290 ANNUAL KECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 



ever, to perceive that they took the slightest notice of any of 

 these sounds. Thinking, however, that they might perhaps 

 be too much absorbed by the idea of the larvae to take any 

 notice of ray interruptions, I took one or two ants at random 

 and put them on a strip of paper, the two ends of which were 

 supported by pins with their bases in water. The ants im- 

 prisoned under these circumstances wandered slowly back- 

 ward and forward along the paper. As they did so, I test- 

 ed them in the same manner as before, but was unable to 

 perceive that they took the slightest notice of any sound 

 Avhich I was able to produce. I then took a large female of 

 F. ligniperda^ and tethered her on a board to a pin by a del- 

 icate thread about six inclies in length. After wandering 

 about for a while, she stood still, and I then tried her as be- 

 fore ; but, like the other ants, she took no notice whatever of 

 the sounds. 



It is of course possible, however, if not probable, that ants, 

 even if deaf to sounds which we hear, may hear others to 

 which we are deaf. On this subject I hope to make some 

 experiments, in which Mr. Spottiswoode has kindly promised 

 to assist me. Journal of the Linncean Society. 



THE SENSE OF SMELL IN INSECTS. 



I have also made similar experiments, though with very 

 difterent results, on the power of smell possessed by ants. I 

 dipped camel's-hair brushes into peppermint-water, essence 

 of cloves, lavender-water, and other strong scents, and sus- 

 pended them about a quarter of an inch above the strips of 

 paper along which the ants were passing in the experiments 

 above recorded. Under these circumstances, while some of the 

 ants passed on without taking any notice, others stopped when 

 they came close to the pencil, and, evidently perceiving the 

 smell, turned back. Soon, however, they returned and passed 

 the scented pencil. After doing this two or three times, they 

 generally took no further notice of the scent. This experi- 

 ment left no doubt on my mind ; still, to make the matter 

 even more clear, I experimented with ants placed on an iso- 

 lated strip of paper. Over the paper, and at such a distance 

 as almost, but not quite, to touch any ant which passed under 

 it, I again suspended a carael's-hair brush, dipped in assafoe- 

 tida, lavender-water, peppermint -water, essence of cloves, 



