THE NETTLE U3 



"The nettle's bristles remind me of the cater- 

 pillar's hairs. Many caterpillars have the skin 

 quite bare. They are then perfectly inoffensive. 

 They can be handled without any danger, however 

 large they may be, even those that have a horn at 

 the end of tiie back. They are no more to be feared 

 than the silkworm. Others have bodies all bristly 

 with hairs, sometimes very sharp and barbed, which 

 can lodge in the skin, leave their points there, and 

 thus produce lively itchings or even painful swell- 

 ings. It is well then to mistrust velvety caterpillars, 

 particularly those living in companies on oaks and 

 pines, in large silk nests, and called processionary 

 caterpillars. But here we have a word that calls for 

 another story. " 



