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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<table style='min-width:0; padding:0; margin-left:0; border-collapse:collapse'> - <tr><td>Title:</td><td>Intelligence in Plants and Animals</td></tr> - <tr><td></td><td>Being a New Edition of the Author's Privately Issued "Soul and Immortality."</td></tr> -</table> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Thomas George Gentry</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: February 14, 2021 [eBook #64550]</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Turgut Dincer, Harry Lamé and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive).</div> - -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK INTELLIGENCE IN PLANTS AND ANIMALS ***</div> - -<div class="tnbox"> -<p class="center">Please see the <a href="#TN">Transcriber’s Notes</a> at the end of this text.</p> -</div> - -<div class="scr"> - -<div class="container w30em"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" alt="Cover image" /> -</div> - -</div><!--container--> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -</div><!--scr--> - -<div class="container" id="Plate1"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo001.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="copyright">Copyright 1900 by <span class="smcap">A. R. Dugmore</span>.</p> - -<p class="caption">SNAPPING-TURTLES FIGHTING.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>INTELLIGENCE<br /> -<span class="fsize60">IN</span><br /> -PLANTS AND ANIMALS</h1> - -<p class="center highline2">BEING A NEW EDITION OF THE AUTHOR’S<br /> -PRIVATELY ISSUED “SOUL AND IMMORTALITY”</p> - -<p class="center highline2 blankbefore2">BY<br /> -<span class="fsize150">THOMAS G. GENTRY, Sc. D.</span></p> - -<p class="center highline1"><span class="fsize60">AUTHOR OF “LIFE-HISTORIES OF BIRDS OF EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA,”<br /> -“THE HOUSE SPARROW,” “NESTS AND EGGS OF BIRDS<br /> -OF THE UNITED STATES,” ETC., ETC., ETC.</span></p> - -<p class="center fsize125 highline15 blankbefore10">NEW YORK<br /> -DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & CO.<br /> -1900</p> - -</div><!--titlepage--> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="center blankbefore5 blankafter5 highline2">Copyright 1900,<br /> -BY<br /> -DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & CO.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="center blankbefore5 blankafter5 highline2">TO<br /> -<span class="fsize90"><span class="smcap">All Human Beings</span></span><br /> -WHO ARE GOOD AND KIND<br /> -<span class="fsize90">TO THE HUMBLEST OF GOD’S CREATURES</span><br /> -THIS VOLUME<br /> -<span class="fsize90">IS MOST AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED<br /> -BY THE AUTHOR.</span></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="centerblock"> - -<p class="noindent fsize90">“Every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand -hills.<br /> -“I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the -field are mine.”—Psalm 1:10, 11.</p> - -</div><!--centerblock--> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page1">[1]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">PREFACE.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p>Nothing is more charming to the mind of man than the study of -Nature. Religion, moderation and magnanimity have been made a -part of his inner being through her teachings, and the soul has been -rescued by her influence from obscurity. No longer doth man grovel -in the dust, seeking, animal-like, the gratification of low and base -desires, as was his wont, but on the wings of thought is enabled to soar -to the very gates of Heaven and hold communion with God.</p> - -<p>Though made “a little lower than the angels,” yet, through the -mighty play of forces that have been at work in the world, which we, -in the latter half of this enlightened century, are just beginning to -recognize and comprehend, he has been lifted from the mire of degradation -and placed upon a higher social, intellectual, moral and spiritual -level. Out of the animal, in the scheme of Deity, the spiritual system -of things is to be elaborated, and not the animal out of the spiritual. -This natural world, so to speak, is the raw material of the spiritual. -Therefore, ere man can understand the spiritual, he must understand -the natural. Though his knowledge was at first about material things, -or such as pertained to natural phenomena, yet from this through the -ages has been builded, little by little, that mountain-height of knowledge, -intellectual and moral, which, if rightly directed, is to bring him -into fellowship with Deity. “As we have borne the image of the earthy, -we shall also bear the image of the heavenly,” or, Lord from heaven.</p> - -<p>When is considered, therefore, the immense good which the study -and investigation of nature have accomplished, it is not at all surprising -that the literature on the subject should be markedly in the ascendant. -Natural science bids fair to be in a preëminent degree the pursuit of -the coming man. There is no end to the books that have been written -upon the subject during the past few decades, if not by specialists, but<span class="pagenum" id="Page2">[2]</span> -by men and women who have been well informed and who have made -themselves fully capable of contemplating understandingly the world -which lies about them.</p> - -<p>Our libraries are to-day quite affluent in books that are the handmaids -of natural science. Michelet and Hugh Miller, in their day, opened -glorious new worlds before a rising generation, and that generation is -now doing excellent work under the inspiration of the impetus which -it then received. Tait, Balfour Stewart, Dawson, Gray, McCook, -Thompson, Scudder, Mrs. Treat, Olive Thorne Miller and others have -done much to continue the interest, pleasure and enthusiasm awakened -by those earlier writers, and even Darwin and Huxley themselves, in -detailing their experiments, have not scorned to bring their thoughts -within the range of narrower minds.</p> - -<p>But in the popularization of natural science no man has done more -than Rev. J. G. Wood in his numerous works. Not only have his -writings created in thousands a taste for nature-studies, but they have -been no less the means of cultivating the observation, awakening -enthusiasm and directing effort in the lines of original research and -discovery. Certainly no one, as his many writings so abundantly attest, -possessed a larger fund of knowledge concerning the powers and -capabilities of the lower animals than this author. Few knew our -domestic animals better than he, and none was more capable of judging -of the mental and moral <i>status</i> which they should occupy in the world -of animals. It is true that men and women, eminent in theology, -literature and science, had expressed a belief in the idea that the “latent -powers and capacities” of the lower animals might be developed in a -future life, but no one had felt secure enough in this belief to warrant -more than a passing thought or two upon the subject.</p> - -<p>Bishop Butler, in his “Analogy of Religion,” undoubtedly believed -the lower animals capable of a future life. In speaking of them in -this connection in the opening of his work, he says: “It is said these -observations are equally applicable to brutes; and it is thought an -insuperable difficulty that they should be immortal, and by consequence -capable of everlasting happiness. And this manner of expression is -both invidious and weak; but the thing intended by it is really no difficulty -at all, either in the way of natural or moral consideration.”<span class="pagenum" id="Page3">[3]</span> -Referring then to the undeveloped powers and capacities of the so-called -brutes, the Bishop could perceive no reason why they should not -attain their development in an existence beyond the earth-life. It was -in pursuance of this same train of thought that Rev. J. G. Wood was -led to show in a work, entitled “Man and Beast Here and Hereafter,” -that the lower animals do possess those mental and moral characteristics—the -attributes of reason, language, memory, moral responsibility, -unselfishness and love—which we admit in man as belonging to the -immortal spirit, rather than to the perishable body. Having previously -cleared away the difficulties which certain passages in the Old Testament -seemingly interposed, and proved that the Scriptures do not deny -futurity of life to lower animals, he very naturally concluded that as -man expects to retain these qualities in the future life there is every -reason to suppose that they may share his immortality in the Hereafter -as in the Now they are partakers of his mortal nature.</p> - -<p>Few minds, unswayed by thoughts materialistic, can study the -living works of God, whether vegetal or animal, and fail to be convinced -that they, as living exponents of Divine conceptions, are as -needful in the world of spirit as in the world of matter. While many -are disposed to believe that man will share the future life with beast, -bird, insect and such like, yet but few, if any, can be found who believe -that tree and shrub and flower will be there to continue the life begun -on earth and reach out to higher and fuller development. In announcing -this belief, the author but expresses a conviction as deep as any -that could occupy a human mind. The possession of soul and spirit -can be predicated no less of plants than of man and the lower animals. -They have all one breath or life and one spirit, and as such are living -souls, living, breathing frames or bodies of life. From being living, -breathing frames, and endowed with the same life and spirit as man -and the lower animals, they have all one destiny, for “all go unto one -place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.” But of the new -life which Christ came down to earth to proffer to man that he might -inherit the kingdom of God. While to man it was only offered, and -had for its purpose the uplifting and improvement of his earth-life by -the promise of something higher and better to those who are accounted -worthy, yet there can be no doubt that it was equally intended through<span class="pagenum" id="Page4">[4]</span> -his uplifting to place all the creatures of the earth over which he was -given dominion by God upon a more elevated and nobler plane, so -that those which had been profited in the earth-life by his beneficent -influence should become partakers with him in the new life, when -Christ shall “transfigure the body of our humiliation, that it may -become of like form with the body of His glory, by the power of that -which enables Him even to subdue all things to Himself.” As all -existence is a unit, which the author has taken especial pains through -the body of this book to impress upon the minds of his readers, it can -hardly be conceived that an all-wise God, who is infinite in love, -mercy and justice, would look to the preservation in a future state of -but a very small part of the life which He has been instrumental in -placing upon this earth. It would be more consistent with His attributes, -and with the scheme of development of life upon our planet, -whereby life has been progressive, the fittest only being allowed to -survive, to have provided in the grand plan of redemption, not merely -the salvation of the highest of earth-life, but of all life, the purest and -the best, that would represent in the heaven-life, in spiritualized form, -the highest living exponents of Divine ideas. No other belief accords -so well with the teachings of science and philosophy. In its acceptance, -for it makes all life related to the Divine life, can there be any -hope of escape from materialism, that curse of the age.</p> - -<p class="right padr2 highline2 fsize90"><span class="smcap">Thomas G. Gentry, Sc. D.</span></p> - -<p class="highline2 fsize90"><span class="smcap">Philadelphia, February 28, 1897.</span></p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page5">[5]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CONTENTS</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<table class="toc" summary="ToC"> - -<tr> -<th> </th> -<th class="right fsize70">PAGE</th> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">Preface</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page1">1</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">Life and Its Conditions</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page9">9</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">Plants that Feed on Insects</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page16">16</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">Slime-Animals</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page32">32</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">Primitive Lasso-Throwers</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page36">36</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">Five-Fingered Jack on the Oyster</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page41">41</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">Earth-worms in History</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page48">48</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">Fiddler-and Hermit-Crabs</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page70">70</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">Funnel-Web Builder</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page77">77</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">Book-Lovers</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page86">86</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">You-ee-up</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page90">90</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">Tower-Building Cicada</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page95">95</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">Honey-Dew</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page104">104</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">Milch-Cows of the Ants</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page108">108</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">Living Artillery</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page111">111</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">Bright and Shining Ones</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page115">115</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">Queen of American Silk-Spinners</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page121">121</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">Basket-Carriers</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page126">126</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">Honey-Producing Caterpillars</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page132">132</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">Hibernating Butterflies</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page144">144</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">Leaf-Cutter Bee</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page149">149</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">Battle Between Ants</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page153">153</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">Nest-Building Fishes</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page158">158</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">Slippery as an Eel</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page168">168</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">Rana and Bufo</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page174">174</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">Our Natural Enemies</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page186">186</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">House-Bearing Reptiles</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page198">198</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">Summer Duck</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page204">204</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">American Woodcock</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page210">210</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">Piping Plover</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page218">218</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">Bob White</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page222">222</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">Ruffed Grouse</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page230">230</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">An Old Acquaintance</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page240">240</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">American Osprey</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page245">245</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">Turkey Buzzard<span class="pagenum" id="Page6">[6]</span></td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page252">252</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">Rare and Curious Nests</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page263">263</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">Strange Friendship</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page279">279</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">Nature’s Little Store-Keeper</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page285">285</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">Canine Sagacity</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page290">290</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">Feline Intelligence</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page295">295</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">Bright Little Cebidae</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page301">301</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">Untutored Man</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page309">309</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">Living Souls</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page316">316</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">Consciousness in Plants</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page323">323</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">Mind in Animals</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page344">344</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">Life Progressive</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page404">404</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">Survival of the Fittest</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page426">426</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">Man’s Preëminence</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page469">469</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="subject">Future Life</td> -<td class="pagenr"><a href="#Page479">479</a></td> -</tr> - -</table> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page7">[7]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<table class="toc" summary="LoI"> - -<tr> -<th colspan="2"> </th> -<th class="right fsize70">PAGE</th> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr">1</td> -<td class="subject">Portrait of Author</td> -<td class="pagenr">Frontispiece</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig2">2</a></td> -<td class="subject">Venus’s Fly-trap</td> -<td class="pagenr">20</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig3">3</a></td> -<td class="subject">Round-Leaved Sundew</td> -<td class="pagenr">25</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig4">4</a></td> -<td class="subject">Protomyxa Feeding</td> -<td class="pagenr">34</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig5">5</a></td> -<td class="subject">Fresh-Water Hydra</td> -<td class="pagenr">37</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig6">6</a></td> -<td class="subject">Star-fish Opening an Oyster</td> -<td class="pagenr">45</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig7">7</a></td> -<td class="subject">Common Earth-worms</td> -<td class="pagenr">60</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig8">8</a></td> -<td class="subject">Fiddler-Crabs</td> -<td class="pagenr">72</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig9">9</a></td> -<td class="subject">Warty Hermit-Crabs</td> -<td class="pagenr">75</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig10">10</a></td> -<td class="subject">Agalena and Her Funnel-Web</td> -<td class="pagenr">79</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig11">11</a></td> -<td class="subject">Lepismas at Work</td> -<td class="pagenr">88</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig12">12</a></td> -<td class="subject">You-ee-up in His Den</td> -<td class="pagenr">91</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig13">13</a></td> -<td class="subject">Seventeen-year Cicada</td> -<td class="pagenr">97</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig14">14</a></td> -<td class="subject">New-born Cicada</td> -<td class="pagenr">99</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig15">15</a></td> -<td class="subject">Dome-like House of Cicada</td> -<td class="pagenr">101</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig16">16</a></td> -<td class="subject">Blossom of Cucurbita</td> -<td class="pagenr">105</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig17">17</a></td> -<td class="subject">Nest of Lasius</td> -<td class="pagenr">109</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig18">18</a></td> -<td class="subject">Brachinus Pursued by an Enemy</td> -<td class="pagenr">112</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig19">19</a></td> -<td class="subject">Common Tiger Beetle</td> -<td class="pagenr">117</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig20">20</a></td> -<td class="subject">American Luna Moth</td> -<td class="pagenr">123</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig21">21</a></td> -<td class="subject">House-builder Moth</td> -<td class="pagenr">129</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig22">22</a></td> -<td class="subject">Pseudargiolus Butterfly</td> -<td class="pagenr">134</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig23">23</a></td> -<td class="subject">Violacea Butterfly</td> -<td class="pagenr">138</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig24">24</a></td> -<td class="subject">Neglecta Butterfly</td> -<td class="pagenr">142</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig25">25</a></td> -<td class="subject">Mourning-Cloak Butterfly</td> -<td class="pagenr">146</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig26">26</a></td> -<td class="subject">Leaf-Cutter Bee at Work</td> -<td class="pagenr">150</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig27">27</a></td> -<td class="subject">Battle Between Ants</td> -<td class="pagenr">154</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig28">28</a></td> -<td class="subject">Nest of Common Sun-fish</td> -<td class="pagenr">159</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig29">29</a></td> -<td class="subject">Black-nosed Dace</td> -<td class="pagenr">163</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig30">30</a></td> -<td class="subject">Common American Eel</td> -<td class="pagenr">172</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig31">31</a></td> -<td class="subject">Rana Clamata, or Green Frog</td> -<td class="pagenr">177</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig32">32</a></td> -<td class="subject">Common American Toad</td> -<td class="pagenr">181</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig33">33</a></td> -<td class="subject">Northern Rattlesnake</td> -<td class="pagenr">189</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig34">34</a></td> -<td class="subject">Mother Black Snake</td> -<td class="pagenr">192</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig35">35</a></td> -<td class="subject">Summer Green Snake<span class="pagenum" id="Page8">[8]</span></td> -<td class="pagenr">195</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig36">36</a></td> -<td class="subject">Water Snake</td> -<td class="pagenr">196</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig37">37</a></td> -<td class="subject">Common Box Tortoise</td> -<td class="pagenr">201</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig38">38</a></td> -<td class="subject">Summer Ducks and Young</td> -<td class="pagenr">206</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig39">39</a></td> -<td class="subject">American Woodcock</td> -<td class="pagenr">214</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig40">40</a></td> -<td class="subject">Female Piping Plover</td> -<td class="pagenr">220</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig41">41</a></td> -<td class="subject">Home of Bob White</td> -<td class="pagenr">225</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig42">42</a></td> -<td class="subject">Ruffed Grouse in Spring-time</td> -<td class="pagenr">235</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig43">43</a></td> -<td class="subject">Mexican Wild Turkey</td> -<td class="pagenr">241</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig44">44</a></td> -<td class="subject">Nest of American Osprey</td> -<td class="pagenr">247</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig45">45</a></td> -<td class="subject">Female Turkey Buzzard Dining</td> -<td class="pagenr">259</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig46">46</a></td> -<td class="subject">Nest of the Robin</td> -<td class="pagenr">264</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig47">47</a></td> -<td class="subject">Red-winged Blackbird’s Nest</td> -<td class="pagenr">266</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig48">48</a></td> -<td class="subject">Double Nest of Orchard Oriole</td> -<td class="pagenr">268</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig49">49</a></td> -<td class="subject">Female Baltimore Oriole</td> -<td class="pagenr">270</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig50">50</a></td> -<td class="subject">Acadian Flycatchers</td> -<td class="pagenr">272</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig51">51</a></td> -<td class="subject">Long-billed Marsh Wrens</td> -<td class="pagenr">274</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig52">52</a></td> -<td class="subject">Golden-Crowned Kinglets</td> -<td class="pagenr">275</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig53">53</a></td> -<td class="subject">Lace Hammock of Parula Warbler</td> -<td class="pagenr">276</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig54">54</a></td> -<td class="subject">Three-story Nest of Yellow Warbler</td> -<td class="pagenr">278</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig55">55</a></td> -<td class="subject">Saw-whet Owl and Chickaree Squirrel</td> -<td class="pagenr">282</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig56">56</a></td> -<td class="subject">Hackee, or Chipping Squirrel</td> -<td class="pagenr">287</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig57">57</a></td> -<td class="subject">My Dog Frisky</td> -<td class="pagenr">292</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig58">58</a></td> -<td class="subject">Tom on Duty</td> -<td class="pagenr">297</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig59">59</a></td> -<td class="subject">Jack at Dinner</td> -<td class="pagenr">305</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig60">60</a></td> -<td class="subject">Australian at Home</td> -<td class="pagenr">311</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig61">61</a></td> -<td class="subject">Representative Life of Western Asia</td> -<td class="pagenr">319</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig62">62</a></td> -<td class="subject">Seedling of Winter Grape</td> -<td class="pagenr">325</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig63">63</a></td> -<td class="subject">Tip of Radicle of Seedling Maple</td> -<td class="pagenr">331</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig64">64</a></td> -<td class="subject">Wonderful Equine Intelligence</td> -<td class="pagenr">347</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig65">65</a></td> -<td class="subject">Papier-Maché Palace of the Hornet</td> -<td class="pagenr">353</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig66">66</a></td> -<td class="subject">Unsolicited and Unlooked-for Kindness</td> -<td class="pagenr">357</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig67">67</a></td> -<td class="subject">Exhibition of Grandeur</td> -<td class="pagenr">378</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig68">68</a></td> -<td class="subject">Four Orphaned Robins</td> -<td class="pagenr">389</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig69">69</a></td> -<td class="subject">Mated for Life</td> -<td class="pagenr">396</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig70">70</a></td> -<td class="subject">Evidence of Conjugal Affection</td> -<td class="pagenr">400</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig71">71</a></td> -<td class="subject">Life in the Primordial Sea</td> -<td class="pagenr">410</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig72">72</a></td> -<td class="subject">Carboniferous Times</td> -<td class="pagenr">412</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig73">73</a></td> -<td class="subject">Mesozoic Flora and Fauna</td> -<td class="pagenr">415</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig74">74</a></td> -<td class="subject">Palæolithic Men Attacking Cave Bear</td> -<td class="pagenr">448</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Fig75">75</a></td> -<td class="subject">Era of Mind and Heart</td> -<td class="pagenr">462</td> -</tr> - -</table> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<h2 class="nobreak">FULL PAGE PLATES.</h2> - -<p class="center highline2">From Photographs from Nature by <span class="smcap">A. Radclyffe Dugmore</span>.</p> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<table class="toc" summary="Contents"> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Plate1">1</a></td> -<td class="subject">Snapping Turtles Fighting</td> -<td class="pagenr">Frontispiece</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<th colspan="2"> </th> -<th class="right fsize70">FACING PAGE</th> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Plate2">2</a></td> -<td class="subject">Crab Waiting for Food Under a Rock</td> -<td class="pagenr">74</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Plate3">3</a></td> -<td class="subject">Box-tortoise Feeding on Fungus</td> -<td class="pagenr">200</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Plate4">4</a></td> -<td class="subject">Woodcock on Nest (showing protective coloring)</td> -<td class="pagenr">212</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Plate5">5</a></td> -<td class="subject">Red-eyed Vireo’s Two-Storied Nest With Cow-bird’s egg beneath</td> -<td class="pagenr">264</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Plate6">6</a></td> -<td class="subject">Long-billed Marsh Wren’s Nest</td> -<td class="pagenr">272</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Plate7">7</a></td> -<td class="subject">Chipping Squirrels Feeding</td> -<td class="pagenr">286</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class="nr"><a href="#Plate8">8</a></td> -<td class="subject">Wood Thrush Setting</td> -<td class="pagenr">402</td> -</tr> - -</table> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page9">[9]</span></p> - -<p class="fauxh1">LIFE AND IMMORTALITY.</p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">LIFE AND ITS CONDITIONS.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p class="chapstart"><span class="largecap">A</span><span class="afterlargecap">ll</span> -natural objects, roughly divided, arrange themselves -into three groups, constituting the so-called Mineral, -Vegetable and Animal kingdoms. Mineral bodies are all -devoid of life. They consist of either a single element, or, if -combined, occur in nature in the form of simple compounds, -composed of more than two or three elements. They are -homogeneous in texture, or, when unmixed, formed of -similar particles which have no definite relations to one -another. In form they are either altogether indefinite, when -they are said to be amorphous, or have a definite shape, -called crystalline, in which case they are ordinarily bounded -by plane surfaces and straight lines. When mineral bodies -increase in size, as crystals may do, the increase is produced -simply by accretion. They exhibit purely physical and -chemical phenomena, and show no tendency to periodic -changes of any kind. Fossils or petrifactions, which owe -their existence and characters to beings which lived in -former periods of the earth’s history, cannot, though made -up of mineral matter, be properly said to belong to the -mineral kingdom.</p> - -<p>But objects belonging to the vegetable and animal kingdoms -differ markedly from inert, lifeless, mineral matter. -Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen are the most -important of the few chemical elements which enter into<span class="pagenum" id="Page10">[10]</span> -their composition, and these elements are combined into -complex organic compounds, which always contain a large -percentage of water, are very unstable, and prone to spontaneous -decomposition. They are composed of heterogeneous, -but related, parts, termed organs, the objects -possessing them being called organized bodies. Some of -the lowest forms of animals have bodies whose substance is -so uniform that they exhibit no definite organs, but this -exception does not affect the general value of this distinction. -They are always more or less definite in shape, -presenting concave and convex surfaces, and being limited -by curved lines. When they increase in size, or grow, as -we properly term it, it is not by the addition of particles -from the outside, but by the reception of foreign matter -into their interior and its consequent assimilation. Certain -periodic changes, which follow a definite and discoverable -order, are invariably passed through by organized bodies. -These changes constitute what is known as life. All the -objects, then, which fulfil these conditions are said to be -alive, and they all appertain either to the vegetable or the -animal kingdom. The study of living objects, no matter -to which kingdom they belong, is therefore conveniently -called by the general name of Biology, which means a -discourse on life. And as all living objects may be referred -to one or other of these kingdoms, so Biology may be -divided into Botany, which treats of plants, and Zoölogy, -which treats of animals.</p> - -<p>Now that we have divided all organized bodies into plants -and animals, it becomes necessary to inquire into the differences -which subsist between them, and which will enable -us to separate the kindred sciences of Botany and Zoölogy. -Nothing was thought so easy by older observers than the -determination of the animal or vegetable nature of any given -organism, but, in point of fact, no hard-and-fast line can be -drawn, in the existing state of our knowledge, between the -animal and vegetable kingdoms, and it is sometimes difficult,<span class="pagenum" id="Page11">[11]</span> -or even impossible, to decide with positiveness whether we -are dealing with a plant or an animal. In the higher orders -of the two kingdoms there is no difficulty in reaching a -decision, the higher animals being readily separated from the -higher plants by the possession of a nervous system, of a -locomotive power which can be voluntarily exercised, and of -an internal cavity adapted for the reception and digestion of -solid food. No so-called nervous system or organs of sense -are possessed by the higher plants, although some of them -doubtlessly manifest conscious and intelligent action, nor -are they capable of voluntary changes of place, nor provided -with any definite internal cavity, their food being generally -fluid or gaseous.</p> - -<p>Descending the scale to the very bottom, we reach a class -of animals, the Protozoa, which cannot be separated in many -cases from the Protophyta by these distinctions, since many -of the former have no digestive cavity, nor the slightest trace -of a nervous system, while many of the latter possess the -power of active locomotion. As to external configuration, no -certain rules can be laid down for separating animals and plants, -many of the lower plants, either in their earlier stages, or in -their maturity, being exactly similar in form to some of the -lower animals. This is the case with some of the Algæ, -which resemble very closely in form certain Infusorian animalcules. -Again, many undoubted animals, which are -rooted to solid objects in their adult state, are so plant-like -in appearance as to be popularly regarded as vegetables. -The Sea-firs, and the more highly organized Flustras or Sea-mats, -which are usually considered as sea-weeds by sea-side -visitors, are a few of many examples that might be taken -from the so-called Hydroid Zoöphytes. No decided distinction -between animals and plants can be drawn as to their -minute internal structure, both alike consisting of molecules, -of cells, or of fibres. Some decided, though not universal, -differences exist in chemical composition. Plants exhibit a -decided predominance of ternary compounds, or compounds<span class="pagenum" id="Page12">[12]</span> -which, like sugar, starch and cellulose, are made up of the -three elements, carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, but are, comparatively -speaking, poorly supplied with quaternary -compounds, or those which contain an additional element of -nitrogen. Animals, on the contrary, are rich in quaternary -nitrogenized compounds, such as albumen or fibrin. Still, -in both kingdoms we find nitrogenized and non-nitrogenized -compounds, and it is only in the proportion which these -sustain to each other in the organism that animals differ in -any way from plants.</p> - -<p>Before the invention of the microscope, no independent -voluntary movements, if we except the opening and closure -of flowers, and their turning towards the sun, the drooping -of the leaves of sensitive plants under irritation, and some -other kindred phenomena, were known in plants. Now, however, -we know of many plants which are endowed, either -when young or throughout life, with the power of effecting -voluntary movements apparently as spontaneous and independent -as those performed by the lower animals, the movements -being brought about by means of little vibrating cilia, -or hairs, with which a part or the whole of the surface is -furnished. When it is added that many animals are permanently -rooted, in their fully-grown condition, to solid objects, -it will at once be apparent that no absolute distinction can -be made between animals and plants merely because of the -presence or absence of independent locomotive power.</p> - -<p>There is, however, a test, the most reliable of all that have -been discovered, by which an animal may be distinguished -from a plant, and that is the nature of the food and the products -which are elaborated therefrom in the body. Plants -live upon such inorganic substances as water, carbonic acid -and ammonia, and they have the power of manufacturing -out of these true organic materials, and are therefore the -great producers of nature. All plants which contain green -coloring matter, technically called chlorophyll, break up -carbonic acid in the process of digestion into its two<span class="pagenum" id="Page13">[13]</span> -constituents of carbon and oxygen, retaining the former and -setting the latter free. And as the atmosphere always contains -carbonic acid in small quantities, the result is that -plants remove carbonic acid therefrom and give out oxygen. -Animals, on the other hand, have no power of living on -water, carbonic acid and ammonia, nor of converting these -into the complex organic substances of their bodies. That -their existence may be maintained animals require to be -supplied with ready-made organic compounds, and for these -they are all dependent upon plants, either directly or indirectly. -In requiring as food complex organic bodies, which -they ultimately reduce to very simply inorganic ones, -animals are thus found to differ from plants. Whilst plants -are the great manufacturers in nature, animals are the great -consumers. Another distinction, arising from the nature of -their food, is that animals absorb oxygen and throw out -carbonic acid, their reaction upon the atmosphere being -exactly the reverse of that of plants. There are organisms, -it must be understood, which are genuine plants so far as -their nutritive processes are concerned, but which, nevertheless, -are in the possession of characters which could locate -them among the animals. Volvox, so abundant in our -streams during the proper seasons, affords a splendid illustration -of the truth of this statement. Plants, which are -devoid of chlorophyll, as is the case with the Fungi, do not -possess the power of decomposing carbonic acid under the -influence of sunlight, but are like animals in requiring -organic compounds for their food. Two points must therefore -be borne in mind in regarding the general distinctions -between plants and animals which we have thus briefly outlined, -and these are that they cannot often be applied in -practice to ambiguous microscopic organisms, and certainly -not to plant-forms that are destitute of chlorophyll.</p> - -<p>That life should manifest itself certain conditions are essential, -but some of which, though generally present, are not -absolutely indispensable. One condition, however, seems to<span class="pagenum" id="Page14">[14]</span> -be very necessary, and that is that the living body should be -composed of a certain material. This material, which forms -the essential and fundamental parts of everything living, -whether vegetable or animal, is technically called protoplasm. -Other substances than it are often found in living -bodies, but it is in protoplasm only that vitality appears to -be inherent.</p> - -<p>But whether it is the same in plants as in animals is a -matter of opinion. One thing, however, seems reasonably -certain, and that is that it is the medium or vehicle -through which vital force is made manifest. Used in its -general sense, protoplasm is chemically related in its -nature to albumen, and generally has the character of a -jelly-like, semi-fluid, transparent material, which, in itself, -exhibits no definiteness of structure. When heated to a -certain temperature it coagulates, just as the white of an -egg does when boiled. Living protoplasm has the power of -movement, of increasing in size or of maintaining its existence -by the assimilation of fresh and foreign materials, and -of detaching portions of itself which may subsequently -develop into fresh masses. Though protoplasm be present -in the ova of animals and the seeds of plants, yet there is no -external and visible manifestation of life. There is in them -what is called a dormant vitality, which may remain for a -long time unchanged, until altered external circumstances -cause the organism to pass into a state of active life.</p> - -<p>Generally, certain external conditions must be present -before any external vital phenomena can be manifested. The -presence of atmospheric air, or rather of free oxygen, is in -an ordinary way essential to active life. Life, that is its -higher manifestations, is only possible between certain -ranges of temperature, varying from near the freezing -point to about 120° Fahrenheit. As water is a necessary -constituent of protoplasm in its living state, so it becomes an -absolutely essential requisite to the carrying on of vital -processes of all kinds, for the mere drying of an animal or<span class="pagenum" id="Page15">[15]</span> -plant will, in most cases, kill it outright, and will always -bring about a suspension of all visible life-phenomena.</p> - -<p>While the large majority of living beings are organized, -or composed of different parts, called organs, which sustain -certain relations with one another, and which discharge -different offices, yet it must not therefore be concluded that -organization is a necessary accompaniment of vitality, or -that all living creatures are organized. Innumerous low -forms of life, so low that they occupy the very lowest place -in the scale of animated existences, absolutely exhibit no -visible structure, and cannot, therefore, be said to be organized, -but they, nevertheless, discharge all their vital functions -just as well as though they possessed special organs for the -purpose. Concluding our theme, we are forced to admit -that animals are organized, or possess structure, because -they are alive, and not that they live because they are organized. -By carefully comparing the morphological and physiological -differences between different animals and plants, -naturalists have divided the entire animal and vegetable -kingdoms into a number of divisions, whose leading characteristics -may be found in almost every text-book. All -that we promised ourselves when this work was first thought -of was a brief treatment of a few of the most interesting -life-forms of this planet of ours in the light of their ways -and doings, and the direction of human thought to those -traits of character and manifestations of conscious intelligence -which fit them to become partakers with man of that -new life which awaits him beyond the grave.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page16">[16]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">PLANTS THAT FEED ON INSECTS.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p class="chapstart"><span class="largecap">P</span><span class="afterlargecap">erhaps</span> -it would be difficult to find in the whole -range of vegetable creation anything more curious -than the carnivorous or flesh-eating plants. That animals -eat plants creates in us no emotion of curiosity, for this is -the common law of nature. But that plants should devour -animals is a marvel to which few minds uninitiated in science -would give credence. Though these strange forms of vegetable -life have been known for about a century, yet it has -been but a few years since the attention of naturalists was -first specially called to their habits and character. No one -has probably done more to explain the life and operations -of the flesh-eating plants than Mr. Darwin.</p> - -<p>For centuries strange rumors had been circulated of the -existence of huge plants in the more remote and unvisited -parts of Asia which would imprison and destroy large animals -and men that would venture within reach of their great -quivering leaves armed with hooked spines, the flesh of the -dead victim being absorbed into their structure, but all these -giant flesh-eating trees or plants have so far proved to be -mere myths. Science has discovered, however, that there is -some foundation for these exciting fictions, and it has not -been obliged to go to the distant East to find it, for flesh-eating -plants are by no means uncommon in this country -and Europe. But these plants confine their destructive propensities -to the crawling and flying insects which are beguiled -by some tempting reward to rest on their leaves. Such a -strange provision of nature is no less interesting than if these -plants had the power to destroy the larger animals, for it is<span class="pagenum" id="Page17">[17]</span> -the fact itself which startles the attention by its seeming -reversal of natural laws.</p> - -<p>No better example of carnivorous plants could be taken -than <i>Dionæa muscipula</i>, or to use the common name, Venus’s -Fly-trap. It is a species that is indigenous to North Carolina -and the adjacent parts of South Carolina, affecting sandy -bogs in the pine forests from April to June, and a representative -of the <i>Droscraceæ</i>, or Sundew Family. One cannot -fail after once seeing it of becoming impressed with its -peculiar characteristics. It is a smooth perennial herb with -tufted radical leaves on broadly-winged, spatulate stems, the -limb orbicular, notched at both ends, and fringed on the -margins with strong bristles. From the centre of the rosette -of leaves proceeds at the proper time a scape or leafless stalk -which terminates in an umbel-like cyme of from eight to -ten white bracted flowers, each flower being one inch in -diameter. The roots are small and consist of two branches -each an inch in length springing from a bulbous enlargement. -Like an epiphytic orchid, these plants can be grown -in well-drained damp moss without any soil, thus showing -that the roots probably serve for the absorption of water -solely. Three minute pointed processes or filaments, placed -triangularly, project from the upper surface of each lobe of -the bi-lobed leaf, although cases are observed where four and -even ten filaments are found. These filaments are remarkable -for their extreme sensitiveness to touch, as shown not -only by their own movement, but by that of the lobes also. -Sharp, rigid projections, diminutive spikes as it were, stand -out from the leaf-margins, each of which being entered by a -bundle of spiral vessels. They are so arranged that when -the lobes close they interlock like the teeth of an old-fashioned -rat-trap. That considerable strength may be had, -the mid-rib of the leaf, on the lower side, is quite largely -developed.</p> - -<p>Minute glands, of a reddish or purplish color, thickly cover -the upper surface of the leaf, excepting towards the margins,<span class="pagenum" id="Page18">[18]</span> -the rest of the leaf being green. No glands are found upon -the spikes or upon the foliaceous footstalk. From twenty -to thirty polygonal cells, filled with purple fluid, constitute -each gland. They are convex above, somewhat flattened -underneath, and stand on very short pedicels, into which -spiral vessels do not enter. They have the power of secretion -under certain influences, and also that of absorption. -Minute octofid projections, of a reddish-brown color, are -scattered in considerable numbers over the footstalk, the -backs of the leaves and the spikes, with a few on the upper -surfaces of the lobes.</p> - -<p>The sensitive filaments, which are a little more than one-twentieth -of an inch in length, and thin, delicate and tapering -to a point, are formed of several rows of elongated cells, -filled with a purplish fluid. They are sometimes bifid or -even trifid at the apex, and towards the base there is a constriction -formed of broader cells, and beneath the constriction -an articulation, supported on an enlarged base, consisting -of differently shaped polygonal cells. As the filaments -project at right angles to the surface of the leaf, they would -have been in danger of being broken off whenever the lobes -closed together had it not been for the articulation, which -allows them to bend flat down. So exquisitely sensitive are -these filaments, from their tips to their bases, to a momentary -touch, that it is hardly possible to touch them even so lightly -or quickly with any hard object without causing the lobes to -close, but a piece of delicate human hair, two and a-half -inches in length, held dangling over a filament so as to touch -it, or pinches of fine wheaten flour, dropped from a height, -produce no effect. Though not glandular, and hence incapable -of secretion, yet the filaments by their sensitiveness to -a momentary touch, which is followed by the rapid closure -of the lobes of the leaf, assure to Dionæa the necessary -supply of insect food for all its wants.</p> - -<p>Inorganic bodies, even of large size, such as bits of -stone, glass and such like, or organic bodies not containing<span class="pagenum" id="Page19">[19]</span> -nitrogeneous matter in a soluble condition, as bits of cork, -wood, moss for examples, or bodies containing soluble nitrogeneous -matter, if perfectly dry, such as small pieces of meat, -albumen, gelatine, etc., may be long left on the lobes, and no -movement is excited. But when nitrogeneous organic bodies, -which are all damp, are left on the lobes, the result is widely -different, for these then close by a slow and gradual movement -and not in a rapid manner as when one of the sensitive -filaments is touched by a hard substance. Small purplish, -almost sessile glands, as has already been stated, thickly -cover the upper surface of the lobes. These have the power -both of secretion and absorption, but they do not secrete -until excited by the absorption of nitrogeneous matter. No -other excitement, as far as experiments show, produces this -effect. When the lobes are made to close over a bit of meat -or an insect, the glands over the entire surface of the leaf -emit a copious discharge, as in this case the glands on both -sides are pressed against the meat or insect, the secretion -being twice as great as when the one or the other is laid on -the surface of a single lobe; and as the two lobes come into -almost close contact the secretion, containing dissolved animal -matter, diffuses itself by capillary attraction, causing -fresh glands on both sides to begin secreting in a continually -widening circle. The secretion is almost colorless, slightly -mucilaginous, moderately acid, and so copious at times in -the furrow over the mid-rib as to trickle down to the earth. -But all this secretion is for the purposes of digestion. Be -the animal matter which the enclosed object yields ever so -little, it serves as a peptogene, and the glands on the surface -of the leaf pour forth their acid discharge, which acts like -the gastric juice of animals.</p> - -<div class="container w30em" id="Fig2"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo020.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">VENUS’S FLY-TRAP.<br /> -How It Captures Insects.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>Now as to the manner in which insects are caught by the -leaves of <i>Dionæa muscipula</i>. In its native country they are -caught in large numbers, but whether they are attracted in -any special way no one seems to know. Both lobes close -with astonishing quickness as soon as a filament is touched,<span class="pagenum" id="Page20">[20]</span> -and as they stand at less than a right angle to each other, -they have an excellent chance of capturing any intruder. -The chief seat of the movement is near the mid-rib, but is not -restricted to this part. Each lobe, when the lobes come -together, curves inwards across its whole breadth, the marginal -spikes alone not becoming curved. From the curving -inwards of the two lobes, as they advance towards each -other, the straight marginal spikes intercross by their apices -at first, and ultimately by their bases. The leaf is then -completely shut and encloses a shallow cavity. If made to -shut merely by the touching of one of the sensitive filaments, -or by the inclusion of an object not yielding soluble<span class="pagenum" id="Page21">[21]</span> -nitrogeneous matter, the two lobes retain their inwardly concave -form until they re-expand. The re-expansion, when no -organic matter is enclosed, varies according to circumstances, -a leaf in one instance being fully re-expanded in thirty-two -hours.</p> - -<p>But the lobes, when soluble nitrogeneous matter is included, -instead of remaining concave, thus containing within a concavity, -slowly press closely together throughout their entire -breadth, and as this takes place the margins gradually become -a little everted, so that the spikes, which at first intercrossed, -at last project in two parallel rows. So firmly do they become -pressed together that, if any large insect has been caught, a -corresponding projection is clearly visible on the outside of -the leaf. When the two lobes are thus completely closed, -they resist being opened, as by a thin wedge driven with -astonishing force between them, and are generally ruptured -rather than yield. If not ruptured, they close again with -quite a loud flap. The slow movement spoken of, excited -by the absorption of diffused animal matter, suffices for its -final purpose, whilst the movement brought on by the touching -of one of the sensitive filaments is rapid, and thus indispensable -for the capturing of insects.</p> - -<p>Leaves remain shut for a longer time over insects, especially -if the latter are large, than over meat. In many instances -where they have remained for a long period over insects -naturally caught, they were more or less torpid when they -reopened, and generally so much so during many succeeding -days that no excitement of the filaments caused the least -movement. Vigorous leaves will sometimes devour prey -several times, but ordinarily twice, or, quite often, once is -enough to render them unserviceable.</p> - -<p>What purpose the marginal spikes, which form so conspicuous -a feature in the appearance of the plant, subserve was -unknown until the genius of Darwin solved the mystery. It -was he that showed that elongated spaces between the spikes, -varying from one-fifteenth to one-tenth of an inch in breadth<span class="pagenum" id="Page22">[22]</span> -according to the size of the leaf, are left open for a short -time before the edges of the lobes come into contact, -consequent upon the intercrossing of the tips of the marginal -spikes first, thus enabling an insect whose body is not -thicker than these measurements to escape, when disturbed -by the closing lobes and the increasing darkness, quite easily -between the crossed spikes. Moderately sized insects, if they -try to escape between the bars, will be pushed back into the -horrid prison with the slowly closing walls, for the spikes -continue to close more and more until the lobes are brought -into contact. Very strong insects, however, manage to effect -their release. It would manifestly be a great disadvantage -to the plant to remain many days clasped over a minute -insect, and as many additional days or weeks in recovering -its sensibility, inasmuch as a very small insect would afford -but little nourishment. Far better would it be for the plant -to wait until a moderately large insect was captured, and to -allow the little ones to escape, and this advantage is gained -by the slow intercrossing of the marginal spikes, which, -acting like the large meshes of a fishing-net, allow the small -and worthless fry to pass through.</p> - -<p>Touching any one of the six filaments is sufficient to -cause both lobes to close, these becoming at the instant -incurved throughout their entire breadth. The stimulus -must therefore radiate in all directions from any one filament, -and it must also be transmitted with considerable -rapidity across the leaf, for in all ordinary cases, as far as the -eye can judge, both lobes close at the same time. Physiologists -generally believe that in irritable plants the excitement -is transmitted along, or in close connection with, the fibro-vascular -bundles. Those in Dionæa seem at first sight to -favor this belief, for they run up the mid-rib in a great bundle, -sending off small bundles almost at right angles on each -side, which bifurcate occasionally as they stretch towards -the margin, the marginal branches from adjoining branches -uniting and entering the marginal spikes. Thus a continuous<span class="pagenum" id="Page23">[23]</span> -zigzag line of vessels runs round the whole circumference -of the leaf, while in the mid-rib all the vessels are in -close contiguity, so that all parts of the leaf seem to be -brought into some degree of communication. The presence -of vessels, however, is not necessary for the transmission of -the motor impulse, for it is transmitted from the apices of -the sensitive filaments, which are hardly one-tenth of an -inch in length, into which no vessels are seen to enter. Slits -made close to the bases of the filaments, parallel to the mid-rib, -and thus directly across the course of the vessels, sometimes -on the inner and sometimes on the outer sides of the -filaments, do not interfere with the transmission of the motor -impulse along the vessels, and conclusively show that there -is no necessity for a direct line of communication from the -filament, which is touched towards the mid-rib and opposite -lobe, or towards the outer parts of the same lobe. With -respect to the movement of the leaves, the wonderful discovery -made by Dr. Burdon Sanderson, and published in 1874, -offers an easy explanation. There is, says this distinguished -authority, a normal electrical current in the blade and footstalk, -which, when the leaves are irritated, is disturbed in the -same manner as is the muscle of an animal when contraction -takes place.</p> - -<p>After contraction has endured for a greater or less time, -dependent upon circumstances which we do not well understand, -re-expansion of the leaves is effected at an insensibly -slow rate, whether or not any object is enclosed, both lobes -opening in all ordinary cases at the same time, although -each lobe may act to a certain extent independently of the -other. The re-expansion is not determined by the sensitive -filaments, for these may be cut off close to their bases, or -be entirely removed, and re-expansion occur in the usual -manner. It is believed that the several layers of cells forming -the lower surface of the leaf are always in a state of -tension, and that it is owing to this mechanical state, aided -probably by fresh fluid being drawn into the cells, that the<span class="pagenum" id="Page24">[24]</span> -lobes begin to separate as soon as the contraction of the -upper surface diminishes.</p> - -<p>Six known genera, Drosophyllum, Roridula, Byblis, -Drosera, Dionæa and Aldrovanda comprise the Droseraceæ, -all of which capture insects. The first three genera effect -this purpose solely by the viscid fluid secreted from their -glands, and the last, like Dionæa, which has already been -described, through the closing of the blades of the leaf. In -these last two genera rapid movement makes up for the -loss of viscid secretion. But of all the genera none is more -interesting than the typical Sundews.</p> - -<p>Growing in poor peaty soil, and sometimes along the -borders of ponds where nothing else can grow, certain low -herbaceous plants, called Droseras, abound. So small and -apparently insignificant are they, that to the ordinary observer -they are almost unnoticed. But they have peculiarities of -structure and nature that readily distinguish them. Scattered -thickly over their leaves are reddish bristles or tentacles, each -surmounted by a gland, from which an extremely viscid fluid, -sparkling in the sunlight like dew, exudes in transparent -drops. Hence the common name of Sundew by which the -half-dozen species found in the United States east of the -Mississippi River are known. A one-sided raceme, whose -flowers open only when the sun shines, crowns a smooth -scape, which is devoid of tentacles. <i>Drosera rotundifolia</i>, -our commonest species, has a wide range, being indigenous -to both Europe and America. In the United States it extends -from New England to Florida and westward, and is occasionally -associated with <i>Drosera longifolia</i>, a form with long -strap-shaped leaves, but whose distribution is mostly restricted -to maritime regions, from Massachusetts to Florida.</p> - -<div class="container w30em" id="Fig3"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo025.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">ROUND-LEAVED SUNDEW.<br /> -Leaves Acting as Stomachs.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>All of the species are remarkably similar in habits, capturing -insects, and digesting and absorbing the soft parts, a -circumstance which explains how these plants can flourish -in an extremely poor soil where mosses, which depend -almost entirely upon the atmosphere for their nourishment,<span class="pagenum" id="Page25">[25]</span> -only can live. Although the leaves of the Droseras at a -hasty glance do not appear green, owing to the purple color -of the tentacles, yet the superior and inferior surfaces of the -blade, the stalks of the central tentacles, and the petioles -contain chlorophyll, rendering the best of evidence that the -plants obtain and assimilate carbon dioxide from the air. -But when the poverty of the soil where these plants grow is -considered, it is at once apparent that their supply of nitrogen -would be exceedingly small, or quite deficient, unless they -had the power of obtaining it from some other source. From -captured insects this important element is largely obtained, -and thus we are prepared to understand how it is that their -roots, which consist of only two or three slightly divided -branches, from one-half to one inch in length, and furnished<span class="pagenum" id="Page26">[26]</span> -with absorbent hairs, are so poorly developed. From what -has been stated it would seem that the roots but serve to -imbibe water, but there is no doubt that nutritious matters -would also be absorbed were they present in the soil.</p> - -<p>With the edges of its leaves curled so as to form a temporary -stomach, and with the glands of its closely-inflected tentacles -pouring forth their truly acid secretion, which dissolves -animal matters that are subsequently absorbed, Drosera -may be said to feed like an animal. But, unlike an animal, -it drinks by means of its roots, and largely, too, for it would -not be able to supply its glands with the necessary viscid -fluid. The amount needed is by no means an inconsiderable -quantity, as two hundred and seventy drops may sometimes -be exposed during a whole day to a glaring sun. Such a -profuse exudation implies preparations for hosts of insect -visitors. In this Drosera has not miscalculated. Its bright -pink blossoms and brilliant, glistening dew lure vast numbers -of the smaller kinds, and the larger ones, too, to certain -death. But the wholesale destruction of life that goes on is -much in excess of what the plant requires for food. While -the smaller flies remain adherent to the leaves, affording -them the needed aliment, the larger insects, after death, fall -around the roots, where they decay and fertilize the soil with -nitrogen, which doubtless through the proper channels makes -its way into the body of the plant, thus helping to give it -tone and vigor. There are times when these plants work -better than at others, but whether this is caused by the electrical -condition of the atmosphere, or the amount of its -contained moisture, is a question which science has not -positively determined.</p> - -<p><i>Drosera longifolia</i> folds it leaves entirely around its victim, -from the apex down to the petiole after the manner of its -vernation, but in <i>Drosera rotundifolia</i>, whose marginal -tentacles are longer, the tentacles simply curve around the -object, the glands touching the substance, like so many -mouths receiving nourishment. Experimented upon with<span class="pagenum" id="Page27">[27]</span> -raw beef, the tentacles of healthy leaves, from within to -without, but in periods of time varying from six to eight -or nine hours, clasp firmly the beef, almost concealing it -from view. Equally vigorous leaves, however, made no -move towards clasping a bit of dry chalk, a chip of flint, or -a lump of earth. Bits of raw apple cause a curving of the -tentacles, but very few of the glands are seen touching them. -It would seem, therefore, that these plants are really carnivorous, -preferring animal substances, which they, by the aid -of some ferment analogous to pepsin, which is secreted by -the glands, are able to absorb. A minute quantity of already -soluble animal matter is the exciting cause, and this must -be taken in by the glands, or there is no secretion of the -fermenting material.</p> - -<p>In all ordinary cases the glands alone are susceptible to -excitement. When excited, they do not themselves move -or change form, but transmit a motor impulse to the bending -part of their own and adjoining tentacles, and are thus -carried towards the centre of the leaf. Stimulants applied -to the glands of the short tentacles on the disc indirectly -excite movement of the exterior tentacles, for the stimulus -of the glands of the disc acts on the bending part of the -latter tentacles, near their bases, and does not first travel up -the pedicels to the glands, to be then reflected back to the -bending place. Some influence, however, does travel up to -the glands, causing them to secrete most copiously, and the -secretion to become acid, just such an influence as that -which in animals is transmitted along the nerves to glands, -modifying their power of secretion, independently of the -condition of the blood-vessels. Over organic substances -that yield soluble matter the tentacles remain clasped for a -much longer time than over those not acted upon by the -secretion, or over inorganic objects. That they have the -power of rendering organic substances soluble, that is, that -they have the power of digestion, is no longer a question -of dispute. They certainly have this power, acting on<span class="pagenum" id="Page28">[28]</span> -albuminous compounds in exactly the same manner as does -the gastric juice of mammals, the digested matter being -afterwards absorbed. In animals the digestion of albuminous -compounds is effected by means of a ferment, pepsin, -together with weak hydrochloric acid, though almost any -acid will serve, yet neither pepsin nor an acid by itself has -any such power. It has been observed that when the glands -of the disc are excited by the contact of any object, especially -of one containing nitrogeneous matter, the outer -tentacles and often the blade become inflected, the leaf thereby -becoming converted into a temporary cup or stomach. -The discal glands then secrete more copiously, the secretion -becoming acid, and, moreover, some influence being -transmitted by them to the glands of the exterior tentacles, -causing them to emit a more abundant secretion, which also -becomes acid. This secretion is to a certain extent antiseptic, -as it checks the appearance of mould and infusoria, and -in this particular acts like the gastric juice of the higher -animals, which is known to arrest putrefaction by destroying -the microzymes.</p> - -<p>With animals, according to Schiff, mechanical irritation -excites the glands of the stomach to secrete an acid, but not -pepsin. There is strong reason to believe, too, that the glands -of Drosera, which are continually secreting viscid fluid to -replace the losses by evaporation, do not secrete the ferment -proper for digestion when mechanically irritated, but only -after absorbing certain matters of a nitrogeneous nature. The -glands of the stomachs of animals secrete pepsin only after -they have absorbed certain soluble substances designated -peptogenes, showing a remarkable parallelism between the -glands of Drosera and those of the stomach in the secretion -of their appropriate acid and ferment.</p> - -<p>Not only animal matter, but also the albumen of living -seeds, which are injured or killed by the secretion, are acted -upon by the glands of Drosera. Matter is likewise absorbed -from pollen, and from fresh leaves. The stomachs of<span class="pagenum" id="Page29">[29]</span> -vegetable-feeding animals, as is only too well known, possess -a similar power of extracting nourishment from such articles. -Though properly an insectivorous plant, but as pollen, as well -as the seeds and leaves of surrounding plants, cannot fail to -be often or occasionally blown upon the glands of Drosera, -yet it must be credited with being to a certain extent a vegetable -feeder.</p> - -<p>That a plant and an animal should secrete the same, or -nearly the same, complex digestive fluid, adapted for a similar -purpose, is a wonderful fact in physiology, but not more -remarkable than the movements of a tentacle consequent -upon an impulse received from its own gland, the movement -at the bending place of the tentacle being always towards the -centre of the leaf, and so it is with all the tentacles when -their glands are excited by immersion in a suitable fluid. -The short tentacles in the middle part of the disc, however, -must be excepted, as these do not bend at all when thus -excited. But when the motor impulse comes from one side -of the disc, the surrounding tentacles, and even the short -ones in the middle of the disc, all bend with precision -towards the point of excitement, no matter where it may be -located. This is in every way a remarkable phenomenon, -for the leaf appears as if endowed with animal sense and -intelligence. It is all the more remarkable when the motor -impulse strikes the base of a tentacle obliquely to its flattened -surface, for then the contraction of the cells must be -restricted to one, two or a very few rows at one end, and -different sides of the surrounding tentacles must be acted on -that all may bend with precision to the point of excitement. -The motor impulse, as it spreads from one or more glands -across the disc, enters the bases of the surrounding tentacles, -and instantly acts on the bending place, but does not first -proceed up the tentacles to the glands, causing them to -reflect back an impulse to their bases, although some influence -is sent up to the glands, whereby their secretion is -soon increased and rendered acid. The glands, being thus<span class="pagenum" id="Page30">[30]</span> -excited, send back some other influence, dependent neither -on increased secretion nor on the inflection of the tentacles, -which causes the protoplasm to aggregate in cell beneath cell. -This maybe called a reflex action. How it differs from that -which proceeds from the nerve-ganglion of an animal, if it -differ at all, no one can say. It is probably the only known -case of reflex action in the vegetable kingdom.</p> - -<p>Concerning the mechanism of the movements and the -character of the motor impulse little is known. During the -act of inflection fluid surely passes from one part to another -of the tentacles. In explanation of the fact it is claimed -that the motor impulse is allied in nature to the aggregating -process, and that this causes the molecules of the cell-walls -to approach each other, as do the molecules of the -protoplasm within the cells, thereby causing the cells in all -to contract. This is probably the hypothesis that best accords -with the observed facts, although some strong objections may -be urged against this view. The elasticity of their outer -cells, which comes into activity as soon as those on the inner -side cease contracting with prepotent force, leads largely to -the re-expansion of the tentacles, but there is reason to suspect -that fluid is continually and slowly attracted into the -outer cells during the act of re-expansion, thus augmenting -their tension.</p> - -<p>With respect to the structure, movements, constitution -and habits of <i>Dionæa muscipula</i> and <i>Drosera rotundifolia</i>, as -well as kindred species, little has been made out by patient -study and investigation in comparison with what remains -unexplained and unknown. Many of their movements, -especially of Dionæa and Drosera, seem so sensible and -intelligent that the reflecting mind of man can hardly hesitate -to assign them high positions in organic nature and the -possession, even though in a very small degree, of that consciousness -with which animal life is endowed. That man is -psychically related to all life is the belief of millions in the old -world, and the hope of millions in the new. In this thought<span class="pagenum" id="Page31">[31]</span> -is the escape from materialism, that threat of the ignorant -and unbelieving. Higher conceptions of beauty and greatness -are now being entertained by the multitudes, and we begin -to feel that the next great step is being taken when we -shall become, instead of poor trembling denizens of a perishable -world, proud and conscious citizens of an imperishable -universe. That we of the upper ranks of God’s creation -alone possess an inner life which shall transcend all change -is no longer a general belief, but there is a growing hope -that all nature shares it, and that love is its expression and its -method. All existence is a unit. Life, law and love are -divine. Man, looking calmly about him, cannot set himself -apart as something essentially different from nature, but must -recognize himself as a part, and include love in the universal -scheme of development. All other expressions of life must -share with him in the divine love and progress. His dogmas, -founded on mistaken traditions, have given way to -science, and he cannot but believe that love is in and of the -soul, and that all life has some sort of development of soul. -Because plant-life has no brain, and therefore has no intelligence, -no mind, no soul, is preposterous to contemplate. -Who can positively affirm that brain alone is the seat of -conscious intelligence? None but He alone, the Giver of -all life, who sits enthroned and exalted in the everlasting -heavens.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page32">[32]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">SLIME-ANIMALS.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p class="chapstart"><span class="largecap">P</span><span class="afterlargecap">ossibly</span> -the simplest of life’s children are the singularly -unique and structureless little Finger Slimes, -which live not only in the sea but also in puddles and pools, -and in the gutters of our streets and of our house-tops. -Anywhere that stagnant water abounds these tiny drops of -slime will grow up and make it their home. Sometimes few -and far between, and sometimes in such immense crowds -that the entire pond would seem, if they could be seen -with the unaided vision, literally alive with them, they live, -and multiply and die under our very feet.</p> - -<p>Nothing can be less animal-like than one of these shapeless -masses of pure protoplasm, yet under a microscope of strong -power it may be seen moving lazily along by pulling out a -thick finger of slime and then letting all the rest of its body -flow after it. When coming into contact with food it may -be said to flow over it, dissolving the soft parts and sending -out the hard, indigestible refuse anywhere, no matter where, -for its body is devoid of skin, being merely one general mass -of homogeneous slime.</p> - -<p>But what can these little slime specks tell us about the -wonderful powers of life? Nothing at all, it would seem, -for in these tiny creatures life has nothing better to work -with than a mere drop of living matter, which is all alike -throughout, so that if broken into a hundred pieces every -piece would be as much a living being as the whole. And -yet by means of the wonderful gift of life, with which the -all-wise Omnipotence has endowed it, this slime-drop lives, -and breathes, and eats, and increases, shrinks away when you<span class="pagenum" id="Page33">[33]</span> -touch it, feels for its food, and moves from place to place, -changing its shape to form limbs and feeling-threads, which -are let into the general organism when they have served the -purpose of their existing, only to be succeeded by others as -short-lived as themselves when necessity requires their -development.</p> - -<p>So small are these creatures that the largest specimen will -be found to be smaller than the smallest pin’s head. Examine -how we will, there will be found no mouth, no stomach, no -muscles, no nerves, no parts of any kind. The animal looks -merely like a minute drop of gum with fine grains diffused -throughout, floating in the water, some times with outstretched -arms, and at other times as a simple drop. An -analysis of the matter of which it is composed shows it to -be much the same as a speck of white-of-egg. Yet it is alive, -for it breathes. Kept in a drop of water, it uses up the -oxygen it contains, and renders the water foul by the carbonic -acid it breathes out. The arms, so necessary in the procurement -of food, can be drawn in and thrown out when and -where the animal chooses, showing that some option is -undoubtedly exercised in the matter. Minute jelly-plants, -that live in the water, and even higher animals than itself, -constitute its food. The presence of an animal with a shell -does not deter it from attack, for it is just as able to deal with -it as with the softer, shell-less kinds, sucking their jelly-like -contents, and discarding the empty, innutritious shells.</p> - -<p>Quite as interesting among the Moners, to which the Finger -Slime belongs, is the <i>Protomyxa aurantiaca</i>, a shapeless bit -of transparent matter, containing merely circulating granules. -Locomotion is effected by extending the body into pseudopodia, -or false feet, and contracting them. Its movement -is slow and gliding. When at rest it appears as a mere lump -of jelly, but its whole demeanor changes when in the presence -of a living animal suited for food. Fine threads immediately -begin to shoot out from all sides, which fuse about -the unsuspecting prey, while all the little grains in the slime<span class="pagenum" id="Page34">[34]</span> -course to and fro. For five or six hours the little fellow -hugs closely round the prey until it has become thoroughly -absorbed, at least the nutritious parts, into its body-mass, -when it draws itself away, or back into its original place, -leaving by its side the skeleton of its late victim. Without -eyes or ears or parts of any kind it knows how to find its -food; without muscles or limbs it is able to seize it; without -a mouth it can suck out its living body, and without a -stomach it can digest the food in the midst of its own slime, -and cast out the parts for which it has no use.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig4"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo034.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">PROTOMYXA FEEDING.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>When Protomyxa has become a burden to itself it divides -itself by a simple process of fission, each part being complete -in itself, or it assumes a thick covering, becoming encysted, -as it is termed. In a little while the enclosed mass divides -into spheres, the cell-wall bursts, and the little spheres, which -have now taken on a sort of tadpole shape, float out upon -the water, where they soon assume the parent-form.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page35">[35]</span></p> - -<p>Like all living things, these Moners have a desire for -food, which their protoplasm first appropriates, then converts -into available material. They thus grow and increase -in size, but when they become too large to be comfortable -they usually split into two, in obedience to the law of their -being, and each half goes its own way as a living animal. This -is the earliest form of parentage, the simplest form of reproduction. -Thus yielding to this necessity of a separation of -one into more than one, these Moners live on forever, or as -long as the earth continues to support life, thus becoming -immortal in the scientific sense in which the term is used to -devote a continuance of the physical life on earth. They -only and their nearest relatives, as simple in structure as -themselves, achieve this stupendous result, for in such a -division of their entire substance they know no loss, no -death of any part, violence only being able to sunder them -from life. They resolve themselves into their own offspring, -and nothing perishes.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page36">[36]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">PRIMITIVE LASSO-THROWERS.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p class="chapstart"><span class="largecap">E</span><span class="afterlargecap">very</span> -one knows that the long cord or thong, called the -lasso, is the peculiar weapon of the South American -hunter. Almost from his earliest childhood the young -Gaucho learns to amuse himself with it, and as soon as he -is able to walk takes great pleasure in catching young birds -and other animals around his father’s hut, hurling the long -lash with such dexterity that the noose drops over their -bodies and brings them to his feet. Did we wish to select -from among all the denizens of life the most brilliant, graceful, -and sylph-like, whose very life-histories read more like -the romance of poetry than sober reality, we would choose -those which might be appropriately designated the lasso-throwers.</p> - -<p>Now among animals, as is only too well known, any -weapons which they could be called upon to use must -develop in their own bodies, and therefore it could hardly -be suspected that a simple jelly-animal could be provided -with a lasso ready grown in its own flesh. Yet it is so, for -in that class of animals, which ranks just above the sponges, -we discover a weapon of this kind as simple and as deadly, -and far more wonderful in its action than any used by man.</p> - -<p>In fresh-water ponds, attached by its base to the under -surfaces of aquatic plants, may be found a very small animal, -just large enough to be seen without the aid of a lens, usually -pale green, but sometimes of a brown color. This is -our common hydra, technically called <i>Hydra fusca</i>. It is -nothing more than a tube or sac, with a sucker at one end -to hold on with, and a mouth at the other, surrounded with<span class="pagenum" id="Page37">[37]</span> -from five to eight hollow tentacles or feelers, which opens -into a central cavity or stomach. Firm and muscular are -the walls of the sac, so that the little creature, which is not -fixed permanently to whatever it is found clinging to, may -stretch itself out or draw back as its own volition dictates, -or move slowly along by means of its sucker, or float -easily or contentedly upon the water. But the most remarkable, -as well as the most interesting thing about this odd -creature is the power which it possesses of overcoming animals -more powerful and active than itself.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig5"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo037.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">FRESH-WATER HYDRA MOORED AND SEARCHING FOR PREY.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>Groping about with its flexible arms, which are closely -invested with fine jelly-hairs, with which it seemingly feels, -or attached to some leaf or bit of floating stick, its tentacles -reaching out in all directions, the Hydra instantly paralyzes -any minute insects, young snail or infusorian that touches its -feelers, and complacently closing its arms over the helpless -victim, carefully tucks it away, so to speak, into its stomach, -where it is speedily digested. This power of paralyzing and -thus readily capturing active living creatures is due to the<span class="pagenum" id="Page38">[38]</span> -presence in the skin of the tentacles and body of what -are called lasso-cells, or nettling-organs, which are minute, -transparent cells, so small that two hundred of the largest -would occupy but the distance of an inch, each being armed -with a long barbed thread coiled up within its walls. This -delicate thread, which is often from twenty to forty times the -length of the cell, lies bathed in a poisonous fluid, and only -waits for the cell-walls to burst, which they do when the -Hydra touches an animal swimming near it, when thousands -of these little barbed cords dart into the victim, quickly -paralyzing it and rendering it an easy prey to its captor. -All Cœlenterates, such as jelly-fishes and coral polyps, possess -these nettling-organs.</p> - -<p>Thus we see where the Hydra’s strength lies. He has no -need to struggle, for his victim, penetrated by a multitude of -darts, and made powerless by the poison instilled, becomes -as manageable as an equal bulk of inert matter. It behooves -the little creature to take things quietly, for a cell once burst -cannot be used again, and he is therefore compelled to wait -until a new one is grown to take the place of the one that -has become exhausted. So he patiently bides his time till -his victim is half-conquered, when he draws him gently into -his body. He lives and catches his food, as must be apparent, -without the necessity of moving very far from the place -where he had his birth.</p> - -<p>All the summer through the Hydra puts out buds from its -side, which, when their tentacles have grown, drop from the -parent-body, and settle down in life for themselves. But -when winter comes, and before all life has become extinct, an -egg appears near the base of the tubes of those that are living, -and these eggs lie dormant till the next spring, when they -are hatched, and a new generation of Hydras is produced. -Budding, which is but a process of natural self-division, is -carried on to a large extent, more individuals being produced -in this way than from eggs. These buds are at first -a simple bulging out of the body-walls, the bud enveloping<span class="pagenum" id="Page39">[39]</span> -a portion of the stomach, until it becomes constricted and -drops off, the tentacles meanwhile budding out from the -distal end, and a mouth-opening arising between them. In -the Hydra, the Actinia, and other polyps, and in truth in all -the lower animals, budding is simply due to an increase in -the growth and multiplication of cells at a special place on -the outside of the body. As in the vertebrates, man included, -the Hydra arises from an egg which, after fertilization, passes -through two stages, the germ consisting at first of two cell-layers, -but the sexes are not separate as in the marine Hydroids, -which grow in colonies that may be either male or -female.</p> - -<p>Like some other animals of simple structure, the Hydra -is capable of reproducing to a most wonderful degree when -cut into pieces. Divided in two, each becomes a perfect -Hydra, and even when sliced into any number of thin rings -each ring will grow out a crown of tentacles. You may -split them into longitudinal strips and each strip will eventually -become a well-shaped Hydra. Two individuals may -be fastened together by a horse-hair and in a short time they -will have become like Siamese twins, but there will never -arise the slightest disagreement between them. A Hydra -turned inside out will readily adapt itself to the change, and -in a few days will be able to swallow and digest bits of meat, -its former stomach-lining having now taken upon itself the -condition of skin.</p> - -<p><i>Hydra fusca</i> is our simplest lasso-thrower, and the only -one to be found in fresh waters in this country. Such a -wonderful and deadly weapon is his, that it is easy to -understand how his numerous relatives in the wide ocean -have made good use of the weapon with which nature has -provided them, and secured, under all kinds of shapes and -forms, homes and resting-places throughout the vast waste -of waters. From the Arctic to the Tropics, and from the -shallow seaside pools at low tide to the fathomless abysses -of the ocean, we meet the lasso-throwers. Now in the form<span class="pagenum" id="Page40">[40]</span> -of huge jelly-fishes, covering the sea for miles and miles, -transparent domes by day and phosphorescing lights by night, -and now as tiny balls of jelly, glistening by millions in some -quiet bay and splintering into light upon the beach; or in -the form of living animal-trees waving their graceful arms -over rocks in waters deep, or creeping like delicate threads -over shells and stones and seaweed on the shore, where -they often lose their identity and are mistaken for plants. -There is scarcely a nook or cranny in the bed of ocean -where these tree-like forms, associated with the beautiful -sea-anemone, whose brilliant crimson, green and purple are -unmatched in color by gem and flower, are not to be found.</p> - -<p>All these beautiful creatures, as well as the living coral -that nestles in the bosom of the warm Mediterranean or the -sea that lashes our Southern shores, or that struggles boldly -against Pacific’s waves, are lasso-throwers. <i>Cœlenterata</i>, the -“hollow-bodied animals,” because of the large cavity within -their bodies, is the name by which they are known to science. -They naturally fall into two families, the <i>Hydrozoa</i>, or Water -Animals, and the <i>Actinizoa</i>, or Ray-like Animals, our little -Hydra, about which so much has been written, being representative -of the former and the Anemones of the latter -division.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page41">[41]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">FIVE-FINGERED JACK ON THE OYSTER.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p class="chapstart"><span class="largecap">Q</span><span class="afterlargecap">uite</span> -as infinite in number, variety and form is the life -of the sea as that of the land. But of all marine animals, -however, there is none more curious than the echinoderm, -a name derived by science from two Greek words, -indicating an animal bristling with spines like the hedgehog. -These creatures are sometimes free, but quite as often -attached by a stem, flexible or otherwise, and radiate after -the fashion of a circle or star, or are of the form of a star, -with more or less elongated arms. They are covered with -shell-like plates, which they secrete for themselves, and are -still further protected by spines or scales.</p> - -<p>Perhaps the most common of the echinoderms is the Star-fish, -or Five-fingered Jack, as it is called by sailors. Whoever -has spent any time on the seashore has doubtless made -the acquaintance of this animal, for it is readily distinguishable -by its shape, its upper surface being rough and tuberculous, -and armed with spine-like projections, while the -under portion is soft, containing the essential organs of life -and locomotion.</p> - -<p>When first seen stranded on the shore the Star-fish, by -the uninitiated, is thought to be a creature incapable of movement -of any kind. But this is far from being the case, for -in its native element it moves along the bottom of the sea -with the greatest ease, being provided with an apparatus -specially adapted for the purpose. Ordinarily its arms are -kept upon the same level, but in passing over obstacles that -lay in its path, the animal has the power of raising any one -of its several arms. Elevations are ascended with the same<span class="pagenum" id="Page42">[42]</span> -ease and facility as progression on plane surfaces is effected. -Perforating the arms, or rays, and issuing from apertures, will -be found large numbers of membranous tubes, which prove -to be the feet of the animal. Upon careful examination the -latter will be found to consist of two parts, a bladder-like -portion, resident within the body, and a tubular outlying projection, -ending in a disk-shaped sucker, thus showing the -feet to be muscular cylinders, hollow in the centre, and very -extensible. In progression the animal extends a few of its -feet, attaches its suckers to the rocks or stones and then, by -retracting its feet, draws the body forward. Like that of the -tortoise, its pace is slow and sure. But the most singular -thing about this singular animal is its manner of overcoming -obstructions, which it must certainly perceive, judging from -the preparations to surmount them which it makes at the -opportune moment.</p> - -<p>In addition to organs of locomotion Star-fishes possess -blood-vessels, digestive and respiratory apparatus, and a -nervous system of a very low order, an inference to which -its seeming capacity of enduring vivisection without pain -unmistakably leads.</p> - -<p>Interesting as its manner of progression, even under the -most trying circumstances, must be, yet there is nothing in -the life of this lowly-organized animal that has half the charm -to the true lover and student of nature than the mother -Star’s devotion to her young. Her eggs she carries in little -pouches placed at the base of the rays. When emitted through -an opening, which occasionally and unintentionally occurs, -the mother does not abandon them to the cruel charities of -the ocean world, but gathers them together, forming a kind -of protecting cover of them, very much like a hen brooding -over her chickens. Her actions bespeak an anxiety which -could only be born of an affection, as real and sympathetic -as that which a human mother feels for the loss of any of her -offspring. No matter how often the eggs become accidentally -scattered, the mother does not grow weary of her charges<span class="pagenum" id="Page43">[43]</span> -and leave them to themselves, but gathers them to the maternal -fold with the same tender, patient solicitude as characterized -her first efforts. Confined to a tank, when with ova, the -mother Star has been known to traverse the entire length of -the vessel until she has found and recovered her scattered -treasures.</p> - -<p>Reproduction by eggs is not the only means of generation -in vogue. In common with other sea animals the Star-fish -has the strange capacity of detaching one or more of its arms, -each of the cast-off members becoming in time a perfect -creature of its own kind, while a new arm, fully equipped to -perform all necessary functions, will grow out in place of the -lost member. From twelve to fifteen weeks are required to -reproduce a lost ray, the animal meanwhile seeming not the -least discontented, but acting as utterly unconscious of any -changes in its anatomy.</p> - -<p>As found upon the shore, Star-fishes appear dead when -really they are alive. Put one of these perfectly still creatures -into fresh sea-water, and in a short time it will probably -be disporting itself as freely as ever it did. But as the dead -and the living, when stranded by the tide, present nearly the -same appearance, some certain test seems necessary to distinguish -them apart. If a Star-fish hangs loose and limp, it -is dead; but, however dead it may look, if on touching it -there are manifest a firmness and consistency in its substance, -one may feel reasonably sure that it is playing the ’possum -and will revive when placed in the water. Quite as certain -a mode of ascertaining whether your starry friend is living -or dead, is to lay it upon its back, when, if alive, a number -of semi-transparent globular objects will be seen to move, -reaching this way and that, as though feeling for something -to lay hold of wherewith to restore it to its normal -position. These globular appendages are the <i>ambulacra</i>, or -locomotory organs, seeking to acquire this end. If, however, -no movement is manifested, you can wisely conclude that -your animal is dead.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page44">[44]</span></p> - -<p>The Star-fish, not unlike all other animals of the sea, has -an appetite that is never satisfied. Dinner is always welcome. -The procurement of food seems its chief concern in life. It -is a scavenger of no mean importance, keeping up an incessant -chase after all kinds of dead animal matter, and thus -largely contributing, it is probable, towards the maintaining -of the waters of the ocean in a state of purity. But its -feeding is not exclusively restricted to decaying matters. -Any species of mollusk, from the humble whelk, not more -than five-eighths of an inch in length, to the lordly oyster, -so esteemed by epicures, constitutes a dainty tidbit. No more -inveterate ravager and brigand, not even excepting man -himself, have the oyster-beds to disturb the equanimity and -serenity of their existence than the audacious, insinuating -Star-fish.</p> - -<p>With its five arms, and apparently without any other -organ, this comparatively insignificant little being accomplishes -a work which man, without the aid of extraneous -appliances, is quite unable to execute. It opens an oyster -as deftly and effectually as an expert oysterman would do, -and that, too, without the habitual oyster-knife, and swallows -the slimy bivalve in the same manner as the lords of creation -do. Man, with all his genius and skill, were he deprived of all -other means of subsistence than the oyster, and having no -implement with which to open it, would be severely puzzled -to get at the savory morsel shut up in its obstinate valves, -yet the Star-fish performs the task seemingly without the -least difficulty.</p> - -<p>How the Star-fish manages the problem was at first a matter -of guess-work. For a long time it was confidently -believed that the animal waited for the moment when the -oyster opened its shell to introduce one of its arms into -the opening. This much gained, the other four arms were -got in without much trouble, and the whole business ended -with the devouring of the inmate. This belief is no longer -tenable. Careful observation has revealed to us the true<span class="pagenum" id="Page45">[45]</span> -inwardness of the proceeding. The oyster is seized between -the arms of the Star-fish and held under its mouth by the -aid of its suckers. Thus secured, the Asterias, or Star-fish, -everts its stomach, and envelops the whole oyster in its interior -recesses, distilling a poisonous fluid, a secretion from -its mouth, which causes the oyster to open its shell, when -the robber, as it were, crawls in and takes its dessert. Incredible -numbers of oysters are destroyed by Star-fishes, -but the oystermen fail to see that their own barbaric ignorance -is largely to blame. Star-fishes drawn up in nets, rakes -and dredges in immense quantities are tied into bundles, but -the cords are made so tight that the pile is cut in twain, the -result being that all the pieces, when afterwards thrown overboard, -become new and perfect Star-fishes.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig6"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo045.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">STAR-FISH OPENING AN OYSTER.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>Not often has one the pleasure of meeting with these animals -on the New Jersey coast, but yet they are occasionally -seen, more frequently, perhaps, in the North. <i>Asterias berylinus</i>, -the commoner form, is a fairly large species, of a more -or less greenish color, sometimes waning to brown, and -roughly covered with tubercles. Its five arms, at the extremity -of each of which is situated a single red-eye speck,<span class="pagenum" id="Page46">[46]</span> -are somewhat irregularly arranged, and not rarely one is -stumpy through breakage or unequal development.</p> - -<p>When a Star-fish is alarmed, or finds itself in strange quarters, -it will be seen to curl up the tips of its rays, and there -under the point of each ray will be found a thick red spot -seated on the extremity of a nerve, and having in it as many -as from one hundred to two hundred crystal lenses surrounded -by red cells. With such a highly-developed eye, -which is far better than the jelly-fish enjoys, it is no wonder -that the Star-fish is so quick in discerning food, or enrages -the fisherman by the discovery of the bait which he had -intended for other animals, for it turns out that this stupid-looking -animal is more wide-awake than it is given credit -for. Sometimes, as in the beautifully delicate Star-fish, called -the “Lingthorn,” a soft lid, or feeler, hangs over the eye-spot, -which gives to the creature a curiously intelligent look, but -in the case of our common form this lid is notably absent.</p> - -<p>From all that has been written it must be evident that our -first walking animal is by no means a poor or feeble creature. -He has a chain armor woven into his leathery skin, with -sharp, pointed spines, and snapping, beak-like claws to protect -him; an excellent digestion and a capacious mouth -to feed his greedy stomach, and a fine array of nerves, quick -feeling and eyesight, and a wonderful apparatus for moving -over the ground. When it is added to all these possessions -the ability to close over the wound in the case of a lost ray -and the growing of a new one, we see that his powers of -living satisfactorily are by no means insignificant. But this -curious walking apparatus of the Star-fish is far from being -perfect in all his relations. They do not all walk by means -of suckers any more than all sponge-animals build toilet -sponge, or all slime-animals make chambered shells. Sure, -the Rosy Feather-stars, for example, have no use for feet-tubes, -as their lives are generally spent upon the rocks or nestled in -bunches of sea-weed. Brittle-stars, as these are called, -though closely related to the Star-fishes, are not easily<span class="pagenum" id="Page47">[47]</span> -confounded with them, for their arms are found to radiate from -a clearly defined central disk, and there is no prolongation of -their stomachs and ovaries into their interiors. The tube-feet -pass out from the plates along the sides of the arms, -instead of from the under surface as in the Star-fishes proper, -and probably serve merely as a help for breathing, locomotion -over the sands being effected by their long flexible arms. -Their home is chiefly among the tangle and eel-grass, where -their protecting covering affords them security from their -many enemies.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page48">[48]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">EARTH-WORMS IN HISTORY.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p>Earth-worms are found throughout the world. -Though few in genera, and not many in species, yet -they make up in individual numbers, for it has been estimated -that they average about one hundred thousand to the -acre. Our American species have never been monographed, -which renders it impossible to judge of their probable number. -Their castings may be seen on commons, so as to -cover almost entirely their surface, where the soil is poor -and the grass short and thin, and they are almost as numerous -in some of our parks where the grass grows well and -the soil appears rich. Even on the same piece of ground -worms are much more frequent in some places than in others, -although no visible difference in the nature of the soil is -manifest. They abound in paved court-yards contiguous to -houses, and on the sidewalks in country towns, and instances -have been reported where they have burrowed through the -floors of very damp cellars.</p> - -<p>Beneath large trees few castings can be found during certain -parts of the year, and this is apparently due to the -moisture having been sucked out of the ground by the innumerable -roots of the trees, an explanation which seems to -be confirmed by the fact that such places may be observed -covered with castings after the heavy autumnal rains. -Although most coppices and woods support large numbers -of worms, yet in forests of certain kinds of tree-growths, -where the ground beneath is destitute of vegetation, not a -casting is seen over wide reaches of ground, even during the -autumn. In mountainous districts worms are mostly rare, it<span class="pagenum" id="Page49">[49]</span> -would seem, a circumstance which is perhaps owing to the -close proximity of the subjacent rocks, into which it is -impossible for them to burrow during the winter, so as to -escape being frozen. But there are some exceptions to this -rule, for they have been found at great altitudes in certain -parts of the world, and especially is this so in India, where -they have been observed to be quite numerous upon the -mountains.</p> - -<p>Though in one sense semi-aquatic animals, like the other -members of the great class of Annelids to which they belong, -yet it cannot be denied that earth-worms are terrestrial -creatures. Their exposure to the dry air of a room for a -single night proves fatal to them, while on the other hand -they have been kept alive for nearly four months completely -submerged in water. During the summer, when the ground -is dry, they penetrate to a great depth and cease to work, -just as they do in winter when the ground is frozen. They -are nocturnal in their habits, and may be seen crawling -about in large numbers at night, but generally with their -tails still inserted in their burrows. By the expansion of -this part of the body, and with the aid of the short reflexed -bristles with which they are armed inferiorly, they hold so -securely that they can seldom be withdrawn from the -ground without being torn in pieces. But during the day, -except at the time of pairing, when those which inhabit -adjoining burrows expose the greater part of their bodies -for an hour or two in the early morning, they remain in -their burrows. Sick individuals, whose illness is caused by -the parasitic larvæ of a fly, must also be excepted, as they -wander about during the day and die on the surface. Astonishing -numbers of dead worms may sometimes be seen lying -on the ground after a heavy rain succeeding dry weather, no -less than a half-hundred in a space of a few square yards, -but these are doubtless worms that were already sick, -whose deaths were merely hastened by the ground being -flooded, for if they had been drowned it is probable, from<span class="pagenum" id="Page50">[50]</span> -the facts already given, that they would have perished in -their burrows.</p> - -<p>After there has been a heavy rain the film of mud or of -very fine sand to be seen over gravel-walks in the morning -is often distinctly marked with the tracks of worms. From -May to August, inclusive, this has been noticed when the -months have been wet. Very few dead worms are anywhere -to be seen on these occasions, although the walks are -marked with innumerable tracks, five tracks often being -counted crossing a space of only an inch square, which -could be traced either to or from the mouths of the burrows -in the gravel-walks for distances varying from three to -fifteen yards, but no two tracks being seen to lead to the -same burrow. It is not likely, from what is known of the -sense-organs of these animals, that a worm could find its -way back to its burrow after having once left it. They -leave their burrows, it would seem, on a voyage of discovery, -and thus they find new sites for the exercise of their powers. -For hours together they may often be seen lying almost -motionless beneath the mouths of their burrows. But let -the ejected earth or rubbish over their burrows be suddenly -removed and the end of the worm’s body may be seen -rapidly retreating.</p> - -<p>This habit of lying near the surface leads to their destruction -to an immense extent, for, at certain seasons of the year, -the robins and blackbirds that visit our lawns in the country -may be observed drawing out of their holes an astonishing -number of worms, which could not be done unless they lay -close to the surface. But what brings the worms to the surface? -This is a question whose answer cannot be positively -asserted. It is not probable that they behave in this manner -for the purpose of breathing fresh air, for it has been seen -that they can live a long time under water. That they are -there for the sake of warmth, especially in the morning, is a -more reasonable supposition, which seems to be confirmed -by the fact that they often coat the mouths of their burrows<span class="pagenum" id="Page51">[51]</span> -with leaves, apparently to prevent their bodies from coming -into contact with the cold, damp earth, and by the still other -fact that they completely close their burrows during the -winter.</p> - -<p>Some remarks about the structure of the earth-worm now -appear apropos. Its body consists of from one hundred to -two hundred almost cylindrical rings, each provided with -minute bristles. The muscular system is well developed, -thus enabling these animals to crawl backwards as well as -forwards, and to retreat by the help of their affixed tails into -their burrows with extraordinary rapidity. Situated at the -anterior end of the body is the mouth. It is furnished with -a little projection, variously called the lobe or lip, which is -used for prehension. Behind the mouth, internally located, -is a strong pharynx, which is pushed forwards when the -animal eats, corresponding, it is said, with the protrudable -trunk of other Annelids. The pharynx conducts to the -œsophagus, on each side of the lower part of which are -placed three pairs of large glands, called calciferous glands, -whose function is the secretion of carbonate of lime. These -glands are very remarkable organs, and their like is not to -be found in any other animal. Their use is connected in -some way with the process of digestion. The œsophagus, -in most of the species, is enlarged into a crop in front of the -gizzard. This latter organ is lined with a smooth, thick -chitinous membrane, and is surrounded by weak, longitudinal, -but powerful transverse muscles, whose energetic action -is most effectual in the trituration of the food, for these worms -possess no jaws, or teeth of any kind. Grains of sand and -small stones, from the one-twentieth to the one-tenth of an -inch in size, are found in their gizzards and intestines, and -these little stones, independently of those swallowed while -excavating their burrows, most probably serve, like millstones, -to triturate their food. The gizzard opens into the -intestine—a most remarkable structure, an intestine within -an intestine—which runs in a straight line to the vent at the<span class="pagenum" id="Page52">[52]</span> -posterior end of the body. But this curious structure, as -shown by Claparède, merely consists of a deep longitudinal -involution of the walls of the intestine, by which means an -extensive absorbent surface is secured.</p> - -<p>Worms have a well-developed circulating system. Their -breathing is effected by the skin, and so they do not possess -any special respiratory apparatus. Each individual unites -the two sexes in its own body, but two individuals pair -together. The nervous system is fairly well developed, the -two nearly confluent cerebral ganglia being situated very -close to the anterior extremity of the body.</p> - -<p>Being destitute of eyes, we would naturally conclude that -worms were quite insensible to light; but from many experiments -that have been made by Darwin, Hofmeister and -others, it is evident that light affects them, but only by its -intensity and duration. It is the anterior extremity of the -body, where the cerebral ganglia lie, that is affected, for if -this part is shaded and other parts of the body are illuminated -no effect will be produced. As these animals have no -eyes, it is probable that the light passes through their skins -and excites in some manner their cerebral ganglia. When -worms are employed in dragging leaves into their burrows -or in eating them, and even during the brief intervals of rest -from their labors, they either do not perceive the light or are -regardless of it, and this is even the case when the light is -concentrated upon them through a large lens. Paired individuals -will remain for an hour or two together out of their -burrows, fully exposed to the morning light, but it appears, -from what some writers have said, that a light will occasionally -cause paired individuals to separate. When a worm is -suddenly illuminated and dashes into its burrow, one is led -to look at the action as a reflex one, the irritation of the -cerebral ganglia apparently causing certain muscles to contract -in an inevitable manner, without the exercise of the -will or consciousness of the animal, as though it was an -automaton. But the different effect which a light produces<span class="pagenum" id="Page53">[53]</span> -on different occasions, and especially the fact that a worm -when in any way occupied, no matter what set of muscles -and ganglia may be brought into play, is often regardless of -light, are antagonistic to the view of the sudden withdrawal -being a simple reflex action. With the higher animals, when -close attention to some object leads to the disregard of the -impressions which other objects must be producing upon -them, we ascribe this to their attention being then absorbed, -and attention necessarily implies the presence of mind. -Although worms cannot be said to possess the power of -vision, yet their sensitiveness to light enables them to discriminate -between day and night, and thus they escape the -attacks of the many diurnal animals that would prey upon -them. They are less sensitive to a moderate radiant heat -than to a bright light, as repeated experiments have conclusively -shown; and their disinclination to leave their -burrows during a frost proves that they are sensitive to a -low temperature.</p> - -<p>Investigation fails to locate in worms any organ of hearing, -from which must be concluded that they are insensible -to sounds. The shrill notes of a metallic whistle sounded -near them, and the deepest and loudest tones of a bassoon, -failed to awaken the least notice. Although indifferent to -modulations in the air, audible to human ears, yet they are -extremely sensitive to vibrations in any solid object. Even -the light and delicate tread of a robin affrights and sends -them deep into their burrows. It has been said that if the -ground is beaten, or otherwise made to tremble, that worms -believe they are pursued by a mole and leave their burrows, -but this does not stand the test of experiment, for the writer -has frequently beaten the ground in many places where these -creatures abounded, but not one emerged. A worm’s entire -body is sensitive to contact, the slightest puff of air from the -mouth causing an instant retreat. When a worm first comes -out of its burrow it generally moves the much-extended -anterior extremity of its body from side to side in all<span class="pagenum" id="Page54">[54]</span> -directions, apparently as an object of touch, and there is good -reason to believe that they are thus enabled to gain a general -knowledge of the form of an object. Touch, including in -this term the perception of a vibration, seems much the most -highly developed of all their senses. The sense of smell is -quite feeble, and is apparently confined to the perception of -certain odors. They are quite indifferent to the human -breath, even when tainted by tobacco, or to a pellet of cotton-wool -with a few drops of Millefleur’s perfume when held by -pincers and moved about within a few inches of them. The -perception of such an unnatural odor would be of no service -to them. Now, as such timid creatures would almost certainly -exhibit some signs of any new impression, we may -reasonably conclude that they did not perceive these odors. -But when cabbage leaves and pieces of onion were employed, -both of which are devoured with much relish by worms, the -result was different. These, with bits of fresh raw meat, have -been buried in pots beneath one-fourth of an inch of common -garden soil, or sometimes laid on pieces of tin foil in the -earth, the ground being pressed down slightly, so as not to -prevent the emission of any odor, and yet they were always -discovered by the worms that were placed in the pots, and -removed after varying periods of time. These facts indicate -that worms possess some power of smell, and that they discover -by this means odoriferous and much-coveted kinds of -food.</p> - -<p>That all animals which feed on various substances possess -the sense of taste, is a wise presumption. This is certainly -the case with worms. Cabbage leaves are much liked by -worms, and it would seem that they are able to distinguish -between the different varieties, but this may perhaps be owing -to differences in their texture. When leaves of the cabbage, -horse-radish and onion were given together, they manifestly -preferred the last to the others. Celery is preferred to the -leaves of the cabbage, lime-tree, ampelopsis and parsnip, and -the leaves of the wild cherry and carrots, especially the latter,<span class="pagenum" id="Page55">[55]</span> -to all the others. That the worms have a preference for one -taste over another, is still further shown from what follows. -Pieces of the leaves of cabbage, turnip, horse-radish and -onion have been fed to the worms, mingled with the leaves -of an Artemisia and of the culinary sage, thyme and mint, -differing in no material degree in texture from the foregoing -four, yet quite as strong in taste, but the latter were quite -neglected excepting those of the mint, which were slightly -nibbled, but the others were all attacked and had to be -renewed.</p> - -<p>There is little to be noted about the mental qualities of -worms. They have been seen to be timid creatures. Their -eagerness for certain kinds of food manifestly shows that -they must enjoy the pleasure of eating. So strong is their -sexual passion that they overcome for a time their dread of -light. They seem to have a trace of social feeling, for they -are not disturbed by crawling over each other’s bodies, and -they sometimes lie in contact. Although remarkably deficient -in the several sense-organs, yet this does not necessarily -preclude intelligence, for it has been shown that when their -attention is engaged they neglect impressions to which they -would otherwise have attended, and attention, as is well -known, indicates the presence of a mind of some kind. A -few actions are performed instinctively, that is, all the individuals, -including the young, perform each action in nearly -the same manner. The various species of Perichæta eject -their castings so as to construct towers, and the burrows -of the Common Earth-worm—<i>Lumbricus terrestris</i>—are -smoothly lined with fine earth and often with little stones, and -the mouth with leaves. One of their strongest instincts is -the plugging up of the mouths of their burrows with various -objects, the very young worms acting in a similar manner. -But some degree of intelligence is manifested, as will subsequently -appear.</p> - -<p>Almost everything is eaten by worms. They swallow -enormous quantities of earth, from which they extract any<span class="pagenum" id="Page56">[56]</span> -digestible matter it may contain. Large numbers of half-decayed -leaves of all kinds, excepting a few that are too -tough and unpleasant to the taste, and likewise petioles, -peduncles, and decayed flowers. Fresh leaves are consumed -as well. Particles of sugar, licorice and starch, and bits of -raw and roasted meat, and preferably raw fat, are eaten when -they come into their possession, but the last article with a -better relish than any other substance given to them. They -are cannibals to a certain extent, and have been known to -eat the dead bodies of their own companions.</p> - -<p>The digestive fluid of worms, according to León Frédéricq, -is analogous in nature to the pancreatic secretion of the -higher animals, and this conclusion agrees perfectly with the -kinds of food which they consume. Pancreatic juice emulsifies -fat, dissolves fibrin, and worms greedily devour fat and -eat raw meat. It converts starch into grape-sugar with -wonderful rapidity, and the digestive fluid of worms acts -upon the starch of leaves. But worms live chiefly on half-decayed -leaves, and these would be useless to them unless -they could digest the cellulose forming the cell-walls, for all -other nutritious substances, as is well known, are almost -completely withdrawn from leaves shortly before they fall -off. It has been ascertained that cellulose, though very little -or not at all attacked by the gastric juice of the higher -animals, is acted on by that from the pancreas, and so worms -eat the leaves as much for the cellulose as for the starch -they contain. The half-decayed or fresh leaves which are -intended for food are dragged into the mouths of their burrows -to a depth of from one to three inches, and are then -moistened with a secreted fluid, which has been assumed to -hasten their decay, but which, from its alkaline nature, and -from its acting both on the starch-granules and on the protoplasmic -contents of the cells, is not of the nature of saliva, -but a pancreatic secretion, and of the same kind as is found -in the intestines of worms. As the leaves which are -dragged into the burrows are often dry and shrivelled, it is<span class="pagenum" id="Page57">[57]</span> -indispensable for the unarmed mouths of worms that they -should first be moistened and softened, their disintegration -being thereby the more readily effected. Fresh leaves, however -soft and tender they may be, are similarly treated, probably -from habit. Thus the leaves are partially digested before -they are taken into the alimentary canal, an instance of -extra-stomachal digestion, whose nearest analogy is to be -found in such plants as Dionæa and Drosera, for in them -animal matter is digested and converted into peptone, not -within a stomach, but on the surfaces of the leaves.</p> - -<p>But no portion of the economy of worms has been -more the subject of speculation than the calciferous glands. -About as many theories have been advanced on their utility -as there have been observers. Judging from their size and -from their rich supply of blood-vessels, they must be of vast -importance to these animals. They consist of three pairs, -which in the Common Earth-worm debouch into the alimentary -canal in front of the gizzard, but posteriorly to it, in -some genera. The two posterior pairs are formed by lamellæ, -diverticula from the œsophagus, which are coated with a -pulpy cellular layer, with the outer cells lying free in infinite -numbers. If one of these glands is punctured and squeezed, -a quantity of white, pulpy matter exudes, consisting of these -free cells, which are minute bodies, varying in diameter from -two to six millimetres. They contain in their centres a small -quantity of excessively fine granular matter, that looks so -like oil globules that many scientists are deceived by its -appearance. When treated with acetic acid they quickly -dissolve with effervescence. An addition of oxalate of ammonia -to the solution throws down a white precipitate, showing -that the cells contain carbonate of lime. The two anterior -glands differ a little in shape from the four posterior ones by -being more oval, and also conspicuously in generally containing -several small, or two or three larger, or a single very -large concretion of carbonate of lime, as much as one and -one-half millimetres in diameter. With respect to the function<span class="pagenum" id="Page58">[58]</span> -of the calciferous glands, it is likely that they primarily -serve as organs of excretion, and secondarily as an aid to -digestion. Worms consume many fallen leaves. It is known -that lime goes on accumulating in leaves until they drop off -the parent-plant, instead of being re-absorbed into the stem -or roots, like various other organic and inorganic substances, -and worms would therefore be liable to become charged with -this earth, unless there was some special apparatus for its -excretion, and for this purpose the calciferous glands are ably -adapted. On the other hand, the carbonate of lime, which -is excreted by the glands, aids the digestive process under -ordinary circumstances. Leaves during their decay generate -an abundance of various kinds of acids, which have been -grouped together under the term of humus acids. These -half-decayed leaves, which are swallowed by worms in large -quantities, would, therefore, after having been moistened and -triturated in the alimentary canal, be apt to produce such -acids, and in the case of several worms, whose alimentary -canals were examined, their contents were plainly shown by -litmus paper to be decidedly acid. This acidity cannot be -attributed to the nature of the digestive fluid, for pancreatic -juice is alkaline, and so also is the secretion which is poured -out of the mouths of worms for the preparation of the leaves -for consumption. With worms not only the contents of the -intestines, but their ejected matter or the castings are generally -acid. The digestive fluid of worms resembles in its -action, as already stated, the pancreatic secretion of the higher -animals, and in these latter pancreatic digestion is necessarily -alkaline, and the action will not take place unless some alkali -be present; and the activity of an alkaline juice is arrested -by acidification, and hindered by neutralization. Therefore -is seems probable that innumerable calciferous cells, which -are emptied from the four posterior glands in the alimentary -canal, serve to neutralize more or less completely the acids -generated there by the half-decayed leaves. These cells, as -has been seen, are instantly dissolved by a small quantity of<span class="pagenum" id="Page59">[59]</span> -acetic acid, and as they do not always suffice to render of no -effect the contents of the upper part of the alimentary canal, -it is probable that the lime is aggregated into concretions, in -the anterior pair of glands, in order that some may be conveyed -to the posterior parts of the intestine, where these -concretions would be rolled about among the acid contents. -The concretions found in the intestines and in the castings -often present a worn appearance, but whether due to attrition -or chemical corrosion it is impossible to say. That they are -formed for the sake of acting as mill stones, as Claparède -believed, and of thus assisting in the trituration of food, is -not at all likely, as this object is already attained by the -stones that are present in the gizzards and intestines.</p> - -<p>In dragging leaves into their burrows worms generally -seize the thin edge of a leaf with their mouths, between the -projecting upper and lower lip, the thick and strong pharynx -at the same time being pushed forwards within their bodies, -so as to afford a <i>point de resistance</i> for the upper lip; but in -the case of broad and flat objects the pointed anterior -extremity of the body, after being brought into contact with -an object of this kind, is drawn within the adjoining rings, -so that it becomes truncated and as thick as the rest of the -body. This part is then seen to swell a little, seemingly -from the pharynx being pushed a little forwards. By a -slight withdrawal of the pharynx, or by its expansion, a -vacuum is produced beneath the truncated, slimy end of -the body whilst in contact with the object, and by this -means the two adhere firmly together. Worms can attach -themselves to an object in the same manner under the water.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig7"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo067.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">COMMON EARTH-WORMS.<br /> -Out on a Foraging Excursion.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>As worms have no teeth, and their mouths consist of -very soft tissue, it may be presumed that they consume by -means of suction of the edges and parenchyma of fresh -leaves after they have been softened by the digestive fluid. -They cannot attack such strong leaves as those of sea-kale -or large and thick leaves of ivy. They not only seize leaves -and other objects for purposes of food, but for plugging up<span class="pagenum" id="Page60">[60]</span> -the mouths of their burrows. Flower-peduncles, decayed -twigs of trees, bits of paper, feathers, tufts of wool and -horse-hair are some of the many things other than leaves -that are dragged into their burrows for this purpose. Many -hundred leaves of the pine-tree have been found drawn by -their bases into burrows. Where fallen leaves are abundant, -especially ordinary dicotyledonous leaves, many more than -can be used are collected over the mouth of a burrow, so -that a small pile of unused leaves is left like a roof over -those which have been partly dragged in. A leaf in being -dragged a little way into a cylindrical burrow necessarily -becomes much folded or crumpled, and when another is -drawn in, this is done exteriorly to the first, and so on with -succeeding leaves, till finally they all become closely folded -and pressed together. Sometimes the mouth of a burrow<span class="pagenum" id="Page61">[61]</span> -is enlarged, or a fresh one is made close by, so that a larger -number of leaves may be drawn in. Generally the interstices -between the drawn-in leaves are filled with moist, viscid -earth ejected from their bodies, thus rendering them doubly -secure. Hundreds of such plugged burrows may be seen -during the autumnal and early winter months.</p> - -<p>When leaves, petioles, sticks, etc., cannot be obtained for -the mouths of their burrows, heaps of stones, smooth, -rounded pebbles, are utilized for protection. When the -stones are removed and the surface of the ground is cleared -for some inches round the burrow, the worms may be seen -with their tails fixed in their burrows dragging the stones -inward by the aid of their mouths, stones weighing as much -as two ounces often being found in the little heaps, which -goes to show how strong these apparently weak creatures -are. Work of this kind is usually performed during the night, -although objects have been occasionally known to be drawn -into the burrows during the day. What advantage worms -derive from plugging up the mouths of their burrows, or from -piling stones over them, cannot be satisfactorily answered. -They do not act in this manner when they eject much earth -from their burrows, for then their castings serve to cover the -mouth. Perhaps the plugs serve to protect them from the -attacks of scolopenders, their most inveterate enemies, or to -enable them to remain with safety with their heads close to -the mouths of their burrows, which they like so well to do, -but which, unless protected, costs many a fellow its life. -Besides, may not the plugs check the free ingress of the -lowest stratum of air, when chilled by radiation at night, -from the surrounding ground and herbage? The last view -of the matter seems especially well taken, because worms -kept in pots where there is fire, having no cold air with -which to contend, plug up their burrows in a slovenly manner, -and because they often coat the upper part of their -burrows with leaves, apparently to prevent their bodies from -coming into contact with the cold, damp earth. But the<span class="pagenum" id="Page62">[62]</span> -plugging-up process may undoubtedly serve for all these -purposes. Whatever the motive may be, it seems that worms -much dislike leaving the mouths of their burrows open, yet, -nevertheless, they will reopen them at night, whether or not -they are able afterwards to close them.</p> - -<p>Considerable intelligence is shown by worms in their manner -of plugging up their burrows. If man had to plug up -a cylindrical hole with such objects as leaves, petioles or -twigs, he would push them in by their pointed ends, but if -these were thin relatively to the size of the hole, he would -probably insert some by their broader ends. Intelligence -would certainly be his guide in such a case. But how -worms would drag leaves into their burrows, whether by -their tips, bases, or middle parts, has been a matter of interest -to many. Darwin, who experimented upon the subject, -found it especially desirable to experiment with plants not -native to his country, for he conceived that although the -habit of dragging leaves into their burrows is undoubtedly -instinctive with worms, yet instinct could not teach them -how to act in the case of leaves about which their progenitors -knew nothing. Did they act solely through instinct, or -an unvarying inherited impulse, they would draw all kinds -of leaves into their burrows in the same manner. Having -no such definite instinct, chance might be expected to determine -whether the tip, base, or middle might be seized. If -the worm in each case first tries many different methods, -and follows that alone which proves possible or the most -easy, then both instinct and chance are ruled out of the -solution of the question. But to act in this manner, and to -try different methods, makes what in man would be called -intelligent action.</p> - -<p>Three species of pine-leaves are mentioned by Darwin as -being regularly drawn into the mouths of worm-burrows on -the gravel-walk in his garden. These leaves consist of two -needles, which are united to a common base, and it is by this -point that they are almost invariably drawn into the burrows.<span class="pagenum" id="Page63">[63]</span> -As the sharply-pointed needles diverge somewhat, and as -several are drawn into the same burrow, each tuft forms a -perfect <i>chevaux-de-frise</i>. Many tufts were pulled up in the -evening, but by the ensuing morning fresh leaves had taken -their places, and the burrows again well protected. Impossible -it would be to drag these leaves to any depth into the -burrows, except by their bases, as a worm cannot seize hold -of the two leaves at the same time, and if one alone were -seized by the apex, the other would be pressed against the -ground and resist the entry of the one that was seized. That -the worms should do their work well, it was very essential -that they drag the pine-leaves into their burrows by their -bases, that is, where the two needles are conjoined. But how -they are guided in this work was at first perplexing. The -difficulty, however, was soon settled. With the assistance of -his son Francis, the elder Darwin set to work to observe -worms in confinement during several nights by the aid of a -dim light, while they dragged the leaves of the aforementioned -kinds into their burrows. They were seen to -move the anterior extremities of their bodies about the leaves, -and on several occasions when they touched the sharp end -of the needle they suddenly withdrew as though they had -been pricked, but it is doubtful that they were hurt, for they -are indifferent to sharp objects, being known to swallow -rose-thorns and small splinters of glass. It may be doubted -whether the sharp end of the needle serves to tell them that -is the wrong end to seize, for the points of many were cut off -for the length of an inch, and these leaves were always drawn -in by their bases and not by the cut-off ends. The worms, -it seemed, almost instantly perceived as soon as they had -seized a leaf in the proper manner. Many leaves were -cemented together at the top, or tied together by fine thread, -and these in the majority of instances were dragged in by -their bases, which leads to the conclusion that there must -be something attractive to worms in the base of pine-leaves, -notwithstanding that few ordinary leaves are drawn in by<span class="pagenum" id="Page64">[64]</span> -their base or footstalk. Leaves of other plants, and also -the petioles of some compound plants, as well as triangular -bits of paper, dry and damp, were experimented with, and -the manner of seizing the objects and bearing them into -their burrows were as amusing as they were novel and -interesting. The leaves and stems used were such as -the worms had not been accustomed to in their respective -haunts.</p> - -<p>When the several cases experimented on are considered, -one can hardly escape from the conclusion that some degree -of intelligence is shown by worms in plugging up their burrows. -Each particular object is seized in too uniform a -manner, and from causes which we can generally understand, -for the result to be attributed to mere chance. That -every object has not been drawn in by its pointed end may -be accounted for by labor having been saved by some being -carried in by their broader ends. There is no doubt that -worms are governed by instinct in plugging up their burrows, -and it might be expected that they would have been -taught in every particular instance how to act independently -of intelligence. It is very difficult to judge when intelligence -comes into play. The actions of animals, appearing -due to intelligence, may be performed through inherited -habit without any intelligence, although aboriginally acquired, -or the habit may be acquired through the preservation and -inheritance of some other action, and in the latter case the -new habit will have been acquired independently of intelligence -throughout the entire course of its development. -There is no <i>à priori</i> improbability in worms having acquired -special instincts through either of these two latter means. -Nevertheless it is incredible that instincts should have been -developed in reference to objects, such as the leaves and -petioles of foreign plants, wholly unknown to the progenitors -of the worms which have acted in the manner just -described. Nor are their actions so unvarying or inevitable -as are most true instincts.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page65">[65]</span></p> - -<p>As worms are not controlled by special instincts in each -particular case, though possessing a general instinct to plug -up their burrows, and as chance is excluded, the next most -probable conclusion is that they try in many ways to draw -in objects and finally succeed in some one way. It is surprising, -however, that an animal so low in the scale as a -worm should have the capacity to act in this way, as many -higher animals have no such capacity, the instincts of the -latter often being followed in a senseless or purposeless -manner.</p> - -<p>We can safely infer intelligence, as Mr. Romanes, who -has specially studied animals, says, only when we see an -individual profiting by his own experiences. That worms -are able to judge either before or after having drawn -an object close to the mouths of their burrows how best -to drag it in, shows that they must have acquired some -notion of its general shape. This they probably acquire by -touching it in many places with the anterior extremity of their -bodies, which serves them as a tactile organ. Man, even -when born blind and deaf, shows how perfect the sense of -touch may become, and if worms, which also come into -being in the same condition, have the power of acquiring -some notion, however rude, of the shape of an object and -their burrows, they deserve, it must seem to every sensible -mind, to be called intelligent creatures, for they act in such -a case in nearly the same manner as a man would under -similar circumstances. That worms, which stand so low in -the scale of organization, should possess some degree of -intelligence, will doubtless strike everyone as very improbable. -It may be doubted, however, whether we know -enough about the nervous system of the lower animals to -justify our natural distrust of such a conclusion. With regard -to the small size of the cerebral ganglia, we would do -well to remember what a mass of inherited knowledge, with -some power of adapting means to an end, is crowded into -the minute brain of a worker ant.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page66">[66]</span></p> - -<p>Two ways are adopted by worms in excavating their burrows. -Either the earth is pushed away on all sides or it is -swallowed by the animal. In the former case the worm -inserts the stretched-out and attenuated anterior extremity -of its body into any little crevice or hole, and the pharynx -is pushed forward into this part, which consequently swells -and pushes away the earth on all sides, the anterior extremity -thus acting as a wedge. When placed in loose mould a worm -will bury itself in between two and three minutes, but in -earth that is moderately pressed down it often requires as -many as fifteen minutes for its disappearance. But whenever -a worm burrows to a depth of several feet in undisturbed -compact ground, it must form its passage by swallowing the -earth, for it is impossible that the ground could yield on all -sides to the pressure of the pharynx when pushed forward -within the worm’s body. Great depths are reached only -during continued dry weather and severe cold, the burrows -sometimes attaining to a depth of from seven to eight feet. -The burrows run down perpendicularly, or, more commonly, -obliquely, and are sometimes said to branch. Generally, or -invariably as I think, they are lined with fine, dark-colored -earth voided by the worm, so that at first they must be made -a little wider than their ultimate diameter. Little globular -pellets of voided earth, still soft and viscid, often dot the -walls of fresh burrows, and these are spread out on all sides -by the worm as it travels up or down its burrow, the lining -thus formed becoming very compact and smooth when -nearly dry and closely fitting the worm’s body. Excellent -points of support are thus afforded for the minute -reflexed bristles which project in rows on all sides from the -body, thus rendering the burrow well adapted for the rapid -movement of the animal. The lining appears also to -strengthen the walls, and perhaps saves the worm’s body -from being scratched, which would assuredly be the case -when the burrows, as is occasionally observed, pass through -a layer of sifted coal cinders. The burrows are thus seen to<span class="pagenum" id="Page67">[67]</span> -be not mere excavations, but may be compared with tunnels -lined with cement. Those which run far down into the -ground generally, or at least frequently, terminate in little -chambers, where one or several worms pass the winter rolled -up into a ball. Small pebbles and seeds as large as grains -of mustard are carried down from the surface by being swallowed -or within the mouths of worms, as well as bits of glass -and tile, whose only use in their winter-quarters seems to be -the prevention of their closely coiled-up bodies from coming -into contiguity with the surrounding cold soil, for such contact -would perhaps interfere with their respiration, which is -effected by the skin alone.</p> - -<p>After swallowing earth, whether for making its burrow or -for food, the earth-worm soon comes to the surface to empty -its body. The rejected matter is thoroughly mixed with the -intestinal secretions, and is thus rendered viscid. After becoming -dried, it sets hard. When in a very liquid state the -earth is thrown out in little spurts, and when not so liquid -by a slow peristaltic movement of the intestine. It is not -cast indifferently on any side, but first on one and then -on another, the tail being used almost like a trowel. The -little heap being formed the worm seemingly avoids, for the -sake of safety, the use of its tail, the earthy matter being -forced up through the previously deposited soft mass. The -mouth of the same burrow is used for this purpose for a -considerable time. When a worm comes to the surface to -eject earth, the tail protrudes, but when it collects leaves its -head must protrude, and thus worms must have the power -of performing the difficult feat, as it seems to us, of turning -round in their closely-fitting burrows. Worms do not always -eject their castings upon the surface of the ground, for when -burrowing in newly turned-up earth, or between the stems -of banked-up plants, they deposit their castings in such -places, and even hollows beneath large stems lying on the -surface of the ground are filled up with their ejections. Old -burrows collapse in time. The fine earth voided by worms,<span class="pagenum" id="Page68">[68]</span> -if spread out uniformly, would form in many places a layer -of one-fifth of an inch in thickness. But this large amount -is not deposited within the old unused burrows. If the -burrows did not collapse, the whole ground would be first -thickly riddled with holes to the depth of ten inches or -more, which in fifty years would grow into a hollow, unsupported -place ten inches deep.</p> - -<p>Hardly any animal is more universally distributed than -worms. The earth-worm is found in all parts of the world, -and some of the genera have an enormous range. They -inhabit the most isolated islands, abounding in Iceland, and -also being known to exist in the West Indies, St. Helena, -Madagascar, New Caledonia and Tahiti. Worms from -Kergulen Land in the Antarctic regions have been described -by Ray Lankester, and Darwin has reported them as being -found in the Falkland Islands. How they reach such -isolated islands is quite unknown. They are easily killed -by salt water, and it does not seem likely that young worms -or their egg-capsules could be carried in earth adhering to -the feet or beaks of land-birds, especially to Kergulen Land, -for it is not now inhabited by any terrestrial bird.</p> - -<p>We have seen that worms are found in nearly every part -of the globe, that they are very numerous, as many as -348,480 having been found in an acre of rich ground in New -Zealand, and that by the peculiar economy of their nature -they are fitted to accomplish a great deal of good in the -earth. They have played a more important part in the -history of the world than most persons would at first suppose. -In many parts of England, according to Darwin, a -weight of more than ten tons of dry earth annually passes -through their bodies and is brought to the surface in each -acre of land, so that the entire superficial bed of vegetable -mould passes through their bodies in the course of every -few years; and in most parts of the forests and pasture-lands -of Southern Brazil, where several species of earth-worms -abound, the whole soil to a depth of a quarter of a metre<span class="pagenum" id="Page69">[69]</span> -looks as though it had passed through the intestines of -worms, even where scarcely any castings are to be observed -upon the surface. The upper crust is continually being -eaten and ejected by them, thus aiding the fertility of the -soil, as well as conveying water and air to the interior by -the myriads of burrows which they drill. The vast quantities -of leaves that they drag into their holes tend also to -enrich the ground. Nor does their good end here. They -cover up seeds, undermine rocks, burying them up, and to -their labors is due the preservation of many ruins and -ancient works of art. Numerous old-time Roman villas -have been discovered beneath the ground in England, whose -entombments were undoubtedly caused by the worms that -undermined them and deposited their castings upon the -floors, till finally, aided by other causes, they disappeared -from sight.</p> - -<p>When a wide, turf-covered expanse of earth is beheld, we -would do well to remember that its smoothness, upon which -so much of its beauty depends, is largely due to all the -inequalities having been slowly levelled by worms. That all -the surface-mould of any such expanse has passed, and will -again pass, every few years through the bodies of worms is -a marvellous reflection, and one which should not be lightly -dismissed from the mind. The most ancient, as well as one -of the most valuable of man’s inventions, is the plough. But -long before man existed the land was in fact regularly -ploughed, and still continues to be ploughed, by earth-worms. -No other animal has played such a part in history as have -these lowly-organized creatures. True it is that corals, -which are still lower in the scale of animals, have performed -more conspicuous work in the innumerable reefs and islands -they have built in the great oceans, but their work is confined -to the tropical zones, while that of the earth-worm is -well-nigh universal. Verily it is by the little things in life -that the Creator has erected the most stupendous monuments -to show forth His infinite power and wisdom.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page70">[70]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">FIDDLER- AND HERMIT-CRABS.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p class="chapstart"><span class="largecap">A</span><span class="afterlargecap">mong</span> -our first acquaintances of the sea-shore are sure -to be a number of merry little sprites which do not -seem to have yet mastered the lesson of walking straight -ahead. Their movements will be seen to be in a direction at -right angles to that towards which the head points. It is a -very interesting sight to watch these apparently one-sided -creatures hurrying off in their lateral progression towards -their burrows in the sand or mud, or in quest of food. Pass -them, and you will be surprised to see how quickly some of -them will reverse their motion, seemingly without so much -as pausing to glance at their pursuer, their machinery appearing -to have given out at one end, thus compelling them to -reverse and travel back over their old courses.</p> - -<p>These little Fiddler- or Calling-crabs, as they are termed, -are the most pronounced offenders against the commonly -accepted rule of proper walking. Scattered all over the -salt marshes and mud-flats, at about high-water mark, -may be noted their burrows, which are about as large as a -thrust made by an umbrella point, and from which can be -frequently seen the little animal peeping forth, preparatory -to making a sally. At another part of the flat, where the -noise of your footsteps has not given signals of danger, -hundreds of crabblings are busy with their out-door occupations. -Draw near to them, and away they scamper to their -dwellings, males and females intermingled promiscuously, the -former recognizable by the undue development of one of the -claws, which is carried transversely in front of the head. -When the animal is provoked, this claw is brandished in a<span class="pagenum" id="Page71">[71]</span> -somewhat menacing manner, which has been likened by some -to the pulling of a violin bow, and by others to the action of -beckoning or calling, and hence the names which have been -applied to these eccentric creatures.</p> - -<p>Have you a desire for a more intimate knowledge of the -animal, take him up by the big claw, and you can now -examine him without the least fear of incurring the proofs -of his displeasure. Two bead-like, compound eyes, supported -on long stalks, which can be readily withdrawn into -the protecting shield of the carapace, will be observed. -From the manner of this support, which allows of vision in -almost every direction, the name of stalk-eyed crustaceans -has been given to the group in which this structure is found. -The two pairs of feelers, which you see in front of the eyes, -are known as antennæ and antennules. They are of peculiar -interest, for, aside from acting as feelers, they subserve the -functions of smelling and hearing, the auditory apparatus -being lodged in the base of the smaller pair. There are ten -feet, and this is a character of importance, as it is a feature -distinctive of the ten-footed, or decapod, crustaceans. At -first sight it appears that the animal is devoid of a tail, but if -you turn him over upon his back you will find a very short -one tucked safely under the body. A comparison of our -study of this crab with that of the lobster or cray-fish will -show that the tail, or, more properly, the abdomen, is -stretched out beyond the body proper, and that the elongation -is in proportion to the length of the animal. Two distinct -groups of ten-legged, stalk-eyed crustaceans are thus -recognized, namely: the short-tailed forms, or crabs, and the -opposite, or long-tailed forms, to which the lobster and shrimp -belong, the hermit-crabs constituting an intermediate type.</p> - -<p>Two species of the Fiddler, considerably resembling each -other in color and ornamentation, are to be found upon our -Atlantic Coast. The more common form, <i>Gelasimus vocator</i>, -has a smooth, shining carapace, while that of <i>Gelasimus -minax</i> is finely granulated and in part tuberculated, the back<span class="pagenum" id="Page72">[72]</span> -of both appearing impressed with a figure very similar to -the letter H. The latter, which appears to be a vegetable -feeder, is the larger, its burrows not infrequently measuring -one and a half inches in diameter. Estuarine regions, in -close proximity to fresh water, rather than the tidal flats, are -its habitat, and, in truth, it seems to be able to get along for -weeks, and even months, without any absolute need of salt -water.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig8"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo072.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">FIDDLER-CRABS.<br /> -Two Males Fighting for a Female.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>In the excavation of their homes the Fiddlers throw up the -pellets of moist earth by means of their anterior walking -legs, depositing their burden usually at some little distance -from the mouth of the burrow. As winter approaches, the -domiciliary apertures are closed up, and the famine of winter -is spent in a state of torpidity.</p> - -<p>With the advent of spring they come forth from their -brumal retreats, and soon concern themselves with the duties -incident to the propagation of their kind. Two males are<span class="pagenum" id="Page73">[73]</span> -often observed contending in the fiercest manner for the possession -of a female. They strike with the formidable claw -most powerful blows, and I have often seen an opponent so -completely claw-locked as to be unutterly unable to make -any determined resistance. These contests last a long while, -and finally conclude with the complete vanquishment of one -or the other of the fighting parties, one or both sustaining -at times some severe injury as the loss of an eye-peduncle -or the joint of a limb. All the while the battle is waging, -the female is a silent, passive spectator, and generally allies -herself with the successful competitor for her affections. -Even during the summer season, when the cares of brood-raising -no longer command and enslave the attention of the -female, these combats are still indulged in by the males, -growing out of, as it would seem, the lingering smarts of -old animosities festering in the memory. While these carcinological -lords of the sea-side are eminently fitted for the -sparring business, the whole physiognomy of their smaller, -weaker partners bespeaks a life in which broils can have no -part, a life devoted to peaceful and domestic pursuits.</p> - -<p>Differing widely in structure and habits from the Calling-crabs, -and affecting watery situations near the shore, are to -be found the Hermit-crabs. These sprightly little animals, -which are usually of small size, and have truly habits of their -own, that stamp them at once as being original and distinctive, -are a source of never-failing delight to the student of -nature. They derive their name, as is well known, from the -seclusion into which they cast themselves as the inhabitants -of the shells of other animals, but it is probably not generally -known, however, that the rights of tenantry are oftentimes -exercised in the most arbitrary manner. Not always -satisfied with a dead shell, the Hermit-crab has been seen to -raid upon a living possessor and attempt to drag him from -his home, in which operation the assailant is often assisted -by a number of his fellows, each bearing with him his castle -as defensive armor. True, the attack is probably made in<span class="pagenum" id="Page74">[74]</span> -many instances for the purpose of getting possession of -the enemy as well as his belongings, and, however this -may be, forcible possession is by them considered no misdemeanor.</p> - -<p>The body of the Hermit-crab, in the greater number of -species, is unprovided with a carapace, and, being soft and -liable to injury, the animal is compelled to seek shelter -usually in a snail-shell, winding himself about the coils, to -the inner extremity of which he attaches himself by his -modified posterior feet. So securely is he now intrenched -that it is only with difficulty he can be withdrawn, retracting -himself as he does further and further within cover of the -shell. A sudden fracture of the apex of the shell, under -which appears to be the most delicate part of the animal’s -body, will generally effect a speedy dislodgment, the frightened -Crab dropping from the aperture.</p> - -<p>With his progressive development in size the Hermit -requires frequent changes of abode. His methods in securing -a new habitation are among the most interesting of his -life. He is very circumspect in his movements, and will -make several reconnoissances before he is fully satisfied with -the conditions of his prospective home, retiring after each -visit to the old shell.</p> - -<div class="container" id="Plate2"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo074.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="copyright">Copyright 1900 by <span class="smcap">A. R. Dugmore</span>.</p> - -<p class="caption">CRAB WAITING FOR FOOD UNDER A ROCK.<br /> -From a photograph taken through water.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page75">[75]</span></p> - -<p>Like many bipeds, he has his first of May, and so he goes -house-hunting. He finds a shell. Will it do? He examines -it within, feelingly if not courteously, to see whether it is to -let. Satisfied on this point, he turns it over, then turns it -round, to know if it will suit, the weight of the house being -quite an item in the reckoning to one who is to carry it upon -his back. All things being right, his mind is made up to -move, and quickly, too, at that, lest he miss his chance -through some more active fellow house-hunter who is on the -alert. Out comes the body from the old house, and pop it -goes into the new. The resolution to move, the surrender -of the old house, and the occupancy of the new, were all -effected within a fraction of a second of time.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig9"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo075.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">WARTY HERMIT-CRABS.<br /> -One at Home, the Other House-Hunting.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>But the matter does not always go on pleasantly. Two -house-hunters may find the same tenement. Should they -both desire it, then comes the tug of war. Dwell together -they neither can nor will. Recourse is had to battle, in -which the stronger proves his claim right by the rule of -might. In these encounters terrible mutilations quite often -occur.</p> - -<p>As an offset to all this bad feeling and bloodshed, it is a -sad sight to see the little Hermit when his time comes to die. -However droll his career may have been, he is now very -grave, for he knows he must part with life and all its joys -and pleasures. Who can explain the strange fact? The -poor little fellow comes out of his house to die. Yes, to die. -To us humans home is the only fit place to die in, but to Eupagurus -it has no attractions at this solemn time. Poor -fellow! With a sad look and a melancholy movement he -quits of his own will the house for which he fought so well. -Those feelers that often stood out so provokingly, and that -were quite as often poked into everybody’s business, now -lie prone and harmless; the eyes have lost their pertness,<span class="pagenum" id="Page76">[76]</span> -and dead, stone dead, the houseless Hermit lies upon that -moss-covered rock.</p> - -<p>There are two species of Hermit-crab occurring on our -coast, which are readily distinguishable from each other by -their size and the difference in the shape of the big claw. -<i>Eupagurus pollicaris</i>, the Warty Hermit, is the larger species. -He inhabits the shells of the big Naticas and the Fulgurs, -and can be easily recognized by his coarse, broad claws, -which close up in great part the aperture of the shell which -he occupies. In the more common form, <i>Eupagurus longicarpus</i>, -which seldom attains a length exceeding an inch, the legs -are all much elongated, giving the animal a very slender -appearance.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page77">[77]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">FUNNEL-WEB BUILDER.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p class="chapstart"><span class="largecap">S</span><span class="afterlargecap">imple</span> -nests and tubes are all the majority of spiders -construct for their homes. The larger and better known -webs for catching insects are made by comparatively few -species. He who is astir in the grass-fields on damp summer -mornings, will everywhere see innumerous flat webs, -from an inch or two to a foot in diameter, which weather-wise -folks consider prognostic of a fair day. These webs -may always be found upon the grass at the proper season, -but only become visible from a distance when the dew is -upon them, making the earth appear as covered by an almost -continuous carpet of silk.</p> - -<p>By far the greater number of these nests is of the form -which is termed funnel-webs, which consist of a concave -sheet of silk, constituted of strong threads, crossed by finer -ones, which the author spins with the long hind-spinnerets, -swinging them from side to side, and laying down a band of -threads at each stroke, the many hundred threads extending -in all directions to the supporting spears of grass. The web -is so close and tight that the footsteps of the spider can be -distinctly heard by the attentive, listening ear as she runs -hither and thither over its scarcely bending surface. At one -side of the web is a tube, leading down among the grass-stems, -which serves as a hiding-place for the owner of the -web. Here, at the top, and just out of sight, the spider -ordinarily stands, waiting for something to light upon the -web, when she eagerly rushes out, seizing the prey unluckily -caught and carrying it into her tube to eat. If too formidable -an insect comes upon the web, she turns herself round,<span class="pagenum" id="Page78">[78]</span> -beating a precipitate retreat out of the lower end of her -funnel and soon is lost beneath the mesh of enveloping and -interlacing grasses.</p> - -<p>Where favorably located, these webs remain through the -entire season, and are enlarged, as the spider grows, by additions -on the outer edges, and are supported by threads running -up into the neighboring plants. Sometimes the webs -are built in close proximity to a stone partially imbedded in -the earth, the bottom of the funnel opening slightly underneath -the stone, which secures to the spider a convenient -harbor in case of threatening danger.</p> - -<p>Agalenidæ, as our funnel-web weavers are called, are -long-legged, brown spiders, in which the head part of the -cephalo-thorax is higher than the thoracic part, and distinctly -separated from it by grooves or marks at the sides. -The eyes are usually in two rows, but in Agalena the middle -eyes of both rows are much higher than the others. The -feet have three claws, and the posterior pairs of spinnerets -are two-jointed and usually longer than the others. <i>Agalena -nævia</i>, the technical name of our Common Grass Spider, -abounds in all parts of the United States, but its very commonness -is the principal reason why it is so little known -except by the trained naturalist, its very familiarity leading -the average man and woman to look upon it with contempt.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig10"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo079.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">AGALENA AND HER FUNNEL-WEB.<br /> -House-Fly, Caught in the Toils, Becomes a Victim.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>Persons unfamiliar with spiders find it difficult to distinguish -the young from the old, and male from female. This -is caused, in part, by the great differences between different -ages and sexes of the same spider, on account of which they -are supposed to belong to distinct species. The adult males -and females, however, are easily distinguished from each other, -and from the young, by the complete development of organs -peculiar to each sex, the palpal organs on the ends of the -palpi in the males, and the epigynum, a hard swollen place -just in front of the opening of the ovaries in the females. -Usually the males are smaller than their partners, and have, in -proportion to their size, smaller abdomens and longer legs.<span class="pagenum" id="Page79">[79]</span> -They are generally darker colored, especially on the head -and front part of the body, and markings which are distinct -in the female coalesce and become darker in the male. In -most species these differences are not very great, but in -some, Argiope and Nephila for examples, where the males -are about one-tenth as large as the females, one would -hardly suppose, without other evidence, that the males and -females had any relationship to each other. The palpal -organs and the epigynum are sexual characters which do -not attain their functional value until after the last moult -has been effected.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page80">[80]</span></p> - -<p>Spiders are naturally very selfish creatures. Their chief -concern in life seems to be the gratification of their desires -for food. They are eminently unsocial, the sexes preferring -to live solitary lives. It is only when actuated by amatory -influences that the females will tolerate their weaker lords, -and in some instances it is only by stratagem and agility that -the latter are able to accomplish the fulfilment of the law of -their being, the females by their ugly, vicious tempers resisting -to the utmost. In the case of Agalena the male is the -stronger of the two. He, at the proper time, when the -reproductive cells are matured, takes the female in his powerful -mandibles, lays her gently on one side, and inserts one of -his palpi, whose little sacs had previously been filled with -the fecundating discharge, into the epigynum underneath. -After a time, necessarily brief, he rises on tiptoe, turns her -around and over, so that she comfortably lies on the other -side, her head being in the opposite direction, and inserts the -other palpus. All through the operation the female lies as -though she was dead. The ends of nature being served, the -sexes separate, the male returning to the solitary life he -previously led, while the female busies herself in providing -for the duties of maternity.</p> - -<p>The eggs becoming mature, the latter proceeds to make a -little web and lays them in it, practising the utmost care. -She now covers them over with silk, which she weaves into -a cocoon, where the young remain some time after they are -hatched. Seldom is the laying seen, for it generally happens -in the night-time, or in retired places. Often, in confinement, -the spider refuses to lay at all. An egg of a spider, like -that of any other animal, is a cell which separates from the -body of the female, and subsequently unites with one or more -cells that have separated from the body of the male. This -process of union, termed fertilization, doubtless takes place -when the eggs have attained their full size and are about -to be laid. After being laid and hardened it is a very easy -matter to watch their development. All that is necessary<span class="pagenum" id="Page81">[81]</span> -to be done is to cover the egg to be examined with oil, -alcohol or any liquid that will wet it, for this tends to make -the shell transparent. Eggs laid in summer are ready to -hatch in a fortnight, while those laid in autumn develop -slowly all through the winter. A day or two are occupied -in hatching. When the time has arrived the shell, or more -properly the skin, cracks along the lines between the legs, -and comes off in rags, and the spider slowly stretches itself -and creeps about. Pale and soft it appears, and devoid of -hairs or spines, but its feet are armed with small claws. In -two or three days it gets rid of another skin, and begins to -assume a spider-like appearance, the eyes becoming dark-colored, -the thoracic marks growing more distinct, and a -dark stripe appearing across the edge of each segment of the -abdomen. The hairs are now long, but few in number, and -arranged in rows across the abdomen and along the middle -of the thorax. Before the next moult they usually forsake -the cocoon, and live together for a short time in a web spun -in common. Where larger broods of young spiders live -together, they soon show cannibal-like qualities, and if kept -in confinement one or two out of a cocoon-full may be raised -without recourse to any other food.</p> - -<p>As spiders grow larger, they must moult from time to -time. This is an interesting process. The spider hangs -herself by a thread from the spinnerets to the centre of the -web. In a short time the skin cracks around the thorax, -just over the first joints of the legs, and the top part falls -forward, being held only at the front edge. The skin of the -abdomen now breaks irregularly along the sides and back, -and shrinks together in a bunch, leaving the spider suspended -only by a short thread from the spinnerets, her legs -still being trammelled by the old skin. Fifteen minutes of violent -exertion releases her from the encumbrance, when she -drops down, hanging by her spinnerets like a wet rag. She -can do nothing in this condition, not even draw her legs -away from an approaching hand. In ten or twelve minutes<span class="pagenum" id="Page82">[82]</span> -the legs show signs of strengthening, and she is able to -draw them gradually towards her. A few up-and-down -movements, and she manages to get into the web again.</p> - -<p>That which, more than anything else, discriminates spiders -from other animals is their habit of spinning webs. Some -of the mites spin irregular threads upon plants, or cocoons -for their eggs, and many insects cocoons in which to -undergo their changes from larva to imago, but in the -spiders the spinning-organs are much more complicated, -and used for a greater variety of purposes, for making -egg-cocoons, silk linings to their nests, and nets for catching -insects. The spider’s thread differs from that of insects, in -being constituted of a great number of finer threads laid -together, while soft enough to coalesce into one. Each -spinneret is provided with a number of little tubes, which -convey the viscid liquid that forms the thread from glands -in the spider’s body. In Agalena the two hinder spinnerets -are long, and have spinning-tubes along the under side of the -last joint.</p> - -<p>When about to produce a thread the spider presses the -spinnerets against some object and forces out from each -tube enough of the secretion to adhere to it, when the spinnerets -are moved away, drawing the viscid liquid out, which -hardens at once into threads for each tube. A band of -threads is formed when the spinnerets are kept apart, -but when closed together the fine threads unite into one -or more large ones. Commonly the spinning is aided by -the hinder feet, which guide the thread, keeping it clear of -surrounding objects, and even pulling it from the spinnerets.</p> - -<p>Spiders are best known and hated as animals that bite. -Their biting-apparatus, the mandibles, are located in front of -the head. Partly in the basal joints of these organs and -partly in the head, the poison-glands are seated, from which -is discharged through a tube the venom, which makes spiders -so much to be feared. This tube opens at the point of<span class="pagenum" id="Page83">[83]</span> -the claw of the mandible. When the apparatus is not in use -the claws are closed up against the parts between the rows -of teeth; but when the jaws are opened to bite the claws -are turned outward, so that their points can be made to -penetrate anything that comes between the jaws. The ordinary -function of the mandibles is the killing and crushing of -insects, so that the soft parts can be eaten by the spider, and -in this preparation they are substantially aided by the maxillæ. -Spiders will sometimes chew an insect for hours, until -it becomes a mere ball of skin, only swallowing such bits as -may happen to be sucked in with the blood. Let alone and -unmolested, they bite nothing except insects that are useful -for food. But when attacked and cornered, all species open -their jaws and bite if they can, their ability to do so depending -upon their size and the strength of their jaws. Notwithstanding -the large number of pimples and stings ascribed to -spiders, undoubted cases of their biting the human skin are -exceedingly rare, and the stories of death, insanity and lameness -from spider-bites are probably all untrue. Many experiments -have been made to test the effect of the bites of spiders -on animals. Insects succumb most readily to their -bites, some sooner than others, but birds, except when bitten -by the larger Mygale, recover after the lapse of a few hours. -The effect upon man, even when the bite is deep enough to -draw blood, is like the pricks of a needle, attended by little -or no inflammation or pain. Even in cases where death -among insects and birds ensues it is claimed by the authorities, -men as eminent as Blackwall, Moggridge and Dufour, -that the secretion from spiders’ jaws is not poisonous, but -that the animals die, when bitten, from loss of blood and -mechanical injury.</p> - -<p>Such is the prejudice against the spider, that its presence, -no matter where found, whether in the open field or in a -corner of the house, is an inducement for its inveterate -enemy, man, to sweep it to the ground or floor and crush -its frail life out with one blow of the foot. Few know, or<span class="pagenum" id="Page84">[84]</span> -care to know, it would seem, the good it does for man. -He owes to it, in a large measure, the protection of his -crops, and no little of the comfort he enjoys in life. Spiders -are carnivorous creatures, and destroy vast number of insects, -many of which are man’s worst enemies. They merit, and -deservingly, too, his kindness and protection for the benefits -they confer.</p> - -<p>Tarantulas have been supposed to produce epilepsy by -their bites, which could only be relieved by music of certain -kinds. Such stories, and they have been widely circulated -and believed, are the veriest nonsense, for tarantula-bites -produce no such effects nowadays. These spiders, which -live in holes in sand, out of which they reach after passing -insects, are no more savage in their habits than other spiders, -for Dufour, a celebrated French naturalist, once kept one -that soon learned to take flies from his fingers without manifesting -the least disposition to bite. Different species quickly -learn, when treated with kindness, to regard man as their -friend. I have seen Agalena take food from the hand out of -a pair of forceps, or water from a brush, and even to reach on -tiptoe after it from the mouth of a bottle placed for her -accommodation. Though naturally timid and shy, and prone -to flee to her funnel on man’s approach, yet she has been -known to permit the most unexpected familiarities without -fear or resentment. Many a female has taken from my -hand the proffered fly, and submitted to the gentle caresses -of my finger down the back and abdomen with the most -pleasurable satisfaction. They have come at the sound of -my voice, dancing upon their sheeted web like one gone -mad, so perfectly carried away with delight. An interesting -experience of last summer during a brief stay in the country -seems apropos at this time. While sauntering carelessly along -a forest-road I came unexpectedly upon a rustic bridge, with -a railing on one side, which overspanned a small water-course. -Leaning for rest and support against the railing, -soon my attention was arrested by a huge female spider,<span class="pagenum" id="Page85">[85]</span> -which I recognized as <i>Epeira domiciliorum</i>. She was evidently -in quest of something, as I was led to suspect from her -seemingly thoughtful and deliberate movements. I watched -her closely and criticisingly for a long while, and in one of -her contemplative moods, when she stood perfectly motionless -and fixed as it were to the railing, I reached out my -finger rather impulsively and began stroking her along the -abdomen, a familiarity which she did not resent, and which -seemed to give her the most intense delight. When the -caressing had ceased, she would turn round and confront her -newly-made acquaintance, but the lifting of the finger was -always the signal for her to assume an attitude of the most -perfect quiescence. That she enjoyed these little attentions -there cannot be a shadow of doubt, or actions are no use in -the interpretation of feeling. Had they been painful, she -would have sought relief in flight, or in the manifestation of -an untoward disposition towards her unintentional persecutor.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page86">[86]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">BOOK-LOVERS.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p class="chapstart"><span class="largecap">L</span><span class="afterlargecap">iving</span> -in chinks and crannies of ranges in our homes, -and occasionally in bookcases and closets where -glutinous and sugary matters abound, but which has probably -not been met with elsewhere, is a strange but beautiful -little creature which, as far as can be determined, goes -through the brief round of its existence without a name to -distinguish it from its fellows.</p> - -<p>Few entomologists have given any special attention to its -family relationships. The possession of certain bristle-like -appendages which terminate the abdomen, and which are no -doubt comparable with the abdominal legs of the Myriopods, -or Thousand Legs, classes it with the Bristle-tails, or -Lepismas. In general form, a likeness to the larva of Perla, -a net-veined neuropterous insect, is manifest, or to the narrow-bodied -species of Blattariæ, or Cockroaches, when divested -of wings.</p> - -<p><i>Lepisma saccharina</i>, of Europe, which is indistinguishable -from our ordinary American form, is far from uncommon in -old, damp houses. Its structure is less complicated than -the heat-loving species to which I have alluded, and there -are likewise differences of habits which show themselves to -the close investigator of natural phenomena.</p> - -<p>Not unlike the cockroaches, which our little denizen of -the hearth somewhat vaguely resembles in form, it affects -hot, dry localities, and is always astir at nights in quest of -its fare, for it disdains the light of the day and the consequent -publicity of its deeds of shame and plunder.</p> - -<p>Many a housewife in the discharge of duty has unearthed, -so to speak, the miscreant from its hidden retreat, and sought<span class="pagenum" id="Page87">[87]</span> -by foot or hand to crush the life that dares obtrude its -uncleanly presence in her larder, but the cunning, swift-footed -Lepisma darts off, like a streak of light, to some -near-by crack or breach, where it manages to hide from -threatening danger. The bodies of these nimble, silent-moving -creatures being coated in a suit of shining mail, -which the arrangement of the scales so very much resembles, -they have a weird and ghostly look. This appearance, and -the swiftness of their movement, which the eye can hardly -trace, have led the vivid mind of man, in country town and -village, to dub them “silver witches.”</p> - -<p>So fleet of foot are they, and so like a wave of blurred -light they cross the vision, that it is vain to try to figure -what they are in shape and look. In death they yield their -all of earth to prying science. Their body’s form is narrow, -flattened; their legs in pairs of threes, each of six joints -consisting, the basal joints broad, flat, triangular, the tarsal -large, in number two, and armed at end with pair of claws -incurved. The three thoracic segments are very like in size, -and eight abdominals, of similar length and width. So weak -it seems the rather long abdomen is, that two pairs or six of -bristles, simple, unjointed, and freely movable, serve as -support, and also, as in other groups of insects, as organs -locomotive.</p> - -<p>The mode of antenna-insertion—and the same prevails in -the entire family—is much like that of the Myriopods, the -front of the head being flattened and concealing, as in the -Centipedes, the base of the antennæ. Indeed, the head of -any of the Bristle-tails, as seen from above, bears a general -resemblance in some of its features to that of the Centipede -and its allies, and so, in a less degree, does the head of -the larvæ of certain beetles and neuropters. The eyes are -compound, the individual facets constituting a sort of heap. -The mouth-parts are readily compared with those of the -larva of Perla, the rather large, stout mandibles being hid at -their tips by the upper lip, which moves freely up and down<span class="pagenum" id="Page88">[88]</span> -when the creature opens its mouth. In length the mandible -is three times its breadth, and furnished with three sharp -teeth on the outer edge, and with a broad cutting margin -within, and still further inwards with a number of straggling -small spines. The lower lip is broad and stout, with a distinct -medium suture, which indicates a former separation in -embryonic life into a pair of appendages. Its palpi are three-jointed, -the joints being broad, and directed backwards in -life, and not forwards, as in the higher insecta.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig11"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo088.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">LEPISMAS AT WORK.<br /> -How Books are Destroyed.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>Perhaps not more than a half-dozen species of Lepisma are -known to exist in this country. Our commonest form is -very abundant in the Middle States under stones and leaves -in forests, and northward in damp houses, where it has much -of the habits of the cockroach, eating clothes, tapestry, silken -trimmings of furniture, and doing great mischief to libraries -by devouring the paste and mutilating the leaves and covers -of books. Our heat-loving form, which is apparently allied -to the <i>Lepisma thermophila</i> of Europe, and which may be -an imported species, is quite as destructive as its nearest of -kin <i>Lepisma saccharina</i>. It does not confine its ravages to<span class="pagenum" id="Page89">[89]</span> -closets and pantries, and feed upon sugar and cake and -pastry, but has latterly taken to bookcases, where it leads -an easy, comfortable life, without fear of molestation.</p> - -<p>So delicately constructed are the Lepismas, and so seemingly -feeble the breath of life which animates their frail houses -of clay, that nature has endowed them with qualities of mind -and body which eminently fit them for the part they have -to play in the world. She has made them lovers of darkness -rather than light, endowed them with keenness of vision and -hearing truly wonderful, and given them a celerity of movement -which enables them to outstrip in speed the fleetest -of their insect-enemies, and even to baffle the well-directed -efforts of man for their destruction. The silver-coated armor -with which they are invested is so glossy and smooth that -they can slip into a crevice in the wall or floor with the -utmost ease and facility. From their actions it would seem -that they were always on the alert, for when peril is imminent -they do not run aimlessly about for a place of security, but -know just where to find it with the least possible expenditure -of time and physical strength. Every nook and cranny of -their appropriated domain is as well known to these very -humble of God’s creatures as some forest-tract of country to -one skilled in wood-craft. Never have I studied the behavior -of Lepisma that I have not been deeply impressed with the -intelligence of its actions. There have always been displayed -a purpose and an aim, which showed as plainly as could be -that no blind instinct was the cause of a conduct so rational -and human-like.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page90">[90]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">YOU-EE-UP.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p class="chapstart"><span class="largecap">H</span><span class="afterlargecap">ardly</span> -a person living in a sandy country district -can be found who has not seen or heard of the queer -little insect called You-ee-up, a name which the books do not -give, and of which writers on entomological subjects seem -to be ignorant. The learned call him Myrmeleon, or Ant-lion, -and very appropriately too, because, like the great king -of beasts, he never attacks his prey in the open field, but by -stratagem while lying in wait in some hidden retreat or -secret covert.</p> - -<p>Should you chance, on a warm summer day, where sunny -slopes abound on the outskirts of a woods, or by the side of -a frequented path or road, look carefully about and soon will -you descry a small funnel-like opening, scarce two inches in -depth and in width, upon a bare patch of sand in the midst -of an ocean of verdure. This little cavity is the intentional -work of the larva of the Ant-lion. A very close scrutiny -will show, by the presence of a pair of fierce jaws, the Ant-lion -at home.</p> - -<p>Would you know the ingenious builder? Lift him out -tenderly from his burrow of sand, and when you have placed -him upon the palm of your wide open hand, note with the -most careful exactness the peculiar make-up of his structure, -so that in the future you may have little difficulty in recognizing -him should you again meet.</p> - -<p>His short, flat head, armed with powerful mandibles, -heavy-set chest, and large, soft, fleshy abdomen, amply protected -on the sides with stiff, bristly hairs, added to his -compact, robust form, the forward projection of his front<span class="pagenum" id="Page91">[91]</span> -and middle legs, and the backward prolongation of the -stronger and less movable hind ones, which eminently adapts -them to a backward manner of walking, are characters which -so deeply impress, that we cannot fail to call up, when occasion -demands, the possessor of so wonderful a mechanism.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig12"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo091.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">YOU-EE-UP IN HIS DEN.<br /> -As He Appears in Youth and Old Age.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>Now that you have become familiar with the odd creature -in form and in mien, set him once more upon his proud realm -of sand, and seat yourself on the bank close by to watch -and enjoy his curious behavior. In a minute or two his -fears will have subsided, and he in control again of his accustomed -indifference. See, he moves. Round and round he -turns in the loose grey sand, burying himself deeper and -deeper, and throwing the grains out from the hole he has -made by his twistings, using his short, flat head for a shovel. -The sand, as it is thrown over the side of the burrow, forms -quite a margin, and when all is completed the Ant-lion sinks -himself deep into the bottom of the trap he has digged, -leaving only the tips of his mandibles in sight, which are -extended and ready to seize any insect that is so luckless as -to fall into their reach.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page92">[92]</span></p> - -<p>The unfortunate ant that ventures too close to the margin -sets the sand off rolling, and it immediately begins to struggle -against falling down, but the Ant-lion throws a few -shovelfuls of sand against it, and it soon comes tumbling -down to the bottom of the funnel, when it is instantly seized -between the sharp mandibles in waiting, which, being perforated -by slender tubes, enable their blood-thirsty owner -to suck out its juices.</p> - -<p>Country children, and adults as well, manifest a deep interest -in these strange beings. They call them, as has been -intimated before, You-ee-ups. How the name originated, and -when, I do not pretend to know, nor have I been able upon -inquiry to find out from the oldest inhabitants of the regions -they affect. Old men and old women in the seventies and -eighties knew these insects by this name when they were -children, and I have been informed that they were always so -spoken of by <i>their</i> fathers and mothers.</p> - -<p>Even the insects themselves are believed to know the odd -name by which they are designated. So fixed is the belief -in the minds of the many that, to contradict it, is sure to -subject the person so rash and presumptuous to the grossest -abuse from the friends of the strange little creature. They -have seen him in his sandy retreat, and have called him by -name, and he has never been known to decline a response. -“You-ee-up, you-ee-up,” cries one, with his mouth just over -the opening, and up comes the strange “crittur” as obedient -as a lackey. “You-ee-down, you-ee-down,” says the same -childish voice, and down he goes to his den to await, as is -thought, the giving of further orders.</p> - -<p>That the Ant-lion does seem to respond when called, -cannot be denied, for I have tried the experiment myself, -and others have tried it in my presence, and always with the -same successful results. But people go through the world -not only with their eyes closed and their ears sealed, but also -with their minds forever locked against thinking, lest, by -thinking, they might do themselves serious injury. Had but<span class="pagenum" id="Page93">[93]</span> -a little of thinking been done, or some common sense exercised, -the solution of the insect’s strange actions could have -been reached without any great difficulty.</p> - -<p>Let me briefly explain. One cannot talk, as is well known, -without some motion being imparted to the outlying air. -This moving air impinging upon the loosely arranged sand -piled up around the margin of the tiny pitfall, dislodges -some particles, and these, falling into the jaws of the hidden -Ant-lion, bring him to the surface, for he ascribes the commotion -to some ill-fated ant, or other such insect, that has, -in its anxious searching for food, tumbled unconsciously into -his artfully-laid trap. In a moment the mistake is discovered, -and, with all possible dispatch, he backs himself down into -his den to await further developments. His appearance on -the occasion is greeted by “you-ee-down, you-ee-down,” and -as he goes down apparently in obedience to the order, but -really because it is a matter of business so to do, it is claimed -by the unlearned and unwise that his movements are responsive -to the command of the person by whom he is addressed.</p> - -<p>Two years of larval life, and the subject of our sketch is -lost to the sight of the rural folks. A new life, where feeding -is no longer necessary, awaits him, but one in which -the most radical changes must occur if he is to fulfil the -existence which nature designed in her grand scheme of -creation. From a silk-gland, which, unlike those of the butterflies -and moths, is situated at the end of the body, he spins -a cocoon, but there being so little of silk to spare, he needs -must supply the deficiency by the utilization of a quantity of -sand, which he glues into the walls of his house. Here he -dwells a comparatively inactive pupa for three brief weeks, -retaining his large, powerful mandibles to the last, which he -uses in cutting his way out of the cocoon, when he is ready -to emerge as a winged neuropter. In the adult form he -resembles the dragon-flies in flight, flapping wildly and irregularly -about, as if his muscles were too weak to wield his -great stretch of wings. But in repose his alar appendages<span class="pagenum" id="Page94">[94]</span> -are folded above each other, forming an acute-angled roof -above the long, slender abdomen. The antennæ or feelers -are short, stout and club-shaped, and the wings long, narrow -and densely veined.</p> - -<p><i>Myrmeleon obsoletus</i>, a name given to this insect by Thomas -Say, a naturalist of repute, who lived in Philadelphia in the -early half of the present century, is by no means a rare -species, if search is made in the proper places. In the <a href="#Fig12">cut</a> -the larva is found to the right of the burrow, while deep in -the bottom, with the jaws only in view, is another, prepared -to receive the small ant just above should it lose its foothold -and tumble into the trap. On the wing, a little in the background -of the <a href="#Fig46">picture</a>, may be seen the adult insect, represented -in hawking for prey over a meadowy expanse of -country.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page95">[95]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">TOWER-BUILDING CICADA.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p class="chapstart"><span class="largecap">C</span><span class="afterlargecap">losely</span> -allied to the bugs is a group of remarkable -insects to which naturalists now apply the name -of Cicada, but which are generally, though improperly, -designated Locust by the common people. They are readily -distinguished by their broad heads, large prominent eyes, -with three eyelets triangularly placed between them, and -delicately transparent, veined wing-covers and wings. The -abdomen is short and pointed, and the legs are short, the -anterior femora being much thickened and toothed beneath. -The hinder extremity of the body of the female is conical, -and the under-side has a longitudinal channel for the reception -of the ovipositor, or piercer, which is furthermore protected -by four short-grooved pieces which are immovably -fixed to the sides of the channel. The piercer itself consists -of two outer parts grooved on the inside and slightly -enlarged and angular at the tips, which are externally beset -with small saw-like teeth, and a central spear-pointed borer -which plays between the other two, thus combining the -advantages of an awl and a double-edged saw, or rather of -two key-hole saws cutting opposite to each other. A hard, -horny substance, called chitine, the same as exists in the -stings of bees and wasps, is the material of its composition. -It would be impossible to conceive of anything more exactly -fitted for its required uses than is this beautiful complicated -instrument.</p> - -<p>But the most peculiar characteristic of this family, however, -consists in the structure of the mechanism by which -the males make the trilling sound for which they have been<span class="pagenum" id="Page96">[96]</span> -so long famous. In the male of the Seventeen-year Cicada -the musical instrument consists of two stretched membranes, -one on each side of the body, which are plainly to be seen -immediately behind the wings. These membranes are -gathered into numerous fine plaits, and are played upon by -muscles or cords fastened to their under surfaces. When -these muscles contract and relax, which they do with great -rapidity, the drum-heads, which the membranes resemble, -are alternately tightened and loosened, the effect of this -alternate tension and relaxation being the production of a -rattling sound very much like that caused by a succession -of quick pressures upon a slightly complex and elastic piece -of tin-plate. Certain cavities within the body of the insect, -which may be seen on raising two large valves beneath the -abdomen, and which are separated from each other by thin -transparent partitions of the brilliancy of mica or highly -polished glass, tend to increase the intensity of the sound.</p> - -<p>In the winged state <i>Cicada septendecim</i>, as the subject of -our <a href="#Fig13">sketch</a> was named by the immortal Linnæus, is of a black -color, with transparent wings and wing-covers, the thick -anterior edge and veins of which being orange-red. Near -the tips of the latter there is a dusky zig-zag line which -resembles in shape the letter W. The eyes, when living, are -also red, while the legs are a dull orange, which color is -conspicuous along the edges of the rings of the body. The -wings expand from two and a half to three and a quarter -inches.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig13"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo097.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">SEVENTEEN-YEAR CICADA.<br /> -Adult, Chrysalis-Case, Pupa, Entrances to Burrows and Egg-Nests.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>About the middle of June the perfect insects make their -appearance, and as they generally come in large numbers -they do a great deal of damage. In some localities they -congregate to such an extent upon the trees as to bend and -even to break down the limbs by their weight. The din of -their discordant drums resounds in the woods and orchards -from morning to evening. As their life is of rather short -duration, not lasting for a longer period than a month, they -soon begin to pair, and it is not long afterwards that the<span class="pagenum" id="Page97">[97]</span> -females may be seen preparing nests for the reception of -their eggs. Branches of moderate size are selected for this -purpose. Their manner of perforation is curious and interesting. -Clasping the branch on both sides with their legs, -and bending the ovipositor at an angle of forty-five degrees, -they repeatedly thrust it into the bark and wood in the -direction of the fibres, at the same time setting the lateral -saws at work, thereby detaching little splinters of wood at -one end, which are intended to serve as a kind of fibrous -cover for the nest. The hole is bored obliquely to the pith, -and by a repetition of the same operation is gradually -enlarged until is formed a longitudinal fissure of sufficient<span class="pagenum" id="Page98">[98]</span> -extent to receive from ten to twenty eggs. The side-pieces -of the piercer act as a groove to convey the eggs to the nest, -where they are deposited in pairs, but separated from each -other by a narrow strip of wood. When two eggs have been -thus placed, the piercer is withdrawn for a moment, and then -inserted till two more eggs are dropped in a line with the -first, and thus the operation is repeated until the fissure has -been filled, when the insect removes to a little distance and -commences to make another nest to contain two more rows -of eggs. It takes about fifteen minutes to prepare a groove -and fill it with eggs. As many as twenty grooves are sometimes -made in a branch by a single insect, and when the limb -has been sufficiently stocked she goes from it to another, -or from tree to tree, until she has got rid of her complement -of from five hundred to seven hundred eggs. So weak does -she at length become, in her continued endeavor to provide -for the succession of her race, as to fall, in an attempt to fly, -an almost lifeless lump to the earth, where her spirit soon -goes out never more to enliven its frail house of clay.</p> - -<p>Although Cicadas abound most upon the oaks, yet -there seem to be no trees or shrubs that are exempt from -their attacks, unless it be the various species of pines and -firs. The punctured limbs languish and die soon after the -eggs are laid, and as often happens are broken off by the -winds; but when this is the case the eggs never hatch, for -the moisture of the living branch seems necessary for their -proper development.</p> - -<p>The eggs are one-twelfth of an inch in length, and one-sixteenth -of an inch through the middle, but taper to an -obtuse point at each end. They are of a pearl-white color. -The shell is so thin and delicate that the form of the inclosed -insect can be seen before the egg is hatched. One writer -claims that fifty-two days, and others that fourteen days, -constitute the period required for the hatching of the egg.</p> - -<p>When it bursts the shell the young insect is one-sixteenth -of an inch long, and is of a yellowish-white color, excepting<span class="pagenum" id="Page99">[99]</span> -the eyes and the claws of the fore-legs, which are reddish. -It is clothed with small hairs. In form it is grub-like, larger -proportionally than the parent, and provided with six legs, -the first pair being very large, shaped like lobster-claws, and -armed beneath with strong spines. Little prominences take -the place of wings, and under the breast is a long beak for -suction. Its movements, after leaving the egg, are very -lively, and nearly as quick as some of the ants. But after -a few moments their instincts prompt them to reach the -ground. They do not attain this end by descending the -body of the tree, nor by casting themselves off precipitately, -but, running to the side of the limb, deliberately loosen their -hold and drop to the ground, making the perilous descent -with the utmost safety. This seems almost incredible, but -it has been repeatedly observed by scores of honest witnesses.</p> - -<div class="container w30em" id="Fig14"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo099.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">NEW-BORN CICADA.<br /> -Line Below Shows Natural Size.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>On reaching the ground the young insects immediately -burrow their way into the soil, using their broad and strong -fore-feet pretty much after the fashion of the mole. They -apparently follow, in their descent, the roots of plants, fastening -their beaks into the most tender and succulent, and thus -imbibing their juices, which constitute their sole aliment. -They do not descend very deeply into the ground, probably -not more than ten or twelve inches, although accounts have -been published of their discovery at a depth of ten or twelve -feet, but their occurrence at such great distances from the top -of the ground is doubtless the result of accident.</p> - -<p>The only alteration to which the insects are subject during -the seventeen years of their subterranean confinement, is an<span class="pagenum" id="Page100">[100]</span> -increase in size, and the more complete development of the -four small scale-like prominences of the back, which contain -their future wings.</p> - -<p>When the time of its transformation draws near, the larva, -in which stage the insect passes the greater part of its existence, -works its way up towards the surface, oftentimes in a -very circuitous manner, for local changes make it necessary -for it to bore through hard woods and between stones well -beaten down. The burrow which it thus produces is cylindrical, -about five-eighths of an inch in diameter, and firmly -cemented and varnished so as to be water-proof. The upper -portion, to the extent of five or six inches, is empty, and -serves as a habitation till the period of its exit arrives, while -the lower is filled with earthy matter removed by the insect -in its progress. In this cell it remains during several days, -ascending to the top for the benefit of the sunshine and air -when the weather is auspicious, even venturing to peep forth -occasionally, but descending on the occurrence of cold or wet -weather. But when the favorable moment to leave their -subterranean retreats arrives, the Cicada-grubs, or more -properly pupæ, for such they are now to be considered, -although they still retain something of the grub-like form, -issue from the ground in great numbers as evening draws on, -crawl up the trunks of trees, the stems of herbaceous plants, -or on to whatever is convenient, which they grasp securely -with their claws. After resting awhile, their skins, which -have become dry and of an amber color, are by repeated exertions -rent along the back, and through the slit formed the -included Cicada pushes its head and body, and withdraws its -wings and legs from their separate cases, and, crawling to a -short distance, leaves its empty pupa-case fastened to the -tree. At first the wing-covers and wings are small and -opaque, but in a few hours they acquire their natural size -and shape. It is not, however, for three or four days that -the muscles harden sufficiently for them to assume their -characteristic flight. The males make their appearance<span class="pagenum" id="Page101">[101]</span> -some days in advance of the females, and also disappear -sooner. During several successive nights the pupæ continue -to issue from the ground, and in some places, as was -the case in May of 1868, when these insects appeared in -great numbers in the vicinity of Philadelphia, the whole surface -of the soil was made by their operations to assume a -honey-combed appearance.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig15"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo101.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">DOME-LIKE HOUSE OF CICADA.<br /> -Longitudinal Section Showing Pupa in Two Positions.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>In localities where the soil is low and swampy, a remarkable -chamber is built up by the larva, where the pupa may -be found awaiting the time of its change to the winged state. -These chambers were first noticed by S. S. Rathvon, at Lancaster, -Pa., and are from four to six inches above the ground, -and have a diameter of one inch and a quarter. When -ready to emerge the insect backs down to an opening which -is left in the side of the structure on a level with the surface -of the ground, issues forth and undergoes its transformation -in the usual manner. This peculiar habit of nest-building, -which is so unlike what is customary with the Cicadidæ, or -with Hemiptera in general, points to a high degree of intelligence -among these insects, showing a remarkable ability to -adapt themselves to environing circumstances. Undue -moisture would be prejudicial to the pupa, as the larva<span class="pagenum" id="Page102">[102]</span> -seemed to know, through the guidance of the same dumb -and unerring instinct which teaches it to cement its underground -dwelling, but would that same instinct teach it to -construct so wonderful a dome-like house as the one -described for the preservation of its after-life, and one so -eminently fitted by its position, shape, size and entrance to -secure the necessary shelter, warmth and air for its protection -and development? I apprehend not. Nothing short of a -reason, similar to that in man, but differing in degree, would -enable it to grasp the situation in which it found itself to be -placed when nearing its final change, and plan with the view -of carrying out the ultimate aim of its existence.</p> - -<p>Fortunately, these insects are appointed to return at -periods so distant that vegetation has a chance to recover -from the injuries which they inflict. Were they to appear -at shorter intervals, our forest- and fruit-trees would be -entirely destroyed by them. They are, moreover, subject -to many accidents, and have many enemies, which contribute -to diminish their numbers. Their eggs are eaten by birds, -and the young, when they leave the egg, are preyed upon -by ants, who mount the trees for that purpose, or take them -upon the ground as they are about to enter upon their protracted -larval career. Blackbirds eat them in the spring -when turned up by the plough, and hogs, when allowed to -run at large in the woods, root them up and devour large -numbers, especially just before the arrival of the period of -their final transformation, when they are lodged only a few -inches below the surface of the soil. Many perish in the -egg by the closing up of the bark and wood that constitute -the walls of the perforations, thus burying the eggs before -they have hatched, and others, no doubt, are killed by their -perilous descent from the trees.</p> - -<p>As its name implies, this insect generally requires seventeen -years to complete its transformations, a fact that was -first pointed out many years ago by the botanist Kalm. The -late Prof. Riley, who had given this species a great deal of<span class="pagenum" id="Page103">[103]</span> -study, was the first to work out the problem of its periodical -returns. He found that there are also thirteen-year broods, -and that both sometimes occur in the same locality, but that -in general terms the thirteen-year brood might be called the -southern form, and the seventeen-year the northern form. -At the limits of their respective ranges these broods overlap -each other. The shorter-lived form he named provisionally -<i>Cicada tredecim</i>. It was the existence of this brood that -led entomologists to doubt the propriety of Linné’s name, -because, in calculating each appearance as occurring in any -locality at the end of every seventeen years, they could not -make the dates of its periodical returns correct. But it was -Prof. Riley that cleared up the matter. It happened in the -summer of 1868 that one of the largest seventeen-year -broods occurred simultaneously with one of the largest -thirteen-year broods. Such an event, so far as these two -particular broods are concerned, has not taken place since -1647, nor will it take place again till the year 2089. There -are absolutely no specific differences between the two broods -other than in the time of maturing. There is, however, a -dimorphous form that appears with both these broods. It -is smaller, of a much darker color, has an entirely different -voice, appears a fortnight sooner, and is never known to -pair with the ordinary form. Dr. J. C. Fisher, in 1851, -described it as <i>Cicada cassinii</i>, but the specific differences -are not sufficiently well defined to entitle it to rank as a -species.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page104">[104]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">HONEY-DEW.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p class="chapstart"><span class="largecap">T</span><span class="afterlargecap">hat</span> -aphides secrete, or rather excrete, a saccharine -fluid, called honey-dew, which constitutes an important -part of the food of ants, is a fact well known to naturalists. -It must not be supposed, however, that this was its -primitive use. But that it is in some way connected with -the preservation of the tender creatures by which it is elaborated, -there can exist not the slightest doubt.</p> - -<p>Concerning its origin and application, and the benefit -which it secures to its authors, various opinions have been -hazarded, but they have all been too unsatisfactory to merit -more than a passing notice. That it was of some advantage -to young aphides was surmised by many, but the proofs -necessary to sustain such a surmise were unfortunately wanting. -It was left to the latter half of the nineteenth century -to throw correct light upon the subject.</p> - -<p>Whilst engaged some few years ago in the study of the -species that affects the blossoms of one of our gourds—the -<i>Cucurbita ovifera</i> of botanists—certain phenomena were observed, -which promised an easy and speedy solution of the -problem.</p> - -<p>Gathered in compact masses, like companies of soldiery -preparing for a foray, hundreds of aphides were seen, busily -feeding, all over the flowers. There were old and young, -not an indiscriminate mingling of ages and sizes, but an -orderly arrangement of families, each family preceded by its -own appropriate head. First came the very young of each -family, only to be followed by those that were older, leaving -the oldest of all to lead up the rear.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page105">[105]</span></p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig16"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo105.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">BLOSSOM OF CUCURBITA.<br /> -Mother-Aphis and Her Army of Children on Tube.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>Here, it was apparent, was a most wonderful manifestation -of intelligent design. The newly-born, needing the mother’s -earliest attention, were in closest proximity, while the almost -mature were the farthest removed from her essential -presence.</p> - -<p>All this seemed to indicate the dearest relationship subsisting -between mother and offspring, but judging from outward -appearances, little, if any, love existed. It is true that -maternal instinct, which is seldom so far gone as to shut its -ears to the beseechings of suffering offspring for food, was -far from being absent. Instances of its presence were -momentarily noted.</p> - -<p>But a stimulus seemed, in some cases, quite necessary to -its manifestation. There were times when the honey-glands -acted without any provocation. It was only, however, when<span class="pagenum" id="Page106">[106]</span> -the very tender were a-hungry, that pressure was brought to -bear upon the mothers. A few gentle reminders served to -arouse them from the apathetic indifference which possessed -them. The antennæ of the young were the means employed -for this purpose. Two or three caresses almost immediately -brought a discharge of honey. Again and again was the -process observed, and always with the same invariable result.</p> - -<p>Never for a longer period than two days were the very -young dependent upon this manner of feeding, for their -digestive organs were too weak and delicate to assimilate -earlier, without injury, the powerful juices of the food-plant.</p> - -<p>But what of the older offspring? That they were far from -being disregarded by parental provision, subsequent developments -only too plainly showed. The excretion, though less -urgent in their case than in that of the very young, was -quite as indispensable. Were it not so, what reason can be -assigned for their very strict adherence to the course over -which the maternal head had already passed in feeding?</p> - -<p>From what has been said, there can be no doubt that the -newly-born aphis derives material advantage from the excretion. -But as the supply is clearly above the requirements, -why the excess? It is evident nature does not need it as a -kind of compensation for losses sustained through aphides. -Then what purpose does it serve? It becomes in part the -pabulum of the stronger of the young, and this it accomplishes -by mixing with the natural juices of the plant, -thereby rendering them fit for use.</p> - -<p>To serve as food for the young is then the primary object -of aphis-excretion. That a secondary purpose, namely, the -preservation of the species, is also subserved, there can be no -question. How this is effected, it shall now be my endeavor -to show.</p> - -<p>Ants, it is well known, are fond of sugar, gums and -saccharine solutions, as well as the rich juices and tender -tissues of animals. But their appetite for sweets is stronger -than for all other diets. To them aphis would prove quite<span class="pagenum" id="Page107">[107]</span> -as toothsome a morsel as it is to Coccinella, and would be -as eagerly hunted for by them were it not for this matter of -sweets.</p> - -<p>Way back in the history of time, things were perhaps different -from what they are now. Aphis was then a racy tidbit, -and shared, no doubt, the murderous assaults of Formica, as -it did of other carnivores.</p> - -<p>For ages this may have been going on, but how long -conjecture only can tell. But there came a time when affairs -were changed. A new order of things was initiated. Earth -was growing better and impressing new features upon its life. -An Ant, more wise than any of its fellows, or any that had ever -lived before, doubtless stepped upon the scene, and a new era -for Aphis inaugurated.</p> - -<p>Finding by accident, or otherwise, the delightful qualities -of aphis-excretion, it would not be slow to communicate the -information to its companions. And as news travels rapidly, -and ants are by no means reticent creatures, but a short -time would be necessary to carry it everywhere, till all the -families, near and remote, of the great world of the Formicidæ -would be made acquainted with the important -discovery.</p> - -<p>Now, as ants are endowed with a high degree of intelligence, -considering the position they occupy in the grand -scale of created existences, they would soon perceive that -their highest good would be attained by taking under their -protection the little creatures which are the authors of this -excretion. From this time the ants would begin to abandon -their sanguinary propensities and manifest some regard for -the aphides. The latter, in return, perceiving the former’s -friendly disposition, would cease to fear them, and learn to -cater to their wants. Thus would be developed, in time, -those amicable relations which subsist between the two -great, yet widely differentiated, families.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page108">[108]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">MILCH-COWS OF THE ANTS.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p class="chapstart"><span class="largecap">W</span><span class="afterlargecap">hile</span> -much has been written upon the social relations -subsisting between ants and aphides, yet the -subject never grows uninteresting or threadbare. New facts -are brought to light as observations widen and extend, some -tending to confirm, and others to subvert old notions.</p> - -<p>That aphides excrete a sweet, viscid, honey-like fluid, -which affords food for many species of ants, has been long -known to naturalists. Any one can convince himself of this -truth if he will but put himself to the trouble of examining -the leaves or branchlets of any plant at the proper season of the -year. Scattered upon the foliage and tender twigs thereof will -be found millions of aphides, and close beside them countless -ants, that ever and anon will be seen to caress, by means of -their antennæ, the little creatures for the sweets within their -bodies. It has even been asserted that some species of ants -keep aphides as human beings do cows, but this by the -many has been doubted, or deemed imaginary.</p> - -<p>When a young man the writer was disposed to drift with -the popular opinion in this particular, but a few facts that -fell under his notice whilst searching for carabi and other -beetles that live under stones and decayed logs, changed the -bias of his mind and established in him the idea that with -one species of ant this was at least the case.</p> - -<p>It was on an occasion while exploring a neighboring -thicket for the objects of his search, that he discovered, -underneath a large flat stone which he had raised, a nest of -a small red ant, which he took to be the <i>Lasius flavus</i> of the -books. The ground was covered all over with pits, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page109">[109]</span> -divers communicating roads, and round about were hundreds -of ants, larvæ in various stages of development, pupæ and -eggs, and innumerous flocks of a white aphis, all of which -were being tenderly cared for by a large army of thoughtful -nurses.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig17"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo109.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">NEST OF LASIUS.<br /> -Neuters About Their Work.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>No sooner did the intrusion occur than the colony was a -scene of busy activity. Interested in what was before him, -the writer seated himself upon a small mound overlooking -the nest, where could be clearly observed the minutest details -of ant-life. The neuters were everywhere to be noticed, -but not a single male or female ant. All the work devolved -upon the neuters. These were divided into three sets, each -set having a definite part to perform in the unexpected drama -before it. Some neuters had the exclusive charge of the -mature larvæ, others of the pupæ and very young grubs, -and the rest of their aphidian herds.</p> - -<p>But it is to those that had the care of the aphides that we -shall particularly invite attention. At the time of the disturbance, -these specialized neuters were busy milking their cows, -which they did by rubbing their long, pliant feelers against<span class="pagenum" id="Page110">[110]</span> -the anal nipples of the latter, drawing therefrom, as it -seemed, a drop of the coveted fluid with each antennal stroke. -No aphis was known to be visited in this business twice in -succession, but the ants would go from one to another, and -only return to the first when sufficient time had elapsed for -the replenishing of its store. So intent were they upon their -task, that several minutes must have passed before they took -in the danger to which they were exposed.</p> - -<p>You should then have seen their anxiety, and the presence -of mind they exhibited. Conscious as of attack, and knowing -the peril that beset them, they did not flee to their underground -galleries, or to the adjoining grasses, for shelter, and -thus leave their flocks to the mercy of the invader, but they -manifested the deepest concern for the little creatures, so -unable to defend themselves, that had so willingly catered -to their temporal wants. Not an ant was seen to desert its -post, but all remained on duty till the last of their protegés -was carried to safe and comfortable apartments in the ground -beneath.</p> - -<p>What clearer evidence is wanted to show the love these -neuters bear the tender objects of their care? It must be -plain that man bestows not half the attention upon his flocks -than do these ants on theirs. It is true they do not bring -them food, but that they build their homes where food, the -roots of herbs and grasses, abound, there is no doubt. It -may be, too, that they are carried to their pasture-grounds, -when that necessity occurs, but this cannot with truth be -said. When some would stray, they were returned within -the fold, which shows the watch these ants do exercise.</p> - -<p>Concluding then, this much may be averred: food, wholesome, -sweet, nutritious food, the aphides supply to ants, the -neuters and the young, but specially the young. And that -they lead most happy, prosperous lives, the ants their masters, -must surely be, or looks deceive.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page111">[111]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">LIVING ARTILLERY.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p class="chapstart"><span class="largecap">N</span><span class="afterlargecap">o</span> -more remarkable creature exists, perhaps, than the -little <i>Brachinus fumans</i>, which is so very common in -the early spring. Damp situations are affected by it, but it -is seldom met with except by insect-hunters, for it conceals -itself generally under stones, as many as a half-dozen individuals -often being found in company in a single locality. -Banks of tidal rivers afford excellent hunting-grounds in -England for Brachinus, but in America low, dank woods and -borders of streams are the places where one must look to -discover its presence.</p> - -<p>When once you have made the acquaintance of so remarkable -a stranger you can never afterwards fail to recognize him -in your travels. He is peculiar, but not at all distinguished -in looks, as some of his brethren. Picture a yellowish-red -beetle, with a bluish frock-coat, which his wing-covers resemble, -and possessed of a short, narrow head, a heart-shaped -prothorax, as the front of the chest-segments is called, and a -long, broad abdomen, three times the size of the rest of his -body, and you have a tolerably fair idea of Brachinus.</p> - -<p>But it is not so much his odd shape as a most extraordinary -property he possesses, which is singularly unique in the -animal kingdom, that makes him an object of interest and -curiosity. Deep down in his most marvellous body a fluid, -highly volatile in its nature, is elaborated, which the little -creature can retain or expel at his pleasure. It is only, however, -when alarmed that he utilizes this fluid in small quantities -in defense, but its effect is wonderful, for in coming into -contact with the atmosphere it immediately volatilizes and<span class="pagenum" id="Page112">[112]</span> -explodes, looking very much like a discharge of powder from -a miniature artillery. In consequence of this phenomenon the -insect which produces it is popularly called the Bombardier -Beetle.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig18"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo112.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">BRACHINUS PURSUED BY AN ENEMY.<br /> -His Curious and Unique Method of Defence.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>So small a coleopter, being scarcely one-fourth of an inch -in length, and so comparatively weak, is likely to be attacked -by the larger Geodephaga, or Earth Devourers, and especially -by the Carabi, which inhabit similar retreats. But for -this curious defence the smaller insect could have but the -barest chance of living in the struggle for existence. Often -have I seen a Carabus in hot pursuit of Brachinus. The -chase is always an interesting one, and never fails, however -frequently it has been observed, of attracting attention and -exciting admiration. But the wide-awake, ever watchful -Brachinus never loses his head for a second when thus pursued, -but like the clever artilleryman that he is, awaits the -opportune moment, and then pours a heavy discharge of his -fulminating fluid into the very face of the enemy. Baffled,<span class="pagenum" id="Page113">[113]</span> -alarmed, Carabus desists from the attack, and backs slowly -away from the tiny blue smoke, while Brachinus, in the confusion -that ensues, escapes to some place of security for rest -and protection.</p> - -<p>Most skilfully has the artist delineated the <a href="#Fig18">scene</a>. <i>Carabus -serratus</i>, the pursuing beetle, is chasing the Bombardier, -and has nearly effected his capture, when, all of a sudden, a -discharge of artillery has stopped the pursuit, under cover -of which the Bombardier will make off. Meanwhile the -Carabus, exchanging his rapid advance for a retreat quite as -rapid, throws back his antennæ, a sign of his defeat, and -skulks away to recover his wonted self-possession.</p> - -<p>The volatile fluid, which produces such curious effects, is -secreted in a small sac just within the end of the abdomen. -Not only is it capable of repelling the larger beetles by its -explosion and cloud of blue vapor, but it is also powerful -enough to discolor the human skin, as many who have captured -Bombardier Beetles by the hand know only too well. -Should the fluid get within the eyelids, the pain and irritation -produced are very distressing. Some years ago the writer, -while searching for carabi underneath stones and in creviced -rocks, met for the first time with Brachinus, but was ignorant -as a child of his obnoxious property. Placing a little fellow -upon his hand for close examination, he soon experienced a -burning and painful sensation of the ball of the eye, but did -not for a long while attribute the cause to a discharge from -the Beetle. Repeated investigations at very short ranges by -means of a microscope were attended with similar results, -till eventually an inflammation of the visual organs set in, -accompanied by a blurring of the sight, which debarred him -from reading and study for nearly a fortnight. One learns -wisdom by experience, and the wisdom thus acquired serves -for a lifetime.</p> - -<p>Even Brachinus has learned by experience, doubtless, to -be economical in the use of his resources. The whole of -the contents of his tiny magazine are not ejected at one<span class="pagenum" id="Page114">[114]</span> -discharge, but there is sufficient to produce a series of -explosions, each explosion being perceptibly fainter than its -predecessor. By pressing the abdomen of the dead Beetle -between finger and thumb these explosions may even be -produced. In hot countries, where exceedingly large species -abound, the explosions are said to be very loud, and accompanied -with quite a cloud of blue vapor.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page115">[115]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">BRIGHT AND SHINING ONES.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p class="chapstart"><span class="largecap">P</span><span class="afterlargecap">robably</span> -more than ninety thousand different species -of beetles exist in the world, first and foremost among -them standing the Cicindelidæ, or Tiger Beetles. From -their high position in the coleopterous world they may well -demand our attention, but they have other claims upon our -consideration. They are beautiful, courageous little creatures, -and accomplish a vast amount of good to man. The -name Cicindela, by which they are known to scientific people, -tells us that they are the “bright and shining ones;” while -the cognomen of Tiger Beetle reveals to all English-speaking -nations the story of the incessant warfare which they -wage upon their fellows.</p> - -<p>The Cicindelæ love the merry sunshine. On any bright -summer day they may be found running and flying about -sunny banks, or revelling in sandy places where the day-god -smilingly rejoices. They mostly avoid vegetation, as it -checks their easy rapid movements, although some kinds -affect grassy spots among the trees. They are the most -predaceous of the coleoptera, and behave like the tigers -among mammals, the hawks among birds, the crocodiles -among reptiles and the sharks among fishes. In the tropics -some few genera seek their food on the leaves of trees, but -in temperate and sub-tropical regions, where the species are -more abundant, they are terrestrial in habits.</p> - -<p>Let us now take our instruments of capture and go in -quest of some of the dozen or more species that have their -home with us. The day is auspicious. Here is a likely -spot. See there upon the ground are some specimens of our<span class="pagenum" id="Page116">[116]</span> -commonest species—the <i>Cicindela vulgaris</i> of naturalists. -Go for that one. He sees you as quickly as you see him, -and is off for a few yards, but suddenly drops to the grass -from his flight, but always with his head towards the enemy. -Again and again you start him, but at last, tiring of the chase, -he takes a longer flight that usual. This is a <i>ruse</i> of his, -and knowing what it means, you hurry back to where you -first saw him in time to see him all unsuspectingly alight, -and you easily take him captive in your toils. Now that you -have him secure, examine him closely. Watch how savagely -he moves his mandibles and tries to pinch. You need not -be afraid, for his bite is inoffensive and not very painful. You -measure with the eye his size, and you rightly decide that he -is not much over an inch in length, and scarcely one-fourth -in breadth. His head you will find very large and brainy, -his jaws powerful and long and curved, two scimitar-like -weapons, which are admirably fitted for cutting and carving -the quivering bodies of his prey. His eleven-jointed antennæ -are long, slender and graceful. In color his back is dull -purple, but beneath he is resplendent in a bright brassy green. -Three whitish, irregular bands adorn his wing-covers. His -legs, long and slender, are just the things on which to hunt -the active insects upon which he feeds.</p> - -<p>His next of kin, the Purple Tiger Beetle, is nearly as large -as he, and often joins him in company. Beautifully robed in -purple he usually is, but sometimes in a greenish garb -arrayed. From the outer almost to the inner margin of -each wing meanders a reddish line, while lower down a dot, -and still another at the farthest tip of the inner border, -enhance his beauty. Cold spring days delight him best, and -he is often seen when snow is yet upon the ground.</p> - -<p>More beautiful by far than either, and no less active, is -<i>Cicindela sex guttata</i>, or the Six-spotted Tiger Beetle, whose -dress, a brilliant metallic green, flecked with six small silver -spots, renders him a pretty sight when you flash the rays of -light athwart his burnished armor. Hot, June-like days and<span class="pagenum" id="Page117">[117]</span> -dusty road-sides suit him best, and there, what time the sun -looks down in all his burning ardor, our little friend is met, -his purpose bent on slaughter. Other species might be -instanced, for North America contains at least a hundred, -but enough have been given for our present object.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig19"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo117.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">COMMON TIGER BEETLE.<br /> -Larvæ in Burrows. Two Other Species in Background.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>Tiger Beetles may well be called beneficial insects. -Although they do not, like that brilliant murderess, the -dragon-fly, clear the atmosphere of the gnats and flies that -torment mankind, but still, with their powerful curved daggers, -which serve them for jaws, they accomplish a swift and -almost incredible havoc among the smaller insects. We should -take care of them, and respect them, for they are an invaluable -auxiliary to the farmer.</p> - -<p>The ferocity of these insects is remarkable. No sooner -have they taken their prey, than they quickly strip it of -wings and legs, and proceed at once to suck out the contents -of its abdomen. Often when they are disturbed in<span class="pagenum" id="Page118">[118]</span> -this agreeable occupation, not wishing to leave their victim, -they fly away with it to a place of uninterrupted security, -but they are unable to carry a heavy burden to any great -distance.</p> - -<p>They are true children of the earth. The eggs are laid -in the earth, and in the earth the grubs are hatched, and in -the earth they spend their days, and in the earth they -prepare their shrouds, and, wrapped therein, sleep their -pupa-sleep through the long, dreary winter, and with the -returning warmth of spring crawl out of their earthy chambers -to run and sport on earth, seldom using their new-formed -wings to fly away from their beloved mother.</p> - -<p>The grubs are hideous hunchbacks, but possessed of -brains and stomach. They live in the same localities as -their parents, the anxious mother, with wise precision, -having carefully deposited her eggs where food would be -readily attainable by her children. Have you a desire to -examine a larva? There is a hole that has been made by -one of these creatures. Place down into it a small straw or -a bit of fine twig. The cranky little hermit, who is always -wide-awake, resists most fiercely such unprovoked insolence, -and instantly seeks, by the aid of his broad, expansive head, -to eject the intruding object. Now is your time. When he -shows himself, quickly seize him with your fingers. You -will find him a perfect Daniel Quilp, with head enormous, -flat, metallic in color and armed with long, curved jaws. -His legs are six in number, and on the back, half-way -between the legs and tail, are two curious, odd-looking -tubercles, each terminating in a pair of recurved hooks. The -head and first body-division are horny, the rest of the creature -being soft and very sensitive.</p> - -<p>While the larval Cicindela has all the desire for slaughter -which his parents manifest, yet his delicate skin, long body -and stubby legs not only prevent him from chasing prey, -but also from attempting a struggle with an insect of any -size; nevertheless this imperfectly armed creature manages<span class="pagenum" id="Page119">[119]</span> -to secure his food without exposing himself to any serious -risk. With his short, thick spiny legs he loosens the earth, -and with his flat head, which he uses as a shovel, and turning -himself into a z-shaped figure, hoists up the clay and upsets -it around the mouth of his intended dwelling. With head -and legs, and with a perseverance that is truly surprising, he -sinks in a very short time a shaft a foot in length and as -large in diameter as an ordinary lead-pencil.</p> - -<p>Especial pains are taken to see that the tunnel is sufficiently -wide, so that the little creature can crawl in with ease. -If he wishes to remain set fast, he sticks the back of his -body against the sides and rests safely with the aid of his -hooks. In this position he can poke his head out of the -ground, thus closing the entrance of his burrow, while in -patient waiting for some unsuspicious wayfarer to pass over. -As soon, however, as the luckless insect touches the top of -his head, he relinquishes his hold within the tunnel and -descends with great precipitation to the bottom, and thus his -victim falls into the hole, where it is seized by the powerful -jaws and its juices absorbed in a quiet, leisurely manner. -The loose earth around the opening of the tunnel gives way -on the approach of an insect, and thus the success of the -cunning Cicindela is doubly insured.</p> - -<p>Sometimes in the construction of a burrow, after a certain -depth has been reached, the young Cicindela meets with a -difficulty which he had not expected. A flat stone is encountered, -and thus further progress in a vertical direction is -prevented. If the obstacle, on account of its size, cannot be -gone round, and the shaft is not deep enough for his purpose, -it is not unusual for him to desert it and attempt the tunnelling -of a home in some more desirable spot. He does not -undertake a very long journey, for he knows too well the -risk which he runs by so doing, as he is in danger of being -assaulted by secret foes in the rear, an attack which the -peculiar conformation of his hinder body ill fits him to resist. -On land he is timid and cowardly, and well might he be, but<span class="pagenum" id="Page120">[120]</span> -within the protecting walls of his underground castle, with -a pair of powerful swords with which to defend himself, he -is the impersonation of fearlessness and courage.</p> - -<p>When fully grown the larva closes up the mouth of its -abode, and in quiet and solitude undergoes its metamorphosis, -lying dormant during the winter months. But when the -breath of warm spring days has melted the icy coldness of -the earth, and filled the air with vivifying influences, then -comes it forth in all the pomp and splendor of its nature—a -winged existence.</p> - -<p>It has been seen what a beautiful adaptation of means to -an end is shown by the young Cicindela. Even the adult, or -mature form, with its long, slender legs, so admirably formed -for silence and fleetness of movement, which are alike necessary -to pursuit of prey and escape from enemies, displays the -wisdom of Him who breathed into all animated nature, no -matter how small or how humble, the essence of His being, -and endowed one and all with qualities of mind and body -which should respond to environing conditions and thus prepare -them to survive in the struggle for existence.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page121">[121]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">QUEEN OF AMERICAN SILK-SPINNERS.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p class="chapstart"><span class="largecap">N</span><span class="afterlargecap">o</span> -insect affords a better proof of high art in nature, -and of the transcendent beauty of the Creator’s -thoughts, than the Luna moth, which is as preëminent above -her fellows as her namesake, the fair empress of the sky, -above the lesser lights that dominate the night. Her elegant -robes of green, set off with trimmings of purple, and jewelled -with diamonds, added to her queenly grace and personal -charms, will always distinguish her from the <i>profanum vulgus</i> -of the articulata.</p> - -<p>And now for a short biographical sketch of this remarkable -beauty from the cradle to the grave, and beyond, after -she has assumed her resurrection-attire, to the day when, -her appointed work on earth being ended, she quietly lays -her body down to mingle with its native clay.</p> - -<p>In her childhood, or caterpillar state, her head is elliptical -in shape, of a light pearly color, the rest of the body being -a clear bluish-green. A faint yellow band stretches along -each side, just below the line of her breathing-organs, from -the first to the tenth segment, while the back, between the -several body-rings, is crossed by narrow transverse bars, -similar in coloration. Each segment, after the fashion of her -kith and kin, is adorned with small pearly warts, tinged with -purple, some five or six in number, each tipped with a few -simple hairs. Three brown spots, bordered above with -yellow, ornament the end of the tail. An interesting variety, -whose general color is a dull reddish-brown, is sometimes -met with, but the lateral and transverse stripes of yellow -have disappeared, and the pearl-colored warts with edges of<span class="pagenum" id="Page122">[122]</span> -purple have assumed a richer hue and blaze like a coronet -of rubies. When at rest, with the rings all bunched and -body shortened, the infantile Luna is as thick as a man’s -thumb, measuring but two inches in linear direction; but -when she sets out upon her travels, feeling the dignity of her -station in life, she stretches to her full length of three -inches.</p> - -<p>When have been completed her allotted days of feeding -upon the leaves of the hickory, oak, walnut or sweet gum, -and she is seriously contemplating the preparing of a shroud -and casket in which to await her resurrection-morn, she casts -about for leaves, which, when they are found, she securely -draws together, and within the hollow space there is soon -spun a very close and strong oval cocoon of silk, one and -three-fourths inches in length, of chestnut-brown color, thin, -and covered with warts and excrescences, but seldom showing -the imprints of leaves. Cocoons of Luna so nearly resemble -those of polyphemus, that many an experienced collector -is greatly chagrined, after getting together a large supply -of what he deems Luna cocoons, to find dusky, one-eyed -polyphemi to issue from the silken tombs rather than a -goodly throng, in delicate bridal attire, of proud empresses -of the night. Polyphemus cocoons are, however, somewhat -smaller than Lunas, white or dirty-white in color, rounded -at each end, and sometimes angular, because of the leaves -being unevenly moulded into their surfaces, and generally -covered with a whitish meal-like powder.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig20"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo123.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">AMERICAN LUNA MOTH.<br /> -Larva on Branch Below, and Cocoon on Twig Just Above.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>In June the Lunas awake from their death-like slumber, -burst asunder their silken cerements, having at first made -loose the compact threads by a fluid-ejection, and come out -into the world in all the freshness and glory of a new and -untried existence. Their wings, which expand from four and -three-fourths to five and one-half inches, are of a delicate -light-green color, the hinder ones being prolonged into a tail -of an inch and a half or more in length. Along the anterior -margin of the fore-wings is a broad purple-brown stripe,<span class="pagenum" id="Page123">[123]</span> -extending also across the back, and sending downwards a -little branch to a glittering eye-like spot near the middle of -the wing. These eyes, of which there is one on each wing, -are transparent in the centre, and encircled by white, yellow, -blue and black rings. The hinder borders are more or less -edged with purple-brown. All the nervures are very distinct, -and pale-brown in color. Near the body the wings are -thickly invested with long white hairs. The under sides, -excepting that an indistinct line runs along the margin of -both wings, are like to the upper. As for the body, the<span class="pagenum" id="Page124">[124]</span> -thorax is white, occasionally yellowish or greenish, and -coursed by the purple-brown stripe that traverses the entire -length of the upper edge of the wings; and the abdomen, -similarly colored, and clothed with white, wool-like hairs. -The head is small and white, and furnished with broad, flat -and strongly pectinated antennæ, which are very much wider -in the male. The legs are purple-brown, and poorly adapted -for walking, but this defect is largely compensated for in the -wide stretch of wings, that fit their possessor for powerful -and long-sustained flight.</p> - -<p>Such is Luna in her various transformations. Notwithstanding -her great size and almost matchless loveliness, her -habits are not proportionally noteworthy. The gift of -superior beauty, in the insect as in the mammalian world, -does not often carry with it a high order of intelligence. It -is true the young Luna knows pretty well the secret of dissembling. -How quickly she perceives the approach of an -enemy! And she knows how to deal with him, but her little -trick of simulating death, or an immobile twig, does not -always succeed with the wily spider, or artful ichneumon. -That she is a tolerably good connoisseur of the character of -foods, there can be no question. You cannot deceive her. -Take from her the foods her ancestors have used for centuries -untold, and substitute others she knows nothing about, -and she is at once cognizant of the change. However -hungry she may be, and in her early growing years she is -ever a voracious feeder, she will starve rather than eat what -the unwritten law of her race has strictly interdicted. I have -known cases where death has ensued, or the caterpillar has -pupated earlier than usual, when alien food has been given -it to eat. But in the beginning of life, just after the first -skin-moulting has been effected, ere the little creature has -attained its seventh day of age, no trouble is experienced in -changing the food, almost anything edible in the plant-line -being eaten, though some things with a more decided relish -than others. In the matter of cocoon-weaving, where the<span class="pagenum" id="Page125">[125]</span> -necessary leaves for a basis cannot be obtained, as occurs in -captivity, the inconvenience is overcome, but not without -difficulty. Leaves, you must know, are in Luna’s way of -thinking, as essential to cocoon-building as wooden or iron -beams and girders to man’s own constructing. Without a -framework of some sort, what a sorry attempt would we -make at home-building, but Luna does succeed, after a good -deal of wise planning and no little worry, in producing a -house which is well worthy her effort.</p> - -<p>While the gaudy moth or butterfly, when contrasted in -wisdom and sense with the dingy-colored bee, may suffer in -comparison, yet she is by no means the dull, stupid creature -she is pictured to be. She lives, it is a fact, as has often been -said, for the increase of her race, but the interest she shows -for the young she may never see, in laying her eggs upon the -plant that is to serve them as food and home, puts her upon -a rather high plane of intelligent existence. Luna’s life, in -the perfect state, is usually quite brief. It is one of the -happiest of honeymoons. Love conquers and destroys all -other passions of her being, while her gormandizing offspring -are never troubled by the ardent flame which consumes -even the thought of sipping the nectar of the flowers that -rival in beauty the wings of the mother, who is the perfect -representation and embodiment of elegance and grace. -While the early insect lives and eats, the adult form, upon -whom Dame Nature has expended so much wealth of color -and such symmetry of shape, which make her a “thing of -beauty and a joy forever,” lives and dies, for in her seeming -haste and forgetfulness the great mother of us all has made -her without the essential means of tasting food, a delight -and an enjoyment which the lords of creation are so wont -to esteem the purpose and aim of all human existence.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page126">[126]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">BASKET-CARRIERS.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p class="chapstart"><span class="largecap">Y</span><span class="afterlargecap">ou</span> -who have been to the country, in the summer, and -who have kept your eyes alive to the surroundings, -have doubtless seen the Basket-worm feeding upon the -leaves of the quince, apple, peach, linden, and other deciduous -trees, as well as upon such evergreen as the arbor-vitæ, -Norway spruce, and red cedar. In Germany these worms -are popularly designated <i>Sack-träger</i>, or Sack-bearer, while -the mature insect is spoken of as the House-builder Moth. -Scientifically speaking, the latter is called <i>Thyridopteryx -ephemeræformis</i>, a name which is nearly twice the length of -the caterpillar it represents.</p> - -<p>During the winter the curious weather-beaten bags of -these worms may be observed hanging from the tree-branches, -apparently without a trace of the odd-looking creatures -that hung them there the autumn before. If a number -of these bags are gathered and cut open at this time, many -of them will be discovered to be empty, but the greater portion -will be found partly full of yellow eggs. Those which -do not contain eggs are male bags, and the empty chrysalis -of the male will be found protruding from the lower extremity. -Upon close examination these eggs will be observed -to be obovate in form, soft and opaque, about one-twentieth -of an inch in length, and surrounded by more or -less fawn-colored silky down. If left to themselves, they -hatch sometime in May, or early in June.</p> - -<p>The young which come from these eggs are of a brown -color, very active in their movements, and begin at once to -make for themselves coverings of silk, to which they fasten<span class="pagenum" id="Page127">[127]</span> -bits of the leaves of the tree on which they are feeding, -forming small cones that are closely adherent to the leaf-surfaces. -As the larvæ grow, they augment the size of -their enclosures or bags from the bottom, until they become -so large and heavy that they hang instead of remaining -upright, as they did at first.</p> - -<p>By the end of July the caterpillars become fully grown. -They are now exceedingly restless, and may be seen wandering -from branch to branch by means of their true legs which -are projected from the mouths of their baskets, to which -they keep firm hold, or suspended from a branch of a tree -by a long silken thread of their own manufacture. When -very abundant, as they were in certain localities during the -season just ended, they become a great nuisance, as one can -hardly walk beneath the trees without being inconvenienced -by a dozen or more dangling into his face.</p> - -<p>Removed from the case at this stage of existence and -closely examined, that portion of the body which has been -covered by the bag will be seen to be soft, and of a dull -brownish color, inclining to red at the sides, while the three -anterior segments, which are exposed when the insect is -feeding or travelling, will be found to be horny and mottled -with black and white. The pro-legs on the middle and hinder -segments, which are soft and fleshy, will show themselves -fringed with numerous hooks, by which the larva is enabled -to cling to the silken lining of its bag and drag it along -wherever it goes. The external surface of the bag is rough -and irregular, often presenting a beautiful ruffle-like appearance, -which is due to the projecting portions of the stems -and leaves which are woven into it. During their growing-period -these caterpillars are slow travellers, seldom leaving -the tree on which they were hatched. When about to change -into chrysalids, they fasten their bags securely to the twigs -on which they happen to be, and then undergo their change, -the male chrysalis being very much smaller than the female, -hardly one-third its size.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page128">[128]</span></p> - -<p>When we examine the cases of the Basket-worm, hardly -any two will be seen to be alike in their ornamentation. So -completely is the outside covered, when made upon the -arbor-vitæ, which seems to be a favorite food-plant of the -species, that the silken envelope is concealed from view. -The bits of twigs and leaves are probably protective, and yet -one would think that the extremely tough case which covers -the caterpillar would be quite sufficient to protect it against all -assaults of foes and stress of weather. Nevertheless, this -leafy coat of mail, which sometimes wholly covers the sac, -must certainly add very much to the protective value of the -covering. The caterpillar has a soft, hairless body, and is -thus more exposed than many of its neighbors, and nature, -it would seem, has favored it far above all of its fellows.</p> - -<p>How the worm manages to trim its coat in this manner -must seem, to the uninitiated in such matters, wholly inexplicable. -To enable the reader to understand the manner of -operation, it will be necessary first to explain its mode of -feeding. The larva has perfect control of its own movements, -notwithstanding the fact that it carries its house upon -its back. It can thus thrust its body out of the sac-mouth -until nearly the whole of it is exposed, and twist and bend -itself in every direction. Specimens have been met with -that had dropped from the trees hanging by a thread and -squirming, bending and snapping their bodies in the most -grotesque ways, while the case spun around like an old-fashioned -distaff. Now, when the caterpillar wants to feed -it stretches its head and neck out of the case and moves -them about until a satisfactory place has been secured, which -it clasps with its true legs, three pairs of hard, conical organs -armed with sharp claws, and pulls up its body and commences -to spin. The spinning-organs are near the mouth, -and after several movements of the head, as though smearing -the liquid viscid silk upon the leaf, the head is drawn back, -drawing out with it a short thread. A similar movement is -then made against one side of the mouth of the sac, the<span class="pagenum" id="Page129">[129]</span> -process being repeated several times until a stout stay-line -is spun by which the larva hangs securely. Now the -creature is ready to feed. The behavior, however, varies a -great deal. In feeding upon the white pine it secures itself -to one leaf by its stay-line, while it reaches to an adjoining -leaf which it bites off, and sitting erect, as it were, in its -house, comfortably chews off the end which is continually -shored upward by the first and second pairs of true legs -that stand out free and untrammelled above the sac.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig21"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo129.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">HOUSE-BUILDER MOTH.<br /> -Young in House, Winged Male, Young Suspended and Bag-like Female in Longitudinally-Split -Cocoon.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>But more frequently the worm feeds without separating -the leaf from the point of suspension. By making itself -fast to the under part of the leaf it is thus enabled to reach -the edge, which it gnaws round and round until it has completed -its destruction.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page130">[130]</span></p> - -<p>So securely does the caterpillar hold on to its house, that -one would suppose that its body was lashed to the inside. But -no, its body is unhampered, for it can turn itself easily around -in its case, and go out at either end, although the head is -generally directed upward. It clings to the inside with the -hooks upon its hinder feet, and so tenaciously, too, that the -writer has never been able to pull one out, being checked by -the fear of tearing the creature in two. And now to the -mode of attaching the leaf-cuttings to the case. This is -always done at or near the mouth of the sac. The Ephemeraform -larva is a growing creature, unlike the moth itself, which -emerges a perfect insect of full growth. It commences life as -a small worm, eats small quantities, and, as may be observed, -down towards the foot of the case sews on very small tags. -But after it has fastened on these pieces to the mouth, it -grows itself, and so also does the case, which it continually -stretches and enlarges. Hence the mouth of the case is -continually changing, moving upward as the worm feeds, so -that the pieces sewed upon the cap of the case thus appear, -in an adult caterpillar, precisely as they are seen scattered -along the outside from top to bottom. And now, as to how -the pieces are put into the case, I shall endeavor to explain. -That the worm cuts purposely through the twig which it -needs for the case, I feel certain. Of course the outer or -detached part drops down. But, while eating, the worm -frequently, quite constantly, indeed, spreads its viscid silk -along the leaf and so keeps it attached on both sides to the -upper rim of the sac, or to its own mouth-parts, and thus the -tip of the twig or leaf, instead of falling to the ground when -it is severed from the stem, simply drops alongside of the -case, to which it is held by the slight filament that attaches -it to the sac, or, as happens in many instances, remains -attached to the caterpillar’s spinneret. In either case the -leaf, twig or stem remains, and, after being drawn up, adjusted -and tightened by the worm, adheres tightly. As the creature -is forever moving its spinning-tubes around the top of<span class="pagenum" id="Page131">[131]</span> -the sac, these fastenings are being continually strengthened, -and thus one piece after another is added, and so the basket -grows.</p> - -<p>While the case of the Basket-worm, and even that part of -its body which it chooses to expose to view, are known to -the casual observer, yet but few persons have ever seen the -mature insect. The female moth is wingless, and never -leaves the bag, but makes her way to its lower orifice, and -there awaits the attendance of the male. She is not only -without wings, but is devoid of legs also, being, in short, -nothing more than a yellowish bag of eggs with a ring of -soft, pale-brown, silky hair near the tail. The male, on the -other hand, has transparent wings and a black body, and is -very active on the wing during the warmer portions of the -day. After pairing the female deposits her eggs, intermingled -with fawn-colored down, within the empty pupa-case, -and when this task is completed works her way out of -the case, drops exhausted to the ground and dies.</p> - -<p>Though a Southern rather than a Northern insect, yet it -is found as far north as New Jersey and New York, and -occasionally in Massachusetts. It is extremely local in -character, abounding in one particular neighborhood and -totally unknown a few miles away. Where they occur in -abundance they often almost entirely defoliate the trees they -attack, but this can be easily prevented by gathering the -cases containing the eggs for the next brood during the -winter and destroying them. Hand-picking the cases with -the worms in them, where their ravages are confined to -small trees and shrubbery, will also help to hold them in -check. Nature has provided two species of ichneumon for -their destruction. One of them, <i>Cryptus inquisitor</i>, is about -two-fifths of an inch in length, and the other, <i>Hemiteles -thyridopteryx</i>, is nearly one-third of an inch. Five or six -of this latter species will sometimes occupy the body of a -single caterpillar, and after destroying their victim spin for -themselves tough, white, silken cocoons within the bag.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page132">[132]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">HONEY-PRODUCING CATERPILLARS.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p class="chapstart"><span class="largecap">L</span><span class="afterlargecap">ate</span> -in June, growing abundantly in the edges of -woods throughout this region, may be seen the -<i>Cimicifuga racemosa</i> of botanists, popularly called Rattleweed, -or Black Snakeroot. It sends up a stalk, sometimes -branching, four or five feet, terminating in a spike or spikes, -six to ten inches long, of round, greenish-white buds, which -stand upon short stems, and are arranged in rows about the -stalk, diminishing in size till they reach the pointed top. -The lower buds, when they are about the size of an ordinary -pea, open first, and the flowering proceeds by degrees up the -spike, so that buds are to be met with throughout a period -of from four to six weeks. The flowers emit an intensely -sweet odor, which renders them attractive to butterflies -and bees.</p> - -<p>But should you examine these buds with care, you will -find a number of small caterpillars, the larva of the beautiful -Azure Butterfly, called <i>Lycæna pseudargiolus</i>, feeding thereon. -During its younger stages it is white, and so near the color -of these buds that it is well protected, and very difficult to -find. Later on, it may be white or greenish, and often -diversified with a few black or brown patches, irregularly -diffused over the surface.</p> - -<p>When mature the larva is one-half of an inch in length, -and, like all Lycænid larvæ, is onisciform, or shaped like the -little pill-bug, so common under stones and logs. The head -is very small, and is placed on the end of a long, green neck, -which at the junction is of the thickness of the head, but -gradually enlarges, and seems to be fixed at the hinder part<span class="pagenum" id="Page133">[133]</span> -of the second segment, the latter being hollowed out so -as to form for it a sheath. In the final larval stages this -segment is elevated, transversely compressed, and inclines -forward, thereby shielding the head as the larva moves -about. When quiescent the neck and head are wholly -retracted, and as the former, when fully extended, is very -much longer than the depth of the second segment, it must -possess considerable elasticity.</p> - -<p>The larva feeds on the heart of the bud, and to reach this -cuts away the surface on one side till an opening is made -sufficiently large to admit its head; and as it feeds the second -segment is firmly pressed against the bud so as to permit the -utmost elongation of the neck. Thus it is enabled to eat -out the contents of the bud, and only desists when there -remains but the empty shell. When so engaged the anterior -segments are curved up and the others rest upon the stalk -of the plant, but very small larvæ repose wholly in the bud. -Not a single instance has been observed where an open -flower has been attacked, but the destruction of buds is very -extensive.</p> - -<p>But now comes the most remarkable part of the larval history -of Pseudargiolus. The whole upper part of the larva is -covered with small, glassy, star-shaped processes, scarcely -raised above the surrounding surface, from the centre of -which spring short, filamentous bodies, bristling with feathery-looking -tentacles, which the caterpillar has the power of protruding -at will. It throws them out like the tentacles of -Papilio or the horns of snails. More singular still is an -opening upon the eleventh segment, placed transversely and -surrounded by a raised cushion, about which the granulations -that cover the body of the caterpillar are particularly -dense. From the middle of this opening, which is shaped -like a button-hole, issues, at the caterpillar’s will, a sort of -transparent, hemispherical vesicle, from which is emitted a -good-sized drop of fluid, which the animal is capable of -reproducing when absorbed.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page134">[134]</span></p> - -<div class="container w20em" id="Fig22"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo134.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">PSEUDARGIOLUS BUTTERFLY.<br /> -Larva Feeding on Bud of Black Snakeroot, and Guarded by Ants.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>Four species of ants may be seen attending, not the small -larvæ, but those that have attained the nearly mature condition. -They are invariably found on or near the larva. Their -actions, as they run over the body, caressing with antennæ, -evidently persuading the larva to emit a drop of the fluid, -are alike curious and interesting. Most of this caressing is -done about the anterior segments, and while the ants are -thus occupied, or rather, while they are absent from the last -segments, the tubes of the twelfth seem expanded to their -full extent, and so remain, without retracting or throbbing, -until the ants come hurrying along with great excitement -and set foot or antenna directly on or close by the tubes,<span class="pagenum" id="Page135">[135]</span> -when they are instantly withdrawn. The ants pay no heed -to the tubes. They seek for nothing from them, and expect -nothing. But they turn at once to the eleventh, caress the -back of that segment, and, putting their mouths to its opening, -exhibit an eager desire and expectancy. Suddenly a -dull green, fleshy, mammilloid organ protrudes, and from the -summit of which comes a tiny drop of clear green fluid, -which the ants, some two or three perhaps standing about -it, lap greedily up. As the drop disappears, this organ sinks -in at the apex, and is so withdrawn. The ants then run -about, some in quest of other larvæ upon the same stem, -some with no definite object, but presently return and pursue -the caressings as before. The intervals between the appearance -of the globule vary with the condition of the larva. -Where exhaustion by long-continued solicitings occurs, some -minutes elapse before renewal is effected, the tubes in the -meantime remaining concealed. Fresh larvæ, however, require -little or no urging, and globule follows globule, as many as -six emissions in seventy-five seconds, without even a retracting -of the organ. Often the presence of the ant, when the -larva is aware of it, evokes, all unsought, the sugary fluid.</p> - -<p>Ordinarily the tubes expand when the ants are absent from -the last segments, and are certainly withdrawn when they -come near. These tubes, from all appearances, serve as -signals to the ants. When the latter discover them expanded, -they know that a refection is ready, and rush to the opening -in the eleventh segment where it is to be found. The tubes -certainly serve no other purpose. No visible duct appears -in the dome of the tube when largely magnified, and the ants -seek nothing from it or the twelfth segment. They cannot be -used to intimidate, or to frighten away enemies, for in the -younger stages, when the larvæ have the most to dread, -neither the tube nor the organ in the eleventh segment is -available. The outward openings, and the orifice in the -eleventh segment, exist in the youngest larval stages, but are -functionless until the larva has nearly attained maturity.<span class="pagenum" id="Page136">[136]</span> -Ants seldom attempt to caress or solicit young larvæ, but -pass them by with indifference, seemingly knowing that they -cannot emit the secretion. When an ant approaches one of -these immature larvæ, the larva manifests considerable -annoyance, throwing up the hinder segments, as though the -ant was an enemy which it was desirous to get rid of. If the -tubes could now be thrust out, the ant would be attracted, -rather than repelled.</p> - -<p>But when the period arrives that the tubes are free, and -the secretion is ready to be ejected, which is perhaps just -after the third skin-moulting, and it cannot be earlier, the -larva grows now quiet and submissive, inviting the attentions -of the ants, and rewarding their antennal caresses.</p> - -<p>Four species of parasites affect these larvæ. Two are dipterous. -These, which are of the size of the common house-fly, -deposit their eggs, during the second larval stage, on the -back, and near the junction of the second and third segments. -In process of time the grubs hatch and eat their way into the -larva, to emerge when the latter has become fully grown, -thus destroying its life. Another of these enemies is a -minute hymenopterous insect, whose egg is placed in the -very young larva, probably in the first stage of its life. The -grub, in this case, eats its way out of the half-grown larva, -spins a silken cocoon, from which in a few days issues the -newly-matured parasite. The destruction of larvæ by these, -and very likely by other similar parasites, is doubtless immense. -But no parasite attacks, it does seem, the mature -larva, for, if it did, the grub of the former would live within -and destroy the chrysalis, and instead of a butterfly emerging -therefrom would come forth the parasite. Multitudes of -chrysalids of other species of butterflies are thus destroyed, -but Pseudargiolus, at this stage, appears to enjoy a singular -immunity from enemies.</p> - -<p>Why this species, and doubtless many others of its family, -are thus favored, will soon be apparent. Ants may be seen -wherever these larvæ may be found, ever ready to receive<span class="pagenum" id="Page137">[137]</span> -the honeyed secretion when it pleases the little creatures to -eject it, but all the while exercising the closest vigilance -lest some wary ichneumon may come along and deal a thrust -of its ovipositor, which means misery and ultimate death to -their helpless friends. So intent is the larva, with its -head buried in the flower, upon its feeding, and so quietly -and stealthily does the ichneumon approach its intended -victim, that hardly a single individual would be left to tell -the story of its existence were it not for the ants. The -larvæ know their protectors, it would seem from their actions, -and are able and willing to reward their services. The -advantage is mutual, and the association friendly. No compelling -by rough means on the one part is noticeable, and -no reluctant yielding on the other. All demonstrations -made by the ants are of the most gentle character. They -caress, entreat, and as they drink in the sweet fluid, lifting -their heads to prolong the swallowing, they manifest to the -utmost their satisfaction and delight. It is amusing to see -them lick away the last trace, caressing the back of the -segment with their antennæ as they do so, as though they -were coaxing for a little more.</p> - -<p>In Pseudargiolus the tubes are white, cylindrical, nearly -equal in size, rounded at summit, and studded with little -tuberculations from which arise the tentacles. These last -are tapering, armed with small spurs set in whorls, and stand -out straight, making a white hemispherical dome over the -cylinder, but none of them fall below the plane of the base -of the dome, nor do they ever hang limp or lie across the -dome, as is the case in a European species. When the tube -comes up the rays rise in a close pencil, and take position as -the dome expands; but, on the contrary, when the tube is -withdrawn, the top of the dome sinks first, the rays coming -together in pencil again.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig23"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo138.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">VIOLACEA BUTTERFLY.<br /> -Larva, Protected by Ants, Feeding on Flower-buds of Dogwood.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p><i>Lycæna pseudargiolus</i> is subject to great variation, and -occurs under many forms, most of which having been -regarded as distinct species. In the early spring Violacea<span class="pagenum" id="Page138">[138]</span> -appears, and is characterized by dimorphism in the female, -some of that sex being blue, others black. This form, which -may be called the winter form, deposits its eggs in the clusters -of flower-buds of the Dogwood, the young larvæ obtaining -their first food by boring into the buds, but later on -eating their way into the ovaries. The flies that come from -these larvæ late in May are Pseudargiolus, which, as stated -before, lays its eggs on <i>Cimicifuga racemosa</i>, most of the -resulting butterflies over-wintering to produce Violacea. A -small percentage of the May chrysalids give butterflies as -late as September, which are smaller than the parent-form, -and also differ therefrom in the more decided character of -the marginal crescent discal spots on the under side of the -wings. There does not seem to be any regular second summer -brood, that is, there are but two regular annual broods, -the Violacea of March and the Pseudargiolus of May, the<span class="pagenum" id="Page139">[139]</span> -individuals happening to emerge in July, August and September -being irregular visitants, for which the name of -Neglecta has been given. The females of the last form lay -their eggs upon <i>Actinomeris squarrosa</i>, and the chrysalids, -thence resulting, give Violacea the next spring.</p> - -<p>Larvæ feeding on Dogwood vary much in color from those -that feed on the Black Snakeroot, few being white in the last -stages, but nearly all dull-crimson or green, or a mingling of -the two. Nevertheless, a small percentage of the larvæ on -<i>Cimicifuga racemosa</i> are also green or crimson, though the -most of them white. Ants do not seem to visit the larvæ on -the Dogwood, and on being introduced to them in confinement -treat them with indifference. On rare occasions tubes -have been discovered in the eleventh segment, fully expanded, -and accompanied by a pulsating movement, but no teasing -or irritating availed to make them appear. Even severe -pressure applied to the sides of the segment failed to force -out any fluid. As with the fall food-plant, <i>Actinomeris -squarrosa</i>, the Dogwood is neither sweet nor juicy, and it is -possible that the larvæ feeding on these plants do not secrete -the fluid.</p> - -<p>Eggs of this polymorphic species are round, flat at base, -the top flattened and depressed, and have a diameter of one-fiftieth -of an inch. Their ground-color is a delicate green, -the entire surface being covered with a white lace-work, the -meshes of which being mostly lozenge-shaped, with a short -rounded process at each angle. In from four to eight days -the egg hatches into a larva, which is scarcely one-twenty-fifth -of an inch long, and whose upper side is rounded, the under -being flat. On each side of the dorsal line is a row of white -clubbed hairs, with similar ones at the base and in front of -the second joint, making a fringe around the body. The -head is very small, obovoid, retractile and black; the legs -retractile, and the color a greenish-white or brownish-yellow.</p> - -<p>The first moult occurs in from three to five days, the larva -having increased to twice its former length, while very little<span class="pagenum" id="Page140">[140]</span> -difference is manifest in the coloration. In from three to -five days the caterpillar has again changed its skin, doubled -its length, assumed more pronounced colors, which are -diversified in some with mottlings upon back and sides, and -developed along the back, from the third to the tenth joint, -a low, broad, continuous, tuberculous ridge, cleft to the -body at the junction of the segments, the anterior edge of -each joint being depressed, the sides incurved. The third -moult takes place in three or four days more, but there is -very little change from the former period. Three or four -days subsequent to this change occurs the fourth or final -moult, and in five or six days from this the larva is ready to -pass into the chrysalis state.</p> - -<p>In its mature form the larva is about one-half of an inch -in length. The body is onisciform, flattened at base, furnished -with retractile legs, and has the back elevated into a -rounded ridge, which slopes backwards from the sixth segment. -The sides are rather deeply hollowed, and in the -middle of each segment, from the third to the eleventh, is a -vertical, narrow depression. The last segments are flattened, -the last of all terminating roundly, its sides being narrowed -and slightly incurved, while the second segment is flattened, -arched and bent nearly flat over the head. Standing on the -body is a ridge, tubercular in nature, which in each segment -from the third to the eleventh is distinct and cleft to the -body. In color, specimens vary. Some examples are white, -others decidedly greenish, but many have the posterior slope -of the second segment black or dark brown, while a few have -most of the back a dark brown, irregularly mottling a light -ground, or with small brown patches diffused over the back, -but mostly on the anterior segments. The entire surface is -velvety. This appearance is caused by minute stellate glossy -processes, scarcely raised above the surface, mostly six-rayed, -and sending from the centre a concolored filamentous spine -a little longer than the rays. These stars are arranged in -nearly regular rows, and are light, except in the brown<span class="pagenum" id="Page141">[141]</span> -patches, where both star and spine are brown. This velvet-like -condition of the skin only reveals its true composition -under a magnifying glass.</p> - -<p>On the eleventh segment, near the posterior edge of the -back, is a transverse slit, in a sub-oval spot, from which proceeds -a membranous process; and on the twelfth, on each -side, is a mark like a stigma, but a little larger, from which -proceeds a membranous tube, ending in a crown of feathery -tentacles, these three special organs being exposed or concealed -at the will of the larva. The head is small, obovoid, -dark brown, and is placed at the end of a long, pale green, -conical neck, which is rectractile, both neck and head being -covered by the second segment.</p> - -<p>Before changing to a chrysalis, the summer larvæ sometimes -turn pink, and from pink to brown, or become brown -without the pink stage, although others remain white or -change to rusty brown. The body contracts to about three-tenths -of an inch and takes on a rounded form.</p> - -<p>The chrysalis is dark-brown or yellow-brown, but varying -in color, the wing-cases being dark or green-tinted. Two -sub-dorsal rows of blackish dots are found on the abdomen, -and sometimes a dark dorsal line. In the few instances in -which the butterfly emerges the same season the duration -of this stage is from thirty to sixty days, but most chrysalids -pass the winter and mature in the spring.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig24"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo142.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">NEGLECTA BUTTERFLY.<br /> -Larva Feeding on Central Florets of Actinomeris, and Guarded by Ants.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>Now for a description of the butterfly. In general -terms, the upper side of the wings of the male is a deep -azure-blue, with a delicate terminal black border. On the -apical part of the fore-wings the fringes are black, but white -and barred with black on the rest of these wings and on the -hind-wings. In the female the fore-wings have a broad, -blackish outer border, in some examples extending along the -costa, while the hind-wings have a blackish costa and a row -of dark spots along the outer margin. Usually the ground-color -is a lighter blue in the females than in the males. A -pale silvery gray, with a silky lustre, is the color of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page142">[142]</span> -under side of the wings, which is relieved by a row of spots -along the outer margin, each preceded by a crescent, a -curved row of elongate spots across the disk of the fore-wings, -and several spots on the basal part of the hind-wings, -all the markings being of a pale brown color. Violacea, the -so-called winter form, has the dark parts and crescents on -the under side of the wings quite prominent, but they do -not, either in the outer border or in the basal portion, -coalesce. Pseudargiolus, the largest of the series, there -being but three forms in Pennsylvania, expands one and -four-tenths inches. The upper surface of the male usually -has a terminal border to the hind-wings of the same shade -of blue as is visible on the fore-wings, the middle area of -the hind-wings being a little paler than this border on the -fore-wings. On the under side of the wings the spots are -much smaller than on the preceding form. Neglecta, which<span class="pagenum" id="Page143">[143]</span> -resembles Pseudargiolus, and has the spots on the under -surface small, is a smaller form, never expanding more than -one and one-tenth inches. It is a summer form when -there is more than one generation in a season, ranging -from Canada, through New England to West Virginia and -Georgia, and occurring also in Montana and Nevada. -Violacea has a more extended limit, being found in Alaska, -British America, Ontario, Quebec, New England to West -Virginia, and Colorado, while Pseudargiolus ranges from -Wisconsin south to Tennessee, and on the east from Pennsylvania -to Georgia.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page144">[144]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">HIBERNATING BUTTERFLIES.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p class="chapstart"><span class="largecap">E</span><span class="afterlargecap">arly</span> -in March, and often while the snow yet lingers -upon the landscape, may be seen flying in and out -among the forest-trees, or lazily meandering along some -deserted road through a thicket, the beautiful Antiopa. Her -rich crimson dress, so dark that it almost seems black, with -its buff-colored, sky-dotted border, serves to distinguish her -from her no less interesting, but smaller, sisters of the Vanessa -family of butterflies. But the Antiopas you then see are -generally ragged and shabby, which is not to be wondered -at, when it is considered that it is their last year’s dresses -they wear, for late in the preceding August they had their -being, and all through the autumn had been exposed to a -hundred misfortunes or more while seeking their living.</p> - -<p>But with the coming of frost and of cold comes the blighting -of flowers. A feeling of torpor in consequence steals over -their once bouyant spirits, and into some crevice in a barn -or a wood-pile or stone-heap they creep, and there sleep the -winter away, till the warmth of the sun from his southward-bound -journey returning sets the brown buds a-swelling, -when out of their hibernating retreats they leisurely crawl for -a flying stroll through the awakening trees. Slow and -deliberate their movements are, as though some grave and -momentous event were dependent thereon.</p> - -<p>Never have I watched such actions, so human-like have -they seemed, than the conviction has gone home to my mind -that they plainly evinced a thought and a purpose, which -had their origin, if not in a brain, at least in one of the several -ganglions which largely make up their wonderful and -somewhat complicated nervous machinery.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page145">[145]</span></p> - -<p>No matter how low in intelligence she may rank, Antiopa -has nevertheless, or all experience is at fault, some general -ideas of the time and fitness of things. From her gloomy -abode in the wood-pile she has emerged, while all the gay -butterfly world, barring a few familiar exceptions, is asleep, -for a tour of investigation. Her venture is seldom ill-timed, -for the violets have preceded her, and from their delicately -curved flagons proffer her food and refreshment.</p> - -<p>Cool and unhealthful as the mornings are at first, it is not -till the sun is nearly overhead that she leaves her retreat, for -what of plant-life exists is then, under the full force of his -beams, at its very best. Three or four hours a day, with few -intervals of rest, she is actively on wing, regaling herself with -exercise and food, thus storing little by little her body with -some of the strength and vivacity which were hers when the -famine of winter overtook her and forced her to retirement, -so as the better to prepare for that work, the propagation of -her kind, which is the principal, but not the only, aim of her -existence. After four in the afternoon her presence is scarce, -as she has sought her old, or some other, place of shelter and -security.</p> - -<p>But when the days have grown longer and warmer, and -the trees are arrayed in their livery of green, she is in the -fields bright and early, and often ere the dew has disappeared -from the grass and the flowers. The most restless -of beings she now is. Anon alighting upon a bush for a -momentary rest, then off for a dozen or more rods, when -the presence of some favorite blossom meets her quick sight -and invites her to pause, which she does, but only for a -second to quench her thirst. Where willows, or elms, or -poplars abound, she is more frequently seen later on in May, -but flying more slowly and sedately than ever before. The -flowers pass unheeded. She seems in a dream, in a reverie. -But all of a sudden she quickens her speed. You look -for the cause. There, in the distance, another is seen, just -like her in mien, some would-be suitor for her hand and<span class="pagenum" id="Page146">[146]</span> -affections. He enters his suit, he pleads his great love, and -awaits her sweet pleasure. The answer is brief, and soon -by their actions, as high up in the air they circle and circle, -caressing each other with strokes of the antennæ, the story -is told that his love has been requited. A brief honey-moon -of two or three days and the love-scene is over, and the two -settle down to the prosy realities of everyday life. The male -goes back to his old-time pursuit of rifling the flowers of their -honeyed treasures, whilst the female, upon whom devolves -the duty of providing for the offspring whom she is never -likely to see, looks scrutinizingly about for her favorite trees, -the poplar, the elm, or the willow. In her selection of a -tree a wonderfully keen discernment is shown, for she seldom, -if ever, mistakes her plant-species.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig25"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo146.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">MOURNING-CLOAK BUTTERFLY.<br /> -Larva Feeding on Willow Leaf, and Chrysalis Suspended from Twig.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>When a choice has been made, no time is expended in -fruitless endeavor. She proceeds at once to deposit her eggs.<span class="pagenum" id="Page147">[147]</span> -They are laid in a cluster round the twig, and near the -petiole of a young leaf, upon which the newly-hatched larvæ -are to feed. The eggs hatch inside of a week into small -black spiny caterpillars which, in their early stages, are very -social in their habits. Just before the final skin-moulting -they separate, each caterpillar living alone, the necessity for -food, which their very vigorous appetites now demand, being -the impelling motive. In a state of maturity the larvæ are -two inches in length. They are black, and minutely dotted -with white, which gives them a greyish look. A row of -brick-red spots are found down the back, and their body is -armed with many black, rather long and slightly branching -spines. The head is black, and roughened with small black -tubercles.</p> - -<p>Having completed their period of feeding, which they do -in about four weeks, the caterpillars attach themselves by -means of their tails to a fence-rail, a window-ledge, or some -such place, and pass into the chrysalis state, which is accomplished -in about four days. In this condition they present -an odd-looking appearance. The head will be found to be -deeply notched, or furnished with two ear-like prominences. -The sides are very angular. In the middle of the thorax -there is a thin projection, somewhat like a Roman nose in -profile, while on the back are two rows of very sharp tubercles -of a tawny color, which contrast very markedly in -coloration with the dark-brown of the rest of the chrysalis. -Fifteen days, when the weather is favorable, are sufficient for -the development of the imago, or butterfly. As maturity -approaches, the chrysalis-shell becomes quite soft, and the -efforts of the imago to free itself from this covering are facilitated -by the ejection of a blood-red fluid, which rots the case, -while it acts, at the same time, as a lubricant to the emerging -butterfly.</p> - -<p>When these caterpillars are very abundant, as was the -case in the vicinity of Germantown some twenty-five years -ago, every fence-rail was hung with chrysalids, as many as<span class="pagenum" id="Page148">[148]</span> -a dozen being found upon a single rail. The caterpillars -even climbed up the sides of the houses and suspended themselves -from the window-ledges and the edges of the overhanging -shingles. When the butterflies emerged, great -blotches of the fluid bespattered the fences and houses as -though the clouds had rained great drops of blood. The -willows and poplars were alive with the caterpillars, and even -the maples were overrun when there came a scarcity of the -leaves of the natural food-plants. Green caterpillar-hunters -were everywhere plentiful, and the writer could have taken -hundreds of specimens, but these highly-useful beetles made -a very sorry attempt in holding the enemy in check.</p> - -<p>Two broods of the caterpillars are raised, one in June and -the other in August, but the agencies by nature employed -for their destruction so effectually accomplish their mission -that hardly a season brings to my notice a dozen full-grown -larvæ. <i>Vanessa antiopa</i>, as this species is called by the -scientific student, or Mourning-Cloak by people and amateurs, -is generally found through the whole of North America. -In England, where it is popularly called the Camberwell -Beauty, because specimens were first taken near Camberwell, -it is the rarest of butterflies; while on the Continent, -as in this country, it is a very plentiful insect.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page149">[149]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">LEAF-CUTTER BEE.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p class="chapstart"><span class="largecap">F</span><span class="afterlargecap">ew</span> -hymenoptera of the family of bees are so little -known as the Megachilidæ, or Leaf-cutters. They are -stout, thick-bodied insects, with large, square heads, and -armed with sharp, scissors-like jaws, which admirably fit -them for the work they have to do in preparing materials for -the building of their homes.</p> - -<p>Our commonest species, <i>Megachile centuncularis</i>, is about -the size of the hive-bee. In gardens and nurseries where -shrubbery abounds, it is very prevalent, especially the female, -which is readily distinguished by a thick mass of stout, -dense hair on the under side of the tail, which serves as a -carrier of pollen. The honey- and bumble-bees differ materially -from them, for they have the hind tibiæ and basal -joints of the tarsi very much broadened for that purpose.</p> - -<p>Megachile is by no means a remarkable-looking insect. -Judging from its very humble exterior, one can hardly -believe it possessed of the wonderful intelligence, as shown -in its wise provisions for its young, which it is found to -display.</p> - -<p>Ordinarily the female, who is entrusted with the discharge -of this very essential business, places her nest in the solid -earth underneath some species of shrub. A vertical hole, -three inches in depth, is dug, and this is enlarged into a -horizontal gallery, some five or six inches in length.</p> - -<p>You should see the little creature in her never-tiring work -of preparing material for her nest. In and out among the -roses she goes, examining each leaf with the most critical -care, and only desisting from her labor when a suitable one<span class="pagenum" id="Page150">[150]</span> -has been chosen. She scans it over and over, and at last -from a position on its upper or nether surface proceeds to -cut a piece just fitted for her work, which, heavy as it seems, -is seized between the legs and jaws and carried on swiftly-agitated -wings to her burrow.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig26"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo150.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">LEAF-CUTTER BEE AT WORK.<br /> -Two Tunnels Being Filled With Leaf-Cells.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>Ten pieces or more, each differing in shape, are cut and -borne away, which the ingenious insect tailor twists and -folds, the one within the other, until is formed a funnel-like -cone, whose end is narrower than its mouth. So perfectly -joined are the parts, that even when dry they have been -found to retain their form and integrity. A cake of honey -and pollen, for the use of some yet unborn Leaf-cutter, is<span class="pagenum" id="Page151">[151]</span> -deposited within, and on this, in due time, is laid a single small -egg. Nought now remains but to wall up the cell. A -circle of leaf, of the size of the opening, is cut, and this is -closely adjusted within the wall of rolled-up leaves. Sometimes -as many as four pieces are thus utilized. A second -cell, similarly built, is fitted to the first, and this is succeeded -by eight or ten others. When all is completed, the eggs -being laid and the cells all victualled, the hole of the shaft is -closed with the earth that was thrown out, and so carefully, -too, that not a trace of her doings remains to tell us the -story.</p> - -<p>Like other insects, Megachile is occasionally prone to -change. Some laborers while digging, one early spring-day, -some thirteen years ago, about a cluster of plants of <i>Spiræa -corymbosa</i>, a species allied to the roses and cinquefoils, came -unexpectedly upon a dozen or more cells of this insect, -arranged horizontally in layers, some three or four inches -below the ground’s surface. These cells were three-fourths -of an inch in length, one-fourth in width, and formed of the -leaves of Spiræa. Six circles, of three pieces each, constituted -the cell, and these were so arranged that each succeeding -circle was made to project but slightly beyond its predecessor. -Six circular pieces, larger than seemed needful, -closed up the opening of each cell. That there was a purpose -here manifested was very apparent. This purpose, as -it appeared to the writer, was the better accommodation by -the hollow surface of the cell that was to follow, and the giving -of greater firmness and security to the entire structure.</p> - -<p>More curious, however, were some cells that were found -the ensuing year, which, in looks, resembled very closely -those of Pelopæus, a species of wasp, familiarly designated -the Mud-dauber. These cells, in numbers of three, were -adherent to the rafters of a hardly-used garret. In form, -and in the peculiar combination of their pellets of clay, they -were the exact counterpart of the Mud-dauber’s. But the -curious funnel-like arrangement of leaves on the inside, so<span class="pagenum" id="Page152">[152]</span> -strikingly characteristic of the Megachilidæ, was evidence of -the most positive kind that Pelopæus had nothing whatever -to do with their putting together. It bespoke a piece of -work that was entirely beyond the highest capability of her -being to execute.</p> - -<p>Each of the included leafy cells was one and one-eighth -inches in length, and just barely exceeding one-fourth in -width. Elliptical pieces of Spiræa, less in size than those -previously described, but arranged in a similar manner, composed -the several structures. Within each, a dead but perfectly-formed -Megachile, encased in a cylindrical bag of silk, -was found, so that there could be no possible doubt of the -builder. That this inner fabric was the labor of some -mother Megachile admits not of a scruple, for no other bee -is known to construct a nest of like character. But what of -the outer enveloping fabric of mud? It was clearly impossible -for the skill of a Megachile, who, while certainly fitted -for tunnelling the ground and for snipping circular and -elliptical pieces of suited dimensions from leaves with all a -tailor’s precision, would find herself wofully unadapted for -the making of mortar and the building of nests, in imitations -of tunnels, out of pellets of mud that had to be moulded -into consistency and shape by the jaws of the builder. Pelopæus -alone, of all hymenopters, possesses the ability and -means of making such structures. Megachile, who is known -to occasionally build under the boards of the roof of a piazza, -might sometimes in her quest of a place appropriate the discarded -cells of some pre-existent Pelopæus for nesting purposes, -but she runs a very great risk in so doing, for the -Mud-dauber does not always build a fresh home for her -treasures, save when there is a lack of the last year’s structures. -Old nests, when found, are put in speedy repair and -made to do as invaluable a service.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page153">[153]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">BATTLE BETWEEN ANTS.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p class="chapstart"><span class="largecap">W</span><span class="afterlargecap">hilst</span> -reclining one beautiful May afternoon in the -shade of an oak that stood on the outskirts of a -thicket, my attention was arrested by the activity and -bustle presented by a colony of yellow ants, which proved -to be the <i>Formica flava</i>, so common everywhere.</p> - -<p>Scattered indiscriminately about were numberless larvæ in -various stages of growth, and not a few immobile pupæ, -that had been brought up from subterranean domiciles -by thoughtful nurses, while here and there were a dozen or -more ants, but recently escaped from their mummy-cases, -basking in the sun’s warmth, preparatory to entering upon -the duties of the formicarium.</p> - -<p>The very picture of restlessness and anxiety were these -full-grown neuters. That something was transpiring, or was -about to transpire, seemed not unlikely, for ovæ, larvæ and -pupæ were being quickly carried to places of concealment -in the earth, or hustled away among the entangling and interlacing -grasses.</p> - -<p>Looking about for the cause of all this excitement, the -truth at once became painfully apparent. Three large, burly -ants, representatives of <i>Formica subterranea</i>, a black species -that is everywhere abundant in wooded regions, had intruded -their obnoxious presence into the happy colony, bent, as it -was evident, on pillage or slaughter.</p> - -<p>Were plunder the inspiring motive, these giant invaders -were not slow to learn that their weaker kin, though lacking -their strength, could more than match them in cunning and -stratagem.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page154">[154]</span></p> - -<p>Not daring to attack the foe, and being unwilling that any -of their number should be led into slavery, or suffer aught -at the hands of others, they immediately set to work to -destroy all whom it was impossible to protect.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig27"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo154.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">BATTLE BETWEEN ANTS.<br /> -Young Destroyed by Nurses.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>Detailed as most of the neuters seemed to be in looking -after the wants of the immature, there were a few observed -running hither and thither and seizing in their jaws the newly-developed, -not to bear them out of the reach of danger, -as was at first supposed, but to kill them so as to prevent -them from falling a living prey into the hands of the enemy.</p> - -<p>Knowing the sympathy and affection which the nurses are -ever wont to cherish towards the objects of their care, this -act of cruelty struck me as something very astonishing and -peculiar.</p> - -<p>Prompted by curiosity to know the nature of the wounds -thus inflicted, I placed upon the palm of my hand one of the -wounded ants, and made, by means of a microscope, a<span class="pagenum" id="Page155">[155]</span> -careful examination of its injuries. Above and below the -abdomen, between the second and third segments, two -deep wounds, which met each other in the interior, were -plainly to be seen.</p> - -<p>Several cases of the kind were afterwards noticed. These -were not accidental occurrences, made through efforts to -carry the young to places of shelter. Possibly, through -inexperience, accidents might happen once in a long time, -but to suppose that insects, accustomed to handling their -young as the neuters assuredly are, would be likely to make -such blunders, is too unreasonable to be entertained. Admitting -for argument’s sake that such things might occasionally -occur, would successive repetitions be expected? I -apprehend not. But on the supposition that a purpose was -thereby subserved, the object had in view warrants, it would -seem, the means employed for its accomplishment.</p> - -<p>What the purpose was it will now be my aim to show. -That many animals, tame as well as wild, are wont to destroy -disabled and wounded companions, is well established by -history. In many instances the destruction is justified to -preserve the herd or pack from the close pursuit of enemies. -“Instinct or reason,” as Darwin says, “may suggest the -expelling an injured companion, lest beasts of prey, including -man, should be tempted to follow the troop.”</p> - -<p>Audubon, in writing of the wild turkey, so abundant in -his day, observes substantially that the old males in their -marches often destroy the young by picking the head, but -do not venture to disturb the full-grown and vigorous. The -feeble and immature being an encumbrance, it is obvious that -the watchfulness and attention which they would require, -were sympathy and affection the emotions by which the -males are actuated, would necessarily retard progress, and -lead to the destruction of the entire flock. Instinct or reason -here operates for individual and family good.</p> - -<p>Granting that instinct or reason does sometimes act for -individual and family preservation in the manner described,<span class="pagenum" id="Page156">[156]</span> -I am not willing to admit that in every case that may arise -in which the weak and disabled are sacrificed, that it is done -for the material benefit of the physically able and robust. -How the destruction of the weak and nearly-developed ant -can result in good to the colony, in view of the fact that not -the slightest effort to escape the danger by flight is undertaken, -the sole object being the hiding of the young, it is -most difficult to conceive.</p> - -<p>There seems to be one of two theories, in the writer’s -judgment, that will, in anything like a satisfactory manner, -account for this strange, abnormal habit upon the part of an -insect that has been proverbially distinguished for its kind -and affectionate disposition towards the tender beings committed -to its trust; either to attribute it to an unwillingness -and dislike to see its offspring made the servants of a hostile -race or the subjects of ill-treatment and abuse, or to the -survival of a habit of the past when its ancestors were a -migratory, or nomadic, species.</p> - -<p>That a feeling of repugnance does sometimes take possession -of animal nature when the objects of parental care and -solicitude are, or are about to be, reduced to slavery or confinement, -and impels to actions of cruelty, will be patent -from what follows:—</p> - -<p class="blankbefore75 blankafter75">A friend, several summers ago, having procured a pair of -young robins, placed them in a cage, which he hung from -a tree-branch close to his dwelling, where the parent-birds -could have an opportunity to feed them. All went well for -a few days, when the parents, who had busied themselves in -the intervals of feeding in attempts to secure their release, -finding their efforts unavailing, flew away, but only to return -with something green in their bills, most probably poisonous -caterpillars, which they fed to their offspring. A few minutes -later and they lay in the bottom of the cage dead, but -the parents, as if conscious of what would result, flew away, -and never came back.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page157">[157]</span></p> - -<p>May it not be that the parents, finding all efforts to restore -their young to freedom ineffectual, sought this method of -saving them from a life to which death must assuredly be -preferable? Instances of like character might be adduced -by the hundred, but enough has been written to show that, -in the case of <i>Formica flava</i>, an unwillingness to allow the -humblest of the colony to be taken into bondage was the -motive which prompted the sacrifice.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page158">[158]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">NEST-BUILDING FISHES.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p class="chapstart"><span class="largecap">N</span><span class="afterlargecap">ot</span> -alone in color do fishes resemble birds. In the -home-life and love of offspring a close resemblance -obtains. Many are nest-builders, erecting structures quite -as complicated as those of some birds, and hardly less elaborate -in design and finish.</p> - -<p>Floating along some woodland stream, or strolling along -its grass-fringed margin, we have watched the domestic life -of the Sun-fish, the <i>Eupomotis vulgaris</i> of writers, that mottled, -bespangled beauty that seems always on hand to be -caught by the angler in default of more noble game.</p> - -<p>Where delicate grasses grow, and floating lily-pads cast -their shadows, there among the winding stems the Sun-fish -builds its home. Moving in pairs in and out among the -lilies near the shore, as if jointly selecting a site for a nursery, -they may be seen. The spot is generally a gravelly one, and, -once determined upon, no time is lost in pushing the work -to a speedy conclusion. For several inches around the -space is cleared of stems or roots, and these are carefully -carried away. The smaller roots are swept aside by well-directed -blows of their tails, or by mimic whirlpools which -the fishes, standing over the nest, create by their fins. The -stones are next taken up, the smaller ones in their mouths, -the larger being pushed out bodily, or fanned away by the -sweeping process, until an oval depression, with a sandy -bottom, finally appears. About the sides the stems of -aquatic verdure, which seem to have been purposely left, -may be seen standing, and these now naturally fall over, -oftentimes constituting the nest a perfect bower, with walls<span class="pagenum" id="Page159">[159]</span> -bedecked with buds, while the roof is a mat of white lilies -floating upon the surface. Here the eggs are deposited, the -male and female alternately watching them.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig28"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo159.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">NEST OF COMMON SUN-FISH.<br /> -Male and Female Defending It from Attack of Cat-fish.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>While the Sun-fish is always recognized as the most peaceful -of the finny tribe, and only chasing in wanton playfulness -its neighbors, it is otherwise when the passions are wrought -to a high pitch of excitement through the play of amatory -influences in the spring-time. Let a stranger, a bewhiskered -cat-fish, approach the bower, and war is at once declared. -The little creatures snap at the intruder with anger and defiance. -Their sharp dorsal fins stand erect, the pectorals vibrate -with repressed emotion, while the violent movements of -their powerful tails evince a readiness and determination to -stand by their home at all hazards. Indeed, so vigorous is -their charge, that even large fishes are forced to retreat, and,<span class="pagenum" id="Page160">[160]</span> -as the Sun-fishes build in companies, the intruder often finds -himself attacked by a whole colony of them.</p> - -<p>Nearly all the Sun-fishes are nest-builders, some forming -arbors, as we have seen, others scooping out nests on sandy -shoals, while one, the Spotted Sun-fish, is more democratic, -affecting muddy streams, where, on the approach of cold -weather, it makes a nest in the muddy bottom, and there it -lies dormant till the coming spring.</p> - -<p>Who has not made friends with the Dace—<i>Rhinichthys -atronasus</i>? He is a veritable finny jester. We have -watched him in his watery retreat, and, perhaps unseen, -have played the spy upon his domestic proceedings.</p> - -<p>Life is a gala time to these little fishes. They have seemingly -never a care or a bother. In jest they join in the -chase of some curious minnow that intrudes upon their -presence, suddenly changing their course to dash at some -resplendent dragon-fly that hovers over the leafy canopy of -their home, and as quickly darting off again to attack some -bit of floating leaf or imaginary insect.</p> - -<p>All is not play, however, even among the Dace. The -warm days of June usher in the sterner duties, the nesting-time. -Male and female join in the preparation, and a -locality, perhaps in shallow water in some running brook, is -selected. Roots, snags and leaves are carried away, both -fishes sometimes found tugging away at a single piece, -taking it down-stream, and working faithfully and vigorously -until, in a few hours, a clearing over two feet in -diameter is the result.</p> - -<p>There the first eggs are laid. The male, who has retired, -soon appears from up-stream, bearing in his mouth a pebble, -which is placed in the centre of the clearing. Now they -both swim away, but soon returning, each bearing a pebble, -that is also dropped upon the eggs. Slowly the work proceeds, -until a layer of clean pebbles apparently covers the -eggs. A second layer of eggs is now deposited by the -female, and these are covered by pebbles as the others had<span class="pagenum" id="Page161">[161]</span> -been, the industrious little workers scouring the neighborhood -for them, seemingly piling up eggs and stones alternately -until the heap attains a height of eight inches or -more. These heaps vary in shape, some being pyramidal, -and others dome-shaped.</p> - -<p>Such patience as these finny housekeepers manifest is not -appreciated by man. The gleaners of the golden fields, in -whose waters our little friends are found, have not discovered -their secret, and think the curious piles the washes of the -brook itself. But their purpose is the protection of their -eggs. In swift-running streams, which these fish are so wont -to affect, the eggs would be washed away, and, driven against -rocks and snags, would be destroyed, or, even escaping -destruction, would, by the undulating movement to which -they would become subjected, be rendered impossible of -incubation. Besides, were they not thus protected, even -though there was no danger of being washed away, they -would become easy prey to the attacks of carnivorous -fishes.</p> - -<p>Unlike as the Lamprey-eels are in structure to the Dace, -yet in their habits of erecting a nest they are very similar. -Upon our Eastern sea-board they are a common species, -inhabiting both salt and fresh water. In the early spring -they follow the shad up the rivers, occasionally preceding -them, and search about for suitable localities in which to -deposit their spawn. They clean away the stones as the -Dace were seen to do, bending their long bodies in coils, -which they use in pushing aside the accumulation on the -bottom. To the unlearned the appearance of two Eels, each -three feet in length, twisting and seemingly coiling about -each other, would be indicative of war. But having cleaned -for themselves a smooth spot, the Lampreys proceed to place -stones. Irregularly-shaped stones of small size are easily -and quickly transported in their mouths, but when stones -that weigh several pounds are to be brought, the tactics they -adopt are worthy of an engineer. As the spots chosen for<span class="pagenum" id="Page162">[162]</span> -the rearing of their submarine castles are ordinarily subjected -to a swift current, the largest stones, which it would -be thought impossible for them to move, are looked for up -stream. A suitable one found, and a favorable position presented, -the sucking mouth is fastened to it, and by a convulsive -effort, the tail of the fish being raised aloft, the heavy -stone is lifted from its place, the current pushing against the -fish and stone, bearing them along several feet before they -sink. Another effort of the fish, and the rock is again raised -and carried down stream, until finally, by repeated liftings -and struggles, the ingenious, persevering nest-builder is swept -down to the nest, where the load is deposited. This laborious -work is carried on until the pile has attained a height -of two or three feet, and a diameter of four. No special form -seems to be necessary. The nest is generally oval, compact -and well devised to contain the eggs, which are carefully -deposited within, thus affording protection in its numerous -interstices for the young when they hatch. When about six -inches long, the young <i>Petromyzon marinus</i>, which is a strange -little fellow, is devoid of teeth, and blind, and possesses so -many characteristics distinct from the parent, that for a long -time he was considered a separate species, and even assigned -a place in a different genus. Enormous nests are sometimes -built. John M. Batchelder, Esq., describes one, which he -saw in the Saco River, Maine, that was about fifteen feet -long, and from one to three feet in height, its position and -triangular shape in vertical section being well adapted for -securing a change of water, and a hiding-place for the young. -The operation of building was very methodical, a hundred -and more Eels being at work upon the structure. Water-worn -stones, chips of granites and fragments of bricks, sometimes -weighing as much as two pounds and transported by a -single individual, were utilized in the building.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig29"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo163.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">BLACK-NOSED DACE.<br /> -Constructing Their Nest of Pebbles.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>More remarkable, however, than any previously described, -are the nests of the Fresh-water Chub, <i>Semotilus bullaris</i>, -which is known in some localities as the Stone Toter.<span class="pagenum" id="Page163">[163]</span> -This fish attains a length of about fifteen inches. The finest -nests are on the shores of Westminster Island, but they are -common on nearly every island that has a sandy, gravelly -shore among the many that make up the Thousand Islands. -The nest is a pile of stones, sometimes measuring ten feet -across at the base, four feet in height, and containing a good-sized -cart-load of stones, weighing in all perhaps a ton. -Stones from small pebbles to some four inches in length -were used, and as some of the nests are placed at considerable -distances from the gravel-beds, and each stone represented -a journey, the amount of labor performed, when -it is considered that tens of thousands of stones must have -been used in the building, certainly was incredible. Each -stone is brought in the mouth of the Chub and dropped -over the piles, one or more fishes working at the same -heap. Some plan is evidently followed in the work, -the first deposit of stones being small, and dropped so as to<span class="pagenum" id="Page164">[164]</span> -form a circle or semi-circle. The largest heaps are undoubtedly -the work of successive years, the nests being annually -added to during the last of May or June, when the Chubs -are seen lying in the heaps, at which time the eggs are probably -deposited. All the labor of piling up is to protect them -from predatory fishes, a necessary and wise provision, as -cat-fish, rock-bass, perch and others prey upon the eggs.</p> - -<p>In gravelly beds the Trout excavates a simple nest, a mere -depression in the sand, that is not at all incomparable to the -nest of some species of gulls. A furrow in the gravelly -bottom of a river, often ten feet in length, the depression -being made as fast as it is required, is the nest of the Salmon. -In Canadian rivers these nests can be easily distinguished by -the lighter marking in the bottom.</p> - -<p>Few persons of the many who delight to drift along our -sea-shores are unfamiliar with the Toad-fish. So closely does -he in shape and color resemble a moss-covered stone that -his enemies are deceived. Intrenched among the weeds and -gravel, which the mother-fish carelessly throws aside, after -the fashion of some of the gulls, the young are reared, -their yolk-sacs enabling them to cling to the rocks of the -nest soon after birth. There, under the watchful eye of the -parent, they remain until old enough to swim away.</p> - -<p>But the most vigilant of all nest-builders is the Four-spined -Stickleback—<i>Apeltes quadracus</i>. In some neighboring -stream, that sooner or later finds its way to the ocean, he -may be found. There are different species of these fish, but -their architectural ideas are pretty much the same. They -vary mainly in the locations they select for nesting. Some -place the nests upon the bottom, concealed among the -sea-weed found there, while others hang theirs from some -projecting ledge, or swing it in the tide from the sunken -bough of some overhanging tree. As is unusual, the -work of nidification is solely performed by the male -Stickleback, the female taking no part in the labor. The -spawning season having arrived, he, assuming a bright<span class="pagenum" id="Page165">[165]</span> -nuptial lustre, shows remarkable activity in selecting a site -for an edifice, and transporting the building material thither. -Fragments of all kinds of plants, gathered often at a distance, -are brought home in his mouth. These are arranged as a -sort of a carpet, but as there is danger of the light materials -being carried away by the current, they are weighted down -by sand to keep them in their places. Having entwined them -with his mouth to his complete satisfaction, he then glides -gently over them on his belly, and glues them with the -mucus that exudes from his pores. More solid materials, -sometimes bits of wood, sometimes bits of straw, which he -seizes with his mouth, are adjusted to the sides of the floor -to constitute the walls. He is now very particular. If the -piece cannot be properly adjusted to his building, and he -does not lose patience in his efforts to fit it in, he carries it -to some distance from the nest and leaves it. After the side -walls are erected, a roof of the same materials with the floor -is laid over the chamber. Firmness is given to the whole -structure by passing over it with his body, the light and -useless particles being fanned away by the action of his fins -and the vibratory movements of his tail. In carrying on his -building operations care is taken to preserve a circular -opening into the chamber, his head and a great part of his -body being thrust therein, thus widening and consolidating -it, and rendering it a fit receptacle for the female. When -choosing material, the fish has been seen testing its specific -gravity by letting it sink once or twice in the water, and if -the descent was not rapid enough finally abandoning it.</p> - -<p>Of the exact method used by the fish in binding the nest -together we are indebted to Prof. Ryder. The male fish -spins from a pore or pores a compound thread, using his -body to insinuate himself through the interstices through -which he carries the thread. The thread is spun fitfully, -not continuously. He will go round and round the nest perhaps -a dozen times, when he will rest awhile and begin anew. -Its shape is somewhat conical before completion. The<span class="pagenum" id="Page166">[166]</span> -thread is wound round and round the nest in a horizontal -direction, and when freshly spun is found to consist of six -or eight very thin transparent fibres, which have alternated -tapering ends where they are broken off. Very soon after -the thread is spun, particles of dirt adhere to it, and render it -difficult to interpret its character. The nest measures one-half -of an inch in height, and three-eighths in diameter.</p> - -<p>The time occupied in collecting materials and constructing -the nest is about four hours, and when all is ready the male -starts out to seek a female, and, having found her, conducts -her with many polite attentions to the prepared home. The -eggs being deposited, the male establishes himself as a guardian -of the precious treasures, not even suffering the female to -approach it again. Every fish that comes near, no matter -how large, is furiously assailed. He gives battle valiantly, -striking at their eyes and seizing their fins in his mouth. -His sharp dorsal and ventral spines are very effective weapons -in his defence. Constant watchfulness upon the part of the -male is needed, for, if he go away for only a few moments, -the sticklebacks and other fish lurking in the vicinity rush -in and devour the eggs in an instant. A whole month he is -occupied in providing for the safety of his offspring. About -the tenth day he employs himself in tearing down the nest -and carrying the material to some little distance. The fry -may now be observed in motion. And these the male continually -nurses, suffering no encroachment, and if the young -brood show a tendency to stray beyond bounds, they are -driven back within their precincts, until they are strong -enough to provide for their own living, when both old and -young disappear together.</p> - -<p>But nothing in the lives of all these little nest-builders is -more interesting than the intelligence they display and the -facility with which they adapt themselves to circumstances. -They seem to be able to grasp almost instantly the conditions -of the environment, and to employ a wise discrimination in -suiting them to their wants. Hardly two nests are alike.<span class="pagenum" id="Page167">[167]</span> -Marked differences in details of structure, configuration and -surroundings are apparent, which prove that these creatures -are controlled by reason, rather than instinct, in the elaboration -of their homes. That they have some means of communicating -their desires to each other cannot be doubted. -When the male has laid hold of a stem, a pebble or a stick -that completely baffles all effort at removal, his mate seems -summoned to his assistance, and the united strength of the -pair accomplishes the object to be gained. There is ever -noticeable in whatever the sexes undertake some concert of -action which would put to shame the boasted intelligence of -man himself. The Sun-fishes, as has been said, nest in companies. -When the combined effort of two individuals is unable -to expel an invader, the entire community, as by a single -mighty impulse, rises up against the foe. There is evidence -of some form of society, even though simple in its organization, -where individual members league themselves together -for mutual protection and defence. Other examples might -be cited to give the reader a common-sense estimate of the -comparatively high order of intelligence that characterizes -the actions of many of our fishes.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page168">[168]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">SLIPPERY AS AN EEL.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p class="chapstart"><span class="largecap">E</span><span class="afterlargecap">els</span> -are found in almost all warm and temperate countries, -and grow to a very great size in tropical regions. -They are impatient of cold, and hence do not exist in the -extreme northern and southern parts of the world. In many -islands of the Pacific Ocean they are held in considerable -estimation, being preserved in ponds and fed by hand, but in -many civilized communities a strong prejudice prevails -against them, probably from their similarity to snakes, which -prevents even a hungry man from caring to eat such wholesome -and nutritious food.</p> - -<p>Not one of our river fishes is so mysterious as the Eel, and -although much is now known that was involved in obscurity, -yet there is still much to learn of its habits, especially the -manner of its reproduction. Difference of locality, it is -likely, may influence the Eel and cause a difference of habit, -an opinion which seems warranted from the various and perplexing -accounts that have been given of its customs by -numerous practical observers.</p> - -<p>During the hot, still and sunny days of June they are -chiefly seen on top of the water, wherever masses of aquatic -weeds may be found, either in the calm enjoyment of a sun-bath, -or for the purpose of feeding upon the myriads of gnats, -moths and flies that seek the plants for rest or food, and -which by unavoidably damping their wings become easy prey -to their ambushed enemies. At night, similar retreats are -affected for like purposes. Floating masses of detached -weeds that the eddying stream has wound and kept in one -place are sought in warm, stilly weather, but in blowing,<span class="pagenum" id="Page169">[169]</span> -cooler or rainy weather they forsake such places for the still, -deep ditches. If a flush of water comes, and a little, shallow -stream, running from or into the main river, becomes fuller -than usual, there they resort in vast numbers, evidently -pleased with the delicious change, only to remain as long as -its freshness continues.</p> - -<p>Like many other fishes, Eels are very tenacious of life, -and can live a long time when removed from the water, -owing to a simple and beautiful modification of structure, -which permits them to retain a sufficient amount of moisture -to keep the gills damp and in a condition to perform their -natural functions. They have been seen crawling over considerable -distances, somewhat snake-like in their movements, -evidently either in pursuit of water, their own dwelling-place -being nearly dried, or in search of some running stream in -whose waters they may reach the sea after the customary -manner of their race. Multitudes of Eels, both old and -young, some of the latter scarcely six inches in length, -have been seen crawling up the banks of a creek, apparently -without any purpose, and over the smooth surface of a projecting -rock, with all the ease of a fly moving over a ceiling. -So active were the little ones as to defy, unless the hand was -moved with extreme rapidity, their capture. Vast numbers -of these little Eels are in the habit of proceeding up the -rivers in the spring-time. In some places in England they are -called Elvers. They are caught in immense quantities, and -scalded and pressed into masses termed Eel- or Elver-cake. -When dressed these little Eels afford a luxurious repast. -Towards the latter part of summer these fishes migrate -towards the sea, being capable of living in fresh or salt -water with equal ease, the mouths of rivers constituting -favorite localities. Even in our seaport towns and marine -watering-places the common river Eel is caught by those who -are angling in the sea for fish.</p> - -<p>Various modes of capturing Eels are adopted by man. -Bobbing, or clodding as it is sometimes called, is a very<span class="pagenum" id="Page170">[170]</span> -common and successful method, consisting in bunching a -number of earthworms upon a worsted string, and lowering -it near the place where the fishes are supposed to be feeding. -So eagerly do the voracious fish seize the bait, and so fiercely -do they bite, that they are pulled out of the water before -they have time to collect their thoughts and disengage their -teeth from the string. Night-lines, which are laid in the -evening and taken up in the morning, are another plan. But -the most successful method is by spearing. The spear used -for the purpose is not unlike the conventional trident of -Neptune, except that the prongs are four in number, flattened, -slightly barbed on each edge, and spread rather widely from -their junction with the shaft. This is pushed at random into -the muddy banks where the Eels love to lie, and when one is -caught, its long snake-like body is wedged in between the -jagged prongs and lifted into the boat before it is able to -extricate itself. Almost any kind of food that it can master, -whether aquatic or terrestrial, is eaten to satisfy the creature’s -most voracious appetite. Even mice and rats fall -victims to its hunger, and an Eel is recorded to have been -found floating dead on the water, having been choked to -death by a rat which it had essayed to swallow, but which -proved too large a morsel for its throat.</p> - -<p>So remarkable is the tenacity of life which this fish possesses, -that after the creature has been cut up into lengths, -each separate piece will move as if alive, and at the touch of -a pin’s point will curve itself as though it felt the injury. -When all irritability has ceased, the portions will flounce -vigorously about if placed in boiling water, and even after its -influence has ceased will, upon the addition of salt, jump -about as vigorously as before. There can be no real sensation, -let it be understood, as the spinal cord has been severed -and all connection with the brain, which is the seat of sensation, -has been cut off.</p> - -<p>How the Eel reproduces its kind has long been a subject -of discussion. Some held that the young is produced in a<span class="pagenum" id="Page171">[171]</span> -living condition, and others that it is hatched from the egg. -The matter has, however, been set at rest by the microscope, -which shows that the oily-looking substance, generally called -fat, which is found in the abdomen of the Eel, is really an -aggregation of eggs, and that these objects, minute as they -are, and which are not so large as the point of a pin, are -quite as perfect in their structure as the eggs of a moth or a -bird are seen to be to the naked, unaided vision.</p> - -<p><i>Anguilla rostrata</i>, as the Common American Eel is technically -known, is abundant in the United States, living in fresh-water -streams, but depositing its eggs, often eight millions to -a single fish, in the ocean, the young ascending the rivers. -Eels are devoid of ventral fins. Their scales, which are very -minute, are covered with a thick, slime-like material. Under -the microscope each scale is beautifully ornamented, and the -exquisite pattern formed by the scales on the skin may be -readily and effectively seen if a bit of it, when fresh, be -placed on the window-glass and allowed to dry. The sexes -are difficult to distinguish; the females have the highest -dorsal fin, smaller eyes, and a lighter color than the males, -while the snout is generally broader at the tip.</p> - -<p>When contiguous to the sea, as in a pond near Wells, on -the coast of Maine, the Eels invariably go down into salt -water at night. As the connecting stream is narrow, the -sight is remarkable, thousands filling the channel, many of -whom, when alarmed, leaving the water and passing over the -dry rocks to the ocean. Eels are not the silent creatures -which many persons suppose them to be. They frequently -utter a sound, expressed by a single note, which is more -distinctly musical than the sounds made by other fishes, and -which has a clear metallic resonance. They are of slow -growth, scarcely reaching the length of twelve inches during -the first year, but subsequently attaining to large dimensions, -the preserved skins of two Eels, which Mr. Yarrall saw at -Cambridge, England, weighing together fifty pounds, the -heavier being twenty-seven pounds in weight.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page172">[172]</span></p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig30"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo172.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">COMMON AMERICAN EEL.<br /> -How It Seeks New Feeding-Grounds.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>Fish, as a rule, do not live more than a few minutes out of -the water. An Eel, however, will remain alive for many -hours, and even days, in atmospheric air, provided it is laid -in a damp place. Now, if one be carefully watched when -placed upon dry land, it will be observed to pout out the -cheeks on both sides of its face. Underneath this puffed-out -skin will be found the gills, and the skin which covers -them will be seen to be so arranged as to form a closed sac, -which the Eel fills with water, and so keeps the gill-fibres -moist. This wonderful contrivance enables the Eel to come -out of the water, and to travel, so to speak, by land. Thus -Eels are often found in outlying ponds of human construction, -where they were never placed by the hand of man. -Finding old quarters uncomfortable, they take in a good -supply of water, and exchange them for the better, not by -repeated leaps towards the water, as some fish are known to -do, but by a smooth, uniform snake-like progression.</p> - -<p>That some fishes should leave the water and travel overland -is, perhaps, not more remarkable than that some birds, -the ouzel for example, should leave their natural element and -fly into and under the water. Whoever knows the hidden<span class="pagenum" id="Page173">[173]</span> -paths of the marsh has doubtless watched the brown-hued -Eels wriggling their way through the grass from one pool to -another, especially at night, leaving their home and wandering -about, seemingly unconscious whither their pilgrimage -will end.</p> - -<p>“Slippery as an Eel” is proverbial. Many a person has, -by his slick, cunning ways, succeeded in eluding the law and -escaping justice, affording an apt illustration of the character -of the animal about which we have been talking, but the -slipperiness of the Eel is not given to it that it may take -some unlawful advantage of its neighbors, but that it may the -more readily slip from the grasp of a more powerful enemy, -or the more easily make its way into the muddy depths of -the pond or stream which it so very much affects. So it will -be seen that while this slippery character in the one is protective, -in the economy of nature, for a wise and laudable -purpose, yet in the other it but secures to the possessor the -getting of an ignoble gain and the ruin of a once proud -name.</p> - -<p>While these agile denizens of aquatic life are selfish and -voracious almost beyond precedent, and apparently more -concerned in feeding than in anything else, there are certainly -some traits in their character which are redeeming -features. Low as they are in the scale of piscine existences, -occupying the very lowest family of the Anguillidine Apodes, -they are none the less susceptible to the human influence of -kindness. They grow accustomed to man when good is at -the basis of his actions, and have been known to accept food -from his hand. They remember the face of a friend, and -when it is presented at the door of glass, so to speak, that -opens the way to their home, they come without fear or suspicion -showing itself in their movements. Even the sound -of the voice of a benefactor awakens a sympathetic response -in their bosoms.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page174">[174]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">RANA AND BUFO.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p class="chapstart"><span class="largecap">B</span><span class="afterlargecap">elonging</span> -to the lower vertebrates is a family of -animals called scientifically Ranidæ, but which are, -popularly speaking, best known as frogs. They are queer-looking -creatures, scarcely met with in Australia and South -America, but reaching their highest state in the East Indies. -They are capable of enduring great changes of heat and -cold, and can live on land as well as in water, provided they -have the amount of moisture necessary to preserve the -suppleness of their skins. Salt water is fatal to the frog in -any stage of its existence.</p> - -<p><i>Rana clamata</i>, the lusty croaker of the summer pond, is -our most familiar species. He may be recognized by the -colors of his dress, in which green, bronze, gold and silver -play important parts, and by the ear-splitting character of -his vocal intonations. The glandular ridges down the skin -of his back, together with his strange coloration, singularly -fit him for his home. Imitations of the stems of plants are -seen in the darker ridges, and their leafage in the green -color of his coat. The silver of his vest has the glimmer of -the water in which he bathes, and the moist earth seems to -have left its stain upon his brownish feet and markings, -while the yellow of the several badges that adorn his person -in being like the stamens and pistils of the surrounding -flowers, and of the hue of many buds and blossoms, adds -largely to his protective display. Thus is the frog in his -natural haunts protected by his garments, and, unless he -stirs or is betrayed by his full, bright eyes or the palpitation -of his breast, he is not likely to be observed.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page175">[175]</span></p> - -<p>Four fingers or toes are found upon the anterior extremities, -while those of the posterior are five in number and -webbed. The front legs are much shorter, smaller and -weaker than the hind ones, which are largely developed, -and thus serviceable in swimming and leaping.</p> - -<p>Though the frog is possessed of a back-bone, yet he has -no ribs. Being ribless, he cannot expand and contract his -chest in breathing, but must swallow what air he requires. -In swallowing the air he must close the mouth and take the -air in only by the nostrils; therefore, oddly enough, if his -mouth is forcibly kept open, he will smother. The frog’s -breathing, a fact not generally known, is partly through his -skin, which gives off carbonic acid gas; and moisture, therefore, -is just as essential to his skin as it is to the gills of a -fish. Damp, rainy weather is his extreme delight. When -the rain falls, out come the frogs. Their skin absorbs moisture, -which is stored up in internal reservoirs, and some of -this water, when these timid creatures are alarmed by being -suddenly seized, is ejected, but I do not think that it is -purposely so done, as the water is not, as some people have -fancied, of a poisonous nature. Frogs have no poison-sacs, -and in truth no weapons of any kind.</p> - -<p>Open a frog’s mouth, and you will find but a few tiny -teeth in the upper jaw and palate, which are useful for the -partial grinding up of horny insects. His tongue you will -discover to be a very odd affair, which is fastened at the front -end of the mouth, the hinder part being free and hanging -down the creature’s throat. This organ is covered with a -glue-like secretion. When an insect is to be captured, it is -snapped forward from the mouth, and, striking the insect, -which it seldom fails to do, causes it to adhere as to bird-lime.</p> - -<p>A few thoughts now about the life-history of the frog. -From egg to egg is the story. In roundish masses, upon -sticks lying in water, or upon the leaves and stems of submerged -water-plants, are the eggs deposited. The creature<span class="pagenum" id="Page176">[176]</span> -that comes from the egg is no more like a frog than a caterpillar -is like a butterfly. It has a large head, small tail, -branched gills, and is devoid of limbs, resembling, in this -stage, more a fish than a frog. This is its early childhood, -or tadpole state. It can only live in water now, and swims -and feeds from the very moment it leaves the egg. Change -in form almost immediately begins, the branched gills being -drawn within the neck and hidden, a pair of fore-legs beginning -to bud, and subsequently a pair of hind-legs, which -push out much faster than the fore-legs. As the legs grow, -the tail is gradually absorbed and disappears. The interior -of the body meanwhile changes, the lungs and heart becoming -reptilian. When the gills and tail are gone, and the legs -are fully formed, the once-swimming tadpole hops out of the -water a perfectly-formed frog.</p> - -<p>When first the tadpole emerged from the egg, it ate the -jelly-like cover. Then soft animal and vegetable matters, -with the strengthening of its pair of horny jaws, began to be -devoured. Insects later on, and even its own kith and kin, -became its food. The fare of the adult frog is almost exclusively -insect in character, although necessity sometimes -drives him to make a meal out of some of his weaker -brethren.</p> - -<p>Seated in cool, leafy shadows, not far from his favorite -stream or pool, the frog watches with his great, black, gold-ringed -eyes for such insects as good fortune shall bring to -his retreat. As one hovers near, out flies his limber, sticky, -ribbon-like tongue, true to its mark, and the hapless insect, -adhering to the viscid projected ribbon, is gently and cleverly -deposited in the open throat, the frog maintaining all the -while an air of calm, superior self-satisfaction, as if he had -not so much satisfied an appetite as fulfilled the mission of -ridding nature of a superfluous insect.</p> - -<p>A most harmless, timid and interesting animal is the frog, -and often most unfortunate. He is the legitimate mark for all -the missiles that can be thrown at him by urchins wandering<span class="pagenum" id="Page177">[177]</span> -about his native pool. Snakes make him their prey, and he is -always in mental fear lest some insidious serpent shall take -him unawares, or his musings shall be suddenly cut short by -the stately progress of some swan or goose, sailing over the -limpid water, or searching the green herbage wherein he sits -concealed.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig31"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo177.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">RANA CLAMATA, OR GREEN FROG.<br /> -Lusty Croaker of the Summer Pond.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>That he is susceptible of being trained, there can be no -question. Man is not always viewed by him as an inveterate -enemy, nor does he always dive headlong into the pool when -his presence is near. He has been known to cultivate man’s -acquaintance, and to live on friendly terms with him. Some -three years ago a tiny frog was taken from a swamp by a -friend and placed in a small stream of spring water that -passed close to the house where the writer was summering. -A dozen times a day the little frog was dipped up by the hand -from the bottom of the stream, and forced to endure down -the head and back the tenderest caresses. A few insects -were then offered as food in conciliation for the liberty<span class="pagenum" id="Page178">[178]</span> -taken, which the little frog was only induced to accept after -a great deal of persuasion, when he was carefully put back -into his watery bath. In the space of a week, the frog had -become so attached to his friend, that he would leap into his -outstretched hand and take his food without the least distrust -or fear. Even the voice of the master was recognized -by the frog, and, when heard in the distance, was the signal -for the strangest behavior. Froggie would leap out of the -water upon a bare stretch of earth, peer off in the direction -whence the sound came, and there await his master’s arrival -with restless anxiety. The strongest bond of friendship -seemed to unite the two. Not only was the frog able to -recognize the voice of his friend, but he knew him in person -as well. Repeated efforts were made by the writer to gain -the attention and good-will of the frog, but all his advances -were received with the utmost indifference.</p> - -<p>While the species which I have just described represents -the aquatic Ranidæ, the Wood-frog, its near kin, represents -a branch of the family which prefers dry situations, except -in breeding times, when the eggs must be deposited in water. -The Wood-frog is somewhat smaller than the Bull-frog, and -is clad in olive-green and brown colors, which are in perfect -keeping with the coloration of dead leaves and dry twigs. -There is a large black patch on the side of the head around -the big ear-drum, which seems still further to distinguish -him from his cousin. He is a very shy and suspicious -creature, and makes a prodigious jump at the first intimation -of danger, his leaps being so enormous that it is very -difficult to capture him. When upon the ground, he can -hardly be discerned from the dry vegetation around. By -hiding in damp moss or in decayed logs, and in little hollows -in the ground, he is enabled to maintain the moisture -of his skin. He avoids the sunshine, and keeps close to -the earth.</p> - -<p>Another curious Rana is the Tree-frog. He is smaller -than any of his cousins, and may be known by his bright<span class="pagenum" id="Page179">[179]</span> -green dress, which is spotted with black, and by a membrane -stretched between his toes, which gives him a broad, flat surface, -while it helps to sustain him as he leaps, somewhat after -the fashion of a flying squirrel, from branch to branch. In -tropical regions, where many of the trees are bedecked -with gorgeous blossoms, Tree-frogs appear in the gayest of -colors, the splendor of their garb being protective in such -surroundings.</p> - -<p>Dressed in black and light brown, and living in marshes -in the Eastern United States, is another species—the Swamp-frog. -His voice is a prolonged croak, which, to the practised -ear, can be readily distinguished from the bawl of -Clamata, or the roar of the Bull-frog.</p> - -<p>Cats, geese, hawks, vultures, owls and other animals eat -frogs, and the luckless creatures can scarcely appear without -finding an enemy. But nature, who is a very wise and considerate -mother, provides a means for balancing this great -destruction of their forces in endowing them with wonderful -reproductive organs. So prolific are frogs, that when the -little black tadpoles appear, so thickly are they huddled -together that the pond seems literally alive with their swimming -forms.</p> - -<p>In the same class of animals to which the frogs belong, as -well as to the same order, but to a different sub-order, are -placed the toads, somewhat remote cousins of the frogs. -As the frog is well-known about our ponds, so the toad is a -constant denizen of our groves and gardens. The frog, you -have been told, is a species of Rana, and now I shall introduce -to you the toad as a species of Bufo. In general -anatomy they are alike. Their eggs and young are closely -similar, and the stages of growth from egg to adult form are -nearly identical. When the adult stage is attained the frogs -and toads are very tiny creatures, but, small as they are, -they are readily distinguishable from each other by the -conformation of the snout, and by the larger development -of the hind-legs of the frog. Their chief differences will now<span class="pagenum" id="Page180">[180]</span> -be enumerated. The toad has no teeth, but the frog, as -has been stated before, has teeth in both the upper jaw and -the palate. Similarly attached is the tongue, but the free -end of the frog’s tongue is forked, and the toad’s entire. -The skin of the toad is usually warty, while the frog’s is -smooth. A rounder body, shorter hind-legs, less fully -webbed feet and more rounded snout still further distinguish -the toad from the frog. Their soft moist skin shows -them to be Amphibians. The absence of tails places them -among the Anuran, or Tailless Amphibians. Thus far they -agree well together, but differences loom up upon careful -examination, and we are compelled to say of the frog that -he belongs to the Ranidæ, and of the toad that he belongs -to the Bufonidæ. Of the two animals, the toad is by far the -more interesting and useful.</p> - -<p>The toad is almost unrestricted in his territorial range. -He hops through the tropics and the temperate zones, and -well up into the polar regions. Everywhere he is the same -inoffensive, gentle, humble, useful and generally silent creature. -But like his human brother he has his faults. He has -a great fondness for bees. Happy is he when, brigand-like, -he can stand by the highway of the bees and capture them -as they return to their waxen city. Their wealth of honey -he does not demand as a ransom, but swallows the little -creatures themselves, alive and whole, and digests them at -leisure. Bee-eating seems his only fault. Not only the -hive-bee, but other insects as well, share his attention. -Millions of noxious beetles and bugs are devoured, and the -world is the richer by thousands of bushels of fruit and vegetables. -The good he accomplishes largely outweighs the -mischief he commits. So ceaselessly and swiftly he swallows -his game, that a grasshopper’s legs or a sphinx’s -antennæ may often be seen sticking out of his mouth, while -the carcass itself is well down in his throat. French gardeners -so appreciate his utility that he is brought to market and -sold for a pittance to such as may need his services.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page181">[181]</span></p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig32"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo181.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">COMMON AMERICAN TOAD.<br /> -How He Manages a Difficulty.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>Toads can be tamed and taught to eat from the hand. -They are easily beguiled with sugar and with bread that -has been soaked in milk, but, like a captious child, they eat -only the middle out of the slice, and leave the crust. We once -saw a toad, a noble fellow he was, who, at a certain hour of -the closing day, would come from his gloomy retreat to -receive at the hands of man his supper of flies, which he -had been trained to catch on the throw. So unerringly -would his tongue dart out at the opportune moment, that he -seldom, if ever, shot wide of his mark. It is amusing to -observe him when, in his greed and haste, he has attempted -to swallow a huge grasshopper whose legs will not accommodate -themselves to his peculiar gape of mouth. How he -swallows and twists and contracts the walls of his throat, -but the legs seem unmanageable. He does not give up, or -endeavor to eject the half-swallowed body, but ponders the -matter over and over. A look of delight beams out of his -eyes, that shows he has managed the problem. Up goes to -the mouth the right fore-leg, and, in less time than it takes<span class="pagenum" id="Page182">[182]</span> -to chronicle the event, the obstreperous insect is pushed into -the stomach.</p> - -<p>Some curious myths are told of the toad. One says he -can live for hundreds of years encased in clay or in stone. -No more true of Bufo is this than of Rana, his cousin. -Another asserts that his skin, when handled, is productive -of warts, and that the fluid he emits, which serves but to -moisten his body, for without moisture he could certainly -not live, and to protect him from enemies, is poisonous in -character. His power to produce warts, we cannot admit. -But that the fluid he exudes, if not poisonous to touch, is -offensive to animals, there can be no doubt. We are led to this -conclusion from the following considerations: Dogs, young -animals especially, are prone to attack the toad, but they -never want to repeat their experience. The toad’s exudation -so affects the salivary glands of the dog as to cause him -to froth and foam like an animal with rabies. A case is -recalled where a dog, that had taken a toad in his mouth, -became almost frantic. This dog never afterwards was well. -His whole system apparently had become diseased, and, in -less than a year, he had wasted to a complete skeleton, when -death relieved him of his sufferings. Another allegation, -that the toad has a jewel in his head, has been believed from -very ancient times. The story doubtlessly originated from -the beauty of the toad’s eyes, the irides being a rich flame-color, -which, in the dusk of the even, shine like burnished -gems.</p> - -<p>When hatched the young of the toad are of a jet black -color, and are very active. Their changes are made very -early and in the same manner as those of the frog. They are -quite small when arrived at the perfect toad state. Their -legs produced and their tails absorbed, they quit the water -and set out on long journeys. Unlike the frog, which is a -home-stayer, the toad is a born vagrant. They travel chiefly -by night, hiding under stones and herbage during the day. -If clouds cover the sky, they take heart and joyously hop<span class="pagenum" id="Page183">[183]</span> -forth upon their pilgrimage. During a long drouth they -mysteriously disappear, but if a rain comes on they suddenly -come out by hundreds, and this has given rise to the tale of -a “shower of toads.”</p> - -<p>Worms, as well as flies, etc., constitute a toad’s bill of fare. -After a rain toads and worms, it would seem, are mutually -inspired to take their walks abroad, and many an unfortunate -worm makes its way into the toad’s maw. Dead insects -are at a discount with him, and he views with suspicion anything -that shows not the active wriggling principle of life. -When winter comes on the toad, like the frog, goes into -winter-quarters. Since the young toad reaches its adult -size in the autumn, it is forced to pass the first period of its -grown-up life in a sleep, or coma, in some hole or burrow -which it has found or fashioned in the earth. Sometimes -toads creep into rock-crevices, or into hollows in logs and -trees, and being found in these places in the early spring are -hastily supposed to have been prisoners for many years.</p> - -<p>In the process of growth the skin of the toad, as well as -that of the frog, becomes too small, and hence is cast off. -As the shedding-time approaches, the white, green and -brown colors become dull, and a peculiar dryness appears. -A new skin is now forming under the outgrown one, and -presently the latter splits half down the middle of the back -and along the under part of the body. By a series of violent -twitchings of the toad the old skin is made to wrinkle -and fold along the sides. A hind-leg is now tucked under a -fore-arm, and by a good pull the animal is soon out of that -leg of his trousers. The other leg is removed in similar -fashion. Putting one hand in his mouth and giving a jerk, -off comes the covering of that hand and arm, like a discarded -glove. He has now but to take off the other, and he is free. -Relieved of his dress he neither sells nor gives it away, but -rolls it up into a neat solid ball and swallows it. The frog -strips off and disposes of his outgrown skin in a similar -way.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page184">[184]</span></p> - -<p>Strange to say, toads and frogs can change to some extent -the color of their skin to suit their homes. Kept in the -dark with dark surroundings, toads become darker in color, -while those that are kept in light with white accessories -become lighter. The color of the toad changes more slowly -than that of the frog. It is not the arrangement of the color -that alters, but merely a change from light to dark.</p> - -<p>What has been said applies to our Common American -Toad, the <i>Bufo Americana</i> of the books. Let us now look -at some curious specimens of the Bufonidæ. The Pipa, or -Surinam Toad, does not lay her eggs in water, but places -them on her back. A fold of skin rises up and encloses -each egg in a separate cell, until the young have not only -been hatched, but have also passed through all their metamorphoses, -and come out fully formed. Another toad, -abundant in Europe and Asia, is largely colored with bright -crimson, and the father-toad carries the little ones in separate -cells fastened to his hind-legs like chains. The young -change to their perfect shape in these cells, and with the -withering away of the cells the young toads hop out, able to -take care of themselves.</p> - -<p>Somewhere I have said that toads are generally silent. -A little toad about three inches long, called a Natter-jack, -is common in England, and is a noted singer. His “gluck-gluck, -gluck-k-k,” can be heard any night. The Green -Toad, well known on the Continent, is not so noisy as the -Natter-jack, but has a low, moaning cry.</p> - -<p>All the Tree-toads, or Hylidæ, have clear, shrill voices, -and are fond of singing serenades. In the spring the Common -Toad takes to the water and there sings very loudly. -The loud continuous trill that we hear in swamps in spring-time -is made by toads, and not by frogs, as is generally -believed. Another toad with a voice is the Spade-foot. This -Toad is rare, though widely distributed. It is remarkable -for its feet, formed for digging, its subterranean habits, and -its queer way of appearing and disappearing very suddenly.<span class="pagenum" id="Page185">[185]</span> -After a rainy season the Spade-foot will emerge from its -hiding-place, attract attention by its loud cries, swarm by -hundreds about the ponds, lay innumerable eggs, and vanish. -But while thousands of eggs are laid, scarcely any hatch, for -most of them perish from being laid so near to the water’s -edge as to become dried up on the subsidence of the water.</p> - -<p>Thus we find that toads have three different methods of -life. Some live on trees, but seldom appear upon the ground. -Others are underground dwellers, and hardly ever come to -the surface. But the Common Toad, and his numerous kin, -are dwellers in the ground, hiding among grass and other -herbage when asleep, or when the sun is too intense for their -comfort. But all toads, excepting the two varieties mentioned -above, which carry their young on their bodies, repair -to the water to drop their eggs, and the young live in the -water until they have attained the adult state.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page186">[186]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">OUR NATURAL ENEMIES.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p class="chapstart"><span class="largecap">N</span><span class="afterlargecap">o</span> -animal, perhaps, is so little known and understood -as the snake. This is not because its study has been -neglected or overlooked, as our scientific institutions are -replete with fine collections of most of the reptiles, and -exhaustive works upon their habits and customs. Yet, notwithstanding -this, the snake continues to be the subject of -ever-recurring stories, fabulous in the extreme, that seem -handed down from generation to generation. Strange to say, -many of these stories are current among those who, from -the nature of their lives, would be expected to be well and -accurately informed on the habits of the animals. Farmers -and horticulturists are plentiful who religiously believe that -the Milk Snake, the beautiful <i>Ophibolus clericus</i>, deprives -milk-giving animals of their supply of milk. A statement -often seen, and that has many believers, is that the Whip-snake -of the South seizes its tail—which is supposed to have a -sting—in its mouth, and rolls away in the form of a wheel, -stopping suddenly and striking the enemy with the sting. -Such fables are current by the score, and denial only -strengthens belief.</p> - -<p>More than a hundred species of snakes, nearly all having -a wide geographical range, are found in America, north of -Mexico. They constitute the first order, Ophidia, of reptiles, -and have long, cylindrical bodies, are footless, without a -shoulder-girdle, and invested with a coat of scales, which is -shed in the summer months. Snakes have no eyelids in the -strict sense of the term. Their eyes are permanently covered -by a delicate membrane that takes the place of the lid, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page187">[187]</span> -this explains the stony stare, so disagreeable to many, that -all snakes have.</p> - -<p>The skeleton of snakes is so arranged as to allow the -greatest freedom and flexibility. Numerous pieces of bone, -hollow in front and convex behind, make up the long tapering -backbone, which literally works on a ball-and-socket -plan. Articular facets, that lock into each other, are found -upon the processes of the vertebræ, and these strengthen -and give to the backbone a greater degree of flexibility. A -more remarkable arrangement, however, is found in the -head, which enables the snake to prey upon animals that are -larger than itself. The jaws seem a combination of elastic -springs, having no gauge to their tension, the quadrate bones -connecting the lower jaw with the skull being movable, -thus allowing that enormous gape with which all are familiar -who have seen a snake swallow its prey. Besides this, -the bones of the jaw itself and palate are more or less movable, -also tending to the larger distention of the throat.</p> - -<p>As snakes do not tear or mutilate their prey, their teeth -are not set in sockets, but serve merely to poison and stupefy -the prey, or to prevent its escape, acting as hooks by -which the body is hauled over the victim. The bones of -the lower jaw, as we have seen, are not fastened closely to -each other; so in swallowing prey the teeth on one side are -advanced, and then those on the other side, and so on until -the victim is hauled, hand over hand, as it were, into the -snake’s throat.</p> - -<p>Poisonous snakes, such as the rattlers, have two long, sharp -fangs, each compressed and bent up, and forming a hollow -tube, open at both ends. The upper portion of the hollow -fang is fastened to a bone in the cheek, which moves with -ease, so that, when not in use, the fangs can be packed away -until needed.</p> - -<p>All animals, man included, have doubtless in their saliva -a deadly poison, though in the latter it is extremely diluted, -and essential only to the digestion of food. In poisonous<span class="pagenum" id="Page188">[188]</span> -snakes, however, it is stored up in sacs, modifications of the -salivary glands, and placed in each side of the upper jaw. -From the poison-gland under the eye forward to the edge of -the jaw, a delicate canal, which opens into the fang above the -tube of the tooth, extends. Alongside of the latter may be -seen rudimentary fangs, all ready to grow out should the -large one be lost. To use the poison, the snake has merely -to strike its prey, when the muscles of the jaw, which are -admirably fitted for the part they have to play in the tragedy, -press upon the glands, squeeze the poison through the little -canal down through the hollow fang, and the work is accomplished.</p> - -<p>In their actions, snakes are most graceful. The gliding -motion, so characteristic, is effected by the movements of -the large central scales, that are successively pushed forward, -the hinder edges resting on the ground and constituting -a support. These scales, or pushers, are fastened to -the ribs by muscles, and by holding a snake by the hand the -swelling movement can readily be felt.</p> - -<p>Snakes vary much in color. They are generally adapted -to their surroundings. Green Snakes are found in green -grass and vegetation, while grey snakes affect rocky districts, -where they are alike protected. Their skin is shed in -one piece at various seasons of the year, being forced off by -the snake forming a ring with its tail and squeezing the rest -of the body through it, or by wriggling through entangled -bushes. Poisonous snakes may be always recognized by -their broad, flattened heads, generally short and thick bodies, -and the almost invariable possession of a vertical keel along -the centre of each scale. Long bodies, small heads devoid -of distinct necks, and scales not keeled, characterize non-poisonous -species.</p> - -<p>Probably the best-known of our common kinds of poisonous -snakes are the rattlesnakes. They belong to the dangerous -family Crotalidæ, to which the copperheads and -moccasins also belong, and are distinguished by the large,<span class="pagenum" id="Page189">[189]</span> -ugly head, absence of teeth in the upper jaw excepting the -fangs, and the pit in the head.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig33"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo189.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">NORTHERN RATTLESNAKE.<br /> -Prepared to Attack a Song Sparrow.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p><i>Crotalus horridus</i>, our Northern Rattlesnake, has doubtless -the widest geographical distribution, being found in nearly -every State in the Union, from the Gulf of Mexico to Northern -New England, and thence west to the Rocky Mountains. -It has a most forbidding appearance, and when once seen -with its enormous head, triangular in shape, and large brilliant -eyes, with fiery irides, it can never be mistaken. Between -the eye and the nostril is a deep pit, a character that -is peculiar to the family.</p> - -<p>All rattlers, as the name indicates, have a horny appendage -to the tail, formed of separate button-like objects, that -rattle together when the tail is vibrated. This rattle not -only serves to warn human beings of danger, but also to -arouse in animals a curiosity that often proves fatal. The<span class="pagenum" id="Page190">[190]</span> -popular belief that a rattle is added every year, and that it -is possible to determine the age of the animals by this -means, is not borne out by facts. Sometimes two rattles -are known to appear within a year, and other instances are -recorded where four have been attained in that period, and -others still when several have been lost, new ones taking -their places. The number of rattles is also uncertain. The -greatest number, as observed by Dr. Holbrook, is twenty-one, -but a specimen is mentioned in the books that had -forty-four.</p> - -<p>Mild and peaceful in disposition, the Rattlesnake has never -been known, unless provoked, to attack a human being, nor -to follow him with hostile intention. He preys upon small -animals, as rats, squirrels, rabbits and birds, and can always -be approached when he is stretched out, only striking when -he is coiled. He is not a climber, seldom, if ever, being -found in trees. His alleged powers of fascination are purely -mythical. The horror his presence inspires often paralyzes -with fear his victim, who, incapable of flight, stupidly awaits -his fate. Men, women and children have been known, when -attacked by these animals, to become rooted to the spot, as -it were, by fear and surprise. All the so-called cases of -fascination can be explained by the fear which the snake’s -unlooked-for presence inspires.</p> - -<p>Wonderful curative powers are imputed to the oil of the -Rattlesnake. Many snakes are killed during the summer -months for this oil, but the grand gathering of the crop is -in the fall, when they have repaired to their dens and wintering -places. Sunny days in October and November are -chosen by snake-hunters for raiding them. The snakes, dull -and sluggish at that time of the year, crawl out of their -dens upon the rocks, huddling together by the score for the -purpose of basking in the sun. Armed with old-fashioned -flails the hunters, when they come upon a group of snakes, -proceed at once to thresh them, but few making good their -escape. The Rattlesnakes, assorted from other species that<span class="pagenum" id="Page191">[191]</span> -are frequently massed together with them, are carried home, -when the oil is simply tried out, bottled up and is then -ready for the market and the credulous patient.</p> - -<p>No subject connected with snakes, it would seem, has -attracted so much attention as the vexed one as to the care -which they take of their young. Snakes would hardly be -expected to show any great amount of maternal affection, -but that they do, and in a most remarkable manner, by -taking their young into their mouths, if alarmed, is a well-established -fact. The mother, when danger is imminent, -sounds her rattle as a signal, opens her very large mouth, -and receives in it her little family.</p> - -<p>The bite of nearly all rattlesnakes is extremely dangerous, -though not necessarily fatal in the smaller kinds. Almost -all animals succumb to their bite, and even man himself, if -the proper remedy is not at hand. There is a general belief -that the hog is exempt, and acting upon this belief farmers -have been known, where these reptiles are very abundant, -to turn in a few hogs upon them for their destruction. This -animal, though it has a fondness for the reptile, and exercises -a great deal of caution in its attack, has not infrequently -been killed by the reptile’s poisonous fangs. Large doses -of whiskey have been successful in neutralizing the effects of -the poison, but it has been practically and experimentally -proved that permanganate of potash is the best antidote.</p> - -<p>But of all the poisonous snakes of this country, the Copperhead, -<i>Ancistrodon contortrix</i>, is the most dreaded. In the -South, he is known as the Cotton-mouth, Moccasin and -Red-eye, and is just as common in the Gulf States as in -the Atlantic and Middle States. He attains a length of -two feet, is of a hazel hue, the head having a bright coppery -lustre, and loves to conceal himself in shady spots in -meadows of high grass, where he feeds upon small animals, -rarely, if ever, attacking large ones unless trodden on. The -mother Copperhead has also been observed to shelter her -young in her mouth when threatened by danger.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page192">[192]</span></p> - -<p><i>Ancistrodon piscivorus</i>, the Water Moccasin, that commands -so much respect from the negroes of the South, is, from the -pugnacity of his nature, equally to be feared. While the -Rattlesnake will slink away from danger, the Moccasin will -attack man or brute with savage ferocity. He is essentially -a water-snake, chasing fishes and small reptiles in the streams -of his native haunts, and may be recognized by the dark-brown -colors on the upper portion of the head and the yellowish -line that passes from the snout to or over the nostril. -His length rarely exceeds twenty inches, and he is stout in -proportion. The Moccasins show the same curious care for -their young already mentioned. A low, blowing noise -apprises them of danger, and into the slightly-opened mouth -of the mother, which is held close to the ground, they hurriedly -disappear.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig34"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo192.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">MOTHER BLACK SNAKE.<br /> -Her Affection for Newly-Hatched Young.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>One of the commonest of the non-poisonous snakes is the -Striped Garter Snake, ten species of which being known in -the United States. Upon the earliest appearance of spring<span class="pagenum" id="Page193">[193]</span> -they are almost the first to roll out of their holes, where -they have lain dormant in balls or clusters during the cold -winter months. Though easily excited, and striking quickly, -yet their bite is little more than a scratch. Their appetites -are now quite vigorous, and they have been seen to chase a -toad for more than fifty feet over a gravelly road, effecting its -capture. They are remarkably prolific, and their numbers -about pools are sometimes astonishing. It would seem that -they are viviparous as well as oviparous, from the fact -that some young ones have been free and others in sacs in -the abdomen of the mother. With a brood of forty or fifty -young, which a single female has been known to produce, it -would seem that the Striped Snake would have a difficult -time in protecting her offspring by taking them into her -mouth. They have this habit, however, as abundance of -evidence could be adduced to show. One witness observed -a Striped Snake upon a hillside, and noticed something moving -about her head, which proved to be young snakes. He -counted twenty little ones from one and a half to two inches -long. Led by curiosity, he made a move towards the spot, -when the old one opened her mouth, and they went in out of -sight. He then stepped back and waited, and in a few minutes -they began to come out. Another witness came across -a female with some young ones near her, who, perceiving -him, uttered a loud hiss, and the young ones jumped down -her throat, when she instantly glided away to a place of concealment -beneath a huge heap of stones.</p> - -<p>The Black Snake, <i>Bascanion constrictor</i>, the mortal enemy -of the Rattlesnake, is a familiar species, and one that is widely -distributed. As winter approaches, these snakes come from far -and near to some apparently appointed place of rendezvous, -where, rolling themselves up into a matted ball, they sleep -the days and nights of winter away, and come out in the -spring-time, when the common mother of us all has conditioned -things to their habits and ways of life. In appearance, -from a decorative point of view, they are very attractive,<span class="pagenum" id="Page194">[194]</span> -being of a uniform steel-blue color, with a rich tessellated -arrangement of scales. They are of wild and untamable -natures, powerful and active as foes, often engaging in encounters -with other snakes, especially the Rattlesnakes, whom -they kill or force to disgorge their prey. In their movements -they are so rapid that they are often called the Racer. -It is in the breeding season that they manifest their greatest -boldness, and have often been known to go out of their way -to attack a passer-by. They will chase an intruder for a long -distance, and will even descend a tree to attack the one who -is teasing them.</p> - -<p>It is the Black Snake that appears the most frequently in -the guise of a charmer. But, as has been remarked before, -this power, so often imputed, is merely imaginary. The -reptile preys upon birds in their nests, penetrating the -thickets in quest of them, and often the cat-bird and the red-winged -blackbird, which are so prone to attack, are seen -acting strangely, crying and fluttering before the reptile in -fear and rage, while thus <i>charmed</i>, and frequently falling -a victim in their endeavors to protect their young. At such -times the cries of distress of the old birds bring birds of -different genera together, who join their forces against the -common enemy, finally compelling him to retreat. Like other -snakes mentioned, the Black Snake has the same remarkable -habit of taking her young into her mouth for protection.</p> - -<p>Among the most attractive forms are the Green Snakes. -<i>Leptophis æstivus</i>, so common in the South, and occasionally -to be met with in Southern New Jersey, is of a brilliant -green color, and so perfectly mimicking a vine that it would -rarely be taken for a living creature when lying around the -branches of a tree. They have a habit of coiling in the -nests of birds, often surprising the egg-hunter by bounding -swiftly away. Allied species, further to the South, have been -observed, when approached, to leap twenty feet in the air, -falling to the ground and making their escape. They are -perfectly harmless creatures, and, like the Green Snake of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page195">[195]</span> -North, can be handled with not the slightest risk of danger. -We once knew a gentleman who had one in confinement, -whom he had trained to eat from a dish and to come to his -hand at the sound of his voice. The beautiful creature, -which was a female, showed the most marked affection, and -would often twine her little form about his neck or glide her -smooth head, lazily as it seemed, along his face and forehead.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig35"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo195.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">SUMMER GREEN SNAKE.<br /> -Manner of Mimicking a Vine.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>An extremely common snake in the Eastern United States -is the Water Snake. <i>Nerodia sipedon</i> is the name by which -it is known to the naturalist. There is in Michigan an -allied form, known as the Red-bellied Water Snake, which is -quite as common, while several other species abound in -other localities. They are all inoffensive creatures and prey<span class="pagenum" id="Page196">[196]</span> -upon small animals. The female shows the same regard for -her young as other kinds, suffering them, even when three -or four inches long, to take shelter in her throat, when she -will clumsily turn in search of some place of concealment.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig36"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo196.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">WATER SNAKE.<br /> -Swallowing Her Young.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>Water-snakes generally affect water-courses, often hanging -from the branches of trees over streams, into which they -drop when disturbed. Dr. Bell, an English naturalist of distinction, -once tamed a European species of this genus. This -pet could distinguish him among a crowd, and would crawl -to him, passing into his sleeve, where it would curl up for a -nap. Every morning found it at the doctor’s table for its -share of milk. For strangers it had an aversion, flying and -hissing at them when any familiarities were attempted.</p> - -<p>Were these grovelling creatures better known, there would -be found much in them to admire and commend. They are -not the hideous beings they are represented to be. The<span class="pagenum" id="Page197">[197]</span> -feeling of hatred against them, an instinctive and unappeasable -enmity, is perfectly natural, and has grown out of religious -superstitions. Fear, disgust and aversion are man’s -experiences at the sight of a snake, and there is at once a -disposition to seize a stick or stone, or to make use of his -heel, if well protected, to deal a fatal stroke. War to the -death seems to be the cry between the highest of the -mammals and the serpent tribe. It is not at all surprising, -therefore, that the snake, seeing a human enemy, should -either glide hastily off into the bushes, or, being thwarted, -should coil itself up and hiss or throw itself forward in -attack. Man would do well to protect the snakes about his -domains, and treat them as friends, for they do him invaluable -service in the destruction of vermin that make havoc -with his crops.</p> - -<p>Ants, bees, spiders, and many fishes, animals that are lower -down in the scale than the snake, it is claimed, show far more -forecast, ingenuity and architectural ability than it, but asserters -of such an opinion forget that the snake is never studied under -favorable conditions. Long ages of persecution have made -him fearful of man, from whose presence he flees as from a -pestilence or scourge, and there is consequently no chance -to learn his better nature. Even man, until recently, has -shown no inclination to make his acquaintance, being controlled -by a dread which it appears well nigh impossible to -overcome. Where the animal has been made to partake of -the milk of human kindness, and has learned to regard man -as a friend and not an enemy, he has shown remarkable susceptibility -to culture and enlightenment. Let it be hoped -that a modicum of the wisdom which has been attributed to -him from the earliest of times, when he was made the object -of homage and the insignia of the physician, shall at least be -found to remain to the credit of science and truth.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page198">[198]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">HOUSE-BEARING REPTILES.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p class="chapstart"><span class="largecap">T</span><span class="afterlargecap">urtles</span> -are four-legged reptiles, with short, stout, -oval-shaped bodies encased in bony boxes, from -which they are able to protrude their heads, legs and tails, -and into which they can withdraw them, at pleasure. Considerable -diversity exists in the size and shape of the box-like -covering in the different species. The Box Tortoise can -retire into his shell or house, closing the under part or plastron -into a groove of the upper edge of the carapace, as the -upper part is called, thus constituting for his security an impregnable -retreat. There are species only partly enclosed by -the shell, which cannot bring their heads and feet under cover.</p> - -<p>With his house upon his back the turtle wanders about as -the snail does, and against his enemies can close its doors -and be emphatically not at home. He has acute sight and -hearing, but is devoid of teeth, the jaws being, like those of -birds, simply cased in horn. Turtles are not altogether -silent creatures, for many of them are capable of producing -very loud sounds.</p> - -<p>Their eggs, which have a parchment-like covering, are -buried in earth or sand, and left to themselves to hatch. The -sea-turtle, our largest variety, is sometimes found to lay as -many as two hundred eggs in a heap, and in tropical regions -has been known to attain a weight of a thousand pounds. -Even on the Atlantic Coast of the United States individuals, -weighing upwards of eight hundred pounds, have not infrequently -been captured.</p> - -<p>In the four species of sea-turtles, the feet are flat and paddle-shaped, -and the shell of one rather leathery than horny.<span class="pagenum" id="Page199">[199]</span> -Some of these marine forms are carnivorous, living on fish, -mollusks and crustaceans, while others are strictly vegetarians, -subsisting only on roots and the various sea-weeds. -The flesh of some is rich and delicious, and a favorite and -costly article of food, but of others it is coarse and ill-flavored, -and necessarily not edible. The eggs, however, -are always sweet, good and wholesome food. Valuable -articles of commerce, such as boxes, cases, knife-handles, -jewelry and other delicate ornaments, are made from the -shell, for it is susceptible of a very high polish, which brings -out with surprising clearness its rich brown and golden shades -and markings.</p> - -<p>Next to the sea-living turtles, come the fresh-water species, -which eat both animal and vegetable foods. They -enjoy much better than aught else a bed of soft mud, their -heads lifted above the surface of the stagnant water, their -long necks moving snake-like as they gulp in mouthful after -mouthful of air. They are generally gregarious in habits, -large numbers often being found huddled together in the sun -on logs or banks, close to the water, into which they quickly -slide upon the first intimation of danger. Timid as they are, -yet they will snap and bite most furiously when taken in the -hand.</p> - -<p>Salt- and fresh-water terrapins are varieties of turtle, -although some scientists restrict the latter term to marine -animals that do not hibernate, and that cannot draw their -head and feet inside the shell. The tortoise never goes to -sea they say, can draw himself within his shell, although the -Box Tortoise only can close the shell fast when thus withdrawn, -and finally, that the tortoise hibernates. Some of the -best and latest writers on the subject call all these animals -turtles, applying the name tortoise only to the familiar Box -Tortoise of the wood.</p> - -<p>Awkward as turtles appear in their box-like covering, yet -they can walk rapidly on land, are climbers of some note, and -all are able to swim. The head, neck, and legs of a turtle<span class="pagenum" id="Page200">[200]</span> -are of a bronze, blackish green, or deep-brown color, and the -shells are beautifully marked, glossy, ridged, or carved, and -made up of closely-united, many-sided plates, arranged -upon a thickened, lighter-colored and apparently uniform -bony plate, which is capable of being separated into many -independent pieces. The shell, or epidermic covering, is -not brittle and lime-like, as the shells of all mollusks are, but -is of the nature of horn. In general the plastron is of a -lighter color than the carapace, being light-brown, yellow or -cream, with yellowish lines dividing the plates, and with -bordering bands of red, yellow and purple. The upper -plate is usually of a very dark color, marked and lined with -darker and lighter tints, and often displaying a bevelled -yellow edge. <i>Chrysemys picta</i>, the Painted Turtle, receives -his name from the beauty of his many-colored shell, while -the Spotted Turtle, <i>Nanemys guttatus</i>, which is often called -the Wood Turtle, is distinguished by the round yellow -spots that are regularly distributed over his dark-colored -carapace.</p> - -<p>But of all our turtles none is so well known or so interesting -in his ways as the Common Box Tortoise—<i>Cistudo -clausa</i>. He affects dry woods, and dislikes the water, and is -a long-lived creature, some individuals having been known -to live more than a hundred years. Box Tortoises in confinement -have been found to eat meat, insects and bread and -milk from the hand, but if berries were put into their mouths -they wiped them out in a very funny manner with their front -feet, which they used after the fashion of a hand.</p> - -<div class="container" id="Plate3"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo200.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="copyright">Copyright 1900 by <span class="smcap">A. R. Dugmore</span>.</p> - -<p class="caption">BOX-TORTOISE FEEDING ON FUNGUS.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>When foraging in the woods, especially during the rainy -season, at which time manifold varieties of fungi prevail, they -make their meals largely upon these plants. We have seen -a huge toadstool that had been gnawed off so evenly, the -central pillar only being left intact, that appeared as though -it had been cut away by a knife. This had been the work of -the Box Tortoise, for on looking around we soon descried, -moving leisurely over the leaf-strewn earth, the creature -himself making a fresh attack upon another species in a little -opening in the woods.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page201">[201]</span></p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig37"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo201.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">COMMON BOX TORTOISE.<br /> -Breakfasting on a Toadstool.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>Very amusing it was to watch him, as with praiseworthy -deliberation he ate round after round of the cap of the -fungus. He would bite off a mouthful of the toadstool, -chew it carefully until he had extracted the whole of the -juice, then open his mouth and drop out the masticated -fibre, and take a fresh mouthful, not biting inward toward -the stem, but breaking off the morsel next beside that which -he had just eaten. He paced round and round the fungus -as he took his bites, and as the fungus decreased in regular -circles, the chewed fragments increased. In less than an -hour he had eaten all the disk of the fungus to the stipe, -and then walked slowly away to seek for another. The discarded -parts of the fungus appeared quite dry when -examined, nothing nutritious being left in them. There -must have been some very good reason for rejecting the -central part and the stem, which were left in every instance,<span class="pagenum" id="Page202">[202]</span> -but what that reason was we could not imagine. If a decayed -or wormy portion of a toadstool was encountered in the -feeding process, he did not bite round it, but abandoned the -plant altogether, and went off in quest of a fresh specimen.</p> - -<p>Coming, in his travels, to a steep gully or ravine which he -desires to cross, he does not attempt the undertaking without -counting his chances of success. He seemingly revolves -the matter over and over for some time in his mind, and, -when at last he has reached a conclusion, draws his head and -feet under cover, and by some quick, sudden jerk flings himself -down to the bottom, trusting to good fortune and his -own wits to making his way over the further incline. Observation -teaches that his deliberations are generally attended -with the accomplishment of the result to be attained.</p> - -<p>There is a very common turtle, quite abundant in the small -lakes and streams of our Western States, where he is trapped -in great numbers for the market, which country people dub -the Snapping Turtle, or which, from the resemblance which -the head and neck, when stretched out, bear to the same parts -of the alligator, takes the name of Alligator Turtle, or -<i>Chelydra serpentina</i>, with the more learned naturalist. He -has a shell too small to close over him and hide him completely, -but nature, to make up for this deficiency of covering, -has given him a bold and hasty temper, which leads him -to snap vigorously when disturbed. Snapping Turtles live -rather harmoniously together, even when confined in the -same pen, and only manifest their ugly dispositions towards -each other when excited by causes from without, with whose -origin they have nothing to do. Contests of a very vicious -character are often thus precipitated, which sooner or later -end in the death of one or more of the belligerent parties.</p> - -<p>Down in the pine countries of our Southern States lives a -large, stout animal, with a shell fifteen inches in length, -which is denominated the Gopher, or <i>Testudo Carolina</i>. -These animals dwell in troops, several families digging their -dens or burrows near together, the entrance thereto being<span class="pagenum" id="Page203">[203]</span> -about four feet long and expanding into a spacious apartment. -In each burrow resides a single pair of Gophers. By -day the Gophers keep close house, but by night they wander -out in search of food, devouring yams, melons, corn and other -garden produce. They dislike wet weather, and always go -in-doors when it rains. Gophers’ eggs, which are as large as -pigeons’ eggs, and also their flesh, are highly esteemed as -articles of diet by the negroes.</p> - -<p>In Europe, a near cousin of the Gopher is kept about the -house for a pet. If allowed, in the autumn, to find his way -into a garden, he digs a hole and hibernates, coming out in -the spring. An English lady had one of these animals which -lived in the kitchen. He was fond of creeping into the fireplace -and getting under the grate, where he would contentedly -lie until the hot coal and ashes dropped upon his back -and burnt his shell. When winter came this little creature -wanted to take his long sleep, and dug so persistently into -baskets, drawers, boxes and closets, that finally a box of -earth was given to him, into which he worked his way until -out of sight, and there he remained until April sun and -showers called him from his winter retreat. His fare was -potatoes, carrots, turnips and bread and milk, which he -especially liked.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page204">[204]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">SUMMER DUCK.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p class="chapstart"><span class="largecap">P</span><span class="afterlargecap">erhaps</span> -no species of North American water-bird is -more highly esteemed by lovers of the beautiful in -nature than <i>Aix sponsa</i>—the Summer Duck, or Wood Duck—and, -when obtainable, is one of the first to find room in -the collection of amateur naturalists. With the epicure, however, -he is of rather inferior standing, lacking as he does -the delicacy of flesh which makes the green-winged teal -and others of his tribe of such immense gastronomic value.</p> - -<p>Though truly an American species, yet this bird is more -generally found throughout the United States than any -other, nesting wherever suitable localities present themselves. -North of the Potomac River, and in the various -States situated above the parallel of latitude which cuts its -head-waters, at least so far as the country east of the Rocky -Mountains is concerned, it is chiefly a migrant, arriving towards -the close of March, or in the beginning of April. South -of this line, from Maryland to Florida, and thence south-westerly -through the Gulf States into Mexico, the birds are found -in more or less abundance during the entire year.</p> - -<p>Pairing commences in the South Atlantic and Gulf States, -we are told, about the first of March, but in New England -and the Middle States in favorable seasons from the first to -the fifteenth of April, whereas in the country bordering on -the Great Lakes and in the Western States generally, it does -not take place till the last of May or the beginning of June.</p> - -<p>Upon their arrival in our Northern States these birds, -strange to say, unlike many of their numerous family connections, -seldom frequent the sea-shore or the adjoining salt<span class="pagenum" id="Page205">[205]</span> -marshes, but manifest a predilection for the ponds, mill-dams -and deep muddy streams of the interior; and the same -is true in more southern latitudes, for they prefer to place -their nests along the creeks and bayous of the land where -the orange and palmetto charm the eye with perennial verdure.</p> - -<p>Between the time of their appearance in March and the -plighting of their vows at the accustomed trysting-places, the -sexes consort together in flocks of four or more, but never -in very large numbers, and fatten on acorns, the seeds of the -wild oats, and such insects as they can procure from the -tree-branches or the muddy borders of the streams and -ponds which they so delight to visit.</p> - -<p>On each recurrence of the mating season there is reason -to believe that the same couple come together and pledge -anew their fidelity and affection, unless debarred by death, or -some other of the many vicissitudes to which life is prone. -The troth-plight sealed, and a union effected, the happy -couple soon start off in quest of a spot for a home. In the -case of old birds the same locality, where no interference -has been experienced from beast or man, has been known to -be visited for four successive years. For obvious reasons, -Wood Ducks delight to live in close proximity to bodies of -water, such places affording conveniences to the young, when -they are sufficiently matured to betake themselves thither, -for food and exercise. Situations remote from water entail -unnecessary labor upon the female, who is then required, at -considerable risk and peril, to carry them one by one to the -pond or stream in her bill. When the distance is not too -great, and the ground underneath the nesting-tree is amply -covered with dry leaves and grasses, the young scramble to -the mouth of the nest, drop themselves down, and under -the maternal leadership wend their way to the much-loved -fluid. Often the tree or stub which contains their home is -found to overshadow the water. All that is necessary then -is for the tender little creatures, after reaching the entrance,<span class="pagenum" id="Page206">[206]</span> -to spread their ill-feathered pinions and oar-like feet and -fling themselves down, a feat which can be performed without -jeopardy to life or limb.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig38"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo206.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">SUMMER DUCKS AND YOUNG.<br /> -Female Carrying Young in Her Bill from Nest in Hollow Tree.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>Almost any tree, or tree-branch, containing the essential -hollow, and suitably located, is utilized. Broken branches -of high sycamores, seldom more than forty or fifty feet from -water, are, according to Audubon, favorite places, while Wilson -claims to have met the home of a pair of these birds in a -fork composed of branches, and built out of a few rude -sticks. In the South, the forsaken retreat of the gray -squirrel and the hole of the ivory-billed woodpecker are -common nesting-places. Often the entrance to the nest is -apparently so small when compared with the bulk of the -occupant that it is a matter of surprise to many that she can<span class="pagenum" id="Page207">[207]</span> -manage to make her way into it without suffering bodily -injuries. But she does, nevertheless, which is an evidence -that she either knows how to conform to circumstances, or -is a better judge of dimensions than many of the would-be-wise -lords of creation. All nests of our finding have been -wide enough at their mouths to admit of easy passage, and -have been from four to six feet in vertical direction. Soft -decayed wood, and a few feathers, doubtless plucked from -the breast of the builder, were their only contents. Dry -plants, down, and feathers of the wild turkey, wild goose -and the common barnyard fowl, have been observed, in addition -to the foregoing articles, by other writers. The height -of the entrance above the ground varies from fifteen to thirty -feet, but probably a less, or even a greater elevation, may -sometimes be attained.</p> - -<p>Wilson speaks of a nest which he observed in an old grotesque -white oak, which stood on a slope of one of the banks -of the Tuckahoe River, in New Jersey, just twenty yards -from the water’s edge, that had been occupied for four consecutive -years. At the time of his visit the nest contained -thirteen young birds, which the maternal head was engaged -in carrying down to the water to give them, perhaps, their -first experience in the art of swimming. So carefully, and -yet so adroitly and quickly, did she perform this seemingly -difficult task, that she was less than ten minutes in its accomplishment. -Although the male usually stands sentry -while the processes of laying and sitting are going on, and -signals the approach of enemies by a peculiar cry which has -been likened to the crowing of a young cock—œ-ēēk! -œ-ēēk!—yet from the silence of one writer upon the subject -we infer that the duty of rearing the rather numerous family -is left to the mother, while he—her friend and consequential -partner, as though disdaining such ignoble and degrading -work, because of its slavish character—is off with his gay companions, -disporting themselves in mid-air, or trimming, while -perched upon some sheltering bough, their rich and varied<span class="pagenum" id="Page208">[208]</span> -plumage. So intent, however, was the mother-bird upon the -faithful discharge of her home-duties, that she heeded not the -stately sloop, then nearly completed, as it lay upon the -stocks close-by, with its hull looming up within twelve feet -of her home, darkened with the presence, and reverberating -with the noise of workmen, but continued to pass in and out -as though utterly unconscious of the so near approach of -danger. Audubon claims that the male deserts the female -when the period of sitting commences, and joins his sterner -brethren, who unite into flocks of considerable numbers, and -keep apart from their partners until the young are fully matured, -when young and old of both sexes come together, and -thus remain until the return of another breeding-season.</p> - -<p>The female, it is evident from what has just been said, -assumes the entire charge of incubation. For more than -twenty-one days she is thus busied, with nothing, it would -seem, to relieve the monotony of her task. How often she -despairs and bewails the hardship of her lot, none can know. -It is the inexorable decree of fate that she should perform -the duties alone and unassisted, and most willingly she submits. -But the <i>ennui</i> of the labor is, in a measure, forgotten -in the vision that hope holds out to her patience, for her persistent -assiduity is ultimately rewarded by a whole nest-full -of happy ducklings. While the hatching process is going -on the patient housewife only leaves the nest when pressed -by the pangs of hunger, and but for a short time. Before -leaving, however, she takes the precaution to see that her -creamy-white, elliptical treasures, to the number of ten or -thirteen eggs, are carefully covered with down.</p> - -<p>Like the young of our domesticated species, the little -Wood Ducks follow the mother almost as soon as they are -hatched, and gather whatever of vegetable and insect food -they happen to encounter. They are passionately fond of -the water, and best show their real character when gracefully -floating upon its glassy bosom, or diving into its azure -depths. At an early age they respond to the parent’s call<span class="pagenum" id="Page209">[209]</span> -with a soft and mellow <i>pee, pee, pee-e</i>, which is uttered quite -rapidly, and at repeated intervals. The call of the mother, -when addressing the young at such times, is rather low and -soft, and resembles that of the young, being only a little more -prolonged.</p> - -<p>These beautiful birds have often been domesticated. They -become at such times so unsuspicious and familiar as to -allow themselves to be stroked by the hand. No handsomer -bird could be chosen for introduction into our yards. The -male, some nineteen inches in length, and with a scope of -wing of two and one-third feet, is a being of no mean proportions. -But it is the richness and variety of his colors -that render him an object of admiration. A conspicuous -green and purple crest adorns his head, while the sides, which -are iridescent purple, are relieved of their monotony by a -streak of white from base of bill to occiput, and by another, -back of the eye, of a pure white color, which is continuous -with that of the throat. The sides and front of the lower -neck and the forepart of the breast are a bright chestnut, with -five white spots, while the lower parts are generally white. -Beautifully iridescent metallic hues set off the upper surfaces -of the wings, which show most effectively in the blaze of the -noonday sun. To the female nature has not been, it would -seem to the casual observer, quite so propitious. Her grayish -head, with lengthened hind-feathers, white throat, brownish-yellow -fore-neck, upper breast and sides, striped with grayish -and generally dark-brown upper parts, glossed chiefly with -purple, contrast most markedly with the rich, gorgeous attire -of her other half. While less showy in dress and lacking -the dignity of demeanor that characterizes her lord, she is -none the less fitted to perform her part in the drama of life. -Her dress, sober in color, and with just enough of ornament -to relieve the oppressiveness of its sameness, is so accordant -with her home-surroundings as to afford her the protection -and security she requires in the trying and perilous -duties of brood-raising.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page210">[210]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">AMERICAN WOODCOCK.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p class="chapstart"><span class="largecap">Q</span><span class="afterlargecap">uite</span> -as interesting in habits is the American Woodcock, -the <i>Philohela minor</i> of Gray, which belongs to -the grallatorial, rather than to the natatorial, family of birds. -In distribution he is somewhat restricted, differing in this -respect from his numerous congeneric brethren, which have -a wide dispersion. He is chiefly a denizen of the eastern -parts of the United States, and of the British territory immediately -adjacent. Fort Rice, in north-western Dakota, -and Kansas and Nebraska in the West, appear to be the -limits of his range in these directions. In the Middle and -Eastern States Woodcocks are found in greater abundance -than anywhere else. While the bulk pass North to breed, -a few remain in the South and raise their happy little families -in spite of the ardor of the climate.</p> - -<p>Few migrants arrive earlier at their breeding-grounds. -They usually appear from the fifth to the tenth of March in -New England and the Middle Atlantic States, although -instances are recorded where they have been observed as -early as the twenty-fourth of February. These cases are -rare, however, and only happen, if at all, when the weather -has been remarkably auspicious for a lengthy spell. As a -few birds have been known to winter in the North, when -the season has been unusually mild, their emergence from -sheltered localities so early might be construed by persons -not cognizant of their presence, or of their occasional winter -sojourn, as a case of recent arrival. In view of this fact, it -would be difficult to prove that a bird seen in winter had -just come from the South, unless discovered <i>in transitu</i>.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page211">[211]</span></p> - -<p>Small companies, from four to six in number, start together -upon the migratory tour. Low, swampy thickets invite -their presence upon reaching their destination. Here they -conceal themselves during the day, but when night has -gathered dark they come out of their grassy retreats and -wander about in quest of food. From the setting of the sun -behind the western hills to the appearance of the first streaks -of dawn in the east, they pursue their nocturnal rambles. -Few persons have visited these birds in their accustomed -haunts while foraging. Let me take the reader to some -neighboring swamp, or by the side of some lonely woodland, -which these birds delight to frequent. The utmost silence -must be maintained, or they will be frightened away. While -it will be difficult to see the creatures that have called us -hither, yet we know they are not far away by the rustle they -produce among the dry leaves, and by the peculiar notes -they emit. <i>Chipper, chip-per, chip</i> may be heard from the -right, and almost at the next instant it is varied to <i>bleat</i> or -<i>bleat ta bleat ta</i>, produced in the contrary direction, or off in -the distance, showing that the authors of these sounds have -changed their positions. While these birds have a habitual -fondness for humid thickets, they not infrequently betake -themselves to corn-fields and other cultivated tracts in close -proximity, and even to elevated woods.</p> - -<p>For more than a fortnight after their arrival the sexes, -though feeding in company, do not apparently manifest a -disposition to assume conjugal relationship. The desire for -food seems to outweigh every other consideration. The -inclemency of the weather, and the coldness of the earth, -may have much to do with holding the amatory forces in -check. But when the opportune period arrives, which it -does in the course of events, the sexes desist in a measure -from their riotous living and give the nobler instincts of -their being a chance to assert their power. The males are -the first to feel the changes which are being wrought in their -natures. For more than a week from the incipiency of this<span class="pagenum" id="Page212">[212]</span> -feeling, in the early morning and evening hours, they may -be seen exercising themselves by means of “curious spiral -gyrations” in mid-air, and uttering, as earthwards they -descend, a note which has been likened to the word <i>kwank</i>. -This note may be a call to the female in the spring, but as it -is often uttered in the fall after the breeding-season is past, -it may also be a summons for the gathering together of the -members of the same household. The production of these -sounds seems a labor of very great effort. But the movements -of the males at these times must be seen to be appreciated. -The head and bill are bent forward until the latter comes -into contact with the ground, and, just as the sound is being -emitted, the body is urged violently forward. These spasmodic -exertions having ceased, the actor in this drama -twitches his abbreviated, half-spread tail, assumes an erect -attitude of listening, and, if no response is elicited, repeats his -characteristic cry with all its accompanying movements. If -the call awakes an answering note, the happy lover flies to -the presence of the one he seeks and lavishes upon her the -most endearing caresses. Sometimes, as Audubon affirms, -the male awaits the arrival of the dear one, and does not fly -to meet her. The summons, according to the same eminent -authority, seem sometimes to be replied to by one of the -same sex, which is always the prelude to a fierce encounter -between the two, for, on such occasions, when the feelings -are in a high state of tension, the most intense enmity exists -between the males. But these contentions are ordinarily -short-lived, and cease with the assumption of matrimonial -relations.</p> - -<p>The happiness of the male is now complete. With his -homely but prepossessing bride by his side, he soon journeys -off in search of a home. This is a matter of great consequence, -and tasks the patience to the utmost. But their -labors are eventually crowned with success. The most -secluded resorts are visited, and in some low, dense and -swampy woods or brake, difficult of access, and one that -none but the cruel collector would be likely to find, they -hide away their nest. The structure is generally placed on -the ground, at the foot of a bush or tussock, in the midst of -small birches or alders, or on a decayed stump or prostrate -log. In certain localities, it is snugly nestled in the midst of -a meadow. It is by no means an elaborate affair, but merely -consists of a few dried leaves or grasses which are scratched -together by the female, and the work of a few brief hours at -the most.</p> - -<div class="container" id="Plate4"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo212.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="copyright">Copyright 1900 by <span class="smcap">A. R. Dugmore</span>.</p> - -<p class="caption">WOODCOCK ON NEST (Showing protective coloring)</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page213">[213]</span></p> - -<p>Being ready for occupancy, the female soon commences -to deposit her eggs. These, to the number of three or -four, are laid one at a time on consecutive days. Oviposition, -in the Southern States, commences in February or -March, while in the northern limits of the bird’s range from -the tenth to the fifteenth of April, seldom later. Both birds -perform the labor of incubation, and so attentive are they to -the business that it is an unusual occurrence to find both -absent from the nest at the same time. When the female is -sitting the male busies himself in attending to the demands -of hunger; and when her turn has come the care of the nest -is resigned to her noble, conscientious lord. So faithfully do -they keep to the nest that nothing short of the most menacing -danger will compel them to leave. The approach of a -team or a pedestrian, even when within a few feet of its -location, has not been known to startle them. But when -the danger is quite imminent the sitting bird slips out of the -nest and makes her way into the tall grasses, where, hidden -from view, she becomes a silent and sorrowful witness of any -disaster that may befall her home. Should no destruction -be perpetrated, and the intruder has gone his way, she cautiously -comes out of her place of concealment and resumes -her labors. But she has learned a very impressive lesson, -for on a second visit to the nest no bird is to be seen. -Apprised of the coming of danger, she has slipped out in -time to escape detection. Thus, patiently, persistently and -unweariedly these faithful creatures apply themselves by<span class="pagenum" id="Page214">[214]</span> -turns to the task of sitting until success has crowned their -willing labors. The time spent in hatching is, under the most -favorable conditions, from seventeen to eighteen days.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig39"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo214.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">AMERICAN WOODCOCK.<br /> -Mother Flying Away With Young Between Her Feet.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>The young are very timid creatures and keep close to -their parents. Considerable solicitude is shown by the latter -for their well-being. Their helpless infancy, so to speak, is -watched over with all the care that a human mother bestows -upon her offspring, and when their lives are endangered recourse -is had to many a <i>ruse</i> to deceive their enemies and -bring them into places of security. When severely pressed -by foes, the mother, by a peculiar alarm, warns them of the -state of things, and while they are scattering in different -directions seeks to attract attention to herself in many a -well-feigned artifice. In her anxiety for their safety, she has<span class="pagenum" id="Page215">[215]</span> -even been observed to seize between her two feet a youngling -and fly with it away—a behavior whose purpose seemed -to be the diversion of the enemy from the rest of the brood, -thus giving them a chance to flee from impending peril to -places of security in the surrounding verdure. After all -danger has disappeared, she summons them together again -by a familiar call, and doubtless relates to them the story of -her adventures and the dangers from which they were saved. -Worms, animalcula, ants and other soft-bodied insects, which -the parents assist them in procuring from the soft earth, and -from beneath the grass and dead leaves that abound in the -places they frequent, constitute their food. Later on they -are able to obtain their subsistence, with all the address of -older birds, by thrusting their bills into the soil and in such -other places as would be likely to contain the objects desired. -Their tongues, covered with a viscid saliva, adhere to the -food, and when drawn into the mouth carry it with them -without danger of being lost. All who have made these -birds a study have often discerned holes made in the soft -mud by their bills. The presence of these “borings,” as -they are called, is always an indication that game is not far -distant, which a careful exploration of the locality soon -verifies. The young, when matured, continue to occupy the -same haunts with their parents, and, unless brought to an -untimely death by the merciless gun of the hunter, repair -to the warm, sunny, smiling South with the return of frost. -In the Middle States—and the same is doubtless true of -other sections of our great country—there is never more -than a single brood raised, although the early breeding of -the species would certainly afford time for a second hatching -before the close of the season. Less pyriform are the eggs -of the Woodcock than waders’ mostly are, being, in some -instances, almost ovoidal. Their ground-color varies from a -light clay to one of buffy-brown, and the markings occur in -the form of fine spots and blotches of chocolate-brown, interspersed -with others of obscure lilac, more or less thickly<span class="pagenum" id="Page216">[216]</span> -scattered over the surface of the egg, their size and intensity -of color bearing, in general, a direct correspondence with the -depth of the background. Remarkable variations of size -exist throughout the species’ range, some being short and -broad, while others are long and narrow. A set of three -from Pennsylvania, which the writer carefully measured, -showed an average measurement of 1.54 by 1.21 inches.</p> - -<p>So familiar a bird as the Woodcock, which is sometimes -termed the Bog-sucker or Wood-snipe, hardly needs description. -He has a thick, heavily-set body, short and thick neck, -and large head, bill and eyes, and ears beneath the visual -organs. His wings are short and rounded, the first three -primaries being very narrow and shorter than the fourth, and -the fourth and fifth the largest. The tarsi are about one and -one-fourth inches long and rather stout, the tibiæ feathered -to the joints, and the toes long and slender, and without -marginal membranes or basal webs. More than two and a -half inches in length is the bill, straight, tapering, and stout -at base, with ridge at base of maxilla high, and the upper -mandible a little larger than the lower, and knobbed at the -end. Three long grooves, one on ridge above, and the others -on each side of maxilla, complete the structural details of -the bill. The sexes are alike, the female being larger than -the male. Adult specimens vary from ten to twelve inches -in length, and have an expanse of wings of from fifteen to -eighteen inches, and a weight ranging from four to nine -ounces. The eyes are brown, legs and bill of the dried skin -pale-brownish, upper parts black, gray, russet and brown, -chin whitish, and rest of under parts different shades of -brownish-red.</p> - -<p>So exquisitely sensible is the extremity of the bill, as in -the snipe, that these birds are enabled to collect their food -by the mere touch, without using their eyes, which are set -at such a distance and elevation in the back part of the head -as to give them an aspect of stupidity. The eyes being situated -high up and far back is a wise provision of nature,<span class="pagenum" id="Page217">[217]</span> -as, by this peculiarity, they escape many of their enemies, -their field of vision being greatly augmented by such an -arrangement. Obtaining their sustenance, as they largely -do, by probing with their bills, so amply endowed with -nerves, they have comparatively little use for their eyes, -unless to keep watch for their numerous foes.</p> - -<p>Though well known to the sportsman, yet by the casual -observer this bird is frequently confounded with the Wilson’s -snipe. But the error can readily be avoided, if it is borne -in mind that the Woodcock has the entire lower parts, including -the lining of wings, a reddish-brown color, while the -snipe has the abdomen white, the throat and upper parts of -the breast speckled, and the lining of the wings barred with -white and black.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page218">[218]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">PIPING PLOVER.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p class="chapstart"><span class="largecap">H</span><span class="afterlargecap">ave</span> -you ever been to the sea-shore? Then, of -course, you have met the Piping Plover, but, perhaps, -not to know him. He is of the size of the robin, not -quite so robust, but stands much taller, being mounted on -rather long, stilt-like legs, which admirably fit him for the -life which he is designed to fill in the world. He belongs to -the family of wading birds, and seeks the principal part of -his food in or by the water, which could not possibly be were -his walking appendages curtailed the least bit of their fair -proportions. But to be more precise in my word-picture, -let me describe him to you as of a pale ashy-brown color, -fading into grayish upon the under parts, and as having his -head set off with some narrow black bands, that on the neck -rarely, if ever, forming a perfect ring. His bill will be found -to be short and stout and blunt, and there will be an appreciable -lack of webbing between the middle and inner front -toes.</p> - -<p>Now that it is plain what the bird looks like, you are certainly -prepared, more than ever, to take some interest in him -in his brief stay by the sea. So strongly is he attached to -the scenes rendered dear by past associations and memories -that, from his winter home in the sunny South, and even from -over the waters beyond our southern borders, he hails with -delight the return of the vernal equinox, for he knows full -well that it brings with it the summer’s heat and all its varied, -priceless wealth of insect life.</p> - -<p>So with the first spring signs of open weather he quits his -brumal retreat, winds his way up along the trend of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page219">[219]</span> -Atlantic seaboard, and at last reaches in the nights of early -April the sandy beaches of our Jersey coast. In flocks of a -dozen individuals they run about the sand in a most lively -manner, and utter all the while a variety of notes more or -less pleasing, blending as they do with the deep-toned bass -of the ocean. When this sound, welling up from a dozen -throats, is heard in the dark it is particularly striking, as wild -and weird as the whistling of a wind at sea through the rigging -of a ship.</p> - -<p>But these flocks soon disperse into pairs to breed. Slight -depressions in the dry sand, and always in the midst of -groups of broken colored shells, but out of the reach of the -maddened waves, rather than in muddy, marshy places back -of the beach-line, serve them for nests. This nesting among -clustered shells seemingly points to a love for the beautiful. -But may it not be that the shells but mark the various nest-positions -in the unbroken waste of sand? We incline to this -opinion. There is so much diversity manifested in the size -of the groups and in the arrangement and coloration of the -individual shells that comprise them, that no very great difficulty -should be experienced by the several pairs nesting in -the same locality in knowing each other’s nest.</p> - -<p>While the birds are concerned with the cares of brood-raising, -which is usually towards the close of May or the -beginning of June, they confine their feeding to the damp, -wet sand. Between it and the dry a clear line of separation -is plainly noticeable. It is only when they are ready for the -home duties that they are seen to resort to aerial navigation. -Even when on the very boundary-line of the two stretches of -sand, the wet and the dry, and with the nest almost in sight, -they are known to assume wing, taking due care, however, -to alight before they have fairly reached the spot. In flight -an advantage, that of a more commanding view, is acquired, -which walking does not give. But in leaving the nest for -food, or for any other purpose, they, as before, walk some -distance away before they venture to fly. There is a seeming<span class="pagenum" id="Page220">[220]</span> -purpose in so doing, the object to be gained being the deceiving -of man and other enemies as to the real location -of the nest.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig40"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo220.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">FEMALE PIPING PLOVER.<br /> -Nest in Midst of Broken Shells.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>All these precautions are undertaken for the sake of the -eggs, although in color and markings these so closely resemble -the dry sand and intermingled bits of foreign substances, -that such actions seem all unnecessary. When birds have -been flushed from the nest, and its exact position has been -noted with the greatest care, I have failed, after several minutes -of the closest searching, to detect the eggs, so true has been -the color-harmony between them and the surrounding sand. -This resemblance in coloration must be seen to be fully appreciated. -In ground the eggs are the palest possible creamy-brown, -but marked all over, quite sparingly, with small -blackish-brown dots and specks, the largest hardly exceeding -a pin’s head. Four is the usual number, and these, from -their peculiar pear-shaped form, are placed with their points -together in the centre of the nest. They are objects of more<span class="pagenum" id="Page221">[221]</span> -than ordinary solicitude, the little Plovers making most violent -demonstrations and pleading piteously when they are -approached. The mother employs all the well-known artifices, -such as lameness, inability to fly, to draw the intruder -away from the nest. The young run as soon as they leave -the egg, and are great adepts at hiding, squatting, and remaining -motionless. Their downy plumage so assimilates -them to the sand that unless they reveal themselves by -moving, it requires a very keen eye to distinguish them from -the numberless tufts that are scattered about the higher -reaches of the beach.</p> - -<p>Although so essentially a bird of the sea-shore, yet in -August many scores of these birds come up the Delaware -River as far as tide-water extends, feeding upon the mud-flats -and gravel-bars, and occasionally wending their way -up along the courses of the creeks until they find themselves -well into the country. It is interesting to watch them -as they run in and out among the little hills and hollows of the -mud in quest of their prey. They are happy, light-hearted -fellows, who do not begrudge, when some racy tidbit has -rewarded their hunting, to pipe a few notes of thanks to Him -who watches as tenderly over them as over the mighty lords -of the earth.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page222">[222]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">BOB WHITE.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p class="chapstart"><span class="largecap">S</span><span class="afterlargecap">omewhat</span> -related to the grouse is the Quail, as he is -called in the Northern States, or “Bob White,” his -universally recognized appellation. His scientific name is -<i>Ortyx Virginianus</i>. Differing from the Old World partridges, -he has been assigned a place in the sub-family Odontophorinæ, -of which five genera are said to exist, most of them -being restricted to the extreme south-west of our country. -His habits and history are full of interest to everybody.</p> - -<p>Quails are restless, uneasy birds, attached to one place -while rearing their family, but immediately upon the brood -becoming able to travel, commencing their wanderings. There -is no accounting for these movements, which sometimes -deprive a whole district of their presence for a time, to populate -a neighboring region previously without them. When -such journeys are undertaken, a large number of birds participate, -travelling on foot, and passing steadily through -districts where food is plentiful, and seemingly without any -definite destination in mind, so loath are they to use their -wings, that in attempting to cross wide rivers and inlets -immense numbers are said to perish. A limited and partial -migration, it is highly probable, takes place annually from -the more northern to warmer latitudes, influenced in its -extent by the comparative severity of the seasons, being -more distinctly migrating west than east of the Delaware -River.</p> - -<p>About the middle of March the winter flocks break up, -and the mating begins. Although not indulging in the -noisy and seemingly meaningless antics of the grouse to<span class="pagenum" id="Page223">[223]</span> -call attention to his personal attractiveness, Bob White, it -would appear, becomes suddenly conscious of his comely -looks and excellent voice. In a dignified manner, with head -erect, he walks proudly about, inviting the opposite sex to -view him at his best. From the orchard gate he calls a -saucy good morning to the farmer, knowing that the law -holds its <i>ægis</i> over him at this time, but he keeps an eye to -hawks, cats and other predatory animals that respect neither -time, place nor season. He is polygamous, willing to assume -any amount of family responsibility, and will help to rear -two, or even three, broods a year, a successful pair often -turning out twenty-five young in a season. It is not an -uncommon occurrence to find a covey of little cheepers, -scarcely able to fly, as late as November.</p> - -<p>Although paired so early, the Quails do not proceed to the -business of nidification in the central part of their range -until about the middle of May. The leeward side of some -dense tussock of grass, a mouldering stump in a wild, matted -meadow, the woody margin of a clover field or orchard, or an -old pasture overgrown with bramble thickets, are situations -commonly chosen, the female, as is her undoubted right, -taking the lead in fixing upon the site. An artificial bed -of grasses and vegetable trash, filling a shallow depression, -is the nest. Sometimes it is placed so as to be concealed by -overarching grasses, through which a regular tunnel, several -feet in length, conducts to the sanctum; and, at other times, -is only covered with leaves and straw, which the birds themselves -have rudely adjusted. The nest, which is constructed -solely by the females of the family, varies in dimensions -according to the number of this sex that anticipate using it, -the male in the meantime going about in quest of food, or -sitting upon a low twig close by, cheering his wives by his -trisyllabic note, and very faithfully warning them of the -imminence of danger.</p> - -<p>The work is prosecuted with considerable zeal, three days -at farthest sufficing to make the nest ready for the first egg,<span class="pagenum" id="Page224">[224]</span> -which is immediately laid, and which is followed by one on -each consecutive day, until seven or eight have been -deposited. As many as thirty eggs are sometimes found in -a single nest, which is due to the polygamy of the male. -Two, and often three and four females, are taken by a male, -and two have been known to occupy simultaneously the -same nest.</p> - -<p>When a pair of birds has established itself in a locality -from the first, and has been successful in rearing a family of -young during the ensuing spring, if the females are in the -majority the unprovided ones still continue, as a general -thing, to linger with the parents after their more specially -favored companions have mated and moved elsewhere. This -is particularly noticeable in a new locality where the covey -consists entirely of members of a single family. In cases -where several families congregate in the fall, the chances are -greatly in favor of monogamy. Small flocks are more -decidedly polygamous than larger ones. We have never -observed the converse—that is, more than one male to a -female—but where several pairs are found in the same field, -at slight distances from each other, there is sometimes a -noticeable tendency to associate.</p> - -<p>The eggs of the Quail are crystal white, sometimes slightly -tinged with yellow, and pyriform in shape. Eighteen days -are required for their hatching. Where the father is not -fortunate enough to possess a harem, a part of the work -devolves upon him, while the mother seeks food and recreation; -but where there are several females, the work is -divided very amicably among them, each sitting about half -a day at a stretch, then calling her relief with a low note, if -there be only two, the male taking no part in the labor of -incubation whatever. Should the family be larger, two -females will sit side by side on the eggs, there being too -many in number for one breast to cover. Meanwhile the -husband remains close by, chirping encouragement in a low -tone, and betimes making the field vocal with his loud, clear<span class="pagenum" id="Page225">[225]</span> -whistle. He is exceedingly vigilant, and if a human being -approaches the nest gives the alarm to his partners, who -secretly withdraw from the nest, while he, thoughtful husband -as he is, flings himself upon the ground in front of the -intruder, feigning lameness or injury, and seeking by every -device known to him to attract attention and pursuit, till -having beguiled the enemy far away from his home he seeks -safety for himself in flight. The experienced oölogist pays -no regard to this deceit, seeing in it only a sign of the nearness -of the coveted prize, but patiently continues his search -until he has discovered its whereabouts.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig41"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo225.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">HOME OF BOB WHITE.<br /> -Two Wives on Same Nest.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>Two broods are invariably raised and often a third, but the -last appearing late in the summer, and scarcely attaining<span class="pagenum" id="Page226">[226]</span> -their growth before the coming of snow. If unmolested, it -is evident, therefore, that the species would increase with -great rapidity, as shown by the celerity with which regions, -where the birds had been well nigh exterminated, have been -replenished when a period of quiet for a season or two has -been allowed them. The young run about in a very lively -manner as soon as they have left the shell, and in a few days -are given over to the care of the father, whom they follow -and obey as readily as they did the mother, possibly because -they do not recognize the change of guardians, while she -returns to the cares of rearing another family.</p> - -<p>During the spring and early summer both old and young -find an abundance of food for themselves in the larvæ of -various insects, the succulent shoots of growing plants and -such seeds as abound. Later on, strawberries, blueberries, -huckleberries and other wild fruits supply their demands. -In August they grow fat upon grasshoppers, and as this is -the time when seeds ripen, acorns and beech-nuts fall, and -the stubble-fields are full of scattered wheat, rye, barley and -maize, and insects are plentiful upon the ground, they feast -themselves to satiety before the winter begins, until they -have reached that delectable plumpness so highly esteemed -by <i>bon vivants</i>. Attaining their full growth by the end of -September, at least in the case of the earlier broods, the -season of play for the partridges and sport for the gunner -has come. Quail-shooting is regarded as a test of marksmanship -in the United States. So rare and wild have the -birds become by reason of incessant hunting, that it certainly -requires skill and fine shooting to make a bag. Bred -in the open fields, and feeding early in the morning and late -in the evening, a man may beat a field all day, and put up -only one or two birds, when he is certain that twice as many -lay concealed, huddled up in little knots in out-of-the-way -places, which the best of dogs might easily pass without -discovering. Their inconspicuous colors, too, which are in -keeping with the objects around them, so conceal them from<span class="pagenum" id="Page227">[227]</span> -the vision of the hunter, that, trusting to them, they will sit -immovable until he has gone some distance beyond, when -they will spring up and away like so many arrows, requiring -a quick eye and a steady hand to turn and drop a brace.</p> - -<p>When ultimately flushed, they fly to some particular covert, -and so long as this thicket or fern-brake remains undiscovered, -will repeatedly repair to it for safety and security. A rather -curious circumstance, which has created no little discussion -among American sportsmen, materially aids their concealment. -When alighting, after being flushed, the Quail is said -to give out no scent for some little time. This is supposed -to be a voluntary act of retention of odor on the part of the -bird, as a conscious method of protection. Some, while -admitting the fact, believe it to be a power belonging to -particular bevies, at least in a far greater degree than to -others, like the custom of alighting upon the branches of -trees when frightened, while others restrict the faculty to -particular individuals rather than bevies. Our earlier ornithologists -do not mention the retention of scent. It is probable, -as claimed by a few, that Quails’ swift running over the dry -leaves of upland woods or meadows allows little time and a -poor surface for the transmission of the scent, and that when -they drop suddenly and remain quiet no effluvium escapes, -but which only becomes disseminated the very instant they -move.</p> - -<p>The open fields being smitten by the wild winds of November, -and the reeds bruised and broken, the Quail retreats to -the depths of the swamp or the shelter of a dense thicket, -where he keeps life in him as best he can during the cold, -stormy days, hunting the stubble and swamp for soft-shelled -nuts and seeds, torpid beetles, and the hard fruits and seed-cases -of grasses and weeds, some of which, the skunk -cabbage for example, tainting his flesh with their flavor. -Huddled together the forlorn covey allow the snow to cover -them, trusting to shake it off on the return of the morning, -but occasionally a crust freezes upon the surface, and the<span class="pagenum" id="Page228">[228]</span> -poor birds find themselves in a prison from which they cannot -break out before they starve to death. The habit of -huddling is peculiar to Quails the whole year round. They -select at evening some spot of low ground, where the long -grass affords shelter and warmth, and there they encamp, -sleeping in a circle, shoulder to shoulder, with heads turned -out, keeping each other warm, and ready to escape at a -moment’s warning without stumbling over one another. A -suitable roosting-place once found, night after night they -repair thither, leaving it in the morning before sunrise to -seek their breakfast.</p> - -<p>Unless the winter be unusually mild, they may be seen -associating in the pasture with the cattle, and even following -them home to glean the grain that falls into the barnyard, -and pick up the scraps that are thrown to the chickens. -This delightful confidence is not always abused, for many -persons take pains to foster the bevies they find spending -the winter in some brushy hillside near the house -by daily scattering grain or clover-seed upon the snow -where the hungry birds may come and get it. The pert air -with which one of the cocks will perch himself on a fence-rider -or walk sedately along a stone wall in the early sunlight -of a glistening January morning is reward enough to -the benefactor, if he cares not to preserve them for the selfish -pleasure of shooting them the following autumn.</p> - -<p>As a delicate article of food the Quail is highly esteemed, -and during the time the law allows the markets are filled -with bunches of them. Various devices in the form of -snares, nets and traps are called into service to effect their -capture, and in some parts of the country, New England -especially, fresh importations have been necessary to preserve -a sufficient number for sport. Bands of beaters in the -Southern and Western States cautiously drive immense -flocks into nets, but there is less danger of exterminating -this than almost any other species of game-bird, it would -seem, on account of its sequestered habits and prolificacy.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page229">[229]</span></p> - -<p>Taming and domestication is an easy matter with these -birds. In all cases, however, where the eggs have been -hatched under a hen at liberty, the Quail chicks have run -away to the woods as soon as the leaves have turned sear in -the fall and never come back. They sang their “Ah, Bob -White!” just as clearly before they had ever heard one -of their kin as any woodland-bred Quails could do. It is -quite common to re-colonize portions of the Eastern States -when they have become depopulated, and an effort made -some years ago to introduce these birds into the Salt Lake -Valley of Utah was eminently successful. Within the past -few years some of the West India Islands have been colonized, -but attempts to acclimatize the birds in England and -Ireland have proved most signal failures.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page230">[230]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">RUFFED GROUSE.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p class="chapstart"><span class="largecap">C</span><span class="afterlargecap">onsiderable</span> -misapprehension exists in relation -to the popular appellation of this species. In some -parts of the country it is dubbed the Partridge, while in -others it goes by the name of Pheasant. It is neither. All -its affinities point away from these families, in the direction -of the True Grouse, of which it constitutes a useful and -interesting member. Pheasants are never found in the -United States, but are indigenous to Southern Asia. Their -nearest representative here is the Wild Turkey. Almost as -much may be said of the Partridge, a group of birds which -are exclusive denizens of the Old World.</p> - -<p>But now to our subject. Few Grouse are so well known -as the Ruffed Grouse, the <i>Bonasa umbellus</i> of Stephens. -Everywhere throughout the timbered regions of Eastern -North America it is more or less plentiful, ranging from the -Atlantic seaboard to the Rocky Mountains, and from -Georgia to Nova Scotia. In all our Southern States, Louisiana -excepted, these birds exist to some extent, and are also -to be found over limited portions of the Missouri region, -but, doubtless, more especially about the mouth of the river, -and in the contiguous country. In the western parts of the -region it is represented by a form which passes with ornithologists -as a well-defined, genuine variety. It seems to be -wanting in California, but in the wooded sections of the -Cascade Range, as well as in the valley of the Willamette in -Oregon, where it exists under a new varietal name, it is by -no means an uncommon occupant. In the New England, -Middle Atlantic and Northern Central States it is that these<span class="pagenum" id="Page231">[231]</span> -birds are to be seen to the best advantage, and in the greatest -numbers. West of the Mississippi, if we exclude Eastern -Kansas, Southern Iowa and the whole of Missouri, they -occur, if at all, in comparatively small and isolated parties.</p> - -<p>In regions which these Grouse inhabit, they are permanent -residents, and are never known to move southward with -the retreat of warm weather. They are capable of adapting -themselves to climatic variations with ease, but not so readily -to surface irregularities and their natural concomitants. -Dense woods, craggy mountain-sides and the borders of -streams are noted places of resort. Lowlands, especially -such as are invested with thick growths of small bushes -and tall, rank grasses, are not infrequently chosen. When -in search of food and gravel, they are known to quit their -favorite haunts and betake themselves to the open road, -where groups may be seen absorbed in feeding, but not to -that extent, however, when the rustle of a moving leaf or the -crackling of a twig would pass unnoticed. The slightest -noise causes a temporary suspension of labor and a momentary -shudder of surprise. All of a sudden, and in the most -perfect harmony, all heads are raised and pointing in the -direction whence the noise emanated. The keen vision of -these birds is not slow in discerning, through the gloomy -recesses, the presence of danger; but should nothing of an -alarming nature manifest itself, a short parley ensues and -business is resumed, though not with the same earnestness -and lack of care, however, as before. Greater caution is now -observable, and every effort taken to prevent an ambuscade. -But let the cause of the alarm, a dog or a man, be close at -hand, and the birds immediately strike for the cover, either -on foot or by means of flight, the latter method only being -adopted in extreme cases, when the other course would be -attended by disaster and probable ruin. In the exercise of -their cursorial powers, they move with remarkable swiftness, -as with head depressed and tail expanded they run for their -lives. A pile of brushwood or an impenetrable jungle, when<span class="pagenum" id="Page232">[232]</span> -near, is rendered subservient. There they manage to conceal -themselves for a time and thus recover breath. Closely pursued, -and in danger of being trampled upon by the foot of -the huntsman or lacerated by the fangs of his quadrupedal -friend, they await the opportune moment, when, with sudden -whirring wings, they cleave the elastic ether and vigorously -press forward to some transitory haven of security, but only -to fall once more in the way of their relentless persecutors. -These flights are so well timed and so unexpected that many -an experienced gunner is thrown off his guard, and when, -at last, he has recovered from his surprise and collected his -thoughts, feels vexed at himself for allowing his equanimity -to become unsettled by so familiar a stratagem. He finds it -useless to repine, but endeavors to choke down the bitter -sigh of disappointment that arises as he presses forward to -further adventures.</p> - -<p>Like the common barnyard fowl, these Grouse are strictly -gregarious, especially during the autumnal and winter -months. The flocks they form vary in numbers, and when -disturbed, while feeding, scatter in all directions, each member -seeking only its own individual safety and well-being. -But after the lapse of a few minutes, becoming reassured, -they gather simultaneously about the same spot, travelling -the entire distance on foot. The utmost circumspection and -vigilance are always exercised in these backward movements. -Scarcity of food occasionally causes these birds, where very -numerous in mountainous districts, to migrate to other -places. These journeys are usually undertaken about the -middle of October, they then being in excellent order and -in great demand for the table. Audubon witnessed, in the -fall of 1820, an immense number <i>in transitu</i> from Ohio, -Indiana and Illinois to Kentucky, many of whom became a -prey to man. This disposition to lead a roving, migratory -life is, as a general thing, not hereditary, and consequently -is seldom undertaken, plenty of food usually being found in -localities which these birds affect.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page233">[233]</span></p> - -<p>Where there is a paucity of food-materials, such as acorns, -the seeds of the beech and of the various species of birch, they -do not hesitate to devour the buds of the mountain laurel, -which impart a poisonous character to their flesh. When -severely hunger-pressed they feed upon dry bark, the insects -that harbor in the creviced trunks and branches of trees, and -even stray to the roads that wander through their gloomy -retreats and peck at the hard, frozen horse-droppings they -chance to encounter. But when spring returns and renews -her bond of faith with Mother Earth, they more than make -up for their scanty winter fare and feast with fastidious appetites -upon the now tender and juicy buds of the black birch, -which give a peculiar and toothsome flavor to their flesh that -has acquired for them in some localities the name of Birch -Partridge. For a brief spell every other interest is now -absorbed in that of unrestrained feasting, to which the sexes -submit themselves with all the <i>abandon</i> of civilized humanity. -The middle of March, or the close of the month dedicated -by the ancient Romans to purifications and fastings, when -the weather is favorable, marks a change in their life. This -era is announced by a loud drumming noise, which is -everywhere heard. Standing upon a tall rock or a prostrate -log in some secluded woods or other locality, the author of -this noise may be found. His attitude and demeanor needs -must be seen to be appreciated. Once seen, he can never be -forgotten. Arrayed in a brand-new spring suit, he is a -being not to be despised. But this is not all. His beautifully-contracted -neck, broad, expanded, fan-like tail and elevated -feather-tufts that ornament both sides of his neck, as -he struts about with all the grace and dignity of some -pompous lord or duke, render him of no mean importance -and greatly add to his attractions.</p> - -<p>But it is his final actions that impress the beholder with -wonder and admiration. The hitherto trailing wings now -assume a condition of rigidity, and commence a firm, but -slow, downward and forward movement, which steadily<span class="pagenum" id="Page234">[234]</span> -increases in power and rapidity, until the swiftly-vibrating -wings appear only as a semi-circular outline of mist above -the bird, thus giving rise to a sound which may be appropriately -likened to the reverberations of distant, muttering -thunder. These sounds are most generally heard during the -cool hours of the morning, when his spirits are buoyant after -a night of refreshing slumber. But as the day advances, they -are less frequent, and irregular. So nicely can they be -imitated, that many a bird is drawn to his doom, when -advancing, as he supposed, to meet an antagonist.</p> - -<p>As the drumming is as often heard in the fall as in the -spring, it has long been a mooted question as to its significancy -as the call-note of the male during the period of -breeding. But there can be no doubt of the correctness of -this interpretation, for incontestable proof exists of it in the -responsive actions of the female. Nuttall is probably correct -in ascribing the autumnal exhibition of the power to self-gratification, -and in affirming it to be, in many instances, “an -instinctive expression of hilarity and vigor.”</p> - -<p>Besides the peculiar drumming sound which the males -produce during the love-season, they give expression to -other vocal utterances no less remarkable. These are generally -enunciated when about to arise from the ground, and -consist of two well-defined and characteristic notes. The -first may be described as a sort of cackle, repeated several -times in lively succession; and the other, which closely -follows in its wake, as a peculiar lisping whistle, which has -not inaptly been compared to the cry of a young bird. These -notes doubtless play a considerable part in the reconciliation -and bringing together of the sexes after their temporary -separation.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig42"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo235.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">RUFFED GROUSE IN SPRING-TIME.<br /> -Two Males Displaying Their Graces Before a Lone Female.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>While the courting-season lasts, it is not an uncommon -occurrence to find a single male in the midst of several -females before whom he is engaged in showing off his many -good qualities and graces, or two males displaying, upon the -same fallen log, the excellent beauties of their person and<span class="pagenum" id="Page235">[235]</span> -movements. In the former dilemma, enamored of so many, -he is sometimes disposed to be gay and trifling, dallying -with the affections of some pure, simple-minded female. The -most cruel flirtations are often indulged in. But when he -does bring himself earnestly down to the business of choosing -a partner, he does not go about it in an uncertain, hesitating -manner, but makes his selection with promptness and -dispatch. The successful female, proud of the honor conferred, -at the call of her lord, forsakes the group of her -unmarried sisters, and follows wheresoever he leadeth. The -warmest tokens of affection and regard are lavished upon the -elected bride, and woe to the rival who should appear upon -the scene while these amours are being enacted. Should -this event occur, the intruder is instantly assailed, and a<span class="pagenum" id="Page236">[236]</span> -long and bloody battle ensues, which results in the death of -one or other of the combatants, but never in the complete -vanquishment of the defensive party. Instances are known -where males have treated their first loves with cruel indifference, -and subsequently deserted them, but such things could -not otherwise be, as will be seen when the question of -polygamy comes to be considered, for it is a fact, not generally -known, that both birds are slightly promiscuous, the -tendency being more pronounced, however, upon the part of -the male. In the case where a single female is courted by -two males, the successful competitor for the honor of her -hand, so to speak, is he whose movements are marked by -the greatest elegance and grace. So intense does the desire -to please become, that the slightest disposition upon the part -of the lady to favor one of the rivals rather than the other, -leads to the most unhappy consequences, a quarrel being -precipitated, the contestants seeming determined to settle -the result by the gage of battle.</p> - -<p>The time of mating varies somewhat with climate and -with the conditions of the season. In the warm, sunny South -it occurs late in March or early in April. But further North, -where winter still lingers with frosty coldness, the latter -month is well nigh verging to its close, or gliding into the -succeeding, before this essential business is thought of. -When, however, it does happen, the female, with but little -waste of time, withdraws from the society of her partner, -and repairs to a secluded spot in the midst of a woods, where, -usually beneath a clump of evergreen, or a pile of brush, or -perhaps a fallen log or projecting rock, she hastily scratches -a few dry leaves together for a nest. There she deposits, -one by one, on as many consecutive days, her complement -of six to twelve eggs, and immediately enters upon the -duties of incubation. In this she is alone, the male lending -no assistance, not even indirectly by attending to her demands -for food. While she is thus occupied he seeks the company -of others of his sex, with whom he remains until the young<span class="pagenum" id="Page237">[237]</span> -are nearly full-grown, when he joins the family, and dwells -with it until spring. The period of incubation ranges from -nineteen to twenty days.</p> - -<p>When first hatched the young follow the mother, and soon -learn to comprehend her clucking call, as well as to act -responsively thereto. Few mothers are more devoted to -their children, and it is rare to find one more courageous and -wily in their defence. Let the family be surprised by friend -or foe, a single note of alarm is all that is necessary to cause -the brood to scatter, and with the most clever adroitness to -hide themselves beneath a bunch of leaves or grass. So -successfully is the concealment accomplished, that a careful -and protracted search is often necessary to discover their -whereabouts. Often, when squatting by the roadside with -her brood, the parent is taken unawares. This is the trial -which she of all others seems to dread. To save her little -ones she perils her own life by venturing upon an assault. -Her first impulse is to fly at the face of the intruder, but -sober thought comes to her rescue and teaches her the folly -of such a course. She yields to the thought and the very -next moment we find her tumbling over and over upon the -ground, apparently in the deepest distress, but soon to -recover her self-possession in time to carry out the final piece -upon the programme, a <i>ruse</i> in which lameness is imitated -with wonderful ingenuity. While the mother is thus agitated, -the birdlings are seen to scamper in every direction to -places of shelter. Having accomplished her part, the happy -mother now flies away, and by her well-known cluck soon -gathers her brood together. The cry of the young is a -simple <i>peet</i>, which is heard repeatedly during feeding, but -only occasionally while nestling. Their food consists of the -seeds of various plants and berries. While able to search for -their own food, they derive, however, considerable assistance -from the mother.</p> - -<p>Such cunning, wee creatures, when first they leave the -egg, can only be compared with the young of the domestic<span class="pagenum" id="Page238">[238]</span> -hen. Dressed in a simple garb, they look but little like -their parents. Above they show a reddish-brown or rufous -coloring, which fades into a rusty-white below. Excepting -a dusky streak which starts from the posterior part of the -eye and crosses the auricular regions obliquely downward, -and a whitish bill, they have nothing to diversify the monotony -of their plumage. But when they have attained the age -of four or five months, they show their heredity so plainly -that their identity cannot be disputed or mistaken.</p> - -<p>In the adult, the tail is reddish-brown or gray above, with -narrow bars of black. Terminally, it is crossed by a slender -band of pale ash, which is preceded by a broader one of -black, and this by another of an ashy color. The upper -parts are ochraceous-brown, and finely mottled with grayish -markings. The lower parts are chiefly white, with broad -transverse bars of light brown, which are mostly hidden from -view upon the abdomen. Upon the shoulders the shafts of -the feathers have pale streaks, which also exist in those of -the wing-coverts. The upper tail-coverts and the wings are -marked with pale, grayish cordate spots, while the lower tail-coverts -are pale ochraceous, each being provided with a -terminal delta-shaped spot of white, which is bordered with -dusky. The neck-tufts are brownish-black. The male measures -eighteen inches in length, and has a breadth of wings -of seven and two-tenths inches. The tail is about seven -inches long. The female is smaller than the latter, with -similar colors, but has less prominent tufts upon the sides of -the neck.</p> - -<p>The eggs of this species are usually of a uniform dark-cream -color, but sometimes show a nearly pure-white ground. -In most specimens there are no markings at all, but when -they do occur, are either quite numerous and conspicuous, -or few in number, and obscure. They are usually ovoidal, -but forms are occasionally met with which are nearly spherical. -Their average dimensions, as obtained from specimens -from the most diverse localities, are about 1.64 by 1.18<span class="pagenum" id="Page239">[239]</span> -inches. As far as known the species never produces more -than a single brood annually, usually nesting, as has been -previously stated, on the ground, but instances are recorded -by Samuels, where the female has occupied a crow’s nest, -or the shelter of some tall broken trunk of a tree.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page240">[240]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p class="chapstart"><span class="largecap">L</span><span class="afterlargecap">ittle</span> -is known of the early history of the domestic -Turkey. Writers of the sixteenth and seventeenth -centuries seem to have been ignorant about it, and to have -regarded it as the guinea-fowl or pintado of the ancients, a -mistake which was not cleared up until the middle of the -last century. The name it now bears, and which it received -in England, where it is reputed to have been introduced in -1541, was given to it from the supposition that it came originally -from Turkey. As far back as 1573 we read of it as -having been the Christmas fare of sturdy British yeomanry.</p> - -<p>Oviedo, a Spanish writer, speaks of it as a kind of peacock -that was once very abundant in New Spain, as Mexico was -called in his day, and which had already, in 1526, been -transported in a domestic condition to the West Indies and -the Spanish Main, where it was maintained by the Christian -settlers.</p> - -<p>Among the luxuries possessed by Montezuma, the proud, -dignified, semi-cultured monarch of the Aztecs, was one of -the most extensive zoölogical gardens on record. Representatives -of nearly all of the animals of the country over -which he reigned, as well as others, brought at great expense -from long distances, were to be found within its walls. -Turkeys, it is said, were daily supplied in large numbers to -the carnivores of his menagerie.</p> - -<p>Respecting the time when this bird was first reclaimed in -Mexico from its wild state, there can be no idea. Probably -it has been domesticated from remote antiquity. No doubt -exists, however, as to its being reared by the Mexicans at<span class="pagenum" id="Page241">[241]</span> -the period of the Spanish Conquest, and of its subsequent -introduction into Europe, either from New Spain, or from -the West India Islands, into which it had been previously -carried.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig43"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo241.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">MEXICAN WILD TURKEY.<br /> -Ancestor of the Domestic Bird.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>Audubon, one of the early pioneers of American ornithology, -supposed our common barnyard Turkey to have -originated in the wild bird so prevalent in the eastern half of -our great country. But it has always been a matter of surprise -to naturalists that the latter did not assimilate, by interbreeding -and reversion, more intimately in color and habits -to the domestic form. No suspicion, until recently, appears -to have been entertained that the two birds might belong to -different species. That such is the true <i>status</i> of things, -there is now no reasonable doubt.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page242">[242]</span></p> - -<p>Our common Wild Turkey, once so plentiful in Pennsylvania, -is now restricted to the more eastern and southern portions -of the United States, while in the parts of Texas, New -Mexico, Colorado and Arizona adjacent to the southern -Rocky Mountains, and thence stretching southward along -the eastern slope of Mexico as far as Orizaba, there exists -another form, essentially different, which, by way of distinction, -has been popularly called the Mexican Turkey. It is -from this species, and not from the other, as has been erroneously -supposed and taught, that the domestic fowl has -been derived. Even in this enlightened age, with so many -ornithological teachers on every hand, we see this mistake -propagated by such as know better, and whose business it is, -or ought to be, to have a care that truth shall prevail.</p> - -<p>Between the wild bird of Eastern North America and the -Mexican and typical barnyard fowls there are differences -which must be apparent even to the most superficial observer. -The extremities of the tail-feathers, as well as the -feathers overlying the base of the tail, are in the latter -creamy or fulvous white, while in the former they are of a -decided chestnut-brown color. Other characteristics exist, -but these only become evident to the keen-sighted ornithologist.</p> - -<p>The difficulty experienced in establishing a cross between -our wild and tame birds, shows that they are not as closely -related as was once supposed. Did a near kinship subsist, -interbreeding could most readily be accomplished. With -the Mexican Turkey, matters are otherwise. That a relationship -does obtain between the domestic bird and the latter—its -wild original—there can be no question, as specimens -of the naturalized species are often met with which are nearly -the counterpart of its Mexican progenitor, differing only in -the greater development of the fatty appendages of the head -and neck, differences which may be accounted for as the -effects of the influences to which the birds have been subjected -by man. No well-authenticated instances of similar<span class="pagenum" id="Page243">[243]</span> -reversions to our once familiar Eastern bird have been known -to occur, which would necessarily have been the case had -they been so closely related as was once maintained.</p> - -<p><i>Meleagris Mexicana</i> affects sparsely-overgrown savannas, -and occupies in Mexico the region of the oaks and the coast—the -<i>tierra caliente</i> of geographers. It is a very wary bird, -and lives in families. Insects of divers kinds, but chiefly of -a coleopterous character, as well as the seeds of grasses, -constitute its bill of fare. When searching for food, especially -in perilous localities, a sentinel is stationed on the outskirts -of the flock, whose duty it is to announce the presence -of danger. Flight is seldom resorted to at such times, for -these birds, being fleeter of foot than the swiftest dog, are -able to escape their enemies by running.</p> - -<p>Toward the close of March, or in the beginning of April, -the hens separate from the males, and seek for themselves -nesting-places in secluded localities. The nest is anything -but an elaborate affair, consisting of a few dry leaves or -grasses scratched into a depression by the side of a prostrate -log. Here the eggs—twelve beautiful, oval, speckled -treasures—are laid, and for thirty long, weary days and -nights they are sat upon by their author in her efforts to -warm them into life. When she leaves them, which she does -a short time each day for food, she always takes the necessary -precaution to cover them with leaves, as a protection -against cold and intrusion. Nothing will tempt her to quit -the nest when the young are about to be hatched. So absorbed -does she then become that she has been known to -submit to capture rather than endanger the lives of her offspring.</p> - -<p>No human mother manifests deeper affection for her children -than does this bird of the prairie for hers. She fondles -and dries them after they have escaped from their prison-houses, -and tenderly helps them out of the nest. It is now -that her cares may be said to commence. Where their interest -and well-being are concerned, hardly any responsibility<span class="pagenum" id="Page244">[244]</span> -is too great for her to assume. She leads them into pleasant -pastures, teaches them to know good from bad foods, and -acquaints them with all the devices and subterfuges practised -for eluding man and other enemies. But it is not long that -they are thus subservient to maternal wisdom and forethought, -for in fourteen days they are old enough to scratch -for a living, and to seek shelter and security from lawlessness -and cruelty. Their <i>menu</i> consists of wheat, berries, -grasses, earth-worms, and all kinds of terrestrial insects.</p> - -<p>When summer is over, the different families of the same -neighborhood come together, unite in one large flock, and -travel over the country for food. The males emerge from -their meeting-places and join the moving army, and parents -and young have nothing to do but to feed vigorously and -grow fat. Late in October, or early in November, they -begin to attract the attention of gunners, and thousands are -killed for the market, where they are in eager demand by all -lovers of good living.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page245">[245]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">AMERICAN OSPREY.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p class="chapstart"><i><span class="largecap">P</span><span class="afterlargecap">andion</span> -haliætus</i>, as the Fish Hawk or Osprey -is called in ornithological language, is found from the fur -region surrounding Hudson’s Bay to Central America, and -from Labrador to Florida, excepting Boston Harbor, on the -Atlantic Coast, and almost from Alaska to the southern -extremity of the peninsula of Lower California on the -Pacific seaboard. Birds have been known to nest on the -rocky islands of California, and about Sitka, according to -Bischoff, as well as along the small streams in the vicinity of -Nulato. From Long Island to Chesapeake they breed in -vast communities, which often number several hundred pairs, -but away from the sea-coast they are only occasionally met -with on the margins of rivers and lakes. Dr. Hayden found -several pairs nesting on the summit of high cottonwood trees -in the Wind River Mountains, and Mr. Allen observed the -birds particularly abundant about the lakes of the Upper St. -John’s River in Florida, six nests being noticeable within a -single circle of vision. Salvin claims that they nest on both -coasts of Central America, but more especially about Balize, -although on the islands of Trinidad, St. Croix, Jamaica and -Cuba they are seen at all times except during the breeding-season.</p> - -<p>Below Philadelphia, and in the south-eastern counties of -Pennsylvania bordering on the Delaware, individuals have -been occasionally observed. Their arrival is about the -beginning of March, often when the streams which they -frequent are fettered with icy bonds, and their departure -occurs about the twenty-fifth of September, and frequently,<span class="pagenum" id="Page246">[246]</span> -especially when the weather is remarkably fine, as late as the -fifteenth of October. Well-established communities, numbering -more than fifty pairs, have been met within the -swamps of Southern New Jersey, among whom the best -order and most perfect harmony prevailed. Few species display -less shyness and greater confidence, or are more eminently -social, as is particularly shown when these birds take -up their quarters in close proximity to occupied dwellings, or -by the side of frequented by-paths and highways. Where -undisturbed, the same localities are visited year after year. -Their exclusive piscine habits secure for them free and unlimited -sway in their carefully chosen abodes, for the poultry -has nothing to fear, and the smaller birds are not intimidated -by their presence and sent screaming to their coverts -as they do even when pursued by the little sparrow hawk. -Wilson cites a case where four nests of the common purple -grackle were built within the interstices of an Osprey’s nest, -and a fifth on an adjoining branch, and the Osprey was quite -tolerant of such intrusion and freedom. The writer has observed -a nest of the grackle built in a similar position, while -all around the great Hawk’s home, and scarcely five rods distant, -were nests of the robin, wood thrush, red-winged blackbird -and others, and no annoyance was known to occur, -the Ospreys carefully attending to their own business and -scarcely noticing their more humble brethren.</p> - -<p>Their bitterest enemy is the white-headed eagle, against -whom the united attacks of many of these birds are concentrated -when he has the audacity to venture within their -hunting-grounds or breeding-quarters, for they are too -familiar with his powerful muscularity and courageous disposition -to attempt a single attack. When an Osprey is -pursued by this king of the forest and hunting-ground, his -loud, vociferous cries of distress, resounding far and near, -evoke an army of defenders, who come with all possible -speed to wreak vengeance upon the great arch-enemy of -their pleasures and happiness. These attacks are made for<span class="pagenum" id="Page247">[247]</span> -the purpose of compelling the Osprey to drop his prey or -disgorge, which the superior bird, if his efforts have been -successful, pounces down upon and seizes before it has had -time to reach the water or ground.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig44"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo247.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">NEST OF AMERICAN OSPREY.<br /> -Manner of Securing Food for Young.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>Powerful as the flight of the Fish Hawk is, yet it is never -very high, nor much protracted. While skimming over the -water’s surface, even at a moderate elevation, his quick eye -soon descries his quarry, and, in an instant, he pounces down -with tremendous force below the water’s level, often to a -great distance, but seldom missing his prey. Arising from -his watery bath, he moves off to a suitable perch to digest -his meal at leisure. But should the movement attract the -keen vision of the bald eagle, who is generally waiting in -some secret covert, or sailing so high up in the air as to be<span class="pagenum" id="Page248">[248]</span> -almost invisible, the Osprey swallows his victim if small, or -seeks to bear it away in his talons to a position of shelter -and safety, but, rather than endure the too near approach of -his more powerful relative, drops it to the infinite delight and -great satisfaction of the latter. Where a suitable tree, or a -commanding stump, presents itself by the side of his chosen -fishing-grounds, he may be seen perched thereon for hours -together, gazing into the liquid depths below for the finny -tribes that sport therein, and ever and anon swooping down -with amazing velocity and bearing up in his resistless talons -the squirming victim. In shallow places his mode of capture -is regulated in conformity with their character, gliding over -their surface and clutching at his victims as they come within -sight.</p> - -<p>The food of the Osprey consists mainly of fish, although -the reptiles and batrachians that inhabit the swamps and -marshes wherein he builds do not escape his vigilance. -Almost all kinds of fish, except the very largest, which -would be more than a match for his strength, are captured -and devoured with avidity. We have watched with a great -deal of interest and pleasure his piscatorial pursuits on the -shores of Delaware Bay, and have often seen him bear -from great depths fish much larger than the common shad. -The latter, together with the herring, striped bass and black -bass, are favorite articles of diet, while his catchings from -fresh-water streams, the larger cyprinidonts, cat-fish and -pumpkin-seed, are quite as great luxuries.</p> - -<p>When the nesting-time comes around, the last of April or -the beginning of May, these birds are not so engrossed with -the thoughts of feeding as to be utterly oblivious of the -duties which it imposes. Generally the same nest is selected -year after year, but when a new one is to be constructed it is -not uncommon to find many pairs engaged in its building, -the friends of the destitute assembling and laboring with the -most determined energy till its completion. A more sociable -disposition could hardly be conceived. The spirit which<span class="pagenum" id="Page249">[249]</span> -would lead these birds to fly to the assistance of a distressed -companion would certainly induce them to co-operate with -their brethren in the difficult task of nest-building, especially -when such a bulky structure as the species is known to construct -would severely task both the time and patience of the -pair which is to occupy it. The vast amount of labor and -time expended in rearing such a fabric is a sufficient inducement -for them not to want to indulge in such employment -any more than is absolutely necessary. Hence these nests -are constructed for durability. Unlike his European congener, -whose nest is placed upon a high cliff, the Osprey -almost invariably builds on trees. All nests taken by the -writer have seldom been at a greater elevation than fifteen -feet, although instances have been recorded where they were -twice that height. It is a remarkable fact that the trees supporting -these nests are always dead and generally placed -in the midst of marshy ground, either completely isolated -or surrounded by a dense growth of bushes. At all events, -they occupy rather conspicuous positions. It is probable -that the excrement of the birds or the saline character of -their food has much to do with killing the nesting-trees. -Trees which seem vigorous and thrifty at first manifest after -a year’s occupancy unmistakable signs of death. Not always -are trees selected for nesting purposes, for a Mr. W. H. -Edwards describes a nest built on a tall cliff on the banks of -the Hudson River, not very far from West Point.</p> - -<p>Externally the nest is composed of large sticks piled to a -height varying from two to five feet, and measuring fully -three feet in diameter. Corn-stalks, mullein-stocks and bark -are occasionally intermingled with the sticks, but within -there is a rather profuse lining of sea-weed and the long -grasses which grow so luxuriantly in salt-water marshes. -The cavity ranges from fourteen to fifteen inches in diameter, -and is unusually shallow in proportion to the size of the nest.</p> - -<p>Three eggs constitute the usual nest-complement, although -two are sometimes laid, and rarely four, and these are<span class="pagenum" id="Page250">[250]</span> -deposited on consecutive or alternate days, at the rate of one -egg a day. They measure about two and one-half inches in -length and one and three-fourths in width, and are of a yellowish-white -color, thickly covered with large blotches of -different shades of brown. Incubation follows close upon -the last deposit, the task being begun by the female, and -devolving principally upon her, although the male occasionally -relieves her for a brief spell each day. While she is on -the nest, he is a jealous husband and a most faithful provider. -The choicest catch of his piscatorial exploits is carried -directly to the nest and ungrudgingly administered to the -patient sitter. When not engaged in providing for their -wants he stations himself upon an adjoining tree, if such -should happen to be present, or somewhere in the immediate -neighborhood, and exercises the closest surveillance over the -nest and its occupant. All attempts at intrusion are most -summarily punished. Dr. Brewer mentions a case where a -lad essayed to reach the nest in order to rob it of its eggs, -when he was assailed with so much violence that the male’s -talons were driven through a cloth cap that he wore and laid -bare the scalp. Experience has proved the risk incurred in -visiting these nests with hostile intentions. You may pass -and repass underneath the nest, the authors criticising your -every movement the while, without calling forth the slightest -opposition. When, however, you attempt to mount the -tree that contains their cherished treasures, you virtually -invite the full measure of their wrath. That the male is -affectionately devoted to his partner is shown by Wilson in a -case which he cites of a female who was prevented from fishing -by a broken leg and that was abundantly supplied with -food by her mate.</p> - -<p>When the young appear they are objects of more than -common parental solicitude, the parents vying with each -other in rendering them every needed attention and in providing -them with a plentiful supply of suitable food. But -one parent is absent from the nest at a time, the other<span class="pagenum" id="Page251">[251]</span> -remaining at home to guard against danger. They are ravenous -feeders, and soon attain to full development, when they -resemble very closely in dress their parents, having the upper -parts spotted with pale reddish-brown or white. Adult birds -are dark-brown or grayish-brown above, with most of the -head, neck and under parts white, the chest in the female, -and sometimes in the male, being spotted with brown. The -tail, usually paler than the back, has six or seven dusky bars, -and is tipped with white.</p> - -<p>That these birds may be fitted for powerful flight they are -provided with long and pointed wings, the second and third -quills being the longest. They have a stout bill, with a very -long hook and sharp end. Their feathers are oily to resist -water, those of the head being lengthened and pointed, and of -the thighs and a little of the front parts of the tarsi short and -close together. The legs, tarsi and feet are very strong and -robust, and the claws all of the same length and very large -and sharp. Rough scales completely invest the tarsi, and -the toes are padded below and covered with numerous hard-pointed -projections to aid in holding their slippery prey. -The iris in some specimens is reddish, but mostly yellow; the -bill and claws blue-black, and the tarsi and toes grayish-blue. -Male birds are not so large as the females, the latter measuring -twenty-five inches in length, and with an extent of wings -of fifty-two inches.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page252">[252]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">TURKEY BUZZARD.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p class="chapstart"><span class="largecap">F</span><span class="afterlargecap">ew</span> -species, if any, have a wider distribution in America -than the Turkey Buzzard. It is found more or less -abundantly to the Saskatchewan throughout North America, -from the Atlantic to the Pacific Coast, and in all portions of -South America as far south as the Strait of Magellan. Individuals -have been met with in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, -though these birds are generally not common north of -Central New Jersey. From Eastern Maine, in the neighborhood -of Calais, to Connecticut, specimens have occasionally -been captured. In a single instance, Mr. Lawrence observed -a small company of nine at Rockaway, Long Island. West -of the Alleghenies, from Central America nearly to the -Arctic regions, it occurs more abundantly. Without exception, -it is found in greater or less numbers in all the -Middle, Western, Southern and North-western States. From -Lower California to Washington, along the Pacific, numerous -parties attest to its common occurrence. The West -Indies, the islands of Cuba, Jamaica and Trinidad, the last-named -in particular, include it within their faunæ. Honduras -and Guatemala, as well as the Falkland Islands, off the eastern -coast of Patagonia, are permanent residing-places.</p> - -<p>In Pennsylvania and New Jersey, where the writer has -had abundant opportunities for studying the species, these -Vultures summer quite plentifully. From their first appearance, -in March, large numbers may be seen high up in the -air, moving in large circles, apparently exploring the ground -below for their favorite articles of food. In rural districts -they are, however, more frequently observed than in the<span class="pagenum" id="Page253">[253]</span> -vicinity of densely-populated towns, the greater abundance -of carrion to be met with in the former places doubtless -being the cause of this preference. But in California and -Oregon, according to Dr. Newberry, they are quite as common -near towns as about the large rivers. In our Southern -States they visit cities and large villages, and play the part -of scavengers in company with the black vulture. They are -said to be so tame and unsuspicious in Kingston, Jamaica, -that they roost upon the house-tops or prey upon offal in -the streets. In country places they are no less familiar and -trustful, as is evidenced while feeding. So intent upon their -business are they at this time that the presence of human -beings is unnoticed, and even when forced to forsake their -booty they sullenly repair to a short distance, only to resume -their feeding when the annoyance has passed. The common -crow has been observed to gather around the same food, and -the utmost good-feeling prevailed. A small flock will often -settle down upon a dead horse around which several dogs -have gathered. The snapping and snarling of the dogs, -when they approach them too closely, do not cause the -Vultures to retire, but only to step a few paces aside, when, -nothing daunted, they continue their feeding, apparently -oblivious of their whereabouts and surroundings.</p> - -<p>Although the sense of sight is rather keenly developed in -these birds, yet that of smell is none the less so. This is an -advantage, for both the visual and olfactory organs seem -requisite in the determination of the presence of decaying -animal matters. As a proof that smell leads to food-detection, -Dr. Brewer cites an instance, on the authority of Dr. -Hill, where several of these birds were attracted to the -house of a German emigrant who was prostrated by fever, -being drawn by the strong odor escaping from his neglected -food which had become putrid. Mr. G. C. Taylor, whilst a -resident of Kingston, sufficiently tested their power of smell. -He wrapped the carcass of a bird in a piece of paper, and -flung the parcel into the summit of a densely-leaved tree,<span class="pagenum" id="Page254">[254]</span> -that stood in close proximity to his window. A moment or -two only elapsed, when the keen smell of these birds scented -something edible, but they were unable to find it, obviously -for the reason that it was hidden from view by the enveloping -paper.</p> - -<p>Generally their food consists of all kinds of animal matter. -They are often accused of sucking eggs, and also of eating -the young of herons, as well as those of other birds. In -Trinidad, they are said to live on friendly terms with the -poultry. As no breach of faith has been reported to have -occurred in this instance, it is not likely that they would -molest in any way our smaller birds, at least we are not cognizant -of any such cases of interference from our own observation, -nor do we find them in the recorded experiences of -friends. They are worse-disposed, it seems to us, to their -own kith. When several are feeding together, most violent -wrangles occur over the booty. Each strives to get the -lion’s share. It is amusing to witness their manœuvres. -Some luckless fellow has just discovered a choice and racy -bit, which he is endeavoring to make off with in a somewhat -hurried manner, when instantly he is beset by a near companion, -who has scarcely swallowed his own morsel. A -conflict ensues. The latter, being the stronger, succeeds -after a little in defrauding the other of his rightful property. -When gorged, these birds are stupid and indisposed to exertion, -the period of digestion ordinarily being passed in a -motionless, listless attitude, with half-opened wings.</p> - -<p>Recovered from their semi-stupid condition, they do not -at once go to feeding again, but spend a long time in the -healthful exercise of their volant appendages. Few birds -are more graceful, easy and dignified while on the wing. -On the ground they may seem awkward, but it is while -soaring at a great height above the earth that they are seen -in all their glory. When prepared for lofty flights, they -spring from the ground with a single bound, and, after a few -quick flappings of wings, move heavenward. Attaining a<span class="pagenum" id="Page255">[255]</span> -great elevation, they cleave the ether in ever-widening circles, -or sail on nearly horizontal wings, the tips being slightly -raised, with steady, uniform motion. These aerial diversions, -for such they seem to be, are never performed singly, but in -small parties of a dozen or more, being more common in -early spring, and at the close of the breeding-season, than at -any other time. It is to be observed further that these -movements are executed in silence, the only sounds which -the Buzzards are capable of producing being a kind of hiss, -which has not inaptly been compared to the seething noise -emitted by plunging a hot iron in a vessel of water.</p> - -<p>When ready to breed these birds look about for a hollow -tree, or some stump or log in a state of decay, either upon -the ground, or slightly above it. Generally, there are no -indications of a nest. In occasional instances a few rotten -leaves, scratched into the hollow selected for the deposition -of the eggs, constitute the nest, these treasures being laid -without any previous care for their preservation and shelter -being taken. In Southern New Jersey the nest has been -inadvertently strayed upon in the midst of a deep and almost -impenetrable morass, where it was found placed upon a hollow -stump. Within the rocky caverns along the wide, shallow -Susquehanna, as many as a dozen nests have been counted -in a few hundred yards of space, often as early as the last -week of March in favorable seasons, but generally not till the -middle of April. When the winters are not extremely rigorous, -a few individuals remain in the vicinity of their breeding-quarters -throughout the entire year. We have found the birds -breeding in Delaware County, Pa., towards the latter part of -April or the beginning of May, but in Philadelphia they -rarely do, if they breed at all. In Southern Ohio they are -a common summer sojourner. Speaking of the birds in -Jamaica, Mr. Gosse says they nest in depressions in the -rocks and in the ledges thereof, in retired localities and also -upon inaccessible cliffs. On Galveston Island Audubon -found the birds nesting in great numbers, either under<span class="pagenum" id="Page256">[256]</span> -wide-spreading cactus branches or underneath low bushes -in the midst of tall grasses in level saline marshes.</p> - -<p>In the vicinity of Cheraw, S. C., Dr. C. Kollock met with -the black vulture and our present species in swamps and dense -forests, where they congregate in vast numbers throughout -the entire year. These places are commonly designated -Buzzards’ roosts. Audubon once visited one of these roosts -in the vicinity of Charleston, which covered more than -two acres of ground, and which was completely denuded of -vegetation. On the banks of many of the rivers of Southern -Texas, Mr. Dresser found them nesting in large numbers, -the timber along their borders constituting comfortable and -secure shelter; but, contrary to what has always been entertained, -he affirms that they build large and bulky nests of -sticks, which they place at great heights in an oak or cypress, -close by the river-banks. Captain C. C. Abbott says that -in the Falkland Islands the eggs are deposited in the midst -of bushes beneath high banks, or on the summits of decayed -balsam logs, during the early part of November. In certain -localities, where the birds are not very common, paired individuals -are not infrequently found.</p> - -<p>Two eggs generally constitute a nest-full, although instances -are known where but a single egg was deposited. On the -Falkland Islands they are said to lay three occasionally. In -the West Indies, especially in the Bahamas, the complement -is the same as in the United States, and there does not seem -to be any difference in the habits of the birds in the two -places. Specimens from New Jersey, Texas, Florida and -South Carolina are creamy-white in ground, and are variously -marked with shades of brown, intermingled with -splashes of lavender and purple, which are often so faint as -to be perceptible only upon close examination. Brewer -mentions a variety from near Cheraw, S. C., that was nearly -pure white, and which showed but a few small red and -slightly purplish lines and dots about the larger extremity. -Recently we have met with some from Texas answering the<span class="pagenum" id="Page257">[257]</span> -same description. In dimensions these eggs vary but little, -and have, on the average, a length of 2.78 inches, and a -width of 2.00, or rather less.</p> - -<p><i>Cathartes aura</i>, as the Turkey Buzzard is known by the -scientific naturalist, is far from being demonstrative in the -expression of her feelings. When her home is assailed, she -makes no ado, but quietly slips out, and seemingly contemplates -its desecration with indifference.</p> - -<p>Though manifesting a passive disposition in the face of -human interference, yet she is not always the gentle being -she would have us believe, as shown by the spirit of dominancy -she displays over her own household.</p> - -<p>Unlike many of her neighbors, she does not entirely -assume the responsibilities of brood-raising, permitting her -partner the happy enjoyment of a life of luxurious ease, but, -believing in the doctrine of a proper division of labor, forces -upon him his share of the work.</p> - -<p>Whilst she thus appears unduly exacting towards him, she -is equally so to her offspring. Few mothers know better -than she the right training of their children, so as to fit them -to become useful and respectable members of society.</p> - -<p>This is no figment of the imagination, as will presently be -seen. It was while exploring a section of Delaware County -of this State for minerals in the summer of 1894 that some -interesting facts were learned of the relation subsisting -between her and the rest of her family.</p> - -<p>Having accidentally strayed upon a young ground hog -which had but recently been killed, the writer resolved to -carry it home and place it where it could be seen or scented -by the Buzzards, so that he might have an opportunity of -making a more intimate acquaintance with these birds than -he had ever before been able to make.</p> - -<p>Accordingly the dead animal was transported to a -meadow overlooked by the house he was occupying. The -resolution was well taken, for on the fourth day after the -deposit had been made several Buzzards were seen circling<span class="pagenum" id="Page258">[258]</span> -high overhead, mere specks against the blue dome of the sky, -evidently scanning the earth beneath with their telescopic -vision for the presence of food, or endeavoring to scent it -with their keen sense of smell.</p> - -<p>Nearer and nearer the flock drew earthward, till finally, -a full hour being spent in graceful manœuvring, the birds -settled down upon the green-carpeted meadow, but a few -yards from the carrion that lay festering with vermin.</p> - -<p>Their feathers adjusted, and folded to rest their wide-spreading -pinions, the young, in obedience to orders, as it -seemed, leaped on to a huge pine log that lay near by, while -the old folks surveyed, wistfully and long, from their standpoint -of observation on the ground, the odorous carrion a few -feet away, as if whetting their appetites for the feast they -were soon to enjoy.</p> - -<p>With a few quick steps, that were meant to be graceful, -the female drew near, but the male lingered doubtingly behind. -In a trice she was busy at work, tearing with claw -and with bill the daintiest morsels. Rendered mad by the -smell of the food the male, no longer seeming backward, -pressed forward to her side, but only to retreat before her -savage assaults. Again he essayed the attempt, and was -beaten back as he had been before. Convinced that further -effort would be useless, he strode sulkily to a distance, where, -in moody contemplation, he nervously awaited her ladyship’s -sweet pleasure.</p> - -<p>Being filled to the full the female now moved lazily away -to a clean patch of grass, where she immediately set to work -to arranging her toilet,—wiping her bill and her claws upon -the green carpet before her, craning her neck and stretching -her pinions, yawning and gaping and gaping and yawning,—and -finally ending all by seeking the topmost rail of a near-by -fence for rest and composure.</p> - -<p>With nothing to fear, the male now stalked complacently -forward, and was soon hard at work at what was left of the -carcass. His appetite less capacious than that of his lady,<span class="pagenum" id="Page259">[259]</span> -his dinner was soon over, and off strode he too to a fresh -spot of grass, where he went through the same process of -wiping his mouth and stretching and yawning, which, being -finished, he mounted the rail by the side of his mistress.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig45"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo259.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">FEMALE TURKEY BUZZARD DINING.<br /> -Male and Young Awaiting Her Ladyship’s Pleasure.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>More interesting far than either the parents were the three -black creatures that stood upon the pine log. Fixed to the -spot as though they had grown there, with scarcely moving -heads and downcast eyes they eagerly watched the food disappearing, -wondering, mayhap, as children are prone to do, -if it would all disappear before they had a chance of testing -its virtues, but maintaining their souls the while in perfect -serenity of repose. But their time had at length arrived, and -down from the log they cast themselves <i>instanter</i>, three lusty -fellows as large as the parents, but one of them, from his<span class="pagenum" id="Page260">[260]</span> -limping gait, proving to be lame. Great consideration was -shown the disabled one by the others, who permitted him to -feed first, while they stood aside until he had satisfied his -hunger, when, without the least bit of ceremony, or the least -indication of ill-nature or selfishness, they too set to work, -finishing in quick order whatever edible was left of the dead -animal. Their actions after feeding were exactly the counterpart -of those of the parents. Having finished their toilet, -the three sought the rail by the side of the father, where, like -their illustrious heads, they were soon occupied with the -most self-satisfying thoughts, utterly oblivious, as it seemed, -of time and surroundings.</p> - -<p>More than an hour was thus spent in drowsy meditation, -when, as by common consent, they all, one after the other, -leaped to the ground, where they busied themselves preening -their feathers and preparing for departure. The time being -ripe, the female set the example. With a run of a half-dozen -yards to gain a good start, she was soon on the wing, and in -fifteen minutes or more was lost in the ether. The male followed -suit, and when he had vanished from sight, the young, -one after another, mounted the atmosphere, and gradually -circling their way through its limitless depths, were also soon -lost to the earth-chained beholder.</p> - -<p>Concluding this brief chapter of bird-history, we have -a few brief comments to make. To the uninitiated in -science matters, the statements just made must seem well -nigh incredible. But there were other witnesses of the facts, -just and reliable observers, too, whose testimony could be -appealed to, to settle all doubts of their authenticity. From -all that has been said, it cannot but be evident that the female -was the acknowledged head of the family, a sort of feathered -autocrat, whose will was the law by which the family was -governed. Even the male, who did not always respect her -authority, especially where her interests conflicted with his -own, was made to see that might makes right when confronted -with her stronger and more powerful nature. But it<span class="pagenum" id="Page261">[261]</span> -was the patience and orderly behavior that characterized the -nearly-grown young, and their sweetness and gentleness of -disposition under the most trying circumstances as well, that -impressed us as extremely wonderful, and led to the opinion -that man-born offspring might here learn a lesson of filial -obedience and respect that would greatly redound to the -honor and glory of the race.</p> - -<p>When captured, these birds offer no active resistance, but -very effectually warn off their aggressor by vomiting up the -half-putrid contents of their crop. They will often simulate -death at such times. On one occasion an individual having -been shot by Dr. Coues was picked up for dead. While -being carried to the Doctor’s tent, it was perfectly limp. On -reaching his quarters, he carelessly threw it upon the ground, -and went to work at something else. After a little, upon -looking around, he beheld to his great surprise that the bird -had changed position, and was furtively glancing around. -On going up to it, its eyes instantly closed, its body became -relaxed, and it lay perfectly motionless, and apparently lifeless. -After compressing its chest for several minutes until -he fancied life extinct, he dropped the bird and repaired to -supper. Upon his return the bird was gone, it evidently -having scrambled into the bushes as soon as he had turned -his back upon it.</p> - -<p>The young, when first hatched, are covered with a whitish -down, and are fed upon half-digested matter which is disgorged -by their parents. When taken from the nest and -kept in captivity until fully grown they become exceedingly -tame, and will feed on fresh meat, earthworms, crickets, grasshoppers, -and other large insects, which they apparently relish, -and oftentimes will also eat bits of bread, cake and particles -of apples or pears which are thrown before them. The -benefits which these scavengers render are too well known -to need any comment. In the mature state the plumage of -the Buzzard is brownish-black, and more or less glossy, the -quills being paler on the under surface. The skin of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page262">[262]</span> -head and neck is red and wrinkled, and with scattering -bristle-like feathers, the bill whitish, legs and feet pinkish, -iris grayish-brown, and nostrils large and oval. Their length -is about thirty inches, extent of wing seventy-two inches, -wing being about twenty-five, and tail twelve.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page263">[263]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">RARE AND CURIOUS NESTS.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p class="chapstart"><span class="largecap">F</span><span class="afterlargecap">rom</span> -time immemorial it has been the current popular -belief that birds of the same species never varied their -style of architecture, but constructed the same form of nest, -and out of the same materials, as their remotest progenitors -did, instinct being the principle by which they were guided. -This opinion, though long since exploded by scientific research, -is still, I am sorry to say, entertained by persons -who should know better. An examination of nests from -different and widely-separated localities affords evidence of -the most convincing character of its erroneousness. Most -marked differences will always be found to exist in composing -materials, as these are sure to vary with environment, and -in a wider degree in the nests of some than in those of other -species; even configuration, which is less prone to change, is -often influenced by circumstances of position and latitude.</p> - -<p>Among the Thrushes, the nest of the Robin is the most -addicted to variation, and this is not wholly restricted to the -constituents of its usually mud-plastered domicile, but is -quite frequently observed to occur in the arrangement of -materials, and in contour and position as well. Where low -marshy woods abound on the outskirts of towns and villages, -as is the case in Southern New Jersey, nests of this species -have been taken that contrasted in a most wonderful manner -with those one is accustomed to see in more northern localities. -The great masses of grayish-green fibrous lichen, -which depend from shrub and tree in sylvan marshes, are -most freely used, and from its very nature to mat when -pressed together all necessity for mud is precluded.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page264">[264]</span></p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig46"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo264.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">NEST OF THE ROBIN.<br /> -Built Upon a Railroad Cutting.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>But the most curious nest I have ever met with was built -upon a railroad cutting, where the ground had a slope of more -than forty-five degrees. Such a position for a dwelling of -the kind the Robin is known to build, to one not conversant -with the facts, must appear incredible. But that it was accomplished, -the nest itself was the monument of the builders’ -thoughtful skill and labor. A semicircular wall of mud, -eight inches in diameter and five inches in height, constituted -the groundwork, and within the cavity thus formed was -reared a coarse, substantial, bulky fabric, that was entirely -composed of the stems of grasses, leaves and roots, loaded -down and held in place by pellets of mud.</p> - -<div class="container" id="Plate5"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo264a.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="copyright">Copyright 1900 by A. R. Dugmore.</p> - -<div class="split5050"> - -<div class="left5050"> -<p class="caption">NEST FROM THE TOP.</p> -</div> - -<div class="right5050"> -<p class="caption">SECTION OF TWO-STORIED NEST.</p> -</div> - -<p class="thinline allclear"> </p> - -<p class="caption">RED-EYED VIREO’S TWO-STORIED NEST WITH COW-BIRD’S EGG BENEATH</p> - -</div><!--split--> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page265">[265]</span></p> - -<p>A more remarkable position, and one that seemed as difficult -to manage, I shall now relate. Few birds care so little -for position as the common House Wren. Almost any place -answers its purpose. Near the little town of Thornbury, in -the State of Pennsylvania, a pair of these birds, in the summer -of 1882, took possession of a derrick, and, as a site for -a home, selected the space over a sheave in one of the stationary -blocks, where, in due time, was deposited their rude, yet -comfortable, nest of sticks and feathers. A similar structure -occupied the spot the previous year, and a brood of eight -birds was raised. It was not the elements of composition of -these nests that excited interest and surprise, for they are -not materially different from the usual form, but the strange, -anomalous situation which they occupied. So dexterously -were the materials arranged within the space that the revolution -of the wheel was not in the least interfered with. The -nest was approached on the side facing the rope that -moved the pulley. The opposite side could have been used -for this purpose, and doubtless with less danger to life or -limb, but preference seemed to be shown for the other. -Why this was so was for some time a mystery. But when -the birds were seen to alight upon the rope at the top of the -derrick and ride down to the nest, the explanation at once -became apparent.</p> - -<p>Never did linnet enjoy the rocking twig, or bobolink the -swaying cat-tail, with half the zest than did these eccentric -creatures their ride down the rope. A hundred times a day, -when necessity arose, they treated themselves to the pleasure, -the rope all the while moving at the rate of thirty feet in a -second. Six of the seven days, from early morn till night, -they availed themselves of this strange conveyance, and -never a danger occurred to mar their delight. In due time -a family of happy, rollicking children was raised, and the -nest on the derrick deserted.</p> - -<p>More beautiful are the nests which the Red-winged Blackbirds -build. These are the birds that affect our swamps and -marshes, and make the air ring with their loud, clear, resonant -notes. Before me is a nest that surpasses in beauty the -average structure. It is a bulky affair for the species, but so<span class="pagenum" id="Page266">[266]</span> -symmetrical in contour, and so quaintly, deftly woven, that -the eye never tires in looking at it, nor the mind in contemplating -its wonderful mechanism. Broad ribbons of grasses -are its composing materials, and eight of them are so woven -into the nest as to securely fasten it to the tall typhas in the -summit of which it was placed.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig47"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo266.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD’S NEST.<br /> -Located in a Field of Timothy.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>But a more clever nest of these birds, and one that is as -unique in shape as it is in texture and composition, was found -in the summer of 1879 in the vicinity of Philadelphia. It was -built in a field of timothy, many of the stalks of which being -wrought into the fabric. Its shape is that of an inverted -cone, and so beautifully, symmetrically and compactly put -together is it, that one could hardly credit the builders with<span class="pagenum" id="Page267">[267]</span> -the possession of the skill necessary to the production of -so perfect a domicile. Externally the nest is formed of -grasses and rushes, neatly and intricately interwoven, with -here and there a head of the dry pappus of some species of -hawkweed. Sedges and fine grasses make for it a cosy and -comfortable lining. This nest shows quite conspicuously in -the <a href="#Fig47">drawing</a>, but in its natural position, in the centre of a -large field, the authors had spared no pains to have its concealment -as perfect as possible.</p> - -<p>Typical nests of these Blackbirds are somewhat irregular -in outline, and rather coarsely and rudely built of stubble -and broad grasses, variously intermingled, and lined with -soft meadow grass. Usually they are placed in clusters of -weeds or in the tops of small bushes alongside of streams of -water. High positions are seldom chosen for nesting purposes, -as they offer poor facilities for food-collecting, the -aquatic larvæ, may-flies, dragon-flies and mosquitos, which -constitute a prominent part of the diet of these birds, being -only found in marshy situations. Small bushes along the -margins of streams, from the double advantage which they -possess, are almost exclusively adopted in certain localities. -Being convenient to appropriate food-stuffs, they are, at the -same time, out of the reach of snakes, especially water-snakes, -which have a decided fondness for young birds.</p> - -<p>Of the sub-family of Orioles, to which the Red-wing belongs, -no member, unless it be the namesake of Maryland’s distinguished -proprietor, builds a more magnificent nest than the -one that inhabits the orchard. In the books it is known by -the no means euphonious title of <i>Icterus spurius</i>. Its nest -is shaped like a pouch, and generally pensile. Soft, flexible -meadow grasses, neatly and compactly woven together, -make up the outer fabric, while within is a lining of vegetal -or animal wool, or one of fine grasses intermingled with -horse-hair. But the handsomest ever seen was one that was -found in the vicinity of Nazareth, Pa., by Richard Christ, in -the summer of 1883. It is of the usual size, five inches in<span class="pagenum" id="Page268">[268]</span> -height, three in external diameter, but differing from the -normal form only in materials of composition. The proverbial -meadow grasses are absent, and in lieu thereof are -the headed stems of such as grow by the roadside, notably -conspicuous for their golden brightness in a state of desiccation.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig48"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo268.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">DOUBLE NEST OF ORCHARD ORIOLE.<br /> -Female Sitting, Male Standing Guard.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>More noteworthy, however, than the Nazareth nest, is -one that was removed from a silver maple-tree. It is a -double structure, composed of long, flexible grasses, and is -firmly bound by the same to several small, slender branches. -The larger nest, inversely sub-conical, is joined to the smaller, -somewhat similarly shaped, but less compact in structure, by -ribbons of the same kind of grass that composes the nest. -A circular opening, one inch in diameter, is a noticeable -feature of the smaller. That the additional structure served -some useful purpose there can be no doubt. I am inclined<span class="pagenum" id="Page269">[269]</span> -to believe that it was built for the accommodation of either -parent while the other was sitting. The aperture was a convenient -outlook for the non-sitting bird, who, from this -position, could with little difficulty, like a sentinel from an -outpost, detect the approach of an enemy.</p> - -<p>But nothing can exceed in beauty and skill the nest of a -female Baltimore Oriole in the writer’s possession. It was -built under peculiar circumstances, the builder being a -prisoner, having been taken from home when quite a fledgling. -A male companion was brought away at the same -time. These birds, the property of Dr. Detwiler, of Easton, -Pa., in 1883, were a source of considerable pleasure to that -elderly gentleman in his leisure moments. Under his careful, -kindly management, they became quite tame, the female -manifesting greater familiarity than the male. That either -would become so accustomed to confinement as to evince a -desire to build never entered the mind of the Doctor. They -had, when he was alone, the freedom of his studio. One -lovely June morning, the outside world brimming over with -life and joy and sunshine, the door of their cage was thrown -open, and the Doctor settled himself into a soft easy-chair -to read. Hardly had he scanned a dozen lines, when something -pulling at his hair caused him to drop his paper and -look around. He was not slow to detect the offender in the -person of his female feathered friend who was seen flying -towards the most distant corner of the room with something, -resembling hair, in her bill. The reading was resumed, and -again the culprit stole cautiously to where he was sitting, -and, seizing another hair, was off in a twinkling.</p> - -<div class="container w30em" id="Fig49"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo270.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">FEMALE BALTIMORE ORIOLE.<br /> -Nest the Exclusive Work of Her Bill.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>Permitting for a while these liberties, and noticing that -bits of strings were, when placed in positions to be seen, -quite as much the objects of interest as the hairs of his head, -the Doctor was not slow in divining the motive which led to -this strange and unexpected behavior. Convinced by -actions, as significant as words themselves could be, that his -little friend was desirous to build a home, he began to cast<span class="pagenum" id="Page270">[270]</span> -about for a corner where she could be free to carry out her -intentions without fear or interference. The attic furnished the -place, and after fitting it up with a large tree-branch for a perch, -and plenty of new white strings for building purposes, he -bore his favorite and her partner to their new quarters. Soon -the female became at home and entered into her voluntarily-imposed -labor with alacrity, and at the end of a week had -constructed a domicile which her untamed prototypes of field<span class="pagenum" id="Page271">[271]</span> -and roadside would strive in vain to excel. But the male -would have nothing at all to do with the matter, but remained -the same cold, indifferent being as I found him to be -upon my first introduction.</p> - -<p>Some nests are curious on account of shape. The birds -often, it would seem, try their very best to see how oddly they -can build their homes. The little Acadian Flycatcher, so -common in Eastern Pennsylvania during the breeding-season, -sometimes appears to be controlled by cranky ideas with regard -to building. Dry blossoms of the hickory are the materials -it ordinarily uses, and they can always be obtained -whenever needed, but in a nest discovered by the writer in -1882, not a blossom was to be found, but in place of them there -were long, stringy fibres of the inner bark of some species of -herbaceous plant, which the birds had modelled into a compactly-built, -shallow, saucer-like cavity, and from which they -had caused to depend a gradually tapering train of the same -for nearly nine inches.</p> - -<div class="container w30em" id="Fig50"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo272.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">ACADIAN FLYCATCHERS.<br /> -Nest Curious on Account of Its Train.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>The King Bird, a distant relative of the Flycatcher, often -displays as much eccentricity. Once upon a time a pair of -King Birds took a fancy to an old apple-tree that stood within -a few yards of my Germantown home. It was certainly not -a place of quiet and retirement, for scores of noisy, dirty -children daily resorted to its leafy shelter for coolness and -pastime. But the birds were not the least disquieted. They -had fixed their minds upon the spot, and build they did. -The nest was posed between a forked branch, just out of the -reach of the urchins. It was a crazy affair. Black, slender -roots, wrinkled and knotted and tendrilled, made up the -body of the fabric. As it was nearing completion, the -opportune discovery of a bunch of carpet rags was hailed -with delight. They were instantly appropriated, and -promptly adjusted to the outside, but in such a manner that -long ends, some fourteen inches in length, were made to -project from the sides and bottom. Whether all this was -for ornament or protection, or for both, I could not say, but<span class="pagenum" id="Page272">[272]</span> -I am inclined to think that safety was uppermost in the -minds of the builders, for, looking from below at the nest it -seemed but a mass of rags that had been thrown into a tree-crotch, -which, the birds perceiving, and its close resemblance -to an entangled bunch, had utilized.</p> - -<div class="container w30em" id="Plate6"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo272a.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="copyright">Copyright 1900 by <span class="smcap">A. R. Dugmore</span>.</p> - -<p class="caption">LONG BILLED MARSH WREN’S NEST.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page273">[273]</span></p> - -<p>Certainly no more beautiful nests in shape exist than the -spherical in form. The Long-billed Marsh Wren builds a nest -of this type. Upon its arrival in the spring it seeks the -inland swamps, or the brackish marshes of the sea-shore, -where, amid the splatterdocks of the former and reeds of -the latter, it finds suitable shelter and protection. There, day -in and day out, during its entire summer stay, it pursues the -even tenor of its life, happy and contented, never caring, like -many of its remoter kin, for the charmed circle of man. -Active, energetic and buoyant with hope, it skips about the -tall rank herbage, in every direction, in quest of insects, -making its presence known and felt by the lively chattering -song, which resembles more nearly the sounds of an insect -than those of a bird, which emanates from its grassy haunts. -As these birds reach their breeding-grounds early in May, -nest-building is soon begun, but so secret and mysterious -are their movements at first, that we hardly know anything -of their presence, except when they are colonized for the -summer. The labor of building is entered into with considerable -alacrity, and is mainly the result of the combined -labor of both birds. Their nests are usually placed in low -bushes, a few feet above the ground, or woven into the tops -of sedges out of the reach of ordinary tides; but in very -rare instances upon the ground in the midst of a clump of -grasses. Ground nests are loosely-constructed affairs, which -is not the case with those that are elevated to the tops of -tussocks, or to the branches of shrubs and trees, which -require more compactness and a better finish. The most -beautiful, as well as artistic, nest which I have ever seen is -the one shown in the <a href="#Fig51">cut</a>. This nest was discovered in -the vicinity of Philadelphia in the summer of 1878. A -willow-branch, some fifteen feet above the ground, which -was bifurcated, was made to do service. No ordinary skill -was that which surmounted the seemingly insuperable -difficulty of building a nest, not pensile in character, to -such a swaying branch. That the birds accomplished the -feat the nest itself was the evidence. In form this nest -was nearly globular, four and a half and five inches in the -two diameters. It was woven of the broad leaves of a -species of scirpus, closely and evenly, and had its interstices -well seamed with brownish cottony down. A thin -delicate curtain of gauze, of the same material, hung around<span class="pagenum" id="Page274">[274]</span> -the opening, and this was continued within, forming a thick -bedding of the softest, fluffiest nature, of which the most -voluptuous sybarite might envy its fortunate possessor.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig51"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo274.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">LONG-BILLED MARSH WRENS.<br /> -Nest Placed Out of the Reach of Tides.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>But the little Golden-crowned Kinglet, a mere mite of flesh -and feathers, but with a great deal of spirit, builds a much -handsomer nest. It is the perfection of symmetry. Man -could not make with all the appliances at his command any -thing more nearly globular. But its beauty! It looks like -a ball of green moss, the delicate patches of moss being so -artfully arranged as to completely hide the dry stems of -grasses that constitute the walls. No moss ever spread itself -over the ground, or over a stump or tree-trunk, more evenly. -When it is known that this Kinglet builds its nest among the -slender feathered branches of the hemlock spruce, there is -manifestly a reason for the fern-like tracery upon the exterior,<span class="pagenum" id="Page275">[275]</span> -so necessary for the preservation of its home. Such a -handsome and imposing structure would be far from complete -were the inside not in keeping with the outside. But the -birds have left nothing to be desired in this particular. The -softest and purest of down lines the little bed-chamber, and -even swells in its lightness till ready to overflow the neat -circular door-way.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig52"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo275.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS.<br /> -Nest the Perfection of Beauty and Symmetry.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>Perhaps the most graceful thing you may ever expect to -find when on the quest, fitted to be considered the work of -the fairies, is the pretty lace hammock of the Parula Warbler. -You must search for it early in June, in remote but thin -woods, but never far from running water. Often you will -see it upon a branch overhanging a stream. The slender -twig of a birch is sometimes chosen for its suspension, the -terminal spray of a hemlock spruce, or a horizontal branch -of a white oak. Like a watch-pocket, with the opening in<span class="pagenum" id="Page276">[276]</span> -the side, it is lightly suspended. It is made of a delicate lace-work, -the grayish-green usnea moss, that grows on old trees. -The whole fabric is the work of two little birds with slate-blue -backs and yellow breasts. No other bird of our fauna -builds a nest akin to its swinging, eery nest. It is true much -of the material is found in position when the builders commence -their labor, but the exquisite outline and finish, as -well as the cozy interior, are due to the skill of the birds -themselves. Even when the structure is just so far completed -that occupancy by the female is possible, the male -never wearies of its adornment by additional filaments of -usnea brought from a distance. He is the happiest of fellows,<span class="pagenum" id="Page277">[277]</span> -for his little beak always finds something to do while his -patient wife is busy with the duties that lead to maternity.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig53"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo276.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">LACE HAMMOCK OF PARULA WARBLER.<br /> -Female Entering Nest and Male Adding to Its Adornments.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>Coming like whirling leaves, half autumn yellow, half -green of spring, their colors blending like the outer petals -of grass-green daffodils, no more sociable and confiding little -creatures are to be found in our midst than the Yellow Warblers. -They are as much at home in the trees by the house -as in the fields and woods. Wherever they wander, the -glints of sunshine that flash from their backs should make -the most miserable complainer feel the summer’s charm. -But in spite of their seeming preference for man, they are -prone to build in lonely fields and by-ways. In such places -it becomes one of the especial victims which the Cow Bird -selects to foster its random eggs. But the Warbler puts its -intelligence effectively to work, and builds a second story -to its nest, thus flooring over the unwelcome eggs. This -expedient is repeated as long as the Cow Bird continues her -mischief, until sometimes a three-story nest is achieved. The -outside of the nest, composed of glistening milkweed flax, -is pressed into a felt-like case, the fibres serving at the same -time to lash the nest to its support. Within, to the depth of an -inch, is a soft sponge-like material, which the birds have -made from the wool they have gathered from the stems of -young ferns. A few horse-hairs, to give shape and stability -to the nest, are to be found in the inside of the felt-like -lining.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig54"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo278.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">THREE-STORY NEST OF YELLOW WARBLER.<br /> -Showing the Builder’s Manner of Out-witting the Cow Bird.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>Hundreds of nests, quite as novel as any that have been -described, might be instanced, showing varieties from so-called -normal forms, but I shall content myself with only -another example. Everyone is familiar with the Ruby-throated -Humming Bird, so common in the eastern half of -the United States. It is the smallest of all our birds. But -its nest, which is by no means scarce, is a rare sight to the -average man and woman. No nest can be compared with it. -It is a thing of beauty and a joy forever. A mass of cotton, -with a hole in the top, and thatched all round with blue-gray<span class="pagenum" id="Page278">[278]</span> -lichens, and just as big as a walnut, conveys a good idea of -its appearance. But all nests are not made of cotton. The -yellow wool that forms the dress of the undeveloped fern-frond, -or the red shoddy that is wind-swept into heaps outside -some woollen factory, is often made to take the place of the -down of the seed of the poplar. Not to be mentioned in -the same breath with these, is the nest I am now about to -describe. It was saddled upon the horizontal bough of a -small white oak-tree that grew on the side of a thicket, and -was peculiar from the nature of the material that composed -its inner fabric. This substance resembled burnt umber in -color, and was as soft as the finest wool, or the fluffiest down, -and proved, upon examination, to be the mycelium of a -fungus which the builders had gathered from decaying stumps -or mildewing tree-branch.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page279">[279]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">STRANGE FRIENDSHIP.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p class="chapstart"><span class="largecap">S</span><span class="afterlargecap">omewhat</span> -widely distributed throughout temperate -North America, but nowhere very abundant, is the -little Acadian Owl, or Saw-whet Owl, as he is popularly -designated. In Eastern Pennsylvania he seems notably scarce, -but this may be attributed to his pre-eminently nocturnal -and secluded habits. Being a denizen of dense pine forests, -and only venturing abroad in quest of food at the close of -the day, his presence and numbers remain to many a -mystery. Hollow trees, and the dark caverns of rocks, are -his natural retreats, and as these are to be met with largely -in densely-timbered regions and sequestered localities, he is -seldom, if ever, seen in close proximity to human habitations. -He seemingly shuns rather than courts the society -of man. When routed from his burrow in the broad glare -of day he becomes very much bewildered, and is scarcely -able to escape the approach of danger.</p> - -<p>The common appellation of Saw-whet Owl, which is -applied to the species, owes its origin to the close resemblance -which the notes of the bird bear to the noise produced -by the filing of a saw. These notes are so deceptive, that -persons unacquainted with their source have fancied themselves -in the vicinity of a saw-mill, or in near presence to a -woodman occupied in whetting a saw. Audubon, hearing -these notes in a thicket for the first time, was thus deceived. -The same distinguished writer gives, on the authority of Mr. -McCullock, an interesting description not only of the notes -of this Owl, but also of his remarkable powers of ventriloquism. -On a certain occasion his informant was aroused<span class="pagenum" id="Page280">[280]</span> -by what appeared to be the feeble tones of a distant bell. -But in nearing the spot whence the sounds emanated, they -apparently shifted from point to point, being heard at one -time close by, and at the next moment in the distance, now on -the left, then on the right, and as often in the rear as in the -front. Finally the author of these sounds was discovered at -the entrance of his burrow in a birch-tree. Stationing himself -at the base of the tree in full view of the bird who -was calling to his partner, Mr. McCullock had a splendid -opportunity of observing an exhibition of his singular and -exceptional ventriloquial powers.</p> - -<p>Smooth, gliding and noiseless is the flight of this Owl, -and but slightly elevated and protracted. When seeking -for food he may be seen sailing over low meadows in the -neighborhood of his accustomed haunts, or, perched upon a -stump or fence-rail adjoining thereto, quietly gazing in every -direction for whatever of life may chance to manifest itself, -which he seizes with remarkable adroitness, even sometimes -venturing to assail prey larger than himself. The smaller -birds, awakened from their perch by his cries, fall ready victims -to his rapacity.</p> - -<p>Hollow trees, or the deserted nests of other species, are -selected for breeding-quarters. The eggs, varying from four -to six in number, are pure white, sub-spherical, of crystalline -clearness, and measure one and one-eighth by one and seven-eighths -inches. The food of this interesting little Owl, -which is not so large as a robin, though appearing bulkier, -consists of small quadrupeds and birds, but chiefly of -various species of insects.</p> - -<p>When taken quite young, and held in confinement, this -Owl becomes quite tame, permitting strangers as well as his -keeper to handle him with the utmost freedom, without so -much as resenting such familiarity. But a greater attachment -is manifested towards the master whom he is able to -recognize by the sound of his voice, and in whose presence -he is peculiarly fascinating and agreeable.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page281">[281]</span></p> - -<p>Like <i>Scops asio</i>—the Red Owl—he leads a solitary existence, -save on the approach of warm weather, when the sexes -are discovered together, or are heard calling one to the other. -Mating commences early in April, and about the middle of -the month the birds have located their nests in the hollow of -a tree, about twenty feet from the ground, where the female -lays her complement of eggs. The entrance to the hole is -very small, scarcely two inches in diameter. Upon the -female devolves the whole work of incubation, although the -male takes a hand in raising the young. The latter leave -the nest about the first week of May, and when disturbed -make a noise that sounds like a dog sniffling the air, which, -when heard, especially at night in heavy timber, is quite -certain to startle one and make him fancy a bear or some -such animal up a tree near by.</p> - -<p>Some years ago there lived in the hollow of an oak tree, -not far from Germantown, a common Chickaree Squirrel—<i>Sciurus -Hudsonius</i>—with this little Owl as his sole companion. -This association reminded me of the connection -of the burrowing owl of the West with the singular settlements -of the prairie dog, the life-relations of the two creatures -being really intimate in very many localities, although the -owls are simply attracted to the villages of the prairie-dogs -as the most suitable places for shelter and nidification, where -they find eligible ready-made burrows and are saved the -trouble of digging for themselves. Community of interest -makes them gregarious to an extent unusual among rapacious -birds, while the exigencies of life on the plains cast -their lot with the rodents. That the owls live at ease in -the settlements, and on familiar terms with their four-footed -neighbors, is an undoubted fact, but that they have any -intimate domestic relations is open to question. That the -quadruped and the birds are often seen to scuttle at each -other’s heels into the same hole when alarmed is no proof -that they live together, for in such a case the two merely -seek the nearest shelter, independently of each other. In the<span class="pagenum" id="Page282">[282]</span> -larger settlements there are thousands upon thousands of -burrows, many of them occupied by the dogs, but more, -perhaps, vacant. These latter are the homes of the owls. -It is possible that the respective retreats of a dog and an owl -may have one common vestibule, but this does not imply -that they nest together. There are fewest owls in the towns -most densely populated by the dogs and the greatest number -in the deserted villages, and this is strong evidence in point. -But the owls are by no means confined to the dog-towns, nor -even to the similar communities of other gregarious spermophiles. -They sometimes occupy the underground dens<span class="pagenum" id="Page283">[283]</span> -of wolves, foxes and badgers. When the subject has been -carefully investigated, the owls never appear to enter the -same hole or burrow with a squirrel, and a squirrel is never -seen to enter a burrow that was occupied by owls, however -strongly he may be tempted by fear to enter the first hole -he should come to. The spermophile never likes to enter -any burrow but his own, and has been known to run past -any number of inviting entrances in order that he may hide -himself in his own domicile.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig55"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo282.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">SAW-WHET OWL AND CHICKAREE SQUIRREL.<br /> -Living Together in Perfect Harmony and Mutual Good-will.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>In the case of the Chickaree Squirrel and the Saw-whet -Owl, they occupied the same hole together in perfect harmony -and mutual good-will. It was not an accidental occurrence, -the Squirrel merely seeking the cavity to escape a -danger that impended, for the bird and the Squirrel had been -repeatedly observed to enter the hole together, and in the -most amicable manner possible, as though they had always -shared the apartment. Ordinarily the Chickaree is a very -pugnacious creature, attacking with the greatest fierceness -the gray and black squirrel whenever they had the temerity -to cross his path. He seems to be ever bent upon blood. -Though strictly by nature a rodent, subsisting principally -upon nuts and the bark of trees, which his powerful incisors -enable him to manipulate effectively, yet he has not always -remained true to his instincts, for he has been frequently -detected in eating the eggs of birds, and also in the seizure -of the feathered denizens of our lawns and woods, which he -will capture with all the skill of the blood-thirsty weasel. -His method of operation is peculiar. He will lie in wait, -concealed from view by the dense foliage of the trees which -he is wont to affect when in quest of game, and when some -unsuspecting bird hovers near pounces upon it with unerring -precision, and effecting its capture proceeds to suck, sitting -up in true squirrel fashion, the life-sustaining fluid through -a wound inflicted in the side of the neck. Having satiated -his thirst, which may have been the prime object of the capture, -the dead body of the bird is dropped, and the little<span class="pagenum" id="Page284">[284]</span> -monster, upon erect haunches, poses, the embodiment of -perfect contentment.</p> - -<p>But in the case of the Owl it was otherwise. Perhaps it -was too large for the monster to attack, or, knowing from -rumor of gossiping friends the reputation of the former for -cruelty and murder, a conciliatory spirit was thought the best -to adopt. No one knows the bitter character of the first -interview, or whether a liking for each other sprang up from -the beginning. Be this as it may, there can be no denying -the fact that a friendship was cemented between the two -animals, widely divergent in structural peculiarities as they are -known to be, that gave hope of becoming long and enduring.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page285">[285]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">NATURE’S LITTLE STORE-KEEPER.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p class="chapstart"><span class="largecap">O</span><span class="afterlargecap">ne</span> -of the most familiar of North American quadrupeds -is the Hackee, or Chipping Squirrel, as he is sometimes -termed, from the strange, quaint utterances which he -emits while rollicking with his fellows or in quest of something -to eat. He is a beautiful little creature, notable alike -for the dainty elegance of his form and for the pleasing tints -with which his dress is arrayed. His general color is -brownish-gray upon the back, warming into orange-brown -upon the forehead and hinder quarters. Five longitudinal -black stripes and two streaks of yellowish-white adorn the -dorsum and sides, which render him a most conspicuous -being and one readily distinguishable from any other animal. -His abdomen and throat are white. He is slightly variable -in color according to locality, and has been known to be -so capricious of hue as to become a pure white or a jetty -black. But for the commonness of the species, which is -found in great numbers in almost every place, his fur, from -its extreme beauty, would long since have taken nearly as -high rank as sable or ermine.</p> - -<p>No quadruped is so brisk or so lively. His quick, rapid -movements have not inaptly compared him to the wren. -As he whisks about the branches of the brushwood and small -timber among which he is chiefly met, or shoots through their -interstices with his peculiar jerking movements, and his odd -clicking cry, like the chip-chipping of newly-hatched chickens, -the analogy between himself and the bird is strikingly apparent. -Occurring in great plenty, and being a bold little -creature, he is much persecuted by small boys, who, with<span class="pagenum" id="Page286">[286]</span> -long sticks, and well-directed blows, manage to fell to the -earth many a luckless fellow as he endeavors to escape his -pursuers by running along the rail fences.</p> - -<p>Hackees delight in sequestered localities. There they tunnel -their homes, preferring some old tree, or a spot of earth -sheltered by a wall or a bank. Their burrows are rather -complicated affairs, running often to great lengths, so that -the task of digging the animal out of his retreat becomes -one of no easy accomplishment. Sandy patches of ground, -on the outskirts of a woods, are not unusually chosen for -burrows. A hole, almost perpendicular, is drilled into the -earth to a depth of three feet, and is thence continued with -one or more windings, rising a little nearer the surface until -it has advanced some nine or ten feet, when it is made to -terminate in a large circular nest, made of oak leaves and -dried grasses. Small lateral galleries branch off from the -main burrow, in which these provident little creatures lay up -their winter’s provisions. Wheat, Indian corn, buckwheat, -hazel-nuts, acorns and the seeds of grasses have been found -in their underground receptacles, a proof, were further evidence -lacking, that they do not pass the cold famine months -in a sluggish and benumbed condition. Several layers of -leaves, aggregating nine inches in thickness, are often found -over the entrance, as a protection from frosts, which are -further prevented from intrusion by the sealing up of the -mouth from within.</p> - -<p>Everything is done by the Hackee in a business-like -manner. In gathering his food, lest the sharp beak of the -nut may injure his cheeks when he places the fruit in his -pouch, he nips off the point, and then by the aid of his fore-paws -deliberately pushes the nut into one of his pouches. -Another and another are similarly treated, and taking a -fourth between his teeth, he dives into his burrow, and, having -packed them methodically away, returns to the surface for a -fresh cargo. Four nuts are his load at each journey. With -his check-pouches distended to their fullest capacity, and -laboring most truly under an embarrassment of riches, the -little fellow presents a most ludicrous appearance.</p> - -<div class="container" id="Plate7"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo286a.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo286b.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="copyright">Copyright 1900 by <span class="smcap">A. R. Dugmore</span>.</p> - -<p class="caption">CHIPPING SQUIRRELS FEEDING.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page287">[287]</span></p> - -<p>When menaced by foes, by which so defenceless and conspicuous -an animal is sure to be surrounded in great numbers, -the Hackee makes at once for his burrow, and is there secure -from the attacks of nearly all enemies. One foe there is, -however, that cares naught for the burrow, but follows the -poor Hackee through all of its windings, and never fails to -attain his sanguinary object. This remorseless foe is the -stoat, or ermine, whose only <i>penchant</i> is the blood, and not -the flesh, of his victim.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig56"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo287.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">HACKEE, OR CHIPPING SQUIRREL.<br /> -Laying up Food for the Famine of Winter.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>Early in November the Hackee moves into his winter-quarters, -excepting in occasional instances when the sun<span class="pagenum" id="Page288">[288]</span> -shines with peculiar warmth, and is not seen again until the -beginning of spring. The young, to the number of four or -five, are produced in May, and there is generally a second -brood some time in August. A rather pugnacious animal -is the male Hackee, and during the combats which are -frequently waged when several males meet, their tails have -been known to snap asunder from the violence of their -movements, for these members, it is undoubtedly true, are -wonderfully brittle in their structure.</p> - -<p>Pretty as he is, and graceful as are his movements, it -hardly pays to keep the animal in a domesticated state, for -his temper is very uncertain, and he is generally sullen even -towards his keeper. But could he be induced to take to the -life of a captive kindly and pleasantly, he would, by his -cunning little ways, prove a most agreeable companion.</p> - -<p>Some years ago an American writer of note had a pair of -these animals which made their home in the foundation wall -of her house. A row of wild cherry trees stood near the -lawn in the rear of the building, which the little fellows were -wont to visit many times daily, carrying off in their pouches -quite a number at a time of the numerous cherry pits that lay -scattered over the ground.</p> - -<p>The season being dry, one morning early the person to -whom reference has been made repaired to the lawn and poured -a pitcher of water over some plants that grew near her porch, -when one of these squirrels was observed to pass among -them on his way to the trees. He paused from his journey, -sat up on his haunches, took one of the wet leaves in his -hands, pressed the sides together for a trough for the moisture, -and holding it to his mouth drank from it the water in the -most comical fashion imaginable. He then went to another -and another, drinking from five or six leaves in all, while -she stood watching near by. A large saucer filled with -water was placed near the plants, which the little fellows -quickly discovered, and both thereafter drank and washed -regularly at the dish.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page289">[289]</span></p> - -<p>A practice of testing their knowledge of nuts was then -made. When cracked hickory nuts were given them, they -at once sat down and picked out of them the meats, which -they eagerly devoured. Cracked nuts, it would seem, were -deemed worthless for storage. But, on the contrary, when -whole nuts were given, they tested them, evidently by -weight, to see if they were sound. Sound nuts were -promptly transported to their burrow, but the poor ones -were dropped. They were never known to be mistaken in -their judgment, for the rejected nuts on being cracked were -always found to be worthless.</p> - -<p>Although the food of the Hackee is mostly vegetal in -character, yet, like his English relative, he is occasionally -carnivorous in his appetite, for he has been detected in the -cruel act of robbing birds’ nests and devouring their callow -young.</p> - -<p>Some Squirrels are remarkable for their extreme agility in -climbing trees, and in making extraordinary leaps from one -bough to another or from some elevated spot to the earth. -The Ground Squirrels, however, are intended to abide on -the earth, and are seldom known to ascend trees to any -great height. As they possess cheek-pouches, they are -placed in a separate genus under the name of Tamias, -which is a Greek word, signifying a store-keeper, and are -distinct from the others in being furnished with these appendages. -<i>Tamias striatus</i> is the appellation by which the subject -of our sketch is known to the books.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page290">[290]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CANINE SAGACITY.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p class="chapstart"><span class="largecap">M</span><span class="afterlargecap">any</span> -years ago, two decades or more, the writer was -the possessor of a little dog—a French poodle by -breed. A more knowing animal of his kind never lived. -He was a pretty creature, with hair as white as driven snow, -and manners the most agreeable. Great pride was taken in -his appearance. That his dress should maintain its natural -purity, he was weekly subjected to a warm-water bath. This -task devolved upon a little brunette, for whom the canine -had contracted a strong affection.</p> - -<p>Frisky, for such was our pet’s name, had never before -coming into the family known what it was to receive a good -washing. His first experience was as uninteresting as it was -novel and strange. It was anything but pleasant to him, -but the little fellow bore it like a martyr.</p> - -<p>Such treatment, by the ordinary cur, would have been -resented with snaps and snarls, but his was a gentle nature that -knew no such untoward manifestations. But there was, all -the same, an aversion to the bath, as looks only too plainly -indicated. So pronounced was the dislike, that the very -sight of water caused his delicate frame to shake like a -child’s with the cold.</p> - -<p>Had not the greatest care been taken in the preparation of -the bath, it might have been thought that the tremors that -shook his by no means robust frame were induced by the -water’s chilliness or by its undue warmth. But this could -not be the case, as the fluid was always tempered to the most -sensitive touch.</p> - -<p>But there came a time, however, when Frisky was determined -to evade these kindnesses upon the part of his<span class="pagenum" id="Page291">[291]</span> -mistress. He had pleaded immunity from them in pitying -glances, but without avail. Something must be done, his -looks would seem to say, as he lay cuddled up by the cosy -kitchen fire. One could almost read the thoughts that were -shaping themselves in his mind.</p> - -<p>For three long years Frisky, who had been allowed to -sleep at nights in the sitting-room, was accustomed, when -morning broke, to visit the different members of the family -in their respective dormitories, and have a lively, rollicking -time. These visits were always looked forward to, and in no -instance, during the whole of that period, were they ever -intermitted. To have missed one of these exciting romps, -would have been a keenly-felt deprivation. But that we were -to be doomed to such disappointment and affliction, subsequent -events only too clearly showed.</p> - -<p>One Saturday morning, for it was always on the Jewish -Sabbath that the bath was given, Frisky failed to make his -accustomed calls. This was noticed by everyone, and no -amount of comment was provoked. Loudly his name was -spoken, but no response was elicited, and it soon became -evident that the cunning little elf was beyond the reach of -calling. Search was instituted, but to no effect. His absence -was lamented, and it was feared some calamity had befallen -him. A silence, like unto death, filled the house. There -was weeping and wailing about, for Frisky was not.</p> - -<p>But just as the shadows of night were deepening, and hope -was dying out of the bosoms of all, the patter of little feet -was heard upon the pavement leading to the back-door. -The sounds were too familiar to be those of a stranger. All -listened with breathless silence. “’Tis Frisky, ’tis Frisky,” -went up a chorus of voices, and we all rushed to the door to -welcome the runaway back to the fold. Not a chiding word -was spoken, not a look of reproof given, as with outstretched -arms the culprit was received to our hearts. A -more crestfallen, conscience-stricken being, however, could -hardly be conceived to exist.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page292">[292]</span></p> - -<p>Things resumed their wonted sway. Happiness reigned -once more in the family. Frisky’s matutinal visits were as -though they had not been interrupted. His frolics had all -their former vivacity. The sin committed had been condoned, -and he in splendid repute again.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig57"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo292.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">MY DOG FRISKY.<br /> -How He Greeted His Master.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>A week since his first wrong-doing had elapsed. Would -he repeat his plan of getting rid of the obnoxious bath?—had -never entered our minds. The day dawned bright and -lovely. All was bustle outside, and the slamming of shutters -told that the servant was astir in the kitchen. As was her -usual custom, the entry door was left open for Frisky. All -ears were on the stretch. There were no familiar signs. -The sharp, glad bark that always heralded his coming was -wanting, and so, too, the timing of little feet upon the stairs. -Not a sound of breathing, not a rustle of counterpane, was -heard. Still and motionless we all lay, till the minutes -seemed hours, and then came the thought that it was<span class="pagenum" id="Page293">[293]</span> -Saturday and Frisky had again disappeared. Search was -everywhere made, but the missing one was nowhere to be -found. That he had slipped out when the door was opened, -was now most obvious. No effort was made to find his -hiding-place, for we all knew that he would come back with -the shadows.</p> - -<p>His coming was later this time than before. The sun had -long gone to rest. It was pitch dark when the pawing of -little feet against the door announced his return.</p> - -<p>This second offence was passed over as the first had been, -and Frisky was his jolly, frolicsome self once more. A score -of Saturdays was thus managed and the hateful bath escaped, -for well this cunning bit of flesh and fur knew that the seventh -was the only day of the week when it was convenient -for his mistress to attend to his ablutions.</p> - -<p>That Frisky was able to count, or had some means of -determining the coming of the day he so thoroughly -detested, there can be no question. But the exceeding cuteness -of his nature not only showed itself in his manner of -getting rid of the hateful bath, but in various other ways. -He seemed equal to every emergency that could arise. Oftentimes -I have watched him, as he lay upon a rug by the kitchen-hearth, -or upon the pillow of a new-made bed, for he was at -liberty to go where he pleased about the house, and I have -fancied that I could see him thinking, or read the train of -thoughts passing through his mind, so human-like seemed -he in these reflective moments.</p> - -<p>When scolded for some trifling misdoing, or threatened -with denial of some expected pleasure, no so-called brute -could show more pitying glances. His grief was often heart-rending -to behold. Prostrate upon the ground or carpet, or -in what place soever he chanced to be, he would moan and -moan for hours together, and only consent to be comforted -when the burden was lifted from off his soul by a kind -word spoken, a smiling look given, or a quick, hearty shake -of his delicate paw. When happy, and it did not take much<span class="pagenum" id="Page294">[294]</span> -to make him happy, he was full of life and vivacity, capering -and prancing about with the utmost <i>abandon</i>, and doing his -very best to show off his happiness and pleasure. His eyes -seemed kindled with a holy affection, and a blaze of heavenly -sunshine would appear to play over his features. I have -seen him, when in such mental agony, to actually shed tears, -a sight that never could fail to reach and melt the flintiest -hearts. He knew and understood every word that was -spoken to him, and responded by a shake of the head, or a -low, soft bark. A conscience within told him the right from -the wrong, and though he sometimes knowingly erred, yet -he was always truly sorrowful for his sins afterwards.</p> - -<p>There came a day, however, when the idol of the household -went out and never returned. Some unlucky event -had doubtless befallen him, or he had been spirited away to -parts unknown. If living, I trust he is being cared for as he -richly deserves. He was a kind, gentle, loving being, and I -cannot help thinking that some day I shall meet him in the -beautiful world beyond the grave.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page295">[295]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">FELINE INTELLIGENCE.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p class="chapstart"><span class="largecap">P</span><span class="afterlargecap">robably</span> -no creature has been more calumniated by -man than the Domestic Cat. While wonderful intellectual -powers, as well as the most amiable traits of character, -have been accredited to the dog, and rightly so, it seems -rather strange that so little of good has been found to exist -in the subject of our sketch. She has been held up to reprobation -as a thoroughly selfish animal, seeking her own comfort -rather than that of others, and manifesting a stronger -attachment to places than to owners. Sly and treacherous as -her untamed kindred of the forests and jungles are known to -be, she receives no higher commendation, and is even accused -of concealing her talons in her velvety paws when matters -go pleasantly with her, and ready to use them even upon -her best friends when crossed in her purposes.</p> - -<p>Whatever may have been the experience of those who have -so grossly libelled the Cat, my own large acquaintance with -the animal has led to different conclusions. Nearly all the -Cats with which I have been most familiar have been as -docile, tractable and affectionate as any dog could be, and -have exhibited an amount of intellectual ability unsurpassed -by few dogs. There is as much to be said about the good -and bad temper of the Cat as of the dog, while, as to her -mental capacities, the advantage is not so decidedly upon the -side of the dog as is generally supposed. Nor is my own -experience exceptional, for in all instances where friends have -possessed favorite Cats their experiences have been similar -to my own.</p> - -<p>Self is not always paramount to everything else with Cats. -Some are generous to a fault. Mothers have been known,<span class="pagenum" id="Page296">[296]</span> -whose devotion to their young has been so strong that they -have hunted all day for their benefit, even when the latter -were full-grown, scarcely taking any nourishment for themselves. -But such feelings are perfectly natural. When, -however, we see a Cat that is willing to share its food with -a stranger, one cannot resist the thought that here is a case -of real generosity. A friend once possessed a fine black -Cat. He was dainty in his eating, scrupulously exact in his -dress, and well-mannered in his deportment. No Cat ever -received better training. Unlike the average Cat, he could -be trusted in the presence of tempting viands, and was never -known to abuse the confidence reposed in him. Beauty, -for so he was called, was a model fellow, and well deserved -the name. The education he received, while it made him -gentle, kind and affectionate, and gave him reliability of -character, did still more, for it endowed him with a soul -that was not a stranger to the noblest impulses. Life had -few luxuries that he did not enjoy; but a sprig of catnip was -more to him than the choicest steak or raciest tidbit, and to -this luxury he was weekly treated. Notwithstanding his -fondness for the herb, he was never reluctant to share it -with another, whom Fortune had less favored.</p> - -<p>Cats, at least such as are well circumstanced, possess some -knowledge of the uses of things. We once knew a Cat -that would, when out of doors, make its presence known by -a few loud raps upon the closed door, administered by its -right front paw. If the call was not immediately answered, -a few more raps, louder than before, would be given, and -then the Cat, unable to restrain its impatience, would spring -up to the latch, striking it a downward blow, as though -endeavoring, human-like, to effect an entrance.</p> - -<p>But quite as interesting as any of the foregoing cases is -that of a female Cat that had run a spine into one of her -hind feet. Limping upon three legs she made her way to -her mistress, and, raising her foot, implored with a piteous -look and sad, distressing cries the removal of the offensive<span class="pagenum" id="Page297">[297]</span> -spine. A child could not have made its suffering better -understood, nor supplicated the needed relief more intelligently, -than did this poor creature, which thoughtless man -in his self-glorification is so prone to regard as a senseless, -unintelligent and unreasoning being, which has no existence -beyond this sublunary sphere.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig58"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo297.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">TOM ON DUTY.<br /> -Guarding His Master’s Cows.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>While Cats are useful in the destruction of vermin, and -afford man no little amusement by their wonderful antics, yet -they seldom put themselves to any practical use. The Cat, -about which we shall now have something to say, is an -exception to the rule, and quite a marvel in his ways. He -is a resident of a far-away town in New Jersey, and came to -his present quarters a long, gaunt, wild-eyed, unfed creature.<span class="pagenum" id="Page298">[298]</span> -But something in his looks told of a soul within that fore-shadowed -a great deal of good, and so the Cat, which at -first seemed an unwelcome guest, began to be looked upon -in an appreciative manner. And now Tom, as the Cat is -called, is a fixture in the household.</p> - -<p>Almost from his advent into the family Tom began to give -an exhibition of his common-sense. This first remarkable -show of intelligence was on the Sunday succeeding his adoption. -The family had repaired to church, leaving Tom contentedly -snoozing in a corner of the kitchen. But their -surprise can hardly be pictured when in the midst of the sermon -Tom came flying down the aisle to the place where his -master was seated, and clawing the legs of the trousers of -the latter, began yelling at the top of his voice. The minister -stopped in the midst of his talking, and everybody got up -to see what the trouble was, but Tom, utterly oblivious of -them all, continued his strange behavior.</p> - -<p>Convinced that the actions of the Cat were not the result of -an epileptic fit, but foreboded something wrong at the house, -the male portion of the congregation started thither, and -when the house was reached a dense column of smoke was -seen pouring from the kitchen window. The door was -thrown open, and the carpet on the floor was found burned to -a cinder. A coal of fire had evidently fallen from the stove-grate -and started the fire. That Tom had understood the -danger, was shown by his actions.</p> - -<p>One day, a horse, belonging to a neighboring farmer, ran -away, and tore down the road past Tom’s home at a thundering -gait. Tom was sauntering around the yard, and his -attention being drawn to the rattling of the wagon, he was -soon in the road to see what the trouble was, and observing -that the team was unaccompanied by a driver, he leaped upon -the head of the runaway horse and hung on with teeth and -claws until the animal was secured. On another occasion a -tramp, happening along the road, descried a bicycle that belonged -to one of the inmates of the house. He was soon<span class="pagenum" id="Page299">[299]</span> -astride the wheel, and might have made his escape had not he -fallen under the eyes of Tom, who, as quick as a flash, was -after the thief. Leaping into the air, he fell on the man’s shoulders -and set his teeth firmly into his neck. There was a -howl and a crash that brought the family to the yard, and -there they found the tramp rolling on the ground and making -desperate efforts to get away from Tom’s rigid jaws. -Finally the Cat was induced to relax his hold, and the -wounds of the tramp being cared for, he was allowed to proceed -on his way.</p> - -<p>More wonderful still is what follows: When the master -wants to bait his cows and keep them within a certain area -he instructs Tom to watch them, and the allotted task is performed -with all the faithfulness and wisdom of a shepherd’s -dog. Any disposition to stray outside the limits is checked, -the erring animal being hustled back by Tom, who, attaching -himself to her caudal extremity, remains there until she -is brought back to where she belongs.</p> - -<p>No animals seem to require human sympathy so much as -Cats, or to be so capable of giving sympathy in return. -Where they have formed a strong attachment to a person -they are loath to be away from his society and follow -him wheresoever he goes, giving caresses and expecting -a liberal share of the same in return. I have been upon a -bed of sickness and a favorite Cat, which I always addressed -as Puss, would, whenever the opportunity occurred, make -her way into my room, and, jumping upon the bed, lay her -head against my face in the most endearing manner, and -purr her sweetest and gentlest, ever and anon stopping to -express her sympathy by licking my forehead or uplifted -hand. Even when Puss has been suffering from maladies to -which all flesh of her kind is heir, I have sat by her side -and stroked her head, and have read in the look which she -gave me that she felt my sympathy and appreciated it -beyond any power of expression of hers to declare. She -seemed to think at all times that I was wholly her own, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page300">[300]</span> -no other Cat, not even one of her own offspring, would be -allowed such familiarities, as any attempt was sure to provoke -the most intense jealousy. Nor was I permitted to -lavish attentions upon any of her kith, for she would soon -become wrought up to a high pitch of excitement, and -instant vengeance would be wreaked upon the recipient of -my favors.</p> - -<p>Much more might be said about the Cat. It has its good -qualities and its bad qualities. There is hardly a trait of -character which the human animal possesses that it does -not possess. Of course I now speak of our Domestic Cat. -In the long-past times, when the Egyptian nation was at the -head of the civilized world, <i>Felis maniculata</i>, which is the -reputed origin of our Domestic Cat, was universally domesticated -in their homes, and it is not unknown the very high -position it held in the love and esteem of the people, for it -was deified and worshipped as a god. Even in England, -still later down in time, the Domestic Cat was so scarce -that royal edicts were issued for its preservation. Yet in -those days, A. D. 948, the wild Cat was rife in the British -Islands and was considered as a vicious animal, which must -be destroyed, and not a useful one to be protected by the -law. How we came into the possession of the Cat is a matter -of conjecture, the current belief being that it was -imported from Egypt into Greece and Rome, and thence into -England.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page301">[301]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">BRIGHT LITTLE CEBIDAE.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p class="chapstart"><span class="largecap">N</span><span class="afterlargecap">ext</span> -to man, in descending the scale of animal life, -come the Quadrumana, or Four-handed Animals. -They are represented by the Apes, Baboons, Monkeys and -Lemurs. Excepting the last, and a few other species, these -animals are not very pleasing in aspect or habits, some of -them, the larger apes and baboons, being positively disgusting. -The air of grotesque humanity that characterizes them -is horribly suggestive of human idiocy, and we approach an -imprisoned gorilla or baboon with much the same repugnance -that we do a debased and brutal maniac. This aversion -seems not to be produced so much by the resemblance -that the ape bears to man, as by the horror felt lest man -should degenerate to the condition, character and physiognomy -of the ape. But to the naturalist, who sees wonder or -beauty in all things animate, these creatures are no less pleasing -than others that are not so repugnant.</p> - -<p>Were we to take a survey of the varied forms which the -Quadrumana of the Old World assume, we would find that -the forms would show such diversification that there would -hardly seem scope for further modifications. Yet the prolific -power of nature is so inexhaustible, that the depth of our -researches would only bring to light objects of such infinite -variety of form as to overwhelm the mind with surprise and -admiration. Thus it would be found to be with the Cebidæ, -or American Monkeys. While they would be shown to -possess the chief characteristics of the monkey nature, thus -establishing their close relationship with the Old World -monkeys, yet they would be seen to exhibit the strangest<span class="pagenum" id="Page302">[302]</span> -modification of details. Their four hand-like paws, and -other quadrumanous peculiarities, would indicate their <i>status</i> -in the animal kingdom, while sundry differences of conformation -would show that they were intended to live under -conditions that would ill suit their relatives on the other side -of the globe. Curious it is to observe how the same idea of -animal life is repeated in various lands and climates, even -though seas, impassable to creatures unaided by the light of -civilized reason, intervene. So we have the Simiadæ of -Asia and Africa represented by the Cebidæ of America. -Nor is this wonderful idea restricted exclusively to the man-like -animals. The lion, tiger and other feline races of the -Eastern Continent find Western representatives in the -puma and jaguar, and the same circumstance may be observed -of nearly all the mammalia, the birds, the reptiles, -the fishes, and, in short, through the entire animal kingdom.</p> - -<p>But of all the monkeys of the New World, and they are -numbered by hundreds included in several genera and -species, there are none that deserve more consideration than -the Capuchin Monkeys. They are active, little animals, lively -and playful. So similar are all the species in general habits, -that a description of one will equally serve for any other. -Their youthfulness and sportive manners make them very -desirable companions, and hence we frequently find them -domesticated by the native Indians and European settlers. -Like other small monkeys, the Capuchin often strikes up a -friendship for other animals that may happen to live in or -near its home, the cat being one of the most favored of its -allies. It is sometimes the case this familiarity is carried so -far that the cat is turned into a horse by the monkey, who, -seated upon her back, perambulates the premises. More -unpromising subjects, we are told, have been pressed into -similar service. Humboldt cites the case of one that was -accustomed to catch a pig every morning, and, mounted -upon its back, was known to retain its seat during the entire -day. Even when the pig was feeding in the savannas its<span class="pagenum" id="Page303">[303]</span> -rider remained firm, and bestrode the animal with as much -pertinacity as one skilled in equestrianism would the most -rampant steed.</p> - -<p>No little difficulty is experienced in settling the species of -the Capuchins, for their fur is rather variable in tint, and some -individuals differing so greatly as to cause them to look like -another species. The general color of the Capuchin—<i>Cebus -apella</i>—is a golden olive, a white fur bordering the face in -some, though not in all individuals. <i>Cebus fatuellus</i>, commonly -called the Horned Sapajou or Capuchin, is much more -conspicuous than the last, as the erect fringe of hair that -projects so prominently from the forehead indicates it at -once: hence from the front, the hair assumes the appearance -of two tufts or horns, from which peculiarity the animal -derives its name. These horns are not completely developed -until the monkey has attained maturity. There is also -a manifest difference in color of hair, the Sapajou having a -constant tinge of red in its fur. It is usually of a deep brown -color, but in some individuals there is a marked resemblance -to that peculiar purple-black which is obtainable by diluting -common black ink with water, while in others the ruddy -hue is so pronounced as to impart a chestnut tint to the -animal’s hair. The fringed crest is tipped with gray.</p> - -<p>Perhaps no more interesting form of the Capuchins exists -than the Weeper Monkey, or Sai, or, as it is called in the -books, <i>Cebus capucinus</i>. As in the case of the two preceding -species, it is an inhabitant of Venezuela and Brazil, and -as lively as any of its congeners. Like its brethren, its tail is -invested with a dense growth of hair, but this does not interfere -with its prehensile powers. The Sai is possessed of a -large amount of intelligence, and its quaint little ways make -it a great favorite with those who delight to watch its quick -and agile movements. While things of a vegetable character -constitute the chief part of its food, yet it manifests a fondness -for various kinds of insects, and is sometimes known to -ascend to higher prey, for it has been observed to feed upon<span class="pagenum" id="Page304">[304]</span> -birds, which it devours with avidity, not even waiting to pluck -off the feathers. Eggs are also thought to form a no inconsiderable -part of this Capuchin’s diet.</p> - -<p>Some few years ago, Prof. Cope had in his possession a -tame Sai, which was kept in a cage, or, rather, was supposed -to be kept in it, for the animal had a strong aversion to confinement, -and was sure to break loose therefrom sooner or -later. When in durance vile, and wishing to break prison, -he always directed his attention to the hinges, and no matter -how firmly they were fixed, he was sure before long to extract -the staples, pull out the nails, and so open the door at -the hinges, and not at the latch.</p> - -<p>Finding that the cage could not hold him, his master had -him confined by a strap fastened around the waist, after the -fashion of monkeys. The strap, however, proved to be of no -more use than the cage, for the crafty animal soon contrived -to open it, and this he did by ingeniously picking out the -threads by which the strap was sewn to the buckle, and so -rendering the fastenings useless.</p> - -<p>Again he was confined to the cage and carefully watched. -Having rid himself of the strap, he began to consider how he -might apply it to some useful purpose. So, having perceived -that some food had fallen beyond his reach, he took one -end of the strap in his paw, flung the other over the morsel -of food, and so drew it toward him. In this feat he displayed -great accuracy of aim, seldom missing the object which he desired. -Once or twice, when he had to make a longer throw -than usual, he loosened his hold of the strap. The first time -that this happened, some one handed him the poker. He -took it, drew the strap toward him, and resumed its use as -before.</p> - -<p>No intelligent person can deny that these acts were -prompted by reason. So far from even being aided by -instinct, the animal was certainly acting in direct opposition -to it. The instinct of an animal when confined or tethered -in any way is to break loose by main strength, and the<span class="pagenum" id="Page305">[305]</span> -instinct of the monkey would have impelled him to force his -way through the bars of the cage or to strain at the strap -until he had broken it in two. But it was his reason that -taught him to look for the weak part in both cage and strap, -and, having found it, to devote his energies to that part until -he had succeeded in his object.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig59"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo305.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">JACK AT DINNER.<br /> -Showing His Use of Table Implements.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>Was it possible for instinct to teach him that the hinges -were the weak part of his cage, and that, if he could only -remove the staples or nails, the door would open and he<span class="pagenum" id="Page306">[306]</span> -would be free? Could instinct teach him that the stitches -of the strap-buckle were to the strap what the staples and -nails were to the hinges, and that if he could but pick out -the threads, the fastenings of the strap would be rendered of -no effect? Neither could instinct teach him to use the strap -after the manner of a lasso, nor to employ the poker in regaining -his lost weapon.</p> - -<p>Not only did he thus show his ability to deal with the -obstacles that stood in the way of his freedom, and without -even the slightest suggestion from the mind of his master, -but he also gave evidence that he had the capacity to profit -by many of the civilities by which he found himself surrounded -in the life in which he was placed. Monkeys are -remarkable for their power of imitation, and Jack, as this -Capuchin was called, proved himself to be no ordinary fellow -in this respect. He had seen his master eat out of a -dish, using knife, fork and spoon when occasion demanded, -and nothing would do but an abandonment of his old habits—the -using of his fingers, which his ancestors were wont to -do—and the assumption of civilized practices. In time he -became quite skilful in the use of these table implements -and showed greater dexterity in handling them than many -a man has shown. Accustomed to their use, he would -never have things any other way. The writer has repeatedly -been present when he was taking his meals. Seated -upon the ground, his head and body slightly bent forward, -with his plate of food before him, the ground serving him as -a table, Jack would help himself in a quiet, cool and deliberate -manner, all the while evincing in movement and look an -air of the most consequential importance. To say that he -was proud of the success which he had achieved in the correct -use of table implements but tamely expresses the feeling -which would dominate his bosom at such times. No human -individual who had accomplished some wonderful discovery -or striking feat at arms that had caused the earth to resound -with his praises, could have felt more of the emotion than<span class="pagenum" id="Page307">[307]</span> -Jack. Indeed, it was a remarkable feat for Jack, and he had -a right to feel vain over its accomplishment. All the while -he was eating he would chatter in his uncouth guttural -tongue, as though he had learned, like his human brethren, -that conversation gave relish to a meal and was a powerful -aid to digestion.</p> - -<p>While Jack was a very useful fellow to have about, especially -where cats without owners abounded, for he was a -terror upon these feline nuisances, yet he had a few faults -which detracted very much from his otherwise good character. -Like some boys, he was addicted to the habit of throwing -stones, but I am more than half disposed to believe that -this was an acquired propensity, which he had learned by -seeing his master engaged in a similar diversion, or perhaps, -which is not at all unlikely, he had been trained to such -exercise and pastime by his master. Well, he could throw -stones with considerable force, and with as much precision -as any well-trained lad of fourteen summers could do. Let -the master but give him a stone, and say, “Now, Jack, hit -that fellow,” and Jack needed no second telling. Throwing -his right arm back, just as a boy would do, in order to give -the necessary impetus to the missile, he would send the -stone flying in the right direction. It required no little skill -and celerity of movement to dodge the projectile, as the -writer had more than once learned by painful experience, -for Jack’s wonderful and well-directed aim seldom went -astray of its purpose.</p> - -<p>Towards his master Jack showed great deference and -attention, and was ever ready to obey his slightest wish. -No one’s society he enjoyed better. It was always a pleasure -to be near him, but strangers he seemed to despise and -treat as enemies. He would always eye them with a suspicious -look, and could never tolerate their presence for any -considerable length of time without giving vent to his annoyance -by the most angry vociferations and hideous grimaces. -Should this not have the effect of causing them to retire, he<span class="pagenum" id="Page308">[308]</span> -would emphasize his objection to their presence by pelting -them with stones and such other missiles as were convenient -to hand. That he had a considerable affection for his master, -and respected him, no stronger evidence could be given than -what has already been adduced.</p> - -<p>After all that has been said concerning Jack, yet the world -is full of people, educated and intelligent as they consider -themselves to be, who cannot see that this bit of flesh and -spirit has been endowed by the same wise Creator with the -same traits of character, but differing in degree, that they -themselves possess. Going back to the ingenuity which -Jack displayed in the cases of the cage and the strap referred -to, it may be said to his credit that even Baron Trench himself -could not have shown greater skill in the discovery of -the weak parts of his prison and bonds than did this so-called -brute, nor could he have exhibited more patience and perseverance -in working at them. Indeed, there are many human -beings that would not have been half so sensible as Jack, -but still we must believe that such high intelligence, comparatively -speaking, must inevitably perish with the body, -through which as a vehicle it was made to manifest itself. -All intelligence is an emanation from the Divine Intelligence, -and, when the life has gone out of the body from which it -was made to shine forth, then it, instead of perishing with -the material, returns to the Source of all intelligence, not -to be re-absorbed, but, as I think, to continue as a separate -intelligence, drawing its life and light from the great Central -Head, like as the planets derive theirs from the centre of our -material universe—the Sun.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page309">[309]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">UNTUTORED MAN.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p class="chapstart"><span class="largecap">S</span><span class="afterlargecap">trange</span> -and unique as are the plants and animals of -Australia, yet nothing definite can be affirmed of its -native human inhabitants. They are a peculiar people, separated -by a wide remove from the Papuans, the Malays and -the Negro. Of a dark, coffee-brown complexion, rather -than actually black, the Australian is but little inferior to -the average European in height, but is altogether of a much -slimmer and feebler build, his limbs, particularly, being very -lean and destitute of calves, a defect which is a peculiarity of -the darker races of man. His head is long and narrow, dolichocephalic -in type, with a low brow, prominent just above -the orbital regions, but receding thence in a very marked -degree. The nose, proceeding from a comparatively narrow -base, broadens outwardly to a somewhat squat end, the eyes -on each side of its attenuated root appearing drawn together. -His face bulges into high cheek bones; his mouth is large -and grotesque, the jaw-bone contracted, the upper jaw projecting -over the lower, but with fine, white teeth; the chin cut -away, and his ears slightly pricked forward. Not only the -head and face, but the entire body as well, is covered with a -profusion of hair, which, when freed of its enclogging dirt -and oil, is soft and glossy. Like most savage peoples, the -effluvium of his skin, offensive as it naturally is, is very -much exaggerated by the fish-oil he uses in the anointment -of his person.</p> - -<p>Almost exclusively directed on the means of procuring -sustenance, the intellect of the Australian operates wholly -within the range of the rudest bodily senses. But inside<span class="pagenum" id="Page310">[310]</span> -that simple, elementary sphere he displays no little nimbleness -and dexterity. In tracking and running down his prey -he is unsurpassed. His weapons, though of the most primitive -forms, are well adapted for the purposes of the chase. -Rude and uncouth as his culinary and domestic apparatus -appear, yet they serve equally well the objects for which -they were designed. Some imitative facility, or rude sense -of elementary art, is possessed by him, as is evidenced by -the crude figures of sharks, lizards and other animals that -may be seen carved in caves in the north-east of Australia, -and on the rocks of New South Wales. That he has some -exuberance of rude sense is still further shown in his language, -which, within its very circumscribed sensuous sphere, -is fairly expressive and complete, and likewise in the ease -with which he learns to chatter the languages of peoples -with whom he has been thrown into contact.</p> - -<p>Outside the circle described, all is blank to the Australian. -He has no architecture, no pottery and almost no weaving, -and may be said to have no religion. His sensations may -scarcely, if at all, be said to have attained the dignity of -sentiments, much less that of sentimentalities. The man -domineers over the woman, who is as much his property as -his boomerang or dingo. Male offspring are held in considerable -estimation, and a father will bewail the death of a son -for months, and even for years. Old men and old, infirm -women, on the other hand, are cruelly abandoned, and left -to starve to death, for they are considered worthless and a -burden, and consumers of the food that should go to the -support of the young and physically strong. During the -summer they roam about naked, utterly strangers to shame, -which seems not to be innate to their natures. Wives are -accounted an item in a man’s chattels, the stealing of which -being met with some definite punishment. Caves, where -they abound, afford shelter and security for some of the -tribes, but where these are not found, screens of twigs and -bushes covered with leaves or turf, or logs of wood and<span class="pagenum" id="Page311">[311]</span> -turf, serve for protection and cover for a few days or weeks, -till the pursuit of food calls them elsewhere.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig60"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo311.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">AUSTRALIAN AT HOME.<br /> -Returned from the Chase with Kangaroo.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page312">[312]</span></p> - -<p>Thrift is unknown to the Australian. His life alternates -between satiety and semi-starvation. In summer he goes -naked, but in winter he wraps himself in kangaroo skins. -A girdle of hair bound about his loins holds his dowak, as -his digging-stick is called, and an apron of skins suspended -from the girdle affords a protection from shrubs. His food -consists largely of animals, which he devours alive, and -includes lizards, snakes, the heads being rejected, frogs, -white ants, larvæ and moths. Other animals are roasted, -showing that the Australian knows, contrary to an opinion -that once prevailed, the method of kindling a fire. In -seasons of dearth, when there is a paucity of food-material, -cannibalism is general. He then makes an attack upon a -neighboring tribe who is his enemy, and if he cannot obtain -food in this manner, he scruples not to fall back upon his -wife and his children. One obligation of the wife is to keep -her husband supplied with vegetable food, such as the roots -of the wild yam, seeds of the acacia, sophoræ, leaves of the -grass-tree, etc. Failing to produce a sufficiency, she is liberally -treated with maulings and spearings, so that a wife -generally appears bruised and gashed all over her body.</p> - -<p>Among the different tribes of Australians, the boomerang -is the principal weapon. This is a flat stick, three feet in -length, and curves at the centre. It is thrown into the air -among birds, jerks in a zigzag, spiral or circular fashion, and -when thrown by a person skilled in its use is sure to bring -down a few individuals at every throwing. Besides this -weapon they have the throwing-stick, flint-pointed spears, -shields, stone-hatchets, digging-sticks, netting-needles, nets -of sinews, fibres or hairs, water-skins and canoes.</p> - -<p>No government exists among this people outside that of -the family, and no laws except certain traditionary rules about -property. As for their religion, they have little save their -terror of ghosts and demons, and certain superstitious traditional -rites applicable to epochs in a man’s life, but more especially -so at the time of his burial. At ten years of age, a boy<span class="pagenum" id="Page313">[313]</span> -is covered with blood; at ten to fourteen, he is circumcised -in the north and south of Australia, but not in the west or on -the Murray River; and at twenty, he is tattooed or scarred. -Felicity after death is the reward of proper burial, but a man -dying in battle or rotting in a field becomes an evil genius.</p> - -<p>No more perfect example of tribal organization exists than -that of the tribes of Australasia. In a very large proportion -of existing tribes, the tribe is an aggregate of several stocks -or distinct bodies of kindred, the persons composing the tribes -being included in stocks which are, or are accounted, distinct -from each other. Two tribal customs, namely, the prohibition -of marriage between persons of the same stock, and the -reckoning of kinship through females only, so that children -are accounted of the stock of their mother, sustain this organization. -Persons of the same stock, too, owe duties to -each other, and are to some extent participants in each other’s -liabilities. An injury done by a man is an injury done by his -stock, which may be avenged upon any member thereof; or -an injury done to a man is an injury done by his stock, -for which every member of it is bound to seek vengeance. -As a consequence of these customs, a husband -must be of a different stock from his wife or wives, and therefore -must be accounted of a different stock from his children; -and if he has wives of different stocks, then their respective -children are accounted of different stocks. More than one -stock, it will thus be perceived, is represented in every household. -And since a man owes duties to his stock—the duties -of acknowledged blood-relationship—while to those of his -family who are not of his stock, there being nothing but the -accident of birth to unite him, it necessarily follows that the -family among these tribes has very little cohesion.</p> - -<p>Wholly sensuous is the language of the Australian, their -abstraction tending only in the way of arithmetic as far as -the number five, and that itself being quite an unusual -stretch. Polysyllabic as it is in formation, and having the -accent on the penultimate, it is not at all inharmonious.<span class="pagenum" id="Page314">[314]</span> -Though it comprehends many divergent forms, yet they seem -to be all fundamentally connected, constituting a group entirely -isolated from any of the linguistic families of the other parts -of the world. Within its narrow confines the language is -well developed and sensuously copious and expressive.</p> - -<p>Like almost all other savages, the native Australians are -rapidly disappearing before the spread of civilization. The -European settlers crowd them out of all the more fertile and -habitable lands, pressing them more and more into the desert -of the interior, where they find it exceedingly hard to obtain -in their roving, unsettled lives the necessary means of subsistence. -Great numbers are thus forced to succumb to -deprivations not of their own bringing, and not a few -to the diseases and vices brought among them by the -new possessors of their domains. The lowest estimate of -their number, prior to the settlement of Europeans among -them, gives over 150,000, but the natives still surviving -scarcely figure one-half of that population. It is only a -question of a decade or two when the Australian, like the -Tasmanian, who was once his near neighbor, will have vanished -from off the face of the country, leaving behind him -his implements of war and the chase, his culinary and -domestic apparatus, and the rude carvings of his hands in -caves and in rocks, as the principal evidences of his earthly -existence.</p> - -<p>By competent critics the Australian is pronounced to be -the most degraded of human beings, and the lowest type of -man. In reason, love, generosity, conscience and mere -responsibility he is the inferior of many of the lower animals, -and in the erection of a house for comfort, shelter and -security he is surpassed by creatures even as low in the -scale as the worms and insects. It is true, when hunger has -to be met, that he has shown some skill in the manufacture -of implements necessary to the obtainment of his food, and -also in resisting the attacks of his own kind and of the natural -enemies by which he is surrounded. There is no doubt<span class="pagenum" id="Page315">[315]</span> -that he is well satisfied with his condition in life, and could -hardly be induced to exchange it for another. He has -doubtless fulfilled the purpose of his being in the world, and -unable to cope in the struggle for existence with a superior -civilization must succumb to the latter which is better fitted -to endure, a sad but impressive lesson which is the teaching -of every chapter of the world’s geologic story.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page316">[316]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">LIVING SOULS.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p class="chapstart"><span class="largecap">A</span><span class="afterlargecap">ll</span> -things were made by the Word of God. In this -Word was life, spirit or energy. Without it was not -anything made that was made. Hence, says Elihu, “the -<i>Spirit</i> of God hath made me, and the <i>breath</i> of the Almighty -hath given me <i>life</i>;” or, as Moses testifies, “the Lord God -formed man, the dust of the ground, and breathed into his -nostrils the breath of lives; and <i>man</i> became <i>a</i> <span class="smcap">Living Soul</span>.”</p> - -<p>Now, if it be asked what the Scriptures define a living -soul to be, the answer is a living natural, or animal body, -whether of beasts, birds, fish or men. The phrase living -creature is the exact synonyme of living soul. The words -<i>nephesh chayiah</i> are in Hebrew the signs of the ideas expressed -by Moses, <i>nephesh</i> signifying <i>creature</i>, <i>life</i>, <i>soul</i>, or -<i>breathing frame</i> from the verb <i>breathe</i>, and <i>chayiah</i>, a noun -from the verb <i>to live</i>, <i>of life</i>. <i>Nephesh chayiah</i> is the genus -which includes all species of living creatures. In the common -version of the Scriptures, it is rendered <i>living soul</i>, and, therefore, -under this form of expression they speak of all flesh -which breathes in air, earth and sea.</p> - -<p>From the evidence adduced a man then is merely a body -of life in the sense of his being an animal or living creature—<i>nephesh -chayiah adam</i>. Therefore, as a natural man, he has -no preëminence over the creatures God has made. Moses -makes no distinction between him and them, for he calls -them all living souls, breathing the breath of lives. His -language, literally rendered, says, “and God said, the waters -shall produce abundantly <i>sheretz chayiah nephesh</i> the <i>reptile -living soul</i>;” and again, “<i>kal nephesh chayiah erameshat</i> every<span class="pagenum" id="Page317">[317]</span> -living soul creeping.” In another verse, “let the earth bring -forth <i>nephesh chayiah</i> the living soul after its kind, cattle, and -creeping thing, and beast of the earth after its kind,” and -“<i>lekol rumesh ol earetz asher bu nephesh chayiah</i> to everything -creeping upon the earth which has in it living breath,” that -is, the breath of lives. And lastly, “whatsoever Adam called -<i>nephesh chayiah</i> the living soul that was the name thereof.”</p> - -<p>Not even are quadrupeds and men living souls, but they -are vivified by the same breath and spirit. <i>Neshemet chayim</i>, -or the <i>breath of lives</i>, and not the <i>breath</i> of <i>life</i> as the text of -the common version has it, is said to be in the inferior creatures -as well as in man. <i>Chayim</i> in the Hebrew is in the -plural number, and therefore the words <i>neshemet chayim</i> -should be rendered as above. Thus, God said, “I bring a -flood of waters upon the earth to destroy <i>all flesh</i> wherein is -<i>ruach chayim</i> spirit of lives.” And in another place, “they -went in to Noah into the ark, two and two of <i>all flesh</i>, in -which is <i>ruach chayim</i> spirit of lives.” And <i>all flesh</i> died that -moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of -beast, and of every creeping thing, and every man; all in -whose nostrils was <i>neshemet ruach chayim</i>, <span class="allsmcap">BREATH OF SPIRIT -OF LIVES</span>. Now, as has been previously affirmed, it was the -<i>neshemet chayim</i> with which God, according to the testimony -of Moses, inflated the nostrils of Adam. If, therefore, this -were a particle of the divine essence, as it is declared, which -became the immortal soul in man, then all other animals -have likewise immortal souls, for they all received breath of -spirit of lives in common with him. Begotten of the same -Invisible Power, and formed from the substance of a common -earth mother, man and beasts were animated by the same -spirit, and constituted to be <i>living breathing frames</i>, though -of different species, and in God they lived, and moved, and -had their continued being.</p> - -<p>Returning to the philology of our subject, it is to be -remarked that by a metonymy, or a figure of speech where -the container is put for the thing contained, and conversely,<span class="pagenum" id="Page318">[318]</span> -<i>nephesh</i>, <i>breathing frame</i>, is put for <i>neshemet ruach chayim</i>, -which, when in motion, causeth the frame to respire. Hence -<i>nephesh</i> signifies not only <i>breath</i> and <i>soul</i>, but also <i>life</i>, or -those mutually affective, positive and negative principles in -all living creatures, whose closed circuits cause motion of and -in their frames. By Moses these principles, or qualities of -the same thing, are apparently styled the <i>Ruach Elohim</i>, or -by Timothy the Spirit of Him “who only hath immortality, -dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto, whom -no man hath seen, nor can see,” and which, when the word -was spoken, first moved upon the face of the waters, and -afterwards disengaged the light, evolved the expanse, gathered -the waters together, brought forth the green vegetation, -manifested the celestial universe, vitalized the breathing -frames of the dry land, the firmament and the seas, and -formed man in His own image and likeness. This <i>ruach</i>, or -spirit, was the instrumental principle commissioned by the -glorious Increate for the elaboration of the natural world, -the erection of this earthly house, and its equipment with -living souls of every species; and it is this same instrumentally -formative power that, together with the <i>neshemeh</i>, or -breath, that keeps them from perishing, or returning to the -dust. “If God set his heart against man, He will withdraw -to himself <i>ruachu veneshemetu</i>, that is, <i>His spirit and His -breath</i>; all flesh shall “perish together, and man shall turn -again to dust.” “By the <i>neshemet el</i>,” or breath of God, “frost -is given.” Speaking of reptiles and beasts, David saith, -“thou withdrawest <i>ruachem</i>—<i>their spirit</i>—they die; and to -their dust they return. Thou sendest forth <i>ruheck</i>—thy -spirit—they are created.”</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig61"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo319.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">REPRESENTATIVE LIFE OF WESTERN ASIA.<br /> -Illustrating the Scriptural Idea of Living Souls.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>From this cumulative evidence it is manifest that the <i>ruach</i> -is all-pervading. It is in heaven, in sheol, or in the dust of the -deepest hollow; in the uttermost depths of the sea; in the -darkness as well as in the light; in all things animate and -inanimate. In the broadest, or I may say, in an illimitable -sense, it is an <i>universal</i> principle. It is the substratum of all<span class="pagenum" id="Page319">[319]</span> -motion, whether manifested in the revolutions of the planets, -in the ebb and flow of the sea, in winds and storms and -tempests, or in the organisms of plants and animals. The -atmospheric expanse is charged with it; but it is not the air. -Animals and plants breathe it, but it is not their breath; yet -without it, though filled with air, they would die. <i>Neshemet -el</i>, or atmospheric air, is the breath of God, as Job puts it, or -the mighty expanse, as affirmed by Moses. What the <i>ruach</i>, -or spirit, is, none with certainty can say. Extending from the -centre of the earth, and thence in all directions through the -immensity of space, is the <i>Ruach Elohim</i>, whose existence is -demonstrable from the phenomena of the natural order of<span class="pagenum" id="Page320">[320]</span> -things. It penetrates where <i>neshemet el</i> cannot penetrate, but -when speaking of the motivity and sustentation of organized -dust, or souls, they co-exist with them, the <i>Ruach Elohim</i> -becoming the <i>ruach chayim</i>, or spirit of lives; the <i>neshemet el</i>, -the <i>neshemet chayim</i>, or breath of lives, and both together in -the elaboration and support of life, the <i>neshemet ruach chayim</i>, -or breath of the spirit of lives. Living creatures, or souls, are -not animated, as is erroneously supposed, by a vital principle -which is capable of disembodied existence. On the contrary, -souls are made living by the coetaneous operation of the -<i>ruach chayim</i> and the <i>neshemet chayim</i> upon their organized -tissues according to certain fixed laws, called natural laws. -When the as yet occult laws of the all-pervading <i>ruach</i>, or -spirit, shall be made known, men will be astonished at their -ignorance respecting living souls, as we are at the notion of -the ancients that their immortal gods resided in the stocks -and the stones they so ignorantly worshipped.</p> - -<p>Though lent to the creatures of the natural world for the -allotted period of their living existence, yet the <i>ruach chayim</i> -and <i>neshemet chayim</i> are still God’s breath and God’s spirit, -and to distinguish them from the expanse of air and spirit -in their totality, they are sometimes specifically styled “the -spirit of man” and “the spirit of the beast,” or collectively -“the spirits of all flesh,” and “their breath.” Thus it is -written in Ecclesiastes, “they have all <i>one ruach</i>, or spirit, -so that man hath no preëminence over a beast; for all is -vanity or vapor.” “All go to one place; all are of the dust, -and all turn to dust again.” And in the sense of supplying -to every living creature, or soul, spirit and breath, Jehovah -is styled by Moses in the book of Numbers,—“God of the -<i>spirits</i> of <i>all flesh</i>.”</p> - -<p>Enough has been advanced to show the Scriptural import -of the text already quoted, that “the Lord God formed man, -the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the -breath of lives; and man became a living soul.” The simple, -obvious and undogmatic meaning of this is, that the<span class="pagenum" id="Page321">[321]</span> -dust being animalized, and then organized, was next set in -motion by the inrush of the air through his nostrils into his -lungs according to natural laws. This phenomenon was the -<i>neshemet el</i>, or “breath of God,” breathing into him; and as -it was the pabulum of life to all creatures constituted of dust, -it was very expressively styled the “breath of <i>lives</i>,” and not -the “breath of <i>life</i>.” God breathes into every man at his birth -the breath of lives to this day, and there can be no reason, -Scriptural or otherwise, why we should deny that He -breathed it into Adam as He hath done into the nostrils of -his posterity by the operation of natural laws. Man, as soon -as he began to respire, like the embryo passing from fœtal -to infant life, “became a <i>living soul</i>,” that is, <i>nephesh chayiah</i>, -a living, breathing frame, or <i>body of life</i>. All kinds of flesh, -whether of man, beast, fowl and creeping thing, are made -alive by the same breath and spirit. They all become, in -consequence, living souls, so that, having a <i>oneness of spirit</i>, -a man hath no superiority over a beast.</p> - -<p>Having now proved, as we think, beyond the possibility -of a doubt, that men and beasts “have all one <i>ruach</i>, or -spirit,” and hence are all living souls, we now approach a -form of life, termed vegetable life, about which the Scriptures -have little to say. <i>Neshemet el</i>, or atmospheric air, is -just as essential to plants as to animals. Deprived of it they -wither and die. No less necessary is the all-pervading <i>ruach</i>, -or spirit. It is in the air, though not of the air. Plants, -equally with animals, breathe it, but it is not their breath. -Without it, even though filled with air, they would perish. -Perhaps it is the base of each of the elementary constituents -of the air. Uncombined, may it not be that wonderful fluid -whose explosions are heard in the thunder, whose fiery bolts -overthrow the loftiest towers and rive the sturdy monarchs -of the woods, and whose influence, though in less intensity, -gives polarity to light, the needle, and the brain?</p> - -<p>Living plants are a part and parcel of the life of our -globe. They preceded in the grand scheme of creation<span class="pagenum" id="Page322">[322]</span> -animal existences. Low down in the scale of life are forms -about which it cannot be predicated these are plants and these -are animals. Scientists are unable to say where plant-life -ends and animal-life begins. No hard-and-fast line can be -drawn between the two vast kingdoms of life, and it is often -wholly impossible to decide whether we are dealing with an -animal or a plant. There can be no question that the earliest -life was vegetable by nature, and that its habitat was the -primeval ocean. This is no less the teaching of science than -that of the Scriptures. From some such life, originating -<i>de novo</i> as the Spirit of God passed over the waters, the two -great branches of animate nature may have taken their rise. -What the form of this life may have been, whether cellular -or a mere mass of formless protoplasm, the mind of man -cannot asseverate. It is a mystery, and will doubtless ever -remain as such to finite intelligence. That this life, no matter -how apparently insignificant it must have been, breathed -in its own simple fashion, that is, by the coetaneous operation -of the <i>ruach chayim</i> and the <i>neshemet chayim</i> upon its -simple substance in accordance with natural law, there can -be no dispute. Breathing is not always conditioned by the -existence of nostrils. Plants respire, or, in other words, -take in carbonic acid from the air through their stomata, or -mouths, which they separate into its components of carbon -and oxygen, appropriating the former, which they build into -solid matter, but usually throwing off the latter into the -great receptacle of atmosphere from which it was extracted. -Even a moner, which has no distinction of parts, may be -said to breathe, but it breathes by means of its whole external -surface, for <i>neshemeh</i> and <i>ruach</i> are as necessary to it as -to man himself. It will thus be obvious that plants are living, -breathing frames, or bodies of life, and hence are as -much entitled to be considered as living souls as animals -are. Let but God withdraw his <i>ruach</i>, or spirit, from them, -and they die and to their dust return. Surely no more could -be predicated of animals.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page323">[323]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CONSCIOUSNESS IN PLANTS.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p>Plants, it has been vaguely asserted, differ from animals -by not having the power of movement. Rather should -it be stated that plants acquire and display this power when -it is to their advantage. This will be found to be of comparatively -rare occurrence, as they are affixed to the ground, -and food is brought to them by the air and rain. Evidence -of the very high position a plant may attain in the scale of -organization may be seen when we look at one of the more -perfect tendril-bearers. As a polypus adjusts its tentacula -for action, so a plant places its tendrils. If the tendril be displaced, -it sets to work to right itself. Acted on by the light, -it bends towards or from it, or disregards it altogether, whichever -course may be the most advantageous. For several -days the tendrils or internodes of the plant, or both, spontaneously -or otherwise revolve with a steady motion. But -should they strike some object, they curl quickly around it, -grasp it with wonderful firmness, and in the course of a few -hours contract into spirals, dragging up the stems, and forming -most excellent springs. All external movements now -cease, and by growth the tissues soon become surprisingly -strong and durable.</p> - -<p>Such a movement, as has just been considered, is a widely -prevalent one in plants, and is essentially of the same nature -as that of the stem of a climbing plant, which successively -bends to all points of the compass, so that the tip is made to -revolve. This movement has been called <i>revolving nutation</i> -by some writers, and <i>circumnutation</i> by others. In the case -of the circumnutating movement of the tip of the radicle of<span class="pagenum" id="Page324">[324]</span> -some plants, there can be no doubt that it is it that affords -the radicle some slight assistance in penetrating the ground. -But whether or not a radicle, when surrounded by softened -earth, is aided in making a passage for itself by circumnutating, -one thing is certain, that is, that this movement, by -guiding the radicle along a line of least resistance, can hardly -fail to be of high importance. Should, however, a radicle in -its downward growth break obliquely into any crevice, or an -opening left by a decayed root, or one made by the larva of -an insect, and more especially by worms, the circumnutating -movement of the tip will materially aid it in following such -open passages. Not only our own observation, but also those -of such eminent authorities as Darwin and Hensen, conclusively -show that roots commonly run down the old burrows -of worms.</p> - -<p>But radicles of seedlings, as well as those of more vigorous -plants, would pass over stones, roots and other obstacles, -which they must necessarily encounter in the soil. This -they are abundantly able to do, for they are exceedingly -sensitive just above their apices, and bend like a tendril -<i>towards</i> the touching object. When, however, one side of -the apex is pressed by any object, the growing part bends -<i>away</i> from that object, and this seems a beautiful adaptation -for avoiding obstacles in the soil, and for following the lines -of least resistance.</p> - -<div class="container w30em" id="Fig62"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo325.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">SEEDLING OF WINTER GRAPE.<br /> -Earth Cut Away to Show Directions Taken by Tip of Radicle in Avoiding a Stone.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>So feeble is the circumnutating movement of the terminal -growing part, both of the primary and secondary radicles, -that it can assist them but little in penetrating the ground, -excepting when the superficial layer is very soft and moist. -But it must aid them materially when they chance to break -obliquely into cracks, or into burrows that have been made -by earth-worms or larvæ. Moreover, combined as it is with -the sensitiveness of the tip of the radicle to contact, it can -hardly fail to be of the highest importance, for as the tip is -always endeavoring to bend to all sides, it will press on all -sides, and will thus be able to discriminate between the<span class="pagenum" id="Page325">[325]</span> -harder and softer adjoining surfaces. Consequently, it will -tend to bend from the harder soil, and will thus take the -directions of the least resistance. So it will act if it meet -with a stone or the root of another plant in the soil, as must -incessantly occur. If the tip were not sensitive, and did not -excite the upper part of the radicle to bend away, whenever -obstacles were encountered at right angles to its growing -direction, it would undoubtedly be liable to be doubled up -into a contorted mass. But with radicles growing down -inclined plates of glass, as shown by experiment, it has been<span class="pagenum" id="Page326">[326]</span> -observed that as soon as the tip merely touched a slip of -wood cemented across the plate, the entire terminal growing -point curved away, so that the tip soon stood at right angles -to its former direction; and thus, as far as the pressure of -the surrounding soil would permit, would it be with an -obstacle encountered in the ground. Thick and strong radicles, -like those of the horse-chestnut, are endowed with less -sensitiveness than more delicate ones, and would therefore -be the better able by the force of their growth to overcome -any slight impediment to their progress. Further, as radicles -perceive an excess of moisture in the air on one side and -bend towards this side, it is reasonable to infer that they -will act in a similar manner with respect to moisture in the -earth, for the sensitiveness of moisture resides in the tip, -which determines the bending of the upper part. May not -this capacity partly account for the extent to which drain-pipes -often become choked with roots? The direction which -the apex takes at each successive period of the growth of a -root, ultimately determines its whole course. It is therefore -very important that the apex should follow from the first the -most advantageous direction. We can thus understand why -sensitiveness to geotropism, contact and moisture should all -reside in the tip, and why it should determine the upper -growing part to bend either from or to the exciting cause. -Darwin has compared a radicle with a burrowing animal, -such as a mole, which wishes to penetrate vertically into the -ground. By a process of circumnutation, or the movement of -his head from side to side, he is enabled to feel any stone or -other obstacle, as well as any difference in hardness of soil -that may exist, and will therefore turn from that side; but if -damper on one side than on the other, will turn thither as a -more suitable hunting-ground. Nevertheless, after each interruption, -he, guided by the sense of gravity, will be able to recover -his downward direction and to reach to a greater depth.</p> - -<p>Destruction of the tip of a radicle does not prevent the -adjoining part from bending, if this part has already received<span class="pagenum" id="Page327">[327]</span> -some influence from the tip. As with a horizontally extended -radicle, whose tip has been cut off or destroyed, the part -which should bend most remains motionless for many days -or hours, even though exposed at right angles to the full -influence of gravity, we cannot do otherwise than conclude -that the tip alone is sensitive to this power, and transmits -some stimulus to the neighboring parts, thereby causing -them to bend. Direct evidence of such transmission has -been obtained. When a radicle was left extended horizontally -for an hour or an hour and a half, by which time the -supposed influence will have travelled some distance from the -tip, and the tip was then cut off, the radicle subsequently -became bent, although it was placed in a perpendicular position. -Terminal portions of several radicles thus treated continued -for some time to grow in the direction of their newly-acquired -curvature, for being destitute of tips they were no -longer acted upon by the power of gravity. New vegetative -points, however, appeared, and being acted on by this influence -coursed themselves perpendicularly downward as was -their custom.</p> - -<p>Investigation having shown that it is the tip of the radicle -that is sensitive to geotropism in the members of such -distinct families as the Leguminosæ, Malvaceæ, Cucurbitaceæ -and Gramineæ, which may be represented by the Clover, -Mallow, Gourd and Rye, we may justly infer that this character -is common to the roots of most seedling-plants. -Whilst a root is penetrating the ground, the tip must take -the incipient step, as it has to determine the direction of the -entire root. When, however, it is deflected by any subterranean -obstacle, it is essential that a considerable length of -the root should be able to bend, particularly as the tip itself -grows slowly and bends but little, so that the proper downward -course should be recovered. Immaterial as it would -seem whether the entire growing part should be so sensitive -to geotropism as to effect this movement, or that it should -be brought about by an influence transmitted exclusively<span class="pagenum" id="Page328">[328]</span> -from the tip, we should, however, remember that it is the tip -that is sensitive to the contact of hard objects, causing the -radicle to bend away from them, thus directing it along certain -lines in the soil where the least opposition interposes. It is -again the tip that is alone sensitive, at least in some instances, -to moisture, causing the radicle to bend towards its source. -These last two kinds of sensitiveness conquer for a time the -sensitiveness to geotropism, which, however, ultimately prevails. -But the three kinds most often come into antagonism, -first one prevailing, and then the other. It would, therefore, -be an advantage, perhaps a necessity, for the interweighing -and reconciling of these different kinds of sensitiveness, -that they should all be localized in the same group of cells -which have to transmit the command to the adjoining parts -of the radicle, necessitating it to bend to or from the source of -the irritation.</p> - -<p>Though generally believed by authors that the modification -of the upper or lower surfaces of a radicle, whereby -curvature is induced in the proper direction, is the direct -result of gravitation, yet there can be no question from all -that has been said that it is the tip alone that is acted on -and that transmits some influence to the adjoining parts, -causing them to curve in a downward manner. Gravity, it -would seem, does not act in a more direct way on a radicle -than it does on any lowly-organized animal, which moves -away when it feels some weight or pressure.</p> - -<p>When we consider what we have written, it is impossible -not to be impressed with the resemblance between the movements -of plants and many of the actions performed by the -lower animals. With plants an astonishingly small stimulus -suffices. One plant may be highly sensitive to the slightest -continued pressure, while a closely-allied form just as highly -sensitive to a slight momentary touch. The habit of moving -at certain periods is inherited both by plants and animals; -and other points of similitude have been specified. But -the most striking resemblance is the localization of their<span class="pagenum" id="Page329">[329]</span> -sensitiveness, and the transmission of a stimulus from the -exciting point to another, which consequently moves. Yet -plants do not, of course, possess nerves or a central nervous -system. May we not therefore infer, and wisely so, too, -that with animals such structures but serve for the more -perfect transmission of impressions, and for the more complete -intercommunication of their several parts?</p> - -<p>No structure in plants seems more wonderful, as far as its -functions are concerned, than the tip of the radicle. Lightly -pressed or burnt or cut, it transmits an influence to the upper -adjoining part, causing it to bend away from the affected -side. But more surprising, however, is the fact that the tip -can distinguish between a slightly harder and softer object, -by which it is simultaneously pressed on opposite sides. -Let the radicle be pressed by a similar object a little above -the tip, and it will be noticed that the pressed part does not -transmit any influence to the more distant parts, but bends -abruptly towards the object. Perceiving the air to be moister -on one side than the other, it likewise sends out an influence -to the upper adjoining part, which deflects towards the source -of the moisture. When excited by light, the neighboring part -bends from the light; but when excited by gravitation, the -same part bends towards the centre of gravity. In almost -every instance the ultimate purpose or advantage of the several -movements can be clearly perceived. Two, or perhaps more, -of the exciting causes often act simultaneously on the tip, and -one conquers the other, doubtless in accordance with its importance -for the life of the plant. The course pursued by the -radicle in penetrating the ground being determined by the -tip, has acquired for it the diverse kinds of sensitiveness which -it possesses; and it is hardly an exaggeration to assert that -the tip of the radicle thus endowed, and having the power to -direct the movements of the adjoining parts, acts like the -brain of one of the lower animals, which organ, seated within -the anterior end of the body, receives impressions from the -sense-organs, and directs their several movements.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page330">[330]</span></p> - -<p>In animals possessed of a nervous system, contractions -only follow stimuli, which are carried to the contractile elements -by nervous threads, the internal energy representing -the external stimulus being called nervous energy or neurism. -But where a nervous system does not exist, as is the -case in some low animals and in all plants, external stimuli -must be justly supposed to be converted into the same form -of energy, which in such organisms has a general circulation -throughout the contractile protoplasm. The attainment of -some position, favorable for the procurement of relief from -some unpleasant sensation, or the acquisition of some agreeable -one, or for both, is the important thing directly subserved -by such movements in the generality of animals. -While we have the best of reasons for believing this to be -true in the vast majority of animals, because fundamentally -their structure is similar to our own, yet the inference that -the same is true of the lowest forms of life is justifiable until -it is proved to be mistaken.</p> - -<p>Whatever be the nature of any movement, whether the -projecting of portions of its own body-substance as pseudopodia -in the primitive animal, the movement of flagella or -cilia in more specialized forms, or the turning of the radicle -of a plant-seedling in overcoming some obstacle, there is no -resisting the conclusion that the functions of these organs, -when once called into existence, are due to stimuli not unlike -those which affect the motions of the limbs of the higher -animals, and that the preliminary to all such movements, -which are not automatic, is an effort. And as no adaptive -movement is automatic the first time it is performed, effort, -therefore, may be regarded as the immediate source of all -movement. Now, effort is a conscious state, and implies a -sense of resistance to be overcome. But when an act is performed -without effort, resistance has been overcome, and the -mechanism requisite for its performance has been completed. -Automatism has now been reached. New movements, in -their incipiency, necessarily meet with resistance. How this<span class="pagenum" id="Page331">[331]</span> -resistance is overcome, there seems to be some diversity of -opinion among physiologists and metaphysicians, but it is -generally believed that some such mental state as a sensation -or a desire, which may or may not stimulate a natural process -as an intervening element in the circuit, is concerned in -its subduement. That sense-perceptions are stimuli to the -immediate appearance of structural changes or movements -is shown by the production of color-changes in animals -through changes in the condition of the organs of sight and -in the bending of the radicle of a seedling-plant a short -distance above its tip in obedience to a communication from -the tip of a sensation of hardness, caused by contact with a -stone experienced in its downward progress in the ground.</p> - -<div class="container w25em" id="Fig63"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo331.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">TIP OF RADICLE OF SEEDLING MAPLE.<br /> -Lower Cells Show Where Consciousness is Supposed to Reside.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>New conditions bring forth new acts in animals. No one -can deny this statement, as instances of its truth are too frequent -to believe otherwise. That such may be predicated of -plants, which have not the ability, as a rule, to meet with -new conditions by reason of their being affixed to the soil,<span class="pagenum" id="Page332">[332]</span> -very few persons are willing to admit; but there is no getting -away from the fact. The tip of the radicle of a plant -not only has the power, acting as a brain, as it would seem, -of guiding the root out of the reach of an obstacle that would -be injurious, or in the direction of water when it would be -an advantage, but a tendril has also the ability, in obedience -to some inherent force, of making its way to a support that -has been purposely placed in the near distance for its especial -benefit. No external agencies, which the materialistic -naturalist has devised for accounting for the movements of -plants and low types of animal existences that are devoid of -a visible nervous system, can possibly explain these movements, -which are only explicable on the theory that nervous -energy may be elaborated and be distributed without such a -system by and through the general mass of the plant or -animal, or by and through such parts as may be necessary -to its good.</p> - -<p>No one who has experimented with the Droseras or Sundews, -can have failed to observe the extreme sensitiveness -which resides in their leaves. That these plants manifest a -comparatively high order of consciousness, there can be no -question. Try them with insects, or rare bits of meat, as -articles of diet, and in a few hours, if vigorous leaves have -been experimented with, the leaves will have folded around -the food and commenced their curious process of assimilation. -Mineral substances, such as bits of chalk, magnesia and small -pebbles, have no such effect. They seem to ignore these -things, just as an intelligent animal would if they were placed -by its side. Some experiments made by Mrs. Treat, several -summers ago, go far to confirm the statement that plants are -endowed with some sort of consciousness. <i>Drosera filiformis</i> -was the species used in her experiments. Some living flies -were pinned one-half an inch from the leaves, but near their -apical extremities. In forty minutes the leaves had perceptibly -bent toward the flies, and in little more than an hour had -reached the prey, the legs of the latter being entangled and<span class="pagenum" id="Page333">[333]</span> -held fast by the tentacles of the leaves. Next, the flies were -removed three-quarters of an inch further from the leaves, -but the latter, even though bent away from the direction of -the light, failed to reach them at this distance. What was it -that induced the leaves to stretch in the direction of the flies? -Had the sun been shining from that side, it might be said -that the movement of the leaves was influenced by its light -and heat, for plants as a general rule turn toward that part -of the heavens where these energies are the most effective. It -cannot be that they were produced by some emanation of -moisture from the bodies of the flies, or by any influence that -might be exercised by the vibratory movements of their -wings. No vain imaginings of such character will suffice for -their explanation. The energy necessary to explain this -phenomenon must come from within the leaves themselves. -There was felt within them a desire for food, and it was this -desire that led the leaves to bend away from the light and in -the direction of the objects whose presence created in them -that sensation. But how they were able, in the absence of -any visible sense-organs, to determine the presence of these -objects, is difficult to surmise. That they are sensitive to -contact is generally conceded. And in them, no doubt, the -sense of touch is keenly developed. Granting this to be the -truth, then they see, as a blind man sees, by the sense of -feeling. Currents of air, established by the vibration of the -insect’s wings, impinging upon the epidermis of the leaves, -affect the cells beneath, and a nervous influence is started, -guided by some central agency, of which we know nothing, -causing the leaves to bend in the proper direction. But why -the leaves do not thus bend when impinged upon by currents -other than those produced by insects, I am unable to say. -Even as a blind man, though deaf, is able through the sense -of touch to discriminate moving objects by the currents of air -they excite, so it may be presumed that the leaves of Drosera -are endowed with the same wonderful and intelligent capacity. -Such a feeling once experienced would be apt to be<span class="pagenum" id="Page334">[334]</span> -known again, for it would become fixed in consciousness by -a process of memory. That Drosera, whose habits are more -animal-like than plant-like, must occupy a high position in -the scale of vegetable life, there can be no reason to doubt -from what has been said, and this assumption receives a -most remarkable confirmation from the fact that there are -evidences, not apparent however, of a sort of nervous system -in its make-up, as shown by the discovery of Darwin that by -pricking a certain point in a leaf one-half of its substance -becomes paralyzed.</p> - -<p>Wonderful as these facts are, yet they are not more so -than some recent discoveries made by Stahl while studying -the simple movements and physical conditions of certain -low plants called Myxomycetes. In their young stages these -plants wander from the parts of the deposit on which they -are creeping, and which are gradually drying up, toward -those which are more moist. It is possible, by bringing -moist bodies in proximity to any ramifications, to produce -pseudopodia, which lift themselves from the deposit, and -soon come into contact with the moist object, so as to enable -the whole mass of the plasmodium, that is, the large, motile, -membranous protoplasmic body formed by the coalescence -of the swarm-spores of the Myxomycetes, to migrate thereon. -But on the entrance of the plasmodia into the fructifying -condition, the Myxomycete quits the moist deposit, technically -called the substratum, and creeps upwards on to the surface -of dry objects. Unequal distribution of warmth in the -substratum and unequal supplies of oxygen and chemical -substances soluble in water also cause locomotion in these -strange organisms. Let the plasmodia come into contact on -one side with solutions of saltpetre, carbonate of potash or -common salt, and they at once withdraw from the dangerous -spot; but an infusion of tan, or a dilute solution of sugar, -causes a flow of the protoplasm and an ultimate translocation -of the entire plasmodial mass towards the source of -nourishment. Some solutions have an attractive or repulsive<span class="pagenum" id="Page335">[335]</span> -effect, but this is in accordance with the degree of their -concentration. Unlike what is so natural to plants in general, -the Myxomycetes seem to have an aversion to light, as -shown by their disposition to withdraw from its presence.</p> - -<p>How such tender structures as the Myxomycetes, which -are destitute of every kind of external protection, are enabled -to carry on their existence, the knowledge of the remarkably -delicate reaction of their plasmodia under external influences -prepares us to understand. Plasmodia, which are not yet -ripe for reproduction, are kept in the moist substratum by -their peculiar affection for moisture and utter dislike of the -light. But within the darkness and moisture of the substratum -the plasmodia do not necessarily remain in one place, -for the differences in the chemical composition of the substratum -cause continual migrations. Nothing more remarkable -can be said of the plasmodia than that they have a -wonderful faculty of avoiding harmful substances, and, -traversing the substratum in all directions, of taking up the -materials they require for food and growth. When, however, -their internal changes have advanced so far that the -plasmodia are approaching the fructifying condition, they -are brought by their dislike for moisture, which now sets in, -from the moist ground of forest or wood which they affect -to the surface, where they creep up various upright objects, -frequently not doing more than forming rigid reproductive -capsules at some height from the ground. If, however, the -substratum becomes gradually colder, as is the case in -autumn, a change which sets in at the surface moving downwards, -then the plasmodia migrate into deeper regions still -having a higher temperature; but when the cooling proceeds -very gradually, which especially happens in large tan-heaps, -the plasmodia may in their migration attain considerable -depths, where they then change into sclerotia, which are -hard tuberous substances, resembling the tubers and bulbs -of flowering plants. If, however, the temperature begins to -ascend, the sclerotia again germinate, and movement takes<span class="pagenum" id="Page336">[336]</span> -place from the deeper and cooler parts to the upper already -named.</p> - -<p>Thus we see, in the locomotion of the Myxomycetes, -extremely interesting cases of movements due to stimulation. -Light, heat, moisture and gravitation are, in general, stimulus-movements, -and ultimately all growth depends on stimulus-movement, -the most primitive kind of protoplasmic movement. -No causes other than those which actuate higher -organisms can be discerned to account for this lowest type of -organic movement. What form of inorganic energy can be -cited of sufficient potency to cause the organism to change, -and without regard to gravitation or any known form of -attraction or repulsion, its position in obedience to stimuli -acting for its self-preservation? There is none. In the -Fuligo, or Tan Flower, a most remarkable example of -designed movement has been observed. This form will, -according to H. J. Carter, in its early amœbula stage, when -isolated from the sawdust and chips of wood among which -it has been living, adapt itself to the water of a watch-glass, -or any other shallow vessel, in which it may happen to be -placed. But, if the watch-glass be placed upon the sawdust, -then it will make its way over the side of the glass to get to -the sawdust. Here is probably shown a sense-perception of -the presence and position of the tan-bark, as well as a feeling -of desire to go to it. May not this desire have been due -to a sense of discomfort induced by the surrounding water, -or to the calling up in memory of some superior comfort -associated with the tan-bark?</p> - -<p>Man in his self-complacency thinks that he knows the -plants about him. It is true that he has noted their form, -their anatomy, their color and their resemblances and differences, -but how few have studied them in meadow and woods -by the light of a lantern at night or by the silver rays of the -moon. One feels on such an occasion as though he had -stepped from his threshold upon a foreign soil. Folded -leaves and strange sleeping forms will be found to confront<span class="pagenum" id="Page337">[337]</span> -you in every direction. Of the nature of the nocturnal movements -of plants, as well as their varied and curious attitudes, -both in leaves and flowers, much speculation has been rife -among botanists. In many flowers the night attitudes have -been conclusively shown to have relation solely to their fertilization -by insects; but the drooping night attitudes of the -leaves were supposed to indicate an aversion to moisture, -many plants seemingly verifying the conjecture by -the assumption of the same position during rain as in the -dew. But when the same pranks were played on a cloudy -day or a dewless night, the explanation had to be abandoned. -With the clovers, the nocturnal positions of the heads seem -to be assumed only in the darkness, and this invariably, -dew or no dew, while the leaves appear to revel in the rain, -remaining freely open, their chief concern being the protection -of the young blossom-clusters.</p> - -<p>Were our eyes sharp enough we might discern a certain -strangeness in the nocturnal expression of every plant and -tree. But in no tree is this expression so remarkably emphasized -as in the locust, a member of the same leguminous -order of plants with the clover. These trees are especially -noted for the pronounced irritability of their leaves, and odd -nocturnal capers, whose seeming vital consciousness has -induced some authorities to place them at the extremity of -their system, in contact with the limits of the animal kingdom. -How strange the pigweeds look at night! Their -upper leaves, which during the day had extended wide on -their long stems, now incline upward against the stalk, -enclosing the tops of the younger branches, but still older -plants are seen with leaves extended much as at mid-day, but -nearly all turned edgewise by a twist in the stem. Circling -in a close curve, the creeping-mallow blossom now ignores -her proud array of cheeses, and the oxalis flower has forgotten -her shooting pods to keep the vigil, closed and nodding -upon her stem, while her leaves masquerade in one of -the oddest disguises, their three heart-shaped leaflets being<span class="pagenum" id="Page338">[338]</span> -seen reflexed and adjusting themselves back to back around -the stem with many contortions. Whatever the function of -this strange nocturnal movement may be, and it is still a -matter of dispute with botanists, one thing we are certain -about, that is, its essential condition to the life of the plant, -careful experiment having demonstrated, according to one -authority, that “if the leaves are prevented from so regulating -their surface, they lose their color and die in a few days”—a -fact which Darwin has just as conclusively shown to be -the case with other plants.</p> - -<p>Flowers that bloom by night could hardly be suspected of -that vanity which Rhodora has been made to confess by -Emerson in his beautiful lines to this flower. Our evening -primrose does not bloom in the dark hours for mere sentiment -or moonshine, but from a nature which lies, figuratively -speaking, much nearer her heart. “Often when the nights -are very dark,” says an old writer, “her petals emit a mild -phosphorescent light, and look as if illuminated for a holiday. -And he who does not fear to be out in her mild and -lovely haunt may see a variety of nocturnal ephemeræ hovering -around the lighted petals, or sipping at the flowery -fountains, while others rest among the branches or hurry -up the stems as if fearing to be too late.” From the first -moment of her wooing welcome it would seem that our -evening primrose listens for murmuring wings, and awaits -that supreme fulfilment with joyous expectancy, for it will -invariably be found that these blossoms, which open in the -twilight, have adapted themselves to crepuscular moths and -other nocturnal insects, a fact which finds a striking illustration -in the instances of very long tubular-shaped night-blooming -flowers, like the honeysuckle and divers orchids, -whose nectar is beyond the ability of any insect but a night-flying -hawk-moth to attain. True, it is, that in other less -deep nocturnal flowers the sweets could be reached by -butterflies or bees if the blossoms were left open. But -the night-murmurers receive the first invitation, which, if<span class="pagenum" id="Page339">[339]</span> -accepted, leaves but a wilted, half-hearted blossom to welcome -the sipper of the sunshine. This beautiful expectancy, -somehow or other, determines the limit of its bloom. However, -in the event of rain or other causes preventive of insect -visits, the evening primrose will remain open for the attention -of the butterflies during the ensuing day, when otherwise it -would have perceptibly drooped, and extended to them but -a listless welcome. Most strikingly may this fact be seen -illustrated in a spray of mountain-laurel. For nearly a week -have I observed in my house these blossoms lingering in -patient expectancy, when the flowers on the parent shrub -in the woods had fallen several days before, their mission in -life having been fulfilled. In the house specimens the radiating -stamens, which are naturally dependent upon insects -for their release, and the consequent discharge of the pollen, -remained in their pockets on the side of the blossom-cup, a -support, as it seemed, for the bracing up of the corolla upon -its receptacle. But when the operation of releasing the -stamens was artificially consummated, the flower-cup soon -dropped off or withered upon the peduncle.</p> - -<p>Not mainly has the writer, in attributing a phosphorescent -quality to the evening primrose, followed the license of -fancy, for, if scientists are to be believed, the regular luminous -glow of this and other nocturnal flowers has long -attracted the attention of the curious, and positive qualities -of inherent light have been accorded in many instances. It -is true, as one authority asserts, that “the evening primrose -is perfectly visible in the darkest night,” from which fact -phosphorescent properties have been ascribed to it. Many -well-authenticated cases are on record of luminous, electrical, -lightning-like phosphorescence playing about flowers, the -daughter of Linnæus having been the first one to note such -an interesting phenomenon. Similar flashes or corona have -been observed in nasturtiums, double marigold, geraniums, -red poppy, tuberose, sunflower and evening primrose. According -to various authorities, and it would be a rash and<span class="pagenum" id="Page340">[340]</span> -presumptuous commentator who would dare to challenge -such an array of competence, many beautiful surprises -await the traveller among the dewy shadows. Whoever has -made such a journey will not only return with the consciousness -that he has doubled his possessions, but that he has -also explored a new world—a realm which he can look in -the face on the morrow with an exchange of recognition -that was truly impossible yesterday.</p> - -<p>Whether or not all the facts that have been adduced show -that plants are conscious organisms in the particulars for -which it is claimed, it matters not, for enough have been set -forth to demonstrate beyond the shadow of a doubt the position -that they are endowed with a consciousness, no matter -how infinitesimally small a part it plays in nature. Everyday -observation of the botanist teaches the fact. Sensation, -which is consciousness, has preceded in time and in history -the evolution of the greater part of plants and animals, unicellular -and multicellular, and, therefore, if kinetogenesis, or -the doctrine of the effects of molar motion, be true, “consciousness,” -as Cope alleges, “has been essential to a rising -scale of organic evolution.” Animals which do not perform -simple acts of self-preservation must necessarily, sooner or -later, perish. Impossible it is to understand how the lowest -forms of life, wholly dependent as they are on physical conditions -of many kinds, should to-day exist if they were not -possessed of some degree of consciousness under stimuli at -least. We have but to picture to ourselves the condition of -a vertebrate, without general or special sensation, would we -obtain a clear perception of the essentiality of consciousness -to its existence. If now use, as has been maintained, has -modified structure, and so, in coöperation with the environment, -has directed evolution, we can understand the origin -and development of useful organs, and also how, by parasitism, -or some other mode of gaining a livelihood without -exertion, the adoption of new and skilful movements would -be unnecessary, and consciousness itself seldom aroused,<span class="pagenum" id="Page341">[341]</span> -for continual repose would be followed by sub-consciousness, -and later by unconsciousness. Such appears to be largely -the history of degeneracy everywhere, and such is, perhaps, -in a great measure the history of the entire vegetable kingdom, -for plants, from their ability to manufacture protoplasm -from inorganic substances, do not bodily move about in -quest of food as animals generally do, and therefore require -no conscious conditions, it would seem, to guide their movements. -They become fixed, and their entire organization, -except in specialized instances, becomes monopolized by the -functions of nutrition and reproduction. Their movements -are mostly rhythmic or rotary, but that they exhibit the -quality of impromptu design more frequently than scientists -are willing to allow must be admitted, or facts and the conclusions -which naturally flow therefrom constitute no criteria -of judging. Too much stress, I fear, is placed in these -days upon the action of certain supposed forces that are resident -in the plant’s or animal’s environment in accounting for -its behavior, to the utter exclusion of any energy that may -be acting from within the organism itself. “That consciousness -as well as life preceded organism, and has been the -<i>primum mobile</i> in the creation of organic structure,” as Cope -assumes, there is no doubt; but that it early abandoned the -vegetable world, and also that all the energies of vegetable -protoplasm soon became automatic, causing plants in general -to become sessile, and therefore parasitic and in one sense -degenerate, I cannot wholly accept. That insects have, in -the matter of evolution of plant-types, exerted considerable -influence on the conditions of almost all of their organs, the -forms of the organs of fructification and especially of the -flowers, through certain stimuli and strains to which they -have become subjected by reason of these insects and their -occupancy of parts as dwelling-places, there can be no doubt; -and it is probable also, as has been maintained, that we owe -to insects, directly or indirectly, not only the forms, but also -the colors of the flowers, and their odors and peculiar<span class="pagenum" id="Page342">[342]</span> -markings as well. And thus while degeneracy, as observed -in the abortion of ovules, carpels and perianth, may be seen -everywhere, which the influences that have acted upon them -have induced, yet it is the height of presumption to assert -that consciousness has entirely abandoned the members of -the vegetable kingdom, and that they are reduced to the -condition of mere automata. It is true, as has been claimed, -that the permanent and the successful forms of organization -have ever been those in which motion and sensibility have -been preserved, as well as the most highly developed; and -just as true it is that plants, even though fixed to the soil -and unable to effect a change of environment in consequence, -are not so incapable of conscious actions as not to be able to -meet any changes, and these changes do very often occur, -that climate, new conditions of soil, helps or hindrances to -growth and wear, may bring about. That they must adapt -themselves to such changes, or perish in their struggle to -exist, none can question. It is not enough to say that -natural selection affords an explanation of every phenomenon -that they may exhibit. There is an energy within the plant, -think and write as we will, and it is this that comes to its -aid and directs the movement that will be productive of the -most good.</p> - -<p>Concluding, then, let me aver that no plant can exist or -fulfil its allotted part in the drama of life without the possession -of some form or degree of consciousness. If it be -true that life and consciousness preceded organization, and -the statement can hardly be disputed, and have been the -<i>primum mobile</i> in the creation of organic structure, what -reason, seeing that life necessarily persists in vegetable organism, -can be given for their dissociation in existing forms -of plants, as seems to be the tendency of modern scientific -thought? That plants once possessed consciousness, there -can be no difference of opinion. Well, then, what has -become of this consciousness? It could not have been -destroyed, for energy or force, and consciousness certainly<span class="pagenum" id="Page343">[343]</span> -must be placed under this category, can never be destroyed. -I repeat the question. What has become of it? Either it -exists in the plant in a dormant condition, awaiting opportunities -to call it into existence, or it has returned to the great -Source of all consciousness, whence each individual organism, -whether of plant or animal, obtained its <i>quantum</i>. It -still exists, but how or under what conditions, I cannot -affirm, and is to plants what mind is to man and animals, controlling -their actions when such are for their well-being and -good. If mind persists in a future state, then consciousness, -which may be considered as mind in plants, must also persist, -for it is not at all likely that the Source of all consciousness, -which we worship as God, the Creator of all things, -could be unmindful of the least of His children.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page344">[344]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">MIND IN ANIMALS.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p class="chapstart"><span class="largecap">T</span><span class="afterlargecap">hat</span> -the lower animals are in possession of all the characters -of the mind or soul that are either the inherited -or acquired properties of man, some evidence will now be -adduced. Foremost among these qualities is Reason. Much -vagueness of idea exists as to what constitutes reason, the general -tendency being to confound it with instinct, and to wonder -where the one ends and the other begins. Hundreds of -anecdotes, too familiar for mention, might be instanced, -which have been described as wonderful examples of instinct, -but which, upon careful examination, have been shown to be -undoubted proofs of reason. That disposition of mind by -which, independent of all instruction or experience, animals are -unerringly directed to do spontaneously whatever is necessary -for the preservation of the individual or the continuation -of the species, is instinct. It is instinct that teaches the -newly-born child to breathe, or to seek its mother’s breast -and obtain its nourishment by suction. Instinct teaches the -bird how to make its nest after the manner of its kind, but -it is reason that leads it to construct a fabric radically different -from the typical form. Taking the case of insects, there -can be no doubt that it is instinct that teaches the caterpillar -to make its cocoon, to remain there until it has developed -into an imago, and then to force its entrance into the world. -Ducks, though hatched under a hen, instinctively make their -way to the water, while chickens, though hatched under a -duck, instinctively keep away from it. Man, as well as the -lower animals, has his instincts, but very few of them are -apparent, for he is able to bring the most of them under<span class="pagenum" id="Page345">[345]</span> -subjection by the power of his reason. Some, however, -remain and assert themselves throughout the entire period -of his life.</p> - -<p>There is the widest possible difference between reason and -instinct, the former being an exercise of the will, while the -latter is independent thereof. Instinct comes in at birth, but -reason is an after-growth of the mind. No exercise of -thought does instinct require, but when the mind reasons -some conclusion is deduced from the premises which it has -assumed. All animals, in common with ourselves, possess -the power of reasoning, although in a less degree. It is by -the superiority of our reason over theirs that we maintain -our supremacy. False premises often lead to wrong deductions, -but their process is still one of pure reason. With -them, as well as with ourselves, reason, especially in the case -of domestic animals, often conquers instinct, and so by contact -with a higher order of reason, that of man’s, their own -is more fully developed. They, in a sense, become civilized. -Let a hungry dog and a cat be left in a room where -food is unguarded, and their instincts will urge them to jump -upon the table and help themselves. But if they have been -trained, their reason restrains their instinct, and, no matter -how hungry they may be, they will not touch the food until -it is given to them. Some few years ago a matronly lady and -her dog, a beautiful pug, were accustomed to take their dinner -at a saloon which the writer daily visited. The dog was given -a chair on the side opposite his mistress. He was a well-mannered -animal, and never during his many visits to the -place did he ever violate the laws of good manners. Patiently -he would wait until the food was put upon his plate, and not -even then would he take it, for he had been taught that it -was something that should not be hastily seized and eaten. -The idea that food cost money was distinctly impressed upon -his mind, and this the owner did by thrice repeating, “This -cost money.” It was evident that the dog understood what -was said from the thoughtful look he gave her. In a little<span class="pagenum" id="Page346">[346]</span> -while he was given the command to eat, but, like the cultured -he was, everything was done orderly and -decently. Almost any animal can be thus trained to subject -its natural instincts to its reason.</p> - -<p>Fishes are not known to possess much reason. There is -not an angler, nevertheless, that will not tell you that he has -had the powers of his mind taxed to the utmost in his -efforts to induce an old and wary trout to take the bait, and -even when he has succeeded in hooking him, it has greatly -tried his genius for planning to prevent the fish from breaking -his line. Natural instinct teaches a fish to fly from man, -and even one’s shadow on the water will frighten away the -fish and destroy an angler’s hopes of success. Yet we have -seen a pond full of gold-fish which were quite tame, and -which, when they saw a human being at the side of the pond, -would come forward instead of showing alarm. They were -so perfectly confiding that they would take a piece of bread -or biscuit out of his hand. Here, then, is an example of the -instinct, which urges them to flee from man, being overcome -by the reason, which tells them to approach him.</p> - -<p>Animals of burden may often be seen attending to prescribed -work without any supervision. Dray-horses, as is -well known, sometimes take pleasure in their work. I knew -of a horse of the kind that was as much interested, apparently, -his work as his owner. He never had to be told -when to move, for all the while the dray was loading he was -observant of everything, and, knowing the capacity thereof, -was ready when the look from the master told him to proceed. -Horses have sometimes shown a knowledge of the -amount of work they are supposed to perform in a day. A -case has been cited of a horse by Mr. Wood that was -capable of doing his work without a driver. He belonged -to the owner of an American mine. As soon as his cart -was filled with ore, at a given signal he went off to the -spot where the ore was to be dumped, waited until the cart -was unloaded, and then returned for another load. So many<span class="pagenum" id="Page347">[347]</span> -loads had to be carried daily, and, strange to relate, the animal -knew when his task was finished as well as any of the -men. When the last load for the day was deposited, he -could be seen trotting off in the direction of home, where he -knew he would receive a kind reception from his mistress.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig64"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo347.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">WONDERFUL EQUINE INTELLIGENCE.<br /> -A Horse That Knew When His Day’s Work Was Done.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>Enough has been said to show that animals have and do -exercise powers of reason. That they have the means of -transmitting ideas to their fellows is not to be questioned. -Language is the means of transmission. Not only are they -able to interchange thoughts with each other, but with man<span class="pagenum" id="Page348">[348]</span> -also when they are brought into contact with him. They -must possess a language of some kind, whereby they can understand -each other, can comprehend human language, and -make themselves intelligible to man. All these conditions -are fulfilled in the lower animals, but there is one distinction -between the capability of understanding their own language -and that of man, and that is, that they are born with the one -and have to learn the other. Newly-hatched chickens, -although they have only entered the world an hour or so -ago, understand perfectly well their mother. They know -what to do when she calls them to find what food she has unearthed, -and they know what to do when she warns them -of danger. Who has not heard them talk to her? But how -different are their tones under various circumstances. The -little piping notes of content when all is going on well can -never be confounded with the cry of alarm when they have -lost their way or are otherwise frightened.</p> - -<p>Wasps, as everybody knows who has studied these insects, -carry out one of the first principles of military art. They -always have the gate of their fortress guarded by a sentinel. -Should danger be imminent, the alarm is given by the sentinel, -and out rush the inhabitants to wreak vengeance upon -the offender. Out of a full-sized nest, consisting of many hundred -wasps, it is evident that the individual who is to act as -sentinel must be selected, and its task appointed. How the -selection is made, no one knows. But that such is done, there -can be no question, for the rest of the community acknowledge -their sentinel, trust to it for guarding the approaches of -the nest, while they busy themselves with the usual task of -collecting food for the young and new material for the nest.</p> - -<p>Nearly related to wasps are the ants. Some of their performances -are truly astonishing. They have armies commanded by officers, -who issue orders, insist on obedience, -and will not permit, while on the march, any of the privates -to stray from the ranks. There are other ants which till the -ground, weed it, plant the particular grain on which they<span class="pagenum" id="Page349">[349]</span> -feed, cut it when ripe, and store it in their subterranean -granaries. Arrant slaveholders are others, who make systematic -raids upon neighboring species, carry off their yet -unhatched cocoons, and rear them in their own nests to be -their servants. Somewhat recent discoveries show that there -are ants which bury their dead. Two pairs of bearers are -chosen to carry the corpse, one pair relieving the other when -tired, while the main body, often several hundred in number, -follow behind. So much could be said about ants, so closely -do their performances resemble the customs of human civilization, -that the subject could never grow uninteresting, but -we must, for the present, forbear. All these various performances -could not be possible were there not some way by -which communication, or interchange of ideas, could be -carried on among the individual members of the same community. -Sometimes one species of ant is capable of carrying -on a conversation, so to speak, with another. Bees, wasps -and ants are the best linguists of the insect race, their language -being chiefly conducted by means of their antennæ.</p> - -<p>Who has not often observed two dogs, members of the -same household, holding sweet converse with each other? -Pug and Gyp were two animals that belonged to the family -where I spent a summer vacation. They thought much -of each other when romping together in the yard, or in -foraging the neighboring woods and fields for rabbits and -ground-hogs. Never would they start out on an expedition -for game without having previously laid their plans. It was -interesting and amusing to watch them. They would bring -their heads into close contiguity, remaining in this position -for two or three minutes, when, by mutual consent, they -would separate, look each other in the eyes, and then start -off in different directions for the scene of their projected -enterprise. Times out of number I have observed such -behavior and have always discovered that they meant -something of the kind. There were no audible utterances, -no visible gestures, yet there was an interchange of ideas.<span class="pagenum" id="Page350">[350]</span> -Through the medium of the eye were the thoughts conveyed. -It was spirit speaking directly to spirit, conveying -by a single glance of the eye thoughts which whole volumes would -fail to express.</p> - -<p>Each species of animal has its own dialect. Yet there is -another language, a sort of animal <i>lingua franca</i>, which is -common to all. A cry of warning, no matter from what -bird or animal it emanates, is understood by them all, as is -well known to many a sportsman who has lost his only -chance of a shot by reason of an impertinent crow, jay or -magpie which has espied him, and has given its cry of alarm. -There is not a bird of garden or orchard, or a fowl of the -barnyard or doorside, that does not understand the peculiar -cry of the rooster when a hawk is seen careering overhead, -or perched upon the summit of a near-by tree. With one -accord they flee to their coverts, and there remain until the -danger is past.</p> - -<p>No more quarrelsome and pugnacious species of bird -exists than the English sparrow. He appropriates every -available locality for nesting purposes, and our native species -are driven to the necessity of fighting for their rights, or of -seeking quarters in the rural districts which these birds do -not infect. Thus it is that many a useful robin, bluebird -or martin is driven from our midst. Many have witnessed -encounters between these birds and the robins. The author -once saw a contest between a pair of sparrows and a pair of -robins for the possession of a certain tree that grew in his -yard. Now the robin, single-handed, is more than a match -for a sparrow. In the engagement referred to, the robins -were getting the better of the sparrows, which the latter -were not slow in perceiving. Instantly the sparrows set up -the wild, ear-piercing harangue for which they are peculiarly -noted, when more than a score of friends from the immediate -vicinity gathered to their assistance. But the war-cry which -they sounded not only summoned help to their standard, -but it was equally understood by all the other birds of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page351">[351]</span> -neighborhood, who flocked to the defence of their brethren -against the alien. The battle waged warm and fiercely for -some minutes, when the sparrows were forced to seek safety -in retreat.</p> - -<p>Not only can crows and rooks assemble, hold council and -agree to act on the result of their deliberations, but other -birds are known to do the same things. Birds are able to -communicate their thoughts to each other by means of a -language, but it is not likely that in their language, or the -language of animals in general, there are any principles of -construction such as are possessed by all human languages. -But the same effect may be produced by different means, and -the reader will see that in the above instance no human -language, however perfect its construction, could have -served its purpose better than did the inarticulate language -of the sparrows. They told their friends that their territory -was usurped by an intruder too strong to be ejected by them, -and implored their assistance. But while it told them this, -it did still more, for it conveyed the report to their numerous -foes, who winged their way to the support of their opponents. -In fact, whenever animals of any kind form alliances and act -simultaneously for one common purpose, it is evident that -language of some sort must be employed.</p> - -<p>That beasts possess a language, which enables them to -communicate their ideas to each other, has been clearly -shown. It is just as apparent that they can act upon the ideas -so conveyed. We have now to see whether they can convey -their ideas to man, and so bridge over the gulf between -the higher and the lower beings. Were there no means of -communicating ideas between man and animals, domestication, -it is true, would be impossible. Every one who has possessed and -cared for some favorite animal must have observed -that they can do so. Their own language becomes in many -instances intelligible to man. Just as a child, that is unable -to pronounce words, can express its meaning by intimation, -so a dog can do the same by its different modes of barking.<span class="pagenum" id="Page352">[352]</span> -There is the bark of joy or welcome, when the animal sees -its master, or anticipates a walk with him; the furious bark -of anger, if the dog suspects that anyone is likely to injure -himself or his master, and the bark of terror when the dog is -suddenly frightened at something which it cannot understand. -Supposing, now, that its master could not see the dog, but -could only hear its bark, would he not know perfectly well -the ideas which were passing through the animal’s mind? -Most certainly he would. There is a difference between the -mew of distress and the ordinary conversation, the purr of -pleasure, of a cat. A pet canary always knows how to call -its mistress, and when it sees her will give a glad chirrup of -recognition quite distinct from its ordinary call. Bees and -wasps have quite a different sound in their wings when angry -than when in the discharge of their ordinary work. Any one -conversant with their ways understands the expression of -anger and makes the best of his way off.</p> - -<p>All the foregoing are but examples of sound-language. -The gesture-language of animals, however, is wonderfully -extensive and expressive. A cat, could it say in plain words, -“Please open the door for me,” could not convey its ideas -more intelligently than it does by going to the door, uttering -a plaintive mew to show that it wants help, and then patting -the door. Dogs, or, in fact, all animals that are accustomed -to live in the house, will act after a similar fashion. There, -then, we perceive that the lower animals can form connected -ideas, and can convey them to man, so that the same ideas -are passing at the same moment through the minds of man -and beast, evidencing that they possess the same faculties, -though of different extent.</p> - -<div class="container w30em" id="Fig65"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo353.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">PAPIER-MACHÉ PALACE OF THE HORNET.<br /> -Sentinel Guarding the Entrance to the Palace.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>Some few examples must suffice to show the power of -gesture-language in the lower animals. I once owned a dog, -a variety of hound, which was as companionable as any animal could -possibly be. He was never happy unless he was -on the go. So fond was he of travel and sight-seeing, that I -gave him the name of Rover. My occupation calling me<span class="pagenum" id="Page353">[353]</span> -from home every day of the week, except Saturday and Sunday, -but giving me a few hours of each day before the -shadows began to settle round, Rover was forced to spend -his time during my absence as best he could. He was no -ordinary dog. Little he cared for the dogs of the neighborhood. -His was a superior nature, and rather than associate -with his neighbors when my companionship could not be -had, he would perform his journeys alone, sometimes being<span class="pagenum" id="Page354">[354]</span> -gone nearly the entire day. But he managed to keep a -pretty fair record of the time, for he was always on hand to -greet me on my return home. His joy at my coming knew -no bounds. He would rub up against my side, caper around -me, assuming a hundred different attitudes, leap up into my -face, which he would caress with his tongue. I shall never -forget the barks of delight, nor the smile, as I would call it, -for it verily seemed a smile to me, which lit up his intelligent -face. Then he would slowly meander his way to the gate. -Reaching it, he would place his right front paw upon the -latch, spring it, and, taking hold of the top with his mouth, -fling it wide open. He was then a very happy fellow. That -he appreciated the favor I was about to show him, there -could be no question, as he plainly showed it in his look, -gesture and speech. Sometimes it was not convenient for -me to take a walk with him, or I was not in the physical or -mental condition to do so. It was not necessary for me to -tell him in so many words that the pleasure would have to -be foregone for the present, for his keen, discerning mind -could read it in my looks. I never liked to disappoint him, -for the grief which he manifested was piteous in the extreme. -He would prostrate himself to the ground, place his head -between his front paws, and look the very picture of inconsolable -distress. The low, sorrowful moan which he would -emit, when the disappointment was the keenest, was so -heart-rending, that many a time I would reverse my purpose -and say, “Come, Rover, master will not deny so good a -creature the pleasure of his company for an hour or so in -the woods.” Instantly his whole expression would change, -and there would be exhibited a joy as intense as the grief -which had depressed him to the earth. Rover was no hypocrite. -His sorrow was not assumed, but as real and poignant -a sorrow as ever possessed a human breast. I have known -him to grieve for hours, and even to refuse the daintiest food -when he has been disappointed. Were he dissembling, seeing that it -availed him not, he would not be likely to have<span class="pagenum" id="Page355">[355]</span> -kept it up so long, and to his sore discomfort and detriment. -Examples of animals making their language intelligible -to man could be multiplied <i>ad infinitum</i>, but we must -pass on to say something about their capability of understanding -the language of man.</p> - -<p>That many of the lower animals understand something of -human language is a familiar fact. All the domesticated animals, -notably the dog and the horse, can comprehend an order -that is given to them, though, perhaps, they may not be able -in all instances to understand the precise words which are -used. There are many occasions, however, when it is evident -that the knowledge of human language does extend to the -signification of particular words. Parrots, as is well known, -are well acquainted with the meanings of the words which -they speak. Examples have been known to the writer of -parrots that were able to speak in two languages, and, when -addressed, always replied in the language used by their -interlocutors, speaking English or Spanish, as the case might -be. “Go, bring up the cows,” was an order that was daily -given to Lion, a large black dog, with a shaggy head, that -belonged to my maternal grandfather, an old-time farmer -who lived way back in the fifties. So well did he understand -the significance of these words, and the labor, worry and -responsibility which they implied, that he did not have to be -told a second time, nor have to have their import conveyed -to him by sign or by action of the farm lad whose business -it was to see that the animals were brought to the barn-yard -at milking time. Obedient to orders, he would trot to the -pasture-ground, nearly a quarter-mile distant, open the bars -between the lane and the field with his mouth, and then start -on his business with a full sense of its requirements. His -coming was well known to the cattle. While the most of -them would take their way in a quiet, orderly manner to the -lane, yet there were some unruly ones among them who -gave Lion a great deal of trouble, but he always succeeded -in overruling their contrary tendencies. When there was a<span class="pagenum" id="Page356">[356]</span> -tumult in the hennery, accompanied by loud noises, the -command, “Go, see what the trouble is!” was performed -to the very letter, and the trouble, if any, was speedily -announced by a series of loud, sharp, quick barks, which soon -brought some one or more members of the family to the -scene of disorder. If nothing unusual was happening, Lion -would return to the house in a slow, leisurely way, and by -his looks convey, as clearly as man could do it, the utter -needlessness of the command.</p> - -<p>Not only is the dog capable of understanding many -things that are said to him, but is even capable of forestalling -one’s wishes. Part of one of the writer’s vacations was -spent in a small country town not very remote from Philadelphia. -There was in the family with whom he boarded a -dog called Prince. He was a very great favorite, and was -once noted for his lively, vivacious disposition and jolly manners. -But at the time of my introduction to him, he seemed to -be suffering from some bodily affliction, which had not only -taken away his appetite for food, but the very <i>animus</i> of his -being. Upon inquiry I learned that the master of the house, -to whom Prince was so deeply attached, had died the year -before, and that the dog had taken his death so completely -to heart that he had lost all of his former vivacity. He -refused all food, often going for days without taking a single -mouthful. Life seemed to have lost for him all its charms. -Sad and dejected he would lie upon the porch-floor or ground, -seemingly unconscious of everything and everybody. That -he was slowly dying seemed evident to all. But a change -from our first interview appeared to come over the animal. -From some cause or other, he had taken quite a fancy to -me. He would greet me with considerable friendliness when -I would come down in the morning, and always seemed glad -to be in my presence. My first business, on coming downstairs, -was to go for the newspaper, which was always to be -found inside the yard, some thirty steps from the house. I -would then sit down upon the porch and read it, but Prince<span class="pagenum" id="Page357">[357]</span> -was always close-by, a willing spectator. One morning, -however, instead of going to the gate for the paper as was -my custom, I stood debating in my mind whether to go or -not, when, to my utmost surprise, the dog, after watching -me for a while, walked very soberly down to the gate, picked -up the paper in his mouth, and brought it to me, not laying -it down at my feet, but placing it in my hands. I thanked -him for his kindness, gave him a few gentle pats upon the -head, and he walked away as pleased as a child would have -been who had received a few pennies for a similar service. -The dog had evidently read in my looks the debate that was -going on in my mind, and knowing that I always read the<span class="pagenum" id="Page358">[358]</span> -paper when I came down from my room, anticipated my -wishes by bringing it to me.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig66"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo357.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">UNSOLICITED AND UNLOOKED-FOR KINDNESS.<br /> -How Prince Forestalled My Wishes by Bringing Me the Morning Newspaper.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>There is in the two interesting stories just related a singular -aggregation of faculties which are held in man to belong -to the immortal, and not to the mortal part of his being. -Reason, or the deduction of a conclusion from premises, is -strikingly exhibited. Then there is the power of forming -ideas and communicating them to man, and the capability -of understanding man’s language, and even of anticipating -the wishes of human friends. And lastly, there is the intense -love for the master, combined with the power of self-sacrifice, -which enabled Lion and Prince to act as they did, while -instinct was urging them to take their exercise in the open -air, or in the enjoyment of luxurious ease.</p> - -<p>No faculty of the mind gives greater trouble to materialists -than Memory. It is that which survives when every particle -of the material brain has been repeatedly changed. It is that -which more or less deeply receives impressions and retains -them through a long series of years. And even when they -are apparently forgotten, hidden as it were behind a temporary -veil, a passing odor, a dimly-heard sound or a nodding -flower may rend the veil asunder in the twinkling of an eye, -and scenes long forgotten are reproduced before the memory -as vividly as though time had been annihilated. Nothing is -omitted. There comes up to view a minute and instantaneous -insight into every detail, and for a moment we break loose -from our fleshy tabernacle, and see and hear with our spiritual -and not with our material eyes and ears. Man expects that -he shall retain his memory and carry it into the next world. -He also expects to recognize in the spiritual world those -whom he has loved in this temporal sphere. Memory, therefore, -must be spiritual and eternal; and wherever it can be -found, there exists an immortal spirit. No stronger evidence, -apart from Revelation, exists of a future life of man than memory. -And if we apply this proof to ourselves, then, in pure -justice, we should apply it wherever memory is found.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page359">[359]</span></p> - -<p>But some have claimed that memory is a mere emanation -from the brain. That an inferior brain is coupled with an -inferior intellect, and that if the brain be slightly or seriously -injured, the powers of thought will be weakened or -utterly held in abeyance, are arguments that have been made -to prove that thought is the creation of the brain. The facts -in themselves are true, but the conclusion is false. The -brain is but the organ or instrument of the thought-power, -and stands in the same relation to it that a tool does to a -carpenter. However good an artisan a carpenter may be, it -is but common-sense to say that he cannot turn out good -work with a blunt instrument, or any work at all with a -broken one. So it is with the brain. It is but the tool of -the spirit, and, if it be damaged in any way, the keenest -intellect will not be able to work with it. Memory, moreover, -exists in creatures which are devoid of brain. No real -brain, but only a succession of nervous ganglia running the -entire length of the body, is found in insects, and indeed -in many of them the faculty of memory is very strongly -developed.</p> - -<p>Then there is the moner, a mere speck of formless protoplasm, -that has not the slightest trace of a specialized -nervous system, yet it has the power of throwing out arms -and of retracting them into the general body-mass, of opening -out mouths where a particle of food strikes it, of digesting -its food, and of circulating its fluid without the necessity of -canals. But how are these movements effected? Certainly -a nervous influence is the prime mover of all its actions. -Nerve-matter, mayhap, constitutes its entire body-mass, or it -may be all brain as well as all muscle. Though the lowest -and simplest of all animal life, yet it possesses an innate consciousness -and intelligence. Memory is not wanting as a -faculty of the mind of this all-brain animal, which I have -thought fit to characterize it, as some actions of it already -described under the head of “Slime Animals” seem very -clearly to indicate.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page360">[360]</span></p> - -<p>Some fifteen years ago I mentioned in an article, entitled -“Insect Pets,” a pair of flies, the common <i>Musca domestica</i> -of our houses, which had been closely observed by Mr. -Forestel, the gentleman who at that time had charge of the -distributing department of the Philadelphia <i>Record</i>. This -position necessitates nocturnal employment. While taking -his midnight lunch, Mr. Forestel’s attention was directed to -a pair of these insects that had located themselves upon his -plate. Had it been in the summer when flies were plentiful, -the event would hardly have been noticed; but being in the -winter, a season notable for their great scarcity, they could -not but impress his mind with something out of the ordinary. -Night after night these self-invited and curious guests presented -themselves at the same place, and it was a long time -before he observed the regularity of their visits. At first he -was disposed to view the alighting of two flies upon his plate -as a mere coincidence, but he at length became so deeply -interested in the affair, that he resolved to watch their actions -very closely. It was not long before he became convinced -that they always waited for the commencement of the meal, -when they would deliberately fly down for their regular -lunch. So closely did he watch them, that he was soon able -to discriminate between the two, and to discover beyond a -doubt that it was not a series of two flies, but always the -same pair. As time progressed, Mr. Forestel and the flies -grew to be famous friends. They in time became so friendly, -that they would permit themselves to be handled. Although -at first they would only appear when Mr. Forestel was alone, -yet they soon became accustomed to strangers. On the nights -when their friend was not on duty, others have spread -their lunches on the table used by him, but the flies were -not slow in making the discovery, and, instead of alighting, -would quickly hasten away without their accustomed meal. -Who can deny the possession of memory to these two flies? -Had the discovery of the food been an accidental occurrence -the first time, could it have been so the second and all the<span class="pagenum" id="Page361">[361]</span> -succeeding times? Then, again, the flies always came at -the right time, showing that they had some idea of the passing -moments. Even admitting that this latter thought is out -of the range of probability, there can be no doubt that they -were not observant creatures, else how would they know -when to come, or whether or not the man that sat at the -table was the same that had shown them so much kindness -on their previous visits. That they did know these things, -there cannot be the slightest doubt. But how did they -know them? There is only one answer to the query. They -knew them through the exercise of memory, these creatures -impressing on their minds the appearance of the objects -near the table, the form and color of the table itself, the -look, manner and dress of the man who sat by it, and acting -on the result of these impressions. Human beings act in -just the same way in traversing for the first time a locality -through which they will have to return. And yet, as has -already been stated, these insects have no true brains.</p> - -<p>Considerably removed from insects are the vermes, or -worms. Man, in his overweening opinion of self, would -hardly credit the earth-worm with the possession of any -mental qualities; yet it has been shown that it can reason, -and can communicate after its fashion with its fellows. It is -now my intention to prove that it has the power of memory. -Has the reader ever seen an earth-worm trying to carry into -its burrow a pair of pine-needles joined at their bases? It -knows just where to seize the pair. This it determines by -feeling, or moving its head along the needles, the sense of -touch being very acute in this portion of its body. Hardly -ever is a mistake made by seizing the free or apical extremities. -Once it has discovered where to act, this position is -fixed in memory, and the animal exercises the latter power -in dealing with objects of the kind in all subsequent operations.</p> - -<p>Almost any living being can by means of the faculty of -memory be taught by man. But were it absent, no teaching<span class="pagenum" id="Page362">[362]</span> -would be of the slightest avail. In most cases where an -animal is ferocious, I firmly believe that fear, and not ill-temper, -is the real cause of its conduct. Let a little kindness -be shown, and the animal will never forget it. Such -acts, repeatedly performed, assure it that your intentions -are well-meant, and it soon learns to recognize in you a -friend. The memory of your goodness will often be recollected -after long years of separation, and the most joyous -feelings be manifested at the sight of your presence upon -returning home. Everyone who has had personal experience -of domesticated animals must have remarked the great -strength and endurance of their powers of memory. The -dog, the cat, the horse and the ass afford so many familiar -anecdotes in point, that I shall be obliged to pass them over -and restrict my illustrations to a few animals about which -little has been said.</p> - -<p>For obstinacy of opinion no animal can excel the pig. -He is a creature whom few, on account of his uncleanly -person and disgusting habits, would care to caress. Yet -there is no animal under man’s care that enjoys such treatment -better than he does. He will stand for hours while -you rub his head and back, the very impersonation of contentment, -never failing to express his thanks and appreciation by -occasional monosyllabic grunts. A friend of ours, -living in Northern Indiana, had a fine fellow, whom he had -raised from infancy. When he was quite young, he began to -show him considerable attention, picking him up in his arms, -and fondling him in the most affectionate manner. The -choicest food was always reserved for him, and the cosiest -bed of straw provided for his nightly rest. In process of -time the animal grew to great size, but he never forgot these -early attentions. He expected them all the same. When -denied what he deemed were his lawful rights, he would set -up an unearthly squealing, enough to split the ears of the -groundlings, and refuse to be comforted until his demands -were satisfied. Never was the master, when out of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page363">[363]</span> -house, safe from his intrusions. He would besiege him in -the presence of company, command his attention, and cry in -his own peculiar fashion if he thought himself ignored. -Many a rough-and-tumble game, which reminded me of boys -in my childhood days, would they have together, and it was -really amusing to see them. They enjoyed these tussles, -which were always of the most friendly character.</p> - -<p>Stupid as the life of a cow may seem to be, yet there has -been known to the writer some cows which were far from being -dull and prosaic. Our same Hoosier friend had such an -animal, whom he called Daisy. She was very docile and -affectionate, and would come, even when grazing in the most -delightful pasture of clover, whenever her name happened -to be mentioned. Daisy was a pretty creature, and very -exemplary in her conduct. When her companions would -break into a field of corn, where they had no right to be, -she would not follow their wicked example, but remained -where her master had placed her and the rest of the herd, -showing them, as it were, that she did not approve of such -wilful waywardness. No member of the bovine family of -animals ever showed a greater fondness for love than Daisy. -The master could put his arms around her neck, and lay his -face against the side of her own. That she approved of such -familiarity was evident, for she would show that she did by -placing her lips against his in true lover-like fashion. But -there came a time when this attachment to the master -became dissolved. On account of the bad behavior of the -herd in general, and to make it a law-abiding community, it -was resolved that each member should have its horns sawn -off close up to the skull. This, it was thought, would improve -the temper of the herd, and make it less troublesome -to manage. No fear was entertained, however, for Daisy, -who was already as good as she could be, but Daisy must -undergo the same cruel punishment for the sake of uniformity -in this particular in the herd. It had, however, the opposite -effect upon Daisy from what it had upon the rest of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page364">[364]</span> -herd, for it made her sullen and morose, and from that time -she resented all familiarity upon the part of the master. She -seemed to view him as her worst enemy. All attempts to -settle her grievances were viewed in a suspicious manner, -and the matter of reconciliation had at length to be abandoned.</p> - -<p>Beasts, there is no doubt, were intended to be the servants -of man, and there is nothing in his hands half so powerful -in the accomplishment of this end as thoughtful kindness. -Inflexible decision, combined with gentleness and sympathy, -are irresistible weapons in his power, and no animal exists, -I firmly believe, which cannot be subdued if the right man -undertakes the task. By this mixture of firmness and kindness -many a wild beast of a horse has been in a half-hour -rendered gentle and subservient by Rarey, obeying the least -sign of his conqueror, and permitting himself to be freely -handled without displaying the slightest resentment.</p> - -<p>That there is something more in memory than a mere -production of a material brain must seem probable from the -examples given. In several cases the animals were without -any brains at all, but in others, where a brain did exist, its -material particles must have been repeatedly changed, while -the ideas impressed upon the memory still remained in full -force.</p> - -<p>Perhaps no attribute of the mind is better fitted to follow -that which has just been treated than Generosity. But -whether we accept it in the sense of liberality or magnanimity, -it is certainly a very lofty quality, and one which infinitely -ennobles the character of those who possess it. Taken -in the former sense, it is an attribute of Deity, who gives us -freely all that we have, and so sets us an example of generosity -to our fellow-creatures. Now, if it be admitted that -the possession of generosity ennobles man’s character, while -the lack of that quality debases it, then the inference is undeniable -that when we find a beast possessing generosity, and -a man devoid of it, the beast is in that particular the superior<span class="pagenum" id="Page365">[365]</span> -of the man. And that generosity, being a divine attribute, -belongs to the spirit and not to the body, no believer in -Christianity is likely to deny. Therefore, wherever we find -this characteristic developed, we must admit the presence of -an immortal spirit.</p> - -<p>That the lower animals do possess generosity in the sense -of Liberality will now be proved from circumstances that have -occurred within my own observation. My first proof is a -very interesting one, and is drawn from the life of a dog that -was the companion of my school-boy days. Sport was the -name of the animal. He was not a greedy, selfish creature, -but a generous, noble fellow. Many an act of self-sacrifice -had he been known to perform, and he was never happier -than when he was doing some good to his fellows. It was -not unlike him, when he would meet a poor, strange and -hungry animal of his own kind by the roadway, to bring him -to his master’s house, and at the meal-hour divide with the -unfortunate his noon-day allowance. Between him and a -certain cat, called Blackey, which was also a member of the -same household, there existed a very strong friendship. -Any injury done the cat was most summarily resented by -Sport. He would share his meals with her, and never -seemed satisfied unless she would consent to take the -choicest bits. But the generosity was not all on his side, for -the cat certainly rivalled him in the exercise of this noble -trait, which all acknowledge to be one of the noblest characteristics -of the human mind. When Blackey was sick, and -unable to be around, much of the time of the dog would be -spent in her presence. He would caress her with his paw, -smooth her silken, jet-black fur with his tongue, and seek by -every means in his power to raise her drooping spirits and -alleviate her miseries. No animal, not even man himself, -could show more real sympathy for a fellow in distress than -Sport did for Blackey.</p> - -<p>No bird, it would seem, could be expected to manifest so -little of generosity as the sparrow. As a rule, sparrows are<span class="pagenum" id="Page366">[366]</span> -remarkable for their ability to take care of themselves. -Theirs is a nature which is based upon self. They are an -avaricious species, and little they reck for their neighbors. -As the eagle is known to treat the osprey, and the skua-gull -its weaker brethren, so the sparrow has been known to act -towards its neighbors. But exceptions exist to every rule, -and we are pleased to record an honorable one in the case of -this most detested species. Close by a maple-tree, which a -pair of sparrows had appropriated and made the support for -their home, dwelt a sturdy robin with his mate. Their -home, a mud-lined domicile, was placed in the crotch of a -small tree. Three children appeared in process of time to -bless the happy couple. Everything went along smoothly -and pleasantly with the robins, the sparrows being too much -engrossed with their own affairs to think of giving them any -trouble. But a tragedy soon happened which, sad to relate, -foreboded evil and consequent death to the nest-full of young -robins. Father and mother had, while searching for food for -the little ones, been cruelly killed by a conscienceless sportsman. -But the fledglings, which seemed doomed to die the -death of starvation, were spared by some good genius who -put it into the heart of the sparrows to pass that way, and -thus was their sad and pitiable condition brought to the light -of day. Their heart-rending appeals for food, combined with -their orphaned situation, struck a sympathetic chord in the -breast of the sparrows, and day after day these birds, whose -chief concern naturally seems for self, might be seen acting -the part of the good Samaritan towards these unfortunate of -God’s children.</p> - -<p>But let us now pass to that form of generosity which has -been called Magnanimity. Few qualities in human nature -are more noble than the capability of foregoing revenge when -the offender is powerless to resist. This unwillingness to -resent an injury, even though the power to do so is present -in the individual, is what is implied by magnanimity. When -we find those beings whom we designate brutes rising to a<span class="pagenum" id="Page367">[367]</span> -moral grandeur which few men can attain, disdaining to avail -themselves of the opportunity of vengeance, and even -rewarding evil with good, it does seem an utter absurdity to -affirm that they are not acting under the inspiration of Him -who gave us the celestial maxim, “Love your enemies.” By -their actions they show themselves worthy of everlasting life, -and what they deserve they will assuredly receive at the -hands of Him who is Justice and Truth. Consciously, or -unconsciously, the feeling of magnanimity is acknowledged -among mankind. Even in the lowest stratum of society it -is recognized. As with man, so with the lower animals; -and there are many instances on record where the strong -have disdained, no matter what the offence had been, to -make reprisals upon the weak.</p> - -<p>Bus and Jack are two dogs whose acquaintance I made -three years ago. The one is a beagle, and the other a pug. -No one that has seen these animals in their frolics and plays, -would ever suspect that any differences could arise between -them. But when such disagreements do occur, and there is -hardly a day that does not witness a dozen or more, it is -always Bus that is the instigator. The most trifling act upon -the part of Jack will be made the cause of offence, and an -excuse for the precipitation of a quarrel. In a rage, Bus will -fly into the face of Jack, but the latter will coolly shake him -off and walk leisurely away. No provocation will induce him -to resent an insult or an injury, especially where Pug or a -dog smaller than himself is concerned. It is not that he is -afraid of Pug, for, when once aroused in the presence of equal -or even superior strength, he becomes a terror. He is too -magnanimous to avenge a wrong done him by one less powerful -than himself. The look which he would give Pug, after -one of these attacks had been made, was one of pure contempt, -and said, as plainly as words could have said, “Your -assaults are mere child’s play, and are unworthy of recognition -by one who is so much your superior in feats of valor.” -That Pug felt the meaning and force of the look was apparent,<span class="pagenum" id="Page368">[368]</span> -for he would always slink away abashed to some corner, -where he would remain for an hour or two without showing -himself. Over and over again has Jack allowed little -dogs to bite him without troubling himself to retaliate; but -if a big dog ventured upon an insult, that dog had to run or -pay the penalty for his temerity. No dog could give a more -disdainful look than Jack, and that look always gave him an -easy and uninterrupted passage wherever he chose to go.</p> - -<p>Other anecdotes of a similar nature might be given to show -that animals can act magnanimously towards each other. -That they are as capable of displaying the magnanimity of -their nature towards men whom they hated has frequently -been observed. The manager of a mill in Fifeshire, Scotland, -was, according to Rev. J. G. Wood, very much disliked -by the watch-dog, probably from some harsh treatment -which the animal had received from his hands. One very -dark night the manager had strayed from his path and fell -over the dog. Seeing the mistake he had made, and finding -that he could not recover himself, he gave himself up as lost, -for the dog was a very powerful animal. But the dog was -magnanimous enough to spare a helpless enemy, and to lay -aside old grievances. Instead of seizing the prostrate man -by the throat, as a brute would be expected to do, the dog -only licked his face and exhibited his sympathy. Ever afterward -the man and the dog were fast friends.</p> - -<p>Just as there are animals capable of exercising great self-denial -by giving to others what belongs to themselves, and -even manifesting a generosity which would put human nature -to the blush, so there are animals which can cheat like accomplished -swindlers. As all Cheatery requires the use of the -intellect, it is therefore evident that the most intellectual -animals will be the most accomplished cheats. Dogs have -shown themselves to be considerable adepts in cheating, and -this we would naturally expect. Some curious and rather -ludicrous instances of cheatery upon the part of the dog are -noticed. We once knew a pair of dogs, a spaniel and a pug,<span class="pagenum" id="Page369">[369]</span> -that were inmates of the same house. They were very jealous -of each other so far as the master was concerned, and neither -could endure to see the other caressed. It happened that -the spaniel was taken quite ill, and was in consequence very -much cared for and petted. His companion, seeing the -attention and sympathy that were bestowed upon him, pretended -to be sick herself, and, going to a corner of the room, -lay down upon the floor and looked the very picture of -misery and distress. A cat and a dog, that for many years -were members of the writer’s family, had taken a fancy to -the same spot, a soft cushion at the head of a sofa. While -they were the best of friends, yet a difference of opinion would -occasionally arise, and a slight loss of temper would be the -result. When the cat would be in the possession of the -cushion, the dog would torment her in every possible way -with the view of causing her to abandon the pet spot. He -would pull at the cushion, seeking to drag it to the floor, or, -seizing the occupant by the ear or tail, endeavor to dislodge -her by force. But the cat, seemingly unmindful of what was -going on, and the very impersonation of patience all the -while, would refuse to give up so comfortable a couch. At -last the dog hit upon a <i>ruse</i> which he knew would bring the -cat down from the sofa. He rushed out into the kitchen, -and began acting as though in pursuit of a mouse. He and -puss had often engaged in such diverting business. This -was more than the latter could stand. She was down from -her cozy bed in an instant, and was soon by the side of the -dog. But as soon as puss, all ablaze with excitement, had -her head in a corner and was straining her eyes to get a -glimpse of the supposed mouse, the dog ran to the sofa at -full speed, jumped on the cushion, curled himself round, and -was happy. Poor puss, perceiving that the dog had left her, -was not slow to discern that she had been imposed upon by -the latter, and that it was only a trick that had been played -upon her by her shrewd companion, that he might get possession -of the soft spot upon the sofa. She, however, bore<span class="pagenum" id="Page370">[370]</span> -it good-naturedly and decorously, and was ever afterward on -the alert for these little tricks of her canine friend.</p> - -<p>Birds can be as capable of cheating, not only each other, -but other animals. A crow, belonging to John Smedley, a -resident of Lima, Pa., was an adept in the business. When -dinner was preparing, he would fly around the corner of the -house, set up a terrific cawing as though in great distress, -and when the mistress of the house, with whom he was a -great favorite, would come out on a tour of investigation, -the rascally bird would elude her and manage to steal round -to the table in the opposite direction and seize what food -suited him the best, which he would carry to the top of the -house, where he would eat it at his leisure. No persuasions -would induce him to come down, for he knew that such -action was a breach of the peace, and he was fearful of the -punishment, that of confinement to a cage, which would follow. -When, however, he felt assured that his mistress had -forgiven the wrong-doing, he would fly down to the porch, -and do his utmost to convince her that he was a well-meaning -bird, and that he was thoroughly ashamed of his actions. -But there was one member of the family that utterly detested -the bird. It was the dog Rover. Many a trick had -the bird practised upon the latter, especially at meal time. -Poor Rover was not allowed to eat in peace. When he -would be wholly absorbed in his dinner, the crow would -approach him in the rear, give him a severe twirl of the tail, -and then in a twinkling fly to one side, looking the very -picture of innocence. But ere the dog had recovered his self-possession -and was ready to resume his feeding again, the bird -had captured the daintiest morsel, and was off to the tree-top. -Discomfited and outwitted, the dog would rush to the base of -the tree, bark his growls of anger and defiance, while the crow -would look quizzically down from above, and chuckle with -delight.</p> - -<p>Many of my readers may, perhaps, remember the story of -the two dogs that used to hunt the hare in concert, the one<span class="pagenum" id="Page371">[371]</span> -starting the hare and driving it toward the spot where his -accomplice lay concealed. I recall an instance where a -somewhat similar arrangement was made, only the two contracting -parties, instead of being two dogs, were a dog and -a hawk, the latter making use of his wings in driving the -prey out of the copse into the open ground. Innumerous -examples of such alliances are known, and in all of them -there is manifest the curious fact that two animals can -arrange a mode of cheating a third. One of the principal -stratagems used in war, that is the ambuscade, whereby the -enemy is induced to believe that danger is imminent in one -direction, when it really lies in the opposite and unsuspecting -direction, is employed. No one would admit that a -general who contrived to draw the enemy into an ambuscade -acted by instinct. The act would be construed as -proof of the possession of reasoning powers surpassing those -of the adversary. And if this be the case with the man, why -not with the dog, or with the raven or hawk, when the -deception is carried out by precisely the same line of reasoning?</p> - -<p>Beasts possess, in common with man, the sense of Humor. -This is developed in many ways. Generally it assumes the -phase of teasing or annoying others, and thus deriving -pleasure or amusement from their discomfort. Sometimes, -both with man and beast, it takes the form of bodily torture, -the struggles of the victim being highly amusing to the torturer. -Civilized man has now learned to regard the infliction -of pain upon a fellow as anything but an amusement, and -would rather suffer the agony than inflict it upon another. -But with the savage it is otherwise, for there is no entertainment -so fascinating as the infliction of bodily pain upon a -human being. Among our Indian tribes, torture is a solemn -usage of war, which every warrior expects for himself if captured, -and which he is certain to inflict upon any prisoner -whom he may happen to take. The tortures which he inflicts -are absolutely fiendish, and yet a whole tribe will assemble<span class="pagenum" id="Page372">[372]</span> -around the stake, and gloat upon the agonies which are -being borne by a fellow-creature. Similarly the African -savage inflicts the most excruciating sufferings upon the man -or woman accused of witchcraft, employing means too horrible -to be mentioned. But in all these cases the cruelty -seems to be in a great measure owing to obtuseness of perception. -Yet the savage who binds his victim to a stake, -and perforates the sensitive parts of his body with burning -pine-splinters, behaves very much like a child who amuses -itself by catching flies, pulling off their wings and legs, and -watching their unavailing efforts to escape.</p> - -<p>Many years ago cockchafers were publicly sold in Paris -for children to torture to death. The amusement consisted -in running a hooked pin through the insect’s tail, fastening -a thread thereto, and watching the poor creature spin in the -air. After the poor beetle was too enfeebled to expand its -wings, it was slowly dismembered, the child being greatly -amused at its endeavors to crawl, as leg after leg was pulled -from the body. A similar custom, though in a more cruel -form, prevails in Italy, the creatures which are tortured by -way of sport being more capable of feeling pain than are -insects. Birds are employed in this country for the amusement -of children. A string is tied to the leg of the bird, and -the unfortunate creature, after its powers of flight are exhausted, -is generally plucked alive and dismembered. The -idea of cruelty does not seem to enter at all in these practices, -but they are done from the sheer incapacity of understanding -that a bird or a beast can be a fellow-creature. -Italians are notorious for their cruel treatment of animals, -and if remonstrated with become very much astonished and -reply, “Non è Cristiano,” that is to say, “It is not a Christian.” -Englishmen have little to boast of on this score. -Bear-baiting was abolished by the Puritans, not because it -gave pain to the bear, but because it gave pleasure to the -spectators. Even at the present day, both in England and -in this country, there is a latent hankering after similar<span class="pagenum" id="Page373">[373]</span> -scenes, and dog-fighting, rat-killing and cock-fighting, even -though they are now contrary to law, are still practised in -secret. Similarly the sense of humor is developed in the -lower animals by causing pain or annoyance to some other -creature, and the animal acts in precisely the same manner -as a savage or a child.</p> - -<p>Sparrows, as might be expected from their character, will -gratify their feelings of aversion by banding together for the -purpose of mobbing some creature to which they have an -objection. In Hardwicke’s <i>Science Gossip</i> for December, -1872, there is a short account of a number of sparrows mobbing -a cat. Evidently the cat had intended making a meal -on one of the birds, but was greatly mistaken, for the sparrows -dashed upon him so fiercely, that he soon turned tail -and ran into the house, one of the sparrows actually pursuing -him into the house. The poor cat ran up-stairs, and -was found crouching in terror under one of the beds. This -happened in London, where the sparrows are less numerous -now than they used to be.</p> - -<p>No bird of my knowledge possesses a larger amount of -humor than the crow. I have known him to feign an attack -upon a distant part of a field of newly-sprouted corn, which -was being guarded by a farmer with his gun. When the -latter would be drawn to that part of the field where the -attack was to be made, the sagacious bird would manage to -outwit him, slip around to the other side, drop down into -the field and obtain a few tender sprouts before the farmer -hardly knew what was going on. But he was always up and -away at the opportune moment, and, perched upon a fence-rail, -beyond the range of the gun, would enjoy one of his -rollicking cawing laughs at the farmer’s expense. Crows -that are tame have the sense of humor more keenly developed -than their wild brethren of the fields and the woods. -I once knew a tame crow that took great pleasure in annoying -a dog that lived in the same family. Carlo, as the dog -was called, was never so contented as when allowed to sleep<span class="pagenum" id="Page374">[374]</span> -the hours of the morning away, after a night’s carousal, in a -quiet, sunny spot in the backyard. When the dog had -become fast wrapped in the arms of the god of slumber, the -crow would steal to his side, give his ear a sharp pull, and -when the dog would awake and look around the crow would -be busy in gleaning, the most unconcerned creature in the -whole yard. Again and again would she annoy the poor -animal, and always with the same evident sense of delight, -which I could always read in the mischievous twinkle that -lurked in her eyes, till the dog, bewildered and unable -to account for such mysterious actions, would silently -skulk away to other parts, where he hoped to be free from -all intrusion. Even the mistress of the house was not exempt -from her annoyance. She would carry off everything -she could lay hold of, and always hid them away in one -place, that is, in a large crevice on the top of the house -between the peak of the roof and the chimney. One day -the mistress’s spectacles disappeared. Search was instituted -everywhere, but without effect. None knew better than the -bird what the trouble was. While the search was going on, -she busied herself in looking around, and seemed as desirous -of finding the missing glasses as any member of the household. -The look which the bird gave showed that she enjoyed the -situation of affairs immensely, and considered it a -fine joke that she had played upon her mistress. After a -few days the lost spectacles were restored to their accustomed -place, but no one ever positively knew how they came thither.</p> - -<p>Domestic birds, as a rule, are remarkable for the generosity -which the master-bird shows to his inferiors. He will -scratch the ground, unearth some food, and then, instead of -eating it himself, will call some of his favorites, and give them -the delicacy for which he labored. But I have met with a -few cases where the cock scratched as usual, called his wives, -and, when they had gathered round him, ate the morsel himself. -It was but a practical joke that he had perpetrated<span class="pagenum" id="Page375">[375]</span> -upon them, and that they felt it as such their looks only too -strongly testified. There was a relish of delight in it for the -cock, for the cackle, which he immediately gave, assured me -of this fact as much as the laugh of a man could have done -who had played such a joke upon one of his fellows.</p> - -<p>Parrots are much given to practical joking, after the ways -of mankind. A parrot, belonging to an aunt, had a bad habit -of whistling for a dog, and then enjoying the animal’s bewilderment -and discomfiture. She would call the cat, as her -mistress was accustomed to do, and when puss would come, -expecting some dainty article of food, she would call out in -her severest tone, “Be off, you hussy!” and the cat would -make all possible speed for a place of security, greatly to the -amusement of the parrot from her perch in the cage. There -have been known parrots that would play practical jokes -upon human beings, but dogs and cats seem to be the principal -victims of the parrot’s sense of humor.</p> - -<p>Animals not only show their playfulness in such tricks as -have been mentioned, but many of them are able to appreciate -and take part in the games played by children. When I -was a boy I knew a dog, a species of greyhound, which was -an accomplished player at the well-known game called tag, -or touch. Quite as much enthusiasm was displayed by the -animal as by any of the human players. He would dart -away from the boy who happened to be “touch” with an -anxiety that almost appeared terror. It was an impossibility -to touch the clever canine player; but he was a generous -creature, with a strong sense of justice, and so, when he -thought that his turn ought to come, he would stand still -and wait quietly to be touched. His manner of touching -his play-fellows was always by grasping the end of their -trousers with his teeth, and as it was impossible for the boy -to stop when so seized in full course, the dog was often -jerked along the ground for some little distance.</p> - -<p>Hide-and-seek is a game which is often learned and enjoyed -by many animals. I have often been an interested<span class="pagenum" id="Page376">[376]</span> -spectator of the play in which two dogs were the participants. -It was as exciting as such a diversion could possibly be -between two children. For an hour at a time I have watched -the fun, and the players seemed not to abate the least jot or -tittle from their ardor and enthusiasm. They were apparently -as fresh then as at the beginning. In due time the -game ceased as if by mutual consent, but the animals did not -seek some cool, quiet spot for comfort and rest, but started -off to the woods for some further diversion, from which their -voices were soon heard, telling that they were in pursuit of a -rabbit or the ignoble ground-hog.</p> - -<p>We have far from exhausted the list of examples at hand -to show that the lower animals possess a sense of humor. -But what use, it may be asked, can the capacity of humor -subserve in the next world? Much the same, I presume, -that it subserves in this. There are some in this world in -whom the sense of humor is absolutely wanting. Estimable -as they may be in character, they are just solemn prigs, and -I should be very sorry to resemble them in the world, -whither, it is hoped, all life tendeth.</p> - -<p>Pride, Jealousy, Anger, Revenge and Tyranny, while not -very pleasing characteristics, belong, as such, to the immaterial, -and not to the material, part of man. That the lower -animals possess these qualities will be seen from what follows. -Hence the inference to be drawn from that fact must be quite -obvious.</p> - -<p>Taking these characteristics in order, Pride, or Self-esteem, -is developed as fully in many animals as in the proudest of the -human race. Most conspicuously is this shown in animals -which herd together. There is always one leader at the -head, who will not permit any movement to be made without -his order, and who resents the least interference with his -authority. This is particularly the case with the deer, the -horse and the ox. Even when these animals are domesticated, -and the habits of their feral life have materially -changed, the feeling of pride exists to the fullest extent.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page377">[377]</span></p> - -<p>Whoever has carefully watched and studied the inhabitants -of a farm-yard cannot fail to have observed that the cows -have their laws of precedence and etiquette as clearly defined -as those of any European Court. Every cow knows her -own place and keeps it. She will never condescend to take -a lower, nor would she be allowed to assume a higher. A -new-comer in a farm-yard has about as much chance of -approaching the rack at feeding-time as a new boy at school -has of getting near the fire on a cold winter day. But as -the young calf increases in growth, and is nearing maturity, -she is allowed to mingle with her companions on tolerably -equal terms. Should, however, a younger animal than herself -be admitted, it is amusing to see with what gratification -she bullies the new-comer, and how much higher she ranks -in her own estimation when she finds she is no longer the -junior.</p> - -<p>But should the fates be propitious, and she should arrive -at the dignity of being senior cow, she never fails to assert -that dignity on every occasion. When the cattle are taken -out of the yard to their pasture in the morning, and when -they are returned to it in the evening, she will not allow any -except herself to take the lead. An instance is recorded -where the man in charge of a herd of cows would not permit -the “ganger,” as the head cow is often called, to go out first. -The result was that she refused to go out at all. Therefore, -to get her to go out of the yard, the man had to drive all the -other cows back again, so that she might take her proper -place at the head of the herd.</p> - -<p>Few people know much about the real disposition of the -mule. Judging from popular ideas respecting the animal, -one would think that it had no pride in its composition. It -is in reality a very proud animal, and fond of good society. -One of his most striking characteristics is his aversion to the -ass, and the pride which he takes in his relation to the horse. -An ass would be hardly safe in a drove of mules, for he -would, in all probability, be kicked and lamed by his proud<span class="pagenum" id="Page378">[378]</span> -relatives; whereas a horse, on the contrary, takes a distinguished -position, the mules not only crowding around him -and following his movements, but exhibiting a violent jealousy, -each striving to get the nearest to their distinguished -relative.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig67"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo378.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">EXHIBITION OF GRANDEUR.<br /> -Male Peacock in Presence of Some Barn-Yard Fowls.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>We have seen the pride of rank and love of precedence in -cows, and the pride of ancestry in mules. There is, however, -a pride that takes the form of sensitiveness to ridicule. -Nothing is so galling to a proud man as to find himself the -object of ridicule. The same trait of character is to be found -in many animals, and especially in those that have been -domesticated, for it is in these that we have the most opportunities -for observation. All high-bred dogs are exceedingly<span class="pagenum" id="Page379">[379]</span> -sensitive to ridicule. We knew of a cat that was quite conscious -if spoken of in a disparaging manner, and testified his -disapprobation by arching his tail, holding himself very stiff -indeed, and marching slowly out of the room.</p> - -<p>There is, however, another form of pride which is often to -be seen among the lower animals, but more especially among -birds notable for gaudy or abundant plumage. This is the -pride which manifests itself in personal appearance. Vanity -is the name which is currently applied to this form of pride. -Those who have observed a peacock in all the glory of his -starry train will recognize the intense pride he feels at his -own splendor. This display of his magnificent train is not -for the purpose of attracting the homage of his plainly-attired -mates solely, but seems to be intended to evoke -the admiration of human beings as well. Not even the -homage of birds, whom he regards his inferiors, is to be -despised.</p> - -<p>We have seen him, with his train fully spread, displaying -his grandeur around a dozen or more barn-yard fowls, and -apparently as satisfied with the effect he produced, as he -stalked majestically among them, as if he had been surrounded -by his own kith and kin. Then there is the turkey. -No movements are more grotesque than his. See him as he -struts about in his nuptial plumage, and yet no bird, notwithstanding -the ludicrousness of his behavior, surveys himself -with greater complacency. The whidah-bird, or widow-bird, -as it is often called, exhibits this trait of character in its -highest development. He is wonderfully proud of his beautiful tail, -and, as long as he wears it, loses no opportunity of -displaying it to every person who visits his cage. But when -the moulting season has arrived, and he has taken on the -plain, tailless attire of his mate, a change as great has come -over his manner, and, instead of exhibiting himself in all his -pride and glory, he mopes listlessly and stupidly about, and -seemingly ashamed of his mean condition. In all these -instances the character of pride in personal appearance is<span class="pagenum" id="Page380">[380]</span> -as strongly developed as it is possible for it to be in any -human being.</p> - -<p>That peculiar uneasiness, which arises from the fear that -a rival will dispossess us of the affection of one whom we -love, or the suspicion that he has already done so, is termed -jealousy. There are two forms of this passion, one connected -with the love of some other being, and the other -dependent on the love of self. But it is the former, whose -definition begins the present paragraph, with which we shall -exclusively deal. It is evident from the meaning of jealousy, -as given above, that the power of reasoning is implied, and -that any creature by which it is manifested must be able to -deduce a conclusion from premises. No matter if the conclusion -drawn by the animal be wrong, the process, however -incorrect it may be, is, it cannot be denied, still one of reasoning. -All who have possessed pet animals must be familiar -with the exceeding jealousy displayed by most of them. -Most strongly is this feeling manifested when an animal has -been the only pet and another is introduced into the house. -Where there are two or more dogs in the same family, one is -often amused at the boundless jealousy displayed toward -each other while engaged in the service of the master, -although at other times they were on the most excellent -terms. Bus is the name of a favorite dog belonging to a -friend. No more affectionate dog ever lived. Beagle was -his companion. When they were by themselves, life was a -round of frolics and rambles. No matter how rough and -exciting their plays were, they never got cross, but endured -everything with patience and forgiveness of spirit. Beagle -was a clever animal, and very fond of the chase. Many a -ground-hog would he dislodge from its burrow and fight to -the death, while Bus would look on with wonder and admiration. -But let the slightest attention be shown by the -master to Beagle, and Bus’s jealousy and anger became -unbounded. He would fly at his friend in the most infuriated -manner, rending him with tooth and claw, while Beagle<span class="pagenum" id="Page381">[381]</span> -would quietly slip around the corner of the house to get out -of the reach of his companion’s temper. Beagle, being a -large and powerful dog, had in him the ability to give Bus a -very sound whipping, but he was too noble and magnanimous -a creature to take advantage of one younger and -smaller than himself. He would always allow Bus to have -his own way, knowing that the passion which was lacerating -the bosom of his young companion and playmate would -soon spend itself, and the latter, ashamed and abashed, would -be soon seeking forgiveness and reconciliation.</p> - -<p>Even in such rarely tamed animals as the common mouse -the feeling of jealousy has been known to be so intense as -to lead to murder. A young lady, one of Rev. J. G. Wood’s -correspondents, had succeeded in taming a common brown -mouse so completely that it would eat out of her hand and -suffer itself to be taken off the floor. She had also a tame -white mouse in a cage. One morning when she went to feed -the white mouse, as was her usual custom, she found it lying -dead on the bottom of the cage, and beside it was its murderer, -the brown mouse. The cage being opened, the latter -made its escape, as though fearful of the consequences that -might ensue, but how it had managed to gain admission was -always a mystery.</p> - -<p>Instances are on record where the jealousy of a rival has -been restrained for long years through fear, and has ultimately -broken out when the cause of the fear has been -removed. A case of the kind came under our notice some -few years ago. There were two cocks, belonging to different -breeds, whom fate had placed as denizens of the same family. -One was a magnificent dunghill cock, and the other a Malay, -a cowardly caitiff, that was kept in fear and subjection by -the former. In the course of events the dunghill cock suddenly -died. His rival, coming by chance on his dead body, -and perceiving that the time had come to wreak out the -mixture of hatred and revenge that had lain smouldering -in his bosom for years, instantly sprang upon it, kicked,<span class="pagenum" id="Page382">[382]</span> -spurred and trampled upon the lifeless bird, and, standing -upon the corpse, flapped his wings in triumph, as it were, -and crowed himself hoarse with the most disgusting energy. -He immediately took possession of the harem, but he was -far from being the noble, generous and unselfish creature -that his predecessor had been. Again, comparing man with -beast, it is at once apparent that the bird in this instance -acted exactly as a savage does when his enemy has fallen, -for the savage not only exults over the dead body of an -enemy, especially if the latter has been very formidable in -life, but also mutilates in futile and silly revenge the form -which he feared when alive.</p> - -<p>Tyranny, or the oppression of the weak by the strong, is -another of the many traits of character common to man and -the lower animals. But whether or not that strength belongs -to the body or the mind, it is tyranny all the same. Taken -in its most obvious form, it not only manifests itself in many -of the animals in the oppression of the weak by the strong, -but also in the killing and the eating of the same, even though -they be of the same species. Human cannibals act in just -the same manner, eating their enemies after they have killed -them. There is hardly an animal in which the milder forms -of tyranny may not be found. Insects, especially, manifest it -in a light manner when they drive away their fellows from -some morsel of food which they desire to keep to themselves. -Among gregarious animals, the herd or flock is always under -the command of an individual who has fought his way to the -front, and who will rule with imperious sway until he has -become old and in turn has been supplanted by a younger -and more vigorous rival. In the poultry-yards the same form -of tyranny is manifest, one cock invariably assuming the leadership, -no matter how many may be the number of birds.</p> - -<p>There is a curious analogy between these birds and human -beings, especially those of the East, whether at the present -day or in more ancient times. Many petty chieftains are found -in Eastern countries, but there is always to be met with one<span class="pagenum" id="Page383">[383]</span> -among them who is more mighty than the rest, and who -holds his place by superior force, either of intellect or military -power. Challenged by one of the inferior chiefs and -victorious, he retains his post, but if vanquished, his conqueror -takes his place, his property and his wives. But -curious to relate, with men as with birds, the members of -the harem seem to trouble themselves very little, if any, -about the change of master. The Scriptures are full of -allusions to the invariable custom that the conqueror takes -the possession of the harem belonging to the vanquished. -David did so with regard to the women of Saul’s household, -and when Nabal died, who had defied the authority of David, -so the latter, as a matter of course, took possession of his -wife, together with the rest of his property. And when -Absalom rebelled against David, he publicly took possession -of his father’s harem, which was a sign that he had assumed -the kingdom.</p> - -<p>Where a number of creatures are confined in the same -place, a very curious sort of tyranny is sometimes manifested. -Mandarin ducks, according to Mr. Bennett, when -confined to an aviary, show a very querulous disposition at -feeding-time. The males of one and the same kind of a different -species endeavor to grasp all the nourishment for -themselves, unmindful of the wants of others, and will not -even permit their companions to perform their ablutions -without molestation, although they may themselves have -completed what they required. Often the mandarin ducks -have been observed to excite the drakes to assail other -males or females of the same species, and other kinds of -birds in the aviary, against whom the ladies, from some -cause or other, have taken a dislike. One pair of these -ducks are always to be noticed that exercise a tyranny over -the others, not allowing them to wash, eat or drink, unless -at their pleasure and approval.</p> - -<p>But, of all tyrants, none can be compared to a spoiled dog, -who is even worse than a spoiled child. Obedience is a<span class="pagenum" id="Page384">[384]</span> -stranger to his nature. Does his master want him to go out -for a walk, and he prefers to stay at home, he stays at home, -and his master is compelled to go out without him. But if -he wants to go for a walk, he makes his master go with him, -and even to take the direction he prefers. Duchie is the -name of a Skye terrier whose history is given in a work on -the latter breed of dogs by Dr. J. Brown. So completely -had this little animal domineered over her mistress, that -the latter could not even choose her own dinner, but was -obliged to have whatever the dog preferred. It is related -that for a half of a winter’s night she was kept out of bed, -because Duchie had got into the middle and refused to -move. Certainly, no better example of tyranny could be -adduced.</p> - -<p>That so-called brutes possess, in common with ourselves, -a Conscience, that is, a sense of Moral Responsibility, and a -capability of distinguishing between right and wrong, may -seem a very strange assertion to be made, especially to those -who have never studied the ways of the lower animals. Animals -which are placed under the rule of man, and those, like -the dog, which belong to his household and are made his -companions more particularly, would naturally be expected -to show the strongest development of the principle. Conscience, -in their dealings with man, constitutes their religion, -and they often exercise it in a way which would put many a -human being to the blush. This feeling it is that induces -the dog to make himself the guardian of his master’s property, -and often to defend that property at the risk of his life. -However hungry may be the dog that is placed in charge of -his master’s dinner, nothing would, as a rule, tempt him to -touch a morsel of the food, for he would rather die of starvation -than eat the food which belongs to his master. Often -have we seen field-laborers at work at one end of a large -field, while their coats and their dinner were at the other -end, guarded by a dog. Not the least uneasiness did they -seem to manifest about the safety of their property, for well<span class="pagenum" id="Page385">[385]</span> -they knew that the faithful animal would never allow any -one to touch either the clothes or the provisions.</p> - -<p>There could hardly be a stronger instance of moral responsibility -than the one which I shall now relate, which is -substantially the same as appears in Wood’s “Man and -Beasts Here and Hereafter.” Living in an unprotected -part of Scotland was a poor woman, who unexpectedly -became possessed of a large sum of money. She would -have taken it to the bank, could she have left the house, but -lack of bodily health prevented her from so doing. At last -she asked the advice of a butcher of her acquaintance, telling -him that she was afraid to live in the house with so much -money about her. “Never fear,” said the butcher, “I will -leave my dog with you, and I’ll warrant you that no one will -dare to enter your house.” Towards the close of the day -the dog was brought, and chained up close to the place -where the money was deposited. That very night a robber -made his way into the house and was proceeding to carry off -the money, when he was seized by the dog, who held him a -prisoner until assistance arrived. The thief turned out to be -the butcher himself, who thought he had made sure of the -money, but he had not considered that his dog was a better -moralist than himself, for who would, rather than betray a -defenceless woman, take her part against his own master. -Kindly pardoned by the woman, the intending robber made -his way home, and it is to be hoped that for the future he -learned a lesson from his own dog and amended the evil of -his ways.</p> - -<p>Not only does the dog guard the property which is intrusted -to its charge, but frequently goes a little further and -assumes a charge on its own account. When the writer was -a boy living in the country, where much of the spring and -summer of the year was spent in working upon a farm, he -became on very excellent terms with a little bull-terrier, -named Tip, that belonged to a certain farmer by whom he was -employed. Upon my first introduction to Tip, I felt a sort of<span class="pagenum" id="Page386">[386]</span> -aversion towards him. This grew out of the mysterious -actions of the animal. He was always around when I was -busy at work and seemed to be eying me in a suspicious -sort of manner, which at times made me feel very unpleasant. -After the lapse of a few days I discovered that I was not so -closely watched as before, and that I was treated by him as -he was accustomed to treat the other members of the family. -Upon inquiry I learned that he always acted in this way -toward people whom he did not know intimately, and that, -after a time, he had confidence in their honesty and left them -alone. While in many instances Tip was entirely wrong in -his surmises, yet cases are recalled where the dog was right -and acted in a manner that would have been creditable to a -human being. One of the men employed upon the place, -presuming upon the friendship of the dog, sought to carry -away under cover of darkness something belonging to the -farmer, but he was immediately beset by the animal, who was -an eye-witness of the proceeding, and compelled to desist -from the intended theft. From that time the man was under -the closest surveillance by the dog. Unable to effect a reconciliation, -and chafing under the look of suspicion with which -he was always greeted, the man soon took his departure, -much to the delight and satisfaction of the faithful canine, -and was never afterwards seen.</p> - -<p>Quite a common form of conscience among the lower -animals is that which may be defined as a recognition of -having done wrong, and acknowledgment that punishment is -deserved. Animals have in their way very pronounced ideas -as to right and wrong. When they have committed an act -which they know will offend their master, they display as keen -a conscience as any human being self-convicted of sin could -exhibit. In many instances, the offence in not merely -acknowledged, but the creature remains miserable until forgiveness -has been granted. This condition of mind, if manifested -by man, is called Penitence, and, assuredly, it cannot -be known by any other name when manifested by animals<span class="pagenum" id="Page387">[387]</span> -that are lower down in the scale of life. My little dog -Frisky, about whom mention has already been made, affords -a very fine illustration of this phase of conscience. Whenever -he did wrong, the severest punishment that could be -meted out to him was to ignore his presence and decline his -offered paw. For hours the poor fellow would moan and -cry, and even refuse food, when he thought I was angry -with him. But a word or a look of forgiveness was sufficient -to change his sadness into joy. A shaking of hands, -so to speak, would then follow, and master and dog would -be good friends again. No love could be more intense than -his, and this was especially shown when I would return from -a short absence, when the little fellow would almost overwhelm -me by his affectionate caresses.</p> - -<p>No loftier characteristic adorns humanity than Love. -But how far it is shared by the lower animals it is now our -purpose to inquire. That there are many phases of development -cannot be doubted. Sympathy, or that capacity of -feeling for the sufferings of another, is the first phase. -Many, and perhaps all, living creatures possess the capacity -of sympathy. In the majority of cases it is not restricted -to their own species, but is extended to those beings which -appear to have very little in common with each other. Ordinarily, -however, it is exhibited between animals of the -same species, and it is often seen in the dog, as, for example, -where a dog, having been cured of an injury, has been -observed to take a fellow-sufferer to his benefactor. Such -sympathy, it need hardly be remarked, could not be carried -out unless the animals possessed a language adequately -defined to enable them to transmit ideas from one to the other. -Cats are often kind to each other, sympathizing under difficulties, -and helping their friends who require assistance. A -cat, belonging to a friend, has been known, when oppressed -with the cares of a family, to employ a half-grown kitten -to take charge of the young while she went for a ramble. -Between the cat and the dog an enmity exists that is hereditary,<span class="pagenum" id="Page388">[388]</span> -and yet, when in good hands, they are sure to become very -loving friends, and even to show considerable sympathy -towards each other. Such an exhibition of good feeling -was observed by the writer a few years ago. The dog, a -large black Newfoundland, had contracted a warm and -devoted friendship for a gray cat that was an inmate of the -same family. When the cat was assailed by one of her -kind, or by a strange dog, the Newfoundland would pick her -up in his mouth and carry her to the house out of reach of -danger, the cat maintaining all the while the most perfect -serenity of composure, knowing that she was in the care of -one who meant her no ill. When the same cat would -become sick, the Newfoundland would lie down by her side, -caress her with his tongue, and show in every way possible -that he was sorry that she was sick.</p> - -<p>Many examples are recorded of birds feeling sympathy -with the lost or deserted young of other species, and that -have taken upon themselves the task of feeding the starving -children. A pair of robins had constructed a nest near to -the writer’s home in the country, where in due season a -family of four children was raised. Disaster soon came -to the little ones, for both parents were slain by some wicked -boys of the neighborhood. There dwelt in the same locality -a pair of bluebirds, but between the two families there had -never been apparent the least interchange of friendship. -Each family kept to itself, and attended to its own business. -But when the cry of the young robins in their piteous -demands for food rent the air, the bluebirds came over to their -home to discover what the trouble was. They were not -slow to perceive the sad state of things. Their sympathies -were at once aroused, and their energies soon bent in the -direction of relieving the sufferings of the little orphaned -robins. For the next two weeks they had all they could do -in providing meat for their own and the robins’ young.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig68"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo389.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">FOUR ORPHANED ROBINS.<br /> -Kind-Hearted Bluebirds Assuming the Role of Parents.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>While capable of showing sympathy for near as well as -distant kin, the lower animals have also the capacity to<span class="pagenum" id="Page389">[389]</span> -sympathize with human beings in distress. Cats occasionally -manifest a sympathy for suffering humanity. As for sympathy -displayed by dogs, there is no need to cite examples. -No human being, I am safe in saying, was ever free from -troubles of some kind, and I am equally sure that no one -who had a companionable dog felt that he was without sympathy. -Full well does the dog know when his master is -suffering pain or sorrow, and his nose pushed into his master’s -hand, or laid affectionately upon his knee, is a sign of -sympathy worth possessing, even though it exists only in -the heart of a dog. From that moment there has been<span class="pagenum" id="Page390">[390]</span> -established a bond between the soul of the master and the -dog, and certainly no one can believe that the bond can ever -be severed by the death of the material body, whether of the -man or the animal.</p> - -<p>That Friendship, which is another branch of love, exists -among animals, is a well-known fact. But it is among the -domesticated animals that it most frequently exhibits itself. -Horses, as every one knows, which have been accustomed to -draw the same carriage are usually sure to be great friends, -and if one be exchanged the other becomes quite miserable -for want of his companion and seems unable to throw any -spirit into his work. Dogs, too, are very apt to strike up -friendships with each other. Among animals it is not confined -to one species, but is occasionally found to exhibit -itself in those which might be supposed to be peculiarly -incongruous in their nature. That cows and sheep live, as -a rule, on good terms with each other in the same pasture -is a familiar experience, though sometimes the former are a -little prone to domineer over the latter. But a very strong -affection sometimes exists between animals so different, and -when once they have accustomed themselves to each other’s -society neither can be happy without the other. The goat -and the horse frequently become friends, and a peculiarly -vicious horse has been known to allow a goat to take undue -liberties with him without the least manifestation of resentment. -In many places the stable-cat is quite an institution. -Its usual place of repose is upon the back of the horse, and -the latter has been known to grow very uneasy if left for any -length of time without the companionship of his little friend. -A very singular instance of friendship occurred at the rural -home of a near relative. He had a fine mastiff which had -taken a fancy to a brood of young chickens, and which acted -as their protector. They were not at all unwilling to accept -him in this capacity, as they followed him about just as -though he had been their mother. Quite an interesting -sight it was to watch the dog and the chickens as they<span class="pagenum" id="Page391">[391]</span> -would take their <i>siesta</i>. The dog used to lie on his side, -and the chickens would nestle all about him, though one -chicken in particular would invariably scramble upon the -dog’s head, and another just over his eye, but both parties -appeared equally satisfied with this remarkable arrangement.</p> - -<p>Already have we referred to the intense yearning which -is felt by many of the lower animals for human society. -This yearning is indeed but the aspiration of the lower spirit -developed by contact with the higher in domesticated animals -or those which are in perpetual contact with man. This feeling -is a matter of no great surprise. But that it should be -exhibited in feral animals and birds, and even in insects, is a -fact well worth considering, as it furnishes a clew to some of -the many problems of life which are as yet unsolved. That -power of attraction exercised by the spirit of man upon that -of the lower creation is well exemplified in many wild animals, -who are known to forsake the society of their own kind -for the companionship of the being whom they feel to be -higher than themselves.</p> - -<p>Perhaps one of the wariest of wild animals is the squirrel. -He is horribly afraid of human beings, and if a man, woman -or child come to the windward of him, the little animal is -sure to scamper off at his fleetest pace, scuttle up the nearest -tree, and conceal himself behind some branch. Yet, wild as -he may be, he is peculiarly susceptible to the influence of the -human spirit, and for the sake of human society will utterly -abandon that of his own kind. I once knew a pet gray -squirrel by the name of Charley. He had been taken from -the nest when very young. His home for awhile was one -of those whirl-about cages. Charley did not like his cage, -but preferred to be outside in the unrestrained enjoyment of -the dictates of his own free will. So it was difficult to keep -him behind the bars. When awake he loved to follow his -own devices; but when tired he usually slept on a soft cushion -on the sofa, or found his way into some bed-room where -he would nestle under a pillow. Nothing was more to his<span class="pagenum" id="Page392">[392]</span> -satisfaction and pleasure than a share of the bed of his mistress, -but he was always a troublesome nest-fellow. Charley -had, as must be obvious, perfect freedom. He was allowed -to go as he pleased. There was no coercion in his case. -Had he wished to escape, there was nothing to prevent, and -nothing bound him to his mistress but an “ever-lengthening -chain” of love and aspirations which none but a human being -could satisfy. The sparrow, one of the most independent -and self-reliant of birds, has been known to abandon its kind -for the sake of human beings. Wood cites a case of a bird -of this species that had been rescued from some boys who -had been robbing the nest. The bird was brought home, -but was never confined in a cage, but was permitted to fly -freely about the house. As there was a cat about the house, -she had to be closely watched lest she might do the bird -some injury. On Sundays, when the family went to church -and no one remained to keep an eye on the cat, the sparrow -was turned into the garden, where it flew about until the -family’s return. The opening of the dining-room window by -its mistress, and the display of her ungloved hands, was the -signal for its entry. But if the mistress stood by the window -with her gloves on, then the bird showed not the slightest -disposition to enter.</p> - -<p>Such is the intensity of the love which the lower animals -sometimes entertain toward man that they have been known -to grieve themselves to death on account of his loss. A dog -by the name of Prince, who lived in the family where the -writer spent a few weeks of a summer, is a case in point. -He had a good master, and one to whom he was strongly -attached. The year before the master sickened and died, -and Prince felt the loss so keenly that he refused to take any -food, and even to notice the surviving members of the -family. He was pitiable to behold. Life had lost all attractions -to him, and he showed that he was slowly but surely -grieving his life away. Some few weeks after the writer’s -departure, the poor animal breathed his last, and his spirit, it<span class="pagenum" id="Page393">[393]</span> -is to be hoped, went to join that of his master, while his -ashes became mingled with the dust of the earth as his master’s -had been.</p> - -<p>What a wonderful power do some animals have of returning -to their beloved master, even though they have been -conveyed to a considerable distance. This is especially true -of the dog. So many examples of such feats are on record -that I refrain from mentioning them, but will give but a single -example. Rover, a pet greyhound that belonged to the -writer, had become such an annoyance to the neighborhood -where he lived, that the master determined to provide him a -home in the country some fifty miles away. He was conveyed -to his destination in a covered wagon, and after his -new master had reached home, the poor animal was placed -in a stable for several days, where he was daily visited and -fed, and every effort possible made to attach him to the -place and family. On the fourth day of his arrival he was -given his freedom. With a long, loud wail he saluted the -neighborhood, and the next moment was off at full speed -across the country, all efforts to stop him being unavailing. -In less than a week from his leaving he was at home again, -hungry and jaded out with fatigue and travel, but not too -tired nor too hungry to express the great joy he felt for the -old master. How he ever accomplished the journey, and what -vicissitudes and difficulties he encountered on the way, no -one will ever know. After this I had not the heart to send -him away again, but put up with his capers and tricks as best -I could, and when complaints were preferred against him -endeavored to excuse them as a parent is prone to do in the -case of a spoiled and wayward child. But a day arrived -when Rover to me was no more. What had become of him I -was never able to discover, but I always blamed a near-by -neighbor, a man who had neither love nor charity in his soul, -for his sudden disappearance.</p> - -<p>That cats are selfish animals, attaching themselves to -localities and not to individuals, I do not believe. This idea<span class="pagenum" id="Page394">[394]</span> -has, perhaps, some ground of truth, for the nature of a cat is -not so easy to understand as that of a dog. But when a cat -is not understood, it is very probable that she cares less for -the inhabitants of the house than for the house itself. Frequent -instances are known by the writer where cats have -been in the habit of moving about with their owners, and -have been as much unconcerned as dogs would have been. -True they have, like women, a curious and prying disposition. -I have seen them in new and strange quarters go -sniffing about every room of a house, and at last settle down -in some cozy, comfortable place, well satisfied with their -tour of investigation. Where the house fell short of their -expectations, if they have been cats that have received due -consideration from their mistresses or masters, they have -tried to live down their objections and to learn to be happy -and contented with their lot. Only cats that have not been -much thought of are inclined to show their disapproval to -changes of residence which they deemed unsuitable by -refusing to stay with their masters. Blackie, a favorite cat -of ours, never seemed to care where her home was, so long -as her friends were there to pet, caress and pamper her with -choice dainties.</p> - -<p>All animals, so far as can be learned, have not only a -capacity for the society of man, but an absolute yearning for -it. This feeling may be in abeyance, from not having -received any development at the hands of man, but it nevertheless -exists, and only awaits to be educed by some one capable of -appreciating the character of the animal. Tigers, as -is well known, are not generally considered the friends of -mankind, and yet the Indian fakirs will travel over the country -with tame tigers, which they simply lead about with a -slight string, and which will permit small children to caress -them with their hands without evincing the least disposition -to hurt them.</p> - -<p>When we survey the examples of love displayed by animals -towards human beings, which we have just detailed,<span class="pagenum" id="Page395">[395]</span> -and recall the hundreds that we know and have read about, -is it possible to believe that such love can perish? We apprehend -not. Unselfish love as this, which survives ingratitude -and ill-treatment, belongs to the spirit and not to the -body, and all beings capable of feeling such love must possess -immortal spirits. All may not have an opportunity of -manifesting it, but all possess the capacity and would, were -the conditions favorable, manifest it openly.</p> - -<p>Few animals, as may easily be imagined, manifest Conjugal -Love. Most species have no particular mates, but -merely meet by chance, and seemingly never trouble themselves -about each other again. No real conjugal love, therefore, -can exist, and it is rather curious that in such animals -a durable friendship is frequently formed between two individuals -of the same sex. But when we come to polygamous -animals, such as the stag among mammals and the domestic -poultry among birds, we meet with a decided advance towards -conjugal love, although as in the case of polygamous man, -that love must necessarily be of an inferior character. There -is seen, at all events, a sense of appropriation on either side. -Take the example of the barn-yard fowl, as has already been -mentioned in that part of the chapter which deals with -jealousy, where it is shown that the proprietor of the harem -resents any attempt on the part of another male to infringe -on his privileges.</p> - -<p>This brings us to the consideration of birds, where the -many are mated for the nesting-season, but subsequently do -not seem to care more for each other than they do for their -broods of children. If one of the pair be killed at the nesting-time -the survivor, after a brief lamentation, consoles itself -in a few hours or days with another partner, for there really -appears to be a supply of spare partners of both sexes always -at hand. And now we come to those creatures which are -mated for life, and often we find among them a conjugal love -as strong and as sincere as among monogamous mankind. -Prominent among them are the eagle, the raven and the<span class="pagenum" id="Page396">[396]</span> -dove. And while we praise the turtle-dove for its conjugal -fidelity, and credit it with the possession of all that is sweet, -and good, and gentle, how remarkable is it that we forget to -accredit with the same virtue the eagle and the raven, that -are the types of all that is violent, and dark, and cunning. -There are many examples in existence of the conjugal love -among such birds, but they are so well known that reference -to them is unnecessary. The case of the mandarin duck, -already narrated, affords a strong instance of conjugal love -wherein the lady was faithful and the husband avenged himself -on the destruction of his domestic peace.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig69"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo396.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">MATED FOR LIFE.<br /> -Conjugal Fidelity Shown by a Pair of Doves.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>So numerous as are the instances of love shown by parents -among the lower animals towards their offspring, yet it is a very -singular fact that few, if any, trustworthy accounts of Filial -Love, or the love of children toward their parents, are to be<span class="pagenum" id="Page397">[397]</span> -found. But we must look to man if we would understand -the lower animals. Even human nature must attain a high -state of development before filial love can find any place in -the affections. In savages it barely exists at all, and certainly -does not survive into mature years. It is the glory of the -North American Indian boy, at as early an age as possible, -to despise his mother and defy his father. And the women -are just as bad as the men. Rejoicing in the pride of youth -and strength, they utterly despise the elder and feeble -women, even though they be their own mothers, and will -tear from their hands the food they are about to eat, on the -plea that old women are of no use, and that the food would -be much better employed in giving nourishment to the -young and strong. The Fijians have not the least scruple -in burying a father alive when he becomes infirm, and assist -in strangling a mother that she may keep him company in -the land of spirits. Both the Bosjesmen of South Africa and -the Australian seem to have not the least idea that any duty -is owing to a parent from a child, nor have they much -notion of duty from a parent toward the child. If the father -be angry with any one for any reason, he has a way of -relieving his feelings by driving his spear through the body -of his wife or child, whichever one of the two happens to be -the nearer. Even the mother treats her child with less consideration -than a cow does her calf, and leaves the little -creature to shift for itself at an age when the children of -civilized parents are hardly thought fit to be left alone for a -few minutes. This being the case with parental love, it may -be readily imagined that filial affection can have not the -slightest chance for development, and it is very much to be -questioned whether in the savage it can really be said to -exist at all in the sense understood by enlightened peoples. -Therefore, as in the lower human races, we find that filial -love either is very trifling, or is absolutely non-existent, need -we wonder that in the lower animals such few, if any, indications -of its presence should be found?</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page398">[398]</span></p> - -<p>Now, as to the subject of Parental Love, and the various -ways in which it manifests itself. There are many writers -who claim that parental love in the lower animals is not -identical with that of man. They affirm that it is only a -blind instinct, and, in order to mark more strongly the distinction -between man and beast, call the parental love of the -latter by the name of storgë. Speaking for myself, I must -declare that I am unable to perceive any distinction between -the two, save that in civilized man the parental love is better -regulated than among the lower animals. But, as has been -seen, it is not regulated at all among the uncivilized races, -and, in truth, many of the beasts are far better parents than -most savages. Nor can I understand why the word storgë -should be applied to parental love among the lower animals -and not to the same feeling in man. Among Greek writers -the word, together with the verb from which it is derived, -is applied to the love between human parents and children. -It is so applied by Plato, and in the same sense by Sophocles -and others. One argument adduced by those who deny the -identity of the feeling in both cases is that parental love -endures throughout life in man, while it expires with the -adolescence of the young in the lower animals. This is -doubtless true, as a rule, with civilized man, but in the case -of the savage, as has previously been shown, it does not last -longer than that of a bird, a cat or a dog, taking into consideration -the relative duration of life. And the reason is -identical in both cases. Were this love to exist through life -in the savage, the beast or the bird, the race would become -extinct, for neither race is able to support its children longer -than their time of helplessness. The beast and the bird cannot, -and the savage will not, provide for the future. It is -therefore evident that if the young had to depend upon their -parents for subsistence, they would soon perish from lack of -food. Exceptions there are to this general rule, and always, -as far as can be determined, in the case of domesticated -animals whose means of subsistence are already insured.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page399">[399]</span></p> - -<p>Several of such cases have come to my notice. I shall -instance but one. A friend of mine has two terriers, a -mother and a daughter. The strongest bond of love and -fellowship unites them. They always sit close together, and -the mother playfully pinches her daughter all over. Should -they by chance become separated, even for a very short -time, the daughter comes up wagging her tail, and then licks -her mother’s nose and mouth. When hunting together, -they always act in concert, each one taking a hole, and one -keeping watch while the other scrapes away the earth. The -meaning of each other’s whine or bark is perfectly understood, -and no two persons could understand their own language -better than do these dogs theirs, nor be more comprehensible -to each other.</p> - -<p>Self-abnegation is perhaps one of the most beautiful -characteristics which parental love can give. This is particularly -shown when the young are in danger. A human -mother in charge of her child will defy a danger before -which she would shrink if alone, and in its defence would -dare deeds of which most strong men would be incapable, -for during the time her selfhood is extinguished, and her -being is sunk into that of her child. Such abnegation -becomes a true mother, for if she would not consent to do -and dare for the sake of her offspring, she would degrade -herself below the beasts and the birds, who hesitate not in -performing that duty to their children, though <i>savants</i> do -declare that they possess only storgë, whatever they may -mean by it, and not parental love.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig70"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo400.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">EVIDENCE OF CONJUGAL AFFECTION.<br /> -Male Humming-Bird Feeding His Partner, and Ready to Act in Her Defence.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>Everyone who has paid even a passing attention to the -habits of birds must have noticed the vigilance a pair of catbirds -exercise over their nest when containing young birds. -Neither parent, when the other is absent, relaxes this vigilance, -for they consider no labor, no care, no watchfulness, -too great or too exacting where their offspring are to be -benefited. Let an enemy approach, even if it be man -himself, and they are beside themselves with anger and<span class="pagenum" id="Page400">[400]</span> -resentment, flying into the very face of the audacious -intruder, as though they would pluck his eyes out as a just -punishment for his presumption and temerity. I have seen -the nest of a catbird attacked by a black snake, and crushed -within the folds of the hideous serpent the father-bird, but -the disaster did not cause the mother-bird to desist from the -attack, for, utterly oblivious of all else but her offspring -and the snake, she fought on until the latter was forced to -glide away into the bushes to escape her infuriated assaults. -But no species of bird is more courageous in defence of -its nest than the little ruby-throated humming-bird. It is -really dangerous to visit the nest when with eggs or young. -I would as soon attempt to assail the dome-shaped nest of -our common hornet as that of this humming-bird. It is as<span class="pagenum" id="Page401">[401]</span> -much as one can do to protect his eyes from the lightning-like -attacks of these birds, so swiftly and so unerringly do -they direct their blows at these points.</p> - -<p>So great is the affection and solicitude of the red-eyed -vireo for her young, that she will scarcely leave the nest -when the hand is stretched out a few inches over the mouth -of the structure. And then when she does leave, it is not -in a hurried, precipitate manner, but with a quiet, deliberate -movement that excites one’s admiration and makes one -vow never to abuse such simple, childlike confidence. I -have even placed my hand upon the sitting-bird without -disturbing the current of her brooding thoughts, or the -peaceful serenity of her soul. A rough dash at the nest -tends to frighten her away <i>instanter</i>, but when the hand is -reached out to it slowly and silently the bird seems to act as -though it had nothing to fear, and remains calm and self-possessed.</p> - -<p>Who is not familiar with the proverbial skill of the Carolina -dove in feigning lameness when her nest is being -approached? Without a cry, and with scarcely a rustle of her -feathers, she slips out of her nest upon the ground, and by a -series of manœuvres, as if desperately wounded, grovels -along on her belly in the dust till she has led her enemy a -long journey from the site of the nest, when she will take -to wing and fly away into a coppice or a clump of brushwood.</p> - -<p>That birds should manifest a love for the young which -they hatch has always seemed a strange problem to me. I -can see how that, in the case of a mammal, the mother -should feel a love for the creature who is absolutely a part -of herself—whose very life-blood is drawn from her veins. -But this is not necessarily the case with birds. If, as often -happens with poultry, the eggs of several hens are placed -under one bird for hatching, the hen that hatches them -knows no difference between the chickens that come from -her own eggs and those which proceed from eggs laid by<span class="pagenum" id="Page402">[402]</span> -others. Even where the eggs belong to birds of different -species, as to the common Muscovy-duck for example, the -hen displays as much affection for the young ducklings, -despite the disparity of instinct and habit, as she does had -they proceeded from her own eggs. May it not be that -parental love has different channels of transmission, and that -in such a case as this the emanation from the sitting-hen -may be the vehicle of parental love toward the young which -are to be hatched? Certain it is that a sitting-hen, as many -of us have observed, is altogether a changed being, both in -attitude and expression. She is entirely absorbed in the -eggs when she is incubating, and, though she may not have -the intellect to distinguish a mere lump of chalk from one -of her own eggs, yet love is altogether independent of intellect, -and may exist in all its vigor, and yet may be wasted -on an unworthy object.</p> - -<p>Fishes, as is generally known, are not particularly emotional -beings, and are not likely to entertain a lasting love -for anything. Indeed, in some instances, parental love would -be absolutely useless, as in the case of the cod-fish, which -could be hardly expected to entertain a special love for each of -the countless thousands of young it produces every year. The -life of the mother would be an unenviable one, if her lot -were to look after her young as soon as they are hatched, -especially when the varied foes that beset her eggs as soon -as they are produced, are considered. Just as there are -fishes that possess conjugal love, so there are fishes that -possess parental love, and prominent among these are the -sticklebacks. But in the case of these fishes the most curious part -is that parental love is shown by the father, and not -by the mother, the latter having nothing to do but to lay the -eggs, and leaving to the former the exclusive labor of providing -for the young.</p> - -<div class="container w30em" id="Plate8"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo402.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="copyright">Copyright 1900 by <span class="smcap">A. R. Dugmore</span>.</p> - -<p class="caption">WOOD-THRUSH SETTING.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page403">[403]</span></p> - -<p>Enough of instances of true parental love among the -lower animals could be given to fill this entire book, but -a sufficient number have been adduced to show that the -feeling is the same in man as in them, although, of course, -the mode of manifesting it is different. We have shown the -fallacy of the theory that parental love is life-enduring in -man and very brief among the animals, and have seen that, -in proportion to the duration of life, it is quite as brief -among the savages as among the animals. And, again, we -have seen where it has been lost and then restored, and also -where it was never lost; where in animals, as in man, it has -caused complete abnegation of self, the parents living for -their children, and not for themselves, and where it has given -strength to the weak and courage to the timid. Even the -very fishes have been shown to be amenable to the same -influences as man, and could we have carried our illustrations -still lower down the scale we would have found the same -influences existing among much humbler forms of animal -existences. In conclusion, there is no resisting the fact that -parental love, one of the highest and holiest feelings of -which a loving and immortal soul can be capable, is shared -equally by man and beast, according to their respective -capacities.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page404">[404]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">LIFE PROGRESSIVE.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p class="chapstart"><span class="largecap">N</span><span class="afterlargecap">o</span> -one can doubt that the earth’s crust, so far as it has -been deciphered by man, presents us with a record, -imperfect though it be, of the past. Whether, however, the -known and admitted imperfections of its records, geological -and palæontological, are sufficiently trustworthy to account -satisfactorily for the lack of direct evidence recognizable in -some modern hypotheses, may be a matter of individual -opinion, but there can be little doubt that they are sufficiently -extensive to throw the balance of evidence decisively in -favor of some theory of continuity, as opposed to any -theory of intermittent and occasional action, which some -writers have strenuously and intelligently advocated. No -marks of mighty and general convulsions of nature exist, -as the seeming breaks which divide the grand series of -stratified rocks into numerous isolated formations would -indicate. They are simply indications of the imperfection -of our knowledge. Science will never, in all probability, -point to a complete series of deposits, or to a complete -succession of life, which shall link one geological period to -another. But that such deposits and such an unbroken -succession must have existed at one time we may well feel -sure, and stand ready to believe that nowhere in the long -series of fossiliferous rocks has there been a total break, but -that there has inevitably been a complete continuity of life, -as well as a more or less complete continuity of sedimentation -from the Laurentian period to the present day. One -generation, speaking figuratively, hands on the lamp of life -to the next, and each system of rocks is the direct offspring<span class="pagenum" id="Page405">[405]</span> -of its predecessor in time. Though it is apparent that there -has not been continuity in any given area, still the geological -chain could not have been snapped at one point and taken -up again at a totally different one. Hence we arrive at the -conviction that in geology, as in other sciences, continuity is -the fundamental law, and that the lines of demarcation -between the great formations are but gaps in our own -knowledge.</p> - -<p>Through the study of fossils, as is well known, geologists -have been led to the all-important generalization that the -vast series of fossiliferous or sedimentary rocks may be -separated into a number of definite groups or formations, -each of which being characterized by its own organic -remains, but not properly and strictly, it must be understood, -by the occurrence therein of any one particular fossil. -However, a formation may contain some particular fossil or -fossils not occurring outside of that formation, thus enabling -an observer to identify a given group with tolerable certainty; -or, as very often happens, some particular stratum or subgroup -of a series, may contain peculiar fossils, whereby its -existence may be determined with considerable readiness in -divers localities. Each great formation, let it be said, is -properly characterized by the association of certain fossils, -the predominance of certain families or orders, or by an -assemblage of fossil remains that represent the life of the -period during which the formation was deposited.</p> - -<p>Fossils, then, not only enable us to determine the age of -the deposits in which they are found, but they also further -enable us to arrive at some very important conclusions -respecting the manner in which the fossiliferous bed was -deposited, and, consequently, to the condition of the particular -region occupied by the bed at the period of its -formation. Beds that contain the remains of animals, such -as now inhabit rivers, we know to be fluviatile in their origin, -and that at one time they must have either constituted -actual river-beds, or been deposited by the overflowing of<span class="pagenum" id="Page406">[406]</span> -ancient streams. But if the beds contain the remains of -mollusks, minute crustaceans or fish, such as are found -to-day in lakes, then we conclude that they are lacustrine, -and were deposited beneath the waters of former lakes. -And, lastly, if the remains of animals such as now people -the oceans are to be met with in the beds, then we know -that they are marine in origin, and that they are fragments -of an old sea-bottom. On the whole, the conditions under -which a bed was deposited, whether in a shallow sea, in the -immediate vicinity of a coast-line, or in deep water, can -often be determined with considerable accuracy from the -nature of the relics of the organisms which they contain. -But we have thus far been dealing with the remains of -aquatic animals. When, however, we consider the remains of -aerial and terrestrial animals, or of plants, the determination -of the conditions of deposition is not made out with such -an absolute certainty. Remains of land-animals would, of -course, occur in sub-aerial deposits, that is, in beds, like -blown sand, accumulated upon the land, but the most of -such remains of such animals are found in deposits which -have been laid down in water, and hence their present -position is due to the fact that their former owners were -either drowned in rivers or lakes, or borne out to sea by -water-channels. Animals possessed of the power of flight -might also similarly find their way into aqueous deposits, -but, when it is remembered that many birds and mammals -habitually spent a great part of their time in the water, it -is not to be wondered at that they should present themselves -as fossils in sedimentary rocks. Even plants, such as have -undoubtedly grown upon land, do not prove that the bed -in which they are found was formed on land, for many of -their remains are extraneous to the bed in which they now -occur, having reached their present site by falling into lakes -or rivers, or by being carried out to sea by floods or gales of -winds. Still, there are many cases which obviously show -that plants have grown on the very spot where we now find<span class="pagenum" id="Page407">[407]</span> -them. The great coal-fields of the Carboniferous Age, it is -now generally conceded, are the result of the growth <i>in situ</i> -of the plants which compose coal, as well as that they -grew on vast marshy or partially submerged tracts of level -alluvial land.</p> - -<p>While fossils enable us in many cases to arrive at important -conclusions as to the climate of the period in which they -lived, yet it is only in the case of marine fossils, which constitute -the majority of such remains, that we acquire such -knowledge, but it is mostly the temperature of the sea which -can thus be determined. However, let it be remembered -that, owing to the existence of heated currents, the marine -climate of a designated area does not necessarily imply a -correspondingly warm climate in the adjoining land, for -land-climates can only be determined by the relics of land-animals -or land-plants, and these are comparatively rare as -fossils. But all conclusions on this head are really based -upon the existing distribution of vegetable and animal life -upon the globe, and are therefore liable to be vitiated by the -considerations that no certainty exists that the habits and -requirements of an extinct animal were exactly similar to -those of its nearest living relative; that far back in time -groups of organisms, so unlike anything we know at the -present day, are met with, which render all conjectures of -climate based upon their supposed habits more or less uncertain -and unsafe; that in the case of marine animals we are as -yet very far from knowing the precise limits of distribution -of many species within our present seas as to render conclusions -drawn from living forms in relation to extinct -species unsatisfactory and, probably, incorrect; and, finally, -that the distribution of animals to-day, is certainly dependent -on other conditions than climate alone, the causes limiting -the range of given animals being assuredly such as -belong to the existing order of things, and are different from -what they were in former times, not necessarily because the -climate has changed, but because of the alteration of other<span class="pagenum" id="Page408">[408]</span> -conditions that are essential to the life of the species or conducive -to its extension. But notwithstanding the difficulties -in the way, we are able in many cases to deduce completely -trustworthy conclusions concerning the climate of a given -geological period by an examination of its fossil remains. -In Eocene times, or at the beginning of the Tertiary Period, -the climate of what is now Western Europe was of a tropical -or sub-tropical character, the Eocene beds being found to -contain the remains of cowries and volutes, such shells as -now inhabit tropical seas, together with the fruits of palms -and remains of other tropical plants. And further, it has -been shown that in Miocene times, or about the middle of -the same epoch, the central parts of Europe were peopled -with a luxuriant flora resembling that of the warmer parts -of the United States, and that Greenland, now buried for the -most part beneath a vast ice-shroud, was warm enough to -support a large number of trees, shrubs and other plants -that are at present denizens of the temperate regions of the -globe.</p> - -<p>And lastly, from the study of fossils, geologists first learned -to comprehend a fact, that is, that the crust of the earth is -liable to local elevations and subsidences, which may be -regarded as of cardinal importance in all modern geological -theories and speculations. Long after the remains of shells -and those of other marine animals were first observed in the -solid rocks constituting the dry land, and at great elevations -above the sea-level, attempts were made to explain this -unintelligible phenomenon upon the hypothesis that these -remains or fossils were mere <i>lusus naturæ</i>, due to some -“plastic virtue latent in the earth.” But the common-sense -of science soon rejected this idea, and it was universally -agreed that these bodies were really the relics of animals -that once lived in the sea. When once this was admitted, -further steps in the right way of thinking became comparatively -easy, and at the present day no geological doctrine -stands on a surer foundation than that which teaches that<span class="pagenum" id="Page409">[409]</span> -our existing continents and islands, fixed and immovable -as they appear, have been repeatedly sunk beneath the -ocean and just as repeatedly been lifted above its waters.</p> - -<p>Not only have fossils an important bearing upon geology -and physiography as has been seen, but they have relations, -most complicated and weighty in character, with the science -of biology, or the study of living beings. No adequate -understanding of zoölogy and botany is possible without -some acquaintance with the types of plants and animals that -have passed away, for there are numerous speculative problems -in the domain of vital science, which, if soluble at all, -can only hope to find their key in researches carried out on -extinct organisms.</p> - -<p>No attempt will be made by the writer to discuss fully the -biological relations of fossils. Such an undertaking would -afford matter for a separate volume. All that I purpose in -this chapter is to indicate very cursorily the principal points -of palæontological teaching, so that my readers can acquire -some idea of the progression from lower to higher types -that life has made throughout the geological ages. Preliminary -to the purpose held in view, let it be understood that -the vast majority of fossil animals and plants are extinct, or, -differently and perhaps more intelligently expressed, belong -to species that no longer exist. So far from there being any -truth in the old idea that there have been periodic destructions -of all the living beings in existence upon the earth, -followed by a corresponding number of new creations of -plants and animals, the actual facts indicate that the extinction -of old and introduction of new forms have been processes -that have been continually going on throughout the whole -of geologic time. Every species seems to come into existence -at a definite point of time, and to disappear finally at -another definite period, though there are few, if any, instances, -in which the times of entrance and exit could be fixed with -any degree of certainty or precision. Marked differences in -the actual time during which different species have remained<span class="pagenum" id="Page410">[410-<br />411]<a id="Page_411"></a></span> -in existence are noticeable, and therefore corresponding differences -in their vertical range, or in the actual amount and -thickness of strata through which they present themselves -as fossils, some species being found to extend through two or -three formations, and even a few have had a more prolonged -existence. More commonly, however, the species which -begin in the commencement of a great formation die out at -or before its close, while those which are introduced for the -first time near its middle or end may either become extinct -or pass into the next succeeding formation, animals of the -lowest and simplest organization as a rule having the longest -range in time. Microscopic or minute dimensions seem to -favor longevity, for some of the Foraminifera appear to have -survived, with little or no perceptible alteration, from the -Silurian Period to the present day, whereas largely and -highly-organized animals, though long-lived as individuals, -rarely seem to live long specifically, and consequently have -a restricted vertical range. Exceptions to this rule are, however, -occasionally found in some persistent types, the Lampshells -of the genus Lingula being little changed from the -Lingulæ that swarmed in the Lower Silurian seas, while the -existing Pearly Nautilus is the last descendant of a clan -nearly as old. Some forms, on the other hand, the Ammonites, -which are closely related to the Nautilus, and mostly -restricted to certain zones of strata, seem to have enjoyed a -comparatively brief lease of life.</p> - -<div class="container w50em" id="Fig71"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo410.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">LIFE IN THE PRIMORDIAL SEA.<br /> -Representing Mollusks, Sponges, Crustaceans, Worms and Sea-Weeds.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>But of the causes that have led to the extinction of plants -and animals, little or nothing is known. All that can be -affirmed, in our present knowledge, is that the attributes constituting -a species do not seem to be intrinsically endowed with -permanence, any more than those constituting an individual, -though the former may endure whilst many successive generations -of the latter have disappeared from the earth. Each -species, it would seem, has its own life-period—its beginning, -culmination and decay—the life-periods of different species -being of very different duration. From all that has been<span class="pagenum" id="Page412">[412]</span> -said, it may be gathered that our existing plants and animals -are for the most part of modern origin, using the term -modern in its geological acceptation. Measured by human -standards, many of our existing animals, those which are -capable of being preserved as fossils, are known to have a -high antiquity. Not a few of our shell-fish commenced -their existence at some time in the Tertiary, while one -species of Lampshell—<i>Terebratulina caput-serpentis</i>—is -believed to have survived since the Chalk, and a number of -the Foraminifera date from the Carboniferous Period. Thus, -we learn the additional fact that our existing flora and fauna -do not constitute an aggregation of organic forms which -were introduced into the world collectively and simultaneously, -but that they commenced their existence at very different -times, some being extremely ancient, whilst others are -of comparatively recent origin. And this introduction of -existing plants and animals, as admirably shown by the -study of the fossil shells of the Tertiary Period, was a slow<span class="pagenum" id="Page413">[413]</span> -and gradual process. Ninety-five per cent. of the known -fossil shells in the earliest Tertiary are found to be species -no longer in existence, the remaining 5 per cent. being forms -that are known to live in our present seas. In the Middle -Tertiary, the extinct types are much fewer in number, while -at the close of the Period the proportion with which we -started may be reversed, not more than 5 per cent. being -extinct types.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig72"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo412.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">CARBONIFEROUS TIMES.<br /> -Animals and Plants That Prevailed.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>All existing animals belong to some five or six primary -divisions, which are technically known as sub-kingdoms, -each sub-kingdom to be regarded as representing a certain -plan of structure, each and every animal embraced therein -being merely a modified form of this common type. Not -only are all known living animals reducible to these five or -six fundamental plans, but also the vast series of fossil forms -which have come to light in investigations of the earth’s -strata. While many fossil groups have no closely-related -group now in existence, but in no case do we meet with a -fossil animal whose peculiarities do not entitle it to be -placed in one or other of the grand structural types already -indicated. The old types differ in many respects from those -now upon the earth, and the further we go back in time the -more pronounced does the divergence become. A comparison -of the animals that lived in the old Silurian seas -with those now occupying our oceans, would indicate differences -so great in many instances as almost to place us in -another world, this divergence being most marked in the -Palæozoic forms of life, less so in those of the Mesozoic, and -still less so in the Tertiary. Each successive formation has -therefore presented us with animals becoming gradually -more and more like those now in existence. Though there -is, however, an immense and striking difference between the -Silurian animals and those of the present day, yet this difference -is considerably lessened when a comparison is instituted -between the Silurian and the Devonian, and this with the -Carboniferous, and so on down to the present period.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page414">[414]</span></p> - -<p>Thus it follows that the animals of any given formation, -and the plants as well, where the records are preserved, are -more like those of the next formation below and of the next -formation above, than they are like any others. This fact of -itself is an inexplicable one. But if we believe that the -animals and plants of any given formation are, in part at -any rate, the lineal descendants of those of the preceding, -and the progenitors, also in part at least, of those of the succeeding -formation, then the fact is readily comprehensible. -So frequently confronted is the palæontologist with the phenomenon -of closely-related forms, especially of animals, -succeeding one another in point of time, that he is compelled -to believe that such forms have been developed from some -common ancestral type by some process of evolution. Upon -no other theory can we comprehend why the Post-Tertiary -mammals of South America should consist of edentates, -llamas, tapirs, peccaries, platyrhine monkeys and other forms -now characterizing this continent, while those of Australia -should be exclusively referable to the order of marsupials; -and on no other view can we explain the common occurrence -of transitional forms of life, filling in the gaps between -groups now widely distinct. But, on the other hand, there -are facts which point clearly to the presence of some other -law than that of evolution, and probably of a deeper and -more far-reaching character. No theory of evolution can -offer a satisfactory explanation for the constant introduction -throughout geological time of new forms of life, which do -not appear to be preceded by pre-existent allied types. The -graptolites and trilobites have no known predecessors, and -leave no known successors. Insects appear suddenly in the -Devonian, and spiders and myriopods in the Carboniferous, -but all under well-differentiated and highly-specialized -forms. With equal apparent suddenness the Dibranchiate -Cephalopods show themselves in the older Mesozoic deposits, -and no known type of the Palæozoic period can -be pointed to as a possible ancestor. And so does the<span class="pagenum" id="Page415">[415]</span> -wonderful dicotyledonous flora of the Upper Cretaceous -similarly surprise us without any prophetic annunciation -from the older Jurassic. Many other instances might be -cited, but enough has been said to show that the problem -is one environed with profound difficulties.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig73"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo415.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">MESOZOIC FLORA AND FAUNA.<br /> -Cycads, Pandanus, Deinosaurs, Birds and Pterodactyl.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>As we pass from the older rocks into the newer, we not -only find that the animals of each successive formation -become gradually more and more like existing species upon -the globe, but we also find that there has been a gradual -progression and development in the types of animal life -which characterize the geological ages. Taking the earliest-known -and oldest examples of any given group, it can sometimes -be shown that these primitive forms, even though they -are highly organized themselves, possessed certain characters -such as are now only to be met with in the young of -their existing representatives. Such characters, which are -technically called embryonic characters, do not prevent the -frequent attainment by their possessors of sizes much more<span class="pagenum" id="Page416">[416]</span> -gigantic than those of their nearest living relatives. Moreover, -these ancient forms of life represent what are called -comprehensive types, or types that possess characters in -combination such as are nowadays found separately developed -in different groups of animals. Such permanent retention -of embryonic characters and comprehensiveness of -structural type are signs of what zoölogists consider to be -comparatively low grades of organization, and their prevalence -in the earlier forms of animals is a very astonishing -phenomenon, though they are none the less perfectly organized -so far as their peculiar type is concerned. As we ascend -the geological scale, these features will be found to gradually -disappear, higher and even higher forms will be introduced, -and specialization of type take the place of the former -comprehensiveness. That there has been in the past a general -progression of organic types, and that the appearance of -the lower forms of life has in the main preceded that of the -higher forms in point of time, is a widely-accepted generalization -of palæontology.</p> - -<p>Now that it has been seen that there has been a gradual -progression and development of animal types all through -the ages up to the era of man, the question naturally occurs -whether or not the changes are still going on which will -result in a higher development. Man coexisted in Western -Europe with several remarkable mammals in the later portion -of the Post-Pliocene Period. While we do not know -the causes which led to the extinction of the mammoth, -woolly rhinoceros, cave-lion and others, yet we do know that -scarcely any mammalian species have become extinct during -the historical period. The species with which man coexisted -are such that presumably required a very different climate to -that now prevailing in Western Europe. Some of the deposits -in which man’s remains have been found in association -with the bones of extinct mammals incontestably show that -great changes in the physiography and surface-configuration -of the country had taken place since the period of their<span class="pagenum" id="Page417">[417]</span> -accumulation, the human implements themselves bearing evidence -of an exceedingly barbarous condition of the human -species. Post-Pliocene, or Palæolithic man, was clearly -unacquainted with the use of the metals. Not only was this -the case, but the workmanship of these ancient races was -much inferior to that of the later tribes, who were also ignorant -of the metals, and who also used nothing but weapons -and tools of stone, bone, etc., in war, chase and domestic -affairs. When first man spread over the earth, he had no -domestic animals, perhaps not even the dog, and had no -knowledge of agriculture. His weapons were of the rudest -character, and his houses scarcely worthy of the name. No -doubt can exist that his food, habits and entire manner of -living have varied as he has passed from country to country, -for he must then have been far more subject to the influence -of external circumstances, and in all probability more susceptible -of change. Moreover, his form, which is now stereotyped -by long ages of repetition, may reasonably be presumed -to have been more plastic than is now the case. As -long as man led a mere animal existence, he would be subject -to the same laws, and would vary in the same manner as -the rest of his fellow-creatures. But when at last he had -acquired the capacity of clothing himself, and of making -weapons or tools, he has taken away from nature, in a great -measure, that power of changing the external form and -structure which she exercises over all other animals. From -the time, then, when his social and sympathetic feelings came -into active operation, and his intellectual and moral faculties -became fairly developed, man’s physical form and structure -would not be so much influenced by natural laws, and, therefore, -as an animal, he would become almost stationary, his -environment ceasing to have upon him that powerful modifying -effect which it exercises over other parts of the organic -world. But from the moment that his body became less subject -to the changes of the surrounding universe, his mind -would become acted upon by the influences which the body<span class="pagenum" id="Page418">[418]</span> -had escaped. Every slight variation in his mental and moral -nature, which would consequently be brought about, and -which would enable him better to guard against adverse circumstances, -and league together for mutual comfort and -protection, would be preserved and accumulated. The better -and higher specimens of our race would therefore increase and -diffuse themselves, while the lower and more brutal would -succumb and successively die out, and that rapid advancement -of mental organization would occur, which has raised -the very lowest races of men, whose mentality was scarcely -superior to the animal, to that high position which it has -attained in the Germanic races. It would be too bold an -assertion to say that man’s body has become stationary. -Slow and gradual changes still take place, although his mere -bodily structure long ago became of less importance to him -than that subtle energy, which is termed mind. No one can -doubt that <i>this</i> gave his naked and unprotected body clothing -against the varying inclemencies of the seasons and -enabled him to compete with the deer in swiftness and the -wild bull in strength by giving him weapons wherewith to -capture or subdue them both. Though less capable than -most other animals of subsisting on the herbs and the fruits -of unaided nature, it was this wonderful faculty that taught -him to govern and direct nature to his own benefit, and compel -her to produce food for him when and where he pleased. -From the moment, then, when the first skin was used as a -covering, the first rude spear fashioned to aid in the chase, -and the first seed sown or shoot planted, a grand revolution -was effected in nature, a revolution which had had no parallel -in all the previous cycles of the world’s history, for a being -had arisen who was no longer necessarily subject to a -changing universe, a being who was in some degree superior -to nature, inasmuch as he knew how to control and regulate -her action, and could maintain himself in unison with her, -not by a change brought about in the body, but by a growth -and advance in mind. Therein are shadowed forth the true<span class="pagenum" id="Page419">[419]</span> -grandeur and dignity of man. Not only has he achieved -for himself a great victory in this rising by the power of -mind superior to nature in a sense, but he has also gained a -directing influence over other existences, in that he has been -able to grasp from nature some of that power which, before -his appearance, she universally exercised. From all that -man has accomplished in the past, it is easy to anticipate the -time when only cultivated plants and domestic animals will -be produced by the earth, and when the ocean, which, for -countless cycles of ages ruled supreme over the globe, will -be the only domain in which that power can be exercised.</p> - -<p>That man has improved under civilization there can be no -question. Statistics show that, since the introduction of -civilization, the population of the earth in general has -increased. No one can fail to observe that under its influence -the means of subsistence have increased even more rapidly -than the population. Far from suffering for lack of food, -the most densely peopled countries are those in which it -is, not only absolutely but even relatively most abundant. -A thousand men live to-day in plenty upon an area of ground -that would scarcely afford a scanty and precarious subsistence -to a single savage. There is no denying the fact that -happiness is increased by civilization. To talk of the free -and noble savage is folly. The true savage is neither free -nor noble. He is a slave to his own wants, his own passions. -Imperfectly protected as he is from the weather, he suffers -at night from the cold and by day from the heat of the sun. -Ignorant of agriculture, living by the chase, and improvident -in success, hunger ever stares him in the face, and often drives -him to the dreadful alternative of cannibalism or death. The -life of all beasts in their wild state is certainly an exceedingly -anxious one. So it is with the savage. He is always suspicious, -always in danger, always on the watch. He can -depend on no one, and no one can depend upon him, for he -expects nothing from his neighbor, and does unto others as -he believes that they would do unto him. His life is one<span class="pagenum" id="Page420">[420]</span> -prolonged scene of selfishness and fear. Even in his religion, -if he has any, he creates for himself a new source of terror, -and peoples the world with invisible enemies. More wretched -is the position of the female savage than that of her master, -for she not only shares his sufferings, but has also to bear -his ill-humor and ill-usage, being little better than his dog, -little dearer than his horse. Few of them, it is believed, are -so fortunate as to die a natural death, being despatched ere -they become old and emaciated, that so much good food -shall not be lost. Indeed, so little importance is attached -to women, either before or after death, that it may be doubted -whether the man does not esteem his dog, when alive, quite -as much as he does his woman, and think of both quite as -often and as lovingly after he has made a meal of them. -Not content, moreover, with the pleasures incident to their -mode of life, savages appear to take a melancholy delight in -self-inflicted sufferings. They not only tattoo their bodies, -but practise the most extraordinary methods of disfigurement -and self-torture, some amputating the little finger, while others -drill immense holes in the under-lip, or pierce the cartilage -of the nose. These and many other curious practices, none -the less painful because they are voluntary, are in vogue -among savage people. Turning now to the bright side of -the question, we cannot but conclude that the pleasures of -civilized man are greater than those of the savage. While -man will never be able to improve the organization of the -eye or the ear, yet, on the other hand, the invention of the -telescope and the microscope is equivalent in its results to -an immense improvement of the eyes, thus opening up to us -new worlds, fresh sources of interest and happiness, while -the training of the ear will enable us to invent new musical -instruments and compose new melodies. The savage, like a -child, sees and hears only that which is brought directly -before him, but the civilized man questions nature, and by -the various processes of chemistry, electricity and magnetism, -and a thousand ingenious contrivances, forces nature to<span class="pagenum" id="Page421">[421]</span> -reveal herself, thereby discovering hidden uses and unsuspected -beauties, quite as marvellously as though he were -endowed with some entirely new organ of sense. Through -the discovery of printing, we are brought into communion -with the greatest minds, and thus the thoughts of a Shakespeare -or a Tennyson, or the discoveries of a Newton or a -Darwin, become the common property of mankind. Already -the results of this all-important, though simple, process -have vastly improved our mental faculties, and day by -day, as books become cheaper, schools are established and -education more general, a greater and greater effect will be -produced.</p> - -<p>Nor are all these new sources of happiness accompanied -by any new liability to suffering. On the contrary, while -our pleasures are increased, our pains are lessened. In a -thousand ways we can avoid or diminish evils which to our -ancestors were great and unavoidable. No one can estimate -the misery which, for instance, the simple discovery of -chloroform has spared the human race. The capacity for -pain, so far as it can serve as a warning, remains all the -same, but the necessity for endurance has been greatly -diminished. With increased knowledge of the laws of -health, and attention thereto, disease will become less and -less frequent, and those tendencies to disease which we have -inherited from our ancestors will gradually die out, and, if -fresh seeds are not sown, the race will one day enjoy the -inestimable advantages of a more vigorous and healthy -existence. Thus, then, with the increasing influence of -science we may confidently look forward to a great improvement -in the condition of man. But it may be alleged that -our present sufferings and sorrows arise chiefly from sin, -and that any moral improvement must come from religion -and not from science. This separation of the two mighty -agents of improvement, the great misfortune of humanity, -has done more than anything else to retard the progress of -civilization. But even if we admit for the nonce that science<span class="pagenum" id="Page422">[422]</span> -will not render us more virtuous, it must certainly make us -more innocent, for in fact the most of our criminal population -are mere savages, persons who can rarely read and write, -and whose crimes are but injudicious and desperate attempts -to live a savage life in the midst, and at the expense, of a -civilized community. Men do wrong either from ignorance -or in the hope, unexpressed perhaps even to themselves, that -they may enjoy the pleasure and yet avoid the penalty of -sin. All that they have to do they think, when they have -committed sin, is to repent. The religious teaching of the -day has much to do with this misapprehension. Repentance -is too frequently regarded as a substitute for punishment. -Sin it is thought is followed either by the one or the other. -So far, therefore, as this world is concerned, this is not the -case; repentance may enable a man to avoid sin in future, -but has no effect on the consequences of the past. The laws -of nature are not only just and salutary, but they are also -inexorable. While all men admit that “the wages of sin is -death,” yet they seem to think that this is a general rule to -which there may be many exceptions, that some sins may -possibly tend to happiness. That suffering is the inevitable -consequence of sin, as surely as an effect follows a cause, is -the stern yet salutary teaching of science. And certainly -if this lesson were thoroughly impressed upon our minds, -that punishment and not happiness is the consequence of -sin, then temptation, which is the very root of crime, would -be cut away, and mankind must therefore necessarily become -more innocent. May we not go still further and say that -science will also render us more virtuous? He who studies -philosophy can only obtain a just idea of the great things for -which Providence has fitted his understanding. Such a -study not only makes our lives more agreeable, but it also -makes them better, and every motive of interest and duty -should constrain a rational being to direct his mind towards -pursuits which all experience has shown to be the sure path -of virtue and happiness.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page423">[423]</span></p> - -<p>Man is in reality but on the threshold of civilization. Far -from showing any indication of having reached the end, the -tendency to improvement seems laterally to have proceeded -with augmented impetus and accelerated rapidity. There -is no reason to suppose that it must now cease. Man has not -attained the limits of intellectual development, nor exhausted -the infinite capabilities of nature. There are many things -not yet dreamt of in our philosophy which science must -reveal, many discoveries yet to be made which will confer -upon the human race advantages which as yet, perhaps, we -are not in a condition to grasp and appreciate. We seem, -when we compare our present knowledge with the great -ocean of truth that lies all undiscovered before us, like little -children playing on the sea-shore, and picking up a smoother -pebble and prettier shell than any they had met with before. -Thus, it is obvious, that our most sanguine hopes for the -future are justified by the entire experience of the past. It -is surely unreasonable to presume that a process which has -been going on for so many thousand years should have now -suddenly ceased; and he must indeed be blind who thinks -that our civilization is unsusceptible of improvement, or that -we ourselves are in the highest state possible for man to -attain. Theory, as well as experience, forces the same conclusion -upon us. That principle of Natural Selection, which in -animals affects the body and seems to have little influence on -the mind, in man affects the mind and has little influence on -the body. In the former it leads mainly to the preservation -of life, and in the latter to the improvement of the mind, and -consequently to the increase of happiness. It ensures, in -the words of Spencer, “a constant progress towards a -higher skill, intelligence, and self-regulation—a better coördination -of actions—a more complete life.” Nearly all -the evils under which we suffer, it will be conceded, may be -attributed either to ignorance or sin. That ignorance will be -diminished by the progress of science is, of course, self-evident; -and that the same will be the case with sin, seems<span class="pagenum" id="Page424">[424]</span> -little less so. Thus, then, do both science and theory point -to the same conclusion. That which poets hardly dared to -hope for, the future happiness of our race, science boldly -predicts. Even in our own time we trust to see some -wonderful improvement. But the unselfish mind, however, -will find its highest gratification in the belief that, whatever may -be the case with ourselves, our descendants will understand -many things which are mysterious to us now, will better -appreciate the beautiful world in which we live, avoid much -of the suffering to which we are subject, enjoy many blessings -of which we are not yet worthy, and escape many of those -temptations which we deplore but cannot wholly resist.</p> - -<p>We have thus seen that all life has been progressive. -There has been through the ages a steadily growing upward -tendency to higher life. But the changes have mainly -been in the line of physical form and structure. And -such, too, had been the case with man, until his social, -intellectual and moral faculties had begun to assert themselves, -when his body ceased in a great measure to be -acted upon by physical laws, and development began to -manifest itself in a higher type of mental organization. -From the low, simple, childlike mind of palæolithic man -has come that wonderful intellect which now characterizes -the Germanic races, and which is destined to make itself -felt in its contact with all the earth. Those peoples that are -able to embrace the new civilization brought to their doors, -so to speak, will survive, while the others, unable to adapt -themselves thereto, like the Tasmanian, will succumb in the -struggle with a superior being and go to the wall. Animals -and plants will be brought into new relations and new -conditions, and such as can meet the new requirements will, -as certain species have done before, endure. They will, in -other words, have partaken of an enlightened civilization. -Thus things will go on until all life, vegetal and animal, -will be brought under the controlling and elevating influence -of man, and then will be inaugurated on earth that<span class="pagenum" id="Page425">[425]</span> -condition when the lion and the kid shall lie down together, -and a little child shall be found in their midst. Nothing -harmful will anywhere exist. Heaven will then have been -brought down to earth, and peace and harmony will universally -prevail. Then will have come the complete triumph -of mind over body. All growth and development of the -reformed and regenerated earth-man will be in the direction -of mind, and his accomplishments will he share with the -inferior subjects of his peaceful and happy domain. Progression, -however, will not cease, but will go on steadily -advancing as the years increase. And if there is a life -beyond the earth-life, then the intellect or mind, or soul if -you please, shall, in some form or other, exist therein, -and reach up into higher and yet higher growth and -development.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page426">[426]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p class="chapstart"><span class="largecap">A</span><span class="afterlargecap">mong</span> -organic beings in a state of nature there is some -individual variability. This is an admission about -which there can be no dispute. But the mere existence of -individual variability and of a few well-marked varieties, -though necessary as the foundation for the work, assists us -but little in understanding how species originate in nature. -Those exquisite adaptations of one part of the organization to -another part, and to the conditions of life, and of one organic -being to another being, which we know to exist, seem as -mysteries. We see them in the humblest parasite that clings -to the hairs of a quadruped or the feathers of a bird, in the -structure of the beetle that dives through the water, and in -the plumed seed that is wafted by the gentlest breeze. In -short, we see beautiful adaptations everywhere and in every -part of the organic world. And yet, how few have paused -while admiring these beautiful and wonderful co-adaptations -to ask themselves the question: How have these been -perfected?</p> - -<p>If the existence of any well-marked varieties be admitted, -how is it that these varieties, which may be denominated -incipient species, become ultimately converted into good -and distinct species, which in the generality of cases obviously -differ from each in a greater degree than do the varieties of -the same species? How do these groups of species, which -constitute what are authoritatively called genera, and which -differ from each other more than do the species of the same -genus, arise? All these results, as will presently be seen, follow -from the Struggle for Existence. Owing to this struggle,<span class="pagenum" id="Page427">[427]</span> -all variations, no matter how slight they may be, or from what -cause soever they may proceed, will, if they be in any degree -profitable to the individuals of a species in their infinitely -complex relations to other organic beings and their physical -conditions of life, unavoidably conduce to the preservation of -such individuals, and generally be inherited by the offspring. -The offspring, too, will thus have a better chance of surviving, -for, of the many individuals of a species that are periodically -born, but a very small number can survive. That principle, -by which each slight variation, if useful to the individual, is -preserved, has been termed Natural Selection by Darwin, in -order to distinguish it from the selection which is exercised -by man over the plants and animals which he has brought -under subjection for his own wants. But the expression—Survival -of the Fittest—so frequently used by Spencer, is -more accurate, and sometimes equally convenient. Man can -certainly produce great results by this power, and can adapt, -through the accumulation of slight but useful variations -given to him by the hand of nature, organic beings to his -own uses. But Natural Selection, as is well known, is a -power incessantly ready for action, and is as infinitely -superior to man’s feeble efforts as the works of nature are to -those of art.</p> - -<p>All organic beings are exposed to severe competition. -Nothing is easier than to admit in words the truth of the -universal struggle for life, or more difficult than constantly to -bear this conclusion, which has been reached through the -investigations and researches of De Candolle, Lyell, Herbert, -Darwin and others, in mind. Unless, however, it be thoroughly -ingrained in the mind, the whole economy of nature, -with every fact on distribution, rarity, abundance, extinction -and variation, will be but dimly perceived or quite misunderstood. -We behold the face of nature radiant with gladness, -and food everywhere in excessive abundance, but we do not -see that the birds which are happily singing round us mostly -live on insects or seeds, and are thus constantly destroying<span class="pagenum" id="Page428">[428]</span> -life, or we fail to remember how largely these songsters, or -their eggs, or their nestlings, are destroyed by birds and -beasts of prey. Yes, we do not always bear in mind that, -though food may now be superabundant, it is not so at all -seasons of each recurring year. The term, Struggle for -Existence, must be used in a large and metaphorical sense. -It must be construed to include the dependence of one being -on another, and also not only the life of the individual but -also its success in leaving offspring. Two carnivores, in a -time of scarcity of food, may be truly said to struggle with -each other for maintenance of life. But a plant on the edge -of a desert is said to struggle for life against the drought, -though, properly speaking, it is dependent for its existence -upon the moisture. A plant, however, that annually produces -many thousand seeds of which on an average only one comes -to maturity, may in a much truer sense be said to struggle -with the plants of the same and other kinds which already -invest the ground. While the mistletoe is dependent on the -apple and some other trees, yet it cannot be said, unless in a -far-fetched sense, to struggle with these trees, for, if too -many of these parasites are found upon the same tree, it will -certainly languish and die. Several seedling mistletoes, however, -growing close together upon the same branch, may -more truly be said to struggle with each other.</p> - -<p>From the high rate at which all organic beings tend to -increase, there must inevitably follow a Struggle for Existence. -Every being which, during its natural lifetime, produces -several eggs or seeds, must necessarily suffer destruction -during some part of that period, and during some season or -occasional year, otherwise, on the principle of Geometrical -Increase, its numbers would become so inordinately excessive -that no country would be able to support its product. -Therefore, as more individuals are produced than can possibly -survive, there must be in every case a Struggle for -Existence, either one individual struggling with another of -the same kind, or with individuals of distinct kinds or species,<span class="pagenum" id="Page429">[429]</span> -or with the conditions of the environment. This is the -doctrine of Malthus applied with manifold force to the entire -vegetable and animal kingdoms. Although some species -may be now increasing at a very high rate in numbers, yet -all cannot do so, for the earth would not be able to contain -them. Slow-breeding man has doubled in twenty-five years, -and should he go on at this rate for a few thousand years, -there would literally not be standing room for his progeny. -It has been calculated that, if an annual plant produced only -two seeds, and their seedlings next year produced two, and -the same rate of increase was kept up for twenty years, there -would be a million of plants as the result. Even the elephant, -which is reckoned the slowest breeder of all known animals, -would after a period of from seven hundred and forty to seven -hundred and fifty years leave nearly nineteen million elephants -as descendants from the first pair.</p> - -<p>Much better evidence than mere theoretical calculations -are not wanting on this subject. Instances are recorded of -the astonishingly rapid increase of various animals in a state -of nature, when conditions have been favorable to them, -during two or three succeeding seasons. More striking, -however, is the evidence from domestic animals that have -run wild in several parts of the world. Were not the statements -of the rate of increase of cattle and horses in South -America, and latterly in Australia, where millions now -abound, well authenticated, they would have been incredible. -Cases could be mentioned of introduced plants that have -become quite common throughout entire islands in a period -of less than twelve years. Several of these plants, the cardoon -and a rare thistle, which were introduced from Europe, -clothe square leagues of the surface of the wide plains of -the La Plata almost to the exclusion of all other plants; -and there are plants which now range in India, from Cape -Comorin to the Himalaya, which have been imported -from America since its discovery. In all such cases, and -endless instances could be adduced, no intelligent person<span class="pagenum" id="Page430">[430]</span> -supposes that their fertility has been increased in any -sensible degree by change of habitat, the obvious explanation -being that the conditions of environment have been -very favorable, and that there has consequently been less -destruction of old and young, and that nearly all the latter -have been enabled to breed. The extraordinarily rapid -increase and wide diffusion of naturalized productions in -new homes, a result which never fails to evoke surprise, is -only to be explained on the principle of the Geometrical -Ratio of Increase. As in nature almost every plant produces -seed, and there are very few animals that do not annually -pair, therefore we can confidently assert that all plants and -animals are tending to increase in a geometrical ratio; that -all would most rapidly stock every station in which they -could in any way exist, and that the tendency to increase -must be checked by destruction at some period of life. -Among our larger domestic animals we see no great -destruction falling on them. We forget that thousands are -annually slaughtered for food, and that in a natural state an -equal number would have to be disposed of in some way or -other. Between organisms which annually produce seeds or -eggs by the thousands, and those which produce extremely -few, the only difference is that the slow breeders would -require a few more years to people, under favorable conditions, -a whole district, let it be ever so large. But a couple -of eggs are laid by the condor, while the ostrich lays a score. -Yet in the same country the condor may be the more abundant -of the two. The Fulmer petrel lays but a single egg, -yet it is believed to be the most numerous bird in the world. -A large number of eggs is of some importance to those -species which depend upon a rapidly-fluctuating quantity of -food, for it permits them to increase rapidly in number; but -the real importance of a large number of eggs or seeds is to -make up for the great destruction that goes on at some -period of life, and this period in the vast majority of cases -is an early one. If an animal can in any way protect its<span class="pagenum" id="Page431">[431]</span> -own eggs or young, a small number may be produced, and -the average stock be kept up; but if many eggs or young -are destroyed, then many must be produced or the species -will become extinct. Therefore, the average number of any -animal or plant depends, though only indirectly, upon the -number of its eggs or seeds. We should never forget, in -taking a survey of nature, that every single organic being -around us may be said to be striving to the utmost to augment -its members; that each lives by a struggle at some -period of its existence, and that heavy destruction falls either -on the young or old during each generation or at recurrent -intervals. Let any check be lightened, or the destruction be -mitigated ever so little, and the number of the species will -almost instantaneously increase to any extent.</p> - -<p>But of the nature of the checks to increase we know little, -although this subject has been very ably treated by writers -of eminence. Eggs or very young animals seem generally -to suffer the most, but this is not invariably the case. -While there is a vast destruction of the seeds of plants, but -it is the seedlings which are believed to suffer the greatest, -from germinating in ground already thickly stocked with -other plants, and from being destroyed in large numbers by -various enemies. The amount of food for each species of -course determines the extreme limit to which each can -increase, but very often it is not the obtaining of food, but the -serving as prey to other animals which fixes the average -number of a species. Thus there seems to be little doubt -that the stock of partridges, grouse and hares on any large -estate depends mainly on the destruction of vermin. Were -not a single head of game shot during the next twenty -years in England, says Darwin in substance, and no vermin -were at the same time destroyed, there would in -all probability be less game than at present exists, although -hundreds of thousands of game animals are now annually -killed for the market. In some cases, on the other hand, -as in the case of the elephant, none are destroyed by<span class="pagenum" id="Page432">[432]</span> -beasts of prey, for even the tiger in India, bold and -venturesome as he is known to be, rarely dares to attack -a young elephant protected by its mother. Climate, also, -plays an important part in determining the average number -of a species, and periodical seasons of extreme cold -or drought are seemingly the most effective checks of all. -The action of climate appears at first sight to be altogether -independent of the Struggle for Existence; but in so far as it -chiefly acts in the reduction of food, it brings on the most -severe struggle between the individuals, whether of the -same or different species, which subsist on the same kind of -fare. Even when climate, extreme cold for example, acts -directly, it will be the least vigorous animals, or those which -have been the poorest fed through the advancing winter, that -will suffer the greatest. This will be most readily seen from -what we shall now relate. When we travel from south to -north, or from a damp region to a dry, we invariably see -some species getting rarer and rarer by degrees, and finally -disappearing. Change of climate being conspicuous, we are -inclined to ascribe the entire effect to its direct action, but -this is a false interpretation of the phenomenon, for we fail to -remember that each species, even where it most prevails, is -constantly suffering enormous destruction at some period of -its existence, from enemies or competitors for the same station -and food; and if these enemies or competitors be the -least favored by any slight change of climate, they will necessarily -increase in numbers, while the other species, each area -being already stocked with inhabitants, will correspondingly -decrease. And when we travel southward and see a species -decreasing in numbers, we may feel reasonably sure that the -cause lies quite as much in other species being favored as in -this being hurt. So it is when we travel northward, though -in a less degree. When we go northward, or when we -ascend a mountain, we far oftener meet with stunted forms, -due to the directly injurious action of climate, than we do -when we go southward or descend a mountain. When,<span class="pagenum" id="Page433">[433]</span> -however, we reach the Arctic regions, or explore snow-capped -summits, or absolute deserts, we perceive the struggle -for life to be almost exclusively with the elements.</p> - -<p>That climate operates mainly, but indirectly, in favoring -other species, may be clearly seen in the prodigious numbers -of garden plants that can thoroughly well endure our -climate, but which can never become naturalized, inasmuch -as they cannot compete with native vegetation nor resist -destruction by native animals.</p> - -<p>When a species, owing to highly favorable conditions, -increases inordinately in numbers in a small tract of country, -epidemics, especially in game animals, often occur, and here -we have a limiting check independent of the Struggle for -Existence. But some of these so-called epidemics appear to -be due to parasitic worms, which have from some cause, -possibly in part through ease of diffusion among the crowded -animals, been disproportionately favored, and here comes in -a sort of struggle between the parasite and its more illustrious -prey.</p> - -<p>But, on the other hand, as is frequently the case, a large -stock of individuals of the same species, relatively to the -number of its enemies, is absolutely essential to its preservation. -We thus see how it is possible to raise with ease a -plentiful supply of corn in our fields, because the seeds are -greatly in excess of the number of birds which feed thereon. -Nor can the birds, though blessed with a superabundance of -food at this one season, increase in number in proportion to -the supply of seed, as their numbers are checked during the -winter. Any one, however, who has made the experiment, -knows how troublesome it is to get seed from a few wheat or -other such plants sown broad-cast in a garden. Some -singular facts in nature, such as that of very rare plants -being sometimes extremely abundant in the few spots where -they do occur, and that of some social plants being social, -or abounding in individuals, even on the extreme confines of -their range, are readily explainable by this view of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page434">[434]</span> -necessity of a large stock of the same species for its preservation, -for in such cases we may believe that a plant could -only exist where the conditions of its life were so favorable -that many could exist together and thus save the species from -extinction.</p> - -<p>Complex and varied are the checks and relations between -organic beings which have to struggle together in the same -country. In the case of every species, many different -checks, some very complicated and unintelligible to man at -present, acting at different periods of life, and during different -seasons or years, come into play, some one check or some -few being generally the most powerful, but all concurring -in determining the average number or even the existence -of the species. Widely-different checks sometimes act on -the same species in different districts. Looking at the -plants and bushes that clothe an entangled bank, we are -tempted to ascribe their proportional numbers and kinds to -what we call chance. But this is a very false view to take -of the matter. Chance has no part in such things. They -follow in obedience to laws of which we know comparatively -little. When an American forest is cut down a very different -vegetation springs up. Ancient Indian ruins have been -observed in the southern parts of the United States, which -must in former times have been cleared of trees, but which -now display the same beautiful diversity and proportion of -kinds as are now found in the surrounding virgin forest. -What a struggle must have gone on during long centuries -between the several kinds of trees, each annually scattering -its seeds by the thousand, and what a war between insect -and insect, and between insects, snails and other animals -with birds and beasts of prey, all striving to increase, all -feeding on each other, or on the trees, their seeds and their -seedlings, or on the other plants which once clothed the soil, -and thus checked the growth of the trees! It is easier to -account for the fall of an apple from a tree, or the descent -of a stone to the earth when hurled into the air, than to<span class="pagenum" id="Page435">[435]</span> -account for the action and reaction of the innumerable plants -and animals that have determined in the course of untold -centuries the proportional numbers and kinds of trees that -are now found growing on these old Indian ruins. But the -struggle will almost invariably be the severest between -individuals of the same species, for they frequent the same -districts, require the same food and are exposed to the same -dangers. In the case of varieties of the same species, the -struggle will generally be almost equally severe. If several -varieties of wheat be sown together, and the mixed seed be -re-sown, some of the varieties which best suit the soil or -climate, or are naturally the most fertile, will beat the others -and so yield more seed, and will consequently in a few years -supplant the others. Such extremely-close varieties as the -variously-colored sweet-peas must be separately harvested -each year, and the seed mixed in due proportion, or the -weaker kinds will steadily decrease in number and disappear. -So, again, with the varieties of sheep. Certain -mountain-varieties will starve out other mountain-varieties, -so that they cannot be kept together. Similar results have -followed from keeping together different varieties of the -medicinal leech. In view of all that has been said, it is -questionable whether the varieties of any of our domestic -plants and animals have so exactly the same vigor, constitution -and habits that the original proportions of a mixed -stock could be kept up for a half-dozen generations if they -were permitted to struggle together like beings in a state of -nature, if the seed or young were not annually assorted.</p> - -<p>Species of the same genus having usually, though not -invariably, much similarity in habits and constitution, and -always in structure, the struggle will be more severe between -species of the same genus, where they come into competition -with each other, than between species of distinct genera. -One species of swallow has caused in certain parts of the -United States the decrease of another species, just as the -missel-thrush in parts of Scotland has caused the decrease of<span class="pagenum" id="Page436">[436]</span> -the song-thrush. The small Asiatic cockroach has everywhere -in Russia driven before it its great congener, and the -imported European hive-bee is rapidly exterminating in -Australia the small, stingless bee, indigenous to the country. -Hundreds of such cases might be cited, but we forbear. We -can clearly see why the competition should be most severe -between allied forms, which fill nearly the same place in the -economy of nature; but it is perhaps not possible to individualize -a case and say with preciseness why such species -has been victorious over another in the battle of life. That -the structure of every organic being is related, in the most -essential yet often hidden manner to that of all the other -organisms with which it comes into competition for food or -residence, or from which it has to escape, or on which it -preys, is a corollary of the highest importance deducible -from the foregoing remarks. Very obvious is this in the -structure of the teeth and talons of the tiger, and in that of -the legs and claws of the parasite which clings to the hair on -the tiger’s body. But in the beautifully-plumed seed of the -dandelion and the flattened and fringed legs of the water-beetle -the relation seems at first restricted to the elements of -air and water, yet the advantage of plumed seeds undoubtedly -stands in the most intimate relation to the land, being -already densely clothed with other plants, so that the seeds -may be widely diffused and fall on unoccupied ground, while -in the water-beetle, the structure of its legs, so admirably -adapted for diving, allows it to compete with other aquatic -insects, to hunt for its own prey and to escape destruction -by other predaceous animals. All organic beings, it will thus -be seen, are not only striving to increase in numbers, but are -called upon some time in their lives to struggle for existence -or to suffer serious if not utter destruction. When we reflect -on this struggle, we can console ourselves with the full belief -that this war of nature is not incessant, that no fear is felt, -that death is generally sudden, and that the vigorous, healthy -and happy survive and multiply.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page437">[437]</span></p> - -<p>Seeing what a potent influence the principle of Selection -has in the hands of man, in regard to variation, can it be -applied in nature? We can see that it can act most effectually. -But in our domestic productions the variability is -not directly produced by man, for he can neither originate -varieties nor prevent their occurrence. All he can do is to -preserve and accumulate such as do occur. Unintentionally -he exposes organic beings to new and changing conditions of -life, for under domestication, plant and animal organizations -become in some degree plastic, and variability ensues. Similar -changes, however, do occur in nature. When it is borne -in mind how infinitely complex and close-fitting are the mutual -relations of all organic beings to each other, and to their -environment, and consequently what infinitely-varied diversities -of structure may be of advantage to each being under -altered conditions, can it then be thought improbable, seeing -that variations useful to man have undoubtedly occurred, -that other variations useful in some way to each being in the -great and complex battle of life should sometimes occur in -the course of tens of thousands of generations? If such do -occur, can we doubt, when it is remembered that many more -individuals are born than can possibly survive, that individuals -possessing any advantage, no matter how slight, over -their fellows would have the best chance of surviving and of -procreating their kind? Any variation, on the other hand, -we may feel sure if in the least degree injurious would be -rigidly destroyed. This preservation of useful and favorable -variations, and the destruction of those that are injurious, is -called Natural Selection, or the Survival of the Fittest. -Variations neither advantageous nor deleterious would not -be affected by Natural Selection, and would be left either a -fluctuating element, as seen in certain polymorphic species, -or would alternately become fixed, owing to the nature both -of the organism and its conditions.</p> - -<p>We shall best understand the probable cause of Natural -Selection by taking a country undergoing some physical<span class="pagenum" id="Page438">[438]</span> -change, as of climate for example. The proportional number -of its inhabitants would almost immediately undergo a -change, and some of its species might become extinct. -From the complex and very intimate manner in which the -inhabitants of each country are bound together, we may -conclude that any change in the numerical proportion of -some of its inhabitants, independently of the change of -climate itself, would seriously affect the others. Were the -country open on its borders, new forms would certainly -immigrate, and this, too, would often seriously disturb the -relations of some of its former inhabitants. In the case, -however, of an island, or a country hemmed in by barriers, -into which new and better-adapted forms could not readily -enter, we would then meet with places in the economy of -nature which would assuredly be better filled up, if some of -the original occupants were in some manner modified, for -had the area been open to immigration, these same places -would have been seized by intruders. Thus, slight modifications, -which any way favored the individuals of a species, -would by better adapting them to changed conditions tend to -become preserved, and Natural Selection would there have -free scope for the work of improvement. Changes in the -conditions of life cause or excite a tendency to vary. In the -foregoing case the conditions are supposed to have changed, -and this would manifestly be favorable, by giving a better -chance of profitable variations occurring, to Natural Selection, -for unless such do occur, Natural Selection can do nothing. -As man, by adding up in any given direction individual differences, -can certainly produce a great result with his -domestic animals and plants, so could Natural Selection, but -far more easily from having an incomparably longer time for -its action. No great physical change, as of climate, nor any -unusual degree of isolation to check immigration, is actually -necessary, it would seem, to produce new and unoccupied -places for Natural Selection to fill up by modifying and -improving some of the varying inhabitants, for as all the<span class="pagenum" id="Page439">[439]</span> -inhabitants of a country are struggling together with nicely-balanced -forces, extremely-slight modifications in the -structure or habits of one species would often give it an -advantage over others; and still further modifications, so -long as the species continued under the same conditions of -life and profited by similar means of subsistence and defence, -would often still further augment the advantage. No country -can be mentioned whose native inhabitants are now so -perfectly adapted to each other and to their environment that -none could be better adapted and improved, for in all countries -the natives have been so far conquered by naturalized -productions as to have allowed them to take firm possession -of the land. And as foreigners have thus in every country -beaten some of the natives, it may be safely concluded that -the latter might have been modified with profit so as to have -better resisted the intruders.</p> - -<p>A man by his methodical and unconscious means of -selection can produce and has produced great results. -What may not Natural Selection effect? Man can only -operate on external and visible characters, but nature cares -nothing for appearances, except in so far as they are beneficial -to any being. She can act on every internal organ, -on every shade of constitutional difference and, in fine, on -the entire machinery of life. Man selects exclusively for -his own advantage, but nature solely for that of the being -she tends, and under her judicious selection the slightest -difference of structure or constitution may well turn the -nicely-balanced scale in the Struggle for Existence, and thus -be preserved. As fleeting as are the wishes and efforts of -man, and as short as is his earthly career, so poor, therefore, -must be the results which he accomplishes when compared -with those accumulated by nature during whole geological -periods. Is it a wonder, then, that her productions should -be far <i>truer</i> in character than man’s, and that they should be -infinitely better adapted to the most complex conditions of -life and should bear the stamp of far higher workmanship?<span class="pagenum" id="Page440">[440]</span> -Metaphorically speaking, Natural Selection may be said to -be daily and hourly scrutinizing, throughout the world, the -slightest variations, rejecting the bad, preserving and adding -up the good, and silently and insensibly working, whenever -and wherever opportunities occur, at the betterment of each -organic being in relation to its organic and inorganic conditions -of life. So slow is her work that we see nothing of -the changes in progress, and only when the hand of time has -marked the lapse of ages do we perceive that changes have -been produced; but then so imperfect is our view into long-past -geological periods, that we see only that the forms of -life are now different from what they formerly were. That -any great amount of modification in any point should be -effected, a variety once formed must again, perhaps after a -long interval of time, present individual differences of the -same favorable character, and these must again be preserved, -and so onward step by step. As individual differences of -all kinds perpetually recur, this can hardly be considered as -an unwarrantable assumption. Judged by the extent the -hypothesis accords with and explains the general phenomena -of nature, notwithstanding the ordinary belief that the -amount of possible variation is a strictly-limited quantity, we -are justified, it seems to us, in assuming that all this has -actually taken place. But in looking at many small points -of difference between species, which in our ignorance seem -quite unimportant, we must not lose sight of the facts that -climate, food and modes of life may have produced some -direct effect, and also of the truth that, owing to the Law -of Correlation, when one part varies, and the variations -are accumulated through the Survival of the Fittest, other -modifications often of the most unlooked-for nature will -ensue.</p> - -<p>As under domestication these variations are known to -appear at a particular period of life, and tend to reappear in -the offspring at the same period, so, in a state of nature, it is -reasonable to infer that Natural Selection will be enabled to<span class="pagenum" id="Page441">[441]</span> -act on and modify organic beings at any age, by the accumulation -of variations useful at that age, and by their -inheritance at a corresponding age. Thus, if it be profitable -to a plant to have its seeds more and more widely disseminated by -the wind, there can be no greater difficulty in -conceiving this to be effected through Natural Selection than -in conceiving the increasing and improving of the down in -the pods on his cotton-trees by a wise selection upon the -part of a cotton-planter. Natural Selection may modify and -adapt the larva of an insect to a score of contingencies, -wholly different from those which affect the mature insect, -and these modifications through Correlation may work -changes in the structure of the adult. On the other hand, -modifications of the adult may affect the structure of the -larva, but in all such cases Natural Selection will insure that -these changes shall not be injurious, for, if they were so, -the extinction of the species would be the inevitable result. -Thousands of instances might be given to show the influence -which Natural Selection, or Sexual Selection, which is -only a less vigorous phase of the former, has had all through -the ages in the adaptation of life to the places in nature -which it was intended to occupy in pursuance of the -plan formulated by the Great Originator and Designer of -the Universe.</p> - -<p>Despite the imperfection of the geological record, which -has been urged as a serious objection to the theory of descent -with modification, sensible, intelligent, educated men no longer -doubt that species have all changed, and that they have -changed in the way required, for they have changed slowly -and in a graduated manner. This is clearly seen in the fossil -remains from consecutive formations being invariably much -more closely allied to each other than are those from widely-separated -formations. It is true geological research does -not yield those infinitely fine gradations between past and -present species which the theory of Natural Selection requires, -but when it is remembered that only a small portion of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page442">[442]</span> -world has been geologically explored; that only organic -beings of certain classes, at least in any great number, can be -preserved in a fossil condition; that many species when -once formed never undergo any further change, but become -extinct without leaving any modified descendants; that dominant and -widely-ranging species vary the most and the most -frequently, and that varieties are often at first only local, it -is not at all surprising that the discovery of intermediate -links to any considerable extent should not have been made. -Local varieties, as is well known, will not diffuse themselves -into other and distant localities until they have become -very much modified and improved, and when they have thus -diffused themselves, and are discovered in a geological formation, -they will appear as if suddenly created there, and will -simply be ranked as new species. Besides, formations have -often been intermittent in their accumulation, and their duration -has probably been shorter than the average duration of -specific forms. And as successive formations in most cases -are separated from each other by blank intervals of time of -considerable length, and as fossiliferous formations thick -enough to withstand future degradation can as a general -rule be accumulated only where much sediment is laid down -in the subsiding bed of the ocean, it follows that during the -alternate periods of elevation and of stationary level the -record will generally be blank or devoid of fossil remains. -During these latter periods there will doubtless be more -variability in the forms of life, and during the periods of -subsidence a greater amount of extinction. Now, as geology -plainly declares that each land has undergone great physical -changes, we have a right to expect that organic beings have -varied under nature in the same manner as they have varied -under domestication, and such have scientific study and -research found to be the case. And if there has been any -variability under nature, such a fact would seem unaccountable -unless Natural Selection, or the Survival of the Fittest, -did not come into play. Upon the view that variations have<span class="pagenum" id="Page443">[443]</span> -occurred in nature and have been preserved and accumulated -by Natural Selection, and not in the ordinary view of independent -creation, we can understand why the specific characters, -or those by which the species of the same genus differ -from each other, should be more variable than the generic -characters in which they all agree. Inexplicable as is the -occasional appearance of stripes on the shoulders and legs of -the different equine species and their hybrids on the theory -of creation, yet how simply is the fact explained if we believe -that they are all descended from a striped progenitor just as -the different domestic breeds of pigeons are descended from -the blue and barred rock-pigeons. Why, for example, -should the color of a flower be more likely to vary in any -one species of a genus, if the other species, supposed to have -been created independently, have differently-colored flowers, -than if all the species of the genus have the same colored -flowers? On the theory that species are only well-marked -varieties, of which the characters have become in a high -degree permanent, the fact is intelligible, for they have -already varied in certain characters since they branched off -from a common progenitor, and by these characters they -have come to be specifically distinct from each other. Therefore, -these same characters would be more likely again to -vary than the generic characters which have been inherited -without change for an enormous period of time.</p> - -<p>Upon the theory of Natural Selection, or the Survival of -the Fittest, with its contingencies of extinction and divergence -of character, we can see how it is that all past and -present organic beings can be arranged within a few classes, -in groups subordinate to groups, and with the extinct groups -often falling in between the recent groups. We can see how -it is that the mutual affinities of the forms within each class -are so complex and diversified, and only adaptive characters, -though of superior importance to the beings, are of scarcely -any significance in classification, while those derived from -rudimentary parts, though of no recognized service, are often<span class="pagenum" id="Page444">[444]</span> -of high classificatory value, and only embryological characters -are frequently the most valuable of all. The real affinities -of all organisms, in contradistinction to their adaptive -likenesses, are due to inheritance or community of descent. -Hence, a natural system of classification is a genealogical -arrangement, with the acquired grades of difference, denoted -by varieties, species, genera, families, etc., and their lines of -descent have to be discovered by the most permanent characters, -whatever they may be and how little of vital importance -they may possess.</p> - -<p>That species are immutable productions, which was -until quite recently the current belief by laymen and naturalists, -was almost unavoidable so long as the world was -considered to be of short duration. But now that some idea -has been acquired of the time that has elapsed since the -beginning of earth-life, we are too apt to assume, without -proof, that the geologic record is so complete, that it would -have afforded us some plain evidence of the mutation of -species, if they had undergone mutation. But the principal -cause of our unwillingness to admit that one species has -given birth to other and distinct species, is that we are -always slow in admitting any great change of which we do -not discern the intermediate steps. Just such a difficulty -was felt by many geologists when Lyell first insisted that -long lines of inland cliffs had been produced, and great valleys -excavated, by the agencies which are still at work in the -earth. No effort of mind can adequately grasp the meaning -of even ten million of years, nor add up and perceive the full -effects of the many slight variations to which species have -been subjected during an almost infinite number of generations. -The day, however, is not distant, when mankind will -have become just as thoroughly convinced that species have -been modified during a long course of descent, mainly through -the Natural Selection of innumerous successive, slight and -favorable variations as they are that the attraction of gravitation -is an important element in the maintenance of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page445">[445]</span> -harmony that exists among the planetary spheres. That the -law of the attraction of gravity, which is perhaps the greatest -discovery ever made by man, is subversive of natural and -revealed religion, which was at one time maintained by a no -more distinguished person than Leibnitz, is now no longer -objected to, even though its discoverer was unable to explain -what is the essence of the principle he had discovered. No -nobler conception of Deity could be entertained than that -which attributes to Him the creation of a few original forms -capable of self-development into other and needful forms, -or the origination <i>de novo</i> of these simple forms from inorganic -nature. It places a higher estimate upon His Omnipotence -than the belief that He required a fresh act of creation -to supply the voids caused by the action of His laws. That -science is as yet unable to throw any light on the far higher -problem of the essence or origin of life, should constitute no -valid objection to the theory of descent.</p> - -<p>When all beings are looked upon not as special creations, -but as the lineal descendants of some beings that existed -long before the first bed of ancient Siluria was deposited, -they seem to become ennobled. Judging from the past, we -think it safe to conclude that no existing species will transmit -its unaltered likeness to a distant futurity. Few, very -few living species will transmit progeny of any kind, for the -manner in which all organisms are grouped shows that -the majority of species in each genus, and all the species -in many genera, have left no descendants, but have become -utterly extinct. It will only be the common and widely-spread -species, belonging to the larger and dominant groups -within each class, that will ultimately prevail and procreate -new and dominant species. Since all the living forms of life -are the lineal descendants of forms that lived long anterior to -the Silurian epoch, it is reasonably certain that the ordinary -succession by generation has never once been broken, and -that no cataclysmic disaster has laid waste the entire world. -Therefore, we may look into the future with some confidence<span class="pagenum" id="Page446">[446]</span> -of an equally secure and inappreciably enduring earth-life. -And as Natural Selection operates solely by and for the good -of each being, all corporeal and mental endowments will -tend to progress toward perfection.</p> - -<p>When we contemplate a tangled bank, with innumerable -plants of diverse kinds, and many-voiced birds singing in -concert, or waging destruction on manifold insects that are -flitting about, or the long, slimy worm that has come up -from its underground retreat, we are lost in wonder and -admiration, and can only reflect that these elaborately constructed -forms, so different from each other, and so strangely -and intricately dependent on each other, have all been -evolved by laws that act all around us. These are the laws -of Growth with Reproduction; Inheritance, which is almost -implied by reproduction; Variability from the action, direct -and indirect, of the conditions of life, and from use and disuse; -a Ratio of Increase so high as to lead to a Struggle for -Existence, and as a consequence to Natural Selection, or Survival -of the Fittest, entailing thereby Divergence of Character -and the Extinction of less-improved forms. And thus, -from the war of nature, and from famine and death, have -arisen the higher mammalia, in which man, the <i>summa summarum</i> -of life, is included. He occupies the summit, toward -which the efforts of millions of buried ages seem to have -been tending. There is a grandeur in this view of life, with -its several powers, originally breathed, by the operation of -the natural laws, into one or a few forms of life, and that, -while the earth, in obedience to the fixed principle of gravitation, -has gone cycling on, endless forms, most beautiful -and most wonderful, have been, and are being, evolved from -so simple a beginning.</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig74"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo448.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">PALÆOLITHIC MEN ATTACKING CAVE BEAR.<br /> -Mammoth, Woolly Rhinoceros, Musk-Sheep and Irish Stag in Background.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>While thus it has been shown that life has been progressive, -successive forms of life being the result of modification -through descent, those faring the best in the Struggle for -Existence surviving, by reason of some advantage, physical -or otherwise, gained over their competitors, yet little, bearing<span class="pagenum" id="Page447">[447]</span> -specially upon man, has been expressed in this chapter. -After he had acquired those intellectual and moral faculties -which largely distinguish him from the lower animals in a -state of nature, he would have been but little liable to have -his bodily structure modified through Natural Selection or -any other means, for man is enabled, through his mental -faculties, “to keep with an unchanged body in harmony -with the changing universe.” He has a most wonderful -power of adapting his habits to altered conditions of life. -Tools, weapons and various devices are invented by him for -the procurement of food and bodily defence. And when he -migrates into a colder climate, he uses clothes, builds sheds -and makes fire, and by its aid cooks food that would otherwise -be indigestible. The lower animals, however, must -have their bodily structure modified in order to survive -under greatly changed conditions. They must be rendered -stronger, or acquire more effective teeth or claws, or both, -if they would successfully defend themselves from new -enemies, or they must be reduced in proportions, so as to -escape detection and danger. When they remove into colder -climates they must become clothed in thicker fur, or have -their constitutions altered, for failure to be thus modified -must ultimately result in their ceasing to exist. But in the -case of man’s intellectual and moral faculties, as has been -shown by Wallace, it is widely different. These faculties -are quite variable, and there is reason to believe that the -variations tend to be inherited. Therefore, if they were -formerly of high importance to palæolithic man and his ape-like -progenitors, they would have been perfected or advanced -through Natural Selection. But of the high importance of -the intellectual faculties there can be no question, for man -owes to them in a great measure his preëminent position in -the world. It can be seen that, in the rudest state of society, -the individuals who were the most sagacious, and who were -the most skilful in the invention of weapons or traps, and -who were the best able to defend themselves, would rear the<span class="pagenum" id="Page448">[448-<br />449]<a id="Page_449"></a></span> -greatest number of offspring, and that the tribes which -included the largest number of men possessed of such superior -endowments would increase in number and eventually -supplant the other tribes. Numbers depend primarily on -the means of subsistence, and this on the physical nature of -the country, but in a much higher degree upon the arts -therein practised. As a tribe increases and is victorious, it -is often still further increased by the absorption of other -tribes, and after a time the tribes which are thus absorbed -into another tribe assume, as has been remarked by Mr. -Maine in his “Ancient Law,” that they are the co-descendants -of the same ancestors. Stature and strength in the -men of a tribe are also of importance in its success, and -these are dependent in part upon the character and the -quantity of food that can be obtained. Men of the Bronze -Period in Europe were supplanted by a larger-handed and -more powerful race, but their success was probably due in a -much higher degree to their superiority in the arts. All -that is known by savages, as inferred from their traditions -and from old monuments, shows that from the most remote -times successful tribes have supplanted others. Relics of -extinct tribes have been found on the wild plains of America -and on the isolated islands in the Pacific Ocean. Civilized -nations are everywhere at the present time supplanting barbarous -peoples, excepting where climate opposes a fatal -barrier, and they thus succeed in a great measure, though -not exclusively, through the arts, which are the products of -the intellect. With mankind, then, it is highly probable -that the intellectual faculties have been gradually perfected -through Natural Selection. Undoubtedly it would have -been interesting to have traced the development of each -separate faculty from the state in which it exists in the lower -animals to that in which it exists in man, but this would -have been a task of no easy accomplishment. As soon, -however, as the progenitors of man became social, and this -probably occurred at a very early period, the advancement of<span class="pagenum" id="Page450">[450]</span> -the intellectual faculties would have been aided and modified -in an important manner, for if one man in a tribe, more sagacious -than his fellows, had invented a new snare or a -weapon, or other means of attack or defence, the plainest -self-interest, with no great help of reasoning power, would -have prompted the other members to have imitated him, -and thus all would have been profited. Habitual practice of -each new art must likewise in some slight degree strengthen -the intellect. If the new invention were an important one, -the tribe would increase in numbers, spread and supplant -other tribes, and thus rendered stronger numerically there -would be a better chance of the birth of other superior and -inventive members. Should these last be so fortunate as to -leave children to inherit their mental superiority, the chance -of the birth of still more ingenious members would be somewhat -better, and in a very small tribe would be decidedly better.</p> - -<p>That primeval man, or his ape-like progenitors, should -have become social, they must have acquired the same -instinctive feelings which impel other animals to live in a -body, and they doubtless exhibited the same general disposition. -When separated from their companions, for whom -they would have felt some degree of love, they would have -experienced a feeling of uneasiness. They would have -warned each other of danger, and have given mutual aid in -attack or defence. All this implies some degree of sympathy, -fidelity and courage. Such social qualities, whose -paramount importance to the lower animals is undisputed, -were doubtless acquired by the progenitors of men in a similar -manner, namely, through Natural Selection, aided by -inherited habit. In the never-ceasing wars of savages, -fidelity and courage are all-important, and certainly when -two tribes of primeval man, living in the same country, came -into competition, the one that contained the greatest number -of courageous, sympathetic and faithful members, who were -ever ready to warn each other of danger, and to assist and<span class="pagenum" id="Page451">[451]</span> -defend each other, would without doubt succeed the best and -conquer the other. The advantage which disciplined soldiers -have over undisciplined hordes follows mainly from the -confidence which each soldier has in his comrades. Obedience -is of the highest importance, for any form of government -is better than none. Selfish and contentious people will not -cohere, and without coherence nothing can be effected. -Thus, a tribe possessing these qualities in an eminent degree -would spread and be victorious over other tribes. But, in -the course of events, or all past history is a myth, this successful -tribe would in its turn be overcome by some other -more highly-endowed tribe; and thus would the social and -moral qualities tend slowly to advance and be diffused -throughout the world.</p> - -<p>Praise and the blame of our fellow-men are much more -powerful stimuli to the development of the social qualities. -These virtues are primarily due to the instinct of sympathy, -and this instinct, like all other social instincts, was -doubtlessly acquired through Natural Selection. How early -man’s progenitors, in the course of their development, became -capable of feeling and being impelled by the praise or blame -of their fellow-men, we are unable to say. Even dogs -appreciate encouragement, praise and blame, and it would be -strange if such could not be predicated of beings higher in -the scale. The wildest savages feel the sentiment of -glory. This is clearly shown by their preservation of the -trophies of their bravery, by their habit of excessive boasting, -and even by the extreme care they take of their personal -appearance and adornments. Unless, however, they -regarded the opinion of their comrades, such habits would -be without meaning and senseless. How far the savage experiences -remorse, is doubtful. He certainly feels shame and -contrition for the breach of some of the lesser rules of his -tribe. It is true that remorse is a deeply-hidden feeling, -but it is hardly credible that a being who will sacrifice his -life rather than betray his tribe, or give himself up as a<span class="pagenum" id="Page452">[452]</span> -prisoner rather than violate his parole, would not feel remorse, -though he might, if he failed in a duty which he -held sacred, hide it from view.</p> - -<p>Primeval man must have been, at a very remote time, influenced -by the praise and blame of his fellows. That the -members of the same tribe would approve of conduct that -appeared for the general good, and reprobate such as seemed -to carry with it evil, there can be no question. To do good -unto others, or to do unto others as you would that they -should do unto you, is the foundation-stone of morality. It -is, therefore, hardly possible to place too high an estimate -upon the importance of the love of praise and fear of blame -during rude, barbaric times, for a man, who was not impelled -by any profound instinctive feeling to sacrifice his life for the -good of others, but who was raised to such a noble action -by a sense of glory, would by his example excite a similar -wish for glory in the bosoms of other men, and would -thereby engender and strengthen by exercise the laudable -feeling of admiration. With increased experience and reason, -those more remote consequences of his actions, such as -temperance, chastity, etc., which during his very early times -were utterly disregarded, would come to be highly esteemed -or even held sacred. And ultimately there would have been -developed from the social instincts a highly-complex sentiment -which, largely guided by the approbation of his -fellow-men, and ruled by reason, self-interest, and latterly -by deep religious feelings, confirmed by teaching and habit, -would constitute his moral sense or conscience. Although -a high standard of morality gives but little if any advantage -to each individual man and his children over the other men -of the same tribe, yet it must be borne in mind that it is an -advancement in the standard of morality and an increase in -the number of well-endowed men that certainly give a telling -advantage to a tribe over another, for the tribe that includes -many members who, from possessing in an eminent degree -the spirit of patriotism, fidelity, obedience, courage and<span class="pagenum" id="Page453">[453]</span> -sympathy, and who were always prepared to give aid to each -other, and to sacrifice themselves for the common weal, -would be victorious over most other tribes. And this would -be Natural Selection. Tribes at all times throughout the -world have supplanted other tribes. Now, as morality is -one element in their success, the standard of morality and -the number of well-endowed men will thus everywhere tend -to rise and increase.</p> - -<p>Very difficult it is to form any judgment why one particular -tribe and not another has been successful in the Struggle -for Existence and has risen in the scale of civilization. Many -savages are still in the same condition of degradation as -when first discovered. The greatest part of mankind has -never evinced the slightest desire that their civil institutions -should be improved. Progress is not, as we are apt to consider, -the normal rule in human society. Many concurrent -favorable conditions, far too complex to be followed out, -seem to determine human progress. A cool climate, it has -been remarked, by leading to industry and the various arts, -has been indispensable thereto, but if the climate has been -too severe, as in the Arctic regions, there is a check to continual -progress. Pressed by hard necessity, the Esquimaux -have succeeded in many ingenious inventions, but they can -never attain, for the reason already assigned, to any very -great success. Nomadic habits, whether along the shores -of the sea, or over wide plains, or through dense tropical -forests, have in all cases proved detrimental. Perhaps, the -possession of some property, a fixed abode, and the union of -many families under a leader or chief, are indispensable requisites -for civilization, as such habits almost necessitate the -cultivation of the ground. From some such accident as the -falling of the seeds of a fruit-tree on a heap of refuse and producing -an unusually fine variety may probably have resulted -the first steps in cultivation, for if the fruit were profitable -and good for food, it would be a very dull intellect that could -not readily perceive, especially among a people that had<span class="pagenum" id="Page454">[454]</span> -given up a roving habit of life, the advantage which would -accrue from the planting of some more trees of a similar -kind. They would undoubtedly be led to cultivation for -themselves by a simple observation of the plan by which -nature contrives in keeping up a continuation of her many -kinds of plants. Instead of dropping the seeds upon the -ground as nature is prone to do, and trusting to their burial -by accident or otherwise, seeing the advantage to be gained -by burying them out of the reach of noxious influences, -whether of climate or animal life, they would soon learn to -take the matter of planting under their own watchful care -rather than leave it to the seemingly thoughtless provision -of nature. But the problem of the first advance of palæolithic -man toward civilization, is at present much too difficult -to be solved, for it involves the consideration of certain elements -which we know too little about, and their disentanglement -from others whose value is of recognized significance -in the domain of biological science.</p> - -<p>While it has been shown how it has been possible for primeval -man to have acquired a moral sense or conscience, yet -it must not be forgotten that the lower animals, at least such -as have come under the civilizing influence of man, have -also come into possession of the same highly complex sentiment -which has been of such inestimable service to man for -his progressive advancement. Other faculties, such as the -powers of imagination, wonder, curiosity, an undefined -sense of beauty, a tendency to imitation, and the love of -excitement or novelty, have also been of immense importance -in this direction, for they could not fail to have led to -the most capricious changes of customs and fashions. -Caprice, it has been rather oddly claimed by a recent writer, -is “one of the most remarkable and typical differences -between savages and brutes.” It is not only possible to -perceive how it is that man is capricious, but the lower animals, -as has been previously shown, are capricious in their -affections, aversions and sense of beauty. And there is good<span class="pagenum" id="Page455">[455]</span> -reason to suspect that they love novelty for its own sake. -Self-consciousness, individuality, abstraction, general ideas, -etc., which have been held by several recent writers as making -the sole and complete distinction between man and the -brutes, seem useless subjects for discussion, since hardly any -two authors agree in their definitions of these high faculties. -In man, such faculties could not have been fully developed -until his mental powers had advanced to a high state of perfection, -and this implies the use of a highly-developed language. -No one supposes that one of the lower animals -reflects whence he comes or whither he goes, or what is -death or what is life, but can one feel sure that an old dog -with an excellent memory, and some power of imagination -as shown by his dreams, never reflects on his past pleasures -in the chase? And this would be a form of self-consciousness. -On the contrary, as Büchner ably remarks, how little -can the hard-worked wife of an Australian savage who -scarcely uses any abstract words and whose ability to count -does not extend beyond four, exert her self-consciousness, or -reflect on the origin, nature and aim of her own existence. -That animals retain their mental individuality is unquestioned, -for when any voice awakens a train of old associations in -the mind of some favorite dog, as in the case of my dog -Frisky, already referred to, he must have retained his mental -individuality, although every atom of his brain had probably -undergone change more than once during the five or six -years he lived in my family. Animals have some ideas of -numbers. The crow has been known to count as far as the -number six, and a dog I once had knew as well as I did -when Saturday came. The sense of beauty, which has -been declared peculiar to man, is innate in birds. Certain -bright colors and certain sounds, when in harmony, excite in -them pleasure as they do in man. The taste for the beautiful, -at least so far as female beauty is concerned, is not of a -special nature in the human mind, for it differs widely in the -different races of man, and is not quite the same even in the<span class="pagenum" id="Page456">[456]</span> -different nations of the same race. If we are to judge from -the hideous ornaments and the equally hideous music admired -by most savages, it might be urged that their æsthetic faculty -was less highly developed than it is in some species of birds. -No animal, it is obvious, would be capable of admiring the -nocturnal heaven, a beautiful landscape, or refined music. -And this should not be wondered at, for such high tastes, -dependent as they are upon culture and complex associations, -are not even enjoyed by barbarous or by uneducated -persons.</p> - -<p>Seeing that man in a state of nature has no preëminence -above the lower animals so far as his mental and moral -qualities are concerned, and in many instances ranks far -below the so-called brute, let us examine fora short time his -religious nature. No evidence exists to show that man was -aboriginally endowed with the ennobling belief in the existence -of an Omnipotent God. On the contrary, ample evidence, -not from hasty travellers, but from men who have long -resided with savages, can be adduced to show that numerous -races have existed, and still exist, who have no idea of one -or more gods, and who have no words in their languages to -express such an idea. If under the term religion is included -the belief in unseen or spiritual agencies, the case is entirely -different, for this belief seems to be almost universal with -the less civilized races. Nor is it difficult to understand -how it originated. With the development of the imagination, -wonder and curiosity, and of a moderate power of reasoning, -man would naturally have craved to understand what -was going on around him, and even have vaguely speculated -on his own existence. According to McLennan man must, -in his efforts to arrive at some explanation of the phenomena -of life, feign for himself. Judging from the universality of -this life, the same author remarks that “the simplest -hypothesis, and the first to occur to men, seems to have -been that natural phenomena are ascribable to the presence -in animals, plants and things, and in the forces of nature, of<span class="pagenum" id="Page457">[457]</span> -such spirits prompting to action as men are conscious they -themselves possess.” Probably, as has been clearly shown -by Tyler, dreams may have first given rise to the notion of -spirits. Savages do not readily discriminate between subjective -and objective phenomena. When a savage dreams, -the figures which appear in his vision are believed to have -come from a distance and to stand over him, or the soul of -the dreamer goes out on a journey and returns with a -remembrance of what has been seen. That tendency in -savages to imagine that natural objects and agencies are -animated by living or spiritual beings may be illustrated by -a little fact which I have frequently noticed. Standing on -the corner of a street, waiting for a closed snow-sweeper, -which was driven by electricity, to pass, my attention was -directed to a young horse that was geared to a hansom. The -horse was at rest, and its driver, evidently awaiting some -one, sat upon the box. Upon the appearance of the sweeper -the horse reared, turned his face directly toward the object -of his fear, pawed the pavement in the most impatient manner -possible, and then looked wistfully and pleadingly at his -master, as though imploring protection from some fearful -and gigantic monster. Another sweeper passed while I was -still in waiting, and the poor animal went through the same -trying and fearful ordeal as before. He must, I think, -have reasoned in a rapid and unconscious manner, that -movement without any apparent cause indicated the presence -of some strange living agent, which was about to do him -some serious physical harm. Belief in spiritual agencies -would thus easily pass into a belief in the existence of one -or more gods, for savages would naturally ascribe to spirits -the same passions, the same line of vengeance or simple -form of justice, and the same affections which they themselves -experienced.</p> - -<p>Religious devotion is a highly complex feeling. Love, -complete submission to an exalted and mysterious superior, -a strong sense of dependence, fear, reverence, gratitude, hope<span class="pagenum" id="Page458">[458]</span> -for the future and other elements enter into its composition. -No being could experience so complex an emotion unless -his intellectual and moral faculties had attained a moderately -high level. Some approach to this high state of mind is -visible in the profound love of a dog for his master, for it is -associated with complete submission, some fear, reverence, -gratitude and perhaps other feelings. A dog’s behavior -towards his master, after a long absence, is widely different -from that which he shows towards his fellows, for his transports -of joy in the latter case are less intense, and his every -action savors of a mere sense of equality. But upon his -master, as Prof. Braubach goes so far as to maintain, he -looks as on a god.</p> - -<p>These high mental faculties, which first led man to believe -in unseen spiritual agencies, and subsequently in fetishism, -polytheism and monotheism, would infallibly lead him, as -long as his reasoning powers remained at a very low level, -to various strange superstitions and customs, many of which, -such as the sacrifice of human beings to a blood-loving god -and the trial of innocent persons by the ordeal of poison or -fire, are too terrible to contemplate. It is well, however, to -reflect occasionally on these superstitions, for they show us -what an infinite debt of gratitude we owe to improved reason, -science and accumulated knowledge. How much better is -the life of civilized man than that of the savage, for as Lubbock -has well remarked, “it is not too much to say that the -horrible dread of unknown evil hangs like a thick cloud -over savage life, and embitters every pleasure.”</p> - -<p>From the opinions advanced, it is evident that the belief -in God has been the ultimate outcome of belief in unseen -spiritual agencies. There has been a gradual leading up -through fetishism and polytheism to monotheism. If religion -implies belief in unseen agencies, as well as belief in a -personal agency in the universe strong enough to influence -conduct in any degree, then it is obvious that there has -been a progressive advancement in religious thought, each<span class="pagenum" id="Page459">[459]</span> -succeeding form of religion by its superior advantages over -its predecessor tending to supplant it wherever and whenever -its beneficent influences are felt. It is true that fetishism -and polytheism still prevail among rude, uncultured peoples, -as well as the worship of false deities and prophets, but -with the spread of the civilizing and elevating influence of -Christianity these religions in the fitness of time will disappear. -Christianity, from its foundation in Judaism, has -throughout been a religion of sacrifice and sorrow. It has -been a religion of blood and tears, and yet one of profoundest -happiness to its votaries. While fakirs hang on hooks, -and pagans cut themselves and even their children, for the -sake of propitiating diabolical deities, yet Christianity, which -has its roots in Judaism, has no need for such practices. It -is <i>par excellence</i> the religion of sorrow, because it reaches to -truer and deeper levels of our spiritual nature, and therefore -has capabilities both of sorrow and joy which are presumably -non-existent except in civilized man. They are the -sorrows and joys which arise from the fully-developed consciousness -of sin against a God of Love, as distinguished -from propitiation of malignant spirits. These joys and sorrows -are wholly spiritual, not merely physical. “Thou -desirest no sacrifice.” God’s only sacrifice at the hands of -sinful man is a troubled spirit.</p> - -<p>Estimated by the influence which He has exerted on mankind, -there can be no question, even from a secular point of -view, that Christ is much the greatest man who has ever -lived. That the revolution which His teachings have effected -in human life is immeasurable and unparalleled by any other -movement in history is unquestioned. Though most nearly -approached by the religion of the Jews, of which it is a -development, so that it may be regarded as of a piece with -it, it is evident that this whole system of religion is so -immeasurably in advance of all others that it may be truthfully -said, if it had not been for the Jews, the human race -would have had no religion worthy of serious consideration.<span class="pagenum" id="Page460">[460]</span> -Had it not been for this religion man’s spiritual side would -not have been developed in civilized life. And although -there are numberless individuals who are all unconscious of -its development in themselves, yet these have been influenced -to an enormous extent by the religious atmosphere by which -they are surrounded.</p> - -<p>Not only is Christianity so immeasurably in advance of -all other religions, but it is no less of every other system of -thought that has ever been promulgated in regard to what is -moral and spiritual. Neither philosophy, science nor poetry -has ever produced results in thought, conduct or beauty in -any degree comparable with it. What has science or philosophy -done for the thought of mankind compared with -what has been done by the single doctrine, “God is love?” -The Story of the Cross, from its commencement in prophetic -aspiration to its culmination in the Gospel, is preëminently -the most magnificent presentation in literature. Only to a -man wholly destitute of religious perception can Christianity -fail to appear the greatest exhibition of the beautiful, the sublime, -and of all else that appeals to our spiritual nature, -which has ever been known upon the earth. It is not only -adapted to men of the highest culture, but the most remarkable -thing about it is its perfect adaptation to all sorts and -conditions of men. Its problems, historical and philosophical, -open up to you worlds of material, over which you may -spend your life with the same interminable interest as the -student meets in the fields of natural science.</p> - -<p>Whatever our theory of the origin of man, there can be -no doubt that we all feel that his intellectual part is higher -than the animal; and that the moral is higher than the intellectual, -whatever our theory of either may be; and that the -spiritual is higher than the moral, whatever our theory of -religion may be. It is what is understood by his moral, and -still more by his spiritual qualities, that make up what is -called his character, and, astonishing to say, it is character -that tells in the long run. Morality and spirituality are two<span class="pagenum" id="Page461">[461]</span> -different things, for a man may be highly moral in conduct -without being in any degree spiritual in nature, and the -reverse, though to a less extent. Objectively, the same distinction -subsists between morals and religion. Intellectual -pleasures are more satisfying and enduring than sensual, or -even sensuous; and spiritual, to those who have experienced -them, than intellectual, an objective fact, abundantly testified -to by those who have had experience, which seems to indicate -that the spiritual nature of man is the highest part of -man—the culminating point of his being. That there will -always be materialists and spiritualists, as Renan says, is -probably true, inasmuch as it will always be observable on -the one hand that there is no thought without brain, while, -on the other hand, the instincts of man will always aspire to -higher beliefs. If religion is true, and life is a state of probation, -this is just what ought to be. It is not probable that -the materialistic position, which is discredited even by philosophy, -is due simply to custom and a want of imagination. -Else why the inextinguishable instincts which we have thus -shown to exist?</p> - -<div class="container w40em" id="Fig75"> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/illo462.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="caption">ERA OF MIND AND HEART.<br /> -Things as They Will Exist in a Future Earth-Life.</p> - -</div><!--container--> - -<p>Evolution, not only of the earth, but of its organic machinery, -by natural causes, is now no longer doubted. That this -has taken place by degrees is equally unquestioned. Now, if -there is a Deity, the fact is certainly of the nature of a first principle, -and it must be first of all first principles. No one can dispute -this, nor can any one dispute the necessary conclusion -that, if there be a Deity, he is knowable, if knowable at all, by -intuition and not by reason. From its very nature, as a -little thought is sufficient to show, reason is utterly incapable -of adjudicating on the subject, for it is a process of -inferring from the known to the unknown. It would be -against reason itself to suppose that Deity, even if He exists, -can be known by reason. He must be known, if knowable -at all, by intuition. If there is a Deity, then it seems to be -in some indefinite degree more probable that He should impart -a Revelation than that He should not have done so. As<span class="pagenum" id="Page462">[462-<br />463]<a id="Page_463"></a></span> -a mere matter of evidence, a sudden revelation might be -much more convincing than a gradual one, but it would be -quite out of analogy with causation in nature. Besides, -a gradual one might be given easily, and of demonstrative -value, as by making prophecies of historical events, scientific -discoveries and other things so clear as to be unmistakable. -But a demonstrative revelation has not been made, -and there may well be good reasons why it should not have -been made. If there are such reasons, as, for example, our -state of probation, we can well see “that the gradual unfolding -of a plan of revelation, from earliest dawn of history to -the end of the world, is much preferable to a sudden manifestation -sufficiently late in the world’s history to be historically -attested for all subsequent time.” Gradual evolution, -as has been said before, is in analogy with God’s other work. -If Revelation has been of a progressive character, then it -follows that it must have been so not only historically, but -intellectually, morally and spiritually, for in such sequence -could it be always adapted to the advancing conditions of the -human race.</p> - -<p>Thus it will be seen that all through the ages some mighty -influence has been at work, directly or indirectly, in preparing -this earth by slow and gradual changes for a steadily -progressive succession of vegetable and animal life. That life -best fitted to meet new and changing conditions of environment -being preserved by a process of natural selection. -And from a few primordial types, far simpler than the lowest -of existing structureless moners, or from some living protoplasmic -mass, elaborated by some form of energy acting -upon inorganic nature, there have been evolved in the millions -of years of earth-life our existing flora and fauna. -Man, the pinnacle of animal life, has come up through the -life that preceded him, and bears in the history of his development -from the ovum to the adult state the line of his -descent. Not only has his physical nature been evolved -through the action of natural laws impressed upon living<span class="pagenum" id="Page464">[464]</span> -matter by Deity, but that subtle principle, termed mind, -which has attained such a wonderful growth in his civilized -condition, is but the outcome of the mind of a long line of -life antecedent to his appearance on the globe. His moral -nature was similarly acquired, and most probably in the -manner already explained. Palæolithic man, like the Australian -of to-day, was, as has been shown, but little superior in -intelligence to some of the animals with whom he was contemporaneous. -He lived the life of the mere animal, and as -an animal could be said to have had no preëminence above -a beast. Like the latter, he was a living, breathing frame, or -body of life; a <i>living</i>, but not an <i>everliving</i>, soul. In time, -as conditions became favorable, he passed <i>into</i> the moral -stage of his being, but not without increased intellectuality, -and would thus have continued, but going on and adding to -his mental and moral possessions, had not Deity, in the -fitness of time, prepared the way through Christ, whereby -his corruptible nature should be made incorruptible and -immortal. Unless man is “born of the spirit” he cannot -inherit the kingdom of God. He must be “changed into -spirit,” put on incorruptibility and immortality of body, or -he will be physically incapable of retaining the honor, glory -and power of the kingdom forever, or even during Christ’s -reign of a thousand years upon earth.</p> - -<p>That there is a distinction between <i>a living soul</i> and a <i>spiritual -body</i> cannot be questioned. Speaking about <i>body</i>, the -apostle Paul says, “there is <i>a natural body</i>, and there is <i>a -spiritual body</i>, but he does not content himself with simply -declaring this truth, but goes further and proves it by quoting -the language of Moses, saying, “for so it is written, the -first man Adam was made into <i>a living soul</i>;” and then -adding, “the last Adam <i>into a spirit</i> giving life.” And in -another place, speaking of the latter, he says of Him, “now -the Lord is the spirit. And we all, with unveiled face, -beholding as in a mirror, the glory of the Lord, are changed -into His image from glory into glory, as by <i>the Lord the<span class="pagenum" id="Page465">[465]</span> -Spirit</i>.” Therefore, the proof of the apostle’s proposition, -that there is a <i>natural body</i> as distinct from a <i>spiritual body</i>, -lies in the testimony that “Adam was made into <i>a living -soul</i>,” showing that he considered a natural, or animal body, -and a living soul, as one and the same thing. If he did not, -then there was no proof in the quotation of what he -affirmed. Mortality, then, is life manifested through a corruptible -body, and immortality is life manifested through an -incorruptible body. Hence, the necessity laid down in the -saying of the apostle, “this corruptible body must put on -incorruption, and this mortal put on immortality,” before -death can be “swallowed up in victory,”—a doctrine of “life -and incorruptibility” that was new to the Greeks and Romans, -and brought to light only through the gospel of the kingdom -and name of Jesus Christ. To them it was foolishness, and to -many at the present day incredible, because they do not -understand the glad tidings of the age to come. God could -have created all things upon a spiritual or incorruptible basis -at once, but in that case the globe would have been filled -with men and women equal to the angels in nature, power -and intellect, and hence would have been without a history, -and its population characterless. And this would not have -been according to His plan, for in it the animal must precede -the spiritual just as surely as the acorn must precede the oak. -The Bible has to do with things and not with imaginations; -with bodies and not phantasms; with <i>living souls</i> of every -species; with <i>corporeal</i> beings of other worlds, and with -incorruptible and undying men, but is as silent as the grave -about such <i>souls</i> as men pretend to cure. For the sons of -Adam to become sons of God, they must be the subjects of -an adoption, which is attainable only by a divinely appointed -means. It must be by a process of selection. “Since by a -man came death, by a man also came a resurrection of dead -persons. For as in the Adam they all die, so also in the -Christ shall they all be made alive. But every one in his -order. Christ the first fruits; afterward <i>they that are Christ’s</i><span class="pagenum" id="Page466">[466]</span> -at His coming.” Here it is obvious that the apostle is not -writing of all the individuals of the human race, but only -such that become the subject of <i>a pardon of life</i>. It is true -that all men do die, but it is not true that they are all the -subject of pardon. Those who are pardoned are “the -many,” who are sentenced to live forever. The sentence to -pardon of life is through Jesus Christ who in pouring out His -blood upon the cross, was made a sacrifice for sin. “He -was delivered for our offences, and raised again for our justification,” -that is, for the pardon of those <i>who believe the gospel</i>. -As it is written, “he that believeth the gospel, and is -baptized, shall be saved.” Hence, “<i>the obedience of faith</i>” is -made the condition of righteousness, and this obedience -implies the existence of a “<i>law of faith</i>,” as attested by that -of Moses, which is “<i>the law of works</i>.” Having believed -the gospel and been baptized, such a person is required to -“walk worthy of the vocation,” or calling, “wherewith he -has been called,” that by so doing he may be “accounted -worthy” of being “born of spirit,” that he may become -“spirit,” or a spiritual body, and so enter the kingdom of -God, crowned with “glory, honor, incorruptibility and life.” -From all the above, it must be obvious to the unbiassed mind, -that all will not arise to newness of life, “for as many of you, -as have been <i>baptized into Christ</i> have put on Christ, and if -ye be Christ’s, <i>then</i> are ye the seed of Abraham, and <i>heirs</i> -according to the promise.” When they have been thus baptized, -then they have received the spirit of adoption, or have -been elected into God’s family, and then they can address -God as their Father who is in heaven.</p> - -<p>Thus adopted into God’s family through faith in Jesus -Christ, it must not be supposed that they have attained to -that perfect condition of knowing all that is to be known. -New glories will continually open up to their admiring vision, -and new facts be revealed through the eternity of futurity. -Man will carry his earth-acquired knowledge into the -other world, and little by little will he add to his fund. Those<span class="pagenum" id="Page467">[467]</span> -who have made the best of their time in their probationary -existence, will rank as much above their fellows in the -heaven-life as they did in the earth-life, and like the others -will reach up to higher acquirements. There will be no -equalization of talents, capacities and possessions, but each -will be satisfied with his own, and all will endeavor to be as -like unto Christ as the conditions of their heavenly environment -will permit. There will be grades of ability and character -in the new life, but all of the very highest standard -when measured by what prevails in the earth-life. This is -the teaching of the Scriptures. “<i>There is</i> one glory of the -sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the -stars; for <i>one</i> star differeth from <i>another</i> star in glory. So -also <i>is</i> the resurrection of the dead.”</p> - -<p>Now as to the part that animals and plants shall figure in -the new existence. Revelation, as has been seen, was given -to man. This does not imply that the lower forms of life -were not made “partakers of the divine nature.” When man -was placed upon this earth, or rather when in the sequence -of events, which was brought about by the prescribed -scheme of Divinity, he appeared upon the earth, he was -given the control of all the creatures of God’s hands, to rule -them as his judgment seemed best. They were a necessary -part of the plan of creation. God gave the man directions -concerning them, and what they are, and we refer to the -domesticated species especially, they have thus been made -through man’s wise, intelligent and thoughtful selection. This -has been the instrument through which God has worked in -building up a history and a character for the humbler works -of His hands. That they shall pass into the future life with -him, at least such as have shown their fitness to endure, -there can be no doubt in the mind of any one who pauses a -few brief moments in the rush and turmoil of everyday life -and considers the matter with all due seriousness. All -existence, as we have elsewhere claimed, is a unit. All life, -like all love, is divine. There can nothing exist that does<span class="pagenum" id="Page468">[468]</span> -not contain some sort of development of soul. There is no -escape from this assertion. Instead of isolating ourselves then -from the humbler creatures of God’s workmanship, let us -recognize them as our kin and include them in the grand -scheme of redemption, and as partakers with us in the future -state of Divine Love and in higher and endlessly higher -development and progress.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page469">[469]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">MAN’S PREËMINENCE.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p class="chapstart"><span class="largecap">T</span><span class="afterlargecap">here</span> -is a popular tradition that somewhere in the -Scriptures we are taught that of all living denizens of -the earth, man alone possesses a spirit, and that he alone -survives in spirit after the death of the material body. Were -this the truth, no room would exist for argument to those -who profess belief in a literal rendering of the Scriptures, -and who base their faith upon that literal belief. However -much such a statement might seem to controvert all -ideas of benevolence, justice and common-sense, such believers -would feel bound to accept it on trust, and to wait a future -time for its full comprehension.</p> - -<p>Even the possession of reason is denied by many persons -to animals, their several actions being ascribed to the power -of instinct, and it is therefore not the least bit strange that -all but a comparatively few should believe that when an -animal dies, its life-principle dies too. The animating -power, they claim, is annihilated, while the body is resolved -into its constituent elements so as to take form in other -bodies.</p> - -<p>Two passages of Scripture, one in the Psalms and the -other in Ecclesiastes, are almost entirely, if not wholly, -responsible for this belief. The former, which runs in the -authorized version, “Nevertheless, man being in honor, -abideth not; he is like the beasts that perish,” is that which -is generally quoted as decisive of the whole question. -“Man, being in honor, hath no understanding, but is compared -to the beasts that perish” is another translation, but -differs not materially from the other. The second passage<span class="pagenum" id="Page470">[470]</span> -referred to from Ecclesiastes, reads: “Who knoweth the -spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast -that goeth downward to the earth?” Now, it is upon the -strength of these two passages that we are called upon to -believe that when a beast dies its life, like that of an expired -lamp, goes out forever. Nothing is more dangerous in the -exposition of Scripture than attempting to explain a passage, -however simple it may seem to be, without reference to -the original text, for the translator may have mistaken the -true sense of the words, or he may have inadequately -expressed their signification, or, owing to a change in meaning, -the words of a passage may now bear an exactly contrary -sense to that conveyed when they were first written.</p> - -<p>But laying aside this point for the present, and accepting -the passage as it stands, as well as the literal meaning of the -words as generally understood, there can be no doubt that -we must believe that beasts are not possessed of immortal -life. If, however, we are to take the literal sense of the -Bible, and no other, we are equally forced to believe that -man has no life after death. The book of Psalms is full of -examples. Let us take a few from the many that might be -given: “In death there is no remembrance of thee: in the -grave, who shall give thee thanks?” “The dead praise not -the Lord, neither any that go down into silence.” “His -breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very -day his thoughts perish.” Taken solely in their literal sense, -there can be no doubt of their meaning. Nothing more -gloomy, dreary or more despondent can be found in the -entire range of heathen literature than these passages, and -others that might be quoted from the inspired Psalmist, in -the contemplation of death. In the very book from which -the single passage was taken, which is claimed to deny immortality -to the lower animals, there are five times as many passages -that proclaim the same sad end to the life of man. We are -distinctly and definitely told therein that those who have -died have no remembrance of God, and cannot praise Him.<span class="pagenum" id="Page471">[471]</span> -Death has been spoken of as the “land of forgetfulness”—the -place of darkness, where all man’s thoughts perish. -Certainly no more than this can be said of the “beasts that -perish.”</p> - -<p>Other holy writers make similar affirmations. Speaking -of mankind in general, who “dwell in houses of clay,” Job -says: “They are destroyed from morning to evening; <i>they -perish forever</i>, without any regarding it.” Again he says, -and the passage is more definite than the preceding: “As -the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away, so he that goeth -down to the grave shall come up no more.” And still again: -“Man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the -ghost, and where is he? As the waters fail from the sea, -and the flood decayeth and drieth up: so man lieth down, -and riseth not.” Chapters III and X tell of the piteous -lamentations of Job over his life, wherein he complains that -he ever was born, that existence was ever given to him, that -he was ever taken from a state of absolute nonentity, and -that even death itself can bring no relief to his miseries -except extinction.</p> - -<p>Turning to Ecclesiastes, in which book occurs the solitary -passage which is held to disprove a future existence to the -lower animals, there are passages which are even more -emphatic as to the immortality of man. Read what is -declared: “I said in my heart concerning the estate of the -sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they -might see that they themselves are beasts. For that which -befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing -befalleth them. As the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, -they have all one breath, so that a man has no preëminence -over a beast: for all is vanity. All go unto one place; all -are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.” Further it is -said: “For the living know that they shall die, but the dead -know not anything, neither have they any more a reward, for -the memory of them is forgotten.” “Whatsoever thy hand -findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no<span class="pagenum" id="Page472">[472]</span> -work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave -whither thou goest.” Literally interpreted, no one can -doubt the import of these words from Ecclesiastes, for they -definitely state that, as regards a future life, there is no -distinction between man and beast, and that when they die -they all go to the same place. It is also distinctly stated -that after death man can do no work, know nothing, nor -receive any reward. Were we to deduce our ideas of the -condition of man after death from the irrepressibly sad and -gloomy passages from Job and Ecclesiastes, most deplorable -and hopeless would be the very thought of dissolution. But -we do not accept them in this light. They are written symbolically, -and there underlies them a spiritual sense. It is -not, however, the latter sense that concerns us at present, -but the literal meaning of the translation, and, according to -that literal meaning, if we take two texts to prove that beasts -have no future life, we are compelled by no less than fourteen -passages to believe that man, in common with beasts, -has no better prospect. We have no right to say which -passages are to be taken literally, and which parabolically, -but must apply the same test to all alike, and treat all in a -similar manner.</p> - -<p>All classical readers are familiar with that wonderful -eleventh book of Homer’s Odyssey, called the Necyomanteia, -or Invocation of the Dead, in which Ulysses is depicted as -descending into the regions of departed spirits for the purpose -of invoking them and obtaining advice as to his future -adventures. Dreary, and horrible indeed, are the revelations -which the whole of the strange history makes of the condition -of the future life. All is wild and dark, and hunger, -thirst and discontent prevail. Nothing is heard of elysian -fields, where piety, wisdom and virtue abound. Gloom, -misery and vain regrets for earth pervade the entire episode. -When is considered this heathen poet’s ideas concerning the -future state of man, it is no wonder that sensual pleasures -should be held as the principal object of his life when he is<span class="pagenum" id="Page473">[473]</span> -to look forward to such a future, a future from which neither -wisdom, nor virtue, nor piety could save him, and where there -is nothing but an eternity of gloom, remorse and hopeless -despondency. Sad as this picture is, yet it is far brighter -than that of the Psalmist, the Preacher, or Job. Those who -have passed into the world of spirits still retain their individuality -after death, being distinguished in the spirit as they -had been in the flesh. Memory survives the body’s death. -Naught of their earthly career is forgotten. They still have -an interest in their friends that remain in the body whom -they love, and over whose well-being they unceasingly -watch. No such consolation, as has been described, exists -in the future state of man if the passages of Scripture that -have been quoted are taken in a literal sense. Man, in that -event, passes at death into a place of darkness, forgetfulness -and silence, where there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, -nor wisdom, and where even his very thoughts perish. -No other interpretation, if taken literally, can be put upon -them, for the statements are too explicit to be explained -away or softened.</p> - -<p>In the outward sense of their writings the Psalmist, -Job and the Preacher are on an equality with Horace in -their absolute unbelief in a future existence, and in a -consequent desire to snatch what fleeting pleasures they -can from earth before the inexorable law of fate consigns -them to dark oblivion. Startling as it may seem to compare -the teachings of a Greek idolater and of a Latin Epicurean -heathen with those of sacred writers, yet it is still more startling -to show that the teachings of the Epicurean sensualist -are not a whit wiser than those of the Scriptural writer, while -those of the Greek poet are very much better. Such, however, -is the fact, and, if we are to be bound by the literal interpretation -of the Scriptures, there is no possibility of denying -it without doing violence to reason and common-sense.</p> - -<p>We are now brought face to face with the point previously -mentioned. Does the authorized version give a full and<span class="pagenum" id="Page474">[474]</span> -correct interpretation of the original? It is claimed that it -does not. The word “perish,” it is said, does not occur at -all in the Hebrew text, nor is even the idea expressed. No -such translation as “beasts that perish,” which appears -twice in our version, is justified by the Hebrew, the words -of the original implying “dumb beasts.” The idea of perishing, -in the sense of annihilation, does not seem to be -implied. Let us take the Jewish Bible, which is acknowledged -to be the best and closest translation in the English -language, and examine it. Both in verses 12 and 20 of -Psalm XLIX, where the passage occurs, the rendering -reads: “Man <i>that is</i> in honor, and understandeth <i>this</i> not, is -like the beasts <i>that are</i> irrational.” As an alternative reading -for “irrational,” the word “dumb” is given in a footnote. -A somewhat similar reading is found in the Septuagint, -which, according to Brunton, runs as follows: “Man -that is in honor understands not; he is compared to the -senseless cattle, and is like them.” In Wycliffe’s Bible, -which is a translation from the Vulgate, the passage is rendered: -“A man whanne he was in honour understood not; -he is comparisoned to unwise beestis, and is maad lijk -to tho.” The “Douay” Bible, made by the English -Roman Catholic College of Douay, and which is the -version accepted by that branch of the Church in England, -renders the passage: “Man, when he was in honor, -did not understand; he hath been compared to senseless -beasts and made like to them.” Numerous other -translations might be adduced, and it is safe to say that -scarcely any of them imply the idea of perishing in the -sense of being reduced to nothing. Even supposing that -the word “perish” is translated correctly, it does not therefore -follow that annihilation is meant. Take the tenth verse -of the same Psalm in our authorized version: “For he -seeth that wise men die, and likewise the fool and the brutish -person perish, and leave their wealth to others.” Surely no -sensible, intelligent person would construe this passage into<span class="pagenum" id="Page475">[475]</span> -a declaration that the wise and fool and brutish had no existence -after the death of the body.</p> - -<p>That the last verse of the Psalm is a summary of the whole -poem, seems not improbable. A vivid picture of the true -object of man’s life in this world is drawn by the Psalmist, -and also of his tendency to lose sight thereof. In it he sets -forth the shortness of human existence, and shows that -neither riches, station in life, nor fame, which appertain to -the mere earthly career of man, can endure after his death. -He, therefore, reasonably concludes that men who fix their -hearts upon these earthly vanities ignore the honor of their -manhood, and degrade themselves to the plane of the dumb -beasts, whose operations are, as far as we know, restricted to -this present world.</p> - -<p>From what has been adduced it will at once be evident -that the idea that beasts are said by the Psalmist to have no -future life may be dismissed from our minds, and that the -passage may be rejected as totally irrelevant to the subject. -This is of the greatest importance, as the passage in question -is the only one which even appears to make any definite -statement as to the condition of the lower animals after death. -Every reasonable person will now see how essential it is that -the true meaning of the Hebrew text should be known, and -that the Psalmist should not be charged with the introduction -of a doctrine to which, whether true or false, he makes not -the slightest reference.</p> - -<p>Having settled beyond the possibility of refutation the -true meaning implied by the “beasts that perish,” we -will now turn to the passage in Ecclesiastes, which, as has -been seen, is the only one which contains any direct reference -to the future of the lower orders of animal existence: -“Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and -the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?”—exclaimeth -the Preacher. Here we have an admission that, -whether the spirit ascend or descend, both man and beasts do -have spirits, and these are undoubtedly the same in essence, for<span class="pagenum" id="Page476">[476]</span> -the Hebrew word is identical is both cases. In the Jewish -Bible the rendering is <i>verbatim</i> the same as that of our -authorized version. Read, instead of an isolated verse, the -entire passage:—</p> - -<p>“I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of -men, that God might manifest them, and that they might -see that they themselves are beasts.</p> - -<p>“For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; -even the one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so -dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a -man hath no preëminence above a beast: for all is vanity.</p> - -<p>“All go to one place; all are of the same dust, and all -turn to dust again.</p> - -<p>“Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and -the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?</p> - -<p>“Wherefore I perceive that <i>there</i> is nothing better than -that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that <i>is</i> his -portion; for who shall bring him to see what shall be after -him?”</p> - -<p>Every page of Ecclesiastes breathes of the self-reproach -of the Preacher for a wasted life. Speaking from his own -sad, bitter experience, he shows that riches, glory, pleasure -and even wisdom are nothing but utter emptiness. The -same theme pervades the forty-ninth Psalm, but the Psalmist -treats it with grave solemnity, admonishing his hearers of -the shortness of human life, and showing that if a man forgets -the glory of his manhood, made in the image of God, -he puts himself on the level of the dumb brutes. Though -reaching the same conclusion, yet the Preacher views the -subject from a different standpoint. Employing biting sarcasm -rather than solemn warning, he exposes the vanity of -all worldly and selfish pleasures, and the miserable fate that -awaits the voluptuary, and then ironically advises his readers -to place in such their entire happiness.</p> - -<p>So palpable is the bitter irony of the author throughout -the book, and even in the twenty-first verse of the third<span class="pagenum" id="Page477">[477]</span> -chapter, yet by no manner of interpretation can this -specialized text be made to mean that beasts are annihilated -after death, while men rise again and soar above -earthly things to honor and glory. Ironically the writer -assumes in it that his readers do not know the difference -between the spirit of man and that of beast, and, reasoning -from that position, advises them that “<i>there is</i> nothing -better for a man <i>than that</i> he should eat and drink, and that -he should make his soul enjoy good in his labor.”</p> - -<p>From what has been shown, it is evident that the passage -from Psalms does not even contain the idea of annihilation -as regards beasts, and that the one from Ecclesiastes is -entirely misapprehended. That they have no bearing upon -the subject must now be manifest. We cannot, therefore, -resist the conclusion that the Scriptures do not deny future -life to the inferior animals.</p> - -<p>This admission gives courage for a step still further -forward. Man’s latest achievement is to conceive that all -existence is a unit. One spirit pervades the whole natural -world, an emanation from the Spirit of Him who sitteth -enthroned in the Eternal Heavens, and who not only is, as -Moses declares, “God of the spirits of all flesh,” but God -of the spirits of all animate nature. We cannot divorce the -two great kingdoms of nature. If there is a futurity of -existence for man, whom we are told was “made a little -lower than the angels,” but who in these latter days seems -to have deteriorated, and who in thousands of instances -displays a character far less noble and honorable than that -of the dog which he kennels and feeds, then there must be -for the so-called brute, the companion of his joys and his -sorrows. If for beast, bird, reptile, fish and insect, and none -can be so foolish in the face of the most indubitable evidence -to deny it, then there must be for tree, shrub and flower, -for God, who is infinite in love, mercy and charity, would -not be God if solely concerned with the future of the -smallest fractional part of His children. Man is psychically<span class="pagenum" id="Page478">[478]</span> -related to all life. There is soul, in some sort of development, -in everything; and certainly God meant in His grand -scheme of redemption to lift the world, not a portion of it, but -the entire world, out of its lower ideas into its higher -beauties and realities.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page479">[479]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">FUTURE LIFE.</h2> - -</div><!--chapter--> - -<p class="chapstart"><span class="largecap">T</span><span class="afterlargecap">hat</span> -the Scriptures, contrary to popular tradition, do -not deny a future life to the lower animals has already -been conclusively shown. But do they declare anything in -favor of another world for beast as well as for man? This -is a question which we shall now endeavor to answer. As -to man’s immortality, the Old Testament Scriptures teach -the doctrine by inference rather than by direct assertion, for -the reason, as has been presumed, that the writers of the -several books, which were selected at a comparatively late -period from among many others and formed into the volume -popularly designated the Bible, assumed as a matter of -course that man was immortal, and therefore did not concern -themselves about a matter which they supposed everybody -knew. But as far as the Old Testament goes, inference tells -more strongly in favor of the beast’s immortality than that -of man. Although in either case there does not appear to -be any definite assertion of a futurity of existence, yet there -is no such denial of the immortality of the beast as has -already been shown in the case of the man.</p> - -<p>Beasts, as readers of the Old Testament only too well -know, were included in the merciful provision of the Sabbath, -which, in its essence, was a spiritual and not simply a -physical ordinance. And, again, we find many provisions -in the ancient Scriptures against maltreating the lower animals, -or giving them unnecessary pain, and these provisions -stand side by side in the Divine Law with those which -apply to man. All are familiar with the prohibition of -“seething a kid in its mother’s milk,” and the non-muzzling<span class="pagenum" id="Page480">[480]</span> -of the ox in treading out the corn lest he should suffer the -pangs of hunger in the presence of the food which he may -not eat. Even bird’s nesting was regulated by Divine Law. -“If a bird’s nest chance to be before thee in the way in any -tree, or on the ground, <i>whether they</i> be young ones, or eggs, -and the dam sitting upon the young, or upon the eggs, -thou shalt not take the dam with the young: <i>But</i> thou -shalt in any wise let the dam go, and take the young to -thee; that it may be well with thee, and <i>that</i> thou mayest -prolong <i>thy</i> days.” Moreover, as many animals must be -killed daily, some for sacrifice and others solely for food, the -strictest regulations were enjoined that their death should be -sharp and quick, and that the whole of their blood should -be poured out upon the ground lest they suffer lingering -pain.</p> - -<p>In keeping with the same consideration felt by Deity -towards the kid and ox and bird, as expressed in the Law, -we would refer to the few concluding sentences of the Book -of Jonah:—</p> - -<p>“Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou -hast not labored, neither madest it grow; which came up in -a night, and perished in a night.</p> - -<p>“And should I not spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein -are more than six score thousand persons that cannot discern -between their right hand and their left hand; <i>and also -much cattle</i>?”</p> - -<p>“Every beast of the forest is mine,” saith the Lord, “and -the cattle upon a thousand hills.” And again, “I know all -the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field -are mine.” Similar passages, in which God announces himself -as the protector of the beast as well as of man, could be -given, for the Scriptures are full of them. Who does not -recall the well-known saying of our Lord respecting the -lives of the sparrows: “Are not two sparrows sold for a -farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without -the notice of your Father.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page481">[481]</span></p> - -<p>Cowper in his “Task,” makes allusion to this branch of -our subject in the following lines:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent-1">“Man may dismiss compassion from his heart,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">But God will never. When He charged the Jew</div> - <div class="verse indent0">To assist his foe’s down-fallen beast to rise;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">And when the bush-exploring boy, that seized</div> - <div class="verse indent0">The young, to let the parent-bird go free;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Proved He not plainly that His meaner works,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Are yet His care, and have an interest all—</div> - <div class="verse indent0">All in the universal Father’s love?”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>One passage there is which certainly does point to a future -for the beast as well as for man, and which places them both -on the very same plane. It is found in Genesis, ninth chapter -and fifth verse, and constitutes a part of the law -which was delivered to Noah, and which was subsequently -incorporated in the fuller law given through Moses. “And -surely your blood of your lives will I require,” said God to -Noah and his sons, “at the hand of every beast will I -require it, and at the hand of every man; at the hand of -every man’s brother will I require the life of man.” In -Exodus, chapter twenty-one and twenty-eighth verse, we -read, “If an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die: then -the ox shall be surely stoned, and his flesh shall not be -eaten; but the owner of the ox <i>shall be</i> quit.”</p> - -<p>While there are no passages of Scripture, as has been -seen, which deny immortality of life to the lower animals, -yet there are certainly some which tend to show it by inference. -But the Scriptures were written for human beings, -and not for the lower animals, and therefore it could hardly -be expected that any information could be gained therefrom -on the subject. As we find so few direct references to the -future state of man, it is not at all to be expected that we -should receive direct instruction upon the after-life of the -beast.</p> - -<p>But just as man has had within himself for untold ages an -intuitive witness to his own immortality, yet there are those,<span class="pagenum" id="Page482">[482]</span> -lovers and friends of the so-called brute, who have an instinctive -sense that animals, some of whom surpass in love, -unselfishness, generosity, conscience and self-sacrifice many -of their human brethren, must share with him in addition to -these virtues an immortal spirit in which they take their rise. -No more eminent personage than Bishop Butler was a believer -in this idea. Substantially he asserts that the Scriptures -give no reasons why the lower animals should not possess -immortal souls. Similar sentiments have been voiced by -equally distinguished writers.</p> - -<p>Southey, writing of the death of a favorite spaniel that had -been the companion of his boyhood, says:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent-1">“Ah, poor companion! when thou followedst last</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Thy master’s parting footsteps to the gate</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Which closed forever on him, thou didst lose</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Thy best friend, and none was left to plead</div> - <div class="verse indent0">For the old age of brute fidelity.</div> - <div class="verse indent0">But fare thee well. Mine is no narrowed creed;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">And He who gave thee being did not frame</div> - <div class="verse indent0">The mystery of Life to be the sport</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Of merciless man. There is another world</div> - <div class="verse indent0">For all that live and move—a better one!</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Where the proud bipeds, who would fain confine</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Infinite Goodness to the little bounds</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Of their own charity, may envy thee.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Thus does Lamartine, in “Jocelyn’s Episode,” beautifully -express himself in addressing a faithful and affectionate -canine by the name of Fido:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent-1">“I cannot, will not, deem thee a deceiving,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Illusive mockery of human feeling,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">A body organized, by fond caress</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Warmed into seeming tenderness;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">A mere automaton, on which our love</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Plays, as on puppets, when their wires we move.</div> - <div class="verse indent0">No! when that feeling quits thy glazing eye,</div> - <div class="verse indent0">’Twill live in some blest world beyond the sky.”</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page483">[483]</span></p> - -<p>Not by man alone have these higher qualities been -accorded to the brute. Women have praised the good within -the lower animals, and been quite as willing to share with -them the benefits of an immortal life. Eugenie de Guérin, a -woman distinguished for her devotional piety, and an author -of no mean repute, was, like the most of her sex, quite passionately -fond of pets. Hers was a turtle-dove. Its voice was -the first to greet her in the morning. There was a pleasure -in its soft, gentle cooings, as they fell upon her ear, that sent -a sweet consolation to her busy, thinking soul. But the -time came at last when she must part with her treasure. -The morn dawned bright, an August morning, and the bird -was well and happy, but, with the falling of the shadows at -even-tide, its little life went out. A bitter trial it was for the -mistress, who loved with a perfect love her feathered friend. -While wrestling with her intense sorrow, and after she had -sincerely placed its mortal remains in a dainty cavity beneath -the roses, it was that she wrote: “I have a tolerably strong -belief in the souls of animals, and I should even like there to -be a little paradise for the good and gentle, like turtle-doves, -dogs and lambs. But what to do with wolves and other -wicked animals? To damn them?—that embarrasses me.”</p> - -<p>Less devotional, perhaps, and looking rather to logic than -to intuition, was the mind of Mrs. Somerville. With such -a difference in constitution between the two women, we -would naturally look for the greatest divergence of opinion -upon a matter of this kind, but, astonishing to relate, there -is noticeable a marked unanimity. Speaking of death, and -the accompanying change of environing objects, this gifted -writer, in her eighty-ninth year, says in her “Memoirs”:—</p> - -<p>“I shall regret the sky, the sea, with all their beautiful -coloring; the earth, with its verdure and flowers; but far -more shall I grieve to leave animals that have followed our -steps affectionately for years, without knowing for certainty -their ultimate fate, though I firmly believe that the living -principle is never extinguished. Since the atoms of matter<span class="pagenum" id="Page484">[484]</span> -are indestructible, as far as we know, it is difficult to believe -that the span which gives to their union life, memory, -affection, intelligence and fidelity is evanescent.</p> - -<p>“Every atom in the human frame, as well as in that of animals, -undergoes a periodical change by continual waste and -renovation: the abode is changed, not its inhabitant. If -animals have no future, the existence of many is most wretched. -Multitudes are starved, cruelly beaten, and loaded during -life; many die under a barbarous vivisection.</p> - -<p>“I cannot believe that any creature was created for -uncompensated misery: it would be contrary to the attributes -of God’s mercy and justice. I am sincerely happy to -find that I am not the only believer in the immortality of the -lower animals.”</p> - -<p>To have given the many opinions that have been expressed -by the good and wise of the past in favor of the belief that -animals received, in common with man, a particle of the -divine essence, and hence became immortal, would have -extended this chapter beyond intended limits. We have -room for just another witness. No one is better known for -his convictions upon this subject than the late Dr. Wood, -whose contributions to natural history are known the world -over. Speaking of the death of his dog Rory, a creature -that manifested in the flesh the strongest affection for his -keeper, the Doctor says:—</p> - -<p>“I could not believe that an animal which would die of -grief, as he died, for the absence of his master, would have his -existence limited to this present world, and that such intensity -of love should terminate at the same moment that the -material heart ceased to beat.”</p> - -<p>When we think of the apparent inequality that is everywhere -to be seen in the lives both of man and beast, we cannot -believe, as Mrs. Somerville has remarked, that any being -was “created for uncompensated misery.” Some human -beings are endowed with everything that a man can desire—health, -strength, riches, accomplishments and capacity for<span class="pagenum" id="Page485">[485]</span> -enjoyment—while others are destitute of all these accessories -to happiness. Putting aside the fact that those whose lots -seem to be the most enviable are the least to be envied, we -cannot help acknowledging that this disparity does exist, and -that the earthly lot of some is very hard, while that of others -is very easy. But we must remember that there is taught in -the New Testament the grand doctrine of Compensation. -Paul alludes to this when he remarks that the sufferings of -this world are not to be compared with the glories of the -world to come, and that the troubles, trials and tribulations -of this life are but the precursor of that glorified existence -where all these things will be utterly unknown. That some -such arrangement would be nothing more than justice there -can be no question, and that some principle of Divine Justice -must exist was instinctively known long before it was explicitly -declared by the inspired apostle, for references to such compensation -are found throughout the Psalms. Even Job himself, -sunk as he was in the very depth of afflictions, could say: -“Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him; but I will -maintain my own ways before Him. He also <i>shall be</i> my -salvation; for an hypocrite shall not come before Him.” So -far, then, as man is concerned, this problem of apparent inequality -is not so difficult of solution, for he knows only too -well that in spite of his hard and bitter earth-life that Divine -Justice will be more than vindicated in the life beyond the -grave to which he aspires. But in the case of the lower -animals, granting that they have no future existence, what, -I ask, becomes of Divine Justice? In this land of enlightenment -we meet with many animals that are treated with the -greatest kindness by their masters, and others, endowed with -capacities that are not a whit inferior to their more fortunate -brethren, that are treated with the utmost cruelty. While -one is petted and pampered, another is abused and given -over to the pangs of hunger and starvation. If there is a -future life for these animals, it is simply impossible to recognize -in their Maker that justice which sensible, reasoning<span class="pagenum" id="Page486">[486]</span> -man should expect. Such an injustice, as shown by the -lives which we have contrasted, would be too flagrant for -any human being to perpetrate, unless such a being was -wholly deficient in the ideas of right and wrong. But on -the supposition that these animals possess immortal souls, -and that there is for them a future life in which these souls -shall be developed to their fullest capacities, then these -apparent discrepancies can be reconciled with Absolute Justice -and Perfect Love. In His dealings with the lower animals, -as with ourselves, God looks to the spiritual rather -than the material world, and by the means of the one -instructs and prepares his pupils for the other. With Paul -I firmly believe that suffering in the present world has for its -object a preparation for and an introduction to a future life, and -therefore am thoroughly convinced that any creature capable -of suffering has in that capacity its passport to an eternal -world.</p> - -<p>Another step, that is, the possession of Individuality, -as connected with Immortality, now presses forward for -consideration. As for man, did he not possess Individuality, -no diverseness of management would be needed, for -all would be treated in a similar manner. No two faces in -man are precisely alike, for the very simple reason that no -two souls, of which the countenance is an indication, are -alike. The same rule, no matter what may be affirmed to -the contrary, holds good among the lower animals. To -the casual observer no apparent difference can be detected -between any two individuals of a flock of sheep, a portrait -of one equally resembling that of any other. But a shepherd, -who understands his business, will readily distinguish -every sheep of his flock, as well as describe the mental -peculiarities of each individual. One ordinary yellow canary -looks just like another yellow canary to the ordinary vision, -while in reality the mental character of each bird is -impressed just as strongly upon its countenance as are -human qualities upon that of man. This quality it is, both<span class="pagenum" id="Page487">[487]</span> -in man and beast, that implies a separate treatment for each -individual, and becomes a plea for an immortality of life. I -am not alone in this idea. It is simply astounding how -Individuality in the lower animals is ignored by man. The -generality of grooms treat all horses as though they were -just so many machines turned out of the same mould, and to -be treated just like machines. There is in every species a -double kind of Individuality. One kind there is that is -common to the entire species, and then there is in addition -to this common characteristic another that distinguishes -each separate being from its fellows. It is the former that -makes a species what it is, and there can be no doubt that -each will exist in the future life, and that both may be -capable of development. The dog, the horse, the lion and -the elephant, and in truth all animals that may be fitted to -survive, will be in the other world what they are in this. -They will be better animals in that world, just as we hope -to be better men, but they will not approach us any nearer -than they do in the earth-life.</p> - -<p>Man does not, as some are foolish enough to claim, lower -the condition of humanity the least by granting immortality -to the lower animals. If they be immortal, as the evidence -adduces most strongly shows, there is not the slightest use -of denial. We cannot shirk a fact, and even if we could, -we ought not to do it. Such an argument, which seeks to -elevate man by depreciating his lower fellow-creatures, is not -very creditable to humanity. In announcing the belief that -the lower animals share immortality with man in the higher -world, as they share mortality in this, does not claim for -them the slightest equality. Man will be man and beast will -be beast, and insect will be insect, in the next world as they -are in this. They are living exponents of Divine Ideas, as -is evident from the Scriptures and the teachings of science, -and will be wanted to continue in the world of spirit the -work which they have begun in the world of matter. True it -is, as has been asserted, that because a man can transmit his<span class="pagenum" id="Page488">[488]</span> -ideas to the lower animals, there is evidence that they possess -a spirit which is able to communicate with the spirit of man. -When a man gives an order to his dog, and is obeyed, there -is proof that both possess spirits, similar in quality, though -differing in degree. We know that to give an order to a -plant would be useless and absurd, because the plant has not -the spirit that can respond to the spirit of the man in the -same manner that a dog’s or a horse’s spirit can, but the -inability so to respond does not prove that the plant is -devoid of a spirit. That the spirit of the plant does respond -to the spirit of the man, when it adapts itself to the conditions -which the spirit of the man has imposed upon it, there -can be no question, or the many hundred plants which have -been reclaimed from a state of wildness by a judicious and -careful management upon the part of man would have been -among the impossibilities of modern civilization. The spirit -of man must have entered into the spirit of the plant, and held -communion therewith, or the world to-day would not have -been blessed with its manifold cereals, fruits and vegetables, -all of which have been rendered possible for use by the spirit -of man entering into an understanding with the nature, wants -and peculiar dispositions of the plants about him. No less are -plants living exponents of Divine Ideas than worms, insects, -beasts and men are, and as such living exponents, they are as -much needed in the future existence, at least such as are fitted -to continue in the spirit-world the work begun in the world of -matter, as are the higher forms of animal beings. As plants go a -great ways towards making this earth-life a paradise of beauty -and delight, and have ever been associated through the ages -with animal life, each of the two great kingdoms of life from -simple beginnings attaining to higher and still higher development -up to the present period—the Era of Mind—it cannot -be possible that the two will have become suddenly divorced -when the temporal or earth-life is about to pass into the -eternal or spirit-life. Heaven would not be Heaven without -the plants that we have cultured, and tended, and admired.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page489">[489]</span></p> - -<p>Concluding, then, let me say, I claim not for the lower -animals the slightest equality with man. What I claim for -them is a higher <i>status</i> in creation than is generally attributed -to them. I claim for them a future life, where they will -receive a just compensation for the sufferings which so -many of them have to undergo in this world. Most of the -cruelties which are perpetrated upon animals are due to the -habit which man has, in his exalted opinion of self, of considering -them as mere automata, without susceptibilities, -without reason and without the capacity of a future. That -I have achieved the purpose, with which I set out, of proving -that all life is immortal, or that soul exists in plants and -animals, I think must be admitted. If this doctrine of -immortality shall have the effect of bringing about a more -humane treatment of the animals over which man has been -given dominion, and thus contribute, be it ever so little, -to their well-being and happiness, even in this life, then the -object attained will be felt to be a just and worthy recompense -for the thought and labor which have been expended -in its support and defence. Not alone are we of the upper -walks of being made the possessors of the inner life, but all -nature shares it in common with us, and love is its expression -and the method of its action.</p> - - -<p class="center blankbefore5">THE END.</p> - -<hr class="full" /> - -<div class="tnbot" id="TN"> - -<h2>Transcriber’s Notes</h2> - -<p>Inconsistent and unusual or archaic spelling, use of accents and diacriticals, hyphenation and capitalisation have been -retained, except as mentioned below.</p> - -<p>Depending on the hard- and software used and their settings used to read this text, not all elements may display as intended.</p> - -<p>Page 7, List of Illustrations: the portrait of the author is not the frontispiece, and is not included in this edition of -the book.</p> - -<p>Page 45, "a single red-eye speck": should probably read "a single red eye-speck".</p> - -<p>Page 73, "unutterly unable": as printed in the source document.</p> - -<p>Page 99, Line Below Shows Natural Size: based on the size of the physical book, this would make the insect’s -natural size around 27 mm (just over 1″).</p> - -<p>Page 317/318, paragraph starting "Returning to the philology ...": a closing quote mark is missing.</p> - -<p>Page 464/465, paragraph starting "That there is a distinction ...": a closing quote mark is missing.</p> - -<p class="blankbefore75">Changes made</p> - -<p>Illustrations have been moved out of text paragraphs.</p> - -<p>Some obvious minor typographical and punctuation errors have been corrected silently.</p> - -<p>Lists of illustrations: illustration numbers have been added.</p> - -<p>Page 44: "quiet unable" changed to "quite unable".</p> - -<p>Page 62: "plants not natives to this country" changed to "plants not native to this country".</p> - -<p>Page 245: PANDION HALIÆTUS changed to <i>Pandion haliætus</i> for consistency.</p> - -<p>Page 264: caption "Red-eyed Vireo’s Two-Storied Nest With Cow-bird’s egg beneath" added cf. list of full-page plates.</p> - -</div><!--tnbot--> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK INTELLIGENCE IN PLANTS AND ANIMALS ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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