TALKS WITH YOUNG OBSERVERS 309 



The naturalists find in Java a spider that exactly 

 copies upon a leaf the form and colors of bird drop- 

 pings. How many studies of honey-gathering bees 

 did nature make before she achieved her masterpiece 

 in this line in the honey-bee of our hives'? The 

 skunk's peculiar weapon of defense is suggested by 

 the mink and the weasel. Is not the beaver the 

 head of the series of gnawers, the loon of divers, the 

 condor of soarers ? Always one species that goes be- 

 yond any other. Look over a collection of African 

 animals and see how high shouldered they are, how 

 many hints or prophecies of the giraffe there are be- 

 fore the giraffe is reached. After nature had made 

 the common turtle, of course she would not stop till 

 she had made the box tortoise. In him the idea is 

 fully realized. On the body of the porcupine the 

 quills are detached and stuck into the flesh of its 

 enemy on being touched ; but nature has not stopped 

 here. With the tail the animal strikes its quills 

 into its assailant. Now if some animal could be 

 found that actually threw its quills, at a distance of 

 several feet, the idea would be still further carried 

 out. 



The rattlesnake is not the only rattler, I have 

 seen the black snake and the harmless little garter 

 snake vibrate their tails when disturbed in precisely 

 the same manner. The black snake's tail was in 

 contact with a dry leaf, and it gave forth a loud 

 humming sound which at once put me on the alert. 



I met a little mouse in my travels the other day 

 that interested me. He was on his travels also, and 



