the nourishment is drawn tells us of itself that the mouth of the
Anthrax is not armed with mandibular fangs capable of digging into
the skin and tearing it. If the flesh were gashed by any such
pincers, one or two attempts would be necessary before they could
be released or reapplied; besides, each point bitten would display
a lesion. Well, there is nothing of the kind: a conscientious
examination through the magnifying glass shows conclusively that
the skin is intact; the grub glues its mouth to its prey or
withdraws it with an ease that can only be explained by a process
of simple contact. This being so, the Anthrax does not chew its
food as do the other carnivorous grubs; it does not eat, it
inhales.

This method of taking nourishment implies an exceptional apparatus
of the mouth, into which it behooves us to inquire before
continuing. My most powerful magnifying glass at last discovers,
at the center of the pimple head, a small spot of an amber-russet
color; and that is all. For a more exhaustive examination we will
employ the microscope. I cut off the strange pimple with the
scissors, wash it in a drop of water and place it on the object
slide. The mouth now stands revealed as a round spot which, for
hue and for the smallness of its size, may be compared with the
front stigmata. It is a small conical crater, with sides of a
pale yellowish-red and with faint, more or less concentric lines.
At the bottom of this funnel is the opening of the gullet, itself
tinted red in front and promptly spreading into a cone at the
back. There is not the slightest trace of mandibular fangs, of
jaws, of mouth parts for seizing and grinding. Everything is
reduced to the bowl shaped opening, with a delicate lining of
horny texture, as is shown by the amber hue and the concentric