d in like manner. He has fought as long as he could;
then, seeing the odds against him, he has feigned death, hoping that his
antagonist would abandon him and cease his onslaughts. The stink-bug in
this seems to be governed and directed by _reason_, though the means
used for defence must come under the head of instinct. Many a blind,
instinctive impulse in the lower animals is, in all probability, aided
and abetted by intelligent ratiocination when once it has made its
appearance.

I have seen ants execute a like stratagem when overcome either by
numbers or by stronger ants. They curl up their legs, draw down their
antennae, and drop to the ground. They will allow themselves to be pulled
about by their foes without the slightest resistance, showing no signs
of life whatever. The enemy soon leaves them, whereupon the cunning
little creatures take to their feet and hurry away.

The most noted and best known letisimulant among mammals is the opossum.
I have seen this animal look as if dead for hours at a time. It can be
thrown down any way, and its body and limbs will remain in the position
assigned to them by gravity. It presents a perfect picture of death. The
hare will act in the same way on occasions. The cat has been seen to
feign death for the purpose of enticing its prey within grasping
distance of its paws. In the mountains of East Tennessee (Chilhowee) I
once saw a hound which would "play dead" when attacked by a more
powerful dog than itself. It would fall upon its back, close its eyes,
open its mouth, and loll out its tongue. Its antagonist would appear
nonplussed at such strange conduct, and would soon leave it alone. Its
master[113] declared that it had not been taught the trick by man, but
that the habit was inherited or learned from its mother, which practised
the same deception when hard pushed.[114]

[113] Mr. George Griffiths, Griffiths' Cove, Chilhowee, Blount County,
Tennessee.

[114] In the case of the cat and dog the use of this stratagem is not
instinctive; it is the rational use of means to obtain a certain
desired end. The fact that the dog "inherited the act" from its mother
is not a proof of inherited instinct. Instincts are not formed in a
single generation.--W.

Most animals are slain for food by other animals. There is a continual
struggle for existence. The carnivora and insectivora, with certain
exceptions, prefer freshly killed food. They will not touch tainted meat
when