Summary: with cock- roaches, 179 Torquay, seeds of Ficus carica developed in a garden in, 80 rps natans, its curious foliage, ‘Trap-door spiders, occurrence of, in Orissa, 205 ‘Travellers, apt to be attacked by bugs in the seventeenth century, 183; occasionally suffer even now, 183; persecuted by leeches, 218; and by patients, “Trees, ee good ones in spirit and - high winds Aapted to roofing, 319; _ revel in ruining a a ess, 356; danger / of from barpaerousness, for silky white cocoonss so Dear that this kind was not in general reared except for them, liked them so much ; but when a discreditable, or soosterous attack UpXon us was Sir Gilbert as to prevent our sitting comfortably anywhere in Thar sene he was not_ glady flew from tine' soggy mats tn the Eugene ot, morsoon -chalhwags over an hour, It is respiring to note what a. quantity of amusement two', lbqnglish goats an give if are keen enough’ to appreciate it. Coined* ockene wereiorwards lbe oldest of actual cockroaches, ‘Heiy ‘consumption habits are | the ‘nost Vorionks We had anything; nt > porno petrarch-y the < 180 CRICKETS, GRASSHOPPERS, MANTISES, ETC. infested by them it is almost impossible to avoid acquiring a tolerance or even a grateful regard for certain creatures whose presence is apt to be regarded as an unmitigated evil. When musk- rats are seen eagerly devouring them, or a great grey spider appears, clasping one to her breast, and greedily sucking up its juices, the evident benefits which they confer in doing so are surely fitted to do away with any sentimental objections to their company. However much we may be disposed to regard iy cockroaches with ¢ aversion, their beautiful nests or egg-capsules must always excite admiration. In form they closely resemble a miniature Gladstone- bag with fluted sides of deep brown, shining leather. They are often to be met with adhering to the surfaces of fragments of matting or other débris in obscure corners of rooms, or in the recesses of boxes and cupboards. © a ae PLATE VIII.—FLOWERS OF SILK-COTTON-TREE, AN ALLURING COUCH 185 enjoying the gradual growth of drowsiness, my attention was fortunately attracted by what seemed to be a strange fault in the pattern of the dirty, eretonne cover of my resting-place; and on closer examination, not only there but in many other places the surface was found to be thickly coated by hordes of loathly brown creatures clustered together so as to form large dull patches of an umber tint. It need hardly be said that instant »d faliygh t foleloewede tihne tdhies coovpeerny , aairn,d wthheer e,re satl tohfo utghhe exposure to a blazing sun was inevitable, there was less chance of contact with. such offensive neighbours. The innumerable crevices in the ill-fitting wood-work of native houses and fur- niture provide endless harbours for insects of such habits, and it is little wonder that in such an environment they are able to defy all attempts at expulsion or extermination. In the neighbourhood of Calcutta there are none of the great cicadas who render life terrible in certain other parts of India, and specially in heavily wooded, hilly regions, by their maddening music; but at particular times of year their minute relatives, the so-called “green flies” or “green bugs,” are present as veritable plagues. It ought indeed to be a matter of deep and lasting gratitude in all inhabitants of such an area that true bugs never make their appearance in such exuberant multitudes as these small creatures sometimes do, especially during late autumn and early winter. No one without actual experience of what one of their serious irruptions 188 BUGS, CICADAS, FROG-HOPPERS, ETC. derived from horse-droppings, and consequently that the most efficient means of putting a stop to the occurrence of swarms must lie in efficient sanitation of the streets. This was certainly much neglected in Calcutta during a long period of years ; and