POLYGLOT ANIMALS 211 



lutely unintelligible to any human listener whatever, 

 so that the interchange of orders and the understanding 

 of them are much more in the nature of signals than 

 of language. But that is a matter of use and wont. 

 Probably these dogs begin by learning to obey orders 

 given in the natural voice, round the cottage or home- 

 stead. They inherit the capacity for understanding 

 what they are wanted to do in an unusual degree, as 

 well as the natural inclination to act as the servants of 

 man in a particular way. They have a positive eager- 

 ness to learn and to be employed. " We ask for 

 employment and they give us work ! " says a disgusted 

 British working-man in an amusing musical comedy 

 recently performed. The Northern collie eagerly 

 desires employment of any kind even work. 



But there are districts where work is scarce for collies, 

 because the " labour market " is overstocked. In parts 

 of Cumberland, for instance, away from the mountains 

 and fells where the dogs are busy every day looking 

 after sheep, there are large areas where the farms are 

 small, and there are no " sheep gates " or big mountain 

 pastures at all. But the tradition of owning sheep 

 survives, and even if there are no sheep it is infra dig. 

 not to have a sheep-dog. The traditional form of 

 property was cattle or sheep, and the presence of a 

 dog is a token that there is property to look after, to 

 fetch to the fold or the milking-shed, or to drive to 

 market. The result is that to every mile of road 

 there are about ten yellow collies, most of which 

 belong to the ranks of the unemployed for the greater 

 part of the day. To fill in part of their time they sit 



