hodge] A'ATURE-STUDY WORK WITH INSECTS 267 



cabbage-butterfly's life, seen the white butterfly lay its eggs on the 

 leaves, watched the caterpillar feed and grow, seen it spin and change 

 into a chrysalis and seen the butterfly burst out of its queer shell. I 

 begin to see the possibilities of insect nature-study. We have never 

 had anything that compares with this." 



From another school the teacher relates the following incident in 

 point: She observed one of her boys looking intently into his box; 

 his eyes began to bulge out; his mouth fell open; without relaxing 

 his intent gaze, his hand went up and he exclaimed, " Teacher some- 

 thing is happening to my worm." Class and teacher gathered 

 around the desk and saw the ichneumon parasites bore their way out 

 of the caterpillar and spin their cocoons on its back, thus getting a 

 glimpse into the role which beneficial insects play in the economy of 

 nature. 



In addition to magic transformations, exquisite beauty and other 

 inherent interests, the work of insects in relation to man gives the 

 subject a solid practical basis which appeals to all alike. The annual 

 tax imposed by insects upon the agricultural interests of the country is 

 now estimated to be not less than $795,100,000. Who pays this 

 tax? Some are inclined to say: " These matters belong to purely 

 agricultural education." But who pays the tax ? Everybody pays it. 

 It is a part of the cost of every pound of meat or flour or hay, every 

 yard of cotton or woolen or linen cloth, every parcel of fruit or foot 

 of lumber. The tax may fall in part on the producers, but in the 

 main and in last analysis the consumers must bear the brunt of it. 

 If insects destroy half the crop, the argument is, the farmers get 

 double the price and have less work: hence insects are a benefit to 

 the farmers. The insect tax is imposed on the whole people as a 

 natural consequence and direct result of ignorance; and the insect 

 problem is no less the problem of the whole people, every citizen 

 having his part to bear in its solution. Until we realize this and 

 teach accordingly, we shall always have ignorant people who breed 

 insect pests to damage their neighbors, or who wantonly destroy 

 birds and other insect eating animals, either directly or indirectly, by 

 keeping inconsequent and uncontrolled cats which destroy (Forbush) 

 an average of fifty song birds a year. 



In the case of insects, more than in any other branch of nature- 

 study, a teacher needs actual specimens Insects are so small, there 

 are so many different kinds and so many ol them look alike to 

 beginners that no amount of description and no possible illustration 



