The Homing Instinct L69 



possible, that animals may be endowed with a spa ial 

 sense, enabling them to perceive the magnetic currents of 

 the earth, and so guide themselves as by a compass. There 

 is no inherent impossibility attaching to this hypothi 

 but as it is wholly destitute of evidence, we may disregard 

 it. The only other hypothesis is, that animals are able 

 to keep an unconscious register of the turns and cur . 

 taken in the outgoing journey, and so to retain a general 

 impression of their bearings." 



Mr. Darwin made experiments, and taking a number 

 of bees in a box, released them about two and a half 

 miles from the hive. Most of the bees returned, but 

 Mr. Romanes thinks that as the bees probably frequently 

 flew this distance outwards at ordinary times, that th< y 

 found their way back by a recognition of the objects 

 en route. 



Monsieur Fabre also inclines to this point of view. 



Sir John Lubbock conducted many experiments with 

 ants, testing their sense of direction by various methods. 

 He was led to believe that these animals possessed this 

 sense in a very definite degree, and observed that they found 

 their way, by observing the direction in which the light 

 was falling. " So that so long as the source of light was 

 stationary, no matter how many times he turns them round 

 upon a rotating table, when the rotation ceased, they renew 

 their road to and from the hive, as well as they did before 

 the rotation ; whereas, if the source of light were shifted, 

 the insects at once became confused as to their bearings, 

 even though not rotated at all." 



In commenting on the above experiments, Mr. Romanes 

 says : 



" Now if ants thus habitually guide themselves, by 

 observing the direction in which the light is falling, (i.e., 



