52 TENANTS OF AN OLD FARM. 



fi-oiu the trees, and secured itself against any such acci- 

 dent by lasteng the petiole tightly to the limb." 



'' Well — but — surely, you don't thing that the worm 

 really did know that ! " exclaimed Abby, 



As 1 did not venture upon an answer, somewhat fear- 

 ing the questions that the quick-witted maiden might 

 shower upon me, the schoolma'am dropped the matter 

 and started another quer}-. 



''Why should these cocoons be swung aloft in this 

 fashion, instead of being tied directly to the limbs ? 

 Does the pensile condition give them any special pro- 

 tection V" 



"That is partly, perhaps mainlj', due to the peculiar 

 character of an ailanthus leaf-stalk, which you can 

 readily observe. Yet I can suggest one probable 

 advantage. There is a cousin-german of these speci- 

 mens — Samia cynthia — who usually builds upon the 

 ailanthus tree. I have gathered a brood of twenty- 

 three cocoons hanging upon a small branch. The 

 ailanthus leaf, 3'ou know, falls early, and you may 

 observe the cocoons (Fig. 18) pendant in clusters from 

 tlie bare boughs of the trees along our city streets. 

 I have seen the sparrows pecking at them, and was 

 reminded of the days wheii I tried to gain health and 

 muscle by a daily boxing-match with a sand-bag hung 

 in the back yard. Of course the bag swung away at 

 every blow, only to come back again. I never had an}' 

 damage from the sand-bag, which, I suppose, was the 

 main point ; but, on the other hand, the sand-bag 

 never got an}* damage from me, siuq)ly because it 



