n the ground near by the path by which the white
ants move to and fro between their home and the house. The smell of
the treacle is sure to attract a bevy of black ants, which species is
very fond of sweets. These are the natural enemies of the white ants.
They notice the latter passing regularly back and forth, and govern
themselves accordingly. In a few hours, a whole army of black ants
approaches, marching in a column two yards long. They enter the
infected house in large numbers, leaving a reserve force behind, and
promptly destroy every white ant in the place. Finally the army
marches out, each of the black ants carrying away a dead white one,
which, cannibal-like, they devour!

But we are still on the way by rail to Kandy, and not writing a volume
on natural history, though in making these notes and with the objects
absolutely before one's eyes, the mind--and the pen as well--is apt to
follow the natural suggestions of the subject, even at the risk of
seeming to diverge from the purpose in hand. The patient reader thus
often becomes possessed of facts, the communication of which was
quite unpremeditated by the author. Let us take heed, however, not to
make such detail wearisome.

On remarking to an intelligent resident of the island, who was a
fellow passenger, that no wild animals were to be seen upon the route,
he replied that if we were to leave the more thickly settled district
and strike into the forest, abundant tracks would be met with of
bears, leopards, and elephants. The latter, especially, make broad
paths through the jungle by their heavy tread and shambling gait,
leveling the undergrowth right and left as effectually as could be
done by an army of bushwhacking road-makers. If a small tree impedes
an elephant's progress, he puts his broad forehead against the stem,
bends it so as to place his foot upon the horizontal trunk, and thus
snaps it short off. If it does not yield readily, he winds his trunk
firmly about it and pulls it up by the roots, as a dentist extracts a
rebellious tooth. As a rule, small trees go down before a fleeing
elephant like grass. Buffaloes are found in both the wild and
domesticated condition all over the island, but they abound only in
their wild state in the northern sections. The untamed buffalo is a
dangerous antagonist when assaulted and fairly driven to bay, and many
an English sportsman has been killed by them in Ceylon. The bulls are
particularly savage and pugnacious