WATER-BOATMEN— BACK-SWIMMERS 131 



like little creatures to a neighbor one day, even 

 persuading her to go with me and watch them in 

 Meadow Brook, I was chilled and fairly disgusted 

 at her question: "What are they good for?" 



How could I answer her? Of the added joy of 

 existence which they had given to me, I hadn't 

 the heart to speak. Her question told me that no 

 such "foolishness" would appeal to her. Neither 

 could I make her understand that, so far as I was 

 concerned, no utility need be assigned to any 

 creature as an excuse for its presence among us. 

 As well ask: "What use, to them, are we?" But 

 I saw she expected me to speak up in defense 

 of these denizens of Meadow Brook, and so I 

 said: "Oh, food for fish!" — a lame response and 

 totally unfounded on personal observation. A con- 

 ciliatory "Umph!" assured me that my reply was 

 entirely satisfactory, as there could be no question 

 in any one's mind as to the use of fish. 



How do people happen to grow up with such 

 benighted ideas ? Such an attitude can be readily 

 understood in the case of little slum-bred children 

 on their first visit to the country. A friend once 

 had an experience with a class of "fresh air" chil- 

 dren she had in charge one summer. She took 

 them out into the fields one day, hoping to interest 

 them in nature. In writing about it afterward, 

 she said : " Everything was new to them and they 

 were suspicious. The animals, the trees, the wind, 

 even the birds, all seemed unfriendly. In the 

 children's own language, they regarded all nature 

 as 'layin' fer ye'! I was particularly impressed 



