The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-11-08
are only set going when the driving

are only set going when the driving
wheel begins TO revolve."
NJ. Fabre's study of the homing In
stinct in insects led him into some in
teresting observations of red ants on
! the march. The first thing to be noted
Is that the returning expedition follows
with rigid exactness the course of its
outward path. The popular theory is
that the ants are guided by smell. To
test IL the scientist first tried to OBJ
lterate a section of the trail by sweep
ing away the surface dust. Arrived at
the hiatus the ants hesltated, scattered
ilttle then resumed their progress,
some traversing the erased area. some
going around Il. Possibly the latter
were guided by tho scent OF the trail
retained in the dust at the edges OF the
! broomed area: but later experiments are
more drastic and leave less room for
| sccpticism.
At one time fresh mint leaves are
/ rubbed over the track, which surely
| ought to neutralize completely any lin
| goring formic scent; again. the trail is
washed across with a stream from the
garden hose. Always the ant army Is
| greatly disconnected. but always the
| ants surpass the obstacle and beyond II
rctrace exactly tho route Of their ana
! basis. Again. a sheet OF paper Is laid
across the trail, altering completely the
! topography without interfering with
! guiding scent that might be attached 20
I the soil. again the column is discon-
! certed but not checked. a strip or yell
! low sand sprinkled across tho dirt OPP
! crates IN exactly The same way and NJ
I Fahre concludes from these and other
narrated experiments that the ants
/ travel with no guiding sense but that OF
/ sight.
/ In considering tho theory Of parasit-
4 ism VI Fahre makes Of his observations
/ matter for most spirited protest
/ against accepted evolutionary views.
! The idea OF protective colorlng" he
/ scorns: "mimesis" is an invention OF
/ maN not performance Of nature. II
/ the lark IS earth colored as a safeguard
/ against birds Of prey, why is the white
wagtau. which also feeds in the burrows,
/ conspicuously dressed? And why IL the
1 lizard OF Provence which "shuns YER
dure" and lives on naked rocks in tho
sunlight. az green as the common
/ lizard?
The paraste is more or less phv-i-
cally altered descendant of ar individual
~ the species az whose expense Il lives,
with Inherited p'ratical tendencies:
Thus speak the -volu'ioris,- .
! Rightly or wrongly, my turn ~ mind does
no, hold minutie 81 structure In great
! favor; a Joint ~ IN. pa'pi leaves me- ra'he-
| cold 'ut' ~ brls''es does no. appear 20
/ m. as an unanswerah's argument
We hays quite enough ~ those geological
| hr-i'niities. man. the son % the ape; duty.
/ = foolish prejudice, conscience. lure for
! the simple genius. n-u-osis; patriotism.
| lingo heroirs. the soul, a product OF proto-
rlasr,ic energies; God. a puerilc myth. Let
/ vs. raise the war vhoop ami 60 out to-
! scalps. va are here only - devour ono an
| other. the summUm bonum I. tho chicago
packers dollar chest Enough. quite enough
%, that. without having '-ansfo-mi-m next,
TO break down IN. social law ~ work
The parasite leads lahor.ou. life
harder than that OF the first worker:
A c--'ain stels Ia parasite of tn
ehalicodona OF me walls when the
mason bss has finished building her pshh's
th- parasite appear. makes a long insp-c-
ton OF the outside Of tho hom- and pro
poses puuy sh- is. 20 Introduce her egg
into this cement fortress The
parasite plucliy sets to- the idl.r becomes
/. rlutton for work u IL SLOW
and rain,ul process. IN witch tn. t.sbl,
.,-li- wears herself out II isGon'
a, last Tho s,elis slips through and lay
her Eggs The parasite must wal
M the breach which sh- has contrived
Tn. quondsm houseb-eak.r becomes
builder.
But where the chalicodoma built gray
tho s,elis uses a red soil, better adapted
to her moulding powers. Where little
red spot appears on the side OF the
mason hcc's nest tho visit Of Stelt'
stands recorded.
NJ. Fabres conclusion OF tho whole
matter OF parasitism Is that the pirate
IL as old species ana as naturally jus
titled a creature as the one II prey
upon ono wav or the other. II IL nj
b theory: hut the French savant's theo
rlcs are propouudcd. as his observations
are reported. with an e'ament ~ tn
dramatic strange and new IN science
1t is moro likah'e in his chronicle Of IN
sect life than in the enti-evolutionis
propaganda.