458 THE NATURAL HISTORY 



are several species of Wood Lice (Oniscus, Glomeris 

 and Armadillo}, of the cylindrical-bodied Millepede 

 (lulus terrestris}, and the flat-bodied Scolopendra or 

 Cudworm (Lithobius forficatus and GeopJiilus longi- 

 cornis], but the most remarkable of all is the luminous, 

 or Electric Centipede (Geophilus electricus), which may 

 commonly be seen in the dark evenings of autumn 

 and occasionally earlier in the season. Its phos- 

 phorescence is paler than that of the glow-worm, and 

 the luminous secretion is not only diffused over the 

 whole of its body, but is so easily detached from it, 

 that in its nocturnal wanderings among decaying 

 leaves under the trees and in gardens, this creature 

 leaves a track of light behind it, sometimes two or 

 three inches in length. This brilliant trail is more or 

 less interrupted by the irregularities of the surface 

 over which the animal passes, so that it is not always 

 continuous, but on the smooth palm of the hand it is 

 more perfect, and in either case, it remains visible for 

 several seconds. If the conjectures of many naturalists, 

 that the luminosity of insects is a provision for enabling 

 them to discover their prey, in the absence of any other 

 light, or to attract individuals of the opposite sex, be 

 well founded, this property in the electric centipede 

 must have been bestowed for a very different purpose, 

 as the creature is utterly destitute of any organs of 

 vision whatever. 



In bringing our remarks on this division of the 

 Natural History of Harting to a close, we anticipate 

 the obvious objection, on the part of some of our 

 numerous readers, that in almost every Class and 

 Order we have reviewed, the individuals we have no- 

 ticed are fewer in number than those we have omitted. 

 Not only do we " own the soft impeachment," but we 

 further admit that, in passing on at once from the 

 Myriapoda to the next division, we are purposely 

 leaving a wide hiatus for the reception, in our future 

 editions, of a long list of creatures belonging to other 



