ROCK SCORPION. 577 
the armed tail. This member is composed of six joints, the last being 
modified into an arched point, very sharp, and communicating with two poison 
glands in the base of the joint. With this weapon the Scorpion wounds its 
foes, striking smartly at them, and by the same movement driving some of 
the poison into the wound. The effect of the poison varies much, according 
to the constitution of the person who is stung, and the size and health of 
the Scorpion. Should the creature be a large one, the sting is productive 
ROCK SCORPION. —(Buthus afer.) 
of serious consequences, and in some cases has been known to destroy 
life. Generally, however, there is little danger to life, though the pain 
is most severe and the health rnuch injured for the time, the whole limb 
throbbing with shooting pangs, and the stomach oppressed with over- 
powering nausea. The poison seems to be of an acrid nature, and the 
pain can be relieved by the application of alkaline remedies, such as liquid 
ammonia, tobacco ashes, &c. Melted fat is also thought to do good 
service, and the nausea is relieved by small doses of ipecacuanha. Some 
of the poison can mostly be brought to the surface by means of pressing a 
tube, such as a tolerably large key or the barrel of a small pistol, upon the 
spot, and the duration, if not the severity of the pain, is thereby mitigated. 
In all these creatures the tail is composed of the last six joints of the 
abdomen, and the powerful limbs, with the lobster-like claws at the tips, 
are the modified palpi. The eyes of the Scorpions differ in number, 
some species having twelve, others eight, and others only six: these last 
constitute the genus Scorpio. On the lower surface of the Scorpions are 
seen two remarkable appendages, called the combs, the number of teeth 
differing in the various species. In the Rock Scorpion the teeth are 
thirteen in number, while in the red scorpion there are never less than twenty- 
eight. The Rock Scorpion is a large creature, measuring about six inches in 
length when fully grown, 
Pe 
