DO Animals Reason ?

Otago Witness, Issue 2894, 25 August 1909, Page 76

DO Animals Reason ?

Mr Lionel A. Toll-emsche contributes to the Spectator the following further inetarces witnessed or quoted by Romanes in support of the contention that animals have some reasoning powers: — "'Shails appear susceptible of some 'degree of pensonal attachment : an accurate observer informs me that he placed a pair of land snails, one of which was weakly, in a small and ill-provided garden. After a short time the strong and healthy individual disappeared, and was traced by its track of slime over a wall into an. adjoining wellstocked garden. The observer concluded) that it had deserted its sigkly mate ; but, aiter an absence of 24 hours, it returned, and apparently communicated tie result of its successful exploration, for both then started along the same track, and disappeared over the wall. "A small English terrier had been taught to ring for the servant. To test if the dog knew why it ram? the bell, he was told to do so 'while the girl was in the room. The little fellow looked ujj in the most intelligent manner a± ihe j^Qraon giv--

ing the ordter, then at th© servant, and refused , to* obey, although ib© order waa repeated more than once. The servant left the room, and a few minutes afterwards the dog rang the bell immediately on being 1 told to do so.

"Depriving bees of their antennae has the--eflteet of producing a marked bewilderment. A queen thus mutilated by Huber ran about in confusion, dropping her eggs at random, and appeared unable to taiko with' precision the food that was offered her. She showed no resentment to a similarly mutilated stranger queen that was introduced : the workers also heeded not tlw mutilated stranger ; but when an umnutilated etranger -was introduced they fell upcr_. her. "When the mutilated queem was allowed to *scap© none of the workers followed.

"A Cape babooD having taken off some clothes from, the barracks, I formed ft party to recover them. With 20 men I made & circuit to out them off from the caverns, to which they always fled for shelter. They observed my movements, and detaching 1 about 50 to guard the entrance, the otherskept their post We could ccc them collect--ing large stones and ot.lier missiles. One old grey-headed one, wEo had often paid us a visit at tfie barracks, was .seen distributing his orders, as if a general. We rushed on to the Attack, when,, at a scream from him, they rolled down enormous stones on us, 6o thatwe were forced to give up the contest. , "A mqnkeyj_as I myself observed, succeeded by methodical investigation, and without any assistance, in discovering for himself the mechanical principle of the screw; and that monkeys well understand* how to use stones as hammers is a matter of common observation since Dampier and Wafer first described 1 this action as practised by these animals in the breaking open of oyster shells. "While a paraffin lamp was being trimmed, some of the oil fell upon the back of a cat, and was afterwards ignited by a cinder falling upon it from the fire. The cat, with her back ablaze, in an instant, made for^the door (which happened to be open) ami sped up the street about 100 yards, where she plunged into the village watering trough, and extinguished tnc, flames. The trough had eight , or nine inches of wafer, and puss was in the habit of seeing the fire put out with water every night. The latter point is important, as it 6hows the data of observation on which the animal. reasoned."

— Landlord : "In one word, when are you. going to pay your arrears?" Hand-iD Author: "I will satisfy your demands as soon as I receive the money which the publisher will pay me if he accepts the novej which I am going to send him as soon' as the work is nndshed which I am about to commence when I have found a. /suitable subject and the necessary inspiration." — A farmer, finding a. motor-horn in the road, took it home, determined to turn it to some wi6» use. So he taught his poultry to gather for meals 'at its toot, and, ail Nature may be said to ha^e smiled till one morning a motor oar, passing the. farmyard, blew a loud blast. The full strength of the poultry-yard instantly ran out into the road, and began to pursue the, car with all the erdour oT- railway travellers charging into the refreshment room for a drink. At the end of the fifth mile fourteen pullets and three roosters succumbed through exhaustion. The rest are still running.