Evening star., 1932-12-28

Lovers Of Nature who welcomed the
recent snow nevertheless are heartily
glad that 1t Is gone, carrying Its good
moisture into the earth.
Man made . sort Of axle grease out
Of its whiteness, especially along the
travelled thoroughfares, until 1t was
anything but pleasure to look at
The beauty Of the snow vanished be-
meath a mixture of oil, dust and dirt.
Yet there it remained, hour after
hour, in many places becoming so
packed that men with picks had to
hack it loose.
Until the warm weather Of Christmas
the remaining snow looked for all the
world like something unwanted.
Its going was good ridoance.
It would be an unmixed blessing II
all SHOWS. no matter how deep. would
depart within 48 hours, at the most
Then mankind would have the
beauty, the kids the shedding and the
earth the benefit of the water.
Surely much good was accomplished
by the foot Of whiteness. which finally
went into the softened ground. to pene-
trate deep into the water table" which
plays such an important part In the life
Of the growing things Of the earth.
1t must never be forgotten that 1t
had been 10 years since a snow OF
greater depth laid on the ground in this
vicinity.
While there had been SHOWS Of some
proportion since. few Of them held sufi-
cient pent-up moisture to do any par
ticular good when they finally melted
Nor had there been any real need Of
snow water until the drought OF 1890.
We are still so near to that year in
point of time that 1t is impossible to
comprehend just what trial 1t must
have been to the trees and plants OF all
kinds
A good snow during 1881 would have
made great deal Of difference, but
there was none OF the necessary depth,
to apply first its blanketing abilities,
which all growing things love. and then
to melt away softly and deeply into the
ground.
It is to be hoped that the recent real
snow, 1882 brand, not only did great
ing deep water, but also that the cold
which accompanied it during its first
days killed millions OF insect enemies.
Just how many such pests cold does
away with, or just how low tempera-
ture must prevail. and for how long. In
order to slay the insects by their mil
lions, Is question which must be left
to the entomologists.
Some Of the higher insects have mar
velous abilities to resist cold. We have
been watching wasp all Winter. caught
in between pane of glass and Win
dow screen.
How the creature got in there is
something OF mystery, since the screen
and its frame are in excellent condi-
ton. and fit very tightly.
Perhaps the wasp just grew there;
at any rate it is there, and has been
for nearly two months.
When Winter came along, the crea-
ture grew more and more slow In its
motions, until during the recent cold
spell it seemed to be lifeless, drawn up
beneath the upper frame, but exposed
still to all the winds that blew.
Some warmth, no doubt, reached it
through the window, but the amount
must have been very small.
What was our amaZement, on Christ
mas day, to see the Gagged wasp gingerly
unlimbering its legs and crawling
around on the screen.
It is impossible to work up much
sentiment about wasps, but one could
not help but admire the terlacity Of the
| critter. or of Nature, since all these,
her children seem SO much more a
part Of her than We are.
Yet man is very solid part OF the
universal nature, part and parcel OF
everything that breathes and lives.
Sometimes it is easy to feel that he
has lost more than he has gained by
attempting to set himself up too much
apart from his furred brothers Of field
and forest
Nature lovers found great delight in