tely sow a crop, as Lincecum
asserts, but that they have, for some reason, found it to their
advantage to permit the _Aristida_ to grow upon their disks, while
they clear off all other herbage; that the crop is seeded yearly in a
natural way by droppings from the plant, or by seeds cast out by the
ants, or dropped by them; that the probable reason for protecting the
_Aristida_ is the greater convenience of harvesting the seed; but,
finally, that there is nothing unreasonable, nor beyond the probable
capacity of the emmet intellect, in the supposition that the crop is
actually sown. Simply, it is the Scotch verdict--Not proven."[59]
However it may be, they certainly allow no other plant to grow in the
neighbourhood of their grain, to withdraw the nourishment which they
wish to reserve entirely for it. Properly speaking, they weed their
field, cutting off with their jaws all the troublesome plants which
appear above the soil. They pursue this labour very diligently, and no
strange shoot escapes their investigations. Thus cared for, their
culture flourishes, and at the epoch of maturity the grains are
collected one by one and carried within. Like all harvesters, these
Hymenoptera are at the mercy of a shower that may fall during the
harvest. They are well aware that in this case their provisions would
be damaged, and that they would run the risk of germination or decay
in the barns. Therefore, on the first sunny day all the ants, as
observed by Lincecum and Buckley, may be seen carrying their grains
outside, only bringing them back when they have been thoroughly dried,
and always leaving behind those that have sprouted.[60]

[58] Lincecum's most important published paper on the habits
of the _Myrmica molefaciens_ appeared in the _Proc. Acad.
Nat. Sci. Philadelphia_, vol. xviii., 1866, p. 323-331. See
also Darwin, _Proceedings of the Linnaean Soc._, 1861.

[59] H. C. McCook, _Natural History of the Agricultural Ants
of Texas_, Philadelphia, 1879, pp. 33-39.

[60] McCook, _Agricultural Ants of Texas_, pp. 105-107.

_Gardening Ants._--The Leaf-cutting Ants (_Oecodoma_) of tropical
America are often alluded to by travellers on account of their ravages
on vegetation; and they are capable of destroying whole plantations of
orange, mango, and lemon trees. They climb the tree, station
themselves on the edge of a leaf and make a circular incision with
their scissor-like jaws; the piece o