INTELLIGENCE IN ANIMALS. 191 



of birds pecking at painted fruit, and the like, of 

 which some are unquestionably apocryphal. When 

 we remember, too, that some savages fail utterly to 

 understand the meaning of pictures, 1 even of the most 

 familiar objects, we may well doubt whether animals 

 can possibly mistake a painted figure for a real object. 

 Yet there are some stories which seem to show that 

 animals certainly recognise pictures of persons, 

 animals, or objects familiar to them. It would almost 

 seem as though such cases could only be explained as 

 depending on the exercise of a certain amount of 

 reasoning power, the animal inferring that, because 

 a certain picture presents details of shape and colour 

 corresponding to those belonging to a familiar object, 

 the picture is in some way connected with that object, 

 although other senses, as of sight, smell, hearing, &c., 

 must serve perfectly to prevent any possibility of 

 actual deception. A letter in Nature, by one who 

 remarks that "his own observations lead him to 

 suppose that dogs very rarely take notice of a painting 

 or any representation on the flat," seems to me espe- 

 cially interesting, as illustrating how the sense of 

 sight may for a moment deceive an animal which 

 usually trusts chiefly to other senses. " I only know 

 of one instance," he says. "A bull-terrier of mine 

 was lying asleep upon a chair in the house of a friend, 

 and was suddenly aroused by some noise. On opening 



1 There are some illustrations of this in my little book called 

 "The Flowers of the Sky," in the article relating to "Fancied 

 Figures among the Stars." 



