Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1896-02-18
DO ANIMALS TEACH7
rus FACULTY or lMpARTING khowL-
EDGE IS CERTAINLY LIMITED.


Dog do Not Appear :" Lave w """e
Cats and Rats May Experiences mus
tr.ting This PoInt--Au Interesting 9"es-
tiou Raised by tho Moral 10 Sermon.
In the course Of sermon the other
day one of our clergy very happily point
cd his moral by contrasting the inseiii'
oence Of the brute with chat of man.
"You can teach dog almost anything
said he in substance, "but the dog can
not impart the knowledge he receives
from his master TO another Of his kind.
Nan. On the other hand, not only I'M
bibes knowledge but constantly gives
Of the best Of his learning to others.
Without pausing to discuss the moral
truth thus illustrated IL is not upinter-
estiup to make some inquiry as to the
correctness Of the clergyman opinion
that brutes have not the faculty OF I'M
parting to their kind the things wi'ioh
man has taught them. As to those proc
esses Of thought which we call instinct,
which are involuntary and which are
obeyed in every individual Of the species
with no idea Of Improvement IN the
method. the distinction between them
and those processes which are owing 10
| association with man Is clearly marked.
Tn. affection Of the female brute for her
Young is instructive. The dogs use Oh
the sense Of smell in tracking, the mi
ora,ions Of birds, the comb building OF
bees. the siavemaking of some species
| of ants and the yearly movement OF saiin-
ON and shad from the sea into rivers
and back again-these are all instinc'
tive. The young Of any Of these would.
| left 10 itself. develop the same faculties
in the same way without asking ITSELF
tho why or wherefore, and in maturity
would bo as fully endowed with the IN
s,iuetiye functions ~ another indiyidu-
al which had had the constant compaD-
| iouship Of members Of its kind.
But many animals are capable of men
tai development 40 far beyond the oper-
| alton VI instinct that the difference be-
tween their reasoning powers aud those
Of man is very difficult 10 determine. A
well trained shepherd dog will not only
drive sheep to pasture. but Will, when
commanded, fetch them home. More
| than this, shepherd dog. having been
told 10 fetch home certain sheep ont OF
the flock (the shepherd calling 1t by
pame), has been known 10 obey the com
uand without an instant's hesitation,
| siprlipg ont the one sheep unerringly.
| He knew the name Of every sheep in the
flock. and could fetch any ope that was
desired. Yet. with all his intelligence
the dog could not teach another to do
the same thing. With every new dog the
shepherd must go through the same long,
laborious process of teaching him his
business. Undoubtedly, the training OK
successive generations through long pc
RODS Of time has developed in the collie
q character which makes his traising Tor
sheep herding easier than would other
wise DO tho case Ii Is extremely i'm
probable that a pug or a spaniel could
ever be trained 70 herd sheep, or that a
collie could be taught 10 point or set
game. But lot the collie or the pointer
run without breaking and no matter
how much they mingled with trained
dogs Of their distinct species the one
would never learn 10 tend sheep nor the
other to point game.
There was lately published volume
Of Dog Stories From the London Spec
tator." in which were gathered many
anecdotes Of the sagacity Of dogs, but
while they covered every imaginable e1-
hibirion Of intelligence. affection, wis
dom. aud even humor. none OF them
demonstrated that one dog could teach
another any trick or duty that IL had
learned from its master.
IL would be supposed that IL any ami
NAL were capable Of imparting as well
as acquiring know Hedge IL would be the
dog. vet IL seems that that generally IN
uactable. urteachable creature. the cat.
actually has this faculty. One instance
of this is authentic. A tabby, having a
bad habit Of leaping on the dining table
after the family had risen from 1t and
Of prowlins over the fragments. was
finally cured by being sounGly cuffed ON
several occasions when she had been
caught in the act. After awhile she had
n litter Of kittens, and one day when
they were half grown one OF them jump
ed ON 10 a chair, and so TO the dining
table. A member Of the household busy
in the next room saw the mother cat
leap up beside her offspring and cuff 1t
vigorously ON the ears until II scrambled
to the floor.
Another story which seems to show
| that brutes can teach one another is told
Of colony Of rats. Ii cannot be vouched
for. however. Rats are fond Of clans.
and the narrator Of this story. having
left a ple Of the shelltish near the back
of his house, saw the rat creep up 10
them. Their shells were partly open.
The rat fiicked bis tail into the shell Of
one, when instantly il shut down tight
and the rat scampered away with 1t.
Presently the rat, relieved Of its load.
returned with half a dozen companions.
when each Of them thrust its tail into
/ the shell Oh Cldiui WuicH EMU 10
jaws, and the rats gayly marched of.
This would seem TO show that the first
rat instructed the others how 10 capture
the CLANS But how did the first one
learn the trick? Was it instinct or acct
dent, or had il learned il from some patri-
arch of former generation5 Perhaps
the initiative instinct which is found
! IN the lowest forms Of life might ac-
count for this remarkable proceeding Of
the rats. But it is pretty certain that the
initiative instinct was not at work In
the cat when it cuffed its young one
The interesting question is whether the
cat was Intentionally Furnishing the kit
ten for climbing on the table or simply
CHANGED to be in the humor for cutting
at that moment in that place without a
thought Of the improperly of its be-
havior Buffalo Courier.
l Not All Iavvers Good wftuss.es