"THE SENSE AND SENSES OF ANIMALS."
Sir John Lubbock, M.P., some time since, delivered an address in Queen Street Hall, Edinburgh, to the members of the Edinburgh Philosophical Institution, on "The Sense and Senses of Animals." In the course of his remarks the lecturer said that one would gratefully admit that the dog was a loyal, and true, and affectionate friend, but when we came to consider the nature of the animal, our knowledge was very limited. That arose a good deal from the fact that people had tried rather to teach animals than to learn from them. It had occurred to him that some such method as that which was followed in the case of deaf mutes might prove instructive if adapted to the case of dogs. He had tried with a black poodle belonging to himself. He then went on to relate several experiments he had made with pieces of cardboards, with different words marked upon them. He had taken two pieces of card, one blank, and the other with the word "food" upon it. He had put the latter on a saucer containing some bread and milk, and the blank card he put on an empty saucer. The dog was not allowed to eat until it brought the proper card to him. This experiment was repeated over and over again, and in about ten days the dog began to distinguish the card with the letters on it from the plain card. It took a longer time to make the dog realize the difference between different words.
In order to try and discover whether the dog could distinguish colours, he prepared six cards, marking two of them blue, two yellow, and two orange. He put one of each on the floor, and tried to get the dog to bring to him a card with the same colour as one which he showed the dog in his hand. After trying this for three months, he found that his experiment in this direction was a failure.
He had always felt a great longing to know how the world appeared to the lower animals. It was still a doubtful point whether ants were able to hear. From experiments which he had made, he had come to the conclusion they had not the power of addressing each other. His impression on the whole was, that bees and ants were not deaf, but that they heard sounds so shrill as to be beyond our hearing. There was no doubt about insects seeing. He then went on to relate several experiments he had made with the view of discovering whether different insects could distinguish different colours, and had any preference for particular colours. The colours of objects must present a very different impression upon insects to that on human beings. The world to them might be full of music which we could not hear, colours which we could not see, and sensations which we could not feel.
BEWARE OF THORNS.
A hand encased in leathern glove,
One pensive autumn day,
Gathered some pretty wayside flowers,
To make a bright bouquet.
With kind intent the flowers were culled,
To please a loved one's taste;
But ah! unconsciously, some thorns
Were with the blossoms placed.
The hand that grasped the welcome gift
Soon felt the piercing smart,
And pain dispelled the grateful smile
That rayed out from the heart.
Would we to spirits bowed and sad
Convey a transient joy?
Let not the lack of tender skill
Our kindly deed alloy.
E. D.