INSECTS. 



A HE class of beings distinguished by the title of 

 Insects, though far inferior in point of magni- 

 tude, must be confessed to surpass in variety of 

 structure and singularity of appearance all the 

 larger branches of the animal world. Their ex- 

 traordinary shapes, the surprising beauty and di- 

 versity of their colours, and above all, the astonish- 

 ing alteration of form which the generality of 

 them undergo, conspire to constitute one of the 

 most curious speculations which the science of 

 natural history can exhibit, and may be said to 

 realize all the fancied transformations recorded in 

 the fictions of poetical romance. 



The general characters by which Insects are 

 distinguished from other animals are these. First, 

 they are furnished with several feet: secondly, the 



V */ ' 



muscles are affixed to the internal surface of the 

 skin, which is of a substance more or less strong, 

 and sometimes very hard and horny: thirdly, they 

 breathe not in the usual manner of the generality 

 of larger animals, by lungs or gills, situated in the 

 upper part of the body, but by a sort of spiracles 

 v. vi. P. i. 1 



