THE CLEVER FAMILY OF ANTS 55 



In the tropics they can work in the warmth all 

 the year round. 



There have been ants on the earth very much 

 longer than men have been here. Our best guess 

 is that men have lived here half a million years, 

 but we have good reason to think that ants have 

 lived not less than twelve million years. The 

 two families, men and ants, are the most intelli- 

 gent of all the animals, and it would be conceited 

 of us to say that men were always cleverer than 

 ants, and not true, besides. We can learn more 

 quickly than they can, but we cannot do nearly 

 so many important things as the ants can without 

 having to learn how to do them first. Through 

 the long, long time ants have been on the earth 

 they have come to live together in large colonies, 

 where each one does his share of the work without 

 having to be told what it is by any other ant. 



Their accomplishments are more remarkable 

 because most of them are blind. They use their 

 sense of touch, especially in the long antennae 

 or "feelers " at the front of their heads, to examine 

 new things. Their sense of smell is very keen and 

 helps them to keep to their usual trails outside 

 their nests. 



When I first walked through the jungle forest, I 

 saw several paths about four inches across, hol- 

 lowed down with much use until the center was 

 an inch below the level of the forest floor. The 

 leaves had all been removed from them, and the 



