4 BULLETIN 377, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, | 
these balls disperse when they come into contact with a secure resting 
place, such as a floating piece of timber or land, but they have been 
seen to float around for hours on still water. Mr. Smith, at Daisy, 
La., states that he destroyed a large number of these balls by pouring 
some coal oil on the water. The balls quickly broke up when in con- 
tact with the oil and the ants died in a very short time. 
Driftwood is another important carrier of this pest. A fallen 
decayed log is an ideal nesting place. Such a log will usually decay 
from the underside upward, the upperside or top making a roof for 
the nest, with the rotted wood below drawing and retaining ample 
moisture, thus affording excellent material in which to make galleries. 
Logs of this kind are hght and easily floated and are important 
factors in spreading infestations. Especially is this the case in those 
parts of the country where heavy, flooding rains occur. In this 
manner practically all the land along the Mississippi River below 
New Orleans has been infested. 
However, it is to the vehicles of man that the greatest distribution 
must be credited. The most important are steamboats and rail- 
roads. Commodities are carried from infested territory to uninfested 
places and ant colonies are often to be found in shipping boxes, feed- 
ing on sugar and other grocery supplies. Practically every one of 
nearly a hundred steamboats landing between New Orleans and 
Baton Rouge is infested with the Argentine ant. Further, it seems 
likely that this ant was carried by boat. from Charleston, S. C., to 
Wilmington, N. C., as the ant is to be found around the wharves and 
shipping in both places. So gross is the infestation in both these 
cities that it is possible that the species may have been introduced 
into Charleston many years ago on coffee ships, as it 1s supposed to 
have been introduced into New Orleans, the slightly colder winters 
holding it more in check. 
When inspecting cities far removed from New Orleans it has been 
found that in the great majority of instances the infestations start 
immediately around the wholesale-grocery and commission-merchant 
establishments. ‘This indicates that when carried long distances the 
ants are more likely to be taken through in solid carload lots of mer- 
chandise which are rushed to their destination than in smaller con- 
signments. ‘This is especially the case with perishable goods such 
as fruit and vegetables. Cars containing broken shipments are side- 
tracked at the first town to which goods are consigned, and the ants 
present are likely to leave.the car at the first or second stop, which 
fact is verified in that nearly all the small towns for a distance of 
150 miles from New Orleans are infested. A serious feature of the 
infestation of inland cities such as Texarkana, Memphis, Atlanta, 
and others, is that the ants, having become established in the whole- 
sale district, are readily distributed to surrounding smaller towns 
Nee, 
