most impossible. A slight motion of one of my feet
at this juncture, however, and, presto! what a change! Seven black
holes in an instant! And now another wait of five minutes, followed by
the same hocus-pocus, and the black spots, one by one, vanishing from
sight even as I looked upon them. But let us keep perfectly quiet this
time and examine the suspected spots more carefully. Locating the
position of the hole by the little circular "door-yard," we can now
certainly distinguish a new feature, not before noted, at the centre of
each--two sharp curved prongs, rising an eighth of an inch or more above
the surface and widely extended.

[Illustration]

What a danger signal to the creeping insect innocent in its
neighborhood! How many a tragedy in the bug world has been enacted in
these inviting, clean-swept little door-yards--these pitfalls, so
artfully closed in order that their design may be the more surely
effective. As I have said, these tunnels are commonly called
"ant-holes," perhaps with some show of reason. It is true that ants
occasionally are seen to go into them, but not by their own choice,
while the most careful observer will wait in vain to see the ant come
out again. Here at the edge of the grass we see one approaching now--a
big red ant from yonder ant-hill. He creeps this way and that, and anon
is seen trespassing in the precincts of the unhealthy court. He crosses
its centre, when, click! and in an instant his place knows him no more,
and a black hole marks the spot where he met his fate, which is now
being duly celebrated in a supplementary fete several inches
belowground.

A poor unfortunate green caterpillar, which, with a very little forcible
persuasion in the interest of science, was induced to take a short-cut
across this nice clean space of earth to the clover beyond, was the next
martyr to my passion for original observation. He might have pursued his
even course across the arena unharmed, but he too persisted in
trespassing, and suddenly was seen to transform from a slow creeping
laggard into the liveliest acrobat, as he stood on his head and
apparently dived precipitately into the hole which suddenly appeared
beneath him. A certain busy fly made itself promiscuous in the
neighborhood, more than once to the demoralization of my necessary
composure, as it crept persistently upon my nose. What was my delight
when I observed the fickle insect in curious contemplation of a pair of
calipers at th