204 AUGUST 



flows down grooves on the inner sides of these, and 

 trickles into the corners of the mouth, after which 

 the Dytiscus sometimes devours the solid portion of 

 the carcase. The larva of the great water-beetle 

 (Hydrophilus), largest of all British coleoptera ex- 

 cept the stag beetle, is even more loathsome to look 

 on, and few amateurs would care to handle it. 



Many of these Coleoptera have the objectionable 

 faculty of discharging foetid fluid from various parts 

 of their bodies, which secures them from interfer- 

 ence, whether of meddlesome man or of hungry fish 

 and birds. Nevertheless, the structure of these 

 creatures well repays examination. So perfect is 

 the adaptation of means to end, that one is tempted 

 sometimes to feel dissatisfied with the mechanism 

 of the human frame. The swimming legs of the 

 minute Gyrinus, or merry-go-round, are most elabor- 

 ately and masterly inventions, with provision for 

 feathering the little oars, and intricate apparatus for 

 shipping them. Watching a swarm of these steely 

 little dots whirling on the surface of some back- 

 water, one reflects how incalculably swift must be the 

 volition directing the movements of these complex 

 limbs, and incessantly altering the course steered. 



On the other hand, how strangely imperfect 



