MY WATER-LOVERS. 33 



bundle of it at his side. Down by the water's 

 edge the blackberries are in bloom, and in the 

 grass on the sides are tufts of sorrel, reminding 

 one of ancient Gerarde and his assertion that 

 the wood-sorrel was of old called " Allelujah," or 

 " Cuckoo's Meat," because, says the old herbalist, 

 "when it springeth forth, the Cuckoo singeth 

 most ; at which time also Allelujahs were wont 

 fco be sung in our churches." 



Here comes the first Water - Lover in the 

 dredger. Once I tried to keep a colony of these 

 Hydrophilidce. They lived in a pickle-jar, and 

 there were twenty-two of them. At least, after 

 repeated attempts to take the census of the in- 

 habitants of that jar, twenty-two was the number 

 decided upon, it being somewhat difficult to count 

 beetles that are in constant motion, and that are 

 identical in appearance as far as one can see. 

 Each beetle was three eighths of an inch long, one 

 fourth wide, and appeared somewhat hump-backed. 

 The upper, convex surface was black, as was the 

 under surface of the beetle, but the latter usually 

 appeared in the light as if covered with liquid 

 silver, an effect produced by the air taken under 

 water by the insects. The middle and hind pairs 

 of legs were hairy, and all three pairs were armed 

 with double spurs, some of them sufficiently power- 

 ful to feel, when applied to one's finger, much like 

 a pin's prick. 



Inspired by the gift of some weeds from their 



