216 



ADELE M. FIELDE. 



some other good liquid glue is used for securing the fabric upon 

 the walls. 



The walls and partitions are topped by Turkish toweling of a 

 sleazy sort, folded over one layer of cotton wadding so that the 

 edges of the strip of toweling meet in the center of the under side 

 of the wadding. The wadding is cut to the same width as the 

 wall or the partition. The toweling is just twice the width of the 

 wadding, and its edges are basted evenly together, making a 

 cushion of even thickness. It serves the double purpose of ad- 

 mitting air into the nest and of preventing the escape of the ants 

 between the roof and its supports. It is held taut and is made 

 level ; is fitted snugly at the corners ; exhibits no ravelings to 

 afflict the ants ; and is firmly glued to the glass beneath it. 

 When a cushion becomes soiled by long use of the nest, the 

 glue may be softened by soaking and the cushion may be re- 

 moved and be replaced by a new one. The ends of the cushions 

 are fringed out a half inch or more, and are left open so that the 

 enclosed wadding may be adjusted to present a perfectly level 

 surface. 



, -...-^_^ _ -" : 



FIG. 2. The A nest completed. 



There is a glass roof-pane for each room in the nest. The 

 glass is thin ; extends to the middle of the partition and to the 

 outer edges of the walls on which it rests ; prevents the exit of 

 ants ; and permits observation of their behavior. The glass may 

 be without color, or it may be of a red or orange tint that will 

 partially exclude ultra-violet rays of light. Ants perceive only 

 such rays of light as are of short wave-length and, by use of a 

 spectroscope, a glass roofing may be selected which renders the 



