The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1892-09-15
ANIMALS HAVE GOOD MEMORIES.
They Never Forget the Trap or GUN That
Once Injured Them.

The proof that experience is the
guide of life among the lower animals
NAV be found very low in the scale OF
animal organisms. The razor shell.
or mollusk, as soon as the tide retreats
buries itself in the sand. often to the
depth of several feet The fishermen
who hunt them use long. thin iron
rod hooked at the end, or they
sprinkle little salt in the hole TO
drive out its occupant. This gener-
allv succeeds; there is movement in
the sand, and half the creature APP
pears on the surface. With quick
movement the fisherman tries to seize
him; if he fails the mollusk vanishes
into its hole, and all the Establishments
of the fishers art would fail to tempt
him out a second time-the nhollusk
has profited by experience.
Similar conduct OF animals which
cannot be regarded as other than the
result of experience may be noted
among the most diverse species.
A fox that has once been caught in
trap and fortunately regained his
freedom will profit by the experience
and beware of traps in future; the
same is true of many other animals,
and the birds also. Quail which have
once been melted by the allurements
of the call" if they regain their free
dom will never be allured by it again.
Every hunter is familiar with the fact
that it is much easier to outwit a
young animal than an experienced
| one.
| Bortase tells very interesting story
of how lobster got the better OF an
oyster. The lobster several times in
serted his claws in the half-opened
she'll, but the oyster always closed in
time to save himself. The lobster
| then seized stone and inserted it
quickly into the cautiously opened
| shell and devoured the oyster. Mon
keys secure oysters by the same trick,
but there is nothing so remarkable in
that, as their intelligence is well
known. Kirby tells of the bees that
after repeated raids of the deaths
head" upon their store they build a
sort of bulwark of wax about the hole
of entrance to keep him out. Duges
observed spider which had seized a
bee from behind, and thus hindered il
from flying. The stronger bee, how,
ever, had its legs free. and walked of
with the spider, which tried to drag
her into his den. The struggle LASTED
some time, when the. spider lowered
itself with its prey by a thread. The
bees legs were useless in mid air, ano
the spider chung to her until he had
accomplished his full purpose.
1t is impossible to argue that these
are exceptions which afford no proof
of general intellectual capacity o.
animals Every such experience is in
dividual, and from circumstances Of
its origin cannot extend to the species
We must concede, too, that even among
animals there are individuals mucl
more highly gifted than the genera
run of the species. Innumerable in
stances are seen among horses, dogs
elephants and monkeys. To deny thu
fact would be to deny the capacity o
animals for further development. Thu
possibilities of such advance are, o
course, limited, but so, also, is thu
possibility of human advance, although
the boundary line is not yet in sight
The higher animals are much more
ready to meet exceptional exigencie
than the lower, both because thei
capacities are greater and becaus
they have been more highly developed
, by wide range of experiences
Vienna Stein der UetSen.