CARPENTERS' COWS DISCOVERED 229 



seventy-five square inches of ground, and they have now 

 commenced to clean up a much larger patch just outside 

 of this. They first carry away all the loose pieces. It 

 takes several ants to drag the larger ones. Those standing 

 are pulled in different directions to break them off. 



FLORENCE. Yes, and some pieces are so stiff they 

 can't get them down. 



KENNETH. Maybe they wet the bases of dry stalks to 

 soften them, or put something on to rot them so they can 

 pull them down? 



FLORENCE. While clearing the ground of weeds, the 

 ants couldn't remove a stout blade of grass that was very 

 much in the way of loaded miners. A happy thought 

 struck one of them. She took the free end of the grass 

 in her jaws, dragged it around on the yard, climbed some 

 weeds, and laid the end of the blade against them, as I 

 have shown in the picture. You can see how she would 

 have all kinds of trouble in performing this task. 



The Carpenters' Cows Are Discovered. 



CECIL. The cows, the cows, the cows ! I've found the 

 Carpenters' cows! I followed a Carpenter and she led me 

 to the top of an oak bush as high as my head. Other ants 

 were there and showed me several small herds of ant cows 

 (aphids). 



KENNETH. I saw them, too. The cows were young 

 and giving no milk. The ants were just herding them and 

 waiting. You ought to see the Carpenters go up the trunk 

 of that oak bush at the rate of six inches a second. Their 

 abdomens were no larger when they came down than when 

 they went up. 



CECIL, I have just followed another Carpenter forty 



