DOG-LOGIC 37 



engagement, but what about duty and conscience? He 

 evidently thought a way out. On the previous day and 

 other days he had seen the hens voluntarily, and as was 

 their wont, retiring about sundown to roost, giving no 

 further trouble. Surely it would not matter much if they 

 retired on this afternoon a little while earlier. Acting 

 upon this conception, he deliberately, as if housing a flock 

 of sheep, began to round up the hens, landing them inside 

 their house ; then, giving a triumphant, joyous bark and a 

 playful gambol, was off, duty thus discharged or evaded? 

 and conscience satisfied. 



J. M. 



NOTE. Here is another story of canine artifice, though 

 not so delightful a one as " J. M.'s " : "A terrier was 

 allowed in the dining-room, where it sometimes received 

 a bone from the table. The convention was that the door 

 was at once opened for it when it sought exit with the 

 bone in its mouth. It (sic) disdained bread. One evening 

 it heard barking outside. It had, however, on that occa- 

 sion no bone. It snapped up a piece of bread and made 

 for the door. When it was opened, it dropped the bread 

 and ran out to join its fellows ' ' (McCabe : * ' Evolution of 

 Mind," quoted by Thomson and Lloyd Morgan). Yet they 

 called the dog " it " ! 



A MATHEMATICAL DOG 



In the Spectator for the last few weeks I have seen 

 letters and an article on the sagacity of the horse, and I 

 thought perhaps some of your readers would like to hear 

 an extraordinary story of a puppy's cuteness. He is a 

 West Highland terrier of about ten months, and he used 

 to be rather a trial to me in the mornings, waking me up 

 very early, but by dint of scoldings and bribes he has now 

 been persuaded to keep quiet (though he takes voyages 

 of discovery round the room, poking his nose into every- 



