PREFACE. 



A colony of Black Harvester Ants had a nest on the 

 boundary between a bean patch and a back yard. The 

 garden was cultivated by three boys and two girls. They 

 became much interested in the ants and asked many ques- 

 tions about them. 



The common prejudice against this insect soon disappears 

 when it is understood that only a few kinds are trouble- 

 some and that ants are useful to man. 



Children nine years of age and over are easily interested 

 in this subject and desire much more information than is 

 to be found in juvenile literature. They have abundant 

 time and opportunity for observation a great deal more 

 than adults have. They are naturalists because their ances- 

 tors have been all down through the ages. Observe, investi- 

 gate, question, question, question, experiment is the rule of 

 life. The aim of this book is to aid in keeping alive these 

 native instincts, and the little denizen of the earth, that we 

 are to study, is a fit teacher to introduce the child of man 

 to the world of nature. 



If school classes could read something of the wonderful 

 actions of ants and speculate on the motives that prompted 

 the same, the back yard might become as interesting as the 

 circus. 



In the following pages, an attempt has been made to 

 record the day-after-day life of a colony of Black Harvester 

 Ants for a period of one year July 1st to July 1st. Mono- 

 syllables have been largely employed for evident reasons. 



The observations made are truly recorded, but the reader 

 is welcome to his own inferences as to motives. If ants 

 reason, it is not as we do. Ants can learn somewhat by 

 experience can be trained. 



A number of facts are given about several common ants 

 and considerable information about ants in general. 



"The Ant" is chosen as the subject because it is found in 



