INSECTS EMPLOYED IN MEDICINE, OR AS FOOD. 99 



of malic acid, an acid first discovered in the 

 apple. 



Certain large ants, called Cupia, in the Brazils 

 are eaten by the natives, and so is another large 

 species called Tamajoura. In Africa ants are some- 

 times stewed with butter, and considered delicious. 

 In Sweden they have been distilled with rye to give 

 a peculiar flavour to brandy. By submitting ant- 

 eggs to pressure, the chemist John produced a kind 

 of milk resembling a mixture of milk and chocolate. 

 This liquid, upon analysis, was found indeed to con- 

 tain albumen, lactic acid, phosphoric acid, a matter 

 resembling casein, and a yellow grease like butter, 

 so that its composition as well as its taste resembles 

 that of ordinary milk. 



Ants are also very useful to medical students, in 

 preparing skeletons of small animals, such as moles, 

 rats, etc. The dead body of any of these animals 

 being placed in or near an ants' nest is soon reduced 

 to a very clean skeleton. Other insects might also 

 perhaps be used for this purpose. 



On the high plateaux of the Rocky Mountains, 

 according to Humboldt, there exists a species of 

 ant, which, instead of useing fragments of wood 

 and vegetable remains for the purpose of building 

 its dwelling, employs only small stones of the size 

 of a grain of maize. The instinct of the insect 

 leads it to select the most brilliant stones for this 



