FUNCTION OF VIBRISSAE IN BEHAVIOR OF WHITE RAT 



25 



and all turned their vibrissae down, dragged them along the edge 

 and scarcely ever ventured away from it. Now, as has frequently 

 been pointed out, any maze can be learned by keeping con- 

 stantly to the one side or to the other and that is what these 

 rats did. The result of all this was that they learned the maze 

 in the lowest time of any group of the series. It was interesting 

 to watch them find their way at once around the maze and 

 scarcely halt or hesitate. 







Fig. 6 — Fourth trial of rat " 3 " — vibrissae cut on the right side. 



An exact record was made of the first ten trials so that the 

 path followed could be drawn but as six of the nine rats learned 

 the maze in the first ten trials it seemed useless to continue this 

 later. 



Bobtail was incommoded by the loss of his tail and could not 

 make as good time as the other rats did but he managed very 

 well. Footless on the contrary had a hard time. His vibrissae 

 were cut on the right and he perforce must keep to the left edge 

 and it was his left fore foot which was gone. He did it, I had 

 almost said manfully, in spite of falls, and was but little slower 

 in learning the maze than any of the others in his group, succeed- 



