ANIMAL ANECDOTES. 
A cook was much annoyed to find his pastry 
shelves attacked by ants. By 
careful watching it was discovered 
that they came twice a day in 
seareh of food—at about seven in the morning 
and four in the afternoon. How were the pies to 
be protected against the invaders? The cook 
decided to make a circle round the pie with 
treacle and await the result. He did not have 
long to wait, for at 6.30 he noticed that off in the 
left corner of the pantry was a line of ants slowly 
making its way in the direction of the pies. They 
seemed like a vast army coming forth to attack 
the enemy. In front was a leader, who always 
kept a little ahead of his troops. They were of 
the sort known as the medium-sized red ant, 
regarded as the most intelligent of its kind. 
About forty ants out of five hundred stepped out 
and joined the leader. The general and his ants 
held a council, and then proceeded to examine the 
circle of treacle. Certain portions seemed to be 
assigned to the different ants, and each selected 
unerringly the point in the section under his 
charge where the stream of treacle was narrowest. 
Then the leader made his tour of inspection. The 
order to march was given, and the ants all made 
their way to a hole in the wall, at which the 
plastering was loose. Here they broke rank and 
began carrying pieces of plaster to the places in 
the treacle which had been agreed upon as 
narrowest. To and fro they went from the nail 
hole to the treacle, until at 11.20 o’clock they had 
thrown bridges across. Then they formed 
themselves in line again and marched over, and 
by 11.45 every ant was eating pie. 
we" 
Ants’ Raid 
on a Pie. 
AT a picnic party in a grove near a glen, the 
How the following incident, which is re- 
Squirrel solved lated by an eye-witness, took 
the difficulty. place:—« A red Squirrel, with 
glistening, eager eyes, came creeping down a 
tree which stood near the table. He crept 
nearer and nearer, and finally leaped upon the 
table. The lady who was presiding said, ‘ Yes, 
help yourself to anything you want!’ Upon 
this invitation the little fellow made bold to 
creep up to a loaf of bread from which only 
a slice or two had been cut. He seized it and 
dragged it to the side of the table, and some- 
how managed to scramble down the side with 
it to the ground. He then fixed his teeth in 
the crust, and dragged it away and down the 
steep sides of the glen. But when he reached 
the bottom and confronted the steep rise on 
the other side, it was too much for him. Then 
he gave a sort of call, which seemed to be 
understood, for soon squirrels were seen coming 
from several directions. They crowded round 
him, and after a little conference all took hold, 
and with tug and strain they managed to bring 
the loaf to the top of the hill, and disappeared 
with if in the woods beyond.” 
Wa" 
A BATTLE to the death between two Blackfish 
and a monster whale was the rare 
spectacle witnessed a year or two 
ago by passengers on the steam- 
ship ‘“‘Queen.” Icy Straits was the scene of the 
battle, during which the vessel lay to for nearly 
an hour to see the end. On the way down 
from Alaska the ‘‘Queen” had seen large schools 
of blackfish and whale. Crossing Icy Straits it 
was noticed that several of the large animals 
were acting peculiarly. Around the spot where — 
a whale rose the water was boiling, stirred to 
a white froth. The whale sank, then rose again. 
Its blowing could be heard on the ‘ Queen’s”’ 
deck. A moment later a pair of sharp fins cut 
the water close by the whale, and two smaller 
clouds of vapour appeared. In a few minutes 
the contestants were plainly visible—a whale and 
two blackfish. They fought with the utmost 
energy. Again and again all sank, reappearing 
and resuming the struggle. The whale was 
evidently desperate. It lashed the water with 
its great tail until it was white for yards around. 
At times it rose so rapidly that the entire body 
showed like a huge trout jumping out of water. 
It tried every plan to escape its enemies, who 
pursued it relentlessly above and below. Finally 
the whale’s movements grew slower. It swam 
weakly. Then it sank, and when it reappeared’ 
and spouted, the vapour was tinged with red. A 
moment later the water ceased to boil. A huge 
body floated quietly on the surface. Around it 
played two blackfish. The fight was over. 
An Ocean 
Fight. 
280 
