pursuits. 2 v. 8vo., London, -1805. - - -PERCY SOCIETY PUBLICATIONS. 30 v. 12mo., London, 1840-'52. - -PETTIGREW, THOS. JOS. History of Egyptian Mummies. 4to., London, 1834. - -PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. Royal Society of London. 1665 to 1858. 147 -v. 4to., London, 1665-1858. - -PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. Royal Society of London, abridged. 1665 to -1750. 11 v. 4to., London, 1749-1756. - -PIERIUS VALERIANUS, IOANNIS. Hieroglyphica. Folio, Lugduni, 1626. - -PINKERTON, JOHN. General Collection of Voyages and Travels in all parts -of the World. 17 v. 4to., London, 1808-1814. - -PLINY, by J. Bostock and H. T. Riley. 6 v. Bohn's Classical Library. - -PLINIUS SECUNDUS, CAIUS. Historie of the World; commonly called the Nat. -Hist. of C. Plinius Secundus. Tr. by Philemon Holland. 2 v. in 1, folio, -London, 1657. - -PRICHARD, JAMES COWLES. Analysis of the Egyptian Mythology. 8vo., -London, 1819. - -PRINGLE, THOMAS. Narrat. of Resid. in S. Africa. New edit. 8vo., London, -1851. - -PURCHAS, SAMUEL. Hakluytus Posthumus; or, Purchas his Pilgrimes. 5 v. -folio, London, 1625, 1626. - - -RHIND, A. HENRY. Thebes; its Tombs and their Tenants, anct. and modern. -8vo., London, 1862. - -RICHARDSON, JAMES. Travels in Great Desert of Sahara, in 1845-6. 2 v. -8vo., London, 1848. - -RILEY, JAMES. Authen. Narrat. of Loss of Amer. Brig Commerce, wrecked on -western coast of Africa, in 1815. 8vo., Hartford, 1850. - -RIVERO, MARIANO EDWARD, and JNO. JAS. VON TSCHUDI. Peruvian Antiquities. -Tr. by Francis L. Hawks. 8vo., New York, 1853. - -ROBBINS, ARCHIBALD. Journ. of Advent. in Africa, in 1815-'17. 12mo., -Hartford, 1851. - - -SAMOUELLE, GEORGE. Entomological Cabinet. 2d edit. 16mo., London, 1841. - -SATURDAY MAGAZINE. Folio. From 1833 to 1844, London. - -SCHOMBURGK, SIR ROBERT H. Hist. of Barbados. 8vo., London, 1847. - -SHAW, GEORGE. General Zoology; or, Syst. Nat. Hist. 14 v. 8vo., London, -1800-1826. - -SILLIMAN, BENJAMIN. Amer. Journ. of Sci. and Art. 78 v. 8vo., New York -and New Haven, 1819-1859. - -SIMMONDS, PETER LUND. Curiosities of Food; or, the Dainties and -Delicacies of different nations obtained from the Animal Kingdom. 12mo., -London, 1859. - -SLOANE, HANS. Voy. to Islands of Madeira, Barbados, Nieves, S. -Christophers, and Jamaica; with the Nat. Hist. of Jamaica. 2 v. folio, -London, 1707-1725. - -SMITH, THOMAS. Wonders of Nature and Art; or, a Concise Acct. of -whatever is most curious and remarkable in the world. 12 v. 16mo., -Philad., 1806-1807. - -SPARRMAN, ANDERS. Voy. to C. of G. Hope, towards Antarc. Circle, and -Round the World. From 1772 to 1776. 2 v. 12mo., Perth, 1789. - -SOUTHEY, ROBT. Common-Place Book. 4th series. In 4 v. 8vo., London, -1849-1851. - ----- ---- Hist. of Brazil. 3 v. 4to., London, 1817-1822. - -STANLEY, THOMAS. History of Philosophy. 3d edit. Folio, London, 1701. - -STEDMAN, J. G. Narrat. of five years' Exped. against revolted Negroes of -Surinam, in Guiana, in 1772-1777. 2 v. 4to., London, 1796. - -STEEDMAN, ANDREW. Wanderings and Advent. in Interior of S. Africa. 2 v. -8vo., London, 1835. - -ST. JOHN, JOHN AUG. Hist. of Manners and Customs of Ancient Greece. 3 v. -8vo., London, 1842. - -STRABO, by H. C. Hamilton and W. Falconer. 3 v. Bohn's Classical -Library. - -STRONG, A. B. Illustr. Nat. Hist. of the Three Kingdoms. New ser. 2 v. -8vo., New York, 1853. - -STUART, J. View of Past and Present State of Island of Jamaica. 8vo., -Edinburgh, 1823. - -SWAMMERDAM, JAN. Book of Nature; or, the Hist. of Insects. Tr. by Thos. -Floyd. Folio, London, 1758. - - -TAYLOR, FITCH W. Voy. Round the World, and Visits to foreign countries, -in the U. S. Frigate Columbia. 9th edit. 8vo., 2 v. in 1, New Haven, -1848. - -TENNENT, SIR J. EMERSON. Sketches of the Nat. Hist. of Ceylon. 12mo., -London, 1861. - -THEODORET AND EVAGRIUS. Hist. of the Church, from A.D. 322 to A.D. 594. -12mo., London, 1854. - -THEVENOT, MONSIEUR DE. Travels into the Levant. Folio, London, 1687. - -THORPE, BENJ. Northern Mythology. 3 v. post 8vo., London, 1851, 1852. - -THUNBERG, KARL PETER. Travels in Europe, Africa, and Asia, bet. 1770-9. -4 v. 8vo., London, 1795, 1796. - -TOPSEL, EDWARD. The Hist. of Four-footed Beasts and Serpents. Whereunto -is added The Theater of Insects: by T. Moufet. Folio, London, 1658. - -TREASVRIE OF AVNCIENT AND MODERNE TIMES. Tr. from Pedro Mexia, M. -Francesco Sansovino, Anthony du Verdier, etc., by Thomas Milles. Folio, -London, 1613. - ----- ---- Containing Ten following Bookes to the former. Folio, London, -1619. - -TWELVE YEARS IN CHINA. The People, the Rebels, and the Mandarins. By a -British Resident. 12mo., Edinburgh, 1860. - - -UNIVERSAL HISTORY. Ancient Part. 21 v. 8vo., London, 1747-1754. - - -VOLNEY, COMTE C. F. Chasseboeuf de. Travels through Syria and Egypt, in -1783-'85. 2 v. 8vo., London, 1787. - - -WALTON, WILLIAM, JR. Pres. State of the Spanish Colonies. 2 v. 8vo., -London, 1810. - -WANLEY, NATHANIEL. Wonders of the Little World; or, a General Hist. of -Man. 2 v. 8vo., London, 1806. - -WELD, ISAAC. Travels through States of N. America, and Canadas, in -1795-'97. 3d edit. 2 v. 8vo., London, 1800. - -WESTWOOD, JOHN OBAD. Introd. to Mod. Classif. of Insects. 2 v. 8vo., -London, 1840. - -WHITE, GILBERT. Nat. Hist. of Selborne. 8vo., London, 1854. - -WILKINSON, SIR J. G. Manners and Customs of the Anct. Egyptians. 6 v. -8vo., London, 1837-1841. - -WILLIAMS, S. WELLS. The Middle Kingdom; or, Survey of Chinese Empire. 3d -edit. 2 v. 8vo., New York, 1853. - -WOOD, WILLIAM. Zoography. 3 v. 8vo., London, 1807. - - - - -CURIOUS HISTORY OF INSECTS. - - - - -ORDER I. - -COLEOPTERA--BEETLES. - - -Coccinellidae--Lady-birds. - -The Lady-bird, _Coccinella septempunctata_, in Scandinavia was dedicated -to the Virgin Mary, and is there to this day called _Nyckelpiga_--Our -Lady's Key-maid,[1] and (in Sweden, more particularly) _Jung-fru Marias -Gullhona_--the Virgin Mary's Golden-hen.[2] A like reverence was paid to -this beautiful insect in other countries: in Germany they have been -called _Frauen_ or _Marien-kaefer_--Lady-beetles of the Virgin Mary; and -in France are now known by the names of _Vaches de Dieu_--Cows of the -Lord, and _Betes de la Vierge_--Animals of the Virgin.[3] The names we -know them by, _Lady-bird_, _Lady-bug_, _Lady-fly_, _Lady-cow_,[4] -_Lady-clock_, _Lady-couch_ (a Scottish name),[5] etc., have reference -also to this same dedication, or, at least, respect. - -The Lady-bird in Europe, and particularly in Germany, where it probably -is the greatest favorite, and whence most of the superstitions connected -with it are supposed to have originated, is always connected with fine -weather. At Vienna, the children throw it into the air, crying,-- - - Kaeferl', kaeferl', kaeferl', - Flieg nach Mariabrunn, - Und bring uns ae schone sun. - -Or,-- - - Little birdie, birdie, - Fly to Marybrunn, - And bring us a fine sun. - -Marybrun being a place about twelve English miles from the Austrian -capital, with a miracle-working image of the Virgin (still connected -with the Virgin), who often sends good weather to the merry Viennese.[6] - -And, from the marsh of the Elbe, to this little insect the following -words are addressed: - - Maikatt, - Flug weg, - Stuff weg, - Bring me morgen goet wedder med. - -Or,-- - - May-cat, - Fly away, - Hasten away, - Bring me good weather with you to-morrow.[7] - -In England, the children are wont to be afraid of injuring the Lady-bird -lest it should rain. - -With the Northmen the Lady-bird--Our Lady's Key-maid--is believed to -foretell to the husbandman whether the year shall be a plentiful one or -the contrary: if its spots exceed seven, bread-corn will be dear; if -they are fewer than seven, there will be an abundant harvest, and low -prices.[8] And, in the following rhyme from Ploen, this insect is -invoked to bring food: - - Marspaeert (Markpaeert) fleeg in Himmel! - Bring my'n Sack voll Kringeln, my een, dy een, - Alle luetten Engeln een. - -Or,-- - - Marspaeert, fly to heaven! - Bring me a sack full of biscuits, one for me, one for thee, - For all the little angels one.[9] - -In the north of Europe it is thought lucky when a young girl in the -country sees the Lady-bird in the spring; she then lets it creep about -her hand, and says: "She measures me for wedding gloves." And when it -spreads its little wings and flies away, she is particular to notice the -direction it takes, for thence her sweetheart shall one day come.[10] -The latter part of this notion obtains in England; and it has been -embodied by Gay in one of his Pastorals, as follows: - - This Lady-fly I take from off the grass, - Whose spotted back might scarlet red surpass. - Fly, Lady-bird, north, south, or east or west, - Fly where the man is found that I love best. - He leaves my hand, see to the west he's flown, - To call my true-love from the faithless town.[11] - -In Norfolk, too, where this insect is called the Bishop Barnabee, the -young girls have the following rhyme, which they continue to recite to -it placed upon the palm of the hand, till it takes wing and flies -away:[12] - - Bishop, Bishop Barnabee, - Tell me when my wedding be: - If it be to-morrow day, - Take your wings and fly away! - Fly to the east, fly to the west, - Fly to him that I love best.[13] - -Why the Lady-bird is called Bishop Barnabee, or Burnabee, there is great -difference of opinion. Some take it to be from St. Barnabas, whose -festival falls in the month of June, when this insect first appears; and -others deem it but a corruption of the Bishop-that-burneth, in allusion -to its fiery color.[14] - -The following metrical jargon is repeated by the children in Scotland to -this insect under the name of Lady Lanners, or Landers:[15] - - Lady, Lady Lanners, - Lady, Lady Lanners, - Tak' up your clowk about your head, - An' flee awa' to Flanners (Flanders). - Flee ower firth, and flee ower fell, - Flee ower pule and rinnan' well, - Flee ower muir, and flee ower mead, - Flee ower livan, flee ower dead, - Flee ower corn, and flee ower lea, - Flee ower river, flee ower sea, - Flee ye east, or flee ye west, - Flee till him that lo'es me best. - -So it seems that also in Scotland, the Lady-bird, which is still a great -favorite with the Scottish peasantry, has been used for divining one's -future helpmate. This likewise appears from a rhyme from the north of -Scotland, which dignifies the insect with the title of Dr. Ellison: - - Dr. Dr. Ellison, where will I be married? - East, or west, or south, or north? - Take ye flight and fly away. - -It is sometimes also termed Lady Ellison, or knighted Sir Ellison; while -other Scottish names of it are Mearns, Aberd, The King, and King Galowa, -or Calowa. Under this last title of dignity there is another Scottish -rhyme, which evinces also the general use of this insect for the purpose -of divination: - - King, King Calowa, - Up your wings and flee awa' - Over land, and over sea; - Tell me where my love can be.[16] - -There is a Netherlandish tradition that to see Lady-birds forebodes good -luck;[17] and in England it is held extremely unlucky to destroy these -insects. Persons killing them, it is thought, will infallibly, within -the course of the year, break a bone, or meet with some other dreadful -misfortune.[18] - -In England, the children are accustomed to throw the Lady-bird into the -air, singing at the same time,-- - - Lady-bird, lady-bird, fly away home; - Your house is on fire, your children's at home, - All but one that ligs under the stone,-- - Ply thee home, lady-bird, ere it be gone.[19] - -Or, as in Yorkshire and Lancashire,-- - - Lady-bird, lady-bird, eigh thy way home; - Thy house is on fire, thy children all roam, - Except little Nan, who sits in her pan, - Weaving gold laces as fast as she can.[20] - -Or, as most commonly with us in America,-- - - Lady-bird, lady-bird, fly away home, - Your house is on fire, and your children all burn. - -The meaning of this familiar, though very curious couplet, seems to be -this: the larvae, or young, of the Lady-bird feed principally upon the -aphides, or plant-lice, of the vines of the hop; and fire is the usual -means employed in destroying the aphides; so that in killing the latter, -the former, which had come for the same purpose, are likewise destroyed. - -Immense swarms of Lady-birds are sometimes observed in England, -especially on the southeastern coast. They have been described as -extending in dense masses for miles, and consisting of several species -intermixed.[21] In 1807, these flights in Kent and Sussex caused no -small alarm to the superstitious, who thought them the forerunners of -some direful evil. They were, however, but emigrants from the -neighboring hop-grounds, where, in their larva state, they had been -feasting upon the aphides.[22] - -The Lady-bird was formerly considered an efficacious remedy for the -colic and measles;[23] and it has been recommended often as a cure for -the toothache: being said, when one or two are mashed and put into the -hollow tooth, to immediately relieve the pain. Jaeger says he has tried -this application in two instances with success.[24] - -In the northern part of South America--the Spanish Main--a species of -Lady-bug, Captain Stuart tells me, is extensively worn as jewels and -ornaments. He may, however, refer to some species of the -Gold-beetles--_Chrysomelidae_, next mentioned. - -Hurdis, who has frequently, in his Poems, availed himself of the modern -discoveries in Natural History, has drawn the following accurate and -beautiful picture of the Lady-bird in his tragedy of Sir Thomas More: - - SIR JOHN. - - What d'ye look at? - - CECILIA. - - A little animal, that round my glove, - And up and down to every finger's tip, - Has traveled merrily, and travels still, - Tho' it has wings to fly: what its name is - With learned men I know not; simple folk - Call it the Lady-bird. - - SIR JOHN. - - Poor harmless thing! - Save it. - - CECILIA. - - I would not hurt it for the world; - Its prettiness says, Spare me; and it bears - Armor so beautiful upon its back, - I could not injure it to be a queen: - Look, sir, its coat is scarlet dropp'd with jet, - Its eyes pure ivory. - - SIR JOHN. - - Child, I'm not blind - To objects so minute: I know it well; - 'Tis the companion of the waning year, - And lives among the blossoms of the hop; - It has fine silken wings enfolded close - Under that coat of mail. - - CECILIA. - - I see them, sir, - For it unfurls them now--'tis up and gone.[25] - -Southey, also, in his lines addressed to this insect under the name of -the Burnie-Bee, has thus elegantly described it: - - Back o'er thy shoulders throw thy ruby shards, - With many a tiny coal-black freckle deck'd; - My watchful eye thy loitering saunter guards, - My ready hand thy footsteps shall protect. - - So shall the fairy train, by glow-worm light, - With rainbow tints thy folding pennons fret, - Thy scaly breast in deeper azure dight, - Thy burnish'd armor deck'd with glossier jet.[26] - - -Chrysomelidae--Gold-beetles. - -In Chili and Brazil, the ladies form necklaces of the golden -_Chrysomelidae_ and brilliant Diamond-beetles, with which their countries -abound, which are said to be very beautiful.[27] The wing-cases of our -common Gilded-Dandy, _Eumolpus auratus_, the metallic colors of which -are pre-eminently brilliant and showy, have been recommended as -ornaments for fancy boxes, and such like articles.[28] A closely allied -species, I have seen upon the finest Parisian artificial flowers. - - -Carabidae. - -In some parts of Africa, a rather curious benefit is derived from a -large beetle belonging to this family, the _Chlaenius saponarius_, for it -is manufactured by the natives into a soap.[29] - - -Pausidae. - -The etymology of the word _Pausus_, Dr. Afzelius imagines to be from the -Greek #pausis#, signifying a pause, cessation, or rest; for Linnaeus, now -(in 1796) old and infirm, and sinking under the weight of age and labor, -saw no probability of continuing any longer his career of glory. He -might therefore be supposed to say _hic meta laborum_, as it in reality -proved, at least with regard to insects, for Pausus was the last he ever -described.[30] - - -Dermestidae--Leather-beetles. - -In one of the stone coffins exhumed from the tumuli in the links of -Skail, were found several small bags, which seemed to have been made of -rushes. They all contained bones, with the exception of one, which is -said to have been full of beetles belonging to the genus _Dermestes_. -Both the bag and beetles were black and rotten.[31] - -Four species of _Dermestes_ were found in the head of one of the mummies -brought by Sir J. Gardner Wilkinson from Thebes--the _D. vulpinus_ of -Fabricius, and the _pollinctus_, _roei_, and _elongatus_ of Hope.[32] - -It is a remarkable coincidence that two peoples should bury beetles of -the same genus with their dead, and much the more so, when they differ -so widely, as did the ancient Britons and Egyptians. Was it for the same -reason--the result of any communication? - -At one time the ravages of the _Dermestes vulpinus_ were so great in the -skin-warehouses of London, that a reward of L20,000 was offered for an -available remedy.[33] - - -Lucanidae--Stag-beetles. - -The etymology of the word Lucanus, as well as its application to a -species of insect, it is interesting to notice. The ancients gave the -name of _Lucas_, _Lucana_, to the _ox_ and elephant. It is said that -Pyrrhus had thus named the elephant the first time that he saw it, -because this word signified ox in his own language, and that he thus -gave it the name of the largest animal which he had ever before seen. -According to Pliny, who employed the word _Lucani_, in speaking of the -Horn-beetles, Nigridius was the first who gave the name to these -insects; and this he did, most probably, from their large size, and the -resemblance of their mandibles to horns. Dalechamp, however, thinks that -the name _Lucanus_ was given to the Horn-beetle only because this insect -was very common among the Lucanians, a people of Italy. But it is -probable, after what has been above said, that the Lucanians themselves -were thus named, in consequence of the great numbers of oxen which they -reared. The common name, _Flying-bull_, given to this insect in -different languages, corresponds very well with that given by -Nigridius.[34] - -A popular belief in Germany is, that the Stag-beetle, _Lucanus cervus_, -carries burning coals into houses by means of its jaws, and that it has -thus occasioned many fearful fires.[35] - -In the New Forest of England, the Stag-beetle by the rustics is called -the _Devil's Imp_, and is believed to be sent to do some evil to the -corn; and woe be to this unfortunate insect when met by these -superstitious foresters, for it is immediately stoned to death. A -writer, in the Notes and Queries,[36] states that he saw one of these -insects actually thus destroyed. - -Professor Bradley, of Cambridge, mentions the following remarkable -instance of insect strength in a Stag-beetle. He asserts that he saw the -beetle carry a wand a foot and a half long, and half an inch thick, and -even fly with it to the distance of several yards.[37] Linnaeus observes, -that if the elephant was as strong in proportion as the Stag-beetle, it -would be able to tear up rocks and level mountains.[38] - -Bingley has the following marvelous story of the supposed rapacity of -the Stag-beetle, which, it has been remarked, if not gravely stated by -the reverend editor of the Animal Biography, as related to him by one -of his own intimate and intelligent friends, might have been supposed by -the general reader to have been borrowed from the Travels of the -veracious Munchausen. "An intimate and intelligent friend of the editor -informed him that he had often found several heads of these insects -together, all perfectly alive, while the abdomens were gone, and the -trunks and heads were left together. How this circumstance took place he -never could discover with any certainty. He supposes, however, that it -must have been in consequence of the severe battles that sometimes take -place among the fiercest of the insect tribes; but their mouths not -seeming formed for animal food, he is at a loss to guess what becomes of -their abdomens. They do not fly till most of the birds have retired to -rest, and indeed if we were to suppose that any of them devoured them, -it would be difficult to say why the heads or trunks should be -rejected."[39] - -Moufet says: "When the head (of the Stag-beetle) is cut off, the other -parts of the body live long, but the head (contrary to the usual custom -of insects) lives longer. This is said to be dedicated to the moon, and -the head and horns of it wax with the moon, and do wane with the moon, -but it is the opinion of vain astrologers."[40] - -The mandibles of the Stag-beetle were formerly employed in medicine, -under the name of Horns of Scarabaei. This remedy was administered as an -absorbent, in case of pains or convulsions supposed to be produced by -acidity in the _primae viae_.[41] This is the insect most probably alluded -to by Pliny, when he says, "Folke use to hang Beetles about the neck of -young babes, as present remedies against many maladies."[42] The -_Scarabaeus cornutus_ of Schroeder (v. 345) is also, perhaps, the _Lucanus -cervus_. We learn from this gentleman that it has been recommended to be -worn as an amulet for an ague, or pains and contractions of the tendons, -if applied to the part affected. He tells us also, that if tied about -the necks of children, it enables them to retain their urine. An oil, -prepared by infusion of these insects, is recommended by the same -author, in pains of the ears, if dropped into them.[43] - -The _Cossus_ of the Greeks and Romans, which, at the time of the -greatest luxury among the latter, was introduced at the tables of the -rich, was the larva, or grub, of a large beetle that lives in the stems -of trees, particularly the oak; and was, most probably, the larva of the -Stag-beetle, _Lucanus cervus_. On this subject, however, entomologists -differ very widely, for it has been supposed the larva of the _Calandra -palmarum_ by Geoffroy and Keferotein; of the _Prionus damicornis_ by -Drury; but of the _Lucanus cervus_ by Roesel, Scopoli, and most others. -The first two, being neither natives of Italy nor inhabiting the oak, -are out of the question. But the larva of the _Lucanus cervus_, and -perhaps also the _Prionus coriarius_, which are found in the oak as well -as in other trees, may each have been eaten under this name, as their -difference could not be discernible either to collectors or cooks. -Linnaeus, following the opinion of Ray, supposed the caterpillar of the -great Goat-moth to be the cossus.[44] - -Pliny tells us that the epicures, who looked upon these _cossi_ as -delicacies, even fed them with meal, in order to fatten them.[45] - -Our children, who call the Stag-beetles and the _Passalus cornutus_, -oxen, are wont to hitch them with threads to chips and small sticks, -and, for their amusement, make them drag the wood along as if they were -oxen. - - -Scarabaeidae--Dung-beetles. - -The _Coprion_, _Cantharus_, and _Heliocantharus_ of the ancients were -evidently the _Scarabaeus (Ateuchus) pilurarius_, or, as it is commonly -called, the Tumble-dung, or one nearly related to it, for it is -described as rolling backward large masses of dung; and in doing this -it attracted such general attention as to give rise to the proverb -_Cantharus pipulam_. From the name, derived from a word signifying an -ass, it should seem the Grecian beetle made, or was supposed to make, -its pills of _asses'_ dung; and this is confirmed by a passage in one of -the plays of Aristophanes, the Irene, where a beetle of this kind is -introduced, on which one of the characters rides to heaven to petition -Jupiter for peace. The play begins with one domestic desiring another to -feed the Cantharus with some bread, and afterward orders his companion -to give him another kind of bread made of _asses'_ dung.[46] - -Illustrative of the great strength of the Tumble-bug, the following -anecdote may be related: Dr. Brichell was supping one evening in a -planter's house of North Carolina, when two of these beetles were -placed, without his knowledge, under the candlestick. A few blows were -struck on the table, when, to his great surprise, the candlestick began -to move about, apparently without any agency, except that of a spiritual -nature; and his surprise was not lessened when, on taking one of them -up, he discovered that it was only a chafer that moved.[47] - -In Denmark, the common Dung-beetle, _Geotrupes stercorarius_, is called -_Skarnbosse_ or _Tor(Thor)bist_, and an augury as to the harvest is -drawn by the peasants from the mites which infest it. The notion is, -that if there are many of these mites between the fore feet, there will -be an early harvest, but a late one if they abound between the hind -feet.[48] - -In Gothland, where Thor was worshiped above and more than the other -gods, the _Scarabaeus (Geotrupes) stercorarius_ was considered sacred -to him, and bore the name of Thorbagge--Thor's-bug. "Relative to this -beetle," says Thorpe, "a superstition still exists, which has been -transmitted from father to son, that if any one finds in his path a -Thorbagge lying helpless upon its back, and turns it on its feet, he -expiates seven sins; because Thor in the time of heathenism was -regarded as a mediator with a higher power, or All-father. On the -introduction of Christianity, the priests strove to terrify the -people from the worship of their old divinities, pronouncing both -them and their adherents to be evil spirits, and belonging to hell. -On the poor Thorbagge the name was now bestowed of Thordjefvul or -Thordyfvel--Thor-devil, by which it is still known in Sweden Proper. -No one now thinks of Thor, when he finds the helpless creature lying -on its back, but the good-natured countryman seldom passes it without -setting it on its feet, and thinking of his sin's atonement."[49] - -A common symbol of the Creator among the Hindoos (from whom it passed -into Egypt, and thence into Scandinavia, says Bjornstjerna) was the -_Scarabaeus (Ateuchus) sacer_, commonly called the Sacred-beetle of the -Egyptians.[50] Of this insect we next treat at length. - -Of the many animals worshiped by the ancient Egyptians, one of the most -celebrated, perhaps, is the insect commonly known as the -Sacred-scarab--_Scarabaeus sacer_. This name was given it by Linnaeus, but -later writers know it as the _Ateuchus sacer_.[51] The insect is found -throughout all Egypt, in the southern part of Europe,[52] in China, the -East Indies, in Barbary, and at the Cape of Good Hope.[53] - -The _Ateuchus sacer_, however, is not the only insect that was regarded -as an object of veneration by the Egyptians; but another species of the -same genus, lately discovered in the Sennari by M. Caillaud de Nantes, -appears to have first fixed the attention of this people, in consequence -of its more brilliant colors, and of the country in which it was found, -which, it is supposed, was their first sojourn.[54] This species, which -Cuvier has named _Ateuchus AEgyptorum_, is green, with a golden tint, -while the first is black.[55] The _Buprestis_ and _Cantharus_, or -_Copris_, were also held in high repute by the Egyptians, and used as -synonymous emblems of the same deities as the Scarabaeus. This is further -confirmed by the fact of S. Passalacqua having found a species of -Buprestis embalmed in a tomb at Thebes.[56] But the _Scarabaeus_, or -_Ateuchus sacer_, is the beetle most commonly represented, and the type -of the whole class; and the one referred to in this article under the -general name of _Scarabaeus_, unless when otherwise particularly -mentioned. - -The Scarabaeus, according to the beliefs of the ancient Egyptians, was -sacred to the Sun and to Pthah, the personification of the creative -power of the Deity; and it was adopted as an emblem or symbol of-- - -1. The World.--According to P. Valerianus, the Scarab was symbolical of -the world, on account of the globular form of its pellets of dung, and -from an odd notion that they were rolled from sunrise to sunset.[57] - -2. The Sun.--P. Valerianus supposes this insect to have been a symbol of -the sun, because of the angular projection from its head resembling -rays, and from the thirty joints of the six tarsi of its feet answering -to the days of an (ordinary) solar month.[58] According to Plutarch, it -was because these insects cast the seed of generation into round balls -of dung, as a genial nidus, and roll them backward with their feet, -while they themselves look directly forward. And as the sun appears to -proceed in the heavens in a course contrary to the signs, thus the -Scarabaei turn their balls toward the west, while they themselves -continue creeping toward the east; by the first of these motions -exhibiting the diurnal, and by the second the annual, motion of the -earth and the planets.[59] Porphyry gives the same reason as Plutarch -why the beetle was considered, as he calls it, "a living image of the -sun."[60] Horapollo assigns two reasons for the Scarab being taken as -an emblem of the sun. He tells us there are three species of beetles: -one of which has the form of a cat, and is radiated;[61] and this one -from a supposed analogy the Egyptians have dedicated to the Sun, -because, first, the statue of the Deity of Heliopolis (City of the Sun) -has the form of a cat![62] In this, however, Wilkinson asserts, that -Horapollo is wrong; for the Deity of Heliopolis, under the form of a -cat, was the emblem of Bubastis, and not of Re, a type of the sun; and -the presence of her statue is explained by the custom of each city -assigning to the Divinities of neighboring places a conspicuous post in -its own temples; and Bubastis was one of the principal contemplar -Deities of Heliopolis.[63] The second reason of Horapollo is, that this -insect has thirty fingers, which correspond to the thirty days of a -solar month.[64] - -3. The Moon.--The second of the three species of beetles, described by -Horapollo, has, according to this writer, two horns, and the character -of a bull; and it was consecrated to the moon; whence the Egyptians say, -that the bull in the heavens is the elevation of this Goddess. This -statement of beetle "with two horns" (the _Copris Isidis_) consecrated -to the moon, Wilkinson says is not confirmed by the sculptures where it -is never introduced.[65] - -It is said the Egyptians believed that the pellet of the Scarabaeus -remained in the ground for a period of twenty-eight days. May not this -have some connection with their choosing the insect as a symbol of the -moon which divides the year into months of twenty-eight days each; or, -of the month itself (of which we shall notice it was also a symbol) for -the same reason? I have seen, too, a Scarabaeus engraved upon a seal, the -joints of whose tarsi numbered but twenty-eight. - -Conformable to this supposition, the following quotation may be given -from that chapter of the Treasvrie of Auncient and Modern Times devoted -to the "Many meruailous (marvelous) properties in sundrie things; and to -what Stars and Planets they are subjected naturally," where we find -mention of the Scarab as being subject to the moon: "The _Scarabe_, -which is otherwise commonly called the Beetle-flye, a little old -Creature, is maruelously subject to the Moon, and thereof is found both -written, and by experience: That she gathereth or little pellets, or -little round bals, and therein encloseth her young Egges, keeping the -Pellets hid in the ground eight and twenty daies; during which time the -Moone maketh her course, and the nine and twentieth day shee taketh them -forth, and then hideth them againe vnder the Earth. Then, at such time -as the Moone is conioyned with the Sunne, which wee vsually tearme the -New Moone: they all issue forth aliue, and flye about."[66] - -4. Mercury.--The third of the three species of beetles, described by -Horapollo, has one horn, and a peculiar form; and it is supposed, like -the Ibis, to refer to Mercury.[67] - -5. A Courageous Warrior.--As such they forced all the soldiers to wear -rings, upon each of which a beetle was engraved, _i.e._ an animal -perpetually in armor, who went his rounds in the night.[68] Plutarch -thus alludes to this custom: "In the signet or seal-ring of their -martial and military men, there was engraven the portraeture of the -great Fly called the Beettil;" and assigns this curious and ridiculous -reason, "because in that kinde there is no female, but they be all -males."[69] The custom is also mentioned by AElian;[70] and some Scarabs -have been found perfect, set in gold, with the ring attached.[71] The -Romans adopted this emblem and made it a part of some legionary -standards. - -6. Pthah, the Creative Power.--Plutarch says, that in consequence of -there being no females of this species, but all males, they were -considered fit types of the creative power, self-acting and -self-sufficient.[72] Some, too, have supposed that its position upon the -female figure of the heavens, which encircles the zodiacs, refers to the -same singular idea of its generative influence.[73] - -7. Pthah Tore, another character of the creative power.[74] - -8. Pthah-Sokari-Osiris.--Of this pigmy Deity of Memphis, it was adopted -as a distinctive mark, being placed on his head.[75] - -9. Regeneration, or reproduction, from the fact of its being the first -living animal observed upon the subsidence of the waters of the -Nile.[76] - -10. Spring.[77] - -11. The Egyptian month anterior to the rising of the Nile, as it appears -first in that month.[78] It also may have been a symbol of a lunar month -from an above-mentioned belief, namely, that its pellets remain -twenty-eight days in the ground. It is sometimes found with the joints -of its tarsi numbering but twenty-eight instead of thirty, hence the -supposition is that it was held as a symbol of a lunar, as well as a -solar, month. - -12. Fecundity.--Dr. Clarke informs us that these beetles are even yet -eaten by the women to render them prolific.[79] - -13. With the eyes pierced by a needle, of a man who died from fever.[80] - -14. Surrounded by roses, of a voluptuary, because they thought that the -smell of that flower enervated, made lethargic, and killed the -beetle.[81] - -15. An only son; because, says Fosbroke, they believed that every beetle -was "both male and female."[82] Was it not because they imagined these -insects were all males, as above stated upon the authority of Plutarch, -and hence the analogy in a family of an only son since it could be but -of the masculine gender? - -The Scarabaeus was also connected with astronomical subjects, occurring -in some zodiacs in the place of Cancer; and with funereal rites.[83] - -To no place in particular, as the dog at Cynopolis, the ichneumon at -Heracleopolis, was the worship of the beetle confined; but traces of it -are found throughout the whole of Egypt. It is probable, however, it -received the greatest honors at Memphis and Heliopolis, of which cities -Pthah and the Sun were the chief Deities.[84] The worship is also of -great antiquity, for in many of the above-mentioned characters, the -beetle occurs upon the royal sepulchers of Biban-el-Moluc, which are -said to be more ancient than the Pyramids.[85] Scarabaei are, in fact, to -be retraced in all their monuments and sculptures, and under divers -positions, and often depicted of gigantic dimensions. Mr. Hamilton tells -us that in the most conspicuous part of the magnificent temple which -marks the site of the ancient Ombite nome, priests are represented -paying divine honors to this beetle, placed upon an altar; and, that it -might have a character of more mysterious sanctity, it was generally -figured with two mitered heads--that of the common hawk, and that of the -ram with the horn of Ammon.[86] It may be remarked here, that the -Scarabaeus, when represented with the head of a hawk, or of a ram, is -meant to be an emblem of the sun; and as such emblem it is most commonly -found. It often occurs in a boat with extended wings, holding the globe -of the sun in its claws, or elevated in the firmament as a type of that -luminary in the meridian. Figures too of other Deities are often seen -praying to it when in this character.[87] - -In the cabinet of Montfaucon, there is a Scarabaeus in the middle of a -large stone, with outspread feet; and two men, or women, who are perhaps -priests, or priestesses, stand before it with clasped hands as if in -adoration.[88] This gentleman also has remarked that on the Isiac table, -there is the figure of a man in a sitting posture, who holds his hands -toward a beetle which has the head of a man with a crescent upon it.[89] -On this table there is another Scarab with the head of Isis.[90] Besides -these Scarabaei with the heads of hawks, rams, men, and the goddess Isis, -Mr. Hertz has in his possession a small Scarabaeus in stone with the -head of a cow.[91] - -The mode of representing the Scarabaei on the monuments was frequently -very arbitrary. Some are figured with, and some without the scutellum; -and others are sometimes introduced with two scutella, one on either -clypeus. An instance of this mode of representation, of which no example -is to be found in nature, occurs in a large Scarabaeus in the British -museum.[92] - -Among the ideographics of the hieroglyphic writing, the Scarabaeus is -found under several forms: seated with closed and spread wings upon the -head of a god, it signifies the name of a god--a Creator;[93] and with -the head and legs of a man, it is emblematic of the same creative power, -or of Pthah. Another emblem of Pthah is supported by the arms of a man -kneeling on the heavens, and surmounted by a winged Scarab supporting a -globe or sun.[94] - -The Scarabaeus likewise belongs to the hieroglyphic signs as a syllabic -phonetic; and with complement a mouth, signifies type, form, and -transformation: flying, to mount--a phonetic of the later alphabet, with -sound of H in the name of Pthah. Another phonetic of the later alphabet, -belonging to the XXVI. dynasty, of the time of Domitianus and Trajanus, -was a Scarabaeus in repose.[95] - -The Scarabaeus entered also into the royal scutcheons. It first appeared -in the XI. dynasty, and is found afterward in the XII., XIII., XIV., -XVIII., XIX., XX., XXI., XXII., XXIII., and XXX.[96] - -The most important monuments of the great edifice of Amenophis--the -so-called Palace of Luxon,--in an historical sense, are said to be four -great Scarabaei. They contain statements as to the frontier of the -Egyptian empire under Amenophis at the time of his marriage with Taja. -Rosellini has given copies and explanations of two of them. A third, now -in the Louvre, states that the King, conqueror of the Lybian Shepherds, -husband of Taja, made the foreign country of the Karai his southern -frontier, the foreign land of Nharina (Mesopotamia) his northern. The -inscription of the other Scarabaeus, now in the Vatican, states that in -the eleventh year and third month of his reign, King Amenhept made a -great tank or lake to celebrate the festival of the waters; on which -occasion he entered it in a barge of "the most gracious Disc of the -Sun." This substitution, by the King, of the barge of the Disc of the -Sun for the usual barge of Amun-Ra, is the _first_ indication of an -heretical sun-worship.[97] - -Such historical Scarabaei, Champollion and Rosellini have happily -compared to commemorative coins; and, in fact, those which record the -names of the kings might perhaps be considered as small Egyptian -coins.[98] - -Besides being ensculped upon monuments and tablets, Scarabaei, as images -in baked earth, are found in great numbers with the mummies of Egypt. -These little figures also present an intermingling of several animal -forms; for some are found with the heads of men, others with those of -dogs, lions, and cats, and others are figures entirely fantastical. -Father Kirker says, they were interred with the dead to drive away evil -spirits; and there is much probability, he continues, that these were -put here for no other purpose than to protect their relatives.[99] The -largest of these rude images of Scarabaei, thus used for funereal -purposes, frequently had a prayer, or legend connected with the dead, -engraved upon them; and a winged Scarabaeus was generally placed on those -bodies which were embalmed according to the most extensive process.[100] -These latter are found in various positions, but generally upon the eye -and breast of the body.[101] Placed over the stomach, it was deemed a -never-failing talisman to shield the "soul" of its wearer against the -terrific genii of Amenthi.[102] - -A small, closely cut, glazed limestone Scarabaeus has been found tied -like a ring by a twist of plain cord on the fourth finger of the left -hand. This has occurred twice. Another has been found fastened around -the left wrist.[103] - -It has been remarked before that the Scarabaeus was connected with -astronomical subjects. Donovan tells us that "when sculptured on -astronomical tables, or on columns, it expressed the divine wisdom which -regulated the universe and enlightened man."[104] - -From another point of view we will look now upon the worship of the -Scarabaeus. When the hieroglyphics of the _ancient_ Egyptians, by reason -of their antiquity, became unintelligible, and, in consequence, to the -superstitious people, sacred, they were formed into circles and borders, -after the manner of cordons, and engraved upon precious stones and gems, -by way of amulets and trinkets. It is thought this fashion was coeval -with the introduction of the worship of Serapis by the Ptolemies.[105] -In the second century, that sect of the Egyptians called the -Basilidians, intermingling the new-born Christianity with their -heathenism, introduced that particular kind of mysterious hieroglyphics -and figures called Abraxas, which were supposed to have the singular -property of curing diseases.[106] These abraxas are generally oval, and -made of black Egyptian basalt. They are sometimes covered with letters -and characters, fac-similes of the ancient hieroglyphics, but more -commonly with the inscriptions in the more modern letters. Besides these -inscriptions, figures of animals and scenes were also frequently -represented; and among the animals, one of frequent occurrence was the -Scarabaeus. For this insect the Basilidians had the same great veneration -as their forefathers; and they paid to it almost the same divine honors. -This appears in many abraxas, and particularly in one in the cabinet of -Montfaucon, where two women are seen standing before a beetle, with -uplifted hands, as if supplicating it to grant them some favor. Above is -a large star, or, more probably, the sun, of which the beetle was the -well-known symbol.[107] On another abraxas, figured by Montfaucon, there -are two birds with human heads, which stand before a Scarab. These -figures are surrounded by a snake the ends of which meet. Upon the other -side is written in Greek characters the word #phre# (Phre or Phri), -which in the Coptic or Egyptian language signifies the sun.[108] -Chifflet has figured an abraxas which contains a Scarabaeus having the -sun for its head, and the arms of a man for legs.[109] Another, in the -cabinet of M. Capello, is remarkable for having a woman on its reverse, -who holds two infants in her arms.[110] Montfaucon has also figured two -others, given by Fabreti; and Count Caylus has engraved one, which -represents a woman's head upon the body of a Scarab. The head is that of -Isis.[111] As these beetles differ much in form, it may be there are -several species. To the abraxas succeeded the talismans, which were of -the highest estimation in the East. - -Carved Scarabaei of all sizes and qualities are quite common in the -cabinets of Europe. They were principally used for sets in rings, -necklaces, and other ornamental trinkets, and are now called Scarabaei -gems,[112] though some suppose them to have been money. All of these -gems, Winkleman says, which have a beetle on the convex side, and an -Egyptian deity on the concave, are of a date posterior to the -Ptolemies; and, moreover, all the ordinary gems, which represent the -figures or heads of Serapis, or Anubis, are of the Roman era.[113] -According to C. Caylus, the Egyptians used these gems for amulets, and -made them of all substances except metal. They preferred, however, those -of pottery, covered with green and black enamel. Cylinders, squares, and -pyramids were first used; then came the Scarabaei, which were the last -forms. They now began to have the appearance of seals or stamps, and -many believe them to have been such. The body of the beetle being a -convenient hold for the hand, and the base a place of safety and -facility to engrave whatsoever was wished to be stamped or printed. Many -of these characters are as yet unintelligible. These seals are made of -the most durable stones, and their convex part commonly worked without -much art. - -The Egyptian form of the Scarabaeus, which somewhat resembled a -half-walnut, the Etruscans adopted in the manufacture of their gems. -These scarcely exceed the natural size of the Scarabaeus which they have -on the convex side. They have also a hole drilled through them -lengthwise, for suspension from the neck, or annexation to some other -part of the person. They are generally cornelians. Some are of a style -very ancient, and of extremely precious work, although in the Etruscan -manner, which is correctness of design in the figures, and hardness in -the turn of the muscles. - -The Greeks also made use of the Scarabaeus in their gems; but in the end -they suppressed the insect, and preserved alone the oval form which the -base presented, for the body of the sculpture. They also mounted them in -their rings.[114] - -Several Egyptian Scarabaei were among the relics discovered by Layard at -Arban on the banks of the Khabour; and similar objects have been brought -from Nimroud, and various other ruins in Assyria.[115] - -Layard has figured a bronze cup, and two bronze cubes, found among the -ruins of Nimroud, on which occur as ornaments the figures of Scarabs. -Those on the cubes are with outstretched wings, inlaid with gold. The -cubes have much the appearance of weights.[116] - -The Scarabaeus was not only venerated when alive, but embalmed after -death. In that state they are found at Thebes. It, however, was not the -only insect thus honored, for in one of the heads brought by Mr. -Wilkinson from Thebes, several others were discovered. These were -submitted to Mr. Hope for examination; and the species ascertained by -this gentleman, Mr. Pettigrew has enumerated as follows: - -1. Corynetes violaceous, _Fab._ - -2. Necrobia mumiarum, _Hope_. - -3. Dermestes vulpinus, _Fab._ - -4. ---- pollinctus, _Hope_. - -5. ---- roei, _Hope_. - -6. ---- elongatus, _Hope_. - -7. Pimelia spinulosa, _Klug_? - -8. Copris sabaeus? "found by Passalacqua; so named on the testimony of -Latrielle." - -9. Midas, _Fab._ - -10. Pithecius, _Fab._ - -11. A species of Cantharis in Passalacqua's Collection, No. 442.[117] -The House-fly has also been found embalmed at Thebes.[118] - - * * * * * - -Concerning the worship in general of the Scarabaeus, many curious -observations have been made besides the ones above recorded. - -Pliny, in the words of his ancient translator, Philemon Holland, tells -us "The greater part of AEgypt honour all beetles, and adore them as -gods, or at leastwise having some divine power in them: which -ceremoniall devotion of theirs, Appion giveth a subtile and curious -reason of; for he doth collect, that there is some resemblance between -the operations and works of the Sun, and this flie; and this he setteth -abroad, for to colour and excuse his countrymen."[119] - -Dr. Molyneux, in the conclusion of his article on the swarms of beetles -that appeared in Ireland in 1688, makes the following allusion to the -worship of the Scarabaeus by the Egyptians: "It is also more than -probable that this same destructive Beetle (Hedge-chafer--_Melontha -vulgaris_) we are speaking of, was that very kind of _Scarabaeus_ the -idolatrous _AEgyptians_ of old had in such high veneration, as to pay -divine worship to it. For nothing can be supposed more natural, than to -imagine a Nation addicted to Polytheism, as the _AEgyptians_ were, in a -Country frequently suffering great Mischief and Scarcity from Swarms of -devouring Insects, should from a strong Sense and Fear of Evil to come -(the common Principle of Superstition and Idolatry) give sacred worship -to the visible Authors of these their Sufferings, in hopes to render -them more propitious for the future. Thus 'tis allowed on all hands, -that the same People adored as a God the ravenous Crocodile of the River -Nile; and thus the _Romans_, though more polite and civilized in their -Idolatry, _Febrem ad minas nocendam venerabantur, eamque variis Templis -extructis colebant_, says Valerius Maximus, L. 2, c. 5."[120] - -It is curious to observe how the reason is affected by circumstances. -The mind of Dr. Molyneux being long engaged upon the destruction caused -by insects, worked itself insensibly into certain grooves, out of which -it was afterward impossible to act. The same may be remarked of Mr. -Henry Baker, as appears from his article, "On a _Beetle_ that lived -three years without Food." In conclusion, this gentleman says, "As the -_Egyptians_ were a wise and learned people, we cannot imagine they would -show so much regard to a creature of such a mean appearance (as the -Beetle) without some extraordinary reason for so doing. And is it not -possible they might have discovered its being able to subsist a very -long time without any visible sustenance, and therefore made it a symbol -of the Deity?"[121] - -In parts of Europe the ladies string together for necklaces the -burnished violet-colored thighs of the _Geotrupes stercorarius_ and such -like brilliant species of insects.[122] - -Under _Copris molossus_, in Donovan's Insects of China, it is mentioned -that the larvae of the larger kinds of coleopterous insects, abounding in -unctuous moisture, are much esteemed as food by the Chinese. "Under the -roots of the canes is found a large, white grub, which, being fried in -oil, is eaten as a dainty by the Chinese." Donovan suggests that perhaps -this is the larvae of the _Scarabaeus (copris) molossus_, the general -description and abundance of which insect in China favors such an -opinion.[123] - -Insects belonging to the family Scarabaeidae have been used also in -medicine. Pliny says the green Scarabaeus has the property of rendering -the sight more piercing of those who gaze upon it, and that hence, -engravers of precious stones use these insects to steady their -sight.[124] - -Again, he says: "And many there be, who, by the directions of magicians, -carrie about them in like manner," _i.e._ tied up in a linen cloth with -a red string, and attached to the body, "for the quartan ague, one of -these flies or beetles that use to roll up little balls of earth."[125] -We learn from Schroder (v. 345) that the powder of the _Scarabaeus -pilurarius_ "sprinkled upon a protuberating eye or prolapsed anus, is -said to afford singular relief;" and that "an oil prepared of these -insects by boiling in oil till they are consumed, and applied to the -blind haemorrhoids, by means of a piece of cotton, is said to mitigate -the pains thereof."[126] Fabricius states that the _Scarabaeus (copris) -molossus_ is medicinally employed in China.[127] - -We quote the following from Moufet: "The Beetle engraven on an emerald -yeelds a present remedy against all witchcrafts, and no less effectual -than that moly which Mercury once gave Ulysses. Nor is it good only -against these, but it is also very useful, if any one be about to go -before the king upon any occasion, so that such a ring ought especially -to be worn by them that intend to beg of noblemen some jolly preferment -or some rich province. It keeps away likewise the head-ach, which, -truly, is no small mischief, especially to great drinkers.... - -"The magicians will scarce finde credit, when foolishly rather than -truly, they report and imagine that the precious stone Chelonitis, that -is adorned with golden spots, put into hot water with a Beetle, raiseth -tempests." _Pliny_, _l._ 37, _c._ 10. - -"The eagle, the Beetle's proud and cruel enemy, does no less make havock -of and devour this creature of so mean a rank, yet as soon as it gets an -opportunity, it returneth like for like, and sufficiently punisheth that -spoiler. For it flyeth up nimbly into her nest with its fellow-soldiers, -the Scara-beetles, and in the absence of the old she eagle bringeth out -of the nest the eagle's eggs one after another, till there be none left; -which falling, and being broken, the young ones, while they are yet -unshapen, being dashed miserably against the stones, are deprived of -life, before they can have any sense of it. Neither do I see indeed how -she should more torment the eagle than in her young ones. For some who -slight the greatest torments of their own body, cannot endure the least -torments of their sons."[128] - -Pliny says that in Thrace, near Olynthus, there is a small locality, the -only one in which the beetle[129] cannot exist; from which circumstance -it has received the name of "Cantharolethus--Fatal-to-the-Beetle."[130] - - -Dynastidae--Hercules-beetle, etc. - -The Hercules-beetle, _Dynastes Hercules_, is four, five, or even -sometimes six inches long, and a native of South America. It is said -great numbers of these immense insects are sometimes seen on the -Mammaea-tree, rasping off the rind of the slender branches by working -nimbly round them with their horns, till they cause the juice to flow, -which they drink to intoxication, and thus fall senseless to the -ground! These stories, however, as the learned Fabricius has well -observed, seem not very probable; since the thoracic horn, being bearded -on its lower surface, would undoubtedly be made bare by this -operation.[131] - -Col. St. Clair, though he confesses he never could take one of these -insects in the act of sawing off the limbs of trees, or ascertain -what they worked for, gravely repeats the above old story, and says -that during the operation they make a noise exactly like that of a -knife-grinder holding steel against the stone of his wheel; but a -thousand knife-grinders at work at the same moment, he continues, -could not equal their noise! He calls this beetle hence the -knife-grinder.[132] - -The Goliath-beetle, _Dynastes Goliathus_, is said to be roasted and -eaten by the natives of South America and Africa.[133] - -The enormous prices of L30, L40, and even L50 used to be asked for these -latter beetles a piece; fine specimens for cabinets even now bring from -five to six pounds.[134] - -The large pulpy larva of a species of Dynastidae--the _Oryctes -rhinoceros_, called by the Singhalese _Gascooroominiya_--is, -notwithstanding its repulsive aspect, esteemed a luxury by the Malabar -coolies.[135] - -Immediately after mentioning the above fact, Tennent records the -following interesting superstition respecting a beetle when found in a -house after sunset: - -"Among the superstitions of the Singhalese arising out of their belief -in demonology, one remarkable one is connected with the appearance of a -beetle when observed on the floor of a dwelling-house after nightfall. -The popular belief is that in obedience to a certain form of incantation -(called _cooroominiya-pilli_) a demon in shape of a beetle is sent to -the house of some person or family whose destruction it is intended to -compass, and who presently falls sick and dies. The only means of -averting this catastrophy is, that some one, himself an adept in -necromancy, should perform a counter-charm, the effect of which is to -send back the disguised beetle to destroy his original employer; for in -such a conjuncture the death of one or the other is essential to -appease the demon whose intervention has been invoked. Hence the -discomfort of a Singhalese on finding a beetle in his house after -sunset, and his anxiety to expel but not kill it."[136] - -The _Dynastes Goliathus_, Moufet says, "like to beetles (_Ateuchus -sacer_), hath no female, but it shapes its own form itself. It produceth -its young one from the ground by itself, which Joach. Camerarius did -elegantly express, when he sent to Pennius the shape of this insect out -of the storehouse of natural things of the Duke of Saxony; with these -verses: - - A bee begat me not, nor yet did I proceed - From any female, but myself I breed. - -For it dies once in a year," continues Moufet, "and from its own -corruption, like a Phoenix, it lives again (as Moninus witnesseth) by -heat of the sun. - - A thousand summers' heat and winters' cold - When she hath felt, and that she doth grow old, - Her life that seems a burden, in a tomb - O' spices laid, comes younger in her room."[137] - - -Melolonthidae--Cock-chafers. - -The family of insects, commonly called _Cock-chafers_, _Hedge-chafers_, -_May-bugs_, and _Dorrs_ (from the Irish _dord_, humming, buzzing, or -from the Anglo-Saxon _dora_, a locust or drone) have been included by -Fabricius in the genus _Melolontha_,--a word which retains an odd notion -of the Greeks respecting them, viz., that they were produced from or -with the flowers of apple-trees. It is a name also by which the Greeks -themselves used to distinguish the same kind of insects. - -In Sweden the peasants look upon the grub of the Cock-chafer, -_Melolontha vulgaris_, as furnishing an unfailing prognostic whether the -ensuing winter will be mild or severe; if the animal have a bluish hue -(a circumstance which arises from its being replete with food), they -affirm it will be mild, but on the contrary if it be white, the weather -will be severe: and they carry this so far as to foretell, that if the -anterior be white and the posterior blue, the cold will be most severe -at the beginning of the winter. Hence they call this grub -_Bemaerkelse-mask_--prognostic worm.[138] - -An absurd notion obtains in England that the larvae of the May-bugs are -changed into briers.[139] - -The following quotation is from the Chronicle of Hollingshed: "The 24 -day of Februarie (1575), being the feast of Saint Matthie, on which dai -the faire was kept at Tewkesburie, a strange thing happened there. For -after a floud which was not great, but such as therby the medows neere -adioning were covered with water, and in the after noone there came -downe the river of Seuerne great numbers of flies and beetles -(_Melolontha vulgaris_?), such as in summer evenings use to strike men -in the face, in great heapes, a foot thicke above the water, so that to -credible mens judgement there were seene within a paire of buts length -of those flies above a hundred quarters. The mils there abouts were -dammed up with them for the space of foure daies after, and then were -clensed by digging them out with shovels: from whence they came is yet -unknowne but the daie was cold and a hard frost."[140] - -Such another remarkable phenomenon is recorded to have occurred in -Ireland, in the summer of 1688. The Cock-chafers, in this instance, were -in such immense numbers, "that when," as the chronicler, Dr. Molyneux, -relates, "towards evening or sunset, they would arise, disperse, and fly -about, with a strange humming noise, much like the beating of drums at -some distance; and in such vast incredible numbers, that they darkened -the air for the space of two or three miles square. The grinding of -leaves," he continues, "in the mouths of this vast multitude altogether, -made a sound very much resembling the sawing of timber."[141] - -In a short time after the appearance of these beetles in these immense -numbers, they had so entirely eaten up and destroyed the leaves of the -trees, that the whole country, for miles around, though in the middle of -summer, was left as bare as in the depth of winter. - -During the unfavorable seasons of the weather, which followed this -plague, the swine and poultry would watch under the trees for the -falling of the beetles, and feed and fatten upon them; and even the -poorer sort of the country people, the country then laboring under a -scarcity of provision, had a way of dressing them, and _lived upon them -as food_. In 1695, Ireland was again visited with a plague of this same -kind.[142] - -In Normandy, according to Mouffet, the Cock-chafers make their -appearance every third year.[143] In 1785, many provinces of France were -so ravaged by them, that a premium was offered by the government for the -best mode of destroying them.[144] During this year, a farmer, near -Blois, employed a number of children and the poorer people to destroy -the Cock-chafers at the rate of two liards a hundred, and in a few days -they collected fourteen thousand.[145] - -The county of Norfolk in England seems occasionally to have suffered -much from the ravages of these insects; and Bingley tells us that "about -sixty years ago, a farm near Norwich was so infested with them, that the -farmer and his servants affirmed they had gathered eighty bushels of -them; and the grubs had done so much injury, that the court of the city, -in compassion to the poor fellow's misfortune, allowed him twenty-five -pounds."[146] - -The seeming blunders and stupidity of these insects have long been -proverbial, as in the expressions, "blind as a beetle," and -"beetle-headed." - - -Cetoniidae--Rose-chafers. - -A very pretty species of the _Cetoniidae_, the _Agestrata luconica_, is -of a fine brilliant metallic green, and found in the Philippine -Islands. These the ladies of Manilla keep as pets in small bamboo cages, -and carry them about with them wheresoever they may go.[147] - - -Buprestidae--Burn-cows. - -Many species of the _Buprestidae_ are decorated with highly brilliant -metallic tints, like polished gold upon an emerald ground, or azure upon -a ground of gold; and their elytra, or wing-coverings, are employed by -the ladies of China, and also of England, for the purpose of -embroidering their dresses.[148] The Chinese have also attempted -imitations of these insects in bronze, in which they succeed so well -that the copy may be sometimes mistaken for the reality.[149] In -Ceylon[150] and throughout India,[151] the golden wing-cases of two of -this tribe, the _Sternocera chrysis_ and _S. sternicornis_, are used to -enrich the embroidery of the Indian zenana, while the lustrous joints of -the legs are strung on silken threads, and form necklaces and bracelets -of singular brilliancy. The _Buprestis attenuata_, _ocellata_ and -_vittata_ are also wrought into various devices and trinkets by the -Indians. The _B. vittata_ is much admired among them. This insect is -found in great abundance in China, and thence exported into India, where -it is distributed at a low price.[152] - -Mr. Osbeck saw in China a _Buprestis maxima_, which had been dried, and -to which were fastened leaden wings so painted as to make them look like -the wings of butterflies. This artificial monster, he adds, was to be -sold in the vaults among other trifles.[153] The _B. maxima_ is set up -along with Butterflies in small boxes, and vended in the streets of -Chinese cities.[154] - -So many species of the _Buprestidae_ are clothed with such brilliant -colors, that Geoffroy has thought proper to designate them all under -the generic appellation of _Richard_. The origin of this name is as -singular as its application is fantastical. It was originally given to -the Jay, in consequence of the facility with which that bird was taught -to pronounce the word.[155] - -Modern writers have been much divided in their opinion as to what genus -the celebrated _Buprestis_ of the ancients belongs. All indeed have -regarded it as of the order Coleoptera, but here their agreement ceases. -Linnaeus seems to have looked upon it as a species of the genus to which -he has given its name. Geoffroy thinks it to be a _Carabus_ or -_Cicindela_; M. Latrielle, to the genus _Meloee_; and Kirby and Spence to -_Mylabris_.[156] - -Of this Buprestis, Pliny says: "Incorporat with goat sewer, it taketh -away the tettars called lichenes that be in the face."[157] And Dr. -James says that insects of this family "are all in common, inseptic, -exulcerating, and (possess) a heating quality; for which reason, they -are mixed up with medicines adapted to the cure of a Carcinoma, Lepra, -and the malignant Lichen. Mixed in emollient pessaries, they provoke the -Catamenial discharges."[158] - -The Greeks, it is said, commended the Buprestis in food.[159] - - -Elateridae--Fire-flies, Spring-beetles, etc. - -In an historical sense, the most interesting species of the family -_Elateridae_ is the _Elater noctilucus_, a native of the West Indies, and -called by the inhabitants, _Cucujus_. From an ancient translation of -Peter Martyr's History of the West Indies, we make the following -quotation, which contains many curious facts relative to this insect: - -"Whoso wanteth _Cucuji_, goeth out of the house in the first twilight of -the night, carrying a burning fier-brande in his hande, and ascendeth -the next hillocke, that the _Cucuji_ may see it, and swingeth the -fier-brande about calling _Cucuji_ aloud, and beating the ayre with -often calling and crying out _Cucuji, Cucuji_.... Beholde the desired -number of _Cucuji_, at what time, the hunter casteth the fier-brande out -of his hande. Some _Cucuji_ sometimes followeth the fier-brande, and -lighteth on the grounde, then is he easily taken.... The hunter havinge -the hunting _Cucuius_, returneth home, and shutting the doore of the -house, letteth the praye goe. The _Cucuius_ loosed, swiftly flyeth about -the whole house seeking gnatts, under their hanging bedds, and about the -faces of them that sleepe, whiche the gnattes used to assayle, they seem -to execute the office of watchmen, that such as are shut in, may quietly -rest. Another pleasant and profitable commodity proceedeth from the -_Cucuji_. As many eyes as every _Cucuius_ openeth, the host enjoyeth the -light of so many candles: so that the Inhabitants spinne, sewe, weave, -and daunce by the light of the flying _Cucuji_. The Inhabitants think -that the _Cucuius_ is delighted with the harmony and melodie of their -singing, and that he also exerciseth his motion in the ayre according to -the action of their dancing.... Our men also read and write by that -light, which always continueth untill hee have gotten enough gnatts -whereby he may be well fedd.... There is also another wonderfull -commodity proceeding from the _Cucuius_: the Islanders, appoynted by our -menn, goe with their good will by night with 2 _Cucuji_ tyed to the -great tooes of their feete: (for the travailer[160] goeth better by -direction of the lights of the _Cucuji_, then if hee brought so many -candels with him, as the _Cucuji_ open eyes) he also carryeth another -_Cucuius_ in his hande to seeke the Utiae by night (Utiae are a certayne -kind of Cony, a little exceeding a mouse in bignesse.)... They also go a -fishing by the lights of the _Cucuji_.... In sport, and merriment, or to -the intent to terrifie such as are affrayed of every shaddow, they say -that many wanton wild fellowes sometimes rubbed their faces by night -with the fleshe of a _Cucuius_ being killed, with purpose to meete their -neighbors with a flaming countenance ... for the face being annointed -with the lumpe or fleshy parte of the _Cucuius_, shineth like a flame of -fire."[161] - -At Cumana, the use of the Cucujus is forbidden, as the young Spanish -ladies used to carry on a correspondence at night with their lovers by -means of the light derived from them.[162] - -Captain Stedman tells us, that one of his sentinels, one night, called -out that he saw a negro, with a lighted tobacco-pipe, cross a creek near -by in a canoe. At which alarm they lost no time in leaping out of their -hammocks, and were not a little mortified when they found the pipe was -nothing more than a Fire-fly on the wing.[163] - -An individual of this species, brought to Paris in some wood, in the -larva or nymph state, there underwent its metamorphosis, and by the -light which it emitted, excited the greatest surprise among many of the -inhabitants of the Faubourg St. Antoine, to whom such a phenomenon had -hitherto been unknown.[164] - -When Cortes and Narvaez were at war with one another in Mexico, Bernal -Diaz relates "that one night in the midst of darkness numbers of shining -Beetles (_Elater noctilucus_) kept continually flying about, which -Narvaez's men mistook for the lighted matches of our fire-arms, and this -gave them a vast idea of the number of our matchlocks."[165] Thomas -Campanius tells us that one night the Cucuji frightened all the soldiers -at Fort Christina, in New Sweden (Pennsylvania?): they thought they were -enemies advancing toward them with lighted torches.[166] Another such -like story, which is not incredible by any means, is told us by Mouffet. -He says that when Sir Thomas Cavendish and Sir Robert Dudley first -landed in the West Indies, and saw an infinite number of moving lights -in the woods, which were merely these Elaters, they supposed that the -Spaniards were advancing upon them with lighted matches, and immediately -betook themselves to their ships.[167] - -The Indians of the Carribbee Islands, Ogleby remarks, "anoint their -bodies all over (at certain solemnities wherein candles are forbidden) -with the juice squeezed out of them (Cucuji), which causes them to -shine like a flame of fire."[168] And in the Spanish Colonies, on -certain festival days in the month of June, these insects are collected -in great numbers, and tied as decorations all over the garments of the -young people, who gallop through the streets on horses similarly -ornamented, producing on a dark evening the effect of a large moving -body of light. On such occasions the lover displays his gallantry by -decking his mistress with these living gems.[169] - -At the present day, the poorer classes of Cuba and the other West India -Islands, make use of these luminous insects for lights in their houses. -Twenty or thirty of them put into a small wicker-work cage, and dampened -a little with water, will produce quite a brilliant light. Throughout -these islands, the Cucujus is worn by the ladies as a most fashionable -ornament. As many as fifty or a hundred are sometimes worn on a single -ball-room dress. Capt. Stuart tells me he once saw one of these insects -upon a lady's white collar, which at a little distance rivaled the -Kohinoor in splendor and beauty. The insect is fastened to the dress by -a pin through its body, and only worn so long as it lives, for it loses -its light when dead. - -The statement of Humboldt is, that at the present day in the habitations -of the poorer classes of Cuba, a dozen of Cucuji placed in a perforated -gourd suffice for a light during the night. By shaking the gourd -quickly, the insect is roused, and lights up its luminous disks. The -inhabitants employ a truthful and simple expression, in saying that a -gourd filled with Cucuji is an ever-lighted torch; and in fact it is -only extinguished by the death of the insects, which are easily kept -alive with a little sugar cane. A lady in Trinidad told this great -traveler, that during a long and painful passage from Costa Firme, she -had availed herself of these phosphorescent insects whenever she wished -to give the breast to her child at night. The captain of the ship would -not permit any other light on board at night, for fear of the -privateers.[170] - -Southy has happily introduced the Cucujus in his "Madoc" as furnishing -the lamp by which Coatel rescued the British hero from the hands of the -Mexican priests: - - She beckon'd and descended, and drew out - From underneath her vest a cage, or net - It rather might be called, so fine the twigs - Which knit it, where, confined, two fire-flies gave - Their lustre. By that light did Madoc first - Behold the features of his lovely guide. - -Darwin says: "In Jamaica, at some seasons of the year, the Fire-flies -are seen in the evening in great abundance. When they settle on the -ground, the bull-frog greedily devours them, which seems to have given -origin to a curious, though very cruel, method of destroying these -animals: if red-hot pieces of charcoal be thrown toward them in the dusk -of the evening, they leap at them, and hastily swallow them, mistaking -them for Fire-flies, and are burnt to death."(!)[171] - -Beetles belonging to the family _Elateridae_ have been so called from a -peculiar power they have of leaping up like a tumbler when placed on -their backs, and for this reason they have received the English -appellations of _Spring-beetles_ and _Skip-jacks_, and from the noise -which the operation makes when they leap, they are also called _Snap_, -_Watch_, or _Click-beetle_, and likewise _Blacksmiths_. - -If a Blacksmith beetle enters your house, a quarrel will ensue which may -end in blows. - -This superstition obtains in Maryland. - - -Lampyridae.--Glow-worms. - -Antonius Thylesius Bonsentinus, following his elegant description of the -Glow-worm, gives a pretty fable of its origin. As translated in Moufet's -Theater of Insects, his words are these: - - This little fly shines in the air alone, - Like sparks of fire, which when it was unknown - To me a boy, I stood then in great fear, - Durst not attempt to touch it, or come near. - May be this worm from shining in the night, - Borrow'd its name, shining like candle bright. - The cause is one, but divers are the names, - It shines or not, according as she frames - Herself to fly or stand; when she doth fly, - You would believe 'twere sparkles in the skie, - At a great distance you shall ever finde - Prepar'd with light and lanthorn all this kinde. - Darkness cannot conceal her, round about - Her candle shines, no winds can blow it out. - Sometimes she flies as though she did desire - Those that pass by to observe her fire; - Which being nearer, seem to be as great, - As sparks that fly when smiths hot iron beat. - When Pluto ravish'd Proserpine, that rape, - For she was waiting on her, chang'd her shape, - And since that time, she flyeth in the night - Seeking her out with torch and candle light.[172] - -The following anecdote is related by Sir J. E. Smith, of the effect of -the first sight of the Italian Glow-worms upon some Moorish ladies -ignorant of such appearances. These females had been taken prisoners at -sea, and, until they could be ransomed, lived in a house in the -outskirts of Genoa, where they were frequently visited by the -respectable inhabitants of the city; a party of whom, on going one -evening, were surprised to find the house closely shut up, and their -Moorish friends in the greatest consternation. On inquiring into the -cause, they found that some Glow-worms--_Pygolampis Italica_--had found -their way into the building, and that the ladies within had taken it -into their heads that these brilliant guests were no other than the -troubled spirits of their relations; of which curious idea it was some -time before they could be divested.--The common people of Italy have a -superstition respecting these insects somewhat similar, believing that -they are of a spiritual nature, and proceed out of the graves, and hence -carefully avoid them.[173] - -Cardan, Albertus, Gaudentinus, Mizalduo, and many others have asserted -that perpetual lights can be produced from the Glow-worm; and that -waters distilled from this insect afford a lustre in the night. It is -needless to say these assertions are without foundation.[174] - -In India, the ladies have recourse to Fire-flies for ornaments for -their hair, when they take their evening walks. They inclose them in -nets of gauze.[175] And the beaux of Italy, Sir J. E. Smith tells us, -are accustomed in the summer evenings to adorn the heads of the ladies -with Glow-worms, by sticking them also in their hair.[176] - -Never kill a Glow-worm, if you do, the country people say, you will put -"the light out of your house,"--_i.e._ happiness, prosperity, or -whatever blessing you may be enjoying. - -A Glow-worm, in your path, denotes brilliant success in all your -undertakings. If one enters a house, one of the heads of the family will -shortly die. These superstitions obtain in Maryland. - -Of the Glow-worm--_Noctiluca terrestris_, Col. Ecphr., i. 38--Dr. James -says: "The whole insect is used in medicine, and recommended by some -against the Stone. Cardan ascribes an anodyne virtue to it."[177] - -Mr. Ray, in his travels through the State of Venice, says: "A discovery -made by a certain gentleman, and communicated to me by Francis Jessop, -Esq., is, that those reputed meteors, called in Latin _Ignis fatui_, and -known in England by the conceited names of _Jack with a Lanthorn_, and -_Will with a Wisp_, are nothing else but swarms of these flying -Glow-worms. Which, if true, we may give an easy account of those -phenomena of these supposed fires, _viz._, their sudden motion from -place to place, and leading travelers that follow them into bogs and -precipices."[178] It has been suggested[179] also that the mole-cricket, -_Gryllotalpa vulgaris_,[180] which in its nocturnal peregrinations was -supposed to be luminous, is this notorious "Will-o'-the-wisp." - -Pliny says: "When Glow-worms appear, it is a common sign of the -ripenesse of barley, and of sowing millet and pannick.... And Mantuan -sang to the same tune: - - Then is the time your barley for to mow, - When Glow-worms with bright wings themselves do show."[181] - - -Ptinidae--Death-watch, etc. - -The common name of _Death-watch_, given to the _Anobium tesselatum_, -sufficiently announces the popular prejudice against this insect; and so -great is this prejudice, that, as says an editor of Cuvier's works, the -fate of many a nervous and superstitious patient has been accelerated by -listening, in the silence and solitude of night, to this imagined knell -of his approaching dissolution.[182] The learned Sir Thomas Browne -considered the superstition connected with the Death-watch of great -importance, and remarks that "the man who could eradicate this error -from the minds of the people would save from many a cold sweat the -meticulous heads of nurses and grandmothers,"[183] for such persons are -firm in the belief, that - - The solemn Death-watch clicks the hour of death. - -The witty Dean of St. Patrick endeavored to perform this useful task by -means of ridicule. And his description, suggested, it would appear, by -the old song of "A cobbler there was, and he lived in a stall," runs -thus: - - ----A wood worm - That lies in old wood, like a hare in her form, - With teeth or with claws, it will bite, it will scratch; - And chambermaids christen this worm a Death-watch; - Because, like a watch, it always cries click. - Then woe be to those in the house that are sick! - For, sure as a gun, they will give up the ghost, - If the maggot cries click when it scratches the post. - But a kettle of scalding hot water injected, - Infallibly cures the timber affected: - The omen is broken, the danger is over, - The maggot will die, and the sick will recover. - -Grose, in his Antiquities, thus expresses this superstition: "The -clicking of a Death-watch is an omen of the death of some one in the -house wherein it is heard." Watts says: "We learn to presage approaching -death in a family by ravens and little worms, which we therefore call a -Death-watch."[184] Gay, in one of his Pastorals, thus alludes to it: - - When Blonzelind expired,.... - The solemn Death-watch click'd the hour she died.[185] - -And Train,-- - - An' when she heard the Dead-watch tick, - She raving wild did say, - "I am thy murderer, my child; - I see thee, come away." - -And Pope,-- - - Misers are muck-worms, silkworms beaux, - And Death watches physicians.[186] - -"It will take," says Mrs. Taylor, a writer in Harper's New Monthly -Magazine, "a force unknown at the present time to physiological science -to eradicate the feeling of terror and apprehension felt by almost every -one on hearing this small insect." She herself, an entomologist, -confesses to have been very much annoyed at times by coming in contact -with this "strange nuisance;" but she was cured by an overapplication. -"I went to pay a visit," says she, "to a friend in the country. The -first night I fancied I should have gone mad before morning. The walls -of the bed-room were papered, and from them beat, as it were, a thousand -watches--tick, tick, tick! Turn which way I would, cover my head under -the bedclothes to suffocation, every pulse in my body had an answering -tick, tick, tick! But at last the welcome morning dawned, and early I -was down in the library; even here every book, on shelf above shelf, was -riotous with tick, tick, tick! At the breakfast table, beneath the -plates, cups, and dishes, beat the hateful sound. In the parlor, the -withdrawing-room, the kitchen, nothing but tick, tick! The house was a -huge clock, with thousands of pendulums ticking from morning till night. -I was careful not to allow my great discomfort to annoy others. I argued -what they could tolerate, surely I could; and in a few days habit had -rendered the fearful, dreaded ticking a positive necessity."[187] - -The Death-watch commences its clicking, which is nothing more than the -call or signal by which the male and female are led to each other, -chiefly when spring is far advanced. The sound is thus produced: Raising -itself upon its hind legs, with the body somewhat inclined, it beats its -head with great force and agility upon the plane of position. The -prevailing number of distinct strokes which it beats in succession is -from seven to nine or eleven; which circumstance, thinks Mr. Shaw, may -perhaps still add, in some degree, to the ominous character which it -bears. These strokes follow each other quickly, and are repeated at -uncertain intervals. In old houses, where these insects abound, they may -be heard in warm weather during the whole day.[188] - -Baxter, in his World of Spirits, p. 203, most sensibly observes, that -"there are many things that ignorance causeth multitudes to take for -prodigies. I have had many discreet friends that have been affrighted -with the noise called a Death-watch, whereas I have since, near three -years ago, oft found by trial that it is a noise made upon paper by a -little, nimble, running worm, just like a louse, but whiter and quicker; -and it is most usually behind a paper pasted to a wall, especially to -wainscot; and it is rarely, if ever, heard but in the heat of summer." -Our author, however, relapses immediately into his honest credulity, -adding: "But he who can deny it to be a prodigy, which is recorded by -Melchior Adamus, of a great and good man, who had a clock-watch that had -layen in a chest many years unused; and when he lay dying, at eleven -o'clock, of itself, in that chest, it struck eleven in the hearing of -many." - -In the British Apollo, 1710, ii. No. 86, is the following query: "Why -Death-watches, crickets, and weasels do come more common against death -than at any other time? _A._ We look upon all such things as idle -superstitions, for were any thing in them, bakers, brewers, inhabitants -of old houses, &c., were in a melancholy condition." - -To an inquiry, ibid. vol. ii. No. 70, concerning a Death-watch, whether -you suppose it to be _a living creature_, answer is given: "It is -nothing but a little worm in the wood." - -"How many people have I seen in the most terrible palpitations, for -months together, expecting every hour the approach of some calamity, -only by a little worm, which breeds in old wainscot, and, endeavoring to -eat its way out, makes a noise like the movement of a watch!" Secret -Memoirs of the late Mr. Duncan Campbell, 8vo. Lond. 1732, p. 61.[189] - -Authors were formerly not agreed concerning the insect from which this -sound of terror proceeded, some attributing it to a kind of wood-louse, -others to a spider. - -M. Peiguot mentions an instance where, in a public library that was but -little frequented, _twenty-seven folio_ volumes were perforated in a -straight line by one and the same larva of a small insect (_Anobium -pertinax_ or _A. striatum_?) in such a manner that, on passing a cord -through the perfectly round hole made by the insect, these twenty-seven -volumes could be raised at once.[190] - - -Bostrichidae--Typographer-beetles. - -The Typographer-beetle, _Bostrichus typographus_, is so called on -account of a fancied resemblance between the paths it erodes and -letters. This insect bores into the fir, and feeds upon the soft inner -bark; and in such vast numbers that 80,000 are sometimes found in a -single tree. The ravages of this insect have long been known in Germany -under the name of _Wurm troekniss_--decay caused by worms; and in the old -liturgies of that country the animal itself is formally mentioned under -its common appellation, _The Turk_. About the year 1665, this pest was -particularly prevalent and caused incalculable mischief. In the -beginning of the last century it again showed itself in the Hartz -forests; it reappeared in 1757, redoubled its injuries in 1769, and -arrived at its height in 1783, when the number of trees destroyed by it -in the above-mentioned forests alone was calculated at a million and a -half, and the whole number of insects at work at once one hundred and -twenty thousand millions. The inhabitants were threatened with a total -suspension of the working of their mines, for want of fuel. At this -period these _Bostrichi_, when arrived at their perfect state, migrated -in swarms like bees into Suabia and Franconia. At length a succession of -cold and moist seasons, between the years 1784 and 1789, very sensibly -diminished the numbers of this scourge. In 1790 it again appeared, -however, and so late as 1796 there was great reason to fear for the few -fir-trees that were left.[191] - - -Cantharidae--Blister-flies. - -Many species of this family of insect possess strong vesicating powers, -and are employed externally in medicine to produce blisters, and -internally as a powerful stimulant. Taken internally, Pliny considered -them a poison, and mentions the following instance of their causing -death: Cossinus, a Roman of the Equestrian order, well known for his -intimate friendship with the Emperor Nero, being attacked with lichen, -that prince sent to Egypt for a physician to cure him; who recommended a -potion prepared from Cantharides, and the patient was killed in -consequence.[192] But there is no doubt, however, Pliny adds, that -applied externally they are useful, in combination with juice of -Taminian grapes, and the suet of a sheep or she-goat. They are extremely -efficacious, too, continues Pliny, for the cure of leprosy and lichens; -and act as an emmenagogue and diuretic, for which last reason -Hippocrates used to prescribe them for dropsy.[193] - -The vesicatory principle of the Blister-fly is called _Cantharidine_, -and has been ascertained by experiment to reside more particularly in -the wings than in other parts of the body. Our officinal insect is the -_Cantharis vesicatoria_; and since the principal supply is from Spain, -we call them commonly _Spanish-flies_. In Italy, the _Mylabris -cichorii_, a native of the south of Europe, is used; and the _M. -pustulata_, a native of China, is used by the Chinese, who also export -it to Brazil, where it is the only species employed. In India also a -species of _Meloe_ is used,[194] possessing all the properties of the -Spanish-fly. - -At one time in Germany, the genus Meloe--Oil-beetles (so called from -their emitting from the joints of the legs an oily yellowish liquor, -when alarmed)--were extolled as a specific against hydrophobia; and the -oil which is expressed from them is used in Sweden, with great success, -in the cure of rheumatism, by anointing the affected part.[195] Dr. -James thus enumerates the medicinal virtues of these insects: "The -Oil-beetle (_Scarabaeus unctuosus_ of Schroder) is much of the nature of -Cantharides, forces urine and blood, and is of extraordinary efficacy -against the bite of a mad dog. Taken in powder, it cures the vari, or -wandering gout, as we are assured by Wierus. The liquor is, by some, -esteemed of efficacy in wounds; it is an ingredient also in plaisters -for the pestilential bubo and carbuncle, and in antidotes; an oil is -prepared by infusion of the living animals in common oil, which some -use instead of oil of Scorpions."[196] In some parts of Spain, they are -mingled with the Cantharides, for the same purposes as these latter -insects. Farriers also employed, in some cases, oil in which these -insects had been macerated.[197] - -Pliny tells us that Cato of Utica was one time reproached for selling -poison, because when disposing of a royal property by auction, he sold a -quantity of Cantharides, at the price of sixty thousand sesterces.[198] - -The natives of Guiana and Jamaica make ear-rings and other ornaments of -the elytra, or wing-coverings, of the _Cantharis maxima_; the brilliant -metallic colors of which beetles, says Sloane, sparkle with an -extraordinary lustre, when worn by the Indians dancing in the sun.[199] - -Zoroaster says, that "Cantharides" will not hurt the vines, if you -macerate some in oil, and apply it to the whetstone on which you are -going to set your pruning-knives.[200] - -Cantharides are comparatively rare in Germany; yet we are told in the -German Ephemerides, says Brookes, that in June, 1667, there were found -about the town of Heldeshiem, such a great number of them, that they -covered all the willow-trees. Likewise that in May, 1685, when the sky -was serene and the weather mild, a great number of Cantharides were seen -to settle upon a privet-tree, and devour all the leaves; but they did -not meddle with the flowers. We are also told that the country people -expect the return of these insects every seven years. It is very -certain, adds Brookes, that such a number of these insects have been -together in the air, that they appeared like swarms of bees; and that -they have so disagreeable smell, that it may be perceived a great way -off, especially about sunset, though they are not seen at that time. -This bad smell is a guide for those who make it their business to catch -them.[201] - - -Tenebrionidae--Meal-worms. - -The larvae of the _Tenebrio molitor_, commonly called Meal-worms, which -are found in carious wood, are bred by bird-fanciers, to feed -nightingales, and constitute the only bait by which these shy birds can -be taken: a fact the more curious when it is considered that the -nightingale, in a state of nature, can seldom or never see these larvae. -They are also used to feed cameleons which are exhibited.[202] - - -Blapsidae--Church-yard beetle, etc. - -We learn from Linnaeus that in Sweden the appearance of the Church-yard -beetle, _Blaps mortisaga_, produces the most violent alarm and -trepidation among the people, who, on account of its black hue and -strange aspect, regard it as the messenger of pestilence and death. -Hence is this insect called _mortisaga_--the prophesier of death.[203] - -A common species in Egypt, the _Blaps sulcata_, is made into a -preparation which the Egyptian women eat with the view of acquiring what -they esteem a proper degree of plumpness! The beetle they broil and mash -up in clarified butter; then add honey, oil of sesame, and a variety of -aromatics and spices pounded together.[204] Fabricius reports that the -Turkish women also eat this insect, cooked with butter, to make them -fat. He also tells us that they use it in Egypt and the Levant, as a -remedy for pains and maladies in the ears, and against the bite of -scorpions.[205] Carsten Niebuhr also mentions this curious practice of -the women of Turkey, and adds, the women of Arabia likewise make use of -these insects for the same purpose, taking three of them, every morning -and evening, fried in butter.[206] - -The Blatta mentioned by Pliny is evidently, from his description, the -Church-yard beetle, _Blaps mortisaga_, instead of the insect we now -call by that name--the Cockroach: and may very properly be here -introduced. "There is kind of fattinesse," says this author in the words -of his translator, Philemon Holland, "to bee found in the Flie or insect -called Blatta, when the head is plucked off, which, if it be punned and -mixed with Oile of Roses, is (as they say) wonderful good for the ears: -but the wooll wherein this medicine is enwrapped, and which is put into -the ears, must not long tarrie there, but within a little while drawne -forth againe; for the said fat will very soone get life and prove a grub -or little worme. Some writers there be who affirme, that two or three of -these flies called Blattae sodden in oile, make a soveraigne medicine to -cure the eares, and if they be stamped and spread upon a linen rag and -so applied, they will heale the eares, if they be hurt by any bruise or -contusion: Certes this is but a nastie and ill-favoured vermine, howbeit -in regard of the manifold and admirable properties which naturally it -hath, as also of the industrie of our auncestours in searching out the -nature of it, I am moved to write thereof at large and to the full in -this place. For they have described many kinds of them. In the first -place, some of them be soft and tender, which being sodden in oile, they -have proved by experience to be of great efficacie in fetching off -werts, if they be annointed therewith. A second sort there is, which -they call Myloecon, because ordinarily it haunteth about mils and -bake-houses, and there breedeth: these by the report of _Musa_ and -_Picton_, two famous Physicians, being bruised (after their heads were -gone) and applied to a bodie infected with the leprosie, cured the same -persitely. They of a third kind, besides that they bee otherwise -ill-favoured ynough, carrie a loathsome and odious smell with them: they -are sharp rumped and pin buttockt also; howbeit, being incorporat with -the oile of pitch called Pisselaeon, they have healed those ulcers which -were thought _nunquam sana_, and incurable. Also within one and twenty -daies after this plastre laid too, it hath been knowne to cure the -swelling wens called the King's evil: the botches or biles named Pani, -wounds, contusions, bruises, morimals, scabs, and fellons: but then -their feet and wings were plucked off and cast away. I make no doubt or -question, but that some of us are so daintie and fine-eared, that our -stomacke riseth at the hearing onely of such medicines: and yet I assure -you, Diodorus, a renowned Physician, reporteth, that he has given these -foure flies inwardly with rozin and honey, for the jaundise, and to -those that were so streight-winded that they could not draw their breath -but sitting upright. See what libertie and power over us have these -Physicians, who to practise and trie conclusions upon our bodies, may -exhibit unto their patients, what they list, be it never so homely, so -it goe under the name of a medicine."[207] - -The following extraordinary case of insects introduced into the human -stomach, which is of rare occurrence, has been completely authenticated, -both by medical men and competent naturalists. It was first published by -Dr. Pickells, of Cork, in the Dublin Transactions.[208] - -Mary Riordan, aged 28, had been much affected by the death of her -mother, and at one of her many visits to the grave seems to have -partially lost her senses, having been found lying there on the morning -of a winter's day, and having been exposed to heavy rain during the -night. It appears that when she was about fifteen, two popular Catholic -priests had died, and she was told by some old woman, that if she would -drink daily, for a certain time, a quantity of water, mixed with clay -taken from their graves, she would be forever secure from disease and -sin. So following this absurd and disgusting prescription, she took from -time to time large quantities of the draught; and, some time afterward, -being affected with a burning pain in the stomach (_cardialgia_), she -began to eat large pieces of chalk, which she sometimes also mixed with -water and drank. In all these draughts, it is most probable, she -swallowed the eggs of the enormous progenies of apterous, dipterous, and -coleopterous insects, which she for several years continued to throw up -alive and moving. Dr. Pickells asserts that altogether he himself saw -nearly 2000 of these larvae, and that there were many he did not see, -for, to avoid publicity, she herself destroyed a great number, and many, -too, escaped immediately by running into holes in the floor. Of this -incredible number, the greatest proportion were larvae of the Church-yard -beetle, _Blaps mortisaga_, and of a dipterous insect, an _Ascarides_; -and two were specimens of the Meal-worm--the larvae of the -Darkling--_Tenebrio molitor_. It may be interesting to learn that, by -means of turpentine in large doses, this unfortunate woman was at length -entirely rid of her pests.[209] - - -Curculionidae--Weevils. - -At Rio Janeiro, the brilliant Diamond-beetle, _Eutimis nobilis_, is in -great request for brooches for gentlemen, and ten piasters are often -paid for a single specimen. In this city many owners send their slaves -out to catch insects, so that now the rarest and most brilliant species -are to be had at a comparatively trifling sum. Each of these slaves, -when he has attained to some adroitness in this operation, may, on a -fine day, catch in the vicinity of the city as many as five or six -hundred beetles. So this trade is considered there very lucrative, since -six milresis (four rix dollars, or about fourteen shillings) are paid -for the hundred. For these splendid insects there is a general demand; -and their wing-cases are now sought for the purpose of adorning the -ladies of Europe--a fashion, it is said, which threatens the entire -extinction of this beautiful tribe.[210] - -Messrs. Kidder and Fletcher tell us that in Brazil "a commerce is -carried on in artificial flowers made from beetles' wings, fish-scales, -sea-shells, and feathers, which attract the attention of every visitor. -These are made," they continue, "by the _mulheres_ (women) of almost -every class, and thus they obtain not only pin-money, but some amass -wealth in the traffic."[211] Among the beetles referred to by these -gentlemen may be placed no doubt the _Eutimis nobilis_. - -Among the largest of the species of this family is the Palm-weevil, -_Calandra palmarum_, which is of an uniform black color, and measures -more than two inches in length. Its larva, called the _Grou-grou_,[212] -or Cabbage-tree worm, which is very large, white, of an oval shape, -resides in the tenderest part of the smaller palm-trees, and is -considered, fried or broiled, as one of the greatest dainties in the -West Indies. "The tree," says Madame Merian, "grows to the height of a -man, and is cut off when it begins to be tender, is cooked like a -cauliflower, and tastes better than an artichoke. In the middle of these -trees live innumerable quantities of worms, which at first are as small -as a maggot in a nut, but afterward grow to a very large size, and feed -on the marrow of the tree. These worms are laid on the coals to roast, -and are considered as a highly agreeable food."[213] Capt. Stedman tells -us these larvae are a delicious treat to many people, and that they are -regularly sold at Paramaribo. He mentions, too, the manner of dressing -them, which is by frying them in a pan with a very little butter and -salt, or spitting them on a wooden skewer; and, that thus prepared, in -taste they partake of all the spices of India--mace, cinnamon, cloves, -nutmegs, etc.[214] This gentleman also says he once found concealed near -the trunk of an old tree a "case-bottle filled with excellent butter," -which the rangers told him the natives made by melting and clarifying -the fat of this larva.[215] Dr. Winterbottom states this grub is served -up at all the luxurious tables of West Indian epicures, particularly of -the French, as the greatest dainty of the western world.[216] - -Dobrizhoffer doubtless refers to the larva of the _Calandra palmarum_, -when he says: "The Spaniards of Santiago in Tucuman, when they go -seeking honey in the woods, cleave certain palm-trees upon their way, -and on their return find large grubs in the wounded trees, which they -fry as a delicious food."[217] The same is said of the Guaraunos of the -Orinoco--"that they find these grubs in great numbers in the palms, -which they cut down for the sake of their juice. After all has been -drawn out that will flow, these grubs breed in the incisions, and the -trunk produces, as it were, a second crop."[218] - -The Creoles of the Island of Barbados, says Schomburgk, consider the -Grou-grou worm a great delicacy when roasted, and say it resembles in -taste the marrow of beef-bones.[219] - -Antonio de Ulloa, in his _Noticias Americanas_, says this grub has the -singular property of producing milk in women.[220] The Argentina, the -historic poem of Brazil, adds an assertion which is more certainly -fabulous, viz., that they first become butterflies, and then mice.[221] - -They have a similar dainty in Java in the larva of some large beetle, -which the natives call _Moutouke_.--"A thick, white maggot which lives -in wood, and so eats it away, that the backs of chairs, and feet of -drawers, although apparently sound, are frequently rotten within, and -fall into dust when it is least expected. This creature may sometimes be -heard at work. It is as big as a silk-worm, and very white, ... a mere -lump of fat. Thirty are roasted together threaded on a little stick, and -are delicate eating."[222] - -AElian speaks of an Indian king, who, for a dessert, instead of fruit set -before his Grecian guests a roasted worm taken from a plant, probably -the larva of the _Calandra palmarum_, a native of Persia and Mesopotamia -as well as of the West Indies, which he says the Indians esteemed very -delicious--a character that was confirmed by some of the Greeks who -tasted it.[223] - -The trunk of the grass-tree, or black-boy, _Xanthorea arborea_, when -beginning to decay, furnishes large quantities of marrow-like grubs, -which are considered a delicacy by the aborigines of Western Australia. -They have a fragrant, aromatic flavor, and form a favorite food among -the natives, either raw or roasted. They call them _Bardi_. They are -also found in the wattle-tree, or mimosa. The presence of these grubs in -the _Xanthorea_ is thus ascertained: if the top of one of these trees is -observed to be dead, and it contain any bardi, a few sharp kicks given -to it with the foot will cause it to crack and shake, when it is pushed -over and the grubs taken out, by breaking the tree to pieces with a -hammer. The bardi of the Xanthorea are small, and found together in -great numbers; those of the wattle are cream-colored, as long and thick -as a man's finger, and are found singly.[224] - -Dr. Livingstone states that in the valley of Quango, S. Africa, the -natives dig large white larvae out of the damp soil adjacent to their -streams, and use them as a relish to their vegetable diet.[225] - -In the latter part of the eighteenth century, there was published at -Florence, by Prof. Gergi, the history of a remarkable insect which he -names _Curculio anti-odontalgicus_. This insect, as he assures us, not -only in the name he has given it, but also in an account of the many -cures effected by it, is endowed with the singular property of curing -the toothache. He tells us, that if fourteen or fifteen of the larvae be -rubbed between the thumb and fore-finger, till the fluid is absorbed, -and if a carious aching tooth be but touched with the thumb or finger -thus prepared, the pain will be removed; a finger thus prepared, he says -in conclusion, will, unless it be used for tooth-touching, retain its -virtue for a year! This remarkable insect is only found on a nondescript -plant, the _Carduus spinosis-simus_.[226] - -It is said, also by Prof. Gergi, that the Tuscan peasants have long been -acquainted with several insects which furnish a charm for the toothache, -as the _Curculio jaecac_, _C. Bacchus_, and _Carabus chrysocephalus_. - - * * * * * - -The curious facts contained in the following quotation, from Chambers' -Book of Days, were among the first that led me to attempt the present -compilation. The scientific name of the insect here mentioned is, in the -opinion of Prof. Gill and other scientists, a misprint for _Rhynchitus -auratus_, and, following this decision, I have here placed it under the -_Curculionidae_.--"A lawsuit between the inhabitants of the Commune of -St. Julien and a coleopterous insect, now known to naturalists as the -_Eynchitus aureus_, lasted for more than forty-two years. At length the -inhabitants proposed to compromise the matter by giving up, in -perpetuity, to the insects, a fertile part of the district for their -sole use and benefit. Of course the advocate of the animals demurred to -the proposition, but the court, overruling the demurrer, appointed -assessors to survey the land, and, it proving to be well wooded and -watered, and every way suitable for the insects, ordered the conveyance -to be engrossed in due form and executed. The unfortunate people then -thought they had got rid of a trouble imposed upon them by their -litigious fathers and grandfathers; but they were sadly mistaken. It was -discovered that there had formerly been a mine or quarry of an ochreous -earth, used as a pigment, in the land conveyed to the insects, and -though the quarry had long since been worked out and exhausted, some one -possessed an ancient right of way to it, which if exercised would be -greatly to the annoyance of the new proprietors. Consequently the -contract was vitiated, and the whole process commenced _de novo_. How or -when it ended, the mutilation of the recording documents prevents us -from knowing; but it is certain that the proceedings commenced in the -year 1445, and that they had not concluded in 1487. So what with the -insects, the lawyers, and the church, the poor inhabitants must have -been pretty well fleeced. During the whole period of a process, -religious processions and other expensive ceremonies that had to be well -paid for, were strictly enjoined. Besides, no district could commence a -process of this kind unless all its arrears of tithes were paid up; and -this circumstance gave rise to the well-known French legal maxim--'The -first step toward getting rid of locusts is the payment of tithes?' an -adage that in all probability was susceptible of more meanings than -one."[227] - - -Cerambycidae--Musk-beetles. - -Moufet says: "The Cerambyx, knowing that his legs are weak, twists his -horns about the branch of a tree, and so he hangs at ease.... They -thrust upon us some German fables, as many as say it flies only, and -when it is weary it falls to the earth and presently dies. Those that -are slaves to tales, render this reason for it: Terambus, a satyrist, -did not abstain from quipping of the Muses, whereupon they transformed -him into a beetle called Cerambyx, and that deservedly, to endure a -double punishment, for he hath legs weak that he goes lame, and like a -thief he hangs on a tree. Antonius Libealis, lib. i. of his -Metamorphosis, relates the matter in these words: The Muses in anger -transformed Terambus because he reproached them, and he was made a -Cerambyx that feeds on wood," etc.[228] - -A large species of longicorn beetles, the _Acanthocinus aedilis_, is the -well-known _Timerman_ of Sweden and Lapland; an insect which the natives -of these countries regard with a kind of superstitious veneration. Its -presence is thought to be the presage of good fortune, and it is as -carefully protected and cherished as storks are by the peasantry of the -Low Countries.[229] - -It has been found that the common cinnamon-colored Musk-beetle, -_Cerambyx moschatus_, when dried and reduced to powder, and made use of -as a vesicatory, in the manner of the officinal Cantharides, produces a -similar effect, and in as short a space of time.[230] - -The _Prionus damicornis_ is a native of many parts of America and the -West Indies, where its larva, a grub about three and a half inches in -length, and of the thickness of the little finger, is in great request -as an article of food, being considered by epicures as one of the -greatest delicacies of the New World. We are informed by authors of the -highest respectability, that some people of fortune in the West Indies -keep negroes for the sole purpose of going into the woods in quest of -these admired larvae, who scoop them out of the trees in which they -reside. Dr. Browne, in his History of Jamaica, informs us that they are -chiefly found in the plum and silk-cotton trees (_Bombax_). They are -commonly called by the name of _Macauco_, or _Macokkos_. The mode of -dressing them is first to open and wash them, and then carefully broil -them over a charcoal fire.[231] Sir Hans Sloane tells us the Indians of -Jamaica boil them in their soups, pottages, olios, and pepper-pots, and -account them of delicious flavor, much like, but preferable to, marrow; -and the negroes of this island roast them slightly at the fire, and eat -them with bread.[232] - -A similar larva is dressed at Mauritius under the name of _Moutac_, -which the whites as well as the negroes eat greedily.[233] According to -Linnaeus, the larva of the _Prionus cervicornis_ is held in equal -estimation; and that of the _Acanthocinus tribulus_ when roasted forms -an article of food in Africa.[234] - -The _Cossus_ of Pliny belonged most probably to this tribe, or to the -_Lucanidae_. - - * * * * * - -Wanley knew a nun in the monastery of St. Clare, who at the sight of a -beetle was affected in the following strange manner. It happened that -some young girls, knowing her disposition, threw a beetle into her -bosom, which when she perceived, she immediately fell into a swoon, -deprived of all sense, and remained four hours in cold sweats. She did -not regain her strength for many days after, but continued trembling and -pale.[235] - - -Galerucidae--Turnip-fly, etc. - -The striped Turnip-beetle, _Haltica nemorum_, commonly called the -_Turnip-fly_, _Turnip-flea_, _Earth-flea-beetle_, _Black-jack_, etc., is -a well known species from the ravages the perfect insect commits upon -the turnip. In Devonshire, England, in the year 1786, the loss caused by -these insects alone was valued at L100,000 sterling. And in the spring -of 1837, the vines in the neighborhood of Montpellier were attacked to -so great an extent by another species, _Haltica oleracea_, in the -perfect state, that fears were entertained for the plants, and religious -processions were instituted for the purpose of exorcising the -insects.[236] - -Anatolius says that if the seeds of radishes, turnips, and other -esculents be sown in the hide of a tortoise, the plants when grown will -not be eaten by the fly, nor hurt by noxious animals or birds.[237] -Paladius has also related the method of drying the seeds in the hide of -this animal,[238] and of sowing them.[239] - - - - -ORDER II. - -EUPLEXOPTERA. - - -Forficulidae--Ear-wigs. - -The vulgar opinion that the Ear-wig, _Forficula auricularia_, seeks to -introduce itself into the ear of human beings, and causes much injury to -that organ, is very ancient, but not founded on fact, for they are -perfectly harmless. To this opinion the names of this insect in almost -all European languages point: as in English, _Ear-wig_ (from Anglo-Saxon -_eare_, the ear, and _wigga_, a worm; hence, also, our word _wiggle_), -in French, _Perce-oreille_, and in the German, _Ohrwurm_. But, according -to some writers, these names arose from the shape of the wing when -expanded, which then resembles the human ear; and _ear-wig_ might easily -be a corruption of ear-_wing_. - -Swift, in the following lines, introduces an "Ear-wig (probably a -_Curculio_) in a plum," as though in allusion to some superstition: - - Doll never flies to cut her lace, - Or throw cold water in her face, - Because she heard a sudden drum, - Or found an ear-wig in a plum. - -"Oil of Ear-wigs," says Dr. James, "is good to strengthen the nerves -under convulsive motions, by rubbing it on the temples, wrists, and -nostrils. These insects, being dried, pulverized, and mixed with the -urine of a hare, are esteemed to be good for deafness, being introduced -into the ear."[240] - -In August, 1755, in the parishes adjacent to Stroud, it is said there -were such quantities of Ear-wigs, that they destroyed not only the -fruits and flowers, but the cabbages, though of full growth. The houses, -especially the old wooden buildings, were swarming with them: the cracks -and crevices surprisingly full, so that they dropped out oftentimes in -such multitudes as to literally cover the floor. Linen, of which they -are fond, was likewise full, as was the furniture; and it was with -caution any provisions could be eaten, for the cupboards and safes -flocked with these little pests.[241] - - - - -ORDER III. - -ORTHOPTERA. - - -Blattidae--Cockroaches. - -Sloane tells us the Indians of Jamaica drink the ashes of Cockroaches in -physic: bruise and mix them with sugar and apply them to ulcers and -cancers to suppurate; and are said also to give them to kill worms in -children.[242] Dr. James, quoting Dioscorides, Lib. II. cap. 38, -remarks: "The inside of the Blatta (_B. foetida_, Monf. 138), which is -found in bake-houses, bruised or boiled in oil, and dropped into the -ears, eases the pains thereof."[243] It is most probable the insect now -called Blatta is not at all meant by either of the above gentlemen. The -Blatta of Dioscorides is quite likely the Blatta of Pliny, which has -been with good reason conjectured to be the modern _Blaps -mortisaga_--the common Church-yard beetle. - -In England, the hedge-hog, _Erinaceus Europaeus_, from its fondness for -insects and its nocturnal habits, is often kept domesticated in kitchens -to destroy the Cockroaches with which they are infested; and the -housekeepers of Jamaica, as we are informed by Sir Hans Sloane, for the -same reasons and purpose, keep large spiders in their houses.[244] A -species of monkey, _Simia jacchus_, and a species of lemur, _L. -tardigradus_, are also made use of for destroying these insects, -especially on board ships.[245] Mr. Neill, in the Magazine of Natural -History, in his account of the above-mentioned species of monkey, says: -"By chance we observed it devouring a large Cockroach, which it had -caught running along the deck of the vessel; and, from this time to -nearly the end of the voyage, a space of four or five weeks, it fed -almost exclusively on these insects, and contributed most effectually to -rid the vessel of them. It frequently ate a score of the largest kind, -which are from two to two and a half inches long, and a very great -number of the smaller ones, three or four times in the course of the -day. It was quite amusing to see it at its meal. When he had got hold of -one of the largest Cockroaches, he held it in his fore-paws, and then -invariably nipped the head off first; he then pulled out the viscera and -cast them aside, and devoured the rest of the body, rejecting the dry -elytra and wings, and also the legs of the insect, which are covered -with short stiff bristles. The small Cockroaches he ate without such -fastidious nicety."[246] - -The common Cockroach, or Black-beetle, as it is sometimes vulgarly -called, the _Blatta orientalis_, is said originally to be a native of -India, and introduced here, as well as in every other part of the -civilized globe, through the medium of commerce. In England, another -species, said to be a native of America, _Blatta Americana_, larger than -the last, is now also becoming very common, especially in seaport towns -where merchandise is stored.[247] - -An old Swede, Luen Laock, one of the first Swedish clergymen that came -to Pennsylvania, told the traveler Kalm, that in his younger days, he -had once been very much frightened by a Cockroach, which crept into his -ear while he was asleep. Waking suddenly, he jumped out of bed, which -caused the insect, most probably out of fear, to strive with all its -strength to get deeper into his skull, producing such excruciating pain -that he imagined his head was bursting, and he almost fell senseless to -the floor. Hastening, however, to the well, he drew a bucket of water, -and threw some in his ear. The Roach then finding itself in danger of -being drowned, quickly pushed out backward, and as quickly delivered the -poor Swede from his pain and fears.[248] - -The proverbial expression "Sound as a Roach" is supposed to have been -derived from familiarity with the legend and attributes of the Saint -Roche,--the esteemed saint of all afflicted with the plague, a disease -of common occurrence in England when the streets were narrow, and -without sewers, houses without boarded floors, and our ancestors without -linen. They believed that the miraculous St. Roche could make them as -"sound" as himself.[249] - -A quite common superstitious practice, in order to rid a house of -Cockroaches, is in vogue in our country at the present time. It is no -other than to address these pests a written letter containing the -following words, or to this effect: "O, Roaches, you have troubled me -long enough, go now and trouble my neighbors." This letter must be put -where they most swarm, after sealing and going through with the other -customary forms of letter writing. It is well, too, to write legibly and -punctuate according to rule. - -Another receipt for driving away Cockroaches is as follows: Close in an -envelope several of these insects, and drop it in the street unseen, and -the remaining Roaches will all go to the finder of the parcel. - -It is also said that if a looking-glass be held before Roaches, they -will be so frightened as to leave the premises. - -A firm, which has been established in London for seven years, and which -manufactures exclusively poison known to the trade as the "Phosphor -Paste for the Destruction of Black-beetles, Cockroaches, rats, mice," -etc., has given to Mr. Mayhew the following information: - -"We have now sold this vermin poison for seven years, but we have never -had an application for our composition from any street-seller. We have -seen, a year or two since, a man about London who used to sell -beetle-wafers; but as we knew that kind of article to be entirely -useless, we were not surprised to find that he did not succeed in making -a living. We have not heard of him for some time, and have no doubt he -is dead, or has taken up some other line of employment. - -"It is a strange fact, perhaps; but we do not know anything, or scarcely -anything, as to the kind of people and tradesmen who purchase our -poison--to speak the truth, we do not like to make too many inquiries of -our customers. Sometimes, when they have used more than their customary -quantity, we have asked, casually, how it was and to what kind of -business people they disposed of it, and we have always met with an -evasive sort of answer. You see tradesmen don't like to divulge too -much; for it must be a poor kind of profession or calling that there are -no secrets in; and, again, they fancy we want to know what description -of trades use the most of our composition, so that we might supply them -direct from ourselves. From this cause we have made a rule not to -inquire curiously into the matters of our customers. We are quite -content to dispose of the quantity we do, for we employ six travelers to -call on chemists and oilmen for the town trade, and four for the -country. - -"The other day an elderly lady from High Street, Camden Town, called -upon us: she stated that she was overrun with black beetles, and wished -to buy some of our paste from ourselves, for she said she always found -things better if you purchased them of the maker, as you were sure to -get them stronger, and by that means avoided the adulteration of the -shopkeepers. But as we have said we would not supply a single box to any -one, not wishing to give our agents any cause for complaint, we were -obliged to refuse to sell to the old lady. - -"We don't care to say how many boxes we sell in the year; but we can -tell you, sir, that we sell more for beetle poisoning in the summer than -in the winter, as a matter of course. When we find that a particular -district uses almost an equal quantity all the year round, we make sure -that that is a rat district; for where there is not the heat of summer -to breed beetles, it must follow that the people wish to get rid of -rats. - -"Brixton, Hackney, Ball's Pond, and Lower Road, Islington, are the -places that use most of our paste, those districts lying low, and being -consequently damp. Camden Town, though it is in a high situation, is -very much infested with beetles; it is a clayey soil, you understand, -which retains moisture, and will not allow it to filter through like -gravel. This is why in some very low districts, where the houses are -built on gravel, we sell scarcely any of our paste. - -"As the farmers say, a good fruit year is a good fly year; so we say, a -good dull, wet summer, is a good beetle summer; and this has been a very -fertile year, and we only hope it will be as good next year. - -"We don't believe in rat-destroyers; they profess to kill with weasels -and a lot of things, and sometimes even say they can charm them away. -Captains of vessels, when they arrive in the docks, will employ these -people; and, as we say, they generally use our composition, but as long -as their vessels are cleared of the vermin, they don't care to know how -it is done. A man who drives about in a cart, and does a great business -in this way, we have reason to believe uses a great quantity of our -Phosphor Paste. He comes from somewhere down the East-end or Whitechapel -way. - -"Our prices are too high for the street-sellers. Your street-seller can -only afford to sell an article made by a person in but a very little -better position than himself. Even our small boxes cost at the trade -price two shillings a dozen, and when sold will only produce three -shillings; so you can imagine the profit is not enough for the itinerant -vendor. - -"Bakers don't use much of our paste, for they seem to think it no use to -destroy the vermin--beetles and bakers' shops generally go -together."[250] - -If a black beetle enters your room, or flies against you, severe illness -and perhaps death will soon follow. I have never heard this superstition -but in Maryland. - - -Mantidae--Soothsayers, etc. - -We now come to a very extraordinary family of insects, the _Mantidae_. -"Imagination itself," as Dr. Shaw well observes, "can hardly conceive -shapes more strange than those exhibited by some particular -species."[251] "They are called _Mantes_; that is, fortune-tellers," -says Mouffet, "either because by their coming (for they first of all -appear) they do show the spring to be at hand, as Anacreon, the poet, -sang; or else they foretell death and famine, as Caelias, the scholiast -of Theocritus, writes; or, lastly, because it always holds up its -fore-feet, like hands, praying, as it were, after the manner of their -divines, who in that gesture did pour out their supplications to their -gods. So divine a creature is this esteemed, that if a childe aske the -way to such a place, she will stretch out one of her feet and show him -the right way, and seldome or never misse. As she resembleth those -diviners in the elevation of her hands, so also in likeness of motion, -for they do not sport themselves as others do, nor leap, nor play, but -walking softly she returns her modesty, and showes forth a kind of -mature gravity."[252] - -The name _Mantis_ is of Greek origin, and signifies diviner. In one of -the Idylls of Theocritus, however, it is employed to designate a thin, -young girl, with slender and elongated arms. _Praemacram ac pertenuem -puellam #mantin#. Corpore praelongo, pedibus etiam praelongis, locustae -genus._ - -These insects, _Mantis oratoria_, _religiosa_, etc., in consequence of -their having, as Mouffet says, their fore-feet extended as if they were -praying, are called in France, _Devin_, and _Prega-diou_ or -_Preche-dieu_; and with us, _Praying-insects_, _Soothsayers_, and -_Diviners_. They are also often called from their singular shape -_Camel-crickets_. - -The Mantis was observed by the Greeks in soothsaying;[253] and the -Hindoos displayed the same reverential consideration of its movements -and flight.[254] - -But, in modern times, the superstition respecting the sanctity of the -Mantis begins in Southern Europe, and is found in almost every other -quarter of the globe, at least wherever a characteristic species of the -insect is found. - -In the southern provinces of France, where the Mantis is very abundant, -both the characters of praying and pointing out the lost way, as above -mentioned by Mouffet, are still ascribed to it by the peasantry, as is -evidenced by the above mentioned names they know them by. And here, as -wherever else this superstition obtains, it is considered a great crime -to injure the Mantis, and as, at least, a very culpable neglect not to -place it out of the way of any danger to which it seems exposed. - -The Turks and other Moslems have been much impressed by the actions of -the common Mantis, the _religiosa_,[255] which greatly resemble some of -their own attitudes of prayer. They readily recognize intelligence and -pious intentions in its actions, and accordingly treat it with respect -and attention, not indeed as in itself an object of reverence or -superstition, but as a fellow-worshiper of God, whom they believe that -all creatures praise, with more or less consciousness and -intelligence.[256] - -But it is in Africa, and especially in Southern Africa, that the Mantis -(here the _Mantis causta_)[257] receives its highest honors. The -attention of the travelers and missionaries in that quarter was -necessarily much drawn to the kind of religious veneration paid to an -insect, and from their accounts, though very contradictory, some curious -information may be collected. - -The authority of Peter Kolben, an early German traveler to the Cape of -Good Hope, is as follows: That the Hottentots regard as a good deity an -insect of the "beetle-kind" peculiar to their country. This "beetle-god" -is described by him to be "about the size of a child's little finger, -the back green, the belly speckled white and red, with two wings and two -horns." He also assures us that whenever the Hottentots meet this -insect, they pay it the highest honor and veneration; and that if it -visits a kraal they assemble about it as if a divinity had descended -among them; and even kill a sheep or two as a thank-offering, and esteem -it an omen of the greatest happiness and prosperity. They believe, also, -its appearance expiates all their guilt; and if the insect lights upon -one of them, such person is looked upon as a saint, be it man or woman, -and ever after treated with uncommon respect. The kraal then kills the -fattest ox for a thank-offering; and the caul, powdered with _bukhu_, -and twisted like a rope, is put on, like a collar, about the neck, and -there must remain till it rots off.[258] - -Kolben, in another place, describes the Mantis under the name of the -_Gold-beetle_, saying that its head and wings are of a gold color, the -back green, etc., as above.[259] - -Mr. Kolben, again speaking of this singular reverence, remarks that the -Hottentots will run every hazard to secure the safety of this fortunate -insect, and are cautious to the last degree of giving it the slightest -annoyance, and relates the following anecdote: - -"A German, who had a country-seat about six miles from the fort, having -given leave to some Hottentots to turn their cattle for awhile upon his -land there, they removed to the place with their _kraal_. A son of this -German, a brisk young fellow, was amusing himself in the kraal, when the -deified insect appeared. The Hottentots, upon sight, ran tumultuously to -adore it; while the young fellow tried to catch it, in order to see the -effect such capture would produce among them. But how great was the -general cry and agony when they saw it in his hands! They stared with -distraction in their eyes at him, and at one another. 'See, see, see,' -said they. 'Ah! what is he going to do? Will he kill it? will he kill -it?' Every limb of them shaking through apprehensions for its fate. -'Why,' said the young fellow, who very well understood them, 'do you -make such a hideous noise? and why such agonies for this paltry animal?' -'Ah! sir,' they replied, with the utmost concern, ''tis a divinity. 'Tis -come from heaven; 'tis come on a good design. Ah! do not hurt it--do not -offend it. We are the most miserable wretches upon earth if you do. This -ground will be under a curse, and the crime will never be forgiven.' -This was not enough for the young German. He had a mind to carry the -experiment a little farther. He seemed not, therefore, to be moved with -their petitions and remonstrances; but made as if he intended to maim or -destroy it. On this appearance of cruelty they started, and ran to and -again like people frantic; asked him, where and what his conscience was? -and how he durst think of perpetrating a crime, which would bring upon -his head all the curses and thunders of heaven. But this not prevailing, -they fell all prostrate on the ground before the young fellow, and with -streaming eyes and the loudest cries, besought him to spare the -creature and give it its liberty. The young German now yielded, and, -having let the insect fly, the Hottentots jumped and capered and shouted -in all the transports of joy; and, running after the animal, rendered it -the customary divine honors. But the creature settled upon none of them, -and there was not one sainted upon this occasion."[260] - -Afterward, Mr. Kolben, discoursing with these Hottentots, took occasion -to ask them concerning the utmost limit they carried the belief of the -sanctity and avenging spirit of this insect, when they declared to him, -that if the German had killed it, all their cattle would certainly have -been destroyed by wild beasts, and they themselves, every man, woman, -and child of them, brought to a miserable end. That they believed the -kraal to be of evil destiny where this insect is rarely seen. Mr. Kolben -asserts that they would sooner give up their lives than renounce the -slightest item of their belief.[261] - -Dr. Sparrman, a Swedish traveler into the country of the Hottentots and -Caffres between the years 1772 and 1779, in speaking of the Mantis, -called in his time the "Hottentot's God," denies the above statement of -Mr. Kolben, and says the Hottentots are so far from worshiping it, that -they several times caught some of them, and gave them to him to put -needles through them, by way of preserving them, in the same manner as -he did with the other insects. But there is, he adds, a diminutive -species of this insect, which some think would be a crime, as well as -very dangerous, to do any harm to, but that it was only a superstitious -notion, and not any kind of religious worship.[262] - -Dr. Thunberg, who traveled in South Africa about the same time as Dr. -Sparrman, corroborates the latter's statement, and says he could see no -reason for the supposition that the Hottentots worshiped the Mantis, -but, he adds, it certainly was held in some degree of esteem, so that -they would not willingly hurt, and deemed that person a creature -fortunate on which it settled, though without paying it any sort of -adoration.[263] - -Dr. Vanderkemp, in his account of Caffraria, after describing the -Mantis, says that the natives call it _oumtoanizoulou_, the _Child of -Heaven_, and adds that "the Hottentots regard it as almost a deity, and -offer their prayers to it, begging that it may not destroy them."[264] - -Mr. Kirchener, speaking of the same people, says they reverence a little -insect, known by the name of the _Creeping Leaf_, a sight of which they -conceive indicates something fortunate, and to kill it they suppose will -bring a curse upon the perpetrator.[265] - -Mr. Evan Evans, a missionary to the Cape of Good Hope, gives an account -of a conversation which he had with the Hottentot driver of his wagon, -which seems to make out the claims of the Mantis to be the God of the -Hottentots--as it is even yet called. The driver directed his attention -to "a small insect," which he called by its above-mentioned familiar -name, and alluded to the notions he had in former times connected with -it. "I asked him, 'Did you ever worship this insect then?' He answered, -'Oh, yes! a thousand times; always before I came to Bethelsdorf. -Whenever I saw this little creature, I would fall down on my knees -before him and pray.' 'What did you pray to him for?' 'I asked him to -give me a good master, and plenty of thick milk and flesh.' 'Did you -pray for nothing else?' 'No, sir; I did not then know that I wanted -anything else.... Whenever I used to see this animal (holding the insect -still in his hand) I used sometimes to fall down immediately before it; -but if it was in the wagon-road, or in a foot-path, I used to push it up -as gently as I could, to place it behind a bush, for fear a wagon should -crush it, or some men or beasts would put it to death. If a Hottentot, -by some accident, killed or injured this creature, he was sure to be -unlucky all his lifetime, and could never shoot an elephant or a buffalo -afterward.'"[266] - -Niuhoff, in his account of his travels in Java in 1643, tells us "the -Javanese set two of these little creatures (Mantes) a fighting together, -and lay money on both sides, as we do at a cock-match."[267] Among the -Chinese also this quarrelsome property in the genus Mantis is turned -into an entertainment. They are so fond of gaming and witnessing fights -between animals that, as says Mr. Barrow in his Travels, "they have -even extended their inquiries after fighting animals into the insect -tribe, and have discovered a species of Gryllus or Locust that will -attack each other with such ferocity as seldom to quit their hold -without bringing away at the same time a limb of their antagonist. These -little creatures are fed and kept apart in bamboo cages, and the custom -of making them devour each other is so common that, during the summer -months, scarcely a boy is to be seen without his cage of -grasshoppers."[268] The boys in Washington City, who call the Mantis the -"Rear-horse," are also fond of this amusement. - -Among the legends of St. Francis Xavier, the following is found. Seeing -a Mantis moving along in its solemn way, holding up its two fore-legs, -as in the act of devotion, the Saint desired it to sing the praises of -God, whereupon the insect caroled forth a fine canticle.[269] - -The _Mantis religiosa_ of America is said to make a most interesting pet -when tamed, which can be done in a very short time and with but little -pains. Professor Glover, of the Maryland Agricultural College, tells me -he once knew a lady in Washington who kept a Mantis on her window which -soon grew so tame as to take readily a fly or other small insect out of -her hand. But Mrs. Taylor, in her Orthopterian Defense, has given us the -particulars in full of a Mantis which she had petted. She speaks of it -under the name of "Queen Bess," and in her most interesting style, as -follows: - -"Queen Bess, of famous memory, would alight on my shoulder and take all -her food from me half a dozen times a day. When she omitted her visit I -knew she had been hunting on her own account. All night long she would -keep watch and guard under the mosquito-net. The silk (the thread with -which the insect was bound) was fastened to the post of the bed; and woe -betide an unfortunate mosquito who fancied for his supper a drop of -claret. It was the drollest, the most laughter-moving sensation, to feel -one of these trumpeters saluting your nose or forehead, and hear Queen -Bess approaching with those long claws, creeping slowly, softly, nearer -and nearer; to feel the fine prick of the lancet setting in for a -tipple; then you would suppose a dozen fine needles had been suddenly -drawn across the part; then, _presto!_ Bess's strong, saber-like claws -had the jolly trumpeter tucked into her capacious jaws before you could -open your eyes to ascertain the state of affairs. - -"These creatures very seldom fly far," continues Mrs. Taylor, "but walk -in a most stately and dignified manner. Queen Bess could not bear to be -overlooked or slighted(!); and as sure as she saw me bending over the -magnifier with an insect, and I thought she was ten yards off, the -insect would be incontinently snapped out of my fingers. Many a valuable -specimen disappeared in this way. I learned to put her at these times in -the sounding-board of an AEolian harp, which was generally placed in the -window. Her majesty liked music of this kind amazingly; as the vibration -was _felt_ though not heard. I presume she fancied she was serenaded by -the singing leaves of the forest. I knew she would have remained there -spell-bound until driven forth by hunger, if I did not remove her when I -was not afraid of her company. - -"As I have begun my 'experiences,'" continues the same writer, "I will -go through with them and confess that I was obliged from circumstances -to attach more than accident to her prophetic capacity--her -fortune-telling. I have not a grain of superstition to contend against -in other matters, having so much reverence for the Creator of all things -that I certainly have no fear of anything earthly or spiritually -conveyed to the senses. But I was taught by the saddest teacher, -Experience, that whenever Queen Bess's refusal went unheeded I was the -sufferer. The first time I ever tried it was to determine a vacillating -presentiment I felt about trying a new horse whose reputation was far -from good. I placed Queen Bess before me, held up my finger: - -"'Attention! Queen Bess, would you advise me to try that horse?' - -"She was standing on her hind legs, her antennae erect, wings wide -spread. I repeated the question. Antennae fell; wings folded; and down -she went, gradually, until her head and long thorax were buried beneath -her front legs. I took her advice, and did not venture. Two days later -the horse threw his rider and killed him. - -"Here was the turning-point. Was I to allow such folly to master me? If -French girls do take a Mantis at the junction of three roads, and ask -her on which their lover will come, and watch the insect turning and -examining each road with her weird sibyl head,[270]--if French girls -commit such follies, should I, a staid American woman, follow their -example--putting my faith in the caprices of an insect? Pshaw! I was -above such folly. So the next time Queen Bess was consulted a more -decided refusal was given; but I disregarded her warning, and most -sorely did I repent it. Again she would approve, by standing more erect, -if possible, spreading and closing her wings; then all was sunshine with -me. So it went for many months. Many others have had the same -experience, if they will confess it honestly. I learned to obey the -hidden head more carefully than any other, I am sorry to say; and I -never, in one single instance, knew her to refuse her opinion; and I -never knew it to be wrong in whatever way she announced it." - -This same superstitious woman says that boys and girls try their future -expectations by making a mimic chariot, ballasting it with small -pebbles, shot, or any such like thing, and harnessing the Mantis in with -silk. Upon being freighted she rises immediately, as if to try the -weight; if too heavy she will not fly. Lighten the chariot, and she will -soar away to a tree or a field; then her owner is to be a lucky boy. If -she will not go at all, or only a short distance, and soon come down, -misfortune is to be his doom.[271] - -Other superstitions among us, with respect to the Mantis are as follows: - -When the Mantis (Rear-horse) kneels, it sees an angel in the way, or -hears the rustle of its wings. When it alights on your hand, you are -about to make the acquaintance of a distinguished person; if it alights -on your head, a great honor will shortly be conferred upon you. If it -injures you in any way, which it does but seldom, you will lose a valued -friend by calumny. Never kill a Mantis, as it bears charms against evil. - -From the great resemblance of many species of Mantis to the leaves of -the trees upon which they feed, some travelers, who have observed them, -have declared that they saw the leaves of trees become living creatures, -and take flight. Madame Merian informs us of a similar opinion among -the Indians of Surinam, who believed these insects grew like leaves upon -the trees, and when they were mature, loosened themselves and crawled, -or flew away. - -We find also in the works of Piso an account of insects becoming plants. -Speaking of the Mantis, that author says: "Those little animals change -into a green and tender plant, which is of two hands breadth. The feet -are fixed into the ground first; from these, when necessary humidity is -attracted, roots grow out, and strike into the ground; thus they change -by degrees, and in a short time become a perfect plant. Sometimes only -the lower part takes the nature and form of a plant, while the upper -part remains as before, living and movable; after some time the animal -is gradually converted into a plant. In this Nature seems to operate in -a circle, by a continual retrograde motion."[272] - -There may be, however, much truth in this remarkable metamorphosis; for, -that an insect may strike root into the earth, and, from the -co-operation of heat and moisture, congenial to vegetation, produce a -plant of the cryptogamic kind, cannot be disputed. Westwood states that -he has seen a species of _Clavaria_, both of the undivided and branched -kinds, which had sprung from insects, and were four times larger than -the insects themselves. In truth, it cannot then be denied that Piso may -not have seen a plant of a proportionate magnitude which had likewise -grown out of a Mantis. The pupae of bees, wasps, and cicadas, have been -known to become the nidus of a plant, to throw up stems from the front -part of the head, and change in every respect into a vegetable, and -still retain the shell and exterior appearance of the parent insect at -the root. Specimens of these vegetated animals are frequently brought -from the West Indies. Mr. Drury had a beetle in the perfect state, from -every part of which small stalks and fibers sprouted forth; they were -entirely different from the tufts of hair that are observed in a few -Coleopterous insects, such as the _Buprestis fascicularius_ of the Cape -of Good Hope, and were certainly a vegetable production.[273] Mr. -Atwood, in his account of Dominica, describes a "vegetable fly" as -follows: "It is of the appearance and size of a small Cock-chafer, and -buries itself in the ground, where it dies; and from its body springs up -a small plant, resembling a young coffee tree, only that its leaves are -smaller. The plant is often overlooked, from the supposition people have -of its being no other than a coffee plant, but on examining it properly, -the difference is easily distinguished.... The head, body, and feet of -the insect appearing at the foot as perfect as when alive."[274] - -Dr. Colin, of Philadelphia, has mentioned, also, on the authority of a -missionary, a "vegetable fly," similar to the last mentioned, on the -Ohio River.[275] - -The inhabitants of the Sechell Islands raise the _Mantis siccifolia_, or -Dry-leaf Mantis, as an object of commerce and natural history. - - -Achetidae--Crickets. - -In the Island of Barbados, the natives look upon the creaking chirp of a -species of Cricket, to which Hughes has given the name of the -_Ash-colored_ or _Sickly Cricket_, when heard in the house, as an omen -of death to some one of the family.[277] - -In England, also, is the Cricket's chirp sometimes looked upon as -prognosticating death. "When Blonzelind expired," Gay, in his Pastoral -Dirge, says, - - And shrilling Crickets in the chimney cry'd.[278] - -So also in Reed's Old Plays is the Cricket's cry ominous of death: - - And the strange Cricket i' th' oven sings and hops. - -The same superstition is found in the following line from the Oedipus of -Dryden and Lee: - - Owels, ravens, Crickets, seem the watch of death. - -Gaule mentions, among other vain observations and superstitious -ominations thereupon, "the Cricket's chirping behind the chimney stack, -or creeping on the foot-pace."[279] - -Dr. Nathaniel Horne, after saying that "by the flying and crying of -ravens over their houses, especially in the dusk of evening, and when -one is sick, they conclude death," adds, "the same they conclude of a -Cricket crying in a house where there was wont to be none."[280] - -"Some sort of people," says Mr. Ramsay, in his Elminthologia, "at every -turn, upon every accident, how are they therewith terrified! If but a -Cricket unusually appear, or they hear but the clicking of a -Death-watch, as they call it, they, or some one else in the family, -shall die!"[281] - -Gilbert White, the accurate naturalist of Selborne, speaking of -Crickets, says: "They are the house-wife's barometer, foretelling her -when it will rain; and are prognostics sometimes, she thinks, of ill or -good luck, of the death of a near relation, or the approach of an absent -lover. By being the constant companions of her solitary hours, they -naturally become the objects of her superstition."[282] - -The voice of the Cricket, says the Spectator, has struck more terror -than the roaring of a lion. - -Mrs. Bray also notices that the Cricket's chirp in England, which in -almost all other countries, and in that too in some families, as will be -shown hereafter, is considered a cheerful and a welcome note, the -harbinger of joy,--is deemed by the peasantry ominous of sorrow and -evil.[283] - -"In Dumfries-shire," says Sir William Jardine, "it is a common -superstition that if Crickets forsake a house which they have long -inhabited, some evil will befall the family; generally the death of some -member is portended. In like manner the presence or return of this -cheerful little insect is lucky, and portends some good to the -family."[284] - -Melton also says,--"17. That it is a sign of death to some in that -house where Crickets have been many years, if on a sudden they forsake -the chimney."[285] - -The departure of Crickets from a hearth where they have been heard, is, -at the present time, in England, considered an omen of misfortune.[286] - -From the above statements of Mr. White, Mrs. Bray, and Sir William -Jardine, we learn that in England the Cricket's chirp is not always -ominous of evil, but sometimes also of good luck, of joy, and of the -approach of an absent lover. - -A correspondent of the "Notes and Queries" mentions the Cricket's cry as -foreboding good luck.[287] So also a writer for "The Mirror," remarking, -it is singular that the House-cricket should by some persons be -considered an unlucky, by others a lucky, inmate of the mansion. Those -who hold the latter opinion, he adds, consider the destruction of these -insects the means of bringing misfortunes on their habitations.[288] -Grose thus expresses this last superstition: Persons killing these -insects (including the Lady-bird, before mentioned) will infallibly, -within the course of the year, break a bone, or meet with some other -dreadful misfortune.[289] - -That the belief that the appearance of Crickets in a house is a good -omen, and prognosticates cheerfulness and plenty, is pretty generally -entertained in England, may be inferred also from the manner in which it -has been embodied by Cowper, in his address to a Cricket - - Chirping on his kitchen hearth. - -His words are: - - Whereso'er be thine abode, - Always harbinger of good. - -And again in that admirable little tale of Charles Dickens, entitled -"The Cricket on the Hearth," this good and happy superstition is -embodied. "It's sure to bring us good fortune, John! It always has been -so. To have a Cricket on the hearth is the luckiest thing in the world," -says its heroine. - -All these superstitions are more or less entertained in America, -brought here by the English themselves, and retained by their -descendants. That the Cricket is the "harbinger of good," it gives me -pleasure to say, is the most common. - -Another superstition obtaining in this country, and particularly in -Maryland and Virginia, is that Crickets are old folks and ought not -therefore to be destroyed. This probably arose from Crickets being found -about the kitchen hearth where the old folks were accustomed to sit. - -Milton chose for his contemplative pleasures a spot where Crickets -resorted: - - Where glowing embers through the room - Teach light to counterfeit a gloom, - Far from all resort of mirth, - Save the Cricket on the hearth.[290] - -The learned Scaliger is said to have been particularly delighted with -the chirping of these animals, and was accustomed to keep them in a box -for his amusement in his study.[291] - -Mrs. Taylor, the writer of a very interesting series of papers on -insects for Harper's Magazine, relates that in her travels through -Wales, she obtained several House-crickets in the old Castle of -Caernarvon. These she carried with her, in her journeyings to and fro -over the Kingdom, for several years, and at last brought them to this -country, where they were liberated in the snuggest corner of a Southern -hearth. Again a wanderer for many years, she went back to the old house -to see how her chirping friends were coming on, but, alas! she was told -by the then residents, with the utmost calmness, "they had had great -difficulty in _scalding_ them out, and they hoped there was not one left -on the premises!"[292] - -In certain countries of Africa, Crickets are reported to constitute an -article of commerce. Some persons rear them, feed them in a kind of iron -oven, and sell them to the natives, who are very fond of their music, -thinking it induces sleep.[293] De Pauw finds some traces of the -Egyptian worship of the Scarabaeus in this fondness for the music of the -"holy Crickets," as he calls them, of Madagascar! By the rearing of -which insects, he tells us, the Africans make a living, and the rich -would think themselves at enmity with heaven, if they did not preserve -whole swarms in ovens constructed expressly for that purpose.[294] - -The youth of Germany, Jaeger says, are extremely fond of Field-crickets, -so much so, that there is scarcely a boy to be seen who has not several -small boxes made expressly for keeping these insects in. So much -delighted are they, too, with their music, that they carry these boxes -of Crickets into their bed-rooms at night, and are soothed to sleep with -their chirping lullaby.[295] - -On the contrary, others, as has been before mentioned, think there is -something ominous and melancholy in the Cricket's cry, and use every -endeavor to banish this insect from their houses. "Lidelius tells us," -says Goldsmith, "of a woman who was very much incommoded by Crickets, -and tried, but in vain, every method of banishing them from her house. -She at last accidentally succeeded; for having one day invited several -guests to her house, where 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 greater than what the -little animals were accustomed to, that they instantly forsook their -situation, and were never heard in that mansion more."[296] Like many -other noisy persons, Crickets like to hear nobody louder than -themselves. - -In the Island of Sumatra, Capt. Stuart tells me, a black Cricket is -looked upon with great respect, amounting almost to adoration. It is -deemed a grievous sin to kill it. - -Baskets full of Field-crickets, Lopes de Gomara says, were found among -the provisions of the Indians of Jamaica when they were first -discovered.[297] - -"The Criquet called Gryllus," says Pliny in the words of Holland, "doth -mitigat catarrhs and all asperities offending the throat, if the same -bee rubbed therewith: also if a man doe but touch the amygdals or -almonds of the throat, with the hand wherewith he hath bruised or -crushed the said Criquet, it will appease the inflamation thereof."[298] -Again, "The Cricket digged up and applied to the plase, earth and all -where it lay, is very good for the ears. Nigridius," continues Pliny, -"attributeth many properties to this poore creature, and esteemeth it -not a little: but the Magicians much more by a faire deale: and why so? -Forsooth because it goeth, as it were, reculing backward, it pierceth -and boreth a hole into the ground, and never ceaseth all night long to -creake very shrill. - -"The manner of hunting and catching them is this, They take a flie and -tie it above the middest at the end of a long haire of one's head, and -so put the said flie into the mouth of the Cricquet's hole; but first -they blow the dust away with their mouth, for fear lest the flie should -hide herself therein; the Cricket spies the sillie flie, seaseth upon -her presently and claspeth her round, and so they are both drawne foorth -together by the said haire."[299] - -At the present time, children in France practice the same method of -capturing Crickets for amusement; substituting, however, an ant for the -"sillie flie," and a long straw for "the haire of one's head." Hence -comes the common proverb in France, _il est sot comme un grillon_. A -ruse for capturing the larva of the Cicindela, now commonly practiced by -entomologists, is founded on the same principle. - -Pliny further says: "The Cricquets above rehearsed, either reduced into -a liniment, or else bound too, whole as they be, cureth the accident of -the lap of the eare, wounds, contusions, bruises," etc.[300] - -Dr. James, quoting Schroder and Dale, says: "The ashes of the Cricket -(_Gryllus domesticus_) exhibited, are said to be diuretic; the expressed -juice, dropped into the eyes, is a remedy for weakness of the sight, and -alleviates disorders of the tonsils, if rubbed on them."[301] - -The English name _Cricket_, the French _Cri-cri_, the Dutch _Krekel_, -and the Welsh _Cricell_ and _Cricella_, are evidently derived from the -_creak_-ing sounds of these insects. - - -Gryllidae--Grasshoppers. - -Mr. Hughes, after describing an ash-colored Grasshopper (which may be -his ash-colored cricket before mentioned),[302] remarks that the -superstitious of the inhabitants of Barbados are very apprehensive of -some approaching illness to the family, whenever this insect flies into -their houses in the evening or in the night.[303] - -Athenaeus tells us the ancient Greeks used to eat the common Grasshopper -and the Monkey-grasshopper as provocatives of the appetite. Aristophanes -says: - - How can you, in God's name, like Grasshoppers, - Catching them with a reed, and Cercopes?[304] - -Turpin tells us there is a kind of brown Grasshopper in Siam, which the -natives consider a delicate food.[305] - -"Fernandus Oniedus declareth furthermore," says Peter Martyr in his -History of the West Indies, "that in a certain region called Zenu, lying -fourescore and tenne miles from Darrina Eastwarde, they exercise a -strange kinde of marchaundize: For in the houses of the inhabitantes -they found great chests and baskets, made of twigges and leaves of -certaine trees apt for that purpose, being all ful of Grasshoppers, -Grilles, Crabbes, Crefishes, Snails also, and Locustes, which destroie -the fields of corne, all well dried and salted. Being demanded why they -reserved such a multitude of these beastes: they answered, that they -kept them to be sowlde (sold) to the borderors, which dwell further -within the lande, and that for the exchange of these pretious birdes, -and salted fishes, they received of them certayne straunge thinges, -wherein partly they take pleasure, and partly use them for the -necessarie affaires."[306] - -In the account of the voyages of J. Huighen Linschoten, it is stated -that the inhabitants of Cumana eat "horse-leeches, bats, Grasshoppers, -spiders, bees, and raw, sodden, and roasted lice. They spare no living -creature whatsoever, but they eat it."[307] - -"Among the choice delicacies with which the California Digger Indians -regale themselves during the summer season," says the Empire County -Argus, "is the Grasshopper roast. Having been an eye-witness to the -preparation and discussion of one of their feasts of Grasshoppers, we -can describe it truthfully. There are districts in California, as well -as portions of the plains between Sierra Nevada and the Rocky Mountains, -that literally swarm with Grasshoppers, and in such astonishing numbers -that a man cannot put his foot to the ground, while walking there, -without crushing great numbers. To the Indian they are a delicacy, and -are caught and cooked in the following manner: A piece of ground is -sought where they most abound, in the center of which an excavation is -made, large and deep enough to prevent the insect from hopping out when -once in. The entire party of Diggers, old and young, male and female, -then surround as much of the adjoining grounds as they can, and each -with a green bough in hand, whipping and thrashing on every side, -gradually approach the center, driving the insects before them in -countless multitudes, till at last all, or nearly all, are secured in -the pit. In the mean time smaller excavations are made, answering the -purpose of ovens, in which fires are kindled and kept up till the -surrounding earth, for a short distance, becomes sufficiently heated, -together with a flat stone, large enough to cover the oven. The -Grasshoppers are now taken in coarse bags, and, after being thoroughly -soaked in salt water for a few moments, are emptied into the oven and -closed in. Ten or fifteen minutes suffice to roast them, when they are -taken out and eaten without further preparation, and with much apparent -relish, or, as is sometimes the case, reduced to powder and made into -soup. And having from curiosity tasted, not of the soup, but of the -roast, really, if one could divest himself of the idea of eating an -insect as we do an oyster or shrimp, without other preparation than -simple roasting, they would not be considered very bad eating, even by -more refined epicures than the Digger Indians."[308] - -An item dated Tuesday, Aug. 21st, 1742, in the Gentleman's Magazine, -states: "Great damage has been done to the pastures in the country, -particularly about Bristol, by swarms of Grasshoppers; the like has -happened in Pennsylvania to a surprising degree."[309] - -A common species in Sweden, the _Decticus verrucivorus_, is employed by -the native peasants to bite the warts on their hands; the black fluid -which it emits from its mouth being supposed to possess the power of -making these excrescences vanish.[310] This black fluid, from whatever -Grasshoppers it may be emitted, is called by our boys "tobacco spit," -which it much resembles; and they attribute to it also a wart-curing -quality. When they catch one, they hold it between the thumb and -fore-finger, and cry out,-- - - Spit, spit tobacco spit, - And then I'll let you go. - -The exuviae of a Grasshopper called _Semmi_ or _Sebi_, Kempfer tells us, -are preserved for medicinal uses, and sold publicly in shops both in -Japan and China.[311] - -Dr. James, quoting Dioscorides, says: "Grasshoppers (_Locusta Anglica -minor, vulgatissima_, Raii _Ins._ 60.) in a suffumigation relieve under -a dysury, especially such as is incident to the female sex. The Locusta -Africanus is a very good antidote against the poison of the -Scorpion."[312] - -After describing the Grasshopper of Italy, Brookes says: "It is often an -amusement among the children of that country to catch this animal; and, -by tickling the belly with their finger, it will whistle as long as they -chuse to make it."[313] - -In France, Grasshoppers are called _Sauterelles_, Hoppers; and in -Germany, _Heupferde_, Hay-horses, because they generally feed on -grasses, and their head has something of the form of a horse's head. - -If Grasshoppers appear early in the summer in great numbers, they -foretell famine and drouth,--a superstition obtaining in Maryland. - - -Locustidae--Locusts. - -Moufet says: "That Locusts should be generated of the carkasse of a mule -or asse (as Plutarch reports in the life of Cleonides) by putrefaction, -I cannot with philosophers determine; first, because it was permitted to -the Jewes to feed on them; secondly, because no man ever yet was an -eye-witness of such a putrid and ignoble generation of Locusts."[314] - -The first record of the ravages of the Locusts, which we find in -history, is the account in the Book of Exodus of the visitation to the -land of Egypt. "And the Locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and -rested in all the coasts of Egypt--very grievous were they.... For they -covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and -they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees -which the hail had left; and there remained not any green thing in the -trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of -Egypt."[315] - -It is to the Bible, too, we go to find the best account, for correctness -and sublimity, of the appearance and ravages of these terrific insects. -It is thus given by the prophet Joel: "A day of darkness and of -gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread -upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been -ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of -many generations. A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame -burneth; the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them -a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them. Like the -noise of chariots[316] on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like -the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong -people set in battle array. Before their faces the people shall be much -pained: all faces shall gather blackness. They shall run like mighty -men; they shall climb the wall like men of war, and they shall march -every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks; neither -shall one thrust another, they shall walk every one in his path; and -when they fall upon the sword they shall not be wounded. They shall run -to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb -up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief. The -earth shall quake before them, the heavens shall tremble; the sun[317] -and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining." -The usual way in which they are destroyed is also noticed by the -prophet. "I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will -drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face towards the -east sea, and his hinder part towards the utmost sea, and his stink -shall come up, because he hath done great things."[318] - -Paulus Orosius tells us that in the year of the world 3800, during the -consulship of M. Plautius Hypsaeus, and M. Fulvius Flaccus, such infinite -myriads of Locusts were blown from the coast of Africa into the sea and -drowned, that being cast upon the shore in immense heaps they emitted a -stench greater than could have been produced by the carcasses of one -hundred thousand men. A general pestilence of all living creatures -followed. And so great was this plague in Numidia, where Micipsa was -king, that eighty thousand persons died; and on the sea-coast, near -Carthage and Utica, about two hundred thousand were reported to have -perished. Thirty thousand soldiers, appointed as the garrison of Africa, -and stationed in Utica, were among the number. So violent was the -destruction that the bodies of more than fifteen hundred of these -soldiers, from one gate of the city, were carried and buried in the same -day.[319] - -St. Augustine also mentions a plague to have arisen in Africa from the -same cause, which destroyed no less than eight hundred thousand persons -(_octigenta hominum millia_) in the kingdom of Masanissa alone, and many -more in the territories bordering upon the sea.[320] - -Blown from that quarter of the globe, Locusts have occasionally visited -both Italy and Spain. The former country was severely ravaged by myriads -of these desolating intruders, in the year 591. These were of a larger -size than common, as we are informed by Mouffet, who quotes an ancient -historian; and from their stench, when cast into the sea, arose a -pestilence which carried off near a million of men and cattle.[321] - -In A.D. 677, Syria and Mesopotamia were overrun by Locusts.[322] - -"About the year of our Lord 872," we read in Wanley's Wonders, "came -into France such an innumerable company of Locusts, that the number of -them darkened the very light of the sun; they were of extraordinary -bigness, had a sixfold order of wings, six feet, and two teeth, the -hardness whereof surpassed that of stone. These eat up every green thing -in all the fields of France. At last, by the force of the winds, they -were carried into the sea (the Baltic) and there drowned; after which, -by the agitation of the waves, the dead bodies of them were cast upon -the shores, and from the stench of them (together with the famine they -had made with their former devouring) there arose so great a plague, -that it is verily thought every third person in France died of it."[323] -These Locusts devoured in France, on an average every day, one hundred -and forty acres; and their daily marches, or distances of flight, were -computed at twenty miles.[324] - -In 1271, all the cornfields of Milan were destroyed; and in the year -1339, all those of Lombardy.[325] We read in Bateman's Doome, that in -1476, "grasshoppers and the great rising of the river Isula did spoyle -al Poland." A famine took place in the Venetian territory in 1478, -occasioned by these terrific scourges, in which thirty thousand persons -are reported to have perished. Mouffet mentions many other instances of -their devastations in Europe,--in France, Spain, Italy, and -Germany.[326] - -A passage of Locusts in France, in 1613, entirely cut up, even to the -very roots, more than fifteen thousand acres of corn in the neighborhood -of Arles, and had even penetrated into the barns and granaries, when, as -it were by Providence, many hundreds of birds, especially starlings, -came to diminish their numbers. Notwithstanding this, nothing could be -more astonishing than their multiplication, for the fecundity of the -Locust is very remarkable. Upon an order issued by government, for the -collection of their eggs, more than three thousand measures were -collected, from each of which, it was calculated, would have issued -nearly two millions of young ones.[327] In 1650, they entered Russia, in -immense divisions, in three different places; thence passed over into -Poland and Lithuania, where the air was darkened by their numbers. In -many parts they lay dead to the depth of four feet. Sometimes they -covered the surface of the earth like a dark cloud, loaded the trees, -and the destruction which they produced exceeded all calculation.[328] -In 1645, immense swarms visited the islands of Formosa and Tayowan, and -caused such a famine that eight thousand persons died of hunger.[329] - -"In 1649," says Sir Hans Sloane, "the Locusts destroyed all the products -of the island of Teneriffe. They came from the coast of Barbary, the -wind being a Levant thence. They flew as far as they could, then one -alighted in the sea, and another on it, so that one after another they -made a heap as big as the greatest ship above water, and were esteemed -almost as many under. Those above water, next day, after the sun's -refreshing them, took flight again, and came in clouds to the island, -whence the inhabitants had perceived them in the air, and had gathered -all the soldiers of the island and of Laguna together, being 7 or 8000 -men, who laying aside their arms, some took bags, some spades, and -having notice by their scouts from the hills when they alighted, they -went straight thither, made trenches, and brought their bags full, and -covered them with mould.... After two months fruitless management of -them in this manner, the ecclesiastics took them in hand by penances, -etc. But all would not do: the Locusts staid their four months; cattle -eat them and died, and so did several men, and others stuck out in -botches. The other Canary islands were so troubled, also, that they were -forced to bury their provisions. They were troubled forty years before -with the like calamity."[330] - -Barbot, after mentioning a famine that happened in North Guinea in -1681, which destroyed many thousands of the inhabitants of the -Continent, and forced many to sell themselves for slaves, to only get -sustenance, says these fearful famines are also some years occasioned by -the dreadful swarms of Locusts, which come from the eastward and spread -over the whole country in such prodigious multitudes, that they darken -the very air, passing over head like mighty clouds. They leave nothing -that is green wheresoever they come, either on the ground or trees, and -fly so swiftly from place to place, that whole provinces are devastated -in a very short time. Barbot adds, terrific storms of hail, wind, and -such like judgments from Heaven, are nothing to compare to this, which -when it happens, there is no question to be made but that multitudes of -the natives must starve, having no neighboring countries to supply them -with corn, because those round about them are no better husbands than -themselves, and are no less liable to the same calamities.[331] - -Of a swarm, which in the year 1693 covered four square miles of ground, -a German author has made the following estimate. Observing that, when he -trod on the ground, at least three were crushed, and that in a square -German measure, less than an English foot, ten were destroyed; and after -determining the number of these square measures in the four miles, he -concluded that ninety-two billions, one hundred and sixty millions of -Locusts were congregated on the surface. This is altogether a very -moderate calculation, for not only is their number more compact in -breadth, but they are often piled knee-high on the earth.[332] - -In 1724, Dr. Shaw was a witness of the devastations of these insects in -Barbary. He has given us a description of their habits.[333] For four -successive years, from 1744 to 1747, Locusts ravaged the southern -provinces of Spain and Portugal.[334] In a letter from Transylvania, -dated August 22d, 1747, a graphic description is given of two vast -columns that overswept that country. "They form," says the writer, "a -close compact column about fifteen yards deep, in breadth about four -musket-shot, and in length about four leagues; they move with such -force, or rather precipitation, that the air trembles to such a degree -as to shake the leaves upon the trees, and they darkened the sky in such -a manner, that when they passed over us I could not see my people at -twenty feet distance."[335] This flight was four hours in passing over -the Red Tower. The guards here attempted to stop them, by firing cannon -at them; and where, indeed, the balls and shot swept through the swarm, -they gave way and divided; but, having filled up their ranks in a -moment, they proceeded on their journey.[336] In an item dated -Hermanstadt, July 24, 1748, it is stated that on the day before, a -hussar, coming from the plague committee, saw such a host of these -insects near Szanda, that they covered the country for a mile round, and -were so thick, that he was obliged to dismount from his horse, and halt -for three hours, until the inhabitants of the district, coming with all -sorts of instruments, beat about and forced with loud cries these pests -to quit the spot.[337] In another item, dated Warsaw, August 15, 1748, -it is stated that a certain prince sent out soldiers against the -Locusts, who fired upon them not only with small arms, but with cannons. -They succeeded in dividing the Locusts, but unluckily with the noise -frightened away the storks and cranes which daily consume many of these -insects.[338] Some stragglers from these swarms which so desolated -Wallachia, Moldavia, Transylvania, Hungary, and Poland, in the years -1747 and '48, made their way into England, where they caused some -alarm.[339] During this grand invasion of Europe, they even crossed the -Baltic, and visited Sweden in 1749. Charles the Twelfth, in Bessarabia, -imagined himself, it is said, assailed by a hurricane, mingled with -tremendous hail, when a cloud of these insects suddenly falling, and -covering both men and horses, arrested his entire army in its -march.[340] - -During the devastations committed by the Locusts in Spain in 1754, '55, -'56, and '57, a body of them entered the church of Almaden, and -devoured the silk garments that adorned the images of the saints, not -sparing even the varnish on the altars.[341] - -In 1750 and '53 Poland was again devastated by Locusts.[342] In June, -1772, there were several swarms of "large black flies of the Locust -kind," that did incredible damage to the fruits of the earth, seen in -England. Salt water, it is said, was found effectual in destroying -them.[343] - -From 1778 to 1780 the empire of Morocco was terribly devastated by -Locusts: every green thing was eaten up, not even the bitter bark of the -orange and pomegranate escaping--a most dreadful famine ensued. The poor -wandered over the country, in search of a wretched subsistence from the -roots of plants. They picked, from the dung of camels, the undigested -grains of barley, and devoured them with eagerness. Vast numbers -perished, and the streets and roads were strewed with the unburied -carcasses. On this sad occasion, fathers sold their children, and -husbands their wives. When they visit a country, says Mr. Jackson, from -whom we have gathered the above facts, speaking of the same empire, it -behooves every one to lay in provision for a famine, for they stay from -three to seven years. When they have devoured all other vegetables, they -attack the trees, consuming first the leaves and then the bark.[344] - -To prevent the fatal consequences which would have resulted from a -passage of Locusts in 1780 near Bontzhida, in Transylvania, fifteen -hundred persons were ordered each to gather a sack full of the insects, -part of which were crushed, part burned, and part interred. -Notwithstanding this, very little diminution was remarked in their -numbers, so astonishing was their multiplication, until very cold and -sharp weather had come on. In the following spring there were millions -of eggs disinterred and destroyed by the people, who were levied "en -masse" for the operation; but notwithstanding all this, many places of -tolerable extent were still to be found, in which the soil was covered -with young Locusts, so that not a single spot was left naked. These -were finally, however, swept into ditches, the opposite sides of which -were provided with cloths tightly stretched, and crushed.[345] - -When the provincial governors of Spain are informed in the spring that -Locusts have been seen, they collect the soldiers and peasants, divide -them into companies and surround the district. Every man is furnished -with a long broom, with which he strikes the ground, and thus drives the -young Locusts toward a common center, where a vast excavation, with a -quantity of brushwood, is prepared for their reception, and where the -flame destroys them. Three thousand men were thus employed, in 1780, for -three weeks, at Zamora; and it was reckoned that the quantity collected -exceeded 10,000 bushels.[346] In 1783, 400 bushels more were collected -and destroyed in the same way.[347] - -Mr. Barrow informs us that in South Africa, in 1784 and 1797, two -thousand square miles were literally covered by Locusts, which, being -carried into the sea by a northwest wind, formed, for fifty miles along -shore, a bank three or four feet high; and when the wind was in the -opposite point, the horrible odor which they exhaled was perceptible a -hundred and fifty miles off.[348] - -The immense column of Locusts which ravaged all the Mahratta territory, -and was thought to have come from Arabia, extended, Mr. Kirby's friend -told him, five hundred miles, and was so dense as thoroughly to hide the -sun, and prevent any object from casting a shadow. This horde was not -composed of the migratory Locust, but of a red species, which imparted a -sanguine color to the trees on which they settled.[349] - -Mr. Forbes describes a flight of Locusts which he saw soon after his -arrival at Baroche in 1779. It was more than a mile in length, and half -as much in breadth, and appeared, as the sun was in the meridian, like a -black cloud at a distance. As it approached, its density obscured the -solar rays, causing a gloom like that of an eclipse, over the gardens, -and causing a noise like the rushing of a torrent. They were almost an -hour in passing a given point.[350] - -In another place, this traveler states that, in one considerable tract -near the confines of the Brodera district, he witnessed a mournful -scene, occasioned by a scourge of Locusts. They had, some time before he -came, alighted in that part of the country, and left behind them, he -says, "an awful contrast to the general beauty of that earthly -paradise." The sad description of Hosea, he adds, was literally -realized: "That which the palmer-worm hath left, hath the caterpillar -eaten. They have laid waste the vine, and barked the fig-tree; they have -made it clean bare, and the branches thereof are made white: the -pomegranate-tree, the palm-tree also, and the apple-tree, even all the -trees of the field are withered. Howl, O ye husbandmen! for the wheat -and for the barley; because the harvest of the field is perished. How do -the beasts groan! The herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have -no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate!"[351] - -On the 16th of May, 1800, Buchanan met with in Mysore a flight of -Locusts which extended in length about three miles. He compares the -noise they made to the sound of a cataract.[352] This swarm was very -destructive to the young crops of jola.[353] - -In 1811, at Smyrna, at right angles to a flight of Locusts, a man rode -forty miles before he got rid of the moving column. This immense flight -continued for three days and nights, apparently without intermission. It -was computed that the lowest number of Locusts in this swarm must have -exceeded 168,608,563,200,200! Captain Beaufort determined that the -Locusts of this flight, which he himself saw, if framed into a heap, -would have exceeded in magnitude more than a thousand and thirty times -the largest pyramid of Egypt; or if put on the ground close together, in -a band of a mile and an eighth in width, would have encircled the globe! -This immense swarm caused such a famine in the district of Marwar, that -the natives fled for subsistence in a living torrent into Guzerat and -Bombay; and out of every hundred of these Marwarees, Captain Carnac -estimates, ninety-nine died that year! Near the town of Baroda, these -poor people perished at the rate of five hundred a day; and at -Ahmedabad, a large city of two hundred thousand inhabitants, one hundred -thousand died from this awful visitation![354] - -In 1816, Captain Riley met with a flight of Locusts in the north of -Africa, which extended in length about eight miles, and in breadth -three. He tells us, also, he was informed that several years before he -came to Mogadore, nearly all the Locusts in the empire, which at that -time were very numerous, and had laid waste the country, were carried -off in one night, and drowned in the Atlantic Ocean: that their dead -carcasses a few days afterward were driven by winds and currents on -shore, all along the western coast, extending from near Cape Spartel to -beyond Mogadore, forming in many places immense piles on the beach: that -the stench arising from their remains was intolerable, and was supposed -to have produced the plague which broke out about that time in various -parts of the Moorish dominions.[355] Before this plague in 1799, Mr. -Jackson tells us, from Mogadore to Tangier the face of the earth was -covered by them, and relates the following singular incident which -occurred at El Araiche: The whole region from the confines of the Sahara -was ravaged by the Locusts; but on the other side of the river El Kos -not one of them was to be seen, though there was nothing to prevent -their flying over it. Till then they had proceeded northward; but upon -arriving at its banks they turned to the east, so that all the country -north of El Araiche was full of pulse, fruits and grain, exhibiting a -most striking contrast to the desolation of the adjoining district. At -length they were all carried by a violent hurricane into the Western -Ocean; the shore, as in former instances, was covered by their -carcasses, and a pestilence (confirming the statement, and verifying the -supposition of Captain Riley) was caused by the horrid stench which they -emitted: but when this evil ceased, their devastations were followed by -a most abundant crop.[356] - -In 1825 the Russian empire was overrun to a very alarming extent by -young Locusts. About Kiew, as far as the eye could reach, they lay piled -up one upon another to the height of two feet. Through the government of -Ekatharinoslaw and Cherson to the Black Sea, a distance of about 400 -miles, they covered the ground so thickly that a horse could not walk -fast through them. The sight of such an immense number, says an -eye-witness, Mr. Jaeger, of the most destructive and rapacious insects, -justly occasioned a melancholy foreboding of famine and pestilence, in -case they should invade the cultivated and populous countries of Russia -and Poland. It was at this juncture, however, that the Emperor Alexander -sent his army of thirty thousand soldiers to destroy them. These forming -a line of several hundred miles, and advancing toward the south, -attacked them with shovels, and collected them, as far as possible, in -sacks and burned them. This is the largest army of soldiers sent against -Locusts we have any record of.[357] - -In 1824, Locusts made their appearance at the Glen-Lynden Colony in -South Africa, being the first time they had been seen there since 1808. -In 1825, they continued to advance from the north; in 1826, the corn -crops at Glen-Lynden were totally destroyed by them; and in 1827, 1828, -and 1829, they extended their ravages through the whole of the northern -and southern districts of the colony. In 1830, they again -disappeared.[358] - -The following graphic description of the swarm that visited Glen-Lynden -in 1825 is from the pen of Mr. Pringle. He says: "In returning to -Glen-Lynden, we passed through a flying swarm, which had exactly the -appearance, as it approached, of a vast snow-cloud hanging on the slope -of a mountain from which the snow was falling in very large flakes. When -we got into the midst of them, the air all around and above was darkened -as by a thick cloud; and the rushing sound of the wings of the millions -of these insects was as loud as the dash of a mill-wheel.... The column -that we thus passed through was, as nearly as I could calculate, about -half a mile in breadth, and from two to three miles in length."[359] - -In 1835, a plague of Locusts made their appearance in China, in the -neighborhood of Quangse, and in the western departments of Quangtung. -The military and people were ordered out to exterminate them, as they -had done two years before. A more rational mode, however, was adopted by -the authorities, of offering a bounty of twelve or fifteen cash per -catty of the insects. They were gathered so fast for this price, that it -was immediately lowered to five or six cash per catty. A strike -followed, and the Locusts were left in quiet to do as much damage as -they could.[360] - -Nieuhoff tells us, Locusts in the East Indies are so destructive that -the inhabitants are oftentimes obliged to change their habitations, for -want of sustenance. He adds that this has frequently happened in China -and the Island of Tojowac.[361] - -In 1828-9, in the provinces lying between the Black and Caspian Seas, -Locusts appeared in such vast numbers as were never seen in that country -before.[362] - -In 1839, Kaffraria was again visited by Locusts, which, together with -the war at that time, caused so great a famine that many persons -perished for want of subsistence.[363] Again in 1849-50, this country -was visited by this dreadful scourge. The whole country, says the Rev. -Francis Fleming, was covered with them; and when they arose, the cloud -was so dense that this gentleman was obliged to dismount, and wait till -they passed over.[364] - -Mr. Jules Remy says, that at his arrival at Salt Lake, he observed upon -the shore, on the top of the salt, a deposit of a foot deep which was -entirely composed of dead Locusts--_Oedipoda corallipes_. These insects, -driven by a high wind in prodigiously thick clouds, had been drowned in -the lake, after having, during the course of the summer (of 1855), -destroyed the rising crops, and even the prairie grass. A famine ensued; -but the Mormons, continues Mr. Remy, only saw in this scourge a fresh -proof of the truth of their religion, because it had happened, as among -the Israelites, in the seventh year after their settlement in the -country.[365] - -According to Lieutenant Warren, whose graphic description is here -borrowed, these devastating insects of our great western plains are -"nearly the same as the Locusts of Egypt; and no one," continues this -officer, "who has not traveled on the prairie, and seen for himself, can -appreciate the magnitude of the swarms. Often they fill the air for many -miles in extent, so that an inexperienced eye can scarcely distinguish -their appearance from that of a shower of rain or the smoke of a prairie -fire. The height of their flight may be somewhat appreciated, as Mr. -Evans saw them above his head, as far as their size would render them -visible, while standing on the top of a peak of the Rocky Mountains 8500 -feet above the plain, and an elevation of 14,500 above that of the sea, -in the region where the snow lies all the year. To a person standing in -one of the swarms as they pass over and around him, the air becomes -sensibly darkened, and the sound produced by their wings resembles that -of the passage of a train of cars on a railroad, when standing two or -three hundred yards from the track. The Mormon settlements have suffered -more from the ravages of these insects than probably all other causes -combined. They destroyed nearly all the vegetables cultivated last year -at Fort Randall, and extended their ravages east as far as Iowa."[366] - -The Mormons, in their simple and picturesque descriptions, say that -these insects ("Crickets"--_Oedipoda corallipes_, Haldemars) are the -produce of "a cross between the Spider and the Buffalo."[367] - -In Egypt, in 1843, the popular idea was that the hordes of Locusts, -which were then ravaging the land, were sent by the comet observed about -that time for twelve days in the southwest.[368] - -Pliny, in the words of his translator, Holland, says: "Many a time have -the Locusts been knowne to take their flight out of Affricke, and with -whole armies to infest Italie: many a time have the people of Rome, -fearing a great famine and scarcity toward, beene forced to have -recourse unto Sybil's bookes for remedie, and to avert the ire of the -gods. In the Cyrenaick region within Barbarie, ordained it is by law, -every three years to wage warre against them, and so to conquer them.... -Yea, and a grievous punishment lieth upon him that is negligent in this -behalf, as if hee were a traitour to his prince and countrey. Moreover, -within the Island Lemnos there is a certaine proportion and measure set -down, how many and what quantity every man shall kill; and they are to -exhibit unto the magistrate a just and true account thereof, and namely, -to shew what measure full of dead Locusts. And for this purpose they -make much of Iaies, Dawes, and Choughs, whom they do honour highly, -because they doe flie opposite against the Locusts, and so destroy them. -Moreover in Syria, they are forced to levie a warlike power of men -against them, and to make ridance by that means."[369] - -Democritus says, if a cloud of Locusts is coming forward, let all -persons remain quiet within doors, and they will pass over the place; -but if they suddenly arrive before they are observed, they will hurt -nothing, if you boil bitter lupines, or wild cucumbers, in brine, and -sprinkle it, for they will immediately die. They will likewise pass over -the subjacent spot, continues Democritus, if you catch some bats and tie -them on the high trees of the place; and if you take and burn some of -the Locusts, they are rendered torpid from the smell, and some indeed -die, and some drooping their wings, await their pursuers, and they are -destroyed by the sun. You will drive away Locusts, continues this same -writer, if you prepare some liquor for them, and dig trenches, and -besprinkle them with the liquor; for if you come there afterward, you -will find them oppressed with sleep; but how you are to destroy them is -to be your concern. A Locust will touch nothing, he concludes, if you -pound absinthium, or a leek, or centaury with water, and sprinkle -it.[370] - -Didymus says, to preserve vines from that species of Locusts called by -the ancients _Bruchus_, set three grains of mustard around the stem of -the vine at the root; for these being thus set, have the power of -destroying the Bruchus.[371] - -Nieuhoff tells us that when a swarm of Locusts is seen in China, the -inhabitants, to prevent their alighting, "march to and again the fields -with their colors flying, shouting and hallooing all the while; never -leaving them till they are driven into the sea, or some river, where -they fall down and are drowned."[372] - -Volney says, that when the Locusts first make their appearance on the -frontiers of Syria, the inhabitants strive to drive them off by raising -large clouds of smoke; and if, as it too frequently happens, their herbs -and wet straw fail them, they dig trenches, in which they bury them in -great numbers. The most efficacious destroyers of these insects are, -however, he adds, the south and southeasterly winds, and the bird called -the Samarmar.[373] - -Capt. Riley tells us, it is said at Mogadore, and believed by the Moors, -Christians, and Jews, that the Bereberies inhabiting the Atlas Mountains -have the power to destroy every flight of Locusts that comes from the -south, and from the east, and thus ward off this scourge from all the -countries north and west of this stupendous ridge, merely by building -large fires on the parts of the mountains over which the Locusts are -known always to pass, and in the season when they are likely to appear, -which is at a definite period, within a certain number of days in almost -every year. The Atlas being high, and the peaks covered with snow, these -insects become chilled in passing over them, when, seeing the fires, -they are attracted by the glare, and plunge into the flame. What degree -of credit ought to be attached to this opinion, Capt. Riley says he does -not know, but is certain that the Moorish Sultan used to pay a -considerable sum of money yearly to certain inhabitants of the sides of -the Atlas, in order to keep the Locusts out of his dominions. He also -adds, the Moors and Jews affirmed to him, that during the time in which -the Sultan paid the said yearly stipend punctually, not a Locust was to -be seen in his dominions; but that when the Emperor refused to pay the -stipulated sum, because no Locusts troubled his country, and thinking he -had been imposed upon, that the very same year the Locusts again made -their appearance, and have continued to lay waste the country ever -since.[374] - -An impostor, who is believed to have been a French adventurer, at one -time, it is said, endeavored to persuade the people of Morocco that he -could destroy all the Locusts by a chemical process.[375] - -The superstitious Tartars of the Crimea, in order to rid their country -of its most destructive enemy, the Locusts, at one time sent over to -Asia Minor, whence these insects had come, to procure Dervises to drive -them away by their incantations, etc. These divines prayed around the -mosques, and, as a charm, ordered water to be hung out on the minarets, -which, with the prayers, were meant to entice a species of blackbird to -come in multitudes and devour the Locusts! The water thus hung out is -said to be still preserved in the mosques. On this occasion, the -Dervises collected eighty thousand rubles, the poorest shepherd giving -half a ruble.[376] - -We read in "Purchas's Pilgrims," of Locusts being exorcised and -excommunicated, so that they immediately flew away![377] From this -interesting collection the following is clipped: "In the yeere 1603, at -Fremona, great misery happened by Grasse-hoppers, from which Paez freed -the Catholikes, by Letanies and sprinkling the Fields with Holy-water; -when as the Fields of Heretikes, seuered only by a Ditch, were spoyled -by them. Yea, a Heretike vsing this sacred sprinkling, preserued his -corne, which, to a Catholike neglecting in one Field, was lost, and -preserued in another by that couiured aspersion (so neere of kinne are -these Locusts to the Deuill, which is said to hate Holy-water)."[378] - -In the south of Europe rewards are offered for the collection both of -the Locusts and their eggs; and at Marseilles, it is on record that, in -the year 1613, 20,000 francs were paid for this purpose. In 1825, the -same city paid a sum of 6200 francs for destroying these pests to -agriculture.[379] We read in the eighty-first volume of the Gentleman's -Magazine, that most of the Agricultural Societies of Italy have offered -premiums for the best method of destroying Locusts: that in many -districts several thousand persons are employed in searching for the -eggs; that in four days the inhabitants of the district of Ofanto -collected at one time 80,000 sacks full, which were thrown into the -river.[380] - -The noise Locusts make when engaged in the work of destruction has been -compared to the sound of a flame of fire driven by the wind, and the -effect of their bite to that of fire.[381] Volney says: "The noise they -make, in browsing on the trees and herbage, may be heard at a great -distance, and resembles that of an army foraging in secret." His -following sentence may also be introduced here: "The Tartars themselves -are a less destructive enemy than these little animals."[382] Robbins -compares their noise to that of small pigs when eating corn.[383] The -noise produced by their flight and approach, the poet Southey has -strikingly described: - - Onward they came a dark continuous cloud - Of congregated myriads numberless, - The rushing of whose wings was as the sound - Of a broad river headlong in its course - Plunged from a mountain summit, or the roar - Of a wild ocean in the autumn storm, - Shattering its billows on a shore of rocks![384] - -Another comparison may be introduced here, to give some idea of the -infinite numbers of these insects. Dr. Clarke compares a cloud of them -to a flight of snow when the flakes are carried obliquely by the wind. -They covered his carriage and horses, and the Tartars assert that people -are sometimes suffocated by them. The whole face of nature might have -been described as covered with a living veil. They consisted of two -species--_Locusta tartarica_ and _L. migratoria_; the first is almost -twice the size of the second, and, because it precedes it, is called by -the Tartars the herald or messenger.[385] - -In the Account of the admirable Voyage of Domingo Gonsales, the little -Spaniard, to the World of the Moon, by Help of several Gansa's, or large -Geese, we find the following: "One accident more befel me worth mention, -that during my stay, I say, I saw a kind of a reddish cloud coming -toward me, and continually approaching nearer, which, at last, I -perceived, was nothing but a huge swarm of Locusts. He that reads the -discources of learned men concerning them (as John Leo, of Africa, and -others, who relate that they are seen for several days in the air before -they fall on the earth), and adds thereto this experience of mine, will -easily conclude that they can come from no other place than the globe of -the moon."[386] - -To accompany this piece of satire, the following suits well: - -A Chinese author, quoted by Rev. Thomas Smith, observes, that Locusts -never appear in China but when great floods are followed by a very dry -season; and that it is his opinion that they are hatched by the sun from -the spawn of fish left by the waters on the ground![387] - -So far the history of the Locust has been but a series of the greatest -calamities which human nature has suffered--famine, pestilence, and -death. No wonder that, in all ages and times, these insects have so -deeply impressed the imagination, that almost all people have looked on -them with superstitious horror. We have shown how that their -devastations have entered into the history of nations. Their effigies, -too, like those of other conquerors of the earth, have been perpetuated -in coins. - -We are the army of the great God, and we lay ninety-and-nine eggs; were -the hundredth put forth, the world would be ours--such is the speech the -Arabs put into the mouth of the Locust. And such is the feeling the -Arabs entertain of this insect, that they give it a remarkable pedigree, -and the following description of its person: It has the head of the -horse, the horns of the stag, the eye of the elephant, the neck of the -ox, the breast of the lion, the body of the scorpion, the hip of the -camel, the legs of the stork, the wings of the eagle, and the tail of -the dragon.[388] - -The Mohammedans say, that after God had created man from clay, of that -which was left he made the Locust: and in utter despair, they look upon -this devastating scourge as a just chastisement from heaven for their or -their nation's sins, or as directed by that fatality in which they all -believe.[389] - -The wings of some Locusts being spotted, were thought by many to be -leaves from the book of fate, in which letters announcing the destiny of -nations were to be read. Paul Jetzote, professor of Greek literature at -the Gymnasium of Stettin, wrote a work on the meaning of three of these -letters, which were, according to him, to be seen on the wings of those -Locusts which visited Silesia in 1712. These letters were B. E. S., and -formed the initials of the Latin words "Bella Erunt Saeva," or "Babel Est -Solitudo;" also the German words, "Bedeutet Erschreckliche Schlacten," -portending frightful battles, "Bedeutet und Erfreuliche Siege," -portending happy victories. There are Greek and Hebrew sentences -likewise, in which, no doubt, the professor showed as much learning, -judgment, and spirit of prophecy as in those already quoted.[390] - -A quite common belief in our own country is, that every Locust's wing is -marked with either the letter W, portending War, or the letter P, -portending Peace. - -Not content with the dreadful presence of this plague, the inhabitants -of most countries took that opportunity of adding to their present -misery by prognosticating future evils. The direction of their flight -pointed out the kingdom doomed to bow under the divine wrath. The color -of the insect designated the national uniform of such armies as were to -go forth and conquer.[391] - -Aldrovandus states, on the authority of Cruntz, that Tamerlane's army -being infested by Locusts, that chief looked on it as a warning from -God, and desisted from his designs on Jerusalem.[392] - -Mouffet says: "If any credit may be given to Apomasaris, a man most -learned in the learning of the Indians, Persians, and Egyptians, to -dream of the coming of Locusts is a sign of an army coming against us, -and so much as they shall seem to hurt or not hurt us, so shall the -enemy."[393] - -We now turn to the history of the Locust as an article of food--a -striking benefit directly derived from insects. For as they are the -greatest destroyers of food, so as some recompense they furnish a -considerable supply of it to numerous nations--as they cause, they are -frequently the means of preventing famines. They are recorded to have -done this from the remotest antiquity. - -In the curious account given by Alexis of a poor Athenian family's -provisions, mention of this insect is found: - - For our best and daintiest cheer, - Through the bright half of the year, - Is but acorns, onions, peas, - Ochros, lupines, radishes, - Vetches, wild pears nine and ten, - With a Locust now and then.[394] - -Diodorus Siculus, who lived about threescore years before our Saviour's -birth, first, if I mistake not, described the Acridophagi, or -Locust-eaters, of Ethiopia. He says they are smaller than other men, of -lean and meager bodies, and exceeding black: that in the spring the -south winds rise high, and drive an infinite number of Locusts out of -the desert, of an extraordinary bigness, furnished with most dirty and -nasty colored wings; and these are plentiful food and provision for them -all their days. This historian has also given us an account of their -peculiar mode of catching these insects: In their country there is a -large and deep vale, extending far in length for many furlongs together: -all over this they lay heaps of wood and other combustible material, and -when the swarms of Locusts are driven thither by the force of the winds, -then some of the inhabitants go to one part of the valley, and some to -another, and set the grass and other combustible matter on fire, which -was before thrown among the piles; whereupon arises a great and -suffocating smoke, which so stifles the Locusts as they fly over the -vale, that they soon fall down dead to the ground. This destruction of -them, he continues, is continued for many days together, so that they -lie in great heaps; and the country being full of salt, they gather -these heaps together, and season them sufficiently with this salt, which -gives them an excellent relish, and preserves them a long time sweet, -so that they have food from these insects all the year round. - -Diodorus concludes his history of this people, with an account of the -strange and wonderful death that comes to them at an early age, the -result of eating this kind of food: They are exceeding short-lived, -never living to be over forty; and when they grow old, winged lice breed -in their flesh, not only of divers sorts, but of horrid and ugly shapes; -that this plague begins first at the abdomen and breast, and in a short -time eats and consumes the whole body. (_Phthiriasis._)[395] - -Strabo, most probably quoting from the above passage from Diodorus, -speaks of a nation bordering on that of the Struthophagi, or -Bird-eaters, whose food consisted entirely of Locusts, and who were -carried off by the same most horrible disease.[396] - -Pliny remarks: "The people of the East countries make their food of -grasshoppers, even the very Parthians, who otherwise abound in -wealth."[397] - -The Arabs, who are compelled at the present day to inhabit the desert of -Sahara, welcome the approach of Locusts as the means, oftentimes, of -saving them from famishing with hunger. Robbins tells us their manner of -preparing these insects for food is, by digging a deep hole in the -ground, building a fire at the bottom, and filling it with wood. Then, -after the earth is heated as hot as possible, and the coals and embers -taken out, they prepare to fill the cavity with the live Locusts, -confined in a bag holding about five bushels. Several hold the bag -perpendicularly over the hole with the mouth near the surface of the -ground, while others stand round with sticks. The bag is then opened, -and the Locusts shaken with great force into the hot pit, while the -surrounding persons immediately throw sand upon them to prevent their -flying off. The mouth of the hole is now completely covered with sand, -and another fire built upon the top of it. When the Locusts are -thoroughly roasted and become cool, they are picked out with the hand, -thrown upon tent-cloths, or blankets, and placed in the sun to dry. -During this process, which requires two or three days, they must be -watched with the utmost care, to prevent the live Locusts from devouring -them, if a flight should happen to be passing at the time. When -perfectly dry, they are pounded slightly, pressed into bags, or skins, -and are ready for transportation. To prepare them now for present -eating, they are pulverized in mortars, and mixed with water sufficient -to make a kind of dry pudding. They are, however, sometimes eaten singly -without pulverizing, after breaking off the head, wings, and legs. Mr. -Robbins considers them nourishing food.[398] - -Locusts are sometimes boiled at Wadinoon for food for men and -beasts.[399] - -The Arabs of Morocco, we learn from Mr. Jackson, esteem Locusts a great -delicacy; and, during the summer of 1799 and the spring of 1800, after -the plague had almost depopulated Barbary, dishes of them were served up -at the principal repasts. Their usual way of dressing these insects, was -to boil them in water half an hour, then sprinkle them with salt and -pepper, and fry them, adding a little vinegar. The body of the insect is -only eaten, and resembles, according to this gentleman, the taste of -prawns. For their stimulating qualities, the Moors prefer them to -pigeons. A person may eat a plateful of them containing two or three -hundred without any ill effects.[400] In another place, however, Mr. -Jackson says the poor people, when obliged to live altogether on this -kind of food, become meager and indolent.[401] - -In Morocco, the price of provisions falls when the Locusts have entered -the neighborhood.[402] - -The authority of Capt. Riley is, that Locusts are esteemed very good -food by the Moors, Arabs, and Jews of Barbary, who catch large numbers -of them in their season, and throw them, while alive and jumping, into a -pan of boiling argan oil, where they are allowed to remain, hissing and -frying, till their wings are burned off and their bodies sufficiently -cooked; they are then poured out and eaten. Riley says they resemble, -in consistence and flavor, the yolks of hard-boiled hens' eggs.[403] - -Capt. Beechey tells us he saw many asses, heavily laden with Locusts for -food, driven into the town of Mesurata, in Tripoli.[404] - -Barth, in Central Africa, saw whole calabashes filled with roasted -Locusts, which, he says, occasionally form a considerable part of the -food of the natives, particularly if their grain has been destroyed by -this plague, as they can then enjoy not only the agreeable flavor of the -dish, but also take a pleasant revenge for the ravages of their -fields.[405] - -Adanson, after describing an immense swarm of Locusts that covered an -extent of several leagues which he saw, says the negroes of Gambia eat -these insects, and have different ways of dressing them--some pounding -and boiling them in milk, others only boiling them on coals.[406] - -Dr. Sparrman says the Hottentots rejoice greatly upon the arrival of the -Locusts, although they never fail to destroy every particle of verdure -on the ground. But, continues the doctor, they make themselves ample -amends for this loss, for, seizing these marauding animals, they eat -them in such numbers as, in the space of a few days, to get visibly -fatter and in a better condition. The females are principally eaten, -especially when about to migrate, before they are able to fly, when -their wings are short and their bodies heavy and distended with eggs. -The soup prepared of these is of a brown coffee color, and, when cooled, -from the eggs has a fat and greasy appearance.[407] - -Dr. Sparrman also relates a curious notion which the Hottentots about -the Visch River have with respect to the origin of the Locusts: that -they proceed from the good will of a great master-conjurer a long way to -the north, who, having removed the stone from the mouth of a certain -deep pit, lets loose these insects in order to furnish them with -food.[408] This is not unlike the account, given by the author of the -Apocalypse, of the origin of the symbolical Locusts, which are said to -ascend upon an angel's opening the pit of the abyss.[409] - -The Korannas and Bushmen of the Cape save the Locusts in large -quantities, and grind them between two stones into a kind of a meal, -which they mix with fat and grease, and bake in cakes. Upon this fare, -says Mr. Fleming, they live for months together, and chatter with the -greatest joy as soon as the Locusts are seen approaching.[410] - -Locusts in Madagascar are greatly esteemed by the natives as food.[411] - -The account of the missionary Moffat differs somewhat from and is much -more complete than Mr. Fleming's and Dr. Sparrman's. He says the natives -of S. Africa embrace every opportunity of gathering Locusts, which can -be done during the night. Whenever the cloud alights at a place not very -distant from a town, the inhabitants turn out with sacks, and often with -pack-oxen, gather loads, and return next day with millions. The Locusts -are then prepared for eating by simple boiling, or rather steaming, as -they are put into a large pot with a little water, and covered closely -up; after boiling for a short time, they are taken out and spread on -mats in the sun to dry, when they are winnowed, something like corn, to -clear them of their legs and wings; and, when perfectly dry, are put -into sacks, or laid upon the house floor in a heap. The natives eat them -whole, adding a little salt when they can obtain it, or pound them in a -wooden mortar; and, when they have reduced them to something like meal, -they mix them with a little water and make a cold stir-about. - -When Locusts abound, the natives become quite fat, and would even reward -any old lady who would say that she had coaxed them to alight within -reach of the inhabitants. - -Mr. Moffat thinks the Locust not bad food, and, when well fed, almost as -good as shrimps.[412] - -The plan of gathering Locusts by night is occasionally attended with -danger. "It has happened that in gathering them people have been bitten -by venomous reptiles. On one occasion a woman had been traveling for -several miles with a large bundle of Locusts on her head, when a -serpent, which had been put into the sack with them, found its way out. -The woman, supposing it to be a thong dangling about her shoulders, laid -hold of it with her hand, and, feeling that it was alive, instantly -precipitated the bundle to the ground and fled."[413] - -Pringle, in his song of the wild Bushman, has the following lines: - - Yea, even the wasting Locust-swarm, - Which mighty nations dread, - To me nor terror brings nor harm; - I make of them my bread.[414] - -Flights of Locusts are considered so much of a blessing in South Africa, -that, as Dr. Livingstone states, the _rain_-doctors sometimes promised -to bring them by their incantations.[415] - -Carsten Niebuhr says that all Arabians, whether living in their own -country or in Persia, Syria, and Africa, are accustomed to eat Locusts. -They distinguish several species of insect, to which they give -particular names. The red Locust, which is esteemed fatter and more -succulent than any other, and accordingly the greatest delicacy, they -call _Muken_; another is called _Dubbe_, but they abstain from it -because it has a tendency to produce diarrhoea. A light-colored Locust, -as well as the Muken, is eaten. - -In Arabia, Locusts, when caught, are put in bags, or on strings, to be -dried; in Barbary, they are boiled, and then dried upon the roofs of the -houses. The Bedouins of Egypt roast them alive, and devour them with the -utmost voracity. Niebuhr says he saw no instance of unwholesomeness in -this article of food; but Mr. Forskal was told it had a tendency to -thicken the blood and bring on melancholy habits. The former gentleman -also says the Jews in Arabia are convinced that the fowls, of which the -Israelites ate so largely of in the desert, were only clouds of Locusts, -and laugh at our translators, who have supposed that they found quails -where quails never were.[416] - -The wild Locusts upon which St. John fed have given rise to great -discussion--some authors asserting them to be the fruit of the -carob-tree, while others maintain they were the true Locusts, and refer -to the practice of the Arabs in Syria at the present day. "They who deny -insects to have been the food of this holy man," says Hasselquist, "urge -that this insect is an unaccustomary and unnatural food; but they would -soon be convinced of the contrary, if they would travel hither, to -Egypt, Arabia, or Syria, and take a meal with the Arabs. Roasted Locusts -are at this time eaten by the Arabs, at the proper season, when they can -procure them; so that in all probability this dish has been used in the -time of St. John. Ancient customs are not here subject to many changes, -and the victuals of St. John are not believed unnatural here; and I was -assured by a judicious Greek priest that their church had never taken -the word in any other sense, and he even laughed at the idea of its -being a bird or a plant."[417] - -Mr. Forbes incidentally remarks that in Persia and Arabia, roasted -Locusts are sold in the markets, and eaten with rice and dates, and -sometimes flavored with salt and spices.[418] - -The _Acridites lincola_ (_Gryllus AEgypticus_ of Linnaeus) is the species -commonly sold for food in the markets of Bagdad. - -In fact, Locusts have been eaten in Arabia from the remotest antiquity. -This is evinced by the sculptured slabs found by Layard at Kouyunjic; -for, among other attendants carrying fruit, flowers, and game, to a -banquet, are seen several bearing dried Locusts fastened on rods. And -being thus introduced in this bas-relief among the choicest delicacies, -it is most probable they were also highly prized by the Assyrians. -Layard has figured one of these Locust bearers, who upon the sculptured -slab is about four and a half feet in height.[419] - -The Chinese regard the Locust, when deprived of the abdomen, and -properly cooked, as passable eating, but do not appear to hold the dish -in much estimation.[420] - -Mr. Laurence Oliphant, in Tientsin, China, saw bushels of fried Locusts -hawked about in baskets by urchins in the streets. Locust-hunting, he -asserts, was a favorite and profitable occupation among the juvenile -part of the community. He thought the taste not unlike that of -periwinkle.[421] - -Williams says: "The insect food (of the Chinese) is confined to Locusts -and Grasshoppers, Ground-grubs and Silk-worms; the latter are fried to a -crisp when cooked."[422] - -Dampier says in the Bashee (Philippine) Islands, Locusts are eaten as a -regular food. The natives catch them in small nets, when they come to -devour their potato-vines, and parch them over the fire in an earthen -pan. When thus prepared the legs and wings fall off, and the heads and -backs, which before were brownish, turn red like boiled shrimps. Dampier -once ate of this dish, and says he liked it well enough. When their -bodies were full they were moist to the palate, but their heads cracked -in his teeth.[423] - -Ovalle states that in the pampas of Chili, bread is made of Locusts and -of Mosquitos.[424] - -According to Mr. Jules Remy, our Western Indians eat in great quantities -what are generally there called _Crickets_, the _Oedipoda -corallipes_.[425] - -In the southern parts of France, M. Latrielle informs us, the children -are very fond of the fleshy thighs of Locusts.[426] - -The Arabs believe the Locusts have a government among themselves similar -to that of the bees and ants; and when "Sultan Jeraad," King of the -Locusts, rises, the whole mass follow him, and not a solitary straggler -is left behind to witness the devastation. Mr. Jackson himself evidently -believed this from the manner he has narrated it.[427] An Arab once -asserted to this gentleman, that he himself had seen the great "Sultan -Jeraad," and described his lordship as being larger and more beautifully -colored than the ordinary Locust.[428] - -Capt. Riley also mentions that each flight of Locusts is said to have a -king which directs its movements with great regularity.[429] - -The Chinese believe the same, and affirm that this leader is the -largest individual of the whole swarm.[430] - -Benjamin Bullifant, in his observations on the Natural History of New -England, says: "The Locusts have a kind of regimental discipline, and as -it were commanders, which show greater and more splendid wings than the -common ones, and arise first when pursued by fowls, or the feet of a -traveler, as I have often seriously remarked."[431] - -The truth, however, is found in the Bible. They have no king.[432] - -The Saharawans, or Arabs of the desert, "whose hands are against every -man,"[433] and who rejoice in the evil that befalls other nations, when -they behold the clouds of Locusts proceeding toward the north are filled -with the greatest gladness, anticipating a general mortality, which they -call _El-khere_, the good, or the benediction; for, when Barbary is thus -laid waste, they emerge from their arid recesses in the desert and pitch -their tents in the desolated plains.[434] - -Pausanias tells us, that in the temple of Parthenon there was a brazen -statue of Apollo, by the hand of Phidias, which was called Parnopius, -out of gratitude for that god having once banished from that country the -Locusts, which greatly injured the land. The same author asserts that he -himself has known the Locusts to have been thrice destroyed by Apollo in -the Mountain Lipylus, once exterminating them by a violent wind; at -another time by vehement heat; and the third time by unexpected -cold.[435] - -At a time when there were great swarms of Locusts in China, as we learn -from Navarette, the Emperor went out into his gardens, and taking up -some of these insects in his hands, thus spoke to them: The people -maintain themselves on wheat, rice, etc., you come to devour and destroy -it, without leaving anything behind; it were better you should devour my -bowels than the food of my subjects. Having concluded his speech, the -monarch was about to put them in a fair way of "devouring his bowels" by -swallowing them, when some that stood by telling him they were -venomous, he nobly answered, "I value not my life when it is for the -good of my subjects and people to lose it," and immediately swallowed -the insects. History tells us the Locusts that very moment took wing, -and went off without doing any more damage; but whether or not the -heroic Emperor recovered leaves us in ignorance.[436] - -Mr. J. M. Jones gives the following ludicrous account of the capture of -a Locust in the Bermudas. While walking one hot day in the vicinity of -the barracks at St. George's, with his lamented friend, the late Col. -Oakly (56th Regt.), on the lookout for insects, a very fine specimen of -the Locust sprung up before them. The former chased it for a while -unavailingly, but determined not to be balked of his prey; the colonel -then joined in the pursuit, and after a sharp and hot chase, bagged his -game right before a sentry-box; the sentry, as in duty bound, standing -with arms presented, in the presence of a field officer, who was, -however, in a rather undignified position to receive the salute. They -had gained their prize, however, and had a hearty laugh, in which we -fancy the sentry could scarcely help joining.[437] - -Capt. Drayson, in his South African Sporting, tells the following -anecdote: A South African, riding through a flock of Locusts, was struck -in the eye by one of them, and, though blinded momentarily in the -injured eye, he still kept the other on the insect, which sought to -escape by diving among the crowd on the ground. So, dismounting, he -captured it, passed a large pin through its body, and thrust it in his -waistcoat pocket; and whenever the damaged eye smarted, he pulled it out -again, and stuck the pin through it in a fresh place.[438] - -Darwin tells us that when the "Beagle" was to windward of the Cape de -Verd Islands, and when the nearest point of land, not directly opposed -to the trade-wind, was Cape Blanco on the coast of Africa, 370 miles -distant, a large Grasshopper--_Acrydium_--flew on board![439] But Sir -Hans Sloane mentions a much more remarkable flight in his History of -Jamaica; for when the Assistance frigate was about 300 leagues to -windward of Barbados, he says a Locust alighted on the forecastle among -the sailors![440] - -Several species of Locusts are beautifully marked; these were sought -after by young Jewish children as playthings.[441] - -The eggs of the _Chargol_ Locust, _Truxalis nasuta_?, the Jewish women -used to carry in their ears to preserve them from the earache.[442] - -The word _Locust_, Latin _Locusta_, is derived by the old etymologists -from _locus_, a place, and _ustus_, burned,--"quod tactu multa _urit_ -morsu vero omnia erodat." True Locusts are the _Acridium_, or -_Criquets_, of Geoffroy, and the _Gryllus_ of Fabricius. The -Migratory-locust, _Locusta migratoria_, a rather small insect, is the -most celebrated species of the family. To it almost all the devastations -before mentioned have been attributed. It is most probable, however, -many species have been confounded under the same name. - -In Spain, as we are told by Osbeck, the people of fashion keep a species -of Locust--called there _Gryllo_--in cages--_grillaria_,--for the sake -of its song.[443] De Pauw says that, like Canary birds, they were kept -in cages to sing during the celebration of mass.[444] - -The song of a Spanish Gryllo on one occasion, if we may credit the -historian, was the means of saving a vessel from shipwreck. The incident -evinces the perilous situation of Cabeza de Vara, in his voyage toward -Brazil, and is related by Dr. Southey in his history of that country as -follows: - -"When they had crossed the Line, the state of the water was inquired -into, and it was found, that of a hundred casks there remained but -three, to supply four hundred men and thirty horses. Upon this, the -Adelantado gave orders to make for the nearest land. Three days they -stood toward it. A soldier, who had set out in ill health, had brought a -Gryllo, or ground cricket, with him from Cadiz, thinking to be amused by -the insect's voice; but it had been silent the whole way, to his no -little disappointment. Now, on the fourth morning, the Gryllo began to -sing its shrill rattle, scenting, as it was immediately supposed, the -land. Such was the miserable watch which had been kept, that upon -looking out at the warning, they perceived high rocks within bowshot; -against which, had it not been for the insect, they must inevitably have -been lost. They had just time to drop anchor. From hence they coasted -along, the Gryllo singing every night, as if it had been on shore, till -they reached the Island of St. Catalina."[445] - -To account for the singular sound produced by the _Platyphyllon -concavum_, which much resembles the expression _Katy did_, so much so -that the insect is now called the Katy-did,--a curious legend is told in -this country, and particularly in Virginia and Maryland. Mrs. A. L. -Ruter Dufour has kindly embodied it in the following verses for me: - - Two maiden sisters loved a gallant youth, - Once in the far-off days of olden time: - With all of woman's fervency and truth;-- - So runs a very ancient rustic rhyme. - - Blanche, chaste and beauteous as a Fairy-queen, - Brave Oscar's heart a willing captive led; - Lovely in soul as was her form and mien, - While guileless love its light around her shed. - - A Juno was the proud and regal Kate,-- - Her love thus scorn'd, her beauty thus defied, - Like Juno's turn'd her love to vengeful hate:-- - Mysteriously the gallant Oscar died. - - Bereft of reason, faithful Blanche soon lay;-- - The mystery of this fearful fate none knew, - Save proud, revengeful Kate, who would not say - It was her hand had dared the deed to do. - - Justice and pity then to Jove appealed, - That the dark secret be no longer hid; - Young Oscar's spirit he at once concealed, - That cries, each summer night, _Kate_, _Katy-did_! - - ROSE HILL, D. C., June 24, 1864. - -If a Katy-did enters your house, an unlooked-for visitor will speedily -come. If it sings there, some of your family will be noted for fine -musical powers. These superstitions obtain in Maryland. - - - - -ORDER IV. - -NEUROPTERA. - - -Termitidae--White-ants. - -The Termites or White-ants (which are _ants_ only by a misnomer) are -found in both the Indies, in Africa, and in South America, where they do -vast damage, in consequence of their eating and perforating wooden -buildings, utensils, furniture, and indeed all kinds of household stuff, -which are utterly destroyed by them if not timely prevented. They are -found also in Europe, and, about thirty years ago, from the extent of -their ravages in the West of France, and particularly at Rochelle, -caused considerable alarm.[446] - -There is a story commonly told, if not commonly credited throughout -India, of the Termites demolishing a chest of dollars at Bencoolen, -which is in a great degree cleared up by the following anecdote -introduced by Mr. Forbes in his Memoirs: A gentleman having charge of a -chest of money, unfortunately placed it on the floor in a damp -situation; and, as a matter of course in that climate, the box was -speedily attacked by the Termites, which had their burrow just under the -place the treasure stood. Soon annihilating the bottom, these devouring -insects were not any more ceremonious in respect to the bags containing -the specie; which, being thus let loose, fell piece by piece gradually -into the hollows in the Termites' burrow. When the cash was demanded, -and not to be found, all were greatly amazed at the wonderful powers, -both of teeth and stomachs, of the little marauders, which were supposed -to have consumed the silver and gold as well as the wood. But, after -some years, however, the house requiring repair, the whole sum was found -several feet deep in the earth; and, thanks, the Termites were rescued -from that obloquy which the supposed power of feasting on precious -metals had cast on their whole race.[447] - -Kempfer, during his stay at a Dutch fort on the coast of Malabar, one -morning discovered some peculiar marks like arches upon his table, about -the size of his little finger. Suspecting they were the work of -Termites, he made an accurate examination, and, much to his surprise, -found not only what he expected to be true, but that these voracious -insects had pierced a passage of that thickness up one leg of the table, -then across the table, and so down again through the middle of another -leg into the floor! What made it the more wonderful was that it had all -been done in the few hours that intervened between his retiring to rest -and his rising.[448] - -Mr. Forbes, on surveying a room which had been locked up during an -absence of a few weeks, observed a number of advanced works in various -directions toward some prints and drawings in English frames; the -glasses appeared to be uncommonly dull, and the frames covered with -dust. "On attempting," says he, "to wipe it off, I was astonished to -find the glasses fixed on the wall, not suspended in frames as I left -them, but completely surrounded by an incrustation cemented by the -White-ants, who had actually eaten up the deal frames and back-boards, -and the greater part of the paper, and left the glasses upheld by the -incrustation, or covered way, which they had formed during their -depredation."[449] - -It is even asserted, says Kirby and Spence, that the superb residence of -the Governor-general at Calcutta, which cost the East India Company such -immense sums, is now going rapidly to decay in consequence of the -attacks of these insects. But not content with the dominions they have -acquired, and the cities they have laid low on Terra Firma, encouraged -by success, the White-ants have also aimed at the sovereignty of the -ocean, and once had the hardihood to attack even a British ship of the -line--the Albion; and, in spite of the efforts of her commander and his -valiant crew, having boarded they got possession of her, and handled -her so roughly, that when brought into port, being no longer fit for -service, she was obliged to be broken up.[450] - -Lutfullah, in his Autobiography, relates the following: "I returned the -couch kindly sent to me by a friend, with my thanks, and made my bed on -the ground, placing my new desk of Morocco leather at the head to serve -as a pillow, and went to bed. In the morning, when roused by the bugle, -I found my bed strewed with damp dust, my skin excoriated in some parts, -and my back irritated in others. I called my servant, who was saddling -my horse. 'Mahdilli,' said I angrily, 'you have been throwing dust all -over my bed and self, in shaking the trappings of the horse near my bed -in the tent.'--'No, sir, I have done no such thing,' was his reply. When -I took up my cloak it fell to pieces in my hand; the blanket was in the -same state, and the bottom of my desk, with some valuable papers, were -destroyed. 'What misfortune is this?' cried I to Mahdilli, who -immediately brought a burning stick to examine the cause, and coolly -observed, 'It is the White-ants, sir, and no misfortune, but a piece of -bad luck, sir.' Poor man! in all mishaps, I always found him attaching -blame to destiny, and never to his own or my imprudence."[451] - -The Caffres, as we are informed by Mr. Latrobe, when first permitted to -settle at Guadenthal, before they could build ovens, according to the -custom of their country, availed themselves of the Ant-hills found in -that neighborhood; for, having destroyed the inhabitants by fire and -smoke, they scooped them out hollow, leaving a crust of a few inches in -thickness, and used them for baking, putting in three loaves at a -time.[452] - -Mr. Southey says that in Brazil the Spaniards hollow out the nests of -the Termites, and use them for ovens.[453] The authority of Messrs. -Kidder and Fletcher is, that in Brazil, "the Termites' dwelling is -sometimes overturned by the slaves, the hollow scooped wider, and is -then used as a bake-oven to parch Indian-corn."[454] - -Mr. Latrobe also tells us that the clay of which these Ant-hills are -formed, is so well prepared by the industrious Termites, _Termes -bellicosus_, that it is used for the floors of rooms in South Africa -both by the Hottentots and farmers.[455] - -Mr. Southey states that in Brazil "the Spaniards pulverize the nests of -the Termites, and with the powder form a flooring for their houses, -which becomes as hard as stone, and on which it is said no fleas or -other insects will harbor."[456] The early Spanish settlers built the -walls of their houses of the same earth; and some of which, which were -erected in the seventeenth century, are said to be still in -existence.[457] - -Ant-hills, or rather the Termites which inhabit them, have also been -used as an instrument of perhaps the most infernal torture the ingenuity -of man has ever invented. For, in South Africa, at one time, the -wretched victim, whether prisoner of war or offending subject, having -been smeared with some oily substance, was partially interred in one of -these heaps, and, if not first roasted to death by the burning sun, was -literally devoured alive by the myriads of insects which have their -habitation there. It has been asserted that even some Englishmen have -met this dreadful fate.[458] - -At Unyamwezi, in the lake regions of Central Africa, the natives chew -the clay of Ant-hills as a substitute when their tobacco fails. They -call this clay "sweet earth." It is said the Arabs have also tried it -without other effects than nausea.[459] - -The goldsmiths of Ceylon employ the powdered clay of Ant-hills in -preference to all other substances in the preparation of crucibles and -moulds for their fine castings, for so delicate is the trituration to -which the Termites subject this material;[460] and Knox says, "the -people use this finer clay to make their earthen gods of, it is so pure -and fine."[461] - -Termites, as an article of food, are eaten by the inhabitants of many -countries. Mr. Koenig, in his essay on the history of these insects, read -before the Society of Naturalists of Berlin, tells us, that to catch -the Termites before their emigration, the natives of the East Indies -make two holes in the nest, one to windward, and the other to leeward; -at the latter aperture, they place a pot, rubbed with aromatic herbs. On -the windward side they make a fire, the smoke of which drives these -insects into the pots. By this method they take a great quantity, of -which they make, with flour, a variety of pastry, which they sell to the -poorer people. This author adds, that in the season in which this -aliment is abundant, the abuse of it produces an epidemic colic and -dysentery, which carries off the patient in two or three hours.[462] - -The Africans, says Mr. Smeatham, are less ingenious in catching and -preparing them. They content themselves in collecting those which fall -into the water at the time of emigration. They skim them off the surface -with calabashes, filling large caldrons with them, then grill them in -iron pots, over a gentle fire, stirring them as coffee is stirred. They -thus eat them by handfuls, without sauce, or any other preparation, and -find them delicious. This gentleman has several times eaten them cooked -in this manner, and thinks them delicate, nourishing, and wholesome, -being sweeter than the grub of the palm-tree weevil (_Calandra -palmarum_), and resembling in taste sugared cream or sweet almond -paste.[463] - -The Hottentots, Dr. Sparrman informs us, eat them greedily boiled and -raw, and soon grow fat and plump upon this food.[464] - -An idea may be formed of this dish by what once occurred to Dr. -Livingstone on the banks of the Zouga, in South Africa. The Bayeiye -chief Palani visiting this traveler while eating, he gave him a piece of -bread and preserved apricots; and as the chief seemed to relish it much, -he asked him if he had any food equal to that in his country. "Ah!" said -the chief, "did you ever taste White-ants?" As the doctor never had, he -replied, "Well, if you had, you never could have desired to eat anything -better."[465] - -In the lake regions of Central Africa, says Burton, man revenges -himself upon the White-ant, and satisfies his craving for animal food, -which in those regions oftentimes becomes a principle of action,--a -passion,--by boiling the largest and fattest species, and eating them as -a relish with his insipid porridge.[466] - -Buchanan says the Termes, or White-ant, is a common article of food -among one of the Hindoo tribes; Mr. Forbes says, of the low castes in -Mysore, and the Carnatic.[467] Captain Green relates that, in the ceded -districts of India, the natives place the branches of trees over the -nests, and then by means of smoke drive out the insects; which -attempting to fly, their wings are broken off by the mere touch of the -branches.[468] - -The female Termite, in particular, is supposed by the Hindoos to be -endowed with highly nutritive properties, and, we are told by Mr. -Broughton, was carefully sought after and preserved for the use of the -debilitated Surjee Rao, Prime-minister of Scindia, chief of the -Mahrattas.[469] - -The Hottentots not only eat the Termites in their perfect state, but -also, when their corn is consumed and they are reduced to the necessity, -in their pupa. These pupae, which they call "rice," on account of their -resemblance to that grain, they usually wash, and cook with a small -quantity of water. Prepared in this way they are said to be palatable; -and if the people find a place where they can obtain them in abundance, -they soon become fat upon them, even when previously much reduced by -hunger. A large nest will sometimes yield a bushel of pupae.[470] - -Termite queens in the East Indies are given alive to old men for -strengthening the back.[471] - - -Ephemeridae--Day-flies. - -The name of Ephemeridae has been given to the insects, so called, in -consequence of the short duration of their lives, when they have -acquired their final form. There are some of them which never see the -sun; they are born after it is set, and die before it reappears on the -horizon. - -These insects, indifferently called also Day-flies and May-flies, -usually make their appearance in the districts watered by the Seine and -the Marne, in the month of August; and in such countless myriads, that -the fishermen of these rivers believe they are showered down from -heaven, and accordingly call the living cloud of them _manna_--manna for -fish, not men. Reaumur once saw them descend in this region so fast, -that the step on which he stood by the river's bank was covered by a -layer four inches thick in a few minutes. He compares their falling to -that of snow with the largest flakes.[472] - -Scopoli assures us that such swarms are produced every season in the -neighborhood of some particular spots in the Duchy of Carniola, that the -countrymen think they obtain but a small portion, unless every farmer -can carry off about twenty cartloads of them into his fields for the -purpose of a manure.[473] - - -Libellulidae--Dragon-flies. - -On account of the long and slender body, peculiar to the insects of this -family, they are with us sometimes called _Devil's Darning-needles_, but -more commonly _Dragon-flies_. In Scotland they are known by the name of -_Flying Adders_, for the same reason. The English, from an erroneous -belief that they sting horses, call them _Horse-stingers_. In France, -from their light and airy motions, and brilliant, variegated dress, they -are called _Demoiselles_; and in Germany, for the same reason, and that -they hover over, and lived during their first stages in, water, -_Wasser-jungfern_--Virgins of the Water. Another German name for them is -_Florfliegen_--Gauze-flies, in allusion to their net-like wings. Our -boys also call them _Snake-feeders_ and _Snake-doctors_, in the belief -that they wait upon snakes in the capacity of feeders and doctors; and -so firm are they in this belief, that frequently I have been laughed at -for asserting the contrary to them. The belief probably arose from the -manner in which the Dragon-fly sometimes falls a prey to the snakes. -Hovering over ponds, they are fond of alighting on little sticks and -twigs just out of the water, and mistaking the heads of snakes, which -probably swam there for the purpose, for such twigs, they are instantly -caught by the snakes. - -On the 30th and 31st of May, 1839, immense cloud-like swarms of -Dragon-flies passed in rapid succession over the German town of Weimar -and its neighborhood. They were the _Libellula depressa_, a species -which, in general, is rather scarce in that part of Germany. The general -direction of this migration was from south by west to north by east. The -insects were in a vigorous state, and some of the flocks flew as high as -150 feet above the level of the River Ilm. - -At Gottingen on June the 1st, at Eisenach on May the 30th and 31st of -the same year, swarms of the same species were seen flying from east to -west; and at Calais, June 14th, similar clouds, though of a different -species, were noticed on their way toward the Netherlands. At Halle, -also, on May 30th, a short time before a thunder-storm, swarms of the -Dragon-fly, _L. quadrimaculata_, were seen by Dr. Buhle, flying very -rapidly from south to north. The _L. quadrimaculata_ is not generally -found in the neighborhood of Halle. - -This wonderful migration, for it is a phenomenon of rare occurrence, -extended from the 51st to the 52d degree of latitude, and was observed -within 27 deg. 40' and 30 deg. east of Ferro. But the instance of Calais renders -it probable that it extended over a great part of Europe. - -Another migration of Dragon-flies was observed at Weimar on the 28th of -June, 1816. The insects, in this instance, belonged also to the _L. -depressa_. They were taken then, as were they also in 1839, for locusts -by the common people, and looked upon as the harbingers of famine and -war. - -In these migrations they followed the direction of the rivers, with the -currents. They did not, however, always keep close by them, since they -must spread over wide districts in order to subsist. - -To account for the great multiplication of these insects, in the year -1839, is by no means difficult. From the beginning to the 21st of May -(in the latter part of which month, it will be remembered, they -appeared), the weather had been exceedingly rainy; rivers and lakes -overflowed their banks and inundated immense areas of low grounds, -whereby myriads of the _larvae_ and _pupae_ (which live entirely in water) -of the _Libellulae_, which, under other circumstances, would have -remained in deep water, and become the prey of their many enemies, fish, -etc., were brought into shallow water, and hot weather following, from -May 21st to May 29th, converted these shallows and swamps into true -hotbeds for them. Their development into perfect insects was thus -rendered rapid, so that, somewhat earlier than usual, they appeared, and -in far greater, their undiminished, numbers; and, being very voracious -in their appetite, as well in the imago as the pupa state, they were -obliged to migrate immediately to satisfy it.[474] - -Mr. Gosse observed in Jamaica, Oct. 8th, 1845, a swarm of Dragon-flies -in the air, about twenty feet from the level of the ground. They floated -and danced about, over the stream of water that runs through -Blue-fields, much in the manner of gnats, which they resembled also in -their immense numbers.[475] And Rev. T. J. Bowen, on one occasion, in -descending the Ogun River (in the Yoruba country, Africa), met millions -of Dragon-flies, about one-fourth of an inch in length, making their way -up the country by following the course of the stream.[476] - -It is commonly said among us, that if a Dragon-fly be killed, there will -soon be a death in the family of the killer. - - -Myrmeleonidae--Ant-lions. - -When children meet with the funnel-shaped pitfalls of the larva of the -Ant-lion, _Myrmeleon formicales_, they are wont to put their heads close -to the ground and softly sing _ooloo-ooloo-ooloo_, till the larva, -mistaking the sound for that of a fly escaping his trap, throws up a -shower of sand to bring its supposed victim down again. - -Ant-lions are held in great esteem in many sections of our country, so -much so that they are not suffered to be in any way injured. - - - - -ORDER V. - -HYMENOPTERA. - - -Uroceridae--Sirex. - -In a work called "_Ephemerides des curieux de la nature_," is an -observation apparently relative to this family of insects, which, if -true, would be very extraordinary indeed. It is there said, that in the -town of Czierck and its environs, there were seen in 1679 some unknown -winged insects which, with their stings, mortally wounded both men and -beasts. They fell abruptly upon men without provocation, and attached -themselves to the naked parts of the body: the sting was immediately -followed by a hard tumor, and if care was not taken of the wound within -the first three hours, by hastily extracting the poison from it, the -patient died in a few days after. These insects killed five and thirty -men in this diocese, and a great number of oxen and horses. Toward the -end of September, the winds brought some of them into a small town on -the confines of Silesia and Poland; but they were so feeble on account -of the cold, that they did but little mischief there. Eight days after, -they all disappeared. These animals have all of them four wings, six -feet, and carry under the belly a long sting provided with a sheath, -which opens and separates in two. They make a very sharp noise in -attacking men. Some of them are ornamented with yellow circles (_Sirex -gigas_, or _S. fusicornis_? M. Latreille), and others are similar to -them in all respects, but they have the back altogether black, and their -stings are more venomous (_S. spectrum_ or _juvencus_?). The author of -these observations gives an extended description of the species with the -yellow circles, which he accompanies with figures, in which the -character of _Sirex_ may be clearly distinguished.[477] - - -Cynipidae--Gall-flies. - -In the spring of 1694, some Galls hung down like chains upon the oaks in -Germany, and the common people, who had never observed them before, -imagined them to be magical knots.[478] - -A very old and common superstition is, that every oak-apple contains -either a maggot, a fly, or a spider: the first foretelling famine, the -second war, and the third, the spider, pestilence. Matthiolus gravely -affirms this conceit to be true;[479] and the learned Sir Thomas Browne, -in his Pseudodoxia Epidemica, has thought it worth his while, with much -gravity, to explode it. He, however, while combating one popular error, -falls himself into another, for want of that philosophical knowledge of -insects which later times have succeeded in obtaining. We pass this by, -and hurry to his conclusion: "We confess the opinion may hold some -verity in analogy, or emblematical phancy; for pestilence is properly -signified by the spider, whereof some kinds are of a very venomous -nature: famine by maggots, which destroy the fruits of the earth; and -war not improperly by the fly, if we rest in the phancy of Homer, who -compares the valiant Grecian unto a fly. Some verity it may also have in -itself, as truly declaring the corruptive constitution in the present -sap and nutrimental juice of the tree; and may consequently discover the -disposition of the year according to the plenty or kinds of those -productions; for if the putrefying juices of bodies bring forth plenty -of flies and maggots, they give forth testimony of common corruption, -and declare that the elements are full of the seeds of putrefaction, as -the great number of caterpillars, gnats, and ordinary insects do also -declare. If they run into spiders, they give signs of higher -putrefaction, as plenty of vipers and scorpions are confessed to do; the -putrefying materials producing animals of higher mischief according to -the advance and higher strain of corruption."[480] - -Moufet says: "In oak acorns and spongy apples sometimes worms breed, -and astrologers presage that year to be likely to produce a great famine -and dearth.... It is strange that Ringelbergius writes, _lib. de -experiment_, that these worms may be fed to be as big as a serpent, with -sheep's milk; yet Cardanus confirms the same, and shewes the way to feed -them, _Lib. de rer. varietat_."[481] - -There is a very curious operation performed at the present day in the -Levant with one of these Gall-flies, which is termed _caprification_. -The object of it is to hasten the maturity of figs; and the species -employed for that purpose is the _Cynips ficus caricae_, or _Cynips -psenes_ of Linnaeus; it consists in placing on a fig-tree, which does not -produce flowers or early figs, some of these last strung together with a -thread. The insects which issue from them, full of fecundating dust, -introduce themselves through the eye into the interior of the second -figs, fecundate by this means all the grains, and provoke the ripening -of the fruit. - -This operation, of which some authors have spoken with admiration, -appeared to Hasselquist and Olivier, both competent observers, who have -been on the spot, to be of no advantage whatsoever in fertilizing the -fig;[482] and scientific men of the present day generally hold that it -cannot be of any utility, for each fig contains some small flowers -toward the eye, capable of fecundating all the female flowers in the -interior, and moreover this fruit will grow, ripen, and become excellent -to eat even when the grains are not fecundated.[483] - -A curious kind of gall, produced on the rose-trees by the _Cynips rosae_, -which is known by the name of _Bedeguar_, has been placed among the -remedies which may be successfully employed against diarrhoea and -dysentery, and useful in cases of scurvy, stone, and worms.[484] - -The galls of commerce, commonly called _Nut-galls_, are found on the -_Quercus infectoria_, a species of oak growing in the Levant, and are -produced by the _Cynips Gallae tinctorum_. When gathered before the -insects quit them, the nut-galls contain more astringent matter, and are -then known as Black, Blue, or Green-galls. When the insects have -escaped, they are less astringent, and are called White-galls. They are -of great importance in the arts, being very extensively used in dyeing -and in the manufacture of ink and leather. They are the most powerful of -all the vegetable astringents, and are sometimes used, both internally -and externally, with great effect in medicine. Those imported from Syria -are the most esteemed, and, of these, those found in the neighborhood of -Moussoul are considered the best.[485] - -The gall of the field cirsium formerly enjoyed a very great reputation, -for it was considered, when carried simply in the pocket, as a sovereign -remedy against hemorrhages. It, no doubt, owed this virtue to its -resemblance to the principal sign of this disease, the swelling of the -vein.[486] - -The galls of the ground-ivy, produced by the _Cynips glecome_, have been -eaten as food in France; they have an agreeable taste, and to a high -degree the odor of the plant which bears them. Reaumur, however, is -doubtful whether they will ever rank with good fruits.[487] - -The galls of the sage (_Salvia pomifera_, _S. triloba_, and _S. -officinalis_), which are very juicy, like apples, and crowned with -rudiments of leaves resembling the calyx of that fruit, are gathered -every year, as an article of food, by the inhabitants of the Island of -Crete. This is the statement of Poumefort. Olivier confirms it, and -adds: They are esteemed in the Levant for their aromatic and acid -flavor, especially when prepared with honey and sugar, and form a -considerable article of commerce from Scio to Constantinople, where they -are regularly exposed in the market.[488] - -The celebrated "Dead Sea Fruits," often called _Poma insana_, or -Mad-apples, _Mala Sodomitica_, etc., which have given rise to great -controversy among Oriental scholars and Biblical commentators, are -produced by the _Cynips insana_ on the low oaks (_Quercus infectoria_) -growing on the borders of the Dead Sea.[489] - - -Formicidae--Ants. - -Herodotus, who wrote in the fifth century before the birth of Christ, -tells the following fabulous story without the slightest trace of -diffidence or disbelief: There are other Indians bordering on the City -of Caspatyrus and the country of Pactyica, settled northward of the -other Indians, whose mode of life resembles that of the Bactrians. They -are the most warlike of the Indians, and these are they who are sent to -procure the gold; for near this part is a desert by reason of the sand. -In this desert then, and in the sand, there are Ants in size somewhat -less indeed than dogs, but larger than foxes. Some of them are in the -possession of the King of the Persians, which were taken there. These -Ants, forming their habitations under ground, heap up the sand as the -Ants in Greece do, and in the same manner; and they are very like them -in shape. The sand that is heaped up is mixed with gold. The Indians, -therefore, go to the desert to get this sand, each man having three -camels, on either side a male one harnessed to draw by the side, and a -female in the middle; this last the man mounts himself, having taken -care to yoke one that has been separated from her young as recently as -possible; for camels are not inferior to horses in swiftness, and are -much better able to carry burdens.... The Indians then, adopting such a -plan and such a method of harnessing, set out for the gold, having -before calculated the time, so as to be engaged in their plunder during -the hottest part of the day, for during the heat the Ants hide -themselves under ground.... When the Indians arrive at the spot, having -sacks with them, they fill these with the sand, and return with all -possible expedition; for the Ants, as the Persians say, immediately -discovering them by the smell, pursue them, and they are equaled in -swiftness by no other animal, so that if the Indians did not get the -start of them while the Ants were assembling, not a man of them could be -saved. Now the male camels (for they are inferior in speed to the -females) slacken their pace, dragging on, not both equally; but the -females, mindful of the young they have left, do not slacken their pace. -Thus the Indians, as the Persians say, obtain the greatest part of their -gold.[490] - -Concerning these remarkable Ants, Strabo and Arrian have preserved the -statement of Megasthenes, who traveled in India about two centuries -later than the time of Herodotus. As given by Strabo, who is somewhat -more particular in his story than Arrian, it is as follows: Megasthenes, -speaking of the Myrmeces (or Ants), says, among the Derdae, a populous -nation of the Indians, living toward the East and among the mountains, -there was a mountain plain of about 3000 stadia in circumference; that -below this plain were mines containing gold, which the Myrmeces, in size -not less than foxes, dig up. They are excessively fleet, and subsist on -what they catch. In winter they dig holes and pile up the earth in -heaps, like moles, at the mouths of the openings. The gold dust which -they obtain requires little preparation by fire. The neighboring people -go after it by stealth with beasts of burden; for if it is done openly, -the Myrmeces fight furiously, pursuing those that run away, and, if they -seize them, kill them and the beasts. In order to prevent discovery, -they place in various parts pieces of the flesh of wild beasts, and when -the Myrmeces are dispersed in various directions, they take away the -gold dust, and, not being acquainted with the mode of smelting it, -dispose of it in its rude state at any price to merchants.[491] - -Nearchus says he has himself seen several of the skins of these Ants, -which were as large as the skins of leopards. They were brought by the -Macedonian soldiers into Alexander's camp.[492] - -Pliny, as a matter of course, believed this marvelous story, and has -inserted it in brief in his compilation of natural history. He adds, -too, that in his time there were suspended in the temple of Hercules, at -Erythrae, this Ant's horns, which were looked upon as quite miraculous -for their size. He also informs us it was of the color of a cat.[493] - -Strabo and Arrian, from the manner in which they refer to the statements -of Megasthenes and Nearchus, no doubt disbelieved them;[494] not so, -however, Pomponius Mela.[495] - -M. de Veltheim thinks this animal, which, as Pliny says, "has the color -of a cat, and is in size as large as an Egyptian wolf," is nothing more -than, and really is, the _Canis corsac_, the small fox of India, and -that by some mistake it was represented by travelers as an ant. It is -not improbable, Cuvier says, that some quadruped, in making holes in the -ground, may have occasionally thrown up some grains of the precious -metal. Another interpretation of this story has also been suggested. We -find some remarks of Mr. Wilson, in the _Transactions of the Asiatic -Society_, on the Mahabharata, a Sanscrit poem, that various tribes on -the mountains Meru and Mandara (supposed to lie between Hindostan and -Thibet) used to sell grains of gold, which they called _paippilaka_, or -_Ant-gold_, which, they said, was thrown up by Ants, in Sanscrit called -_pippilaka_. In traveling westward, this story (in itself, no doubt, -untrue) may very probably have been magnified to its present -dimensions.[496] - -The laborious life and foresight of the Ant have been celebrated -throughout all antiquity, and from the wise Solomon down to the amiable -La Fontaine, the sluggard has been referred to this insect to "learn her -ways and be wise."[497] The Arabians held the wisdom of these animals in -such estimation, that they used to place one of them in the hands of a -newly-born infant, repeating these words: "May the boy turn out clever -and skillful."[498] But their wisdom is magnified by all, and in the -panegyrics of their providence we always find the following curious -notion. Plutarch, in his Land and Water Creatures Compared, thus -mentions it: "But that which surpasseth all other prudence, policy, and -wit, is their (the Ants') caution and prevention which they use, that -their wheat and other corn may not spurt and grow. For this is certain, -that dry it cannot continue alwayes, nor sound and uncorrupt, but in -time will wax soft, resolve into a milky juice, when it turneth and -beginneth to swell and chit; for fear, therefore, that it become not a -generative seed, and so by growing, loose the nature and property of -food for their nourishment, _they gnaw that end thereof or head where it -is wont to spurt and bud forth_."[499] - -The ancients, observing the Ants carry their pupae, which in shape, -size, and color very much resemble a grain of corn, and the ends of -which they sometimes pull open to let out the inclosed insect, no doubt -mistook the one for the other, and this action for depriving the grain -of the embryo of the plant. - -Some modern writers, as Addison[500] and Pluche,[501] it is curious to -observe, have fallen into this ancient error; so ancient, in fact, it is -that some have supposed the Hebrew name of the Ant to be derived from -it.[502] Among the poets, Prior asks: - - Tell me, why the _Ant_ - In _summer's plenty thinks of winter's want_? - By constant journey _careful to prepare - Her stores_, and _bringing home the corny ear_, - By what instruction _does she bite the grain_? - Lest, hid in earth, and taking root again, - It might elude the foresight of her care.[503] - -Thus Watts, also: - - They don't wear their time out in sleeping or play; - But _gather up corn_ in a sunshiny day, - And _for winter they lay up their stores_: - They manage their work in such regular forms, - One would think they _foresaw_ all the frosts and the storms, - And so _brought their food within doors_.[504] - -And Smart: - - The _sage, industrious Ant_, the _wisest insect_, - And _best economist_ of all the field: - For when as yet the favorable sun - Gives to the genial earth th' enlivening ray, - ----All her subterranean avenues, - And storm-proof cells, with management most meet, - And unexampled housewif'ry, she frames; - Then to the field she hies, and _on her back - Burden immense! brings home the cumbrous corn_: - Then, many a weary step, and many a strain, - And many a grievous groan subdued, at length - Up the huge hill she hardly heaves it home; - Nor rests she here her providence, but _nips - With subtle tooth the grain_, lest from _her garner_, - In mischievous fertility, it steal, - And back to daylight vegetate its way.[505] - -Milton also entertained this erroneous opinion: - - First crept - The _parsimonious Emmet, provident - Of future_, in small room large heart inclos'd; - Pattern of just equality perhaps - Hereafter, join'd in her popular tribes - Of commonalty.[506] - -And also Dr. Johnson: - - Turn on the _prudent Ant_ thy heedless eyes, - Observe her labors, sluggard! and be wise. - No stern command, no monitory voice, - Prescribes her duties or directs her choice; - Yet _timely provident_ she hastes away, - To snatch the blessings of a plenteous day; - When fruitful Summer loads the teeming plain, - _She crops the harvest, and she stores the grain_.[507] - -There is an old Eastern proverb, that "what the Ant _collects_ in a year -the monks eat up in a night," which seems to be founded on the -supposition that the Ants provide themselves with stores of food. -Juvenal, also, observes, in his Sixth Satire, that "after the example of -the Ant, some have learned to _provide_ against cold and hunger."[508] - -"Since, therefore," says Moufet, "(to winde up all in a few words) they -(the Ants) are so exemplary for their great piety, prudence, justice, -valour, temperance, modesty, charity, friendship, frugality, -perseverance, industry and art; it is no wonder that Plato, in Phaedone, -hath determined, that they who without the help of philosophy have lead -a civill life by custom or from their own diligence, they had their -souls from Ants, and when they die they are turned to Ants again. To -this may be added the fable of the Myrmidons, who being a people of -AEgina, applied themselves to diligent labour in tilling the ground, -continual digging, hard toiling, and constant sparing, joyned with -virtue, and they grew thereby so rich, that they passed the common -condition and ingenuity of men, and Theogonis knew not how to compare -them better than to Pismires, that they were originally descended from -them, or were transformed into them, and as Strabo reports they were -therefore called Myrmidons. The Greeks relate the history otherwise than -other men do; namely, that Jupiter was changed into a Pismire, and so -deflowered Eurymedusa, the mother of the Graces, as if he could no -otherwise deceive the best woman, then in the shape of the best -creature. Hence ever after was he called Pismire Jupiter, or, Jupiter, -King of Pismires.... - -"They do better, in my opinion, who observe the Pismire, and grow rich -by following his manners in labor, industry, rest, and study. We read of -Midas that he was the richest King of all the West, and when he was a -boy, the Pismires carryed grains of wheat into his mouth while he slept, -and so foreshowed without doubt that he should be endowed with the -Pismire's prudence, and should by his labour and frugality, gain so much -riches, that he should be called the Golden boy of fortune, and the -Darling of prosperity. _AElianus._ And when the Ants did devour and eat -up the live serpent of Tiberius Caesar, which he so dearly loved, did -they not thereby give him sufficient warning that he should take heed to -himself for fear of the multitude, by whom he was afterwards cruelly -murthered? _Suetonius._"[509] - -Of the wars and battles of the Ants, now so familiar from the writings -of Huber and others, one of the oldest records is that given by AEneas -Sylvius, who afterward became Pope Pius II., of an engagement contested -with obstinacy by a great and a small species, on the trunk of a -pear-tree. "This action," he states, "was fought in the pontificate of -Eugenius the Fourth, in the presence of Nicholas Pistoriensis, an -eminent lawyer, who related the whole history of the battle with the -greatest fidelity." Another engagement of the same description is -recorded by Olaus Magnus, as having happened previous to the expulsion -of Christiern the Second, of Sweden, and the smallest species, having -been victorious, are said to have buried the bodies of their own -soldiers that had been killed, while they left those of their -adversaries a prey to the birds.[510] - -Alexander Ross, in his Appendix to the Arcana Microcosmi, p. 219, tells -us: "That the cruel battels between the Venetians and Insubrians, and -that also between the Liegeois and the Burgundians, in which about -thirty thousand men were slain, were presignified by a great combat -between two swarms of Emmets (Ants)."[511] - -Ants were used in divination by the Greeks, and generally foretold -good.[512] They were also considered an attribute of Ceres.[513] - -The following extract is from an English North-Country chap-book, -entitled the Royal Dream Book: "To dream of Ants or Bees denotes that -you will live in a great town or city, or in a large family, and that -you will be industrious, happy, well married, and have a large -family."[514] The Ant and the Bee are common figures to express these -predictions. - -I heard a mother once say to her child, "Never destroy Ants, for they -are fairies, and will so bewitch our cows that they will give no milk." -This superstition prevails in particular about Washington and in -Virginia. - -Mrs. Meer Hassan Ali, in an interesting article on the Ants of India, -remarks that she has often witnessed the Hindoos, male and female, -depositing small portions of sugar near Ants' nests as acts of charity -to commence the day with. - -With the natives of India, this lady also tells us, it is a common -opinion that wherever the Red-ants colonize, prosperity attends the -owner of that house.[515] - -We read in Purchas's _Pilgrims_, that "the natives of Cambaia and -Malabar will go out of the path if they light on an Ant-hill, lest they -might happily treade on some of them."[516] - -Other insects, as will be noticed in the course of this volume, are -looked upon by these people with the same respect. - -Moufet says: "In Isthmus the priests sacrificed Pismires to the sun, -either because they thought the sun the most beautiful, and therefore -they would offer unto him the most beautiful creature, or the most wise, -as seeing all things, and therefore they offered unto him the wisest -creature."[517] - -In the twenty-seventh chapter of the Koran, which was revealed at Mecca, -and entitled the Ant, we find, among other strange things, an odd story -of the Ant, which has therefore given name to the chapter. It is as -follows: "And his armies were gathered together unto Solomon, consisting -of genii, and men, and birds; and they were led in distant bands, until -they came to the valley of Ants.[518] And an Ant, seeing the hosts -approaching, said, O Ants, enter ye into your habitations, lest Solomon -and his army tread you under foot, and perceive it not. And Solomon -smiled, laughing at her words, and said, O Lord, excite me that I may be -thankful for thy favour, wherewith thou hast favoured me, and my -parents; and that I may do that which is right, and well pleasing unto -thee: and introduce me, through thy mercy, into paradise, among my -servants, the righteous."[519] - -Thevenot mentions "Solomon's Ant" among the "Beasts that shall enter -into Paradise" in the belief of the Turks, and gives the following -reason: "Solomon was the greatest king that ever was, for all creatures -obey'd him, and brought him presents, amongst others, an Ant brought him -a Locust, which it had dragged along by main force: Solomon, perceiving -that the Ant had brought a thing bigger than itself, accepted the -present, and preferred it before all other creatures."[520] - -Plutarch, speaking of the Ant, says: "Aratus in his prognostics setteth -this down for a rain toward, when they bring forth their seeds and -grains (pupae), and lay them abroad to take the air: - - 'When Ants make haste with all their eggs aload, - Forth of their holes to carry them abroad.'"[521] - -In the Treasvrie of Avncient and Moderne Times, it is also asserted that -"when Ants walk the thickest, and more than in vsuall numbers, meeting -together confusedly, it is a manifest signe of raine."[522] - -It is related of the celebrated Timour, that being once forced to take -shelter from his enemies in a ruined building, he sat alone many hours; -and, desirous of diverting his mind from his hopeless condition, at -length fixed his observation upon an Ant which was carrying a grain of -corn (probably a pupa) larger than itself, up a high wall. Numbering the -efforts it made to accomplish this object, he found that the grain fell -sixty-nine times to the ground; but the seventieth time it reached the -top of the wall. "This sight," said Timour, "gave me courage at the -moment, and I have never forgotten the lesson it conveyed."[523] - -Plutarch, in his comparison between land and water creatures, narrates -the following anecdote: "Gleanthus the Philosopher, although he -maintaineth not that beasts have any use of reason, made report -nevertheless that he was present at the sight of such a spectacle and -occurrent as this. There were (quoth he) a number of Ants which went -toward another Ant's hole, that was not their own, carrying with them -the corpse of a dead Ant; out of which hole, there came certain other -Ants to meet them on the way (as it were) to parl with them, and within -a while returned back and went down again; after this they came forth a -second, yea a third time, and retired accordingly until in the end they -brought up from beneath (as it were a ransom for the dead body) a grub -or little worm; which the others received and took upon their shoulders, -and after they had delivered in exchange the aforesaid corpse, departed -home."[524] - -Of the ingenuity of the Ant in removing obstacles, the following -anecdote is a very appropriate illustration: A gentleman of Cambridge -one day observed an Ant dragging along what, with respect to the -creature's size, might be denominated a log of wood. Others were -severally employed, each in its own way. Presently the Ant in question -came to an ascent, where the weight of the wood seemed for a while to -overpower him: he did not remain long perplexed with it; for three or -four others, observing his dilemma, came behind and pushed it up. As -soon, however, as he got it on level ground, they left it to his care, -and went to their own work. The piece he was drawing happened to be -considerably thicker at one end than the other. This soon threw the poor -fellow into a fresh difficulty; he unluckily dragged it between two bits -of wood. After several fruitless efforts, finding it would not go -through, he adopted the only mode that even a man in similar -circumstances would have taken: he came behind it, pulled it back again, -and turned it on its edge; when, running again to the other end, it -passed through without the slightest difficulty.[525] - -Franklin was much inclined to believe Ants could communicate their -thoughts or desires to one another, and confirmed his opinion by several -experiments. Observing that when an Ant finds some sugar, it runs -immediately under ground to its hole, where, having stayed a little -while, a whole army comes out, unites and marches to the place where the -sugar is, and carry it off by pieces; and that if an Ant meets with a -dead fly, which it cannot carry alone, it immediately hastens home, and -soon after some more come out, creep to the fly, and carry it away; -observing this, he put a little earthen pot, containing some treacle, -into a closet, into which a number of Ants collected, and devoured the -treacle very quickly. He then shook them out, and tied the pot with a -thin string to a nail which he had fastened in the ceiling, so that it -hung down by the string. A single Ant by chance remained in the pot, and -when it had gorged itself upon the treacle, and wanted to get off, it -was under great concern to find a way, and kept running about the bottom -of the pot, but in vain. At last it found, after many attempts, the way -to the ceiling, by going along the string. After it was come there, it -ran to the wall, and thence to the ground. It had scarcely been away -half an hour, when a great swarm of Ants came out, got up to the -ceiling, and crept along the string into the pot, and began to eat -again. This they continued till the treacle was all eaten; in the mean -time one swarm running down the string, and the other up.[526] - -It has been suggested, that in such instances as the preceding, the Ants -may have been led by the scent or trace of treacle likely to be left by -the solitary prisoner; and the following case, related by Bradley, is -quoted to favor the opinion: "A nest of Ants in a nobleman's garden -discovered a closet, many yards within the house, in which conserves -were kept, which they constantly attended till the nest was destroyed. -Some, in their rambles, must have first discovered this depot of sweets, -and informed the rest of it. It is remarkable that they always went to -it by the same track, scarcely varying an inch from it, though they had -to pass through two apartments; nor could the sweeping and cleaning of -the rooms discomfit them, or cause them to pursue a different -route."[527] - -Dionisio Carli, of Piacenza, a missionary in Congo, lying sick at that -place, was awakened one night by his monkey leaping on his head, and -almost at the same time by his Blacks crying out, much to his surprise, -"Out! Out! Father!" Thoroughly awake now, Carli asked them what was the -matter? "The Ants," they cried, "are broke out, and there is no time to -be lost!" Not being able to stir, he bid them carry him into the garden, -which they did, four of them lifting him upon his straw bed; and yet -though very quick about it, the Ants had already commenced crawling up -his legs. After shaking them off their master, the Blacks took straw and -fired it on the floor of four rooms, where these insects by this time -were over half a foot thick. The pests being thus destroyed, Carli was -conveyed back to his chamber, where he found the stench so great from -the burnt bodies, that he was forced, he says, to hold his _monkey_ -close to his nose! - -These Ants, Carli relates, ate up every living object within their -reach; and of one cow, which was accidentally left over night in the -stable through which they passed, nothing but the bones were found the -next morning.[528] We need not wonder at this, if we believe what Bosman -has said of the Black-ants of Guinea, which were so surprisingly -rapacious that no animal could stand before them. He relates an -instance where they reduced for him one of his live sheep in one night -to a perfect skeleton, and that so nicely that it surpassed the skill of -the best anatomists.[529] Du Chaillu says the elephant and gorilla fly -before the attack of the Bashikouay-ants, and the black men run for -their lives. Many a time has he himself, he says, been awakened out of a -sleep, and obliged to rush out of his hut and into the water to save his -life![530] The Driver-ants[531] of Western Africa, _A. nomma arcens_, -have been known to kill the _Python natalensis_, the largest serpent of -that part of the world.[532] - -Col. St. Clair, after a visit by a species of small Red-ants, makes -mention of the following instance, among others, of their singular -destructiveness: "I next discovered that a little pet deer, which I had -purchased from a negro, was extremely ill. I could not discover the -cause of its malady, until, placing it on its legs, I observed that it -would not let one foot touch the ground, and, on examining it, I found, -to my grief, that the Red-ants had absolutely eaten a hole into the -bone. The poor little animal pined all that day and died in the -evening."[533] - -Capt. Stedman relates that the Fire-ants of Surinam caused a whole -company of soldiers to start and jump about as if scalded with boiling -water; and its nests were so numerous that it was not easy to avoid -them.[534] And Knox, in his account of Ceylon, mentions a black Ant, -called by the natives _Coddia_ or _Kaddiya_,[535] which, he says, "bites -desperately, as bad as if a man were burnt by a coal of fire; but they -are of a noble nature, and will not begin unless you disturb them." The -reason the Singhalese assign for the horrible pain occasioned by their -bite is curious, and is thus related by Knox: "Formerly these Ants went -to ask a wife of the _Noya_, a venomous and noble kind of snake;[536] -and because they had such a high spirit to dare to offer to be related -to such a generous creature, they had this virtue bestowed upon them, -that they should sting after this manner. And if they had obtained a -wife of the Noya, they should have had the privilege to sting full as -bad as he."[537] Capt. Stedman has a story of a large Ant that stripped -the trees of their leaves, to feed, as was supposed by the natives of -Surinam, a blind serpent under ground,[538] which is somewhat akin to -this: as is also another, related to Kirby and Spence by a friend, of a -species of Mantis, taken in one of the Indian islands, which, according -to the received opinion among the natives, was the parent of all their -serpents.[539] But, the reverse: Among the harmless snakes of Mexico is -a beautiful one about a foot in length, and of the thickness of the -little finger, which appears to take pleasure in the society of Ants, -insomuch that it will accompany these insects upon their expeditions, -and return with them to their usual nest. From this peculiarity it is -called by the Spaniards and Mexicans the "Mother of the Ants."[540] - -When in Africa, Du Chaillu was told by the natives that criminals in -former times were exposed to the path of the Bashikouay-ants, as the -most cruel way of putting them to death.[541] This dreadful manner of -torturing was at one time also practiced by the Singhalese, and I have -heard that several British soldiers have thus met their fate. The -Termites have been referred to before as having been employed for a -similar purpose. - -To check the ravages of the Coffee-bug, _Lecanium coffea_, Walker, which -for several years was devastating some of the plantations of Ceylon, the -experiment was made of introducing the Red-ants, _Formica smaragdina_, -Fab., which feed greedily on the Coccus.[542] But the remedy threatened -to be attended with some inconvenience, for, says Tennent, the Malabar -coolies, with bare and oiled skins, were so frequently and fiercely -assaulted by the Ants as to endanger their stay on the estates. - -The pupae or cocoons of the Ants, during the day, are placed near the -surface of the Ant-hills to obtain heat, which is indispensable to the -growth of the inclosed insects. This is taken advantage of in Europe to -collect the cocoons in large quantities as food for nightingales and -larks. The cocoons of a species of Wood-ant, _Formica rufa_, are the -only kind chosen. In most of the towns of Germany, one or more -individuals make a living during summer by this business alone. "In -1832," says a contributor to the Penny Encyclopedia, "we visited an old -woman at Dottendorf, near Bern, who had collected for fourteen years. -She went to the woods in the morning, and collected in a bag the -surfaces of a number of Ant-hills where the cocoons were deposited, -taking Ants and all home to her cottage, near which she had a small -tiled shed covering a circular area, hollowed out in the center, with a -trench full of water around it. After covering the hollow in the center -with leafy boughs of walnut or hazel, she strewed the contents of her -bag on the level part of the area within the trench, when the Nurse-ants -immediately seized the cocoons, and carried them into a hollow under the -boughs. The cocoons were thus brought into one place, and after being -from time to time removed, and black ones separated by a boy who spread -them out on a table, and swept off what were bad with a strong feather, -they were ready for market, being sold for about 4_d._ or 6_d._ a quart. -Considerable quantities of these cocoons are dried for winter food of -birds, and are sold in the shops."[543] - -Ants not only furnish food to man for his birds, but also food for -himself, in both the pupa and imago states. Nicoli Conti, who traveled -in India in the early part of the fifteenth century, says the Siamese -eat a species of Red-ant, of the size of a small crab, which they -consider a great delicacy seasoned with pepper.[544] At the present day, -the pupae of a species of Ants are a costly luxury with these people. -They are not much larger than grains of sand, and are sent to table -curried, or rolled in green leaves, mingled with shreds or very fine -slices of fat pork.[545] And in the province of Michuacan, Mexico, is a -singular species of Ant, which carries on its abdomen "a little bagful -of a sweet substance, of which the children are very fond: the Mexicans -suppose this to be a kind of honey collected by the insect; but -Clavigero thinks it rather its eggs."[546] - -Piso, De Laet, Marcgrave, and other writers mention their being an -article of food in different parts of South America. Piso speaks of -yellow Ants called _Cupia_ inhabiting Brazil, the abdomen of which many -used for food, as well as a large species under the name of -_Tama-joura_: "Alia praeterea datur grandis species _Tama-ioura_ dicta -digiti articulum adaequans. Quarum etiam clunes dessicantur et friguntur -pro bono alimento."[547] Says De Laet: "Denique formicae hic visuntur -grandissimae, quas indigenae vulgo comedunt; et in foris venales -habent."[548] And again: "Formicis vescebantur, easquae studiose ad -victum educabant."[549] Lucas Fernandes Piedrahita, in his Historia -General de las Conquistas del Nuevo Regno de Granada, states that cakes -of Cazave and Ants were eaten in that country: "Al tiempo de tostarlas -para este efecto, dan el mismo olor que los quesillos, que se labran -para comer asados."[550] Herrera says, the natives of New Granada made -their main food of Ants, which they kept and reared in their yards.[551] -Sloane confirms this, and says they are publicly sold in the -markets.[552] Abbeville de Noromba tells us these great Ants are -fricasseed.[553] Schomburgk, in his journey to the sources of the -Essequibo, one evening saw all the boys of a village out shouting and -chasing with sticks and palm leaves a large species of winged Ant, which -they collected in great numbers in their calabashes for food. When -roasted or boiled, he says, the natives considered these insects a great -delicacy.[554] Humboldt informs us that Ants are eaten by the -Marivatanos and Margueritares, mixed with resin for sauce.[555] - -Mr. Consett, in his Travels in Sweden, makes mention of a young Swede -who ate live Ants with the greatest relish imaginable.[556] This author -states also, that in some parts of Sweden Ants are distilled along with -rye, to give a flavor to the inferior kinds of brandy.[557] - -The inhabitants of the Tonga Group have a superstitious belief that when -their kings, and matabooles, or inferior chiefs, die, they are wafted to -Bulotu--"the island of the blessed," but the spirits of the lower class -remain in the world, and feed on Ants and lizards.[558] - -Ants also furnish us with an acid, called by the chemists _Formic_, -which is said to answer the same purposes as the acetous acid. It is -obtained in two modes: 1st. By distillation; the insects are introduced -into a glass retort, distilled by a gentle heat, and the acid is found -in the recipient. 2d. By the process called lixiviation; the Ants are -washed in cold water, spread out upon a linen cloth, and boiling water -poured over them, which becomes charged with the acid part.[559] - -Formic acid is shed so sensibly by the wood Ant, _Formica rufa_, when an -Ant-hill is stirred, that it can occasion an inflammation. If a living -frog, it is asserted, be fixed upon an Ant-hill which is deranged, the -animal will die in less than five minutes, even without having been -bitten by the Ants.[560] - -We read in Purchas's Pilgrims that the large Ant of the West Indies is -"so poysonfull that herewith the Indians infect their arrowes so -remedilesse, that not foure of an hundred which are wounded -escape."[561] - -The medicinal virtues of the Ant are as follows: "Ants, _Formica minor_ -of Schroder, heat and dry, and incite to venery; their acid smell -mightily refreshes the vital spirits. They are said to cure the Flora, -Lepra, and Lentigo. The eggs (pupae) are effectual against deafness, and -correct the hairiness of the cheeks of children being rubbed thereon." - -The Horse-ant, _Formica major_, Schrod., "provokes to venery, and the -oil thereof, by infusion, is good for the gout and palsy."[562] - -Sloane tells us the Spaniards in the West Indies have a very highly -valued medicated earth called "Makimaki," which he thinks is made of the -nests of Ants.[563] - -There is a species of Ant in Cayenne, _Formica bispinosa_, which -collects from the bombax and silk-cotton trees a sort of lint which the -natives value much as a styptic in cases of hemorrhage.[564] - -The magicians, as mentioned by Pliny, recommended that the parings of -all the finger-nails should be thrown at the entrance of Ant-holes, and -the first Ant to be taken which should attempt to draw one into the -hole; for if this, they asserted, be attached to the neck of a patient, -he will experience a speedy cure.[565] - -The two following remarkable cures effected by Ants of themselves are -worthy of being noticed: Schuman, a missionary among the negroes of -Surinam, relates in one of his letters, that after a most dangerous -attack of the acclimating fever, his body was covered with boils and -painful sores. He lay in his cot as helpless as a child, and had no one -to administer any relief or food but a poor old negro woman, who -sometimes was obliged to follow the rest to the plantations in the -woods. One morning while she was absent, after spending a most restless -and painful night, he observed at sunrise an immense host of Ants -entering through the roof, and spread themselves over the inside of his -chamber; and expecting little else than that they would make a meal of -him, he commended his soul to God, and hoped thus to be released from -all suffering. They presently covered his bed, and entering his sores -caused him the most tormenting pain. However, they soon quitted him, and -continued their march, and from that time he gradually recovered his -health.[566] - -The second is a case of stiffness in the knee effectually cured: In -1798, Mrs. Jane Crabley, aged 56 years, began to complain of a most -torturing pain, and considerable enlargement of the knee-pan, which she -described as, and which her neighbors believed to be, a smart paroxysm -of gout. Early in February, 1799, the inflammation and pain entirely -ceased, but the swelling continued, and rather increased. The joint of -the knee, from disuse, became perfectly stiff, and, owing to the -particular form and size of her breasts, no relief could be gained by -the use of crutches. However, toward the end of May, the Ants became so -strangely troublesome to her, that she was sometimes obliged to avail -herself of the help of travelers to assist her in changing her station. -Still, however, they followed her, and seemed entirely attracted by her -now useless knee. She was at first considerably annoyed by these little -torments, but, in a few days, became not only reconciled to their -intrusion, but was desirous of having her chair placed where she -imagined them most to abound, even giving them freer access to her knee -by turning down her stocking; for, she said, "the cold numbness she -suffered just around the patella was eased and relieved by their bite; -and that it was even pleasurable;" and, strange to say, these insects -bit her nowhere else. The skin at first was pale and sallow, but began -now to assume a lively red color; a clear and subtile liquid oozed from -every puncture the Ants had left; the swelling and stiffness of the -joint gradually abated; and, on the 25th of July, she walked home with -the help of a stick, and before winter perfectly recovered the use of -her limb.[567] - -Says Plutarch, as translated by Holland: "The bear finding herself upon -fulness given to loth and distaste for food, she goes to find out Ants' -nests, where she sits her down, lilling out her tongue, which is glib -and soft with a kind of sweet and slimy humour, until it be full of Ants -and their egges, then draweth it she in again, swalloweth them down, and -thereby cureth her lothing stomack."[568] - -Also, in the Treasurie of Avncient and Moderne Times, we find: "The -Bear, being poysoned by the Hearbe named _Mandragoras_, or _Mandrake_, -doth purge his bodie by the eating of Ants or Pismires."[569] - -M. Huber, initiated in the mysteries of the life of these insects, and -whose observations can be most relied on, has made us acquainted with -two of their maladies: one is a species of vertigo, occasioned, as he -thinks, by a too great heat of the sun, and which transforms them for -two or three minutes into a sort of bacchantes; the other malady, much -more severe, causes them to lose the faculty of directing themselves in -a right line. These Ants turn in a very narrow circle, and always in the -same direction. A virgin female, inclosed in a sand-box, and attacked by -this mania, made a thousand turns by the hour, describing a circle of -about an inch in diameter; it continued this operation for seven days, -and even during the night.[570] - -Immense swarms of winged Ants are occasionally met with, and some have -been recorded of such prodigious density and magnitude as to darken the -air like a thick cloud, and to cover the ground or water for a -considerable extent where they settled. We find in the memoirs of the -Berlin Academy a description of a remarkable swarm, observed by M. -Gleditch, which from afar produced an effect somewhat similar to that of -an Aurora Borealis, when, from the edge of the cloud, shoot forth by -jets many columns of flame and vapor, many rays like lightning, but -without its brilliancy. Columns of Ants were coming and going here and -there, but always rising upward, with inconceivable rapidity. They -appeared to raise themselves above the clouds, to thicken there, and -become more and more obscure. Other columns followed the preceding, -raised themselves in like manner, shooting forth many times with equal -swiftness, or mounting one after the other. Each column resembled a very -slender net-work, and exhibited a tremulous, undulating, and serpentine -motion. It was composed of an innumerable multitude of little winged -insects, altogether black, which were continually ascending and -descending in an irregular manner.[571] A similar kind of Ants is spoken -of by Mr. Accolutte, a clergyman of Breslau, which resembled columns of -smoke, and which fell on the churches and tops of the houses, where they -could be gathered by handfuls. In the German _Ephemerides_, Dr. Chas. -Rayger gives an account of a large swarm which crossed over the town of -Posen, and was directing its course toward the Danube. The whole town -was strewed with Ants, so that it was impossible to walk without -crushing thirty or forty at every step. And more recently, Mr. Dorthes, -in the _Journal de Physique_ for 1790, relates the appearance of a -similar phenomenon at Montpellier. The shoals moved about in different -directions, having a singular intestine motion in each column, and also -a general motion of rotation. About sunset all fell to the ground, and, -on examining them, they were found to belong to the _Formica nigra_ of -Linnaeus.[572] - -"In September, 1814," says Dr. Bromley, surgeon of the Clorinde, in a -letter to Mr. MacLeay, "being on the deck of the hulk to the Clorinde -(then in the river Medway), my attention was drawn to the water by the -first lieutenant observing there was something black floating down the -tide. On looking with a glass, I discovered they were insects. The boat -was sent, and brought a bucketful of them on board; they proved to be a -large species of Ant, and extended from the upper part of Salt-pan Reach -out toward the Great Nore, a distance of five or six miles. The column -appeared to be in breadth eight or ten feet, and in height about six -inches, which I suppose must have been from their resting one upon -another."[573] Purchas seems to have witnessed a similar phenomenon on -shore. "Other sorts of Ants," says he, "there are many, of which some -become winged, and fill the air with swarms, which sometimes happens in -England. On Bartholomew, 1613, I was in the island of Foulness, on our -Essex shore, where were such clouds of these flying pismires, that we -could nowhere flee from them, but they filled our clothes; yea, the -floors of some houses where they fell were in a manner covered with a -black carpet of creeping Ants, which they say drown themselves about -that time of the year in the sea."[574] - -When Colonel Sir Augustus Frazer, of the British horse-artillery, was -surveying, on the 6th of October, 1813, the scene of the battle of the -Pyrenees from the summit of the mountain called Pena de Aya, or Les -Quartres Couronnes, he and his friends were enveloped by a swarm of -Ants, so numerous as entirely to intercept their view, so that they -were obliged to remove to another station in order to get rid of -them.[575] - -"Not long since," says Josselyn in his Voyage to New England, London, -1674, "winged Ants were poured down upon the Lands out of the clouds in -a storm betwixt _Blackpoint_ and _Saco_, where the passenger might have -walkt up to the Ancles in them."[576] - -Wingless Ants, in swarms or armies, also migrate at particular seasons; -but for what purpose is not clear, except to obtain better forage. In -Guiana, Mr. Waterton says he has met with a colony of a species of small -Ant marching in order, each having in its mouth a leaf; and the army -extended three miles in length, and was six feet broad.[577] - -It is recorded by Oviedo and Herrera, that the whole island of -Hispaniola was almost abandoned in consequence of the Sugar-Ant, -_Formica omnivora_ of Linnaeus, which, in 1518 and the two succeeding -years, overran in such countless myriads that island, devouring all -vegetation, and causing a famine which nearly depopulated the Spanish -colony. A tradition, says Schomburgk, prevails in Jamaica that the town -of Sevilla Nueva, which was founded by Esquivel in the beginning of the -sixteenth century, was entirely deserted for a similar reason. Herrera -relates that, in order to get rid of this fearful scourge in Hispaniola, -the priests caused great processions and vows to be made in honor of -their patron saint, St. Saturnin, and that the day of this saint was -celebrated with great solemnities, and the Ants in consequence began to -disappear. How this saint was chosen, we read in Purchas's Pilgrims: -"This miserie (caused by the Ants) so perplexed the _Spaniards_, that -they sought as strange a remedie as was the disease, which was to chuse -some Saint for their Patron against the Antes. _Alexander Giraldine_, -the Bishop, having sung a solemne and Pontifical Masse, after the -consecration and Eleuation of the Sacrament, and devout prayers made by -him and the people, opened a Booke in which was a Catalogue of the -Saints, by lot to chuse some he or she Saint, whom God should please to -appoint their Advocate against the Calamitie. And the Lot fell vpon -Saint _Saturnine_, whose Feast is on the nine and twentieth of -Nouember; after which the Ant damage became more tolerable, and by -little and little diminished, by God's mercie and intercession of that -Saint."[578] - -These devouring Ants showed themselves about the year 1760 in Barbados, -and caused such devastations that, in the words of Dr. Coke, "it was -deliberated whether that island, formerly so flourishing, should not be -deserted." In 1763, Martinique was visited by these devastating hordes; -and about the year 1770 they made their appearance in the island of -Granada. Barbados, Granada, and Martinique suffered more than any other -islands from this plague. Granada especially was reduced to a state of -the most deplorable desolation; for, it is said, their numbers there -were so immense that they covered the roads for many miles together; and -so crowded were they in many places that the impressions made by the -feet of horses, which traveled over them, would remain visible but for a -moment or two, for they were almost instantly filled up by the -surrounding swarms. Mr. Schomburgk assures us that calves, pigs, and -chickens, when in a helpless state, were attacked by such large numbers -of these Ants that they perished, and were soon reduced to skeletons -when not timely assisted. It is asserted by Dr. Coke that the greatest -precaution was requisite to prevent their attacks on men who were -afflicted with sores, on women who were confined, and on children that -were unable to assist themselves. Mr. Castle, from his own observation, -states that even burning coals laid in their way, were extinguished by -the amazing numbers which rushed upon them. - -Notwithstanding the myriads that were destroyed by fire, water, poison, -and other means, the devastations continued to such an alarming extent, -that in 1776 the government of Martinique offered a reward of a million -of their currency for a remedy against this plague; and the legislature -of Granada offered L20,000 for the same object; but all attempts proved -ineffectual until the hurricane in 1780 effected what human power had -been unable to accomplish. - -In 1814, the Ants again made their appearance in the island of Barbados, -doing considerable injury; but happily they did not continue long.[579] - -Malouet, in visiting the forests of Guiana, of which he has spoken in -his travels into that part of the globe, perceived in the midst of a -level savanna, as far as the eye could reach, a hillock which he would -have attributed to the hand of man, if M. de Prefontaine, who -accompanied him, had not informed him that, in spite of its gigantic -construction, it was the work of black Ants of the largest species (most -probably of the genus _Ponera_). He proposed to conduct him, not to the -Ant-hill, where both of them would infallibly have been devoured, but to -the road of the workers. M. Malouet did not approach within more than -forty paces of the habitation of these insects. It had the form of a -pyramid truncated at one-third of its height, and he estimated that its -elevation might be about fifteen or twenty feet, on a basis of from -thirty to forty. M. de Prefontaine told him that the cultivators were -obliged to abandon a new establishment, when they had the misfortune to -meet with one of these fortresses, unless they had sufficient strength -to form a regular siege. This even occurred to M. de Prefontaine himself -on his first encampment at Kourva. He was desirous of forming a second a -little farther on, and perceived upon the soil a mound of earth similar -to that which we have just described. He caused a circular trench to be -hollowed, which he filled with a great quantity of dry wood, and, after -having set fire to it in every point of its circumference, he attacked -the Ant-hill with a train of artillery. Thus every issue was closed to -the hostile army, which, to escape from the invasion of the flames and -the shaking and plowing of the ground by the cannon-balls, was obliged -to traverse, in its retreat, a trench filled with fire, where it was -entirely cut off.[580] - -The Portuguese found such prodigious numbers of Ants upon their first -landing at Brazil, that they called them Rey de Brazil, King of Brazil, -a name which they now there bear.[581] - -Mr. Southey states, on the authority of Manoel Felix, that the Red-ants -devoured the cloths of the altar in the Convent of S. Antonio, or S. -Luiz (Maranham, Brazil), and also brought up into the church pieces of -shrouds from the graves; whereupon the friars prosecuted them according -to due form of ecclesiastical law. What the sentence was in this case, -we are unable to learn. A similar case, however, the historian informs -us, had occurred in the Franciscan Convent at Avignon, where the Ants -did so much mischief that a suit was instituted against them, and they -were excommunicated, and ordered by the friars, in pursuance of their -sentence, to remove within three days to a place assigned them in the -center of the earth. The Canonical account gravely adds, that the Ants -obeyed, and carried away all their young, and all their stores.[582] - -Annius writes, that an ancient city situate near the Volscian Lake, and -called Contenebra, was in times past overthrown by Ants, and that the -place was thereupon commonly called to his day, "the camp of the -Ants."[583] - -Ctesias makes mention "of a horse-pismire (_i.e._ the bigger kind of -them in hollow trees) which was fed by the Magi, till hee grew to such a -vast bulke as to devour two pound of flesh a daye."[584] - -Martial has written the following beautiful epigram on an Ant inclosed -in amber: "While an Ant was wandering under the shade of the tree of -Phaeton, a drop of amber enveloped the tiny insect; thus she, who in -life was disregarded, became precious by death. - - "A drop of amber from the weeping plant, - Fell unexpected and embalmed an Ant; - The little insect we so much contemn - Is, from a worthless Ant, become a gem."[585] - -It has been said, remarks Mr. Southey, and regarded as a vulgar error, -that Ants cannot pass over a line of chalk: the fact, however, is -certain. Mr. Coleridge tried the experiment at Malta, he continues, and -immediately discovered the cause: The formic acid is so powerful, that -it acts upon the chalk, and the legs of the insect are burnt by the -instantaneous effervescence![586] - -Paxamus says, that if you take some Ants and burn them, you will drive -away the others, as experience has taught us. Ants also, he continues, -will not touch a vessel with honey, although the vessel may happen to be -without its cover, if you wrap it in white wool, or if you scatter white -earth or ruddle round it. If a person, continues Paxamus, takes a grain -of wheat carried by an Ant with the thumb of his left hand, and lays it -in a skin of Phoenician dye, and ties it round the head of his wife, it -will prove to be the cause of abortion in a state of gestation.[587] - -Pliny says the proper remedy for the venom of the _Solipuga_ or -_Solpuga_ Ant, and for that of all kinds of Ants, is a bat's heart.[588] - -Callicrates used to make Ants, and other such little creatures, out of -ivory, with so much skill and ingenuity that other men could not discern -the counterfeits from the originals even with the help of glasses.[589] - - -Vespidae--Wasps, Hornets. - -Concerning the generation of the Wasp, Topsel and Moufet have the -following: "Isidore affirms that Wasps come out of the putrefied -carkasses of asses, although he may be mistaken, for all agree that the -Scarabees are procreated from them: rather am I of opinion with Pliny, -1. ii. c. 20, and the Greek authors, that they are sprung from the dead -bodies of horses, for the horse is a valiant and warlike creature, hence -is that verse frequently and commonly used among the Greeks: - - Wasps come from horses, Bees from bulls are bred. - -And indeed their more than ordinary swiftnesse and their eagernesse in -fight, are sufficient arguments that they can take their original from -no other creature (much less from an asse, hart, or oxe) since that -Nature never granted to any creatures else, to excel both in swiftness -and valour. And surely that I may give another sense of that proverb of -Aristotle, - - Hail the daughters of the wing-footed steed: - -this would I suppose fit to be spoken in way of jest and scorn to -scolding women, which do imitate the hastiness and froward disposition -of the Wasp. Other sorts of them are produced out of the putrid corps of -the Crocodiles, if Horus and the AEgyptians be to be believed, for which -reason when they mean a Wasp, they set it forth by an horse or -crocodile. Nicander gives them the name _lukosnoadon_, because they -sometimes come from the dead carkasses of wolves. Bellenacensis and -Vicentius say, that Wasps come out of the putrefaction of an old deer's -head, flying sometimes out of the eyes, sometimes out of the -nostrils.... There are those also that affirm that Wasps are begotten of -the earth and rottenness of some kind of fruits, as Albertus and the -Arabick scholiast." - -Of the Hornet, likewise, these writers tell the following fabulous -stories: "The Latins call the Hornets _Crabrones_, perchance from the -village Crabra in the countrey of Tusculum (where there are great store -of them), or from the word _Caballus_, _i.e._ a horse, who is said to be -their father. According to that of Ovid, _Met._ 15: - - The warlike horse if buried under ground, - Shortly a brood of Hornets will be found. - -Albertus calls it a yellow Bee. Cardanus will needs have them to arise -from the dead mule. Plutarch, in the life of Cleomedes, saith they come -out of horse flesh, as the Bees do out of the oxe his paunch. Virgil -saith they are produced of the asse.... I conceive that those are -produced of the harder flesh of the horse, and the Wasps of the more -tender flesh."[590] - -The Hornet (but whether or not it was the common species, _Vespa -crabro_, Linn., is uncertain), we learn from Scriptures was employed by -Providence to drive out the impious inhabitants of Canaan, and subdue -them under the hand of the Israelites.--"And I sent the Hornet before -you, which drave them out before you, even the two kings of the -Amorites."[591] - -In the second volume of Lieutenant Holman's Travels, the following -anecdote is related: "Eight miles from Grandie----, the muleteers -suddenly called out 'Marambundas! Marambundas!' which indicated the -approach of Wasps. In a moment all the animals, whether loaded or -otherwise, lay down on their backs, kicking most violently; while the -blacks, and all persons not already attacked, ran away in different -directions, all being careful, by a wide sweep, to avoid the swarms of -tormentors that came forward like a cloud. I never witnessed a panic so -sudden and complete, and really believe that the bursting of a -water-spout could hardly have produced more commotion. However, it must -be confessed that the alarm was not without good reason, for so severe -is the torture inflicted by these pigmy assailants, that the bravest -travelers are not ashamed to fly, the instant they perceive the host -approaching, which is of common occurrence on the Campos."[592] - -Dr. Fairfax, in the Philosophical Transactions, mentions a lady, who had -such a horror of Wasps, that during the season in which they abound in -houses, she always confined herself to her apartment.[593] - -Dr. James tells us: "The combs (of the Hornet) are recommended in a -drench for that disorder in horses, which Vigetius, L. 2, c. 23, calls -scrofula, meaning, I believe, what we call the strangles."[594] - -Hornets'-nest is smoked under horses' noses for distemper, cold in the -head, and such like diseases. It is also given to horses in their feed -for thick-windedness. - -The nests of Hornets are gathered by the country people to clean -spectacles. - -Topsel, in his History of Four-footed Beasts and Serpents, has the -following prognostications of the weather from the appearances of -Hornets: "They serve instead of good almanacks to countrey people, to -foretel tempests and change of weather, as hail, rain, and snow: for if -they flie about in greater numbers, and be oftner seen about any place, -then usually they are wont, it is a signe of heat and fair weather the -next day. But if about twilight they are observed to enter often their -nests, as though they would hide themselves, you must the next day -expect rain, winde, or some stormy, troublesome or boysterous season: -whereupon Avienus hath these verses: - - So if the buzzing troups of Hornets hoarse to flie, - In spacious air 'bout Autumn's end you see, - When Virgil star the evening lamp espie, - Then from the sea some stormy tempest sure shall be."[595] - -"In the year 190, before the birth of Christ," say Moufet and Topsel, -"as Julius witnesseth, an infinite multitude of Wasps flew into the -market at Capua, and sate in the temple of Mars, they were with great -diligence taken and burnt solemnly, yet they did foreshew the coming of -the enemy and the burning of the city."[596] - -The first Wasp seen in the season should always be killed. By so doing, -you secure to yourself good luck and freedom from enemies throughout the -year.[597] This is an English superstition, and it prevails in parts of -America. We have one, also, directly opposed to it, namely, that the -first Wasp seen in the season should not be killed if you wish to secure -to yourself good luck. Many of our people, too, will kill a Wasp at no -time, for, if killed, they say, it will bring upon them bad luck. - -If a Wasp stings you, our superstitious think that your foes will get -the advantage of you. - -If the first Wasp seen in the season be seen in your house, it is a sign -that you will form an unpleasant acquaintance. If the first Bee seen in -the season be seen in your house, it is a sign you will form a pleasant -and useful acquaintance. This arose doubtless from the apparent -uselessness of the former, and worth of the latter insect. - -Wasps building in a house foretell the coming to want of the family -occupying it. Likewise arose from the unthriftiness of this insect. - -If Hornets build high, the winter will be dry and mild; if low, cold and -stormy. This is firmly believed in Virginia; and the idea seems to be, -that if the nest is built high it will be more exposed to the wind than -if built low. - -That a person may not be stung by Wasps, Paxamus says: "Let the person -be rubbed with the juice of wild-mallow, and he will not be stung."[598] - -The Creoles of Mauritius eat the larvae of Wasps, which they roast in the -combs. In taking the nests, they drive off the Wasps by means of a -burning rag fastened to the end of a stick. The combs are sold at the -bazaar of Port Louis.[599] - -The following story, of the cunning of the fox in killing the Wasps to -obtain their combs, is told by AElian: "The fox (a subtile creature) is -said to prey upon the Wasp in this manner: he puts his tail into the -Wasps' nest so long till it be all covered with Wasps, which he espying, -pulls it out and beats them against the next stone or tree he meets -withall till they be all dead, this being done again and again till all -the Wasps be destroyed, he sets upon their combs and devours them."[600] - -The Chinese Herbal contains a singular notion, prevalent also in India, -concerning the generation of the Sphex, or solitary Wasp. When the -female lays her eggs in the clayey nidus she makes in houses, she -incloses the dead body of a caterpillar in it for the subsistence of the -worms when they are hatched. Those who observed her entombing the -caterpillar did not look for the eggs, and immediately concluded that -the Sphex took the worm for the progeny, and say, that as she plastered -up the hole of the nest, she hummed a constant song over it, saying, -"_Class with me! class with me!_"--and the transformation gradually took -place, and was perfected in its silent grave by the next spring, when a -winged Wasp emerged, to continue its posterity the coming autumn in the -same mysterious way.[601] - - -Apidae--Bees. - -Concerning the piety of Bees, we find the following legends: - -"A certaine simple woman having some stals of Bees which yeelded not -vnto her hir desired profit, but did consume and die of the murraine; -made her mone to another woman more simple than hir selfe: who gave her -councel to get a consecrated host or round Godamighty and put it among -them. According to whose advice she went to the priest to receive the -host; which when she had done, she kept it in hir month, and being come -home againe she tooke it out and put it into one of hir hives. Wherevpon -the murraine ceased, and the honey abounded. The woman therefore lifting -vp the hive at the due time to take out the honie, sawe there (most -strange to be seene) a chapel built by the Bees with an altar in it, the -wals adorned by marvelous skil of architecture with windowes -conveniently set in their places: also a dore and a steeple with bels. -And the host being laid vpon the altar, the Bees making a sweet noise -flew round about it."[602] - -Mr. Hawker's legend is to this effect: A Cornish woman, one summer, -finding her Bees refused to leave their "cloistered home" and had -"ceased to play around the cottage flowers," concealed a portion of the -Holy Eucharist which she obtained at church: - - She bore it to her distant home, - She laid it by the hive - To lure the wanderers forth to roam, - That so her store might thrive;-- - 'Twas a wild wish, a thought unblest, - Some evil legend of the west. - - But lo! at morning-tide a sign - For wondering eyes to trace, - They found above that Bread, a shrine - Rear'd by the harmless race! - They brought their walls from bud and flower, - They built bright roof and beamy tower! - - Was it a dream? or did they hear - Float from those golden cells - A sound, as of a psaltery near, - Or soft and silvery bells? - A low sweet psalm, that grieved within - In mournful memory of the sin![603] - -The following passage, from Howell's _Parley of Beasts_, furnishes a -similar legend of the piety of Bees. Bee speaks: - -"Know, sir, that we have also a religion as well as you, and so exact a -government among us here; our hummings you speak of are as so many hymns -to the Great God of Nature; and there is a miraculous example in -_Caesarius Cisterniensis_, of some of the Holy Eucharist being let fall -in a meadow by a priest, as he was returning from visiting a sick body; -a swarm of Bees hard-by took It up, and in a solemn kind of procession -carried It to their hive, and their erected an altar of the purest wax -for it, where it was found in that form, and untouched."[604] - -Butler, quoting Thomas Bozius, tells us the following: - -"Certaine theeves (thieves) having stolen the silver boxe wherein the -wafer-Gods vse to lie, and finding one of them there being loath, -belike, that he should lie abroad all night, did not cast him away, but -laid him under a hive: whom the Bees acknowledging advanced to a high -roome in the hive, and there insteade of his silver boxe made him -another of the whitest wax: and when they had so done, in worshippe of -him, and set howres they sang most sweetly beyond all measure about it: -yea the owner of them took them at it at midnight with a light and al. -Wherewith the bishop being made acquainted, came thither with many -others: and lifting vp the hive he sawe there neere the top a most fine -boxe, wherein the host was laid, and the quires of Bees singing about -it, and keeping watch in the night, as monkes do in their cloisters. The -bishop therefore taking the host, carried it with the greater honour -into the church: whether many resorting were cured of innumerable -diseases."[605] - -Another legend, from the School of the Eucharist, is as follows: - -"A peasant swayed by a covetous mind, being communicated on Easter-Day, -received the Host in his mouth, and afterwards laid it among his bees, -believing that all the Bees of the neighborhood would come thither to -work their wax and honey. This covetous, impious wretch was not wholly -disappointed of his hopes; for all his neighbors' Bees came indeed to -his hives, but not to make honey, but to render there the honours due to -the Creator. The issue of their arrival was that they melodiously sang -to Him songs of praise as they were able; after that they built a little -church with their wax from the foundations to the roof, divided into -three rooms, sustained by pillars, with their bases and chapiters. They -had there also an Altar, upon which they had laid the precious Body of -our Lord, and flew round about it, continuing their musick. The peasant -... coming nigh that hive where he had put the H. Sacrament, the Bees -issued out furiously by troops, and surrounding him on all sides, -revenged the irreverence done to their Creator, and stung him so -severely that they left him in a sad case. This punishment made this -miserable wretch come to himself, who, acknowledging his error, went to -find out the parish priest to confess his fault to him...." etc.[606] - -We quote also another from the School of the Eucharist: - -"A certain peasant of Auvergne, a province in France, perceiving that -his Bees were likely to die, to prevent this misfortune, was advised, -after he had received the communion, to reserve the Host, and to blow it -into one of the hives. As he tried to do it, the Host fell on the -ground. Behold now a wonder! On a sudden all the Bees came forth out of -their hives, and ranging themselves in good order, lifted the Host from -the ground, and carrying it in upon their wings, placed it among the -combes. After this the man went out about his business, and at his -return found that this advice had succeeded ill, for all his Bees were -dead...."[607] - -We will close this series of legends with one from the Lives of the -Saints: - -"When a thief by night had stolen St. Medard's Bees, they, in their -master's quarrel, leaving their hive, set upon the malefactor, and -eagerly pursuing him which way soever he ran, would not cease stinging -of him until they had made him (whether he would or no) to go back again -to their master's house; and there, falling prostrate at his feet, -submissly to cry him mercy for the crime committed. Which being done, so -soon as the Saint extended unto him the hand of benediction, the Bees, -like obedient servants, did forthwith stay from persecuting him, and -evidently yielded themselves to the ancient possession and custody of -their master."[608] - -By the Greeks, Bees were accounted an omen of future eloquence;[609] the -soothsayers of the Romans, however, deemed them always of evil -augury.[610] They afforded also to the Romans presages of public -interest, "clustering, as they do, like a bunch of grapes, upon houses -or temples; presages, in fact, that are often accounted for by great -events."[611] The instances of happy omens afforded by swarms of Bees -are the following: - -"It is said of Pindar," we read in Pausanias' History of Greece, "that -when he was a young man, as he was going to Thespia, being wearied with -the heat, as it was noon, and in the height of summer, he fell asleep at -a small distance from the public road; and that Bees, as he was asleep, -flew to him and wrought their honey on his lips. This circumstance first -induced Pindar to compose verses."[612] - -A similar incident is mentioned in the life of Plato: - -"Whilst _Plato_ was yet an infant carried in the arms of his mother -_Perictione, Aristo_ his father went to _Hymettus_ (a mountain in -_Attica_ eminent for abundance of Bees and Honey) to sacrifice to the -Muses or Nymphs, taking his Wife and Child along with him; as they were -busied in the Divine Rites, she laid the Child in a Thicket of Myrtles -hard by; to whom, as he slept (_in cunis dormienti_) came a Swarm of -Bees, Artists of Hymettian Honey, flying and buzzing about him, and (as -it is reported) made a Honeycomb in his mouth. This was taken for a -presage of the singular sweetness of his discourse; his future Eloquence -foreseen in his infancy."[613] - -From Butler's Lives of the Saints we have the following: - -"The birth of St. Ambrose happened about the year 340 B.C., and whilst -the child lay asleep in one of the courts of his father's palace, a -swarm of Bees flew about his cradle, and some of them even crept in and -out at his mouth, which was open; and at last mounted up into the air so -high, that they quite vanished out of sight. This," concludes the -Reverend Alban, "was esteemed a presage of future greatness and -eloquence."[614] - -Another instance is mentioned in the Feminine Monarchie, printed at -Oxford in 1634, p. 22. - -"When _Ludovicus Vives_ was sent by Cardinal Wolsey to Oxford, there to -be a public professor of Rhetoric, being placed in the College of Bees, -he was welcomed thither by a swarm of Bees; which sweet creatures, to -signifie the incomparable sweetnesse of his eloquence, settled -themselves over his head, under the leads of his study, where they have -continued to this day.... How sweetly did all things then accord, when -in this neat #mousaion# newly consecrated to the Muses, the Muses' -sweetest favorite was thus honoured by the Muses' birds."[615] - -Moufet, in his Theater of Insects, and Topsel, in almost the same words -in his History of Four-footed Beasts and Serpents, gives the following -list of remarkable omens drawn from Bees: - -"Whereas the most high God did create all other creatures for our use; -so especially the Bees, not only that as mistresses they might hold -forth to us a patern of politick and oeconomic vertues, and inform our -understanding; but that they might be able as extraordinary foretellers, -to foreshew the success and event of things to come; for in the years -90, 98, 113, 208, before the birth of Christ, when as mighty huge swarms -of Bees did settle in the chief market-place, and in the beast-market -upon private citizens' houses, and on the temple of Mars, there were at -that time stratagems of enemies against Rome, wherewith the whole state -was like to be surprised and destroyed. In the reign of Severus, the -Bees made combes in his military ensigns, and especially in the camp of -Niger. Divers wars upon this ensued between both the parties of Severus -and Niger, and battels of doubtful event, while at length the Severian -faction prevailed. The statues also of Antonius Pius placed here and -there all over Hetruria, were all covered with swarms of Bees; and after -that settled in the camp of Cassius; what great commotions after -followed Julius Capitolinus relates in his history. At what time also, -through the treachery of the Germans in Germany, there was a mighty -slaughter and overthrow of the Romans. P. Fabius, and Q. Elius being -consuls in the camp of Drusus in the tent of Hostilius Rutilus, a swarm -of Bees is reported to have sate so thick, that they covered the rope -and the spear that held up the tent. M. Lepidus, and Munat. Plancus -being consuls, as also in the consulship of L. Paulus, and C. Metellus, -swarms of Bees flying to Rome (as the augurs very well conjectured) did -foretell the near approach of the enemy. Pompey likewise making war -against Caesar, when he had called his allies together, he set his army -in order as he went out of Dyrrachium, Bees met him and sate so thick -upon his ensigns that they could not be seen what they were. Philistus -and AElian relate, that while Dionysius the tyrant did in vain spur his -horse that stuck in the mire, and there at length left him, the horse -quitting himself by his own strength, did follow after his master the -same way he went with a swarm of Bees sticking on his mane; intimating -by that prodigy that tyrannical government which Dionysius affected over -the Galeotae. In the Helvetian History we read, that in the year 1385, -when Leopoldus of Austria began to march towards Sempachum with his -army, a swarm of Bees flew to the town and there sate upon the tyles; -whereby the common people rightly foretold that some forain force was -marching towards them. So Virgil, in 7 AEneid: - - The Bees flew buzzing through the liquid air: - And pitcht upon the top o' th' laurel tree; - When the Soothsayers saw this sight full rare, - They did foretell th' approach of th' enemie. - -That which Herodotus, Pausanias, Dio Cassius, Plutarch, Julius Caesar, -Julius Capitolinus, and other historians with greater observation then -reason have confirmed. Saon Acrephniensis, when he could by no means -finde the oracle Trophonius; Pausanias in his oeticks saith he was lead -thither by a swarm of Bees. Moreover, Plutarch, Pausanias, AElian, Alex. -Alexandrinus, Theocritus and Textor are authors that Jupiter Melitaeus, -Hiero of Syracuse, Plato, Pindar, Apius Comatus, Xenophon, and last of -all Ambrose, when their nurses were absent, had honey dropt into their -mouths by Bees, and so were preserved."[616] - -In East Norfolk, England, if Bees swarm on rotten wood, it is considered -portentous of a death in the family.[617] This superstition is as old at -least as the time of Gay, for, among the signs that foreshadowed the -death of Blonzelind, it is mentioned: - - Swarmed on a rotten stick the Bees I spy'd - Which erst I saw when Goody Dobson dy'd.[618] - -In Ireland, the mere swarming of Bees is looked upon as prognosticating -a death in the family of the owner. - -In parts of England it is believed, that if a swarm of Bees come to a -house, and are not claimed by their owner, there will be a death in the -family that hives them.[619] - -It is a very ancient superstition that Bees, by their acute sense of -smell, quickly detect an unchaste woman, and strive to make her infamy -known by stinging her immediately. In a pastoral of Theocritus, the -shepherd in a pleasant mood tells Venus to go away to Anchises to be -well stung by Bees for her lewd behavior. - - Now go thy way to Ida mount-- - Go to Anchises now, - Where mighty oaks, where banks along - Of square Cypirus grow, - Where hives and hollow trunks of trees, - With honey sweet abound, - Where all the place with humming noise - Of busie Bees resound. - -Incontinence in men, as well as unchastity in women, was thought to be -punished by these little insects. Thus in the lines of Pindarus: - - Thou painful Bee, thou pretty creature, - Who honey-combs six angled, as the be, - With feet doest frame, false Phoecus and impure, - With sting has prickt for his lewd villany.[620] - -Pliny says: "Certain it is, that if a menstruous woman do no more but -touch a Bee-hive, all the Bees will be gone and never more come to it -again."[621] - -In Western Pennsylvania, it is believed that Bees will invariably sting -red-haired persons as soon as they approach the hives. - -It is a common opinion that Bees in rough and boisterous weather, and -particularly in a violent storm, carry a stone in their legs, in order -to preserve themselves by its weight against the power of the wind. Its -antiquity is also great, for in the writings of Plutarch we find an -instance of this remarkable wisdom. "The Bees of Candi," says this -philosopher, "being about to double a point or cape lying into the sea, -which is much exposed to the winds, they ballase (ballast) themselves -with small grit or petty stones, for to be able to endure the weather, -and not be carried away against their wills with the winds through their -lightness otherwise."[622] - -Virgil, too, about a century earlier, mentions this curious notion in -the following lines: - - And as when empty barks on billows float, - With sandy ballast sailors trim the boat; - So Bees bear gravel stones, whose poising weight - Steers through the whistling winds their steady flight.[623] - -Swammerdam, who has noticed this belief of the ancients, makes the -following remarks: "But this, as Clutius justly observes, has not been -hitherto remarked by any Bee-keeper, nor indeed have I myself ever seen -it. Yet I should think that there may be some truth in this matter, and -probably a certain observation, which I shall presently mention, has -given rise to the story. There is a species of wild Bees not unlike the -smallest kind of the Humble-Bee, which, as they are accustomed to build -their nests near stone walls, and construct their habitations of stone -and clay, sometimes carry such large stones that it is scarcely credible -by what means so tender insects can sustain so great a load, and that -even flying while they are obliged also to support their own body. -Their nest by this means is often so heavy as to weigh one or two -pounds."[624] - -It was the general opinion of antiquity that Bees were produced from the -putrid bodies of cattle. Varro says they are called #Bougonai# by the -Greeks, because they arise from petrified bullocks. In another place he -mentions their rising from these putrid animals, and quotes the -authority of Archelaus, who says Bees proceed from bullocks, and wasps -from horses.[625] Virgil, however, is much more satisfactory, for he -gives us the recipe in all its details for producing these insects: - - First, in a place, by nature close, they build - A narrow flooring, gutter'd, wall'd, and til'd. - In this, four windows are contriv'd, that strike - To the four winds oppos'd, their beams oblique. - A steer of two years old they take, whose head - Now first with burnished horns begins to spread: - They stop his nostrils, while he strives in vain - To breathe free air, and struggles with his pain. - Knock'd down, he dies: his bowels bruis'd within, - Betray no wound on his unbroken skin. - Extended thus, in his obscene abode, - They leave the beast; but first sweet flowers are strow'd - Beneath his body, broken boughs and thyme, - And pleasing Cassia, just renew'd in prime. - This must be done, ere spring makes equal day, - When western winds on curling waters play; - Ere painted meads produce their flowery crops, - Or swallows twitter on the chimney tops. - The tainted blood, in this close prison pent, - Begins to boil, and thro' the bones ferment. - Then wond'rous to behold, new creatures rise, - A moving mass at first, and short of thighs; - Till shooting out with legs, and imp'd with wings, - The grubs proceed to Bees with pointed stings: - And more and more affecting air, they try - Their tender pinions and begin to fly.[626] - -This absurd notion was also promulgated by the great English chronicler, -Hollingshed; for, says this author, "Hornets, waspes, Bees, and such -like, whereof we have great store, and of which an opinion is -conceived, that the first doo breed of the corruption of dead horses, -the second of pears and apples corrupted, and the last of kine and oxen; -which may be true, especiallie the first and latter in some parts of the -beast, and not their whole substances, as also in the second, sith we -never have waspes but when our fruit beginneth to wax ripe."[627] - -To conclude the history of this belief, the following remarks of the -learned Swammerdam will not be inappropriate. He says: "It is probable -that the not rightly understanding Samson's adventure of the Lion, gave -rise to the popular opinion of Bees springing from dead Lions, Oxen, and -Horses; and this opinion may have been considerably strengthened, and -indeed in a manner confirmed, by the great number of Worms that are -often found during the summer months in the carcasses of such animals, -especially as these Worms somewhat resemble those produced from the eggs -of Bees. However ridiculous this opinion must appear, many great men -have not been ashamed to adopt and defend it. The industrious Goedaert -has ventured to ascribe the origin of Bees to certain dunghill Worms, -and the learned de Mei joins with him in this opinion; though neither of -them had any observation to ground their belief upon, but that of the -external resemblance between the Bee and a certain kind of Fly produced -from these Worms."[628] - -The opinion that stolen Bees will not thrive, but pine away and die, is -almost universal.[629] It is, too, of reverend antiquity, for Pliny -mentions it: "It is a common received opinion, that Rue will grow the -better if it be filched out of another man's garden; and it is as -ordinarie a saying that stolen Bees will thrive worst."[630] - -In South Northamptonshire, England, there is a superstition that Bees -will not thrive in a quarrelsome family.[631] It might be well to -promulgate this and the next preceding superstition. This prevails among -us. - -In Hampshire, England, it is a common saying that Bees are idle or -unfortunate at their work whenever there are wars. A very curious -observer and fancier says that this has been the case from the time of -the movements in France, Prussia, and Hungary, up to the present -time.[632] - -In Bishopsbourne, England, there prevails the singular superstition of -informing the Bees of any great public event that takes place, else they -will not thrive so well.[633] - -In Monmouthshire, England, the peasantry entertain so great a veneration -for their Bees, that, says Bucke, some years since, they were accustomed -to go to their hives on Christmas eve at twelve o'clock, in order to -listen to their humming; which elicited, as they believed, a much more -agreeable music than at any other period; since, at that time, they -celebrated, in the best manner they could, the morning of Christ's -nativity.[634] - -Sampson, in his Statistical Survey of the County of Londonderry, 1802, -p. 436, says that there "Bees must not be given away, but sold; -otherwise neither the giver nor the taker will have _luck_."[635] - -A clergyman in Devonshire, England, informs us that when any Devonian -makes a purchase of Bees, the payment is never made in money, but in -things (corn, for instance) to the value of the sum agreed upon; and the -Bees are never removed but on a Good Friday.[636] In western -Pennsylvania, it is thought by some of the old farmers that the vender -of the Bees must be away from home when the hive is taken away, else the -Bees will not thrive. - -Another superstition is that if a swarm of Bees be met with in an open -field away from any house, it is useless to hive them, for they will -never do a bit of good. - -In many parts of England, a popular opinion is that when Bees remove or -go away from their hives, the owner of them will die soon after.[637] - -It is commonly believed among us that if Bees come to a house, it -forebodes good luck and prosperity; and, on the contrary, if they go -away, bad luck. - -A North German custom and superstition is, that if the master of the -house dies, a person must go to the Beehive, knock, and repeat these -words: "The master is dead, the master is dead," else the Bees will fly -away.[638] This superstition prevails also in England, Lithuania, and in -France.[639] - -[Some years since, observes a correspondent of the Athenaeum, quoted by -Brande, a gentleman at a dinner table happened to mention that he was -surprised, on the death of a relative, by his servant inquiring "whether -his master would inform the Bees of the event, or whether _he_ should do -so." On asking the meaning of so strange a question, the servant assured -him that Bees ought always to be informed of a death in a family, or -they would resent the neglect by deserting the hive. This gentleman -resides in the Isle of Ely, and the anecdote was told in Suffolk; and -one of the party present, a few days afterward, took the opportunity of -testing the prevalence of this strange notion by inquiring of a cottager -who had lately lost a relative, and happened to complain of the loss of -her Bees, "whether she had told them all she ought to do?" She -immediately replied, "Oh, yes; when my aunt died I told every skep -(_i.e._ hive) myself, and put them.... - -"Into mourning." I have since ascertained the existence of the same -superstition in Cornwall, Devonshire (where I have seen black crape put -round the hive, or on a small black stick by its side), and Yorkshire. -It probably exists in every part of the kingdom.... The mode of -communicating is by whispering the fact to each hive separately.... In -Oxford I was told that if a man and wife quarreled, the Bees would leave -them.][640] - -"In some parts of Suffolk," says Bucke, "the peasants believe, when any -member of their family dies, that, unless the Bees are put in mourning -by placing a piece of black cloth, cotton or silk, on the top of the -hives, the Bees will either die or fly away. - -"In Lithuania, when the master or mistress dies, one of the first duties -performed is that of giving notice to the Bees, by rattling the keys of -the house at the doors of their hives. Unless this be done, the -Lithuanians imagine the cattle will die; the Bees themselves perish, -and the trees wither."[641] - -At Bradfield, if Bees are not invited to funerals, it is believed they -will die.[642] - -In the Living Librarie, Englished by John Molle, 1621, p. 283, we read: -"Who would beleeve without superstition (if experience did not make it -credible), that most commonly all the Bees die in their hives, if the -master or mistress of the house chance to die, except the hives be -presently removed into some other place? And yet I know this hath hapned -to folke no way stained with superstition."[643] - -A similar superstition is, that Beehives belonging to deceased persons -should be turned over the moment when the corpse is taken out of the -house.[644] No consequence is given for the non-performance of this -rite. - -The following item is clipped from the Argus, a London newspaper, -printed Sept. 13, 1790: "A superstitious custom prevails at every -funeral in Devonshire, of turning round the Bee-hives that belonged to -the deceased, if he had any, and that at the moment the corpse is -carrying out of the house. At a funeral some time since, at Columpton, -of a rich old farmer, a laughable circumstance of this sort occurred: -for, just as the corpse was placed in the hearse, and the horsemen, to a -large number, were drawn in order for the procession of the funeral, a -person called out, 'Turn the Bees,' when a servant who had no knowledge -of such a custom, instead of turning the hives about, lifted them up, -and then laid them down on their sides. The Bees, thus hastily invaded, -instantly attacked and fastened on the horses and their riders. It was -in vain they galloped off, the Bees as precipitately followed, and left -their stings as marks of indignation. A general confusion took place, -attended with loss of hats, wigs, etc., and the corpse during the -conflict was left unattended; nor was it till after a considerable time -that the funeral attendants could be rallied, in order to proceed to the -interment of their deceased friend."[645] - -After the death of a member of a family, it has frequently been -asserted that the Bees sometimes take their loss so much to heart as to -alight upon the coffin whenever it is exposed. A clergyman told -Langstroth, that he attended a funeral, where, as soon as the coffin was -brought from the house, the Bees gathered upon it so as to excite much -alarm. Some years after this occurrence, being engaged in varnishing a -table, the Bees alighted upon it in such numbers as to convince the -reverend gentleman that love of varnish, rather than sorrow or respect -for the dead, was the occasion of their conduct at the funeral.[646] - -The following is an extract from a _Tour through Brittany_, published in -the Cambrian _Quarterly Magazine_, vol. ii. p. 215: "If there are Bees -kept at the house where a marriage feast is celebrated, care is always -taken to dress up their hives in red, which is done by placing upon them -pieces of scarlet cloth, or one of some such bright color; the Bretons -imagining that the Bees would forsake their dwellings if they were not -made to participate in the rejoicings of their owners: in like manner -they are all put into mourning when a death occurs in a family."[647] - -In the Magazine of Natural History we find the following instance of -singing psalms to Bees to make them thrive: "When in Bedfordshire -lately, we were informed of an old man who sang a psalm last year in -front of some hives which were not doing well, but which, he said, would -thrive in consequence of that ceremony. Our informant could not state -whether this was a local or individual superstition."[648] - -It is commonly said that if you sing to your Bees before they swarm, it -will prevent their leaving your premises when they do swarm. - -Peter Rotharmel, a western Pennsylvanian, had a singular notion that no -man could have at one time a hundred hives of Bees. He declared he had -often as many as ninety-nine, but could never add another to them.[649] -I have since learned that this is not an individual superstition, but -one that pretty generally prevails. - -The Apiarians of Bedfordshire, England, have a custom of, as they call -it, ringing their swarms with the door-key and the frying-pan; and if a -swarm settles on another's premises, it is irrecoverable by the owner, -unless he can prove the ringing, but it becomes the property of that -person upon whose premises it settles.[650] - -The practice of beating pans, and making a great noise to induce a swarm -of Bees to settle, is, at least, as old as the time of Virgil. He thus -mentions it: - - But when thou seest a swarming cloud arise, - That sweeps aloft, and darkens all the skies: - The motions of their hasty flight attend; - And know to floods, or woods, their airy march they bend. - Then melfoil beat, and honey-suckles pound, - With these alluring savors strew the ground, - And mix with tinkling brass the cymbal's drowning sound.[651] - -But concerning this practice, Langstroth says: "It is probably not a -whit more efficacious than the hideous noises of some savage tribes, -who, imagining that the sun, in an eclipse, has been swallowed by an -enormous dragon, resort to such means to compel his snakeship to -disgorge their favorite luminary."[652] - -Dr. Toner, the author of that very interesting little work, "Maternal -Instinct or Love," informs me that when a boy he witnessed a mode of -alluring a swarm of Bees to settle, performed by a German man and his -wife, which struck him at the time as being remarkable, and which was as -follows: Having first put some pig-manure upon the hive into which they -wished the Bees to go, they ran to and fro under the swarm, singing a -monotonous German hymn; and this they continued till the Bees were -settled and hived. - -Another strange mode of alluring Bees into a new hive is practiced near -Gloucester, England, but only when all the usual ways of preparing hives -fail; it is this: When a swarm is to be hived, instead of moistening the -inside of the hive with honey, or sugar and water, the Bee-master throws -into it, inverted, about a pint of beans, which he causes a sow to -devour, and immediately then, it is said, will the Bees take to it.[653] - -Pliny, as follows, incidentally mentions another curious mode of -preparing the hives to best suit the Bees: "Touching Baulme, which the -Greeks call Melittis or Melissophyllon: if Bee-hives be rubbed all over -and besmeared with the juice thereof, the Bees will never go away; for -there is not a flower whereof they be more desirous and faine than of -it."[654] - -Borlase, in his Antiquities of Cornwall, p. 168, tells us of another -strange practice in the hiving of Bees. He says: "The Cornish, to this -day, invoke the spirit of Browny, when their Bees swarm; and they think -that their crying Browny, Browny, will prevent them from returning into -the former hive, and make them pitch and form a new colony."[655] - -The Rev. Thomas P. Hunt, of Wyoming, Pa., has devised an amusing plan, -by which he says he can, at all times, prevent a swarm of Bees from -leaving his premises. Before his stocks swarm, he collects a number of -dead Bees, and, stringing them with a needle and thread, as worms are -strung for catching eels, makes of them a ball about the size of an egg, -leaving a few strands loose. By carrying--fastened to a pole--this -"_Bee-bob_" about his Apiary, when the Bees are swarming, or by placing -it in some central position, he invariably secures every swarm.[656] - -The barbarous practice of killing Bees for their honey, not yet entirely -abolished, did not exist in the time of Aristotle, Varro, Columella, and -Pliny. The old cultivators took only what their Bees could spare, -killing no stocks except such as were feeble or diseased. The following -epitaph, taken from a German work, might well be placed over every pit -of these brimstoned insects: - - HERE RESTS, - CUT OFF FROM USEFUL LABOR, - A COLONY OF - INDUSTRIOUS BEES, - BASELY MURDERED - BY ITS - UNGRATEFUL AND IGNORANT - OWNER. - -To the epitaph also may be appended Thomson's verses: - - Ah, see, where robbed and murdered in that pit, - Lies the still heaving hive! at evening snatched, - Beneath the cloud of guilt-concealing night, - And fixed o'er sulphur! while, not dreaming ill, - The happy people, in their waxen cells, - Sat tending public cares. - Sudden, the dark, oppressive steam ascends, - And, used to milder scents, the tender race, - By thousands, tumble from their honied dome - Into a gulf of blue sulphureous flame![657] - -It is considered very cruel in Africa, as Campbell observes, to kill -Bees in order to obtain their honey, especially as from flowers being -there at all seasons, and most in winter, they can live comfortably all -the year round. A Hottentot, who was accustomed to kill the Bees, was -often reasoned with by the humane to give up so cruel a practice, yet he -persisted in it till a circumstance occurred which determined him to -relinquish it. He had a water-mill for grinding his corn, which went -very slowly, from the smallness of the stream which turned it; -consequently the flour dropped very gently. For some time much less than -usual came into the sack, the cause of which he could not discover. At -length he found that a great part of his flour, as it was ground, was -carried off by the Bees to their hives: on examining this, he found it -contained only his flour, and no honey. This robbery made him resolve to -destroy no more Bees when their honey was taken, considering their -conduct in robbing him of his property as a just punishment to him for -his cruelty. The gentleman who related this story, Mr. Campbell says, -was a witness to the Bees robbing the mill.[658] - -An old English proverb, relative to the swarming of Bees, is,-- - - A swarm of Bees in May, - Is worth a load of hay; - A swarm of Bees in June, - Is worth a silver spoon; - A swarm of Bees in July, - Is not worth a fly.[659] - -In Tusser's Five Hundred Points of Husbandry, under the month of May, -are these lines: - - Take heed to thy Bees, that are ready to swarme, - The losse thereof now is a crown's worth of harme. - -On which is the following observation in Tusser Redivivus, 1744, p. 62: -"The tinkling after them with a warming-pan, frying-pan, kettle, is of -good use to let the neighbors know you have a swarm in the air, which -you claim wherever it lights; but I believe of very little purpose to -the reclaiming of the Bees, who are thought to delight in no noise but -their own." - -Ill fortune attends the killing of Bees,--a common saying. This, -doubtless, arose from the thrift and usefulness of these insects. - -That swarms of Bees, or fields, houses, stalls of cattle, or workshops, -may not be affected by enchantment, Leontinus says: "Dig in the hoof of -the right side of a sable ass under the threshold of the door, and pour -on some liquid pitchy resin, salt, Heracleotic origanum, cardamonium, -cumin, some fine bread, squills, a chaplet of white or of crimson wool, -the chaste tree, vervain, sulphur, pitchy torches; and lay on some -amaranthus every month, and lay on the mould; and, having scattered -seeds of different kinds, let them remain."[660] - -To cure the stings of Bees, we have the following remedies: "Rue," says -Pliny, "is an hearbe as medicinable as the best ... and is available -against the stings of Bees, Hornets, and Wasps, and against the poison -of the Cantharides and Salamanders.[661] - -"Yea, and it is an excellent thing for them that be stung, to take the -very Bees in drinke; for it is an approved cure.[662] - -"Baulme is a most present remedy not only against their stings, but also -of Wespes, Spiders, and Scorpions.[663] - -"The Laurell, both leafe, barke, and berrie, is by nature hot; and -applied as a liniment, be singular good for the pricke or sting of -Wasps, Hornets, and Bees.[664] - -"For the sting of Bees, Wasps, and Hornets, the Howlat (owlet) is -counted a soveraigne thing, by a certaine antipathie in nature.[665] - -"Moreover, as many as have about them the bill of a Woodspeck -(Woodpecker) when they come to take honey out of the hive, shall not be -stung by Bees."[666] - -It is said that if a man suffers himself to be stung by Bees, he will -find that the poison will produce less and less effect upon his system, -till, finally, like Mithridates of old, he will appear to almost thrive -upon poison itself. When Langstroth first became interested in Bees, -according to his statement, a sting was quite a formidable thing, the -pain being often intense, and the wound swelling so as sometimes to -obstruct his sight. But, at length, however, the pain was usually -slight, and, if the sting was quickly extracted, no unpleasant -consequences ensued, even if no remedies were used. Huish speaks of -seeing the bald head of Bonner, a celebrated practical Apiarian, covered -with stings, which seemed to produce upon him no unpleasant effects. The -Rev. Mr. Kleine advises beginners to suffer themselves to be stung -frequently, assuring them that, in two seasons, their systems will -become accustomed to the poison. An old English Apiarian advises a -person who has been stung, to catch as speedily as possible another -Bee, and make it sting on the same spot.[667] - -It is generally believed among our boys that if the part stung by a Bee -be rubbed with the leaves of three different plants at the same time, -the pain will be relieved. - -Willsford, in his Nature's Secrets, p. 134, says: "Bees, in fair -weather, not wandering far from their hives, presage the approach of -some stormy weather.... Wasps, Hornets, and Gnats, biting more eagerly -than they used to do, is a sign of rainy weather."[668] - -The prognostication drawn from a flight of Bees, in which there is -doubtless much truth, appears from the following lines to have been -known to Virgil: - - Nor dare they stay, - When rain is promised, or a stormy day: - But near the city walls their watering take, - Nor forage far, but short excursions make.[669] - -Bees were employed as the symbol of Epeses; they are common also on -coins of Elyrus, Julis, and Praesus.[670] - -One of the most remarkable facts in the history of Bees is that passage -in the Bible[671] about the swarm of these insects and honey in the -carcass of the lion slain by Samson. Some look upon it as a paradox, -others as altogether incredible; but it admits of easy explanation. The -lion had been dead some little time before the Bees had taken up their -abode in the carcass, for it is expressly stated that "after a time," -Samson returned and saw the Bees and honey in the carcass, so that "if," -as Oedman has well observed, "any one here represents to himself a -corrupt and putrid carcass, the occurrence ceases to have any true -similitude, for it is well known in these countries, at certain seasons -of the year, the heat will in twenty-four hours so completely dry up the -moisture of dead animals, and that without their undergoing -decomposition, that their bodies long remain, like mummies, unaltered, -and entirely free from offensive odor." To the foregoing quotation we -may add that very probably the larvae of flies, ants, and other insects, -which at the time when Bees swarm, are to be found in great numbers, -would help to consume the carcass, and leave perhaps in a short time -little else than a skeleton.[672] - -An instance of Bees tenanting a dead body is found in the following -passage from the writings of Herodotus: "Now the Amathusians, having cut -off the head of Onesilus, because he had besieged them, took it to -Amatheus, and suspended it over the gates; and when the head was -suspended, and had become hollow, a swarm of Bees entered it, and filled -it with honey-comb. When this happened, the Amathusians consulted the -oracle respecting it, and an answer was given them, 'that they should -take down the head and bury it, and sacrifice annually to Onesilus, as -to a hero; and if they did so, it would turn out better for them.' The -Amathusians did accordingly, and continued to do so until my time."[673] - -Another singular instance is mentioned by Napier in his Excursions on -the shores of the Mediterranean: "Among this pretty collection of -natural curiosities (in the cemetery of Algesiras), one in particular -attracted our attention; this was the contents of a small uncovered -coffin in which lay a child, the cavity of the chest exposed and -tenanted by an industrious colony of Bees. The comb was rapidly -progressing, and I suppose, according to the adage of the poet, they -were adding sweets to the sweet, if not perfume to the violet."[674] - -Butler, in his Feminine Monarchie, narrates the following curious story: -"_Paulus Jovius_ affirmeth that in _Muscovia_, there are found in the -woods & wildernesses great lakes of honey, which the Bees have forsaken, -in the hollow truncks of marvelous huge trees. In so much that hony & -waxe are the most certaine commodities of that countrie. Where, by that -occasion, he setteth down the storie reported by _Demetrius_ a -_Muscovite_ ambassador sent to Rome. A neighbor of mine (saith he) -searching in the woods for hony slipt downe into a great hollow tree, -and there sunk into a lake of hony vp to his brest: where when he had -stucke faste two daies calling and crying out in vaine for helpe, -because no bodie in the meane while came nigh that solitarie place; at -length when he was out of all hope of life, hee was strangely delivered -by the means of a great beare: which coming thither about the same -businesse that he did, and smelling the hony stirred with his striving, -clambered vp to the top of the tree, & thence began to let himselfe -downe backward into it. The man bethinking himself, and knowing the -worst was but death, which in that place he was sure of, beclipt the -beare fast with both his hands aboit the loines, and withall made an -outcry as lowd as he could. The beare being thus sodainely affrighted, -what with the handling, & what with the noise, made vp againe withal -speed possible: the man held, & the beare pulled, vntil with main force -he had drawne _Dun out of the mire_: & then being let go, away he trots -_more afeard than hurt_, leaving the smeered swaine in a joyful -feare."[675] - -By the Chinese writers, the composition of the characters for the Bee, -Ant, and Mosquito, respectively, denote the awl insect, the _righteous_ -insect, and the _lettered_ insect; referring thereby to the sting of the -first, the orderly marching and subordination of the second, and the -letter-like markings on the wings of the last.[676] - -In May, 1653, the remains of Childeric, King of the Franks, who died -A.D. 481, and was buried at Tournay, were discovered; and among the -medals, coins, and books, which were found in his tomb, were also found -above three hundred figures of, as Chiflet says, Bees, all of gold. Some -of these figures were toads, crescents, lilies, spear-heads, and such -like, but Chiflet, after much labor and research, was fully convinced -they were Bees; and, more than that, determines them to be the source -whence the _Fleur de lis_ in the Arms of France were afterward derived. -Montfaucon, however, did not hesitate to say they were nothing more than -ornaments of the horse-furniture.[677] - -Napoleon I. and II. are said to have had their imperial robes -embroidered with golden Bees, as claiming official descent from Carolus -Magnus, who is said to have worn them on his coat of arms.[678] - -On a Continental forty-five dollar bill, issued on the 14th of January, -1779, is represented an Apiary in which two Beehives are visible, and -Bees are seen swarming about. The motto is "Sic floret Respublica--Thus -flourishes the Republic." It conveys the simple lesson that by industry -and frugality the Republic would prosper.[679] - -Bees in the heroic ages it appears were not confined in hives; for, -whenever Homer describes them, it is either where they are streaming -forth from a rock,[680] or settling in bands and clusters on the spring -flowers. Hesiod, however, soon after makes mention of a hive where he is -uncourteously comparing women to drones: - - As when within their well-roof'd hives the Bees - Maintain the mischief-working drones at ease, - Their task pursuing till the golden sun - Down to the western wave his course hath run, - Filling their shining combs, while snug within - Their fragrant cells, the drones, with idle din - As princes revel o'er their unpaid bowls, - On others' labors cheer their worthless souls.[681] - -It may be surprising to many to know that Bees were not originally -natives of this country. But such is the case; the first planters never -saw any. The English first introduced them into Boston, and in 1670, -they were carried over the Alleghany Mountains by a hurricane.[682] -Since that time, it has been remarked they betray an invariable tendency -for migrating southward.[683] - -Bees for a long time were known to our Indians by the name of "English -Flies;"[684] and they consider them, says Irving, as the harbinger of -the white man, as the buffalo is of the red man, and say that in -proportion as the Bee advances, the Indian and the buffalo retire.[685] - -Longfellow, in his Song of Hiawatha, in describing the advent of the -European to the New World, makes his Indian warrior say of the Bee and -the white clover: - - Wheresoe'er they move, before them - Swarms the stinging fly, the Ahmo, - Swarms the Bee, the honey-maker; - Wheresoe'er they tread, beneath them - Springs a flower unknown among us, - Springs the White Man's Foot in blossom. - -Many Apiarians contend that newly-settled countries are most favorable -to the Bee; and an old German adage runs thus: - - Bells' ding dong, - And choral song, - Deter the bee - From industry: - - But hoot of owl, - And "wolf's long howl" - Incite to moil - And steady toil.[686] - -Hector St. John, in his Letters, gives the following curious account of -the method which he employed in discovering Bees in our woods in early -times: Provided with a blanket, some provisions, wax, vermilion, honey, -and a small pocket compass, he proceeded to such woods as were at a -considerable distance from the settlements. Then examining if they -abounded with large trees, he kindled a small fire on some flat stones, -close by which putting some wax, and, on another stone near by, dropping -distinct drops of honey, which he encircled with the vermilion. He then -retired to carefully watch if any Bees appeared. The smell of the burnt -wax, if there were any Bees in the neighborhood, would unavoidably -attract them; and, finding the honey, would necessarily become tinged -with the vermilion, in attempting to get at it. Next, fixing his -compass, he found out the direction of the hives by the flight of the -loaded Bees, which is invariably straight when they are returning home. -Then timing with his watch the absence of the Bee till it would come -back for a second load, and recognizing it by the vermilion, he could -generally guess pretty closely to the distance traversed by it in the -given time. Knowing then the direction and the probable distance, he -seldom failed in going directly to the right tree. In this way he -sometimes found as many as eleven swarms in one season.[687] - -The shepherds of the Alps, as we learn from Sausure quoted in the Insect -Miscellanies, as soon as the snows are melted on the sides of the -mountains, transfer their flocks from the valleys below to the fresh -pasture revived by the summer sun, in the natural parterres and patches -of meadow-land formed at the foot of crumbling rocks, and sheltered by -them from mountain storms; and so difficult sometimes is this transfer -to be accomplished, that the sheep have to be slung by means of ropes -from one cliff to another before they can be stationed on the little -grass-plot above.[688] A similar artificial migration (if we may use the -term), continues the author of the Miscellanies, is effected in some -countries by the proprietors of Beehives, who remove them from one -district to another, that they may find abundance of flowers, and by -this means prolong the summer. Sometimes this transfer is performed by -persons forming an ambulatory establishment, like that of a gipsy horde, -and encamping wherever flowers are found plentiful. Bee-caravans of this -kind are reported to be not uncommon in some districts of Germany;[689] -and in parts of Greece,[690] Italy, and France,[691] the transportation -of Bees was practiced from very early times. But a more singular -practice in such transportation was to set the Beehives afloat in a -canal or river, and we are informed that, in France, one Bee-barge was -built of capacity enough for from sixty to one hundred hives, and by -floating gently down the river, the Bees had an opportunity of gathering -honey from the flowers along the banks.[692] - -An instance of Bees being kept in this singular manner is found in the -following quotation from the London Times, 1830: "As a small vessel was -proceeding up the Channel from the coast of Cornwall, and running near -the land, some of the sailors observed a swarm of Bees on an island; -they steered for it, landed, and took the Bees on board; succeeded in -hiving them immediately, and proceeded on their voyage; as they sailed -along shore, the Bees constantly flew from the vessel to the land, to -collect honey, and returned again to their moving hive; and this was -continued all the way up the Channel."[693] - -In Lower Egypt, observes M. Maillet in his Description of Egypt, where -the blossoming of flowers is about six weeks later than in the upper -districts, the practice of transporting Beehives is much followed. The -hives are collected from different villages along the banks, each being -marked and numbered by individual proprietors, to prevent future -mistakes. They are then arranged in pyramidal piles upon the boats -prepared to receive them, which, floating gradually down the river, and -stopping at certain stages of their passage, remain there a longer or a -shorter time, according to the produce afforded by the surrounding -country within two or three leagues. In this manner the Bee-boats sail -for three months; the Bees, having culled the honey of the -orange-flowers in the Said, and of the Arabian jasmine and other flowers -in the more northern parts, are brought back to the places whence they -had been carried. This procures for the Egyptians delicious honey and -abundance of wax. The proprietors in return pay the boatmen a recompense -proportioned to the number of hives which have been thus carried about -from one extremity of Egypt to the other.[694] The celebrated traveler -Niebuhr saw upon the Nile, between Cairo and Damietta, a convoy of 4000 -hives in their transit from Upper Egypt to the coast of the Delta.[695] - -In the Bienenzeitung for 1854, p. 83, appears the following statements: -"Mr. Kaden, of Mayence, thinks that the range of the Bee's flight does -not usually extend more than three miles in all directions. Several -years ago, a vessel, laden with sugar, anchored off Mayence, and was -soon visited by the Bees of the neighborhood, which continued to pass to -and from the vessel from dawn to dark. One morning, when the Bees were -in full flight, the vessel sailed up the river. For a short time, the -Bees continued to fly as numerously as before; but gradually the number -diminished, and, in course of half an hour, all had ceased to follow the -vessel, which had, meanwhile, sailed more than four miles."[696] - -Aristomachus of Soli, says Pliny, made Bees his exclusive study for a -period of fifty-eight years; and Philiocus, the Thracian, surnamed -Agrius--"Wildman"--passed his life in desert spots tending swarms of -Bees.[697] - -Schomburgk says he saw, in his journey to the sources of the Takutu, an -Indian, who was the conjuror or piaiman of his tribe, merely approach a -nest of the wild Wampang-bees (_Wampisiana camniba_), and knocking with -his fingers against it, drive out all the Bees without a single one -injuring him. The piaiman, Schomburgk remarks, drew his fingers under -the pits of his arms before he knocked against the hive.[698] - -Brue, in his first voyage to Siratic, in Africa, met with what he called -a "phenomenon" in a person entitling himself the "King of the Bees." His -majesty accordingly came to the boat of the traveler entirely covered -with these insects, and followed by thousands, over which he appeared to -exercise the most absolute authority. These Bees were never known to -injure either himself or those whom he took under his protection.[699] - -Mr. Wildman, the most celebrated Bee-tamer, frequently asserted that -armed with his friendly Bees he was defensible against the fiercest -mastiffs; and, it is said, he actually did, at Salisbury, encounter -three yard-dogs one after the other. The conditions of the engagement -were, that he should have notice of the dog being set at him. -Accordingly the first mastiff was set loose; and as he approached the -man, two Bees were detached, which immediately stung him, the one on the -nose, the other on the flank; upon receiving the wounds, the dog retired -very much daunted. After this, the second dog entered the lists, and was -foiled with the same expedition as the first. The third dog was at last -brought against the champion, but the animal observing the ill success -of his brethren, would not attempt to sustain a combat; so, in a -cowardly manner, he retired with his tail between his legs. - -Many other remarkable anecdotes are told of this gentleman, illustrating -his wonderful control over Bees. He could also, indeed, tame wasps and -hornets, with almost the same ease as he could Bees, and an instance is -mentioned of his hiving a nest of hornets which hung at the top of the -inside of a high barn. He, however, was stung twice in this undertaking. - -Mr. Wildman frequently exhibited himself with his head and face almost -covered with Bees, and with such a swarm of them hanging down from his -chin as to resemble a venerable beard. In this extraordinary dress he -was once brought through the City of London sitting in a chair. Before -Earl Spencer, Mr. Wildman also made many wonderful performances.[700] - -Says Dr. Evans: - - Such was the spell, which round a Wildman's arm - Twined in dark wreaths the fascinated swarm, - Bright o'er his breast the glittering legions led, - Or with a living garland bound his head. - His dexterous hand, with firm but hurtless hold, - Could seize the chief, known by her scales of gold, - Prune, 'mid the wondering throng, her filmy wing, - Or o'er her folds the silken fetter fling.[701] - -"Long experience has taught me," says Mr. Wildman himself, "that as soon -as I turn up a hive, and give some taps on the sides and bottom, the -queen immediately appears. Being accustomed to see her, I readily -perceive her at the first glance; and long practice has enabled me to -seize her instantly, with a tenderness that does not in the least -endanger her person. Being possessed of her, I can, without exciting any -resentment, slip her into my other hand, and returning the hive to its -place, hold her, till the Bees, missing her, are all on the wing and in -the utmost confusion." It was then, by placing the queen in view, he -could make them light wherever he pleased, from their great attachment -to her, and sometimes using a word of command to mystify the spectators, -he would cause them to settle on his head, and to hang to his chin like -a beard, from which he would order them to his hand, or to an adjacent -window. But, however easy such feats may appear in theory, Mr. Wildman -cautions (probably with a view to deter rivals) those who are -inexperienced not to put themselves in danger of attempting to imitate -him. A liberated Roman slave, C. F. Cnesinus, being accused before the -tribunals of witchcraft, because his crops were more abundant than -those of his neighbors, produced as his witnesses some superior -implements of husbandry, and well fed oxen, and pointing to them said: -"These, Romans! are my instruments of witchcraft; but I cannot show you -my toil, my perseverance, and my anxious cares." "So," says Wildman, -"may I say, These, Britons! are my instruments of witchcraft; but I -cannot show you my hours of attention to this subject, my anxiety and -care for these useful insects; nor can I communicate to you my -experience acquired during a course of years."[702] - -Butler mentions two instances where the stings of Bees have been fatal -to "cattaile": - -"A horse," he informs us, "in the heate of the day looking over a hedge, -on the other side whereof was a staule of Bees, while hee stood nodding -with his head, as his manner is, because of the flies, the Bees fell -vpon him and killed him. Likewise I heard of a teeme that stretching -against a hedge overthrew a staule on the other side, and so two of the -horses were stung to death."[703] - -Mungo Park and his party were twice seriously attacked by large swarms -of Bees. The first attack is mentioned in the account of his first -journey; the second in the account of his second. The latter singular -accident befell them in 1805, and is thus narrated in his journal: The -coffle had halted at a creek, and the asses had just been unloaded, when -some of his guide Isaaca's people, being in search of honey, -unfortunately disturbed a large swarm of Bees near their resting-place. -The Bees came out in immense numbers, and attacked men and beasts at the -same time. Luckily, most of the asses were loose, and galloped up the -valley; but the horses and people were very much stung, and obliged to -scamper off in all directions. The fire which had been kindled for -cooking, being deserted, spread, and set fire to the bamboos, and the -baggage had like to have been burned. In fact, for half an hour the Bees -seemed to have completely put an end to the journey. In the evening when -they became less troublesome, and the cattle could be collected, it was -found that many of them were very much stung, and swollen about the -head. Three asses were missing; one died in the course of the evening, -and one next morning, and they were forced to leave one behind the next -day. Altogether six were lost, besides which, the guide lost his horse, -and many of the people were much stung about the face and hands.[704] - -But in the Treasvrie of Avncient and Moderne Times, we find the -following: "Anthenor, writing of the Isle of Crete (with whom also -ioyneth AElianus) saith, that a great multitude of Bees chased al the -dwellers out of a City, and vsed their Houses instead of Hives."[705] - -Montaigne mentions the following singular assistance rendered by Bees to -the inhabitants of Tamly: The Portuguese having besieged the City of -Tamly, in the territory of Xiatine, the inhabitants of the place brought -a great many hives, of which there are great plenty in that place, upon -the wall; and with fire drove the Bees so furiously upon the enemy that -they gave over the enterprise, not being able to stand their attacks and -endure their stings: and so the citizens, by this new sort of relief, -gained liberty and the victory with so wonderful a fortune, that at the -return of their defenders from the battle they found they had not lost -so much as one.[706] - -Lesser tells us that in 1525, during the confusion occasioned by a time -of war, a mob assembling in Hohnstein (in Thuringia) attempted to -plunder the house of the minister of Elende; who having spoken to them -with no effect, as a last resort ordered his domestics to bring his -Beehives, and throw them in the midst of the furious mob. The desired -effect was instantaneous, for the mob dispersed immediately.[707] - -Bees have also been employed as an article of food. Knox tells us that -the natives of Ceylon, when they meet with a swarm of Bees hanging on a -tree, hold burning torches under them to make them drop; and so catch -and carry them home, where they boil and eat them, in their estimation, -as excellent food.[708] - -Peter Martyr, speaking of the Caribbean Islands, says: "The -Inhabitantes willingly eate the young Bees, rawe, roasted, and sometimes -sodden."[709] - -Bancroft tells us that when the negroes of Guiana are stung by Bees, -they in revenge eat as many as they can catch.[710] - -The following account of the Bee-eater of Selborne, England, is by the -Reverend, and very accurate naturalist, Gilbert White: "We had in this -village," says he, "more than twenty years ago (about 1765), an idiot -boy, whom I well remember, who, from a child, showed a strong propensity -to Bees: they were his food, his amusement, his sole object; and as -people of this cast have seldom more than one point in view, so this lad -exerted all his few faculties on this one pursuit. In the winter he -dozed away his time, within his father's house, by the fireside, in a -kind of torpid state, seldom departing from the chimney corner; but in -the summer he was all alert, and in quest of his game in the fields and -on sunny banks. Honey-bees, Humble-bees, and Wasps were his prey, -wherever he found them: he had no apprehensions from their stings, but -would seize _nudis manibus_, and at once disarm them of their weapons, -and search their bodies for the sake of their honey-bags. Sometimes he -would fill his bosom between his shirt and his skin with a number of -these captives; and sometimes would confine them in bottles. He was a -very _Merops apiaster_, or Bee-bird, and very injurious to men that kept -Bees; for he would slide into their Bee-gardens, and, sitting down -before the stools, would rap with his finger on the hives, and so take -the Bees as they came out. He has been known to overturn hives for the -sake of honey, of which he was passionately fond. Where metheglin was -making, he would linger round the tubs and vessels, begging a draught of -what he called _Bee-wine_. As he ran about he used to make a humming -noise with his lips, resembling the buzzing of Bees. This lad was lean -and sallow, and of a cadaverous complexion; and, except in his favorite -pursuit, in which he was wonderfully adroit, discovered no manner of -understanding."[711] - -There is a peculiar substance formed by a species of Bee in the Orinoco -country, which, says Captain Stedman, the roosting tribes burn -incessantly in their habitations, and which effectually protects them -from all winged insects. They call it _Comejou_; Gumilla says it is -neither earth nor wax.[712] - -Concerning the medicinal virtues of Bees, Dr. James says: "Their salts -are very volatile, and highly exalted; for this reason, when dry'd, -powder'd, and taken internally, they are diuretic and diaphoretic. If -this powder is mixed in unguents, with which the head is anointed, it is -said to cure the Alopecia, and to contribute to the growth of hair upon -bald places."[713] - -Another, an old writer, says: "If Bees, when dead, are dried to powder, -and given to either man or beast, this medicine will often give -immediate ease in the most excruciating pain, and remove a stoppage in -the body when all other means have failed." A tea made by pouring -boiling water upon Bees has recently been prescribed, by high medical -authority, for violent strangury; while the poison of the Bee, under the -name of _apis_, is a great homoeopathic remedy.[714] - -Concerning wax, Dr. James says: "All wax is heating, mollifying, and -moderately incarning. It is mixed in sorbile liquors as a remedy for -dysentery; and ten bits, of the size of a grain of millet, swallowed, -prevent the curdling of milk in the breast of nurses."[715] - -[If we might credit the history of former times, says Jamieson, in his -Scottish Dictionary, sub. _Walx_, iv. 642-3, there must have been a -considerable demand for this article (wax) for the purpose of -witchcraft. It was generally found necessary, it would seem, as the -medium of inflicting pain on the bodies of men. - -"To some others at these times he teacheth, how to make _pictures of -waxe_ or clay, that by the wasting thereof, the persons that they beare -the name of, may be continually melted or dried away by continuall -sickenesse." K. James's Daemonologie, B. II. c. 5. - -In order to cause acute pain in the patient, pins, we are told, were -stuck in that part of the body of the image, in which they wished the -person to suffer. - -The same plan was adopted for inspiring another with the ardor of love. - - Then mould her form of fairest _wax_, - With adder's eyes and feet of horn; - Place this small scroll within its breast, - Which I, your friend, have hither borne. - - Then make a blaze of alder wood, - Before your fire make this to stand; - And the last night of every moon - The bonny May's at your command. - - _Hogg's Mountain Bard_, p. 35. - -Then it follows: - - With fire and steel to urge her weel, - See that you neither stint nor spare; - For if the cock be heard to crow, - The charm will vanish into air. - -The wounds given to the image were supposed to be productive of similar -_stounds_ of love in the tender heart of the maiden whom it represented. - - A female form, of melting _wax_, - Mess John surveyed with steady eye, - Which ever an anon he _pierced_, - And forced the lady loud to cry.--P. 84. - -The same horrid rites were observed on the continent. For Grilland (de -Sortilegiis) says: Quidam solent apponere _imaginem cerae_ juxta ignem -ardentem, completis sacrificiis, de quibus supra, & adhibere quasdam -preces nefarias, & turpia verba, ut quemadmodum imago illa igne -consumitur & liquescit, eodem modo cor mulieris amoris calore talis viri -feruenter ardeat, etc. Malleus Malefic. T. H., p. 232. - -It cannot be doubted that these rites have been transmitted from -heathenism. Theocritus mentions them as practiced by the Greeks in his -time. For he introduces Samoetha as using similar enchantments, partly -for punishing, and partly for regaining her faithless lover. - - But strew the _salt_, and say in angry tones, - "I scatter Delphid's, perjured Delphid's bones." - --First Delphid injured me, he raised my flame, - And now I burn this bough in Delphid's name; - As this doth blaze, and break away in fume, - How soon it takes, let Delphid's flesh consume, - Iynx, restore my false, my perjured swain, - And force him back into my arms again.-- - As this devoted _wax_ melts o'er the fire, - Let Mindian Delphy melt in warm desire! - - _Idylliums_, p. 12, 13. - -Samoetha burns the bough in the name of her false lover, and terms the -wax _devoted_. With this the more modern ritual of witchcraft -corresponded. The name of the person, represented by the image, was -invoked. For according to the narrative given concerning the witches of -Pollock-shaws, having bound the image on a spit, they "turned it before -the fire,--saying, as they turned it, _Sir George Maxwell, Sir George -Maxwell_; and that this was expressed by all of them." Glanvil's -Sadducismus, p. 391. - -According to Grilland, the image was baptized in the name of Beelzebub. -Malleus, ut. sup., p. 229. - -There is nothing analogous to the Grecian rite, mentioned by Theocritus, -of strewing _salt_. For Grilland asserts that, in the festivals of the -witches, salt was never presented. Ibid., p. 215. It was perhaps -excluded from their infernal rites as having been so much used as a -sacred symbol.] - -The following are among the twenty-eight "singular vertues" attributed -by Butler to Honey: "... It breedeth good blood, it prolongeth old age -... yea the bodies of the dead being embalmed with honey have been -thereby preserved from putrefaction. And _Athenaeus_ doth witness it to -be as effectual for the living, writing out of Lycus, that the Cyrneans, -or inhabitants of Corsica, were therefore long-lived, because they did -dailie vse to feed on honey, whereof they had abundance: and no -marvaile: seeing it is so soveraigne a thing, and so many waies -available for man's health, as well being outwardly as inwardly applied. -It is drunke against the bite of a serpent or mad dogs: and it is good -for them having eaten mushrooms, or drunke popy, etc."[716] - -In the Treasvrie of Avncient and Moderne Times,[717] there are two -chapters devoted to the "Vertues of Honey." - -There is a story, that a man once came to Mohammed, and told him that -his brother was afflicted with a violent pain in his belly; upon which -the prophet bade him give him some honey. The fellow took his advice; -but soon after coming again, told him that the medicine had done his -brother no manner of service: Mohammed answered, "Go and give him more -honey, for God speaks truth, and thy brother's belly lies." And the dose -being repeated, the man, by God's mercy, was immediately cured.[718] - -In the sixteenth chapter of the Koran, Mohammed has likewise mentioned -honey as a medicine for men.[719] - -Athenaeus tells us that Democritus, the philosopher of Abdera, after he -had determined to rid himself of life on account of his extreme old age, -and when he had begun to diminish his food day by day, when the day of -the Thesmophonian festival came round, and the women of his household -besought him not to die during the festival, in order that they might -not be debarred from their share of the festivities, was persuaded and -ordered a vessel full of honey to be set near him: and in this way he -lived many days with no other support than honey; and then some days -after, when the honey had been taken away, he died. But Democritus, -Athenaeus adds, had always been fond of honey; and he once answered a -man, who had asked him how he could live in the enjoyment of the best -health, that he might do so if he constantly moistened his inward parts -with honey and his outward man with oil. Bread and honey was the chief -food of the Pythagoreans, according to the statement of Aristoxenus, who -says that those who ate this for breakfast were free from disease all -their lives.[720] - -"The gall of a vulture," says Moufet, quoting Galen, in Euporist, -"mingled with the juice of horehound (twice as much in weight as the -gall is) and two parts of honey cures the suffusion of the eyes. -Otherwise he mingles one part of the gall of the sea-tortoise, and four -times as much honey, and anoints the eyes with it. Serenus prescribes -such a receipt to cause one to be quick-sighted: - - Mingle Hyblaean honey with the gall - Of Goats, 'tis good to make one see withall."[721] - -We are told in the German Ephemerides, that a young country girl, having -eaten a great deal of honey, became so inebriated with it, that she -slept the whole day, and talked foolishly the day following.[722] - -Bevan, in his work on the Honey-Bee, mentions the following instances of -a curious use to which propolis is sometimes put by the Bees: A snail, -says he, having crept into one of Mr. Reaumur's hives early in the -morning, after crawling about for some time, adhered, by means of its -own slime, to one of the glass panes. The Bees, having discovered the -snail, surrounded it, and formed a border of propolis round the verge of -its shell, and fastened it so securely to the glass that it became -immovable. - - Forever closed the impenetrable door; - It naught avails that in its torpid veins - Year after year, life's loitering spark remains. - - EVANS. - -Maraldi, another eminent Apiarian, states that a snail without a shell -having entered one of his hives, the Bees, as soon as they observed it, -stung it to death; after which, being unable to dislodge it, they -covered it all over with an impervious coat of propolis. - - For soon in fearless ire, their wonder lost, - Spring fiercely from the comb the indignant host, - Lay the pierced monster breathless on the ground, - And clap in joy their victor pinions round: - While all in vain concurrent numbers strive - To heave the slime-girt giant from the hive-- - Sure not alone by force instinctive swayed, - But blest with reason's soul-directing aid, - Alike in man or bee, they haste to pour, - Thick, hard'ning as it falls, the flaky shower; - Embalmed in shroud of glue the mummy lies, - No worms invade, no foul miasmas rise. - - EVANS.[723] - -Xenophon tells us that all the soldiers, who ate of the honey-combs, -found in the villages on the mountains of the Colchians, lost their -senses, and were seized with such violent vomiting and purging, that -none of them were able to stand upon their legs: that those who ate but -little, were like men very drunk, and those who ate much, like madmen, -and some like dying persons. In this condition, this writer adds, great -numbers lay upon the ground, as if there had been a defeat, and a -general sorrow prevailed. The next day, they all recovered their senses, -about the same hour they were seized; and, on the third and fourth days, -they got up as if they had taken physic.[724] - -Pliny accounts for this accident by saying there is found in that -country a kind of honey, called from its effects, Thaenomenon, that is, -that those who eat it are seized with madness. He adds, that the common -opinion is that this honey is gathered from the flowers of a plant -called _Rhododendros_, which is very common in those parts. Tournefort -thinks the modern _Laurocerasus_ is the Rhododendros of Pliny, from the -fact that the people of that country, at the present day, believe the -honey that is gathered from its flowers will produce the effects -described by Xenophon.[725] - -The missionary Moffat in South Africa found some poisonous honey, which -he unknowingly ate, but with no serious consequences. It was several -days, however, before he got rid of a most unpleasant sensation in his -head and throat. The plant from which the honey had been gathered was an -Euphorbia.[726] - -"In Podolia," says the chronicler Hollingshed, "which is now subject to -the King of Poland, their hives (of Bees) and combes are so abundant, -that huge bores, overturning and falling into them, are drowned in the -honie, before they can recover & find the meanes to come out."[727] - -Honey was offered up to the Sun by the ancient Peruvians.[728] - -Dr. Sparrman has described a Hottentot dance, which he calls the -Bee-dance. It is in imitation of a swarm of Bees; every performer as he -jumps around making a buzzing noise.[729] - -"To have a Bee in one's bonnet" is a Scottish proverbial phrase about -equivalent to the English, "To have a maggot in one's head"--to be -hair-brained. Kelly gives this with an additional word: "There's a Bee -in your bonnet-_case_." In Scotland, too, it is said of a confused or -stupefied man, that his "head is in the Bees."[730] These proverbial -expressions were also in vogue in England.[731] - -The following beautiful epigram, on a Bee inclosed in amber, is from the -pen of Martial: "The Bee is inclosed, and shines preserved, in a tear of -the sisters of Phaeton, so that it seems enshrined in its own nectar. It -has obtained a worthy reward for its great toils; we may suppose that -the Bee itself would have desired such a death. - - The Bee inclosed, and through the amber shown, - Seems buried in the juice that was her own. - So honor'd was a life in labor spent: - Such might she wish to have her monument."[732] - -The Septuagint has the following eulogium on the Bee in Prov. vi. 8, -which is not found in the Hebrew Scriptures: "Go to the Bee, and learn -how diligent she is, and what a noble work she produces, whose labors -kings and private men use for their health; she is desired and honored -by all, and though weak in strength, yet since she values wisdom, she -prevails."[733] - -In Spain Bees are in great estimation; and this is evinced by the -ancient proverb: - - Abeja y oveja, - Y piedra que traveja, - Y pendola trans oreja, - Y parte en la Igreja, - Desea a su hija, la vieja---- - -The best wishes of a Spanish mother to her son are, Bees, sheep, -millstones, a pen behind the ear, and a place in the church.[734] - -The following anecdote in the history of the Humble-bee (_Bombus_) is -from the account of Josselyn of his voyages to New England, printed in -1674: "Near upon twenty years since there lived an old planter near -_Blackpoint_, who on a Sunshine day about one of the clock lying upon a -green bank not far from his house, charged his Son, a lad of 12 years of -age, to awaken him when he had slept two hours; the old man falls -asleep, and lying upon his back gaped with his mouth wide open enough -for a Hawke to ---- into it; after a little while the lad sitting by -spied a Humble-bee creeping out of his Father's mouth, which taking wing -flew quite out of sight, the hour as the lad guest being come to awaken -his Father, he jagged him and called aloud Father, Father, it is two -o'clock, but all would not rouse him, at last he sees the Humble-bee -returning, who lighted upon the sleeper's lip and walked down as the lad -conceived into his belly, and presently he awaked."[735] - -The following, on the different species of Humble-bees, is one of the -popular rhymes of Scotland: - - The todler-tyke has a very gude byke, - And sae has the gairy Bee; - But weel's me on the little red-doup, - The best o' a' the three.[736] - -When the Archbishop of St. Andrews was cruelly murdered in 1679, "upon -the opening of his tobacco box a living humming bee flew out," which was -explained to be a familiar or devil. A Scottish woman declared that a -child was poisoned by its grandmother, who, together with herself, were -"in the shape of bume-bees," that the former carried the poison "in her -cleugh, wings, and mouth." A great Bee constantly resorted to another -after receiving the Satanic mark, and rested on it.[737] - -An anecdote is related by M. Reaumur respecting the thimble-shaped nest, -formed of leaves, of the Carpenter-bee (_Apis centuncularis_?), which is -a striking instance of the ridiculous superstition which prevails among -the uneducated, and which even sometimes has no slight influence on -those of better understandings. "In the beginning of July, 1736, the -learned Abbe Nollet, then at Paris, was surprised by a visit from an -auditor of the chamber of accounts, whose estate lay at a distant -village on the borders of the Seine, a few leagues from Rouen. This -gentleman came accompanied, among other domestics, by a gardener, whose -face had an air of much concern. He had come to Paris in consequence of -having found in his master's ground many rows of leaves, unaccountably -disposed in a mystical manner, and which he could not but believe were -there placed by witchcraft, for the secret destruction of his lord and -family. He had, after recovering from his first consternation, shown -them to the curate of the parish, who was inclined to be of a similar -opinion, and advised him without delay to take a journey to Paris, and -make his lord acquainted with the circumstance. This gentleman, though -not quite so much alarmed as the honest gardener, could not feel himself -at perfect ease, and therefore thought it advisable to consult his -surgeon upon the business, who, though a man eminent in his profession, -declared himself utterly unacquainted with the nature of what was shown -him, but took the liberty of advising that the Abbe Nollet, as a -philosopher, should be consulted, whose well-known researches in natural -knowledge might perhaps enable him to elucidate the matter. It was in -consequence of this advice that the Abbe received the visit above -mentioned, and had the satisfaction of relieving all parties from their -embarrassment, by showing them several nests formed on a similar plan by -other insects, and assuring them that those in their possession were the -work of insects also."[738] - -In an English paper, the Observer, of July 25, 1813, there is an account -of a "swarm of Bees resting themselves on the inside of a lady's -parasol." They were hived without any serious injury to the lady. - -In the Annual Register, 1767, p. 117, there was published by M. Lippi, -Licentiate in Physic of the army of Paris, an account of a petrified -Beehive, discovered on the mountains of Siout, in Upper Egypt. Broken -open it disclosed the larvae of Bees in the cells, hard and solid, and -Bees themselves dried up like mummies. Honey was also found in the -cells![739] The account is curious, but not entitled to much credit. - -In the Liverpool Advertiser, and Times, of Nov. 24, 1817, there is a -lengthy account of three Bees being found in a state of animation in a -huge solid rock from the Western Point Quarry. Scientific attention was -attracted, and as appears from the above-mentioned papers of Dec. 5, -1817, the mystery was cleared up by discovering in the rock "a sand -hole" through which the insects had made their way.[740] - - - - -ORDER VI. - -LEPIDOPTERA. - - -Papilionidae--Butterflies. - -The lepidopterous insects in general, soon after they emerge from the -pupa state, and commonly during their first flight, discharge some drops -of a red-colored fluid, more or less intense in different species, -which, in some instances, where their numbers have been considerable, -have produced the appearance of a "shower of blood," as this natural -phenomenon is commonly called. - -Showers of blood have been recorded by historians and poets as -preternatural--have been considered in the light of prodigies, and -regarded where they have happened as fearful prognostics of impending -evils. - -There are two passages in Homer, which, however poetical, are applicable -to a rain of this kind; and among the prodigies which took place after -the death of the great dictator, Ovid particularly mentions a shower of -blood: - - Saepe faces visae mediis ardere sub astris, - Saepe inter nimbos guttae cecidere cruentae. - - With threatening signs the lowering skies were fill'd, - And sanguine drops from murky clouds distilled. - -Among the numerous prodigies reported by Livy to have happened in the -year 214 B.C., it is instanced that, at Mantua, a stagnating piece of -water, caused by the overflowing of the River Mincius, appeared as of -blood; and, in the cattle-market at Rome, a shower of blood fell in the -Istrian Street. After mentioning several other remarkable phenomena that -happened during that year, Livy concludes by saying that these prodigies -were expiated, conformably to the answers of the Aruspices, by victims -of the greater kinds, and supplication was ordered to be performed to -all the deities who had shrines at Rome.[741] Again it is stated by -Livy, that many alarming prodigies were seen at Rome in the year 181 -B.C., and others reported from abroad; among which was a shower of -blood, which fell in the courts of the temples of Vulcan and Concord. -After mentioning that the image of Juno Sospita shed tears, and that a -pestilence broke out in the country, this writer adds, that these -prodigies, and the mortality which prevailed, alarmed the Senate so -much, that they ordered the consuls to sacrifice to such gods as their -judgment should direct, victims of the larger kinds, and that the -Decemvirs should consult their books. Pursuant to their direction, a -supplication for one day was proclaimed to be performed at every shrine -at Rome; and they advised, besides, and the Senate voted, and the consul -proclaimed, that there should be a supplication and public worship for -three days throughout all Italy.[742] In the year 169 B.C., Livy also -mentions that a shower of blood fell in the middle of the day. The -Decemvirs were again called upon to consult their books, and again were -sacrifices offered to the deities.[743] The account, also, of Livy, of -the bloody sweat, on some of the statues of the gods, must be referred -to the same phenomenon; as the predilection of those ages to marvel, -says Thomas Brown, and the want of accurate investigation in the cases -recorded, as well as the rare occurrence of these atmospherical -depositions in our own times, inclines us to include them among the -blood-red drops deposited by insects.[744] - -In Stow's Annales of England, we have two accounts of showers of blood; -and from an edition printed in London in 1592, we make our quotations: -"Rivallus, sonne of Cunedagius, succeeded his father, in whose time (in -the year 766 B.C.) it rained bloud 3 dayes: after which tempest ensued a -great multitude of venemous flies, which slew much people, and then a -great mortalitie throughout this lande, caused almost desolation of the -same."[745] The second account is as follows: "In the time of Brithricus -(A.D. 786) it rayned blood, which falling on men's clothes, appeared -like crosses."[746] - -Hollingshed, Graften, and Fabyan have also recorded these instances in -their respective chronicles of England.[747] - -A remarkable instance of bloody rain is introduced into the very -interesting Icelandic ghost story of Thorgunna. It appears that in the -year of our Lord 1009, a woman called Thorgunna came from the Hebrides -to Iceland, where she stayed at the house of Thorodd: and during the hay -season, a shower of blood fell, but only, singularly, on that portion of -the hay she had not piled up as her share, which so appalled her that -she betook herself to her bed, and soon afterward died. She left, to -finish the story, a remarkable will, which, from not being executed, was -the cause of several violent deaths, the appearance of ghosts, and, -finally, a legal action of ejectment against the ghosts, which, it need -hardly be said, drove them effectually away.[748] - -In 1017, a shower of blood fell in Aquitaine;[749] and Sleidan relates -that in the year 1553 a vast multitude of Butterflies swarmed through a -great part of Germany, and sprinkled plants, leaves, buildings, clothes, -and men with bloody drops, as if it had rained blood.[750] We learn also -from Bateman's Doome, that these "drops of bloude upon hearbes and -trees," in 1553, were deemed among the forewarnings of the deaths of -Charles and Philip, dukes of Brunswick.[751] - -In Frankfort, in the year 1296, among other prodigies, some spots of -blood led to a massacre of the Jews, in which ten thousand of these -unhappy descendants of Abraham lost their lives.[752] - -In the beginning of July, 1608, an extensive shower of blood took place -at Aix, in France, which threw the people of that place into the utmost -consternation, and, which is a much more important fact, led to the -first satisfactory and philosophical explanation of this phenomenon, but -too late, alas! to save the Jews of Frankfort. This explanation was -given by M. Peiresc, a celebrated philosopher of that place, and is thus -referred to by his biographer, Gassendi: "Nothing in the whole year 1608 -did more please him than that he observed and philosophized about, the -_bloody rain_, which was commonly reported to have fallen about the -beginning of July; great drops thereof were plainly to be seen, both in -the city itself, upon the walls of the church-yard of the church, which -is near the city wall, and upon the city walls themselves; also upon the -walls of villages, hamlets, and towns, for some miles round about; for -in the first place, he went himself to see those wherewith the stones -were colored, and did what he could to come to speak with those -husbandmen, who, beyond Lambesk, were reported to have been affrighted -at the falling of said rain, that they left their work, and ran as fast -as their legs could carry them into the adjacent houses. Whereupon, he -found that it was a fable that was reported, touching those husbandmen. -Nor was he pleased that naturalists should refer this kind of rain to -vapours drawn up out of red earth aloft in the air, which congealing -afterwards into liquor, fall down in this form; because such vapours as -are drawne aloft by heat, ascend without color, as we may know by the -alone example of red roses, out of which the vapours that arise by heat -are congealed into transparent water. He was less pleased with the -common people, and some divines, who judged that it was the work of the -devils and witches who had killed innocent young children; for this he -counted a mere conjecture, possibly also injurious to the goodness and -providence of God. - -"In the mean while an accident happened, out of which he conceived he -had collected the true cause thereof. For, some months before, he shut -up in a box a certain palmer-worm which he had found, rare for its -bigness and form; which, when he had forgotten, he heard a buzzing in -the box, and when he opened it, found the palmer-worm, having cast its -coat, to be turned into a beautiful Butterfly, which presently flew -away, leaving in the bottom of the box a red drop as broad as an -ordinary sous or shilling; and because this happened about the beginning -of the same month, and about the same time an incredible multitude of -Butterflies were observed flying in the air, he was therefore of opinion -that such kind of Butterflies resting on the walls had there shed such -like drops, and of the same bigness. Whereupon, he went the second time, -and found, by experience, that those drops were not to be found on the -house-tops, nor upon the round sides of the stones which stuck out, as -it would have happened, if blood had fallen from the sky, but rather -where the stones were somewhat hollowed, and in holes, where such small -creatures might shroud and nestle themselves. Moreover, the walls which -were so spotted, were not in the middle of towns, but they were such as -bordered upon the fields, nor were they on the highest parts, but only -so moderately high as Butterflies are commonly wont to fly. - -"Thus, therefore, he interpreted that which Gregory of Tours relates, -touching a bloody rain seen at Paris in divers places, in the days of -Childebert, and on a certain house in the territory of Seulis; also that -which is storied, touching raining of blood about the end of June, in -the days of King Robert; so that the blood which fell upon flesh, -garments, or stones could not be washed out, but that which fell on wood -might; for it was the same season of Butterflies, and experience hath -taught us, that no water will wash these spots out of the stones, while -they are fresh and new. When he had said these and such like things to -various, a great company of auditors being present, it was agreed that -they should go together and search out the matter, and as they went up -and down, here and there, through the fields, they found many drops upon -stones and rocks; but they were only on the hollow and under parts of -the stones, but not upon those which lay most open to the skies."[753] - -This memorable shower of blood was produced by the _Vanessa urticae_, or -_V. polychloros_, most probably, since these species of Butterflies are -said to have been uncommonly plentiful at the time when, and in the -particular district where, the phenomenon was observed.[754][755] - -Nicoll, in his Diary, p. 8, informs us that on the 28th of May, 1650, -"there rained blood the space of three miles in the Earl of Buccleuch's -bounds (Scotland), near the English border, which was verefied in -presence of the Committee of State."[756] - -We learn from Fountainhall that on Sunday, May 1st, 1687, a young woman -of noted piety, Janet Fraser by name, the daughter of a weaver in the -parish of Closeburn, Dumfriesshire, went out to the fields with a young -female companion, and sat down to read the Bible not far from her -father's house. Feeling thirsty, she went to the river-side (the Nith) -to get a drink, leaving her Bible open at the place where she had been -reading, which presented the verses of the 34th chapter of Isaiah, -beginning--"My sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come -down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment," etc. On -returning, she found a patch of something like blood covering this very -text. In great surprise, she carried the book home, where a young man -tasted the substance with his tongue, and found it of a saltless or -insipid flavor. On the two succeeding Sundays, while the same girl was -reading the Bible in the open air, similar blotches of matter, like -blood, fell upon the leaves. She did not perceive it in the act of -falling till it was about an inch from the book. "It is not blood," our -informant adds, "for it is as tough as glue, and will not be scraped -off by a knife, as blood will; but it is so like blood, as none can -discern any difference by the colour."[757] - -On Tuesday, Oct. 9th, 1764, "a kind of rain of a red color, resembling -blood, fell in many parts of the Duchy of Cleves, which caused great -consternation. M. Bouman sent a bottle of it to Dr. Schutte, to know if -it contained anything pernicious to health. Something of the like kind -fell also at Rhenen, in the Province of Utrecht."[758] - -Dr. Schutte, to whom was submitted a bottle of this red rain, gave it as -his opinion that it was caused by particles of red matter, which had -been raised into the atmosphere by a strong wind, and that it was in no -way hurtful to mankind or beasts![759] - -In 1819, a red shower fell in Carniola, which, being analyzed, says -Bucke, was found to be impregnated with silex, alumine, and oxide of -iron. Red rain fell also at Dixmude, in Flanders, November 2d, 1829; and -on the following day at Schenevingen, the acid obtained from which was -chloric acid, and the metal cobalt.[760] - -In the year 1780, Rombeag noticed a shower of blood that had excited -universal attention, and which he could satisfactorily show to be -produced by the flying forth and casting of bees, as the phenomenon in -the place around the beehives themselves was remarkably striking. From -this fact it is evident that the appearance is attributable to other -insects as well as the lepidoptera.[761] - -Bloody rain has also been attributed, with much apparent reason, to -other causes still, as the following accounts from reliable authorities -show: - -In 1848, Dr. Eckhard, of Berlin, when attending a case of cholera, found -potatoes and bread within the house spotted with a red coloring matter, -which, being forwarded to Ehrenberg, was found by him to be due to the -presence of an animalcule, to which he gave the name of the _Monas -prodigiosa_. It was found that other pieces of bread could be inoculated -with this matter.[762] - -Swammerdam relates that, one morning in 1670, great excitement was -created in the Hague by a report that the lakes and ditches about Leyden -were turned to blood. Florence Schuyl, the celebrated professor of -physic in the University of Leyden, went down to the canals, and taking -home a quantity of this blood-colored matter examined it with a -microscope, and found that the water was water still, and had not at all -changed its color; but that it was full of small red animals, all alive -and very nimble in their motions, the color and prodigious numbers of -which gave a reddish tinge to the whole body of the water in which they -lived. The animals which thus color the water of lakes and ponds are the -_Pulices arborescentes_ of Swammerdam, or the water fleas with branched -horns. These creatures are of a reddish yellow or flame color. They live -about the sides of ditches, under weeds, and among the mud; and are -therefore the less visible, except at a certain time, which is in the -month of June. It is at this time these little animals leave their -recesses to float about the water, and meet for the propagation of their -species; and by this means they become visible in the color which they -give to the water. The color in question is visible, more or less, in -one part or other of almost all standing waters at this season; and it -is always at the same season that the bloody waters have alarmed the -ignorant.[763] - -The prodigy, mentioned by Livy, of a stagnating piece of water at Mantua -appearing as of blood, was no doubt owing to the appearance of great -numbers of the _Pulices arborescentes_ in it.[764] - -Concerning the origin of bloody rain, Swammerdam entertained the same -idea as Peiresc; but he does not appear to have verified it from his -own observation. He makes the following remarks: "Is it not possible -that such red drops might issue from insects, at the time they come -fresh from the nymphs, which distil a bloody fluid? This seems to happen -especially when such insects are more than ordinarily multiplied in any -particular year, as we often experience in the butterflies, flies, -gnats, and others."[765] - -Dust is commonly attributed as the cause of this phenomenon, but will -satisfactorily explain only a few instances. A writer for Chambers' -Journal, in an article on showers of red dust, bloody rain, etc., says: -"In October, 1846, a fearful and furious hurricane visited Lyon, and the -district between that city and Grenoble, during which occurred a fall of -blood-rain. A number of drops were caught and preserved, and when the -moisture was evaporated, there was seen the same kind of dust (as fell -in showers in Genoa in 1846) of a yellowish brown or red color. When -placed under the microscope, it exhibited a great proportion of fresh -water and marine formations. Phytolytharia were numerous, as also -'neatly-lobed vegetable scales;' which, as Ehrenberg observes, is -sufficient to disprove the assertion that the substance is found in the -atmosphere itself, and is not of European origin. For the first time, a -living organism was met with, the '_Eunota amphyoxis_, with its ovaries -green, and therefore capable of life.' Here was a solution of the -mystery: the dust, mingling with the drops of water falling from the -clouds, produced the red rain. Its appearance is that of reddened water, -and it cannot be called blood-like without exaggeration."[766] - -To conclude the history of bloody rain, the following is most -appropriate: In 1841, some negroes, in Wilson County, Tennessee, -reported that it had rained blood in the tobacco field where they had -been at work; that near noon there was a rattling noise like rain or -hail, and drops of blood, as they supposed, fell from a red cloud that -was flying over. Prof. Troost, of Nashville, was called upon to explain -the phenomenon; and, after citing many instances of red rain, red snow, -and so called showers of blood, he concluded his learned article with -this opinion: "A wind might have taken up part of an animal, which was -in a state of decomposition, and have brought it in contact with an -electric cloud, in which it was kept in a state of partial fluidity or -viscosity. In this case, the cloud which was seen by the negroes, as the -state in which the materials were, is accounted for." - -Prof. Troost published this profound solution in the forty-first volume -of Silliman's Journal; but in the forty-fourth of the same magazine a -much more satisfactory one is given, for it is there stated "that the -whole affair was a hoax devised by the negroes, who pretended to have -seen the shower for the sake of practicing on the credulity of their -masters. They had scattered the decaying flesh of a dead hog over the -tobacco leaves."[767] - -Another phenomenon to be particularly noticed in the history of the -Butterflies, is their appearance at certain times in countless numbers -migrating from place to place. H. Kapp, a writer in the _Naturforsch_, -observed on a calm sunny day a prodigious flight of the -Cabbage-Butterfly, _Pontia brassicae_, which passed from northeast to -southwest, and lasted two hours.[768] Kalm, the Swedish traveler, saw -these last insects midway in the British Channel.[769] Lindley tells us -that in Brazil, in the beginning of March, 1803, for many days -successively there was an immense flight of white and yellow -Butterflies, probably of the same tribe as the _Pontia brassicae_. They -were observed never to settle, but proceeded in a direction from -northwest to southeast. No buildings seemed to stop them from steadily -pursuing their course; which being to the ocean, at only a small -distance, they must all have inevitably perished. It is to be remarked -that at this time no other kind of Butterfly was to be seen, though the -country usually abounds in such a variety.[770] - -A somewhat similar migration of Butterflies was observed in Switzerland -on the 8th or 10th of June, 1828. The facts are as follows: Madame de -Meuron Wolff and her family, established during the summer in the -district of Grandson, Canton de Vaud, perceived with surprise an -immense flight of Butterflies traversing the garden with great rapidity. -They were all of the species called _Belle Dame_ by the French, and by -the English the Painted Lady (_Vanessa cardui_, Stephens). They were all -flying close together in the same direction, from south to north, and -were so little afraid when any one approached, that they turned not to -the right or to the left. The flight continued for two hours without -interruption, and the column was about ten or fifteen feet broad. They -did not stop to alight on flowers; but flew onward, low and equally. -This fact is the more singular, when it is considered that the larvae of -the _Vanessa cardui_ are not gregarious, but are solitary from the -moment they are hatched; nor are the Butterflies themselves usually -found together in numbers. Professor Bonelli, of Turin, however, -observed a similar flight of the same species of Butterflies in the end -of March preceding their appearance at Grandson, when it may be presumed -they had just emerged from the pupa state. Their flight, as at Grandson, -was from south to north, and their numbers were so immense, that at -night the flowers were literally covered with them. As the spring -advanced, their numbers diminished; but even in June a few still -continued. A similar flight of Butterflies is recorded about the end of -the last century by M. Loche, in the Memoirs of the Turin Academy. -During the whole season, these Butterflies, as well as their larvae, were -very abundant, and more beautiful than usual.[771] - -Pallas once saw such vast flights of the orange-tipped Butterfly, -_Pontia cardamines_, in the vicinity of Winofka, that he at first -mistook them for flakes of snow.[772] At Barbados, some days previous to -the hurricane in 1780, the trees and shrubs were entirely covered with a -species of Butterfly of the most beautiful colors, so as to screen from -the sight the branches, and even the trunks of the trees. In the -afternoon before the gale came on, and when it was quite still, they all -suddenly disappeared. The gale came on soon after.[773] Darwin tells us -that several times, when the "Beagle" had been some miles off the mouth -of the Plata, and at other times when off the shores of Northern -Patagonia, the air was filled with insects: that one evening, when the -ship was about ten miles from the Bay of San Blas, vast numbers of -Butterflies, in bands or flocks of countless myriads, extended as far as -the eye could range. The seamen cried out "It was raining Butterflies," -and such in fact, continues Darwin, was the appearance. Several species -were in this flock, but they were chiefly of a kind very similar to, but -not identical with, the common English _Colias edusa_. Some moths and -hymenopterous insects accompanied the Butterflies; and a fine beetle -(_Calosoma_) flew on board.[774] Captain Adams mentions an extraordinary -flight of small Butterflies, with spotted wings, which took place at -Annamaboo, on the Guinea coast, after a tornado. The wind veered to the -northward, and blew fresh from the land, with thick mist, which brought -off from the shore so many of these insects, that for one hour the -atmosphere was so filled with them as to represent a snow-storm driving -past the vessel at a rapid rate, which was lying at anchor about two -miles from the shore.[775] - -Mr. Charles J. Anderson encountered, in South-western Africa, for two -consecutive days, such immense myriads of lemon-colored Butterflies that -the sound caused by their wings was such as to resemble "the distant -murmuring of waves on the sea-shore." They always passed in the same -direction as the wind blew, and, as numbers were constantly alighting on -the flowers, their appearance at such times was not unlike "the falling -of leaves before a gentle autumnal breeze."[776] - -In Bermuda, October 10, 1847, the Butterfly, _Terias lisa_ of Boisduval, -suddenly appeared in great abundance, hundreds being seen in every -direction. Previous to that occasion, Mr. Hurdis, the observer of this -flight, had never met with this Butterfly. In the course of a few days, -they had all disappeared.[777] - -In Ceylon, in the months of April and May, migrations of Butterflies -(mostly the _Callidryas hilariae_, _C. alcmeone_, and _C. pyranthe_, with -straggling individuals of the genus _Euploea_, _E. coras_, and _E. -prothoe_) are quite frequent. Their passage is generally in a -northeasterly direction. The flights of these delicate insects appear to -the eye of a white or pale yellow hue, and apparently to extend miles in -breadth, and of such prodigious length as to occupy hours, and even -days, in their uninterrupted passage. A friend of Tennent, traveling -from Kandy to Kornegalle, drove for _nine miles_ through such a cloud of -white Butterflies, which was passing _across_ the road by which he went. -Whence these immense numbers of Butterflies come no one knows, and -whither going no one can tell. But the natives have a superstitious -belief that their flight is ultimately directed to Adam's Peak, and that -their pilgrimage ends on reaching that sacred mountain.[778] - -Moufet says: "Wert thou as strong as Milo or Hercules, and wert fenced -or guarded about with an host of giants for force and valour, remember -that such an army was put to the worst by an army of Butterflies flying -in troops in the air, in the year 1104, and they hid the light of the -sun like a cloud. Licosthenes relates, that on the third day of August, -1543, that no hearb was left by reason of their multitudes, and they had -devoured all the sweet dew and natural moisture, and they had burned up -the very grasse that was consumed with their dry dung."[779] - -The most beautiful as well as pleasing emblem among the Egyptians was -exhibited under the character of Psyche--the Soul. This was originally -no other than a Butterfly: but it afterwards was represented as a lovely -female child with the beautiful wings of that insect. The Butterfly, -after its first and second stages as an egg and larva, lies for a season -in a manner dead; and is inclosed in a sort of coffin. In this state it -remains a shorter or longer period; but at last bursting its bonds, it -comes out with new life, and in the most beautiful attire. The Egyptians -thought this a very proper picture of the soul of man, and of the -immortality, to which it aspired. But they made it more particularly an -emblem of Osiris; who having been confined in an oak or coffin, and in a -state of death, at last quitted his prison, and enjoyed a renewal of -life.[780] This symbol passed over to the Greeks and Romans, who also -considered the Butterfly as the symbol of Zephyr.[781] - -Among the coats of arms of several of our most celebrated tribes of -Indians, Baron Lahontan mentions one, that of the "Illinese," which bore -a beech-leaf with a Butterfly argent.[782] - -The sight of a trio of Butterflies is considered an omen of death.[783] -An English superstition. - -If a Butterfly enters a house, a death is sure to follow shortly in the -family occupying it; if it enters through the window, the death will be -that of an infant or very young person. As far as I know this -superstition is peculiar to Maryland. - -If a Butterfly alights upon your head, it foretells good news from a -distance. This superstition obtains in Pennsylvania and Maryland. - -The first Butterfly seen in the summer brings good luck to him who -catches it. This notion prevails in New York. - -In Western Pennsylvania, it is believed that if the chrysalides of -Butterflies be found suspended mostly on the under sides of rails, -limbs, etc., as it were to protect them from rain, that there will soon -be much rain, or, as it is termed, a "rainy spell"; but, on the -contrary, if they are found on twigs and slender branches, that the -weather will be dry and clear. - -Du Halde and Grosier tell us that the Butterflies of the mountain of -Lo-few-shan, in the province of Quang-tong, China, are so much esteemed -for their size and beauty, that they are sent to court, where they -become a part of certain ornaments in the palaces. The wings of these -Butterflies are very large, and their colors surprisingly diversified -and lively.[784] Dionysius Kao, a native of China, also remarks, in his -Geographical Description of that Empire, that the Butterflies of -Quang-tong are generally sent to the emperor, as they form a part of the -furniture of the imperial cabinets.[785] - -Osbeck says the Chinese put up insects in boxes made of coarse wood, -without covering, and lined with paper, which they carry round to sell; -each box bringing half a piastre. Of the Butterflies, which were the -principal insects thus sold, he enumerates twenty-one species.[786] - -The Chinese children make Butterflies of paper, with which "they play -after night by sending them, like kites, into the air."[787] - -We learn from Captain Stedman, that even in the forests of Guiana, some -people make Butterfly-catching their business, and obtain much money by -it. They collect and arrange them in paper boxes, and send them off to -the different cabinets of Europe.[788] - -Butterflies are now extensively worn by French and American ladies on -their head-dresses. - -From the relations of Sir Anthony Shirley, quoted in Burton's Anatomy of -Melancholy,[789] we learn that the kings of Persia were wont to hawk -after Butterflies with sparrows and stares, or starlings, trained for -the purpose; and we are also told that M. de Luisnes (afterward Prime -Minister of France), in the nonage of Louis XIII., gained much upon him -by making hawks catch little birds, and by making some of those little -birds again catch Butterflies.[790] - -In the Zoological Journal, No. 13, it is recorded that at a meeting of -the Linnaean Society, March 11, 1832, Mr. Stevens exhibited a remarkable -freak of nature in a specimen of _Vanessa urtica_, which possessed five -wings, the additional one being formed by a second, but smaller, hinder -wing on one side.[791] - -J. A. de Mandelsloe, who made a voyage to the East Indies in 1639, tells -us that not far from the Fort of Ternate grows a certain shrub, called -by the Indians _Catopa_, from which falls a leaf, which, by degrees, is -supposed to be metamorphosed into a Butterfly.[792] - -De Pauw tells us that, not long before his time, the French peasants -entertained a kind of worship for the chrysalis of the caterpillar found -on the great nettle (the pupa of _Vanessa cardui_?), because they -fancied that it revealed evident traces of Divinity; and quotes M. Des -Landes in saying that the curates had even ornamented the altars with -these pupae.[793] - -The Butterfly (Ang. Sax. _Buttor-fleoge_, or _Buter-flege_) is so named -from the common yellow species, or from its appearing in the butter -season. Its German names are _Schmetterling_, from _schmetten_, cream; -and _Molkendieb_, the Whey-thief. The association with milk in its three -forms, in butter, cream, and whey, is remarkable. - -The African Bushmen eat the caterpillars of Butterflies; and the Natives -of New Holland eat the caterpillars of a species of Moth, and also a -kind of Butterfly, which they call _Bugong_, which congregates in -certain districts, at particular seasons, in countless myriads. On these -occasions the native blacks assemble from far and near to collect them; -and after removing the wings and down by stirring them on the ground, -previously heated by a large fire, winnowing them, eat the bodies, or -store them up for use, by pounding and smoking them. The bodies of these -Butterflies abound in oil, and taste like nuts. When first eaten, they -produce violent vomitings and other debilitating effects; but these go -off after a few days, and the natives then thrive and fatten exceedingly -on this diet, for which they have to contend with a black crow, which is -also attracted by the Butterflies, and which they dispatch with their -clubs and use also as food. - -Another practice in Australia is to follow up the flight of the -Butterflies, and to light fires at nightfall beneath the trees in which -they have settled. The smoke brings the insects down, when their bodies -are collected and pounded together into a sort of fleshy loaf.[794] - -Bennet tells us the larva of a Lepidopterous insect (the _Bugong_?) -that destroys the green-wattle (_Acacia decurrens_) is much sought -after, and considered a delicacy, by the blacks of Australia. These -people eat also the pink grubs found in the wattle-trees, either -roasted or uncooked. Europeans, who have tasted of this dish, say it -is not disagreeable.[795] - -Swammerdam, treating of the metamorphoses of larvae into pupae and thence -into perfect insects, makes the following curious comparison: "The -worms, after the manner of the brides in Holland, shut themselves up for -a time, as it were to prepare, and render themselves more amiable, when -they are to meet the other sex in the field of Hymen."[796] - - -Sphingidae--Hawk-moths. - -To the superstitious imaginations of the Europeans, the conspicuous -markings on the back of a large evening moth, the _Sphinx Atropos_, -represent the human skull, with the thigh-bones crossed beneath; hence -is it called the _Death's-head Moth_, the _Death's-head Phantom_, the -_Wandering Death-bird_, etc. Its cry,[797] which closely resembles the -noise caused by the creaking of cork, or the plaintive squeaking of a -mouse, certainly more than enough to frighten the ignorant and -superstitious, is considered the voice of anguish, the moaning of a -child, the signal of grief; and it is regarded "not as the creation of a -benevolent being, but as the device of evil spirits"--spirits, enemies -to man, conceived and fabricated in the dark; and the very shining of -its eyes is supposed to represent the fiery element whence it is thought -to have proceeded. Flying into their apartments in the evening, it at -times extinguishes the light, foretelling war, pestilence, famine, and -death to man. The sudden appearance of these insects, we are informed by -Latrielle, during a season while the people were suffering from an -epidemic disease, tended much to confirm the notions of the -superstitious in that district, and the disease was attributed by them -entirely to their visitation.[798] Jaeger says, at a very recent day, -that this large Moth first attracted his "attention during the -prevalence of a severe and fatal epidemic, and of course nothing more -was necessary than its appearance at such a time to induce an ignorant -people to believe it the veritable prophet and forerunner of death. A -curate in Bretagne, France," continues this author, "made a most -horrible and fear-exciting description of this animal, describing the -very loud and dreadful sound which it emitted as a sort of lamentation -for the awful calamity which was coming on the earth."[799] Reaumur -informs us that all the members of a female convent in France were -thrown into the greatest consternation at the appearance of one of these -insects, which happened to fly in during the evening at one of the -windows of the dormitory.[800] - -In the Isle of France, the natives believe that the dust (scales) cast -from the wings of the Death's-head Moth, in flying through an apartment, -is productive of blindness to the visual organs on which it falls.[801] - -There is a quaint superstition in England that the Death's-head Moth has -been very common in Whitehall ever since the martyrdom of Charles -I.[802] - -Illustrative of the tough texture of the skin with which many soft larvae -are provided for protection, the following may be instanced: Bonnet -squeezed under water the caterpillar of the privet Hawk-moth, _Sphinx -ligustris_, till it was as flat and empty as the finger of a glove, yet -within an hour it became plump and lively as if nothing had -happened.[803] - -The name Sphinx is applied to this genus of insects from a fancied -resemblance between the attitude assumed by the larvae of several of the -larger species, when disturbed, and that of the Egyptian Sphinx. - - -Bombicidae--Silk-worm Moths. - -The notices of the cultivation of the mulberry and the rearing of -Silk-worms, found in Chinese works, have been industriously collected -and published by M. Julien, by order of the French government. From his -work it appears that credible notices of the culture of the tree and the -manufacture of silk are found as far back as B.C. 780; and in referring -its invention to the Empress Siling, or Yuenfi, wife of the Emperor -Hwangti, B.C. 2602 (Du Halde says 2698), the Chinese have shown their -belief of its still higher antiquity. The Shi King contains this -distich: - - The legitimate wife of Hwangti, named Siling Shi, - began to rear Silk-worms: - At this period Hwangti invented the art of making clothing. - -Du Halde says this invention raised the Empress to the rank of a -divinity, under the title of Spirit of the Silk-worm, and of the -Mulberry-tree.[804] - -The Book of Rites contains a notice of the festival held in honor of -this art, which corresponds to that of plowing by the emperor. "In the -last month of spring, the young empress purified herself and offered -sacrifice to the goddess of Silk-worms. She went into the eastern fields -and collected mulberry-leaves. She forbade noble dames and the ladies of -statesmen adorning themselves, and excused her attendants from their -sewing and embroidery, in order that they might give all their care to -the rearing of Silk-worms."[805] - -The manufacture of silk has been known in India from time immemorial, -it being mentioned in the oldest Sanscrit books.[806] It is the opinion -of modern writers, however, that the culture of the Silk-worm passed -from China into India, thence through Persia, and then, after the lapse -of several centuries, into Europe. But long before this, wrought silk -had been introduced into Greece from Persia. This was effected by the -army of Alexander the Great, about the year 323 before Christ. - -The Greeks fabled silk to have first been woven in the Island of Cos by -Pamphila, the daughter of Plateos.[807] Of its true origin they were, in -a great measure, ignorant, but seem to have been positive that it was -the work of an insect. Pausanias thus describes the animal and its -culture: "But the thread, from which the Ceres (an Ethiopian race) make -garments, is not produced from a tree, but is procured by the following -method: A worm is found in their country which the Greeks call _Seer_, -but the Ceres themselves, by a different name. This worm is twice as -large as a beetle, and, in other respects, resembles spiders which weave -under trees. It has, likewise, eight feet as well as the spider. The -Ceres rear these insects in houses adapted for this purpose both to -summer and winter. What these insects produce is a slender thread, which -is rolled round their feet. They feed them for four years on oatmeal; -and on the fifth (for they do not live beyond five years) they give them -a green reed to feed on: for this is the sweetest of all food to this -insect. It feeds, therefore, on this till it bursts through fullness, -and dies: after which, they draw from its bowels a great quantity of -thread."[808] - -Aristotle seems to have had a much clearer idea of the origin of silk, -for he says it was unwound from the _pupa_ (he does not expressly say -the _pupa_, but this we must suppose) of a large horned -caterpillar.[809] The _larva_ he means could not, however, be the common -Silk-worm, since it is rather small and without horns. - -Pliny, who, most probably, obtained the most of his ideas from Pausanias -and Aristotle, was of opinion that silk was the produce of a worm which -built clay-nests and collected wax. At first these worms, he says, -assume the appearance of small butterflies with naked bodies, but soon -after, being unable to endure the cold, they throw out bristly hairs, -which assume quite a thick coat against the winter, by rubbing off the -down that covers the leaves, by the aid of the roughness of their feet. -This they compress into balls by carding it with their claws, and then -draw it out and hang it between the branches of the trees, making it -fine by combing it out, as it were: last of all, they take and roll it -round their body, thus forming a nest in which they are enveloped. It is -in this state that they are taken; after which they are placed in -earthen vessels in a warm place, and fed upon bran. A peculiar sort of -down soon shoots forth upon the body, on being clothed with which they -are sent to work upon another task.[810] - -The first kinds of silk dresses worn by the Roman ladies were from the -Island of Cos, and, as Pliny says, were known by the name of _Coae -vestes_.[811] These dresses, of which Pliny says in such high praise, -"that while they cover a woman, they at the same time reveal her -charms," were indeed so fine as to be transparent, and were sometimes -dyed purple, and enriched with stripes of gold. They had their name from -the early reputation which Cos acquired by its manufacture of silk. But -silk was a very scarce article among the Romans for many ages, and so -highly prized as to be valued at its weight in gold. Vospicius informs -us that the Emperor Aurelian, who died A.D. 125, refused his empress a -robe of silk, which she earnestly solicited, merely on account of its -dearness. Galen, who lived about A.D. 173, speaks of the rarity of silk, -being nowhere then but at Rome, and there only among the rich. -Heliogabalus is said to have been the first Roman that wore a garment -entirely of silk. - -We learn from Tacitus, that early in the reign of Tiberius, about A.D. -17, the Senate enacted "that men should not defile themselves by wearing -garments of silk."[812] Pliny says, however, that in his time men had -become so degenerate as to not even feel ashamed to wear garments of -this material.[813] - -The mode of producing and manufacturing silk was not known to Europe -until long after the Christian era, being first learned about the year -555 by two Persian monks, who, under the encouragement of the Emperor -Justinian, procured in India the eggs of the Silk-worm Moth, with which, -concealing them in hollow canes, they hastened to Constantinople. They -also brought with them instructions for hatching the eggs, rearing and -feeding the worms, and drawing, spinning, and working the silk.[814] - -From Constantinople, the culture of the Silk-worm spread over Greece, so -that in less than five centuries that portion of this country, hitherto -called the Peloponnesus, changed its denomination into that of Morea, -from the immense plantations of the _Morus alba_, or white -mulberry.[815] Large manufactories were set up at Athens, Thebes, and -Corinth. The Venetians, soon after this, commencing a commerce with the -Grecians, supplied all the western parts of Europe with silks for many -centuries. Several kinds of modern silk manufactures, such as damasks, -velvets, satins, etc., were as yet unknown. - -About the year 1130, Roger II., King of Sicily, having conquered the -Peloponnesus, transported the Silk-worms and such as cultivated them to -Palermo and to Calabria. Such was the success of the speculation in -Calabria, that it is doubtful whether, even at the present moment, it -does not produce more silk than the whole of the rest of Italy.[816] - -By degrees the rest of Italy, as well as Spain, learned from the -Sicilians and Calabrians the management of Silk-worms and the working of -silk; and at length, during the wars of Charles VIII., in 1499, the -French acquired it, by right of neighborhood, and soon large plantations -of the mulberry were raised in Provence. Henry I. is reported to have -been the first French king who wore silk stockings. The invention, -however, originally came from Spain, whence silk stockings were brought -over to England to Henry VIII. and Edward VI. - -It is stated, that at the celebration of the marriage between Margaret, -daughter of Henry III., and Alexander III. of Scotland, in the year -1251, a most extravagant display of magnificence was made by one -thousand English knights appearing in suits of silk. It appears also by -the 33d of Henry VI., cap. 5, that there was a company of silk-women in -England as early as the year 1455; but these were probably employed -rather in embroidering and making small haberdasheries, than in the -broad manufacture, which was not introduced till the year 1620. - -Sir Thomas Gresham, in a letter to Sir William Cecil, Elizabeth's great -minister, dated Antwerp, April 30th, 1560, says: "I have written into -Spain for silk hose both for you and my lady, your wife, to whom, it may -please you, I may be remembered." These silk hose, of a black color, -were accordingly soon after sent by Gresham to Cecil.[817] - -Hose were, in England, up to the time of Henry VIII., made out of -ordinary cloth: the King's own were formed of yard-wide taffata. It was -only by chance that he might obtain a pair of silk hose from Spain. His -son, Edward VI., received as a present from Sir Thomas Gresham--Stow -speaks of it as a great present--"a pair of long Spanish silk -stockings." For some years longer, silk stockings continued to be a -great rarity. "In the second year of Queen Elizabeth," says Stow, "her -silk-woman, Mistress Montague, presented her Majesty with a pair of -black knit-silk stockings for a New-Year's gift; the which, after a few -days' wearing, pleased her Highness so well, that she sent for Mistress -Montague, and asked her where she had them, and if she could help her to -any more; who answered, saying, 'I made them very carefully, of purpose -only for your Majesty, and, seeing these please you so well, I will -presently set more in hand.' 'Do so,' quoth the Queen, 'for indeed I -like silk stockings so well, because they are pleasant, fine, and -delicate, that henceforth I will wear no more cloth stockings.' And -from that time to her death the Queen never wore cloth hose, but only -silk stockings."[818] - -James I., while King of Scotland, is said to have once written to the -Earl of Mar, one of his friends, to borrow a pair of silk stockings, in -order to appear with becoming dignity before the English Ambassador; -concluding his letter with these words: "For ye would not, sure, that -your King should appear like a scrub before strangers." This shows the -great rarity of silk articles at that period in Scotland. - -In 1629, the manufacture of silk was become so considerable in London, -that the silk throwsters of the city and parts adjacent were -incorporated; and in 1661, this company employed above forty thousand -persons. The revocation of the Edict of Nantes, in 1685, contributed in -a great degree to promote the manufacture of this article; and the -invention of the silk-throwing machine at Derby, in 1719, added so much -to the reputation of English manufactures, that even in Italy, according -to Keysler, the English silks bore a higher price than the Italian.[819] - -Rev. Stephen Olin tells us that the Mohammedans of Arabia will not allow -strangers to look into their cocooneries, on account of their -superstitious fear of the evil eye, of the influence of which the -Silk-worms are thought to be peculiarly susceptible.[820] - -The silk of the nests of the social caterpillar of the _Bombyx Madrona_, -was an object of commerce in Mexico in the time of Montecusuma; and the -ancient Mexicans pasted together the interior layers, which may be -written upon without preparation, to form a white, glossy pasteboard. -Handkerchiefs are still manufactured of it in the Intendency of -Oaxaca.[821] - -A complete nest of these Silk-worms, called in Brazil _sustillo_, was -sent by the Academy of Sciences and Natural History to the King of -Spain. The naturalist, Don Antonio Pineda, sent also a piece of this -natural silk paper, measuring a yard and a half, of an elliptical shape, -which, however, is peculiar to them all.[822] - -The Chinese fix on rings with threads the females of two species of -wild _Bombyx_, whose caterpillars produce silk, and place these insects -on a tree, or on some body situated in the open air, to allow the males, -guided by their scent, to visit them.[823] - -"The manner of the Chinese is," we read in Purchas's Pilgrims, "in the -Spring time to revive the Silke-worms (that lye dead all the Winter) by -laying them in the warme sunne, and (to hasten their quickening, that -they may sooner goe to worke) to put them into bagges, and so hang them -under their childrens armes."[824] - -In China, the pupae of the Silk-worms after the silk is wound off, and -the larvae of a species of Sphinx-moth, furnish articles for the table, -and are considered delicacies.[825] The natives of Madagascar, who eat -all kinds of insects, consider also Silk-worms a great luxury.[826] - -Aldrovandus states that the German soldiers sometimes fry and eat -Silk-worms.[827] - -Dr. James says: "Silk-worms dried, and reduced to a powder, are, by -some, applied to the crown of the head for removing vertigos and -convulsions. The silk, and case or coat, are of a due temperament -between heat and cold, and corroborate and recruit the vital, natural, -and animal spirits."[828] The cocoons are also the basis of Goddard's -_Drops_, and enter into several other compositions, such as the -_Confectio de Hyacintho_, when made in the best manner.[829] - -With respect to the coloring of silk, we find in "Tseen Tse Wan," or -thousand character classic, a work that has been a school-book in China -for the last 1200 years, that an ancient sage by the name of Mih, seeing -the white silk colored, wept on account of its original purity being -destroyed.[830] - -Some of the eggs of a wild species of Silk-worm being sent overland from -China to Paris, proved a source of considerable anxiety to different -parties who received them during the transit, the instructions on the -box, instead of simply stating that it contained the eggs of the _wild_ -Silk-worm Moth, was couched in the following manner by the French savant -who forwarded them: "Must be kept far from the engines; this box -contains _savage_ worms."[831] - -About twenty-five years ago, during a mania for rearing Silk-worms, to -meet the demand for the eggs of these insects, fish-spawn was -distributed throughout the country. The humbug was quite as successful -as it was curious. - -It has been said that the search after the "Golden Fleece" may be -ascribed to the desire to obtain silk.[832] - -As a protection against rifle-balls, the Chinese, who were engaged in -the rebellion of 1853, state that they wore dresses thickly padded with -floss silk; they said that while the ball had a twist in it, revolving -in its course, it caught up the silk and fastened itself in the garment. -One man declared that he took out six so caught, in one day, after a -severe fight. They said the dress was of more use within a hundred yards -than at long range, when the ball had lost its revolving motion.[833] - -Vaucanson, the inventor of the famous "automaton duck," to revenge -himself upon the silk-weavers of Lyons, who had stoned him because he -attempted to simplify the ordinary loom, is said to have invented a loom -on which a donkey worked silken cloth.[834] - -The following curious Welsh epigram on the Silk-worm is composed -entirely of vowels, and can be recited without closing or moving lips or -teeth: - - O'i wiw wy i e a, a'i weuaw - O'i wyau y weua; - E' weua ei wi aia', - A'i weuau yw ieuau ia. - - I perish by my art; dig mine own grave; - I spin the thread of life; my death I weave.[835] - - -Arctiidae--Wooly-bear Moths. - -In 1783, the larvae of the Moth, _Arctia chrysorrhoea_, were so -destructive in the neighborhood of London that subscriptions were opened -to employ the poor in cutting off and collecting the webs; and it is -asserted that not less than eighty bushels were collected and burnt in -one day in the parish of Clapham. And even in some places prayers were -offered up in the churches to avert the calamities of which they were -supposed by the ignorant to be the forerunner.[836] - -If a caterpillar spins its cocoon in a house, it foretells its -desolation by death; if in your clothes, it warns you you will wear a -shroud before the year is out. This superstition obtains in the Middle -States, Virginia, and Maryland. - -If Moths, flying in a candle, put it out, it forebodes a calamity -amounting to almost death. This superstition is pretty general. - -Why Moths fly in a candle: Kempfer tells us, there is found in Japan an -insect, which, by reason of its incomparable beauty, is kept by the -Japanese ladies among the curiosities of their toilets. He calls it a -Night-fly, and describes it as being "about a finger long, slender, -round-bodied, with four wings, two of which are transparent and hid -under a pair of others, which are shining as it were polished, and most -curiously adorned with blue and golden lines and spots." The following -little fable, which accounts so beautifully for the flying of Moths in a -candle, owes its origin to the unparalleled beauty of this insect, and -is well worthy of being preserved: The Japanese say that all other -Night-flies (Moths, etc.) fall in love with this particular one, who, to -get rid of their importunities, maliciously bids them, under the -pretense of trying their constancy, to go and bring to her fire. And the -blind lovers, scrupling not to obey her command, fly to the nearest fire -or candle, in which they never fail to burn themselves to death.[837] - -The following verses, embodying the above fable (except in several minor -particulars) are from the pen of Mrs. A. L. Ruter Dufour: - - One summer night, says a legend old, - A Moth a Firefly sought to woo: - "Oh, wed me, I pray, thou bright star-child, - To win thee there's nothing I'd dare not do." - - "If thou art sincere," the Firefly cried, - "Go--bring me a light that will equal my own; - Not until then will I deign be thy bride;"-- - Undaunted the Moth heard her mocking tone. - - Afar he beheld a brilliant torch, - Forward he dashed, on rapid wing, - Into the light to bear it hence;-- - When he fell a scorched and blighted thing.-- - - Still ever the Moths in hope to win, - Unheeding the lesson, the gay Firefly, - Dash, reckless, the dazzling torch within, - And, vainly striving, fall and die! - - WASHINGTON, D. C., June 24, 1864. - -Moufet says: "Our North, as well as our West countrymen, call it (the -Moth, _Phalaina_) _Saule_, _i.e._ _Psychen, Animam_, the soul; because -some silly people in old time did fancy that the souls of the dead did -fly about in the night seeking light."[838] "Pliny commends a goat's -liver to drive them away, yet he shews not the means to use it."[839] - -One of the most highly prized curiosities in the collection of Horace -Walpole, was the silver bell with which the popes used to curse the -caterpillars. This bell was the work of Benvenuto Cellini, one of the -most extraordinary men of his extraordinary age, and the relievos on it -representing caterpillars, butterflies, and other insects, are said to -have been wonderfully executed.[840] - -In Purchas's Pilgrims, we read of worms being sprinkled with holy water -to kill them.[841] - -Apuleius says, that if you take the caterpillars from another garden, -and boil them in water with anethum, and let them cool, and besprinkle -the herbs, you will destroy the existing caterpillars.[842] - -Pliny says, that "if a woman having a catamenia strips herself naked, -and walks round a field of wheat, the caterpillars, worms, beetles, and -other vermin, will fall off the ears of the grain!" This important -discovery, according to Metrodurus of Scepsos, was first made in -Cappadocia; where, in consequence of such multitudes of "Cantharides" -being found to breed there, it was the practice for women to walk -through the middle of the fields with their garments tucked up above the -thighs.[843] Columella[844] has described this practice in verse, and -AElian[845] also mentions it. Pliny says further that in other places, -again, it is the usage of women to go barefoot, with the hair disheveled -and the girdle loose: due precaution, however, he seriously observes, -must be taken that this is not done at sunrise, for if so the crop will -wither and dry up.[846] Apuleius,[847] Columella,[848] and -Palladius[849] relate the same story. Constantinus, likewise, whose -verses, as translated in Moufet's Theater of Insects, are as follows: - - But if against this plague no art prevail, - The Trojan arts will do't, when others fail. - A woman barefoot with her hair untied, - And naked breasts must walk as if she cried, - And after Venus' sports she must surround - Ten times, the garden beds and orchard ground. - When she hath done, 'tis wonderful to see, - The caterpillars fall off from the tree, - As fast as drops of rain, when with a crook, - For acorns or apples the tree is shook.[850] - -This remarkable superstitious remedy for destroying caterpillars was -frequently practiced by the Indians of America. Schoolcraft, treating of -the peculiar superstitions connected with the menstrual lodge of these -people, says: - -"This superstition does not alone exert a malign influence, or spell, on -the human species. Its ominous power, or charm, is equally effective on -the animate creation, at least on those species which are known to -depredate on their little fields and gardens. To cast a protective spell -around these, and secure the fields against vermin, insects, the -sciurus, and other species, as well as to protect the crops against -blight, the mother of the family chooses a suitable hour at night, when -the children are at rest and the sky is overcast, and having completely -divested herself of her garments, trails her _machecota_ behind her, and -performs the circuit of the little field."[851] - -The fat of bears, says Topsel, "some use superstitiously beaten with -oil, wherewith they anoynt their grape-sickles when they go to vintage, -perswading themselves that if nobody know thereof, their tender -vine-branches shall never be consumed by caterpillars. Others attribute -this to the vertue of bears' blood."[852] - -Nicander used "a caterpillar to procure sleep: for so he writes; and -Hieremias Martius thus translates him: - - Stamp but with oyl those worms that eat the leaves, - Whose backs are painted with a greenish hue, - Anoint your body with 't, and whilst that cleaves, - You shall with gentle sleep bid cares adieu."[853] - -Of a caterpillar that feeds upon cabbage leaves, the _Eruca officinalis_ -of Schroder, Dr. James says: "Bruised, or a powder of them, raise a -blister like cantharides, and take off the skin. Moufet says, they will -cause the teeth to fall out of their sockets, and Hippocrates writes, -that they are good for a Quinsey."[854] - - -Psychidae--Wood-carrying Moth, etc. - -The larvae of the Wood-carrying Moth (of the genus _Oiketicus_, or -_Eumeta_, Wlk.) of Ceylon, surround themselves with cases made of stems -of leaves, and thorns or pieces of twigs bound together by threads, -till the whole resembles a miniature Roman fasces; in fact, an African -species of these insects has obtained the name of "Lictor." The Germans -have denominated the group _Sacktraeger_, and the Singhalese call them -Darra-kattea or "billets of fire-wood," and regard the inmates, Tennent -says, as human beings, who, as a punishment for stealing wood in some -former state of existence, have been condemned to undergo a -metempsychosis under the form of these insects.[855] - - -Noctuidae--Antler-moth, Cut-worm, etc. - -The Antler-moth, _Noctua graminis_, Linn., has been particularly -observed in Sweden, Norway, Northern Germany, and even in Greenland, -where it does great mischief to grass-plots and meadows. It is recorded -to have done very great injury in the eastern mountains of Georgenthal, -as well as at Toeplitz in Bohemia, where larvae were in such large numbers -that in four days and a half 200 men found 23 bushels of them, or -4,500,000 in the 60 bushels of mould which they examined. In Germany it -seems to be confined to high and dry districts, and it never appears -there in wet meadows, but its devastations are sometimes most extensive, -as happened in the Hartz territory in 1816 and '17, when whole hills -that in the evening were clad in the finest green, were brown and bare -the following morning; and such vast numbers of the caterpillars were -there that the ruts of the roads leading to the hills were full of them, -and the roads being covered with them were even rendered slippery and -dirty by their being crushed in some places.[856] - -The notorious astrologer, William Lilly, alluding to the comet which -appeared in 1677, says: "All comets signify wars, terrors, and strange -events in the world;" and gives the following curious explanation of the -prophetic nature of these bodies: "The spirits, well knowing what -accidents shall come to pass, do form a star or comet, and give it what -figure or shape they please, and cause its motion through the air, that -people might behold it, and thence draw a signification of its events." -Further, a comet appearing in the Taurus portends "mortality to the -greater part of cattle, as horses, oxen, cows, etc.," and also -"prodigious shipwrecks, damage in fisheries, monstrous floods, and -destruction of fruit by caterpillars and other vermin."[857] - -Josselyn, in the account of his voyage to New England, printed in London -in 1674, has the following relation of an insect which is doubtless a -species of _Agrotis_, probably the _Agrotis telifera_: "There is also -(in New England) a dark dunnish Worm or Bug of the bigness of an -Oaten-straw, and an inch long, that in the Spring lye at the Root of -Corn and Garden plants all day, and in the night creep out and devour -them; these in some years destroy abundance of _Indian_ Corn and Garden -plants, and they have but one way to be rid of them, which the _English_ -have learned of the Indians; And because it is somewhat strange, I shall -tell you how it is, they go out into a field or garden with a -Birchen-dish, and spudling the earth about the roots, for they lye not -deep, they gather their dish full which may contain a quart or three -pints, then they carrie the dish to the Sea-side when it is ebbing water -and set it a swimming, the water carrieth the dish into the Sea, and -within a day or two you go into your field you may look your eyes out -sooner than find any of them."[858] - -The Army-worm (larva of _Leucania unipunctata_ of Haworth), during this -our great rebellion, is thought, by many persons in Western -Pennsylvania, to prognosticate the success or defeat of our armies by -the direction it travels. If toward the North, the South will be -victorious; and if toward the South, the North will conquer. An old -gentleman, who believes that a frog's foot drawn in chalk above the door -will keep away witches, tells me this worm invariably travels southward. - -This larva was noticed but a few years before the war began, and then -appearing, as it were, in armies, it was called the Army-worm. The -superstitious omen from it has followed not preceded the name. - -Lindenbrog, in his Codex Legum Antiquarum, cum Glossario, fol. Francof. -1613, mentions the following superstition: "The peasants, in many places -in Germany, at the feast of St. John, bind a rope around a stake drawn -from a hedge, and drive it hither and thither, till it catches fire. -This they carefully feed with stubble and dry wood heaped together, and -they spread the collected ashes over their potherbs, confiding in vain -superstition, that by this means they can drive away Canker-worms. They -therefore call this Nodfeur, q. _necessary fire_." - -These fires were condemned as sacrilegious, not as if it had been -thought that there was anything unlawful in kindling a fire in this -manner, but because it was kindled with a superstitious design. They -are, however, Du Cange says, still kindled in France, on the eve of St. -John's day.[859] - - -Geometridae--Span-worms. - -The Measuring-worm, crawling on your clothes, is thought to foretell a -new suit; on your hands, a pair of gloves, etc. - - -Tineidae--Clothes'-moth, Bee-moth, etc. - -In Newton's Journal of the Arts for December, 1827, there is the -following mention of a new kind of cloth fabricated by insects: The -larvae of the Moth, _Tinea punctata_, or _T. padilla_, have been directed -by M. Habenstreet, of Munich, so as to work on a paper model suspended -from a ceiling of a room. To this model he can give any form and -dimensions, and he has thus been enabled to obtain square shawls, an air -balloon four feet high, and a woman's complete robe, with the sleeves, -but without seams. One or two larvae can weave a square inch of cloth. A -great number are, of course, employed, and their motions are interdicted -from the parts of the model not to be covered, by oiling them. The cloth -exceeds in fineness the lightest gauze, and has been worn as a robe -over her court dress by the Queen of Bavaria.[860] - -Authors are of opinion that the ancients possessed some secret for -preserving garments from the Moth, _Tinia tapetzella_. We are told the -robes of Servius Tullius were found in perfect preservation at the death -of Sejanus, an interval of more than five hundred years. Pliny gives as -a precaution "to lay garments on a coffin;" others recommend -"cantharides hung up in a house, or wrapping them in a lion's -skin"--"the poor little insects," says Reaumur, "being probably placed -in bodily fear of this terrible animal."[861] - -Moufet says: "They that sell woollen clothes use to wrap up the skin of -a bird called the king's-fisher among them, or else hang one in the -shop, as a thing by a secret antipathy that Moths cannot endure."[862] - -Among the various contrivances resorted to as a safeguard against the -Bee-moth, _Galleria cereana_, Fabricius, perhaps the most ingenious is -that, mentioned by Langstroth, of "governing the entrances of all the -hives by a long lever-like _hen-roost_, so that they may be regularly -closed by the crowing and cackling tribe when they go to bed at night, -and opened again when they fly from their perch to greet the merry -morn."[863] - -An intelligent man informed Langstroth that he paid ten dollars to a -"Bee-quack" professing to have an infallible secret for protecting Bees -against the Moth; and, after the quack had departed with his money, -learned that the secret consisted in "always keeping strong -stocks."[864] - - - - -ORDER VII. - -HOMOPTERA. - - -Cicadidae--Harvest-flies. - -The Cicadas, _C. plebeja_, Linn., called by the ancient Greeks, (by -whom, as well as by the Chinese, they were kept in cages for the sake of -their song,) _Tettix_, seem to have been the favorites of every Grecian -bard, from Homer and Hesiod to Anacreon and Theocritus. Supposed to be -perfectly harmless, and to live only upon dew, they were addressed by -the most endearing epithets, and were regarded as almost divine. Thus -sings the muse of Anacreon: - - Happy creature! what below - Can more happy live than thou? - Seated on thy leafy throne, - Summer weaves thy verdant crown. - Sipping o'er the pearly lawn, - The fragrant nectar of the dawn, - Little tales thou lov'st to sing, - Tales of mirth--an insect king. - Thine the treasures of the field, - All thy own the seasons yield; - Nature paints thee for the year, - Songster to the shepherds dear; - Innocent, of placid fame, - What of man can boast the same? - Thine the loudest voice of praise, - Harbinger of fruitful days; - Darling of the tuneful nine, - Phoebus is thy sire divine; - Phoebus to thy note has given - Music from the spheres of heaven; - Happy most as first of earth, - All thy hours are peace and mirth; - Cares nor pains to thee belong, - Thou alone art ever young. - Thine the pure immortal vein, - Blood nor flesh thy life sustain; - Rich in spirits--health thy feast, - Thou art a demi-god at least. - -But the old witticism, attributed to the incorrigible Rhodian -sensualist, Xenarchus, gives quite a different reason to account for the -supposed happiness of these insects: - - Happy the Cicadas' lives, - Since they all have voiceless wives![865] - -Plutarch, reasoning upon that singular Pythagorean precept which forbid -the wife to admit swallows in the house, remarks: "Consider, and see -whether the swallow be not odious and impious ... because she feedeth -upon flesh, and, besides, killeth and devoureth especially grasshoppers -(Cicadas), which are sacred and musical."[866] - -The Athenians were so attached to the Cicadas, that their elders were -accustomed to fasten golden images of them in their hair. Thucidides -incidentally remarks that this custom ceased but a little before his -time. He adds, also, that the fashion prevailed, too, for a long time -with the elders of the Ionians, from their affinity to the -Athenians.[867] - -This singular form, for their ornamental combs, seems to have been -adopted originally from the predilection of the Athenians for whatever -bore any affinity to themselves, who boasted of being autochthones or -aboriginal. It is sung of the Athenians: - - Blithe race! whose mantles were bedeck'd - With golden grasshoppers, in sign that they - Had sprung, like those bright creatures, from the soil - Whereon their endless generations dwelt. - -Mr. Michell supposes the Athenians to have imitated in this instance -their prototypes, the Egyptians; for as they, he adds, wore their -favorite symbol, the Scarabaeus, in this manner, so Attic pride set up a -rival in the head-dress thus introduced by Cecrops and his -followers.[868] - -From a very ancient writer,[869] we have similar ornaments ascribed to -the Samians. They also most probably derived this fashion from the early -Athenians.[870] - -It seems, from the following lines of Asius,[871] that Cicadas were also -worn as ornaments on dresses: - - Clad in magnificent robes, whose snow-white folds - Reach'd to the ground of the extensive earth, - And golden knobs on them like grasshoppers. - -The sound of the Cicada and that of the harp were called by the Greeks -by one and the same name; and a Cicada sitting upon a harp was the usual -emblem of the science of music. This was accounted for by the following -very pleasing and elegant tale: Two rival musicians, Eunomis of Locris -and Aristo of Rhegium, when alternately playing upon the harp, the -former was so unfortunate as to break a string of his instrument, and by -which accident would certainly have lost the prize, when a Cicada, -flying to him and sitting upon his harp, supplied the place of the -broken string with its melodious voice, and so secured to him an easy -victory over his antagonist.[872] - -To excel the Cicada in singing was the highest commendation of a singer, -and the music of Plato's eloquence was only comparable to the voice of -this insect. Homer compared his good orators to the Cicadae, "which, in -the woods, sitting on a tree, send forth a delicate voice."[873] But -Virgil speaks of them as insects of a disagreeable and stridulous tone, -and accuses them of bursting the very shrubs with their noise,-- - - Et cantu querulae rumpent arbusta Cicadae.[874] - -Moufet says: "The Cicadae, abounding in the end of spring, do foretel a -sickly year to come, not that they are the cause of putrefaction in -themselves, but only shew plenty of putrid matter to be, when there is -such store of them appear. Oftentimes their coming and singing doth -portend the happy state of things: so also says Theocritus. Niphus saith -that what year but few of them are to be seen, they presage dearness of -victuals, and scarcity of all things else.... - -"The Egyptians, by a Cicada painted, understood a priest and an holy -man; the latter makers of hieroglyphics sometimes will have them to -signifie musicians, sometimes pratlers or talkative companions, but very -fondly. How ever the matter be, the Cicada hath sung very well of -herself, in my judgement, in this following distich: - - Although I am an insect very small, - Yet with great virtue am endow'd withall."[875] - -Sir G. Staunton, in his account of China, remarks: "The shops of -Hai-tien, in addition to necessaries, abounded in toys and trifles, -calculated to amuse the rich and idle of both sexes, even to cages -containing insects, such as the noisy Cicada, and a large species of the -Gryllus."[876] - -S. Wells Williams tells us that the Chinese boys often capture the male -Cicada of their country, and tie a straw around the abdomen, so as to -irritate the sounding apparatus, and carry it through the streets in -this predicament, to the great annoyance of every one, for the -stridulous sound of this insect is of deafening loudness.[877] - -When in Quincy, Illinois, in the summer of 1864, I was shown by a boy a -toy, which he called a "Locust," with which he imitated the loud -rattling noise of the _Cicada septemdecim_ with great accuracy. It -consisted of a horse-hair tied to the end of a short stick, and looped -in a cap of stiff writing-paper placed over the hole of a spool. To make -the sound, then, the toy was whirled rapidly through the air, when the -stiff paper acted as a sounding-board to the vibrating hair. - -At Surinam, Madame Merian tells us, the noise of the _Cicada tibicen_ is -still supposed to resemble the sound of a harp or lyre, and hence called -the _Lierman_--the harper.[878] Another species, in Ceylon, which makes -the forest re-echo with a long-sustained noise so curiously resembling -that of a cutler's wheel, has acquired the highly appropriate name of -the _Knife-grinder_.[879] - -It is said of our _Cicada septemdecim_, the so-called, but very -improperly, "Seventeen-year Locust," that, when they first leave the -earth, when they are plump and full of juices, they have been made use -of in the manufacture of soap. - -The larva of a Chinese species of Cicada, the _Flata limbata_, which -scarcely exceeds the domestic fly in size, forms a sort of grease, which -adheres to the branches of trees and hardens into wax. In autumn the -natives scrape this substance, which they call _Pela_, from off the -trees, melt, purify, and form it into cakes. It is white and glossy in -appearance, and, when mixed with oil, is used to make candles, and is -said to be superior to the common wax for use. The physicians employ it -in several diseases; and the Chinese, as we are informed by the Abbe -Grosier, when they are about to speak in public, or when any occasion is -likely to occur on which it may be necessary to have assurance and -resolution, eat an ounce of it to prevent swoonings or palpitations of -the heart.[880] - -On the large cheese-like cakes of this wax, hanging in the grocers' and -tallow-chandlers' shops at Hankow, are often seen the inscription -written: "It mocks at the frost, and rivals the snow." The price, in -1858, was forty dollars a picul, or about fifteen pence a pound.[881] - -The Greeks, notwithstanding their veneration for the Cicada, made these -insects an article of food, and accounted them delicious. Aristotle -says, the larva, when it is grown in the earth, and become a -tettigometra (pupa), is the sweetest; when changed to the tettix, the -males at first have the best flavor, but after impregnation the females -are preferred, on account of their white ova.[882] Athenaeus and -Aristophanes also mention their being eaten; and AElian is extremely -angry with the men of his age that an animal sacred to the Muses should -be strung, sold, and greedily devoured.[883] The _Cicada septemdecim_, -Mr. Collinson in 1763 said, was eaten by the Indians of America, who -plucked off the wings and boiled them.[884] - -Osbeck tells us that the _Cicada chinensis_, along with the _Buprestis -maxima_, and several species of Butterflies, is made an article of -commerce by the Chinese, being sold in their shops.[885] - - -Fulgoridae--Lantern-flies. - -The Lantern-fly, _Fulgora lanternaria_ of Linnaeus, found in many parts -of South America, is supposed to emit a vivid light from the large hood, -or lantern, which projects from its body, and to be frequently -serviceable to benighted travelers; hence the specific name, -_lanternaria_. This story originated about a century and a half ago, -from the work of the celebrated Madame Merian, who lived several years -in Surinam. Her account contains the following anecdote: "The Indians -once brought me, before I knew that they shone by night, a number of -these Lantern-flies, which I shut up in a wooden box. In the night they -made such a noise that I awoke in a fright, and ordered a light to be -brought; not knowing whence the noise proceeded. As soon as we found -that it came from the box, we opened it; but were still much more -alarmed, and let it fall to the ground, in a fright at seeing a flame of -fire come out of it; and as so many animals as came out, so many flames -of fire appeared. When we found this to be the case, we recovered from -our fright, and again collected the insects, highly admiring their -splendid appearance."[886] - -Dr. Darwin, in a note to some lines relative to luminous insects, in his -poem, the Loves of the Plants, makes Madame Merian affirm that she drew -and finished her figure of the insect by its own light. This story is -without foundation. - -The Indians of South America say and believe that the Lyerman, _Cicada -tibicen_, is changed into the Lantern-fly; and that the latter emits a -light similar to that of a lantern.[887] - -This story of the Lantern-fly being luminous is the more remarkable -since the veracity of its author is unimpeached. She doubtless has -confounded it with the _Cucujus_, _Elater noctilucus_. Donovan, however, -states that the Chinese Lantern-fly, _Fulgora candelaria_, has an -illuminated appearance in the night.[888] - -From the loud noise the Lantern-fly makes at night, which is said to be -somewhat between the grating of a razor-grinder and the clang of -cymbals, it is called by the Dutch, in Guiana, _Scare-sleep_.[889] -Ligon, in his History of Barbados, printed in 1673, probably refers to -this insect, when he says: "They lye all day in holes and hollow trees, -and as soon as the Sun is down they begin their tunes, which are neither -singing nor crying, but the shrillest voyces that ever I heard; nothing -can be so nearly resembled to it, as the mouths of a pack of small -beagles at a distance." This author, however, thought this sound by no -means unpleasant. "So lively and chirping," he continues, "the noise is, -as nothing can be more delightful to the ears, if there were not too -much of it, for the musick hath no intermission till morning, and then -all is husht."[890] - - -Aphidae--Plant-lice. - -The Aphides are remarkable for secreting a sweet, viscid fluid, known by -the name of Honey-dew, the origin of which has puzzled the world for -ages. Pliny says "it is either a certaine sweat of the skie, or some -unctuous gellie proceeding from the starres, or rather a liquid purged -from the aire when it purifyeth itself."[891] - -Amyntas, in his Stations of Asia, quoted by Athenaeus, gives a curious -account of the manner of collecting this article, which was supposed to -be superior to the nectar of the Bee, in various parts of the East, -particularly in Syria. In some cases they gathered the leaves of trees, -chiefly of the linden and oak, for on these the dew was most abundantly -found,[892] and pressed them together. Others allowed it to drop from -the leaves and harden into globules, which, when desirous of using, they -broke, and, having poured water on them in wooden bowls, drank the -mixture. In the neighborhood of Mount Lebanon, Honey-dew was collected -plentifully several times in the year, being caught by spreading skins -under the trees, and shaking into them the liquid from the leaves. The -Dew was then poured into vessels, and stored away for future use. On -these occasions the peasants used to exclaim, "Zeus has been raining -honey!"[893] - -In the Treasvrie of Avncient and Moderne Times, we read: "_Galen_ saith, -that there fell such great quantity of this Dew (in his time) in his -Countrey of _Pergamus_, that the Countrey people (greatly delighted -therein) gave thankes therefor to _Iupiter_. _AElianus_ writeth also that -there fell such plenty thereof in _India_, in the Region which is called -_Prasia_, and so moistened the Grasse, that the Sheepe, Kine, and Goates -feeding thereon, yeelded Milke sweete like Hony, which was very pleasing -to drinke. And when they used that Milke in any disease, they needed not -to put any Hony therein, to the end it should not corrupt in the -stomacke: as it is appointed in Hecticke Feauers, Consumption, -Tisickes, and for others that are ulcered in the intestines, as is -confirmed by the Histories of _Portugall_."[894] - -The Aphides, like many other insects, sometimes migrate in clouds; and -among other instances on record of these migrations, Mr. White informs -us that about three o'clock in the afternoon of the first of August, -1785, the people of the village of Selborne were surprised by a shower -of Aphides which fell in those parts. Persons who walked in the street -at this time found themselves covered with them, and they settled in -such numbers in the gardens and on the hedges as to blacken every leaf. -Mr. White's annuals were thus all discolored with them, and the stalks -of a bed of onions were quite coated over for six days afterward. These -swarms, he remarks, were then no doubt in a state of emigration, and -might have come from the great hop-plantations of Kent and Sussex, the -wind being all that day in the east. They were observed at the same time -in great clouds about Farnham, and all along the vale from Farnham to -Alton.[895] A similar emigration of these insects Mr. Kirby once -witnessed, to his great annoyance, when traveling later in the year in -the Isle of Ely. The air was so full of them, that they were incessantly -flying into his eyes and nostrils, and his clothes were covered by them; -and in 1814, in the autumn, the Aphides were so abundant for a few days -in the vicinity of Ipswich, as to be noticed with surprise by the most -incurious observers.[896] Neither Mr. White nor Mr. Kirby informs us -what particular species formed these immense flights, but it is most -probable they belonged to the Hop-fly, _Aphis humuli_. - -Reaumur tells us that in the Levant, Persia, and China, they use the -galls of a particular species of _Aphis_ for dyeing silk crimson.[897] - -In England, the mischief caused by the Hop-fly, _Aphis humuli_, in some -seasons, as in 1802, has brought the duty of hops down from L100,000 to -L14,000. - -A quite common, though erroneous, belief in England is, that Aphides are -produced, or brought by, a northern or eastern wind. Thomson has fallen -into the error; he has also confounded the mischief of caterpillars with -that of the Aphis: - - For oft, engendered by the hazy north, - Myriads on myriads insect armies warp, - Keen in the poison'd breeze, and wasteful eat - Through buds and bark into the blackened core - Their eager way. A feeble race! Yet oft - The sacred sons of vengeance, on whose course - Corrosive famine waits, and kills the year. - - -Coccidae--Shield-lice. - -The Kermes-dye, or scarlet, made from the _Coccus ilicis_ of Linnaeus, an -insect found chiefly on a species of oak, the _Quercus ilex_, in the -Levant, France, Spain, and other parts of the world, was known in the -East in the earliest ages, even before the time of Moses, and was a -discovery of the Phoenicians in Palestine, who also first employed the -murex and buccinum for the purpose of dyeing. - -_Tola_ or _Thola_ was the ancient Phoenician name for this insect and -dye, which was used by the Hebrews, and even by the Syrians; for it is -employed by the Syrian translator.[898] Among the Jews, after their -captivity, the Aramaean _zehori_ was more common. This dye was known also -to the Egyptians in the time of Moses; and it is most probable that the -color mentioned in Exodus[899] as one of the three which were prescribed -for the curtains of the tabernacle, and for the "holy garments" of -Aaron, and which the English translators have rendered by the word -_scarlet_ (not the color now so called, which was not known in James the -First's reign when the Bible was translated), was no other than the -blood-red color dyed from the _Coccus ilicis_. - -The Arabs received the name _Kermes_ or _Alkermes_ for the insect and -dye, from Armenia and Persia, where the insect was indigenous, and had -long been known; and that name banished the old name in the East, as the -name scarlet has in the West. For the first part of this assertion we -must believe the Arabs. The Kermes, however, were not indigenous to -Arabia, as the Arabs appear to have no name for them. To the Greeks this -dye was known under the name of _Coccus_, as appears from Dioscorides, -and other Greek writers.[900] - -From the epithets _kermes_ and _coccus_, and that of _vermiculus_ or -_vermiculum_, given to the Kermes in the middle ages, when they were -ascertained to be insects, have sprung the Latin _coccineus_, the French -_carmesin_, _carmine_, _cramoisi_ and _vermeil_, the Italian _chermisi_, -_cremisino_, and _chermesino_, and our _crimson_ and _vermilion_. - -The imperishable reds of the Brussels and other Flemish tapestries were -derived from the Kermes; and, in short, previous to the discovery of -cochineal, this was the material universally used for dyeing the most -brilliant red then known. At the present time the Kermes are only -gathered in Europe by the peasantry of the provinces in which they are -found, but they still continue to be employed as of old in a great part -of India and Persia.[901] - -Brookes says the women gather the harvest of Kermes insects before -sunrise, tearing them off with their nails; and, for fear there should -be any loss from the hatching of the insects, they sprinkle them with -vinegar. They then lay them in the sun to dry, where they acquire a red -color.[902] - -The scarlet grain of Poland, _Coccus polonicus_, found on the German -knot-grass or perennial knawel (_Scleranthus perennis_), was at one time -collected in large quantities in the Ukraine and other provinces of -Poland (here under the name of _Czerwiec_), and also in the great duchy -of Lithuania. But though much esteemed and still employed by the Turks -and Armenians for dyeing wool, silk, and hair, as well as for staining -the nails of women's fingers, it is now rarely used in Europe except by -the Polish peasantry. A similar neglect has attended the Coccus found on -the roots of the Burnet (_Poterium sanguisorba_, Linn.), which was used, -particularly by the Moors, for dyeing wool and silk a rose color; and -the _Coccus uvae-ursi_, which with alum affords a crimson dye.[903] - -Cochineal, the _Coccus cacti_, is doubtless the most valuable product -for which the dyer is indebted to insects, and with the exception -perhaps of indigo, the most important of dyeing materials. It is found -on a kind of fig, called in Mexico, where the insect is produced in any -quantity, Nopal or Tuna, which generally has been supposed to be the -_Cactus cochinilifer_, but according to Humboldt is unquestionably a -distinct species, which bears fruit internally white. - -Cochineal was discovered by the Spaniards, on their first arrival in -Mexico, about the year 1518; but who first remarked this valuable -production, and made it known in Europe, Mr. Beckman says, he has been -unable to discover. Some assert that the native Mexicans, before the -landing of Cortes, were acquainted with cochineal, which they employed -in painting their houses and dyeing their clothes; but others maintain -the contrary. Be that as it may, however, the Spanish ministry, as early -as the year 1523, as Herrera informs us, ordered Cortes to take measures -for multiplying this valuable commodity; and soon after it must have -begun to be quite an object of commerce, for Guicciardini, who died in -1589, mentions it among the articles procured then by the merchants of -Antwerp from Spain. - -Professor Beckman, who has given the subject particular attention, -thinks that with the first cochineal, a true account of the manner in -which it was procured must have reached Europe, and become publicly -known. Acosta in 1530, and Herrera in 1601, as well as Hernandez and -others, gave so true and complete a description of it, that the -Europeans could entertain no doubt respecting its origin. The -information of these authors, however, continues this gentleman, was -either overlooked or considered as false, and disputes arose whether -cochineal was insects or worms, or the berries or seeds of certain -plants. The Spanish name _grana_, confounded with _granum_, may have -given rise to this contest. - -Illustrative of this great difference of opinion, Mr. Beckman narrates -the following anecdote: "A Dutchman, named Melchior de Ruusscher, -affirmed in a society, from oral information he had received in Spain, -that cochineal was small animals. Another person, whose name he has not -made known, maintained the contrary with so much heat and violence, that -the dispute at length ended in a bet. Ruusscher charged a Spaniard, one -of his friends, who was going to Mexico, to procure for him in that -country authentic proofs of what he had asserted. These proofs, legally -confirmed in October, 1725, by the court of justice in the city of -Antiquera, in the valley of Oaxaca, arrived at Amsterdam in the autumn -of the year 1726. I have been informed that Ruusscher upon this got -possession of the sum betted, which amounted to the whole property of -the loser; but that, after keeping it a certain time, he again returned -it, deducting only the expenses he had been at in procuring the -evidence, and in causing it to be published. It formed a small octavo -volume, with the following title printed in red letters: _The History of -Cochineal proved by Authentic documents_. These proofs sent from -New-Spain are written in Dutch, French, and Spanish."[904] - -Among the important discoveries made by accident, the following in the -history of Cochineal may be instanced: "The well-known Cornelius -Drebbel, who was born at Alcmaar, and died at London in 1634, having -placed in his window an extract of Cochineal, made with boiling water, -for the purpose of filling a thermometer, some aqua-regia dropped into -it from a phial, broken by accident, which stood above it, and converted -the purple dye into a most beautiful dark red. After some conjectures -and experiments, he discovered that the tin by which the window frame -was divided into squares had been dissolved by the aqua-regia, and was -the cause of this change. He communicated his observation to Kuffelar, -an ingenious dyer at Leyden. The latter brought the discovery to -perfection, and employed it some years alone in his dye-house, which -gave rise to the name of Kuffelar's color."[905] - -That innocent cosmetic, so much used by the ladies, and commonly known -by the French term Rouge, is no other than a preparation of -Cochineal.[906] - -Kermes-berries, _Coccus ilicis_, and Cochineal, _C. cacti_, Geoffroy -says, "are esteemed to be greatly cordial and sudorific, being very full -of volatile salt. They are given also to prevent abortion from any -strain or hurt."[907] - -_Lac_ is the produce of an insect supposed by Amatus Lusitanus to be a -kind of ant, and by others a bee, but now ascertained to be a species -belonging to the Coccidae--the _Coccus ficus_ or _C. lacca_. It is -collected from various trees in India, where it is found so abundantly, -that, were the consumption ten times greater than it is, it could be -readily supplied. - -Lac is known in Europe by the different appellations of _stick-lac_, -when in its natural state, adhering to, and often completely -surrounding, for five or six inches, the twigs on which it is produced -by the insects contained in its cells; _seed-lac_, when broken into -small pieces, garbled, and the greater part of the coloring matter -extracted by water; when it appears in a granulated form; _lump-lac_, -when melted and made into cakes; and _shell-lac_, when strained and -formed into transparent laminae. - -Lac, in its different forms, is made use of in the manufacture of -varnishes, japanned ware, sealing-wax, beads, rings, arm-bracelets, -necklaces, water-proof hats, etc., etc. Mixed with fine sand it forms -grindstones; and added to lamp or ivory black, being first dissolved in -water with the addition of a little borax, it composes an ink not easily -acted upon by dampness or water. It has been applied also to a still -more important purpose, originally suggested by Dr. Roxburgh about the -year 1790--that of a substitute for Cochineal in dyeing scarlet.[908] -From this suggestion, under the direction of Dr. Bancroft, large -quantities of a substance termed _lac-lake_, consisting of the coloring -matter of stick-lac precipitated from an alkaline lixivium by alum, were -manufactured at Calcutta and sent to England, where at first the -consumption was so great, that, according to the statement of Dr. -Bancroft, in 1806, and the two following years, the sales of it at the -India House equaled in point of coloring matter half a million of -pounds' weight of Cochineal. Soon after this, a new preparation of lac -color, under the name of _lac-dye_, was substituted for the lac-lake, -and with such advantage, that in a few months L14,000 were saved by the -East India Company in the purchase of scarlet cloths dyed with this -color and Cochineal conjointly, and without any inferiority in the color -obtained.[909] - -The Coccidae, although they furnish an invaluable dye and many articles -of commerce, are among the most hurtful of insects in gardens and -hot-houses. In 1843, the orange-trees of the Azores or Western Islands -were nearly entirely destroyed by the _Coccus Hesperidum_; and in Fayal, -an island which had usually exported twelve thousand chests of oranges -annually, not one was exported.[910] - - - - -ORDER VIII. - -HETEROPTERA. - - -Cimicidae--Bed-bugs. - -"In the year 1503," says Moufet, "Dr. Penny was called in great haste to -a little village, called Mortlake, near the Thames, to visit two noble -ladies (_duas nobiles_), who were much frightened by the appearance of -bug-bites (_ex cinicum vestigiis_), and were in fear of I know not what -contagion; but when the matter was known, and the insects caught, he -laughed them out of all fear."[911] - -This fact disproves the statement of Southall, that the _Cimex -lectularius_ was not known in England before 1670, and that of Linnaeus, -and the generality of later writers, that this insect is not originally -a native of Europe, but was introduced into England after the great fire -of London in 1666, having been brought in timber from America. - -The original English names of the _C. lectularius_, were _Chinche_, -_Wall-louse_, and _Punaise_ (from the French); and the term _Bug_, which -is a Celtic word, signifying a ghost or goblin, was applied to them -after the time of Ray,[912] most probably because they were considered -as "terrors of the night."[913] - -In the Nicholson's Journal[914] there is mention of a man who, far from -disliking Bed-bugs, took them under his protecting care, and would never -suffer them to be disturbed, or his bedsteads removed, till in the end -they swarmed to an incredible degree, crawling up even the walls of his -drawing-room; and after his death millions were found in his bed and -chamber furniture. - -Gemelli, in 1695, visited the Banian hospital at Surat, and says that -what amazed him most, though he went there for that express purpose, was -to see "a poor wretch, naked, bound down hands and feet, to feed the -Bugs or Punaises, brought out of their stinking holes for that -purpose."[915] - -Mr. Forbes, speaking of this remarkable institution for animals, says: -"At my visit, the hospital contained horses, mules, oxen, sheep, goats, -monkeys, poultry, pigeons, and a variety of birds. The most -extraordinary ward was that appropriated to rats and mice, Bugs, and -other noxious vermin. The overseers of the hospital frequently hire -beggars from the streets, for a stipulated sum, to pass a night among -the Fleas, Lice, and Bugs, on the express condition of suffering them to -enjoy their feast without molestation."[916] - -Navarette says that a species of Bugs (most probably a _Cimex_), which -swarm in some parts of China, are a source of great amusement to the -natives; for they take particular delight in killing them with their -fingers, and then clapping them to their noses.[917] - -Democritus says that the feet of a hare, or of a stag, hung round the -feet of the bed at the bottom of the couch, does not suffer Bugs to -breed; but, in traveling, Didymus adds, if you fill a vessel with cold -water and set it under the bed, they will not touch you when you are -asleep.[918] - -A superstition prevails among us that beds, in order to rid them -effectually of Bugs, must be cleaned during the dark of the moon. - -The medicinal virtues of the Cimex are given by Pliny (doubtless quoting -Dioscorides, ii. 36) as follows: "The Bug is said to be a neutralizer of -the venom of serpents, asps in particular, and to be a preservative -against all kinds of poisons. As a proof of this, they tell us that the -sting of an asp is never fatal to poultry, if they have eaten Bugs that -day; and that, if such is the case, their flesh is remarkably -beneficial to persons who have been stung by serpents. Of the various -recipes given in reference to these insects, the least revolting are the -application of them externally to the wound, with the blood of a -tortoise; the employment of them as a fumigation to make leeches loose -their hold; and the administering of them to animals in drink when a -leech has been accidentally swallowed. Some persons, however, go so far -as to crush Bugs with salt and woman's milk, and anoint the eyes with -the mixture; in combination, too, with honey and oil of roses, they use -them as an injection for the ears. Field-bugs, again, and those found -upon the mallow (perhaps the _Cimex pratensis_ is meant here; neither -this nor the _Cimex juniperinus_, the _C. brassicae_, or the _Lygaeus -hyoscami_, has the offensive smell of the _C. lectularius_) are burnt, -and the ashes mixed with oil of roses as an injection for the ears. - -"As to the other remedial virtues attributed to Bugs for the cure of -vomiting, quartan fevers, and other diseases, although we find -recommendations given to swallow them in an egg, some wax, or in a -bean,[919] I look upon them as utterly unfounded, and not worthy of -further notice. They are employed, however, for the treatment of -lethargy, and with some fair reason, as they successfully neutralize the -narcotic effects of the poison of the asp; for this purpose seven of -them are administered in a cyathus of water; but in the case of -children, only four. In cases, too, of strangury they have been injected -into the urinary channel.[920] So true it is that nature, that universal -parent, has engendered nothing without some powerful reason or other. In -addition to these particulars, a couple of Bugs, it is said, attached to -the left arm in some wool that has been stolen from the shepherds, will -effectually cure nocturnal fevers; while those recurrent in the daytime -may be treated with equal success by inclosing the Bugs in a piece of -russet-colored cloth."[921] - -Guettard, a French commentator on Pliny, recommends Bugs to be taken -internally for hysteria; and Dr. James says "the smell of them relieves -under hysterical suffocations!"[922] - -At the present time the Bed-bug is sometimes given by the country people -of Ohio as a cure for the fever and ague. - -Moufet says: "The verses of Quintus Serenus show that they are good for -tertian agues: - - Shame not to drink three Wall-lice mixt with wine, - And garlick bruised together at noon-day. - Moreover a bruised Wall-louse with an egg, repine - Not for to take, 'tis loathsome, yet full good I say. - -"Gesner in his writings confirms this experiment, having made trial of -it among the common and meaner sort of people in the country. The -ancients gave seven to those that were taken with a lethargy, in a cup -of water, and four to children. Pliny and Serenus consent to this in -these verses: - - Some men prescribe seven Wall-lice for to drink, - Mingled with water, and one cup they think - Is better than with drowsy death to sink."[923] - -Anatolius says that if an ox, or other quadruped, swallows a leech in -drinking, having pounded some Bugs, let the animal smell them, and he -immediately throws up the leech.[924] - -Mr. Mayhew, in his work on the London poor and their labor, has an -interesting chapter devoted to the Destroyers of Vermin, from which we -have taken the liberty of quoting pretty largely in the course of this -work. His statements can be relied on, and we give them as nearly in his -own words as possible. Concerning Bugs and Fleas, and the trade carried -on in the manufacture and vending of poisons to destroy these pests, we -learn from him: The vending of bug-poison in the London streets is -seldom followed as a regular source of living. He has met with persons -who remembered to have seen men selling packets of vermin poison; but to -find out the venders themselves was next to an impossibility. The men -seem to take merely to the business as a living when all other sources -have failed. All, however, agree in acknowledging that there is such a -street trade; but that the living it affords is so precarious that few -men stop at it longer than two or three weeks. - -The most eminent firm, perhaps, of the bug-destroyers in London now is -that of Messrs. Tiffin and Son. They have pursued their calling in the -streets, but now rejoice in the title of "Bug-Destroyers to Her Majesty -and the Royal Family." - -Mr. Tiffin, the senior party in this house, kindly obliged Mr. Mayhew -with the following statement. It may be as well to say that Mr. Tiffin -appears to have paid much attention to the subject of Bugs, and has -studied with much earnestness the natural history of this vermin. He -said: - -"We can trace our business back as far as 1695, when one of our -ancestors first turned his attention to the destruction of bugs. He was -a lady's stay-maker--men used to make them in those days, though, as far -back as that is concerned, it was a man that made my mother's dresses. -This ancestor found some bugs in his house--a young colony of them, that -had introduced themselves without his permission, and he didn't like -their company, so he tried to turn them out of doors again, I have heard -it said, in various ways. It is in history, and it has been handed down -in my own family as well, that bugs were first introduced into England, -after the fire in London, in the timber that was brought for the -rebuilding of the city, thirty years after the fire, and it was about -that time that my ancestor first discovered the colony of bugs in his -house. I can't say whether he studied the subject of bug-destroying, or -whether he found out his stuff by accident, but he certainly _did_ -invent a compound which completely destroyed the bugs, and, having been -so successful in his own house, he named it to some of his customers who -were similarly plagued, and that was the commencement of the present -connection, which has continued up to this time. - -"At the time of the illumination for the Peace, I thought I must have -something over my shop, that would be both suitable for the event and to -my business; so I had a transparency done, and stretched on a big frame, -and lit up by gas, on which was written - - MAY THE - DESTROYERS OF PEACE - BE DESTROYED BY US. - TIFFIN & SON, - BUG-DESTROYERS TO HER MAJESTY. - -"Our business was formerly carried on in the Strand, where both my -father and myself were born; in fact, I may say I was born to the bug -business. - -"I remember my father as well as possible; indeed, I worked with him for -ten or eleven years. He used, when I was a boy, to go out to his work -killing bugs at his customers' houses with a sword by his side and a -cocked-hat and bag-wig on his head--in fact, dressed up like a regular -dandy. I remember my grandmother, too, when she was in the business, -going to the different houses, and seating herself in a chair, and -telling the men what they were to do, to clean the furniture and wash -the woodwork. - -"I have customers in our books for whom our house has worked these 150 -years; that is, my father and self have worked for them and their -fathers. We do the work by contract, examining the house every year. -It's a precaution to keep the place comfortable. You see, servants are -apt to bring bugs in their boxes; and, though there may be only two or -three bugs perhaps hidden in the woodwork and the clothes, yet they soon -breed if let alone. - -"We generally go in the spring, before the bugs lay their eggs; or, if -that time passes, it ought to be done before June, before their eggs are -hatched, though it's never too late to get rid of a nuisance. - -"I mostly find the bugs in the bedsteads. But, if they are left -unmolested, they get numerous and climb to the tops of the rooms, and -about the corners of the ceilings. They colonize anywhere they can, -though they're very high-minded and prefer lofty places. Where iron -bedsteads are used, the bugs are more in the _rooms_, and that's why -such things are bad. They don't keep a bug away from a person sleeping. -Bugs'll come if they're thirty yards off. - -"I knew a case of a bug who used to come every night about thirty or -forty feet--it was an immense large room--from the corner of the room -to visit an old lady. There was only one bug, and he'd been there for a -long time. I was sent for to find him out. It took me a long time to -catch him. In that instance I had to examine every part of the room, and -when I got him I gave him an extra nip to serve him out. The reason why -I was so bothered was, the bug had hidden itself near the window, the -last place I should have thought of looking for him, for a bug never, by -choice, faces the light; but when I came to inquire about it, I found -that this old lady never rose till three o'clock in the day, and the -window-curtains were always drawn, so that there was no light like. - -"Lord! yes, I am often sent for to catch a single bug. I've had to go -many, many miles--even 100 or 200--into the country, and perhaps only -catch half a dozen bugs after all; but then that's all that are there, -so it answers our employer's purpose as well as if they were swarming. - -"I work for the upper classes only; that is, for carriage-company and -such like approaching it, you know. I have noblemen's names, the first -in England, on my books. - -"My work is more method; and I may call it a scientific treating of the -bugs rather than wholesale murder. We don't care about the thousands, -it's the last bug we look for, whilst your carpenters and upholsterers -leave as many behind them, perhaps, as they manage to catch. - -"The bite of the bug is very curious. They bite all persons the same -(?); but the difference of effect lies in the constitutions of the -parties. I've never noticed that a different kind of skin makes any -difference in being bitten. Whether the skin is moist or dry, it don't -matter. Wherever bugs are, the person sleeping in the bed is sure to be -fed on, whether they are marked or not; and as a proof, when nobody has -slept in the bed for some time, the bugs become quite flat; and, on the -contrary, when the bed is always occupied, they are round as a -lady-bird. - -"The flat bug is more ravenous, though even he will allow you time to go -to sleep before he begins with you; or at least till he thinks you ought -to be asleep. When they find all quiet, not even a light in the room -will prevent their biting; but they are seldom or never found under the -bedclothes. They like a clear ground to get off, and generally bite -round the edges of the nightcap or the nightdress. When they are found -_in_ the bed, it's because the parties have been tossing about, and -have curled the sheets round the bugs. - -"The finest and fattest bugs I ever saw were those I found in a black -man's bed. He was the favorite servant of an Indian general. He didn't -want his bed done by me; he didn't want it touched. His bed was full of -'em, no beehive was ever fuller. The walls and all were the same, there -wasn't a patch that was not crammed with them. He must have taken them -all over the house wherever he went. - -"I've known persons to be laid up for months through bug-bites. There -was a very handsome fair young lady I knew once, and she was much bitten -about the arms, and neck, and face, so that her eyes were so swelled up -she couldn't see. The spots rose up like blisters, the same as if stung -with a nettle, only on a very large scale. The bites were very much -inflamed, and after a time they had the appearance of boils. - -"Some people fancy, and it is historically recorded, that the bug smells -because it has no vent; but this is fabulous, for they _have_ a vent. It -is not the human blood neither that makes them smell, because a young -bug who has never touched a drop will smell. They breathe, I believe, -through their sides; but I can't answer for that, though it's not -through the head. They haven't got a mouth, but they insert into the -skin the point of a tube, which is quite as fine as a hair, through -which they draw up the blood. I have many a time put a bug on the back -of my hand, to see how they bite; though I never felt the bite but once, -and then I suppose the bug had pitched upon a very tender part, for it -was a sharp prick, something like that of a leech-bite. - -"I once had a case of lice-killing, for my process will answer as well -for them as for bugs, though it's a thing I never should follow by -choice. Lice seem to harbor pretty much the same as bugs do. I find them -in the furniture. It was a nurse that brought them into the house, -though she was as nice and clean a looking woman as ever I saw. I should -almost imagine the lice must have been in her, for they say there is a -disease of that kind; and if the tics breed in sheep, why should not -lice breed in us? for we're but live matter, too. I didn't like myself -at all for two or three days after that lice-killing job, I can assure -you; it's the only case of the kind I ever had, and I can promise you it -shall be the last. - -"I was once at work on the Princess Charlotte's own bedstead. I was in -the room, and she asked me if I had found anything, and I told her no; -but just at that minute I _did_ happen to catch one, and upon that she -sprang up on the bed, and put her head on my shoulder, to look at it. -She had been tormented by the creature, because I was ordered to come -directly, and that was the only one I found. When the Princess saw it, -she said, 'Oh, the nasty thing! That's what tormented me last night; -don't let him escape.' I think he looked all the better for having -tasted royal blood. - -"I also profess to kill beetles, though you never can destroy them so -effectually as you can bugs; for, you see, beetles run from one house to -another, and you can never perfectly get rid of them; you can only keep -them under. Beetles will scrape their way and make their road round a -fire-place, but how they go from one house to another I can't say, but -they _do_. - -"I never had patience enough to try and kill Fleas by my process; it -would be too much of a chivey to please me. - -"I never heard of any but one man who seriously went to work selling -bug-poison in the streets. I was told by some persons that he was -selling a first-rate thing, and I spent several days to find him out. -But, after all, his secret proved to be nothing at all. It was -train-oil, linseed and hempseed, crushed up all together, and the bugs -were to eat it till they burst. - -"After all, secrets for bug-poisons ain't worth much, for all depends -upon the application of them. For instance, it is often the case that I -am sent for to find out one bug in a room large enough for a school. -I've discovered it when the creature had been three or four months -there, as I could tell by his having changed his jacket so often, for -bugs shed their skins, you know. No, there was no reason that he should -have bred; it might have been a single gentleman or an old maid. - -"A married couple of bugs will lay from forty to fifty eggs at one -laying. The eggs are oval, and are each as large as the thirty-second -part of an inch; and when together are in the shape of a caraway comfit, -and of a bluish-white color. They'll lay this quantity of eggs three -times in a season. The young ones are hatched direct from the egg, and, -like young partridges, will often carry the broken eggs about with -them, clinging to their back. They get their fore-quarters out, and then -they run about before the other legs are completely cleared. - -"As soon as the bugs are born they are of a cream color, and will take -to blood directly; indeed, if they don't get it in two or three days, -they die; but after one feed they will live a considerable time without -a second meal. I have known old bugs to be frozen over in a -horse-pond--when the furniture had been thrown in the water--and there -they have remained for a good three weeks; still, after they have got a -little bit warm in the sun's rays, they have returned to life again. - -"I myself kept bugs for five years and a half without food, and a -housekeeper at Lord H----'s informed me that an old bedstead that I was -then moving from a store-room was taken down forty-five years ago, and -had not been used since, but the bugs in it were still numerous, though -as thin as living skeletons. They couldn't have lived upon the sap of -the wood, it being worm-eaten and dry as a bone. A bug will live for a -number of years, and we find that when bugs are put away in old -furniture without food, they don't increase in number; so that, -according to my belief, the bugs I just mentioned must have existed -forty-five years: besides, they were large ones, and very dark colored, -which is another proof of age. - -"It is a dangerous thing for bugs when they are shedding their skins, -which they do about four times in the course of a year; when they throw -off their hard shell and have a soft coat, so that the least touch will -kill them; whereas at other times they will take a strong pressure. I -have plenty of bug-skins, which I keep by me as curiosities, of all -sizes and colors, and sometimes I have found the young bugs collected -inside the old ones' skins for warmth, as if they had put on their -father's great-coat. There are white bugs--albinoes you may call -'em--freaks of nature like."[925] - - -Notonectidae--Water-boatmen. - -Humboldt mentions that he saw insects' eggs sold in the markets of -Mexico, which were collected on the surface of lakes. Under the name of -_Axayacat_, these eggs, or those of some other species of fly, deposited -on rush mats, are sold as a caviare in Mexico. Rev. Thomas Smith, who -makes the same statement, also says the Mexicans likewise eat the flies -themselves, ground and made up with saltpetre. Something similar to -these eggs, found in the pools of the desert of Fezzan, serves the Arabs -for food, having the taste of caviare. - -In the Bulletin de la Societe Imperiale Zoologique d'Acclimation, M. -Guerin Meneville has published a paper on a sort of bread which the -Mexicans make of the eggs of three species of heteropterous insects. - -According to M. Craveri, by whom some of the Mexican bread, and of the -insects yielding it, were brought to Europe, these insects and their -eggs are very common in the fresh waters of the lagunes of Mexico. The -natives cultivate, in the lagune of Chalco, a sort of carex called -toute, on which the insects readily deposit their eggs. Numerous bundles -of these plants are made, which are taken to a lagune, the Texcuco, -where they float in great numbers in the water. The insects soon come -and deposit their eggs on the plants, and in about a month the bundles -are removed from the water, dried, and then beaten over a large cloth to -separate the myriad of eggs with which the insects have covered them. -These eggs are then cleaned and sifted, put into sacks like flour, and -sold to the people for making a sort of cake or biscuit called "hautle," -which forms a tolerably good food, but has a fishy taste, and is -slightly acid. The bundles of carex are replaced in the lake, and afford -a fresh supply of eggs, which process may be repeated for an indefinite -number of times. - -It appears that these insects have been used from an early period, for -Thomas Gage, a religionist, who sailed to Mexico in 1625, says, in -speaking of articles sold in the markets, that they had cakes made of a -sort of scum collected from the lakes of Mexico, and that this was also -sold in other towns. - -Brantz Mayer, in his Mexico as it was and as it is, 1844, says: "On the -lake of Texcuco I saw men occupied in collecting the eggs of flies from -the surface of plants, and cloths arranged in long rows as places of -resort for the insects. These eggs, called _agayacath_, formed a -favorite food of the Indians long before the conquest; and when made -into cakes, resemble the roe of fish, having a similar taste and -appearance. After the use of frogs in France, and birds'-nests in China, -I think these eggs may be considered a delicacy, and I found that they -are not rejected from the tables of the fashionable inhabitants of the -capital." - -The more recent observations of MM. Saussure, Salle, Virlet d'Aoust, -etc. have confirmed the facts already stated, at least in the most -essential particulars. - -"The insects which principally produce this animal farinha of Mexico," -says a writer in the Journal de Pharmacie, "are two species of the genus -_Corixa_ of Geoffroy, hemipterous (heteropterous) insects of the family -of water-bugs. One of the species has been described by M. Guerin -Meneville as new, and has been named by him _Corixa femorata_: the -other, identified in 1831 by Thomas Say as one of those sold in the -market at Mexico, bears the name of _Corixa mercenaria_. The eggs of -these two species are attached in innumerable quantities to the -triangular leaves of the carex forming the bundles which are deposited -in the waters. They are of an oval form with a protuberance at one end -and a pedicle at the other extremity, by means of which they are fixed -to a small round disk, which the mother cements to the leaf. Among these -eggs, which are grouped closely together, there are found others, which -are larger, of a long and cylindrical form, and which are fixed to the -same leaves. These belong to another larger insect, a species of -_Notonecta_, which M. Guerin Meneville has named _Notonecta -unifasciata_." - -It appears from M. Virlet d'Aoust, that in October the lakes of Chalco -and Texcuco, which border on the City of Mexico, are haunted by millions -of "small flies," which, after dancing in the air, plunge down into the -water, to the depth of several feet, and deposit their eggs at the -bottom. - -"The eggs of these insects are called hautle (haoutle) by the Mexican -Indians, who collect them in great numbers, and with whom they appear to -be a favorite article of food. They are prepared in various ways, but -usually made into cakes, which are eaten with a sauce flavored with -chillies."[926] - -Rev. Thomas Smith enumerates the following insects as eaten by the -ancient Mexicans: The _Atelepitz_, "a marsh beetle, resembling in shape -and size the flying beetles, having four (?) feet, and covered with a -hard shell." The _Atopinan_, "a marsh grasshopper of a dark color and -great size, being no less than six inches long and two broad."(!) The -_Ahuihuitla_, "a worm which inhabits the Mexican lakes, four inches -long, and of the thickness of a goose quill, of a tawny color on the -upper part of the body, and white upon the under part; it stings with -its tail, which is hard and poisonous." And the _Ocuiliztac_, "a black -marsh worm, which becomes white on being roasted."[927] - - - - -ORDER IX. - -DIPTERA. - - -Culicidae--Gnats.[928] - -Concerning the generation of Gnats, Moufet says: "Countrey people -suppose them, and that not improbably, to be procreated from some -corrupt moisture of the earth."[929] - -A battle of Gnats (probably an appearance of Ephemera) is recorded in -Stow's Chronicles of England, p. 509, to have been fought in the reign -of King Richard II.: "A fighting among Gnats at the King's maner of -_Shine_, where they were so thicke gathered, that the aire was darkened -with them: they fought and made a great battaile. Two partes of them -being slayne, fel downe to the grounde; the thirde parte hauing got the -victorie, flew away, no man knew whither. The number of the deade was -such that they might be swept uppe with besomes, and bushels filled -weyth them."[930] - -In the year 1736 the Gnats, _Culex pipiens_, were so numerous in -England, that, as it is recorded, vast columns of them were seen to rise -in the air from the steeple of the cathedral at Salisbury, which, at a -little distance resembling columns of smoke, occasioned many people to -think the edifice was on fire.[931] At Sagan, in Silesia, in July, 1812, -a similar occurrence gave rise in like manner to an alarm that the -church was on fire.[932] In May of the following year at Norwich, at -about six o'clock in the evening, the inhabitants of that city were -alarmed by the appearance of smoke issuing from the upper window of the -spire of the cathedral, for which at the time no satisfactory account -could be given, but which was most probably produced by the same -cause.[933] And in the year 1766, in the month of August, they appeared -in such incredible numbers at Oxford as to resemble a black cloud, -darkening the air and almost intercepting the rays of the sun. Mr. John -Swinton mentions, that in the evening of the 20th, about half an hour -before sunset, he was in the garden of Wadham College, when he saw six -columns of these insects ascending from the tops of six boughs of an -apple-tree, two in a perpendicular, three in an oblique direction, and -one in a pyramidal form, to the height of fifty or sixty feet. Their -bite was so envenomed, that it was attended by violent and alarming -inflammation; and one when killed usually contained as much blood as -would cover three or four square inches of wall.[934] A similar column, -of two or three feet in diameter and about twenty feet in height, was -seen at eight o'clock in the evening of Sunday, July 14th, 1833, in -Kensington Gardens. The upper portion of the column being curved to the -east, the whole resembled the letter J inverted. The Gnats in every part -of the column were in the liveliest motion.[935] The author of the -"Faerie Queene" seems to have witnessed the like curious phenomenon, -which furnished him with the following beautiful simile: - - As when a swarme of gnats at eventide - Out of the fennes of Allan doe arise, - Their murmuring small trumpets sownden wide, - Whiles in the air their clust'ring army flies, - That as a cloud doth seem to dim the skies; - Ne man nor beast may rest or take repast, - For their sharp wounds and noyous injuries, - Till the fierce northern wind with blust'ring blast - Doth blow them quite away, and in the ocean cast. - -Ligon, in his History of Barbados, makes the following curious -observation relative to a species of insects which he calls "Flyes," but -which are more probably Gnats or Mosquitoes: "There is not only a race -of all these kinds, that go in a generation, but upon new occasions, new -kinds; as, after a great downfall of rain, when the ground has been -extremely moistened, and softened with the water, I have walk'd out upon -a dry walk (which I made my self) in an evening, and there came about me -an army of such Flyes, as I had never seen before, nor after; and they -rose, as I conceived, out of the earth: They were as big bodied as Bees, -but far larger wings, harm they did us none, but only lighted on us; -their colour between ash-colour and purple."[936] - -If Gnats swarm in the summer in globular masses, it is supposed to -prognosticate a storm. Moufet says: "If Gnats near sunset do play up and -down in open air, they presage heat; if in the shade, warm and milde -showers; but if they altogether sting those that passe by them, then -expect cold weather and very much rain.... If any one would finde water -either in a hill or valley, let him observe (saith Paxanus in Geoponika) -the sun rising, and where the Gnats whirle round in form of an obelisk, -underneath there is water to be found. Yea, if Apomasaris deceive us -not, dreams of Gnats do foretell news of war or a disease, and that so -much the more dangerous as it shall be apprehended to approach the more -principall parts of the body."[937] - -"On the 14th of December, 1830, at Oremburg, snow fell accompanied by a -multitude of small black Gnats, whose motions were similar to those of a -flea." This singular phenomenon was described at the session of the -Academy of St. Petersburg, held February 21st, 1831.[938] - -The pertinacity of the _Culicidae_ frequently renders them a most -formidable pest. Humboldt tells us "that between the little harbor of -Higuerote and the mouth of the Rio Unare, the wretched inhabitants are -accustomed to stretch themselves on the ground, and pass the night -buried in the sand three or four inches deep, exposing only the head, -which they cover with a handkerchief."[939] As another proof of the -terrible state to which man is sometimes reduced by Mosquitoes, Captain -Stedman relates that in one of his dreadful marches, the clouds of them -were such, that the soldiers dug holes with their bayonets in the earth, -into which they thrust their heads, stopping the entry and covering -their necks with their hammocks, while they lay with their bellies on -the ground: to sleep in any other position was absolutely impossible. He -himself, by a negro's advice, climbed to the top of the highest tree he -could find, and there slung his hammock among the boughs, and slept -exalted nearly a hundred feet above his companions, "whom," says he, "I -could not see for the myriads of mosquitoes below me, nor even hear, -from the incessant buzzing of these troublesome insects."[940] - -"The Gnats in America," says Moufet, "do so plash and cut, that they -will pierce through very thick clothing; so that it is excellent sport -to behold how ridiculously the barbarous people, when they are bitten, -will skip and frisk, and slap with their hands their thighs, buttocks, -shoulders, arms, and sides, even as a carter doth his horses."[941] -Isaac Weld tells us that "these insects were so powerful and -bloodthirsty that they actually pierced through General Washington's -boots."[942] They probably crept within the boots, but the story is not -incredible if we believe Moufet. This naturalist says: "In Italy, near -the Po, great store and very great ones are to be seen, terrible for -biting, and venomous, piercing through a thrice-doubled stocking, and -boots likewise (_morsu crudeles et venenati, triplices caligas, imo -ocreas, item perforantes_), sometimes leaving behind them impoysoned, -hard, blue tumours, sometimes painful bladders, sometimes itching -pimples, such as Hippocrates hath observed in his Epidemics, in the body -of one Cyrus, a fuller, being frantic."[943] - -The poet Spenser, in his View of Ireland, says the Irish "goe all naked -except a mantle, which is a fit house for an outlaw--a meet bed for a -rebel--and an apt cloak for a thiefe. It coucheth him strongly against -the Gnats, which, in that country, doe more to annoy the naked rebels, -and doe more sharply wound them, than all their enemies' swords and -speares, which can seldom come nigh them." - -Stewart says that the negroes of Jamaica, who cannot afford -mosquito-nets, get into a mechanical habit of driving away these -troublesome nocturnal visitors, that even when apparently wrapt in -profound sleep, there is a continual movement of the hands.[944] - -Herodotus says: "The means devised by the Egyptians to avoid the Gnats, -which swarm in prodigious numbers, are these: Those who reside at some -elevation above the marshes, avail themselves of towers which they -ascend to sleep; for the Gnats, to avoid the winds, do not fly high. -While those who dwell on the very margins of the marshes, instead of -towers, practise another contrivance. Every man possesses a net, which, -during the day, he employs in catching fish, and which at night he uses -as his bed-chamber, where he places it over his couch, and so sleeps -within it. For if any one," he concludes, "sleeps wrapped in a cloak or -cloth, the Gnats will bite him through it; but they never attempt to -penetrate the net."[945] With regard to the conclusion of Herodotus, -that nets with meshes will effectually exclude Gnats, Tennent says he -has "been satisfied by painful experience that (if the theory be not -altogether fallacious) at least the modern mosquitoes of Ceylon are -uninfluenced by the same considerations which restrained those of the -Nile under the successors of Cambyses."[946] - -Jackson complains that after a fifty-miles journey in Africa, the Gnats -would not suffer him to rest, and that his hands and face appeared, from -their bites, as if he was infected with the small-pox in its worst -stage.[947] Dr. Clarke relates that in the neighborhood of the Crimea, -the Russian soldiers are obliged to sleep in sacks to defend themselves -from the mosquitoes; and even this, he adds, is not a sufficient -security, for several of them die in consequence of mortification -produced by these furious blood-suckers.[948] - -When we consider these circumstances, it is not incredible that the army -of Julian the Apostate should be so fiercely attacked by these insects -as to be driven back; or that the inhabitants of various cities, as -Mouffet has collected from different authors,[949] should, by an -extraordinary multiplication of this plague, have been compelled to -desert them. Also the latter part of the following story, related by -Theodoret, seems entitled to belief: When Sapor, King of Persia, says -this historian, was besieging the Roman City of Nisibis in the year 360, -James, Bishop of that city, ascended one of the towers, and "prayed that -Flies and Gnats might be sent against the Persian hosts, that so they -might learn from these small insects the great power of Him who -protected the Romans." Scarcely had the Bishop concluded his prayer, -continues Theodoret, when swarms of Flies and Gnats appeared like -clouds, so that the trunks of the elephants were filled with them, as -also were the ears and nostrils of the horses and of the other beasts of -burden; and that, not being able to get rid of these insects, the -elephants and horses threw their riders, broke the ranks, left the army, -and fled away with the utmost speed; and this, he concludes, compelled -the Persians to raise the siege.[950] - -"As the Cossacks of the Black Sea are no agriculturists," says Jaeger, -"but derive their subsistence from their numerous herds of horses, oxen, -sheep, goats, and hogs, they suffer immensely, at times, from the -ravages of the mosquitoes. Although they are fortunately not seen every -year, these blood-suckers may be considered a real Egyptian plague among -the herds of these Cossacks; for they soon transform the most delightful -plains into a mournful, solitary desert, killing all the beasts, and -completely stripping the fields of every animated creature. One thousand -of these insatiate tormentors enter the nostrils, ears, eyes, and mouth -of the cattle, who shortly after die in convulsions, or from secondary -inflammation, or from absolute suffocation. In the small town of -Elizabethpol alone, during the month of June, thirty horses, forty -foals, seventy oxen, ninety calves, a hundred and fifty hogs, and four -hundred sheep were killed by these flies."[951] - -Ammianus Marcellinus, in his Roman History, treating of the wild beasts -in Mesopotamia, gives us the following curious zoological theory on the -destruction of lions by mosquitoes: - -"The lions wander in countless droves among the beds of rushes on the -banks of the rivers of Mesopotamia, and in the jungles, and lie quiet -all the winter, which is very mild in that country. But when the warm -weather returns, as these regions are exposed to great heat, they are -forced out by the vapours, and by the size of the Gnats, with swarms of -which every part of that country is filled. And these winged insects -attack the eyes, as being both moist and sparkling, sitting on and -biting the eyelids; the lions, unable to bear the torture, are either -drowned in the rivers, to which they flee for refuge, or else, by -frequent scratchings, tear their eyes out themselves with their claws, -and then become mad. And if this did not happen, the whole of the East -would be overrun with beasts of this kind."[952] - -I have never heard of mosquitoes being turned to any good account save -in California; and there, it seems, according to Rev. Walter Colton, -they are sometimes made the ministers of justice. A rogue had stolen a -bag of gold from a digger in the mines, and hid it. Neither threats nor -persuasions could induce him to reveal the place of its concealment. He -was at last sentenced to a hundred lashes, and then informed that he -would be let off with thirty, provided he would tell what he had done -with the gold; but he refused. The thirty lashes were administered, but -he was still stubborn as a mule. He was then stripped naked, and tied to -a tree. The mosquitoes with their long bills went at him, and in less -than three hours he was covered with blood. Writhing and trembling from -head to foot with exquisite torture, he exclaimed, "Untie me, untie me, -and I will tell where it is." "Tell first," was the reply. So he told -where it might be found. Then some of the party with wisps kept off the -still hungry mosquitoes, while others went where the culprit directed, -and recovered the bag of gold. He was then untied, washed with cold -water, and helped to his clothes, while he muttered, as if talking to -himself, "I couldn't stand that anyhow."[953] - -The largest kind of mosquito in the valley of the lower Mississippi is -called the "Gallinipper." It is peculiarly described, by the boatmen, to -be as large as a goose, and that it flies about at night with a brickbat -under its wings with which it sharpens its "sting." - -They tell a good story to show the superiority of the Gallinipper, over -the ordinary Mosquito, in this wise. Some fellow made a bet that, for a -certain length of time, he could stand the stings of the mosquitoes -inflicted upon his bare back while he lay on his face. He stripped -himself for the ordeal, and was bearing it manfully, when some -mischievous spectator threw a live coal of fire on him. He winced, and, -looking up by way of protest, exclaimed, "I bar (debar) the -Gallinipper." - -The Culicidae, say Kirby and Spence, like other conquerors who have been -the torment of the human race, have attained to fame, and have given -their names to bays, towns, and even to considerable territories; and -instance Mosquito Bay in St. Christopher's; Mosquito, a town in the -Island of Cuba; and the Mosquito Shore of Central America.[954] - -Democritus says: "Horse-hair, stretched through the door, and through -the middle of the house, destroys Gnats."[955] - -St. Macarius, Alban Butler says, was a confectioner of Alexandria, who, -in the flower of his age, spent upwards of sixty years in the deserts in -labor, penance, and contemplation. "Our Saint," continues Butler, -"happened one day to inadvertently kill a Gnat that was biting him in -his cell; reflecting that he had lost the opportunity of suffering that -mortification, he hastened from the cell for the marshes of Scete, which -abound with great flies, whose stings pierce even wild boars. There he -continued six months, exposed to those ravaging insects; and to such a -degree was his whole body disfigured by them with sores and swellings, -that when he returned he was only to be known by his voice."[956] - -In the old English translation of the Bible, the observation of our -Saviour to the Pharisees, "Ye blind guides, which strain _at_ a Gnat, -and swallow a camel," is rendered "which strain _out_ a Gnat," and -Bishop Pearce observes that this is conformable to the sense of the -passage. An allusion is made to the custom which prevailed in Oriental -countries of passing their wine and other liquors through a strainer, -that no Gnats or flies might get into the cup. In the Fragments to -Calmet, we are informed that there is a modern Arabic proverb to this -effect, "He swallowed an elephant, but was strangled by a fly."[957] - - -Tipulidae--Crane-flies. - -The larvae of a species of Agaric-Gnat (_Mycetophila_) live in society, -and emigrate in files in a very soldier-like manner. First goes one, -next follow two, then three, etc., so as to exhibit a singular -serpentine appearance. The common people of Germany call this file -_heerwurm_, and, it is said, view them with great dread, regarding them -as ominous of war.[958] - -Maupertuis, in describing his ascent to Mount Pulinga, in Lapland, says: -"They had to fell a whole wood of large trees, and the Flies (most -probably _Tipulidae_) attack'd 'em with that fury, that the very -soldiers, tho' harden'd to the greatest fatigues, were obliged to rap up -their faces, or cover them with tar. These insects poison'd their -victuals, for no sooner was a dish serv'd, but it was quite covered with -them."[959] Maupertuis, in another place, says: "These Flies make -Lapland less tolerable in the summer than the cold does in the -winter."[960] The severity with which the Tipulidae torment the -Laplanders is attested also by Acerby,[961] Linnaeus,[962] De Geer,[963] -and Reaumur.[964] - - -Muscidae--Flies. - -Among the instances recorded of Flies appearing in immense numbers, the -following are the most remarkable: - -"When the Creole frigate was lying in the outer roads of Buenos Ayres, -in 1819, at a distance of six miles from the land, her decks and rigging -were suddenly covered with thousands of Flies and grains of sand. The -sides of the vessel had just received a fresh coat of paint, to which -the insects adhered in such numbers as to spot and disfigure the vessel, -and to render it necessary partially to renew the paint. Capt. W. H. -Smyth was obliged to repaint his vessel, the Adventure, in the -Mediterranean, from the same cause. He was on his way from Malta to -Tripoli, when a southern wind blowing from the coast of Africa, then one -hundred miles distant, drove such myriads of Flies upon the fresh paint -that not the smallest point was left unoccupied by the insects."[965] - -"In May, 1699, at Kerton," records Mrs. Thoresby, p. 15, "in -Lincolnshire, the sky seemed to darken north-westward at a little -distance from the town, as though it had been a shower of hailstones or -snow; but when it came near the town, it appeared to be a prodigious -swarm of Flies, which went with such a force toward the south-east that -persons were forced to turn their backs of them."[966] - -On the morning of the 17th of September, 1831, a small dipterous insect, -belonging to Meigen's genus _Chlorops_, and nearly allied to, if not -identical with, his _C. laeta_, appeared suddenly, and in such immense -quantities, in one of the upper rooms of the Provost's Lodge, in King's -College, Cambridge, that the greater part of the ceiling toward the -window of the room was so thickly covered as not to be visible. They -entered by a window looking due north, while the wind was blowing -steadily N. N. W. So it appears they came from the direction of the -River Cam, or rather came with its current.[967] - -In the summer of 1834, which season was remarkable in England for its -swarms and shoals of insects, the air was constantly filled, says a -writer in The Mirror, with millions of small delicate Flies, and the sea -in many places, particularly on the Norfolk coasts, was perfectly -blackened by the amazing shoals. The length of these masses was not -determined; but they were, it is asserted, at least a league broad. It -is said the oldest fishermen of those seas never remembered having seen -or heard of such a phenomenon.[968] - -Capt. Dampier calls the natives of New Holland the "poor winking people -of New Holland," and concludes his description of them with the -following observations: "Their eyelids are always half closed, to keep -the Flies out of their eyes, they being so troublesome here that no -fanning will keep them from coming to one's face; and without the -assistance of both hands to keep them off they will creep into one's -nostrils, and mouth, too, if the lips are not shut very close. So that -from their infancy, being thus annoyed with these insects, they do never -open their eyes as other people, and therefore they cannot see far, -unless they hold up their heads, as if they were looking at something -over them."[969] - -In a house at Zaffraan-craal, Dr. Sparrman suffered so much from the -common House-fly, _Musca domestica_, which, in the south of Africa, -frequently appears in such prodigious numbers as to cover almost -entirely the walls and ceilings, that, as he asserts, it was impossible -for him to keep within doors for any length of time. To get rid of these -troublesome pests, the natives resort to a very ingenious contrivance. -It is thus related by the above-mentioned traveler: "Bunches of herbs -are hung up all over the ceiling, on which the Flies settle in great -numbers; a person then takes a linen net or bag, of a considerable -depth, fixed to a long handle, and, inclosing in it every bunch, shakes -it about, so that the Flies fall down to the bottom of the bag: when, -after several applications of it in this manner, they are killed by a -pint or a quart at a time, by dipping the bag into scalding hot -water."[970] - -Rhasis, Avicen, and Albertus say: "Bury the tail of a wolf in the house, -and the Flies will not come into it."[971] - -Berytius says: "Flies will never rest on dumb animals if they are -rubbed with the fat of a lion."[972] - -Pliny says: "At Rome yee shall not have a Flie or dog that will enter -into the chappell of Hercules standing in the beast market."[973] - -Plutarch, in the Eighth Book of his Symposiaques, learnedly discourses -upon the tamableness of the Fly. His opinion is that it cannot be -tamed.[974] - -Moufet, in his Theater of Insects, says: "Many ways doth nature also by -Flies play with the fancies of men in dreams, if we may credit -Apomasaris in his Apotelesms. For the Indians, Persians, and AEgyptians -do teach, that if Flies appear to us in our sleep, it doth signifie an -herauld at arms, or an approaching disease. If a general of an army, or -a chief commander, dream that at such or such a place he should see a -great company of Flies, in that very place, wherever it shall be, there -he shall be in anguish and grief for his soldiers that are slain, his -army routed, and the victory lost. If a mean or ordinary man dream the -like, he shall fall into a violent fever, which likely may cost him his -life. If a man dream in his sleep that Flies went into his mouth or -nostrils, he is to expect with great sorrow and grief imminent -destruction from his enemies."[975] - -In an English North country chap-book, entitled the Royal Dream-book, we -find: "To dream of Flies or other vermin, denotes enemies of all -sorts."[976] - -"When we see," says Hollingshed, "a great number of Flies in a yeare, we -naturallie iudge it like to be a great plague."[977] - -Among the deep-sea fishermen of Greenock (Scotland), there is a most -comical idea that if a Fly falls into a glass from which any one has -been drinking, or is about to drink, it is considered a sure omen of -good luck to the drinker, and is always noticed as such by the -company.[978] Has this any connection with our saying of "taking a -glass with a _fly_ in it?" - -If Flies die in great numbers in a house, it is believed by the common -people to be a sure sign of death to some one in the family occupying -it; if throughout the country, an omen of general pestilence. It is -positively asserted that Flies always die before the breaking out of the -cholera, and believed that they die of this disease. - -Moufet, in his Theater of Insects, says: "When the Flies bite harder -than ordinary, making at the face and eyes of men, they foretell rain or -wet weather, from whence Politian hath it: - - Thirsty for blood the Fly returns, - And with his sting the skin he burns. - -Perhaps before rain they are most hungry, and therefore, to asswage -their hunger, do more diligently seek after their food. This also is to -be observed, that a little before a showre or a storme comes, the Flies -descend from the upper region of the air to the lowest, and do fly, as -it were, on the very surface of the earth. Moreover, if you see them -very busie about sweet-meats or unguents, you may know that it will -presently be a showre. But if they be in all places many and numerous, -and shall so continue long (if Alexander Benedict and Johannes -Damascenus say true), they foretell a plague or pestilence, because so -many of them could not be bred of a little putrefaction of the -air."[979] Elsewhere Moufet states: "Neither are Flies begotten of dung -only, but of any other filthy matter putrefied by heat in the summer -time, and after the same way spoken of before, as Grapaldus and -Lonicerus have very well noted."[980] - -Willsford, in his Nature's Secrets, p. 135, says: "Flies in the spring -or summer season, if they grow busier or blinder than at other times, or -that they are observed to shroud themselves in warm places, expect then -quickly to follow either hail, cold storms of rain, or very much wet -weather; and if these little creatures are noted early in autumn to -repair into their winter quarters, it presages frosty mornings, cold -storms, with the approach of hoary winter. Atomes of Flies swarming -together, and sporting themselves in the sunbeams, is a good omen of -fair weather."[981] - -In Gayton's Pleasant Notes upon Don Quixot, 1654, p. 99, speaking of -Sancho Panza's having converted a cassock into a wallet, our pleasant -annotator observes: "It was serviceable, after this greasie use, for -nothing but to preach at a carnivale or Shrove Tuesday, and to tosse -Pancakes in after the exercise; or else, if it could have been -conveighed thither, nothing more proper for a man that preaches the -Cook's sermon at Oxford, when that plump society rides upon their -governour's horses to fetch in the Enemie, the Flie." That there was -such a custom at Oxford, let Peshall, in his history of that city, be a -voucher, who, speaking of St. Bartholomew's Hospital, p. 280, says: "To -this Hospital cooks from Oxford flocked, bringing in on Whitsun-week the -Fly." Aubrey saw this ceremony performed in 1642. He adds: "On -Michaelmas-day, they rode thither again to carry the Fly away."[982] - -Plutarch, in his disquisition on the Art of Discerning a Flatterer from -a Friend, makes the following curious comparison: "The Gad-Flie (as they -say) which useth to plague bulles and oxen, setteth about their eares, -and so doth the tick deal by dogges: after the same manner, flatterers -take hold of ambitious mens eares, and possesse them with praises; and -being once set fast there, hardly are they to be removed and chased -away."[983] - -Plautus twice compares envious and inquisitive persons to Flies.[984] - -In a narrative of unheard-of Popish cruelties toward Protestants beyond -Seas, printed in 1680, we find the insinuating detectives of the Spanish -Inquisition under the name of Flies.[985] - -Flies are mentioned somewhere in Lyndwood as the emblem of unclean -thoughts.[986] - -Flies were driven away when a woman was in labor, for fear she should -bring forth a daughter.[987] - -Flies are found represented in the pottery of the ancient -Egyptians.[988] - -Flies (_Cuspi_) were sacrificed to the Sun by the ancient -Peruvians.[989] - -"To let a Flee (Fly) stick i' the wa'" is, in Scotland, not to speak on -some particular topic, to pass it over without remark.[990] - -"Certes, a strange thing it is of these Flies," says Pliny, "which are -taken to be as senselesse and witlesse creatures, yea, and of as little -capacity and understanding as any other whatsoever: and yet at the -solemne games and plaies holden every fifth yeare at Olympia, no sooner -is the bull sacrificed there to the Idoll or god of the Flies called -Myiodes, but a man shall see (a wonderful thing to tell) infinit -thousand of flies depart out of that territorie by flights, as it were -thick clouds."[991] - -This Myiodes or Maagrus, the "Fly-catcher," was the name of a hero, -invoked at Aliphera, at the festivals of Athena, as the protector -against Flies. It was also a surname of Hercules. - -The following rendering of the second verse of the first chapter of the -Second Book of Kings, by Josephus, contains an allusion to the worship -of Baalzebub under the form of a Fly: "Now it happened that _Ahaziah_, -as he was coming down from the top of his house, fell down from it, and -in his sickness sent to the _Fly_ (Baalzebub), which was the god of -_Ekron_, for that was this god's name, to enquire about his -recovery."[992] - -With reference to this worship, we read in Purchas's Pilgrims: "At -Accaron was worshipped _Baalzebub_, that is, the Lord of the Flies, -either of contempt of his idolatrie, so called; or rather of the -multitude of Flies, which attended the multitude of his sacrifices, when -from the sacrifices at the Temple of Jerusalem, as some say, they were -wholly free: or for that hee was their Larder-god (as the Roman -_Hercules_) to drive away flies: or for that from a forme of a Flie, in -which he was worshipped.... But for Beelzebub, he was their _AEsculapius_ -or Physicke god, as appeareth by Ahaziah who sent to consult with him in -his sickness. And perhaps from this cause the blaspheming Pharisies, -rather applyed the name of this then any other Idoll to our blessed -Saviour (Math. x. 25) whom they saw indeed to performe miraculous cures, -which superstition had conceived of _Baalzebub_: and if any thing were -done by that Idoll, it could by no other cause bee effected but by the -Devill, as tending (like the popish miracles) to the confirmation of -Idolatrie."[993] - -This god of the Flies was so called, thinks Whiston, as was Jove among -the Greeks, from his supposed power over Flies, in driving them away -from the flesh of their sacrifices, which otherwise would have been very -troublesome to them.[994] - -It has been conjectured that the Fly, under which Baalzebub was -represented, was the Tumble-bug, _Scarabaeus pilluarius_; in which -case, says Dr. Smith, Baalzebub and Beelzebub might be used -indifferently.[995] - -"Urspergensis saith that the Devil did very frequently appear in the -form of a Fly; whence it was that some of the heathens called their -familiar spirit _Musca_ or Fly: perchance alluding to that of Plautus: - - Hic pol musca est, mi pater, - Sive profanum, sive publicum, nil clam illum haberi potest: - Quin adsit ibi illico, et rem omnem tenet.-- - -This man, O my father, is a Fly, nothing can be concealed from him, be -it secret or publick, he is presently there, and knowes all the -matter."[996] - -Loke, the deceiver of the gods, is fabled in the Northern Mythology, to -have metamorphosed himself into a Fly: and demons, in the shape of -Flies, were kept imprisoned by the Finlanders, to be let loose on men -and beasts.[997] - -In Scotland, a tutelary Fly, believed immortal, presided over a fountain -in the county of Banff: and here also a large blue Fly, resting on the -bark of trees, was distinguished as a witch.[998] - -Among the games and plays of the ancient Greeks was the #Chalke Myia#, -or Brazen Fly:--a variety of blind-man's-buff, in which a boy having his -eyes bound with a fillet, went groping round, calling out, "I am seeking -the Brazen Fly." His companions replied, "You may seek, but you will not -find it"--at the same time striking him with cords made of the inner -bark of the papyros; and thus they proceeded till one of them was -taken.[999] - -This is most probably an allusion to some species of Fly of a bronze -color which is most difficult to catch, as, for instance, the little fly -found in summer beneath arbors, apparently standing motionless in the -air. - -Petrus Ramus tells us of an iron Fly, made by Regiomontanus, a famous -mathematician of Nuremberg, which, at a feast, to which he had invited -his familiar friends, flew forth from his hand, and taking a round, -returned to his hand again, to the great astonishment of the beholders. -Du Bartas thus expresses this: - - Once as this artist, more with mirth than meat, - Feasted some friends whom he esteemed great, - Forth from his hand an iron Fly flew out; - Which having flown a perfect round-about, - With weary wings return'd unto her master: - And as judicious on his arm he plac'd her. - O! wit divine, that in the narrow womb - Of a small fly, could find sufficient room - For all those springs, wheels, counterpoise and chains, - Which stood instead of life, and blood, and veins![1000] - -We find also in a work bearing the title "Apologie pour les Grands -Homines Accuses de Magie," that "Jean de Montroyal presented to the -Emperor Charles V. an iron Fly, which made a solemn circuit round its -inventor's head, and then reposed from its fatigue on his -arm."--Probably the same automaton, since Regiomontanus and Montroyal -are the same. - -Such a Fly as the above is rather extraordinary, yet I have something -better to tell--still about a Fly. - -Gervais, Chancellor to the Emperor Otho III., in his book entitled "Otia -Imperatoris," informs us that "the sage Virgilius, Bishop of Naples, -made a brass Fly, which he placed on one of the city gates, and that -this mechanical Fly, trained like a shepherd's dog, prevented any other -fly entering Naples; so much so, that during eight years the meat -exposed for sale in the market was never once tainted!"[1001] - -"Varro affirmeth," says Pliny, "that the heads of Flies applied fresh to -the bald place, is a convenient medicine for the said infirmity and -defect. Some use in this case the bloud of flies: others mingle their -ashes with the ashes of paper used in old time, or els of nuts; with -this proportion, that there be a third part only of the ashes of flies -to the rest, and herewith for ten days together rubb the bare places -where the hair is gone. Some there be againe, who temper and incorporat -togither the said ashes of Flies with the juice of colewort and -brest-milke: others take nothing thereto but honey."[1002] - -Mucianus, who was thrice consul, carried about him a living Fly, says -Pliny, wrapped in a piece of white linen, and strongly asserted that to -the use of this expedient he owed his preservation from -ophthalmia.[1003] - -Ferdinand Mendez Pinto says: "In our travels with the ambassador of the -King of Bramaa to the Calaminham, we saw in a grot men of a sect of one -of their Saints, named Angemacur: these lived in deep holes, made in the -mider of the rock, according to the rule of their wretched order, eating -nothing but Flies, Ants, Scorpions, and Spiders, with the juice of a -certain herb, much like to sorrel."[1004] - -Says Moufet, in his Theater of Insects: "Plutarch, in his Artaxerxes, -relates that it was a law amongst a certain people, that whosoever -should be so bold as to laugh at and deride their lawes and -constitutions of state, was bound for twenty daies together in an open -chest naked, all besmeared with honey and milk, and so became a prey to -the Flies and Bees, afterward when the days were expired he was put into -a woman's habit and thrown headlong down a mountain.... Of which kinde -of punishment also Suidas makes mention in his Epicurus. There was -likewise for greater offenders, a punishment of Boats, so called. For -that he that was convict of high treason, was clapt between two boats, -with his head, hands, and feet hanging out: for his drink he had milk -and honey powred down his throat, with which also his head and hands -were sprinkled, then being set against the sun, he drew to him abundance -of stinging Flies, and within being full of their worms, he putrefied by -little and little, and so died. Which kinde of examples of severity as -the ancients shewed to the guilty and criminous offenders; so on the -other side the Spaniards in the Indies, used to drive numbers of the -innocents out of their houses, as the custome is among them, naked, all -bedawbed with honey, and expose them in open air to the biting of most -cruel Flies."[1005] - -Mr. Henry Mayhew, in that part of his interesting work on London Labor -and London Poor devoted to the London Street-folk, has given us the -narratives of several "Catch-'em-Alive" sellers--a set of poor boys who -sell prepared papers for the purpose of catching Flies. He discovered, -as he relates, a colony of these "Catch-'em-alive" boys residing in -Pheasant-court, Gray's-inn-lane. They were playing at "pitch-and-toss" -in the middle of the paved yard, and all were very willing to give him -their statements; indeed, the only difficulty he had was in making his -choice among the youths. - -"Please, sir," said one with teeth ribbed like celery, to him, "I've -been at it longer than him." - -"Please, sir, he ain't been out this year with the papers," said -another, who was hiding a handful of buttons behind his back. - -"He's been at shoe-blacking, sir; I'm the only reg'lar fly-boy," shouted -a third, eating a piece of bread as dirty as London snow. - -A big lad with a dirty face, and hair like hemp, was the first of the -"catch-'em-alive" boys who gave him his account of his trade. He was a -swarthy featured boy, with a broad nose like a negro's, and on his -temple was a big half-healed scar, which he accounted for by saying that -"he had been runned over" by a cab, though, judging from the blackness -of one eye, it seemed to Mr. Mayhew to have been the result of some -street fight. He said: - -"I'm an Irish boy, and nearly turned sixteen, and I've been silling -fly-papers for between eight and nine year. I must have begun to sill -them when they first come out. Another boy first tould me of them, and -he'd been silling them about three weeks before me. He used to buy them -of a party as lives in a back-room near Drury-lane, what buys paper and -makes the catch 'em alive for himself. When they first come out they -used to charge sixpence a dozen for 'em, but now they've got 'em to -twopence ha'penny. When I first took to silling 'em, there was a tidy -lot of boys at the business, but not so many as now, for all the boys -seem at it. In our court alone I should think there was about twenty -boys silling the things. - -"At first, when there was a good time, we used to buy three or four -gross together, but now we don't no more than half a gross. As we go -along the streets we call out different cries. Some of us says, -'Fly-papers, fly-papers, ketch 'em all alive.' Others make a kind of -song of it, singing out, 'Fly-paper, ketch 'em all alive, the nasty -flies, tormenting the baby's eyes. Who'd be fly-blow'd, by all the nasty -blue-bottles, beetles, and flies?' People likes to buy of a boy as sings -out well, 'cos it makes 'em laugh. - -"I don't think I sell so many in town as I do in the borders of the -country, about Highbury, Croydon, and Brentford. I've got some regular -customers in town about the City-prison and the Caledonian-road; and -after I've served them and the town custom begins to fall off, then I -goes to the country. We goes two of us together, and we takes about -three gross. We keep on silling before us all the way, and we comes back -the same road. Last year we sould very well in Croydon, and it was the -best place for gitting the best price for them; they'd give a penny a -piece for 'em there, for they didn't know nothing about them. I went off -one day at ten o'clock and didn't come home till two in the morning. I -sould eighteen dozen out in that d'rection the other day, and got rid of -them before I had got half-way. But flies are very scarce at Croydon -this year, and we haven't done so well. There ain't half as many flies -this summer as last. - -"Some people says the papers draws more flies than they ketches, and -that when one gets in, there's twenty others will come to see him. It's -according to the weather as the flies is about. If we have a fine day it -fetches them out, but a cold day kills more than our papers. - -"We sills the most papers to little cook-shops and sweet-meat shops. We -don't sill so many at private houses. The public-houses is pretty good -customers, 'cos the beer draws the flies. I sould nine dozen at one -house--a school--at Highgate, the other day. I sould 'em two for -three-ha' pence. That was a good hit, but then t'other days we loses. If -we can make a ha'penny each we thinks we does well. - -"Those that sills their papers at three a-penny buys them at St. -Giles's, and pays only three ha'pence a dozen for them, but they ain't -half as big and good as those we pays tuppence-ha'penny a dozen for. - -"Barnet is a good place for fly-papers; there's a good lot of flies down -there. There used to be a man at Barnet as made 'em, but I can't say if -he do now. There's another at Brentford, so it ain't much good going -that way. - -"In cold weather the papers keep pretty well, and will last for months -with just a little warming at the fire; for they tears on opening when -they are dry. You see we always carry them with the stickey sides -doubled up together like a sheet of writing-paper. In hot weather, if -you keep them folded up, they lasts very well; but if you opens them, -they dry up. It's easy opening them in hot weather, for they comes apart -as easy as peeling a horrange. We generally carries the papers in a -bundle on our arm, and we ties a paper as is loaded with flies round our -cap, just to show the people the way to ketch 'em. We get a loaded paper -given to us at a shop. - -"When the papers come out first, we use to do very well with fly-papers; -but now it's hard work to make our own money for 'em. Some days we used -to make six shillings a day regular. But then we usen't to go out every -day, but take a rest at home. If we do well one day, then we might stop -idle another day, resting. You see, we had to do our twenty or thirty -miles silling them to get that money, and then the next day we was -tired. - -"The silling of papers is gradual falling off. I could go out and sill -twenty dozen wonst where I couldn't sill one now. I think I does a very -grand day's work if I yearns a shilling. Perhaps some days I may lose by -them. You see, if it's a very hot day, the papers gets dusty; and -besides, the stuff gets melted and oozes out; though that don't do much -harm, 'cos we gets a bit of whitening and rubs 'em over. Four years ago -we might make ten shillings a day at the papers, but now, taking from -one end of the fly-season to the other, which is about three months, I -think we makes about one shilling a day out of papers, though even that -ain't quite certain. I never goes out without getting rid of mine, -somehow or another, but then I am obleeged to walk quick and look about -me. - -"When it's a bad time for silling the papers, such as a wet, could day, -then most of the fly-paper boys goes out with brushes, cleaning boots. -Most of the boys is now out hopping. They goes reg'lar every year after -the season is give over for flies. - -"The stuff as they puts on the paper is made out of boiled oil and -turpentine and resin. It's seldom as a fly lives more than five minutes -after it gets on the paper, and then it's as dead as a house. The -blue-bottles is tougher, but they don't last long, though they keeps on -fizzing as if they was trying to make a hole in the paper. The stuff is -only p'isonous for flies, though I never heard of anybody as ever eat a -fly-paper." - -A second lad, in conclusion, said: "There's lots of boys going selling -'ketch-'em-alive oh's' from Golden-lane, and White-chapel and the -Borough. There's lots, too, comes out of Gray's-inn-lane and St. -Giles's. Near every boy who has nothing to do goes out with fly-papers. -Perhaps it ain't that the flies is falled off that we don't sill so many -papers now, but because there's so many boys at it." - -A third, of the lot the most intelligent and gentle in his demeanor, -though the smallest in stature, said: - -"I've been longer at it than the last boy, though I'm only getting on -for thirteen, and he's older than I'm; 'cos I'm little and he's big, -getting a man. But I can sell them quite as well as he can, and -sometimes better, for I can holler out just as loud, and I've got -reg'lar places to go to. I was a very little fellow when I first went -out with them, but I could sell them pretty well then, sometimes three -or four dozen a day. I've got one place, in a stable, where I can sell a -dozen at a time to country people. - -"I calls out in the streets, and I goes into the shops, too, and calls -out, 'Ketch 'em alive, ketch 'em alive; ketch all the nasty -black-beetles, blue-bottles, and flies; ketch 'em from teasing the -baby's eyes.' That's what most of us boys cries out. Some boys who is -stupid only says, 'Ketch 'em alive,' but people don't buy so well from -them. - -"Up in St. Giles's there is a lot of fly-boys, but they're a bad set, -and will fling mud at gentlemen, and some prigs the gentlemen's pockets. -Sometimes, if I sell more than a big boy, he'll get mad and hit me. -He'll tell me to give him a halfpenny and he won't touch me, and that if -I don't he'll kill me. Some of the boys takes an open fly-paper, and -makes me look another way, and then they sticks the ketch-'em-alive on -my face. The stuff won't come off without soap and hot water, and it -goes black, and looks like mud. One day a boy had a broken fly-paper, -and I was taking a drink of water, and he come behind me and slapped it -up in my face. A gentleman as saw him give him a crack with a stick and -me twopence. It takes your breath away, until a man comes and takes it -off. It all sticked to my hair, and I couldn't rack (comb) right for -some time.... - -"I don't like going along with other boys, they take your customers -away; for perhaps they'll sell 'em at three a penny to 'em, and spoil -the customers for you. I won't go with the big boy you saw, 'cos he's -such a blackgeyard; when he's in the country he'll go up to a lady and -say, 'Want a fly-paper, marm?' and if she says 'No,' he'll perhaps job -his head in her face--butt at her like. - -"When there's no flies, and the ketch-'em-alive is out, then I goes -tumbling. I can turn a cat'enwheel over on one hand. I'm going to-morrow -to the country, harvesting and hopping--for, as we says, 'Go out -hopping, come in jumping.' We start at three o'clock to-morrow, and we -shall get about twelve o'clock at night at Dead Man's Barn. It was left -for poor people to sleep in, and a man was buried there in a corner. The -man had got six farms of hops; and if his son hadn't buried him there, -he wouldn't have had none of the riches. - -"The greatest number of fly-papers I've sold in a day is about eight -dozen. I never sells no more than that; I wish I could. People won't buy -'em now. When I'm at it I makes, taking one day with another, about ten -shillings a week. You see, if I sold eight dozen, I'd make four -shillings. I sell 'em at a penny each, at two for three-ha'pence, and -three for twopence. When they gets stale I sells 'em for three a penny. -I always begin by asking a penny each, and perhaps they'll say, 'Give me -two for three ha'pence?' I'll say, 'Can't, ma'am,' and then they pulls -out a purse full of money and gives a penny. - -"The police is very kind to us, and don't interfere with us. If they see -another boy hitting us they'll take off their belts and hit 'em. -Sometimes I've sold a ketch-'em-alive to a policeman; he'll fold it up -and put it into his pocket to take home with him. Perhaps he's got a -kid, and the flies teazes its eyes. - -"Some ladies like to buy fly-cages better than ketch-em-alive's, because -sometimes when they're putting 'em up they falls in their faces, and -then they screams." - -The history of the manufacture of Fly-papers was thus given to Mr. -Mayhew by a manufacturer, whom he found in a small attic-room near -Drury-lane: "The first man as was the inventor of these fly-papers kept -a barber's shop in St. Andrew-street, Seven Dials, of the name of -Greenwood or Greenfinch, I forget which. I expect he diskivered it by -accident, using varnish and stuff, for stale varnish has nearly the same -effect as our composition. He made 'em and sold 'em at first at -threepence and fourpence a piece. Then it got down to a penny. He sold -the receipt to some other parties, and then it got out through their -having to employ men to help 'em. I worked for a party as made 'em, and -then I set to work making 'em for myself, and afterwards hawking them. -They was a greater novelty then than they are now, and sold pretty well. -Then men in the streets, who had nothing to do, used to ask me where I -bought 'em, and then I used to give 'em my own address, and they'd come -and find me."[1006] - - -Oestridae--Bot-flies. - -The larvae of Bots, _Oestris ovis_, found in the heads of sheep and goats, -have been prescribed, and that, from the tripod of Delphos, as a remedy -for the epilepsy. We are told so on the authority of Alexander Trailien; -but whether Democritus, who consulted the oracle, was cured by this -remedy, does not appear; the story shows, however, that the ancients -were aware that these maggots made their way even into the brain of -living animals.[1007] The oracle answered Democritus as follows: - - Take a tame goat that hath the greatest head, - Or else a wilde goat in the field that's bred, - And in his forehead a great worm you'l finde, - This cures all diseases of that kinde.[1008] - -The common saying that a whimsical person is _maggoty_, or has got -_maggots in his head_, perhaps arose from the freaks the sheep have been -observed to exhibit when infested by their Bots.[1009] - -The following "charme for the Bots[1010] in a horse" is found in Scots' -Discovery of Witchcraft, printed in 1651: "You must both say and do thus -upon the diseased horse three days together, before the sun rising: _In -nomine pa{+}tris & fi{+}lii & Spiritus{+}sancti, Exorcize te vermen per -Deum pa{+}trem & fi{+}lium & Spiritum{+}sanctum_: that is, In the name -of God the father, the sonne, and the Holy Ghost, I conjure thee O worm -by God, the Father, the sonne, and the Holy Ghost; that thou neither -eate nor drink the flesh, blood, or bones of this horse; and that thou -hereby maiest be made as patient as Job, and as good as S. John Baptist, -when he baptized Christ in Jordan, _In nomine pa{+}tris & fi{+}lii et -spiritus{+}sancti_. And then say three _Pater nosters_, and three -_Aves_, in the right eare of the horse, to the glory of the holy -trinity. Do{+}minus fili{+}us spirit{+}us Mari{+}a."[1011] - -There is a popular error in England respecting the _Oestrus -(Gasterophilus) equi (haemorrhoidalis)_, which Shakspeare has followed, -and which has been judiciously explained by Mr. Clark. Shakspeare makes -the carrier at Rochester observe: "Peas and oats are as dank here as a -dog, and that's the next way to give _poor jades the bots_."[1012] - -The larvae of this insect, says Mr. Clark, are mostly known among the -country people by the name of _wormals_, _wormuls_, _warbles_, or, more -properly, _Bots_. And our ancestors erroneously imagined that poverty or -improper food engendered them in horses. The truth, however, seems to -be, that when the animal is kept without food the Bots are also, and are -then, without doubt, most troublesome; whence it was very naturally -supposed that poverty or bad food was the parent of them.[1013] - -A cow with its hide perforated by Warbles, in England, was said to be -elf-shot: the holes being made by the arrows of the little malignant -fairies. In the Northern Antiquities, p. 404, we find the following: - -"If at such a time you were to look through an elf-bore in wood, where a -thorter knot has been taken out, or through the hole made by an -elf-arrow (which has probably been made by a Warble) in the skin of a -beast that has been elf-shot, you may see the elf-bull naiging (butting) -with the strongest bull or ox in the herd; but you will never see with -that eye again." - -In the Scottish history of the trials of witches, we find the following: -Alexander Smaill offended Jonet Cock, who threatened him, "deare sail -yow rewe it! and within half ane howre therafter, going to the -pleugh,--befoir he had gone one about, their came ane great Wasp or Bee, -so that the foir horses did runne away with the pleugh, and wer liklie -to have killed themselves, and the said Alexander and the boy that was -with him, narrowlie escaped with their lyves."[1014] Possibly the -incident is not exaggerated, as a single Oestrus will turn the oxen of a -whole herd, and render them furious. - - * * * * * - -Spencer, in his Travels in Circassia, speaks of a poisonous Fly, known -in Hungary under the name of the Golubaeser-fly, which is singularly -destructive to cattle. The Hungarian peasants, to account for the -severity of the bite of this insect, tell us that in the caverns, near -the Castle of Golubaes, the renowned champion, St. George, killed the -dragon, and that its decomposed remains have continued to generate these -insects down to the present day. So firmly did they believe this, that -they closed up the mouths of the caverns with stone walls.[1015] - - - - -ORDER X. - -APHANIPTERA. - - -Pulicidae--Fleas. - -The name _Pulex_, given to the Flea by the Romans, is stated by Isodorus -to have been derived from _pulvis_, dust, _quasi pulveris filius_. Our -English name _Flea_, and the German _Flock_, are evidently deduced from -the quick motions of this insect. - -As to the origin of Fleas, Moufet had a similar notion to that contained -in the word Pulex, if we adopt the etymology of Isodorus, for he says -they are produced from the dust, especially when moistened with urine, -the smallest ones springing from putrid matter. Scaliger relates that -they are produced from the moistened humors among the hairs of -dogs.[1016] Conformable to the curious notion of Moufet, Shakspeare -says: - - _2 Car._ I think this be the most villainous house in all London - road for fleas: I am stung like a tench. - - _1 Car._ Like a tench? by the mass, there is ne'er a king in - Christendom could be better bit than I have been since the first - cock. - - _2 Car._ Why, they will allow us ne'er a jorden, and then we leak in - your chimney; and your _chamber-ley breeds fleas_ like a - loach.[1017] - -"Martyr, the author of the Decads of Navigation, writes, that in -Perienna, a countrey of the Indies, the drops of sweat that fall from -their slaves' bodies will presently turn to Fleas."[1018] - -Ewlin, in his book of Travels in Turkey, has recorded a singular -tradition of the history of the Flea and its confraternity, as preserved -among a sect of Kurds, who dwelt in his time at the foot of Mount -Sindshar. "When Noah's Ark," says the legend, "sprung a leak by -striking against a rock in the vicinity of Mount Sindshar, and Noah -despaired altogether of safety, the serpent promised to help him out of -his mishap if he would engage to feed him upon human flesh after the -deluge had subsided. Noah pledged himself to do so; and the serpent -coiling himself up, drove his body into the fracture and stopped the -leak. When the pluvious element was appeased, and all were making their -way out of the ark, the serpent insisted upon the fulfillment of the -pledge he had received; but Noah, by Gabriel's advice, committed the -pledge to the flames, and scattering its ashes in the air, there arose -out of them Fleas, Flies, Lice, Bugs, and all such sort of vermin as -prey upon human blood, and after this fashion was Noah's pledge -redeemed."[1019] - -The Sandwich Islanders have the following tradition in regard to the -introduction of Fleas into their country: Many years ago a woman from -Waimea went out to a ship to see her lover, and as she was about to -return, he gave her a bottle, saying that there was very little valuable -property (_waiwai_) contained in it, but that she must not open it, on -any account, until she reached the shore. As soon as she gained the -beach, she eagerly uncorked the bottle to examine her treasure, but -nothing was to be discovered,--the Fleas hopped out, and "they have gone -on hopping and biting ever since."[1020] - -Our pigmy tormentor, _Pulex irritans_, in the opinion of some, seems to -have been regarded as an agreeable rather than a repulsive object. "Dear -Miss," said a lively old lady to a friend of Kirby and Spence (who had -the misfortune to be confined to her bed by a broken limb, and was -complaining that the Fleas tormented her), "don't you like _Fleas_? -Well, I think they are the prettiest little merry things in the -world.--I never saw a dull Flea in all my life."[1021] Dr. Townson, as -mentioned by the above writers, from the encomium which he bestows upon -these vigilant little vaulters, as supplying the place of an alarum and -driving us from the bed of sloth, should seem to have regarded them with -the same happy feelings.[1022] - -When Ray and Willughby were traveling, they found "at Venice and -Augsburg Fleas for sale, and at a small price too, decorated with steel -or silver collars around their necks, of which Willughby purchased one. -When they are kept in a box amongst wool or cloth, in a warm place, and -fed once a day, they will live a long time. When they begin to suck they -erect themselves almost perpendicularly, thrusting their sucker, which -originates in the middle of the forehead, into the skin. The itching is -not felt immediately, but a little afterwards. As soon as they are full -of blood, they begin to void a portion of it, and thus, if permitted, -they will continue for many hours sucking and voiding. After the first -itching no uneasiness is subsequently felt. Willughby's Flea lived for -three months by sucking in this manner the blood of his hand; it was at -length killed by the cold of winter."[1023] - -We read in Purchas's Pilgrims that a city of the Miantines is said to -have been dispeopled by Fleas;[1024] and Messrs. Lewis and Clarke, who -found these insects more tormenting than all the other plagues of the -Missouri country, say they sometimes here compel even the natives to -shift their quarters.[1025] - -Dr. Clarke was informed by an Arab Sheikh that "the king of the Fleas -held his court at Tiberias."[1026] - -To prevent Fleas from breeding, Pliny gives the following curious -recipe: "Since I have made mention of the cuckow," says this writer, -"there comes into my mind a strange and miraculous matter that the said -magicians report of this bird; namely, that if a man, the first time -that he heareth her to sing, presently stay his right foot in the very -place where it was when he heard her, and withal mark out the point and -just proportion of the said foot upon the ground as it stood, and then -digg up the earth under it within the said compasse, look what chamber -or roume of the house is strewed with the said mould, there will no -Fleas bread there."[1027] - -Thomas Hill, in his Naturall and Artificiall Conclusions, printed 1650, -quotes this passage from Pliny, calling it "A very easie and merry -conceit to keep off fleas from your beds or chambers."[1028] - -The Hungarian shepherds grease their linen with hogs' lard, and thus -render themselves so disgusting even to the Fleas and Lice, as to put -them effectually to flight.[1029] - -There is still shown in the Arsenal at Stockholm a diminutive piece of -ordnance, four or five inches in length, with which, report says, on the -authority of Linnaeus, the celebrated Queen Christiana used to cannonade -Fleas.[1030] - -But, seriously, if you wish for an effectual remedy, that prescribed by -old Tusser, in his Points of Goode Husbandry, in the following lines, -will answer your purpose: - - While wormwood hath seed, get a handfull or twaine, - To save against March, to make flea to refraine: - Where chamber is sweeped and wormwood is strown, - No flea for his life dare abide to be known. - -The inhabitants of Dalecarlia place the skins of hares in their -apartments, in which the Fleas willingly take refuge, so that they are -easily destroyed by the immersion of the skin in scalding water.[1031] - -Pamphilius among others gives the following remedies against Fleas: If a -person, he says, sets a dish in the middle of the house, and draws a -line around it with an iron sword (it will be better if the sword has -done execution), and if he sprinkles the rest of the house, excepting -the place circumscribed, with an irrigation of staphisagria, or of -powdered leaves of the bay-tree, they having been boiled in brine or in -sea-water, he will bring all the Fleas together into the dish. A jar -also being set in the ground with its edge even with the pavement, and -smeared with bulls' fat, will attract all the Fleas, even those that are -in the wardrobe. If you enter a place where there are Fleas, express the -usual exclamation of distress, and they will not touch you. Make a small -trench under a bed, and pour goats' blood into it, and it will bring all -the Fleas together, and it will allure those from your clothing. Fleas -may be removed also, concludes this writer, from the most villous and -from the thickest pieces of tapestry, whither, they betake themselves -when full, if goats' blood is set in a vessel or in a cork.[1032] - -Moufet says: "A Gloeworm, set in the middle of the house, drives away -Fleas."[1033] - -On the subject of destroying Fleas, the following pleasant piece of -satire, by Poor Humphrey, will be read with a smile: "A notable -projector became notable by one project only, which was a certain -specific for the killing of fleas, and it was in form of a powder, and -sold in papers, with plain directions for use, as followeth: The flea -was to be held conveniently between the thumb and finger of the left -hand; and to the end of the trunk or proboscis, which protrudeth in the -flea, somewhat as the elephant's doth, a very small quantity of the -powder was to be put from between the thumb and finger of the right -hand. And the deviser undertook, if any flea to whom his powder was so -administered should prove to have afterwards bitten a purchaser who used -it, then that purchaser should have another paper of the said powder -gratis. And it chanced that the first paper thereof was bought idly, as -it were, by an old woman, and she, without meaning to injure the -inventor, or his remedy, but, of her mere harmlessness, did innocently -ask him, whether, when she had caught the flea, and after she had got -it, as before described, if she should kill it with her nail it would -not be as well. Whereupon the ingenious inventor was so astonished by -the question, that, not knowing what to answer on the sudden occasion, -he said with truth to this effect, that without doubt her way would do, -too. And according to the belief of Poor Humphrey, there is not as yet -any device more certain or better for destroying a flea, when thou hast -captured him, than the ancient manner of the old woman's, or instead -thereof, the drowning of him in fair water, if thou hast it by thee at -the time."[1034] - -The old English hunters report that foxes are full of Fleas, and they -tell the following queer story how they get rid of them: "The fox," say -they, as recorded by Mouffet, "gathers some handfuls of wool from -thorns and briars, and wrapping it up, he holds it fast in his mouth, -then goes by degrees into a cold river, and dipping himself close by -little and little, when he finds that all the Fleas are crept so high as -his head for fear of drowning, and so for shelter crept into the wool, -he barks and spits out the wool, full of Fleas, and so very froliquely -being delivered from their molestation, he swims to land."[1035] - -Ramsay thus alludes to this story: - - Then sure the lasses, and ilk gaping coof, - Wad rin about him, and had out their loof. - _M._ As fast as fleas skip to the tale of woo, - Whilk slee Tod Lowrie (the fox) hads without his mow, - When he to drown them, and his hips to cool, - In summer days slides backward in a pool.[1036] - -Preceding this story, Mouffet makes the following observations: "The -lesser, leaner, and younger they are, the sharper they bite, the fat -ones being more inclined to tickle and play; and then are not the least -plague, especially when in greater numbers, since they molest men that -are sleeping, and trouble wearied and sick persons; from whom they -escape by skipping; for as soon as they find they are arraigned to die, -and feel the finger coming, on a sudden they are gone, and leap here and -there, and so escape the danger; but so soon as day breaks, they forsake -the bed. They then creep into the rough blankets, or hide themselves in -rushes and dust, lying in ambush for pigeons, hens, and other birds, -also for men and dogs, moles and mice, and vex such as passe by."[1037] - -It is frequently affirmed that asses are never troubled with Fleas or -other vermin; and, among the superstitious, it is said that it is all -owing to the riding of Christ upon one of these animals.[1038] - -Willsford, in his Nature's Secrets, printed 1658, p. 130, says: "The -little sable beast (called a _Flea_), if much thirsting after blood, it -argues rain."[1039] - -It is related that the Devil, teasing St. Domingo in the shape of a -Flea, skipped upon his book, when the saint fixed him as a mark where -he left off, and continued to use him so through the volume.[1040] - -Fleas infesting beds were attributed to the envy of the Devil.[1041] - -Giles Fletcher says that Iwan Yasilowich sent to the City of Moscow to -provide for him a measure full of Fleas for a medicine. They answered -that it was impossible, and if they could get them, yet they could not -measure them because of their leaping out. Upon which he set a mulct -upon the city of seven thousand rubles.[1042] - -We read in Purchas's Pilgrims that the Jews were not permitted to burn -Fleas in the flame of their lamps on Sabbath evenings.[1043] - -The muscular power of the Flea is so great that it can leap to the -distance of two hundred times its own length, which will appear the more -surprising when we consider that a man, were he endowed with equal -strength and agility, would be able to leap between three and four -hundred yards. Aristophanes, in his usual licentious way, ridicules the -great Socrates for his pretended experiments on this great muscular -power: - - _Disciple._ That were not lawful to reveal to strangers. - - _Strepsiades._ Speak boldly then as to a fellow-student; - For therefore am I come. - - _Disc._ Then I will speak; - But set it down among our mysteries. - It is a question put to Chaerophon - By our great master Socrates to answer, - How many of his own lengths at a spring - A Flea can hop; for one by chance had skipp'd - Straight from the brow of Chaerophon to th' head - Of Socrates. - - _Streps._ And how did then the sage - Contrive to measure this? - - _Disc._ Most dext'rously. - He dipp'd the insect's feet in melted wax, - Which hard'ning into slippers as it cool'd, - By these computed he the question'd space. - - _Streps._ O Jupiter, what subtilty of thought![1044] - -The witty Butler has also commemorated the same circumstance in his -justly celebrated poem of Hudibras: - - How many scores a Flea will jump - Of his own length, from head to rump; - Which Socrates and Chaerophon - In vain assay'd so long agon. - -As illustrative of the strength of the Flea, the following facts may -also be given: We read in a note to Purchas's Pilgrims that "one Marke -Scaliot, in London, made a lock and key and chain of forty-three links, -all which a Flea did draw, and weighed but a grain and a half."[1045] -Mouffet, who also records this fact, says he had heard of another Flea -that was harnessed to a golden chariot, which it drew with the greatest -ease.[1046] Bingley tells us that Mr. Boverick, an ingenious watchmaker -in the Strand, exhibited some years ago a little ivory chaise with four -wheels, and all its proper apparatus, and the figure of a man sitting on -the box, all of which were drawn by a single Flea. The same mechanic -afterward constructed a minute landau, which opened and shut by springs, -with the figures of six horses harnessed to it, and of a coachman on the -box, a dog between his legs, four persons inside, two footmen behind it, -and a postillion riding on one of the fore horses, which were all easily -dragged along by a single Flea. He likewise had a chain of brass, about -two inches long, containing two hundred links, with a hook at one end -and a padlock and key at the other, which a Flea drew nimbly -along.[1047] At a fair of Charlton, in Kent, 1830, a man exhibited three -Fleas harnessed to a carriage in form of an omnibus, at least fifty -times their own bulk, which they pulled along with great ease; another -pair drew a chariot, and a single Flea a brass cannon. The exhibitor -showed the whole first through a magnifying glass, and then to the naked -eye; so that all were satisfied there was no deception.[1048] Latrielle -also mentions a Flea of a moderate size, which dragged a silver cannon, -mounted on wheels, that was twenty-four times its own weight, and which -being charged with gunpowder was fired off without the Flea appearing in -the least alarmed.[1049] - -It is recorded in Purchas's Pilgrims that an Egyptian artisan received a -garment of cloth of gold for binding a Flea in a chain.[1050] - -The Flea is twice mentioned in the Bible, and in both cases David, in -speaking to Saul, applies it to himself as a term of humility.[1051] - -A Prussian poet, quoted by Jaeger,[1052] gives us the song of a young -Flea who had emigrated to this country from Prussia, and thus expresses -his dissatisfaction to his sweetheart: - - Kennst de nunmehr das Land, we Dorngestripp und Disteln blueh'n, - Im frost'gen Wald nur eckelhafte Tannenzapfen glueh'n, - Der Schierling tief, und hoch der Sumach steht, - Ein rauher Wind vom schwarzen Himmel weht; - Kennst du es wohl? O lass uns eilig zieh'n, - Und schnell zurueck in unsre Hiemath flieh'n! - -An English prose translation of which is: "Know'st thou now this -country, where only briars and thistles bloom; where ugly fur-nuts only -glow in the icy forest; where down in the vale the fetid hemlock grows, -and on the hills the poisonous sumach; where heavy winds blow from black -clouds over desolate lands? Dost thou not know of this country? Oh, -then, let us fly in haste and return to our own fatherland!" - -"To send one away with a Flea in his ear," is a very old English phrase, -meaning to dismiss one with a rebuke.[1053] "Flea-luggit" is the -Scottish--to be unsettled or confused.[1054] - -There is a collection of poems called "La Puce des grands jours de -Poitiers"--the Flea of the carnival of Poitiers. The poems were begun by -the learned Pasquier, who edited the collection, upon a Flea which was -found one morning in the bosom of the famous Catherine des Roches.[1055] - -During the winter of 1762, at Norwich, England, after a chilling storm -of snow and wind that had destroyed many lives, myriads of Fleas were -found skipping about on the snow.[1056] - -To the Pulicidae belongs also a native of the West Indies and South -America, the _Pulex penetrans_, variously named in the countries where -it is found, Chigoe, Jigger, Nigua, Tungua, and Pique. According to -Stedman, this "is a kind of small sand-flea, which gets in between the -skin and the flesh without being felt, and generally under the nails of -the toes, where, while it feeds, it keeps growing till it becomes of the -size of a pea, causing no further pain than a disagreeable itching. In -process of time, its operation appears in the form of a small bladder, -in which are deposited thousands of eggs, or nits, and which, if it -breaks, produce so many young Chigoes, which, in course of time, create -running ulcers, often of very dangerous consequence to the patient; so -much so, indeed, that I knew a soldier the soles of whose feet were -obliged to be cut away before he could recover; and some men have lost -their limbs by amputation--nay, even their lives--by having neglected in -time to root out these abominable vermin. The moment, therefore, that a -redness and itching more than usual are perceived, it is time to extract -the Chigoe that occasions them. This is done with a sharp-pointed -needle, taking care not to occasion unnecessary pain, and to prevent the -Chigoe from breaking in the wound. Tobacco ashes are put into the -orifice, by which in a little time the sore is perfectly healed."[1057] -The female slaves are generally employed to extract these pests, which -they do with uncommon dexterity. Old Ligon tells us he had ten Chigoes -taken out of his feet in a morning "by the most unfortunate -Yarico,"[1058] whose tragical story is now so celebrated in prose and -verse. Mr. Southey says that many of the first settlers of Brazil, -before they knew the remedy to extract the Chigoes, lost their feet in -the most dreadful manner.[1059] - -Walton, in his Present State of the Spanish Colonies, tells us of a -Capuchin friar, who carried away with him a colony of Chigoes in his -foot as a present to the Scientific Colleges in Europe; but, -unfortunately for himself and for science, the length of the voyage -produced mortification in his leg, that it became necessary to cut it -off to save the zealous missionary's life, and the leg, with all its -inhabitants, were tumbled together into the sea.[1060] - -Humboldt observes "that the whites born in the torrid zone walk barefoot -with impunity in the same apartment where a European, recently landed, -is exposed to the attack of this animal. The _Nigua_, therefore, -distinguishes what the most delicate chemical analysis could not -distinguish, the cellular membrane and blood of an European from those -of a Creole white."[1061] - - - - -ORDER XI. - -ANOPLEURA. - - -Pediculidae--Lice. - -At Hurdenburg, in Sweden, Mr. Hurst tells us the mode of choosing a -burgomaster is this: The persons eligible sit around, with their beards -upon a table; a Louse is then put in the middle of the table, and the -one, in whose beard this insect first takes cover, is the magistrate for -the ensuing year.[1062] - -Respecting the revenue of Montecusuma, which consisted of the natural -products of the country, and what was produced by the industry of his -subjects, we find the following story in Torquemada: "During the abode -of Montecusuma among the Spaniards, in the palace of his father, Alonzo -de Ojeda one day espied in a certain apartment of the building a number -of small bags tied up. He imagined at first that they were filled with -gold dust, but on opening one of them, what was his astonishment to find -it quite full of Lice? Ojeda, greatly surprised at the discovery he had -made, immediately communicated what he had seen to Cortes, who then -asked Marina and Anguilar for some explanation. They informed him that -the Mexicans had such a sense of their duty to pay tribute to their -monarch, that the poorest and meanest of the inhabitants, if they -possessed nothing better to present to their king, daily cleaned their -persons, and saved all the Lice they caught, and that when they had a -good store of these, they laid them in bags at the feet of their -monarch." Torquemada further remarks, that his reader might think these -bags were filled with small worms (gasanillos), and not with Lice; but -appeals to Alonzo de Ojeda, and another of Cortes' soldiers, named -Alonzo de Mata, who were eye-witnesses of the fact.[1063] - -Oviedo pretends to have observed that Lice, at the elevation of the -tropics, abandon the Spanish sailors that are going to the Indies, and -attack them again at the same point on their return. The same is -reported in Purchas's Pilgrims.[1064] One of the supplementary writers -to Cuvier's History of Insects says: "This is an observation that has -need of being corroborated by more certain testimonies than we are yet -in possession of. But, if true, there would be nothing in the fact very -surprising. A degree of considerable heat, and a more abundant -perspiration, might prove unfavorable to the propagation of the -_Pediculi corporis_. As their skin is more tender, the influence of the -air might prove detrimental to them in those burning climates."[1065] - -We read in Purchas's Pilgrims, that "if Lice doe much annoy the natives -of Cambaia and Malabar, they call to them certain Religious and holy -men, after their account: and these Observants y will take upon them all -those Lice which the other can find, and put them on their head, there -to nourish them. But yet for all this lousie scruple, they stick not to -coozenage by falese weights, measures, and coyne, nor at usury and -lies."[1066] - -In a side-note to this curious passage, we find: "The like lousie trick -is reported in the Legend of S. _Francis_, and in the life of Ignatius, -of one of the Jesuitical pillars, by Moffaeus." - -Steedman says of the Caffres, that "except an occasional plunge in a -river, they never wash themselves, and consequently their bodies are -covered with vermin. On a fine day their karosses are spread out in the -sun, and as their tormentors creep forth they are doomed to destruction. -It often happens that one Caffir performs for another the kind office of -collecting these insects, in which case he preserves the entomological -specimens, carefully delivering them to the person to whom they -originally appertained, supposing, according to their theory, that as -they derived their support from the blood of the man from whom they were -taken, should they be killed by another, the blood of his neighbor would -be in his possession, thus placing in his hands the power of some -superhuman influence."[1067] - -Kolben says the Hottentots eat the largest of the Lice with which they -swarm; and that if asked how they can devour such detestable vermin, -they plead the law of retaliation, and urge that it is no shame to eat -those who would eat them--"They suck our blood, and we devour 'em in -revenge."[1068] - -We are assured in Purchas's Pilgrims, that Lice and "long wormes" were -sold for food in Mexico.[1069] From this ancient collection of Travels, -we learn that when the Indians of the Province of Cuena are infected -with Lice, "they dresse and cleanse one another; and they that exercise -this, are for the most part women, who eate all that they take, and have -herein (eating?) such dexterity by reason of their exercise, that our -own men cannot lightly attaine thereunto."[1070] - -The Budini, a people of Scythia, commonly feed upon Lice and other -vermin bred upon their bodies.[1071] - -Mr. Wafer, in his description of the Isthmus of America, says: "The -natives have Lice in their Heads, which they feel out with their -Fingers, and eat as they catch them."[1072] Dobrizhoffer also mentions -that Lice are eaten by the Indian women of South America.[1073] - -The disgusting practice of eating these vermin is not confined to the -Hottentots, the Negroes of Western Africa, the Simiae, and the American -Indians, for it has been observed to prevail among the beggars of Spain -and Portugal.[1074] - -Schroder, in his History of Animals that are useful in Physic, says: -"Lice are swallowed by country people against the jaundice."[1075] As a -specific against this disease, Beaumont and Fletcher thus allude to -them: - - Die of the jaundice, yet have the cure about you: lice, large lice, - begot of your own dust and the heat of the brick kilns.[1076] - -Lice were also made use of in cases of Atrophy, and Dioscorides says -they were employed in suppressions of urine, being introduced into the -canal of the urethra.[1077] - -In the Gentleman's Magazine for 1746, there is a curious letter on "a -certain _creature_, of rare and extraordinary qualities"--a Louse, -containing many humorous observations on this "_lover_ of the human -race," and concluding with some queries as to its origin and -pedigree. "Was it," the writer asks, "created within the six days -assigned by _Moses_ for the formation of all things? If so, where was -its habitation? We can hardly suppose that it was quartered on _Adam_ -or his lady, the neatest, nicest pair (if we believe _John Milton_) -that ever joyned hands. And yet, as it disdained to graze the fields, -or lick the dust for sustenance, where else could it have had its -subsistence?"[1078] - -In a modern account of Scotland, written by an English gentleman, and -printed in the year 1670, we find the following: "In that interval -between Adam and Moses, when the Scottish Chronicle commences, the -country was then baptized (and most think with the sign of the cross) by -the venerable name of Scotland, from Scota, the daughter of Pharaoh, -King of Egypt. Hence came the rise and name of these present -inhabitants, as their Chronicle informs us, and is not to be doubted of, -from divers considerable circumstances; the plagues of Egypt being -entailed upon them, that of Lice (being a judgment unrepealed) is an -ample testimony, these loving animals accompanied them from Egypt, and -remain with them to this day, never forsaking them (but as rats leave a -house) till they tumble into their graves."[1079] - -Linnaeus, seemingly very anxious to become an apologist for the Lice, -gravely observes that they probably preserve children who are troubled -with them, from a variety of complaints to which they would be -liable![1080] - -As an attempt toward discovering the intention of Providence in -permitting the frequency of these tormenting animals, the following -lines of Serenus may be given: - - See nature, kindly provident ordain - Her gentle stimulants to harmless pain; - Lest Man, the slave of rest, should waste away - In torpid slumber life's important day! - -Of the horrible disease, Phthiriasis, occasioned by myriads of Lice, -_Pediculi_, and sometimes by Mites, _Acari_, and _Larvae_ in general, I -shall but mention that the inhuman Pheretrina, Antiochus Epiphanes, the -Dictator Sylla, the two Herods, the Emperor Maximin, and Philip the -Second were among the number carried off by it. - -Quintus Serenus speaks thus of the death of Sylla: - - Great Sylla too the fatal scourge hath known; - Slain by a host far mightier than his own. - -According to Pliny, Nits are destroyed by using dog's fat, eating -serpents cooked like eels, or else taking their sloughs in drink.[1081] - -In Leyden's Notes to Complaynt of Scotland are recorded the following -few rhymes of the Gyre-carlin--the bug-bear of King James V. - - The Mouse, the Louse, and Little Rede, - Were a' to mak' a gruel in a lead. - -The two first associates desire Little Rede to go to the door, to "see -what he could see." He declares that he saw the gyre-carlin coming, - - With spade, and shool, and trowel, - To lick up a' the gruel. - -Upon which the party disperse: - - The Louse to the claith, - And the Mouse to the wa', - Little Rede behind the door, - And licket up a'.[1082] - - - - -ORDER XII. - -ARACHNIDA.[1083] - - -Acaridae--Mites. - -The white spot on the back of a certain species of Wood-tic (_Acarus_) -is said to be the spot where the pin went through the body when Noah -pinned it in the Ark to keep it from troubling him. - - -Phalangidae--Daddy-Long-legs. - -A superstition obtains among our cow-boys that if a cow be lost, its -whereabouts may be learned by inquiring of the Daddy-Long-legs -(Phalangium), which points out the direction of the lost animal with one -of its fore legs. - -In England, the Phalangium has been christened the Harvest-man, from a -superstitious belief that if it be killed there will be a bad -harvest.[1084] - - -Pedipalpi--Scorpions. - -Concerning the generation of the Scorpion, Topsel, in his History of -Four-footed Beasts and Serpents, printed in 1658, treats as follows: - -"Now, then, it followeth that we inquire about the manner of their -(Scorpions') breed or generation, which I find to be double, as divers -authors have observed, one way is by putrefaction, and the other by -laying of egges, and both these ways are consonant to nature, for -Lacinius writeth that some creatures are generated only by propagation -of seed--such are men, vipers, whales, and the palm-tree; some again -only by putrefaction, as mice, Scorpions, Emmets, Spiders, purslain, -which, first of all, were produced by putrefaction, and since their -generation are conserved by the seed and egges of their own kinde. Now, -therefore, we will first of all speak of the generation of Scorpions by -putrefaction, and afterward by propagation. - -"Pliny saith[1085] that when Sea-crabs dye, and their bodies are dried -upon the earth, when the sun entereth into Cancer and Scorpius, out of -the putrefaction thereof ariseth a Scorpion; and so out of the putrefied -body of the crefish burned arise Scorpions, which caused Ovid thus to -write: - - Concava littoreo si demas brachia cancro, - Caetera supponas terrae, de parte sepulta - Scorpius exibit, caudaque minabitur unca. - -And again: - - Obrutus exemptis cancer tellure lacertis, - Scorpius exiguo tempore factus erit. - -In English thus: - - If that the arms you take from Sea-crab-fish, - And put the rest in earth till all consumed be, - Out of the buried part a Scorpion will arise, - With hooked tayl doth threaten for to hurt thee. - -"And therefore it is reported by AElianus that about Estamenus, in India, -there are abundance of Scorpions generated only by corrupt rain-water -standing in that place. Also out of the Basalisk beaten into pieces and -so putrefied are Scorpions engendered. And when as one had planted the -herb basilica on a wall, in the room or place thereof he found two -Scorpions. And some say that if a man chaw in his mouth fasting this -herb basill before he wash, and afterward lay the same abroad uncovered -where no sun cometh at it for the space of seven nights, taking it in -all the daytime, he shall at length finde it transmuted into a Scorpion, -with a tayl of seven knots.[1086] - -"Hollerius,[1087] to take away all scruple of this thing, writeth that -in Italy in his dayes there was a man that had a Scorpion bred in his -brain by continuall smelling to this herb basill; and Gesner, by -relation of an apothecary in France, writeth likewise a story of a young -maid who, by smelling to basill, fell into an exceeding headache, -whereof she died without cure, and after death, being opened, there were -found little Scorpions in her brain. - -"Aristotle remembreth an herb which he calleth sissimbria, out of which -putrefied Scorpions are engendered, as he writeth. And we have shewed -already, in the history of the Crocodile, that out of the Crocodile's -egges do many times come Scorpions, which at their first egression do -kill their dam that hatched them, which caused Archelaus, which wrote -epigrams of wonders unto Ptolemaeus, to sing of Scorpions in this manner: - - In vos dissolvit morte, et redigit crocodilum - Natura extinctum, Scorpii omnipotens. - -Which may be Englished thus: - - To you by Scorpions death the omnipotent - Ruines the crocodil in nature's life extinct."[1088] - -The remarks referred to by Topsel in the last paragraph in his history -of the Crocodile are as follows: - -"It is said by Philes that, after the egge is laid by the crocodile, -many times there is a cruel Stinging Scorpion which cometh out thereof, -and woundeth the crocodile that laid it.[1089] - -"The Scorpion also and the crocodile are enemies one to the other, and -therefore when the Egyptians will describe the combat of two notable -enemies, they paint a crocodile and a Scorpion fighting together, for -ever one of them killeth another; but if they will decipher a speedy -overthrow to one's enemy, then they picture a crocodile; if a slow and -slack victory, they picture a Scorpion."[1090] - -"Some maintain," says Moufet, "that they (Scorpions) are not bred by -copulation, but by exceeding heat of the sun. AElian, _lib. 6_, _de Anim. -cap. 22_, among whom Galen must first be blamed, who in his Book _de -foet. form._ will not have nature, but chance to be the parent of -Scorpions, Flies, Spiders, Worms of all sorts, and he ascribes their -beginning to the uncertain constitutions of the heavens, place, matter, -heat, etc."[1091] - -Topsel further says: "The principall of all other subjects of their (the -Scorpions') hatred are virgins and women, whom they do not only desire -to harm, but also when they have harmed are never perfectly recovered. -(Albertus).... - -"The lion is by the Scorpion put to flight wheresoever he seeith it, for -he feareth it as the enemy of his life, and therefore writeth S. -Ambrose, _Exiguo Scorpionis aculeo exagitatur leo_, the lion is much -moved at the small sting of a Scorpion."[1092] - -Naude tells us that there is a species of Scorpions in Italy, which are -so domesticated as to be put between sheets to cool the beds during the -heat of summer.[1093] Pliny mentions that the Scorpions of Italy are -harmless.[1094] - -Among the curious things recorded by Pliny concerning the Scorpion, the -following have been selected: Some writers, he says, are of opinion that -the Scorpion devours its offspring, and that the one among the young -which is the most adroit avails itself of its sole mode of escape by -placing itself on the back of the mother, and thus finding a place where -it is in safety from the tail and the sting. The one that thus escapes, -they say, becomes the avenger of the rest, and at last, taking -advantage of its elevated position, puts its parent to death.[1095] - -According to Pliny, those who carry the plant "tricoccum," or, as it is -also called, "scorpiuron,"[1096] about their person are never stung by a -Scorpion, and it is said, he continues, that if a circle is traced on -the ground around a Scorpion with a sprig of this plant, the animal will -never move out of it, and that if a Scorpion is covered with it, or even -sprinkled with the water in which it has been steeped, it will die that -instant.[1097] - -Attalus assures us, says Pliny, that if a person, the moment he sees a -Scorpion, says "Duo,"[1098] the reptile will stop short and forbear to -sting.[1099] - -Concerning Scorpions, Diophanes, contemporary with Caesar and Cicero, has -collected the following several opinions of the more ancient writers: If -you take a Scorpion, he says, and burn it, the others will betake -themselves to flight: and if a person carefully rubs his hands with the -juice of radish, he may without fear and danger take hold of Scorpions, -and of other reptiles: and radishes laid on Scorpions instantly destroy -them. You will also cure the bite of a Scorpion, by applying a silver -ring to the place. A suffumigation of sandarach[1100] with galbanum, or -goat's fat, will drive away Scorpions and every other reptile. If a -person will also boil a Scorpion in oil, and will rub the place bit by a -Scorpion, he will stop the pain.[1101] But Apuleius says, that if a -person bit by a Scorpion sits on an ass, turned toward its tail, that -the ass suffers the pain, and that it is destroyed.[1102] Democritus -says that a person bit by a Scorpion, who instantly says to his ass, "A -Scorpion has bit me," will suffer no pain, but it passes to the -ass.[1103] The newt has an antipathy to the Scorpion: if a person, -therefore, melts a newt in oil, and applies the oil to the person that -is bitten, he frees him from pain. The same author also says that the -root of a rose-tree being applied, cures persons bit by Scorpions. -Plutarch recommends to fasten small nuts to the feet of the bed, that -Scorpions may not approach it. Zoroaster says that lettuce-seed, being -drunk with wine, cures persons bit by Scorpions. Florentinus says, if -one applies the juice of the fig to the wound of a person just bitten, -that the poison will proceed no farther; or, if the person bit eat -squill, he will not be hurt, but he will say that the squill is pleasant -to his palate. Tarentinus also says that a person holding the herb -sideritis may take hold of Scorpions, and not be hurt by them.[1104] -Dioscorides, among many other remedies for the sting of the Scorpion, -prescribes "a fish called _Lacerta_, salted and cut in pieces; the -barbel fish cut in two; the flesh of a fish called _Smaris_; house-mice -cut asunder; horse or ass dung; the shell of an Indian small nut; ram's -flesh burnt; mummie, four grains, with butter and cow's milk; a broiled -Scorpion eaten; river-crabs raw and bruised, and drank with asses' milk: -locusts broiled and eaten," etc. Rabby Moyses prescribes pigeon's dung -dried; Constantinus, hens' dung, or the heart applied outwardly; -Anatolius, crows' dung; Averrhois, the bezoar-stone; Monus, silver; -Silvaticus, from Serapis, pewter; and Orpheus, coral. - -"Quintus Serenus writes thus, and adviseth: - - These are small things, but yet their wounds are great, - And in pure bodies lurking do most harm, - For when our senses inward do retreat, - And men are fast asleep, they need some charm, - The Spider and the cruel Scorpion - Are wont to sting, witnesse great Orion, - Slayn by a Scorpion, for poysons small - Have mighty force, and therefore presently - Lay on a Scorpion bruised, to recall - The venome, or sea-water to apply - Is held full good, such virtue is in brine, - And 'tis approved to drink your fill of wine. - -"And Macer writes of houseleek thus: - - Men say that houseleek hath so soveraign a might, - Who carries but that, no Scorpion can him bite."[1105] - -The natives of South Africa, when bitten by a Scorpion, apply, as a -remedy, a living frog to the wound, into which animal it is supposed the -poison is transferred from the wound, and it dies; then they apply -another, which dies also: the third perhaps only becomes sickly, and the -fourth no way affected. When this is observed, the poison is considered -to be extracted, and the patient cured. Another method is to apply a -kidney, scarlet, or other bean, which swells; then apply another and -another, till the bean ceases to be affected, when they consider the -poison extracted.[1106] - -There is a vast desert tract, says Pliny, on this side of the Ethiopian -Cynamolgi--the "dog-milkers"--the inhabitants of which were exterminated -by Scorpions and venomous ants.[1107] - -Navarette tells us, in the account of his voyage to the Philippine -Islands, that there was there in practice a good and easy remedy against -the Scorpions which abound in that country. This was, when they went to -bed, to make a commemoration of St. George. He himself, he says, for -many years continued this devotion, and, "God be praised," he adds, "the -Saint always delivered me both there and in other countries from those -and such like insects." He confesses, however, they used another remedy -besides, which was to rub all about the beds with garlic.[1108] - -Navarette[1109] and Barbot[1110] both tell us that a certain remedy -against the sting of a Scorpion, is to rub the wound with a child's -private member. This, the latter adds, immediately takes away the pain, -and then the venom exhales. The moisture that comes from a hen's mouth, -Barbot says, is also good for the same. - -The Persians believe that Scorpions may be deprived of the power of -stinging, by means of a certain prayer which they make use of for that -purpose. The person who has the power of "binding the Scorpion," as it -is called, turns his face toward the sign Scorpio, in the heavens, and -repeats this prayer; while every person present, at the conclusion of a -sentence, claps his hands. After this is done they think that they are -perfectly safe; nor, if they should chance to see any Scorpions during -that night, do they scruple to take hold of them, trusting to the -efficacy of this fancied all-powerful charm. "I have frequently seen," -says Francklin, "the man in whose family I lived, repeat the -above-mentioned prayer, on being desired by his children to bind the -Scorpions; after which the whole family has gone quietly and contentedly -to bed, fully persuaded that they could receive no hurt by them."[1111] - -Bell says the Persians "have such a dread of these creatures, that, when -provoked by any person, they wish a Kashan Scorpion may sting -him."[1112] - -An old story is, that a Scorpion surrounded with live coals, finding no -method of escaping, grows desperate from its situation, and stings -itself to death. This, though considered a mere fable of antiquity, may -still have some truth, if we believe the following from the pen of -Ulloa: "We more than once," says this traveler, "entertained ourselves -with an experiment of putting a Scorpion into a glass vessel, and -injecting a little smoke of tobacco, and immediately by stopping it -found that its aversion to this smell is such, that it falls into the -most furious agitations, till, giving itself several stings on the head, -it finds relief by destroying itself."[1113] There is also told a story -in the East Indies, that "the Scorpion is sometimes so pestered with the -pismires, that he stings himself to death in the head with his tail, and -so becomes a prey to the pismires."[1114] - -The Scorpion was an emblem of the Egyptian goddess Selk; and she is -usually found represented with this animal bound upon her head.[1115] - -AElian mentions Scorpions of Coptos, which, though inflicting a deadly -sting, and dreaded by the people, so far respected the Egyptian goddess -Isis, who was particularly worshiped in that city, that women, in going -to express their grief before her, walked with bare feet, or lay upon -the ground, without receiving any injury from them.[1116] - -The Ethiopians that dwell near the River Hydaspis commonly eat Scorpions -and serpents without the slightest harm, "which certainly proceeds from -no other thing than a secret and wonderful constitution of the body!" -says Mercurialis.[1117] - -Lutfullah, the learned Mohammedan gentleman, in his Autobiography, -relates the following: - -"On the morning of the 11th (April, 1839), I ordered my servant boy to -shake my bedding and put it in the sun for an hour or so, that the -moisture imbibed by the quilt might be dried. As soon as the quilt was -removed from its place, what did I behold but an immense Scorpion, -tapering towards its tail of nine vertebrae, armed with a sting at the -end, crawling with impunity at the edge of the carpet. I had never seen -such a large monster before. It was black in the body, with small -bristles all over, dark green in the tail, and red at the sting. This -hideous sight rendered me and the servant horror-struck. In the mean -time, an Afghan friend of mine, by name Ata Mohamed Khan Kakar, a -respectable resident of the town, honoured me with a visit, and, seeing -the reptile, observed, 'Lutfullah, you are a lucky man, having made a -narrow escape this morning. This cursed worm is called Jerrara, and its -fatal sting puts a period to animal life in a moment; return, therefore, -your thanks to the Lord, all merciful, who gave you a new life in having -saved you from the mortal sting of this evil bed-companion of yours.' 'I -have no fear of the worm,' replied I, 'for it dare not sting me unless -it is written in the book of fate to be stung by it.' Saying this, I -made the animal crawl into a small earthen vessel, and stopped the mouth -of it with clay; and then making a large fire, I put the vessel therein -for an hour or so, to turn the reptile into ashes, which, administered -in doses of half a grain to adults, are a specific remedy for violent -colicky pains."[1118] - -The ashes of burnt Scorpions, besides being good for colicky pains, as -Lutfullah says, were often prescribed by the ancient physicians for -stone in the bladder;[1119] and Topsel, quoting Kiranides, has the -following: "If a man take a vulgar Scorpion and drown the same in a -porringer of oyl in the wane of the moon, and therewithall afterward -anoynt the back from the shoulders to the hips, and also the head and -forehead, with the tips of the fingers and toes of one that is a -demoniack or a lunatick person, it is reported, that he shall ease and -cure him in short time. And the like is reported of the Scorpion's sting -joyned with the top of basil wherein is seed, and with the heart of a -swallow, all included in a piece of harts skin."[1120] The oil of -Scorpions, Brassavolus says, "drives out worms miraculously;" and oil of -Scorpions' and vipers' "tongues is a most excellent remedy against the -plague, as Crinitus testifies, i. 7."[1121] Galen prescribes Scorpions -for jaundice, and Kiranides the same for the several kinds of ague. -"Plinius Secundus saith, that a quartan ague, as the magicians report, -will be cured in three daies by a Scorpion's four last joynts of his -tail, together with the gristle of his ear, so wrapped up in a black -cloth, that the sick patient may neither perceive the Scorpion that is -applied, nor him that bound it on.... Samonicus commends Scorpions -against pains in the eyes, in these verses: - - If that some grievous pain perplex thy sight, - Wool wet in oyl is good bound on all night. - Carry about thee a live Scorpion's eye, - Ashes of coleworts if thou do apply, - With bruised frankincense, goat's milk, and wine, - One night will prove this remedy divine."[1122] - -The following Asiatic fable of the Scorpion and the Tortoise is from the -Beharistan of Jamy: A Scorpion, armed with pernicious sting and filthy -poison, undertook a journey. Coming to the bank of a wide river, he -stopped in great perplexity, wanting height of leg to cross over, yet -very unwilling to return. A Tortoise, seeing his situation, and moved -with compassion, took him on his back, sprang into the river, and was -swimming toward the opposite shore, when he heard a noise on his shell -as of something striking him; he called out to know what it was; the -ungrateful Scorpion answered, "It is the motion of my sting only, I -know it cannot affect you, but it is a habit which I cannot relinquish." -"Indeed," replied the Tortoise, "then I cannot do better than free so -evil-minded a creature from his bad disposition, and secure the good -from his malevolence." Saying which he dived under the water, and the -waves soon carried the Scorpion beyond the bourn of existence. - - When, in this banquet house of vice and strife, - A knave oft strikes the various stings of fraud, - 'Tis best the sea of death ingulf him soon, - That he be freed from man, and man from him.[1123] - -Topsel, in his History of Four-footed Beasts and Serpents, has the -following in his chapter on the Scorpion: - -"There is a common adage, _Cornix Scorpium_, a Raven to a Scorpion, and -it is used against them that perish by their own inventions: when they -set upon others, they meet with their matches, as a raven did when it -preyed upon a Scorpion, thus described by Alciatus, under his title -_Justa ultio_, just revenge, saying as followeth: - - Raptabat volucer captum pede corvus in auras - Scorpion, audaci praemia parta gulae. - Ast ille infuso sensim per membra venemo, - Raptorem in stygias compulit ultor aquas. - O risu res digna! aliis qui fata parabat, - Ipse periit, propriis succubuitque dolis. - -Which may be Englished thus: - - The ravening crow for prey a Scorpion took - Within her foot, and therewithal aloft did flie, - But he empoysoned her by force and stinging stroke, - So ravener in the Stygian Lake did die. - O sportfull game! that he which other for bellyes sake did kill, - By his own deceit should fall into death's will. - -"There be some learned writers, who have compared a Scorpion to an -epigram, or rather an epigram to a Scorpion, because as the sting of the -Scorpion lyeth in the tayl, so the force and vertue of an epigram is in -the conclusion, for _vel acriter salse mordeat, vel jucunde atque -dulciter delectet_, that is, either let it bite sharply at the end, or -else delight pleasingly."[1124] - - -Araneidae--True Spiders. - - A little head and body small, - With slender feet and very tall, - Belly great, and from thence come all - The webs it spins.--MOUFET.[1125] - -"Domitian sometime," says Hollingshed incidentally in his Chronicles of -England, "and an other prince yet living, delited so much to see the -iollie combats betwixt a stout Flie and an old Spider.... Some parasites -also in the time of the aforesaid emperour (when they were disposed to -laugh at his follie, and yet would seem in appearance to gratifie his -fantasticall head with some shew of dutiful demenour) could devise to -set their lorde on worke, by letting a fresh flie privilie into his -chamber, which he foorthwith would egerlie have hunted (all other -businesse set apart) and never ceased till he had caught him in his -fingers: whereupon arose the proverbe 'ne musca quidem,' altered first -by Vitius Priscus, who being asked whether anie bodie was with Domitian, -answered 'ne musca quidem,' whereby he noted his follie. There are some -cockes combs here and there in England, learning it abroad as men -transregionate, which make account also of this pastime, as of a notable -matter, telling what a fight is seene betweene them, if either of them -be lustie and couragious in his kind. One also hath mad a booke of the -Spider and the Flie, wherein he dealeth so profoundlie, and beyond all -measure of skill, that neither he himself that made it, neither anie one -that readeth it can reach unto the meaning thereof."[1126] - -Chapelain, the author of Pucelle, was called by the academicians the -Knight of the Order of the Spider, because he was so avaricious, that -though he had an income of 13,000 livres, and more than 240,000 in ready -money, he wore an old coat so patched, pieced, and threadbare, that the -stitches exhibited no bad resemblance to the fibers produced by that -insect. Being one day present at a large party given by the great Conde, -a Spider of uncommon size fell from the ceiling upon the floor. The -company thought it could not have come from the roof, and all the -ladies at once agreed that it must have proceeded from Chapelain's -wig;--the wig so celebrated by the well-known parody.[1127] - -The often-told anecdote of the Scottish monarch, Robert Bruce, and the -cottage Spider, is thus related in Chambers' Miscellany: While wandering -on the wild hills of Carrick, in order to escape the emissaries of -Edward, Robert the Bruce on one occasion passed the night under the -shelter of a poor deserted cottage. Throwing himself down on a heap of -straw, he lay upon his back, with his hands placed under his head, -unable to sleep, but gazing vacantly upward at the rafters of the hut, -disfigured with cobwebs. From thoughts long and dreary about the -hopelessness of the enterprise in which he was engaged, and the -misfortunes he had already encountered, he was roused to take interest -in the efforts of a poor industrious Spider, which had begun to ply its -vocation with the first gray light of morning. The object of the animal -was to swing itself, by its thread, from one rafter to another; but in -the attempt it repeatedly failed, each time vibrating back to the point -whence it had made the effort. Twelve times did the little creature try -to reach the desired spot, and as many times was it unsuccessful. Not -disheartened with its failure, it made the attempt once more, and, lo! -the rafter was gained. "The thirteenth time," said Bruce, springing to -his feet; "I accept it as a lesson not to despond under difficulties, -and shall once more venture my life in the struggle for the independence -of my beloved country." The result is well known.[1128] - -It is related in the life of Mohammed, that when he and Abubeker were -fleeing for their lives before the Coreishites, they hid themselves for -three days in a cave, over the mouth of which a Spider spread its web, -and a pigeon laid two eggs there, the sight of which made the pursuers -not go in to search for them.[1129] - -A similar story is told in the Lives of the Saints, of St. Felix of -Nola: "But the Saint," says Butler, "in the mean time had slept a little -out of the way, and crept through a hole in a ruinous old wall, which -was instantly closed up by Spiders' webs. His enemies, never imagining -anything could have lately passed where they saw so close a Spider's -web, after a fruitless search elsewhere, returned in the evening without -their prey. Felix finding among the ruins, between two houses, an old -well half dry, hid himself in it for six months; and received during -that time wherewithal to subsist by means of a devout Christian -woman."[1130] - -It is said of Heliogabalus, that, for the purpose of estimating the -magnitude of the City of Rome, he commanded a collection of Spiders to -be made.[1131] - -Illustrative of the singularly pleasurable effect of music upon Spiders, -in the Historie de la Musique, et de ses Effets, we find the following -relation: - -"Monsieur de ----, captain of the Regiment of Navarre, was confined six -months in prison for having spoken too freely of M. de Louvois, when he -begged leave of the governor to grant him permission to send for his -lute to soften his confinement. He was greatly astonished after four -days to see at the time of his playing the mice come out of their holes, -and the Spiders descend from their webs, who came and formed in a circle -round him to hear him with attention. This at first so much surprised -him, that he stood still without motion, when having ceased to play, all -those Spiders retired quietly into their lodgings; such an assembly made -the officer fall into reflections upon what the ancients had told of -Orpheus, Arion, and Amphion. He assured me he remained six days without -again playing, having with difficulty recovered from his astonishment, -not to mention a natural aversion he had for this sort of insects, -nevertheless he began afresh to give a concert to these animals, who -seemed to come every day in greater numbers, as if they had invited -others, so that in process of time he found a hundred of them about him. -In order to rid himself of them he desired one of the jailors to give -him a cat, which he sometimes shut up in a cage when he wished to have -this company and let her loose when he had a mind to dismiss them, -making it thus a kind of comedy that alleviated his imprisonment. I long -doubted the truth of this story, but it was confirmed to me six months -ago by M. P----, intendant of the duchy of V----, a man of merit and -probity, who played upon several instruments to the utmost excellence. -He told me that being at ----, he went into his chamber to refresh -himself after a walk, and took up a violin to amuse himself till supper -time, setting a light upon the table before him; he had not played a -quarter of an hour before he saw several spiders descend from the -ceiling, who came and ranged themselves round about the table to hear -him play, at which he was greatly surprised, but this did not interrupt -him, being willing to see the end of so singular an occurrence. They -remained on the table very attentively till somebody came to tell him -that supper was ready, when having ceased to play, he told me these -insects remounted to their webs, to which he would suffer no injury to -be done. It was a diversion with which he often entertained himself out -of curiosity."[1132] - -The Abbe Olivet has described an amusement of Pelisson during his -confinement in the Bastile for refusing to betray to the government -certain secrets intrusted to him by a friend who was a leading -politician at the court of Louis XIV., which consisted in feeding a -Spider, which he discovered forming its web across the only air-hole of -his cell. For some time he placed his flies at the edge of the window, -while a stupid Basque, his sole companion, played on a bagpipe. Little -by little the Spider used itself to distinguish the sound of the -instrument, and issued from its hole to run and catch its prey. Thus -calling it always by the same sound, and placing the flies at a still -greater distance, he succeeded, after several months, to drill the -Spider by regular exercise, so that at length it never failed appearing -at the first sound to seize on the fly provided for it, at the extremity -of the cell, and even on the knees of the prisoner.[1133] - -At a ladies' school at Kensington, England, an immense species of -Spider is said to be uncomfortably common; and that when the young -ladies sing their accustomed hymn or psalm before morning and evening -prayers, these Spiders make their appearance on the floor, or suspended -overhead from their webs in the ceiling, obviously attracted by the -"concord of sweet sounds."[1134] - -The following lines "to a Spider which inhabited a cell," are from the -Anthologia Borealis et Australis: - - In this wild, groping, dark, and drearie cove, - Of wife, of children, and of health bereft, - I hailed thee, friendly Spider, who hadst wove - Thy mazy net on yonder mouldering raft: - Would that the cleanlie housemaid's foot had left - Thee tarrying here, nor took thy life away; - For thou, from out this seare old ceiling's cleft, - Came down each morn to hede my plaintive lay; - Joying like me to heare sweete musick play, - Wherewith I'd fein beguile the dull, dark, lingering day.[1135] - -"When the great and brilliant Lauzun was held in captivity, his only joy -and comfort was a friendly Spider: she came at his call; she took her -food from his finger, and well understood his word of command. In vain -did jailors and soldiers try to deceive his tiny companion; she would -not obey their voices, and refused the tempting bait from their hand. -Here, then, was not only an ear, but a keen power of distinction. The -despised little animal listened with sweet affection, and knew how to -discriminate between not unsimilar tones."[1136] - -Quatremer Disjonval, a Frenchman by birth, was an adjutant-general in -Holland, and took an active part on the side of the Dutch patriots when -they revolted against the Stadtholder. On the arrival of the Prussian -army under the Duke of Brunswick, he was immediately taken, tried, and, -having been condemned to twenty-five years' imprisonment, was -incarcerated in a dungeon at Utrecht, where he remained eight years. -During this long confinement, by many curious observations upon his sole -companions, Spiders, he discovered that they were in the highest degree -sensitive of approaching changes in the atmosphere, and that their -retirement and reappearance, their weaving and general habits, were -intimately connected with the changes of the weather. In the reading of -these living barometers he became wonderfully accurate, so much so, that -he could prognosticate the approach of severe weather from ten to -fourteen days before it set in, which is proven by the following -remarkable fact, which led to his release: "When the troops of the -French republic overran Holland in the winter of 1794, and kept pushing -forward over the ice, a sudden and unexpected thaw, in the early part of -December, threatened the destruction of the whole army unless it was -instantly withdrawn. The French generals were thinking seriously of -accepting a sum offered by the Dutch, and withdrawing their troops, when -Disjonval, who hoped that the success of the republican army might lead -to his release, used every exertion, and at length succeeded in getting -a letter conveyed to the French general in 1795, in which he pledged -himself, from the peculiar actions of the Spiders, of whose movements he -was enabled to judge with perfect accuracy, that within fourteen days -there would commence a most severe frost, which would make the French -masters of all the rivers, and afford them sufficient time to complete -and make sure of the conquest they had commenced, before it should be -followed by a thaw. The commander of the French forces believed his -prognostication, and persevered. The cold weather, which Disjonval had -predicted, made its appearance in twelve days, and with such intensity, -that the ice over the rivers and canals became capable of bearing the -heaviest artillery. On the 28th of January, 1795, the French army -entered Utrecht in triumph; and Quatremer Disjonval, who had watched the -habits of his Spiders with so much intelligence and success, was, as a -reward for his ingenuity, released from prison."[1137] - -In Bartholomaeus, De Proprietatibus Rerum (printed by Th. Berthelet, 27th -Henry VIII.), lib. xviii. fol. 314, speaking of Pliny, we read: "Also he -saythe, spynners (Spiders) ben tokens of divynation and of knowing what -wether shal fal, for oft by weders that shal fal, some spin and weve -higher or lower. Also he saythe, that multytude of spynners is token of -moche reyne."[1138] - -Willsford, in his Nature's Secrets, p. 131, tells us: "Spiders creep out -of their holes and narrow receptacles against wind or rain; Minerva -having made them sensible of an approaching storm."[1139] - -Hone, in his Every Day Book, also mentions that from Spiders -prognostications as to the weather may be drawn; and gives the following -instructions to read this animal-barometer: "If the weather is likely to -become rainy, windy, or in other respects disagreeable, they fix the -terminating filaments, on which the whole web is suspended, unusually -short; and in this state they await the influence of a temperature which -is remarkably variable. On the contrary, if the terminating filaments -are uncommonly long, we may, in proportion to their length, conclude -that the weather will be serene, and continue so at least for ten or -twelve days. But if the Spiders be totally indolent, rain generally -succeeds; though, on the other hand, their activity during rain is the -most certain proof that it will be only of short duration, and followed -with fair and constant weather. According to further observations, the -Spiders regularly make some alterations in their webs or nets every -twenty-four hours; if these changes take place between the hours of six -and seven in the evening, they indicate a clear and pleasant -night."[1140] - -Pausanias tells us that after the slaughter at Chaeronea, the Thebans -were obliged to place a guard within the walls of their city; but which, -however, after the death of Philip, and during the reign of Alexander, -they drove out. For this action, this historian continues, it was that -Divinity gave them tokens in the webs of Spiders of the destruction that -awaited them. For, during the battle at Leuctra, the Spiders in the -temple of Ceres Thesmophoros wove white webs about the doors; but when -Alexander and the Macedonians attacked their dominions, their webs were -found to be black.[1141] - -It was thought by the Classical Ancients and the old English unlucky to -kill Spiders; and prognostications were made from their manner of -weaving their webs.[1142] It is still thought unlucky to injure these -animals. - -Park has the following note in his copy of Bourne and Brande's Popular -Antiquities, p. 93: "Small Spiders, termed _money-spinners_, are held by -many to prognosticate good luck, if they are not destroyed or injured, -or removed from the person on whom they are first observed." - -In Teviotdale, Scotland, "when Spiders creep on one's clothes, it is -viewed as betokening good luck; and to destroy them is equivalent to -throwing stones at one's own head."[1143] - -In Maryland, this superstition is thus expressed: If you kill a Spider -upon your clothing, you destroy the presents they are then weaving for -you. - -In the Secret Memoirs of Mr. Duncan Campbell, p. 60, in the chapter of -omens, we read that "others have thought themselves secure of receiving -money, if by chance a little Spider fell upon their clothes."[1144] - -"When a Spider is found upon your clothes, or about your person," says a -writer in the Notes and Queries,[1145] "it signifies that you will -shortly receive some money. Old Fuller, who was a native of -Northamptonshire, thus quaintly moralizes this superstition: 'When a -Spider is found upon your clothes, we used to say some money is coming -toward us. The moral is this: such who imitate the industry of that -contemptible creature may, by God's blessing, weave themselves into -wealth and procure a plentiful estate.'"[1146] - -A South Northamptonshire superstition of the present day is, that, in -order to propitiate money-spinners, they must be thrown over the left -shoulder.[1147] - -It is most probable that Euclio, in Plautus' Aulularia, would not -suffer the Spiders to be molested because they were considered to bring -good luck. - - _Staphyla._ Here in our house there's nothing else for thieves to - gain, so filled is it with emptiness and cobwebs. - - _Euclio._ You hag of hags, I choose those cobwebs to be watched for - me.[1148] - -A superstition prevails among us that if a Spider approaches, either by -crawling toward or descending from the ceiling to a person, it forebodes -good to such person; and, on the contrary, if the Spider runs hurriedly -away, it is an omen of bad luck. But if the Spider be a poisonous one, -or a Fly-catcher, and it approaches you, some evil is about to befall -you, which to avert you must cross your heart thrice. - -If you kill a Spider crossing your path, you will have bad luck. - -A Spider should not be killed in your house, but out of doors; if in the -house, our country people say you are "pulling down your house." - -If a Spider drops down from its web or from a tree directly in front of -a person, such person will see before night a dear friend. - -A variety of this superstition is, that, if the Spider be white, it -foretells the acquaintance of a friend; and if black, an enemy. - -In the Netherlands, a Spider seen in the morning forebodes good luck; in -the afternoon, bad luck.[1149] - -There is a common saying at Winchester, England, that no Spider will -hang its web on the roof of Irish oak in the chapel or cloisters;[1150] -and the cicerone, who shows the cathedral church at St. David's, points -out to the visitor that the choir is roofed with Irish oak, which does -not harbor Spiders, though cobwebs are plentifully seen in other parts -of the cathedral.[1151] This superstition (for it certainly is nothing -more)[1152] probably originated with the old story of St. Patrick's -having exorcised and banished all kinds of vermin from Ireland. - -The same virtue of repelling Spiders is attributed also to chestnut and -cedar wood;[1153] and the old roof at Turner's Court, in -Gloucestershire, four miles from Bath, which is of chestnut, is said to -be perfectly free from cobwebs;[1154] hence also are the cloisters of -New College, and of Christ's Church, in England, roofed with -chestnut.[1155] - -A small Spider of a red color, called a Tainct in England, is accounted, -by the country people, a deadly poison to cows and horses; so when any -of their cattle die suddenly and swell up, to account for their deaths, -they say they have "licked a Tainct." Browne thinks this is, most -probably, but a vulgar error.[1156] - -It is a very ancient and curious belief that there exists a remarkable -enmity between the Spider and serpents,[1157] and more especially -between the Spider and the toad; and many curious stories are told of -the combats between these animals. The following, related by Erasmus, -which he asserts he had directly from one of the spectators, is probably -the most remarkable, and we insert it in the words of Dr. James: "A -person (a monk)[1158] lying along upon the floor of his chamber in the -summer-time to sleep in a supine posture, when a toad, creeping out of -some green rushes, brought just before in to adorn the chimney, gets -upon his face and with his feet sits across his lips. To force off the -toad, says the historian, would have been accounted death to the -sleeper; and to leave her there, very cruel and dangerous; so that upon -consultation, it was concluded to find out a Spider, which, together -with her web and the window she was fastened to, was brought carefully, -and so contrived as to be held perpendicularly to the man's face; which -was no sooner done but the Spider, discovering his enemy, let himself -down and struck in his dart, afterward betaking himself up again to his -web: the toad swelled, but as yet kept his station. The second wound is -given quickly after by the Spider, upon which he swells yet more, but -remained alive still. The Spider, coming down again by his thread, gives -the third blow, and the toad, taking off his feet from over the man's -mouth, fell off dead."[1159] - -The following cosmogony is found in the sacred writings of the Pundits -of India: A certain immense Spider was the origin, the first cause of -all things; which, drawing the matter from its own bowels, wove the web -of this universe, and disposed it with wonderful art; she, in the mean -time, sitting in the center of her work, feels and directs the motion of -every part, till at length, when she has pleased herself sufficiently in -ordering and contemplating this web, she draws all the threads she had -spun out again into herself; and, having absorbed them, the universal -nature of all creatures vanishes into nothing.[1160] - -Among the Chululahs of our western coast, Capt. Stuart informs me there -is a vague superstition that the Spider is connected with the origin of -the world. To what extent this curious notion prevails, or anything more -concerning it, I have been unable to learn. - -The natives of Guinea, says Bosman, believe that the first men were -created by the large black Spider, which is so common in their country, -and called in their jargon "Ananse;" nor is there any reasoning, -continues this traveler, a great number of them out of it.[1161] Barbot -also remarks that, in the belief of the Guinea negroes, the black Ananse -created the first man.[1162] - -That the Spider should be connected with the origin of the world and man -in the several beliefs of the Hindoos, Chululahs, and negroes, races so -widely different and separated from one another, is a coincidence most -remarkable. - -A large and hideous species of Spider, said to be only found in the -palace of Hampton Court, England, is known by the name of the -"Cardinals." This name has been given them from a superstitious belief -that the spirits of Cardinal Wolsey and his retinue still haunt the -palace in their shape.[1163] - -In running across the carpet in an evening, with the shade cast from -their large bodies by the light of the lamp or candle, these "Cardinals" -have been mistaken for mice, and have occasioned no little alarm to some -of the more nervous inhabitants of the palace.[1164] - -The story of the gigantic Spider found in the Church of St. Eustace, at -Paris, in Chambers' Miscellany, is related as follows: It is told that -the sexton of this church was surprised at very often discovering a -certain lamp extinguished in the morning, notwithstanding it had been -duly replenished with oil the preceding evening. Curious to learn the -cause of this mysterious circumstance, he kept watch several evenings, -and was at last gratified by the discovery. During the night he observed -a Spider, of enormous dimensions, come down the chain by which the lamp -was suspended, drink up the oil, and, when gorged to satiety, slowly -retrace its steps to a recess in the fretwork above. A similar Spider is -said to have been found, in 1751, in the cathedral church of Milan. It -was observed to feed also on oil. When killed, it weighed four pounds! -and was afterward sent to the imperial museum at Vienna.[1165] - -The following remarkable anecdote is translated from the French: "M. -F---- de Saint Omer laid on the chimney-piece of his chamber, one -evening on going to bed, a small shirt-pin of gold, the head of which -represented a fly. Next day, M. F---- would have taken his pin from the -place where he had put it, but the trinket had disappeared. A -servant-maid, who had only been in M. F----'s service a few days, was -solely suspected of having carried off the pin, and sent away. But, at -length, M. F----'s sister, putting up some curtains, was very much -surprised to find the lost pin suspended from the ceiling in a Spider's -web! And thus was the disappearance of the _bijou_ explained: A Spider, -deceived by the figure of the fly which the pin presented, had drawn it -into his web."[1166] - -In the Treasvrie of Avncient and Moderne Times, it is stated that -"Spiders do shun all such wals as run to ruine, or are like to be -ouerthrowne."[1167] - -A Spider hanging from a tree is said to have made both Turenne and -Gustavus Adolphus shudder![1168] - -M. Zimmerman relates the following instance of antipathy to Spiders: -"Being one day in an English company," says he, "consisting of persons -of distinction, the conversation happened to fall on antipathies. The -greater part of the company denied the reality of them, and treated them -as old women's tales; but I told them that antipathy was a real disease. -Mr. William Matthew, son of the Governor of Barbados, was of my opinion, -and, as he added that he himself had an extreme antipathy to Spiders, he -was laughed at by the whole company. I showed them, however, that this -was a real impression of his mind, resulting from a mechanical effect. -Mr. John Murray, afterward Duke of Athol, took it into his head to make, -in Mr. Matthew's presence, a Spider of black wax, to try whether this -antipathy would appear merely on the sight of the insect. He went out of -the room, therefore, and returned with a bit of black wax in his hand, -which he kept shut. Mr. Matthew, who in other respects was a sedate and -amiable man, imagining that his friend really held a Spider, immediately -drew his sword in a great fury, retired with precipitation to the wall, -leaned against it, as if to run him through, and sent forth horrible -cries. All the muscles of his face were swelled, his eye-balls rolled in -their sockets, and his whole body was as stiff as a post. We immediately -ran to him in great alarm, and took his sword from him, assuring him at -the same time that Mr. Murray had nothing in his hand but a bit of wax, -and that he himself might see it on the table where it was placed. He -remained some time in this spasmodic state, and I was really afraid of -the consequences. He, however, gradually recovered, and deplored the -dreadful passion into which he had been thrown, and from which he still -suffered. His pulse was exceedingly quick and full, and his whole body -was covered with a cold sweat. After taking a sedative, he was restored -to his former tranquillity, and his agitation was attended with no other -bad consequences."[1169] - -In Batavia, New York, on the evening of the 13th of September, 1834, -Hon. David E. Evans, agent of the Holland Land Company, discovered in -his wine-cellar a live striped snake, about nine inches in length, -suspended between two shelves, by the tail, by Spiders' web. From the -shelves being two feet apart, and the position of the web, the witnesses -were of opinion the snake could not have fallen by accident into it, and -thus have become inextricably entangled, but that it had been actually -captured, and drawn up so that its head could not reach the shelf below -by about an inch, by Spiders, and of a species much smaller than the -common fly, three of which at night were seen feeding upon it, while it -was yet alive. - -Hon. S. Cummings, first Judge of the Court of Common Pleas in his -county, and also Postmaster of Batavia, and Mr. D. Lyman Beecher have -described this phenomenon, and given the names of quite a number of -gentlemen who witnessed it, and will testify to the accuracy of their -accounts. Says Mr. Cummings: "Upon a critical examination through a -magnifying glass, the following curious facts appeared. The mouth of the -snake was fast tied up, by a great number of threads, wound around it so -tight that he could not run out his tongue. His tail was tied in a knot, -so as to leave a small loop, or ring, through which the cord was -fastened; and the end of the tail, above this loop, to the length of -something over half an inch, was lashed fast to the cord, to keep it -from slipping. As the snake hung, the length of the cord, from his tail -to the focus to which it was fastened, was about six inches; and a -little above the tail, there was observed a round ball, about the size -of a pea. Upon inspection, this appeared to be a green fly, around which -the cord had been wound as a windlass, with which the snake had been -hauled up; and a great number of threads were fastened to the cord -above, and to the rolling side of this ball to keep it from unwinding, -and letting the snake down. The cord, therefore, must have been extended -from the focus of this web to the shelf below where the snake was lying -when first captured; and being made fast to the loop in his tail, the -fly was carried and fastened about midway to the side of the cord. And -then by rolling this fly over and over, it wound the cord around it, -both from above and below, until the snake was raised to the proper -height, and then was fastened, as before mentioned. - -"In this situation the suffering snake hung, alive, and furnished a -continued feast for several large Spiders, until Saturday forenoon, the -16th, when some persons, by playing with him, broke the web above the -focus, so as to let part of his body rest upon the shelf below. In this -situation he lingered, the Spiders taking no notice of him, until -Thursday, eight days after he was discovered, when some large ants were -found devouring his body."[1170] - -At a recent meeting of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, -Mr. Lesley read the following extract from a letter written by Mr. E. A. -Spring, of Eagleswood, N. J.: - -"I was over on the South Amboy shore with a friend, walking in a swampy -wood, where a dyke was made, some three feet wide, when we discovered in -the middle of this ditch a large black Spider making very queer motions -for a Spider, and, on examination, it proved that he had _caught a -fish_. - -"He was biting the fish, just on the forward side of the dorsal fin, -with a deadly gripe, and the poor fish was swimming round and round -slowly, or twisting its body as if in pain. The head of its black enemy -was sometimes almost pulled under water, but never entirely, for the -fish did not seem to have had enough strength, but moved its fins as if -exhausted, and often rested. At last it swam under a floating leaf at -the shore, and appeared to be trying, by going under that, to scrape off -the Spider, but without effect. They then got close to the bank, when -suddenly the long black legs of the Spider came up out of the water, -where they had possibly been embracing a fish (I have seen Spiders seize -flies with all their legs at once), reached out behind, and fastened -upon the irregularities of the side of the ditch. The Spider then -commenced tugging to get his prize up the bank. My friend stayed to -watch them, while I went to the nearest house for a wide-mouthed bottle. -During the six or eight minutes that I was away, the Spider had drawn -the fish entirely out of the water, when they had both fallen in again, -the bank being nearly perpendicular. There had been a great struggle; -and now, on my return, the fish was already hoisted head first more than -half his length out on the land. The fish was very much exhausted, -hardly making any movement, and the Spider had evidently gained the -victory, and was slowly and steadily tugging him up. He had not once -quitted his hold during the quarter to half an hour that we had watched -them. He held, with his head toward the fish's tail, and pulled him up -at an angle of forty-five degrees by stepping backward.... The Spider -was three-fourths of an inch long, and weighed fourteen grains; the fish -was three and one-fourth inches long, and weighed sixty-six -grains."[1171] - -The following interesting account of the rarely-witnessed phenomenon of -a shower of webs of the Gossamer-spider, _Aranea obtextrix_, is given us -by Mr. White: "On the 21st of September, 1741, being intent on field -diversions, I rose," says this gentleman, "before daybreak; when I came -into the enclosures, I found the stubbles and clover grounds matted all -over with a thick coat of cobweb, in the meshes of which a copious and -heavy dew hung so plentifully, that the whole face of the country -seemed, as it were, covered with two or three setting-nets, drawn one -over another. When the dogs attempted to hunt, their eyes were so -blinded and hood-winked that they could not proceed, but were obliged to -lie down and scrape the incumbrances from their faces with their -fore-feet.... As the morning advanced, the sun became bright and warm, -and the day turned out one of the most lovely ones which no season but -the autumn produces; cloudless, calm, serene, and worthy of the south of -France itself. - -"About nine an appearance very unusual began to demand our attention, a -shower of cobwebs falling from very elevated regions, and continuing, -without any interruption, till the close of the day. These webs were not -single filmy threads, floating in the air in all directions, but perfect -flakes of rags; some near an inch broad, and five or six long. On every -side, as the observer turned his eyes, might he behold a continual -succession of fresh flakes falling into his sight, and twinkling like -stars."[1172] - -The Times of October 9th, 1826, records another shower of gossamer as -follows: "On Sunday, Oct. 1st, 1826, a phenomenon of rare occurrence in -the neighborhood of Liverpool was observed in that vicinage, and for -many miles distant, especially at Wigan. The fields and roads were -covered with a light filmy substance, which, by many persons, was -mistaken for cotton; although they might have been convinced of their -error, as staple cotton does not exceed a few inches in length, while -the filaments seen in such incredible quantities extended as many yards. -In walking in the fields the shoes were completely covered with it, and -its floating fibres came in contact with the face in all directions. -Every tree, lamp-post, or other projecting body had arrested a portion -of it. It profusely descended at Wigan like a sleet, and in such -quantities as to affect the appearance of the atmosphere. On examination -it was found to contain small flies, some of which were so diminutive as -to require a magnifying glass to render them perceptible. The substance -so abundant in quantity, was the gossamer of the garden, or field -Spider, often met with in fine weather in the country, and of which, -according to Buffon, it would take 663,552 Spiders to produce a single -pound."[1173] - -"In the yeare that L. Paulus and C. Marcellus were Consuls," says Pliny, -"it rained wool about the castle Carissa, neare to which a yeare after, -T. Annius Milo was slaine."[1174] This rain of wool was doubtless a -shower of gossamer. - -It was an old and strange notion that the gossamer webs were composed of -dew burned by the sun. Says Spenser: - - More subtle web Arachne cannot spin; - Nor _the fine nets_, which oft we woven see, - Of _scorched dew_, do not in th' ayre more lightly flee.[1175] - -Thomson also: - - How still the breeze! save what _the filmy threads_ - Of _dew evaporate_ brushes from the plain.[1176] - -And Quarles: - - And now _autumnal dews_ were seen - To _cobweb_ every green.[1177] - -Likewise Blackmore: - - How part is spun in _silken threads_, and clings, - Entangled in the grass, in _gluey strings_.[1178] - -Henry More also mentions this old belief; but suspected, however, the -true origin and use of the filmy threads: - - As light and thin as _cobwebs_ that do fly - In the blue air caused by th' _autumnal sun_, - That _boils the dew_, that on the earth doth lie; - May seem this whitish rag then is the scum; - Unless that wiser men mak't the _field-spider's loom_.[1179] - -Jamieson, in his Scottish Dictionary, gives _sun-dew webs_ as a name -given in the South of Scotland to the gossamer. - -The Swedes call a cobweb _dwaergsnaet_, from _dwaerg_, a species of -malevolent fairy or demon; very ingenious, and supposed often to assume -the appearance of a Spider, and to form these nets. The peasants of that -country say, _Jorden naetjar sig_, "the earth covers itself with a net," -when the whole surface of the ground is covered with gossamer, which, it -is commonly believed, indicates the seedtime.[1180] - -Voss, in a note on his Luise (iii. 17), says that the popular belief in -Germany is, that the gossamers are woven by the Dwarfs. Keightley thinks -the word gossamer is a corruption of _gorse_, or _goss samyt_, _i.e._ -the _samyt_, or finely-woven silken web that lies on the _gorse_ or -furze.[1181] - -A learned man and good natural philosopher, and one of the first Fellows -of the Royal Society, Robert Hooke, the author of _Micrographia_, -gravely remarked in his scientific disquisition on the gossamer, that it -"was not unlikely, but those great white clouds, that appear all the -summer time, may be of the same substance!!"[1182] - -The following well-authenticated incident is told by Turner as having -occurred when he was a young practitioner: A certain young woman was -accustomed, when she went into the vault after night, to go -Spider-hunting, as she called it, setting fire to the webs of Spiders, -and burning the insects with the flame of the candle. It happened at -length, however, after this whimsey had been indulged a long time, one -of the persecuted Spiders sold its life much dearer than those hundreds -she had destroyed, and most effectually cured her of her idle cruel -practice; for, in the words of Dr. James, "lighting upon the melted -tallow of her candle, near the flame, and his legs becoming entangled -therein, so that he could not extricate himself, the flame or heat -coming on, he was made a sacrifice to his cruel persecutor, who, -delighting her eyes with the spectacle, still waiting for the flame to -take hold of him, he presently burst with a great crack, and threw his -liquor, some into her eyes, but mostly upon her lips; by means of which, -flinging away her candle, she cried out for help, as fancying herself -killed already with the poison." In the night the woman's lips swelled -excessively, and one of her eyes was much inflamed. Her gums and tongue -were also affected, and a continual vomiting attended. For several days -she suffered the greatest pain, but was finally cured by an old woman -with a preparation of plantain leaves and cobwebs applied to the eyes, -and taken inwardly two or three times a day. - -Before this accident happened to her, this woman asserted that the smell -of the Spiders burning oftentimes so affected her head, that objects -about her seemed to turn round; she grew faint also with cold sweats, -and sometimes a light vomiting followed, yet so great was her delight in -tormenting these creatures, and driving them from their webs, that she -could not forbear, till she met with the above narrated accident.[1183] - -A similar story is related by Nic. Nicholas of a man he saw at his hotel -in Florence, who, burning a large black Spider in the flame of a candle, -and staying for some time in the same room, from the fumes arising, grew -feeble, and fell into a fainting fit, suffering all night great -palpitation at the heart, and afterward a pulse so very low as to be -scarcely felt.[1184] - -Several monks, in a monastery in Florence, are said to have died from -the effects of drinking wine from a vessel in which there was afterward -found a drowned Spider.[1185] - -There are two animals to which the Italians give the name Tarantula: the -one is a species of Lizard, whose bite is reputed mortal, found about -Fondi, Cajeta, and Capua; the other is a large Spider, found in the -fields in several parts of Italy, and especially at Tarentum--hence the -name. "Such as are stung by this creature (the _Aranea Tarantula_)," -says Misson, "make a thousand different gestures in a moment; for they -weep, dance, tremble, laugh, grow pale, cry, swoon away, and, after a -few days of torment, expire, if they be not assisted in time. They find -some relief by sweating and antidotes, but _music_ is the great and -specific remedy. A learned gentleman of unquestionable credit told me at -Rome, that he had been twice a witness both of the disease and of the -cure. They are both attended with circumstances that seem very strange; -but the matter of fact is well attested, and undeniable."[1186] Such is -the story generally told, believed, and unquestioned, that has found its -way into the works of many learned travelers and naturalists, but which -is without the slightest shadow of truth. - -"I think I could produce," continues the deluded Misson, "natural and -easy reasons to explain this effect of music; but without engaging -myself in a dissertation that would carry me too far, I shall content -myself with relating some other instances of the same kind: Every one -knows the efficacy of David's harp to restore Saul to the use of his -reason. I remember Lewis Guyon, in his Lessons, has a story of a lady of -his acquaintance, who lived one hundred and six years without ever using -any other remedy than music; for which purpose she allowed a salary to a -certain musician, whom she called her physician; and I might add that I -was particularly acquainted with a gentleman, very much subject to the -gout, who infallibly received ease, and sometimes was wholly freed from -his pains by a loud noise. He used to make all his servants come into -his chamber, and beat with all their force upon the table and floor; and -the noise they made, in conjunction with the sound of the violin, was -his sovereign remedy."[1187] - -In the Treasvrie of Avncient and Moderne Times, printed in London, the -year 1619, we find the following: "_Alexander Alexandrinus_ proceedeth -farther, affirming that he beheld one wounded by this Spider, to dance -and leape about incessantly, and the Musitians (finding themselves -wearied) gave over playing: whereupon, the poore offended dancer, hauing -vtterly lost all his forces, fell downe on the ground, as if he had bene -dead. The Musitians no sooner began to playe againe, but hee returned to -himselfe, and mounting vp vpon his feet, danced againe as lustily as -formerly hee had done, and so continued dancing still, til hee found the -harme asswaged, and himselfe entirely recovered. Heereunto he addeth, -that when it hath happened, that a man hath not beene thorowly cured by -Musique in this manner; within some short while after, hearing the sound -of Instruments, hee hath recouered footing againe, and bene enforced to -hold on dancing, and never to ceasse, till his perfect and absolute -healing, which (questionlesse) is admirable in nature."[1188] - -Robert Boyle, in his Usefulness of Natural Philosophy, among other -stories of the power of music upon those bitten by Tarantulas, mentions -the following: "_Epiphanius Ferdinandus_ himself not only tells us of a -man of 94 years of age, and weak, that he could not go, unless supported -by his staff, who did, upon the hearing of musick after he was bitten, -immediately fall a dancing and capering like a kid; and affirms that -Tarantulas themselves may be brought to leap and dance at the sound of -lutes, small drums, bagpipes, fiddles, etc.; but challenges those, that -believe them not, to come and try, promising them an occular conviction: -and adds what is very memorable and pleasant, that not only men, in whom -much may be ascribed to fancy, but other animals being bitten, may -likewise, by musick, be reduced to leap or dance: for he saith, he saw a -Wasp, which being bitten by a Tarantula, whilst a lutanist chanced to be -by; the musician, playing upon his instrument gave them the sport of -seeing both the Wasp and Spider begin to dance: Annexing, that a bitten -Cock did the like."[1189] - -In an Italian nobleman's palace, Skippon saw a fellow who was bitten by -a Tarantula; "he danced," says this traveler, "very antickly, with naked -swords, to a tune played on an instrument." The Italians say that if -the Spider be immediately killed, no such effects will appear; but as -long as it lives, the person bitten is subject to these paroxysms, and -when it dies he is free. Skippon says that usually they are the poorer -sort of people who say they are bitten, and they beg money while they -are in these dancing fits.[1190] - -Bell was informed at Buzabbatt (in Persia) that the celebrated Kashan -Tarantula "neither stings nor bites, but drops its venom upon the skin, -which is of such a nature that it immediately penetrates into the body, -and causes dreadful symptoms; such as giddiness of the head, a violent -pain in the stomach, and a lethargic stupefaction. The remedy is the -application of the same animal when braised to the part affected, by -which the poison is extracted. They also make the patient," continues -this traveler, "drink abundance of sweet milk, after which he is put in -a kind of tray, suspended by ropes fixed in the four corners; it is -turned round till the ropes are twisted hard together, and, when let go -at once, the untwining causes the basket to run round with a quick -motion, which forces the patient to vomit."[1191] - -Skippon was shown by Corvino, in his Museum at Rome, "a _Tarantula -Apula_, which he kept some time alive; and the poison of it, he said, -broke two glasses."[1192] - -In the Treasvrie of Avncient and Moderne Times, it is stated of "Harts, -that when they are bitten or stung by a venomous kinde of Spiders, -called _phalanges_; they heale themselves by eating _Creuisses_, though -others do hold, that it is by an Hearb growing in the water."[1193] - -Diodorus Siculus tells as that there border upon the country of the -Acridophagi a large tract of land, rich in fair pastures, but desert and -uninhabited; not that there were never any people there, but that -formerly, when it was inhabited, an immoderate rain fell, which bred a -vast host of Spiders and Scorpions: that these implacable enemies of the -country increased so, that though at first the whole nation attempted to -destroy them (for he who was bitten or stung by them, immediately fell -dead), so that, not knowing where to remain, or how to get food, they -were forced to fly to some other place for relief.[1194] Strabo has -inserted also this miraculous story in his Geography.[1195] - -Mr. Nichols mentions Spiders as having been embroidered on the white -gowns of ladies in the time of Queen Elizabeth.[1196] - -Sloane tells us the housekeepers of Jamaica keep large Spiders in their -houses to kill cockroaches.[1197] - -Captain Dampier, after minutely describing in his quaint way the "teeth" -of a "sort of Spider, some near as big as a Man's Fist," which are found -in the West Indies, says: "These Teeth we often preserve. Some wear them -in their Tobacco-pouches to pick their Pipes. Others preserve them for -tooth-pickers, especially such as are troubled with the toothache; for -by report they will expell that Pain."[1198] These teeth, which are of a -finely polished substance, extremely hard, and of a bright shining -black, are often, in the Bermudas, for these qualities set in silver or -gold and used also for tooth-picks.[1199] - -Dr. Sparrman says that Spiders form an article of the Bushman's -dainties;[1200] and Labillardiere tells us that the inhabitants of New -Caledonia seek for and eat with avidity large quantities of a Spider -nearly an inch long (which he calls _Aranea edulis_) and which they -roast over the fire.[1201] Spiders are also eaten by the American -Indians and Australians.[1202] Molien says: "The people of Maniana, -south of Gambia and Senegal, are cannibals. They eat Spiders, Beetles, -and old men."[1203] In Siam, also, we learn from Turpin, the egg-bags of -Spiders are considered a delicate food. The bags of certain poisonous -species which make holes in the ground in the woods are preferred.[1204] - -And Peter Martyr, in his History of the West Indies, makes the following -statement: "The Chiribichenses (Caribbeans) eate Spiders, Frogges, and -whatsoever woormes, and lice also without loathing, although in other -thinges they are so queasie stomaked, that if they see anything that -doth not like them, they presently cast upp whatsoever is in their -stomacke."[1205] - -Reaumur tells us of a young lady who when she walked in her grounds -never saw a Spider that she did not take and eat upon the spot.[1206] -Another female, the celebrated Anna Maria Schurman, used to crack them -between her teeth like nuts, which she affirmed they much resembled in -taste, excusing her propensity by saying that she was born under the -sign Scorpio.[1207] "When Alexander reigned, it is reported that there -was a very beautiful strumpet in Alexandria, that fed alwayes from her -childhood on Spiders, and for that reason the king was admonished that -he should be very carefull not to embrace her, lest he should be -poysoned by venome that might evaporate from her by sweat. Albertus -Magnus also makes mention of a certain noble mayd of Collen, that was -fed with Spiders from her childhood. And we in England have a great lady -yet living, who will not leave off eating of them. And Phaerus, a -physician, did often eat them without any hurt at all."[1208] - -La Lande, the celebrated French astronomer, we are told by Disjonval, -ate as delicacies Spiders and Caterpillars. He boasted of this as a -philosophic trait of character, that he could raise himself above -dislikes and prejudices; and, to cure Madame Lepaute of a very annoying -fear of, and antipathy to Spiders, it is said he gradually habituated -her to look upon them, to touch, and finally to swallow them as readily -as he himself.[1209] - -A German, immortalized by Roesel, used to eat Spiders by handfuls, and -spread them upon his bread like butter, observing that he found them -very useful, "_um sich auszulaxiren_."[1210] - -The satirist, Peter Pindar, records the same of Sir Joshua Banks: - - How early Genius shows itself at times, - Thus Pope, the prince of poets, lisped in rhymes, - And our Sir Joshua Banks, most strange to utter, - To whom each cockroach-eater is a fool, - Did, when a very little boy at school, - Eat Spiders, spread upon his bread and butter. - -Conradus, bishop of Constance, at the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, -drank off a Spider that had fallen into his cup of wine, while he was -busied in the consecration of the elements; "yet did he not receive the -least hurt or damage thereby."[1211] - -We learn from Poggio, the Florentine, that Zisca, the great and -victorious reformer of Bohemia, was such an epicure, that he only asked -for, as his share of the plunder, what he was pleased to call "the -cobwebs, which hung from the roofs of the farmers' houses." It is said, -however, that this was but one of his witty circumlocutions to express -the hams, sausages, and pig-cheeks, for which Bohemia has always been -celebrated.[1212] - -For the bite of all Spiders, according to Pliny, the best remedies are -"a cock's brains, taken in oxycrate with a little pepper; five ants, -swallowed in drink; sheep's dung applied in vinegar; and Spiders of any -kind, left to putrify in oil."[1213] Another proper remedy, says this -writer, is, "to present before the eyes of a person stung another Spider -of the same description, a purpose for which they are preserved when -found dead. Their husks also," he continues, "found in a dry state, are -beaten up and taken in drink for a similar purpose. The young of the -weasel, too, are possessed of a similar property."[1214] - -Among the remedies given by Pliny for diseases of eyes, is mentioned -"the cobweb of the common fly-Spider, that which lines its hole more -particularly. This," he continues, "applied to the forehead across the -temples, in a compress of some kind or other, is said to be marvellously -useful for the cure of defluxions of the eyes; the web must be taken, -however, and applied by the hands of a boy who has not arrived at the -years of puberty; the boy, too, must not show himself to the patient for -three days, and during those three days neither of them must touch the -ground with his feet uncovered. The white Spider with very elongated, -thin legs, beaten up in old oil, forms an ointment which is used for the -cure of albugo. The Spider, too, whose web, of remarkable thickness, is -generally found adhering to the rafters of houses, applied in a piece of -cloth, is said to be curative of defluxions of the eyes."[1215] - -As a remedy for the ears, Pliny says: "The thick pulp of a Spider's -body, mixed with oil of roses, is used for the ears; or else the pulp -applied by itself with saffron or in wool."[1216] - -For fractures of the cranium, Pliny says, cobwebs are applied, with oil -and vinegar; the application never coming away till a cure has been -effected. Cobwebs are good, too, he continues, for stopping the bleeding -of wounds made in shaving.[1217] They are still used for this purpose, -as also the fur from articles made of beaver. - -In Ben Jonson's Stable of News, Almanac says of old Penny boy (as a skit -upon his penuriousness), that he - - Sweeps down no cobwebs here, - But sells 'em for cut fingers; and the Spiders, - As creatures rear'd of dust, and cost him nothing, - To fat old ladies' monkies.[1218] - -And Shakspeare, in his Midsummer-Night's Dream, makes Bottom say to the -fairy Cobweb: - - "I shall desire you of more acquaintance, good master Cobweb. If I - cut my finger, I shall make bold with you."[1219] - -Pills formed of Spiders' webs are still considered an infallible cure -for the ague.[1220] Dr. Graham, in his Domestic Medicine, prescribes it -for ague and intermittent fever. And Spiders themselves, with their legs -pinched off, and then powdered with flour, so as to resemble a pill, -are also sometimes given for ague.[1221] Dr. Chapman, of Philadelphia, -states that in doses of five grains of Spiders' web, repeated every -fourth or fifth hour, he has cured some obstinate intermittents, -suspended the paroxysms of hectic, overcome morbid vigilance from -excessive nervous mobility, and quieted irritation of the system from -various causes, and not less as connected with protracted coughs and -other chronic pectoral affections.[1222] - -Mrs. Delany, in a letter dated March 1st, 1743-4, gives two infallible -recipes for ague. - -1st. Pounded ginger, made into paste with brandy, spread on sheep's -leather, and a plaister of it laid over the navel. - -2d. A Spider put into a goose-quill, well sealed and secured, and hung -about the child's neck as low as the pit of its stomach. - -Upon this Lady Llanover notes: "Although the prescription of the Spider -in the quill will probably create amusement, considered as an old charm, -yet there is no doubt of the medicinal virtues of Spiders and their -webs, which have been long known to the Celtic inhabitants of Great -Britain and Ireland."[1223] - -The above mentioned Dr. Graham states that he has known of a Spider -having been sewed up in a rag and worn as a periapt round the neck to -charm away the ague.[1224] - -In the Netherlands, it is thought good for an ague, to inclose a Spider -between the two halves of a nut-shell, and wear it about the neck.[1225] - -"In the diary of Elias Ashmole, 11th April, 1681, is preserved the -following curious incident: 'I took early in the morning a good dose of -elixir, and hung three Spiders about my neck, and they drove my ague -away. Deo gratias!' Ashmole was a judicial astrologer, and the patron of -the renowned Mr. Lilly. Par nobile fratrum."[1226] - -"Among the approved Remedies of Sir Matthew Lister, I find," says Dr. -James, "that the distilled water of black Spiders is an excellent cure -for wounds, and that this was one of the choice secrets of Sir Walter -Raleigh.... - -"The Spider is said to avert the paroxisms of fevers, if it be applied -to the pulse of the wrist, or the temples; but it is peculiarly -recommended against a quartan, being enclosed in the shell of a -hazlenut.... - -"The Spider, which some call the catcher, or wolf, being beaten into a -plaister, then sewed up in linen, and applied to the forehead and -temples, prevents the return of the tertian.... There is another kind of -Spider, which spins a white, fine, and thick web. One of this sort, -wrapped in leather, and hung about the arm, will, it is said, avert the -fit of a quartan. Boiled in oil of roses, and distilled into the ears, -it eases (says Dioscorides, ii. 68) pains in those parts.... - -"The country people have a tradition, that a small quantity of Spiders' -web, given about an hour before the fit of an ague, and repeated -immediately before it, is effectual in curing that troublesome, and -sometimes obstinate distemper.... The Indians about North Carolina have -great dependence on this remedy for ague, to which they are much -subject."[1227] - -"Of the cod or bags of Spiders, M. Bon caused a sort of drops to be -made, in imitation of those of Goddard, because they contain a great -quantity of volatile salt."[1228] - -Moufet, in Theatrum Insectorum, has the following: "Also that knotty -whip of God, and mock of all physicians, the Gowt, which learned men say -can be cured by no remedy, findes help and cure by a Spider layed on, if -it be taken at that time when neither sun nor moon shine, and the hinder -legs pulled off, and put into a deer's skin and bound to the pained -foot, and be left on it for some time. Also for the most part we finde -those people to be free from the gowt of hands or feet (which few -medicaments can doe), in whose houses the Spiders breed much, and doth -beautifie them with her tapestry and hangings.... Our chirurgeons cure -warts thus: They wrap a Spider's ordinary web into the fashion of a -ball, and laying it on the wart, they set it on fire, and so let it burn -to ashes; by this means the wart is rooted out by the roots, and will -never grow again.... I cannot but repeat a history that I formerly heard -from our dear friend worthy to be believed, Bruerus. A lustfull nephew -of his, having spent his estate in rioting and brothel-houses, being -ready to undertake anything for money, to the hazzard of his life; when -he heard of a rich matron of London, that was troubled with a timpany, -and was forsaken of all physicians as past cure, he counterfeited -himself to be a physician in practice, giving forth that he would cure -her and all diseases. But as the custom is, he must have half in hand, -and the other half under her hand, to be payed when she was cured. Then -he gave her a Spider to drink, as supposing her past cure, promising to -make her well in three dayes, and so in a coach with four horses he -presently hastes out of town, lest there being a rumor of the death of -her (which he supposed to be very neer) he should be apprehended for -killing her. But the woman shortly after by the force of the venome was -cured, and the ignorant physician, who was the author of so great a -work, was not known. After some moneths this good man returns, not -knowing what had happened, and secretly enquiring concerning the state -of that woman, he heard she was recovered. Then he began to boast -openly, and to ask her how she had observed her diet, and he excused his -long absence, by reason of the sickenesse of a principal friend, and -that he was certain that no harm could proceed from so healthful -physick; also he asked confidently for the rest of his reward, and to be -given him freely."[1229] - -"A third kind of Spiders," says Pliny, "also known as the 'phalangium,' -is a Spider with a hairy body, and a head of enormous size. When opened, -there are found in it two small worms, they say: these, attached in a -piece of deer's skin, before sunrise, to a woman's body, will prevent -conception, according to what Caecilius, in his Commentaries, says. This -property lasts, however, for a year only; and, indeed, it is the only -one of all the anti-conceptives that I feel myself at liberty to -mention, in favour of some women whose fecundity, quite teeming with -children (plena liberis), stands in need of some such respite."[1230] - -Mr. John Aubrey, in the chapter of his Miscellanies devoted to Magick, -gives the following: "To cure a Beast that is sprung, (that is) poisoned -(It mostly lights upon Sheep): Take the little red Spider, called a -tentbob (not so big as a great pin's-head), the first you light upon in -the spring of the year, and rub it in the palm of your hand all to -pieces: and having so done, make water on it, and rub it in, and let it -dry; then come to the beast and make water in your hand, and throw it in -his mouth. It cures in a matter of an hour's time. This rubbing serves -for a whole year, and it is no danger to the hand. The chiefest skill is -to know whether the beast be poisoned or no."[1231] Mr. Aubrey had this -receipt from Mr. Pacy. - -In the year 1709, M. Bon, of Montpellier, communicated to the Royal -Academy of that city a discovery which he had made of a new kind of -silk, from the very fine threads with which several species of Spiders -(probably the _Aranea diadema_ and others closely allied to it) inclose -their eggs; which threads were found to be much stronger than those -composing the Spider's web. They were easily separated, carded, and -spun, and then afforded a much finer thread than that of the silk-worm, -but, according to Reaumur, inferior to this both in luster and strength. -They were also found capable of receiving all the different dyes with -equal facility. M. Bon carried his experiments so far as to obtain two -or three pairs of stockings and gloves of this silk, which were of an -elegant gray color, and were presented, as samples, to the Academy. As -the Spiders also were much more prolific, and much more hardy than -silk-worms, great expectations were formed of benefit of the discovery. -Reaumur accordingly took up and prosecuted the inquiry with zeal. He -computed that 663,522 Spiders would scarcely furnish a single pound of -silk; and conceived that it would be impossible to provide the -necessarily immense numbers with flies, their natural food. This -obstacle, however, was soon removed, by his finding that they would -subsist very well upon earth-worms chopped, and upon the soft ends or -roots of feathers. But a new obstacle arose from their unsocial -propensities, which proved insurmountable; for though at first they -seemed to feed quietly, and even work together, several of them at the -same web, yet they soon began to quarrel, and the strongest devoured the -weakest, so that of several hundred, placed together in a box, but three -or four remained alive after a few days; and nobody could propose to -keep and feed each separately. The silk was found to be naturally of -different colors; particularly white, yellow, gray, sky-blue, and -coffee-colored brown.[1232] - -A Spider raiser in France, more recently, is said to have tamed eight -hundred Spiders, which he kept in a single apartment for their -silk.[1233] - -De Azara states that in Paraguay a Spider forms a spherical cocoon for -its eggs, an inch in diameter, of a yellow silk, which the inhabitants -spin on account of the permanency of the color.[1234] - -The ladies of Bermuda make use of the silk of the Silk-Spider, _Epeira -clavipes_, for sewing purposes.[1235] - -The Spider-web fabric has been carried so nearly to transparency (in -Hindostan) that the Emperor Aurengzebe is said to have reproved his -daughter for the indelicacy of her costume, while she wore as many as -seven thicknesses of it.[1236] - -Astronomers employ the strongest thread of Spiders, the one, namely, -that supports the web, for the divisions of the micrometer. By its -ductility this thread acquires about a fifth of its ordinary -length.[1237] - -Topsel, in his History of Four-footed Beasts and Serpents, has the -following, which he calls an "old and common verse: - - Nos aper auditu praecellit, Aranea tactu, - Vultur odoratu, lynx visu, simia gustu. - -Which may be Englished thus: - - To hear, the boar, to touch, the Spider us excells, - The lynx to see, the ape to taste, the vulture for the smells." - [1238] - -"It is manifest," says Moufet, "that Spiders are bred of some aereall -seeds putrefied, from filth and corruption, because that the newest -houses the first day they are whited will have both Spiders and cobwebs -in them."[1239] This theory of generation from putrefaction was a -favorite one among the ancient writers; see the history of the Scorpion. - - - - -MISCELLANEOUS. - - -It may be new to many of our readers, who are familiar with the Elegy in -a Country Church-yard, to be told that its author was at the pains to -turn the characteristics of the Linnaean orders of insects into Latin -hexameters, the manuscript of which is still preserved in his -interleaved copy of the "Systema Naturae."[1240] - -It is related by Boerhaave, in his Life of Swammerdam, that when the -Grand Duke of Tuscany was visiting with Mr. Thevenot the curiosities of -Holland, in 1668, he found nothing more worthy of his admiration than -the great naturalist's account of the structure of caterpillars,--for -Swammerdam, by the skillful management of instruments of wonderful -delicacy and fineness, showed the duke in what manner the future -butterfly, with all its parts, lies neatly folded up in the caterpillar, -like a rose in the unexpanded bud. He was, indeed, so struck with this -and other wonders of the insect world, disclosed to him by the great -naturalist, that he made him the offer of twelve thousand florins to -induce him to reside at his court; but Swammerdam, from feelings of -independence, modestly declined to accept it, preferring to continue his -delightful studies at home.[1241] - -There is an epitaph in the church of St. Hilary at Poictiers, beginning -"Vermibus hic ponor," which the people interpreted to mean that a Saint -was buried there who undertook to cure children of the worms. Women, -accordingly used to scrape the tomb and administer the powder; but the -clergy, to prevent this absurdity (for Luther had arisen), erected a -barrier to keep them off. They soon began, however, to carry away for -the same purpose pieces of the wooden bars.[1242] - -A diseased woman at Patton, drinking of the water in which the bones of -St. Milburge were washed, there came from her stomach "a filthie worme, -ugly and horrible to behold, having six feete, two hornes on his head, -and two on his tayle." Brother Porter, in his Flowers of the Saints, -tells this, and adds that the "worme was shutt up in a hollow piece of -wood, and reserved afterward in the monasterie as a trophy and monument -of S. Milburg, untill, by the lascivious furie of him that destroyed all -goodness in England, that with other religious houses and monasteries, -went to ruin." Hence the "filthie worme" was lost, and we have nothing -now instead but the Reformation.[1243] - -Capt. Clarke, in his passage from Dublin to Chester, on the 2d of -September, 1733, met with a cloud "of flying insects of various sorts," -which stuck about the rigging of the vessel in a surprising -manner.[1244] - -De Geer, chamberlain to the King of Sweden, writes (iv. 63) that in -January, 1749, at Leufsta, in Sweden, and in three or four neighboring -parishes, the snow was covered with living worms and insects of various -kinds. The people assured him they fell with the snow, and he was shown -several that had dropped on people's hats. He caused the snow to be -removed from places where these worms had been seen, and found several -which seemed to be on the surface of the snow which had fallen before, -and were covered by the succeeding. It was impossible that they could -have come there from under the ground, which was then frozen more than -three feet deep, and absolutely impervious to such insects. In 1750, he -again discovered vast quantities of insects on the snow, which covered a -large frozen lake some leagues from Stockholm. Preceding and -accompanying both these falls of insects were violent storms that had -torn up trees by the roots, and carried away to a great distance the -surrounding earth, and at the same time the insects which had taken up -their winter quarters in it.[1245] These insects were chiefly -_Brachyptera_ L., _Aphodii_, Spiders, caterpillars, and particularly the -larvae of the _Telephorus fuscus_.[1246] Another shower of insects is -recorded to have fallen in Hungary, November 20, 1672;[1247] another, -also, in the newspapers of July 2d, 1810, to have fallen in France the -January preceding, accompanied by a shower of red snow.[1248] - -In the Muses Threnodie, p. 213, we read that "many are the instances, -even to this day, of charms practised among the vulgar, especially among -the Highlands, attended with forms of prayer. In the Miscellaneous MS., -written by Baillie Dundee, among several medicinal receipts I find an -exorcism against all kinds of worms in the body, in the name of the -Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, to be repeated three mornings, as a certain -remedy."[1249] - -The Guahibo, Humboldt says, that "eats everything that exists above, and -everything under ground," eats insects, and particularly scolopendras -and worms.[1250] The same traveler also says he has seen the Indian -children drag out of the earth centipedes eighteen inches long, and more -than half an inch broad, and devour them.[1251] - -"The seventeene of March, 1586," says John Stow in his Annales of -England, "a strange thing happened, the like whereof before hath not -beene heard of in our time. Master Dorington, of Spaldwicke, in the -countie of Huntington, esquier, one of his maiesties gentlemen -Pensioners, had a horse which died sodainly, and, being ripped to see -the cause of his death, there was found in the hole of the hart of the -same horse a strange worme, which lay on a round heape in a kall or skin -of the likeness of a toade, which, being taken out and spread abroad, -was in forme and fashion not easie to be described, the length of which -worme divided into many greines to the number of fiftie (spread from the -bodie like the branches of a tree), was from the snowte to the ende of -the longest greine, seventeene inches, having four issues in the -greines, from the which dropped foorth a red water; the body in bignes -round about was three inches and a halfe, the colour whereof was very -like a makerel. This monstrous worme, found in manner aforesaid, -crauling to have got away, was stabbed in with a dagger and died, which, -after being dried, was shewed to many honorable persons of the -realme."[1252] - -Dr. Sparrman, in his journey to Paarl, an inland town at the Cape of -Good Hope, having filled his insect-box with fine specimens, was obliged -to put a "whole regiment of flies and other insects" round the brim of -his hat. Having entered the house of a rich old widow troubled with the -gout, for food, he was warned by his servant that if she should happen -to see the insects he would certainly be turned out of doors for a -conjuror (hexmeester). Accordingly he was very careful to keep his hat -always turned away from her, but all would not do--the old lady -discovered the "little beasts," and to her greater astonishment that -they were run through their bodies with pins. An immediate explanation -was demanded; and had the doctor not been just then lamenting with the -widow for her deceased husband, and giving dissertations on the dropsy -and cough that carried off the poor man, the explanation he gave would -hardly have been sufficient to quell the rage of this superstitious boor -at the thought of there being a sorcerer in her house.[1253] - -In several parts of Europe quite a trade is carried on in the way of -buying and selling rare insects, chiefly the rare Alpine butterflies and -moths. The instant the entomologist steps from his carriage, in the -celebrated valley of Chamouni, with net in hand, whence he is known to -be a papillionist, he is surrounded by half a dozen Savoyard boys, from -the age of fifteen down to eight, each with a large collecting-box full -of insects in his hands for sale, and with the scientist bargains for -the insects that are found only on the mountains, and which these hardy -chaps alone can obtain. There are again insect dealers on a larger -scale, who live there, and have many of these boys in their employ; one -of which wholesale merchants, Michel Bossonney, at Martigni in the -Vallais, in the year 1829, sold 7000 insects, mostly of rare and -beautiful species. Another dealer, on a perhaps still larger scale, is -M. Provost Duval, of Geneva, a highly respectable entomologist. In 1830, -he could supply upwards of 600 species of Lepidoptera, and as many -Coleoptera, of the Swiss Alps, the south of France, and Germany, at -prices varying from one to fifteen francs each, according to their -rarity. - -The advantage of this new traffic, both to the individuals engaged in it -and to science, is great. Now the _Sphinx (Deilephila) hippophaes_, -formerly sold at sixty francs each, and of which one of the first -discovered specimens was sold for two hundred francs, is so plentiful, -in consequence of the numbers collected and reared through their several -stages, by the peasants all along the course of the Arve, where the -plant, _Hippophae rhamoeides_, on which the larvae feed, and the imago -takes its specific name, grows in profusion, that a specimen costs but -three francs. A general taste also for the science, and an appreciation -for beauty, is spread by the more striking Alpine species, such as -_Parnassius apollo_ and _Calichroma alpina_, not only among the -travelers who buy them for their beauty, who before would hardly deign -to look upon an insect, but among the more ignorant Alpine collectors -themselves.[1254] - -Navarette, under the head of "Insects and Vermin," speaks of an animal -which the Chinese call Jen Ting, or Wall-dragon, because it runs up and -down walls. It is also, says this traveler, called the Guard of the -Palace, and this for the following reason: The emperors were accustomed -to make an ointment of this insect, and some other ingredients, with -which they anointed their concubines' wrists, as the mark of it -continued as long as they had not to do with man; but as soon as they -did so, it immediately vanished, by which their honesty or falsehood was -discovered. Hence it came that this insect was called the Guard of the -Court, or, of the court ladies. Navarette laments that all men have not -a knowledge of this wonderful ointment.[1255] - -Navarette tells us he once caught (in China?) a small insect that was -injurious to poultry--"a very deformed insect, and of a strange -shape"--when, as soon as it was known, several women ran to him to beg -its _tail_. He gave it to them, and they told him it was of excellent -use when dried, and made into powder, "being a prodigious help to women -in labor, to forward their delivery, if they drank it in a little -wine."[1256] - -The Irish have a large beetle of which strange tales are believed; they -term it the Coffin-cutter, and deem it in some way connected with the -grave and purgatory.[1257] - -Turpin, in his History of Siam, says: "There is a very singular animal -in Siam ... bred in the dung of elephants. It is entirely black, its -wings are strong, and its head extremely curious: it is furnished on the -top with several points, in the form of a trunk, and a small horn in the -middle: it has four large feet, which raise it more than an inch from -the ground: its back seems to be one very hard entire shell. It flies to -the very top of the cocoa-trees, of which it eats the heart, and often -kills them, if a remedy is not applied. Children play with them, and -make them fight."[1258] - -General Count Dejeau, Aid-de-camp to Napoleon Bonaparte, was so anxious, -says Jaeger, in his Life of North American Insects, to increase the -number of specimens in his entomological cabinet, that he even availed -himself of his military campaigns for this purpose, and was continually -occupied in collecting insects and fastening them with pins on the -outside of his hat, which was always covered with them. The Emperor, as -well as the whole army, were accustomed to see General Dejeau's head -thus singularly ornamented, even when in battle. But the departed -spirits of those murdered insects once had their revenge on him; for, in -the battle of Wagram, in 1809, and while he was at the side of Napoleon, -a shot from the enemy struck Dejeau's head, and precipitated him -senseless from his horse. Soon, however, recovering from the shock, and -being asked by the Emperor if he was still alive, he answered, "I am not -dead; but, alas! my insects are all gone!" for his hat was literally -torn to pieces.[1259] - -Professor Jaeger tells also the following anecdote of another passionate -naturalist: The celebrated Prince Paul of Wuertemberg, whom Mr. Jaeger -met in 1829 at Port-au-Prince, being one day at the latter's house, shed -tears of envy when he showed him the gigantic beetle Actaeon, which, only -a short time before, had been presented to him by the Haytien Admiral -Banajotti, he having found it at the foot of a cocoa-nut tree on his -plantation.[1260] - -While traveling in Poland, Professor Jaeger visited the highly -accomplished Countess Ragowska, at her country residence, when she -exhibited her fine, scientifically-arranged collection of butterflies -and other insects, and told him that she had personally instructed her -children in botany, history, and geography by means of her entomological -cabinet--botany, from the plants on which the various larvae feed; -history, from the names, as Menelaus, Berenice, etc., given as specific -names to the perfect insects; and geography, from the native countries -of the several specimens.[1261] From the scientific names of insects, -and the technical terms employed in their study, quite a knowledge of -Latin and Greek, and philology in general, might also be gained. - -In R. Brookes' "Natural History of Insects, with their properties and -uses in medicine," we find the following statement: "There have been the -solid shells of a sort of Beetle brought to England, that were found on -the eastern coast of Africa, over against part of the Island of -Madagascar, which the natives hang to their necks, and make use of them -as whistles to call their cattle together."[1262] What this "sort of -Beetle" is I have not been able yet to determine. - -Mr. Fitch W. Taylor, chaplain to the squadron commanded by Commodore -Geo. C. Read, gives a translation of several Siamese books, and among -others the Siamese Dream-book. It was translated by Mrs. Davenport, and -the subject is thus introduced: - -"In former times a great prophet and magician, who had much wisdom and -could foretell all future events, gave the following interpretation of -signs and dreams. Whosoever sees signs and visions, if he wishes to know -whether they forebode good or evil, whether happiness or misery, if he -dream of any animals, insects, birds, or fishes, and wishes to know the -interpretation, let him examine this book." - -Of these signs and dreams I make extract of those which refer to -insects, as follows: - -"If a person be alone, and an insect or reptile fall before the face, -but the individual see it only without touching it, it denotes that some -heavenly being will bestow great blessings on him. If it fall to the -right side, it denotes that all his friends, wherever scattered abroad, -shall again meet him in peace. If it fall behind the person, it denotes -that he shall be slandered and maliciously talked of by his friends and -acquaintances. If in falling it strike the face, it denotes that the -individual will soon be married. If it strike the right arm, it denotes -that the individual's wishes, whatever they are, shall be accomplished. -If it strike the left hand, it denotes that the individual will lose his -friends by death. If it strike the foot, it denotes that whatever -trouble the individual may have had, all shall vanish, and he shall -reach the summit of happiness. If, after touching the foot, it should -crawl upward toward the head, it denotes that the individual shall be -raised to high office by the rulers of his country. If it crawl to the -right side, it denotes that the person shall hear bad tidings of some -absent friend. If the insect or reptile fall without touching the body, -and immediately flee toward the northeast, it denotes deep but not -lasting trouble; if toward the northwest, it denotes that the person -shall receive numerous and valuable presents; if toward the southeast, -it denotes that he shall receive great riches, and afterwards go to a -distant land; or that he shall go to a distant land, and there amass -great wealth. - -"If an animal, insect, bird, or reptile, cross the path of any one as he -walks along, the animal coming from the right, let him not proceed--some -calamity will surely happen to him in the way. If the animal come from -the left, let him proceed--good fortune shall surely happen to him. If -the animal proceed before him in the same road in which he intends to -travel, it denotes good fortune.... - -"I now beg to interpret the signs of the night. If at midnight an -individual hears the noises of animals in the house where he resides, I -will show him whether they indicate good or evil. If any insect cry -'click, click, click,' he will possess real treasures while he abides -there. If it cry 'kek, kek,' it is an evil omen both to that and the -neighboring houses. If it cry 'chit, chit,' it denotes that he shall -always feed upon the most sumptuous provisions. If it cry 'keat, keat,' -in a loud, shrill voice, it denotes that his residence there shall be -attended with evil. - -"I now beg to interpret with regard to the Spider. If a Spider on the -ceiling utter a low, tremulous moan, it denotes that the individual who -hears the noise shall either change his residence or that his goods -shall be stolen. If it utter the same voice on the outside of the house, -and afterward the Spider crawl to the head of the bed, it denotes -troublesome visitors and quarrels to the residents."[1263] - -Thevenot, in his Travels into the Levant, relates the following: "But I -cannot tell what to say of a Moorish Woman who lives in a corner close -by the quarter of France, and pulls worms out of Children's Ears. When a -Child does nothing but cry, and that they know it is ill, they carry it -to that Woman, who, laying the Child on its side upon her knee, -scratches the ear of it, and then Worms, like those which breed in musty -weevily Flower, seem to fall out of the Child's Ear; then, turning it on -the other side, she scratches the other Ear, out of which the like Worms -drop also; and in all there may come out ten or twelve, which she raps -up in a Linen-Rag, and gives them to those that brought the Child to -her, who keep them in that Rag at home in their House; and when she has -done so she gives them back the Child, which in reality cries no more. -She once told me that she performed this by means of some words that she -spake. There was a French Physician and a Naturalist there, who -attentively beheld this, and told me that he could not conceive how it -could be done; but that he knew very well that if a child had any of -these Worms in its head it would quickly die. In so much that the Moors -and other inhabitants of _Caire_ look upon this as a great Vertue, and -give her every time a great many _maidins_ (pieces of money). They say -that it is a secret which hath been long in the Family. There are -children every day carried to her, roaring and crying, and as many would -see the thing done, need only to follow them, provided they be not -Musulman Women who carry them, for then it would cost an _Avanie_; but -when they are Christian or Jewish Women, one may easily enter and give a -few _maidins_ to that Worm-drawer."[1264] - -This is most probably but a sleight-of-hand performance, since "worms, -like those which breed in musty weevily flower," could easily be -obtained and concealed in her hand or sleeve; imagination would then -effect the cure, as probably it had done the disease. - -Dr. Livingstone and his party, in traveling in South Africa, sometimes -suffered considerably from scarcity of meat, though not from absolute -want of food. And the natives, says this traveler, to show their -sympathy, gave the children, who suffered most, a large kind of -caterpillar, which they seemed to relish. He concluded these insects -could not be unwholesome, for the natives devoured them in large -quantities themselves.[1265] - - - - -INDEX. - - - Abortion, Ant to cause, 170; - from hurt, Cochineal to prevent, 262. - - Abraxas for curing diseases, 37-39. - - _Acanthocinus aedilis_, 73. - _tribulus_, 74. - - _Acaridae_, 321. - - _Acarus_, 320, 321. - - _Acheta domestica_, 92-97. - - _Achetidae_, 92-97. - - Acid made from Ants, 161. - - _Acridites lincola_, 126. - - Acridophagi, account of the, 120. - - Adultery, insect to detect, 367. - - Africa, Ants in, 156-7; - Bees, 191, 200; - Butterflies, 227, 231; - Caterpillars, 372; - Crickets, 95; - Dragon-flies, 140; - Flies, 288; - Gnats, 282; - Goliath-beetle, 46; - Larvae, 71; - Lice, 317; - Locusts, 101-130; - Mantis, 84-88; - Soap from beetle, 23; - Spiders, 354; - Termites, 132-137. - - Agaric-Gnat, 286. - - _Agestrata luconica_, 49. - - _Agrotis telifera_, 247. - - Ague, Bed-bugs as a remedy for, 67; - Dung-beetle, 44; - Oil of Scorpions, 330; - Spiders, 357-360; - Stag-beetle, 26. - - Albugo, Cobwebs remedy for, 357. - - Ali Gamooni, forger of Scarab-gems, 38, n. - - Alopecia, Bees remedy for, 206. - - Altars ornamented with Chrysalids, 231. - - Amber, Ant inclosed in, 169; - Bee, 212. - - America, Bees in, 197; - Crickets, 95; - Fleas, 313; - Gnats, 281; - Lady-birds, 21; - Lice, 318; - Musk-beetle, 73; - Spiders, 354. - - Amputation on account of Chigoes, 315. - - Animals becoming plants, 90-92; - Egyptian worship of, theory on, 43, n. - - _Anobium pertinax_, 61. - _striatum_, 61. - _tesselatum_, 58-61. - - _Anopleura_, 316-320. - - Ant-hills, ovens made of, 134. - - Antipathy to Beetles, 74; - Spiders, 344. - - Antler-moth, 246. - - _Ant-lions_, 141. - - _Ants_, 146-170, 196, 295, 322, 327, 356. - - Anus, prolapsed, Scarab remedy for, 44. - - _Aphaniptera_, 305-315. - - _Aphidae_, 257-259. - - _Aphis humuli_, 258. - - _Apidae_, 174-215. - - _Apis centuncularis_, 213. - - Apple-blossoms, May-bugs produced with, 47. - - Apocalypse, symbolical Locusts of the, 123. - - Apollo, Locusts destroyed by, 128. - - Aquitaine, bloody-rain in, 218. - - Arabia, beetle eaten by women of, 65; - Silk-worms in, 239. - - _Arachnida_, 321-362. - - _Araneidae_, 332-362. - - _Aranea diadema_, 361. - - _Aranea edulis_, 354. - _obtextrix_, 347. - _tarantula_, 351. - - _Arctiidae_, 242-245. - - _Arctia chrysorrhoea_, 242. - - Armies routed by Mosquitoes, 282. - - Armpits, Silk-worms hatched under, 240. - - Arms, Bees on coat of, 196; - Butterfly, 229. - - Army-worm, 247. - - Arrows tipped with poison of an Ant, 161. - - Artificial flowers, beetles upon, 23. - - Artillery employed against Ants, 168; - Locusts, 106. - - _Ascarides_ in human stomach, 67. - - Asia, Honey-dew in, 257; - Locusts, 103-130. - - Ass, dung of, for sting of Scorpions, 326; - Fleas do not bite, 310; - Hornets generated from carcass of, 171; - Locusts, 101; - Scarabs, 170; - Scarab supposed to make its balls of the dung of, 28; - Silk woven by an, 241; - sting of Scorpions transferred to, 325; - Wasps generated from carcass of, 170. - - Assyria, Egyptian Scarab-gems among ruins of, 39-41. - - Assyrians, Locusts eaten by the, 126. - - Astringent, Galls as an, 145. - - Astronomical subjects, Scarab connected with, 33, 37. - - _Ateuchus AEgyptorum_, 29. - _sacer_, 29-43. - - Athenians, golden cicadas worn by, 251; - Locusts eaten by, 120. - - Athens, so-called Flies at, 291, n. - - Atrophy, Lice remedy for, 319. - - Auks, snow colored red by, 220, n. - - Australia, Butterflies in, 231; - Flies, 288; - larvae eaten in, 70. - - Automaton Flies, 294. - - Azores, _Coccidae_ in, 264. - - - Baalzebub worshiped under form of a Fly, 292. - - Back, Termite queens for strengthening the, 137. - - Baldness, Bees remedy for, 206; - Flies, 295. - - Balm, antidote for poisons, 193; - Bee-hives prepared with, 190. - - Banian Hospital for animals, 266. - - Banks, Sir Joshua, Spiders eaten by, 356. - - Barbados, Ants in, 167; - Ash-colored Cricket, 92; - Ash-colored Grasshopper, 98; - Gnats, 279; - Grou-grou worm, 70; - Lantern-flies, 256. - - Barbary, Locusts in, 105-130. - - Barley, Glow-worms indicate ripeness of, 58. - - Bashikouay-ants, 157, 158. - - Basilidians, abraxas invented by the, 37. - - Basill, the herb, Scorpions generated from, 322. - - Basilisks, Scorpions generated from, 322. - - Battles of Ants, 151; - Gnats, 278. - - Bats eaten in Cumana, 99; - to drive away Locusts, 114. - - Beans for sting of Scorpions, 327. - - Bears, Ants eaten by, to purge, 163; - fat and blood of, to kill Caterpillars, 245; - man saved by a, 196. - - _Bed-bugs_, 265-274, 306. - - Bedeguar, 144. - - Beds, to rid of Bugs, 266; - Scorpions to cool, 324. - - Bee-moth, 248. - - _Bees_, 174-215. - - Beggars hired as food for vermin, 266; - Lice eaten by, 318. - - Bell, Caterpillars cursed with a, 243. - - Besiegers routed with Bees, 204; - by Mosquitoes, 283. - - Beetle-headed, 49. - - Beetles, 17-75. - - Bermuda, Butterflies in, 227; - Spiders, 354, 362. - - Berries, Cochineal supposed to be, 261. - - Bezoar-stone for sting of Scorpions, 326. - - Bible, Ant in the, 148; - Bees, 184; - Flea, 313; - Gnat, 285; - Locusts, 101, 128. - - Birds preserved to destroy Locusts, 114. - - Bishop Barnabee, Lady-bird so called, 19. - - Black-beetles, 78-82. - - Blacksmith-beetle, 55. - - _Blapsidae_, 65-68. - - _Blaps mortisaga_, 65, 68, 78. - - _Blatta Americana_, 79. - _foetida_, 78. - _orientalis_, 79. - of the ancients, 78. - - _Blattidae_, 78-82. - - Bleeding of wounds, cobwebs to arrest, 357. - - Blind as a beetle, 49. - - Blindness, Death's-head Moth supposed to cause, 233. - - _Blister-flies_, 62-64. - - Blood, showers of, 216-225. - - Boars drowned in Honey, 211. - - Boils cured by Ants, 162. - - _Bombicidae_, 234-241. - - _Bombus_, 213. - - _Bombyx Madroni_, 239. - _mori_, 234. - - Books perforated by beetles, 61. - - _Bostrichidae_, 61. - - _Bostrichus typographus_, 61. - - Botany, study of, from cabinet of insects, 369. - - _Bot-flies_, 302-304. - - Brain, Scorpion in a woman's, 322. - - Brandy flavored with Ants, 161. - - Brides in Holland, pupae compared to, 232. - - Briers, May-bug grubs changed into, 48. - - Brazen Fly, game so called, 294. - - Brazil, Ants in, 160, 168; - Blister-flies, 63; - Diamond-beetles, 68; - Gold-beetles, 23; - Termites, 134-5. - - Browny invoked in hiving Bees, 190. - - Bruce and the Spider, 333. - - Bubo, pestilential, Oil-beetles for, 63. - - Buenos Ayres, Flies in, 287. - - Buffalo, Locusts a cross between the and Spider, 113. - - Bug-bear, meaning of, 265. - - Bug-poison, vending of, in London, 268. - - Bull, fat of, in charm to destroy Fleas, 308. - - Bullocks, Bees generated from, 183. - - _Burn-cows_, 50-51. - - Burnie-bee, Lady-bird so called, 22. - - Burning Spiders for amusement, 350. - - _Buprestidae_, 50-51. - - _Buprestis attenuata_, 50. - _fascicularius_, 51. - _maxima_, 50. - _ocellata_, 50. - _vittata_, 50. - in Egypt, 29. - of the ancients, 51. - - _Butterflies_, 216-232. - - Butter, Grou-grou worm made into, 69. - - - Cabbage-tree worm, 68-70. - - _Cactus cochinilifer_, 261. - - Caffres make ovens of Ant-hills, 134. - - _Calandra palmarum_, 27, 68-70. - - _Calichroma alpina_, 367. - - California, Mosquitoes in, 284. - - _Callidryas alcmeone_, 227. - _hilariae_, 227. - _pyranthe_, 227. - - Cameleons, Meal-worms as food for, 65. - - Camels employed in stealing gold from Ants, 146. - - Canaan subdued with Hornets, 171. - - Canary Islands, Locusts in, 104. - - Cancers, Cockroaches cure for, 78. - - Candle, why Moths fly in a, 242. - - Canker-worms, 248. - - _Canis corsac_ supposed to be the fabled gold-loving Ant - of India, 148. - - Cannon employed against Fleas, 308. - - _Cantharidae_, 62-64. - - _Cantharides_, 62-64, 193. - - Cantharidine, 63. - - _Cantharis vesicatoria_, 62-64. - - _Cantharis_ in head of mummy, 41. - - Cantharus of the ancients, 27. - - Caprification of figs, 144. - - Capua, burning of, foreshown by Ants, 173. - - _Carabidae_, 23. - - Carbuncle, Oil-beetle remedy for, 63. - - _Carabus chrysocephalus_, 71. - - Carcasses, Bees tenanting, 194. - - Caravans, Bee-, 199. - - Carcinoma, Buprestis remedy for, 51. - - Cardinals, Spiders so called, 342. - - Carli and the Ants, 156. - - Carpenter-bee, 213. - - Carriages drawn by Fleas, 312. - - Caribbean Islands, Bees in, 204; - Cucujus in, 53. - - Catamenia, women with, Caterpillars destroyed by, 244; - Buprestis for, 51. - - Catarrh, Crickets remedy for, 96. - - Catch-'em-alive papers, sellers of, 296. - - Caterpillars, 158, n., 242-248. - - Cattle, Bees generated from carcasses of, 183; - Daddy-Long-legs to find lost, 321; - killed by Bees, 203; - Mosquitoes, 283; - sting of Sirex, 142; - Spiders cure for poisoned, 360; - warbles of, 303; - whistle to call, made of beetle-shards, 369. - - Cats, Scarab-images with heads of, 36. - - Cayenne, Ants in, 162. - - Cedar, Spiders repelled by, 341. - - Centipedes as food, 365. - - _Cerambycidae_, 72-74. - - _Cerambyx moschatus_, 73. - - Ceres, the Ant an attribute of, 152. - - _Cetoniidae_, 49. - - Ceylon, Ants in, 158; - Bees, 214; - Black-ants, 157; - British soldiers tortured with Ants, 158; - _Buprestidae_, 50; - Butterflies, 227; - Gnats, 282; - _Oryctes rhinoceros_, 46; - superstitions connected with insects, 46; - Termites, 135; - Wood-carrying Moth, 245. - - Chained Fleas, 312. - - Chalk, Ants cannot pass over a line of, 169. - - Chapelain, anecdote of, 332. - - Charity, sugar given to Ants as an act of, 152. - - Charles XII., army of, impeded by Locusts, 106. - - Charm for Bots in horses, 302. - - Chelonitis used in raising tempests, 45. - - Chemical process to destroy Locusts, 116. - - Chestnut, Spiders repelled by, 341. - - Chickens made to close Bee-hives against the Bee-moth, 249. - - Chigoes, 341. - - Chili, Gold-beetles in, 23. - - China, _Aphis_ for dyeing in, 258; - Blister-flies in, 63; - _Buprestidae_, 50; - Butterflies, 229; - Cicadas, 253; - _Copris molossus_, 44; - Grasshoppers, 100; - insect to discover unchastity, 367; - to forward delivery, 368; - Lantern-fly, 256; - Locusts, 112-130; - Mantis, 87; - Silk-worms, 234-241; - Smelling-bug, 266, 272; - Solitary Wasp, 174. - - _Chlaenius saponarius_, 23. - - _Chlorops laeta_, 287. - - Cholera, Flies die before breaking out of, 290. - - Christiana, Queen, Fleas cannonaded by, 308. - - Chrysalids of Butterflies venerated, 230. - - _Chyrsomelidae_, 23. - - Chululahs, Spider in cosmogony of the, 342. - - _Church-yard Beetles_, 65-68. - - _Cicada chinensis_, 255. - _septemdecim_, 253. - - _Cicadidae_, 250-255. - - Cicindela, larvae of, how captured, 97. - - _Cimex brassicae_, 267. - _juniperinus_, 267. - - _Cimex lecturarius_, 265-274. - _pratensis_, 267. - - _Cimicidae_, 265-274. - - City abandoned on account of Ants, 169; - depopulated by Bees, 204; - of Myas dispeopled by Fleas, 307; - of Nisibis, siege of, raised by Mosquitoes, 283; - of Tamly saved with Bees, 204. - - Clay, Locusts made from, 118; - of Ant-hills, uses of, 134. - - Clothes'-moth, 248. - - Clothes, suit of, foretold by Measuring-worm, 248. - - Clouds, Gossamer supposed to form, 349. - - Cobra-de-Capello and the Ants, 157. - - _Coccidae_, 259-264. - - _Coccinella septempunctata_, 17-23. - - _Coccinellidae_, 17-23. - - _Coccus cacti_, 260. - _ficus_, 263. - _Hesperidum_, 264. - _ilicis_, 259. - _lacca_, 263. - _polonicus_, 260. - _uvae-ursi_, 260. - - Cochineal, 260, 317, n. - - Cock, brains of, for bite of Spider, 356. - - _Cock-chafers_, 47-49. - - _Cockroaches_, 78-82. - - Coffee-bug, 158. - - Coffin, Bees alighting on, 188; - clothes laid on, to keep away Moths, 249. - - Coffin-cutter, the, of the Irish, 368. - - Coins, Bees on, 194; - Scarab-gems supposed to be, 36. - - Cold in horses, Hornets' nest for, 172. - - _Coleoptera_, 17-75. - - _Colias edusa_, 227. - - Colic, Lady-birds remedy for, 21; - Scorpions, 329. - - Comet, Locusts sent by, 113; - omens from, 246. - - Commerce, Crickets as an article of, 95; - Mantis, 92. - - Communication between Ants, 155. - - Conception, Spiders to prevent, 360. - - Conjuror of Bees, 201. - - Conradus, Bishop, Spider drank in wine by, 356. - - Consumption, Honey-dew for, 257. - - Continental money, Bees on, 197. - - Convulsions, Silk-worms for, 240. - - Coprion of the ancients, 27. - - _Copris molossus_, 44. - _sabaeus_, 41. - in Egypt, 29. - - Coral for sting of Scorpions, 326. - - _Corixa femorata_, 276. - _mercenaria_, 276. - - Corn, Indian mode of destroying Caterpillars injurious to, 244; - Stag-beetle supposed to injure, 25; - stored by Ants, 148-150. - - Correspondence by means of Cucuji, 53. - - Cortes, army of, saved from attack by Cucuji, 53. - - Cosmogonies, Spiders in various, 342. - - _Cossus_ of the ancients, 27, 74. - - Counterfeiting Scarab-gems, 38, n. - - Country depopulated by Spiders and Scorpions, 353. - - Courtezans, Cantharides employed by, 62. - - _Corynetes violaceous_, 41. - - Cow, in names of Lady-bird, 17; - killed by Ants, 156; - bewitched by killing Ants, 152; - Scarab figured with head of, 35. - - Crabley, Mrs. Jane, stiffness in knees of, cured by Ants, 162. - - Crabs for sting of Scorpions, 326. - - _Crane-flies_, 286. - - Cray-fish, Scorpions generated from, 322. - - Creator, Scarab sacred to, 30; - symbol of, 29. - - Creoles not attacked by Chigoes, 315. - - Crete, Galls eaten in, 145. - - _Crickets_, 92-97. - - Crimea, Gnats in, 282; - Locusts, 116. - - Criminals tortured with Ants, 158; - Flies, 296; - Mosquitoes, 284. - - Crimson, Galls for dyeing, 258; - Cochineal, 259. - - Crocodile, Scorpions generated from carcass of, 323; - Wasps, 171; - Scorpions enemies to, 324; - worship of, in Egypt, 43, n. - - Crow, dung of, for sting of Scorpions, 326. - - Cuckoo to prevent breeding of Fleas, 307. - - Cucujus, 51. - - _Culex pipiens_, 278. - - _Culicidae_, 278-286. - - Cumana, Grasshoppers eaten in, 98. - - _Curculionidae_, 68-72. - - _Curculio anti-odontalgicus_, 71. - _Bacchus_, 71. - _jaecac_, 71. - in a plum, 76. - - Cut-worm, 246. - - _Cynipidae_, 143-145. - - _Cynips ficus caricae_, 144. - _gallae tinctorum_, 144. - _glecome_, 144. - _insana_, 145. - _psenes_, 144. - _rosae_, 144. - - - Daddy-Long-legs, 321. - - Dance, Hottentot Bee-, 211. - - Dank food, Bots generated from, 303. - - _Day-flies_, 138. - - Dead, Leather-beetles buried with the, 24; - Scarab-images, 36. - - Dead Sea fruits, 145. - - Deafness, Ants remedy for, 161; - Ear-wigs, 76. - - Death, Bees informed of a, 185-188; - omens of, from Bees, 181, 185; - Black-beetle, 82; - Butterflies, 229; - Caterpillars, 242; - Church-yard beetle, 65; - Crickets, 92-95; - Death-watch, 58-61; - Dragon-fly, 140; - Glow-worm, 57; - Hawk-moth, 232; - Mantis, 83; - Spiders, 340. - - Death's-head Moth, 232. - - _Death-watch_, 58-61, 93. - - Debility, Termites remedy for, 137. - - _Decticus verrucivorus_, 100. - - Deer killed by Ants, 157; - their antidote for poisons, 353; - Wasps generated from the head of, 171. - - Dejeau, Genl. Count, anecdote of, 368. - - Democritis, fondness of, for Honey, 209. - - Denmark, Dung-beetle in, 28. - - _Dermestes elongatus_, 24, 41. - _pollinctus_, 24, 41. - _roei_, 24, 41. - _vulpinus_, 24, 41. - - _Dermestidae_, 24. - - Devil, Fleas attributed to the envy of the, 311; - in the shape of a Flea, 310; - Fly, 293. - - Dew, scorched, Gossamer supposed to be, 348. - - _Diamond-beetles_, 23, 68. - - Diaphoretic, Bees as, 206. - - Diarrhoea, Rose-gall for, 144. - - Digger Indians, Grasshoppers eaten by, 99. - - _Diptera_, 278-304. - - Disease, foretold by Gnats, 280. - - Disjonval and his Spiders, 336. - - Distemper in horses, Hornets' nest for, 172. - - Diuretic, Bees as, 206. - - Dog, fat of, to destroy Nits, 320; - Fleas generated from humors on, 305; - foiled with Bees, 201; - Scarab-images with heads of, 36. - - Domitian, anecdote of, 332. - - _Dragon-flies_, 138-140. - - Dragon of St. George, Flies generated from, 304. - - Dreams, signification of, of Ants and Bees, 152; - Flies, 289; - Locusts, 119; - insects in general in Siam, 370. - - Dr. Ellison, Lady-bird so called, 20. - - Drink, Honey-dew as a, 257. - - Dropsy, Cantharides for, 63. - - Drouth foretold by Grasshoppers, 100. - - Du Chaillu runs from Ants to save his life, 157. - - Dufour, Mrs. A. L. R., verses by, 131, 243. - - _Dung-beetles_, 27-45. - - "Duo," the pronouncing of, to prevent Scorpions stinging, 325. - - Dust, Fleas generated from, 305. - - Dwarfs, Gossamer woven by, 349. - - Dyeing, Cochineal used in, 260; - Galls used in, 145. - - _Dynastes Goliathus_, 46, 47. - _Hercules_, 45-47. - - _Dynastidae_, 45-47. - - Dysentery, bedeguar for, 144. - - Dysury, Grasshoppers for, 100. - - - Eagle, Beetle's revenge upon, 45. - - Ear, Beetle in the, of Capt. Speke, 79, n.; - Cockroach in the, of a Swede, 79; - _Blatta_ of Pliny for diseases of the, 66; - Bugs, 267; - Cockroaches, 78; - Crickets, 97; - Spiders, 357; - Stag-beetles, 26; - worms extracted from children's, 371. - - _Ear-wigs_, 76, 77. - - East Indies, Locusts in, 112, 113; - Termites, 137. - - Egypt, Beetles eaten by the women in, 65; - buried with the dead, 24; - bloody-waters, 223, n.; - _Buprestis_, 29; - _Copris_, 29; - Cicadas, 253; - frontiers of, made known from inscriptions on Scarabaei, 35; - Gnats in, 282; - insects embalmed in, 41; - Locusts in, 101, 113; - Scarab worshiped, 29-42; - Scorpions in, 328. - - Egyptian pottery, Flies on, 292; - worship of animals, theory on, 43, n. - - _Elateridae_, 51-55. - - _Elater noctilucus_, 51-55, 255. - - Elephant named _Lucas_, 24; - put to flight by Ants, 157. - - Elf-shot, cattle said to be, 303. - - Elizabeth, Queen, silk stockings worn by, 238. - - Eloquence foretold by Bees, 178. - - Embalmed, _Buprestis_, 30; - House-fly, 41; - Scarab, 41. - - Embalming, Honey used for, 208. - - Embroidered, Spiders, on ladies' dresses, 354. - - Emerald, Beetle engraven on, against witchcraft, 44. - - Emmets, 146-170. - - Emperor of China and the Locusts, 128. - - Enchantment, counter-charm for, 192. - - Encouragement taken from an Ant, 154; - Spider, 333. - - Enemies represented by a Scorpion and a Crocodile fighting, 324; - sign of, from dreams of Flies, 289. - - England, Aphides in, 258; - Bed-bugs, 265, 299; - beetles buried with the dead, 24; - Bees, 181-184; - bloody-rain, 217; - _Buprestidae_, 50; - Caterpillars, 242; - Crickets, 92-94; - Death's-head Moth, 233; - Fleas, 314; - Flies, 287; - Gnats, 278; - hedge-hogs kept to kill roaches, 78; - Lady-birds in, 17-23; - Locusts, 107; - silk and silk-worms, 238; - Spiders, 336; - Stag-beetles, 25. - - Engravers, Scarab used by, to steady their sight, 44. - - Enormous prices paid for insects, 46, 64. - - Equator, Lice leave sailors when crossing, 317. - - _Epeira clavipes_, 362. - - _Ephemeridae_, 138. - - Epigram compared to a Scorpion, 331; - on an Ant, 169; - Bee, 212; - Silk-worm, 241. - - Epilepsy, larvae of Bots for, 302. - - Epitaph, cure for worms, on account of an, 363. - - _Erinaceus Europaeus_, 78. - - _Eruca officinalis_, 245. - - Esteem for Ant-lions, 141. - - Etruscans, Egyptian Scarab adopted by, 39. - - Etymology of Cricket, 97; - Locust, 130; - _Pulex_, 305. - - Eucharist, holy, respect of Bees for, 174-177. - - _Eumeta_, 245. - - _Eumolpus auratus_, 23. - - _Eunota amphyoxis_, 224. - - _Euplexoptera_, 67-77. - - _Euploea coras_, 228. - _prothoe_, 228. - - Europe, Antler-moth in, 246; - Bee-caravans, 199; - Deaths'-head moth, 233; - Dragon-flies, 139; - insect ornaments, 44; - Locusts in, 102-130; - Mantis, 83; - Silk-worms, 235; - Termites, 132-137; - trade in insects, 366. - - _Eutimis nobilis_, 68. - - Evil eye, silk-worms susceptible to, 239. - - Exorcised, Ants, 169; - Locusts, 116; - Turnip-fly, 74. - - Eyes, cobwebs for defluxions of, 356; - green Scarab for, 44; - Honey in preparation for, 209; - oil of Scorpions for, 330; - Scarab for protuberating, 44. - - _Eynchitus aureus_, 71. - - - Fairies, Ants supposed to be, 152; - Gossamer spun by, 349. - - Famine foretold by Grasshoppers, 100; - maggot, 143; - Mantis, 83. - - Farriers, Cantharides employed by, 64. - - Fat, beetle eaten by women to become, 65. - - Fecundity, Scarab symbolical of, 33; - eaten to cause, 33. - - Fever, Bugs medicine for, 367; - Honey-dew, 257; - Spiders, 357, 359; - sign of, from dreams of Flies, 289. - - Fever, man dead from, Scarab symbol of, 33. - - Figs, caprification of, 144; - for sting of scorpions, 326. - - Fighting, beetles kept for, 368; - Mantis, 87. - - Fire, alarms of, occasioned by Gnats, 278. - - _Fire-flies_, 51-55. - - Fires occasioned by Stag-beetles, 25; - Scorpion surrounded with, 328; - to destroy Canker-worms, 248. - - Fish killed by a Spider, 346; - Locusts hatched from spawn, 118; - for sting of Scorpions, 326; - spawn of, sold for eggs of silk-worms, 241. - - _Flata limbata_, 254. - - Flatterers compared to Flies, 291. - - _Fleas_, 266, 273, 135, 305-315. - - Fleur de lis, origin of, on arms of France, 196. - - _Flies_, 287-301, 306, 324. - - Flight, extent of the Bee's, 200; - Locust's, 129. - - Floors made from clay of Ant-hills, 134. - - Flora, Ants' remedy for, 161. - - Flour, Bees steal, from a mill, 191. - - Flying-bulls, 25. - - Food, Ants as, 159-161; - Bees, 204; - _Buprestis_, 51; - Butterflies, 231; - Caterpillars, 372; - Cicadas, 254; - Cossi, 27; - _Copris molossus_, 44; - Field-crickets, 96; - Flies, 295; - Galls, 145; - Goliath-beetle, 46; - Grasshoppers, 98, 99; - Grou-grou worm, 69, 70; - Honey, 208-211; - Lice, 99, 317; - Locusts, 98, 120-127; - May-bug, 49; - _Notonectidae_, 275; - _Oryctes rhinoceros_, 46; - _Prionus damicornis_, 73; - Scolopendras and Centipedes, 365; - Scorpions, 329; - Silk-worms, 240; - Spiders, 354-356; - Termites, 135-137. - - _Forficulidae_, 76, 77. - - Forger of Scarab-gems, 38, n. - - Formic acid, 161. - - _Formica bispinosa_, 162. - _major_, 161. - _minor_, 161. - _omnivora_, 166. - _rufa_, 159. - _smaragdina_, 157, 158. - - _Formicidae_, 146-170. - - Fortune, good, presaged by _Acanthocinus aedilis_, 73. - - Fox, how it rids itself of Fleas, 309; - how it kills Wasps for their combs, 174. - - Fractures, cobwebs for, 357. - - France, bloody-rain in, 218; - Crickets, 97; - _Cynips glecome_, 145; - Death's-head Moth, 233; - Lady-bird, 17; - Locusts, 103-130; - Mantis, 83; - shower of insects, 365; - Termites in, 132. - - Frankfort, massacre of the Jews at, 218. - - Franklin and the Ants, 155. - - Freak of nature: five-winged Butterfly, 230. - - Frogs killed with hot charcoal, 55; - foot in chalk, to keep away witches, 247; - for sting of Scorpions, 327. - - Fruit, wasps generated from rotten, 171, 184. - - _Fulgora candelaria_, 256. - _lanternaria_, 255. - - _Fulgoridae_, 255-256. - - Funereal rites, Scarab connected with, 33, 36. - - Funerals, Bees invited to, 187. - - - Gad-fly, 291. - - _Gallerucidae_, 74. - - _Galleria cereana_, 249. - - _Gall-flies_, 143-145. - - Galls, 143-145. - - Gambaia, Lice in, 317. - - Garlic, to keep away Scorpions, 327. - - _Gasterophilus haemorrhoidalis_, 302. - - Generation of Fleas, 305; - Flies, 290; - Gnats, 278; - Scorpions, 321; - Spiders, 362; - Wasps, 171, 184. - - Geography, study of, from cabinet of insects, 369. - - _Geometridae_, 248. - - _Geotrupes stercorarius_, 28, 44. - - Germany, Agaric-Gnat in, 286; - Ants, 159; - Blister-flies, 63; - bloody-rain, 218; - Butterflies, 225; - Canker-worms, 248; - Crickets, 96; - Gall-flies, 143; - Lady-bird, 17; - Stag-beetle, 25; - Typographer-beetle, 61. - - Ghosts, Glow-worms supposed to be, 56. - - Gilded-Dandy, 23. - - Gleanthus and the Ants, 154. - - _Glow-worms_, 55-58, 339. - - _Gnats_, 52, 194, 278-286. - - Goat, blood of, to destroy Fleas, 308; - fat of, for sting of Scorpions, 325; - gall of, in medicine, 210; - liver of, to drive away Moths, 243; - maggots in the brain of, 302. - - Gods, earthen, made of clay of Ant-hills, 135. - - _Gold-beetles_, 23. - - Golden-Bees in tomb of Childeric, 196. - Fleece, search after the, 241. - - Gold obtained from Ants in India, 146. - - Goldsmiths, clay of Ant-hills used by, 135. - - Good foretold by Ants, 152. - Friday, Bees removed on, 185. - - Goose-quill, Spider in, for Ague, 358. - - Gorilla put to rout by Ants, 157. - - Gossamer, 347. - - Gout, Ants remedy for, 162; - Oil-beetles, 63; - Spiders, 359. - - Granada, Ants in, 167. - - _Grasshoppers_, 98-100, 251. - - Gray, characteristics of Linnaean orders of insects, - turned into hexameters by, 363. - - Greece, silk-worms in, 237. - - Greek, study of, from names of insects, 369. - - Greeks, Ants in divination by, 152; - Bees, 178; - _Buprestis_ as food by, 51; - Egyptian Scarab adopted by, 39; - estimation of, for Cicadas, 250; - Grasshoppers eaten by, 98; - knowledge of silk, 235; - larvae eaten by, 27; - Mantis in soothsaying by, 83. - - Grou-grou worm, 68-70. - - _Gryllidae_, 98-100. - - _Gryllotalpa vulgaris_, 57, n. - - _Gryllus AEgypticus_, 126. - _domesticus_, 97. - - Guiana, Ants in, 168; - Bees, 205; - Black-ants, 156; - _Cantharis maxima_, 64; - Lantern-flies, 256. - - Guinea, Spiders in, 342. - - Gustavus Adolphus' aversion for Spiders, 344. - - Gyre-carlin, Louse in rhyme of the, 320. - - - Haemorrhoids, Dung-beetle for, 44. - - Happiness of Cicadas, 251. - - Hair, Cicadas ornaments for the, 251; - insects, 57; - on children's cheeks, Ants to remove, 161. - - _Haltica oleracea_, 74. - _nemorum_, 74. - - Hampton Court, Spiders at, 342. - - Harvest, augury as to, from Dung-beetle, 28. - - _Harvest-flies_, 250-255. - - Harvest-man, 321. - - Hare, feet of, to drive away Bugs, 266; - urine of, in a prescription, 76. - - Harp, Cicada emblem of, 252. - - Harts, their antidote for poison, 353. - - Hawking with Butterflies, 230. - - Hawk, Scarab figured with head of, 34. - - _Hawk-moths_, 232-234. - - Headache, Scarab on an emerald for, 45. - - Head-dresses, Butterflies on, 230. - - Heart, worm in the, of a horse, 365. - - Hedge-hog kept to kill Roaches, 78. - - _Heliocantharus_ of the ancients, 27. - - Heliogabalus estimates population of Rome - from collection of Spiders, 334. - - Hemorrhages, Ants for, 162; - Galls, 145. - - Hen, dung of, for sting of Scorpions, 326; - moisture from mouth of, for same, 327. - - Hercules-beetle, 45-47. - - Hercules, god of the Flies, 292. - - _Heteroptera_, 265-277. - - Hieroglyphics, Cicadas as, 253; - Scarab, 35, 37, 43, n. - - Hispaniola ravaged by Ants, 166. - - History, study of, from cabinet of insects, 369. - - Hiving Bees, curious practice at, 189. - - Hoax: bloody-rain in Tennessee, 224. - - Holy men, Lice nourished by, 317. - - Holy water, Caterpillars destroyed with, 243; - Locusts, 116. - - _Homoptera_, 250-264. - - Honey, 208-211. - - Honey-dew, 257. - - Hops, Aphides and Lady-birds killed on, 21; - injury to, from Hop-fly, 258. - - _Hornets_, 170-174, 194. - - Horns of Scarabaei in medicine, 26. - - Horse-hair, Gnats destroyed by, 285. - - Horse-leeches eaten in Cumana, 98. - - Horses, Bots in, 303; - dung of, for sting of Scorpions, 326; - diseases of, Hornets' nest for, 172; - in descriptions of Locusts, 118; - Hornets generated from carcass of, 171, 184; - Wasps, 170. - - Hottentots, Bee-dance of, 211; - make floors of clay of Ant-hills, 135; - origin of Locusts, 123; - worship of Mantis, 84-88. - - House-fly, 41, 287-301. - - House-leek for sting of Scorpions, 326. - - _Humble-bees_, 213. - - Hundred hives of Bees, cannot have, 188. - - Hungary, Fleas in, 308; - poisonous Fly, 303; - shower of insects, 365. - - Hydrophobia, Oil-beetles for, 63. - - _Hymenoptera_, 142-215. - - Hymn, singing of, when hiving Bees, 190. - - Hysteria, Bed-bugs for, 267. - - - Ibis in Egypt, 43, n. - - Iceland, bloody-rain in, 218. - - Ideographic, Scarab as an, 35. - - Ignatius, Lice nourished by, 317. - - Illness, omen of, from Black-beetle, 82; - Grasshopper, 98. - - Incantations, Locusts destroyed by, 116. - - Incontinence detected by Bees, 181. - - India, Ants in, 152; - Blister-flies, 63; - _Buprestidae_, 50; - Dung-beetle, 29; - fabled gold-loving Ants of, 146; - Fire-flies in, 57; - larva of beetle eaten in, 70; - Mantis in, 83; - Silk-worms, 235; - Spiders, 342; - Termites, 132-137. - - Indians, American, Butterfly totem of, 229; - Caterpillars destroyed by, 244; - Cicadas eaten, 254; - Cut-worms destroyed, 247; - Grasshoppers eaten, 99; - name for Bees, 197. - - Ingenuity of Ants, 154. - - Ink, Galls in manufacture of, 145. - - Inquisitive persons compared to Flies, 291. - - Ireland, Bees in, 181; - Coffin-cutter, 368; - Gnats, 281; - May-bugs, 48; - Spiders, 358. - - Irish oak, Spiders repelled by, 340. - - Isis, respect of Scorpions for, 328; - Scarab figured with the head of, 34. - - Italy, Blister-flies in, 63; - Glow-worms, 57; - Gnats, 281; - Locusts, 102-130; - Scorpions, 324; - Silk-worms, 237. - - Ivory, Ants carved out of, 170. - - - Jack-'o-lanterns, Glow-worms supposed to be, 57; - Mole-crickets, 57. - - James I., anecdote of, 239. - - Jamaica, _Cantharis maxima_, in, 64; - Cockroaches, 78; - Crickets, 96; - Dragon-flies, 140; - frogs, 55; - Gnats, 282. - - Japan, Grasshoppers in, 100; - Moths and Night-flies, 242. - - Jaundice, _Blatta_ of Pliny for, 67; - Lice, 319; - Oil of Scorpions, 330. - - Java, larvae of beetle eaten in, 70; - Mantis in, 87. - - Jays preserved to kill Locusts, 114. - - Jerusalem saved by Locusts, 119. - - Jews, Locusts eaten by, 101; - as playthings for children, 130; - massacred on account of bloody-rain, 218; - not permitted to burn Fleas, 311. - - Jiggers, 314. - - Julian the Apostate, army of, routed by Mosquitoes, 282. - - July, swarm of Bees in, 192. - - June, swarm of Bees in, 192. - - Jupiter in the form of an Ant, 151. - - - Katy-did, 131. - - Kermes-dye, 259. - - Killing Bees for their Honey, 190. - - King Calowa, Lady-bird called, 20. - - King-fisher to keep away Clothes'-moth, 249. - - King of the Fleas, 307; - Locusts, 127. - - King's evil, _Blatta_ of Pliny for, 66. - - Knife-grinder, Hercules-beetle called the, 46. - - Koran, the Ant of the, 153. - - Kuffelar's color, origin of, 262. - - - Labor, Flies driven away from women in, 292; - insect to relieve, 368. - - Lac, -dye, -lake, 262. - - _Lady-birds_, 17-23. - - La Lande, Spiders eaten by, 355. - - Lamp, Cucuji used as, 54. - - _Lampyridae_, 55-58. - - _Lantern-flies_, 255-6. - - Laock, Cockroach in the ear of, 79. - - Lapland, _Acanthocinus aedilis_ in, 73; - Crane-flies, 286. - - Lard, Fleas kept away with, 308. - - Latin, study of, from names of insects, 369. - - Lauzun and his pet Spider, 336. - - Law, Mosquitoes to execute the, 284. - - Lawsuit between Commune of St. Julien and an Insect, 71. - - _Leather-beetles_, 24. - - Leather, Galls in manufacture of, 145. - - Leaf becoming a Butterfly, 230. - - Leeches, Bed-bugs to remove or kill, 267. - - _Lecanium coffea_, 158. - - Legends connected with Bees, 174-180; - Katy-did, 131. - - Lemurs kept to kill Roaches, 78. - - Lentigo, Ants remedy for, 161. - - Lepaute, Madame, Spiders eaten by, 355. - - _Lepidoptera_, 216-249. - - Leprosy, Ants for, 161; - _Buprestis_, 51; - Cantharides, 63; - _Myloecon_ of Pliny, 66. - - Lethargy, Bed-bugs for, 268. - - Letters on wings of Locusts, 119. - - Lettuce-seed for sting of Scorpions, 326. - - _Leucania unipunctata_, 247. - - Levant, Aphis for dyeing in, 258. - - _Libellula depressa_, 139. - _quadrimaculata_, 139. - - _Libellulidae_, 138-140. - - _Lice_, 266, 306, 308, 316-320. - - Lichen, _Buprestis_ for, 51; - Cantharides, 63. - - Lierman, 254. - - Light from Cucuji, 51-3; - perpetual, from Glow-worms, 56; - of the Lantern-fly, 255. - - Linnaeus and the genus _Pausus_, 23. - - Lion, Bees from carcass of, slain by Samson, 194; - driven mad by Mosquitoes, 284; - fat of, to drive away Flies, 289; - put to flight by Scorpions, 324; - Scarab-images with head of, 36; - skin of, to destroy Clothes'-moth, 249. - - Lithuania, Bees in, 186. - - Lizard for sting of Scorpions, 326. - - _Locusta migratoria_, 101-131. - _tartarica_, 117. - - _Locustidae_, 101-131. - - _Locusts_, 101-131, 326. - - Loke in the form of a Fly, 294. - - London, vending of Bug-poison in, 268; - Fly-papers, 296; - Phosphor Paste for killing Roaches, etc., 80-82. - - Love divination, Lady-bird in, 19-20; - Mantis, 89. - - Lover, approach of, foretold by Crickets, 93. - - _Lucanidae_, 24-27. - - _Lucanus cervus_, 24-27. - etymology of, 24. - - Luck, omens of, from Bees, 185; - Crickets, 93-94; - Spiders, 339. - - Lump-lac, 263. - - Lunacy, Scorpion for, 330. - - Lupines to drive away Locusts, 114. - - Lutfullah and the Scorpion, 329; - Termites, 134. - - _Lygaeus hyoscami_, 267. - - - Madagascar, Silk-worms eaten in, 240. - - Mad-dogs, Honey for bite of, 208; - Oil-beetles, 63. - - Magical knots, nests of Carpenter-bee supposed to be, 213. - - Magicians, Ants used by, 162; - beetle, 45. - - Magistrate chosen by a Louse, 316. - - Malabar, Ants in, 152; - Lice, 317; - Termites, 133. - - Maladies of Ants, 164. - - _Mala Sodomitica_, 145. - - Man, first formed by a Spider, 342; - Scarab figured with the head of, 34. - - Mandrake, bears poisoned with, how cured, 163. - - Manilla, Rose-chafers kept as pets in, 50. - - _Mantes_, 82-92, 157. - - _Mantidae_, 82-92. - - _Mantis causta_, 84. - _oratoria_, 82-92. - _siccifolia_, 92. - - Manure, Day-flies used as, 138. - - Maryland, Black-beetle in, 82; - Blacksmith-beetle, 55; - Butterfly, 229; - Caterpillars, 242; - Crickets, 95; - Glow-worm, 57; - Grasshoppers, 100; - Katy-did, 131. - - Marriage-feast, Bees invited to, 188. - - Mass, Locusts in celebration of, 130. - - Matchlocks, Cucuji mistaken for, 53, 54. - - Mauritius, Wasps eaten in, 174. - - _May-bugs_, 47-49. - - May, swarm of Bees in, 192. - - _Meal-worms_, 65. - - Measles, Lady-bird for the, 21. - - Measuring-worms, 248. - - Medicated earth from Ants'-nests, 162. - - Medicine, Ants in, 161-163; - Bed-bugs, 266-268; - Bees, 206; - _Blaps sulcata_, 65; - _Blatta_ of Pliny, 65-66; - _Buprestidae_, 51; - Cantharides, 62-64; - Caterpillars, 245; - Cochineal, 262; - Crickets, 97; - Curculios, 71; - Ear-wigs, 76; - Fleas, 311; - Flies, 295; - Gall-flies, 145; - Glow-worm, 57; - Grasshoppers, 100; - Honey, 208; - Honey-dew, 257; - Hornets' nest, 172; - Lady-bird, 21; - Lice, 319; - Locusts, 130; - Musk-beetles, 73; - Oil-beetles, 62; - Scarabs, 44; - Scorpions, 329; - Silk-worms, 240; - Spiders, 357-360; - Stag-beetle, 26; - Wax, 206, 254. - - Mediterranean, Flies in the, 287. - - _Meloe_, 63. - - _Melolontha vulgaris_, 42, 47. - - _Melolonthidae_, 47-49. - - Men killed by sting of Sirex, 142. - - Menstruous women, Caterpillars destroyed by, 244; - stung by Bees, 182. - - Mercury, Scarab emblematical of, 32. - - Merian, Madame, her account of the Lantern-fly, 255. - - Metempsychosis under form of insects, 246. - - Mexico, Ants in, 157, 159; - Cochineal, 261; - Cucujus, 53-54; - Lice, 316, 318; - silk from a _Bombyx_, 239; - Water-boatmen, 275. - - Mice for sting of Scorpions, 326; - generation of, 322. - - Micrometer, Spider's web for divisions of, 362. - - Midas, riches of, foretold by Ants, 151. - - _Midas_ in head of mummy, 41. - - Migrations of Aphides, 258; - Bees, 199; - Butterflies, 225; - Dragon-flies, 139-140; - Lady-birds, 21. - - Milk, association of Butterflies with, 231. - - Millet, time to sow, indicated by Glow-worms, 58. - - Milton's fondness for Crickets, 95. - - Mississippi, the Gallinipper of the, 285. - - Missouri, Fleas in, 307. - - _Mites_, 320-321. - - Mob dispersed with Bees, 204. - - Mocking-birds, Spiders fed to, 357. - - Mohammed, anecdote of, 209; - life of, saved by Spiders, 333. - - Mole-cricket, 57. - - _Monas prodigiosa_, 222. - - Money-spinners, 339. - - Money eaten by Termites, 132. - - Monkeys kept to kill Roaches, 78; - singular use of an, 156; - Spiders fed to, 357. - - Monk, life of, saved by a Spider, 341; - poisoned with a Spider, 351. - - Month, Scarab symbol of an Egyptian, 33. - - Moon, beds to be cleaned in dark of, 266; - horns of Stag-beetles dedicated to, 26; - Scarab symbol of, 31; - subject to, 32; - swarms of Locusts from, 118. - - Moorish ladies frightened by Glow-worms, 56. - - Morea, etymology of, 237. - - Mormons, Locusts among the, 112. - - Morocco, Locusts in, 107-130. - - _Morus alba_, 237. - - Moscow, mulct laid upon, for not catching Fleas, 311. - - _Mosquitoes_, 196, 278-286. - - Mourning, Bees put into, 186. - - Mule, Hornets generated from carcass of, 171; - Locusts, 101. - - Mummy, insects in head of, 41; - for sting of Scorpions, 326. - - _Musca domestica_, 287-301. - - _Musidae_, 287-301. - - Mushrooms, Honey antidote for poisonous, 208. - - Music, effect of, on persons bitten by Tarantulas, 351; - on Spiders, 334; - of Cicadas, 252. - - Musicians, Cicadas symbols of, 253. - - _Musk-beetles_, 72-74. - - Mustard to destroy Locusts, 114. - - Myas dispeopled by Fleas, 307. - - _Mycetophila_, 286. - - Myiodes, the god of Flies, 292. - - _Mylabris cichorii_, 63. - _pustulata_, 63. - - _Myrmeleonidae_, 141. - - Myrmidons, the, 150. - - - Narvaez prevented from attacking Cortes by Cucuji, 53. - - _Necrobia mumiarum_, 41. - - Negroes run for their lives from Ants, 157. - - Nerves, Oil of Ear-wigs for strengthening, 76. - - Netherlands, Lady-bird in, 20; - Spiders, 340. - - Nets, Mosquitoes kept away with, 282. - - New England, Cut-worm in, 247; - Humble-bees, 213. - - New Granada, Ants in, 160. - - Newt for sting of Scorpions, 326. - - New York, Butterflies in, 229. - - _Neuroptera_, 132-141. - - Night-fly of Japan, 242. - - Nightingales, pupae of Ants food for, 159. - - Nile, Bee-hive barges on the, 200. - - Nits, 320. - - Noah and the origin of Vermin, 306; - Wood-tic pinned by, 321. - - _Noctiluca terrestris_, 57. - - _Noctua graminis_, 246. - - _Noctuidae_, 246-248. - - Noise made by flights of Locusts, 117. - - North Carolina, Spiders for ague in, 359. - - _Notonecta unifasciata_, 276. - - _Notonectidae_, 275-277. - - Nun, antipathy of a, to a beetle, 74; - frightened by a Hawk-moth, 233. - - Nut-galls of commerce, 144-145. - - Nut-shell, Spider in, for ague, 358. - - Nuts for sting of Scorpions, 326. - - - Oak-balls, superstition connected with, 143. - - _Oedipoda corallipes_, 112. - - _Oestridae_, 302-304. - - _Oestrus equi_, 302. - _ovis_, 302. - - Ohio, Bed-bugs for ague in, 268. - - _Oiketicus_, 245. - - Oil-beetles, 63. - - Old folks, Crickets supposed to be, 95. - - Ophthalmia, Fly in linen for, 295. - - Orange-trees injured by _Coccidae_, 264. - - Orators compared to Cicadas, 252. - - Ornaments, Blister-flies as, 64; - Butterflies, 229; - _Buprestidae_, 50; - Cicadas, 251; - Cucujus, 54; - Diamond-beetle, 68; - Fire-flies, 57; - _Geotrupes stercorarius_, 44; - Glow-worms, 57; - Gold-beetles, 23; - Lady-bird, 21; - Scarabs, 38; - Spiders, 354. - - _Orthoptera_, 78-131. - - _Oryctes rhinoceros_, 46. - - Ovens, Ant-hills made into, 134; - Crickets reared in, 96. - - Owlet antidote for sting of Bees, 193. - - Oxford, bringing in the Fly at, 291. - - - Painted, Flies on vessels newly, 287. - - Palm-tree, generation of the, 322. - - Palm-weevil, 68-70. - - Palpitations, wax to prevent, 254. - - Palsy, Ants remedy for, 162. - - Pans, beating of, when Bees swarm, 189. - - Paper, manufacture of, from silk, 239. - - _Papilionidae_, 216-232. - - Paradise, Solomon's Ant in, 153. - - Paraguay, Spiders in, 362. - - Parasol, swarm of Bees on a lady's, 214. - - Paris, Cucujus in, 53. - - Park, Mungo, attacked by Bees, 203. - - _Parnassius Apollo_, 367. - - Paroxysms, Spiders for, 358. - - Parthians, Locusts eaten by, 121. - - _Passalus cornutus_, 27. - - Paul, Prince, anecdote of, 369. - - _Pausidae_, 23-24. - - Peace foretold by Locusts, 119. - - _Pediculidae_, 316-320. - - _Pediculi corporis_, 317. - - _Pedipalpi_, 321-331. - - Peiresc's solution of bloody-rain, 218. - - Pelisson and his pet Spider, 335. - - Pennsylvania, Bees in, 182, 188; - Butterflies, 229. - - Persia, _Aphis_ in, 258; - Scorpions, 328; - Silk-worms, 235. - - Peruvians, Flies offered to the Sun by, 292. - - Pestilence foretold by Spiders, 143. - - Petrified Bee-hive, 214. - - Pets, beetles as, 50; - Mantis, 88-90; - Spiders, 235. - - Pewter for sting of Scorpions, 326. - - Phaerus, Spiders eaten by, 355. - - Phaeton's sisters, origin of fable of, 91, n. - - _Phalangidae_, 321. - - _Phalangium_, 321. - - Philology, study of, from names of insects, 369. - - Phonetic, Scarab as a, 35. - - Phosphor Paste for killing Roaches, etc., - manufacture and vending of, 80-82. - - Phthiriasis, 121, 320. - - Phthisic, Honey-dew for, 257. - - Physicians, Pliny's invective against, 67. - - Piety of Bees, 174-177. - - Pigeon for sting of Scorpions, 326; - Mohammed's life saved by, 333. - - Pig-manure, Bee-hives prepared with, 189. - - _Pimelia spinulosa_, 41. - - Pindar, Bees induce, to write verses, 178. - - Pismires, 146-170. - - _Pithecius_, 41. - - Plague, oil of Scorpions for, 330; - occasioned by Locusts, 101-118. - - _Plant-lice_, 257-259. - - Plants, animals becoming, 90-92. - - Plato, eloquence of, foretold by Bees, 178. - - _Platyphyllon concavum_, 131. - - Plenty foretold by Lady-bird, 18. - - Plum, Ear-wig in a, 76. - - Poems on a Flea, 313. - - Poison of Spiders, antidotes for, 356; - from ants, 161. - - Poisonous Honey, 210. - - Poland, poisonous Sirex in, 142; - scarlet grain of, 260; - Locusts in, 103-130. - - _Poma insana_, 145. - - _Pontia brassicae_, 225. - _cardimines_, 226. - - Poor Humphrey's satire on killing Fleas, 309. - - Popes, Caterpillars cursed by, 243. - - Poppy, Honey antidote for, 208. - - _Poterium sanguisorba_, 260. - - Prayers offered to destroy caterpillars, 242; - to prevent stinging of Scorpions, 327. - - Praying-Mantis, 82-92. - - Priest, Cicada symbol of, 253. - - _Primae viae_, acidity in, Stag-beetle for, 26. - - _Prionus cervicornis_, 74. - _coriarius_, 27. - _damicornis_, 27, 73. - - Prognostications from Ants, 152; - Army-worm, 243; - Bees, 178; - Butterflies, 229; - Cicadas, 252; - comets, 246; - Crane-fly, 286; - Crickets, 92; - Daddy-Long-legs, 321; - Death's-head Moth, 232; - Death-watch, 58; - Dragon-fly, 140; - Dung-beetle, 148; - Fleas, 310; - Flies, 289; - Gall-flies, 143; - Glow-worm, 57; - Gnats, 280; - Grasshoppers, 98; - Hornets, 172; - Katy-did, 131; - Lady-bird, 18; - Locusts, 119; - Mantis, 82; - May-bugs, 47; - Moths, 242; - Span-worms, 248; - Spiders, 336-340; - Wasps, 173. - - Propolis, curious uses of, by Bees, 210. - - Prosecution against Ants, 168. - - Prosperity foretold by Ants, 152. - - Proverbial phrases connected with Bees, 212. - - Psalms, singing of, to Bees, 188. - - Psyche, Butterfly symbol of, 228. - - _Psychidae_, 245-246. - - Pthah, Scarab sacred to, 30; - emblematical of, 32. - - Pthah Tore, Scarab emblematical of, 33. - - Pthah-Sokari-Osiris, Scarab emblem of, 33. - - _Ptinidae_, 58-61. - - Public events, Bees informed of, 185. - - _Pulex irritans_, 305-314. - _penetrans_, 314. - - _Pulicidae_, 305-315. - - _Pulices arborescentes_, 223. - - Pupae of Ants as food for birds, 159; - of Termites eaten, 137. - - Purgatory, beetle connected with, 368. - - Putrefaction, generation from, 290, 322. - - _Pygolampis Italica_, 56. - - Pythagoreans, Honey eaten by, 209. - - _Python natalensis_ killed by Ants, 157. - - - Quang-tong, Butterflies of, 229. - - Quarrel prognosticated by Blacksmith-beetle, 55. - - Quarrelsome family, Bees will not thrive for, 184. - - Quartan ague, Bed-bugs for, 267; - Spiders, 359. - - _Quercus ilex_, 259. - - Quinsey, Caterpillars for, 245. - - - Radish to destroy Scorpions, 325. - - Rain: see weather. - - Rain, bloody, 216-225. - - Rain-doctors, Locusts brought by, 125. - - Ram, flesh of, for sting of Scorpions, 326; - Scarab figured with head of, 34. - - Ravages of the Antler-moth, 246; - Ants, 166-169; - _Coccus Hesperidum_, 264; - _Dermestes vulpinus_, 24; - Ear-wigs, 76; - Gnats and Mosquitoes, 281-283; - Grasshoppers, 100; - Hop-fly, 258; - larvae of Woolly-bear Moths, 242; - Locusts, 101-118; - May-bugs, 48, 49; - Scorpions, 327; - Spiders, 353; - Termites, 132-134; - Turnip-fly, 74; - Typographer-beetle, 61. - - Raven and the Scorpion, a fable, 331. - - Reason of Ants, 154. - - Red-haired persons stung by Bees, 182. - - Red snow, origin of, 220, n. - - Regeneration, Scarab symbol of, 33. - - Rewards offered for killing Ants, 167; - Locusts, 116. - - Revenue of "Lice" of Montecusuma, 316. - - Rheumatism, Oil-beetle for, 63. - - _Rhynchitus auratus_, 71. - - Richards, _Buprestidae_ called, 51. - - Rifle-balls, protection against, 241. - - Ringing swarms of Bees, 189. - - Rings, Scarab as signet in, 32, 39. - - Riordan, Mary, insects in stomach of, 67. - - Roach, sound as a, 79. - - Robin, veneration for the, 43, n. - - Rock, solid, living Bees in, 215. - - Romans, Bees in divination by, 215; - _Cossi_ eaten, 27; - Scarab emblem adopted by, 32; - silks used, 236. - - Rome, Flies in, 289; - showers of blood in, 216. - - _Rose-chafers_, 49. - - Rotharmel, Peter, 188. - - Rouge, Cochineal made into, 262. - - Rue, antidote for poisons, 193. - - Russia, Honey in, 195; - Locusts, 104-130. - - - Sabbath, Jews not permitted to burn Fleas on the, 311. - - Sacred-Scarab of the Egyptians, 29-44. - - St. Ambrose, eloquence of, foretold by Bees, 178. - Domingo and the Flea, 310. - Eustace, Spider at church of, 343. - Felix, life of, saved by Spiders, 333. - Francis, Lice nourished by, 317. - George, Flies from the dragon killed by, 304; - prayer to, to keep away Scorpions, 327. - John, Locusts eaten by, 125. - Hector, manner of discovering Bee-trees, 198. - 's day, fires to kill Canker-worms on, 248. - Julien, lawsuit between Commune of, and an Insect, 71. - Macarius, penance of, for killing a Gnat, 285. - Milburge, cure effected by the water in which his bones - were washed, 364. - Roche and "Sound as a Roach," 79. - Saturnine, patron saint to destroy Ants, 166. - Xavier and the Mantis, 88. - - Salt, use of, in witchcraft, 207. - - Salamander, antidote for poison of, 193. - - Samson, Bees from lion slain by, 184, 194. - - Sandwich Islands, Fleas in, 306. - - Sapor, army of, routed by Mosquitoes, 283. - - Scaliger, his fondness for Crickets, 95. - - Scandinavia, Dung-beetle in, 28-29; - Lady-bird in, 17. - - _Scarabaeidae_, 27-45. - - _Scarabaeus auratus_, 45. - _cornutus_, 26. - _nasicornis_, 45. - _pilurarius_, 27-44, 293. - _sacer_, 27-44. - _unctuosus_, 63. - - Scarlet, history of dyeing, 259. - - Schurman, Anna Maria, Spiders eaten by, 355. - cured of boils by Ants, 162. - - _Scleranthus perennis_, 260. - - Scolopendras as food, 365. - - _Scorpions_, 65, 100, 295, 321-331. - - Scotland, bloody-rain in, 221; - Flies, 289; - Humble-bees, 213; - Lady-birds, 19-20; - Lice, 319, 320. - - Scrofula in horses, combs of Hornets' nest for, 172. - - Scurvy, Bedeguar for, 144. - - Scutcheons, Scarab on Egyptian royal, 35. - - Scythia, Lice in, 318. - - Sea-crabs, Scorpions generated from, 322. - - Sea-water for sting of Scorpions, 326. - - Seals, Scarab-gems as, 39. - - Sechell Islands, Dry-leaf Mantis in, 92. - - Seed-lac, 263. - - Seeds, Cochineal supposed to be, 261; - sown in the hide of a tortoise, 75. - - Selborne, the Bee-eater of, 205. - - Selk, Scorpion emblem of, 328. - - Selling of Bees, notions concerning, 185. - - Septuagint, Bee eulogized in the, 212. - - Serpents and Ants, 157; - enmity between Spiders and, 341; - Honey for bite of, 208; - a Mantis the parent of the, 157; - of Tiberias Caesar eaten by Ants, 151; - to kill Nits, 320; - worship of, in Egypt, 43, n. - - Seventeen-year Locust, 254. - - Sheep, artificial migration of, 198; - dung of, for bite of Spider, 356; - killed by Ants, 157; - maggots in brain of, 302. - - _Shield-lice_, 259-264. - - Shell-lac, 263. - - Ships, monkeys kept on board, to kill Roaches, 78. - - Showers of blood, 216-225; - of Gossamer, 347; - insects with snow, 364. - - Siam, Ants in, 159; - interpretation of signs and dreams of insects in, 370; - beetle for fighting in, 368; - Grasshoppers in, 98; - Spiders, 354. - - Sideritis, the herb, for sting of Scorpions, 326. - - Singing to Bees, 188. - - Signs: see prognostications and superstitions. - - Silesia, poisonous Sirex in, 142. - - Silk of Silk-worms, 234-241, 248. - Spiders, 361. - - _Silk-worm Moths_, 234-241. - - Silver for sting of Scorpions, 325, 326. - - Sins expiated by assisting Dung-beetles, 28. - - _Sirex fusicornis_, 142. - _gigas_, 142. - _juvencus_, 142. - _spectrum_, 142. - - Skull, Bees make Honey in a, 195. - - Sleep, Caterpillar to procure, 245; - chirping of Crickets to induce, 95-96. - - Sleight-of-hand, supposed performance of, 372. - - Sloth, Fleas to prevent, 306. - - Sluggard referred to the Ant, 148. - - Smoke to drive away Locusts, 115. - - Snails embalmed by Bees, 210; - eaten in the West Indies, 98. - - Snake, living, hung by a Spider, 345; - danger from, in collecting Locusts, 124; - fed by Dragon-flies, 139. - - Snow, Fleas on the, 314; - Gnats falling with, 280; - insects in numbers on, 364; - origin of red, 220, n. - - Soap, beetle made into, 23; - Cicadas, 254. - - Socrates measures the jump of a Flea, 311. - - Solomon and the Ant, 148; - Ant in Paradise, 153. - - Song, Locusts kept for sake of, 130; - vessel saved by song of a Spanish Gryllo, 130. - - Son, Scarab emblematical of an only, 33. - - Soothsayers, 82-92. - - Soul, Butterfly symbol of, 228; - Moths supposed to be, 243; - of industrious from Ants, 150. - - Sound as a Roach, 79. - - South America, Ants in, 160; - Goliath-beetle, 46; - Grou-grou worm, 69; - Hercules-beetle, 45-46; - Termites, 132-137. - - Spain, Bees in, 212; - Cantharides, 63; - Locusts, 102-130; - Silk-worms, 237. - - _Spanish-flies_, 62. - - Spanish Inquisition, detectives of, called Flies, 292. - - _Span-worms_, 248. - - Sparrman, Dr., anecdote of, 366. - - Spawn, fish, Locusts hatched from, 118; - sold for eggs of Silk-worms, 241. - - Spectacles, Hornets' nest to clean, 172. - - Speke, Capt., beetle in the ear of, 79, n. - - _Spiders_, 61, 99, 113, 193, 322, 324, 332-362, 370. - - Spirits, Ants and lizards eaten by, 161. - - Sphex, notion respecting, 174. - - _Sphingidae_, 232-234. - - _Sphinx Atropos_, 232. - _(Deilephila) hippophaes_, 367. - _ligustris_, 233. - - _Spring-beetles_, 51-55. - - Spring, Scarab symbolical of, 33. - - Squill for sting of Scorpions, 326. - - _Stag-beetles_, 24-27. - - Stag, feet of, to drive away Bugs, 266. - - _Sternocera chrysis_, 50. - _sternicornis_, 50. - - Stick-lac, 263. - - Stiffness in knees cured by Ants, 162. - - Sting of Bees, Hornets, etc., remedies for, 174, 193. - - Stockings, silk, 238. - - Stolen Bees will not thrive, 184. - - Stomach, insects introduced into the human, 67. - - Stone, Bedeguar for, 144; - Glow-worm, 57; - Scorpions, 329. - - Storm, prognostication of, from Gnats, 280. - - Strangles in horses, combs of Hornets for, 172. - - Strangury, Bed-bugs for, 267; - Bees, 206. - - Strength of Dung-beetle, 28; - Flea, 311; - Stag-beetle, 25. - - Success foretold by Glow-worm, 57. - - Sudorific, Cochineal as a, 262. - - Sumatra, Cricket in, 96. - - Sun, Ants sacrificed to, 153; - Flies, 292; - Scarab sacred to, 30; - the first worship of the, 36. - - Superstitions connected with Agaric-Gnat, 286; - Ants, 151; - _Acanthocinus aedilis_, 73; - Army-worm, 247; - Butterflies, 229; - Caterpillars, 242; - Cockroaches, 80-82; - Crickets, 92-95; - Death-watch, 58-61, 91; - Death's-head Moth, 232; - Dragon-flies, 138, 140; - Dung-beetle, 28; - Ear-wig, 76; - Flies, 290; - Gall-flies, 143; - Glow-worm, 57; - Grasshoppers, 98, 100; - Katy-did, 131; - Lady-birds, 17-23; - Locusts, 119; - Mantis, 82-92; - Silk-worms, 239; - Stag-beetles, 25; - Scorpions, 322-331; - Spiders, 339; - Wasps and Hornets, 173; - Span-worms, 248. - - Surinam, Cicadas in, 254; - Fire-ants, 157; - Gnats, 280; - Lantern-flies, 255. - - Surat, hospital at, for animals, 266. - - Swallow, heart of, for lunacy, 330; - odious and impious, 251. - - Swammerdam, anecdote of, 363. - - Swarms of Ants, 164; - Aphides, 258; - Butterflies, 225; - Cantharides, 64; - Day-flies, 138; - Dragon-flies, 139-140; - Flies, 287; - Gnats, 278; - Lady-birds, 21; - May-bugs, 48. - - Swarming of Bees, notions concerning, 185-190. - - Sweat, Fleas generated from, 305. - - Sweden, _Acanthocinus aedilis_ in, 73; - Ants, 161; - _Blaps mortisaga_, 65; - Fleas, 308; - Grasshoppers, 100; - Lady-bird, 17; - Lice, 316. - - Switzerland, Caterpillars in, 158, n. - - Swoonings, wax to prevent, 254. - - Sword, in charm to destroy Fleas, 308. - - Sybils resorted to, to drive away Locusts, 113. - - Syria, Galls from, 145; - Locusts in, 103-130. - - - Tamableness of the Fly, 289. - - Tarantula, 351. - - Taylor, Mrs., and her Crickets, 95; - Mantis, 88-90. - - _Telephorus fuscus_, 364. - - Tempests raised by magicians, 45. - - Tendons, Stag-beetle for contractions of, 26. - - _Tenebrio molitor_, 65, 68. - - _Tenebrionidae_, 65. - - Teneriffe, Locusts in Island of, 104. - - Tennessee, bloody-rain in, 224. - - Terambus transformed into the Cerambyx, 73. - - _Terias lisa_, 227. - - _Termes bellicosus_, 135. - - _Termites_, 132-137. - - _Termitidae_, 132-137. - - Tertian ague, Bed-bugs for, 268; - Spiders, 359. - - Tettix, 250. - - Thebes, Spiders in, 338. - - Thor, Dung-beetle sacred to, 28. - - Thread, sewing, Spider's web used for, 362. - - Throat, Crickets for affections of, 96. - - Tiberias Caesar, death of, foretold by Ants, 151. - - Tiffin and Son, Bug-destroyers in London, 268. - - Timour and the Ant, 154. - - Timpany, Spiders for, 360. - - _Tinea padilla_, 248. - _punctata_, 248. - _tapetzella_, 249. - - _Tineidae_, 248, 249. - - _Tipulidae_, 286. - - Toads, enmity between Spiders and, 341. - - Tobacco, clay of Ant-hills as substitute for, 135. - - Toothache, Curculios for, 71; - Lady-bird, 21; - tooth-picks of Spiders' mandibles for, 354. - - Tooth-picks, mandibles of Spiders for, 354. - - Tortoise and the Scorpion, a fable, 330; - Bugs administered in the blood of, 267; - gall of, in medicine, 209; - seeds sown in the hide of, 75. - - Torture, Ants as an instrument of, 158; - Flies, 296; - Mosquitoes, 284; - Termites, 135. - - Tonga Group, Ants in, 161. - - Trade in insects, 229, 255, 307, 366. - - Transylvania, Locusts in, 105-126. - - Tumuli, Leather-beetles buried in, 24. - - Turenne's aversion for Spiders, 344. - - Turkey, beetle eaten by women in, 65; - Mantis in, 84. - - _Turnip-fly_, 74. - - _Typographer-beetles_, 61. - - - Ulcers, _Blatta_ of Pliny for, 66; - Cockroaches, 78; - Honey-dew, 258. - - Unchastity, insect to discover, 367; - punished by Bees, 181. - - Unclean thoughts, Flies emblem of, 292. - - United States, Ant-lions in, 141; - Cicadas, 254; - Spiders, 340; - see Indians, American; New England; New York; Maryland; Ohio; - Mississippi; Pennsylvania; North Carolina; Virginia. - - Urine, Fleas generated from, 305; - forced with Cantharides, 63; - Lice to suppress, 319; - Stag-beetle, 26. - - _Uroceridae_, 142. - - - _Vanessa cardui_, 226, 230. - _polychloros_, 220. - _urticae_, 220, 230. - - Vegetable-flies, 90-92. - - Venery, Ants to provoke to, 161. - - Veneration for _Acanthocinus aedilis_, 73; - chrysalids of Butterflies, 308; - Mantis, 83-88; - Scarab, 28-44. - - Vermin, origin of, 305. - - Vertigo, silk-worms for, 240. - - Vesicatory, Cantharides as, 63; - _Cerambyx moschatus_, 73. - - _Vespa crabro_, 171. - - _Vespidae_, 170-174. - - Vessel attacked by Termites, 133; - saved from being wrecked by song of a Spanish Gryllo, 130. - - Vienna, Lady-bird at, 17. - - Vines, to prevent "Cantharides" from injuring, 64. - - Vipers, generation of, 322. - - Virginia, Ants in, 152; - Caterpillars, 242; - Crickets, 95. - - Virgin Mary, Lady-bird dedicated to, 17, 18. - - Virgins, hatred of Scorpions for, 324. - - Virtues of Honey, 208. - - Vives, Ludovicus, eloquence of, foretold by Bees, 178. - - Voluptuary, Scarab emblematical of a, 33. - - Vomiting, Bugs for, 267. - - Vulture, gall of, in medicine, 219. - - - Wall-lice, 265. - - War, omens of, from Agaric-Gnat, 286; - Gall-fly, 143; - Gnats, 280; - Locusts, 119; - Spiders, 338; - waged against Locusts, 114; - Bees idle during, 184. - - Warbles, 303. - - Wars of Ants, 151. - - Warrior, Scarab emblematical of, 32. - - Warts, Cobwebs to remove, 359; - Grasshoppers, 100. - - Washington City, Mantis in, 88. - - Washington, General, Mosquitoes pierce boots of, 281. - - _Wasps_, 170-174, 194, 202. - - Water as a charm to destroy Locusts, 116; - found from swarms of Gnats, 280. - - _Water-boatmen_, 275-277. - - Wax, Bees-, 206-208. - _Pela_, 254. - - Way, lost, discovered by Mantis, 83. - - Weasel, young of, for bite of Spider, 356. - - Weather, prognostications as to, from Ants, 153; - Bees, 182, 194; - Butterflies, 229; - Fleas, 310; - Flies, 290; - Hornets, 172; - Spiders, 336; - Lady-bird connected with fine, 17, 18. - - _Weevils_, 68-72. - - West Indies, Ants in, 162, 167; - Cucujus, 51; - Grasshoppers, 98; - Grou-grou worm, 68-70; - Musk-beetle, 73; - Spiders, 354; - saved from invasion by Cucuji, 53. - - Whales, generation of, 322. - - Wheat, prices of, connected with the ocean tides, 188, n. - - Whistles to call cattle, made of beetle-shards, 369. - - _White ants_, 132-137. - - White-clover, Indian name for, 197. - - Wildman, anecdotes of, 201. - - Wind, Aphides produced by a, 258. - - Winter, prognostication from May-bug as to, 47. - - Wisdom of the Ant exaggerated, 148-151. - - Witchcraft, beetle against, 44; - Bot-fly in, 303; - Humble-bees, 213; - use of wax in, 206. - - Witches in the forms of Flies, 294. - - Wolf, tail of, to drive away Flies, 288; - Wasps generated from carcass of, 171. - - Women, hatred of Scorpions for, 324. - - Wood-louse, Death-watch supposed to be, 61. - - Woodpecker to keep Bees from stinging, 193. - - Wood-carrying Moth, 245. - - Wood-tic, 321. - - Wool, rain of, 348; - to drive away Ants, 170. - - _Woolly-bear Moths_, 242-245. - - World, Scarab symbolical of, 30. - - Worm in the heart of a horse, 365; - from stomach of a woman, 364. - - Wormals, 303. - - Worms extracted from children's ears, 371; - intestinal, Bedeguar for, 144; - charm, 365; - Cockroaches, 78; - oil of Scorpions, 330; - powder of a tombstone, 363. - - Worm-wood to destroy Fleas, 308. - - Worship of the Mantis, 83-88; - pupae of Butterflies, 230; - Scarab, 28-44; - Egyptian, of animals, 43, n. - - Wounds, _Blatta_ of Pliny for, 66; - Crickets, 97; - Oil-beetles, 63; - Spiders, 359. - - - Zephyr, Butterfly symbol of, 229. - - Zisca, what he meant by "cobwebs," 356. - - - - -FOOTNOTES. - - -[1] Thorpe's Northern Mythol., ii. 104. - -[2] Jamieson's _Scot. Dict._ Another designation, in Sweden, is not so -honorable, for it is that of _Laettfaerdig kona_, the Wanton -Quean.--_Ibid._ The term Lady-bird, in England, has been also applied to -a prostitute.--Wright's _Provinc. Dict._ - -[3] Jaeger, _Life of Amer. Ins._, p. 22. - -[4] It is curious to notice the association of this insect with the cow -in the English and French names. - -[5] Jamieson's _Scot. Dict._ - -[6] Chambers' _Pop. Rhymes_, 1841, p. 170-1. - -[7] Thorpe's _North. Mythol._, iii. 182. - -[8] _Ibid._, ii. 104. - -[9] _Ibid._, iii. 182. - -[10] Thorpe's _North. Mythol._, ii. 104. - -[11] 4th Pastoral, 11. 83-8. - -[12] It probably is induced to fly away by the warmth of the hand. - -[13] _Notes and Queries_, i. 132. - -[14] _Ibid._, i. 28, 55, 73. - -[15] Jamieson supposes this word to be derived from the Teutonic -_Land-heer_, a petty prince.--_Scot. Dict._ - -[16] Jamieson's _Scot. Dict._ Cf. Chambers' _Pop. Rhymes_, 1841, -p. 170-1. - -[17] Thorpe's _North. Mythol._, iii. 328. - -[18] Grose, _Antiq._ (_Prov. Gloss._) p. 121. - -[19] Chambers' _Pop. Rhymes_, 1841, p. 170. - -[20] _Notes and Queries_, iv. 53. - -[21] Baird's _Cyclop. of Nat. Sci._ - -[22] Kirby and Spence, _Introd._, ii. 9. - -[23] Newell's _Zool. of the Poets_, p. 48. - -[24] _Life of Amer. Ins._, p. 21. - -[25] A. 1, sc. iii. - -[26] Quot. with preceding in Newell's _Zool. of the Poets_, p. 50-2. - -[27] Kirb. and Sp. _Introd._, i. 317. - -[28] Jaeger, _Life of Amer. Ins._, p. 61. - -[29] Kirb. and Sp. _Introd._, i. 316. - -[30] Shaw's _Zool._, vi. 42. - -[31] Gough's _Sepul. Mon._, vol. i. p. xii.--These sepulchral tumuli, or -burrows, are of the remotest antiquity, and continued in use till the -twelfth century.--_Ibid._ - -[32] Wilkin. _Anct. Egypt._ ii. (2d S.) 261; and Pettig. _Hist. of -Mummies_, p. 53-5. - -[33] Baird's _Cyclop. of Nat. Sci._ - -[34] Cuvier's _Animal Kingd.--Ins._, i. 530. - -[35] _The Mirror_, xix. 180; and _Saturday Mag._, xvi. 144. - -[36] N. & Q., 2d S., ii. 83. - -[37] Bradley, _Phil. Account_, p. 184. - -[38] _N. Dict. d'Hist. Nat._, xxii. 81. - -[39] _Nat. Hist. of Ins._, _Lond._, 1838, ii. 156. - -[40] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 149. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 1006. - -[41] Cuvier, _An. King.--Ins._, i. 533. - -[42] _Nat. Hist._, xi. 34. Holl. _Trans._, p. 326. K. - -[43] James' _Med. Dict._ Cf. Brookes' _Nat. Hist. of Ins._, p. 321. - -[44] _Amoreux_, p. 154. Burmeister's _Manl. of Entomol._, p. 561. -Keferot. _Uber den unmittelbaren Nutzen der Insekten_, Erfurt, 1829, -4to, p. 8-10. Kirb. and Sp. _Introd._, i. 303, note. Shaw's _Zool._, vi. -28, note. - -[45] _Nat. Hist._, xvii. 37. - -[46] Kirb. and Sp. _Introd._, i. 255, note. - -[47] _Ins. Archit._, p. 252. - -[48] Detharding _de Ins. Coleop. Danicis_, 9. Quot. by Kirb. and Sp. -_Introd._, i. 33. - -[49] _Northern Mythol._, ii. 53. - -[50] Bjornstj. _Theog. of Hindoos_, p. 108. - -[51] Oliv. Col. I. 3, viii. 59. Cuvier, _An. King.--Ins._, i. 452. - -[52] Cuvier, _qua supra_. - -[53] Donovan's _Ins. of China_, p. 4. - -[54] Cuvier, _qua supra_. - -[55] De Pauw's Sacred-beetle of the Egyptians was "the great golden -Scarabee, called by some the Cantharides."--ii. 104. - -[56] Wilkinson, _Anct. Egypt._, ii. (2d S.) 259. - -[57] Val. _Hieroglyphica_, p. 93-5. - -[58] _Ibid._ - -[59] Plut. _Of Isis and Osiris_, p. 220. The translation of this passage -as given by Philemon Holland is as follows: "The Fly called the Beetill -they (the Egyptians) reverence, because they observe in them I wot not -what little slender Images (like as in drops of water we see the -resemblance of the Sun) of the Divine power.... As for the Beetills, -they hold, that throughout all their kinds there is no female, but all -the males do blow or cast their seed into a certain globus or round -matter in the form of balls, which they drive from them and roll to and -fro contrariwise, like as the Sun, when he moveth himself from the West -to the East, seemeth to turn about the Heaven clean contrary."--p. 1071, -ed. of 1657. - -[60] Quot. by Montfaucon, _Antiq._, vol. ii., Part 2, p. 322. - -[61] De Pauw tells us that the description of the Scarabaeus as given by -Orus Apollo (Horapollo) is, that "it resembles the sparkling luster of -the eye of a cat in the dark."(!)--ii. 104. - -[62] Horap., i. 10. - -[63] _Anct. Egypt._, i. (1st S.) 296. - -[64] Horap., _Hierogl._, i. 10. - -[65] _Anct. Egypt._, ii. (2d S.) 258. - -[66] _Treasvrie_, B. 7. c. 14, p. 662. Printed 1613. - -[67] Horap. _Hierog._, i. 10. - -[68] Fosbroke, _Encycl. of Antiq._, i. 208. - -[69] _Of Isis, &c._ Holl. _Transl._, p. 1051. - -[70] AElian, x. 15. - -[71] Wilkinson, _Anct. Egypt._, ii. (2d S.) 257. - -[72] _Of Isis, &c._, _qua supra_. - -[73] Wilkin. _Anct. Egypt._, ii. (2d S.) 256. - -[74] Wilkin. _Anct. Egypt._, ii. (2d S.) 256. - -[75] _Ibid._ - -[76] Pettigrew, _Hist. of Mum._, p. 220. - -[77] _Ibid._ - -[78] _Ibid._ - -[79] Travels, ii. 306 (?). - -[80] Fosbroke, _Encycl. of Antiq._, i. 208. - -[81] _Ibid._ Vide Pierius' _Hieroglyph._, p. 76-80. Solis operum -similitudo; Mundus; Generatio; Vnigenitus; Deus in humano corpore; Vir, -paterve; Bellator strenuus; Sol; Luna; Mercurius; Febris lethalis a -sole; Virtus enervata deliciis. - -[82] Fosbroke, _Encycl. of Antiq._, i. 208. - -[83] Wilkin. _Anct. Egypt._, ii. (2d S.) 257. - -[84] Wilkin. _Anct. Egypt._, ii. (2d S.) 257. - -[85] De Pauw, ii. 104. - -[86] Pettig. _Hist. of Mum._, p. 220. - -[87] Wilkin. _Anct. Egypt._, ii. (2d S.) 256. - -[88] Montf. _Antiq._, ii. (Pt. II.) 322. - -[89] _Ibid._, ii. (Pt. II.) 339. - -[90] Wilkin. _Anct. Egypt._, ii. (2d S.) 259, note. - -[91] Wilkin. _Anct. Egypt._, ii. (2d S.) 259, note. - -[92] _Ibid._ - -[93] Bunsen, _Egypt's Place_, i. 504, fig. 116; i. 508, fig. 169. - -[94] Wilkin. _Anct. Egypt._, i. (2d S.) 258, fig. - -[95] Bunsen, _Ibid._, i. 572, fig. 12; i. 576, fig. 9; i. 582, fig. 3. - -[96] Bunsen, _Ibid._, i. 617-632. - -[97] Bunsen's _Egypt's Place_, iii. 142. - -[98] _Ibid._ - -[99] Quot. by Montf. _Antiq._, ii. (Pt. II.) 323. - -[100] Wilkin. _Anct. Egypt._, ii. (2d S.) 257. - -[101] Pettig. _Hist. of Mum._, p. 220. - -[102] Maury's _Indig. Races_, p. 156. - -[103] Phind's _Thebes_, p. 130. - -[104] Donovan, _Ins. of China_, p. 3. - -[105] Fosbroke, _Encyclop. of Antiq._, i. 208. - -[106] _Ibid._ - -[107] Montf. _Antiq._, ii. (Pt. II.) 339. - -[108] _Ibid._ - -[109] Montf. _Antiq._, ii. (Pt. II.) 339. - -[110] _Ibid._ - -[111] Fosbroke, _Encycl. of Antiq._, i. 208. - -[112] There is now at Thebes an arch-forger of Scarabaei--a certain Ali -Gamooni, whose endeavors, in the manufacture of these much-sought-after -relics, have been crowned with the greatest success. For the coarser -description of these, he has, as well as chance European purchasers, an -outlet in a native market; for they are bought from him to be carried up -the river into Nubia, where they are favorite amulets and ornaments, as -mothers greatly delight to patch one or two to the girdles by short -thongs, which constitute the only article of dress of their children. -Through this very medium, too, it sometimes happens that these spurious -Scarabaei come into the possession of unsophisticated travelers, who are -not likely to suspect their origin in that remote country, and under -such circumstances. - -Scarabaei also of the more elegant and well-finished descriptions are not -beyond the range of this curious counterfeiter. These he makes of the -same material as the ancients themselves used,--a close-grained, -easily-cut limestone, which, after it is graven into shape and lettered, -receives a greenish glaze by being baked on a shovel with brass filings. - -Ali, not content with closely imitating, has even aspired to the -creative; so antiquarians must be on their guard lest they waste their -time and learning on antiquities of a very modern date.--_Vide_ Rhind's -Thebes, p. 253-5. Mr. Gliddon, in an incidental note, _Indig. Races_, p. -192, takes credit for having furnished this same Ali, some twenty-four -years ago (as it would appear), with broken penknives and other -appliances to aid his already-manifested talent, in the somewhat -fantastic hope of flooding the local market with such curiosities, and -so saving the monuments from being laid under contribution! - -[113] Winkleman, _Art._ 2, c. 1. - -[114] Paraph. from Fosbroke's _Encycl. of Antiq._, i. 208. - -[115] Of those deposited in the British Museum, Mr. Birch has made the -following report: - -1. A Scarabaeus having on the base _Ra-men-Chepr_, a prenomen of Thothmes -III. Beneath is a Scarab between two feathers, placed on the basket -_sub._ - -2. A Scarabaeus in dark steaschist, with the figure of the sphinx (the -sun), and an emblem between the fore paws of the monster. The sphinx -constantly appears on the Scarabaei of Thothmes III., and it is probably -to this monarch that the one here described belongs. (On many Scarabaei -in the British Museum, and on those figured by Klaproth from the Palin -Collection, in Leeman's Monuments, and in the "Description de l'Egypt," -Thothmes is represented as a sphinx treading foreign prisoners under -him.--_Layard._) After the Sphinx on this Scarab are the titles of the -king, "The sun-placer of creation," of Thothmes III. - -3. Small Scarabaeus of white steaschist, with a brownish hue; reads -_Neter nefer nebta Ra-neb-ma_, "The good God, the Lord of the Earth, the -Sun, the Lord of truth, rising in all lands." This is Amenophis III., -one of the last kings of the XVIII. dynasty, who flourished about the -fifteenth century B.C. - -4. Scarabaeus in white steaschist, with an abridged form of the prenomen -of Thothmes III., _Ra-men-cheper at en Amen_, "The sun-placer of -creation, the type of Ammon." This monarch was the greatest monarch of -the XVIII. dynasty, and conquered Naharaina and the Saenkar, besides -receiving tribute from Babel or Babylon and Assyria. - -5. Scarabaeus in pale white steaschist, with three emblems that cannot -well be explained. They are the sun's disk, the ostrich feather, the -uraeus, and the guitar nablium. They may mean "Truth the good goddess," -or "lady," or _ma-nefer_, "good and true." - -6. Scarabaeus in the same substance, with a motto of doubtful meaning. - -7. Scarabaeus, with a hawk, and God holding the emblem of life, and the -words _ma nefer_, "good and true." The meaning very doubtful. - -8. A Scarabaeus with a hawk-headed gryphon, emblem of _Menta-Ra_, or -Mars. Behind the monster is the goddess Sati, or Nuben. The hawk-headed -lion is one of the shapes into which the sun turns himself in the hours -of the day. It is a common emblem of the Aramaean religion. - -9. Scarabaeus with hawk-headed gryphon, having before in the uraeus and -the _nabla_ or guitar, hieroglyphic of good. Above it are the -hieroglyphics "Lord of the earth." - -10. Small Scarabaeus in dark steaschist, with a man in adoration to a -king or deity, wearing a crown of the upper country, and holding in the -left hand a lotus flower. Between this is the emblem of life. - -11. Scarabaeus, with the hawk-headed Scarabaeus, emblem of _Ra-cheper_, -"the creator Sun," flying with expanded wings, four in number, which do -not appear in Egyptian mythology till after the time of the Persians, -when the gods assume a more Pantheistic form. Such a representation of -the sun, for instance, is found in the Torso Borghese. - -It will be observed, adds Layard, that most of the Egyptian relics -discovered in the Assyrian ruins are of the time of the XVIII. Egyptian -dynasty, or of the fifteenth century before Christ; a period when, as we -learn from Egyptian monuments, there was a close connection between -Assyria and Egypt.--Layard's _Babylon and Nineveh_, p. 239-240. - -[116] Layard's _Babylon and Nineveh_, p. 157, 166. - -[117] _Hist. of Mum._, 53-5; Wilkin. _Anct. Egypt._, ii. (2d S.) 261, -note. - -[118] Wilkin. _Anct. Egypt._, ii. (2d S.) 156. - -[119] Pliny, _Nat. Hist._, xxx. 11; Holland, ii. 395. K. - -[120] _Phil. Trans. Abridg._, ii. 785; _Gent. Mag._, xix. 264-5. - -[121] _Phil. Trans. Abridg._, ix. 11. Concerning the worship of animals -in general by the Egyptians, the following remarks in a note may not be -inappropriate, as they embrace the worship of the Scarabaeus. - -1. A class of animals, to which may be referred the cow, dog, sheep, and -ibis, were _at first_ naturally protected and respected out of gratitude -for the benefits derived from them. But in time, it is supposed, this -respect, by unthoughtful descendants believing too implicitly the -teachings of their fathers, was gradually enlarged to so great extent -that it became reverence, and at last, perhaps after centuries, worship. -For example, at A time, the ibis is respected on account of its -destroying noxious serpents; at B, reverenced; and at C, worshiped. - -2. When at C time, the ibis is worshiped, suppose the masses have lost -the reason (which in the case of the Egyptians is an allowable -supposition, since it is an historical fact that but the initiated knew -the reasons for their manner of worship), and serpents are its food, is -it not plain then that if the food be taken away the sacred bird cannot -live? Hence at C time are serpents preserved and protected as food for -the ibis; and as this protecting care increases as above, till at D they -are reverenced, and at E worshiped. To this second class may be referred -the crocodile, which was preserved, etc. as food for the ichneumon, a -sacred animal of the first class. - -3. Analogies between animals, and even plants, and certain sources of -goodness, or objects of wonder, as the sun, and motion of the stars, -were at A time, noticed; at B, respected or reverenced; and at C, -worshiped. Thus, among plants, became the onion sacred, from the -resemblance of the laminae which compose it, in a transverse section, to -circles--to the orbits of the planets. And thus the Scarabaeus from the -analogies between its movements and shape and the motions of the sun, -traced, as we have before remarked on the authority of several ancient -writers, became also an object of adoration. - -4. A fourth reason may also be given, which follows as a consequence of -the latter. If such analogy, as, for example, that between the beetle -and the sun, had been observed in the time of picture and hieroglyphic -writing, to represent the sun, the beetle would have been taken. Now, it -is a well-authenticated fact, that these hieroglyphics in time became -sacred, and, if the beetle was found among them, it for this, if for no -other reason, would have been looked upon with the same veneration. - -5. Good men, too, to preserve the lives of animals oftentimes wantonly -taken, introduce them into fables and poetry, and connect pleasing tales -with them. The "Babes in the Wood" have so fixed the respect for the -tameness of the robin, that it is even now deemed a sacrilege with our -boys to stone this bird. And may there not have been such good men, and -such tender stories, among the Egyptians, and the remembrance of whom -and which long lost by the lapse of time? - -[122] Kirb. and Sp. _Introd._, i. 33. - -[123] _Ins. of China_, p. 6. - -[124] _Nat. Hist._, xxix. 6 (38). - -[125] _Nat. Hist._, xxx. 11 (30). Holland, _Trans._, ii. 390. - -[126] James' _Med. Dict._ - -[127] Donovan's _Ins. of China_, p. 6. - -[128] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 160. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 1012. - -[129] Cuvier suggests that the _Scarabaeus nasicornis_ of Linnaeus, which -haunts dead bark, or the _S. auratus_, may be the insect here referred -to. - -[130] _Nat. Hist._, xi. 28 (34). - -[131] Shaw's _Zool._, vi. 20. Baird's _Cyclop. of Nat. Sci._ - -[132] St. Clair, _West Indies, etc._, i. 152. - -[133] Simmond, _Curiosities of Food_, p. 295. - -[134] _Ibid._ - -[135] Tennent, _Nat. Hist. of Ceylon_, p. 407. - -[136] Tennent, _Nat. Hist. of Ceylon_, p. 407. - -[137] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 152. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 1009. - -[138] De Geer, iv. 275-6. Kirb. and Sp. _Introd._, i. 33. - -[139] _Hist. of Ins._ (Murray, 1830) ii. 296. - -[140] _Chronicles_, iv. 326.--The water overflowing the low grounds -brought the beetles for air to the surface, whence they were swept away -by the current. - -[141] _Phil. Trans. Abridg._, ii. 781-3. - -[142] _Phil. Trans. Abridg._, ii. 782. - -[143] Shaw, _Zool._, vi. 25. - -[144] Kirb. and Sp. _Introd._, i. 179. - -[145] Anderson's _Recr. in Agric._, iii. 420. - -[146] _Anim. Biog._, iii. 233. - -[147] Baird's _Cyclop. of Nat. Sci._ - -[148] _Ibid._ - -[149] Shaw's _Zool._, vi. 88. - -[150] Tennent, _Nat. Hist. of Ceylon_, p. 405. - -[151] Donovan, _Ins. of India_, p. 5. - -[152] Donovan, _Ins. of China_, p. 13. - -[153] Travels, i. 384. - -[154] _Ibid._, i. 331. - -[155] Cuvier, _An. King.--Ins._, i. 356. - -[156] _Introd._, i. 156. - -[157] Pliny, xxx. 4; Holland, ii. 377. E. - -[158] _Med. Dict._ - -[159] _Ibid._ - -[160] Peruvians travel by the light of the _Cucujus Peruvianus_.--See -Kirby's _Wond. Museum_, ii. 151. - -[161] _Hist. of West Indies_, p. 274. - -[162] Baird's _Cyclop. of Nat. Sci._ - -[163] Stedm. _Surinam_, i. 140. - -[164] Cuvier, _An. King.--Ins._, i. 321. - -[165] _Conq. of Mex._, i. 327. - -[166] _Hist. of New Swed._, p. 162. - -[167] _Theatr. Insect._, p. 112. - -[168] _Hist. of Amer._, p. 378. - -[169] Walton, _Pres. St. of Span. Col._, i. 128. - -[170] Humboldt's _Cuba_, p. 395. - -[171] _Saturday Mag._, ix. 229. - -[172] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 111. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 977. - -[173] _Tour on the Continent_, 2d. Edit., iii. 85. - -[174] Browne's _Vulg. Err._, B. iii. c. 17. _Works_, ii. 531. - -[175] Kirb. and Sp. _Introd._, i. 317. - -[176] _Tour on Continent_, iii. 85. 2d Edit. - -[177] _Med. Dict._ - -[178] Harris' _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, ii. 688. - -[179] Harris, _Farm Insects_, p. 372. - -[180] This insect has received its English names, of _Mole-cricket_ and -_Earth-crab_, from its burrowing like a mole, and some species of W. -Indian crabs; and, from its supposed jarring song at night, it is also -called _Eve-churr_, _Churr-worm_, and _Jarr-worm_.--_Ibid._ - -[181] Moufet, _Theatr. Ins._, p. 110. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. -977. - -[182] Cuvier, _An. King.--Ins._, i. 382. - -[183] Cf. _Works_, ii. 375. - -[184] Johnson's _Eng. Dict._ - -[185] 4th Past., 1. 101. - -[186] In Kirby's _Wonderful Museum_, ii. 309, there is an article on the -Death-watch, headed "A curious Description and Explanation of the -Death-watch, so commonly listened to with such dread." - -[187] Harper's _Mag._, xxiii. 775. - -[188] Shaw, _Zool._, vi. 34. _Nat. Misc._, iii. 104. - -[189] Brand's _Pop. Antiq._, iii. 226-7. - -[190] Horne's _Introd. to Bibliog._, i. 311. - -[191] Wilhelm's _Recr. from Nat. Hist._, quot. by Latrielle, _Hist. -Nat._, ix. 194. Quot. by Kirb. and Sp. _Introd._, i. 213. Carpenter, -_Zool._, ii. 133. - -[192] Brookes informs us that Dr. Greenfield, a practitioner in London, -was sent to Newgate, by the college, for having given Cantharides -inwardly. This happened in the year 1698; but he was soon after -released, by a superior authority, when he published a work upon the -good effects of these insects taken inwardly for strangury, and other -disorders of the kidneys and bladder. We are also told by Ambrose Parry, -that a courtezan, having invited a young man to supper, had seasoned -some of the dishes with the powder of Cantharides, which the very next -day produced such an effect, that he died with an evacuation of blood, -which the physicians were not able to stop. Many other instances might -be brought, continues Brookes, of persons that have been either killed, -or brought to death's door, by a wanton use of these Flies, which had -been given them privately, with a design to cause love. Some go so far -as to affirm, that people have been thrown into a fever, only by -sleeping under trees on which were a great number of Cantharides; and -Mr. Boyle informs us, after authors worthy of credit, that some persons -have felt considerable pains about the neck of the bladder, only by -holding Cantharides in their hands.--_Nat. Hist. of Ins._, p. 50-1. - -[193] Pliny, _Nat. Hist._, xxix. 30. - -[194] _Asiatic Res._, v. 213. - -[195] Baird's _Cyclop. of Nat. Sci._ - -[196] _Med. Dict._ - -[197] Cuvier, _An. King.--Ins._, i. 569. - -[198] Pliny, _Nat. Hist._, xxix. 30. - -[199] Sloane, _Hist. of Jamaica_, ii. 206. - -[200] Owen's _Geoponika_, ii. 156. - -[201] _Nat. Hist. of Ins._, p. 49. - -[202] Cuvier, _An. Kingd.--Ins._, i. 569. - -[203] Linn. _Faun. Suec._, p. 822. - -[204] Lane's _Mod. Egypt._, i. 237, ii. 275. - -[205] Cuvier, _An. King.--Ins._, i. 568. - -[206] Pinkerton's _Voy. and Trav._, x. 190. - -[207] Pliny, _Nat. Hist._, xxix. 6. Holl., p. 370. - -[208] _Trans. of Assoc. Phys. in Ireland_, iv., vii., and v., p. 177, -8vo., Dublin, 1824-8. - -[209] In Kirby's _Wonderful Museum_, iv. 360, there are several -instances of living insects being found in the human stomach, quite as -extraordinary as the above. - -[210] _The Mirror_, xxviii. 304. - -[211] _Hist. of Brazil_, p. 346. - -[212] Jamieson gives Grou-grou as a Scottish name for the -Corn-grub.--_Scot. Dict._, iii. 516. - -[213] Shaw, _Zool._, vi. 62. Cuvier, _An. Kingd.--Ins._, ii. 80. - -[214] Stedm. _Surinam_, ii. 23. - -[215] _Ibid._, ii. 115. - -[216] _Acct. of the Sierra Leone Africans_, i. 314, note. - -[217] Travels, i. 410. - -[218] _Gummila_, i. 9. See also Southey's _Hist. of Brazil_, i. 110. - -[219] _Hist. of Barbados_, p. 646. - -[220] _Entretenimiento_, vi. Sec. 11. - -[221] Canto iii. - -[222] _Sketches of Java_, 310. - -[223] AElian, _Hist._ L. xiv. c. 13. - -[224] Simmond's _Curiosities of Food_, p. 313. - -[225] _Travels and Researches in S. Africa_, p. 389. - -[226] _Monthly Mag._ ii. (Pt. II.) 792, for 1796. - -[227] _Book of Days_, i. - -[228] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 151. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 1007. - -[229] _The Mirror_, xxxiii. 202, note. - -[230] Drury, Ins., i. 9 (Pref.). Shaw's _Zool._, vi. 73. - -[231] Shaw's _Zool._, vi. 71-2. Merian, _Ins. Sur._, 24. - -[232] _Hist. of Jamaica_, ii. 193-4. - -[233] _St. Pierre_, _Voy._, 72. - -[234] Smeatham, 32. Kirb. and Sp. _Introd._, i. 303. - -[235] _Wonders_, i. 18. - -[236] Curtis, _Farm Ins._, p. 22. Baird's _Cyclop. of Nat. Sci._ - -[237] Owen's _Geoponika_, ii. 98. - -[238] Probably the coriaceous tortoise, which is covered with a strong -hide. - -[239] Paladius, B. i. c. 35. - -[240] _Med. Dict._ - -[241] _Gent. Mag._, xxv. 376.--Some authors assert that Ear-wigs are not -in the least injurious to vegetation. - -[242] _Hist. of Jam._, ii. 204. - -[243] _Med. Dict._ - -[244] _Hist. of Jam._, ii. 204. - -[245] Baird's _Cyclop. of Nat. Sci._ - -[246] Quot. by Samouffle, _Ent. Cab._, 1-3. - -[247] Baird's _Cyclop. of Nat. Sci._ - -[248] Pinkerton's _Voy. and Trav._, xiii. 108. A beetle, insinuating -itself in the ear of Captain Speke when in Central Africa, caused him -the greatest pain imaginable. It was six or seven months before all the -pieces of it were extracted.--_Blackwood's Mag._, Sept. 1859. Barth's -_Central Africa_, ii. 91, note. - -[249] Hone's _Every Day Book_, i. 1121. - -[250] _London Labor and London Poor_, iii. 40-1. - -[251] _Zool._, vi. 118. - -[252] _Theat. Ins._, p. 983. - -[253] Harwood, _Grec. Antiq._, p. 200. - -[254] Chamb. _Journ._, xi. 362, 2d S. - -[255] Carpenter's _Zool._, ii. 142. - -[256] _Penny Mag._, 1841, 2d S. p. 436. - -[257] Cuvier, _An. Kingd.--Ins._, ii. 190. - -[258] _Present St. of the C. of Good Hope_, i. 99-100. Astley's _Collec. -of Voy. and Trav._, iii. 366. - -[259] Astley's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, iii. 381. - -[260] _Pres. St. of the C. of Good Hope_, i. 101-2. - -[261] _Ibid._ - -[262] _Trav._, i. 150. - -[263] _Ibid._, ii. 65. - -[264] Quot. by _Penny Mag._, 1841, 2d S. p. 436. - -[265] _Ibid._ - -[266] _Ibid._ - -[267] Churchill's _Coll. of Voy. and Trav._, ii. 23, and Pinkerton's -_Voy. and Trav._, xiv. 720. - -[268] _Trav. in China_, p. 159. Cf. Williams' _Middle Kingdom_, i. 273. - -[269] Ins. Arch., 63. - -[270] This superstition I have found in no other place. - -[271] Harper's _New Monthly Mag._, xxiv. 491, 2. - -[272] Donovan seems to think that Ovid's account of the Transformation -of Phaeton's Sisters into trees, had its origin in some such idea as -this.--_Insects of China_, p. 18, note. See also Chamb. _Journal_, xi. -367, 2d Ser. - -[273] Donovan's _Ins. of China_, p. 19. - -[274] Smith's _Nature and Art_, x. 240. - -[275] _Amer. Phil. Trans._, vol. iii. _Introd._ - -[276] Cuvier, _An. Kingd.--Ins._, ii. 173. - -[277] _Nat. Hist. of Barbados_, p. 90. - -[278] 4th Pastoral, line 102. - -[279] _Mag-astromancers Posed and Puzzel'd_, p. 181. - -[280] _Daemonologia_, 1650, p. 59. - -[281] _Elminth._, 8vo. Lond., 1668, p. 271. - -[282] _Nat. Hist. of Selborne_, p. 255. - -[283] _Tamar and Tavy_, i. 321. - -[284] _The Mirror_, xix. 180. - -[285] _Astrologaster_, p. 45. - -[286] _Notes and Queries_, iii. 3. - -[287] _Ibid._ - -[288] _The Mirror_, xix. 180. - -[289] Grose, _Antiq. Prov. Gloss._, p. 121. - -[290] _Il Penserosa._ - -[291] Mouffet, _Theat. Insect._, p. 136. - -[292] Harper's _Mag._, xxvi. 497. - -[293] Mouff. _Theat. Ins._, p. 136. - -[294] De Pauw, ii. 106. - -[295] _Life of Amer. Ins._, p. 114. - -[296] _Earth and Animat. Nat._, iv. 216. - -[297] Sloane's _Nat. Hist. of Jamaica_, ii. 204. - -[298] _Nat. Hist._, xxx. 4. Holland, p. 378. H. - -[299] _Ibid._, xxix. 6. Holland, p. 370. K. - -[300] Pliny, _Nat. Hist._, xxix. 6. Holl., p. 371. A. - -[301] _Med. Dict._ - -[302] The Grasshopper, however, according to Mr. Hughes' description, is -twice as large as the cricket; it being two inches, the cricket but one -inch, in length.--P. 85 and 90. - -[303] _Nat. Hist. of Barb._, p. 85. - -[304] Athen. _Deipnos_, L. 4, c. 12. The Cercope, or Monkey-grasshopper, -was so called from having a long tail like a monkey, _cercops_. - -[305] Pinkert. _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, ix. 612. - -[306] _Hist. of West Indies_, p. 121-2. - -[307] Voy., ii. 239. Wanley's _Wonders_, ii. 373. - -[308] Quoted in Simmond's _Curios. of Food_, p. 304. - -[309] _Gent. Mag._, xii. 442. - -[310] Good, _Study of Med._, iv. 515. - -[311] Pinkerton's _Voy. and Trav._, vii. 705. - -[312] _Med. Dict._ - -[313] _Nat. Hist. of Ins._, p. 67. - -[314] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 120. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 984. - -[315] Exod., chap. x. - -[316] Of the symbolical Locusts in the Apocalypse it is said--"And the -sounds of their wings was as the sound of chariots, of many horses -running to battle."--ix. 9. - -[317] Cf. Ex. x. 15; Jer. xlvi. 23; Judg. vi. 5, viii. 12; Nah. iii. 15. - -[318] Joel, ii. 2-10, 20. - -[319] Oros., _Contra Pag._, l. 5, c. 2. - -[320] Kirb. and Sp. _Introd._, i. 217; Cuv. _An. Kingd.--Ins._, ii. 206. - -[321] Mouff., _Theat. Ins._, p. 123. - -[322] Shaw, _Zool._, vi. 137. - -[323] _Wonders_, ii. 507. - -[324] Shaw, _Zool._, vi. 137. - -[325] _Ibid._ - -[326] _Theatr. Insect._, p. 123. - -[327] Cuvier, _An. Kingd.--Ins._, ii. 212. - -[328] Bingley, _Anim. Biog._, iii. 258. - -[329] _Hist. of Ins._ (Murray, 1838), ii. 188. - -[330] _Nat. Hist. of Jam._, quot. in _Gent. Mag._, xviii. 362. - -[331] Churchill's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, v. 33. - -[332] _Ins._ (Murray, 1838), ii. 188. - -[333] _Ibid._, ii. 197. - -[334] _Gent. Mag._, lxx. 989. - -[335] _Phil. Trans._, vol. xlvi., and _Gent. Mag._, xvii. 435. - -[336] _Ibid._ - -[337] _Ins._ (Murray, 1838), ii. 190. - -[338] _Ibid._, 191. Dr. Shaw says, Governors of particular provinces of -the East oftentimes command a certain number of the military to take the -field against armies of Locusts, with a train of artillery.--_Zool._, -vi. 131, note. - -[339] _Phil. Trans._, vol. xlvi. - -[340] Cuv. _An. King.--Ins._, ii. 211. - -[341] Dillon's _Trav. in Spain_, quot. in _Ins._ (Murray, 1838), ii. -205. - -[342] _Gent. Mag._, xx. 382; xxiii. 387. - -[343] _Ibid._, xlii. 293. - -[344] Jackson's _Trav. in Morocco_, p. 105. Cf. Lempriere, Pinkerton's -_Col. of Voy. and Trav._, xv. 709. - -[345] Cuv. _An. King.--Ins._, ii. 212. - -[346] _Gent. Mag._, lxii. 543. - -[347] _Ibid._, liii. 526, Pt. I. - -[348] _Trav., etc._, 257. - -[349] K. and S. _Introd._, i. 219. - -[350] _Orient. Mem._, ii. 273. - -[351] _Ibid._, iii. 338. - -[352] Pinkerton's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, viii. 595. - -[353] _Ibid._, viii. 613. - -[354] _Penny Mag._, 1843, p. 231. - -[355] _Narrative_, p. 234, and p. 238. - -[356] _Trav. in Morocco_, p. 105. - -[357] Jaeg. _on Ins._, p. 103. - -[358] Pringle's _S. Africa_, p. 54. The Missionary Moffat has written -the history of the scourge of 1826.--_Miss. Lab._, p. 447-9. - -[359] _Ibid._ - -[360] _Chinese Repository._ - -[361] Churchill's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, ii. 317. - -[362] _Penny Mag._ 1843. - -[363] Backhouse, p. 264. - -[364] _Kaffraria_, p. 79. - -[365] Remy & Brenchley's _Voy. to G. Salt Lake City_, iv. 440, note; -Burton's _City of the Saints_, p. 345. - -[366] Quot. by Burton, _City of the Saints_, p. 86. Cf. Long's _Exped._, -ii. 31. - -[367] Remy and Brenchley's _Voy. to G. S. Lake City_, i. 440, note; -Burton's _City of the Saints_, p. 345. - -[368] Lepsius, _Disc. in Egypt_, p. 50. - -[369] _Nat. Hist._, xi. 29; Holland, Pt. I. p. 327, F-H. - -[370] Owen's _Geoponika_, ii. 137-8. - -[371] _Ibid._, 138. - -[372] Pinkerton's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, vii. 257. - -[373] Volney's _Trav._, i. 387. - -[374] Riley's _Narrative_, p. 236-7. - -[375] Richardson's _Sahara_, i. 338. - -[376] _The Mirror_, xv. 429. - -[377] _Pilgr._, ii. 1047. - -[378] _Ibid._, ii. 1186. - -[379] Baird's _Cyclop. of Nat. Sci._ - -[380] _Gent. Mag._, lxxxi. (Pt. II.) 273. - -[381] Vide Bochart, _Hierozoic_, L. IV. c. 5, 474-5. - -[382] Volney, _Trav._, i. 304. - -[383] Robbins' _Journal_, p. 228. - -[384] Southey's _Thalaba_, i. 171. - -[385] Clarke's _Travels_, i. 348. - -[386] _Harleian Miscel._, ii. 523. - -[387] _Nature and Art_, vi. 109. - -[388] Bochart, _Hierozoic_, Pt. II. L. iv. c. 5, 475.--Much of this -description is quite oriental, but such is the general resemblance to -some of the animals mentioned, that in Italy it still bears the name of -"Cavalletta." A German name for this Locust, as well as the Grasshopper -(before mentioned), is the "Hay-horse." About the Locust's neck, too, -the integuments have some resemblance to the trappings of a horse; some -species, however, have the appearance of being hooded. In the Bible, -Locusts are compared to horses.--Joel, ii. 4; Rev. ix. 7. Ray says, -"_Caput oblongum, equi instar prona spectans_." - -[389] Riley's _Narrative_, p. 234. - -[390] _Ins._ (Murray, 1838), ii. 186. - -[391] _Ibid._, 187. - -[392] _Ibid._ - -[393] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 125. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 988. - -[394] St. John's _Man. and Cust. of Anct. Greeks_, iii. 95. - -[395] Diod. Sic. _Hist._, L. III. c. 2. Booth's Trans., 170-1. - -[396] Strabo. _Geog._, L. XVI. c. 4, Sec. 13. - -[397] _Nat. Hist._, xi. 26. Holl. Pt. I. p. 325. E. Cf. Pliny, _Nat. -Hist._, xi. 29. - -[398] Rob. _Journal_, p. 172. - -[399] _Ibid._, p. 228. - -[400] Jackson's _Morocco_, p. 104. - -[401] _Ibid._, p. 106. - -[402] _Wand. and Adv. in S. Afr._, i. 137. - -[403] Riley's _Narrat._, p. 237. - -[404] _Exped. to Africa_, p. 107. - -[405] _Cent. Africa_, ii. 30. - -[406] Pinkerton's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, xvi. 634. - -[407] _Travels to C. of Good Hope_, i. 263. - -[408] _Ibid._ - -[409] _Revel._ ix. 2, 3. - -[410] Fleming's _Kaffraria_, p. 80. - -[411] Holman's _Travels_, p. 487. - -[412] _Miss. Lab._, p. 448-9. - -[413] Quot. in Anderson's _L. Ngami_, p. 284. - -[414] _Ibid._, p. 283. - -[415] _Trav. and Res. in S. Africa_, p. 48. - -[416] Pinkerton's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, x. 189. - -[417] Hasselq. _Trav._, p. 419. - -[418] _Orient. Mem._, i. 46. - -[419] Layard's _Nin. and Bab._, p. 289. - -[420] _Chinese Repository._ - -[421] _Lord Elgin's Miss. to China and Japan_, p. 273. - -[422] _Middle Kingdom_, ii. 50. - -[423] _Voy._, i. 430. Pinkerton's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, xi. 49. - -[424] _Ibid._, xiv. 128. - -[425] Vol. ii. p. 525. - -[426] Cuvier, _An. King.--Ins._, ii. 205. - -[427] Jackson's _Morocco_, p. 103. - -[428] _Ibid._, p. 106. - -[429] _Narrative_, p. 235. - -[430] _Chinese Repository._ - -[431] _Phil. Trans._ for 1698. - -[432] _Prov._ xxx. 27. - -[433] _Genes._ xvi. 12. - -[434] Jackson's _Travels in Morocco_, p. 105-6. - -[435] _Hist. of Greece_, b. i. c. 24. - -[436] _Hist. Acct. of China_, b. ii. c. 15, and Church _Col. of Voy. and -Trav._, i. 95. - -[437] _Naturalist in Bermuda_, p. 112. - -[438] _S. African Sport._, p. 220. - -[439] Darwin's _Res._, p. 159. - -[440] _Hist. of Jam._, ii. 261. - -[441] Smith's _Bib. Dict._ - -[442] _Ibid._ - -[443] _Travels_, i. 71. - -[444] _Egypt and China_, ii. 106. - -[445] _Hist. of Brazil_, i. 105. - -[446] Baird's _Cyclop. of Nat. Sci._ The species here referred to was -the _Termes lucifuga_. - -[447] _Orient. Mem._, i. 363-4. - -[448] Kempf. _Japan_, ii. 127; also Pinkerton's _Col. of Voy. and -Trav._, vii. 701. - -[449] _Orient. Mem._, i. 362. - -[450] _Introd._, i. 247. - -[451] _Autobiog._, Lond., 1858, p. 222-3. - -[452] _Latr. S. Africa_, p. 315. - -[453] _Hist. of Brazil_, i. 319. - -[454] Kid. and Fletch., _Brazil_, p. 443. - -[455] _S. Africa_, p. 315. - -[456] _Hist. of Brazil_, i. 319. - -[457] Kidder and Fletcher, _Brazil_, p. 442. - -[458] Barter's _Dorp and Veld_, p. 81. - -[459] Burton's _Central Africa_, i. 202. - -[460] Tennent, _Nat. Hist. of Ceylon_, p. 412. - -[461] Knox, _Ceylon_, Pt. I. ch. vi. p. 24. - -[462] _Phil. Trans._, lxxi. 167-8, note. - -[463] _Ibid._ - -[464] _Voy. to Cape of Good Hope_, i. 261; Cf. Alexander's _Exped. into -Africa_, i. 52. - -[465] _Trav. in S. Africa_, p. 501. - -[466] Burton's _Cent. Africa_, i. 202. - -[467] Buchanan, i. 7; Forbes, _Orient. Mem._, i. 305. - -[468] Kirb. and Sp. _Introd._, i. 308, note. - -[469] _Letters written in a Mahratta Camp in 1809._ - -[470] Backhouse, p. 584. - -[471] _Phil. Trans._, lxxi. 167-8, note. - -[472] _Memoirs_, vi. 485. Quot. by K. and S. _Introd._, i. 284. Cuv. -_An. Kingd.--Ins._, ii. 315. _Ins. Trans._, p. 373. - -[473] Quot. by Shaw, _Zool._, vi. 250. - -[474] _Mag. of Nat. Hist._, iii. 516-8. - -[475] Gosse's _Jamaica_, p. 251. - -[476] _Gram. and Dict. of the Yoruba Language._ Smithson. Public., p. -xiii. - -[477] Cuv. _An. King.--Ins._, ii. 404. - -[478] They were produced by that species of Gall-fly, _Cynips_, -delineated by Reaumur in his _Hist. of Ins._, vol. iii. tabl. 40. _The -Mirror_, xxx. 234. - -[479] K. and S. _Introd._, i. 33. - -[480] Browne's _Works_, ii. 376. - -[481] _Theatr. Ins._, 252. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 1085. - -[482] Hasselquist's _Travels_, p. 253. - -[483] Cuv. _An. King.--Ins._, ii. 424. - -[484] _Ibid._, p. 427. - -[485] Baird's _Cyclop. of Nat. Sci._ Cf. Cuv.--_Ins._, ii. 428; K. and -S. _Introd._, i. 318. Medict. Virt. Cf. Geoffroy's _Treatise on Subs. -used in Physic_, p. 369. - -[486] Cuv. _An. Kingd.--Ins._, ii. 428. Cf. Geoffroy's _Subs. used in -Phys._, p. 369. - -[487] Reaum. iii. 416. Cf. Cuv. _Ibid._ ii. 429. K. and S. _Introd._, i. -310. - -[488] Smith's _Introd. to Bot._, p. 346. Olivier's _Trav._, i. 139. Cf. -_Ibid._ - -[489] Baird's _Cyclop. of Nat. Sci._ - -[490] Herod., B. 3, 102-5. Cary's _Trans._, p. 214. - -[491] Strabo, _Geog._, B. xv. c. 1, Sec. 44. Hamilton's _Trans._, iii. 101. -Cf. Arrian's _Ind. Hist._, c. 15. Rooke's _Trans._, ii. 211. - -[492] _Ibid._ - -[493] Pliny, _Nat. Hist._, B. xi. c. 31. Bost. and Riley's _Trans._, -iii. 39. - -[494] _Ubi supra_, and Strabo, B. xv. c. 1, Sec. 37. - -[495] Pomp., _Vita Apollon. Tyan._, B. vi. c. 1. - -[496] Bostick and Riley's _Trans. of Pliny_, iii. 39, note. - -[497] Prov. vi. 6. Cf. Prov. xxx. 23. - -[498] Smith's _Bib. Dict._ - -[499] Holland's _Trans._, p. 787. - -[500] _Guardian_, No. 156-7. - -[501] _Nat. Displ._, i. 128. - -[502] _Namahl a Namal Circumcidit._--Browne's _Pseud. Epid.--Works_, ii. -531. - -[503] _Poems: Solomon._ - -[504] _Hymns: The Emmet._ - -[505] _On the Omnis. of God._ - -[506] _Par. Lost_, B. vii. l. 484. - -[507] _Saturday Mag._, xix. 190. - -[508] Lawson's _Bible Cyclop._, ii. 505. - -[509] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 245-6. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 1078. -Vide Pierius' _Hieroglyph._, p. 73-6. - -[510] Mouf. _Theatr. Ins._, p. 242. - -[511] Quot. in Brande's _Pop. Antiq._, iii. 224. - -[512] Harwood's Grec. _Antiq._, p. 200. - -[513] Stosch. Cl., ii. 227-8. Fosbr. _Encycl. of Antiq._, ii. 738. - -[514] Quot. in Brande's _Pop. Antiq._, iii. 134. - -[515] _The Mirror_, xxx. 216. - -[516] _Pilgrims_, v. 542. - -[517] _Theatr. Ins._, 246. Topsel's _Hist of Beasts_, p. 1079. - -[518] The valley seems to be so called from the great number of Ants -which are found there. Some place it in Syria, and others in Tayeb.--_Al -Beidawi, Jallalo'ddin._ - -[519] _The Koran_, p. 310. Translated by Geo. Sale. - -[520] _Trav. in the Levant_, Pt. I. p. 41. - -[521] _Land and Water Creatures Compared_, Holland, p. 787. - -[522] B. 7, c. 16, p. 665; printed 1613. - -[523] Strong's _Nat. Hist._, iii. 163. - -[524] Holland's _Trans._, p. 787. - -[525] Chamb. _Misc._, x. 17. - -[526] Kalm in Pinkerton's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, xiii. 474. - -[527] Chamb. _Misc._, x. 22. - -[528] Pinkerton's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, xvi. 174. - -[529] _Guinea_, p. 276; Astley's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, ii. 727. - -[530] Du Chaillu, p. 312 and 108. - -[531] Allied to the Stinger (_ota_) of Yoruba, and _Idzalco_, "the -fighter which makes one go."--_T. J. Bowen._ - -[532] Livingstone's _Travels_, p. 468. - -[533] St. Clair's _W. Indies_, i. 167-8. - -[534] Stedm. _Surinam_, ii. 94. - -[535] Of similar size and ferocity as the great Red-ant of Ceylon, the -_Dimiya_, _Formica smaragdina_.--Tennent, _N. H. of Ceyl._, p. 424. - -[536] The Cobra de Capello, _Naja tripudians_, Merr. - -[537] Knox, _Hist. Rel. of Ceylon_, Pt. I. ch. vi. p. 24. - -[538] Stedm. _Surinam_, ii. 142. - -[539] K. and S. _Introd._, i. 123. - -[540] Smith's _Nature and Art_, xii. 195. Clavigero supposes that all -the attachment which the snake shows to the Ant-hills proceeds from its -living on the Ants themselves. - -[541] _Du Chaillu_, p. 312. - -[542] The Swiss farmers, in order to rid their trees of caterpillars, -allure the Ants to climb the trees, where, being confined by a circle of -pitch round the holes, hunger soon causes them to attack the noxious -larvae. - -[543] _Penny Encycl._, _sub._ Ant. - -[544] _Hakluyt Society_, ii. 13. - -[545] _The Mirror_, xxxi. 342. - -[546] Smith's _Nature and Art_, xii. 197. - -[547] _Hist. Nat._, i. 9, and v. 291. Cf. Sloane, _Hist. of Jam._, ii. -221. - -[548] _Amer. Utriusq. Desc._, p. 333. - -[549] _Ibid._, p. 379. - -[550] Southey's _Com. Place Book_, 3d S. p. 346-7. - -[551] Herrera, vi. 5, 6. - -[552] _Hist. of Jam._, ii. 221. - -[553] Quoted, _Ibid._ - -[554] _Journ. of Geog. Soc._, 1841, x. 175. - -[555] Quot. by K. and S. _Introd._, i. 309. - -[556] _Trav. in Swed._, p. 118, Lond. 1789, 4to. - -[557] _Ibid._ - -[558] Jenkin's _Voy. of U. S. Explor. Exped. Com. by Wilkes_, 8vo. -Auburn, 1852, p. 319. - -[559] Cuv. _An. Kingd.--Insects_, ii. 489. - -[560] _Ibid._ - -[561] _Pilgrims_, iii. 996. - -[562] James's _Med. Dict._ - -[563] _Hist. of Jam._, ii. 221. - -[564] Brande's _Encycl. of Sci. Lit., etc._ - -[565] Pliny, _Nat. Hist._, xxviii. 7 (23). - -[566] Southey's _Com. Place Book_, 3d S. p. 419. - -[567] _Gent. Mag._, Pt. II. lxxiii. 704-5, and Kirby's _Wond. Museum_, -i. 353-5. - -[568] _Land and Water Creatures Compared_, Holl. _Trans._, p. 793. - -[569] B. 7, c. xv. p. 664. Printed 1613. - -[570] Cuv. _An. Kingd.--Ins._, ii. 472. - -[571] _Mem. Berlin Acad._ for 1749. - -[572] _Penny Encycl._, _sub._ Ant. - -[573] K. and S. _Introd._, ii. 54. - -[574] _Pilgrimage_, p. 1090. - -[575] K. and S. _Intro._, ii. 54. - -[576] Joss. _Voy._, p. 118. - -[577] Baird's _Cyclop. of Nat. Sci._ - -[578] Purchas's _Pilgrims_, iii. 998. - -[579] Schomburgk's _Hist. of Barbados_, 640-3; and Coke's _West Indies_, -ii. 313. - -[580] Cuv. _An. Kingd.--Ins._, ii. 471. - -[581] Pinkerton's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, xiv. 716. - -[582] Southey's _Hist. of Brazil_, iii. 334, note. - -[583] Wanley's _Wonders_, ii. 507. - -[584] Thom Browne's _Works_, ii. 337, note. - -[585] Martial, B. iv. 15. - -[586] Southey, _Hist. of Brazil_, i. 645. - -[587] Owen's _Geoponika_, ii. 148-9. - -[588] _Nat. Hist._, xxix. 29. - -[589] Wanley's _Wonders_, i. 378. - -[590] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 40-50. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 921-7. -Vide Pierius' _Hieroglyph._, p. 267-8; Pernicies summota; Pugnacitas; -Imperfecti mores civiles; Perturbator. - -[591] _Josh._ xxiv. 12; _Deut._ vii. 20. - -[592] Kirby's _Bridgewater Treatise.--Saturday Mag._, ix. 239. - -[593] _Phil. Trans._, i. 201. - -[594] _Med. Dict._ - -[595] _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 660. - -[596] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 49. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 657, 927. - -[597] _Notes and Queries_, ii. 165. - -[598] Owen's _Geoponika_, ii. 211. - -[599] Backhouse's _Mauritius_, p. 32. - -[600] Moufet, _Theatr. Insect._, p. 47. Topsel's _Hist. of Four-footed -Beasts and Serpents_, p. 925, 655. - -[601] William's _Middle Kingdom_; or _Chinese Empire_, i. 274. - -[602] Thom. Bozius _de signis Eccles._, B. 14, c. iii. Quot. by Butler, -_Fem. Monarchie_, c. i. 48. - -[603] Quot. in _Notes and Queries_, ix. 167. - -[604] _Parley of Beasts_, p. 144. London, 1660. - -[605] Bozius, _ubi supra_. Butler, _ubi supra_. - -[606] Vicentius in _Spec. Moral._, B. 2, D. 21, p. 3. _N. and Q._, x. -499. - -[607] Pet. Cluniac, B. 1, c. i. _N. and Q._, x. 499. - -[608] Quot. in _Notes and Queries_, x. 499. - -[609] Harwood, _Grec. Antiq._, p. 200. - -[610] Pliny, _Nat. Hist._, ix. 18 - -[611] _Ibid._ - -[612] Paus. _Hist. of Greece_, B. ix. c. xxiii. 3. - -[613] Stanley's _Hist. of Philos._, Pt. V. c. ii. p. 157, Lond. 1701. -Cf. Pliny, _Nat. Hist._, xi. 18. - -Vide Pierius, _Hieroglyph._, p. 261-5. Populus regi suo obseques; Rex; -Regnum; Grata eloquentia; Poeticae amoenitas; Futuri seculi beatitudo; -Dulcium appetitus; Diuturnae valetudinis prosperitas; Meretrix; Exoticae -disciplinae; Prophetarum oracula, etc. - -[614] _Lives of the Saints_, xii. 106. - -[615] Quot. in _N. and Q._, x. 500. This story is not in the _Fem. -Monarchie_ of 1609, printed for Jos. Barnes. - -[616] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 21-2. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts and Serpents_, -p. 645, 905. - -[617] _N. and Q._, vi. 480. - -[618] Gay's _Pastorals_, v. 107-8. - -[619] Chambers' _Book of Days_, i. 752. - -[620] Plutarch, _Nat. Quest._, 36. Holl. Trans., p. 831. - -[621] _Nat. Hist._, xxviii. 7. Holl. Trans., p. 308. - -[622] Plutarch, _Land and Water Creatures Compared_. Holl. Trans., p. -786. - -[623] _Georg._ iv. 283-7. Dryden's Trans. - -[624] Swam. _Hist. of Ins._, Pt. I. p. 226. - -[625] Martin's _Georg. of Virgil_, iv. 295, note. - -[626] Dryden's _Virgil, Georg._ iv. 417-442. Democritus, said to have -been contemporary with Socrates and Hippocrates, the learned Varro, -Columella, and Plorentinus, have severally given this same receipt. Vide -Owen's _Geoponika_, ii. 199. - -[627] Hollings. _Chron._, i. 384. - -[628] Swam. _Hist. of Ins._, Pt. I. p. 228. - -[629] _N. and Q._, ii. 356. - -[630] _Nat. Hist._, xix. 7. Holl. _Trans._, p. 23. E. - -[631] _N. and Q._, ii. 165. Chamb. _Bk. of Days_, i. 752. - -[632] _N. & Q._, xii. 200. - -[633] _Mag. of Nat. Hist._, ii. 405. - -[634] Bucke _on Nature_, i. 419. - -[635] Brand's _Pop. Antiq._, ii. 300. - -[636] _Ibid._ - -[637] _Ibid._ - -[638] Thorpe's _North. Mythol._, iii. 161. - -[639] Vide _N. and Q._ in Devon, v. 148; Essex, v. 437; Lincolnshire, -iv. 270; Surrey, iv. 291; a Cornish superstition, too, xii. 38; in -Buckinghamshire, Sussex, Lithuania, and France, iv. 308. - -[640] Brande's _Pop. Antiq._, ii. 300. - -[641] Bucke _on Nature_, i. 413, note. - -[642] _N. and Q._, iv. 309. - -[643] Brand's _Pop. Antiq._, ii. 300. - -[644] Fosbr. _Encycl. of Antiq._, ii. 738. - -[645] Brand's _Pop. Antiq._, ii. 300. - -[646] Langstroth _on Honey-Bee_, p. 80. - -[647] _Mag. of Nat. Hist._, iii. 211, note. - -[648] _Ibid._, i. 303. London, 1829. - -[649] Peter Rotharmel had three specialties: Bees, Wheat, and Bonaparte. -Concerning Bees, he had many strange notions, but the above recorded is -the only one of which I have any positive information. Concerning wheat, -at one time in his life he purchased an almanac, which indicated, among -other things, the high and low tides, and, from studying this, he got it -into his head that the fluctuations in the price of wheat were -intimately connected with the rise and fall of the tides. So impressed -was he with this idea, that he ever afterward yearly bought that -particular almanac, and prophesied from it to his neighbors the probable -value of their coming crops of wheat. On Sunday, he would walk fifteen -and twenty miles through the country, to examine the different -wheat-fields, and to afford him a topic of conversation for the ensuing -week. But Napoleon was his principal study and his greatest mania. On -him he would talk for hours, on the slightest provocation. The history -of Bonaparte and his campaigns, which he only read, was an old German -one. - -[650] _Mag. of Nat. Hist._, ii. 209. - -[651] _Geog._, Dryden's _Trans._, iv. 82-9. - -[652] _On the Honey-Bee_, p. 113. - -[653] _N. and Q._, 2d Ser., ix. 443. - -[654] _Nat. Hist._, xxi. 20, Holl. _Trans._, p. 106. K. - -[655] Quot. in Brand's _Pop. Antiq._, iii. 225. - -[656] Langstroth _on the Honey-Bee_, p. 132. - -[657] Quot. by Langstroth _on the Honey-Bee_, p. 231. - -[658] Campbell's _Travels in S. Africa_, p. 339. - -[659] _Percy Soc. Public._, iv. 99. - -[660] Owen's _Geoponika_, ii. 109-10. - -[661] _Nat. Hist._, xx. 13. Holl., p. 56. M. - -[662] _Ibid._, Holl., p. 95. A. - -[663] _Ibid._, xxi. 20. Holl., p. 106. K. - -[664] _Ibid._, xxiii. 18. Holl., p. 173. A. - -[665] _Ibid._, xxix. 4. Holl., p. 361. D. - -[666] _Ibid._, xxx. 16. Holl., p. 399. F. - -[667] Langstroth _on the Honey-Bee_, p. 316, note. - -[668] Brand's _Pop. Antiq._, iii. 225. - -[669] _Georg._, iv. 280-4; Dryden's _Trans._ - -[670] Fosb. _Encycl. of Antiq._, ii. 738. - -[671] _Judg._ xiv. 8. - -[672] Cf. Swammerdam, _Hist. of Ins._, Pt. I. p. 227, and Smith's _Dict. -of the Bible_. - -[673] Herod., v. 114-5. - -[674] _Excursions_, i. 127. - -[675] _Fem. Monarchie_, c. vi. 49. - -[676] Williams' _Chinese Empire_, i. 275. - -[677] Chiflet, 164-181; Montf. _Monarch. Franc._, i. 12; Gough's _Sepul. -Mon._, vol. i. p. lxii. - -[678] Cf. _N. & Q._, vii. 478, 553; viii. 30. - -[679] Harper's _New Monthly Mag._, xxvi. 441. - -[680] _Il._ b. 87; m. 67; _Odyss._, n. 106. - -[681] Hesiod, Theog., 594, seq. - -[682] Bucke _on Nature_, ii. 75. - -[683] Cf. Kalm, ii. 427; Schneider, Observ. sur Ulloa, ii. 198. - -[684] _Ibid._ - -[685] _Tour in the Prairies_, ch. ix. - -[686] Langstroth _on the Honey-Bee_, p. 236. - -[687] _Letters._ - -[688] _Voyages dans les Alpes._ _Ins. Misc._, p. 262. - -[689] Brookes mentions the Duchy of Juliers, a district of Westphalia, -Germany.--_Nat. Hist. of Ins._, p. 160. - -[690] Columella says the Greeks were accustomed, every year, to remove -the hives from Achaia into Attica.--_Ibid._ - -[691] One person in particular, in the territory called Gatonois, has -been at the pains of removing his hives, after the harvest of Sainfoin, -into the plains of Beauce, where the melilot abounds, and thence into -Sologne, where it is well known the Bees may enjoy the advantage of -buckwheat, till toward the end of September, for so long that plant -retains its flowers.--_Ibid._ - -[692] _Ins. Misc._, p. 262. - -[693] _Mag. of Nat. Hist._, iii. 652. - -[694] Wood's _Zoog._, ii. 429. - -[695] _Ins. Misc._, p. 263. - -[696] Quot. by Langstroth--_On Honey-Bee_, p. 305, note. - -[697] _Nat. Hist._, x. 9. - -[698] _Journ. of Geog. Soc._, 1843, xiii. 40. - -[699] Murray's _Africa_, i. 168. - -[700] Scot's _Mag._, Nov. 1766. Chamb. _Journ._, 1st S. xi. 184. - -[701] _The Bees._ - -[702] _Treatise on Bees_, 1769. _Ins. Misc._, p. 320-1. - -[703] _Fem. Monarchie_, ch. i. 39. - -[704] _Travels_, p. 178, Harper's ed. - -[705] B. VII. c. xvi. p. 667. Printed, 1613. - -[706] Montaigne's _Works_, p. 243. - -[707] Lesser, ii. 171. K. & S. _Introd._, ii. 247. - -[708] Knox, Pt. I. c. vi. p. 48. - -[709] Martyr, p. 274. - -[710] Banc. _Guiana_, p. 230. - -[711] _Nat. Hist. of Selborne_, p. 293. - -[712] _Trav._, i. 9. - -[713] _Med. Dict._ - -[714] Langstroth _on Honey-Bee_, p. 315, note. - -[715] _Med. Dict._ - -[716] _Fem. Monarchie_, c. x. 1. - -[717] B. 3, c. xv. xvi. p. 274-9. See also extract from Works of Sir J. -More, London, 1707, given by Langstroth--_on the Honey-Bee_, p. 287, -note. - -[718] _The Koran_, p. 219, note, Sale's. - -[719] _Ibid._, p. 219. - -[720] Athen. _Deipn._, B. 2, c. 26. - -[721] Moufet, _Theatr. Ins._, p. 29. Topsel's _Trans._, p. 911. - -[722] Brooke's _Nat. Hist. of Ins._, p. 168. - -[723] Quot. by Langstroth _on the Honey-Bee_, p. 78-9. - -[724] _Anab._, B. 4. - -[725] Pliny, _Nat. Hist._, xxi. 13. Tournefort, _Letters_, 17. - -[726] _Mission. Lab._, p. 121. - -[727] Hollingsh. _Chron._, i. 384. - -[728] Hawk's _Peruvian Antiq._, p. 198. - -[729] _Voyage to C. of G. Hope_, i. 255. - -[730] Jamieson's _Scot. Dict._ - -[731] Wright's _Prov. Dict._ - -[732] _Epigrams_, B. iv. epigr. 32. - -[733] Smith's _Dict. of the Bible_. - -[734] Osbeck's _Travels_, i. 32-3. - -[735] Josselyn's _Voy._, p. 121. - -[736] Chambers' _Pop. Rhymes of Scot._, p. 292. Edit. of 1841, p. 172. - -[737] Dalyell's _Superst. of Scotland_, p. 563. - -[738] Shaw's _Zool._, vi. 346-7. Wood's _Zoog._, ii. 436-7. - -[739] Kirby's _Wonderful Museum_, v. 390-1, given at length. - -[740] Kirby's _Wond. Museum_, vi. 260-2, at length. - -[741] Livy, B. 34, c. 10. - -[742] _Ibid._, B. 40, c. 19. - -[743] _Ibid._, B. 43, c. 13. - -[744] Brown's _Book of Butterflies_, i. 126. - -[745] _Annales_, p. 15. - -[746] _Ibid._ - -[747] Holling., i. 449. Graft., i. 37. Fabyan, p. 17. - -[748] Howitt's _North. Literat._, i. 187. - -[749] Bucke _on Nature_, i. 277. - -[750] Moufet, p. 107. - -[751] Hone's _Ev. Day Book_, p. 1127. - -[752] Chambers' _Domest. Annals of Scotland_, ii. 489. - -[753] Gassendi's _Life of Peireskius_, p. 123-5; and Reaumur, i. 638, -667. - -[754] Shaw, _Zool._, vi. 206. - -[755] The origin of red snow has likewise been a puzzle and query for -ages, and many theories have been advanced by philosophers and -naturalists to account for it. To those interested in the solution of -this phenomenon, the following extract from the _Mag. of Nat. Hist._, -vol. ii. p. 322, may be curious, if not satisfactory. Mr. Thomas -Nicholson, accompanied with two other gentlemen, made an excursion the -24th July, 1821, to Sowallick Point, near Bushman's Island, in Prince -Regent's Bay, in quest of meteoric iron. "The summit of the hill," he -says, "forming the point, is covered with huge masses of granite, whilst -the side, which forms a gentle declivity to the bay, was covered with -crimson snow. It was evident, at first view, that this colour was -imparted to the snow by a substance lying on the surface. This substance -lay scattered here and there in small masses, bearing some resemblance -to powdered cochineal, surrounded by a lighter shade, which was produced -by the colouring matter being partly dissolved and diffused by the -deliquescent snow. During this examination our hats and upper garments -were observed to be daubed with a substance of a similar red colour, and -a moment's reflection convinced us that this was the excrement of the -little Auk (_Uria alle_, Temmink), myriads of which were continually -flying over our heads, having their nests among the loose masses of -granite. A ready explanation of the origin of the red snow was now -presented to us, and not a doubt remained in the mind of any that this -was the correct one. The snow on the mountains of higher elevation than -the nests of these birds was perfectly white, and a ravine at a short -distance, which was filled with snow from top to bottom, but which -afforded no hiding-place for these birds to form their nests, presented -an appearance uniformly white." - -This testimony seems to be as clear and indisputable as the explanation -given by Peiresc of the ejecta of the Butterflies at Aix. But though it -will account, perhaps, for the red snow of the polar regions, it will -not explain that of the Alps, the Apennines, and the Pyrenees, which are -not, so far as is known, visited by the little Auk.--Vide _Ins. -Transf._, p. 352-5. - -[756] Chamb. _Domes. Annals of Scotl._, ii. 199. - -[757] Chamb. _Domes. Annals of Scotl._, ii. 447-8. - -[758] _Gent. Mag._, xxxiv. 496. - -[759] _Ibid._, xxxiv. 542. - -[760] Bucke _on Nature_, i. 277. - -[761] Brown's _Bk. of Butterflies_, i. 129. - -[762] Chamb. _Domes. Annals of Scotl._, ii. 448. - -[763] Swam. _Hist. of Ins._, Pt. I. p. 40. - -[764] Cf. the following verses from Ex. vii. 19: "And the LORD spake -unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand -upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and -upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may -become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of -Egypt, both in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone. - -"20. And Moses and Aaron did so, as the LORD commanded; and he lifted up -the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river in the sight of -Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were -in the river were turned to blood." - -[765] Swam. _Hist. of Ins._, Pt. I. p. 40. - -[766] Chamb. _Journ._, 2d S. xvii. 231. - -[767] _Sil. Journ._, xli. 403-4, and xliv. 216. - -[768] _Naturforsch_, xi. 94. - -[769] _Travels_, i. 13. - -[770] _Royal Milit. Chron._ for March, 1815, p. 452. K. and S. -_Introd._, ii. 11. - -[771] _Mag. of Nat. Hist._, i. 387, and _Mem. de la Soc. de Phys. et -d'Hist. Nat. de Geneve_. - -[772] _Penny Mag._, 1844, p. 3. - -[773] _Gent. Mag._, liv. 744. - -[774] _Researches_, ch. viii. p. 158. - -[775] Brown's _Bk. of Butterf._, p. 101. - -[776] _Lake Ngami_, p. 267. - -[777] _Naturalist in Bermuda_, p. 120. - -[778] Tennent's _Nat. Hist. of Ceylon_, ch. xii. p. 407. - -[779] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 107. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 974. - -[780] Bryant's _Anct. Mythol._, ii. 386. - -[781] Fosbroke, _Encycl. of Antiq._, ii. 738. - -[782] _Travels._ He doubtless refers to an Indian _totem_. - -[783] _N. and Q._, iii. 4. - -[784] Du Halde, _China_, p. 21-2; Grosier's _China_, i. 570; Williams' -_Mid. Kingd._, i. 273; Astley's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, iv. 512. - -[785] Harris's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, ii. 987. - -[786] Osbeck, _Travels_, i. 331. - -[787] _Ibid._, i. 324. - -[788] Stedman, _Surinam_, i. 279. Cf. Bancroft, _Guiana_, p. 229. - -[789] _Anat. of Melanch._, 1651, p. 268. - -[790] _Life of Lord Herbert of Cherbury_, p. 134. - -[791] _The Mirror_, xxv. 160. - -[792] Harris's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, i. 790. - -[793] _Egypt. and Chinese_, ii. 106. - -[794] Simmond's _Curios. of Food_, p. 312. - -[795] _Gatherings of a Nat. in Austral._, p. 288. - -[796] _Hist. of Ins._, p. 3. - -[797] Reaumur considers this cry to be produced by the friction of the -palpi against the proboscis (_Memoires_, ii. 293). Huber, but without -mentioning the particulars, says he has ascertained that Reaumur was -quite mistaken (_On Bees_, p. 313, note). Schroeter ascribes the sound -to the rubbing of the tongue against the head; and Roesel to the friction -of the chest upon the abdomen. M. de Johet thinks it is produced by the -air being suddenly propelled against these scales by the action of the -wings. M. Lorry states that the sound arises from the air escaping -rapidly through peculiar cavities communicating with the spiracles, and -furnished with a fine tuft of hairs on the sides of the abdomen (Cuv. -_An. Kingd.--Ins._, ii. 678). Mr. E. L. Layard seems to be of the same -opinion (Tennent's _Nat. Hist. of Ceylon_, p. 427). But M. Passerini, -curator of the Museum of Nat. Hist. at Florence, has lately investigated -the subject more minutely. He traced the origin of the sound to the -interior of the head, in which he discovered a cavity at the passage -where muscles are placed for impelling and expelling the air. M. Dumeril -has since discovered a sort of membrane stretched over this cavity, -like, as he says, to the head of a drum. M. Duponchel has also confirmed -by experiment the opinions of Passerini and Dumeril, and confutes Lorry, -whose notion was generally adopted, by stating that the noise is -produced from the head when the body of the insect is removed (_Annales -des Sci. Nat._, Mars., 1828). - -[798] Cf. _Penny Encycl._, _sub._ Sphinx, and _The Mirror_, xix. 212. - -[799] _Hist. of Ins._, p. 191. - -[800] Reaumur, ii. 289. Shaw, _Zool._, vi. 217. - -[801] _Saturday Mag._, xix. 102. - -[802] _Notes and Queries_, xii. 200. - -[803] Bonnet, _Oevres_, ii. 124. - -[804] _China_, p. 253. Astley's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, iv. 138. - -[805] Williams' _Middle Kingdom_, ii. 121-2. - -[806] Colebrook, _Asiat. Research._, v. 61. - -[807] Aristotle, v. 17-9. Pliny, ix. 20. - -[808] Paus. _Hist. of Greece_, B. 6, c. 26. - -[809] Aristot. _Hist. An._, v. 19. - -[810] Pliny, _Nat. Hist._, xi. 23. - -[811] _Ibid._, xi. 22. - -[812] Tacitus, _Ann._, B. 2, c. 33. - -[813] _Nat. Hist._, xi. 22. - -[814] Cf. Gibbon's _Decl. and Fall of Rom. Em._, c. 40. - -[815] Some authors, however, assert that the name was suggested by the -resemblance of the Morea to the shape of the mulberry-leaf, a less -plausible opinion by far than the former. - -[816] Thuanus, in contradiction to most other writers, makes the -manufacture of silk to be introduced into Sicily two hundred years -later, by Robert the Wise, King of Sicily and Count of Provence. - -[817] Burgon's _Life of Sir Thomas Gresham_, 1839, i. 110, 302. - -[818] Stow's _Chronicle_, edit. 1631, p. 887. - -[819] Keysler, _Trav._, i. 289. - -[820] Olin, _Travels_. - -[821] _Polit. Essay on N. Spain_, iii. 59. - -[822] Skinner's _Pres. State of Peru_, p. 346, note. Southey's _Hist. of -Brazil_, iii. 644. Calancha's _Augustine Hist. of Peru_, i. 66. - -[823] Cuvier, _An. King.--Ins._, ii. 634. - -[824] _Pilgrims_, iii. 442. - -[825] Darwin, _Phytolog._, p. 364. Donovan's _Ins. of China_, p. 6. - -[826] Hollman, _Travels_, p. 473. - -[827] Donovan's _Ins. of China_, p. 6. - -[828] _Med. Dict._ - -[829] Geoffroy, _Treat. on Subst. used in Physic_, p. 383. - -[830] _Twelve Years in China_, p. 14. - -[831] _Twelve Years in China_, p. 14. - -[832] _Ibid._ - -[833] _Ibid._, p. 194. - -[834] _Memoires of Robt. Houdin_, p. 161. - -[835] _Mag. of Nat. Hist._, vi. 9. - -[836] Baird's _Encycl. of Nat. Sci._ Shaw's _Zool._, vi. 229. - -[837] Pinkerton's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, vii. 705. - -[838] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 88. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 958. - -[839] Moufet, p. 108. Topsel, p. 975. - -[840] _Monthly Mag._, 7 (Pt. I.) xxxix. 1799. - -[841] _Pilgrims_, ii. 1034. - -[842] Owen's _Geoponika_, ii. 99. - -[843] Pliny, _Nat. Hist._, xxviii. 7 (23). - -[844] Col. B. x. - -[845] AElian, B. xi. c. 3. - -[846] Pliny, _Nat. Hist._, xxviii. 7 (23). - -[847] Vide Owen's _Geoponika_, ii. 99. - -[848] Col. _In Hort._, v. 357. - -[849] Pallad. B. i. c. 35. - -[850] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 193. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 1041 and -670. - -[851] _Hist. of Indians of U. S._, v. p. 70. - -[852] _Hist, of Beasts_, p. 30. - -[853] Moufet, _Theatr. Ins._, p. 194. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, pp. -670, 1041. - -[854] _Med. Dict._ - -[855] Tennent, _Nat. Hist. of Ceylon_, p. 431. - -[856] Koellar's _Treat. on Ins._, Lond. Trans., p. 105-36. Curtis's _Farm -Insects_, p. 507. - -[857] Lilly's _Prophetical Merlin_, pub. in 1644. - -[858] Josselyn's _Voy._, p. 116. - -[859] Jamieson's _Scot. Dict._, ii. 144. - -[860] _Mag. of Nat. Hist._, i. 66. - -[861] Harper's _New Monthly Mag._, xxii. 41. - -[862] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 274. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 1100. - -[863] _On the Honey-Bee_, p. 248. - -[864] _Ibid._, p. 238, note. - -[865] It is a philosophical fact that the female Cicadas are not capable -of making any noise--the above distich evinces its early discovery. - -[866] _Symposiaques._ B. 8. Holl. _Trans._, p. 630. - -[867] Thuc. B. 1, vi. (Bohn's ed.). - -[868] On Aristoph., _Vesp._ 230. - -[869] Cited by Athen., 525. - -[870] Cicada-combs are alluded to in Aristoph., Eq. 1331. Cf. also -Philostr. _Imag._, p. 837. Heracl. Pont., cited by Athen., p. 512. -Bloomfield's _Thucid._, i. 14. - -[871] Cited by Athen., p. 842 (Bohn's ed.). - -[872] Strabo, _Geog._ B. 6. - -[873] _Iliad_, iii. 152. Buckley's translation, p. 53. - -[874] _Georg._ iii. 328. Cf. Bucol. ii. Sir J. E. Smith, Tour., iii. 95, -says also that the common Italian species makes a most disagreeable and -dull chirping. The Cicadas of Africa, it is said, may be heard half a -mile off; and the sound of one in a room will put a whole company to -silence. Thunberg asserts that those of Java utter a sound as shrill and -piercing as that of a trumpet. Captain Hancock informed Messrs. Kirby -and Spence that the Brazilian Cicadas sing as loud as to be heard at the -distance of a mile. _Introd._, ii. 400. The sound of our American -species, _C. septemdecim_, has been compared to the ringing of -horse-bells. The tettix of the Greeks, says Dr. Shaw, _Travels_, 2d -edit., p. 186, must have had quite a different voice, more soft surely -and more melodious; otherwise the fine orators of Homer, who are -compared to it, can be looked upon as no better than loud, loquacious -scolds. - -[875] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 134. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 994. Vide -Pierius' _Hieroglyph._, p. 270-1. Initiatus sacris; Dicacitatis -castigatio; Vana garrulitas; Nobilitas generis; Musica. - -[876] V. 2, c. 4, Donovan's _Ins. of China_, p. 32. - -[877] _Middle Kingd._ - -[878] _Surinam_, 49. - -[879] Tennent, _Nat. Hist. of Ceylon_, p. 432. - -[880] _Desc. of China_, i. 442. - -[881] Oliphant's _Lord Elgin's Miss. to China_, p. 565. - -[882] _Hist. An._, B. 5, c. 24, Sec. 3, 4. Bohn's edit. - -[883] Cf. Bochart, _Hieroz._, ii. 491. - -[884] _Phil. Trans._, 1763, n. 10. - -[885] _Travels_, i. 331. - -Baird says, but on what authority he does not state, that Cicadas are -frequently to be seen represented on the Egyptian monuments, and are -said to be emblems of the ministers of religion.--_Encycl. of Nat. Sci._ - -[886] _Insects of Surinam_, p. 49. - -[887] Jaeger, _Life of N. A. Ins._, p. 73. - -[888] _Ins. of China_, p. 30. That the Lantern-fly emits no light, see -_Dict. d'Hist. Nat._; M. Richards' statement in _Encyclop._, art. -_Fulgora_; _Berlin Mag._, i. 153; Kirby and Spence, _Introd._, ii. 414, -note; Jaeger, _qua supra_. - -[889] Stedman, _Surinam_, ii. 37. - -[890] _Hist. of Barbados_, p. 65. - -[891] Nat. Hist., xi. 12. Holl. _Trans._, i. 315. E. - -[892] Theoph. _Hist. Plant._, iii. 7, 6. Cf. Hes. _Opp. et Dies_, 232, -seq. and Bacon, _Syl. Sylvarum_, 496. - -[893] St. John's _Anct. Greeks_, ii. 299. - -[894] B. 3, c. xvi. p. 278. Printed 1613. - -[895] _Nat. Hist. of Selborne_, p. 366. - -[896] K. and S. _Introd._, ii. 9. - -[897] Reaumur, iii. xxxi. Pref. - -[898] Isaiah, ch. i. v. 18. - -[899] Ex. ch. xxvi. xxviii. xxix. - -[900] Diosc. iv. 48, p. 260. Pausan. B. x. p. 890. - -[901] Beckman's _Hist. of Inventions_, ii. 163-195. Bancroft _on Perm. -Colors_, i. 393-408. - -[902] _Nat. Hist. of Ins._, p. 77. - -[903] Bancroft _on Permanent Colors_, i. 408-9. - -[904] _Hist. of Inventions_, ii. 184. - -[905] _Ibid._, 192. - -[906] Shaw's _Zool._, vi. 192. - -[907] _Subst. used in Physic_, p. 370. - -[908] _Phil. Trans._ for 1791. - -[909] Bancroft _on Permanent Colors_, ii. 1-59. - -[910] _Baird's Cyclop. of Nat. Sci._ - -[911] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 270. - -[912] Ray, _Hist. Ins._, 7. - -[913] Hence the English word _Bug-bear_. In Matthew's Bible, the passage -of the Psalms (xci. 5), "Thou shalt not be afraid of _the terror_ by -night," is rendered, "Thou shalt not nede to be afraid of any _bugs_ by -night." _Bug_ in this sense often occurs in Shakspeare. _Winter's Tale_, -A. iii. Sc. 2, 3; _Henry VI._, A. v. Sc. 2; _Hamlet_, A. v. Sc. 2. - -[914] _Journal_, xvii. 40. - -[915] Churchill's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, iv. 190. - -[916] _Oriental Memoirs_, i. 256. - -[917] Astley's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, iv. 513. Churchill's _same_, i. -34. - -[918] Owen's _Geoponika_, ii. 160. - -[919] Dr. James says: "Given to the number of seven, as food with beans, -they help those who are afflicted with a quartan ague, if they be eaten -before the accession of the fit."--_Med. Dict._ - -[920] An excellent method, Ajasson remarks, of adding to the tortures of -the patient. - -[921] Pliny, _Nat. Hist._, xxix. 17. Bostock and Riley's _Trans._, v. -393. - -[922] _Med. Dict._ - -[923] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 270-1. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 1098. - -[924] Owen's _Geoponika_, ii. 157. - -[925] _London Labor and the London Poor_, iii. 36-9. - -[926] _Annals of Nat. Hist._ Simmond's _Curiosities of Food_, p. -308-311. - -[927] _Nature and Art_, xii. 198. - -[928] The numerous family of _Culicidae_ are confounded under the common -names of Gnat and Mosquito; hence many mistakes will necessarily arise. - -[929] _Theat. Ins._, p. 81. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 952. - -[930] Quot. in N. & Q., ix. 303. - -[931] _Phil. Trans._, lvii. 113; Bingley's _Anim. Biog._, iv. 205. - -[932] Germar's _Mag. der Entomol._, i. 137. - -[933] K. & S. _Introd._, i. 114. - -[934] _Phil. Trans._, lvii. 112-3. - -[935] _Mag. of Nat. Hist._, vi. 545. - -[936] _Hist. of Barbados_, p. 63. - -[937] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 86. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 956. - -[938] Silliman's _Journal_, xxii. 375. - -[939] _Personal Narrative_, E. T. v. 87. Humboldt has given a detailed -account of these insect plagues, by which it appears that among them -there are diurnal and crepuscular, as well as nocturnal species, or -genera: the Mosquitoes, signifying _little flies_ (_Simulia_), flying in -the day; the _Temporaneros_, flying during twilight; and the Zancudos, -meaning _long-legs_ (_Culices_), in the night. - -[940] Stedm. _Surinam_, ii. 93. - -[941] _Ins. Theatr._, p. 82. - -[942] _Travels_, 8vo. edit. p. 205. - -[943] _Ins. Theatr._, p. 81. - -[944] _View of Jamaica_, p. 91. - -[945] Herod. Taylor's _Trans._, p. 141. - -[946] Nat. _Hist. of Ceylon_, p. 435. - -[947] Jackson's _Morocco_, p. 57. - -[948] _Travels_, i. 388. - -[949] _Ins. Theatr._, p. 85. - -[950] Theod. _Eccles. Hist._, B. ii. ch. xxx. - -[951] _N. A. Ins._, p. 317. - -[952] _Roman History_, B. xviii. c. 7, Sec. 5. - -[953] _Three Years in California_, p. 250. - -[954] _Introd._, i. 119. - -[955] Owen's _Geoponika_, ii. 150. - -[956] _Lives of the Saints_, i. 50. - -[957] Lawson's _Bible Cyclop._, ii. 558, 3 v. 8vo. - -[958] Kirb. and Sp. _Introd._, ii. 8. - -[959] _Gent. Mag._, 1738, viii. 577. - -[960] _Ibid._, xxiv. 274. - -[961] _Travels_, ii. 5; 34-5; 51. Lond. 1802. 4to. - -[962] _Lach. Lapp._, ii. 108. _Flor. Lapp._, 380. - -[963] V. vi. p. 603-4. - -[964] V. ix. p. 573. - -[965] Lyell's _Princ. of Geol._, p. 656. - -[966] Southey's _Com. Place Bk._, 1st S. p. 567. - -[967] _Mag. of Nat. Hist._, v. 302. - -[968] _The Mirror_, xxvii. 68. - -[969] Damp. _Voy._ O (vol. i.), 464. - -[970] _Travels_, i. 211. - -[971] Moufet's _Theat. Ins._, p. 78. - -[972] Owen's _Geoponika_, ii. 152. - -[973] _Nat. Hist._, x. 29. Holland, p. 285. D. - -[974] Holl. _Trans._, p. 631. - -Vide Pierius' _Hieroglyph._, p. 268-9. Importunitas ac impudentia; -Pertinacia; Res gesta cominus; Indocilitas; Cynici. - -[975] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 70. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 945. - -[976] Brand's _Pop. Antiq._, iii. 134. - -[977] _Chron. of Eng._, iii. 1002. - -[978] _N. and Q._, xii. 488. - -[979] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 70. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 944. - -[980] _Ibid._, p. 55. Topsel, p. 933. - -[981] Brand's _Pop. Antiq._, iii. 191. - -[982] Brand's _Pop. Antiq._, i. 84. - -[983] Holl. _Trans._, p. 76. There was one time a law at Athens, which a -good deal nonplussed these sponging gentlemen so appropriately called -Flies. "It was decreed that not more than thirty persons should meet at -a marriage feast; and a wealthy citizen, desirous of going as far as the -law would allow him, had invited the full complement. An honest Fly, -however, who respected no law that interfered with his stomach; -contrived to introduce himself, and took his station at the lower end of -the table. Presently the magistrate appointed for the purpose entered, -and espying his man at a glance, began counting the guests, commencing -on the other side and ending with the parasite. 'Friend,' said he, 'you -must retire. I find there is one more than the law allows.' 'It is quite -a mistake, sir,' replied the Fly, 'as you will find if you will have the -goodness to count again, beginning _on this side_.'"--St. John's _Man. -and Cust. of Anct. Grec._, ii. 172. - -[984] Vide _Mercator_, A. ii. Sc. 4, and the _Young Carthag._, A. iii. -Sc. 3. - -[985] _Harleian Miscel._, viii. 423. - -[986] Fosbr. _Encycl. of Antiq._, ii. 738. - -[987] _Ibid._ - -[988] Wilkinson's _Anct. Egypt._, 2d S. ii. 126, 260. - -[989] Hawk's _Peruvian Antiq._, p. 197. - -[990] Jamieson's _Scottish Dict._ - -[991] _Nat. Hist._, xxix. 6. Holl. _Trans._, p. 364. K. - -[992] _Antiq. of the Jews_, B. ix. c. 2. Whiston's _Trans._, p. 274. - -[993] _Pilg._, v. 81. Fol. 1626. - -[994] Whiston's _Trans. of Josephus_, p. 274, note. - -[995] _Dict. of Bible._ - -[996] Moufet, _Theatr. Ins._, p. 79. Topsel's _Transl._, p. 951. - -[997] Dalyell's _Darker Superst. of Scotland_, p. 562. Edinbgh. 1834. - -[998] _Ibid._ - -[999] _St. John's Man. and Cust. of Anct. Grec._, i. 150. - -[1000] Wanley's _Wonders_, i. 377. - -[1001] _Mem. of Robt. Houdin_, p. 156. Philad. 1859. - -[1002] _Nat. Hist._, xxix. 6. Holland's _Trans._, p. 364. I. - -[1003] _Ibid._, xxviii. 2 (5). - -[1004] _Voy._, C. 56, p. 222. Wanley's _Wonders_, ii. 373. - -[1005] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 79. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 951. - -[1006] _London Lab. and London Poor_, iii. 28-33. - -[1007] Kirb. and Sp. _Introd._, i. 158. - -[1008] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 284. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 1107, -1122. - -[1009] Kirby and Spence, _Introd._, i. 158. - -[1010] _Gasterophilus equi._ - -[1011] Reg. Scot's _Disc. of Witchcraft_, p. 179. - -[1012] Henry IV., Pt. I. Act ii. Sc. 1. - -[1013] Newell's _Zool. of the Poets_, p. 29. - -[1014] Dalyell's _Superstitions of Scotland_, p. 564. - -[1015] _Saturday Mag._, xviii. 153. - -[1016] _Hist. of Ins._ (Murray, 1838), ii. 313. - -[1017] Henry IV. Pt. I., Act ii. Sc. 1. - -[1018] Moufet, _Theatr. Ins._, p. 276. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. -1102. - -[1019] _Hist. of Ins._ (Murray, 1838), ii. 312. - -[1020] Jenkin's _Voy. of the U. S. Explor. Exped._, p. 385. - -[1021] _Introd._, i. 100. - -[1022] _Ibid._ - -[1023] Ray, _Hist. of Ins._, p. 8. - -[1024] _Pilgr._, iii. 997. - -Myas, a principal city of Ionia, was abandoned on account of -Fleas.--_Wanley's Wonders_, ii. 507. - -[1025] K. and S. _Introd._, i. 100. - -[1026] _Travels_, vol. ii. - -[1027] _Nat. Hist._, xxx. 10. Holl. _Trans._, p. 387. - -[1028] Brand's _Pop. Antiq._, ii. 198. - -[1029] K. and S. _Introd._, i. 101. - -[1030] _Lach. Lapp._, ii. 32, note. - -[1031] _Hist. of Ins._, iii. 319, Murray, 1838. - -[1032] Owen's _Geoponika_, ii. 155-6. - -[1033] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 277. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts_, p. 1103. - -[1034] _Hist. of Ins._, ii. 318. Murray, 1838. - -[1035] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 102. - -[1036] Ramsay's _Poems_, ii. 143. - -[1037] _Theatre of Insects_, p. 102. - -[1038] Brookes' _Nat. Hist. of Ins._, p. 284. - -[1039] Brand's _Pop. Antiq._, iii. 204. - -[1040] Southey's _Com. Place Bk._, 2d S. p. 406. - -[1041] Fosbr. _Encycl. of Antiq._, ii. 539. - -[1042] Southey's _Com. Place Bk._, 4th S. p. 470. - -[1043] _Pilgr._, x. 192. - -[1044] Aristoph. _Clouds_, A. i. Sc. 2. - -[1045] _Pilg._, ii. 840, note. - -[1046] _Ins. Theatr._, p. 275. - -[1047] _Anim. Biog._, iii. 462. - -The hand-bill, published by Mr. Boverick, in the Strand, in the year -1745, and another nearly of the same date, ran thus: "To be seen at MR. -BOVERICK'S, Watchmaker, at the DIAL, facing Old Round Court, near the -New Exchange, in the Strand, at One Shilling each person." Then follows -a descriptive list of the articles to be seen, among which are mentioned -the above.--Kirby's _Wonderful Museum_, i. 101. - -[1048] _Ins. Misc._, p. 188. - -[1049] _Nouv. Dict. d'Hist. Nat._, xxviii. 249. - -[1050] _Pilg._, ii. 840. - -[1051] 1 Saml. xxiv. 14; xxvi. 20. - -[1052] _Hist. of Ins._, p. 310. - -[1053] Wright's _Provincial Dict._ - -[1054] Jamieson's _Scottish Dict._ - -[1055] D'Israeli, _Curios, of Lit._, i. 339. - -[1056] _Gent. Mag._, xxxii. 208. - -[1057] Stedman's _Surinam_. - -[1058] _Hist. of Barbados_, p. 65. - -[1059] _Hist. of Brazil_, i. 326. - -[1060] Vol. i. p. 128. - -[1061] _Pers. Narrative_, E. T. v. 101. - -[1062] Bayle, iii. 484. Southey's _Com. Place Bk._, 4th S. p. 439. - -[1063] Bernal Diaz' _Conquest of Mexico_, i. 394, note 54. This story, -no doubt, is founded on something like truth, and most probably these -bags were filled with the _Coccus cacti_, the Cochineal insect, then -unknown to the Spaniards, who might have easily mistaken them in a dried -state for Lice. - -[1064] _Pilg._, iii. 975. - -[1065] Cuv. _An. King.--Ins._, i. 163. - -[1066] _Pilg._, v. 542. - -[1067] _Wand. and Adv. in S. Africa_, i. 266. - -[1068] Kolb. _Trav._, ii. 179. Astley's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, iii. -352. - -[1069] _Pilg._, iii. 1133. - -[1070] _Ibid._, iii. 975. - -[1071] Wanley's _Wonders_, ii. 373. - -[1072] Dampier's _Voy._, iii. 331. Lond. 1729. - -[1073] Dobriz., ii. 396. Southey's _Com. Place Bk._, 2d S. p. 527. - -[1074] Cuvier, _An. Kingd.--Ins._, i. 163. - -[1075] Southey's _Com. Place Bk._, 4th S. p. 439. - -[1076] _Thierry and Theod._, A. v. Sc. 1. - -[1077] James's _Med. Dict._ - -[1078] _Gent. Mag._, xvi. 534. - -[1079] _Harleian Miscel._, vii. 435. - -[1080] Shaw, _Zool._, vi. 454. - -[1081] _Nat. Hist._, xxix. 6 (75). - -[1082] Chambers' _Pop. Rhymes of Scotl._, p. 282-3. Edit. of 1841, p. -243. - -[1083] Properly the second _Class_ of the sub-kingdom _Articulata_. - -[1084] Chambers' _Book of Days_, i. 687. - -[1085] _Nat. Hist._, xx. 12. - -[1086] Cf. Pliny, x. 12; and Moufet's _Theatr. Ins._, p. 205. - -[1087] B. i. ch. 1. - -[1088] _Hist. of Four-footed Beasts and Serpents_, p. 753.--Scorpions -are bred "from the carkass of the crocodile, as Antigonus affirms, _lib. -de mirab. hist. cong._ 24. For in Archelaus there is an epigram of a -certain Egyptian in these words: - - In vos dissolvit morte, et redigit crocodilum, - Natura extinctum (Scorpioli) omniparens. - -In English: - - The carkass of dead crocodiles is made the feed, - By common nature, whence Scorpions breed." - -Moufet's _Theatr. Ins._, p. 208. Topsel's _Trans._, p. 1052. - -[1089] _Qua supra_, p. 685. - -[1090] _Qua supra_, p. 689. - -[1091] _Ibid._, p. 207. Topsel's _Trans._, p. 1051. - -[1092] _Ibid._, p. 754. - -[1093] Andrew's _Anecdotes_, p. 427. - -[1094] _Nat. Hist._, xi. 25. Pliny here probably alludes to the -Panorpis, or Scorpion-fly, the abdomen of which terminates in a forceps, -which resembles the tail of the Scorpion. - -[1095] _Nat. Hist._, xi. 25. - -[1096] "Scorpion's tail." Dioscorides gives this name to the -Helioscopium, or great Heliotropium. - -[1097] _Nat. Hist._, xxii. 29. - -[1098] "Two." - -[1099] _Nat. Hist._, xxviii. 5. - -[1100] The red arsenic of the Greeks was called by this -name.--_Matthiol_, vi. 81. - -[1101] This prescription is given at the present day in Italy and the -Levant. - -[1102] Zoroaster also mentions this. Vide Owen's _Geoponika_, ii. 194. - -[1103] Pliny relates the same story, _Nat. Hist._, xxviii. 10 (42); also -Zoroaster, _qua supra_. - -[1104] Owen's _Geoponika_, ii. 146-8. - -[1105] Moufet's _Theatr. Ins._, 210-215. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts and -Serpents_, p. 1053-7. - -[1106] Campbell's _Travels in S. Africa_, p. 325. - -[1107] _Nat. Hist._, viii. 29 (43). - -[1108] Churchill's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, i. 212. - -[1109] _Ibid._ - -[1110] _Ibid._, v. 221. - -[1111] Pinkerton's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, ix. 261. - -[1112] _Ibid._, vii. 298. - -[1113] _Ibid._, xiv. 348. - -[1114] Churchill's _Coll. of Voy. and Trav._, ii. 316. - -[1115] Wilkinson's _Anct. Egypt._, v. 52, 254. - -[1116] AElian, xvi. 41, and xii. 38. Wilkinson's _Anct. Egypt._, v. 254. - -[1117] Wanley's _Wonders_, ii. 459. - -[1118] _Autobiog._, Lond. 1858, p. 304-5. - -[1119] Prescribed by Galen, Pliny, Lanfrankus, etc. - -[1120] _Hist. of Beasts and Serpents_, p. 757. - -[1121] So also Manardus.--Moufet, p. 210. Topsel's _Trans._, p. 1053. - -[1122] _Ibid._ - -[1123] _Asiatic Miscellany_, ii. 451. - -[1124] Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts and Serpents_, p. 755-6. - -[1125] Topsel's _Trans.--Hist. of Beasts and Serpents_, p. 1058. - -[1126] _Chronicles_, i. 385. - -[1127] Keddie's _Cyclop. of Anecd._, p. 288. - -[1128] _Chamb. Misc._, vol. xi. No. 100. Compare this story with that of -Timour and the Ant. - -[1129] Ockley's _Hist. of the Saracens_, i. 36. - -[1130] _Lives of the Saints_, i. 177-8. Cf. Wanley's _Wonders_, ii. 402. - -[1131] Bucke _on Nature_, ii. 103. - -[1132] _Hist. de la Mus._, i. 321. Hawkins' _Hist. of Music_, iii. 117, -note. - -[1133] _Biogr. Univers._, tome xxxiii. See also Arvine's _Anecdotes_, p. -402. - -To this account, in the Hist. of Insects printed by John Murray, 1830, -i. 269, is added: "The governor of the Bastile hearing that this -unfortunate prisoner had found a solace in the society of a Spider, paid -Pelisson a visit, desiring to see the manoeuvres of the insect. The -Basque struck up his notes, the Spider instantly came to be fed by his -friend; but the moment it appeared on the floor of the cell, the -governor placed his foot on its body, and crushed it to death." - -[1134] _The Mirror_, xxvii. 69. - -[1135] Hone's _Ev. Day Book_, i. 334. - -[1136] _Stray Leaves from the Book of Nature._ - -[1137] _Quart. Rev._ for Jan. 1844. - -[1138] This passage from Pliny is thus translated by Bostock and Riley: -"Presages are also drawn from the Spider, for when a river is about to -swell, it will suspend its web higher than usual. In calm weather these -insects do not spin, but when it is cloudy they do, and hence it is, -that a great number of cobwebs is a sure sign of showery -weather."--_Nat. Hist._, xi. 24 (28). _Trans._, iii. 28. - -[1139] Brande's _Pop. Antiq._, iii. 223. - -[1140] _Ev. Day Bk._, i. 931. Quot. also in Chamb. _Journ._, 1st Ser., -vi. 95. - -[1141] Paus. _Hist. of Greece_, B. 9, c. 6. - -[1142] Fosbr. _Encycl. of Antiq._ - -[1143] Jamieson's _Scottish Dict._ - -[1144] Brande's _Pop. Antiq._, iii. 223. - -[1145] _N. and Q._, iii. 3. - -[1146] _Worthies_, p. 58. Pt. II. Ed. 1662. - -[1147] _N. and Q._, ii. 165. - -[1148] _Aulul._, A. i. Sc. 3. - -[1149] Thorpe's _North. Antiq._, iii. 329. - -[1150] _N. and Q._, 2d ed. iv. 298. - -[1151] _Ibid._, iv. 377. - -[1152] _Gent. Mag._, June, 1771, xli. 251. - -[1153] _N. and Q._, 2d ed. iv. 523. - -[1154] _Ibid._, iv. 421. - -[1155] _Ibid._, iv. 298. - -[1156] _Vulg. Err._, B. iii. c. 277. _Works_, ii. 527. - -[1157] Pliny says the Spider, poised in its web, will throw itself upon -the head of a serpent as it lies stretched beneath the shade of the tree -where it has built, and with its bite pierce its brain; such is the -shock, he continues, that the creature will hiss from time to time, and -then, seized with vertigo, coil round and round, while it finds itself -unable to take to flight, or so much as to break the web of the Spider, -as it hangs suspended above; this scene, he concludes, only ends with -its death.--_Nat. Hist._, x. 95. - -[1158] Browne's _Works_, ii. 524, note. - -[1159] _Med. Dict._, sub _Araneus_. - -[1160] _Univers. Hist._, i. 48, also _Gent. Mag._, xli. 400. - -[1161] _Trav._, p. 322, and Astley's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, ii. 726. -Bosman says this "was the greatest piece of ignorance and stupidity he -observed in the negroes." - -[1162] Churchill's _Col. of V. and T._, v. 222. - -[1163] _N. and Q._, vii. 431. - -[1164] Chamb. _Misc._, vol. xi. No. 100. - -[1165] _Ibid._ - -[1166] _The Mirror_, xxvii. 69. - -[1167] B. 7, c. xv. p. 665. Printed 1613. - -[1168] Eliz. Cook's _Journ._, vii. 378. - -[1169] Wanley's _Wonders_, i. 20. - -[1170] Silliman's _Journal_, xxvii. 307-10. - -[1171] _Annual of Sci. Disc._, 1862, p. 335. - -[1172] _Nat. Hist. of Selborne_, p. 285. - -[1173] Hone's _Ev. Day Bk._, p. 1332. - -[1174] _Nat. Hist._, ii. 54. Holl. _Trans._, p. 27. F. - -[1175] _Faerie Queene_, B. 2, c. xii. s. 77. - -[1176] _Seasons: Summer_, 1. 1209. - -[1177] _Emblems_, p. 375. - -[1178] Blackmore, _Prince Arthur_. - -[1179] Quot. in the _Athenaeum_, v. 126. - -[1180] Jamieson's _Scot. Dict._, iv. 138. - -[1181] Keightley's _Fairy Mythol._, p. 514. - -[1182] _Microgr._, p. 202. It has been objected, say Kirby and Spence, -to the excellent primitive writer, Clemens Romanus, that he believed the -absurd fable of the phoenix. But surely this may be allowed for in him, -who was no naturalist, when a scientific natural philosopher could -believe that the clouds are made of Spiders' web!--_Introd._, ii. 331, -note. - -[1183] James's _Med. Dict._ - -[1184] _Ibid._ - -[1185] James's _Med. Dict._ - -[1186] Harris's _Coll. of Voy. and Trav._, ii. 586-7. - -[1187] _Ibid._ - -[1188] _Treasvrie of Anct. and Mod. Times_, p. 393. - -[1189] Boyle's _Works_, ii. 181-2. - -[1190] Astley's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, vi. 607. - -[1191] Pinkerton's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, vii. 299. - -[1192] Astley's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, vi. 656. - -[1193] B. 7, c. 15, p. 664. Printed 1613. - -[1194] Diod., B. 3, c. 2. - -[1195] Strabo, B. 16, c. 6, Sec. 13. - -[1196] Fosbr. _Encyc. of Antiq._, ii. 738. - -[1197] Sloane's _Hist. of Jamaica_, ii. 195. - -[1198] Damp. _Voy._ Camp., p. 64. - -[1199] Harris's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, ii. 242. Cf. Smith's _Nature -and Art_, x. 257. - -[1200] _Travels_, i. 201. - -[1201] _Voyage a la recherche de la Perouse_, ii. 240. K. & S. -_Introd._, i. 311. - -[1202] _New Amer. Cyclop._ - -[1203] _Trav. in Africa._ Bucke _on Nature_, ii. 297. - -[1204] Pinkerton's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, ix. 612. - -[1205] _Hist. of West Indies_, p. 301. - -[1206] Reaum., ii. 342. K. & S. _Introd._, i. 311. - -[1207] _Phil. Trans._ Southey's _Com. Place Bk._, 3d S. p. 731. Shaw, -_Nat. Misc._ - -[1208] Moufet, _Theatr. Ins._, p. 220. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts and -Serpents_, p. 789, 1067. Wanley's _Wonders_, ii. 459. - -[1209] _Biogr. Univers._, tome xxiii. p. 230, note. - -[1210] Roesel, iv. 257. K. & S. _Introd._, i. 311. - -[1211] Wanley's _Wonders_, ii. 459. - -[1212] Andrew's _Anecd.,_ p. 37. App. - -[1213] _Nat. Hist._, xxix. 27. Bost. & Riley. - -[1214] _Ibid._ - -[1215] _Nat. Hist._, xxix. 38. - -[1216] _Ibid._, xxix. 39. - -[1217] _Ibid._, xxix. 36. - -[1218] _Staple of News_, A. ii. Sc. 1, vol. v. p. 219. Lond. 1816. "A -Spider is usually given to monkeys, and is esteemed a sovereign remedy -for the disorders those animals are principally subject to."--_James's -Med. Dict._ Spiders are also fed to mocking-birds, not only as food, but -also as an aperient. - -[1219] _Mid. Night's Dream_, Act iii. Sc. 1. - -[1220] Vide _Eventful Life of a Soldier_. Edinbg. 1852. - -[1221] _N. and Q._, 2d ed. x. 138. - -[1222] _Elements of Mat. Med. and Therap._, Philad. 1825. - -[1223] Chamb. _Bk. of Days_, i. 732. - -[1224] Grah. _Domest. Med._ - -[1225] Thorpe's _North. Mythol._, iii. 329. - -[1226] Brand's _Pop. Antiq._, iii. 287. - -[1227] James's _Med. Dict._ - -[1228] Geoffroy's _Substances used in Med._, p. 383. - -[1229] Moufet, _Theatr. Insect._, p. 237. Topsel's _Hist. of Beasts and -Serpents_, p. 1073. - -[1230] _Nat. Hist._, xxix. 27. - -[1231] _Miscellanies_, p. 138. - -[1232] Vide _Hist. and Mem. de l'Acad. Royale des Sciences_, ann. 1710; -Dissert. by M. Bon, _Sur l'utilite de la soye des Arraignees_, 8vo. -Also, Bancroft _on Permanent Colors_, i. 101; and Shaw's _Nat. Hist._, -vi. 481. - -[1233] _New Amer. Cyclop._ - -[1234] _Voy. dans l'Amer. Merid._, i. 212. K. and S. _Introd._, i. 337. - -[1235] _Naturalist in Bermuda_, p. 126. - -[1236] _Atlantic Monthly_, June, 1858, p. 92. - -[1237] _Nouv. Dict. d'Hist. Nat._, ii. 280. K. and S. _Introd._, i. 337, -note. - -[1238] _Hist. of Beasts and Serpents_, p. 778. - -[1239] _Theatr. Ins._, p. 235. Topsel's _Trans._, p. 1072. - -[1240] _Ins. Archit._, p. 7. - -[1241] Swammerdam, _Hist. of Ins._, p. 5. - -[1242] Garasse, _Recherches des Recherches de M. Estiene Pasquier_, p. -357. Southey's _Com. Place Bk._, 3d S. p. 282. - -[1243] Hone's _Ev. Day Bk._, i. 294. - -[1244] _Gent. Mag._, iii. 492. - -[1245] _Ibid._, xxiv. 293. - -[1246] K. and S. _Introd._, ii. 415. - -[1247] _Ephem. Nat. Curios._, 1673. 80. - -[1248] K. and S. _Introd._, ii. 415, note. - -[1249] Brand's _Pop. Antiq._, iii. 273. - -[1250] _Pers. Nar._, iv. 571. - -[1251] _Ibid._, ii. 205. - -[1252] _Ann. of Eng._, p. 1219. - -[1253] _Voy. to C. of Good Hope_, i. 45. - -[1254] _Mag. of Nat. Hist._, iv. 148-9. - -[1255] _Hist. of China_, B. I. c. 18, and Churchill's _Col. of Voy. and -Trav._, i. 39. - -[1256] Churchill's _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, i. 212. - -[1257] _The Mirror_, xix. 180. - -[1258] Pinkertons _Col. of Voy. and Trav._, ix. 632. - -[1259] _Hist. of Ins._, p. 53-4. - -[1260] _Ibid._ - -[1261] _Hist. of Ins._, p. 197. - -[1262] _Nat. Hist. of Ins._, p. 35. - -[1263] _Voy. round the World_, ii. 35-7. - -[1264] Thevenot's _Travels_, Pt. I. p. 249. - -[1265] _Trav. and Res. in S. Africa_, p. 48. - - - - -ERRATA. - - -Page 43, line 19 from the top, between the words "is it" and "plain" -insert the word "not." - -Page 71, line 29, for "_Carabus chrysocephaluo_" read "_Carabus -chrysocephalus_." - -Page 131, line 12, for "Mrs. A. L. Ruyter Dufour" read "Mrs. A. L. Ruter -Dufour." - - - - - * * * * * - - - - -Transcriber's Notes. - - -Punctuation has been standardised, and obvious typographical errors -have been repaired. 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