The Psyches: the Laying 



particular the floral stems of the mouse-ear 

 hawkweed and the Nimes pterotheca. Next 

 come bits of grass-leaves, scaly twigs provided 

 by the cypress-tree and all sorts of little sticks, 

 coarse materials adopted for the lack of any- 

 thing better. Lastly, if the favourite cylin- 

 drical pieces fall short, the mantle is some- 

 times finished off with an ample flounced tip- 

 pet, that is to say, with fragments of dry 

 leaves of any kind. 



Incomplete as it is, this list shows us that 

 the caterpillar apart from his preference for 

 pithy morsels, has no very exclusive tastes. 

 He employs indifferently anything that he 

 comes upon, provided that it be light, very 

 dry, softened by long exposure to the air and 

 of suitable dimensions. All his finds, if they 

 come anywhere near his estimates, are used 

 just as they are, without any alterations or 

 sawing to reduce them to the proper length. 

 The Psyche does not trim the laths that go 

 to form his roof; he gathers them as he finds 

 them. His work is limited to imbricating 

 them one after the other by fixing them at the 

 fore-end. 



In order to lend itself to the movements of 

 the journeying caterpillar and in particular to 

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