dy.

At nightfall I went for a last time to inspect my eight victims. Six had
left by the open window; two still remained, but they had fallen on the
floor, and no longer had the strength to recover themselves if turned
over on their backs. They were exhausted, dying. Do not accuse my
surgery, however. Such early decease was observed repeatedly, with no
intervention on my part.

Six, in better condition, had departed. Would they return to the call
that attracted them the night before? Deprived of their antennae, would
they be able to find the captive, now placed at a considerable distance
from her original position?

The cage was in darkness, almost in the open air. From time to time I
visited it with a net and lantern. The visitors were captured,
inspected, and immediately released in a neighbouring room, of which I
closed the door. This gradual elimination allowed me to count the
visitors exactly without danger of counting the same butterfly more than
once. Moreover, the provisional prison, large and bare, in no wise
harmed or endangered the prisoners; they found a quiet retreat there and
ample space. Similar precautions were taken during the rest of my
experiments.

After half-past ten no more arrived. The reception was over. Total,
twenty-five males captured, of which one only was deprived of its
antennae. So of the six operated on earlier in the day, which were strong
enough to leave my study and fly back to the fields, only one had
returned to the cage. A poor result, in which I could place no
confidence as proving whether the antennae did or did not play a
directing part. It was necessary to begin again upon a larger scale.

Next morning I visited the prisoners of the day before. What I saw was
not encouraging. A large number were scattered on the ground, almost
inert. Taken between the fingers, several of them gave scarcely a sign
of life. Little was to be hoped from these, it would seem. Still, I
determined to try; perhaps they would regain their vigour at the lover's
hour.

The twenty-four prisoners were all subjected to the amputation of their
antennae. The one operated on the day before was put aside as dying or
nearly so. Finally the door of the prison was left open for the rest of
the day. Those might leave who could; those could join in the carnival
who were able. In order to put those that might leave the room to the
test of a search, the cage, which they must otherwise have encountered
at the th