A DESCRIPTION OF 
brooks and rivulets ; and often sticks to the legs of boys or 
men when bathing. 
The blood, which the Leech sucks out of the wound it 
makes, remains a long time in its body, and supplies it 
with nutriment for so great a period of time, that a Leech, 
after having been satisfied with blood, has been known to 
live three years without any food. It is usual, however, 
to make Leeches disgorge the greater part of the blood 
they have swallowed by sprinkling them with salt ; as 
otherwise they would not bite again till the blood they 
had taken was fully digested. 
Leeches lay eggs, which are covered with a kind of 
membrane, which serves to protect them when they are 
deposited in the clay and holes in the sides of ponds. 
They appear to live on the eggs of fish or frogs, but they 
eagerly attach themselves to the legs of human beings, 
horses, or cows, whenever they have an opportunity. As 
there is a prejudice among the country people that Leeches 
never breed well till they have tasted blood, it is said that 
they drive their horses and cows into the water inhabited 
by the Leeches, and consequently that the Leech districts 
are remarkable for their wretched- looking horses and 
cattle. Leeches must be five years old before they are fit 
for medical purposes ; and they are caught in shallow 
water in spring by people going into the water with naked 
feet and ankles, which they adhere to, when they are 
picked off and put in baskets provided for the purpose. 
In summer a raft is made of twigs, and the waters being 
disturbed with a stick, the Leeches rise to the surface, 
and get entangled in the raft. When caught, the Leeches 
are washed in water with a very little salt in it, and 
packed in wet linen cloths, which are put into a barrel 
with a canvas cover, and sent away for sale. London is 
chiefly supplied from the fenny districts of Lincolnshire. 
They are also, when kept in a glass bottle with water, a 
good barometer, as they always come up to the neck of 
