180 THE UNIVERSE. 



pendence of the two social classes went, and soon per- 

 ceived that the chiefs, left to themselves, were absolutely 

 unable to provide for their wants even in the midst of 

 abundance. This naturahst having inclosed thirty Ama- 

 zons with a plentiful provision of food, but without any 

 slaves, saw that they fell into a state of profound apathy, 

 although he placed the larvee and nymphs alongside of 

 them in order to stimulate them to work. All occupation 

 ceased immediately, and the recluses would every one have 

 died of hunger rather than eat alone. Many had already 

 succumbed, Avhen it entered the head of the Genevese 

 savant to furnish them with a slave. She was scarcely in- 

 troduced among the dead and dying when she was at work, 

 giving food to the survivors, lavishing her care upon the 

 young larvije, and constructing shelter for them. She 

 saved the colony.^ 



Nothing can be more incredible than those facts, and 

 yet they have been verified with the most scrupulous care, 

 both by the great historian of ants, and more recently in 

 England by Messrs. F. Smith and Darwin. 



But the extraordinary customs of these ants differ some- 

 what according to the localities which they inhabit, and 



^ It does not seem that any person has verified many of M. Huber's observa- 

 tions, and it would be well if an able and conscientious observer like M. Pouchet 

 could be induced to undertake the task. Mr. Holt {Science Gossip, July, 1868) 

 says the ants (probably Formica faliginosa) observed by him seemed to have but 

 very little idea of localitj', and that, in their eagerness to obtain water, thej' fell 

 into a tank in such numbers as to threaten the extinction of tlie population, 

 which can scarcely be considered an instance of sagacity. Mr. Frederick Ward, 

 too {Science Gossip, Aug. 1868), says that, though he had often come across ants 

 in the fields, and longed to be a witness of their remarkable doings, he had met 

 with such bad success in this respect that he renounced all faith in them. Having 

 closely observed some iu a glass formicary, he found less order and method in 

 their opei-ations than he expected. They seemed to work night and day: he 

 sometimes turned on the gas suddenly at 2 a.m., and found them as busy as ever; 

 still they did not seem to get on in a workmanlike manner. He frequently 

 noticed an ant come out with a piece of dirt in its forceps, and run about 



