“How many other ravagers there are, my children, besides locusts, that by their inconceivable multitude defy our attempts to defend ourselves! You are now in a position to realize somewhat the serious nature of these devastations when you think of all the moths and caterpillars and worms, all the creeping and burrowing and flying insects, of all shapes and sizes and appetites, that attack our gardens and fields. They would certainly gain the upper hand if we had to depend on ourselves in combating them. But fortunately we are most ably assisted in this contest.” NOTES [1] See “Field, Forest, and Farm.” [2] See “The Story-Book of Science.” [3] The French campagnol is translated in this book by meadow-mouse. The term vole, another rendering, is purely British and too uncommon in America to warrant its use in these pages.—Translator. [4] A name given to the cat in La Fontaine’s “Fables.”—Translator. [5] Audubon: “Ornithological Biography,” I. 160–162.—Translator. [6] Dupont de Nemours. [7] See “The Story-Book of Science.” [8] From “Le Crapaud” (“The Toad”), by Victor Hugo.—Translator. [9] A liter is slightly more than a quart, a hectoliter a little more than one hundred quarts.—Translator. [10] See “The Secret of Everyday Things.”