58 JBotans 



enemies, the revolting squadrons that will fire upon 

 the battalions of their own armies. Here are the 

 larvffi and pupre of the black ground-beetles, harm- 

 less, helpful things, that we think so ugly because 

 their legs are so long. Here are the cradles of the 

 splendid tiger-beetles, enemies of all spiders. Wheel- 

 bugs and soldier-bugs, asleep under grass in tiny 

 hard cases, will come out in a hurry to save the 

 wheat crops. All the beautiful lace-wing flies that 

 spend their infancy among the cool shadows of 

 water-plants, and are now watching the stirring of 

 spring life among flags and rushes, will come to the 

 rescue of the plant world, because they have big 

 appetites, and nothing satisfies them but the juices 

 of other insects. 



Here in March, as our crocus blooms push above 

 the brown mold, and the hyacinths and tulips send 

 up points of green, while the peony reaches up 

 crimpled leaves red as rubies in the sunshine, the 

 greatest of all the allies and the defenders of the 

 plants have come to welcome their earliest awaken- 

 ing — here are the birds. Why were not all the 

 plants destroyed when there were no farmers and 

 gardeners around to sprinkle and spray and pick and 

 shake and net ? How comes it that the wild plants 

 and fruits are not driven from the face of the earth 

 by insect enemies ? Why ? Simply because in these 



