VII 



A DWELLEE IN TENTS 



EAR one of my favorite woodland 

 paths stands a young basswood 

 tree. Every summer, during the 

 months of July and August, this 

 tree presents a very strange and, if 

 truth be told, a decidedly dishev- 

 elled appearance. At first glance it would seem as 

 though each individual leaf had become dissatisfied with 

 its form and had concluded to remodel itself according to 

 its own caprice. Close inspection reveals but few leaves 

 on the entire tree that retain their normal shape ; and 

 what is true of this tree is, I fear, true of many 

 basswood trees each summer throughout the northern 

 United States. 



The caiise of this ragged appearance of these hand- 

 some trees is, however, not to be attributed to rebellion 

 and anarchy on the part of the leaves. The real agent 

 is a lively little "worm," which cuts the leaf half 

 across and makes the flap into a roU, wherein he lives 



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