The FOOD OF WORMS.—The Nereidiformia are mostly carnivorous, and feed on small Crustacea, Mollusca, sponges, and other animals; and Polynoids are even said to eat one another. Many worms do not disdain various seaweeds, whilst the Spioniformia and Scoleciformia, which burrow in mud and sand, and are without biting organs, swallow the mud and digest what animal or vegetable débris it may contain. The Terebellids and Cryptocephala depend on minute organisms which may be driven into the mouth by the action of the cilia of the gills or tentacles. In the case of deep-sea forms, it is an interesting fact that the intestines are not unfrequently crammed with Radiolaria and Foraminifera in a fairly fresh, uninjured condition, indicating that these Rhizopods do not merely _sink_ to the bottom, but must actually _live_ there.[355] The ECONOMIC PURPOSES to which Polychaetes are put are few; they are used either as bait for fishes or as food for man. {297}One of the commonest baits used for certain fish, as all who have done any sea-fishing off the piers of our coasts know, is the common lug-worm (_Arenicola marina_), whilst _Nephthys caeca_ and _Nereis fucata_ are also used in some places; and for whiting _Nereis cultrifera_ and _N. diversicolor_. _Marphysa sanguinea_, known to the fishermen in some parts as "varme," is less frequently used. A peculiar worm—_Palolo viridis_—is used as food by the natives of Samoa and Fiji. The worm is similar to our Eunicid _Lysidice ninetta_, and lives in fissures among corals on the reefs, at a depth of about two fathoms. At certain days in October and November they leave the reefs and swim to the shores of the above islands, probably to spawn; and this occurs on two days in each of the above months—the day on which the moon is in her last quarter, and the day before. The natives, who call the worm "Mbalolo," give the name "Mbalolo lailai" (little) to October, and "Mbalolo levu" (large) to November, thereby indicating the relative abundance of the worms in these two months. The natives eat them either alive or baked, tied up in leaves; and they are esteemed so great a delicacy that presents of them are sent by the chiefs who live on shore to those living inland. A dark green-blue Phyllodocid, which is called "A'oon," occurs in abundance off Mota Island, amongst the New Hebrides, has similar habits, and is also eaten.[356]