372 ANIMAL LIFE-HISTORIES 



plete the egg resembles a small round ball of mud, and is indis- 

 tinguishable from the surrounding soil. It is thus safe from the 

 voracious appetite of the male, and she leaves it to its fate. The 

 number of eggs is small when compared with the number laid 

 by J II Ins." 



The comparatively large size of these eggs, and their relatively 

 small number, are correlated with direct development; for here, 

 as in Centipedes generally, the just-hatched young closely re- 

 semble their parents except in size. 



Sinclair's observations on the Earth Snake-Millipede are thus 

 set forth; — " Julus tcTrestris is one of the most common of the 

 English Millipedes, and can be easily obtained. I kept them in 

 large, shallow glass vessels with a layer of earth at the bottom, 

 and thus was able easily to watch the whole process. They breed 

 in the months of May, June, and July. The female Jtdus when 

 about to lay her eggs sets to work to form a kind of nest or 

 receptacle for her eggs. She burrows down into the earth, 

 and at some distance below the surface begins the work. She 

 moistens small bits of earth with the sticky fluid secreted by 

 her salivary glands, which become extraordinarily active in the 

 spring. She works up these bits of earth with her jaws and 

 front -legs till they are of a convenient size and shape, and 

 places them together. When complete the nest is shaped like 

 a hollow sphere, the inside being smooth and even, while the 

 outside is rough and shows the shape of the small knobs of 

 earth of which it is composed. She leaves a small opening in 

 the top. The size of the whole nest is about that of a small 

 nut. When she is ready to lay her eggs she passes them 

 through the hole in the top, and usually lays about 60 to 100 

 eggs at a time. The eggs, which are very small, are coated with 

 a g-lutinous fluid which causes them to adhere tog-ether. When 

 they are all laid she closes up the aperture with a piece of 

 earth moistened with her saliva; and having thus hermetically 

 sealed the nest, she leaves the whole to its fate. The eggs hatch 

 in about twelve days." 



Numerous small eggs are associated in this and other Milli- 

 pedes with indirect development. The young hatch out as short 

 six-legged larvee, which undergo a series of moults, increasing 

 in length and number of legs each time, until the adult char- 

 acters are fully acquired. It is stated that in one common 



