COMPARATIVE PSYCHOLOGY 41 



Numerous reports from the sites of recent earthquake 

 shocks by observers of unquestionable reliability have 

 shown that many different kinds of animals were 

 sensible of something abnormal, which caused in them 

 manifestations of uneasiness or fear, some seconds before 

 anything unusual was noticed by man. As I hope to 

 show on some other occasion, such indications of acute 

 sensibility, on close observation, throw much light on 

 certain vexed questions in the science of Comparative 

 Psychology. 



Among wild animals we have had several short but 

 interesting communications on the gopher of the 

 prairies ; also a very carefully prepared paper from 

 Mr Harris, giving the results of his own investigations 

 of the beaver and his work in the Canadian North- 

 West.* Confirmations of these observations and addi- 

 tions thereto were offered by another member who had 

 much experience of life on the prairies. It becomes 

 very clear that the beaver is not only an animal of 

 strongly pronounced instincts, but of great capacity to 

 adapt itself to circumstances (plasticity of instinct, etc.). 

 I again raise the question : What is the mental differ- 

 ence between the performances of the beaver and those 

 of a man with marked genius for engineering operations, 

 apart from all training ? Only prejudice can prevent 

 us seeing that this is a case of the highest suggestive- 

 ness, and it is, to me, replete with instruction. The 

 time would fail me to attempt to even indicate to you 

 how far-reaching is such an enquiry. I cannot help 

 thinking that man would both understand himself 

 better and have a truer insight into the inner life of the 

 so-called inferior animals if he could get rid of some 

 of his conceit, and regard himself rather as of, than 



* This paper has since been published, by request of the editor, in 

 th* Canadian Journal of Fabrics. 



