Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1881-02-09
A Rutfprhy,S Life

sucker it probes industriously horet aftel
ilOret of the crowded head and ex
tracts from each its wee drop of bur
led nectar As it stands Just at present
the dull outer sides of its four wings are
alone displayed, so that it does not form )
conspicuous mark for passing birds; bu
when it has drunk up the last drop oi
honey from the thistle flower, and fits
joyOusly away to seek another purple mas,
of the same sort, it will open its red
spotted vans in the sunlight, and will ther
show itself off as one among the prettesl
of our native insects Each thistle head
consists of some 200 separate little bell
shaped blossoms, crowded together for the
sake of conspicuousness into single
group, Just as the blossoms of the lilac OF
syringa are crowded in larger though less
dense clusters, and, as each separate horet
has a nectary of its own, the bee ol
butterfly who alights upon the compound
flower group can busy himself for a
minute or two in getting at the various
drops of honey without the necessity for
any further change of position than that
of revolving upon its own axis. Hence
these composite flowers are great favorites
enough to reach the bottom of their
slender tubes.
The butter6y's view of life is doubtless
on the whole cheerful one. Yet his ex-
istence must be something so nearly math-
ematcal that we probably over-estimate
the amount of enjoyment which he derives
from fitting about so airily among the
flowers, and passing his days in the un-
broken amusement of sucking liquid
honey. Subectively viewed, the butterfly
is not high order of insect; his nervous
system does not show that provision for
comparatively spontaneous thought and
action which we find in the more nteli-
gent orders, like the aies, bees, ants and
wasps. His nerves are all frittered away
in little separate ganglia distributed
among the various segments of his body,
instead of being governed by single
great central organ, or brain, whose
business it is to correlate and coordinate
complex external impressions This
shows that the butterhy's movements are
almost all automA tic, or simply dependent
upon immediate external stimulants; he
has not even that small capacity for delib,
GRAFTON and spontaneous initiative which
belongs to his relation the bee. He is, as
it were, but Il piece of half-conscious
mechanism, answering Immediately to
impulses from without, just as thermome :
terS answer to variations of temperature,
aud us the telegraphc indicator answers
to each making and breaking of the cleo
trio current.
In early life the future butterfly comes
from the egg as a caterpillar. AT once
his legs begin to move, and the caterpillar
moves forward by their motion. The
caterpillar walks, it knows not why, but
simply because ii has to walk. When ii
reaches Il fit place for feeding, which differs
according to the nature of the larva, it
feeds automatically. After considerable
span of life spent in feeding and walking
about in search of more food, the cater
pillar one day found itself compelled by
An inner monitor to alter its habits. Why,
it knew not; but just us a tired child sinks
into sleep, the gOrged and fulfilled cater
pillar sank peacefully into dormant
state. Then tissues melted one by one
into kind of organic pap and its outer
skin hardened into Il chrysalis. Within
that solid case new limbs and organs began
At length one day the chrysalis burst
asundef, and the insect emerges to view
II full tledged beautiful butterfly. For IL
minute or Two it stands and waits till the
air ii breathes has filled out its wings, and
till the warmth and sunlight have gwen it
strength. For the wings are by origin II
part of the breathing apparatus, and they
are required to be plumed by the air
before the insect can take to fiji ht. Then,
us it grows more accustomed to its new
life. the hereditary impulse causes it to
spread its vans abroad, and it flies. Soon
II flower catches its eye and the bright
mass OF color attracts 1t irresistibly, rs the
candle light attracts the eye of a child a
few weeks old. 1t sets off toward the
patch of red or yellow, probably not
knowing beforehand that it is the visible
symbol of food for it is but merely guided
by the blind habit Of its race, imprinted
with budding force in the very constitution
Of its body. Thus the moths, which fly
by night, and visit only white flowers
whose corollas still shine out in the twi-
light, are So irresistably led by the exter-
nal stimulus of nght from candle falling
upon their eyes that they cannot choose
but move their wings rapidly in that
direction; and though signed and blinded
twice or three times by the flame, must
still wheel and eddy into it, till at last
they perish in the scorching blaze. Their
instincts, or, to put it more clearly, their
simple nervous mechanism, though ad-
mirably adapted to their natural crcum-
stances, cannot be equally adapted TO such
artificial objects as wax candles. The
butterfly in like manner is attracted auto
maticalIy by the color of his proper
flowers, and settling upon them sucks up
their honey instinctively. But feeding is
not his only object in life; he has to find
and pair with suitable mate. That,
indeed, is the great end of his winged ex-
istence. Here again his simple nervous
system stands him in good stead. The
piclure of his kind is, as it were, imprint
ed on his little brain, and he knows his
own mates the moment he sees them, Just
as ntuitively as he knows the flowers
upon which he must feeds JtmeS
Gdzette.
ORIGIN OF CA DET GRAY.-In the course
of IA conversation with the late Gen. Scott
in the library of the military academy at