130 GENERAL XOTES 



Besin, about fifteen miles S.E. of Maseru, Basutolaud. 

 This is an iiiteiestinji' case as the ring bears the lej,':end: 



ADDKESSE: MOKTEXSEN 



VIBOKd. ^\'l■^ M DANMABK ET ROPA. 



Mr. Murray adds, as a matter of inlerest, that the 

 Basutos call the stork " Mokotatsie " ( Mo-k6-ta-!si-e), 

 The woi-d is derivtMl tiom K(^l)(> = to i>e(:'k and Tsie 

 •■= a locust. The uaiiv(^ doctors jn-izc tlic st(n-k for the 

 manufacturi^ of iheir medicines. IJasutos eat the tiesh 

 although they do not c<nisider il a delicacy and say it 

 tastes like horse flesh. 



Sricmr: of S<(»ki'io.\s. 



Di-. r>rcij('r's note on tlie suicide of a Scorpion, printed 

 in the tii-st nunihei- of i he liulietin. is of interest as record 

 ing the only evidence he could obtain in justification of 

 the ])o])ular belief in scorpion suicide The graphic 

 laiignage (pioled by .Mi-. (\ X. Knox-l )avies from !»yron 

 — "The sling she noui-ished for her foes, whose venom 

 liever yet ^^'as vain, gixes but one pang an<l cures all ])air(, 

 and darts into hei- desperate brain "' — may api)eal lo the 

 heart of a poet, bn; fails ro inspire confidence in the 

 anthoi's knowledge oi' scorpion habits and anato]* y. 



More iiian .'*(' y«'ars ago, a series of exj)eriments was 

 devised to test the truth of the poi)ular belief by Mr. 

 O. Lloyd Morgan who i-ecorded his results in the Tran- 

 sactions of the South African Philosoi)hical Society for 

 18(S:^ Mr. Morgan experimented in ('a]»e Town witli two 

 local species (m)t i<l(Miiitied but apparently Opisthophthal- 

 tiuis (-(//H'nsis ami a sjx'cies of tJir^plcctcst.) The experi- 

 ments were somewliai diastic and no less than (>() speci- 

 mens were sacrificed thereto; but the conclusion was 

 '* that neither of the two s])ecies on which these experi 

 ments were made have any suicidal instinct.'' The 

 victims were submitted to such treatment as the follow- 



