254 EVENINGS AT THE MICEOSCOPE. 



thorax and abdomen, like a Beetle's ; and there is an- 

 other division between the head and thorax, wherein it 

 differs from the Spiders. Tlie first two pair of legs are 

 separated by an intei'val from the last two pairs ; they 

 are all of a translncent pale red hue, as is also the head : 

 eacli consists of seven short joints, the last of which 

 has a sort of heart-shaped pad, something like a horse's 

 hoof, and a single hooked claw, which works against its 

 sole. 



The structure of the head cannot be seen satisfacto- 

 rily otherwise than by crushing the Mite in the com- 

 pressorium ; a process which, when we remember how 

 many thousands we crush down in our oral compresso 

 rium every time we eat ripe cheese, needs not excite 

 much compunction. We must put a drop of water be- 

 tween the plates, in order to wash away the opaque 

 granules which will escape from the bodies of the ani- 

 mals, when the skin, and all the solid parts, will be left 

 beautifully clear and distinct. Moreover, by putting 

 half-a-dozen specimens in at once, we shall secure them 

 pressed in various aspects, and be pretty sure of some 

 perfectly flat and symmetrical. 



I have one under such conditions ; the parts of the 

 mouth nicely expanded, and the whole well displayed. 

 Now for a higher power ; for, to discern this properly, 

 we cannot do with less than 600 diameters. 



Viewed from beneath, we see a broad labium, near- 

 ly square, divided at the tip into two blimt points, with 

 a sharp notch between them. The two lateral edges are, 

 as it were, buttressed by a pair of palpi, which are 

 thick, and consist of four joints each ; these are distin- 

 guished by the bristles at each joint, though the whole 

 are united ; soldered, as it were, to the sides of the lip. 



