The evening world., 1893-07-03
KEEN SENSE OF DIRECTION.
Animals That Seem to Possess Il
in a Wonderful Degree.
Dogs Find Their Way Home Under
Adverse Conditions.


domestic animals can find its way home
from a distance of many miles even
after the lapse of some time. This fac
ulty is perhaps oftenest seen in the
dog, the horse and the cat but Is known
to be almost or quite as fully developed
in the Ok. says the Youths Companion.
The faculty has been supposed by some
naturalists to depend upon sixth
sense. Independent of sight or smell.
Such a theory involves an organ of
sense by which the needed observations
may be carried to the brain, an organ
which must be distinct from eye, ear
and nostril. Psychologists have not as
yet found any such organ in the consti-
tuition Of any animal. nor have they
found any nerves different from those
which belong to our own nervous sys-
tenn. This is almost conclusive evil
dence that animals possess no sense DIFF.
ferent from ours.
II we watch the conduct OF a dos
when he Is thrown upon his own re-
sources to ind his way home we will
see that he has made good use Of his
five senses up to this time, and that he
purposes to make good use of them in
the immediate future 1t Is always as
sumed that the dog has not slept dur.
ing the time that he has been carried
from home. II he were to sleep hs
would lose all clue, whether he had a
sixth sense or not. for in sleep all the
senses are equally dormant.
The case has been submitted OF dos
taken by rail distance Of 200 miles
in a circuitous course. and set down
fifty miles from home. He disappears
and the next day Is at his old haunts.
He could not have followed the rail
by which he came. for this would take
him a longer time. He must have
struck across country.
The question Is: Did he take a direct
line for home, or did he shape his gen.
eral course 80 as to come out upon some
familiar spot, miles. 1t may pc from
latter is most frequently the case.
Suppose that in the dogs absence tne
old home has been burned down and hia
to the right or left, but are at the same
distance from the point at which ne
was set down. He will go back 10 ths
old spot, and there will TRACE a the ram an
He has no sense to inform him OF tnt
chan, ed position of the family OF o.
anything more than would De @ @kn0wn
to q man under the same c'reu"''
RuI the case is made clearer by sup.
posing that the dogs master mas iei.
home. gun In hand, while rha bne man uus poes
Straieht to the woods. but, after gettina
out Of sight, makes turn SO as 70
bring him to the opposite 9p ,st sae loose M +.
takes to the woods at the point whers hrs
he saw his master enter, From there
he trusts to his eyes and nose keep
"i Il the dog had a special sense oi o.
direction he would not so easily %
thrown OFF the pursuit OF teer OF .
fox by the animal nlHsi aaK,ns that m has beer
MADE the prey Of dogs has learned tt
baftie % pursuit by deceiving the sight 1,,ro, Q,
scent Of Its neen iHeiy to G ind out be-
fore this time If the dSg sss had ,ssy say sps ses
cial sense, and we should see 'heA' "''
ing upon the knowieage' md nernlex,ns
cases are those in which animals thai tina,
have been taken some distance IRON
home in closed tSout saSss hays dcyty UT '1 Th
shows a highly developed sensitiVenes'
This faculty Of perception re- deHs,nneS Is %" anS
mah, trained. oOt There are persons who sleeI
best with the head towards the the norts or
Let such a person when travelilns on
seeDn.Ebsar .be eoarse maSe Il the R tTain is going
Il
as soon as he wakes from sleep in tht
| night, and he will find himself rapidly
| gaining new power to determine oirec'
parwins experiment is an interesting
one. He put some bees in dark paper
boxes and carried them by a circuitoui
route a distance from the hive. Wher
| they were set free they all returned In
a straight line to their home.
Again he took them over a similar
route, but on the way he spun the
boxes rapidly round. This time onl,
| one or two bees reached the hive, ant
perhaps these got back only by acci'
dent. While spinning around in the
boxes they lost perception Of the dtrec'
ton in which they were being carried
| 1t is often observed that when dos
returns home by a way which he mus
| have made out with care and on hii
| own account he at once throws himself
upon the floor or the ground and sleepi
soundiy for time. This Is apt to b.
referred to physical exhaustion, but It II
more likely to be due to the fact tina,
| the animal has kept his faculties all or
| the alert, and has quickened his percep.
tions to their difficult task. All our do.
| mestic animals show wonderful power
OF application when their faculties are
bent to the accomplishment Of some
| cherished design.