28 HARVEST INO ANTS. 



wild lentil {Ervum), spiny broom {Cyiisiis sjnnosui)^ 

 Valerianella carinata, Centaurea aspera, Odontites lutea^ 

 Calamintha Nepefa, Polygonum convolvulus and P. avicu- 

 /f/;^, amaranth {JmaranthusBUtum andpatulus), pellitory 

 {Parietaria), Euphorbia, pine {Pinus), wild sarsaparilla 

 {Smilax aspera), Setaria verticillata and >S'. italica, An- 

 dropofjon Jschcemuiu, and of eight other plants of which 

 J do not recognise the seeds. This list, comprising 

 plants belonging to eighteen distinct families, might 

 be greatly prolonged if I were to add to it the names 

 of the seeds which I have seen the ants carry towards 

 their nests, but have not actually detected in the 

 granaries. Thus I have seen trains of ants burdened 

 with the long'beaked, spirally-twisted fruits of crane's 

 bill [Erodiuni], and, as above mentioned, with capsules 

 of chickweed {Alsine media) and shepherd's-purse 

 {Capsella Bursa pastoris), with whole orange pips, and 

 even haricot beans, seeds of the New Zealand veronica 

 (F! Andersonii), of Silenepseudoatocion, and many other 

 garden plants, also with nutlets of the plane tree and 

 seeds of the cypress. 



Pliny mentions* incidentally having watched the 

 ants carrying away cypress seeds, and comments upon 

 the fact that so small a creature should be able to 

 interfere with the growth of such a noble tree. 



I have little doubt that tlie seed stores of the ants 

 in botanic and other gardens, where rare plants are 

 cultivated in southern Europe and in warm climates 

 generally, contain samples taken from the fruits of a 

 great many of the rarer and more interesting species 

 as well as of the weeds and native plants. Indeed 1 



* Pliny, Nat. Hist., xvii. 14, 3- 



