762 



A HISTORY OF 



tinued alive and well; but afterwards some 

 of them died daily: until, in about a month, 

 they all died except two. 



Were it worth the trouble, these animals 

 might be kept living as long as curiosity 

 should think proper. Their chief food is 

 worms and insects ; and upon a proper sup* 

 ply of these, their lives might be lengthened 

 to their natural extent. How long that may 

 lj, we are not told ; bnt if we may argue 

 from analogy, it cannot be less than s-.'veu or 

 eight years; and perhaps, in the larger kind, 

 double that duration. As they have some- 

 what the form of the lobster, so they resemble 

 that animal in casting their shell, or more 

 properly their skin; since it is softer by far 

 than the covering of the lobster, and set with 

 hairs, which grow from it in great abundance, 

 particularly at the joinings. The young lie 

 :j the womb of the oarent, each covered up 



in its own membrane, to the number of forty 

 or fifty, and united to each other by an ob- 

 long thread, so as to exhibit altogether the 

 form of a chaplel. 



Such is the manner in which the common 

 scorpion produces its young; but there is a 

 scorpion of America, produced from the egg, 

 in the manner of the spider. The eggs ;ire 

 no larger than pin-points ; and they are de- 

 posited in a web, which they spin from their 

 bodies, and carry about with them, till they 

 are hatched. As soon as the young ones are 

 excluded from the shell, they get upon the 

 back of the parent, who turns her tail over 

 them, and defends them with her sting. It 

 seems probable, therefore, that captivity pro- 

 duces that unnatural disposition in the scor- 

 pion, which induces it to destroy its young; 

 since, at liberty, it is found to protect them 

 with such unceasing assiduity. 



CHAPTER CLXXVI. 



OF THE SCOLOPENDRA AND G ALLY-WORM. 



OF these hideous and angry insects we 

 know little, except the figure and the noxious 

 qualities. Though with us there are insects 

 somewhat resembling them in form, we are 

 pi u-od at a happy distance from such as are 

 really formidable. With us they seldom 

 grow above an inch long; in the tropical 

 climates they are often found above a quarter 

 of a yard. 



The Scolopendra is otherwise called the 

 Centipea, from the number of its feet; and it 

 is very common in many parts of the world, 

 especially between the tropics. Those of 

 the East Indies, where they grow to the lar- 

 gest size, are about six inches long, of a 

 rud.ly colour, and as thick as a man's finger: 

 they consist of many joints; and from each 

 joint is a leg o;i each side: they are cover- 

 ed with hair, and seem to have no eyes: but 

 there are two feelers on the head, which they 

 make use of to find out the way they are to 

 pass: the head is vory round, with two small 

 sharp teeth, with which they inflict wounds 



that are very painful and dangerous. A sailor 

 j that was bit by one on board a ship, felt an 

 excessive pain, and his life was supposed to 

 be in danger : however, he recovered, by the 

 application ot three roasted onions to the part, 

 and was soon quite well. Ofthis animal there 

 are different kinds: some living, like worm*, 

 in holes in the earth: oth.'-rs und^r Clones 

 and among rotten wood : so that nothing is 

 more dangerous than removing those sub- 

 stances, in the places where they breed. 



The G.dly-worm differs from the soo'o- 

 pendra, in having double the number of foot: 

 there being two on each side, to every joint 

 of the body. Some of these are smooth, and 

 others hairy : some ore yellow, some black, 

 and some brown. They are found among 

 decayed trees, between the wood and c 

 bark; as also among stones that are covered 

 with moss. They all, when touched, contract 

 themselves, rolling themselves up like a ball. 

 Whatever may be their qualities in the tropi- 

 cal parts of the world, in Europe they are 



