40 DOGS 



was cooked for breakfast, he quietly got up from the fire 

 and fetched his newspaper as usual. For six years he has 

 continued to fetch his paper when there is porridge, but 

 never to fetch the paper when there is not porridge in the 

 room for breakfast. Never once has he missed ; never once 

 has he fetched the paper when porridge was not on tap. 

 Not only so, but when during a mild autumn porridge days 

 are intermittent, he will fetch a paper one day when 

 porridge is provided, and miss several days when porridge 

 is not cooked, and immediately resume bringing his paper 

 when porridge comes to table again. 



Your readers may like to give an opinion as to the 

 method of reasoning which must go on in the dog's mind 

 to bring about the above result, for it cannot be mere 

 instinct. Some people have suggested that it is the sense 

 of smell, but I have come to the conclusion myself that 

 the sense of sound is at the bottom of the matter. He 

 hears the spoon against a dull, full platter, which as the 

 contents gradually lessen becomes more resonant, and his 

 ear becomes tuned to a nicety to the point when, as he 

 probably would consider, the human has had sufficient, 

 and what remains should be reserved for the dog. In any 

 case, whatever the reason, I think you will admit it is a 

 rather remarkable and unusual case of animal sagacity. 



F. W. S. 

 NOTE. 



" They also know 

 And reason not contemptibly." 



Does the dog occupy a buffer state between perceptual 

 and conceptual inference, or is it only a case of association 

 between porridge and newspaper, aided by sight (not 

 sound) and a tenacious memory? 



DOG INFERENCE 



I told our vicar this morning the dog story in your last 

 Saturday's issue. He at once related to me an experience 

 of his own. He had a fox-terrier when he was an under- 



