BOOK III 



INSECTS. 



To a marvellous delicacy of organization these animals 

 join a still more marvellous intelligence. The perfection of 

 their microscopic tools would lead us to suppose them ca- 

 pable of executing works of boundless variety ; and this is, 

 indeed, the case. These minute creatures often build up 

 structures of an elegance and size that far surpass all 

 expectation. These, too, are so varied that Reaumur, 

 and after him Rennie, in his admirable "Architecture of 

 Insects," grouped the workmen in castes. Indeed, among 

 insects there are evidently architects, masons, upholsterers, 

 paper-makers, joiners, pasteboard makers, and hydraulic 

 engineers. Others dislike work, and are veritable pirates, 

 always engaged in war and pillage. 



We find also in this class extremes of size and strength. 

 One gigantic beetle, such as, for instance, the Goliath, may 

 exceed the size of some of the humming-birds, which he 

 would pitilessly strangle in his claws if he caught them in 

 his path ; while another insect may be so small, so calcu- 

 lated to escape notice, that we only discover it by the aid 

 of the magnifying-glass. 



The insect class displays in every part a harmonious or- 





