The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-12-06
BRUTE ARITH N
Examples showing That the Dumb Animals
Know Something of Numbers.

from Our Animd! Friends.
One day the celebrated ornithologist Audu-
bon anne out OF his cottage with four of his
friends to go for a walk. The next instant
they saw a parrot fly In at a window. Audubon
and. one of his friends returned indoors. and
Immediately the bird new out in "a fright and
went circliug about overhead. Audubon
came out again, but the bird refused to re-
enter until the other gentleman had also left
the house. 1t seemed TO remember that two
persons had gone in and only one had come
out. Curious to discover how far the parrot
could count. he returned indoors with his
four friends, and made them go out. one at y
time. while he himself remained inside. In
n few minutes the bird flew in again. IL was
evident that. Its powers OF arithmetic ended at
the number four.
A Russian doctor, named Iimofeff. tried the
birds. cats, dogs. and horses. He declared
that the arrow is capable of counting AS far AS
tribes OF men in Polynesia. who comprehend
hardly anything of mathematics. nr. limo
nefrs account Of the beHa !!or Of his own dog
away separately. Ono day his master pre-
he immediately pr oceedcd to bury in twenty
six different places. On the morrow DR.; Tim
oiien did not iced tie animal at all. In The
afternoon he let his net out into the garden,
and from a window watched him attcntiyeiy.
The dog st to work at one and dug up ten of
The bones. Then ho stopped, seemed TO re-
fleet for II moment. and began digging again
until lie had found nine others. Here lie
turned TO work. scratching perseveringly until
lie had unearthed six more bones. This
gan Lis dinner. suddenly he raised his head.
stopped eating, aud looked around With u
thoughtful air. Then, as If quite sure TINT he
sixth bone. and returned with a look of salts
faction to his meal. The Doctor believed that
the number twenty six WAS too much for tho
canine min fiv 70 grasp So. and that tue doT had
groups. -counting the bones in each lot scpa-
rately, but that the mental process was SO
complicated, that he had made u miscalcula-
tion, and only rectiiicd IL after reflection.
The same writer tells US that the cat is less
expert in arithmetic than tho dog. not being
used TO hold II piece of meat to his 2at'a nose
aud draw IL away suddenly. always repeating
nal to take the morsel. Puss soon grew ac-
customcd to the performance. and waited with
dignity and %calmn"ss until the sixth ollcr WAS
made. when she sprnng up and seized the piece
Of meat with her teeth.
For some weeks the doctor repeated this M
mistaSe. Wien. however. he triSd to S,"f ino
crease her kno%ledse by making four more
tho meat. she lost the count completely and
Jumped ut the wrong moment.
Proofs of the horses power OF counting are
peasants horse, which. when working, invnri-
ably stopped To rest after. the twentieth fur
TDN. ~ uu Iol ulilLtE now long the Held
happened to be. nor how tired Tho animal
might feel, IL never stopped until the twenIi-
eth furrOw had been made. aud SO exact was
the count that the farmer could tell the mum.
Der OF burrows by ioting how many times the
horse had halted.
In another village there was a horse which
reckoned distances nv posts. and knrw what
hour 1t was by the striking OF the clock. Dr.
Timofieh was driving from one town to an
other, and at, tho twenty-second verst 1.-TWO.
thirds OF a mile one OF the horses stopped sud
denly. The driver got down from his seat aud
gave the, animal "a measure of oats. AT the same
time explaining To the passenger that tho horse
was accustomed 70 being fed after every TWEEN
ty:hfth verst. This timo It had made a mis-.
take. but Il could not be blamed. as it did not
judge OF the distance tIAyersed by its own fa-
tiEue or hunger, but by counting the ycrst rosts
along the road. II had mistaken Tor some OF
these posts three others which greatly rescm llrd
boundary of the state forest.
The same horse was always fed In the stable
at noon, and DR.. TimofeR himself observed
thar whenever q neighboring church clock began
TO strike the animal raised its head and list
than twelve it put down it's head sadly. bur il
displayed every sign OF joyful expectation when
y heard twelve strokes, and knew that dinner
time bad arrived.