singing every night as if it had been on
shore, till they reached the Islands of St. Catalina."

In China, the people take as much pleasure in cricket fights as the
Spaniards do in bull fights. Two crickets are pitted against each
other, and crowds of people gather round, to witness the combat. The
insects rush at each other with great fury; and the spectators, high
and low, rich and poor, seem to experience the most lively sensations
of delight.

THE LOCUST.

In July, 1827, the Russian General Cobley had a grand battle with the
locusts, on his estate of Coblewka, along the borders of the Sea of
Oschakoff. The locusts were marching in twenty-four columns, and were
destroying all the crops. General Cobley collected the peasants on his
estate, and from all the neighboring country, amounting to five hundred
persons. They were armed with pitchforks, spades, drums, and bells;
and, thus equipped, they commenced their march against the invaders.
They soon compelled them to retreat, and pursued them incessantly
towards the sea, where they were forced to jump into the water, and
were drowned. Three days afterwards, the sea-shore was covered with the
dead locusts, cast up by the waves; the air was infected by a fetid
exhalation, and great numbers of poisoned fish were cast up by the
waves on the strand. It is probable that the fish had fed on the
locusts.

THE ANT.

_Anecdotes._--In tracing the designs of the cells and galleries, each
ant appears to follow its own fancy. A want of accordance must
therefore frequently take place at the point where their works join;
but they never appear to be embarrassed by any difficulties of this
kind. An instance is related, in which two opposite walls were made, of
such different elevations, that the ceiling of the one, if continued,
would not have reached above half way of the height of the other. An
experienced ant, arriving at the spot, seemed struck with the defect,
immediately destroyed the lower ceiling, built up the wall to the
proper height, and formed a new ceiling with the materials of the former.

In the "Transactions of the French Academy," an account is given of an
ant, that was taken from a hill, and thrown upon a heap of corn. It
seemed attentively to survey this treasure, and then hastened back to
its former abode, where it communicated intelligence of the land of
plenty; for an immense host of its brethren quickly made their
appearance, and commenced carrying off