SHED-MASS ETC. OF HELLEBORUS F(ETIDUS. 447 
The ants with which Sernander experimented were three species of 
Formica, namely rufa, ruja-pratensis, and exsecta : none of these are, so far 
as I know, to be found in my small suburban garden, and for the most part 
I used Donisthorpea nigra, which abounds therein, but in a totally different 
quarter several yards away from the Hellebores and divided off by a fence: 
I also tried my luck with Donisthorpea flava and Myrmica levinodis, and 
obtained results of some little interest, especially from the latter species. 
I must take this opportunity of acknowledging gratefully my indebtedness 
to Mr. H. St. J. К. Donisthorpe, F.Z.S., F.E.S., for kindly naming my ants 
for me, and for giving me valuable information about their habits. I have 
availed myself to the full of his ready and willing assistance in these 
matters. 
On July 9th I gave Donisthorpea nigra single seeds, and I found that, like 
the Formicas, they take them away in а very few minutes. I also saw them 
carry them into the nest: as the seed is considerably more bulky than the 
ant this is а performance worth watching, and one that is not altogether 
devoid of the сопие element. 
I then offered them a mass as well as single seeds ; they paid some little 
attention to the former, but soon deserted it altogether for the loose seeds. 
The next morning the mass was sáll there, and, although not broken, it was 
quite brittle and. the strip distinctly mutilated. The border is hot and dry, 
and the strip had turned brown by the evening : there was no trace of its 
having been visited by snails, and probably the nibbling of the ants and the 
heat of the sun were responsible for its drying up хо soon. This mass was 
about a foot from the entrance to the nest: the ants paid no further attention 
to it, and Г removed it two days later, when it broke as I lifted it from the 
ground. I think the ants showed their sense in carrying off the single seeds 
instead of expending their energy upon the mass. 
On July 12th 1 tried them again with a single mass, which I placed in the 
same position as the other, and I watched it for an hour between 6 and 
7 in the evening, when it was fortunately sunny and the ants were out 
foraging. It was first attacked by a few of them, and they seemed to 
appreciate the fare. After, apparently, satisfying their own taste for it, they 
went off and presently it was receiving the attentions of a large number 
simultaneously—at one time I counted 14 оп the strip. They nibbled away 
until I left them for dinner at 7 o’clock, and half an hour later they were 
still at it, but about 8 o’elock it began to rain and get dark and the ants 
deserted it. They had not broken it up when I went to bed, and I then put 
another mass about one inch from the entrance to the nest, without, however, 
having the slightest suspicion that the shorter distance would mean a fresh 
development. 
The next morning the first mass was broken, but I cannot say whether 
the ants or the rain had done it. The other was a wonderful sight: there 
