40 ARCHITECTURE OF ANTS. 
by a single ant, was opened above, and 
bordered on each side by a buttress of 
earth: its concavity en forme de gouttiere 
was of the most perfect regularity ; for 
the architect had not left an atom too 
much. The work of this ant was so well 
followed and understood, that I could al- 
most to a certainty guess its next proceed- 
ing, and the very fragment it was about 
toremove. At the side of the opening 
where this path terminated, was a second 
opening to which it was necessary to 
arrive by some road. The same ant en- 
gaged in and executed alone this under- 
taking. It furrowed out and opened 
another path, parallel to the first, leaving 
between each a little wall of three or four 
lines in height. 
Those ants who lay the foundation of 
a wall, achamber, or gallery, from work- 
ing. separately, occasion now and then a 
want of coincidence in the parts of the 
same or different objects. Such ex- 
amples are of no unfrequent occurrence, 
but they by no means embarrass them. 
