194 WOODLAND IDYLS. 



bank I can see that two have had fish on them 

 for the cork of one is under and the line of the 

 other is close into shore. Pulling up the former 

 I brought out a squirming, grunting catfish, the 

 hook nearly to the bottom of its anatomy. On 

 the other is a large river chub, the Kentucky 

 chub of queer old Rafinesque. He had taken 

 the bait of mussel and then run into shallow 

 water close to shore to keep some night-prowling 

 bass from taking him. Leaving him on the hook 

 I threw it far over into deep water and left him 

 there, thus having a chance for a day-roving 

 bass and hoping that one would come along and 

 take both chub and hook. Thus were the ele- 

 ments of chance well taken, the result being two 

 fish on three hooks. Throw out a line, reader, 

 and leave it overnight. 



While eating breakfast I noted that the un- 

 derwing moth, of which I wrote a day or two 

 ago, was still hovering about the base of the oak 

 tree and was at intervals being chased here and 

 there by a bald hornet. A close examination 

 showed that I had been wrong in my first con- 

 clusion, as the hornets are not gathering paper 

 making material but oak sap. Over an area of 

 a few square inches just above the ground the 

 sap is slowly oozing forth and the hornets are 

 tarrying long at the bowl when they should be 

 busy at the real duties of life. Three or four of 

 them may there be seen at all hours of the day, 



