86 TWO CHAPTERS ON ANTS. 



away good seeds ; and now, changing their 

 tactics, not only carried the remainder into 

 the nest, but finally brought back and stored 

 all those that had been thrown away. 



On excavating the nests we found grana- 

 ries of seed scattered irregularly throughout 

 to the depth of twenty-two inches below the 

 surface of the ground : some were near the 

 surface, and a few sprouted seeds were scat- 

 tered about in the mound. The mound is 

 usually not more than four to six inches 

 above the level of the ground. 



The great majority of nests that I have 

 found are in the low pine barrens so low 

 that on reaching the depth of two feet the 

 water runs into the cavity like a spring, and 

 stands above some of the granaries. Not- 

 withstanding this wet locality, I found 110 

 sprouted seeds in the deeper store-rooms, 

 but only in the warmer mound. On sun- 

 ny days the larvae are brought up into the 

 mound and deposited in chambers near the 

 surface, where they receive the benefit of 

 the sun's rays. On cool, cloudy days and in 

 the early morning I found no larvae near the 

 surface. If the ants are intelligent enough 

 to treat the larvae in this way, why should 

 they not store seeds where they will not 

 sprout? And when they need to sprout 



