measured every bird, stuck a pin through every 

 butterfly ; he had a glacial theory for every 

 pebble, a chemical theory for every glow-worm, 

 and a pile of science for the color of the autumn 

 leaves which made way with every fleck of their 

 glory. 



The trustee was right : the young man was not 

 fit for a teacher. He had memorized Coccinella 

 septempuTictata, but he did not Jcnow the ladybug. 



Among my acquaintances are three nature- 

 students of this family Goccinellidce, all of whom 

 are teachers. One of these used to go into the 

 woods carrying long lists of scientific names of 

 flowers written out on paper, which he conned 

 by the way. Along a familiar stretch of road, 

 across a plowed field, out came the roll of names, 

 and he would mumble : "Pogonia opMoglossoides, 

 Pogonia opMoglossoides, opMoglossoides, ophiog—" 

 never seeing the waves chasing each other across 

 the heavy-headed wheat. 



Of all the flowers beautiful, rare, and sweet, 

 his favorite, I think, was the everlasting, for he 

 said to me one day, with a show of real interest, 

 "The everlasting has the longest Latin name by 

 two letters of any flower I have analyzed." 

 [171] 



