244 
state of things. 
to increase the pay of all its scientific officers, such as the As- 
tronomer Royal, the Director of Kew Gardens, and especially 
the Curators of the British Museum referred to in your 
article. 
Secondly, the Universities, as bodies specially interested in 
the advancement of learning, and having (at least in the revenues 
of the Colleges) immense resources at their disposal which could 
legitimately be devoted to such purposes, ought to lose no time 
in largely increasing the number and the emoluments of their 
scientific professors, as has been so long and ably urged by the 
Rector of Lincoln College. 
Lastly, certain still more strictly scientific bodies, who have 
in their own hands the appointment and pay of their fellow- 
workers, are especially concerned in showing their appreciation 
of their services, as it may fairly be taken as a standard by which 
the other cases may be judged. It is gratifying to find that in 
some of these bodies a liberal spirit is spontaneously showing 
itself, as in the case of the one with which [ have the advantage 
of being associated. The Council of the Zoological Society is 
another example, although even here it takes time to shake off 
the narrow spirit of illiberality or economy which has so long 
prevailed in such matters. We think nothing (and very pro- 
perly) of paying a judge or a bishop 5,000/. a year, buta fifth 
part of that sum for a first-class scientific man suill seems to many 
a preposterous extravagance. There are many societies which, 
being mainly supported by scientific men themselves, are unfortu- 
nately without the means of doing justice to their officers, how- 
ever much it might be their wish; but I cannot conclude with- 
out referring to one body which I think really might be expected 
to set a better example—a body composed solely of scientific 
men of the highest character, who have the nearly uncontrolled 
use of a large sum of public money to spend in carrying out a 
great scientific object ; [ mean the Meteorological Committee of 
the Royal Society. Whatever the committee may do personally 
in the way of suggestion and guidance, the real efficiency of the 
operations carried out under their care must depend upon the 
chief executive scientific officers. The committee, in fixing the 
proportion of the 10,000/. annually placed at their dispo-al by 
Parliament, which is devoted to the remuneration of these 
officers, afford, I am afraid, an illustration of what I stated in 
the beginning of this letter, that scientific men are not the best 
fitted to take care of their interests or those of their class. 
Eight hundred and four hundred a year respectively for the Land 
and Marine Superintendents of the departments, are considered 
by the committee as sufficient remuneration for such responsible 
posts. If a budy of the first scientific men in the land think it 
is so, who can wonder that very unscientific Lords of the Trea- 
sury should be of the same mind. Doubiless it was with some 
fear of the same Lords in their eyes, that the committee fixed the 
lowest po sible standard at which they thought they could get 
the work done. Happily for themselves and the country, they 
found competent amateurs willing to undertake it ; but from such 
a body a cifferent line of action might be expected ; they should 
lead, not follow, the instincts of Chancellors of the Exchequer ia 
such matters. If scientific men are reluctant to speak on such 
topics fur themselves, the love:s of Science among men of in- 
fluence, wealth, and position, are the more bound to speak for 
them. 
July 25 W. H. Flower 
Habits of Ants 
SoME months ago (vol. vii. p. 443) I sent you an extract from 
a letter from Mr. Hague, a geologist residing in California, who 
gave me a very curious account of the terrifying effect on the 
other ants of the sight of a few which he had killed on one of 
their paths. Mr, Traherne Moggridge saw this account in 
NATURE 
| 
In the first place the Government ought at once 
[Fuly 
24, 1873 
Nature, and wrote to me that he had heard from a gentleman 
who had lived in Australia that merely drawing a finger 
across the path deters ants from crossing the line. 
Mr. Moggridge tried this experiment with some ants a 
Mentone with similar effects. I therefore sent the letter to Mr. 
Hague, and asked him to observe whether his ants were alarmed 
by the smell left by the finger, or were really terrified by the 
sight of their dead and dying comrades, The case appears 
curious, as I believe no one has ever observed an invertebrate 
animal realising danger by seeing the corpses of a fellow species. 
It is indeed very doubtful whether the higher animals can draw 
any such inferences from the sight ; but I believe that everyone 
who has had experience in trapping animals is convinced that 
individuals who have never been caught learn that a trap is 
dangerous by seeing others caught. 
Here follows Mr. Hague’s letter, fully confirming his former 
statement. CHARLES DARWIN 
‘By a somewhat singular coincidence the first reappearance, 
since last winter, of any ants in the room where I then observed 
them occurred on the day when your last note arrived, —that is, 
afcer an interval of several months. Then a few were observed 
about the tumbler at the micdle of the shelf and the vase at the 
other end from that whence they were first driven, although they 
ali came from a hole near the base of the mantel, directly 
beneath the vase which they avoided. 
“* Acting on Mr. M's. suggestion, I first tried making simple 
finger marks on their path (the mantel is of marble) and found 
just the resul's which he describes in his note, as observed by 
himself at Mentone, that is, no marked symptoms of fear, but a 
dislike to the spot and an effort to avoid it by going around it, 
or by turning back and only crossing it again after an interval of 
time. 
**T then killed several ants on the path, using a smooth stone 
or a piece of ivory, instead of my finger, to crush them. In this 
case the ants approaching all turned back as before and with 
much greater exhibition of fear than when the simple finger- 
marks was mude. This I did repeatedly. The final result was 
the same as obtained last winter. They persisted in coming for 
a week or two, curing which I continued to kill them, and then 
they disappeared and we haveseen none since. It would appear 
from this that while the taint of the hand is sufficient to turn 
them back, the killing of their fellows, with a stone or other 
material, produces the effects described in my first note, This 
was made clear to meat that time from the behaviour of the 
ants the first day that I killed any, for on’ that occasion some of” 
them approaching the vase irom below, on reaching the upper 
edge of the mantel, peeped over and drew back on seeing what 
had happened about the vase, then turned away a little and after 
a moment tried again at another and another point along the 
edge with the same resut in the end. Moreover, those that 
found themselves among the dead and dying, went from one 
writhing ant to another in great haste and excitement, exhibiting 
the sigas of fright which I de-cribed. ’ 
‘*T hardly hope that any will return again, but if they do, and 
give me an opportunity, I shall endeavour to act further on 
Mr. M’s. suggestion. “James D, HaGuUE” 
San Francisco, June 26 
Fertilisation of Viola tricolor and V. cornuta 
ALLOW me to thank Mr. Kitchener for his correction of my 
spelling. What I object to ia the word ‘* be-pollen” is the harsh 
combination of syllables, which I should have thought would be 
offensive to any ears, whether scientific or not. The word 
“pollen,” used as a verb, would be free from this fault, and — 
would be objectionable chiefly from the possibility of confusion — 
arising from the novelty of its use in this sense, Neither of these 
objections could apply to Mr. Kitchener’s term ‘‘be-dust,” but 
why coin a new word when a simpler one exists ready-made? 
Does not the ordinary English verb ‘‘to dust” equally give the 
exact meaning of destauben ? I cannot, however, agree with Mr, 
Kitchener that it would be more expressive than ‘‘ pollinate,” as, 
unlike the Germans, we do not habitually use the word “dust” as 
a synonym for ‘‘pollen.” I have no wish to dispute Mr. 
Benneit’s conclusion that Vio/a tricolor is very commonly fer- 
tilised by ‘‘ very minute insects of the Thrips kind,” but only to 
