The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1888-03-15
THE SENSES OE ANIMALS.
SIR JOHN LUBBoCKS S BLACK POODLE
"VAN."--BREs' sENSIBILITY TO SOUND.

| Sir John Lubbock recently delivered
| lecture to the members of the Edinburgh
Philosophical institute on "rhe Sense
and Senses of Animals" IN tue course of
which he said that there had been so
many important recent works published
relating TO his subjects that he Thought
| 1t would be more interesting were he to
| deal, for the most part, with his own
| observations. Different ideas prevailed
regarding the question of the intelligence
of animals. Some people regarded a dog
| as an animal almost as wise and clever as
themselves; but, on asking them if they
thought a dog could realize that two and
two made four, he generally found a
good deal of doubt on that point.
Sir John Lubbock then described the
system which he had adopted IL the
training of his own black poodle dog,
"Vsn." He had placed two pieces of
cardboard, on one of which was printed
in large letters the word ''food," the
other being blank, on two. saucers. In
one of the saucers was food, and the card
with the word upon it. In the other,
the blank card and no food. In about
ten days the dog began to distinguish
the card With the letters from the plain
card, and wonld go at once TO the print
ed one. The lecturer then related in
some detail his successful efforts ia in
ducing the dog to bring him the proper
card when he wanted food, in teaching
him to know other cards containing the
words ''out," "tea, ''bone, s'water."
| On bringing the cara marked "out" be
would rush to the door. The cards were
not put in the same places, but in differ
ent positions; and In order that the dog
might not be guided by scent, other
cards with the same markings were used.
No one who saw him look down the
row of cards, and pick out the one want
ed, could doubt that he sought a parti
cular object. He had found, at the eud
of three months experiments, thai he
could NOT get the dog to realize the DIFF
ference of colors, and it was Just possible
that the dog might be color blind. He
had also failed to get the dog to distin-
guish among one, two, three, or four
broad bands upon the cards. In order
to ascertain if bees were sensible to
SOUNDS, he had placed some honey on
musical box on his lawn. The box play
ed for ten days without stopping, and
then he removed it to a window Sill on
the first floor OF his house. Not q bee
came TO it. He again placed it on the
lawn, and they again returned to the
honey. He next brought it into the
| drawing room on the ground floor, about
ten yards from its former position, but
they did not follow; but on his bringing
two or three bees into the house and put
ting them on the honey, they began to
feed, and, flying off, returned with their
companions. It seemed as if they did
not hear the tune.
Regarding the old idea that bees would
not swarm unless they were tangled"
by creation of sounds, be was under the
impression that it was the "over tones"
| which the insects heard, and which were
| inaudib Bile to our cara. The sounds were
so low as to be beyond our range of hear
| ing. Man, he said, had five senses, and
fancied that no others were possible; but
it was obvious that we could not measure
the Infinite by our narrow limitations.
Even within the penetration of our own
senses there might be endless sounds
which we could not hear, and colors OF
which we have no conception. There
was also the other question still remain
ing for solution, that the familiar world
which surrounded Us might be differ
ent place altogether for other animals, in
which there Was music we conld not
hear, colors We could not see, and sensa-
tions which we could not conceive. The
pursuit of such studies gave a clew to
senses and perceptions of which we had
no ception.-Mechanica World.