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Novcnibor 1785. and k-ft Scliiiid him anothor poem, entitled 

 the '•■ Allicnaid," relating, in thirty bo()l<s, the wars between 

 the Greeks and Perfians. This was publilhed in 1788, in 

 three vohimcs I2m<.)., but it faik-d compk'tcly in attradling 

 public attention. 



Glov;;u, in Gco^rnphy, a townfliip of Arm^rica, in the 

 ftate of Vermont and county of Orleans, N. E. of Crafts- 

 borough, adjoining. It has 36 inhabitants. 



Glovkh'j- Raf, rocks on the bay of Honduras. N. lat. 

 l6\ W. long. 88 20'. 



GLOW-WORM, in Entomikgy. Sec CI^I^•nKI,.^. C<in- 

 tharh and CicimL/ri have been often ufed, indifcriininately, 

 for the glow-worm ; but they form two dilUm'l genera of 

 the fame order in the Linnx-an iyilem. See Cantii.\1{1s. 

 The gloW-wonn is often feen in the day time. 



The male and female differ greatly in this fpecies of infeft. 

 The male ha.s wings, and is a fmall fly ; the female has no 

 wings, but is a large crawling worm. 



The body of the male is oblong, and fomewhat flatted ; 

 the wings are fltortcr than the body ; the head is broad, dun, 

 and flat ; the eyes are large and black. This has no light 

 iffuing from it, and is not commonly fuppofed to be at all 

 of kin to the glow-worm. 



The female is what we exprefsly call by this name ; this 

 is a very flow-paced animal, without wings, and fomewhat 

 refembling a caterpillar ; the head is fmall, flat, hard, and 

 black, and fliarp towards the mouth : it has fliort antenna, 

 ar.d fix moderately long legs ; the body is flat, and is com- 

 pofed of twelve rings, irhcreas the body of the male confifts 

 0!)ly of five ; it is of a du&y colour, with a ftreak of white 

 dov.-n the back. It is often feen in the day-time, but it is 

 not known except in the dark ; at which time it is eaiily 

 diftinguiftied by the glowing light, or lambent flame, that is 

 feen near the tail, iflTuing from the under part of the 

 body. 



Tlie common glow-worm is frequently met witli under 

 our hedges, and, if carefully taken up, may be kept alive 

 many days on frefh turfs of grafs ; all which time it will 

 eontinue to fliine in the dark. 



The light of this little infeft is fo rtrong, that it will (hew 

 itfelf through feveral fubilances, in which the creature may 

 be put up ; a thin pill-box eafily (hews it through, and even 

 though lined with paper, the light is not impeded in its 

 pafTage by both. The creature is fluggifli, and appears 

 dead in the day-time, and its light is not diilinguifliable, 

 even if carried into a darkened room, unlefs the creature be 

 turned upon its back, and diflurbed, fo as to be put in 

 motion, and then it is but very faint ; after fun-fct the light 

 begins to return, and with it the life and motion of the 

 animal. The motion and light of this creature feem, in 

 fome meafure, to deper.d upon one another ; it never fhine.s 

 but when the body is in fome fort of motion ; and when it 

 Ihines moll, the body is extended to one-third more than its 

 k-ngth in the day-time. In the time of brighteil fr.ining, it 

 will fometimes on a fudden turn its body about, and the 

 light will not be larger than the head oF a pin ; and, 011 

 being touched, it will then immediately extend itfelf, and 

 the light will become as large and bright as ever. Phil. 

 Tranf. N" 71. 



Two points feem to be agreed upon by natnralifts, with 

 regard to the light ifTuing from the tail of a glow-worm ; 

 firit, that it is phofphoric, and fecondly, that its ufe is to 

 attraft the male infeft. Should the iingularity, if any 

 fiich there be, in the natural hiflory of thi'-. animal, which 

 fliDuld render a proviflon of this kind niore i:cce!rary for the 

 glow-worm, thin for other infefts, be a fubjeft of inquiry ; 

 it may be obiirved that this llngiJarity Jeen-.s to be the 



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difference, which fubfifts between the male and the female, 

 which diderencc is greater than what is found in any other 

 fjjecies of animal wliatever. The glow-worm, as we have 

 ()bfervcd, is a female caterpiihir, the male of nhicli is a fly ; 

 lively, comparatively fmall, difliinilir to the female in ap- 

 pearance, probably alfo as dill.ngui(hcd from her in habits, 

 purfuits, and manners, as he is unlike in form and external 

 conftitution. Hence it appears, that the caterpillar cannot 

 lueet her companion in the air. The winged rover di("daiiis 

 the ground. They might never therefore be bro ght toge- 

 ther, did not this radiant torch direct the volatile mate to 

 his fedentary fcinale. 



" In this example,'' fays the ingenious author now cited, 

 " we fee the refources of art anticipated. One grand opera- 

 tion of chemiftry is the making of phofphorusj and it was 

 thought an ingenious device, to make phofphoric matches 

 lupply the place of lighted tapers. Now this very thing is 

 done in the body of the glow-worm. The phofphorus is not 

 only made, but kindled ; and caufed to emit a fteady and 

 genial beam, for the purpofe which is here Hated, and whiet 

 I believe to be the true one."' Palcy's Natural Theology, 



tjj.ow-rvorm, Flying, ciandria I'olans. In the warmer 

 months of the year, this creature is fometimes caught in our 

 houfes flying to the flame of a candle, ;md when examined 

 in the dark, it is found luminous at thefc times, though 

 perhaps lei's-, or not at all fo, at others ; which may be a 

 reafon of its not being known, though caught in the fields ; 

 and to this it may be owing-, that many who have dcfcribtd 

 it have thought it not a native of England. Without wings 

 It is frequently enough found iu form of the common glow- 

 worm, and then always (hines. Aldrovand has very well 

 defcribed the dchirlela vohws, and fays, that it lays eggs 

 which hatch into fmall worms, and that thefc after a timt; 

 beconie flies, by the fame fort of change wliich happens to 

 caterpillars and other reptiles which become butterflies, and 

 other fpecies of w-ingeJ infers. Mouffett, and Thomas 

 Barthoiine, both defcribe the animal much as Aldrovand 

 has done, but they allow the male only to have wings ; but 

 Juhus Scaliger contradiifls this, and fays, that he has caught 

 them both winged in the aft of generation : this is a plain 

 proof that both fexes are wingod ; yet it has not happened 

 that both fexes have been acknowledged to be fo, even by 

 thofe who have quoted this palTnge. And Mr. Waller, 

 who gives an account of them in the Philofopliical Tranf- 

 aftions, obfervcd them in the fame manner in the aCt of 

 copukition both winged, and with no other difference be- 

 tween them but that th? female was the larger of the two, 

 which is the cafe in regard to many infcfts. Julius Scalig. 

 Excrc. 191. Pl-.il. Tranf N 167, p. 841. 



The male and female in this -winged Hate both fliine in hot 

 weather, and their light is fo vivid as to be eafily feen even 

 while there is xi candle in tlie room ; the vibrations of it are 

 iiTcgular and its colour greenilh. The luminou» parts arc two 

 fmall fpecks under th.- tail at the end, and the light continues 

 in thcfe fome time after the tail is cutott, but then gradually 

 goes o-ut. 



The parts of infefts continue alive iu fome degree for a 

 conhderable time after they are cut off, and probably the hght 

 in the tail of this animal continues jull as long as tkat lort 

 of life remains in it. MouiFett, cap. 15. 



The ufe of tliis light feenis to be to direft the animal in its 

 coiirfc, and in the taking of its prey, and to this purpofe it 

 is admirably placed. The tail is eaiily bent under the btlly, and. 

 then throws the light full upon any objedl about or under the 

 head of the animal, and tiie eyes are placed not on the upper 

 part but. on tlie under f:de ot the head; fo tkiL they haTe- 

 ^ all 



