390 HOMES WITHOUT HANDS. 



ought, perhaps, to be called " covered ways" rather than galler- 

 ies. 



I HAVE intentionally reserved the last place among the builders 

 for an insect which is certainly the most wonderful of them all ; 

 not only raising an edifice, but clearing a space around, and pre- 

 paring it for a garden.' This insect is called by Dr. Lincecum, 

 the discoverer of its habits, the Agricultural Ant, and its sci- 

 entific name is Aiia malefaciens. As the reader will perceive, it is 

 allied to the parasol ant, which has been already described. 



This remarkable insect is a native of Texas, and, until a few 

 years ago, its singular habits were unknown. Dr. Lincecum, how- 

 ever, wrote a long and detailed account to Mr. Darwin, who made 

 an abstract of it, and read the paper before the Linnsean Society, 

 April 18th, 1861. This abstract may be found in the Journal of 

 that Society, and is as follows : 



" The species which I have named ' Agricultural' is a large 

 brownish ant. It dwells in what may be termed paved cities, 

 and, like a thrifty, diligent, provident farmer, makes suitable and 

 timely arrangements for the changing seasons. It is, in short, 

 endowed with skill, ingenuity, and'untiring patience, sufficient to 

 enable it successfully to contend with the varying exigencies 

 which it may have to encounter in the life-conflict. 



"When it has selected a situation for its habitation, if on ordi- 

 nary dry ground, it bores a hole, around which it raises the sur- 

 face three and sometimes six inches, forming a low circular mound, 

 having a very gentle inclination from the centre to the outer bor- 

 der, which on an average is three or four feet from the entrance. 

 But if the location is chosen on low, flat, wet land, liable to inun- 

 dation, though the ground may be perfectly dry at the time the 

 ant sets to work, it nevertheless elevates the mound, in the form 

 of a pretty sharp cone, to the height of fifteen to twenty inches 

 or more, and makes the entrance near the summit. Around the 

 mound, in either case, the ant clears the ground of all obstructions, 

 and levels and smooths the surface to the distance of three or four 

 feet from the gate of the city, giving the space the appearance of 

 a handsome pavement, as it really is. 



" Within this paved area not a blade of any green thing is 

 allowed to grow, except a single species of grain-bearing grass. 

 Having planted this crop in a circle around, and two or three feet 

 from the centre of the mound, the insect tends and cultivates it 



