WATER-BOATMEN. 57 



of Water - boatman, of the variety Corixa, are 

 eaten by the Mexicans under the name of "haou- 

 tle." The eggs are collected by sinking bundles 

 of reeds in the water, and the Corixa lays its eggs 

 on such bundles which are afterwards scraped and 

 the eggs are made into cakes. It is well for the 

 Mexicans that the Boatmen do not know of this 

 performance. The Bohemians are said on the 

 evening of all festival days to give some garlic 

 to the house-dog, the cock, and the gander, it be- 

 ing thought that such food will make the three 

 very brave. But I think the Boatmen would need 

 no food to rouse the heroic spirit within them. 

 If they heard of this Mexican performance, the 

 next thing would be a pitched battle between the 

 Boatmen and the supplanters of the Aztecs, and I 

 fear the latter would hardly come off victorious. 

 "Upon experience all these bugs grow familiar 

 and easy to us," says L'Estrange. Perhaps they 

 do. But I should be afraid to count too much on 

 my familiarity with the Boatmen. 



De Geer supposed that the Water - boatman 

 drops some poison into its bite, since insects die 

 so soon after being pierced. And Wood likens 

 the dull, aching pain that follows the smart prick 

 of the proboscis of Corixa to the sting of a wasp 

 after the first sharpness of that has passed. I 

 cannot myself state how it feels, for I am thank- 

 ful to say that, in all my acquaintance with these 

 bugs, I have escaped their proboscides. I ana 



