Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 7.djvu/635

Rh error arising in the first instance probably from their invariable habit of secreting themselves in any cavity, of which they always endeavour to reach the innermost re cess (instances being known of the common species hiding itself in the ear of a person sleeping in the open air), and strengthened by the popular exaggerated idea of the strength and attributes of the anal forceps peculiar to these insects.

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All are of comparatively small size, and nearly all of ob scure colours, mostly various shades of brown or dull yellows and reds : one South American species is white ; another, from the Amazon, has blue metallic elytra, which are metallic also in another from Penang; a fourth exotic species is yellow, with black stripe ; and several have opaline or iridescent wings. Eccentricity of development is shown chiefly in the forceps, which in a Nicaraguau species are as long as the rest of the body ; in another South American form the abdomen is laterally toothed ; a third has very long legs, being almost tipuliforin; Apachys has the body as thin as cardboard. Sexual differences are shown in the male by the greater development and armature of the forceps, or the tubercu- lated abdomen, which is composed of nine distinct segments, whereas only seven are evident in the female. The forceps have been observed to be used in arranging the wings, and are also supposed to be used as weapons of offence and defence, though it is difficult to understand how they could be of any practical assistance for either purpose. The lower wings have long attracted attention from their unexpectedly large size and fan-like structure; in the accompanying figure, a is the magnified open wing of the common earwig, 6 the same of the natural size, and c the wing closed, also of natural size. Although posvsessed of such ample organs of flight, Forficula Wing of Earwig. auricularia has seldom, if ever, been observed to make use of them, though there is evidence that it does fly ; but the other common British species, Labia minor, is frequently seen on the &quot;wing, being often mis taken for a brachelytrous beetle. It may be observed, that the possession of wings is apparently sexual in some cases, and that some species are entirely apterous.

Wing of Earwig.

Some few instances have been recorded of earwigs being carnivorous, devouring the larvae and pupas of wild bees and even their own species; but the majority are in a normal state certainly eaters of vegetable matter, congre gating under bark, and destroying flowers, fruit, &amp;lt;kc., often to a considerable extent. An instance of their adaptability to circumstances is afforded by Mr H. W. Bates s discovery of a large white species (above referred to) very common on white sandy beaches of the Brazilian river Para, at Caripl, with a white Tetracha and a white mole cricket ; this white ness was permanent, and must not be confused with the light colour of recently disclosed individuals. The female of the common earwig has long been noted for an exhibition of remarkable maternal instinct in defend ing her progeny, not only brooding over her eggs, but caring for her newly hatched young.

1em  EASEMENT, in English law, is a species of servitude or limited right of use over land belonging to another. It is distinguished from a profit, which is a right to take the soil of another, while an easement is a right to use the soil or the produce of the soil in a way tending to the more convenient enjoyment of another piece of land. Thus a right of way is an easement, a right of common is a profit. Besides rights of way the most important easements are water-courses (as where a person has a right to divert a flow of water), the right to discharge water, &c., upon a neighbour s land, and the right to restrain such a use of land as would obstruct the access of light and air to an ancient window.  EASTBOURNE, a watering-place on the Sussex coast, 66 miles from London by railway. It is situated about three miles to the east of Beachy Head, the loftiest head land on the English Channel. It once consisted of three parts: the old village of East Bourne, a mile inland; South Bourne, lying back from the shore; and Seahouses, facing the beach; but these distinctions are now almost obliterated, and numerous handsome terraces and detached houses have more or less united the three old hamlets into one town. Besides the parish church of St Mary s, a building of some antiquity, there are four chapels of ease in Eastbourne. A pier was erected in 1868. The popu lation, which is rapidly increasing, was 10,361 in 1871.  EASTER, the annual festival observed throughout Christendom in commemoration of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, The word Easier Anglo-Saxon, Easfre, Hosier ; German, Ostern like the names of the days of the week, is a survival from the old Teutonic mythology. According to Bede (De Temp. Rat., c. xv.) it is derived from Eostre, or Ostdra, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring, to whom the fourth month, answering to our April thence called Eostur-monath was dedicated. This month, Bede informs us, was the same as the &quot; Mensis Paschalis,&quot; when &quot; the old festival was observed with the gladness of a new solemnity."