I06 THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. 



obtuse in most animals, is much more acute in 

 these. I have frequently interlaced my fingers 

 with those of some person whom they dislike, 

 and extending the hands toward them, they 

 rarely make a mistake by getting hold of the 

 wrong finger ; and yet it has frequently occurred 

 that they could not see the hands at all, and had 

 to depend alone upon the sense of touch. In 

 cases where the hands were very nearly the same 

 size they were not able to select the fingers so 

 readily; but where a lady's hand was used, or 

 that of a boy, the selection was made without 

 hesitancy and without error. I have tried this 

 experiment a great many times with a view to 

 ascertaining, to some extent, the delicacy of their 

 sense of touch. Another fact that I may men- 

 tion is that they do not habitually smell articles 

 of food or other things given to them, but they 

 depend chiefly upon their sight for finding and 

 their taste for choosing their food. My opinion 

 is that the sense of smell does not play an im- 

 portant part in these affairs. I may add, too, 

 that in the Cebus the tail is perhaps the most 

 sensitive organ of touch, although it is not used 

 in this capacity to any great extent. He is gen- 



