150 NOTES ON QUEENSLAND ANTS, 
Agricultural Ant of Texas.” * The work is the result of a 
three weeks’ mission to Texas; undertaken by the author for 
the purpose of testing the accuracy of the statements made 
by Dr. Gideon Lincecum (pg. 142). Unfortunately Mr. McCook’s 
visit was not so well timed as to permit of his being able to 
gain evidence of these ants actually sowing seed, but he had 
abundance of evidence that they reaped the harvest—were 
harvesting ants. This Texan ant differs from all other species 
possessing this habit, in so much as it clears a large and nearly 
circular space of ground around its nest, and it is on the outer 
border of this disc that the ant rice (Aristida oligantha) as it is 
called grows, entirely freed from weeds. The seeds of this grass 
are stored up by the ants in their nest amongst other seed ; but, 
“that they are regularly sown in autumn,” rests on Dr. Lince- 
cum’s authority only. Mr. McCook enters even more fully than 
Mr. Moggridge into the subject of ‘‘ the ancient belief in harvest- 
ing ants; how it was discredited, and how restored.” Then, 
again, Messrs. Treat and Morris, in the ‘‘ American Entomolo- 
gist” (op. cit. pp. 225-6; 228-9; 264-5] of the same year, viz., 
1879, give an interesting account of two other harvesting ants 
(Pheidole pennsylvanica and P. megacephala) from New Jersey. 
Finally, harvesting ants have been alluded to by various popular 
writers on entomology, though Louis Figuier seems to have 
passed the subject over, in that form of his interesting work 
with which English readers are most familiar 
The investigations of these and other authorities have made us 
acquainted with the existence of this remarkable trait in at least 
fifteen species of ants. These are natives of Europe,f Asia, and 
* «<The Natural History of the Agricultural Ant of Texas; a Mono- 
graph of the habits, architecture, and structure of Pogonomyrmex 
barbatus.” [? M. (Atta) molefaciens.] London: Trubner & Co., 1879. 
+ We have Sir John Lubbock’s authority for the statement that no 
harvesting ants live in England [British Association for the Advance- 
ment of Science, 1878, Section Zoology and Botany]. Mr. J. Curtis, 
however, states—and he paid much attention to ants and their habits— 
