STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
791 
MIDflE. LARVA. ITS MOTIONS. CRAWLING. SKIPPING. 
into its neck, leaving only the ends of its horns projecting, as 
shown in fig. 13. It bends its neck down and presses these 
points of its horns to the surface to hold its body from being 
drawn backward whilst it again curves the hind end under and 
fixes the teeth there as before, when, letting go in front, it gives 
itself another shove. The worm shows in its every feature that 
this is most fatiguing work, taxing its energies to their utmost 
and yet making but little progress. Becoming wearied, it 
changes its operations. Now pressing its anterior end to the 
surface it curves this end under its breast as if making a very 
humble bow, hereby drawing its body forward; and then using 
the teeth at its tip merely to prevent its sliding back again 
while it reaches forward and again fastens its fore end to make 
another bow. Thus by pulling and by pushing it persistently 
endeavors to move forward, but with very indifferent success. 
Yet, notwithstanding the embarrassment of this worm in thus 
crawling on a dry surface, if a watch crystal is placed over it, it 
is able to cling to and move about on the under side of the glass 
with its back downward, never losing its foothold and falling 
unless it is disturbed. 
But on being thus exposed 1 to the atmosphere the worm is 
gradually losing its suppleness and becoming more dried and 
stiff. Getting impatient perhaps at the little it accomplishes 
with so much exertion, it resorts to another curious expedient. 
It doubles itself together, bringing the tip of its body in contact 
with its throat, and fastening it here by some mechanism which 
1 have not been able to perceive. Then it puts forth its strength 
to straighten its body; the fastening suddenly gives way, and 
like a bent spring straightening itself, the body striking the sur¬ 
face violently, bounds away, to a distance it may be of some 
inches. Binding it does not yet drop upon the ground, this 
operation of skipping is slowly repeated, again and again. At 
length its skin becomes so dried and still - it ceases its efforts, 
draws in each end of its body and again becomes a quiescent 
larva such as we first saw it. 
We now place it, say in a saucer, and set it aside. Observing 
it a day or two afterwards, we find it has become so dried, so 
still and hard, it is wholly unable to bend or move. And con¬ 
tinuing in this dry situation its .body shrinks and shortens, 
whereby after a few days it ceases to fill its outer skin. It has 
