THE DEATH-FEIGNING INSTINCT 1577 



which happens to be more or less useful to his con- 

 servation. The method of the Toxotes is different. 

 It is a foreign body which he takes up, and it is an 

 intended victim at which he takes aim and which 

 he strikes; his movements are admirably co-ordinated 

 to obtain a precise effect 



Another fish, the Chelinous of Java, also acts in 

 this manner. He generally lives in estuaries. It is, 

 therefore, a brackish water which he takes up and 

 projects by closing His gills an'd contracting his 

 mouth; he can thus strike a fly at a distance of 

 several feet. Usually he aims sufficiently well to 

 strike it at the first blow, but sometimes he fails. 

 Then he begins again until he has succeeded, wfiich 

 shows that his movements are not those of a machine. 

 He knows what he is doing, what effect ought to be 

 produced, and whether this desired result has hap- 

 pened, and he perseveres until the insect has fallen. 

 These facts are unquestioned; the Chinese preserve 

 these curious fish in jars, and amuse themselves by 

 making them carry on this little exercise. Many 

 observers have witnessed and described it. 



THE DEATH - FEIGNING 

 INSTINCT. W. H. HUDSON 



MOST people are familiar with the phenome- 

 non of "death-feigning," commonly seen in 

 coleopterous insects and in many spiders. This 

 highly curious instinct is also possessed by some ver- 

 tebrates. In insects, it is probably due to temporary 

 paralysis occasioned by sudden concussion, for when 



