238 



INSECT MISCELLANIES. 



water, and over the whole he placed a larger glass, 

 both being then placed on a bed of cotton. The spe- 

 cies he selected were those of the elder, of the peach 

 {Jiphis Pruni ?), and of the currant {A. R'lbis) ; 

 but they did not seem to agree with such close con- 

 finement and moist air so well as those of the poppy 

 tried by M. Bazin, for all of them died in a few days. 

 He then had recourse to a gauze cover, the meshes 

 of which were sufficiently small to prevent the escape 

 of the insects, or the entrance of their congeners, 

 while it furnished them with fresh air. With the 

 latter apparatus, he succeeded in verifying the ob- 

 servations of M. Bazin upon the aphis of the poppy.* 



Reaumur's breeding apparatus. 



We have been thus particular in giving an abstract 

 of the experiments and observations of these dis- 

 tinguished naturalists, for the purpose of removing 

 all doubt respecting a fact so singular and extraordi- 

 nary. But this anomaly, singular as it is, may 

 be in some measure paralleled among another 

 class of animals {Mollusca), it being well known 

 that the earth-worms (Lumbrici) and snails (Li- 

 maces) are hermaphrodite, that is, each individual is 



* M moires, vi, 544. 



