QUEENS, EGGS, NESTS, ACROBATS 221 



KENNETH. I suppose an ant wouldn't trade its jaws 

 for a war-club, battle-ax and sword. 



CECIL. I wonder if the ants and cannibals that at- 

 tacked Stanley's men in Africa didn't each do so for the 

 same reason? Stanley says that ants kill monkeys and 

 snakes, and "our fowl and pigs." 



DOROTHY. Some of our ants were wounded and some 

 killed in the late battle. I wonder what an ant would do 

 with an injured limb? 



CECIL. I don't know, but a pet chipmunk in Sacra- 

 mento skinned its tail on the wires of its cage. The bone 

 stuck up like a red wire. The munk looked at it, didn't 

 like it, and then bit it off. After that they called him 

 Bobby. 



KENNETH. About dusk today I saw a line of Robbers 

 crossing a trail of Harvesters like ours. Neither paid any 

 attention to the other. 



Queens, Eggs, Nests, Acrobats. 



FLORENCE. How many queens in an ant colony, any- 

 how? 



ANT. The number varies from one or a few to hundreds. 



FLORENCE. Your queens are quite lively. I have seen 

 them at work a number of times. 



ANT. Why, some ants even let their queens go out on 

 the trail 'with their workers. 



FLORENCE. Once last fall a quarter of an apricot 

 lasted your ants three days. I saw a king hold its mouth 

 to that fruit for three and a half minutes and then drink 

 some water for two minutes. 



DOROTHY. Yes, and I saw a queen drink for a min- 

 ute. I thought kings and queens had to be fed and watered 

 by their servants. 



