CHAPTER VI.

FIFTH DAY.

_Section_ I.--FISHES.

Of Fishes in general -- The Cetaceous kind -- Cartilaginous -- Spinous -- Crustaceous -- and Testaceous. -- Animalcules. -- Religious Improvement.

On the _fifth day_ were created fishes, and the fowls of heaven, whatsoever flies in the expansion above us, or swims in the watery element: these were produced from the waters. “God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let the fowl multiply in the earth.”

“See through this air, this ocean, and this earth, All matter quick, and bursting into birth; Above how high progressive life may go, Around how wide, how deep extend below! Vast chain of being, which from God began, Nature’s ethereal, human, angel, man, Beast, _bird_, _fish_, _insect_, what no eye can see, No glass can reach; from infinite to THEE, from THEE to _nothing_!”

It is generally granted that life is the highest perfection of corporeal beings, the most inestimable jewel of the creation. Life, though but in an insect, is more glorious than the sun. Solomon, making a comparison between living and lifeless things, prefers the meanest of living creatures before the best and noblest of dead things, “A living dog is better than a dead lion.” How much soever we may be astonished at the stupendous mass of inactive matter, yet the least animated particle is still an object of greater admiration. God, in creating the first individual of each species of living creatures, not only gave a form to matter, but also a principle of life; inclosing in each a greater or less quantity of organical particles, indestructible and common to all organized beings. These pass from body to body, perpetuating this life, and ministering to the nutrition and growth of each. Thus every production, or increase by generation, is a continuance of this life, of which every succession of creatures is always full. The total quantity of life remains the same; for whatever death seems to destroy, it does not affect that primitive life, which is diffused through all organized beings.

However much the nature of life may perplex the most able, acute, and diligent inquirers into the subject, or exceed the utmost reach of human comprehension; yet we see that it enables creatures to act, as it were, of themselves, and to seek and obtain such enjoyments as give them a sensible pleasure. The creatures on which this amazing property has been conferred, have also an inclination and ability to communicate it to their own species, which will succeed one another till time shall be no more! If we exercise our understanding on this remarkable instance of creating energy, it will tend to excite in us the most august thoughts of that almighty Being, who is the boundless source of existence, vitality, and motion to all his creatures!

In the work of creation, observes a learned author, after the formation of light, air, water, and earth, the originals of all material objects, God proceeded from creatures less excellent to those of a superior order. Such was his progress in the work of creation. Fish and fowl were both formed out of the water. Hence there is a nearer alliance and greater resemblance between the form and motions of creatures that swim and those that fly, than between such as creep and those that walk on the earth; and their bodies being intended to be lighter, and their motion swifter, the wise Creator saw fit to form them from a light and fluid element.

The number of the different species of fish to which names are given, and with whose figure at least we are a little acquainted, is, according to Linnæus, above four hundred. The majority of these are confined to the sea, and would expire in the fresh water, though there are a few which annually swim up the rivers, to deposit their spawn. Among the various sizes, some have monstrous shapes, and amazing qualities. Fishes are usually classed into three general divisions: the _cetaceous_, or those of the whale kind; the _cartilaginous_, or those which have gristles instead of bones; and the _spinous_, or bony kind, called so from their bones resembling the sharpness of thorns.

In the cetaceous species are included all the various kinds of Whales, the Norwhal, or Sea-Unicorn, the Dolphin, the Grampus, and the Porpoise. Though “God created great whales,”[141] the words of Moses, according to the original, התנינם הגדלים _ha-tan-neenin ha-gedoleen_, says Dr. A. Clarke, must be understood rather as a general than a particular term, comprising all the great aquatic animals, such as these now mentioned. All these resemble quadrupeds in their internal structure, and in some of their appetites and affections. Like quadrupeds, they have lungs, a midriff, a stomach, intestines, liver, spleen, bladder, and parts of generation; their heart also resembles that of quadrupeds, with its partitions closed up as in them, and driving red and warm blood in circulation through the body; and to keep these parts warm, the whole kind are also covered between the skin and the muscles with a thicker coat of fat or blubber. The _aorta_, or principal artery, in that stupendous animal the _whale_, measures about a foot in diameter; and it is computed that the quantity of blood thrown into it, at every pulsation of the heart, is not less than from _ten to fifteen gallons_.

“Nature’s strange work, vast Whales of differing form, Toss up the troubled floods and are themselves a storm; Uncouth the sight, when they, in dreadful play Discharge their nostrils, and refund a sea; Or angry lash the foam with hideous sound, And scatter all the watery dust around. Fearless the fierce destructive monsters roll, Ingulph the fish, and drive the flying shoal. In deepest seas these living isles appear, And deepest seas can scarce their pressure bear: Their bulk would more than fill the shelvy strait, And fathom’d depths would yield beneath their weight.”

These animals possessing finer organs and higher sensations than others, show an eminent superiority. They have all the tenderness of birds or quadrupeds for their young, nurse them with constant care, and protect them from every injury. The female never produces more than one young, or two at the most; and this she suckles entirely in the manner of quadrupeds, her breasts being placed, as in the human kind, above the navel. The ends of these she protrudes at pleasure, to afford nutriment to her offspring. Perhaps the prophet Jeremiah has an eye to this when he says, “The sea-monsters draw out the breast, they give suck to their young ones.” Those of the cartilaginous kind, though not capable of nursing their young, yet bring them alive into the world, and defend them with courage and activity; while the spinous kind, a fierce, unmindful tribe, deposit their spawn, and leave the success to accident, without affording any protection.

As this first class of sea animals breathe the air, it is obvious they cannot bear to be a long time at once under water. They necessarily, every two or three minutes, emerge to the surface to take breath, as well as to spout out through their nostril (for they have but one), that water which they sucked in while gaping for their prey.

“Hugest of living creatures, on the deep, Stretched like a promontory, sleeps or swims, And seems a moving land, and at his gills Draws in, and at his trunk spouts out, a sea.”

Their tails therefore are different from those of all other fish: they are placed so as to lie flat upon the surface of the water; while the other kinds have their tails, as we frequently see, upright or edge-ways. This position of the tail enables them to force themselves suddenly to the surface of the water, at pleasure. How well is it that animals of this enormous size do not approach our shores, for their presence would fright the other valuable fish from our coasts: they are therefore kept in the abysses of the ocean: just as wild beasts, impelled by the same over-ruling Power, which hide themselves in the recesses of the forest.[142]

The cartilaginous tribe, which have gristles instead of bones, unite the principal of both the other classes in their conformation: like the cetaceous, they have organs of hearing, and lungs: like the spinous, they have gills, and a heart without a partition. From the structure of their gills, these animals are enabled to live a longer time out of water than other fishes. The cartilaginous Shark, or Ray, lives some hours after it is taken; while the spinous Herring, or Mackarel, expires a few minutes after it is brought on shore. Some of this class bring forth their young alive; and others produce them by eggs, which are afterwards brought to maturity. Most fishes having cold blood, have not heat sufficient to produce the fœtus. The all-wise Creator therefore has ordained, that many of them shall propagate their species by eggs, and this they do near the shore; where, by means of the solar rays, the water is warmer, and fitter for that purpose; and also because water-insects abound more there, which afford the young fry nourishment. To the fish of the ocean, which cannot reach the shores by reason of the distance, the Creator has given eggs that swim, and these are hatched amidst the floating fucus, called _sargazo_. In all, however, the manner of gestation is nearly the same: for, on dissection, it is ever found, that the young, while in the body, continue in the egg till a very little time before they are brought forth; and as soon as they leave the shell, they also begin to quit the womb. It is confidently asserted, that the young of the several species of the Shark, when pursued, will take refuge in the belly of its mother, by swimming in at her mouth. Of the same class of fishes are the Ray, the Torpedo,[143] the Lamprey, the Sturgeon, the Diodon, the Angler, the Lump-Sucker, the Pipe Fish, the Hippocampus, or Sea Horse, the Sea Porcupine, and the Galley Fish.

Of the spinous, or bony kind of fishes, these are obviously distinguished from the rest, by having a complete bony covering to their gills; by their being furnished with no other method of breathing than through the gills only; by their bones which are sharp and thorny; and by their tails, which are placed in a situation perpendicular to the body. The history of any one of this order very much resembles that of all the rest. They propagate not by bringing forth their young alive, as do the cetaceous tribes, nor by distinct eggs, as do the generality of the cartilaginous tribes, but by spawn, or pease, as they are generally called, which they produce by hundreds of thousands. The bones of this order of fishes, when examined slightly, appear to be entirely solid; yet, when viewed more closely, every bone is seen to be hollow, and filled with a substance less rancid and oily than marrow. These bones are very numerous, and pointed; and, as in quadrupeds, are the props or stays to which the muscles are fixed, which move the different parts of the body. The number of bones in all spinous fishes of the same kind is always the same. As this species partake less of the quadruped in their formation than any other, so they can bear to live out of their own element a shorter time. Some, indeed, are more vivacious in air than others: the eel will live several hours out of water; and the carp has been known to be fattened in a damp cellar. The method is, by placing the fish in a net well wrapped up in wet moss, the mouth only out, and hung up in a vault; then fed with white bread and milk, and the net sometimes plunged into the water.

The spinous class of fishes is more prolific than any other animal. Although their usual way of propagation is by spawn, yet there are some, such as the eel and the blenney, which produce their young alive. Their power of increasing is such, that if they were suffered to multiply unmolested, and remain undiminished for only a few years, the progeny of an individual would far exceed all human calculation. It is asserted, that a single herring, in the space of twenty years, would yield an offspring greater in bulk than ten such globes as this we inhabit. A female herring deposits at least 10,000 eggs, in the sea near to Great Britain![144] A tench lays 1,000 eggs. There have been 200,000 ova or eggs found in a carp; and in one of eighteen inches, 342,144: in a perch, weighing one pound two ounces, 69,216; and in a sturgeon of one hundred and sixty pounds, there was the enormous number of 1,467,500. Leewenhoeck counted in a middling-sized cod, _nine million_ 384,000.

This multiplication of fishes is very astonishing; but the fact is, as they are obliged to devour one another for necessary subsistence, the whole natives of the deep without these extraordinary supplies, would soon be totally extinct. Were they to bring forth no more at a birth than land animals, the increase would be far too small for the consumption. The weaker species would soon be destroyed by the stronger, and the latter would soon after perish. Therefore to supply millions of animals with food, and yet not depopulate the watery realms, the issue produced by some of their species is almost incredible. The spawn is not by scores, but by millions: and by this amazing expedient, constant reparation is made proportionable to the immense havoc.

As the different species of fishes are designed to occupy the waters, and range to and fro in that element, so they are wonderfully formed for that purpose. The chief instruments of the motion of a fish are the fins, which in some fishes are more numerous than in others. The fish in a state of repose, spreads all its fins, and seems to rest on its pectoral and ventral fins near the bottom: on folding the right pectoral fin, its body inclines to the right side; and on folding the left fin, it inclines to that side.--When the fish desires to have a retrograde motion, striking with the pectoral fins, in a contrary direction, effectually produces it. When the fish desires to turn, a blow from the tail sends it round; but if the tail strike both ways, then the motion is progressive. If the dorsal and ventral fins be cut off, the fish reels both to the right and left, and endeavors to supply its loss by keeping the rest of the fins in constant action. If the right pectoral fin be cut off, the fish leans to that side; if the ventral fin on the same side be cut off, then it loses its equilibrium entirely. When the tail is cut off, the fish loses all motion, and is carried wherever the water impels it.

In addition to the fins, an aquatic animal is furnished with an air bladder, a philosophical apparatus in its body; this sustains and enables it, at will to raise itself to the surface of the water, or, otherwise, to descend. When any accident has burst this air bladder, or it has been punctured by way of experiment, the fish remains at the bottom of the vessel or river, totally unable to ascend. Flounders, Soles and Skates, which are without this appendage, seldom rise in the water, and when they do, require a great effort. The simple action of the fins is not sufficient to raise the fish, its specific gravity being greater than the fluid in which it is immersed. The bag containing the air is supposed to be muscular, and when the air is compressed into a smaller compass by the action of this muscular power, the bulk of the fish is contracted with it; whereby, since the absolute weight remains the same, the specific gravity, which is the sinking force, is increased, and the fish sinks; when, on the contrary, this compression is removed, the air bladder expands, the fish is specifically lighter, and it ascends.

In fish, we find the arrangement of the teeth nicely adapted to the habits of the different species. For instance, in the Pike, the teeth are placed with their points projecting backwards towards the throat, by which an easy ingress is afforded, but which at the same time prevents all egress, and retains most effectually the prey when seized. The alarm excited among smaller fishes at the approach of the Pike, is thus poetically expressed:

“_Beware_, ye harmless tribes, the _tyrant comes_, Exclaims the silver mantled naiad of the pond; _Beware_, ye flirting _gudgeons_, _barbles_ fair, And ye, quick-swimming _minnows_, gliding _eels_, And all who breathe the lucid crystal of the lake, Or lively sport between the dashing wheels Of river mills, _beware_; the _tyrant comes_! Grim death awaits you in his gaping jaws, And lurks behind his hungry fangs--_beware_!”

The Sword-Fish is distinguished by the upper jaw, which runs out in the figure of a strong and sharp sword, sometimes to the length of three feet, with which he scruples not to engage the whale himself.[145] The Sun-Fish is one round mass of flesh; only it has two fins, which act the part of oars.

The great Creator has beautified the innumerable myriads that swim in the vast ocean, giving the greatest proportion to their shapes, the gayest colors to their skins, and a polished surface to their scales. The eyes of some are surrounded with a scarlet circle; while the backs of others are diversified with crimson stains. View them when they glance along the stream, or when they are fresh from their native brine; the silver is not more bright, nor the rainbow more glowing than their vivid, glossy hues! But we are lost in wonder at the exquisite contrivance and delicate formation of their gills: by which they are accommodated, even in that dense medium, with the benefits of respiration! A piece of mechanism this, possessed by the meanest of the watery tribe; yet infinitely surpassing, in the fineness of the structure of its operation, whatever is curious in the works of art, or commodious in the palaces of princes.

As the spinous order of fishes is extremely numerous, various modes of classing them have been followed by different naturalists. The simplest is that of Linnæus, who ranks them in four divisions, according to the positions of the fins. The 1st division is what that celebrated naturalist terms _Apodal_; and includes the most imperfect of the order, namely, those which want the ventral or belly fins, and it consists of the following genera:--The Eel, the Wolf-Fish, the Launce, or Sand-Eel, and The Sword Fish.--The 2d division consists of the _Jugular_ fishes, or those which have ventral fins before the pectoral, or nearer to the gills; and includes the Dragonet, the Weever, the Cod, and the Blenny. The 3d division is called the _Thoracic_, or those fishes which have the belly fins immediately under the pectoral; and includes the Goby, or Roch-Fish, the Bull-head, the Doree, the Flounder, the Wrasse, the Perch, the Stickleback, the Mackerel, the Surmulet, and the Gurnard. The 4th division consists of the _Abdominal_, or those which have the ventral fins behind the pectoral, nearer the tail, and includes the Loach, the Salmon, the Pike, the Argentine, the Atherine, the Mullet, the Flying-Fish, the Herring, the Carp, &c. To the fishes, included in these four divisions, must be added, all the several species belonging to each, some of which are numerous.

There are two classes of animals inhabiting the water, which commonly receive the name of fishes, entirely different from the preceding ones, and also very distinct from each other. They are divided by naturalists into crustaceous and testaceous: both of which, being totally unlike fishes in appearance, seem to invert the order of nature. As those of the cetaceous, cartilaginous, and spinous orders, have their bones on the inside, and their muscles externally placed for the purpose of life and motion; so these, on the contrary, have all their bony parts on the outside, and their muscles within. For instance, persons who have seen a Lobster, or an Oyster, perceive that their shells bear a strong analogy to the bones of other aquatic animals; and that by these coverings they are sustained and defended.

Crustaceous fishes, such as the Crab and Lobster, have shells resembling a firm crust, and in some measure capable of yielding to pressure or strength. Testaceous fishes, such as the Oyster or Cockle, are furnished with shells of considerable hardness, very brittle, and susceptible of yielding to compressure like the others. Of the crustaceous kinds, are the Lobster, the Crab, and the Turtle:[146] and the testaceous, includes the numerous tribes of Oysters, Muscles, Cockles, and Sea Snails. Some of these are extremely prolific. Under the tail of a Lobster, Dr. Baster says, he counted 12,444 eggs, besides those that remained in the body unprotruded. The female Turtle lays about eighty or ninety eggs at a time, each the size of a pigeon’s egg, in a hole prepared with her fore feet in the sand, a little above the high-water mark, which she covers so dexterously, that it is no easy task to find the place; and then returns to the sea, leaving them to be hatched by the solar rays. At the end of fifteen days, she deposits about the same number of eggs again: and in fifteen days more, repeats the same; three times in all, using the same precautions every time for their safety.

Among shell-fish, how various is their figures? The shells of some seem to be the rude production of chance, rather than of skill or design. Yet, even in these, we find the nicest dispositions. Though uncouth, they are exactly suited to the exigencies of their respective tenants. Some, on the other hand, are extremely neat; their structure is all symmetry and elegance; no enamel is comparable to their polish. Not a room in all the palaces of Europe is so adorned as the tenement of the little fish that dwells in Mother of Pearl. Where else is such a mixture of red, blue, and green, so delightfully staining the most clear and glittering ground? But what is more admirable than all their beauty, is the provision made for their safety. As they have no speed to escape, so they have no dexterity to elude their foe: so that, were they naked, they must be an easy prey to every free-booter. To prevent this, what is only clothing to other animals, is to them clothing, habitation, and castle. They have a fortification which grows with them, and is part of themselves. And by means of this, they live secure amidst millions of ravenous jaws. The dark inky fluid, which the Cuttle-Fish emits when alarmed, not only tinges the water, but, at the same time, is so bitter, as immediately to drive off its enemies.

“Th’ endangered _cuttle_ thus evades his fears, And native hoards of fluid safely bears. A pitchy ink peculiar glands supply, Whose shades the sharpest beams of light defy. Pursued he bids the sable fountain flow, And, wrapt in clouds, eludes th’ impending foe. The fish retreats unseen, while self-born night, With pious shade, befriends her parent’s flight.”

The Nautilus, when he means to sail, discharges a quantity of water from his shell, by which it is rendered lighter than the surrounding medium, and, of course, rises to the surface. The shell forms a kind of boat, and he extends two of his arms upward, which are each furnished at their extremity with an oval membrane, that he unfurls to the wind for a sail. The other six arms hang over the sides of the shell, and supply the place of either oars or rudder, with which he rows himself along. When disposed to dive, he strikes sail, and at once sinks to the bottom. When the weather is calm, he ascends again, and performs his voyage without chart or compass.

“Two feet they upwards raise, and steady keep; These are the masts and rigging of the ship. A membrane stretched between supplies the sail, Bends from the masts, and swells before the gale. The other feet hang paddling on each side, And serve for oars to row, and helm to guide. ’Tis thus they sail, pleased with the wanton game, The fish, the sailor, and the ship the same. But, when the swimmers dread some danger near, The sportive pleasure yields to stronger fear: No more they wanton drive before the blasts, But strike the sails, and bring down all the masts. The rolling waves their sinking shells o’erflow, And dash them down again to sands below.”

Thus, we see, according to the beneficent purpose and blessing of God, the “waters bring forth abundantly.” The finny tribes are numerous beyond all calculation; they crowd to our shores in vast abundance, from which our markets are regularly and plentifully supplied. And, as one judiciously observes, what a merciful provision is this for the necessities of man! Many hundreds of thousands of mankind live, during a great part of the year, on fish only. Fishes, which are liable to few diseases, afford not only a wholesome, but a very nutritive diet; and generally come in vast quantities to our shores, when in their greatest perfection. In this also we may perceive that the kind providence of God goes hand in hand with his creating energy; for, while manifesting his wisdom and power, he is making a permanent provision for the sustenance of man through all his generations. The Mackerel, the Herring, and various other kinds, when lean, wander up and down the ocean: but when fat they throng our creeks and bays, or haunt the running streams. Who bids these creatures leave our shores when they become unfit for our service? Who rallies and recalls the undisciplined vagrants, as soon as they are improved into desirable food? Surely the furlough is signed, the summons issued, and the point of re-union settled, by a Providence ever indulgent to mankind, and loading us with benefits.

By the invention and assistance of magnifying glasses, the two extremes of the creation, as Mr. Baker intimates, which were out of the reach of former ages, have been brought under our observation: the telescope is directed to the heavenly bodies, and the microscope to unknown species of animals, &c. The first appearance of the microscope was about the year 1621; since which period it has been very much improved. It is to this valuable optical instrument that we are indebted for a great part of our present philosophy: we are brought into a kind of new world.

Numberless animals are discovered, which, from their minuteness, must otherwise for ever have escaped our observation. How many kinds of these invisibles there may be, says Mr. Adams, is still unknown; as they are discerned of all sizes, from those which are barely invisible to the naked eye, to such as resist the action of the microscope, as the fixed stars do that of the telescope, and with the greatest powers hitherto invented appear only as so many moving points.

The smallest living creatures our instruments can show, are those which inhabit the waters; for though animalcules, equally minute, may fly in the air, or creep upon the earth, it is scarcely possible to get a view of them; but as water is transparent, and confines the creatures in it, we are able, by applying a drop of it to our glasses, to discover, to a certain degree of smallness, all that it contains.

“Where the pool Stands mantled o’er with green, invisible, Amid the floating verdure millions stray. Each liquid, too, whether it pierces, soothes, Inflames, refreshes, or exalts the taste, With various forms abounds. Nor is the stream Of purest crystal, nor the livid air, Though one transparent vacancy it seem, Void of their unseen people. These, concealed By the kind art of forming Heaven, escape The grosser eye of man: for, if the worlds In worlds inclosed should on his senses burst, From cates ambrosial and the nectared bowl, He would abhorrent turn; and in dead night, When silence sleeps o’er all, be stunned with noise.”

Leewenhoeck calculates, that a thousand millions of animalcules, which may be discovered in common water, are not altogether so large as a common grain of sand! Eminent naturalists have discovered not less than 30,000 in a single drop of water! What a display is this of the manifold wisdom of God! While he makes some of the aquatic tribes so large, that they seem to require almost a whole sea to float in, he forms others so astonishingly minute, that several thousands will adhere to the point of a needle.[147]

Every animalcule being an organized body, how delicate and subtile must the parts be that are necessary to constitute it, and to preserve its vital actions! How inconceivably small must it be, and yet a perfect animal. In animalcules, we discover the same multiplication of parts, diversity of figures, and variety of motions, as in the largest animals. How amazingly curious must be the internal structure of these creatures! how minute the bones, joints, muscles, tendons! how exquisitely delicate the veins, arteries, nerves! What a number of vessels and different circulations must be contained in one of these little creatures, and yet all have sufficient room for the performance of their several functions, without interfering with each other! It is difficult to conceive how in so narrow a compass, there should be contained a heart as the fountain of life propelling the circulating fluid, veins and arteries as the conductors of the blood, a brain to supply nerves in every part of the minute structure, muscles necessary to its motions, glands for the secretion of its fluids, stomach, and bowels to digest its food, eyes to direct its progress, a mouth to take in its nourishment, and organs of generation to propagate its kind!

“How sweet to muse upon His skill display’d (Infinite skill!) in all that he has made. To trace in Nature’s most minute design, The signature and stamp of Power Divine; Contrivance exquisite expressed with ease, Where unassisted sight no beauty sees; The shapely limb and lubricated joint, Within the small dimensions of a point; Muscle and nerve miraculously spun; His mighty work, who speaks, and it is done; Th’ invisible in things scarce seen revealed; To whom an atom is an ample field.”

Animalcules in general, continues Mr. Adams, are observed to move in all directions with equal ease and rapidity, sometimes obliquely, sometimes straight forward; sometimes moving in a circular direction, or rolling upon one another, running backwards and forwards through the whole extent of the drop, as if diverting themselves; at other times greedily attacking the little parcels of matter they meet with. Notwithstanding their extreme minuteness, they know how to avoid obstacles, or to prevent any interference with one another in their motions: sometimes they will suddenly change the direction in which they move, and take an opposite one; and, by inclining the glass on which the drop of water is, as it can be made to move in any direction, so the animalcules appear to move as easily against the stream as with it. When the water begins to evaporate, they flock towards the place where the fluid is, and show a great anxiety and uncommon agitation of the organs with which they draw in the water. These motions grow languid as the water fails, and at last cease altogether, without a possibility of renewal if they be left dry for a short time. They sustain a great degree of cold as well as insects, and will perish in much the same degree of heat that destroys insects. Some animalcules are produced in water at the freezing point, and some insects live in snow.

[In the American Journal of Science and Arts for April, 1830, there is a letter to the editor, from _Dr. Joseph E. Muse_, from which the following is an extract:

“When the winter had made considerable progress, without much frost, there happened a heavy fall of snow; apprehending that I might not have an opportunity of filling my ice house with ice, I threw in snow, perhaps enough to fill it; there was afterwards severely cold weather, and I filled the remainder with ice; about August the waste and consumption of ice, brought us down to the snow; when it was discovered that a glass of water which was cooled with it, contained hundreds of animalcules, I then examined another glass of water, out of the same pitcher, and with the aid of a microscope, before the snow was put in it, found it perfectly clear and pure; the snow was then thrown into it, and on solution the water again exhibited the same phenomenon; hundreds of animalcules, visible to the naked eye with acute attention, and when viewed through the microscope resembling most diminutive shrimps; and wholly unlike the eels discovered in the acetous acid, were seen in the full enjoyment of animated nature.

“I caused holes to be dug in several parts of the mass of snow in the ice house, and to the centre of it; and in the most unequivocal and repeated experiments had similar results.”]

There is one remarkable circumstance, says Mr. Lobb, that we must not pass over in our contemplation of these minute animals: which is, that they are found proportionably much stronger, more active and vivacious, than large ones. The spring of a flea in its first leap, how vastly does it outstrip any thing of which animals are capable! A mite, how vastly swifter does it run than a racehorse! M. de L’Isle has given the computation of the velocity of a little creature scarcely visible by its smallness, which he found to run three inches in half a second: now, supposing its feet to be the fiftieth part of a line, it must make 500 steps in the space of three inches; that is, it must shift its legs 500 times in a second, or in the ordinary pulsation of an artery!

The modes of propagation among these animalcules are various, and the observation of them is extremely curious. Some multiply by a transverse division; and it is remarkable, that though in general they avoid one another, it is not uncommon, when one is nearly divided, to see another push itself upon the small neck which joins the two bodies in order to accelerate the separation. Others, when about to multiply, fix themselves to the bottom of the water; then becoming first oblong, and afterwards round, turn rapidly as on a centre, but perpetually varying the direction of their rotatory motion. In a little time, two lines forming a cross are perceived: after which the spherule divides into four, which grow, and are again divided as before.[148] A third kind multiply by a longitudinal division, which in some begins in the fore part, in others in the hind part; and from others a small fragment detaches itself, which in a short time assumes the shape of the parent animalcule. Lastly, others propagate in the same manner as the more perfect animals.

The same rule seems to hold good in these minute creatures, which is observable in the larger animals, namely, that the larger kinds are less numerous than such as are smaller, while the smallest of all are found in such multitudes, that there seem to be myriads for one of the others. They increase in size, like other animals, from their birth, till they have attained their full growth: and when deprived of proper nourishment, they in like manner grow thin and perish.

And, if the extreme minuteness of the parts of animalcules is not merely surprising, but far above our utmost conception, what shall we say to those various species, to which the mite itself, in point of size, is, as it were, an elephant? Naturalists suppose another species, or order, of invisible animalcules; namely, such as escape the cognizance even of the best microscopes, and give many probable conjectures concerning them. Reason and analogy give some support to the existence of an infinite number of these imperceptible creatures. The naked eye, say some, takes in from the Elephant to the Mite; but there commences a new order, reserved only for the microscope, which comprehends all these from the Mite to those twenty-seven millions of times smaller; and this order cannot be said to be exhausted, if the microscope be not arrived at its last degree of perfection.

* * * * *

Among the Egyptians, all the natives of the water were in some degree esteemed sacred. In many parts the people did not feed upon them. The priests in particular never tasted this kind of food; and the reason why they abstained from it, was the sanctity imputed to this class of creatures. For they were sometimes considered as sacred emblems: at other times worshipped as real deities. One species of fish called Oxurunchus, had, according to Strabo, a temple, and divine honors paid to it. A fish called Phagrus, was, according to Clemens Alexandrinus, worshipped at Syene. The Lepidotus and Eel, were, as we find from Herodotus, objects of adoration; being each, sacred to the god Nilus. This is ridiculed by Antiphanes, who says, that an Eel among the Egyptians was reverenced equally with their gods.

The Jews were under a divine prohibition not to make an idolatrous graven image or likeness of any aquatic animals. However strange this idolatry may appear, yet, such was its extent, that it prevailed not only in Syria, but in the borders of Lebanon, also at, Ascalon, Ashdod, and Joppa, cities within the precincts of the tribes of Dan and Judah. Hence we see the propriety of the judgments inflicted upon the Egyptians. “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.--Against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment.--And the fish that was in the river died: and the river stunk.” This was a punishment particularly well adapted to the state of that blinded and infatuated people: as it showed them the baseness of those elements which they reverenced, and the insufficiency of the gods in which they trusted. And this remarkable display of the Divine displeasure was the means of affording knowledge very salutary to the Israelites; as it served to warn them not to fall into the same or any similar act of idolatry, when they had seen it thus debased and exposed, and attended with such instances of accumulated evil.[149]

Father Lamy remarks, that the principal parts of Fishes are the gills, scales, and fins. Some have scales, and no fins; others have neither scales nor fins. Upon which is founded the distinction which Moses makes of clean and unclean fishes. Such as have neither scales nor fins are thought unclean. The authority for this is what the Lord commanded Moses to communicate to the children of Israel. “These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat. And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you: they shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but you shall have their carcases in abomination.” The physical reason for this distinction may be, because those which have fins and scales are the most nourishing; and the others, which are without fins and scales, being, in general, very difficult of digestion,--such as the Conger, Eel, &c, which are too gross and fat for many stomachs. Among the Romans, no fishes were suffered to be offered up in sacrifice, or served up to the table of the gods, but such as were scaly.

In this distinction, direction, and prohibition, concerning fishes, there is a further meaning. Dr. Spencer says, “God ordained this distinction of meats, that the puerile nation of the Hebrews might be led by an application of this law to the first elements of sanctity and actual purity. And this conjecture is founded upon the reason God himself has assigned for this institution; for after he had delivered the law about separating the clean from the unclean animal, he immediately adds, ‘Be ye holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.’ Which words St. Peter applies not to legal but to evangelical sanctity, such as we should aspire to through the whole course of our lives. I must not deny that the text of Leviticus, in the outward letter, requires only a sort of legal sanctity, extending merely to corporeal purification: but it is agreeable to the umbratic nature of that law, that we should believe those words to have contained a more sacred meaning at the bottom, and to have directed the Jews to a sort of purity properly so called, and conformable to that of the Divine nature itself, under the figure of external purification.” Indeed without a view to the moral purification of the soul, an institution merely affecting the body would be but of minor importance.

This distinction then being founded upon the moral principles of good and evil, no doubt the peculiarities of the animals themselves will serve to furnish instruction. A celebrated writer on this subject remarks:--The progressive motion of fishes is owing to the tail: for so may a boat be driven forward by the agitation of a single oar from the stern. The fins serve to keep a fish upright, and support it while it is stationary in any part of the water. The centre of gravity being above the middle region of the body, a fish floats unnaturally with its back downwards, when the fins are taken off. The scales of fishes, which are very hard, bright, and radiated, compose a sort of armor, which serves for their defence, and adds at the same time an appearance of light and purity. The fishes thus distinguished differ as much in their way of life from the smooth and slimy inhabitants of the waters, as in their color and appearance; for they are generally disposed to raise themselves from the bottom, and swim about with agility in the superior regions of the water; while the Eel buries itself in the mire, and all the crustaceous tribe lie scrabbling upon the ground. Fishes of the Eel or snake kind are disturbed by thunder and storms, and swim about when the waters are thick and turbulent: but as soon as the elements are at rest again, they presently slide down to their native mud.

Thus the mind, when polluted with impiety, and bowed down with unbelief, cannot be raised to the contemplation of evangelical truth, unless it is alarmed by the fear of Divine judgments; on which occasion profligate sinners are sometimes most violently agitated, hurrying themselves as fast as they can into a state of repentance. But as this is a temporary repentance, excited merely by a fear of suffering, the effect abides no longer than the cause continues to operate; and so their terrors and their penitence vanish together. When there was alarming thunder and destructive hail in the land of Egypt, and fire from the Lord ran along the ground, even Pharaoh could recollect himself, and say, “I have sinned this time: the Lord is righteous, and I and my people are wicked. But when he saw that the rain, and the hail, and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants.” Such is the fruitless issue of that involuntary repentance, which has no principle of Divine grace to support it. The moral of this distinction is obvious: the whole being a figurative monition, that a sordid and groveling way of life was to be abhorred by those who professed to serve God; whose mind being under the direction of revealed truth, and influence of the Holy Spirit, their affections were to be raised from vice to virtue, from pollution to purity, from things temporal to things eternal. There are many persons who bury themselves in the mud like the Eel, drown their senses in eating and drinking, or waste their precious time in sleep and idleness;[150] utterly disregarding all serious reflection, devotional elevation, holy rectitude, and spiritual enjoyment. Our Saviour, who spake many things to the Jews in parables, says, “The kingdom of heaven is like unto a net that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.” This was spoken to fishermen, who had been called from their employment by our Lord, and to whom he said, “I will make you fishers of men.” They had hitherto been laboring to catch fish, but hereafter they were to catch men: thus their secular calling is turned into a spiritual channel. The word σωγηνη is said to mean _a drag-net_, the particular use of which is to drag fishes up from the bottom of the water. The similitude between that occupation from which, and that employment to which our Saviour called them, consists in these particulars:--the sea in which they were now to fish is the world, the fishes they were to catch are Jews and Gentiles, the net with which they were to catch them is the Gospel, and they themselves were to be fishermen. Or thus:--by the _net_ may be understood the Gospel; by the _sea_ into which it is cast, the unconverted world; by _casting_ the net into the sea, the preaching of the Gospel; by _those_ that cast the net into the sea, ministers; by the _fishes_ enclosed, the hearers; by the net _gathering of every kind_ of fishes, profane persons as well as sincere Christians; by the net being _full_ and _drawn to shore_, a set time coming when the Gospel shall have fulfilled that for which it was sent, the mystery of God being finished; by the _good_ being _gathered into vessels_ as valuable and precious, and the _bad cast away_ as vile and contemptible, that separation which shall be made at the final close of time between merely nominal and real Christians, casting the former into hell, and bringing the latter to heaven.

This parabolical method of conveying important instruction, by which heavenly things are represented and set forth by expressions borrowed from earthly things which are familiar to us, was very ancient, as appears from Jotham’s parable, and much in use among the Jews. It engaged the attention, because it was pleasant; it assisted the memory, which is apt to retain what is conveyed in this form; it excited inquiry after the meaning of what was thereby intended: and, consequently, was likely to be rendered beneficial to the hearers. Father Quesnel remarks, The net of God’s word, animated by his Spirit, draws souls out of the abyss of sin and error, to Christian faith and piety. The net and vessel of the visible church receives both the good and bad fishes, true Christians and hypocrites. This is neither the time, nor the place of distinction; all must continue mixed together till the great day of separation. A man’s being in the church will not infallibly assure him of salvation: as yet there is time to become such as we ought to be. But the moment will come, when all desires and endeavors to this purpose will be attended only with despair. And who knows but this moment may be just at hand. Our faith is very weak if we can think of being separated from the righteous without shuddering. Our love of salvation is very faint, if we do not endeavor earnestly to separate ourselves in this world from the wicked, by the holiness of our lives and conversation.

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_Section_ II.--ON FOWLS.

Number of Species -- Superiority and peculiar Construction -- Skill in building their Nests -- Power and season of Propagation -- Dexterity in providing Food -- Instinct -- Migrations -- Insects -- Religious Improvement.

Not any part of nature is destitute of inhabitants. The woods, the waters, the depths of the earth, have their respective tenants; while the transparent and elastic air, and those regions where man can never soar, but with much art and at considerable risk, are occupied with the most beautiful creatures. Every order of animals is fitted for its situation in life; but none more apparently so than birds. Though inferior to beasts in the scale of nature, yet they hold the next rank, and far surpass fishes and insects, both in the structure of their bodies, and in their sagacity.

The number of species in this order of animals is very numerous, amounting to above eight hundred. As some degree of classification appears necessary, they have therefore been arranged into eight orders. The 1st is the _Struthious_, or Ostrich order, or those which never rise from the earth. This includes the Ostrich, the Cassowary, the Dodo, the Solitary, and the Nazarene. The 2d is the _Rapacious_ order. This includes the Eagle, the Condor, the Vulture, the Falcon, the Shrike, or Butcher-Bird, and the Owl. The 3d is the _Gallinaceous_, or Poultry order, which is without both the talons and the hooked bill of the rapacious kind. This includes the Bustard, the Cock, the Turkey, the Pintada, or Guinea-Hen, the Grous, the Peacock, the Pheasant, the Curassow, the Partridge, and the Quail. The 4th is what some authors have termed the _Columbine_ order. This includes the Dove, or Pigeon, with its varieties. The 5th is the order of _Pies_. This includes the Crow, the Roller, the King-Fisher, the Cuckoo, the Wood-Pecker, the Oriole, the Nuthatch, the Bee-Eater, the Wryneck, the Creeper, the Hornbill, the Parrot, the Ani, the Wattle Bird, the Grackel, the Bird of Paradise, the Beef-Eater, the Curucui, the Barbets, the Jacamer, the Tody, and the Humming Bird. The 6th is the _Passerine_, or Sparrow kind. This includes the Starling, the Thrush, the Chatterers, the Grosbeaks, the Bunting, the Finch, the Fly-Catchers, the Lark, the Wagtail, the Warblers,[151] the Titmouse, the Swallow, the Goatsucker, the Coly, the Tanager, and the Manakins. The 7th is the _Cloven-footed_ Water-Fowl, including those with pinnated feet. This includes the Heron, the Ibis, the Curlow, the Snipe, the Sandpiper, the Plover, the Oyster-Catcher, the Pratincole, the Rail, the Gallinule, the Boatbill, the Umbre, the Jacana, the Sheathbill; and with pinnated, or finned feet, the Phalarope, the Coot, and the Grebe. And the 8th is the _Web-footed_ Water-Fowl. This includes the Avoset, the Courier, the Flamingo, the Auk, the Guillemot, the Diver, the Tern, the Petrels, the Gull, the Mersanger, the Duck, the Pelican, the Albatross, the Skimmer, the Penguin, the Tropic Bird, and the Darter. These eight orders take in the several species belonging to each, some of which are very numerous; the Duck genus alone embraces one hundred species, differing much both in size and plumage. Thus we see in birds also, that God has shown his wisdom and his power, in the gradation from the vast Ostrich, and Cassowary, to the Humming-Bird, which, in size is not much larger than the Bee.

“The _ourissia_, bee-like in its size, _Humming_ from flower to flower delighted flies, And in a wondrous living rainbow drest, Shifts all its colors on its wings and breast.”

Of all animated beings, this little bird is the most elegant in form, and superb in colors. The emerald, the ruby, and the topaz, sparkle in its plumage, which is never soiled by the dust of the ground. In Mr. Bullock’s Museum, Piccadilly, there is a case containing more than one hundred _Humming-birds_; and in the “Companion” to this delightfull repository of natural history, an interesting account is given of this little creature, that flutters from flower to flower, breathes their freshness, wantons on the wings of the cooling zephyrs, sips the nectar of a thousand sweets, and resides in climes where reigns the beauty of eternal spring.

The legs, the wings, the bones, even all parts of their bodies, are much lighter, firmer, and more compact in birds than in other animals. Their lungs are extended over all the cavities of their bodies. Carniverous birds, like carniverous quadrupeds, have but one stomach, where their food is moistened or swelled; a gizzard, which is a very hard muscle, almost cartilaginous, and which they commonly fill with small stones, where the food is afterwards ground, in order to facilitate its complete digestion. In birds there is no ruminating: but in such as are not carniverous, the food is immediately swallowed into the crop, or anti-stomach (which is observed in many, especially piscivorous birds,) where it is moistened by some proper juice, and then transferred to the gizzard, by the working of whose muscles, assisted by small pebbles, swallowed for that purpose, it is ground small, and so transmitted to the intestines.

Birds we find supplied with a corney substance, instead of teeth and lips. Their bills are cut into various shapes, adapted to their different habits. The sharp edge and tempered point of the Sparrow’s beak, enables it to pick every seed from its concealment; breaking the grain to obtain the kernel. The hooked beak of the Hawk separates, like a dissector’s knife, the flesh from the bones of the animals on which it preys. The spoon-bill of the Goose enables her to graze, and collect food from the bottoms of the pools. Birds of the Crane kind, which seek their food among the waters, having no web-feet, are supplied with long legs for wading, or long bills for groping, and usually both: these are admirably adapted to the shallow pools of water, or sides of rivers, which they frequent. But in birds living by suction, they are serrated, or tooth-like; these do not serve the purpose of teeth, but act as a sieve, or strainer, separating nicely from mud some nutriment conducive to the preservation of life.

The sense of seeing in birds is remarkably acute; and though their want of external ears is supplied by only two small orifices or ear-holes, yet they do not appear deficient in hearing. The scent of some species is exquisitely delicate. Men who attend decoys where ducks are caught, generally keep a piece of turf lighted, on which they breathe, lest the fowls should smell them and fly away. The voice of birds is much louder in proportion to their size, than that of other animals; for in fact, the bellowing of an Ox is not heard at a much greater distance than the scream of a Peacock.

The covering of birds is perhaps one of the most beautiful. Their feathers are light, smooth, and warm, inclining backward, downy at the stem, overlapping at their tips, beautifully variegated, and forming a raiment, varying in circumstances, so as always to suit the habits of the bird. The construction of a single feather is “a mechanical wonder.” We see at the stem, a tough, light, pliant, and elastic material, only found in feathers; also the pith, which feeds the feathers, a substance peculiar to that purpose; likewise the beard, which grows on each side of the stem, and is stripped off when making pens, the separate threads of which are called filaments, or rays. These appear stronger when pressed perpendicularly to their plane, than when rubbed either up or down in the line of the stem; and this arises from the laminæ, of which these beards are composed, being flat, and placed with their flat sides towards each other. Hence, though they are easily made to approximate each other, yet they require more force in a contrary direction, having to encounter the impulse of the air, which requires more strength. We find also, that these threads, in their natural state, unite; and cannot, be parted without force, although not joined by any glutinous adhesion, but by a mechanical contrivance. And, if separated by force or accident, when brought together they immediately reclasp, resuming their former smoothness. These threads are interlaced with each other, by means of a vast number of fibres, or teeth, which they protrude on each side; fifty of these have been counted in 1-20th of an inch: they are curved after a different manner from the filaments on which they grow. Those which proceed from the side toward the beginning of the quill-end, are shorter, firmer, and turn upward. Those on the side toward the extremity of the feather, are longer, more flexible, and bent downward. They therefore act thus; when the two laminæ are pressed together, so that the long fibres are forced far enough over the short ones, their crooked parts fall into the cavity made by the crooked parts of the others, just as a latch enters the cavity of a catch on the door post. All this beautiful structure may be seen by the microscope. In the Ostrich, whose feathers, or other filaments, hang loose like down, this mechanism is wanting. But as this bird does not fly, and requires assistance only in running, perhaps this formation is best adapted for that purpose. Small birds, which do not migrate in the winter season, have the inner side of their feathers black, because this is the warmest color: hence the heat of the bird is prevented from escaping.

The feathers of birds appear to be nourished and preserved in a remarkable manner; especially those that much frequent waters, for they have a larger supply of oily substance, with which to trim them. Lest the feathers should be injured by exposure to the air, every bird is furnished with a gland situated on the rump, containing a proper quantity of oil, which it presses out with its beak, and with which it occasionally anoints them. In water fowls, this oil is so plentiful, that it even imparts a degree of rancidity to the flesh; and by it, their plumy coat is rendered completely waterproof.

As God made the fowls “that they might fly in the firmament of heaven,” so has he adapted the form of their bodies, and the structure and disposition of their plumage, for that very purpose. The head and neck in flying, are drawn principally within the breastbone, so that the whole underpart exhibits the appearance of a ship’s hull. The wings are used as sails, or rather oars, and the tail as a helm or rudder. By means of these, the creature is not only able to preserve the centre of gravity, but also to accelerate its speed through the air, either straight forward, circularly in any kind of angle, as well as upward or downward. Though the greatest part of the aërial creation are adorned with feathers, yet has the Deity enabled several to fly without them; such as the Bat, one species of Lizard, two sorts of fishes, and numberless kinds of insects.

The skill with which birds erect their houses, and adjust their apartments, is inimitable. The caution with which they conceal them from the searching eye, or intruding hand, is admirable. They fix their nests on the pliant branches that wave aloft in the air, or are suspended over the flowing stream: by these means the vernal gales rock their cradle, and the murmuring waters lull their young; while both concur to terrify their enemies, and have a tendency to prohibit their approach. Some hide their downy offspring from view, amidst the shelter of entangled furze. Others, with wary solicitude, place them in the centre of a thorny thicket. And thus, by a variety of expedients, they are generally as secure, as if intrenched behind an impregnable mound.

“Some to the holly-hedge Nestling repair, and to the thicket some; Some to the rude protection of the thorn Commit their feeble offspring: the cleft tree Offers its kind concealment to a few, Their food its insects, and its moss their nests. Others apart, far in the grassy dale, Or roughening waste, their humble texture weave. But most in woodland solitudes delight, In unfrequented glooms, or shaggy banks, Steep, and divided by a babbling brook, Whose murmurs soothe them all the live-long day, When by kind duty fixed. Among the roots Of hazel, pendent o’er the plaintive stream, They frame the first foundation of their domes; Dry sprigs of trees, in artful fabric laid, And bound with clay together. Now ’tis nought But restless hurry through the busy air, Beat by unnumbered wings. The Swallow sweeps The slimy pool, to build his hanging house Intent. And often, from the careless back Of herds and flocks, a thousand tugging bills Pluck hair and wool; and oft, when unobserved, Steal from the barn a straw: till soft and warm Clean and complete, their habitation grows.”

If the Swan has large sweeping wings, and a copious stock of feathers, to spread over his callow young; the Wren supplies by contrivance what is wanting in her bulk. Though small, she has to nurse a very numerous issue; therefore with surprising sagacity designs, and with wonderful diligence finishes her nest, being a neat oval, bottomed and vaulted over with a regular concave, within made soft with down, without thatched with moss, and having only a small aperture left for her entrance.

“It wins my admiration, To view the structure of that little work, _A bird’s nest_. Mark it well within, without. No tool had he that wrought, no knife to cut, No nail to fix, no bodkin to insert, No glue to join: his little beak was all, And yet how neatly finished!”

By this means, the animating heat of her body is greatly increased during the time of incubation. And her young no sooner burst the shell, than they find themselves screened from the annoyance of weather, and comfortably reposed, till they gather sufficient strength and plumage in their warm recess, to make their first essay into the wide expanse.

As to the succession of this class of animals, some are endued with a remarkable power of propagating, while others are confined within narrow limits. In general, the least animals, and those which are useful and serve for nourishment to the greatest number of other animals, are the most prolific. The Hawk kind generally lay not more than two eggs, or at most four; while the Poultry species produce from 50 to 100. The Diver, or Loon, which is eaten by a few animals, lays also two eggs; but the Duck kind, the Moorgame, Partridges, &c, and small birds, lay a very great number. If we suppose two pigeons to hatch nine times a year, they may produce in four years 14,760 young!

Birds generate in that particular season which supplies them with a stock of provisions, sufficient, not only for themselves, but for their increasing families. They hatch their young when new-born insects swarm on every side. So that the caterer, whether it be the male or female parent, needs only alight on the ground, or make a short excursion into the air, to find a repast ready dressed for the tender charge at home. The love they have for their offspring, while helpless, is invincibly strong.[152] They nurse them with the greatest care, caress them with affectionate notes, put food into their mouths, cherish and keep them warm, teach them to pick, eat, and gather food: whereas, the moment they are able to provide for themselves, this anxious care vanishes as though it had never been. The Hen, while catering for her little brood, would fly at a mastiff in their defence: yet, in a few weeks, leaves them to their own protection, not regarding them any more than others of the same species.

They also provide their food with admirable art, which dexterity they bring into the world with them. Some birds, though not aquatic, live on fish: and must necessarily find it more difficult to seize their prey than Water-fowl. From whence do they derive this natural instinct? They stand on the brink of the liquid element, and when a shoal of fish comes (which they can discover at a distance,) they pursue them, skim along the surface, suddenly dive into the water, and carry off a fish.[153] Who gave the birds of prey their piercing sight, undaunted courage, and the destructive weapons, without which they could not possibly subsist? Who points out to the Stork the place where she may find frogs[154] and insects for her support? In order to procure these, she must seek them not only in meadows, but also in the furrows of fields; and continue her search till the approach of morning, when the other birds awake and begin to quit their places of retreat. What amazing strength must the Condor have, seeing it can carry away a sheep, a deer, and even prey on the ox itself! How can we reconcile that maternal instinct which causes the quail to adopt little birds of every species, which she not only takes under her protection, but bestows on them her tenderest cares! What cunning does the Crow use to secure the prey, which she cannot devour at once? She hides it in places such as other Crows do not frequent, and when hungry again, how well does she know where she has deposited it![155]

There are also several birds, which, when food begins to fail, hide themselves in the earth, or in caves, in a torpid state, during the winter. We are assured, at least, that before the approach of this season, the Strand-Swallows conceal themselves in the earth; the Wall-Swallows repair to the holes of trees and old buildings; and the House, or Common Swallows seek for ponds, where they fasten themselves in pairs, cling to roots or weeds, continue without motion, and apparently without life, till the return of spring, when they are re-animated, and return from that state of torpidity.

The infinitely wise Creator has given different instincts to birds; none of which is superfluous, or useless, but each is indispensably necessary to the preservation and well-being of the animal. The motion of birds not only requires strength and well-formed pliant limbs, but also instinct to direct their movements. They have each two feet; but their bodies do not rest perpendicularly on them, for they project both before and behind; and yet a chick will stand upright and run about almost as soon as it leaves the shell. Young Ducks, just hatched by a Hen, know their own element, and swim about in the water without example or instruction. Other birds know how to rise up from their nests into the air, balance themselves, pursue their course, make equal strokes with their wings in true time, stretch out their feet to equipoise their bodies, use their tails like an oar or rudder, to direct their flight, and make long journeys from their native country to unknown regions.

The migration of birds is truly astonishing! Very few spend the winter with us: the Yellow-Hammer, the Chaffinch, the Crow, the Raven, the Sparrow, the Wren, the Partridge, the Robin, and the Fieldfare, are the principal. Most of the others either retire to some invisible resort, or leave us entirely. Some kinds of birds, without taking any high flight, or setting off in troops, draw gradually towards the south, to seek those seeds and fruits which are most congenial to their taste; but they speedily return. Others, which are termed “birds of passage,” collect at certain seasons in large flocks, and fly off to other climates; they even cross the seas, and make excursions of a surprising length. The best known birds of this description are, the Quail, the Swallow, the Wild-Duck, the Plover, the Snipe, and the Crane, with some others, which subsist on worms. In spring, the Cranes pass from Africa into Europe, in order to enjoy a more temperate climate. They migrate in flocks like clouds; and sometimes, their strength being nearly exhausted, alight on ships, and are taken without any difficulty. Swallows act in a different way: while some continue in Europe, and seclude themselves from our view as already observed, others cross the seas. Wild-Ducks and Cranes also repair at the approach of winter to milder climates. They all assemble on a certain day, and take their flight together. They commonly arrange themselves in two lines, united in one point like an inverted ʌ, with a bird at the head, and others following in the lines: whose beaks always rest on the tails of those preceding. The leader holds only a temporary commission: and having relinquished his charge, rests himself, and is replaced by another. But all birds of passage do not take their departure in flocks: for there are some which travel alone; and others with their females and young. It has been computed that they may easily go 200 miles in six hours each day, supposing they can take rest at intervals, or during the night. According to this calculation, they may pass from our climates to the Equinoctial line in seven or eight days! This conjecture has been verified; for Swallows have been seen on the coast of Senegal on the 9th of October, which was eight or nine days after their leaving Europe.

These migrations are wonderful in every point of view! Doubtless the difference of heat and cold, and want of food, apprize them of the necessity of changing their abode. But what reason can be assigned for their departure at the appointed time, when the season is sufficiently mild, and food still in abundance, to invite their continuance among us? How do they know that other climates will afford them necessary food and warmth? By what operative power are they impelled to make this exit at the same period, as if preconcerted by mutual agreement? How can they, notwithstanding the darkness of the nights, the perplexity of the road, and the remoteness of the countries to which they are destined, still hold on in a direct course? Nature does not teach them all this art, industry, and penetration, which so much surprise us: if we separate nature from its great Author, it is then a word destitute of meaning.

“Nature is but a name for an effect, Whose cause is God.”

It is He alone who gives wisdom to the fowls of the air.

God’s superintendence over birds is particularly noticed by our Saviour. “Behold the fowls of the air; for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them.” God extends his providential care to all his creatures, not only to those which are domesticated and receive their supplies from men, but also to the fowls of the air. By a natural instinct they know how to select that kind of food which is suitable for aliment, and where to procure it; but they are without any particular solicitude and forecast: nor have they need of these, because God takes care to provide for them. St. Luke mentions the Ravens, which are carniverous creatures. “Consider,” says he, “the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn: and God feedeth them.” God asks Job, “Who provideth for the raven his food?” There are but three things which concern such creatures; how their craving appetites may be satiated, where they may repose, and by what means they may be protected from the incursions of their enemies: and for all these God has amply provided. He takes care of their food: “he giveth food to the young ravens which cry,” and are the most helpless of all creatures. Naturalists observe, that the Raven exposes her young ones as soon as they are hatched, leaves them to provide for themselves, and struggle with hunger as soon as they emerge into life; so they certainly would perish, if Providence did not interfere in their behalf. But God makes them his charge, and supplies their voracious cravings in due time, whether by the insect, the reptile, or the dew from heaven. He protects their rest, and renders their habitations places of refuge and safety. “The trees of the Lord are full of sap: the cedars of Lebanon which he hath planted; where the birds make their nests: as for the Stork, the fir-trees are her house.”

The meanest classes of sensitive beings are endued with the faculty of instinct: a sagacity which is neither derived from observation, nor awaits the finishing hand of experience; which without a tutor teaches them all necessary skill, and enables them, without a pattern, to perform every needful operation. And what is more remarkable, it never misleads them, either into erroneous principles, or pernicious practices: nor ever fails to aid them in the most nice and difficult of their undertakings.--The inhabitants of the hive subsist as a regular community.

----“As _bees_ In Spring-time, when the sun with Taurus rides, Pour fourth their populous youth about the hive In clusters; they among fresh dews and flowers Fly to and fro, or on the smoothed plank, The suburb of their straw-built citadel, New rubbed with balm, expatiate and confer Their state affairs: so thick the aëry crowd Swarmed and were straitened.”

Their indulgent Creator has given them all implements necessary either for constructing combs, or composing honey. Bees have each a portable vessel, in which they bring home their collected sweets: and have the most commodious storehouses, wherein to deposit them. They readily distinguish every plant, which affords materials for their business; and are complete practitioners in the arts of separation and refinement. Aware that the vernal bloom and summer sun are but for a season, they improve to the utmost every shining hour, and lay up a stock sufficient to supply the whole society, till their flowery harvest shall return.

Insects, which some persons may consider as so many rude scraps of creation, ought to be classed among the most polished pieces of Divine workmanship.

----“In the vast and the minute The unambiguous footsteps of the God, Who gives its lustre to an insect’s wing, And wheels his throne upon the rolling worlds.”

“The first state in which insects appear, is that of the _ovum_ or egg; from the egg is hatched the insect in its larva or caterpillar state. The larva, or maggot, crawls on many feet, and is extremely voracious, devouring the herbage, and stripping trees of their leaves. When the time arrives in which the larva or caterpillar is to change into the next state, namely, that of chrysalis, or _pupa_, it ceases to feed; and having placed itself in some quiet situation for the purpose, lies still for several hours; and then by a kind of laborious effort, frequently repeated, divests itself of its external skin, or larva coat, and immediately appears in the very different form of a chrysalis or _pupa_. From this state emerges, at length, the insect, in its complete or ultimate form, from which it can never change; nor can it receive any further increase of growth. This last stage is denominated _imago_.”

“Waked by his warmer ray, the reptile young Come winged abroad; by the light air upborne, Lighter, and full of soul. From every chink, And secret corner, where they slept away The wintery storms; or rising from their tombs, To higher life; by myriads, forth at once, Swarming they pour; of all the varied hues Their beauty-beaming parent can disclose. Ten thousand forms! ten thousand different tribes! People the blaze.”

Many of them are decked with the richest finery. Their eyes are an assemblage of microscopes. The common Fly, for instance, perpetually surrounded with enemies, having neither strength to resist, nor a retreat to secure herself, has need to be very vigilant, and always on her guard: but her head is so fixed that she cannot turn it to see her danger; Providence, therefore, to supply this apparent defect, has given her more than a legion of eyes, insomuch that a single Fly is supposed to have no less than eight thousand. Nay, it is asserted that the common Dragon-fly is furnished with 25,000 of these diminutive lenses! By the help of this truly amazing apparatus, she sees on every side, with the utmost ease and speed, though without any motion of the eye, or inflection of the neck. The dress of insects is a vesture of resplendent colors, bespangled with an arrangement of the brightest gems.

“The little _gnat_, in beauties, may compare With all his rival brothers of the air; Transparent feathers, purple, green and gold, His wings, small feet, and gay-fringed tail enfold. Four sharpened spears his head with weapons arm, And his pearled eyes with liveliest graces charm. In down of ev’ry variegated dye Shines, fluttering soft, the gaudy _butterfly_, That powder which thy spoiling hand disdains, The forms of quills and painted plumes contains; Nor courts can more magnificence express, In all their blaze of gems and pomp of dress.”

The expansion of their wings displays the finest texture imaginable, compared to which lawn is as course as sackcloth. The cases, which inclose their wings, glitter with the finest varnish, are scooped into ornamental flutings, studded with radiant spots, or pinked with elegant holes. Not one but is endued with weapons to seize his prey, and dexterity to escape his foe, to despatch the business of his station, and enjoy the pleasure of his condition. It is affirmed that the female of the common house-fly is capable of producing 20 millions 80 thousand 320; hence we cannot wonder at their swarming so much in autumn.

[Our author has devoted very few remarks indeed to _insects_; yet the history of this class of creatures is as interesting as any other, and is attracting considerable attention. Their history is very far from being complete: their _number_ is not known. They inhabit the air, water, and earth. This family of creatures is called _insects_, because of the _articulations_ of the body, so as to appear notched, or intersected. A brief notice of some of their principal parts follows, which is chiefly taken from No. VIII, of the Family Library, published by J. & J. Harper, New-York.

_Mouth._--All insects either _divide_ their food, or _suck_ it. In those which divide their food, the parts of the mouth are, an upper lip, and an under lip fixed to a piece called the chin; between these two there are four lateral pieces, two on each side; the two upper are called mandibles, the two lower, jaws. The mandibles, or upper jaws cut the food: the lower jaws divide and masticate it.

The mouth of those insects which suck their food, is elongated into a tongue or proboscis. This is a tube attached to the head. In some it is composed of two pieces connected by a joint; for if it were constantly extended it would be too much exposed to accidental injuries: therefore, in its indolent state it is securely doubled up by means of this joint. In some species, as the butterfly, the proboscis, when not in use, is coiled up like a watch-spring. In some it is shut up in a sharp-pointed sheath, which is of firmer texture than the proboscis, and by which the insect pierces the food, and then opens it within the wound to allow the proboscis to perform its office by extracting the juice.

_Antennæ._--These are very slender arms resembling hairs, which project from the heads of almost all insects. There are generally two to each insect, which diverge somewhat. The insects can move them in all directions, and when they are seen doing this it commonly suggests the idea that these antennæ are _feelers_. However, their functions are not certainly known: some suppose them to be organs of sense.

_Eyes._--These are generally found in the head of insects. Their real number is, usually, two: the surfaces of which are cut into many small faces; more than seventeen thousand have been counted in the butterfly. Each face on the insect’s eye is considered as a crystalline lens, concave within, and convex without. They have no eye-lids.

_Thorax, or throat._--This is the second division of the body, and is placed directly behind the head. To the thorax are attached the wings and legs: commonly three legs on each side. Two membranes compose the wing, placed one above the other. Cords, or small nerves, are found in the upper one. The expansion of the wing is owing, as is supposed, to the introduction of a fluid, at the will of the insect, into hollow vessels which are detected in the composition of the wing.

_Abdomen._--This is the third division of the insect, and is immediately connected with the thorax by articulation: it is composed of rings from one to fifteen. Most of these rings have an open pore placed laterally, through which air has access to the fluids in the body. In some insects the last ring contains the anus; in others, the organs of generation; or the means of defence, as a sting.

_Muscles._--These are said to be disposed in bundles, the fibres of which are not connected by a cellular membrane: they are fixed to the hard parts, which are to be moved by horny tendons.

The thorax contains the muscles which move the head up or down, and those also which move the wings and the feet. In some the muscles amount to four thousand. The muscular power of some of these insects is astonishing, as may be known by the distance they can leap: as the flea, and others, which leap two hundred times their own length. If man could do this he would leap at a single effort, more than one thousand feet.

All insects are supposed to have a knotted nervous system. The knot nearest the head is composed of two lobes, from which nerves pass to the eyes, antennæ, and mouth.

These are the principal common parts of insects. It would be a delightful task to enter into a minute description of their genera, species, habits, modes of life, subsistence, defence, attack, &c. Only two or three can be noticed, which must be taken as a specimen of the whole.

_The_ BEE.--This insect has attracted the attention of the observing in all ages. On a pleasant summer’s day the hive presents the appearance of a busy, and populous city--the gates appear to be crowded with many workmen--some going to search for food, and others returning with it--some building--some tending the young--some cleansing the dwelling, and others carrying out the dead, and, apparently, performing some honorable sepulchral rites, &c.

_The hive._--The interior of a bee-hive is itself a world of wonders. It is not, as is commonly supposed, the same in the form of its construction in all hives, it varies according to circumstances. Yet there are some general principles which seem to be common to all honeycombs: they do not touch each other, but always are sufficiently far apart to allow room to work on the opposite faces of each comb. The combs are placed vertically in the hive, and each complete comb is composed of two layers of six-sided cells, united by a common base. These two layers of six-sided cells are not united by a common base with a _flat_ bottom to each cell: but the hexagonal tube terminates at the bottom in a _three-sided pyramidal cavity_. The angle, formed at the apex of this pyramidal cavity, is 70° 32ʹ--and the angle formed at the base of the hexagonal tube, or cell, is 109° 28ʹ. By this construction Reaumur has demonstrated, that the bee has formed his comb on the only plan which could produce cells of a determinate size, equal and similar, in the strongest manner, occupying the least space, and requiring the least quantity of matter.

The wax, out of which the cells are formed, is not the same simple substance as honey, extracted from the flowers: it seems to be elaborated by the bees in their bodies, and deposited under their bellies in the form of scales. It is produced from a nectar obtained from flowers, which is swallowed by the bee in the greatest possible quantity, after which the bee hangs motionless in the hive for twenty-four hours, during which time the wax is elaborated and deposited under the belly in thin scales resembling talc.

Some of the cells are filled with honey, and some are found to contain the young bee in the condition of larva.

The bees which inhabit a hive may be regarded as a community, which is found to be divided into three classes: the queen--the males--and the workers, which are of no sex.

_The Queen._--She is the common mother of the hive, and deposits all the eggs from which the young ones come: she appears to be in size between the males and workers, but longer than either.

The attention or reverence, with which the queen-bee is regarded, is very remarkable. Upon withdrawing the queen from a hive the workers are thrown into the greatest consternation; they desist from work, run wildly through the hive, and refuse all nourishment. This they do for twenty-four hours, after which time a new queen will be received kindly, if offered them; but previously, they pay no attention to a strange queen, though introduced among them.

If no queen can be found, Schirach discovered, and Huber has confirmed it, _that the bees have power to create a queen_, in the following manner. They build some _royal_ cells (for there are different kinds) into which they put the common worker-worm, i.e. the grub which produces the work-bee, and feed the insect with royal food, which is more pungent than the common bee-food; and in a few days they have a queen-bee produced, instead of a work-bee; then all is well.

The queen is always attended with a train, which wait upon her, do her homage, caress and feed her, by presenting her with honey. If they lose their own queen, and a stranger queen is introduced, after twenty-four hours, they commence their reverence for the new sovereign by surrounding her, caressing her, feeding her, and opening a way for her when she moves.

Their devotions to their queen do not cease if she become sterile, or die. Their veneration and tender attentions appear to increase towards the dead body of their queen. It is a well known fact, that the community perishes if they cannot procure a queen by any means.

_The combats of the queens._--The bees seem to be purely monarchial in their constitution of government. This will appear from the following extraordinary facts:

If a strange queen be introduced into the hive where there is a queen, the working-bees immediately seize upon her, and detain her a prisoner: as soon as this is done, another party hastens away to the reigning queen and surround her. They then force the queens towards each other, in order to make them decide the sovereignty of the hive in mortal combat. The conquerer is cheerfully taken for the reigning sovereign.

Nor is it difficult to bring the rival queens to an engagement: so soon as they recognize each other they rush furiously to the combat, and the one or the other quickly inflicts a mortal wound by piercing the belly of the antagonist between the rings, by means of the sting.

So exclusive is the passion of the queen for sovereignty, that she puts to death the young queens, so soon as she ascertains them to be such. This she does even in the cells, before they have come forth.

_The male bees._--These seem not to have attracted much interest. They are not very numerous in the hive; generally not exceeding an hundred or two. They are the largest in size, and live perfectly idle.

_The working bees._--These, as their name imports, perform the labors of the hive. The details of their labors cannot be admitted here.

There is one question, in regard to bees, which is difficult and curious: their senses. From the best observations, and experiments, it would seem as if the antennæ, or feelers, were the principal organs of sense. Upon taking away the queen, in about an hour some one bee discovers it, and becomes instantly agitated, and runs furiously about the hive: the first companion he meets they cross their feelers mutually, the discoverer giving his neighbor a gentle tap with the feeler, and he in turn commences running furiously about the hive, communicating the intelligence in a similar manner; until the whole hive is in an uproar.

Huber introduced a queen to a hive, after twenty-four hours absence of their own queen. The working bees which were nearest immediately approached and touched her with their feelers, and passing their trunks over every part of her body, gave her honey. Then these gave place to others which treated her in a similar manner; and all, with a vibration of their wings, arranged themselves around their new sovereign.

From some experiments of Huber, it seems that the antennæ, or feelers of bees are the organs of communication. He thinks they have no organ for hearing. Their power of vision is very clear and strong. Anciently, in New-England, the honey-hunters are said to have found the nest of wild bees in the following manner: they placed a plate of honey in the woods, and when the bees came to get it, they caught two or three of them, the bee-hunter would let one go, and observe his course, by a pocket compass, as he flew to the nest: he would then walk off at a right angle a few hundred yards, and let another bee go, and observe the course: the angle, or point at which these two lines, described by the flights of the bees, met, the hunter knew to be the place where the bee-nest was.

The manner in which bees take their rest is a matter of curiosity. Some attach themselves to a part of the hive, by their fore-feet, and extend their hind-feet down: the next bee by his fore-feet takes hold of the hind-feet of the first bee, and thus suspends himself; others attach themselves in like manner, until they form clusters, or festoons. In this condition they take their rest.

It will be interesting to learn something of the _sting_ of the bee. It is situated in the lower end of the ringed-body: it is composed of three parts: the sheath, and two darts which are enclosed in it, very small and penetrating. The darts are barbed. When the bee strikes with its sting, the sharp and hard point of the hollow sheath strikes and penetrates first, and the two darts are immediately thrust into the incision made by the sheath; and at the same time the bee injects a poisonous liquor into the wound, which causes the pain and inflammation. In some instances the sting is struck in so deeply the bee cannot extricate it: in that case the wound is more painful, but the loss proves fatal to the bee.

Destructive combats frequently take place between different hives; and many perish on both sides. Occasionally single combats, or duels, take place, which always prove fatal to one or the other. Instances are known, in which the bees of one hive plunder the bees of another. In this case a battle generally ensues. And what is more astonishing still, sometimes the hive-bees will, five or six of them, surround an _humble-bee_, and rob him of his honey, as he is returning home of an evening. Indeed a whole volume might be written, and the natural history of the bee not be exhausted.

ANTS.--This insect has justly rivalled the bee in the admiration of the philosopher, and, on some accounts, is considered a more interesting creature. The instinct of this creature does not appear so strikingly as that of the bee: but it exhibits other and higher qualities, approaching to the cardinal virtues of man: such as love, courage, patience, perseverance, &c. The proof of all these will be found in the few brief remarks which follow.

There are various kinds of ants: the fallow ant; the sanguine ant; the legionary ant; the white ant, &c. There are some traits common to all: They live in communities; build cities, or ant-hills; and are divided into general classes, with their appropriate grades and employments, somewhat similar to bees; there are males, females, and neuters, or workers.

They also resemble the bees in their respect for their matrons or queens; though they differ in this respect; they admit of the presence of an indefinite number of queens, which produces no ill consequences whatever. They all are equally caressed, and attended.

There is a very marked difference between the ant and bee. The queens, or matrons of the bees remain in their respective hives, and their presence is necessary to the industry and contentment of the communities. But the matrons or queens of the ants act differently. The male and female ants have wings; the neuters or workers have not. These generally swarm together between July and September. They rise from the ant-hill together, in immense numbers; sometimes the ants of a whole district collect together and rise in the air, and seem only to be sporting; but at this time the females become fecundated. The quantity of ants with wings is so great sometimes, as, says Dr. Bromley, to form a column on the water five or six miles long, eight or ten feet broad, and six inches deep, when they happened to fall into the river.

In this general destruction of the winged ants, some females escape, which quickly divest themselves of their wings, form an ant-hill, and found a new colony by depositing their eggs in it.

It is also well ascertained that the working ants do not permit all the females or queens to escape, but detain some as prisoners, by cropping their wings. They pay every attention to these royal prisoners guarding them diligently, and feeding them liberally. When these females drop their eggs, the workers take them up carefully, and deposit them in their proper places.

These are some of the principal traits common to the ant tribe. A few brief remarks may be made on the principal species.

_The fallow ant._--The wars of this insect is the principal thing which can be noticed here. We have a minute detail, of one long and disastrous battle, by Huber. This battle took place between the inhabitants of two neighboring ant-hills: they met half way: the battle was commenced by single combatants; then they fought in pairs on elevated ground; and finally the battle became general. The attack is generally made by seizing each other by the mandibles, and rearing up on their hind feet so as to bring their abdomens forward, from which they eject a pungent poison upon their adversaries, in order to destroy them. This circumstance gives rise to a pungent smell on the spot. During the combat they are frequently grappled so closely together as to fall on their sides; and others coming to their assistance the group is locked fast in the struggle.

During the action some are found leading away prisoners; others going as couriers to bring fresh troops to the fight, and some in the immediate vicinity of the hills keeping guard, and transacting the common business of the community.

The battle occupied a space of about three feet square, and lasted until the approach of night: then each party retired; but was on the spot next morning at dawn of day, and re-commenced the battle with greater fury, and carnage. It finally terminated without subverting either republic.

It was very remarkable, says Huber, that these ants, in promiscuous combat, should know their own party. In a few cases, for a moment, friends assailed, but rectified the error, instantly, by caressing.

_The legionary ant._ Though the natural history of this insect, throughout, is very interesting, there is place for but one principal fact: i.e. their practice of making the _formica fusca_, or negro ant, a slave. This curious fact was first discovered by Huber, and has since been confirmed by Latreille, and is now admitted readily by naturalists.

A campaign, for the purpose of procuring slaves, was observed closely by Huber on the 17th of June, 1804. The column was first seen crossing the road, being about ten inches long and four broad. He followed them until they approached the nest of the negro ant. The centinels on duty gave the alarm, and the ants rushed out, and made a spirited resistance to the invaders, but were finally driven into their house. The legionary ants then rushed forward, attacked the hill, and took the little city by assault. They remained in it but a few minutes, and returned, each one carrying in his mouth a larva, or young negro ant, and scampered home in confusion.

They never take the old ants captive, but the young, in a state of infancy, and thus raise them in a state of slavery. The consequence is that they are submissive and affectionate, and perform with cheerfulness and fidelity all the domestic duties of a legionary city. They provide house and food for their masters, attend them, and serve them in every possible way.

_The sanguine ant_ is also a slave dealer, and in the same manner as the legionary. Nor is the negro ant the only victim: the _mining ant_ is also reduced to a state of slavery by the legionary, and sanguine ants.

There remains to be stated another circumstance connected with the natural history of ants, which would scarcely be credited, were it not tested by such names as Linnæus, Huber, and Latreille: that is, _they keep milch-cows_. There are certain insects, from which they extract a sweet saccharine fluid for food, as we do milk from cows. The principal insects which are thus used, are the plant-louse, and the gall-insect. Linnæus, and after him other naturalists, call these insects the _milch-cows of the ants_.

The fluid issues from the body of the insect through little tubes placed above the abdomen on either side. When no ants are present the plant-lice emit this liquor from their bodies by a jerking motion: when they are in attendance they suck the juice with great avidity. But what is still more astonishing, the ants compel their milch-cattle to yield their milk, by gently patting them on each side with their antennæ, or feelers. This is properly milking them.

In addition to this the ants take care to appropriate these milch-cattle to themselves, by collecting them in herds, guarding and feeding them. They sometimes make an enclosure around them, or around the tree or plant on which they find them, and thus secure them. Some herds are owned in common by the ant-hill; and others appear to belong to individuals.

The _yellow ant_ is known to remove these plant-lice from the plants, and domesticate them in their hillocks for service in winter.

In conclusion, in regard to ants we may mention their ravages committed on property. In the East and West Indies they are very destructive. They undermine houses in such a manner as to cause them to fall. Some species will devour the wood of a building of small size, in a single night. And it is remarkable that they make their ravages _internally_. One would not observe that they had assailed a beam of timber, unless he should take means to examine its interior. They will devour even the exterior of the timber when they have first coated it over with mud or clay in order to conceal their work. They devour furniture of all kinds, and completely consume the trees which fall in some countries. The extent of the damage which they can do, is incalculable.

These remarks will show what interest the natural history of insects can inspire. It is not permitted to extend the subject further in a note.]

The distinction between _clean_ and _unclean_ Fowls, made in the Scriptures, serves to point out the difference between the two classes of _saints_ and _sinners_ among the human race. Those Fowls were accounted clean, which are gentle in their nature, as the Dove, and musical in their notes, as the Lark; which qualifications are not to be found among birds of prey, as the Ostrich, Eagle, Vulture, Hawk, Cormorant, Raven, Owl, Bat, &c. All these, so far as their instincts and properties are discovered to us, agree so well with the different characters of men, to whom in Scripture they have a symbolical allusion, that none but the infinitely wise Creator could have distinguished and applied their several peculiarities with so much simplicity, brevity, and propriety.

Several of the unclean Fowls feed on filth and dead carcases; whose “young ones” also “suck up blood, and where the slain are, there are they.” Dr. Buchanan, when at the distance of fifty miles from Juggernaut, says, “We know that we are approaching Juggernaut, by the human bones which we have seen for several days strewed by the way. The Vultures seem to live here on human prey: they exhibit a shocking _tameness_. The obscene animals will not leave the body sometimes till we come close to them. Yesterday a woman devoted herself to the idol: this morning, as I passed the place of skulls, nothing remained of her but her bones.” The unrenewed nature of man is no more offended with evil, than a vulture is with human flesh, or a crow is with carrion, on which it feeds with delight.

The unclean Fowls persecute and devour those of a more gentle nature. The Eagle, נשר _nesher_, is from _nasher_ to _lacerate_, _cut_, or _tear to pieces_; hence the _Eagle_, a most rapacious bird of prey, has its name from tearing the flesh of animals it feeds on: and for this purpose, birds of prey have, in general, strong crooked talons and a hooked beak. The Eagle is a cruel bird, exceedingly ravenous, and almost insatiable. This propensity in birds of prey to seize, tear, and devour, is expressive of the violent and malevolent dispositions of some persons, who hate and endeavor to injure those who live in the fear of God, and keep his commandments. Such were the heathens, whom St. Paul has described as “cruel” and “unmerciful, full of envy, murder, and debate,” given up to the vilest passions, and all the uncleanness of “dead works.”

The want of _natural affection_, and a _right understanding_ of Divine things, among ungodly persons, is strikingly exhibited in the character of the Ostrich. This foolish bird, though it has wings, is not able to raise itself from the earth, and is void of that instinctive tenderness, which other creatures feel for their offspring: “which leaveth her eggs in the earth, and warmeth them in the dust, and forgetteth that the foot may crash them, or that the wild beast, may break them. She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers; her labor is in vain without fear; because God hath deprived her of wisdom, neither hath he imparted to her understanding.” The Ostrich lays from thirty to fifty eggs, not placed, like those of some other birds, upon trees, or in the clefts of rocks, but in the sand, forgetting the danger to which they are exposed from the feet of travellers or wild beasts. On the most trivial occasion, she forsakes her eggs, or her young ones, to which, perhaps, she never returns; or, if she does, it may be too late, either to restore life to the one, or preserve the lives of the other. The prophet, applying this want of affection, says, “The daughter of my people is cruel, like the Ostriches in the wilderness.” She is likewise inconsiderate and foolish in her private capacity, says Dr. Shaw, particularly in her choice of food, which is frequently highly detrimental and pernicious to her; for she swallows every thing greedily and indiscriminately, whether it be pieces of rags, leather, wood, stone, or even iron. To secure herself, she will thrust her head into the shrubs, though her body, which, when standing upright, is from six to eight feet in height, from the top of the head to the ground, be exposed. She has a little head, and scarcely any brain: hence historians tell us, that the emperor Heliogabalus, to gratify his luxurious taste, together with other delicacies, such as the combs of Cocks, the tongues of Pheasants and Nightingales, the eggs of Partridges, the heads of Parrots and Peacocks, the brains of Thrushes, had likewise served up to him, at one entertainment, the heads of six hundred Ostriches for the sake of the brains; because, being so very small, a less number would not have been sufficient to make a dish. What an affecting emblematical representation is this singular bird of the moral qualifications and habits of ignorant and wicked men! not to mention the superstitious practice of offering children to Moloch and other diabolical deities; the custom of exposing new-born infants in the woods to perish with hunger, or be devoured by wild beasts; a practice still tolerated among the idolaters of China.

The heathen, who “did not like to retain God in their knowledge, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened,” were in this respect, symbolically represented by the tribe of Owls and Bats, and other birds of night, all of which the law pronounced to be unclean. In the Owl we have a striking image of the sceptic, who loves darkness rather than light, and is more proud of his artificial ignorance than any man ought to be of the most useful knowledge: who could never find Divine truth, because he never loved it; as the Owl is offended with that glory which the sun diffuses over the natural creation. As the day has no charms for the Owl, so revealed religion has nothing wise or wonderful in its nature and design with the unbelieving philosopher; who brings with him to the word of God all that prejudice with which the Owl flies out of its retreat into the sun-shine. Yet he has his admirers; as the hooting of the Owl is music in the ears of another of the same species. This emblematical bird, when exposed to the light of the sun against his will, lets down a conspicuous membrane over his eyes, to guard them from the inconvenient splendor of the orb of day; as the infidel draws a dark veil of evil reasonings and blasphemous objections over his heart, to intercept and weaken the effulgent rays of heavenly truth. The Owl has a natural aversion from the light; and if he breaks through his ordinary rule, and settled habit, so as to appear in the day-time, he is pursued and reprimanded by other birds, as one that is a disgrace to their kind. But the birds which thus express their indignation against the Owl, never kill him, being unarmed and inoffensive in their nature.[156] So an infidel should not be put to death for his detestable and demoralizing principles; but all Christians should agree in giving public notice of him, and showing the world what he is. For internal realities do not always comport with external appearances. The outward appearance of the Owl seems to promise a great degree of gravity and wisdom, while its principles and manners are opposite to the common sense of other birds, and its office in the creation reduces it to the rank of a common mouse-trap. So the philosophers it represented made a pompous display of reason and learning, all of which, so far as they applied these to divinity, were no better than ignorance and folly. “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools;” and by an unaccountable fatality chose this very bird as the emblem of their wisdom; which was accordingly held in great veneration at Athens, the principal seat of heathen learning, as the symbol of Minerva, the tutelar goddess of that city.

The Bat is a sort of monster, partaking of the nature of both a bird and a beast, having feet or claws growing out of its pinions, and contradicts the general order of nature by creeping with the instruments of its flight. What a contrast between this creature and the Lark!

“Up-springs the Lark, Shrill-voiced and loud, the messenger of morn; Ere yet the shadows fly, he, mounted, sings Amid the dawning clouds, and from their haunts Calls up the tuneful nations.”

Nothing can be more pleasing, observes Goldsmith, than to see the Lark warbling upon the wing; raising its note as it soars, till it seems lost in the immense heights above us; the note continuing, the bird itself unseen; to see it then descending with a swell as it comes from the clouds, yet sinking by degrees as it approaches its nest, the spot where all its affections are centered--the spot which has prompted all this joy. While the Lark thus mounts on triumphant wings, soaring up into the heavens with a song of praise to its Creator, this little black animal lies sleeping in holes and cracks of decayed edifices; and if disturbed by any accident, drops down and crawls upon the earth. When darkness prevails, it comes forth from its concealment to haunt the cemeteries of the dead, and desolate places; as if it purposely avoided the society of all cheerful birds, and took a delight in associating with Owls and Beetles in dark and solitary abodes. “The bat is called עטלף _âtalaph_,” according to Parkhurst, “from עט _ât_ to _fly_, and עלף _âlaph_, _darkness_ or _obscurity_, because it flies about in the _dusk of the evening_, and in the _night_; so the Septuagint νυκτερις, from νυξ, the _night_, and the Vulgate, _vespertilio_, from _vesper_, the evening.”

These birds of the night but too appropriately symbolize with persons who love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil. Dr. Shaw, speaking of Ostriches, says, “In the lonesome part of the night they frequently make a very doleful and hideous noise, sometimes resembling the roar of the Lion; at other times the hoarser voices of other quadrupeds, particularly the Bull or Ox.” He adds, “I have often heard them groan as if in the greatest agonies.” Thus--

“The slaves of excess, Their senses to please, Whole nights can bestow, And on in a circle of riot they go; Poor prodigals, they The night into day By revellings turn, And all the restraints of sobriety scorn.

The drunkards proclaim At midnight their shame, Their sacrifice bring, And loud to the praise of _their_ master they sing: The hellish desires Which satan inspires, In sonnets they breathe, And shouting descend to the regions of death.”

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Footnotes - Chapter VI

[141] The great Greenland Whale is a large, heavy animal, usually found from sixty to seventy feet long. The head alone is equal to a third of its bulk; and the cleft of the mouth is above twenty feet long. The upper jaw is furnished with barbs, that lie like the pipes of an organ, the greatest in the middle, and the smallest on the sides; these compose the whale-bone, the longest spars of which are found to be not less than eighteen feet. The fins on each side are from five to eight feet, consisting of bones and muscles, and sufficiently strong to give speed and activity to the great mass of body which they move. The tail is about twenty-four feet broad; and, when the fish is on one side, its blow is tremendous. The skin is smooth and black, and in some places dappled with white and yellow: which, running over the surface, have a very beautiful effect. The outward or scarf skin is no thicker than parchment; but this removed, the real skin appears of about an inch thick, and covers the fat or blubber that lies beneath: this is from eight to twelve inches in thickness; and, when the fish is in health, of a beautiful yellow. The muscles lie beneath: and these, like the flesh of quadrupeds, are very red and tough.

[142] A variety of opinions we meet with concerning the _whale_ which swallowed Jonah, and in whose belly he was _three days and three nights_. The following is offered by Dr. A. Clarke. “That a fish of the _shark_ kind, and not a _whale_, is here meant, _Bochart_ has abundantly proved, vol. iii, col. 742, &c, edit, Leyd. 1692. It is well known, that the throat of a whale is capable of admitting little more than the _arm_ of an ordinary man; but many of the shark species can swallow a whole man; and men have been found whole in the stomachs of several. Every natural history abounds with facts of this kind. Besides, the shark is a native of the _Mediterranean Sea_, in which Jonah was sailing, when swallowed by what the Hebrew terms דג גדול _dog gadol, a great fish_; but every body knows that _whales_ are no produce of the Mediterranean Sea, though some have been by _accident_ found there, as in most parts of the maritime world: but let them be found where they may, there is none of them found capable of swallowing a man.”

[143] The _Torpedo_ is formidable, being well known by the effect it produces when touched: but the manner of its operating is to this hour a mystery to mankind. Such is the unaccountable power it possesses, that, the instant it is touched, it benumbs not only the hand and arm, but sometimes also the whole body. The shock received, by all accounts, much resembles the stroke of an electrical machine; being sudden, tingling, and painful. “The instant,” says Kemfer, “I touched it with my hand, I felt a terrible numbness in my arm, and as far up as the shoulder. Even if one tread on it with the shoe on, it affects not only the leg, but the whole thigh. Those who touch it with the foot, are seized with a stronger palpitation than even those who touch it with the hand. This numbness bears no resemblance to that which we feel when a nerve is a long time pressed, and the foot is said to be asleep: it rather appears like a sudden vapor, which, passing through the pores in an instant, penetrates to the very springs of life; whence it diffuses itself over the whole body, and gives real pain. The nerves are so affected, that the person struck imagines all the bones of his body, and particularly those of the limb that received the blow, are driven out of joint. All this is accompanied with an universal tremor, a sickness of the stomach, a general convulsion, and a total suspension of the faculties of the mind.”

We are in possession of some facts which relate to the manner of its acting. Reaumur, who made several trials on this animal, has at least convinced the world that it is not necessarily, but by an effort, that the Torpedo benumbs the hand of him that touches it. He tried several times, and could easily tell when the fish intended the stroke, and when it would continue harmless. Always before the fish meditated the stroke, it flattened the back, raised the head and the tail; and then by a violent contraction in the opposite side, struck with its back against the pressing finger; while the body, which before was flat, became humped and round. The most probable solution of this phenomenon is, that it depends on electricity. When the fish is dead, the whole power is destroyed, and it may be handled, or eaten with perfect security.

[144] A large herring-fishery is carried on at Douglas, in the Isle of Man. Herrings are so abundant in the neighborhood of Gottenburgh, that 200,000 barrels, on an average, are salted there every year, and about 400,000 are employed in making train oil. Besides these, 50,000 barrels are consumed fresh in the country, or sent to Denmark. Allowing 1,200 fish to each barrel, in this district alone, about 780,000,000 of herrings are caught in a season. In the year 1776, 56,000 barrels were sent to Ireland, and thence exported to the West Indies.

[145] The Indians of Jamaica and Cuba (says Oviedo) go a fishing with the Remora, or Sucking-Fish, which they employ as falconers employ hawks.--This fish, which is not above a span long, is kept for the purpose, and regularly fed. The owner, on a calm morning, carries it out to sea, secured to his canoe by a small but strong line, many fathoms in length; and the moment the creature sees a fish in the water, though at a great distance, it darts away with the swiftness of an arrow, and soon fastens upon it. The Indian, in the mean time, loosens and lets go the line, which is provided with a buoy that keeps on the surface of the sea, and serves to mark the course which the Remora has taken, and pursues it in his canoe until he conceives his game to be nearly exhausted and run down: he then, taking up the buoy, gradually draws the line towards the shore; the Remora still adhering with inflexible tenacity to its prey; and it is with great difficulty that he is made to quit this hold. By this method (adds Oviedo) I have known a turtle caught, of a bulk and weight which no single man could support.--Edward’s West Indies, vol. i. p. 100.

[146] A species of sea turtle, weighing 840 lb. was harpooned and caught on the 27th of September, 1811, off Sandy Hook, near New-York. It measured three feet two inches round the neck, was seven feet long, eight feet in circumference, and seven feet and a half from the extremity of one fin to the other: of a coal black color, with five black ridges on the back resembling the sturgeon. It is said to be a trunk turtle, a native of the East Indies, and was the first ever seen in the American seas. The proprietor of a museum purchased it for fifty dollars.

[147] Sir W. Jones, when in India, formed en acquaintance with an intelligent and respectable Brahmin. The religion of these men permits them not to destroy life, nor to swallow any creature which has possessed it; and so strict are some, that in the season when insects abound, they cover their mouths and nostrils, and sweep the ground on which they walk with a soft broom, that they may not tread on them. Sir William had a solar microscope sent from England, and showing it to his Hindoo friend, demonstrated the impossibility of his eating even fruit and vegetables without swallowing the animalcules which adhere to them. The Brahmin was astonished and seemed gratified; but begged importunately for the microscope, _so_ importunately, that, at length, Sir William reluctantly resigned it to him. A momentary gleam of joy flashed across the Brahmin’s countenance; and, grasping the instrument, he immediately descended from the viranda, where they were conversing, into the garden, when, seizing a stone, he instantly smashed it to pieces. On assigning his reason for this act, which he did a few days afterwards, when his friend’s anger had subsided, he said, “Oh that I had remained in that happy state of ignorance wherein you first found me! Yet will I confess, that, as my knowledge increased, so did my pleasure, until I beheld the last wonders of the microscope. From that moment I have been tormented by doubt, and perplexed by mystery: my mind, overwhelmed by chaotic confusion, knows not where to rest, nor how to extricate itself from such a maze. I am miserable, and must continue so to be, until I enter on another stage of existence. I am a solitary individual, among fifty millions of people, all educated in the same belief with myself, all happy in their ignorance! So may they ever remain! I shall keep the secret within my own bosom, where it will corrode my peace, and break my rest; but I shall have some satisfaction in knowing that I alone feel those pangs which, had I not destroyed the instrument, might have been extensively communicated, and rendered thousands miserable! Forgive me, my valuable friend, and, oh, _convey no more implements of knowledge and destruction_!” These religious prejudices, which cannot bear the light of sound philosophy, we perceive to be the results of lamentable ignorance and degrading superstitions, and it may be hoped will soon be removed by the cultivation of science, and especially the dissemination of the Scriptures. The missionaries now in the East will certainly be of very singular use to the natives.

[148] M. de Saussure, in a letter to Bonnet, says, “Infusion-animalcules multiply by continued divisions and sub-divisions. Those roundish or oval animalcules that have no beak or hook on the fore part of their bodies, divide transversely. A kind of stricture of strangulation begins about the middle of the body, which gradually increases, till the two parts adhere by a small thread only. Then both parts make repeated efforts, till the division is completed. For some time after separation, the two animals remain in seemingly torpid state. They afterwards begin to swim about briskly. Each part is only one half the size of the whole: but they soon acquire the magnitude peculiar to the species, and multiply by similar divisions. To obviate every doubt, I put a single animalcule into a drop of water, which split before my eyes. Next day, I had five; the day after, sixty; and, on the third day, their number was so great, that it was impossible to count them.”--La Palingenesie Philosophique, par C. Bonnet, tom. i. pp. 428, 429.

[149] See Bryant’s Observations upon the Plagues inflicted upon the Egyptians, Part I.

[150] See Jones’s Disquisition concerning clean and unclean Animals.

[151] Nicholas, in his voyage to New-Zealand, vol. i, p. 334, says, “The morning of the 10th of January, 1815, was announced to our enraptured ears by the swelling notes of the woodland choristers, and never either before or since did I hear such delightful harmony. Rising together at an early hour, we fancied ourselves for the moment in some enchanted ground, while the forest seemed to ring with the mellow warblings of nature, and a thousand feathered songsters poured their soft throats in responsive melody. There was, however, one bird that was distinguished from all the rest, as well by the compass and variety of its notes, as by their incomparable sweetness. This bird, which has been brought to Port Jackson, and highly prized there, is called by the colonists the _organ-bird_, and is, I believe, peculiar to New-Zealand: the notes of the Nightingale, however exquisite, are, in my opinion, much inferior to the song of this bird; and I never thought before that either the grove or forest could boast of such a vocal treasure.”

[152] A Martin recently fixed her nest directly over the window of the Inn at Rampside, in Low Farnes. After her young were hatched, she became a very troublesome visitant, by throwing the cleansing of her nest upon the window. The servant-maid, with more attention to cleanliness than humanity, removed the little inconvenience by destroying the nest with a broom. The young birds of course fell to the ground; in the mean time the parents collected a great number of their own species, who quickly built a second nest, sufficiently commodious for the reception of the distressed family, and the young were safely conveyed to their new lodgings by the parents and their assistants.

[153] Dr. Edmonston, in his view of the Zetland islands, says, “The white-tailed Eagle, or Erne, boldly attacks fishes of the largest size. Several desperate combats have been witnessed between this bird and the Halibut. The former strikes his claws into the fish with all his force, determined not to relinquish his hold, and, although but rarely, is sometimes drowned in the attempt to carry off his prize. When he has overcome the Halibut, he raises one of his wings, which serves as a sail, and if favored by the wind, in that attitude drifts towards the land. The moment he touches the shore, he begins to eat out and disengage his claws; but if discovered before this can be effected he falls an easy prey to the first assailant.”

[154] Bellonius says, “The Storks come to Egypt in such abundance, that the fields and meadows, are white with them. Yet the Egyptians are not displeased with this sight; as frogs are generated in such numbers there, that did not the Storks devour them, they would over-run every thing. Besides, they also catch and eat Serpents. Between Belha and Gaza, the fields of Palestine are often desert on account of the abundance of Mice and Rats; and were they not destroyed by the Falcons that come here by instinct, the inhabitants could have no harvest.”

[155] Dr. Edmonston says:--“The crows generally appear in pairs, even during winter, except when attracted to a spot in search of food, or when they assemble for the purpose of holding what is called the _Crow’s court_. This latter institution exhibits a curious fact in their history. Numbers are seen to assemble on a particular hill or field, from many different points. On some occasions the meeting does not appear to be complete before the expiration of a day or two. As soon as all the deputies have arrived, a very general noise and croaking ensue, and, shortly after, the whole fall upon one or two individuals, whom they persecute and beat until they kill them. When this has been accomplished, they quietly disperse.”

On the subject of Gulls, Dr. Edmonston says:--“In the affectionate care of their offspring, these Gulls display great sagacity and even foresight. When the cradle at Noss is about to be slung, the gulls, aware of the approaching capture of their young, are unremitting in their efforts to carry them off. From the first moment that they observe preparations making to enter the holm, they become noisy and restless,

---- ‘and chide, exhort, command, Or push them off,’

so that if bad weather delay the arranging of the cradle, but for a few days, scarcely any are left to be taken away.

“This bird is a great enemy to the fowler, by intimating to other birds his approach. One of them is an inseparable attendant on the _Scarfs_, when they assemble on the rocks for the purpose of drying and resting themselves; and they seem sensible of the good offices of this voluntary guardian, by quietly receiving it among them, and obeying its friendly admonitions.--On the approach of a person from the shore, or of a boat, the Gull having first testified marks of anxiety and apprehension, flies off before either have approached within gunshot, and all the Scarfs, except those who are young and inexperienced, follow. It not merely contents itself with giving them warning in due time, but urges their departure by repeated calls, and sits down in the water, at a considerable distance from the spot from which it fled, as if intending to point out the place where they may consider themselves in safety; and they generally all repair to the same place. To the Seal this bird is of essential service. These animals frequently lie upon the rocks for hours in succession, and so well acquainted are some sportsmen with their haunts, that they raise small bulwarks, or _rests_, to conceal their approach, or wait their arrival behind a rock. The Gull, however, frustrates all these precautions, by first flying over the head of the hunter, and then screaming close to the Seal; and, when the latter is not disposed to avail himself at once of this friendly intimation, I have known them _strike him on the head_ with their feet. As soon as he slips into the water they appear to be perfectly satisfied, as if they then conceived him in a situation to protect himself.

“The Gull seems to consider itself the natural guardian of the coast. If it spies a person at a distance, walking in a cautious manner, in the neighborhood of any bird, it instantly repairs to the spot, and by a keen acute cry, different from the common note, endeavors to inform it of the approaching danger. Ducks and Curlews know the hint quite well, and almost always take advantage of it, and fly off long before the fowler can arrive within gun-shot of them. On these occasions it often comes with a sweep, as if intending to strike the person, who by that means is kept in a state of constant alarm and irritation; but if it do not immediately fly off, after having succeeded in accomplishing the object of its mission, this officious interference not unfrequently draws the vengeance of the fowler on itself, and it falls the victim of its own good intentions. This Gull is not satisfied with having alarmed birds on any particular occasion. It does indeed fly to a distance and sit down, but after its anxiety has been once roused, it never loses sight of the fowler, but follows him at a distance wherever he goes, and unless by pretended inactivity the sportsman can quiet the apprehension of his enemy, it is in vain to think of getting within reach of any bird that is naturally shy and of a timid disposition. The scream of this bird is peculiarly wild, and indicative of anxious impatience.”

[156] Hasselquist, speaking of the _Strix Orientalis_, or Oriental Owl, says, “It is of the size of the common owl, living in the ruins of old deserted houses of Egypt and Syria; and sometimes in inhabited houses. The Arab in Egypt calls it _Massasa_, the Syrians _Bana_. It is very ravenous in Syria, and in the evenings, if the windows be left open, it flies into houses, _and kills infants_, unless they are carefully watched; wherefore the women are much afraid of it.”--Travels, p. 196.

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