HYPNOTISM IN ANIMALS. 625 



the animal on the ground, where after many cries and violent strug- 

 gling it became quiet, " as if," he says, " despairing of escape through 

 the fruitlessness of its motions, it gave itself up to the will of its con- 

 queror." Then Kircher drew a chalk-line in a diagonal direction from 

 one eye to the other, loosened the ribbon, and the hen, although left 

 perfectly free, remained immovable, even when he attempted to 

 rouse it. 



Therefore Kircher affirms that the hen thinks the chalk-line a string 

 by which it is bound as at its feet, notwithstanding that the ribbon 

 has been loosened. This he attributes to the force of the animal's 

 imagination. 



In this way Kircher reports something which never took place, 

 although his confirmation partakes of reality. He also places his as- 

 sertions in that fatal category of " events viewed unequally," which 

 plays such an important role in the history of human error. 



As soon as I had recovered from my extreme astonishment at the 

 magical effect which I perceived at the first experiment I made, I 

 immediately rubbed out the chalk-line. My astonishment, mingled 

 with satisfaction, returned for a moment, as I saw the hen remain 

 motionless although the chalk had entirely disappeared. The chalk- 

 line appeared just as unnecessary as at the first and following experi- 

 ments. Certainly this might have resulted from an after-effect of the 

 line. In order to inspect this more clearly, I performed my experi- 

 ment so that I held the hen firmly for some time, and stretched out 

 the head and neck as if I were going to draw the chalk-line, bat in 

 reality did not do it. And lo ! the hen remained just as immovable 

 as if the line had really been there ! 



It is therefore an actual fact that the chalk-line and ribbon are 

 entirely unnecessary. What Kircher affirms relating to the imagina- 

 tion of the hens in regarding the chalk-line as a band which holds 

 them, is only an " event viewed unequally," consequently no event at 

 all. Observe that the only actual fact in Kircher's report is the motion- 

 less condition of the hen after the line has been drawn. While he 

 takes this temporal coincidence without further investigation for an 

 actual event caused by the hen's power of imagination, he reports a 

 circumstance which really never happened, at least not in the way he 

 thinks. 



Through my simplified arrangement, without either chalk or string 

 I have not only placed hens in this stupefied condition, but also geese, 

 ducks, turkeys, and even a timid, unruly swan. This state makes the 

 animals incapable of escaping, or even of changing their forced posi- 

 tions. This strange condition lasts often for a minute, indeed, fre- 

 quently a quarter of an hour and longer, and is so intense that the 

 animals can only be roused after repeated blows. Yes, the animals 

 as you have seen yourselves can be turned over on their backs 

 without awaking or showing the least resistance. When they are thus 

 vol. in. 40 



