THE ANTS' -COW-SHED" 155 



had come upon a few trees which were white with 

 the fringes of the woolly aphis. How cheerfully 

 they waved the long white strands with which they 

 were covered, when we jarred the trees ! 



As I loitered among the low-growing weeds in 

 the valley, loath to leave the water's edge and 

 climb the steep to the roadway, I happened to see a 

 curious, muddy-looking object a few feet from the 

 ground on the stem of a shrub. Half afraid of 

 being laughed at, half hoping that I had really 

 found a prize, I called out to the Professor. He 

 indulgently came back down the steep path to 

 see what I was pointing at. 



"Ah-h ! do you know what that is?" he ex- 

 claimed, excitedly. "I never took but one before." 

 Then turning to the class, "People!" he called, 

 and scrambled back over the ridge, bearing aloft 

 the "cow-shed," which he held at arm's length for 

 fear of crushing the fragile thing. We all sat 

 down and listened to his story about ants and 

 their cattle. 



The shed was coarse and sandy, but thoroughly 

 dry and solid. It was firmly fixed on the stem of 

 a plant which we recognized as a young dog- 

 wood. The ants had shown great wisdom in 

 choosing the place for their cow-shed. They had 

 put it in a crotch of the shrub where small 

 branches came out, one on either side. This not 

 only gave more surface for the attachment of the 

 walls of the structure but more pasture for the 

 herds. The entrance to the shed was plainly 

 visible, a small round hole on one side, just large 



