220 NATURALIST'S CABINET. 



Capable of communicating its thoughts. 



with a dead fly, and several together hauling 

 along the body of some larger insect. When- 

 ever they meet with any food too large to admit 

 of being dragged away, they devour so much of 

 it upon the spot as to reduce it to a bulk suffici- 

 ently small for them to carry. In all their ex- 

 cursions they have some object in view; and 

 they very seldom return to the nest without 

 either themselves bearing something, or without 

 news that something of use has been discovered, 

 in which joint assistance is necessary. If infor- 

 mation be brought that a piece of sugar, or 

 bread, or any kind of fruit, has been discovered, 

 even in the highest story of a house, they range 

 themselves in a line, and follow their leader to 

 the spot. 



Dr. Franklin believing that these little crear 

 tures had some means of communicating their 

 thoughts or desires to one another, tried several 

 experiments with them, all of which tended to 

 confirm his opinion ; but one seemed more con- 

 clusive than the rest. He put a little earthern 

 pot, containing some treacle, into a closet, into 

 which a number of ants collected, and devoured 

 the treacle very quietly. But, on observing this, 

 he shook them out, and tied the pot with a thin 

 string to a nail which he had fastened into the 

 ceiling; so that it hung down by the string. A 

 single ant, by chance remained in the pot : this 

 ant ate till it was satisfied; but when it wanted 

 to get off, it could not, for some time, find a way 



