188 Buos, Butterflies, and Beetles 



'■O'^i 



our book, the beetles, ah ! that is a different propo- 

 sition because one may keep these ahve for an in- 

 definite length of time in boxes and cages made 

 for them. 



But before closing the chapter on butterflies, 

 let me tell of the butterfly, a storm-beaten indi- 

 vidual, I found hapless and helpless where the rain 

 had beaten it down by the roadside in Connecticut 

 last season. It could not fly because its wings were 

 uneven, I felt sorry for it in its pitiable condition 

 and I placed it upon the railing of a fence, and 

 taking a sharp blade of my pocket knife, trimmed 

 both wings off nicely and evenly, making them 

 each exactly the same size, although much smaller 

 than they were originally. Then I released the 

 butterfly and was pleased to see it fly away as 

 easily and apparently as care-free and happy as 

 if nothing had happened. 



From a sentimental point of view this was a very 

 pretty incident, and the novel first-aid work ren- 

 dered to an injured butterfly will appeal to the sym- 

 pathies of all tender-hearted people. But the prac- 

 tical results of setting that butterfly free might be 

 the establishment of a colony of voracious caterpil- 

 lars. The experiment, however, was interesting, 



