THE ANT-LIOX. 189 



works. He is therefore taught to dig a trap, where he sits 

 like the unwieldy giants of fable, waiting for some feeble 

 one to cross his path. How laborious and patient are his 

 operations — how uneei-tain the chances of success ! Yet 

 he never shrinks frpm them, because his instinct tells him 

 that by these contrivances alone can he preserve his own 

 existence, and continue that of his species. 



