10 Educated Fleas. [ January, 
ing on the table, it will work its limbs about, seeking something 
to take hold of. If, then, segments of finest wire, fans of tissue 
paper, or other representations of objects in miniature are at- 
tached to its fore “ feet,” we shall have it apparently brandishing 
a stick or sword, fanning, performing on a musical instrument, 
etc., all of which is much more clearly seen with the aid of a 
lively imagination. 
Two fleas furnished with segments of finest wire on their fore 
« feet,” and placed with their ventral sides so near that the 
mimic swords can touch, but not the insects’ feet, give a repre- 
sentation of a duel not much worse than that usual in most 
theatres. In their struggles to reach the adjacent object, it 
would be strange if the little wires did not clash occasionally. 
“ Madame Lenormand,” “‘ Rebekah at the Well,” and a flea 
turning a miniature windmill are brought, each on its perch, so | 
near an endless chain of ingeniously minute workmanship, that 
their hooklets catch in the links, and they eagerly seize the op- 
portunity of pulling themselves, as they suppose, away from 
their bonds. The only result is that a little pointer turns to a 
number on a dial, a little bucket comes out of a well-curb, or the 
mill goes round. A similar but horizontally applied motion 
propels a little merry-go-round. 
The most amusing and, at first, most incomprehensible of the 
various performances, is that of the dancing fleas. The orchestra 
are placed above a little music-box, whose vibrations cause them 
to gesticulate violently for a few moments, fastened as they are 
to their posts. Below them several pairs of fleas (fastened by a 
little bar to each other in pairs, those of each couple just so far 
apart that they cannot touch each other) are apparently waltz- 
ing ; an inspection shows that the two composing each pair are 
‘pointed in opposite ways; each tries to run away, the “ paral- 
lelogram of forces ” is produced ; the forward intention, converted 
to a rotary motion, ludicrously imitating the habits of certain 
higher vertebrates. 3 
I have sketched the plan of the performance, and it will be 
noticed that there is nothing in it which cannot be explained on 
the hypothesis with which we set out, namely, that all the effects 
produced may be the result of the natural efforts of the insect to 
escape, the burden of proof being with those inclined to a con- 
trary opinion. Whatever the result to our opinion of the fled’s 
mental powers, one can hardly avoid admiring the ingenuity 
with which the “stage property” has been fitted to its Bey 
and the beauty of the models and apparatus. 
