n to do in the way of stamping a certain number of times in supposed
indication of an answer to an arithmetical question (in the case of
horses), or of the name of an object drawn (in the case of dogs), are
dependent on clever associations established by the teacher between
minute signs and a number of stampings. What is certain is that mammals
have in varying degrees a strong power of establishing associations.
There is often some delicacy in the association established. Everyone
knows of cases where a dog, a cat, or a horse will remain quite
uninterested, to all appearance, in its owner's movements until some
little detail, such as taking a key from its peg, pulls the trigger. Now
the importance of this in the wild life of the fox or the hare, the
otter or the squirrel, is obviously that the young animals learn to
associate certain sounds in their environment with definite
possibilities. They have to learn an alphabet of woodcraft, the letters
of which are chiefly sounds and scents.

The Dancing Mouse as a Pupil

The dancing or waltzing mouse is a Japanese variety with many
peculiarities, such as having only one of the three semicircular canals
of the ear well developed. It has a strong tendency to waltz round and
round in circles without sufficient cause and to trip sideways towards
its dormitory instead of proceeding in the orthodox head-on fashion. But
this freak is a very educable creature, as Professor Yerkes has shown.
In a careful way he confronted his mouse-pupil with alternative pathways
marked by different degrees of illumination, or by different colours. If
the mouse chose compartment A, it found a clear passage direct to its
nest; if it chose compartment B, it was punished by a mild electric
shock and it had to take a roundabout road home. Needless to say, the A
compartment was sometimes to the right hand, sometimes to the left, else
mere position would have been a guide. The experiments showed that the
dancing mice learn to discriminate the right path from the wrong, and
similar results have been got from other mammals, such as rats and
squirrels. There is no proof of learning by ideas, but there is proof of
learning by experience. And the same must be true in wild life.

Many mammals, such as cats and rats, learn how to manipulate
puzzle-boxes and how to get at the treasure at the heart of a Hampton
Court maze. Some of the puzzle-boxes, with a reward of food inside, are
quite difficult, for the vario