heir way through the wadding. Their pointed
front, armed with grappling irons, is the nail that penetrates the
fibrous mass.

In the other test-tube, standing beside the first and subjected to
the same atmospheric influences, nothing striking has occurred. The
hard-boiled white of egg has retained its dead white color and its
firmness. I find it as I left it. The utmost that I observe is a few
traces of must. The result of this first experiment is patent: the
Bluebottle's grub is the medium that converts coagulated albumen into a
liquid.

The value of chemist's pepsin is estimated by the quantity of
hard-boiled white of egg which a gram of that agent can liquefy. The
mixture has to be exposed in an oven to a temperature of 1400 F. and
also to be frequently shaken. My preparation, in which the bluebottle's
eggs are hatched, is neither shaken nor subjected to the heat of
an oven; everything happens in quietness and under the thermometric
conditions of the surrounding air; nevertheless, in a few days, the
coagulated albumen, treated by the vermin, runs like water.

The reagent that causes this liquefaction escapes my endeavors to detect
it. The worms must disgorge it in infinitesimal doses, while the spikes
in their throats, which are in continual movement, emerge a little
way from the mouth, reenter and reappear. Those piston thrusts, those
quasi-kisses, are accompanied by the emission of the solvent: at least,
that is how I picture it. The maggot spits on its food, places on it
the wherewithal to make it into broth. To appraise the quantity of the
matter expectorated is beyond my powers: I observe the result, but do
not perceive the leavening agent.

Well, this result is really astounding, when we consider the scantiness
of the means. No pig's or sheep's pepsin can rival that of the worm.
I have a bottle of pepsin that comes from the School of Chemistry at
Montpellier. I lavishly powder some pieces of hard-boiled white of egg
with the potent drug, just as I did with the eggs of the Bluebottle.
The oven is not brought into play, neither is distilled water added, nor
hydrochloric acid: two auxiliaries which are recommended. The experiment
is conducted in exactly the same way as that of the tubes with the
vermin. The result is entirely different from what I expected. The white
of egg does not liquefy. It simply becomes moist on the surface; and
even this moisture may come from the pepsin, which is highly absorbent.
Yes