206 ANIMAL INTELLIGENCE. 



was being played ; but as soon as the orchestra began to 

 sound it quickly ran back again. ^ Similar observations 

 have been published by Eabigot, Sxmonius, von Hartmann, 

 and others. 



A highly probable explanation of these facts has re- 

 cently been given by Mr. C. V. Boys, which relieves us of 

 the necessity of imputing to animals so low in the scale 

 any rudiment of aesthetic emotion as aroused by musical 

 tones. As the observation is an interesting one, I shall 

 quote it in extenso : — 



Having made some observations on the garden spider which 

 are I beheve new, I send a short account of them, in the hope 

 that they may be of interest to the readers of Nature. 



Last autumn, while watching some spiders spinning their 

 beautiful geometrical webs, it occurred to me to try what effect 

 a timing-fork would have upon them. On sounding an A fork, 

 and lightly touching with it any leaf or other support of the 

 web, or any portion of the web itself, I found that the spider, if 

 at the centre of the web, rapidly slues round so as to face the 

 direction of the fork, feeling with its fore-feet along which 

 radial thread the vibration travels. Having become satisfied 

 on this point, it next darts along that thread till it reaches 

 either the fork itself or a junction of two or more threads, tho 

 right one of which it instantly determines as before. If the 

 fork is not removed when the spider has arrived it seems to 

 have the same charm as any fly ; for the spider seizes it, em- 

 braces it, and runs about on the legs of the fork as often as it is 

 made to sound, never seeming to learn by experience that 

 other things may buzz besides its natural food. 



If the spider is not at the centre of the web at the time that 

 the fork is appUed, it cannot tell which way to go until it has 

 been to the centre to ascertain which radial thread is vibrating, 

 unless of course it should happen to be on that particular 

 thread, or on a stretched supporting thread in contact with the 

 fork. 



If, when a spider has been enticed to the edge of the web 

 the fork is withdrawn, and then gradually brought near, the 

 spider is aware of its presence and of its direction, and reaches 

 out as far as possible in the direction of the fork ; but if a 

 sounding fork is gradually brought near a spider that has not 

 been disturbed, but which is waiting as usual in the middle of 



* Body and Miind, p. 275. 



