SIGHT 67 



knows at once should one be missing, and seeks it even 

 when it cannot utter a sound, and while all the rest of 

 her brood are running about in such confusion that it 

 would seem impossible to count them oneself. How 

 animals manage to do this without a sense of figures 

 and without words always remains a puzzle to me ! 

 Now, the measure taken by a dog's eye is almost as 

 accurate as is its sight for near objects, and its swift 

 glance and comprehensive eye for detail. It is true 

 that all these tests have been put to my dog Lola alone, 

 but I venture to say that these facts will be found to 

 apply to all dogs in common, should they belong to a 

 natural and healthy breed of animals, and not to an 

 artificially procured variety. 



As to " measuring by eye," this was a test put to 

 her accidentally. About the beginning of June, 1917, 

 for lack of any better idea at the moment, I deter- 

 mined to teach her the use of the yard measure (the 

 metre), and without having any definite object in 

 view. So I fetched the yard-stick and told her the 

 names and the meaning of the divisions three tunes ; 

 but she seemed unable to work up any enthusiasm for 

 the subject, and I therefore did not attempt to question 

 her. Many duties intervened, and so I forgot the whole 

 matter for several weeks. But on 25 July I thought 

 it might be just as well to test her eye for measure, 

 and this reminded me of the yard-stick. So I asked 

 for fun : "Do you remember that I showed you the 

 yard-stick ? " " Yes ! " was her prompt reply. In 

 astonishment I continued : " How many centimetres 

 are there to the metre ? " " 100 ! " " And how 

 many decimetres to twenty centimetres ? " "2." 

 " And how many decimetres in two and a half centi- 

 metres ? " "25." Now, for the joke of the thing, I 

 determined to test the accuracy of her eye, for I had 



