274 WALLACE CRAIG 



in a dish until the 28th day, from which date its diary reads 

 as follows: 



28th day. — It has had no water since last night, but has eaten 

 a good deal of seed, must be thirsty. I give it water in the dish 

 from which it is accustomed to eat seed. To attract its attention, 

 I take water up in spoon (slowly, so as not to frighten it) and 

 drop the water again and again into dish. Dove watches the 

 dropping water with indifference. I then put many seeds into 

 the water and await results. Dove goes to dish in its accus- 

 tomed manner and begins to peck at the seeds. Getting the tip 

 •of its bill wet, it shows surprise, starts back and shakes head, 

 throwing the water off. Then pecks at seed again, with same 

 result, but the shock of surprise a little less sharp. This re- 

 peated a great number of times; also, the dove sat on the edge 

 of dish and then walked in the water; but it does not drink. 

 This evening it was given a little water from medicine dropper. 



2gth day. — I tried the experiment as before, with same results, 

 the dove withdrawing its bill with apparent displeasure when- 

 ever it touches the water. Yet it must be thirsty. 



30th day. — To see if it will drink by imitating the old ones, 

 I place it near the cage of an adult pair who have had no w T ater 

 since yesterday and who will drink out of a cup as soon as it is 

 -offered to them. I place the young so that it will see the two 

 adults drinking directly before it, and can drink out of the 

 same cup if it wishes. Result: The young watches them. As 

 they lower their heads and drink, it pays no attention to 

 this operation ; but as they raise their heads again, it begs from 

 them strenuously. 



Immediately after this test, I test the young by itself. I 

 decide to use a deeper dish than on the 28th and 29th days; 

 the dish in which it wet its bill before was too shallow for the 

 bill to be wholly immersed, though deep enough for an adult 

 to drink out of it easily. The deeper dish of water being put 

 in, with some seeds in the water, the dove soon comes and picks 

 up a floating seed, withdrawing its bill quickly from the water 

 as before. Then it apparently tries to pick a seed from bottom 

 of dish — when bill thus became immersed, the swallowing reac- 

 tion was immediately set up, evidently in a very mechanical 

 •manner, the neck being strongly decurved, the eye half closing, 

 .the whole head and neck rigid, while the mouth gulped slowly, 



