224 HIRUDICULTURE. 



disappeared in the greedy maws of a- flock of wild- 

 ducks. 



The details we have been giving are certainly curi- 

 ous, but their disgusting nature will not repel those 

 who reflect what profit may be made from those marshes 

 which are so numerous in this country, and hitherto of 

 almost no value. M. Bechade, a small farmer in the 

 neighbourhood of Bordeaux, has become a millionaire 

 by transforming poor marshes, for which he could hardly 

 pay a rent of 300 francs, into magnificent enclosures 

 for leeches, now let for 25,000 francs. M. Jourdier 

 refers to a Parisian capitalist who has embarked in this 

 species of industry with the satisfactory result of a 

 revenue of fifteen for one ; that is to say, a leech which 

 then (April 1855) cost twenty-five centimes, produced 

 on an average fifteen leeches a-year, which could be 

 sold at the same price or, say, three francs. Deduct- 

 ing at the most five centimes of expenses, there remains 

 a gain of two francs twenty-five centimes, which is 

 enormous when the operation is on a large scale. It is, 

 therefore, credible that a marsh of forty-eight hectares 

 should let for 250,000 francs, and that enormous for- 

 tunes should have been made by this new species of 

 rural economy, which is alike useful to the public and 

 beneficial to the private interest of those by whom it is 

 prosecuted. We shall, therefore, not be surprised at 

 its introduction into this country. We earnestly hope 

 that recourse will be had to a less revolting mode of 

 feeding leeches than we have had the pain of describ- 

 ing : this may possibly be effected by furnishing them 

 with abundant supplies of their ordinary food, which 

 appears to be tadpoles, aquatic worms, and larvae. 



A correspondent asks, " Would leeches thrive in this 

 climate ?" In this country only two kinds are reckoned 

 fit for medical purposes viz., the " brown leech " and 

 the " green leech" the former found sparingly in Great 

 Britain, but abundantly in northern and central Europe. 

 That it will thrive in this country we doubt not. Leeches 



