52 ARCHITECTURE OF ANS. 
wood hewn by these insects, is always 
blackish externally, and even takes the 
same colour internally, provided it be 
very thin, preserving only its natural 
colour when it has any degree of thick- 
ness. It appears that the oak, willow, 
and other trees in which these ants esta- 
blish themselves, equally take these co- 
lours. I have often’ observed several 
other species of ants lodged in the inte- 
rior of trees, but the wood never present- 
ed the same appearance. I have also 
often noticed at the foot of those which 
were inhabited by Fuliginous Ants, a very 
abundant and blackish liquid : —to what 
must this be attributed? The vegeta- 
tion of these trees does not appear in the 
slightest degree affected by the labours 
of these insects. 
It would be a highiy ‘acai sight, 
could we observe ants occupied in carv- 
ing the wood in which they fix their resi- 
dence, we might then learn the origin of 
the black tint with which it is imbued ; 
but the labourers of this species working 
