Mind in Animals. 373 



scenes, and dog-fighting, rat-killing and cock-fighting, even 

 though they are now contrary to law, are still practised in 

 secret. Similarly the sense of humor is developed in the 

 lower animals by causing pain or annoyance to some other 

 creature, and the animal acts in precisely the same manner 

 as a savage or a child. 



Sparrows, as might be expected from their character, will 

 gratify their feelings of aversion by banding together for the 

 purpose of mobbing some creature to which they have an 

 objection. In Hardwicke's Science Gossip for December, 

 1872, there is a short account of a number of sparrows mob- 

 bing a cat. Evidently the cat had intended making a meal 

 on one of the birds, but was greatly mistaken, for the spar- 

 rows dashed upon him so fiercely, that he soon turned tail 

 and ran into the house, one of the sparrows actually pursu- 

 ing him into the house. The poor cat ran up-stairs, and 

 was found crouching in terror under one of the beds. This 

 happened in London, where the sparrows are less numerous 

 now than they used to be. 



No bird of my knowledge possesses a larger amount of 

 humor than the crow. I have known him to feign an attack 

 upon a distant part of a field of newly-sprouted corn, which 

 was being guarded by a farmer with his gun. When the 

 latter would be drawn to that part of the field where the 

 attack was to be made, the sagacious bird would manage to 

 outwit him, slip around to the other side, drop down into 

 the field and obtain a few tender sprouts before the farmer 

 hardly knew what was going on. But he was always up and 

 away at the opportune moment, and, perched upon a fence- 

 rail, beyond the range of the gun, would enjoy one of his 

 rollicking cawing laughs at the farmer's expense. Crows 

 that are tame have the sense of humor more keenly devel- 

 oped than their wild brethren of the fields and the woods. 

 I once knew a tame crow that took great pleasure in annoy- 

 ing a dog that lived in the same family. Carlo, as the dog 

 was called, was never so contented as when allowed to sleep 



