The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1882-10-18
Wednesday, October Is, 1882
THE SENSES OF ANTS.

That ants can talk with each other in any
proper sense of the term seems improbable.
1t would seem, for example, that one ant has
no power to tell another where q store of
food is to be found; she may take her friends
to the place, or they may find their way by
the smell of her track, but that is about all.
Their sense of smell is very powerful, and nc
doubt it is by this they mainly recognize
their friends, the d Aliens of the same nest.
Sir John lubbock made many crucial ex-
periments on this point, experiments that
cannot leave shadow of doubt as to the
power the ants have OF distinguishing be-
tween friends and strangers and with them
every stranger is an enemy, at whom their
first impulse is to "'eave arr a brick" The
evidence that ants have sense of hearing Is
by no means satisfactory if they have, il
must be very different from that of ours,
though Sir John seems inclined to believe
that they may be able to perceive sounds
below or above the reach of the human
organ.
That this is the case with their sights there
can be no doubt from the beautiful expert
ments which Sir John has carried out. That
they can see the colors beyond the violet end
of the spectrum, colors which human beings
have never seen, but which we know to exist
from their chemical action, he has clearly
proved. Every one knows how exquisite is
the structure of an insects eye; ants at least
seem to have double optical system, the
ocellus, sort of cyclopean eye in the centre
Of the head, and the multiple eyes on each
side, some of which have a thousand facets.
What the special function of each set is we
cannot say; but that the world as seen
through the eyes of an ant presents very
different aspect from that which it does to
the simple binocular of man, Sir Johns ex-
periments have made very clear. Socially
and economically there are many differences
between various kinds of ants as there are
between different races of men. Sir John
believes he has detected the degrading inhu-
ence of slavery among those ants addicted tt
what we call the inhuman practice. In SOME
cases the slavers are so degraded us TO be
utterly helpless and entirely dependent for
everything on their so-called slaves, but
really their masters they cannot even move
without being carried. Others again, which
probably have only recently begun the de-
grading practice, are not SO degenerate, and
really themselves work as well as their slaves.
Among ants as among men, there would
seem TO be different stages of civilization
there seems to be three principal types
offering curious analogy to the three great
rhases-the hunting, pastoral and agricul
tural stages-in the history of human deyel
opment" So among the same community
there seem to be great differences of social
morality; among ants as among men there
are priests, Leyites and good Samaritans
though ii must be said that ants are far more
attentive to the sick aud wounded than bees,
who rather suffer from Sir Johns inyestiga.
tiops.
We are compelled from the circumscribed
range of our experience to refer to the doings
of these tiny creatures in terms of our own
organization. There is thus an anthropo-
morphism downward rs well as upward, and
both are probably wide of the reality
though after all, unless our senses and our
reasoning powers are entirely misleading, we
cannot but ascribe to our humble relations,
with whom Sir John Lubbock has made ne
so we'll acquainted, some little share of thai
faculty which has enabled MS to build our
fleets, rear our cathedrals and subdne the
most potent force OF nature to our service.
When we consider the habits OF ants, their
social organization, their large communities
and elaborate habitations; their roadways,
their possession of domestic animals and
sven, in some cases, of slaves, it must be adj
mitted that they have fair claim to rank
next to man in the scale OF intelligence
London Times