2i8 THE HORSE OF MR. VON OSTEN 



ferentiated by mere tapping with the foot, any more than 

 a child could learn to count by employing only one finger. 

 Mr. von Osten evidently imagined the process was some- 

 what like this : Whenever Hans was about to count 5, he 

 would enunciate inwardly the numbers from i to 5, and 

 would accompany each word with a tap of the foot. 

 Since, furthermore, wooden pins and balls could be used — 

 as in the case of children — for giving visual content in 

 learning the significance of the number-terms, it seemed 

 as if all the conditions necessary for the formation of 

 number-concepts were supphed. However, the most es- 

 sential thing had to be presupposed, viz. : that the horse 

 virtually possessed the general power of forming con- 

 cepts,* and that all that had been lacking was the suitable 

 conditions for its development. Mr. von Osten held 

 tenaciously to this conviction, and it was this conviction 

 that was the basis for the infinite patience with which the 

 tests had been pursued. 



To come now to the learning process itself; — we may 

 assume that, at first, whenever the horse began to tap in 

 response to commands, he would receive a reward for this 

 purely mechanical feat. Wooden pins were then planted 

 on the ground and designated as : one, one two, etc., and 



* There are some who believe they are warranted in concluding the 

 opposite from the structure of the animal's brain alone. We may say 

 that the brain of the horse, compared with that of the ape, or even that 

 of the dog, represents a relatively low type of development. But owing 

 to the rapid changes in the views, often contradictory, concerning the 

 nature of the nervous structures and processes underlying the thought 

 process, any conclusion based on such views would be premature. For 

 this reason we cannot agree with the French physiologist who was 

 dissecting the brain of a horse and, struck by its smallness of size, ex- 

 claimed : " When I saw your proud look and beautiful neck, I hesitated 

 a moment before mounting upon your back. But now that I have seen 

 how small is your brain, I no longer have any qualm about using you."" 



