8 3 o POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



fly is an important ingredient in certain inks. Ants are valuable 

 scavengers, and some produce an acid used in trade. The remark- 

 able honey ants of the Southwest are considered dainties in Mex- 

 ico and served after dinner alive. In the nests of these ants cer- 

 tain individuals cling to the ceiling, their abdomens filled with 

 honey, which has been given to them by their companions, so 

 they are literally living honey jars, holding the reserve food sup- 

 ply of the others, which they give up on application. The dis- 

 tended abdomen, about as large as a currant, is the luxury of the 

 Mexicans. 



Bees have a sterling value the world over and support many 

 men, women, and children. A few years ago a single bee ranch 

 in San Diego County, California, produced one hundred and fifty 

 thousand pounds of honey and wax. The importance of bees, 

 aside from the question of honey, is shown by the fact that it was 

 found impossible to cultivate red clover in New Zealand, as there 

 were no bumblebees to carry the pollen. These are but a few of 

 the benefits we obtain from the insects, the majority of which are 

 generally considered pests. 



The story of the economic value of vertebrate life would mean 

 a part of the commercial history of the world, so essential are 

 nearly all of the higher animals to man and his advancement. 

 We may pass rapidly in review the great fisheries of the globe 

 which afford a direct support to thousands, from the salmon can- 

 neries of Alaska to the tunny fishermen of the Mediterranean. 



The sharks, valuable scavengers, provide the makers of 

 swords, belts, and various fancy articles with leather, the teeth 

 being made into fancy and cheap jewelry. On the New England 

 coast the small sharks or dogfish are in demand as guano, the 

 fisheries giving employment to hundreds of men during the sum- 

 mer months. The oil of nearly all sharks is a commercial com- 

 modity, while the shark fin is a delicacy to the Chinese and col- 

 lected by the ton from Catalina to China. 



The torpedo ray has been utilized by science, and the electric 

 catfish of Africa is sometimes employed as a medicine. 



The Volga sturgeon fisheries give employment alone to over 

 one hundred thousand persons, while that of our Alaskan coast is 

 an important and growing industry. Helmets are made from the 

 porcupine fish. The oil of the sunfish is valued in medicine. Sha- 

 green comes from various fishes ; leather and isinglass from the 

 cod, hake, and haddock, weak and drum fishes ; while the scales 

 of the tarpon and parrot fishes are employed in ornamentation. 

 Carp, dace, tench, and other fishes generally considered of little 

 value, produce scales from which artificial pearls are made, and 

 so become factors in a large and growing industry, especially in 

 France. 



