24 ANTS AND CHILDREN OF THE GARDEN 



ALBERT. Do other things ever eat the mushrooms 

 raised by ants? 



ANT. Sometimes the little blind cockroaches do the 

 kind that lives with ants. 



ALBERT. I suppose the ants are lucky enough not to 

 be bothered with weeds in their garden? 



ANT. Small workers attend the garden and pull out 

 any plants not wanted. 



ALBERT. Looks to me like ants are real farmers 

 make and attend hotbeds just as we do. By regulating the 

 drafts and temperature they can have mushrooms the year 

 round. 



Eggs. 



DOROTHY. I'd like to see your eggs. I don't suppose 

 they are as large as a goose egg. 



ANT. If you would lay fifty eggs side by side, they 

 wouldn't reach an inch even the eggs of the largest ant. 



DOROTHY. If they are so small, I don't see how you 

 move them from place to place. 



ANT. We lick them, stick several together, and thus 

 carry a number at a time. 



Babies. 



FLORENCE. I saw two of your babies today. They 

 looked like worms to me, or like a tiny crook^necked 

 squash, or like a poke. What do you call them? 



ANT. A baby ant has a pretty name, "Larva." But 

 some call it a grub, worm, baby or maggot. 



DOROTHY. Do different ants all feed their babies the 

 same way? 



ANT. No. Some feed them from mouth to mouth; 



