POWER OF COMMUNICATION, 377 
possessing the power of communicating facts to one 
another, though it might be said they came by scent. 
Accordingly, on July 13, 1874, at 3 p.m., I took a piece 
of cork about 8 inches long and 4 inches wide, and stuck 
into it seventeen pins, on three of which I put pieces 
of ecard with a little honey. Up to 5.15 no ant had 
been up any of these pins. I then put an ant (Lasius 
niger) to the honey on one of the bits of card. She 
seemed to enjoy it, and fed for about five minutes, after 
which she went away. At 5.30 she returned, but went 
up six pins which had no honey on them. I then put 
her on to the card. In the mean time twelve other 
ants went up wrong pins and two up to the honey; 
these I imprisoned for the afternoon. At 5.46 my first 
ant went away. From that time to 6 v’clock seven 
ants came, but the first did notreturn. One of the seven 
went up a wrong pin, but seemed surprised, came down, 
and immediately went up to the right one. The other 
six went straight up the right pin to the honey. Up 
to 7 o’clock twelve more ants went up pins—eight 
right, and four wrong. At 7 two more went wrong. 
Then my first ant returned, bringing three friends with 
her; and they all went straight to the honey. At 7,11 
she went home: on her way to the nest she met and 
accosted two ants, both of which then came straight to 
the right pin and up it to the honey. Up to 7.20 
seven more ants came and climbed up pins—six right, 
and one wrong. At 7.22 my first ant came back with 
five friends; at 7.30 she went away again, returning at 
7.45 with no less than twenty companions. Durin 
this experiment I imprisoned every ant that found her 
way up to the honey. Thus, while there were seven- 
teen pins, and consequently sixteen chances to one, yet 
between 5.45 and 7.45 twenty-seven ants came, not 
counting those which were brought by the original ant ; 
and out of these twenty-seven, nineteen went straight 
up the right pin. Again, on the 15th July, at 2.30, I 
