200 curious phenomena in natural history. Oct. ge 
alarm occasioned by the jasamine hawk moth (sPHinx 
atropos), crying like an infant, and bearing the fis 
gure of a death’s head on its back, &c. &c:' 
But to return to my subject, viz. the important 
tafe afsigned to insects, in the beautiful economy of 
nature, I must remark, that the Almighty has not 
confined his otders and agents merely to the destruc 
tion of matter which has ceased to live and vegetate ; 
for he has likewise provided against dangerous luxu- 
riancy in either the animal or vegetable kingdoms, 
and set bounds to excefsive multiplication of any 
particular ‘species, by admirable checks of different 
kinds, which will of course be pointed out by others, — 
in the prosecution of a subject of wiich{I have only un- 
dertaken to give a rough out-line, to excite rather than 
satisfy curiosity. I {hall just observe, in finifhing my 
fketch on insects, that our fields and gardens are more 
particularly exposed to those charged with this last 
commifsion, (via. to prevent excefsive multiplica- 
tion of any particular vegetable), for that purpose 
myriads of crysomella, curcults, phalena, &c. have 
received orders, aud like the former clafs, charged 
with the destruction of dead matter, are so dilligent, 
that growing vegetables are with difficulty guarded 
against them by all the ingenuity of man, at leaft be= 
fore their transmigration ; for it is in the state of ca- 
terpillars, or larve, that insects are most to be 
dreaded ; although the genus of gryllus is sufficiently 
destructive in its perfect state of a fly, particularly the 
terrible GRYLLUs migratorius, or locust of scripture, 
which still occasionally lays waste certain countries, | 
whilst it furnithes constant food to the naked savages 
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