The Zoologist— July, 1868. 1271 



a well-marked difference in their community regulations, in their 

 manners and customs, in their mode of constructing their cities, in their 

 peculiar food and manner of preparing it, and in their civil and military 

 governments. 



There are five varieties or castes in this species, all of which may 

 be seen in the same community, or city as I prefer to call it. They 

 vary in size from that of a drone honey-bee down to near that of the 

 little black erratic ant; and their duties and vocations are as variant 

 as their sizes. The largest size have wings and are the mother ants. 

 They dwell in the ground in sandy lands, and one of their long- 

 establishedcities will, on an average, occupy at least two square rods 

 of surface. The area of the city is considerably elevated, often one to 

 two feet, and sometimes even more. The earth which is thus thrown 

 up, and which is universally sand, is thrown out from their numerous 

 and capacious cells below, and from their extensive tunnels or subter- 

 rannean passages. To their cells they have many holes or places of 

 entrance, and some of them ai-e tunnelled off several hundred yards. 



It is known to many observant Texans that in all the larger cities 

 the ants have penetrated the earth to water: this accords with my not 

 very limited experience on the subject. 1 know of a number of wells 

 which were intentionally sunk in the cutting-ant hills to procure water, 

 and I have been informed by the owners of these wells that ant cells, 

 tunnels and live ants were found all the way down to the water. 

 I have myself seen and drank water out of eight of these wells, and 

 have accounts of many others. I have not heard of a failure in any 

 attempt to obtain water in a cutting ant hill. Mr. G. W. Brooks states 

 that, in Chappel Hill, Washington County, Texas, Columbus Pearson 

 dug'a well in an ant hill, and obtained, plenty of water at a depth of 

 thirty feet. The facts in this case worthy of notice, and for which it 

 is here recorded, is the manner in which the ants had also sunk two 

 wells to the water. The walls of these wells were travel-worn and 

 stained of a dirty brown colour, presenting the appearance of having 

 been in use for years. Mr. Pearson states that, if these ant wells had 

 been opened properly, a bucket could have been let down the largest 

 one at the outset. 



Dr. Fechtig, of Brenham, informed me that he had been making 

 observations on the cutting ant for some months; and some of his 

 discoveries, which he was kind enough to communicate to me, are 

 valuable and of an interesting character, particularly as they afford 

 additional testimony in favour of observations I have made in reference 



