ANIMAL AND PLANT INTELLIGENCE 



hill by a straight climb or. diagonally would be 

 labor, so the animal moves easily along its side, 

 cropping the grass within reach. Then she takes a 

 step or two upward and grazes back the other way, 

 and this process is repeated till a series of level 

 parallel paths are worn in the side of the hill. They 

 are as much a natural result as is the river terrace 

 itself. 



The cow has always been a famous engineer 

 in laying out paths; sheep are, too. They take 

 the line of least resistance ; they ford the streams 

 at the best places; they cross the mountains in 

 the deep notches; they scale the hills by the easi- 

 est grade. Shall we, therefore, credit them with 

 reason ? 



When I was a bucolic treasury clerk in Washing- 

 ton, the cow of an old Irishwoman near by used to 

 peep through the cracks in my garden fence at my 

 growing corn and cabbage till her mouth watered. 

 Then she saw that a place in the fence yielded to 

 me and let me in, so she tried it; she nudged the 

 gate with her nose until she hit the latch, and 

 the gate swung open by its own weight and let her 

 in. There was an audible crunching of succulent 

 leaves and stalks that soon attracted my attention. 

 I hustled her out, and sent a kick after her that fell 

 short and nearly unjointed my leg. But she was soon 

 back, and she came again and again till I discovered 

 her secret and repaired the latch so that nudging or 

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