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 180 w. H. WINCH : cess educationally, and must we begin with drawing from the- shoulder ? May we not rather by so doing fix a habit which will become an obstacle to the drawing we need ? I purposely give a case where at present, perhaps, no de- cided answer is possible, as this more adequately brings out the premisses of the theory. But it may fairly be said that the spontaneous activity of the young of animals other than man does seem to be pre- paratory, whilst that of man does not, to anything like the same degree, at any rate. I suggest the following explanation. We are accustomed to consider the play of animals which are going to live ex- actly as their forebears, whilst with man we know that social environment changes, and demands new operations and re- adjustments. But consider the play of an animal whose necessities are supplied. The weaver bird will never again require to build its own nest. The squirrel need not bury nuts. The cat is now supplied from the household larder. And male birds (and human beings too) sing on when court- ship is over. Yet they repeat the activities that once were necessary. That is, play goes on after, as well as before, the serious activities for which it is supposed to be a preparation ; the necessities of the past become the amusements of the present. And in beliefs we have the same general results as in actions. I have referred to the characteristics of primitive notions of reality. What becomes of these primitive beliefs and how do they decay ? We seem to have a useful analogy in what are called rudi- mentary organs. It is well known that man bears about with him traces of a long line of ancestry, organic structures- hastening to decay, yet demanding some sustenance, and occasionally, in individuals, functioning with vigour, yet seem- ing less and less to form a coherent whole with the rest of the- organism. A psychological parallel can be established. " A careful examination of games reveals the fact that they orig- inated not as pastimes, but as serious divinatory contests." Children "perpetuate games that have otherwise disappeared '' " The children's song-game of to-day, ' Here I brew, here I bake,' carries us back to the childhood of the race when, as Payot says of man's willing, his working was done with the co-operation of all his faculties, hands, body, voice, all have their share in the task." 2 1 President's address to the American Folk-lore Society, Baltimore,. 1897. 2 The Child, Dr. A. F. Chamberlain, p. 21.