Show MEMORY IN ANIMALS they never forget the trap or gun that once injured Injure il chiem the proof that experience Is the guide of 0 life among the lower animals may be found vei deiy y low in the tile scale ot of animal organisms the razor shell or mollusk as soon as the tide retreats buries itself in the sand often to the depth of several feet the fishermen who hunt them use a long thin iron rod hooked at the end or they sprinkle a little salt in the hole to drive out its occupant this generally succeeds there is a movement in the sand and half halt the creature appears on the surface with a quick movement the fisherman tries to seize selz him if this fails the mollusk moll ask usk vanishes into its hole and all the blandish ments of the fishers art would tall fall to tempt him out a second time the mollusk has profited by experience similar conduct of animals which can not hotbo be regarded as other than the result of experience may be noted among the most diverse species A fox that has once been caught in a trap and fortunately regained his freedom will profit by the experience and beware of traps in future the same is true of many other animals and the birds also quail which have once been netted by th the allurements allure ments of the call if 1 they regain their freedom will never be allured by it again every hunter is familiar with the fact that it is much easier to outwit a young animal than an experienced one borlase tells a very interesting story of h how ow a lobster got tb the e better of an oyster the lobster several times inserted his claws in the halt half opened shell but the oyster always closed in time to save himself the lobster then seized a stone and inserted it quickly into the cautiously opened shell and devoured the oyster monkeys secure oysters by the same trick but there is nothing so remarkable in that as their intelligence is well known kirby tells of the bees that after repeated raids of the deaths head lead upon their store they build a sort of bulwark of wax about the hole of entrance to keep him out dages observed a fk spider which had seized a bee from behind and thus hindered 1 it from flying the stronger bee however r had bad its legs free and walked off with the spider r which tried to drag her into his den the struggle lasted some time when the spider lowered itself with its prey by a thread the bees legs were useless in midair and the spider clung to her until he had accomplished his full purpose pur pobe it is impossible to argue that these are exceptions which afford no proof of a general intellectual capacity of animals every such experience Is individual and from circumstances of its origin cannot extend to the species we must concede too that even among animals there are individuals divi duals much more highly gifted than the general run of the species innumerable instances are seen among horses dogs elephants and monkeys to deny the fact would be to deny the capacity of animals tor for further development the possibilities of such advance are of course limited but so also Is the possibility of human advance although the boundary line Is not yet in sight the higher animals are much more ready to meet exceptional exigencies than the lower both because their capacities are greater and because they have been more highly developed by a wide ango of experiences perien ces vienna stein der |