58 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



our own experience goes, this species will not live 

 in an aquarium, because the water is not in motion, 

 and thereby well aerated ; but there arc Etheosto- 

 moids that are not so sensitive in this respect. 



In Science-Gossip, No. 86, we briefly hiuted at 

 catching " darters" with a hook and line. This is 

 not a difficult matter, but is rather a slow way of 

 collecting them, if that be the object of captur- 

 ing them. Like all percoids, darters are cer- 

 tainly very voracious, and will bite at anything, 

 even though unable to seize it fairly, letting alone 

 the possibility of swallowing it. So, if a very small 

 hook is properly baited, it will be readily seized, if 

 dropped immediately in front of and near them. 

 This disposition to snap at everything that presents 

 itself, places these little fish among the scavengers 

 of our streams ; for we have noticed that a decom- 

 posing fish or other animal, when caught by a pro- 

 jecting rock or stick, will be frequently surrounded 

 by great numbers of these darters, and the carcase 

 will be continually pounced upon and bitten at, until 

 the bones are pretty well picked. 



Of the several other species of this family of little 

 fishes, we will not say anything now; but if, in any 

 of our rambles during the pleasant autumn months 

 to come, we succeed in learning something new con- 

 cerning the tessellated fellow, or in noting pecu- 

 liarities in allied species, we will agaiu jot down 

 what we have seen, and, perhaps, make a drawing of 

 another "darter." 



Trenton, New Jersey, U.S.A. 



A CHAPTER ON ANTS. 



TT is two years since I reported the progress of 

 -*- my formicary, and I intend now to add a few 

 acts which have come across my notice in addition 

 to my observations of previous years. I mentioned 

 in Science-Gossip for 1S71, p. 2iS, the fact of such 

 large numbers of my ants {Myrmica rtiginocUs) 

 escaping suddenly in a body. I thought at the 

 time that my formicary must be very nearly emptied, 

 but in the spring of the following year, 1S72, when 

 they woke up from their torpidity, I was pleased 

 to find the colony stronger and of greater numbers 

 than I had expected. They never again attempted 

 to escape in the same manaer, but got to look upon 

 their nest as their legitimate home, and Avould I 

 think have been unwilling to leave it. 1 often let 

 the trough remain some little time dry before I 

 refilled it, for I found that the stragglers only ran 

 about the stand on which the formicary was placed, 

 but seldom strayed any further. 



At one time the gloss sides of my formicary got 

 so obscured with moss and rubbish, that the view 

 into the interior was nearly shut out, so I removed 

 them with the purpose of cleaning them, leaving 

 the block of earth standing sufficiently safe. On 



replacing the glass, since many ants were running 

 over the perpendicular mound of earth in some 

 excitement, unavoidably two or three of them got 

 pressed into the earth, in places where there were 

 no burrows, and were fixed between the glass and 

 the mould, quite unable to move at all. Not long 

 afterwards I was astonished to see several ants 

 with much eagerness running a burrow straight 

 towards the very point where one of these ants 

 was incarcerated. They worked very hard, and 

 after a time they excavated until they reached the 

 imprisoned ant, upon which they pulled away and 

 loosened the soil around it, until they had made 

 sufficient room for it to wriggle out. Having 

 watched the completion of this wonderful sight, I 

 looked to see what was the fate of the other im- 

 prisoned ants. I found that there were two other 

 parties of ants eagerly digging out two more of 

 their comrades. They accomplished their object 

 in due time, in one case running their separate 

 galleries from three directions, all meeting at the 

 precise spot where their lost companion was. A 

 fourth ant was lightly pressed against the glass 

 close to the very bottom of the case, and in a very 

 unfrequented part of the hive, at some distance 

 from any burrow, where I expected that he must 

 remain ; but the next morning I found a fresh and 

 narrow path leading straight to where he had been, 

 and the ant gone. When the first one of these had 

 been liberated, it naturally seemed weak and stiff 

 after the compression it had been subjected to, and 

 crawled away in a feeble manner; but it was pre- 

 sently met by a companion and then remained 

 motionless, whilst the other began at the head, 

 stroking it all over, round and round, and elabo- 

 rately pursuing the same course with the thorax 

 and abdomen, feeling down each leg. It looked 

 exactly like a surgeon examining a patient to see 

 the extent of the injuries, and no doubt its inten- 

 tion in doing it must have been something of the 

 same nature. Soon afterwards another ant came 

 up and went through a precisely similar process. 

 Finally the injured ant slowly disappeared out of 

 sight into the formicary, surrounded by several of 

 its companions. 



How these ants knew that any of their com. 

 rades were incarcerated at all, and how that even 

 then they knew precisely in what direction they 

 should burrow, is one of those mysteries vrhich 

 baffles all conjecture. It shows, however, that they 

 must possess some sense developed to a pitch of 

 great intensity, and though the theory that insects 

 possess a subtle sense unknown to us seems scarcely 

 warrantable, yet it is hard to see which of our five 

 senses, however much developed, would in this case 

 have helped to the discovery of the plight of their 

 companions. If it is the sense of hearing which 

 they have so acutely, it must be modified to their 

 special requirements, for they appeared quito obli- 



