fi8 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



being or can it be possible that such 

 temporary human affairs are to be 

 compared in any sense with the beau- 

 ties and interests of nature? Read the 

 newspapers rather than read a nature 

 magazine ! Hark, I hear an echo from 

 the past — the voice of Henry David 

 Thoreau is saying, "Read not the times, 

 but the eternities." 



"What Is It Good For?" 

 What in the name of common sense, 

 in the spirit of all that is good and true 

 in this beautiful old world do you mean 

 by everlastingly asking the question, 

 "What is it good for?" Has youi 

 sensitiveness to the value of things 

 for themselves become so obtunded 

 by the endless scramble for dollars 

 to put clothes on you, and to stuff 

 things down your throat, that you can- 

 not think of anything as good for 

 anything in itself, unless it supplies you 

 with money, or clothes, or food ? 



Pardon this strong statement, but the 

 repetition of this question by high and 

 low, old and young, surely borders on 

 the exasperating and I find that almost 

 invariably every questioner, when 

 asked to define his query, seems unable 

 to do so. 



I was recently coming from the fields 

 with a fine collection of ants, their eggs, 

 larvae and cocoons.. It was one of the 

 best gatherings that I had ever made, 

 and I was showing it with great satis- 

 faction to several persons on the trollev 

 car. They listened while I described 

 how I had captured the insects by 

 sweeping the entire nest into the fruit 

 jar by the aid of a brush. They listened 

 to what I said about ants as wonders 

 of creation, and then, imagine, if you 

 can, my dumfounded amazement by the 

 almost simultaneous question, "But, 

 what are they good for!" When I 

 inquired, "'What do you mean by the 

 expression 'good for?' they became con- 

 fused and thought that I was taking 

 them at an unfair advantage, and was 

 quizzing them on some technical or 

 philosophic point. At last I centered 

 my cross-questioning upon one young- 

 woman, and I said, "Really, I want to 

 know; please relieve my suspense; 

 what have you and the others in mind, 

 after all I have told you about these 

 little creatures, when you ask that oft 

 repeated question, 'But, what are they 



good for?' Can't you see ; is it not self- 

 evident that they are good because 

 they are among the most interesting 

 forms of animal life?" 



"Oh, but," she hesitated and giggled, 

 "I-I didn't mean that ; 1-1 meant, aren't 

 they good for something?" 



"Please," again I insisted, "relieve 

 my suspense ; tell me what you mean. 

 Out with it, and get it off your mind. 

 Express it in some way. What do you, 

 and those who are not interested in 

 any realm of nature, who know nothing 

 of this world around us except as it fur- 

 nishes dollars and clothing and food, 

 what do you mean? I should like to 

 get inside of minds and ascertain the 

 significance of the question that comes 

 to me so often, 'What are they good 

 for?" 



Again she hesitated and giggled and 

 stammered, and I felt almost cruel for 

 embarrassing her, but I was deter- 

 mined to chase that question into the 

 inner recesses of her mind, and dis- 

 cover if I could what was there. 



"I merely meant," she said, "and I did 

 not suppose that the question would 

 so excite you, I-I merely meant are-are 

 they, are they-they good for bait for 

 fish or something of that kind?" 



Ye gods, have pity upon the poor 

 ignoramus whose limited knowledge 

 of the creatures of this world induces 

 him to think that they can be of no use 

 unless they are "bait for fish or some- 

 thing of that kind." 



It is evident that Professor Bailey 

 also has met such persons, that they 

 have wound around him like innumer- 

 able threads, the persistent inquiry, 

 "What are they good for?" Here is 

 how he tries to escape from these ex- 

 asperating, tantilizing questions : 



"Yet we still think that every animal 

 and plant was created for some purpose 

 other than for itself, and we are al- 

 ways asking what every organism 

 is 'for'. When speaking once to a 

 popular audience, a person inter- 

 rupted me with the question : 'Can 

 you tell us what a snake is good 

 for?' I replied that I surely knew 

 the answer to one question; a snake is 

 good to be a snake." 



Most persons seem to think, since man 

 is the "lord of creation," and stands at 

 the head of all created things, with 

 power and dominion over them, that 



