412 



THE WONDER OF LIFE 



musical talent, and so forth — ^before the senses of their 

 desired mates. 



Mr. W. P. Pycraft's recently published charming 

 volume on The Courtship of Animals gives an admirable 

 discussion of the whole subject, with a wealth of fresh in- 

 stances, and we shall not do more than recall a few pictures. 

 Stag fights with stag till they drip with blood ; the rival 



FlO. 62. — ^Male Spiders (Zygoballus) fighting. 

 Feckham. ) 



(After Prof, and Mrs. 



sea-hons slash with their great canines at one another's 

 necks, making long wounds, as the scars show for many a 

 day ; the cock capercailzies fight in the early spring and 

 the snow is spotted with their blood; the blackcock's 

 tournaments at dawn are revelations of mingled passion 

 and pride ; the polygamous ruffs fight hour after hour with- 

 out wounds, and mingle their pugnacity with an extra- 

 ordinary seK-abandonment ; male spiders have similarly 

 bloodless battles. When there is actual elimination of the 



