352 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE. 



And the curious fact is that in all 

 these years as a diligent reader of that 

 estimable periodical, I have never seen 

 in itself? Is its only value immunity 

 the worm or of the worm's interests. 

 Did Cowper laud only the refraining 

 from stepping on the worm? 



Has the aforesaid worm no interest 

 in itself? Is its only value immunity 

 from crushing steps? 



Or, perhaps, if the magazine should 

 devote space to telling us why the 

 worm should not be stepped upon, 

 showing that even that lowly form 

 of life is interesting — aye, even lovable, 

 it would no longer be a "humane 

 magazine" but a "bug magazine." 

 Strange that the things that are, are 

 not ; and that are not, are. 



Perhaps the magazine would have 

 us think that Cowper would banish 

 from his list of friends a man so "want- 

 ing sense-ibility" as to have anything 

 to do with worms, especially one so 

 "lacking" as to get a "nasty" worm 

 "squashed" all over his shoe! 



point of view in your "What are they 

 good for?" 



"What are They Good For?" 

 These cavies in the cage, these rab- 

 bits in the hutch, these goldfish in the 

 aquarium, these turtles in the vivaria, 

 these — but whv continue the list to 

 which so many visitors apply the ques- 

 tion, "What are they good for?" 



Good to be themselves, to take you 

 out of yourselves into being less Ptol- 

 emaic. You in general, your pocket- 

 book and your stomach in particular, 

 are not the center of the universe. 

 Things in this beautiful world are 

 good even if you cannot eat, nor wear, 

 nor buy, nor sell, nor hoard them. 



"But I suppose you study them, find 

 out their habits and experiment in 

 heredity, etc.," continues the persistent 

 visitor. 



"Yes, I do that," and as I busy 

 myself with something else, as I turn 

 away with a dish or to get food for my 

 pets, the better part of the answer 

 is not audible, "and by them learn of 

 you, find out your ideas and experi- 

 ment in your cupidity." 



They are only tools with which 

 to experiment on you — to put you 

 aright. If the experiments with you 

 are successful, you will have a new 



Love By Licking! 



Several street urchins were playing 

 on the sidewalk. One held a small dog 

 by a rope. A venerable, kind-hearted 

 man hobbled slowly down the street, 

 and stopped to watch them. 



Patronizingly he said to the leader 

 of the dog, "Sonny, does your little 

 dog love you ?" 



With a saucy wink to his mates, 

 the fellow replied : 



"You 'bet your sweet life he loves 



me, or I would lick the stuffin' out o' 



him." 



***** 



We all see in this an element of 

 humor, and we smile either at the boy's 

 peculiar method of eliciting love or at 

 his "slangy" form of expression — per- 

 haps at both. Some one has defined 

 humor as "a juxtaposition of incongru- 

 ous concepts." Surely the kindly man- 

 ner of the old man and the licking 

 propensities of the street gamin are 

 humorously incongruous, as is the jux- 

 taposition of lickin' and lovin'. 



I wonder why it is that maudlin 

 sentimentalism and legal "lickin's" are 

 not more humorously incongruous than 

 they are, and why they should not be 

 less successful in eliciting money. 



If our boy of the sidewalk was really 

 earnest, the old man could have spent 

 much time to good advantage in edu- 

 cating him into the knowledge of the 

 fact that the love which comes from 

 lickin' is not the loftiest nor the most 

 enviable form. 



The Japanese Spaniel. 



BY DR. R. H. BELL, NEW YORK CITY. 



This is a breed that, until the last 

 few years, was seldom to be found in 

 England (or America), except in some 

 of the homes of men who had lived, or 

 had friends in the East. On account 

 of the difficulty of rearing the puppies 

 few small ones are to be found ; . . . 

 it is difficult to find any one who will 

 part with the small ones, which are 

 commonly known as sleeve-dogs. — 

 Dalziel (1888 Edition). 



Little Jap reigns supreme in the toy- 

 dog world. And well deserves the 



