STATK POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 6/ 



greenhouse I noticed where there were many, plant hce I often 

 saw ants running about among them and so encouraged the ants 

 thinking they were eating the Hce, but after awhile I found out 

 that the lice were the cows of the ants. Ants will gently stroke 

 the lice with their antennae and the lice will secrete a drop of 

 sweet fluid from two little projections upon their body which the 

 ants drink. Moreover the ants wuU take the eggs of lice into 

 their nests and hatch and rear the young. 



As we look at the bountiful crop of fruit this year and recall 

 how our trees were covered with caterpillars last year, the leaves 

 eaten, the crop ruined, how many can tell whether it is chance, 

 climatic conditions: or in accordance with God's laws. If you 

 had seen some neighbor go into your orchards last year and 

 Jcill off most of your caterpillars you would have thanked him, 

 at least, perhaps offered to pay him something. But this is just 

 w^hat did happen in a large measure. One of those little neigh- 

 bors with whom we are not even on speaking terms and but few 

 of us even know by sight and who so resembles a wasp that most 

 of us would be frightened if one lit on our hands, — those little 

 neighbors which are called Ichneumon flies, were very busy lay- 

 ing their eggs on those same caterpillars which hatched into little 

 larva and eventually destroyed the caterpillar. 



One of the laws of nature is that every insect, every plant, in 

 fact every living thing has its foes. Were it not so the earth 

 would soon be overrun with the strongest of some few species. 

 Whenever an insect multiplies to a great extent then you will see 

 some parasite multiply in proper proportion for their extermina- 

 tion. 



Another little insect not half appreciated is the honey bee. 

 Most people think of the bee only as furnishing honey, when 

 in reality we are largely dependent upon it for flowers, fruit and 

 vegetables, as many of them are almost wholly fertilized by bees 

 carrying the pollen from one blossom to another. Grant Allen 

 a noted English scientist says that in England they do not have 

 insects necessary for fertilizing melons, cucumbers and squashes. 



Oh ! there are so many common things which make life rich 

 and sweet and beautiful if our eyes are only opened to see them. 

 That is what we must do, open the eyes of the children, teach 

 them to look for these things, then year after year they will lay 



