264 THE WOODLANDS. 



when in motion, look like a fringe of hairs. Several 

 species of them are found in England, delighting in 

 loose bark and old stumps, feeding on decayed vege- 

 table matter, on decomposing animal substances, and 

 acting as a kind of scavenger. Some of them delight 

 in Acari, but it is doubtful if any of them feed at all 

 upon living plants. The most common species 1 

 has from 160 to 200 legs, and is from an inch to an 

 inch and a half in length. 



Still more interesting, but equally common, is at 

 least one species of centipede, 2 found under stones or 

 fallen timber. It is from two to three inches long, 

 and has from fifty-one to fifty-five pairs of legs. The 

 female lays from thirty to fifty eggs in a cell in the 

 ground, and coils herself round them, in which posi- 

 tion she remains for two or three weeks, until the 

 young brood is hatched. Both sexes are luminous, 

 shining almost as brightly as the glow-worm. What- 

 ever the luminous substance may be, it certainly ad- 

 heres to the fingers like phosphorus when the animals 

 are handled. We have several times collected in the 

 dark, luminous creatures under the impression that 

 they were glow-worms, and when brought to the light 

 discovered that they were centipedes. Another small 

 centipede 3 is common in hop-gardens, hybernating 

 in clusters of six or eight, rolled up like a ball, but 

 whether luminous or not we cannot affirm. 



Although only partially related to our locality, we 

 cannot forbear a parting word with the Worms. It is 



1 Juhis terrestris. 3 Geophilus humuli. 



2 Arthronomahis longicornis. 



