THE MUSEUM. 



123 



fashion as they do the leaves. W'hat 

 they do with it when they have j;ot it 

 home I am not prepared to say; but 

 most probably they eat it at once, as 

 no trace of it was found in their nests, 

 though they managed to rob me of a 

 considerable quantity. I well remem- 

 ber my surprise the fust time I became 

 aware of this taste of theirs. Sitting 

 one night in my hut, I happened to 

 glance at the corn-barrel, and beheld 

 streams of corn, as it were, slowly 

 running down the outside. Inspection 

 showed that the wee wees had smelt 

 out my store, and were swarming in 

 the barrel. They were quickly singed 

 out with burning pieces of paper; but 

 the barrel thenceforward had to be 

 secured by some sacking tied tightly 

 over the top, until the nest ivas de- 

 stroyed. Night after night they would 

 return to the barrel, but finding there 

 was no getting at the corn, speedily 

 departed. 



The bull-frogs are great devourers 

 of these or any other ants large enough 

 to be worthy of their notice. When 

 we were digging out the first nest at the 

 beginning of the wet season, when the 

 frogs emerged from the damp mud in 

 which they spend the time of drought, 

 they would sit round the excavation at 

 dusk, in considerable numbers, picking 

 up with wonderful quickness the 

 drivers, as they ran about in angry 

 wonder at the destruction of their 

 homes. (}uick as they were, the big 

 ants would, every now and then, give 

 the frogs a sharp nip on the passage 

 down their throats, and it was most 

 comical to see the fat, unwieldy things 

 jump all-fours off the ground, and 

 kick out their hind legs in a very ec- 

 stasy of pain. It behooved us who 

 dug to guard ourselves as best we could 

 against the bites of the enemy. Of 

 course, one tied one's socks over one's 

 trousers, and paused every now and 

 then to brush off the intrepid foes, who 

 gallantly swarmed up one's nether gar- 

 ments to the assault. Occasionally an 

 ant would get within the fortifications, 

 despite of every precaution, and, doub- 



ling up himself, ilrive his nippers deep 

 into a tender spot, with the result that 

 the victim jumped almost as vigorously 

 as the bull-frog. The result of my 

 digging was the same in both cases: 

 when about three-parts of the nest 

 was dugout, the ants that remained 

 alive suddenly decampea one night, 

 and were seen no more. I suppose 

 they had come to the conclusion that 

 it was no good to fight against the 

 fates. Anyhow, I was left to cultivate 

 my garden in peace. 



E. W. Williams. 



Notes on the Ground Squirrels of 



Wyoming and How They are 



Destroyed. 



Bv F. J. Nisw.ANDER Laramie. 



(Extracts from Wyoming State Re- 

 port. ) 



"Our most common species is Spcr- 

 viophilus fraiik/iiiii, Sabine, or the 

 gray prairie squirrel." The following 

 description will enable one to identify 

 the species: "Length about ten inches 

 from the nose to root of the tail; the 

 tail about five inches long. It is a 

 little over three-fourths the size of the 

 migratory or common gray or black 

 squirrel, though its short hair, tail and 

 legs make it appear smaller; and its 

 form is much thicker and clumsier 

 than that of the true squirrels. The 

 back is light brown, dotted thickly 

 with black; the under surface is grayish 

 white. The tail is bushy, but much 

 less so, as well as much shorter, than 

 that of the migratory species. The 

 color and markings often varj'. The 

 color above is often light yellowish 

 brown, varied with black. The top 

 and sides of the head and the sides of 

 the neck, purfe hoary gray. It resem- 

 bles in its proportions the prairie dog, 

 Scirunis ludoviciaiitis — Custis — the 

 only difference being in the size and 

 colorings. The hairs around the mar- 

 gin of the tail are grayish white, each 

 hair having three bars of black. This 

 species, Spcrmophilns franklinii, is 

 recorded as being found in Wisconsin, 



