Some moths have a tape-like proboscis; in others it is cylindrical. It can be made to protrude by gentle pressure on the head, or be unrolled by a pin passed into the centre of the spire; it is composed of innumerable joints, and tapers from the base to the tip. When forcibly unrolled, it often splits lengthwise into halves. At the time of escape from the chrysalis the halves are always free, and they require careful adjustment in order that a continuous sucking-tube may be obtained. A newly emerged moth may be seen to roll and unroll its proboscis repeatedly, until at last the halves cohere in the proper position. Sometimes they begin to dry before the operation is completed, the half-tubes get curled, and then the unfortunate moth becomes incapable of feeding at all. Each half is a demi-canal, whose meeting edges interlock by minute hooks. The mechanism reminds Réaumur of that which connects the barbs of a feather; in both cases the hooks can be adjusted rapidly and completely by stroking from base to tip, and in both a water-tight junction is obtained. Besides the central canal, along which fluids are sucked up, there are lateral canals (tracheæ) filled with air. Réaumur was careful to correct his anatomical studies by close observation of the live insect. He reared an angle-shades moth, which he kept several days without food. When he saw it repeatedly extending its proboscis, he put near it a piece of sugar. The moth at once began to suck, and became so absorbed in satisfying its hunger that it allowed Réaumur to carry it on a sheet of paper to a window and to examine it closely with a lens. The proboscis was sometimes extended for several minutes at a time, and then rolled up for an instant; its tip was either employed in exploring the surface or closely applied to the sugar. By means of the lens a slender column of liquid was seen to pass along the central canal towards the head. Now and then, however, a limpid fluid was seen to pass down the proboscis; this was the saliva which was used to moisten the sugar, and then sucked up again. The Budding-out of New Animals (Hydra): another Form of Propagation without Mating (Aphids).