66 HABITS OF WORMS. Chap. II. 



or footstalk, and 11 per cent, transversely or 

 by the middle. This alone is almost suffi- 

 cient to show that chance does not determine 

 the manner in which leaves are dragged into 

 the burrows. 



Of the above 227 leaves, 70 consisted of 

 the fallen leaves of the common lime-tree, 

 which is almost certainly not a native of 

 England. These leaves are much acumin- 

 ated towards the tip, and are very broad at 

 the base with a well-developed foot-stalk. 

 They are thin and quite flexible when half- 

 withered. Of the 70, 79 per cent, had been 

 drawn in by or near the tip ; 4 per cent. 

 by or near the base ; and 17 per cent, trans- 

 versely or by the middle. These proportions 

 agree very closely, as far as the tip is con- 

 cerned, with those before given. But the per- 

 centage drawn in by the base is smaller, which 

 may be attributed to the breadth of the basal 

 part of the blade. We here, also, see that the 

 presence of a foot-stalk, which it might have 

 been expected would have tempted the worms 

 as a convenient handle, has little or no in- 

 fluence in determining the manner in which 

 lime leaves are dragged into the burrows. 



