The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1896-12-23
Matter OF FACT ANTS.
Business Is Bosiness with Them, aud They
display Great Intelligence.

Business Is BosIness With Them, and They
Display Great Intelligence.
II. II. Lovelaoe of this city, who
recently returned from the intercon-
tinental railway survey through
Central and South America, says ono
of the most interesting things to be
seen in the tropics is tho loaf carry
ing mt.
"Tho leaf carrying ant is peculiar
to tropical America. Tho two species
occupy different nests. They are
never seen in tho same roadways,
and they always enter different
holes, but these ants arc such great
burrowers that ono could not say
positively that tho formioaries do
not communicate with each other
under ground. Their holes do not
GROSS, and there is no communication
between tho holes above ground. AS
an experiment., members of ono COL
ony wore transferred by hand to the
path of another. There was no con-
flict. The strangers merely mado
haste to got away.
Both species" continued Mr..
Lovolaco, "havo tho same habits,
save that tho red follows arc tho
most industrious. The black ones al
WAYS knocked Off work in the heat
of tho afternoon, while the red ones
struggled along all day, although
there wero fewer workers to DO seen
in tho paths botwcon 10 and a
O'Clock. There being no trees on
Moro island to supply leaves for tho
ants, they gathered hay instead. a
grass that grew close to tho earth
and produced short seed stalks was
lust coming in tassel. The seed heads
wero just peeping out from their in.
folding leaves when was thoro, and
these heads of seed woro tho favor
ito harvest.
~ saw half inch ants carrying
seed stalks an inch long and of twice
tho weight of tho carrier. Thoy also
out off the grass leaves and carried
them in, while moist crumbs of
bread and vegetables wore cut up
and carried also. Very dry crumbs
wero ignored. did not SEQ them
carry meat of any kind, and when I
put a piece of freshly killed grass
hopper in their path thoy refused to
notice it. But certain bits of damp,
rotten wood were carried into tho
nests rs quickly rs soft bread.
"a peon who oamo to SEQ what 1
found of interest in tho little work
ers dropped n flaming wax match
among them. They did not Soon to
SEQ it, for they rushed into tho hamo
as they would have crossed bit of
paper. A number wero burned to
death, while many of them woro
Crippled before tho flamo was eXtin-
guishod. Tho dead and tho crippled
remained in tho path perhaps two
minutes at spot five feet from tho
most entrance. Thon Camo gang OF
workers from tho nest, who picked
up tho dead and tho crippled and
carried them several inches away in
to the grass ut right angles to the
path. The wounded were loft unat.
tended, as were tho dead. The work.
ers then attacked tho oxtinguished
match taper. 1t was nearly an inch
long, and n dozen (by count) took
hold of it, pulled it in all directions
at once, rolled it and ono another
over, stood on their heads and crawl
ed under 1t, while tho leaf carriers
streamed by and over thom, ap-
parently needless of their presence.
1t was n case of wholly undireotcd
labor, for any two, possibly any ono,
could have dragged it from tho path,
but it took tho dozen 10 minutes to
tumble it across two inches of tho
path.
"Whilo in Honduras an American
told mo that tho leaf cutting ant was
to blame for much of tho lazinoss of
tho natives, who do not try to mako
gardens or cultivate fruit trees bo
cause tho ants destroy everything of
that kind. However, tho American
solved tho problem of keeping these
ants away from his garden by dig
ging u ditch around it and keeping
water running through it, an effect
i've barrier. "-Knnsas City Star.
--~'1r'5 GI A"N'-''C'v