GARDEN FOES AND GARDEN FRIENDS 137 



riddling it with fatal holes. Another species performs what 

 is little less than a sleight-of-hand trick, that of stinging a 

 caterpillar in the very act of spinning its cocoon, for the sake 

 of depositing a bunch of eggs inside. This makes assurance 

 doubly sure that the eggs shall be wrapped up safely in the 

 swaddling clothes of its victim. If school children are en- 

 gaged in raising caterpillars, the tent caterpillar or the sphinx 

 in particular, they can in due time see the spectacle of para- 

 sites emerging by dozens from the caterpillar's body. 



There are sure to be pools, large or small, not far away 

 from the garden ; and pools mean dragon flies. These exqui- 

 site creatures are happily to be counted among the gardener's 

 friends. Their motions are fascinating to watch, and their 

 life stories read like fairy tales. What is more to the point, 

 their food includes many annoying insects that swarm in the 

 air on a summer's day, such as gnats, flies, and mosquitoes. 

 The dragon fly is clever at catching and eating these on the 

 wing, and the wingless young dragon fly or nymph does his 

 share by prowling about in the water and consuming many 

 a " wriggler." 



The worth of toads to the gardener is now so universally 

 recognized that it only remains for him to study the best ways 

 of keeping and breeding them. 1 A great deal may be learned 

 indoors by contriving for a pair of toads a snug little home 

 where they can live a somewhat normal life and can exhibit 

 their very characteristic tastes in food. The fact that they are 

 greedy for garden slugs and all sorts of lively, hopping in- 

 sects, preferring these to all the other foods that are set before 

 them, speaks eloquently in their favor. One pet toad is so 

 obliging as to eat no less than one hundred rose bugs in the 

 course of a night. For a city lot, which perhaps has long 



1 Usefulness of the American Toad, United States Department of Agri- 

 culture, Bulletin No. iqb. 



