Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1899-05-25
STRANGE FREAK OF NATURE
How n Caterpfllar's Body Becomes the
the Root of a Bulrush

I How Caterpillar's Body Becomes the
the Root of a BuIrush
/ From some of the newer countries,
/ so-called on account Of the lack OF
/ definite knowledge regarding them,
/ reports of strange freaks and curiosi-
/ ties constantly appear, and, as rule,
/ they are laughed at. but once in a
/ while they turn out to be the truth.
/ 1t Is this way with the strange freak
/ Of nature called the bulrush cater
| pillar which is Indigenous TO New
| Zealand. This report, which stated
/ that at certain seasons a large black
| caterpillar would bury itself in the
| ground, and be converted into the root
| of 4 bulrush, was laughed at, like the
rest, but now an English scientist,
who recently gave an exhaustive in
vestigation of the strange phenomenon,
stated that in many respects the state
mentS are strictly true. From this re-
port il has been learned that the cater
pillar grows to about three and one
half inches long and when about to
| assume the chrySdliS state burieS it
self in the ground. and in doing so it
| is frequently infected by the spores of
some fungus. which becomes involved
in the scales in its neck. These the
larvae is unable to cXpel. and the veCe-
taticu thus set up rapidly extends
throughout the entire body, replacing
each animal cell thus destroyed by
vegetable matter. and finally convert
ing il into a comparatively dense vege-
table structure which retains every
detail of the body. even to the legs,
mandibles and minutest claw. From
the neck. the portion first infected,
there then shoots up a single stem,
which grows TO the height of eight or
ten inches, resembling very closely the
clubheaded hulrush in miniature. II
has no leaves. and if .he first stem be
broken off another rises IN its place,
though two stems never grow stimuli
taneously from the same caterpillar.
A Community Of Marl>men.
The little commune of Attin@hausen
in Canton Jri. has been made famous
throughout the world by the pen Of
Schiller in his William Tell The
commune At present has a population
Of about 800 souls including the ba-
bies. Like all its Eeighbor communes.
it holds its yearly "Scbutzenfest." 1t
appears from the report of the con
test in the Urner ZCitunZ Tat no fewer
than ISL out O. its 500 inhabitants are
capable markesr en- or markeSwOmen.
for out of the ISL who took part in
tho con+est at tI,o cor1n,unoI h,,ttS 10
were women. Not only did some of
the women prove to be better shots
than their husbands, to the great de
~ -. c',i,.I -, -, ..
male hands. TIE Jungfrau katharina
Nirsch, who is only in her fifteenth
year made % points n the HWeck-
rrirn sb" - tLo doi,.lbta,. nf Ni,+ti'is. I't,
Wirscb. who. with seven of his sons
and three of his daughters, appeared
at the Aitih2hatiH'A -eh"'z'hi'St' and
-. -; - I'i o"S
,,Ii1,s f,-,.;,... Al. Ia. 7''''''''' '''-'
The Nv.s At:rcAnf;;'' faN is;".
rr..,... ,.,.....,...1a 4.~ .rh.a bss
, ....-...,,. ,,.;l1
....-f....t - ,,rao+ con.
- o,,-;,l, T.. ~ uo,, srsto,o Of
i,..,.,.aa I'D tho foct
n,at = IL, - -, tho to.o1 or,onnt
90 Il. IT,. d., IL. classification
-, ,,, ,,,,,,,,1 tov
$50 -, ro+a;1 II, ard ono mill
a'71;.;aa,1 -, ooa1, d,11ar of tho whole
- of 1,,,s;ro,, +r,rsoc+ad annually
who1aso1o 7o,1ors shall nav an animal
.f 90 II 49,, 1,o1f min additional on
81, ILL of A., ,,-I,o1o ,,ol,,r,o ,f brsi.
nosg trorsoctod orr1aI1v
Mora,nti1o ono,oisors sbou ba an
nointod I,,, +bo co,,r+y commissioners