Thisfacilityforgripping，quittingandregripping，nowhere，nowthereandalwayswithoutawound，thepartofthevictimwhencethenourishmentisdrawntellsusofitselfthatthemouthoftheAnthraxisnotarmedwithmandibularfangscapableofdiggingintotheskinandtearingit。Ifthefleshweregashedbyanysuchpincers，oneortwoattemptswouldbenecessarybeforetheycouldbereleasedorreapplied;besides，eachpointbittenwoulddisplayalesion。Well，thereisnothingofthekind:aconscientiousexaminationthroughthemagnifyingglassshowsconclusivelythattheskinisintact;thegrubgluesitsmouthtoitspreyorwithdrawsitwithaneasethatcanonlybeexplainedbyaprocessofsimplecontact。Thisbeingso，theAnthraxdoesnotchewitsfoodasdotheothercarnivorousgrubs;itdoesnoteat，itinhales。
Thismethodoftakingnourishmentimpliesanexceptionalapparatusofthemouth，intowhichitbehoovesustoinquirebeforecontinuing。Mymostpowerfulmagnifyingglassatlastdiscovers，atthecenterofthepimplehead，asmallspotofanamber—russetcolor;andthatisall。Foramoreexhaustiveexaminationwewillemploythemicroscope。Icutoffthestrangepimplewiththescissors，washitinadropofwaterandplaceitontheobjectslide。Themouthnowstandsrevealedasaroundspotwhich，forhueandforthesmallnessofitssize，maybecomparedwiththefrontstigmata。Itisasmallconicalcrater，withsidesofapaleyellowish—redandwithfaint，moreorlessconcentriclines。
Atthebottomofthisfunnelistheopeningofthegullet，itselftintedredinfrontandpromptlyspreadingintoaconeattheback。Thereisnottheslightesttraceofmandibularfangs，ofjaws，ofmouthpartsforseizingandgrinding。Everythingisreducedtothebowlshapedopening，withadelicateliningofhornytexture，asisshownbytheamberhueandtheconcentricstreaks。WhenIlookforsometermtodesignatethisdigestiveentrance，ofwhichsofarIknownootherexample，Icanfindonlythatofasuckerorcuppingglass。Itsattackisamerekiss，butwhataperfidiouskiss！
Weknowthemachine;nowletusseetheworking。Tofacilitateobservation，IshiftedthenewbornAnthraxgrub，togetherwiththeChalicodomagrub，itswetnurse，fromthenatalcellintoaglasstube。Iwasthusable，byemployingasmanytubesasIwanted，tofollowfromstarttofinish，inallitsmostintimatedetails，thestrangerepastwhichIamgoingtodescribe。
Thewormisfixedbyitssuckertoanyconvenientpartofthenurse，plumpandfatasbutter。Itisreadytobreakoffitskisssuddenly，shouldanythingdisquietit，andtoresumeitaseasilywhentranquillityisrestored。NoLambenjoysgreaterlibertywithitsmother’steat。Afterthreeorfourdaysofthiscontactofthenurseandnursling，theformer，atfirstrepleteandendowedwiththeglossyskinthatisasignofhealth，beginstoassumeawitheredaspect。Hersidesfallin，herfreshcolorfades，herskinbecomescoveredwithlittlefoldsandgivesevidenceofanappreciableshrinkinginthisbreastwhich，insteadofmilk，yieldsfatandblood。Aweekishardlypastbeforetheprogressoftheexhaustionbecomesstartlinglyrapid。Thenurseisflabbyandwrinkled，asthoughbornedownbyherownweight，likeaveryslackobject。IfImoveherfromherplace，sheflopsandsprawlslikeahalf—filledwaterbottleoverthenewsupportingplane。ButtheAnthrax’kissgoesonemptyingher: