HYMENOPTERA. ACULEATA. 199 



of ant-baths, on the subject of which a friend of the 

 writer has kindly communicated the following : 



"The first time I ever heard of the ant-baths was 

 when at Wildbad. A Russian lady in the same house 

 with us, after having taken a course of the baths there, 

 was ordered to visit a village (of which I forget the 

 name) in the heart of the Black Forest, to strengthen 

 herself by the use of ant-baths. Afterwards, when at 

 Wiesbaden, our landlady told us that these baths were 

 very commonly used. Her own daughter, when a child, 

 had derived great benefit from them. At five years old 

 she could not walk, and had dwindled away to a mere 

 skeleton, when the mother was advised to try ant-baths, 

 which completely restored the child's strength. 



" The ants are the large Wood Ants, and are collected, 

 earth, stones, leaves, &c., all together in bags, which are 

 placed in the bath, and have boiling water poured on 

 them. This is left to stand some time, and the water is 

 then used for the bath. They are sold in bags in the 

 market at Wiesbaden at the proper season, and are used 

 also for making ant spirit. For this purpose the ants are 

 put into a glass bottle filled with some cheap spirit, and 

 hung in the heat of the sun for some time. This spirit 

 is used to rub the limbs in the case of sprains or weak- 

 ness. 



11 Ant vinegar is made in large quantities every year 

 by the Swiss ladies." 



Possibly a liking for this acid is one of the attrac- 

 tions to some of those species of beetles which reside 

 voluntarily in ants' nests, as they have been found in- 

 habiting old nests, and deserting them when a heavy 

 shower had washed away the acid. 



Much discussion has arisen upon the often-quoted 



