146 DISAPPEARANCE OF REMAINS. 



their foliage : and of these countless myriads we are told, truly, 

 that even of those among them permitted to reach their good old 

 age, scarce a single gnat survives a week ; not half the beetles, 

 nor any of the Tipufa, nor grasshoppers, a month ; while few 

 are the butterflies or moths which over-live a fortnight. What 

 has become of them ? may naturally be queried by those who 

 bestow upon the subject a mere passing thought ; and though 

 with those who have learnt something of insect history the 

 marvel is greatly diminished, it still remains matter of some 

 surprise, that of the myriads which die daily round and about 

 our paths, so few " mortal remains ' should meet our eye. 

 Something, in short, of the same sort of mystery is attached 

 to their entire disappearance as that which seems to have been 

 noticed by some of old Fuller's " worthies," with regard to 

 the disappearance of pins, which caused them to admire " that 

 so many millions of these useful and neat little articles made, 

 sold, used, and lost in England, should vanish away invisible ;" 

 to the which remark, our excellent divine, with gravity becom- 

 ing his profession, and quaintness belonging to liis style and 

 character, appends this serious reflection : that te such per- 

 sons may rather wonder how so many that wear them, being 

 no more than pins in the hand of their Maker, do decay, die, 

 and slip down in the dust in silence and obscurity." 



The duration of insect life varies greatly ; but there is one 

 remark respecting it of very general application : Its last and 

 most perfect stage is usually the most brief, often immensely 



