218 SOCIAL LIFE IN THE INSECT WORLD 



leagues from home, infallibly regains its loft across 

 immensities which it has never known ; and within the 

 limits of its more modest powers a bee, the Chalicodoma, 

 also adventures into the unknown, accomplishing its long 

 journey and returning to its group of cells. 



Those who have never seen a dog seeking truffles have 

 missed one of the finest achievements of the olfactory 

 sense. Absorbed in his duties, the animal goes forward, 

 scenting the wind, at a moderate pace. He stops, 

 questions the soil with his nostrils, and, without excite- 

 ment, scratches the earth a few times with one paw. 

 " There it is, master I " his eyes seem to say : " there it is ! 

 On the faith of a dog, there are truffles here I " 



He says truly. The master digs at the point indicated. 

 If the spade goes astray the dog corrects the digger, 

 sniffing at the bottom of the hole. Have no fear thai 

 stones and roots will confuse him ; in spite of depth 

 and obstacles, the truffle will be found. A dog's nose 

 cannot lie. 



I have referred to the dog's speciality as a subtle sense 

 of smell. That is certainly what I mean, if you will 

 understand by that that the nasal passages of the animal 

 are the seat of the perceptive organ ; but is the thing 

 perceived always a simple smell in the vulgar acceptation 

 of the term — an effluvium such as our own senses 

 perceive ? 1 have certain reasons for doubting this, 

 which I will proceed to relate. 



On various occasions I have had the good fortune to 

 accompany a truffle-dog of first-class capacities on his 

 rounds. Certainly there was not much outside show 

 about him, this artist that I so desired to see at work ; 

 a dog of doubtful breed, placid and meditative ; uncouth, 



