FORMATION OF HABITS TN THE TURTLE. 525 



merely that of chance, and not chance plus the influence of the former 

 pleasure-giving activity. The turtle happened to crawl over the edge of 

 the incline, and, finding that this enabled it to get to the nest quicker, 

 it continued the act, thus forming a habit. 



Such experiments as these give clear pictures of habit formation 

 in animals. They also furnish a means of measuring with considerable 

 accuracy the rapidity of the process, the degree of intelligence and 

 the permanence of associations, thus making possible a comparison of 

 the mental abilities of different animals. 



