The Dispersal of Seeds by Ants. 
85 
the sketch plan hy different symbols. Close to the two larger gorse- 
bushes at the edge of the wood were two nests of the large Wood 
Ant, one on the top and one on the slope of the steep bank. The 
proximity of the line of young gorse-bushes to the roadway and to the 
ants’ nests was suggestive of the seeds having been carried along the 
lane at the edge of the wood by ants, while the stone wall separating 
the gorse at the edge of the wood from the main patch on the grass- 
slope below seemed to preclude the possibility of the seeds having 
been distributed from the main patch by the explosive contraction 
of the dry pods. It is of course possible that the older plants at the 
edge of the wood might have been established before the wall was 
built, but the appearances were somewhat against this, while on the 
other hand, the wall was sufficiently loosely built to enable ants to 
make their way quite easily from the meadow to the lane. 
The proof of the part played by the ants in the dispersal of the 
gorse, must, however, depend on the readiness and ability of the 
ants to carry the seeds of this plant, and not merely upon such 
striking examples of rectilinear dispersal as I cited in my previous 
paper and as the one described above (p. 82). I accordingly made 
some experiments on the lines indicated by Sernander on one of 
the tracks along which the ants were passing to and from their nest. 
On the evening of September 18th, I placed ten seeds of Ulex on 
one of these tracks and in half-an-hour eight of the seeds had been 
carried away by the ants. Owing to darkness the experiment had 
then to he interrupted. On September 19th, I continued the 
observations close to one of the ants’ nests in a small larch plantation 
shown on the sketch plan. 
At 3-15 five seeds of Ulex were placed on one of the 
ants’ pathways. 
at 3*20 only three seeds were left; 
at 3-25 none were left; 
Another experiment with nine seeds had the following result:— 
3-30 ... ... ... 9 seeds 
8 seeds remained 
3-35 
3-40 
3-45 
The seed that remained had a shrunk and discoloured caruncle and 
was left untouched by the ants while the observations were continued. 
It was unfortunately rather late in the season to obtain undamaged 
seeds of the gorse, as most of the pods had dehisced and most of 
the remaining ones were attacked by the maggot of the little weevil, 
Apion ulicis. As it might be thought that the ants would be likely 
