A JUNGLE LABOR-UNION 163 



tions would dare to include these prickly, strong- 

 jawed, meatless insects in a bill of fare. Now 

 and then I have found an ani, or black cuckoo, 

 with a few in its stomach: but an ani can swal- 

 low a stinging-haired caterpillar and enjoy it. 

 The most consistent feeder upon Attas is the 

 giant marine toad. Two hundred Attas in a 

 night is not an uncommon meal, the exact num- 

 ber being verifiable by a count of the undigested 

 remains of heads and abdomens. Bufo marinus 

 is the gardener's best friend in this tropic land, 

 and besides, he is a gentleman and a philoso- 

 pher, if ever an amphibian was one. 



While the cutting of living foliage is the chief 

 aim in life of these ants, yet they take advan- 

 tage of the flotsam and jetsam along the shore, 

 and each low tide finds a column from some near- 

 by nest salvaging flowerets, leaves, and even tiny 

 berries. A sudden wash of tide lifts a hundred 

 ants with their burdens and then sets them down 

 again, when they start off as if nothing had hap- 

 pened. 



The paths or trails of the Attas represent rery 

 remarkable feats of engineering, and wind about 

 through jungle and glade for surprising dis- 

 tances. I once traced a very old and wide trail 



