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136
My Studio Neighbors
·
W. Hamilton Gibson
50
But
I
have
omitted
to
mention
one
singular
feature
which
is
the
usual
accompaniment
of
my
group
of
hoppers,
and
is,
indeed,
the
most
conspicuous
sign
of
their
presence
on
any
given
shrub.
In
the
cut
below
I
have
indicated
a
short
section
of
a
bittersweet
branch
as
it
commonly
appears,
the
twig
apparently
beset
with
tiny
tufts
of
cotton,
occasionally
so
numerous
as
to
present
a
continuous
white
mass,
usually
on
the
lower
side
of
the
branch,
where
its
direction
is
horizontal.
They
are
thus
easily
seen
from
below,
and
a
closer
examination
will
always
reveal
one
or
more
of
the
black
animated
thorns
in
their
immediate
vicinity,
suggesting
the
responsible
source.
These
tufts
are
pure
white,
a
little
over
an
eighth
of
an
inch
in
length,
and
semicircular
in
vertical
outline.
The
natural
presumption
is
the
idea
of
maternity,
the
mother
hopper
guarding
her
bundles
of
white
eggs,
or
her
infant
hoppers,
perhaps,
snugly
tucked
up
in
their
downy
swaddling-clothes.
But
a
closer
examination
completely
dispels
this
illusion.
Instead
of
the
supposed
fluffy
cotton,
we
now
discover
the
white
substance
to
be
of
firm
though
somewhat
sticky
consistency,
its
surface,
moreover,
beautifully
ridged
from
base
to
summit
in
parallel
rounded
flutings,
which
meet
and
interfold
like
a
braid
along
the
summit.
If
with
a
sharp
knife
we
now
cut
downward
through
and
across
the
mass,
we
find
our
tuft
to
be
a
mere
frothy
shell
containing
two
hollow
compartments,
with
a
thin
central
partition
extending
through
the
whole
length
of
the
cavity.
But
there
is
no
sign
of
an
egg
or
other
life
to
be
disclosed
anywhere,
either
in
its
substance
or
its
concealment.
What,
then,
is
the
office
of
this
tiny
fragile
house
of
congealed
foam,
with
its
snowy
aerated
structure,
its
double
arched
chambers,
its
corrugated
walls
and
ceilings,
and
missing
tenant
or
host?
Such
was
the
riddle
which
it
propounded
to
me,
and
guided
by
some
previous
knowledge
of
the
habits
of
allied
insects,
I
was
soon
enabled
to
witness
a
solution
of
at
least
a
part
of
its
mystery.
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