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point of a fine needle. The perfect insect of some of these 

 little larvce are perfect gems. The long fibiy fringe that 

 edges their wings is so gorgeously beautiful that the finest 

 burnished gold would appear dingy if put in comparison with 

 one of these little tiny moths. To the naked eye some of them 

 appear rather bronzy-looking ; but place them under a mag- 

 nifying power, when a combination of the finest and softest 

 of rainbow tints appears to dance and quiver, and scatter light 

 in all directions. The transformation then appears so perfect 

 and so splendid, that the fertile brain of man would be 

 puzzled to design a robe so inefiably gorgeous as the ones 

 that cover some of these little tiny moths. Perhaps no 

 man living has done so much as Mr Stainton has to advance 

 the study and the knowledge of the Tineino}, assisted, of 

 course, by others. He has published eleven volumes describ- 

 ing the natural history of the Tineince of southern Europe, 

 and is still going on. The subject, even in his hands, seems 

 inexhaustible. All caterpillars of the Lepidoptera order have 

 hard, horny jaws, and a body consisting of segments, to the 

 number of twelve, exclusive of the head. They are also pro- 

 vided with legs of two kinds. Of these, the first three pairs 

 are attached to the first three segments of the body, and 

 these are the true or persistent, being only the rudiments of 

 the legs of the perfect insect. The other legs are termed the 

 pro-legs, or temporary legs. The caterpillar of the common 

 cabbage butterfly has five pairs of legs. The feet of the 

 caterpillar are also very curious. They are all provided with 

 a set of minute, slender horny hooks, alternately and shorter. 

 By the means of these hooks the creatures are enabled to lay 

 a firm hold of the leaves of plants or other objects, and which 

 also enables him to move along with great dispatch. The 

 head of the caterpillar is quite a study of itself, as it differs 

 so much from the other parts of the body. It is always a 

 very difficult matter to give a good description of anything ; 

 consequently, I will not attempt to do so, but merely allude 

 to the way which nature has so beautifully formed the mouth 

 to suit the kind of work it has to perform. The creature is 



