Litchfield enquirer., 1838-02-22
ENTOMOLOGY.

l proud tO enunIerate the varIOuS uSeluI arts and machines to which they have given birth, not awnre that He who icachc,h man knowledge,' has instructed these des- l pissed insects l0 anticipate him in many Oi them. The builders of Babel doubtless thought their inveniion of ,C. ming earth in- to artificial stone, very happy discovery 1; yet lItIle bee had praciccd this art, using indeed a different process, on a small scale, aud the white ants on large one, ever since the world began: Man thinks hc | stands nnrivalled as an architect, and tlai his buildings are without parallel among 1 the works of the inferior orders uf animals. He would be of different opinion, did he attend to the history of insects; he would bn'! that many of them have been architects from time immemorial ll,a: they have had their houses divided into various apart ments, and containing stair cases, gigantic arches, domes, c"lonnadcs, and the like nay, that even tunnels are excava,ed by them, s" immense, compared with their own size, as 10 bc twelve times bigger than that projected by Mr. Dodd, ,o be carried under the Thames at Gravesend. The modern fine lady, who brides herself on l s''S h"S'S "hN OVuuAy " NuC SSdIICN ings which adorn tho stately walls of her drawing room, or the carpets that cover its floor, fancying that nothing so rich aud splendid was ever seen before, and pityine her vulgar ancestors, who were doomed to unsighily white. wash and rushes, is igno- rant, all tbe while, that before she or her ancestors were in existence, and even be- fore the boasted Tyrian dye was discover ed, a lil,c insect had known how to hang tue walls of it's cell with tapestry of a scar let more brilliant than any her rooms can exhibit, and that others daily weave silken carpets, both in tissue and texture infinitely superior to those she SD much admireS.- No female ornament is more przed and costly than lace, the invention aud iabrica- | ton of which seem the exclusive claim of the softer sex. But even here they have been anticipated by these lit,l- industrious creatures, who often defend their helpless chrysalis by a most singular covering, and as beautiful as singular, of lace. Other arts have been equally forestaled by these creatures. What vast importance has been attached to the invention of paper For near six thousand years one of our com- noncst insects has known how lO make and apply i, to it's purposes; and even paste- board, superior in substance and polish to any ,la, wo can produce, is manufactured short of human intellect can be equal to the construction of a diving-bcll or an air
 pump; yet q spider is in ,hc daily habit "f using the one, aud what is more, one ex
 ac,ly similar in principle to ous, but more ingcniously contrived, by means of which she resides unveiled in the bosom of ihe water, and procurcs the necessary supplies of air by much more simple process than our alternating buckets; and tho caerpil- lar of little moth knows how to initiate the other, producing vacuum when necessary for its purposes, without any piston besides it's own body. five think with wonder ol the popuious cities which have employed the united labors of man for many ages to bring them to their full extent, what shall we say to the white ants, which require on- lv few months to build metropolis ca- pable of containing an infinitely greater number of inhabitants than even imperial Nineveh, Babylon, Rome, or Picking, in all their glory?
 That insects should thus have forcs,allcd us in our inventions, ought to urge us [" pay a closer attention 10 them and their ways than we have heretofore done, since it is not at all improbable that the result would be many useful hints for the improve ment of our arts and manufactures, and per- haps for some beneficial discoveries. The painter might thus probably be furnished wi,I, more brilliant pigments, the dyer win more delicate iints, and the artisan wI'h a new and improved set of tools. In this las, respect, insects deserve particular mo- lice. All their operations are performed will, admirable precision and dcxterity :; and though they do not usually vary the mode. vet that mode is always the best that can be conceived for attaining the end in view. The instruments with which they are provided are DO less wonderful and va- red than the operations themselves. They have their sawS,> and files, and augers, and ginlblets, and knives. and lancets, aud scis- sors. and forccps, with many other similar implements; several of which act In more than one capacity, and with complex and alternate motion to whicII we nave not ye' aiiaimcd in the use ofOur tools. Nor IS the fact so extraordinary as it may seem at first. siucc He who is wise in heart, and won dcrnI in working is the inventor and fab rlca,or of the apparatus of insects, which may be considered as q set of miniature pat- terms drawn for our use by Divine haUd.
 Interesti"g Philosophical F0ets.-The change of properties which takes place when chemical at,raciioH acts, is not con- fined to metals. but is general result in every case MherR different hndies are