1. Oracle 12C SQL 3rd Edition Casteel Solutions
Manual download
https://testbankdeal.com/product/oracle-12c-sql-3rd-edition-
casteel-solutions-manual/
Explore and download more test bank or solution manual
at testbankdeal.com
2. We believe these products will be a great fit for you. Click
the link to download now, or visit testbankdeal.com
to discover even more!
Oracle 12C SQL 3rd Edition Casteel Test Bank
https://testbankdeal.com/product/oracle-12c-sql-3rd-edition-casteel-
test-bank/
Oracle 11G SQL 2nd Edition Casteel Test Bank
https://testbankdeal.com/product/oracle-11g-sql-2nd-edition-casteel-
test-bank/
Oracle 11G PL SQL Programming 2nd Edition Casteel
Solutions Manual
https://testbankdeal.com/product/oracle-11g-pl-sql-programming-2nd-
edition-casteel-solutions-manual/
Business Statistics Communicating with Numbers 3rd Edition
Jaggia Solutions Manual
https://testbankdeal.com/product/business-statistics-communicating-
with-numbers-3rd-edition-jaggia-solutions-manual/
3. Essentials of International Economics 2nd Edition Mingst
Test Bank
https://testbankdeal.com/product/essentials-of-international-
economics-2nd-edition-mingst-test-bank/
Corporate Finance 11th Edition Ross Test Bank
https://testbankdeal.com/product/corporate-finance-11th-edition-ross-
test-bank/
Life Span Development A Topical Approach 3rd Edition
Feldman Test Bank
https://testbankdeal.com/product/life-span-development-a-topical-
approach-3rd-edition-feldman-test-bank/
Law and Business Administration in Canada 11th Edition
Smyth Test Bank
https://testbankdeal.com/product/law-and-business-administration-in-
canada-11th-edition-smyth-test-bank/
South-Western Federal Taxation 2014 Corporations
Partnerships Estates and Trusts 37th Edition Hoffman
Solutions Manual
https://testbankdeal.com/product/south-western-federal-
taxation-2014-corporations-partnerships-estates-and-trusts-37th-
edition-hoffman-solutions-manual/
4. Foundations of Financial Management Canadian 1st Edition
Block Test Bank
https://testbankdeal.com/product/foundations-of-financial-management-
canadian-1st-edition-block-test-bank/
5. Oracle 12c SQL, ISBN: 9781305251038
Ch. 6 1
Chapter 6 Solutions
Review Questions
1. How can a sequence be used in a database? To generate a series of sequential
numbers as primary keys or for internal control purposes
2. How can gaps appear in values generated by a sequence? If the integers are cached
and the server crashes or is shut down.
3. How can you indicate that the values generated by a sequence should be in
descending order? Include a negative value in the INCREMENT BY clause.
4. When is an index appropriate for a table? If searches on a large table normally return
less than 10% of the rows and the table is not updated frequently.
5. What is the difference between the B-tree and bitmap index structures? The B-tree
index structure is like a tree, with leaves or nodes holding the value ranges and
ROWIDs mapping to actual table rows. A bitmap index is useful for improving
queries on columns that have low selectivity (low cardinality, or a small number of
distinct values). The index is a two-dimensional array containing one column for each
distinct value in the column being indexed. Each row is linked to a ROWID and
contains a bit (0 or 1) that indicates whether the column value matches this index
value.
6. When does Oracle11g automatically create an index for a table? When a PRIMARY
KEY or UNIQUE index is created
7. Under what circumstances should you not create an index for a table? If the table is
updated frequently or searches normally return more than 10% of the table rows in
the results.
8. What is an IOT and under what circumstances might it be useful? This structure
stores the contents of the entire table in a B-tree index with rows sorted in the primary
key value order. It combines the index and table into a single structure. Search and
sort operations involving the primary key column can be improved with this index.
9. What command is used to modify an index? Except for a name change, there’s no way
to modify an index; it must be dropped and re-created.
10. What is the purpose of a synonym? A synonym provides an alternative name for a
database object.
Multiple Choice
1. c
2. c
3. d
4. a
6. Oracle 12c SQL, ISBN: 9781305251038
Ch. 6 2
5. c
6. b
7. b
8. a
9. d
10. b
11. b
12. g
13. c
14. c
15. a
16. e
17. b
18. c
19. c
20. c
Hands-On Assignments
1.
CREATE SEQUENCE cust_seq
START WITH 1021
NOMAXVALUE
NOMINVALUE
NOCACHE
NOCYCLE;
2.
INSERT INTO customers (customer#, lastname, firstname, zip)
VALUES (cust_seq.NEXTVAL, 'SHOULDERS', 'FRANK', '23567');
3.
CREATE SEQUENCE my_first_seq
INCREMENT BY -3
START WITH 5
MAXVALUE 5
MINVALUE 0
NOCYCLE;
4.
SELECT my_first_seq.NEXTVAL
FROM DUAL;
Error: Caused by the sequence running out of values to issue, as the minimum value of 0
was reached and the CYCLE option is set to NOCYCLE.
7. Oracle 12c SQL, ISBN: 9781305251038
Ch. 6 3
5.
ALTER SEQUENCE my_first_seq
MINVALUE -1000;
6.
CREATE TABLE email_log
(emailid NUMBER GENERATED AS IDENTITY PRIMARY KEY,
emaildate DATE,
customer# NUMBER(4));
INSERT INTO email_log (emaildate, customer#)
VALUES (SYSDATE, 1007);
INSERT INTO email_log (emailid, emaildate, customer#)
VALUES (DEFAULT, SYSDATE, 1008);
INSERT INTO email_log (emailid, emaildate, customer#)
VALUES (25, SYSDATE, 1009);
SELECT *
FROM email_log;
7.
CREATE SYNONYM numgen
FOR my_first_seq;
8.
SELECT numgen.currval
FROM dual;
DROP SYNONYM numgen;
DROP SEQUENCE my_first_seq;
9.
CREATE BITMAP INDEX customers_state_idx
ON customers(state);
SELECT index_name
FROM user_indexes;
DROP INDEX customers_state_idx;
8. Oracle 12c SQL, ISBN: 9781305251038
Ch. 6 4
10.
CREATE INDEX customers_last_idx
ON customers(lastname);
SELECT index_name
FROM user_indexes;
DROP INDEX customers_last_idx;
11.
CREATE INDEX orders_shipdays_idx
ON orders(shipdate-orderdate);
Advanced Challenge
Student responses will vary. Sequences could be applied to all primary key columns.
Index additions can support searches, such as for author’s last name and publisher name.
An example of a drawback is minimizing indexes to only the columns required for
frequent searches, such as customer’s last name. Minimizing the number of indexes helps
improve DML processing efficiency because fewer indexes need to be updated.
Case Study: City Jail
1.
CREATE SEQUENCE criminals_seq
START WITH 1018
NOCACHE
NOCYCLE;
CREATE SEQUENCE crimes_seq
START WITH 10001
NOCACHE
NOCYCLE;
INSERT INTO criminals (criminal_ID, last, first, street, city, state, zip, v_status,
p_status)
VALUES (criminals_seq.NEXTVAL, 'Capps','Johnny','111 Main', 'Portsmouth', 'VA',
'04578', 'N', 'N');
INSERT INTO crimes (crime_ID, criminal_ID, classification, date_charged, status)
VALUES (crimes_seq.NEXTVAL, criminals_seq.CURRVAL, 'M', '15-JUL-05', 'CL');
2.
CREATE INDEX criminals_last_idx
ON criminals(last);
9. Oracle 12c SQL, ISBN: 9781305251038
Ch. 6 5
CREATE INDEX criminals_street_idx
ON criminals(street);
CREATE INDEX criminals_phone_idx
ON criminals(phone);
3. Bitmap indexes are quite useful for columns with low selectivity. Some candidate
columns from the City Jail database include Criminals/V_status, Criminals/P_status,
Crimes/Classification, Crimes/Status, Sentences/Type, Prob_officers/Status,
Crime_charges/Charge_status, Officers/Status, and Appeals/Status.
4. Synonyms could simplify object references for the City Jail database. If a variety of
users are accessing or developing applications to access the City Jail database objects,
creating public synonyms simplifies object reference, as the schema doesn’t have to
be included in all object references.
11. weaker knees than the male, the legs are slighter; the feet of
females are more graceful, in all that have these members.
7. All females, also, have a smaller and more acute voice than the
males, but in oxen the females utter a deeper sound than the males;
the parts denoting strength, as the teeth, tusks, horns, and spurs,
and such other parts, are possessed by the males, but not by the
females, as the roe-deer has none, and the hens of some birds with
spurs have none; the sow has no tusks: in some animals they exist
in both sexes, only stronger and longer in the males, as the horns of
bulls are stronger than those of cows.
13. BOOK THE FIFTH.
Chapter I.
1. We have hitherto treated of the external and internal parts of all
animals, of their senses, voice, and sleep, with the distinctions
between the males and females; it remains to treat of their
generation, speaking first of those which come first in order, for they
are many, and have numerous varieties, partly dissimilar, and partly
like each other. And we will pursue the same order in considering
them as we did before in their division into classes; we commenced
our consideration by treating of the parts in man, but now he must
be treated of last, because he is much more intricate.
2. We shall begin with the testacea, and after these treat of the
malacostraca, and the others in the order of their succession. These
are the malacia and insects, next to these fishes, both viviparous
and oviparous; next to them birds, and afterwards we must treat of
animals with feet, whether viviparous or oviparous; some viviparous
creatures have four feet, man alone has two feet. The nature of
animals and vegetables is similar, for some are produced from the
seed of other plants, and others are of spontaneous growth, being
derived from some origin of a similar nature. Some of them acquire
their nourishment from the soil, others from different plants, as it
was observed when treating of plants.
3. So also some animals are produced from animals of a similar
form, the origin of others is spontaneous, and not from similar
forms; from these and from plants are divided those which spring
from putrid matter, this is the case with many insects; others
originate in the animals themselves, and from the excrementitious
matter in their parts; those which originate from similar animals, and
have both the sexes are produced from coition, but of the class of
14. fishes there are some neither male nor female, these belong to the
same class among fishes, but to different genera, and some are
quite peculiar. In some there are females but no males, by these the
species is continued as in the hypenemia among birds.
4. All these among birds are barren, (for nature is able to complete
them as far as the formation of an egg,) unless persons suppose
that there is another method of communicating the male influence,
concerning which we shall speak more plainly hereafter. In some
fish, after the spontaneous production of the ovum, it happens that
living creatures are produced, some by themselves, others by the aid
of the male. The manner in which this is done will be made plain in
a future place, for nearly the same things take place in the class of
birds.
5. Whatever are produced spontaneously in living creatures, in the
earth, or in plants, or in any part of them, have a distinction in the
sexes, and by the union of the sexes something is produced, not the
same in any respect, but an imperfect animal, as nits are produced
from lice, and from flies and butterflies are produced egg-like
worms, from which neither similar creatures are produced, nor any
other creature, but such things only. First of all, then, we will treat of
coition, and of the animals that copulate, and then of others, and
successively of that which is peculiar to each, and that which is
common to them all.
Chapter II.
1. Those animals in which there is a distinction of the sexes use
sexual intercourse, but the mode of this intercourse is not the same
in all, for all the males of sanguineous animals with feet have an
appropriate organ, but they do not all approach the female in the
same manner, but those which are retromingent, as the lion, the
hare, and the lynx, unite backwards, and the female hare often
mounts upon the male; in almost all the rest the mode is the same,
for most animals perform the act of intercourse in the same way, the
15. male mounting upon the female; and birds perform it in this way
only.
2. There are, however, some variations even among birds; for the
male sometimes unites with the female as she sits upon the ground,
as the bustard and domestic fowl: in others, the female does not sit
upon the ground, as the crane; for in these birds the male unites
with the female standing up; and the act is performed very quickly,
as in sparrows. Bears lie down during the act of intercourse, which is
performed in the same manner as in those that stand on their feet,
the abdomen of the male being placed upon the back of the female:
in the hedgehogs, the abdomens of both sexes are in contact.
3. Among the large animals, the roe-deer seldom admits the stag,
nor the cow the bull, on account of the hardness of the penis; but
the female receives the male by submission. This has been observed
to take place in tame deer. The male and female wolf copulate like
dogs. Cats do not approach each other backwards, but the male
stands erect, and the female places herself beneath him. The
females are very lascivious, and invite the male, and make a noise
during the intercourse.
4. Camels copulate as the female is lying down, and the male
embraces and unites with her, not backwards, but like other animals.
They remain in intercourse a whole day. They retire into a desert
place, and suffer no one to approach them but their feeder. The
penis of the camel is so strong, that bowstrings are made of it.
Elephants also retire into desert places for intercourse, especially by
the sides of rivers which they usually frequent. The female bends
down and divides her legs, and the male mounts upon her. The seal
copulates like retromingent animals, and is a long while about it, like
dogs. The males have a large penis.
Chapter III.
1. Oviparous quadrupeds with feet copulate in the same manner: in
some, the male mounts upon the female, like viviparous animals, as
16. in the marine and land turtle, for they have an intromittent organ by
which they adhere together, as the trygon and frog, and all such
animals.
2. But the apodous long animals, as serpents and murænæ, are
folded together, with the abdomens opposite, and serpents roll
themselves together so closely, that they seem to be but one
serpent with two heads. The manner of the whole race of saurians is
the same, for they unite together in the same kind of fold.
Chapter IV.
1. All fish, except the flat selache, perform the act of intercourse by
approaching each other with their abdomens opposite: but the flat
fish, with tails, as the batos, trygon, and such like, not only
approach each other, but the male applies his abdomen to the back
of the female, in all those in which the thickness of the tail offers no
impediment. But the rhinæ, and those which have a large tail,
perform the act by the friction of their abdomens against each other,
and some persons say that they have seen the male selache united
to the back of the female, like dogs.
2. In all those that resemble the selache, the female is larger than
the male; and in nearly all fish the female is larger than the male.
The selache are those which have been mentioned; and the bos,
lamia, æetus, narce, batrachus, and all the galeode. All the selache
have been frequently observed to conduct themselves in this way. In
all viviparous creatures the act occupies a longer time than in the
oviparous. The dolphin and the cetacea also perform the act in the
same manner, for the male attaches himself to the female for neither
a very long, nor a very short time.
3. The males of some of the fish which resemble the selache differ
from the females, in having two appendages near the anus, which
the females have not, as in the galeodea; for these appendages
exist in them all. Neither fish nor any other apodal animal has
testicles, but the males, both of serpents and of fish, have two
17. passages, which become full of a seminal fluid at the season of
coition; and all of them project a milky fluid. These passages unite in
one, as they do in birds; for birds have two internal testes, and so
have all oviparous animals with feet. In the act of coition this single
passage passes to, and is extended upon the pudendum and
receptacle of the female.
4. In viviparous animals with feet, the external passage for the
semen and the fluid excrement is the same: internally these
passages are distinct, as I said before in describing the distinctive
parts of animals. In animals which have no bladder, the anus is
externally united with the passage of the semen, internally the
passages are close together; and this is the same in both sexes: for
none of them have a bladder, except the tortoise. The female of this
animal, though furnished with a bladder, has but one passage; but
the tortoise is oviparous.
5. The sexual intercourse of the oviparous fish is less evident,
wherefore many persons suppose that the female is impregnated by
swallowing the semen of the male; and they have been frequently
observed to do this. This is seen at the season of coition, when the
females follow the males, and are observed to strike them on the
abdomen with their mouths, this causes the males to eject their
semen more rapidly. The males do the same with the ova of the
females, for they swallow them as they are extruded, and the fish
are born from those ova which remain.
6. In Phœnicia they use each sex for capturing the other; for having
taken the male cestreus, they entice the females with it, and so
enclose them in a net. They use the females in the same way for
catching the males. The frequent observation of these circumstances
appears to corroborate this manner of intercourse among them.
Quadrupeds also do the same thing, for at the season of coition both
sexes emit a fluid, and smell to each other's pudenda.
7. And if the wind blows from the cock partridge to the hen, these
last are impregnated; and often, if they hear the voice of the cock
when they are inclined for sexual intercourse, or if he flies over
18. them, they become pregnant from the breath of the cock. During
the act of intercourse, both sexes open their mouths, and protrude
their tongues. The true intercourse of oviparous fish is rarely
observed, from the rapidity with which the act is accomplished; for
their intercourse has been observed to take place in the manner
described.
Chapter V.
1. All the malacia, as the polypus, sepia, and teuthis, approach each
other in the same manner, for they are united mouth to mouth; the
tentacula of one sex being adapted to those of the other; for when
the polypus has fixed the part called the head upon the ground, it
extends its tentacula, which the other adapts to the expansion of its
tentacula, and they make their acetabula answer together. And some
persons say that the male has an organ like a penis in that one of its
tentacula which contains the two largest acetabula. This organ is
sinewy, as far as the middle of the tentaculum, and they say that it
is all inserted into the nostril of the female.
2. The sepia and loligo swim about coiled together in this way, and
with their mouths and tentacula united, they swim in contrary
directions to each other. They adapt the organ called the nostril of
the male to the similar organ in the female; and the one swims
forwards, and the other backwards. The ova of the female are
produced in the part called the physeter, by means of which some
persons say that they copulate.
Chapter VI.
1. The malacostraca, as the carabi, astaci, carides, and such like
perform the act of intercourse like the retromingent animals, the one
lying upon its back, and the other placing its tail upon it. They
copulate on the approach of spring, near the land; for their sexual
19. intercourse has often been observed, and sometimes when the figs
begin to ripen.
2. The astaci and the carides perform the act in the same manner;
but the carcini approximate the fore part of their bodies to each
other, and adapt also the folds of their tails to each other. First of all,
the smaller carcinus mounts from behind, and when he has
mounted, the greater one turns on its side. In no other respect does
the female differ from the male, but that the tail, which is folded on
the body, is larger and more distant, and more thick set with
appendages: upon this the ova are deposited, and the excrement
ejected. Neither sex is furnished with an intromittent organ.
Chapter VII.
1. Insects approach each other from behind, and the smaller one
subsequently mounts upon the larger. The male is always the
smaller. The female, which is below, inserts a member into the male,
which is above, and not the male into the female, as in other
animals. In some kinds this organ appears large in proportion to the
size of the body, especially in those that are small, in others it is
less. The organ may be plainly discerned if two flies are separated
while in the act of coition. They are separated from each other with
difficulty, for the act of intercourse in such animals occupies a long
time. This may be plainly discerned by common observation, as in
the fly and cantharis.
2. All adopt the same method, the fly, cantharis, spondyla[160],
phalangium, or any other insect that copulates. All the phalangia
that spin a web unite in the following manner. The female draws a
filament from the middle of the web, and then the male draws it
back again, and this they do a great many times till they meet, and
are united backwards, for this kind of copulation suits them on
account of the size of their abdomen. The copulation of animals is
accomplished in this manner.
20. Chapter VIII.
1. All animals have their proper season and age for coition; the
nature of most creatures requires them to have intercourse with
each other when winter is turning into summer. This is the spring
season, in which all animals with wings, feet, or fins, are incited to
coition. Some copulate and produce their young in the autumn and
winter, as some aquatic and winged creatures. Mankind are ready at
all seasons, and so are many other animals which associate with
man; this arises from greater warmth, and better food, and is usual
among those which are pregnant only for a short time, as the hog,
dog, and those birds which have frequent broods. Many animals
appear to adapt the season of coition to that which they consider
the best for the nurture of their young.
2. Among mankind the male is more disposed for sexual intercourse
in the winter, and the female in the summer. Birds, as I have
observed, generally pair in the spring and summer, except the
halcyon. This bird hatches its young about the time of the winter
solstice. Whereupon fine days occurring at this season are called
halcyon days, seven before the solstice and seven after it. As
Simonides also writes in his poems, "as when in the winter months
Jupiter prepares fourteen days, which mortals call the windless
season, the sacred nurse of the variegated halcyon."
3. These fine days take place wherever it happens that the solstice
turns to the south, when the pleiades set in the north. The bird is
said to occupy seven days in building its nest, and the other seven in
bringing out and nursing its young. The halcyon days are not always
met with in this country at the time of the solstice, but they always
occur in the Sicilian Sea. The halcyon produces five eggs.
4. The æthuia and the larus hatch their young among the rocks on
the sea-side, and produce two or three, the larus during the
summer, and the æthuia at the beginning of the spring, immediately
after the equinox; it sets upon its eggs like other birds; neither of
these kinds conceal themselves. The halcyon is the rarest of all, for it
21. is only seen at the season of the setting of the pleiades, and at the
solstice, and it first appears at seaports, flying as much as round a
ship, and immediately vanishing away. Stesichorus also speaks of it
in the same manner.
5. The nightingale produces her young at the beginning of summer.
She produces five or six eggs. She conceals herself from the autumn
to the beginning of spring. Insects copulate and produce their young
during the winter whenever the days are fine, and the wind in the
south, at least such of them as do not conceal themselves, as the fly
and ant. Wild animals produce their young once a year, unless, like
the hare, they breed while they are nursing their young.
Chapter IX.
1. Fish also generally breed once a year, as the chyti. All those which
are caught in a net are called chyti; the thynnus, palamis, cestreus,
chalais, colias, chromis, psetta, and such like, the labrax is an
exception, for this alone of them all breeds twice a year, and the
second fry of these are much weaker. The trichias[161] and rock fish
breed twice, the trigla is the only one that breeds three times a year.
This is shewn by the fry, which appear three times at certain places.
2. The scorpius breeds twice, and so does the sargus, in spring and
autumn, the salpa once only in the spring. The thynnis breeds once,
but as some of the fry are produced at first, and others afterwards,
it appears to breed twice. The first fry makes its appearance in the
month of December, after the solstice, the second in the spring. The
male thynnis is different from the female, for the female has a fin
under the abdomen, called aphareus, which the male has not.
3. Among the selachea, the rhine alone breeds twice in the year; at
the beginning of the autumn, and at the period of the setting of the
Pleiades. The young are, however, better in the autumn. At each
breeding season it produces seven or eight. Some of the galei, as
the asterias, seem to produce their ova twice every month. This
arises from all the ova not being perfected at once.
22. 4. Some fish produce ova at all seasons of the year, as the muræna:
for this fish produces many ova, and the fry rapidly increase in size,
as do those also of the hippurus,[162] for these, from being very
small, rapidly increase to a great size; but the muræna produces
young at all seasons, the hippurus in the spring. The smyrus differs
from the muræna, for the muræna is throughout variegated and
weak. The smyrus is of one colour, and strong; its colour is that of
the pine tree, and it has teeth both internally and externally. They
say that these are the male and the female, as in others. These
creatures go upon the land, and are often taken.
5. The growth of all fish is rapid, and not the least so in the
coracinus among small fish. It breeds near the land, in thick places
full of seaweed. The orphos also grows rapidly. The pelamis and
thynnus breed in Pontus, and nowhere else. The cestreus,
chrysophrys, and labrax, breed near the mouths of rivers. The
orcynes and scorpides, and many other kinds, in the sea.
6. Most fish breed in March, April, and May; a few in the autumn, as
the salpe, sargus, and all the others of this kind a little before the
autumnal equinox; and the narce and rhine also. Some breed in the
winter and summer, as I before observed, as the labrax, cestreus,
and belona in the winter; the thynnis in June, about the summer
solstice: it produces, as it were, a bag, containing many minute ova.
The rhyas also breeds in the summer. The chelones among the
cestræi begin to breed in the month of December, and so does the
sargus, the myxon, as it is called, and the cephalus. They go with
young thirty days. Some of the cestrei do not originate in coition, but
are produced from mud and sand.
7. The greater number of them contain ova in the spring, but some,
as I observed, in the summer, autumn, and winter. But this does not
take place in all alike, nor singly, nor in every kind, as it does in most
fish which produce their young in the spring: nor do they produce as
many ova at other seasons. But it must not escape our notice, that
as different countries make a great difference in plants and animals,
not only in the habit of their body, but also in the frequency of their
23. sexual intercourse and production of young; so different localities
make a great difference in fish, not only in their size, and habit of
their body, but in their young, and the frequency or rarity of their
sexual intercourse, and of their offspring in this place or that.
Chapter X.
1. The malacia breed in the spring, and first of all the marine sepia,
though this one breeds at all seasons. It produces its ova in fifteen
days. When the ova are extruded, the male follows, and ejects his
ink upon them, when they become hard. They go about in pairs. The
male is more variegated than the female, and blacker on the back.
The sexes of the polypus unite in the winter, the young are produced
in the spring, when these creatures conceal themselves for two
months. It produces an ovum like long hair, similar to the fruit of the
white poplar. The fecundity of this animal is very great, for a great
number of young are produced from its ova. The male differs from
the female in having a longer head, and the part of the tentaculum
which the fishermen call the penis is white. It incubates upon the
ova it produces, so that it becomes out of condition, and is not
sought after at this season.
2. The purpuræ produce their ova in the spring, the ceryx at the end
of the winter; and, on the whole, the testacea appear to contain ova
in the spring and autumn, except the eatable echini. These
principally produce their young at the same seasons, but they always
contain some ova, and especially at the full and new moon, and in
fine weather, but those which live in the Euripus of the Pyrrhæi are
better in winter. They are a small kind but full of ova. All the cochleæ
appear to contain ova at the same season.
Chapter XI.
1. The undomesticated birds, as it was observed, generally pair and
breed once a-year. The swallows and cottyphus breed twice, but the
24. first brood of the cottyphus is killed by the cold, for it is the earliest
breeder of all birds. It is able, however, to bring up the other brood.
But the domestic birds, and those capable of domestication, breed
frequently, as pigeons during the whole summer, and domestic
fowls. For these birds have sexual intercourse, and produce eggs all
the year round, except at the winter solstice.
2. There are many kinds of pigeons, for the peleias and peristera are
different. The peleias is the smaller, but the peristera is more readily
tamed. The peleias is black and small, and has red and rough feet,
for which reason it is never domesticated. The phatta is the largest
of the tribe, the next is the œnas, which is a little larger than the
peristera, the trygon is the least of all. If the peristera is supplied
with a warm place and appropriate food, it will breed and bring up
its young at any season of the year. If it is not properly supplied, it
will only breed in the summer. Its young ones are best during the
spring and autumn, those produced in the hot weather in summer
are the worst.
Chapter XII.
1. Animals also differ in the age at which sexual intercourse
commences. For in the first place the period at which the spermatic
fluid begins to be secreted, and the age of puberty is not the same,
but different; for the young of all animals are barren, or if they do
possess the power of reproduction, their offspring are weak and
small. This is very conspicuous in mankind, and in viviparous
quadrupeds and birds, for in the one the offspring, in the other the
eggs, are small. The age of puberty is nearly the same in the
individuals of each kind, unless any alteration takes place, either as
ominous, or from an injury done to their nature.
2. In men this period of life is shown by the change of voice, and not
only by the size but by the form of the pudendum and of the breasts
in women, but especially by the growth of hair on the pubes. The
secretion of the spermatic fluid commences about the age of
25. fourteen, the power of reproduction at twenty-one. Other animals
have no hair on the pubes, for some have no hair at all, and others
have none upon their under side, or less than on their upper side,
but the change of the voice is conspicuous in some of them. And in
others different parts of the body signify the period of the formation
of the semen, and of the power of reproduction.
3. In almost all animals the voice of the female and of the young is
more acute than that of the male and the older animals, for even the
stags have a deeper voice than their females. The males utter their
cry at the season of copulation, the females when they are alarmed.
The voice of the female is short, that of the male longer. And the
barking of old dogs is also deeper than of young ones, and the voice
of the horse also varies. The females utter a little small cry as soon
as they are born, and the males do the same, but their voice is
deeper than that of the female, and as they grow older, it still
increases. When they are two years old, and reach puberty, the male
utters a great deep voice, that of the female is greater and clearer
than it was at first; this continues till they are twenty years old at
the outside, and after that the voice, both of the male and female,
becomes weaker.
4. For the most part, then, as we observed, the voice of the male
differs from that of the female in depth, in those animals which utter
a lengthened sound. There are, however, some exceptions, as oxen;
for in these animals the voice of the female is deeper than that of
the male, and the voice of the calf than that of the full-grown
animal; wherefore also in the castrated animals, the voice changes
the other way, for it becomes more like that of the female.
5. The following are the ages at which animals acquire the power of
reproduction. The sheep and goat arrive at puberty within a year
after they are born, and especially the goat, and the males as well
as the females, but the offspring of these males and of the others is
different. For the males are better the second year than when they
become older. In hogs, the male and female unite at eight months
old, and the female produces her young when she is a year old, for
26. this agrees with the period of gestation. The male reaches puberty
at eight months old, but his offspring are useless till he is a year old.
But these periods, as we have said, are not always the same, for
swine will sometimes copulate when they are four months old, so as
to have young and nurse them at six months old, and boars
sometimes reach puberty at ten months old, and continue good to
three years old.
6. The bitch reaches puberty within a year after birth, and so does
the dog, and sometimes this takes place at the end of eight months,
but more frequently in the male than in the female. The period of
gestation is sixty days, or one or two, or perhaps three days more,
but never less than sixty days, or if they produce young in a less
time, it never comes to perfection. The bitch is ready for sexual
intercourse again in six months, but never sooner. The horse reaches
puberty in both sexes at two years old, and is capable of
reproduction, but its offspring at that age are small and weakly. For
the most part, sexual intercourse begins at three years of age, and
the colts continue to improve from that period till they are twenty
years old. The male is useful till he is thirty years old, so that he can
beget during almost the whole of his life, for the horse generally
lives five-and-thirty years, and the mare more than forty, and a
horse has been known to live seventy-five years.
7. The ass reaches puberty in both sexes at the age of thirty
months; they rarely, however, produce young till they are three
years, or three years and six months old. But it has been known to
be pregnant and bring up its young within the year. The cow also
has been known to produce young and rear it within the year after
birth, which grew to the ordinary size, and no more.[163]
8. These are the periods of puberty in these animals. The seventieth
year in man, and the fiftieth in woman, is the latest period of
reproduction, and this happens rarely, for only a few have had
children at this time of life. Sixty-five is generally the boundary in
one sex, and forty-five in the other. The sheep produces young till it
is eight years old, and, if well treated, until it is eleven, though the
27. act of copulation is continued in both sexes during the whole period
of life.
9. Fat goats are rarely productive, wherefore they compare barren
vines with barren goats, but they are productive when they are lean.
The rams copulate with the old sheep first, but they do not follow
after the younger; and the younger, as I before observed, produce a
smaller offspring than the older.
10. A wild boar will beget till he is three years old, but the progeny
of older animals is inferior; for he has not the same power or
strength. He generally goes to the female when full of food, and
without having been to another female, or, if not, the act of coition is
of shorter duration, and the progeny smaller. The sow produces the
smallest number of pigs at her first litter, but at the second they are
more flourishing. She also produces young when old, but the act of
coition is longer. At fifteen years old, she no longer produces young,
but becomes fierce.
11. If well-fed, she will be more ready for sexual intercourse,
whether young or old; and, if rapidly fattened when pregnant, she
has less milk after parturition. As regards the age of the parent, the
young of those in the prime of their age are the best, and those that
are born at the beginning of winter. The worst are those born in the
summer, for they are small, and thin, and weak. If the male is well
fed, he is ready for sexual intercourse at all seasons, by day as well
as by night; but if not well fed, he is most ready in the morning, and
as he grows old, he becomes less disposed for it, as was said before.
And it frequently happens that those which are impotent, through
age or weakness, and cannot copulate readily, will approach the
female as she lies down tired with long standing. The sow generally
becomes pregnant when she hangs down her ears in her heats; if
she is not pregnant, she becomes heated again.
12. Bitches do not copulate during the whole of their life, but only to
a certain period. Their coition and pregnancy generally takes place
till they are twelve years old, but both males and females have been
known to perform the act of coition at eighteen and even twenty
28. years of age; but old age takes away from both sexes the power of
reproduction, as in other animals.
13. The camel is retroningent, and performs the act of intercourse in
the manner already described; the period of its coition in Arabia is in
the month of September; the female goes with young twelve
months, and produces one foal, for the animal is one of those which
produce but one. Both the male and female arrive at puberty at the
age of three years, and the female is ready for the male again at the
end of a year after parturition.
14. The elephant arrives at puberty, the earliest at ten years of age,
the latest at fifteen, and the male at five or six years old. The season
for the intercourse of the sexes is in the spring: and the male is
ready again at the end of three years, but he never touches again a
female whom he has once impregnated. Her period of gestation is
two years, and then she produces one calf, for the elephant belongs
to the class of animals which have but one young one at a time. The
young one is as large as a calf of two or three months old. This,
then, is the nature of the sexual intercourse of those animals which
perform this function.
Chapter XIII.
1. We must now treat of the mode of reproduction, both of those
animals which use sexual intercourse, and those which do not; and,
first of all, we will speak of the testacea, for this is the only entire
class which is not reproduced by sexual intercourse. The purpuræ
collect together in the spring, and produce what is called their
nidamental capsules (melicera), for it is like honey-comb, though not
so deeply cut, but, as it were, made up of the white pods of vetches.
These capsules have neither opening nor perforation, nor are the
purpuræ produced from them; but both these and other testacea
are produced from mud and putrefaction. But this substance is an
excrementitious matter both in the purpura and the ceryx, for these
last also produce similar capsules.
29. 2. The testacea which produce these capsules are generated in the
same way as the rest of their class, but more readily when there are
homogeneous particles pre-existing among them; for, when they
deposit their nidamental capsules, they emit a clammy mucus, from
which the scales of the capsules are formed. When all these have
been deposited, they emit upon the ground a sort of chyle, and
small purpuræ spring up upon the same spot and adhere to the
larger purpuræ, though some of these can hardly be distinguished
by their form. But if they are taken before the breeding season, they
will sometimes breed in the baskets, not indeed anywhere, but they
collect together like they do in the sea, and the narrow limits of their
place of captivity make them hang together like bunches of fruit.
3. There are many kinds of purpuræ, some of which are large, as
those which are found near Sigeum and Lectum; and others are
small, as those in the Euripus and on the Carian coast. Those found
in gulfs are large and rough. Most of them contain a black pigment;
in others it is red, and the quantity of it small. Some of the largest
weigh as much as a mina. Near the shore and on the coast they are
small, and the pigment is red. Those which are natives of the north
contain a black pigment; in those of the south it is red, generally
speaking.
4. They are taken in the spring, about the time that they deposit
their capsules, but they are never taken during the dog-days, for
then they do not feed, but conceal themselves and get out of the
way. The pigment is contained between the mecon and the neck.
The union of these parts is thick, and the colour is like a white
membrane; this is taken away. When this is bruised, the pigment
wets and stains the hand. Something resembling a vein passes
through it, and this appears to be the pigment; the nature of the
rest resembles alum.[164] The pigment is the worst at the period of
depositing their nidamental capsules.
5. The small ones are pounded up, shells and all, for it is not easy to
separate them; but they separate the larger kinds from the shells,
and then extract the pigment. For this purpose the mecon is divided
30. from the neck, for the pigment lies above the part called the
stomach, and when this is taken away, they are divided asunder.
They are careful to bruise them while alive, for if they die before
they are cut up, they vomit up the pigment; for this reason they
keep them in the baskets till a sufficient number is collected, and
there is time to procure the pigment.
6. The ancients did not let down or fasten any basket-net to their
baits, so that it often happened that the purpura fell off as they were
drawn up; but at the present time they use basket-nets, in order
that if the purpura should fall off, it may not be lost. They are most
likely to fall off when full, but when empty it is difficult to draw them
from the bait. These are the peculiarities of the purpura. The nature
of the ceryx is the same as that of the purpura, and so are their
seasons.
7. They both have opercula, and so have all turbinated shell-fish,
from the period of their birth. They feed by forcing out their tongue,
as it is called, beneath the operculum: the purpura has a tongue
larger than a finger, with which it feeds upon and pierces the
conchylia, and even the shells of its own species. Both the purpura
and the ceryx are long-lived, for the purpura lives six years, and its
annual increase is seen in the divisions on the helix of its shell.
8. The mya also deposits nidamental capsules; those which are
called limnostrea are the first to originate in muddy places, but the
conchæ, chemæ, solens, and pectens find their subsistence in sandy
shores; the pinnæ grow up from their byssus both in sandy and
muddy shores. The pinnæ always contain a pinnophylax, either like
a small caris or cancer, and soon die when this is extracted. On the
whole, all the testacea are produced spontaneously in mud different
kinds originating in different sorts of mud: the ostrea is found in
mud, the conchæ and others that have been mentioned in sand. The
tethya, balanus, and others which live on the surface, as the patella
and nerita, originate in holes in the rocks. All these reach maturity
very soon, especially the purpuræ and pectens, for they are matured
in one year.
31. 9. Very small white cancri are produced in some of the testacea,
especially in the myæ that inhabit muddy places, and next to this in
the pinnæ those which are called pinnoteræ; they occur also in the
pectens and limnostrea. These animals apparently never grow; and
the fishermen say that they are produced at the same time as the
creatures they inhabit. The pectens disappear for some time in the
sand, and so do the purpuræ. The ostrea (bivalves) are produced in
the manner described, for some of them originate in shallow water,
others near the shore, or among rocks, or in rough hard places, or in
sand; and some have the power of locomotion, others have not.
10. Among those that are not locomotive, the pinnæ are fixed; the
solens and conchæ remain on one spot, though not fixed, and do
not survive separation from their home. The nature of the aster[165]
is so hot, that if it is captured immediately after swallowing anything,
its food is found digested; and they say that it is very troublesome in
the Pyrrhæan Euripus. Its form is like the paintings of a star. The
creatures called pneumones are spontaneously produced. The shell
which painters use is very thick, and the pigment is produced on the
outside of the shell; they are principally found in the neighbourhood
of Caria.
11. The carcinium also originates in earth and mud, and afterwards
makes its way into an empty shell, and when it grows too large for
that, it leaves it for a larger one, as the shell of the nerita, strombus,
and such like; it frequently occurs in the small ceryx. When it has
entered the shell, it carries it about and lives in it, except that as it
grows it migrates into a larger shell.
Chapter XIV.
1. The nature of the testacea is the same as that of creatures
without shells, as the cnidæ[166] and sponges, which inhabit the
holes in rocks. There are two kinds of cnidæ, some which live in
holes in the rocks, and cannot be separated from them, and other
migrating species which live upon the smooth flat surface of the
32. rocks. (The patella also is free and locomotive.) In the interior of the
sponges are found the creatures called pinnophylaces, and the
interior is closed with a net like a spider's web, and small fish are
captured by opening and closing this web, for it opens as they
approach, and closes upon them when they have entered.
2. There are three kinds of sponges; one of them is thin, the other is
thick, and the third, which is called the Achillean sponge, is slender,
compact, and very strong; it is placed beneath helmets and thigh-
pieces, for the sake of deadening the sound of blows; this kind is
very rare. Among the compact kinds, those which are very hard and
rough are called tragi. They all grow upon the rock or near the
shore, and obtain their food from the mud. This is evident, for they
are full of mud when they are captured. This is the case with all
other fixed things, that they derive their food from the spot to which
they are attached.
3. The compact species are weaker than those which are thin,
because their point of attachment is smaller. It is affirmed that the
sponge possesses sensation; this is a proof of it, that it contracts if it
perceives any purpose of tearing it up, and renders the task more
difficult. The sponge does the same thing when the winds and
waves are violent, that it may not lose its point of attachment. There
are some persons who dispute this, as the natives of Torona. The
sponge is inhabited by worms and other living creatures, which the
rock-fish eat when the sponge is torn up, as well as the remainder of
its roots. But if the sponge is broken off, it grows again, and is
completed from the portion that is left.
4. The thin sponges are the largest, and they are most abundant on
the Lycian coast; the compact sponges are softer, and the Achillean
are more harsh than the others. On the whole, those that inhabit
deep places with a mild temperature are the softest, for wind and
cold weather harden them, as they do other growing things, and
stop their increase. For this reason the sponges of the Hellespont are
rough and compact; and, altogether, those beyond Malea, and those
on this side, differ in softness and hardness.
33. 5. Neither should the heat be very great, for the sponge becomes
rotten, like plants, wherefore those near the shore are the best,
especially if the water is deep near the land, for the temperature is
moderated by the depth. When alive, before they are washed, they
are black. Their point of attachment is neither single nor dispersed
over the whole surface, for there are empty passages between the
points of attachment. Something like a membrane is extended over
their lower part, and the attachment is by several points; on the
upper part are other closed passages, and four or five which are
apparent. Wherefore some persons say that these are the organs by
which they take their food.
6. There is also another species called aplysia, because it cannot be
washed. This has very large passages; but the other parts of the
substance are quite compact. When cut open it is more compact and
smooth than the sponge, and the whole is like a lung; of all the
sponges this one is confessed to have the most sensation, and to be
the most enduring. They are plainly seen in the sea near the
sponges, for the other sponges are white as the mud settles down
upon them, but these are always black. This is the mode of
production in sponges and testacea.
Chapter XV.
1. Among the malacostraca the carabi are impregnated by sexual
intercourse, and contain their ova during three months, May, June,
and July. They afterwards deposit them upon the hollow part of their
folded tail, and their ova grow like worms. The same thing takes
place in the malacia and oviparous fish, for their ova always grow.
2. The ova of the carabi are sandy, and divided into eight parts; for a
cartilaginous appendage, round which the ova are attached, is
united to each of the opercula at their junction with the side; and
the whole resembles a bunch of grapes, for every one of the
cartilaginous appendages is frequently subdivided, and the divisions
are apparent to any one who will separate them, but when first seen
34. they appear to be united. Those ova which are in the centre are
larger than those which are contiguous to the perforation, and the
last are the least.
3. The smallest ova are as large as millet; the ova are not
continuous with the perforation, but in the middle. For two divisions
extend on each side, from the tail and from the thorax, and this is
also the line of junction for the opercula. The ova, which are placed
at the side, cannot be enclosed, unless the extremity of the tail is
drawn over them; this, however, covers them like a lid.
4. The female, in depositing her ova, appears to collect them on the
cartilaginous appendages by means of the broad part of the folded
tail. She produces them by pressing with her tail and bending her
body. These cartilaginous processes at the season of oviposition
increase in size, in order to become appropriate receptacles for the
ova. The ova are deposited on these processes, as those of the sepia
are deposited upon broken pieces of wood or anything floating in the
sea. This is the manner of depositing them; but after they have been
ripened twenty days, they are cast off altogether in a mass, as they
appear when separated from the parent; in fifteen days, at the
outside, the carabi are produced from these ova, and they are often
taken off less than a finger's length. The ova are produced before
Arcturus, and after Arcturus they are cast off.
5. The cyphæ among the carides contain their ova about four
months. The carabi are found in rough and rocky places, the astaci
in those that are smooth; but neither of them inhabit mud. For this
cause the astaci are found in the Hellespont and near Thasus; the
carabi in the neighbourhood of Sigeum and Athos. Fishermen, when
they pursue their calling in the open sea, distinguish the rough and
muddy places by the nature of the shore, and other signs. In the
spring and winter they come near the shore; in summer time they
go into deep water, sometimes for the sake of warmth, and
sometimes for the cold.
6. Those called arcti[167] breed nearly at the same time as the
carabi, wherefore they are most excellent in winter and in spring
35. before the breeding season, and they are worst after they have
deposited their ova. They change their shell in the spring, like the
serpent, which puts off its old age, as it is called. Both the carabi
and the carcini do this when they are young, as well as afterwards.
All the carabi are long-lived.
Chapter XVI.
1. The malacia produce a white ovum after sexual intercourse; in the
course of time this becomes sandy, like that of the testacea. The
polypus deposits its ova in holes or pots, or any other hollow place;
the ovum is like bunches of the wild vine and of the white poplar, as
was observed before; when the ova are produced they remain
suspended from the hole in which they were deposited; and the ova
are so numerous, that when taken out they will fill a vessel much
larger than the head of the polypus in which they were contained.
2. About fifty days afterwards the young polypi burst the eggs and
escape, like phalangia, in great numbers. The particular shape of
each limb is not distinct, though the general form is plain. Many of
them perish from their small size and debility. Some have been
observed so small that they could not be distinguished, unless they
were touched, when they were seen to move.
3. The sepia also deposits eggs, which resemble large, black, myrtle
seeds. They are united together like a bunch of fruit, and are
enclosed in a substance which prevents them from separating
readily. The male emits his ink upon them, a mucous fluid, which
causes their slippery appearance. The ova increase in this way; and
when first produced they are white, but when they have touched the
ink they become large and black. When the young sepia, which is
entirely formed of the internal white of the ovum, is produced, it
makes its way out by the rupture of the membrane of the ovum.
4. The ovum which the female first produces is like hail, and to this
the young sepia is attached by the head, as birds are attached to the
abdomen. The nature of the umbilical attachment has never been
36. observed, except that as the sepia increases the white always
becomes less, and at last entirely disappears, like the yolk of the
eggs of birds.
5. The eyes are at first very large in these as in other animals, as in
the diagram. The ovum is seen at A, the eyes at B and C, and the
embryo sepia itself at D. The female contains ova during the spring.
The ova are produced in fifteen days; and when the ova are
produced they remain for fifteen days longer like the small seeds of
grapes, and when these are ruptured the young sepias escape from
the inside. If a person divides them before they have reached
maturity, the young sepias emit their fœces and vary in colour, and
turn from white to red from alarm.
6. The crustaceans incubate upon their ova, which are placed
beneath them; but the polypus and sepia and such like incubate
upon their ova wherever they may be deposited, and especially the
sepia, for the female has often been observed with her abdomen
upon the ground, but the female polypus has been observed
sometimes placed upon her ova, and sometimes upon her mouth,
holding with her tentacula over the hole in which the ova were
deposited. The sepia deposits her ova upon the ground among fuci
and reeds, or upon any thing thrown in the water, as wood,
branches, or stones; and the fishermen are careful to place branches
of trees in the water. Upon these they deposit their long and united
ova like branches of fruit.
7. The ova are deposited and produced by repeated exertion, as if
the parturition were accompanied with pain. The teuthis oviposits in
the sea. The ova, like those of the sepia, are united together. Both
the teuthus and sepia are short-lived, for very few of them survive a
year. The same is the case with the polypus. Each egg produces one
small sepia, and so also in the teuthis. The male teuthus differs from
the female; for if the hair (branchia) are drawn aside, the female will
be seen to have two red substances like mammæ, which the male
does not possess. The sepia also has the same sexual distinction,
and is more variegated than the female, as I observed before.
37. Chapter XVII.
1. It has already been observed that the male insects are less than
the female, and that the male mounts upon the female; and the
manner of their sexual intercourse has been described, and the
difficulty of separating them. Most of them produce their young very
soon after sexual intercourse. All the kinds except some psychæ
(butterflies and moths) produce worms. These produce a hard
substance, like the seed of the cnecus,[168] which is fluid within.
From the worm an animal is produced, but not from a portion of it,
as if it were an ovum, but the whole grows and becomes an
articulated animal.
2. Some of them are produced from similar animals, as phalangia
and spiders from phalangia and spiders, and attelabi,[169] locusts,
and grasshoppers. Others do not originate in animals of the same
species, but their production is spontaneous, for some of them
spring from the dew which falls upon plants. The origin of these is
naturally in the spring, though they often appear in the winter, if fine
weather and south winds occur for any length of time. Some
originate in rotten mud and dung; and others in the fresh wood of
plants or in dry wood; others among the hair of animals, or in their
flesh, or excrements, whether ejected, or still existing in the body, as
those which are called helminthes.
3. There are three kinds of these, the flat worms, the round worms,
and those which are called ascarides. From these creatures nothing
is produced; but the broad worm is attached to the intestine, and
produces something like the seed of the colocynth, and this is used
by physicians as a proof of the presence of the worm.
4. Butterflies are produced from caterpillars; and these originate in
the leaves of green plants, especially the rhaphahus, which some
persons call crambe. At first they are smaller than millet, afterwards
they grow into little worms, in three days they become small
caterpillars, afterwards they grow and become motionless, and
change their form. In this state the creature is called chrysalis. It has
38. a hard covering, but moves when it is touched. They are united to
something by weblike processes, and have no mouth nor any other
visible organ. After a short time the covering is burst, and a winged
animal escapes, which is called a butterfly.
5. At first, while in the caterpillar state, they take food and evacuate
fœces, but in the chrysalis state they do neither. The same is the
case with all other creatures which originate in worms, and those
which produce worms after sexual intercourse, or even without this
process; for the offspring of bees, anthrenæ, and wasps, while they
are young worms, consume food and evacuate excrement, but when
from worms they receive their conformation they are called
nymphæ, and neither feed nor evacuate, but remain quiet in their
covering until they are grown. They then make their escape by
cutting through a place where the cell is fastened on.
6. The penia[170] and hypera[171] also are produced from a kind of
campe (caterpillar) which make a wave as they walk, and as they
advance bend the hinder extremity up to that which has preceded.
The creature produced always derives its colour from the campe in
which it originates. A certain great worm, which has as it were
horns, and differs from others, at its first metamorphosis produces a
campe, afterwards a bombylius, and lastly a necydalus. It passes
through all these forms in six months. From this animal some
women unroll and separate the bombycina (cocoons), and
afterwards weave them. It is said that this was first woven in the
island of Cos by Pamphila, the daughter of Plateos.
7. From the worms in dry wood the insects called carabi are
produced in the same manner; for at first they are immoveable
worms, and afterwards the carabi are produced by the rupture of
their case. The crambides originate in the plant called crambe, and
these also have wings, and the prasocurides from the plant called
prasum (onion). The œstri are produced from the little flat creatures
that are found on the surface of rivers. Wherefore also they
congregate in the greatest numbers around the waters where such
animals are found. The kind of pygolampis which has no wings
39. originates in a small, black, hairy caterpillar. These undergo another
change, and turn into the winged creatures called bostrychi.
8. The empides originate in ascarides, and the ascarides originate in
the mud of wells and running waters which flow over an earthy
bottom. At first the decaying mud acquires a white colour, which
afterwards becomes black, and finally red. When this takes place,
very small red creatures are seen growing in it like fuci. At first these
move about in a mass, afterwards their connection is ruptured, the
creatures called ascarides are borne about in the water, after a few
days they stand erect in the water without motion and of a hard
texture, and subsequently the case is broken and the empis sits
upon it until either the sun or the wind enables it to move, then it
flies away.
9. The commencement of life in all other worms, and in all creatures
produced from worms, originates in the influence of the sun and
wind. The ascarides are produced in greater numbers, and more
quickly, where the various matters are mixed together, as in the
works conducted in the Megarian territory, for putrefaction thus
takes place more readily. The autumnal season also is favourable to
their increase, for there is less moisture at that time of the year. The
crotones[172] originate in the agrostis, the melolonthæ from the
worms which originate in the dung of oxen and asses.
10. The canthari which roll up dung, hide themselves in it during the
winter, and produce worms, which afterwards become canthari; and
from the worms which inhabit the osprea,[173] winged creatures, like
those already mentioned, derive their existence. Flies originate in
dung which has been set apart, and those who are employed in this
work strive to separate the remainder which is mixed together, for
they say that the dung is thus brought to putrefaction.
11. The origin of these worms is very small; for first of all a redness
is perceived, and motion commences, as if they were united
together. The worm then again becomes still, afterwards it moves,
and then again is immoveable. From this the worm is completed,
and motion recommences under the action of the sun and wind. The
40. myops is produced in wood. The orsodacnæ[174] from the
metamorphosis of worms, which originate on the stalks of the
crambe. The cantharis from worms which dwell on the fig tree,
apium (pear tree), and pitch tree, for there are worms on all these,
and on the cynacantha.[175] They assemble round strong smelling
things because they originate from them.
12. The conops springs from a worm which originates in the thick
part of vinegar; for there seem also to be worms in things which are
the farthest from putrefaction, as in snow which has laid for some
time: for after having laid, it becomes red, wherefore, also, the
worms are such and hairy. Those in the snow in Media are large and
white, and furnished with but little power of motion. In Cyprus,
when the manufacturers of the stone called chalcitis burn it for many
days in the fire, a winged creature, something larger than a great fly,
is seen walking and leaping in the fire.
13. The worms perish when they are taken out of the snow, and so
do these creatures when taken from the fire. And the salamander
shews that it is possible for some animal substances to exist in the
fire, for they say that fire is extinguished when this animal walks
over it.
14. In the river Hypanis in the Cimmerian Bosphorus, about the
summer solstice, capsules larger than grape-seed are floated down
the river: when these are ruptured, a four-footed, winged creature
makes its escape, which lives and flies about till the evening. As the
sun descends, it becomes emaciated, and is dead by sunset, having
lived but one day; for which cause it is called ephemerum. Most
animals which spring from caterpillars or worms, are first of all
enclosed in a web, and this is their nature.
15. The wasps which are called ichneumons, which are smaller than
the others, kill the phalangia, and carry them to a wall, or some
other place with a hole in it; and when they have covered them over
with mud, they oviposit there, and the ichneumon wasps are
produced from them. Many of the coleoptera, and other small and
41. anonymous creatures make little holes in tombs or walls, and there
deposit their worms.
16. The period of reproduction, from its commencement to its
conclusion, is generally completed in three or four weeks. In the
worms and worm-like creatures, three weeks are usually sufficient,
and four weeks are usually enough for those which are oviparous. In
one week from their sexual intercourse, the growth of the ovum is
completed. In the remaining three weeks, those that produce by
generation, hatch and bring forth their ova, as in the spiders, and
such like creatures. The metamorphoses generally occupy three or
four days, like the crisis of diseases. This is the mode of generation
in insects.
17. They die from the shrivelling of their limbs, as large animals do
of old age. Those which are furnished with wings have these organs
drawn together in autumn. The myopes die from an effusion of
water in their eyes.
Chapter XVIII.
1. All persons are not agreed as to the generation of bees, for some
say that they neither produce young, nor have sexual intercourse;
but that they bring their young from other sources; and some say
that they collect them from the flowers of the calyntrus,[176] and
others from the flower of the calamus.[177] Others again, say that
they are found in the flowers of the olive, and produce this proof,
that the swarms are most abundant when the olives are fertile.
Other persons affirm that they collect the young of the drones from
any of the substances we have named, but that the rulers (queens)
produce the young of the bees.
2. There are two kinds of rulers, the best of these is red, the other
black and variegated: their size is double that of the working bees;
the part of the body beneath the cincture is more than half of the
whole length: by some they are called the mother bees, as if they
were the parents of the rest; and they argue, that unless the ruler is
42. present, drones only are produced, and no bees. Others affirm that
they have sexual intercourse, and that the drones are males, and
the bees females.
3. The other bees originate in the cells of the comb, but the rulers
are produced in the lower part of the comb, six or seven of them
separated, opposite to the rest of the progeny. The bees have a
sting, which the drones have not: the kings and rulers have a sting
which they do not make use of, and some persons suppose that they
have none.
Chapter XIX.
1. There are several kinds of bees, the best are small, round, and
variegated: another kind is large, like the anthrene: a third kind is
called phor; this is black, and has a broad abdomen: the drone is the
fourth, and is the largest of all; it has no sting, and is incapable of
work, for which reason people often wrap something round their
hives, so that the bees can enter, but the drones, being larger,
cannot.
2. There are two kinds of rulers among bees, as I observed before.
In every hive there are several rulers, and not a single one, for the
hive perishes if there are not rulers enough (not that they thus
become anarchical, but, as they say, because they are required for
breeding the bees); if there are too many rulers they perish, for thus
they become distracted.
3. If the spring is late, and drought and rusts are about, the progeny
is small. When the weather is dry, they make honey. When it is
damp, their progeny multiplies; for which reason, the olives and the
swarms of bees multiply at the same time. They begin by making
comb, in which they place the progeny, which is deposited with their
mouths, as those say who affirm that they collect it from external
sources. Afterwards they gather the honey which is to be their food,
during the summer and the autumn; that which is gathered in the
autumn is the best.
43. 4. Wax is made from flowers. They bring the material of wax from
the droppings of trees, but the honey falls from the air, principally
about the rising of the stars, and when the rainbow rests upon the
earth. Generally no honey is produced before the rising of the
Pleiades. We argue that wax is made, as I said, from flowers, but
that the bees do not make honey, but simply collect that which falls;
for those who keep bees find the cells filled with honey in the course
of one or two days. In the autumn there are flowers enough, but the
bees make no honey, if that which they have produced is taken
away. But if one supply was taken away, and they were in want of
food, they would make more if they procured it from flowers.
5. The honey becomes thick by ripening, for at first it is like water,
and continues liquid for some days, wherefore it never becomes
thick if it is taken away during that time. It requires twenty days to
make it consistent; this is very plain from the taste of it, for it differs
both in sweetness and solidity. The bee carries honey from every
plant which has cup-shaped flowers, and from all those which
contain a sweet principle, but does not injure the fruit; it takes up
and carries away the sweet taste of plants with its tongue-like
organ.
6. The honey-comb is pressed when the wild figs begin to appear;
and they produce the best grubs when they can produce honey. The
bees carry the wax and bee-bread upon their legs, but the honey is
disgorged into the cells. After the progeny is deposited in the cells,
they incubate like birds. In the wax cells the little worm is placed at
the side; afterwards it rises of itself to be fed. It is united to the
comb in such a manner as to be held by it. The progeny both of the
bees and drones from which the little worms are produced, is white.
As they grow they become bees and drones. The progeny of the
king-bees is rather red, and about the consistency of thick honey. In
bulk it is as large as the creature which is produced from it. The
progeny of the king-bee is not a worm, but comes forth a perfect
bee, as they say; and, when the progeny is produced in the comb,
honey is found in that which is opposite.
44. Welcome to our website – the perfect destination for book lovers and
knowledge seekers. We believe that every book holds a new world,
offering opportunities for learning, discovery, and personal growth.
That’s why we are dedicated to bringing you a diverse collection of
books, ranging from classic literature and specialized publications to
self-development guides and children's books.
More than just a book-buying platform, we strive to be a bridge
connecting you with timeless cultural and intellectual values. With an
elegant, user-friendly interface and a smart search system, you can
quickly find the books that best suit your interests. Additionally,
our special promotions and home delivery services help you save time
and fully enjoy the joy of reading.
Join us on a journey of knowledge exploration, passion nurturing, and
personal growth every day!
testbankdeal.com