Of course it was on the ground, in the moss and creeping plants,
under some bushes of dwarf birch, screened by spruces. The structure
closely resembled that of the Whitethroat was lined with grass
and fibrous roots; no down, feathers, or fur were observable. The
young numbered four.
The last woods was the limit of other interesting creatures - the
Ants. Wherever one looks on the ground, in a high, dry place,
throughout the forest country, from Athabaska Landing northward
along our route, there is to be seen at least one Ant to the square
foot, usually several. Three kinds seem common - one red-bodied,
another a black one with brown thorax, and a third very small and
all black. They seem to live chiefly in hollow logs and stumps,
but are found also on marshes, where their hills are occasionally
so numerous as to form dry bridges across.
I made many notes on the growth of timber here and all along the
route; and for comparison will begin at the very beging.
In March, 1907, at my home in Connecticut, I cut down an oak tree
(Q. palustris) that was 110 feet high, 32 inches in diameter, and
yet had only 76 rings of annual growth.