424 



Marvels of the Universe 



quite stationaiy, the Ants appearing to be guarding the centre, in which were half a dozen larger 

 Ants of a lighter colour than the rest. These evidently were important individuals. I became 

 so absorbed at the sight of this magic circle that I failed to notice the hundreds of these 

 creatures who were investigating my body ; some penetrated to the calves of my legs, others 

 climbed to my neck, and then at a given signal they all bit at once. I had often heard of this 

 peculiar habit of biting all together, but never experienced it before. Needless to add, I beat a 

 hasty retreat and tore my clothes off, to find these tigerish creatures had buried their pincers into 

 my flesh, and had to be scraped off. 



On another occasion, at midday, I noticed a huge black mass hanging to the roots of a shady 

 tree. An inspection proved this to be a mass of Ants. They were chnging to one another in this 

 bunch, fast asleep. 



I once witnessed a fierce fight between a cerastes (horned adder) and a swarm of Driver Ants. 

 The snake had evidently been attacked while shedding its skin, and was struggling frantically 

 amidst a dense mass of Ants, who covered every portion of its body. They were furiously hanging 

 on with their sharp pincers, and every second a fresh Ant fixed its grip. The snake writhed and 

 squirmed about amongst its implacable enemies for fully a quarter of an hour, and then its struggles 

 became feebler, and it stretched its length out on the ground ; in a very few minutes its body was 

 covered two inches deep with Ants tearing and cutting away its flesh. 



[/jV TIteo. Ctirrprai. 

 TV.O IRISH ANEMONES. 



The larger of the two species here shown is Richard's Anemone, with a pale green column studded with rounded warts, and 

 white tentacles. The smaller species shown on the rocU above and also to the extreme left is Haddon's Anemone, with flesh- 

 tinted column, and pale tentacles with darU base. (Natural size.) 



