x SOME EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS 229 



A cord started from the bottom of her stall and was passed 

 over the railing above her head. From there it descended 

 diagonally, and was tied to a basket placed out of sight, two or 

 three yards away. She pulled it in six times by means of the 

 near portion of the cord, showing by the way some ingenuity in 

 so doing, either helping herself with her foot, or turning her head 

 right away. The cord was now tied round the railing, and the 

 elephant was at first baffled. In despair she opened her mouth 

 wide for the food to be thrown in, and having raised her trunk 

 for the purpose, brought it down with a swish over the outer 

 portion of the cord, and secured the basket. This was clearly an 

 accident, and at the second trial she was quite baffled again. At 

 length the keeper, who was present, pointed to the right cord, 

 and she pulled it. At the third trial, however, she again pulled 

 the wrong part hard at first, but at length, in again putting her 

 trunk up to open her mouth, she put it round the outer cord, and 

 pulled. This time it did not seem to be altogether an accident, 

 for she curled the trunk about the cord ; and in fact, in the 

 next trial, she pulled the right almost at once. In the next 

 trial again, after slightly trying the wrong part, she pulled right. 

 She was then three times right in succession. Two days later 

 she began by pulling at the right cord, but the basket caught in 

 some rails over which she had to pull it. This led her to try the 

 wrong part for a while, but she reverted to the right portion, and 

 got the bread. At the next trial she tried the wrong part for a 

 moment, and then was right ; after this she was right four times 

 in succession. Six days later she always pulled the right cord, 

 though generally with a slight preliminary pull at the wrong one. 

 On the knot being loosened, however, she pulled the downward 

 string. 



Result of the Discrimination experiments Instinct^ Habit, 

 and Intelligence. 



Taken together, the discrimination experiments go to 

 show that whatever the force of habit, and whatever the 

 feebleness and uncertainty of attention, the animals are on 

 the whole aware of what they are about, and able at need 

 to correct their errors by results. Their behaviour is 

 most easily understood if we conceive the more intelligent 

 act as overlaying habitual action, which in its turn over- 

 lays the actions of instinct and impulse. Mr. Small notes 

 the inveterate tendency of his rats to " fool." They run 

 about, smell, dig, or gnaw, without real reference to the 

 business in hand. In the same way Jack scrabbles and 



