Omaha daily bee., 1909-01-03

The purpose Of an exhibition like the
Transmississippi is in fact as truly educa-
tional as that Of the National Corn show,
and while less attention has, of course, been
attracted to the first named. it has in a
modest way been as helpful to chicken
breeders as the greater show was to corn
and oats breeders. Moreover, the great
growth which the Transmissippl has ex-
perienced goes to show that its full scope
is not yet reached and that its possibili-
ties are vast.
An attentive crowd was gathered around
a small grating near the stands of the
Coronation kennels. The crossbars we're
wide enough apart to permit a fox terrier
pup to pass through with ease, and Charles
Benson was trying to induce the dog to
bring through with him a crotched stick.
He had given It to the puppy so that the
V which the crook formed pointed in the
opposite direction to which the dog ad-
vanced. The result was that the crook
caught on a crossbar every time the dog
tried to get through, he holding the stick
by the forward end.
Again and again the dog tried and failed.
Benson was experimenting to see IL the
young canine could focus out the diff
Guilty. If the dog had caught the stick by
the other end his progress would have
been unobstructed.
To help matters along, Benson took the
stick away from him and threw it down
again. The puppy caught it by the middle
and will the stick at right angles to his
line of direction tried to push through.
This was, OF course, impossible. Half a
dozen times the stick was thrown and as
often the dog did nothing but grab at It
A. AI--A --A-w L. --UNI IA .-1 A. -
get through. OF studying the problem n
discriminating the knotty point, there was
absolutely nothing doing.
Finally, by that was plainly sheer acci-
dent, the dog caught It by the right end
and went through in triumph. A spectator
who had Just come up, and who a not
seen the failures, remarked:
Clever dog. He knew the right end to
take 1t by"
1T was pure luck" said Benson. 'The
dog did not even show the usual intelli-
gence with which he is equipped. Your
remark goes to show that before passing
judgment upon a matter of animal psy-
chology one should be In possession Of all
the facts.
"As a matter Of fact, there is moro loose
talk about animal psychology than any
thing else I know OF. People talk at
IdIluOLn dbOul lhSNllCN anu ithSbillnB LII
do not know clearly what they mean by the
terms. OF course, animals nave intelli-
gence-some of them a marvellous amount.
OF acts OF pure reason not even many men
are often guilty, and animals not at all.
The statement of the greatest living
psychologist IN the world is about the best
and shortest. wundt declared: Few men
and no animals reason"
''Well. let me tell you about a dog my
uncle owned" began one of the spectators,
who looked ready to combat Benson's state
ment. This dog"
"wait a minute" said Benson. 1T want
you to tell me h the dog actually did
and not what your uncle inferred was pass
ing in his mind, and which he told you, and
to which you added a little yourself, un-
consciously"
The man never did tell his tale, for half
a dozen other spectators all began at once
to narrate how their grandmothers' pet cats
used to tell the time and read the Their
mometer, or how my dog used to feel