THINKING ANIMALS

Evening Star, Issue 20048, 13 December 1928, Page 13

THINKING ANIMALS

TALL STORIES OF OOGS AND HORSES Rolf was a mongrel. Ho was lost and desolate when rescued by Frau Mokel, the wild of a Manncnheim lawyer. He has been dead now for nine years, but, like tho newsboy who becomes president of a republic or prime minister of a nation, he triumphed during his lifetime over his humble beginnings. Before ho died, Rolf became a classic, tho doyen of thinking dogs, not merely a pupil, but a pedant, and there is a school which talks about him and marvels about him still. It fell to Rolf’s lot to live during a period when that band of animal lovers who held, and still hold, that dogs and horses are capable of independent thought had their vogue. Stories have been told about him which, to the ordinary individual, are quite unbelievable; legends have grown up concerning his astonishing intelligence. Tho stories are based upon Frau Mokel’s account of how tho remarkable dog began to learn, and of his astonishing mental development. One day Frau Mokel was helping her children with their home-work. Little Frieda obstinately refused to solve the problem of 2 plus 2, and was severely reprimanded. At that moment the dog, lying under the table, looked up with “ such an intelligent expression in his eyes ” that Frau Mokel said;— “ Frieda, just look at Rolf. Yon would think, from his eyes, that he at least know the answer.” Sho said to the dog, “ Rolf, what is it you want? Do you know what two and two make? ” To the frau’s “ great surprise ” the dog struck four taps with his paw on her arm. Tho elder daughter suggested that she should ask the dog bow many wore five and five. Ten taps of tho paw was the immediate answer. Tho same evening, continuing tho tests, they found that tho animal could solve correctly simple sums in addition, subtraction, and multiplication! Then Frau Mokel “earnestly asked Rolf if ho would like to learn to talk.” With tho utmost vivacity the animal answered “ yes,” and vigorously agreed to make an alphabet for himself. So they started. For “A” the dog designated four taps, for “ B ” seven, and so on. When he had mastered the alphabet Rolf began to spell out easy words. One day a bouquet was brought into the room, and tho dog was asked to count the flowers. He indicated that there were fourteen, and went on to divide them correctly, telling how many lilac flowers there were, how many blue, and how many yellow. Ho was a wit and something of a poet, too. Asked by Dr Mackenzie, of Genoa, what is autumn? he replied, “ It is apple time.” Asked by a lady what sho could do to give him pleasure, he replied, “Wag your tail!” And when a reporter invited him to extract square roots, Rolf nonchalently answered “ Tell him to extract them himself 1” Some people believe all this: others will take tho liberty to doubt it. Those who are prepared to believe it, or who are interested, and seek further information, will find a book in which The exploits of Rolf, Zou, and several other famous “thinking” dogs, as well as a number of horses, are recorded, written by Carita Borderieux, editor of ‘ Psychica,’ ' translated by Fred Rothwell, and just published by 6. Bell and Sons, London, stuffed with extraordinary stories of what is claimed to - be animal intelligence, as apart fpom instinct and telepathy. The study of animal psychology is

limited to a comparative _ few, but these, with Madame Borderieux as inspire!’, lack nothing in enthusiasm. The propelling idea is that man has not been placed in this animal world, of which ho regards himself as the king, for tho solo purpose of subduing and destroying. He has also before him tho “ very noble and lofty task,” j tho moral duty, to raise the lower aniI mals to his own level, to protect and educate them. The movement started as far hack as 1890, when van Osten, a horse breeder began to tench his animals. There was great interest in tho claims made by van Osten, and several commissions inquired into bis methods and the results achieved. There was no | doubt that his horses, by tapping with the forelegs, gave the correct answers to difficult sums in arithmetic, but tho conclusion seemed to bo that the teacher transmitted to the horse tho reply that was to bo given by means of slight unconscious movements of the head or the eyes. After van Osten died, Herr Krall, a rich Elberfield merchant, acquired the most advanced of the horses, Hans, and also two young Arab stallions, Muhamed and Zarif. Ho soon claimed marvellous results. Muhamed, according to the claims made on his behalf, learned French as well as German, and was able to extract square and cube roots. Ho spelt words by tapping with j his hoof tho number corresponding to I a letter. j Although scientists declined to assent to the intelligence of the horses, I they were unable to detect any deceit or fraud in numerous experiments. But enthusiastic believers found ample evidence to support them in their conj iention that the Elberfield horses—i which were killed in the Great War | —were actually able to read, count, | and converse, using their minds indei pondently of any human influence. ' Theories advanced to explain the j seeming intelligence of domestic ani- ' mals enter tho realm of metaphysics. Some of the explanations put forward, ami seriously discussed by those do- ; voting their whole lives to the prob(lem,’ will strike the normal reader as extremely far-fetched. One writer apparently held in repute, for example, suggests that tho dog uses its tail as a sort of antenna or feeler, a collector of wave vibrations! Our authoress will not have this, as she has ascertained that Zou, one of the most famous thinking dogs now living, wags his tail only when paid a compliment, leaving it hanging perfectly still at other times. Whether they are likely to achieve anything or not, however, Madame Borderieux and her disciples are not doing any harm. They are true animal lovers, devoted to the protection of their “ humble friends ” from ill-usage and unnecessary suffering, and in that they will have tho support of many who regard their dog and horse stories as incredible.