120 NATURE NEAR LONDON. 



of the nest, and while walking round it was necessary 

 to keep brushing off the ants which dropped on the 

 shoulder from the branches of the birches. For they 

 were everywhere ; every inch of ground, every bough 

 was covered with them. Even standing near it was 

 needful to kick the feet continually against the black 

 stump of a fir which had been felled to jar them off, 

 and this again brought still more, attracted by the 

 vibration of the ground. 



The highest part of the mound was in the shape of 

 a dome, a dome whitened by layers of fir-needles, 

 which was apparently the most recent part and the 

 centre of this year's operations. The mass of the 

 heap, though closely compacted, was fibrous, and a 

 stick could be easily thrust into it, exposing the eggs. 

 No sooner was such an opening made, and the stick 

 withdrawn from the gap, than the ants swarmed into 

 it, falling headlong over upon each other, and filling 

 the bottom with their struggling bodies. Upon 

 leaving the spot, to follow the footpath, I stamped 

 my feet to shake down any stray insects, and then 

 took off my coat and gave it a thorough shaking. 



Immense ant-hills are often depicted in the illus- 

 trations to tropical travels, but this great pile, which 

 certainly contained more than a cartload, was within a 

 few miles of Hyde Park-corner. From nests like this 

 large quantities of eggs are obtained for feeding the 

 partridges, hatched from the eggs collected by mowers 

 and purchased by keepers. Part of the nest being 

 laid bare with any tool, the eggs are hastily taken out 

 in masses and thrown into a sack. Some think that 

 ant's eggs, although so favourite a food, are not 



