80 ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS. 
consolidation nothing but the heat of the 
sun. It sometimes, however, happens 
that a violent rain will destroy the 
apartments, especially should they be 
but slightly arched ; but under these cir- 
cumstances the ants reconstruct them 
with wonderful patience. 
These different labours were carried 
on at the same time, and were so closely 
followed up in the different quarters, 
that the Ant-hill received an additional 
story in the course of seven or eight 
hours. All the vaulted ceilings, being 
formed upon a regular plan, and at equal 
distances from one wall to the other, con- 
stituted, when finished, but one single roof. 
Scarcely had the ants finished this story 
than they began constructing another; but 
they had not time to finish it: the rain 
ceasing before the ceiling was fully com- 
pleted. They still, however, continued 
their work for a few hours, taking advan- 
tage of the humidity of the earth; but a 
keen north wind soon sprung up, and 
hastily dried the collected fragments, 
