The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1892-05-12
ANTS.

we speak OF farm peStS ana De-
lieve them to be unmitigated evils,
whereas, many SO called pests are
agencies for good, and their extermi
nation would quickly result in loss to
the tiller of the soil.
Take for example the industrious
and frugal ant. The unobserving
class the ant with the tick, flea and
louise, as simply tormentor ofhuman
kind. This is libel on the creature.
If it had no other good quality than
its industry, and performed no mis-
sion beyond acting as model for the
sluggard, it should be credited with
that moral character. But as the ant
is liable to resent the injuries and in
trusions of picnickers, and sometimes
invades the sacred precints of the
larder, its moral influence is generally
overlooked. to say nothing of it's USE
fulness in agricultural economy.
1t has long been known that where
ants do most abound, there is the soil
rich and productive. Just how the
combination of ants and fertility
arises, has never been positively de-
termined; but it has been suggested
that it arises from the decomposition
of their bodies which contain and
supply a large amount of
nitrogen to the soil. Whether or not
this is the true explanation 1 cannot
say, but while there may be doubt as
to their post norton usefulness, am
satisfied that they befriend the farmer
during their short existence.
But for the ant the country would
be overrun with bugs and slugs, which
would render crop raising almost i'm
possible. Some have noticed that cat
erpillars and slugs, injurious to crops,
are always most numerous and de-
structive in a wet season, but few have
| Investigated the cause and effect far
enough to see the reason why. 1t is
explained in this way: Ants, like
every other species of animated
nature, require liquid as we'll as solid
nourishment. In a dry season they
have to depend largely on their prey
for their liquid refreshment and more
are consumed than when merely used
as solid food. The cotton planter is
seldom troubled with she boil or cot
ton worm in a dry year. / have OBJ
served another effect of ant life which
I have not been able to explain. In
my orchard are many ant hills, some
Of them close to trees. In every in
stance the tree nearest to the ant hill
is more thrifty and fruitful than 9TH
ers of the same variety a short dis :
tance away. Not only should the
| sluggard consider the ants ways, and
initiate some of them, but the indus
trious farmer may gain wisdom and
profit by closer study of their move
| ments.
| HORSE TRAINING.
A wonderful feat in horse training
is thus described in Field and Farm:
Professor Gleason undertook to sub
jugate the man-eating and omni-des-
troying stallion, Junius, at Chicago,
which, 1t is said, has been the terror
of Illinois for half decade, last Sat-
urday. An account of the professors
exploit said that after four hours had
been consumed in getting sack over
the horse's head, he was finally
where he spent the rest of the day
kicking the fence. At 6 o'clock 5000
people packed Battery d., where the
morse was 10 De Uameu. Leroy fdyHe
and G. w. Leithy acted as judges, and
j. G. Steiner, secretary of the Ameri-
can Trotting association, was referee.
Gleason when he entered the ring,
carried whip in his left hand and a
bull dog revolver in his right, while
in the outer circle ten attendants with
pistols loaded with ball, stood guard
to anticipate any fatality to the pro-
fessor. Gleason's tactics were simply
an alternative cracking of the whip
and discharging of the blank cart
ridges. For the first ten minutes the
animal was disposed to kick and bite,
and Gleason had hard work to
avoid his attacks. At the end of
fifteen minutes he was stroking
the terror's neck, in twenty he was
holding his name. Ten minutes later
he had put on his neck the first halter
it had ever worn. In forty minutes
Junius came and went as commanded;
in fifty he permitted his tanner to put
his hand in his mouth. Just an hour
from the time Gleason entered the