Note 1 — CHAP. IV. OF THE RELATION BETWEEN ANTS.

Dr. Franklin, upon discovering a number of ants regaling themselves with some treacle in one of his cupboards, put them to the rout, and then suspended the pot of treacle, by a string, from the ceiling. He imagined he had put the whole army to flight, but was surprised to see a single ant quit the pot, climb up the string, cross the ceiling, and regain its nest. In less than half an hour several of its companions sallied forth, traversed the ceiling, and reached the depository, which they constantly revisited until the treacle was consumed. The Doctor was therefore of opinion, that ants were enabled to communicate their ideas to each other.—In a memoir, published in the Transactions of the French Academy, an account is given of a solitary ant that was taken from its nest, and thrown on a heap of corn: it was observed, after surveying this treasure, to hasten immediately back to its residence, where it doubtless communicated to its associates this intelligence; for the granary was very soon filled with visitors, and the corn taken away. The fallacy of the statement respecting ants laying up a store of provision for their winter consumption, particularly corn, is now very generally admitted; it has been ascertained that ants, (at least those of this country,) during that season, lie in a state of torpor, and therefore require no food. Gould, who published a memoir on these insects in 1747, pointed out this error; and since his time, it has been fully confirmed by the most experienced entomologists.—T.