AUTUMN 117 



great to-do among the ants in the aster 

 bed. Dozens of winged ants are out with 

 them. All run in and out in desperate 

 haste or anxiety. Wonder for what. Per- 

 haps a fresh crop of young ones has ar- 

 rived. Could the rain have beaten in their 

 roofs ? Is this a new arrival of slaves ? 

 Or are they holding an election ? 



One of the first indications of the on- 

 coming cold is the retirement of the earth- 

 worms. Do they feel the chill at the sur- 

 face, and burrow deeper to get away from 

 it ? Or do the roots of vegetation strike 

 lower as the year wears on, and do the 

 worms follow them, or keep away from the 

 spread of their meshes ? Men owe much 

 to these humble creatures. Without worms 

 to loosen the soil, the face of the earth 

 would be a desert, dry, hard, incapable 

 of supporting any other vegetation than 

 cactus and sage-brush. The farmer could 

 not exist if it were not for the worm. He 

 swallows his way into the ground, ejecting 

 the earth behind, instead of scratching his 

 way in with claws that he does not have. 

 And to think that these creatures lift to 



