Xlbe Ibope of lears to Come 57 



up and down on the breeze, fair as the soul of a 

 flower, will lay an egg out of which wdll crawl the 

 cabbage-worm, terror of gardeners. Over the goose- 

 berry and currant bushes a host of simple, trans- 

 parent-winged flies will swing up and down in early 

 May. Just now these flies are wrapped up in snug 

 cases in the ground, so well hidden that we cannot 

 find one of them. In May, as they swing about in 

 the sunny air, they will seem to grow weary and 

 will keep darting upon the bushes ; fatal enough are 

 those seeming restings. The saw-fly is not as care- 

 less as she appears to be ; she is laying her eggs, and 

 swarms of currant-worms will come forth to strip 

 the bushes of every leaf and destroy all hopes of 

 gooseberries and currants, unless the legions of the 

 worms can be killed by poisonous sprajdngs. 



The chinch bug, the squash bug, the Colorado 

 beetle, the grasshopper, and the tent-caterpillars are 

 now, in March, having the final " beauty sleep " of 

 their winter rest. If they and their fellow-soldiers 

 can have it all their own waj^ in a few wrecks there 

 will scarcely be a plant left to comfort our hearts. 

 But right along with these insect enemies, among the 

 roots and under the bark of the plants, hidden in 

 cozy nests in axils of buds and stems, swinging in 

 woven cradles on twigs, or the under side of dry 

 leaves, are the deserters from the ranks of insect 



