274 NATURAL HISTORY. [cH. XX. 



CHAPTER XX. 



THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE FLEA. 



Its supposed Manyier of Appearance — Its eggs — RoseVs Opinion 

 with respect to the Young — Defrance^s Opinion — The Manner of 

 preparing Food for the young Larvas — Description of its Pupa 

 and Cocoon — Perfect Insect, its Habits. 



EwLiN, in his book of Travels in Turkey, has re- 

 corded a singular tradition of the history of the flea 

 and its confraternity, as preserved among a sect of 

 Kurds, who dwelt in his time at the foot of Mount 

 Sindshar. " When Noah's ark," says the legend, 

 "sprung a leak by striking against a rock in the 

 vicinity of Mount Sindshar, and Noah despaired 

 altogether of safety, the serpent promised to help 

 him out of his mishap if he would engage to feed 

 him upon human flesh after the deluge had subsided. 

 Noah pledged himself to do so ; and the serpent, 

 coiling himself up, drove his body into the fracture 

 and stopped the leak. When the pluvious element 

 was appeased, and all were making their way out 

 of the ark, the serpent insisted upon the fulfilment 

 of the pledge he had received ; but Noah, by Ga- 

 briel's advice, committed the pledge to the flames, 

 and scattering its ashes in the air, there arose out 

 of them fleas, flies, lice, bugs, and all such sorts of I 

 vermin as prey upon human blood, and after this 

 fashion was Noah's pledge redeemed." Setting 

 aside all the marvellous contained in this legend, it 

 is not difficult to trace in it the germes of that vul- 

 gar error which attributes the production of various 

 small but noxious species of insects to the exist- 

 ence of what is termed " a blight," an error founded 

 upon the most untenable ideas of natural history, 



