94 ANIMAL INTELLIGENCE. 



both of Belt and Miiller — that the object of all this labour 

 is highly interesting and remarkable. The leaves when 

 gathered do not themselves appear to be of any service to 

 the ants as food ; but when cut into small fragments and 

 stored away in the nests, they become suited as a nidus 

 for the growth of a minute kind of fungus on which the 

 ants feed. We may therefore call these insects the 

 ' gardening ants,' inasmuch as all their labour is given to 

 the rearing of nutritious vegetables on artificially prepared 

 soil. They are not particular as to the material which they 

 collect and store up for soil, provided that it is a material 

 on which the fungus will grow. Thus they are very partial 

 to the inside white rind of oranges, and will carry off the 

 flowers of certain shrubs while leaving the leaves untouched. 

 But, to quote again from Bates, — 



They are very particular about the ventilation of their under- 

 ground chambers, and have numerous holes leading up to the 

 surface from them. These they open out or close up, apparently 

 to keep up a regular degree of temperature below. The great 

 care they take that the pieces of leaves they carry into the 

 nest should be neither too dry nor too damp, is also consistent 

 with the idea that the object is the growth of a fungus that re- 

 quires particular conditions of temperature and moisture to 

 ensure its vigorous growth. If a sudden shower should come 

 on, the ants do not carry the wet pieces into the burrows, but 

 throw them down near the entrances. Should the weather 

 clear up again, these pieces are picked up when nearly dried, 

 and taken inside : should the rain, however, continue, they get 

 sodden down into the ground, and are left there. On the con- 

 trary, in dry and hot weather, when the leaves would get dried 

 up before they could be conveyed to the nest, the ants, when in 

 exposed situations, do not go out at all during the hot hours, but 

 bring in their leafy burdens in the cool of the day and during 

 the night. As soon as the pieces of leaves are carried in they 

 must be cut up by the small class of workers into little pieces. 

 Some of the ants make mistakes, and carry in unsuitable leaves. 

 Thus grass is always rejected by them, but I have seen some 

 ants, perhaps young ones, carrying leaves of grass ; but after a 

 while these pieces are always brought out again and thrown 

 away. I can imagine a young ant getting a severe ear- wigging 

 from one of the major-domos for its stupidity. 



When a nest is disturbed and the masses of ant-food spread. 



