172 The Marquis Di Spineto on the Zimb of Bruce, 



some both to man and beast. It is especially quite intolerable 

 to the large herds of cattle in the woods of Hungary, and 

 even to the shepherds themselves. Wherever it settles itself, 

 it cannot be taken ofF again : it gluts itself with blood and 

 makes bloody boils; the large ones are painful." 



He considers it to be the same insect which is " very 

 plentiful in the Levant, which makes a very painful bite, and 

 when it multiplies uncommonly, can become a serious plague; 

 for it not only torments men and cattle, but it also gnaws 

 household furniture and clothes, and eats all sorts of provi- 

 sions." 



Hence, he says, "it has been conjectured that Arob signifies 

 Karcherlake or Kiichenschabe," which is in fact the Blatta. But 

 this is another error. The similarity of the devastations made 

 by the Karcherlake and the Zimb, even on the supposition of 

 their being equally terrible and extensive, no more proves that 

 these two insects are alike, than the fondness of devouring 

 dead carcasses establishes the similarity between a rat and a 

 pig. And in the present case, another fact militates against 

 the position, for, however troublesome and mischievous the 

 Arob may be, and to whatever degree its devastations may be 

 carried, they are nothing in comparison to those of the Zimb. 

 They may be considered to resemble, but in a greater propor- 

 tion, those of a species of gad-fly, which is so very abundant in 

 Lapland during the summer, as to oblige the natives, for the 

 sake of preserving the rein -deer, to emigrate to the moun- 

 tains; though even the damage done by this insect is nothing 

 in comparison with that which Bruce describes of the Zimb; 

 and which corresponds exactly with the account we have from 

 Moses. Here are his words. 



" Small, insignificant and ugly as this insect is in ap- 

 pearance, when we consider its history and its powers, we are 

 obliged to acknowledge that those huge animals, the elephant, 

 the rhinoceros, the lion, and the leopard, are vastly his inferiors: 

 the very appearance, nay, the very sound of its approach, oc- 

 casions more trepidation, movement and disorder, both in the 

 human and brute creation, than whole herds of the most fero- 

 cious wild beasts in a tenfold greater number than they are. 

 As soon as this plague appears, and their buzzing is heard, all 

 the cattle forsake their food, and run wild about the country 

 till they die, worn out with fright, fatigue and hunger. Even 

 elephants and rhinoceroses, which, by reason of their enormous 

 bulk and the vast quantity of food and water they daily need, 

 cannot shift to desert and dry places, roll themselves in mud 

 and mire, which coats them over like armour, and enables 



