North Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1867-current, 1870-05-11
Instincts of Animals,

Instincts Of Animals.
The Captain OF trading vessel, who
now resides at Brighton, picked up, lately
dog at sea, more than twenty miles from
land. This circumstance may throw
some light en- the fact of dogs, which
have been sent to France or Ireland, from
England, finding their way back. The
present Earl CT e sent some drafted
hounds from his kennels in Cumberland
to Ireland, where they were safely received
and receiptcd for. Three weeks afterward
two of these hounds made their appear.
ance at Lord LIS kennel, though in very
exhausted condition. A gentleman also
me that a pointer dog, which had been
left at Calias, made its way over to Eng.
land. But the most amusing fact of this
kind, that know of, is one that was re-
lated to me by a gentleman, on whose YER.
acity ! can place most implicit reliance
and though it may appear to some of my
readers to border upon the marvellous,
think it too entertaining to withhold it.
He informed me that friend of his, an
o,hcer in the Forty-fourth Regiment, who
had occasion, when in Paris, to pass one
of the bridges across the Seine, had his
boots, which were previously well polished,
dirtied by poodle dog rubbing against
them. He, in consequence, went to a
man who was stationed on the bridge, and
had them cleaned. The same circumstance
having occurred more than once, his cur>
iosity was excited, and he watched the
dog. He saw him roll himself in the
mud Of the river, and then watch for per.
son with well>polished boots, against which
he contrived to rub. Finding the shoes
black was the owner of the dog, he taxed
him with the artifce; and after little
hesitation, he confessed that he had taught
the dog the trick, in order to procure Gus.
toners for himself. The officer being
much struck with the dogs sagacity, pur-
chased him at a high price, and brought
him to England. He kept him tied up in
London for some time, and then released
him. The dog remained with him day
or two and then made his escape. A
fortnight afterward he was found with his
former master, pursuing his old trade at
the bridge.
A favorite cat belonging to noLleman,
and who had been conveyed to his country
seat, more than hundred miles from
London, found her way back to his house
in town. Nothing can be more extraor-
binary than the way bees find their way
back to their hive. Place it among huns
dreds Of others, exactly similar in out>
ward appearance, or at the top Of house
in London, or conceal it in the thickest
wood, and the bee will regain it without
the slightest apparent difficulty. Huber
says they fly to it with extreme rapidity,
as straight as a ball from a musket.
Nothing can show more forcibly, the won
derful instinct which has been given to
these insects. If they experienced any
difficulty in finding their homes, how
much time would be lost, and how made
quate would all their labors and industry
be, to furnish sufficient store of honey
to exist upon during the winter. have
always observed that when a fresh hive
has been brought to my garden, from q
distant place, the bees employ themselves,
on first Having it, not in collecting honey,
but in making themselves acquainted with
all the neighboring objects, and those OBJ
objects may possibly serve to guide them
to their respective homes. Some natur-
alists are OF the opinion that this recogni-
ton Of home animals, is the result of
memory. Perhaps in some instances it is
so, but memory could not have guided
poor Valiante over tive hundred miles of
country, which he had never passed be.
fore and the same unexplained instinct
which brought him back to his stable at
Gibraltar, may guide the bee to his hive.
This instructive sagacity appears in
some animals to whom we should have
been less disposed to attribute it. Some
pigs which had been brought in sack,
fifteen miles through an American wood,
by the next morning, found their way
back, from their new to their old home.
l have also been assured that WEIGH sheep
have been known to find their way back
from the neighborhood OF London, to
their native mountains. 1t is no uncom>
mon thing for dogs who have been taken
o great distance in carriages, to make
their way home again, and that in a very
short time. A gentleman took q pointer
in his carriage, to some shooting ground
in Scotland, more than hundred miles
from his house. Upon receiving some
from his master, he left him,
and made his way back to his kennel.
A friend of mine had poodle dog
possessed of more than ordinary sagacity,
but very little under command. To keep
in better order, his master purchased a
small whip, with which he corrected once
Or twice during walk. On his return,
the whip was put on the table in the hall,
and the next morning it was missing. It
was soon afterward found concealed in an
put building and, and again made use of
10 correcting the dog. It was again lost,
and again found hidden in another place.
On watching the dog, who was suspected
IF being the culprit, he was seeu to take
the whip from the hall table, and make off
with it to another hiding-place.