THE PLAY OF ANIMALS. 79 
monkeys on their swings in the Zoo. If we are not to make 
nature magical, these are plays, and nothing else. 
Play of Experiment. 
Another simple and primitive expression of the play- 
instinct is what we may perhaps call experimenting—when 
animals test things, often pulling them to pieces; or test 
themselves, often performing interesting feats; or test their 
neighbours, finding out how they will respond. It is the 
endless game of finding out about the world, and while it 
begins in playful inquisitiveness, it gradually rises along an 
inclined plane into the seriousness of genuine experiment. 
It is obviously one of the roots of science, and has been one 
of the most profitable of the many plays in Life’s great 
school. 
Speaking of his kids, Mr Hamerton says :—“ If there is a 
basket in the place which will hold one of them, and no more, 
the others will watch him with great interest, and as soon 
as he jumps out (which he is never very long in doing) the 
others inevitably jump in and out again by turns. A game 
of this kind will last till one of the kids has a new sugges- 
tion to make.” 
One day it was the fashion among the kids to carry a little 
sprig of green between the lips; another day they tried to 
upset the artist by getting under his seat; from that they 
passed to experimenting with the big dog till “he could 
stand it no longer and rushed out of the place, not trusting 
himself to refrain from using his mighty jaws, which would 
have crushed a kid’s head like a nutshell.” 
I suppose many of you have read Miss Romanes’ observa- 
tions on her Capuchin monkey—a very valuable and well- 
executed piece of work. Let me cite a few sentences. “He 
is very fond of upsetting things, but he always takes great 
care that they do not fall upon himself. Thus, he will pull 
a chair towards him till it is almost overbalanced; then he 
intently fixes his eyes on the top bar of the back, and as he 
sees it coming over his way, darts from underneath, and 
watches the fall with great delight; and similarly with 
heavier things. There is a washhand-stand, for example, 
