246 HOMES WITHOUT HANDS. 



the little yellow and black, insect which terrifies us so much in 

 this country, and these creatures have a hahit of fixing their 

 nests among the branches, where they are concealed by the 

 leaves, and cannot be seen by the climber until he nearly strikes 

 them with his hands. 



But the very worst of all his foes are the ants and termites, 

 which infest the trees to a wonderful degree. The ants are of 

 various kinds. There are arboreal ants, which make their 

 nests among the branches, and there are terrestrial ants, which 

 make their home under the earth, but ascend the trees in search 

 of insects or to procure materials for their subterranean abode. 



The termites, again, are found on many trees, and in some 

 instances actually hollow out the branches, so that when the 

 climber grasps a bough, for the purpose of hauling himself up 

 by it, the treacherous branch breaks in his hands, and pours out 

 a flood of angry insects, all provided with means of offence, and 

 anxious to wreak their vengeance on the enemy. Even the 

 natives, accustomed as they are to these pests of their woods, 

 and versed in every method of foiling them, confess themselves 

 worsted by the ants, and are often forced to yield the point to 

 their tiny foes. 



In some cases, they attack so fiercely, that the imlucky 

 climber is perforce obliged to descend the tree with all speed, 

 and envelop himself in smoke in order to rid himself of his 

 adversaries ; or, whenever a river flows beneath the branches, the 

 tortured native is fain to fling himself into it, and to drown off 

 the myriad insects who are burying their jaws, or stings, or 

 both, in his flesh. A naturalist's labours in a tropical forest 

 are very pleasant reading at home, but they are not quite so 

 pleasant to perform, even setting aside the chances of fever, and 

 snake bites, and the certaiaty of being sucked by thousands of 

 mosquitos, sand flies, and other winged plagues. 



Befoke leaving, the American pensile birds, we must briefly 

 notice one or two other species. The Flycatchers of all 

 countries are generally notable for the beauty or eccentricity 

 of their nests, one of the oddest being that of the Great 

 Crested rLYCATCHEE of America, which always uses the cast 

 slough of snakes when building its nest. The reason no one 

 seems to know, though several opinions have been offered ; one 



