206 CONSCIOUSNESS IN 



allied insects produce a noise by rubbing one of their abdominal 

 rings against another. Landois is of opinion that ants also make 

 sounds in the same way, though these sounds are inaudible to us. 

 Our range is, however, after all very limited, and the universe is 

 probably full of sounds which we cannot perceive. There are, 

 moreover, in the antennae of ants certain curious organs which 

 may be of an auditory character." 



Hearing is, however, developed in some respects to a 

 degree far beyond our own in birds like the Owl, as well 

 as in other night-flyers. According to Swainson also, 

 the " sense of hearing in many quadrupeds is particularly 

 keen, and seems to be given more especially to the her- 

 bivorous tribes : thus the Elk, although not remarkably 

 swift, is enabled to avoid its enemies by an unusual keen- 

 ness in its perception of sounds. The same delicacy of 

 hearing is well known to be possessed by the Stag." The 

 acuteness of this sense in the Horse, the Seal, and the 

 Porpoise, is also said to be very remarkable. 



The sense of Touch in different animals presents a wide 

 range of variation in regard to its delicacy and discrimi- 

 native accompaniments.. Though always, to some extent, 

 a possible mode of sentiency, it does not rise in many of 

 the lower organisms very much beyond the level of that 

 possessed by simple protoplasm. In higher animals, 

 however, it is far different, and in them the sense becomes 

 localized in some particular part or parts of the body 

 which are to be regarded as the special tactile organs. 



The sense of Touch is not distinctly localized, and prob- 

 ably not very keen or discriminative, in Fishes or Keptiles, 

 though in Birds it becomes at once more developed and 

 more localized. 



Swainson says, "In birds it is probably confined to the feet 

 and bill. This is particularly apparent in rapacious birds, which 

 use their feet in seizing and retaining their prey ; while in those- 



