COMPARATIVE PSYCHOLOGY 33 



followed, and should continue to pursue, than as state- 

 ments of established results. Naturally, most of our 

 studies, though by no means all, have been of the domestic 

 animals, and, as was to be expected, the dog is the 

 creature whose mental nature has been most frequently 

 the subject of our enquiries and this will likely be the 

 case in the future, also, for many reasons ; or if we can 

 establish some conclusions regarding the psychic opera- 

 tions and development of any one of the lower animals, 

 we then have more certain ground for comparison, even 

 if we never succeed in showing that we have any war- 

 rant for interpreting the mental operations of inferior 

 animals in terms of those of man. If we could establish 

 a relative scale of intelligence for animals below man, 

 much would have been accomplished. The first com- 

 munication laid before the Society grew out of a paper 

 read before the Veterinary Association by Principal 

 M'Eachran. In this communication the behaviour of a 

 dog that was manifestly possessed of unusual intelli- 

 gence was described in detail. Among other evidences 

 of this were his journeys to a baker's shop to purchase 

 food for himself. Several such cases are on record, and 

 as I shall have occasion to bring this matter before you 

 again shortly, it will not be dwelt upon now. In all such 

 cases we cannot be too cautious in the explanations we 

 adopt. Mr Dawes, at the same meeting, sketched the 

 history of a Cocker Spaniel that, in consequence of early 

 training, would, on request, fetch any one of six different 

 articles. 



This case led to the important enquiry : In how far, 

 or in what sense, do animals understand words ? In the 

 course of the discussion following, it was pointed out 

 that dogs would answer to their names when uttered 

 by strangers, in opposition to the view that the animal 

 was guided chiefly, if not solely, by the general de- 

 meanour of the person calling the dog, the tone of voice, 



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