House and Garden 
it solicits. In its habits the cat is cleanly 
but it hates water. 
The utility of the cat is exemplified in 
many ways but in none more curiously 
than by the fact that were there no cats 
there would be no clover. In “Origin 
of Species” Darwin explains it thus:— 
“Clover, in England, is fertilized by 
bumblebees. Field mice are very fond 
of the nests and combs of these insects 
and destroy many of them. Cats in 
their turn prey on field mice and keep 
them from undue increase; so if there 
were no cats, field mice would multiply 
so greatly that they would destroy all the 
bumblebees, and consequently clover 
from want of fertilization would become 
extinct. 
THE OTHER SIDE OF NATURE-FAKING 
W HAT about the effects of nature- 
faking upon the nature-faked ? 
Only the spread of misinformation 
among humans has been touched upon. 
The real peril lies elsewhere. Inspired 
by the tales almost daily related of their 
ferocity, courage and lethal powers, the 
creatures of meadow, wood, and stream 
are coming to think themselves mightier 
than man. How else explain the attack 
last month, perpetrated by a flock of 
crows, upon Paul Niles of Freeport, 
Illinois ? 
According to a widely circulated 
despatch, the raucous birds descended, 
en masse, upon the luckless Mr. 
Niles, who “was knocked down and 
pecked about the face and eyes and 
beaten almost insensible.” Shall we 
pick up our paper one day to read 
that the Hon. Grover Cleveland, incau¬ 
tiously stepping into a stream which he 
was whipping, had his left leg bitten 
off by an angry trout, or that that 
mighty hunter, Theodore Roosevelt, 
while stalking the shy and timorous 
grizzly, disturbed a sleeping rabbit, 
which dashed him to the ground with 
a loud roar, and fanned him to death 
with its ears Our stricken fancy 
beholds the meadows resonant with the 
shrieks of helpless agriculturists, fleeing 
in terror from hordes of maddened 
butterflies, the coppices crowded with 
naturalists seeking refuge from infuri¬ 
ated toads, while the fugitive who, 
pursued by a rabid angleworm, is for¬ 
tunate enough to escape from the peri¬ 
lous open into his house, finds but a 
momentary respite before being penned 
You can’t 
insure when 
you are 
worn out. 
You can’t 
insure when 
you are 
dyin^. 
IN^RE 
NOW 
The longer yon put it off the harder it will be. If the future of your wdfe, your daughters, 
your sons, yourself,—is to be provided for,—the best time to make that provision is NOV/. 
WRITE TODAY FOR RATES 
The Low Cost will Surprise You. 
State a^e, nearest birthday, and occupation. 
The Prudential 
Insurance Company of America 
Incorporated as a Stock Company by the State of Ne>v Jersey 
JOHN F. DRYDEN, Prest. Dept. 35 HOME OFFICE: Newark, N. J. 
Robinson & Campau, Architects, Grand Rapids. 
Testimonials Speak for Themselves. 
Boston, Mass. 
Gentlemen: 
After many year.s' experience I may candidly say that 
DEXTER BROTHERS’ 
ENGLISH SHINGLE STAINS 
are unsurpassed for their wearing qualities and artistic 
effects. I now use them exclusively on all shingled 
surfaces. Sincerely yours, 
Eugene L. Clark, Architect. 
Write for Samples and Particulars. 
DEXTER BROTHERS’ COMPANY 
209 Broad Street, - - Boston, Mass. 
Agents: H. M. Hooker Co., 128 W. Washington St., 
Chicago; W. S. Hueston, 22 E. 22d St., New York; John 
D. S. Potts, 218 Race St., Philadelphia ; F. H. McDonald, 
619 The Gilbert, Grand Rapids; F. T. Crowe & Co., 
Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma, Wash., and Portland, Ore.; 
Klatt-Hirsch & Co., 113 Front St., San Francisco, Cal. 
In writing to advertisers please mention House and Garden. 
9 
