A SUCCESSFUL RUSE 



all the apartments and walls that were still uncovered, 

 and scattered the debris over the last story of the ant- 

 hill. 



These facts prove beyond doubt that the ants use neither 

 gum, nor any other kind of cement, to bind together the 

 materials of their nest, but knowingly take advantage of 

 the rain to work and knead the earth, leaving the sun and 

 wind to consolidate it. In the simplicity of these means 

 I recognized Nature's own methods, but I thought I ought to 

 verify my results by experiment. 



A few days later I attempted to excite the ants to begin 

 work again by an artificial shower. With this object I took 

 a stiff brush and after dipping it in water I drew my hand 

 backwards and forwards over the bristles, causing a fine 

 spray to fall upon the ant-hill. The insects within per- 

 ceived the dampness of their roof and came out, running 

 quickly over the surface. The sprinkling was continued; 

 the masons were deceived; they went to the bottom of 

 the nest for little masses of earth, which they brought up 

 and laid on the roof, and they built walls and cham- 

 bers a complete story, in short in the course of a few 

 hours. 



I frequently repeated this experiment and always with 

 the same success. It is in the spring more especially that 

 the mason ants take advantage of the rain to enlarge their 

 nest ; they even work by night, and I have often noticed in 

 the morning stories that had been completely constructed 

 between sunset and sunrise. 



The ants are not content with adding to the height of 

 their dwelling; they also hollow out underground apart- 

 ments which are still more spacious than those above, and 

 the materials which they excavate are used as we have said, 

 for the outer works. The art of these insects therefore con- 



118 



