116 WOODLAND IDYLS. 



along Walnut Creek than I ever saw it else 

 where. Acres of it abound in shallow running 

 water and on the sand and gravel bars near the 

 ripples and edges of pools. Its flowers must be 

 rich in nectar for they attract honey bees and 

 butterflies in great numbers. In wading through 

 a patch to-day I was afraid I would be stung 

 the bees were so numerous, and while putting 

 on my shoes I noted a score or more of the hand- 

 some freshly moulted Argynnid butterflies scat- 

 tered over an area of a dozen square yards of 

 the plant. 



Luck again was with me on my trip up stream 

 to-day, that is, the "luck" which usually ac- 

 companies patient industrious fishing. Not hav- 

 ing to hunt new holes, I had more time to try 

 the known ones. Eighteen sunfish, log perch, 

 goggle-eyes and catfish were on my string when 

 I quit fishing, and in addition I had a medium 

 sized map turtle, 42 to which one of my wrig- 

 gling worms had been a lure too tempting. I 

 have never tried a hard-shell turtle stew but 

 shall do so to-morrow. When meat for stew is 

 scarce in camp everything goes into the pot ex- 

 cept snakes and skunks. If soft-shelled turtles 

 are excellent for stew, there is no reason why 

 hard-shelled ones should be cast aside, for it is 

 the flesh not the shell which serves as the main 

 ingredient. 



42 Malaclemmys geographirus Le Sueur. 



