116 STUPIDITY. 



return to them. They recognise and resent the intrusion of 

 strangers (' Science Gossip '). 



The common goose is ' possessed of great intellectual 

 powers,' says Wood. The gander sometimes does the duty 

 of a dog as to vigilance following its master and obeying 

 his commands. The goose shows striking attachment some- 

 times to man, as well as sympathy in and with his distress, 

 expressing this sympathy by scarcely taking any food during 

 a master's illness (Wood). 



The grey lag goose forms equally strange and strong 

 attachments to dogs, sometimes requiring force to separate 

 these curious companions. They live sometimes in the same 

 kennel, the goose sharing the dog's food, and lamenting the 

 absence of a sporting dog on field duty. Geese have been 

 known also to punish, by persistent persecution, dogs that 

 have killed their mates (Montagu). 



The German Arctic Expedition found that ' the stupid 

 Northern divers were at all events clever enough to keep be- 

 yond the reach of shot.' 



Dr. Adams asserts that the stupidity of game birds in 

 North America is leading to their extermination in conse- 

 quence of their inability to contend with their foes. They 

 exhibit indifference to danger ; have no fear of firearms ; in 

 order to escape their enemies they smother themselves in 

 snow ; to avoid the sportsman they only fly to neighbouring, 

 perhaps the nearest, trees. He ascribes this kind of stupidity 

 the frequent penalty of which is death to defective intelli- 

 gence. But this is a sweeping charge to bring against whole 

 genera and species of animals, and it is at least most difficult 

 to substantiate it. How far such an explanation is satisfac- 

 tory will, however, be better understood after we have con- 

 sidered other cases of stupidity, attributable to mental defect 

 or disorder on the one hand, or believed to be a generic or 

 specific characteristic on the other. 



Certain North American grouse are said to sit still on 

 trees quite near to, and in full view of, the sportsman, to be 

 shot down one after another if the hunter only fires always at 

 the lowest bird (Ballantyne). 



In the majority of the cases already cited of apparent 



