POPULAR MISCELLANY. 



129 



attached by arch'ceologists. They were kept 

 at the Smithsonian Institution for two 

 months, and were carefully examined there 

 by members of the National Academy of 

 Sciences as well as by other persons ; heli- 

 otype plates were taken of them, and they 

 were exhibited at the meeting of the Ameri- 

 can Association at Boston last August. Mr. 

 Pratt believes that the evidence of their 

 genuineness is sufficient. The society's col- 

 lection of mound-relics is regarded as one 

 of the best in the world. 



The Saliva and the Gastric Juice. Re- 

 cent researches reported by M. Defrcsne 

 throw new light on the relations of ptya- 

 linc, diastase, and the gastric juice. It 

 has been debated whether the saliva is de- 

 stroyed in the gastric juice or continues in 

 the stomach its action on starch. M. De- 

 fresne's experiments prove that the saliva 

 is paralyzed in pure gastric juice, but that 

 with a mixed gastric juice containing only 

 organic acids, saccharification proceeds as 

 well as in the mouth. Ptyaline, then, differs 

 from diastase in that it is only paralyzed 

 for an instant in pure gastric juice, but re- 

 covers its action in the mixed gastric juice 

 and in the duodenum, and is capable of 

 continuing the process of saccharification ; 

 while diastase is irrecoverably destroyed in 

 hydrochloric solutions or in pure gastric 

 juice, and is profoundly altered after pass- 

 ing into the mixed gastric juice, so that if it 

 still dissolves starch it no longer saccharifies 

 it. Ptyaline is recommended as an excel- 

 lent reagent for demonstrating the differ- 

 ence between mixed gastric juice, which 

 owes its acidity to organic acids, and pure 

 gastric juice, the strength of which is de- 

 rived from hydrochloric acid. 



Cntting and Slave-making Ants. The 

 Rev. Henry C. McCook has contributed to 

 the Academy of Natural Sciences, of Phila- 

 delphia, papers on a Northern cutting ant, 

 and on the American slave-making ant, both 

 of which are of much interest. The cut- 

 ting ant was observed at Island Heights on 

 Tom's River, New Jersey. Entrance to the 

 nest was afforded by a narrow tubular gal- 

 lery about two inches long, which led to a 

 spherical chamber about an inch and a 



VOL. XIX. 9 



half in diameter. This chamber, or vesti- 

 bule, communicated with another chamber, 

 also generally spherical, but of more irreg- 

 ular outline, three and a half inches in 

 diameter, within which were several masses 

 of leaf-paper similar to that made by the 

 Texas leaf-cutting ant, but exceedingly fra- 

 gile and without the cellular arrangement of 

 the Texas paper. In pleasant weather the 

 insects worked in two columns, one going 

 each way to the pine-trees and returning 

 to the nest and moving very deliberately. 

 Those in the column returning homeward 

 were carrying little pieces of the pine-needle 

 or leaf, cut from seedling plants. They 

 bore the load on the head, with one end 

 held firmly by the mandibles, and the ef- 

 fect at a little distance was "to give them a 

 shoulder-arms appearance." In cutting the 

 leaf, the ant climbed out to a position near 

 the end and applied her mandibles, moving 

 around as she cut, till the piece was severed 

 and fell. The architecture of the caves was 

 a miniature copy of those of the Texas cut- 

 ing ant. All the colonies were compara- 

 tively small, and without visible connection 

 with each other. The slave-making ants 

 {Polyerguslucidus) were studied near Altoo- 

 na, Pennsylvania. They occupied a cham- 

 bered nest which was furnished with four 

 gates, and extended to the depth of at 

 least twenty-two inches underground ; but 

 the chambers were without orderly arrange- 

 ment, apparently on account of the grav- 

 elly nature of the soil in which they were 

 built. Mingled in large numbers with the 

 lucidus ants were working insects, of the 

 species Formica Schauffussi. Two days 

 after the nest was disturbed, the work- 

 ing ants were observed cleaning out the 

 galleries, with the apparent intention of 

 closing the openings. Others were engaged 

 in a migration, taking up the mistress ants 

 by interlocking mandibles with them, and 

 carrying them off up the perpendicular face 

 of the cutting for eighteen or twenty inches, 

 and then for the distance of six feet over the 

 ground and through the grass. *' More than 

 once a slight opposition was made to this 

 treatment. The slaves, or at least certain 

 individuals of them, . . . seemed at times 

 to have a prejudice against the presence of 

 lucidus ants above-ground, and would un- 

 ceremoniously seize them and carry them 



