THINKING HORSES.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1954, 10 January 1914, Page 3

THINKING HORSES.

If anyone l&ss- trustworthy than Professor J.. Arthur Thomson dkjsoribcd tho achievements- of tlio ''thinking" horses at Elberiield, Germany, ho would run tho risk of being disbelieved, llio professor relates in tho "Contemporary" tho investigations conducted by a "committee of distinguished German scientists. It -seems that there are four horses vv-hich havo been educated by Herr Krall, of Elberfieldi One or tho horses, Muhamed, corectly found tho fifth root of 147,008,443, the sum being read out to tho animal by Krali. After making several mistakes, tho horso stamped out tho correct answer—43— on the board placcd for that purpose in the stable. Other horses did sums in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, proceeding thence to problems in fractions, and the extraction of square and cube roots._ But Muhamed; was tlie best arithmetician of tho lot,; Ho extracted a cube root of seven figures, which wero ivriiten on his blackboard by orra of tlio professors in the absence "of- tho horso's teacher. Tho professors then left the stable, and watched the animal through a hole in tho wall. If horses can bo found to solve complicated arithmetical problems as accurately and quickly as this talented Elbcrfiekl animal, the time may come when a horse will be appointed Treasurer of a'great self-governing State.,