144 NATURE IN A CITY YARD 



love. He played better. Nicodemus mar- 

 ried. Nicodemus is finished. He does not 

 play at all. 



Evolution sometimes becomes involu- 

 tion in the human specimen, even when 

 nothing is gained by it. With the insect 

 there is little change, except for advantage. 

 The safety of certain moths that look most 

 like leaves or bark has made a tendency 

 of their type toward this imitation. Mem- 

 bers of the family that missed the likeness 

 were eaten. Certain butterflies have suc- 

 ceeded in looking so like another and un- 

 palatable species that the birds let them 

 alone. 



Peskiest of all our minor plagues are 

 the plant-lice, or aphides. The poppies, 

 though they bloom freely and gorgeously, 

 are marvelously beset. (I want to men- 

 tion our servant's regard for these flowers 

 the few that she takes a little pains not 

 to walk over when she is hanging up the 

 clothes. "Why, they 're just as pretty as 

 paper flowers," says she.) Running a 

 poppy leaf between thumb and finger, I 

 often slay a hundred of these aphides. 



