232 NATURE-STUDY 



is to keep the ants in the cage. Place a shallow tin tray 

 about ID X ID inches on the plank. Lay a sheet of glass in 

 the tray. Then lay thin strips of wood or glass, a little 

 thicker than the height of an ant, around the edge of the sheet 

 of glass. Fill the inner space with fine earth. Then lay on 

 top of this another sheet of glass like the lower, but with one 

 corner cut off (about two inches on each side of the corner). 

 This opening will allow an entrance to the earth within. Then 

 lay a corresponding piece of heavy paper or, better, tin on this. 

 Now get your ants, being sure to get also a queen, and co- 

 coons, and some of the earth in which the nest was found. 

 (The queen is larger than the rest, has a thicker abdomen, 

 and usually wings.) Place these on top of the cage, re- 

 moving the excess of earth. Leave alone a day or so, and 

 the ants will have taken up quarters within the cage. By 

 removing the cover, the galleries, rooms, young and old 

 ants, cocoons and eggs may be seen. Do not let the nest get 

 too dry. Pour a little water into the tray occasionally. Such 

 a colony may be kept a long time if properly cared for. 



Crickets also belong to the interesting and harmless, rather 

 than to the injurious, class. Occasionally, when they collect 

 in too great numbers in a house, they become annoying, and 

 they may sometimes do a little harm to field crops. They 

 are especially abundant in the latter part of the summer, 

 when they may be found sunning themselves in the meadows 

 and along the roadsides. Here also they are laying their eggs. 

 Crickets are preeminently autumn insects, and during the 

 day and the night the rather pleasant sound of their chirp- 

 ing may be heard. We speak of the cheerful crickets. Per- 

 haps it is their chirping that makes us feel so. Crickets have 

 always had a popular place in literature. 



