SCIENCE 
IS 
KNOWLEDGE. 
KNOWLEDGE 
IS 
POWER. 
A PRACTICAL JOURNAL OF 
HOME ARTS. 
Vol. m. 
NEW YORK, JULY, 1880. 
No. 7. 
A Snapper's Home. 
BY A. W. ROBERTS. 
ITH the assist- 
4^ ^ 't^*^ M ^'^^'^ ^ com- 
^Vm^^L. 1^^^ pan ion, I had 
constructed a 
pond in one of 
the sunken lots 
that adjoined tlie 
old homestead. 
The bottom of 
this pond was 
puddled with 
clay to m ak e 
it as near water tight as possible. The 
margins were ornamented with masses of 
rock, with here and there patches of pond 
lilies, sweet flag, and cat-taiL Near the 
centre was an island, which went by the 
name of the " Snappers' Home." It was 
a pretty spot, built up of odd-shaped 
stumps of trees and rocks, the spaces 
between them being filled in with the 
richest of black peat, in which ferns, 
lilies, and semi-aquatic plants were 
planted. This pond was stocked with 
gold fish and all the various kinds of rep- 
tiles that could be procured, and, boy 
like, those animals that made the most 
noise were our favorites. 
To the south of where now is situated 
Myrtle Avenue Park, Brooklyn, at the time 
this pond was constructed, existed a large 
swamp that teemed with animal life. It 
had been an unusually hot summer, and 
the ponds for miles around were drying 
up, causing the turtles, frogs, snakes, and 
aquatic insects to leave them and take up 
their quarters in this remaining piece of 
water, so that if the dry spell lasted, and 
this swamp dried down to the "last ditch," 
things would become very lively. Anx- 
iously I watched and waited each day, the 
water becoming lower and lower, and 
thicker from being constantly stirred 
up by the thousands of distracted ani- 
mals. 
At last, when the water was reduced to 
a comparatively small space in the lower 
part of the swamp, I determined to make 
my first haul. Provided with a bag into 
which the frogs were to be imprisoned, 
and a long-handled scap net to capture 
them with, I reached the swamp an hour 
after daybreak ; at this time of the day the 
