Pennsylvania School of Horticulture for Women - Wise Acres Yearbook (Ambler, PA)

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The Life of a Butterfly The Monarch is one of our best known butterflies. It is a Southerner and spends its summers in the North. Its wings are a tawny brown with black veinings. In the fall they gather into large flocks and go South. They seem to fly all winter, and in spring they come North singly, some laying their eggs as far north as New Yorkand Minnesota. The butterflies of this brood fly still farther North. Monarchs are very strong fliers, and it is said that in thirty years, by ships, and by long flights, they have spread over nearly all the islands of the Pacific, down to Australia. This is its life history: On August twenty-second, two tiny white eggs were discovered on the under side of a tender milkweed leaf. Under a microscope they showed beautifully regular ridges and hollows. This leaf was shut into a jelly glass and watched more or less carefully. The next day, one egg was lead colored at the tip, and later they had both disappeared. After some searching, two small caterpillars were found. They were a pale, almost transparent, grayish green with shining black heads, two pairs of black filaments or horns, one pair at each end. and black legs. They had probably eaten their shells and were now eating little holes in the leaf. As they grew bigger, they ate entire leaves. By August twenty-fifth they had ten black lines entirely across, and two nearly so. Their bodies were nearly white, and had grown from three thirty-seconds to three sixteenths of an inch long. It was on September third that we first knew of their moulting, tho they probably had done so before. They usually moult four or five times. The little caterpillar stopped feeding for a while, the colors dulled, and finally, with a strong muscular effort, he split his skin just back of the head. It slid down in folds, leaving him wet and tired. His filaments were soft and bent. After a time his horns became straight and hardened, and he was rested and hungry. He turned around and ate his old skin. Such an economical way of disposing of old clothing! It was all gone but the mask, a little transparent face, barred with black, that had dropped into the bottom of the glass. The next day the smaller caterpillar moulted. From this time on, their appetites were enormous, and by September twelfth they were over one and a half inches long. Thy were big, plump caterpillars, white with regular yellow and black transverse stripes, and the two pairs of long black filaments. Their faces were yellow with black bandings. On September fifteenth, one was hanging in his chrysalis. The other had spun a little web on the bottom of the can cover, and fastened his hind pair of prolegs into it. He hung downward in the shape of a “J” and gradually he grew duller and dead looking. The next day, he too had shed his skin, and they both hung there in beautiful pale green bags trimmed with gold buttons. The position of the tiny wings, the body and other parts could be seen thru the thin green covering. 8

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has appointed commissions of women to visit all the governments to inquire concerning the proper openings for them and to make plans definitely to control emigration fur the good of both the women and the dominions. “The important thing is that we should keep in touch with what other countries are doing along these lines. We think that there should he an interchange of students between this country and England, students of agriculture and horticulture. The Women’s Farm and Garden Association of the United States is now negotiating with the English organization for the establishment of a number of international scholarships in these subjects. “This is particularly necessary just at this moment, as in all countries there is a strong agricultural movement. The importance of food production has made the farmer a much more important person than he was formerly considered. Thus it is necessary to pass around all the knowledge of methods and machinery ossiblc. And w,e are hoping that the International Institute of Agriculture a Rome will be supported and encouraged to extend its work. INTERCHANGE URGED “Other valuable means of keeping all countries in close intimate touch would be the fostering, by departments of agriculture, of visits of commissions and individuals to other countries to study methods pursued in agricultural and horticultural work,” continued Mrs. Hobbs, adding, however, that as large bodies were unwieldly, not more than two persons should be appointed on any one commission to accomplish the most. The rural community, she said, was to be depended on as a stabilizing force in the economic and social development of the country, and not for politics. Women’s institutes must not be mere debating societies, but must work on an economic basis, make more opportunities for earning money, and so help bring about a better social order. And their members, she concluded must strive in every way to make women economically independent as far as possible.—From the Christian Science Monitor. YOUTH Springing joys, swift poignant griefs; Unreckoned faiths, professed unbeliefs, Careless, selfish, swift to rise To the heights of sacrifice; Varn ting petty vanity. Hidden deep humility; Daring heaven, and afraid Of the things himself has made; Prince, who goes alone and proud, Scorning favor of the crowd. Beggar, wandering in dejection; Craving crumbs of Man’s affection : Folly, seeking Wisdom’s wells, Seer, wearing cap and bells; Self-blinded worshipper of Truth ; Wanton, wistful;—such is youth. —DOROTHY BULL 7

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October sixth came the next change. One chrysalis became dark, and the brown and black markings of the wings could be seen. The next morning he was found trying to climb a knitting needle, but took kindly to a finger when it was held in the line of his progress, and seemed cpiite at home on the fringed gentian he was carried to. His wings had enlarged, and were a rich, reddish brown, but they were still very soft. He tried to raise them but was not yet strong enough, so he settled down to coil his tongue. This was in two pieces, each being a half tube and had tiny teeth along the edges which fitted together. He patted them together and took them apart many times, once even parting them when he had put them together the entire length. As he worked he coiled and uncoiled it. It was more than half an hour before he had it arranged to his satisfaction, and by this time he was able to raise his wings a little. He refused to eat then, but later he fluttered his wings in excitement and climbed a finger to suck the water from around some grains of sugar. He felt awkwardly around with the long tongue until he found the water, and then sucked it up clean. He was put back on the gentians; and set out-of-doors in a sunny spot, and before sundown, he had flown away. The second one flew before noon the next day, and we hope “they lived happily ever after.” ALICE ARLENE RHODES, ’20. 9