THE MOON AND WORMS.
[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—The following observations may have some bearing upon the question which has been raised in your columns with regard, to the effect of the moon upon the preservation of timber from boring worms. In the islands of Fiji and Samoa there is a peculiar worm which is used for food by the natives : it lives in fissures of the rocks of the coral reefs at a depth of about two fathoms. On certain days of October and Novem- ber the worms leave the reefs and swim to the shores, and this occurs on two days in each of the above-mentioned months— namely, the day on which the moon is in the last quarter and the day before. The natives call them mbalolo, and they arc eaten baked in leaves. This worm is called by scientific men Pablo Viridis.—I am, Sir, &c., 1 Paradise Row, York. A. LODGER.
Previous page
