Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1910-11-22
INSECT INTELLIGENCE.

humorousy reviewed by the deina,
OF certain bee-owners OF Clark count
Washington. for the creation of Ii
office Of Inspector Of aplaries." f
the prevention OF the spread of b,
diseases.
This demand, declares the Int
Ocean. Is 10 the last degree unwis,
for by slight reference to the wotI
OF Maeterllnck and other famous az
mirrors of the bee. they may uulckl
learn that their fears MS To the exist
ence or spread of contagious disease
among the bees are groundless. Th
bees can be relied on to take care o
| themselves.
In fact" continues the Inter Ocean
1T Is simply incredible that these sa
gacious insects. the perfection o.
whose architectural and social ar
rangements is so well known, should
have neglected through all the ccntu.
ries to provide themselves with a suf-
ficlent corps OF medical and sanitary
officers"
The same paper thinks It may rea-
sonably be assumed after the perusal
of Mr.. Maeterlinck and Others. that
the bee was saved by its wonderful
instinct from this long travail and ex-
pertinent of finding out, as the human
race has had to do, that medical super
vision and sanitary precautions may
be Indispensable to their well-bcinC.
Thus:
IL the Washington beekeepers will
only put one eye to the bunghole or tho
beehive and look closely. they viii no
doubt observe n lot of bees running
about In u fussy sort of fashion. EVIL
IDENTIFY with something on their minds.
ana apparently determined to get
something done.
In other words, they will sec what
is probably highly organized system
OF bee medical inspection in full blast,
circulars, diagnoses, ex-
perts, lawsuits. prescriptions, SANTA
tlon. aHidaVits, elimination and recrim-
nation, daZed individuals, and so on
throughout the list OF symptoms. Or
u not these Identical symptoms, at
east the apiary equivalent for them"
If you don't believe ali this. read
Life of the Bcc-"the
most wonderful book ever written" in |
he opinion OF Mr.. Ebert Hubbard. |
md certainly a book filed with facts
old with fascination, romance ana
'onder that serve to justify the strc-
ures of our contemporary upon the
ssumed wonderful intelligence of tho
rec.
1t is much the same with ants. After
nading Lubbock, Pickham, and Nc
ook, the writer Is forced to conclude
nat there Is n sort of pervasivo in
directing the insect, but that
Indulgence does nor seem to reside
molly In the insect itself or to be sub
'ct. on the insect side alone, to rea
unable notifications for It's own sake,
From what these authors present, we
deed learn that the community life of
ion is much better as a working
lchine than the organized social life
the most civilized Of human societies.
the perfect republic of the ant world,
ch works for the general good. and is
ldy to sacrifice himself at any time
the good of all. Some have there
Q concluded that the intelligence of
IS must be very great, and Darwin
opposed that the brain of any OF these
aturos must be the most wonderful
IN OF matter in the world. But is
$ the necessary conclusion? Is it
N probably true? The best natural
seem now inclined to believe that
stupidity of ants Is more noticeable
n thor exhibitions OF apparent in
isence. and that the vast differences
to ant knowledge drawn from in
lctivc actions are ,inwarranted. Thus ;,
German writer Bethe declines to !
cvc than anything highly psychicul :,
yet been proved about the ants .
ley learn nothing" he says, "but act +,
financially in whatever they do, their
'plicatcd rei'exes being set off by
pie physiological stimuli" All that
really know about them Is thut thev
influenced by light q
ears before Bcthc had made his in II
r''l'S''S' .'"'h lN'lllr III MS ~
amp Abroad" had arrived ut con ~ ~
SONS somewhat similar. His IN M
able description OF the ways OF the CO
Is worth quoting in fun: tn
During many summers hnvc CO
ched NM, when | ought to havn va
III better business, and | hnv, m
YET come across IL living ant thut til
ieu 10 nave Any more sense than n aG
one. lilo goes M, - :" sic
ne makes u capture, and than M
! does he do? Go home? No; he an
anywhere but home IIc doesn't sli
Where home Is. His homo may W,
only three feet nway---i,o matter .,
ant ind II. He makes his capt,lre p'.
nave said: 1t Is generally some ~,
s winch can be no sort Of uso IN W
self or anybody else; It is usually ~.
u tincs bigger than It ought to s,n
no hunts ont the nwltwar,lcst nocc sa
IKE mold of 1t; he lifts 1t bodily into "a
h,r ny main force and starts. nor do,
ru nome but In the opposite dI- yer
on, not calmly and wisely, but with nm,
auto haste which ia wastcrul OF mo
.trcngth; he fctchcs up against n par
lie, and instead Of going around II boil
iinbs over 1t backwards dragging
coty after him: tumbles down on
timer side, jumps IN In a passion -
the dust Off his clothes, moistons
'ands, grabs his property yicio,lsIy n,
II THIS way. then that, shoyes II ticn