marked; and no one who watched the behavior of the ants, under these circumstances, could have the slightest doubt as to their power of smell.

I then took a large queen ant and fastened her on a board by a thread. When she had become quiet, I tried her with some tuning forks, but they did not disturb her in the least. I then advanced a feather very quietly, so as almost to touch first one, and then the other of the antennæ, which, however, did not move.

I then dipped the pencil in essence of musk and tried again; the antenna was slowly drawn back. I then repeated the same with the other antenna. If I touched the antenna, the ant started away apparently smarting. I then experimented with essence of lavender, and with a second ant. results were the same as before.

The

Many of my other experiments point to the same conclusion; and, in fact, there can be no doubt whatever that in ants the sense of smell is highly developed.

In order to test the intelligence of ants, it has always seemed to me that there was no better way than to ascertain some object which they would clearly desire, and then to interpose some obstacle which a little ingenuity would enable them to overcome. I therefore placed some larvæ in a cup, which I put on a slip of glass surrounded by water, but accessible to the ants by only one pathway, in which was a bridge consisting of a strip of paper two thirds of an inch long and one third of an inch wide.

Having then put a black ant from one of my nests near these larvæ she began carrying them off,

and by degrees a number of friends came to help her. I then, when about twenty-five ants were so engaged, moved the little paper bridge slightly, so as to leave a chasm just so wide that the ants could not reach across. They came and tried hard to do so; but it did not occur to them to push the paper bridge, though the distance was only about one third of an inch, and they might easily have done so. After trying for about a quarter of an hour, they gave up the attempt and returned home. This I repeated several times.

Then thinking that paper was a substance to which they were not accustomed, I tried the same with a bit of straw one inch long and one eighth of an inch wide. The result was the same. I repeated this more than once.

Again, I suspended some honey over a nest of yellow ants, at a height of about half an inch, and accessible only by a paper bridge more than ten feet long. Under the glass I then placed a small heap of earth. The ants soon swarmed over the earth on to the glass, and began feeding on the honey. I then removed a little of the earth, so that there was an interval of about one third of an inch between the glass and the earth; but though the distance was so small, they would not jump down, but preferred to go down by the long bridge.

They tried in vain to stretch up from the earth to the glass, which, however, was just out of their reach, though they could touch it with their antennæ; but it did not occur to them to heap the earth up a little, though if they had moved only half a dozen particles, they would have secured for

themselves direct access to the food.

At length, they gave up all attempts to reach up to the glass, and went around by the paper bridge. I left the arrangement for several weeks, but they continued to go round by the long paper bridge.

Again I varied the experiment as follows: Having left a nest without food for a short time, I placed some honey on a small piece of wood, surrounded by a little moat of glycerine half an inch wide and about one tenth of an inch in depth. Over this moat I then placed a paper bridge, one end of which rested on some fine mold. I then put an ant to the honey, and soon a little crowd was collected round it.

I then removed the paper bridge; the ants could not cross the glycerine; they came to the edge and walked round and round, but were unable to get across, nor did it occur to them to make a bridge or bank of the mold which I had placed so conveniently for them. I was the more surprised at this, on account of the ingenuity with which they avail themselves of earth for constructing their nests.

For instance, wishing, if possible, to avoid the trouble of frequently moistening the earth in my nests, I supplied one of my communities with a frame containing, instead of earth a piece of linen, one portion of which projected beyond the frame and was immersed in water. The linen then sucked up the water by capillary attraction, and thus the air in the frames was kept moist.

The ants approved of this arrangement and took up their quarters in the frame. To minimize evaporation, I usually closed the frame all round, leav

ing only one or two small openings for the ants; but, in this case, I left the outer side of the frame open.

The ants, however, did not like being thus exposed; they therefore brought earth from some little distance, and built up a regular wall along the open side, blocking up the space between the upper and lower plates of glass, and leaving only one or two small openings for themselves. This struck me as very ingenious. The same expedient was, moreover, repeated under similar circumstances by the slaves belonging to my nest of Amazon ants.

SIR JOHN LUBBOCK.

Biography.-Sir John Lubbock, the eminent English physicist, was born in London in 1834. He is a graduate of Eton College. The results he has achieved in his special work, and his charming style as a writer, have combined to render him a very popular author. He has contributed largely to various publications, writing upon the subjects to which he has given special attention. Among the works of which he is the author may be mentioned the following-"Prehistoric Times, as illustrated by the remains of ancient times, and the customs of modern savages, "The Origin of Civilization," and "The Origin and Metamorphoses of Insects."

Questions. - A tuning fork is a two-pronged steel instrument used to give a certain fixed tone. For what purpose was it used with the ants? Of what is lavender water composed? What is

glycerine?

How many senses have we? What are they called? How many of these senses do the experiments described prove that ants possess?

What is shown in the last lesson as to the intelligence of ants?

Elocution. To render the delivery of selections like the last two lessons effective, the reading should be somewhat slower than in conversation, and the articulation distinct, even to a greater degree than would ordinarily be thought essential.

Composition.-Select three points in regard to ants, and treat each one of them in a single paragraph.

I live for those who love me,

Whose hearts are kind and true;
For the heaven that smiles above me,
And awaits my spirit too;

For all human ties that bind me,
For the task by God assigned me,
For the hopes not left behind me,
And the good that I can do.

I live to learn their story

Who've suffered for my sake;

To emulate their glory,

And follow in their wake;

Bards, patriots, martyrs, sages,

The noble of all ages,

Whose deeds crown history's pages,
And time's great volume make.

I live to hold communion

With all that is divine;

To feel there is a union

'Twixt nature's heart and mine;

To profit by affliction,

Reap truths from fields of fiction,
Grow wiser from conviction,

And fulfill each grand design.