VI ANIMAL TRAINING AND INTELLIGENCE 1 73 



ago to a New York Sun reporter how some of 

 these antics were taught. To make an elephant 

 stand on his hind legs, he is first lifted by an 

 apparatus of ropes and pulleys, until he ascertains 

 what is expected of him. The military drills and 

 so-called dances in figure are acquired by repeated 

 rehearsals with men to guide them, but he does not 

 keep time with the music, as he seems to do — it 

 keeps time with him. 



To make him stand on a barrel or roll it is 

 simply a matter of inducing him to remain there ; 

 the balancing he attends to himself. The same is 

 true of the seesawing, which begins with a plank 

 flat on the ground. In order to teach an elephant 

 cycling, he is first placed on a wooden arrange- 

 ment, with his feet in the right position. When 

 he is acquainted with this he is advanced to the 

 tricycle itself, which is held steady until he has 

 taken his place, when the blocks are removed, the 

 pedals go round under his tread, and he soon 

 knows that he will not fall and is expected to work 

 them. 



These methods are very simple, but several 

 months of time, expended in short and frequently 

 repeated lessons, delivered with great patience, 

 and without missing a day, must be given to in- 

 struction, in order to make a success of it. The 

 brevity of the lessons is an important considera- 

 tion. What is to us no appreciable exertion at 

 all requires an effort in the mind of an animal 



