SBicttonarg at 



327 



of the cells downwards, which in a great 

 measure preserves them from the rain. In 

 " The Zoologist," p. 162. F. Smith, Esq., 

 Curator of the Entomological Society, thus 

 writes : "A few years ago, as I was walk- 

 ing by the side of Virginia Water, by moon- 

 light, I heard a loud booming noise, evidently 

 caused by some insect darting rapidly by. 

 I was for some time at a loss to conceive 

 what this could be ; at last I succeeded in 

 knocking one down, when I found it was a 

 hornet. By watching the flight of others, I 

 soon discovered the tree containing their 

 nest : they were carrying on their labours 

 by the light of the moon, apparently quite 

 as busily as if it had been open day." [See 

 VESFin^.] 



This brief notice of the Hornet leads us to 

 extract from the " Journal of a Naturalist " 

 some interesting remarks relative to this in- 

 sect : " Every-day events manifest to very 

 superficial observation, that no created being, 

 from the monster of the ocean, ' that makes 

 the deep boil like a pot of ointment,' to the 

 insect that feebly creeps on the ground, exists 

 free from the persecutions or annoyance of 

 another. Some may be subject to fewer 

 injuries than others, but none are wholly 

 exempt : the strong assail by power, and 

 become assaulted themselves by the minute or 

 weak. This year (1826) the Hornet abounded 

 with us in unusual numbers, and afforded 

 constant evidence of its power and voracity 

 that could not have been exceeded by any 

 ravenous beast. In our gardens the impe- 

 rious murmur of four or five of them at a 

 time might be frequently heard_ about our 

 fruit-trees. They would occasionally ex- 

 tract the sweet liquor from the gage, or other 

 rich plums ; but the prime object of their 

 visit was to seize the wasps that frequented 

 the same places. This they not only did 

 when the creature was feeding on the fruit, 

 but would hawk after them when on the 

 wing ; capture them with a facility to which 

 their heavy flight seemed unequal ; bear 

 them to some neighbouring plant, and there 

 feed on the insect, which seemed perfectly 

 overpowered by the might of the Hornet. 

 The first operation was to snip off the head, 

 then to cut away the lower part by the 

 waist ; and, when near, we could hear them 

 shearing away the outer coat from the body, 

 and crushing it with their strong mandibles ; 

 sometimes devouring it, but generally only 

 sucking the juices it contained. Their avi- 

 dity for this sort of food is very manifest, 

 when the grape ripens on the wall : being 

 commonly the only remaining fruit, the 

 wasp abounds there ; the Hornets flock to 

 the prey, and we may see them in constant 

 progress, bearing their victims from the 

 buuches. The wasp itself seizes the house- 

 fly ; but this seems rather the display of 

 wanton power than for food, as it bears the 

 fly about with it for a length of time, and 

 drops it unconsumed. The fly, in its turn, 

 is conducive, after its manner, to the death 

 of many an animal. We know not any in- 

 sect that destroys the Hornet ; but its power 

 and being are terminated by some very ef- 

 fective agent, as in particular years it is 

 almost unknown." To the foregoing the 



author appends the following note : " The 

 Hornet is a very pugnacious animal. They 

 will fight desperately with each other at 

 times, when they meet in pursuit of prey, 

 biting each other's body, and trying to get 

 their mandibles under the head of their op- 

 ponent, to snip it off. I one day confined, 

 under a glass, two of these creatures which 

 had been fighting. One had evidently the 

 mastery ; but both had been so injured in 

 the contest, that they soon died ; and it is 

 most probable that they fall victims to each 

 other's voracity in the cold damp season 

 that usually terminates the autumn of our 

 year." 



HORNET [SPHINX]. A name given by 

 collectors to Hawk-moths of the genus Tro- 

 chilium. 



HORSE. (.Eqmis cdballug.') This most 

 useful and beautiful quadruped demands, 

 perhaps, a more extended notice than the 

 ordinary limits of this work may seem to 

 afford ; but we trust w have not omitted 

 any material point, zoological or historical, 

 that is essential to a complete description of 

 an animal, whose services to mankind are 

 everywhere deemed invaluable, and whose 

 noble nature universally excites man's ad- 

 miration. It has been well observed, that 

 had not custom dignified the Lion with the 

 title of " king of beasts," reason could no- 

 where confer that honour more deservedly 

 than on the Horse. His courage, strength, 

 fleetness, his symmetrical form, and gran- 

 deur of deportment, are unalloyed by any 

 quality injurious to other creatures, or cal- 

 culated to create the aversion of man ; whose 

 orders he implicitly obeys, whose severest 

 tasks he undertakes with a cheerful alacrity, 

 and whose pleasures he contributes to with 

 animation and delight. Nor is this all : for, 

 when called to bear our warriors to the battle- 

 field, nothing can excel his resolute fierce- 

 ness, his courageous ardour ! In the poetical 

 language of the Sacred Writings, " His neck 

 is clothed with thunder. The glory of his 

 nostrils is terrible. He paweth the valley, 

 and rejoiceth in his strength. He goeth on 

 to meet the armed men. He mocketh at 

 danger, and is not affrighted ; neither turneth 

 he back from the sword." (Job, xxxix.) 



What region the Horse originally inha- 

 bited, or to what nation we are indebted for 

 his first subjugation, are questions far too 

 remote for history to resolve. That this 

 animal is of Eastern origin, and that the 

 Egyptians were the first to reduce it to obe- 

 dience, and train it to the various purposes 

 of civilized life, appears highly probable 

 from various passages in the Bible, though 

 no direct testimony of such a fact is to be 

 gathered from that source. The first men- 

 tion of the Horse occurs during the wise 

 administration of Joseph in Egypt, who, we 

 are told, gave the famishing inhabitants 

 bread " in exchange for horses ;" and also 

 when the body of the patriarch Jacob was 

 removed from Egypt to Canaan for burial, 

 we read that " there went up witli him both 

 chariots and horsemen." The period when 

 the Horse is thus indicated as a beast both of 

 draught and burden, is 1650 years before the 



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