154 RIVERSIDE LETTERS XX 



their wonderfully showy blooms being in 

 the summer one of the chief glories of my 

 garden. 



The birds seem very well and much 

 sweet singing goes on, though I think that 

 there are hardly so many thrushes and black- 

 birds as usual. The rooks' nests suffered 

 much damage during the gale on the 24th of 

 March. 



I am greatly puzzled about the ants, how- 

 it is that they survive in their nests through 

 the floods and frosts. We have many ant- 

 nests along the brickwork by the edge of 

 the river, mostly of the common black ant, 

 which must have been under, at least, six 

 feet of water, for a fortnight during the great 

 flood ; and more or less waterlogged after- 

 wards for a much longer time ; they then 

 passed through the late severe winter, have 

 since been flooded again slightly, and yet 

 to-day I saw the usual little streams of ants 

 running to and fro along the bricks just as 

 usual. Are their nests watertight ? Do 



