, 1885-05-10
How 70 ZANE cookaoAo1ga
Interesting cultlvasins the Insectu'
Recommendations Qualities.

Interesting ems Cultivsting the Insectn'
Accommodations Qualities
iRss. !. g. Wood in Youths compan.oa.i
Tho first point to be gained was tc
train the insects by degrees, and nc
custom their eyes to light. l put half n
dozen OF them, three males and three
females. under a large glass bell, to
gether with pieces of bread, meat, etc,
and n very shallow vessel containing
water. 4 few rough fints were ar
ranged in the center so as to afford a
refuge Tor the insects.
Zoe glass was placed on a tray, which
was set on my working-table, and al
most touching my desk. AS might be
expected, no soone had they been
placed in the vessel than they ran under
the I ints for shelter, SO that nothing
could lie seen Of them except the long
antenn which seem never to be still
i or n few days they remained in their
hiding place, only coming out to feed
after dark. But as the gas was lighted
when darkness came on, the c~ockroaches
found their feeding time unpleasantly
circumscribed, and began to run out
even in daylight, snatch up a piece of
food, and return with it to their shell
ter.
by degrees they became holder, and
if | ga e them a piece OF bread dipped
in milk, they would come out and feed
Us long rs | remained perfectly quiet,
but would scurry back to their shelter if
1 only turned my head. However, they
soon found out that they suffered no
harm by a movement on my part, and
in a week or so they would go on feed
ing when | dipped my pen in the ink,
or even If rose from my chair. Then
| removed one of the fiints so as to
diminish their shelter, and, as they be-
came accustomed to their position, / re-
moved the others, until at last they had
no shelter at all. The removal Of the
last lint Disconnected them for a little
time, but they soon got over the loss,
and seemed perfectly at their ease.
Nothing struck me more forcibly than
the difference of their attitude and ges-
lures, after they were accustomed 10 the
change. Instead of crouching to the
ground, and either remaining still as if
they had been petriied, or s%currying
away at their best speed, they moved
quietly about, and when they wanted
to examine any object, raised themselves
quite high on their long legs, and had
a look of confident intelligence. Almost
a similar gesture may be seen in the
s~hore-crabs when hunting for prey. The
whole demeanor Of the insect was al
tered, so that it was hardly recogniz-
able. We have all seen a cat lying in
front Of the fire, with her kittens round
her, and must have admired the uncon-
scious grace of the animals attitude.
But let a strange dog come into the
room, and see how the creature alters.
Her back arches, her tail swells to thrice
its ordinary size, her ears are laid back,
and her teeth are barred.
Now. the daylight acts on the cock
roach as the strange dog acts on the
cat. But, if the dog and cat be properly
introduced, pussy soon becomes accus
toned te the dog, resumes her former
demeanor, and the two foes become firm
friends.
So it wal with the c~ockroaches, which
in many points reminded me of the cat.
No cat can be more inquisitive than the
cockroach. If l put under the glass
something which they had not seen be-
fore, they were all around it. At first,
they would walk backward and forward
by it, sweeping their long antenne over
it in graceful curves. Then they would
come close to it, pass their heads over
it, and evidently exercise the OF
smell. Having satisfied their curiosity,
they left it, and never troubled them
selves about it again.