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horns of the Ant, fo that the pincers or teeth of tliis anunal i'ecm 

 defigned for no other ufe then to grind its food, and alfo to drag the 

 provifions it coUeds for its young to the place where the young 

 maggots he. But I always obferved, and without any one inllance 

 to the contrary, that thel'e Ants have a fting which is placed, not in 

 the head, but in the hind part of their bodies, and, ifat any time, we 

 molell or hurt the Ant, it immediately puts forth its lling (which 

 at other times it keeps within its body), and continually endeavours 

 to ftrike, for it does nothing but bend its tail downwards, and in- 

 <;eflantly moves its rting in and out of its body. 



This motion of the iHng, is fo natural to the Ant, that though 

 the hind part of its body be cut otf from the reft, the fting will 

 continue to move tor fome time. And the Ant not only gives us pain 

 merely by Hinging, but with the fting it emits a tranfparent liquid 

 \\ liich is tranfmitted to the end of the fting ; and, from this liquid, 

 I conceive the principal part of the pain proceeds, owing to the 

 Iharp faline particles it contains, and that from hence alfo proceed 

 thole humoiu-s or fwellings upon the Ikin which we experience on 

 beinjr ftunjr. 



The fwellings or pimples which I experienced from the Ants, in 

 my preceding obfervations of their manner of generation, gave 

 me more pain than in my life before I had experienced from them. 

 For it is almoft tvventy years ago that, having been violently ftung 

 by Ants, I then, upon examination, difcovered that they carried a 

 fting in the hind parts of their bodies. 



Although this liquid omitted by the Ant, is in vciy fmall quan- 

 tity, I tried all means 1 could devife to dilcover, if poffible, the kind 

 of particles it might contain, but I could obferve nothing, except that 

 this liquor (though very tranfparent and fluid), confilted of parts fo 

 fixed that it would not evaporate; in like manner as if it had been an 

 oil : in one place I fancied I faw fome particles lying, of the nature 

 of falts, with fome others, fo minute, that I could not afcribe to 

 them any particular fhape. 



