Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1873-12-09
#iseellaueoias
From Chambers' Journal.l
INGENUITY OF ANIMALS.

1
in village in Ayrshire was much crowd
ed with visitors. Among the animals was
a brown bear. not shut up in a cage, but
fastened by chain in corner of the area,
which was fenced off by slight rail, that
people might not go too near him. A wo-
man who was there with a basket, selling
gingerbread, however, went SO near, that
Bruin, putting forth his huge paw, clutch
ed the basket, which he quickly drew from
her hand, emptying most of its contents
upon the ground within the space allotted
to himself. She began to make some at.
tempt to recover her gingerbread, but the
animal, Offering no violent resistance, quiz
etly lay down upon it, and then proceeded
to draw it forth piece by piece, and to eat
it at his leisure. Something of reason was
surely displayed by the bear, in adopting
his method to secure possession Of the
gingerbread.
Cats are quite clever in the act of OPEN
ing latches when it suits their purpose. A
family in one of the northern outskirts of
London were good deal annoyed with
the frequent robbery of their larder,
small Clubhouse behind their dwelling.
| Legs of lamb and other articles were de-
voured or carried of, and no one could tell
how. The theft was mystery. One Of
the servants determined to discover the
delinquent. She accordingly watched and
one night found that the thieves were q set
Of cats belonging to the neighborhood.
The larder had latch which had to be
pressed down in opening the door. No
cat could properly press it down by spring
ing from the ground. There was, howev-
er, an adjoining wall, from which cats
might leap and risk the depression of the
latch as they successfully passed. This
was what they did: they leaped from the
wall one after another, each trying to de-
press the latch as it passed, until one cat
more fortunate than the others made the
needful depression with its paw. The
door Immediately was opened, and leg
of mutton which had been the object Of
seige, was secured and eaten all but the
bones. Was there not much sagaci0us
planning in this piece of robbery by cats !?
We think there was-almost as much as
we see demonstrated in some of the mean
er departments of the human species.
The incident took place lately. 1.t l.s4.
Many instances have been recorded of
the display of intelligence by rats, to
which we beg leave to add the following:
A farmers wife in the west of Scotland
remarked that the cream on the surface
of the milk in her dairy was often inter-
fered with. At first she suspected that
some of her children had taken the un-
warrantahle liberty Of dipping pieces OF
bread in it, but she could find nothing TO
confirm this suspicion and by-and-by She
noticed strange little streaks of cream on
the edges of the milk basins, as if string
had been dipped in and drawn out, so a.
to leave mark. At last she discovered
the secret. The cream was stolen by rats,
which got upon the edges of the earth
ware basins containing The milk, and not
being able to reach down to it, depth of
several inches, nor daring to attempt to go
down, as they could never have climbed
up the smooth surface again, dipped in the
tips of their long tails, drew them up
loaded with the rich cream, and licked
them. An arrangements of the basins,
such that the rats could not get upon the
edges of them, put an end to all further
depredations of this kind. There was
surely something more than instinct in
this case in the procedure of the rats.
We have something still to tell regard
ing the ingenuity of rats. family in a
country-house in Hertfordshre had fancy
for rearing ducks, but could not wei. do
so on account OF rats, which systemat-
ically got hold OF and carried away the
young ducklings, even from close to their
mother. With Il view to circumvent the
rats, the maternal duck and her young
were housed for the night under coop,
which admitted of no opening for the
iurtive intruders. The rats were not to
be SO easily cheated of their prey. On
discovering that the mother-duck and her
family were closely shrouded from in
trusion. they devised pretty plan OF en-
gineerng, which was eminently success
iul. In the course OF single night they
excavated tunnel, going below the
outer edge of the coop to its interior, and
thus very neatly. without producing any
alarm, stole every duckling from under
the guardianship of the mother.
Two rats belonging to the same colony
performed a feat quite as ingenious. A
trap which was baited tor their capture.
was habitually plundered without securing
a single rat. They had evidently invented
some plan for safely stealing away the bait,
what the plan was could only be learned
by setting watch on the trap. We shall
explain how the theft was effected, The
trap was of the kind which is sometimes
employed for catching mice. 1t was a
box with sliding door, which was sus.
tanned by mechanism connected with the
| Udlt. Ou tuc udtt ociuS uiooiSu "es suS
door descends and makes the mouse pris-
oner. The two rats saw through the de-
vice, and resorted to the following very
simple but etfectual method to take away
the bait, which was piece OF toasted
cheese, and yet escape imprisonment.
One of them placed itself under the door
so that it might fall on its back, while the
other crept in and successfully carried of
the morsel of cheese. The first rat then
drew itself from under the door, and Joined
its companion. This demonstration OF ra,
intelligence. like the preceding incident.
is OF recent occurrence.
Our next anecdote relates to an animal
Of very different kind. magpie.
Amongst the poultry ut country-house in
Rentrewshire was turkeyshen. that pre-
terred, as turkeys often do. to make hei
nest among bushes on the side OF burn,
some three hundred yards from the house.
rather than in the clubhouse appropriated
10 the poultry. A magpie chancing to be
perched one day on neighboring tree.
saw the turkey visit her nest and bounced