more birds, and made expeditions in the neighbourhood of
the grove; but Natty continued so weak that I did not like to leave him
for any length of time by himself. I was one day attracted by a mound a
little way off, which I suspected to be an ant-hill. On approaching it,
I found that such was the case; but it was ornamented in such a way as I
had never seen one of those curious nests adorned before. It was
covered with enormous mushrooms. They were perfectly white, their tops
nearly eighteen inches in diameter. They looked very tempting; and on
examining them, I found that they were genuine mushrooms. I ate a
piece, which was very palatable, and I accordingly slung several over my
back to carry home: they would, I hoped, prove useful to eat with our
roasted partridges. Not far off was another ant-hill, and on this were
growing a number of other mushrooms. Some were of a brilliant red, and
others of a dull light blue. I examined them; but from their
consistency and general appearance, I was afraid of eating them lest
they might prove poisonous, for such I knew is the character ordinarily
of coloured fungi. I carried a couple home, however, to show to Natty;
but he agreed with me that it would be unwise to eat them.

Another day, when further from home than usual, I saw before me a
lagoon, in which water-plants were already rising up. I was convinced,
however, that it had only been filled by the late rains. From its
appearance, it was probably not more than a few inches deep in any part.
As I passed by I observed some odd-looking black lumps on the top of
some tall stalks of grass, which rose above the level of the surrounding
edges. I was tempted by curiosity to examine one of them. It was about
the size of my thumb; and as I held it it broke, when what was my
surprise to see emerge from it a whole army of ants, which began to
attack me furiously! I brushed them quickly off, though their bite was
not particularly severe. On examining others of the black lumps, I
found them inhabited in the same way; and I now came to the conclusion
that the ants which had their usual abodes in the dry season underground
on the spot, taught by experience that at a certain season it would be
covered by water, built these aerial abodes in order to secure for
themselves a refuge as soon as the waters should flood the ground around
them. Many of these houses were as large as I have described, but
others were considerably smal