CHIMPANZEES. 



33 



colours has been so uniformly negative, that I am disposed to think the animal must 

 be colour-blind. The method adopted in these experiments was to obtain a number of 

 brightly and uniformly coloured pieces of straw — each piece being either white, 

 black, red, green, or blue. OUered the straws two by two of ditlerent colours on 

 each occasion, the ape was in\-ited to select the straw of the colour named from the 

 one whose colour was not named, and, of coui-se, on choosing correctly was rewarded 

 with a piece of fruit. In this waj- she quicklj- learned to distinguish between the 

 white straws and the straws of anv other colour ; but she never could be taught to 



SIDE VIEW OK HEAD OF CHIMPiSZEE ".MAFUKA. 



go further. Now the distinction between the white straws and the straws of any 

 other colour is a distinction which can be drawn bj' an eye that is colour-blind ; 

 and from the fact that the ape is always able to perceive this distinction, while she 

 cannot be taught to distinguish any of the othei-s, I conclude that her failure in this 

 respect is not due to any want of intelligence, but to some deficiency in her powers 

 of colour-perception." 



We must conclude our notice of chimpanzees by the mention of 



a very remarkable ape which was brought from the Loango Coast in 



1875, and exhibited in the Zoological Gardens at Dresden. This animal was a 



female, and from its peculiar phj'siognomy, as shown in our two figures of its head, 



has given lise to much discussion as to what species it really belonged. The 



VOL. I.- 



