The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1895-02-22
THE ANT MAN.

| "A Useful Individual In the Tropics Who
Fights the Insect with Smoke.
10 look at the mild, timid ents of our
cool climates, which run ut the sight or
sound Of people, build their humble nests
under stone or the roots of trees, and
content themselves with gentlemanly little
thcfts of seeds or grain. or such small
lows, You would never imagine that there
arc some branches of their family, distinct
cousins. which are fierce in the pursuit of
their human neighbors' goods, SO strong
and SO intelligent that even grown men
are afraid Of them, and sometimes whole
villages turn out to fight them. But it is
SO, and these eyes of mine have looked
upon them and their ruthless doings.
The formiga, us the destroyer IS called.
constructs citadel for itself underground
its only communication with the world
above being by secret passages. If it can
find any wood-lice thereabouts it captures
and carries them home. makes a yard for
them, veritabe farmyard, and keeps
them content by furnishing a supply of
fresh leaves every day, just for all the
world as We feed our farm stock. The
forlniga is Il marauder of it's own kindred,
too. making raids on its weaker cousins
and bearing off their eggs, which. in due
course Of Matching, become the Saves Of
their captorS.
CSuNllv TIC ttVlIC u lEOuGCNl IT,
Sions pay little attention to the doings Of
the formiga. They come and go rs they
list, running over the rooms, tables, dish.
rs; they are tished out Of the butter,
tapped ont of the bread and cake. 1t is
all Il matter of course.
hut when these sturdy little fellows i'll
wade the house in swarms, and warm re-
the nuisance. then the service of the ant
man becomes necessary, and he is sent for
in hot haste. His stock in trade is an
enormous bellows and load of certain
kind of wood found in the neighbOring
forests. After stopping up all the open
ings leading under the house, except cen
trail one. he cnlarges that and forms II
the bellows.
Then he lights a fire, and with the aid
of the great bellows forces the smoke
into the ant citadel under the surface
of the ground. OF course these are very
porous. and when the smoke passes
through them it goes out into the house
above. Then the ant man leaves an as
sistant to work the bellows, and. going
into the house, stops up every aperture
and crack that he can find.
Meanwhile there is a wild commotion
among these doomed insects, whose home
is being bombar.lctl with smoke. They
understand their danger with the very
first puff that reaches them. and know
that their only hope is in flight. They
Ill hasten to the central chamber, where
their precious eggs are stored. At q
given signal from their chief each one
>"ixcs all egg. then all turn in haste into
the subterrancan passages that lead into
the garden. deserving their homes and
'.arcfully-stored stock of provisions, but
holding fast to the treasured eggs.
But there before them are cruel
wrcaths of blue smoke. They turn and
rush to another passage. The same
thing there. AS a forlorn hope the poor
,nts-we can't help feeling sorry for
them. after all-run into the old deserted
galleries. or set to work to make new
ones, hoping their enemy will not find
Them there ut least.
But the. ant man is patrolling the
grounds around the house. AS the old
" new galleries arc cleared out by the
brave little ants the smoke penctra ties
hem and comes to the surface in thin
| wreath. They are thus betrayed as well
IS smothercd. and stroke of the spade
Ands their frantic efforts to escape
All this time fresh quantities of the
hot smoke are being forced through their
highways and byways, and the frail bod
les of the formiga are shriveling and
lropping along their line of attempted
retreat. Soon they cease to struggle.
they cannot breathe the rari6ed, smoke
laden air. The next day when the soil
has cooled off they are found calcined in
their once busy galleries. their roasted
'ggs at their Sides Poor little creatures!
But their human victims call the ant
pop q bloSsiuo