INTRODUCTORY PROBLEMS n 



has to do with one or the other of these pursuits." Professor 

 Guyer's scheme cf study, slightly modified as to details, is as 

 follows : 



The Business of Animals. 



I. To care for themselves. 



(a) Food. What do they eat ? How do they find it ? 

 How do they get to it ? When do they feed ? How 

 are the mouth parts and other parts suited for getting 

 and using the food, e.g. catching, killing, eating ? 

 Do they use any peculiar devices, e.g., lying in wait ? 

 Do they use things outside themselves, such as 

 snares, in getting their food ? Do they swallow 

 it, chew it, suck it, or what ? Do they store 

 food? 



(6) Self-protection. What enemies have they ? Do they 

 seek to escape from them, or do they try to cope with 

 them ? Have they armour or weapons or both ? 

 Are they palatable ? Have they any special habits 

 that are self-preservative, such as changing colour 

 quickly, " feigning death," rolling themselves up 

 into a ball, burrowing, coming out at night? Are 

 they helped by special fitness of structure, e.g. colour- 

 resemblance or form-resemblance to other things ? 

 Do they help one another ? Are they social or soli- 

 tary ? Have they a home or shelter ? What 

 special risks are associated with their life-history ? 

 What special risks are associated with their 

 habitat ? 



(c) Adjustment to Physical Surroundings. Where do 

 they live ? Why here and not there ? How are 

 they specially fitted for their particular habitat ? 

 Do they act upon their surroundings in any 

 marked manner ? Are they directly changed 

 by changes in their surroundings ? How are 

 they adjusted to vicissitudes, such as cold, heat, 

 drought, storms, the seasons ? How long do they 

 live ? 



