Chap. II. PROTECTION OF THEIR BURROWS. 59 



had been in the least gnawed, the fact would 

 have been immediately visible, but there was 

 no trace of gnawing. Of ordinary dicotyle- 

 donous leaves, all those which are dragged 

 into burrows are not gnawed. I have seen 

 as many as nine leaves of the lime-tree 

 drawn into the same burrow, and not nearly 

 all of them had been gnawed ; but such 

 leaves may serve as a store for future con- 

 sumption. Where fallen leaves are abun- 

 dant, many more are sometimes collected 

 over the mouth of a burrow than can be 

 used, so that a small pile of unused leaves is 

 left like a roof over those which have been 

 partly dragged in. 



A leaf in being dragged a little way into 

 a cylindrical burrow is necessarily much 

 folded or crumpled. When another leaf is 

 drawn in, this is done exteriorly to the first 

 one, and so on with the succeeding leaves ; and 

 finally all become closely folded and pressed 

 together. Sometimes the worm enlarges the 

 mouth of its burrow, or makes a fresh one 

 close by, so as to draw in a still larger number 

 of leaves. They often or generally fill up the 



interstices between the drawn-in leaves with 

 4 



