The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-10-25
MU> ICAL ANIMALS.
Are Animals Musical, and Can Their
Tastes be cultivated
Tfonl the Pail MaN Gazette.

Tastes be cultivated ?
From. the Pail MaH Gazette.
"Are animals musical o. Ia query that
has been asked over and over again De-
cidediy they are. answers Frederick
Whymper. The keeper Of menagerie was
once asked whether the band had any effect
on the animals. "To be sure It does, )" said
he; they like it, aud therefore it does them
good. II you were to come in and look at
them in a morning when the band is away
perambulatiDg the town you will see many
OF them, the more savage beasts in par
ticular. dull and moping, and either sitting
or living in their dens. We who
travel with wild beasts, cannot,
of course, give them the room
they ought to have; and, being cribbed up
in show boxes, they dege crate for want of
exercise, do what we will with them. But
it would be very much worse, l recko if
it were not for the music. When they hear
the band strike up they rouse themselves,
and begin taking what exercise they can /;
the beasts of prey by walking backward and
forwark, and The others by repeating the
movements natural to them when at liberty a;
the birds will begin to chatter and plume
themselves at tine sou ID, and even the
snakes at times will uncoil and rear up, and
to doubt the fact, that they are living
creatures" Dogs, as Is we'll known, are
often taught to dance to violin, pipe or
drum, aud even to grind barrel-organs. In
the latter case they very properly look ex-
tremely seri us. But jndicious dog finds
the harmonium even more trying. A
writer records a case of doR-a cross be-
tween Scotch and a Skye terrier-who
would come close TO a harmonium and evil
Al 81, 70 al.
point. But when q shrill note came from
that instrument Of torture he would point
his nose in the air at an angle OF about
forty degrees, and, stilfening his body in
straight line from the nostIns to the tail,
emit the same note IN a manner which
indicated his displeasure, and sustain IL as
long as did the performer. That artist gen.
orally. in fact, gave way first. Another dog
did excellent service, it seems, in this fash
ion: A friend OF the writer's, whose vocal
effo Is were not calculated to inspire any
special respect for either his abilities or
education, had an old dog, quiet, sedate,
and sleepy, which could be reused TO some
thing approaching fury when his masters
performances Commenced III ms presence.
The expression commenced Is used ad-
visedly, for these songs were never finished,
and, indeed, rarely got beyond the bar
raised against the bars Of the eXecut1nt by
tho dismal bowling Of that Intelligent
auadruped. For "executant' read muir
deror." The family had an intense regard
for that dog. go,
Cats, we are told. have little natural lik-
ing for music. but the taste can be acquired.
A certain pet cat, though Gs kitten ildlf-
ferent to music, grew 10 Ike 10, and regu-
larry led tho way % the piano when tea was
over. Here sha took Der post on a char,
and listened gravely during the whole per-
sleep, tho ga not N the ins rumegt acre
loft open, in which Gaze russ instantly
leanol "a the keys nui pave perform
nnca % Ter pwn, in which She thosed
aa extreme partially fof the treble
uqiea, and a0lnolning Ike alarm az