BOTANICAL: THE LOWEE OEDERS. 135 



weakest point for, remember, caterpillars have their weak 

 points, just as other animals that I could name have 

 theirs and, then, as if in triumph, seeking the outer air, 

 the plant formed a strong woody stalk, rising above the 

 surface, developing the spores which were dispersed in the 

 air and then fell to the soil, prepared to take advantage 

 of any other caterpillars who might, unfortunately, fall in 

 their way." 



Such would be the story of this "vegetable cater- 

 pillar," as the natives call it, which is a common object 

 in New Zealand, and very well known there, belonging 

 to a moth of the genus Hepialus. 



"A romance," do you call it? Yes; but you have 

 only heard one-half of the story. Let me tell you the 

 other half. 



First, let me prove to you the truth of what you have 

 heard. Now, we place this section of this vegetable 

 caterpillar under a low power. See, that long spiral line 

 forming a mechanical spring, so freely running over the 

 object in every direction, is all that is visible of its 

 animal remains, except that darker spot ; and these two 

 are verily the trachea and spiracle of the caterpillar, for 

 which, I suppose, the plant had no fancy. But the romantic 

 part of this story has yet to be told. Many years after 

 I received these two caterpillars, having fastened them 

 up securely in a pasteboard box, tying it round with 

 string, one day I thought I would have a peep at them, 

 when, on opening the box, to my astonishment, while one 

 was perfect, exactly resembling the outward form of the 

 creature whose body was a vegetable museum, its fellow 

 had gone to dust, in which were some broken bits of the 

 outer skin. 



No one had touched the compartment of the cabinet 

 in which the box had all these years been lying. How 



