COLLECTING. 57 



and may be arranged in cabinets, or store-boxes, in any manner 

 the student may prefer. 



It is necessary to have a compound microscope as well as a good 

 hand lens when describing all our genera and species for this 

 work, I have used a binocular microscope and a magnification 

 of 35 diameters. 



Ants may be killed with boiling water, in cyanide, laurel, or in 

 the solution before mentioned. In the first case they must be set 

 at once, but if killed in cyanide, or laurel, they can be kept for long 

 periods. For this purpose a large wide -mouthed laurel bottle is 

 convenient, such as is used by the coleopterist ; into this the ants 

 are dropped in screws of tissue-paper, with the data written on 

 slips of paper inside each screw. Ants will be found to be in perfect 

 condition for setting, when kept in this way, even after twelve 

 months, or longer. 



The instruments for setting such as brushes, setting-needles, 

 tweezers, gum, card, etc., do not require description, as the myrme- 

 cologist will select, from experience, those which he finds most 

 suitable to him. 



Observation Nests. 



To gain a proper knowledge of the normal conditions under which 

 ants live it is necessary to study their habits as closely as possible 

 in nature, at all times of the day and year, in all weathers, and in 

 different localities. When a nest has been found, it should not 

 be passed over just because it may belong to a common ant, or 

 because the species may be fully represented in the observer's 

 cabinet, as the mere amassing of a collection is only the means to 

 an end, and not the sole object in view namely to increase as far 

 as possible the knowledge on all points concerning ants. 



If a suitable locality exists within easy reach, it should be con- 

 stantly visited at different times of the year, the situations of the 

 nests of the different species noted, and their contents and the 

 progress of their colonies carefully studied. Such a locality is 

 Wey bridge heath, a favourite observation ground of my own, 

 with its sandy soil, fir trees and stumps, young oaks and birch, 

 and heather, etc. Here no less than eighteen of our British species 

 of Formicidae have been found, and many happy hours during 

 the last twenty years and more have been spent in examining 

 their nests and watching their habits. 



To observe however the actual doings of the ants in the depths 

 of their dwellings, is naturally almost impossible, as when an ant's 

 nest is disturbed a scene of apparent chaos ensues ; the ants all 

 rush about, some attack the intruder, and others hurry off into 

 safety with their brood, etc. 



To obviate this as far as possible the myrmecologist must keep 

 ants in captivity, and for this purpose "observation nests" are 



