SELF-EDUCATION. 247 



12. Appropriate action following such reflection. 



That many animals are very observant scarcely requires 

 to be insisted upon. Close and continuous observation is 

 indeed a necessity of their existence in the wild state. Its 

 forms, results, and applications are illustrated in an infinite 

 variety of ways, including the following : 



1. The reading of a master's mood, intentions, or cha- 

 racter by the dog. 



2. Notice of natural or artificial landmarks by the 

 homing carrier or courier pigeon. 



3. Knowledge by birds of the range of man's projectiles. 



4. Eecognition of 



a. Each other. 



b. Persons. 



c. Places. 



d. Things- 

 including the discrimination of 



e. Friends from foes, of strangers from acquaintances 



or kinsmen. 



/. The trappings of rank, such as livery, or the 

 dress of masters and servants, rich and poor. 



5. Appreciation of beauty of colour and form in design, 

 including the details of pattern. 



6. Selection of cards by a knowledge of the marks they 

 bear by performing dogs. 



7. Notice of secret signs or signals on the part of other 

 performing animals signals unobserved by an audience. 



8. Detection of defect or debility, injury or accident, 

 mental or bodily, in their offspring or in each other, also in 

 cases unobserved by man. 



9. Certain kinds of prevision or presentiment. 



10. Calculation or measurement of heights or distances. 

 It is impossible here to illustrate at any length all of these 



forms in which animals manifest their power of observation, 

 but it is desirable to notice shortly one or two of them. 

 Perhaps one of the best and most instructive is to be found 

 in the phenomena of homing, or home-finding, in the carrier 

 or courier pigeon phenomena that but lately were uni- 

 versally relegated to the fallacious category of 'unerring 



