BEHAVIOR OF VERTEBRATES 457 



two students but was also used for class demonstration. As is 

 clearly stated the work is a repetition of old problems and makes 

 no pretence to originality. The straight and square mazes 

 described by Yerkes in the Dancing Mouse were the mazes 

 used and in addition a maze in five sections which was built 

 for this experiment. There were only two mice used on this 

 apparatus. Mouse 'M' learned the straight maze, then the 

 same maze reversed, then the square maze, then this maze re- 

 versed and then relearned both of these mazes at varying in- 

 tervals in their original positions. Mouse 'S' followed the same 

 order, only it began with the square maze. Both learned the 

 •sectional maze, relearned it and learned it in reversed position. 

 Many individual learning curves and much data are given. 

 Three rats worked on two of Small's puzzle boxes. The general 

 conclusions are as follows: (1) With renewed repetitions there 

 is a steady advance in learning. This advance, however, bears 

 no direct relation to the interval which elapses between one 

 series of repetitions and another. (2) With sufficient repetition 

 the successful response may become so " well known " as to be 

 unaffected by the lapse of long intervals. (3) The successful 

 response is developed in connection with the general meaning 

 of the situation. The experiments do not warrant us in saying 

 in what experiences this general meaning consists. Retention 

 of it, however, is of even greater importance in influencing the 

 progress of relearning on a subsequent occasion than retention 

 of the series of successful movements. Thus the learning does 

 not fall entirely under the law of habit. The successful move- 

 ments acquired in learning one maze do not hinder the mice in 

 learning another which demands a different series of turns; 

 on the contrary, learning which takes place after practice on 

 other work is more successful than relearning which follows 

 on a period of idleness. * * * The influence of the general 

 meaning of the situation is more marked in the learning of the 

 puzzle boxes by the rats than in the learning of mazes by the 

 mice." 



The Elberfeld horses still continue to engage the attention 

 of our friends across the water. Moekel (22) thinks the Mann- 

 heim dog's behavior much more spontaneous than that of the 

 horses. Maday (21) attempts an elaborate analysis of the 

 mental functions of man, their forms and the conditions which 



