308 HOMES WITHOUT HANDS. 



All the beautiful scarlets lost their tone, and became pale orange, 

 and in the case of the Oak-egger and similar moths, the warm 

 dun of the wings changed to dirty yellow. Moreover, the subli- ■ 

 mated suphur was sure to rest upon the wings, and to destroy 

 their delicacy. 



Camphor, which is so largely and so wrongly used in cabinets, 

 is liable to the same objection. Its volatility is extreme, a large 

 lump vanishing in a wonderfully short time when exposed to the 

 air. The pieces of camphor used in cabinets continually need 

 renewal, and the question frequently arises. Where has the cam- 

 phor gone ? The answer may be found in the dimmed glass, on 

 which a deposit has been left, and which is so difficult to be 

 cleaned, as well as on the inclosed insects, the lustre of whose 

 bodies is sadly marred by the same substance. 



Large as is the caterpillar of the Oak-egger Moth, it is con- 

 tracted into a comparatively small chrysalis when it assumes the 

 pupal state, and makes a cocoon which only allows enough space 

 for the pupa and the cast larval skin. The form of the cocoon is 

 egg-shaped, whence the name of Oak-egger, and its substance is 

 rather peculiar, being thin, hard, and rather brittle when quite 

 dry. Externally it is surrounded by a loose layer of silken 

 threads, by means of ^hich it is attached to the plant on which 

 it hangs ; but the cocoon itself is smooth, very much the color of 

 half-charred paper, and in spite of its brittleness is possessed of 

 some elasticity. 



The manner in which the insect packs itself in so narrow a 

 cell is most ingenious, and a cocoon may well be sacrificed in or- 

 der to show the method by which this feat is achieved. If a co- 

 coon be opened longitudinally, the chrysalis will be seen to fill 

 the whole of the interior. On examining it more closely, the cast 

 skin is seen to envelop the whole abdomen of the pupa, being 

 pushed down in folds so as to fit closely round the pointed abdo- 

 men, and to occupy as little space as possible. 



When the moth escapes from the cocoon, it breaks away quite 

 a large hole at the end next the head, and slips out of the chrys- 

 alis shell with great ease, by lifting up a large flap which covers 

 the legs and the head, and which gives way at the line of de- 

 marcation which separates it from the wings. In consequence 

 of this arrangement, the pupal shell and the cast caterpillar skin 

 remain in exactly the same position, and by means of a little in- 

 genuity the raised flap can be replaced and fastened so as to give 



