Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1874-05-27
AlligatOrs, Ants and Beetles.

The alligator cannot devour his prey
beneath the water, but crawls on land with
it after he has drowned it. They are said
to catch wild pigs in the forest near the
river by half buryng themselves in the
Ground. The pigs come roofing amongst
the soil, the alligator never moves until
one gets within his reach, when he seizes
if and hurries off to the river with it. They
are often seen in hot weather on logs or
sand-pits lying with their mouths wide
omen. The natives say they are catching
flies: that numbers are attracted by the
saliva of the mouth, and that when sutti-
Gent are collected the alligator closes his
laws upon them, but | do not know what
reliance can be placed on the story. Prob
ably it is an invention to account Tor the
animals lying with their mouths open; as
in half-civilized countries l have visited, l
have found that the natives seldom admit
they do not know the reason of anything,
but will invent an explanation rather than
acknowledge their ignorance.
Don Francisco Velasquez informed me,
in 1870, that he had a powder that made
the ants mad, so that they bit and destroy
ed each other. He gave me little of it,
and it proved to he corrosive subllmate.
| made several trials of it, and found it
most eflicacious in turning large column
of the ants A little of it sprinkled across
one of their paths in warm weather has a
most surprising effect. As soon as one of
the ants touches the white powder, 1t COM
mences to run about wildly, and to attack
any other ant it comes across. In couple
of hours round balls of the ants will be
found all biting each other; and numerous
individuals will be seen bitten completely
! =. of
their legs OF antenn9. News of the COM
motion is carried to the formicarium, and
huge fellows. measuring three-quarters of
an inch in length, that only come out of
the nest during a migration or an attack
on the nest or one of the working columns
are seen stalking down with determined
air. as if they would soon right matters
| As soon, however, as they have touched
! the sublimate, all their stateliness leaves
them; they rush about; their legs are
seized hold of by some of the smaller ants
already affected by the poison; and they
themselves begin to bite, and in 4 short
time become the center of fresh balls of
rabid ants. The sublimate can only be
used effectively in dry weather. At Colon
| found the Americans using coal tar,
which they spread across their paths when
any of them led to their gardens. was also
told that the Indians prevented them from
ascendingyoung trees by tying thick wiSp
of grass with the sharp points downward,
round the stems. The ants cannot pass
through the wisp, and do not find out how
to surmount it, getting confused amongst
the numberless blades, all pointing down
wards. | mention these different plans of
meeting and frustrating the attacks of the
ants ut some length. rs they are one of the
greatest scOurges of tropical America. and
it has been too readily supposed that their
attacks cannot be warded off | myself
was enabled, by using some of the means
mentioned above, to successfully cultivate
trees and vegetables of which the ants were
extremely fond.
Insects were plentiful by this path. In
some parts brown tiger beetles ran or flew
with great swiftness; in Others lcaf-cut-
ting.ant in endless train ed,alOn@itheil
} burdens of foliage. looking. rs they march
ed along with the segments of leaves, held
up vertically, like green butterflies, or Il
mimic representation of a moving Birnan
wood Sometimes the chirping of the ant.
thrushes drew attention to where a grea
body of armv-ants We're foraging amongst
the fallen branches, sending the spiders
} cockroaches and graSshoppers fleeing for
their lives, only to fall victims to the sur
rounding birds. On the fallen branches
t and LOGS | obtained many longicorn bee
ties the woodcutters brought me many
: more, and from this valley We're ohtaine,
some of the rarcst and finest specimens il
| my collection.-Ihc NttUrd}it IN Nicdrd
Ollu