Man alone makes tools.
Man is the only animal that makes tools to use. God has given him a mind that can contrive tools, and he has also given him hands by which he can use them. But he has given no such mind to other animals, and therefore he has not given them hands. They do not know enough to make tools, and so hands are not needed by them.
Animals have some kinds of tools ready made.
But, though other animals do not make tools, they have tools which they use. God has given them ready made, as we may say, such tools as they need. Let us look, then, at some of the tools that we find in different animals.
The tail of a fish a sculling-oar.
You see a man in the stern or hinder end of a small boat. He is sculling, as it is called. He is making the boat go by working the oar to the one side and the other. The oar is the tool or instrument by which he does it. Now a fish has an instrument like this, by whichhe goes through the water. His tail is like the sculling-oar that man has contrived, and which he uses with his hands. If you watch the fish as he goes through the water, you will see that he moves it to one side and the other as the man does his oar; and while he goes ahead by means of his tail, he uses his fins mostly as balancers to guide his motion. He moves them rather gently except when he wants to change his course quickly. When he is moving along fast, and wants to stop, he makes his fins stand out straight on each side. This is just as rowers in a boat use their oars when they want to stop the boat.
You see a man drilling a hole in a rock, and you hear the sound of the tool as it goes click, click, all the while. The woodpecker has a drill that works in the same way. With his bill he drills holes in the trees, and you hear the sound of his tool as you do that of the tool of the rock-blaster. It is a sort of knocking sound repeated many times very quickly.
The drill of the woodpecker.
What do you think that the woodpecker drills holes for? It is to get at worms and insects, which he eats. These are in the bark and wood of dead trunks and branches of trees. The woodpecker knows this, and so drills to find them. He does not drill into live bark and wood, for he knows that there are generally no worms or insects there.
But the woodpecker’s instrument is something more than a drill. It is a drill with another instrument inside of it. This instrument is for pulling out the insect or worm that he finds in drilling. It is shown in the following figure. It is a very long, straight tongue, and ends in a bony thorn. This is, as you see,armed with sharp teeth pointing backward, like the barbs of a fish-hook. Here are, then, two instruments or tools together. And the way that the woodpecker manages them is this: while he is drilling, the two parts of the bill are closed together, making a good wedge-pointed drill, and at the same time a snug case for the insect-catcher. As soon as he comes to an insect he opens the drill, and pushes the barbed end of his long tongue into the insect, and draws him into his mouth.
Tongue and claws of the woodpecker.
As the woodpecker has to strike so hard in drilling, the bones of his skull are made very heavy and strong. If this were not so, his drilling would jar his brain too much. And another thing is to be observed: while he is drilling he needs to stand very firmly. He must hold on tightly to the tree, or he will slip as soon as he begins to drill. He has, therefore, such claws as you see here to hold on with.
Digging tools of the elephant, the hen, and the pig.
Some animals have tools to dig with. The elephant, you know, has long, strong tusks. These he uses in digging up roots of different kinds from the ground to eat. The hen digs in a small way with the claws of her feet, to find grains and other kinds of food that happen to be mingled with the earth. The pig can dig with its snout. It does not have much use for this when shut up in its pen; but let it out, and see how it will root, as we say. Itdoes this to find things in the ground that it can eat. When the pig runs wild, it roots to get acorns and other things that become mixed up with the earth.
The mole’s plowing and digging tool.
The mole has a similar contrivance to work in the earth with. This animal also has heavy claws with which it plows and digs. Here is a figure showing the bones of one of its fore paws. They are very heavy and strong, and are worked by large muscles. The claws on its fingers, you see, are very powerful. The mole does great execution with this digging and plowing machine in making his tunnels and galleries in the ground.
His habitation.
The mole’s habitation is a singular affair. It consists of a large circular room, with several galleries and passages. He makes all this in this way. He first heaps a round hill or mound, pressing the earth to make it very solid and firm; he then digs out his round room, where he lives, and the passages. You can understand how he arranges these by the figure. You can see that there are two circular galleries, one above the other, and that these are connected together by five passages. The circular room is connected with the upper gallery by three passages. It also, you see, has a deep passage out from it at the bottom, which opens into a passage that goes out from the lower gallery; this passage, and another like it on the other side, lead out into the open air. I suppose that the useof all these winding passages is to enable the mole to keep out of the way of those who want to catch it.
How the woodchuck digs.
The marmot, or woodchuck, as he is commonly called, is a great digger. He digs his hole where he lives in this way. He loosens the dirt with his fore paws, using his teeth also when the earth is very hard, or where any roots happen to be in the way. He pushes back the dirt as he loosens it. When he gets a considerable heap, what do you think that he does with it? He shovels it out with his hinder feet, for they are so shaped that he can use them as shovels. They have a strong skin between the toes, so that when the toes are spread out the feet answer very well to shovel dirt with.
How beavers build their cabins.
Beavers are very singular animals. They do not live alone, but many of them live together. They live in a sort of cabin, which they build with branches of trees and mud, the mud answering for mortar. In gathering the branches they often gnaw them off with their sharp and powerful teeth. They are great diggers. They dig up the earth with their paws to use in building their cabin. It is said that they use their flat tails somewhat as masons do their trowels, spatting and smoothing the coating of mud as they put it on. The tail, which you see is very stout, answers another purpose.As the beaver builds the wall of the cabin, when it gets rather high he props himself up on his tail as he works.
The arrangement of the cabins and dams of beavers.
The beavers build their cabin close to a stream of water, and their entrance to it is below, so that they have to go down under water to get to it; and a dam is built to keep the water over this entrance of the proper height. If it were not for this, the door to the cabin might get closed up with ice if the water should get low in the stream during the winter. This dam the beavers build of branches of trees, and mud, and stones. The stones are used to make the branches stay down. In the cabin there are two rooms: in the upper one they live, and in the lower one they stow their food. This is the arrangement of these animals for the winter. In the summer they do not live together in companies, but each one makes a burrow for itself. Every autumn they come together, and unite in building their dams and cabins.
Questions.—Why does man make tools? Why do not other animals make them? Do they have tools? How is the swimming of a fish like sculling? What does the fish do with his fins? What is said about the bill of the woodpecker? What does he drill for? Tell about his tongue. What is said about the bones of his head? What about his claws? What is said about the digging of the elephant—of the hen—of the pig? How does the mole dig? What is said about his fore paws? Describe the arrangement of the mole’s habitation. How does the woodchuck dig? How does he shovel away the dirt that he digs? Tell about the beavers. In what two ways do they use their tails? What is the arrangement of the cabin? What is the dam for?
Questions.—Why does man make tools? Why do not other animals make them? Do they have tools? How is the swimming of a fish like sculling? What does the fish do with his fins? What is said about the bill of the woodpecker? What does he drill for? Tell about his tongue. What is said about the bones of his head? What about his claws? What is said about the digging of the elephant—of the hen—of the pig? How does the mole dig? What is said about his fore paws? Describe the arrangement of the mole’s habitation. How does the woodchuck dig? How does he shovel away the dirt that he digs? Tell about the beavers. In what two ways do they use their tails? What is the arrangement of the cabin? What is the dam for?