Animal Life.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 440, 18 August 1904, Page 3

Animal Life.

ANIMAL INTELLIGENCE. £ Souses and latolligenge of Anig mills ' formed the subject of an interesting lecture given recently by Sir John Lubbock at the Working Men's College, London. The lecturer asserted that it was still a doubtful point whether ants could hear ; he had tried them with a great variety of sounds, but the insects never gave the slightest indication of hearing them. It was also certain that bees were not susceptible to ordinary tones of sound, and he therefore thought that the custom of ' tangling,' which was popularly supposed to help towards the swarming of bees, was quite useless. The custom probably arose from the idea of giving notice to neighbours that a swarm was loose. Possibly both bees and ants could hear the higher overtones which' were beyond the range of human hearing. With regard to vision of insects, it was certain that bees could distinguish colours, and that blue was their favourite ; ants were also sensible to colour, and were able to distinguish the ultra-violet rays of the spectrum which were invisible to human beings. Sir John Lubbock pleaded that the practice of arranging stuffed birds and beasts in glass cases, and insects in cabinets, should merely be the preliminary of"a more exhaustive study of the living creatures. We should endeavour to ascertain their relations and adaptations to the' forces of Nature, which might give a clue to senses and perceptions of which.at present we have no conceptioiii

HOW WILD ELEPHANTS ARE CAPTURED.

Near Ayuthia,. formerly the capital of Siain, is a curious" labyrinth in which elephants are captured alive. The /labyrinth isformedbya:double row of immense tree trunks set firmly in the ground, the space between them gradually narrowing. Where it begins, at. the edge of the forest, the epening of the labyrinth is more than, a mile broad, but as it approaches Ayuthia it becomes so narrow that the elephants cannot turn round. Tame elephants are employed, to lure wild ones into the trap. Having reached the inner end of the labyrinth, the tame ejephants are allowed to pass, through agate, while men lying in wait slip shackles oyer the f,eet of the captives. The sport is a dangerous one, as enraged elephants' sometimes crush their would-be captors under their feet.

HOMING PIGEONS IN THE WINTER

As in the case of other breeds of domestic pigeons, it is advisable to separate the sexes of Homers, and breuk up the pairs, before the moult begins.- This separation should last till the birds can be mated again in order to get some forward young-ones ready for the early races. Most pigeons will continue breeding throughout the winter if left to themselves ; but either for flying or fancy pigeons this is not advisable, as not only, do the birds become weak with the ceaseless strain of feeding and rearing young, but the young ones themselves are small and delicate; and for eating purposes. The loft should be kept clean and neat, and be made as comfortable as possible. There is often a tendency among those who keep Homing pigeons to take very little care of, and in fact to neglect, the loft, during the time the birds arc neither breeding nor racing. This is a great mistake. The object in keeping the pigeon is to persuadeHt to return when taken and tossed long distances from its home, and if that home is not made pleasant and attractive, there is less inducement for this jnge'on to come back. Directly the pairs are separated, all breeding boxes and nest pans should be removed and- cleaned, and all the loft fixings seen to, and repaired if necessary. There is no occasion to disturb the birds every day by scraping and brooming. But once a we6k the loft should have a good, cleaning. Ventilation must lie freely provided, even in cold weather, but without draught., The bath should be allowed two or three times a week for a couple of hours or so in the morning. It should not remain after the morning, or some of the pigeons may bathe shortly before going to roost, and sio all night on the perch with wet plumage, at the risk of colds or roup.' Clean water for drinking is essential. An inexpensive drinking fountain, which the birds cannot foul, may be made by taking a stone bottle, drilling a hole in it one inch from the bottom, and placing it in a large flower pot saucer, two inches deep, and of a size to leave two inches space between its sidos and the bottle. It can be filled from the bung hole,, and readily cleaned. The best winter food for the Homers is maple peas, good sound tick beans, and tares. Plenty of good grit must be provided, with which some salt is mixed. * WONDERS Op THE SEA.

The sea occupies three-fifths of the earth's surface.

A mile down the water has a pressure of a ton to the square inch. It has been proven that at a depth of 3,500 feet waves are not felt. At some places the force of the,, sea dashing upon the rocks on - the shore is said to be seventeen tons to tho square yard. The temperature is. the same varying only a trifle from the ice cf the pole to the burning sua of the Equator.

The water is colder at the bottom than "at the surface. Iu the many bays on the coast of Norway the water often freezos. at the bottom before it does above.

If a box six feet deep were filled with sea water and the; Water allowed to evaporate in the sim, there ;would be two inches of salt left at the bottom. Taking the average depth of the ocean to be three miles, there Would be a layer of pure salt 230 feet thick on the Atlantic,

Wave's are very,, deceptive; to look at them in a storm one would think the whole water travelled. The water stays in the same place, but tho motion goes on. Sometimes in storms these waves are forty feet high and travel fifty miles an hour—more than twice as fast as tho swiftest steamer. The distance from valley to valley is generally fifteen times its height; hence, a wave five feet high will extend over seventyfive feet of water.