ANTS. 15 



munications with one another. Various other 

 modifications may be observed in the archi- 

 tecture of the different species. The most 

 perfect specimens of workmanship are gene- 

 rally exhibited by the smaller Ants. The 

 brown Ant is particularly remarkable among 

 the masonic tribes. Their nests are formed 

 of parallel or concentric stories, each four or 

 five lines in height; the partitions being 

 about half a line in thickness, and built of 

 such fine materials, that the interior appears 

 perfectly smooth. On examining each of 

 these stories, we discover chambers of diffe- 

 rent sizes, having long galleries of communi- 

 cation. The ceilings of the larger spaces arc 

 supported by small pillars, sometimes by 

 slender walls, and in other cases by arches. 

 Some cells have but a single entrance ; others 

 have passages, which open from the story 

 underneath. In other parts, still larger cen- 

 tral spaces, or halls, are met with, in which 

 a great number of passages terminate, like 

 the streets and avenues to a market place. 

 The whole nest often contains twenty of these 

 stories, above the level of the ground, and at 

 least as many below it. The use of this nu- 



