46 HARVESTING ANTS. 



perhaps with a view to effecting a possible cure, for 

 I have seen one ant carry anotlier down the twig 

 which formed their path to the surface of the water, 

 and, after dipping it in for a minute, carry it labo- 

 riously up again, and lay it in the sun to dry and 

 recover ; thirdly, the stripping off the ccats and 

 husks of seed and grain swelling and on the point 

 of sprouting, previous to eating it ; and finally, the 

 actual eating of the contents of the seed. 



Most of these operations are usually performed below 

 ground, and even in my captive nest it was but rarely 

 that I could get a glimpse of their subterranean life, 

 as they avoided the glass as much as possible, though 

 it was carefully covered with flannel and black paper ; 

 and it was only by having the nest constantly before 

 me on my table, and thus becoming a witness of their 

 operations day and night during four months, that I 

 detected them in positions which permitted me to 

 watch these actions of theirs. 



The ants were in the habit of coming out in num- 

 bers of an evening to enjoy the warmth and light of 

 my lamp, and it was on one of these occasions that I 

 first observed them in the act of eating. I perceived 

 that in the midst of the black mass of ants gathered 

 together on the side of the glass jar one was holding 

 up a white roundish mass about as big as a large pin's 

 head. Having turned a stream of bright light passed 

 through a condenser on this group, and being per- 

 mitted by the ants to make free use of my pocket lens, 

 I was able to see the details with great precision. The 

 white mass appeared to be the floury portion of a grain 

 of millet, and I could see that two or three ants at a 

 time would scrape off" minute particles with their 



