Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1897-08-11
JOhnsOn's Chill and Fe.
yer Tonic is a ONE-DAY
Cure. 1t cures the most
stubborn case of Fever i'm
n Hours.
ANTS BURY THEIR DEAD.
An Exhibition Showing the Admirable Mu.
nicipaI System Of the Insects.

An exhibition showing the Admirable Mus
nieipaI System Of the Insects.
Among the million and one attrac-
tions which will be offered this Sum-
mer in London to charm the festive
shillings out of the pockets of sight
seers there will be none more interest
ing in it's way than the exhibition of
the Working Ants at the Crystal Pal
ace.
The domestic economy of ant life is
wise and we'll considered, and as bull
ders the ants are possessed of an acu-
men which is nothing short Of mar.
yelous. Columns erected in their ar
chitecture are almost round. In the
great hill of the formica rufa one sees
that the pine needles which are used
in its construction are placed at yari-
GUS angles to give strength to the
dome, exactly as human architect
would have employed them. It is es-
timated that fifty thousand ants COM,
prise the community of this great nest:
and all are busy constantly, their la
bors never seeming to cease. The struc-
ture contains an enormous number of
chambers for the accommodation of
the larvae, pupae, cocoons, queens and
males.
The heaviest of the ants labor is in
attendance on the larvae and pupae in
the interior chambers. Therefore of
all this densely popf.iated city of 50,-
900 inhabitants Eiif few are seen out
side. The apterous. orwingless queens,
remain in state In their eommodious
chambers at the bottom of the nest,
and are never seen in pun:ic; but
loevy duty with the workers is to
drag the winged males for a promenade
outside the nest for few turns and
then disappear.
The strength Of these ants is enor-
nous. The pine needles which are
furnished them for building are ten
times longer than themselves, but the
ants move them about with the great
est ease. An entomologist in atten-
dance at the show will pick up any one
of these ants as it runs about in its
work and will cause it to hold by its
mandibles a weight three thousand
times heavier than itself, or equal in
proportion to a man holding two hun
dred tons in his teeth. These ants
secrete great quantities of formic acid.
Chloroform was st one time distilled
from the formic acid furnished by the
formica rufa.
The hill ants are Of great service in
preserving forest trees, it being
estimated that one hundred Thousand
insects are destroyed daily by one nest
- Hn uUJ ugS TWO CUmpUunU aHu GurgB =
simple eyes. The number of facets in
the compound eye reach twelve hun
dred in the male of the formic species.
The life of male ant rarely exceeds
twelve months, but worker has been
known to live seven years. Ants have
memory and affection; they recognize
their friends after long absences. Sir
John Lubbock speaks of an ant which
recognized him with signs Of pleasure
after an absence of two years.
The queen of the white ants is often
four inches in length, three ounces in
weight, and has been estimated to lay
eighty thousand eggs per day. These
eggs are very small, just discernible to
the naked eye, and are Immediately
taken charge Of by the workers, who
make them into clusters of ten to
twenty, SO that one ant may carry
number into safety, in case of the nest
being attacked.