The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-07-03
John IsurrouRh. and the Animal
Psychologists.

When Professor T. / BREWSTER IN
an article upon the animal mind IN
McCiure'S Magazine for august 1919
wrote that 80 far as the - adv of animal
behavior IL concerned IN" davs Of the
mere observer are past and minated
that II took the pain-taklnG naturalist
Of the older sore "a long tune To- acquire
comparatively lttlc exact information
about animals "" knew that Mr. JOHN
BURROUGHs. who - the dean 81 III"
na,uralists ~ the Old ~,huol. could not
contain himself very long Mr. BUR-
RoUCHS replies vigorously IN the july
number of MoCiuves
Professor BREWSTER j. modern
animal psychologist the term is hi
own and regards laboratory study AZ
vastly superior IN H. scientific results
to stalking and watching animals and
birds 10 earn their habits and teuder-
cle= The modern psychologist catches
his subieC and puts Il into a coop for eX
pertinent He plots -ita learning curve
on coordinate paper" after much -ys-
terrtatic observation ard many curious
tests The following are some II the
things that Professor l}RFwSrER and
his aChonl believe thoy have determined
Fir-,. there j. no such thing A. instinct
IN animals. or ,nStin"t plays u small pnrt
IN their ati- and conduct the duck does
not know water by seeing il but must
feel ii before using ~ web feet the
chicken would due 81 thir-' before It
hxs -.
the cat = not an instructive enemy 90 the
mouse. hut cha~r- and kills the mouse
hesaiiS II runs. the matnrnR! IN
-iinCt ~ animals - - myth here are
only impulse. that hav" a. do with the
Young the instinct ~ preservation does
not really exist IN animals and birds bat
there j. fear and hunger and thirst
Professor lIgFwSTFR sums mp IN this
way: strictly speaking there j. no such
thing ~ instinct Instincts there ar"
bv the sCOrc. IN instinct IL
never piece Of Information and never
vague faculty II j. always AN inn
pulse To- do some definite act ike peCking
at bright object "r IN the human
hugging q baby.
Professor BREWSTER asserts that lost
anirnals do not ind their wav home -by
instinct =. on III. contrary. most four
footed beasts AMI most men. once badly
lost stay lost and do not get home M
all Even the homing pigeon has Ia
be- trained 10 know the way As for
migrating birds he declares that they
learn by habit Ia recogniz" the features
Of the country through which they fly.
and that each individual bird has its
pr..ci-" summer abode and its equally
pracis. winter home Nor do birds
teach their young to fy~- the fiedglingS
would fly Il they becam" orphans and
mad their own way Ia make in the world
Thus holds Professor BREWSTER. very
SURE II his subj ect. doRmatic indeed. and
apparently sorry for the naturalist Of the
Older SORT. whose occupation Is gone
JOHS BUERoUGHs. Who has given his
life to nature study and ha- Interested
millions ~ people in Il because he " rites
-ympatheiically with limpid clearne-s.
afiirm- that We cannot get along without
the ancient and honorable term in
stinct, the ncw psychology 10 the con
trary He contends that the Wild ami
mals act mainly from inherited habits
or instinct lie believes the laboratory
man would find II hard To explain why
the heifer hides her first calf IN the bush
the puppy burie- his bone. and the
ground bird d"coys ntr,iders away from
her nest by hutiering about as II dis
abled "" sums up thus:
EA@h animal sp~~trs inhcTits an organization
that drtermInr~ the lind Of i'e n shall I've how IL
shall meet ~, enemies nov get Il. food and what
that food SHAH be- 10 habitat and the NE and Il
inherit. tho Instincts that 20 with the organi.s
ton
john BUHRoUdHs maintains that a
wild animal never gets lost. though
domestic animals certainly do. He has
known the muin- in Boring Sea to Nv