56 GENERATION OF INSECTS 



scarcely reached five. The joints in the tail of the 

 Egyptian scorpion are all of almost equal length and size, 

 but in our kind the fifth vertebrae before the sting is al- 

 v^ays twice as long as the others. I have seen another 

 species of scorpion somewhat different from the two 

 kinds above mentioned. This was sent to me from the 

 kingdom of Tunis by Dr. Pagni, a celebrated professor 

 of medicine in the famous Pisan Academy, who is at 

 present in Africa. Tunis produces these scorpions most 

 abundantly : they are called " akrab " in the Berber 

 tongue and are larger than the Egyptian kind. Once I 

 weighed two live ones, each of which attained to the fifth 

 part of an ounce, and they were lighter than usual owing 

 to long deprivation from food. Their color is mostly of 

 a faded yellow green, almost transparent like amber, ex- 

 cept in the two claws, which are of a dirty color like 

 chalcedony ; the point of the sting is quite black. There 

 are some white ones, but black ones are rare. The claws 

 are made up of four joints. The legs are eight in num- 

 ber, and the two nearest the claws are shorter than the 

 others ; the second pair are longer than the first, and the 

 third, longer than the second ; the fourth are longer than 

 all the others. The whole back is made up of nine joints 

 and in the part between the two branches of the claws 

 can be seen two very small, round eminences, which are 

 black and shiny. Under the belly, which is composed of 

 five joints, there are two dentated blades, that look ex- 

 actly like saws, which, when the scorpion walks, he dis- 

 tends and agitates as if he wished to use them as wings. 

 The tail has six vertebrae or joints, and the last of these 

 is the sting, very large and hooked. The other five ver- 

 tebrae at the upper end are hollowed out with dentated 

 edges, and underneath they are round, convex and 



