The Life of the Caterpillar 



agency of any effort or labour, the animal re- 

 ceives its share of the most vital of elements. 

 The niggardly earth, on the contrary, sur- 

 renders its gifts only when laboriously forced. 

 Not fruitful enough to satisfy every need, it 

 leaves the division of the food to the fierce 

 eagerness of competition. 



The mouthful to be procured engenders 

 war between consumers. Look at two 

 Ground-beetles coming at the same time upon 

 a bit of Earth-worm. Which of the two 

 shall have the morsel? The matter shall 

 be decided by battle, desperate, ferocious 

 battle. With these famished ones, who eat 

 at long intervals and do not always eat 

 their fill, communal life is out of the 

 question. 



The Pine Caterpillar is free from these 

 woes. He finds the earth as generous as the 

 atmosphere; he finds eating as easy as breath- 

 ing. Other instances of perfect communism 

 might be named. All occur among species 

 living on a vegetable diet, provided however 

 that victuals are plentiful and obtainable with- 

 out a hard search. An animal diet, on the 

 contrary, a prey, always more or less difficult 

 to secure, banishes cenobitism. Where the 

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