190 ROUGHING IT IN SOUTHERN INDIA 



supple. As it was, if some, being under the others, were 

 missed out in the general sprinkling and were in danger of 

 death by strangulation, human help came to their rescue, 

 such being invariably hunted up. With finely -pointed 

 scissors, and the gentlest touch possible, the dry, papery 

 cuticle was snipped away, and the beautiful little bodies 

 released. For this native fingers were especially adapted ; 

 our people thus freed hundreds, never bruising any. 



At first I could not endure to touch the crawling creatures 

 with my bare hand — their proximity even was unpleasant 

 to me — but soon every bit of that repulsion vanished, and 

 I felt only admiration for their beauty, and for their intelli- 

 gence, plainly shown by the way they turned towards those 

 who fed them in unmistakable expectation. They knew 

 also what to refuse and what to accept of the leaves given 

 them. 



A curious fact in connection with caterpillars is their — 

 I believe universal — power of assimilating the colours of 

 whatever kind of vegetation they may be feeding upon. 

 Ours were sometimes given variegated caladium leaves, 

 which are so beautifully marbled with crimson, pink, and 

 white, and even with black veinings occasionally. The effect 

 on them of these leaves was especially marked. Caladiums 

 were not wild plants in The Wynad ; they were cultivated 

 for their foliage in great variety, so they could not be every- 

 day food. 



The casualties in our trays were very few ; certainly not 

 one was caused by neglect — from inadvertence, perhaps ; 

 but I can truly say on behalf of everybody concerned that 

 not an egg was crushed nor a singly squirming mite lost 

 knowingly, so loyally did each of us do our part in furthering 

 the great experiment. 



There were caterpillars everywhere, and all a-crawl, till 

 it made one's eyes ache. Small, their numbers were be- 

 wildering, but as they reached maturity, and a length of 



