ANT COMMUNITIES 



So, in the larger field of industry and research, our 

 race has its daily tragedies, not wholly unlike these 

 which befall the citizens of an ant-hill. The martyrs 

 of industry, heroes, and heroines; the fallen soldiers of 

 the great army of labor, are thus going forth daily to 

 perish in the path of duty. It is said that one out of 

 every eight adult persons dying yearly in Pennsylvania 

 dies a violent death. Not wholly, but too much, far 

 too much, like the indifference of ant communities is the 

 indifference of human society to these industrial trage- 

 dies. And the rational excuse of the ant is not for us, 

 for nature has not made us that way. With us it is 

 mainly wicked hardening of heart. How shall we cut 

 down, if we may not wholly cut out, the long list of such 

 wasted lives? Meanwhile, how shall we provide for the 

 maimed, and for the dependents of the slain? Are not 

 these soldiers of industry also worthy of communal care? 



a Breed more workers !' is the answer of the ants. 

 The circle of their instinct has no wider swing. But at 

 least they will make sure that the supply is sufficient, 

 and the standard of wholesomeness and efficiency is kept 

 up. And so the queen mother must be encouraged to 

 her utmost productivity, and every egg dropped must 

 be preserved and reared with utmost care. 1 A peep 

 within the city walls will show a rare condition. The 

 whilom sole potentate who, first in solitary power, and 

 then in maternal sovereignty, and next in undisputed 

 matriarchate, held unchallenged authority and the ex- 

 clusive right to labor, is seen in a large vaulted chamber 

 in the heart of the galleried cone. She is not alone, but 

 is surrounded by a circle of workers. Is she a prisoner? 



1 In my work, Nature's Craftsmen, chaps, i and ii, readers will 

 find a rather full and connected account of a queen ant's life. 



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