SPEECH 53 



As a further evidence of difficulty even in theorising as 

 to the method of communication the following incident 

 may be given ; once again from personal knowledge. 



Two dachshunds fell into grievous trouble over a Welsh 

 sheep — most provocative of God's creatures surely, full of 

 insulting leaps and foolish wagglings of dirty, distrustful tails. 



Separated in consequence for three whole blameless 

 years, they led the most innocent of lives. 



Then they both arrived at the same house in Wales ; and 

 li'ithin ten minutes, though neither had to anyone's knowledge seen 

 the other, they were once more found killing a sheep. 



Now this particular case was so inexplicable, that 

 nothing short of some mysterious power akin to telepathy, 

 yet transcending it, seems to fit the facts. Indeed, one is 

 tempted to believe that animals are in possession of some 

 such power. Their curious collectivism, the firmness with 

 which they remain for generations in the same environment, 

 might well be due to some such form of mind impression ; 

 for, although they could thus communicate cognate im- 

 pressions to each other, they could not convey adverse ones 

 and so learn as we do by speech from a larger experience. 



For this failure to improve as generation succeeds 

 generation is the great line of demarcation between man 

 and the beasts that perish. The ant of to-day is as the ant 

 of yesterday ; the dog of to-day is possibly far ahead of his 

 parent of yesterday, but he will not pass on through his 

 germ cells that something which he has acquired. 



Yet individual improvement is common as sea-sand ! 

 Every sportsman will confess to the difference between an 

 old dog fox and a young one. 



Neither is it that animals do not hand on something 



