No. 3.] ALLOLOBOPHORA FOETIDA. 489 
collect the material, — z.e., to select from these worms those 
that still possess a marked clitellum. They may continue to 
deposit cocoons for some days, but as a rule the eggs in these 
cocoons are either entirely disintegrated structurally, or show 
abnormal features. At Woods Holl, the close of the season 
has varied from September I to October 1. It has been possible 
to collect worms with the clitellar region still marked, and 
to find fresh cocoons as late as October 20; but few of those 
cocoons have contained normal eggs. The breeding season 
closes much earlier in very old compost heaps, — those receiv- 
ing no warmth from fresh manure. As early as August 15, in 
such a compost heap containing thousands of worms, it required 
a search of three hours to find fifty breeding worms. I can 
support Wilson’s statement (21) that “egg-laying seems in 
special cases to continue throughout the year . . . but only in 
decomposing compost heaps, where the temperature is main- 
tained at a tolerably high point” (p. 394). In 1893-94 I 
found breeding worms and cocoons in December, January, 
February, and March, but only in compost heaps that were 
covered with fresh manure. 
Method of Obtaining the Fresh Cocoons+—TI select from a 
compost heap about a hundred full-grown breeding worms, z.z., 
those having the clitellar region most pronounced, and place 
them in a one-gallon earthen pot, filled with the compost in 
which they have been found. To prevent the worms from 
escaping, it is well to tie over each pot a cloth, with a hole in 
the center. 
In order to maintain the average of normal eggs in the 
cocoons, it is advisable to change the compost about once a 
week, and to collect a new supply of worms every two or three 
weeks. If the compost is kept dry, the worms copulate and 
deposit their cocoons near the bottom of the pot; but if it is 
kept moist, they come very near the surface. I have fed them 
with various vegetables and fruits, but have found that the best 
method is to renew the compost, and to maintain the proper 
1 T use the term “fresh cocoons ” to designate those still surrounded by the 
slime-tube and containing eggs no further developed than the first cleavage spindle. 
2 These facts support Vejdovsky’s observations on this point (19), p. 37- 
