348 Life and Immortality. 



also when they are brought into contact with him. They 

 must possess a language of some kind, whereby they can un- 

 derstand each other, can comprehend human language, and 

 make themselves intelligible to man. All these conditions 

 are fulfilled in the lower animals, but there is one distinction 

 between the capability of understanding their own language 

 and that of man, and that is, that they are born with the one 

 and have to learn the other. Newly-hatched chickens, 

 although they have only entered the world an hour or so 

 ago, understand perfectly well their mother. They know 

 what to do when she calls them to find what food she has un - 

 earthed, and they know what to do when she warns them 

 of danger. Who has not heard them talk to her ? But how 

 different are their tones under various circumstances. The 

 little piping notes of content when all is going on well can 

 never be confounded with the cry of alarm when they have 

 lost their way or are otherwise frightened. 



Wasps, as everybody knows who has studied these insects, 

 carry out one of the first principles of military art. They 

 always have the gate of their fortress guarded by a sentinel. 

 Should danger be imminent, the alarm is given by the senti- 

 nel, and out rush the inhabitants to wreak vengeance upon 

 the offender. Out of a full-sized nest, consisting of many hun- 

 dred wasps, it is evident that the individual who is to act as 

 sentinel must be selected, and its task appointed. How the 

 selection is made, no one knows. But that such is done, there 

 can be no question, for the rest of the community acknowl- 

 edge their sentinel, trust to it for guarding the approaches of 

 the nest, while they busy themselves with the usual task of 

 collecting food for the young and new material for the nest. 



Nearly related to wasps are the ants. Some of their per- 

 formances are truly astonishing. They have armies com- 

 manded by officers, who issue orders, insist on obedience, 

 and will not permit, while on the march, any of the privates 

 to stray from the ranks. There are other ants which till the 

 ground, weed it, plant the particular grain on which they 



