THE GARDEN ANT 165 



away met guards on every road. Some climbed weeds to 

 escape their tormentors. 



ALBERT. A month later the largest colony swarmed 

 again. 



KENNETH. After the next rain the city was rebuilt, 

 but the colonies were fewer and several had changed lo- 

 cations. 



CECIL. This is the most common ant in southern 

 California. Draw an east-west line across the United 

 States through Illinois or another through Argentina, 

 South America. Much of the territory between these lines 

 is inhabited by these ants. Anybody can find their little 

 craters on hard, bare ground around the house of man, 

 along the walks, and often elsewhere. One-third of these 

 in this alley are in a wagon track. 



ALBERT. Once I saw a small boy brush the crater of a 

 Garden ant colony with a broom, mixing up ants and dirt. 

 The ants rebuilt nearby, but a playful kitten repeated the 

 broom act with its paws. 



KENNETH. Yes. That colony built on top of a pile of 

 dirt on which animals and children like to play. Unlucky 

 ants. 



CECIL. And that wasn't all. A colony of Acrobats 

 visited them for several nights. The visitors became such 

 a nuisance that the other ants rebuilt six inches away. 

 Then the Acrobats used the old nest as an operating sta- 

 tion or as a resort. After the rebuilding was repeated 

 several times, the Garden ants could not be found, or the 

 Acrobats either. 



ALBERT. The visitors didn't bother the others except 

 at night time. So one day the Garden ants thought they 

 would fool the loafers. They carried the dirt of their own 



