The Life of the Caterpillar 



to the depth of nine inches and more, if the 

 soil permit. 



Here a curious problem forces itself upon 

 the observer's mind. How does the Moth 

 contrive to ascend from the catacombs 

 into which the caterpillar has descended? 

 Not in the finery of her perfect state the 

 big wings with their delicate scales, the sweep- 

 ing antenna-plumes dare she brave the as- 

 perities of the soil, or she would issue thence 

 all tattered, rumpled and unrecognizable. 

 And this is not the case: far from it. More- 

 over, what means can she employ, she so 

 feeble, to break the crust of earth into which 

 the original dust will have turned after the 

 slightest of showers? 



The Moth appears at the end of July or 

 in August. The burial took place in March. 

 Rain must have fallen during this lapse of 

 time, rain which beats down the soil, cements 

 it and leaves it to harden once evaporation 

 has set in. Never could a Moth, unless at- 

 tired and equipped with tools for the pur- 

 pose, break her way through such an obstacle. 

 She would perforce require a boring-tool and 

 a costume of extreme simplicity. Guided by 

 these considerations, I institute a few experi- 

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