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and so continues, till she has exhausted her whole stock. The nut continues to grow ; the egg is soon hatched; the young maggot finds its food already ripened, and in waiting for it; and, about the time of its full growth, falls with the mature nut to the ground, and at length, when its provision here is exhausted, creeps out, by gnawing a circular hole in its side. It then burrows under the surface of the ground, where it continues dormant for eight months, at the termination of which it casts its skin, becomes a chrysalis of the general shape and appearance of the beetle kind, and, in the beginning of August, throws off the chrysalid investment, creeps to the surface of the ground, finds itself accommodated with wings, becomes an inhabitant of the air, and instantly pursues the very same train of actions, to provide for a new progeny, which had been pursued by the parent insect of the year before.

One more example which I shall notice, of the habits of particular species of the remarkably varied class of beetles, is one of a very different kind; and my object, in adverting to it, is to show another principle, by which the sterility of winter is rendered innoxious to certain animals. We have seen instances in which, among vertebrated as well as invertebrated beings, the expedient of torpidity is resorted to by the Author of Nature, to sustain life, and perhaps enjoyment also, during this rigorous season. But, in the example I am going to produce, there appears to be no need of this suspension of motion and external sensation, as the little creature is able to survive a whole winter, and even much longer, without any food whatever, except what is derived from the atmosphere; and this, indeed, is a property which belongs to various classes of the invertebrated genus. The account is taken from the communication of a writer in the Philosophical Transactions :- "On the removal of a large leaden cistern, I observed, at the bottom of it, black beetles. One of the largest I threw into a cup of spirits,—it being the way of killing and preparing insects for my purpose. In a few

minutes, it appeared to be quite dead. I then shut it up in a box, about an inch and a half in diameter, and, throwing it into a drawer, thought no more of it for two months; when, opening the box, I found it alive and vigorous, though it had no food all the time, nor any more air than it could find in so small a box, whose cover shut very close. A few days before, a friend had sent me three or four cockroaches. These I had put under a large glass; I put my beetle among them, and fed them with green ginger, which they ate greedily; but he would never taste it, for the five weeks they lived there. The cockroaches would avoid the beetle, and seem frightened at his approach; but he usually stalked along, not at all regarding whether they came in his way or not. During the two years and a half that I have kept him, he has neither ate nor drank.

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How, then, has he been kept alive? Is it by the air? There are particles in this, which supply a growth to some species of plants, as sempervivum, orpine, and house-leek. May not the same or like particles supply nourishment to some species of animals? In the amazing plan of Nature, the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms, are not separated from each other by wide distances; indeed their boundaries differ from each other by such minute and insensible degrees, that we cannot find out certainly where the one begins, or the other ends. As the air, therefore, nourishes some plants, so it may nourish some animals; otherwise, a link would seem to be wanting in the mighty chain of beings. It is certain, camelions and snakes can live months without any many visible sustenance, and probably not merely by their slow digestion, but rather by means of particles contained in the air, as this beetle did; yet, doubtless, in its natural state, it used more substantial food. So the plants above mentioned thrive best with a little earth, although they flourish a long time, and send forth branches and flowers, when they are suspended in the air. Even in the exhausted receiver, after it had been there half an

hour, it seemed perfectly unconcerned, walking about as briskly as ever; but, on the admission of the air, it seemed to be in a surprise for a minute."

It is impossible not to view with wonder and admiration, the various ways in which animal life is sustained, sometimes even under circumstances which, arguing from ordinary analogies, would seem to insure its destruction. I have already alluded to the power possessed by some insects' eggs, to resist extreme cold; and, before passing to the hybernation of higher species, I shall conclude this paper by remarking, that there are some very minute kinds of animalcules, the germs of which seem capable of resisting the extremes of both heat and cold. If the paste of flour, which has been boiled ever so long in the making, be allowed to become sour, and then be mixed with water, the mixture, when a microscope of sufficient magnifying power is applied to it, will appear to be composed, almost entirely, of little eels, very handsomely formed, and moving about with great activity. Allow the same mixture of paste and water to become solid by drought, or by freezing, and let it be again moistened or thawed, and it will be as completely peopled as ever, with its microscopic inhabitants. Now, as it would be quite unphilosophical to admit the principle of equivocal generation, we are bound to conclude, that the germs of these living creatures were lodged in the mixture, before it was subjected to the process of boiling, and were only developed by the subsequent fermentation; so that it would appear, in this case, that the principle of life, in whatever form it may exist, is indestructible by very great alternations of heat and cold; and, indeed, we are not warranted to affix boundaries to this power, or to conclude, from the experiments which have yet been made, that any length of time, however extended, or any degree of heat or cold, however great, would be sufficient to destroy the vitality of these germs.

The wonders, indeed, which an examination of the incalculably numerous and amazingly diversified classes of invertebrated animals discloses, grow upon us in every direction as we proceed; and the pious exclamation of the psalmist recurs to us perpetually,—“ O Lord, how manifold are Thy works! In wisdom hast Thou made them all."

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SEVENTH WEEK-SUNDAY.

ON SEEING GOD IN HIS WORKS.

ALMOST all men, not in the lowest stage of barbarism or degradation, are capable of admiring the beauties of Nature. Even the dullest and most unreflecting mind is, at times, more or less vividly impressed with the wonderful skill and beauty so profusely scattered over all creation. But the intelligent eye is always delighted, and frequently kindled into rapture, by the rich and splendid scenery that on every side solicits its attention. Our susceptibility of impressions of grandeur or beauty, deserves to be ranked among our original faculties; for it is observable in all classes of the human family, refined and exalted in the bosom of the enlightened European, and not unfelt by the savage tenant of the African or American desert. A love of nature appears to be bestowed upon man, to feed the flame of religion in his soul,—to assist in leading him from the wonderfully contrived objects around him, to a belief in an intelligent and bountiful Creator. We are told, in Holy Scripture, that God never left himself without a witness to the human race, for his power and goodness may be always clearly known from the exuberant plenty and beauty scattered over the earth, their magnificent abode. As they had hearts to feel a sentiment of gratitude for bounty lavishly bestowed, and understandings to reason from effects to causes, the ancient heathen were altogether inexcusable in not knowing the true God, the great First Cause of all, and the source of " every good and perfect gift." They wandered from the right way, only because they were heedless or wilfully perverse. Their feelings and powers became the instruments of their self-delusion; and, instead of seeing in nature a supreme and infinite God, they saw a thousand grovel

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