374 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



would appreciate any amount of this 

 living material that the reader may 

 happen to find if he has no use for it 

 himself. The larvae, pupae or living 

 adults of other dermestids are equally 

 desirable for the purpose of compara- 

 tive studies. In response to a recent 

 circular letter many men have already 

 sent me some valuable material. The 

 names of the donators will appear in 

 the forthcoming detailed publication of 

 this extensive and of necessity pro- 

 longed investigation. 



The problem has now attained enor- 

 mous proportions and involves the use 

 of thousands of specimens. Many nor- 

 mal larvae of different sizes, as well as 

 many specimens in the different per- 

 iods of starvation have been sectioned 

 during the past few years, and com- 

 parative cytological studies of the var- 

 ious structures of the organisms are 

 being made. Physiological studies 

 with special reference to metabolic 

 water and excretion science have also 

 been started. 



A Spring Song. 



BY EDNA L. BOGUE, MONTCLAIR, NEW JERSEY. 



Lightly tiptoes Springtime 

 Breathing, gently o'er the hillsides green- 

 in o* 

 Song birds in sweet notes are singing, 

 With their leaders northward winging 

 In plumage fair and gay. 

 Each a joyous message bringing, 

 This rapturous day. 

 Tremble, waterfalls with laughter, — 

 Woodland sprites — 'tis Spring you're after, 

 Such romping play! 



The Hornets' Nest with Curious 

 Extension. 



On page 26 of The Guide to Nature 

 for June, 1917, we published a letter 

 from Mr. Earl A. Newhall, Shelburne, 

 Massachusetts, accompanied by an illus- 

 tration of a beaked nest of a hornet. 

 We also published a statement from the 

 Bureau of Entomology, Washington, 

 D. C., to the effect that this kind of 

 hornets' nest is new. We have received 

 another specimen from Mrs. Hattie 

 Hull of Williamsport, Pennsylvania. 

 She writes : 



"In the June number is a photograph 

 of a hornets' nest similar to the one 

 that I cut from our sweet cherrv tree 

 about three years ago. If you have any 

 place for such curiosities and desir" 



this one I will gladly send it to you. 

 1 do not know the kind of hornets that 

 built it, but I saw several similar nests 

 started that summer. The latter were 

 in the woods, while the one I have was 

 in town.' 



We hope our readers in the vicinity 



WANTED: HORNET'S NEST OE THIS SHAPE. 



of WiJiiaim^port and elsewhere will 

 make careful search for specimens of 

 the hornets that build this peculiar 

 kind of nest. We also want to know 

 whether this ne<t is full sized or con- 

 tinues to be made larger. 



The study of entomology is one of 

 the most fascinating of pursuits. It 

 takes its votaries into the treasure- 

 houses of Nature, and explains some 

 of the wonderful series of links which 

 form the great chain of creation. It 

 lays open before us another world, of 

 which we have been hitherto uncon- 

 scious, and shows us that the tiniest 

 insect, so small perhaps that the unaid- 

 ed eye can scarcely see it, has its work 

 to do in the world, and does it.— Rev. 

 T. G. Wood. 



