THE NATURALIST.

Otago Witness, Issue 1819, 1 October 1886, Page 33

THE NATURALIST.

How Mexicans Capture Ants. An automatic combination self-adjusting ant-trap and intoxicating machine has been in use for years in New Mexico and Arizona which is worthy of careful civilised attention. The chief blessing of that arid section is held to be mescal, a fiery liquor distilled from a species of cactus, and the principal curse is an immense black ant that considers himself proprietor of any premises to which his nest may belong. It is said that the natives could not live without either the mescal or the ants; for while ifris only meS' cal that can make a Mexican's life endurable with the ants, it is only the ants that can wake a Mexican from v the profound coma into which the mescal 'plunges him. The ancient Mexican method of trying to get rid of an ant's nest was to fill, up the main hatch with fine gunpowder and touch it dff, keep a fire burning over it night and day for a week, or drown it .out with boiling lye. The only result was that the ants Would stay down cellar until the trouble was over, and then cheerfully repair the damage done to their dwelling, and "lay for" the Mexican in the silent watches of the night 'with a vigour and alacrity that were truly awful. . One day a desperate Mexican poured a quart of mescal down his throat and buried the bottle in the centre of the principal ants' nest in his yard, with the intention of filling it with gunpowder aud blowing bdth himself and his enemies out of the territory. Having buried the bottle to its fceck, he went to the traders to get the powder. When he returned, he found that the bottle was filled with ants, whom curiosity had prompted to drop in, and who, unable to climb out, were indulging in a rough and tumble free fight that did the Mexican's hpart no end of good. Another bottle was quickly procured and filled, and by sunset the Mexican found himself proprietor of seven quarts of ants in various stages of mutilation and wrath. To shake these into a bonfire was easy, and thus in a day the colony was broken up for ever. The writer has seen 21b of rifle powder rammed into an ant's nest and prove ineffective in its destruction, while by the bottle system the work was thoroughly accomplished in less than a week by the capture of the last ant in the community. Charity op Rats.— A Sussex clergyman testified as follows : — Walking out in some meadows one evening he observed a great number of rats migrating from one place to another. He stood perfectly still, and the whole assembly passed close to him. His astonishment, however, was great when he saw amongst the number an old blind rat, which held a piece of stick at one end in its mouth, while another held the other end of it, and thus conducted its blind companion. A kindred circumstance was witnessed in 1757 by Mr Purdaw, a surgeon's mate on board the Lancaster. Lying awake one evening in his berth, he saw a rat enter, look cautiously round, and retire. He soon returned, leading a second rat by the ear, and which appeared to be blind. A third rat joined them shortly afterwards, and assisted the original conductor in picking up fragments of biscuit and placing them before their infirm parent, as the blind old patriarch was supposed to be. Spidehs and Forests.— Dr C. Keller, of Zurich, claims that spiders perform an important part in the preservation of forests by defending the trees against the depredation of aphides and insects. He has examined a great many spiders, both in their viscera and by feeding them in captivity, and has found them to be voracious destroyers of these pests; and be believes that the spiders in a particular forest do more effective work of this kind than all the insect-eating birds that inhabit it. He has verified his views by observations on coniferous trees, a few broad-leaved trees, and apple trees.