THE SCORPION. Ill 



pedestrian is passing over a sandy bank, and happens to break 

 away a portion of it with his feet, a great black scorpion comes 

 tumbling down, rolling over and over among the sandy ava- 

 lanche, disengaging itself with an angry snap of its claws and a 

 savage whisk of its tail, and showing fight as if it expected im- 

 mediate attack from some present enemy. In such cases, the 

 Scorpion has been a true burrower, excavating a temporary 

 dwelling in the sandy soil, and living therein during the day. 



Tlie burrows of the Scorpion can always be detected by the 

 peculiar shape of the entrance, •which is of a semilunar form, 

 exactly fitting the outline of the animal which digs it. The 

 shape of the aperture is not unlike that of the hole which is cut 

 in the seats of wooden stools for the purpose of introducing the 

 hand when they are lifted. "Wherever the soil is suitable for 

 their purpose, the Scorpions take every advantage of it, so that a 

 great number of these venomous creatures may be found in a 

 comparatively small space of ground. Captain Pasley, E. A., tells 

 me that, whUe in India, he has often destroyed, in the space of an 

 hour or so, more than forty Scorpions, which had dug their sandy 

 burrows in his garden. 



The semilunar shape of the entrance is an infallible indication 

 of the inhabitant, and in order to find out whether the Scor- 

 pion is at home, a jug full of water is poured into the burrow. 

 Scoi'pions detest water, and when they feel the stream pouring 

 upon them, they issue from their holes in high dudgeon, their 

 pincers preceding them and snapping wildly at the enemy. A 

 fork or spade is then driven under the Scorpion, and its retreat 

 being thus cut off, it is easily killed. 



The same of&cer also mentioned, that he had repeatedly tried the 

 experiment of surrounding the Scorpion with a ring of fire, and 

 that it had invariably stung itself to death. The fiery circle was 

 about fifteen inches in diameter, and composed of smouldering 

 ashes. In every instance the Scorpion ran about for some minutes, 

 trying to escape, and then deliberately bent its tail over its back, 

 inserted the point of its sting between two of the segments of the 

 body and speedily died. This experiment was repeated seven or 

 eight times, and always with the same results, so that a further 

 repetition would have been but a useless cruelty. The heat 

 given out by the ashes was very trifling, and not equal to that 

 which is caused by the noontide sun, a temperature which the 



