WITH THE PUCERONS. 227 
a long resistance, probably by not being 
enabled, at the moment, to withdraw its 
trunk, which might have been buried 
deeply in the wood. Iwas much amused 
in observing the various attempts made 
by this ant, to induce it to quit its hold ; 
it caressed and seized it alternately, until 
it at length yielded to its wishes. The 
ants do not employ this gentle method, 
when they labour under an apprehension 
that these insects may be taken away 
from them by the ants of another species, 
living near their habitation, or when we 
happen to tread too heavily on the grass 
under which they are concealed, for they 
then seize upon them directly, and carry 
by a sudden jerk lifted it from the ground, and thus 
overcame the impediment. — ‘‘ The Mahometans 
hold, on the relation of Thevenot (as mentioned by 
Messrs. Kirby and Spence), that one of the animals 
in Paradise is Solomon’s Ant, which, when all 
creatures, in obedience to him, brought him pre- 
sents, dragged before him a locust, and was there- 
fore preferred before all others, because it had 
brought a creature so much bigger than itself.” — T. 
L 6 
