CHAPTER IX.

EDUCATION OF ANIMALS BY MAN.

THE education of other animals by man is either

1. Direct and intentional, for some specific purpose of his own, in which case it is usually thorough and systematic; or—

2. Indirect and unintentional, the result simply of association with him, of the influence of his habitual example and behaviour.

Direct and deliberate training by man may be for good or for bad purposes, or for those which can scarcely be designated either the one or the other. Its object is, usually at least, his own selfish ends, either of profit or pleasure, or both. This may be best seen in a consideration of some of the chief results of man's training, which include the following:1. The feats or tricks of performing or learned animals, among which are dogs, horses, cats, elephants, canaries, parrots, and even fleas : e.g.

a. The articulation of words and phrases-the use of speech-by the parrot and certain other birds, including the acquisition of human language and the knowledge of more than one of man's languages.

b. A certain kind of orthography or spelling, consisting of the arrangement in words of the letters of man's alphabet, including the correction of errors.

c. A sort of writing, involving the skilled use of the

paws.

d. Feats of jugglery.

e. Gambling, or playing tricks with cards.

f. Playing games of various kinds with man.

g. Feats in arithmetic, or the calculation of numbers. h. Reading the clock, involving a knowledge of figures, if not also of numbers or time.

i. Reading or understanding figures on cards, patterns on carpets, pictorial illustrations of persons, other animals, and things.

j. Feats of song and whistling, including the per-
formance of operas and concerts, involving the
taking of parts.

k. The performance of certain kinds of instrumental
music, by such animals even as swine and cats,
elephants and bears, the two latter playing the
organ (Pierquin, Bisset)—including the keeping
of time as well as a knowledge of tune.
1. Histrionic or dramatic representations, in which,
as in concerts or operas, different animals
'play' appropriately their different parts, in-
cluding the simulation of human character, of
military exercises, of declamation.

m. Feats of agility by the monkey, and even by the
horse and bear--such as walking or tumbling,
as well as dancing to music, on the tight rope
or otherwise, trundling wheelbarrows on the
tight rope, firing cannon by pulling the string
of a trigger, bell-ringing.

n. The development of politeness or manners, including salutation, behaviour at table and in man's society.

2. Services to man.

a. Acting as valets or servants, including the calling of servants or awaking of masters, opening door to visitors, handing them their hats, and showing them out.

b. Acting as messengers or porters, including especially the conveyance of printed or written intelligence of the first importance by homing pigeons during war, the delivery of newspapers, fetching and carrying groceries, butcher's meat, and bread.

c. The guidance of the blind or helpless.

d. The discovery of lost travellers and property. e. The defence of persons or property.

f. The saving of life in shipwreck or otherwise. g. The capture and home-bringing of runaway or stray animals.

h. The guidance and guardianship, including the nursing, of children; the management of teams of horses and flocks of sheep.

i. Hunting down certain animals so as not to injure their fur.

j. The bearing, draught, and carriage of burdens. k. Begging for behoof of their masters, and so supporting them.

1. Capturing or collecting food for man, as in birds or dogs fishing for their human masters, including, for instance, the gathering of cocoa-nuts by monkeys as hired labourers, described as 'monkey coolies,' in Ceylon.

m. The performance of various duties, mostly of a mechanical nature, some of them, however, requiring a considerable amount of mental exertion, such as

1. Drawing carriages or guns.

2. Piling timber.

3. Fitting drain or other pipes.

4. Turning kitchen spits.

5. Working the bellows.

6. Tending engine or other fires.
7. Playing the barrel organ.

n. The judicial punishment of man or other animals, the execution of man's sentences on fellow-man, as by the elephant in India or the blood hound in Cuba.

o. Use in war, in aiding or defending man-for instance, in the intimidation of his enemiesincluding the display of coolness in battle. p. Various arts of deception, such as those involved in smuggling and brigandage.

q. Various crimes, such as

1. Theft in all its degrees, up to highway robbery.

2. The murder or mutilation of man or other animals, for the purposes of

revenge or for other nefarious purposes.

3. Services to themselves.

a. The use of money, including buying or purchasing by the dog.

b. Begging for their own behoof.

4. Services equally to themselves and to man include, for instance, the restraint imposed upon their natural appetites, the wonderful self-control of which they become capable.

This self-restraint, or self-denial, while it is one of man's greatest educational triumphs, is alone sufficient to repay him for all his trouble, foreshadowing, as it does, the yet hidden possibilities of what he may achieve from the domestication and moral education of the anthropoid apes. Thus the truffle-hunting dog, a small dog bred from the French poodle, though very fond of truffles, never eats them, being trained not to do so.' The shepherd's collie is similarly taught not to touch milk, while in other dogs the restriction refers to the even greater temptation of uncooked flesh of various kinds.

The useful accomplishments of the lower animals, the result of man's training, may be studied as illustrative, on the one hand, of what may be achieved by a single human teacher, and, on the other hand, of what may be exhibited by a single animal species.

An idea of what one man can do in developing the mental and bodily powers of animals may be gained from a study of the animal feats which resulted from the labours of Bisset, the animal trainer or teacher of Perth. He had animals of the most diverse genera and species thoroughly under command; in his hands they became pliant, obedient, good-natured. He developed in them good manners; taught them to offer obeisance or greeting to their audience or spectators for he exhibited his performing animals before great assem

blages of people in London and other large cities); substituted tractability for obstinacy in such an unpromising animal as the pig; caused different individuals, genera, or species to act in concert (for instance, in part-singing or operas); made them useful in going messages or fetching and carrying according to orders.

Among the feats he taught the very varied accomplishments his pupils acquired—were writing, arithmetic, spelling names, telling hours on the clock, playing tunes on the dulcimer, turning the barrel organ or beating the drum, dancing, riding and tumbling on horses' backs, tumbling and dancing on the tight rope, the use of the paw in drinking healths or holding candles.

On the other hand, among the tricks exhibited by learned or performing elephants alone: are

1. Emptying soda-water bottles.

2. Folding their own saddle-cloths (Watson).

3. Public, military, or other salutes (Pierquin).

4. Speaking or talking of some kind.

5. Piping or whistling, or other forms of music, vocal or instrumental.

6. Gymnastics.

7. Theatrical or dramatic representations.

8. Mechanical or engineering skill.

9. Bell-ringing.

10. Organ-playing.

11. Obeying man's word of command or order.

12. Rope-dancing.

13. Dining at man's table and behaving with decorum, though necessarily after a clumsy fashion in contrast with that exhibited by certain anthropoid apes.

The orang can be trained to sit at table and conduct itself with all due decorum or propriety; to become a servant, waiting at table and performing other domestic services (Watson, Cassell)—all in a notably human fashion. The chimpanzee shows in various ways a similar humanlike or civilised behaviour. For instance, he sometimes takes his food. like a man, making use both of man's foods and beverages, as man uses them. He helps himself to wine; drinks hot tea,