Ants and Mites 
the story. Those who are qualified to judge of these 
matters seem to have been convinced that there is no 
doubt as to the truth of what follows. 
Having arrived home, the ants masticate the leaf- 
pieces and place them in prepared beds in their under- 
ground galleries. A peculiar fungus soon grows upon 
these beds, and is kept almost like a velvet sward by 
these gardener-ants, who nibble off the fruits as soon as 
they appear. It is upon this fungus that the ants live. 
These proceedings are far more intelligent even than 
the Palestine ants, who collect corn and bite off the 
radicles or root-tips when the grain begins to germinate, 
apparently because they know that the grain will spoil 
if allowed to sprout. 
But wr. Ule, in his recent exploration of the Amazon 
valley, has discovered some still more remarkable facts 
about these uncanny creatures, 
All over the Amazon valley and Guiana, and even up 
to about 3000 feet altitude on the mountains, curious 
bunches of green herbage rather like storks’ nests may 
be seen on the trees. 
These are again the work of two kinds of ants. They 
collect the seeds of certain plants and carry them to a 
fork in the branches or a crack in the bark ; they then 
bring earth and surround the seeds with it. In that 
moist and genial climate the seed germinates, and soon 
forms an ant-garden in which they make their nests, 
They are protected by the luxuriant growth of the plants 
both from violent rain-storms and from the strong rays 
of the tropical sun. 
The plants which they use are some seven or eight 
in number, and are widely distributed in the Amazons, 
though Imost invariably in these gardens. Two only 
of these plants occur elsewhere, but on the ground and 
not apparently on the bark of trees. They consist of 
209 fe) 
