Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1885-11-21

being mountainous. the expense would
De light and the progress more rapid.
Already the eastern third Of the state
IA is surveyed BY the typographical
c0rps on the government scale
> of four miles to the inch, and
at If We wait until the entire state is COW
g. cred the cost of resurveying for the large
"a scale of one mile to the inch will be
much greater. The smaller scale il all
needed to base boundary surveys upon
d which will in time save much trouble.
to The state work Of the national survey
lie should be managed BY commission Of
- scientific men, not politicians-who
would have cognizance and control
q of the work which the director
e of the United States would execute for
m them. Such q commission Is the pres
= ident of the Kansas Academy of Science,
the secretary Of the state
er board of agriculture and the superin.
of tendent of mines would be appropri-
" ate and capable, and it should be named
70 in the bill that it might be lifted
- above political trading and the interest
"a Of the state, and the survey be not jeop-
y. ardized.
r The academy should appoint com.
h mittee to take the matter under advise
mert, to correspond with the directors of
The United States geological survey as to
/ 'thods of procedure for cooperation,
M -et it into shape to present to the
ana re. The academy should me-
le lsiN he legislature to act promptly
mofah1sN or for tie workmen are
In the mae> 1 and the opportunity is
upon our g,stsA
passing. of tbo-orob ,oo
The desirabieaeA 49, 80 =. ~
logical survey of the -s;da.oS - =
admitted by all who hsve Cor ~ WAC
subject.
Among the interes ting things that
occur at the academy meetings are inc
exhibition of new discoveries IL the
various branches of reseSvch. HA elm
lies great advantage to be derived fro N
the meetings, and this is especially sd
vantageous to young students. The
meetings of the academy at tho State
agricultural college have been priced by
the students of that institution. They
have been regular and interested attend
ants at all the sessions, whenever pos
sible to be present.
Many of the residents of Kansas, espe-
cially those residing on the western
plains, have noticed the glittering sub
stances on the great ant hills. These
little fragments look like diamonds, and ,
are called Kansas diamonds. We pre-
sent herewith an interesting paper on
the "Habits of the Red Ant" in which
Prof. Robert Hay has thrown some light
on the sources from whence the dia-
monds are procured, as we'll as other
facts abou; these interesting little erea- :
lures. Here is the paper: ,
NOTES ON A HABIT OF THE RED ANTS, BY
ROBERT hay.
Two years ago Professor Snow and Mr.. {
Savage directed the attention of the Z
academy to the fact that the red ant of ,
the plains covered his large hills with
glittering fragments of quartz, felspar and
other bright Glass beads were +
also mentioned as occurring and gen. 8
eral conclusion was arrived at that this
under ground, but gathered around the c
hill, and used probably with reference '
either to the rejecting or radiating pow i
er of these polished surfaces on the solar :
heat. Since then the writer has had +.
abundant opportunity of verifying the
conclusion that the ants collected the
material around, not within their Z
mounds.
Early in the recent summer, the writer
saw paragraph copied in another south
western paper from the Dodge City Times,
in which it was said that the ant hills in
that region indicate the presence of coal s
beneath the surface, as the red ants
brought up fragments of it and placed it
on their mounds. In the month of July g
we found that quite number of persons I
at Dodge City had this idea. A
talk we had with editor Klaine, which :
he published, served to dispel this fond '
illusion, but it was interesting to observe T
the fact on which it had rested. In q F
walk of about seven miles easterly, along !,
the railway track from Dodge City, we
observed about fifty ant hills, and about
half of them had fragments brightl f
shining cubes of coal among the quartz
with which the hills were mostly COW I
cred. In Dodge City itself, on the rising
ground north, and for. miles along the
wagon road west, we found coal among
the coverings of many Of the ant hills.
The cause of this was not far to seek. It
was very interesting to note that on the +
railway track, q hill would be remarka- t
BILE for the quantity of coal upon it. 6
while another hill not twenty feet away :.
had not single black particle on it. Il
Those having the coal we're in the ditch
60 hn ooIn ha cd
Joining, not elevated above the track, .
and there were always pieces of bright .
Trinidad coal, breaking up by weather y
ing, lying near, which had been dropped q
by some passing train. The hills with Q
out coal were upon high banks, where &
such droppings were not available, or if G
lower. where no droppings of coal had q
taken place. It was the same wherever 81
we found coal-some house was near p
where it had been used, or some road o
way along which it had been handled. Il
We have noticed further, that the ants G
will use other material. On the great q
gravel deposits of Colorado, the q
quartz and felspar are the pre- t!
valent coverings for these hills 81
but few miles from Pueblo there were d
spots where the gravel has all disap- Il
peared, though it is found again only n
few rods of. In some of these spots on CT
cretaceous shale We found the mounds of G.
the red ants without one speck ofquartz, 8,
but covered entirely with thin len.icular il
fragments of hematite from the nodules "
of that material which some layers of G.
the shale contain in abundance. In
places the decomposing nodules give
q brown hue to several acres of slope, N
and aut hills here are of the same color.
In short, we find the ants arc some