the fmaller European fpecies this is well known to be 

 the cafe ; the larvae, or thofe which are young, being 

 furnifhed with fewer feet than when in a more advan- 

 ced date of life. The fpecies here defcribed, is of a 

 poifonous nature, and is furnifhed with a pair of for- 

 ceps, which being tubular, and with an opening or flit 

 towards the points, are the inftruments through which 

 the infeft inje&s its poifonous juice when it bites. 



Thefe large Scolopendrae chiefly inhabit the woods, 

 where they arc preyed upon by different fpecies of 

 fnakes • but, like the European ones, they fometimes 

 are found in houfes, and are faid to be fo common in 

 fome particular difiri&s, that the inhabitants are obliged 

 to have the feet of their beds placed in veffels of water, 

 to prevent their being annoyed during the night by 

 thefe horrible reptiles. The older writers on Natural 

 Hiftory are full of the dreadful confequences refulting 

 from the bites of Scolopendrae, but their defcriptions 

 are fo vague, and their accounts fo uncertain, that no 

 great fatisfa&ion can be obtained from reading their 

 Hiftories. 



