Chapter XXI: Part II: Children's Leaflets (3)

Finally there comes a fateful evening when, as soon as the sun has set, he claws his way through the top of his mud turret or out of his burrow and looks about him for further means of gratifying his ambitions to climb. A bush, a tree, the highest thing within his range of vision, attracts his attention and he hurries toward it. It may be he finds himself in company with many of his kind hurrying toward the same goal, but they are of no interest to him as yet. Like the youth in the famous poem, "Excelsior" is his motto and he heeds no invitation to tarry. When he reaches the highest place within his ken he places himself, probably back downward, on some branch or twig, takes a firm hold with all his six pairs of claws, and keeps very still for a time. Then his skeleton nymph-skin breaks open at the back and there pushes out of it a strange creature long and white, except for two black spots upon its back; on he comes until only the tip of his body remains in the old nymph-skin; then he reaches forward and grasps the twig with his soft new legs and pulls himself entirely clear from the old hermit garb. At once his wings begin to grow; at first they are mere pads on his back, but they soon expand until they cover his body and are flat like those of a miller. The many veins in the wings are white and he keeps the wings fluttering in order that they may harden soon. If, in the moonlight of some June evening, a Junior Naturalist should see a tree covered with cicadas at this stage he would think it had suddenly blossomed into beautiful, white, fluttering flowers.

As the night wears on, the color of our hero changes and his wings harden; until when the sun rises we behold him in the glory of a black uniform with facings of orange and with beautiful glassy wings folded roof-like above his body. (Fig. 339.) Great is the change wrought in his appearance during this one marvelous night, and greater still the change wrought in his habits! He is now no longer a hermit; there are thousands of his kind about him, a fact which he realizes with great joy. So happy is he that he feels as if he must burst if he does not find some adequate means for expressing his happiness in this beautiful world of sunshine. Then suddenly he finds in himself the means of expression and bursts into song. Yet, it is not a song exactly, for he is a drummer rather than a singer. On his body just behind each of his hind wings is a kettle drum. The head to this drum is of parchment thrown into folds and may be seen with a lens if you lift his wings and look closely. (Fig. 340.) Instead of drum sticks he uses a pair of strong muscles to throw the membranes into vibration and there is a complex arrangement of cavities and sounding boards around these drum heads so that the noise he gives off is a great one indeed for a fellow of his size. So fond is he of making music that he has no time to eat or to do aught else but to sound fanfares all the sunshiny day. He is not the only musician on the tree; there are many others and they all join in a swelling chorus that has been described as a roar like that made by the "rushing of a strong wind through the trees."

If our cicada could talk to one of you Junior Naturalists he would tell you that there was a good reason for all this music. He would explain that only the men of the cicada world possess drums and that the object and reason of all their music is the entertainment of the lady cicadas, who are not only very fond of this drumming, but are good critics of cicada music as well. He would perhaps tell you also that he had his eye on a certain graceful maiden perched on the leaf between him and the sun; but she, on the other hand, seemed to give about equal attention to him and three other drummers situated near by. Excited by the competition and by her indifference, he rattled his drum faster and faster until he rose to the heights of cicada melody and harmony that left his rivals far behind. Then the lady of his choice listened spellbound and pronounced him the greatest of all musicians, and thus he won his bride. However, we may safely predict that their wedded life will be too full of happiness to last. After a few weeks the sunshine, the music, the happiness of wooing and winning will prove too much for our hero and one day he will beat his drum in a last mad ecstacy and fall to earth and die from happy exhaustion. His little wife may survive him only long enough to cut slits in some of the twigs of the home tree and place in them rows of eggs from which shall develop a family of hermits which shall come forth and fill the world with their music seventeen years hence.

* * * * *

There are many broods of cicadas in the United States, so that they appear in different localities in different years. New York State has five well-marked broods.

There are several other species of cicada peculiar to America. One is called _Cicada tredecim_, since it appears every thirteen years. However, this species is limited to the South.

The dog-day harvest fly, or lyreman, is the cicada that is best known to us through the northern and middle States. This appears in small numbers every year and is a distinct addition to the summer chorus of insect singers. He is larger and much more dignified in appearance than is his cousin _septendecim_. He wears a black suit embroidered with scrolls of dark olive green and the whole lower surface of his body is covered with white powder. His drums are situated above plates which may be seen on the lower side of the body, one behind each hind leg. He hides in trees and his shrill music is so associated with the heat of summer noons that the sound itself makes one drowsy. The hermit life of the lyreman in underground cells is supposed to last only two years.

While the cicadas of which we have spoken are the children of an ancient race which inhabits America, Europe also has her ancient races of cicadas, although they are not the kind which live hermit lives for seventeen years. We have evidence that their music was held in high esteem by the ancient races of men--especially the Greeks. When Homer complimented his orators he compared them with cicadas. Thus it may lend a special interest to the study of the cicada by our Junior Naturalists when they know that his kettle drums have been celebrated instruments of music by poets who wrote three thousand years before America was discovered by Columbus.

QUERIES FOR SHARP EYES.

1. When did you first see one of the cicadas?

2. What was it doing when you found it?

3. Did it do anything to attract your notice to it, or did you find it by accident?

4. Where did you find it?

5. See whether you can determine which are the father and which the mother cicadas.

6. Try to find where a mother cicada has laid eggs.

7. If you find where the cicada emerged from the ground, or from a hut, give a brief description of the location, as to kind of soil, etc.

8. Where did you find the most of the cast-off nymph skins?

9. Did you discover animals or birds feeding upon the cicada?

LEAFLET LXXI.

A HOME FOR FRIENDLY LITTLE NEIGHBORS.[92]

BY ALICE G. MCCLOSKEY.

(Compare Leaflet XVII.)

[92] Junior Naturalist Monthly, October, 1902.

Last year when vacation days were over our young people found it hard to leave the acquaintances that they had made during the summer,--the garden-folk, the road-side-folk, and the wood-folk. Let us take them indoors with us this year. It will not be difficult to provide a home for some of the more friendly ones and they will help to make the schoolroom a cheerful place. How pleasant it will be in the long afternoons to hear the cricket's merry tune or see the flutter of a butterfly's wings! The quiet woods and the green fields will then seem nearer and we shall feel a little touch of their mystery and beauty.

It is not necessary to have a fine home for the outdoor-folk. They will not object if it is not an up-to-date dwelling. Fig. 341 illustrates a very convenient terrarium, as the home is called. The sides and top are covered with fine wire screening and the front is glass. By raising the cover, which is fastened to one side by means of hinges, new visitors can be admitted easily.

Another terrarium is shown in Fig. 126, page 208. This is made from an old berry crate. It does not look quite so well as the other, but, as I said before, the inmates will not mind a bit. The toads will give their high jump as gracefully and the crickets fiddle as merrily as in the finer one.

When the terrarium is ready to furnish, you can have some nature-study trips in search of materials for it. Cover the floor with stones and place about three inches of good soil over them. Then you will be ready to select the carpet. Let this be of soft green moss, the prettiest bits that you can find on the forest floor. Leave one corner free for sods on which tall grasses grow, so that there will be a cozy nook for the orchestra (crickets, grasshoppers, katydids, and the like). What a fine concert there will be! Will the most conceited toad in the terrarium ever dare to raise his voice in song again after hearing it? Perhaps next spring we shall know.

Even before the home is completed, you can gather your small guests about you. Temporary lodgings can be provided without much trouble. Fig. 342 illustrates a good insect cage, and a box containing damp moss and covered with mosquito netting will make fairly comfortable quarters for salamanders ("lizards") and toads.

The first visitor that you welcome will probably be a little woolly-bear, a brown and black caterpillar that you see so often in your autumn walks (Fig. 343). He is one of my favorite insect friends, and I really like to have him snuggle up in a furry ball in my hand. You will find woolly-bear a very restless little creature. You never know what he is going to do next. He may spin a cocoon this fall or "he may curl up like a woodchuck," as Uncle John says, and sleep until spring. Then, if all goes well, he will spin his cocoon and come out an Isabella tiger-moth (Fig. 344). No matter how fast woolly-bear may be hurrying along the highway when you meet him, put him into the terrarium, for you will find that he is a most entertaining little fellow.

If you have an insect net, sweep it among shrubs and weeds. I am hoping that when you look into it you will find "golden-eyes" or the lace-winged-fly. When you see the pretty little green creature you will wonder that her children can be called aphis-lions, for they are not at all like their mother (Fig. 345); but when you have watched them among the aphids or plant-lice, you will understand how they have earned their name. They have very long jaws and very large appetites.

No one knows better than golden-eyes what her children are capable of doing when on a foraging tour. For this reason she places her eggs high on silken stalks (Fig. 345). If she laid them on the leaf close together, the first aphis-lion hatched would not give the other members of his family a chance to open their eyes, nor to know how pleasant it is to live on a green leaf. As it is he walks down the silken stalk and finds himself among the aphids. Then, when he has proved himself the gardener's friend by devouring a great many of the small green insects, he spins a pearly white cocoon and out of this comes a lace-winged-fly with glistening golden eyes. If one of these dainty creatures comes to live in your terrarium, you may notice some day that it has a disagreeable odor. This is a characteristic that many insects possess, and owing to it the birds do not like to eat them.

There is another insect out in the garden that ought to be an inmate of every terrarium this fall, the green cabbage-worm. Some Junior gardeners will object to calling this a friendly little neighbor, but you will find that he will teach you many new things, in this way proving himself friendly to you as a naturalist. You must remember that these green caterpillars did not know that you had planted the garden in which they worked destruction. They did not know that you wanted to send the very best cabbage to the State fair. They knew only that when they opened their eyes they were on a green leaf and it was good to eat.

Probably you will find the eggs of the cabbage butterfly on the under side of the leaves. Then you can feed the young caterpillars when they hatch. They will, of course, prefer cabbage leaves. If you miss them some day, search in the terrarium for the chrysalids into which they have changed. These chrysalids sometimes imitate the color of the support from which they hang, and you may have difficulty in finding them. For this reason it may be well to keep one of the caterpillars under a lamp chimney, the top of which has been covered with mosquito netting (Fig. 342), so that you may know how the chrysalids look.

The cabbage butterflies are familiar to most boys and girls; yet as they come out of the chrysalid state in your terrarium, you will be able to observe them more closely. Notice that the wings are dull white on the upper sides, while on the under side the apex of the fore wings and the entire surface of the hind wings are pale lemon yellow. In the female you will find that there are two black spots besides the tip on each of the fore wings, and in the male there is but one.

Now that I have put you in the way to find a few members of the insect world for your terrarium, I am going to ask you to think about some other outdoor-folk that naturalists learn to like.

Have you ever turned over stones or broken off pieces of an old stump in the woods or along the bank of a stream? If so, you may have seen salamanders ("lizards") making their escape as quickly as possible. If you can get a few for your terrarium you will learn to like them, for they are harmless and have very interesting ways. Do not catch them by their tails as they try to get away, or you may find that you have captured the tails but lost the salamanders.

Let the excursion in search of these little fellows be one of the jolliest of the year. You will find them in moist places and should therefore, carry a box containing damp moss to put them in. I would suggest that you take two boxes along, one for the smaller salamanders, the other for their larger brothers. Why? I will tell you.

It happened this summer that a party of little folks went out with me on a salamander hunt. We found three kinds: the _Spotted Salamander_, which is black with yellow spots on each side of the back; the _Red-back Salamander_, which usually has a reddish brown band along the back; and a black one covered with whitish spots. This black one with whitish spots was named "Freckles" by one of our number, a much more attractive name than his own, which is _Pleth'-o-don glu-ti-no'-sus_.

We placed the three in a box, and as I closed it the large spotted salamander seemed very well satisfied (no wonder!), while the other two raised their heads in a most appealing way. I was firm, however, and made them prisoners, feeling sure that they would be comfortable in the nice large terrarium.

When morning came we opened the box, for we were ready to put our little neighbors into their new home. What was our surprise to find the spotted salamander alone! As to countenance he was well content; as to sides he was much bulged out. Poor little "Freckles" and poor little Red Back! I wish I had listened to your appeal!

SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY.

1. A terrarium is "an inclosed bit of earth on which things may live and grow." Do not think that it is necessary to have one as well made at first as that in the illustration. (Fig. 341.) Uncle John will be well pleased to know that you have made some arrangement for having outdoor-folk live in the schoolroom. Any such home will be a terrarium.

2. Every one can have grasshoppers for study. How many different kinds can you find? Do all have the feelers or antennæ the same length? Observe the growth of the wings in the nymph, as the young grasshopper is called. In the grown-up ones notice that the narrow wing is on the outside and the pretty ones underneath.

3. Every one can also find crickets, and no terrarium will be complete without them. In the warm schoolroom or home they will make music until late in the year. Watch the black cricket make music with his wings.

Notice a tiny light speck near the elbow of the cricket's front leg. This is the ear; so you see the little fellows "listen with their elbows."

The mother cricket has a spear at the end of her body. With this she makes a hole in the ground in which to place her eggs. She cannot chirp, but the father makes enough music for the family. You will see that the mother seems to enjoy it.

Plant fresh grass seed and grain occasionally in the cricket corner of your terrarium.

4. If you do not own an insect net, try to find a lace-winged fly without one. It will not be difficult for young naturalists to see the flies resting on the bushes along the roadside. These insects are valuable to farmers because their children, the aphis-lions, eat so many plant-lice and other insects.

Look on the under side of the leaves for the cocoon illustrated in Fig. 345. It has the appearance of a small pearl. The first time I found one I did not know what it was. I left it on my desk hoping that something interesting would come out of it. The next morning there was a pretty green insect trying to get out of the window and I wondered how it had come there. While thinking about it my eye fell on the cocoon lying on my desk. I noticed that a lid had been raised on it and suspected at once how golden-eyes had found her way into my room. Who will succeed in getting the eggs, an aphis-lion, a cocoon, or a lace-winged fly? Let us know.

5. The larger the number of butterflies you can bring into the schoolroom, the gayer will be the terrarium world. Gather fresh thistles or other flowers from which they can suck the nectar or give them sweetened water in a dish. Notice their long mouth-parts as they eat.

One of the most common of all butterflies is the large brown and black one. This is called the monarch butterfly. Notice that many of these fly together on autumn days. They are going south with the birds.

6. Be sure to keep the moss damp for the salamanders and add occasionally fresh pieces in which they will get food. Perhaps you can teach them to eat raw meat after they have been with you awhile.

7. The terrarium will not be complete without a toad or two. You can feed them flies, other insects, and earthworms, and they may then leave the salamanders alone. You need not be afraid to handle the toads for _they cannot give you warts_. When they have been in the terrarium awhile they will show you how they like to spend the winter.

LEAFLET LXXII.

MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES.[93]

BY ALICE G. MCCLOSKEY.

[93] Junior Naturalist Monthly, March, 1902.

Of all the insects that interest boys and girls, moths and butterflies seem to hold the first place. I find, however, that young people are not always able to distinguish these insects one from another, and do not know very much of the strange lives they lead. Perhaps you may have found out a few facts about them in books, but this is not _knowing_. To know, one must see some of the wonderful things that they do. When you have watched the whole life-story of a moth or butterfly, you will have a far greater interest in these animals than their handsome wings and graceful flight have ever given you.

The most important thing to remember in the study of moths and butterflies is that they appear in four different forms during their lives. These forms are:

_The egg._ _The larva._ _The pupa._ _The adult._

THE EGGS.

The eggs are laid singly or in clusters. They are usually found on the plant which is the favorite food of the young. Look for the shining masses of the eggs of the tent-caterpillar on apple and wild cherry trees; also for the yellow eggs of potato beetles on potato leaves.

THE LARVA.

The larva or "worm" hatches from the egg. During this period in its history the insect _eats_ and _grows_. If you doubt that they have good appetites, undertake to feed a few healthy caterpillars this spring. If you doubt that they are particular as to the kind of food they have, find out for yourselves whether the apple tree "worm" will eat milk-weed leaves or whether the milk-weed caterpillar will eat leaves taken from an apple tree.

One of the most interesting things to notice in the study of larvæ or caterpillars is that they occasionally appear in bright new coats, and we find the old ones have been cast aside. It is necessity, not pride, that leads them to do this. You see, an insect's skeleton is on the outside of its body; and if it could not be shed once in a while how would there be room for the little creature to grow?

THE PUPA.

Of all the forms in which moths and butterflies appear, the pupa is the strangest. Although we speak of this period in the life of the insect as one of rest or sleep, it is the time when the most wonderful changes take place in its body.

The queer little objects that you see illustrated in Fig. 346 are the pupæ of the mourning-cloak butterfly. When the caterpillars were about to shed their coats for the last time, they hung themselves head downward from a twig by means of a silk button which they had spun. Then they cast off their skins, leaving the chrysalids or naked pupæ hanging; protected from birds by their spiny form and protected from many enemies, even from young naturalists, by their wood-brown color which so closely resembles the support from which they are suspended.

Let us next look at the pupa of a moth. This is often inside a covering which is called a cocoon. If you look on the fruit trees or shade trees about your home you may find a cocoon of the ce-cró-pi-a moth. You will see that it is made of silk. This covering was spun by the giant silkworm as a protection against the storms of winter. How snug the pupa is inside, and how firmly the cocoon is fastened to the twig on which you found it! Figs. 347, 348, 349 show this interesting insect.

When you are studying pupæ remember that butterflies do not come out of cocoons. Their chrysalis or pupa is always uncovered. In the case of moths, however, the pupa is either inside a cocoon or protected by being underground or in some well sheltered place. These facts suggest a question. Is there any reason why the one should be better fitted to endure cold and storms than the other?

THE ADULT.

We now come to the fourth period in the lives of moths and butterflies, a period which has ever had and ever will have an interest for young and old. Since there are many persons, little and big, who cannot distinguish the two groups, butterflies and moths, let us learn the marks by which they may be known.

Butterflies have uncovered pupæ. They fly by day. The wings are folded over the back when at rest. The antennæ or feelers have _knobs_ on the ends. (Fig. 350 B.) The body is slender.

Moths have pupae either inside cocoons or protected by being underground or in some sheltered place. Many moths fly at night. The antennæ are never knobbed. (Fig. 350 M M.) leave the wings spread when they are at rest. The body is stout.

Occasionally you may come across insects that very closely resemble butterflies, yet have some characters that are similar to those of moths. They are the skippers, so named because of their strong and rapid flight. The antennæ have knobs, but these knobs are drawn out and turned back in the form of a hook. (Fig. 350 S.) The body is rather stout. The pupa is covered by a thin cocoon. In some species the wings are held vertically, in others horizontally.

SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY.

Cocoons and butterfly chrysalids are very hard to find because they so closely resemble the withered leaves that cling to shrubs and trees.

You will probably find cocoons of the ce-cro-pi-a and pro-mé-the-a moths. The former, illustrated by Figs. 347 to 349, is commonly found on fruit trees; the latter swings loosely from a branch of ash, wild cherry, or lilac. The promethea cocoon is enfolded in a leaf which the caterpillar fastened to a twig by means of silk before it spun the cocoon. If you are rewarded for your search by finding some of these winter homes, leave a few of them in a cool place and occasionally dip them in water that they may not become too dry. Look at them carefully from time to time and note any changes that take place. Following are a few suggestions that will help you in the study of cocoons:

1. Observe the covering of the pupa closely. Is it made of other material beside silk? When the woolly-bear, that many of you have cared for all winter, spins his cocoon, he will use some of his own hair as well as silk.

2. Open the cocoon. Is the pupa free from it? Are the threads of silk woven in the same direction in all parts of the covering?

3. Out of which end do you think the moth will come?

4. Describe the inside of the cocoon. Do you find anything in it beside the pupa?

5. The cocoons of the Chinese silkworm are soaked in hot water or softened by steam before the thread can be unwound. Put one of the cocoons that you find in hot water and see whether you can unwind the silk. I wish you could secure some cocoons of the real silkworm.

Boys and girls often ask us what they shall feed moths and butterflies. Many of the adult insects do not eat at all. Some, however, sip the nectar of flowers or sap of trees. Oftentimes they will drink sweetened water or the juice of fruit. If you have an opportunity, watch one while it eats. Notice the long "tongue" through which it takes its food. This is made of two pieces grooved on the inner side, and when held together they form a tube. When the insect is not eating these mouth-parts are coiled.

LEAFLET LXXIII.

THE PAPER-MAKERS.[94]

BY ALICE G. McCLOSKEY.

[94] Junior Naturalist Monthly, February and March, 1901.

A CASTLE MADE OF PAPER.

Many school rooms in the State have a hornet's nest which some boy or girl has brought to show the teacher. It is usually hung on the wall or used as an ornament on top of the bookcase. Let us take it down some day this month and learn something about it.

Do you think the nest can be called a castle? Why not? Look inside. Is it not several stories high? Are there not spacious galleries in it? Is it not as well guarded when the wasps are at home as if an army of soldiers stood outside?

Let us see how this castle is built. You have heard that wasps were the first paper makers. In the early summer you will see them around wood that has been worn by the weather. They take off loose fibres and by means of their mouth-parts work them into pulp. Can the rain get through this paper? Find out whether it is waterproof.

Some of the nests made by vespa (Fig. 353), as the hornets or yellow-jackets are called, are very large. Do you think a wasp could make one alone? No, these are social wasps; that is, a great many live together. There are males, females, and workers. Some day we shall tell you how the wasps form their colony, but for this lesson we want you to study the nest.

Notice the envelope which covers the cells. How many layers of paper are there in it? We might call each layer a clapboard.

Can you see any difference in the direction of the outside layers on top of the nest and those which are below?

How many stories high is the nest?

Note the difference in the size of the stories. Where do you find the smallest?

Count the rooms or cells in each.

You know, of course, that an egg is placed in each cell. When the larvæ, as the young of the wasps are called, are hatched, they still live in the cells.

How do they manage to keep in their cells? You see the nest is really turned upside down. Their little heads must hang where the worker wasps can feed them easily. I wonder whether you can tell me why the young wasps do not fall out?

The workers chew all the food which they give the little ones. When in summer you see hornets about your flower beds or feeding on other insects, it may be that they are preparing breakfast for the young. Notice the flowers which they visit.

POLISTES, THE PAPER-MAKER.

In the previous lesson I spoke of vespa wasps that make homes of paper. You learned that they bite off pieces of weather-worn wood with their jaws and chew it until it is made into pulp. Were you interested in these social wasps? If so, you may like to hear about another member of the same family.

Hiding in some crevice about your house or the school building there is probably a wasp which naturalists call po-lis´-tes. She has been there ever since the cold weather came. In the spring you may see her tearing off pieces of wood from some unpainted building or weather-worn fence. Let us see what she is going to do.

This wasp is the founder of a colony. The first thing she does is to select a place for her home. Then she makes a few cells--only a few, for she has no help. When you find a nest like the one in the picture (Fig. 355), you will see how the comb is fastened to the roof or to a tree or to the under side of a stone.

As soon as the cells are completed, the mother lays an egg in each. From these eggs little grubs or larvæ are hatched. They are fed by the mother until they become pupæ. The cells are sealed over while the wasps are in the pupa state. They have to break open the seals before they can come out.

All members of the first brood are workers. As soon as they are hatched the mother has nothing to do but to provide eggs. They clean out the cells in which they passed their early days; they make additions to the nests; they take care of the young. Do you remember how the vespa workers prepared food for the larvæ in their colony and what they fed them? The young polistes are cared for in the same way.

You may see the workers flying about in your garden this summer, getting the sweets from the various flowers that you have planted. You will know why they are so busy through the long sunny days. You will think of the hungry little wasps waiting for their dinner. You will wonder whether they put their heads out of the cells when the workers feed them.

NEST OF POLISTES.

1. Compare the nest of polistes with that of vespa.

2. In what ways do they differ?

3. Where did you find the nest?

4. How was it held in place?

5. How many cells are there in it?

6. Notice the pieces of the seals which still remain on the nest. Tell us whether they are made of the same material as the cells. Of what utility are the seals?

LEAFLET LXXIV.

SOME CARPENTER ANTS AND THEIR KIN.[95]

BY ALICE G. McCLOSKEY.

(Compare Leaflet XXI.)

[95] Junior Naturalist Monthly, October, 1903.

One bright August morning, as we were walking along the edge of a wood, we found an old tree trunk lying on the ground. I am sure it had been there a long time. Large pieces of bark were loose enough to be lifted up; being naturalists, we took advantage of this fact to see whether anything was living underneath.

What queer little outdoor folk we found: "thousand-legged worms," sow-bugs, a black beetle that looked as if its back were made of patent-leather, and best of all a colony of ants! These ants were large black ones known as carpenter ants. They had made very comfortable quarters in this old log. How alarmed they were when we so rudely exposed them to the light!

One brave ant impressed me more than any other member of the colony. I wish that all of our girls and boys might have seen it. With my knife I commenced to cut down the wall of one of the rooms to see what was inside. The soldier-like ant stood near and, instead of running away, it attacked the large steel blade with its jaws. Was not that a brave thing to do? Are you surprised that I closed the knife and put it into my pocket?

During all this time there was great commotion in the colony. The worker ants were scurrying off with the younger members of the family, trying to find a safe place for them. Some of these little brothers and sisters were tiny white legless creatures; some were covered up in what looked like little bags; others were ghost-like things, very white and apparently lifeless.

Now before you can understand what is going on in an ant's nest, you must know four things:

1. The white oblong eggs are very small. You will not see them readily.

2. The little legless creatures, or larvæ, hatch from the eggs and are fed by the workers. Mrs. Comstock says that an ant larva looks like a crook-neck squash.

3. The larvæ either spin cocoons or rest awhile without any covering before they become fully grown ants. In their resting form they are called pupæ. Children usually think the little sack-like pupæ are the eggs.

4. The fully grown ants come from the pupæ.

We want every Junior Naturalist Club to have an ant's nest in the school room and to observe the following:

In time of danger do the ants look to their own safety first?

Watch the workers feed and clean the young.

Try to see an ant help a younger relative out of the pupa skin.

Notice how many uses the ants seem to have for their antennæ or feelers.

Has it ever seemed to you that ants carry on a conversation when they meet?

See how many different kinds of ants you can find out-of-doors, Tell us about their homes.

HOW TO MAKE AN ANT'S NEST.

In the illustration (Fig. 356) you will see an ant's nest. For this kind of nest you will need a plank, near the outside edge of which is a deep groove. The plank should be painted; can you tell why? In the center use two pieces of glass laid flat and separated by narrow sticks along each side, so that they are about one-eighth of an inch apart. The sticks should not come close together at one corner. This leaves a little doorway for the ants. Cover the top glass with black paper or cloth so that the space between the two pieces of glass may seem a nice, dark, safe room in which ants may live. It will be a good thing to keep a small piece of damp blotting paper in one corner of this room in case the workers want a moist place for the young ones. Fill the groove in the plank with water and the nest is ready.

The best ant colony to take indoors is the one that you find under stones in a pasture. With a trowel lift up the ants, pupæ, larvæ, and sand and put the contents carefully into a pint can. When you reach the schoolroom put the contents of the can on the plank and watch what happens. If the ants do not find the room you have made for them, place a few larvae and pupæ within it. They will probably find them.

Do not neglect to provide food for the colony. Ants like to eat cracker soaked in sweetened water, bread, cake, berry jams, sugar, bits of raw meat, yolk of hard-boiled egg, and custard.

LEAFLET LXXV.

A GARDEN ALL YOUR OWN.[96]

BY JOHN W. SPENCER.

[96] Junior Naturalist Monthly, May, 1904.

MY DEAR NEPHEWS AND NIECES:

Would you like to have a garden this summer--a garden all your very own? If so, you can surely have one. A man up in a balloon could have one if he were to try; a man living down in a coal mine could not, because there would be no sunlight. Plants must have light from the sun, which is the vital source of all light. I consider that anyone who cares for a plant, growing either in a window box or in a tomato can, has a garden. Yes; a plant growing in an eggshell constitutes a garden.

A LITTLE GIRL'S GARDEN.

Near my desk is a picture of a little girl, holding in her arms a big pumpkin that she raised in a garden all her own. I do not know how many pies could have been made from that pumpkin, but, at any rate, it was a big pumpkin. The seed from which the vine started was planted in an egg-shell in the school-room. When the bright May days came the egg-shell had become too small for the plant or the plant had become too large for the egg-shell, so the little girl planted it in the open ground at her home. She must have been a tiny girl or the soil in her garden must have been very hard, for without help she was unable to spade it and make it fine. She hired her father to do it for her and paid him by carrying his dinner every day for a week to the shop where he worked. When lunch time came, papa and she had a little picnic all by themselves. There is no prettier picture than is made by such strong comradeship between a little girl and her father.

MAKE A BARGAIN WITH YOUR TEACHER.

I hope your teacher will permit you to have some boxes of earth (I mean _soil_) in the windows of your school-room, in which you may plant flower or vegetable seeds. In early June, just before the close of school, you can divide the plants among yourselves and set them out in the open ground or in window boxes at your home. Ask your teacher whether you may have such a privilege. Promise that if she will grant this favor you will be just as good as the "little girl who had a little curl that hung in the middle of her fore-head," and if at any time you become "horrid" the teacher may give your share of the plants to some one better behaved than yourself. If she is a wise teacher she will consent, but not until she has made a bargain with you that you are to do all the work and to ask nothing from her but advice when you need it.

A PLANT NURSERY.

Your first garden should be in a shallow box, called a "flat," which you may consider a kind of nursery for the plants. Let this nursery, or cradle, be as long and as wide as a soap box, and not more than three or four inches deep. You can make a "flat," as gardeners do, by sawing a soap box in two. In the bottom of the box make some small auger holes for drainage. Some of you may be so fortunate as to be able to gather from the woods and fields the material for fitting up the flat. Some moss,--say about an inch of it,--should first be laid in the bottom. When moss cannot be found, use stones or pieces of broken pottery to cover the drainage holes. This is to prevent the soil from washing through. The remainder of the flat should be filled with good woods earth. Pack the soil firmly. Fill the flat not even full, but to within half an inch of the top. Those who cannot go to the fields must get the best garden soil to be found. A few children may be unable to get even garden soil. They will be obliged to go to the florist's for soil, as they must do when they fill their window boxes. Because of the frequent waterings required by all plants growing in boxes, it is important to get soil that is not sticky and that will not pack hard.

SOWING THE SEED.

When the time comes for the sowing of seeds, you had better ask your teacher to look over your shoulder to see that you do it correctly. In sowing, put the seeds in straight rows. These rows may be made by denting the soil with the sharp edge of a stick or ruler. Let the rows extend the entire width of the flat. Into the dent, drop the seeds at regular intervals. If any seeds drop outside of the dent, gently push them into place with a toothpick. Half a dozen rows of one variety of flowers or vegetables having small seeds will give a large number of plants. One flat may accommodate a number of varieties.

At the point where one variety stops and another begins, a neat label of wood should be stuck. This affords a good chance for a boy to bring his new jack-knife into use. On the label should be written the name of each variety. This will give an excellent opportunity for one who writes a good vertical hand to make himself useful. Begin at the very top of the label and write towards the lower end; then if the lower part of the label rots off or becomes discolored, you will still have the first and most important part of the name left. The label should never be disturbed, for a careless boy or girl might not put it back into the exact place where it was found, which would be indeed unfortunate. The Smiths and Joneses of that plant community would become so mixed that the Joneses would be called Smiths and the Smiths would be known as Joneses. It would be as bad as changing door-plates.

When the seeds have been evenly distributed in rows like houses along a street there comes another very important step,--the covering of the seeds. If seeds are covered too deep they will rot because of too much moisture; if the covering is too thin, the soil will dry so rapidly that the seeds will fail because of insufficient moisture. The size of the seed usually determines the amount of covering necessary. As a broad general rule, the soil covering should be about four times the thickness of the seed.

Having been covered, the earth must be thoroughly watered. This must be done gently and carefully. If done with a rush, the water will wash the covering away and many of the seeds will be left bare. Whenever such an accident occurs, the seed may be pushed into the soil with a toothpick. At most times when watering, continue to apply the water until it just begins to drain through the bottom of the flat. This should be practiced even after the seeds have germinated and become growing plants. Keep the flats shaded until the plants begin to push their heads through the soil. After this time strong light should gradually be given them that the plants may not become tall and spindling, or "leggy," as gardeners say.

If the seed boxes are in a sunny or windy place, the soil may dry out too rapidly. This can be prevented by laying a newspaper over the flat when the sun strikes it. As the plantlets grow, care must be taken not to shade them too much.

A PLANT KINDERGARTEN.

In some plants the first leaves are called the "seed-leaves," and, like children's milk teeth, soon disappear. The next set are the true leaves. After the true leaves appear, if the plants seem crowded and uncomfortable, like three boys trying to sleep in a narrow bed, transplant them into other flats prepared similarly to the one into which the seeds were sown. You may think of this as the promotion of the young plants from the cradle to the kindergarten. Here the plants should be placed about an inch from each other, in squares. Wet the plants thoroughly before taking them up and also the soil into which they are to make their second home. After this is done, the soil should be pressed firmly about the roots, as you snuggle the bedclothes about your neck on a cold winter's night. It is entertaining practice to transplant the plants into pots, if you happen to have any florist's pots of small size.

This transplanting of plants in the school-room gives a quiet occupation to boys and girls who for a time may not be engaged in study. The disobedient child or the would-be "smart" one might better be denied the privilege. I say "privilege," because the wise teacher will make window gardening a privilege and not required work. After the transplanting has been completed and the plants thoroughly soaked with water, they must be shaded for about twenty-four hours, after which they had better receive the strong light once more, when they will resume their growth.

PLANTS NEED WATER.

If plants could feel and talk, they would tell of periods when they had endured great suffering because of thirst: suffering as great as that sometimes experienced by travelers in crossing a desert. Often it has been so great as almost to ruin a plant's constitution. I am often asked, "How frequently shall I water plants?" It is as difficult to give a fixed rule for watering as to determine how often a boy should be allowed a drink. During cool cloudy weather, plants do not require as much water as when the sun shines bright and hot on them. I can give no better general direction than this:--water plants when the surface of the soil seems dry and powder-like, when a pinch of it rolled between the thumb and finger does not form a little ball. Under conditions in which the drainage is good, plants should receive water until the surplus begins to trickle out of the holes at the bottom. If you follow these directions carefully, your schoolroom garden should afford a good lot of plants for cultivation at home in the open ground or in boxes.

WHAT YOU MAY PLANT.

As to the kind of seeds to sow, you must be governed by what you most desire to have in your home garden for summer cultivation. If you are able to have a garden in the open ground, I would have you make a selection of both flowers and vegetables. Do not choose a large variety of either, for children are but little men and women and must shape their tasks to fit their shoulders. It would be better to have a garden the size of a horse blanket and have it in good condition all summer than to have a larger one and allow it to become a wilderness of weeds.

In the vegetable line, you can have radishes and lettuce that may be harvested by the Fourth of July. After the first crop has been removed the ground should be spaded and wax beans planted in rows about eighteen inches apart and the beans six inches apart in the rows. These give the juiciest of pods, excellent for pickling. Kings and princes could have none better. This plan gives you two crops from the same ground in one summer. Plant radishes in rows twelve inches apart and about two inches apart in the row. Pull them for the table when the roots are three-quarters of an inch or a little more in diameter. Set lettuce about three inches apart in the row, which is twice or more as thick as the plants should be when full grown. When half grown or more every other plant may be pulled out for table use and the remaining ones will soon fill the vacancies.

In suggesting your selection of flowers, I shall mention but a few. I have chosen the following kinds because they are not too particular or exacting as to care, while some are equally well adapted for cultivation either in the open ground or in window boxes. I hope you will include sweet peas, dahlias, and gladioli in your selection. I have not named them in this list because they are not suitable for planting in flats, but are planted directly in the open ground where they are to spend their lives. Gladioli and most dahlias you will not raise from seeds.

The following is a list from which you may make a selection for planting in your school-room, to divide later with your mates for home planting:--

Petunia }
Nasturtium } Suitable for planting either in
Sweet Alyssum } window boxes or in the open ground.
Mignonette }

Bachelor's Button }
Salvia (Flowering Sage) }
Phlox } To be planted in
Aster } the open ground.
Marigold }
Candytuft }

MAKE A GARDEN IN A BOX.

There is no reason why you cannot have a window-box as attractive as the one shown in Fig. 361. Plants will grow as well for you as for the richest or the greatest man of whom you ever heard. All they require is to be made comfortable. The two things most necessary for their comfort are water as often as they need it, and fertile soil that will not become hard from frequent watering. Plants in boxes need water much oftener than those in the open ground. I once knew of a window-box on a tin roof on the south side of the house that was watered morning, noon, and night. Those plants must have been comfortable, for they made thrifty growth.

When you have learned how to make plants comfortable in a flat, you will know what is necessary for their comfort in a window-box. They should have the same kind of earth, but more of it. The box should never be less than eight inches wide and eight inches deep and as long as you can afford to fill with earth and plants. There must be holes in the bottom for drainage, and moss or small stones placed over the holes to prevent the soil from washing away.

The plants should be set four to six inches apart in the box. At first, this will seem too great a distance, but after a few weeks of growth, the plants will cover all bare spots. When transplanting either to window-boxes or to the open ground, do it the same way as when changing plants from the cradle flat to the kindergarten flat.