Chapter II (2)

The Locust belongs to the great order of Orthoptera, or straight-winged insects. They have, when fully developed, four wings, the two front being thick and membraneous, while the two hinder wings are large, delicate, translucent, and folded longitudinally under the front pair of wings when the insect is at rest. In the Locusts these characteristics are admirably shown. The appearance of a Locust when at rest and when flying is so different that the creature is at first sight scarcely recognisable as the same creature. When at rest, it is a compact and tolerably stout insect, with a dull though delicately coloured body; but when it takes flight it appears to attain twice its previous dimensions.

The front pair of wings, which alone were seen before they were expanded, became comparatively insignificant, while the hinder pair, which were before invisible, became the most prominent part of the insect, their translucent folds being coloured with the most brilliant hues, according to the species. The body seems to have shrunk as the wings have increased, and to have diminished to half its previous size, while the long legs that previously were so conspicuous are stretched out like the legs of a flying heron.

All the Locusts are vegetable-feeders, and do great harm wherever they happen to be plentiful, their powerful jaws severing even the thick grass stems as if cut by scissors. But it is only when they invade a country that their real power is felt. They come flying with the wind in such vast multitudes that the sky is darkened as if by thunder-clouds; and when they settle, every vestige of green disappears off the face of the earth.

Mr. Gordon Cumming once saw a flight of these Locusts. They flew about three hundred feet from the ground, and came on in thick, solid masses, forming one unbroken cloud. On all sides nothing was to be seen but Locusts. The air was full of them, and the plain was covered with them, and for more than an hour the insect army flew past him. When the Locusts settle, they eat with such voracity that the sound caused by their jaws cutting the leaves and grass can be heard at a great distance; and even the young Locusts, which have no wings, and are graphically termed by the Dutch colonists of Southern Africa "voet-gangers," or foot-goers, are little inferior in power of jaw to the fully-developed insect.

As long as they have a favourable wind, nothing stops the progress of the Locusts. They press forward just like the vast herds of antelopes that cover the plains of Africa, or the bisons that blacken the prairies of America, and the progress of even the wingless young is as irresistible as that of the adult insects. Regiments of soldiers have in vain attempted to stop them. Trenches have been dug across their path, only to be filled up in a few minutes with the advancing hosts, over whose bodies the millions of survivors continued their march. When the trenches were filled with water, the result was the same; and even when fire was substituted for water, the flames were quenched by the masses of Locusts that fell into them. When they come to a tree, they climb up it in swarms, and devour every particle of foliage, not even sparing the bark of the smaller branches. They ascend the walls of houses that come in the line of their march, swarming in at the windows, and gnawing in their hunger the very woodwork of the furniture.

We shall now see how true to nature is the terrible prophecy of Joel. "A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations.

"A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.

"The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run.

"Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array....

"They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks:

"Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded.

"They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief.

"The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:

"And the Lord shall utter His voice before His army: for His camp is very great".(Joel ii. 2-11).

"All thy trees shall the locust consume."--DEUT. xxviii. 42.]

Nothing can be more vividly accurate than this splendid description of the Locust armies. First we have the darkness caused by them as they fly like black clouds between the sun and the earth. Then comes the contrast between the blooming and fertile aspect of the land before they settle on it, and its utter desolation when they leave it. Then the poet-prophet alludes to the rushing noise of their flight, which he compares to the sound of chariots upon the mountains, and to the compact masses in which they pass over the ground like soldiers on the march. The impossibility of checking them is shown in verse 8, and their climbing the walls of houses and entering the chambers in verse 9.

There is one passage in the Scriptures which at first sight seems rather obscure, but is clear enough when we understand the character of the insect to which it refers: "I am gone like the shadow when it declineth: I am tossed up and down as the locust" (Ps. cix. 23).

Although the Locusts have sufficient strength of flight to remain on the wing for a considerable period, and to pass over great distances, they have little or no command over the direction of their flight, and always travel with the wind, just as has been mentioned regarding the quail. So entirely are they at the mercy of the wind, that if a sudden gust arises the Locusts are tossed about in the most helpless manner; and if they should happen to come across one of the circular air-currents that are so frequently found in the countries which they inhabit, they are whirled round and round without the least power of extricating themselves.

The course then of the Locust-swarms depends entirely on the direction of the wind. They are brought by the wind, and they are taken away by the wind, as is mentioned in the sacred narrative. In the account of the great plague of Locusts, the wind is mentioned as the proximate cause both of their arrival and their departure. See, for example, Exod. x. 12, 13:

"And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land, even all that the hail hath left.

"And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts."

Afterwards, when Moses was brought before Pharaoh, and entreated to remove the plague which had been brought upon the land, the west wind was employed to take the Locusts away, just as the east wind had brought them.

"He went out from Pharaoh, and entreated the Lord.

"And the Lord turned a mighty strong west wind, which took away the locusts, and cast them into the Red Sea; there remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt" (Exod. x. 18, 19).

Modern travellers have given accounts of these Locust armies, which exactly correspond with the sacred narrative. One traveller mentions that, after a severe storm, the Locusts were destroyed in such multitudes, that they were heaped in a sort of wall, varying from three to four feet in height, fifty miles in length, and almost unapproachable, on account of the odour of their decomposing bodies.

We now come to the use of Locusts as food.

Very few insects have been recognised as fit for human food, even among uncivilized nations, and it is rather singular that the Israelites, whose dietary was so scrupulously limited, should have been permitted the use of the Locust. These insects are, however, eaten in all parts of the world which they frequent, and in some places form an important article of diet, thus compensating in some way for the amount of vegetable food which they consume.

Herodotus, for example, when describing the various tribes of Libyans, mentions the use of the Locust as an article of diet. "The Nasamones, a very numerous people, adjoin these Auschisæ westward.... When they have caught locusts, they dry them in the sun, reduce them to powder, and, sprinkling them in milk, drink them." (Melpomene, ch. 172.)

This is precisely the plan which is followed at the present day by the Bosjesmans of Southern Africa.

To them the Locusts are a blessing, and not a plague. They till no ground, so that they care nothing for crops, and they breed no cattle, so that they are indifferent about pasture land.

When they see a cloud of Locusts in the distance they light great fires, and heap plenty of green boughs upon them, so as to create a thick smoke. The Locusts have no idea of avoiding these smoke columns, but fly over the fires, and, stifled by the vapour, fall to the ground, where they are caught in vast numbers by the Bosjesmans.

When their captors have roasted and eaten as many as they can manage to devour, they dry the rest over the fires, pulverize them between two stones, and keep the meal for future use, mixing it with water, or, if they can get it, with milk.

We will now take a few accounts given by travellers of the present day, selecting one or two from many. Mr. W. G. Palgrave, in his "Central and Eastern Arabia," gives a description of the custom of eating Locusts. "On a sloping bank, at a short distance in front, we discerned certain large black patches, in strong contrast with the white glisten of the soil around, and at the same time our attention was attracted by a strange whizzing, like that of a flight of hornets, close along the ground, while our dromedaries capered and started as though struck with sudden insanity.

"The cause of all this was a vast swarm of locusts, here alighted in their northerly wanderings from their birthplace in the Dahna; their camp extended far and wide, and we had already disturbed their outposts. These insects are wont to settle on the ground after sunset, and there, half-stupified by the night chill, await the morning rays, which warm them once more into life and movement.

"This time, the dromedaries did the work of the sun, and it would be hard to say which of the two were the most frightened, they or the locusts. It was truly laughable to see so huge a beast lose his wits for fear at the flight of a harmless, stingless Insect, for, of all timid creatures, none equal this 'ship of the desert' for cowardice.

"But, if the beasts were frightened, not so their masters. I really thought they would have gone mad for joy. Locusts are here an article of food, nay, a dainty, and a good swarm of them is begged of Heaven in Arabia....

"The locust, when boiled or fried, is said to be delicious, and boiled and fried accordingly they are to an incredible extent. However, I never could persuade myself to taste them, whatever invitations the inhabitants of the land, smacking their lips over large dishes full of entomological 'delicatesses,' would make me to join them. Barakàt ventured on one for a trial. He pronounced it oily and disgusting, nor added a second to the first: it is caviare to unaccustomed palates.

"The swarm now before us was a thorough godsend for our Arabs, on no account to be neglected. Thirst, weariness, all were forgotten, and down the riders leaped from their starting camels. This one spread out a cloak, that one a saddle-bag, a third his shirt, over the unlucky creatures, destined for the morning meal. Some flew away, whizzing across our feet; others were caught, and tied up in sacks."

Mr. Mansfield Parkyns, in his "Life in Abyssinia," mentions that the true Abyssinian will not eat the Locust, but that the negroes and Arabs do so. He describes the flavour as being something between the burnt end of a quill and a crumb of linseed cake. The flavour, however, depends much on the mode of cooking, and, as some say, on the nature of the Locusts' food.

Signor Pierotti states, in his "Customs and Traditions of Palestine," that Locusts are really excellent food, and that he was accustomed to eat them, not from necessity, but from choice, and compares their flavour to that of shrimps.

Dr. Livingstone makes a similar comparison. In Palestine, Locusts are eaten either roasted or boiled in salt and water, but, when preserved for future use, they are dried in the sun, their heads, wings, and legs picked off, and their bodies ground into dust. This dust has naturally a rather bitter flavour, which is corrected by mixing it with camel's milk or honey, the latter being the favourite substance.

We may now see that the food of St. John the Baptist was, like his dress, that of a people who lived at a distance from towns, and that there was no more hardship in the one than in the other. Some commentators have tried to prove that St. John fed on the fruit of the locust or carob tree--the same that is used so much in this country for feeding cattle; but there is not the least ground for such an explanation. The account of his life, indeed, requires no explanation; Locust-dust, mixed with honey, being an ordinary article of food even at the present day.

HYMENOPTERA.

THE BEE.

The Hebrew word _Debôrah_--The Honey Bee of Palestine--Abundance
of Bees in the Holy Land--Habitations of the wild Bee--Hissing
for the Bee--Bees in dead carcases--The honey of
Scripture--Domesticated Bees and their hives--Stores of wild
honey--The story of Jonathan--The Crusaders and the
honey--Butter and honey--Oriental sweetmeats--The Dibs, or
grape-honey, and mode of preparation--Wax, its use as a
metaphor.

Passing for the moment the order of insects called Neuroptera, which may possibly be represented in the Scriptural writings by the Termites, which would be classed with the ants, we come to the vast order of Hymenoptera, of which we find several representatives. Beginning with that which is most familiar to us, we will take the Bee, an insect which is frequently mentioned in the Scriptures, and to which indirect allusion is made in many passages, such as those which mention honey, honeycomb, and wax.

Fortunately, there is no doubt about the rendering of the Hebrew word _debôrah_, which has always been acknowledged to be rightly translated as "Bee." There has, however, been a difference of opinion as to the derivation of the word, some Hebraists thinking that it is derived from a word which signifies departure, or going forth, in allusion to its habit of swarming, while others derive it from the Hebrew dabar, a word which signifies speech, and is appropriate to the Bee on account of the varied sounds of its hum, which were supposed to be the language of the insect.

The Honey Bee is exceedingly plentiful in Palestine, and in some parts of the country multiplying to such an extent that the precipitous ravines in which it takes up its residence are almost impassable by human beings, so jealous are the Bees of their domains. Although the Bee is not exactly the same species as that of our own country, being the Banded Bee (_Apis fasciata_), and not the _Apis mellifica_, the two insects very much resemble each other in shape, colour, and habits. Both of them share the instinctive dislike of strangers and jealousy of intrusion, and the Banded Bee of Palestine has as great an objection to intrusion as its congener of England.

"_They shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys and in the holes
of the rocks._"--ISA. vii. 19.]

Several allusions are made in the Scriptures to this trait in the character of the Bee. See, for example, Deut. i. 44: "And the Amorites, which dwelt in that mountain, came out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah." All those who have had the misfortune to offend Bees will recognise the truth of this metaphor, the Amorites swarming out of the mountain like wild Bees out of the rocky clefts which serve them as hives, and chasing the intruder fairly out of their domains.

A similar metaphor is employed in the Psalms: "They compassed me about; yea, they compassed me about; but in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.

"They compassed me about like bees, they are quick as the fire of thorns, but in the name of the Lord I will destroy them."

There is another passage in which the Bee is mentioned in the light of an enemy: "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.

"And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon all bushes" (Isa. vii. 18, 19). Some commentators have thought that the word which is translated as "Bee" may in this case refer to some noxious fly, which, although it is not a Bee, and does not even belong to the same order of insects, has a sufficiently Bee-like appearance to cause it to be classed among the Bees by the non-zoological Orientals. The context, however, sets the question at rest; for the allusions to the resting of the insect in the holes of the rock, upon the thorns, and on the bushes, clearly refers to the mode in which the Honey Bee throws off its swarms.

The custom of swarming is mentioned in one of the earlier books of Scripture. The reader will remember that, after Samson had killed the lion which met him on the way, he left the carcase alone. The various carnivorous beasts and birds at once discover such a banquet, and in a very short time the body of a dead animal is reduced to a hollow skeleton, partially or entirely covered with skin, the rays of the sun drying and hardening the skin until it is like horn.

In exceptionally hot weather, the same result occurs even in this country. Some years before this account was written there was a very hot and dry summer, and a great mortality took place among the sheep. So many indeed died that at last their owners merely flayed them, and left their bodies to perish. One of the dead sheep had been thrown into a rather thick copse, and had fallen in a spot where it was sheltered from the wind, and yet exposed to the fierce heat of the summer's sun. The consequence was that in a few days it was reduced to a mere shell. The heat hardened and dried the external layer of flesh so that not even the carnivorous beetles could penetrate it, while the whole of the interior dissolved into a semi-putrescent state, and was rapidly devoured by myriads of blue-bottles and other larvæ.

It was so thoroughly dried that scarcely any evil odour clung to it, and as soon as I came across it the story of Samson received a simple elucidation. In the hotter Eastern lands, the whole process would have been more rapid and more complete, and the skeleton of the lion, with the hard and horny skin strained over it, would afford exactly the habitation of which a wandering swarm of Bees would take advantage. At the present day swarms of wild Bees often make their habitations within the desiccated bodies of dead camels that have perished on the way.

As to the expression "hissing" for the Bee, the reader must bear in mind that a sharp, short hiss is the ordinary call in Palestine, when one person desires to attract the attention of another. A similar sound, which may perhaps be expressed by the letters _tst_, prevails on the Continent at the present day. Signor Pierotti remarks that the inhabitants of Palestine are even now accustomed to summon Bees by a sort of hissing sound.

Whether the honey spoken of in the Scriptures was obtained from wild or domesticated Bees is not very certain, but, as the manners of the East are much the same now as they were three thousand years ago, it is probable that Bees were kept then as they are now. The hives are not in the least like ours, but are cylindrical vases of coarse earthenware, laid horizontally, much like the bark hives employed in many parts of Southern Africa.

In some places the hives are actually built into the walls of the houses, the closed end of the cylinder projecting into the interior, while an entrance is made for the Bees in the other end, so that the insects have no business in the house. When the inhabitants wish to take the honey, they resort to the operation which is technically termed "driving" by bee-masters.

They gently tap the end within the house, and continue the tapping until the Bees, annoyed by the sound, have left the hive. They then take out the circular door that closes the end of the hive, remove as much comb as they want, carefully put back those portions which contain grubs and bee-bread, and replace the door, when the Bees soon return and fill up the gaps in the combs. As to the wasteful, cruel, and foolish custom of "burning" the Bees, the Orientals never think of practising it.

In many places the culture of Bees is carried out to a very great extent, numbers of the earthenware cylinders being piled on one another, and a quantity of mud thrown over them in order to defend them from the rays of the sun, which would soon melt the wax of the combs.

In consequence of the geographical characteristics of the Holy Land, which supplies not only convenient receptacles for the Bees in the rocks, but abundance of thyme and similar plants, vast stores of bee-comb are to be found in the cliffs, and form no small part of the wealth of the people.

Reference to this kind of property is made by the Prophet Jeremiah. When Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, had treacherously killed Gedaliah and others, ten men tried to propitiate him by a bribe: "Slay us not, for we have treasures in the field, of wheat, of barley, and of oil, and of _honey_" (chap. xli. 8). References to the wild honey are frequent in the Scriptures. For example, in the magnificent song of Moses the Lord is said to have made Israel to "suck honey out of the rock" (Deut. xxxii. 13). See also Psalm lxxxi. 16: "He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee."

The abundance of wild honey is shown by the memorable events recorded in 1 Sam. xiv. Saul had prohibited all the people from eating until the evening. Jonathan, who had not heard the prohibition, was faint and weary, and, seeing honey dripping on the ground from the abundance and weight of the comb, he took it up on the end of his staff, and ate sufficient to restore his strength.

Thus, if we refer again to the history of St. John the Baptist and his food, we shall find that he was in no danger of starving for want of nourishment, the Bees breeding abundantly in the desert places he frequented, and affording him a plentiful supply of the very material which was needed to correct the deficiencies of the dried locusts which he used instead of bread.

The expression "a land flowing with milk and honey" has become proverbial as a metaphor expressive of plenty. Those to whom the words were spoken understood it as something more than a metaphor. In the work to which reference has already been made Signor Pierotti writes as follows:--"Let us now see how far the land could be said to flow with milk and honey during the latter part of its history and at the present day.

"We find that honey was abundant in the time of the Crusades, for the English, who followed Edward I. to Palestine, died in great numbers from the excessive heat, and from eating too much fruit and honey. (See M. Sanutus, '_Liber secretorum fidelium Crucis_,' lib. iii. p. xii.)

"At the present day, after traversing the country in every direction, I am able to affirm that in the south-east and north-east, where the ancient customs of the patriarchs are most fully preserved, and the effects of civilization have been felt least, milk and honey may still be said to flow, as they form a portion of every meal, and may even be more abundant than water, which fails occasionally in the heat of summer.... I have often eaten of the comb, which I found very good and of delicious fragrance."

A reference to sickness occasioned by eating too much honey occurs in Prov. xxv. 16: "Hast thou found honey? Eat so much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it." A similar warning is given in verse 27: "It is not good to eat much honey: so for men to search their own glory is not glory."

So plentiful indeed was the wild honey that it was exported to other countries, and in the palmy days of Israel formed part of a regular trade with Tyre. See Ezek. xxvii. 17: "Judah and the land of Israel, they were thy merchants: they traded in thy market wheat of Minnith, and Pannag, and honey, and oil, and balm."

In one or two passages honey is mentioned as being eaten with butter. (See, for example, 2 Sam. xvii. 29.) When David and his followers were wearied at Mahanaim, the people brought presents to him, among which are specially mentioned butter and honey.

Then there is the familiar prophecy, "Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil and choose the good." The same image is repeated in the same chapter: "And it shall come to pass for the abundance of milk that they shall give he shall eat butter: for butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the land" (ver. 22).

This mixture is at the present day a favourite one. All Orientals are fond of sweets, and in the composition of many of their favourite sweetmeats use honey instead of sugar. But an extemporized sweetmeat is often made by mixing together honey and butter, and eating it without further preparation.

It is right to mention here that there is a substance which is sometimes called honey, but which is not made by Bees. This is still used in Palestine under the name of "dibs," a word which is almost identical with the Hebrew _d'bash_. A very excellent account of this preparation is given by Mr. Urquhart in his "Lebanon." "The dibs, the honey of Scripture, which Jacob sent to Joseph, is the inspissated juice of the grape. It is of two sorts: one dark and liquid, resembling molasses--this is the _racon_; the other is thick, and of a yellow brown, and is called dibs (_jibes_). In every village there is an establishment for making it, some of them bearing marks of great antiquity. There are vats for pressing, and troughs cut in the rock for holding the juice, and a furnace for boiling it.

"The grapes are not trodden by the feet, but laid in a heap and pressed by a beam, of which one end is fixed in the wall, and a heavy stone attached to the other, as the oil seems anciently to have been expressed, judging from the relics I observed near Tyre. The juice is then boiled in the iron pan for an hour, then poured back into the trough. After it has cooled it is again returned into the pan and boiled--if for the racon for three hours, if for the jibes four.

"The process is thus complete for the first; the second is still liquid, and is conveyed home, where, during a month, it is daily for an hour turned or beaten with a fresh branch of fig-tree, or botun. This property of the fig-tree is curious.... The racon takes four okes of grapes to make one oke; the jibes five. The first is worth forty paras, and the second sixty."

The Hebrew word _donag_, which has been rightly interpreted as wax, occurs very seldom in the Old Testament. No mention is made of any use to which it was put, and in every instance it is employed simply as a metaphor.

Three examples occur in the Psalms: "I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels" (Psa. xxii. 14).

The word occurs again in Psa. lxviii. 2: "As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God." It occurs for the third time in Psa. xcvii. 5: "The hills melted like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth."

The Prophet Micah uses a similar image: "Behold the Lord cometh forth out of His place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth.

"And the mountains shall be molten under him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, and as the waters that are poured down a steep place." (i. 3, 4.)

The Bee represented on page 606 is the common Bee of Palestine, _Apis fasciata_. The lowest figure in the corner, with a long body and shut wings, is the queen. The central figure represents the drone, conspicuous by means of his large eyes, that almost join each other at the top of the head, and for his thicker and stouter body, while the third figure represents the worker Bee. Near them is shown the entrance to one of the natural hives which are so plentiful in the Holy Land, and are made in the "clefts of the rocks." A number of Bees are shown issuing from the hole.

THE HORNET.

The Tzirah or Hornet of Scripture--Travellers driven away by
Hornets--The Hornet used as metaphor--Oriental symbolism--The
Talmudical writers--Sting of the Hornet.

Still keeping to the hymenopterous insects, we come to the Hornet. There are three passages in which occurs the word _tzirah_, which has been translated as Hornet. In every case when the word is mentioned the insect is employed in a metaphorical sense. See, for example, Exod. xxiii. 27, 28: "I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come; and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee.

"And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee."

A similar use of the word is made in Deut. vii. 20: "Moreover the Lord thy God will send the hornet among them, until they that are left, and hide themselves from thee, be destroyed."

The fulfilment of this promise is recorded in Josh. xxiv. 11, 12: "And ye went over Jordan, and came unto Jericho: and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I delivered them into your hand.

"And I sent the hornet before you, which drave them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; but not with thy sword, nor with thy bow."

It is most probable that in these passages the word is used rather as a metaphor than as the statement of a fact, and that under the symbol of the Hornet was signified some means whereby the people should be driven out of the land as men are driven when chased by angry Hornets. The reader may remember that the word "bee" is more than once used in a similar manner. This view of the case is corroborated by such passages as Deut. ii. 25: "This day will I begin to put the dread of thee, and the fear of thee, upon the nations that are under the whole heaven, who shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble, and be in anguish because of thee." Also Josh. ii. 9-11: "I know that the Lord hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.

"_I will send hornets before thee_."--EXOD. xxiii. 28.]

"For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed.

"And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you."

The Hornet affords a most appropriate image for such a promise as was made to the Israelites, and was one which they must have thoroughly comprehended. The Hornets of Palestine and the neighbouring countries are far more common than our own Hornets in England, and they evidently infested some parts to such an extent that they gave their name to those spots. Thus the word _Zoreah_, which is mentioned in Josh. xv. 33, signifies the "place of Hornets."

They make their nests in various ways; some species placing them underground, and others disposing them as shown in the illustration, and merely sheltering them from the elements by a paper cover. Such nests as these would easily be disturbed by the animals which accompanied the Israelites on their journeys, even if the people were careful to avoid them. In such a case, the irritated insects rush out at the intruders; and so great is the terror of their stings, that men and beasts fly promiscuously in every direction, each only anxious to escape from the winged foes.

The recollection of such scenes would necessarily dwell in the memory of those who had taken part in them, and cause the metaphor to impress itself strongly upon them.

It is needless to say that the passages in question might be literal statements of facts, and that the various nations were actually driven out of their countries by Hornets. Let the insects be brought upon the land in sufficient numbers, and neither man nor beast could stay in it. It is not likely, however, that such a series of miracles, far exceeding the insect-plagues of Egypt, would have been worked without frequent references to them in the subsequent books of the Scriptures; and, moreover, the quick, short, and headlong flight of the attack of Hornets is a very different thing from the emigration which is mentioned in the Scriptures, and the long journeys which such a proceeding involved.

The Talmudical writers inclined to the literal view of the passage, and dilated on the terrible power of the Hornet, four of which could destroy a horse, and one kill a boy nine years of age, or a man, provided he were stung in the forehead. The sting of the Hornet is very severe indeed, exceeding in virulence that of the wasp, to which it is closely allied; and it is possible that a boy, or even a man, might be in so feeble a state of health, or be naturally so sensitive to poison, that the sting of a Hornet would be fatal. As a rule, however, the sting of the Hornet, although exceedingly painful, is scarcely more injurious than that of a bee or wasp. The Talmudists stated that the Hornets mentioned in Joshua killed the people by stinging them in the eye.

The species of Hornet represented in the illustration is _Vespa orientalis_, the insect and nest being drawn from specimens in the British Museum.

THE ANT.

The Ant of Scripture--Solomon's allusion to the Ant--Habit of
laying up stores of food--A controversy respecting the Ant--The
Ants of Palestine, and their habits--The Agricultural or
Mound-making Ant--Preparing ground, sowing, tending, reaping,
and storing the crop--Different habits of Ants--Development of
the insect--The winged Ants--An Arab proverb.

There are two short passages in the Old Testament, around which an animated controversy has long raged. They both occur in the Book of Proverbs.

The first is found in chap. vi. 6-8: "Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:

"Which, having no guide, overseer, or ruler,

"Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest."

The Jewish Bible renders the passage in almost exactly the same manner: "Go to the ant, thou sluggard; see her ways, and be wise:

"Which having no captain, bailiff, or ruler,

"Provideth her bread in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest."

The second passage is of a similar character: "There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise.

"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer."

It has been objected to these passages that the Ant is a carnivorous insect, and therefore could not gather her food in the harvest, and that the very nature of that food would prevent it from being laid up in store. The objectors thought that the sacred writer had been deceived by appearances, and had mistaken the white cocoon of the ant-pupæ (popularly called ant-eggs among ourselves) for grains of corn which they were storing away for future use.

Those who took the other side of the question answered that, in the first place, it was necessary to be sure of the real translation of the word which is rendered as "ant" in the Authorized Version; and that, in the second place, the Ants of a warm country like Palestine might have different habits from those which inhabit the comparatively cold and changeable climate of England.

As to the first point, there is no doubt that the rendering is the right one, and that the word _nemâlah_ is correctly translated as "ant." The Jewish Bible employs the word "ant," and does not add the mark of doubt. Buxtorf, in his "Hebrew Lexicon," translates it as "formica," and derives it from a root which signifies "to eat," because it eat the seeds which it conveys to its dwelling. The lexicographer here alludes to a belief that when the Ant carries a grain of corn into its home, it bites off the germ, so as to prevent it from sprouting.

In Palestine Ants abound, and the species are tolerably numerous. Among them are found some species which do convey seeds into their subterranean home; and if their stores should be wetted by the heavy rains which sometimes prevail in that country, bring them to the outer air, as soon as the weather clears up, and dry them in the sun.

The writer of the Proverbs was therefore perfectly right when he alluded to the vegetable stores within the nest, and only spoke the truth when he wrote of the Ant that it was exceeding wise. Any one who wishes to test the truth of his words can easily do so by watching the first Ants' nest which he finds, the species of the Ant not being of much consequence. The nests of the Wood-Ant are perhaps the best suited for investigation, partly because the insect and its habitation are comparatively large, and, secondly, because so much of the work is done above-ground.

The most wonderful Ant in the world is one which hitherto is only known in some parts of America. Its scientific name is _Atta malefaciens_, and it has been called by various popular names, such as the Mound-making Ant and the Agricultural Ant on account of its habits, and the Stinging Ant on account of the pungency of its venom. This characteristic has gained for it the scientific name of _malefaciens_, or villanous.

The habits of this Ant were studied in Texas by Dr. Lincecum for the space of twelve years, and the result of his investigations was communicated to the Linnæan Society by C. Darwin, Esq. His abstract of Dr. Lincecum's observations may be found in the "Journal of the Linnæan Society," vol. vi. No. 21, page 29. It is so extraordinary an account that it must be given in the narrator's own words:--

"The following is merely an abstract of Dr. Lincecum's communication, containing only what appears to be most remarkable and novel in it in the way of observation.

"The species which I have named 'Agricultural' is a large brownish ant. It dwells in what may be termed paved cities, and, like a thrifty, diligent, provident farmer, makes suitable and timely arrangements for the changing seasons. It is, in short, endowed with skill, ingenuity, and untiring patience sufficient to enable it successfully to contend with the varying exigencies which it may have to encounter in the life-confiict.

"When it has selected a situation for its habitation, if on ordinary dry ground, it bores a hole, around which it raises the surface three and sometimes six inches, forming a low circular mound having a very gentle inclination from the centre to the outer border, which on an average is three or four feet from the entrance. But if the location is chosen on low, flat, wet land liable to inundation, though the ground may be perfectly dry at the time the ant sets to work, it nevertheless elevates the mound, in the form of a pretty sharp cone, to the height of fifteen to twenty inches or more, and makes the entrance near the summit. Around the mound in either case the ant clears the ground of all obstructions, levels and smooths the surface to the distance of three or four feet from the gate of the city, giving the space the appearance of a handsome pavement, as it really is.

"Within this paved area not a blade of any green thing is allowed to grow, except a single species of grain-bearing grass. Having planted this crop in a circle around, and two or three feet from, the centre of the mound, the insect tends and cultivates it with constant care, cutting away all other grasses and weeds that may spring up amongst it and all around outside of the farm-circle to the extent of one or two feet more.

"The cultivated grass grows luxuriantly, and produces a heavy crop of small, white, flinty seeds, which under the microscope very closely resemble ordinary rice. When ripe, it is carefully harvested, and carried by the workers, chaff and all, into the granary cells, where it is divested of the chaff and packed away. The chaff is taken out and thrown beyond the limits of the paved area.

"During protracted wet weather, it sometimes happens that the provision stores become damp, and are liable to sprout and spoil. In this case, on the first fine day the ants bring out the damp and damaged grain, and expose it to the sun till it is dry, when they carry it back and pack away all the sound seeds, leaving those that had sprouted to waste.

"In a peach-orchard not far from my house is a considerable elevation, on which is an extensive bed of rock. In the sand-beds overlying portions of this rock are fine cities of the Agricultural ants, evidently very ancient. My observations on their manners and customs have been limited to the last twelve years, during which time the enclosure surrounding the orchard has prevented the approach of cattle to the ant-farms. The cities which are outside of the enclosure as well as those protected in it are, at the proper season, invariably planted with the ant-rice. The crop may accordingly always be seen springing up within the circle about the 1st of November every year.

"Of late years, however, since the number of farms and cattle has greatly increased, and the latter are eating off the grass much closer than formerly, thus preventing the ripening of the seeds, I notice that the Agricultural ant is placing its cities along the turn-rows in the fields, walks in gardens, inside about the gates, &c., where they can cultivate their farms without molestation from the cattle.

"There can be no doubt of the fact, that the particular species of grain-bearing grass mentioned above is intentionally planted. In farmer-like manner the ground upon which it stands is carefully divested of all other grasses and weeds during the time it is growing. When it is ripe the grain is taken care of, the dry stubble cut away and carried off, the paved area being left unencumbered until the ensuing autumn, when the same 'ant-rice' reappears within the same circle, and receives the same agricultural attention as was bestowed upon the previous crop; and so on year after year, as I _know_ to be the case, in all situations where the ants' settlements are protected from graminivorous animals."

In a second letter, Dr. Lincecum, in reply to an inquiry from Mr. Darwin, whether he supposed that the Ants plant seeds for the ensuing crop, says, "I have not the slightest doubt of it. And my conclusions have not been arrived at from hasty or careless observation, nor from seeing the ants do something that looked a little like it, and then guessing at the results. I have at all seasons watched the same ant-cities during the last twelve years, and I know that what I stated in my former letter is true. I visited the same cities yesterday, and found the crop of ant-rice growing finely, and exhibiting also the signs of high cultivation, and not a blade of any other kind of grass or weed was to be seen within twelve inches of the circular row of ant-rice."

The economical habits of this wonderful insect far surpass anything that Solomon has written of the Ant, and it is not too much to say that if any of the Scriptural writers had ventured to speak of an Ant that not only laid up stores of grain, but actually prepared the soil for the crop, planted the seed, kept the ground free from weeds, and finally reaped the harvest, the statement would have been utterly disbelieved, and the credibility not only of that particular writer but of the rest of Scripture severely endangered. We all know that Solomon's statement concerning the Ant has afforded one of the stock arguments against the truth of Scripture; and here we have his statements not only corroborated to the very letter by those who have visited Palestine for the express purpose of investigating its zoology, but far surpassed by the observations of a scientific man who had watched the insects for a series of years. One of the Ants of Palestine, shown on page 621, belongs to the same genus as the Agricultural Ant.

As may be inferred from the above description, the habits of Ants vary greatly according to their species and the climate in which they live. All, however, are wonderful creatures; and whether we look at their varied architecture, their mode of procuring food, the system of slave-catching adopted by some, the "milking" of aphides practised by others, their astonishing mode of communicating thought to each other, and their perfect system of discipline, we feel how true were the words of the royal naturalist, that the Ants are "little upon earth, but are exceeding wise."

"_Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be
wise._"--PROV. vi. 6.]

There is one point of their economy in which all known species agree. Only those which are destined to become perfectly developed males and females attain the winged state. Before they assume the transitional or pupal condition, each spins around itself a slight but tough silken cocoon, in which it lies secure during the time which is consumed in developing its full perfection of form.

When it is ready to emerge, the labourer Ants aid in freeing it from the cocoon, and in a short time it is ready to fly. Millions of these winged ants rise into the air, seeking their mates, and, as they are not strong on the wing, and are liable to be tossed about by every gust of wind, vast numbers of them perish. Whole armies of them fall into the water and are drowned or devoured by fish, while the insectivorous birds hold great festival on so abundant a supply of food. As soon as they are mated they bend their wings forward, snap them off, and pass the rest of their lives on the ground.

In consequence of the destruction that takes place among the winged Ants, the Arabs have a proverb which is applied to those who are over-ambitious: "If God purposes the destruction of an ant, He permits wings to grow upon her."

HOMOPTERA.

THE CRIMSON WORM.

The scarlet or crimson of Scripture--Signification of the word
_Tolââth_--The Coccus or Cochineal of Palestine compared with
that of Mexico--Difference between the sexes--Mode of preparing
the insect--The Arabic word _Kermes_.

We now come to another order of insects.

Just as the purple dye was obtained from a mollusc, the scarcely less valuable crimson or scarlet was obtained from an insect. The Hebrew word _tolââth_ is translated in the Authorized Version either as "crimson" or "scarlet," but its full signification is the Crimson-worm. This is an insect scientifically named _Coccus ilicis_ on account of its food. It is closely allied to the well-known cochineal of Mexico, which gives a more brilliant dye, and has at the present day nearly superseded the native insect. It is, however, still employed as a dye in some parts of the country.

As its name imports, it feeds on the holm oak (_Quercus coccifera_), a tree which is very plentiful in Palestine, and attains a large size.

"_Though your sins be as red as crimson, they shall be white as
snow._"--ISA i. 13.]

Like the cochineal insect of Mexico, the female is very much larger than her mate, and it is only from her that the dye is procured. At the proper season of year the females are gathered off the trees and carefully dried, the mode of drying having some effect upon the quality of the dye. During the process of drying the insect alters greatly, both in colour and size, shrinking to less than half its original dimensions, and assuming a greyish brown hue instead of a deep red. When placed in water it soon gives out its colouring matter, and communicates to the water the rich colour with which we are familiar under the name of carmine, or crimson. This latter name, by the way, is only a corruption of the Arabic _kermes_, which is the name of the insect.

The reader will remember that this was one of the three sacred colours--scarlet, purple, and blue--used in the vestments of the priests and the hangings of the tabernacle, the white not taking rank as a colour.

The Coccus belongs to the Homoptera in common with the cicadæ, the lantern flies, the hoppers, and the aphides.

On page 623 the large females are shown on the prickly pear, and near them are the tiny males, some flying and some on the leaves.

LEPIDOPTERA.

THE CLOTHES MOTH.

The Moth of Scripture evidently the Clothes Moth--The Sâs and
the 'Ash--Similitude between the Hebrew _sâs_ and the Greek
_sês_--Moths and garments--Accumulation of clothes in the
East--Various uses of the hoarded robes--The Moths, the rust,
and the thief.

Only one Lepidopterous insect is mentioned by name in the Scriptures. This is the MOTH, by which we must always understand some species of Clothes Moth--in fact, one of the Tineidæ, which are as plentiful and destructive in Palestine as in this country.