580 
deavor were enthusiastic and numerous; so- 
called mechanical explanations were offered 
for all sorts of reactions, but these explan- 
ations were so extremely simple and crude 
that they soon came to be looked upon as 
worthless and the mechanistic concept of be- 
havior fell into disrepute resulting in a period 
of stagnation. 
Not until early in the nineteenth century 
was interest in the reactions of organism re- 
vived. During this period numerous obser- 
vations and experiments were made on plants, 
all form a purely mechanistic point of view 
and very encouraging results were obtained. 
The work on the behavior of animals con- 
sisted, however, almost entirely in superficial 
observations and the collection of anecdotes, 
mainly concerning reputed marvelous feats 
performed. The dog and the fox were fa- 
yorite subjects, but all sorts of animals were 
‘dealt with. We have as a result of this work 
numerous volumes testifying to the interest in 
tthe subject. Menault’s “Wonders of Animal 
Instinct,” running through five editions, 
Jesse’s “Anecdotes of Dogs,” Swainson’s 
“Habits and Instincts,” Cough’s “ Instincts,” 
ete. These. anecdotes are all essentially the 
same in character. Let me illustrate by quot- 
ing one from Menault. 
<‘The following has been related by one of our 
most eminent naturalists, who heard it from a per- 
son worthy of credit: © 
A young lady was sitting in a room adjoining 
a poultryyard, where chickens, ducks and geese 
were disporting themselves. A drake came in, ap- 
proached the lady, seized the bottom of her dress 
with his beak, and pulled it vigorously. Jeeling 
startled, she repulsed him with her hand. The bird 
still persisted. Somewhat astonished, she paid 
some attention to this unaccountable pantomine, 
and discovered that the drake wished to drag her 
out of doors. She got up, he waddled out quickly 
before her. More and more surprised, she fiol- 
lowed him, and he conducted her to the side of ° 
pond where she perceived a duck with its head 
caught in the opening of the sluice. She hastened 
to release the poor creature and restored it to the 
drake, who, by loud quackings and beating of his 
wings, testified his joy at the deliverance of his 
companion, ” 
SCIENCE 
[N. S. Vou. XLVIIT. No, 1250 
It was generally assumed during this period 
that animals are endowed with mental facul- 
ties similar to those in man and the main in- 
centive in all of this work was the inculea-- 
tion of humane treatment of animals. The 
distribution and extent of pleasure and pain 
in the animal kingdom was the problem of the 
day. Menault says in his preface: “ The mar- 
vels of animal intelligence claim now, more 
than ever, the attention of observers.” “ We 
believe that the lower animals possess, In a 
certain degree, the faculties of man,” and 
Jesse says: “The better the character of the 
dog is known, the better his treatment is 
likely to be, and the stronger the sympathy 
exerted in his behalf.” 
The “Origin of Species,” which as you 
know appeared in 1859, opened a new field 
in behavior. Evolution came to dominate 
every phase of biology, and the evolution of 
reactions and psychic phenomena came to be 
the central problem in animal behavior. To 
the solution of this problem a number of able 
investigators devoted their energies (Darwin, 
Lubbock, Bert, Romanes, Preyer, Graber, et 
al.). 
All of these men concluded on the basis of 
the results obtained that psychic phenomena 
extend well down in the animal kingdom and 
some of them even contended that there are 
indications of such phenomena in plants. 
Thus they maintained that all organisms are 
functionally and psychologically interrelated 
in the same way as they are structurally, and 
that the mental faculties of man originated in 
primitive forms. 
Whatever view one may take regarding these 
conclusions, the fact remains that the experi- 
mental work of some of the investigators men- 
tioned is of the highest order and the results 
obtained have been largely confirmed. I 
should like to refer particularly to Lubbock’s 
ingenious and thorough work on light-reactions 
in Daphnia and color-vision in bees. Critics 
should always bear in mind that these inyesti- 
gators were interested in the origin and eyolu- 
tion of responses and of psychic phenomena, ~ 
and not in the mechanics of reactions. 
During the latter part of the nineteenth 
