170 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



and said to the horse : " King, add these figures." The trainer then 

 said : " King, do as the gentleman bids you. Go to the rack and show 

 what is the sum of the first two figures. Go along and do it quickly." 

 Then turning to the audience he remarked : " King is mischievous 

 to-day, perhaps because it is so cool, and he may not do just as he 

 should unless I compel him to. Usually I never have to take a switch 

 to him, but sometimes when he is too mischievous, I have to correct 

 him, and urge him to attend to his business." It was interesting to 

 note the effect of this statement upon the observers. It put them at 

 once into sympathy with the horse, and predisposed them to explain 

 King's lack of responsiveness and his mistakes to his " mischief," and 

 not to his inability to understand what was wanted of him. The 

 remarks served effectively to divert many of the observers from study- 

 ing the commands and actions of the trainer as possibly affording a 

 clue to the reactions of the horse. They just naturally concluded that 

 so much talk by the trainer was necessary in order to control the 

 horse's " mischief," and it did not occur to them that verbal clues were 

 mixed in with the commands. 



Meanwhile the horse was standing at the rack without indicating 

 any interest in the proceedings. He was not " studying " the figures 

 on the board. He did not appear to understand what Dr. Boyd was 

 saying about him. At least it was impossible for the writer, who was 

 carefully noting King's reactions at short range, to detect any recog- 

 nition on King's part of the trainer's remarks or commands, though it 

 was claimed he understood every word. Turning to the horse again 

 the trainer said, " King, why don't you do as the gentleman asked you ? 

 Find the first number. Come on, behave yourself, and find the first 

 number," and he picked up a stick as if to slap him. The horse then 

 walked over to the rack on which the number 10 had been placed near 

 the lower end. He moved down to this number, and pushed it off. 

 However, just as King came to the number 10, the trainer said, " Show 

 the gentleman what the first number is." After having pushed off the 

 right number, he pushed off the number 6 which was next to it. The 

 trainer then said, "What is the number you carry? Find the number 

 which you should carry." The horse moved along the rack, and while 

 the trainer was talking to and commanding him, stamping occasionally 

 to impress King with the necessity of "cutting out" his "mischief," 

 he pushed off the number 1 and the number next to it. Then the 

 trainer said, "What is the next number in this addition? Find it for 

 the gentleman." The horse moved along the rack, and at the com- 

 mand, " Show the gentleman," he pushed off the number 13, and the 

 one next to it. The trainer then had some one in the audience put the 

 number 1 on the rack, though it could not be determined whether the 

 horse was looking at the moment; and being commanded to show the 



