The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-11-28
SOME NEW BOOKS.
1aenst rabpe's "HantiuG wasps.'

Neither old friends nor new ac-
Quaintances Of the writings OF THE
Insects Homer the recently deceased
Provencal poet-scientist J. HENW
vABRB, whose souvenirs Entomolo-
giQues' nave been, with extraordinary
success. made in parts available to
American readers. will he disappointed
In NJ. DE MATTos's latest translation.
The Hunting Wasps tDodd. Mead and
Company. The new volume contin-
ues the Fabre tradition Of tireless OBJ
servation, Ingenious experiment. elo-
Quent Interpretation unaffected self |
revelation and revolt against pedantry. |
And just n little more plainly than it's
predecessors this volume presents the |
morbid strain that was In Fabre's |
mental makeup. Examination Of his
writings with that one particular rela-
ton In view would probably lead to
the conclusion that where Prof. Fab
was most literary he was, without sac
rifice OF scientific accuracy or honesty
to fact, INDUCING his imaginative de-
Night In natures Schrecklichkeit.
How shall the reviewer do equal JUS
tee to the two things which NJ. fabre
mated as happily as surprisingly. the
effectively scientific and the POLITICALLY
subjective view of the lower orders"
OF life? The authors recent death
must be urged as justification for Civ
ing first place at this time to a chap
ter In which the man is confessed. In
II this professor extraordinary envies
the chemist. In quest Of the secrets of
Inorganic matter. whose chemical aC-
t!Nities science can awaken whenever
II thinks ht." He vino would explore
abe secrets Of living matter il the
slave. uNt the master, Of the magic
lamp. opportunity comes unlieralded
ard must be seized without hesitation.
for II may he long before IL returns.
And. whimsically, It usually arrives
a; the when he Is least ex-
pecting It, nothing is in readiness for
making the most of II. Experiment
material must be ~improvised quickly:
the investigator Is fortunate II lie has.
first, the inspiration. and, second. the
means at hand with which TO execute
n. And then
An. II you could now observe at your
eese. In the quiet OF your study. with
nothing TO distract your mind from your
subject. far from the profane wayfarer
~ho. seeing you 40 busily occupied al a
spo: where he gees nothing. win stop.
oycrulrlm you With queries. take you
for some water divIner or, n graver sus-
ricion this. regard you as some question:
able character searching for buried
eressuro and discovering 10y means Of In
csntation where the Old pots full of coin
i~ hidden. Should you SIN wear a
Christian aspec, In his eyes. he will APP
prosch you, look 20 see what you are
looking a: AMI smile In a manner hat
leaves no doub, as to his poor opinion
o. people who pend their time in watch
Ing h!cs.
Once. while f'abre wa lying OH the
san absorbed in the details OF a
uasp's household. he was suddenly
recalled to the world of man by a
lou hail: I'm the name Of the iaw I
arrest you. You cOme along with me-"
The man with the municipal badge
had long been worried by the range
actions of the scientist. Fabre en-
pla,ned. The other pooh-poohed:
you will never make me believe that
you ZONE here and roast in the sun
just To- watch flies But at last he
yielded: NJ. fabre's red ribbon helped.
But. says the professor:
Ths bi. o. scarlet ribbon did no: always
spare inc the fluctuations which the
entoriologis; must expect when expert
inen;ing OIL the public way. Ever since
dnybreak I have been ambushed. sitting
on q stone. at The bottom Of 4 ravlne.
The subject OF my matutinal visit is the
IRnauedocian Sphev Three women, vine
pickerx. pass In l. group on their way
:" work. They give a glance at :he man
seated. apparently absorbed in reflection.
At sunset the same pickets pass again.
carrying their fI.. baskets Oh their heads.
The man s. still there. with his eyes
liked Oh :hc same place. My motionless
ettitude. my long persistence In remain
ing at hat deserted spot. must have I'M
pressed them deeply. As they passed
saw on. Of them tap her forehead and
h-a-l lnr whisper: I'm paour- inouc3nt,
recaIrc!" And all three mad. the sign OF
the Cross.
Now, Mr.. F'i,bre did not relish being
called an innocent-idiot, poor crea-
ture, harmless but off" Wa II not
hard for one seeking SO Zealously TO
discover the nature of instinct In on
trast with reason to lick reason. him
self. in the view of these good but
simple minded wornen? Ali. but: NO
matter. 'Pecaire.' that expression of
supreme compassion. in the Provencal
dialect, 'pecaire.' coming from the bot
tom of the heart. soon made me for
get 'inoucent.'"
But--to our wasps. NJ. Fubre in
those OF his writings which preceded
the present translation did not hcsi-
tate to avow his Indebtedness to Leon
Dufour for inspiration and encourage
ment. In this volume he speaks of the
emotion with which. as a professor
Of physics. poorly paid and full Of
cares. endeavoring n winter evening
TO forget his anXieties in reading, he
read q monograph "by the then father
Of entomology. the venerable scientist
Dufour. on the habits Of "a wasp that
hunted Buprestis beetles He says:
Certainly | had no, waited Ill then 20
intercst myself IN Insects. from my earl,
childhood ! had delighted in beetles, bees
and butterflies. As far back as ! can re-
member | see myself in ecstasy before the
sp!endor OF a ground beetles wing ca sea
or the wings OF Pupilio machson. the
sva.lowta.i. Tho Are was laid; the spark
30 klndie It was absent. Leon Dufour's
essay provided that spark.
Some time afterward Fabre pub
lished an article supplementary to Du-
four's, which won him honorable men,
ton from the Institute Of France and
a prize for experimental physiology.
And this was followed 10y "a far more
welcome recompense," a letter OF
praise and encouragement from the
elder scientist. Even now" saws