88 



UNDER THE OPEN SKY 



fifteen, yet are her latter days labor and 

 sorrow, for her battered wings are but 

 a weak dependence beside those that 

 greeted with their deep-toned hum the 

 first spring clover, and honey getting is 



no longer easy. 



Farmers in Eastern Pennsylvania have 

 often told me there is little seed in their first 

 crop of clover, while the second crop carries 

 abundant, well-filled pods. I wonder how 

 many of them understand who are their 

 friends in this matter. If they did, I think 

 the sport of destroying bumblebees' nests 

 would not be so common as it is amongst 

 country boys. The first crop of clover 

 blooms while as yet there are few bees. 

 By the time the second crop comes on, 

 bees are abundant, the pollen is well 

 carried, and so clover-seed will be abun- 

 dant as well. 



Of all the trees I have ever watched, 

 none seems more wonderfully beloved by 

 insects than the wild crab-apple. For some 

 time past, swelling red globes have been 

 warning us that the festive day is near. But 



