BLATTA. 



509 



of drinking a quantity of water mixed with clay, taken 

 from the graves of two Catholic priests, to purchase 

 eternal immunity from disease and sin; and that 

 upon one occasion she had lain upon her mother's 

 grave during a night, and had been exposed to heavy 

 rain. Now, as we cannot agree with the former of 

 the suggestions of Mouftet, respecting this very insect, 

 "An vero hsec ex putri materia oriatur, vel tnutua 

 commistione maris et lueminaj generetur, ignoramus," 

 although the development of intestinal worms has 

 always been one of the strongholds of the sticklers 

 for the doctrine of equivocal generation wo must 

 conclude that the grubs voided by the above- men- 

 tioned woman were produced from cgu;s which it is 

 most probable were introduced into the stomach with 

 the clay water which she drank, and the occasional 

 length of time taken for the hatching of insects' eggs, 

 or the duration of the larva state in beetles for several 

 years, may account for the continued discharge of 

 larvae. It is also to be observed, that one pupa and 

 one perfect insect alone were voided ; and from 

 the figure given of these of the natural si/,e and mag- 

 nified, the insect does not appear to be the species 

 above named, being much too small and narrow. 



Of the other genera, composing the first section of 

 the family, nothing appears known of their habits. 

 The species of Asida frequent sandy districts, whilst 

 Pedimis and the genera of the second section are 

 chiefly found upon the sea coast. 



BLATTA (Linnams). The Cock-roach. A genus 

 of orthopterous insects forming the type of the family 

 Blattidce of Stephens, and belonging to the section 

 Cursoria of Latreille. As a group they are distin- 

 guished by the tarsi furnished with five joints, the 

 under wings folded longitudinally only, and not trans- 

 versely as in the earwigs, the head concealed by the 

 anterior margin of the thorax, the body oval or 

 rounded and generally flattened, and the fore legs 

 formed only for running, and not for prehension as in 

 the mantidae ; the elytra are leathery, nervose, and 

 lapping over each other at the inner edge. These 

 characters induced Dr. Leach to raise these insects 

 to the rank of a distinct order named Dictyoptcra, 

 but the distinguishing features of the group are far 

 too slight to warrant its establishment, and entomo- 

 logists have therefore not adopted this mode of 

 arrangement. The antenna? are very long and thread- 

 like, consisting of an immense number of minute arti- 

 culations. The mouth is furnished with a pair ol 

 powerful jaws, under jaws, &c., and the palpi are long. 

 The thorax has somewhat the appearance of a shield, 

 the elytra are generally as long as the body, the 

 extremity of the abdomen is furnished with a pair ol 

 minute conical articulated appendages. The legs are 

 long and armed with minute spines. 



These insects are of moderate size, but some spe- 

 cies acquire the length of an inch and a half or two 

 inches. They are nocturnal in their habits, extremely 

 active, and the majority reside in the interior of 

 houses, where they delight to take up their abode in 

 the neighbourhood of fire-places in kitchens, &c., but 

 especially in bake-houses, and other situations where 

 much cooking takes place, where they inhabit the 

 clefts of walls near ovens by day, coming forth by 

 night in myriads, but retreating with the utmost pre- 

 cipitation to their holes immediately that a candle is 

 intruded amongst them. They are extremely vora- 

 cious, destroying almost all sorts of provisions, but 

 more particularly bread and other vegetable matters 



It is very difficult to extirpate these disgusting insects, 

 which, in addition to the destruction which they cause, 

 emit an exceedingly disagreeable odour, which at- 

 taches to whatever they have crept over. Perhaps 

 the most advantageous method of destroying them is 

 to use a small wooden box with sloping sides, having 

 a circular aperture at the top with glass edges, out of 

 which it is impossible for them to escape. This 

 should be nightly baited, and the contents thrown the 

 following morning into scalding water. This plan is 

 certainly superior to the employment of red poisoned 

 afers. 



These animals were known to the ancients, who 

 named them insecla lucifuga, on account of their 

 shunning the light. The insects which they termed 

 blattce were certainly distinct, although it is not easy 

 to decide as to what they really were. 



The species which are truly indigenous in England 

 are of comparatively small size, and are generally 

 found in woods ; but the species which frequent our 

 houses, occasionally in such myriads as to cover tLt, 

 floors of the lower apartments in the metropolis at. 

 night, are of more southern origin, the ordinary spe- 

 cies (B. Oiientalis) being a native of Asia. It is 



Blatta Orientales ;Male and Female). 



probable that its introduction was owing to the navi- 

 gation of the Levant, being brought over in ships' 

 cargoes. They generally swarm on board ship ; and 

 it is evident that such was also the case in the time 

 of the ancients, from the following passage from 

 Mouffet : " In Philippo navi quam nobilissimus ille 

 Neptunus (Dracum equitem intelligo) aromatibus 

 onustam vi cepit, ingens blattarum alatarum multitude 

 inveniebatur." At the present day we have heard 

 that the boys on board old ships have been employed 

 at leisure times in catching and stringing these insects, 

 receiving a trifling reward for every score caught, 

 It is to the same cause that the American cockroach 

 (B. Americana], a much larger species than the ordi- 

 nary one, is gradually acquiring a settlement in Lon- 

 don and other ports. But the ravages of these inspcts 

 in warm climates appear to be far greater than 

 amongst us, from the following account given by 

 Drury of the B. gigantea, which he had himself ob- 

 served ; " The cockroaches are a race of pestiferous 

 beings, equally noisome and mishievous to natives 

 and strangers, but particularly to collectors. These 

 nasty and voracious insects fly out in the evenings 

 and commit monstrous depredations; they plunder 

 and erode all kinds of victuals, dressed and undressed, 

 and damage all sorts of clothing, especially those 



