A JUNGLE LABOR-UNION 165 



animal trail, and this, a la calf -path, for the street 

 of a future city. 



The part that scent plays in the trails is evi- 

 denced if we scatter an inch or two of fresh sand 

 across the road. A mass of ants banks against 

 the strange obstruction on both sides, on the one 

 hand a solid phalanx of waving green banners, 

 and on the other a mob of empty- jawed workers 

 with wildly waving antenna. Scouts from both 

 sides slowly wander forward, and finally reach 

 one another and pass across. But not for ten 

 minutes does anything like regular traffic begin 

 again. 



When carrying a large piece of leaf, and trav- 

 eling at a fair rate of speed, the ants average 

 about a foot in ten seconds, although many go 

 the same distance in five. I tested the speed of 

 an Atta, and then I saw that its leaf seemed 

 to have a peculiar-shaped bug upon it, and picked 

 it up with its bearer. Finding the blemish to be 

 only a bit of fungus, I replaced it. Half an 

 hour later I was seated by a trail far away, when 

 suddenly my ant with the blemished spot ap- 

 peared. It was unmistakable, for I had noticed 

 that the spot was exactly that of the Egyptian 

 symbol of life. I paced the trail, and found jthat 



