|rsiT0uagc antr gate. 



By AHTHUK B. PEOWSE, M.D, Lond., F.R.C.S. Eng. 

 Read Ajyinl 2nd, 1891. 



THE subject I have chosen is one of very great interest 

 and of far-reaching import, though to many it may 

 at first sight seem neither the one nor the other. It chiefly 

 concerns language in its relation to the various races of 

 Man. 



When we observe a community of insects, such as ants, 

 carrying out carefully planned works, and even concerted 

 attacks on other communities, it is plain that individual 

 members must have a means of communicating their inten- 

 tions and feelings to others. With them, probably, the sense 

 of touch is the medium. In the same way birds use various 

 sounds — at one time they warn their companions of danger, 

 at another time a different sound will make known the 

 finding of something good for food. 



Those of us who keep pets soon learn to recognise the 

 various ways in which they express their mental states ; e.g. 

 it is easy to know whether a dog's bark means he is pleased, 

 or angry, or in want of something definite. This faculty of 

 barking, however, is not natural to dogs, but has been deve- 

 loped since they became the friends and companions of man; 



390 



