Sir F. Lubbock on Teaching Dogs to Read. 201 
In a note to Nature, 17th Jan., 1884, Sir John says, “I may 
take the opportunity of stating the progress which my dog 
Van (a black poodle) has made, although, owing greatly to my 
frequent absences from home, and the little time I can devote 
to him, this has not been so rapid as, I doubt not, would 
otherwise have been the case. . . . The essence of my idea 
was to have various words, such as ‘food,’ ‘bone,’ * water,’ 
‘out,’ &¢., printed on pieces of cardboard, and, after some 
preliminary training, to give the dog anything for which he 
asked by bringing a card. I use pieces of cardboard about 
10in. long and 3in. high, placing a number of them on the 
floor side by side, so that the dog has several cards to select 
from, each bearing a different word.” The dog is not guided 
by scent, but solely by eye, because a number of cards bearing 
the same word are used. ‘“ When, for instance, he has brought 
a card with ‘food’ on it, we do not put down that identical 
card, but another with the same word; when he has brought 
that, a third is put down; and soon. For a single meal, there- 
fore, eight or ten cards will have been used; and it seems 
clear, therefore, that he must be guided by the letters. . 
I have no doubt that he can distinguish between different 
words. For instance, when he is hungry he will bring a 
‘food’ card time after time, until he has had enough, when he 
lies down quietly for a nap. Again, when I am going for a 
walk, and invite him to come, he gladly responds by picking 
up the ‘out’ card, and running triumphantly to the front 
door with it. As regards water, I keep a card always on the 
floor in my dressing room, and whenever he is thirsty, he goes 
off there and brings the card with perfect gravity. If, through 
inadvertence, he brings a card for something he does not want, 
when the corresponding object is shown him he seizes the 
card, takes it back again, and fetches the right one. No one 
who has seen him look along a row of cards, and select the 
right one, can, I think, doubt that in bringing a card he feels 
that he is making a request, and that he can not only perfectly 
distinguish between one word and another, but also associate 
