Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1884-01-31
WONDERS OF ANT LIFE

The anthropoid apes no doubt ap-
proach nearer to man in bodily structure
than do any other animals; but when we
consider the habits of ants, their social
organization, their large communities and
elaborate habitations, their roadways,
their possession of domestic animals, and
even in some cases of slaves, it must be
admitted that they have fair chance
to rank next to man in the scale of in
telligence"
That, said the possessor of a fine
family of ants, is what Sir John Lub-
book says of the ant In point of intel
igence he places it next to man. / go
further still, and say that ants, or some
ants, are above the majority of wild
human races, and should be placed next
to the so-called civilized man"
"Is this upheld by fact" asked the
Enquirer man, who was painfully con-
scious that one Of the speakers pets was
meandering over his person.
Certainly it is" was the reply. "The
only thing in which ants are behind us
is the fact that they have no written Ian
guage. Neither have the people of many
tribes and nations, however; but you
cannot point out a single habit or GUS
tom that man has but what I can show
you its parallel among these little crea-
tures.''
"Do they talkG" asked the reporter.
"Not as we do,D said the naturalist;
neither do the deaf and dumb, but
they have regular sign language Did
you ever think,n he asked, "what is
going to be the result of this perfection
of education among deaf mutes7 Well,
looking at it as an evolutionist, it is
going to produce new species of the
genus homo; it's as certain as you are
there. But to return to the subject.
among my ants I see every day evidence
that they talk. As an example, l put
bug outside of the house; in moment
an ant comes along, tugs at it few
seconds, and then starts off in a direct
line for the glass house that have SO ar
ranged that l can see all that is going on
within. As she goes in put bit of
white ochre on her back so that can fol-
low her. She rushes into the nest and
places her antenna upon that of others,
touching them in various and significant
ways, and in moment she returns to
the piece Of beetle followed by twenty
five or thirty other ants. Now, if she
hasn't told them that there is something
outside, what has she done?
s'Kirby says on this point: IF you scat
ter the ruins of an ants nest in your
apartment, you will be furnished another
proof of their language. The ants will
take a thousand different paths, each
going by itself, to increase the chance of
discovery; they will meet and cross each
other in all directions, and perhaps will
wander long before they can find spot
COAfCH1Cnb IOl lllCA 1NO eOOl6T
does any one discover little chink in the
floor through which it can pass below
than it returns to its companions, and, by
means of certain motions of its attenna,
makes some of them comprehend what
route they care to pursue to find it, some
times even accompanying them to the
spot; these, in their turn, become the
guides Of others, till all know which way
to direct their steps,
''Sir John Lubbock has made the most
careful experiments with his ants, and
demonstrated that they have means of
communication without doubt In fact,
nothing else could explain their wonder
fully concerted actions, and the regulari-
ty and precision in which thousands of
individuals travel along in the same nest
in perfect accord.
ANTS AS FARMERS.
Suppose" continued the naturalist,
sthat we look at the ants first as farmers.
Here" taking down box s'is the agri-
cultural ant of Texas. In preparing their
home they clear away smooth place.
generally circular in shape, tearing up all
vegetable growth except certain kind
of grass, which they protect and care for
with every possible attention. wedding it,
etc., just as farmer would, and why9
Because it is their winter grain, and
when ripe they gather and store it away,
as does the farmer. Professor Lincecum
states that not only do the ants protect
the grain, but they actually sow it. Be-
meath the ground are numbers of aper-
lures with oval tops in which this grain
is kept, and if rain comes and the seeds
get damp and show an inclination to
sprout, they are taken out and placed in
the sun. If sprout is noticed the germ
is destroyed, while it is said of some
ants that they bite the seed and in some
way prevent it from sprouting.
'1n eating the seeds the ants wait until
they swell and are soft, and they have
often been seen standing on their hind
legs holding the seed like squirrel"
seWhat is the name Of the grassr,
asked the reporter.
at is called ant-rice, " replied the ant
man. "and is known to botanists as
Bulchlae dactyloides. In tropical Amer
ica the ants gather leaves for another
purpose. Their houses are large, done
like structures, and at certain times ants
have been seen passing out in lines over
a mile long, each returning in regular
order with piece of leaf in its mouth
at,,,,< tbo oiza ,f a cant The leaves are