THE BUTTERFLY AND MOTH. 175 



fishes, as their imaginations were disposed to catch the resem- 

 blance. In fact, if we regard the wing of a butterfly with a good 

 microscope, we shall perceive it studded over with a variety of 

 little grains of different dimensions and forms, generally sup 

 ported upon a foot-stalk, regularly laid upon the whole surface. 

 Nothing can exceed the beautiful and regular arrangement of 

 these little substances, which thus serve to paint the butterfly's 

 wing, like the tiles of a house. Those of one rank are a little 

 covered by those that follow; they are of many figures: on one 

 part of the wing may be seen a succession of oval studs, on an- 

 other part a cluster of studs, each in the form of a heart ; in one 

 place they resemble a hand open, and in another they are long 

 or triangular ; while all are interspersed with taller studs, that 

 grow between the rest, like mushrooms upon a stalk. The wing 

 itself is composed of several thick nerves, which render the con- 

 struction very strong, though light ; and though it be covered 

 over with thousands of these scales or studs, yet its weight is very 

 little increased by the number. The animal is with ease enabled 

 to support itself a long while in the air, although its flight be not 

 very graceful. When it designs to fly to a considerable dis- 

 tance, it ascends and descends alternately ; going sometimes to 

 the right, sometimes to the left, without any apparent reason. 

 Upon closer examination, however, it will be found that it flies 

 thus irregularly in pursuit of its mate ; and as dogs bait and 

 quarter the ground in pursuit of their game, so these insects 

 traverse the air in quest of their mates, whom they can discover 

 at more than a mile's distance. 



If we prosecute our description of the butterfly, the animal 

 may be divided into three parts ; the head, the corslet, and the 

 body. 



The body is the hinder part of the butterfly, and is composed 

 of rings, which are generally concealed under long hair, with 

 which that part of the animal is clothed. The corslet is more 

 solid than the rest of the body, because the fore wings and the 

 legs are fixed therein. The legs are six in number, although 

 four only are made use of by the animal ; the two fore legs be- 

 ing often so much concealed in the long hair of the body, that it is 

 sometimes difficult to discover them. If we examine these parts 

 internally, we shall find the same set of vessels in the butterfly 

 that we observed in the caterpillar, but with this great difference 

 — that as the blood, or humours, in the caterpillar, circulated 

 from the tail to the head, they are found in the butterfly, to take 

 a direct contrary course, and to circulate from the head to the 

 tail ; so that the caterpillar may be considered as the embryo 

 animal, in which, as we have formerly seen, the circulation ia 



