Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-02-11
ON THE INCREDIBLE,

BORDERS ON THE INCREDIBLE,
But it is not very evident from McCooks
account whether he himself witnessed the
facts. The facts, however, which he mar
arrates are that a peach tree having grown
up so as to overshadow nest of harvest
ing ants, the latter climbed the tree to
strip off the leaves. 81 am confident,
SAYS McCook, that the reason for this on
slaught was the desire to be rid of the oh.
noxious shade.
The observations made by Colonel Sykes
on certain ants in India has gained wide
notoriety from its having been published By
Spence in his popular work on instinct.
He says that in order to guard his pro-
visions from the ants he put them on
table, the four legs Of which he placed in
as many basins filled with water. Some
ants still succeeded in scrambling across
the water, and so the legs of the table
were likewise painted with turpentine.
The ants then ran up wall near which the
table stood, and when about foot above
its level, they sprang from the wall to the
table.
Somewhat analogous to this is the OBJ
servation of Professor Lsuckhart, who
placed roundsthe trunk Of tree which had
UGGu NlslbSO ny ANUS 90 pccSulC iOi
aphides, broad cloth soaked in tobacco
water. When the ants, returning home
down the trunk of the tree, arrived at the
soaked cloth, they turned round, went up
the tree again TO some of the overhanging
branches, and allowed themselves to drop
clear of toe obnoxious barrier. On the
other hand, the ants which desired to
mount the tree first examined the nature
of the obstruction, then turned back and
procured some pellets of earth, which they
carried in their jaws and deposited, one
after another, upon the cloth till a harm
less road of earth was made across it.
NO SMALL KNOWLEDGE OF PRACTICAL EN-
GINEERING.
Buchner, in his recently published and
translated work on "Mind in Animals"
gives singular observation analogous to
the above, which was communicated to
him by Herr G. Theuerkauf. A maple
tree standing in the grounds of Herr Vo1-
baum, of E bing, swarmed with ants and
aphides. In order to check the mischief
the proprietor smeared about foot width
of the ground around the tree with tar.
The first ants that arrived stuck fast /; but
the rext, seeing the predicament of their
companions, turned back and fetched
number of aphides from the tree, which
they stuck down on the tar, one after an
other, till they made bridge over which
they could cross without danger.
DR.. Elendorf writes to Professor Buchner
that he protected cupboard of his pro.
visions from the invasion of ants by stand
ing the legs OF TIE cupboard in saucers
filled with water. He adds: 81 myself
did this, but none the less found thou
sands of ants in the cupboard next morn
ing. 1t was puzzle to me how they
crossed the water, but the puzzle was soon
solved; for found straw in one of the
saucers. This they had used as
a bridge | pushed the straw
about an inch from the cupboard leg, when
a terrible confusion arc In moment
the leg Immediately over the water was
covered with hundreds of ants feeling for
the bridge in every direction with their
antenne, running back again and coming
in ever larger swarms, as though they
had communicated to their compan-
ions within the cupboard the fearful
misfortune that had taken place. Mean
while the new. corners continued to run
along the straw, and, not finding the leg
of the cupboard, the greatest perplexity
arose. They hurried along the edge of the
saucer, and soon found where the fault lay.
With united forces they pulled ard pushed
at the straw, until it again came in contact
with the wood, and the communication was
again restored. "-[G. j. Romanes in the
Nineteenth Century.