KM) XATl'lJAL TIISTOUV I'AI'EKS. 



haviiiir inside the beak, which is a jointed siienth, a tulie, 

 and canyinji- nnderneath two h)n<r sliarp laneets with ent- 

 tin<r and sawlike edircs which pierce the skin causinir llu* 

 })h)()d to How, whicii is voraciously swallowed. Jt has 

 two round I )ri,irht eyes situated upon tlu^ sides of the head, 

 and anteinia' jilaced behind them, which are continually 

 Khaken when the animal is in motion, but when he is at 

 rest arc sometimes closed into a cavity In a lid oi- scale. 

 Its body is divided into thirteen seufments, three of which 

 belonir to the thorax, one to the? head, and nine to the ab- 

 domen, which is lariTC!. Its rudimentary wiuics are rei)re- 

 sented by small scales. The le^s are Ion<r and nmscular, 

 the tarsus has tive joints and tei-minates in hooks turned 

 in oj)posite directions. The juni])s wliidi these animals 

 make are really <riirantic and their strcnirth herculean. 

 To irive some idea of their sticuirth, I will mention some 

 well attested facts concerning" them. Cieoffroy in his 

 "Ilistoire abrcree des Insectes" i-elates that a certain 

 Knii:lishman had succeeded, by dint of ))atience and art, 

 in makini; a ^old chain the length of a tin<rer, with a pad- 

 lock and key to fasten it, not exceed1n<r a sinirlo grain in 

 weight. A flea attached to the chain pulled it easily. 

 Another person constructed a carriage and six horses of 

 ivory. The coachman was on the box with a dog between 

 his legs, there was also a postillion, four persons in the 

 carriage, and two servants behind, aird the whole of this 

 was drawn by one Hoa. 



Barron A\'alkcner in his work on Xatural History says, 

 that while in Paris in 1S2') he went to see the learned 

 tleas Avhich all could see by paying a small admittance 

 fee. He says he examined them through a magnifying 

 glass Avith entomological eyes, and saw some thirty fleas go 

 thpough military exercises, standing upon their hind legs, 

 armed with picks, formed from very small s[)linters of 

 Avood. "Two fleas were also harnessed to, and drew a 

 golden carriage with four wheels, and a postillion. A 

 third flea was seated on the coach box, and held a splin- 



