38 NATURE'S REALM. 
vious way to daylight. I have not the data for 
the height above the stone pile. 
The photo does not give a correct idea of 
the twisting, as the point which appears to 
touch is some distance off, and twists itself in 
every direction within a radius of a foot and a 
half. 
Undisturbed it would no doubt in time have 
gathered strength to shove the stone apart, like 
a curiosity I once saw in Illinois, that of a 
young tree growing out of the joint between 
the stones in the third story of a court house, 
which began to press the stones apart and 
probably had to be removed. 
Another curiosity of a similar nature near 
here is a gravestone almost entirely imbedded 
in the trunk of a large tree. 
It would be curious to know how long the 
tree was seeking the sunlight cf heaven and 
free air. A Student of Nature. 
AN EMIGRATION OF ANTS. 
Away back in the ’40’s, while learning my 
trade on the Germantown Telegraph, 1 was 
in the habit of wandering off into the woods or 
along the shady banks of some stream on Sun- 
days when the weather was pleasant, with a 
book from Major Freas’ (the editor and publish- 
her of the 7e/egraph) library. 
One afternoon while lying on a moss-covered 
bank under cover of the shady wood reading 
“Rambles of a Naturalist Around Philadel- 
phia,” I noticed and became interested in a 
great army of small black ants traveling along 
the dry sandy bed of the gutter below me on 
the roadside. Tracing the line of march back 
I found they were leaving their old habitation 
on the side bank among the grass for some 
unexplained reason. They were not encum- 
bered by any unnecessary luggage, not even 
provisions. Their young, like maggots with- 
out legs, were carried. Thousands of males, 
females and neuters, the latter being soldiers 
and workers, comprised the line marching for- 
ward. Though scattered, a distinguished fea- 
ture of order and intelligence appeared, as 
some were going back and forward, stopping 
an ant here and there to give some order evi- 
dently. 
Fgllowing the gutter same fifty feet, climh: 
ing rough places, threading tangled grass and 
weeds like thick forests and jungles, they di- 
verged to the left up a steep, grassy bank 
almost hidden from view, except a glimpse 
here and there, like an army marching through 
a forest, they entered their new home in the 
ground which had been recently made, as 
apparent from the fresh excavated dirt. 
One would suppose that they might have 
provisions to transport for so large an army 
until more could be provided, though they may 
have laid in a supply. 
Last summer I watched a colony transport- 
ing to their village a supply of mullein blossom, 
a description of which has been published. 
W. M. K. 
Do WATER SNAKES POISON FISH ? 
Having repeatedly been interested in watch- 
ing how water snakes feed, I was careful in 
noting how one particular snake manceuvred 
to get a meal in Crum Brook, one of the trout 
streams preserved by the Quaspeake Club, ot 
Rockland County, N. Y., of which Iam warden. 
The snake darted from under the bank and 
seized a chub about three inches long, half ot 
its body being in the mouth of the snake. I 
struck the reptile smartly with my cane, when 
it darted away, and the fish wriggled off slowly 
for a few feet and then lost all power of motion, 
although it did not seem to be even slightly 
bruised. Upon taking it out of the water I ob- 
served a ¢hick slime or mucus covering the 
whole body, which I scraped off, and returned 
the fish to the water. At first the fish was very 
active, swimming around lively, but in a few 
moments seemed once more to lose the power 
of motion. I again took it out of the water, 
and found the coating ot slime thicker upon its 
body than before. I scraped it off again, with 
the same result, but finally the fish turned on 
its side dead, and in about five minutes, spent 
in perfect quietude on my part, the snake came 
from under a submerged stump, seized the fish 
and disappeared. This incident led me to be- 
lieve that the snake poisoned the fish by coating 
it with the thick secretion I found upon its 
body. However this may be, I now take great 
care to kill all the snakes that I find in the club 
waters, fHlenry Brendon, 
