Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-10-16
CLEANLY HABITS.

How Ants Care for Their Bodies and pa.
form Their Ablutions-A Funny Sight.
"Please don't stop here, uncle. T
can't bear ants, they arc so ugly and
dirty"
Little girls should DO very careful
how they expose their ignorance" Ma.
bells companion remarked. ..Ants, nv
dear, are not only the most industrious
insects we have, but they are the clean.
est and the tidiest. They always thor
oughly cleanse their bodies after eat.
ing, 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 Won
would change your opinion if you had
witnessed the sights l have. Your
mother has been no more careful about
your bathing than these ants are with
themselves and each other. These tinv
creatures invariably cleanse themselves
after meals and after work. But the
grand family scrubbings in which one
ant washes another do not seem to &C.
cur 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 really, uncle, that
ants wash each other?"Nabel inquired,
with wide-open eyes.
THAT is exactly what I mean. There
seem to come times when they can not
thoroughly cleanse themselves, and
then this work is given to others. Its
a very interesting and a very funny
sight, l can tell you. There is no doubt
that the ant enjoys this performance,
for her actions are not unlike the kitty
wnen being licked by its mother"
But how can one see such things:?"
Mabel inquired. Il only see little black
bits of bobbing things that are always
running up and down and in and out.
But l shouldn't know when an ant was
washing her face, uncle, and Idon't SEQ
how anybody else can"
I'VE have u strong glass which
makes them appear much larger than
they really are, and we a examine
them with as much ease as we can ex-.
anime a bird with the naked eye"
11uL y VI udfc SCCu Lu6u WdSut uCu
other, unclc:?"
"Many times, Mabel. / have seen
these little creatures kneel down before
their comrades and ask, as plainly as
we could ask in words, to be attended
to. Sometimes the ant thus appealed
to will be 100 busy, or does not feel in
clined; generally, though, they are very
ohliging. and once in awhile aid IS
sougnt 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-
tions, their movements are grotesque j d
tile extreme. They take their fore-legs
in their jaws-these jaws are called
mandibles- moisten them, and then
with their backs erect, their necks
GRAINED. so that they exactly resemble
the letter c, they pass first one leg and
then thee other from the head backward
exactly rs a eat performs her toilet. on
ly the movements of the ant are much
more swift than those of the cat"
"Can l look through this glass ONE
time, uncle?" Mabel asked, appearing
very much interested.
Certainly you can, and you WIFE
soon see that these tiny little creatures
are not only not dirty, but arc eItltlea
to a great deal of respect. "-Elea'M
KIRK. an In, u,oonJso,uJ;