530 
SCORPION. 
lour of the body is a dark brown, and therefore not 
easily distinguished from the rotten wood and fur- 
niture under which it lurks. The tail is the instru- 
ment which renders this animal so formidable, and 
the reservoir which contains the poison is situated 
near its extremity, from whence it is ejected 
through two very small holes, one on each side the 
tip of the sting. These holes are so small as to 
elude the sight of any but an accurate observer. 
Some have denied their existence, but others, with 
the assistance of very high magnifying powers, have 
clearly discovered them. This species is justly 
dreaded in Africa, where the activity of its venom 
is frequently productive of troublesome consequences, 
the symptoms becoming severe, and sometimes end- 
ing fatally. 
None of the other species are equally venemous, 
but all are capable of stinging severely, and seem 
actuated by the same malignant spirit ; for they 
will attack each other with fury if confined in 
the same glass, and the survivors will devour the 
conquered. They carry their unnatural temper 
to a still greater length, and even devour their 
young if confined during the time of bringing forth. 
This unnatural propensity Was observed by a cele- 
brated French philosopher, who kept one of these 
animals enclosed in a glass, and saw the young ones 
devoted to destruction, one after another, till they 
were all reduced to a single scorpion, which would 
certainly have shared the same fate, if it had not 
fortunately taken refuge on the back of the mother. 
