ANIMALS AT WORK AND AT PLAY.
[TO TEE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."]
propos of your review, in the Spectator of July 18th, of Mr. Cornish's book, the following may be of interest. Walking on the Wiltshire Downs some time ago, I had an opportunity of watching a family of hares at play. There- were two (I think) full-grown hares and a number of leverets in the group,—the adult animals squatting or browsing whilst the leverets ran round them in what seemed, beyond question, an organised game of "leap-frog." The youngsters kept in an approximate circle—quite as accurate a one as the same number of boys would have made at the game—and in fairly regular rotation leapt over one another's backs. The game was very fast, and was kept going for a considerable time, during which—owing to the animals being in a hollow above which I stood—they neither saw nor heard me. Mr. Cornish's story of the cat and the peacock recalls an incident that was once related to me by some friends who kept a peacock. In an orchard where this bird sometimes roamed were kept some (lacks, which, as it strutted very slowly about pecking among the grass, would at times stand or " flop " suddenly down upon its trailing tail. The way in which this was done suggested that it was an intentional practical joke. A compartment of the aviary in Dulwich Park was recently—and still is, I believe —occupied by a golden pheasant (of the gorgeous plumage described elsewhere in the Spectator of July 18th), and his soberly clad wives. Some pigeons were for a time kept in the same cage, and one of them seems to have conceived a dislike or a contempt for the cock pheasant. I one day watched this pigeon following the pheasant round and round the enclosure, jumping on its long tail feathers at every opportunity, and alighting sideways so that both its feet should have a hold. Sometimes it missed its aim, and the pheasant, which seemed in some fear of its tormentor, would hurry away rejoicing in its escape. But the pigeon immediately trotted after it with businesslike determination and a comically pert swagger, and. repeated its efforts until it had again pinned the feathers to- the ground. There it would stay until the pheasant's struggles caused it to lose its balance. This, of course, was a very brief period, but the prank was repeated many times, and the pheasant's tail became a good deal draggled in the- process.—I am, Sir, dm,
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