Hillside. 155 



feet sinking deep into the needle-carpeted soil. Here and 

 there a tree has its sharp-pointed leaves brown and patchy 

 and we find the now empty cases of the tiny little moth 

 (Coleophora laricelld} which frequently does so much damage 

 to the larch trees. We are soon glad to return to the path, 

 and after walking a little farther we find that the larch, 

 plantation is situated on the outskirts of a wood of more 

 mixed growth. 



We are lazily inclined this afternoon, and soon sit down 

 again. Dreamily watching the ground near our feet we see 

 a large red ant crossing our path, followed by another and 

 another, all going in the same direc- 

 tion. We know this fellow well. He 

 is called rufa, and well deserves his 

 name. Others follow along the same 

 track, so that there must be a nest 

 near. Let us see if we can find it. 

 Do you see that decayed old tree- f \ 



trunk yonder, with only about six -/ 



feet of the stump now left? All FIG. 33.-Woo D ANT 

 , . , ., . . . ,, (Formica lignipeda). 



round it, built up against it in all 



directions, so that the stump forms the central column, is a 

 conical mass, about six feet in height and twenty feet in 

 circumference at its base, and composed of a great many 

 small pieces of stick and straw. That is the ants' nest. This 

 one is by no means exceptional in point of size ; probably we 

 shall see others quite as large, or larger, during our after- 

 noon's stroll. You must be careful not to let an ant sting 

 you, because the result would be very painful, and you might 

 find swellings as large as marbles on your legs or body ; so 

 don't let any get into your clothes. 



