58 
NATURE STUDY. 
creek, which, farther on, is hemmed in by high walls of shale. 
Its bed was full of music and strewn with small rocks. You 
have all seen such streams among the mountains, and for 
the moment the temptation would come to us, as to other boys 
and girls, of “ stepping stones,” of forgetting that we, too, had 
traits like unto the Ambush bug, and allowing God’s life to pass 
unmolested. 
Then we came upon a clump of the Round-leaved Cornel, or 
Dogwood, a species with green branches, dotted with brown, 
and large, round and abruptly pointed leaves, which are the 
largest, indeed, of any species of Cornel. Around the forks of the 
branches we noticed small deposits of sand or clay, and on the 
under side a tiny opening, which served as a door, and through 
this could be seen the curious little faces of the ants, peering 
out to see what was going to happen as their “ cowshed ” was 
being slowly turned upside down. For surely we had come upon 
the “ cowsheds,” but where were the cows ? One of the sheds 
had been broken into, and inside, huddled close together on the 
branch, was a group of green aphids, of all sizes, snugly housed, 
and living upon the juices of the shrub, which are extracted by 
their sharp beaks. This juice provides the aphid with sufficient 
food and, after passing through chemical 
changes, is excreted, either through the nat¬ 
ural duct or through small tubes or horns upon 
the back of the abdomen. The ants are ex¬ 
tremely fond of this secretion, called honey- 
dew, and make most polite advances to the 
aphids in order to obtain it, stroking them 
delicately with their antennae, providing (fig. 2 .) 
them with shelter, and caring for them with great solicitude. 
This honey, probably, is the chief food of most species of ants. 
Huber states : “I am not acquainted with any ants to whom the 
art of obtaining from the pucerons (aphids) their subsistence is 
unknown ; we might even venture to affirm that these insects 
have been created for their use and hence the popular name, 
