BOMBARDIER, OR CARABUS CREPITANS. 123 
Lucy. What a very droll name, 
mamma ; what does it mean ? 
Mother, Bombs are hollow iron 
balls, filled with gunpowder : they burst 
at a distance from the place whence they 
are thrown, with a very loud report, and 
do great execution : they are generally 
used in the attack on fortified towns, and 
the men, whose business it is to fire them 
from mortars, or short, wide cannon, are 
called bombardiers. 
Our beetle bombardier has been thus 
named from a singular noise which it is 
enabled to make, as a means of defence. 
It is seldom known to use its wings, but 
moves by a sort of jump ; and when pur- 
sued, or touched, its assailant is surprized 
by a sudden noise, like the discharge of a 
diminutive mortar or bomb. 
Lucy, A most excellent name for it, 
indeed. 
Mother, A gentleman, who took some 
pains to observe this animal, says, that 
by scratching it with a pin, it can be 
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