THE PLAY OF ANIMALS. 209 



If the destructive impulse that seizes children in 

 the presence of beetles and frogs, or even larger animals, 

 such as cats, has anything playful about it, an example 

 that Hudson relates in his chapter on " Some Strange 

 Instincts of Cattle " may not be out of place here. 

 This execution, as it were, of sick or wounded compan- 

 ions is also common among birds and carnivorous ani- 

 mals that live in companies. When a rat is wounded, 

 his comrades slay him; indeed, Azara says that pinch- 

 ing the tail of a captive rat until he squeals is enough 

 to make his companions fall upon him and bite him to 

 death.* Hudson, speaking of his childish memories, 

 says: " It was on a summer's evening and I was out by 

 myself at some distance from the house, playing about 

 the high exposed roots of some old trees; on the other 

 side of the trees the cattle, just returned from pasture, 

 were gathered on the bare, level ground. Hearing a 

 great commotion among them, I climbed on one of the 

 high exposed roots and, looking over, saw a cow on the 

 ground, apparently unable to rise, moaning and bellow- 

 ing in a distressed way, while a number of her compan- 

 ions were crowding round and goring her." f To the 

 same category belongs Dr. Edmonson's somewhat fan- 

 tastic description of an execution by crows. * In the 

 northern parts of Scotland and in the Faroe Islands 

 extraordinary meetings of crows are occasionally known 

 to occur. They collect in great numbers as if they had 

 been summoned for the occasion; a few of the flock sit 

 with drooping heads and others seem as grave as judges, 

 while others, again, are exceedingly active and noisy; 

 in the course of about one hour they disperse, and it is 

 not uncommon after they have flown away to find one 



* The Naturalist in La Plata, p. 343. f Ibid., p. 339. 



