Plioto by the Author 



MAJOR AND MINOR WORKERS OF Camponotus americaiius 



The worker is produced by inadequate nourishment ; is "a hunger form." Magnification 

 about two diameters (see text, page 742) 



merly supposed that these ants intention- 

 ally sowed seeds in the ground in order 

 that they might later harvest the crop, 

 but this supposition has been shown to 

 be erroneous. The ants merely visit the 

 plants, which are often at some distance 

 from the nest, and carry the seeds home 

 •over well-beaten paths. 



FARMER ANTS 



That ants can carry on agricultural or 

 horticultural pursuits has, however, been 

 proved by a study of the peculiar Attii, a 

 tribe comprising more than a hundred 

 species, all confined to America and 



nearly all to the tropics. These ants live 

 on fungi which they cultivate on beds of 

 triturated leaves, or insect excrement in 

 specially excavated chambers. 



The large species of the genus Atta cut 

 pieces of leaves from trees, carry them 

 into the nest in great numbers, cut them 

 into smaller fragments, and build them 

 up on the floors of the chambers into 

 sponge-like masses, over the surface of 

 which a delicate white fungus rapidly 

 proliferates. This fungus, which is con- 

 stantly weeded by the smallest ants in 

 the colony, is prevented from fruiting 

 and constrained to proditce peculiar clus- 



7Z7 



