170 NATURE STUDIES. 



prevailing sensation at the time, instinct would have 

 caused the elephant to eat the grass. But, as he was 

 probably much troubled by the heat, it was not more 

 wonderful that he should throw grass on to his back, 

 than it would have been if, had there been any 

 shadow, he should have withdrawn under it. Doubt- 

 less, however, the true explanation is that the elephant 

 reasoned in a practical way. The effect of the grass 

 as a protection from the heat was obvious to his 

 senses, so he continued to add more and more grass 

 to his covering until he felt comfortable. If the use 

 of the grass for food occurred to him at all, it would 

 have appeared obvious enough that even if all the 

 grass were used for shelter, it would be none the less 

 suitable for food when hunger began to be trouble- 

 some. 



Passing over several cases which seem to carry the 

 matter no further than those already cited, we come 

 next to a case which appears to us one of the most 

 striking ever recorded. The writer, Mr. E. H. Pi-ingle, 

 remarks that it is an instance of sagacity which finally 

 sets at rest any doubts he had ever entertained that the 

 difference between human and animal intelligence is 



o 



one of degree only. We can see no way in which the 

 story can be explained without assuming the exercise 

 of something more than that mere practical reasoning 

 which probably underlies all the so-called instinctive 

 actions of animals : 



Mr. J. W. Cherry, of the Madras Forest Service, is 

 owner of a dog, a bull-terrier, called {f Bully." (This 



