1803.] 



Gleanings in Natural Hi/lory. 



821 



and tliey fuck out of them feme of the 

 iVvcet juices with which they at this time 

 aboun;!. I do not recollcft thst thel'e 

 .butterflies have been before rtmarked lo 

 adopt this kind of food. The leafon, 

 however, is obvious. Towards ihe end 

 'cf autumn tliere are generally fo feiv nec- 

 tariferous fljwers in bhiTom, that they are 

 comptlled, from neccfTity, to have re- 

 cunn'e to the juicts of truit. 



THE HF.SSIAN FLY. 



The HtlTnns have had the credit of in- 

 troducing this perriicious uifeft into Ame- 

 r'ca ; and from them it derived its name. 

 It commits the molt alarming ravages on 

 fome <f the mod valuable kinds of grain, 

 and particulaily on wheat and rye. It is, 

 however, undoubtedly a naive of Ame- 

 rica, and hov it came to be overlooked as 

 fucli feems Very liringe. It is a more f ^r- 

 midahle enemy to the colonies ih,in twenty 

 thoufand HeiTian f.;ldicrs, with all their 

 implements of war, could pofli'ily be. — - 

 Barton s Fr.igtnents of the Natural Hijiory 

 of Pennfylvania. 



SLOW-LhGGED BEETLE. 



Tenehrh mnrlfagus of LinJiiFUi. — Blafns 

 moriij'aga of Marjham. 



A fpecimen of this beetle was taken by 

 Mr. Biker, amongft i'cverai others, out 

 of a tub in whicn there was only Irfc the 

 muddy feclimer.t of rain water. It was 

 put into fpiiitscf wine, and in a few mi- 

 nutes apptared to be quite dead. On be- 

 ing taken out oi this, it was (liut up in a 

 box, and depofiied in a drawer, where it 

 remained unnoriced fir more than two 

 month*. When Mr. Raker opened the 

 h X, at lire end ot this time, he found 

 that it was ftill alive and vigorous, though 

 it appeired to have taken no food duiing 

 its whole coiiflnemcni, and had received 

 n-) air but what ciuld be had iia a very 

 (mail and dole box. It was again plunged 

 in Ipiiit, and for a much lunger time than 

 before, bu' at the end of a mor.th aitci- 

 wards was (in the fame b)x) found again 

 alive. From hiving thus exiflul three 

 months with(;ui lultenance, a' d lurvivcH 

 immerfions that pr.ve fatal t'J tie uly all 

 ctiier infefts. Mi. Biker began to fancy 

 that this creature poUelled powers ot life 

 thit weie either r.ltoocthcr unkn.r.vn, or at 

 leift- veiy iinufuil in the r<)ce. It wa-v a 

 third lime iinmerfcd, and wa^ fulFered to 

 remain all night in ihe I'pirits, but on the 

 following day, :<fier having been rut a lit- 

 tle whde, it WIS as lively and tftive is if 

 n Jibing rxiraorrlinaiy had taken place. 



It.wa. n<<\v nonujie cut ihlo luiiiis, 

 MoNTHLv ^)/^(;. Nj J35. 



but was placed under a glafs; and it lived 

 there above two years and a half without 

 having eaten any thing whatever. Food wa« 

 indeed at different limes put to it, but this 

 was never in the leaft diminifhed ; and for 

 ar leift twelve months the little animal was 

 alt "seiher vvithoiit. 



The iniert was ufually obferved with 

 its head cinfe to the bottom of the glafs» 

 as if drawing in air; and on removing 

 the glafi it always appeared robulf and vi- 

 gorous, and attempted 10 run away. Ir» 

 cold wtathe' it became I'omevvhat torpid.— 

 Bnker^ on Scnrahnus imper.ms tardipes, m 

 the Fhikfc'phical TranfailiOns, vol. xli. 

 p. 441. 



TR EE OYSTER. 



OJlrea pcrafitica of Lir.tntus, 

 In the river Gambia, on the well coaft 

 of Afiica, there are a great many tree 

 oyiters. The banks of the river being 

 lined with mangroves, thefe fallen theiQ. 

 (elves to I he roots, and at low water they 

 are left bare, and are fcen hanging from 

 llie:>ce. It was from th.s mode of attach- 

 ing themfelves that (bme wriiors have af- 

 Itrrted of the lame kind of oyfteis in Ame- 

 rica, that ihey prr^hed upoil the trees. 

 The negroes, in gathenrg them, cut off 

 iIk' blanches of the roots to which the 

 oyHers are faffened. A fmgle root is 

 fometimes known to bear more than two 

 hundred; and if it has feveral branches, 

 aclufte'r is formed which one tnan would 

 fi 'd it difficult to carry. The Hiells of 

 thefe o, fter> differ from thole of the Eu- 

 ropean fpecies, in being! itiger, narrower, 

 and thinner ; but in the fiivour of the fifh 

 there i> Aiil to be no efliniial difference. 

 —Adanftn's Voyage to Senegal and G.ret, 



SN.^Il.S. 



The flefh of thefe animals is of a fpongy 

 textuie, and thejuijcs which :ifroidthtm 

 rouriflnnent aie vlfcous. This may be 

 one rrafun why the motion of fnails is fo 

 veiy fl.jA-, as we obfe:ve it, that kind of 

 juice being of too thick a lui ll.ince to 

 circulate quickly. " I have been inf'orni- 

 t(i (fa>s Mr. Bradley, in hi.s I'hiio bphi- 

 cai Account of the VV .tks of Nitire) 

 Xh^t the mo't inttnfe cli that can be pio. 

 ('uced, either by na'ure or art, cannot 

 fietze the juicis of fn.iil-. : but I think all 

 vilcoiis ma tci is hard to be cngcalcd } 

 f' r I do rot find that biiHIime, if it is in 

 any cnnliderabiy body, will freeze if it be 

 expoIeH to ihf coldcft air, any tiure than 

 the btrri-s 0! tre m fictoe or viicUiiyi 

 whole fcaJtn -A ripe'-efs is in the cold-it 

 tint t)f wJntiir, but other feeds, wb (e 

 S l jj.Ct* 



