S52 APTERA. 
straight, so that it can grasp with them, 
as it were, with a finger and thumb. 
Lucy, Does it prey on any other 
animals than men ? 
Mother, Yes ; very generally on birds, 
of which almost every kind seems to have 
a species peculiar to itself. Cattle, even 
horses, are sometimes, in consequence of 
bad food and insufficient care, seized with 
the lousy disease. But let us quit this 
disgusting subject, and proceed to another 
genus, with which, I fear, you are a 
little better acquainted — the pulex, or 
flea. 
Lucy, Yes, indeed, I have seen fleas, 
and felt them too. 
Mother, Fleas are the only family of 
the order aptera, whose young, after 
quitting the e^^^ pass through the larva 
state. 
Lucy. What little eggs a flea must 
lay. 
Mother, They are very small and 
white, and so perfectly round and po- 
lished, that they would roll to the ground 
