HOME-GROWN SILKWORM-GUT 207 



every tree and shrub, low or high. Examine any 

 tuft of leaves or protuberance on twig or trunk. 

 Pass over nothing that at all suggests what you are 

 in search of. Sometimes it is a good plan to study 

 a clump of bushes or a tree from one direction and 

 then slowly circle it so that the light will be thrown 

 on the leaves and limbs from various angles. 



If you are in the street, you may collect a small 

 crowd anxious to see " what the gink is rubberin' 

 at," but a true explorer never pays any attention to 

 little things like that. A vacant city lot which has 

 many or few bushes, stumps with sprouts springing 

 from them, little, weazened trees that almost apolo- 

 gize for living, sometimes yield surprising finds. A 

 lane in the suburbs with trees and bushes on either 

 side furnishes good hunting-ground. If there is a 

 wall on either side with a vine of some sort grow- 

 ing upon it, you may find that careful search will 

 reveal brown, baggy bunches that prove to be cecro- 

 pia cocoons. Patches of scrub white-birch or spice- 

 bush should always be carefully examined, as such 

 places often harbor many cocoons. 



Cocoons may be hunted for at any time after the 

 spinning season until the warm Springtime weather 

 causes the moths to emerge from the cocoons. As 

 soon as possible after the falling of the leaf is the 

 best time, as certain birds tear apart the cocoons 

 and eat the tender pupae within. Places in the cities 

 and suburban towns are usually more productive of 



