CHOICE EXTRACTS.

Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 245, 3 February 1877, Page 2

CHOICE EXTRACTS.

THE i:;TZLLSJi' OF ANIMALS. (GnHjnaid.) On this subject i-'rnfessor Jolly some timj ago tljiiytTticl a lecture at Toulouse, the text of which we find in the " Revue Scientiiique." He declares himself a partisan of those who admit that animals have intellect, distinct, and very different from, instinct. To enter into his arguments would not perhaps satisfy all our readers, but a few of the instances the Professor adduces in support of his views will be found interesting. If a dog be threatened with chastisement by his master he will crouch down and whine; this is a proo of memory, for if he were wanting in that faculty the mere act of raising the whip would produce no effect upon him. Another instance of this is the well-known case related b Dupoiit de Hemours. Surgeon Pibrac, on returning home one evening, found a splendid dog lying on his doorstep ; it had broken its leg, and appeared to be suffering dreadfully. He took it in, set the leg, and kept the creature imtil his entire recovery. It then disappeared one fine morning to return to its old master; but six months later Pibrae received an unexpected visit from his old patient, which fawned upon him, and pulled him by his coat, whining all the time, until at length he followed it to the door, when* he found another dog in exactly the same predicament. We come to a third instance, still inedited. MRichard (du Cantal), late inspector of studs, once saw a dog take refuge between his legs from a packet of boys that were torturing'it in various ways. M, Richard, perceiving that his tail was badly crushed, amputated the injured part, and then let the poor animal go. About ten months after, on passing near a farm, two powerful dogs came running, at him from some distance, barking furiously, and evidently intent \ipon an attack. Suddenly, however, one of them stopped short, looked at him, and recognising him, overwhelmed him with caresses. Here Professor Jolly justly remarks that there are four circumstances to be considered—the exercise of an instinct that bids the animal defend property, the remembrance of past events, the recognition of a person connected with them, and lastly gratitude. We will conclude with the following equally inedited instance related to the Professor by M. Ed. Klaol. ' The latter gentleman had

called on a friend, and met there anothey'who had brought his clog with him. It " seems the animal thought the visit too long, so, in order to give his master a gentle hint that he had better cut it short, it took his hat between its teeth, and brought to him. O IST LOYE WITH HIS OWN WIFE. At the gaming table, the Duke of Richmond incurred a debt of honor to Lord Cardigan which he was unable to pay, and it was agreed that his son, a lad of fifteen, who bore the title of the Earl of March, should marry a still younger daughter of Lord Cardigan. The boy was sent for from school, and the girl from the nursery, a clergyman was in attendance, and the children were told that they to be married on the spot. The girl had nothing to say ; the boy cried out, " They surely are not going to marry me to that dowdy V But married they were. A postchaise was at the door, the bridegroom was packed off with his tutor to make the grand tour, and the bride was sent back to her mother. Lord March remained abroad for several years, after which he returned to London a well-edu-cated, handsome young man, but in no haste to meet his wife, whom he had never seen, except upon the occasion of their hasty marriage. So he tarried in London to amuse himself. One night at the opera his attention was attracted to a beautiful young lady in the boxes. " Who is that V he asked of a gentleman beside him. "You must be a stranger in London," was the reply, "not to know the toast of the town, the beautiful Lady March." The Earl went straight to the box, announced himself, and claimed his bride. The two fell in love on the spot, and lived long and happily together, and when the husband died she also died of a broken heart within a few months.

PHFSI3AL TRAINING.

Till within the last few years (says the Loudon Standard) no peopl- 1 , perhaps, had neglected physical training more than the French, gymnastic exercises and pursuits beinj a iuusfc entirely ignored among all classes by the V'.utii of that 'JLhie experience, however, of the trous war with the Germans ca r bu tion to the subject. There was no ting the eyes to the fact that of the Germans, both of officers and men, was far superior to that of the French ; and it could not be doubted but that this superiority was to bj attributed to tha systematic discipline of the muscular apparatus which almost all Germans receive in their gymnasiums, and which is made a special feature in military training. A movement was therefore made in France to popularise gymnastic and athletic pursuits, and for this purpose clubs were established in Paris, Rheims, Lyons, and other large towns, and gymnasiums erected. Considerable success has attended the movement, though it will probably take many years before a real love of physical training and manly exercises will take deep root in French soil. Special attention has been paid to this subject by the military authorities, and an interesting record has just been made., public of an official inquiry into the restilta of gymnastic exercises at a military school. The enquiry' extended oyer a. period of six months, and the ascertained results were : That the muscular force is increased on the average from fifteen to seventeen per cent,, and occasionally from twenty-five to thirty per ceiit. ; that the capacity of the chest is increased by onesixth at tho least, and that the weight of the individual is increased from six to seven per cent., and occasionally from ten to fifteen per cant. ; while the actual bulk of the body is diminished, the profit of weight being confined to the muscular system. These results are very striking-,—J and it is obvious that in a great war the nation which can bring into the field the greater number of men physically well trained and disciplined will have an immense advantage over its adversary. A fact, however, was noticed in this inquiry, which shows that gymnastic training requires scientific supervision when applied systematically to large bodies of men. It was to the effect that the increase of muscular force was generally confined to tha first three months of the course, and that during the last three a serious diminution usually occurred. This fact would aeem o suggest that regular, prolonged, and enforced gymnastic training i 3 not advisable in any army, and much might be advanced in favor of this view. Still, the general advantage of gymnastic exercises, not only to soldiers, but to all classes of the community, is undoubted. Gymnastic—i.e., pure palsestric exercises as tinguished from "athletics"— yet received as much attention in this'"~l

i •wry tow a »r«l al»m*t evury vi not only a covered one in the opmi ail '* wl ! , ; :a f l " llll>rß '"' Um wwiHte.it by Stuto at.t Amm;,.; mi. eyHitwHiui.iM f.ry fju'and (•»• ,:ol ' v, ''' ;i: h'Mit is evident from the mindly wh» truqMnt t!n«o wpisn to the public m our metropolitan park* that thuir multiplication would hj« hUflity appreciated. W tub admitting that of late nars a largo number oE vyrnnasSic apptiartc s havw bemi furnished both at public ami scUiob. ladUV schools not tjcu-ptt-d, ti.at physio it traininc b:u v.-ry properly vtcuivod much utt.mtio,, irv t!m_ army, and that tfyinruwr.Jc cliil » arc »howm-j a y<-;v.-.y incw'«3'V H.*. P r " st,ll i-....„; fttrthwritwvtli.-t.usisit oc thwart. U would fee well if propff w< re pn.v.drd for all c'dldirm !-;'rl* aa wtll an Uy>-., m j&ito pp«««i though thnc mo s, : .m;d '. rathe* bo voluntary than o nipuU-iy. «ymnasium», t0... as plcrduutly t-ar-ji-bflsh«a as they an; Ul *i«*'ui.-«iy. won!. undoubtedly help t" miprovu Uc g physique of out- population..