62 THE NATURE-STUDY REVIEW [ 2 : 2 -* E bruary, 1906 



eggs ; birds with nests and eggs, to a limited extent ; and toads, frogs, 

 and other Amphibia are full of interest and their doings should be 

 known. 



The imitation of the natural conditions of animals is important in 

 several ways. One never knows what he is going to discover when 

 he starts out to imitate an animal's surroundings. I suppose I had 

 always known, e. g., that a toad had a warty, granular, and dirty 

 looking back. But of what use such a back could be to him was 

 never clear, until our specimen began to hibernate and to gradually 

 sink away into the sand of a terrarium. When he got down on a level 

 with the surface he stopped, and there was never a better imitation of 

 a sandy surface than that back presented. Our toad could sit there 

 and blink away, seeing without being seen, occasionally pouncing out 

 to catch a last straying insect before taking his winter nap, and alto- 

 gether presenting about as comfortable and as unexpected an example 

 of protective resemblance as I have ever seen. Many caterpillars, 

 katydids and grass-hoppers can also be made much more valuable 

 for study if mounted to show their protective colorations. 



Much effective experimental work can be brought to the aid of the 

 observation here, as well as in plants. We can test the strength and 

 athletic powers of insects ; the action of kerosene upon young mos- 

 quitoes, the effect of poison in checking insect ravages ; or we may 

 try to settle the question as to why the earthworms are so plentiful 

 after a rain, by testing their reactions to light, temperature, and 

 moisture ; or the question whether the fish swims with fins or tail, by 

 the use of rubber bands. 



Excellent individual investigations may be carried on and reported 

 in short essays on local topics, along the lines suggested in Need- 

 ham's "Outdoor Studies.'' Also bulletins showing the investiga- 

 tions of others may be reviewed and reported on from time to time, 

 including such topics as "The relation of mosquitoes to health," 

 " Relation of birds to agriculture," " Structure of the corn kernel," 

 " Corn breeding," and "Maintenance of fertility in soils." 



These investigations and reviews are generally eye-openers. It is 

 remarkable what can be learned at our very doorsteps. When a bit 

 of feverfew wilt reveal ants and aphids and lady-bugs and aphis-lions 

 robbing, killing, fleeing, hiding, protecting, defending, and reward- 

 ing each other with all the earnestness of a life and death struggle, it 

 is not necessary to go to the wilds of Africa, or even to the World's 

 Fair, to get something to see and wonder at. Yet just these things 



