330 APPENDIX. 



eight segments ; second segment without furrows ; vulvae on the 

 fifteenth or sixteenth. Length 2". 



There is what seems to be a variety of this, which may be named 

 virescens, for it is distinguished by a dirty-green shade of colour 

 (mountain-green), which is deepest on the part anterior to the cli- 

 tellus and near the tail. The posterior portion is almost cylindrical, 

 even to the end, where it rather tapers than dilates ; and it appears 

 to be often shorter than the anterior portion. I find also this hinder 

 part to be frequently marked with some oily yellow spots mingled 

 with the contents of the intestine, and very irregular and inconstant 

 in position. But the peculiarity which as much as any other cha- 

 racter distinguishes the variety is its inactivity. It is a dull creature 

 that does not hurry away to escape, but throws itself into an imper- 

 fect coil, and lies thus for a few minutes. I find it under stones in 

 pasture fields, at burn sides, and often under the droppings of cattle. 

 The angler rejects it as worthless. 



Lumbricus anatomicus (page 60). 



This is equal to the dew-worm in size, attaining a length of at 

 least 7 inches ; but it is distinguished by its colour, softer and tougher 

 texture, and by the posterior extremity being rounder and more 

 tapered, for, although somewhat compressed, the tail is not dilated 

 and scarcely spathulate. The portion of the body anterior to the 

 clitellus is of a uniform dull umber-brown colour, and the posterior 

 portion is a pale orange-brown, unmarked by the dorsal blood-vessel, 

 but more or less dusked with the intestine. Head an obtuse lobule, 

 and behind it there is a square or semioval space defined by an im- 

 pressed line. Genital pores on the fifteenth ring. There is very 

 often no clitellus, nor is it ever so distinctly marked as in L. terres- 

 tris ; it consists of seven or eight rings, and there are thirty or 

 thirty-one between it and the head. The anterior segments are 

 nearly as long as their diameter, with two rings ; the posterior are 

 numerous and short, with one ring ; and the anal is not more coloured 

 than the rest. They are all striolate. 



This appears to be distinct from L. terrestris, more especially in 

 its habits. It is very common, and, to use the words of my young 

 friend Dr. George Douglas, " is a true earthworm, neither requiring 

 nor seeking manure for its habitat. It is a favourite for fishing, and 

 is almost solely used in the Tweed when the river is small and the 

 weather warm and bright. By being kept for a week or two in 

 clean fog or moss, the worms become of a bright red colour, except 

 the head, which is always more or less black, and very tough ; so that 

 many trout may be captured by the same worm, \yhile other kinds 

 are usually destroyed by the first nibble. In the height of summer 

 these worms are found coiled up in button-like masses, bright red, 

 and containing no earthy matter in the intestinal canal. They are 

 then ready for use without undergoing the previous preparation of 

 being kept in moss. The best are got in hght gravelly soils.'* 



