1 74 EVOLUTION AND MAN S PLACE IN NATURE 



common to man and animals, even animals much lower 

 in the scale than the higher mammals. Passing to 

 understanding of symbols, we are led to further distinc 

 tions, involving more obvious approach in the life of 

 the higher mammals towards human exercise, than 

 has appeared in the life of lower orders. We are 

 now crossing the lines between sensory and intelligent 

 appreciation. Poultry can appreciate a call associ 

 ated with food-supply an association powerful in all 

 animate existence endowed with sense of hearing. 

 In advance of this, warranting special classification, 

 the monkey, the ape, the horse, and the dog show 

 intelligent discrimination by interpretation of signs. 

 Each of them, however, quickly reaches the limits 

 of its power. A dog understands vocables as sym 

 bols of command ; but he does not attempt an 

 intelligent exercise like the child s, preliminary to 

 vocalisation. The full explanation of this does not 

 seem in any case to be physical incapacity, for tho 

 physical organism of the dog or monkey is equal to 

 vocalisation, as is organism much lower in tho scale, 

 extending probably even to fishes and to insects. 

 From the level of tho birds upwards, vocalisation 

 certainly expresses feelings of pleasure, want, and 

 fear. This is well illustrated by Mr. Garner s experi 

 ments as to the language of monkeys, with aid of 

 phonograph. The author gives a humorous sketch 

 of his attempts at definition of the meaning of sounds. 1 

 On tho data now referred to, certain inductions be 

 come clear : Sensory associations, and power of voca 

 lisation belonging to organism. With these is in 

 cluded a phase of memory, with increasing sensibility 



1 The ftpeech of Monkey*, by R. L. Garner. 



