AMAZON ANTS. 309 
birth. It is in this way, she has institut- 
ed mixed or compound ant-hills: it is 
on this account the Amazons in their ex- 
peditions never carry off adult ants, only 
larve and pupz; for the same reason, 
they never seek the destruction of their 
enemies, their only aim being to steal 
from them their little ones. 
An important truth relative to the 
moral condition of these insects, rests 
upon these facts —that.their instinct is 
capable of receiving several modifica- 
tions. Ants, carried away in their 
youth, may become familiar, and even 
live with an hostile species; it is in the 
first period of their life those impressions 
are formed which they always preserve. 
The very same objects that would natu- 
rally have excited their hatred, now only 
inspire them with a sentiment of love. 
