Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1913-07-22
TRAINING BEETLES
The Wonderful Work Of Russian
Student.


Student.
At 2 o'clock in the afternoon Of
March 13, 1881, the Tsar Alexander Of
Russia was blown to pieces in street
in st. Petersburg by a bomb thrown
by Nihilist.
At once the police proceeded to ar
rest everybody and anybody whom
they suspected of completely in the
outrage, the innocent sharing the same
fate as the guilty. Amongst hundreds
of others, there was seized young
student named Lozshki.
He was soon released, for as mat
ter of fact he was guiltless of any par
ticipation in the revolutionary move
ment. But during the weeks he lay in
his lonely cell, he made friends with
the beetles which infested 1t, feeding
them with his scanty prison rations.
To his surprise. they quickly learned
to come at his call, to obey his voice,
even to perform simple little tricks
at his bidding. After he came out Of
gaol he turned his attention to train
ing these highly intelligent insects,
experimenting with different kinds,
and eventually choosing the large and
exceedingly strong stag beetle as be-
ing the kind best adapted for his pur-
pose. :.
Lozshki bred his beetles as poultry
keepers breed chickens or dog-fanciers
dogs, carefully selecting the strains,
eliminating the unfit, pairing the most
clever. The life of beetle Is short.
This helped him greatly. The beetles
he is experimenting with today rep
resent the four hundred and fifty-third
generation in the direct line Of descent
from the original ones he started to
teach in 1881. 1t would have taken at
least 5000 years, starting, say, with
Adam, to have evolved in a similar
manner special strain Of men and
women. 81
He has taught his beetles to do all
sorts of human-like things, including
dancing. soldering, fencing, and play
acting. Each succeeding generation
proved cleverer and more adaptable
than the one that had gone before.
At the beginning young Lozshkl's
aim was a scientific one solely. He
wanted to prove that in insects, as in
the higher animals, acquired charac-
teristics are transmitted that is to
say, that effects produced in one gen.
Grafton through education, and so
forth, reappear in succeeding genera
tions.
In this he succeeded. A twentieth
century statesman or philosopher does
not differ more widely in mental pow
er and understanding from the ape
like man of the prestone age. than do
Lozshkfs trained beetles from the or
binary members of their tribe.
With the advent of the cinemato-
graph, the still youthful experimental
ist was able to magnify the various
poses and movements of his beetles,
and study them at leisure and more
closely. From this to filming drama
in which beetles should take the place
of human beings as actors and ac-
tresses was but step.
Taking advantage Of the stag bee
ties natural pugnacity-he cloves a
row" as dearly as does the typical
Irishman-Lozshki marshalled them
in regiments like soldiers, dressed
them in uniforms, and marched them
forth to battle against one another.
The effect as seen on the screen, is
most weird and wonderful. .
The rival beetle armies march and
countermarch in the most perfectly
natural manner, with drums beating
and banners flying. The subtitle Of
the film now showing in England Is
Drama Of the Middle Ages" and
the beetles are seen armed with spear
and battle-axes, and dragging can
mons and battering-rams to the as
sault of a typical medieval castle.
Scaling ladders are erected, and q
fierce struggle Is waged between the
besiegers and the besieged, both sides
losing heavily. Eventually the attack
ing party proves victorious, ana the
remnant of the defenders retire stub
bornly contesting every inch Of the
way, to the lowermost part Of the
keep, where. disdaining to surrender,
they set fire to the reserve Of gunpow-
der and blow up the castle.
The histrionic ability shown by many
of the principals is really almost un-
canny. They fence, fight, make love,
and crave mercy with all the skill Of
human actors. The movements Of
their horns and the attitudes they
adopt, convey as clearly as human be-
ings their thoughts and feelings. Fear,
anger, craftiness, and courage, are all
displayed by gestures which no one
can mistake.
A second Lozshki film, in which, be-
sides beetles, a dragon-fly and q dad
dy-long-legs take prominent parts, is
now being shown privately in London.
and will be released for public exhibi-
ton shortly. 1t is called "The Beetles
beCeptlOI, anu 10, III clleCl, q lOVe-
drama played by insects instead Of
human beings.
Each Of these films has taken about
year to produce, the insects having
to be constantly rehearsed, and each
single movement separately photo
graphed. Incidentally, it was found
that the grasshoppers were far harder
to train than the beetles, the little fell
low who takes so prominent a part in
THE Deception" being the pick of
over two hundred of his kind.
Music entered largely into his train
ing, the grasshopper tribe being acute
ly sensitive to melodious sounds. In
deed, one Of them danced so wildly
and fiercely when he heard the strains
of "Everybodys Doing 1t" played on a
flute, that he ultimately fell dead from
haustion.-Pearson's Weekly.