18 BOULDER REVERIES. 



tal. With a single lap the ant swallowed the 

 morsel of "honey-dew." Thus is the juice of 

 dock transmitted through the body of the aphis 

 into the stomach of the ant, undergoing, doubt- 

 less, on the way, a chemical change which ren- 

 ders it sweet and to the especial liking of that 

 insect. Wonderful is the relationship thus exist- 

 nig between the inorganic matter in the soil, the 

 plant and the two insects. Interesting the proc- 

 ess by which that inorganic matter is fitted for 

 the food of the higher form, the ant. \ 7 aried 

 the changes which matter must undergo as a 

 part of the earth and the dwellers thereon dur- 

 ing its unceasing round of existence. 



Two robber flies a courting. The female sits 

 motionless on a twig. The male, poised in air a 

 foot or more behind, holds his place seemingly 

 motionless, yet the resonant hum of his wings 

 proves that only by special muscular effort he 

 sustains his poise. Ever and anon he makes a 

 sudden dart at his longed-for mate, but she, coy 

 as maiden fair, as suddenly eludes his grasp 

 and settles on another twig a yard or more away. 

 This action is kept up for ten or more minutes, 



