436 



EXPLANATORY INDEX. 



Another possessed the rather dangerous faculty of lighting 

 lucifer-matches, and knocking them about with his hands 

 while blazing. Nothing pleased him so much as a flaming 

 " fusee," as it blazed more fiercely than an ordinary match, 

 and remained alight much longer. The sides and back of his 

 cage were covered with the marks of the matches which he 

 had lighted. 



Other monkeys employ artificial methods of nut-cracking, 

 as is shown by Mr. C. B. Brown. 



He had found a number of Bi-azil nuts on the ground, en- 

 closed in their hard, shelly cases, " My men used to open 



BROWN MONKET- 



them by chopping off their ends with a cutlass, which, owing 

 to their hardness, was no easy operation. The quatas, or 

 large black spider-monkeys, spent a good deal of their time in 

 trying to open them by beating them against the branches of 

 trees, or on hard logs upon the ground ; and as we passed a 

 grove of Brazil-nut-trees it was amusing to hear the hammer- 

 ing sounds produced by these fellows at their self-imposed 

 tasks. Where a single monkey was thus employed the blows 

 were most laughably ' few and far between,' the creature 

 showing its true indolent character by the slow way in which 

 it performed its work, resting for a few minutes between every 

 blow. It also showed an amount of perseverance. however> 



