20 OUR BACKDOOR NEIGHBORS 



decided that they were entitled to a part of the 

 harvest. Spiders were permitted to spin their 

 webs across the open spaces in the wood with- 

 out interference, for the Naturalist had built 

 a high fence about a last remaining bit of Iowa 

 woodland, and reserved it for the original 

 inhabitants. No cattle or pigs were permitted 

 to pasture there, no hunters were allowed to 

 shoot the wild creatures that took refuge 

 within the inclosure, and few besides the Nat- 

 uralist and his boys ever intruded. In summer 

 the undergrowth was so dense that it was with 

 difficulty that one could force a way through. 

 Hundreds of wild birds nested there undis- 

 turbed, wild flowers grew in profusion, and 

 insect life was very abundant. Here the Na- 

 turalist spent many long summer days in cul- 

 tivating an intimate acquaintance with the 

 many wild creatures that lived out their 

 lives under conditions somewhat similar to 

 those which their ancestors had enjoyed before 

 the white man came. 



Practical people passing by were inclined 

 to remark at the waste of good farm land 

 growing up in such a tangle, and to chide the 

 Naturalist because he failed to cut his weeds. 

 However, they were not on speaking terms 



