CHAPTER VI 



THE RED ANTS 



THE Pigeon transported for hundreds of 

 miles is able to find his way back to his 

 Dove-cot; the Swallow, returning from his 

 winter quarters in Africa, crosses the sea and 

 once more takes possession of the old nest. 

 What guides them on these long journeys? 

 Is it sight? An observer of supreme intelli- 

 gence, one who, though surpassed by others in 

 the knowledge of the stuffed animal under a 

 glass case, is almost unrivalled in his know- 

 ledge of the live animal in its wild state, 

 Toussenel,^ the admirable writer of L'Esprit 

 des betes, speaks of sight and metereology as 

 the Carrier-pigeon's guides: 



"The French bird," he says, "knows by ex- 

 perience that the cold weather comes from 

 the north, the hot from the south, the dry 



'Alphonse Toussenel (i 803-1885), the author of a num- 

 ber of interesting and valuable works on ornithology. — 

 Translator's Note. 



124 



