AVTS. 55 



aggressors, and revenged themselves by their 

 bites or stings for the interruption they had 

 met with. These were Httle less painful at 

 first than the sting of a bee, but the pain did 

 not last above a minute. 



Another species of Ants in this country, 

 burrow themselves in the root of a plant, 

 which grows on the bark of trees, like the 

 Misseltoe, and which is commonly as big as 

 a large turnip. When this is cut, it appears 

 intersected with innumerable winding pas- 

 sages, all filled up with these animals ; not- 

 withstanding which, the vegetation of the 

 plant sufiers no injury. These Ants do not 

 give pain by their stings, but produce an in- 

 tolerable itching by crawling about on the 

 skin. They are about the size of the small 

 Red Ant in this country. Another sort, 

 which do not molest in any manner, resemble 

 the White Ants of the West Indies. They 

 construct nests three or four times as large as 

 a man's head, on the branches of trees ; the 

 outsides being composed of some vegetable 

 matter along with a glutinous substance. 

 On breaking the outer crusts of these Hives, 

 innumerable cells appear swarming with in- 



