HOUSEKEEPING IN A BASKET. ?,97 



it, albeit somewliat vulgar to our ears. What could be 

 more appropriate than the phrase ' iuchin' along ' to 

 describe the motion of your basket-worm and other 

 gcometrids ? And what more natural and apposite 

 metaphor could be found for the halting, hitching, 

 timorous progress of some souls in the spiritual life ? 

 If we grant that all objects in nature are of equal 

 worth and standing, the ' inch-worm ' is entitled to 

 a place among poetic emblems, and the rude plan- 

 tation hymnists' figure is a literary gem. " 



" I find myself in the affirmative," I remarked, " on 

 all these points ; at least I am not prepared to dissent 

 from either the Mistress, Aunt Hannah, or Miss Abby. 

 I suppose, therefore, that I may resume the story of the 

 basket-worm, for I liave not yet quite finished. Some 

 one asked me if the caterpillar has a covering to the 

 mouth of its case. Ko, but it has several ways of clos- 

 ing it. If it is walking along or feeding, at any alarm 

 it instantly draws itself up and forces the open mouth 

 closely against the stem or leaf, which then serves as a 

 door." 



"That's just the way a snail does with its shell," 

 suggested Harry. " I 've often seen 'em !" 



"Precisely. The soft body of the snail is thus 

 pushed witliin its hard shell while the rock to which it 

 clings closes the opening. If the caterpillar happens to 

 be hanging by the stay-thread or loosens its hold upon 

 the leaf, it instantly grasps the upper rim of the sac 

 just within the mouth and pulls the edges together 

 over its head, as Harry might close a grain-bag with 



