Virginian-pilot. (Norfolk, Va.) 1898-1911, 1899-01-15
ANIMALS AT SCHOOL,
The Young Taught How to Get a
Living.
Birds laugh TO Fly Bears Tako Great
Pains with Their OnspriuG-Lious
Prncsicing sxGymua>tics = Ants
Trained For Various Duties.

Like man, animals. especially those
of the higher orders, are born wiki Il
latent, inherent education, the effects
of which are manifested in the course
of individual development. says the
Popular Science Monthly. Our organs.
built up during the evolution of the
various specific types, act of them
selves. each in MS own way. They have
tteir own memory. The digestive, cir
culatory and respitory organs, the
senses. etc, discharge their functions
spontaneously and without waiting for
lessons from any master. The young
animal left 10 its own impulses usual
ly comes very soon to take care OF it
self in the great world, to avoid its
enemies and find food and n comfort
able bed. Except species that live in
larger or smaller societies, parents
drive away their young as soon as they
have arrived at stage in which they
can take care of themselves. This fact
is easily observable in birds, even when
they are domesticated. The solicitious
care of turtle doves for their young
gives way to peckinS and wing strik
ing as soon as the latter are developed.
Eagles drive their grownup young
from the nest, and even from the neigh
borhood. Some other species take care
for the future of their offspring, and
before sending them away teacn them
to fly or swim or hunt or fish. bureau
de III Male saw falcons, high up III the
air. drop dead mice and swallows i'll
order To teach their young 10 spring
upon their prey when i'll rapid flight,
and to estimate distances, and when
the little hawklcts were somewhat lars
lf,-tt, .f
dead game. American crested ducks
teach their young to find seeds and to
snap n flies and aquatic insects.
EXERCISE GREAT CARE.
1t is generally the female that eXer-
cises this care for her offspring, while
the male concerns himself little about
the matter. The female wild duck leads
her brood to the water, and takes care
to choose places of no very great depth
| for this first lesson, and trains the lit
tie ones to hunt flies, mosquitoes and
beetles The female of the elder duck
gently carries her ducklings one by one
i'll her beak, escorts them to the deep
water and teaches them to dive for
fish. When they are tired she gldes
under them, takes them on her back and
carefully carries them to the shore.
1t is undoubtedly very largely by vir-
tue of instinct and ancestral education
that birds swim or fly, and the mother
has only to invite them 10 the act by
her example; but. for IA more complete
training. the lessons are very useful
| If not necessary. These lessons given
by the parent birds to their young are
the more impressive because birds have
vocal language, developed to IL GER
! tain extent, and the example is cnforceS
| BY admonitionS, announcements, re-
! Droaches and appeals. calculated to
stimulate the natural tendency to imi-
I a
language, too, is taught; the individuals
collect every morning and evening in
chattering groups, and the young. en-
1oyinS the benefit of a social conVersa-
ton, easily learn 20 sing and chatter
singing birds sometimes, too, give one
another lessons without thinking of IL.
Some birds sing badly when they have
grown up alone, without the fellowship
of companions of their species: others
readily learn the songs of strange
species. and even of man. bureau de la
Male taught startling to whistle the
! Marseillaise. and the bird in turn
Taught its fellowstarlings of the neigh
porhood. These abnormal acquisitions,
however. have not the tixity of heredi-
tary instincts, and are easily forgotten
unless constant care is exercised to pre-
serve them-beng. in this respect. very
much like what is learned in the schools
for the examinations.
! EDUCATION AMONG MAMMALS.
| Numerous facts similar to those we
have cited have been collected by nat
uralists, travellers and observers con-
corning education among mammals
! rrutfrrr -tr-,rf-, fur cxsrrrrrtc--t-rles
! great pains in the training of her
| CUBS: she teaches them to walk. climb
ana eat. and inliictS punishment in the
shape of cuffs and bites to insure sue
cess: and the cubs never resist, even
Ii they are larger and stronger than
their mother. \ female elephant has
been seen giving swimming lessons to
her calf. and correcting it when il
hiundered. Working animals instruct
their young by associating them in
their labors. y female beaver has been
observed to cut down Il willow, gnaw
the bark and trim off the branches
while her young initiated her and final
ly helped her to carry Il limb to the
water.
LIONS EMBARRASSING.
When lions were still numerous and
easily observed in Southern Africa.
they were sometimes seen instructive
one another in voluntary gymnastics,
and practicing their leaps. making n
bush play the part of the absent game.
Moffat tells the story of lion. which
had missed zebra by miscalculatinc
the distance. repeating the jump seve-
raj times for his own instruction: two
Of his comrades coming upon him while
he was engaged in the exercise he led
them around the rock to show them
how matters stood. and then. returning
to the starting point completed the
lesson by making a final leap. The ami
mails kept roaring during the whole of
the curious scene, talking together"
as the native who watched them said