It is true that in the _Enciclopedia Popolare_[21] extracts are given from the remarks made by M. Gené[22] on the subject, in which he assumes that the fact that ants collect and carry to their nest large supplies of grain and seed is well known, but states that he is at a loss to conceive how they employ them, unless it may be that they use them as materials for the construction of their galleries, for they cannot eat such hard substances, all their food being either liquid or of the nature of juices, "gli alimenti sono sempre materie liquide o materie sugose. Quanto ai corpi duri e secchi che le formiche raccolgono, io non so altrimenti riguardarli che come materiali di costruzione." It will be understood, I think, from what has gone before, that thus far nothing has really been ascertained as to the exact state of the case; for though the Italian author just quoted was aware that certain ants in the Mediterranean region do store seed, his knowledge went no further. Nor am I aware that any French author has published an account of this habit and its object; and in a recent abundantly illustrated volume founded on a work by M. Emile Blanchard, I find, on the contrary, the following very emphatic denial of its existence:--"The curious idea which appears to have commenced in very remote times, and to have been carried down by tradition, and which was assisted by the results of careless observations, concerning the habits of the ants in collecting and storing up provisions, as it were under the influence of a wise foresight, is evidently incorrect."[23] There was, therefore, clearly an opening here for close observation, and this I determined to do my best to supply. [Footnote 21: Article Formica, vol. v. p. 143-4. (Turin, 1845).] [Footnote 22: Memorie per servire alla Storia Naturale di alcuni imenotteri, published at Modena, in 1842.] [Footnote 23: The Transformations of Insects: an adaptation for English readers of M. Emile Blanchard's Metamorphoses, Mœurs, et Instincts des Insectes, p. 196. London. 1871.] When I set out again from England in October, 1871, on my way to Mentone, I had obtained an idea of some of the leading points which needed to be cleared up, and I was greatly encouraged in my attempt by the interest expressed in the subject by several of our leading naturalists, among whom I may especially mention Mr. Frederick Smith.[24] [Footnote 24: am very greatly indebted to Mr. Smith for much kind assistance, and especially for having named the specimens which I collected.] Plainly the first thing to do was to determine whether the seeds which I had watched the ants carry to their nests were separately stored in subterranean granaries, as they would be if the ant really provides for the future; or whether they were merely strewed here and there, or used as building materials.