86 HABITS OF WORMS. Chap. II. 



more resistance to being drawn in. If seized 

 near the middle the triangle was doubled up, 

 with the apex and base left sticking out of the 

 tube. As the sides of the triangles were 

 three inches in length, the result of their 

 being drawn into a tube or into a burrow in 

 different ways, may be conveniently divided 

 into three groups : those drawn in by the 

 apex or within an inch of it ; those drawn in 

 by the base or within an inch of it ; and those 

 drawn in by any point in the middle inch. 



In order to see how the triangles would be 



seized by worms, some in a damp state were 



given to worms kept in confinement. They 



were seized in three different manners in the 



case of both the narrow and broad triangles : 



viz., by the margin ; by one of the three 



angles, which was often completely engulfed 



in their mouths ; and lastly, by suction applied 



to any part of the flat surface. If lines 



parallel to the base and an inch apart, are 



drawn across a triangle with the sides three 



inches in length, it will be divided into three 



parts of equal length. Now if worms seized 



indifferently by chance any part, they 



would assuredly seize on the basal part or 



