3S PONDWEED CATERPILLAR. 
cloth, you can make them stripe their 
houses with various colours. 
Lucy, I must look for some of these 
little animals, aud^ if you will give me 
some bits of blue and red cloth, they 
shall spin their cases of those colours. 
Mother, Most willingly you shall 
have some pieces of cloth, though I hope 
you will not be able to find any of these 
destructive creatures. Cloth eaten by 
them is vulgarly called moth-eaten, and 
their cases moth-bags \ but, in fact, the 
moth is hurtful only because it lays the 
eggs from which the caterpillars are pro- 
duced. One of the most curious species 
of caterpillars, in their habits of life, is 
to be found on ponds. 
Lucy, On ponds ! In water! How 
is that possible ? How could they 
breathe ? 
Mother, I did not say in water, but 
on it; that is, on a plant called pond- 
weed^ which grows in stagnant pools. 
When this diminutive animal quits the 
