The Life of the Caterpillar 



assert that the interment might not be made 

 still lower down. For the most part, the 

 burial is effected in common, by more or less 

 numerous clusters and at depths which vary 

 greatly, according to the nature of the soil. 



A fortnight later, let us dig at the point 

 where the descent underground was made. 

 Here we shall find the cocoons assembled in 

 bunches, cocoons of sorry appearance, soiled 

 as they are with earthy particles held by silken 

 threads. When stripped of their rough ex- 

 terior, they are not without a certain elegance. 

 They are narrow ellipsoids, pointed at both 

 ends, measuring twenty-five millimetres in 

 length and nine millimetres^ In thickness. The 

 silk of which they are composed is very fine 

 and of a dull white. The fragility of the 

 walls is remarkable when we have seen the 

 enormous quantity of silk expended on the 

 construction of the nest, 



A prodigious spinner where his winter habi- 

 tation Is concerned, the caterpillar finds his 

 glands exhausted and Is reduced to the strictly 

 necessary amount when the time comes for 

 making the cocoon. Too poor In silk, he 

 strengthens his flimsy cell with a facing of 



1.975 by .351 inch. — Translator's Note. 



114 



