THE EEASONING POWER OF ANIMA.LS. 



If a collection could be made of the thousands of 

 accounts that have been written and published in 

 which animals have been described as exhibiting undeni- 

 able proof of sound and good reason, there would still 

 remain in the minds of a very large number of persons a 

 grave doubt as to the veracity or accuracy of the observers 

 and writers of these statements. It is a natural conse- 

 quence for persons fond of animals, and who keep pets, to 

 attribute to them an amount of intelligence which no 

 other person would be able to discover in them. It, there- 

 fore, appears to me to be simply a matter of individual 

 opinion in all cases of the kind, and there remains, according 

 to my idea, only those persons who are well acquainted 

 with animals, and who have many opportunities of arriving 

 at a correct decision, that are in a position to offer a fair 

 and impartial judgment upon the subject. The numerous 

 instances which have come under my observation during 

 my long acquaintance and constant attention to the wants 

 and habits of animals, have enabled me to satisfy myself 

 beyond all doubt, that nearly all animals possess the power 

 of reasoning, such power differing in degree from man 

 until, in the lower forms of animal life, no vestige can 

 possibly be traced. 



There can be no doubt that in those animals immediately 

 associated with man, observing Ms habits and reguirements, 



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