580 



Popular Science Monthly 



"Educated" Ants the Latest Thing 

 in Animal Training 



THERE is a great fascination to many 

 persons in the difficult task of train- 

 ing animals and it is 

 remarkable how won- 

 derful has been the 

 success of some train- 

 ers, especially of ani- 

 mals noted for their 

 high intelligence. 

 But, the efforts 

 of the training 

 enthusiasts 

 have not been 

 altogether con- 

 fined to the 

 higher animals; 

 they have ih- 

 cluded some of 

 the less gifted 

 creatures, and 

 have even in- 



Coughlin's troupe of performing ants. The com- 

 mands must be spoken in Antese, we anticipate 



terested themselves in the pesky flea. 



The accompanying picture shows that 

 even ants have been used for pedagogic 

 experiments. John W. Coughlin, of Ells- 

 worth, Me., succeeded in training these 

 Madagascar ants to perform certain 

 military movements and other tricks 

 which are said to be remarkable. It is 

 not reported which language the trainer 

 used in giving his commands; at all 

 events the insects must have understood 

 it, for they obeyed the com- 

 mands. 



flight he makes. At the end of each week 

 the number of hours in the air and also 

 the number of landings made are totaled 

 and signed by the officer commanding the 

 squadron to which the airman is attached, 

 one of which is clearly 

 shown in the illus- 

 tration. Note that 

 this particular page is 

 signed by the ex- 

 dancer. Captain Ver- 

 non Castle, 



Commanding 

 No. 84 Cana- 

 dian Training 

 Squadron. 



The first 

 entry in this 

 log book gives 

 one an idea of 

 the dangers of 

 the air. En- 

 gine trouble 

 forced the pilot 

 to make a landing. A forced landing is 

 difficult and dangerous, but as there is no 

 mention of damage, it must have been 

 made safely. 



It is said that truth is stranger than 

 fiction and if all the reports that fJ.ter 

 through and reach us through the meaium 

 of the newspapers are only half true, the 

 log of an airman must be a masterpiece. 

 Jules Verne wrote strange stories, but 

 present-day facts leave even them behind. 



The Air Pilot's Flying Log 

 Book and How It Is Used 



YOU have heard of ship's 

 log books, but here is a 

 new kind of log — a small, tan, 

 leather-covered book, seven 

 and one-quarter inches long 

 and four and three-quarters 

 inches wide. On the cover is 

 the title "Pilot's Flying Log 

 Book." Every airman in the 

 British Royal Flying Corps 

 has one of these books issued 

 to him the day he takes his 

 first lesson in piloting an air- 

 plane. Until he is honorably 

 discharged or killed in action 

 he must enter a record of each 



— ^/'•T-H«mfii Sv 



An ainnaus loj; book. Each flight is recorded 

 and each book must be almost an epic in itself 



