330 ANIMAL INTELLIGENCE. 



companions receiving favour, greatly enjoying play with 

 others of its kind, and also the sport of the hunting-field. 

 Lastly, horses exhibit pride in a marked degree, as do also 

 mules. Such animals, when well kept, are unmistakably 

 pleased with gay trappings, so that ' in Spain, as a punish- 

 ment for disobedience, it is usual to strip the animal of its 

 gaudy coronal and bells, and to transfer them to another ' 

 (Thompson). 



The memory of the horse is remarkably good, as 

 almost every one must have had occasion to observe who 

 has driven one over roads which the animal may have 

 only once traversed a long time before. As showing the 

 duration of memory I may quote the following letter to 

 Mr. Darwin from the Rev. Rowland H. Wedgwood, which 

 I find among the MSS. of the former : 



I want to tell you of an instance of long memory in a 

 horse. I have just driven my pony down from London hero, 

 and though she has not been here for eight years, she re- 

 membered her way quite well, and made a bolt for the stables 

 where I used to keep her. 



A few instances of the display of intelligence by 

 members of the horse tribe may bring this section to a 

 close. 



Mr. W. J. Fleming writes me concerning a vicious horse 

 he had which, while being groomed, frequently used to 

 throw a ball of wood attached to his halter at the groom. 

 He did so by flexing his fetlock and jamming the ball 

 between the pastern and the leg, then throwing the ball 

 backwards ' with great force.' 



I myself had a horse which was very clever at slipping 

 his halter after he knew that the coachman was in bed. 

 He would then draw out the two sticks in the pipe of the 

 oat-bin, so as to let all the oats run down from the bin 

 above upon the stable floor. Of course he must have 

 observed that this was the manner in which the coachman 

 obtained the oats, and desiring to obtain them, did what 

 he had observed to be required. Similarly, on other oc- 

 casions he used to turn the water-tap to obtain a drink, 

 and pull the window cord to open the window on hot nights. 



