498 



THE REASON WHY IN NATURAL HISTORY. 



Because the insect is one of the beetle tribe, 

 having a horny case upon its head, with which 

 it taps upon any hard substance. The ticking is 

 the call of the insect to its species, just as the 

 noise made by the cricket is a note of* communi- 

 cation with other crickets. 



There is a superstition connected with the death-watch, 

 which, like most superstitions, is based upon the theory of 

 probabilities. The death-watch is usually heard in the 

 spring of the year, and a superstition runs to the effect that 

 some one in the house will die before the year has ended. 

 Persons who are superstitious are never very strict in the 

 interpretation of their predictions ; and therefore, whether 

 a person dies in the house or out of it, in the same room 

 where the death-watch was heard, or across the wide Atlan- 

 tic, so that there be some kind of relationship, or even 

 acquaintance, between the person who hears the omen, and 

 the person dying, the event is sure to be connected with the 

 prophetic sounds of the death-watch. Little weens the 

 small timber -boring beetle, when he is tapping gently to call 

 bis mate, and perhaps peeping into every corner and crevice 

 to find her, that he is sending dismay into the heart of some 

 superstitious listener, who, in ignorance of a simple fact, 

 Overwhelms herself with an imaginary grief. 



89. Why are insects in the first stage, after leav- 

 ing the egg, said to be in the " larva " state? 



Because that name is founded upon the Latin 

 word larva, meaning masked, clothed as with a 

 mask ; the term is meant to express that the 

 future insect is diguised in its first form. 



90. Why are insects in the second state said to be 

 in the "pupa " state? 



Because the term is derived from the Latin 

 pupa, from a slight resemblance in the manner 

 in which the insects are enclosed, to that in 

 which it was the fashion of the ancients to 

 bandage their infants. 



91. Why are insects in the "pupa " stage also 

 called " chrysalides "? 



Because, as the Latin term implies, it is 

 adorned with gems. Many chrysalides are 

 studded with golden and pearl-like spots. 



92. Why are the perfect insects said to be in the 

 " nymph " state? 



Because their joyful existence, and their beauti- 

 ful forms, give them a fancied resemblance to the 

 nymphs of the heathen mythology. The nymphs 

 were supposed goddesses of the mountains, 

 forests, meadows, and waters. 



This term has generally, but very improperly, been also 

 applied to the pupa state, so that pupa, chrysalis, and 

 nymph have all been employed to represent one state. 

 This is obviously an error, as there is nothing in the condi- 



tion of the pupa or chrysalis that can at all accord with 

 mythological idea of a nymph, and which, in reference 

 the beautiful and joyous fly, finds a much truer applicatic 



93. Whence does the snail obtain its shellt 

 Young snails come from the egg with a 



upon their backs. 



94. How does the shell grow with the increase 

 size of the animal ? 



The soft slime which is yielded by the body 

 the animal hardens upon the orifice of the she 

 and thus increases its size. 



95. Why is the shell spiral t 



Partly because of its original formation ; 

 also because, as the shell grows, the opening 

 elongated, and thrown up, causing the spi 

 body of the shell to turn, and so to wind it 

 growth around the center. 



96. Why has the snail four tentacula attached to 

 its head ? 



Because the insect, having no other limbs, is 

 provided with those projecting members, the 

 lower two serving as feelers and the upper two 

 also as feelers and eyes. These, projecting in 

 the front of the animal, impart to it a conscious- 

 ness of surrounding objects, and especially of 

 those which lie in its path. 



97. Why is the snail able to move without feet / 

 Because it has attached to its body a fringe of 



muscular skin, which is capable of considerable 

 contraction and expansion, and by alternately 

 stretching and shortening this, the snail is able 

 to draw himself along. 



98. Why do we see no snails in winter time t 

 Because they bury themselves in the ground, 



or in holes, where they remain in a torpid state 

 for several months. Before they enter into the 

 torpid state, they form with their slimy secretion, 

 and with some earthy matters which they collect, 

 a strong cement with which they seal up the 

 opening to their shells. 



99. Why can snails live in shells thus sealed t 

 Because they leave, in the thin wall by which 



they close themselves in, a small hole, too small 

 to admit water, but large enough to let in suffi- 

 cient air to carry on their feeble respiration dur- 

 ing their winter sleep. 



100. Why rfn insects abound injiutrid waters, and 

 in decaying substances ? 



