ACCOUCHEMENT OF A LEECH. 219 



The leech withdraws backwards ; but before withdraw- 

 ing deposits in the interior of this bag several little 

 ovules, in the midst of a quantity of albuminous matter. 

 The two openings of the bag soon close, and in their 

 room there remain two round brownish swellings, which 

 afterwards fall, like opercula, at the time of exclusion. 

 The cocoon is not yet complete. When complete, the 

 cocoon is about the length and thickness of the first 

 joint of a lady's little finger : it wants the spongy tissue 

 which is deposited upon the membrane, like frothy light 

 slime, of a white colour. The slightest touch removes 

 it. The presence of water is thus always more or less 

 injurious ; and the cocoons are almost always deposited 

 either on or in the moist borders of marshes, a little above 

 the surface of the water, and on the plants which deck 

 the moist earth. Having thus, thanks to M. Jourdier, 

 assisted at the accouchement of a leech, we hope our 

 readers are duly grateful ; they should be at least ; for 

 the phenomena which he so graphically describes are 

 not easily to be witnessed, seeing that by the middle 

 of June almost all leeches old enough to propagate dis- 

 appear, and hide themselves in the turf of the marshes, 

 artificial or natural, till the time for depositing. 



Each cocoon generally contains from fourteen to fif- 

 teen threads, or young leeches at the most, twenty- 

 four to twenty- six ; at the least, ten. It is universally 

 observed that the cocoon never contains an odd number. 



Such is the nature of these creatures, the rearing of 

 which in great natural marshes, or in marshes artificially 

 made, forms an important branch of rural economy in 

 France. It may be worth the while of some of our Scot- 

 tish proprietors to attend to it, seeing that it is not merely 

 profitable to those devoted to it, but is also found to have 

 an important bearing upon agriculture. In those com- 

 munes of the department of La Gironde where hirudi- 

 culture has been followed for several years, there has 

 been observed a very visible improvement in the condi- 

 tion of all the inhabitants. Wages, both of men and 



