GIFT OF 
 Class of 1902. 
 
WILD LIFE IN 
 ^LJFORNL\ 
 
 SOME OF ITS BIRDS, ANIMALS 
 AND FLOWERS :: :: 
 
WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 SOME OF ITS 
 
 BIRDS, ANIMALS AND FLOWERS 
 
 By 
 FRANK A. LEACH 
 
 OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA 
 
 TRIBUNE PUBLISHING COMPANY 
 
 1921 
 
Copyrighted, 1920 
 
 by the 
 
 Tribune Publishing Company 
 
 Oakland, Calif. 
 
 •(tiff ti fiuis ol lie 
 
FOREWORD 
 
 The series of Nature Studies contained herein were published first 
 in The Oakland TRIBUNE. When it was learned that Mr. Leach 
 had set down the results of his many years of observations of Califor- 
 nia's wild life, The TRIBUNE at once requested the privilege of 
 placing them before its readers. The sound judgment of this has been 
 more than confirmed by the testimonials of delight and benefit from 
 the readers. 
 
 Mr. Leach has produced something which any naturalist or lover 
 of the open places would be proud to call his own. He has written with 
 charm, simplicity, knowledge and a literary finish which give his studies 
 an uplifting quality, for both old and young folk. 
 
 FREDERICK FAULKNER. 
 
 5ti/^. 
 
WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
Wild Life in California 
 
 By FRANK A. LEACH 
 
 CHAPTER 1 
 
 THE DESERT OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 
 
 Its Wonders. Its Wild Life. Its Beauties and Dangers 
 The Hermit of Palm Canyon 
 
 One evening in the middle of March, my 
 son Ed, his wife and little daughter, Vir- 
 ginia, and self left our home in Piedmont for 
 the Sixteenth street depot, Oakland, prelimi- 
 nary to a visit to Palm Springs, Riverside 
 county, in Southern California. 
 
 We checked our baggage to Whitewater, the 
 railroad end of the trip, and boarded the train 
 which was to take us to Los Angeles. 
 
 After getting located in our reservations 
 and settling with the conductors for the night 
 I thought I would go into the buffet car, 
 smoke and read until bedtime. The car was 
 crowded. The only vacant seat brought me 
 next to a party of politicians who were having 
 one of those "talks" so much enjoyed and so 
 commonly indulged in when two or more kin- 
 dred souls, who think it their destiny on this 
 earth to make and unmake statesmen, meet 
 with a little time on their hands .to spare. 
 They were all men well known in the State by 
 their activities in politics, who would not feel 
 complimented to be styled politicians, for they 
 were not, in the offensive sense of the term. 
 They did not recognize the writer, for which 
 I was thankful, as I was now glad to escape 
 becoming involved in discussions of matters 
 that no longer interested me more than be- 
 comes an ordinary citizen. They talked 
 rather loudly. I could not help hearing every 
 word said. I could not move away, for there 
 was no other vacant seat in the car. I tried 
 to read. I did turn over several pages of my 
 book, every one of which I read and reread, 
 but when conversation turned upon men that 
 I knew quite well and others that were inti- 
 mate friends it was difficult to follow the 
 lines in more than a mechanical way. After 
 finishing my smoke I concluded to go to bed 
 and read where I would not be an unwilling 
 listener to the conversation of others and 
 there would be no one to disturb me. When 
 I went to my car and threw open the cur- 
 tains to my berth, to my astonishment there 
 was a big fat man apparently sound asleep 
 in the bed. I quietly closed the curtains and 
 went to the porter at the other end of the 
 car and asked for an explanation. He didn't 
 
 know anything about it and seemed to care 
 less, but finally said he would call the con- 
 ductor. This official looked at my ticket 
 and said the berth was mine and that the 
 man had no business there. He called a 
 couple of brakemen and the three men went 
 to the berth, I supposed with the purpose of 
 ejecting the intruder. Whether the job, con- 
 sidering the size of the man, or for some 
 other reason, looked to be too great an un- 
 dertaking, I did not learn. However it was, 
 in a short time the conductor came to me 
 and asked if I would not take another lower 
 berth, which of course was all the same to 
 me, so I consented. He said some uncom- 
 plimentary things about the other fellow, but 
 did not offer any explanation of why he let 
 him remain in the berth, though he said the 
 man knew he had no right there. 
 
 I could not help but notice the great in- 
 fluence over the manners and civility of 
 grown people wrought by the actions and 
 speeches of a bright, innocent, sweet little 
 thing like Virginia. The conductors and 
 brakemen, who are generally short, if not 
 gruff, and porters who are stolid, largely 
 made so by constant contact with unreason- 
 able and inconsiderate travelers, were all 
 smiles and ready to surrender everything 
 when in the presence of that dear little girl. 
 
 After a stop in Los Angeles we boarded an- 
 other train which was to convey us to White- 
 water, situated about nine miies from Palm 
 Springs. This little town is located on that 
 part of desert lying between the San Bernar- 
 dino and San Jacinto ranges of mountains in 
 the extreme southerly part of California. This 
 particular part of the desert is that portion of 
 the great Colorado Desert that extends into 
 the State of California. Palm Springs is a 
 little town of about forty or fifty houses, in- 
 cluding a school, church, hotels, stores and 
 garages. 
 
 Our train took us out through the famous 
 San Gabriel Valley, passing Pomona, Ontario, 
 Oblton, Beaumont. Banning and several other 
 towns of lesser importance. For the distance 
 of ten or fifteen miles from Los Angeles the 
 
6 
 
 WIED- LfFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 land seemed to be *fn*dei»a h'igh« stato of"- euRi-* ' 
 ration or "intensified farming." Beyond to 
 Banning orchards, grain and hayfields pre- 
 dominated in the use of the land adjacent to 
 the railroad, about all of which appeared to 
 be in a fairly prosperous condition. 
 
 Leaving Banning we passed into the desert. 
 The desert is not without vegetation. In 
 fact it is covered with shrubs, plants and 
 cactus, with here and there growths of Palo 
 Verde and smoke trees and palms. Probably 
 seventy-five per cent of all is a shrub that 
 grows from two to possibly ten feet in height, 
 called the Creosote Bush or L»arrea Mexicana. 
 It is an evergreen and at that time was 
 covered with small yellow flowers. It is a 
 resinous shrub and emits something of a 
 creosote, or carbolic acid smell, which we 
 noted while tramping through it, for some- 
 time before we learned from what it 
 emanated. It is said that in certain localities 
 on the desert the branches of the shrub be- 
 come incrusted with a gum-like substance 
 identical with the shellac imported from the 
 Orient, and that it is used by the Indians for 
 cementing purposes. The leaves and young 
 branches are said to possess medicinal virtues. 
 
 The next most common plant is a per- 
 renial ordinarily with leaves of the dusty 
 miller gray shade. The plant rarely grows 
 more than eighteen inches high and generally 
 covers a space of from two to three feet in 
 circumference. From this area hundreds of 
 naked green stems are sent up, surmounted 
 with yellow composite flowers of about an 
 inch or more in diameter. The disk or cen- 
 ter, as well as the rays, are bright yellow. 
 We saw a few plants where the centers of the 
 flower were dark brown, and in Chino Canyon, 
 2000 feet above the desert, we found many 
 of these plants where the leaves instead of 
 being gray were green. 
 
 There are a few other gray plants, among 
 which is a species of Yerba Santa, with a 
 violet flower. These plants, however, are 
 not as common as the first mentioned. 
 
 Next to the yellow flowered gray plant in 
 importance as to quantity is the cactus family. 
 We noted five varieties, all of which were 
 in bloom, giving by far the most beautiful of 
 all the blossoms we saw on the desert. Some 
 of the cactus bore red flowers, some showy 
 pink blossoms, and others yellow. 
 
 At Whitewater an auto stage meets pas- 
 sengers, bound for Palm Springs, so at this 
 point we left the train and were soon on the 
 way to the springs. The road in sections 
 was in fine condition. Being State highway 
 it had been paved, but flood waters had 
 damaged and washed it out in places. 
 
 Palm Springs is an oasis of the desert, but 
 not naturally so. Thirty years or more ago 
 somebody conceived the idea of creating a 
 town or city on the spot. The land was ac- 
 quired and surveyed into blocks and streets, 
 with lots of 27% feet frontage. Water from 
 a neighboring canyon was brought to the 
 site and improvements in the way of build- 
 ings and the planting of trees was begun. We 
 were told that the lots were sold rapidly and 
 that one day's sales amounted to over one 
 
 hundred and seventy thousand dollars. Prob- 
 ably the reason for locating the proposed city 
 at the spot was due to the presence there of 
 an immense hot spring. Another enthusiastic 
 person located a place about three miles 
 further south where there now is a small 
 grove of palm trees growing, at which he 
 erected a hotel, beautified the grounds and 
 called it the Garden of Eden. He constructed 
 a narrow gauge railroad to connect the Gar- 
 den of Eden with the Southern Pacific rail- 
 road, running the tracks to Palm Springs 
 station on the latter road. Nothing is left of 
 the enterprise now but the grove of palm 
 trees. It failed for the lack of patronage, but 
 that was before the day of automobiles and 
 great increase of population in the southern 
 part of the State. 
 
 The immense hot spring just mentioned 
 was curbed and made to supply water for 
 the bathhouse that was erected, and a small 
 hotel was built. Some of the adjoining lands 
 were planted out in vineyard and to fruit, 
 principally citrus, but in a small way. All 
 grew most luxuriantly. For many years there 
 was not sufficient patronage to justify keep- 
 ing the hotel open. It fell into other hands 
 and now with the beautiful grounds is a pri- 
 vate home. 
 
 The advent of the touring autos and the 
 greater population in neighboring cities 
 brought about a change. The charm of this 
 beauty spot on the desert with its salubrious 
 winter climate became known to the people 
 of Los Angeles, Pasadena, San Diego and 
 other cities of the south, and now the trouble 
 is to take care of all who wish to visit the 
 place. 
 
 The area of land that was reclaimed from 
 the conditions of the desert probably would 
 not greatly exceed fifty acres. The trees 
 that were planted upon the land have reached 
 maturity. . The fresh bright green of the 
 citrus trees, the great spread of the thrifty 
 fig trees, the shade of the great cottonwoods, 
 acres of green meadows and green lawns 
 about the hotel and private grounds, would be 
 features of attraction almost anywhere, but 
 here the contrast with the desert is so great 
 that the springs not only appear as a place 
 of beauty, but a delightful haven of rest and 
 retreat. 
 
 Excepting the territory just described and 
 some railroad grant possessions, the desert 
 land thereabouts has been made an Indian 
 reservation. A number of Indians have 
 large holdings under cultivation. Within re- 
 cent years the government has been en- 
 couraging them to plant orchards on quite 
 an extensive scale, aiding them in the pur- 
 chase of trees and bringing water from the 
 adjacent mountain through the establishment 
 of a system of irrigating ditches. 
 
 These ditches are rock lined and cemented 
 so as to insure as little loss of water as 
 possible. Several of the Indians are graduates 
 of the well-known school near Riverside. All 
 the Indians we saw appeared to have 
 abandoned the habits and customs of their 
 forefathers. There were no loafers wrapped 
 in blankets or shawls hanging around the 
 
WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 streets or other places where white people 
 congregate, as was common a few years ago. 
 The men now were as fully occupied with 
 business affairs and as active as their white 
 neighbors. 
 
 Their wives were at home attending to 
 household duties, and some of the children 
 were in attendance at the public school. And 
 what is more to their credit the school teacher 
 told me that their children were as bright and 
 as quick to learn as the white children. 
 
 In describing the location of Palm Springs 
 I should have mentioned the fact that it is 
 situated on the edge or western side of the 
 desert, at the foot of the San Jacinto range 
 of mountains. In fact the shadow of the high 
 San Jacinto peak is thrown over the town 
 comparatively early in the afternoon as the 
 setting sun drops behind the summit. This 
 mountain is nearly eleven thousand feet high, 
 with several neighboring peaks reaching six 
 to eight thousand feet of elevation. Palm 
 Springs has an elevation of about 500 feet 
 above sea level, but the grade of the desert 
 toward the south drops rapidly and at a 
 distance of fifteen miles, or at Indio, the 
 floor of the valley is twenty-two feet below 
 the sea level, and at a distance of fifty-seven 
 miles further on, at Salton, the floor of the 
 valley is over two hundred and sixty feet 
 below. 
 
 Like all other mountain ranges, the sides 
 of San Jacinto range overshadowing Palm 
 Springs are gashed with canyons. Some are 
 insignificant, but many are deep and can be 
 followed back into the mountains for miles. 
 Three miles north of the springs is the en- 
 trance of Chino Canyon. Six miles south is 
 the entrance of Palm Canyon. Between the 
 last named and the springs are several other 
 canyons, the principal ones being Murray. 
 Andreas and Tahquitz. The latter is located 
 only a mile and a half from the springs. 
 Andreas four miles and Murray five. Tahquitz 
 has a beautiful waterfall made accessible by 
 an easy trail. 
 
 The features of interest in Palm Canyon is 
 the growth there of numerous native palm 
 trees known in botanical circles as the 
 Washingtonia filifera. A few of these trees 
 are found in the other canyons previously 
 mentioned, excepting in Tahquitz. They also 
 appear in one other canyon north of Chino, 
 and in several other canyons south of Palm 
 Canyon. They are more numerous on the 
 opposite side of the desert or along the base 
 of the San Bernardino range. The maximum 
 height of the trees is about seventy-five feet, 
 the largest trees have a trunk diameter of 
 about three feet. The huge fan-like leaves 
 thrust from the top of the trees give a pleas- 
 ing shade. As the trunk ascends in growth 
 the leaves die and hang down, making a thick 
 thatch around the trunk, suggestive of a great 
 petticoat. But it is only occasionally you will 
 find a large tree with its petticoat preserved. 
 Fires, intentional or accidental, have burned 
 them off. Unless the fires burn into the top. 
 or green part, which seldom happens, the 
 trees are uninjured. It is said these trees 
 are peculiar to that section of country ex- 
 
 tending from the margins of the northern 
 part of the Colorado desert into. Lower Cali- 
 fornia. They are commonly called California 
 fan palms. 
 
 We made the hotel, or inn, as it is most 
 commonly called, our headquarters. It is 
 centrally situated in the territory that we 
 wished to cover in our study of nature's pro- 
 ductions. So it was from this point we made 
 daily excursions out on the desert and to the 
 various canyons mentioned. Generally we 
 took our lunches with us and would walk 
 from six to fifteen miles. Some of the places, 
 the larger canyons in particular, we visited 
 several times to enable us to observe all of 
 the features of interest, such as the geological 
 formations and recent changes therein, the 
 flora peculiar to the section, and especially 
 some of the desert insect life. 
 
 The remarkable vigorous growth of the 
 numerous citrus trees, the strong and healthy 
 appearance of the fig and numerous other 
 fruit, shade and ornamental trees in and 
 about the little town suggested a soil con- 
 dition of unusual fertility. In the hotel 
 grounds there were growing many beautiful 
 trees of different kinds, among which were 
 a couple of trees near the office bearing 
 grape fruit. These trees were about twenty 
 feet in height and the great size of the fruit 
 hanging from the branches at once attracted 
 the attention of all incoming guests. Some 
 of the largest fruit measured within a frac- 
 tion of twenty-four inches in circumference, 
 which would give them about eight inches 
 diameter. 
 
 We had not been long in the place before 
 we noted that it was teeming with bird life, 
 with numerous songsters. In fact the air was 
 filled with bird music, in which the singing 
 of the linnets and Bullock orioles was the 
 most prominent. The last named was one 
 of the most numerous birds around the 
 springs grounds. As the nesting season was 
 now* on we found several pairs of these birds 
 at work constructing the peculiar hanging 
 nests for which they are noted on the under 
 side of the big leaves of the palm trees. 
 
 A few moments' walking northerly, east- 
 erly or southerly would take a person beyond 
 the lands reclaimed for town purposes, out 
 among the shrubs, cactus and wild flowers of 
 the desert. The floor of the desert consists 
 of what might be roughly called coarse sand, 
 but properly speaking it is composed of the 
 erosions from the granite masses forming the 
 mountains bordering the desert. In the 
 course of time where it receives an abund- 
 ance of water and some humus, and is 
 worked, it seems to slowly decompose and 
 form soil. It should be rich in some of the 
 elements nutritive to plant life, especially 
 potash. Ordinary sand is composed almost 
 wholly of silicia, which is insoluble and there- 
 fore differs from the so-called sand of the 
 desert. 
 
 As you approach the mouths of the canyons 
 from the main level of the desert this sand 
 becomes coarser and coarser until finally you 
 begin to encounter boulders, then big broken 
 
WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 rock masses. Not very long ago, geologically 
 speaking, the valley of the Colorado Desert 
 was submerged and formed an arm of the 
 sea or of the Gulf of California, and while 
 in this condition the comparatively still water 
 of the ocean prevented an extensive distribu- 
 tion of the heavier eroded parts that were 
 brought down into the canyons from the 
 mountain sides, from whence they were 
 sluiced out by the rapidly flowing streams 
 into the ocean waters and deposited accord- 
 ing to size and weight. The lightest material 
 was carried the farthest and spread out. The 
 deposition of the erosions in this way gave 
 a fan shape to the deposits and in some cases 
 with a slope of about one foot in ten from 
 the mouth of the canyon to the outer edges 
 of the fan. When the country was elevated 
 above the ocean level once more and the sea 
 had disappeared, the canyon streams soon 
 cut channels down through the loose material 
 of the fan deposits in forcing their way to 
 the desert floor. In some places we found 
 these channels a hundred or more feet in 
 depth. The fans are greater or less in extent 
 in their intrusion upon the desert according 
 to the magnitude of the canyon from which 
 they emerged. 
 
 Palm Canyon, which is the most extensive 
 in size and length of all the canyons in the 
 vicinity of Palm Springs, as stated, is situated 
 south of that place, and the entrance to the 
 canyon is six miles from there with an ele- 
 vation of several hundred feet above the 
 valley. This is the most popular of all the 
 canyons by reason of it being comparatively 
 easy of access, there being a road which 
 enables autoists to run their machines well 
 into the canyon. Besides the natural attrac- 
 tions which embrace the largest groves of 
 palm trees on the west side of the desert, a 
 nature man, or a hermit, makes his abode 
 there. The novelty of his dress, or lack of 
 it, his accomplishments as a musician, his 
 skill in manufacturing souvenirs, his cabin, 
 and the unusual appearance of the man him- 
 self, all combine to make him an important 
 addition to the features of Palm Canyon, 
 especially with the tourists visiting the 
 springs. 
 
 At some period ages ago through some 
 action of nature the original channel of the 
 canyon appears to have "been dammed by a 
 filling of rocks and earth to a depth of more 
 than one hundred feet and greater width from 
 wall to wall. The canyon stream there was 
 diverted in an easterly course to a point two 
 or three hundred yards distant, where it cut 
 a way for itself through the hills, turning 
 north and making a channel that in a quar- 
 ter mile or so brought the waters back into 
 the old channel some distance below the dam. 
 The only practical way of reaching the upper 
 part of the canyon is by using a trail passing 
 over this dam. The nature man's cabin is 
 located on the level top of the dam along- 
 side the trail. Its location gives him a com- 
 manding view, especially down the canyon, 
 nearly a half mile to the terminus of the 
 auto road, from which point all further ex- 
 plorations have to be made on foot. It can 
 
 be relied upon that few tourists, if any, start 
 up the trail without the knowledge of the 
 nature man. The trail where it passes over 
 large rock masses, or other points, where the 
 indications of it are slight, is made distinguish- 
 able by the nature man having placed small 
 rocks one upon another in spots along the 
 indistinct places. 
 
 This nature man is an interesting character. 
 He is still a young man. His long hair and 
 full beard, together with pleasant facial fea- 
 tures, makes his photographs look somewhat 
 like the pictures of the Saviour, a fact of 
 which he is very proud. After meeting him 
 a number of times I reached the conclusion 
 that he really enjoys a certain amount of the 
 solitude of mountains and desert but desires 
 the presence of visitors and sight-seers for 
 what coin his music and wares might induce 
 them to part with. The amount of money 
 thus secured cannot be very large, but as his 
 wants are few and simple it is probably suf- 
 ficient for all his needs. He endeavored to 
 establish rules to govern the conduct of his 
 visitors. These are set forth on a neat and 
 well-written card, prominently placed at the 
 end of the auto road, where all who enter 
 the canyon and the domain of the hermit can- 
 not help seeing them. A reading of the rules 
 will show that the author is not only a man 
 of some education and culture, but also not 
 unreasonable. The following is a copy: 
 
 AN APPEAL, TO REASON. 
 
 Small rocks, piled one upon the 
 other indicate the trail. If U 
 don't need them someone else 
 may, therefore leave them as U 
 find them. 
 
 In the beginning all things, Rocks, 
 Plants, Animals, Man, were 
 called into existence by the First 
 Great Cause, GOD, and therefore 
 all belongs to Him, and -since U 
 are unable to create U have no 
 right to destroy, not even a 
 snake. 
 
 Therefore when U enter this Can- 
 yon leave Ur fear and hatred and 
 weapons of murder behind. Say 
 "Peace and Good Will to All." 
 Come! Look! Admire! Enjoy! 
 but don't let Ur joy mean suf- 
 fering to something else. God 
 loves All. Live and let live! and 
 God will bless U. 
 
 HE WHO LOVES ALL THINGS. 
 
 He did not seem anxious to hide the fact 
 that a certain amount of his "nature life" is 
 commercialism, pure and simple. He justi- 
 fies it as being easier than hard work in pro- 
 curing the necessities of life. He seems to 
 be sincere in his declaration of love for the 
 life he is living. He says he is studying 
 philosophy and religion and expects that when 
 he masters the subject he will be able to 
 fathom the mysteries of life "without the aid 
 of scientific instruments." 
 
WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 Arriving at the cabin upon the occasion of 
 our first visit we found the nature man sit- 
 ting outside playing on a guitar-like instru- 
 ment which under his handling gave forth 
 most pleasing and delightful music, finished 
 and artistic. Although aware of our presence 
 he made no sign of recognition of the fact, 
 but went on playing as if his soul and the 
 instrument were in some form of communion 
 not to be interrupted. Nor did we care to 
 interfere. We were willing to listen as long 
 as the spell was upon him to play. Finally 
 he stopped playing and with a smile on his 
 face bid us "Good morning." Our apprecia- 
 tion of his musical efforts pleased him and 
 he proceeded to give us another number or 
 two. The instrument he said he had made 
 to order, but its peculiarities were not original. 
 It was constructed after a form in common 
 use in the Hawaiian Islands. The music is 
 produced by manipulating the strings on the 
 finger board with a small piece of tempered 
 steel held in the left hand, while the strings 
 are vibrated with the fingers of the right 
 hand over the sounding board or the usual 
 place in playing a guitar. 
 
 One of the pictures he has for sale is a 
 photograph of himself playing on this instru- 
 ment. However, as there was some little 
 chill in the morning air at the time of our 
 visit he wore more clothes than when the 
 picture was taken, but not very much — just 
 a shirt. 
 
 He told us that he built the cabin himself, 
 cutting all the lumber used, out of the trunks 
 of fallen palms he found in the canyon. Be- 
 side being an excellent musician, he was a 
 good mechanic. All the work of the cabin 
 was well done, and as the wood seems to be 
 strong and durable, barring accidents, it 
 should afford a shelter for years to come. I 
 asked him for the names of the flowers I 
 held in my hand. He looked at them for a 
 moment and then replied: "They are all 
 flowers to me; I do not need to label them." 
 
 It was plain from his accent of speech that 
 he was a German. He said he had been in 
 the United States ten and a half years, and 
 in that vicinity for a year and a half; that 
 when he first came on the desert he located 
 and built a cabin in Chino Canyon, but as so 
 few people went up there the location af- 
 forded a little more solitude than he was 
 looking for. The present site of his cabin 
 supplied other advantages — more sunshine 
 and more air, so he had moved to where we 
 found him. 
 
 From the cabin the canyon extends south- 
 erly several miles, but for lack of time we 
 were not able to go, in our explorations of 
 it, beyond a couple of miles. For the greater 
 part of this distance the going was easy, but 
 beyond it appeared to be rough and difficult. 
 
 It was on this trip where we saw our first 
 Phainopepla, a handsome crested male bird, 
 a little smaller than a male blackbird and like 
 which, wore a coat of irridescent black but 
 w ith white patches on its wings. This bird 
 is peculiar to the southern part of the State, 
 where it is quite common in some sections. 
 It does not have much of a song but its notes 
 
 are not unmusical. The female is of rather 
 a dull black and leaves it all for her mate 
 to make a show. We also noted a pair of 
 Yellow warblers, a Mocking bird and a King 
 bird, sometimes called Bee Martin, which 
 has a more severe name in the bird books, 
 Tyrannus vociferans. Strange it is that while 
 this bird will attack and drive away birds 
 much larger than itself, even crows, it will 
 flee from the attacks of humming birds. They 
 are rather noisy birds and anything but 
 musical. We also saw several Audobon 
 warblers flitting around among the trees 
 bordering the canyon stream. They are 
 pretty birds with their slaty, black, white and 
 yellow colors, but always in such a hurry 
 that it is difficult to get a satisfactory view 
 of one. 
 
 The palm trees grow in the bottom of the 
 canyon and we found them scattered along 
 as far as we went, and were told they con- 
 tinued to be a feature of the canyon for 
 nearly its entire length. Nearly all the trees 
 we saw had their petticoats burned off and 
 the trunks were blackened by the fires. How- 
 ever, the tops looked thrifty and therefore 
 the trees had suffered no injury. 
 
 We found some wild hollyhock with a 
 delicate pink shade and others of plain white; 
 there was no difference otherwise from the 
 plant with the scarlet blossoms found else- 
 where on the desert. Another attractive flower 
 noted was the vervenia, Phacolia distans. 
 The plant grows from one to two feet high. 
 The leaves and stems are hairy. The blos- 
 som stems carry a mass of small violet 
 colored flowers. We saw but few flowers 
 common to the northern part of the State, 
 not more than four or five varieties, of which 
 the white forget-me-not, the larkspur, the 
 evening primrose are all that I can recall, 
 unless I should include one little, sickly, half- 
 developed "blue dick" or "cluster lily," or 
 Brodiaca capitata. 
 
 Palm Canyon was made the scene of opera- 
 tions of a large moving picture company from 
 Los Angeles during our stay at the springs. 
 The advent of this company, with its actors, 
 photographers, superintendents, assistant 
 superintendents, mechanics and laborers to 
 the number of a hundred or more people ac- 
 companied by horses and camels and an im- 
 mense amount of paraphernalia, was some- 
 thing like a circus coming to a country town. 
 The commotion caused in our. little burg could 
 not have been greater if it had been a circus. 
 The purpose of the company was to take ad- 
 vantage of the natural scenery with the tropi- 
 cal character given to it by the groves of palm 
 trees as a setting for an act or two in a play 
 being prepared for exhibition in movie 
 theaters. A well-known actress and some 
 actors not so well known, together with the 
 nature man, appeared in the scenes. Owing 
 to imperfect arrangements for transportation 
 quite a number of the men, women and chil- 
 dren taking part in the production were left 
 at the canyon to get back to the springs the 
 best way they could. Some of them were still 
 in their grotesque costumes scattered along 
 the desert on foot, making their way home- 
 
10 
 
 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 11 
 
 ward when we saw them near nightfall. It 
 was quite late in the night before the last of 
 the stragglers were found and brought into 
 town. 
 
 It is in this canyon that the exceedingly 
 rare beetle, Dinapate Wrighti, is found. It 
 is one of the largest of the Coleoptera oc- 
 curing in the United States. The mature in- 
 sect measures from an inch and a half to 
 two and a quarter inches in length. It be- 
 longs to the Bostrichidae family. It has been 
 found so seldom that very few collectors 
 have taken it and but very little is known of 
 its life history. My son succeeded in collect- 
 ing several specimens and also found that the 
 female beetle deposits her eggs in the wood 
 of the native palm tree, where the larva o 
 hatch and live until they develop into mature 
 beetles. The holes in the palm wood from 
 which the beetles emerge are about three- 
 quarters of an inch in diameter and look as 
 if bored with an auger. Ed. brought home 
 a piece of the wood which he thought con- 
 tained some larvae and placed it in the warm 
 attic of our house in Piedmont, and in the 
 fall of that year had the satisfaction of ob- 
 taining several mature beetles that emerged 
 from the log. Hubbard styled this beetle the 
 "Dodo" of Coleoptera, referring to its large 
 and ungainly form and the fact that the 
 specie is bordering on extinction. 
 
 While out on a short trip of observation 
 one evening we met Dr. J. C. Bradley of the 
 faculty of Cornell University, on his way to 
 set a night trap in a favorable place for the 
 collection of insects. The doctor being one 
 of the most prominent entomologists of the 
 Eastern states, besides a most genial com- 
 panion, we were delighted to meet him. He 
 arrived at the springs the day before for the 
 purpose of spending two or three days here 
 collecting. The result of our meeting was an 
 arrangement for a joint trip on the following 
 day to the next canyons north of Palm 
 Canyon. 
 
 As planned, after breakfast, m company 
 with Dr. Bradley, we started out on an all- 
 day trip to Murray and Andreas Canyons. We 
 engaged an automobile to take us out a dis- 
 tance of nearly four miles on the main road 
 to where the trail to the last-named canyon 
 began. Arriving at this point we dismissed 
 the machine and proceeded on our tramp. 
 We entered the canyon and went up between 
 its rocky walls for a distance of about three- 
 quarters of a mile. Our main purpose, of 
 course, was the collection of insects and plants 
 of interest. The Doctor paid particular atten- 
 tion to the wild bees and caught specimens of 
 a number of species. Ed made quite a collec- 
 tion of beetles, some of which were rare and 
 others that were new to him. We came across 
 a number of those attractive birds, the 
 Phainopeplas. They were not very shy, which 
 gave us opportunity to become better ac- 
 quainted with them. 
 
 I met with a plant, the first and only one I 
 had seen on the desert, the yellow bladder- 
 pod, Isomeris Arborea, that belongs to the 
 Capparidaceae family. Though quite common 
 in some localities, the only other place where 
 
 I had seen the plant was on Catalina Island. 
 It bears clusters of rather pretty yellow but 
 ill-smelling flowers, but is more interesting 
 by reason of the peculiar way it forms its 
 bladder-shaped seed pod on the top of its 
 style instead of at its base, as is usual with 
 other flowers. Wild apricot bushes were quite 
 numerous, but very few wild flowers were in 
 evidence. Ed found a couple of seedling 
 palm trees which he dug up without injury to 
 the little rootlets, with the intention of trans- 
 planting them in the soil of Alameda county. 
 
 After our return to the mouth of the can- 
 yon, where there is a grove of the native palm 
 trees, by which runs a large stream of beau- 
 tiful clear, cold water, we had our lunch. We 
 passed a half-hour or more in eating and con- 
 versation and then started for Murray Canyon, 
 the entrance of which was about a mile away 
 to the south. Here we found another good- 
 sized stream of water, with more palms grow- 
 ing along the banks. The canyon is somewhat 
 smaller than Andreas and the walls of the 
 entrance are not so high and rugged. 
 
 By 3 p. m. we were ready for the walk 
 home, five miles away. We had experienced 
 a most enjoyable day and were fuller of 
 knowledge of the strange things the desert 
 section possessed. We met some picnic and 
 romping parties in Andreas Canyon, the 
 members of which seemed to Se enjoying the 
 novelty cf the place as well as the beauties 
 nnd grandeur of the canyon. 
 
 While working slowly along the upper part, 
 a lady passing me said: "Are you hunting 
 bugs, too? I just passed a man below here 
 who said he was trying to catch beetles. How 
 interesting." "Yes," I replied, "and if you go 
 a little farther you will see another man en- 
 gaged in a similar occupation, hunting for 
 wild bees." 
 
 "How interesting!" she declaimed, and 
 passed on. 
 
 On the way home, while we had stopped to 
 examine an ant hill or nest, we were witnesses 
 to a combat between a small spider (the body 
 of which was not larger than a duck shot) 
 and a rqember of this particular ant colony. 
 As the fight was in progress when we discov- 
 ered it, of course we had no way of deter- 
 mining how long it had been going on or how 
 it began. The ant, which was less than a 
 quarter of an inch long, was persistent and 
 aggressive, while the spider seemed more art- 
 ful and active. Finally the latter jumped at 
 the ant and then back like a flash, in which 
 act it apparently dealt a knockout blow or 
 bite, for the "model of frugality and industry" 
 was seen to be stunned. Its antennae quivered 
 and body swayed on its legs that were appar- 
 ently giving away from the effects of the 
 spider's poisoned blow. In less than ten sec- 
 onds the ant was "down and out." In that 
 swift and fatal movement the spider not only 
 inflicted the sting, or more properly the bite, 
 that decided the battle, but wrapped a thread 
 of its web around the ant, entangling it so 
 that when we lifted the dead ant with a pair 
 of pinchers the spider was raised from the 
 ground as well. 
 
12 
 
 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 Dr. Bradley called our attention to the fact 
 that the nest was that of the Honey ant, 
 Myrmecocystus Melliger. A peculiar feature 
 of this specie is that it makes provision for 
 food to carry it through the season when its 
 peculiar food is unobtainable. It gathers a 
 honey-like substance presumably from flowers 
 which is fed to and then stored in the ab- 
 domen of one form of the workers designed 
 by nature for the purpose. When filled the 
 abdomen is inflated to the size and shape of a 
 cherry stone. After being gorged with the 
 nectar the live storage vats cling to the roof 
 of their home underground until later in the 
 year when food is scarce and it becomes 
 necessary for the other members of the colony 
 to resort to the storage ant for subsistence, 
 which they disgorge to their fellows through 
 their mouths. 
 
 The Doctor also pointed out eight or ten 
 different species of ants along the road, one 
 of which was peculiar to this part of the 
 world; and besides, showed us another, a 
 Myrmicidae, extremely rare, which we found 
 in Andreas Canyon. 
 
 We came across four or five birds, mem- 
 bers of the thrush family. They looked like 
 our russet-backs, but the color seemed darker 
 and the spots on the breast more pronounced. 
 They might have aided us in identification 
 by rendering a note or two, but they pre- 
 ferred to remain silent, so we were compelled 
 to continue on our journey without deter- 
 mining their exact place in avifauna of Cali- 
 fornia. My pedometer recorded nine miles 
 walking for the trip. 
 
 On a previous occasion Ed and I visited the 
 entrance to Andreas Canyon while on our way 
 back from Palm Canyon. We did not have 
 time to explore the canyon for any distance 
 but satisfied ourselves with looking around 
 the little meadow of an acre or so in size, 
 which is dotted with a clump of palms with 
 their petticoats unburned; also with alders 
 and cottonwood trees. In one place the palms 
 and other trees were so thick that the sun's 
 rays could not penetrate the branches and 
 leaves and interfere with the perpetual shade 
 made by the thick growth. At one time the 
 canyon was a popular camping place for peo- 
 ple who wished to visit the desert, but re- 
 cently government agents have ordered 
 campers away. From the canyon to the inn 
 the distance was a little over four miles. It 
 was while walking this stretch that we came 
 across the first wild apricot trees. The fruit 
 and leaves are much like those of the culti- 
 vated tree, but both are considerably smaller. 
 We were informed that the government is 
 making some tests at the experimental station 
 at Indio with the wild tree to see if it or its 
 roots cannot be utilized to some advantage 
 to our fruit growers. 
 
 After getting off the fan of the canyon, we 
 found a road leading into Palm Springs. The 
 walking of course was easier, but we were 
 also glad to get away from having to dodge 
 the choya cactus, which was growing in 
 greater quantity over the section we had 
 traveled than we had experienced elsewhere. 
 It grows from three to six feet tall, the main 
 
 stalks being about three inches in diameter; 
 these stalks throw out contorted branches 
 and sub-branches without order or system. 
 The thing is covered with barbed-spines from 
 top to bottom which it parts with on the 
 slightest provocation. Some people think that 
 the plant shoots its spines at passersby, which 
 absurdity I was almost willing to endorse for 
 a time. When once in your flesh it takes 
 strength and a pair of tweezers to extract the 
 thorn. 
 
 Along the road we found some datura plants 
 in bloom, a plant that is very common in the 
 San Joaquin valley. It has a beautiful large 
 flower, but is so plentiful that it is classed 
 with the weeds by some people. We found 
 more than ordinary interest in these flowers, 
 discovering that they were harboring some 
 interesting beetles. 
 
 On the 26th day of March the sky was 
 slightly overcast and the day much cooler, 
 but very agreeable for those at the Springs. 
 We could see, though, that out on the desert, 
 eight or ten miles away, the wind was blow- 
 ing hard, and the air was filled with dust 
 and sand, almost obscuring the view of the 
 San Bernardino range of mountains that bor- 
 der the easterly side of the desert. 
 
 While watching the cloud of dust being 
 driven from the northwestern end of the 
 desert with a speed that implied an unusual 
 wind mileage, I noted that the disturbance 
 did not seem to extend beyond the great sand 
 dunes in the middle of the . desert. For some 
 distance south of these great mountains of 
 sand the air was practically clear. Here was 
 a possible clew accounting for the presence 
 of the dunes, which had heretofore been 
 something of a puzzle to my mind in trying 
 to find a reason for their occurrence at that 
 particular spot. It appeared to me that it was 
 probable that the heated air of the desert 
 rising admitted a rush of cold air through the 
 gap in the mountains at the northwestern end 
 of the desert to take its place. The hotter the 
 weather the more rapid the rarification and 
 less resistance to the cold air pressing in from 
 the ocean side. The cold air would travel over 
 the* desert until it became heated and thus 
 made to lose its onward force and become like 
 the rest of the desert air. Then its horizontal 
 movement changed to an upward direction. 
 Its capacity to carry sand and heavy dust 
 gradually ended with the change of its tem- 
 perature and upward movement. These dunes 
 are located about forty miles from the gap or 
 northwestern end of the desert. Apparently 
 then the ocean, or cold, winds are modified 
 by degrees to the same temperature and con- 
 dition of the general atmosphere of the 
 desert while passing over this distance, there- 
 fore losing their dirt-carrying capacity at the 
 end of the forty miles. This change taking 
 place practically at the same spot for ages, 
 there is now piled up a great mass of sand 
 2000 or more feet high and several miles 
 long — a huge monument to one of the forces 
 of nature — the wind. 
 
 The change in temperature of the entering 
 cold winds is effected slowly as it passes over 
 the desert. This fact is indicated by the form 
 
WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 13 
 
 of the dust cloud. When first seen it is shal- 
 low, rising but a few feet above the desert 
 plane, but as it progresses into the desert it 
 rises on an incline until it reaches a height 
 of thousands of feet, where further projection 
 of it ends, and beyond which the atmosphere 
 is free of dust. This theory was reached while 
 trying to find an explanation for the fact that 
 we at Palm Springs and thereabouts were en- 
 joying the pleasures of an exceedingly quiet, 
 clear and clean atmosphere while a sand- 
 storm prevailed a few miles away on the 
 desert. 
 
 In one of my morning walks I met with 
 four people in different places whose occupa- 
 tions gave strong evidence of the popularity of 
 this section with lovers of nature. One was 
 a young lady from the Eastern states, who 
 was making oil sketches of bits of the desert 
 with rugged mountain back grounds; another 
 was Carl Eytel, an artist, who has passed 
 much of his life here and in similar sections 
 of Southern California, who was engaged in 
 reproducing on canvas some local landscape 
 features in which the native palm was con- 
 spicuous; another was a lady gathering wild 
 flowers to be pressed and preserved to show 
 as novelties of the desert. The last was a 
 Californian who was sketching a picturesque 
 spot in water colors. No doubt but there 
 were others unseen by me engaged in similar 
 occupations or in making a study of the 
 insects, birds or flowers. 
 
 As might be expected, Palm Springs was 
 not without real estate agents. As you enter 
 the town signs announcing date and other 
 fruit lands for sale are conspicuous. Up to 
 the time of our visit no date trees, so far as I 
 could learn, had been planted in that imme- 
 diate locality. From experiments made in 
 growing dates in other desert sections there 
 was reason to believe that the date palm will 
 grow thriftily and bear abundant fruit in that 
 section. We met a gentleman living in Palm 
 Springs who was then and had been for some 
 months past giving his time and attention to 
 a date orchard located at Indio, which is 
 about fifteen miles from Palm Springs. He 
 had become interested in the cultivation of 
 this fruit some few years before and had had 
 an orchard down in the extreme southern 
 part of the state, but he found the climate 
 there unsuitable to the maturing of the fruit. 
 The cool, damp breezes that came off the 
 Gulf of California mildewed the dates at the 
 ripening season. He concluded that the 
 climatic conditions at Indio were superior; 
 in fact, more like that of the home of the fruit; 
 therefore he determined to remove the 
 orchard containing about 400 trees to Indio. 
 This was two years and one-half ago. In 
 carrying out this very remarkable under- 
 taking the trees were carefully dug up and 
 crated, hauled five miles to a railroad station, 
 and from thence were shipped by rail to 
 Indio. Some of the larger trees weighed two 
 tons each. Of course he had a very large 
 freight bill to pay, to say nothing of the cost 
 of digging up and replanting. Remarkable 
 to record, he lost very few trees in the trans- 
 planting and none of those that died 
 
 were large trees. The loss was confined en- 
 tirely to the small trees. He said the trees 
 were then in bloom and gave every evidence 
 of being located in a congenial situation with 
 profitable results. 
 
 One forenoon while walking along an irri- 
 gation ditch we discovered a pair of giant 
 water bugs known as Belostoma of the specie 
 Serphus dilatatus. The entire back of the male 
 was covered with the eggs of his mate, which 
 she had placed and cemented there, a habit 
 which the females of this specie are addicted 
 to. He was thus made the caretaker of about 
 ninety eggs, which were rather more elon- 
 gated than globular and about two millimeters 
 in diameter. Judging from its actions com- 
 pared with those of the female, I concluded 
 that it was not taking life, under the condi- 
 tions imposed, with any great degree of ease 
 and comfort. 
 
 Upon my return to Piedmont three weeks 
 later I took Mr. Serphus out of the small box 
 where I had been keeping him between moist 
 wads of paper. He appeared none the worse 
 for his close imprisonment, but I noticed that 
 the eggs had elongated or grown lengthwise 
 by half a millimeter. I put him in a glass 
 jar partially filled with water. It was un- 
 necessary to put a cover over the top of the 
 jar, as it seemed impossible for him to use his 
 wings plastered down as they appeared with 
 eggs. 
 
 I also put a large flat cork in the jar for a 
 float that the bug might have a place on which 
 to get out of the water if so disposed. This 
 he used a great part of the time by which to 
 lift the tip of his abdomen above the water. 
 I presume he did this for the purpose of ob- 
 taining air; for, like some other forms of 
 insect life, he probably secured his needed 
 supply through the stomata or breathing 
 places there. 
 
 Three days later I noted that some of the 
 eggs had elongated to about four millimeters 
 or to about double the length of when I first 
 saw them. That day eight or ten eggs hatched 
 and as many little baby Serphus were soon 
 swimming around in the jar. They were like 
 the parent in shape and in a few hours they 
 acquired a t length of about eight with a 
 breadth of about four millimeters. Burdened 
 as he was, like Sinbad the Sailor, it must have 
 been a happy day for the father. The young 
 bugs when they first emerge are practically 
 colorless but become yellowish a little later, 
 then soon take on a rather dark brown color 
 and become quite lively. Their eyes, two little 
 black dots, as well as the beak, were quite 
 conspicuous. 
 
 I took the parent bug out of the jar to 
 examine the unhatched eggs and found about 
 a dozen in advanced stages of hatching. In 
 the earliest stage the top of the egg breaks 
 open and a transparent jelly-like mass pro- 
 trudes. This is the head part and bears three 
 black specks which become the eyes and beak 
 of the mature bug. The emergence from the 
 egg cases is a very slow process. I could see 
 but little progress in the course of an hour's 
 observation. The body seemed almost shape- 
 less and lifeless until the emergence was com- 
 
14 
 
 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 THE DESERT, NEAR PALM SPRINGS. 
 
 THE PALM CANYON NATURE MAN. 
 
WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 15 
 
 plete and the insect freed from the case. Soon 
 after it would swim off actively and dart 
 around as if in enjoyment of the newly-found 
 life. 
 
 Within two or three hours after I discov- 
 ered the hatching had begun I observed three 
 of the babies were lying dead on the bottom 
 of the jar. , 
 
 In the next twenty-four hours about a 
 dozen more young Serphus made their appear- 
 ance in the jar, but soon after there were 
 eleven dead on the bottom of the jar. I put 
 an earth worm in the jar and very soon sev- 
 eral of the oldest babies were feeding on it. 
 
 By the end of the third day the hatchings 
 had increased so much I could not count 
 them, but the fatalities were increasing as 
 well. Watching the actions of the young bugs 
 closely for an hour or so disclosed the cause 
 of the death of many, if not all, of the lifeless 
 forms in the jar. I saw one of the largest 
 or first hatched catch one of the younger ones 
 and sink its beak into the body of the un- 
 fortunate and proceed to feed upon it. Later 
 I saw one of the older ones seize upon a baby 
 just emerging from the egg case and swim off 
 with it. It was also on this day that the tissue 
 holding the empty egg cases as well as the 
 cases with the unborn sloughed off the back 
 of the parent. After this event no more eggs 
 hatched. 
 
 I endeavored to supply the young bugs with 
 worms and insects, but they preferred to feed 
 upon each other, so the number daily grew 
 less and by the end of the week the last and 
 strongest of the young family were dead. 
 Though I was not a witness, I have reason 
 to believe these became the victims of the 
 appetite of the parent. 
 
 Tahquitz Canyon, next north of Andreas Can- 
 yon, being only a couple of miles from the 
 Springs, was visited by us on several occasions. 
 No palm trees are growing there, but it has 
 many other kind of trees, shrubs and flowers, 
 as well as the beautiful waterfall. I do not 
 know which trip interested me most, but our 
 first visit was on a beautiful morning. The 
 delightful atmosphere, with the clear sky over- 
 head, the many singing birds, the genial air 
 and carpet of showy flowers under our feet 
 wherever we stepped, aroused one's enthusi- 
 asm and brought forth mutual expressions of 
 delight and pleasure. One flower that grows 
 in beds not unlike that of the cultivated gar- 
 den was a wild verbena. In fact, the flower 
 itself is very much like the garden verbena. 
 It has a beautiful shade of lilac and one never 
 tires looking at a bed of them. A flowering 
 shrub that attracted our attention was the 
 Parosela Californica. I could find no common 
 name for it. It was conspicuous on account 
 of the contrast of its little dark blue pea- 
 shaped blossoms with the pale gray foliage. 
 We also noted three specie of the Onagracae, 
 or Evening Primrose family. Another oddity 
 to us was a pale pink Evening Primrose. 
 
 Along the creek that flows from the canyon 
 alders and cottonwoods grow quite profusely, 
 but, as stated, no palms have found a place 
 there. From the mouth of the canyon the 
 trail to the falls is cut into the mountain side. 
 
 It was a little rough but on an easy grade. A 
 half-mile walk from the portal brought us to 
 the falls. At this time of the years the falls 
 present a pretty picture, consisting of a sheet 
 of water eight or ten feet wide with a sheer 
 drop of about 65 feet. The large pool formed 
 at the base of the falls looked like an ideal 
 spot for trout, but we were told there were 
 no fish in the stream. 
 
 On the return home we came across some 
 pretty bluish purple flowers on a plant about 
 a foot in height. The bell-shaped corolla was 
 over an inch in length with exserted stamens 
 and pistil. We identified the flower as the 
 wild Canterbury bells. 
 
 Around the grounds of the Inn and other 
 parts of the town visitors will find not a few 
 things to interest them in the gardens in the 
 way of strange trees and flowers and wild 
 birds. In the vicinity of the big hot spring 
 and bath-house, around which are numerous 
 large trees, many kinds of birds are to be 
 seen. Even the English sparrow had found a 
 congenial home there. In addition we also 
 noted a number of Blackbirds, Robins, 
 Swallows, Black Phoebys, Orioles and some 
 California Towhees. These latter birds dif- 
 fered from our northern Towhees in that the 
 lores and ear coverts were quite dark. Our 
 Towhees are not so marked. 
 
 About a half-mile from town one morning 
 we came across a little "seven by nine" cabin 
 on the desert close to the mountain base, 
 which was housing Carl Eytel, the artist 
 spoken of in another place. In this cozy 
 and comfortable little domicile he has pro- 
 duced much work in art. He has furnished 
 illustrations for Smeaton Chase's books, as 
 well as executed many paintings and sketches. 
 He is credited with being an excellent author- 
 ity on all subjects relating to the desert. He 
 accommodated me with the botanical name of 
 a plant which I found growing near his place. 
 It was the plant commonly known as the 
 Devil's Claws, being given this name because 
 of the peculiar character of the seed pod when 
 matured and dried. This pod has two slender, 
 curled horns which are six to eight inches 
 long and as tough as rawhide. The points 
 being sharp, they are not a pleasant thing to 
 get tangled around your ankles, which seems 
 to be their only purpose; at least that is what 
 one is inclined to think when he meets with 
 such misfortune. The plant grows to a height 
 of 18 inches or more, with strong but rather 
 recumbent branches. Its leaves are broad 
 ovate in form and the flowers quite large and 
 attractive. Martynia is the botanical name by 
 which the plant is known. 
 
 On the table in a lounging place at the inn 
 was a flower pot standing in a large brass 
 urn which was directly under a gas jet that 
 was always lighted at night. We had not 
 been seated very long near the table one even- 
 ing when I noticed Ed peering into the urn. 
 He had heard a fluttering noise there and 
 was inspecting the thing to discover the cause. 
 Lifting out the pot of flowers, he found an 
 immense moth had been imprisoned in the 
 urn. But there was something else there that 
 pleased him more, about a dozen large scara- 
 
16 
 
 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 baeidae beetles of two kinds, Ligyrus and 
 Polyphylla. These were two species that he 
 had been hoping to collect, therefore the un- 
 expected find afforded him no small amount 
 of satisfaction. During the remainder of the 
 evening Ed kept up a watch for other beetles 
 that might be attracted by the bright lights 
 burning outside, and was rewarded by the 
 collection of several specimens; besides, he 
 caught a couple of monster moths which when 
 flying looked as large as small birds. 
 
 In making notes of what we saw on one of 
 our tramps to Tahquitz we recorded sixteen 
 different kinds of birds, to-wit: Audobon 
 Warbler, Bullock Oriole, Wilson Snipe, Dove, 
 Meadow Lark, Robin, Western House Wren, 
 Say Phoeby, Yellow Warbler, Junco, Califor- 
 nia Goldfinch, House Finch or Linnet, White- 
 crowned Sparrow, Humming Bird, Little 
 Green Heron and Western Gnat-catcher. 
 With the exception perhaps of the last, all of 
 these birds are common in our part of the 
 state and consequently were not new to us. 
 The Gnat-catcher is to be found north, but is 
 not so much in evidence there as the others 
 named. It is quite a small bird, no larger 
 than a California Goldfinch. It has quite a 
 musical song which the male bird persistently 
 keeps up throughout the day during the 
 nesting season. 
 
 We had a dozen or more different flowers, 
 some of which I was able to classify. A con- 
 spicuous flower was one called by the natives 
 Belleperona. It grows on a small shrub and 
 has clusters of honeysuckle-shaped scarlet 
 blossoms. It answers to the description of 
 the Pentstemon cordifolius, by Margaret Arm- 
 strong. Another beautiful flower was the 
 scarlet Mallow, a species of wild hollyhock. A 
 plant attracted our attention, not so much 
 on account of its minute simple flower as for 
 the peculiarity of its flowering stem and 
 branches, which were swollen between the 
 nodes ■ or joints, with the larger part of the 
 swelling toward the top. At first we thought 
 the enlargement was due to injury or the pres- 
 ence of an insect, but an examination soon 
 disproved that, and, moreover, all plants of 
 the kind were in the same condition. It was 
 nothing more than one of nature's provisions 
 for the welfare of the plant. It is known as 
 the Eriogonum inflatum, or bottle plant. The 
 radical leaves which form a rosette around 
 the base of the plant are very pretty, looking 
 something like the handsome foliage of hot- 
 house Begonias. We found a single plant of 
 the thistle poppy, Argemone hispade. It 
 grows between two and three feet high and 
 bears a number of beautiful white flowers not 
 unlike in size and appearance to those of the 
 Matilija poppy. The stems and even the 
 leaves are covered with the sharpest kind of 
 thistle points. At a distance the plant has an 
 attractive appearance, but the "stickers" 
 defy one to take the flowers by any ordinary 
 process. In truth, I think the majority of the 
 perennials as well as many of the annual 
 plants of the desert are armed with thorns 
 and "stickers," and one is soon impressed with 
 the advisability of closely examining the char- 
 acter of all plants there before entering into 
 too familiar relations with them. 
 
 A plant that is also a feature of the desert 
 flora at this time of the year is the Yerba 
 Santa, Eriodictyon tomentosum. It is differ- 
 ent from the Yerba Santa, Eriodictyon Cali- 
 fornicum, growing in the northern section of 
 the state. The leaves, while of the same shape 
 and texture, are covered with a gray, velvet- 
 like pubescence. This dressing gives the plant 
 a handsome appearance, and it is especially 
 attractive when in bloom. The flowers, of lilac 
 color shading to purple and white, are a little 
 over a half-inch long. The clusters of these 
 flowers, with the gray, velvet buds and leaves 
 with the peculiar gray foliage, is an exhibi- 
 tion of one of nature's most pleasing color 
 schemes. 
 
 Another remarkable plant belonging to the 
 pea family, just beginning to show color in 
 its flower buds, was called to our attention. 
 This is a shrub peculiar to the desert known 
 as Parosela Emoryi. Its flower is dark purple, 
 the foliage grayish green. The flowers are 
 quite small, pea blossom shape, gathered in 
 a head not unlike the clover. A strange and 
 interesting feature of the plant is that by 
 bruising the stems or flower head upon the 
 hands or other objects a profuse and deep 
 orange color is produced. The discovery of 
 this property in the plant led some people to 
 think it might be valuable for the production 
 of a dye, and some experimental work to de- 
 velop it was attempted, but with what success 
 I could not learn. 
 
 Referring to the English Snipe mentioned 
 among the birds seen on the trip to Tahquitz, 
 I might add that they were flushed while pass- 
 ing a moist bit of ground made so by leakage 
 from a nearby irrigation ditch. Ordinarily 
 these birds are very shy and after being 
 flushed alight only at a place that gives them 
 immediate cover, but these snipe flew off for 
 a short distance, then back, coming to the 
 open ground within a few feet of where I was 
 standing, where they remained long enough 
 for satisfactory observation. Their long bills 
 and eyes set so far back in their heads that 
 they appear out of place give the birds a very 
 odd appearance. 
 
 During the latter part of our stay, when the 
 weather became more summer-like, some male 
 wasps belonging to the Elis family put in an 
 appearance. They looked very much like the 
 slim-bodied •"warmtailed insect" so common in 
 the country districts of the north, but these 
 wasps had no stings, consequently could be 
 handled with impunity. However, if I should 
 have captured a female of the species, I would 
 have been made aware that the power to in- 
 flict a sting was not altogether absent in the 
 species, but this difference is true with all 
 kinds of wasps. It is only the females that 
 are armed with the stinging weapon, which is 
 absent in all males whether bees or wasps. 
 With the Elis it is the males that are gadding 
 about while the females remain at home. 
 But with our common wasps, the Polistes and 
 Yellow Jackets, it is the lady wasps that make 
 themselves so conspicuous, and the gentle- 
 men, where there are any, remain at home 
 and are seldom seen. 
 
 As to the common wasp, the Polistes, which 
 is represented during the spring and summer 
 
WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 17 
 
 almost wholly by the female sex, which does 
 all the work of house-building, feeding and 
 caring for the babies, we are told by observers 
 that the male kind, which does no work, Is 
 not brought into existence until the last of 
 the season in the latest broods, and then only 
 that the race may be perpetuated. 
 
 A couple of young female wasps of the 
 Polistes tribe visited the eaves of my cottage, 
 inspecting all the corners and other available 
 places for a location for a nest. At that time 
 I thought they represented the possible 
 foundation of two colonies, but I was in error, 
 as will be seen later. The following morning 
 I found one wasp employed in starting a nest. 
 The first work consisted of constructing the 
 "stem" by which the nest of cells are sus- 
 pended. That evening I saw but one wasp 
 there, which evidently had suspended opera- 
 tions for the day. About one-half of the stem 
 had been constructed. On the second day I 
 visited the scene of operations quite fre- 
 quently and never found more than one wasp 
 there and at no time was it away when I 
 called. By night the stem had been length- 
 ened about the required distance, when by 
 the position and quietness of the wasp I con- 
 cluded she had quit work as on the evening 
 previous. The next day I made frequent ob- 
 servations and found that before night the 
 base for the cells had been started. At no 
 time did I find the wasp absent, and I began 
 to wonder where the paper-like material came 
 from with which she was constructing the 
 domicile. By noon of the next day the base 
 had been enlarged and the beginning of three 
 cells were clearly outlined. I marveled still 
 more. Apparently the wasp had never left 
 the spot since she began the structure which 
 now contained as much material as would 
 make an object several times larger than the 
 wasp. Where did the building material come 
 from? .At noontime I found the answer. 
 While watching the lady busily employed on 
 the new home, another wasp suddenly flew 
 in and took a position near the nest, remain- 
 ing perfectly still. The wasp at work con- 
 tinued her operations for a few seconds and 
 then flew away, when the newcomer immedi- 
 ately stepped upon the job and proceeded with 
 the labor of increasing the cells. By night 
 the bases of five cells were completed, but 
 only one wasp remained with the work over 
 night. By these actions it was inferred that 
 two wasps at least were working in relays. 
 The absentee was gathering material for the 
 nest. 
 
 From observations made in watching a rep- 
 resentative of the same species the year previ- 
 ous in Mendocino county, I found that egg- 
 laying was begun as soon as the base of the 
 cells reached the cup shape; therefore, as the 
 cells of this new nest were beginning to 
 assume that form I began to watch for the 
 appearance of eggs. The base of the sixth cell 
 was completed and a start made on the 
 seventh by the end of the following twenty- 
 four hours, but no eggs had been deposited. 
 On the fourth day of their operations the 
 wasps had the seventh cell base finished. The 
 cells were arranged so that one was in the 
 center and the other six were around it. 
 
 On the fifth day the wasps did not seem to 
 be very busy, and so far as I could see made 
 no addition to their home, but that night both 
 wasps remained on the nest. The first thing 
 the next morning I did was to see what my 
 vespa friends were doing. Both wasps seemed 
 active, but I could not determine the nature 
 of their activities. No more cells had been 
 started, neither did they seem to be raising 
 the height of the six mentioned yesterday. 
 Finally, I concluded they were preparing to 
 lay eggs in the cell bases. The shadows were 
 such that I could not see whether eggs had 
 been deposited or not. After breakfast the 
 light was more favorable and I discovered an 
 egg to be seen in each of the cells, fastened 
 or glued to the bottom or a little to one side. 
 The mother wasps seemed to be quite proud 
 or solicitous over the event and were nerv- 
 ously walking over and peering into the cups 
 holding the precious morsels. I could not be 
 positive as to the exact time of the laying of 
 the eggs, but the event possibly accounts for 
 the peculiar actions of the wasps in suspend- 
 ing building operations the day before. 
 Neither could I tell whether one wasp laid all 
 the eggs or shared the responsibility with the 
 other wasp. 
 
 Later in the day the base of an additional 
 or eighth cell was started, but neither of the 
 wasps showed the industry and close attention 
 to their labors they manifested during the 
 earlier stages of their undertaking. They 
 were both absent for considerable lengths of 
 time. 
 
 The following morning I visited my wasps 
 for the last time, as it was the day of my de- 
 parture for home. They appeared to have sus- 
 pended work of adding cell bases and were 
 wholly engaged in increasing the length of 
 the first seven cells. Perhaps it was their 
 purpose to complete the cells for the embryo 
 wasps before starting the apartments for 
 another brood, but more probable that this 
 latter work was left for the employment of 
 the young wasps when they should emerge 
 from the cells now being completed. I re- 
 gretted I could not take the nest and builders 
 with me and continue to watch the progress 
 and growth of the family. 
 
 Ed and I spent the greater part of one 
 afternoon on the desert making a special 
 effort to capture some giant carpenter bees, 
 insects that are larger than the largest 
 bumble bee. The female is jet black without 
 a mark of any other color, while the male is 
 orange yellow. They fly with almost the speed 
 of a bullet and unusually loud noise. We saw 
 one female and three male bees but made no 
 capture. These bees are called carpenter bees 
 from the fact that they bore or excavate 
 holes in dry wood for their nests. The holes 
 are round, about five-eighths of an inch in 
 diameter, and are sometimes found 12 inches 
 in depth. The bees do the boring with their 
 strong mandibles. 
 
 The next day we were more successful, for 
 we succeeded in capturing two specimens of 
 the blacks, but did not see one of the yellow, 
 or male, bees, which we were so desirous of 
 obtaining. While we were trying to catch the 
 bees a man from a camping party located 
 
18 
 
 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 19 
 
 nearby approached us holding a glass jar in 
 his hand. He said: "You folks seem to be 
 interested in bugs and such like, maybe you 
 would like to have this thing," at the same 
 time presenting the jar to us. Upon looking 
 into it we found an enormous scorpion, which 
 appeared as if it would measure over six 
 inches in length. It was light in color, very 
 much as if it had been bleached out, quite 
 unlike the specie in the north in this respect. 
 We received the gift with thanks and the 
 monster was added -to the curiosities of our 
 collection in Piedmont. 
 
 Of all the canyons mentioned in the intro- 
 duction of this chapter, Chino is the last of 
 these interesting places to be described. It 
 was visited by us several times, but as the 
 notes of the first trip are more complete that 
 record is used in the following description: 
 
 Friday, April 20 — This was the day we fixed 
 for the trip to Chino Canyon. As there was 
 no road for an automobile, it was either go 
 on horseback or walk. The point in the 
 canyon we intended to reach was five and a 
 half miles from the inn. We chose to walk 
 rather than be bothered with horses, be- 
 sides there was much to see while walking 
 which would be inconvenient to examine if 
 we were on horseback. By half past seven 
 we had our breakfast and were off on the 
 journey, taking a lunch with us for it was to 
 be an all-day excursion. For the first couple 
 of miles we did not follow any trail, prefer- 
 ring the untraveled section, for what greater 
 novelty it might present to us. Not very long 
 after leaving the hotel we discovered there 
 was an increase in the grade which grew 
 6teeper as we entered the m >uth of the can- 
 yon. At this point we were well up on "the 
 fan." struggling around great boulders and 
 dodging cactus and other spine-laden bushes. 
 It was growing warm so we concluded it 
 would be advisable to find the trail and con- 
 sequently easier traveling. We picked it up 
 without much trouble but there would have 
 been some difficulty in following it if it had 
 not been marked by the little piles of rocks 
 as had been done in Palm canyon to indicate 
 the trail there. There is so little travel to 
 Chino by people on foot that long stretches 
 of the trail were unmarked by footprints, 
 and in places the wind and rain had obliter- 
 ated it. Under foot the going was easier but 
 the day was growing warmer, and our course 
 led us steadily up, up. There was a pipe- 
 line down the canyon along which the trail 
 zig-zagged. The pressure breaks scattered 
 along supplied us with all the water we wanted 
 to drink, otherwise I think we would have 
 been quite thirsty before reaching the end of 
 the journey. 
 
 We saw more new flowers on our way, one 
 of which I at first thought belonged to th«» 
 cruciferae, as its cluster of little half-inch 
 white four-petaled blossoms were somewhat 
 after the form of the mustard blossom, but a 
 closer inspection showed it to be a member 
 of the Evening Primrose family, a Chylisma, 
 var. calavacfirmis. So far as I could le'arn 
 from the natives it bore no common name, 
 although it was a pretty flower with maroon 
 
 dots at the base of the petals, yellow stamens 
 and green stigma which invariably laid over to 
 one side of the flower as if to avoid too close 
 association with the neighboring anthers. 
 
 An odd flower that attracted our attention 
 I found later was called the bladder-bush. It 
 grew on thorny bushes three or four feet high. 
 The little, bag-shaped, magenta colored flow- 
 ers are born along a stem and rather loosely 
 placed. After they wither the calyxes enlarge 
 and form bags larger than the flowers and 
 take the place of the blossoms. As the 
 calyxes are composed of a tissue-like substance 
 of a bright color, the blossom stems appear as 
 though they were bearing two kinds of flow- 
 ers of different colors. 
 
 I found wel> up in the canyon a couple of 
 white flowers which had every appearance of 
 being members of the Pink family. 
 
 Among all the strange flowers it was a 
 pleasure to meet an old acquaintance, a Mimu- 
 lus. It was the variety Brevipes. Another 
 flower which we found in bloom was the In- 
 dian paint brush. It is not exactly like the 
 flower of that name growing in our part of 
 the country, but near enough to claim a close 
 relationship. 
 
 The birds noticed on this trip and not seen 
 on any of our other excursions were blue 
 birds, mountain quail, song sparrows, a hawk, 
 and a little bird probably a warbler that we 
 could not identify. White-crowned sparrows 
 were numerous, but unlike the birds of this 
 species around Piedmont, they did not sing. 
 These birds were also constant visitors in and 
 about the hotel grounds, showing but little 
 fear. 
 
 The sun's rays beating down upon us in 
 the breezeless canyon caused us to remove our 
 coats and unbutton our collars, but as we 
 trudged along, this curious plant, that strange 
 flower, a fleeting beetle here and there, 
 caused us to forget the discomforts of the 
 heat and to think only of the pleasures of the 
 trip. 
 
 The "fan" of Chino extends back into the 
 canyon for a distance of fully three miles 
 from the portal and nearly as far in the op- 
 posite direction from that point. The object- 
 ive point of our trip was the upper end of the 
 "fan," where through some choking of the 
 canyon, probably during the period of sub- 
 mergence, a fairly level section of land formed 
 embracing five or ten acres. It was now 
 covered with a fine growth of large trees and 
 shrubs, besides there were two or three large 
 patches of meadow with green sod, all mak- 
 ing a cheerful and restful spot. 
 
 We reached this oasis about half past 
 eleven. My pedometer had recorded some- 
 thing over six miles. We estimated that more 
 than a half mile of this distance was due to 
 our divergences from the trail in examination 
 of shrubs, plants, flowers and chasing beetles. 
 
 We found the site of the Nature Man's for- 
 mer home or cabin that he built when he 
 first came to the desert and which he aban- 
 doned because it afforded more solitude than 
 he needed. However, the site was all that 
 was left of it; there were only ashes and the 
 indestructible parts remaining. It had been 
 
20 
 
 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 occupied by another nature man who in some 
 accidental way set it on fire the Sunday be- 
 fore our visit. The site was in a group of na- 
 tive palm trees, the only trees of the kind in 
 the canyon. 
 
 Less than fifty feet away was a large spring 
 of hot. water slightly charged with sulphur. 
 An excavation had been made about ten by 
 fifteen feet in dimension and two or three feet 
 in depth for bathing purposes. The water was 
 not only pleasant to drink but was remarkably 
 soft. Rubbing your hands in it yielded a sen- 
 sation as if you had used soap. There were 
 several other springs producing an abundant 
 supply of fine cold water. Altogether the sur- 
 roundings were such that we wished we had 
 blankets and some food that we might camp 
 there for a while. 
 
 We were surprised when we looked back 
 through the canyon down upon the valley be- 
 low with the San Bernardino mountains 
 beyond, to find we had reached an elevation 
 of much greater height than we had antici- 
 pated. We both concluded that we must be 
 up as much as two thousand feet above the 
 floor of the valley. We afterward learned 
 that the elevation was 2600 feet. 
 
 Finding a nice cool place by the side of a 
 spring, shaded by the overhanging branches 
 of a huge cottonwood, we sat down to lunch. 
 During the meal we were joined by another 
 party of trampers, a lady from the Inn with a 
 guide, "Dutch Frank," a well-known pros- 
 pector and mountaineer of the desert country. 
 Upon conversation I found the lady to be a 
 lover of nature and outdoor life, who had 
 visited almost every section of our state from 
 Oregon to the extreme south. After lurch the 
 lady declared her purpose to extend her 
 tramp still farther up the canyon. She also 
 told the guide that he could remain in camp 
 and take a rest. 
 
 Ed and I spent some time exploring the 
 grounds and incidentally looking for coleop- 
 tera. We were quite successful in collecting 
 specimens of several species, among which were 
 a couple of very large "clickers," some ground 
 beetles, some Buprestids, as well as a few 
 Phloeodes, a strange looking bug belonging to 
 the Tenebrionidae family. Feeling that a rest 
 would freshen me up for the walk back I lay 
 down on the ground in a shady place. Ed, 
 however, continued his work collecting. 
 "Dutch Frank" was also laid out under the 
 shade of a tree and was soon fast asleep. The 
 lady tramper came back from her trip in the 
 course of an hour or so. After a little rest 
 she and the guide started back for Palm 
 Springs. However, Ed and I concluded as the 
 walk back was all down hill and the distance 
 a little less than six miles, that we could 
 cover it in two hours' time, therefore we 
 could remain to enjoy the beauties of the spot 
 at least an hour longer and still reach the inn 
 by 6 p. m. Another advantage of a later start 
 was escaping some of the heat of the day. 
 
 After a rest and a bath in the hot spring 
 the watch showed it was time for us to leave 
 the attractive spot. It was with some reluct- 
 ance that we started off. The canyon floor at 
 this point is a half mile wide and about one 
 
 mile at the portal. The walls of the moun- 
 tains on both sides are very steep and rise 
 several thousand feet above the bottom of the 
 canyon. The peaks where the canyon heads 
 are still higher and were covered with snow. 
 With the aid of our glasses we could see that 
 some kind of trees of the conifer or pine fam- 
 ily were growing in and about the snow sec- 
 tion. 
 
 While waiting for the time to start we heard 
 a thundering arid crashing noise as though a 
 great rock was falling -down the mountain 
 side. It must have been a very large mass 
 that became detached judging from the noise 
 it made as well as that caused by the falling 
 of other pieces displaced by it. The occur- 
 rence seemed to have taken place quite near 
 but we could see nothing of it, not even the 
 dust that accompanies a displacement of that 
 kind. In all probability the movement took 
 place in some of the side canyons out of the 
 possibility of our vision. 
 
 The walk down the canyon was pleasanter 
 than the tramp up. It required less effort 
 and the heat was not so great. When we 
 reached the mouth of the canyon, consulta- 
 tion of the watch showed we were making the 
 time scheduled for the trip. When we turned 
 the mountain point forming the south side of 
 the portal to the canyon we passed into the 
 shade of the great mountain mass which 
 made it still pleasanter for us, besides we were 
 soon rid of dodging the big boulders, and 
 worse, the cactus. However, we did not 
 wholly escape punishment of too close contact 
 with the latter. I bumped into a choya and 
 received several barbed spines in my leg 
 above the knee, which later required the use 
 of a pair of tweezers and considerable pulling 
 to remove. 
 
 Down on the sands of the flat when not 
 far from the Springs, we saw some kind of 
 small animal or reptile about five or six inches 
 long, with a tail of about the same length, of 
 a grayish-white color, pass like a flash across 
 a little open space or gruunu. it went so fasi 
 we were unable to determine what it was or 
 even what it was like. Noting the clump of 
 brush it entered we prodded it out to get only 
 another glimpse of the mysterious thing. It 
 seemed to be able to run faster than a bird 
 could fly. We chased it around from bush to 
 bush until it finally escaped, without our be- 
 ing able to obtain any idea as to its form or 
 general character. Whenever it came in view 
 all that was recorded on our minds was a 
 grayish-white streak on the desert sand. Re- 
 porting the incident to Dr. Coffman at the 
 hotel, he said in all probability that what we 
 saw was the desert white rat. a troublesome 
 rodent in that section. It. invades the house- 
 holds and besides consuming eatables it car- 
 ries off any small movable articles that it. 
 comes across, things that cannot be of any 
 possible use or benefit to it. Another pecu- 
 liarity of the animal is that when it commits 
 a theft it leaves an article brought from 
 somewhere else, as much as to say "a fair ex- 
 change is no robbery." 
 
 We entered the hotel grounds on our re- 
 turn at exactly 6 p. m., having been two hours 
 
WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 21 
 
 and five minutes in covering the distance of 
 five and seven-eighths miles recorded by the 
 pedometer, or just half the time it took us to 
 go up. Altogether we had walked between 
 thirteen and fourteen miles. A plunge in the 
 hot baths made us forget the fatigues of the 
 day and put us in good humor for the even- 
 ing meal. 
 
 One morning subsequent to the trip just de- 
 scribed we concluded to take a short tramp 
 out along the base of the mountain spur back 
 of town where we found an irrigation ditch 
 which heretofore had been dry, but this 
 morning we noticed that it was running full 
 of muddy water. As our object on this trip 
 was more for the purpose of collecting beetles 
 than anything else, the flood in the ditch had 
 greater interest to us than it otherwise 
 would. The idea at once was- suggested that 
 the running of the water into the ditches that 
 had been dry so long would overtake and 
 drown many beetles that had been attracted 
 to the cracks and crevices of the waterway as 
 places of refuge. A careful watch of the sur- 
 face of the running stream soon showed our 
 deduction to have been correct. In a few mo- 
 ments we scooped from the surface of the 
 water two or three specimens of Diplotaxis, 
 then a more rare Serica. This was indeed 
 good luck. Instead of having to chase around 
 on the hot sands of the desert among rocks, 
 thorny shrubs and the vicious choya, to obtain 
 samples of the beetle life of the strange land, 
 a combination of circumstances was bringing 
 them from a large area of the country and 
 laying them down as it were at our feet. 
 
 We selected a shaded and otherwise com- 
 fortable spot on the bank of the ditch and 
 proceeded to fish out of the water the differ- 
 ent kinds of coleoptera as they came floating 
 down the stream. In the hour and a half we 
 spent in the occupation we gathered 124 
 specimens, which was much more than we 
 would, in all probability, have captured in an 
 entire day's devotion to the purpose. Beside 
 the collection consisted almost wholly of spe- 
 cies entirely different from any we had col- 
 lected on the trip. 
 
 As on all of our other trips we found some 
 new flowers, among which was a very pretty 
 member of the pentstemon group, another of 
 the mint family, which, by the way, is well 
 represented in the desert flora; also the flower 
 of the desert shrub, Krameria Grayi, com- 
 monly called the crimson beak; and a small 
 representative of the Phacelias. The Daturas 
 were out in full bloom and we found that the 
 beautiful large blossoms were harboring an 
 odd species of the weevil family. 
 
 I was awakened on the beautiful morning 
 of Sunday, March 31, at a quarter to six by 
 the sweet music of an Easter anthem, ren- 
 dered by a chorus of about twenty voices. The 
 sun was just beginning to show its rays above 
 the eastern horizon of the desert, and in the 
 quiet of the early morning hour the singing 
 was not only impressive but also delightful to 
 the ear. It seems that it is the custom of the 
 permanent residents of Palm Springs to as- 
 semble at Lookout Point, an elevation on the 
 spur of the mountain range that pushes its 
 
 way into the town limits, at sunrise on Easter 
 Sunday and hold devotional services for the 
 occasion. A large wooden cross and a flag- 
 pole with the national colors flying, marks the 
 spot. The elevation is about 100 feet above 
 the surrounding country, and is reached by an 
 easy zig-zag trail cut through the rocks. 
 
 Being interested in seeing the working of a 
 machine used in clearing desert land we 
 walked to where one was in operation. Al- 
 though less than a mile from the inn where 
 there was scarcely a breeze, here we found 
 a strong wind blowing. Dust from the newly- 
 disturbed ground was beginning to fly, a cir- 
 cumstance that suggested a gale further out 
 in the desert, such as might be expected 
 after a heated spell described in the theory 
 outlined in discussing the subject on a pre- 
 vious page. A glance to the eastward showed 
 that an unusual disturbance of the air was 
 in progress. A cloud of dust filled the sky, 
 shutting out all view of the opposite side 
 of the desert, and the rapidity with which 
 it moved showed there was a tremendous 
 force behind it. 
 
 When back within the town limits we found 
 no more than agreeable breeze prevailing, just 
 enough to improve the shade of the trees and 
 make them most delightful places of retreat. 
 The warmth of the sun was such as to make 
 It imperative for comfort's sake, to wear the ' 
 least amount of clothes compatible with pro- 
 priety. Yet within six miles of us overcoats 
 and wraps were necessary to comfort. 
 
 At the Springs the evening of this day was 
 most delightful. The windows of the dining 
 room were all open, the ladies were in thin 
 dresses and men in their summer suits, little 
 thinking of the terrific sandstorm that pre- 
 vailed on the desert less than six miles away. 
 
 After supper and bidding adieu to the fam- 
 ily and friends, I boarded the auto stage in 
 my start of the return trip home with the lady 
 chauffeur at the wheel. There were two other 
 passengers, an Indian and a lady. Soon after 
 starting the driver advised me to remove my 
 glasses and to look out for my hat, for "in a 
 few minutes we will be in the storm" that 
 had been in progress all day. As stated, I 
 had noted the disturbance in our morning 
 walk, but I was wholly unmindful of its power 
 and what its effects were upon things animate 
 and inanimate that came within the range 
 of its force. I had read of serious results and 
 dangers to human life that sometimes accom- 
 pany desert sandstorms, but to personally ex- 
 perience the fierce character of one of these 
 terrors was something I had never anticipated, 
 and to be suddenly thrust, without warning, 
 into the very vortex of one of the severest was 
 not only surprising but even startling. 
 
 I have no knowledge of the speed of the 
 wind on this occasion, but it must have been 
 very high, judging from the carrying force 
 it exhibited. The air was filled with flying 
 sand, grit and dust and moving with such 
 speed that the partieles stung the flesh wher- 
 ever exposed, most painfully. I could readily 
 understand how an exposure to it for a brief 
 time would wound the flesh and cause the 
 blood to flow. 
 
22 
 
 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 THE "DESERT CANARY," NEAR PALM SPRINGS. 
 
 SAN JACINTO RANGE,, FACING THE DESERT. 
 
WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 23 
 
 The roar of the rushing wind was so great 
 it fairly drowned all sound of the noisy auto 
 truck which was slowly bucking its way 
 through the flying grit, under the guidance 
 of the brave little woman at the wheel. How 
 she managed to keep the road or make head- 
 way against the terrific force of wind, I could 
 not understand. A short time before we 
 reached the point of full exposure to the force 
 of the gale, we noticed an auto running ahead 
 of us suddenly stop and turn around and go 
 back toward Palm Springs. Now we knew why 
 this was done. Further on an auto top would 
 have been no more than a plaything to the 
 forces there displaying their giant and merci- 
 less strength. 
 
 I crouched down in the bottom of the truck 
 with bent head, holding my hat down with 
 both hands. What the others were doing 
 to protect themselves, I could not see. It was 
 useless to try to talk. I remember watching 
 miniature whirlwinds of sand and grit swirl- 
 ing around and over the sheet-iron floor of 
 the truck, wondering what the outcome of 
 the wild ride would be. Sometimes when an 
 extra heavy gust of wind would strike us 
 with terrific force it was very suggestive of 
 the possibility of being wrecked like a ship in 
 a gale at sea. 
 
 The streams of sand and heavier particles 
 of rock substances that came flying through 
 the mountain pass in tremendous gusts were 
 as if nature had contrived a sand blast on 
 gigantic scale with which she designed to re- 
 model the surface of the earth. We were 
 approaching the mouth of this awful blast, 
 defined on the southerly side by a high point 
 of the mountain range that marked the turn 
 into the pass. So far we had not encountered 
 the full unbroken force of the swift-moving 
 sand and wind. Occasionally I ventured to 
 peek over the side of the car or over the 
 back of the front seat to note our progress, 
 but it was always with some punishment. I 
 now saw we were near to the point mentioned. 
 It did not seem possible for the machine to 
 be driven beyond it, so fierce were the gusts 
 of wind and so dense were the clouds of fly- 
 ing sand. Our little lady driver boldly drove 
 the car on. but when we dove into the awful 
 blast the shock was so great that either she 
 was fearful of going on or the truck was 
 stopped by the force of the gale. However 
 it was, she backed the machine into a less 
 exposed place. Just then an auto came flying 
 with the gale from around the point. The 
 occupant was the husband of our driver. He 
 proposed that we passengers get into his 
 machine and he would take us to the station, 
 but when his wife called attention to the fact 
 that although coming with the wind the top 
 of his machine was already wrecked, he ex- 
 changed places with her. After taking the 
 driver's seat he waited until there was a lull 
 in the blast and then drove on, and we 
 crouched down, seeking the best protection 
 we could find. How he managed to keep 
 his seat, control and direct the car was mar- 
 velous. The only protection he had was a 
 pair of goggles and the windshield of the 
 machine. Although the throttle of the ma- 
 
 chine was wide open during all the trip, there 
 were times when the force of the gale would 
 slow us down to almost a walking pace, and 
 the car staggered so I was fearful of disaster, 
 if not a forced return to Palm Springs. The 
 latter was a proposition that I certainly would 
 have approved. However, the man triumphed 
 and finally landed us at the station, where the 
 effects of the gale were not so severely felt, 
 though even here, when I stepped out from 
 the shelter of the building, a gust of wind 
 carried me backward four or five feet. In 
 conversation with our last driver he declared 
 that his wife could not have made the last 
 part of the trip. He said that sand-storms 
 were not uncommon here, but this one was 
 the worst he had experienced. Beyond the 
 sand and dirt in my eyes, ears, hair, beard 
 and clothing, I was none the worse for the 
 experience. Now that it was over with I was 
 rather pleased that I had the opportunity of 
 experiencing a real desert sand-storm, but one 
 is enough and I will take care to avoid any 
 more in the future. 
 
 As there was no waiting-room at the sta- 
 tion, which consisted of some sheds for 
 freight and a building which housed the 
 agent and his family and supplied a little 
 office room about five by eight for railroad 
 business, we passengers were permitted to go 
 into the little office for shelter to remain 
 until the trains that were to take on our 
 journeys came along. 
 
 When we left Palm Springs our information 
 was that the train was three hours late, and 
 the stage driver delayed the departure from 
 the inn for a corresponding time, so we would 
 not have to wait at the station. When we 
 arrived, however, we found that the train 
 Itself was making slow headway against the 
 storm and was losing more time and would 
 not be there for at least an hour. Later on 
 the agent told us the train had not yet ar- 
 rived at Indio, and that it would take over an 
 hour under the conditions to reach White- 
 water after leaving the other place. To shorten 
 a long story of hopes and disappointments it 
 is only necessary to say that the train did not 
 pull into Whitewater until twenty-five min- 
 utes to 11 o'clock, a little over six hours be- 
 hind time. We made haste to get aboard and 
 the train was soon under way, headed into 
 the storm of wind which still prevailed, but 
 had abated somewhat in its fierceness. 
 
 As expected, when we reached the summit 
 of the pass, where the moisture-laden atmos- 
 phere drawn from the ocean district met with 
 the cold temperature of the mountain tops, 
 there was a heavy precipitation of rain, caus- 
 ing a refreshing change in the atmosphere. 
 
 Upon finding the conductor of the train, I 
 was informed that the car in which I had my 
 Pullman reservation to Oakland would go no 
 further than Los Angeles, as the train was too 
 late to make connections with the train 
 leaving that city for Oakland at 11:30. All 
 that could be done was to give me a berth 
 where I could 'sleep until 7 a. m. f then I 
 would have to make my way north as best I 
 could. 
 
24 
 
 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 I accepted the situation and had a fair 
 night's rest, and early in the morning went 
 into the depot at Los Angeles and attempted 
 to get my ticket validated for the train leaving 
 for home at 8 a. m. by way of the coast. After 
 considerable discussion of the request among 
 the railroad officials, I was told that I would 
 have to go by the valley route. As there was 
 a train for Fresno starting at 7:50 a. m., I 
 decided to leave by it and lay over at Fresno 
 and take the midnight train there for home. 
 
 At first I was inclined to be vexed by the 
 decision of the railroad officials, but after the 
 train started I realized that many years had 
 passed since I had gone through the section 
 of the state between Los Angeles and Fresno 
 by daylight, and now I was going to see what 
 changes had taken place and the progress 
 made in developing the country in all that 
 time. I provided a book to read if the travel- 
 ing became uninteresting, but at the end of 
 my journey I found I had read but a few 
 pages, and these were scanned at the stations 
 
 where there was some delay and the train 
 was not moving. Nearly every mile of the 
 way had its interesting feature, but what sur- 
 prised me greatest was the discovery that a 
 vast amount more of the territory had been 
 brought under cultivation than I had thought 
 probable or eVen possible. Even up in the 
 Tehachapi Pass, 4000 feet above sea level, 
 hundreds of acres of land embraced in a little 
 valley there had been planted in orchards and 
 in other ways was being made to produce the 
 necessaries and luxuries of life. 
 
 In conclusion I may add that I arrived at 
 Oakland in good shape, well satisfied and 
 pleased with the southern trip. Yet when I 
 looked upon the green hills back of Oakland, 
 Piedmont and Berkeley, dotted with groves of 
 trees mantled with bright, new, fresh foliage, 
 I could not help thinking that in all my travels 
 I had not seen a landscape more pleasing or 
 a country more inviting to one who loves to 
 get into close ^jmmunication with nature. 
 
 HONEY ANT, AS IT APPEARS WHEN INFLATED WITH HONEY, 
 STORED FOR FUTURE USE. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 THE HATED INVADER 
 
 Habits of the Argentine Ant a Menace to Pacific Coast Homes 
 
 When these household pests, the Argentine 
 ants, Iridomyrmex lmniils. have established a 
 line of travel from their nest to some place 
 where they have discovered food to their 
 liking, it is interesting to watch them going 
 back and forth. In all probability the ants 
 returning to the nest are conveying food for 
 their larvae and also for the nurses, or such 
 individuals of the colony that remain in the 
 nest to take care of the numerous infant ants. 
 However, this species of ant is so minute it 
 is impossible to determine without the aid 
 of suitable magnifying instruments and other 
 agencies whether the ants are carrying food 
 or not. 
 
 Having discovered a place in our basement 
 where the ants had established a line of travel 
 to the apartments above, using the smooth 
 surface of the tongue and grooved board wall 
 for the roadway, I was afforded an oppor- 
 tunity for close observation of the move- 
 ments of the ants to great advantage and 
 with no discomforts. 
 
 After watching the ants and studying their 
 actions for several days, and making some 
 experiments to test their sense of smell and 
 location, I was ready to concede as true, ex- 
 cepting in the case of some wasps, the claim 
 of certain eminent entomologists who have 
 given years to the study of these insects that 
 the ant family possess the greatest intelligence 
 of all insects. 
 
 While traveling in either direction, up or 
 down, I noticed that both of the antennae 
 or "feelers" of the ants were continuously 
 active and were used not altogether unlike a 
 blind man hurriedly feeling his way with a 
 cane in each hand. It is a mooted question 
 as to how well some species of ants can see, 
 but it is conceded by the best authorities that 
 some are practically blind. Whether the 
 Iridomyrmex can see or not I was unable to 
 determine, but from the way they used their 
 antennae and results obtained its kind seemed 
 to be in little need of eyesight. 
 
 The roadway or space occupied by the 
 column of ants on the wall did not exceed 
 three-eighths of an inch in width at any 
 place between the ceiling and the floor, the 
 points where they emerged and disappeared, 
 in the going and coming; and a remarkable 
 thing about this roadway was that so far as 
 the ants were concerned, it was as well de- 
 fined as any highway in the State of Cali- 
 fornia, although so far as I could see there 
 was absolutely nothing to mark its boun- 
 daries. However, by the manner in which 
 the ants ran along constantly tapping the 
 board with their antennae, hunting their way 
 and turning back into the "beaten track" 
 
 whenever in their haste they happened to step 
 off of the course, it was presumed that the 
 roadway was recognizable through the sense 
 of smell, and what tended to confirm this 
 theory was the sinuous character of the trail. 
 While from the top to the bottom it was con- 
 fined to a single board and in no place was it 
 straight for more than a few inches, it swung 
 on long angles from margin to margin of the 
 board. These crooks and turns of their road- 
 way were followed by every ant, without 
 variation, going up or coming down, for the 
 weeks they were under observation. 
 
 As a test of the accuracy of the conclusion 
 I rubbed a place on the wall about an inch 
 wide across the roadway with a fresh piece 
 of Spearmint chewing gum, thinking if the 
 ants were guided on their way through sensing 
 the odor of their own tracks, they would be 
 confused when they reached the spot, depend? 
 ing as I did upon the probability that the 
 pungent odor of the gum would obliterate the 
 ant odor. I chose a time for* applying the 
 gum when there were but comparatively few 
 ants working and where there was quite a 
 break in their column. Now let us see what 
 happened. When the first ants to approach 
 the spot reached a point within three-quarters 
 of an inch of the gum-scented place they 
 hesitated in their march and exhibited other 
 signs showing that they recognized that some- 
 thing had happened to their roadway. It was 
 as if they had come to a waterway where 
 their bridge had been unexpectedly carried 
 away. The ants ran along the bank, their 
 antennae working excitedly. Back and forth 
 they went, until, notwithstanding the pun- 
 gent smell of Spearmint they seemed to dis- 
 cover the narrow course that connected their 
 roadway and slowly over it they passed. If 
 the ants were actuated by sense of direction 
 only it seems to me that they would have 
 crossed the obstruction at various points; but 
 not so, the crossing was made without excep- 
 tion at the break in the trail. However, the 
 place was not found and used without con- 
 fusion and study of the situation on the part 
 of the insects. The effect of the obstruction 
 was the same upon the ants on either side. 
 All were held up here on their course 
 whether it was up or down the wall. The 
 obstruction was operative for an hour or 
 more, though after the first quarter it was 
 not so effective. Even after the first five 
 minutes some of the ants began to cross, 
 showing less hesitation and confusion. While 
 a few others ants for more than two hours 
 after were disturbed and confused to some 
 extent by the lingering scent of the Spear- 
 mint. 
 
26 
 
 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
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WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 27 
 
 In watching the actions of the ants at the 
 crossing and noting the variations of conduct 
 in individuals, how timid, excited and hesi- 
 tating some were, while others showed de- 
 cidedly opposite traits I was impressed with 
 the thought of how human-like these charac- 
 teristics were. 
 
 When the traveling of the ants was fully 
 resumed and the disturbing odor of the gum 
 no longer interfered with the passing insects, 
 the line of travel over the spot was exactly 
 the same as it was prior to the interruption, 
 indicating that the odor of the ant trail was 
 preserved though it had been temporarily 
 overwhelmed by the spicy smell from the gum. 
 
 It is a generally accepted fact that odor 
 is an important feature in the life history of 
 the ant family. Each species of the insect 
 possesses a characteristic smell, which is so 
 strong in some kinds as not only to be recog- 
 nizable by human olfactories, but is also very 
 offensive. In all probability the odor that is 
 peculiar to a species varies in its subdivisions 
 of colony, caste, and even individuals as point- 
 ed out by Miss Fielde, who has given much 
 study to this side of ant life, otherwise it 
 would be difficult to account for the hostility 
 existing between adjacent colonies of the 
 same species. No one can watch the actions 
 and behavior of ants in their work and meet- 
 ing wih one another without recognizing the 
 use they make of their antennae that they 
 are just as much olfactory organs to the ants 
 as is the nose to the human family. 
 
 Although fully satisfied that these little 
 insects depended largely on their sense of 
 smell in their activities, I thought to make 
 another experiment. This time I concluded to 
 puff some tobacco smoke against the wall so 
 its fume would envelop the column of work- 
 ers passing back and forth at that point. I 
 reasoned that if the ants had no sense of smell 
 the tobacco fume would not disturb them or 
 interrupt them in their marching up and 
 down the line of the wall. The first light 
 puff of smoke blown upon the ants caused 
 more excitement and confusion than did the 
 odor of the gum, but the effect was not as 
 lasting. However, they exhibited more dis- 
 tress, some few individuals curled up, lost 
 their footing and fell to the floor; others ran 
 around in a circle, while- some stood still, 
 excitingly moving their antennae, probably 
 trying to make out the source of the horrible 
 suffocating smoke. As the fume of the 
 tobacco quickly passed away the ants soon 
 resumed their courses on the wall. It was ap- 
 parent from their actions that the ants 
 possess very sensitive olfactory organs. Of 
 course this fact was established long ago by 
 investigators of the life history of these in- 
 sects, but reading or being told of the remark- 
 able things done in the insect world and the 
 operation of human like faculties of some of 
 its individuals is not so impressive or con- 
 vincing as an ocular demonstration. As the 
 Argentine ants have no friends in this locality 
 I have little fear of rebuke for blowing 
 smoke in their faces. In truth, owing to their 
 impudent, thieving traits there are few, if 
 any, householders who would not have treated 
 
 them to boiling water and ant poison instead 
 of Spearmint and tobacco smoke. 
 
 There seems to be no limit to their 
 appetites, which are as active at night as in 
 the daytime. Though it is nothing to their 
 credit there are some things of the household 
 provender they will not partake of, but such 
 things are so few the fact does not tend to 
 reduce the unpopularity of the unwelcome 
 foreigners. So numerous and common is the 
 invasion of homes in nearly every part of the 
 Eastbay section by these insects that the in- 
 habitants are at their wits' end in devising 
 schemes to keep such eatables as the ants' 
 will attack free from contamination by them. 
 Butter, cheese and milk are among the few 
 articles of food excluded from the diets of the 
 Argentines, and in our home they do not 
 bother flour, mush or plain breadstuff. How- 
 ever, about all other articles of food have to 
 be placed in dishes set in pans of water to 
 protect them from the minute pests. 
 
 Professor William M. Wheeler, entomologist 
 of Harvard University, who probably knows 
 more about the habits of ants than any of 
 our other investigators or students, says the 
 food of ants varies with the genera and 
 species. Some kind of ants rely on other in- 
 sects which they may capture and kill, or 
 find dead. Other ants live almost wholly on 
 the larvae and pupae of ants captured from 
 other colonies. Then there are some ants that 
 find their food in honey-dew which is plant 
 juice that has undergone certain changes in 
 the alimentary tract or by contact with cer- 
 tain glands of the insects. Besides there are 
 kinds of ants which includes the species 
 known as the Harvesters, which feed on seeds 
 of plants, grasses and small fruits, injured 
 fruits, bulbs and tender roots. Finally there 
 is a tribe of ants, the Attii, which lives ex- 
 clusively on fungus hypae which grows on 
 certain vegetable substances carried into 
 their nests by the ants. Professor Wheeler 
 says "that probably there is no single specie 
 of ant able to draw on all these sources of 
 food, but many ants utilize several of them 
 and may be said to be more or less omniver- 
 ous, finding it an easy matter to pass from 
 one kind of food to another, if it will only 
 yield to their mouth parts, that is, if it can 
 be imbibed directly as a liquid or rasped off 
 in minute particles from which the liquid can 
 be expressed in the hypopharyngeal pocket." 
 From my observations I would place the 
 Argentine in this latter class of feeders. It 
 is its omniverous appetite that makes it such 
 an unwelcome guest in our homes. 
 
 Though countless numbers of the ants are 
 destroyed daily through the agency of boiling 
 water and various kinds of ant poisons, they 
 multiply so rapidly that their numbers seem 
 to suffer no dimunition. Though of tropi- 
 cal or semi-tropical origin, the conditions 
 about the bay of San Francisco seems par- 
 ticularly favorable for their existence and 
 propagation. Immense popularity and greater 
 fortune is awaiting the individual who dis- 
 covers a method that will rid our homes of 
 these little pests and protect them from 
 future invasion. Ant powders containing 
 
28 
 
 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 THE QUEEN. 
 
WILD LIFE *N CALIFORNIA 
 
 29 
 
 pyrethrum are offensive and death dealing to 
 the Argentines and by a liberal use of the 
 powders we can protect our homes from be- 
 ing overrun, and with care, attention and 
 continued use of the powders we can keep 
 the annoyance reduced to the minimum. 
 
 Has the Iridomyrmex come to stay? Will 
 it continue to be a pest of our homes for all 
 time to come? These questions could be best 
 answered by some such authority as Profes- 
 sor W. M. Wheeler, who has made a life 
 study of ant family. It is not beyond a pos- 
 sibility that some species of pupae-eating ant 
 or some other order of predaceous insect 
 might be introduced here that would hunt out 
 and invade the nests of the pest ants and 
 exterminate the colonies by devouring the 
 young, just as the Argentines have done in 
 exterminating about all other species of ants 
 that were common about our gardens and 
 homes a few years ago. This suggestion, 
 however, does n/>t hold out much hope of 
 relief. Nor does the possibility that the 
 pests may be attacked by entomophthoreae 
 fungi that at times spread among various 
 forms of insect life, causing great fatality. 
 There are several species of the fungus, but 
 the life history of each is much the same. The 
 germs, or spores, which are extremely minute 
 are supposed to find their way to the inter- 
 nal parts of the insect by being on or in the 
 food which the latter eats. Once inside the 
 fungus begins to develop from the spore and 
 as its parts absorb the interior organs the 
 insect suffers a slow death. ' Soon after 
 death occurs the fungus makes its appear- 
 ance on the outer parts of the victim. Some 
 species send stems of shoots several inches in 
 length out from the head, thorax or other 
 parts of the body while other kinds of fungi 
 can be recognized only on the exterior of the 
 unfortunates by the whiteish powdery ap- 
 pearance of a rapid growth. A common ex- 
 ample of this species and its work is the 
 ordinary house fly that we sometimes see 
 dead upon the windowpane appearing as if 
 it had just escaped from a flour barrel. 
 
 But while hoping for an enemy insect or 
 the fungi to relieve us of the pest, the house- 
 wife cannot relax in the use of boiling water 
 and insect poisons to keep the ants reduced 
 to the smallest number; besides giving trial 
 to every reasonable suggestion for the ex- 
 termination of the invaders. These thoughts 
 prompted me to look up suggestions made by 
 the best authorities on fighting insect pests, 
 when I found that W. Newell, a student of 
 this particular nuisance, recommends a "trap 
 made in form of a box 2x2x3 feet, filled with 
 cotton-seed and straw on other porous vege- 
 table material. The top of the box is left 
 open so that its contents are exposed to the 
 weather. The interior of the compost mass 
 becomes warm through decomposition, and 
 as winter approaches attracts the ant colonies. 
 During the month of January, after the col- 
 onies have assembled in the box, its cracks 
 are closed, a pound or two of carbon bi- 
 sulphide is poured into the compost and the 
 whole is covered with a waterproof canvas 
 till the ants are asphyxiated." 
 
 Another plan which neighbors have tried 
 and found very effective, is to put pieces of 
 sponge saturated with sweetened ant poison 
 in perforated tin cans and then place these 
 cans ten or fifteen feet apart around the 
 basement of the house on the ground outside. 
 The theory of this scheme is that the ants, 
 which generally live outside of the houses, 
 will be attracted to the poisoned food before 
 invading the interiors. If the ants are not 
 killed by the poison, the generous supply of 
 food makes it unnecessary for them to go 
 farther. Of course, the supply of poison must 
 be kept up in the sponges. 
 
 The Argentine ants have found homes in 
 this country in and about two seaports of 
 the United States — San Francisco and New 
 Orleans. It is a matter of interest to know 
 how these pests, whose nativity or place of 
 origin is South America, managed to get es- 
 tablished in this part of the world. It is easy 
 to understand how numbers of ants might be 
 brought here in merchandise shipped from 
 the distant ports of the South, but when we 
 contemplate the fact that colonies of these 
 ants are made up of Queens, males and work- 
 ers, the latter of which are neuters and are 
 about the only ants in evidence unless we can 
 unearth their nests in which the two former 
 remain until mating season, the transplanting 
 has some complex features. 
 
 A peculiarity of the Argentines is that unlike 
 most other genera of ants, the male instead of 
 the queen is the winged ant, as shown in the 
 illustration. 
 
 No work on mymexcology at my disposal 
 gives the details of the life history of this 
 particular genus of ants, but in nearly all 
 other genera of ants with similarly constituted 
 colonies, new nests or colonies are started by 
 young queens which leave the parent nest 
 upon being fertilized, and the queen ants 
 are winged when they emerge from the pupae 
 state. Thus they are enabled to fly to some 
 distance from their former abode. When 
 they alight about the first thing they do is to 
 bite off or remove their wings, these append- 
 ages being wholly useless to them in all situa- 
 tions of their future life. They then seek 
 some favorable place in the ground, under 
 rocks, wood or chinks in masonry in which to 
 start a nest. There they lay a lot of eggs and 
 raise the first brood, feeding and caring for 
 them with all attention and anxieties usually 
 manifested by mothers of higher order of life. 
 As a rule, this first brood consists of workers 
 which take up the care of the nest and future 
 hatchings, and the queen has" no other duty 
 than to remain in the nest and lay eggs. 
 
 With this order of life in view, it would 
 seem that queen ants must have been in some 
 manner transported from South America to 
 this country. However, Wasmann, an ento- 
 mologist of note, found in oue species of ant 
 that he had under observation that "one or 
 a few workers became gynaecoid"; that is, 
 became egg-laying workers, and fulfilled the 
 duties of the absent queen. If this peculiarity 
 is a feature in the life history of the Argentine 
 ant, the riddle would be explained. Perhaps 
 
30 
 
 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 4 
 
 THE WORKER OF THE ARGENTINE ANTS, THE FORM SO NUMEROUS AND 
 
 SO COMMONLY SEEN. ENLARGED 24 TIMES. 
 
 From drawings by Miss Charlotte M. King. 
 
WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 31 
 
 some student of ant life will soon tell us 
 whether it is so or not. 
 
 Mr. Newell, who has made some observa- 
 tions of the habits of the Iridomyrmex hu- 
 mills, or Argentine ant, says this species nests 
 both out of doors and in the woodwork and 
 masonry of houses, and the colonies which 
 may inhabit a large area have the unique 
 habit of coming together on the approach of 
 winter and uniting in one large colony which 
 may contain a large number of queens. In 
 the spring this big colony divides or splits up 
 into numerous smaller colonies, which spread 
 out and cover an extensive territory. This 
 fact suggests that the winter months are the 
 best time in which to war upon the pest. 
 
 The presence of these ants in the United 
 States was noted eleven years ago, and it was 
 then mentioned that there was a possibility 
 of their overrunning the warmer sections of 
 the country. In all probability, they had been 
 here for a season or two, at least, before it 
 was discovered they were established. So far 
 as I can learn from enquiry and observation, 
 the pest does not seem to have extended its 
 habitat to any distance easterly beyond the 
 range of hills back of Oakland and Berkeley. 
 Therefore it would seem as if there existed 
 some conditions in the easterly section un- 
 favorable to their requirements in the matter 
 of temperature or food. Neither do they seem 
 to have extended their operations south any 
 distance beyond the bay where the frost is 
 more severe and freezing weather sometimes 
 prevails. 
 
 Since the advent of foreign ants the number 
 of English sparrows about the City of Oak- 
 land, and some of its suburbs, have become 
 less. The decimation is more noticeable in 
 the streets and the more thickly built-up resi- 
 dent districts. Residents of fifteen years ago 
 will easily recall how numerous these birds 
 were on Broadway and Washington and the 
 central cross streets, as well as in the parks; 
 and how common it was to see the litter of 
 their nesting material hanging from all the 
 nooks and corners of building fronts. Now 
 
 some of the streets and buildings are entirely 
 free from the large flocks of sparrows, but 
 without careful investigation and study, it 
 cannot be set down for a fact that the Argen- 
 tine ants are responsible for the change. If 
 they are to be credited with partially ridding 
 the community of the pest bird, the deed must 
 have been accomplished by the ants swarm- 
 ing into the nests of the sparrows and killing 
 the nestlings when first hatched. This idea 
 was suggested to me by the experience of a 
 resident of Piedmont, who for many years 
 has maintained an aviary in his grounds for 
 keeping and rearing canaries. Up to the last 
 three or four years, he had no trouble in 
 raising young birds, nor did he discover any 
 unusual interference in the various features 
 of the brooding of the birds until in late years. 
 Now it is quite different. Though the birds 
 build their nests and hatch their young as 
 formerly, the baby canaries all die within a 
 brief time after seeing the light of day. For 
 a while the gentleman was puzzled for a solu- 
 tion of the cause of the fatality, but finally 
 he discovered that the nests, after the hatch- 
 ing, were overrun with Argentine ants. 
 
 The English sparrows have the habit of 
 nesting in one locality, if not disturbed, and 
 raising several broods in a season. Thus 
 creating a condition similar to the nesting in 
 the aviary, which enables the ants to locate 
 the nestlings more readily and with certainty. 
 In the case of other birds, as a rule, they 
 locate their nests in trees and shrubs away 
 from the buildings where the ants are most 
 common, and get through with their family 
 cares before the locality might be discovered 
 by the enemy ants even if some of their scouts 
 were ranging around away from human hab- 
 itations, where the ants seem to find a greater 
 supply of food to their liking. 
 
 Should the decimation of the sparrow pest 
 prove to be due to the advent of the Argentine 
 ants, there are some people who will look 
 upon the latter with less feelings of enmity 
 than others not annoyed by the birds. 
 
32 
 
 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 THE BLACK WIDOW CATCHES FLIES WITH HER HIND FEET. 
 
CHAPTER 111 
 
 THE BLACK WIDOW 
 
 Record of the Actions of a Spider While Over Two Years in Captivity 
 
 On the 22nd of August, 1916, while 
 rambling over the Pleasanton ridge, I cap- 
 tured a jet black spider, the body of which 
 was about the size of a marrowfat pea. It 
 was while I was overturning objects on the 
 ground to see what character of insect might 
 be found that I discovered the spider under a 
 rock, in a place she made her home, and from 
 whence she went forth to prey upon such 
 forms of insect life as would furnish food for 
 her sustenance. I was not looking for spiders 
 and was not particularly interested in that 
 form of insect life, but this particular spider 
 was so black, neat and clean in appearance, I 
 at once concluded to place her in captivity, so 
 as to have her under observation, and in that 
 way possibly learn something of her habits, 
 traits and manners of capturing the victims 
 upon which she lived. 
 
 I placed her in a large-mouth bottle, with the 
 top so arranged as to have plenty of air and 
 convenient for the insertion of other insects 
 as food. The first thing I did after getting 
 home was to consult books on spiders to ascer- 
 tain what species it was that I had. After 
 some comparisons of descriptions with my 
 captive, I found the latter was known in the 
 classification of the order as Latrodectus 
 ma elans, with the common name of Black 
 Widow," the title she was* known by in my 
 household for the suceeding two years and 
 seventh months, where she remained an in- 
 teresting and seemingly contented guest for 
 the period mentioned. 
 
 What the average length of spider life is I 
 am unable to state, but I am inclined to think 
 that under favorable conditions it might be 
 four or five years at least. The Black Widow 
 was of mature size when I found her, and if 
 a year old at that time, she was not far from 
 being four years old at the time of her demise 
 in the latter part of March, 1919. My reason 
 for fixing a greater age as a possible length 
 of life for spiders than that attained by the 
 Black Widow is that I feel almost certain that 
 she died of starvation. 
 
 Her diet while under my observation con- 
 sisted exclusively of house flies. During the 
 summer months it wats no trouble to find 
 enough flies to feed her quite regularly two 
 or three times a week, but during the winter 
 she was fortunate if fed that often in a month 
 owing to the difficulty in finding flies during 
 cold weather. In the first winter of her cap- 
 tivity I noted that she passed five weeks at 
 one time and over three weeks at another 
 without food, or showing any evidence of 
 hunger or sharpened appetite when fed after 
 the prolonged fasts. 
 
 At this time I had three or four representa- 
 tives of other orders of insects under ob- 
 
 servation at my home, and in the winter ex- 
 perienced a similar difficulty in procuring 
 food for them, which occasioned fasts upon 
 their part of durations equaling those experi- 
 enced by the Black Widow, apparently with- 
 out detrimental effect. 
 
 Contemplating these facts led to the con- 
 sideration of how carnivorous insects under 
 natural conditions live. The irregularity that 
 must frequently prevail in the length of time 
 between meals, especially when conditions arise 
 making food scarce, cause • spiders and other 
 predaceous insects, particularly those forms 
 whose habits of life necessitated their lying 
 in wait for food victims, to undergo periods of 
 irregular lengths of enforced fasting. This 
 being so, nature must endow such forme of 
 life with exceptional powers of endurance. 
 But even here there must be a limitation and 
 the thought prompted me to thereafter record 
 the dates on which I gave the Black Widow 
 and the other insects food. As at this time 
 we are interested only with the career of the 
 Widow, I will give the dates on which she 
 only was fed. The feeding rarely consisted 
 of more than one large fly. The following are 
 the dates: 1918 — July 11, 28, August 5, 28, 
 September 10, 16, 19, 30, October 4, 9, Novem- 
 ber 6, 19, 20, December 22; 1919 — January 16. 
 •From the last date until March 27 there 
 were no flies to be caught in the house. On 
 that date I went to the bottle containing the 
 spider to give her a fly and found that she 
 was dead. She was alive and as active as ever 
 on March 22, when I noticed her working 
 around the web she had made in the bottle. 
 At that time I was conscious of the fact that 
 she had been without food for an unusually 
 long period, and I made a search of the prem- 
 ises, the house and garden for some kind of 
 an insect that would be acceptable to her, 
 but without success. Conceding that she died 
 on that date, she had been without food for a 
 period of two months and one week. If old 
 age did not claim her as a victim, then some- 
 thing like sixty or seventy days may be con- 
 sidered as the probable limit of endurance of 
 the particular species of spider without 
 nourishment. 
 
 While this experience with the Black 
 Widow may throw some light upon the en- 
 durance of spiders in abstinence from food, 
 it is not sufficient to establish a limit, or 
 much less supply a rule in fixing the limit 
 of the power of abstinence in other forms of 
 insect life. In saying this I have in mind that 
 during the experiment with the spider I had 
 placed a larva of an omus (a genus of beetle) 
 in a bottle filled with earth, hoping it would 
 pupate. I dampened the earth after the man- 
 ner of the soil these insects inhabit and 
 
34 
 
 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 
 ■ < i ; < 
 
 /2» 
 
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 :# 'I 
 
 H* 
 
 THE BLACK WIDOW IN CAPTIVITY. 
 
WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 85 
 
 started a hole in it with the point of a lead 
 pencil. The larva took to the hole and soon 
 buried itself from sight. After a day or so I 
 introduced a big fly as food for the prisoner. 
 After a week or so I put in another fly, but 
 after the most careful observation I could 
 not see that the larva had fed on either of 
 them. It certainly had not masticated them, 
 as these insects are supposed to dispose of 
 their victims. Therefore I concluded the larva 
 either did not eat flies or was entering upon 
 the stage of pupation when insects do not 
 eat anything, and I did nothing more than to 
 occasionally moisten the earth in the bottle 
 for a period of seven months. At the end 
 of this time I thought the larva must be dead 
 or pupating. To my great astonishment, when 
 I broke the bottle and opened up the earth 
 it was in neither condition, but very much 
 alive and even larger with its hideous features 
 more developed. Upon being disturbed it 
 opened its huge and fierce-looking mandibles 
 as if in declaration of its willingness for a 
 "scrap." Under natural conditions these beetles 
 in larva form live in holes made horizontally 
 in banks of earth which they never leave until 
 they change to the mature form of beetle. 
 The larva comes to the mouth of entrance of 
 the hole and there, with its head sticking out, 
 awaits the coming of some insect which it 
 may seize and make a meal of. This latter 
 statement is on the authority of other ob- 
 servers, for although I have examined many 
 infested banks I never caught sight of a larva 
 peering out of a hole. The mouths of the 
 holes, with their beveled rims, bear out the 
 statement that the insects do come part way 
 out, but their appearance is probably at night, 
 and not in the daytime when I made my 
 search. The beveling of the edges of the en- 
 trance to the holes is undoubtedly caused by 
 the exserted part of the body of the insect 
 swaying around. But when you consider the 
 steep banks and dependence entirely upon 
 chance for some unfortunate insect to fly to 
 it or crawl over it in such a way as to come 
 within reach of the larval inhabitants, hang- 
 ing out of their windows waiting for a gift of 
 food, it is no more than reasonable to sup- 
 pose that the meals in those domiciles are not 
 only very irregular but seldom served. This 
 supposition would explain the remarkable en- 
 durance exhibited by my omus larva in exist- 
 ing without food while in captivity. Nature, 
 it would seem, in fixing the scope of activi- 
 ties of this particular species of insect, decreed 
 that it should remain withing the limits of its 
 home or hole in the ground while in the 
 larval stage, and at the same time endowed 
 it with compensating power of enduring with- 
 out food, for what seems to human kind, re- 
 markably long periods of time. 
 
 However this may be, let us return to the 
 subject of this sketch. When I first placed 
 the Black Widow in the bottle I used a round 
 paste-board pill box for a stopper, inverting it 
 in the mouth of the bottle, perforating the 
 bottom of the box for air. The box thus placed 
 afforded something of a dark place where 
 she made her retreat and remained the greater 
 part of the time during daylight. At night 
 she would come down and work on a web 
 
 which she spun all around the inside of the 
 bottle, which she eventually connected with 
 threads run on angles across from side to side, 
 making a kind of ladder which she used in 
 going up and down. 
 
 She had the web partially constructed when 
 I inserted the first fly. It soon became en- 
 tang'ed in the spider's net, but the spider did 
 not pounce upon it at once, as I was rather 
 expecting she would. For some moments she 
 remained seemingly indifferent to its pres- 
 ence. She was not yet sufficiently familiar 
 with her new surroundings not to be fright- 
 ened when I gave her the fly. However, 
 shortly after, when the fly began to make a 
 strenuous effort to escape from the web the 
 Black Widow began to move her body up and 
 down, showing that she had taken notice of the 
 presence of the victim. After a few seconds' 
 indulgence in this movement she made a jump 
 for the victim, landing near enough to throw 
 a rope of her webbing apparently freshly spun 
 for the purpose around the body of the fly 
 in such a manner as to bind down its wings. 
 Then in less time than it takes to relate it she 
 made several more wraps around it. In short, 
 the spider quickly made a perfect job of 
 trussing its victim so it could move neither 
 wings nor legs. This work she did with her 
 hind feet, and the fact that her head was 
 away from the point of action was no 
 hindrance in the dexterity of the operation. 
 While engaged in the trussing process she 
 stopped two or three times to turn and bite 
 the victim. The effect was to quiet the 
 struggles of the fly and make the work of 
 binding it up easier. 
 
 Now the Black Widow was ready to take the 
 first meal she had in captivity. She grasped 
 the fly with her third pair of legs, those next 
 to the hind ones (spiders have four pair in- 
 stead of three, as do the true insects), and 
 carried it to her place of retreat in the upper 
 part of the bottle. She began her feast by 
 applying her mouth parts first in one place 
 and then in another about the thorax of the 
 victim, turing the fly around and about quite 
 as easily and dexteriously as a squirrel handles 
 a nut. This procedure occupied a few mo- 
 ments, and whether it was one of examination 
 of fitness for food or for hastening the death 
 of the fly, though that seemed to have been 
 accomplished by the biting when it was first 
 attacked by the spider, I could not say. Ap- 
 parently satisfied that it was all that it should 
 be, the Widow moved down her ladder, this 
 time carrying the fly with her two hind legs. 
 She took a position about half-way down and 
 then began the meal in earnest. She applied 
 the mouth appendage by which she extracted 
 the juices of the fly, apparently between the 
 thorax and abdomen, and there it remained 
 for almost one hour, leaving the inference 
 that she had been feasting for about the same 
 length of time that an epicure in affluent cir- 
 cumstances would give to a meal in a first- 
 class hostelry. After finishing the fly, she 
 left the remains hanging in the web, but the 
 next morning I found the dead fly at the bot- 
 tom of the bottle. And I may state here that 
 the spider uniformly made the same final dis- 
 position of all the dead bodies of the flies 
 
86 
 
 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 H 
 X 
 
 O 
 
 w 
 s 
 
 »V 
 
WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 37 
 
 that I fed to her in the more than two and 
 one-half years of her captivity, excepting the 
 last three flies I gave to her; these were left 
 hanging in the web at the place where she 
 had finished with them. 
 
 This radical change in her habits of neat- 
 ness and order cause me to think that pos- 
 sibly the Black Widow was reaching her age 
 limit and probably would not live much longer. 
 However that may be, I cannot repress the 
 thought that the last long fast at least 
 hastened her demise. 
 
 Referring to my notes on the conduct of 
 the spider while under observation I find the 
 following taken from the record of her ac- 
 tions and disposition relating to the second 
 fly fed to her: "The spider bound the extreme 
 ends of the two wings with the hind legs of 
 the fly securely to the body; these being the 
 most troublesome appendages, were the first 
 dealt with, indicating caution and method on 
 part of the, spider. She then proceeded to se- 
 cure the other legs of the fly from movement 
 by binding them up to the body with webbing. 
 In both actions this was handled or spun out 
 with her hind feet. I could not see that she 
 bit this fly during the trussing process." 
 
 After two or three weeks of captivity the 
 Black "Widow ceased to be disturbed or 
 alarmed when I picked up her bottle pre- 
 paratory to feeding her. On the contrary, 
 if the movement of the body up and down 
 mentioned in the description of her dealing 
 with the first fly was a necessary or habitual 
 act in preparation for an attack on a victim, 
 she certainly must have learned to recognize 
 in my act of picking up her bottle at feeding 
 time, for she invariably went through those 
 motions on all such occasions and seldom de- 
 layed pouncing upon the flies as soon as 
 introduced. 
 
 On the whole I think the Widow probably 
 lived a longer life, with more agreeable ex- 
 periences, in captivity than if she had been 
 left in the hole under the rock where I found 
 her. Her enforced quarters were larger, and 
 besides she was immune from attack by in- 
 sectiverous birds and reptiles and the greater 
 danger from spider-hunting wasps. 
 
 As with snakes, many people have instinctive 
 feelings of revulsion toward spiders. Though 
 they may be fond of animals, snakes and 
 spiders are the last things they would think 
 of making pets of. Though I confess to this 
 feeling in some degree, it does not go to the 
 extent that I want to kill all these forms of 
 life I meet with. I am free in mind to pass 
 by all that are not harmful and dangerous to 
 human life. It is known that the non-poi- 
 sonous snakes are not only harmless but are 
 a decided benefit in the help they give the 
 farmers in keeping down the numbers of 
 destructive rodents that infest the country. 
 As to spiders, it is a question whether they 
 are dangerous, or harmful, or not. It is pos- 
 sible that their appearance belies their power 
 to harm. Spiders will bite, but some authori- 
 ties say the effect is less serious than the sting 
 of a bee and no worse than a wound caused 
 by a mosquito. Others, while admitting this 
 to be true as to the spiders infesting the 
 temperate zones, say there are species in the 
 
 tropics capable of inflicting wounds that in 
 some instances may involve death. Frank E. 
 Lutz of the American Museum of Natural 
 History says in his "Field Book of Insects"; 
 "The bite of all spiders is poisonous — that is 
 the way they kill their food — but there is so 
 little poison and so few spiders are strong 
 enough to bite through the human skin, even 
 if they would try, that spiders are not danger- 
 ous." Again he says, speaking of a black 
 spider that lives under stones or pieces of wood, 
 "It is the only spider of Northeastern United 
 States concerning which there is even mod- 
 erate evidence of its seriously biting human 
 beings." 
 
 On the other hand, the standard dictionary 
 says: "Some spiders are by far the most 
 venomous animals in existence in proportion 
 to their size; that the bite of a spider can be 
 fatal to man (and there are authentic in- 
 stances of this) implies a venom vastly more 
 powerful than most poisonous snakes." 
 
 When considering that the dictionary com- 
 ment applies to spider? of the whole world, 
 including the tropics, and Lutz' description 
 only to the species infesting the northeastern 
 part of the United States, the two statements 
 may be regarded as less conflicting than care- 
 less reading would make it appear. 
 
 So far as my own observations in this mat- 
 ter goes in affording any evidence it would 
 be to sustain the conclusions of Dr. Lutz. I 
 have seen many serious-looking wounds that 
 people attributed to the bites of spiders, but 
 in every instance the bites have been inflicted 
 at night while the victim was asleep. 
 
 Inasmuch as we have in this section of the 
 country a species of hemiptera that is quite 
 numerous at times, which enters our homes, 
 especially in the country, in search of insects 
 that infest houses, and is not backward in 
 inserting its sharp dagger-like beak into human 
 flesh, I think it more logical to charge it with 
 the offense laid to the spider. This insect is a 
 reduviidae and is commonly called the "Kissing 
 bug." The sting made by its proboscis is not 
 only very painful, causing large inflamed 
 swellings at time, but the effect is more last- 
 ing than any) insect wound I know of. Some- 
 times in some districts they are more numer- 
 ous than spiders, yet while everybody knows 
 the latter when they meet with it, not one in 
 500 people can identify the Kissing bug 
 or is aware of its harmful character. It 
 would be a good idea for those people unac- 
 quainted with the bug to familiarize them- 
 selves with its appearance, for it is one of the 
 things in this life that is best to avoid 
 socially. It is a little over a half-inch in 
 length and has somewhat the general appear- 
 ance of a common beetle, though it does not 
 have the chitinous wing covers that character- 
 izes the latter kind of insects. When not fly- 
 ing it keeps its wings folded close to its body. 
 There are six or more specie in the United 
 States, which vary to some extent in shape 
 and markings, but the one most frequently 
 found in our dwellings is marked with red on 
 wings and body. 
 
 Spiders do not eat, or masticate, the solid 
 parts of the insects they kill for food, but only 
 suck the juices of the body. Their mouths are 
 
WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 equipped with a pair of jointed appendages 
 which when unfolded for use look like a pair 
 of mandibles. They are known as falces. The 
 outer joint is saber-like and folds inward like 
 the blade of a pocket-knife. The falces are 
 used to kill their prey. A duct runs through 
 each joint, opening at the tip, through which 
 the spider forces a jet of poison from connect- 
 ing glands located in the cephalothorax. Not 
 infrequently spiders seize and hold their vic- 
 tims with their falces, especially when the 
 prey is large and troublesome to subdue. 
 
 I had a house spider also under observa- 
 tion after I became interested in the Black 
 Widow, which, as I have stated, was a field 
 or outdoor spider. The former had a beauti- 
 ful seal brown color of a velvety texture and 
 was about a half-inch in length. Upon cap- 
 ture she was placed in a ten-ounce bottle, 
 where she remained for a few weeks over a 
 year. For the first month I kept the mouth 
 of the bottle covered to prevent her escape. 
 During this period she constructed a capsule 
 of webbing on the side of the bottle in which 
 she deposited a batch of eggs. This act indi- 
 cated that she was contented with the situ- 
 ation; therefore I removed the cover of the 
 bottle, giving her opportunity to leave if dis- 
 posed. But so far as I know, she never went 
 outside of her glass domicile. Of course, I 
 supplied the flies necessary for her food. 
 
 I think this spider might properly be styled 
 a dainty eater. One fly seemed to satisfy her 
 needs for some time. If two flies were placed 
 in the bottle within the same half day the 
 second one was ignored for hours. In fact, 
 she would back away if it happened to come 
 in proximity to her in its ramblings. 
 
 Her method of attacking the flies was some- 
 what different from that of the Black 
 Widow, which it will be remembered threw 
 webbing around her victims and trussed them 
 up so they could not move either wings or 
 legs. "Brownie," the name I gave the last 
 spider, simply waited for its victims to come 
 within reach; then she jumped upon and bit 
 them and, so! far as I could see, used no web- 
 bing whatever. In fact, there was little need, 
 if any, for it, for the effect of the bite was 
 instantaneous, resulting either in death or 
 complete paralysis. After capturing the fly 
 the spider would feed on its juices for three 
 to four hours. 
 
 Three months after her residence in the 
 bottle she made another capsule in which 
 more eggs were deposited. Six months after 
 that still another nest with eggs was formed 
 and about ten weeks later a fourth. The 
 capsules were all close together. She passed 
 all of her time on top of the capsules, as if 
 guarding the welfare of the eggs they con- 
 tained. I maintained a careful watch of the 
 eggs, but never observed the slightest change 
 in their appearance from the first time I saw 
 them. 
 
 This spider was fed more generously than 
 the Black Widow, but on four or five occasions 
 during the winter months, by reason of the 
 scarcity of flies, it experienced fasting periods 
 of two and three weeks each. During these 
 times I thought hunger might induce her to 
 leave the bottle on foraging expeditions, but 
 she did not, appearing to prefer remaining at 
 home and having her meals brought to her, 
 although irregular and far apart. 
 
 THE REDUVIIDAE — THE KISSING BUG — THE BITE OF WHICH IS SOMETIMES 
 ATTENDED WITH THE MOST SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 NESTING IN A BOTTLE 
 
 Queer Place Selected by a Wasp in Which to Build a Nest 
 Subsequent Raid of a Skunk 
 
 In a six-ounce bottle that I had been using 
 as a trap for beetles, at Larkcrest, near 
 Pleasanton. I found that a wasp of the genus 
 Polistes had started a nest of nine cells. The 
 bottle had a wide mouth, and I usually placed 
 it in a slightly reclining position in a depres- 
 sion on a bank sheltered by a board. A little 
 oil or piece of animal fat served to attract 
 beetles which, after entering the bottle, did 
 not seem to be able to get out again. This 
 trap I visited and collected the victims as 
 often as I went to Larkcrest. This Spring my 
 visits had not been as frequent as usual, and 
 some six weeks had passed prior to June 5th 
 without an inspection of the trap. On this 
 day I put my hand under the board and 
 brought out the bottle, and to my great sur- 
 prise I saw that a wasp had started a nest in 
 it and the "lady of the house" was "at home." 
 I was so startled by the nearby presence of 
 an insect with such a reputation for venom 
 that my first impulse was to drop the bottle 
 and "beat it," as the boys say. However, 
 as Mrs. Polistes did not show any resentment 
 at my familiarity I took the opportunity to 
 see what she was doing in my trap. 
 
 The cluster of cells comprising the nest 
 were hanging down in the form always con- 
 structed by this species of wasps. The stem 
 supporting the cluster was attached to the 
 bottle near the mouth. There were nine 
 cells, most of which were completed and con- 
 tained grubs or the larvae of the wasp. I 
 replaced the bottle under the board. Eight 
 or ten days later I again visited the place 
 and upon inspection of the nest found that 
 sevoral of the cells had been covered or 
 sealed up indicating that the grubs had en- 
 tered upon the next stage of the wasp's life 
 cycle. As I was spending the greater part of 
 the summer at Diablo, a distance of seven- 
 teen miles from Larkcrest, I concluded to re- 
 move the bottle with the wasp and embryo 
 family to the former place where I could bet- 
 ter watch the development of the little colony. 
 
 The next day, early in the morning before 
 the mother wasp had become warmed suf- 
 ficiently to justify her going out for her 
 breakfast, I took the bottle and fastened a 
 piece of cheese cloth over the mouth, thus 
 preparing for the removal of the wasp home 
 and household. I put the bottle in my suit- 
 case with my clothes. Upon arrival at Diablo 
 I removed the bottle and found mother Polis- 
 tes perched on the nest without manifesting 
 the least discomfort or objection to the treat- 
 ment she had undergone. 
 
 However, I concluded it would be well to 
 keep her a prisoner for another day as long as 
 she made no effort to go out. The next day 
 I placed the bottle on the ground under the 
 end of my porch and removed the cover. She 
 did not take immediate advantage of the lib- 
 erty thus presented as I was somewhat fear- 
 ful she would do, and all the surroundings 
 being changed, become bewildered and lost. 
 Judging from human experience she must 
 have been hungry after such a long impris- 
 onment. In the course of half an hour she 
 left the bottle. "Whatever it may have been 
 that prompted her to leave the nest, whether 
 to satisfy her appetite, inspect the new sur- 
 roundings, get a drink, or to procure ma- 
 terial for the construction of additional rooms 
 for an increasing family, I was unable to 
 determine. When I found she had left the 
 nest I knew I was soon to be informed as to 
 what effect the change of seventeen miles in 
 location of the nest and of entirely different 
 surroundings was going to have upon its 
 proprietress. 
 
 I took a seat where I could easily see the 
 wasp if she were disposed and able to return 
 to the nest. In about a half-hour I was 
 greatly pleased to see her come back and 
 take a position on the nest as if she were 
 wholly indifferent to the alteration of the sur- 
 roundings. Her return meant that, with no 
 accidents to interfere, I was going to have 
 the opportunity of watching the proceedings 
 of nest-building, hatching, rearing of young, 
 etc., by this species of wasp under unusual and 
 most favorable conditions. 
 
 For the first week there was nothing to 
 note beyond the starting of the bases of some 
 additional cells and laying of eggs therein. 
 At the end of this time one morning before 
 it was warm enough for the wasps to be 
 about, I found three wasps on the nest. It 
 was evident that at least two of the pupae 
 had matured and that two young wasps 
 had emerged from their cells and increased 
 the family to that extent. Within the next 
 day or two, two more wasps were added to 
 the family. The newcomers were as indus- 
 trious as their parent, for they began at once 
 to assist in adding more cells and completing 
 the cells partially constructed by their 
 mother, and in the performance of all the 
 other family housework. 
 
 During the middle or heated part of the 
 day tne different memoers of the family were 
 making trips to and from the nest, presum- 
 ably for the material for enlarging the nest 
 
40 
 
 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 BABY WASP. 
 
WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 41 
 
 or food for the grubs that were hatching, 
 probably for both. I endeavored to find out 
 what kind of food it was they were bringing 
 home. It was either in too minute parcels 
 or taken into the mouth in such a way I 
 could not determine. On one occasion, how- 
 ever, I obtained a glimpse of an insect held 
 in the jaws of one of the returning wasps, that 
 appeared to be a small fly or gnat, but of 
 that I could not be positive. 
 
 There were a number of Polistes' nests in 
 the neighborhood and many of the wasps 
 were to be seen at all times during the mid- 
 dle part of the day scouting around the outer 
 branches and leaves of the large valley oak 
 trees in our yard, which seemed to be In- 
 fested by numbers of small insects. The ac- 
 tions of the wasps suggested that their pres- 
 ence there was for the purpose of capturing 
 some of the insects. 
 
 Quite often during the day all the wasps, 
 but one, belonging to my bottle family, would 
 be away. At no time did I ever find the nest 
 wholly unguarded. 
 
 By the addition to the family mentioned 
 the number of workers was materially in- 
 creased, and an enlargement of the nest was 
 noticeable. Cells started by the mother or 
 queen wasp were completed and several new 
 ones were added to the group. 
 
 Fearing something might happen to inter- 
 fere with the progress and prosperity of the 
 family if I left the bottle on the ground, I 
 planned to change the location by placing 
 it on a shelf on the side of the house, about 
 five feet above where it had been on the 
 ground. I made the change after dark. The 
 next morning early I found that all the mem- 
 bers were on the nest and so far undisturbed 
 by the removal of the bottle containing their 
 home. However, by noontime I found all 
 but one were away and I waited a couple of 
 hours or more in vain for the return of the 
 absentees, but none came back. Evidently 
 the family did not intend to acquiesce in my 
 purpose to place their nest in a safer posi- 
 tion. Upon examination of the location 
 where the bottle had been for several days I 
 found some of the wasps at rest on the under 
 side of the flooring of the porch while one 
 was flying slowly around the spot as if try- 
 ing to find out what had become of the nest 
 or to satisfy itself that the nest had surely 
 disappeared. I then returned the bottle to 
 its former place on the ground and within a 
 half-hour all the wasps were back on the 
 nest. I repeated my attempt to make a per- 
 manent change of location the next night and 
 for the three following nights but my efforts 
 were unsuccessful. The results were the 
 same each day. Then I concluded to let the 
 bottle remain on the ground. The only way 
 that I could account for the fact that the 
 nest could be moved seventeen miles and not 
 be abandoned when the inmates were re- 
 leased, and not moved six feet without con- 
 trary results, was the thought that in the 
 first instance the surroundings were in every 
 detail altered, while in the latter case the 
 only change in surroundings was that made 
 
 by the slight change of location of the bottle. 
 The house porch, trees, shrubs, vines and 
 grass, the location of which they had become 
 familiar with, were all there just as they had 
 always been in their experience, and their 
 intelligence was not great enough for them 
 to remember that they had left the nest from 
 another location, or in other words recognize 
 the fact that a change had been made when 
 they flew out of the bottle in the mornings. 
 
 For two or three days and nights nothing 
 happened to disturb the family, when early 
 one morning just before daybreak I heard a 
 noise under the porch which made me think 
 that possibly a skunk was attacking the wasp 
 nest. I got out as quickly as possible to res- 
 cue my pets if necessary. It was not yet light 
 enough to see all objects clearly, but I heard 
 a noise such as a small animal going through 
 the brush and dry leaves would make, so con- 
 cluded whatever it was it had been frightened 
 away and I returned to my bed. When I 
 arose for the day the first thing was to visit 
 the wasp family. To my sorrow and great dis- 
 appointment I found the bottle bottom side 
 up down the embankment several feet from 
 the porch. A hasty examination showed the 
 stem by which the nest was attached to the 
 bottle to be broken and the group of cells with 
 their contents hanging by but little more than 
 a thread, so that it swung and swayed with 
 the least movement of the bottle. I moved 
 the bottle with the greatest care and placed it 
 so the nest would hang as # near its normal 
 position as possible. Several wasps were in 
 the bottle. I did not count them. I was 
 intent upon getting the nest and bottle back 
 to its place under the porch. 
 
 After breakfast I visited the wasps, wonder- 
 ing what they would do or how they would 
 be affected by the damage done to their nest. 
 I rather expected to find that the thread or 
 fibre that had been holding the nest in sus- 
 pension was broken, and that the nest 
 would be found lying on the bottom of the 
 bottle. I was unprepared for what I did see, 
 for it was wholly inconsistent with the result 
 of Fabre's experiments with the mason bees. 
 To my surprise and great satisfaction, I found 
 one of the wasps carefully examining the 
 break in the stem. By the rapid and .nervous 
 working of her antennae around and about 
 the broken stem I judged that these append- 
 ages were playing no small part in the ex- 
 amination. I at once surmised that this pre- 
 liminary inspection meant that something 
 more interesting was soon to follow, so I care- 
 fully replaced the bottle, then afterwards 
 made frequent visits to it. Every time I made 
 an observation of the condition of things in 
 the bottle during the next two days I saw one 
 or two wasps working around the damaged 
 stem. In short, the wasps were repairing the 
 damage by renewing the stem at the broken 
 place. At the end of the two days the work 
 •>f repair, so far as I could see, was com- 
 oleted. When I picked up the bottle I found 
 l he nest to be firmlv suspended once more by 
 he renewed stem. The wasps set up a buzzing 
 remonstrance at my familiarity with their 
 
42 
 
 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
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WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 43 
 
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 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 habitation, so I replaced it without much 
 delay. 
 
 As I view the action of the wasps in exami- 
 nation of the broken part and subsequent work 
 in repairing it, it is not difficult to recognize 
 a rational act. In the first place there was the 
 recognition of a damage to their nest. Some- 
 thing exceptional in character in the life his- 
 tory of this particular family of wasps. It is 
 quite probable that no accident of this kind 
 was experienced by the ancestors of these 
 wasps for ages past, so no precedent to supply 
 even remotely an impulse of instinct. In the 
 next place, their work showed they under- 
 stood that the condition of the stem necessi- 
 tated repair for the security of their home, 
 and they made it promptly and in a work- 
 manlike manner. 
 
 If these insects were endowed with no power 
 that we call mental or rational whatever, and 
 were guided solely by instinct that supplies a 
 routine of actions throughout their existence, 
 that is, impels them to build a nest at a cer- 
 tain time in a certain form, lay eggs, provide 
 foor for their young, etc., having once ful- 
 filled the requirements of that instict, it is not 
 reasonable to expect them to duplicate or re- 
 peat any action that is not duplicated in the 
 routine of their lives. In fact, that was Fabre's 
 test in his effort to find out whether his wasps 
 and bees were actuated by reason or instinct. 
 He based an opinion that it was instinct alone 
 on results obtained in experimenting with the 
 mason bee, where he broke off the bottom of a 
 cell, and the poor bee continued to deposit 
 honey in the top. As it ran out at the bottom 
 as fast as she deposited in the top, of course 
 she was unable to fill the cell. 
 
 To protect the wasp family from another 
 attack by marauding skunks I drove some 
 small stakes into the ground around the part 
 of the bottle that was exposed. The. other side 
 was protected by the porch construction. Two 
 weeks or more now passed and things seemed 
 to be going along nicely and prosperously with 
 the Polistes. More wasps were hatched and 
 the nest was enlarged. The daily actions of 
 the members of this industrious family were 
 so far as I could see wholly confined to the 
 duties already described. I said industrious, 
 
 for they seemed very busy while at work. 
 However, they did not believe in long hours of 
 labor. As a rule it was about 9 o'clock in the 
 morning before any of them left the nest, and 
 generally they were all back and on the nest 
 for the night by 5 o'clock in the afternoon. 
 
 They seemed very attentive at all times to 
 the grubs in the cells. I noticed wasps that 
 had been out, upon their return put their 
 heads into open cells, and I supposed they 
 were feeding the baby wasps. I would like to 
 have witnessed the operation, for I had read 
 that the young ones open their mouths to be 
 fed somewhat like young birds, but I was 
 unable to see what took place, as the head of 
 the mature wasp feeding the grubs filled the 
 mouth of the cell. 
 
 Somewhat over a month had passed since I 
 transferred the nest and bottle from Pleas- 
 anton to Diablo when I was called to Oakland 
 on some business matters. I was absent from 
 Diablo two or three days. Upon my return, 
 about the first thing I did was to visit the 
 site of my wasp family home. What I found 
 was very disappointing and somewhat surpris- 
 ing. I had underrated the cunning and 
 strength of the skunks when some fat, rich 
 wasp grubs stood as a reward for their efforts. 
 The stakes had been pulled apart so they 
 could get the bottle out of the pocket I had 
 made for it. Then it was an easy matter for 
 the animals to complete the destruction of the 
 unique wasp domicile with no one around to 
 interfere with the murderous raid. When I 
 found the bottle about four feet from the 
 pocket there was not a vestage of the nest 
 remaining in it, nor could I find any part of 
 the nest or cell on the ground thereabout. I 
 never did fancy skunks and now I had another 
 grudge charged up against them. They not 
 only destroyed an object of curiosity and ex- 
 traordinary interest, but interrupted all fur- 
 ther possibility of acquiring any new informa- 
 tion as to the conduct and habits of this colony 
 of wasps. A nest in a clear glass bottle, af- 
 fording such exceptional advantages for c*lose 
 and thorough observations of the habits and 
 work of the insects, was something I could 
 hardly expect to find again. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 INTERESTING EXPERIENCES 
 
 While Engaged in Studying the Habits of Some of the 
 Wild Birds of California 
 
 On a midsummer evening while walking out 
 among the shrubbery and flowers in the 
 grounds of the Diablo Country Club I saw a 
 small bird which I thought was an olive-sided 
 flycatcher. As this bird had not been previ- 
 ously noticed in that locality, its presence there 
 on this occasion was a matter of more than 
 ordinary interest to me. It was very busy 
 catching insects and did not seem to notice 
 my approach. It was perched on a low- 
 strung telephone wire when not on the wing 
 in pursuit of a bug or fly. I finally obtained 
 a position not more than 20 feet from the 
 bird without disturbing it in the operation of 
 collecting its supper. Thus I was enabled to 
 determine its coloring, the size of its bill, and 
 make note of the features that differentiated 
 it from other members of the fly-catching 
 family. 
 
 Every moment or two it would spy a victim 
 flying in the air. Sometimes in darting or 
 flying to oatch the bug or whatever kind of 
 insect it might be it would go a distance of 30 
 feet or more. I could not see the victim in 
 its flight; the bird's eyesight was keener than 
 mine; but generally I could see the capture, 
 after which the bird would fly back and re- 
 sume the perch on the wire. It was most 
 interesting to study the bird while it was on 
 the watch for the coming of a victim. Its 
 head was never still, as it was continually on 
 the lookout for game. It would cock its head 
 first one way, then another, and by the mo- 
 tions it was plain that the eyes were follow- 
 ing the flight of some insect well up in the 
 air, or some bug scouting around near the 
 ground among the flowers. It was not only 
 wonderfuly sharp in eyesight (no human eye 
 could equal its keenness and accuracy), but it 
 was exceedingly clever in the capture of its 
 victims. It seldom made a miss. 
 
 Finally it made a change in its perch from 
 the telephone wire to the top of a tall flower- 
 stake driven into the ground about six feet 
 from where I stood. This move on the part of 
 the bird improved my opportunity for the 
 study of it and watching its movements when 
 in flight for an insect. The bird made several 
 flights from the new perch and on one flight 
 it did not return to the stake top but made 
 another change of perch. This time it selected 
 me, for it lit on top of my head, or, to be 
 exact, on top of my hat. I remained as quiet 
 as possible. The visitor made one excursion 
 from this perch and returned as was its cus- 
 tom at the other perches. I called to one of 
 the gardeners to witness the novel sight. The 
 
 sound of my voice did not seem to frighten or 
 disturb the bird, for it remained on my hat 
 while I talked to the man. However, as soon 
 as I moved the bird darted away like a flash 
 and that was the last I saw of it. 
 
 This is the second experience I have en- 
 joyed in having a bird use my person as a 
 perching place. The other happened a few 
 seasons ago near Pleasanton. One forenoon 
 I went out and took a seat under the shade 
 of a tree near some heavy underbrush and 
 while reading, with my legs crossed, a little 
 California Creeper flew down from the tree 
 and lit on the toe of my shoe. I recognized 
 the little chap as a member of the Creeper 
 family, something of a stranger in these parts, 
 never having seen more than one or two speci- 
 mens of this particular species before and 
 none since. I remained perfectly quiet so not 
 to alarm it, full of wonderment at its famil- 
 iarity and curiosity as to what it was in search 
 of there. After eyeing me for a few seconds, 
 cocking its head first one way, then another, 
 it flew to my right shoulder, then ran around 
 my neck to the other shoulder. The inspection 
 of my clothes seemed to have much interest 
 for it. After leaving my shoulders it visited 
 nearly every part of my body and limbs, run- 
 ning up and down, over and under, as is the 
 habit of the bird when working around tree 
 trunks and limbs. After a most thorough 
 inspection of my clothes it flew off a short 
 distance, but remained on the new perch 
 for a few seconds only when it returned to a 
 position on my foot once more, from whence it 
 made another extended trip over and around 
 my legs and body; then departed to be seen 
 no more. The acquaintance was short and I 
 was sorry to have it end so soon. I have 
 often wondered when thinking of the inci- 
 dent why this particular bird should have 
 had no fear of me. Was it for the reason 
 that it was of the migratory class and came 
 from a wild section of country where there 
 were no human enemies to teach it to avoid 
 as dangerous all forms of the so-called higher 
 order of life? Or did the bird by reason of 
 youth and inexperience just fail to recognize 
 in me the form of a common and dangerous 
 enemy? 
 
 In front of the window of my "den" where 
 I spend considerable time when in Piedmont 
 I have a place where I feed the wild birds. 
 The arrangement is such that the birds, when 
 they come to the place, are so near to me I 
 could put my hand on them if they would 
 submit to it. So I have opportunity to watch 
 
46 
 
 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 the birds and study their peculiarities at close 
 range. One thing in particular has impressed 
 me while making these observation, and that 
 is the variation in dispositions among the 
 birds of the same species, or kind. Some are 
 very timid, some are quite gentle and not 
 easily alarmed, and some are bold and aggres- 
 sive. The regular patrons of the "free lunch 
 table" are English sparrows. Towhees, White 
 and Golden crowned sparrows, Juncoes and 
 Heermann Song Sparrows. Although the House 
 Finches, or Linnets, were numerous about the 
 place, for a long time, or to be more precise, 
 two years, they seemed to be above being 
 seen in the "bread line," but they now are 
 my most numerous visitors and freely par- 
 take of the seeds daily thrown out for the 
 birds. 
 
 In watching the actions and behavior of 
 the birds another thing struck me as worthy 
 of note, and that was the independence, cour- 
 age and fighting qualities of the little Song 
 sparrow. Time and time again I have seen 
 this smallest of all my visitors drive intrud- 
 ing members of the other sparrow families 
 away. Once I saw it put to flight five English 
 sparrows. It does not seem to hold the same 
 degree of enmity toward the White crowned, 
 but does not hesitate to attack them whenever 
 its part of the feast is encroached upon. Of 
 course, the bigger Towhee is the bully about 
 the table. He lords it over all present. 
 
 The English sparrow has the reputation of 
 being most selfish and pugnacious — qualities 
 which he is credited with manifesting in a 
 shameful way, making life so unpleasant for 
 other bird people that they leave the terri- 
 tory frequented by the foreigners. I am sure 
 I held this opinin, not from observation, how- 
 ever, but from the numerous newspaper 
 squibs aimed at the bird. Now I must say 
 that from what I have seen from my window 
 the English sparrow has been maligned. While 
 he may be properly classed among the 
 "undesirables" on account of his queer appear- 
 
 ance, his disagreeable voice and his flocking 
 habits, he is as well-behaved as the other vis- 
 itors here, all of whom make him stand back 
 from the desirable feeding spots. This being 
 so, why should he be accused of driving other 
 birds out of a locality? Other birds do go 
 and come. White crowned sparrows were 
 constantly around our premises every day for 
 more than two years. Subsequently every last 
 one disappeared, but after an absence of a few 
 months they returned in smaller numbers. I 
 would be surprised if other and better reasons 
 than the English sparrows could not be found 
 to account for the disappearance of certain 
 species of birds from localities where they had 
 been commonly noted. 
 
 The "free lunch table" in front of my win- 
 dow is supplied with bird seed only. There is 
 no tablecloth supplied. The food is just scat- 
 tered on the ground over the area of several 
 feet, so as to give the weaker birds a chance. 
 While the seed remains on top of the ground 
 it is easy work for all of the visitors, but in a 
 little while there is nothing left but what is 
 down among the clods or has been covered 
 with earth by the birds hopping about. Then 
 the place has no further attraction for the 
 White crowned and Song sparrows. They ap- 
 pear to be poor scratchers. But with the 
 Towhee scratching is its strong forte. I have 
 had them dig up every single garden pea in a 
 bed where the seed had been planted two 
 inches deep, and not a seed pea had been left 
 on top of the ground to advertise the plant- 
 ing. And they did not dig or scratch indis- 
 criminately like a hen, either, but went right 
 down the rows without missing a seed. The 
 English sparrow does not leave the lunch 
 table, because he is compelled to exert him- 
 self to some extent. But he does not scratch — 
 he noses the vagrant seeds from among the 
 clods and dirt with his beak. The way he 
 makes the dirt fly with that bill would put to 
 shame some shovelers I have seen employed 
 on public work. 
 
 CARPENTER BEE — NATURAL SIZE. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 CARPENTER BEES 
 
 Wise Insects that can Work in Wood, but Avoid Hard Labor When 
 
 Circumstances Permit 
 
 A large bee common to California, if not to 
 the Coast, called the Carpenter bee was fre- 
 quently seen about our garden at Diablo in 
 July and August. This insect might be taken 
 for a large bumble bee, for it has much the 
 same form and general appearance, though 
 in color it is wholly black without the yellow 
 markings that distinguish the various species 
 of the bumble bee. This statement, however, 
 should be qualified, for while the female Car- 
 penters are all black, the males of at least 
 one species are wholly yellow in color and 
 there is a large species found on the Atlantic 
 side of the continent that is marked with a 
 yellow thorax. 
 
 These large bees were given the name of 
 Carpenter from the fact they bore holes in 
 dead wood of various kinds in which to nest. 
 
 At Palm Springs, in the desert section of 
 the southern part of California, the largest 
 known species of Carpenter bee, or member 
 of the Xylocopa family, is quite common; 
 holes in logs, fence posts and other dead 
 wood, into which a person could insert a 
 finger, made by these bees are frequently 
 seen. While there is little or no trouble in 
 finding a black female, it is not so easy a 
 matter to find, or see, one of the big yellow 
 males. They are not only swift in flight but 
 shy, consequently they are not easily cap- 
 tured. These southern bees are about an inch 
 in length with a wing spread of nearly two 
 inches. The holes they make for their nests 
 are sometimes as much as a foot deep and 
 are always made in dry wood; never in green 
 or wet wood. In the farther part they make 
 lateral cells for the accommodation of their 
 young. 
 
 There is a very small member of the Car- 
 penter genus which is only about a quarter of 
 an inch in length. This dainty little bee is 
 known as Ceratina dupja and is of a metallic 
 blue color. It makes borings into pithy twigs 
 for the nests, removing the pith and making 
 a series of cells one on top of the other. Into 
 each cell an egg is laid on a supply of pollen 
 for the larva when hatched. Observers of 
 the work of this little insect say it is one of 
 the very few insects that seems to have any 
 interest in the maturing of its young. The 
 mother remains with the nest until the brood 
 reaches maturity, when she "leads forth her 
 full-fledged family in a flight into the 
 sunshine." 
 
 The large Carpenter bees that visited our 
 parden at Diablo were a trifle smaller than 
 the big fellows of the southern part of the 
 
 state. The only specimens of the species that 
 I saw about Diablo during the summer were 
 those that came to the Salvia blossoms. At 
 almost any time of the day between the hours 
 of 10 a. m. and 3 p. m. from one to five of 
 these bees could be seen working around the 
 base of the flowers of the Salvia plants. They 
 visited no other flowers in the garden, though 
 there were many other kinds which were at- 
 tractions for numerous other species of bees 
 and members of the wasp family. 
 
 The operations of the Carpenter bees at the 
 base of the flowers and on the outside part 
 attracted my attention, and I found upon in- 
 vestigation that they were making holes 
 through that part of the flower in order to 
 insert their tongue-like process and reach the 
 nectar of the blossom. The long, narrow 
 flower would not admit of the entrance of the 
 bulky form of the bees so they could obtain 
 the honey in the usual way from the inside; 
 but the Carpenters were not to be denied the 
 sweets of the Salvia. With the sharp tools 
 used in boring holes in wood it was a simple 
 matter to perforate the soft petal substance 
 of the flower. The question arises, was the 
 change of method of securing the nectar in 
 the flowers instinctive or the manifestation of 
 reasoning power? Of course, no one knows. 
 We can only apply our own reasoning power 
 to the facts and draw conclusions. Those who 
 can not concede any degree of mind action 
 to the lower forms of life will insist that in- 
 stinct alone supplied the impulse underlying 
 the action, while others who think nature gives 
 brain tissues to all forms of life for a like 
 purpose will conclude that it is more logical 
 to accept a seeming rational act as the result 
 of something akin to what we call mental 
 operation in humans. 
 
 Perhaps in the distant future when the 
 mind of man becomes more potent and is able 
 to delve deeper into the mysteries of nature, 
 with a greater knowledge and understanding 
 of the cells, tissue and organs of all forms of 
 life, the mooted question will be given a solu- 
 tion acceptable to all students of nature. 
 
 On the occasion of a visit to Deerwood, a 
 country retreat of ours in Mendocino 
 county, I found the same species of Carpenter 
 bee as that last mentioned numerously repre- 
 sented about the grounds of a summer home 
 there. While observing their operations I 
 noticed that all the holes made by the bees 
 were uniformly in the softest wood to be found 
 about the place, and their work showed that 
 they were not only able to pick out the soft 
 
48 
 
 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 z»mW^tt 
 
 
 
 •rJM 
 
 $£ 
 
 DEAD TREE STUMP SHOWING OCCUPANCY BY CARPENTER BEES. 
 
WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 49 
 
 from the harder wood, but were able to recog- 
 nize and select the softest part of such wood 
 in which to operate. 
 
 Unlike the hive or domestic honey bees, 
 with their queens, workers and drones, there 
 are only male and female Carpenters; and 
 unlike the bumble bees, of which only the 
 females survive the year, both male and female 
 Carpenters hibernate during the winter and 
 come forth in the spring and prepare for new 
 families. However, it is the female that does 
 all the work. She selects the places and bores 
 the holes in the dry timber and makes the 
 tunnels therein as well as the cells for the 
 baby bees. She, too, alone gathers the pollen 
 and nectar from flowers to store in the cells 
 as food for the babies when hatched. I 
 watched the actions of male bees for hours 
 and about the only activity they engaged in 
 was hovering around flowering shrubs, main- 
 taining, as a rule, a distance of about 20 inches 
 from the blossoms and engaging in combats 
 with other male bees of the species when they 
 came around. Females were allowed to go to 
 the flowers without much interference. The 
 males would dive at them once in a while but 
 would not follow them up and exhibit the 
 vicious disposition manifest in their rushes at 
 other intruding male Carpenters. I could 
 only reconcile these actions as being their 
 manner of mating, considering the good sense 
 and sound judgment these insects showed in 
 other habits. 
 
 As stated there were quite a large number 
 of bees of the species about our place, consid- 
 ering the fact that this family of bees is not 
 large. Sometimes as many as a half-dozen 
 females could be seen flying about the porch 
 examining the dry timber of its construction, 
 and as many, or more, could be seen working 
 among the flowers. And more females than 
 males were always in evidence. I found no 
 small interest in following the female bees 
 while they were in search of a nesting place. 
 Perhaps I should have first stated that the 
 bees do not excavate new holes other than 
 when compelled by force of circumstance, 
 but use the old holes over and over. In fact, 
 I did not see them make a single new hole. 
 Up to the time I left the bees seemed to be 
 able to find excavations made by previous 
 generations and old auger holes in posts in 
 sufficient number to supply all their require- 
 ments. As an example of the thoroughness 
 of their search for apartments to save the 
 labor of construction I will mention the ac- 
 tions of one female. She commenced at one 
 end of the porch on the south side of the 
 house and passed along examining each post 
 from top to bottom on all sides, not overlook- 
 ing the rail fastened to the posts under the 
 eaves of the porch, as well as taking an oc- 
 casional trip to scrutinize the boards of the 
 underside of the roofing. She did all this 
 
 work mainly on the wing, stopping once in a 
 while to give closer inspection of some de- 
 pression in the wood. Similar inspections by 
 other Carpenter bees were constantly going on 
 about the premises during the warm hours of 
 the day. 
 
 There were a number of bee holes about 
 the place, but none of them showed any indi- 
 cations of having been made this season, 
 though in one case the inmates gave some 
 time to enlarging an excavation or extending 
 the tunnel; chips and fine particles of wood 
 were occasionally ejected from the hole. In 
 one instance I saw a bee, after hunting some 
 time for an apartment, stop on a dry board 
 and start to bore a hole. She made slow head- 
 way and after working four or five minutes 
 she abandoned the work. In that time she 
 had excavated a place less than a thirty- 
 second of an inch in depth and in circumfer- 
 ence but little larger than her head. 
 
 All the old holes seemed to be occupied by 
 the early-comers and the inmates were busy 
 carrying pollen and nectar into them. When 
 the late-comers, in their search for quarters, 
 would come across one of the holes, which by 
 the way was a matter of frequent occurrence, 
 they would generally stop and go part way 
 in as if to inquire "Is this place occupied?" 
 Finding it tenanted, they would back out and 
 continue their search. 
 
 At evening time, when the air begins to 
 chill with the disappearance of the sun, the 
 bees that had nests, or holes, retired to them. 
 The females not yet supplied with such quar- 
 ters, together with the males, seek a cavity of 
 such form as will afford them protection for 
 the night. In a large redwood post standing 
 in the rear of our place there had been bored 
 through it two holes five-eighths of an inch 
 in diameter. These holes were popular places 
 of resort for the night. It was surprising to 
 see the number of big bees that would crowd 
 into one of the holes. As the holes were bored 
 through the post the bees made use of the 
 double entrance to the lodging house. They 
 would crowd in until the unique apartment 
 was filled to the doorways. 
 
 This particular Carpenter bee enjoys a wide 
 range of habitation, especially in the way of 
 elevation. I found the bees active in their 
 nesting operations at several places on the 
 floor of Yosemite Valley in the earily part of 
 June. There the elevation above sea level is 
 about 4000 feet, while the elevation at Diablo 
 does not exceed 500 feet, and that of Deer- 
 wood 1200 feet. The snow, frost and ice that 
 occupies the v famous valley during the winter 
 months, which is not experienced at the other 
 places, does not appear to have any influence 
 in shaping the life history of the bees there 
 differently from that of their relatives which 
 pass their lives nearer the sea level in a much 
 warmer winter climate. 
 
50 
 
 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 DEERWOOD. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF MENDOCINO 
 
 A Retreat in the Redwoods. Its Birds and other Animal Life, 
 of Peculiar Habits of Bees and other Insects 
 
 Details 
 
 Deerwood is tne name we gave to a little 
 country place, belonging to a member of my 
 family, located in Mendocino county, twenty 
 miles or so northwesterly from Cloverdale, in 
 the world-famed redwood belt of California. 
 The location is made more attractive by 
 reason of its situation on the banks of that 
 beautiful stream known to trout fishermen 
 throughout the country as the Rancheria. The 
 property embraces a broad but short canyon 
 opening into the narrow valley or canyon of 
 the Rancheria. With its gentle sloping sides 
 it is suggestive of a grand and huge amphi- 
 theater covering between eight and ten acres 
 in area. The greater part, of the floor is under 
 cultivation and dotted with trees that in their 
 seasons supply us with the most perfect and 
 delicious fruits. On three sides — south, west 
 and north — the towering wall of the redwood 
 and fir forest forms the margin of our nook 
 and not only lends a feature of grandeur to 
 the site but by its protecting height shelters 
 us from the severities of strong winds. Our 
 amphitheater with its open side to the east 
 gives us a vista up the main canyon for a dis- 
 tance of a mile or two until obstructed by the 
 densely-wooded mountain range whose steep 
 sides form the east side of the canyon of the 
 Rancheria. The dwelling we occupy upon our 
 occasional visits to Deerwood is situated on 
 the elevation of the back part of the amphi- 
 theater, affording us an advantageous point 
 from which to enjoy this beautiful landscape, 
 embracing numerous representatives of the 
 trees famed in the flora of California — the 
 oaks, white, black and the evergreen; the 
 shapely laurel, the handsome madrone, maple, 
 ash, and alders. The view is varied by open 
 sections of green carpeted spots, enlivened at 
 times by the presence of cattle or sheep and 
 not unfrequently by deer. Besides there is a 
 glimpse of the running waters of the Ranch- 
 eria, its gravely bed and willow-lined banks, 
 to add to the charm of the picture. 
 
 When I contemplate the beauty and varied 
 quantity of wild flowers and ferns to be found 
 here together with the great number of birds, 
 including the sweetest songsters whose de- 
 lightful music fills the air from the first break 
 of day to twilight, and numerous other forms 
 of life whose habits and characters make a 
 study that widens our vision of things and 
 opens the doors to some of the wonders of 
 Nature. I feel as if this was one of the spots 
 where the Almighty ruler of the universe had 
 chosen for an earthly temple wherein there 
 
 was gathered in the springtime of the year 
 examples of His most beauteous work, for the 
 people who find pleasure in association with 
 them, as well as for the education of students 
 of Nature who would know more of His laws, 
 the knowledge of which gives a fuller insight 
 of the purpose and utility of all organic life 
 and of those relations that make for the better- 
 ment and greater comfort of all mankind. 
 
 It was in this environment that I passed 
 two weeks and more of the latter part of April 
 and the first of May, and I now propose to 
 relate some of the things that came uder my 
 observation that interested me and may pos- 
 sibly be a source of interest to others. 
 
 In our amphitheater were more birds than 
 could be found in any neighboring sections. 
 In the course of two or three days I noted 
 twenty-six different species. The greater part 
 of this number were observed from my com- 
 fortable seat on the porch of our dwelling. 
 No doubt I could have increased the list if I 
 had given the time for search among the 
 trees and undergrowth of the grounds for the 
 more shy kinds. The popularity of the place 
 with the bird life was probably due to the fact 
 there were less of their natural enemies in 
 the area occupied by the house and orchard, 
 the greater amount of sunlight in the opening 
 (much of surrounding country being densely 
 wooded), and the greater abundace of food 
 in the way of seeds and insects. 
 
 The list of birds included a majority of the 
 best songsters we have in our state and while 
 daylight lasted their sweet, joyous and musical 
 voices could be heard at all times, but it was 
 in early morning and at the close of day that 
 the singers seemed inspired to fill the hour 
 with their best and most choice selections. 
 Especially was this so in the evenings when 
 the grossbeaks perched on the topmost 
 branches of the trees, the linnets about the 
 house, the little wrens in the rosebushes, 
 song sparrows in the willows nearby, orioles 
 in the treetops, and the russet-back thrush 
 in a neighboring canyon, were the principals 
 in these grand concerts, most delightful to 
 the ear and soul-inspiring. 
 
 This was the height of the nesting season, 
 when the birds were mating and building their 
 nests, adding further interest in the activities 
 of our feathered neighbors and associates, for 
 they were about us and with us all day long 
 and day after day. The other morning a little 
 coon-faced chickadee flew onto our porch and 
 was hopping about in search of nesting mate- 
 
52 
 
 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 4 
 
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WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 53 
 
 rial, picking and pulling everything that 
 might yield a thread. In the course of its 
 search it came within two feet of my position, 
 showing no fear in it sanxiety to find just 
 what was wanted or needed in the construc- 
 tion of its nest. The next day it made a visit 
 in as familiar manner to the kitchen part of 
 our premises, where it was more successful 
 in its search for strings. Its squeaky, little 
 chirps in keeping with its diminutive size 
 seemed like notes of joy and contentment. 
 
 Two pair of wrens were nesting nearby. One 
 pair occupied a hole in an oak tree that shaded 
 the house. The location of the other pair I 
 was not able to discover. One of these couple 
 had selected the fire-box of our cooking stove 
 before our arrival and had a nest well along 
 in its construction when our necessities com- 
 pelled them to seek another location. The 
 stove's place is on the back porch and the 
 little birds found entrance by the hole made 
 for the pipe of the "waterback," removed 
 when the stove left civilization. This species 
 of wren is known in ornithology as the "Vigor 
 wren, Thryomanes bewicki spilurus. They are 
 restless little creatures, and can be seen and 
 heard singing about the house at any hour of 
 the day. 
 
 For several days a black-throated gray 
 • warbler (Dendroica nigrescence), a bird some- 
 what smaller than the wren, with not quite 
 so long a foreign name, was a common vis- 
 itor to our front yard, where it gathered mate- 
 rial for its nest. After securing the particular 
 thing it wanted it would fly to a scrub oak 
 about ten yards away. Consequently I con- 
 cluded there was where I would find the nest 
 if I wished to inspect it later on. But subse- 
 quently I discovered that the flight to the oak 
 was deceptive; that the bird went out on the 
 opposite side and then flew to a thick man- 
 zanita bush where it had built its nest. This 
 bush was so located on one side that a direct 
 flight to it from our front yard was but a 
 few feet more distant than the flight to the 
 oak. I leave it to the reader to determine 
 whether or not the warbler in taking the 
 course it did was not trying to conceal the 
 location of its nest-building operations. 
 
 While the linnets, or redheads, were among 
 our most numerous visitors, I noticed only 
 one nest and that was in the attic of our 
 house. The nest was built in one of the rooms 
 where a corner of heavy wall paper was torn 
 away from the wall, making a projection and 
 support. As this part of the dwelling was not 
 used or occupied by our family we did not 
 dispute the bird's preemption of the premises 
 but left it to rear its family in peace and 
 the security from natural enemies the spot 
 afforded. How did the bird enter this part of 
 the house? Ths was the first thing that came 
 into my mind when I discovered the nest. 
 Upon looking around I saw a pane of glass 
 missing in one of the windows. Subsequently 
 I saw the linnet make use of the opening. 
 
 At no other place in the state did I ever 
 see so many grosbeaks as were to be seen at 
 this time in and about our amphitheater. As 
 mentioned elsewhere their melodious warb- 
 
 lings, trillings and whistlings were to be heard 
 from morning until night and were so musical 
 and sweet that it never became tiresome. 
 There was one singer that spent the greater 
 part of the day on the topmost branches of a 
 large madrone tree not more than sixty yards 
 from the house, that seemed to be a superior 
 songster. He possessed a greater range of 
 changes in his song and his execution of trill- 
 ing and soft whistling notes, in which he in- 
 dulged more at evening time, was not equaled 
 by any of the other singers occupying other 
 tree tops thereabouts. This fine singer was one 
 of a pair building a nest in a young oak 
 tree near the house. However, it was the lady 
 of the household, as in some families of 
 the highest order of life, who was doing all the 
 work of constructing the nest. If the male 
 member had contributed a straw, twig, string 
 or anything for the cradle the mother re- 
 quired for her babies, the act was not wit- 
 nessed. If he had done so perhaps we should 
 have been denied the pleasure of much of his 
 song. In his own defense he would have prob- 
 ably declared he could not render classical 
 music and work at the same time. 
 
 A valley quail selected a place within 60 
 feet of our back gate for her nest. Under a 
 bunch of dry grass, that would not ordinarily 
 attract attention, she had shaped a place to 
 hold her brood of eggs. When we first dis- 
 covered the nest by nearly stepping on the 
 bird only one egg was in it. But nearly every 
 day the mother bird returned to the nest and 
 deposited an egg and on the day of our de- 
 parture for home there were six eggs in it. 
 The call the mountain quail makes in the 
 mating season was frequently heard by us from 
 the adjacent woods surrounding our place, 
 but the birds are so shy that we have seen but 
 one pair, though from the noise they made 
 one would think the "woods were full of 
 them." 
 
 Enumeration of the species of birds to be 
 found here will vary but little from the cen- 
 sus of bird life of other wooded parts of 
 Central California. I misse'd here the presence 
 of the mocking bird that I have seen on the 
 Pleasanton ridge, Alameda county; on Mt. 
 Diablo, and in northern Mendocino; also some 
 of the warblers and sparrows common to the 
 first two districts mentioned. But what we 
 lacked in variety was made up by quantity. 
 
 Of the four-footed forms of animal life 
 common to this section deer were formerly 
 most prominent. Up to three or four years 
 ago one could not go more than a few hun- 
 dred yards in any direction from our place 
 without expecting to come across one or more 
 of these beautiful animals. But now the auto- 
 mobiles having made all distant hunting 
 grounds more accessible and with the greater 
 number of hunters by reason of the rapid in- 
 crease of the population of the state, the 
 number of deer has been greatly reduced, also 
 the possibility of seeing one in our rambles. 
 Though one day on this trip while out whip- 
 ping the Rancheria for a mess of trout a doe 
 and yearling came down into the bed of the 
 stream and stood for some little time on a 
 
54 
 
 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 HOUSE AT DEERWOOD. 
 
 TUMBLE BUG ROLLING ITS PILL. 
 
WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 55 
 
 gravel bar about 60 feet away. As long as I 
 remained motionless they gave no attention 
 to my presence. But evidently they "sniffed 
 danger," for they held their heads high, nerv- 
 ously flipping their big ears and looking first 
 one way, then another. However, when I 
 made the first step they were off like a flash, 
 the little one quickly passing the mother, into 
 the brush that hid them from further view. 
 
 Another time while fishing on this same ' 
 stream in a large pool made dark by over- 
 hanging treetops I saw a mink come down the 
 bank on the opposite side. At the edge of the 
 water it stopped long enough to look around, 
 and then to my great astonishment took to 
 the water and swam directly towards me. As 
 I stood in the margin of the pool when the 
 mink landed on my side it was on top of my 
 right foot which was in position for a strong 
 kick, which was made with enough force to 
 land the animal half-way across the pool, into 
 which it fell with a splash. In all probability 
 the spell of astonishment was transferred 
 from man to animal by the act. At any rate 
 it was so thoroughly convinced that it had 
 come into sudden contact with a superior force 
 that it did not come to the surface of the 
 water again but swam like a fish to a retreat 
 on the other side. 
 
 The handsome, big, bushy-tailed gray 
 squirrel must, like so many other forms of 
 life, finds this place well adapted to its needs 
 and comforts for the species is well repre- 
 sented. On warm bright days it was no trouble 
 to see one. In fact it was not uncommon to 
 see them running along the top of the fence 
 about our dwelling. Their friendly visits ex- 
 tended even to the roof of the building. One 
 afternoon while sitting on the porch I heard 
 a squirrel on the roof overhead. I whistled 
 softly and it soon peered down at me over 
 the edge of the roof. Apparently not satisfied 
 in its curiosity, it came down to a board 
 fastened to the porch posts about six feet 
 above my head and after full inspection of me 
 it leisurely hopped along the entire length of 
 the board, then returned to the roof. I think 
 it would be no trouble to make them so tame 
 they would come for food and be pets about 
 the place. 
 
 As might be imagined from the description 
 of the country, formerly coons, skunks and 
 other objectionable animals were also very 
 numerous hereabouts, but the very high price 
 at which their pelts sold during the last year 
 or so incited every man and boy in the 
 country to trapping, and as a result very few 
 of these animals remain to represent species 
 once so common. The destruction of these 
 animals, especially the skunks, will in all 
 probability be of advantage to brooding quail, 
 as there are so few left to destroy the eggs 
 or the young birds after hatching. Therefore 
 there should be a corresponding improvement 
 in the numbers of these handsome game birds. 
 An event quail hunters will hail with delight. 
 
 In the matter of wild flowers I know of 
 several districts of the coast section of the 
 State where a greater variety prevail, but I 
 know of no place where native flowers that 
 find representation grow to greater perfec- 
 
 tion and beauty. This is particularly true of 
 the iris, which is to be seen almost every- 
 where. The creamy white species Douglasiana. 
 are extra large. I found some specimens 
 that measured nearly five inches across; 
 four and a quarter inches were very common. 
 Great clumps of varied shades of the 
 Macrosiphon were not uncommon. Beds of 
 baby-blue-eyes, and delicate tinted violets 
 were common enough to satisfy the most sen- 
 timental lover of flowers. 
 
 The grass covered slope ■ of a half acre or 
 more in front of our house presented a beau- 
 tiful sight for nearly a fortnight. It was 
 mantled by a mass of bright yellow poppies, 
 blue-eyed-grass, brodiaeas and other flowers of 
 lesser prominence. The effect of the colors 
 of these blossoms was suggestive of the Blue 
 and Gold of our university. I will not dwell 
 longer on the subject of flowers other than 
 to say the profusion of blossoms had at- 
 tractions for some of the lower orders of life 
 as well as for the highest. The flowers to- 
 gether with the warm and pleasant weather 
 brought numbers of various kind of insects 
 and it is of the doings and habits of some 
 of these neighbors I propose to give a few 
 interesting details. 
 
 Let us begin with the bees, for their life 
 history, generally speaking, is inseparable 
 from flowers, and they were present in greater 
 numbers than any other single insect family. 
 Nearly every genus of the Bee family was 
 represented in our amphitheater from the 
 big, burly bumble bee to the most diminutive 
 form of Halicitidae, not more than a quarter 
 of an inch in length. Of course the bees I 
 am writing about are wild bees. I never 
 have seen a beehive in this section of country, 
 but hive bees that have gone wild are quite 
 numerous. Though, as I have said, that bees 
 of nearly all kinds that are common to this 
 section are in evidence and seemingly very 
 busy in their employments, very few of their 
 nearest relatives, the wasps, are around yet 
 The time I am writing about is the last of 
 April; in another month, however, the wasp 
 family will outnumber the bees. 
 
 The first bees to attract my attention on 
 this trip were the big, Carpenter bees, 
 Xylooopa. In the United States there are 
 several species which vary in size, but so far 
 as I can learn the habits of all are much 
 the same. The females of the two large 
 species thaj; I have seen on the Coast are en- 
 tirely black, while the males of one species 
 are all yellow, and in the other the 
 males have only a yellowish thorax with 
 black abdomen. The former of these are 
 the largest, or the giants, of the bee family. 
 These I saw on the Colorado desert. It was 
 members of the other species I found so 
 numerous here. 
 
 In tearing down a small structure we 
 found a 3x3 split redwood post, the upper 
 end of which* for a distance of twelve inches 
 contained several holes made by the Carpen- 
 ter bees. I cut off the perforated part and 
 split it open, revealing the tunnels, shafts 
 and raises, connected with the entrances 
 bored into the sides of the post. Prom the 
 
56 
 
 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 BEE TUNNELS. 
 Sketch to represent a piece of split redwood post, 2 by 4 inches, a foot in length. 
 No. 1 shows the stick before being split at the dotted line, with the entrance hole on 
 that side. No. 2 shows (in black) the tunnels, shafts and side cells made by the 
 Carpenter Bees, from the entrance shown on No. 1. The dotted lines indicate other 
 excavations for nests, with entrances on the opposite side of No. 1. 
 
WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 57 
 
 highest to the lowest part of this internal 
 work the measurement was almost thirteen 
 inches. The inside excavations were all con- 
 nected, whether by accident or by design, 
 must remain a matter of speculation until we 
 have some evidence that will settle the ques- 
 tion. 
 
 While the diameter of the excavations in 
 the post justified the conclusion that the 
 work was that of the Carpenter bees, the 
 foreign material found in a section of one 
 side excavation showed that Carpenter bees 
 were not the only kind that had made 
 use of a portion of these quarters to raise 
 their young. In a cavity exposed by the split- 
 ing of the post there were six partitions made 
 of clay dividing it into as many cells, or 
 rather they were parts of partitions, for they 
 had been broken through by the insects 
 hatched in the cells after reaching the stage 
 of maturity. In the last cell I found the re- 
 mains of two small black bees. There was 
 enough of the desicated bodies of the insects 
 left to enable one to identify the remains as 
 being those of bees and to suggest the prob- 
 ability that they were of a genus known as 
 Osmia, which is quite numerous in this sec- 
 tion of our State. I recovered a wing in per- 
 fect form and an examination of its venation 
 confirmed the conclusion as to the species. It 
 i3 also characteristic of the Osmia to utilize 
 hollowed out places made by other agencies 
 than themselves for nesting places. How they 
 managed to pre-empt a section of the Car- 
 penter bees' apartments and hold it against 
 their big, overgrown relatives is a mystery. 
 The latter may have tolerated the little 
 bees, or possibly the last mentioned may have 
 occupied the place late in the season when 
 Carpenter bees were not using it. However 
 it may have been, the little bees showed their 
 disposition to avoid hard work by pre- 
 empting the old cells. When there are no 
 ready-made places for nests to be found by 
 the small bee it excavates the pith from 
 elderberry bush stems, or like pithy growths. 
 The desire to shun the work of excavating 
 in wood, or pith, by both species of bees 
 mentioned is hardly reconcilable with the 
 theory of those writers who insist that such 
 insects act only under the impulse of instinct. 
 Their idea is that nature has endowed these 
 lower forms of life with an instinct that im- 
 pels them to perform certain acts in a par- 
 ticular way at certain times, filling out their 
 cycle of life, and for this reason they can- 
 not execute any of the requirements in their 
 life history in a different way. According to 
 this theory the Carpenter bee being endowed 
 with instinct that directs it to bore holes in 
 dry wood for nesting it would be expected 
 that these bees should be found boring holes 
 for the purpose instead of insidiously hunt- 
 ing for a hole made by some more indus- 
 trious bee, or other agency, the year or years 
 before, an act that seems to indicate some 
 reason and judgment and the possession of 
 dislike for laborious work, a disposition so 
 commonly manifested among the human 
 kind. 
 
 The Osmia according to Sharp is one of 
 the most important genera of bees in Europe. 
 The famous entomologist of France, H. 
 Fabre, gives much space to the doings of 
 these bees in his writings so popular the 
 world over. 
 
 Anthidium is the name of another small 
 bee noticed at Deerwood. We discovered it 
 while in the very act that has given it the 
 name of "wool gatherer." The bees were 
 engaged in stripping off the wooly sub- 
 stance, or pubesence, of the underside of 
 leaves of wormwood plants. It was very in- 
 teresting to watch them in the operation and 
 note the thoroughness and dexterity they 
 showed in shaving off the so-called wool. 
 The insects did the work with their mandibles, 
 which are broadened on the ends and bear 
 minute saw-toothed edges. The shaving 
 was rapidly done with a cleanness and 
 smoothness that would excel the operations 
 of some barbers. The wool as it came off the 
 leaves was tucked under the chins of the bees 
 and rolled into the form of a ball and held 
 there with the aid of the fore legs. The 
 shaving operation continued until a bee 
 gathered a bunch as large as a small buck- 
 shot and would then fly away. Some obser- 
 vers say "this wool is gathered to line the cells 
 of the nests they make in excavations made 
 by other insects." The cells made one on top 
 of another are filled with pollen and honey 
 for food for the larvae when hatched from 
 the single egg deposited in each cell. We 
 were not fortunate enough to find any nest 
 of these little members of the bee family. 
 
 However, it was while watching the actions 
 of some bees in the vicinity of the operations 
 of the Anthidiums I suddenly discovered that 
 I was sitting on the ground in the very midst 
 of a whole colony of bees, finding many 
 more nests in a smaller space than I had ever 
 seen before. Fortunately for my comfort 
 the bees were too small to be able to or so 
 mild mannered they did not, resent my in- 
 trusion into the place of their habitation in 
 the manner so painful and common in the 
 actions of the large species of the family • 
 under like circumstances. 
 
 Soon after getting down on the ground I 
 saw several little bees flying closely about 
 me, but being among some wild flowers and 
 grass I thought these were the attractions. 
 Finally I became interested in the little fel- 
 lows and concluded to watch and find out if 
 possible what they were doing there. I soon 
 noticed one disappear down among the grass 
 roots, but it did not occur to me that the bee 
 had gone down into its burrow until I had 
 noticed two or more disappear after alighting 
 on the ground. Closer examination disclosed 
 several mounds of finely pulverized earth at 
 the entrance of the burrows. On some of 
 these I had been stepping, besides in moving 
 about I had tramped and mashed down much 
 of the grass and flowers covering the restrict- 
 ed area occupied by the bees. It was a trian- 
 gular piece the three sides of which were not 
 more than three feet in length. Over this I 
 now saw maybe fifty, or more, bees hover- 
 ing and flying in slow zigzag manner. The 
 
58 
 
 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
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WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 59 
 
 meaning of this gathering was soon explained. 
 Individual bees returning to their burrowa 
 were unable to locate the places by reason of 
 the disturbance of the land marks, i. e., the 
 grasses and flowers, and were flying slowly 
 about trying to find their homes. Soon the 
 place was alive with the distracted insects, 
 some of them alighted on the ground and 
 searched for their burrows. A few were suc- 
 cessful. As I could not restore the land- 
 marks or in any way make amends for the 
 damage done I left them to themselves. 
 
 While watching the actions of these little 
 bees it was easy to interpret their confusion. 
 The grass stalks and flower stems, before I 
 had crushed them down, were as familiar to 
 them and were as much landmarks to them 
 as would be to us the trees about our place. 
 Once in a while one little bee would rise 
 higher in its flights as if to take observations 
 of the greater landmarks indicating the 
 position of the colony; then apparently con- 
 vinced it was at the right spot, would resume 
 its search among the flattened and twisted 
 grasses. I did not have the heart to commit 
 further outrage upon the colony by using a 
 trowel, or in other words dig up their burrows 
 for information as to their nesting habits, 
 which I concluded was obtainable in some of 
 my books. These bees are the smallest of all 
 those that burrow into the ground and aver- 
 age about a quarter of an inch in length. They 
 belong to the genus Halictus. Their congre- 
 gation into communities and arrangement of 
 their homes — apartment house fashion, several 
 families in a burrow — as Comstock says — is 
 one of the peculiarities of the little fellows, 
 unknown with other genera of the bee family. 
 All bees, of which there is said to be fully 
 fifteen hundred species including the hive, or 
 domestic bees, eat or depend exclusively upon 
 vegetable food in some form, while members 
 of the wasp family may feed on both vege- 
 table and animal matter. With bees their 
 food is ordinarily in the form of pollen and 
 the nectar extracted from flowers. The pollen 
 that is gathered for the use of the nestlings 
 is carried on a certain part of the posterior 
 pair of legs by some kinds of bees, under the 
 abdomen, and on the thorax behind the wing? 
 by other species. The nectar, converted into 
 honey, gathered for the same purpose, the 
 surplus of which finds its way as a dainty 
 dish on man's breakfast table, is swallowed by 
 the bee. According to David Sharp the necta.r 
 passes down the throat of the bees as far as the 
 crop of its alimentary canal, into what is 
 called the honey sack, and at the hive, or 
 nest, is regurgitated. In the process the 
 nectar of the flower is converted into honey, 
 supposedly by the contribution by the bee of 
 some glandular secretion. The male fbees 
 carry no pollen. 
 
 The young of the social bees are raised 
 in the abode of the parents and are fed after 
 the manner of baby birds by the workers of 
 the hive, or nest, but with the solitary bee the 
 parents and young never see each other. The 
 female, according to the species of which she 
 is a member, finds, or makes, a suitable place 
 to construct a nest. It may be a crevice in 
 the rocks, or a hole excavated in wood, the 
 
 earth, or the hollow of some pithy stem 
 growth. In such a place she makes a cell, 
 stores it with pollen and honey, lays an egg 
 on the food, after which she closes up the 
 cell, then completes a few more cells in the 
 same way, one on top of the other. When 
 this undertaking is finished the mother bee, 
 except in the case of the little carpenter bee, 
 shows no more interest in the nest or its 
 occupants. 
 
 A most wonderful provision of nature for 
 preventing the fouling of the food of the 
 young bee 'by faecal matter while it is in 
 the larval stage and confined in the cell is 
 that the posterior part of the alimentary 
 canal does not connect with the stomach until 
 the larva is about ready to pupate. 
 
 The near relatives of the bee family, the 
 wasps, were still in their winter retreats, with 
 very few exceptions. The wasp must have 
 warm weather. While the days were warm 
 the nights still bore a frosty air. Now and 
 then a representative of the Polistes could be 
 seen flying around in search of material with 
 which to build a nest, or for food to supply 
 its needs following a winter's fasting. These 
 are the slender black and yellow marked 
 wasps that build open inverted nests under 
 house eaves, sheds, rocks, etc., and catch 
 various kinds of insects which they masticate 
 and feed their young. Four or five speci- 
 mens of a species of the Sphecidae family 
 were seen on the warmest days flying up and 
 down the road with occasional excursions into 
 the grass bordering the roadway. This wasp 
 when nesting digs a hole in the ground in 
 which it places a grasshopper for food to 
 supply the larva from a single egg when 
 hatched. It is a very interesting sight to 
 watch the operations of these wasps engaged 
 in making the nest and stocking it with food. 
 In another chapter I have given the details 
 of the intelligent actions of some of the 
 wasps while occupied in this work which I 
 had the good fortune to observe on two or 
 three previous occasions. At Deerwood, how- 
 ever, the Sphex had not yet commenced the 
 serious work of their lives. I spent much 
 time following their flights and their actions 
 when on the ground, but so far as I could dis- 
 cover the wasps had no particular object In 
 view other than to enjoy the warm sunshine. 
 I had hoped to witness their actions in cap- 
 turing a grasshopper, which usually is much 
 larger than themselves. The grasshoppers 
 were about but their presence was ignored 
 by the wasps. The summer and fall in which 
 to work was yet before them, and as the 
 making of a nest and stocking and closing it 
 up after laying the egg is the work of only a 
 few hours or days at the most, they probably 
 reasoned that there was an abundance of time 
 ahead in which to perform the hard work 
 nature demanded of them, and until it was 
 time to begin work they would pass their 
 days in ease — as I saw them. How many 
 nests one of these wasps constructs in the 
 course of a season no one seems to have yet 
 discovered. It must be quite a number, 
 otherwise the species would not persist, for the 
 nests are subject to destruction by reason of 
 
60 
 
 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 their locations, and quite a large percentage 
 of their larvae become the victims of para- 
 sites. 
 
 In season Deerwood is one of the most 
 popular places with the yellow jackets, Vespa 
 Germanica, and the so-called hornets, Vespa 
 Maculata. The latter are larger than the for- 
 mer and are black marked with white. They 
 are rather vicious in disposition and it is well 
 to give their nests a wide berth. One of 
 their habits is making game and food out of 
 their cousins, the yellow jackets, which our 
 folks last fall were disposed to regard as a 
 redeeming feature in the character and repu- 
 tation of the white-faced hornet, owing to the 
 great number of the yellow jackets that per- 
 sisted in obtruding themselves about the 
 house, provender and cooking. Up to the time 
 we took our departure from Deerwood at the 
 end of the visit of which I am writing, not a 
 single specimen of yellow jacket or hornet had 
 put in an appearance. However, in a very 
 short time they would have outnumbered the 
 bees. 
 
 Nature has a time for everything in insect 
 life. Some particular kinds appear early in 
 the year and pass through all the changes 
 that characterize their career of life and are 
 seen no more until another year rolls around; 
 some are with us, objectionably so, from 
 early spring to late fall; while others follow 
 along in the order of their adaption to sea- 
 sonal and food conditions, go through the 
 routine of the existence of the species, and 
 disappear. Similarly the activities of the ma- 
 jority of insects are . confined to certain dif- 
 ferent hours of the days. Some confine their 
 operations to daylight hours, while many are 
 exclusively nocturnal in their habits, and re- 
 main hidden away during the day. Even of 
 the daylight species, some are to be seen at 
 certain hours only. Some waiting until the 
 air is warmed by the morning sun, some 
 that are active for only three or four hours 
 in the middle of the day, while there are 
 others that do not show themselves until the 
 shadows of the setting sun are elongated over 
 their habitations, or the sun itself has dis- 
 appeared below the horizon. One of the ex- 
 ceptions to these features in insect life is the 
 mosquito. It is always with us in the vicinity 
 of water suitable for the propagation of the 
 pest. 
 
 "Tumble bug" is the name commonly ap- 
 plied to certain species of Scarabaeidae that 
 are quite common in the United States, and 
 many other parts of the world. It gets its 
 common name from its curious habit of rolling 
 little balls of animal excrement along the 
 ground to some place suitable to its purpose 
 where it buries it. Some authorities say the 
 ball is for its own food, others say it is a 
 provision for its larvae. Perhaps both are 
 correct. The tumble bug Is a chunky little 
 fellow, and like many other members of the 
 Scrarbaeidae family is almost as broad as it 
 is long. They vary somewhat in size. Much 
 has been written about the habits of this 
 group of beetles, but the statement of some 
 of the observers do not always agree. Fabre, 
 the famous naturalist, gave much time to the 
 
 study of their habits and some of his most 
 interesting writings relate to the life history of 
 these beetles. He says that at first they pro- 
 cure and bury this peculiar food for them- 
 selves, storing enough under ground to last 
 them through the hot days of summer, where 
 they quietly remain during that season, 
 emerging again in the fall to store a larger 
 underground chamber with dung as provender 
 for their young. 
 
 I had the opportunity of watching the op- 
 erations of members of this particular kind 
 of beetle at Deerwood one afternoon. The 
 species was identified as Canthon Militants. 
 They were little fellows about three-eighths 
 of an inch long. A day or so before a drove 
 of sheep had been driven by the place where 
 we found the beetles. It was droppings from 
 these sheep that three beetles were rolling 
 along the hard ground, all going in the same 
 direction, apparently, as it afterwards ap- 
 peared, to a spot where there was some rather 
 loose sandy soil. The sheep droppings were 
 spherical and considerable larger than the 
 "bugs," and it was remarkable to note the ease 
 and speed with which they moved the load 
 along. Each of the three beetles had a ball, 
 but on one, which I will refer to hereafter as 
 Number one, was a motionless beetle, firmly 
 clasping the sphere with all of its outspread 
 legs. The movement was given to the balls 
 by the beetles standing on their front and 
 middle legs, walking backwards, pushing and 
 directing the load with their hind legs and 
 feet. "Where the ground was free from rock 
 fragments and grass stalks, rapid progress was 
 made and the rolling over and over did not 
 seem to disconcert the beetle riding on num- 
 ber one, whatever the bug pushing may have 
 thought about the extra work imposed on it 
 by the bettle insisting on "dead-heading" it. 
 Occasionally the push-beetle would stop, 
 leave the ball and walk around it, as if in- 
 specting the obstacles impeding its work. A 
 few times it stopped when there were no im- 
 pediments. Whether it was to rest or to ex- 
 amine the soil a£ to its fitness to bury the 
 ball, who could say? However, afterwards I 
 was inclined to think the stoppage was for 
 the latter, for finally it came to the place with 
 loose soil and there stopped and walked about 
 the ball for a few seconds, never going farther 
 away than an inch or so. Expecting it to re- 
 sume its travels I was surprised to see it take 
 a position alongside of the ball and commence 
 to crawl, into the earth. The bug did not dig 
 a hole in which to enter but just forced its 
 way down into the loose soil. It was soon out 
 of sight, but I could see that it was moving 
 still by the heaving of the surface of the 
 ground for a space of about the diameter of 
 a half dollar. Now the ball began to sink, 
 which seemed to be the cue for the beginning 
 of the actions of the beetle that had been 
 motionless on the ball all this time. It sud- 
 denly slid off the ball and putting its hind 
 feet against it quickly rolled the ball out of 
 the pit that was opening to receive it, and 
 then began pushing it away, and succeeded in 
 moving it about 20 inches, where it was 
 stalled by getting in among some broken 
 
WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 61 
 
 rocks. To me the transaction appeared a 
 flagrant act of theft. Up to that moment I 
 had looked upon the rider of the ball as being 
 the partner of the one pushing it. However, 
 the thought may nave oeen unjust to the 
 beetle, for in the beginning it may have been 
 the original discoverer of the strange morsel 
 of food and its action in clinging motionless to 
 the ball might have been a strategic act to 
 maintain possession of its property, defeating 
 the purpose of a dishonest and stronger kins- 
 man trying to rob it. Either way you view 
 the matter, the action of the bug in quietly 
 waiting until its opponent was far under- 
 ground preparatory to burying the ball, then 
 suddenly waking up and running off with the 
 prize while the other beetle was in such 
 position it could do nothing to retain it even 
 if it knew that the ball was being taken away, 
 was a remarkable display of cunning, call it 
 instinct, or intelligence, or what you may. 
 
 The beetle having pushed the ball into a place 
 from which it seemed unable to remove it, I 
 picked up both the bug and ball and placed 
 them on some loose soil. The beetle lay quiet 
 simulating death for a few moments, after 
 which it "dug in" where it lay, making no 
 effort to take the ball with it nor did it re- 
 turn to the surface while I was there. I 
 watched for the other beetle to come out dur- 
 ing the hour I had the insects under observa- 
 tion, but it did not make an appearance. 
 
 The next beetle to come under notice was 
 rolling a ball after the manner described in 
 the foregoing. It had no contestant for own- 
 ership. It was rolling the ball in the direc- 
 tion of the same spot of soft earth to which 
 the other beetle had rolled the ball of con- 
 tested ownership. When number two reached 
 the place, after overcoming several obstacles, 
 making a few stops for rest or inspection of 
 the route, it buried itself alongside the ball, 
 and in the course of a moment or so the ball 
 began to sink in the loose soil. It descended 
 slowly as if it were a substance sinking in a 
 fluid massi of a little less density, and Anally 
 disappeared. Like the Chinaman's description 
 of the electric car: "No pushee! No pullee! It 
 go all samee!" 
 
 Number three was discovered in a rougher 
 piece of ground rolling its ball in the direc- 
 tion of the soft patch of soil. It was making 
 very slow progress, but exhibited remarkable 
 strength and good judgment in overcoming 
 the difficulties met with. Its actions in what 
 appeared to be stoppages for inspection of its 
 surroundings were the same as described for 
 the other beetles. After watching its slow 
 progress for some time I picked up both 
 beetle and its ball and put them down on the 
 
 loose soil. The little fellow immediately dis- 
 appeared in the sandy earth but made no ef- 
 fort to take the ball below, neither did it 
 return for it while I remained on watch. See- 
 ing another of the beetles out on the hard 
 ground rambling around as if in search of a 
 ball I picked it up and placed it alongside of 
 the ball abandoned by number three. The 
 bug lay on its back as if dead for fully fif- 
 teen minutes. I then placed a leaf so to cover 
 both bug and ball. After a wait of a few 
 moments I removed the leaf and found the 
 beetle on top of the ball clasping it with out- 
 spread legs and feet. It remained in this 
 position eight or ten minutes, then slid off 
 and burrowed into the earth, leaving the ball 
 on the surface of the ground. I remained in the 
 vicinity for a half-hour, but there was no re- 
 appearance of any of the performers — the en- 
 tertainment, to my great regret, was over. 
 
 On an occasion of a visit to the dry bed of 
 the stream flowing past our place in search 
 of insects we found all the damp places in- 
 habited by a small highly colored beetle 
 known as the Bombardier. The wing covers 
 were dark blue, while the thorax, head and 
 legs were red. We saw none of them until we 
 began to turn over the cobblestones; fre- 
 quently as many as half dozen were found 
 under one stone. They were extremely lively 
 and it required quick action to make a cap- 
 ture. This would be the time when the beetles 
 would display the remarkable peculiarity from 
 which they obtained their name of Bombar- 
 dier. As soon as one was caught it ejected 
 from its rear end a jet of fluid which upon 
 contact with the air turns to a gas and looks 
 like smoke. As the change is followed by a 
 tiny pop, the sound and "smoke" suggest the 
 explosion of a miniature bomb. Some of the 
 beetles were able to eject three to four 
 "bombs" with almost rapid fire effect. The 
 explosions were accompanied by a slight 
 smell somewhat offensive. Observers who have 
 dissected these insects say the fluid is con- 
 tained in a little sack located at the hind end 
 of the abdomen. It is used as a means of 
 defense when attacked by enemies. For in- 
 stance, when a larger beetle pursues it the 
 Bombardier throws a "bomb" in its face, and 
 in the smoke and confusion of the explosion 
 sometimes finds opportunity to escape. 
 
 This beetle belongs to the genus Brachinus 
 of the Carabidae family. There are twenty- 
 six species known in North America. While 
 some seasons they are quite common if you 
 know where to look for them, at other times 
 a search of their habitats will not reveal a 
 single specimen. 
 
62 
 
 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 VALLEY AT THE HEAD OF DIABLO CANYON. 
 
 LAKE AT LOWER END OF DIABLO CANYON. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 DIABLO CANYON 
 
 Familiar and Strange Things of Interest Observed During a Day 
 Spent Within Its Walls 
 
 While sojourning at the Mt. Diablo Oountry 
 Club a beautiful spring day suggested to me 
 that a walk up on the sides of old Diablo 
 would not only afford pleasurable recreation, 
 but where all plant life was stimulated by 
 seasonal conditions to activities that gave 
 freshness and beauty to the surroundings, and 
 the bird and animal life of the mountain was 
 to be found at its best, I should probably meet 
 with something in Nature's great family and 
 in the fulfillment and operation of her laws 
 that would be new and instructive to me. 
 
 I will confess it was more the thought of 
 the wild flowers, for the variableness and 
 beauty of which Mt. Diablo is celebrated, that 
 was uppermost in my mind when I started 
 out on the trip. I chose the old road, which 
 has been closed to travel for several years, 
 as affording an easy grade up the wooded 
 canyon, to the ieft of the Toll House, as well 
 as being less frequented by the public, and 
 where the thoughtless automobilists had not 
 ravished the flowering shrubs by the road- 
 sides, robbing them of their beauty in flowers 
 and symmetry, or depopulated the bird life 
 with the repeating shotgun. 
 
 Others with more imaginative minds and 
 poetical thoughts than I possess have walked 
 up this same canyon long before it became 
 my privilege to enjoy its grandure and en- 
 chantments, and have given freedom to their 
 enthusiasm and inspiration in vivid and 
 prettily worded descriptions of its bowered 
 nooks, tree-canopied trails, flower carpeted 
 ridges, majestic rocky walls, crystal springs, 
 soul-inspiring views and other features firing 
 the spirit for mountain tramping and com- 
 munion with Nature. This has been done 
 so well and so frequently I will leave the sub- 
 ject of the canyon with the general statement 
 that it is worth the while of anyone, who 
 loves the hills of the Coast Ranges and has 
 the strength, to walk through its entire 
 length a distance of, about two miles from the 
 Toll House. Nearly every foot of the way has 
 something of interest for the artist, for the 
 student of botany, lover of birds, the collec- 
 tors of entomological specimens, and fossil de- 
 posits for geologists. There is plenty of 
 brush to crawl through, rocks to scale or clam- 
 ber over, deep gulches and steep ridges, to 
 make a day of as tough mountain work as 
 one has ambition for. But all that can be 
 avoided by keeping on the old abandoned 
 wagon roadbed and following its turns and 
 grade to the head of the canyon, where it 
 intercepts the new toll road going up to the 
 summit. The old road is shaded much of the 
 
 distance by the friendly branches of numer- 
 ous oaks, laurels and maples, growing in the 
 canyon and by the roadside. 
 
 I had made two or three trips up the can- 
 yon before and I must say I was somewhat 
 disappointed in the variety and number of 
 wild flowers met with, although I was pre- 
 pared for it by the knowledge that dry win- 
 ters mean absence in the following spring 
 of many species of flowering plants. Yet I 
 was hoping the mountain would do better 
 than the neighboring range to the west, in 
 keeping with its reputation, but as I have 
 intimtaed, the variety was limited and the 
 number far less than was expected. The 
 amount of rainfall and the changes of tem«- 
 perature in the winter and early spring 
 months determines the character of Nature's 
 floral display in the spring and summer fol- 
 lowing. This fact was plainly manifested 
 during a period of several seasons on the 
 Pleasanton ridge, where I made a study of 
 the wild flowers of that section. Some species 
 of plants, like the sunflower, cyclamen, brod- 
 iaea, California poppy, tulip, pansy and about 
 all that blossom in the early spring, could be 
 depended upon to make their appearance 
 every year in the same localities with little 
 or no variation in numbers, while many 
 others were wholly absent, or scarce or in 
 profusion according to the season's rainfall 
 and temperature. Among the plants noted 
 as being so influenced by seasonal condi- 
 tions were godetia, wind poppy, clarkia, 
 escobita and larkspur. Some years patches on 
 the hillside of some of these flowers were 
 so thick and extensive they formed con- 
 spicuous spots in the landscape, visible miles 
 away. Yet on the following season, because 
 of too much t or too little rain or too much, 
 or too little warmth, scarcely a representative 
 of the floral profusion of the previous year 
 was to be found. Every flower seed has its 
 time for germination, some in the early win- 
 ter and others along toward summer, and if 
 the moisture and warmth of the ground is not 
 sufficient to awaken into life the mysterious 
 little germ it holds when that period ap- 
 proaches, then the seed must lay dormant 
 until a season of favorable conditions comes 
 along and gives it the assistance required to 
 fulfill the purpose of Nature. Other sea- 
 sonal conditions complicate matters, such as 
 extended periods of drouth after the sprouting 
 of the seed and before the young plant has 
 been able to send its little roots down into 
 the soil, and the plant is killed. There may 
 be other causes contributing to the intermit- 
 
64 
 
 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 tent occurrence of wild flowers which a 
 study of the subject would develop. 
 
 It is known among botanists and some stu- 
 dents of our wild flowers that there is an 
 epilobium and another flower belonging to 
 the liliaceae that are frequently found in pro- 
 fusion in burned-over brush land or forest 
 tracts. The former is commonly called Fire 
 Weed. It is a purple flower and grows in 
 other places, but it makes its greatest attrac- 
 tion in the burned-over areas by the mass of 
 color arising from the thick setting of the 
 plants. The other plant is commonly known 
 as Bear Grass, Basket Grass and Squaw 
 Grass. Its botanical name is Xerophyllum 
 terrax. It is quite common throughout the 
 Coast Range and is known as far north as 
 British Columbia. 
 
 The plants look something like large 
 clumps of bunch grass, but with broader and 
 longer leaves, which turn outward with more 
 graceful curves. It is said that the Indian 
 womei made their finest baskets with the 
 leaves from this plant. The blossom forms 
 on the end of a fast growing stalk and con- 
 sists of a spike of closely arranged little 
 cream-colored flowers. The stalk sometimes 
 reaches a height of six feet or more, and 
 continues to send forth new buds and 
 flowers daily from the terminal end from 
 the time it makes its first appearance above 
 the surrounding leaves until it reaches its 
 limit of growth. Nearly all the botanical 
 books on the flowers of California describe 
 the plants as blossoming only once in from 
 five to seven years, and then dying, whereas 
 it is claimed by some observers that it blooms, 
 in the Coast Range at least, only on a 
 section of country that has been burned 
 over. However that may be. it is only on 
 sections of redwood forest that had been re- 
 cently visited by fire that I have met with the 
 plant in bloom. In truth, although I had 
 known the plant by commonly meeting it in 
 the mountain for years, I was not aware of 
 its floweirng quality until I saw its blossoms 
 in great profusion, acres of them, in a patch 
 of Mendocino redwood country which had 
 been crossed by a severe forest fire during 
 the previous year. It was a remarkable 
 sight. Yet you would not care to say it was 
 beautiful, charming, etc., for the picture 
 still bore too many features of the destruc- 
 tive work of the fire of the year before, 
 but it was attractive and a subject fit for the 
 artist's brush that can faithfully mingle the 
 innocent and beautiful with the tragic and 
 terrible. In the seasons following the years 
 when the fires that traversed portions of the 
 flanks of Mt. Tamalpais, destroying so much 
 vegetation, the basket plants caused much 
 surprise and comment among frequenters of 
 the section, by the sudden change in its 
 character, from little more than bunches 
 of what appeared to be ordinary grass to 
 very showy blooming plants. 
 
 Another, thing that tends to confirm the 
 opinion that it is the conditions of soil 
 brought about by a forest fire that stimu- 
 lates the plant into throwing up flower 
 stalks is the fact that every plant to be 
 
 found located well in on the burned-over 
 area is made to blossom. If it were the 
 peculiar habit of these plants not to bloom 
 until 5 to 7 years old then die, the plants 
 in the burned district would not all be in 
 blossom at the same time. Obviously the 
 plants I saw in Mendocino could not have 
 been all of the same age, yet all were in 
 flower. Next year, or in the following sea- 
 son, upon visiting this particular burnt dis- 
 trict I found numerous basket grass plants 
 but not a single one in blossom, nor have I 
 seen another flower there since, though 
 several seasons have come and gone. 
 
 The discussion of this subject has by de- 
 grees led us away some distance from the 
 locality of which I started to write, but I 
 will take a short cut back, by mention of 
 two or three of the plants and shrubs that 
 seemed more conspicuous and attractive by 
 reason of their beauty and rariety, found on 
 my trip through the canyon. One and the 
 most common was the Red-osier Dogwood, 
 Oornus stolonifera. This is a very handsome 
 shrub and when covered with its clusters of 
 cream-white flowers and yellow stamens is 
 quite fragrant. Its branches and twigs of 
 dark red carry leaves the upper surface of 
 which are rich green, with pale green be- 
 neath. Its blossoms apparently were abund- 
 antly supplied with nectar, judging from the 
 great quantity of insect life upon and about 
 the shrubs. No less than four different 
 orders of insects were represented by about a 
 dozen different species. The shrubs in the 
 canyon of Mt. Diablo were most shapely and 
 grew to a height of eight or ten feet and 
 ivould be ornaments in a private garden. 
 Apparently the plant requires considerable 
 moisture, for I did not find it anywhere at 
 any distance from the bed or banks of th« 
 jreek. 
 
 I had been told that the Western wall- 
 flower, Erysimum asperum, was to be found 
 in abundance in places on the mountain. As 
 I haa never found a specimen in all my 
 rambles about Pleasanton and Livermore I 
 was more than anxious to meet this stranger. 
 Although I kept a watchful eye on the look- 
 out for its occurrence in places favorable to 
 its growth I did not find a single plant of it 
 in the canyon, but while returning home by 
 way of the new, or Toll Road, I found it in 
 spots almost as thick as the mustard of which 
 the wall flower is a very near relative. In 
 fact a careless observer might not discover 
 any difference in their appearance, but of 
 course there is. The wall flower is larger and 
 has a richer color and is very fragrant. It 
 is said that it is found to vary from the 
 yellow to orange and even purple in some 
 parts of the south coast. 
 
 Another of California's showy trailing vines, 
 much admired when in bloom, is the wild 
 plematis, C. lasiantha. The vines trail over the 
 brush and rocks and their yellowish flowers 
 of an inch and a half or more in diameter 
 make a pleasing contrast to its dark green 
 foliage. It is said that in some localities of 
 the Sierra Nevada mountains as well as of the 
 Coast Range at times the plants are so num- 
 
WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 65 
 
 erous and the flowers so abundant that they 
 make the places conspicious. In all my 
 travels in the mountains I never happened 
 to meet with such an occurrence. With the 
 clematis I was almost a total stranger, so 
 when I saw the pretty vine with its attractive 
 flowers creeping over the top of a mountain 
 shrub along the old roadside I was more than 
 pleased, though at first I did not recognize 
 it. However, a few moments of study of its 
 peculiarities soon enabled me to identify it. 
 For the last three seasons I had been looking 
 for this particular plant. I do not recite these 
 facts to question the accuracy of the writers 
 who claim for it appearance so numerous in 
 places, but it might be truthfully said those 
 places are not common. It reminds me that 
 while on a visit to Catalina Island I found 
 two specimens of Isomeris, the only ones that 
 had ever come under my notice. Later while 
 exploring a canyon near Palm Springs, Colo- 
 rado desert, I came across a couple more 
 plants of the same kind. Up to this time I 
 concluded this plant was exceedingly rare 
 even in Southern California, its home; but it 
 was a conclusion I freely gave up later when 
 from a car window while on a trip in the 
 southern part of the State I saw miles of 
 Isomeri growing along the roadside. 
 
 Another flower found on this excursion, 
 said to be common in some sections, which I 
 had not met with for many years, was a 
 specimen of that odd but pretty little yel- 
 lowish blossom known as Whispering bells, 
 Emmenanthe penduliflora. Its range is given 
 as being from Lake county, Calif., to Ari- 
 zona. The topmost flowers on the flower 
 stalk stand erect when they first open, but 
 as the stalk grows and other buds take the 
 terminal position they droop until they hang 
 gracefully downward. Later they become 
 dry like paper, keeping their cup, or bell, 
 shape, and as some people thought they de- 
 tected a faint noise arising from the wind- 
 shaken blossoms they were called Whispering 
 bells. The plants are about twelve or four- 
 teen inches tall, and the flower stalk carries 
 eight or ten blossoms — the bells of which are 
 a little over a half inch in depth. 
 
 While traveling along the old road near 
 the upper end of the canyon I had noticed 
 here and there great numbers of fly-like in- 
 sects slowly flying about; their manner of 
 flight was erratic, and was confined to but 
 little more than the breadth of the road and 
 to not more than fifteen or twenty feet of its 
 length, and in this area they seldom flew 
 higher than six or eight feet. I passed 
 through three or four congregations of these 
 insects, without giving them much thought 
 or attention, as my mind was almost wholly 
 taken up with the botanical developments 
 and possibilities of the trip. However, after 
 passing out of the canyon and starting for 
 home down the new road I encountered more 
 groups of the insects, . which seemed to be 
 flying about in the manner described as if 
 they were deriving as much fun and enjoy- 
 ment from the exercise as a lot of youngsters 
 on roller skates. I stopped to make a closer 
 inspection of the ever-moving insects. Then 
 
 I noticed that in nearly every instance of 
 what I had taken to be individual flies were 
 two or more insects united soaring about as 
 one. I could see that the insects were slim- 
 mer than house flies and were about a half 
 inch or 1nore in length, and something of the 
 form of the mosquito. With a gauze insect 
 collecting net I soon captured some of them. 
 On every occasion the captives con- 
 sisted of a united group of three flies, but 
 always I found one fly to be dead or nearly 
 so. At first I thought the flies were of such 
 delicate nature that they succumbed to the 
 blow of the cloth in netting them, but after 
 capturing a dozen or more groups and find- 
 ing only one dead fly in each case, and that 
 the other two flies were so far from being 
 injured by the operation, that it was with 
 some difficulty that I could get them in my 
 fingers. Now I noticed that the dead flies 
 were somewhat smaller and apparently of a 
 different species, although similar in form. 
 A little further observation of the action of 
 the insects dancing round and about me in the 
 air revealed facts that put an altogether dif- 
 ferent interpretation upon the actions of the 
 assembled flies. Instead of an innocent 
 gathering to while away time and to enjoy the 
 delights of a most agreeable atmosphere, a 
 tragedy on a large scale was being enacted. 
 It was a dance indeed, but a dance of death 
 for a multitude of victims, furnishing a 
 bloody feast for the ogreish hosts, which 
 were none other than a species of the ferocious 
 family known as Robber Flies. 
 
 The assemblage in certain localities as 
 mentioned was due to the presence there of 
 their victims, which in turn may have col- 
 lected to feed upon some special article of 
 food. The Robber flies soared and hovered 
 around like hawks and swooped down upon 
 their victims with the unerring certainty of 
 their prototypes. But unlike most other 
 predaceous forms of life, instead of retiring 
 to some place where they could alight and feed 
 upon their victims with the least chance of in- 
 terference or interruption, they continue to 
 leisurely fly around while sucking the ' life 
 juices of their captives. Another remarkable 
 feature in the conduct of the flies in their 
 raids for food is that as soon as a Robber 
 fly captures an insect another Robber fly 
 or two attach themselves to the victim and 
 proceed to join in the feast, the duo or trio 
 of robbers continuing their feasting flight as 
 one insect. Apparently the selfishness so 
 commonly manifested over food by all ani- 
 mal life is absent here, and instead there is 
 concordance of purpose and a harmony of 
 wing movement, making a unity of action that 
 gives the blood-thirsty duos and trios the ap- 
 pearance while in flight of being one insect. 
 
 Although there are said to be in the neigh- 
 borhood of about 3000 species of this family 
 of flies known to entomologists, varying 
 greatly in form and size, the slender mos- 
 quito-formed flies described in the foregoing 
 are more typical of the voracious tribe. The 
 family title of Robber flies is Asiliclae, which 
 Sharp places twenty-fourth in the order of 
 
66 
 
 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 Diptera, thereby showing its relation to the 
 common house fly as well as to other flies. 
 
 The Robber fly is equipped by nature with 
 a strong projecting beak which it thrusts 
 into its victim. Thus it is used as a wea- 
 pon and at the same time affords the means 
 of sucking the life juice of its captive. Its 
 feet bear strong claws to aid it in holding 
 securely the insects that it may capture. 
 Authorities say that these flies are among 
 the most voracious of all insects and that they 
 prey on all other forms of insects, fearing 
 none, not even wasps or other forms armed 
 with defensive weapons. David Sharp, the 
 well-known English entomologist, in writing 
 about the Robber flies says: "As is the case 
 with so many other insects that prey on liv- 
 ing insects, the appetite of the Asilidae 
 seems insatiable; a single individual has been 
 observed to kill eight moths in twenty 
 minutes. They have been said to suck the 
 blood of verterbrates, but this appears to be 
 erroneous." Therefore, if the fears of the 
 timid excursionist have been aroused by the 
 story of the ferocious actions of the Robber 
 fly in Diablo Canyon they may be put aside, 
 for the fly does not attack members of the 
 human family. Its presence there in no way 
 detracts from the charms of the beauties of 
 the canyon, and so far as mankind is con- 
 cerned is not even an annoyance. It is a 
 terror to other members of the insect world 
 only. 
 
 Since writing the foregoing I discovered a 
 very much smaller species of the Robber fly 
 on the roads about the foot of the moun- 
 tain. These insects averaged less than a 
 quarter of an inch in length. They were 
 more numerous than their relatives of the 
 mountain side, but their conduct was the 
 same in congregating in numbers and flying 
 and circling about certain portions of the 
 road, with from two to three of the Robber 
 flies attached to one victim, which I uni- 
 versally found to be a small gnat. Undoubt- 
 edly the little Robbers congregated on the 
 lower roads because there was where the vic- 
 tims that constituted their food were to be 
 found, just as the circumstances appeared on 
 the upper road, in the case with the larger 
 flies. 
 
 A few weeks later when near the summit 
 of the mountain I saw representatives of an- 
 other specie of these insects, some of the 
 very largest of the Robber flies. They were 
 about an inch in length, with the same 
 characteristic slender and frail structure. 
 The big flies were not present in any great 
 number; nor could I find any with captive in- 
 sects or feeding otherwise. Nor were they 
 flying about as were both of the smaller kinds 
 I have described, but seemed to be resting on 
 the brush, rocks and grass, and took to the 
 wing only when disturbed. 
 
 SKETCH FROM LIFE OF ONE OF THE LARGER SPECIES OF ROBBER FLIES 
 
 (Enlarged four times) 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 ASTUTE BEETLES AND WASPS 
 
 Peculiar Gatherings of the Former. Foraging for Food for their 
 
 Young by the Latter 
 
 Representatives of the woodboring families 
 of beetles can most always be found on and 
 about a newly felled tree, in the spring, 
 summer and early autumn months of the 
 year. Through the possession of some pecu- 
 liar sense that apprises them of the fact that 
 a living tree, whether uprooted by storm or 
 felled by a woodsman's ax, supplies wood in 
 proper state to aid in propagation of their 
 species, they seek the tree for the purpose 
 of laying their eggs in the crevices of the 
 bark in a very short time after the tree is 
 down. Whether they discover the presence 
 of the fallen timber through the smell of the 
 sap so noticeable to humans about a freshly 
 felled tree, or are endowed with some sense 
 of recognition that is beyond human exper- 
 ience, I cannot say. I only know that within 
 a very short time after a tree is down in the 
 summer or early fall it is not unusual to find 
 certain beetles in great numbers in, around 
 and on the branches, big limbs and trunk of 
 the tree, where prior to that time a thorough- 
 search of the section thereabouts would not 
 have produced a single specimen. 
 
 It would be a matter of interest to know 
 to what distance or over what extent of ter- 
 ritory the knowledge of the fallen tree is 
 spread. Information on which to form an 
 estimate is very slight. If in a section of 
 country where it is next to an impossibility 
 to find a longicorn or buprestid beetle be- 
 fore a tree is cut down and in ten hours or 
 so after we should see these insects about the 
 tree by the dozens, even hundreds, one would 
 naturally think that at least some of them 
 came from a long distance and that a wide 
 expanse of territory was necessary to furnish 
 so many visitors. While this might be true 
 it is possible that our inability to find them 
 in the first place is not because of non- 
 presence of the insects, but for the reason we 
 are not sufficiently clever to discover their 
 hiding places. 
 
 In the basement of our quarters at Diablo, 
 Contra Costa county, a supply of freshly cut 
 firewood for use in the fireplace was stored 
 in the fall. The wood consisted of oak cut 
 in blocks or logs from good sized limbs. The 
 basement had one large window and a door- 
 way that was protected with a screen door. 
 On the first real warm day in the following 
 August I discovered while on a visit to the 
 basement four or five beetles on the glass 
 of the window running about as if trying to 
 find a place through which to make an exit 
 to the open air. I found them to represent 
 
 two species of the Longicorn group, or long- 
 horns, and surmised that they came from the 
 wood above mentioned. An investigation of 
 the wood pile proved the surmise to be cor- 
 rect. I not only found the holes with the 
 fresh wood dust about the orifices, but dis- 
 covered one of the beetles just as it was 
 making its exit from the log. 
 
 For more than two months thereafter this 
 particular kind of beetle continued to come 
 out of the wood then go either to the window 
 or the screen door, there to remain until they 
 found opportunity to get outside of the base- 
 ment or fell victims to the cyanide bottle of 
 a collector of Coleoptera. On several oc- 
 casions I noticed those beetles that chose the 
 doorway for way of escape endeavoring to 
 cut a hole in the wire screen by biting the 
 wire with their mandibles. Of course they 
 were unsuccessful. While their jaws were 
 sharp and strong enough to enable them to 
 bore a hole through the wood that had con- 
 fined them after emerging from the state of 
 pupa, they were unequal to the task of cut- 
 ting the small wires of the screen. However, 
 the effort apparently indicated the possession 
 on the part of the insect of sufficient degree 
 of mentality to recognize its unnatural im- 
 prisonment. Its confinement in the log of 
 wood after its change from the larvae form 
 to that of a mature beetle was a natural one 
 and undoubtedly its acts in effecting release 
 from the wooden cell were instinctive, but 
 the secondary confinement by the interposing 
 wire screen was probably something never be- 
 fore experienced by any generation of this 
 family of longicorns. Consequently the in- 
 stinctive powers of the insect alone could not 
 have been expected to give the impulse to a 
 rational act towards effecting its release. 
 Reason must have intervened. 
 
 It is the theory of those who claim that 
 such insects have no power of reasoning that 
 all of their acts and operations are directed 
 solely by a hereditary instinct that gives the 
 impulse for the routine of conduct filling the 
 periods of their existence, and having once 
 performed any one of these acts they will not 
 and cannot be expected to repeat it. 
 
 Such was the conclusion reached by that 
 great French naturalist. Henri Fabre, after 
 several experiments and observations with 
 the mason bee, Sphex, and some other mem- 
 bers of the wasp family. Notwithstanding 
 the care taken by Fabre in his observations 
 and the accuracy of his conclusions, the Peck- 
 hams of our own country experimenting with 
 
68 
 
 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 a 
 
 CO > 
 
 n 
 
 o 
 g 
 
 « 
 
 o 
 
 M 
 
 Q 
 
 O 
 
 o 
 
WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 69 
 
 some of the same species of wasps found that 
 Fabre's conclusions could not be relied 
 upon. 
 
 In concluding the details of observations of 
 the conduct of the longicorns in the base- 
 ment it may be of interest to note their 
 strange and wonderful action in responding 
 to the changes in climatic conditions. Let it 
 be borne in mind that the basement was 
 partially underground, in fact one side and 
 two ends were almost wholly so, consequently 
 the temperature was quite uniform and varied 
 but little with the changes frequently oc- 
 curring outside. Notwithstanding this con- 
 dition the beetles would emerge from their 
 cells in the wood only on such days as were 
 warm and bright outside. When days oc- 
 curred that were cool with an overcast sky, 
 the beetles seemed to prefer to remain in the 
 darkness and confinement of their cells than 
 to make their entrance into freedom under 
 such climatic condition, and none were to be 
 seen on the window or door screen. This 
 would not appear so remarkable if the logs 
 had been outside where the sun's rays would 
 beat upon them. In that way enough heat 
 might be absorbed by the wood to acquaint 
 the insects harbored under its bark with 
 weather conditions that existed to their liking. 
 But of course that was impossible in the 
 basement, for wood is a poor conductor of heat 
 and could not through outside conditions 
 vary in temperature to any degree appreciable 
 by man. Then how did these bettles distin- 
 guish between warm and cool days? I con- 
 fess I do not know, and the only solution 
 that occurs to me now is unsusceptible of 
 proof, and that is the insects are far more 
 sensitive to weather changes than we can 
 comprehend from our own experience. We 
 do know that the sense of sight, hearing, 
 smell, direction, etc., is developed in some 
 other forms of life to a far greater degree 
 and is of more delicate nature than has ever 
 been known in man. 
 
 While taking a stroll on one of the back 
 roads in the northwestern suburbs of Napa 
 one pleasant day in the middle of September, 
 I noticed a yellow jacket, Vespes Germanica. 
 scouting around, flying a few inches above 
 the ground, as if in search of game. Finally 
 it made several close circles over a frag- 
 ment of a twig which was about the size of 
 a man's finger, then lit upon it. From 
 previous observations of these wasps in 
 search of game I at once concluded that this 
 yellow jacket had reason to believe that the 
 twig was giving shelter to some kind of in- 
 sect that it was hunting for. I got down on 
 the ground as near by as possible to observe 
 what took place in the next few seconds. 
 There was a small depression in the earth 
 along one side of the twig with a smaller hole 
 leading under the twig. Into this the wasp 
 made an effort to enter, but the hole was 
 apparently too small to admit much more 
 than its head. Finding that it could not enter 
 and secure whatever was hidden there it soon 
 gave up the effort and flew away. From the 
 maneuvers of the wasp I felt sure some kind 
 of an insect lay under the protection of the 
 
 twig and my curiosity was aroused to know 
 what it might be, but before I could remove 
 it to ascertain what it was, I was astonished 
 to see a common-looking fly not unlike an 
 ordinary house-fly come part way out of the 
 small hole to a position where it could get 
 something of a view of the surroundings. It 
 apparently knew that one of its enemy had 
 made an attempt on its life and curiosity to 
 see and know what it was had prompted it to 
 come out of its retreat for that purpose. It 
 had not been out more than a few seconds 
 when unfortunately I made some movement 
 that caused the fly to disappear in a flash 
 back down in the hole. 
 
 The interesting feature of the incident was 
 the remarkable perceptive power of the yel- 
 low jacket in locating the fly in hiding under 
 the twig. How did it know that under that 
 particular twig, out of sight, lay a morsel of 
 food for which it was in search and possibly 
 in need? Its preliminary hovering over the 
 spot indicated its discovery of the lair of the 
 fly, and by going directly to the hole leading 
 under the twig immediately after alighting, 
 was convincing that some kind of intelligence, 
 or actions inspired by a highly developed sense 
 of smell, or the endowment of a peculiar 
 power, without intellect or reason, which some 
 naturalists describe as instinct, directed the 
 whole proceeding. Which is a question that 
 observers have been disputing for years past 
 and one that may never be settled scien- 
 tifically. 
 
 The subsequent act of the fly in coming 
 part way out of its retreat to get a view of 
 the intruder that had threatened its existence 
 was but little less in interest as another ex- 
 hibition of intellect or a strangely developed 
 instinct. 
 
 It is impossible, so far as my knowledge 
 of the subject is developed at the present 
 time, to accept the theory that such insects 
 mentioned in the foregoing have no mentality 
 whatever, and that such of their acts coincid- 
 ing with the acts of animal life of higher 
 order with known brain power under like con- 
 ditions, are only the impulses of instinct. To 
 adopt this' idea is to acknowledge that the 
 brain with which nature has supplied their 
 organization has no other function than that 
 arising from connection with the nerve 
 ganglia. 
 
 No close observer of the doings of the in- 
 dividuals of lower forms of life can be un- 
 mindful of the fact that instinct, developed 
 to a wonderous degree, is the directing force 
 responsible for the main work of their 
 existence and the systematic and peculiar 
 methods followed in its accomplishment. 
 However, some of these observers do not be- 
 lieve that the possession of such instinct pre- 
 cludes consciousness and the ability to reason 
 to some extent. 
 
 Perhaps when the question is solved, if it 
 ever is, it will be found that the solution lies 
 somewhere between the claims of the ex- 
 tremists of both sides. 
 
 On one August afternoon at Diablo, while 
 walking in the hay stubble near the house. 
 I noticed a Vespa Germanica (yellow jacket) 
 
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 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
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 71 
 
 scouting around on the wing, flying low 
 among the stubble. I concluded it was hunt- 
 ing for food for its young so watched it 
 closely. Finally I saw it pounce down upon 
 an object partially hidden from my view by 
 pieces of straw. The attack was made within 
 four feet from where I stood. I quickly 
 dropped to the ground that I might get a 
 near view of the action. I saw that the wasp 
 had seized an insect as large as itself and 
 plainly witnessed the application of its sting 
 twice, curving its abdomen under the vic- 
 tim both times. Without any delay the wasp 
 severed the head of the captive insect and 
 flew off with it in a northeasterly direction. 
 I then picked up the remains and found that 
 the victim was a domestic or honey bee. 
 
 From previous observations in similar cases 
 I concluded the wasp, knowing the bee, intact, 
 was too large to carry off to its nest, had 
 dismembered it to make the task easier, and 
 would masticate the parts to put them in 
 condition for food for its grubs while on the 
 journey home, therefore in time would return 
 for the remains of the victim. In about five 
 minutes it came back and this time it quickly 
 cut off the abdomen and flew away with it. 
 In about ten minutes more it returned again 
 and picked up the thorax, all that remained of 
 the bee, and rising to a height of six feet or 
 more flew off in the same direction as be- 
 fore. On its return trips it gave no evidence 
 of trouble or difficulty in locating its vic- 
 tim. It came flying close to the ground 
 zigzagging about six or eight inches, finally 
 dropping at the exact spot. After its second 
 trip I killed a common house fly and laid it 
 down within a couple of inches of the re- 
 mains of the bee. In a moment or so I saw 
 another wasp scouting around among the 
 stubble in the same manner observed in the 
 first one. It soon discovered the fly and 
 bee, which caused me to think it was the 
 owner of the bee. However, when it lit it only 
 nosed the fly and bee and then flew away. 
 While pondering over the unexpected action 
 of the visitor I noticed the first wasp on its 
 way back. Ordinarily yellow jackets do not 
 appear so considerate of property rights; 
 they seem ready to take anything in the meat 
 line when and wherever they find it, though 
 this practice may be due to the character of 
 ownership. They may have the habit of re- 
 spect of title where it rests in one of their 
 own kind as instanced above, and not be so 
 particular when it is otherwise. 
 
 On the same day while passing a bank which 
 was thickly covered with blackberry vines, my 
 attention was attracted to a slight fluttering 
 of a large insect which appeared to be 
 entangled in a thinly spun web of a spider. 
 Now, I thought, something is about to take 
 place that will prove of interest as well as 
 yield some information. I stepped up close, 
 moving as slowly and quietly as possible, so 
 as not to have the intrusion of my presence 
 influence the event or what might take place. 
 Upon examination I found that a wasp of the 
 family Polistes was in among the threads of 
 the web hanging on to them with the middle 
 and hind legs, while she was using the pair 
 
 of fore legs and mandibles, or jaws, in secur- 
 ing possession of a small baby grasshopper that 
 had become helplessly entangled in the web. 
 The wasp finally succeeded in getting through 
 the meshes of the web to a position where 
 she could seize the little grasshopper. It 
 was apparently dead. Whether the wasp had 
 stung it to death or it had been previously 
 killed by the spider and left on the web, I 
 could not tell. As soon as the Polistes got 
 hold of it she began to sever the abdomen 
 from the rest of the body of the insect. She 
 was not nearly so clever in this butchering 
 process as the yellow jacket. In the operation 
 she required more minutes than the ger- 
 manica did seconds. It is only fair to say 
 that the latter wasp is better equipped with 
 tools for that kind of work, in the shape and 
 keenness of her mandibles., 
 
 When Mrs. Polistes finally succeeded in 
 separating the body she took a good hold of 
 the chosen part with her jaws and began 
 her efforts to extricate herself from the 
 spider's web. This was no easy job. She did 
 not appear excited nor did she show any evi- 
 dence of fear of trouble in getting out. She 
 seemed to understand just what was neces- 
 sary to do and how to go about it. Her 
 progress was rather slow and at times she 
 found it necessary to use the propelling power 
 of her wings as an aid in the operation. The 
 unusual shaking of the web brought the spider 
 running out to find what kind of game had 
 been entangled in her net. However, the 
 sight of the wasp quickly brought her to a 
 standstill and she remained stationary at a 
 safe distance watching proceedings. Finally 
 the wasp got past all of the troublesome 
 threads and attempted to fly away with her 
 booty, but a strong thread still attached to 
 the fragment of the grasshopper brought her 
 to standstill, though on the wing. With 
 engine in reverse she backed and tugged until 
 finally the thread yielded to the persistent 
 strain. 
 
 The wasp seemed somewhat exhausted from 
 her" exertions, for she lit on a broad leaf 
 within a foot of the spiderweb and proceeded 
 to brush and clean her body with her legs and 
 feet, all the time with her jaws holding on 
 to the morsel that she had worked so hard to 
 obtain. After the cleaning process was com- 
 pleted she proceeded to eat out the soft part 
 of the grasshopper s abdomen, discarding the 
 undigestable outside covering. A remarkable 
 feature of the proceedings was the way she 
 held the part with her forefeet while she used 
 her mandibles to dig out the meat. The action 
 reminded me of a squirrel eating a nut. The 
 middle and hind pairs of legs gave all the 
 support needed to her body, so she was free 
 to use the pair of fore legs with their feet as 
 one would his arms and hands, which she 
 did most cleverly. Upon completing the work 
 she flew away. 
 
 I find very little in the accounts of other 
 observers as to the character of food that the 
 Polistes eat. Probably so because of the diffi- 
 culty of finding out. I have seen this species 
 of wasp on fruit, especially ripe, sweet fruit, 
 apparently partaking of the juices. I have 
 
72 
 
 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 seen them more frequently and in greater 
 numbers hovering about and alighting on the 
 outer leaves and branches of oak trees that 
 seemed to be infested with minute insects; but 
 in neiher case could I determine beyond doubt 
 whether the wasps were gathering food for 
 the young or were eating for their own sus- 
 tenance. The only time I ever saw a Polistes 
 consume any food and felt sure there could 
 be no mistake about it was in the case of the 
 incident just related of the Polistes taking the 
 baby grasshopper out of the spider web; but 
 even then it might have been preparing it for 
 its young. 
 
 Lutz says the food of the Polistes consists of 
 "chewed-up animal matter, such as caterpil- 
 lars, but some species use honey and pollen 
 also." Kellogg says the "food consists of par- 
 tially masticated remains of various insects 
 pursued and killed by the queen and work- 
 ers." Comstock says the entire family to 
 
 which these wasps belong are predaceous, 
 and they "feed their young upon insects which 
 they have masticated. These wasps are also 
 fond of sweets of flowers, the juices of fruits, 
 and honey dew." Sharp states that the queen 
 wasp first supplies her young "with saccharine 
 matter procured from flowers or fruits, but 
 soon gives them a stronger diet of insect 
 meat, reduced to a pulp by means of the 
 mandibles; this is offered to the larvae which 
 are said, to stretch out their heads to the 
 mother to receive the food after the manner 
 of nestling birds." The Peckhams say the 
 Polistes "feed their young on animal food" 
 without bringing into play their stings to aid 
 in the capture of insects for the purpose. 
 
 Here is presented considerable testimony as 
 to what kind of food the larva of the polistes 
 are fed upon, but not much as to what the 
 mature wasp after it changes from the grub 
 form relies upon to sustain its existence. 
 
 <^ft@> 
 
 •-VVW 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 STORIES ABOUT DIGGING WASPS 
 
 An Ammophila that Accomplished an Astonishing Job in Masonry Work 
 • A Collision with a^Priononyx and the Result 
 
 This summer, while passing considerable 
 time at Diablo, Contra Costa county, I noted 
 the presence in the flower gardens of an un- 
 usual number of species of wasps and bees. 
 It occurred to me that these insects being so 
 common that later on I ought to be able to 
 find their nesting places and thereby have 
 opportunity to observe and study acts of their 
 home life. I knew from my reading on the 
 subject where to look for the nesting places 
 of the species that are least seen in or about 
 human habitations and are almost wholly un- 
 known to the common public, such as the 
 Halictus, Ovinia and Megachile of the bee fam- 
 ily and the Eumonidae, Crabonidae, Cerceris 
 and Ammophila, of what is commonly known 
 as the Wasp family. I was particularly desirous 
 of finding an Ammophila "at home" and ac- 
 quainting myself from personal observation 
 how she constructed her abiding place and 
 provided for her progeny. The members of 
 this genus are easily recognized, being about 
 the most slender, long-legged and short - 
 winged of the tribe. Some of them are an 
 inch and a quarter in length. I found them 
 among the most numerous of the visitants of 
 the flower gardens and the hope of having my 
 curiosfty satisfied was correspondingly raised. 
 
 I had read in the details of the life history 
 of this particular insect as given by two ob- 
 servers that it was the habit of one species of 
 Ammophila to excavate its nest in sand beds, 
 therefore I began my search by inspecting and 
 watching at all the sandy places I could find. 
 After a couple of weeks had passed and I had 
 about . given up expectation of meeting the 
 lady wasp as I had wished, one day in the 
 latter part of July, soon after lunch, while 
 walking over a piece of ground that had been 
 leveled off for a house foundation in a lot 
 adjacent to our place, I discovered an Am- 
 mophila in the act of going into a shallow hole 
 in solid ground. I afterwards learned that 
 this species of the family sought this kind of 
 soil for its nest. 
 
 There was no mistake about the identifica- 
 tion. It was certainly the wasp I was looking 
 for, but was she making a nest? This was 
 hard ground full of little pieces of rock and 
 no sand. I said to myself, if she has no ob- 
 jections I will try to discover what she is 
 doing, if not making a nest, in soil so differ- 
 ent from that credited to her habit. 
 
 The hole at this time was apparently abput 
 an inch and a half deep on an incline of about 
 45 degrees. I stood at a distance of about 15 
 feet away from the place of her operations 
 when I first discovered her. From this posi- 
 
 tion I saw her go into the hole and remain 
 about ten seconds, then emerge backwards, 
 taking the wing as she got out, rising about a 
 foot above the ground, going not more than 
 16 or 18 inches away, then back to the hole. 
 This act was repeated several times, when I 
 concluded she was excavating a place for a 
 nest and the trips out were for the purpose 
 of disposing of the material excavated. While 
 she was in the ground I would move a foot 
 or two at a time hearer to the point of her 
 operations. My presence did not seem to at- 
 tract her attention until I reached a position 
 of about four feet from her hole; then when 
 she came out, instead of going back immedi- 
 ately, she flew out, making a wide circle 
 around the hole, then once or twice around 
 me; then lit on the ground, lying flat. After 
 about 10 seconds she flew to the hole, making 
 a small circle or two over it and then resumed 
 her work, apparently having assured herself 
 that my presence bore no menace. While I 
 felt sure that she was bringing out the exca- 
 vated material in the short trips she was 
 making, I could not see the operation of drop- 
 ping the material, so I concluded to make a 
 nearer approach and finally obtained a sitting 
 position about two and one-half feet from 
 the hole. When she came out and found me 
 so near she appeared quite agitated. She 
 flew around me several times, then made 
 larger circles as if to see if there was" any- 
 thing dangerous connected with this intrusion. 
 She lit on the ground several times, some- 
 times near and other times some distance 
 away, always lying flat, a position I never saw 
 any of the wasp family assume before. (The 
 Peckhams noted this peculiar action by a 
 Priononyx wasp as new to them.) I remained 
 without movement, fearful that I had been 
 too impatient and that my disturbance would 
 cause the insect to cease her work; so I was 
 greatly pleased to see her finally resume labor 
 in the hole. I could now not only see the 
 pieces of dirt and rock, but could hear them 
 drop as she threw them out while on the wine:. 
 I timed her trips — they were seldom less 
 than 10 seconds or longer than 15 seconds. I 
 estimated that she averaged about 12 seconds 
 to each load, which would be at the rate of 
 about 300 in an hour. Judging from the sizes 
 of the pieces I recovered as she threw them 
 out, I concluded she made at least an inch 
 and a half in depth in an hour. Some of the 
 pieces were not larger than a pin-head, while 
 occasionally she would drag out a fragment 
 of rock too heavy to fly off with. These 
 would be left within four or five inches of the 
 
74 
 
 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
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WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 75 
 
 entrance of the nest. Two or three times after 
 she had resumed her labors she took occasion 
 on her outward trips to make further inspec- 
 tion of my person by circling around, then 
 alighting on the ground, eyeing me. When ap- 
 parently satisfied that my presence meant no 
 interference with her plans she would resume 
 the work of excavation. In 20 minutes she 
 had deepened the hole so that when she went 
 down she was entirely out of sight; all of her 
 actions were rapid and when on the ground 
 were accompanied by nervous flipping of the 
 wings. 
 
 While watching Mrs. Ammophila's flights 
 out of the hole, flipping her loads away from 
 the entrance, scattering the debris so there 
 would be no accumulation in any one place 
 to mark the presence of her nest, then her 
 dash back, all with such lightning-like speed 
 that it was with difficulty I followed her ac- 
 tions, I became aware there was another in- 
 tensely interesting feature of the performance 
 going on before me. A small insect, a species 
 of fly, somewhat smaller than the ordinary 
 house fly, was present and also deeply inter- 
 ested in the operations of the wasp. First let 
 me explain the purpose of the presence of the 
 little pest, then there will be more interest in 
 detailing its actions. It seems it is the habit 
 of this fly, when it can, to deposit an egg, or 
 eggs, on the caterpillar thta the Ammophila 
 captures and stores in her nest. Of course 
 the fly is no match in a scrap with the wasp, 
 and it is compelled to accomplish its object by 
 stealth. It seemed to equal the wasp in intelli- 
 gence and rapidity of action. By its maneuvers 
 on this occasion it appeared to be trying to 
 enter the hole during the brief absence of the 
 owner or it may have been only making 
 momentary observations of the progress of the 
 work of the wasp so as to be on hand at the 
 proper moment. For a greater part of the time 
 it occupied positions not more than five or six 
 inches from the hole. From these points it 
 would fly to the mouth of the hole but get 
 back out of the way before the return of the 
 owner, and several times while the wasp was 
 working down in the excavation the little pest 
 would fly to the hole and hover over the 
 mouth until the buzzing of the wasp gave 
 notice of its coming out, then it would retreat 
 as before. By the quick alteration of the 
 position of the fly, first this way, then that, 
 it could be seen that it was keenly watching 
 every movement of the wasp, but it took care 
 not to get within reach of it. 
 
 By this time I had acquired a reclining 
 position with my head barely a foot from the 
 ground, and the little fly very accommodat- 
 ingly on one of its returns from the hole lit on 
 the ground under my eyes. I not only had a 
 chance to note its peculiarities and possibly 
 determine the species, but more clearly per- 
 ceived the cunning and artful character it 
 possessed. With lightning-like rapidity it fol- 
 lowed every movement of the wasp and when 
 the latter disappeared in the hole the fly in 
 a flash was hovering over the place. 
 
 I spread a piece of cloth on the ground 
 within the radius of the distribution of the 
 debris the wasp was bringing out so I might 
 
 recover some of the material she was exca- 
 vating. When she came out and saw the cloth 
 she appeared somewhat disturbed and flew 
 around it several times, then lit upon it and 
 walked around until apparently satisfied it 
 boded no harm. Some of the material was 
 earth and some rock, and in size ranged from 
 the dimensions of a pin-head to a pea. I was 
 interested to know how she held the stuff 
 while carrying it out, whether by her man- 
 dibles, her feet and legs, or by the aid of both. 
 While she was on the wing her actions were 
 so rapid that it was impossible to determine, 
 but finally she came slowly backing out of 
 the hole with a load that appeared to be about 
 all she could handle. This proved to be a 
 piece of rock about one-quarter of an inch in 
 diameter. She carried it free from the ground 
 in her mandibles, which looked like miniature 
 ice tongs. This and what I afterwards saw 
 showed that her mandibles only were the 
 appendages utilized. It was marvelous to see 
 how dexterous and skillful she was in their 
 use. 
 
 As I understood that the Ammophila digs a 
 hole only about three inches deep, I thought 
 my wasp must be nearly through with that 
 part of her work. Then again it was getting 
 late in the afternoon when the heat of the 
 day had passed and the majority of the wasp 
 family cease work and seek some secluded 
 place where they remain until the warmth of 
 another day invites them to further activities. 
 So I felt sure the monotony of the digging 
 operations would soon end and I should wit- 
 ness some other of the intelligent acts of this 
 curious insect. The increased activity of the 
 little fly in following the movements of the 
 wasp indicated it shared in the same thought. 
 
 We had not long to wait for Mrs. Ammo- 
 phila to flip out her last load of dirt. When 
 that happened, instead of going down into 
 the hole, she lit near the mouth of it and 
 walked around rapidly with a nervous flipping 
 of her wings, and suddenly seized a pebble 
 nearly as large as the end of my little finger 
 and in less time than it takes to tell it carried 
 it to the hole and dropped it into the entrance. 
 The piece of rock lodged in the mouth of 
 the hole a quarter of an inch below the sur- 
 face of the ground outside. Now came further 
 exhibition of the wonderful mental power pos- 
 sessed by the wasp. To complete the filling 
 up of the mouth of the opening and make it 
 uniform with the surrounding surface of the 
 ground required some further work on her 
 part. Apparently she deemed it necessary to 
 protect the nest from invasion by other insects 
 to close the entrance tight by a bit of masonry 
 work and thus remove all indication of the 
 existence of her domicile. This work she com- 
 pleted in a way that astonished me in the 
 rapidity of action and the mechanical perfec- 
 tion of its execution. Out of the numerous 
 little fragments of broken rock lying within a 
 radius of four or five inches of the entrance 
 to the hole she selected five pieces, three small 
 and two larger. She walked quickly around 
 among the fragments looking for the pieces of 
 the size needed and without hesitation or de- 
 lay picked them up one by one and carried 
 
76 
 
 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
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WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 77 
 
 them to the hole, and when the last fragment 
 was dropped into its place the point of a knife 
 blade could not have found an entrance be- 
 tween any of the pieces. In other words, she 
 had fitted them so perfectly as to leave no 
 chinks and with a surface even with the 
 ground. All of which was accomplished in 
 but little more than 10 seconds of time. 
 
 It was evident that she had completed her 
 work of building this nest, or had simply quit 
 work for the day and closed the hole to shut 
 out intruders. According to the records of 
 observers it is a peculiarity of many of the 
 wasps to work only during the heat of the day. 
 Now for the first time feverish haste in f her 
 actions were suspended. She walked around 
 the hole two or three times, not going more 
 than four or five inches away, then enlarged 
 the circuit in a couple of more trips. While 
 doing this she stopped to examine two stalks 
 of straw, one prone, the other erect. The one 
 lying on the ground she straddled and walked 
 along its entire length with her antennae rap- 
 idly working as if feeling for something on 
 the straw that she could not see. The stalk 
 that was standing erect she climbed for about 
 eight inches, using her antennae in the same 
 manner as with the other straw. The sig- 
 nificance of these actions I could not deter- 
 mine unless it was to familiarize herself with 
 the location of the nest, for during the short 
 and longer circuits she made two or three 
 trips to the place of entrance to her nest al- 
 though there was nothing, as far as I could 
 see, to indicate its location other than the 
 five fragments of rock so closely laid to- 
 gether as to appear almost as one. She 
 finally extended her circle to twenty feet or 
 more, lit once or twice on the ground, then 
 flew away. 
 
 The little fly had remained in the neigh- 
 borhood all the time while the wasp was 
 inspecting the surroundings but wisely kept 
 out of her way, but when the wasp started 
 off on the large and last circle the little ras- 
 cal seemed to know the coast was free from 
 danger, for it flew to the hole and remained 
 a few seconds while it inspected the condi- 
 tions. If it had hoped to find an opening 
 large enough to admit its tiny body it was 
 disappointed, for it, too, flew away. I 
 waited for more than an hour for the pos- 
 sible return of the wasp, thinking she might 
 have closed the nest temporarily while off 
 hunting for a caterpillar. 
 
 Six o'clock coming and the dinner bell ring- 
 ing I gave up further watch for the day but 
 first took occasion to mark the location of 
 the spot that I might resume observations the 
 following day. I made a diagram also of the 
 five pieces of rock and the way they were 
 fitted into place. 
 
 The next day was quite cool and unfavor- 
 able for the presence of wasps. However, I 
 remained about four hours, two hours before 
 and the two hours after lunch, near the site 
 of the nest, without the satisfaction of noting 
 the reappearance of Mrs. Ammophila. I re- 
 peatedly examined the "masonry" work of 
 the closed hole to see if it had been visited 
 and the nest entered while my attention was 
 
 possibly diverted to some other part of the 
 grounds, but at the close of the day the en- 
 trance of the hole was exactly as the wasp 
 left it the evening before. 
 
 During the forenoon of the next or third 
 day of observation I repeatedly visited the 
 location of the nest but found the "masonry" 
 intact. It had not been disturbed. The 
 day was quite warm, really hot enough to 
 meet the requirements of almost every living 
 thing that revels in high temperatures. Im- 
 mediately after having my lunch I made an- 
 other trip to the lot. As I bent over to ex- 
 amine the closed entrance of the nest I dis- 
 turbed a little fly that was flitting around 
 the place, not moving more than a foot or so 
 at a time. It was one of the species men- 
 tioned in the account of the first day's ob- 
 servation. I concluded that the presence of 
 the little pirate indicated that Mrs. Ammo- 
 phila had come back or was expected home 
 with her game, and probably I would now 
 have an opportunity to see what kind of cat- 
 erpillar she would have and how she disposed 
 of it in the nest, etc. However, a lively 
 buzzing about my head notified me of the 
 error in my conclusions, and that the fly was 
 waiting for another wasp — the one that was 
 flying around me. From the position of the 
 fly and the actions of the wasp I thought she 
 must be making a nest close by. I soon de- 
 tected the spot, not more than eighteen 
 inches from the nest of the Ammophila. I 
 had almost stepped upon the entrance while 
 the owner was down in the hole. I moved a 
 step or so away. The wasp seemed satisfied 
 with the extent of my compliance with her 
 request to get out of the way of her opera- 
 tions, for she soon lit on the ground and went 
 down the hole and later backed out with a 
 scrap of dirt or rock, dumping it within an 
 inch or eo of the entrance. She made one 
 or two more trips of this kind, then stood 
 outside and kicked the stuff backwards, scat- 
 tering the fragments away from around the 
 entrance. She at no time took to the wing 
 in removing or handling the stuff excavated. 
 She brought it out with her mandibles but 
 after that disposed of it with her feet. This 
 difference in working was due to the fact 
 that it was a different species of wasp. It 
 was not quite as long as the Ammophila but 
 more stoutly built, body black with a red 
 abdomen and shiny blue-back wings. It was 
 what I took to be a Priononyx. While dif- 
 fering in appearance, the species is closely 
 related to the Ammophila, in fact it 
 belongs to the same family in the order of 
 Hymenoptera. While the former always 
 stores her nest with caterpillars, the latter 
 uses only grasshoppers for the purpose. 
 
 After taking a few more loads of dirt from 
 the hole she came out and made a brief sur- 
 vey of things and then proceeded to close up 
 the entrance by kicking in the dirt that lay 
 within a couple of inches of the place. She 
 completed the work by leveling the surface 
 so there was no depression or other indica- 
 tion of the presence of the underground nest. 
 Then she flew away. I waited and watched 
 some time for her return hoping that I would 
 
78 
 
 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 MASONRY WORK — ROOF OF A WASP HOLE 
 
WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 79 
 
 see her bring the game which her kind is ac- 
 customed to place in their nest, but she did 
 not come back that day nor did I see any- 
 thing of her during the next three days. I 
 concluded to open the nest thinking that she 
 had probably already performed that inter- 
 esting part of the work and that the digging 
 that I saw her doing was the putting on of 
 some finishing touches she thought necessary 
 after storing the food for her progeny. 
 
 My excavation showed the hole with the 
 enlargement at the bottom to be about five 
 inches deep on an incline of about forty-five 
 degrees. At the bottom I found a locust, 
 which in this country is improperly called 
 grasshopper. It was not paralyzed but dead 
 beyond question. While holding it in my 
 hand for examination two small legless larva 
 crawled out of the body of the insect. Wheth- 
 er these came from the hatching of the eggs 
 of the wasp or originated from the tres- 
 passing of some fly I could not then deter- 
 mine. I placed the locust and the larva in a 
 small box to see what would develop. The 
 result was the hatching of some small flies 
 like those I saw hovering around the wasp 
 while it was at work making its nest. 
 
 As the Ammophila had made no return to 
 her nest I concluded to open it. I found the 
 hole to be nearly four inches deep but with 
 no enlargement for the cell at the bottom. It 
 was quite evident the nest had not been com- 
 pleted as there was no caterpillar or other 
 insect in it. After leaving the nest she her- 
 self may have become the victim of some 
 insect-eating bird or other animal. 
 
 A few weeks later I had the satisfaction of 
 witnessing one of the same specie of wasps 
 mentioned above, a Priononyx, taking a cap- 
 tured locust to its nest or hole in the ground 
 previously made for the purpose. I was walk- 
 ing on a road in the suburbs of Napa when 
 a large insect carrying an object larger than 
 itself came slowly flying across the road. 
 Striking my knee in its flight it dropped its 
 load at my feet and flew away. I at once 
 saw that the object on the ground was a 
 locust. It was either dead or paralyzed but 
 bore no mark of injury, which caused me to 
 conclude that it was a victim of one of the 
 Spex family of wasps. If I were right in my 
 judgment I felt certain that the collision with 
 my knee was but the beginning of an in- 
 teresting incident, all features of which I 
 might be a witness owing to the favorable 
 conditions if I should be patient and quiet. 
 
 I had not long to wait before a dark- 
 colored wasp, a Priononyx, came circling 
 about my person a foot or so from the 
 ground, evidently in search of the game she 
 had dropped a few moments before. I stepped 
 back a short distance to give the wasp a 
 clear field in her search. She was not long 
 in locating it. After a brief examination she 
 straddled the insect, seizing it at the base of 
 
 its antennae and started off on foot. 
 Obviously she chose the easiest method of 
 handling the "hopper." The long legs of the 
 wasp raised her above the body of the locust 
 and she walked along with the victim with 
 ease and surprising speed, taking the same 
 direction that she was following when I first 
 saw her. 
 
 I was certain that I was now about to see 
 the burial operation which I had frequently 
 read about, but never so fortunate as to wit- 
 ness. The wasp carried or dragged the locust 
 about a yard then dropped it. According to 
 the recorded habits of the species she was 
 now going to the nest to see if everything 
 was as it should be before bringing in the 
 game, therefore the nest of the Priononyx 
 was not far away. This proved to be the case; 
 by watching the wasp closely, following her 
 steps to the border of the beaten track of the 
 roadbed, I soon saw her approach a hole in 
 the ground which was a little larger round 
 than a lead pencil. She circled around it a 
 few times in flight then lit on the ground and 
 walked about the hole in a quick nervous 
 manner, after which she went down into the 
 nest, then came out. Apparently after satis- 
 fying herself that she could without inter- 
 ference bring home her prize she flew back 
 to the locust for the last time and brought 
 it to the entrance of the nest, where she left 
 it while she went down the hole head first. 
 While below she must have turned around, 
 for in a few seconds her head appeared above 
 the hole, when she seized the locust by the 
 antennae and dragged it down out of sight. 
 In a few moments she came out and began 
 to refill the hole by scratching in the loose 
 dirt about the entrance with her feet, throw- 
 ing it behind her. She continued the work 
 until the hole was filled and the surface 
 leveled with the surroundings and all evi- 
 dence of the presence of the nest was re- 
 moved. Her work now being finished her 
 interest in the place seemed at an end, for 
 she flew away and was seen no more. 
 
 If I had excavated the locust at once I 
 would undoubtedly have found an egg of the 
 wasp fastened to the body of the buried in- 
 sect. If excavated a week later I would 
 probably have found that the egg had hatched 
 and that the larva of the wasp was feeding 
 on the body of the locust. However I did not 
 disturb the nest, but walked on thinking 
 about the anxiety, care and intelligence 
 manifested by the wasp in approaching the 
 nest and almost human cleverness in handling 
 the bulky captive. In contemplating similar 
 actions by humans they would be considered 
 as acts of intelligence, exhibiting prudence, 
 forethought, sagacity and aptitude. When we 
 find an individual though as low down in the 
 scale of life as an insect showing all this why 
 should it be attributed solely to instinct and 
 not to some degree of rational power? 
 
80 
 
 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 
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CHAPTER XI 
 
 WONDERS OF THE LEAF 
 
 Its Function in Plant Growth and Its Important Relations to Humanity 
 
 and All Other Forms of Life 
 
 / think that I shall never see 
 A poem lovely as a tree. 
 A tree whose hungry mouth is prest 
 Against the earth's sweet flowing breast; 
 A tree that looks at God all day 
 And lifts her leafy arms to pray; 
 A tree that may in summer wear 
 A nest of robins in her hair; 
 Upon whose bosom snow has lain; 
 Who intimately lives with rain. 
 Poems are made by fools like me 
 But only God can make a tree. 
 
 — Joyce Kilmer. 
 
 The leaf of a tree, shrub or plant is such a 
 common feature in Nature's productions that 
 it is an object universally recognized on sight, 
 but acquaintance with its origin, growth, its 
 function in plant life, its marvelous mechanism 
 and its relation to all animal life are per- 
 haps matters not so commonly understood. 
 We have constantly under our vision so many 
 leaves, green and fresh in the spring and 
 summer, and dead and dessicated in the fall 
 and winter, that the most of us appreciate 
 them only for the beauty they give to Nature 
 and the comfort they may afford us in the 
 former seasons, and regard them as a nui- 
 sance, if we think of them at all, in the lat- 
 ter. Another condition probably contributing 
 to the lack of general knowledge of the leaf 
 is the absence of the spur of necessity. In a 
 country like ours where the soil is as pro- 
 ductive and climatic conditions so favorable 
 to plant life, insuring annual recurrence of 
 abundant crops, we have little occasion to 
 think of, worry about, or inquire into the 
 source of our food supply, quantity or qual- 
 ity. The only anxieties we have in the mat- 
 ter are confined to the exertions and ex- 
 penditures necessary to acquiring the quantity 
 we must have to sustain our existence or 
 appease our appetites. 
 
 However, in such parts of the globe sub- 
 jected to droughts causing total failures . of 
 crops with ensuing famine, the unfortunate 
 people inhabiting the districts have an object 
 lesson, most severe and destructive in its 
 operation, showing how all life belonging to 
 the animal kingdom is wholly dependent 
 upon productions of the vegetable kingdom 
 for the maintenance of existence. 
 
 In the bodies of all animal life, including 
 mankind, there is a continual wastage going 
 on in the life cells, which must be renewed 
 by taking into the system those certain 
 chemical elements existing in what we know 
 •» as food, required to repair the waste, or 
 
 sooner or later death occurs by what we call 
 starvation. The peculiar as well as im- 
 portant fact in this matter is that animal life 
 cannot assimilate the necessary chemical ele- 
 ments, chiefly oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen 
 and carbon, in a form acceptable to the re- 
 quirements of the life cells without the aid 
 of the vegetable kingdom. 
 
 Protoplasm with which the life cells are 
 filled is composed of the chemical elements 
 just enumerated, and is the physical basis of 
 all life of both kingdoms. Members of the 
 animal kingdom being unable to elaborate 
 protoplasm direct from the elements, Nature 
 has provided that the vegetable kingdom 
 shall assemble them with others that may be 
 required, and manufacture them into com- 
 pounds varying in character and form. These 
 are recognizable in succulent plants, grain, 
 seeds, fruits, etc. Another peculiar feature 
 is that the vegetable kingdom members can- 
 not work up these "compounds" from the ele- 
 ments direct, but must find them in the air, 
 the water and the soil in gaseous and soluble 
 combinations. For example, the carbon is 
 derived from carbonic acid gas that forms 
 a slight portion of the atmosphere in which 
 we live. This gas, which is a combination of 
 carbon and oxygen, is taken into the plant 
 principally through the leaves. The nitro- 
 gen is taken principally from the earth, but 
 also from the air, where it is always mixed 
 with oxygen, as it is also in the soils with 
 the addition of other elements in the form 
 of nitrates that are soluble, for the roots of 
 the plant cannot assimilate or take up solids. 
 The hydrogen is also in combination with 
 oxygen forming water. The plants after tak- 
 ing these up, use as much of them as are 
 necessary for the increase of their protoplasmic 
 cells. The surplus furnishes the material for 
 cell walls and substances such as seeds, pro- 
 viding for the reproduction of their kind, and 
 bulbs, rootstocks, cotyledons or seed coats for 
 the nourishment of the young plants at the 
 outset of their existence, also for the resin, 
 turpentine, sugar, tannin, etc., so useful to 
 the human family. The unused excess con- 
 sisting largely of oxygen and some carbonic 
 acid is returned to the air. 
 
 When we consider that these fruits, grains, 
 bulbs, etc., are produced by plant life in such 
 enormous quantities, away beyond what is 
 necessary for reproduction of its kind to- 
 gether with the fact that all animal life 
 would perish for the lack of food supply with- 
 out this surplus, do we not distinctly see in 
 
82 
 
 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 A SPROUTED ACORN — Beginning of the oak tree. The germ of life lies in the apex 
 of the acorn. When awakened by moisture and heat it sends out a sprout which 
 branches or divides — one limb descending into the earth to supply the root system, 
 the other limb shooting upward and eventually becoming the trunk of the tree. 
 
WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 83 
 
 this, purpose and plan of the great Designer, 
 and a fundamental feature of the scheme of 
 life? 
 
 Yet I can understand how some people who 
 have given but little thought to the opera- 
 tion of the laws of Nature or study of natural 
 history would remain unimpressed, without 
 further explanation that carniverous or meat 
 eating animals find the necessary chemicals 
 in proper combination in the flesh of smaller 
 or weaker vegetable feeding animals, which 
 become the food supply of the larger or more 
 powerful forms. Thus man eats beef and 
 mutton which may be the principal part of 
 the food sustaining his existence, while the 
 steer that makes the beef and the sheep 
 that becomes mutton in the meat market, 
 obtained their growth from the grains and 
 grasses of the vegetable world. Whatever the 
 character of nourishing food to man or beast 
 may be, trace back its history and it will be 
 found to have originated from the vegetable 
 world. 
 
 The vegetable kingdom while holding the 
 fate of all animal life, in turn is dependent 
 upon the waters of the earth to maintain 
 its existence. The individual members must 
 have water to aid in the manufacture of food- 
 stuffs for animal life; it is required to dissolve 
 the chemicals in the earth so the little roots 
 of the plants can absorb them. The plants 
 and trees, except those of aquatic growth, 
 find the water in the soil. The water comes 
 from the rainfall, and as every school boy 
 knows, the source of the rain is the ocean 
 and other bodies of water which yield it by 
 evaporation from their surfaces; thence it is 
 conveyed to and distributed over the land 
 through the agency of the ever moving 
 atmosphere. It is also a matter of common 
 knowledge that three-fourths of the surface 
 of the globe is water and the other one-fourth 
 is composed of land, but few people notice 
 the interesting and remarkable feature in 
 this matter of proportion of water to land, 
 which is that the water surfaces contain the 
 proper area, to furnish the supply of water 
 or rainfall necessary to support natural vege- 
 tation on the land area. 
 
 Nature operates this wonderful scheme on 
 an immense scale, but not always with that 
 nicety and regularity in distribution of rain- 
 fall on land to avoid the complaints of farm- 
 ers of "too much" or "too little," as the case 
 may be for a satisfactory growth of their 
 crops. For vegetation in the natural or wild 
 state, however, its operation is amazing in 
 its grandeur, perfection and harmony. It 
 does not require much thought to realize 
 that through any material reduction in the 
 proportion of water to land, if such a thing 
 were possible, the entire face of nature on 
 this earth would be changed. Our wooded 
 nooks and vales shorn of their foliage would 
 no longer be places of beauty and pleasing re- 
 treat. Our fertile fields would cease, to be 
 productive and the grassy plains and hill- 
 sides would be made bare. In short our 
 lands would become as a desert wherein 
 would stalk famine and death for all organic 
 life. 
 
 There is little profit in speculating upon 
 the improbable, if not impossible, things 
 relating to life, beyond the lesson we may 
 draw in acquainting ourselves with the 
 existence and working of the laws of nature 
 and the part they bear to the Almighty's 
 great scheme of the universe. 
 
 From what we have learned from the 
 study of life and the origin of species it is 
 possible that in the beginning primary life 
 was exceedingly small and that the first forms 
 were indistinguishable as being either vege- 
 table or animal. We have such forms still 
 with us bearing some animal characteristics 
 at the same time exhibiting as strong vege- 
 table features, and where to place them in 
 classification has been something of a puzzle 
 to scientists. Accepting the theory of evolu- 
 tion as sound doctrine it is easy to under- 
 stand how this primary life may have given 
 a start to what we now style the animal and 
 vegetable kingdoms. In the millions upon 
 millions of years that have followed since 
 the division and the beginning of the two 
 kingdoms animal life from the simplest form 
 has developed into the complex beings we 
 now see; and likewise plant life from minute 
 and insignificant forms has developed the 
 trees, vines, shrubs, plants and grasses that 
 have made the earth habitable, contributing 
 to the shelter of man and beast as well as 
 yielding them pleasure, food and other com- 
 forts. 
 
 Though the dependence of animal life 
 upon the vegetable kingdom for its exist- 
 ence must have been recognized by man since 
 the dawn of intelligence and civilization, it 
 is only since the discovery and invention of 
 the microscope in a comparative recent age, 
 that man, by the use of this wonderful instru- 
 ment has been able to unravel the secrets 
 of the organism of plant life and the func- 
 tion of the leaf with its miraculous mechan- 
 ism operating therewith. 
 
 Ordinary leaves of vegetable life are of 
 many shapes and sizes; each species of plant 
 including trees, shrubs, etc., having a form 
 peculiar to itself. The long slender pine 
 needle and the broad leaf of a Brazilian 
 lily, six feet and more in diameter, with 
 upturned edges, are representatives of ex- 
 treme examples. In defining a leaf, the stalk 
 or petiole by which it is attached to the stem 
 or branch of the plant to which it belongs is 
 known as part of the leaf, although the 
 leaves of some species of plant life are with- 
 out stalks or petioles. Such are said to be 
 sessile, the base of the leaf being directly 
 attached to the stem without any extension 
 from the blade. Besides the ordinary leaves, 
 strictly speaking, there are others, which 
 botanists take note of, that serve different 
 purposes, where they serve any. These are 
 the bud-scales, flower petals, scales of bulbs 
 and the rudimentary forms sometimes found 
 on tubers. However, it is the common leaf, 
 the functions of which fill so important a 
 part in the scheme of life. 
 
 An exceedingly interesting matter connected 
 with occurrence of leaves is the peculiar sys- 
 tematic and mathematical order and pre- 
 
84 
 
 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 cision of their attachment or insertion on the 
 stems or branches. There are three modes, but 
 no species of plant uses more than one. The 
 different systems are known as alternating, 
 opposite and whorled. 
 
 In the first or alternate, one leaf after an- 
 other occurs along- the stem, or perhaps more 
 accurately stated, a single leaf from each 
 node or joint. In the second or opposite sys- 
 tem there are two leaves at each stem node, 
 opposite to each other, and each pair of 
 leaves occur at right angles to the other as 
 they are produced by the growing stem, so 
 that looking down a stem it would appear 
 as if it bore four ranks of leaves. The last 
 or third mode is the whorled, where more 
 than two leaves spring from a stem joint, the 
 places of attachment being uniformly spaced, 
 that is, when there are five leaves in a whorl 
 they will be located one-fifth of the cir- 
 cumference of the stem or stalk apart. 
 
 No two of these modes are ever seen on 
 any one species, but several different families 
 of plant life may have the same system. How- 
 ever, the systems, except in the "opposites" 
 vary in the order and number of leaves 
 circling a stem and the differences are uni- 
 form for each species. The variations in the 
 "alternating" are most remarkable in their 
 mathematical arrangement and division of 
 space in the attachment of the leaves to their 
 stems or branches. When this peculiarity 
 came to the notice of that great naturalist, 
 Darwin, he marveled at it, but said he could 
 give no explanation. 
 
 The arrangement of leaves in this system 
 with all its modifications is spiral. This will 
 be readily detected by taking a stem well 
 studded with leaves and noting that the first 
 leaf above the leaf directly in front of you 
 is located part way around the stem and the 
 next leaf in order is still higher and farther 
 on around, and so on until you find a leaf 
 attached to the stem directly above the one 
 from which you started. The variations 
 referred to as occuring in this mode are in 
 the number of leaves and tMe times around 
 the stem until there is reached a leaf at- 
 tached directly above the starting point; and 
 in these numbers and circles comes the 
 wonderful mathematical features. 
 
 The simplest and very common form is 
 with the growths where leaves are attached 
 on opposite sides of the stem, but each suc- 
 ceeding one above the other. Counting the 
 leaves in this arrangement the leaf on the 
 opposite side is one, and the next leaf in 
 order located directly above the starting 
 point, completing the circle around the 
 stem, is two. This system is styled two- 
 ranked, as only two leaves are attached to 
 the stem in making the spiral turn complete. 
 There being only two leaves, the space of at- 
 tachment horizontally is one-half the circum- 
 ference of the stem apart; though vertically, 
 or the distance in height between the leaves, 
 may vary considerably. The arrangement is 
 also expressed by the fraction %. 
 
 The next in the series is the three-ranked 
 or three leaves in one spiral turn around 
 the stem, and attached one-third of the 
 
 circumference apart; and expressed by the 
 fraction % . 
 
 Now it would seem as if there might be 
 growths with four, five or six leaves with 
 one turn, but none such exist, for nature 
 controls this matter with mathematical sys- 
 tem. The arrangement of all other series is 
 in accordance with the peculiar law that each 
 succeeding series is composed of as many turns 
 and number of leaves as there are turns and 
 leaves in the two preceding series. Therefore 
 you will find the next in the series is ex- 
 pressed by the fraction 2-5, the numerator 
 and denominator of which are the sums of 
 those of the first two of the series. These 
 figures indicate that there are two spiral turns 
 and five leaves in the series and also that 
 spaces of attachment of the leaves are two- 
 fifths of the circumference. 
 
 We have for the first three series 1-2, 1-3, 
 2-5, and following the law mentioned in the 
 last paragraph the next series should be the 
 sum of the numerators and denominators of 
 the last two fractions, to wit: 3-8, and that 
 is what happens, three spiral turns and eight 
 leaves three-eighths of the circumference 
 apart. 
 
 The next arrangement is 5-13, following 
 the same method of addition. Then fol- 
 low 8-21 and 13-34, which is about the high- 
 est commonly noted and is as far as we need 
 go to explain this peculiarity. Observe that 
 these last also are the sums of the numera- 
 tors and denominators of preceding fractions. 
 
 The structure of an ordinary leaf consists 
 of green pulp, known in botany as paren- 
 chyma, through which, extending to all parts, 
 is a fibrous frame of harder growth called 
 ribs and veins. The veins are so styled for 
 the reason they are hollow tubes connecting 
 with the ribs and main stem or petiole of the 
 leaf, also tubular, which besides stiffening 
 and supporting the green softer part, give 
 passage to the saps that flow back and 
 forth from the trunk of the tree to the leaf. 
 The veining of a leaf is called venation, and 
 varies in accordance with the origin of the 
 plant, but is so consistently uniform therewith 
 that a mere glance enables one to identify the 
 class to which the plant belongs. 
 
 The shapes and forms of leaves are many, 
 and seem to serve no other purpose than to 
 render ready identification of the various 
 trees and plants, or make ornament and 
 shade. One might think the Oriental palm 
 tree with its large broad leaves would throw 
 more shade than a tree with smaller leaves, 
 but where do we find a denser shade than 
 that of our live oak with its small leaves? 
 But there are exceptions where the shape and 
 form have a special purpose. Among which 
 may be mentioned the hollow tubed leaves of 
 the pitcher plant which, when partially filled 
 with water, become traps for insects. Then 
 there are the extraordinarily shaped leaves of 
 the Venus Fly-trap plant which works some- 
 thing after the manner of a steel trap. When 
 an insect alights or touches the inner face of 
 either of the hinged lobes of the leaf they 
 suddenly close together capturing the in- 
 truder, but what is more remarkable the leaf 
 
WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 85 
 
 secretes a digestive fluid which is said to be 
 similar to the digestive fluids of animal life 
 in its chemical composition, and the leaves re- 
 main closed until the softer parts of the victim 
 are digested, or in short plain words, eaten by 
 the plant. There are four or five other in- 
 sect-killing plants of different forms, one 
 growing in our Sierras, possessing the habit 
 of capturing, killing and devouring flies and 
 other insects. Other somewhat remarkable 
 exceptions are the enlarged and thickened 
 leaves of the agave and certain members of 
 called leaves is the storage of nourishment 
 and water that, not unfrequently, have been 
 the means of saving the lives of men and 
 beasts who, through some misfortune or mis- 
 calculation, were without food and drink. 
 
 The botanists say the tendrils of climbing 
 plants, the sharp thorns, like those on the 
 honey-locust tree, and the concentric layers 
 of the onion and tulip bulb are but leaves 
 in a modified form. In the case of tulips and 
 similar bulbs, the special service of the so- 
 called leaves is the storage of nourishment 
 elaborated by the leaves above ground for the 
 growth in the following year of the plant and 
 flower and production of new bulbs. In doing 
 this the old bulb is almost entirely absorbed. 
 The bulb found in its place is wholly a new 
 one. If the soil and climatic conditions are 
 favorable several new bulbs will be produced. 
 
 The small leaves that form over the buds 
 of branches for their protection in the winter 
 are called bud-scales. In some cases after 
 fulfilling that duty they fall off when the 
 blossom or foliage develops. The bud-scale 
 of the lilac, however, after the protecting 
 service is ended, becomes an ordinary leaf, 
 and with the dogwood it eventually becomes 
 a showy part of the flower. 
 
 Leaves have the power of movement, but 
 it is rather insignificant except in compara- 
 tively few species. Nearly all kinds can and 
 will return to their natural position when 
 twisted round so as to be upside down, if not 
 too rudely done. The most common move- 
 ment is among plants the leaves of which 
 change their position at evening for the night 
 and resume a daylight position in the morn- 
 ing. Then there are some plants known as 
 sensitive plants, for the reason that when 
 lightly struck, or jarred, the small leaflets 
 suddenly close and fold up along the stem. 
 But the most remarkable instance of inde- 
 pendent movement is described as occurring 
 with a plant growing in some parts of India, 
 commonly styled the Telegraph plant. Each 
 leaf stem, or petiole, bears three leaves; the 
 middle, or terminal leaf is somewhat of the 
 shape of a small leaf of a peach tree. This 
 droops at night and rises with the beginning 
 of the day. The other two leaves, which are 
 very much smaller, under certain conditions 
 of temperature keep up an incessant move- 
 ment not unlike the flopping ears of a fly- 
 bothered animal. 
 
 Whatever peculiarity of shape and size 
 leaves may have, power of movement they 
 possess, or special service in supplying forage, 
 shade, or storing nourishment for future gen- 
 erations of its own kind, the principal and or- 
 
 dinary purpose of leaves, in conjunction with 
 the roots, is that of maintaining the exist- 
 ence and growth of the plant to which they 
 belong; and in this function they exhibit the in- 
 tricacies of a machine shop and the wonders 
 of a chemical laboratory. But before we enter 
 into the details of this relation it is necessary 
 that we should review the principal features 
 in the growth of plant life to secure a better 
 and clearer understanding of the subject. 
 
 Growth of a plant signifies increase of its 
 substance and its size generally involving some 
 change in form. All the details of what takes 
 place are not fully known, although the main 
 principles involved have been pretty well es- 
 tablished by scientists. They tell us that the 
 active element of all life is protoplasm, a fluid 
 form, and all manner of growth depends upon 
 the multiplication or increase in number of 
 the cells possessing this vital force. Through 
 the agency of the nucleus, which each cell 
 contains, the protoplasm multiplies itself by 
 division of the cell contents into two parts, 
 each of which, upon maturing, continues the 
 process of division. The multiplication of the 
 cells represents an increase of substance or 
 what we call growth. 
 
 The walls of the cells are of a different 
 material which in the tree and shrubs are 
 elongated and become what we call wood. 
 The walls gradually grow thicker and stiffer. 
 The harder the wood, the thicker and more 
 dense the cell walls. There are other cells 
 and ducts for the passage of the tree saps 
 which also increase in number in keeping with 
 the increase of the cells of protoplasm. These 
 also represent an increase of substance. So it 
 is apparent that the tree or shrub in addition 
 to protoplasm elaborates another growing 
 agency, for the cell walls are mainly com- 
 posed of what is called cellulose, a different 
 combination of the chemical elements, that 
 becomes the principal part of the structure of 
 every tree. 
 
 For the formation of these growing forces 
 the tree or plant absorbs from the soil and 
 from the air and water certain chemicals 
 heretofore enumerated. The chemicals are in 
 gaseous and soluble form and usually are 
 assimilated in quantities in excess of immedi- 
 ate needs and these excesses go to form sugar, 
 tannin, resin, and many other commodities, 
 according to the species. Excesses are also 
 stored away in different parts of some plants 
 in soluble forms of sugar, or as dextrine, or as 
 starch, for use as seasonal or other conditions 
 may demand. A part is stored in nuts and 
 seeds and is used in providing a supply of 
 nourishment for the young seedlings for the 
 first few days of their existence. In some 
 vegetable growths, as in the sugar maple tree, 
 sugar cane and sugar beets, the excess stored 
 is appropriated by man and becomes the 
 sugars of commerce. 
 
 In the history of the operation of the life 
 forces or growth of a tree, say an almond tree, 
 the beginning is the seed, the common almond 
 of which the lovers of nuts are so fond. The 
 germ of life with its dormant protoplasm and 
 nucleus lies in the little bud-like form between 
 the two meaty, parts of the nut that we eat. 
 
86 
 
 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 Why this germ should be able to hold its ac- 
 tive power dormant for years, or why under 
 the influence of gentle heat and moisture it 
 awakens into life, biologists have, so far, been 
 unable to give us a satisfactory explanation. 
 But, as everybody knows, an almond placed 
 in the soil at the proper season will "sprout" 
 and in the due course of time the sprout will 
 become a tree which upon maturity will itself 
 produce almonds. 
 
 The sprouting or germination of the seed 
 means that the cells of protoplasm have com- 
 menced to multiply, which, as heretofore 
 stated, signifies an increase of substance. For 
 the first few days the material for the growth 
 is supplied by the meaty parts of the seed or 
 nut enclosing the germ bud. The rapidly in- 
 creasing cells first form a shoot that takes a 
 downward direction into the earth and is the 
 beginning of the root system of the tree, and 
 another shoot is formed which grows upward, 
 which ultimately becomes the trunk of the 
 tree. Within a few days the first shoot has 
 sent out little rootlets and the upward shoot 
 has produced a couple or more of leaves. By 
 this time the supply of growing material 
 stored in the meaty parts of the nut has been 
 used up in forming so much of the infant 
 tree. However, it is a matter of indifference 
 to the youngster, for now being equipped with 
 leaves and roots it is independent of its 
 nursing bottle, for with the new appendages, 
 leaves and roots, it can draw from the air, 
 the earth and the moisture therein the ele- 
 ments it requires for its future growth and 
 existence. 
 
 With all exogenous trees, of which the 
 almond is one, the most rapid increase or multi- 
 plication of cells, up to a certain limit, is on 
 the growing end of a shoot. At the same time 
 there is also a lateral increase of cells by 
 which the circumference of the shoot is en- 
 larged. 
 
 The lateral growth by which the increase of 
 girth occurs is best exhibited in a cross section 
 of a tree trunk, which shows that with the 
 close of the first year the protoplasm vacated 
 the cells it had occupied after taking a rest 
 during the winter. With the appearance of 
 spring it moves outwardly and renews its work 
 of cell' building, which is continued until the 
 ensuing winter; this manner of proceeding 
 lasting during the life of the tree. The dor- 
 mant and active periods being plainly marked 
 by what are called the annular rings. A similar 
 action takes place in the formation of the 
 bark of the tree, only the protoplasm moves 
 inwardly in cell building. The vacated cells 
 in the trunk of the tree become a part of the 
 hardwood, while those of the bark constitute 
 the dry and dead-like parts. The soft and 
 outer part of the trunk, the sap wood, which 
 is cut off or eliminated in the sawing up of a 
 log for boards or timber is the part last occu- 
 pied by the protoplasm and is technically 
 called the cambium layer. 
 
 By the continued addition of cells on the 
 growing end or tips of the stems and lateral 
 expansions of cells of the branches and trunk, 
 and similar extensions and expansions among 
 the roots, in the course of time, a tree is 
 
 grown. As may be inferred from the fore- 
 going, this tree is composed of a multitude of 
 cells with thickened walls of cellulose. These 
 cells from the roots to the leaves are so con- 
 nected that in the growing season there is con- 
 stant circulation and interchange of materials. 
 Remarkable and puzzling as may be the force 
 that sends the solutions from the roots in the 
 earth, sometimes hundreds of feet up, to the 
 leaves that grace the top of the tree, even 
 more mysterious and wonderful is the conver- 
 sion by action in the leaves of the solutions 
 into the various forms resulting in chlorophyl, 
 protoplasm, cell walls, sugar, starch, resin, 
 etc., and the return to various parts of the 
 tree or plant of certain of the substances for 
 its growth or storage. 
 
 Apparently from all accounts the most im- 
 portant and active agent operating in the 
 leaves is chlorophyl, the green substance that 
 gives the color to them. However, it is in- 
 operative without the action of sunlight on the 
 leaves. The surface of the leaves, especially 
 the underside of most kinds, is filled with 
 minute openings, so small that, except in a 
 few cases, a microscope is required to see 
 them. All of these openings to the inner part 
 of the leaf are guarded by a pair of lips or 
 valves, which open and close as the character 
 of the operations going on in the interior of 
 the leaf require. In the interior part of the 
 leaf, or that portion between the surfaces, 
 are numerous cells and air spaces, to which 
 the raw material gathered by the roots is 
 sent and distributed there by the leaf veins. 
 
 The gaseous elements, such as carbonic 
 acid and the air with its oxygen and nitrogen, 
 are drawn into the leaf through the small 
 pores or openings mentioned. These elements 
 are important and the most extensive of the 
 contributions to the substances manufactured 
 by the leaf. The openings are also used at 
 times by the workshop in the leaf as vents 
 through which to discharge all excess of 
 oxygen or other gases that arise in the op- 
 erations carried on there. 
 
 Asa Grey, the American botanist, in sum- 
 marizing his description of plant growth, 
 says: "The living parts of a tree, of the 
 exogenous kind, are only these: First, the 
 rootlets at one extremity; second, the buds 
 and leaves of the season at the other; and 
 third, a zone consisting of the newest wood 
 and newest bark, connecting the rootlets with 
 the buds and leaves, however widely sep- 
 arated they may be — in the tallest trees from 
 two to four hundred feet apart. And these 
 parts are all renewed every year. No wonder, 
 thrrefore. that trees may live so long, since 
 thfey annually reproduce everything that is 
 essential to their life and growth, and since 
 onb a very small part of their bulk is alive 
 at once." 
 
 While the facts given have been fully estab- 
 lished, it must be said that all the mysteries 
 of the wonderful work shop in the plant or 
 tree leaf have not been revealed, especially 
 in relation to the activities and powers of the 
 chlorophyl. But as it is only within the last 
 seventy-five or one hundred years that the 
 history of the growth and life of vegetable 
 
WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 87 
 
 forms has been worked out to the extent of 
 our present knowledge, it is possible that 
 scientifio research of the future will pro- 
 duce other wonderful facts, disclosing a closer 
 analogy in thy; life histories of the animal and 
 vegetable kingdoms. 
 
 However, there are wonders of tree life that 
 will in all probability remain puzzles for the 
 human mind until the end of time. Why the 
 protoplasm and the chlorophyl, which to all 
 appearances are the same in all plant life, 
 operating in one kind of leaves produce on© 
 
 kind of substance and in another kind some- 
 thing entirely different, and why a single 
 cell of protoplasm seemingly alike in all 
 vegetable forms, and which in fact is the 
 unit of all life, has when in one seed the 
 potential power of producing a majestic oak 
 that may live for ages, and in another seed 
 its power limited to the production of a 
 humble weed with an age of no more than 
 weeks, will probably remain something as 
 mysterious and unfathomable as the problem 
 of life itself. 
 
 AT LEFT — Leaves spaced one-half of circumference of stem, two leaves and one circle 
 around the stem. This system is expressed as 1-2 
 
 CENTER — Spaced one-third of circumference, three leaves and one circle; expressed 
 
 as 1-3 
 
 RIGHT — Spaced one-fifth of circumference, Ave leaves and two circles around the stem. 
 
 Expressed as 2-5 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 THE BATTLE OF LIFE 
 
 Some of the Troubles with which Organic Life has to Contend, and 
 the Lessons they Afford Mankind 
 
 Sometimes when contemplating the problem 
 of human life, especially when I meet a man 
 with dejected countenance who in mournful 
 tone declares he feels like a "living tomb," I 
 wonder if there is not something amiss in his 
 educational training. Our institutions of learn- 
 ing include in their general purpose the 
 object of making honest, truthful and moral 
 citizens of our youth, but do they make suf- 
 ficient effort to instill into the minds of the 
 young that the life that lays before them is 
 something not to be looked upon as a future 
 of unalloyed pleasures? Does the system pre- 
 pare the minds of the young men and young 
 women for the time when they step out into 
 the world to meet the vexations, discourage- 
 ments, obstacles, snares, misfortunes that lay 
 in the pathway of every human life?- 
 
 Perhaps it is thought that youth should be 
 given these important lessons on life at the 
 home circle or fireside. But I am afraid the 
 home is* as • remiss as the school. It is un- 
 pleasant to dwell upon the disagreeable things 
 of life, but how much easier it is to meet and 
 overcome difficulties when forewarned of 
 them. No soldier could win success unless 
 trained how to deport himself in battle, how 
 to withstand the shocks from opposing forces, 
 and how to avoid and overcome the enemy's 
 obstructions. It is the courage, force and 
 zeal the soldier exhibits in sweeping aside all 
 opposition and striding on to victory that 
 makes him a hero and an object of admira- 
 tion. 
 
 Likewise man should be trained from early 
 youth how to meet the adversities of life he 
 surely will encounter as he tries to make a 
 place for himself in the world. The higher 
 his ambition for the comforts of life, knowl- 
 edge and fame, the more thorough must be 
 his training and greater his efforts, but greater 
 will be the glory of his victory. 
 
 Nature produces life in various forms from 
 the simplest to the most complex, but to main- 
 tain existence demands of all certain activi- 
 ties. This unavoidable requirement may work 
 harder with one than another and more 
 severely at one time than at others. It may 
 occasionally involve the necessity of great 
 effort as well as conflicts of serious charac- 
 ter. Moreover, all life is subject to adaption 
 to climatic and soil conditions; that is, the 
 life of the tropical zone could not maintain 
 existence if transferred willingly or unwillingly 
 to the arctic, no more than life reared in the 
 latter could prosper in the extreme heat of the 
 Equator; plants adapted to rich deep soils of 
 
 the valley will not thrive in shallow, rocky, dry 
 land of the hillside. 
 
 Nature made no exception in the operation 
 of these laws. They apply to all forms of life 
 in both animal and vegetable kingdoms. To 
 illustrate, first taking plant life; the seed 
 which contains the germ of life of the plant, 
 shrub or tree finds a place in the earth. With 
 proper heat and moisture it will germinate, 
 sending roots into the ground and stems into 
 the air above. Its life has begun and its 
 struggle for existence as well. If the seed fell 
 into soil favorable to its growth and sur- 
 rounding conditions were favorable to its 
 needs, the ensuing growth will have found 
 a locality adapted to its purposes and it will 
 have greater vigor and strength and power of 
 resistence in its conflicts with other life forces 
 and even the elements that will from time to 
 time attack it. If this growth should be the 
 beginning of an oak tree, it will be a tough 
 little youngster, although, like all life in the 
 infant stage, it will have its weaknesses and 
 may die from the effects of the hard knocks 
 that it is liable to encounter. However, 
 Nature endows the baby oak with more 
 strength and hardihood than is apportioned 
 to many other kinds of infant trees. In this 
 stage of its life it is liable to be crushed flat 
 by the foot of man or beast, still be able to 
 recover its upright position and live, though 
 possibly bearing the scars of its misfortune 
 through life in a mishapen trunk. There are 
 many other things it will have to contend 
 with, some of which may threaten its health 
 if not its existence. The browsing beast may 
 be disposed to vary its food with the tender 
 shoots and fresh leaves of young oaks; the 
 larvae of butterflies and moths, caterpillars 
 that have a penchant for oaks, so numerous 
 at times and so voracious their appetites that 
 they strip even mature trees of their leaves; 
 the aphids and other forms of minute life 
 that besmear the foliage with gummy secre- 
 tions and clog the pores thus interfere with 
 one of the most important functions of the 
 leaves; the members of the Cynipidae family 
 as well as some other insects that sting the 
 bark and leaves, producing swellings, oak 
 balls and other galls on stems and leaves; the 
 wood boring insects that make their way 
 through the bark and into the tree making 
 wounds most serious to its life, though 
 the oak is less afflicted from this source 
 than fruit trees which are not infrequently 
 killed by borers. Now should the' oak live' 
 through all these vicissitudes, escape in- 
 jury or loss of limbs from the blasts of Old 
 
WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 89 
 
 Boreas or lightning strokes and reach the 
 limits of growth, a majestic representative of 
 organic life, there is still man with his cruel 
 ax and new fangled saws who may terminate 
 its career by felling the proud tree, dismem- 
 bering its limbs and cutting it up into fire- 
 wood or timbers and boards as his needs may 
 require. Escaping from such ignominious 
 end it may live on to old age still bearing the 
 burdens of life, chief of which is the support of 
 parasitical relations, misletoe and mosses that 
 fasten themselves to the old tree and remain 
 a drain upon its resources as long as it lives. 
 Finally no longer being able to resist the at- 
 tacks of its enemies, the inroads upon its 
 vitality are manifested in decay and decrepi- 
 tude and it becomes weak and tottering, like 
 the highest representative of animal life, man, 
 who succeeds in living a score of years beyond 
 the average age allotted to his kind. The end 
 is that which comes to all forms of life of 
 both kingdoms alike, death. 
 
 Other forms of the vegetable kingdom are 
 no less subject to vicissitudes of life, and very 
 many have a greater struggle to maintain 
 their existence, especially that branch of the 
 flora known as annuals, through the lack of 
 rainfall, excessive cold, attacks of insects 
 which devour the roots as well as others that 
 feed on the leaves, stalk and fruit. 
 
 As to life experiences of members of the 
 vegetable kingdom, sufficient has been said to 
 show that those forms of plant life which 
 succeed in maintaining an existence and 
 reaching maturity — those that escape from 
 their enemies, or are not seriously injured 
 in their conflict with them, are objects- of 
 good fortune and at the best their lives are 
 not without conflict, but subject to uncer- 
 tainties, misfortunes and disasters. 
 
 However, to continue the inquiry of the 
 subject we must take up for consideration 
 the life experiences of representatives of the 
 principal branch of the animal kingdom. To 
 this end we will first consider some of the 
 features of the life history of a class that 
 inhabits the waters. Perhaps at first tljought 
 we might look upon fish as being care free. 
 They seem to have no routine of employment, 
 no harvest to gather in providing future food 
 supply, no habitations to create and are, al- 
 most without exception, without family cares 
 and not possessed with the slightest regard for 
 their offspring. Other than the annual per- 
 formance of laying eggs in perpetuating their 
 kind and of securing their daily food, the 
 fish family have little else to do and would 
 appear to have been allotted an ideal exist- 
 ence, according to the way some unthinking 
 persons look upon the purposes of life. But 
 appearances are not to be relied upon in 
 search of truth. The fish have their troubles 
 and struggles in maintaining an existence, 
 more so. perhaps, than many of the other 
 forms of life. 
 
 As in the infantile stage of plant forms, the 
 most critical period in the life of most fish 
 is babyhood. Generally speaking, the parent 
 fish lays thousands of eggs each season, but 
 only a few of them escape the ravenous jaws 
 of other fish and other enemies. The baby 
 
 fish that are hatched from the few eggs that 
 escape such fate, if in inland waters, at once 
 seek the shallow margins or other protecting 
 spots where they begin the struggle of life. 
 As a rule the waters supply an abundance of 
 food while in this stage and their greatest 
 concern is to avoid the numerous forms of 
 life that are seeking their little bodies for 
 food. It is estimated that only an exceedingly 
 small percentage of the fish hatched live to 
 reach the size and age of maturity. It would 
 seem as if every fish were ready to swallow 
 its neighbor size permitting, and which in 
 turn is in constant danger not only of being 
 swallowed by some - larger fish, but being 
 made food of by birds and land animals, in- 
 cluding man. Thus it is, under the constant 
 menace of death, that the majority of the fish 
 kind live out their career. The finny denizens 
 of the great depths of the ocean waters, of 
 course, are practically immune from attacks 
 from others than their own kind. 
 
 If fish have any compensation for the vicis- 
 situdes attending their existence or possess 
 anything analogous to what we call the 
 pleasures of living, it must be in eating, and 
 only this, if we interpret the gratification of 
 insatiable appetites as yielding pleasure. 
 
 In addition to the dangers from inhabiting 
 the same waters with cannibalistic relations, 
 many species of fish have other troubles to 
 contend with, chief of which is the affliction 
 of parasites. A notable instance is observable 
 in Klamath Lake, in Southern Oregon, where 
 the large trout common in its waters have 
 their mouth parts attacked by a worm-like 
 animal, probably a species of leech, which 
 affixes itself to the inner parts of the fish's 
 mouth and sucks the life juices of its host. 
 The big fish does not quietly or tamely sub- 
 mit to the proceeding, for which it is made 
 uncomfortable by the presence of the parasite 
 it comes to the surface, flopping violently as 
 if trying to shake loose this intruder. It com- 
 monly succeeds in ejecting it, throwing it to 
 a distance of" ten or fifteen feet. When near 
 enough the action is discernable in all its de- 
 tails from the land or boat. The observer 
 may be startled by the sudden flopping of a 
 big fish on the surface of the water near by, 
 and if his eyesight is quick and sharp and 
 the fish successful in its efforts to free itself 
 of the obnoxious pest, he will see the unwill- 
 ing flight of the leech; or if he misses that 
 he cannot help seeing the spot where it falls 
 into the water indicated by the circles of tiny 
 wavelets caused by this disturbance. 
 
 Perhaps a more exceptional trouble to which 
 the fish tribe may be subjected is the pollution 
 of the waters which they inhabit. Possibly 
 we can more fully appreciate what this means 
 in its effect on the inhabitants of polluted 
 waters by considering the result to a com- 
 munity of our own kind if the atmosphere in 
 which we live, and which is much the same 
 to us as water is to the fish family, should 
 suddenly and without notice become impreg- 
 nated with sickening or poisonous gases. 
 
 An incident, rather extreme in character, 
 illustrating the result of pollution of waters 
 recently came under my observation while on 
 
90 
 
 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 a visit to a neighboring town. One morning 
 while crossing one of the bridges over the 
 river there, in looking down upon the water, 
 I saw a most unusual sight, the surface of the 
 stream from bank to bank and for several 
 hundred yards, as far as the bend in the 
 river permitted my vision to extend, was 
 covered with dead and dying fish. I esti- 
 mated there was a fish for each one and a 
 half square feet of surface. In many places 
 there would be four or five dead fish in 
 that space. ' It was something of a surprise 
 to me that the stream could yield such a 
 quantity of fish in the limit of space men- 
 tioned. There was nothing to indicate a con- 
 centration, though probably there were more 
 fish inhabiting that part of the river within 
 the city limits owing to the sewers of the city 
 emptying into it supplying more or less food. 
 The fish were nearly all of one species, catfish, 
 apparently of an average length of ten or 
 twelve inches. There were a few carp and 
 some smaller fish locally called white fish, 
 also known as "split-tails" owing to the sharp 
 forking of the tail, the upper lobe being 
 considerable longer than the lower lobe. 
 
 I was informed by a resident that similar 
 occurrences of dead fish had happened twice 
 before in the preceding three months. As to 
 the cause, this man had no explanation, but 
 from other sources I learned that a certain 
 manufacturing establishment located on the 
 banks of the river was engaged in turning 
 out some form of war supplies, in the produc- 
 tion of which there accumulated some waste 
 solutions which were periodically emptied 
 into the river. The periods of disposition of 
 the waste solutions agreeing with occurences 
 of the dead fish, the responsibility for the 
 wholesale killing was laid to the manufactory. 
 As the fish possessed no food value of any 
 importance their destruction in this way was 
 not regarded as a serious matter, but rather 
 as an unavoidable affair incidental to the war 
 needs of the government. On the other hand 
 if the fish of the river that escaped from the 
 disaster could have given expression to their 
 views of the incidents their protest would 
 probably have recited the great dangers and 
 difficulties the members of their class ordi- 
 narily have to contend with in working out 
 the cycle of their existence, which is enough 
 for them to bear without having to suffer such 
 an overwhelming affliction, and concluding 
 with an appeal to the laws of the state for 
 protection from a repetition of the slaughter. 
 
 At the risk, possibly, of making this essay 
 seem somewhat monotonous, in carrying out 
 the point I wish to make, I shall now consider 
 some of the troubles of bird life that seem to 
 harmonize with nature's general plan of 
 existence for all organic life on this sphere. 
 Unlike the fish, birds as. a rule possess 
 parental interest in their offspring. The labor, 
 anxieties and care attending the rearing of the 
 young to the stage of life when they can pro- 
 vide for themselves, embrace duties and sac- 
 rifices which are no insignificant additions to 
 the list of difficulties which the piscatorial 
 family have to work out in the course of 
 their existence, the greater part of which the 
 
 majority of bird life is also subject to. Birds 
 have so many enemies that their entire 
 existence from nestling to the end of life is 
 passed under a continual fear of attack. 
 A great percentage of unnatural mortality in 
 bird life is attributed to the cannibalistic and 
 savage character of some forms of their own 
 kind, hawks, owls, etc. While foxes, cats 
 and many other animals, including snakes, 
 would not be far behind in the amount of 
 death percentage chargeable to them. Finally, 
 the acts of mankind towards the feathered 
 family have been of such murderous and un- 
 friendly nature that all its members fly and 
 seek to hide themselves from bipeds, big or 
 small. A great many birds, if they main- 
 tained a black list of their enemies, would 
 head it with man, as being the most deadly and 
 inconsiderate and even cruel, for much of his 
 killing is done in what he calls "sport." If 
 a person wants any evidence of how birds 
 regard this condition that follows them 
 through life, they have only to take note of 
 their actions when feeding. If the bird under 
 observation happens to be a seed feeder, it 
 drops in its flight to the place where its de- 
 sirable food may be. Instead of immediately 
 starting to feed, as a rule it will first stretch its 
 head up and look in all directions for the 
 presence of an enemy. If it should happen 
 to detect one within a distance that implies 
 danger, the bird will not only recognize the 
 enemy but the menace to its welfare as well, 
 and will depart without eating. Should the 
 "coast be clear," however, the bird with 
 lightning like rapidity will snatch up a seed, 
 then while working it in its mandibles to free 
 it from its husks stretches its head up, look- 
 ing this way and that, alert that no enemy 
 shall take it unawares. This action is fol- 
 lowed with every seed the bird picks up. 
 By close observation of bird habits, wherever 
 undertaken it will be noted that much of the 
 birds' time is passed in search for danger. 
 Perhaps it may be said they have by ex- 
 perience strongly developed the principle of 
 "safety first." A bird may be perched in 
 some "tree top or other prominent place and 
 singing as if most happy and contented with 
 its condition in the world, at the same time 
 both of its eyes are open and quick to detect 
 the approach of danger. 
 
 Yet with all this handicap in working out 
 their existence the feathered family seem to 
 enjoy life and are tenacious of it. None of 
 the cares, sacrifices or dangerous duties of 
 life imposed by nature are shunned or 
 slighted, but are carried out in a spirit of 
 loyalty, contentment and apparent happiness, 
 not unworthy of emulation by the highest 
 members of the animal kingdom. 
 
 For all of the balance of the members of the 
 Vertebrate branch of the animal kingdom in 
 a wild state from the little shrew up, there 
 is a continuous menace of death, and the 
 numerous vicissitudes of life to which they 
 are subjected vary but little from those 
 described. The dullest mind with little 
 thought can recall how man seeks to ex- 
 terminate all species of animal life which he 
 regards as being destructive, or obnoxious; 
 
WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 91 
 
 how the larger animals relentlessly prey upon 
 the smaller, and the smaller upon the small- 
 est; and how the majority of all four-footed 
 animals are hunted, trapped and slaughtered 
 for food, skins and fur by man. With domes- 
 tic animals the conditions are not so severe. 
 True, such as are bred and reared for human 
 consumption have limited terms of existence, 
 measured by their condition of fitness as 
 food, but other domestic animals like the 
 horse, cow, dog, cat, etc., that assist man in 
 procuring the necessities of his life, or serve 
 him as a companion or guardian of his per- 
 son or property, pass an existence more free 
 of troubles, cares, disappointments and mis- 
 fortunes, than all other members of the ani- 
 mal kingdom. 
 
 Nature, however, does not permit even 
 these few representatives of life forms to 
 pass an existence entirely free of trouble, for 
 with all their easy conditions of life the most 
 fortunate may enjoy, there is disease, acci- 
 dent, result of passion, to which they are still 
 subject. 
 
 The leniency of nature, especially as relates 
 to the dog and cat, may be an exception wisely 
 designed as an object lesson to those of man- 
 kind inclined to rail at her scheme of life and 
 who would remodel it into one without care, 
 want and conflict and with absolute peace and 
 harmony. Even the dog's life with its few 
 cares and vicissitudes would be an elevated 
 existence compared with what that life would 
 be under such an order of things. There would 
 be no homes, for they would involve cares 
 and vexations; no factories, for they would 
 engender trouble; no professions or businesses, 
 for they would necessitate labor to acquire 
 and maintain. Ignorance would replace 
 knowledge; indifference and stagnation would 
 be substituted for science and progress, pro- 
 ducing life without aim, purpose or desire. 
 
 However, it is not my intention to discuss 
 the question, whether or not Nature's scheme 
 of life could be improved by the elimination 
 of its dangers, vexations, cares, conflicts, etc. 
 What I have written is for the object of 
 recalling to unthinking minds that these 
 things, objectionable as they may seem, are 
 inseparable and in a sense unavoidable in all 
 forms of life, including mankind. It has al- 
 ways been so and probably will continue so 
 until the end of time, with some modifica- 
 tions as the mind of man broadens and de- 
 velops in his conception of things, with 
 higher regard for his obligations to and his 
 relations with, not only his fellows, but all 
 other forms of life. 
 
 According to the estimates of those writers 
 best qualified to judge the nine branches of life 
 that compose the animal kingdom embrace 
 five hundred and twelve thousand five hun- 
 
 dred species, of which man is one. By rea- 
 son of his superior intellect and habits man 
 is regarded as being in a division of life apart 
 and in advance of all other forms, but physi- 
 cally he is only a variation, inferior in 
 strength and endurance, compared with many 
 of the mammals to which he belongs. He 
 was created on the same general plan, with 
 organs functioning on the same general prin- 
 ciples, as with the mouse, fox, horse, dog, 
 elephant, or other vertebrates. For this rea- 
 son, if no other, man is subject to the opera- 
 tion of the laws of nature the same as the 
 balance of the animal kingdom, from which 
 there is no escape or exception in his favor. But 
 nature dealt more liberally with man in giv- 
 ing him a superior intellect, by the proper 
 operation of which he avoids or reduces to a 
 minimum many of the objectionable features 
 attending life. However, the responsibility of 
 its use and operation is placed wholly on man 
 himself. It depends largely upon the in- 
 dividual, how he exercises the great intel- 
 lectual gifts of reasoning, judgment and per- 
 ception, whether his life shall be made a 
 pleasant or unpleasant career, a success or 
 failure. 
 
 In one sense life is war and the man who 
 spends his time brooding over misfortunes, 
 who is cast down by failures, who bewails his 
 lot in life because of losses or accidents, or 
 who lets his griefs unduly sadden his life, is 
 like the soldier in battle who lays down his 
 arms or flees at the first onset of the enemy. 
 His conduct casts a gloom on his surround- 
 ings and he becomes an object whom people 
 seek to avoid even though they entertain feel- 
 ings of pity for him. 
 
 When man discovers his place in nature's 
 great scheme of life, and realizes that he is 
 only one among millions of his own and other 
 forms of life, all subject to the same laws, 
 and learns that the hard knocks in life are 
 not wholly accidents but incidental to opera- 
 tion of nature's great scheme, and develops 
 the courage and strength of character to face 
 them, he will have laid the foundation for 
 genuine enjoyment of life, as well as put 
 himself in the way to command the respect 
 and esteem of his fellows, which alone is one 
 of the most satisfying, solid and enduring 
 comforts attending life. 
 
 Human life has its genuine pleasures and 
 its enjoyable compensations for its troubles 
 and hardships, but they are not commodities, 
 purchasable, like goods on the shelves of the 
 merchant's store, but things that are free 
 to all, yet are obtainable only by proper con- 
 duct and unselfishness in our relations with 
 our fellows, by being temperate in all things 
 and loyal to the laws of nature and society. 
 
 
 
 =3k>>e^ 
 
92 
 
 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 ^j£ «x> *(*£#:*??? 
 
 *: 
 
 v . .JP^- ** ' '.v 
 
 MONUMENT ON SUMMIT OF MT. DIABLO 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 WILD LIFE 
 
 Found in and about the Grounds of Diablo Park 
 Residents and Visitants 
 
 In a previous chapter I gave considerable 
 space to detailing observations made while 
 tramping through Diablo Canyon. It is now 
 my purpose to relate some matters of interest 
 noted while rambling over the club grounds 
 and golf course in the park, or valley, below. 
 
 Diablo Canyon is the great gash in the 
 southwestern side of Mt. Diablo. Therein 
 gather the waters forming the creek that 
 once flowed down through the park grounds 
 at the foot of the mountain. I said "once" 
 for now and a number of years past the 
 waters flow only in the creek bed of the can- 
 yon proper, as a dam was built across the 
 canyon near the place of its opening into the 
 valley, or park. The waters thus impounded 
 form a pretty little lake, making a very at- 
 tractive spot for lovers of water sports. Gamey 
 black bass inhabit its depths and families of 
 the long-legged great blue heron are annually 
 produced in the neighboring tree tops. 
 
 In the course of time long before man lo- 
 cated here and piled up the big bank of 
 earth and clay across the canyon to stay 
 further flow of the stream, the waters had 
 cut a deep meandering channel for a mile and 
 a half or so through the alluvial land of the 
 park valley. The banks of this channel, or 
 creek-bed, are thickly lined with growths of 
 oaks, willows, alders, etc., most of which are 
 of extraordinary size. This is especially true 
 of the first two mentioned. In fact the sup- 
 posedly largest live oak tree in the state is 
 growing on the banks of this creek. It meas- 
 ures 24 feet in circumference, is 80 feet high 
 and has a spread of 125 feet. The trees and 
 wild shrubbery bordering the stream bed 
 constitute a feature greatly contributing to 
 the natural beauty of the park and grounds of 
 the Mt. Diablo Country Club. 
 
 The most active agents in undoing the work 
 of the green-keepers in keeping the greens 
 and fairway of the golf course smooth, clean 
 and free of obstructions are the colony of 
 gophers that infest the grounds. In one 
 section of the fairway, between number one 
 and two greens, nearly 3000 of the rodents 
 had been shot, trapped and in other ways 
 killed in a little more than two years' time, 
 when the green-keeper tired of recording the 
 captures, so we know not how many have 
 been slain since. However, he says the rate 
 of his slaughter has not been reduced, and 
 to all appearances the gophers are as num- 
 erous as ever. A peculiar feature of their 
 activities is that twice a day, about nine 
 of ten o'clock in the morning and three or 
 four in the afternoon, the gophers come out 
 
 of their holes for some reason I am unable 
 to explain. Notwithstanding they pass the 
 greatert part of their lives underground 
 keenness of eyesight with them does not seem 
 impaired thereby, for when on the surface of 
 the ground they are quick to detect the pres- 
 ence of danger and the man with the shotgun 
 has to be quick in using it if he is to be suc- 
 cessful in shooting them. 
 
 The gophers have other enemies, among 
 which are snakes. For some weeks in the 
 summer of 1919 a large gopher snake made 
 its headquarters in a section of the golf course 
 that was thickly infested with the rodents. 
 No one ever saw the snake actually catch a 
 gopher, but there were club members who 
 were sure it lived on gopher diet, and inter- 
 fered with the intentions of snake haters who 
 would have killed it Just because it was a 
 snake. I saw the reptile once stretched out 
 snake fashion by a freshly made gopher hole 
 with its head raised about four inches over 
 the hole. As the time of day was about eleven 
 o'clock in the morning I concluded it was pos- 
 sible that the snake was acquainted with the 
 hour-habits of the gopher in coming out its 
 hole, and the snake remaining motionless in 
 the position described for the several mo- 
 ments I watched it, was a circumstance that 
 seemed to me to justify the thought that it 
 was waiting for the appearance of a gopher. 
 
 Not long since one of the club officials was 
 working in his front yard when he discovered 
 a large gopher coming across the road 
 toward him. Thinking to frighten the animal 
 so it would possibly leave the vicinity of his 
 lawn and garden he rushed at it. Greatly to 
 his astonishment the gopher did not turn tail 
 and flee, but stood its ground and bared its 
 hideous chisel teeth. When the man got near 
 enough to kick the beast, he was fairly 
 startled, for before he could use his foot it 
 took the initiative in making attack and in a 
 mos^ vicious manner jumped at him. Then 
 the man and gopher "mixed it," the former 
 kicking but missing- the mark and the latter 
 as frequently jumping and failing to score. 
 Thus they battled for what seemed minutes, 
 until the superiority of the man was finally 
 demonstrated, the gopher failing to recover 
 or revive after receiving a blow from the toe 
 of a heavy shoe that sent it flying several 
 feet through the air. 
 
 I have seen a number of gophers in the 
 course of my outdoor life out on the surface of 
 the ground but never very far from their 
 holes, into which they always made quick 
 retreat at the slightest indication of danger. 
 
94 
 
 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 95 
 
 I should as soon expect to be attacked by a 
 ground squirrel as a gopher. The Incident 
 just related, though however surprisingly 
 strange it may seem, was witnessed and cor- 
 roborated. 
 
 Coons, skunks and ground squirrels are 
 about the only other wild animals to be found 
 or seen about the park. Of the first men- 
 tioned, it is seldom one is so bold as to show 
 itself during the daytime. Occasionally one is 
 seen prowling about the place in the night- 
 time, but indisputable evidence of their being 
 among the inhabitants of the park are their 
 numerous footprints made in the dust of road- 
 ways and paths. One of the employees of the 
 Club, who was quite expert in trapping ani- 
 mals, last season caught a number of coons, 
 one of which was an albino. The ordinary 
 markings of a coon are gray body and black 
 and white face, but this particular animal was 
 all white and the parts that were commonly 
 black were the whitest. The other parts were 
 almost a yellowish or a dirty white. These 
 changes in the color of the animal so altered 
 its general appearance it was some time before 
 anyone identified its true character when ex- 
 hibited at the club. 
 
 Skunks are an extremely unpopular race of 
 animals. So much so that very few people know 
 what they look like. If one can be induced to 
 lay aside his prejudice it is then possible for 
 him to appreciate the fact that these animals 
 are unusually attractive in appearance. If it 
 were not for the obnoxious smell that they 
 occasionally distribute about places and at 
 times when least desired or expected, they 
 would be called or classed as being among the 
 most beautiful of all our wild animals. They 
 are shapely and strikingly marked in black 
 and white, and carry themselves with grace, 
 dignity and an independence that seems in- 
 spired by a consciousness of the possession of 
 a weapon of defense and offense, for which 
 the rest of animal life has a wholesome respect, 
 if not fear. I have never been able to put a 
 skunk to flight in a more rapid pace than a 
 deliberate walk and even then the order of 
 its moving off was always a matter of its own 
 choosing. From what I have seen of the habits 
 of these animals I think there is no danger of 
 a person being assailed in the manner which 
 they are so commonly thought to act, unless 
 they are first attacked. They are not vicious 
 and are easily tamed but probably will never 
 make popular pets. 
 
 A half-grown one remained about the 
 grounds of our place at Diablo for several 
 days. It would come up to the back door and 
 eat out of the same dish with four young cats. 
 The cats and skunk got along together with- 
 out the appearance of the slightest disagree- 
 ment. The morning when I first detected the 
 presence of the animal, by slowly edging up to 
 where it was feeding I was able to approach 
 within six feet of it. It then began to exhibit 
 signs of objection to any further attempt to 
 closer familiarity on my part. It backed a 
 short distance with its head and face turned 
 my way, then suddenly it jumped a few inches 
 toward me with its front paws sticking out 
 straight and striking the ground with them, 
 
 to let me know it was getting angered. Sev- 
 eral other kinds of animals express a rising 
 and dangerous temper by striking the ground 
 with one or both of their front feet, but I was 
 somewhat surprised to observe the skunk act- 
 ing in this manner. It made several such 
 jumps at different times during the day while 
 I was endeavoring to cultivate its acquaintance 
 and trying to take its picture with my camera. 
 It was when I pointed the instrument at it 
 that it displayed the most temper, and I con- 
 fess to a little nervousness, but nothing hap- 
 pened. However, I saw the little animal but 
 once thereafter. 
 
 Besides annoying some of the families resid- 
 ing in the park grounds and who keep chickens, 
 the greatest damage for which these animals 
 are responsible is digging little holes in the 
 lawns and putting-greens of the golf course in 
 their search for grubs, or larvae, to be found 
 in damp soil. Though occasionally there is 
 just cause for complaint for their polution of 
 the nigth air, which ordinarily is so soft, pure 
 and enjoyable. Since the pelts of these ani- 
 mals have become so valuable and so many 
 have been trapped hereabouts, there has been 
 but little to complain of even in this matter. 
 
 About the most numerous of all wild life in 
 and around the park or club grounds are the 
 ground squirrels. This seems quite remarkable 
 from the fact that ten years or so ago a war 
 of extermination was declared against the 
 rodents after the discovery that they were car- 
 riers of the disease germs known as the 
 bubonic plague. They were shot, asphyxiated 
 and poisoned by agents working systematically 
 under the direction of government and county 
 officials, to say nothing of what the owners 
 of infested land did to the squirrels to protect 
 their crops. These campaigns at the time 
 seemed effective and were carried on season 
 after season until it was difficult to find a 
 squirrel in the localities where the offensive 
 operations were conducted. Through inability 
 to secure or enforce cooperation of the land- 
 owners with the officials, the infested sections 
 were not thoroughly gone over. A colony here 
 and there was passed by. These, with the few 
 that escaped the deadly fumes of carbon bi- 
 sulphide, the poison and the shotguns, have 
 been sufficient to restore the numbers of 
 squirrels in some of the depopulated districts 
 where the war of extermination has not been 
 rigidly maintained. This part of Contra Costa 
 county appears to be one of these districts. 
 
 Going over a low hill near the last green 
 of the golf course I suddenly intruded upon a 
 colony of fifty or more squirrels out feeding, 
 playing or sunning themselves in a space of 
 not more than an acre of ground. One old 
 squirrel quickly gave utterance to several loud, 
 sharp squeaks, which an imaginative hearer 
 might have interpreted as "Beat it! Beat it! 
 Beat it!" Whether the interpretation was cor- 
 rect or not, whatever it said was an effective 
 signal of warning, for in less time than it takes 
 to say it, every squirrel was scurrying to a 
 hole. Under such circumstances the animals 
 do not seem particular about what hole they 
 
96 
 
 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 go into. When rather closely pressed I have 
 seen them take to the large, deep cracks in 
 adobe land. / 
 
 The ground squirrels are a serious pest to 
 the farmers in many parts of the state, in that 
 they consume quite a percentage of the crops 
 before they can be harvested. They also 
 damage stock ranges in some sections by their 
 numberless burrows and by feeding on the 
 grass seeds. Government officials conducting 
 the war on the rodents have collected some 
 very interesting statistics in relation to this 
 matter. In sections of the state where they 
 had been operating for several seasons, they 
 secured statements of the owners of several 
 farms showing the gross receipts of farm prod- 
 ucts for a term prior to the beginning of the 
 attempt to exterminate the squirrels, and then 
 statements from the same farmers for the term 
 following or after the lands had been thor- 
 oughly cleared of the pests. The gain to the 
 farmers was surprisingly large and fully 
 demonstrated that they had been suffering 
 losses that could be obviated by exterminating 
 the squirrels. 
 
 The genial climate of the Park district has 
 not been overlooked by insect life common to 
 our part of the country. Such orders as seem 
 adapted to the conditions here are generally 
 to be found well represented in large numbers. 
 As a consequence the grounds are at times 
 visited by various insectiverous birds. Flocks 
 of blue birds are to be seen at almost any hour 
 and nearly every day upon some part of the 
 fairway of the golf course. "What particular 
 insect, or insects, they feed upon I have, so 
 far, been unable to determine. Recently while 
 watching the actions of some of these birds 
 I saw a bird suddenly fly upward from the 
 ground in chase after a large locust or what 
 is commonly styled a grasshopper. The re- 
 markable thing about the incident was the 
 unusual height to which the insect flew and 
 its darting first one way and then another in 
 its effort to escape its feathered enemy. 
 Though the bluebird was quick on the wing 
 and closely followed the dips and turns of 
 the locust, the latter finally succeeded in 
 avoiding it and escaped. The actions of both 
 bird and insect seemed to be prompted by 
 something more than instinct. 
 
 Species of what Fabre styles the Hunting 
 Wasps are very common in the park. One 
 of the most interesting of these insects be- 
 longs to the Pompilidae family, which 
 specializes on spiders as game. They are in- 
 teresting not only for their large size and 
 beauty, but their intelligent actions. Their 
 Jet black bodies with orange colored wings 
 and long legs give them a striking appearance, 
 frequently attracting the attention of people 
 not specially interested in insect life and 
 prompting them to inquire as to what they 
 are. After the sun has risen high enough 
 above the eastern horizon to give a temperature 
 agreeable to the wasps, a short walk in almost 
 any part of the grounds at the proper season 
 is almost certain to bring to one's notice one 
 or more of the big fellows either flying around 
 rather close to the ground or walking rapidly 
 about hunting for spiders. While observing 
 
 the thoroughness of search they make for vic- 
 tims, under fallen leaves, in cracks and holes 
 in the earth, in bits of accumulated rubbish or 
 grass, omitting no place in which a spider 
 could hide, my mind would revert to the sim- 
 ilarity of their actions to those of a good pointer 
 or setter dog working among a bevy of quail 
 scattered and under cover in low brush, ferns 
 and rocks. Both show their eagerness in the 
 hunt, proximity of quarry and excitement that 
 follows by the manner of their agitating cer- 
 tain appendages. With the dog it is his tail, 
 with the wasp it is the antennae on the op- 
 posite end of the creature. 
 
 The largest of this wasp family will attack 
 tarantulas, and nearly always succeeds in over- 
 coming the huge spiders, though sometimes 
 the latter becomes the victor, in which case 
 the tables are literally turned and the wasp is 
 served up as food for the winner. 
 
 A very prettily marked wasp with slender 
 waist and lengthy legs that belongs to the 
 genus Sceiiphron is another spider hunter 
 that can be seen on warm days by anyone 
 who knows where to look for it. It will take 
 only a certain kind of small grass spider, 
 though spiders of other descriptions may be 
 more numerous. While I do not make this 
 statement as resulting from my own observa- 
 tions I can say I have examined a great many 
 nests of this wasp and I never found any 
 other than the little grass spiders in them. 
 
 These wasps are the most common of our 
 "mud-daubers." Their nests constructed of 
 mud consisting of from three to a dozen cells 
 are ordinarily found about sheds and build- 
 ings in the country. I have watched them 
 build the nests admiring their mechanical 
 skill, especially when considering the paucity 
 of tools to work with. The work is wholly 
 done with their mouth parts aided by their 
 legs, particularly their front pair. The same 
 parts are used in gathering the clay or mud. 
 I found a place this summer that yielded the 
 kind of material the wasps wanted in the 
 construction of their nests, and I passed con- 
 siderable time on various occasions observing 
 their actions at the mud hole and their man- 
 ner of gathering the mud. Sometimes there 
 would be as many as five or six wasps in the 
 muddy depression. After selecting a spot 
 from which to dig up their loads the wasps 
 would scrape up the moist earth with their 
 mandibles, pushing it under their "chins" 
 where the stuff was held by the pair of front 
 legs until pellets as large or larger than goose 
 shot were accumulated. Apparently the 
 load was then seized with the mandibles, and 
 with the aid of the front or anterior pair of 
 legs carried away to the place where the cells 
 were being constructed. I think I was most 
 interested in the variation of the actions of 
 the different wasps in making selections of the 
 mud they needed. Some were quick to find 
 it, others took more time, while a few were 
 so particular that they ran all around the 
 depression, testing this place and that seem- 
 ingly being very difficult to satisfy. In the 
 meantime the first mentioned would make a 
 trip or two, as they returned directly to the 
 spot from which they had been taking the 
 
WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 97 
 
 wet clay. While gathering the material some 
 of them kept up a humming or buzzing noise 
 which they seemed to make in some other 
 way than with their wings. I could not de- 
 tect the slightest vibration of their wings. 
 However, my failure to note any movement 
 of the wings, did not fully satisfy me that 
 those appendages were not the instruments 
 used in producing the noise. 
 
 While observing the actions of the little 
 winged visitors to the mud hole, I saw only 
 one other species of the mud-daubers there. 
 It was blue-black and somewhat smaller than 
 the prefty yellow and black wasp whose oper- 
 ations have just been described, but its 
 method of work in gathering the material was 
 not unlike that of its larger relative. 
 
 The red-headed woodpeckers are among 
 the most numerous birds about the club 
 grounds. They can be seen at almost any 
 hour of the day and in almost any kind of 
 weather, making their peculiar dipping 
 flights about the park or from one oak to 
 another. Their harsh but not disagreeable 
 notes continuously greet the ear. They are 
 busy birds, when not pilfering in the almond 
 and fruit orchards they are hammering holes 
 into the dead branches of the big oak trees. 
 The rapidity of the blows remind one of the 
 operation of a machine hammer. The only 
 people who regard them with any unfriendly 
 feeling are the orchardists who charge the 
 birds with taking more than their share of 
 the nut and fruit crops. 
 
 For some years past the yellow-hammer's, 
 or flickers, have been very numerous here, 
 but for some unaccountable reason very few 
 are to be seen this year. This bird belongs 
 to the woodpecker family but is considerably 
 larger than its red-headed cousin. When 
 present in such large numbers they were 
 commonly regarded as a nuisance. They 
 were not only destructive to fruit on the trees 
 but were continually boring holes under the 
 eaves of all the houses. As the holes were 
 large and numerous the owners of the houses 
 were not pleased with the unornamental 
 work of the birds. No more effort to drive 
 the birds away was made last season than had 
 been attempted in the previous years; so 
 their departure for other scenes and to other 
 parts seems to have been wholly voluntary, 
 but like the cat they may come back. 
 
 The bird life of our state is well represented 
 here, but of all the birds to be seen in and 
 about the park, the humming birds, perhaps, 
 attract the most attention from visitors of the 
 Club. It is a common thing to see a hum- 
 ming bird, here and there, in almost any part 
 of our state, but it is unusual to find them 
 congregated in such numbers as are frequently 
 witnessed in the flower gardens of the Club, 
 especially when the salvia plants are in blos- 
 som. The bright scarlet flowers seem to 
 have more than ordinary attraction for the 
 little birds, for while the salvia is in bloom 
 they show no interest in the other flowers 
 which are there in profusion. I have noticed 
 elsewhere this preference for red flowers 
 manifested by the humming birds; so this in- 
 stance at Diablo is not exceptional. A large 
 
 bed of salvia was located near the front en- 
 trance to the club house where members and 
 visitors were passing continually to and fro, 
 but the beautiful little creatures seemed to 
 have little fear of human kind. No matter 
 how many people were about the birds would 
 be darting from flower to flower, or hovering 
 over blossoms seeking their sweets with their 
 long slender bills, or be perched on some 
 projecting leaf or little branch where the 
 glint of the sunlight added to the display of 
 their brilliant coats. It was no trouble to 
 approach within six or seven feet of the birds 
 and sometimes with a little care much less. 
 
 While different kinds of humming birds have 
 been noted hereabouts the birds visiting the 
 club gardens appeared to be largely of one 
 species, known as the ruby-throated humming 
 bird. 
 
 The blackheaded grossbeak and bullock 
 oriole appear in the park grounds in large 
 numbers every spring. These ' birds of beau- 
 tiful plumage remain with us while nesting 
 and rearing their young. Their singing is the 
 most musical of all the bird voices heard here 
 and attract the attention of nearly all visitors. 
 
 In addition to about forty different resident 
 birds, a variety of other species of the 
 featherd tribe visit the park at different sea- 
 sons of the year. Of the visitants, the Pileo- 
 lated warbler, with the scientific name of 
 Wilsonia pusilla pi loo lata, is probably the 
 most notable. Not on account of size, how- 
 ever, for it is a small bird. The feature 
 making its visits conspicuous is the enormous 
 number that gather here. They come in the 
 spring when the flower and leaf buds on the 
 elm trees begin to open, and remain until the 
 blossoming period closes. I have never seen 
 any of the birds about the park prior to the 
 event mentioned, and soon after the elm 
 blossoms wither and fall the birds disappear. 
 
 There are quite a number of the elm trees. 
 They were planted many years ago along a 
 roadway of the grounds' for a distance of 
 over half a mile. Apparently the nectar of 
 the tree blossoms attract certain insects 
 which in turn attracts the birds, they being of 
 the insectivorous class. I have observed the 
 presence of the visitors in the spring of the 
 last three years, and on each occasion the 
 number was about the same. Each elm tree 
 would be filled with the little beauties m 
 ceaseless activity from morning until night. 
 The birds would flit from one branch to 
 another and from one blossom to another 
 until it appeared as if every possible flower 
 must be visited time and time again during 
 the day. On several occasions I endeavored 
 to make an exact count of the number of 
 birds in a single tree, but their active move- 
 ments made it impossible. I could only esti- 
 mate the number by making several counts in 
 a small portion of a tree. In this way I reached 
 the conclusion that there were at least eighty 
 birds on an average to each of the elm trees, 
 As there were fifty-two trees I concluded 
 there were somewhere near 4000 of these 
 sweet little songsters, that remained all day 
 long in the trees described. At about half- 
 past eight o'clock in the mornings they be- 
 
98 
 
 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 gan to sing and continued the warblings until 
 a late hour in the afternoon. These daily bird 
 musicales were on a scale that is seldom one's 
 good fortune 'o be a listener to. A street 
 with blocks of canary bird stores facing each 
 side would no more than rival the bird 
 melody in volume and sweetness that was 
 produced by these songsters in their free and 
 wild state. 
 
 These birds are about the size of the Gold 
 Finch or Wild Canary so common about this 
 
 part of the country. The black and yellow 
 markings on the males of both species are 
 somewhat similar. In fact the similarity in 
 size and coloring is sufficient to mislead all 
 but students of bird life in identifying the 
 warbler when it visits our section, but its song 
 is very different and when heard at once 
 marks it a stranger. Besides the Gold Finch 
 is a seed eating bird, while the warbler feeds 
 on insects and is classed as a fly-catcher. 
 
 LAKE OF THE DIABLO COUNTRY CLUB, SHOWING THE BATH HOUSE 
 
 AND PLATFORM 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 A PLUCKY WASP 
 
 An Example of the Value of Persistent Effort in the Accomplishment 
 
 of a Difficult Feat 
 
 At Brookdale, Santa Cruz county, Calif., on 
 one of those afternoons in the month of 
 April when the freshness of nature and a 
 balmy air call all forms of life into activity, 
 some members of my family started out for 
 a walk, while I remained on the banks of the 
 San Lorenzo, whipping the stream for a few 
 trout for the next day's breakfast. The river 
 bank at this particular locality formed the 
 front door yard of our home. The folks 
 had not proceeded far when they discovered 
 on the roadside a spider wasp that had cap- 
 tured a spider of about twice its size and 
 was dragging it along the ground. Knowing 
 my interest in the life history of members of 
 the wasp family and realizing their discovery 
 was that of an important proceeding in the 
 perpetuation of the specie of this particular 
 wasp, I was quickly summoned. Laying aside 
 my rod I joined the party at the roadside. 
 
 On this spot the road was graded two feet 
 or more below the level of the ground on 
 either side, leaving almost perpendicular banks 
 of earth. The run off of storm water had 
 cut or worn somewhat of a gully along the 
 base of the bank on the north side in the 
 bottom of which was gravel and cobble stones. 
 Here and there in the face of the bank there 
 were holes with about the diameter of a lead 
 pencil. The relation of these details are 
 necessary to a clear understanding of the de- 
 scription of what was taking place. 
 
 When first discovered, the wasp, which was 
 one of those with blue black wings and a 
 dark red body about three-quarters of an 
 inch long, was dragging a large, limp and 
 apparently lifeless spider towards the road- 
 side bank in which were the holes mentioned. 
 The wasp was walking backwards, dragging 
 its victim by one of its legs over the rough 
 bottom of the little gully. Reaching a cer- 
 tain point under one of the holes, it im- 
 mediately started backing up the bank with 
 its load. 
 
 To us, somewhat acquainted with the habits 
 of wasps, it was apparent that its objective 
 was one of the "larger holes about eighteen 
 inches up from the base of the bank; but it 
 did not seem possible that the little wasp 
 would ever succeed in elevating the bulky 
 spider to that point or even to a less height 
 for that matter. The wall up which it was 
 climbing was filled with little projecting 
 stones and rootlets, which greatly added to 
 the difficulties of the wasp. These obstacles 
 would catch the loose legs or body of the 
 spider and hold it until the wasp by repeated 
 tugging from varied positions would succeed 
 in releasing her prize. 
 
 The interferences were overcome one by 
 one until a small shelving projection of earth 
 was reached. Here Mrs. Wasp dropped her 
 load and went running around the face of 
 the small cliff, nosing about as if in search 
 of something or to get the bearings of her 
 destination. Seemingly she satisfied herself, 
 whatever her purpose may have been, for 
 she returned to the place where she had left 
 the helpless spider, to find that in her 
 absence it had rolled off the shelf and had 
 fallen to the bottom of the gully. 
 
 The wasp seemed to know at once what had 
 happened, for she quickly followed down and 
 after a brief hunt found the spider, and im- 
 mediately seized it by a leg and started up 
 the bank again, going backwards towards the 
 same point as before. This time she reached 
 a spot about eighteen inches from the base 
 of the bank, where the holes previously 
 mentioned were located. One of the larger 
 holes opened among some small roots that pro- 
 jected and hung down from the face of the 
 bank, and in front of the entrance there was 
 a very narrow and sloping shelf. This hole 
 proved to be the entrance to her nest and in 
 which she intended to deposit the spider. 
 
 Having dragged the victim, up the bank 
 after much trouble and exertion to a place 
 within a couple of inches of the hole and 
 among the little roots, she released her hold 
 while she went to the hole, possibly to see if 
 everything was all right to receive the spider. 
 She entered the hole but quickly reappeared 
 and then started for the place where she had 
 left the spider, but it was not there, for dur- 
 ing the absence of the wasp the spider slipped 
 off and fell once more to the bottom of the 
 bank. She did not spend more than a second 
 or two searching about for her game to 
 make sure she had not overlooked it. Satis- 
 fying herself it was gone she knew just 
 where to find it, for she flew down to the 
 gully almost to the exact spot where the 
 spider lay. 
 
 Perhaps it would add more interest to the 
 story if I should explain here for those who 
 are not acquainted with the habits of the wasp 
 family, that the purpose of the wasp in cap- 
 turning the spider was to provide food for its 
 young. Upon catching a spider the wasp 
 stabs it with her stinger until it is paralyzed 
 and helpless or is killed. The victim is taken 
 to the nest or cell provided for its reception. 
 There the wasp lays an egg which she at- 
 taches to a favorable spot on the spider so 
 the baby wasp as soon as it is hatched can 
 begin feeding on it. Ordinarily as soon as 
 the egg laying is finished the wasp comes out 
 
100 
 
 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 
 
 ? ,/ W- 
 
 PLUCKY WASP— DRAGGING A CAPTURED SPIDER UP HILL TO ITS NEST 
 
WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 101 
 
 of the nest, which if in the earth like the 
 one connected with the incidents of this story, 
 she then scratches in sufficient dirt to plug 
 up the entrance and removes all evidence of 
 the near-by nest. The egg may hatch within 
 three or four days. The larva, however, is 
 left to itself to feed on the spider until it is 
 ready to enter the pupa stage, from which 
 in due time it emerges a mature wasp. 
 
 The mother wasp repeats the operation 
 several times in the course of the season. Just 
 how often it is not well known — then her 
 life's work is done. 
 
 Now let me return to the operations of our 
 wasp. Reaching the spider she at once seized 
 it as before and started up the bank. Al- 
 though going backwards she had no trouble 
 in keeping the proper directions. She en- 
 countered several obstacles as on the previous 
 occasions, but finally reached her hole, into 
 which she backed. The spider was drawn 
 only partly into the entrance. Here she either 
 purposely released her hold while she went 
 back into the nest to see if everything was all 
 right, or lost it by the spider jamming in the 
 hole. However it Was, the spider upon being 
 released fell back and rolled down the bank 
 again. The wasp soon came out and as be- 
 fore seemed to know what had happened, for 
 without delay she flew down to the bottom 
 of the bank and recovered her game. She 
 at once began the labor of taking it ud the 
 cliff without exhibiting the least sign of dis- 
 couragement, but the result of this trip was 
 a failure as with the other attempts. 
 
 The tenacity of purpose of this little insect 
 bordered on the marvelous, for she made six 
 more failures before success crowned her 
 persistent efforts. Each of these succeeding 
 trips up the bank with the huge limp body 
 of the spider was like the preceding attempts, 
 except twice the spider in falling dropped 
 down out of sight between some cobble stones. 
 The wasp seemed to be unable to recover it, 
 so we took it out of the crevice and laid it on 
 a smooth place in plain sight, where she 
 quickly found it. Once she took the spider 
 to a place about two inches above the entrance 
 to her nest and* hung it in a mass of little 
 rootlets that projected from the face of the 
 bank while she made the inspection visit to 
 her nest preparatory to taking the victim in. 
 When she came back she made the mistake 
 of seizing her prize from below. A few quick 
 tugs loosened the spider and its greater weight 
 jerked the wasp from her foothold, but not 
 her mouthhold. for the two went rolling down 
 the bank together and when they reached the 
 bottom the wasp still had a firm grasp of one 
 of the legs of the spider. 
 
 On the final trip the wasp took the victim 
 to the spot two inches above the entrance of 
 her nest and left it as she did on the occasion 
 just related. This time upon her return she 
 did not attempt to move it as she did then, 
 but went to the upper side of the spider and 
 lifted it free of the rootlets and lowered it 
 to a place adjoining the entrance of the nest, 
 where by the aid of an outhanging rootlet 
 she found a temporary resting place for the 
 bulky game while she made another trip to 
 the interior of the nest. 
 
 Just why the wasps of this character follow 
 the practice of leaving their game near the 
 entrances of their nests while they make a 
 visit to the interior is not understood, unless 
 it is, as some observers and students of wasp 
 habits assume, for the purpose of seeing that 
 everything is all right for receiving the prize. 
 
 Accepting this theory as being correct then 
 our wasp must have found conditions favor- 
 able for the reception of the spider, for when 
 she came out she went directly to the prize 
 and seized it, not by the legs as she had been 
 doing, but this time by its hindmost part, the 
 apex of its abdomen. This change of method 
 in handling the game suggested that she knew 
 that the only way the spider could be hauled 
 into the nest was endwise; that by dragging 
 it by a leg would bring the body athwart the 
 entrance, making it impossible to pull it in. 
 It was plain now that she had conquered all 
 the difficulties that had interfered with her 
 depositing the prize in the nest after capture, 
 and further proceeding was a simple matter. 
 
 She walked backwards into the hole, pull- 
 ing the spider after her. As the body of the 
 latter began to disappear it was evident that 
 it was a "tight fit." In fact, it was so tight 
 that for a few seconds it looked as if the 
 bulky prize had blocked the entrance and 
 turned the tables on the wasp by imprison- 
 ing her in the nest. But not so, as little by 
 little the spider was disappearing into the 
 hole, gradually moving in response to the 
 tugging of the wasp and finally passing out 
 of sight. 
 
 I looked at my watch and saw that it was 
 quarter past three. From previous observa- 
 tion of the habits of other wasps of this 
 family I expected our wasp to lay an egg and 
 attach it to the lifeless body of the immured 
 spider and then return to the entrance of the 
 nest and plug or fill up the hole, and thus 
 remove all outward evidence of its existence. 
 After waiting five minutes I began to think 
 that probably the wasp had been unable to 
 pull the prize all the way down to the en- 
 larged cavity at the bottom of the nest and 
 was actually imprisoned. Ten. twenty, thirty 
 and finally forty minutes passed and no wasp 
 appeared. Was she unable to come out? 
 Knowing her remarkable powers in excavat- 
 ing earth and her strength in limb and body 
 I could not bring myself to that conclusion. 
 I thought it more probable, as it was now 
 nearly 4 o'clock and the chilly air of the 
 evening was coming on, the wasp had merely 
 suspended operations. 
 
 So it proved to be, as will be shown by 
 what followed. The next day I visited the 
 scene of operations and found the entrance 
 open just as we left it the previous day. and 
 it remained that way for five days more. The 
 weather during this period was cold, cloudy 
 and rainy. It is well known that wasps of 
 nearly all kinds are partial to warm weather 
 and disposed to remain "indoorb" while it is 
 cold and unpleasant outside. Now came a 
 bright and sunshiny day. Early in the fore- 
 noon we went to the nest and found Mrs. 
 Wasp at work sealing up the entrance. She 
 seemed to be working quite leisurely, con- 
 trary to the habit of her kind in this opera- 
 
102 
 
 • • 
 
 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 tion. We could not see how she was doing 
 the work, for she was operating from the in- 
 side and only a small part of her posterior 
 was visible. 
 
 We left the wasp at her work, but return- 
 ing in about an hour we found the hole com- 
 pletely filled even with the face of the bank, 
 and therefore were disappointed in not hav- 
 ing been able to witness this final operation. 
 
 Marking the spot for future observation 
 we left it undisturbed for a week. At the 
 end of this period we concluded to excavate 
 the nest and ascertain if possible what had 
 taken place within the depths. By carefully 
 cutting down the bank we found the hole en- 
 tered the earth on an incline of about 25 de- 
 grees to a depth of nearly five inches. We 
 found the remains of the spider in a rather 
 advanced stage of decomposition, indicating 
 that the wasp had killed it at the time of cap- 
 ture instead of paralyzing it. To our surprise 
 we found no larva. 
 
 Evidently the wasp had not deposited an 
 egg in the nest with the spider. However, 
 failures of this nature have been noted by 
 several students of the habits and actions of 
 the members of the wasp family. So the seem- 
 ing neglect of our wasp was not an exceptional 
 case, strange as it may appear that after all 
 the labor and trouble she had experienced in 
 preparing the nest, capturing the spider and 
 hoisting it to the cell she should then fail to 
 perform the one act for which all her work 
 and time expended was the sole purpose. 
 
 Another interesting incident witnessed while 
 watching the operations of the wasp was the 
 action of a small fly of the same species men- 
 tioned in the stories of the Digging Wasps. 
 From its actions it evidently was watching for 
 an opportunity to deposit some of its eggs on 
 the body of the spider. When the wasp was 
 struggling to place the spider in the hole the 
 fly remained perched on a rootlet near the 
 entrance turning this way and that way so 
 that it could see all that was taking place. 
 When the wasp would disappear in the hole 
 the fly would instantly hover over the mouth 
 
 of it, but retreat as quickly when the wasp 
 came out. The behavior of the bold little in- 
 sect clearly indicated that it fully understood 
 the object and purpose of the wasp as well 
 as recognized her dangerous character. The 
 wasp was so long engaged in the operation of 
 burying the spider that the fly probably be- 
 came impatient, for it went away before the 
 wasp succeeded in its efforts. 
 
 It is well known among entomologists that 
 the method attempted by the fly is one, if 
 not the only one, adopted by its species for the 
 perpetuation of its kind. The eggs of the fly 
 hatch quickly and the larvae appropriate the 
 provisions provided by the wasp. If the egg of 
 the latter hatches the larva also becomes a 
 victim in satisfying the voracious appetites of 
 the growing fly babies. 
 
 This wasp belongs to the division known as 
 Psamimocharidae, all members of which prey 
 chiefly on spiders. There are several species 
 of which the Tarantula hawk, or Pepsis, is 
 one. This is a giant among the wasps and 
 preys upon Tarantulas, the giants of the spider 
 race. 
 
 Since writing the foregoing I have had the 
 pleasure of reading Phil and Nellie Rau's 
 "Wasp Studies Afield" and found a story of 
 their observation of the actions of a spider 
 hunting wasp in disposing of a spider in a 
 hole in a bank, in Missouri, wherein the con- 
 ditions and circumstances were quite similar 
 to those related by me. In their case, however, 
 the wasp made twenty or more attempts before 
 it succeeded in getting its victim in the hole. 
 The method^ and actions of their wasp were 
 so nearly the same as the Brookdale wasp one 
 might be justified in assuming they were of 
 the same specie. 
 
 Priocnemls pompilus is the name given to 
 the wasp described by the Raus. Not having 
 collected any specimens of the Brookdale wasp 
 I am unable to give the species to which it 
 belongs or be more definite than to say the 
 one observed by me is a member of the 
 Psammocharidae family, as is the ine noted 
 by the Raus. 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 INSTINCT OR REASON 
 
 Discussion of an Old Question. Incidents of a Remarkable Character Cited 
 to Show a Higher Impulse to Action than Mere Instinct 
 
 Whether the actions of all forms of animal 
 life below mankind are guided by instinct or 
 directed through the possession of some de- 
 gree of mentality as well as instinct, is a 
 question discussed for ages past, and upon 
 which much has been written by distinguished 
 observers and students of Nature's work. For 
 many years of my younger life I was one of 
 the many, if not the majority, of people who 
 looked upon the lower forms of life as being 
 devoid of all consciousness, acting wholly 
 under an impulse of instinct, and it was not 
 until I had reached mature years, and ex- 
 perienced closer contact with Nature, and in- 
 dulged in deeper thought, that I came to a 
 modification of my views, and finally reached 
 the conclusion that there was a possibility if 
 not probability that all animal life except the 
 very lowest is endowed with more or less men- 
 tal power. 
 
 I take it that when we talk about animal 
 instinct we have in mind the definition given 
 the word by Webster here quoted: 
 
 "Instinct, noun, (1) Natural inward impulse; 
 unconscious, involuntary, or unreasoning 
 prompting to any mode of action, whether 
 bodily or mental, without a distinct apprehen- 
 sion of the end or object to be accomplished. 
 
 "(2) Zool, Specif., the natural unreasoning 
 impulse by which an animal is guided to per- 
 formance of any action, without thought of 
 improvement in the method." 
 
 Paley said, "An instinct is a propensity 
 prior to experience, and independent of in- 
 struction." 
 
 Whately said it "is a blind tendency to some 
 mode of action, independent of any considera- 
 tion on the part of the agent, of the end to 
 which the action leads." 
 
 It would seem to follow then that in what- 
 ever way instinctive action is manifested it 
 would with individuals of the same species 
 be the same in all cases under the same im- 
 pulses and circumstance. 
 
 Whether or not there exists in the lower 
 orders of animal life any degree of conscious- 
 ness and power of reasoning, it must be ad- 
 mitted, is a question not yet determined by any 
 findings or observation accepted as a scientific 
 fact. However, I am inclined to the thought 
 that the majority of thinkers are disposed to 
 a negative opinion holding that the acts of 
 the individuals of the lower form of life are 
 wholly instinctive without the guidance of 
 reason. 
 
 It seems to me that without the power of 
 reasoning the individual could have no con- 
 sciousness of its being or its existence, no 
 
 realization of suffering pain from inflicted in- 
 jury, nor could it entertain any apprehensions 
 of injury or fear of death. 
 
 If I could bring myself to this way of think- 
 ing I could resume the use of the rifle and 
 shotgun in quest of game with zest, enthusiasm 
 and that enjoyment of exhilarating sport that 
 comes to all field sportsmen. 
 
 Having indulged the hunting passion in me 
 from my boyhood days until very recent years, 
 my opportunity for the study and observation 
 of the habits and characteristics of numerous 
 forms of animal life has consequently been 
 somewhat extended, and the conclusions I 
 have reached and questions raised in my mind 
 are founded upon my experiences and obser- 
 vations, free of connection with any theoretical 
 dogma or sympathetic propaganda of dumb 
 animal protective associations. My conclu- 
 sions may be of no value. I know they are 
 unscientific, as they are in part no more than 
 deductions based on human experience. Be- 
 ing unable to communicate with animals we 
 can form opinions only from observed actions 
 measured by our own experiences. But this 
 statement should be attended with some 
 modification', for there is at least one con- 
 dition that may befall many forms of animal 
 life where an individual, afflicted by injury 
 or put in extreme distress, can and does utter 
 sounds that are unmistakable in giving ex- 
 pression to its sufferings, communicating the 
 fact to almost every living thing within the 
 reach of its voice. This truth had much to 
 do in rousing my thoughts and directing them 
 to consideration of this question. 
 
 When an animal is badly injured, or is 
 sore,ly distressed by circumstances that 
 threaten pain or death it usually utters 
 sounds that one may never have heard before, 
 but they are instantly recognized as expressive 
 of agony, distress and fear, and frequently 
 every other animal that hears the sound mani- 
 fests recognition of its meaning. A jack rab- 
 bit that ordinarily makes no vocal sounds 
 whatever, when in sore distress will utter 
 cries not unlike that of a child. There is no 
 mistaking the significance of such cries. The 
 "death cry" of a horse is wholly unlike any 
 sound uttered by it under ordinary conditions, 
 but humans and all other animals seem to 
 recognize and understand its meaning. Similar 
 peculiarities are found in birds as well as ani- 
 mals, something every boy who has robbed 
 birds' nests will verify. How quickly the cry 
 of distress of the mother birds excites all 
 other birds in the vicinity and brings them 
 circling around. This responsive action shows 
 
104 
 
 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 105 
 
 clearly a recognition of the meaning of the 
 notes of alarm and calls for help. 
 
 The cries of distress possibly may not arise 
 from any consciousness of feeling of pain or 
 alarm but be wholly instinctive manifestations 
 incited by the conditions. We have no way 
 of determining, but those of us who are in- 
 clined to attribute to the lower forms of life 
 some degree of rationality or brainpower and 
 consciousness of being that exists in humans, 
 are apt to have our sympathies excited, feeling 
 that the signals are something more than 
 simple instinctive utterances by creatures 
 endowed with life but without consciousness. 
 And when we come to consider the feature 
 of recognition of the meaning or significance 
 of the cries of distress by other animals and 
 birds are we not justified in assuming that 
 there is less room for difference of opinion? 
 Does not the word "recognition" as used here 
 imply mental action — a consciousness of 
 something unusual taking place — a sufficient 
 power of reasoning to interpret the sounds of 
 distress? And are not the frequent responsive 
 actions manifestations of emotion, affection, 
 sympathy or curiosity, which could only be 
 the result of brain action, involving a show of a 
 certain amount of intellectuality, reasoning 
 and judgment? 
 
 More than likely opponents would declare 
 in response to these queries, that they were 
 only "instinctive actions," but when we know 
 that instinctive action is involuntary, an im- 
 pulse that must find expression in the same 
 way under the same conditions < we find the 
 answer incomplete in explaining or accounting 
 for the varied actions of various animals or 
 birds in responding to sounds of distress. In 
 some instances the responders will attack the 
 cause, some bravely and others with less show 
 of courage, then again some will refrain from 
 attack if the cause is of a character that might 
 endanger their welfare. Here we have an 
 imitation of some of the peculiarities or 
 variation in human character, bravery, pru- 
 dence and cowardice. It may be said these 
 traits are instinctive. Admitted that some 
 men may be instinctively brave, others in- 
 stinctively prudent or cowardly — that is, the 
 primary impulse to the manifestation of such 
 traits of character, but the actions following 
 which vary according to conditions must be 
 directed by mind power, indicating rationality. 
 Unquestionably instinct plays a great part in 
 the actions of all forms of animal life and 
 greater in proportion as we descend the scale 
 of life; and in an action prompted by an 
 involuntary impulse (instinct) which ends in 
 some manifestation directed by reason it may 
 be difficult to determine where the former 
 ceased and the latter began, but the fact does 
 not seem to justify the assumption of total 
 absence of consciousness or reason. 
 
 Prof. Kellogg in his interesting book, 
 American Insects, asks the question: "Do the 
 termite or white ant, individuals of a com- 
 munity communicate with each other, or is 
 the whole life of the colony so inexorably 
 ruled by instinct that each individual works 
 out its part without personal reference to any 
 other individual, although with actual refer- 
 
 ence to all the other members of the colony?" 
 Without directly answering the question he 
 says: "It is pretty certain that termites have 
 a means of communicating by sounds, that the 
 existence of a tympanal auditory organ in the 
 tibiae of the front leg has been shown." If it 
 is established that these insects actually com- 
 municate with each other, and their actions 
 seem to indicate that they do, would not such 
 fact imply the possession of a power beyond 
 that of instinct — a degree of rationality — ability 
 to reason? If ruled by instinct alone there 
 would be no occasion to communicate with 
 each other. Each individual would work out 
 its part during life in the colony without en- 
 gaging in any communication. 
 
 Much has been written in the way of re- 
 cording incidents of apparent communication 
 between animals as well as between birds and 
 also insects. With the exception of some in- 
 stances where I have noticed dogs acting as 
 if information had passed from one to the 
 other. I am unable to contribute any incident 
 or fact from personal observation that would 
 tend to sustain the contention, other than 
 that which might be derived from the illus- 
 tration of the effect of cries of distress. 
 Nevertheless while I think some of the stories 
 are based more on imagination than war- 
 ranted by facts, I am inclined to the belief 
 that there is truth in some of the observa- 
 tions, and that individuals in the lower orders 
 of life where necessary and useful in carrying 
 out their part in the order of things, have 
 some way of communicating one with another. 
 For the purpose of this discussion it is im- 
 material what the means of communications 
 might be. whether the agency be touch, sound 
 or something else. All we want to know is 
 that individuals are influenced to acts by the 
 sounds uttered or by actions of other indi- 
 viduals. This would establish the possession 
 of communicative power which signifies the 
 existence of some degree of mentality. 
 
 It is no more than speculation to assume 
 that the lower forms of life in carrying out the 
 parts nature planned for their existence a»« 
 wholly under the guidance of instinct. This as- 
 sumption must be based on man's experience 
 in involuntary actions, impulsive acts without 
 distinct apprehension of the end or the object. 
 In other words, it is known from human ex- 
 periences that at times man acts instinctively, 
 therefore it is assumed that the acts of ani- 
 mals must be instinctive. The assumption 
 would be more logical if it were not attempted 
 to make instinct the sole guidance. In fact 
 it must be admitted that it is impossible to 
 account for some of the wonderful actions of 
 numerous beings, especially those well down 
 in the scale of animal life, without attributing 
 instinct as the motive power. 
 
 It is not unreasonable to suggest the pos- 
 sibility that animal instinct might be some- 
 thing deeper and broader in 5ts scope than the 
 instinct manifested by humans. Certainly ani- 
 mal life, more particularly as the scale is de- 
 scended, has greater need for it. We know that 
 in comparison many forms of lower life are 
 endowed with the senses of sight, smell, hear- 
 ing and touch, so far superior to anything 
 
106 
 
 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 
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 107 
 
 possessed by mankind that they appear 
 miraculous and may well be unbelievable with- 
 out witnessing some of the acts demon- 
 strating the truth of it. 
 
 However, the endowment of such instinct 
 does not of necessity preclude the possession 
 of some degree of intellect that gives con- 
 sciousness and impels rational actions. 
 
 By vivisection and the study of living frogs, 
 birds, etc., and certain mammals, biologists 
 have acquired much knowledge of the func- 
 tions of certain organs and actions of the cen- 
 tral nervous system in man. The study shows 
 us that all forms of animal life, including 
 humans, are created and maintained on the 
 same general principles from the inception to 
 the end of their existence. It is found that 
 the digestive organs all operate to the same 
 purpose whether in a beetle, fish, bird, rat, 
 horse or man. It is the same with the breath- 
 ing function and nerve ganglia. It is true 
 there are some creatures so far down in the 
 scale of life as to be devoid, or partially so, of 
 the mentioned organs, creatures so simply 
 constructed as to have no need for them. But 
 when we find forms of life possessing all the 
 organs possessed by man, including a brain, is 
 it not logical to assume that in a general way 
 the use and purpose of the brain in one is 
 the same in all? At the same time it should 
 be recognized that its functional power in the 
 matter of intellectuality and rationality is de- 
 veloped to a much higher degree in man than 
 in any other form of life. 
 
 It is true we are not justified in interpret- 
 ing all actions of the lower forms of life in 
 terms of our own experience and conscious- 
 ness, but when we witness performances 
 peculiar to individuals of a species manifesting 
 reason, judgment, and care outside of the 
 routine of instinctive acts, in full agreement 
 with our experiences under the same condi- 
 tions and for like purposes, it seems unrea- 
 sonable to believe that man alone is the only 
 animal possessing consciousness and the 
 power of reasoning. 
 
 Of all the published statements that I have 
 read of observations of the doings and life 
 histories of certain members of the wasp 
 family, the records by Geo. W. Peckham and 
 Elizabeth G. Peckham are the most complete, 
 instructive, reliable and unbiased. In using this 
 latter word I have in mind the publications of 
 Fabre, the famous French naturalist, on the 
 same subject, who could see in the wonderful 
 acts of these little insects only impulses of 
 instinct. Accordingly as he saw them all 
 were endowed with the same skill, accomplish- 
 ments and peculiarities of work, variations be- 
 ing shown only in different species. 
 
 However, the Peckhams say: "In this species 
 (Ammophila unaria). as in every one that we 
 have studied, we have found a most interest- 
 ing variation among different individuals, not 
 only in methods but in character and intel- 
 lect. While one was beguiled by every sorrel 
 blossom she passed, another stuck to her 
 work with indefatigable perserverance, while 
 one stung her caterpillar so carelessly and 
 made her nest in so shiftless a way her young 
 could only survive through some lucky chance. 
 
 another devoted herself to these duties not only 
 with conscientious thoroughness but with an 
 apparent craving after artistic perfection that 
 was touching to see." 
 
 Bearing out this statment, in the many pages 
 given by them in detailing the work and con- 
 duct of members of this wasp family, we find 
 a couple of paragraphs, illustrating their claim 
 from which the following are extracts: 
 
 "We had another much less worthy example, 
 one, indeed, that went to the extreme of care- 
 lessness. . . Her nest was a very poor affair 
 just beneath the surface, and after the cater- 
 pillar was carried in it was visible from above. 
 She filled the hole with loose particles of earth 
 and then scratched the surface of the ground 
 a little in a perfunctory sort of way, as differ- 
 ent as possible from the painstaking labor we 
 had been accustomed to see in her sisters." 
 
 "Just here must be told the story of one 
 little wasp whose individuality stands out in our 
 minds more distinctly than that of any of the 
 others. We remember her as the most fas- 
 tidious and perfect little worker of the whole 
 season, so nice was she in her adaption of 
 means to ends, so busy and contented in her 
 labor of love, and so pretty in her pride over 
 her completed work. In filling (closing) up 
 her nest she put her head down into it and bit 
 away the loose earth from the sides, letting it 
 fall to the bottom of the burrow, and then, 
 after a quantity had accumulated, jammed it 
 down with her head. Earth was then brought 
 from the outside and pressed in, and then more 
 was bitten from the sides. When, at last, the 
 filling was level with the ground, she brought 
 a quantity of fine grains of dirt to the spot 
 and picking up a small pebble in her mandl- 
 bels. used it as a hammer in pounding them 
 down with rapid strokes. Before we could 
 recover from our astonishment at this per- 
 formance she had dropped the stone and was 
 bringing more earth We threw ourselves 
 down on the ground that not a motion might 
 be lost, and in a moment we saw h<jr pick up 
 the pebble and again pound the earth into 
 place with it, hammering now here and now 
 there until all was level. Once more the whole 
 process was repeated, and then the little crea- 
 ture, all unconscious of the commotion that 
 she had aroused in our • minds, unconscious, 
 indeed, of our very existence and intent only 
 on doing her work and doing it well, gave one 
 final, comprehensive glance and flew away." 
 
 Dr. S. W. Williston of Kansas University a 
 year or so before was witness to a similar 
 act by an Ammophila and concluded his de- 
 scription of the incident by saying: "the things 
 that struck us as most remarkable were the 
 unerring judgment in the selection of a pebble 
 of precisely the right size to fit the entrance 
 and the use of a small pebble in smoothing 
 down and packing the soil over the opening, 
 together with the instinct that taught them 
 to remove every evidence that the earth had 
 been disturbed." 
 
 H. W. Bates relates the intelligent acts of a 
 certain wasp, the Monedula signata. which 
 convinced him that they were directed by a 
 reasoning power, and were more than an im- 
 pulse of instinct. Thomas Belt, another au- 
 
108 
 
 WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 thority, tells how a wasp, the Polistes carnifex, 
 cut a large caterpillar in two parts that it 
 might convey the game to its nest more 
 easily. He says: "Being at the cime amidst a 
 thick mass of fine-leaved climbing plant, it 
 proceeded, before flying away, to take note of 
 the place where it was leaving the other half. 
 To do this, it hovered in front of it for a 
 few seconds, then took small circles in front 
 of it, then larger ones around the whole plant. 
 I thought it had gone, but it returned again 
 and had another look at the opening down 
 which the other half of the caterpillar lay. 
 When the wasp came back and took the re- 
 maining part of the caterpillar, it did not stop 
 to make any survey of the place but flew direct 
 to its nest." 
 
 The Peckhams commenting on these inci- 
 dents say both of the above writers believe 
 that many of the actions of insects that are as- 
 cribed to instinct are really evidence of the 
 possession of a certain amount of reasoning 
 power. 
 
 Belt also noted in his studies and observa- 
 tion of the work of wasps in building and 
 provisioning their nests that some individuals 
 were much more clever in their operations 
 than others, as must be the case where reason 
 through intellectual power is the directing 
 force instead of instinct alone. Instinct only, 
 was Fabre's hobby and it was his argument 
 that under the same conditions and. in the 
 same occupation they would act exactly alike 
 and after having performed one duty of their 
 life cycle, could not be induced to repeat the 
 act. The observations and records of the au- 
 thorities quoted give numerous facts that are 
 inconsistent with the theory of the French 
 naturalist, and an incident, which I have de- 
 tailed in a previous chapter, that recently came 
 under my own observation also seems to con- 
 tradict his theory. This was the case where 
 the stem of a nest of Polistes had been broken 
 so that the nest remained suspended by only 
 a fibre. As soon as the wasps discovered the 
 damage they immediately proceeded to repair 
 the stem. In a few hours the work was thor- 
 oughly done and the nest was as firmly at- 
 tached to its base as ever. Now if the Polistes 
 were guided by instinct alone they would have 
 possessed no reasoning power to tell them of 
 the damage and danger to their habitation, or 
 inform them what was necessary to avert a 
 disaster. Recognition of the damage implies 
 a certain amount of intelligence and reasoning 
 power. If actuated by instinct alone and 
 possessing no power to reason, how could they 
 know that the nest was in danger of falling 
 and how could they be expected to repair what 
 instinct only impelled or required of them to 
 build once in their lives? As Fabre says in 
 his observation of the work of a mason bee 
 when he attempted to induce it to repair a cell, 
 that having complied with the demands of in- 
 stinct it had done the thing once and could 
 not be made to understand the necessity of 
 repeating the act. 
 
 Fabre in accrediting instinct as the sole 
 impulse guiding the acts of the wasp and 
 bees said that it was a marvelous force and 
 acts under it were unerring, and that in the 
 
 proficiency with which certain wasps used their 
 stings in capturing insects as provender for 
 their young they rivaled the skill and knowl- 
 edge of the best surgeons. They were always 
 unerring in stabbing their victims so as to 
 cause a paralyzed condition and not death, as 
 it was essential that the larvae which were to 
 feed on the helpless insects should have fresh 
 meat. 
 
 The observations of the Peckhams in this 
 country do not altogether agree with the con- 
 clusions of Fabre. They found almost uni- 
 versally in making a great many examinations 
 that some wasps were more clever than others 
 in inflicting the stab, and that some of even 
 the most skillful wasps sometimes caused death 
 instead of paralysis, and in several cases deaths 
 predominated, and moreover that "fresh meat" 
 did not appear essential to the growth and 
 maturity of the larvae, for they found them 
 feeding on dead insects with undiminished 
 appetities. The variation in skill is what 
 might be expected where intellect takes a part 
 with instinct as the guiding force. In saying 
 this it is not with the purpose of disparaging 
 to show that even a great naturalist may pos- 
 sibly have erred in the interpretation of some 
 of the acts of bees and wasps when making 
 studies and searching for testimony to sustain 
 a preconceived theory held in relation to in- 
 stinct and reason in the insect world. 
 
 Thp Peckhams in the records of the years 
 of study and observation devoted to the wasp 
 family, tell many interesting facts of the do- 
 ings of individuals of several species, and next 
 to the story of the Ammophila using the 
 "stone hammer," the facts related about the 
 wasp that occasionally hung its game in the 
 crotch of a plant when necessary to protect it 
 from ants while digging a nest, stand out as 
 some of the strongest bits of evidence that at 
 times at least, certain wasps act with intelli- 
 gence and as if inspired by reason. The wasp 
 credited with the exhibition of so much judg- 
 ment and care is known as Pompilus quin- 
 quenotatus who confines her search and cap- 
 ture to one certain kind of spider, the Epeira 
 strix. After the capture of a spider it is stung 
 which either causes its death or complete 
 paralysis. The Peckhams say: "A suitable 
 place for the nest being found the spider is 
 very prettily taken care of while the work is in 
 progress. A plant, usually a bean or a sorrel, 
 is chosen, and the spider is hung in the crotch 
 of a branching stem, where it will be safe 
 from the depredations of ants. This precau- 
 tion is not always taken. We have many times 
 seen the spider left on the ground, although 
 there were plenty of plants at hand." 
 
 This story points to another fact that in- 
 dividuals of the same specie do not do the 
 same thing in the same way under the same 
 conditions, as must be the case where instinct 
 and not reason is the guildlng force. 
 
 From another very interesting incident, in- 
 dicating rational intellect on the part of a 
 Pompilus Soelestus, a wasp of the Pompilidae 
 family, recorded by the Peckhams, we take 
 the following: 
 
 "It was half-past one wh^n she suddenly 
 appeared near the nest coming backward 
 
WILD LIFE IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 109 
 
 through the fence, and dragging a large 
 Lycosid (a spider). This she laid down close 
 by and began to bite at the legs quite after the 
 manner of the wasp we had seen the year be- 
 fore. Her movements were full of nervous ex- 
 citement, in marked contrast to those of the 
 previous day. Presently she went to look at 
 her nest, and seemed to be struck with a 
 thought that had already occurred to us — that 
 it was decidedly too small to hold the spider. 
 Back she went for another survey of her bulky 
 victim, measuring it with her eye, without 
 touching it, drew her conclusions, and at once 
 returned to the nest and began to make it 
 larger. We have several times seen wasps en- 
 large their holes when a trial had demon- 
 strated that the spider would not go in, but 
 ♦his seemed a remarkably intelligent use of 
 the comparative faculty. . . . While she 
 was thus employed the spider was attacked by 
 a very tiny red ant that could not by any 
 possibility have moved it. When the wasp 
 caught sight of this insignificant marauder 
 sne fell into a fit of wild fury, and bending 
 her abdomen under, seized the ant again and 
 again in her mandibles and flung it backward 
 against the tip of her sting. The little creature 
 finally escaped, seeming none the worst for 
 ♦he rough handling to which it had been sub- 
 jected, while the wasp, still trembling with 
 excitement, grasped her spider and rushed off 
 to a distance of several feet, carrying it up on 
 a weed and depositing it there." The wasp then 
 resumed her work at the nest and when in 
 about a half hour it was sufficiently enlarged 
 to allow the spider to be taken into it, she went 
 to the weed where she had hung 'up her game 
 to protect it from ants, took it down and into 
 the nest, and then closed up the entrance by 
 scratching back the earth that had been taken 
 out in excavating the hole. 
 
 A volume might be written embracing the 
 details of acts on the part of individuals be- 
 longing to higher orders of life, indicating 
 beyond question the endowment of intellect 
 and that reason to some extent was the guiiing 
 force. Such stories might relate more to the 
 doings of domesticated animals and birds, but 
 that fact should not detract from the claim 
 of existence of reason. With the same oppor- 
 tunity for observation in wild life undoubtedly 
 much would be seen that would confirm the 
 belief that the brain in the lower forms of 
 animal life was designed by nature to fulfill 
 in a measure at least the same purposes as 
 the brain in the highest form of life. All 
 forms of animal life above the worm and sim- 
 ilar forms are constructed on the same general 
 plan, and supposedly all originated from one 
 
 common source. It seems irrational, there- 
 fore, to deny the possession of functional power 
 of an organ in one division of life which is so 
 commonly known in all others, and so import- 
 ant and essential to the well-being and pro- 
 gress of all. 
 
 Of course I do not credit to animals or wasps 
 any such degree of reasoning or intelligence 
 as that enjoyed by mankind. It ought to be 
 unnecessary to say it. However, it seems plain 
 to me that the power of reason is manifested, 
 in degree, as we go down the scale of life until 
 we reach the very lowest forms where, in the 
 absence of a brain, it is wholly replaced by 
 instinct as a guiding force. Instinct probably 
 warns the worm of an impending danger; it 
 contracts itself, but has not mentality to direct 
 other action to avoid it. Instinct is an im- 
 pulse to action, and reason the force to guide 
 it when choice of direction is required. In the 
 highest forms of life reason is supreme and 
 instinct cuts a small figure as a guiding force, 
 but this order of things changes as we drop 
 down the scale of life until we reach a point 
 where it is reversed, and where instinct is 
 developed to a degree as amazing in its won- 
 derful scope and marvelous in its accomplish- 
 ments as is reason and intellect at the other 
 end of the scale in the highest form of life, 
 mankind. I found in one of the books of the 
 eminent English naturalist, Thomas Belt, that 
 the author had been prompted to give his views 
 on this subject after observing a wasp capture 
 an insect, then put it in a place of security 
 temporarily. After describing the actions of 
 the wasp in familiarizing herself with the 
 locality, Mr. Belt says: "Such action is not 
 the result of blind instinct but of a thinking 
 mind; and it is wonderful to see an insect so 
 differently constructed using a mental process 
 similar to that of man. It is suggestive of the 
 probability of many of the actions of insects, 
 that we ascribe to instinct, being the result of 
 the possession of reasoning powers." 
 
 In another place in his book Mr. Belt says: 
 "Can it not be contended that such insects 
 (ants) are able to determine by reasoning 
 powers which is the best way of doing a thing, 
 and their actions are guided by thought and 
 reflection? This view is very much strength- 
 ened by the fact that cerebral gangia in ants 
 are more developed than in any other insect 
 and that in all the Hymenoptera, at the head 
 of which they stand, 'they are many times 
 larger than in the less intelligent order, such 
 as beetles.' " 
 
 The quotation within the concluding quota- 
 tion is from Darwin's "Descent of Man." 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
 Chapter Page 
 
 I. The Desert of Southern California 5 
 
 II. The Hated Invader 25 
 
 HI. The Black Widow 33 
 
 IV. Nesting in a Bottle 39 
 
 V. Interesting Experiences 45 
 
 VI. Carpenter Bees 47 
 
 VII. In the Wilds of Mendocino 51 
 
 VIII. Diablo Canyon 63 
 
 IX. Astute Beetles and Wasps 67 
 
 X. Stories About Digging Wasps 73 
 
 XL Wonders of the Leaf 81 
 
 XII. The Battle of Life 88 
 
 XIII. Wild Life 93 
 
 XIV. A Plucky Wasp 99 
 
 XV. Instinct or Reason 103 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Drawings by the Author. 
 
 Page 
 
 The Author's Quarters While in Palm Springs 4 
 
 In Palm Canyon 10 
 
 Andreas Canyon 10 
 
 The Desert, near Palm Springs 14 
 
 The Palm Canyon Nature Man 14 
 
 Waterfall, Tahquitz Canyon, near Palm Springs 18 
 
 Barrel Cactus, near Palm Springs 18 
 
 The "Desert Canary," near Palm Springs 22 
 
 San Jacinto Range, facing the Desert 22 
 
 Honey Ant, as it Appears when Inflated with Honey, Stored for Future Use. . . 24 
 
 The Male Form of the Argentine Ant 26 
 
 The Queen 28 
 
 The Worker of the Argentine Ants. From Drawing by Miss Charlotte M. King 30 
 
 The Black Widow Catches Flies with Her Hind Feet 32 
 
 The Black Widow in Captivity 34 
 
 The Head of the Kissing Bug 36 
 
 The Reduviidae — The Kissing Bug 38 
 
 Baby Wasp 40 
 
 The Wasp Nest in the Bottle • .42 
 
 The Skunk that Raided and Destroyed the Wasp Nest in the Bottle 43 
 
 Carpenter Bee — Natural Size 46 
 
 Dead Tree Stump, Showing Occupancy by Carpenter Bees 48 
 
 Deerwood 50 
 
 Flag-Raising at Deerwood 52 
 
 Looking Out the Ampitheatre, Deerwood 52 
 
 House at Deerwood 54 
 
 Tumble Bug Rolling its Pill 54 
 
 Bee Tunnels 56 
 
 Bombardier Beetle " 58 
 
 Valley at the Head of Diablo Canyon 62 
 
 Lake at Lower End of Diablo Canyon 62 
 
 Sketch from Life of One of the Larger Species of Robber Flies 66 
 
 Wood Boring Beetles 68 
 
 Wasps Commonly Seen About Habitations in the Country 70 
 
 Wasp Carrying Rock from Hole 74 
 
 Wasp Dragging Locust to Its Nest 76 
 
 Masonry Work— Roof of a Wasp Hole 78 
 
 Brazil Water Lily 80 
 
 A Sprouted Acorn — Beginning of the Oak Tree 82 
 
 Oak Leaves Beginning to Grow 87 
 
 Monument on Summit of Mt. Diablo 92 
 
 General View from Diablo Country Club Grounds 94 
 
 Lake of the Diablo Country Club 98 
 
 A Plucky Wasp 100 
 
 The Wasp Ammophlia Urnaria 104 
 
 Spider Hunting Wasp 106 
 
I 1MB 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 BERKELEY 
 
 Return to desk from which borrowed. 
 This book is DUE on the last date stamped below 
 
 MAY 26 1948 
 
 2SJur60BS 
 
 JUL 12*° 
 
 REC'D LD 
 
 MAR 9 1962 
 
 LD 21-100m-9, , 47(A5702sl6)476 
 
 
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 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 
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