STRAIGHT-WINGED INSECTS. 171 



The Chinese, aware of their cruel and warlike pro- 

 pensities, keep these insects in bamboo cages, and ex- 

 hibit them as prize-fighters, as is done with fighting 

 cocks. At these exhibitions, when two Soothsayers 

 are placed face to face, they become at first still and 

 immovable, but after they have gazed fixedly at each 

 other for a while, they raise their wings, their whole 

 bod}' begins to tremble, they become furious, and 

 pounce one upon the other, giving blows with their 

 long fore-legs, which they use as if they were swords, 

 and fighting as fiercely as the enraged Hungarian 

 Huzzars in the last war with Austria. At last one of 

 them yields, and the conqueror grasps the vanquished 

 one, and devours him by pieces. 



The eggs of the Soothsayers, in the autumn, are de- 

 posited in an oval mass attached to the twigs of some 

 creeping vines, near its base. This mass is enclosed 

 in a silk-like covering, resembling a seed pod, which 

 contains from fifty to one hundred eggs, and which 

 remains in this condition during the winter, like the 

 cocoons of butterflies and moths. In the beginning 

 of the following summer, the larva? issue from these 

 eggs, and exactly resemble the perfect insect, except 

 in being destitute of wings. If these are kept in a 

 glass together, they will soon exhibit the warlike dis- 

 position of their parents, and devour one another, 

 unless they are abundantly fed with plant-lice, of 

 which they are very fond. On this account, notwith- 



