WINTER TENANTS OF OUR TREES. 49 



Yankee. Where are the spinning organs of the hirva ? 

 The spider has hers, I know, at the apex of the 

 abdomen, in several little nianunals or spinnerets. 

 How is it with the caterpillar?" 



" The position of tlie spinning organs is precisely 

 reversed in the silk-worm. The silk glands consist of 

 two long, flexnons, thick-walled sacs situated on the 

 sides of the body, and opening by a common orifice on 

 the under-lip, or laljium, usually at the end of a short 

 tubular protuberance. They are most developed just 

 when they are most needed — when the larva approaches 

 the pupa state. And now, suppose we dismiss our 

 Polyphemus and turn to others quite as " 



" There, excuse me ; you have reminded me of some- 

 thing I wanted to ask. Why is this moth called ' Poly- 

 phemus ?' Is it such a horrible one-eyed ogre as the 

 giant who handled so roughly the great Ulysses and his 

 companions V' 



"I am afraid that I cannot fully satisfy you until we 

 return to the house and show you a figure of the insect 

 — possibly not then, for scientific names are not always 

 readily accounted for. But we shall have better oppor- 

 tunity by-and-bj', as we walk homeward, to tallc over 

 this matter of scientific names. Meanwhile, let us ex- 

 amine these elder-bushes along the fence-side. I hope 

 to find an old friend — ah, there you have it, I see. It 

 is the Cecropia moth — Platysamia cecropia. It has 

 nearly the same habits as the Polyphemus ; indeed, the 

 story of that insect's life will stand, with a few varia- 

 tions, for all. Elder, willow and maple are the favorite 



