16 ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS. 
the labours of the latter, which will be 
found to merit our athention: 
2. ARCHITECTURE OF THE MASON-ANTS, 
I term those mason-ants, whose nests, on 
the exterior, have the appearance of hil- 
locks of earth, without admixture of other 
materials, whilst in the interior they 
present a series of labyrinths, lodges, 
vaults, and galleries, constructed with 
great art. 
There are several species of mason- 
ants. The earth, of which their nest is 
composed, is more or less compact. That 
which ants of a certain size, such as the 
ash-coloured and mining ants. employ, 
appears to be less selected, and forms a 
less fine paste, than that of which the 
.brown, microscopic, and yellow ants form 
their abode. It is, however, sufficiently 
adapted to their use, and to the nature of 
_the edifice they intend erecting. 
To form a correct judgment of the in- 
_terior arrangement or distribution of an 
_ant-hill, it is necessary to select such as 
15 
