IO2 Life and Immortality. 



seemed to know, through the guidance of the same dumb 

 and unerring instinct which teaches it to cement its under- 

 ground dwelling, but would that same instinct teach it to 

 construct so wonderful a dome-like house as the one 

 described for the preservation of its after-life, and one so 

 eminently fitted by its position, shape, size and entrance to 

 secure the necessary shelter, warmth and air for its protection 

 and development ? I apprehend not. Nothing short of a 

 reason, similar to that in man, but differing in degree, would 

 enable it to grasp the situation in which it found itself to be 

 placed when nearing its final change, and plan with the view 

 of carrying out the ultimate aim of its existence. 



Fortunately, these insects are appointed to return at 

 periods so distant that vegetation has a chance to recover 

 from the injuries which they inflict. Were they to appear 

 at shorter intervals, our forest- and fruit-trees would be 

 entirely destroyed by them. They are, moreover, subject 

 to many accidents, and have many enemies, which contribute 

 to diminish their numbers. Their eggs are eaten by birds, 

 and the young, when they leave the egg, are preyed upon 

 by ants, who mount the trees for that purpose, or take them 

 upon the ground as they are about to enter upon their pro- 

 tracted larval career. Blackbirds eat them in the spring 

 when turned up by the plough, and hogs, when allowed to 

 run at large in the woods, root them up and devour large 

 numbers, especially just before the arrival of the period of 

 their final transformation, when they are lodged only a few 

 inches below the surface of the soil. Many perish in the 

 egg by the closing up of the bark and wood that constitute 

 the walls of the perforations, thus burying the eggs before 

 they have hatched, and others, no doubt, are killed by their 

 perilous descent from the trees. 



As its name implies, this insect generally requires seven- 

 teen years to complete its transformations, a fact that was 

 first pointed out many years ago by the botanist Kalm. The 

 late Prof. Riley, who had given this species a great deal of 



