Part 94 (2/2)

Consequently, when she begins to 'sing,' her tune, like the tuning-fork, sets in motion those hairs on the antennae of the male which are tuned to these vibrations. Having once found, by the movement of his antennae, much as a horse moves his ears, from which direction the sound is coming, the male is able to fly at once to his mate. From the accuracy of this flight, Professor Mayer believes that the perception of sound in these little creatures is more highly developed than in any other cla.s.s of animals.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 1.--Gra.s.shopper, slightly magnified.]

In our ill.u.s.tration some of these curious 'ears' are shown. Fig. 2 shows the ear of the gra.s.shopper magnified. In fig. 3 this is further magnified to show the V-shaped mark which represents the h.o.r.n.y stalks to which we referred, seen through the clear membrane of the drum. The dark border (B) around the drum represents a raised ridge. In fig. 4 we have the antennae of a gnat, some of the hairs of which serve as sound-conductors to delicate nerves lying at their base.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 2.--Ear of Gra.s.shopper, drum at A, greatly magnified.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 3.--Drum of Gra.s.shopper's Ear, greatly magnified.]

The sense of smell in insects lies mainly in those wonderful organs, the antennae or 'horns.' Scents of various kinds are perceived either through pits, or through peg- or spike-like teeth filled with fluid. The leaf-like plates of the antennae of the c.o.c.kchafer (fig. 5) have these pits very highly developed. On the outer surface of the first 'antennal'

leaf, as also on the edges of the other leaves, only scattered bristles are seen; but on the inner surface of the first and seventh leaves, and on both surfaces of all the other leaves, there are close rows of shallow, irregularly shaped hollows. Their number is enormous--in the males as many as thirty-nine thousand, and, in the female, thirty-five thousand on each antenna. As some of the scent-laden air reaches the surface of these pits, it causes the nerves of smell to be roused, and so guides the beetle to its mate, or to its food, according to the nature of the smell. These pits are so tiny that they cannot be shown on the antennal leaves of the c.o.c.kchafer shown in fig. 5, but they are there. On fig. 6 a highly magnified section of one of these 'leaves' of the antenna is shown: 'P' is the pit, 'N' is the nerve, and 'S. C.' the sense-bulb of the nerve in which it terminates--the point at which the smell is perceived.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 4.--Antenna of Gnat, greatly magnified.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 5.--Antenna of c.o.c.kchafer, greatly magnified.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 6.--Section of ”leaf” of c.o.c.kchafer's Antenna, greatly magnified.]

It has been proved that insects which have lost their antennae have no sense of smell.

W. P. PYCRAFT, F.Z.S., A.L.S.

[Ill.u.s.tration: ”The donkey-man caught hold of Kruger's tail with both hands.”]

AFLOAT ON THE DOGGER BANK.

A Story of Adventure on the North Sea and in China.

(_Continued from page 279._)

Fourteen days after leaving Liverpool the _Twilight_ arrived at Port Said, and Fred, Charlie, and Ping w.a.n.g at once went ash.o.r.e. The Pages thoroughly enjoyed their first glimpse of the East, for Ping w.a.n.g, knowing the place, took care that they should see everything worth seeing. After sitting for a time in a big _cafe_ which was crowded with men of almost every European nation, they wandered through the shop district, and out into the Arab portion of the town.

After they had looked at the sights for some little time, Ping w.a.n.g suggested that they should have a donkey ride. They had noticed the large, handsome donkeys soon after they landed, but as the pa.s.sengers from a big P. & O. vessel had come ash.o.r.e just before they arrived, all the animals were engaged. But when they returned to the busy part of the town they found three donkeys on hire, and the donkey 'boys,' two of whom were elderly men, at once shouted out the names of their animals.

A Port Said donkey sometimes has its name changed three or four times in a year, in consequence of its proprietor's desire that it shall always bear one which is just then popular with Englishmen. You may ride on 'W. G. Grace' in June, and on returning to Port Said in December will discover that the same animal is now called 'Mr. Chamberlain,' or 'Lord Charles Beresford.' The donkeys which Fred, Charlie, and Ping w.a.n.g found on hire were named respectively 'Lord Roberts,' 'General Buller,' and 'Kruger.'

Charlie sprang on to 'Lord Roberts's' back; Fred made a rush for 'General Buller,' and left Ping w.a.n.g to mount 'Kruger.'

'Let us have a race,' Charlie suggested, when they were getting clear of the crowded narrow streets, and immediately all three urged on their donkeys; but, before they had gone many yards, 'Kruger' began to leave his companions behind.

'This will never do,' Charlie declared, and touched up 'Lord Roberts'

with his stick. Fred tried to hurry up 'General Buller.' Neither of the animals, however, appeared to be at all anxious to exert themselves, and they would have lost the race had not the donkey-man, remembering that his English patrons always seemed pleased when 'Kruger' was last, caught hold of 'Kruger's' tail with both hands, and, throwing back his head, pulled as if he were engaged in a tug of war. 'Kruger,' not liking this strain upon his tail, slackened speed and stopped. 'Lord Roberts' and 'General Buller,' evidently fearing that if they continued running they would be treated in the same way as 'Kruger' had been, stopped with such suddenness that Fred was shot over his animal's head into the road, and Charlie only just escaped a similar fate by throwing his arms round his Jenny's neck.

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