Animal Biography: Or, Authentic Anecdotes of the Lives, Manners, and Economy, of the Animal Creation, Arranged According to the System of Linnaeus, Volume 3R. Phillips, 1803 |
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Page 7
... beginning of June , the female scratches a hole in some warm situation , in which she deposits her four or five eggs . These are hatched in Septem , ber , at which time the young are not larger than á walnut . These Tortoises have often ...
... beginning of June , the female scratches a hole in some warm situation , in which she deposits her four or five eggs . These are hatched in Septem , ber , at which time the young are not larger than á walnut . These Tortoises have often ...
Page 30
... beginning of August , and they soon afterwards begin to ascend the adjacent trees . During their residence in the trees , these frogs are particularly noisy in the evenings on the approach of rain . They are indeed so excellent as ...
... beginning of August , and they soon afterwards begin to ascend the adjacent trees . During their residence in the trees , these frogs are particularly noisy in the evenings on the approach of rain . They are indeed so excellent as ...
Page 34
... beginning of autumn , when the young animals are frequently to be seen in immense multitudes . When it is irritated the Toad emits from various parts of its skin a kind of frothy fluid , that in our * Stedman . ↑ Rana Bufo . Lin ...
... beginning of autumn , when the young animals are frequently to be seen in immense multitudes . When it is irritated the Toad emits from various parts of its skin a kind of frothy fluid , that in our * Stedman . ↑ Rana Bufo . Lin ...
Page 38
... beginning of the world , and floating about on the watery expanse , have since that time been inclosed in the interior parts of rocks . But he contradicts this opinion by remarking , that the creation of an egg is not sufficient ; and ...
... beginning of the world , and floating about on the watery expanse , have since that time been inclosed in the interior parts of rocks . But he contradicts this opinion by remarking , that the creation of an egg is not sufficient ; and ...
Page 124
... beginning of February to the end of April ; and though each fisherman takes no more than one fish at a time , an expert hand will sometimes catch four hundred in a day . The employment is excessively fatiguing , from the weight of the ...
... beginning of February to the end of April ; and though each fisherman takes no more than one fish at a time , an expert hand will sometimes catch four hundred in a day . The employment is excessively fatiguing , from the weight of the ...
Common terms and phrases
abdomen afterwards animal animalcules antennæ ants appear become bees beetle belly body bottom Brit caterpillars cells chrysalis claws colour common covered creature deposited destroyed devoured distance dorsal fin earth eggs elytra extremely eyes feed feelers feet female fins fish fixed flies four frequently Frog furnished glass ground grubs half hatched head History of Barbadoes hole inch in length inhabitants insects jaws labour larva larvæ leaves legs Linn Linnæus live male manner membrane middle motion mouth nerally nest observed pectoral fins Phil prey produced propolis pupa resembling says seems seen seize Shaw's Gen shell side skin snails snake sometimes soon spawn species spider sting substance surface Surinam swallow tail teeth thick thorax threads tongue torpedinal torpid Tran trees TRIBE tube viviparous Wasps weather whole wings worms young Zool
Popular passages
Page 486 - For, to say nothing of half the birds, and some quadrupeds which are almost entirely supported by them, worms seem to be the great promoters of vegetation, which would proceed but lamely without them, by boring, perforating, and loosening the soil, and rendering it pervious to rains and the fibres of plants, by drawing straws and stalks of leaves and twigs into it ; and, most of all, by throwing up such infinite numbers of lumps of earth called worm-casts, which, being their excrement, is a fine...
Page 196 - Which strike ev'n eyes incurious ; but each moss, Each shell, each crawling insect, holds a rank Important in the plan of Him who framed This scale of beings ; holds a rank which lost Would break the chain, and leave behind a gap Which Nature's self would rue.
Page 255 - Indians once brought me (says she), before I knew that they shone by night, a number of these lantern flies, which I shut up in a large wooden box. In the night, they made such a noise, that I awoke in a fright, and ordered a light to be brought, not...
Page 487 - ... provide new soil for hills and slopes where the rain washes the earth away ; and they affect slopes, probably to avoid being flooded. Gardeners and farmers express their detestation of worms ; the former because they render their walks unsightly, and make them much work ; and the latter because, as they think, worms eat their green corn. But these men would find that the earth without worms would soon become cold, hard-bound, and void of fermentation, and consequently sterile...
Page 163 - Sometimes they sink for the space of ten or fifteen minutes, then rise again to the surface; and, in bright weather, reflect a variety of splendid colours, like a field bespangled with purple, gold, and azure.
Page 351 - Bees, therefore, in the formation of their cells have to solve a problem which would puzzle some geometers, namely, a quantity of wax being given, to form of it similar and equal cells of a determinate capacity, but of the largest size in proportion to the quantity of matter employed, and disposed in such a manner as to occupy in the hive the least possible space.
Page 486 - Earth-worms, though in appearance a small and despicable link in the chain of Nature, yet, if lost, would make a lamentable chasm.
Page 100 - The aggressor was of the black kind, six feet long; the fugitive was a water snake, nearly of equal dimensions. They soon met, and in the fury of their first encounter, they appeared in an instant firmly twisted together; and whilst their united tails beat the ground, they mutually tried with open jaws to lacerate each other.
Page 375 - To satisfy ourselves that the leaves were bent and held down by the effort of these diminutive artificers, we disturbed them in their work ; and as soon as they were driven from their station, the leaves on which they were employed, sprang up with a force much greater than we could have thought them able to conquer by any combination of their strength.
Page 343 - There is a sort of wild bee frequenting the garden-campion for the sake of its tomentum, which probably it turns to some purpose in the business of nidification. It is very pleasant to see with what address it strips off the pubes, running from the top to the bottom of a branch, and shaving it bare with all the dexterity of a hoop-shaver. When it has got a vast bundle, almost as large as itself, it flies away, holding it secure between its chin and its fore legs.