CLEANLINESS. 23 



an operation which I have never myself witnessed; 

 but as the strange insect had evidently no wings, this 

 could not be the design of the movements to which 

 I have alluded. I have more than once seen a 

 female moth strip the down from her body to furnish 

 her eggs with a warm covering, for which purpose 

 she bent in the required direction an instrument like 

 a pair of tweezers, situated at the extremity of the 

 tail ; but in the instance in question this could not 

 be the case, as there was no down on the body ; and 

 yet, upon closer inspection, it seemed to be pulling 

 off something very assiduously from the parts upon 

 which the extremity of the tail was turned back. 



" There appeared to be something so uncommon in 

 these movements, that my curiosity was excited to 

 observe them more minutely ; and as the creature was 

 not at all timid, I could easily observe it through a 

 glass of some power. The caudal instrument I dis- 

 covered, by this means, to consist of a double row of 

 white cartilaginous rays, disposed in a circle, one row 

 within the other ; and, what was most singular, these 

 were retractile, in a similar manner to the horns of a 

 snail. The rays were united by a soft moist gela- 

 tinous membrane, but so as to be individually exten- 

 sile ; one or two being frequently stretched beyond 

 the line of the other. The rays were also capable of 

 being bent as well as extended, and they could there- 

 fore be applied to the angles or depressions of an 

 uneven surface. 



" It was not long before I convinced myself that 

 this singular instrument was employed by the insect 

 for cleaning itself; and it would have been difficult 

 to devise any thing more effectual for the purpose, 

 though its action was different from all others of this 

 kind with which I was acquainted, inasmuch as it 

 operated by suction, and not as a comb, a brush, or 



