160 



FARM SPIES 



His father said, " Maybe they lay their eggs at 

 dusk only." 



In the evening Frank went back to the corn- 

 field and, sure enough, the moths were there. He 

 marked the places on every stalk where he had seen 

 a moth, and the next morning he found the tiny eggs 



on the leaves. After 

 a few days the eggs 

 hatched and the little 

 caterpillars crawled 

 down the blades of 

 corn into the bud. 

 He noticed that they 

 ate small holes into 

 the buds, and when 

 later those leaves un- 

 folded there were 

 rows of round or ir- 

 regular holes across 

 them. 



"I do not understand how the rows of holes get 

 in those leaves," Frank said. 



u That is quite simple," his father answered, and 

 then rolled up a piece of paper and punched one 

 hole through it with his lead pencil, and when he un- 

 folded the paper there was a row of holes. His 

 father then explained, "The young corn bud consists 

 of leaves folded up, and if you make a hole through 



FIG. 64. "I do not understand how the 

 rows of holes get into those leaves." 



