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THE COMMON SCORPION*. 



Most of the Scorpions have a distant resemblance 

 in shape to the lobster, but they are infinitely more 

 ugly. The head appears, as it were, jointed to the 

 breast ; and the mouth is furnished with two jaws, 

 the under one of which is divided into two, and the 

 parts, notched into each other, answer the purpose 

 of teeth, in breaking the food. On each side of 

 the head is a four-jointed arm terminated by a claws 

 somewhat like that of a lobster. The belly is di- 

 vided into seven segments, from the lowest of which 

 the tail commences : this in the present species is 

 armed with a hard, pointed, and crooked sting, the 

 poison of which is very powerful. — Scorpions are 

 most common about old houses, and in dry or de- 

 cayed walls. 



In some parts of Italy and France these animals 

 are among the greatest pests that can plague man- 

 kind ; but in those countries of the East where they 

 grow to a foot in length, there is no removing a 

 piece of furniture without danger of being stung 

 by them. There, we are told, they are full as 

 bulky as a small lobster. 



Many experiments have been made at different 

 times to ascertain the strength of the poison, and in 

 the warm climates it has uniformly been found fatal 

 to the smaller animals. To man the wound is ex- 

 tremely painful. The place becomes inflamed, and 

 the surrounding parts often turn livid, and require 

 to be carefully dressed to prevent mortification. 



* Scorpio Afer. Linn. 



