OUR SIX-FOOTED RIVALS. i 97 



largely represented. At the head of the Vertebrata stands the order 

 of the Primates, culminating in man. At the head of the Annulosa 

 the corresponding place is taken by the Hymenopterous insects. It 

 is very remarkable as first pointed out, we believe, by Mr. Darwin 

 that these two groups of animals made their appearance on the earth 

 simultaneously. But along with this analogy we find a contrast. 

 Man stands alone among the Primates as a socially organized being, 

 possessing a civilization. Among the Hymenoptera the lead is un- 

 doubtedly taken by the ants, which, like man, have a brain much more 

 highly developed than that of the neighboring inferior groups. But 

 there is no one species of ant which enjoys a preeminence over its con- 

 geners anything at all approaching in its nature and extent to man's 

 superiority over the gorilla or the mias. What may be the cause of 

 this contrast we know not. Perhaps it is merely due to the tendency 

 of the Annulosa to branch out into a scarcely numerable host of forms, 

 while the vertebrate structure, less plastic, lends itself more sparingly 

 to variation. Perhaps, on the other hand, lower human or higher ape 

 forms than any now existing have been extirpated, as the traditions 

 of many ancient nations would seem to admit. 



At any rate, while the superiority of the ants as a group to the re- 

 maining Hymenoptera, to all other insects, and to the rest of the annu- 

 lose "sub-kingdom," is undisputed, Ave are unable to decide which 

 species of ant is elevated above the rest of the Formicide family. Pos- 

 sibly more extended and more systematic observations may settle this 

 interesting question. According to our present knowledge the claims 

 of the agricultural ant, of Western Texas {3Iyrmica barbata), seem, 

 perhaps, the strongest. This species, which has been carefully studied 

 by Dr. Lincecum, for the space of twelve years, is, save man, the 

 only creature which does not depend for its sustenance on the prod- 

 ucts of the chase or the spontaneous fruits of the earth. As soon as a 

 colony of these ants has become sufficiently numerous they clear a 

 tract of ground, some four or five feet in width, around their city. In 

 this plot all existing plants are eradicated, all stones and rubbish re- 

 moved, and a peculiar species of grass is sown, the seeds of which re- 

 semble very minute grains of rice. The field for so we must call it 

 is carefully tended by the ants, kept free from weeds, and guarded 

 against marauding insects. When mature, the crop is reaped and 

 the seeds are carried into the nest. If they are found to be too damp 

 they are carefully carried out, laid in the sunshine till sufficiently dry, 

 and then housed again. This formation of a plot of cleared land or, 

 as Dr. Lincecum not very happily terms it, a pavement is a critical 

 point in the career of a young community. Any older and larger city 

 which may lie within some fifty or sixty paces looks upon the step as 

 a casus belli, and at once marches its armies to the attack. After a 

 combat, which may be prolonged for days, Providence declares in 

 favor of the largest battalions, and the less numerous community is 



