620 VARIETIES. 



5. On the supposed Agency of Worms informing Bogs. — In 

 cutting the turf, what are properly called bog-holes are often 

 made ; and at the bottom of these, which to me have proved 

 really interesting excavations, a small portion of bog stuff is 

 generally left, upon which the water soon accumulates, so as 

 to make a number of little standing pools, dangerous alike to 

 the sportsman and the four-footed inhabitants of the moor. — 

 These holes, if left untouched, are filled up, in the course of time, 

 by a substance intimately resembling the bog around, except 

 in firmness and consistency ; which qualities are only derived, 

 as it would seem, from age and pressure. I have often care- 

 fully examined these holes in their different stages ; sometimes 

 unwittingly, when the opportunity presented itself, by my 

 slipping into a cavern apparently well covered ; at other times 

 taking a more leisurely survey. In the ealier stages there 

 -appear to be little worms constantly at work, who throw up 

 cylindrical cells, reaching to the surface of the water, if this be 

 not in the first instance too deep. These cells, composed of 

 bog stuff, are from one to three or four inches in height, and 

 thick in proportion, the largest being the size of a quill. The 

 lesser tubes stand separate ; the larger are united, so as to form 

 bundles of aggregated tubes. The animal within is jointed 

 like a Conferva^ transparent, and of a beautiful red colour. 

 When the water from the pools is evaporated by the heat of the 

 sun, the worms retreat as low as possible into their cells, but 

 the cylinders are still erect, and present an appearance which 

 is striking even to the casual observer. Whether these little 

 animals are the primary cause of the growth of the bog, or not, 

 I am very far from being competent to decide ; at the same 

 time, I cannot help comparing their labours with those of the 

 Corallines. If these have been able to form islands, why 

 should not our little friends lay the foundations of the turf 

 bogs ? You must, however, observe, that I admit the necessity 

 of bog-mould, or vegetable earth, as essential to their first 

 operations ; and must do so until they have been found at work 

 upon any other basis. — Letters from the Irish Highlands^ 



6. Ticks in Panama. — A great pest in the isthmus of Pa- 

 nama are what are called ^/awapato^, or ticks, which, in half an 

 hour's walk, in summer, will completely cover the person, and 

 are taken from their hold with some trouble. A smaller, but 



