228 NATURE’S CRAFTSMEN 
most common one of all is built of stiff roots, 
which have long steeped and peeled under water. 
The caddis worm, which as you may know is the 
grub of the caddis fly, is a clever spinner and 
weaver. Having gathered sufficient bits of root 
material it proceeds to fashion them into a tiny 
tube-like basket of wickerwork; then to make the 
whole thoroughly water-proof it plasters the 
chinks with a cement made from saliva and fine 
grains of sand, with bits of leaves thrown in to 
take the place of the hair used by plasterers. 
Next in order are the decorations, which follow 
the old homily 4 Beauty is not all in seeming.’ 
They consist of a little row of spikes, fashioned 
of tiny sticks cut exactly the same length and set 
up all around the edge of the basket, serving not 
only to enhance its attractions, but to give it 
strength and at the same time to afford protec¬ 
tion. Ingenious enough they are, but they make 
the little craft hard to steer, and when the worm 
gets heavier it is often obliged to forsake this boat 
and build another of lighter materials. 
“ There are something like one hundred and 
fifty species of caddis worms in our country; 
naturally they build a wide variety of homes. 
Some prefer simple little flat basket boats; others 
build a triangular design; the least common spe¬ 
cies of all fashion a silken horn, which tapers to a 
sharp point. Not a few of them decorate their 
