THE ORIOLE'S MISSION. 



Sweet little bird on yonder tree, 

 Fly to the town with song of glee 

 And comfort there some lonely soul, 

 Thou sweetest, dearest oriole ! 



Perch on an open window sill, 

 And then pour forth thy mellowest trill. 

 What griefs thy carol will console, 

 Thou sweetest, dearest oriole! 



A tale of hope to each sad heart 

 Thy notes of love will soon impart; 

 And in their memory will roll 

 The sweet strain of the oriole. 



■ — Christine B. Moray. 



THE CLOTHES MOTH AND ITS METHODS. 



Though it has incurred the bitter con- 

 demnation of all housewives, the clothes 

 moth is quite an interesting little body 

 from the naturalist's point of view. The 

 species known in the United States bears 

 the long name Pellionella. Its larva con- 

 structs a case for its occupancy. The 

 moths themselves are very small and well 

 fitted for making their way through min- 

 ute holes and chinks. The mother insect 

 deposits her eggs m or near such mate- 

 rial as will be best adapted for food for 

 the young. Further, she distributes 

 them so that there may be a plentiful 

 supply and enough room for each. 



When one of the scattered family is- 

 sues from the Qgg its first care is to pro- 

 vide itself with a home, or more correct- 

 ly speaking, a dress. Having decided 

 upon a proper site it cuts out a filament 

 of cloth and places it on a line with its 

 body. Another is cut and placed parallel 

 with the first. The two are then bound 

 together bv a few threads of silk from 

 the caterpillar's own body. The same 

 process is repeated with other hairs until 

 the little creature has made a fabric of 

 some thickness. This it extends until it 



is large enough to cover its whole body. 

 It chooses the longer threads for the out- 

 side and finishes the inner side by a close- 

 ly woven tapestry of silk. The dress be- 

 ing complete, the larva begins to feed on 

 the material of the cloth. 



When it outgrowls its clothes, which 

 happens in the course of time, it proceeds 

 to enlarge them. With the dexterity of a 

 tailor it slits the coat, or case, on the two 

 opposite sides, and inserts two pieces of 

 the requisite size. All this is managed 

 without the least exposure of its body. 

 Neither side being slit all at once. Con- 

 cealed in its movable silk lined roll it 

 spends the summer plying its sharp 

 reaping hooks amid the harvest of tap- 

 estry. 



In the fall it ceases to eat, fixes its 

 habitation, and lies torpid during the win- 

 ter. With the early spring it changes to 

 a chrysalis within its case, and in about 

 twenty days thereafter it emerges as a 

 winged moth, which flies about in the 

 evening until it has found a mate and is 

 ready to lay eggs. 



Louise Jamison. 



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