I decided that it would be sufficient
to explain the whole situation to the satisfaction of any one, if I
began the book with a detailed history of moth, egg, caterpillar,
and cocoon and then gave complete portrayal of each stage in the
evolution of one cocoon and one pupa case moth. I began with
Cecropia, the commonest of all and one of the most beautiful
for the spinners, and ended with Regalis, of earth--and the rarest.
The luck I had in securing Regalis in such complete form seems to
me the greatest that ever happened to any, worker in this field,
and it reads more like a fairy tale than sober every-day fact,
copiously illustrated with studies from life. At its finish
I said, "Now I am done. This book is completed." Soon afterward,
Raymond walked in with a bunch of lilac twigs in his hand from
which depended three rolled leaves securely bound to their twigs
by silk spinning.
"I don't remember that we ever found any like these," he said.
`Would you be interested in them?'
Would I? Instantly I knew this book was not finished.
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