Читать книгу Intelligence in Plants and Animals онлайн

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There is little to be noted about the mental qualities of worms. They have been seen to be timid creatures. Their eagerness for certain kinds of food manifestly shows that they must enjoy the pleasure of eating. So strong is their sexual passion that they overcome for a time their dread of light. They seem to have a trace of social feeling, for they are not disturbed by crawling over each other’s bodies, and they sometimes lie in contact. Although remarkably deficient in the several sense-organs, yet this does not necessarily preclude intelligence, for it has been shown that when their attention is engaged they neglect impressions to which they would otherwise have attended, and attention, as is well known, indicates the presence of a mind of some kind. A few actions are performed instinctively, that is, all the individuals, including the young, perform each action in nearly the same manner. The various species of Perichæta eject their castings so as to construct towers, and the burrows of the Common Earth-worm—Lumbricus terrestris—are smoothly lined with fine earth and often with little stones, and the mouth with leaves. One of their strongest instincts is the plugging up of the mouths of their burrows with various objects, the very young worms acting in a similar manner. But some degree of intelligence is manifested, as will subsequently appear.