236 To the River Plate and Back 



than the workers. They act as policemen along the 

 line, preserve the ranks, hurry up the workers, and if 

 any of them get into trouble come to their assistance, 

 aiding them in adjusting their loads. There seemed to 

 be the utmost order, and the workers appeared to be 

 in a perfect rush of haste to accomplish their tasks. 

 The line of march from the nest to the alfalfa field, 

 where the leaf -cutting was going on, was more than 

 four hundred feet long. In proportion to the size of 

 the animals the distance was greater than it is from the 

 Battery to Harlem. I measured off a foot along the 

 line of march and timed the little creatures as they 

 went by. It took them about ten seconds to get over a 

 foot of ground. At that rate they made the run from 

 the field to the nest in something more than an hour. 

 The insects returning to the field for a load went more 

 quickly. They seemed to scamper by in much less time. 

 All, whether going or coming, apparently were on a dead 

 run, moving as fast as their legs could carry them. A 

 few of them which had heavier loads seemed to have 

 trouble, and would stumble and run against little 

 obstacles, and have difficulty in keeping their loads 

 properly adjusted. When this happened the soldiers 

 would hurry up to them, set them on their feet, and 

 get them going again. The soldiers can always be 

 distinguished from the others by their larger heads and 

 bigger mandibles. I watched them quite a long time, 

 and remarked to myself, that, if errand boys in New 

 York could be found who would on foot carry parcels 

 from the Battery to Harlem in an hour, and then start 

 back again, and make the trip five times a day, there 

 would be a revolution in the parcel-post. The muscular 

 power of insects in proportion to their size is immense. 

 Their endurance is incredible. 



