Jasper County Democrat, Volume 4, Number 41, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 January 1902 — Have Animals Reason? [ARTICLE]

Have Animals Reason?

“Have animals reason?” was one of the questions raised by Lord Avebury In an Interesting address given recently at the London institution, and certainly it seems hard to deny to the intelligent poodle Dan, with whom Lord Avebury experimented, some glimmerings of the faculty which is said to separate men from brutes. Dan was able after a time to distinguish between the number of cards Inscribed with such suggestive words as “Food,” "Tea,” “Water,” and when he required anything to bring the right card. Lord Avebury thought it was hardly possible to study closely communities of ants without allowing that they were possessed of reasoning powers In some degree and even of moral feeling. On the other hand, says the London Chronicle, the processional caterpillar appears to be an Insect of a very low order of Intelligence. Processional caterpillars when out for an expedition weave a thread, by means of which they find their way back, and a small party was lured by an ingenious scientist up a flowerpot and round the top. He then cleared away the ascending thread and for eight days did those caterpillars walk round and round the top of the flowerpot, following the circular thread which remained, until they dropped off from fatigue and exhaustion.