MASON-ANTS, 269 



and upon which it acts, with little attention to all 

 else around it. It goes and returns, until the plan 

 is sufficiently understood by its companions. 



" In another part of the same ant-hill," continues 

 M. Huber, " several fragments of straw seemed ex- 

 pressly placed to form the roof of a large house; a 

 workman took advantage of this disposition. These 

 fragments lying horizontally, at half an inch distance 

 from the ground, formed, in crossing each other, an 

 oblong parallelogram. The industrious insect com- 

 menced by placing earth in the several angles of this 

 frame-work, and all along the little beams of which 

 it was composed. The same workman afterwards 

 placed several rows of the same materials against 

 each other, when the roof became very distinct. On 

 perceiving the possibility of profiting by another 

 plant to support a vertical wall, it began laying the 

 foundations of it; other ants having by this time 

 arrived, finished in common what this had com- 

 menced."* 



M. Huber made most of his observations upon the 

 processes followed by ants in glazed artificial hives 



* Huber on Ants, p. 43. 

 VOL. TV. 23* 



