L>-S 
I 
6 o Frejh Water Squills. 
dile, quite motion!efs, till its Prey is fairly 
within its Reach ; when by a fudden Spring 
of the Head it feizes it in an Inftant, and 
feldom quits it till it has got its Belly full. 
I kept feveral of thefe Squills in Jars dur¬ 
ing the greatefc Part of laft Summer, to 
make Observations on their Manner of feed¬ 
ing ; in order to which, I began with giving 
them the larger Sort of Earth-Worms, which 
they feized with the greateft Eagernefs ; and 
notwithstanding the wreathing and twilling 
of the Worms for a long Time, they very 
feldom quitted their Hold, till the inward 
Contents were quite exhaufled, and nothing 
left but the Skin. 
I ufed frequently, for Want of more pro¬ 
per Food, to give them fmall Pieces of raw 
Veal or Mutton, which at firft they were 
very greedy of, but would not eat for above 
a Day or two together : but whilft I have 
been giving them a Bit of Meat, they would 
ffrike at my Fingers with great Fury, though 
they were not able to penetrate the Skin^. 
One Day I offered one of them a very 
large Tadpole, and quickly difcover’d it was 
its natural Food by theGreedinefs with which 
* One of thefe, whichl kept fome Time, was fo bold and 
furious as to attack any thing that was put into the Water ; 
infomuch that I ufed frequently to divert my Friends with 
holding a Quill near it, which it would fly at and feize with 
great Violence, and hanging fall thereto by its Forceps, would 
fuffer itfelf to be pulled up quite out of the Water by it. 
St 
