248 SOCIETY OF ANIMALS. 



of size. Each takes his share of the common labor; and the 

 whole society, which constitutes but one family, is the genuine 

 issue of the same mother. 



The association and economy of the common ants merit 

 some attention. With wonderful industry and activity they 

 collect materials for the construction of their nest. They 

 unite in numbers, and assist each other in excavating the 

 earth, and in transporting to their habitation bits of straw, 

 small pieces of wood, and other substances of a similar kind, 

 which they employ in lining and supporting their subterra- 

 neous galleries. The form of their nest or hill is somewhat 

 conical, and, of course, the water, when it rains, runs easily 

 off, without penetrating their abode. Under this hill there are 

 many galleries or passages, which communicate with each 

 other, and resemble the streets of a small city. 



The ants not only associate for the purpose of constructing 

 a common habitation, but for cherishing and protecting their 

 offspring. Every person must have often observed, when part 

 of a nest is suddenly exposed, their extreme solicitude for the 

 preservation of their chrysalids or nymphs, which often exceed 

 the size of the animals themselves. With amazing dexterity 

 and quickness, the ants transport their nymphs into the sub- 

 terraneous galleries of the nest, and place them beyond the 

 reach of any common danger. The courage and fortitude 

 with which they defend their young is no less astonishing. 

 The body of an ant was cut through the middle, and, after 

 suffering this cruel treatment, so strong was its parental affec- 

 tion, with its head, and one half of the body, it carried off 

 eight or ten nymphs. They go to great distances in search 

 of provisions. Their roads, which are often winding and 

 involved, all terminate in the nest. 



The wisdom and foresight of the ants have been celebrated 

 from the remotest antiquity. It has been asserted and believed 

 for near three thousand years, that they lay up magazines of 

 provisions for the winter, and that they even cut off the germ 

 of the grain to prevent it from shooting. But the ancients 

 wore never famed for accurate researches into the nature and 

 operations of insects. These supposed magazines could be of 

 no use to the ants; for, like-the marmots and dormice, they 

 sleep during the winter. A very moderate degree of cold is 

 sufficient to render them torpid. In fact, it is now well 

 known, that they amass no magazines of provisions. 



The grains which, with so much industry and labor, they 

 carry to their nest, are not intended to be food to the animals, 



