The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1859-01-26
MR.. PARKHILL'S LECTURE.

The ninth lecture of the course before the Mary
land Institute, delivered last night by John H.
Parkhill, Esq, of this city. His subject being
"lnsect anatomy and physiology as evincing the
wisdom of God" Mr.. p. stated that on a former
occasion he had treated his subject in parts, and to
obtain better understanding of the present lee
ture, it necessary to recapituate the heads of
the previous discourse. Following the obvious
natural division of the insect body, he considered
the head thorax and abdomen, in their order. The
head embraced the instruments of nutrition, form
ing the mouth and the organs of the senses. Of
these, the eye and tongue only known, those of
touch, smell and hearing, inferred from their
manifestations in their habits. The mouth, with
its instruments, and the of touch and hear
ing, were the subjects of the first lecture Smell
taste and sight, completing the consideration of
the insect head; and the thorax, including the Or
gans of locomoton, by wings and legs, were the
heads of the present lecture. Smell in insects
being attested by known organ, we must
look to those facts in their habits and economy
which indicate the exercise of this sense. Some of
these cited from the habits of bees that each
confined ITSELF during the day. to the particular
species of flowers upon which it first aghted in the
morning. In this way, no hybrid plants were pro-
duced by intermixing the pollens of different kinds
of towers-and that this selection of the honey of
the species of flowers, determined by the
scent. Several experiments of Huber's were given,
emitted many pungent odors-some fetid, rancid
poisonous, and powerful, which are used by them
as defensive means, they possessing the most curl
Gus contrivances for exploding and ejecting them
upon their assaants and in order that these scents
should produce the designed effect, the enemy must
smell them. Taste, unlike smell or hearing requires
the immediate contact of the organ to the body per-
ceived. An odor or tone NAV be perceived, though
the flower the musical instrument is at a dis
tance and even unseen. We find the organ of
taste-the tongue-placed in the mouth, into which
all substances must be placed before going into the
throat and it tests them. This organ may be call
ed then, the sentinel of the stomach. In this way
the bee tastes sweets, and gathers his honey from
flowers which give to it special favor. The balm
of Pontus, the thyme of Hymettus, and the rose
mary of Narbonne, chosen for their special
The tongue of the bee is fiat and flexible that
it may sweep the sides of flower nectaries and col
lect from every inequality of surface the dewy
tar. No one of these organs of sense is so comp-
Gated and wonderful as the eye, whether regard
its structure or uses. This organ is composed Of
many thousand hexagonal lenses, reticulated as
piece of honeycomb, comprehended in one cor
nea-each of which lenses may be regarded
as distinct eye. The wisdom of this arrange
ment is apparent when consider that
it is fixed eve in head ofvery limited movement.
Man has two eyes, in head of great range ofmove-
ment on the cervica vertebra-and conjoined with
the movement in the orbits-enables them to sweep
| successive fields of view. The insect without
moving head or body takes in his scope of vision at
| glance, by reason of his hemisphere of many
lenses pointing in every direction. They have, be-
sides, other smaller ewes called stemmata, which
| Huber thought enabled them to see in the dark
| but their uses were not certainly known.
| The thorax the section of the insect body
upon which the members of locomotion jointed the
! legs and wings. These are rudimentary in the
larva state In the perfect state these members
| curious and various in their structure-adapted to
the habits of the several species. nhabitng EARTH
air and water insects combined the movements of all
| animals. They walked, ran and jumped with quad
| birds wi
walked and run upon water. Many curious and
entertaining instances, under each of these heads,
were given to illustrate the several movements
Some run at speed, compared to their size, which
equalled the rate of 200 miles an hour more.
Others leaped 200 times their own length at a
bound others climbed with single rope, or lad
ders made ofsilk, which constructed at the
instant, and while they being used Space
will not allow us to give the many strange things
revealed in insect habits and economy. 1t is really
strange that the science of Entomology is so little
cultivated, when it bears such overwhelming test
mony to the wisdom and goodness of God in these
small forms of life. Many dissections OF insect
| bodies were exhibited with the microscope. The
wing of the Chinese Lantern-fy was magni
fed the length of over twenty-five feet long.
Fine stock is being imported into Texas in larg,
| quantities. The New Orleans Picdyune says: ''Thi
season the number is far greater than ever, and il
addition to the ordinary domestic stock we see tina
fresh importations of camels and cashmere goat
are being introduced. The former are known to d.
better in Texas than in their own native country
while there can be no doubt that the finest goat
will increase and thrive as WELL"
The French government is preparing to SEN
magnificent presents to Foev-Tsgo, the new Empe
ror of Japan. These presents consist principally
collections of firearms, two cannons of the sam
model as those offered to the Queen of England
some superb tapestry from the Gobelins and variou
articles of similar nature.