BIRTH OF CONSCIOUSNESS.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 2927, 18 July 1911, Page 7

BIRTH OF CONSCIOUSNESS.

INTERESTING HOMING INSTINCT OF THE LOWLY. The origin of consciousness has been one of the great difficulties in the problem of evolution. Between th§

consciousness of existence and the mere function of existing an apparently great gulf is fixed which, according to most '"psychologists, is not to be bridged by any of the wonderful faculties possessed by animals, however highly organised they 6ecm to be. Many of the familiar acts of the dog, for instance, give the impression of having their origin in some reasoning faculty ; the almost inconceivably intricate, and at the same time systematic*, actions of many insects give pause in ascribing them entirely to instinct.

i Many animal faculties, we agree with an authority in the ' British Medical Journal,' are quite beyond our ken. The migration of birds is instanced. It has long exercised the ingenuity of naturalists to frame a working hypothesis ; and this remarkable instinct is not confined to birds, for we find it in greater or less perfection throughout the whole ani- | mal kingdom. Instances of dogs and cats finding their way home from great distances are well known. Many insects have the faculty highly developed, but much further down

, in the scale unmistakable manifesta- ' tions are frequently met with. I WHY DOES THE LIMPET STICK? j Even that dull and pertinacious animal, the limpet, has been credited with the homing instinct and a sense or memory of direction. It would be interesting to ascertain ths point

of view of such a colourless creature. It spends half its days sticking, and continues to stick as if the endeavour to immortalise itself as the symbol of pertinacity. It does allow itself a certain amount of re-

laxation and recreation, wandering about in quest of adventure, but regularly with the fall of the tide it finds its way back to its old hole and applies itself with renewed vigour to the labour of glueing itself to the rock. It is from this curious habit of returning to the

same spot that we feel justified in crediting the limpet with a certain faculty of memory.

Ainsworth Davis and Lloyd Morgan were the first to observe the fact and to study it experimentally. It was found that limpets removed to distances up to 20 feet almost, invariably returned to their old haunts within twenty-four or forty-eight hours, but wh3n removed further only a small proportion returned, and it took most of those three days to perform the long journey. No t-atis-factory explanation could be given of the mechanism of this accurate return. Tracks on the rock were suggested, but could not be demonstrated ; removal of the oral tentacles

did not prevent the limpet finding its way back.

A WEIRD FIGHT BETWEEN SHELL FISH.

More recently a lengthy scries of experiments was made by Tiuon, who came to the conclusion that the phenomenon could only be explained by admitting a certain muscular and locomotory memory. From his observations it is evident that ths limpet has a fairly keen appreciation of environment as well as sense of direction. When it lias lrft its hole of its own accord it invariably returns along exactly the same line. Obstacles placed in the path are suc-

cessfully negotiated, ?nd alterations along the path fail to divert the limpet from its course. Its behaviour is suggestive of a ship a t sea. It has the additional sense of orientation, for when removed from its situation and allowed to return, it always takes up exactly its original position. This occurs even although radical chargjs are made, such as breaking the edges of the depression, or even smashing the entire site. One curious experiment is worth repeating. A limpet was removed from its site to some distance and allowed to find its way back, but meanwhile a limpet of equal size was placed on the site, where it fixed itself. When the first arrived home it seemed extremely disconc rtcd to encounter the intruder and wandered round and round it, as if to ascertain exactly what had ahappened. Having satisfied itself that there had been some high-handed act of usurpation, it laid itself against a second limpet and proceeded to push it from the spot. The second, evidently recognising the justice of its claim, yielded not unwillingly and allowed the rightful owner to take up its abode, which it did in exactly the same position as at first.—"Popular Science Siftings."