d almost directly under the carrot, mounted
it, and looked up at the food. It was still beyond his reach and he made
no effort to get it, but instead, he reached from his perch on the big
box for the next smaller box, which was approximately sixteen inches, by
fourteen, by twelve. This he succeeded in pulling toward him, at the
same time raising it slightly from the floor, but his efforts caused the
large box to topple over and he quit work. 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.

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. Shortly, he mounted the middle sized box and looked up
toward the banana, but the box was not directly under the bait, and in
any event, it would have been impossible for him to reach it. He next
went to the largest box, gnawed it vigorously, turned it over several
times, and then abandoned it for the middle sized box, from which by
skillful use of his teeth and hands, he quickly tore off one side.

By this time, apparently without very definitely directed effort on the
part of the monkey, all three of the boxes were in the center of the
cage and almost directly beneath the banana. Skirrl climbed up on the
largest box and made efforts to pull the middle sized one up on to it,
the while looking at the banana every few seconds. He did not succeed in
getting the boxes properly placed, and after a time began moving them
about restlessly.

His behavior plainly indicated that hunger was not his chief motive. He
was more interested in playing with things or in working with them than
in eating, and the satisfaction of tearing a box to pieces seemed even
greater than that of food. It is especially noteworthy that when Skirrl
attempts to dismember a box, instead of starting at random, he searches
carefully for a favorable starting point, a place where a board is
slightly loosened or where a slight crack or hole en