24 Mr. MarshamV Obfervatms on 



Reptiles and fifh difplay great penetration in the mode and fituatlon 

 in which they depofit their eggs and fpawn ; but to the eyes of the 

 penetrating naturahft, this care and attention will appear more art- 

 fully employed and more eminently confpicuous in thofe minute 

 beings called infefts, who, although on acurfory view they feem to- 

 contradidl the general remark, by never living to affifl: their future 

 offspring, yet to an attentive obferver exhibit a fyftem of ingenuity 

 and contrivance fcarcely to be credited, in fearching out and deter- 

 mining a proper place for depofiting their eggs, not only in fafety 

 from their numerous enemies, but alfo in fituations where a fuffi- 

 cieut quantity of food is on the fpot to lupport and nourifli the 

 larva immediately on its breaking the fhell : and fo fecurely and 

 fuccefsfuUy is this generally done, that it not only eludes the in- 

 quifitive and prying eye of man, and is impenetrable to the large 

 animals, but even defies the combined power of the elements ; for 

 fo artful and fagacious do thefe minute beings appear in all their 

 operations, and fo admirably are they furnilTied with inftruments 

 peculiarly adapted to each fpecies, that one would think it impoffible 

 for any accident to hurt or deftroy them. Yet fuch is the divine 

 law of order eftablifhed by the omnifcient Creator, that no animal,. 

 however minute, is permitted to increafe beyond the bounds pre- 

 fcribed. And it is therefore wifely ordained, that the cunning, fa- 

 gacity, or inftin£l of one infe6t fhall counteraft .and render futile 

 the Ikill and labour of another, fo that the artful prefervation of 

 one kind tends to the entire ruin and deftrudlion of its neighbour, 

 by which means an equilibrium is preferved, and no one fpecies 

 preponderates. To enumerate the different genera, or defcribe the 

 method employed by each fpecies that has been obferved to fecure 

 its eggs, would far exceed my limits. Suffice it to fay, that they 

 are placed on the trunks, leaves, and even roots of trees and plants, 



in 



