covered with the insects. This 

 is their chosen abiding place, 

 and has been, past the memory 

 of man. They hang in masses 

 from the boughs, thousands 

 upon thousands. They are ab- 

 solutely countless, and the ap- 

 pearance of the needle-clad 

 branches is transformed into 

 the semblance of thickly-leafed 

 growth, with all the leaves 

 turned brown. On a dark and 

 cloudy day, when the citizens 

 of this remarkable colony are 

 at rest, it is not too easy a mat- 

 ter for a stranger to find them, 

 since they then hang motion- 

 less, with the bright side of 

 their wings folded inward and 

 the dull tawny side outward, 

 forming little or no contrast 



10 



