258 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



or fifteen centimetres in length, lays eggs, it is said, as large as 

 those of a humming bird. 



The blowfly has an oblong, angular egg, with lozenge-shaped 

 compartments forming a kind of network. They are very white 

 and composed of two distinct envelopes, of which the outer one is 

 a real shell like that of a hen's egg, and breaks as easily. 



The egg of the ant is uniform, smooth, tight and bright, with- 

 out any division. When the larva has come from it, only a very 

 thin membrane is left, which rolls up and is reduced to an imper- 

 ceptible point ; and even if the egg does not hatch, it is still so 

 small as to escape the eyes. This is why these eggs are so little 

 known, for what is commonly and improperly called the egg is 

 really the larva, and is endowed with life and motion. These eggs, 

 or rather these larvae, of ants are very much sought after by barn- 

 yard fowl. An old woman of Paris gained a very comfortable in- 

 come by selling them at the Jardin d'Acclimatation to feed the 

 pheasants. She collected them in the woods of the suburbs, indif- 

 ferent to the bites she received from the old ants. Her trade ex- 

 tended from June till the end of September. Ants' eggs are con- 

 sidered a choice dish in some countries. They are spread upon a 

 slice of bread and butter, and sauces considered excellent are 

 made with them. They are esteemed as a costly food in Siam, 

 within the reach only of well-to-do people. They are the object 

 of an important trade in some countries of northern Europe, 

 where they are cooked in boiling water, and yield a kind of vine- 

 gar or formic acid. 



The eggs of certain aquatic insects resembling noctonectse 

 (Corixo femordle and Corixo mannaria, Geoff roy, and Noctonecta 

 Americana) are eaten in Mexico. They are usually found deposited 

 on the reeds and rushes of the lakes, especially of Lake Tezcuco. 

 The egg-laden reeds and rushes are cut, dried, and beaten over 

 cloths, to detach the myriads of eggs which are fastened on them. 

 The eggs are very carefully cleansed, and are, after that opera- 

 tion, winnowed, put up in sacks like flour, and sold as material 

 for cakes. This novel aliment, which is called Tiantle, and is 

 really water-flea bread, is the object of considerable trade in the 

 markets of Mexico. It has a pronounced fishy flavor, and was 

 used by the natives prior to the conquest. The eggs of another 

 species (Corixa esculenta), which resemble manna, are eaten in 

 Egypt, and form an element of very choice dishes. 



The eggs of insects resist considerable variations of tempera- 

 ture. The most rigorous cold of our winters is fatal to the eggs 

 only of the most delicate species ; and the eggs can likewise resist 

 the most intense tropical heats. Translated for the Popular Sci- 

 ence Monthly from La Nature. 



