ITS NATURAL HISTORY. 27 



cock and roach, but has really nothing to do with either. The 

 lexicographers usually hold their peace about it, or give deriva- 

 tions which are absurd. Mr. James M. Miall informs us that 

 " CockroacJi can be traced to the Spanish cucardcha, a diminutive 

 form of cuco or coco (Lat. coccum, a berry). Cucardcha is used 

 also of the woodlouse, which, when rolled up, resembles a berry. 

 The termination -dcha (Ital. -accio, -accia) signifies mean or 

 contemptible. The Spanish word has also taken a French form ; 

 at least coqueraches has some currency (see, for example, Tylor's 

 Anahuac, p. 325)." In provincial English Black Clock is a com- 

 mon name. The German word Schabe, often turned into 

 Schwab e, means perhaps Suabian, as Moufet, quoting Cordus, 

 seems to explain.* Fmnzose and Dane are other German words 

 for the insect, applied specially to Blatta germanica ; and all 

 seem to imply some popular theory as to the native country of 

 the Cockroach.f This etymology of Schabe is not free from 

 suspicion, particularly as the same term is commonly applied to 

 the clothes-moth. Kakerlac, much used in France and French- 

 speaking colonies, is a Dutch word of unknown signification. 

 P. Americana is usually named Kakerlac or Cancrelat by the 

 French; while orient alls has many names, such as Cafard, Ravet, 

 and Bete noire.% The name Blatta was applied by the ancients 

 to quite different insects, of which Virgil and Pliny make 

 mention ; Periplaneta is a modern generic term, coined by 

 Burmeister. 



Uses. 



Of the uses to which Cockroaches have been put we have 

 little to say. They constitute a popular remedy for dropsy in 

 Russia, and both cockroach-tea and cockroach-pills are known 

 in the medical practice of Philadelphia. Salted Cockroaches 

 are said to have an agreeable flavour which is apparent in 

 certain popular sauces. 



* Insectorum Theatnim, p. 138. The name Sclnvabe is frequent in Franconia, 

 where it is "believed to have taken origin. Suabia adjoins Franconia, to the south. 



"1* Compare the Swedish name (supra, p. 18). 



I A fuller list of vernacular names is given by Eolland, Faune Populaire de la 

 France, Vol. III., p. 285. See also Nennich, Polyglotten Lexicon, V T ol. L, p. 620. 



