384 Dr Davy's Observations on the Centipede. 



food. Since, I have had an opportunity of observing one in 

 the act of eating, and of ascertaining that its food is insects. 

 The one I allude to was caught without being injured, and 

 confined under a glass vessel, a common drinking-glass, in- 

 verted on a porcelain plate. It was under observation a 

 month, when it eifected its escape. During the whole of this 

 time it exhibited a voracious appetite. The first day of its 

 captivity it ate two house-flies ; and each day after, this num- 

 ber or more. One day it devoured nine. It ate the flies 

 piece-meal, leaving nothing but portions of the wings. So 

 intent was it on the act, that it did not relinquish its prey 

 even when somewhat roughly touched, appearing, when so 

 engaged, passive and indiff'erent to everything else. And 

 commonly after eating it seemed listless and disinclined to 

 move, almost as if torpid or asleep. The excrementitious mat- 

 ter it voided was abundant, not unlike that of small lizards, — 

 being in little cylindrical masses, in part neai'ly white, con- 

 sisting of lithate of ammonia, and in part of a darker hue, 

 the latter alvine, formed chiefly of the wings and other undi- 

 gested parts of the flies it had consumed. This centipede 

 weighed 24-46 grains (weighed in a thin glass tube). The 

 trial was made after it had been two days in my possession, 

 and when it had ate nine flies. The excrement voided in 

 the same time, after having become dry from exposure to the 

 air, weighed "44 of a grain. The larger portion of it was 

 lithate of ammonia, as it always was. It did not diminish 

 in quantity with the confinement of the centipede, but seemed 

 rather proportionally to increase, — being in accordance nearly 

 with the quantity of food used ; and it was observed that com- 

 monly after devouring a fly a small excrementitious mass 

 was discharged. Between the 12th and the 25th of July the 

 matter voided was found equal to 2-55 grains, weighed when 

 dry. 



I am induced to give these particulars, thus minutely, for 

 two reasons, — one, the difiiculty there is in procuring a cen- 

 tipede uninjured, so as to be fit for such observations as I 

 have made ; the other, on account of the observations them- 

 selves, denoting, as they seem to do, a great activity of the 

 digestive and assimilating power of the animal, and the I'apid 



