[ 3 6 ° ] 
longing to the working Ants, and a Part of their In- 
duftry the moft uninterrupted of any. 
The Juices of mod Sorts of Fruit, Infe&s, and Ho- 
ney, or any other delicious Liquid, he fays, are the 
Rcpaft which they nurture. them with. Thefe Juices 
they extract, and firft convey into their own Alvus , 
and afterwards infufe into the Bodies of the Vermi- 
cles 5 which Aliment, he fuppofes, may probably un- 
dergo fome Refinement in the Repofitories of the 
Ants, and, being there meliorated, is properly tem- 
pered for the delicate Structure of the Worms. 
It has been a Difpute, fays our Author, amongft 
the Inquifitivc on this Subject, whether Ants have 
Magazines of Corn, and lay up a Stock of Provisions 
againft Winter. The Generality of Writers, he fays, 
hold the Affirmative 5 referring, in his Margin, to 
Solomon , Tliny, Virgil , Horace , Aldrovand , Swam- 
merdam , &c. Here I am obliged to do Juftice to 
Swammerdam \ who, in his Biblia Nature, exprefly 
fays, that he never at any time obferved them to get 
together any Food againft Winter 5 and is of Opinion, 
that, during the Severity of the Winter, they eat 
nothing; as is common with many Infe&s, and fome 
Species of Bees. His own Words, in Vol. I. p. 296. 
arc as follow : Neque etiam unquam obfervavi r quod 
cibaria qua dam in hyemt m fibi comparent •* unde cenfeo 
ipfaSy quoufque vehementiflima eft hyems , nihil com - 
edere , quemadmodam mult is infeffis , et apum quoque 
nonnullis fpeciebus , familiare ejl ; qua tempore bru- 
mali ab omni penitus cibo abjiinent. 
Our Author, with great Deference to the Writers 
who have held the Affirmative, and with extreme 
Decency, differs from them, offering a handfome 
Apology 
