er doce cone, 
generative act of these insects has some peculi- 
arities. The male, which is generally smaller 
than the female, and always cognizable by the 
greater size of his foliated aniennw, previous to’ 
this operation, is very active. As soon, however, 
as this object is accomplished, he seems to fall 
into a state of faintness and lethargy, and the 
female, in flying from place to place, carries him 
with her, hanging in a helpless, inverted position, 
with his back downwards, and his feet in the 
air. The male organs are quite singular, being 
formed in such a manner that the organ convey- 
ing the fecundating fluid is introduced by the 
aid of two elongated horns, which, by their ap- 
| proximation, form a sort of stiff point. These 
two pieces lie over another, within which are 
| muscles that, at the proper moment, contract, 
and thus dilate the sheath, which may be com- 
| pared to a surgical dilator. To this expansion of 
| the sheath the adherence of the sexes during the 
| act of generation is owing. The males perish as 
soon as they have fulfilled this great object of 
| their being, as they thenceforth cease to eat. 
| The fecundated female forsakes the trees for the 
' earth, into which, with her claws, she bores a 
hole six or eight inches deep, in which she places 
_ from 50 to 80 eggs. This completes the circle of 
her actions, and she soon after dies; though it 
_has been said, without any foundation in obser- 
| vation or analogy, that the females, after laying 
| their eggs, resume their former habits, and live 
| among the trees. 
| COCKROACH. A genus of insects belonging to 
_ the orthopterous or straight-winged order, char- 
acterized by an oval, elongated, depressed body, 
which is smooth on its superior surface. The 
head is inclined, short, and concealed under the 
| corselet; the antennze are long, bristly, formed 
| of numerous pieces, and inserted in a groove 
within the eyes. The corselet is scutiform, co- 
| vering the head and origin of the elytra; the ab- 
| domen is terminated by two conical appendages. 
|| The legs are beset with little spines; the feet are 
| long and compressed ; the tarsi have five joints. 
| They have a longitudinal crop or craw; the giz- 
zard, or muscular stomach, is internally provided 
with strong hooked teeth: from 8 to 10 czeca are 
found about the pylorus. 
These insects are among the most disagreeable 
of the annoyances to which the dwellings of man 
|| are subject, and, where their multiplication is 
|| permitted, the ravages they commit are exten- 
sive and vexatious. They are all nocturnal, and 
| exceedingly agile; their flattened bodies allow 
_ them to hide, with ease, in every crevice, whence 
| they sally forth in hordes during the night, to 
devour every sort of provision which is not se- 
cured from their voracity. Like all other depre- 
dators, they are thrown into confusion and put 
to flight by the presence of light, whence they 
were, in ancient times, appropriately called luc. 
Fuge, or light-shunners. Their destructiveness is 
not confined to articles of provision for the table; 
| 
silk, woollen, and even cotton cloths are devour- 
ed, or rendered useless by being gnawed through. 
When a cockroach takes refuge or seeks conceal- 
ment upon any person, he will inflict a smart 
bite, if particularly hurt or alarmed. If to a 
quantity of meal about one-third of white or red 
lead is added, and the mixture is moistened with 
molasses, so as to make it moderately adhesive, 
the cockroaches will greedily devour it. The re- 
petition of this poisoned food for a few nights is 
generally sufficient to reduce their numbers to a 
very few, even in the most infected houses, and 
will eventually cause the destruction of the whole. 
They may also be poisoned with preparations of 
arsenic, sublimate, &c., mixed with sugar or mo- 
lasses, of which they are very fond. A paste- 
board or card cover, well balanced upon two pins, 
and placed upon the edge of a vessel, nearly fill- 
ed with molasses and water, makes a very good 
trap. The dish should be so placed, that they 
can readily mount upon the cover, which revolves 
on its axis whenever the equilibrium is disturbed, 
and throws the cockroaches into the fluid. 
Cockroaches, like other orthopterous insects, 
do not undergo a complete metamorphosis: the 
larves and nymphs resemble the perfect insect, | 
except that they have merely rudiments of wings. 
The females lay their eggs successively and singly. | 
The ege has a very singular appearance, being 
large, cylindric, rounded at both ends, and hav- 
ing a projecting dentated line or keel, through- | 
out its length, on one side. This egg is half as | 
large as the belly of the female, and she carries | 
it for seven or eight days, attached to the poste- 
rior part of the abdomen, and, finally, attaches it 
to some solid body, by means of a gummy fluid. | 
—The species of cockroach at present determined, 
are about 12 in number. Among these, the 
Llatta americana is the largest of the genus, and | 
grows to be two or three inches long, including 
the antenna. The Blatta orientalis, or common | 
kitchen cockroach, was originally brought from | 
Asia to Europe. ‘This species is fond of warmth, 
and makes its abode near to the kitchen fire- | 
place, about ovens, stoves, &c. 
COCKEREL. A young cock; but the name is | 
provincial. . 
COCKSCOMB,—botanically Celosta. A genus 
of curious and ornamental, tender, herbaceous 
plants, of the amaranth tribe. The crested spe- 
cies, Celosia cristata, is one of the most splendid | 
of annuals, and deservedly a great favourite with 
florists, and a conspicuous autumnal ornament of 
the greenhouse. It is a native of Asia, and was 
introduced to Britain in 1570. It usually attains 
a height of about two feet ; and it carries a broad, 
crested, and most brilliant head of compactly 
amassed little flowers. “Of this,” says Miller, 
“there are many varieties, which differ in their 
form, magnitude, and colours, but, as they vary 
from seeds, are not enumerated as distinct spe- 
cies. I have raised great varieties of these from 
seeds which came from China, but have generally 
aa eS 
