The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1880-03-25
a Texan Genias.

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M A Texan Genias. il
ATexan farmer ma6a q discovery on
che 9Th which certainly bids fair to raise
him to moro prominence in his own State
then If he had found Q new sa,eroid of
the nineteenth magnitude, right ascen-
sion, % north, or invented q new steam
pump. Surely and terseiy the discovery
was q method for the determination 6f
the Texan ant. iHext 10 ever5 one knows
that the ant is an insect that ,uust be
dealt With prudently yet vigorously, com.
batively yet with caution. From the
microscopic but highly. y.aevored species
than haunts the sugary spots of the cub.
board to the fierce and intractable pic.
mic variety, the ant is acreature inculcat-
ing feelings Of profoundest respect, not
to cay awe, in the human breast, and
there Ia not hcusekeeper in the brond
land that can look unmoved upon him
when once he has established his home
in the neighborhood aud gone actively,
into the. business Of multiplication and
increase. Professor Dofetnus,e Of New
York, once estimated that there we're
1884 different species Of ants in Ametie
ca; and the Galveston Neios, promptly
recognizing fhe situati8n, rose and
claimed Is, 1928 of those species as the ex.'
elusive property os Texas, sS,ssllffiissh sad,
inconsiderate as this claim may seem, il
has never been contested; aud since The
Encyclopaedia Bfittanica, in the new
edition, has accorded 19,300 varieties to
Texas, 1t will be seen that the Gavelston
Netcs'e apparently violent and boastfal
Claim is we'll backed, up. by, eciectific ,au,.
:he:::Jy. Pc. e :hs a;:s9SSccTss::; a:9SScc?ss::y.
Tho Texan farmer whose fame bids fair
TO rival that'of the discoverer OF America
was in SUCH humble circumstances a.
year ago that ne was only able to keep
two hogs and one ants nests On his
rancho, twenty miles beyond UnYalde,
on the Rio Frio. Being still further 70:
iduced,i ne determined to give up 4be
ants. and cling only to the hogs. Tho
resolution was easily made. But low to
give up the ante e?-ah, that was h;.rrow-
ing. The farmer got out his two sons
and three spades and started TO dig up
the nest. In two minutes afterabreak-
ing ground the impracLicability of min
Cling excavation with war dance and pro-
family became painfully evident, and he
and his heirs retired to disrobe aud ap-
ply arnica and ponder new methods of
revenge. Next day he poured two
pounds Of powder down the mnin hatch
and touched it of. This blew half a
million Of ants to kingdom come, and
excited the rest, but next morning theyI
were at work, cheerful as ever, havipr
just discovered where the farmer kent
his corn meal. Then he poured gallon
of kerosene down the ho., and set It
on fire. The ants didn't like this, hut kept
holiday In tho cellar while the thing was
blazing and then came out again. Then
the farmer tried hot water, vinegar.
nitric acid, molasses, Paris green anu
ammonia. He built bonfires over the
nest by night and rammed gunpowder
aud nitro,glyceriue in it byday. No use.
He tried prayer--the ants got away with
his bag of cracked wheat. He tried
,profanity-theY invaded his pork barrel.
he sat down in calm despair-they
crawled up his trousers and chewed the
calmness right ont of him. Hs dissem.
hled--ha, hal yes be; ;dissembled, snd he
watched. One day he. saw an ant
crawl alorg the top of L now empty
cracker r5x eaa ovef on d straw 10 the
muzzle of beer bottle near by, look
down the abyss and then drop In. The
discovery Yves made The farmer danced
Q solemn festal dance, got out kis old
bottles and waited for night. Next
morning the unsuspecting insects, vose
and came opt to 1disport themselves.
Around the main entrance to their laby-
rinth there were five small bnt ct.ripus
l!ieseeking hDles Thay inveatiaataa.7s One
ideputatioai dropped il aftsr another, but
not one came back. Tho camp was thrill
ed with curiosity. The rush TO the holes
was tremendons--till,- towards evening,
not ar ant could be found, when the
farmer came forth, uneafthed' the detni-
fifteen gallons of ants to pefdition! The
plan is SO simple and yet SO leficacious.
All Texas is in arms and ecstasy, Dig
gihg around ant nests and pigating bott
tles. The farmer has heen1 presented
with gold medal by tho City Council of
Galveston. and the public spirihd citir
.zens, of Unvsl6e voted him card OF
thanks III the Caftl,e Dealer OF the 23d. /