MY PET SCORPION. 611 



It is certainly a curious question how so perfectly harmless a 

 creature can have acquired such a bad reputation. I know of no 

 modern parallel. In Shakespeare's time a similar popular prejudice 

 was entertained against one of the most useful servants that farmers 

 and horticulturists possess. The well-known lines — 



" The toad, ugly and venomous, 

 Holds yet a precious jewel in its head " — 



were but the echo of this crude and cruel fancy. So with our 

 Thelyphonus. It is not only absolutely harmless, but, as I shall soon 

 show, one of the most useful helps in keeping within bounds one of 

 our most serious pests. 



The comment that I once heard, by a not over-intelligent and 

 somewhat profane individual, upon seeing a dead whip scorpion — 



" Any fool can see that that critter is rank pisin! " — probably 



partially explains the matter. It must be conceded that the looks of 

 the Thelyphonus are decidedly against it. Its long, frisky tail, its 

 big, threatening claws, and its generally uncanny and vicious appear- 

 ance are quite sufficient to inspire caution if not positive dread. It 

 " looks pisin," and that settles it with the ignorant. With the better 

 informed the fact that the creature belongs to a bad family, that 

 its nearest relatives are unquestionably venomous, may help to ex- 

 plain, though it can hardly excuse, the widespread currency which 

 even scientific men have helped to give to a most erroneous and 

 slanderous belief. 



And now as to the food question. This, of course, was a very 

 vital matter to my little prisoner, and one of great interest to me. 

 After the failure of the cockroach diet, I next tried grasshoppers. 

 These also have been declared to be greatly relished by the The- 

 lyphonus. I did not find it so. The first one placed in the cage was, 

 to be sure, partially eaten. But, unfortunately, a colony of ants had 

 got into the cage, and were dining on my dead Gryllus. This left the 

 matter a little uncertain. On fencing out these intruders, and repeat- 

 ing the experiment with the same and half a dozen other species, I 

 became convinced that my Thelyphonus, at least, was not fond of 

 grasshoppers. Then began a kind of general system, or no system, 

 of haphazard feeding, or rather trials of food. My marketing range 

 for my particular " boarder " was by no means a limited one. During 

 the month of September, when most of these investigations were in 

 progress, Florida is by no means deficient in insect life. Every day 

 from two to ten new and different species were placed in the cage. 

 A list was kept, to avoid repetition, until my captive was offered her 

 choice of something over a hundred varieties of " bugs," worms, 

 grubs, spiders, ants and their eggs, lizards, butterflies, etc. — every- 



