The Processionary: the Community 



pillars. Or I can make shorter work of it 

 by taking the whole bunch, well covered with 

 the troop, of the first pouch and planting it 

 right beside the bunch of the second, so that 

 the leaves of the two mingle a little at the 

 edges. 



There is not the least quarrelling between 

 the real proprietors and the new arrivals. 

 Both go on peacefully browsing, as though 

 nothing had happened. And all without hesi- 

 tation, when bed-time comes, make for the 

 nest, like brothers who have always lived to- 

 gether; all do some spinning before retiring 

 to rest, thicken the blanket a little and are 

 then swallowed up in the dormitory. By 

 repeating the same operation next day and, if 

 necessary, the day after, in order to collect 

 the laggards, I succeed without the slightest 

 difficulty in wholly depopulating the first nest 

 and transferring all its caterpillars to the 

 second. 



I venture to do something better still. The 

 same method of transportation allows me to 

 quadruple the output of a spinning-mill by 

 adding to it the workers of three similar es- 

 tablishments. And, if I limit myself to this 

 increase, the reason is not that any confusion 



45 



