INSTINCT, LEARNING, MEMORY 187 



were yesterday, but their memory may not be like ours. 



FLORENCE. I guess nobody can tell what instinct is. 

 Seems like we do most everything by instinct same as the 

 ant does. I guess the intelligence of an ant is mostly a 

 fable, like ^Esop's fable of the wise ant and the singing 

 grasshopper. 



ANT. That fable is thousands of years old. Children of 

 all nations and all languages read it or hear it and maybe 

 believe it. 



CECIL. I agree that most all we have seen our ants do 

 are illustrations of the working of instinct. 



FLORENCE. Give an example. 



CECIL. Once in Ohio a large ant was attacked by 

 small ones, and killed, but several of the small ones lost 

 their lives also, or were crippled. Then the crippled and 

 killed were all gathered up and taken to the home of the 

 small ants, for I saw them taken. 



ALBERT. I left a piece of spoiled flesh on the yard. 

 The ants couldn't move it, so they covered it up the same 

 as man would have done. They did the same with a tin 

 can lid. 



KENNETH. Different kinds of ants sometimes move 

 into the same house for winter and for other reasons. 



CECIL. All these are illustrations of instinct, I suppose, 

 when it happens to be ants instead of men that do it. I'll 

 give another. In flood time some kinds of Fire ants take 

 their eggs and babies and queens out of the nest, form a 

 ball of ants with the young and royalty at the center, 

 change places often enough to keep from drowning, and 

 float to some shore. 



