THE WISE CADDIS-WORM 73 



The Caddis-worms do not all dress alike. 

 They pay no regard to fashion, but each 

 Caddis family has its own particular style of 

 dress. They are most particular, too, about 

 the material they use. One will have nothing 

 but leaves, or bits of leaves, arranged round 

 and round to make a kind of long, frilly skirt, 

 (very much like the frocks that the little 

 Basket-worms, which crawl about the trees 

 and grass on dry land, wear). Another 

 prefers a plain, neat garment, and is always 

 dressed in a long straight sort of coat, made 

 of little pieces of grass or rushes carefully 

 joined and bound together with silken threads, 

 which the Caddis-worms spin from their 

 mouths just as caterpillars do. 



Some of these funny creatures surround 

 themselves with little bundles of twigs, straws, 

 or chips of wood ; others trim their frocks 

 with tiny shells and stones, sometimes they 

 will even stick tiny live snail shells on their 

 curious garments without in the least con- 

 sidering the feelings of the poor little snails 

 inside ! And while some Caddis- worms make 

 really beautiful little cases of sand, shell, 

 seeds, or stones, all neatly and carefully fixed 

 together with fine silky threads, others are 



