COMPOUND ANT-HILLS. 287 
the corner of their prison, and cut off 
all association with their auxiliaries. At 
first they appeared to pay some little at- 
tention to the larvee ; they carried them 
here and there, but presently replaced 
them. More than one-half of the Ama- 
zons died of hunger in less than two 
days. ‘They had not even traced out 
a dwelling, and the few ants still in 
existence were languid, and without 
strength. I commiserated their con- 
dition, and gave them one of their black 
companions. ‘This individual, unassist- 
ed, established order, formed a chamber 
in the earth, gathered together the 
larvae, extricated several young ants that 
were ready to quit the ‘condition of 
pupz, and preserved the life of the re- 
maining Amazons. ‘This result needs no 
commentary: I leave to each the liberty 
of drawing his own conclusions, 
