Page:McCosh, John - Advice to Officers in India (1856).djvu/197

 aloft. One may watch the transformation in a glass of water.

The red ant abounds in myriads in every house; but he is too honest and independent to draw upon the most tender morsel of humanity. He finds sick flies, and broken legged beetles, and wounded mosquitoes, and invalid spiders, and gouty flies, enough to supply his wants.

Scorpions and centipedes seldom take up their quarters unless in very old and filthy houses. Lizards abound in all houses; but they are encouraged rather than disturbed, and are very active in destroying mosquitoes. In fact, they are all known individually by some particular mark, as they run along the wall in cunning pursuit of their prey, which they seize by suddenly jerking out their long tongue, coated, I was going to say, with bird-lime, but with something quite as sticky.

Even the loathsome spider is allowed to practice his profession undisturbed,provided he does not spread his net within the circuit of the sweeper's broom. Mosquitoes, in full life and vigour, form his staple article of food, and a sagacious spider rids the room of no small head of mosquitoes every day.

Moths are very destructive to woollen clothing, and frequent sunning is necessary to preserve them.