Penfyhania, Philadelphia. 239 



holes in the wall. The length of their bodies is 

 one geometrical line. Their colour is either 

 black or dark red : they have the cuftom of car- 

 rying off fweet things, if they can come at them, 

 in common with the ants of other countries. Mr. 

 Franklin was much inclined to believe that thefe 

 little infects could by fomc means communicate 

 their thoughts or deiires to each other, and he 

 confirmed his opinion by fome examples. When 

 an ant finds fome fugar, it runs immediately un- 

 der ground to its hole, where, having flayed a 

 little while, a whole army comes out, unites> 

 and marches to the place where the fugar is, and 

 carries it off by pieces ; or if an ant meets with 

 a dead fly, which it cannot carry alone, it im- 

 mediately haflens home, and foon after fome 

 more come out, creep to the fly, and carry it 

 away. Some time ago Mr. Franklin put a little 

 earthen pot with treacle into a clofet. A num<- 

 ber of ants got into the pot, and devoured the 

 treacle very quietly. But as he obferved it, he 

 fhook them out, and tied the pot with a thin 

 firing to a nail which he had faflened in the 

 ceiling ; fo that the pot hung down by the firing. 

 A fingle ant by chance remained in the pot : this 

 ant eat till it was fatisfied ; but when it wanted 

 to get off, it was under great concern to find its 

 way out : it ran about the bottom of the pot, but 

 in vain : at lafl it found, after many attempts, 

 the way to get to the ceiling by the firing. After 

 it was come there, it ran to the wall, and from 

 thence to the ground. It had hardly been away 

 for half an hour, when a great fwarm of ants 

 came out, got up to the ceiling, and crept along 



the 



