Page:Harvesting ants and trap-door spiders. Notes and observations on their habits and dwellings (IA harvestingantstr00mogg).pdf/96

 had been in June preceding; one heap contained a double handful of grass-seeds. It is probable that the Atta providens is a field species of ant, as I have not observed it in the houses."

C.

After the appearance of a brief notice of a communication which I sent in the winter of 1871-72 to the London Entomological Society, announcing the fact that certain ants harvest seeds in a systematic way at Mentone, two papers were published, in which confirmatory evidence of the existence of the habit in other parts of the world was set forth—one by Mr. Buchanan White, and the other by the late Mr. Horne.

Mr. Horne's account of his observations was published in Hardwicke's Science Gossip, No. 89, p. 109 (for May 1, 1872), and runs as follows: —

"My notes carry me to the far East, where I have often watched this most interesting class of insects, and briefly recorded my observations—unfortunately cut short by illness, and the necessity of return to Europe, which must be my apology for their want of completeness.

"But before transcribing, I would remind my general reader that all ants may be seen carrying off food to their nests for present consumption, and that this food consists of a great variety of substances. This is disposed of inside the said nest, being often masticated, and the juice extracted by the workers, and then given in an inspissated form from their mouths to the young grubs, which are in general tended by their nurses with the greatest care. It is indeed very curious to watch this feeding process; but to proceed.

"Under date Nov. 7th, 1866, I find in my natural history note-book as follows:—Mainpuri. This morning as I was walking across the 'Oosur,' or waste plain, where it was very sandy, being cut into small ravines, and clothed only here and there with fine grass disposed in clumps, thus forming little hillocks of sand blown by the wind, and arrested in its course