OF ANIMALS IN GENERAL. 69 



address, and do many other things which might 

 appear to arise from reflection and judgment. 



A particular kind of spider, which makes 

 itself a house in holes in the ground, shuts up 

 the entrance by means of a door, composed of 

 particles of soil, fastened together by threads of 

 silk. This door is held by a silken hinge to the 

 opening at the upper side, and is so nicely 

 balanced, that, when pushed up, it shuts itself 

 again by its own weight. The most wonderful 

 examples of instinct are shown, however, by those 

 animals which live together in great numbers, as 

 the bee and the ant. These build themselves 

 habitations of the most beautiful regularity, land 

 full of commodious apartments. 



The modes which some animals take to defend 

 themselves afford singular proofs of the care 

 taken for their preservation. Horses have been 

 known, when attacked by a wolf, to range them- 

 selves in a circle with their heads close together, 

 and to defend themselves by kicking out with their 

 hind-legs ; oxen use their horns for the same 

 purpose, and the hedge-hog erects its prickles. 

 Some creatures, which live in water, make it 

 muddy when in danger, and the cuttle-fish throws 

 out an inky fluid, and by this means hides itself, 

 and escapes pursuit. Others, particularly amongst 

 insects, feign to be dead. The dor-beetle, which 

 is so commonly found humming about, will, 

 when it is caught, stretch out its legs quite stiff, 



