*4 ABOUT ANTS- 



the wood through which they cut is all colored 

 black, as if the fire had passed through it. 



When these black carpenters get into i. 

 dwelling, they cause a deal of trouble. They 

 make themselves at home in the very wood- 

 work of the house. They gnaw a way into any 

 wooden box which they wish to explore, and 

 will find the least crevice into the sugar-box or 

 cake-jar. The prudent housewife puts her pot 

 of sweetmeats in a pan of water, but if the ants 

 know what the jar contains, they will find a 

 way to it, even if they crawl upon the shelf 

 above, and drop down upon it. The family 

 may be almost exterminated, and yet, if two or 

 three be left, with all the resources of the nest 

 at their command, in a little time the plague? 

 are as thick as ever. Moreover, they bite. 



Some tribes of Ants are very warlike, an^ 

 they make war to ca})ture the workers of othei 

 tribes, and obtain slaves for their own commu- 

 nities. It is said that the kidnappers are always 

 pa.e or red Ants, and that the captured slaves 

 are black When the red Ants are about to 



