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Not once during the several periods of observation did Skirrl make any attempt to use a stick or any other object as a means of drawing the food to him. Instead, he reached persistently with his arm, pulled and gnawed at the wires which were in his way, and occasionally picked up and gnawed or pounded with the sticks in the cage.
"I am now heartily glad that my early efforts to remove the corpse were futile, for this record of the persistence of maternal behavior seems to me of very unusual interest to the genetic psychologist." Fear In connection with the multiple-choice experiments Skirrl exhibited what seemed to be instinctive fear as a result of his unfortunate experience with nails in the floor of box 1.
The first, that for Sobke, is surprisingly regular; the second, that for Skirrl, is quite as surprisingly irregular. These results correlate perfectly with the steadiness and predictability of the former's responses and the irregularity and erraticness of the latter's. Problem 2. Second from the Right End
The test was continued on August 24 when, instead of a carrot, a half banana was used as bait. It was placed only five feet from the floor, and three boxes were as formerly placed in distant corners of the cage. When admitted, Skirrl looked at the banana, then pulled one of the boxes toward it, but instead of mounting, he went to the smallest box and began to gnaw it.
As the matter was of prime importance for the success of my work, I inquired of Doctor Hamilton, and of the men in charge of the cages, for any incident which might account for this peculiar behavior, and I learned that some three months earlier, while the animal cages were being whitewashed, Skirrl had jumped at one of the laborers who was applying a brush to the framework of one of the cages and had shaken some lime into his eyes.
The experiment was discontinued after a few minutes, the total period of observation having been thirty-five minutes. Skirrl handled the boxes with ease and with evident pleasure and interest. He also noticed the carrot at various times during the interval, but his attention was fixed on it only for short periods.
On May 11 regular experimentation was begun with problem 2. Naturally the situation presented unusual difficulties to the monkey because of his previously acquired habit, and on the first day it was possible to give only five trials, in all except the first of which Skirrl had to be aided by the experimenter to find the right box.
Everything progressed smoothly; there were no such irregularities of behavior as appeared in the case of Skirrl, and consequently the description of results is a relatively simple matter. Sobke invariably chose the end boxes. His performance was in every way superior to that of Skirrl.
Both Julius and Skirrl went to the opposite extreme in the matter of directness, or as we should say in human relations, frankness. They would look the experimenter directly in the eye, and they usually gazed intently at anything, such for example as the bait, that interested them.
Evidently we must either conclude that Skirrl had a peculiarly strong imitative tendency in this direction, or instead, a pronounced disposition or instinct for the use of objects as tools. It would seem fair to speak of it as an instinct for mechanical activity. Under this same heading may be described Skirrl's reactions to such objects as a handsaw, a padlock, and a water faucet.
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