242 
ANIMAL CURIOSITIES 
a similar plan by making use of a fly or some 
other insect as a lure. 
The carnivorous animals display much 
patience in teaching their young to hunt and 
track their prey, and those creatures that 
depend to a large extent upon their protective 
coloration to evade the attack of their enemies 
have to be taught the art of “ freezing ” or 
remaining motionless in times of danger. 
The duckbill or platypus, one of those 
remarkable mammals that lay eggs, induces 
its young to enter the water by ejecting a drop 
of milk therein; and the baby elephant has 
to undergo several weeks’ tuition before it is 
able to pick up anything with its trunk. 
Possibly the most curious of all animal 
vocations is that of an agriculturist, an occupa¬ 
tion that is followed by a certain species of 
ant, called the agricultural ant and found in 
Texas. Its farm, as one may well call it, is 
situated in the vicinity of its nest; a piece of 
ground rather more than a square yard in 
extent being levelled and cleared of all obstacles. 
Roadways or lanes, kept free from all weeds 
and herbage, radiate from the main clearing 
in all directions, the bare paths being about 
five inches in breadth near the nest and 
gradually tapering away as they lead to the 
surrounding fields. 
