ANIMAL 



260 



ANIMAL 



acteristics pointed out above, no one would 

 consider placing a sponge and a man together 

 in even the widest of classes. 



Even the most superficial study of the ani- 

 mal life about one brings up many questions 

 and leads into most interesting fields of 

 thought. The cat on the back fence, for in- 

 stance, and the tiger at the zoo are they 

 really related? They look alike, to be sure, 

 but is the resemblance just superficial, or is 



it recognized by scientists? Is there any rea- 

 son why a polar bear is white and the cinna- 

 mon bear brown? Why, when fish lay so 

 many eggs, do not the waters of the earth 

 become full of fish? These and many more 

 questions are answered by zoologists, and are 

 also explained in various articles in these 

 volumes. In the article ZOOLOGY, there is to 

 be found a classification of the animal life of 

 the globe. C.H.M. 



Animal Intelligence and Senses 



Occasionally there appears in the papers or 

 on billboards the announcement of the won- 

 derful achievements of an educated horse or 

 dog, and at once the question as to just how 

 much intelligence animals do possess comes 

 to the fore. Some of the actions of animals 

 seem at first sight to argue a high degree of 

 intelligence the setting of sentries by the 

 wild beasts, the choice of migration routes by 

 the birds, and the almost incredible things 

 which the little hive bee accomplishes. But 

 conclusions must not be reached too quickly 

 it is unsafe to infer from human-like actions 

 the possession of human reasoning powers. 

 The whole question as to the intelligence of 

 animals really hinges on this: are they capable 

 of reasoning? That is, can they figure out or 

 argue that because this or that is true, some 

 other thing must necessarily be true? And 

 the most authoritative writers on the subject, 

 those who have given the matter sympathetic 

 thought, are inclined to believe that no ani- 

 mal has the ability to put together facts and 

 so work out a conclusion. 



Animals have an instinct which directs them 

 under circumstances in which human beings 

 would employ long reasoning processes; and 

 it is probable that when the mother bird 

 "each fond endearment tries, to tempt her 

 new-fledged offspring to the skies," she is not 

 definitely planning for their welfare but sim- 

 ply following a blind instinct which tells her 

 to do thus and so. 



Animal Stories. Among the popular stories 

 of animals there are several attitudes to be 

 noticed toward this question of intelligence 

 in animals. Some tales, like the "Uncle 

 Remus" stories of Joel Chandler Harris or 

 Kipling's Jungle Books, are frankly imagina- 

 tive and give to the animals powers and gifts 

 which no one really believes they possess. 

 Others treat them simply as animals with in- 

 stinct, but without anything which resembles 



human intelligence; but perhaps the most 

 popular stories of all are those which lie be- 

 tween these two extremes. These do not give 

 their animal heroes the power of speech, or 

 even really human reasoning powers, but they 

 do endow them with many almost human 

 qualities, so they have distinct characters and 

 arouse the love and sympathy or the dislike 

 of the reader. Of this last-named class of 

 stories those of Ernest Thompson Seton are 

 probably the best known. See SETON, ERNEST 

 THOMPSON. 



Special Senses. When the subject of the 

 senses is approached, the student of animals 

 finds himself on surer ground, for the fact is 

 undisputed that the senses of sight, hearing, 

 touch, taste and smell exist in the animals, 

 though in widely-varying degrees. No one 

 who has heard a horse whinny with joy at 

 the approach of his master, or who has read 

 the pathetic tale of Rab and His Friends, can 

 doubt that animals also experience emotions. 

 But as to these, of course less definite infor- 

 mation exists. 



Sight. No general statement can be made 

 about the sense of sight of animals, so wide 

 is the range. There is the sightless mole 

 which burrows its way through the ground, 

 and there is the eagle which, flying high in 

 the air, espies the tiny field-mouse on the 

 ground. Some animals, as the bat, the mem- 

 bers of the cat family and the owl, can see 

 far better at night than in the daytime, owing 

 to a peculiar formation of the eye; but most 

 of them resemble men in that they see better 

 in the light. With the lower animals it is 

 difficult to discern just what part in their 

 activities sight plays, for it may be that often 

 when they seem to perceive things with this 

 sense they are in reality guided by their sense 

 of smell. Certain insects which help in the 

 fertilizations of flowers apparently distinguish 

 colors, for they will neglect one flower and 



