The Life of the Caterpillar 



that you need distrust. There, jumbled up 

 with the remains of the mulberry-leaves, is a 

 copious mass of droppings, impregnated with 

 the substance which has just so painfully eaten 

 into my skin ; there and there only is lou verin, 

 as you call it. 



It is a relief merely to know the cause of 

 one's trouble ; but I will provide you with an- 

 other consolation. When you remove the lit- 

 ter and renew the leaves, you should raise the 

 irritant dust as little as possible; you should 

 avoid lifting your hands to your face, above 

 all to your eyes ; and it is just as well to turn 

 down your sleeves in order to protect your 

 arms. If you take these precautions, you will 

 suffer no unpleasantness. 



The successful result obtained with the Silk- 

 worm caused me to foresee a similar success 

 with any caterpillar that I might come across. 

 The facts fully confirmed my expectations. I 

 tested the stercoral pellets of various cater- 

 pillars, not selected, but just as the hazard of 

 collecting provided them : the Great Tortoise- 

 shell, the Heath Fritillary, the Large Cab- 

 bage Butterfly, the Spurge Hawk-moth, the 

 Great Peacock Moth, the Death's-head Moth, 

 the Puss-moth, the Tiger-moth and the Arbu- 

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