. Handbook of nature-study for teachers and parents, based on the Cornell nature-study leaflets. Nature study. Insect Study 387. THE CADDIS-WORMS AND THE CADDIS-FLIES Teacher's Story EOPLE are to be pitied who have never tried to fathom the mysteries of the bottom of brook or pond. Just to He fiat, face downward, and watch for a time all that happens down there in that water world, is far more interesting than witnessing any play ever given at matinee. At first one sees nothing, since all the swift- moving creatures have whisked out of sight, because they have learned to be shy of moving shado
. Handbook of nature-study for teachers and parents, based on the Cornell nature-study leaflets. Nature study. Insect Study 387. THE CADDIS-WORMS AND THE CADDIS-FLIES Teacher's Story EOPLE are to be pitied who have never tried to fathom the mysteries of the bottom of brook or pond. Just to He fiat, face downward, and watch for a time all that happens down there in that water world, is far more interesting than witnessing any play ever given at matinee. At first one sees nothing, since all the swift- moving creatures have whisked out of sight, because they have learned to be shy of moving shadows; but soon the crayfish thrusts out his boxing gloves from some crevice, then a school of tiny minnows "stay their wavy bodies 'gainst the stream;" and then something strange happens! A bit of rubbish on the bottom of the brook walks off. Perhaps it is a dream, or we are under the enchantment of the water witches! But no, there goes another, and now a little bundle of sand and pebbles takes unto itself legs. These mysteries can only be solved with a dip-net and a pail half filled with water, in which we may carry home the treasure trove. When we finally lodge our catch in the aquarium jar, our mysterious moving sticks and stones resolve themselves into little houses built in various fashions, and each containing one inmate. Some of the houses are made of sticks fastened together lengthwise; some are built like log cabins, crosswise; some consist simply of a hollow stem cut a con- venient length; and some are made of sand and pebbles, and one, the liveliest of all, is a little tube made of bits of rubbish and silk spun in a spir- al, making a little cornucopia. On the whole, the species which live in the log cabins are the most convenient to study. Whatever the shape of the case or house, it has a very tough lining of silk, which is smooth within, and forms the framework to which the sticks and stones are fastened. These little dwellings always have a front door and
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