THE CURIOUS BASKET-CARRIERS 2Q3 



covered baskets, then seen by me for the first time, and 

 a rarity in these parts. I gathered a hundred or more, 

 and coveted all the rest that hung beyond my reach. 

 I placed them in a box, and no one but myself knows 

 how I longed for spring to come, in anticipation of that 

 wonderful moth that was to have the place of honor in 

 my collection. Surely, I thought, something extraor- 

 dinary must come from such a very queer cocoon ; and 

 my suspicions were more than verified, for it was in 

 truth a singular progeny that greeted me one morning 

 in June, when I went to take my daily look at the box 

 of cocoons. 



All over the cover and sides of the box, the mantel- 

 piece on which it rested, the walls, and the ceiling, were 

 thousands and thousands of little parti-colored specks, 

 wriggling and turning all sorts of queer antics in puz- 

 zling confusion, and hanging and squirming in webby 

 festoons on all sides. 



As soon as my surprise was over I began to investi- 

 gate the matter a little more closely. The animated 

 specks consisted of cases or baskets about an eighth of 

 an inch in length, each of which was occupied by a lively 

 little tenant, which, on being pulled out of its house, 

 showed itself to be a tiny black caterpillar, with a very 

 intellectual head, this portion being about one- fourth 

 the size of the entire creature. On opening the box, its 

 interior was found to be literally alive with the little 

 fellows ; and as I examined them closely, I noticed a 



