242 DIVERSIONS OF A NATURALIST 



constructive aptitudes, which might serve as the beginning 

 of man's arts and crafts, were man derived by a slow 

 process of development from ape-like animals of a long 

 past geologic period. The fact is that there has been 

 very little opportunity for studying the capacities of apes 

 in regard to such matters, since when kept in cages they 

 have not the opportunity of showing the skill and 

 understanding which in their natural conditions would 

 be obvious. The monkeys show (and this has been 

 especially observed in the chimpanzee), in a degree 

 greater than is seen in other animals, the mental quality 

 which we call " curiosity/' And this is combined with a 

 persistence and determination in observation and in 

 experiment with the purpose of satisfying that curiosity 

 which is rarely, if ever, exhibited by other animals to 

 anything like the same extent. 



The higher apes will use their fingers to turn the 

 screws which fasten down the lid of a box in order to 

 see what is inside. Lately the large orang in the 

 Zoological Gardens of London succeeded, after long 

 efforts, in unwinding the wire fastenings of its cage and 

 escaping into the open. It climbed into a tree, and 

 immediately constructed for itself a platform of branches 

 which it broke off from the tree. It then sat upon this 

 platform, as is its habit when in its native forest. Many 

 of the larger monkeys have great skill in throwing 

 stones, sending them with considerable force and good 

 aim. They select stones of size and weight appropriate 

 to their purpose, and it would not be surprising should 

 apes have learnt to select stones for other purposes, such 

 as cracking nuts or the shells of molluscs, in order to 

 extract the soft nourishing food which they contain. 

 They are known to make use of stones for such pur- 

 poses, and it would be but a short step in advance for 



