How to Study Ants in the Schoolroom 



Very interesting stories may be read in the observation cage. 

 To make this ant nest we must have two pieces of window-glass, 

 ten inches square ; a sheet of tin, eleven inches square ; a piece of 

 plank, one and one-fourth inches thick, twenty inches long and at 

 least sixteen inches wide; a sheet of tin, or two thin, flat boards, 

 five by ten inches in size. 



Take the plank and on the upper side, a short distance from the 

 edge, cut a deep furrow. This furrow is to be filled with water, as 

 a moat, to keep the ants imprisoned. It is necessary, therefore, 

 that the plank should have no knot holes, and that it be painted 

 thoroughly to keep it from checking. Take the sheet of tin eleven 

 inches square, and make it into a tray by turning up the edges 

 three-eighths of an inch. Place this tray in the middle of the 

 plank. Place within the tray one pane of glass. Lay around the 

 edges of this glass four strips of wood about half an inch wide and 

 a little thicker than the height of the ants which are to live in the 

 nest ; burnt matches serve very well for this. Cover the glass with 

 a thin layer of fine earth. Take the remaining pane of glass and 

 cut a triangular piece off of one corner, then place the pane on top 

 of the other, resting upon the pieces of wood around the sides. 

 The cover of the nest may be two pieces of tin, with handles soldered 

 at the centers, or two boards with screw-eyes or knobs at the 

 centers, with which to lift them. There should be a piece of blotter 

 or of very thin sponge, introduced into the nest between the two 

 panes of glass, in a position where it may be reached with a pipette, 

 without removing the upper glass, for it must be kept always damp. 



To establish a colony of ants in this nest we should proceed as 

 follows: Take a two quart glass fruit jar and a garden trowel. 

 Armed with these we visit some pasture or meadow near by, and 

 find under some stone, a colony of ants which have plenty of eggs 

 and larvae. We scoop up carefully eggs, ants, dirt and all and 

 place them in the jar, being as careful as possible not to injure the 

 little creatures. While digging, we must search carefully for the 

 queen, which is a larger ant and is sometimes thus found. But if 

 we have plenty of eggs, larvae and pupae, the ants will become very 

 contented in their new nest while taking care of them. After we 

 have taken all the ants desirable, we place the cover on the jar, and 

 thus carry them to the Lubbock nest and carefully empty the 



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