OTHER SENSES THAN OURS. 161 



beheld, and when there is not a vestige of a feline 

 within a mile of him, I can tell of his latent animosity 

 to the cat-tribe being aroused by his sniffing the 

 ground, by his low growls and sharp yelps, and by 

 the bristling of his back hair as his vivid imagination 

 depicts before his mind's eye the possibility of the fray. 



This sniffing and smelling of dogs which hunt their 

 prey like my Dalmatian by aid of their noses, opens 

 up a curious study in animal senses, and one which 

 leads us towards many unsolved problems of life and 

 brain. In the first place, what is it that my dog per- 

 ceives ? What is it that arouses his brain and muscle, 

 through the medium of his sense of smell ? A cat 

 passes with a light tread over the ground. Allow, if 

 we will, that there is a characteristic odour pertain- 

 ing to the cat-body and to all other carnivorous 

 animals, indeed and the problem does not become 

 simplified even after such an admission. What is there 

 in the odour which ' remains to mark to my dog's in- 

 telligence and perception each light footfall of the cat 

 in the back garden ? What is the nature of the scent 

 of the hunter which the wind carries to the wary deer, 

 or to the lion or rhinoceros itself? What is the exact 

 cause of the power which enables the vulture to scent 

 the prey from afar off, or which tells the eagles where 

 the carcase lies for attack ? 



Let us try to argue this matter out as best we may. 

 The senses of an animal are its " gateways of know- 

 ledge." The eye sees not, neither does the ear hear. 

 They are merely instruments " receiving offices," to 

 put it plainly which transmit to the brain the impres- 

 sions of the outer world, which modify, parcel out, and 

 assort these impressions, and adapt them for being 

 understood and appreciated by the seeing-centres and 



