Mind in Animals. 373 
scenes, and dog-fighting, rat-killing and cock-fighting, even 
though they are now contrary to law, are still practised in 
secret. Similarly the sense of humor is developed in the 
lower animals by causing pain or annoyance to some other 
creature, and the animal acts in precisely the same manner 
as a savage or a child. 
Sparrows, as might be expected from their character, will 
gratify their feelings of aversion by banding together for the 
purpose of mobbing some creature to which they have an 
objection. In Hardwicke’s Science Gossip for December, 
1872, there is a short account of a number of sparrows mob- 
bing a cat. Evidently the cat had intended making a meal 
on one of the birds, but was greatly mistaken, for the spar- 
rows dashed upon him so fiercely, that he soon turned tail 
and ran into the house, one of the sparrows actually pursu- 
ing him into the house. The poor cat ran up-stairs, and 
was found crouching in terror under one of the beds. This 
happened in London, where the sparrows are less numerous 
now than they used to be. 
No bird of my knowledge possesses a larger amount of 
humor than the crow. I have known him to feign an attack 
upon a distant part of a field of newly-sprouted corn, which 
was being guarded by a farmer with his gun. When the 
latter would be drawn to that part of the field where the 
attack was to be made, the sagacious bird would manage to 
outwit him, slip around to the other side, drop down into 
the field and obtain a few tender sprouts before the farmer 
hardly knew what was going on. But he was always up and 
away at the opportune moment, and, perched upon a fence- 
rail, beyond the range of the gun, would enjoy one of his 
rollicking cawing laughs at the farmer’s expense. Crows 
that are tame have the sense of humor more keenly devel- 
oped than their wild brethren of the fields and the woods. 
I once knew a tame crow that took great pleasure in annoy- 
ing a dog that lived in the same family. Carlo, as the dog 
was called, was never so contented as when allowed to sleep 
