492 The American Naturalist. [Jane, 



London. This ape learned from her keeper so many words 

 and phrases, that in this respect she resembled a child shortly 

 before it begins to speak. Moreover it was not only particular 

 words and phrases which she thus learnt to understand, but, 

 to a large extent, " she understands the combination of these 

 words and phrases into sentences, so that the keeper is able 

 to explain to the animal what it is he expects her to do. 

 For example she will push a straw through any particular 

 mesh in the net-work of her cage which he indicates by 

 such phrases as ' the one nearest your foot : now the one 

 next the key -hole ; now the one above the bar/ etc., etc. Of 

 course there is no pointing to the places thus verbally desig- 

 nated, nor is any order observed in the designation. The 

 animal understands what is meant by the words alone, and 

 this even when a particular mesh is named by the keeper 

 remarking to her the accident of its having a piece of straw 

 already attached to it." This Chimpanzee could also count 

 correctly as far as five. She was asked for two straws, five 

 straws, one straw, etc., no order being observed in the requests. 

 If she were asked for four straws she successively picked up 

 three straws and put them in her mouth, then she picked up 

 the fourth and handed over all the four together; the ape 

 having been taught, if more than one straw were asked for, to 

 hold the others in her mouth until the sum was completed. 

 The Crow is little behind the Chimpanzee in arithmetical 

 genius if Monsieur Leroy Ranger at Versailles is to be trusted, 

 and as his life-work consisted in watching the wild and tame 

 animals of the royal domain, he was hardly likely to be 

 deceived. He says " crows will not return to their nests dur- 

 day-light, if they see anyone waiting to shoot them. If to 

 lull suspicion a hut is made below the rookery, and a man 

 conceals himself in it with a gun, he waits in vain if the 

 bird has ever before been shot at in a similar manner. She 

 knows that fire will issue from the cave into which she saw 

 the man enter. To deceive these suspicious birds, the plan 

 was hit upon of sending two men into the watch-house, one of 

 whom passed on, whilst the other remained. But the crow 

 counted and kept her distance. The next day three went, 



