124 NATURAL HISTORY. [CH. VII. 



most their homes and their young, from the ma- 

 rauding ambition of a neighbouring- hill. "Alas!" 

 says Bacon, " the earth with men upon it will not 

 seem much other than an ant-hill, where some ants 

 carry corn, and some cany their young-, and some 

 go emptv, and all to and fro around a little heap of 

 dust." 



" If we wish to behold," says P. Huber, " regular 

 armies wage war in all its forms, we must visit the 

 forests in which the fallow ants establish their do- 

 minion over every insect within their territory : we 

 shall there see populous and rival cities and regular 

 roads, diverging from the ant-hill, like so many 

 radii from a centre, and frequented by an immense 

 number of combatants ; wars between hordes of the 

 same species, for they are naturally enemies, and 

 jealous of any encroachment upon the territory 

 which surrounds their capital. It is in these forests 

 I have witnessed the inhabitants of two large ant- 

 hills engaged in a spirited combat; two empires 

 could not have brought into the field a more nume- 

 rous or more determined body of combatants. 



" Both armies met half-way from their respective 

 habitations, and the battle commenced : thousands 

 of ants took their stations upon the highest ground, 

 and fought in pairs, keeping firm hold of their an- 

 tagonists by their mandibles ; while a considerable 

 number were engaged in the attack, others were 

 leading away prisoners ; the latter made several in- 

 effectual endeavours to escape, as if aware that 

 upon reaching the camp a cruel death awaited them. 

 The field of battle occupied a space of about 

 three feet square : a penetrating odour exhaled on 

 all sides ; and numbers of dead ants were seen co- 

 vered with venom. The ants composing groups 

 and chains laid hold of each others legs and pincers, 

 and dragged their antagonists on the ground ; these 

 groups formed successively. The fight usually com- 

 menced between two ants, who, seizing each other 



