108 OUT OF DOORS. 



its point, and is dragging it towards his hole. I dare 

 say that many who read this account will have seen in 

 their gardens certain leaves sticking with their points 

 in the ground, without knowing how they came in 

 such a position. I did not know until last year, when 

 I saw the whole process. 



At dusk the worms begin to crawl out of their 

 houses to hold friendly converse with their neighbours, 

 and to survey the country. They never come entirely 

 out of the hole, always leaving a joint or two within 

 the aperture, by means of which they can retreat in a 

 moment if alarmed. If you suddenly jerk a worm out 

 of its hole it is quite at a loss ; and even if you replace 

 it by the former habitation it cannot find its old home, 

 but is perforce obliged to make another. Watching 

 these creatures is by no means an easy task, as they 

 hate light, and seldom appear out of their holes except 

 in the dusk, so that it is necessary to come quite close 

 before they can be seen at all ; and a lantern cannot be 

 employed, as its glare would at once send them back 

 into the darkness of their homes. The head of the 

 worm is gently thrust into the air, the body follows, 

 and then the creature begins to peer about in various 

 directions, extending and contracting its body with 

 great ease and rapidity. Presently it comes across a 

 fallen leaf, pokes it about for a minute or two, seizes it 

 by the point, and draws it to its home, always managing 

 to hold it in such a way that when the leaf is dragged 

 into the ground it is partially curled up. The worms 



