cl PROCEEDINGS—PERTHSHIRE SOCIETY OF NATURAL SCIENCE. 
sometimes only an inch or an inch and a half. It has a pair of strong 
jaws, which are very well suited for cutting through the roots of corn 
and grass. In summer it is a very interesting sight to see the female 
laying her eggs. First, she walks about over the grass until she has 
found a place where the ground is soft. Then she stands almost 
upright on her long hind legs, and begins to bore a hole with the 
sharp spike at the end of her body, turning it from side to side. 
When she has made a deep enough hole, she lays an egg in it, and 
then goes a little way further and bores another hole, and lays an egg 
in it, and so on until she has layed all her eggs.” 
A boy of 14, living in the beautiful little hamlet of Inver, at the 
mouth of the Braan, begins his Essay as follows :—“ There are many 
species of insects in Perthshire, and, if we live in the country, we 
have a good opportunity of studying their life-history. We find an 
insect of some description wherever we may roam, if we look for 
them. Some people do not know where to look for them. If I was 
looking for a beetle, I would look under a stone or in a mossy place. 
Some boys who live in large towns, such as London or Liverpool, 
never have the chance of studying Nature.” 
Proceeding to speak of the habits of the ant, he gives the results 
of his observations as follows :—“A very common insect in this dis¬ 
trict is the ant. One Saturday I saw, on Craig-vinian Hill, a very 
large ants’ heap, about four feet high, made of the withered sharp- 
pointed leaves of the spruce tree. I put a piece of bread on to the 
heap, and in about a minute it was eaten. I also got a stick, and 
gave the heap a turn over, and I saw an innumerable lot of eggs, 
which the ants began to carry away with their hind legs.” 
SCIENCE CLASSES AT THE MUSEUM. 
Before concluding my introductory remarks, I wish merely to 
refer to the educational work which has been carried on by our 
Curator, Mr. Rodger, during the past winter. Two most successful 
courses of lectures and demonstrations on “ Animal Life ” have been 
conducted in our Lecture Room—the one, on Saturday mornings, to 
teachers from all parts of the county; and the other, on Saturday 
evenings, to working men. The former, which was one of the 
courses under the auspices of the Technical Education Committee of 
the County Council, was illustrated not only by specimens from the 
Museum, but also by a large number of living specimens obtained 
from the Milport Marine Station and elsewhere. Such courses of 
instruction cannot fail to spread an interest in Natural History 
studies throughout the county. 
GEOLOGICAL LESSONS FROM THE GRAND CANON 
OF THE COLORADO. 
When I attended the class of Geology in Edinburgh University, 
in 1880, Professor Archibald Geikie, who had then just returned 
from the Western States of America, chose as the subject of his 
opening address the Grand Canon of the Colorado. He said that 
the vision of that unique gorge had given him a new revelation of 
