FABRE'S BOOK OF INSECTS 



ject some other substance which turns the solid flesh into 

 liquid, in such a thorough way that every morsel is turned 

 to account. 



And this is done with exquisite delicacy, though some- 

 times in a position that is anything but steady. The 

 Snails imprisoned in my apparatus sometimes crawl up 

 to the top, which is closed with a glass pane. To this 

 pane they fix themseves with a speck of the sticky sub- 

 stance they carry with them; but, as they are miserly in 

 their use of this substance, the merest shake is enough 

 to loosen the shell and send it to the bottom of the jar. 



Now it is not unusual for the Glow-worm to hoist 

 himself to the top, with the help of a certain climbing- 

 organ that makes up for the weakness of his legs. He 

 selects his prey, makes a careful inspection of it to find 

 a slit, nibbles it a little, makes it insensible, and then, 

 without delay, proceeds to prepare the gruel which he will 

 go on eating for days on end. 



When he has finished his meal the shell is found to 

 be absolutely empty. And yet this shell, which was 

 fixed to the glass only by the slight smear of stickiness, 

 has not come loose, nor even shifted its position in the 

 smallest degree. Without any protest from the hermit 

 who has been gradually converted into broth, it has been 

 drained dry on the very spot at which the first attack was 

 made. These small details show us how promptly the 



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