THE SAP SUCKER'S TRAPS. 205 



circled the trunk as regularly as though laid out 

 with mechanical instruments. His second depot 

 of supplies was one of a close group of mountain 

 ashes, which seemed to spring from one root,, 

 and were thickly shaded by leaves to the ground. 

 The elm would naturally attract the high-flying 

 insects, and the ash those which stay nearer the 

 earth, though I do not presume to say that was 

 the bird's intention in so arranging them. The 

 mountain-ash trunk was perforated in a different 

 way from the elm, the holes being in lines up 

 and down, and the whole trunk covered five or 

 six feet above the root. These places were not 

 at all moist or sticky on the several occasions 

 when I examined them, and both trees were in 

 a flourishing condition. 



The habit of the author of this elaborate ar- 

 rangement was to fly from one tree to the other 

 almost constantly. It appeared to lookers-on 

 that he visited the traps on one and secured 

 whatever was caught or lingered there, then 

 went to the other for the same purpose ; thus al- 

 lowing insects a chance to settle on each while 

 he was absent. At almost any hour of the day 

 he could be found vigorously carrying on his 

 insect hunt in this singular fashion. 



It was too late in the season to see the sap- 

 sucker in his most frolicsome humor, although 

 occasionally we met in the woods two of them 



