The Life of the Caterpillar 



the domain of smell have its secret emana- 

 tions, unknown to our senses but perceptible 

 to a differently constructed organ of smell? 



If the scent of the Dog leaves us perplexed 

 to this extent, that it is impossible for us to 

 say exactly or even to suspect what it per- 

 ceives, it at least tells us plainly that we 

 should be greatly mistaken to compare every- 

 thing by human standards. The world of 

 sensations is far larger than the limits of our 

 sensibility admit. What a number of facts 

 in the working of the forces of nature escape 

 us for want of organs delicate enough to per- 

 ceive them ! 



The unknown, that inexhaustible field 

 which the future will cultivate, holds harvests 

 in store for us beside which our present 

 knowledge is but a pitiful gleaning. Under 

 the sickle of science sheaves will one day fall 

 whose grain to-day would seem a senseless 

 paradox. Scientific illusions? Not so, if you 

 please, but undeniable and positive realities, 

 affirmed by the animal world, which in cert- 

 ain respects has a great advantage over the 

 world of man. 



In spite of his long professional practice, 

 in spite of the aroma of the tuber which he 

 306 



