The St. Johns herald., 1893-12-21
A TEXAS GATEWAY.
Wonderful Ingenuity of the Tiny Ants iu
 the Lone Star State.


 the Lone Star State.
 The author of ''Tenants of an Old Farm tells of one of the remarkable habits of the cutting-ants in Texas, as observed by him. It relates to the opening and shutting of the gates which communicate with the interior of the mound nests, which he found were opened and closed before and after every exit the ants make. These gates are simply little heaps of dry leaves, twigs and other refuse, which are seen scattered here and there over the mound as one approaches it in day time.
 iat When I first saw them I was com pletely deceived, and thought them nothing more than accidental accumu- lations I found out, however, that these piles were raised above the sur face opening of the galleries that pen etrated the mound and filled the mouths to the depth sometimes of an inch and half.
 The leaves and chips were inter- mingled with pellets of soil, and occa- sionally below them the galleries were quite sealed with pellets. The gall leries frequently slant inward from the gate, and at as great an angle as forty-five degrees. Sometimes they de- fleet a short distance from the top. These comformations allow more read fly the process of closing, as they give a purchase to the material used.
 The doors are opened about dusk. First appear the minims, the very small forms, creeping out of minute holes, which they have doubtless made by working inside and carrying grains of sand away from the heap. Present ly larger forms follow, carrying away bits of refuse, which they drop 8 couple of inches, more or less, from the gate.
 This is a slow process, and ap- parently nothing is accomplished for a long time. But evidently the whole mass of plugging is thus gradually loosened. Then comes the final burst, with soldiers, majors and minors in the lead, who rush out, bearing before them the rubbish, which flies here and there, and in few moments is cleared away from the gallery and spread around the margin of the gate.
 These chips are doubtless gathered together for this purpose, and are among the treasured properties of the ants, being kept near by for such service. I easily identified many pieces as being thus used several days in sue cession.
 The doors remain open to give exit and entrance to the swarms of leaf gatherers until morning, when they are gradually closed, the process con- tinuing in some cases until half-past ten. In shutting up the house the min ors appear to begin by dragging the scattered refuse toward the hole.
 One by one they are taken in and the ingenuity shown in this is very great. The workers proceed by ad- justing the longest stalks and leaves that can stretch across and wedge into the mouth of the gallery, and then lay ing the shorter ones atop of these.
 As the hole gradually fills up the smaller castes of workers appear upon the field and take up the work to which their slighter frames are adapted.
 The last touches are carefully and delicately made by the minims who in small squads fill in the remaining in- terstices with minute grains of sand, and finally the last laborer steals in behind some bit of leaf and the gate is closed: