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ing this animal, are exhibited at length in the natural history 
of Pliny. The ancients, however, did observe that it coupled, 
was viviparous; that its sting was pierced, so as to give 
passage to the poison, and that this poison was white. They 
further remarked, that the females carried their young ; but 
they supposed that there was but one to each mother ; that this 
had escaped by stratagem from the general slaughter which she 
had made of her posterity, and that it finally revenged its 
brethren, by devouring the author of its life. According to 
others, the mother became the prey of her own family ; but at 
all events the voracity of these animals was fully recognized. 
We cannot rank among the number of these fables the exist- 
ence of scorpions, since there are specimens of such to be 
found. It is likewise possible that individuals may have been 
found whose tail was composed of seven knots instead of six, 
which is the common number. It is probable that the winged 
scorpions, which excited astonishment from their size, such as 
those which Megasthenes informs us were to be found in India, 
are orthoptera of the genus Phasma or spectrum, or hemiptera 
of that of nepa of Linnaeus. Indeed, the name of aquatic 
scorpion has been given to an insect of the latter genus, ex- 
tremely different from the arachnida so designated. Pliny 
informs us that the Psylli endeavoured to naturalize in Italy 
the scorpions of Africa, but that their attempts proved wholly 
unsuccessful. He distinguished, on the authority of Appollo- 
dorus, nine species. Nicander, who reckons one less, gives 
some particular details on the subject, but guided by views 
purely medical. It is from modern writers, and more espe- 
cially from Dr. Maccary, that we must look to obtain more 
certain information respecting the habits of these curious 
animals. The scorpions live on the ground, concealing them- 
selves under stones, most frequently in ruined buildings, in 
sombre and humid situations, and even sometimes in the in- 
terior of houses; they have even been found in beds. They 
