190 
JOURNAL OF MAMMALOGY 
RECENT LITERATURE 
Hornaday, William T. The Minds and Manners of Wild Animals. A 
Book of Personal Observations. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons. 
Pp. i-x, 1-328, illust. $2.50. May, 1922. 
The Minds and Manners of Wild Animals is “a book of personal observations” 
by one who has given sixty years to the sympathetic study of the creatures about 
which he writes. The result is a remarkably interesting description of the be- 
havior of a wide variety of vertebrates under various conditions in nature or in 
captivity. Quotations are notably few in number. The author well proves the 
truth of his assertion that “To the inquirer who enters the field of animal thought 
with an open mind, and free from the trammels of egotism and fear regarding 
man’s place in nature, this study will prove an endless succession of surprises 
and delights.” Every page bears witness to this fact. Doctor Hornaday has not 
allowed his interest and enthusiasm to run away with his common sense and good 
judgment. He keeps in mind his own dictum that “In studying the wild -animal 
mind, the boundary line between Reality and Dreamland is mighty easy to cross. 
He who yields to seductive reasoning, and the call of the wild imagination, soon 
will become a dreamer of dreams and a seer of visions of things that never oc- 
curred. The temptation to place upon simple acts of animals the most complex 
and far-fetched interpretations is a trap ever ready for the feet of the unwary. 
It is better to see nothing than to see a lot of things that are not true.” .... 
“The student must not deceive himself by overestimating mental values. If an 
estimate must be made, make it under the mark of truth rather than above it. 
While avoiding the folly of idealism, we also must shun the ways of the narrow 
mind, and the eyes that refuse to see the truth. Wild animals are not super- 
human demigods of wisdom; but neither are they idiots, unable to reason from 
cause to effect along the simple lines that vitally affect their existence.” . . . . 
“Brain-owning wild animals are not mere machines of fleS^h and blood, set a-going 
by the accident of birth, and running for life on the narrow-gauge railway of 
Heredity Some animals have more intelligence than some men; and 
some have far better morals.” 
The long-debated question of the reasoning power of animals is answered by 
Hornaday in a very positive manner. He says: “Yes. Animals do reason. If 
any one truth has come out of all the critical or uncritical study of the animal 
mind that has been going on for two centuries, it is this. Animals do reason; 
they have always reasoned, and as long as animals live they never will cease to 
reason.” And again, “The wild animal must think, or die.” 
The book as a whole is divided into four sections. First, there is “A Survey 
of the Field” in which, following certain introductory statements and generali- 
zations, there is a discussion of the temperament and individuality of wild ani- 
mals, in which temperament is subdivided into six types, “the morose, lymphatic, 
sanguine, nervous, hysterical, and combative,” and a comparatively long list of 
the larger mammals is given under these heads. The language of animals is 
discussed in a chapter which covers a range from frogs to primates. As language, 
the author considers four sorts, vocal, pictured, written, and sign. “The higher 
wild animals express their thoughts and feelings usually by sign language, and 
rarely by vocal sounds. Their power of expression varies species by species, or 
