BIRD PARADISE i 



43 



house has given him. I suppose their food is the 

 minute flies which are found in the grass in im- 

 mense numbers. If the weather be warm, as it 

 is this season, most any place in the lawn or 

 garden will serve as an abiding spot. They grow 

 quite rapidly for the first season, but I conclude 

 are several years in obtaining their growth. It 

 is a tradition in our hill country that they live to 

 a great age and doubtless the idea is in the main 

 correct. From what I see I infer that the crows 

 make the young toad a favorite article of food. 

 It is a little difficult to understand how such a 

 creature can be a very savory morsel. The toad's 

 work in the garden catching flies commends him 

 highly. He is a first-class helper in securing 

 good vegetables. 



Among the diligent workers that dwell in the 

 fastnesses of my lawn, I should give high 

 rank to the burying beetles. Their right to the 

 name is secured by a skill and diligence as workers 

 that are quite remarkable. Frequently on the 

 old farm in my boyhood we would come upon the 

 fellows pushing one of their ventures that meant 

 food for the entire tribe for weeks to come. How 

 they find the dead creature that they bury so 

 nicely is an unsolved problem with the parson. 



