57 6 ANTS. 



occidentalism in Kansas: 'Start fumigation when gateways are open; 

 take a vessel, Mich as a galvanized-iron wash-tub, and place it bottom 

 side up in Mich a manner as to cover the openings and as much of the 

 mound as possible; if there are more openings than the tub will cover, 

 they should be closed by throwing some of the surrounding soil on 

 them ; place under the tub, in a shallow pan or dish, near the opening, 

 one to three ounces of carbon bisulphid, depending on the size of the 

 nest , quickly pack soil around the edge of the tub, making it as nearly 

 air-tight as possible; allow to stand thus for about five hours." It was 

 found that " breaking open the mound before setting the fumigation is 

 of n.o advantage, nor did the practice of pouring the fluid into the 

 broken-np mound give any better results than that of evaporating it 

 from a shallow pan/' The method here recommended would probably 

 give equally good results with the Texan harvester, P. molefaciens. 



4. Leaf-cutting Ants. The only Attiine ant which is at all a 

 serious menace to gardens, orchards or forage crops in the United 

 States is Atta tc.vaiia, which seems to be confined to certain portions 

 of Texas. Mexico, Cuba, Central and South America have similar 

 pests in A. nie.ricana, insitlaris, se.\~dens and ccphalotes. The nests of 

 these ants, as I have shown in Chapter XYIII, are often of huge dimen- 

 sions and their colonies when once established are difficult to eradicate. 

 A common method of dealing with A. te.vana is to dig up the nest till 

 the large queen is found and can be destroyed, but this is an arduous 

 task. The sulphur method, which I have not seen in operation, is 

 sometimes employed in Texas, Cuba and South America. Dr. C. L. 

 Marlatt. who has seen it in operation on the ranch of Mr. E. L. San- 

 born, Jr., at Artamisa, Pinar del Rio, Cuba, describes it (in litteris) as 

 follows : " It consists in digging a large hole six feet deep by three or 

 four feet wide in the midst of the colony. This hole is filled with dry 

 brush or shed palm leaves and a great roaring fire started. Into this 

 is then poured a bucketful of powdered sulphur. The opening is 

 closed with a large iron plate. Through a hole in the center of this 

 plate air is forced clown into the burning mass with a large bellows two 

 or three feet in diameter, and by this means the fumes of the sulphur 

 are driven out through the ramifications of the colony around the nest 

 to a distance of several rods, thoroughly destroying all inmates. The 

 escape of the fumes can often be seen from holes which are at a long 

 distance from the point of operation. It is a rather expensive process, 

 but seems to be effectual." Dr. Marlatt also describes another treat- 

 ment which has recently come into use in Cuba. This is known as the 

 bichlorid of lime and sulphuric acid treatment. " The bichlorid of lime 



