mind, which had been
hoped for by some, and feared by others, has not taken place. But a
conclusion of an opposite character is justified. If such unexampled
patience and high pedagogical excellence as was daily brought to bear by
Mr. von Osten during the course of four long years, could not bring to
light the slightest trace of conceptual thinking, then the old assertion
of the philosophers that the lower forms are incapable of such thinking,
finds corroboration in the results of these experiments so far as the
animal scale up to and including the ungulates is concerned. For this
reason the tremendous effort put forth by Mr. von Osten, is not, in
spite of the self-deception under which he labors, lost to science. If
anyone has the courage to try the experiment with the dog or the ape,
the insight which we have now gained will enable him to beware of one
source of error which hitherto has not been noticed.

In the face of much misapprehension which has arisen, I wish once more
to say emphatically that the committee of September 12th in no wise
declared itself to be convinced that the horse had the power of rational
thinking. The committee restricted itself entirely to the question
whether or not tricks were involved, and, intentionally and rightly
referred the positive investigation to a purely scientific court. I
would also report that for some time Mr. Schillings has been convinced,
by his own observations, of the horse's lack of reason, and when he was
apprised of our conclusion in the matter, he embraced it without
wavering. I have no intention of taking part in any discussion which may
arise in the press as a result of the present report. Unless they wish
to confine themselves to mere guesswork, the defenders of other views
will not shrink from the task of basing their criticism upon careful
methodical experimentation, and they will keep a detailed record of
their results day by day; for statements based solely upon memory,
without specific report of experimental conditions, prove nothing.

PROF. CARL STUMPF.

December 9th, 1904.

TABLE OF REFERENCES

(The names of the authors of anonymous works are placed in parenthesis.)

1. ZELL, TH. Das rechnende Pferd. Ein Gutachten ueber den "Klugen Hans"
auf Grund eigener Beobachtungen. Berlin, R. Dietze, 1904.

2. FREUND, F. Der "kluge" Hans? Ein Beitrag zur Aufklaerung. Berlin, Boll
and Pickardt, 1904.

3. HANSEN, F. C. C. and A. Lehmann. Ueber unwillkuerl