750 
which class the speech of Don properly may 
be referred. 
First, it is plain enough that the dog does 
not use words with any consciousness of their 
meaning to the hearer. His vocabulary is al- 
ways given in order, beginning with “Don” 
and ending with “Ruhe.’ If the order of 
questioning is varied he is called “ Kuchen” 
and he desires “ Hunger,’ ete. (Here it may 
be noted that the author was unable to get 
even approximations to the last three words 
in the list accredited to the animal.) 
Secondly, it is evident, says Mr. Pfungst, 
that he is not using words learned by imita- 
tion. The author assumes that any imitator 
of another speaker would vary the pitch, in- 
tensity or accent of his words as the imitatee’s 
were varied. Don’s voice—a high tenor, 
ranging from F on the bass clef to the octave 
above middle ec, usually pitched in talking 
near d above middle e—is not varied when the 
pitch of the questioner’s voice is altered. 
Furthermore he does not imitate changes in 
accent or intensity. He is as likely to say 
“ Kuchén” as “ Kiichen”; “Hungér” as 
“ Hanger,” ete. From the legitimacy of the 
author’s adoption of this criterion, however, 
the reviewer is inclined to dissent. His own 
experience with a child of two and one half 
years, learning readily to speak a large num- 
ber of words and phrases from imitation, and 
able to give both vowel and consonant values 
with perfect distinctness, for several months 
was that she would not imitate changes of 
intensity or pitch, although she usually showed 
apparent willingness to try. To apply this 
principle in the case of the dog would require 
the assumption of an attentive ability as well 
as of motor skill, far in excess of any of which 
that animal has given evidence. But Mr. 
Pfungst offers other disproof of the imitation 
hypothesis which to the reviewer seems ade- 
quate. This is found in the method of learn- 
ing. The first word which the dog is reported 
to have uttered is “ Haben.” We are assured 
that being asked, “ Willst du etwas haben,” he 
thereupon pronounced distinctly the words, 
“ Haben haben haben,” and was rewarded with 
food for his pains. When he afterwards at- 
SCIENCE 
[N.S. VoL. XXXV. No. 906 
tempted to pronounce the words he would give 
many inarticulate gurgles, but the food was 
given only when the correct number of syl- 
lables were uttered at once. The owner’s family 
state that ten repetitions, some a week apart, 
sufficed for this learning. The word, “ Ruhe,”’ 
was first uttered after a command, “ Ruhe,” by 
the owner’s daughter. Hearing the dog’s re- 
sponse, she demanded, “Was sagst du da,” 
and obtained again the answer “ Ruhe.’ He 
was then taught to give this word after his 
fifth question, “Was bittest du dir aus?” 
The name, “ Haberland,’ which none of the 
investigators could obtain from him, was first 
answered without instruction to the question, 
“Wer hat den ersten Artikel iiber dich in 
die Zeitung gebracht?” These facts are 
hardly consistent with any provable experience 
in learning by imitation. Indeed, it may be 
remarked that to the reviewer, who has spent 
the greater part of two years in experimenta- 
tion on the behavior of dogs under controlled 
conditions, the animals’ vagueness of percep- 
tion and extremely low degree of attention 
would make a very strong presumption 
against the possibility of their learning even 
the simplest acts by “observation and imita- 
tion.” 
Mr. Pfungst concludes that the speech of 
Don is therefore to be regarded properly as 
the production of vocal sounds which produce 
illusions in the hearer. He calls attention to 
the fact that not even the number of syllables 
in any given “word” of Don’s is constant. 
The dog makes only one vowel sound, having 
a value lying between o and wu, varying con- 
siderably, but usually nearer wu. The experi- 
menters could not hear from him certainly 
either a@ or e. His one guttural-aspirant is 
like the German ch, and does duty for k and 
h. There is also a nasal, of a value lying be- 
tween n and ng. When it is not prolonged it 
passes for a d, as in “ Don.” He really never 
makes the sound of b, d, k, 1 or r. When he 
utters a word expressed by [(ch)unguo], not 
much effort is required from a suggestible 
hearer to perceive the sound as “Hunger.” 
When in making phonograph records the 
questioner asked merely “ Was?,” the dog gave 
