The Human Side of Animals | Page 9

to bark, as does sometimes the jackall," and it is well
known that certain dogs, when reared by cats, imitate their habits, even
to the licking of their feet and the washing of their faces. If a mongrel
dog associates with a trained dog for any period of time it is remarkable
the progress he will make. For this same reason young dogs are carried
on hunting trips with trained dogs that they may learn by imitation the
art of hunting.
In the whole realm of Nature there is nothing more wonderful than this
matter of protective colouration. Animals do not monopolise the art. It
extends through the whole world of living creatures. The fact that
individual animals have no voluntary control over their own colour is
eloquent testimony as to the existence of mysterious life forces and
racial evolutions which are still far beyond the grasp of man's
understanding. To see a tiny chameleon adapt his colouring to his
environment, be it red, green, or yellow, in the twinkling of an eye, is
to have seen an argument for God Himself.

II
ANIMAL MUSICIANS
"Nay, what is Nature's self, But an endless strife towards Music,
euphony, rhyme?"
--WATSON.
The great thinkers of the age believe that the world is one marvellous
blending of innumerable and varied voices. This unison of sound forms
the great music of the spheres, which the poets and philosophers have
written so much about. Even from a purely scientific point of view,
there is no denying that this music exists. Aviators tell us that when
they listen from a distance to the myriads of noises and sounds that
arise over a great city, these are all apparently lost in a modulated hum

precisely like the vibrations of an immense tuning-fork, and appearing
as but a single tone. Thus the immense noise going from our world is
musically digested into one tone, and the aviator soaring above the
earth hears only the one sound--the music of the spheres.
The deep appreciation that animals have for music is becoming a
generally known fact among those who have studied them closely.
Every one must admit that there is much truth in the old saying that
"music hath charms to soothe the savage breast." Music is composed of
vibrations, which act with great power upon the nervous system of men
and animals alike. Each is affected according to his particular physical
and mental development.
Professor Tarchanoff has made a careful study of the influence of
music upon men and animals. He has demonstrated, by means of a
machine which carefully registers the various activities of the hands
and fingers, that when the hands are so tired and fatigued that they
cannot make any marks except a straight line on the cylinder which
registers the movements, music will so stimulate the nerves as to cause
all fatigue to disappear. And as soon as the fingers again touch the
cylinder, they begin to draw lines of various kinds and heights, thus
proving that the music had rested the fingers and placed them under
control. Various kinds of music were used: that of a melancholy nature
had precisely the opposite effect to that of a lively, cheerful character;
the nerves of the hands could either be contracted or expanded
according to the nature of the music.
Like all real scientists, Professor Tarchanoff does not claim to give any
positive explanation of these facts. He believes, however, that the
voluntary muscles act in the same relation to the music as the
heart--that is, that cheerful, happy music affects the excito-motor
nerves, sets up a vibration in those nerves which produces cheer and
good feeling; while sad, morbid music plays along the depressant
nerves and produces sadness and depression.
In view of these facts, it is easy to see how animals, with their nervous
temperaments and ready response to outside stimuli, are greatly
influenced by various kinds of music. It is scientifically recognised that

music tends to increase the elimination of carbonic acid and increases
not only the consumption of oxygen, but even the activities of the skin.
There is no doubt that good music at meal time aids the digestion.
[Illustration: American Museum of Natural History, New York
MONKEYS ARE THE MOST MUSICAL OF ALL ANIMALS.
WHEN THEY CONGREGATE FOR "CONCERTS," AS SOME OF
THE TRIBES DO, THE AIR IS FILLED WITH WEIRD STRAINS
OF MONKEY-MUSIC.]
[Illustration: CATS, UNLIKE DOGS, ARE VERY FOND OF MUSIC.
AND IT HAS BEEN PROVED THAT THEIR MUSIC-SENSE CAN
BE DEVELOPED TO A REMARKABLE DEGREE.]
Cats have a species of unbeautiful music all their own, generally
produced at late hours of the night on the house tops, garden walls, and
in the alleys of our dwellings. Miss Cat's songs are far too chromatic to
be appreciated by human ears;