"COMING OUT" THE BUTTEKFLY. 17 



plained ; that a creeping wormlike creature, in process 

 of time, is changed into a glorious winged being, differ- 

 ing from the former in form, habits, food, and every 

 essential particular, as widely as any two creatures can 

 well differ, as widely as a serpent from a bird, for 

 instance. 



As the imprisoned butterfly approaches maturity, a 

 change is observable in the exterior of the chrysalis, 

 the skin becomes dry and brittle, usually darkens in 

 colour, and if the enclosed butterfly be a strongly 

 marked one, the pattern of its wings shows through, 

 often quite distinctly. 



When the fulness of time arrives, the creature 

 breaks through its thin casings, which divide in several 

 places, and the freed insect crawls up into some 

 convenient spot to dry itself, and allow the wings to 

 expand. 



All the organs are at first moist and tender, but on 

 exposure to the air soon acquire strength and firmness. 



At the moment of emergence, the wings are very 

 miniature affairs, sometimes hardly one-twentieth of 

 their full size when expanded ; but so rapid is their 

 increase in volume, that they may actually be seen to 

 grow, as the fluids from the body are pumped into the 

 nervures that support the wing-membrane, and keep 

 it extended. 



In the more strongly marked, or richly coloured 

 species, it is a wonderfully beautiful sight to watch this 

 expansion of the wings, and to see the various features 

 c 



