288 FURNESS : OBSERVATIONS ON THE MENTALITY OF 



as I placed the blocks on the squares correspondingly colored. 

 Then a block was given to them and they were expected to place 

 it correctly, but it never was done in a way to convince me that they 

 recognized the color. Next they were tested with pieces of ribbon 

 of exactly the same length and width and luster; I endeavored to 

 get them to select and hand to me the color that I asked for. For 

 a month or more I thought that they knew the colors, but to make 

 sure I placed the ribbons in another room and told one of the apes 

 to go and bring me one of the colors, and while she was getting it I 

 kept repeating the name of the color so that she should not forget. 

 This was a complete failure, again and again. They evidently had 

 been reading my expression and the direction of my eyes, when, 

 sitting opposite to them, unconsciously, I followed the direction of 

 their hesitating hands with a glance of approval or disapproval. 

 This was really very observant on their part, but not to the point. 

 They were completely at a loss when I closed my eyes and held 

 out my hand to receive the color that I had asked for. 



This did not prove, however, that they could not recognize the 

 different colors ; merely that they did not know them by name. The 

 next trial therefore was with 24 blocks, 8 red, 8 blue, 8 yellow ; all 

 scattered over the table. One color was called for by name and if 

 that was selected rightly then all the others of that color must be 

 picked out and placed in my hand. I would never accept a wrong 

 color, but would either close my hand or snap it out of their fingers ; 

 the lesson would not stop until all the eight blocks of each color had 

 been rightly selected, so they gradually learned that a quick selection 

 of right colors meant a speedy release to play. In this manner also 

 they learned the names of the colors as applied to blocks, but if other 

 red, blue and yellow objects such as ribbons were placed among the 

 blocks I could never get the apes to consider them in the same 

 category as the blocks merely because they were of the same color. 

 When the chimpanzee knew the three colors distinctly both by name 

 and by sight a new set of twenty-four was given to her, but this time 

 there were four each of violet, blue, green, yellow, orange and red. 

 It was decidedly unexpected to find that she readily appreciated the 

 difference of these new tints and at the end of the first lesson was 

 able to build up all the blocks in separate colors, although the tone 



