Читать книгу Intelligence in Plants and Animals онлайн

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That all animals which feed on various substances possess the sense of taste, is a wise presumption. This is certainly the case with worms. Cabbage leaves are much liked by worms, and it would seem that they are able to distinguish between the different varieties, but this may perhaps be owing to differences in their texture. When leaves of the cabbage, horse-radish and onion were given together, they manifestly preferred the last to the others. Celery is preferred to the leaves of the cabbage, lime-tree, ampelopsis and parsnip, and the leaves of the wild cherry and carrots, especially the latter, to all the others. That the worms have a preference for one taste over another, is still further shown from what follows. Pieces of the leaves of cabbage, turnip, horse-radish and onion have been fed to the worms, mingled with the leaves of an Artemisia and of the culinary sage, thyme and mint, differing in no material degree in texture from the foregoing four, yet quite as strong in taste, but the latter were quite neglected excepting those of the mint, which were slightly nibbled, but the others were all attacked and had to be renewed.

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