ORDER I. PULMONARIA. — SCORPIONS. 267 
de Jonnes, the young of humming-birds. One species, the Mason, or Min- 
ing Spider, constructs, in dry, shelving situations exposed to the sun, sub- 
terranean, cylindrical galleries, often two feet deep, and so tortuous that 
traces of them are often lost. They also construct, at the entrance, a mov- 
able lid of silk and earth, fixed by a hinge, which, by its exact .size, in- 
clination, and weight, so closely shuts the opening that it can scarcely be 
distinguished from the neighboring soil. In these hidden retreats it secretes 
itself, and waits for its prey. A very large species of Mining Mygale is 
found in Texas. 
Scorrio. — The Scorpions. These animals are all peculiar to hot cli- 
mates, and in all ages have been objects of dread. The agony caused by 
their sting has, from the earliest times, been employed by the poets as a 
figure of mental anguish, or of the torments of conscience. The great 
dramatist makes Macbeth thus describe the tortures of his soul: “O, full 
of scorpions is my breast, dear wife !” 
The body of the Scorpion is elongated, and terminates abruptly in a 
jointed tail, armed at the extremity with a curved and very acute spine; 
under the point of this spine are two very small orifices, which serve to give 
passage to a poisonous fluid. The anterior pair of feet, or palpi, are very 
large, resembling those of the lobster in form, and serve to seize and bear 
to the mouth of the animal the various insects on which it feeds; the other 
feet do not differ essentially in form from those of the spider. At the junc- 
tion of the thorax and abdomen are two movable plates, having the form 
of combs, the use of which is not well understood. Several species of 
scorpions are known —all inhabiting the warmer parts of the globe. They 
shun moisture, living on the ground in places exposed to a hot sun, and 
hiding under stones or in crevices, and, when disturbed, run rapidly, with 
their tails curved over their backs. The species of the south of Europe are 
little more than an inch in leneth, while some of the tropical species exceed 
five inches. The sting of the larger ones is very much dreaded, and is said 
frequently to cause death. In some places they are so numerous as to 
become a constant object of apprehension to the inhabitants, and even force 
them to abandon their habitations. The Scorpions may be divided into two 
sections, viz., those with eight eyes, and those which have only six, like 
the species which inhabit the Southern States. The poison increases in 
power according to the age of the animal, but may be neutralized by the 
application of volatile alkali, either internally or externally. 
