46 IOWA ACADEMY OP SCIENCES. 



give merely an idea of his methods and his conclusion?. His 

 monograph should be read by all who are interested in the sub- 

 ject of comparative psychology. 



He is fairly entitled to much credit for his patience in devis- 

 ing and conducting experiments. In my opinion, however, 

 this kind of experimentation is not thg best method of solving 

 the problems connected with the mentality of thelower animal », 

 because it is certainly impaired by the unnaturalness of the 

 whole procedure. Continuous handling, repeated confinement 

 in boxes, and the pangs of hunger would surely and profundly 

 affect the mental machinery of any person or animal. 



The true method, it seems to me, is neither the piling up of 

 anecdotes on the one hand, nor the cat and box method on the 

 other, but careful, unbiased observation of animals that are nob 

 under pressure of excitement or hunger and are free to act on 

 their own initiative. I would add, moreover, that they should, 

 so far as possible, be ignorant of the fact t'aat they are being 

 watched. 



To my mind the most serious criticism that can be made of 

 the monograph under discussion is in reference to the attitude 

 of its author toward previous writers and also toward his own 

 work. It is not likely tbat the present generation of working nat- 

 uralists, aside from the immediate friends of Dr. Thorndyke, 

 will readily forgive his unconcealed contempt for such a man 

 as Romanes, a man honored and loved by practically all his con- 

 temporaries and a naturalist who, in the minds of many, 

 deserves to be classed among the foremost thinkers of his time. 



Before quoting from Komanes, Dr. Thorndyke says: "These 

 passages give an admirable illustration of an attitude of inves- 

 tigation which this research* will, I hope, render impossible for 

 any scientist of the future. " (Page 40.) 



He sharply criticises the attitude of previous writers in the 

 following words: "How can scientists who act like lawyers 

 defending animals against the charge of having no power of 

 rationality, be at the sametime impartial judges on the bench?" 

 (Page 4.) 



Now I feel confident that no one, not a partisan of Dr. 

 Thorndyke, can read his work without concluding that he 

 clearly occupies the position of prosecuting attorney in this 

 same case, and is, therefore, equally disqualified from acting 



*Dr. Thorndyke here refers to his own work. 



