I40 FIELD ZOOLOGY. 



boy in the high school or the grades who may be able 

 himself to make a frame with glass sides and wooden ends 

 with a slit low down in one end for the in-going and out- 

 coming of the bees. Stand the hive on a shelf or a table 

 pushed close to the window. Raise the window a little 

 and put under the sash a thin strip of lumber as wide as 

 the window opening and with a slit cut in it, so as to be 

 just opposite the opening into the hive. When this is 

 done you can either push the hive close up to the window 

 or leave it a little 'way out. If the latter, lay down two 

 strips of wood to reach from the hive entrance to the 

 opening in the window strip and cover these with a piece 

 of glass, so that when you so wish you may see the bees 

 as they pass in and out. It is best to keep this covered 

 except when you wish to learn something of their doings, 

 as bees do not like to be watched at their work; that is, 

 you must not "keep tab" on them too closely. 



In the study of ants the very best thing to do is to 

 find an ant hill and dig down under the surface, a little 

 at a time. If you do not know how, any -small boy will 

 tell you. One way, possibly, in addition to what he will 

 tell you, is to make an attempt at a vertical section of 

 the ant hill by digging carefully down to one side of the 

 center so as to discover all that one may by so doing — • 

 approaching carefully the center of the hill. When you 

 have dug away most of the earth up to this middle line 

 and have found how deep the nest goes down, then with 

 a spade or a large, sharp knife cut down from the exit 

 tube, straight down to the bottom. This will be likely 

 to cut open a number of the chambers as well as some of 

 the galleries and show a number of facts concerning the 

 use of the chambers, the modes of ant activity, and their 

 behavior under disturbing circumstances. When a par- 



