October 20, 1904J 



NA TURE 



603 



pig that acquitted itself creditably in practically the same 

 role. Doubtless, if the report were true, the porker had 

 swallowed an equal amount of learning. 



The collie was w^ithout doubt a good, clever one. As 

 member of the Irish Collie Club 1 have for years past taken 

 a fancier's interest in this particular breed, and I have 

 observed every degree of intelligence, from the brute that 

 could scarcely be taught to bark at a cow — oftenest with 

 a pedigree as' long as your arm — to the affectionate animal 

 that could guess almost your thoughts and your passing 

 temper, and was always in perfect sympathy with your 

 moods. The best of these, hoxvever, falls far short of a 

 good Irish water spaniel. From my experience, I may be 

 allowed to say in passing that no breed is so teachable — 

 has such brain-power, if you like — as the latter, once he 

 has reached the age of nine or ten months. As puppies I 

 found them rather stupid. 



Performances similar to that of the Royal Aquarium collie 

 are not very rare. There are, indeed, some other ingenious 

 stage devices by which a dog can be taught to spell — every 

 word in the dictionary if you are so foolish as to let it be 

 known — and to converse, so to speak, in Russian as readily 

 as in English, but the devices are rather worked out. 



Usually such show dogs modestly protest before the 

 audience (through their trainers) their inability to do more 

 with certainty than spell correctly words of three letters, 

 and when pushed they get perple.xed and make mistakes. 

 This, for them, is sound policy. It is only w-hen they grow 

 too bold and set up as " thinkers " that they are found out. 

 -My -American trainer, w-ith Yankee shrewdness, used to 

 claim for his dark bay charge that when he had totted up 

 a row of figures he should be reminded of the number to 

 be carried on to the next column. This w'as fair enough. 

 It, too, served to baffle the over-canny. That the 

 arithmetician's education could never overstep that w^as just 

 the puzzle they fastened on and worried over. I wonder 

 what the German professors, good, easy men, would have 

 said had they seen, as I did, Mahomet figure out a sum with 

 his tail to the board ! 



I may be permitted to add that about the same time I 

 interviewed the ape famous for counting, " Sally " by name, 

 in the London Zoological Gardens, and I was in no way 

 impressed by her intelligence. After what I have written 

 it is not hard to suggest two or three ways by which the 

 oracle could have been worked. I saw her count her straws 

 for the keeper alone, and that gentleman appeared to me 

 none too tolerant of questions or of interference. 



I am prepared for believing, however, that counting is 

 not beyond the scope of an animal's powers. It is said that 

 Scotch shepherds count their flocks of sheep in this wise : 

 they drive them through a gap, and the faithful collie ticks 

 oHf by a bark every score as it passes through. 



It is not of late alone that clever horses have come to the 

 front. I happen to possess a MS. diary written by a co. 

 Leitrim man in 1658 and 1659. In the first of these years 

 the writer, James Reynolds, accompanied to London his 

 uncle. Sir James Ware, Auditor-General of Ireland, and 

 famous as an antiquary. Among the sights of the metro- 

 polis he records that he saw a " Nagg " which could count, 

 answer questions, and fire off a small cannon. 



There are undoubtedly degrees of intelligence within 

 limits in all mere animals. They are particularly observ- 

 able in the dog and horse — the most highly developed in 

 this respect of all our animal friends. As every jarvey 

 know-s, each horse has a character of its own and mental 

 powers all its own. The same is true of our canine sub- 

 ordinates. .\ neighbour of mine has a cat which climbs up 

 the door-post and opens the latch with her paw when she 

 wants to enter the house. This for a cat is, I think, more 

 wonderful than are all the performances of the Berlin 

 " thinking horse " for a steed. It is a trick, indeed, I have 

 seen taught two or three dogs. But the cat has had no 

 training. She owes her cleverness solely, I am assured, 

 to her own powers of observation. 



I am open to conviction, but I am greatly afraid the 

 " German representative committee," including the " pro- 

 fessor of the Physiological Institute of the Berlin Uni- 

 versity," that have reported, according to the daily Press, 

 on " Clever Hans " have written themselves down as at 

 least not ungullible. Joseph Meehan. 



Creevelea, co. Leitrim. 



NO. 1825. VOL. 70] 



Misuse of Words and Phrases. 



In your issue of October 13 attention was directed in 

 the letter column to the misuse of language by English 

 scientific writers. Since the subject of the indictment is 

 one of importance, and since the criticism is in my opinion 

 well founded, I am writing to support it. 



There seems to be a tendency growing among writers 

 on scientific subjects, both in pure and applied science, to 

 modifv the English language to such an extent as to give 

 rise to no small anxiety with respect to its future state in 

 scientific literature. 



Even if language is plastic, its plasticity is limited. 



Since science is based upon accuracy, the communication 

 of scientific thought should be accurate. Yet in a large 

 percentage of scientific publications in the English language 

 sentences that are grammatically ambiguous occur fre- 

 quentlv, and not seldom such as have no meaning. The 

 sense intended may be, indeed, derived from them, either 

 through study of the context, or through exertion of one's 

 scientific instinct ; but it is surely just to demand that the 

 unnecessary labour of a cryptogrammic research be not in- 

 flicted on the reader. Viewed in its crudest aspect, such 

 misuse of language is an act of discourtesy to the reader ; 

 so legitimate resentment should provoke no surprise in the 

 author. 



It is common in a certain class of publications to meet 

 files of nouns marching through the paragraphs. Although 

 this may at times indicate a well grounded derivation of 

 adjectives, yet it is frequently unnecessary, either since a 

 suitable adjective exists, or since a prepositional or adverbial 

 phrase conveys the meaning exactly. 



Various other parts of speech are frequently misused. 



There is no need for fine style in scientific literature ; but 

 good style is obligatory, because it is an essential con- 

 comitant of the accurate expression of clear thought. 



October 17. F. Escombe. 



SCIENCE IN SPORT.' 



THE late Prof. Tait was probably the first to bring- 

 scientific principles and methods of experiment 

 to bear upon the mystery of the flight of a golf ball. 

 Newton, in a pregnant note on the deflection of a 

 tennis ball in air, gave the foundation principle, which 

 curiously enough both Euler and Poisson rejected as 

 of no account. Robins and (later) Magnus experi- 

 mented on the effect, but it was left to Tait to work 

 out the problem in detail. His papers on the rotating 

 spherical projectile virtually form a new chapter in the ' 

 dynamics of rotation. In these papers, and elsewhere 

 in more popular form (e.g. in Nature, vol. xlii. p. 420, 

 1890), he lays down clearly the conditions which must 

 be fulfilled if a man is to drive a far and straight ball. 

 Slicing, pulling, topping, are all completely explained 

 along the lines of Newton's remark, numerical tests 

 are supplied, and various possible curves of flight are 

 calculated out and drawn. 



Tait showed how the ball must be started if it is to 

 finish aright. The difficulty the ordinary golfer ex- 

 periences is to give the proper start. This is his 

 problem ; and the mode of solution is as varied as the 

 temperament of the player. There is, in fact, a con- 

 tinuous gradation of style and effort from the simple 

 minded golfer whose one aim is to hit the ball to the 

 nervous and pathetically anxious one who looks to 

 every detail of grip and stance as a sine qud non to 

 perfection. There must, however, be a best way for 

 every individual, and in discovering this the aspirant 

 no doubt should be guided by scientific principles. 



This is, perhaps, the most important practical stand- 

 point from which to view Mr. George W. Beldam's 

 interesting and beautiful book, " Great Golfers. Their 



1 " Great Golfers. Their Methods at a Glance." By George W. Beldain. 

 Pp. xxiv-|-4Si. (London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd.. 1904.) Price I2i. 6:/. 



"The Art of Putting." By Walter J. Tra' 

 and Illustrated by G. W. Beldam. Pp. 32 

 Co., Ltd.). Price ij. net. 



i and Jack White. Edit 

 (London : Macmillan a 



