218 ANTS. Chap. XL 



tlieir daily labours in the cells, which I was enabled 

 to do by laying open some of their cells, and then 

 observing what went on after all was quiet. So soon 

 as the cells are broken, a few head men or chiefs are 

 seen ; each one moves his head all round the aperture, 

 and then disappears into the dark galleries, appa- 

 rently without leaving anything. Then the soldiers 

 come ; these do no work, but there must be some 

 intention in these movements ; they no doubt were 

 on guard to protect the workers. I was never able, 

 even with my magnifying glass, to see them do any- 

 thing. The workers then come forward, and each of 

 them turns round and ejects from behind a quantity 

 of liquid mud into the aperture, and finally walls it 

 up. They come one after the other, and all of 

 them leave their contributions ; this is done first 

 in a row from one end of the aperture to another, 

 then each ejection is put on the top of the other 

 with a precision that would do honour to a brick- 

 layer or stonemason. The question to me was to 

 know if the same ants went away to eat more 

 earth and came again. How much would I have 

 given to be able to see into the dark recesses of the 

 chambers! but I do not see how this will ever be 

 done. The apertures of the cells were only closed 

 during the day, and during the following night the 

 part of the structure which I had demolished was 

 rebuilt to its original shape. Some of them brought 

 very small grains of sand or minute pebbles, and 

 deposited them in the mud ; when demolishing their 

 shelter, I saw several cells filled with these little 

 pebbles, which I had also collected and preserved. 



