FORECASTING THE WEATHER 87 



all this seemed very nice, and I was quite delighted, 

 for the importance of such accuracy in agricultural 

 work was incalculable, but I soon found that I was 

 " reckoning without my host ! " After she had 

 as I have shown gone on rapping out useful and 

 correct replies for some time, she got sick of it, began to 

 rap out all sorts of nonsense ; indeed, I knew at once 

 from her listless and unfriendly manner that her 

 interest was falling off, and that the replies she was 

 giving were false. It seemed to me, indeed, that she 

 was doing this obstinately and on purpose, so as to 

 put me off asking any more questions ! And if so 

 she certainly gained her point. The lesson of this, 

 is that one has to bear in mind that one is not dealing 

 with a machine, but with a living being and with one 

 that is in many respects exceedingly " unreasonable " 

 and particularly " self-willed." 



I had been devoting myself to this work for some 

 months, and had lost some of my earlier interest, but I 

 started again three days ago so as to have another test 

 to set down here. Lola proved to be up to the mark 

 again, seemed interested, and I did my best to 

 encourage her by saying : " You will be pleased when 

 you know this ! " . . . " This is nice ! " . . . " See 

 how much more a dog knows than many a man ! " 

 and so on. And as a result she announced on 5 

 January, 1917. 



For 6 January = b (a little rain). 

 For 7 January = r (rain). 

 For 8 January = r (rain). 



On 6 January, there was half a degree of cold, and 

 snow fell later in the day. This answer was near 

 enough, for she had not been taught " snow," yet the 



