In accordance with the will and the design of the architects, who merely
stand by and gesticulate, the opposite margins approach, or the apex
curls towards the base, or towards one of the sides to form a miniature
funnel. When the extremities are so close that the intervening space may
be spanned, threads of white gossamer are laced across, and the slack
being taken up by degrees, in a few days a cosy pocket with
closely-fitting seams is completed.
How is this folding of the leaf accomplished? A theory which presents
itself is that the ants eject some active chemical principle into
certain of the cells of the leaf tissue, and that the stimulus is
transmitted by excitation from cell to cell, bringing about a general
and uniform contraction without destroying the vitality of the leaf.
Further, by the application of the injection to specific cells the ants
convey impulses to specific nerves, causing the leaf to curl
longitudinally or laterally, or at any angle they design. The poison
that a single ant injects into the neck of a brawny man so affects his
nervous system that he twists and writhes and stamps his feet with
energy sufficient to destroy millions of the species.
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