Rensselaer Journal, Volume 11, Number 22, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 November 1901 — Studying Memory of Frogs and Turtles. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Studying Memory of Frogs and Turtles.

Among recent lines of study in the psychological laboratory at Harvard have been the memory and perceptive faculties of the frog and the turtle, the training of new habits in the crayfish, and the symptoms of memory in the newt. Of these the ones involving the frog and the turtle have been the most extensive and the most interesting—if only because of Aesop and his followers down to Joel Chandler Harris and the nights of Uncle Remus. Both animals are -fixed in the imagination of mankind and all grown-up children will be glad to learn that the verdict of the centuries on the comparative judgment.and wisdom of the turtle is confirmed by the exact methods of modern science. In the first place, before making comparisons, it becomes necessary to determine whether these lowly creatures had any faculty of memory at all and this required a special apparatus—handily put together from dry goods boxes. In one box called the “nest” were cool sand' and stones, well shaded with a board—a true haven for a seeking creature. Against it stood another box, with a single opening communicating. This second box was divided into a series of long and comparative narrow compartments by means of sliding pieces, through the bottom of each of which a small opening—or miniature “dog-hole”—had been cut. By spacing the openings at differenr intervals something like a maze was obtained, i The subject of the experiment, tur-

•tie or frog, was put in the compartment farthest from the nest and then watched, recorded, and timed as he worked up and down, back and forth, until he had finally made his way to the resting place. The first time he would discover it, probably, by accident; but afterwards the function of memory would influence the result? Ample intervals of rest were allowed between each test, perhaps an hour or two, to avoid fatiguing the little subjects. The first journey might require an hour; but in the fiftieth experiment

the turtle or frog would fairly scamper to his haven, and even a shifting of the position of the little doors failed in time to throw them out Again, when Inclined platforms, runaways! and blind alleys were introduced the little creatures still continued to learn. Allowed a rest for a day, for severai days, and* then for a longer Interval, traces of memory remained, strengthening with each experience—the turtle, however, coming out first throughout! with the nimble frog the less nimblewitted.

HOW THE PROFESSORS AT HARVARD EXPERIMENT WITH THE FROGS AND TURTLES.