The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1878-09-12

and even the agricultural ants. Tn,
first lived chiefly by the chase, anC
hunted alone. Their battles were sin
I gle combats, like those described by the
ancient poets. The second were 8
higher type of social life. They demon
strated certain species of aphides like
/ fiocks and herbs. They were immense
and acted in concert. He thought they
would probably externlinate the first
type, just as the white man exterminat-
ed the savages. OF the agricultural
class-the harvest ants-he would not
( speak, as there were none in this coun-
/ try. When he first began to keep ants
/ he isolated the nests by water, but it
was necessary to change that often, and
observing that the hairs on the stems of
! flowers prevented the ants from climb
/ ing them, ne had since used ferns. One
of the most surprising points connected
with ants was that while there was one
nest they never appeared to quarrel, all
others, even of the same species, being
treated as strangers and enemies. There
was no mistaking the treatment. If an
ant (tgSca) wanted to carry away a
friend to a place of security, she took
her by the mandible, and her friend
rolled herself into ball, but an enemy
is seized by the leg or an antenna.
He confirmed the experiments of HUI
Der as to their being able to recognize
their friends, even after long absence,
or rather their acquaintance, for
although he saw they attacked and
killed their enemies, he could not find
any trace of warm affection for their
friends. He tested this by taking some
out of nest and suspending them in a
bottle covered with muslin. Those in
the nest took no notice of them, but
when strangers were put in they were
indignant, and never stopped until they
cut through the muslin and attacked
them. He marked some ants in nest
with paint, and found that their friends
removed it, but a stranger going into
the nest was restless, and got out as
quickly as possible. 1t would be inter
esting to know how they recognize their
friends. 1t might be by smell or some
sign, or by actual recognition.
In order to try whether they could
recognize them when insensible, he first
used chloroform; but that practically
killed them, and he then made them in
toxicated. He did so by putting them
into whisky, not whisky into them, for
they were too sensible to take it even on
week days. He tried an experiment
with % friends and so strangers. The
sober ants coming out of the nests and
finding the intoxicated ants lying help
less on their backs in ludicrous attitudes,
proceeded to take them up and carry
them off OF the % they brought 20
into the nest, where, probably, they
soon slept off the effects. The other five
they dropped into the moat of water
which then surrounded the nest. Why
they did so he could not tell. Perhaps
they fell into the hands of stern teeto-
talers. As to the 80 strangers, 20 were
thrown into the moat, and the other two
were taken no notice of.
He took some pup2 out of nest, and
on putting them back, after some
months, found that they were received
as friends, while some which were put
into a different nest were attacked. 1t
was generally stated that all the eggs in
a nest of ants or bees were laid by
queens. That was not strictly so, for
some were laid by workers, though the
cases were exceptional. He had some
nests in which there were no queens,
and yet there were eggs in them; but
the eggs laid by workers always pro-
duced males. He had made some eXper-
lments to test the senses of ants. He
found that they were capable of dis
between different colors,
and avoided velvet. Their sense of
smell was also delicate, but he had seen
no proof that they were capable of hear
ing, and he had proved by an expert
ment, which he described, that they
were not capable of communicating
with each other by sound. There were
thirty species of ants in these countries,
and 200 in other countries, and there
were many interesting problems to be
solved in relation to them.
Sir Walter Elliott asked how ants
with each other, and
mentioned that on one occasion in In
dia, when making a preparation of a
spider, an ant approached and attempt
cd to carry off the specimen. He drove
it away, and then five others came, and
having occasion to leave the room, he
found on his return that the specimen
was gone.
The President observed that perhaps
in tropical regions the ants were more
civilized, and possessed power of COM
with each other which was
not enjoyed by ants elsewhere.