NATURAL HISTORY. 21 



" Well, this is very curious." 



" Yes ; but there are some of these insect 

 workmen more curious still. Did you ever 

 see a spy-glass ? You know it is a round, 

 hollow piece of wood, with brass tubes in it, 

 which are made smaller and smaller, so as to 

 slide into one another, when the glass is not 

 used. Now there is a sort of gadfly (she is a 

 little creature, too) which has exactly such a 

 contrivance to keep her gimlet in. It is in 

 four pieces, and the smallest piece ends in 

 five sharp points, three of which are longer 

 than the other two : she twists these five sharp 

 points into one piece, and as some are longer 

 and some shorter, when they are all put to- 

 gether, they make a sharp edge running all 

 around, and are almost exactly like an au- 

 ger or gimlet. When she wants to use it, 

 she just shoots out the different tubes, so as 

 to make a stem for the gimlet ; and when she 

 is done, she puts all back into its case again. 



" Here is a drawing of it, and I think that 

 by looking at it you will understand what 

 I have been telling you: I do not know 

 whether men learned from this part of the fly 

 how to make the case of a spy-glass ; but I 

 know they might have learned. 



