THE RELIGION OF NATURE 



soning power of a high order, placing the intelli- 

 gence of ants on the same plane as that of man. 



Now for the interesting facts in this life-his- 

 tory of the ants we are all greatly indebted to 

 patient investigators who take the pains to ob- 

 serve and chronicle them. The pity is that, in the 

 enthusiasm of their scientific hobby, they persist 

 in weaving the facts into a futile parallel between 

 the supposed intelligence or reasoning power of 

 other animals and that of man. That no com- 

 parison of the kind is legitimate or possible may 

 be seen from the following simple facts. 



The ants in question are creatures of the year ; 

 therefore they can have no knowledge that autumn 

 will be followed by winter, or that the aphis eggs 

 will need protection in winter. Therefore their 

 action cannot be guided by forethought. 



Throughout the summer, again, the aphides 

 have reproduced their kind by the simple process 

 of " budding," active young aphides being pro- 

 truded by their virgin-mothers. It is only through 

 the labors of patient investigators like Lord Ave- 

 bury that we know how the aphides tide over 

 the winter the last brood producing both males 

 and females which are winged and seek each 

 other's company, the females subsequently laying 

 eggs which will hatch in the following spring. 

 But the ants have no books to tell them about 

 [44] 



