ii ON ANIMAL LIFE 63 



astonished to find their comrades in such a 

 disgraceful condition, and as much at a loss 

 to know what to do with their drunkards as 

 we are. After a while, however, to cut my 

 story short, they carried them all away : the 

 strangers they took to the edge of the moat 

 and dropped into the water, while they bore 

 their friends home into the nest, where by 

 degrees they slept off the effects of the spirit. 

 Thus it is evident that they know their friends 

 even when incapable of giving any sign or 

 password. 



This little experiment also shows that they 

 help comrades in distress. If a Wolf or a Rook 

 be ill or injured, we are told that it is driven 

 away or even killed by its comrades. Not so 

 with Ants. For instance, in one of my nests 

 an unfortunate Ant, in emerging from the 

 chrysalis skin, injured her legs so much that 

 she lay on her back quite helpless. For three 

 months, however, she was carefully fed and 

 tended by the other Ants. In another case 

 an Ant in the same manner had injured her 

 antennae. I watched her also carefully to see 

 what would happen. For some days she did 



