ANTS. 23 



Interesting description of the Economy, aiid 

 good management of Ants, in their sub- 

 terraneous dwellings. Translated from 

 the Memoirs of the French Academy. 



" In a room next to mine, which had 

 been empty for a long time, there was upon 

 a window a box full of earth, two feet deep, 

 and fit to keep flowers in. That kind of 

 parterre had been long uncultivated ; and 

 therefore it was covered with old plaster, 

 and a great deal of rubbish, that fell from 

 the top of the house, and from the walls, 

 which together with the earth formerly im- 

 bibed with water, made a kind of dry and 

 barren soil. The place lying to the south, 

 and out of the reach of the wind and rain, 

 also in the neighbourhood of a granary, 

 was a most delightful spot of ground for 

 Ants, and therefore they had made three 

 nests there, doubtless for the same reason 

 that men build cities in fruitful and conve= 

 nient places, near springs and rivers. 



