We see some new side to our most common things when we once learn to look for it.  Not one person in ten thousand knows that bean vines and morning glories will twine around a pole to the right while hop vines and honeysuckle will go to the left and yet who is there who has not seen these common vines hundreds of times?

No one can give as an excuse that he is too busy to study nature.  The busiest men in national affairs have had time for it and surely we with our little responsibilities and cares can do so too.  I once went fishing with a clergyman and I noticed that he stood for a long time looking at a pure white water lily with beautiful fragrance that grew from the blackest and most uninviting looking mud that one could find.  The next Sunday he used this as an illustration for his text.  How many of us ever saw the possibility of a sermon in this common everyday sight?

IX

WATER LIFE

The water telescope—­How to manage an aquarium—­Our insect friends and enemies—­The observation beehive

The eggs of so many insects, toads, frogs and other interesting creatures are laid and hatched in water that a close study of pools, brooks and small bodies of water will disclose to the nature student some wonderful stories of animal life.  To obtain water specimens for our collection, we shall need a net somewhat similar to the butterfly net described in the previous chapter but with a much stronger frame.

One that I have used for several years was made by the village blacksmith.  The ring or hoop is of quarter-inch round iron, securely fastened to a stout handle and bent to a shape as shown in the drawing.  To this ring is fastened a regular landing net such as fishermen use, with an extra bag of cheesecloth to fit inside to capture insects too small to be held by the meshes of the outside net.  For frogs, turtles, and minnows, the single net is all that is necessary.

This device is almost strong enough to use as a shovel.  It will scoop up a netful of mud without bending.  This is important as muddy ditches and sluggish ponds will yield us more specimens than swiftly running brooks.  In addition to the net, the collector will require a small pail to hold his trophies.  A fisherman’s minnow bucket is excellent for this purpose and the water can easily be freshened and the contents of the pail reached by simply lifting out the inside pail from the water, which will drain out.

[Illustration:  A heavy net is useful to capture aquarium specimens]