CARPENTERS' COWS DISCOVERED 231 



Acrobats, but were surprised to find that the Carpenters 

 have cows on these bushes. 



ALBERT. It was near this tree that we found the jaws 

 of five Acrobats clinched on the legs of a big dying Car- 

 penter. So I think we shall find the Acrobat herds near 

 here, also. 



KENNETH. I took a dozen cows to the nest of the 

 Acrobats and the same number to our ants. All the cows 

 were soon carried indoors, but whether for milk or beef, 

 I don't know. 



CECIL. A Carpenter was guarding a herd on the trunk 

 of the cedar when a cow got killed. The ant soon discov- 

 ered the body, doubled its abdomen under its body three 

 times, and, I suppose, shot three charges of acid toward 

 the cow. 



ALBERT. How do you explain this? 



CECIL. The cow was in a little trench where a scar on 

 the tree trunk was healing over. I suppose the ant was 

 gassing the trench, hoping to destroy or drive out the 

 enemy that had killed the cow. 



ALBERT. Maybe. 



CECIL. After the acid gas had blown away, the ant 

 jumped into the trench three times, snapping its jaws, 

 hoping to crush the enemy. It had been watching over 

 this herd a long time. Other passing ants paid no atten- 

 tion to the dead cow. 



ALBERT. Was that all? 



CECIL. No. The ant searched all around the herd 

 looking for the enemy. It then examined the body of the 

 cow carefully, got something on its feelers, stopped fifteen 

 minutes to comb them out with its forelegs, jaws, chin 

 whiskers and mouth parts. 



