NATURAL SCIENCE GOSSIP.

Waikato Argus, Volume I, Issue 65, 5 December 1896, Page 1 (Supplement)

NATURAL SCIENCE GOSSIP.

OX DANCING. (l>v Dk. Rudolf Hajsi>i,f;k). U. 'l'm; habits of the manlike apes in their tropical forest hciniea are still very imperfectly known, and much that lias been said about tli'in liy natives, as well as by Kuropcan traders and explorers, must be treated as fible. Regarding, however, their proficiency in the noble art of dancing, we have the testimony of so many creditable eye-witnesses, that we are are justified in ranking the Anthropoids among the stars of the sylvan troupe of dancers and gymnasts. Owing to the psculiar interest attached to the animal spjeies nearest to man, apc3 receive exceptionally careful trcitinent, when eonlined to the Zoological (iai'dens, which enables the naturalists to study many of their habits at leisure and, in many instances, to verify the statement; made by visitors to their native haunts. The young of the gorilla, the chimpanzee, and the orangoutang differ in their wa-ts and ways very little from the children of the human species. But, being specially adapted to arboreal existence, their dances naturally partake more of the niturc of acrobatic feats than of the ten-can performances witnessed in the nursery. Yet in these movements the apes express their feelings of joy, aimer, impatience etc., as plainly as the juvenile l.oino in Id? jumps and tumbles, and accompanied by siampins!, wild gesticulations and grimaces. The adult ape is of too grave a disposition and far 100 sensitive of ridicule, to desuend to a vulgar hop on level ground, for which, as he knows perfectly well, his heavy triune and the feeb'e development of the lower extremities, Init ill lit him. Above ground, along the shady branches, even the stern old piter fimilias shows himself a thorough mas'er of the elegant art. While comparing the varied movements of incarcerated apes with those of their less exalted cousins, the monkeys, we cannot help regretting the fact that the former have so far advanced in civilization as to dispense with a long caudal appendix which, however contemptible from the point of view of the four-handed student of evolution, is undoubtedly an exceedingly useful allix in rapid arboreil locomotion, [t is in the war-dance that apes excel all other animals. There is something truly dignified in the appearance of the angry ape, even when conscious of Ids weakness behind the iron bars, and we can well understand the terror of the man of the village upon being unexpectedly confronted by the furious lord of the forest.

The gorilla U the undisputed kin" of tiie forest, far superior in strength, diring, bravery, incnlligcnce nntl honesty to tho great sneaking cut, whom the fabulists of ant quity and tho.'r imitators, clothe vitli the royal purple. The gorilla is not, it is true, an Adonin, and as to his consort, wc cannot help noticing a ttnk'iig resemb'aaee, both in coiin'cnancj and bulk, with the imiiioiial Mrs Gamp, whom, with due respect for Ik r great personal worth and the immense importune: of her services, we cannot, with'iut stooping to grossest (lattery, rank even among the lesser boiiutk'S of the age. As apes possess a true language We shall, no doubt, ere long become aoi|iiain'.ed with some SSyittinn poet laureate's inspiration", in which the charities of the Sylvan Helens and Clcopatras will receive their full share of praise and admiration. From the mellilltious stair/,is we may extract liruiy an interesting and useful lesson in some of th.i branches of the art which man has .so fur sadly neglected. Amom: the gibbons dancing becomes a line art in the true sense of the word. The pcifornmices of the agile gibbon among the trees and creepers of the Malay Peninsula, that paradise of monkeys, insects and botanist- - , are said to surpass belief. Tne war-dunce, however, is more monkey-like than that of the higher apes, but it is uuiijue in its chiraeter, through being accompanied by a real var-song. Tlrs maitiol song is nothing less than the chromatic selle, rcmleied with correctness, which among human singers is not attained except after years of practice. The idea ol tainting an uiruspcuting foe with a stentorian volume ol successive semitones is an exceedingly clever one, which deserves the closest investigation on the pait of the war oflice. Imagine the consternation of an invading Russian army on liiuling itself face to face with all the musical talent of Auckland, and on being greeted with a graceful gibbonian war-dance and a volley of chromatic scales, instead of the time-honoured storms of bullets and the roar of the cannon, Kvui) the proverbially totiuli

nerves of the Scythian could not stand the shook of this torriiio encounter. Without risking a single drop of bloo'l or necessitating any of the horrible scenes with which the most Christ'an nations grace the field of battle, a decisive victory could he secured at the price of a few boxes of cough lozenges and a couple of timing forks. As apes and monkeys at\< not, in a ride, gifted with a delicate ear for lnusic. the spoe'es just, mentioned deserves a diploma from some conservatoire, besides, of course, a special modal from the society of the Kcd Cross. That the baboon', probably the most intelligent of all animals, the three liightypes of apes excepted, and possessed of remarkably pronounced social instincts, should take a high place among tie; exponents of the noble art of dancing, is scarcely a matter tor surprise. It appear* that, somewhat after the fashion of human politician-!, the baboons meet at regular intervals to discuss important matters of state. To prevent these sessions becoming too monotonous and solemn, the younger memb.-rs are permitted to introduce exceedingly lively dances, gym lastics, sham-lights, real light--, IH'rcicio is and piaoiaoil jokes, some of which of atro/nus vulgarity, it is ttne, yet. highly enjoyed by their scire s, after listening to the dry speech's of some exception ill/ dull M.11.R. 1... spit 3 of the great intellectual powers and the divinn honoms pod to tli.au Irani time immemorial by the ancients, the bib'jo:is are, s id to relate, s> apt to trans(jr.ss ihe bouudarKs of common delicacy lh <t even their select evening parties generally degenerate into disgustingly law revelries. Among the monkey*, properly speaking, darning is the most iipni'ovcd mode of recreation. Indeed, with four long and nimble legs or arms an.l a tail which nets as a b dancing pole or. when prehensile, as a tilth hand, with :i quiek eye, a light heart, no litest telegrams, no Eastern Q 10 tion, no .Vhsd'ruudy, no now woman, indeed with none of the inventions of ilia I'.vil One with which our noble race is iitllicted, to disturb the rippling current of life, surrounded by a luxuriant nature to satisfy unstintedly all his wants, the monkey his, of all creature, the great:;.-t advantiecs m the competitive struggle for the prize of excellence in this department of art. There is nothing still! or ceremonious about his arboreal dances with which he combines in a curiously effeotire manner, all kinds of during leaps, surprises, gallantries, with a display of fan, which even the clover schoolboy in vain tries to imitate. The socials of the monkeys aro certainly tho most enjoyable of all functions of this kind, and the genuine humour exhibited helps to cover, to a great extent, the vulgarity which unfortunately characterises so many of their entertainments. The dunces of most monkeys resemble each other in tho main features so closely that there is no need to dwell on them in detail. ac cannot, however, pass on to the next or.hr, the bats, without devoting a few lines to that most conspicuous among the many remarkable admirers of tho lightfooted muse, tho nose-monkey, wins, striking feature is. as the n.-.mo implie-e a prodigiously exaggerated Roman nose. As this wonderful facial protuberance serves in the capacity id' an org ail of sense, no other purpose tfcau any nose of ordinary dimensions, its development can only bo accounted for through long continue I sexual selection, the beau ideal of a this species being a young gentleman with a gigautic proboscis artistically framed in a semicircle of whiskers and board. It is natural that the possessor of such a beautifully elongated organ of smell sliou'd take the greatest cure of his or her delicate, but somewhat inconvenient, treasure. Wo are, indeed, told that while dancing tho light fantastic, an occupation during which a long nasal eminence is particularly exposed to accidents of all kinds, this monkey keeps it firmly grasped in his hand. Such a position, no doubt, greatly mars the pleasure of the dance, but what are inconvenience and even bodily pain when compared with the joy of possessing a colossal nasal projection of tho most fashionable pattern ': (To be cuiitiiiHui),