THE SCORPION KIND. 



him, until the flesh became insensible. Seba, 

 Moore, and Bosnian, however, give a very 

 different account of the scorpion's malignity: 

 and assert that, unless speedily relieved, the 

 wound becomes fatal. 



It is certain that no animal in the creation 

 seems endued with such an irascible nature. 

 1 have often seen them taken and put into a 

 plaee of security, exerting all their rage 

 against the sides of the glass vessel (hat con- 

 tained them. I have seen them attempt to 

 sting a stick, when put near them; and attack 

 a mouse or a frog, while those animals were 

 far from ottering any injury. Maupertnis put 

 three scorpions and a mouse into the same 

 vessel together, and they soon stung the little 

 animal in different places. The mouse, thus 

 assaulted, stood for some time upon the de- 

 fensive, and at last killed them all, one after 

 another. He tried this experiment, in order 

 to see whether the mouse, after it had killed, 

 would cat the scorpions; but the little quad- 

 ruped seemed entirely satisfied with the vic- 

 tory, and even survived the severity of the 

 wounds it had received : Wolkamer tried the 

 courage of the scorpion against the large spi- 

 der, and enclosed several of both kinds in 

 glass vessels for that purpose." The success 

 of this combat was very remarkable. The 

 spider at first used all its efforts to immesh 

 the scorpion in its web, which it immediately 

 began spinning; but the scorpion rescued it- 

 self from the danger, by stinging its adversary 

 to death; it soon after cut off', with its claus, 

 all the legs of the spider, and then sucked all 

 the internal parts at its leisure. If the scor- 

 pion's skin had not been so hard, Wolkamer 

 is of opinion that the spider would have ob- 

 tained the victory; for he had often seen one 

 of these spiders destroy a toad. 



The fierce spirit of this animal is equally 

 dangerous to its own species ; for scorpions 

 are the crudest enemies to each other. 

 M inpertuis put about a hundred of them to- 

 gether in the same glass ; and they scarce 

 came into contact, when they began to exert 

 all their rage in mutual destruction: there 

 was nothing to be seen but one universal 

 carnage, without any distinction of age or 

 or sex ; so that in a few days there remained 



(a) EphemcridesDec.il. 1687. Obgerv. 224. 



only fourteen, which had killed and devoured 

 all the rest. 



But their unnatural malignity is still more 

 apparent in their cruelty to their offspring, 

 lie enclosed a female scorpion, big with 

 young, in a glass vessel, and she was seen to 

 devour them as fast as they were excluded : 

 there was but one only of the number that 

 escaped the general destruction, bv taking 

 refuge on the back of its parent; and this 

 soon after revenged the cause of its brethren, 

 by killing the old one in its turn. 



.Such is the terrible and unrelenting nature 

 of this insect, which neither the bonds of 

 society, nor of nature can reclaim : it is even 

 asserted tlmt, when driven to an extremitv, 

 the scorpion will often destroy itself. The 

 following experiment was ineffectual!? tried 

 by JManpertuis: but I am so well assured of 

 it by many eye-witnesses, who have seen it 

 both in Italy and America, that I have no 

 doubt remaining of its veracity. A scorpion, 

 newly caught, is placed in the midst of a 

 circle of burning charcoal, nnd thus an egress 

 prevented on every side: the scorpion. ;is I 

 am assured, runs for about a minute round 

 the circle, in hopes of escaping; but finding 

 that impossible, it stings itself on the back of 

 the head, and in this manner the undaunted 

 suicide instantly expires. 



It is happy for mankind that these animals 

 are thus destructive to each other; since 

 otherwise they would multiply in so great a 

 degree as to render some countries uninha- 

 bitable. The male and female of this insect 

 are very easily distinguishable; the male be- 

 ing smaller and less hairy. The female brings 

 forth her young nlive, and perfect in their 

 kind. Rhedi having bought a quantity of 

 scorpions, selected the females, which by 

 their size and roughness were easily distin- 

 guishable from the rest, and putting them in 

 separate glass vessels, he kept them for some 

 days without food. In about five days one of 

 them brought forth thirty-eight young ones, 

 well shaped, and of a milk-white colour, which 

 changed every day more and more into a dark 

 rusty hue. Another female, in a different 

 vessel, brought forth twenty-seven of the same 

 colour: and the day following the young ones 

 seemed all fixed to the back and belly of the 

 female. For near a fortnight all these eon- 



