Honey and Honey-Dew. 125 
are so fond of; and if there are no ants 
to eat it, the aphides are obliged to get rid 
of it, and they squirt it out in the air. 
I have stood under a tulip-tree and 
watched a perfect shower of this honey- 
dew come raining down from the countless 
aphides on the leaves. The aphides stay 
on the under-side of the leaves and the 
honey-dew falls on the upper side of the 
leaves below them. Sometimes the leaves 
of a tree or a bush will shine as if they 
had been varnished, because of the honey- 
dew that covers them. Such leaves are 
sticky to the touch, too, and, in fact, be- 
come very disagreeable, as dust settles on 
the sticky surface. 
I once saw all the plants in the Carolina 
Mountains covered with this honey-dew. 
The season had been dry, which is what 
the aphides like, and they were over every- 
thing. 
The little mountain children used to pick 
these sweet leaves and lick off the honey- 
