268 ANIMAL INTELLIGENCE 



animals, I think it will be more instructive to consider 

 the subject from this point of view, and in doing so, the 

 psychic will be first taken into account. 



L THE DOG. 



As soon as a puppy is born, it is capable of cries, 

 crawling, and sucking, and if we except those concerned 

 with the vital or vegetative functions, these about cover 

 all its possible movements. Up to the period when 

 the eyes open there are no new movements. Every one 

 of these can be produced experimentally as reflexes, 

 and the question is : Are they naturally of this char- 

 acter ? They improve from day to day, but that is a 

 feature of all reflexes, even the best organised (as 

 swallowing), though it has hardly been adequately 

 recognised. 



As pointed out in my paper on the functional 

 development of the cerebral cortex, the latter is 

 absolutely inexcitable at birth, and for a good many 

 days after indeed, not till about the period of the 

 opening of the eyes and as I find the white matter 

 also inexcitable at birth, there seems to be no other 

 view possible of these movements than that they are 

 reflex, and that when the brain is called into action, 

 parts lower than the cortex, or even the underlying 

 medulla, in the youngest puppies, must function. 



Nevertheless, the animal at this period is progressing, 

 for the improvement of these reflexes implies the more 

 perfect organisation of a neuro-rnuscular mechanism, 

 which is probably availed of later in all voluntary 

 movements. 



In adult life our own movements are often carried 

 out with a perfection in proportion to the degree in 



