baker] the tent caterpillar 59 



som buds, of a leaf bud and a twig on which was a clutch — shall we 

 call it — of tent caterpillar eggs. 



Each one meant to my mind's eye a tent of destructive cater- 

 pillars that would not make its appearance on the campus next 

 summer. Sixty tents prevented! I thought that a pretty good 

 drive. 



This was the first lesson. In February- we had our second lesson : 

 When we began forcing twigs for the Forestry' lessons we filled one 

 jar with alder twigs. We kept them in a sunny window, changed 

 the water and trimmed off the butt ends every other day. The 

 buds soon swelled and in less than two weeks we had alders in leaf 

 and blossom. 



Then we made the terraritmi. A flower pot filled with soil and a 

 large lamp chimney served our purpose. We soaked the soil 

 thoroughly, and stuck an alder twig on which were caterpillar 

 eggs, and several of the leafing alder twigs into the soil and, putting 

 the chimney over them, pressed it firmly into the soil. The pot 

 was in a saucer of water, and placed in a sunny window. 



The week end was warm and sunny and when we came to 

 school Monday we found our incubator hatching. 



We watched the tiny creatures, about one-sixteenth of an inch 

 long, crawl, one out of each of those pin-head eggs, straight for 

 food, spinning white threads for the tent as they went. 



The leaves vanished and the tent grew. We watched the 

 creatures chew and explore their quarters. At first we kept a 

 white netting over the top but soon found that the rubber band 

 was all we needed to keep them in. 



They would come over the rim down to the little rubber band 

 but never over it. We could not see why for it was no larger than 

 their own bodies. They began to show their pretty coloring. 



When I saw that they had developed as much as they coiild in 

 such close quarters, I destroyed them. It is never a pleasure to 

 take life, even that infinitesimal bit that is in a caterpillar and a 

 caterpillar enemy at that ; but they would have slowly starved to 

 death. They were bom to an untimely end. 



My class consists of grown students but I did not destroy these 

 creatures before them. Much less would I do so if the pupils were 

 children. They have to soon learn that there is a choice betu^een 

 a quick death and a low torturing one but they need not see either. 

 This was the end of the second lesson. 



