450 Animal Life and Intellige^ice. 



in the so-called instinct of play, which manifests itself in 

 varied activities in the early morning, in early life, and 

 in the returning warmth of spring — at such times, in fact, 

 as the life-tide is in full flood. 



But perhaps the activities which result from a highly 

 wrought state of sensibility are best seen at the periodic 

 return of sexual appetence or impulse in animals of various 

 grades of life and intelligence. Many organisms, at certain 

 periods of the year, and in presence of their mates, are 

 thrown into a perfect frenzy of sexual appetence. The 

 love-antics of birds have been so frequently described that 

 I will merely quote from Darwin * Mr. Strange's account 

 of the satin bower-bird : ''At times the male will chase 

 the female all over the aviary, then go to the bower, pick 

 up a gay feather or a large leaf, utter a curious kind of 

 note, set all his feathers erect, run round the bower, and 

 become so excited that his eyes appear ready to start 

 from his head ; he continues opening first one wing, and 

 then the other, uttering a low, whistling note, and, like the 

 domestic cock, seems to be picking up something from the 

 ground, until at last the female goes gently towards him." 

 Instances might be quoted from almost all classes of the 

 animal kingdom. Many fish display "love-antics," for 

 example, the gay-suited, three-spine stickleback, whose 

 excitement is apparently intense. Newts display similar 

 activities. Even the lowly snail makes play with its love- 

 darts {spiculcB a7noris)j practical tangible darts of glistening 

 carbonate of lime. Mr. George W. Peckham has recently 

 described f the extraordinary " love-dance " of a spider 

 {Saitis pulex). " On May 24 we found a mature female, 

 and placed her in one of the larger boxes ; and the next 

 day we put a male in with her. He saw her as she stood 

 perfectly still, twelve inches away ; the glance seemed to 

 excite him, and he at once moved towards her ; when some 

 four inches from her he stood still, and then began the 



* " Descent of Man," pt. ii. chap. xiii. 



t George W. and Elizabeth G. Peckham, " Occasional Papers of the 

 Natural History of Wisconsin," vol. i. (1889), p. 37. 



