306 A TOUa ROUND MY GAKDEN. 



empire of the things of the earth, and, generally, leave him 

 nothing but their refuse. 



Here we are, by chance, returned to my violet-fiUed turf. 

 You, my good friend, king of nature as of all the world, you 

 think that the violet was only made to recreate your eyes by 

 its green foliage, and its amethyst-coloured flowers but to 

 intoxicate your brain with its perfume. Permit me to unde- 

 ceive you. The violet serves as an asylum and as food to 

 insects without number ; they are not so large as you, it is 

 true, but if you pride yourself upon this advantage, you 

 must give way to the ox and the elephant, and also to your 

 gardener, or your butcher, who are bigger and stronger than 

 you. 



I do not intend to fatigue you with a long nomenclature 

 of the insects that haunt the violet, for which it is a shelter, 

 a retreat, and a sumptuous well-furnished table. 



Here, gnawing away with all his heart at the leaves of the 

 flower of lo, is a grey caterpillar, with white and reddish 

 thorns; it will become a butterfly, of which the upper side 

 of the superior wings is of a marigold yellow, and the under 

 part of the inferior wings is ornamented with fourteen silver 

 spots. I do not know its name.* 



Here is another caterpillar ; in general, caterpillars, out of 

 contempt I suppose, are not honoured with names; the but- 

 terfly, into which this will be metamorphosed, is called 

 Euphrosyne:i the upper side of its wings will be fawn- 

 coloured, the under part of the inferior wings will be spotted 

 with silver, like those of the other, but it will only have nine 

 of these briUiant spots. The caterpillar is black, with two 

 rows of yellow spots. 



This other brown caterpillar, with yellowish spots, will 

 become a butterfly, called Spanish snuff; its name indicates 

 its coloiir ; it will become a denizen of the air in the month 

 of July. 



The AglaeJ will take flight about the middle of June; at 

 present it is still a black caterpillar with white bands; as a 

 butterfly, it will be fawn-coloured ana yellow. 



And this olive-tinted caterpillar, with a white band bor- 



* ArgynnisNiobel— Ed. t Melitcea Euphrosyne.— Ed. 



t Argynnis Aglaia.— Ed. 



