76 SUPPLEMENT , 



our gardens, and with which it might be useful for us to 

 become better acquainted. 



The chetopoda are of no great utility to the human species. 

 It appears, however, that the larger species may be made 

 available in the way of food. Pallas relates that some inha- 

 bitants of the coasts of Belgium eat the buccal portion or 

 mouth of the aphrodita aculeata ; but this must prove a very 

 poor resource indeed. 



The larger nereides, the arenicola, the clymense, the tipun- 

 culi, and even the lumbrici, are employed as baits with great 

 advantage in hook or small net fishing. A tolerable number 

 offish are taken in this way alone ; and it has been remarked, 

 that the fishing is more successful when these worms can be 

 employed in the living state. 



These animals, notwithstanding the small number of cases 

 in which they can be useful to us, are nevertheless more ad- 

 vantageous than hurtful. The earth-worms themselves, by 

 dividing the earth, facilitate the development of the roots of 

 the plants of our gardens. 



As M. de Blainville, in his second class of worms (apocla) 

 has thought proper to include along with the last division of 

 our author's annelides (the abrancliia asetigera), intestinal 

 worms, we cannot in this general sketch avail ourselves of his 

 observations, valuable as they otherwise may be. We must 

 therefore reserve what we have to say concerning these animals, 

 such as Hirudo, &c. until we come to observe upon them in 

 their proper place. We shall now proceed to consider suc- 

 cessively the orders and genera of the Annelides of the text. 



We begin of course with the order 



TUBICOL^. 

 Under the denomination of Serpul^ (our first genus), 

 coming doubtless from the word Serpere, to creep, Linnaeus 

 very early distinguished a pretty great number of marine 



