The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1884-02-01
Teaching Animals TO Converse.

Sir John Lubbock, the distinguished
anthropologist and naturalist, sends
to the London Nature brief discus.
sion of subjec, which is full of in
terest aud always peculiarly fascinat-
ing.
From the earliest times the speaking
of birds and beasts has been the sub
ject of fable, and every lover of dog
or horse has mourned that only in
fable was there speech between man
and the brute. Sir John Lubbock,
however, seriously considers the posi-.
bility of teaching animals to converse
with man. at has occurred to me, "
he says, "whether some such system as
that followed with deaf mutes, espe-
cially by Dr. Howes with Laura Bridg
man, might not prove very instructive
if adapted to the case of dogs
Accordingly he has tried expert
ments with his dog He printed in
legible letters on pieces of stout card
board such words as food" "bone,"
"out." The dog was black poodle,
breed which, by the way, Is generally
known to be quick at learning tricks /;
Sir John Lubbock got the head master
of deaf and 1umb school to assist at
the experiments. They began by Civ
ing the dog food in a saucer, over
which was laid the card on which was
the word food and beside which was
placed an empty sancer covered by
plain card.
"Van," the poodle soon learned to
distinguish between the two. After
ward he was taught TO bring the card
which expressed his wants. "This he
now does" says Sir John Lubbock,
"and hands il to me quite prettiiy, and
/ then give him bone or little food,
or take him out, according to the card
brought. He still brings sometimes a
plain card, in which case l point out
his error, and he then takes it back and
changes it." That mistake is not often
made by Van. He has learned to dis
tinguish between the card with the
word and the blank card, no matter
how often their relative positions are
changed
This is only the beginning of the
very interesting experiments Sir John
Lubbock proposes to make. He means
to multiply the cards so that the dog
may be enabled to communicate freely
with him. He also expresses the wish
that other owners of dogs which have
displayed especial intelligence and
docility, would conduct similar expert.
ments, so that the results may be col
lated and compared. 81 confess he
concludes, 81 hope that some positive
results might follow, which would
enable US TO obtain a more correct in
sight into the minds of animals than
we have yet acquired ~
All those who are familiar with dogs
and who enjoy their frequent compan-
ionship, will both acknowledge that
Sir John Lubbock has reason for his
hope, and trust with him that the re-
suits secured will enable him to explore
hitherto secret chambers of the canine
intellect.
An infant is taught to communicate
its desires in speech only after the ex-
penditure of infinite pains and unwear-
wing patience on the part of the mother
1t is a very slow process, and the teach
ing goes on nearly the whole of the
child's waking hours. The lessons, too
are object lessons. In the case of the
deaf aud dumb and blind, the most
marvellous results are attained by the
patient teacher
If like care and pains are spent in
the way indicated by Sir John Lub-
book, may we not also expect to reach
results which will be surprising and
of inestimable value in the investiga-
tion of animal intelligence and the
mental process of brutes =? Dogs have
been taught by circus men and Others
to do great variety of things
which show the reasoning capacity
of the animals and the stories of
canine intelligence and canine suscep-
tibilities are innumerable and wonder
full But we do not know of any pre-
vious attempt to pursue this subject
after scientific method, and for the
specific scientific purpose this distin-
guished naturalist has in view.
AT any rate, there is not more fas-
cinating inquiry than that upon which
Sir John Lubbock has entered /; and it
is far from absurd to hope, as a t1ippant
writer in the NeU York Times lately
implied, that man will yet have added
to his pleasures the opportunity of
holding::converse with his dog.-N Y.
Sun.