1890 SALLY 255 



constant order was observed in making these requests, 

 but whenever she handed a number not asked for her 

 offer was refused. In this way the animal learnt to 

 associate the numbers with their names. Lastly, if 

 more than one straw were asked for she was taught 

 to hold the others in her mouth until the required 

 number was complete, and then to deliver the whole 

 at once. This method prevented any possible error 

 arising from her interpretation of vocal tones, an 

 error which might well have arisen if each straw had 

 been asked for separately. 



After a few weeks' continuous instruction the ape 

 perfectly well understood what was required of her, 

 and up to the time when I left town, several months 

 ago, she rarely made a mistake in handing me the 

 exact number of straws that I named. Doubtless 

 she still continues to do so for her keeper. For 

 instance, if she is asked for four straws she succes- 

 sively picks up three and puts them in her mouth, 

 then she picks up a fourth and hands over all the 

 four together. Thus, there can be no doubt that the 

 animal is clearly able to distinguish between the 

 numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, and that she understands 

 the name for each. But as this chimpanzee is some- 

 what capricious in her moods, even private visitors 

 must not be disappointed if they fail to be entertained 

 by an exhibition of her learning, a caution which it 

 seems desirable to add, as this is the first time that 

 the attainments of my pupil have been made known 

 to the public, although they have been witnessed 

 by officers of the Society and other biological 

 friends. 



