The Dawn of Mind 231 



these young creatures let themselves go irresponsibly, they are 

 still unstereotyped, they test what they and their fellows can do. 

 The experimental character of much of animal play is very 

 marked. 



It is now recognised by biologists that play among animals 

 is the young form of work, and that the playing period, often so 

 conspicuous, is vitally important as an apprenticeship to the 

 serious business of life and as an opportunity for learning the 

 alphabet of Nature. But the playing period is much more ; it is 

 one of the few opportunities animals have of making experiments 

 without too serious responsibilities. Play is Nature's device for 

 allowing elbow-room for new departures (behaviour-variations) 

 which may form part of the raw materials of progress. Play, we 

 repeat, gives us a glimpse of the possibilities of the mammal 

 mind. 



Other Glimpses of Intelligence 



A squirrel is just as clever as it needs to be and no more; 

 and of some vanishing mammals, like the beaver, not even this can 

 be said. Humdrum non-plastic efficiency is apt to mean stagna- 

 tion. Now we have just seen that in the play of young mammals 

 there is an indication of unexhausted possibilities, and we get the 

 same impression when we think of three other facts, (a) In those 

 mammals, like dog and horse, which have entered into active co- 

 operative relations with man, we see that the mind of the mammal 

 is capable of much more than the average would lead us to think. 

 When man's sheltering is too complete and the domesticated 

 creature is passive in his grip, the intelligence deteriorates, (b) 

 When we study mammals, like the otter, which live a versatile 

 life in a very complex and difficult environment, we get an in- 

 spiriting picture of the play of wits, (c) Thirdly, when we pass to 

 monkeys, where the fore-limb has become a free hand, where the 

 brain shows a relatively great improvement, where "words" are 

 much used, we cannot fail to recognise the emergence of some- 



