The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1885-11-11
fur tbe CHILDREN.
The Cleanliness of Ants.

''Please don't stop here, uncle. l can't
bear ants, they are so ugly and dirty"
" Little girls should be very careful
how they expose their ignorance"
Mabel's companion remarked. " Ants.
my dear, are not only the most indus
trious insects we have, but they are the
cleanest and the tidiest. They always
thoroughly cleanse their bodies after
eating, sleeping, and when their work
is done"
But how do you know these
things?" Mabel asked.
because l have imprisoned them
for observation in great numbers, and
you would change your opinion if you
had witnessed the sights have. Your
mother has been no more careful about
your bathing than these ants are with
themselves and each other. These tiny
creatures invariably cleanse themselves
after meals and after work. But the
grand family scrubbings, in which one
ant washes another, do not seem to
occur at regular intervals. But you
may depend that the operation is needed
whenever it is performed, for ants have
no time to waste in unnecessary labor
or pleasure"
" You don't mean really, uncle, that
ants wash each other?n Mabel inquired,
with wide-open eyes.
"That is exactly what l mean. There
seem to come times when they cannot
thoroughly cleanse themselves, and
then this work is given to others. II is
very interesting and very funny
sight, / can tell you. There is no doubt
that the ant enjoys this performance,
for her actions are not unlike the kitty
when being licked by its mother"
" But how can one see such things?"
Mabel inquired. g 1 only see little
black bits of bobbing things that are
always running up and down and in
and out. But | shouldn't know when
an ant was washing her face, uncle,
and | don't see how anybody else cam"
. We have strong glass which makes
them appear much larger than they
really are, and we can examine them
with as much ease as we can examine
bird with the naked eye"
" And you have seen them wash each
other, uncle?''
= Many times, Mabel. l have seen
these little creatures kneel down before
their comrades and ask, as plainly as
VIC toulNi doh III NOibos w NC ottShbSo
to. Sometimes the ant thus appealed
to will be so very busy, or does not feel
inclined; generally, though, they are
very obliging, and once in while aid
is sought from some other quarter The
scrubber always takes the fore-leg first,
then the head and neck, then one side
of the body and the rest of the legs.
This satisfactorily accomplished, the
other side is washed in exactly the
same manner.
"When ants perform their own ablu-
tons, their movements are grotesque
in the extreme. They take their fore
legs in their jaws-these jaws are called
mandbles-moisten them, and then,
with their backs erect, their necks
craned, so that they exactly resemble
the letter C, they pass first one leg and
then the other from the head backward,
exactly as a cat performs her toilet,
only the movements of the ant are
much more swift than those of the cat. p"
8 Can | look through this glass some
time, uncle?" Mabel asked, appearing
very much interested.
" Certainly you can, and you will
soon see that these tiny little creatures
are not only not dirty, but are entitled
to great deal of respect. "-Elednor
Kirk, in COngregdtiORdHSt.