26 
NATURAL HISTORY. [UPPER FLOOR. 
and the Proteus from the caverns of Carniola, an animal 
which never voluntarily approaches the light of day, and 
whose very small eyes are so hidden by the sldn, that 
it appears to be absolutely destitute of those organs. A 
wax model, from a living healthy specimen of this ani¬ 
mal, is placed near it, to show the form of its lungs when 
not contracted by immersion in spirits of wine. The Caro¬ 
lina Siren, first described by Ellis, which has only two 
short feet in front; and lastly the Ccecilia , or blind Worm, 
without any limbs, whose eyes, always very small, and 
nearly concealed under the skin, are sometimes wholly 
wanting. 
Case 4 contains specimens of Crustacea , as Crabs, Lob¬ 
sters, Woodlice, and Cirripedes , or the animals which 
inhabit the Acorn Shell and Barnacles, preserved in spirits. 
Cases 5 and 6 contain specimens of Wood pierced with 
Termites; the larvae of Coleopterous and Hymenopterous 
insects, as Cerambyces, Wasps, and Tree Ants. A series 
of Wasp-nests, exhibiting the different structures formed 
by these animals for the protection of their young. The 
rough, irregularly formed paper nest of the true Wasps, 
which contains many horizontal layers of cells covered 
externally with irregular plates, as the under ground nest 
of the Vespa vulgaris , and the tree nest of the Vespa 
Britannica; the latter animal begins its nest by forming 
small bell-shaped chambers, in the cavity of which it forms 
a few cells ; but as the brood extends in numbers, it con¬ 
tinues increasing the size of the outer cover and the 
series of cells, until it resembles the common Wasp’s 
nest. These nests are formed of a substance resembling 
coarse whity brown paper. We have a similar nest, but 
of a much larger size and coarser texture, formed by an 
Indian species of Wasp ( Vespa affinis.) Then follow the 
nests of the Epipkone , which are of a regular form, 
and covered with a hard pasteboard-like substance, con¬ 
taining within them several series of cells. Some of 
these nests are smooth, and have only a single hole 
in the lower surface for the entrance of the insects. 
These nests are enlarged to adapt them to the increase 
of the brood, by the addition of a new chamber over 
what was before the base of the nest, when the last 
