4. _Brute Neighbors_ (Volume VII, page 260) is an interesting essay by Henry David Thoreau, the most delightful of American naturalist writers. In this essay he chats familiarly about the animals that surround his cottage in the woods, and shows the closeness of his observation as well as the breadth of his general knowledge. It is a nature study in itself as a whole. Besides mention of other animals, he tells interesting anecdotes of the following: A Wild Mouse, page 261. The Partridge, as the ruffed grouse is called in New England, pages 262-263. The Woodcock, page 264. The Fighting Ants, pages 264-268. The Loon, pages 270-274. 5. _The Pond in Winter_ (Volume VII, page 280). This is another of Thoreau's charming essays in natural history. It contains a pretty description of the snow and ice covered pond (page 280), an account of fishing through the ice (pages 282-283), and a vivid description of the pickerel (pages 283-284). 6. _Winter Animals_ (Volume VII, page 293) is a third one of Thoreau's essays. An analysis shows that he tells something of all the following interesting things: I. Winter routes over lakes, pages 293-294. II. Sounds by day and night. a. The melodious note of a hooting owl, page 294. b. The honking of a goose, page 294. c. The harsh and tremulous call of a cat-owl, page 294. d. The whooping of the ice, page 295. e. The barking of foxes, page 295. f. The feet of the red squirrel down the sides of the house, page 295. g. The discordant screams of the jays, page 298. h. The wiry note of the chickadee, page 298. i. The whirring wings of the partridges, page 299. j. The yelping of hounds, and the hunting horn (including fox hunting), pages 300-304. III. The destructiveness of squirrels and wild mice, pages 296-297. IV. The hares, pages 304-305. 7. _Trees and Ants That Help Each Other_ (Volume VII, page 306) is a selection from the writings of Thomas Belt. It is an extremely interesting account of some of the curious adaptations of plants and animals to each other, as is indicated sufficiently by the title. An outline of the essay follows: I. A species of acacia, pages 306-309. 1. Houses and feeds ants. a. Houses in thorns. b. Feeds (1) by glands and (2) by a pear-shaped appendage. 2. Ants protect trees. 3. Each seems beneficial to the other. II. A cecropia, or trumpet tree, pages 309-311. 1. Houses and feeds ants. a. Houses in hollow stems. b. Feeds ants through herds of plant-lice that suck juices of plant and secrete honey. 2. Ants protect trees. 3. Apparently beneficial to all. III. An evergreen shrub. 1. Houses and (probably) feeds ants. a. Houses in pouches at base of leaves. b. Probably feeds ants through the services of scale insects and plant-lice. 2. Ants protect shrubs. 3. Probably beneficial to all.