is to stand upon their tails on the surface, each
little fish shooting out upright from the water just so far and no further, and remaining for a moment in that position before dropping back vertically into the stream. It is obviously a form of play, and probably represents the " dancing " of little fish referred to in l]sop's fable.
When even trout have a form of play it cannot be matter for surprise that both beasts and birds share the pleasure which frolic of a kind gives to the cold-blooded fishes of our rivers. But the degree in which their sport takes the form of games varies. Some animals will play with objects, just as a child amuses itself with a cup and ball or with a spinning-top. Others play in company, and use the element of competition and mock contests. But perhaps the commonest games of all are those in which they use their unique powers of speed, flight, climbing, or diving in a kind of display, in which they often combine the sense of successful physical achievement with some added satisfaction, evidently clear to their con- sciousness, of doing this in company. The latter points to a rather highly organised degree of consciousness; but in view of the combined performances and displays of certain animals, especially birds, it is difficult to think that this can be absent. On one of the fine and still afternoons of the past winter, in the complete aerial repose which follows a '.day or two of cyclonic storms, when the London sky is 'washed blue" after the downpour of rain which com- Monly follows these disturbances, at a height of some three hundred feet above the Green Park the London gulls were engaged in a form of combined aerial play, floating in a long series of wide circles, of very nearly the same diameter, though the number of birds in each varied. Though when seen from below this 'long ribbon-like festoon. of floating birds seemed to be on a plane, they were really flying in spirals, rising and descending by setting their wings at different angles. As fresh birds from the region of the river saw this choregic game going on they flew up in detach- ments and fell into' place, adding to the number of circles, until the distance from the first to the last equalled nearly the whole length of the park. They then drifted slowly west- ward, Maintaining the same order and concerted movement.
There is no doubt that many species of birds, especially those which frequent the surface and shores of water, are fond of this decorous play. Homer hints at it in his description of the happy birds on the Maeander. Virgil notes the pleasure of the swans in their combined flight,— Aspice bis senos laetantes agmine eyenos. And following .Homer's _cranes to the continent of Africa, where they engaged in winter warfare with the pygmies, Mr. J. G. Millais has noted that every evening on the banks of the Nusaietzi River the Cranes assembled and spent the last hours of daylight in aerial play, "floating spirals" over the African stream.. The " floating " game is enjoyed by several species of English birds other than gulls, but not in such a combined form. Certain states of the air, when the winds are hushed and the sunbeams are bright, invite them to the sport. Books will ascend at such times to great altitudes, soaring in spirals and de- scending only to rise again. But it is the play of indi- viduals in company, not a concerted movement. Wood- pigeons do the same, and occasionally the ravens by the cliffs. The latter birds have a form of aerial play peculiar to themselves and " tumbler " pigeons. In the Middle of a high flight they suddenly cease to move their wings, and fall head- long through the air, croaking loudly, as if to call attention to the joke. The water tournaments of ducks, both wild and tame, and of domestic geese are a regular part of their activities. The call to play seems to come to them from the sky, just as in the case of the birds which combine for aerial games. When the sun is at its brightest and hottest, they are suddenly seized with an impulse to begin the sport. Beating the water with their wings, they rush hither and thither on the surface, and then dive one after another, keeping the fun going until they are all out of breath. It is very seldom that geese are seen to dive, but when playing this game they do so as instantaneously as does a dabchick or waterhen, though the complete immersion and descent of so overgrown a bird as a fat domestic goose must entail con- siderable effort.
These combined displays are not common among mammals. The case of the "waltzing mice" naturally suggests itself. These little creatures run in circles incessantly, and when a number of them are together they appear to be acting by a common understanding. It is said, however, that these mice are suffering from an hereditary form of brain disease, which makes it impossible for them to run otherwise than in circles. But the roe-deer in the woods near Cawdor Castle have regular rings in which they amuse themselves by running in circles. By far the, most playful of the young of the various hoofed animals are kids. They seem to have imagination as well as extraordinary activity, and being able to climb or leap on to almost any place which takes their fancy, their success in games such as "follow my leader," or the well-known one of "holding the fort," which is also played by lambs and puppies, is great. Their exploits in this way sometimes cause serious anxiety to their mothers, who may be heard bleating in an agitated manner when they see one of their adventurous young standing on the top of a wall, or running over a beam lying across a saw-pit, during the progress of these games. .Horses, if not ingenious at devising games, will play at almost any age. A mare of twenty-two, which had been worked in a brougham in London for nearly the whole of her life, was taken down into the country and turned 'out, with a young filly, in a meadow. The change was so exhilarating that both did nothing but play, in a rough way, all day long, the old mare being the keener. They pretended to fight, pursued one another, and generally indulged in the rough antics which are appropriately named "horse-play," till the coachman separated them, declaring that the old mare tired herself more than if she were in the shafts. Cattle, on the other hand, never seem to play at all, whether young or old.
The animals of the " weasel " family, so called, are mostly very active and vivacious, and in some cases have developed set forms of play. The Cape rate, a badger-like, honey- eating member of the family, but with much of the activity of the polecats, has an amusing habit when kept in menageries of running round and round in circles, and of varying this performance by turning somersaults, like a street arab running by the side of a coach. Stoats are extremely playful. Often a solitary stoat will come into a ride in a wood and there dance, run after its tail, and twirl round in a pas seul of solitary exuberance. Both stoats and weasels are also said to gyrate in this manner in order to fascinate small birds. A description of such a scene was given recently in Mr. W. Hudson's reminiscences of Hampshire scenes. But otters are perhaps the most playful of all the tribe. Intensely active, and full of high spirits, they play both in the water and on land. In North America their favourite winter amusement is tobogganing. They find a place where 'a frozen waterfall makes a smooth ice-slope, or a hard snow- bank gives a chance of a glissade, and slide down this, running back again by a side-track to enjoy the same delightful sensation. Sometimes they combine the pleasure of a " chute "
The most imaginative of all animal games are probably those played by members of the cat tribe, in some respects also the most completely equipped of the mammals for their special line of life. No doubt the thought and strategy involved in catching other animals render them more thoughtful and much more imaginative than does the far more limited sphere of activities of the herbivorous creatures. They must constantly take account of the fears, appetites, and wishes of the creatures on which they prey. A fox watching hares feeding in a field, and calculating by which way they are most likely to leave it, or a cat watching for birds or mice, uses its " speculative " faculties in a high degree. Cats, as well as kittens, have elaborate games, in which make- believe plays a great part. They pretend that inanimate objects are birds or mice, give them movement to increase the similarity, and go through the whole process of stalking, capturing, tormenting, and killing a ball or a cotton-reel. But when another animal, such as a friendly dog, is admitted and made a partner in the game, they not only run races and pretend to fight, but also add the very complex feature of making ambuscades and surprises. The ambush is nearly always laid by the cat, the party to run the gauntlet being the dog, whose imagination in games is not so subtle as that of its feline playmate.
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