434 ENSEOT8 ABROAD. 



several other interesting birds (Momoti) to my collection, and 

 one — a dark-coloured, sad-looking bird, which proved the greatest 

 prize of all — being a new species, afterwards described by Mr. 

 Lawrence as Spermophila hadiiroitris. Reaching the edge of 

 the wood, I found a small brook between me and the sand. 

 The banks, being low, were covered for several rods on the. 

 farther side with a succulent plant of the order Portulacacae, 

 with round leaves about half an inch in diameter. I noticed little 

 well-beaten paths, about one inch wide, running all through this 

 bed of green, and stopped to discover if possible what made them. 



" Some were wider than others, and on one of these I soon 

 discovered a foraging party of Ants. They were of two species, 

 one being a rather small black Ant with weak jaws or nippers, 

 and the other nearly twice the size, each bearing a formidable 

 pair of prolonged mandibles of jaws ; and as near as I could see 

 there were no two with jaws exactly the same size or shape. 

 The small ones were, evidently slaves. They were marched 

 between two rows of scouts, and if a slave attempted to pass the 

 line, he was speedily seized and put back, not very gently, into 

 his place. I watched their motions with a great deal of interest.' 

 The ' soldiers,' after searching till satisfied for a rich succulent 

 leaf, bit it off and gave it to a slave, who immediately marched 

 off with it in a contrary direction to the main body. Following 

 the train for a rod or two, I came to the brook just where it had 

 made an abrupt bend, with an eddy in it. Here the banks 

 were rather high ; a moderately brisk sea-breeze was coming 

 from the shore, and just here a small tree about two inches in 

 diameter had fallen across the brook. On this pole were myriads 

 of Ants going in different directions. 



" Those above, each with a leaf in his mouth, were crossing 

 to the wooded side ; those on the under-side were empty-handed 

 (or mouthed) and were coming from the woods. Here I noticed 

 a curious tiling — the leaf, being larger by far than its bearer, 

 acted as a sort of sail to catch the wind ; and I saw many an 

 unfortunate slave-ant, alter struggling with all its might to save 

 its precious load, finally let it go in self-defence, and immediately 

 join the excursionists on the lower side of the polej going back 

 foi another leaf. In the eddy before mentioned there was at least 

 a bushel of leaves which had been blown from their bearers." 



It is worthy of notice that in their slave-hunting raids the 



