PARTNERSHIP. MUSHROOMS. 23 



Partnership. 



CECIL. Do different kinds of ants ever go into partner- 

 ship? 



ANT. Yes. They live in the same house, but in different 

 rooms, in many cases. A small kind may live with a large 

 kind. 



ALBERT. I once read something like this: "When one 

 of the large kind comes home, a small one climbs onto its 

 back, licks the jaws and sides of the face, and tickles the 

 worker with its feelers until the large one is overcome with 

 kindness and gives up a taste, mouth to mouth." 



CECIL. How does the large one get pay for w r hat it 

 does? 



ANT. Sometimes it calls on the small one and gets a 

 free shampoo. These ants live in Texas. 



Mushrooms. 



ALBERT. They say some ants raise mushrooms to eat, 

 even in California. I don't see how they do it. 



ANT. "The ants carry some leaves home, chew and roll 

 them into little balls, throw them into a room to rot, plant 

 mushrooms and clip off little pieces of the root-like parts 

 as food for themselves, babies and cows." 



ALBERT. Do the ants carry home dead leaves or live 

 ones? 



ANT. "They climb a tree, bite circles on the tops of the 

 leaves, take the parts in their jaws, rip them off, and either 

 take them home or drop them on the ground for others to 

 carry." 



ALBERT. Don't the ants eat any of the leaves? 



ANT. No, but after using them as fertilizer for mush- 

 room beds, they f feed them to baby beetles. 



