THE YOUNG SCIENTIST. 
139 
dows closed till he could call on me in the 
afternoon, as some of the butterflies might 
escape, though it was very rarely that 
they used their wings during the day- 
time, they being nocturnal in their 
habits. 
How anxiously I awaited his arrival can 
be well imagined, and when he did visit 
me, how much wonderful information I 
gained from him ! In the first place, he 
informed me that they were not butter- 
flies, but moths, and that their scientific 
name was Attacus cecropia, and by this 
name they were known throughout the 
scientific world. He further told me 
that all known insects, birds, fishes 
and flowers, etc., etc., had been christ- 
ened by scientists, so that were I to take 
one of these moths to a German professor 
of entomology, who might not be able to 
speak or understand a word of English, 
he would call it by its scientific name. 
This was a new revelation to me ; in fact, 
from the first discovery of these moths in 
the room up to my interview with the 
doctor, I began to feel that I was about to 
enter a mysterious and entrancing won- 
derland, containing unknown and even 
unsuspected possibilities of creation. 
Fortunately I possessed two redeeming 
good qualities, which now stood me in 
good stead. I was a respectful listener 
and an enthusiastic and tireless ques- 
tioner. How many boys have slipped up 
in this world just because they were too 
proud to show their ignorance about a 
subject by asking questions, and thus 
gathering information. He also informed 
me that I was in possession of enough 
material with which to make exchanges 
both in this country and Europe, and thus 
to get together the nucleus of a very nice 
collection of Americ^an and European 
butterflies and moths. I could not keep 
back an expression of doubt at this state- 
ment, but when he informed me that 99 
per cent, of all the yellow eggs that had 
been and would continue to be deposited 
in the room, would, in course of time, be- 
come moths, if properly taken care 
of, and that the hatching out of them was 
not only very simple and interesting, but 
also very instructive pastime, it being 
identical with the raising of the silk- worm 
cocoons and moth of the silk-worm, 
that had been practiced so many thou- 
sand years. He also gave me instructions 
how to kill the moths with chloroform, so 
as not to cause them any pain, and how 
Fig. 1.— CATERPILLAR SPINNING ITS COCOON, 
to mount and preserve them for the col- 
lectors ; also to distinguish the males 
from the females. After collecting all the 
eggs together, I spread them out on clean 
damp cloths (old sheeting), to which the 
eggs became firmly fastened after the 
moisture had evaporated, they being 
coated with an animal glue. These eggs 
were exposed to the morning sun for two 
hours each day, and at night were brushed 
over with a goose feather and warm 
water. In a few days little black mites of 
caterpillars bega.n to break through the 
eggs and wander round on the cloth in 
the most hungry manner. I had brought 
quantities of elder branches from the 
woods, which were placed in jars of 
water, to keep the leaves crisp and fresh. 
From the tenderest leaves of the elder 
branches I made a fine hash of elder 
leaves, which was sprinkled on the 
cloths. What a sense of deep satisfaction 
passed through me on first beholding the 
black mites swarm over the elder hash 
and begin devouring it with greedy eager- 
ness. Day after day I tended them. Be- 
fore going to school enough food was 
given them to last till twelve o'clock (my 
dinner hour from school), when more 
food was given them to last till four 
o'clock in the afternoon. The quantity 
of food that they devoured in twelve 
