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 18
... seen in latitude 30 ° north , sleeping on the surface of the water , apparently about midway between the Azores and the Bahama islands , and these were the nearest possible land . This circum- stance was the more remarkable as it ...
... seen in latitude 30 ° north , sleeping on the surface of the water , apparently about midway between the Azores and the Bahama islands , and these were the nearest possible land . This circum- stance was the more remarkable as it ...
Page 21
... seen wandering about the brinks of the water , in such multitudes as to astonish mankind , and induce a belief among the vulgar of their having descended in showers from the clouds . They now surrender their vegetable food for the ...
... seen wandering about the brinks of the water , in such multitudes as to astonish mankind , and induce a belief among the vulgar of their having descended in showers from the clouds . They now surrender their vegetable food for the ...
Page 24
... seen struggling for breath . When we observe it carefully , we perceive a frequent dilatation and con- traction in the skinny bag - like part of the mouth which covers the under jaw . From this it would ap- pear at first sight , as if ...
... seen struggling for breath . When we observe it carefully , we perceive a frequent dilatation and con- traction in the skinny bag - like part of the mouth which covers the under jaw . From this it would ap- pear at first sight , as if ...
Page 32
... seen the small Tree Frogs eat humble- bees , but this was never done without some contest : they are in general obliged to reject them , being in- commoded by their stings and hairy roughness ; but in each attempt the bee is further ...
... seen the small Tree Frogs eat humble- bees , but this was never done without some contest : they are in general obliged to reject them , being in- commoded by their stings and hairy roughness ; but in each attempt the bee is further ...
Page 33
... seen than the hinder feet and claws , which were at last disengaged from the twig , and the poor creature was swallowed whole by suction down the throat of VOL . III . * Ephemerides Naturæ curiosorum , D his formidable adversary . He ...
... seen than the hinder feet and claws , which were at last disengaged from the twig , and the poor creature was swallowed whole by suction down the throat of VOL . III . * Ephemerides Naturæ curiosorum , D his formidable adversary . He ...
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.