98 ANTS AND ANT LIFE. 



narrow road, so that they could not pass through it with the 

 load on their heads. I placed a dry branch, nearly a foot in 

 diameter, obliquely across their path, and pressed it down so 

 tightly on the ground that they could not creep underneath. 

 The first comers crawled beneath the branch as far as they 

 could, and then tried to climb over, but failed owing to the 

 weight on their heads. Meanwhile the unloaded ants from 

 the other side came on, and when these succeeded in climb- 

 ing over the bough there was such a crush that the unladen 

 ants had to clamber over the laden, and the result was a 

 terrible muddle. I now walked along the train, and found 

 that all the ants with their bannerets on their heads were 

 standing still, thickly pressed together, awaiting the word of 

 command from the front. When 1 turned back to the 

 obstacle, I saw with astonishment that the loads had been 

 laid aside by more than a foot's length of the column, one 

 imitating the other. And now work began on both sides of 

 the branch, and in about half an hour a tunnel was made 

 beneath it. Each ant then took up its burden again, and 

 the march was resumed in the most perfect order. The road 

 led towards a cocoa plantation, and here I soon discovered 

 the building which I afterwards visited daily. As I again 

 went thither one day I was met, at a considerable distance 

 from the nest, by a closely pressed column coming thence, 

 and all the ants laden with leaves, beetles, pupae, butterflies, 

 etc.; the nearer I came to the nest, the greater was the 

 activity. It was soon plain to me that the ants were in the 

 act of leaving their dwelling, and I walked along the train 

 to discover the new abode. They had gone for some dis- 

 tance along the old road, and had then made a new one 

 through the grass to a cooler place, lying rather higher. 

 The grass on the 'new road was all bitten off close to the 

 ground, and thousands were busy carrying the path on to 

 the new building. At the new home itself was an unusual 

 stir of life. There were all sorts of laborers architects, 

 builders, carpenters, sappers, helpers. A number were busy 

 digging a hole in the ground, and they carried out little 

 pellets of earth and laid them together on end to make a 

 wall. Others drew along little twigs, straws, and grass- 

 stalks, and put them near the place of building. I was 

 anxious to know why they had quitted their old home, and 

 when the departure was complete, I dug it up with a spade. . 



