76 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



a keen-sighted creature like the eagle, and the mental activi- 

 ties thus awakened must be fundamentally different. The 

 great mental influence exercised by the organs of vision is, I 

 think, proved by the extraordinary size of the optic lobes in 

 the lower animals compared with the other parts of their 

 brains ; and wherever we meet with an animal displaying 

 great mental activity we find it accompanied by a correspond- 

 ing perfection of the optic sense. The cephalopods, of all mol- 

 luscs, exhibit the highest intelligence, while their eyes are 

 more perfectly constructed than those of any other member of 

 this sub-kingdom. Then, too, particular senses are specially 

 developed in certain animals. In the dog the sense of smell 

 has acquired a preponderance, and, as has been said, to a dog 

 the world is a world of odours. It recognises by odours what 

 many other animals can only recognise by sight. With 

 animals like the antelope, the light and slender structure of 

 the body, which renders the animal unfit to do battle with its 

 enemies, is accompanied by a corresponding timidity of mind, 

 an alertness of disposition, and a quick apprehension of 

 danger. Descending to the insects, notable illustrations are 

 to be found of the correspondence of the animal body with the 

 animal mind. Specialisation of bodily functions has here been 

 carried to an extreme pitch, with the result that many of these 

 little creatures have developed remarkable so-called instincts. 

 Their bodies have become fitted for special narrow habits of 

 life, which these animals pursue for generation after generation 

 with unvarying monotony. Among the termites, or white 

 ants, there are four different bodily forms in the same 

 species — viz., males, females, workers, and soldiers, all of 

 which fulfil their well-defined aiid independent functions in 

 the communal organization, and never interfere with the 

 functions of one another. The result is a perfect order and 

 harmony in co-operative working which, at first sight, strikes 

 the beholder with astonishment, and leads to the inference 

 that these little animals are gifted with exceptional intelli- 

 gence. Similar phenomena are exhibited by the true ants 

 and the bees — the structure and provisioning of whose dwell- 

 ings, and the methodical character of whose social system, 

 have evoked the admiration of many an observer and writer. 

 I think, however, the intelligence of these insects has been 

 somewhat overrated. Tneir minds and bodies alike move in 

 narrow grooves, and both have attained a certain pitch of 

 perfection within the limits of those grooves, but their mental 

 powers cannot be regarded as of as lofty an order as those of 

 animals whose " instincts " may be less perfect, but which 

 are capable of accommodating their actions at any moment 

 to suit the varying exigencies of their lives. 



The preservation of animal types seems to depend mainly 



