Hypnotising Animals.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 29, Issue 34, 4 May 1917, Page 2

Hypnotising Animals.

Hypnotising a hen is a t-ick known to most country boys. It is an old experiment, first described by the Jesuit Father Athanasius Kirchier, a-ho laid a hen on the table, held it firmly for a little while, and drew a caalk-lin* in front of its eyes, wi%h the result that it remained as if in catoltpsy. In India it is known that a cobra caught by the neck and gently pressed will soon become stiff and remain so for a considerable time, either coiled up or out straight. A frog fastened to a board and turned suddenly upside down goes into a trance. Other animals are susceptible to this treatment, some more quickly than others. If you pick up a crab and wave it in the air it becomes immobile, a female bending her logs over her abdomen, a male sticking them out almost straight. The same is true of the fr j .sh-water crayfish, only this resists for a much longer time than the crab. Amongst the insects catalepsy—commonly known as "death feign-ing”-—is common, and. according t> Professor Ernest Mangold, the learned naturalist, is often a means of saving the life of the insect.