( 64 ) 



face of all the wings when laid fide by fide takes up almoft three 

 quarters of a fquare inch ; and, as each wing is covered on both fides 

 with feathers, this makes the fpace of an inch and an lialf fquare. To 

 which if we add, that the body and legs of this butterfly are covered 

 with as many feathers as are on the wings, tlic number of feathers 

 above enumerated will be doubled. 



I then examined the boney parts which give ftrength and fliffnefs 

 to thefe wings, and I faw more jjlainly tiiat in other flying infects 

 the crooked or twifted veins within them. A ver}' fmall portion of 

 one of thefe boney parts is fliewn at 7?^. 36, ABCDEF, within 

 which is feen that twifled vein, and where the bone is divided into 

 two parts, the vein is the fame. In the fame figure, at ABH, is re- 

 prefented a fmall part of the membrane or Ikin of the wing flripped 

 of its feathers. The dots in it indicate the cavities wherein the quills 

 of the feathers had been fixed. 



It is alio a pleafant objedl to behold the curioufly formed claws in 

 each of the fliort feet of the Silk-worm, and which are Ihed or put oft' 

 with the fkin at the animal's change into an aurelia, one of thefe is 

 fliewn at /*;§•. 37, I K L, and when changed into a flying infeft or 

 butterfly each foot is furniflied with two nails or claws, with which 

 it very ftrongly clings to every thing it touches. Thefe nails or 

 claws are fliewn atj^o-. <j8, MNO. 



To clofe this fubjedl; feeing that the Silk-worm, in its change, 



only puts oflf the (kins of its feet, and that, in the fame places where, 



while a worm, it had very fliort feet ; it is, when a butterfly, fur- 



niflied with legs, covered with numbers of feathers, and armed witJi 



nails or daws as before defcribed, the metamorphofis or change of 



this creature mufi: feem almoft incredible, and cannot but excite in 



ii£ the greateft admiration. 



J, 



