Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1885-09-24
CLEANLY HABITS

How Ants Care for Their Bodies and Per.
form Their Ablutions-A Funny Sight.
please don't stop here, uncle.
| can't bear ants, they are so ugly and
| dirty" .f
Little girls should be very careful
| how they expose their ignorance, Ma
| bels companion remarked. '.Ants, my
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 / have imprisoned them for
| observation in great numbers, and you
| would change your opinion ii 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 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 oc-
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 mean really, uncle, that
ants wash each other?' Mabel inquired,
with wide-open eyes.
THAT is exactly what mean. There
seem to come times when they can not
thoroughly cleanse themselves, and
fl,aY, h ic nrily tn, nth a
a 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. 81 only see little black
bits of bobbing things thai are always
running up and down and in and out.
But shouldn't know when an ant was
washing her face, uncle, and Idon't see
how anybody else cam
1--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 ex-
anime bird with the naked eye"
And YOU have seen them wash each
other, uncleP"
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 too busy, or does not feel in
clined; generally, though, they are very
obliging, and once in awhile 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
mandibles-m oisten 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 cat performs her toilet on
iy the movements of the ant are much
more swift than those of the cat.''
'Can look through this glass some
time, unclep' 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 a great deal of respect "-Eteaasor
KIRK, IN Congratulated.