The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1876-06-01

| these delicate preparations III this muse
um have been made by DR.. Auguste
Forrel, young Swiss naturalist, the
assistant, as I said, in this hospital, and
a geuius of the first order He had
however, in Walls, many brains of ants
hardens and submits to the same
slicing process described above. The
dissection of large ant is a delicate
operation, but when the ant is as small
as some of these he has here, the brain
of which needs to be under micros-
cope to be seen perfectly, the delicacy of
manipulation necessary can be imagined.
He has one experiment now in progress,
which all naturlists Will watch with
| great interest. He has in his room, in
proper earth, colony of female ants;
there is not male among them. They
are now hybernating. In the spring
| they will lay their eggs. He is trying
the experiment if these eggs will produce
ants without the presence of the males.
His observations hitherto led him to ex-
pect thai they will. The ant, as you
| know, is very wonderful animal, and
has capacities which seem to be wanting
in animals larger and usually credited
with more intelligence. They exist in
societies, if not in organizations they are
architects; they plan and carry out expe-
ditions of plunder or of war; they have
slaves; they seem (on occasions) recog-
nized leaders; and they act sometimes
very much as a community of men. The
ants have three sexes, male, female and
neuter, which, [ think, are named
amazons The slaves of an ant hill are
compelled to do the work; it is, if I
understand it, the amazons mostly who
form the army. The slaves are procured
in the good old fashioned way-by war.
1t seems to be the practice when slaves
are needed for the hill to send out scouts
to look for weaker colony. Four ants
have been seen to go on such an expedi-
ton. On their return they communicate
| the result to their fellows. The commu-
nication between them seems to be by
the means of their antenne. Two ants
touch antene and understand each 9th
er. The ant has poor or defective sight,
and his feelers are his means of inter
course and of knowledge; he feels his
way over the ground by his antenne, by
them he knows his friends from his ene-
mics; if they are pulled out he is nearly
as helpless AS blind man, and can not
tell friends from foe. They are his weap-
ons of war as well. When an attack on
another colony is determined upon, the
army moves out Of the hill, say from
200 to 700 strong. The main army does
not form i'll rank or order, but some of
the leaders keep rank four abreast.
One thing is singular, they never so on
| long as they are certain OF the direction
they move swiftly on at the rate of a
metre minute. If the leader is in doubt
the mass halts; If the four first still seem
in doubt they fall back in the crowd, and
four next take the lead, goingon as long
as they are sure of their way. Some
times they halt a long time, sending out
scouts to right and left, the army pa
tiently. waiting the result. If nothing
approaches before they reach their prey,
they march back and try again the next
day. When the force reatches the other
colony they enter the hill at once, plum
der it of its larvae or eggs, and each tax
ing one, carry them back to their own
hill. These eggs, thus acquired, are
hatched and the young are brought up
as slaves, differently educated and train
ed from the free ants.