410 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
disaggregated by rain, gets blown about on the neighbouring plants, and 
the animals, eating these, thus receive the germs into their system. It is 
suggested that possibly other diseased germs, not less harmless to worms, 
but ready to cause disease in the proper animals, may be in like manner 
conveyed to the surface in cemeteries. This would furnish a fresh argu- 
ment for cremation. The practical inference as to anthrax is that animals 
Which have died of this should not be buried in fields devoted to crops or 
pasturage, but wherever possible in sandy, calcareous ground, poor and 
dry—unsuitable, in a word, for worms. ; 
OpsErvVATIONS ON Ants, Bees anD Wasps.—At a meeting of the 
Limean Society, held June 17th last, the following interesting observations 
were communicated by Sir John Lubbock, under the above title: —A dead 
blue-bottle fly was pinned down, and after vain efforts at removal the 
selected ant hied home and emerged with friends, who slowly, and evidently 
incredulously, followed their*guide. ‘The latter, starting off at a great 
pace, distanced them, and they returned, only, however, to be again 
informed, come out, and at length be coaxed to the prey. Several experi- 
ments made with different species of ants, and under varied circumstances, 
seem to indicate the possession of something approaching language. It is 
impossible to doubt that the friends were brought out by the first ant, and, . 
as she returned empty-handed to the nest, the others cannot have been 
induced to follow merely by observing her proceedings. Hence the con- 
clusion that they possess the power of requesting their friends to come and 
help them. In other experiments testing the recognition of relations, 
although the old ants had absolutely never seen the young ones until the 
moment (some days after arriving at maturity) they were introduced into 
the nest, yet in all cases they were undoubtedly recognised as belonging to 
the community. It would seem, therefore, to be established that the 
recognition of auts is not personal and individual, and that their harmony 
is not due to the fact that each ant is acquainted with every other member 
of the community. It would further appear from the facts that they 
recognise their friends even when intoxicated, and that they know the 
young born in their own nest, even when they have been brought out of 
the chrysalis by strangers, that the recognition is not effected by means of any 
sign or password. With regard to workers breeding, the additional evidence 
tends to coufirm views previously advanced, that when workers lay eggs 
males are always the issue of these. Without entering into details of 
instances, it may broadly be affirmed that in the queeuless nests males 
have been produced, and not in a single case bas a worker laid eggs which 
have produced a female, either a queen or a worker. On the contrary, in~ 
nests possessing a queen, workers bave been abundantly produced. These 
curious physiological facts lead to the presumption that, as in the case of 
