h are possessed of an extraordinary
contractile power. It bears no mark which would indicate a future
metamorphosis into a beetle. There is no sign of a future division
into thorax and abdomen. There are no rudiments of wings or feet, as
the under surface of the body presents exactly the same appearances as
the upper. At the posterior extremity of the worm, however, there is a
small horny termination, something like the hinder part of a leech.
The organs are exceedingly simple, the digestive being the most
developed. Albumen is the substance which composes its body, and its
blood is of a greenish tint. With a motion similar to that of the
earthworm, it perforates with extraordinary rapidity into the
substance of the tree in which it is found.

When the moon is at her full, the gatherer of worms enters a
neighbouring wood, and selects a young _palmiste_ tree. This is a tree
of the palm order, exceedingly stately and graceful, growing sometimes
to the extraordinary height of eighty feet. From the roots upwards, it
has not a single branch or shrubby excrescence, but grows beautifully
smooth and straight, tapering towards the top. At its top, an
abundance of the richest and most beautiful leaves spread out in
graceful symmetry, and bend down on all sides, forming a figure like
an umbrella; while the young leaf, still firm and compact in its
foliar envelope, is seen standing erect in the centre of this foliage,
like a lightning-conductor.

When a promising palmiste is found, the gatherer makes an incision
into it with a cutlass or a hatchet. This incision is generally in the
figure of a half-moon, with the base of the semicircle downwards, and
the wound increasing in depth in that direction, so as to expose
effectually the flesh of the tree. When this is done, the gatherer
marks the locality, and leaves the tree, which he does not revisit for
a considerable time. When the moon is in her wane, he returns and
examines his palmiste. If the young leaf, together with the others,
begins to shew a yellow tinge at its extremity, and if, on application
of his ear to the trunk, a hollow, rumbling noise is heard within, he
concludes that the worms have attacked the vital parts, and the tree
is immediately cut down; but if these symptoms are absent, the tree is
left standing until they appear. The gatherer, however, must now visit
the tree frequently, because the transition of the insects is so
rapid, that almost immediately after the