THE GREAT PEACOCK 185 



accuse my surgery, however. Such early decease was 

 observed repeatedly, with no intervention on my part. 



Six, in better condition, had departed. Would they 

 I eturn to the call that attracted them the night before ? 

 Deprived of their antennae, would they be able to find 

 the captive, now placed at a considerable distance from 

 her original position ? 



The cage was in darkness, almost in the open air. 

 From time to time I visited it with a net and lantern. 

 The visitors were captured, inspected, and immediately 

 released in a neighbouring room, of which I closed the 

 door. This gradual elimination allowed me to count 

 the visitors exactly without danger of counting the same 

 butterfly more than once. Moreover, the provisional 

 prison, large and bare, in no wise harmed or endangered 

 the prisoners ; they found a quiet retreat there and 

 ample space. Similar precautions were taken during the 

 rest of my experiments. 



After half-past ten no more arrived. The reception 

 was over. Total, twenty-five males captured, of which 

 one only was deprived of its antennae. So of the six 

 operated on earlier in the day, which were strong enough 

 to leave my study and fly back to the fields, only one had 

 returned to the cage. A poor result, in which I could 

 place no confidence as proving whether the antennae 

 did or did not play a directing part. It was necessary to 

 begin again upon a larger scale. 



Next morning I visited the prisoners of the day before. 

 What I saw was not encouraging. A large number were 

 scattered on the ground, almost inert. Taken between 

 the fingers, several of them gave scarcely a sign of life. 

 Little was to be hoped from these, it would seem. StilU 



