THE SCORPION. 
6 5 
in every crevice; and it not unfrequently happens that when a 
pedestrian is passing over a sandy bank, and happens to break 
away a portion of it with his feet, a great black scorpion comes 
tumbling down, rolling over and over among the sandy ava- 
lanche, disengaging itself with an angry snap of its claws and a 
savage whisk of its tail, and showing fight as if it expected im- 
mediate attack from some present enemy. In such cases, the 
Scorpion has been a true burrower, excavating a temporary 
dwelling in the sandy soil, and living therein during the day. 
The burrows of the Scorpion can always be detected by the 
peculiar shape of the entrance, which is of a semilunar form, 
exactly fitting the outline of the animal which digs it. The 
shape of the aperture is not unlike that of the hole which is 
cut in the seats of wooden stools for the purpose of introducing 
the hand when they are lifted. Wherever the soil is suitable for 
their purpose, the Scorpions take every advantage of it, so that 
a great number of these venomous creatures may be found in a 
comparatively small space, of ground. Captain Pasley, R.A., 
tells me that, while in India, he has often destroyed, in the 
space of an hour or so, more than forty Scorpions, which had 
dug their sandy burrows in his garden. 
The semilunar shape of the entrance is an infallible indication 
of the inhabitant, and in order to find out whether the Scor- 
pion is at home, a jug full of water is poured into the burrow. 
Scorpions detest water, and when they feel the stream pouring 
upon them, they issue from their holes in high dudgeon, their 
pincers preceding them and snapping wildly at the enemy. A 
fork or spade is then driven under the Scorpion, and its retreat 
being thus cut off, it is easily killed. 
The same officer also mentioned, that he had repeatedly tried 
the experiment of surrounding the Scorpion with a ring of fire, 
and that it had invariably stung itself to death. The fiery circle 
was about fifteen inches in diameter, and composed of smoulder- 
ing ashes. In every instance the Scorpion ran about for some 
minutes, trying to escape, and then deliberately bent its tail 
over its back, inserted the point of its sting between two of the 
segments of the body and speedily died. This experiment was 
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