190 HOME STUDIES IN NATURE. 



the base of the leaf to the summit, feeding on the se- 

 cretion ; so numerous were they that they crowded one 

 another, but all steadily advancing to the opening, down 

 which they disappeared. 



All persons who have observed ants feeding have 

 probably noticed the regular order in which they move 

 to and from their food. The Aphides (plant-lice) pro- 

 duce a sweet secretion of which the ants are very 

 fond. The ants are very friendly towards the Aph- 

 ides, for they supply them with abundant food, on 

 which they thrive. Now if we observe the ants feed- 

 ing on this secretion from the Aphides, we can also see 

 that they form two regular lines, the hungry ones mov- 

 ing up the stem to take their food, and the satisfied 

 ones returning down the stem ; and very friendly and 

 fraternal they seem, never getting in each other's way, 

 but often greeting one another as they meet, putting 

 their antennas together as if communicating something, 

 and then passing on, each his own way. Mark the dif- 

 ference when the ants are found feeding on the sweet 

 secretion of S. variolaris : now they crowd and jostle 

 one another, and seem wild in their movements, and 

 all are advancing in one line towards the summit of 

 the leaf, on reaching which they disappear down the 

 wide throat of the insatiable Sarracenia. ~No return line 

 here. 



This I observed on the pine-barrens where the plants 

 grew. I now took a large supply of leaves to my 

 study, and placed them in an upright position in vases 



