764 [Assembly 
few of the empty, shrivelled skins, adhering to the leaves, was all 
that remained. 
We have seen the prodigious increase of these creatures which 
would take place if they were allowed to multiply to the extent 
they are susceptible of doing. Such is their fecundity, that if no 
check was given them, it is evident that from the cedars of Le¬ 
banon to the hyssop upon the wall, every leaf and spear of vege¬ 
tation springing from the bosom of mother earth, would be 
thronged and blighted by the countless myriads which would be 
produced in the space of a few months. Fortunate indeed is it 
for man that in this, as in so many other instances, Providence 
has furnished remedies for an evil which would otherwise be so 
calamitous—remedies which are far more effective than any which 
human skill has been able to devise. As this family of insects 
appears to outstrip every other in the rapidity with which it is 
liable to multiply, to keep it restrained within its appropriate 
bounds means more efficient are here requisite than elsewhere, 
and we accordingly find that the aphides have enemies more 
numerous, more active and inveterate, than any other group 
in this department of the works of nature. Whole families of 
other insects, some of them numerous in species, appear to have 
been called into existence chiefly for the purpose of feeding upon 
and destroying these vermin, and an acquaintance with the seve¬ 
ral kinds of insects which, in our country, occur in compauy with 
these pests of vegetation is quite important, that we may know 
which to destroy or pass by in indifference, and which to 
cherish and protect, and call to our aid in instances where nature 
herself does not furnish them in sufficient numbers. 
By far the most constant comrade of the aphis is the ant. One 
species or another of this family of insects (Formicid.®) is almost 
invariably found wherever a colony of plant-lice have established 
themselves. By this means we frequently discover colonies of 
these Insects which would escape our search if our attention was 
not attracted by these larger sized sable colored attendants. The 
fondness of the ant for sweet substances is well known, as it is 
always prowling about cupboards and other places where saccha- 
