60 NA T U RE-STUD Y RE VIE W 1 15 :2— Feb., 1919 



Now we were ready for observation lessons in the field. In May 

 the tents began to grow in the trees. We watched them grow, the 

 twigs becoming bare of the vanishing leaves, the caterpillars going 

 out to feed in the warm sunny day and cuddling back into their 

 tents at night. The poor trees were being slowly choked and 

 starved by the loss of their leaves. 



This is whsn the Boy Scouts made their drive and also, most 

 grown people. They burned the tents and watched the caterpillars 

 writhe in the flames. It was not nearly so effective as my drive in 

 the fall on the eggs; and after all the burning there were plenty 

 left. 



Now in July the caterpillars began to wander away from their 

 trees, over the walks, onto the shrubs and fences anywhere, any- 

 where to find a good place in which to go to sleep. 



This is when most people discover that there is a pest of cater- 

 pillars in the land. 



Ugh ! Oh I Throw him away ! 



The nasty thing ! See what lovely coloring of brown and black 

 and gold! Oh! but they are everywhere! Ugh! Kill him! 

 Aren't they awful! This is the way they are usually studied. 



This was the time for our third house lesson : We brought out 

 our terrarium again ; wet the soil, put in fresh alder twigs and several 

 caterpillars, which had been experiencing the wander-lust. This 

 time we were careful to fasten a netting over the top of the lamp 

 chimney. We had no faith in rubber bands as barriers to these 

 creatures in their present state of mind. We put in the alder twigs 

 lest they were still hungry. But they were not. They were tired, 

 ready for the new life. Within a week there were several white 

 cocoons about an inch long fastened to the underside of the net 

 covering. Now we knew what the tent caterpillars cocoon looked 

 like and we found them everywhere. On the undersides of the 

 plants, especially the ferns, by the roadsides, and under the eaves 

 of buildings there were rows of these pretty white cocoons each one 

 the cradle of our enemy. 



This was really the time for another public drive but I did not 

 hear of one. 



Meanwhile in our terrarium matters were progressing. We did 

 not see how it happened; no one will ever see it happen for it all 

 goes on behind the silky white cocoon curtain and if you rend that 

 curtain the mystery disappears in death. But one day a chunky 



