UNDER THE MAPLES 



other side, I saw the other abutment. Of course 

 I could not see the completed bow in so small an 

 area. These fragments are as unapproachable as 

 the bow in the clouds. I also saw that where a 

 suspended dewdrop becomes a jewel, or displays 

 rainbow tints, you can see only one at a time to 

 the right or left of you. It also is a fragment of 

 a rainbow. Those persons who report beholding a 

 great display of prismatic effects in the foliage 

 of trees, or in the grass after a shower, are not 

 to be credited. You may see the drops glistening 

 in the sun like glass beads, but they will not ex- 

 hibit prismatic tints. In only one at a time will 

 you see rainbow tints. Change your position, and 

 you may see another, but never a great display of 

 prismatic tints at one time. 



In my walk the other morning I turned over a 

 stone, looking for spiders and ants. These I found, 

 and in addition there were two cells of one pf our 

 solitary leaf-cutters, which we as boys called 

 "sweat bees," because they came around us and 

 would alight on our sweaty hands and arms as if 

 in quest of salt, as they probably were. It is about 

 the size of a honey bee, of lighter color, and its 

 abdomen is yellow and very flexible. It carries 

 its pollen on its abdomen and not upon its thighs. 

 These cells were of a greenish-brown color; each 

 of them was like a miniature barrel in which the 

 pollen with the egg of the bee was sealed up. 



14 



