THE COMMON WOOD-LOUSE. 171 



than the former ; they circumscribe the abdominal region, the 

 belly, properly so called, in which the intestines are lodged. 

 These rings, or abdominal segments, are six in number ; but 

 they have not all the same form. The one which occupies the 

 tail is triangular, pointed, and surrounded by four (caudal) 

 appendages. The three next segments, counting from the 

 front to the rear, are prolonged laterally in a very marked 

 manner ; the two anterior, on the contrary, have no such dis- 

 tinction. As for the caudal appendages, the 

 two outer ones are very strong, conical, and 

 composed of two articulations, while the 

 inner, situated above the former, are frail, 

 cylindrical, and terminated by a tuft of hairs, 

 whence issues a viscous liquid. (See Fig. FIG. 35. 



\ The Wood- Louse. 



An enumeration of these characteristics is tedious, but 

 necessary for the determination of the genus and the species. 

 They belong to the Oniscus asellus, or common wood-louse. 

 But why, you ask, why such a strange conjunction of names, 

 one Greek, oi</<rxo, the other Latin, asellus ? Both carry the 

 same meaning : why not, then, have called our tiny crusta- 

 cean an ass-ass (if such a compound be possible)? Why, 

 neither close at hand nor at a distance, has it the slightest 

 resemblance to an ass and to say that we have only borrowed 

 these names from the ancients, is neither an explanation nor 

 a justification. 



But we have not yet done with the wood-lice. Are these 

 interesting little creatures (they are interesting, are they not ?) 



