Carlile. — On Animal Intelligence. 353 



diaphragm, enabling them to expel the contents of the stomach 

 at will. In the imported slut it was exceptional, but in the 

 wild variety the constant demand for the exercise of the 

 capacity had apparently converted it into a characteristic of 

 the breed. 



The skill of dogs in slipping their collars is noticed by Pro- 

 fessor Komanes. In one of my own dogs I had occasion to 

 notice his modus operandi. He stretched his chain out to its 

 full length, then turned on his back and rolled as a horse 

 rolls, dragging at the collar all the time. Presently his ears 

 slipped through, and he was free. Probably this he learnt by 

 accident when rolling to scratch the parts made itchy by flea- 

 bites, but he was not slow to make use of the lesson once 

 learnt, and by the time I noticed him he took the steps neces- 

 sary to liberate himself in the most purposelike manner. 



Professor Bain has an interesting speculation, in his work 

 " On the Emotions and the Will," on what he calls the link of 

 feeling and action, or the instinctive germ of volition. His 

 theory is that in the very young animal or child the feeling of 

 pain, as from too great proximity to a fire, has no automatic 

 tendency to make the animal or child withdraw from the fire. 

 •■' It knows nothing of the causes, and as little of the remedy. " 

 What happens is this : The tendencies to spontaneous move- 

 ment with which the nervous system is charged, prompting 

 now to one part now to another, make it at last spring to 

 its legs and commence a forward locomotion. Should the 

 locomotion chance to be away from the fire, the uneasiness 

 sensibly subsides. After several trials only will there come to 

 be formed an association between such a motion and such 

 I'elief. Or, " to take another example. An infant lying in bed 

 has the painful sensation of chilliness. . . . Spontaneous 

 movement will arise, whether from healthy natural powers or 

 from irritated nerves. In the course of these spontaneous 

 movements there occurs an action bringing the child into 

 contact with the nurse lying beside it ; instantly warmth is 

 felt, there is a throb of pleasure, and a concurrent stimulus 

 to the physical system. The successful movement is sustained, 

 made more energetic, and the contact is kept up. Such would 

 be the natural operation of the law that connects pleasurable 

 relief with increased energy. The child twelve months old 

 can perform this act by a true selective volition. The child 

 of three days can do it only at random, and by the help of the 

 principle we have been explaining." The primary essential 

 for learning the right movement in any direction is thus the 

 abundance of spontaneous activity, prompting to innumerable 

 movements in all directions. Have we not here, in the dawn 

 of reason in the individual, an analogy to the operation of 

 reason in the living universe? To the theory of natural 

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