ROADSIDE LIFE. 28 1 



Usually within twenty-four hours the ants will 

 find the opening leading into the space between the 

 two panes of glass and will make a mine into the 

 layer of earth which is there, and will remove their 

 queen and young to this place. This process can be 

 hastened by gradually removing the dirt placed on 

 the cover of the nest with the ants. 



After the ants have made a nest between the 

 panes of glass, they can be observed, when desired, 

 by merely lifting the board forming the cover of the 

 nest. 



With proper care a colony can be kept in a nest 

 of this kind as long as the queen lives, which may 

 be several years. The food for the ants can be 

 placed on the base of the nest anywhere within the 

 moat, and may consist of sugar, minute bits of meat, 

 fruits, etc. With a little care the kinds of food 

 preferred by the colony can be easily determined. 

 The pupae of ants, which can be collected from 

 nests in the field during the summer months, will 

 be greedily devoured. The soil in the nest should 

 be kept from becoming too dry by putting a little 

 water into one side of the tin tray from time to 

 time. 



Many suggestions as to the kinds of experiments 

 that can be tried with a colony of ants can be ob- 

 tained by reading the well-known work of Sir John 

 Lubbock entitled Ants, Bees, and Wasps. 



O the South Wind and the Sun ! . 

 How each loved the other one 

 Full of fancy full of folly- 

 Full of jollity and fun ! 



