tween glass slips, which came off different species of the rat, mouse, and bat, from those mentioned in my last letter. And between one of these glasses, you will find a very delicate and beautiful wing, taken from a cynips, with a small portion of its abdomen, in which will be seen numerous minute blood vessels; and in the same glasses there are two scales taken from a young chameleon, possessing curious characters. There are also, between other slips of glass, some exquisitely formed crystals, from the salt of amber; the configurations in these you will find highly interesting, and they would form an elegant object under the solar microscope.

You are no doubt aware, that the earwig is possessed of wings, which are both large and elegant; and that even one of them, when extended, will nearly cover the whole insect. The elytra or wing cases are short, and extend only partially down the body. The wings are concealed beneath these, they are somewhat of an oval shape, and, when extended, are nine or ten times as large as the elytra. I herewith send you a specimen in the pupa state, in which you will observe the rudiments of the wings and wingcases; and likewise another in the perfect state, with the wings fully expanded, as they are when the insect is in the act of flying; also a single wing, placed between talc sliders. There is a great degree of elegance displayed in the manner in which the insect folds the wings beneath the elytra. They are first closed up lengthways from a centre, close to the body, like a fan; and afterwards refolded across, in two different places; one about the middle of the membrane, and the other at the centre, from whence the first folds proceeded. By this means, the wing is reduced into a small compass, proportioned to the size of the elytra, under which it is to lie.

It is a circumstance extremely singular, that, unlike those of most others of the insect tribes, the eggs of the earwig are hatched, and the young ones fostered by the parent. In the beginning of the month of June, M. De

Geer found under a stone, a female earwig, accompanied by many little insects, which evidently appeared to be her own young. They remained close to her, and often placed themselves under her body, as chickens do under a hen. He placed the whole in a box of fresh earth; they did not enter the earth, but it was pleasing to observe how they thrust themselves under the body, and between the legs, of the mother, who remained very quiet, and suffered them to continue there sometimes for an hour or two together. To feed them, this gentleman gave them a piece of a very ripe apple; in an instant, the old one ran upon it, and eat it with a good appetite; the young ones also seemed to eat a little, but apparently with much less relish. On the eighth of June, he remarked that the young earwigs had changed their skins; and he also found the sloughs that they had quitted. This casting of their skins produced only a slight change in their figure, yet it evidently brought them nearer in shape to the perfect insect.

At another time, about the beginning of April, he also found a female earwig under some stones, placed over a heap of eggs, and of which she took all the care imaginable, without ever forsaking them, He took both the female and her eggs, and placed her in a box half filled with fresh earth, and disposed the eggs up and down in it. She, however, soon removed them, one after another, carrying them between her jaws; and, at the end of a few days, he saw that she had collected them all into one place, upon the surface of the earth, and remained constantly upon the heap, without quitting it for a moment, so that she seemed truly to sit for the purpose of hatching her eggs. The young were produced about the thirteenth of May; in figure they were similar to those before mentioned; but at the birth they were all white, except towards the tail, where a yellow matter was observable through the skin; and the eyes and jaws were reddish. He kept them in the box with their mother, feeding them from time to time with pieces of apple, and saw them grow every day, and cast

their skins more than once. The mother at length died, and her progeny devoured nearly the whole of her body. The little ones that died also underwent the same treatment. M. De Geer, however, conjectures that this only took place from the want of other food, as he had neglected to supply them regularly with nutriment. On the twentythird of July, only one remained alive; it was full grown, and then in the pupa state.

This insect, though in its nature extremely harmless (except, indeed, to the fruit and vegetables in our gardens), has unaccountably fallen a victim to human cruelty and caprice, originating from the mistaken idea that it introduces itself into the ear, and from thence penetrating to the brain, occasions death. We cannot help expressing a wish that persons who entertain such erroneous ideas, would be convinced that the wax and the membranes of the ear are a sufficient defence against all its pretended attacks upon this organ. It lives indeed among flowers, and frequently destroys them; and when fruit has been wounded by flies, the earwigs also generally come in for a share. In the night, they may be often seen in amazing numbers upon lettuces, and other esculent vegetables, committing those depredations that are often ascribed to the ravages of snails or slugs.

We are indebted to many eminent naturalists for the singular discoveries which, by their researches, they have made in the works of creation. Many of them have devoted the best part of their lives to watching the economy of insects; and by such means, have been enabled to hand down to posterity many curious and wonderful instinctive faculties, evinced in these despised creatures, towards the protection and preservation of their offspring. Huber, in order to give an accurate account of the habits and manners of ants, formed an ant's nest in his room, and prevented their leaving it, by making a trench around the nest, and filling it with water; he also fed them until they became domesticated, after which, they were permitted to

go where they pleased, and to forage for themselves. They soon became attached to their nest. By these methods, he had an opportunity of examining the internal construction of the nest at his leisure, and by comparing therewith the nests made by others in a wild state, he was enabled to write with accuracy upon the subject. He also fitted up a place in which he kept insects of various species, and stored it with plants and food, proper for their sustenance; by which means he was enabled to watch and note down the various changes they underwent from the egg until they arrived at their perfect state. Of many of the changes stated by him and other naturalists, I have had frequent opportunities of ascertaining the correctness. A great part of my time, while I resided in the country, I spent with much pleasure to myself, in observing the habits of these very interesting creatures; and, instead of finding the time to hang heavy on my hands, I have always found a pleasure in examining the cabinet of nature contained within a garden or field; and very frequently, when I have been contemplating the beauties which some of the insect tribes possess, I could almost have imagined them to have said, "It is God who hath made us; then give the glory unto our Creator."

A friend once asked me how it was possible that I could spend evening after evening shut up within doors in the winter? He himself, he said, should be moped to death, for want of employment. My reply was, I have such numerous resources within myself, that the longest winter's evening, or even an hundred such, would never hang heavy on my hands, as I possessed many books of entertainment as well as of information; that I also occasionally tried experiments in optics; but that my chief resource was in contemplating the works of Nature, under the microscope; by the use of which instrument, I had the pleasure of looking, as it were, into an invisible world.

To state one instance only, out of many, appertaining to the use of the microscope, I had only, on my return from a

walk or a ride, to bring home a bottle filled with water from a pond, and I should find ample employment for a long evening, in the examination of a few only of the numerous species of animals contained in it. In some, I should see such complicated machinery displayed in their formation, as to excite both delight and astonishment. In others, such curious and singular forms, that were I to attempt to describe them, it would appear like the imaginings of a disordered fancy! In many, the motions of their intestines, the pulsations of the heart, the circulation of the blood, and their methods of seizing and devouring their prey, were all distinctly seen; and yet many of these were scarcely visible to the naked eye; others were even many thousand times less than a grain of sand! And still each created being had its wants provided for, and all had some important duty to perform in the great scale of creation. And whilst I was thus contemplating these wonders, my mind was lifted up to their Creator and mine, with feelings of gratitude for his goodness, in the protection he had afforded to me throughout the day, and the pleasure he had permitted me to enjoy in viewing these his minute yet wondrous works!

The exquisite beauty with which the wing-cases of several of the beetle tribe of insects is adorned, surpasses any description that I can give. Mr. Kirby, in the introductory letter to his valuable work on Entomology, thus observes: "Insects, indeed, appear to have been Nature's favourite productions, in which to manifest her power and skill; she has combined and concentrated almost all that is either beautiful and graceful, interesting and alluring, or curious and singular, in every other class and order of her children. To these, her valued miniatures, she has given the most delicate touch, and highest finish of her pencil. Numbers she has armed with glittering mail, which reflects a lustre like that of burnished metals; in others, she lights up the dazzling radiance of polished gems. Some she has decked with what looks like liquid drops or plates of gold