Mason-Ants. 



291 



commenced ; so much are its motions regulated by the idea 

 it has conceived, and upon which it acts, with little attention 

 to all else around it. It goes and returns, until the plan is 

 sufficiently understood by its companions. 



" In another part of the same ant-hill," continues M. 

 Huber, " several fragments of straw seemed expressly placed 

 to form the roof of a large house : a workman took advantage 

 of this disposition. These fragments lying horizontally, at 

 half-an-inch distance from the ground, formed, in crossing 

 each other, an oblong parallelogram. The industrious insect 

 commenced by placing earth in the several angles of this 

 framework, and all along the little beams of which it was 

 composed. The same workman afterwards placed several 

 rows of the same materials against each other, when the roof 

 became very distinct. On perceiving the possibility of 

 profiting by another plant to support a vertical wall, it 

 began laying the foundations of it; other ants having by 

 this time arrived, finished in common what this had com- 

 menced." * 



M. Huber made most of his observations upon the pro- 

 cesses followed by ants in glazed artificial hives or formi- 

 caries. The preceding figure represents a view of one of his 

 formicaries of mason-ants. 



We have ourselves followed up his observations, both on 

 natural ant-hills and in artificial formicaries. On digging 

 * Huber on Ants, p. 43. 



