Midges are small or minute flies; swarms of them are commonly seen in damp localities in the summer.

Horseflies are unusually abundant in the neighborhood of ponds and streams.

The Robber Flies, or bee-killers, are the hawks of the insect world, preying upon their victims on the wing. In flying an insect is likely to become the victim to their sharp little dagger, which they carry in their beak. It is said that they will frequent a favorite position near a beehive and make frequent trips back and forth, and hundreds of empty bodies of bees are found beneath this perch.

The Dancefly is so called because of the up-and-down movement which they make in their swarms.

The Housefly. These insects are highly injurious to human beings because of their agency in spreading germs of such diseases as typhoid fever and Asiatic cholera. It has been discovered recently that germs of infantile paralysis are conveyed by the housefly.

THYSANOPTERA.

To this order belong very small insects known as "thrips." They are found in large numbers in flowers and in the heads of grain, chrysanthemum, hydrangea, orange-blossom, cabbage leaf, cauliflower, squash, turnips and other plants.

HEMIPTERA

includes plant-lice, scale insects and bugs proper. One entomologist says: "If anything were to exterminate the destroyers of hemiptera, we, ourselves, would probably be starved in the course of a few months," so harmful are they to vegetation. One of the best-known insects of this order is the cicada or harvestfly, popularly but wrongly called the "locust," the term "locust" belonging rightfully to the long-horned grasshoppers. The body of the cicada is large with a blunt head. At the end of July and early in August its song may be heard in the treetops.

The queer-shaped treehoppers also belong to this order. When they are resting upon a twig, it is difficult, except upon close examination, to distinguish them from a thorn or a natural protuberance of the wood.

The Spittle Insects. After hatching from the egg the young insects live in little frothy masses like spittle on the stems of plants and grasses.

Scale Insects. Many of the members of this family are very injurious to fruit trees and other trees. They feed upon the sap.

The Oyster-shell Bark Louse is found particularly upon apple and pear trees.

Plant Lice. These insects prey upon cultivated plants. Huxley computed that the uninterrupted breeding of ten generations of plant lice from the single insect would produce a bulk equal to the population of the Chinese Empire, 500,000,000 of human beings. We have already spoken of the relations between ants and plant lice; they are often called "Ant Cows" because of the ant's habit of milking them for the juices which they exhume.

The "Water Boatmen" may be found swimming on the surface of water. They often go below the surface, carrying with them a bubble of air which is held by the hairs of their body. They hibernate in the mud at the bottom of the water. The eggs of these insects are made into cakes and are eaten by the Indians.

Another family of water bugs are properly called the "back swimmers" because of their habit of swimming on their backs. They prey upon other water insects and even fish. They can sting with their beak.

They have a short, wide body, protruding eyes and toad-like color. They are found in damp places under the banks of ponds and streams.

The Water Striders are the long-legged insects which run over the surface of the water with such speed that it is difficult to catch them.

The Cannibal Bugs, the Pirate Bugs, are preying insects which feed upon other insects whose blood they suck. A species of this insect was especially abundant in the Eastern States in 1898. Their bites and blood-sucking habits gave cause to the "kissing-bug" scare to which the newspapers gave great publicity.

is the name which Professor Comstock has given to insects frequenting yellow flowers, with which its color agrees and hides it from other insects visiting the flowers.

is the enemy of vegetables of the pumpkin family and has a distinctly disagreeable odor.

are small flat bugs which, like the Squash Bug, have a bad odor. One of this family is still called, in Georgia, "The Abe Lincoln" bug, and in Texas, "The Third Party" bug.

This is a bug that makes a specialty of corn and grasses as a diet.

INDEX

A book which treats, in a most practical and fascinating manner all subjects pertaining to the "King of Trades"; showing the care and use of tools; drawing; designing, and the laying out of work; the principles involved in the building of various kinds of structures, and the rudiments of architecture. It contains over two hundred and fifty illustrations made especially for this work, and includes also a complete glossary of the technical terms used in the art. The most comprehensive volume on this subject ever published for boys.

The author has adopted the unique plan of setting forth the fundamental principles in each phase of the science, and practically applying the work in the successive stages. It shows how the knowledge has been developed, and the reasons for the various phenomena, without using technical words so as to bring it within the compass of every boy. It has a complete glossary of terms, and is illustrated with two hundred original drawings.

This book takes the beginner through a comprehensive series of practical shop work, in which the uses of tools, and the structure and handling of shop machinery are set forth; how they are utilized to perform the work, and the manner in which all dimensional work is carried out. Every subject is illustrated, and model building explained. It contains a glossary which comprises a new system of cross references, a feature that will prove a welcome departure in explaining subjects. Fully illustrated.

This is a series of four books relating the adventures of two boys, who make a trip around the world, working their way as they go. They meet with various peoples having strange habits and customs, and their adventures form a medium for the introduction of much instructive matter relative to the character and industries of the cities and countries through which they pass. A description is given of the native sports of boys in each of the foreign countries through which they travel. The books are illustrated by decorative head and end pieces for each chapter, there being 36 original drawings in each book, all by the author, and four striking halftones.

1. From New York to the Golden Gate, takes in many of the principal points between New York and California, and contains a highly entertaining narrative of the boys' experiences overland and not a little useful information.

2. From San Francisco to Japan, relates the experiences of the two boys at the Panama Exposition, and subsequently their journeyings to Hawaii, Samoa and Japan. The greater portion of their time is spent at sea, and a large amount of interesting information appears throughout the text.

3. From Tokio to Bombay. This book covers their interesting experiences in Japan, followed by sea voyages to the Philippines, Hong-kong and finally to India. Their experiences with the natives cover a field seldom touched upon in juvenile publications, as it relates to the great Hyderabad region of South India.

4. From India to the War Zone, describes their trip toward the Persian Gulf. They go by way of the River Euphrates and pass the supposed site of the Garden of Eden, and manage to connect themselves with a caravan through the Great Syrian Desert. After traversing the Holy Land, where they visit the Dead Sea, they arrive at the Mediterranean port of Joppa, and their experiences thereafter within the war zone are fully described.