7\ NT- HILLS. — 'SPONGE. 
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where the eyes were to be. In others a farther progress was observed, 
the inckided maggots being furnished with every thing; to complete 
tiie shape of an ant, but wholly transparent, the eyes only excepted, 
which were as black as bugles. Lastly, in others he took out ants 
every way perfect and complete, which immediately crept about 
among the rest. These supposed ants’ eggs are brought up every 
morning in summer, near the top of theipest, where they are io.dged 
all the warm |)art of the day, within reach of the sun’s inhuenee. At 
night, or if it be cool or like to rain, they carry them down to a great 
depth ; so that you may dig a foot deep ere you come at them. The 
true ant-eggs are the white substance whicb, upon opening their 
banks, appear to the eye like the scatterings of tine white sugar or 
salt, but very soft and tender. Examined by a microscopej it is found 
to consist of several pure white appearances, in distinct membranes, all 
figured like the lesser sorts of bird’s eggs, and as clear as the 
bladder of a fish. The same substance is found in the bodies of the 
ants themselves. On this spawm, when emitted, they lie in multi- 
tudes, to brood, till it is turned into little vermicules as small as 
liiites, conioionly called ants’ eggs. 
Methods OF DESTROYING Ant-Hills. 
Ant-hills do great mischief to dry pastures, not only by tvasting 
so much land as they cover, but by hindering the scythe in mowdng 
the grass, and yielding a poor hungry food pernicious to cattle. The 
manner of destroying them is, to cut them into four parts from the 
lop, and then dig into them so deep as to take out the core below, 
so that when the turf is laid down again, it may be somewhat lower 
than the level of the land ; and this will prevent the ants from return- 
ing to the same place, which otherwise they w'ould certainly do. 
The earth that is taken out, must be scattered to as great a distance 
every way as may be, otherwise they will collect it together, and make 
another hill just by. The proper time for doing this is winter ; and 
if the places be left open, the frost and rains of that time of the year 
will destroy the rest ; but in this case care must be taken that they 
are covered up early enough in the spring, otherwise they will be les's 
fertile in grass than the other places. In Hertfordshire they use a 
particular kind of spade for this purpose; it is very sharp, and 
formed at the top into the shape of a crescent, so that the whole 
edge makes up more than three-fourths of a circle this acts in every 
part, and does the business very quickly and effectually. Others use 
the same instruments that they do for mole-hills. Human soil i^ a 
better remedy than all those, as is proved by experiment ; for it will 
kill great numbers of them, and drive all the rest away, if only a 
small quantity of it be put upon their hills. Unsiacked lime has also 
been used successfully. 
Sponge. 
So early as the days of Aristotle, sponges were supposed to pos- 
sess animal life; the persons employed in collecting them, having 
