The weekly miner., 1880-08-03
The Red Ant and the Picnic Season.

1t is an important fact to announce that the
led ant crop is now ripe; that is. it is ready
to pick, or perhaps more properly to picnic.
The picnic has no ilobler use of all uses than
the elevation of the ant to a position, often of
influence, in human affairs. There is no rec
ord OF any picnic III any age without its red
ant. $50 to the ant, thou slusgard," was
only "a paraphrase for ordering some lazy fel-
low to start on ! picnic and learn to work.
When he finds himself where he has TO bring
pals of water carry the ice. fetch the blank
cts, spread the table, and SO on, and flnds no
chance to rest except by surrendarilS to The
insect world completely and bet oming alike
their highway and their habitation, then he
learns his little lesson of the advantage of
paid labor and hies away 20 give up slugsing
and earn honest wages.
The bug IS creature OF already proverblal
influence. The man with flea in his ear
and the man with bee in his bonnet are both
monumental, but the flea and the bee are no
more influential than the ant. Scientists
have made a study OF this creature, and the
stories they tell of its intelligence and skill
belittlc human generals in war or modern
machinery in peace, and preserve self respect
only AS they incidentally illustrate our ability
to comprehend such genus. But these great
students of nature, with all their Information,
lOf1Ot 10 give us Il lew vi tiiC oi'o
They may not indicate genius, but still they
do impress the observer. For one thing the
ant is ravenously fond Of being eaten Be-
fore the picnic table can be spread he will be
mixing himself freely with the fine sugar, he
will be in the cells of the bread; he will be
bathing in the milk, and will be lost i'll the
melting butter. Whatever we are to eat he
will be a part of it. He seems bound to get
at the inside facts of human nature. But he
is equally eager for the outside. One DIVISION
will 90 down mans neck. and other dlVl-
sions countermarch up his arms and ankles.
One reason why, i'll spite OF reason anu Ia
tiGue, picnic parties always have a dance on
the lawn the moment lunch is oyerls to snake
out the ants from their clothes. Nooody ever
really assigns this reason, but they all feel the
ants ,oo- and hence their antics. Now, man
in his make up has no reciprocal for THIS love
of the ant for him. The bug neither improves
his food nor his mood and 50 the onc-slueu
romance of misplaced affection i'll nature lies
before the scientists an unsolved riaaie III
whose presence they are dumb. IL Woulu oe
worth more to us, though, to know now lnis
lave for man developed, and how TO stop IL
ih,n is all that we are told as to the astonlsh-
inc strataeems, plans, tricks, affection, eau
tion and great courage OF ants III tueir oCAei
relations. > c,u into
II is early in the season. truly, 10 IAN ','to
tbis sort of meditation. The picnic boom has
oniv only w inst begun, and up to date the ant has
had a pretty lonesome time Of it, r 6uI ers ne Is
sure of his game so"ner or later Inc NOR ise
ants we kill at pics ic the more we i''a neio i
the next time the more we cary "u'no ="
onr clothes. the greater the supply remain
inc. and as we only have our plcnics III sn..
time this will always he so. III Shl,tIinS
nov Charles Dudley Warner, IN Harry ora
CourdRt.