12 HAUNTS AND HOBBIES 



pots one on each side of their foraging track, and both 

 at equal distances from it. 



The next morning, on returning from my ride, I 

 went at once to inspect them. I found the pot on the 

 right of the track completely covered with ants, all 

 busily engaged in devouring the sugar. They must 

 have been thus engaged for some time, for the sugar 

 was nearly all consumed. But the sugar in the pot to 

 the left was untouched, nor was there a single ant on 

 the pot itself or anywhere near it. Now, the ants could 

 not have discovered the sugar on the right-hand pot by 

 sight, for it was not visible from the ground ; nor can 

 we suppose that they were attracted to it by scent, for 

 if so, the scent would have equally attracted them to 

 the sugar in the other pot. We may fairly assume that, 

 of the hundreds of ants that passed along the track, 

 about as many would have gone to the one pot as to 

 the other. 



We may therefore conclude, I think, that the sugar 

 in the pot to the right was discovered by accident. 

 Some ant, or ants, must have noticed the pot, and out 

 of curiosity approached it, then climbed the sides, found 

 the sugar, eaten as much as they cared to, descended 

 again, and informed the other ants on the track. A 

 further experiment supported this conclusion. I placed 

 as much jam as would fill a teaspoon on a half-sheet 

 of notepaper. I laid the paper by the side of the 

 foraging track of the ants on the terrace, and distant 

 from the track about nine inches. The track at the 

 time was crowded with ants going out from the nest 

 and returning. 



