THE COCKROACH 



tacle she carries her eggs, these being wonderfully 

 arranged and protected. In at least one foreign species 

 {Panesthia javanica), it is believed that the young are 

 actually produced alive, and in another, the insect has 

 the habit of rolling into a tight-fitting ball similar to the 

 well-known Wood Louse. Young Cockroaches are at 

 first whitish in colour, and, although resembling their 

 parents, they do not come to maturity until, as with 

 true larvse, they have cast their skins several times. 

 This insect was originally introduced into Britain from 

 Asia and the Levant, probably brought over on some 

 homeward-bound vessel, and it has found the condi- 

 tions admirably suited to its requirements. In the 

 household the Cockroach is not a desirable inmate as, 

 when it comes into contact with food — its diet is omni- 

 vorous and nothing comes amiss to it — it taints it with a 

 peculiar foetid odour. It will even devour leather, and 

 whilst a great deal cannot be said in its favour, it is, 

 perhaps, one of Nature's scavengers, and as a native of 

 countries less sanitary than our own, it is likely that it 

 fulfils no unimportant place where humans fail to act. 

 It is said that, when the conditions become unsuitable, 

 these creatures will all leave one house for another in 

 a body. The Hedgehog is stated to be a good Cock- 

 roach-catcher, but I have never put this to the test, not 

 having as lodgers any of the insects with which to ex- 

 periment. I best remember these unwelcome guests as 

 tenanting my old home at St. Albans (one of the old 

 coaching inns), as they do not seem to care for new 



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