Little folks in feathers and fur, and others in neither (1875) (14804043493)

Identifier: littlefolksinfea00mill (find matches)
Title: Little folks in feathers and fur, and others in neither
Year: 1875 (1870s)
Authors: (Miller, Harriet (Mann) Mrs.), 1831- (from old catalog)
Subjects: Zoology
Publisher: Hartford, Conn., Dustin, Gilman & co. Cincinnati, Ohio, Queen city publishing co. (etc., etc.)
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress



Text Appearing Before Image:
t getting into sight. You might havea dozen of these ant-hills in your yard, with millions of Ants, andnever see one. The most curious thing about them, I think, is their taste fordestroying wood and paper—and, in fact, anything they candestroy. They will tunnel under a house, eat out the inside ofevery beam and board of the floor, leaving walls no thicker thanpaper. They will bore through the floor into the legs of chairsand tables, eat out the inside of them, and the first one knows ofit, the chair falls to pieces under him, or a flight of stairs crumblesinto dust when stepped upon. I think one must feel very insecure in those countries. Inone case that I read of, they got into some packages of valuablepapers, and destroyed every particle except the top leaf of everybundle, and a thin wall of the margins, leaving just a paper box. Nof all these little creatures are workers. They keep a stand-ing arrry of fighters, who do nothing but fight; and very fierce 170 LITTLE FOLKS fWJM ■
Text Appearing After Image:
IN FEATHERS AND FUR. 171 they are, too. They will hang on to an enemy till they are pulledto pieces. They will draw blood on a mans leg in a moment. They have also a king and queen, who though treated withthe greatest respect, are, alas! prisoners for life in their little room.They are larger than the rest of the tribe, and while there aremany doors to admit attendants to the room, they are far too smallfor the royal pair to get out. I dont know as they care about getting out. The queen, atleast, has too much to do to have time for airings, for she lays eggsat the rate of eighty thousand in twenty-four hours, which mustkeep her busy. However, she dont have to take care of all herbabies, for hundreds of the workers are constantly employed inputting the eggs into their cradles, or cells, attending to the hatch-ing, and feeding them till they can feed themselves. It is nearly impossible to get a chance to see the inside ofthese ant-houses ; for as fast as they are pulled down, and thegal