Fortunate are the children and the teachers who are so placed that Nature's story book is close at hand. But city children and their teachers need not despair, for Nature, the old nurse, is loving and bountiful and will rewrite, in living characters, many a page from the wondrous book, for those who care to read. One such a page may be a terrarium—a confined plot of earth on which things may live and grow (from terra, "earth," as aquarium is from aqua, "water"). Within its narrow confines, the whole drama of the beautiful life of many a tiny creature may be rewritten.
Fig. 125. Life in the terrarium.
Here is a fragment of the drama, as written in one terrarium.
This terrarium was made from an old berry crate ([Figs. 125], [126]). When the children saw it first, last fall, this is what it looked like: a large rectangular box, grass-green in color, thirty-nine inches long, eighteen inches wide, and fifteen inches high. The long sides were of glass, the short sides and top of green wire netting. The top could be removed like the lid of a box. It stood upon a pedestal-table provided with castors. In the bottom of the terrarium were three inches of rich soil, covered with the delicate green of sprouting grass-seed. In one corner was a mossy nook, and in another a mass of thistles and clover. At one end, a small cabbage was planted and at the other lay several sprays of glossy pin-oak. Suspended from the top, was a large spray of purple thistles.
Fig. 126. Butterfly-time in the terrarium world.
Among the thistles in the corner, ten pendants of vivid green, bright with golden points, could be seen. They were the chrysalids of the monarch, or milkweed, butterfly. Among the cabbage leaves, were many of the pale green eggs and several of the caterpillars of the cabbage butterfly. Among the sprays of oak in the corner, several oak caterpillars were feeding.
Before many days had passed, the drama of life began. One by one, the chrysalids of the milkweed butterfly paled in color and, becoming transparent, showed through their whitened walls the orange-colored wings of the developing butterflies within. They then burst, freeing their gorgeous tenants. This happened until there were seven butterflies in the terrarium. As two of these proved discontented with their new home, they were set free. The five others spent the little round of their aërial life seemingly happy and satisfied. They lived from three to six weeks and showed some individuality in their tastes and habits. Sometimes they chose the mossy corner for their resting place. On other occasions they preferred the netting at the ends and top of the terrarium. In fact, the netting at the ends of the terrarium was a source of pleasure to these butterflies, as it served as a secure resting place and an agreeable and convenient pathway to the top. One of them spent nearly all its life on the thistles suspended from the top. These thistles were kept fresh a long time by placing their stems in a large sponge which was frequently drenched with water.
The butterflies showed some individuality in their eating also. Thistle, clover, golden-rod, nasturtiums, and honey-suckle were offered to them. The thistle and the golden-rod were most frequently visited, and next to these the nasturtiums were most favored. Another fact noted was that most of the butterflies continued to visit the flower first chosen. When, however, a thick syrup of sugar and water was offered to them, the flowers were much neglected, only one butterfly persisting in flower-visiting. Golden-rod was its choice. If the syrup was fresh-made every morning and was placed in a convenient spot, the butterflies never failed to sip it. They generally slept clinging to the wire-netting at the ends or top of the terrarium.