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them first singly out of the foliage, not putting them together into a heap 
■which naturally would at once have formed a marching column. Thus we 
saw that each of the many isolated little worms was alone a very 
helpless creature. Not venturing far from the spot, it incessantly lifted and 
moved its head in all directions searching for the indispensahle neighhourly 
help ; no sooner did two comrades meet or were moved towards each other 
than they stuck together, and the one crawling over the other lifted its 
head and looked about, till the second had in his turn crawled so far 
forward upon him that he was obliged to put down his head. Then he 
crawled again over the second, and thus the two helped one another on. 
It is perhaps their bodily constitution which demands this method of 
progression; for no other means are adopted than this use of the neighbour, 
even if 300, 400, or 600 are creeping over each other; the upper layers 
only are in motion, all the crawling ones put down their heads, but no 
sooner d© they come to the front, where they then help to form the head of 
the column, than they raise their heads but only till the next, previously 
lower layers, are crawling over them and so on. After a short time, 
during which we assisted some single individuals to join in the march — 
many, now longer now shorter, processions in single file were passing along 
the moist paste-board between the beech leaves, the foremost always 
seeking in the most lively manner for the proper direction wdth their heads 
raised ; then began the union of such single lines and thus the formation 
of threads and strings. The nearer the single lines came to the second sheet 
of clean paste-board, the more the direction of all became a common one. 
But this again occurred with various modifications. Whilst lines 5 or 6 
deep quickly united into a single band, others, only 1 or 2 deep, continued 
their march for a long time separately, the one by the side of the other, till 
they at length joined. Even from the thickest cord, already a finger 
thick, some portions branched off to the right and left, reconnoitering as it 
were, and then returned to the great train.; The community arrived at the 
second sheet of paste-board as a fair Host-Worm, representing indeed a 
small snake. Such a mass of the thickness of an arm, and many feet in 
length, gliding in the cool, gloomy forest across the footpath, might well 
furnish an excellent opportunity for horrible adventures, shuddering tales, 
and stout and sturdy superstition." 
To return now to the general history of the Host-Worm. The 
wanderings, occurring as a rule in the evening and through the whole 
night till the morning, do not take place, as was long asserted, in any 
special direction from north to south, but in directions the most various. 
