Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-02-09
SCENTS AND COLORS
Experiments Showing the Preferences Of
Certain Animals
Some Birds Delight in bright CO1Ors-
LeOpards and Lions Have
Fancy for Perfumes.
From the New York Sun.

writer, who has recently been making ex-
periments regarding the senses of the AMI
| mails at the geological gardens in Regents
Park. has set down in his book, Life at
the Zoo" among other interesting things,
the effect on the animals of bright colors
and sweet scents. 1t has already been told
in the Sun how Mr.. Cornish. with VIC
| linist, went through the zoo testing the
musical capacities of the inhabitants, to
the huge delight Of the bears and the wild
boar, the disgust of the elephant, and the
chagrin of all wolf kind. His color and
scent experiments, while attended with
results less positive than the musical
trials. nevertheless brought out some in
teresting facts.
Some experiments on bees by Sir John
Lubbock suggested to him the trials OF
color. Sir John Lubbock had written OF
the effects of different hues on bees. and
had shown to his own satisfaction thaI
these insects evinced an appreciation OF
the varying colors as arranged In the
spectrum. commencing on the red margin.
Mr.. Cornish decided to try it on the birds.
and the tamest and most artistic birds
ready to his hand being the bower birds
in Regents Park, he chose them for his
trials. He says that they seem to follow
the bees in their inclnations, showing a
preference for red. He writes:
"In the west aviary the bower birds build
their gallery every spring and decorate 1t
with such articles of vertu as visitors are
kind enough to place at their disposal. In
the first warm days they begin to coilect
materials for the bower. The tw1gs OF
birch broom are usually given them for
the raw material. and these are soon ar
ranged with astonishing skill into two short
incurved hedges, the tops being pulled over
as the material admits. If they had a
larger allowance Of brooms no doubt the
tunnel would be longer. AS it is, 1t is
only section Of a gallery. When this is
NieI1 hoy
as presents of bright-colored objects to
arrange round the sides of the playground.
Unfortunately for the birds. the mice
which have no esthetic perceptions, but
are of a practical turn Of mind, steal
everything soft which is put in the bower
to make nests for their own young. All
pieces Of colored paper, rags, tinsel, are
carried Off in the night or even in the
day so that the birds can only rely for
permanent ornament things not only
bright, but hard"
Birds and COlOrs.
One day the eXperimenter brought
number of shreds of paper of various hues.
which he scattered about where the bower
birds could easily get them. In short
time the birds, perched on convenient
branches, were examining the collection,
heads knowingly cooked on one side like
so many conoisseurs. All Of them seemed
to make up their minds at the same mo-
ment that red was what they must have
for their decora lions, and with much chat
| tering and twittering they swooped down
upon the scarlet shreds with such unanim-
ity that several quarrels resulted from
their haste. Then, having secured each a
fair share, they carried their booty pack
to the gallery and tried its effect, now
here, now there. discussing among them
selves the arrangements until satisfied that
the result was artistic. After this they
went back and picked out some Of the
other colors but these didn't interest them
much. One or two of the BIRDS took
fancy to some bright yellow and decorated
general preference for what was brightest,
lost interest in the adjoining process after
all the red was used up.
Soon these adornments disappeared under
the ravages of the mice, and other ex-
periments were tried. These showed that
the liking of the birds for what is bright
and shining in texture was more marked
than their prediction for bright colors.
Some ingenious friend" writes Mr.
Cornish, finding that the mice robbed the
birds of their papers and Silks presented
them with number of small glass phiais
filed with colored ShredS, or with tin and
brass filings. These were source OF
great delight, and when the supply was
further increased by dozen pretty soil
taire balls. they spent week in arrang-
ing and rearranging their treasure.
Mr. Cornish didn't try these color ex-
periments on the reptiles. If he ever does
perhaps he will be able to answer an anx-
ious inquirer. who some time ago wrote to
the Sun follows:
Mr. Editr deer Sir. I want to kno can
you Tell me about Frogs wy it is Frog
acks so strange. l have went Fishing for
Frogs lots for Their Legs you can sci them.
I have tried to get them with Bate. on
Hook. i tried wurms & Slugs & they wood
not bite not a Darn bite but day see
man get Frogs with red flannil on
Hook & tried that had to Civ up part
of my Shurt but got Frogs tel you can
not Rest. can you tell me wy Frog
wunt etc wurms & Slugs things that Is
good to etc for Frogs & will Bite at a red
Flannil Shurt & oblige Yrs truely,
EZRA JUMP.
Loved Perfumes.
From colors Mr.. Cornish went to scents.
knowing that the feline race is particu-
larly sensitive to odors, as exemplified in
the liking Of the cat for catnip. the ex-
perimenter first tried the leopards with a
ball Of wool soaked in lavender water. OF
this experiment he writes.
1.-THE first leopard to which 1t was Of
fered stood over the ball of cotton, shut
its eyes, opened its mouth and screwed up
it's nose, rather like the picture OF the
gentleman inhaling a scent in an adver-
tisement. It then lay down and held 1t
between its paws, and finished by lying
dcwn upon it. Another leopard smelt 1t
and sneezed: then caught the wool In Its
claws, played with it. then lay on Its back
and rubbed its head and neck over the
scent. 1t then fetched another leopard
which was asleep in a cage and the two
shifted it for some time together; and the
last conner ended by taking the ball in its
teeth, curling it's lips well back and in
haling the delightful perfume with half
shut eyes.
This animal was 50 attracted by the
perfume that 1t couldn't be induced to
give it up so another ball was prepared
for the lions and cast into the cage where
the big lion and lioness were taking their
morning walk. Both of them went for it
at once, and at the first sniff sat down up
on their launches and looked at it in
amazement, after which they looked at
each ether and whsked their tails. The
idea that it was good thing struck both
of them at the same time, and they fell
upon 1t like two foot ball players on the
leather. The lioness got there first where
Upon her unchvalrous mate drew back
and larded a right-paw swing on her jaw
that sent her to her corner in trice.
The king of beasts then laid his head on the
scented ball and .purred like a distant
thunder storm. These lions had been at
the Zoo for years and had had time to inn
bibe civilized ideas, and perhaps also to
acquire a taste for 1uxuries. The final ex-
pertinent was made with a view to deter
mining the effect upon an uneducated lion.
I~,,-