The Washington times., 1904-06-05
To the Ants the Wee
Prove Seductive
MOrSelS.
Like an Army With b
nerS They March Oh
Upon Their Prey.
Field Divided and Ea
Squad Assigned to
Special Mission.

for ant eggs. which will dispense
the necessity Of bringing the queen
from Guatemala 20 this country,
eggs might be imported. and the
cubator would do the RESI-.
The wisdom OF the ant has passed
a proverb, and the observations OF III
who have watched the activities OF
useful insect have justified il. some
has gone so far as 70 say thaS in
ant the intelligence Of invertebrate
alton reaches its highest deveIopu'
as II ascends 10 the highest plane. in
case OF vertebrates. in man How'd
that may be. the ants seem 20 pos
the power Of communicating with
another. using their antenuae for 1
purpose. The workers and fighters Il
implicitly the commands or their ii
ers, and houses are built and bati
fought with fine regard to fitness 4
convenience in the one instance andlI
best methods Of achieving victor
the other
The Guatemalan Indians engage
cultivation Of cotton do not rega I'd
boil weevil with any special aversS
never having experienced It's destrucd
influence upon fields Of the white stai
They do. however. hold the ant in sup
stitious regard. and they do not
pect 70 secure a full crop unless
ants favor the fields with their pr
ence.
A wise creature especially is the s.
cial variety Of ant Mr.. Cook has
covered Its foraging operations Z
carried on with deliberateness and
gacity, and with full allowance Of
portunity TO every individual to get 1
ill.
An Army With Banners.
When the ants make their sortie RI
the ant hill. in the cool dawn OF I
morning. they scatter eagerly ever I
surrounding fields. a few ants to ca
stalk of cotton. They seem to real
lutte well that II they concentrate
any one place there viii not BE e
enough TO go around. and for this II
son they cover a wide area. Lying p
du on the leaves Of the plant. they aw
the advent OF the boil weevil. and VII
that unfortunate animal makes his Z
pearance pounce upon him There
a swift leap through the air. a viciC
thrust, a shake-and then the weevil
picked up bodily and carried away
the ant hill The willing worker dep,
its his burden IN the family larJler a
returns to the cotton field TO repeat
operation.
One Of the amiable qualities OF the ?
OF Guatemala-and IT IS reputed 70 D
sess many-is that IL does not injure (
cotton plant IN any way. Neither is
especially hostile 10 man. having NJ
Of the waspish qualities OF SO many
its relatives. That it has an effect
weapon in its sting IT is able 10 dem'
strate on the boil weevil. whenever n
essary, but the ant does not use
sting TO inhict suffering upon is
quaintances OF the human race.
Altogether a most amiable and ks
full little creature, certainly. II wO
be an interesting sight # the dream
Mr.. Cook and his associates in the
reau OF plant industry could be- rCalii
and millions Of Guatemalan ants
to patrolling the cotton fields OF
country. II they work as well here
the boil weevil. which had come 10
almost undisputed. viii be at an {
and man will have one more reason
consider the ant
And the good farmers of Texas v
probably throw their snmbrcroS into
air and yell