64 TWO CHAPTERS ON ANTS. 



ing their investigations, notice this unusual 

 accumulation of material over the food, and 

 often pick up the largest pieces and throw 

 them off the leaf. While one is thus en- 

 gaged in clearing the leaf, a little irrepress- 

 ible brown captive is making her way to 

 the honey with a piece of green moss, about 

 an inch in length, which she has cut off with 

 her strong mandibles. The outer edge of 

 the leaf which holds the honey is an inch 

 or more above the ground, making it quite 

 difficult for her to reach it with her burden. 

 But at last it is accomplished, and just as 

 she is about to put it in place the inspector 

 who is undoing her work tries to take it 

 from her ; she holds on, will not give it up ; 

 he now lets go, and takes hold in another 

 place, but cannot wrest it from her ; again 

 he drops it, and now picks her up and car- 

 ries her to the edge of the leaf and drops 

 her on the ground among the rejected ma- 

 terial, but she still clings to the moss. She 

 seems bewildered for a moment, but soon 

 finds her old track, and again ascends the 

 leaf. This time she does not encounter the 

 inspector, and deposits the moss. 



This proceeding on the part of the slen- 

 der brown ant and the slave -maker was 

 continued for nearly a week, and then the 



