434 INSECTS ABROAD. 



several other interesting l)irds (Momoti) to my collection, and 

 one — a dark-coloured, sad-looking bird, whicli proved the greatest 

 prize of all — being a new species, afterwards described by Mr. 

 Lawrence as Spermophila hadiiventris. Keaching the edge of 

 the wood, I found a small brook between me and the sand. 

 The banks, being low, were covered for several rods on the 

 farther side with a succulent plant of the order Portulacacse, 

 with round leaves about half an inch in diameter. I noticed little 

 well-beaten paths, about one inch wide, running all through this 

 bed of green, and stopped to discover if possible what made them. 

 " Some were wider than others, and on one of these I soon 

 discovered a foraging party of Ants. They were of two species, 

 one being a rather small black Ant with weak jaws or nippers, 

 and the other nearly twice the size, each bearing a formidable 

 pair of prolonged mandibles of jaws ; and as near as I could see 

 there were no two with jaws exactly the same size or shape. 

 The small ones were evidently slaves. They were marched 

 between two rows of scouts, and if a slave attempted to pass the 

 line, he was speedily seized and put back, not very gently, into 

 his place. I watched their motions with a great deal of interest. 

 The ' soldiers,' after searching till satisfied for a rich succulent 

 leaf, bit it off and gave it to a slave, who immediately marched 

 off with it in a contrary direction to the main body. Following 

 the train for a rod or two, I came to the brook just where it had 

 made an abrupt bend, with an eddy in it. Here the banks 

 were rather high; a moderately brisk sea-breeze was coming 

 from the shore, and just here a small tree about two inches in 

 diameter had fallen across the brook. On this pole were myriads 

 of Ants going in different directions. 



" Those above, each with a leaf in his mouth, were crossing 

 to the wooded side ; those on the under-side were empty-handed 

 (or mouthed) and were coming from the woods. Here I noticed 

 a curious thing — the leaf, being larger by far than its bearer, 

 acted as a sort of sail to catch the wind ; and I saw many an 

 unfortunate slave-ant, after struggling with all its might to save 

 its precious load, finally let it go in self-defence, and immediately 

 join the excursionists on the lower side of the pole, going back 

 for another leaf. In the eddy before mentioned there was at least 

 p, bushel of leaves which had been blown from their bearers." 



J.t is worthy of notice that in their s]a,ve-huntiug raids the 



