Packard.] 
mSECTS OF THE FOEEST. 
243 
noticed. The limb which he cuts off is sometimes only a 
foot in length and is, consequently, quite light; sometimes 
ten feet long, loaded with leaves, and very heavy. A man 
by carefully inspecting the length of the limb, the size of its 
branches, and the amount of foliage growing upon them, 
could judge how far it should be severed to insure its being 
afterwards broken by the winds. But this worm is impris¬ 
oned in a dark cell only an inch or two long, in the interior 
of the limb. How is it possible for this creature, therefore, 
to know the length and weight of the limb, and how far it 
should be cut asunder? A man, moreover, on cutting a 
number of limbs of different lengths so far that they will be 
broken by the winds, will find that he has often miscalcu¬ 
lated, and that several of the limbs do not break off as he 
designed they should. This little worm, however, never 
makes a mistake of this kind. If the limb be short, it 
severs all the woody fibres, leaving it hanging only by the 
outer bark. If it be longer, a few of the woody fibres on 
its upper side are left uncut in addition to the bark. If it 
be very long and heavy, not more than three-fourths of the 
wood will be severed.” 
“Having cut the limb asunder so far that he supposes it 
will break with the next wind which arises, the worm with¬ 
draws himself into his burrow, and that he may not be 
stunned and drop therefrom should the limb strike the earth 
with violence when it falls, he closes the opening behind him 
by inserting therein a wad formed of elastic fibres of wood. 
He now feeds at his leisure upon the pith of the main limb, 
hereby extending his burrow up this limb six or twelve 
inches or more, until he attains his full growth, quietly 
awaiting the fall of the limb, and his descent therein to the 
ground. It is quite probable that he does not always sever 
the limb sufficiently in the first instance for it to break and 
fall. Having cut it so much as he deems prudent, he with¬ 
draws and commences feeding upon the pith of the limb 
19 
