ANIMAL ETSQUETTE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5256, 11 May 1895, Page 2

ANIMAL ETSQUETTE.

(Spectator.)

It -has bean noted that the etiquette of high life ia by no means tbe only form of ita obsort/ance among/men. There is Buoh a thing as professional etiquette — the etiquette of sport, and even tho etiquotte of labour. This sometimes takes the form not only of prescribing who shall do what, bufc how thing3 shall be done. It would ba very bad form, for instance, for a bricklayer to uae more than one hand to work with, or for 'his "labourer" to carry up bricks or mortar in anything but the traditional " hod," though it might be far quicker and eaeier to haul them up in a lift. Animalo eeem to ohare this feeling for tho etiquette of labour ; only, aa they do not belong to a trade union, ib often works entirely to thoir disadvantage. Take, for instance, the following case of the otter at the Zoo, which, on the Saturday on which the great frost bogan, bad juat been provided with material for a new bed. Ib was freezing hard, half its pond was covered with ice, and the nice, warm, dry atraw was pushed partly into ita houae, while part of the bundle lay on the bridge, and some iu the water. In order to make itaelf comfortable, all the otter had bo do wbb to step out of its house on to the bridge, and pull the dry straw in. There was plenty for a bed wibhout meddling with that in the water at all. But it is not permitted by otter otiquette to do any work on dry ground which can possibly be done in the water. lake moat of •

TSfI' ETIQUETTJi OF LABOT/ft, thia is based partly on prejudice, bufc partly ou nouad principles. A waterman, tor inntance, prefera to push a plank into the water, make it fast to hia boat, and tow it, rather than carry ib on his shoulder, even if the way by land ia shorter than that by water. In the first place, it would be unprofessional, ju3b like a "docker's job," to carry it j and in the next, the water supports the plank, and he really incurs less labour in towing it. So haa an otter leas labour in transporting material it can drag when floating. Unfortunately, in thia cane tha material waß one in which weight was no matter, and in which dryness was eiaential for, ib to be of any uoe, tbat is, for a bed on a frosty night. This did nofe weigh with tha otter in tho leaafc. Instead of pulling the straw in dry, it plunged into the icy water, dived and came up on the aide of the bridga on which some of the straw was dipping into the water. It svram along aud collected aa many of the hanging ends as it could in its mouth ; then dived back under the bridge, and dragged all the dry part of the straw into the water having conaidorable difficulty in doing so, because it was hitched over the edgo of the bridge-plank. It then pulled all the dripping straw into ita bed, rushed out, took anothar plunge, and collected another mouthful, which it pulled into the water, and a warn oif with it as before. After seven visita ib had collected the whole of what wag lying on the plank, 1 and wetted it all thoroughly, and waß preparing, to go to sleep on it inside its house — a proceeding which almost induced rheumatism at sight among the spectators. But the otter was quite satisfied. It bad acted according to rule, and. been true to amphibious etiquette,, down* to soaking whnfc were to ba ita bedclothes for the coldest night of tho year.

THE COMMON AMEEICAN " COON" ia a clave to an unusual form of etiquette, which in its case haa grown almost beyond the forma of conventional observance, and become a kind of conscience to it. It will wash everything which ib oats, if there is any water near. The fact aeema to have been questioned by some writers, but it is certainly the habit of raccooaa wheu kept in captivity with acceaa to water. They are very fussy, particular creatures, much given to picking up and carrying off anything odd which takes their fancy. And this, whatever ib may be, is duly taken to the water and'well " rinsed out," whether vegetablea or bits of cloth, or even solid hard thingc, like shells and ahiny atoneo. No "aocial pressure" can bave been put upon the raccoons at tho Zoo to mako them conform to the laws of the 'coon efciquefete; but they do so all the eame. and it is a fact that, laat apring, one which had a litter of young ones, to which ahe waa much attached, waa suddenly seizad with a desire to wash them, and, carrying them down one by one to ber little atone bath, paddled and washed the poor little creatures aB if ahe had baen washing cabbage - . Ib may be doubted whether the kittena did not owo their death to thia perverted feeling of aocial duty in their parent, for they

DID NOT LONG SUBVIVK THEIR IMMERSION.'

. Those who have watched the Thames swans in the courbing-season will have noticed that, aa might be expected, these grave and stately birds have certain rules for behaviour which no temptation can make them break. When approaching a lady-awan, or pursuing a rival, which haa intruded into its particular reach of the river, tho cock-swan haa certain set movements which it goea through. It ia said that the word of command for action in the ChittQse drill is firot, "Prepare to look fierce ;" next, "Look fierce ;" and, thirdly, " Approach the enemy." Tho ewan doea all this, and something more. He sets up his wings like plumes, and draws his bead very far back, whioh corresponds with the first and aecond words of command, but for hia mode of approach he- alwaya uses a special stroke in awimming which is kept for grand occaaions. He strikes the water with both feeb together, which sends him forward with a ruah, the water rippling from hia cheat aa from the prow of a ship. Then he strikes again, as hiß " way " gets less, and in this manner will swim vory long distances, either in pursuit of bia enemy or of some coy female swan. If he those to swim in the ordinary mwuer, or

lo fly, or even to get out on the b&nk and run,, he would have no difficulty in overtaking the obher. But etiquette prescribes that this slow and stately stroke shall be usad on such occasions, and owana are

TOO CONSERVATIVE TO EHEAX THE BTJIiB,

Conventional rules aro tnosifc nne'r'ul in intercourse with sttanpon*, and thia feeling, the result of deliberate reflection among men, seams quLto as well underotood by animals. The numbar of etepa which a prince or ambassador might advance to meet the other without derogating from hia dignity, and the frequent balls and bows finds a parallel in the amusinform of canine etiquette, when one dog " spies a stranger" at a distance. The first dog atopa Bhdrt, then trots on a little, than crouches, and finally lies flat down, with its nose on it3 paws, like a skirmisher ordered, to open fire on tho enemy. The other dog which was less quick-sighted, sasostimes ilea down too, but more uoiially. trota slowly up, with occasional halts. Tb9 action of trio firet seems clearly to be a survival of a time when a dog naturally crouched in order to conceal itself the momonii it eaw any other creature which might hurt it, or which, onthe contrary, it might want to stalk. The auddon drop is eomathicg like that of a setter when " creeping "up to the birds, but moro like the crouch of a fox when it eeoß a hare, or wants to conceal itself from persons whom ib sees whi!ia ib ia still unseen. But now it is observed as pure convention, one which in obtioualy mere above, bub to omit which would bo

A BREACH OF CANINE ETIQUETTE, which might, aud aometimes does, lead to a fight. It iB not polite for ono dog to omit the form of pretending that the othor is a big, atrong, important person, against whom he mußt take precautions. Tho etiquette of combat iB apparently among the moat artificial of human observances. It does not seem to take form except in otatea of society in which public aud private war has been recognised ao one of the conditions of life, in which fighting becomes not only a fine art, but an agreeable pastime for persons of quality. Hence the elaborate salutations of the duello, and the punctilio of the fencing-school. " Shall I begin with o, •damme?'" . asks Bob Acres, when writing hia challenge. And his demur to the pleiu " Dear Sir," on the ground that he waa not nsking his rival to breakfast, aceuiß to plain people rather natural. Yet some of the. creatures which are fighters by instinct go through formal preliminaries not unlike those of the set duels of the Middle Ages. The early phaaea of the cock-fight were so well known as to provide materials for series of illustrations, in which tbe birds appeared aa acting by tnlea well known and recognised by the "fancy;" and even

A SINGLE COMBAT BETWEEN A FJ2BEET AND

A BAT is conducted in. its early Btageo with curious reticence and a recognition of rule. The rat, always on the defensive, ait3 up on guard while the ferret runa to and fro, often approaching ao near as almost to touch the rat. Both parties then draw back moat politely, as if fchey begged eaob othera' pardon for the accident ; aud thia iB repeated several times, each appearing to ignore the other's praaenco, until the ferret makes ita spring, and the two engage in a furious wrestle, in which the rat is not uufrequently the victim.. Thia ia quite different from the conduct of the lobster iu " The Water Bftbioa," who held on to the otter's nose, "because it was a point of honour with lobsters never to let go."

That there is au etiquette of demeanour among different species of birds will have been noticed by all who have fed them during tho hard weather. Some are alwayo assertive and forward, like the robina and sparrows ; others, which are equally familiar with man, are as diffident and reserved, the hedge-sparrows being perhaps the moat

NOTICEABLE EXAMPLES.

Why thia rule of behaviour should be constant in a Bingls species ia difficult to conjecture. The late Mr Booth reaffirmed from hia own observation the truth of the old belief that every bird, such, sa the crowa and ravens, withdraws from ita meal at the approach of the eagle, juefc an the carrion birds do before the king-vulture. But the strangest instance of etiquette in dealing with royalty ia that observed by heea when a strange queen is introduced into tbe hive. Sometimes the first queen is allowed to fight the rival. If not, the other bees will kill the intruding queen, m.tb7 stinging it. but by suffocation— a ckafc'n. only reserved for royalty.