INTELLIGENCE OF ANIMALS. 347 



doubt as to the exact degree of intelligence 

 possessed by them. If, when the farmer says, 

 " Carlo ! the cows are in the corn turn them 

 out !" the dog should turn his head and reply, 

 " Yes, sir, I'll have them out in a moment !" there 

 could be no doubt of the intelligent interchange 

 of thought. But the fact of his doing \\\2^ which 

 in the supposed case he would express, proves 

 as conclusively his comprehension of the com- 

 mand and his purpose to obey. The horse or 

 dog, however fully he may understand the direc- 

 tions he receives, can give no other response 

 than by his acts, and to words of praise or cen- 

 sure he can reply only by signs ; these are 

 clearly understood by us and show that our 

 meaning is comprehended by the animal, thus 

 proving a real interchange of thought. A pop- 

 ular author has said : "A dog may bark, a horse 

 may neigh, but it is not by these sounds that 

 they express the delicate shades of ever-varying 

 emotion ; it is by a thousand varieties of gesture 

 which few indeed of us can analyze but which 

 all clearly understand. A dog converses with 



