the eggs of the Cynips, inserted into the leaves of the oak, produce the caterpillars, which give rise to the galls used in the composition of ink. The greater part of winged insects have a proboscis or trunk, which although not so large, is as wonderfully contrived as that of the Elephant, and serves the purposes of a mouth, a nose, and a windpipe! The proboscis is a machine of a very complicated nature; and that of a butterfly, when not in quest of food, is rolled up in form of a watch spring.

The degree of strength and agility which many of the insect tribes possess is amazing. A flea will draw a chain one hundred times heavier than itself; and the velocity of a mite, in proportion to its size, is said to outstrip that of a race-horse! With regard to sex, there is one thing very remarkable in this order, viz. that the Bees, the Wasps, and Ants furnish an example of a species that belong to neither sex, and so are called neuters; these however, are not without their uses; and the affection they evince for the helpless little creatures left to their care, might serve as a lesson to those who are intrusted with the tender charge of infants not their own.

The last thing we shall mention in this general survey of the insect tribes, is the wonderful transformations many of them undergo in the different stages of an egg, a grub or worm, a crysalis, till they arrive at their most perfect or fly state.

"Observe the insect race, ordain'd to keep
The lazy sabbath of a half year's sleep.
Entomb'd beneath the filmy web they lie,
And wait the influence of a kinder sky.

When vernal sunbeams pierce the dark retreat
The heaving tomb distends with vital heat;
The full-formed brood, impatient of their cell,
Start from their trance, and burst their silken shell."

In each change not only their form and structure, but their very nature and appetite undergo a complete revolution.-Take for example, yonder Butterfly, which in gaudy attire, and with a sprightly air, roves and flutters in quest of its balmy juices from flower to flower: how wonderful the change from that dead and inanimate state in which its beauties lately lay concealed, or from the grovelling reptile which on the cabbage-leaf partook voraciously of its coarser fare, nor evinced any relish for other dainties.

If any thing were wanting to prove the wise disposition of the parts and appetites of animals to their various situations and habits, here we have it in the instance of the Butterfly, whose structure and taste both undergo an alteration when its sphere of action and propensities become different.

In regard to some peculiarities of a few of the different species of insects, we will briefly observe, that in the mouth of the Gnat. we have an admirable specimen of the instrument necessary for such a blood thirsty animal; the nails or crotchets of the "Horse-fly, as well as its tenacity of life, evince that it is apt to be disturbed in its banquets; whoever attentively considers the form of a Louse, need not be told that it is a blood-sucker The legs of the Locust and of the Grasshopper at once shew their

propensity to leaping. The Bee, in danger of being robbed of its precious stores, is armed with its well known weapon. The female Wasp is larger and stronger than the male, to enable her to survive the rigour of winter; and the strong hairy legs of the Ant are no less well contrived to assist her in the indefatigable labours of the hill, than the two claws with which they are armed are for the purpose of climbing.. How surprising the instinct by which those little creatures are taught uniformly t deposit their eggs on such animal or vegetable substances, as furnish a proper and plentiful supply of food for the worms or caterpillars, as soon as they are hatched. That those who pass into the Chrysalis or inactive state, select the most proper situations and modes of concealment; and that others, whose only metamorphosis consists in the addition of wings, surround themselves while undergoing the change by an envelope of spume or froth, proceeding from their body; as the Cuckoo spit, or Froth worm.

"The Locusts have no king, yet they go forth all of them in bands;" while the solitary Spider, having no wings to go to pursuit of her prey, weaveth to herself a web, and watches with patience the entanglement of a fly.-Our space will not permit us to dwell on the geometrical precision and mathematical exactness, with which Bees form their combs; the wonderful ingenuity and contrivance of the. Wasp's nest, or the order and regularity observed in the construction of the Ant-hill, as well as the prudence and foresight which the whole of these

evince in their labours and pursuits; these, and the singular but convenient attitude which the Water-fly assumes in swimming on his back, to enable him the better to lay hold of his food, the under side of plants which grow on the water, we can only mention, and must proceed to consider a few of the

Uses of Insects.

From the number of animals in the different elements and regions of existence, which prey upon insects, there can be no doubt but the principal object the Creator had in view in the formation of these, was for the subsistence of many of the larger orders of creatures; but the following specimens serve to shew that some of these also contribute in no small degree, in their respective spheres, to the service of man. By the labours and exertions of the Bee, we are provided with stores of honey and wax; the seemingly contemptible little Silk-worm presents us, in its passage from the Caterpillar in the sleeping state, with materials for constituting our most costly raiment. From the Cantharies come the Spanish Flies, so useful in blisters; the Kermes is also valuable for medicinal purposes; and the Cochineal furnishes us with a rich and beautiful dye. The wonders accomplished by the united exertions of the Bees, the Wasps, and the Ants, shew what can be done by brethren dwelling together in unity. The watchfulness of the Spider, after she has woven her web, demonstrates the necessity of not folding our

hands for slumber just at the time we have completed our preparations for activity; and to the Ant, the sluggard is sent to learn a lesson of prudence and foresight.

"These emmets, how little they are in our eyes!

We tread them to dust, and a troop of them dies

Without our regard or concern:

Yet, as wise we are, if we went to their school,
There's many a sluggard, and many a fool,
A lesson of wisdom might learn.”

CHAP IX.

REPTILES.

"Lo! the green Serpent, from his dark abode,
Which even imagination fears to tread;
At noon forth issuing, gathers up his train
In orbs immense."

"Thro' subterraneous cells,

Where scorching sunbeams scarce can find a way,
Earth animated heaves.-The flowery leaf

Wants not its soft inhabitants."

In the order of Reptiles, we have a new display of the wonders of creating art. These creatures are also endowed with the power of motion, but how differently do they move from any of the orders we have already considered. Deprived of the usual apparatus of legs or wings, the ponderous Serpent issues from his concealment, and moves majestically along by means of his scales and strong muscular