MR. F. SMITH ON SOME NEW SPECIES OF ANTS, 31 
all seasons watched the same ant-cities during the last twelve 
years, and I know that what I stated in my former letter is true. 
I visited the same cities yesterday, and found the crop of ant-rice 
growing finely, and exhibiting also the signs of high cultivation, 
and not a blade of any other kind of grass or weed was to be seen 
within twelve inches of the circular row of ant-rice.”’ 
In his second letter Dr. Lincecum proceeds to give some account 
of what he terms the “ Horticultural Ant,’ which appears to be 
identical with the “ Cutting Ant,” Gcodoma mexicana, Sm., de- 
scribed by Mr. S. B. Buckley in the ‘ Proceedings of the Academy 
of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia,’ 1860, p. 283 *; but as his 
account does not contain any important additional observations, it 
is here omitted. 
Mr. Buckley also describes (/. ¢. p. 445), the “ Agricultural”’ or 
“ Mount-making Ant,” although his account of its habits will be 
found to differ in several respects from that given by Dr. Lince- 
cum. 
Descriptions of some New Species of Ants from the Holy Land, 
with a Synonymie List of others previously described. By 
Freperick Smiru, Esq., Assistant in the Zoological Depart- 
ment, British Museum. Communicated by Danu. Hanzury, 
Esq., F.LS. 
[Read April 4, 1861.] 
Tue ants which form the subject of the present paper were col- 
lected in Syria and Palestine by Dr. J. D. Hooker and Mr. 
Daniel Hanbury, during a visit of a few weeks to those countries 
in September and October last. The species, though only ten in 
number, are part of a fauna replete with interest: all the produc- 
tions, in fact, of the Holy Land are so worthy of our attention, 
that he who adds even the smallest number of species to the list 
does not work in vain. 
I am not prepared to say how many, or even if any, of the spe- 
cies of Ants forming the present list have been recorded as indige- 
nous to Palestine; but in one or two cases the knowledge of the 
geographical distribution of ants is rendered highly interesting. 
Not only do we here find species common to Southern Europe, but | 
in Formica brunnea and Tapinoma erratica we recognize insects 
found even in the vicinity of our own metropolis. A few observa- 
* A notice of this paper will be found in the Annals & Mag. Nat. Hist. 3 ser. 
vi. p. 386. 
