In 1877 Mr. MacCook visited Texas on purpose to find out whether the harvesting ants really sowed the seed, as Dr. Lincecum had reported, for of course anyone may be mistaken. He saw a good deal of what Dr. Lincecum had seen, but not all, which is no wonder, since he only stayed a few weeks, whereas Dr. Lincecum had lived in the country for twelve years. Mr. MacCook could not make up his mind upon the subject, but he saw no reason why the ants should not sow their seed, nor has he given any better explanation of their clearing a space and not letting anything but their ant-rice grow upon it. There can, I think, be very little doubt that Dr. Lincecum was right in his opinion. We need have no difficulty in believing that some ants have fields and raise crops upon it, because there are other kinds, which, though they do not do this, do other things which are quite as wonderful, and demand quite as much intelligence. Mr. Belt, too, as we shall see, in a little, believes that some ants in South America grow mushrooms and make beds to grow them on. This is the description which Mr. MacCook gives of the way in which a harvesting-ant carries its grain of rice—as big almost and heavy as itself—to the nest. “At last a satisfactory seed is found. It is simply lifted from the ground, or, as often happens, has to be pulled out of the soil, into which it has been slightly pressed by the rain or by passing feet. Now follows a movement which at first I thought to be a testing of the seed, and which, indeed, may be partially that; but finally I concluded that it was the adjusting of the burden for safe and convenient carriage. The ant pulls at the seed-husk with its mandibles, turning and pinching or feeling it on all sides. If this does not satisfy, and commonly it does not, the body is raised by stiffening out the legs, the abdomen is curved underneath, and the apex applied to the seed. I suppose this to be simply a mechanical action for the better adjusting of the load. Now the worker starts homeward. It has not lost itself in the mazes of the grass-forest. It turns directly towards the road (one of the little roads made by the ants, as they come and go to and from their nest) with an unerring judgment. There are many obstacles to overcome. Pebbles, pellets of earth, bits of wood, obtruding rootlets, or bent-down spears of grass block up or hinder the way. These were scarcely noticed when the ant was empty-handed. But they are troublesome barriers now that she is burdened with a seed quite as thick, twice as wide, and half as long as herself. It is most interesting to see the skill, strength, and rapidity with which the little harvester swings her treasure over or around, or pushes it beneath these obstacles. Now the seed has caught against the herbage as the porter dodges under a too narrow opening. She backs out and tries another passage. Now the sharp points of the husk are entangled in the grass. She jerks or pulls the burden loose, and hurries on.