THE OUTDOOR WORLD 



35i 



preacher in words but in actions and 

 in his innate qualifications. Do you 

 known that old Latin epitome, "Omnium 

 vivum ex vivo." You know what that 

 means? I will tell you. From the 

 boy's point of view it means : "We are 

 inspired by the other fellow." The 

 other fellow for the boy, and for the 

 father and mother, is Mr. Edward A. 

 C. Murphy. You can reach him by 

 writing to him at W'abanaki School, 

 Greenwich, Connecticut. 



Snails and Spiders. 



Springdale, Connecticut. 

 To the Editor : 



The spider of which father spoke 

 to you is a beautiful creature and the 

 snail though not so pretty is just as in- 

 teresting. Brer Snail deserves all that 

 has been said about slowness. It took 

 mine nearly an hour to go eighteen 

 inches, and deposits of little globules 

 were left on the trail. Were these 

 eggs or isn't the snail an egg laying 

 creature? My father says the word is 

 oviparous. Is that right? He says 

 too that there is some reason why the 

 female spider makes a meal of the 

 father of the family. What is it? We 

 understand why the worker bees 

 butcher the drones. Maeterlinck makes 

 that clear, but what possesses the spi- 

 der? Father says that only the female 

 mosquito bites. Is that so? Just one 

 more question. Why call such little 

 things by long Latin names? Why 

 not talk United States? 



A. Horace Horton. 



The snail does lay eggs. Probably 

 the globules in its slimy trail were 

 glistening air bubbles, but I can give 

 you no definite information without 

 examining the particles. 



In reference to your inquiry as to 

 why the female spider eats the male, I 

 wrote to Professor John Henry Coms- 

 tock. Ithaca, New York. He says, 

 "Under ordinary circumstances the 

 predaceous instinct in the female spi- 

 der is very strong ; all prey looks alike 

 to her." The spider is a ferocious ani- 

 mal and her appetite predominates at 

 most times. The fact is that nobody 

 knows why. Scorpions eat the males : 

 the praying mantis does the same ; 

 other insects are similarly guilty. It 

 is a common occurrence, but no one 

 can tell "why." 



Your father is right in saying that 



only the female mosquito has the bill, 

 and presents it in a piercing way to the 

 annoyance of human beings and other 

 animals. 



I note your inquiry as to why natur- 

 alists use Latin names, yet your parents 

 named you Horace after a Roman poet 

 who died eight years before Christ 

 came on earth. Why did not your pa- 

 rents in the colloquialism of the United 

 States call you Hey Boy, Ho Boy, 

 Young Youngster, My Lad, Here You, 

 Laddie, Nickey or Bub? Take one of 

 our common birds, perhaps the one 

 known as the flicker. I have heard it 

 said that this bird has about forty 

 names in as many different parts of the 

 country. Fishermen use the larva of the 

 Corydalis for bait, and when you see 

 some of the nicknames given in the book 

 of entomology as in actual use, you can 

 readily see that if one is going to speak 

 with any sort of precision it is better 

 to use Corydalis than any of the nick- 

 names such as dobsons, crawlers, amly, 

 conniption bugs, clipper, water gam- 

 pus, goggle goy, bogart, crock, hell 

 devils, flip-flaps, alligators, Ho Jack, 

 snake doctor, dragon and hell-diver, as 

 given in Howard's "The Insect Book." 

 Just as it is better for me to say " I thank 

 you Horace, for your kind interest," then 

 to say, "Thank you," with a lot of nick- 

 names and aliases. Latin names are 

 used because all naturalists in all coun- 

 tries of the world are supposed to be 

 familiar with Latin. If you should 

 speak to a Chinese naturalist of the 

 "flip-flap," the "snake-doctor" or the 

 "goggle goy," he would be lost in won- 

 der at the barbarous sounds that to him 

 would mean nothing. But say, "Cory- 

 dalis;' and if he is an entomologist he 

 will have some comprehension of your 

 meaning. Among naturalists Latin is 

 the universal language. 



Under April Skies. 



Spring's shimmering iridescence 



Is again in the vital air; 

 Again are her rainbow garments 



Flung over the branches bare. 



This is our modern miracle, 



Surprising us over night; 

 With no words in the language, 



To do it justice, quite. 



An answering note of beauty 



Must in our souls arise, 

 If we would gauge this marvel 



Abroad 'neath the April skies. 



— Emma Peirce. 



