THE PSYCHES 



scrape the material to make themselves a frock. The 

 stuff they use is the pith of the little stalks, especially of 

 the pieces that are split lengthwise, because the contents 

 are more easily taken from these. 



The manner of beginning the garment is worth noting. 

 The tiny creature employs a method as ingenious as 

 any that we could hope to discover. The wadding is 

 collected in pellets of infinitesimal size. How are these 

 little pellets to be fixed and joined together? The 

 manufacturer needs a support, a base; and this support 

 cannot be obtained on the Caterpillar's own body. The 

 difficulty is overcome very cleverly. The pellets are 

 gathered together, and by degrees fastened to one another 

 with threads of silk — for the Caterpillar, as you know, 

 can spin silk from his own body as the Spider spins her 

 web. In this way a sort of garland is formed, with the 

 pellets or particles swinging in a row from the same rope. 

 When it is long enough this garland is passed round 

 the waist of the little creature, in such a way as to leave 

 its six legs free. Then it ties the ends together with a 

 bit of silk, so that it forms a girdle round the grub's 

 body. 



This girdle is the starting-point and support of the 

 whole work. To lengthen it, and enlarge it into a com- 

 plete garment, the grub has only to fix to it the scraps 

 of pith which the mandibles never cease tearing from 



[103] 



