192 LITTLE FOLKS 
We certainly must include in our scavenger army, the insects 
that eat other insects, and thus prevent them from becoming so 
numerous as to devour every plant in the world, as they would, if 
every egg hatched. These servants have different ways of getting 
their food. Some of them hunt it as men hunt deer. The Spider 
— you all know — prepares most wonderful nets, to trap her game, 
and so far from feeling disgust towards her, w r e ought to cherish 
her carefully. Why, what kind of a life would we have, if the 
thousands of Spiders around us did not thin out the ranks of the 
flies. I almost believe we would be eaten up. I'm sure I'd rather 
have my garden half full of Spiders' webs with their quiet mind- 
their-own-business inhabitants, than to have the armies of impu- 
dent, buzzing, tormenting flies, that not only get into your food, 
and spoil every pretty thing in the house, but bite the baby and 
torment your life out of you. 
Besides spiders, we have reason to be tender of Wasps and 
Hornets, for though they sometimes sting you when you disturb 
them, they destroy millions of flies, and other insects. I have 
even heard of people having Hornets in their houses, to eat up the 
flies. 
The most beautiful of our servants, are the Birds. They 
almost live on insects that destroy our vegetables and fruit. 
Whenever a farmer has taken pains to destroy Birds that disturbed 
his fruit, he has found the insects increase so much as to destroy 
everything. Even Sparrows, that have been so awfully slandered, 
destroy great quantities of caterpillars. One man who studied into 
their ways, says a pair of Sparrows with little ones to feed, will 
destroy three or four thousand caterpillars in a week. 
