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    The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 14, No. 398, November 14, 1829
    The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 14, No. 398, November 14, 1829
    The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 14, No. 398, November 14, 1829
    Ebook91 pages55 minutes

    The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 14, No. 398, November 14, 1829

    By Various Various

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    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArchive Classics
    Release dateNov 15, 2013
    The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 14, No. 398, November 14, 1829

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      Book preview

      The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 14, No. 398, November 14, 1829 - Various Various

      The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and

      Instruction, by Various

      This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with

      almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or

      re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included

      with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net

      Title: The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction

      Vol. 14, Issue 398, November 14, 1829

      Author: Various

      Release Date: March 4, 2004 [EBook #11433]

      Language: English

      *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MIRROR OF LITERATURE, NO. 398 ***

      Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Andy Jewell, David King, and the Online

      Distributed Proofreading Team

      THE MIRROR

      OF

      LITERATURE, AMUSEMENT, AND INSTRUCTION.

      THE NATURALIST.

      Castles, cathedrals, and churches, palaces, and parks, and architectural subjects generally, have occupied so many frontispiece pages of our recent numbers, that we have been induced to select the annexed cuts as a pleasant relief to this artificial monotony. They are Curiosities of Nature; and, in truth, more interesting than the proudest work of men's hands. Their economy is much more surprising than the most sumptuous production of art; and the intricacy and subtlety of its processes throw into the shade all the contrivances of social man: a few inquiries into their structure and habits will therefore prove entertaining to all classes of readers.

      1. THE PRAYING MANTIS.

      The Mantis is a species of cricket, and belongs to the Hemiptetera, or second order of insects. Blumenbach¹ enumerates four varieties:—1. the Gigantic, from Amboyna, a span long, yet scarce as thick as a goose-quill, and eaten by the Indians. 2. Gonglyodes, from Guinea. 3. the Religious Mantis, or Praying Cricket. 4. Another at the Cape, and considered sacred by the Hottentots. The cut represents the third of these varieties.

      It mostly goes on four legs, holding up two shorter ones. The hind legs are very long; the middle ones shorter. It is sometimes called the Dried and Walking Leaf, from the resemblance of its wing covering, in form and colour to a dry willow leaf; it is found in China and South America, and in the latter country many of the Indians believe that Mantes grow on trees like leaves, and that having arrived at maturity, they loosen themselves, and crawl or fly away.

      Mr. T. Carpenter² has recently dissected the head of this species, in which he found large and sharp cutting teeth; also strong grinding ones, similar to those in the heads of locusts: the balls at the ends fit into sockets in the jaw. The whole length of the insect is nearly three inches; it is of slender shape, and in its sitting posture is observed to hold up the two fore-legs slightly bent, as if in an attitude of prayer, whence its name; for this reason vulgar superstition has held it as a sacred insect; and a popular notion has often prevailed, that a child, or a traveller having lost its way, would be safely directed, by observing the quarter to which the animal pointed, when taken into the hand.

      Its real disposition is, however, very far from peaceable: it preys with great rapacity on smaller insects, for which it lies in wait, in the first mentioned posture, till it siezes them with a sudden spring, and devours them. It is, in fact, of a very ferocious nature; and when kept with another of its own species, in a state of captivity, will attack its fellow with the utmost violence, and persevere till it has killed its antagonist. Roësal, a naturalist, who kept some of these insects, observes, that in their mutual conflicts, their manoeuvres very much resemble those of hussars fighting with sabres; and sometimes the one cleaves the other through, or severs the head from its body with a single stroke. During these engagements the wings are generally expanded, and when the battle is over, the conqueror devours his vanquished foe.

      Among the Chinese, this quarrelsome disposition in the Mantis, is converted to an entertainment, resembling that of fighting-cocks and quails: and it is to this insect that we suppose the following passage in Mr. Barrow's Account of China, alludes:—"They have even extended their inquiries after fighting animals into the insect tribes, and have discovered a species of locusts that will attack each other with such ferocity, as seldom to quit their hold without bringing away at the same time a limb of their antagonist. These

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