88 
HISTORY Of THE [book nr. 
I 
able parts of that island must have in a great measure been 
thrown aside, at least for some years. How this hurricane 
produced this effect, has been considered rather as a matter 
of wonder and surprize than attempted to be explained. By 
attending to the following observations, the difficulty, I be¬ 
lieve, will be removed. 
These ants make their nests, or cells for the reception of 
their eggs, only under or among the roots of such trees or 
plants, as are not only capable of protecting them from hea¬ 
vy rains, but are at the same time so firm in the ground, as 
to afford a secure basis to support them against any injury 
occasioned by the agitation of the usual winds. This dou¬ 
ble qualification the sugar cane possesses in a very great de¬ 
gree; fora stool of canes (which is the assemblage of its nu¬ 
merous roots where the stems begin to shoot out) is almost 
impenetrable to rain, and is also from the amazing numbers 
and extension of the roots, firmly fixed to the ground. 
Thus, when every other part of the field is drenched with 
rain, the ground under those stools will be found quite dry, 
as I, and every Other planter must have, observed, when dig¬ 
ging out the stools in a cane piece, to prepare for replanting. 
And when canes are lodged or laid down by the usual winds, 
or fall down by their own luxuriancy, the stools, common¬ 
ly, remain in the ground; hence, in ordinary weather, the 
nests of these ants are in a state of perfect security. 
The lime, lemon, ©range, and some other trees, afford 
these insects the same advantages, from the great number 
and quality of their roots, which are firmly fixed to the 
earth, and are very large; besides which, their tops are so 
very thick and umbrageous, as to prevent even a very heavy 
rain from reaching the ground underneath. 
On the contrary, these ants’ nests are never found at the 
roots of trees or plants incapable of affording the above 
