appendix.] WEST INDIES. 85 
All attempts of the planters to put a stop to the ravages 
of these insects having been found ineffectual,, it well be¬ 
came the legislature, to offer great public rewards to any per¬ 
son who should discover a practicable method of destroying, 
them, so as to permit the cultivation of the sugar cane as 
formerly. Accordingly, an act of assembly was passed, by 
which such discoverer was entitled to twenty thousand 
pounds, to be paid from the public treasury of the island. 
Many were the candidates on this occasion, but very far 
were any of them from having any just claim; nevertheless,, 
considerable sums of money Were granted, in consideration 
of trouble and expenses in making experiments, &c. 
In Grenada.there'had always been several species of ants, 
differing in size, colour, &c. which however were perfect¬ 
ly innocent with respect to the sugar cane.. The ants in 
question, on the contrary, were not only highly injurious 
to it, but to several sorts of trees, such as the lime, lemon, 
orange, &c. 
These ants are of the middle size, of a slender make, of 
a dark red colour, and remarkable for the quickness of their 
motions; but their greatest peculiarities are, their taste 
when applied to the tongue, the immensity of their num¬ 
ber, and their choice of places for their nests. 
All the other species of ants in Grenada have a bitter 
musky taste. These, on the contrary, are acid in the high¬ 
est degree, and when a number of them were rubbed toge¬ 
ther between the palms of the hands, they emitted a strong 
vitriolic sulphureous smell; so much so, that when this 
experiment was made, a gentleman conceived that it might 
be owing to this quality that these insects were so unfriend¬ 
ly to vegetation. This criterion to distinguish them was 
infallible, and known to every one. 
