Ants. 59 



could have the slightest doubt as to their power of 

 smell. 



2. I then took a large queen ant and tethered her 

 on a board by a thread. When she was quite quiet 

 I tried her with the tuning-forks, but they did not 

 disturb her in the least. I then approached the 

 feather of a pen very quietly, so as almost to touch 

 first one and then the other of the antennae, which, 

 however, did not move. I then dipped the pen in 

 essence of musk, and did the same : the antenna 

 was slowly retracted and drawn quite back. I then 

 repeated the same with the other antenna. If I 

 touched the antenna, the ant started away appa- 

 rently smarting. I repeated the same with essence 

 of lavender, and with a second ant. The result was 

 the same. 



Many of my other experiments point to the same 

 conclusion ; and, in fact, there can be no doubt 

 whatever that in ants the sense of smell is highly 

 developed. 



3. In order to test the intelligence of ants, it has 

 always seemed to me that there was no better way 

 than to ascertain some object which they would 

 clearly desire, and then to interpose some obstacle 

 which a little ingenuity would enable them to over- 

 come. I therefore placed some larvae in a cup 

 which I put on a slip of glass surrounded by water, 

 but accessible to the ants by one pathway, in which 

 was a bridge consisting of a strip of paper two- 

 thirds of an inch long and one-third of an inch 



