SEPTEMBER SUNSHINE. 261 



Fishes, are, I believe, unlike other animals, in that 

 they sleep with great irregularity, and in their ability to 

 go an indefinite time without any slumber or rest what- 

 ever. 



September 28. — The pits of the ant-lions, to-day, were 

 very abundant in the thin grass on the edge of the ter- 

 race. The little engineers had excavated their circular 

 pits with wonderful nicety, and the grass was gray with 

 the sand thrown out. I teased the occupant of one pit 

 for some time, by dropping a seed of giant hyssop into 

 the depression, and no sooner had it touched the centre 

 of the conical pit than the ant-lion seized and threw it 

 out with great force. My astonishment was very great to 

 find that larger seeds were thrown out with proportion- 

 ately greater force, as shown by the increased activity 

 of the animal. It seemed to test the weight of the ob- 

 jects I dropped in, and sent them spinning to such a 

 distance that they could not roll back again. By great 

 good luck I caught, at this time, a little black beetle not 

 larger than a pin's head. This I disabled and then let 

 slowly roll into the pit. The ant-lion seized it at once, 

 but not finding it available as food, or disliking the 

 flavor, first gave it a tremendous shaking, moving it 

 back and forth with a vehemence that evidently shook 

 out its life, before it received the final toss which sent 

 it an inch or more beyond the outer rim of the pit. 



I tried yet again to tease this ant-lion, by suspending 

 a good-sized ant by a fine thread, just out of reach, yet 

 60 near that in its struggles it rolled the sand down to 

 the centre. This was thrown back for a time, but soon 



