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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY.— SUPPLEMENT. 



of electric telegraphing. Notwithstanding this, 

 the animal has given proof of something besides 

 a mechanical instinct. It has been doubted 

 whether animals were conscious of their acts, and 

 yet, though attentive examinations have not been 

 made, the commonest observation should remove 

 any uncertainty in this respect. A dog has been 

 trained not to touch provisions in the house he 

 lives in, but sometimes he cannot resist the 

 temptation ; if he takes some dainty bit it is al- 

 ways by stealth, and, if he is afraid of being 

 caught, he makes off with all speed like a true 

 robber. A cobaya, or Guinea-pig, an animal of 

 rather limited intelligence, was living as a pet in 

 a house. The poor little creature was passion- 

 ately fond of fruit, and at its master's dessert, 

 while he was alone absorbed in reading, it would 

 be put on the table covered with strawberries, 

 apples, or pears, knowing that it was forbidden 

 to take anything unless given to it. On some 

 days, if it was not helped at once, the tempta- 

 tion grew too strong ; the least sign would check 

 it, but tired of waiting it would come and rub its 

 nose against its master's arm, and crawl after 

 him whining, if its appeals seemed not to be heard. 

 Facts as conclusive might be recounted almost 

 without end. The sentiments and passions show 

 themselves in animals under almost all aspects. 

 A dog conceives affection for one person, hatred 

 for another, having all kinds of preferences and 

 dislikes. A parrot receives the kindest treat- 

 ment from all the members of the family that 

 keeps it as a pet ; for one of them it has nothing 

 but friendship, good-nature, and amusing ways ; 

 with another it is indifferent, and to a third is 

 ill-tempered. An intelligent animal is full of ten- 

 derness in its love-making. The pleasing little 

 song-birds are a charming study in their court- 

 ship ; the emotion they feel is betrayed by signs 

 of every kind, their breasts heave with unusual 

 force, their little hearts beat quicker. Sentiment 

 is the privilege of all the nobler creatures. 



It would be a great error to suppose that ani- 

 mals are not sensible of beauty. At some times 

 they even seem inspired by the desire to appear 

 beautiful ; stags and all the species of the feline 

 race take a proud attitude; birds that have a 

 handsome tuft, erect it, and those with showy 

 tails, such as peacocks, display them, as if pos- 

 sessed with a feeling of pride. Besides, it is evi- 

 dent, from observation, that beauty in the indi- 

 viduals of one sex must produce quite a strong 

 impression on those of the other sex. They gain 

 their greatest brilliancy at the time of pairing of 

 the sexes. Fishes, in which only a few faint 



gleams of intelligence are remarked, assume col- 

 ors of surprising brilliancy at that season. Many 

 birds in their bridal plumage seem to have put 

 on wedding-garments ; the graceful goldfinch, 

 the gay chaffinch, are brilliant with color ; the 

 bullfinch, usually a dull rose, gleams in purple.. 

 It would be a mistake to suppose that among 

 finely-organized animals a male with power to 

 choose should pair indifferently with any chance 

 female, or a female choose her mate without the 

 least regard to external beauty; observation for- 

 bids such an opinion to be accepted. A distin- 

 guished amateur, Count Primoli, who loves birds 

 and knows very many interesting things about 

 their housekeeping, had obtained several of those 

 huge pigeons produced by a series of selections, 

 and known by bird-fanciers under the names of 

 Dutch pigeons and Roman pigeons. The pairing- 

 season came, and it was their time for choosing 

 a husband or a mate for each. There were some 

 common pigeons in the neighborhood ; and it 

 happened that every large pigeon went in search 

 of a small mate, while every large female took a 

 male of small size. It is not among animals only 

 that such things are seen. To keep up the breed, 

 it was necessary to make communication with 

 others impossible. 



The mammals and the most highly-endowed 

 birds display pleasure at the thought of amuse- 

 ment, as hunting-dogs when they see the gun 

 taken down, or spirited horses when getting har- 

 nessed. They are susceptible of ennui, and we 

 know that ennui is sometimes fatal, even to 

 beasts. The conditions of life are limited to merely 

 material wants only among the lower species. 

 Mammals and birds delight in amusing them- 

 selves ; often a kitten will not play alone and in- 

 vites you by its manner to play with it. Animals 

 have fearful fits of rage, and the passion of re- 

 venge can excite them in a high degree ; it ex- 

 tends even to insects, such as wasps and bees, 

 which pursue an assailant and strive to sting 

 him for whole hours. All creatures show lazi- 

 ness ; the bird whose task it is to build a nest 

 gets rid of the work if it finds an old nest which 

 it can put in order easily. Some persons have 

 had the idea of taking advantage of this laziness 

 to retain small birds in places where they had 

 become rare, or even to tempt them back ; artifi- 

 cial nests were put into trees and bushes, and 

 with complete success. Most of the solitary bees 

 have their laziness too. Some species of this 

 group, which are called anthidics, gave an English 

 naturalist an example of laziness that deserves to 

 be noted, such intelligence does it prove in these 



