Mental Processes in Animals. 355 



What I wish especially to notice is, however, that the 

 actions are suggested by certain forms of words ; but that 

 there is no evidence that the form of words is in any sense 

 understood. When the onlooker sees a bird lie on its back 

 when asked if it will die for the queen, and get up again 

 when told to live for its master, he is apt to think that, 

 since lie understands the form of words, the bird must 

 understand them too. But I am convinced that Mr. 

 Naish's intelligent cockatoo could have been taught with 

 equal ease to lie down at the command "Abracadabra," 

 and to stand up again at "Hocus pocus." Tricks taught 

 to animals involve the performing animal and the human 

 onlooker. The form of words introduced is for the sake of 

 the latter, not for the sake of the former. 



So much has been written concerning the intelligence 

 of the parrot, and so much has been said concerning its 

 imitative power of speech, that I must say somewhat 

 on this head. I have received from Miss Mildred Sturge, 

 of Clifton, an interesting account of an African West Coast 

 parrot which was possessed by Miss Tregelles, of Falmouth. 

 This parrot used the phrases it had learnt appropriately in 

 time and place. " At dinner, when he saw the vegetable- 

 dishes, he generally said, ' Polly wants potato ; ' at tea he 

 would say, ' Polly wants cake,' or ' Polly's sop,' or ' Polly's 

 toast.' Our grandmother's house was not far from the 

 station, and almost before people could hear it, Polly 

 would announce, ' Grandmamma, the train is coming,' and 

 presently the train would quietly go by. Besides repeating 

 much poetry, Polly made new editions by putting lines 

 together from different authors ; but the remarkable thing 

 was that he always got the right rhyme. One of his 

 favourite mixtures was, ' Sing a song of sixpence ' and ' I 

 love little pussy.' One day my mother overheard — 



" ' Four and twenty blackbirds, 

 When they die, 

 Go to that world above, 

 Baked in a pie. ' " 



Now, we must not underrate nor overrate the evidence 



