898 The American Naturalist. [October, 
PSYCHOLOGY. 
The Habit of Amusement in the Lower Animals.—In some 
former papers which have already been published in this journal and 
elsewhere, I have shown that animals exceedingly low in the scale of 
animal life possess the five senses, sight, smell, taste, hearing, and 
touch, or senses akin to them; also that these animals evince a high 
degree of intelligence, One would naturally expect to find in animals 
biologically so akin to man, some evidences of enjoyment other than 
the mere gratification of animal desires. This expectation or surmise 
is undoubtedly correct, and it is the purpose of this article to demon- 
strate this truth. We are all familiar with the pastimes of the higher 
animals such as the dog, the cat, the horse, the squirrel, the rabbit, the 
monkey, etc. We do not question the fact that these animals 
do amuse themselves in many a frolic and wild romp; they form 
a part and parcel of our lives, consequently their pastimes are not con- 
sidered remarkable. I propose, however, to show that animals much 
lower in the scale of life—animals so low and so minute that it takes 
a very high-power lens to make them visible, likewise have their pas- 
times and amusements. Also, that many insects and even the slothful 
snail are not so busily engaged in the struggle for existence that they 
can not spare a few moments for play. In our researches in this field 
of animal intelligence we must not attribute the peculiar actions of the 
males in many species of animals when courting the females, to simple 
pastime, for they are the outward manifestations of sexual desire, and 
are not examples of psychical amusement. I have seen, in actinophor- 
ous rhizopods, certain actions, unconnected with sexual desire or the 
gratification of appetite, which lead me to believe that these minute 
microscopic organisms have their pastimes and moments of simple 
amusement. On several occasions while observing these creatures, I 
have seen them chasing one another around and around their minature 
sea. They seemed to be engaged in a game of tag. This actinophrys 
is not very agile, but when excited by its play, it seems to be an entirely 
different creature, so lively does it become. These actions were not 
! North rid Review: ** The Senses in the Lower Animals." 
American Naturalist: ** Animal M ” 
Atlantic Sera Contrib. Club: “ Animal Letisimulants." 
Worthington's Magazine: ‘‘ The Emotions in the Lower Animals.” 
