"The insect (and its secretion) on the leaves of the bauhinia,
and which is eaten by the Africans, proves
To be a species of Psylla,
a genus of small, very active Homoptera, of which we have
one very common species in the box; but our species, Psylla buxi,
emits its secretion in the shape of very long, white, cotton-like filaments.
But there is a species in New Holland, found on the leaves
of the Eucalyptus, which emits a secretion very similar
to that of Dr. Livingstone's species. This Australian secretion
(and its insect originator) is known by the name of wo-me-la,
and, like Dr. Livingstone's, it is scraped off the leaves
and eaten by the aborigines as a saccharine dainty. The insects found
beneath the secretion, brought home by Dr. Livingstone,
are in the pupa state, being flattened, with large scales
at the sides of the body, inclosing the future wings of the insect.
The body is pale yellowish-colored, with dark-brown spots.
It will be impossible to describe the species technically until we receive
the perfect insect. The secretion itself is flat and circular,
apparently deposited in concentric rings, gradually increasing in size
till the patches are about a quarter or a third of an inch in diameter.
Jno. O. Westwood."
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In passing along we see every where the power of vegetation in breaking up
the outer crust of tufa. A mopane-tree, growing in a small chink,
as it increases in size rends and lifts up large fragments of the rock
all around it, subjecting them to the disintegrating influence
of the atmosphere.
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