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Show '34 IIABITS OF WORMS. CIIAP. I. s.w na1 1 y a nd very slightly nibbled.d 'ffiT hese latter four kinds of leaves do not I er In texture in a manner which could make them d1.s agreeab l e to worms.' they all have a st·r ongd taste, b u t so have the four . first . mentwne. kinds of leaves; and the wide difference In the resu lt mus t be attributed to a preference b the worms for one taste over another. . y Mental Qualities.-There is little to be sa1d on this head. We have seen that worms are timid. It may be doubted whether they suffer as much pain when injured, as t~ey beem to express by their contortion.s. J u.d~Ing by their eagerness for certain kinds of f?od, they must enjoy the pleasure of eating. Their sexual passion is strong enoug? to overcome for a time their dread of hght. They perhaps have a trace of socia~ feeling, for they are not disturbed by craw1n:g ov~r each other's bodies, and they sometimes he in contact. .According to IIoffmeister they pass the winter either singly or rolled u.p with others into a ball at the bottom of their burrows.• .Although worms are so remarkably deficient in the severa 1 sense-organs, * 'Fcmilie dcr Regenwtirmer,' p. 13. CrrAP. I. MENTAL QUALITIES. 35 this does not necessarily preclude intelligence, as we know from such cases as those of Laura Bridgman; and we have seen t.ha t when their attention is engaged, they neglect impressions to which they would otherwise have attend~d; and attention indicates the presence of a mind of some kind. They are also much more easily excited at certain times than at others. !hey perform a few actions instinctively, that Is, all the individuals, including the young, perform such actions in near 1 y the same fashion. This is shown by the manner in whi~h the species of Perichreta eject their castmgs, so as to construct towers; also by the manner in which the burrows of the oommon earth-worm are smoothly lined with fine earth and often with little stones, and the mouths of their burrows with leaves. ~ne of their strongest instincts is the pluggmg up the mouths of their burrows with :ario~s objects; and very young worms act m .th1s manner. But some degree of intelligence appears, as we shall see in the next chapter, to be exhibited in this work -a result which has surprised me more ;han anything else in regard to worms. D 2 |
