354 PSYCHOLOG Y. 



on the yard-side. This latch is opened by lifting it. Besides this, 

 moreover, the gate is fastened on the garden-side by a string nailed to 

 the gate-post. Here, as often as one wished, could the following sight 

 be observed. If the little dog was shut in the garden and he wished to 

 get out, he placed himself before the gate and barked. Immediately 

 the large dog in the court would hasten to him and raise the latch with 

 his nose while the little dog on the garden-side leaped up and, catching 

 the string in his teeth, bit it through ; whereupon the big one wedged 

 bis snout between the gate and the post, pushed the gate open, and the 

 little dog slipped through. Certainly reasoning seems here to prevail. 

 In face of it, however, and although the dogs arrived of themselves, and 

 without human aid, at their solution of the gate question, I am able to 

 point out that the complete action was pieced together out of accidental 

 experiences which the dogs followed, I might say, unconsciously. While 

 the large dog was young, he was allowed, like the little one, to go into 

 the garden, and therefore the gate was usually not latched, but simply 

 closed. Now if he saw anyone go in, he would follow by thrusting his 

 snout between gate and post, and so pushing the gate open. When he 

 was grown I forbade his being taken in, and had the gate kept latched. 

 But he naturally still tried to follow when anyone entered and tried ir^ 

 the old fashion to open it, which he could no longer do. Now it fell 

 out that once, while making the attempt, he raised his nose higher than 

 usual and hit the latch from below so as to lift it off its hook, and the 

 gate unclosed. From thenceforth he made the same movement of the 

 head when trying to open it, and, of course, with the same result. He 

 now knew how to open the gate when it was latched. 



"The little dog had been the large one's teacher in many things, 

 especially in the chasing of cats and the catching of mice and moles; so 

 when the little one was heard barking eagerly, the other always has- 

 tened to him. If the barking came from the garden, he opened the gate 

 to get inside. But meanwhile the little dog, who wanted to get out the 

 moment the gate opened, slipped out between the big one's legs, and so 

 the ajipearance of his having come with the intention of letting him out 

 arose. And that it was simply an appearance transpired from the fact 

 that when the little dog did not succeed at once in getting out, the large 

 one ran in and nosed about the garden, plainly showing that he had ex- 

 pected to find something there. In order to stop this opening of the 

 gate I fastened a string on the garden-side which, tightly drawn, held 

 the gate firm against the post, so that if the yard dog raised the latch 

 and let go, it would every time fall back on to the hook. And this 

 device was successful for quite a time, until it happened one day that 

 on my return from a walk upon which the little dog had accompanied 

 me I crossed the garden, and in passing through the gate the dog re- 

 mained behind, and refused to come to my whistle. As it was begin- 

 ning to rain, and I knew how he disliked to get wet, I closed the gate 

 in order to punish him in this manner. But I had hardly reached the 

 house ere he was before the gate, whining and crying most piteously. 



