Volume 1

The miscellaneous tracts of the late William Withering... : to which is prefixed a memoir of his life, character, and writings.

  • William Withering
Date:
1822
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The miscellaneous tracts of the late William Withering... : to which is prefixed a memoir of his life, character, and writings. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by University of Bristol Library. The original may be consulted at University of Bristol Library.

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    bones, having little or no flesh to cover it. In Languodoc it likewise obtains the name of Pregadiou. It measures scarcely two inches in height, is of a brownish colour, is not thicker than a straw, has a pair of prominent shining eyes, with the head awl-shaped, or somewhat resembling that of a stag. Two or three specimens were procured, but not without difficulty, both from their scarcity and the super- stitious veneration in which the animal is held. ScoLOPENDRA forficata, (Fork-tailed MillepedJ lias fifteen feet on each side ; is of a dun colour, and frequents houses. From every portion of its body, when severed in pieces. Poly- pus like, a new Milleped is produced. Apis violacea, (Blue Bee.) A beautiful insect which dwells and propagates its species in the large Portuguese reed, ( Arundo donax,) growing on the shores of the Tagus, near Brafo de Prata, and in other places above. Its body is black, covered with soft hairs, having four trans- parent wings of a rich purple colour, Vespa in ramis arhorum nidificans. This singular Wasp fabricates a nest, or comb, of wood, reduced to paper, varnish- ed in a manner impenetrable to water, and not altogether larger than a walnut. The nest is usually fastened by a kind of stem, attached to some little twig of a bush or tree; hence these in- sects are denominated Aerial Wasps. They are smaller than any other species, and build early in the year. My specimens were found on a Rosemary bush, at St. Joze. CuLEX pipiens, (the Musqueto,) is almost equally prevalent with Pediculi and Pulices, particularly in towns during the hot season. This fly much resembles the common Gnat, but the poison injected by it is found to be more virulent.and is probably aug- mented by the heat of the climate. Volatile Alkali, or Fuller's earth and water, have been advised as the best applications to allay the intolerable itching and inflammation.