Jan. 6, 1882.J 



• KNOWLEDGE * 



197 



such instances as have been adduced above. The following 

 case, showing how a cat reasoned out the meaning of a 

 phenomenon brought for the first time under its notice, 

 seems to afford decisive evidence of the capacity of animals 

 to deal with cases when neither instinct, habit, nor imita- 

 tive faculty can afford them any assistance : — A house- 

 hold cat was observed to enter a bedroom which was being 

 cleaned at spring-time : a looking-glass stood on the floor, 

 and Tom, on entering, found himself confronted by an 

 image which he naturally supposed to be another cat, an 

 intruder on his domains. He made hostile demonstra- 

 tions, which were presently followed up by a rush at his 

 opponent, who, nothing loth, seemed to rush also at him. 

 Knding an apparent obstacle to his vengeance, Tom ran 

 round behind the glass, where he found no enemy ; so he 

 came again to the front. Here he again found his foe, on 

 whom he again made an onslaught, only to be similarly foiled. 

 He repeated this two or three times, applying manifestly the 

 inductive method to the problem before him. The result 

 of these experiments was to suggest the theory that the 

 cat in the looking-glass, if actually existent, was unlike 

 {hose specimens of the feline race with whom Tom's 

 experience had hitherto made him acquainted. These 

 repeated failures must have a meaning, Tom seems to have 

 reasoned. Either he was the victim of some illusion, or 

 the cat behind the glass was of altogether exceptional 

 activity. But, however active that cat may be, Tom 

 proceeded to reason, he cannot be on the further side and 

 yet not on the further side at the same moment of time. 

 If, then, I look at him and see him to all appearance on 

 the further side, while at the same time I feel for him there 

 with my paws and find him not there, then the cat in the 

 glass must be a mere fraud. No sooner was this experi- 

 mentuni cruets devised by the clever cat than it -was put 

 into execution. Tom deliberately walked up to the 

 looking-glass, keeping his eyes fixed on the image ; then, 

 when near enough to the edge, he reached out carefully 

 with his paw behind the glass for the supposed intruder, 

 whilst with his head twisted round to the front he assured 

 himself of the persistence of the reflection. He also 

 must have recognised, what the narrator of the story seems 

 to have overlooked — that the looking-glass was not, as it 

 seemed, transparent, for the paw with which he was 

 feeling about for the other cat was not visible, though 

 the supposed intruder remained in view all the time. 

 The apparent presence of the feline foe, though the 

 feeling paw could not be seen, satisfied Tom fully. " The 

 result of his experiment," says the naiTator, " satisfied the 

 cat that he had been the victim of delusion, and never 

 afterwards would he condescend to notice mere reflections, 

 though the trap was more than once laid for him." It 

 would, by the way, have been worth while to try whether 

 a looking-glass without a frame deceived him after he had 

 discovered the meaning of an ordinary mirror, or whether 

 a cat placed on the other side of a transparent framed glass 

 would be at first mistaken for a mere reflection — his conduct 

 in either case being carefully watched. A cat which had 

 shown such excellent capacity for reasoning was worth 

 experimenting on. 



Whether we suppose that the cat of the preceding nar- 

 rative judged of the position of his supposed foe solely liy 

 sight, or may partly have been influenced by the sense of 

 sound (very slightly, in any case), it must be admitted that 

 he showed a fitness for original research which some 

 amongst ourselves might be found wanting in, if we may 

 judge from their actions in certain cases. But it is an 

 mteresting question how far an animal may really be 

 deceived by the image of another animal, or of some object 

 in which the animal observer takes interest. There are 



stories of birds pecking at painted fi-uit, and the like, of 

 which some are unquestionably apocryphal. When we 

 remember, too, that some savages fail utterly to under- 

 stand the meaning of pictures,* even of the most familiar 

 objects, we may well doubt whether animals can possibly 

 mistake a painted figure for a real object. Yet there are 

 some stories which seem to show that animals cer- 

 tainly recognise pictures of persons, animals, or objects 

 familiar to them. It would almost seem as though such 

 cases could only be explained as depending on the 

 exercise of a certain amount of reasoning power, the animal 

 inferring that, because a certain picture presents details of 

 shape and colour corresponding to those belonging to a 

 familiar object, the picture is in some way connected with 

 that object, although other senses — as of sight, smell, hear- 

 ing, kc. — must serve perfectly to prevent any possibility of 

 actual deception. A letter in Nature, by one who remarks 

 that " his own observations lead him to suppose that dogs 

 very rarely take notice of a painting or any representation 

 on the flat," seems to me especially interesting, as illustrat- 

 ing how the sense of sight may for a moment deceive an 

 animal which usually trusts chiefly to other senses. " I 

 only know of one instance," he says. " A bull-terrier of 

 mine was lying asleep upon a chair in the house of a friend, 

 and was suddenly aroused by some noise. On opening his 

 eyes, the dog caught sight of a portrait of a gentleman on 

 the wall not far from him, upon which the light was 

 shining strongly. He growled, and for some little time 

 kept his eyes fixed upon the portrait, but shortly satisfying 

 himself that there was no danger to be apprehended, he 

 resumed his nap. I have often," proceeds the narrator, 

 " endeavoured since to induce him to pay some attention 

 to portraits and pictures, but without success, though 

 sometimes he will bark at his own reflection in a looking- 

 glass. He knows it to be his own image that he sees, for 

 he very soon tires of barking and looking." 



The Health of Navvies. — In view of extensive canalisation soon 

 to be done in France, the Minister of Commerce lately consulted 

 the Academy as to measures that should be taken to preserve the 

 health of workmen engaged. A report by M. Colin is the result. 

 In it he notes the persistence of a depressed vital state in certain 

 parts of the country, especially the coast departments, which are 

 chiefly concerned in the works projected. Marshes, with their 

 miasma, are not the sole cause of this "impalndism" (as he calls 

 it) ; but virgin soil, newly turned, emits morbid germs, whence arise 

 intermittent fevers, &c. With regard to precautionary measures, 

 the report specifies the following: — 1. Fragmentation of work, not 

 attacking too many points at once, not entering on a piece of work 

 before the piece next it, begun previously, is finished. 2. Choosing 

 strong, vigorous navvies, by preference inhabitants of the region. 

 3. Diminishing the time of contact with the soil. The work 

 should be stopped at times when it is known to be dangerous — viz., 

 July, August, and September, and in the extreme morning and 

 evening hours. Evening vapour on plains and low-lying parts is 

 very dangerous. Large fires should be lit in the works morning and 

 evening. 4. Lodging of the navvies in the neighbouring centres of 

 habitation, as much as possible in the heart of towns and villages, 

 and on high ground, or, where near the sea, in pontoons moored at 

 some little distance from the shore. Fevers do much less injury 

 among workmen who reach their liomes at night, than among those 

 who remain on the works. 5. A special diet — before his work the 

 na\-vy should have a substantial hot meal ; preventive medications 

 (such as arsenic, extract of nux vomica, and sulphate of quinine) 

 have not yielded such results as recommend their use. G. Imme- 

 diate conveyance to the hospital of a navvy attacked by fever, and 

 caution as to premature re-engagement of men discharged from 

 hospital. 7. Early filhng of the excavations, admitting water, in 

 urgent cases, to parts which prove peculiarly infectious, and stimu- 

 lating vegetation on ground newly upturned.- — Times. 



* There are some illustrations of this in the Editor's little book 

 called " The Flowers of the Sky," in the article relating to " Fancied 

 Figures among the Stars." 



