Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1880-05-01
PROF. HUXLEY ON DOGS.
The Unity Of Structure and Charac.
ter between the Dog and Nam
The Canine Mind.
fLcndon Telegraph, April II

The Canine Mind.
tLcndon Telegraph, April IL
Prof Huxley delivered yesterday afternoon
to distinguished audience at the Royal Institu-
ten. the I'll st OF two lectures on Dogs and the
blems Connect ed with them" He commenced
py RmaIking that there was no animal In which
Inc unity existing between the dog and man
was very stIikirg, not only in relation to the
physical nature but the moral nature of the
I've S9 anmas Taxing first the question Of phys
aid OF diagram, In which force was given to
the Illustration by the skeleton of the animal
being raised on hind legs, that in internal con-
struction the only difference between man and
cog was one OF size and proportion. There was
Lot bone in the one which did not exist in the
other-not single constituent In the one that
was not to be round in the other. In the case
OF the dog there was not that which. on super
fetal examination, answered to the collar-bone
OF the man; but close dissection would disclose.
in the case OF the lower animal, a little bone
varying In length from third to half an inch
occupying the same place as the human collar
bone, and which was Individually rudimentary
Importance, but there 1t was The great toe
which was conspicuous In the man, was only
fudimentarily represented in the dog; but that
was difference only Of form and proportion
and of attitude. Man and dog were constructed
Oh the same plan as two churches built in the
same style OF architecture bu differing In de-
tail. Considering the psychological nature Of
the dog, the lecturer remarked that he might be
met at the outset with the objection, Talk of
the mind of dog; why, don't believe he has a
nina" Well the only reason he had for asSum-
Ing that the dog had mind was the same rea
son Dy which he assumed that all pr sent
had minds. There was no direct evidence OF the
fact any more In the one than In the other. He
proceeded In this matter on the plain ground of
common sense, which led them Alright In their
daily affairs and upon which was founded the
general axiom that, where there was nothing
TO the contrary, like causes produced like
effects. Run a pin into a man. and there was
start and a cry, by which they came to the
conclusion that pain had resulted. Run pin
into dog, and there was howl and attempt
perhaps, to bite, by which we inferred that the
animal was in state of consciousness in which
1t also suffered pain. At the same time he was
disposed to think that in dogs the feeling of
pain was infinitely duiler than in human beings.
inclined to doubt very much II dogs could see
with anything like the distinctness of men.
Their hearing was indisputably very acute; but
1t was remarkable fact that that sense was
regulated on totally different scale in dogs as
compared with human beings. Did they ever
hear OF dog taking pleasure in music? On
cause him acute pain, accompanied by a horri-
Die sort of fascination, which, fastened him to
the spot at which he was subjected to the tor
ture. Else, when brass band was doing its
launches and howl when he might get up and
run away7 Yet he often wondered whether
dogs really did suffer pain from music or
whether they howled purely in sympathy, as
did the jackais of the prairies. The sense of
smell in dog was something marvelous-mar-
velous not only for its deicacy, but for the fact
that its discrimination Of what was agreeable
and disagreeable was exactly the reverse OF
ours. They never heard of dog being 1nfatu-
ated with lavendar water or patchOulf, or eau
e.cologne; he rather reveled in the smells
which to 1nen were a source OF unfeigned
dog which he frequently left
among the thousands frequenting Regents
Park, to secret himself behind tree. SO soon
as the animal found that he had lost his master
he laid his nose to the ground, and in that man.
ner very soon track him to his hiding place.
That showed that the dog had the power dis
tinguishing the particular modification of the
his master In c0ntradiStinctfon to the mOdifica-
lions produced by hundreds of thousands
of other. people present at the moment. AS
to the ability of dogs to find their way from
place to place, he believed there was an IN
conscious registration in their minds of the
visual pictures presented to it in the various
tracks through which they passed, and that
the memory worked backward until the animal
reached its destination. Indeed, there was no
fundamental faculty connected with the rea-
soning power that might not be demonstrated
to exist In dogs Now, While there was this
unity between dog and man, he did not mean
to say that the difference between them
was not very great, but the differ
ence was strictly a measurable one. Man
had left the dog behind, as their poor fit-
teth cousin. ever faithful ever intelligent, and
sadly ignorant Of the three RS and ali the
learning that followed thereon. After illus
rating by means of diagrams the variations of
the dog as now extant, In the wolf, the jackal
and other animals, Prof. Huxley concluded his
lecture amid hearty applause.