PAGE 198, 1. 21. Wax, ufed in dying red. Sealing wax is ftill made of it, and from this, probably comes the name of lac, which the Dutch give to this wax. PAGE 199, 1. 28. The features, fo ftriking. It is not furprifing, that fimilar portraits of wax fhould be like, for the features are moulded on the very face of the person they represent. PAGE 200, 1. 3. *When gnats bite keenly. The cause of this phenomenon feems to be, that the heat, which generally precedes rain, makes them dry, and then, impelled by thirft, they feek gorge themselves with the blood of men or beafts. to *When butterflies do not rife high. When it is about to rain, the air is then heavily loaded with vapours; which obliges butterflies, whofe wings are very delicate, to fly lower than ordinary. PAGE 200, 1. 4. When worms come out from their holes. There is seen, pretty frequently, on the tail of the larger flugs, when they creep, either a particle of earth, or a bit of a blde of grafs, and it is generally faid, that the firft indicates rain, and the latter is a fign of fair weather. This is a prognostic which I have not myfelf examined, and therefore, do not anfwer for the truth of it. PAGE 200, title of the chapter. Theology. The purpose of the author, in the whole of his book, is to draw from the knowledge of infects, practical rules, useful in a theological view. The end of this chapter, to judge of it by the title, would feem to be the fame: it differs, however, in this, that M. Leffer here proposes to fhew, in what infects have contributed to the rites of ceremonial worship, and how they may become an instrument of chastisement, in the hand of God. Here it is God, who makes use of infects to raife us to himself; there we, from the confideration of them, endeavour to employ them for the fame purpose. PAGE PAGE 202, title of the chapter. In jurifprudence. This chapter is fomewhat different from what its title bears; it treats much lefs of the customs and usefulness of infects in jurifprudence, than of the cuftoms and usefulness of jurisprudence in relation to infects: and, as the author appears, in this refpect, to depart from the general tendency of his work, I fhall diffenfe with making those observations on it, which my profeffion would enable me to do. But I cannot forbear remarking by the way, that, if the Pithyocampæ, mentioned by the author, are really true caterpillars of the Pine, as the Greek word fignifies, there would then be a species of poifonous caterpillars, which is not hitherto known, those which the common people believe to be venomous, not being really fo, as I have already mentioned. PAGE 204, 1. 12. Man could hardly imitate. We have, however, found means to accomplish this; and we now make by art, skeletons of leaves, much more perfect than thofe made by infects. PAGE 206, 1. laft. Applications of living worms. These applications are likewife a fpecific remedy in wounds, in order to remove dangerous inflammation. A creditable perfon affured me, that by this means he preferved the finger of a certain patient. The inflammation had proceeded to fuch a length, that it was refolved, if no favourable alteration happened in fourand-twenty hours, to amputate the finger. The person, from whom I have the fact, came in the mean time, and advised the application of living worms, to which the patient having confented, the diseased part was surrounded with them, and in the morning, the inflammation had totally disappeared, and was foon followed by a fuccessful cure. Among those infects without feet, which are useful in medicine, we may likewife place the final and the flug.The latter is fuppofe to be a fuccefsful remedy in Hernia, and in Confumptio. It is known, that the fnail is excellent in the gravel, and that it makes one of the principal ingredients, in that admirable medicine, invented by Mifs Stephens, for diffolving the ftone, which procured her five 3 H thoufand thousand pounds from the British Parliament, on making it public. PAGE 207, 1. 11. Inclofed in a nut-shell. If medicines, applied in this way, ever effect a cure, it must surely be, rather by acting on the imagination than on the body. The fame may be faid of that cure for the cramp, which is, to carry in one's pocket, certain galls which grow on thiftles. At any rate, if this laft were a good one, we would be indebted for it to infects, as thofe galls are produced by the puncture of a fly, which, laying its eggs in the ftalk of that plant, occafions the growth of a gall. which ferves as a lodging-place, and at the fame time, as food for the larvæ to be excluded from the eggs. PAGE 208, 1. 4. The powder of burnt caterpillars. If the powder of every different fort of caterpillar produces this effect, it is probable, that it is not by any particular ftyptic virtue found in the whole tribe of caterpillars, but merely, because every powder, which is not soluble in fluids, and which does not provoke fneezing, is effectual in stopping an hæmorrhage at the nofe, caused by the rupture of fome fmall veffel; for by absorbing the thinner part of the blood, the more grofs part nuft instantly become fixed, and, together with the powder, ftop up the orifice of the vein from which it iffued What prevents me from attributing this effect to any other quality to be found in pulverifed caterpillars, is, that these animals, being often of a very different, and even quite contrary nature to one another, as appears from the oppofite qualities of the food they live on, it is not very probable, that they can all have the same aftringent proper ties. PAGE 209, 1. 32. The cochineal infects. M. Leffer here ranks the cochineal among the beetles; this is an error, into which others have fallen before him. The male of the cochineal is a fly, the female has no wings.- See its defcription above, in the Note on the words, The cochineal is a small worm, p. 421. PAGE PAGE 210, 1. 18. Cantharides are rarely taken internally. They become fa tal when taken in a large dose. I knew a perfon, who, having taken, by mistake, a portion of cantharides, which had been ordered for him as a plaifter, was poifoned; every thing in the power of medicine was done, and his life was faved; but he loft his reafon. PAGE 211, 1. 25. Ufed in perfumery. Among infects, where only a part are furnished with wings, ufed in medicine, we may likewife place the Kermes, from which is drawn that fo much efteemed confection, called, the Aikermes. The fame infect likewife enters into the compofition of the confection called Hyacinth. It fortifies the fœtus, and is one of the best cordials, according to the teftimony of the Royal Society of Sciences at Montpelier. PAGE 212, 1. 18. Devours the entrails of certain infects. The number of infects which are preyed upon by other infects, is not confined to the few fpecies mentioned in this place by the author. The greater part of the weakeft, at least in certain periods of their life, are devoured by the stronger. To fee the war they carry on, a perfon would fay, that they were born merely for the purposes of deftruction. The carnage is chiefly dreadful among the aquatic tribe. There is hardly one of thefe, that does not prey on fome infects finaller than itself; thefe feed on others, which in their turn, eat thofe that are fmaller ftill. We find fome, which do not fpare their own fpecies, and which even feem to prefer them. What a confufion in Nature! But, it is a confufion, neceflary to maintain an order the most effèntial; that of keeping infects in equilibrium, and preventing those which multiply moft, from laying the world in ruins, by their fuperabundance. PAGE 212, 1. 27. The favourite food of the tench. If the fpecies of fifhes, which eat infects, or the fpecies of infects that ferve for food to filhes, were confined to the small number mentioned here by the author, it would be a very triffling matter. All forts of river-fifh, hitherto known, eat infects; and perhaps, 3 H 2 perhaps, there is not any sort of worm or fly which they do not relish so that, whoever would enumerate, either the one or the other, would perhaps be right, in naming the whole at once. PAGE 214, 1. 14. The young armadillos. The armadillo is a fpecies of Indian lizard, to which the Spaniards give this name, because it is armed with very strong scales. *Lyonet is mistaken here. The armadillo is not a lizard; it has indeed fomewhat the habit of a lizard, and is covered, instead of hair, with an offeous cruft, interfected in fuch a manner, as to refemble plates or fcales; but, in every other character, it is a true quadruped; and stands in the clafs Mammalia of Linnæus's System, under the name of Dasypus. PAGE 214, 1. 24. For this purpofe, feek the nefts of wafps. If it is for honey, that foxes seek the nefts of wafps, they are very ill advised, for they will find none there. Let us rather believe, that it is to eat their brood; if there is really any truth in what Elian relates. De Animal. L. IV. C. 39. PAGE 215, 1. 12. Bears, when troubled with indigeftion. When we read of circumstances fo fingular, we are vexed, that the authors who relate them, are never at pains to inform us, by what means they came to the knowledge of thofe circumstances. Had they been pleased to give themselves this trouble, they would thereby have prevented all thofe objections which naturally occur, to render the truth of their relations doubtful. When we read, for inftance, what is here related of the bear, it is natural to enquire, in what country he is fo unfufpicious as to allow his conduct to be fo narrowly infpected? by what marks is he known to be fick? how is he fuppofed to be troubled with indigestion? if it is with honey that he anoints his tongue, how does he find it so conveniently? is there any country, where wild bees do not take care to put their hives out of the reach of injury? how does he preferve himself from being ftung? All these queftions, which we do not fail to afk ourselves, and to which we cannot get an answer, incline us often to reject as fabulous |