Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1893-11-14
ANIMAL vocAeuLARIes.


A good deal has been said about The
| probable existence Of definite vocabu-
larics IN the language OF tho lower. AMI
mails, and I believe one has gone TO Am.
ca TO study slmian speech. This 70 all
well enough, bot there II no need OF
going beyond the barn yard TO hear q
definite animal vocabulary Of consider
able number Of words. Hear tho roost-
er's warning cry when he sees or hears
indications Of danger. IL u definite
sound, and perfectly understood BY
every hen and chick. Drop food TO the
mother hen. She quickly inspects II,
and n approved, tells the little ones TO
eat, by ultering her well known "Coot,
coot, coot!" II she decides that Il ID
not At to eat, she ~ plainly tells them
to let Il alone. The other day green
worm fell from tree near brood OF
chickens. Every chick ran to seize the
morsel. The mother gave one quick
glance at the insect and said, "Skr-r-pr r
Every chick stopped instantly. But one
willful child, 10th to believe his mothers
assurance that Il wasn't fit to eat, would
make him sick, etc., started a second
time to pick up the worm. "Skr-r-pf'
commanded the hen sharply. Even the
willful child obeyed this time, and the
whole brood walked of c0ntentedly.
Discuss as we will the particular reason
for the hens cackle before and after lay
Ing, the fact remains that II IL definite
utterance, as plainly understood by both
gslllna and hOmines rs any expression
In human speech.
NV horse has n low whlnny which
means "water," and higher-keyed,
more emphatic neigh means food. When
hear these sounds know ss definitely
what she means as II she spoke In Eng
lish. This morning, passing along the
street, I heard that same low whinny
and, looking up, saw strange horse
regarding me with pleading look.
knew he was suffering from thirst, and
no language could make 1t palmer.
The language Of the lower animals u
not all articulate. IL Is largely sigL
language. The horse does q deal oil
talking by motions of the head and by
his wonderfully expressive looks. lie
also, upon occasion, talks with the
other extremity. A peculiar switch oil
the tail and gesture, as II threatening
to kick, are equine forms Of speech. III,
darky was not far from wrong who said
of the kicking mule, "It's just his way
Of talklng!"
The dog can not only "look volumes
hut can express whole sentences by
ways Of the tall more readily than cat
the waving flags Of the signal corps. Al
that IL necessary Il to learn his code
We expect our domestic animals to learr
our language, and punish them cruell,
II they fall to both understand and obey
our commands; yet, Notwithstanding
our higher intelligence, we fall to learr
their language, by means OF which We
might better understand their wants ant
dispositions, and thus control them b..
kindness and sympathy, Instead OF by
harsh and arbitrary treatment. l se'
horses passing along the street, which
are saving by every look and motion
that they are suffering acute tortur'
from q too short check rein. Ihei
drivers are often people who would ~
shocked u they could comprehend thell
own cruelty. But they do not under
stand horse language, and some OF then
do not seem To have horse sense.
The language Of animals IL a neglect
ed subject. The faculties for Its study
are within the reach of all, and no pre-
yious preparation IL required. III
study can be pursued without Interior
fering with other occupations, an
even n little systematic observation vii
bring large returns In both pleasure ant
profit.-Charles B. Palmer In Science.