137 
hornets use their stings in overpowering other in- 
sects, on which they prey extensively, and also in 
their wars for plunder. The Pennsylvanian sand- 
wasp is said to seize on grasshoppers, as the appro- 
priate food for its own larve. It plunges its sting 
into the body of the grasshopper so as not to produce 
death but torpor, lest the body, when deposited in 
its nest, should putrify and become a nuisance, and 
unfit for nourishment. I need only refer for full in- 
formation to the interesting chapters of Kirby and 
Spence, on benefits and injuries from insects. 
Fish supply mankind with nearly one third of 
their food: with the varnish of the Roman pearl; 
with shagreen, with isinglass and caviare. The pur- 
suit of fish for commerce exercises the industry of 
many thousands in all commercial countries. The 
occupation of angling has been invested, by the en- 
thusiastic Isaac Walton, with a character of ele- 
gance approaching to dignity. 
Fish present, however, some annoyance to the hu- 
man race. ‘The perilous rapacity of the shark is no- 
torious. Humboldt mentions a small fish, four or 
five inches in length, in the Oroonoko river, named 
caribee, or caribito, of most bloodthirsty propensi- 
ties. “It attacks bathers and swimmers, from 
whom it often carries away considerable pieces of 
flesh. When a person is slightly wounded, it is diffi- 
cult for him to leave the water without receiving a 
second and severer injury. These cruel and vora- 
cious fish live at the bottom of rivers; but if a few 
drops of blood be sprinkled on the water, they come 
