ENTOMOLOGICAL. 89 



chambers of its dwelling. And one after another of 

 these unlucky caterpillars became the victim, until at 

 last we counted sixteen living caterpillars in two cells, 

 one containing ten and the other six. When the eggs so 

 deposited became hatched, the inner grub would feed 

 upon the outer, until the whole were destroyed, when the 

 perfect wasp would emerge from the intermediate state 

 the pupa, that is and escape through the open door. 



My friend, whose eyes are always open for such 

 interesting facts as these, gave me a description of how 

 one of the ichneumon flies managed recently to obtain 

 possession of one of those curious insects which, in the 

 caterpillar state, constructs its dwelling by rolling a 

 leaf around itself, in which to hide from its enemies. 

 The ichneumon, making the best use of its many thou- 

 sands of eyes, espied the caterpillar carefully concealed 

 in its leafy bed, while attempting to enter; the other, 

 frightened, endeavoured to escape at the back entrance, 

 which the enemy, anticipating, instantly discovered, 

 securing its prey, when the fatal egg was deposited in 

 the victim's body to hatch in due time. 



How many books have been written upon instinct ! In 

 what respect is it like intelligence? how often is the 

 former superior to the latter ! For some time this troubled 

 me, knowing that many insects seem far wiser than myself; 

 and I wondered whether this remarkable instinct, which 

 is mysteriously associated with mind, would die out when 

 its possessor was done with, until I knew that to the 

 intellect of man there is added a spiritual nature, which is 

 included in the passage with which we are familiar, " And 

 God breathed into man's nostrils the breath of lives, 

 and man became a living soul." * 



* Gen. ii. 7. The Hebrew for life, when applied to man, is, in the 

 Bible, always in the plural. 



