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188
The Speech of Monkeys
·
R. L. Garner
26
In
my
efforts
to
ascertain
their
mathematical
skill,
I
would
take
in
one
hand
a
little
platter
containing
one
nut,
or
one
small
bit
of
something
to
eat,
such
as
a
piece
of
apple
or
carrot
cut
into
a
small
cube.
In
the
other
hand
I
held
a
small
platter,
with
two
or
three
such
articles
of
the
same
size
and
colour,
and
holding
them
just
out
of
reach
of
the
monkey
and
changing
them
from
hand
to
hand,
I
observed
that
the
monkey
would
try
to
reach
the
one
containing
the
greater
number.
He
readily
discerned
which
platter
contained
one
and
which
contained
two
or
three
pieces.
I
was
long
in
doubt
whether
he
distinguished
by
number
or
by
quantity,
and
my
belief
was
that
it
was
by
quantity
only.
I
first
determined
that
he
could
tell
singular
from
plural,
by
making
the
one
piece
larger
and
sometimes
of
a
different
shape,
and
from
his
choice
of
these
I
quite
satisfied
my
own
mind
that
he
could
distinguish
by
number.
[Sidenote:
THE
TEST
WITH
MARBLES]
I
next
set
out
to
find
how
far
in
numerals
his
acquirements
reached,
and
after
a
great
number
of
indecisive
trials
I
fell
upon
this
simple
plan:
I
took
a
little
square
wooden
box
and
made
a
hole
in
one
side
just
large
enough
for
the
monkey
to
withdraw
his
hand
with
a
marble
in
it.
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