66 THE AUSTRALIAN NATURALIST. 
for breaking a path through the sand, and the hind ones for 
pushing away the excavated material, while the snout is pro- 
tected by a horny cap. The ears also are closely covered with 
hair, so that sand is effectively excluded. ‘There is not the 
slightest external trace of eyes, but examination shows be- 
neath the surface of the head a vestigal eye, proving that the 
ancestors of this little creature were able to see. Miss Sweet, 
ot Melbourne, who has done some excellent work on the sub- 
ject, found that all traces of iris, lens, retina and optic nerve 
have practically disappeared, the eye proper being represented 
only by the pigmented choroid—the coloured membrane of 
the eye. It is most interesting to note further that the lachry- 
mal gland—the organ which secretes tears—is of large size 
and discharges into a sac formed by the remains of the eye-lids, 
which in turn is connected to the nose by the usual naso- 
Jachrymal duct. In this way provision is made for the ade- 
quate lubrication of the nasal cavity. The skeleton possesses 
well-marked avian characters. ; 
In the desert centre of Australia every plant or animal has 
more or less adapted itself to the onerous conditions of life 
ruling there. Plants, to survive at all, must make the most 
of the short periods of moisture, and it is found that seeds 
of the indigenous plants germinate, the plants grow, blossom 
and mature their seed with astonishing rapidity. Professor 
Spencer in his Narrative of the Horn Expedition, gives much 
extremely interesting information on this point and on the 
manner in which the animals also have responded to the dic- 
tates of grim necessity, for their very existence depends on this 
power of adaptability. The Honey Ant of Central Austra- 
lia (Campanotus inflatus, Lubbock) is an excellent example of 
one kind of adaptation. During the very short season when the 
Psyllidae and Coccidae are secreting their sweet nectar the 
anty must collect and store sufficient honey-dew to serve the 
wants of the community until fresh supplies are again avail- 
able. There being no convenient means of constructing cells 
such as those made by bees, certain of the worker ants are 
turned into living stores, they are fed with nectar until their 
abdomens become swollen into a large sac, the abdominal seg- 
ments appearing as isolated plates on the membranous sur- 
face. The ants so treated are quite unable to move about, 
and merely hang in the nest ready to discharge their sweet 
nectar when required. Another species brought from Central 
Australia by Professor Baldwin Spencer, and named Cam- 
ponotus cowlei by Mr. Froggatt, has the same habit, but the 
individuals chosen for honey storing purposes do not become 
nearly so much swollen and are able to move about in the 
nest. (. cowlei is a much rarer insect than CU. inflatus, only 
one nest having been found. The specimens of both species 
