issi THE MIND OP ANIMALS 111 



if you do discuss any (and it ^ill perhaps be expected 

 of you) I should think that you could not select a better 

 case than that of the sand- wasps, which paraljse their 

 prej", as formerly described by Fabre in his wonderful 

 paper in ' Annales des Sciences,' and since amphfied 

 in his admirable ' Souvenirs.' Whilst reading this 

 latter book, I speculated a little on the subject. 

 Astonishing nonsense is often spoken of the sand- 

 wasp's knowledge of anatomy. Xow vn\l anyone say 

 that the Gauchos on the plains of La Plata have 

 such knowledge, yet I have often seen them prick a 

 struggling and lassoed cow on the ground ydth. un- 

 erring skill, which no mere anatomist could imitate. 

 The pointed knife was infaUibly driven in between 

 the vertebrae by a single slight thrust. I presume 

 that the art was first discovered by chance, and that 

 each young Gaucho sees exactl}- how the others do 

 it, and then with a very little practice learning 

 the art. Xow I suppose that the sand-wasps 

 originally merely killed their prey by stinging them 

 in many places (see p. 129 of Fabre, 'Souvenirs,' and 

 page 241), on the lower and softer side of the body, 

 and that to sting a certain segment was found by far 

 the most successful method, and was inherited, hke 

 the tendency of a bull-dog to pin the nose of a bull, 

 or of a ferret to bite the cerebellum. It would not be 

 a very great step in advance to prick the ganglion of 

 its prey only sHghtly, and thus to give its larvae fresh 

 meat instead of old dry meat. Though Fabre insists 

 so strongly on the unvarying character of instinct, 

 yet it shows that there is some variabihty, as on 

 pp. 176, 177. 



