ANTS. 61 
some districts it is so abundant that agriculture is almost 
impossible, and everywhere complaints are heard of these 
terrible pests. ... The Saiiba Ants mount the tree in 
multitudes, the individuals being all worker minors. Each 
one places itself on the surface of a leaf, and cuts, with its. 
sharp, scissor-like jaws, a nearly semicircular incision on the 
upper side ; it then takes the edge between its jaws, and by 
a sharp jerk detaches the piece. Sometimes they let the 
leaf drop to the ground, where a little heap accumulates, 
until carried off by another relay of workers; but generally 
each marches off with the piece it has operated upon. . 
This habit of the Saiiba Ant of clipping and carrying away 
immense quantities of leaves has long been recorded in 
books of natural history. When employed in this work, 
their processions look like a multitude of animated leaves on 
the march. In some places I found an accumulation of such 
leaves, all circular pieces, about the size of a sixpence, lying 
in the pathway, unattended by ants and at some distance 
from any colony. . . . Such heaps are always found to be 
removed when the place is revisited the next day. In 
course of time I had plenty of opportunities of seeing 
them at work. . .. As all take the same road to 
their colony, the path they follow becomes in a short 
time smooth and bare, looking like the impression of a 
cart wheel under the herbage. It is a most interesting 
sight to see the vast host of busy, diminutive labourers: 
occupied on this work. Unfortunately they choose cultivated 
trees for their purpose . ... plants imported from other 
countries, such as the coffee and orange trees One night 
my servant woke me three or four hours before sunrise by 
calling out that the rats were robbing the farinha baskets. . . . 
So I took my light and went into the store-room.... Ithere 
found a broad column of Saiiba Ants, consisting of thousands 
of individuals, as busy as possible passing to and fro between 
the door and my precious baskets. Most of these passing 
outwards were laden each with a grain of farinha, which was 
in some cases larger and many times heavier than the 
bodies of the carriers. . . . When engaged in leaf-cutting, 
plundering farinha, and other operations, two classes of 
workers are always seen. They are not, it is true, very 
