198 FLASHLIGHTS ON NATURE 



Darwin said with justice, indeed, that, consider- 

 ing its size, the brain of an ant was perhaps the 

 most marvellous piece of matter in the whole 

 universe ; and its raw material of intelligence is 

 apparently supplied it most of all through the 

 mysterious antennae. 



No. 9 is a back view of the same head, with 

 the various jaws and mouthpieces expanded. It 

 shows very well the complicated nature of the 

 tongue, the palps, the shield, and so forth, and 

 also the powerful nipping jaws, with their closely 

 serrated and tooth-like edge these last being 

 the weapons used in battle and in repelling the 

 attacks of large enemies. It also excellently ex- 

 hibits the complex arrangement of the beautiful 

 jointed antennae. The black spot in the centre 

 of the head above is the cut neck, or esophagus. 

 I advise you to look closely at the mouth-organs 

 in this microscopic drawing, and to compare them 

 with the corresponding parts in the wasp, illus- 

 trated by Mr. Enock in the last chapter. 



Considering how important the antennae are, 

 it will not surprise you to learn that the clean 

 little ants have a special instrument, like the bees 

 and wasps, for keeping these useful outgrowths 

 in proper order. The singular brush-and-comb 

 with which they clean them is shown in No. 10, 

 together with a smaller representation of the entire 

 leg on which it exists, so as to enable you to 

 see where the ant carries it. Ants, indeed, are 

 as fond of washing themselves as cats ; and when 

 any accident happens to one, such as getting 



