218 The Scottish Naturalist. 



From many nests well-marked roads extend in different direc- 

 tions, and may be traced for a considerable distance. These 

 roads vary from one to six inches in breadth, and are kept 

 tolerably clear of vegetation. They sometimes extend to a 

 considerable distance from the nest — considerable, that is to 

 say, in regard to the makers thereof; gradually diminishing in 

 breadth till they disappear altogether. In one case I was able 

 to trace easily a road for 76 paces from the ant-hill. From 

 this nest five main roads led in different directions, the main 

 roads being joined by side roads, which in some cases led 

 from one main road to another. The longest, as mentioned 

 above, was 76 paces in length, and several of the others were 

 nearly as long. In several instances the roads led to other 

 nests, which I am inclined to think were made by colonies sent 

 out from the main nest. A small nest of recent origin was 

 situated about 22 paces from the principal nest, on one of the 

 principal roads, the road passing beside it. 



For the purpose of ascertaining the amount of traffic on the 

 road, I devoted five minutes to counting the number of ants pass- 

 ing along one of the principal roads towards the nest, and at 

 about 1 1 paces from it; and in that space of time 204 ants passed 

 towards the nest, and about as many from it. At this rate, on a 

 summer's day, when the ants are in motion the whole twenty-four 

 hours, somewhere about 1 1 7,000 ants would pass this point of the 

 road ; and supposing that all the five principal roads have the 

 same amount of traffic on them, the number would reach 

 600,000. It is no wonder, then, that the ants' paths are well 

 marked ; for, as Virgil says, 



' ' They crowd the peopled path in thick array, 

 Glow at the work and darken all the way." 



We will now pass on to a consideration of the ant itself. 



To those who wish to learn what has been observed regarding 

 ants, the works of Huber, De Geer, Kirby and Spence, &c, 

 will afford more extended information than the space at our 

 disposal will allow us to give. I shall therefore only briefly 

 sketch the outline of the life history of the ant we have under 

 consideration. 



The hill-ant, then, commences life, as most other in- 

 sects do, in the form of an egg. These are minute and 

 are laid by the female ants inside the nest. They are then 



