MINING, TRAILS, WORK 223 



mined about a gallcn of dirt. How long would it take you 

 to do that? 



CECIL. Let me tell you. A gallon would be about 

 500,000 loads 500 loads apiece for a thousand miners. 

 Maybe fifty days' work if the dirt be dry and the mining 

 hard. But if the ground be wet and soft, the ants could 

 make earth balls much easier and carry out a gallon in a 

 few days. 



ANT. When the earth is damp, we stick about a dozen 

 scraperfuls (jawfuls) together into a ball or earth pellet, 

 and carry it out. When the dirt is dry, we don't go to 

 that bother, but carry it out loose in our baskets (jaws). 

 We'd soon run out of saliva if we tried to stick much dry 

 dirt together. 



FLORENCE. Every night you knock the pellets off, 

 making a trail through them in the direction of your seed 

 field. They crumble easily. How many trips did each 

 Harvester make last night? 



ANT. I don't know. Ants were on the trail sixteen 

 hours. Say, five minutes going, the same time finding a 

 seed, and twenty-five returning home. 



CECIL. I suppose they work in shifts, and don't work 

 overtime unless there is a reason for it. 



FLORENCE. I notice the ants don't work outside dur- 

 ing eight hours in daytime ; at least, in hot weather. 



ANT. And I notice that you don't work outside during 

 eight hours at night, in any kind of weather. 



FLORENCE. The boys sleep eight hours at night, and 

 as much longer as possible, and eat three times a day, and 

 as much oftener as possible. 



KENNETH. Our ants have a rule not to work through 

 the heat of the day, but they break it when there is a rush 



